Boostly Spotlight on Fabienne Miler: Using Interior design to stand out

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[00:00:00] Liam: Okay, so welcome to the boost Lee podcast. I'm Liam, Caroline, who you may know as the co-host from the behind the host, uh, mini series today, we have something new and special for you today. We start our boost Lee spotlight series. And what is that? I hear you ask. Well, it's the focus on individuals and businesses who can help propel your hospitality business forward, uh, by them sharing their knowledge, their products and services.

[00:00:26] Liam: So. Listen in for the next 20 or 30 minutes. And the result will be that you're gonna pick up some tips and inspiration on how you can make your business stand out today. I'm really pleased to say that we are joined by an award-winning interior designer. Uh, Fabian, uh, miler and Fabian has been making huge waves.

[00:00:44] Liam: In the short term rental space here in the UK, she's just received an international award for the best home staging transformation. And I'm so excited to dive into her, uh, sort of business today and to learn more about her. So thank you and welcome along fian.

[00:01:00] Fabienne: Thank you. Thank you. For having me,

[00:01:03] Liam: so first question, Fabian, let's dive straight in, uh, who is Fabian and how did you get started in the interior design space?

Introduction to Fabienne and her business

[00:01:12] Fabienne: Yes. So the, uh, the past was not the master straightforward because I, uh, my background is in chemistry. So nothing to do with what I do. And my, uh, my priest carrier was in project management for, for large companies. And then in a nutshell, I had kids. So I had to kind of reinvent myself a bit to kind of make it work.

[00:01:33] Fabienne: And I ended up physically looking into property. I started as a, in property, well, as a deal sourcer. And then I, uh, I landed on a job for, um, service, additional operator. And one day I was, uh, I was asked as. Uh, property manager to kind of stage a property, which I did and I resigned straight away because then I knew there was that I, um, it's just colors has always been, I think, part of a, of my life I've um, I.

[00:02:05] Fabienne: I think when I think about it, I was a, um, a 10 for many years and I was very frustrated because I never felt at home and I traveled a fair bit. And this is, I think one of the frustration I had was really this feel of, yeah. You know, the white walls, you can't hang anything, you know? So I was Fanta fantasizing about what I could do.

[00:02:25] Fabienne: And I think that love kind of frustration, I think, came from that. And, uh, yes, I think so. I started the business, which at the beginning was called stitch four more. And that was three years ago just before COVID. So, um, so I started few projects and, uh, and then I think the COVID the difference made for me was I'd started putting myself out there a bit more on social media.

[00:02:50] Fabienne: I put this group together called, um, a property staging group for investor. There we go. So that was kind of my happy place. And it was a place to share. Uh, IDs scholars, inspiration things I found. And it was all in the purpose of kind of bringing, I think, a bit of a happiness in these dark times. And before I knew it, I mean, this is now it's gonna be two years soon and it's almost 4,000 people, property investors, a great place to kind of.

[00:03:20] Fabienne: Sorry. I'm already covering the question, but, uh, yeah, great place basically to find, you know, IDs ask questions and, uh, yeah, there we go.

[00:03:31] Liam: no, it's amazing. And I mean, people will pick up, uh, that you're not sort of local from the, the accent. Whereabouts, uh, are you from, I live in Lara. What do you mean. Yes,

[00:03:42] Fabienne: I've been, I've been in, yeah, I'm French.

[00:03:44] Fabienne: And, uh, I've been in the UK for 20 years, but the accent is not going anywhere.

[00:03:50] Liam: oh, no, it's brilliant. It's uh, um, and certainly, uh, you mentioned the journey that you've had since, uh, you know, since COVID and we were talking just before we started the, the podcast and, you know, just saying the amount of creativeness that came out of that period of time, where we were all stuck indoors is, is, is amazing to see some of the businesses, which.

[00:04:08] Liam: It, you know, propelled themselves and excelled forward. And me as I've been a Lu seeing your, your journey, uh, you know, sort of grow and, uh, been part of that group that you've mentioned for anyone listening, definitely go and check out, uh, Fabian's Facebook group. It is a wonderful place full of ideas, full of creativity and for hosts, uh, you know, such as myself and many of the people listening in, it's just a great place to go and get some, some ideas I've certainly been inspired by it.

[00:04:34] Liam: Let's dive into what makes, uh, interior design important to a host? What benefits does it bring? Right. So

Why is interior design important to a host?

[00:04:43] Fabienne: I think so the way staging kind of work and an entire works, I think across any kind of property strategy, this is something to heavily consider. I always say it's the, well, it's the most powerful marketing tool that is there basically, but when it comes to service accommodation, and, and this is why this is most, most of my clients.

[00:05:04] Fabienne: 80% are, are service, accommodation host it's because I think with service, accommodation comes a bit of an idea of experience. So I never see it as you know, we talk about home for home, but I see it further than that. I see it as home for a home you would not have. So you want to kind of present offer something that really attracts really inspire.

[00:05:25] Fabienne: And I think, you know, the use of color particularly. The style, the atmosphere, which I always talk about, you know, what you feel when you see these photos is essential, not only to kind of appeal, but also, you know, the use of color moving away from the wide. The gray helps to basically stand out across, you know, uh, um, a wide, you know, competition, to be honest,

[00:05:50] Liam: that, um, Thing you've mentioned there of saying that people, you know, how do they feel when they look at your photos?

[00:05:55] Liam: I think that's so important because I find for, for my business that when people see places, which is so different from their, their own home, uh, people do buy on emotion. People often don't buy on logic. They, they think about how that they'd feel to be there. And, um, that's certainly been something which has helped, helped my business

[00:06:14] Fabienne: and yeah.

[00:06:14] Fabienne: And you, and you're absolutely right. And this is, this is how, you know, most decisions are made, you know, emotionally, especially, you know, if you look into the leisure market, it's all about it's that it's, it's feeling something that is fun. That is happy. So of course the emotion link, the, you know, the, the, like any purchase when you go to, you know, the supermarket or anywhere to buy something, it's often on impulse.

[00:06:35] Fabienne: And this is when you can tap into your, uh, your market, like. Just by attracting them.

[00:06:41] Liam: Yeah, definitely. And what would you say to, um, we, we, we manage for a lot of people and, uh, we meet a lot of hosts out there who just go, well, you know, I'll just, I'll whitewash the walls I'll put in, uh, you know, some basic furniture.

[00:06:54] Liam: What would your advice be to them? Um, you know, regarding how, what would your advice be when they might be thinking? Well, interior design, you know, is, is quite, is quite expensive. It's quite a big step. What would your advice be to them?

[00:07:08] Fabienne: So. First of all. So I think it's important to acknowledge first, the difference he can make.

[00:07:14] Fabienne: And I'm sure we talk a bit more about kind of the, the benefits, but I think it's thinking, you know, looking, starting looking a bit at the competition, looking what's around because the whole point, you know, in this business is to be profitable and to, uh, to make money. So you want to be different and as such, what are other people doing?

[00:07:33] Fabienne: And if indeed the competition is, you know, Pale white, you know, and inspiring. You want to be different. So what says that paint? You know, if, well, I always say to clients that, look, if you don't have that much money, at least spend it on the, on paint for the walls, because this is the biggest impact you're gonna have.

[00:07:52] Fabienne: So I would, um, particularly in your main photo. So again, if you think about, if you have to do one thing, think about your, your hero photo and make it. Shine. So in some ways, you know, find some colors, which is, you know, not just ARU, try to make it kind of, of, of, of it with intention to, uh, to be able to, um, to, uh, to stand up basically.

[00:08:18] Fabienne: So at least paint in one room, which is your hero photo. That's sorry, I didn't want to show that. Look, there we go. I'm redoing my room and look, it's not

[00:08:30] Liam: finished. Oh, good. No worries. That's one of the benefits of being interior designer for those listening on the podcast, the camera's moved and, uh, I can see that, uh, Fabian is doing some painting or in the background, but Hey, that room's gonna look wonderful.

[00:08:43] Liam: so that, um, you know, going back to, to your answer there about, um, When you're looking at your competition, and this is something which all hosts and everybody listening can do before launching a unit, or when considering updating a unit, just spend 20 minutes, half an hour, looking up every choice that your prospective guest has got.

[00:09:01] Liam: And if everybody else has got the same color scheme, I mean, a few years ago that used to be yellow and gray everywhere. You know, that used to be on every single photo. Didn't it? And there's a saying that mark always says, which is when everyone else zigs U. Like, if you, if you've got a different color scheme, then, uh, that's gonna be so important to do so.

[00:09:18] Liam: And I love the fact you're talking about that hero image, because a lot of the time people don't realize, but the first picture on Airbnb or on the OTA or on your own website is what will get people to click on it. Absolutely. Get

Using the Hero Image effectively

[00:09:31] Fabienne: them, get them in here. Exactly. And, and in that room side to, uh, to get.

[00:09:35] Fabienne: Also in that particularly so often, I like to kind of put, you know, more, more of the focus on the, um, the, the living area, which is, you know, especially in leisure, we, you want to attract more people. You want people to picture themself. So it's, if you've got, you know, 100, 200 pounds that are there, This is the place where you might want to kind of have a couple of kind of pieces that are a bit different, you know, a bit different, sorry for you to kind of inspire.

[00:10:03] Fabienne: So a bit of this, you know, more kind of luxury feel have even just one artwork or one mirror where you spend a bit more, but just looks. That you know, it's, it's a bit. Yeah. It makes you feel good. It makes you feel special because if you've got often I see on, uh, on Airbnb, I like to, uh, to scroll down and see what's there.

[00:10:23] Fabienne: You would see that first photo with a tiny little lamp shade with it. Doesn't make you feel special. And this is the world point of the, the job I do. It's to make people feel that they want to be there because it makes them feel happy, makes them feel good. And these piece are essential as much as for some people it's, uh, it's increased insignificant, actually even one piece can change completely the vibe of the ballroom.

[00:10:50] Liam: A hundred percent. And that is where, uh, often when we are talking to clients and people who are looking to, to get into short term rental, um, you know, they're often looking at just the profit as the bottom line, how much they're spending, but actually by having one or two of these pieces in there, uh, because everything is about how you make that guest feel and the quality of hosting, you know, this can result in better reviews as well, having better interior design I'm.

[00:11:15] Liam: Sure. So what would be the. Sort of a top tip that you'd like to share with hosts. Um, I know you mentioned painting, um, you just mentioned something about light shades there. What, what would your top tip be with, with

[00:11:28] Fabienne: lampshades? Oh, lampshade. I've got this saying, I dunno where it's coming from, but that's the word I follow?

[00:11:33] Fabienne: I don't. Specify. So the way I work, I only work remotely. So I, I specify all the, um, uh, what I call shopping list as well as the decorating plan. I spec everything. Mm-hmm I never specify for lamp shade that is below 40 centimeter. for me the size, which I think is a, she makes you feel like, you know, you haven't paid 10 pounds at Argos and that makes you feel a bit better.

[00:12:00] Fabienne: So for dis inhibitor is the, the golden.

[00:12:04] Liam: Cool. That's a good tip to have. So from now on whenever I'm, uh, you know, setting up a new place, it will be minimum 40 and we'll, uh, I'll get the measuring tape out, but it, it does make a difference for the photos though. Doesn't it cuz a bigger lampshade, you know, does, does just bring the whole,

[00:12:19] Fabienne: uh, the space quite absolutely.

[00:12:20] Fabienne: And you know, and what why I found it's so. So interesting, because I think there's so much effort put into generally, um, white property and kind of the due diligence. The money spent the time spent the effort, if you go referred, right? And then you arrive at the end, tired often, you know, you run a bit out of money.

[00:12:40] Fabienne: You just want the thing out and you want to stop making money. And actually, this is the bit, this is the marketing piece. This is when you want to actually make a bit of an effort because that is what's gonna sell your product no matter. All the effort put for are almost irrelevant. This is that bit.

[00:12:57] Fabienne: That's gonna, that's gonna sell your, your product. So, uh, you know, often the same with, um, so rent to, uh, rent to service accommodation. Wait, it's often a lot on, okay, let's get it out there quickly. Let's not spend much money. It's all about return, but actually. A bit of effort, a bit of intention, a bit of money spent and stray away the results shows.

[00:13:18] Fabienne: So it's not money that is wasted. It's money invested the same way you invest into a property that money spent into like a nice chair, a nice lamp share, which is what that is gonna translate into a bigger return.

[00:13:33] Liam: Oh, I love that as well. We're, I'm definitely gonna have to use that soundbite with, with some of our clients, because often they get to that stage where, you know, the place is almost ready and then it's a bit of a rush.

[00:13:42] Liam: But those details, like you say, is that's the moment when you actually, you need to have, uh, you know, that extra attention to detail the extra. Uh, the wow piece is in and actually just go that extra effort because that can make a difference to you. Oh, this is, this is

[00:13:56] Fabienne: the marketing, this is the marketing it's, it's like, you know, developing a product in the factory and then you've got this amazing chocolate bar.

[00:14:03] Fabienne: Then you just rip it, rub it in, in fall and you tell it,

[00:14:07] Liam: it doesn't work. Yeah, exactly. That is that's the marketing of it. Isn't it. And one of the things, um, you know, there's, there's a lot more. Properties becoming available. The, the market, you know, some saying is, is there's a lot more places. You know, people are worried about saturation, but interior design is, is one of the ways to stand out.

[00:14:25] Liam: And when it comes down to, you know, the services that you offer, what sort of services, um, if we talk about the services that you offer, that the hosts can get in touch with, what sort of services do you offer yourself that, um, people listening could, uh, could utilize.

What services does Fabienne offer?

[00:14:40] Fabienne: So there's few things. I mean, I have, I've kept kind of developing the services because I found every case is a bit different.

[00:14:46] Fabienne: So I wanted to keep it also quite flexible. Mm-hmm one thing I, I started doing, uh, last year was a kind of consultation base, but it's often people. Who are happy to do it themselves. They've got some ideas, but they kind of get stuck at the beginning. They don't know where to start. Right? So they've got ideas.

[00:15:06] Fabienne: They doubt themself, which is a killer when it comes to kind of being creative. Because if you start doubting yourself, it translated shows into what you do. So basically this consultation, I often use it as a way to kind of get them started. So this we discuss was your market. Let's have a look at the property and briefly loosely, we look at.

[00:15:26] Fabienne: What are we trying to do in there? And just by kind of almost locking some of this key decision, like kind of the style, some of the color, some of the paint, some of the layout then suddenly, you know, clients is root. The clients are really happy to have a base solid base that they believe in a vision that then they can run with.

[00:15:44] Fabienne: So it's, it is the first thing. And I'd say it's such an easy thing to, you know, to do spend a couple of hours to just pose and know why you're doing it. Then suddenly the rest of the project is so much easier. Then the different project. It depends again. So some people approach me for refresh, which is, you know, I love refresh because this, you know, it's usually you don't need to kind of.

[00:16:06] Fabienne: Change much to completely transform the personality of your room. Mm-hmm so it can be that if you've got, um, so it's recommendation, that's not performing as well as you wish. It's just, you know, spending a bit of a of time and money again, to give it another, another life, another kind of a, a breath of a of life.

[00:16:23] Fabienne: And then, um, if you have, um, a refu. So I help with all the paint. So paint choices, you talk about, you know, some of these element design elements are bringing to the wall. So I cannot of create what called this decorating plan. And then I specify for all the, uh, the furniture. So yeah, loosely, it's kind of, I, I, I try to basically offer why is, is, is needed the best to improve basically the, the, the property, or to start it from scratch and finish.

[00:16:55] Liam: That's cool. And do you offer any kind of training around if, if people want to just pick up some knowledge and, uh, you know, learn it themselves, uh, do you offer any kind of training at all?

[00:17:05] Fabienne: It's funny. You mentioned that . Yeah. So look, I'm just about to, uh, to launch thes, uh, wave of a training. I, I started DC, which is called profit by design and it's seven steps, seven, uh, seven modules, seven weeks.

[00:17:21] Fabienne: Uh, and it's all about basically. Um, teaching the way I work. So, which is basically taking each steps from, you know, understanding, like I said, in, in consultation kind of understanding what you're trying to do with your market. What's your property. Yeah. So just sense. Sorry. Sorry. So just putting the base, the foundation of your, of your project.

[00:17:45] Fabienne: And this is when my background, I think, as a project manager has been very helpful because even when I started, I felt a bit of a when, because my issue was too many ideas and actually some structure beyond has really helped me to just the focus on, on the scope, on what I'm trying to achieve so that it removed the noise and just helped me to basically do my, my work.

[00:18:08] Fabienne: So the first step, the first module is about, um, creating the, uh, the scope of the project. And then we look into, um, uh, the paint. We look into the color scheme. We look into the style you want to do. We look into, um, how to purchase the, uh, the items and then how to style. So everything is basically. Um, about bringing the space to life and, and tapping into all these different element that constitute the design.

[00:18:35] Fabienne: So the way I've kind of, um, structured it is that, uh, there's one day, which is the training in the evening one hour. And, uh, the other week we cover, we have like a room surgery, which is the opportunity to basically implement some of the stuff we, uh, we learn and it's all recorded. And, um, so people can catch up if they, if they need to, but I'm always in the background I'm in my priority and this kind of stuff is make sure that people stay on track.

[00:19:01] Fabienne: Happy with what they learn, they understand what they're doing and they leave the training confident, which is probably the key word when it comes to, uh, to design confident and also knowing where well, knowing how to make this decision, basically rather than just, you know, wing it.

[00:19:21] Liam: And that's one of the things that we find we we've we've boost.

[00:19:23] Liam: We, we, we train, um, hosts on how to. Confidence the tactics and the, the trainings, but it's that confidence bit, isn't it like you've said, it's actually just giving people the confidence as well as the structure that you're offering there and the knowledge at the end of the day, you know, somebody like yourself, who's walked that path on, uh, redesigning and, and doing the interior design mm-hmm is so important to learn from somebody who's done it before is why always say it's good to invest in yourself in your knowledge, at the end of the day, upskilling.

[00:19:52] Liam: Yourself as a host, that's where all of the ideas for, you know, how you get profit from your business come from ultimately. So, um, that sounds really good. And it sounds, you know, I'm sure there's gonna be lots of people listening to this, uh, this podcast and, and watching this live, who will get in touch with me.

[00:20:07] Liam: Yeah, no.

[00:20:08] Fabienne: So this one, so the next one starts at the end of this month of 28th of, uh, of September. We, uh, we starting the seven weeks, um, seven weeks training.

[00:20:18] Liam: Awesome. And, uh, I'm gonna talk more about that after the, uh, after we finish I'm I'm gonna be one of your people on your, on your, for sure. So, um, so what would you say has been the biggest learning curve since if, if we were to compare back in, you know, sort of pre COVID times to, to where you are now, what's been the biggest learning curve along the way.

Fabiennes learning curve from Pre-Covid

[00:20:37] Fabienne: Um, well, you know what? I think COVID as me, I suppose, in, in, in some ways there's always a silver line I was saying earlier, and I think why it's done to people. It's, you know, I think we've been in such a dark place. We spent so much time at, at home. Actually, there was always a bit of a fear, a bit of a reluctance of paint, even at home.

[00:21:01] Fabienne: I mean, my house you can see beyond, it's always, it's very colorful. How many people I have come in saying, oh, I love it, but I never, I would never do it. And it's not because it don't like it it's because they don't dare. And I think COVID has actually broken that people are actually a lot more connected with their environment.

[00:21:19] Fabienne: They're less fearful of what people are gonna think, you know, and I think as people get more confident, there's more photos out there. I think it's kind of pushing these kind of willingness to use color as a, as a tool. So I think, um, I think what I've learned is that , um, not to try when I started this job, I was trying to kind of tone it down a bit because I was, I was, I got caught into this thing of trying to myself kind of stay within the kind of norm.

[00:21:48] Fabienne: Right. And actually very quickly. I'm like, no, that's not , that's not why I enjoy doing let's do why love and why. Color is bringing life to, uh, to rooms. And actually what I've learned is that just do what feels right, because actually it works,

[00:22:04] Liam: it clearly it clearly works. I mean, the following you've got and also, um, let, let's just mention the, the award again.

[00:22:10] Liam: I mean, you've, you've just, uh, received the, the international award. Talk us through how you felt when you received that and, and how that came.

[00:22:17] Fabienne: Yeah, I do know what he, he was just off, he like a bit, the worst story of, you know, the last three years it's um, it's it's yeah, not expected. So basically it was just, it's a it's, um, it's an American, uh, staging kind of academy type thing, and they've got like a large podcast and they are.

[00:22:36] Fabienne: Uh, which in fact I'm gonna be invited on, on there now. Okay. So I used to follow them on a online and, uh, I was in the middle of a project during the summer and this advert for like the, the competition come up, I just, uh, didn't have done at all. I contacted the client. I'm like, why are you happy for me to put the, the photo there?

[00:22:55] Fabienne: It was just the day before he ended. Put it there. And, uh, yes, basically got, um, it was for best transformation. And when I saw that there was a project in particular that I thought was really suited for that. Um, and yes. So now this is it's just, do you know what, back to the, what I was saying earlier? I think just do what, you know, just do what feels right.

[00:23:16] Fabienne: Just have fun and color. I think, you know, being creative is such a good place to allow yourself to just be and, and have fun. And I think the, the rest seems to be following. So, uh, yes, .

[00:23:29] Liam: It's it's you've done so well, congratulations for that. And yeah. You know, seeing, uh, you've, you've mentioned have fun and really putting your personality into a project.

[00:23:38] Liam: And that's one of the things which we often say that when, when you're a host of, of a property and, and in holiday accommodation, Other businesses might be similar. You know, they might have the same number of bedrooms or the same, you know, be on the same street, but ultimately it's yourself. It's your own personality that you put into the business, which makes your business stand out.

[00:23:58] Liam: And that's, uh, that sounds like that's what you've done for your own interior design and what you're helping other hosts. To do as well, which is, yeah, this is,

[00:24:04] Fabienne: and this is the thing where I found through the training. So there's the first wave of trainees coming out and what's amazing to see as much as, you know, I've, I've, I've, I've teach, you know, the way I work and to see how they take it so I can still see what they've learned, but it's amazing to see them taking that and doing their own source with it.

[00:24:22] Fabienne: And, uh, you know, and as much. I try not to always get carried away with the color and the atmosphere, because ultimately, you know, that's the story that makes me happy, but it's always down to number isn't it. And what I need to say before we finish is the difference. It actually makes because, you know, um, This atmosphere kind of translate and the way it translate it's first of all, like you said, people click on it.

[00:24:45] Fabienne: People, it stands out. People want to have a look at what's out there. And then Y see with, with clients who keep coming back, because the stuff is working, standing out is your, is your best tool is, you know, I, I use an example dialogue, which was, um, a refresh from a five bed semi accommodation in unin. And that.

[00:25:06] Fabienne: Was for contractor. They could never fill it at the weekend. So they were just, you know, they had contractor during the week. No one at the, the weekend came in. Transformed the, uh, you know, it was a refresh and following that, basically the revenue doubled. So from not having any, you know, they had, like, I think it was 120 pounds a night during the week.

[00:25:26] Fabienne: They moved to 210, then all the weekend after, after basically I, uh, I finished the job, which was in July. I think they got straight away, like 2, 2, 3 months booking at the weekend, which they never. So this is the power of that stuff. And not only, you know, you, you can even expand your, um, your, your market because from being contractor only with a dream of attracting leisure, you can actually just do that.

[00:25:51] Fabienne: So, and, and again, one last point on that contractors, often I have clients who are like, yeah, that's fine. It's just for contractors. Actually. There's always an opportunity. If you put a bit more love into. To also attract and tap into the, the leisure market. So the, the opportunity is amplified so much when you just spend a bit of time, money, effort into making a place that.

[00:26:17] Liam: You've dropped some gems there. Farian I mean that, so in terms of the interior design, we're talking about higher conversions as the start, but then also higher nightly rates and ultimately more repeat kind of guests and perhaps even longer stays. So, uh, you know, that, that sounds like the, um, you know, sounds like the dream to be honest.

[00:26:35] Liam: And this is why I think in a market where there are more properties available for guests, you know, interior design is, is the way to stand out. I can just see this. I can see you being very busy in the next year.

[00:26:49] Fabienne: It's it's to me, it's such, and you know what, it's the best kept secret. It's the best kept secret because there's still people who are not aware of that, which, and this is why I get so passionate about it because it's like, look, it works.

[00:27:04] Fabienne: And it, you know, and there's a lot of people out there doing the job. I do. There's a lot of ways to even, you know, I think there's a trick there to be taken. And people need to kind of just look a bit around, look at the competition and take the opportunity because it's there.

[00:27:19] Liam: There's uh, there's two, two questions I really wanted to ask.

[00:27:22] Liam: One is, and we mentioned the future. So what does the, what does the future hold for your Fabian? Have you got any sort of plans or any sort of direction where the business is going? Yeah. Do you know

What does the future look like for Fabienne?

[00:27:32] Fabienne: what I had plan? It never seems to kind of rat my plan. I keep, I keep free, but I, um, I really, really, really enjoy the training, which I didn't think I would.

[00:27:42] Fabienne: And now I've done the first one and I realized it differently. Makes I think probably this is something I would want to spend more time on because I, I just want to spread that. I can just see the value and I want to be. Not only to have investors to increase their profit, but also the difference he makes to them because being bold, being confident, having fun with colors, it's a very cool thing.

[00:28:03] Fabienne: Uh, and it goes beyond just paint on the wall. I think. So. Um, yeah, so I'm really passionate about that. And, um, well, I think I'm probably gonna move to kind of more high end, end project, I would imagine. So I'm tapping a bit more into, um, into project where actually I don't do remote. I go and see, because I want to be there to make sure that, you know, I capture the atmosphere as best as I can.

[00:28:26] Fabienne: So yeah, a bit of training and a bit of, uh, Yeah, bigger project and finishing this office, which would be also

[00:28:32] Liam: last one. it sounds amazing. And the, the other thing that I wanted to, um, touch on was, you know, we mentioned social media briefly earlier on, but how much, uh, you know, that is, has helped. I mean, in your own words, how has social media helped your business?

[00:28:47] Liam: And the, the reason I ask is cuz there'll be a lot of hosts out there who don't document or who don't put themselves out there on social media. Um, how has it helped your business and what advice would you have for the people who are afraid to go on social media?

[00:29:00] Fabienne: Yeah, I think, you know, the, the answer to that, but yeah, well look, uh, yes, it started from nothing I had, the first project I had was, you know, something that I knew was good and just putting it out there.

[00:29:15] Fabienne: I wanted to share what was able to do. And for me, it was almost this for me, it was the opportunity to show there. What, what stage can be, why can't offer. And just from that set of photos. It took off, but this is constant kind of reminder and sharing and, and the thing as well. I think, and COVID, as I mentioned, was instrumental to that is I've been sharing and giving a lot.

[00:29:41] Fabienne: I love, you know, for me, it's something that come from the heart. First of all. There was never, when I started any kind of true business intention beyond, you know, it was me having fun and hopefully making some money in the process, but it was more about, you know, creating places that make people happy, which is something I'm very passionate about.

[00:29:59] Fabienne: So, you know, the advice I give is, you know, as much as it's important to, to share what you do and to share it to his, you know, Yeah, with love , um, being consistent and kind of also what I found is this thing about collaboration and, and wanted to share without necessary fearing of the competition. What are, are people gonna take my ideas because I never thought like that.

[00:30:22] Fabienne: And actually, if I would've. I don't think I would've managed as well as I have keeping my diploma myself. And I thought, no, there's no point. I want people to, to enjoy that and to do it themselves. So don't be scared and share, share the love. And yeah, I, I think social media is, uh, yeah, essential.

[00:30:41] Fabienne: Unfortunately Italy .

[00:30:42] Liam: Yeah. I love that. I love that. It's been, uh, it's been a pleasure to watch the, the journey as I say. So as we come to the end of these, uh, podcasts, we love to ask a couple quick fire questions. These answers can be as short or as long as you like. Um, they're just a bit of fun, really, so.

A little more about Fabienne

[00:30:57] Liam: Oh, cool. Okay. Okay. Where's your, where's your favorite place in the world to. Uh,

[00:31:03] Fabienne: Italy, Italy. I, uh, I used to live there and I, um, yeah, this is home to me, even if I'm French, Italy.

[00:31:10] Liam: Awesome. Um, what's your favorite hobby or pastime?

[00:31:15] Fabienne: This is gonna sound so sad, but the job I do.

[00:31:19] Liam: You, you know, that's the thing is we wouldn't do what we do if we didn't love it.

[00:31:22] Liam: So, um,

[00:31:23] Fabienne: yeah. So, you know, just, just, yeah, looking at lamps. I mean, my partner, I, I drive him nuts with that, cuz he thinks I work all the time, but I don't, I have fun all the time.

[00:31:33] Liam: yeah. Hey, it's not work if it's, if he, if you enjoy it, isn't it. Um, I've I slipped this one in what are colors that should never be seen together or are there such

[00:31:43] Fabienne: a thing?

[00:31:43] Fabienne: Oh God. Oh, you know what? I'm a firm believer. You can do anything, but don't use gray.

[00:31:49] Liam: yeah, absolutely. there's a lot of gray walls out there as possible.

[00:31:53] Fabienne: Yeah. You can ask colors, you can do anything. You can do anything. There's always a way to make them work together. There

[00:31:59] Liam: we go. And finally, uh, who is your, uh, hero or who inspires you?

[00:32:06] Fabienne: Uh, who inspired me? Uh, In generally or in the work I do in, in, in general. Um, Cool. Do I have a well there's someone actually. Yes. Someone called totally. There we go. Is a, do you know? I don't know. No. What? Well, he's a, he a, he is a writer. He's a bit of a, well, he wrote, he wrote a few books. He's quite spiritual.

[00:32:33] Fabienne: It's about living in the moment, which, uh, this job, this thing. Yeah. This job has really helped me to, uh, to do being in the moment.

[00:32:41] Liam: I love that. What a perfect way to, uh, to bring it to a close, uh, fian. This has been fantastic. And I'm sure there's a lot of people who are listening in thinking, well, how do I get in touch with fian?

[00:32:51] Liam: And I know we've got your website here. Um, did you want to, uh, give the listeners the, the website?

[00:32:57] Fabienne: Yeah, so it's Fabian, but this is the female version. I E N N E , uh, dash entire. So Fabian entires that's the website. And, uh, yeah, if, um, you interested in IDs, the stuff we're talking about, join the, the platinum Facebook group, property staging group for investors, and I've got a page also Facebook page, a business page.

[00:33:23] Fabienne: I'm on Instagram. Not really

[00:33:27] Liam: fair enough. So, uh, yeah, I'm sure you're gonna get a lot of people heading over to the Facebook group, which property staging group and, uh, fian interiors.co UK. Um, Hey, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast today, the first person on the, uh, spotlight series.

[00:33:44] Liam: Um, did you have any closing remarks at all or anything else you wanted to share with the listen. Um,

[00:33:50] Fabienne: yeah, a fun with colors. It's uh, it's just paint. You can just, uh, put some white back on it if you might be .

[00:33:57] Liam: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of people who got a lot of value and a lot of gems from this.

[00:34:03] Liam: So thanks again. And, uh, I look forward to, uh, speaking to you again, and as I say, I'm gonna be on your, uh, on your course, beginning September, and I'm sure some of the people listening will be as well. So thank you very much. And, uh, bye for. Cheer. Bye.

[00:34:19] Fabienne: Thank you so much for checking out today's podcast episode.

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