Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Rangel.
Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Nicole Rangel and being a designer has always been a dream of mine since I was younger. Being an interior designer has always been a dream of mine since I was younger. I loved visiting model homes with my family every Sunday and seeing how each place was carefully designed to give the feeling that potential buyers could see themselves living there. As I got older, I started trying to design my own room – choosing new paint colors, learning how to hang photos, and finding new ways to create a cozy, comfortable space for myself. I also reached out to family and friends, asking if they were interested in me helping them with their spaces. I was able to redo a couple of my friends’ rooms in high school and college, and I fell in love with the idea of helping people live in a space that felt comfortable and beautiful to them. In 2020, I was finally able to work at an interior design company in Newport Beach, but just as a social media intern. There, I was able to learn so much more of what goes into starting an interior design business. I was even able to work there for a little bit as an interior design coordinator. After jumping around to different jobs – I decided it was finally time to try and do interior design my way, and I launched my company, Nicole Rangel Interiors, in 2022. Since then, I have been able to meet with clients all over the United States and was even able to work with a lot of my close friends.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been pretty smooth so far – I was able to gain a lot of smaller clients in the beginning which helped a lot with my confidence. A lot of my friends and family have been so supportive of my dream and truly believe in me, and I think that is the number one thing that has kept me going. Though I have had a fun experience since the launch of my business, there have been some struggles. It is hard to find clients sometimes since switching up someone’s interior space can be a bit pricy depending. Another struggle has been the fact that I don’t just do the design and finish the day – I run the entire business myself. That means I am contacting and messaging clients, designing, promoting, marketing, tracking expenses, etc. Running a business can become tough because of how busy you become but it comes with a large reward of getting to work for yourself.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Being an interior designer, you are able to make a lot of decisions that help create your client’s vision of what they want for their space. What sets me apart from other designers is that I am not affiliated with any specific furniture place where most interior designers push for you to buy those specific products. I think that a house can be just as beautiful without spending $2,000 on a chair. When the client wants something more expensive than that is what I look for, and when they want something that can be found at say a thrift store – that is what I’ll do. I’m proud to be a freelancer who gets to show off her own aesthetic while also helping clients create their dream space. As a freelancer, I am able to work so closely with my clients to figure out exactly what it is they are looking for in their space. Another unique part of my business and offerings is that I also do custom art pieces for my clients. I love to paint and that has always been something I love to incorporate within my client’s home. Especially when I can’t find anything that matches exactly what I am looking for – being able to create a custom piece that I know my clients are going to love makes me so thrilled.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the COVID-19 crisis?
I think covid taught me a lot of others that life is fragile and sometimes you only get one chance to make your dreams come true. It taught us that life is precious, and I feel like before COVID – I would have never tried to go after my own career. But then I realized just how much time we have on this earth and decided that I’d rather try working hard for what I love rather than just doing what everyone else was doing.
Contact Info:
- Website: nicolerangel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolemrangel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091543774915&locale=hi_IN&paipv=0&eav=AfaZkg-ttRLMGsntP6okmdaCcscWPu-ENA9PFdCxLZpGIcw33aXUatV4U0zjwSYDDHA
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@nicolemrangel
