FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

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JOIN THE WAIT LIST FOR MY REVAMPED COURSE INTERIOR DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THE EPISODE:

MERCEDES JOURNEY FROM ARCHITECT TO INTERIOR DESIGN 

THE VALUE SHE GAINED FROM GOING THROUGH THE COURSE IN ITS ENTIRETY

THE VIEWPOINT OF AN ARCHITECT INSIDE THE COURSE

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Today’s episode is a really special one. I am joined by Mercedes G Quintanilla, a designer who completed every single lesson inside my course, The Interior Designer’s Guide to Construction Management. 

I actually offered an incentive for the first time for members inside the course, who completed it in its entirety, and Mercedes dove in headfirst. She not only went through the whole curriculum from start to finish, but she’s now going back through it, to catch all of the, what she calls, nuggets. And here’s why that’s so powerful: it’s easy to cherry-pick content to solve an immediate problem on your plate, and sometimes that is exactly what you need. But when it comes to construction management, understanding how a project unfolds, phase by phase, and your role in each phase, that’s what’s going to help you avoid the headaches before they hit. The flow does matter. The foundation matters. And Mercedes does get that.  

Mercedes G Quintanilla is an accomplished Designer originally from El Salvador, who has cultivated a rich career blending interior design and architecture. She holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and a master’s degree in architecture from Boston Architectural College. Her journey began in El Salvador, where she started studying architecture before migrating to the U.S. After navigating challenges with transferring her transcripts, she began working in an architectural firm in 2000, where an unexpected introduction to interior design ignited her passion for creating captivating spaces.

With a strong foundation in construction documentation and an innate fascination for interiors, Mercedes adopts a holistic design approach that fosters a deep human-nature connection, promoting well-being in every environment. Her love for travel enriches her eclectic touch, allowing her to incorporate elements from her multicultural experiences into each project. This appreciation for diverse influences enables her to create spaces that resonate with her clients’ stories and aspirations.

In 2013, after navigating the challenges of the economic downturn, she ventured into real estate investment, got her license, and founded Atlanta Investing Properties LLC, specializing in flipping residential properties that required significant transformation. This hands-on experience in project management has equipped her with invaluable skills for overseeing complex design projects and renovations, as well as managing intricate real estate transaction paperwork.

After a rewarding journey in real estate, Mercedes returned to her true passion—design—in 2016, while continuing to manage real estate renovations on the side. As her real estate, remodeling, and design work deepened, particularly in residential and workspace design, Atlanta Investing Properties LLC naturally evolved into a design studio. Today, she blends her expertise with her design skills to craft unique spaces that nourish the soul and elevate well-being.

Even with her background as a trained architect, her experience she recognized that there were gaps in how she approached her projects, in particular residential projects.

Mercedes shares her experience of going through my course, and as an architect, she is coming at this with such a completely different perspective. She shares how she wasn’t comfortable with the decor part of interior design. Whereas most designers come to construction having a very firm, grounding business built from decor and want to take it to the next level. Whereas Mercedes having the architect experience is what most designers don’t understand and is what makes them the most nervous. 

Mercedes is now applying the more residential details from the course to her work. The fact that Mercedes’ clients can hire her as both architect and designer, I think is amazing because, frankly, architects and interior designers don’t always have the most ‘fluid’ relationships. There tends to be a possessiveness over a project or feeling like you are overstepping.

Viewpoint of an architect inside my course, Interior Designer’s Guide to Construction Management

Mercedes shares how some of the material in the course she had learned being an architect, and we do go into a lot of those components, so I asked Mercedes if she found anything surprising or difficult from her architectural perspective.

Mercedes says she learned a lot and what stood out to her was that what never occurred to her was surrounding expenses. She says she would have never even have mentioned it to a client before going through the course. 

I didn’t use to either, but earlier in my career, I started noticing the trend that there were a lot of additional expenses going on, and it would be better for me to forewarn my client and at least get ahead of it. 

Mercedes also liked the part in the course where we learn to date our client avatar. “I said, what is that? That’s a new term for me. I didn’t have a clue….So now I have that avatar. I have created my client avatar and it has helped me to define my client because I knew what kind of client I wanted to approach, but defining that deep – it niched down my market.” says Mercedes 

And I did share for her to keep in mind that she has her client avatar right now, and if her business evolves, and you do want it to evolve, in two years go back and make sure you’re actually still wanting that same avatar. Mine has evolved as to who she is overtime. As my projects change, I change, and my interests have changed. 

Taking the course has been able to allow Mercedes to give answers to her clients she may not have otherwise had. She shares how recently she was able to clarify information for a client because when asked a questions she says her head started spinning, and then she remembered a place in the course where I share about the rough-ins, and she was able to explain to her client that phase.

Doing the course in order

I asked Mercedes about her experience going through the course in chronological order and if she found that helpful. The lessons do follow the phases and tend to build on each other. Some designers come in with a specific problem and understandably, go right to the answer to their question, but don’t go back to see how they arrived to that point. 

A lot of designers don’t understand the actual phases of construction projects. And then there’s a through line, so there’s some disconnect along the way. So I’m hoping that by going through the course in order you’re able to avoid that disconnect and understand how each piece falls in line and why. 

Mercedes shares how going through the course in the order of the construction phases, as it is set up, allowed her to see the whole picture, and made sense to her to go through the entire course before honing in on specific areas.  

Mercedes runs 2 different firms in 2 different countries.

She says that she has her team over in El Salvador, and they work remotely. Most of the operational side is over there. Here in the U.S. is where she wants to have her clients. She doesn’t have a team here yet, they are all in El Salvador right now. “It is challenging, but it is feasible when you are focused,” says Mercedes

Mercedes says she is new in the business side of design, but she has had her real estate investing experience, where she learned a lot of tools, and now it’s helping her put everything together. 

One of the things she learned was that you have to outsource. As a business owner, you have to focus on signing contracts.

 “Without contracts, you don’t have clients, without clients you don’t have projects, and without projects you don’t have money coming in,” says Mercedes. 

She hired her first collaborator from day 1. “Having that help, helped me to navigate the challenges that I have in running two business structures,” she says. 

Mercedes is also starting a new service for designers. 

She says that since she is just getting started, one of the challenges for anyone who is getting started is taking care of all the details that need to be done for you to actually be in business. 

“Then going through the whole process,  I realized that since having my team outside the U.S. I could offer the opportunity to other solo designers who are just getting started or maybe have been working solo for many years, what would be possible for them, or for all of us, if we shared the same team and we collaborate?” says Mercedes.

She started working on structuring the whole business model, and what she is offering is the opportunity to partner up with solo designers so that there are more firms to take on their production tasks. 

I hope you enjoyed hearing Mercedes’ story in today’s episode as much as I did.  

Mercedes’ dedication to not just finishing the course, but to truly absorb it, then going back again to pull out every last bit of information is exactly the kind of mindset that leads to growth. It’s also a great reminder that no matter how much experience we bring to the table, having a solid foundation in the flow and phases of construction projects is what helps us to lead with confidence and clarity.