Janelle King | JK Design and The Workroom
My guest this week is Janelle King, Wichita interior designer and owner of JK Design and The Workroom, both located in Wichita, KS. Janelle is an interior designer with a special eye for creating unique decorations, but she is also a serial entrepreneur with an incredible talent for recognizing business opportunities and taking advantage of them. She is also passionate about living and working in Wichita, KS and has made Wichita one of the unique selling propositions that makes her business so successful in the Air Capital. When it comes to interior design, you can't do any better than Janelle King and JK Design.
The really neat part of Janelle's business, however, is how she recognized an opportunity to create a new business when her own needs were not being met. As an interior designer, she often found herself in need of custom designs for her customers. However, there were not enough talented seamstresses in the area and the ones who were in business were overworked and could not take on more work. Never one to throw her hands up, Janelle got to work and created The Workroom, a custom design sewing shop for any home decoration you might need- pillows, draperies, bedding, upholstery and much more. Her shop is an eclectic mix of tastes, and the proof of her skill is easy to see in the decorations she has completed.
I sat down with Janelle to talk about her businesses, how and why she got started and why she always seems to be in the right place at the right time. She also had one more surprise for me- she's starting ANOTHER business! This time, Janelle purchased a 1969 Volkswagon Bus, painted it to look like the Wichita Flag and she plans to drive it around town to sell great, unique Wichita gear. Check out the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whAx4__hzBI
Thanks to you, Janelle, for your commitment to the city of Wichita. Your drive and passion are an inspiration to us all.
Where To Find Janelle
If you want to check out Janelle's storefront, The Workroom is located at:
150 N Cleveland
Wichita, KS 67214
(316) 295-4520
Follow her on Twitter at @TheWorkroomICT check out her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theworkroomICT and https://www.facebook.com/JKDesignICT. Be sure to check out her 1969 VW Bus as it rolls around town starting September 25th. Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/813969132054256/.
Show Notes
4:05 Why did Janelle decide to start JK Design?
7:58 How did her work as an interior designer lead her to open The Workroom?
11:00 Janelle defines her success as luck and momentum.
11:48 What was it like when she first opened her doors for business?
14:50 What challenges did she face in the beginning?
16:07 What is the difference between managing people in a large company versus a small business?
18:01 What has been Janelle's most effective method of showing her employees they are valued?
20:30 What was the single best thing she did in her first year?
21:36 What does a typical day at The Workroom look like?
24:58 With the benefit of hindsight, what is one thing Janelle wishes she had done
differently?
29:04 With the benefit of hindsight, what is one thing Janelle really did right?
29:42 How did her side idea become one of the driving forces behind her business?
31:20 How has Wichita pride factored into her business success?
32:20 What is the Flag Swag 1969 VW Bus and where can you find it?
33:10 What is going on with JK Design, The Workroom and Flag Swag?
34:35 Where can you find The Workroom?
35:15 Janelle shares some parting advice.
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