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Graduate Profile - Stephanie Doerr
President/Owner of Make Mine Home, Inc.
A full-service remodeling and design company
My professional career started in 1981 as a real estate agent which I did until I became a stay-at-home mom to raise my two girls. Always having a love for new construction and having a bit of experience with it over the years working on my own personal homes and rental properties, I decided to go back to work in 1998 doing building and remodeling. By then, I was a single mom of teenage daughters, and needed to have a flexible schedule with nights and weekends free for them.
On all of my projects, I acted as both the designer and contractor. (At the time, licensing to be a contractor in the state of Georgia wasn’t required, but I have since obtained my contractor’s license). While working on both residential and commercial projects, I found I was constantly giving my decorating advice away to my clients. I realized I needed more training in this area, but at the time, I was only able to find a 3-day course on learning to redecorate with what you already own. This helped me do some light decorating on my remodel projects, but in order to take it to the next level and really feel confident about the design services I was offering clients, I knew I needed more training.
I finally found Vanguard School of Interior Design. It was exactly what I was looking for. Because of the flexible schedule, I was able to continue my business while I took classes, and the result is that I have been able to make my business so much better.
All of the training I received was hands-on and something I could use in my business immediately. It allowed me to become much more confident in my design skills. I am doing so much more design work than I ever did before and on a much larger scale. I would never have been able to do some of the projects I have done recently without the training I received at Vanguard. I use the skills I learned there in my business on a daily basis.
Currently, I am very busy with a variety of projects. One in particular involved creating a whole new look in a home adding iron railings, boxing in rustic beams, defining a fireplace wall by bumping it out, adding floor tile, painting all new colors and furnishing the entire main living area to complete the look.
I am working on several master bedroom/bathroom redo’s that involve me designing custom bedding and window treatments. I am also working on whole-house remodels that include the purchase of new furniture, rugs, window treatments and accessories. I have also found past clients are calling me to do more work on their homes now that I have added full-service decorating to the services I offer.
I am so thankful that I found Vanguard School of Interior Design. Not only did it help me broaden my design knowledge but also in the proper implementation of projects, finding great resources, business planning and so much more. I intend to stay in touch with fellow classmates to bounce ideas off of and encourage one another in our design careers.
I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in starting a career in design!
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