IAM1023- Designer Creates Inspiring Displays for Her Clients

Brooke Cole is a mom of four, wife, designer, curator of vintage goods and home decor, and owner of Brooklyn Finds Design Co. Brooke opened her first brick-and-mortar shop in May 2020. She travels across the country finding the best vintage goods to create inspiring displays for her clients to shop. Her greatest joy is connecting with people in her shop and encouraging them in their homes.

• CEO Hack: Small simple devotional time in the morning plus some coffee
• CEO Nugget: Be willing to step out scared and give yourself that grace
• CEO Defined: Living out your dream and loving what you're doing

Website: http://brooklynfindsdesignco.com/

Instagram: @brooklynfinds

Facebook: Brooklyn Finds Design Co. LLC

Full Interview:

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Transcription

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00:28 – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:55 – Gresham Harkless

Hello, Hello, Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Brooke Cole of Brooklyn Finds Design Co. Brooke, it's awesome to have you on the show.

01:05 – Brooke Cole

Thank you for having me. I'm super excited and a little bit nervous too, so this will be fun.

01:11 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, it'll definitely be fun. It's always fun to get out of that comfort zone and You're doing so many phenomenal things. I know that our audience and guests will really like to learn so much from you. So before we jump into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Brooks. They can hear about some of those phenomenal things. Brooke is a mom of 4, wife, designer and curator of vintage goods, vintage goods, and home decor, and owner of Brooklyn Finds Design Co. Brooke opened her first brick-and-mortar shop in May 2020. She travels across the country, finding the best vintage goods to create inspiring displays for her clients to shop. Her greatest joy is in connecting with people in her shop and encouraging them in their homes. Brooke, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:53 – Brooke Cole

Yeah, let's do this.

01:54 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Let's do it then. So to kind of kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more about how you got started, and what I like to call your CEO story.

02:04 – Brooke Cole

Yeah, how I got started was probably a few different parts. You know, I was a stay-at-home mom, had multiple kids, you know, I found like my identity was in the home. My background is actually in social work and family studies, but I always loved interior design people were asking me to come into their homes and I truly loved and was passionate about it and it was an outlet for me. Fast forward a little bit, trying to make some money. We went through an adoption process and I was like, man, what can I do where I can still be at home and follow my heart, but really dive into who I am and the talents that were given to me? As hard as it was for me to admit, I started because I think other people saw something in me more than I did originally in myself.

So that really pushed me to really look at things. So I started to do some interior design, and some commercial work, Fast forward to after bringing our son home from adoption, I just still had this push to feel like I wanted to keep doing this. There's more than just, you know, being home and introducing myself as a mom, not as Brooke, just as I'm Jacoby's mom, you know. And so I started to kind of step away from that mom guilt a little bit and just follow my heart and my passion and realize that I was showing this to not only myself but to my kids. So I started doing some vintage markets where I was able to essentially gather vintage goods and display them for people to come and shop.

And what I love the most about that I found was just connecting with the people. It was just so much deeper to me than just setting up a beautiful space for them to come and shop. And that just stirred something in me a lot more where people were like, well, where's your shop? And I'm like, what do you mean? Like it's in my garage. Like I have a hoard of things, you know, and probably have to sign like a waiver to like come in and go through it, you know? And so I really think that along the way, it was really other people, truly, Gresh, that saw something in me that was deeper than me just doing design. It really was about connecting with people. And I think that's where my social work background kind of tied into that.

And so that was neat to see that, you know, to see that play out. And so I think finally I just, you know, stepped out in faith really and just said, hey, people want a place to come and see where I'm at. Let me see what's out there. And just happened to find a storefront right before everything hit. And I felt that peace about it. I just kind of stepped out in faith, really. That's what it came down to. I didn't have a plan. I just got crazy, I guess, and just stepped out and opened a brick-and-mortar. So.

05:12 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. I definitely appreciate you for sharing that and all the giving that you do, especially as a social worker, and obviously, as a mom too, you're giving so much of yourself. And I think that I myself, when I think back to some of the leaps of faith that I've taken, a lot of it has not been because I said that I wanted to do X, Y, and Z, as you said so well. Sometimes it's the people that are around you who say that you should be doing this. And they continue to tell you that. And you're like, I'm fine with how I am. I don't want to do anything else. But it's like almost as if like, you know, higher power God speaks to you to tell you to take that leap of faith because it is, as you said so well, a gift that you have that you should be benefiting, not just yourself, but so many of the people around you.

05:54 – Brooke Cole

Absolutely. I couldn't have said it better myself. It really came down to a point where I just wanted to stay comfortable. Or do I need to follow with truly what God has led me to do? I mean, I can be very fearful. And, you know, I just felt like it was, I still could give without necessarily being, you know, in social work or whatever. Because I think it's easy to just play small and be like, what am I going to do as a designer or this? And so that has been really neat to see what I have been able to do just by following that lead. And I don't know, I kind of want to say being obedient to it because I'm like, I can be a rebel. And I actually decided to be like, yes, I will follow. I have a piece about this for a reason. And that was it. It was like, I just had to trust that. So that was huge.

06:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah. And you bring up a really big point with it, which I think sometimes like even I forget after reminding myself of as well, too, is like a lot of times We think, you know, a lot of times when you charge your own path, that sounds like you're, you know, breaking the rules, you're creating your own path, but that obedience piece, especially if you're doing something that you're quote-unquote called to do, I think is huge. And I think so many times we can think the risk lies in doing the quote-unquote risky thing, which might be starting a business or whatever that path might be. But really that's not the unrisky, that's the unrisky thing, if that's even a word, because it's the thing that you were ultimately called to do. Exactly, we'll make it a word.

07:31 – Brooke Cole

Yeah, That's true.

07:32 – Gresham Harkless

So I wanted to drill down a little bit more. I know you touched on it a little bit. Could you take us through how you work with your clients and how that process goes?

07:40 – Brooke Cole

Sure. I think there are two sides to my business. There's the brick-and-mortar that I opened in May of 2020 where people can come and shop for goods for their homes. I definitely take pride in having a mix of vintage and antiques and then newer home goods. What I do love is I have over a dozen small businesses within my shop. So other makers, like you know from candles to earrings to whatever. And so I really love that because I think it's an opportunity for me to encourage others just like I was encouraged to be you know where I was. So that's the good side of it is people can come and shop and get some things for their home or a great gift, you know, for a friend or whatever.

And so I love being part of that. And then there's the services side of it, which I tend to be a little bit quieter about just because it is a busy season with 4 kids. Sometimes they're at home during this season, so now they're in school. So I'm definitely learning to ride this this ride. But on the services side, I can be in people's homes and write up design plans for them and encourage them and walk them through with basically like use what you have a design philosophy, which I love, you know, like, hey, you have this, let's move some things around, let's shake it up a little bit and then here's a few things that you might want to add for my shop or, you know, target.

So I do love that I can not only be a designer, but more like an advocate in people's homes because I think especially after this year, you realize your home lot, you know, so I love being able to create a haven for people, whether it's encouraging them in my shop, or them showing me a picture, you know, as they're shopping around, I'm like, Oh, you got to get this light then or whatever, or if I'm in their home physically. So I do really love that I can be passionate about what I do but truly encourage others in their space too. So

09:39 – Gresham Harkless

I was going to actually ask you about what I call your secret sauce, which is a thing you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique. Is it that ability to be able to see that? Do you feel like that is what is a part of your secret sauce?

09:50 – Brooke Cole

I love that secret sauce. I definitely think that is part of my secret sauce, but I have to think if you were to ask other people, Gresh, about what makes me unique I do have a very specific aesthetic, a very specific look where people can be like, oh, that's Brooklyn finds. But I also think it is part of my special sauce is the ability to really connect with people. And like I may have said, truly having it be deeper than design, I think is what makes me set apart from a traditional designer. I think that's probably what my special sauce is.

10:31 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. It's definitely phenomenal. So I appreciate you for sharing that. And of course, you know, doing that as well too. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

10:48 – Brooke Cole

The must-have thing for me to be effective and do what I need to do in the day is to set aside time every morning. I got to have a good cup of coffee. My husband knows if I don't have coffee, you do not want to be around. So I think just a good cup of coffee or whatever you drink, quiet time, meditation, devotion. For me, it's a small, simple devotional.

11:14 – Gresham Harkless

Definitely appreciate that. And so now I wanted to ask you what I call a CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. It might be something if you were to hop into a time machine, you would tell your younger business self.

11:26 – Brooke Cole

I think for me, it would be, I like that you, I can see me looking back. I like, how you put that. I did not have it all figured out. I still don't have it all figured out, but just that willingness to be like, hey, I'm gonna step out. I'm scared. This is more, you know, I'm having more faith over fear in this. But just giving yourself that grace to be like, hey, it's okay. This is pretty normal to do it scared. That feeling, that butterfly in your stomach, it's there for a reason. You know, you're not going to have it all figured out.

12:05 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. So now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping that different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Brooke, what does being a CEO mean to you?

12:15 – Brooke Cole

I think being a CEO is loving what you are doing, right? Just being, you know, having that vision, having that dream. If you're living out your dream or stepping into that dream, you're loving what you're doing. Not that it's not gonna be hard, right? We've all gone through that. But I think the day that I stop loving what I'm doing, then that's not where I'm supposed to be. So if I love what I'm doing, that's going to be shared with others. So it will go beyond me, even though I'm kind of a one-man show.

you know, with my shop and my business and everything and not a lot of employees underneath me per se, except my 18-year-old daughter that I try to you know get into work for me sometimes. I think just love what you're doing. I think that is what being a CEO means to me, is being aligned with your passions, with your dreams, and sharing that love of what you do with others, is what has meant to me, I think.

13:35 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, I truly appreciate that. I love that definition just because a lot of times it's those kinds of pulling off the heartstrings, so to speak, that allows us to, you know, enjoy the really high highs of business, but also the not-so-high highs because we truly love, you know, what we're doing. And I think that we, you know, I love the point that you bring up as well too about it being infectious, because you mentioned being an inspiration as well, to your children and to all the people around you.

And I think so many times when we have that love and passion, and we kind of roll up our sleeves, so to speak, and do that work, it not only helps us and puts us in a really great place, but I think it also is so infectious and reminder to so many other people around us that it's just a reminder of why we're doing exactly what it is that we're doing.

14:18 – Brooke Cole

Yeah, absolutely. I think I want not only my children, but others looking in to see, wow, she's being a light in this community. She's connecting. She's loving what she's doing. And that is a gift. And I think that was something that I had to really work through is that I might not be on the mission field you know in Africa and bringing you know clean water or anything like that but my mission field is almost here it's my community it's what my kids are seeing and and when you know come from a place of of of love your love and what you're doing that that does it does spread So that excites me. That excites me to be able to share my love for design and for people and for my dream with others.

15:05 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome Awesome Awesome well Brooke truly appreciate you for sharing all the awesome work and all the awesome things that you're doing with us. What I wanted to do is just pass you the mic so to speak just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know and of course how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

15:21 – Brooke Cole

Well, Gresh, I just appreciate this time with you. I think it was good just to step out of my comfort zone and I would just encourage people to continue to do that But where you can find me is on Instagram and Facebook at Brooklyn Finds or Brooklyn Finds Design co and just, you know, follow along, see what I'm finding, see what I'm doing. And I'd love to connect with you.

15:45 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely. And to make it even easier, we'll have the links and information in the show notes. And for your brick-and-mortar, where is that located so people local can find it?

15:52 – Brooke Cole:

My brick-and-mortar is in Greeley, Colorado, 918 and a half 9th Avenue in historic downtown Greeley.

15:59 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So you feel definitely in that location as well, so be sure to check that out. But thank you so much again for taking some time out and all the awesome work that you're doing. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:10 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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