Ivy Designer Spotlight | Boo Randle, Boo Randle Interiors

Based in New Orleans, Boo Randle is the founder and principal designer of Boo Randle Interiors. We spoke with Boo about running her own design firm and how Ivy impacts her business. 

How did you get started in design?

I graduated from college in Finance and went into Finance briefly. While in my first job out of college I went to school for interior design. That was always my goal, to be an interior designer. 

I ended up in NYC and got into fashion instead of interior design. I spent almost a decade working in the fashion industry, including positions as vice president of sales and chief operations officer. When my husband and I moved to New Orleans, a place we had always wanted to live, I realized it’s now or never.

I started working for a firm as a designer and spent a few years there to really get the processes down and learn from my incredible boss. I went out on my own after 3 years and have now been in business for almost 2 years.

What do your clients say about you and your work?

I love hearing that I really listen, but the best compliments I get are referrals. I do no marketing. My business has grown simply through word of mouth. 

What was one of your favorite projects? 

A Pied-a-terre in the French Quarter was one of my favorite projects because the couple I worked with were so dear. They were willing to take chances and were not afraid to tell me their honest opinions. I love projects like that, where I have people who put their faith in me and feel comfortable fully joining me in the process.

Have you had any challenging projects?   

Yes. I think anyone who has been in the business will tell you there are challenging projects that come at you because people tend to be emotionally invested. I think every project has at least one challenge point if not several. 

What advice would you give other designers dealing with challenging clients?

I would say to be professional. I’ve had to part ways with a client because we couldn’t get on the same page. We parted ways amicably and she was appreciative that I was honest. Be honest with yourself and if you have a sense something is amiss, address it immediately.

Ivy has been instrumental in my being able to go out on my own.

Why did you choose Ivy for your business management needs? 

When I first went into business everything was in all different places. I could manage it but then I learned about Ivy. When I looked into it and did a demo, I immediately knew that this would solve a lot of my admin headaches. Overnight it changed everything. 

Ivy has been instrumental in my being able to go out on my own. I now have one system doing everything and it’s amazing.

How has Ivy transformed your design business?

Keeping systems in one place — in Ivy — really is the reason I was able to do it on my own. Just being able to quickly access each project and see an overview, and also being able to dig down deep, streamlines the way I am able to work. 

And being reminded when a proposal is waiting or a payment needs to be made has been wonderful. It’s so great for someone who has a smaller firm as it really allows me to have time to do the design work. 

What are your favorite Ivy features?

I cannot live without the proposals, invoices and PO system. Those keep me on track and my projects running smoothly.

How have you benefited from the Ivy community?

When i have 5-10 minutes of spare time I’ll scroll through the most recent posts in the Ivy community. It’s a great source of information. A lot of the questions have been asked, so I’ll go in and search for what I need.

What advice would you give an Ivy rookie? 

Really use the whole system. For a while i was just using proposals and invoices until I realized what else I could do. I was writing out to-do notes for my assistant until she suggested we use Ivy for that too and it’s made a big difference. Dive right in and use the whole system.

Want to be featured in an Ivy designer spotlight? Contact us at sarah.drill@ivy.co.