Leader of the Month: Moyanne Harding
Issue: July 2010 by Lynchburg Business in Inside The Magazine, Leader of the Month
Name: Moyanne Harding
Job Title: Owner of Moyanne’s Interior Designs
Age: 45
Hometown: Kansas City, KS
Tell us about the history of Moyanne’s. How did you get started with interior design? How long have you been in business?
I have always been artistic, and used to rearrange furniture even as a child and had fabulous Barbie houses made out of blocks and I was always rearranging it. So I knew that this is what I loved doing. Even for family members, that’s what I would do growing up, rearranging my grandma’s house and things like that, and my family always loved it. So it just came naturally in a way, but it also helped to get an education to give a method to the madness.
I got started in interior design about two years after college. I graduated from Randolph Macon Women’s College with degree in art and design and went to work for myself almost right off the bat. I opened my company in 1991 and so I’ve been in business almost 20 years. Before that, I did do an apprenticeship and internship in town with a few different design companies. One in particular was with a company that did church interiors and from there, I did work managing the Fabric & Furnishings store for Betty Davidson with Estate Specialists in 1989 and 1990, and I learned a lot from that experience. I met a lot of people during that time and started to get contacts in that retail setting.
From there, I decided to work on my own starting at home. I opened my first retail store in Boonsboro Shopping Center in 1993 because I basically outgrew my house. From there, the business grew yearly, which was fortunate, and I just grew it and grew it to what it is today.
What does a normal day look like for you at Moyanne’s?
A lot of it is checking in with subcontractors—painters, curtain makers, upholsterers—there’s a lot of faxing drawings back and forth and meeting with clients. A lot of my time is spent outside the office at peoples’ homes. Then there’s my design time and time spent placing orders. There’s always a new project we are working on.
I do a lot of traveling to meet with clients, since I do work outside of Lynchburg. It’s a lot of personal time inside people’s homes because that’s what I do—I help make peoples’ homes beautiful.
What has your time as a small business owner taught you?
Patience! I’ve also learned to delegate and manage time and yet, I always try to be fair, which is important in business. Being honest and trustworthy is also a big part of that as well.
As a small business owner, I just know that I love what I do and the business just grew around me so the hardest thing has actually been learning to deal with personnel. I never realized what HR was for before, but once I got my own business, I realized how much of that is involved and how important that is. That’s one of my weak points and so I do hire that out, and it helps to hire someone out who is better at that than I am. Right now, I have a wonderful staff that I’m so happy with…after only 20 years!
You must run across some amazing and unique homes in your line of work. Which ones stick out in your mind as being the most memorable?
I have some clients both in town and out of town that I’ve had the pleasure of working with that just have amazing and luxurious homes. To me, the most exciting thing about working in these wonderful homes is having design control and totally making the whole house fabulous. Not just one room, but having the whole house pull together. That way it’s a complete job, no stone is left unturned, so to speak. To be at a new project is always really exciting.
What do you love most about your work?
I love the satisfaction of making a home fabulous. I love knowing that I’ve created timeless design and that the customer is happy with it.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
My job has hidden stress. When a job isn’t done on time, and I’m waiting on other subcontractors or companies or manufacturers who are delayed and that bumps the deadline back…that creates stress. We are relying on a lot of people to make sure things come through. So the stress of the timing on jobs is challenging.
Your future career goals are:
To totally redesign and furnish an overseas state house or villa. It could be in England, France or Italy…or Ireland. I’m ready to go overseas to do a project.
Tell us something unusual about yourself.
I love to play basketball! I find that very relaxing and good exercise. I was a big basketball player growing up and I’m actually very athletic.
Also, I’ve been married for 25 years and have two children, a 13-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son. Mom and dad are both from Northern Ireland. I was raised there, so some of my influence is from my travels growing up. As a child, we would go to a lot of huge estate homes and I remember touring them and thinking that they were fabulous. So it was probably engrained in my head somehow.
You are well-known in the community. Tell us some of the ways you are involved.
I give tons of merchandise to all kinds of silent auctions for fundraisers and schools around town. I have also donated some work for Miriam’s House. I did a room for them.
I also try to give back to the local Jubilee downtown. But I like to physically bring stuff and redo things, like I did at Miriam’s House, so getting to do work at a women’s shelter would be something I would like to do. It is important for me to give back to the community through arts and community and it’s something I will continue to do.
Do you have any career advice for other women who are small business owners or desire to be?
I think if you know what you want to do, you should always trust yourself and take a risk. The worst you can do is fail and then you will at least learn something. If you have an idea, try it…you have nothing to lose really. But I think you do need to take risks in life to succeed. That was a scary thing for me going out on my own financially, but I do think it’s okay to do that. Take a chance on yourself. Don’t be scared.