Her Story
About Starla
I've been in the architect design field for 18 years, and I've been serving as the Business Development and Marketing Director for the past 2 years. In my current role, I'm in charge of 5 different studios to make sure that they are out doing business development and keeping up with client relations. I handle all the marketing through the firm, including website changes, promotions, and promoting the company. Everything that has anything to do with business development and marketing is what I do. Before transitioning to this position, I worked in interior design, and I'm particularly proud of designing interiors for supermarkets along the Louisiana Gulf Coast and in College Station, Texas. I've always been creative and enjoyed being able to design things. What excites me is seeing things come to fruition - the befores and afters really inspire me. I'm also a graphic designer, and I think it's just satisfying getting to see the before and after, and seeing people happy.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Starla
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my dedication, my ambition to learn as much as I can, and push forward, and not stop. I just keep motivating myself to continue on and learn more. The motto is, you should learn something new every single day, and if you didn't, you weren't paying attention.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was to always shake with a firm handshake. Never, ever, ever give a very loose wet handshake. I know that sounds minor in the whole scope of it, but it really is a very first impression when you're shaking hands with somebody. And at the time when it was given to me, I didn't understand it, but going through all what I do now with business development, it makes a lot of sense.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice would be to learn as much as you can, and always ask questions. You don't know everything. You think you do, but you don't. The more you learn, the more you'll grow.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
When I was designing, the biggest challenges was clients always value engineering a project to death, that it loses its fun part of it, it loses its identity to a certain extent, because it got value engineered at that. In business development and marketing, the challenge is getting people to understand that when you go to a business development event, you don't always come back with a project. Understanding that business development is client relations, and building that relationship. It's not just going out and eating and drinking and partying, it's a lot of hard work. Marketing is making sure your marketing is truthful and honest and representing the firm in the right way.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are integrity, honesty, anything positive, anything that you can influence people in the positive form, and make them happy, make them smile. Absolutely, integrity.
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