Meet Caron Woolsey | The Reluctant Risk Taker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caron Woolsey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caron, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
How I got here is a little unexpected. I am not a natural risk-taker; in fact, I would say the opposite is true of my personality. I was always the girl who did everything “right.” A natural-born perfectionist. I thought that by doing everything right, nothing bad would ever happen.

And then it all fell apart.
Just after college, I was the victim of a crime. A man entered my home, attacked me, and stole from me. As I’m sure you can understand, this affected me deeply. I was violated in the one place that I felt safe: my home. And the worst part was that the police didn’t believe me — until he struck again, this time, a few doors down from my former residence. He eluded the police for almost a year, and during that time, I never felt safe. I looked over my shoulder everywhere I went. I couldn’t sleep or eat. I disconnected from my friends and family. I became a hermit in my own home, scared that he would come back for me. Eventually, he was caught with my driver’s license in his car. I moved on with my life. I embarked on a career in Fort Worth, believing that the world was my oyster.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Yes, he was behind bars (and still is), but I had developed PTSD, and many years later, amidst a relocation to The Woodlands, it reared its ugly head. I turned to design as a creative outlet, renovating our new home. It made me feel good — I found comfort and strength in creating a place where my family would feel safe. Interior design helped me heal. When my home was complete, I had my lightbulb moment.
Since embarking on a second life career in interior design, I’ve had the honor of designing for those recovering from serious illness, those with special needs children, the aging, the recently divorced, the blended families, the grieving, and so many more. Each client placed their trust in me, sharing their deeply personal stories so I could design their home for their needs. And obviously, many of our clients do not have such emotional attachments to their projects. At the end of the day, you call the interior design team to create the dream home that you love to live in and show off. I take great pride in the fact that we can tailor our projects so specifically to what our client’s wants and needs are, even if they are intensely personal, and still make them worthy of magazines.
Through sharing my story, it’s not my intent to gain your sympathy. But sometimes the upside of tragedy is gaining the strength to say, “Well if I can get through that…” Maybe you take a risk that you might not have had the courage to take before. With recovery comes resilience.
Is it hard? Yes. Is it risky? Yes. Is it worth it? Hell yeah.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My job is a labor of love, and getting to be creative and design is such a joy and privilege. But there is a whole lot more that goes into running a business than just doing the thing that you love to do. As a Type A creative, I am unique in that I am very detail-oriented and focus a great deal on things like budgets, taxes, software, client relations, investing back into the business, savings, etc. It has not been easy, but it has been worth it. The highs are higher and the lows are lower when you own your own business, and complacency is not an option. You also have to anticipate how you will manage growth effectively, and how to conserve in down economies. Ultimately not everything is in our control, but we do the best we can to prepare for challenging times.

I serve two gods in my business – my clients and my team. We give our all to our clients, and I give my all to my team. We work very well together, and when I am down they lift me up. I am very fortunate to have such strong women in my corner, and I try to reciprocate!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Candlelight Concert Post Oak Spa
Space Center Houston
Astros Game (Fireworks on Fridays!)
Visit Old Galveston and stay at the Grand Galvez
Amy’s Ice Cream
Houston Zoo
Miller Outdoor Theater
Drinks at Tongue Cut Sparrow
Pappa’s Burgers (forever and always the best in my book)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, Jeff, is the person who has supported me unconditionally in this process. I have lost sleep more times than I can count over various business decisions, and he has been in my corner every step of the way. Sometimes it’s with practical business solutions. Definitely LOTS of IT help. But always and without fail, limitless patience and understanding.

Website: www.cwinteriorstx.com

Instagram: @cwinteriorstx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cwinteriorstxllc

Other: 832.848.0113 (We still value making a real connection with someone if they are so inclined to call!)

Image Credits
Grace Laird