"The real challenge right now is to create an environment that strikes a balance between thoughtful designs and sustainable production."
Sage Stone Tweet
We are pleased to welcome Sage Stone, Co-founder of Ever Wallpaper, for an exclusive interview. Sage is a professional Interior Designer and Home Decor expert, and her company is an online retailer of high-quality wallpapers and wall murals.
Ever Wallpaper, founded in 2019 in London, UK, has two sophisticated plants in UK and US and offers over 4,000 wallpapers for customers to choose from. The company’s goal is to improve the aesthetics, health, and comfort of people’s homes and positively impact the world.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Sage Stone: My name is Sage Stone. I am a professional Interior Designer, Home Decor expert, and the Co-founder of everwallpaper.com. Founded in 2019 in London, UK, Ever Wallpaper is an online wallpaper and wall mural retailer dedicated to providing customers all over the world with high-quality Wallpaper and wall murals. In addition to the company being headquartered in London, the corporation has two sophisticated plants in UK and US. This has enabled us to deliver worldwide orders quickly and efficiently.
Our goal is to improve the aesthetics, health, and comfort of people’s homes. Improve the quality of life for those who reside in your community and make a positive impact on our world.
To date, Ever Wallpaper has over 4,000 beautiful wallpapers for our customers to choose from, and the range is constantly being updated. If you have your own design ideas, our customization service is sure to please. Our exclusive ink technology and paper materials ensure that it is non-toxic, odorless, and environmentally friendly.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, services, or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Sage Stone: I would explain to Warren Buffet that Ever Wallpaper offers its customers high-quality Wallpaper and wall murals that are both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly. Our products are made with pure and eco-friendly materials, making them safe for all types of environments. We also strive to offer competitive prices and excellent customer service.
What sets us apart from other companies is that we are more than just a wallpaper company. We want to help our customers create beautiful and unique spaces with ease through the use of wall murals and Wallpaper. Our goal is to provide an easy-to-use online platform that helps our customers create their dream space without breaking the bank or spending hours researching products.
Our biggest strength lies in our commitment to providing exceptional customer service. We’re always available to answer questions, address concerns, and make sure our customers have everything they need to create the perfect space. We also have an extensive collection of designs, colors, and textures that can be customized to fit any aesthetic. Our commitment to customer satisfaction is what sets us apart from the competition.
What advice do you wish you received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Sage Stone: When I started my business journey, the most important advice I wished I had received was to avoid analysis paralysis. As a new business owner, I was constantly trying to find the perfect solution for every problem. This often led me down an endless rabbit hole of research and planning that did not always yield great results. What I have learned is that you often just need to take action and move forward with your plans – even if it isn’t 100% perfect.
Looking ahead to the next quarter, my intention is to focus on improving customer service by providing faster turnaround times on orders and responding promptly to customer inquiries.
Additionally, I intend to develop a stronger marketing strategy in order to increase our visibility online and reach a broader audience.
Lastly, I plan on continuing to expand our product offerings so that we can remain competitive in the marketplace. Thank you for the great question. I am excited to get out there and make the next quarter even better!
Here is a two fold question: What is the book that influenced you the most and how? Please share some life lessons you learned. Now what book have you gifted the most and why?
Sage Stone: The book that has influenced me the most is Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power. This book was a real eye-opener for me and gave me incredible insight into how power works, how it can be used to influence people and the importance of understanding one’s own psychological motivations. I learned from this book that sometimes the best way to gain power over someone is by first understanding them and their motives.
I also learned that it is important not to take things personally or become consumed with anger, as this can cause you to lose your composure and make bad decisions. One life lesson I have taken away from this book is that everyone holds a certain amount of personal power, but some choose to use it in negative ways, and others use it to help themselves and those around them.
The book that I have gifted the most is The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. This book really resonated with me, and I found it to be immensely helpful in recognizing that not everything or everyone is important or deserving of my attention, focus, or energy. It taught me how to prioritize my life and focus on the things that make me happy while ignoring the rest.
I’ve gifted this book to many friends as a way of helping them learn how to let go of their worries and anxieties and make room for more positive vibes in their life. Sharing this book with others has been a great way to help show them how they can take control of their lives and be happier people.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Sage Stone: The real challenge right now is to create an environment that strikes a balance between thoughtful designs and sustainable production. As both the aesthetic and environmental impacts of interior design have become more important, we must think beyond our immediate requirements to understand the overall impact on the larger ecosystem in which we work.
This requires us to consider how our choices could either preserve or degrade resources, our social responsibilities, and ultimately the long-term implications of our decisions. This means sustainability must be at the heart of any good business practice today.
We must also remember that people’s expectations for what their homes should look like are changing rapidly – so staying abreast of these trends while creating products with minimal environmental impact will help ensure continued success in this sector.
With these considerations in mind, I believe that creating a sustainable product portfolio with thoughtful designs is the real challenge faced by businesses operating in the interior design and home decor industry today.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?.
Sage Stone: The most underestimated part of running a company is often the administrative and financial responsibilities. For many entrepreneurs, there is an initial temptation to focus solely on product design or customer service while overlooking the importance of managing accounts, implementing organization systems and having effective budgeting processes in place. This can be particularly true when starting out alone with limited resources.
For instance, setting up proper accounting and invoicing procedures was a major challenge we faced in the early days of our business. We quickly had to learn how to keep track of our sales revenues, monitor our expenses, manage tax obligations and create accurate balance sheets for investors.
All these tasks were initially unfamiliar to us but ended up being essential for keeping our business finances healthy and compliant with the law. Taking the time to invest in research, training and practice were worth it. We now have a robust financial system in place that allows us to identify strengths, plan for the future and make better decisions.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Sage Stone: If I could pick any business superpower, it would be the power of foresight. This superpower allows me to anticipate how events and decisions will unfold in the future, so I can prepare for them ahead of time. When applied to my business operations, this superpower enables me to make more strategic decisions by enabling me to understand the broader implications of certain actions or strategies. Armed with this insight, I could respond quickly and efficiently when unforeseen situations arise.
Additionally, I can plan better for growth opportunities as they arise or even predict when a new trend is about to take off in my industry, allowing me to capitalize on them before other competitors do.
The power of foresight also provides me with the clarity that I need to make sure that my resources are being allocated in the most effective way possible and that I am not missing out on any lucrative opportunities.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Sage Stone for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Sage Stone or her company, you can do it through her – Instagram
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