Meet Emily Porche | Owner, Porche & Co. – Online Interior Design

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

Hi Emily, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

I worked in online Advertising for various companies in the corporate world for about 8 years after college (Go Dawgs!). It was what I had my degree in, so it seemed like the natural route for work. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial creative drive in me. When I graduated from college and started working in Advertising, I also started a small family photography business as a creative outlet. When my oldest daughter was born a few years later, I started an ETSY shop on maternity leave that became very successful. When my youngest was born, I started a personalized screen printing t-shirt business for kids. Needless to stay, starting business and working hard at something I loved was not foreign to me.

I became increasingly unhappy at my corporate job having to be away from my daughters the majority of the week. They were so young and I felt like I was really missing out on their lives to make money for someone else. I started praying about it and felt a push from God to figure out what I was REALLY passionate about. I have always loved interior design since I was a little girl. In 2017, my husband and I bought a split level ranch that we added onto and completely redesigned into our dream home in East Cobb (inside and out). I started an Instagram to document the journey and thankfully it took off and allowed me to create a following and community of other home design/decor loving women.

With my unhappiness working for someone else along with my solid online advertising background, I decided that I was ready to see what I could do with my love for interior design in the online space! My husband supported me so much, that he even finished our attic to be my design studio in our home. I launched Porche & Co., my online Interior Design company, in the Fall of 2019. I did everything myself from starting the LLCs, designing the website, constant content creation to show my work, marketing myself on Instagram and designing for clients as they started rolling in. I was pulling close to all nighters to get my company off the ground while working my corporate full time job during the week. I barely left the house, even on weekends. I was determined to get my company off the ground…and I was having fun doing it!

All of the hard work paid off and in February of 2020 my husband and I agreed that I would walk away from my steady corporate job to start working for myself! I couldn’t have been more excited…until I quit and Covid hit two weeks later. Little did I know, but Covid ended up being the biggest blessing to my business. Women were stuck inside their homes with no end in sight and not much to do. My online interior design company offered a safe and affordable service for them to redesign their home while they were stuck inside it!

My company expanded significantly over the next few years. I hired multiple designers and content creators! The clients kept rolling in through word of mouth and my growing instagram following. I began expanding my marketing to Pinterest, brand collaborations, email campaigns and I was able to grow a large presence and business on the LTK affiliate marketing platform.

It has been a little over 5 years of starting and growing Porche & Co. and I couldn’t be happier with all of the blessings it has afforded me and my family.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets Porche & Co. apart from other Interior design companies is the virtual and affordable aspects of our Interior Design services, while still being able to bring our renown Modern Classic transitional aesthetic into homes across the country! In person interior design services can be VERY pricey, making a professionally well designed home largely unattainable for the average person. Porche & Co. changed all of this, creating an affordable and enjoyable online service that brings our transitional style into our client’s home on a deeply personal level at their own pace! We have impeccable attention to measurements and detail throughout the entire process. We are also there to support for our clients as they install the pieces in their home and bring our designs to life. One of my favorite things about online design is that our clients can do the shopping, purchasing and install at their own pace. It is such an affordable and enjoyable way to transform your home- one room at a time without breaking the bank!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would actually take a friend OUT of the city and into God’s country…maybe up to Dahlonega to explore my favorite vineyards, or to Blue Ridge to experience some of the most breathtaking hikes and views. If I can get them on one of our 5 horses in Canton, GA even better! Or up to the Ranch we frequent in the North GA mountains for a leisurely trail ride followed by wine tastings at Wolf Mountain, Kaya Vineyards, Yonah Mountain or Dog Hobble. Athens, GA is always a great little getaway in the Fall to watch the Dawgs play and take in the fun college town happenings. When I do venture into the city for a girl’s night, Monkey 68 is my all time favorite restaurant with their ornate sushi rolls and delicious cocktails.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have been so encouraged by my husband, family and close friends every step of the way. It is pretty amazing when people recognize a gift in you and give you the confidence to pursue it! I also truly believe that God has had this journey & business planned for me all along. Even just 5 years ago, I never could have dreamed up where I would be in life right now. Little did I know that so many experiences and skills in my life prior to starting my own business were helping to prepare and shape me for what was to come. Thanks to the God given abilities and passion that I have for Interior Design, Porche & Co. was dreamed up burning the midnight oil, born during the pandemic and has grown beyond my wildest dreams allowing me to be fully present for my daughter’s childhoods. One of my favorite sayings is “God wouldn’t put a dream in your heart without giving you the means to fulfill it.” I am a firm believer that God has blessed me with these skills and a flourishing company creating one of the largest blessings in my life.

Website: https://porcheandco.com/edesign

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theporcheplace

Other: LTK- https://www.shopltk.com/explore/theporcheplace
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/ThePorchePlace/

Image Credits
Sarah Bradley Photography