When Jess Ebert was in eighth grade, a friend’s real estate agent mom took the girls to an open house she was hosting. “I walked in, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is so cool,’” Ebert tells host Kaitlin Petersen on the latest episode of the Trade Tales podcast. “Running my hands over the countertops, it was like love at first sight.”

Despite her fascination, design wasn’t yet on her radar as a potential career. Instead, she went on to study mass communications in college and soon began working in public relations. For a few years, she bounced around, trying out several roles, but nothing felt quite right. Then came a moment when her life changed forever, following the loss of her sister from melanoma.

“It was the most traumatic thing I have ever experienced,” says Ebert. “I was 14 weeks pregnant when my sister passed away. We had just moved to Charlotte a year before that, so we’re new to the city. I’ve just experienced this profound loss. There were all these things happening, and all I knew how to do was put my head down and move forward.”

The following months brought more challenges: Ebert’s husband unexpectedly wound up in surgery for a burst appendix the day before she gave birth, leading to a grueling first few months of motherhood. By the time she returned to the office, she could no longer ignore her growing dissatisfaction at work, and ultimately decided it was time to quit her job and embark on a new path.

Through conversations with friends and others in the design industry, she began to lay the groundwork for a new career. In 2015, Ebert officially launched her firm, Four Story Interiors. Though it took a few years to shake off the imposter syndrome, stability came quickly for her new venture—so quickly, in fact, that a trickle of new client inquiries soon turned into a flood, prompting the designer to carefully curate her ideal projects and politely decline those outside of that scope. In the years that followed, that process of refinement continued, extending to her role within the firm and an ongoing journey to delegation.

Elsewhere in the episode, she shares how she communicates her team’s value to clients, and the many ways hiring a PR firm has helped her navigate the changing social media landscape.

Crucial insight: One of the biggest markers of achievement in Ebert’s journey to entrepreneurship sounds deceivingly simple: taking Wednesdays off. That small schedule shift has given the designer—and her team—more room for creativity and freedom. Delineating clear processes for the remaining workdays ensures that the firm’s standards for timeliness and client communication are upheld. “It’s the French way of parenting, where you create this frame, and as long as you stay within the framework, you are free and independent to do what you want,” she says. “There are guidelines and there are rules, but then inside of that, you have the flexibility to be your own person.”

Key quote: “Success is being able to say no to something that doesn’t feel good, and not being scared of saying no.”

This episode is sponsored by Garrett Leather. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.