Alison Wilkinson, Wilk Design Workshop

How did you get started?

I’ve been designing places in my head since I was little, but no one paid me to do it until I was about 22.

I landed a job designing luxury retail stores and have designed skyscrapers, restaurants, hotels, and homes since then.

Right now, Wilk Design Workshop focuses on residential and small commercial spaces. We cater to homeowners and commercial tenants who are overwhelmed with their spaces - they know it could look better but don’t know how to get there. We create a design vision for them and help execute the plan with our partner contractors.

I can’t imagine a better job- transforming our client’s environment allows them to live their best life. 

Over the course of your career, what would you pick as your greatest failure?  Why?

We’re always learning, and failures are inevitable in a well lived life.

When I first opened the business I had a hard time saying no to opportunities. That might seem like a good problem to have, but it really wasn’t. There was one job in particular that I took on and couldn’t deliver the results to the client. I ignored the red flags and kept pushing through, month after month. The clients were disappointed, I was frustrated, and nothing seemed to be going right.

After about 6 months we terminated the contract and I felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

What did you learn from this?

It took some time, but I realized that there’s a big difference between stretching your business to the next level and taking on an attractive  project (or client) when they are  not a good fit.

I confused the two and now spend a lot of time evaluating each opportunity that comes into our office. Can I really help this person? Can we both benefit from this partnership?

Why do you think failure is so important?

Every time you stumble or fail is a gift. There’s no better way to learn about limits and how to develop personal grit than to fall and get back up.

Why do you think failure has such a negative connotation, when it’s truly vital to success? 

I think there’s a switch that happens sometime around late adolescence/ early adulthood.

No parent ever yells at their child for falling off their bike when they’re learning to ride. But somehow, either through internal or external pressure as we get older failing is not ok anymore.

Media outlets  conflate stories about overnight entrepreneurial successes that warp our sense of valid accomplishments. They overlook the journey that got them there, and people are drawn to an amazing story even if it lacks some insight into the failures that happened along the way.

What do you wish you would have known earlier in your career?

Your path is your own, and it doesn’t have to follow a certain mold that others in your industry have created.

Are you a lawyer that wants to take a year off and learn how to make croissants in Paris? Do it. I guarantee it will serve you in your law practice somehow.

Follow your interests and do what you love in the most adventurous way you can. 

What wisdom would you like to provide others currently experiencing failure?

Think about your failure for about 30 seconds. Then give yourself some grace, get up and keep going. 

 What’s your favorite word of encouragement?

I”m a huge Steven Pressfield fan - he wrote the War of Art, Turning Pro, etc. He names the fear of failure Resistance - an ever present force that tries to sabotage you from doing your life’s work.

When writing about turning from an ameteur to a professional, he wrote, “Turning pro is a mindset. If we are struggling with fear, self-sabotage, procrastination, self-doubt, etc., the problem is, we're thinking like amateurs. Amateurs don't show up. Amateurs crap out. Amateurs let adversity defeat them.

The pro thinks differently. He shows up, he does his work, he keeps on truckin', no matter what”.

If you could do it over again, what would you do differently?

I would ask for more help. I tend to be very resourceful and “can figure this out myself”. Now that I’m older I realize I could have saved a lot of time and energy listening to people who have already learned the lessons! 

How do you encourage others to fail?

We try to reward the risk takers.

Innovation doesn’t come from the standard protocol, so we encourage taking risks in design. The spaces end up better and everyone enjoys the process much more.

 Website: www.wilkdesignworkshop.com

Instagram: @wilkdesign

My name is Kirsten Böhme and I’m the VP of Digital for UWIB NYC, marrying my two great passions of storytelling and social media. 

I'm excited to have you join us each month as I highlight successful female founders, removing the stigma and shame associated with failure in the Failure is Fabulous series. 

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