Today we’d like to introduce you to Willie Tarver III.
Hi Willie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
At 5 years old my mother told me that I said I wanted to be an architect. She looked at me a bit shocked and asked me if I knew what that was. I said yes, the guy who designs the buildings. In a shocked way, she accepted what I said and left it alone. As the years went by, I kept saying it over and over and eventually, I went to college for it and started interning at architecture firms in Atlanta while I was in school. After going to school, traveling the world and working at high end design firms in Atlanta, I decided to embark on my own journey and create Intent Design. My company is my passion and it has been a labor of love ever since. After opening the yellow pages and cold calling builders and developers, we secured our first big project from one of the custom homebuilders here in Atlanta. The project went off without a hitch and it was off to the races from there. Currently, we have designed homes for high profile clients including music producers, professional athletes, businessmen and women, community leaders, developers, etc. We are just at the tip of the iceberg with our company’s success and excited to embark on the amazing things the future has for us.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When running a business there is no such thing as a smooth road…..let me tell you. There have been so many obstacles along the way I almost can’t remember them all…lol. There have been some good but needed challenges along the way. For example, I would have to work through the night to finish a project, go to the meeting in the morning with no sleep and a smile on my face, present the project, and come back and make all of the revisions by myself. The challenge here was that I needed a staff but at the time could not afford one. This was a good challenge at the time because it showed me that I was willing to go through whatever was necessary to make my company a success. But there have been some bad challenges as well. As my company was gowning people found out that I was black and owned the company. This did not go over well with some of my colleagues in the profession. The would talk about me behind my back and did not want to work with me. Although it was a bit touch and go at times, I had to be the bigger person, push through and prove my worth in this industry to others.
As you know, we’re big fans of Intent Design. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My firm is simply about personal touch, your identity.
We know that our client’s home is their refuge. So, we take time to understand our clients, listen to them to make sure they are getting what they truly want. And not just listening to what they say, but their tone, facial expressions, body language. To know what they are excited about, and what they are not too excited about. This is one huge lesson that experience has taught me.
Now, of course, there are times when we have to “direct” them, “reel them in” so to speak. Like when we get picture and example overload from Pinterest boards, Google images, and magazines. They seem to want everything at first, but we consolidate and categorized their ideas. And what we find, is that it is a particular aspect of an image that they really like. A certain type of window style, material finish or even a certain color.
Additionally, when designing the home, we involve the builder, interior designer and landscape architect during the initial planning stage. When designing high-end, custom homes, all the players need to be at the table from soup to nuts. This helps us to keep to our purpose to invest that personal touch to every home that we design. This is our process with all of our clients regardless of their budget. It’s truly a partnership.
Also, a part of that personal touch comes from my international travel. I have traveled to multiple countries, not just for relaxation and new experiences, but more so to study the many architectural concepts and designs that are unique to those countries and to learn about architects from those ancient eras and those of today. In fact, I spend hundreds of dollars on trade books and take thousands of photos when I travel. This allows me to integrate the old with new when designing homes, creating unique styles and teaching my staff how to incorporate different styles and ideas. Now, this has been very beneficial when a client it not really sure what they want, but will know it when they see it. I will tap into my travel experience to get ideas to create a style unique to them.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am very big on taking calculated risk. A measure of a company or business is based on the risks they have taken over a certain period of time. To even start a company is a risk, a very big risk at that. The person or people that do, are betting against the odds and taking a true belief in themselves. And that is what I did. Against all odds, I decided to create something and put my heart and soul into it. As long as you own a business, there will be risks, that’s why I ask the Holy Spirit to guide my decisions. Taking risks can be very instrumental in the success of a company, because you’re betting on yourself and to do that, you have to believe in yourself and what you’re doing is worth it, regardless of the outcome.
Contact Info:
- Email: willie@intentid.com
- Website: www.intentid.com
- Instagram: @intentid
Image Credits:
The Father (Yahweh)
Jesus Christ the Son of God
The Holy Spirit
