Meet Mariah Steen | Founder & Owner

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

Hi Mariah, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
I’d say a bad piece of business advice I’ve heard is to wait to launch your business until it’s perfect or until you’re ready. The truth is, it’ll never be perfect and you’ll never be fully prepared for what’s to come.

For me, one of the hardest parts of starting a business was being okay with imperfections and powering through with launching it anyway. In my opinion, if you don’t hate your website a year after you launch, you waited too long to launch. I look back at the fonts, logo, brand colors, etc. that I used in the beginning and absolutely cringe. But those details don’t matter nearly as much as some people make them out to. They certainly won’t make or break your success, getting starting is much more important.

If building a business is your dream, start now & don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Done is better than perfect.

What should our readers know about your business?
I launched Vybe Interior with the belief that your income shouldn’t prevent you from owning authentic, gallery-quality pieces. At the time, I was searching for fun art to hang on my apartment walls and instead, all I found were pretentious, overpriced pieces or dingy, stock poster catalogs.

So, I began searching for exceptional artists, sourcing quality materials for canvases, and working to open a US-based facility run by an awesome & passionate team.

I’m really proud of our exclusive art from talented, deserving artists. For the majority of our pieces, you won’t find them sold anywhere else in the world because we tirelessly seek out and partner with exclusive artists. And with every purchase, one of these artists earns a commission that supports them in their craft.

I’d say the toughest part about running a successful business is finding a talented team who’s as passionate about what you’re trying to build as you are. And I’ve learned along the way that it’s truly worth it to invest the time, energy & effort into finding those people. And to do whatever it takes to keep them around once you’ve found them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
What city?! I’m from Seattle, living in Chicago for a few years, then spent the last 2 years living in Bali, Indonesia during the pandemic. I just moved back to the US to Austin, Texas a few weeks ago 🙂

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Prior to starting my own business, I had two tech jobs that taught me a LOT!

At Amazon, I learned to start with the customer & work backwards. The customer is truly king & because of my previous role there, our customer experience at Vybe Interior is deeply important to me.

At Facebook, I learned the hard skills needed to advertise efficiently on Facebook/IG which was pivotal in my business’ early success.

Outside of that, a book that gave me tons of helpful nuggets is ‘Building a Story Brand’!

Website: https://vybeinterior.com/

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

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@vybeinterior