Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in home care but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Cara Newhart, Founder of Never Skip Brunch, LLC., located in South Jersey, NJ, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I'm the interior designer, DIY queen behind Never Skip Brunch, and host of the home design podcast MAKE SPACE. I empower everyday people to pick up power tools and create spaces they're obsessed with—on their terms. My customers are regular people who want to dive into DIY, unlock their creativity, and take charge of intentionally creating spaces that serve their daily lives.

Tell us about yourself

My path to home design was a winding one. I grew up working alongside my dad — fishing wires in hot attics as my high school job while all my friends worked in retail with air conditioning and fun perks. In college, my dream was to work for a corporate in a big beautiful office, so I majored in business and went to work in oil and gas finance.

It was a super male-dominated industry that I learned to navigate. My job title was "Landman," which shows you how traditionally old-fashioned the space was. I then started pursuing creative passions on the side, from teaching myself photography and going to shoot runway shows at New York Fashion Week to a t-shirt company/online boutique. These pursuits didn't make much money, but they taught me valuable skills I rely on daily in my business.

I was living in Denver at the time, and we bought our first house — I decided to pick up power tools and dive into projects to make it my own. I taught myself how to use saws and nail guns and began customizing my home one project at a time. Through sharing this process online, I amassed a following of over 750k+. I get to create DIY project tutorials and offer DIY project coaching sessions to help people tackle epic home renovation projects.

I also launched the Make Space podcast, where I sit down with high-profile guests in the home design space to dive deeper than pin-worthy rooms and uncover approachable strategies for everyday people to become their designers and make homes they love. I'm launching a home journal on December 12th to help people dive deeper into this process and unlock what they truly want out of their spaces so they can set up their homes to support their everyday life while also making them beautiful.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I think people probably expect me to say something like creating a 6-figure business, building an online community of 750k+ online, or being featured in places like NBC News, Insider, House Beautiful, and more—but the thing I consider to be my biggest accomplishment is all the personal and home transformations that I've witnessed and been able to be a part of. I've seen the power of DIY and becoming your own designer transform spaces and people's lives.

I see stories of women who are terrified to use a nail gun but decide to push through the fear and figure it out as they tackle a project. It's the "ah-ha" moment when someone's face goes from being terrified to shooting a nail to the moment after they do it and realize it's not so hard after all. The new mom has found something just for her: using home projects to reconnect with herself. It's a corporate baddie who's using DIY as a way to explore her creativity and unwind on the weekends.

And it's someone in an abusive relationship who, through picking up power tools, has found confidence in themselves and their power, gaining the confidence to leave the relationship. On the surface, I'm teaching people how to create beautiful spaces with their own hands, but what's happening is a transformation in people's entire lives and outlooks as they grow their skills, unlock their creativity, gain confidence, and take charge of creating their dream home NOW, on their terms.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The thing about owning a business is that it doesn't stay separate from your personal life—especially when you're building something that is your passion. This means it's up to you to create a clear structure for work-life balance, so you're intentionally setting aside time for self-care and family. Otherwise, you can put everything you have and more into your business.

One of the significant challenges of being a business owner is that it forces you to be honest about your struggles, weaknesses, and traumas. Owning your own business can bring many of these things to the surface. When you encounter times when your business isn't growing or something isn't working, it's rarely about the actual business strategy itself and very often about your limits and shadows that you need to work through or find a way to grow past.

I think this is something people don't often share: we get tidbits here and there when successful business owners talk about "mindset" or personal growth — but the truth is that to own a successful business and scale it to something successful and sustainable, you genuinely have to be willing to face yourself and all your challenges and weaknesses. You have to be honest about them and find ways to improve and grow personally, which makes you a better entrepreneur, and boss and ultimately creates a more prosperous and lasting business.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Get ok with failing. So much about creating a business is charting your path and creating something, for there is no blueprint for it. This means you're going to have to get comfortable with creative experimentation. You'll try out LOTS of things, and MOST won't work, but you need one that will. The more you can go all in on trying things and pivoting fast when things fail to try something else (vs. doubling down on a bad idea because you spent money on it, are emotionally attached to it, etc.), the faster you'll find success.
  2. Your only limits are (a) what you don't know and (b) what you believe isn't possible for you. You can solve the first limit with a google search bar, learning everything you can about what you don't know, and later hiring amazing people that know more than you. The second limit is where mindset work comes in — this is overcome by finding confidence in yourself and your abilities and letting yourself fail. It does not mean anything about who you are as a person, and connecting to your passion, so you have a deep meaning to motivate you in building your business.
  3. Growth is cyclical, and success is found by riding out the lows. This is especially true today in a world where social media has changed dramatically. So many businesses are aiming to go viral or have had one big hit from a viral video or lots of growth — accepting that growth is a cyclical process is SO important. Many businesses start strong and ride a wave of buzz, but fail to pivot later when the things that created tremendous growth are no longer working. It's one thing to hit it big once and another to make sustainable growth, which comes in cycles, much like the seasons, where there's a sprouting season, a growth season, a harvest season, and a rest season.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.neverskipbrunch.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neverskipbrunch/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/neverskipbrunch

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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