Lori Johnson is the proud owner of LaPoint Design, a residential design company specializing in custom home design. Lori is happily married to her best friend and partner for life, Ron and is a dog mom to the cutest yet most dramatic dog, Mandy. She grew up a daddy’s-girl and was a bit of a tomboy who liked girlie things, too! She spent her childhood following her dad around, helping with home improvement projects and fixing cars. She wasn’t afraid to get dirty and knew what tool was what! She truly feels that this set the stage for her career of choice and solidified her love of houses. Nowadays, you’ll catch her doing all sorts of DIY projects with her husband. Together they have built an outdoor patio, gutted and remodeled their kitchen, completed numerous landscaping projects and are currently working on their basement.
Lori created her business so that she could have the freedom to be more creative and original with home designs while helping others live out their dreams of having a custom home. She’s passionate about both old and new houses and loves seeing her designs come together. She especially enjoys blending together the old character of a house with new and modern design. Her goals for her business are to draw and design plans that her clients absolutely LOVE, be the best designer she can be and be well-known for her work.
Her proudest achievement has been opening LaPoint Design and growing it into what it is today. Another thing she is super proud of is being chosen as the plan designer for the 2019 and 2020 St. Jude Dream Home project. The biggest challenge she has faced is quitting her full-time job in order to open LaPoint Design. She risked her guaranteed income for an unsteady one and there were quite a few questions circling her mind once the decision was made. Nevertheless, with the love and support of her husband, they have worked it out and have a thriving business now.
Her advice for any woman starting off on the entrepreneurial path is to just go for it! Don’t hold back because the risk is worth it. She says in the end, you’ll be more proud of yourself for trying than not. She would also like to share something her father told her when she was first starting her business. He said, “Lori, it’s a male dominated field that you want to go into, you are going to need to always be accurate and knowledgeable. Admit when you’re unsure of something, always listen, never be unwilling to learn, and don’t let anyone push you around.”
She joined HerHub because she was looking for a female entrepreneur group that she could collaborate with in regards to business advice, while gaining more visibility for her business. It was the perfect fit! She feels that it is so important now more than ever to collaborate and empower other women because ladies need to stick together in order to help one another achieve greatness. Unfortunately, there is still a heavy double-standard surrounding women entrepreneurs and women in the corporate role. It is up to us to break the mold and pave the way for women of the future!
The quote that most resembles how she feels in life is one by Eleanor Roosevelt where she says, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” The reason that this holds true to her heart is because she’s had my fair share of trying and hard times. At the time she didn’t realize how impactful those times would be in helping her become who she is today and has allowed her the strength to keep going.
She would like to give a special shout-out to two wonderful ladies in the community. Stephanie Solheim of 3 Tubas Digital Marketing has been extremely helpful with her tips and great advice regarding her website and she is so appreciative of all she does. The second is Megan Hornsby who owns Hornsby Real Estate Group. Megan was able to sell her rental property when no one else could!
Anyone who mentions they found her through HerHub will be granted 10% off her services after their free consultation on their design needs. She hopes very much to keep building and nurturing amazing connections!
