Traci Connell
An award-winning creative entrepreneur
Traci Connell is an award-winning creative entrepreneur whose business sense and design skills are combined with a passion for delivering interiors that are at the heart of a livable style. Formally trained as an elementary teacher, Traci enjoyed the creativity and structure of the classroom but knew she had not found her passion. The big “Ah-ha” moment came in 2000, when a dear friend asked, “why can’t you make money doing something you love?” and after careful consideration, Connell Interiors was born. While working to provide a second income, the first decade was spent developing her eye for design, honing her skill for business practices, holding leadership roles within the Interior Design Society, and completing successful client projects as well as many charity opportunities.
In 2011, life threw a curveball and Traci became a single mother with three children. Traci realized and accepted that her business was no longer a second income, but it was the sole source of income. Fueled with pure passion to feed her family and realize her dream, the rebirth of her company was established as Traci Connell Interiors.
During the last eight years, Traci Connell has grown her revenue twenty-fold to over two and a half million dollars, and her net profit grew tenfold. She has gone from running her business from her kitchen table and her car trunk to acquiring a full design studio. Traci previously organized her projects in bulky 3-inch binders for each client, and now her business is completely cloud-based so she can access any detail of her business from her iPhone. In 2011, most of her business was derived from consultations and partial rooms. Today, her projects range from full home furnishings, new custom build design, and major renovations. Over the last four years, she has grown from a team of one to establishing an award-winning firm of five employees including two other designers, a business manager, and two support staff. Her greatest accomplishment is not just the success of her firm, it is also cultivating happy, balanced and successful children.
In addition to balancing work and family, Traci continues to use her talent as an educator and a leader holding various positions within the design and Dallas communities. She currently serves on the board of ASID and is a past member of the National Board of Interior Design Society. In 2015, Traci was elected into Entrepreneur’s Organization of Dallas (EO), which is an exclusive group of successful business owners. To this day, she continues to be an active member and leader within EO. In 2019, Traci participated and graduated from the Goldman’s Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. Recently, she has been a featured speaker at High Point Mark to deliver her signature speech, “From Setbacks to Success: How to manage and grow your interior design firm when faced with adversity”.
Based on her personal story and success, Traci is often asked to mentor fellow entrepreneurs. One of her current endeavors includes the development of a coaching program designed for women entrepreneurs. Sheis known for creating extremely practical, results-driven resources that guide women who have encountered personal and professional setbacks overcome adversity and rise up from their circumstances through building strong businesses. Traciwill provide high-value courses that inspire critical mindset shifts, cut through industry fluff, and focus on action steps that can be implemented quickly and easily. Traci Connell is an industry leader recognized for her witty yet no-nonsense approach to business education.
Within the interior design industry, Traci’s company has been frequently recognized as setting a new standard for interior design firms by offering a process-driven approach to projects and profitability. A recipient of numerous honors, Traci is recognized as a leader in the Dallas design community. In addition to her impressive portfolio, she is a multiple first-place winner of the ASID Legacy of Design Awards and ASID Design Ovation Awards. Selected as one of the four finalists for the 27th Annual ARTS Award in the Interior Design category, Traci was the only Texas-based interior designer that was honored with this designation. The ARTS Awards is the premier international awards program dedicated to home industry excellence and achievement in retailing, manufacturing, design, and sales representation.
Traci Connell has been featured in national publications including Luxe Magazine, Traditional Home and Dream Kitchen and Baths. She is also recognized as a D Home Best Designer and on the Luxe Gold List.