How a Virtual Assistant Helped Marina Johnston Build Her Design Studio's Brand

At a glance: Marina Johnston owns Marina Johnston Interior Design, a concierge interior design studio in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Before she hired through Stellar Staff, she was working on her own. Client notes weren't being sent, and no one else was handling that work. Since bringing on a virtual assistant, she has had help with her website and social media, and she says she now has a branded business she didn't have before. In the video below, she explains what was slipping and what has changed.

Marina Johnston, owner, Marina Johnston Interior Design. The full transcript is at the end of this page.

A concierge interior design studio in Hendersonville, North Carolina

Marina Johnston Interior Design describes itself as a concierge interior design studio in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The studio's website lists full-service design, furniture, lighting, color, and renovation, and says every project is guided personally by Marina, from the first site visit to the final reveal (details checked on the studio's website, November 4, 2026).

That personal approach is a big part of why clients hire a studio like hers. It is also where the pressure comes from. When the owner is the designer, the project lead, and the person who answers every email, the work that happens between site visits has to fit into the same day as the design work itself.

What was slipping before she hired

Marina is specific about the problem. Before Stellar Staff, she says, "notes weren't getting back to clients, and nobody was really covering it because it's just me." She describes herself as "a one-woman show."

In interior design, notes are a large part of client service. After a site visit or a selections meeting, the client expects a recap of what was decided, which options are still open, what they need to approve, and what happens next. When those notes arrive late or not at all, clients have to ask for them, and the designer ends up repeating conversations that should already be on paper.

This has nothing to do with design skill. In a one-person business, there is simply no one else to send the recap while the owner is at the next job site.

How the hire worked

Marina hired through Stellar Staff, which recruits dedicated, full-time remote assistants. The search takes 5 to 10 business days. Stellar Staff screens the applicants, and the client interviews 2 to 3 finalists and picks one. For an owner who is used to doing everything herself, that last step matters, because she chooses the person who will work inside her business.

After the hire, Stellar Staff handles recruiting, payroll, HR, tracking, and replacements, and the client directs the assistant's daily work. Marina decides what her assistant works on, and Stellar Staff takes care of the employment side.

What changed: her website, social media, and brand

Marina's summary of the experience is short: "Having a VA has been tremendous." When she describes what is different in her business, she points to one area in particular, "help with my website and social media."

"They've really stepped up, and that has been tremendous help, just having a branded business that I didn't have before."

The video opens on the same idea, with Marina saying she feels like she has a brand now. For a design studio, that matters more than it might for many other businesses. Prospective clients judge a designer by what they can see before the first call: the website, the portfolio, and the social media feed. Those are often the first examples of a designer's taste that a new client sees.

Marina does not describe her assistant's individual tasks or report numerical results in the video. Her main takeaway is that she now feels her business has a brand.

Why a one-person design studio needs help with its online presence

Most interior designers start their own business because they love the design work. Keeping a website current, posting finished projects, and staying active on social media are part of running the business, but they rarely reach the top of the list when there are client deadlines, orders, and site visits on the calendar.

That is where an interior design virtual assistant can help. In general, a VA in this kind of role can prepare posts from project photos the designer approves, keep a regular posting schedule, update portfolio pages, and keep client follow-up from falling behind. The designer still decides what the brand looks like and approves what goes out. The assistant makes sure the work gets done every week instead of only when there is a quiet moment.

If you are considering this kind of hire, our guide to the social media virtual assistant role explains what the job involves, and our social media VA services page shows how Stellar Staff fills it.

Getting a design studio ready for a remote assistant

Marina's story covers client notes, her website, and social media. If you run a similar studio and are planning your first hire, a few decisions make the start go more smoothly:

• Start with the work that is slipping. Marina described missed client notes and later highlighted help with her online presence. Write down the tasks that fall behind in a busy week, such as recaps after client meetings, follow-up emails, and posts about finished projects.
• Set a standard for client notes. Decide what a recap should include, such as decisions made, open selections, approvals needed, and next steps, and who sends it. A short template makes it much easier for an assistant to help.
• Keep control of your brand. Share your logo files, colors, photo style, and examples of posts you like. Review content before it is published until you are comfortable with how it reads.
• Set up separate logins. Give the assistant their own accounts for your website platform, social media tools, email, and project software, with only the access the role needs, so you can change or revoke permissions at any time.

For general support with scheduling, email, and client paperwork, see our administrative virtual assistant services.

What other design business owners can take from this

• Name the gap honestly. Marina didn't describe a crisis. She described work that "nobody was really covering." That is one of the most common reasons a one-person business brings on its first assistant.
• Look beyond administrative work. The change she singled out wasn't client follow-up. It was help with her website and social media, and a brand she didn't have before.
• Judge the result by how the business runs. Marina's measure is simple: having a VA has been tremendous, and she feels like she has a brand now.

For another story about an assistant who supports marketing alongside other work, read how Southwest Family Dentistry added a virtual assistant for insurance verification, phones, and marketing.

How Stellar Staff matches an assistant to a design studio

Stellar Staff recruits dedicated, full-time remote assistants, primarily from the Philippines, and accepts the top 0.1% of the thousands of applicants who apply each month. Vetting includes a 6-step application, 6 individual tests, written and spoken English verification, professional interviews and skill assessments, reference checks, an equipment check, background checks, and internal QA before the finalist interviews.

The client interviews 2 to 3 finalists and picks one. Pro is $1,999 a month for 160 hours, and Executive is $2,999 a month. Both plans are month to month with no long-term contract and 14 days' notice to cancel, and managed plans include free replacements, forever.

To find the plan that fits your studio, compare pricing or book a call to start a search.

Video transcript

Machine transcription of the video above, edited for punctuation and for names the software misheard. The clip starts mid-sentence. Words in brackets are our best reading of audio that is not fully clear.

"[I] feel like I have a brand now. My name is Marina Johnston. I own Marina Johnston Interior Design. Things that were slipping in the business before Stellar Staff was notes weren't getting back to clients, and nobody was really covering it because it's just me. I'm a one-woman show. Since hiring through Stellar Staff, having a VA has been tremendous, and I am so thankful that I have [her]. What's different in my business since starting Stellar Staff is a lot of things, but one thing specifically is help with my website and social media. They've really stepped up, and that has been tremendous help, just having a branded business that I didn't have before."

This case study is based on a recorded video interview with Marina Johnston. Studio details come from the Marina Johnston Interior Design website, checked November 4, 2026. Results are described only as the client stated them; we have not added figures that were not in the interview. Stellar Staff pricing is current as of November 2026.