UCA alum Whitney Smith detailed how she started her career in interior design and renovation during “Networking with a Pro” presented by UCA’s Office of Diversity and Community. 

“My journey has not been straight and narrow,” Whitney said in the Thursday, Oct. 6 Zoom session. 

Smith graduated from UCA in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in radiography but quickly realized that being an X-ray technician was not the right career path for her. 

“I tried to stick to the plan, but I ended up going out into the job market not using my degree,” Smith said. 

Smith was able to get a job as a real estate appraisal assistant, which led her to attend a networking event in Little Rock about flipping houses and remodeling. At the event, she met a mentor with whom she formed a partnership.

Once Smith began flipping houses with her mentor, she developed a love for interior design and received positive feedback from homebuyers for her remodeling. 

“I realized I had a good eye for aesthetics, so I got certified in interior design and started my own business from there,” Smith said. 

Smith’s business, LinWhit Designs, offers interior design services, remodeling services, interior and exterior selections and consultation services. 

Smith also started a YouTube channel called “Whitney in the City” where she posts videos talking about interior design elements while touring interior design stores, hotels, fashion stores, and more. 

Smith said she has “flipped about 20 houses over the past four years.”

Smith said that mentorship was a large part of her success. 

“You always have to be coachable because you do not know everything,” Smith said. “Having a mentor puts you in a position that is a step ahead of the game because they already have the experience, so you have that support.”

Smith said one of her most memorable projects was a house she flipped in Conway. 

The woman who lived at the house was about to lose her home because she owed a lot of taxes on it. 

“She didn’t want to lose everything, but she needed the taxes paid, so I purchased her home by paying off the taxes,” Smith said. 

She and her team helped the woman set up a yard sale and gave her all the profits. Smith also helped the woman find an apartment. 

“I just wanted to make her situation better,” Smith said. 

The house was in bad shape when Smith purchased it. 

“This lady was sweet, but she was an extreme hoarder, so the stench in the home was unbelievable,” Smith said. “We had to bomb the house twice to get the stench out of the walls and the bugs out.” 

Smith said she “gutted the house from the inside out” and was “under extreme stress” throughout the process because her contractor started to fall behind on the remodeling schedule. 

After she fired that contractor, she got her contractor’s license so she could oversee the entire remodeling process and “stay on top of everybody.” 

“The project was so memorable because the home turned out so beautiful despite all the stress of the project,” Smith said. 

The Conway house was the most expensive project she has done. Smith said the house went for $100,000 to $150,000 before it eventually sold. 

“Everything isn’t always glitz and glam but you end up figuring it out,” Smith said. 

Angela Jackson, the director of the Office of Diversity and Community, said events like this one are “a good way to reach outside the boundaries of Conway and connect with UCA alums who have made great strides in their industries.”

Smith’s advice to students was to find their passion and diversify it.

“Figure it out when you’re younger so you can step into who you actually want to be and do what makes you happy. Doing what you’re interested in can really make you money. Go for your interests even if you don’t think it’s hot right now because the world is unlimited nowadays,” Smith said.