Havenly Reviews

Pros

The illusion of freedom until the reality of the job sets in

Cons

I initially did my research on Havenly by reading employee reviews and saw that all over the internet they have horrible employee reviews (except for a few good ones, but these employees were not designers, they were in management roles...pay attention!) I chose to believe that these reviews were written by disgruntled former employees who had a falling out with the company, and that everything would be fine... unfortunately not. Havenly has an extremely high turnover and people excitedly start their "designer" role with the promise of time and location freedom, the ability to set your own schedule, an enjoyable design career, the potential to make money through commission. Every single aspect of that is a lie. I was working what was considered "part time" (three new clients per week) and was literally working 12-13 hour days, 5 days per week, with an average paycheck of $350 per MONTH. (To break that down, that's an average of 240 hours per month, and a compensation of $350 per MONTH =$1.45 per HOUR of extremely high intensity work, not to mention that this is a 1099 role, so subtract your own taxes from that plus you pay for your own Photoshop license and any other software and devices as well...) I was working at a frantic pace to complete each project and started this role in very high spirits. I was constantly threatened that if I didn't sell enough items I would be fired, and whenever I asked for help from my manager I was just told that I needed to be "more efficient...." Management does not treat you like a human being, you are a robot expected to churn out constant content for literal pennies. Aside from making no money at all and working at a super intense pace 12+ hours per day, the clients are the actual worst. I had a few clients that were nice or pleasant to work with, but most clients want constant revisions (you do not get paid for this. You get paid like a $15 flat rate per design board, and then a small commission on items IF you can sell any. I sold ONE ITEM in my 4 months at Havenly, despite getting super high ratings from clients.) The clients pay a small fee for the entire project, and then act like they are so boujee and hired a fancy interior designer that they can boss around. I was constantly talked down to by clients and ordered around like they owned me, and spent hours upon hours making revisions for them, and then EVERY. SINGLE. client I had went out and bought cheaper versions of the items elsewhere online, or at Costco in one case. They were also fully aware that I was working almost completely on commission, and just straight up didn't care one bit. They would send me links to items they purchased halfway through the design process and say "I bought this from XYZ.com, include it on the board." + that means one less item I could potentially make commission on. It makes sense, though: currently Havenly packages are "on sale" for $45 for Memorial Day. If someone doesn't want to pay for a real Interior Designer (and I get it, that's very expensive!) and they can only invest $45 into their design advice, there is just no way that they are going to want to shell out $3K for a sofa and $1.5K for a coffee table, and so on. They are very high end pieces of furniture, but Havenly is sucking people in with the low design rate, pocketing that, and then not caring that their designers are getting paid in 3rd world country rates, because they know their turnover is insanely high, and its just part of their business model. I cannot believe I invested months of my time at this company. I kept thinking it would get better, I would sell more, and then realized that was ridiculous and finally quit. It was the most stressful role I've ever had and regret every minute of it. I hope this review is transparent. I was so, so excited to work at this company, to work from home and have a fun job, but sadly none of that is true.

Pros

Work from home, choose your own design styles, easy and fast training program

Cons

I asked for Part-time since I was still enrolled in University, I was working 10 am-6 pm every day Monday through Friday and sometimes Saturdays. The client always comes first and you only have 24hrs to respond to every message (even on holidays)

Pros

For the first time, I truly feel able to move the needle on a professional challenge that is important to me. Creating spaces that people feel good in at an accessible price points. The team is smart and motivated but also so creative. It is incredible to see so many bright people aligned on similar goals. Not only that, the team is excited to take thoughtful risks and explore new possibilities that make the job challenging and exciting. I truly feel supported here and trusted. At times when there have been challenges, there was open conversation and discussion. The CEO is inspirational and is truly trying to build a better company that offers accessible solutions to real issues.

Cons

I wish there were more people looking for creative work in Denver, it can be challenging to recruit for in person roles even though we have a flexible remote work structure!

Pros

3D renderings, Design experience, Remote working

Cons

Pay is per project + Commission, when you break down the hours you are making less than minimum wage Unclear expectations and insufficient training Unfit managers and reviewers Glitchy platform