Local business aims to ‘reset’ lives

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After experiencing their own loss,  duo to help others

When Peggy Carlson’s stepfather died in 2009, she was already facing an uphill battle with the loss of her job. But she worked through it all by doing what comes naturally, helping her mother start over.

It was this experience that inspired Carlson that year to launch Reset Design, which focuses on helping people start over after major events such as divorce or a death.

“Many people are lost during these experiences, and our goal is to give them direction,” said Carlson who started the business from her Eagan home.

Carlson runs the company with business partner Carolyn White, whom she met while working at a temp job at an insurance agency.

Both women are divorced and have similar interests.

They began helping friends and family reorganize their space while refocusing their lives. Within its first year, the business began obtaining clients throughout the Twin Cities.

One of their first clients, Dave Sackrison, turned to Reset Design for assistance in staging his home for sale.

Sackrison, a former co-worker of Carlson’s, looked to sell his Minnetonka home after his wife died, but didn’t know where to begin.

“At the time I had so many things going on that it was overwhelming,” he said.

The Chanhassen resident said he believes Carlson’s staging helped him sell quickly in a down market.

Once the staging was complete, Sackrison put his home on the market in the summer of 2009 and it sold by the spring of 2010.

“I’d still be trying to sell my home if it wasn’t for her,” he said.

Reset Design provides each client a free hour-long consultation, which is typically followed by a shopping trip.

Carlson and White, a Burnsville resident, said they always strive to work within any budget.

Carlson, who recently moved to Minneapolis, said the most rewarding aspect of her job is helping people reclaim their lives and feel better about themselves.

Though Reset Design’s initial focus was on recent divorcees and widows or widowers, the business has expanded to empty nesters trying to sell their homes and adapt to smaller spaces.

Since its inception, the business has relied primarily on word-of-mouth advertising and networking. The recession has remained an obstacle for the design business, which has yet to make a profit.

“It’s hard when the discretionary income isn’t there,” White said.

Growing into a profitable business is among White and Carlson’s goals in the coming years. Until then, both women work other jobs while running the business.

For more information on Reset Design, email Resetanddesign@gmail.com.