Picture this: you’re searching the aisles of your local home improvement store, wondering if you’re making the right design or tool choice. As you stand there scratching your head, Alison Victoria — Kitchen Crasher’s powerhouse host and interior design expert — surprises you with an offer to demolish your old kitchen and design a new one.

We can almost hear the cheering, the angels singing and the audible sighs of relief from those lucky enough to experience this awesome ambush. It’s no surprise that Kitchen Crashers is one of HGTV’s and DIY Network’s most popular shows. Like a female Thor swinging her sledge hammer and leaving destruction in her wake, Alison Victoria creates inspired design from the rubble. As you can imagine, grateful homeowners love the results, and viewers turn off the TV wanting to tackle their own kitchen improvement projects — pronto!

What you might not realize about Alison Victoria, is that she’s a great example of a self-made, successful role model, with determination and focus. Once the youngest designer at a well-known custom design company in Las Vegas, she ventured out to start a design firm of her own, quickly building an impressive clientele list. Here’s what she said about her decision to leave the comfort of a great job and start her company — Alison Victoria Interiors, Inc. — as told in this interview…it’s so relatable for anyone thinking about striking out on their own!

“One day on my lunch break I read “Secrets of Six-Figure Women” and it was the best book I had ever read. The best chapter is called “Letting Go of the Ledge” and it’s all about letting go of the fear of not having this umbrella of a steady paycheck and insurance and all the other bullsh-t that really holds you back from believing that you can do it on your own.” 

 Talk about being adept at keeping a lot of balls in the air — Alison’s achievements include being the first female host on the Crashers series, successful launch of her own design firm, and a furniture line. Besides her hosting duties on Kitchen Crashers, she also consults with clients, oversees her furniture business and maintains a home in both Las Vegas and Chicago. And, she also blogs for her website, alisonvictoria.com, sharing fun and informative tips on interior design, fashion, DIY and more.

Even with all that Alison still finds time to give back to causes that are meaningful to her. She actively donates her time to community non-profit organizations such as as Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, PAWS Chicago, and she’s a board member for Chicago Children’s Charities. Seems to us that Alison Victoria is a truly well-rounded, kind-hearted design maven…who just happens to be really good with a sledge hammer.