A feature about the women of Optimal Level; their stories, successes, challenges, and opportunities.

What is your background and how did you get into your business/career?
I am one of the lucky ones, I decided early on, 11th grade, that I wanted a career in the field of interior design. After graduating from Florida State University, with a BS in Interior Design, I struck out on my own and moved to Chicago. For 13 years I have traveled a varied road of jobs, from retail furniture sales to real estate development, and have collected a great number of experiences in my field.  Two years ago I grabbed a GREAT opportunity to own my own business.   I convinced my best friend, and business partner, to look past her first impressions of this sleepy little upholstery shop and envision a gorgeous drapery and upholstery design studio. A welcoming decorating shop where we can do the design work we love and at which we excel. A happy place to work and shop!

What is your business and how is it unique?
My business is Willow, and we are a drapery service and upholstery workroom.  The business was formerly known as A Lee Upholstery & Interiors, since 1961, and we are currently changing our name to better reflect our services and open the door to our future successes. What sets us apart is that our upholstery shop is on site, and we have a staff of talented designers on hand to help you through your decorating projects.  We are fabric “junkies” and pride ourselves on having the best selection of designer fabrics available, next to going to the Mart yourself.  We are similar to hiring an interior designer without the pomp and circumstance, while at the same time we are similar to going directly to a workroom but with much more pomp and circumstance.

Who are some of your clients; what do you especially appreciate about them and how have they reacted to your service or product?
Our clients are some of the most wonderful North Shore families I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Our clients come back year after year, and we have several clients who use us because their mother used us. Over the past 3 years we have expanded our drapery services to include more specialty products and designs so that we can help our clients finish the room design they’ve started.

What do you like best about what you do?
I love helping my clients decorate their homes to reflect their own personality and taste. In the world of custom products there are so many options, I find it most gratifying to narrow someone’s search to the best option for them and offering suggestions they have not thought of.

What role does passion have in your work?
Passion is a big part of my work. Passion for color, for patterns, for people and their homes. Without passion there would be no excitement…and who wants that!

When you first started were you able to visualize your expected final outcome?
What happens over time is that the picture’s details become more focused. It is both exciting and challenging to shape my business to better suit my talents and lifestyle desires. Because being in business means always changing and evolving, there is no final outcome, just the opportunity to enjoy the process.

Can you tell us about that final outcome – what will your business look like then?
The future I desire is a design shop where my employees love to come to work and my clients come back year after year…and bring their friends!  Willow is my greatest opportunity and challenge, both as a designer and as a business woman. I envision a work environment that is efficient and beautiful.

What were your top three obstacles/challenges?
a.)  Finding enough time in the day to do all I want to do.
b.)  Communicating with my partner.
c.)   Resisting the urge to criticize/ remembering at times that My way isn’t the only way or necessarily the best way.

How do you deal with doubt, fear, and self recrimination?
It is hard to remember to do my best ….and appreciate that it is my best.  

If you had the opportunity to get the best advice from a business guru, and could ask only question, what would your question be?
What quick and easy method do you have for determining when you should hire an expert to do part of your job?  Example. As a small business owner, I do it all!  As the business grows I have made the decision to hire sales people, a bookkeeper, and now hopefully a design assistant. How do I determine “when” to hire the marketing expert? The office manager? The outside account representative? Etc?

As you look back, what is the one thing you wish you knew when you started?
That working with friends is wonderful, but establishing clear lines of communications is paramount to success and can be a job in itself!

Any regrets?
None so far. Regrets are for living in the past; I try and learn from every experience and accept my mistakes when they happen.

Do you believe luck has something to do with you getting to where you are now?
I used to believe it was lucky that I stumbled across an ad on Monster  for a designer with the entrepreneurial spirit; lucky that I interviewed for a job that I turned down working for an upholstery shop owner who wanted to retire.  Now I believe that it is my personality to constantly be on the hunt for improvements and recognize opportunities that has taken me to the place I am today. I have always believed that you make your own opportunities and you will get out of a situation what you put in.  The lucky part may be that I grabbed the people and opportunities at the right times.

What is the best piece of advice you have for other women on their way to their Optimal Level?
The dreams you create for yourself are far more exciting and rewarding than those handed to you. Always strive to remember it is worth the effort not only to dream big but to actively go after those dreams!

Any additional comments you would like to make?
The best advice anyone ever gave me was to recognize that true knowledge is knowing where to find the answers. Once you recognize that you personally  do not have to have all the answers and you can concentrate on asking the right questions, the answers will come! Thank you to all of you, especially the Glenview Optimal Level Group, who focus me on one issue at a time, which is not my strong suit,  and provide a forum for my own self discovery.