Kayhan Hellriegel is the Founder and CEO of Kayhan
International, Limited. Kayhan is a
self-made business woman who started Kayhan International in 1982. Through her
dynamic leadership and perseverance, Kayhan International has grown to be a leader
in the furniture industry. It is one of
the top
Kayhan Hellriegel is a native of
Kayhan International has received numerous awards and
recognitions: Crain’s Chicago Business Largest Women-Owned firms ranked 28th in 2006;Economic Club of Chicago member in 2007;Motorola Bravo Award in 2006; Motorola Distinguished Challenger Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award in 1990;
Inc. 500 - 5000 fastest growing companies in 2007; Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame inducted Kayhan Hellriegel in 2007
Kayhan International is a Woman Owned Business Enterprise. It is certified as a WBE by the Women’s Business
Enterprise National Council (WBEWC), Women’s Business Development Center (WDC) –
Chicago and
When you first started your business did you feel passion for your work?
I worked for a transportation company and I really didn’t have a passion about it. I knew I was capable and I was positive. My division was the largest and made the most money in the company at that time. I asked for a promotion. No one every came to me and or thought to recommend that I be promoted. I worked so hard, partly because I was a woman and it was important to show that I could do as well or better than any man.
I was a billing clerk making $85 a week, and then I became the billing supervisor. Then in my next position my boss noticed how good I was and his boss paid attention too. Eventually, I became a sales person. My first month and for nine months in a row, I was the number one sales person in the company. At that time, my boss left and I applied for his position. There was a lot of hassle and talk about how whether I could do this job as a woman. I told them to fire me if I didn't do a good job and to put that in writing. At that time, the Illinois Transportation Department only allowed a 5% commission. My boss and my company loved me because the first year, when I was on a bonus plan, I received a small salary and I was making a 25% commission and was only allowed to make 5%. My check was more than the president of the company’s check. That made them cut-off the bonus plan. I worked there for 12 years.
My boss, the senior vice president was going to retire and recommended me for his job. The president of the company said, “We’ll have a woman vice president over my dead body!” That was in 1981. They brought in some guy for that same position and they wanted me to train him. So I gave my resignation. My husband and I had saved money and my daughter was seventeen years old and graduating high school. A year before that, I bought furniture for my office. The man who sold me that furniture was leaving for another business and suggested that I buy his company. I told him I would work for him first and see how I like it. I worked for seven months and during that time, I was in charge of three states and I was the number one salesperson. I liked it and decided to open my own furniture business. I felt that I did not want to work for anyone else and knew I wanted to work for myself.
When you first started were you able to visualize your final outcome?
Yes, I took some time to do market research and put my business plan together. I knew at that time, since I was born and raised until I was a teenager in Iran, that our world was a global one. I was the first furniture company to do business in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, now the fastest growing countries in the world! I have a picture of the king and prince of Abu Dhabi with me. I new we were going to be global and that is why I named the company Kayhan International.
What were you top three obstacles or challenges?
#1 – In the back of mind I was concerned about how a woman-owned business was going to compete with men-owned businesses.. No women owned businesses at the time. However, I knew I could do better than any man. #2 – I saved some money with my husband and I didn’t want to borrow from a bank. The concern was whether we had the financial strength to work with just our own money. It worked out very well. #3 – At the time I started I worried about whether the political and economic issues would interfere with the operations of my business. Jimmy Carter was president when I started my company and interest rates were 22%. I learned quickly not to pay attention to those factors.
How did you deal with doubt, fear, and self recrimination?
I never doubt. Because if you worry and allow yourself to have fears, you become negative and you cannot perform properly. You must always have a positive attitude about everything-no matter what.
Did you feel that the traditional male dominated workplace affected you at all? If so, what did you do about it?
In business, no. What I learned dealing with men is that if you are a strong person, a hard working woman, and build your business relationships, men will respect you more than they do other men. Some men were narrow minded, but then I would sit with that person at a meeting or be at a guy‘s office, and everything would be fine. Sometimes there were pictures on the wall, calendars, of naked women; I would make a joke out of it. I learned how to deal with it. I would go back the next day, and the picture wasn’t there anymore.
Did you have mentors?
Yes, one was my ex-boss who actually recommended me for the VP position in the transportation company. He was my mentor, my family, the second father who believed in me always and taught me certain things. My husband was my best mentor. When I first told him I was going into business for myself, he said, “Oh great!” He always feels that I am the best.
Do you feel you were traditional in terms of your steps to your Optimal Level?
One of the most important things I did when I put my business plan together is to include hiring educated women. I planned to find women who were not only good at their job, but had to be positive and be all-around qualified as a whole person. Being just good in their work was not enough. After I hired them, I mentored them. They had to be sincere and someone who would do whatever it takes to do the job. I had a policy in place – I interviewed everybody until we grew so large. Then the HR department would pick four or five candidates. Then I would do the last interview and I always could tell who had that something that set a candidate apart from the others.. My company is twenty-six years old and not one of my employees has been with me for less than seventeen years. My daughter is a labor attorney and I know there are certain questions you cannot directly ask a potential employee. I don’t ask them about what they did at their last job. I talk to them and ask them stories; never direct questions. I ask them to tell me about themselves and their families.
As you look back, what is the one thing you wish you knew when you started? Nothing, really.
Any regrets? I regret that when I started my company I spent a lot of time on one big account and I didn’t diversify as much as I should have. 75% of our total business came from this one big account. When the economy went down, that affected us pretty heavily. I learned a lesson and wound up keeping my core people. I turned the company around to do much better. I went to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 1991 and wanted to open a dealership and the manufacturers didn’t allow me to do that. They thought it was too hard for a company to run a business outside the USA. They regret that now because we would have had Kayhan International furniture in all of their business buildings now.
Do you believe luck had something to do with your rise to where you are now?
No – because I had to work hard and have a positive attitude. My husband worked for a company for seven years because we needed the paycheck. At first, there were three years with no money from my company and my daughter was in college – no, luck had nothing to do with it. For twenty years, my husband and I entertained every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We knew we had to take care of our clients, reach out and do whatever it took to get to know them. All of my clients had my cell and home phone numbers so that could get in touch with me whenever they needed.
Do you feel you paid a price to be as successful as you are now?
Not really because my husband and I were together and my daughter was in college. We had the time to do what we needed to do. It all worked out very well. My daughter has her own successful law practice now.
What is the best piece of advice you have for other women on their way to their Optimal Level?
Be positive; don’t let anything get in the way. In Latin there is a saying which means, don’t let the bastards grind you down. Early on I cried occasionally, but I knew I had to be strong for my core people. I was never negative and always very strong. I know I had to exceed my own expectations. It is much harder to work for yourself than for somebody else. As a business owner, you are responsible not only for yourself, but for other people. When 9/11 happened, I could have retired- but I knew looking at the people who helped me become successful had families, mortgages, and car payments; I could not leave them because they were family and we both helped out each other.
Do you have any other tips for career or business women?
Don’t be afraid; you can do it and a lot better than a lot of men. Be positive and work hard. Take care of your health and exercise, which I do, at least one hour and a half every day. I bike, walk, or lift weights.
What do you think is the biggest mistake career/business women make?
People that I know that have businesses give up too easily. If you want to be pretty successful – you can’t give up. You have to persevere. I never had that feeling things were too hard or of ever giving up. I lost millions of dollars and I knew if I didn’t keep going and do it well, I would have to get up work for somebody else. So I knew I would always keep going and do well.
