|
SPOTLIGHT
Right at Home
Donna Krissillas, Interior Ideas,
Crofton, MD
by Kathleen Stoehr
Not everyone knows what they want to be when they grow up . . .
some of us are still searching, some make changes along the way,
while others hold off on careers until later in life. For Donna
Krissillas, Interior Ideas, Crofton, MD, children and family came
first.
“I started my career late,” says Krissillas, “I went to Strayer
Business College for just one year; I married young and started a family.” Her
mother had taught her how to sew and as soon as she had her own home, she began
to decorate it. She made the bedspreads, draperies, cornices, window shades and
more. Friends who came to her home would say, “This is beautiful! Have
you ever thought of doing this for a living?”
So, once her children were in school, she began to take a few classes at Maryland
University. She attended seminars and took any outside classes she happened upon
to bolster her knowledge in creating window treatments. It was a long time before
she actually had the chance to fulfill her dream. She had been a homemaker for
15 years.
The turning point for Krissillas, however, was not just a divorce and the need
to find work, but that she secured a position working for an independent designer
with a home-based studio, and then later for a large window covering company
that had 12 designers on staff.
“After working at both places,” she says, “I decided to take
what I had learned and start my own [home-based] business.” By this time,
her children were grown and out of the house, though she believes that had she
started Interior Ideas sooner, it would have been a wonderful way for her to
have a career and still be at home for her children.
“My client base started originally from those I developed while working
at the window covering company,” says Krissillas. “The company did
not ask me to sign a non-compete clause, so I wrote to each of my clients and
told them I was starting my own business. I lived off those leads the first two
years. Now my business is based on a letter I send out to new homeowners and
from referrals.”
Job satisfaction is high, and Krissillas cites two examples of some of the best
she has done. One of her projects involved decorating a house—“everything
from furniture to accessories.” But the job that gave her the most pleasure
was designing window treatments for a senior center. Despite a small budget and
little end profit, Krissillas says the joy it brought the residents was better
than any financial gain.
GOOD AT HER WORK
Two things happened before Krissillas finally convinced herself that she was
really good at what she does. First, she had been working with faux artist Alexia
Hemingway and the artist kept telling her she was the best designer she had ever
worked with—in Maryland and Florida. The second thing is still happening.
Every time someone comes into Donna’s home they say, “Oh my, this
is gorgeous. It looks just like a model. You should be in a magazine!”
As for her home-based business, her home has become her showroom—she uses
it on occasion to show clients. “Every time I bring someone in it results
in my getting more business,” she says. “The floor plan of my home
is open. You can see almost every room once you are in the foyer.” The
colors and design all blend together. She also tried to have as many different
kinds of soft and hard window treatments as she could. “Cornices, draperies,
valances, covered poles, swags—and six different kinds of blinds!” she
notes.
In looking at her wealth of professional achievements over the past 10 years,
she notes, too, that, “I have struggled from time to time just like everyone
else. One thing I have learned is not to worry about business. It seems to come
to me when I most need it.” A good attitude to have from such a talented
businesswoman.
|
