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Her business
Robin Wilson Home is an eco-friendly design company, with a focus on interior design for residential and commercial clients. The company also designs products sold at theneststore.com.
Our main goal is to provide educational information and products to teach people about an eco-friendly lifestyle. There are many affordable options available to improve your indoor air quality and the global environment.
I chose to enter this business because I have suffered from allergies and asthma throughout my life. We are able to provide tips and solutions to concerned families. It is a wonderful feeling to see the look of relief on their faces when they realize these solutions are also affordable.
My first internship was with the Lower Colorado River Authority in the energy efficiency group. And it is thrilling to know that my first boss now runs the Environment Protection Agency Energy Star program! After college, I worked in the energy division of Mercer Management Consulting and then joined the executive search industry to hire roles of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and chief operations officer. My final corporate job was with Heidrick & Struggles, which went public in 1999—and with the windfall, I chose to pursue my Master's in Real Estate Finance from New York University and that's what started my entrepreneurial venture.
In 2006, we re-branded the firm after some advice from a magazine executive, and now our firm has evolved to focus on design (residential & commercial) with ancillary divisions.
One year later, in 2007, with a group of unpaid interns, and myself as an unpaid CEO, the firm had few projects and was building the brand with expert commentary offered in newspapers and magazines, and design engagements. From 2006 with $40K in revenue, the company grew in 2008 to more than $500K in revenue. It has been a meteoric rise, but long hours, overnights and moments of sheer terror and pure exhilaration pushed us through.
I was raised in Austin Texas, but now live in New York City. Today, our design studio is in a loft space with a view of the Empire State Building.
Her 'aha moment' or inspiration
The words on a paperweight inspired the future of my career. For my 30th birthday, I received a paperweight with the words, “what would you attempt to do, if you knew you could not fail?" These words lead me to an answer... Build a company that helps people, teaches people how to live in an eco-healthy home environment, and find a way to be creative everyday.
What I am doing today is a perfect fit, since I was born with allergies and asthma and my family had to create an eco-healthy environment (using hypoallergenic pillows, removing shag carpet and eating organic foods), plus the straight business route was not making me happy.
That paperweight still sits on my desk, so when an idea pops up, sometime it makes me say, "yep" immediately, or "uh oh" because I know that we are about to start a new journey.
Her biggest obstacle and how she overcame it
Our biggest obstacles are cash flow and the need for an investor. We re-branded the firm in 2006 and a year later, we ended the year with revenue of more than $200,000. We built the business through mostly design engagements. I also recognized that speaking engagements were key to educating people to the eco-friendly lifestyle, and my motto was "have bags, will travel." By the end of 2008, our firm grew to more than $500,000 in revenue.
We still need an investor, and we need to hire a business manager. In this tough economy, investors are becoming selective. But we are still making money and we have hit all our major milestones, especially when we signed the deal this year to become the first woman to create the Robin Wilson Home brand of kitchen cabinets. The kitchen cabinets are frameless, utilizing less wood, no formaldehyde glues, low VOC paints and stains with over 100 door choices. They are also easier to clean, and the wood comes from sustainable forests. This deal should help our cash flow due to the royalties. But we have learned through experience that clients should pay for items in advance.
How Count Me In helped her succeed
In May 2008, we won the Make Mine a Million $ Business package, which taught me two things: "Start working on my business and not 'in' my business" and "Pay myself."
At the time, I was still sleeping on a trundle bed, courtesy of a dear friend. But on the day that we won the award, the executives at Count Me In asked me if my team would keep working if they were not being paid. I said “no.” And they said, "Why are you not valuing yourself? Pay yourself and get off your friend’s trundle…and if the team does not help you generate money, get rid of them…"
That was the truth and a painful realization. We revamped the team—and I started paying myself, moved into my own place. If the firm does not bring in enough money to pay the team, there will be layoffs at some point, and I am the one who will not be going. The biggest lesson: value yourself.
Count Me In also performed a fiscal audit on our books, which helped us bring in a stronger and more expensive bookkeeper. The package from the Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE includes business coaching, a financial review, DELL computer products, and many other items. The increase in our business is directly related to the Count Me In team and its many advisors.
How she finds work life balance
I readily admit that there has been little balance in my life since 2006. One of the key tenets of my life has been "Giving to others, and not caring for my health or livelihood—always trying to make their lives better."
Once you recognize a pattern, it means that you can change it so the past three years has been about "making my life better" so that my next relationship will be different. That person will have to respect my focus on work, and we will have to find a balance…the “see-saw of giving” will not always fall on his side. And I am hopeful that someone will understand that my business is about helping people throughout the world “live an eco-healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle,” which is so gratifying!
Her three tips for future entrepreneurs
1. Focus on what you love and want to do and why, not how much money you will make. The money will come if you have a good strategy and business plan.
2. Cash flow is key to a long-lasting a start-up. Remind your team that you are not an office supply store where they can take supplies home, and if someone is going to get laid off, it is "them," not you.
3. Remember to pay yourself. Even if it is only $100 a week, it will make you recognize that your work has value.
What is the Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE?
The Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE is a yearlong business growth marathon aiming to help businesses reach the benchmark of their choice—$250,000, $500,000 or $1 million in revenues. The RACE is sponsored by Count Me In, a national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women seeking to grow micro businesses to million-dollar enterprises.
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