OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2006 PHILADELPHIA 100 PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL
Devine began her design business, which was initially more of a hobby, 10 years ago in her home. This was after she had spent years doing interior design and fit-outs for corporate clients for their offices and headquarters. The corporate world fostered her interest in design work, but it wasn't where she wanted to stay, and she turned her focus toward residential projects. She honed her skills while earning a degree from Moore College of Art & Design, building on the business degree she already had from Loyola College in Baltimore.
UPCLOSE | |
| COMPANY | Devine Designs Inc. |
|---|---|
| LOCATION | Wayne |
| OWNER | Eileen M. Devine |
| YEAR FOUNDED | 2000 |
| STARTUP CAPITAL | $5,000 |
| 2005 SALES | $660,416 |
| 2005 EMPLOYEES | 3 (including subcontractors) |
| 2003-2005 GROWTH RATE | 144 percent |
Devine's ambitions were finally taking shape. Her roster of clients began to expand as word of her work spread. Devine became squeezed for space and her home just wasn't cutting it as business took off. Devine decided to set up shop in a small office on Lancaster Avenue in Wayne.
"It's an absolute leap of faith," she said about taking the business out of the security of her home. "You establish a stainless steel gut, and you make it work."
So far, it has worked -- and worked so well that Devine became ready to take on the next big challenge in developing her business: Write a business plan. She turned to Wharton Small Business Development Center for help.
"As an entrepreneur, you have so many things on your plate and you don't have time to look at your operations," she said.
Devine worked with the business development center to define a mission statement and strategy, which ended up being the easy part. The difficult part was sticking to the plan, evaluating it, making business decisions based on it and benchmarking the company's progress against it. The challenge was to resist veering from it.
Her commitment to her strategy meant she had to turn down clients and work that didn't fit into her mission. For any entrepreneur starting out, saying no to someone with money in hand can be tough and frightening. Devine stood strong.
