Designing Woman

But Bowersock was just getting started. Distinguishing herself in the area of corporate culture was next on her lofty agenda, and she sums up her strategy this way: "You've got to visit the village to be the king." Loosely translated? "I talk to my employees," she says. "I don't analyze their jobs on paper--I get out there with them so I know what works."

If overcoming obstacles is the hallmark of a true entrepreneur, savvy financial management is the skill that distinguishes successful women business owners. "I paid back my grandmother's $2,000 and built Terri's to $15 million without any loans," says Bowersock. Completely debt-free, Bowersock began franchising three years ago; she's now preparing to take her company public. "There are key employees who've worked as hard as I've worked," she says. "Going public allows them to share in [the financial rewards]."

Bowersock makes time in her busy schedule to give back to the community through Habitat for Humanity and other service organizations. The 1998 Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year is also an outspoken advocate for empowering women in business, and she practices what she preaches. In a male-dominated industry, 80 percent of Bowersock's corporate and store-level managers are women. In motivational speeches across the country, Bowersock counsels other women: "Don't have one store--have a chain," she says. "And don't let anyone tell you you can't."

A favorite story she tells on the speaking circuit is the joke about British children on a playground a few years ago preparing to play "prime minister." A boy speaks up and says, "I get to be the prime minister," to which his friend replies, "But you can't. The prime minister is a woman."

Contact Source

Terri's Consign & Design Furnishings, 1826 W. Broadway Rd., #3, Mesa, AZ 85202, (602) 969-1121

This article was originally published in the November 1998 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Designing Woman.