Peaks and Perks

Once they became established, the women we interviewed flourished as owners of retail shops, manufacturing companies, and wholesalers. But are they happy?

The answer is a recurrent yes. Over and over again women described their jobs as offering excitement, independence, creativity, and challenge.

Nancy Taylor is one of several women who find the freedom and autonomy of running their own business the most satisfying aspect of their work. After she discovered futons as the solution to her chronic back problems back in 1982, she sewed a futon mattress for herself, then a neighbor – and then, like many other women, sewed all the futons she sold her first year of business. Now she’s the founding owner and president of Dream on Futons, a retailer and futon manufacturer of soft goods in Bellingham, WA, which has grown 20-30% every year since. “I love having the freedom to constantly grow,” she explains. “Having to create systems, relationships, systems, and customers pushes my mind to the edge. It’s all up to me.”

Relationships with customers, colleagues, and employees are also a source of satisfaction on the job. Many women spoke warmly of customers’ stories, the friends they’ve made, and the satisfaction of helping people choose products they’ll enjoy for years to come.

“Helping customers by providing excellent customer service is the best part of this business,” explains Lillian Nazginov at Life Style Futon Covers, manufacturer and wholesalers of futon covers and accessories located in Queens, NY. When she had her third child, she was amazed at the number of gifts she received. “My vendors and customers have become my friends.”

(picture (l to r) Editor -Joe Tatulli, and Arthur and Lillian Nazginov at Life Style HQs in Woodside, Queens, NY.)
 

Lesa Heinlen of East West Futons agrees. She was an accountant at a large corporation when she met her husband, who at the time owned one futon specialty store. She came on board shortly thereafter and manages the accounting and advertising for the whole business while co-managing two of the three futon stores they now own in metro Detroit. “I’m not a corporate person – I don’t like the politics and I don’t like the whole suit and tie thing. I could never work for anyone again! I love having the freedom to decide what I want to do and when.”

Lynn Martin and her husband own Cotton Works, a futon cover manufacturer and distributor in Albany, GA. She was in real estate before she entered the world of wholesale futons and finds the opportunity to meet futon retailers and form relationships with customers an unusually pleasant part of her job. “I’ve met friends and enjoyed great relationships with wonderful people that I’ve met at shows and talked to over several years. You don’t get that chance in other industries.”

 The Road Less Traveled

Make no mistake about it. Despite the satisfaction these women express, they can quickly point to the difficulties of the path they’ve chosen. It’s not always been an easy ride and they’re well aware of the obstacles they’ve overcome.

There are the day to day frustrations such as administrative paperwork. Long hours. Rude people. Uneven cash flow. Inconsistent lead times. And from the beginning, there has been one obstacle that’s been a little more subtle.

“It’s a man’s world,” explains Lillian Nazginov. “It’s particularly difficult for a woman to start a business. They don’t take you seriously, don’t trust you. There’s a lot of skepticism and you have to prove them wrong.”

Several women gave the same example of this unwelcome stereotyping – male sales reps who visit the store and approach them only to ask to see the owner or person in charge.

“It’s more challenging to be a woman because even after men realize I’m the owner, many of them assume I don’t know what I’m talking about,” says Nancy Taylor.

Taylor, like many others, has also felt challenged by the lack of role models in her life.

“There’s no precedent. No woman in my family has ever been a business leader before me.” Even those who network with other women inside and outside of the industry feel it’s difficult at times to face unfamiliar territory such as balancing work and family.

But despite sexism and the challenge of new roles, most women interviewed acknowledge that they’re better off than their counterparts in other industries. The futon industry is more egalitarian than most, perhaps because it came of age after the women’s movement in the 70’s, perhaps because it grew out of a somewhat alternative subculture – or maybe precisely because the futon industry has historically attracted capable women to leadership positions.

But there are fears this is changing. The futon industry, in the eyes of many, is becoming more corporate, which may mean that it will become less friendly to women. People wear suits on the trade show floor. There are no longer any women on the Board. Some women worry the industry is capitulating to “the mattress boys,” and devolving back to the place from which it departed.

FL