Success Stories:

Tips for women in business

Many women have toyed with the idea of starting their own businesses, but how do you know when the time is right? And once established, how do you ensure triumph? These local businesswomen have paved the way and share their secrets to success.

Jennifer Slider, owner of JR Slider & Associates, LLC, initially became a Realtor because she didn’t want to “just work a job.” “I wanted to do something that would actually serve people,” Slider says, “to focus on others, instead of myself. That’s exactly what I buying and selling homes. Now she has her own company and

“My family and I recently started rehabing in Oak Cliff,” she says. Unlike others who may only make cosmetic changes to a house, Slider says her goal is to transform distressed properties as a way of improving the neighborhood. “We make it right. If that means completely re-doing the foundation and pulling out the duct work, that’s what we do. We’re in the properties for the long haul.”

For local business owner Lorraine Wire of Hance Paint and after she and her husband relocated to Dallas, Wire unexpectedly found herself a widow and sole owner of the auto shop. “I didn’t have a choice about being in this career,” Wire says. “This business was doing well at the time, and I knew I could continue doing it.” With the help of her employees and a strong faith, Wire persevered.

“I grew up very underprivileged,” says Wire, who is from North Carolina. “If you really knew my background, and what all I have accomplished and done, it’s an amazing story. But I didn’t do it on my own. Everything I’ve had and done has been by the grace of God.” Wire also credits her employees. “They are good, care of business.”

Another factor in Wire’s success is her strong service ethic. “We always want to and that they want to come back to this shop. You know, everybody needs a doctor and a hairdresser, and so forth. Eventually, most people are going to need a good body shop,” she says, with an optimistic smile.

Johnette Taylor of Roundtree Landscaping operates by the Golden Rule of business. “I treat people the way I want to be treated, and I expect the same in return,” she says. In the early days of her business she took her husband along to help her make a decision about a truck purchase, but was dismayed when the salesman repeatedly spoke to her husband instead of to her. “My husband kept saying, ‘Talk to her, she’s the one buying the truck.’ The salesman said ‘Yeah, yeah’ and then turned back to my husband.” When somebody treats her that way, Taylor says, she doesn’t do business with them, and she is mindful of the lesson when she interacts with her clients and associates.

For Dr. Nirmala Marneni of Oak Heights Dental, education is the key to success. She advocates that women take continuing education to stay current in says Marneni, who credits her success to diligent planning, discipline and dedication to her dream. “As a result, today I own a business,” she says, and her pride of ownership is evident.

What if you happened to start your business on September 10, 2001, one day before 9/11? Kelly Harris, who owns her Farmers Insurance -

In addition, at that time the insurance industry was trying to survive the turmoil? “We found other areas to focus on,” she says. “A lot of agents didn’t make it through that time. But we looked beyond that.”

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