Mothers With Businesses Make It Work

The Buffalo News:

How do women balance family, career and also squirrel away some time for themselves? We asked three local “executive moms” — a landscape architect, a vintage apparel merchant and a job placement guru — to share their formulas for success. As you will see, determination and commitment are only a part of the equation.

Each morning, whether Danielle Loukataris starts at her Elmwood Avenue boutique or in her home in the Village of Kenmore, the 41-year-old mother prioritizes. Her goal? To make as much “happen” as possible.

When Loukataris launched her vintage clothing business online in 2001, she would plant daughter Sadie — a toddler at the time — on her lap as they both sat before the computer. Today, the mother of two — Sadie, now 7, and Alex, 10 — runs a flourishing shop called “Divine Finds.” Her business has gone international, with booths at trade shows in Toronto and London. Come 2008, you will see “Divine Finds” apparel in the movie “Revolutionary Road,” filming now in New York City and starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“It’s in my blood,” Loukataris said of her business. “I do a lot of work at night after the kids go to bed. This is my life. I love what I do. I’m happy. My kids are happy and that is all that matters. If anything, I’m teaching them a sense of the real world.

Mothers who run their own businesses say guilt issues surface when you least expect them. For landscape architect Joy Kuebler, it was house cleaning.

“The house had to have some kind of control,” said Kuebler, 34. “I had to give in. I was not able to clean up the house for my kids. With terrible guilt, I hired a housekeeper. Once I got used to the fact that someone would clean up on Tuesdays, it was a huge relief.”

The business — Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect — started in 2003, six years after Kuebler graduated from Cornell University and two years after the birth of her son, Wyatt.

“I worked for a year and had my second,” Kuebler said. “That’s the way we started — just me and the little guy. I sent him to day-care for most of the first year. You can’t answer a phone with a two-year-old. After Maren was born, I started three-day work weeks.”

The first year the business had five jobs. Already this year, Kuebler has opened 25 projects. Along the way, she hired two architects and an office assistant, all of whom help in a pinch with the children. Like other working moms, Kuebler fills in the gaps late at night.

Nicole Fiorella learned the value of a support network early on in juggling family and her job search firm called Briand Fiorella Search, specializing in the recruitment of medical, pharmaceutical and biotech executives. Her husband, Daniel Fiorella, gets 7-year-old daughter Katie off the bus after school. He also puts the meals on the table during the week — and grocery shops, too.

“I really believe you need a plan and support system,” said Fiorella, 34. “My plan this summer was to put her in summer camp for five weeks. The other time she will be with her grandparents or cousins.

“When you take the risk of owning your own business, there are some perks that come with it. If my husband’s working overtime, Katie can come to the office with me,” Fiorella added. “I have a room that she can do her homework in. I have that flexibility.”