INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Women business proprietors and operators throughout the USA are overcoming challenges to development agencies that provide jobs, economic security, and in addition to assisting the communities that they came home. This Indiana proprietor grew up with a robust foundation that has helped her conquer adversity, create success, and develop a commercial enterprise. Cathy Stegemoller, the owner of Steg Plumbing, found out her commercial enterprise talents at an early age. “Well, I truly grew up in an enterprise. My parents owned the Royal Motel in Martinsville, Indiana, and we lived in that in. So I and my brothers and sisters grew up 24/7 in business surroundings watching our mother and father work tough. We helped easy rooms on the weekends while the maids weren’t there and helped fill the Coke gadget while we have been simply younger kids. So I have not been in an enterprise environment,” Stegemoller stated.
Cathy went on to get a companion’s diploma in the commercial enterprise at Indiana Business College, which opened a door for her into the world of finance. “I just kind of fell into banking. They gave me a job as secretary to the financial institution president, and I improved from there to end up a business mortgage officer. Ended up a vice-chairman of personal banking at Key Bank in downtown Indianapolis. So I got my business background and understanding of finance from the banking international,” Stegemoller stated. So how did she cross from banking to the plumbing business? “People laugh once they question me that every one the time because that’s kind of uncommon, but I married a master plumber. He always desired to start his own commercial enterprise, and I became entrepreneurial from my historical past, so collectively, we started the employer.
“We did. He and every other man or woman and me doing paintings after hours working out of our kitchen, our garage, and our house. The enterprise grew to a place where I ceased my banking activity and commenced helping him with the business,” Stegemoller stated. But like many younger corporations, she and her colleagues bumped into sudden challenges. He had some health problems in 2006 and ended up have some quite extreme surgical procedures. He was running part-time for some time, and that changed into approximately equal time as the recession hit, which virtually took its toll on the development enterprise. In 2010, it became determined that he could not work inside the enterprise anymore, couldn’t work full time, and we had to make the dedication of whether or not we closed the doors or we preserve going.
We had 20 personnel at that point which I knew were relying on us for income and that they couldn’t get jobs everywhere else due to the recession. So I stepped up on the helm at that point, became the president, and moved forward. And we grew for the duration of the recession and came out on the other aspect. You can’t do it with the aid of yourself. You have to surround yourself with, without a doubt, sturdy humans. You should be honest. You should have empathy for your customers and empathy for your personnel.” Stegemoller stated instructions like those have helped the organization develop. “We have grown from a -private corporation into now 46 personnel, and we’re over $6 million in sales. We deal with quite a few custom builders here inside the city and manufacturing developers and home proprietors. I was characteristic that to my strong control team, suitable personnel, as well as I got concerned in associations here in the city.
I got involved in the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis. It’s called BAGI. I’m on the board of directors there, a whole lot of networking with builders, some learning opportunities there. I also got concerned within the Greater Indianapolis Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Association. I’m incoming president for that, for the affiliation. That’s me looking to pay returned to the enterprise that has been so true to me.” As some distance as what the destiny looks as if, Stegemoller sees her circle of relatives closing lively inside the business. “Well the future, we plan to maintain growth. I even have two sons who are energetic within the enterprise now, and that’s interesting for me because it’s continually been our own family enterprise. We deal with our personnel like our own family. So that suits right in. I keep to research; I keep going to conferences and maintaining searching out opportunities to improve the corporation,” Stegemoller. Stegemoller instructed News eight some of her secrets for fulfillment: “You need to have thick skin, and I snort about that plenty due to the fact human beings will say, ‘Oh I don’t need to harm your emotions,” and I say you can’t harm my emotions. I paintings in a plumbing business, and I’m round builder each day. So you need to have thick skin, you have to have self-self-assurance, and you need to keep studying. Don’t stop learning.”
