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Press ReleaseThe Interior Arrangement and Design Association Announces Career Makeovers for Designing Women Who Want It AllDALLAS, Aug. 3, 2005 -- Corporate women looking for balance between home and work life are jumping at "mompreneurship" via career training provided by The Interior Arrangement and Design Association, Inc. (IADA). The Dallas-based for-profit corporation established in 1995 travels its interior arrangement training to five U.S. cities beginning in September. The training is appealing to women longing to exit the corporate workforce to raise their children. The unique design approach is based on the idea that Americans own everything they need to create beautiful rooms, but lack a designer's eye to artfully arrange them. Professional arrangers provide room-by-room makeover services to homeowners using only existing furnishings.Home-based businesses are on the rise since 2000, and women are more likely than ever to leave full-time careers to start them. The IADA certification process is attractive to corporate women accustomed to achievement. That credential takes the edge off the worries of women starting their own businesses but needing credibility. Sixty percent of IADA students are educated, successful women looking for a second career, and IADA career training is geared specifically to them with intense weekend programs that minimize time away from jobs and family. The concept appeals to the business sensibility and creative skills they already possess and the flexible schedule it affords. Lisa Billings, IADA President and an entrepreneurial mom, reports "Corporate women come to us unwilling to be like Lynnette in Desperate Housewives. Men don't choose between career and child-raising, and women shouldn't have to either." According to the Center for Women's Research, the estimated growth rate of women-owned firms was nearly twice that of all firms. Women caught between making money and motherhood are starting businesses. Entrepreneurship and parenting isn't easy, but compared to the rigid hours and vacation schedules corporations require, home-based interior arrangement has real pay-offs. The average hourly rate for professional arrangers is $100, but IADA members charge as much as $175. IADA training and membership revenue doubled in 2000 with steady growth since. The design concept is attractive to busy homeowners who want a designer spin on their home in one day. For "mompreneurs," that translates into income without sacrificing time with their children. Home-based businesses are time-intensive and risky. About one in three IADA students succeed in the business, exactly the national average for small business survival. Susan Dearing of Alumni Career Services at UCLA Anderson School of Management says, "You have to realize that you will end up working twice as hard for half as much." Tuition for IADA training is $1800, but for women torn between work and home, the payoffs are beyond financial. A three-day workweek can net an established interior arranger an income of about 60K per year, but most importantly, they can still be in the carpool line by 3 pm. Contact Information: Lisa Billings, President The Interior Arrangement and Design Association http://www.interiorarrangement.org iadahq@aol.com 214-826-2474 |
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