Barbara Green

Better Business Bureau of Greater Iowa & Interiors by Barbara

AGE: NA

TITLE: Community relations director and business owner

HOMETOWN: Cedar Rapids

RESIDENCE: Cedar Rapids

Decisions, decisions. We make them all day long and they direct the outcome of our daily lives. They seem inconsequential, but when a tough decision comes along, you know it. You know that the direction of your life will change and that it will affect everything.

There have been myriad other decisions — college majors, moves, first job — all important. Still, there is that dramatic moment when all the former smaller decisions come together like a chemical reaction and you are never quite the same.

I had a small, home-based interior design business. I also consulted on projects at an architectural firm. My life and career seemed to be moving along. Why the unrest? I had always dreamed of having a storefront design studio. I knew what it would look like, how it would sound, and even the feel of the place when you walked inside. The picture in my mind was crystal clear. How to do this? How to even make the first step? All these were mysteries to me. The Women’s Business Center had just opened its doors and a friend suggested that I talk to the owner. We worked on a business plan, found commercial space and contacted furniture and accessory factories. All fell into place except the biggest decision – how to finance all of this.

Sitting across the desk from a commercial loan officer was terrifying. This could break me and I would lose everything I owned — my home, investments, savings, car, everything. As luck would have it, the loan officer was also anti-women in business. His bias was evident. I felt like I was in a time warp back in the 1950s.

After some of our meetings, I could not sleep, but I took a deep breath and kept planning. I tolerated a lot of negativity, but he did do the proper paperwork and the forms were ready to be signed. I was a wreck. When I picked up the pen to sign, he held up his hand and said, “If you default, I can have a sheriff stand outside your home, refuse to let you in, and I can take everything, even the pictures of your children.”

Wow. Instead of falling apart, a sense of calm swept over me. In that one clear moment, I realized that I had lost things many times, but I still had my health, wonderful friends, two great kids and supportive parents. I was looking forward to the future. You can lose things but survive. I looked back at him and firmly said, “Trying and failing is not as scary to me as not trying at all.” I signed the papers.

That decision made all the difference. I loved my design studio, worked on great projects, and met fascinating people while running Interiors by Barbara that opened in 1990. My greatest lessons happened because I made that one tough decision. (I did pay back the loan in record time.)

Recently, I made a career change to work for the Iowa Better Business Bureau on a part-time basis. I have the best of both worlds. I can still do my design work and also meet with business owners and help them with their plans. This was made possible because of the lessons I learned from owning my own business. When you can look back without regret, and to the future without fear, you know your tough decision was the right one.