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A Hobby Becomes a Business

This Maryland MBA turned a jewelry-making hobby into a startup business. Her MBA experience helps her see the big picture

Dana Lande
CEO
Dayna Designs
MBA Class of 2004,
University of Maryland's Smith School of Business

I am the founder and CEO of my own company, Dayna Designs. We design and manufacture sterling silver and natural gemstone jewelry. I started the company while finishing my MBA at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business, where I was on the entrepreneurship track. I had expected to take over the family business, but after much deliberation, I decided to start my own company instead.

I love jewelry and had taken up jewelry-making as a hobby. Following a warm reception to my designs by family and friends, I realized the hobby could be a business and began Dayna Designs in April, 2004, with DAYNA, a designer division of boutique jewelry for professional women.

After presenting the business in one of my MBA classes, I was approached by several peers requesting terrapin jewelry to commemorate their time at Maryland. I developed a line--including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings--using natural stones like red coral and onyx to celebrate the university's red and black colors, and sterling silver turtle charms to honor Testudo, the university's mascot. Not only did my friends love their jewelry, but the college and alumni stores loved the line as well. The Dayna U [http://www.daynau.com] collegiate mascot jewelry division was born!

Here's what a typical work day looks like for me:

8:00 a.m. -- Since our offices are in my home in Beltsville, Md., I wake up at 8 and am "at the office" by 9. Each employee who works for me sets his/her own schedule, so several employees are already at their desks and working when I'm just getting up.

9:00 a.m. -- The first item on the agenda is to say good morning to my team of four here at HQ. Then I hop on e-mail to see if any orders have come in overnight or if our employee out in L.A. has written any news.

9:30 a.m. -- Today I have a sales call with the Alumni Association at the University of Maryland, one of our very first wholesale customers for the collegiate mascot jewelry division. I spend the next hour preparing a packet of information that includes their past sales, samples of our current line of Terrapins Jewelry, and new promotional marketing materials we've developed since their previous annual order in July, 2005.

10:30 a.m. -- I meet with the marketing coordinator of the alumni association at their office in College Park. Together, we check their current inventory levels and talk about past successes, and then I show new fall products and probe for possible marketing opportunities for the fall season. After an hour or so, we've placed a small order and discussed ideas about how to better display the product.

Noon -- It's time for lunch! By noon I'm usually starving, so I'm eager to go to the kitchen and heat up some leftovers for lunch. Several of my employees have a habit of eating at their desks, but we're trying to break that habit.

12:30 p.m. -- Time to check in with my vice-president in California. She and I have two check-in calls per week, usually lasting about two hours each. Today we need to discuss the upcoming launch of our new DaynaU.com Web site, the rollout of a graduation promotion for 2007, and the plans for her visit to HQ next week.

2:30 p.m. -- Now I need a snack. I'm expecting twins, and I'm constantly hungry. I run over to the kitchen and grab an orange and my water bottle before heading back to my office to check e-mail.

2:45 p.m. -- I have a monthly check-in call with one of our sales reps in New York. It's tough to get hold of these traveling salespeople, so I'm happy to get his attention for 15 minutes. We discuss the universities he will be visiting this week as well as any objections or concerns he's heard from customers regarding our products. I finish with a pep talk about our sales goals for the month.

3:00 p.m. -- I check in briefly with our tech guy to see how his work on the Web site is coming along. And then rush into a feedback session with our marketing director. I do feedback with every employee once per month in order to raise specific accomplishments and needs for improvement over the past month. Our feedback is reciprocal, so this is also a chance for all employees to offer their thoughts and concerns about the company, policies, work environment, or my job as a manager.

4:00 p.m. -- I'm training a new employee on inventory management, so I work with her for about two hours, showing her some of the features of our inventory management system as well as packaging and shipping standards. We then work on an outstanding order for the University of Illinois as an example of how to quality-check, package, label, and invoice an order.

6:00 p.m. -- Now I'm ready for another break, so I check my e-mail while munching on some popcorn. I had been working for the past three months to acquire a business loan from a bank in order to help fund our growth this year. Since that loan finally came through a week ago, I am now researching money market accounts in which to manage the loan. The next hour is spent doing online research and making phone calls.

7:15 p.m. -- My husband calls to let me know that he's left the office and will be home in about 45 minutes. This is usually my cue to close my e-mail and put my feet up for a few minutes. I walk over to the kitchen to decide what we're going to eat for dinner, and then I relax on the couch and close my eyes for a bit.

8:00 p.m. -- My husband and I usually eat dinner in front of the television--a little mind-numbing fun after a long day!

9:00 p.m. -- I usually check in with either a friend or family member via phone in the evening. In the meantime, my husband starts his "second job"--working with me, designing a new feature on our Web site. He is our resident graphic designer, and his work for the business gets done after hours.

10:30 p.m. -- I check my personal and work e-mail one last time before getting ready for bed. And then I read a fun book for a half hour or so before hitting the sack.

I don't think I needed an MBA to get where I am today, but it has helped me tremendously. I had previous experience in small business and sales; but in the process of getting my MBA, I gained a more well-rounded perspective of what goes into creating a successful company. If I could go back to B-school, I would take more courses in banking and accounting. Creativity and business sense are vital; but if the numbers aren't there, then neither is the business.

Before I started Dayna Designs, I didn't fully understand what it would feel like to run my own business. Despite having worked with my father in his business, I wasn't fully aware of the weight I would feel on my shoulders until I did it for myself. It also has taken a bit of adjustment to learn how to schedule my own time and that of my employees.

When starting a business, there is no inherent structure in place, so I had to create a work environment, business systems, and company policies. I've loved doing most of it, but it definitely was more work just to get things up and running than I anticipated.

Unfortunately, there's no magic bullet here. My best advice to MBAs is to be as persistent as you can in pursuing your passions. And at the same time, don't forget to balance your work and your life--you only live once and you should enjoy what you do!