Onyx in Business Matters

Easier said than done as a business owner, wife and mother of two children, ages 1 and 5. Late nights and early mornings. Oh sleep, where have you gone? Nonetheless, it's a motto I strive to live by.

So what's the payoff? My goal is to build Onyx Group into a multimillion-dollar operation, all the while gaining financial freedom and maintaining a flexible lifestyle. If I need to bring my children to the office with me, I can. I'll never miss daytime school events and as they get older, I'll be able to change my schedule to be home for them when school's out.

Every month I make two payments for their prepaid college fund because I want to ensure that college will always be an option for them. But with the wealth that I accumulate from being a business owner, it is nice to plan that if my children have the aptitude to attend an Ivy League school, that I will be able to afford it.

So what's the payback? I have an incredible team at the Onyx Group and in return they deserve for me to always strive to maintain Onyx as a great place to work. Life is too short to lose out on 40 hours a week. If you have to work, why not work where you are happy, where you do great work for great clients and where family is cherished (pets included)? My business plan is all about quality of life--for me and my family, my employees and their families, and our clients. It's a chain reaction: happy employees execute great work and deliver excellent customer service to our clients; great work and great service make happy clients.

Happy clients and happy employees, what more could a girl ask for? So as revenues grow, I plan to make my staff happy from the tips of their toes to the tops of their heads. Here's how:

• Soul: time off for community service; onsite child care; onsite pet care
• Tummy: lunch always provided
• Mind: continuing education and training
• Body: onsite gym, great insurance
• Pocket: excellent compensation

So what's next? I plan to groom an executive team to take over Onyx and retire from daily job duties by my 35th birthday. In addition to Onyx Group, I want to be an angel investor. I hope to invest in and coach others into developing their dreams.

You can't imagine that passion that drives me to build a company that benefits me, my family, my employees, and my clients. I can't think of a more fulfilling life than having the freedom to be with my family and helping others to find success and happiness.

Nadia Kamal is owner and prinicpal at the Onyx Group, a graphics design firm that was Emerging Business of the Year winner at the 2008 Small Business Excellence Awards of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.