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Industry Profle By Kim Berndtson Finding the The recent economic downturn forced Joni Zimmerman to change professional direction, the result of which was a renewed career in better balance with her life. F rom the start, Joni Zimmerman has had a can-do attitude and a "watch me make it work" approach to her business. The CKD/CBD started her design frm, Design Solutions, Inc., in the mid-1980s, when she moved to Annapolis, MD. "I didn't know anyone," she says of those early years. "I wanted to work for myself, designing from home. I decided I'd better meet people, promote myself and make this work." And she did. Zimmerman has become an award-winning, nationally recognized designer, serving clients in the midAtlantic region. She isn't afraid to design from a distance either, as she is currently working a project in Grand Cayman. FINDING FUN AGAIN Her outlook today isn't dramatically different from her early career, although it has been tested. After cycling through the ups and downs of the good and bad times over the past 25-plus years, Zimmerman has emerged on the other side of the recent recession with a renewed can-do attitude. She admits it wasn't without its challenges. At one point in her career, she had a 7,000-square-foot showroom and 10 employees. Now she has one employee, in addition to herself, and a 2,000-squarefoot studio. "The economy really sent me into a tailspin for a while, as I had hoped to retire from running a business and move into a more relaxed climate of design," she says. "That dream has been set back." However, she insists the dream isn't gone…it has just changed. And, she says she's back! "I am having more fun than I have had in years with clients and, in essence, am doing what I wanted to do as semiretired, without the business sale," she says. "I have more energy and enthusiasm than I have had in years! I feel like yelling – 'Watch out world, I am back!' "I have more confdence, compassion and sense of self," she continues. "All in all, the recession had many benefts, and I think it is good for all of us to look at it that way…what did we learn, and how do we change our lives for the better because of it?" REBUILDING WITH BALANCE Zimmerman says she has learned a lot about herself over the past few years, and about how she wants to run her business. "The hardest thing I had to do was let faithful employees go for whom I cared so deeply," she says. "I don't think I could survive that again, so now I am not re- TOBY COLLECTION www.sagehilldesigns.com BRANDEN COLLECTION www.sunnywood.biz (Take a look at our exclusive KBIS preview.) Fine Kitchen & Bath Furnishings - The Difference is in the Details. Circle No. 25 on Product Card 38 | Kitchen & Bath Design News April 2013