LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Women in Clark County are coming together in hopes of empowering other women to launch businesses of their own. According to the Nevada Women’s Business Center, the number of female owned businesses in Clark County is 74,200.
Chris Harvey, a female business owner, in Las Vegas knows firsthand how work and tenacity can pay off.
“I’m here every morning and I close every night,” said Harvey.
Harvey owns The Design Factory in Las Vegas. It’s a full-service exhibit design company for the trade show industry. She says one of the keys to her success is staying humble, showing respect, and listening to employees.
“You just have to be in tune to the people that are working for you and understand everyone has great ideas,” Harvey said.
Before moving to Las Vegas, she learned the tricks of the trade while living in south Texas.
“The convention center was small, the shows that came to Corpus Christi were small, and I couldn’t believe the size of the conventions here and how the business has grown in the last 20 years we’ve been here,” said Harvey.
Her path to success was far from easy.
“I’ll tell you what, this is pretty much a male dominated industry, it has been, so in the beginning it was a little intimidating,” said Harvey.
She was also exhausted at times juggling her career and her family.
“I worked full time, took care of my kids full time, never had in house help of any kind, and it is tiring. I can remember many nights I just fell in bed because I was so tired,” Harvey said.
Her hard work paid off, turning her company into a multi-million-dollar business.
“Our first year, we probably did about $300,000 now we’re up between 6 to 10 million now,” said Harvey.
She wants other aspiring female entrepreneurs to know, she knows what it’s like to struggle but remember to never give up.
“Everybody has a little bit of self-doubt. You might think you’re not ready to do this, but just know we all felt that way,” said Harvey. “What I always say, if I can do it, anybody can do it.
