Office style on a budget

Virginia Business
October 2005

Diana Chase and Karen Duer-Potts have worked together, lived next door to each other and watched each other's children grow up. So starting a business together seemed like the next logical step.

In May 2003, they started DK Workspaces in Richmond to provide office furnishings and related services to area businesses. The company has grown quickly. Overall sales have risen to $4 million in just two and a half years. "We didn't plan on making our first hire until our second year, but we've already got five employees," says Chase. "Everything has more than exceeded our expectations."

A key reason for their quick growth is that both women have strong backgrounds in sales and new business development. They recently completed a $1 million relocation job for the law firm Troutman Sanders. The assignment required them to work with a tight budget while providing the firm's new offices with stylish furnishings. Now they are handling furnishings for new and renovated SunTrust Bank branches throughout Virginia. Other clients include the Defense Supply Center, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Brink's, Delta Dental of Virginia and Andersen Strudwick.

DK's services include: arranging desks, conference tables, workstations and filing cabinets in sometimes cramped spaces; helping companies sort through a maze of trendy and office-chic colors, fabrics and wood finishes; offering recommendations on ergonomic considerations; and doing it all within budget. "We can do single offices or entire multifloor businesses, and we can address many different price points, from the budget conscious to very, very high-end products," Duer-Potts says

The partners hope to continue to build market share in Richmond, increase their client base and eventually branch out to at least one other location in Virginia.