I am the vice president of Nicholas Pools Inc., in Toms River, where I began my career when I was 16.
My parents, brothers and I gathered in the family room one evening and it was decided that we would open a store selling swimming pools, spas, chemicals and supplies. I worked after school and through the summers, all while attending Georgian Court College in Lakewood for my undergraduate degree and later Rider University, where I graduated with my master’s degree in business adminitration.
After that, I decided to go back to Cyprus, where my parents originated from, accepting a position as a marketing and management professor at a college in Larnaca, Cyprus. I was in Cyprus for three years. I married and moved to London, with my husband Sotiris for two years, but then we decided the best place for us to settle down and raise a family would be near my parents and the family business.
My parents were more than happy to build a nursery next to my office and I was able to work and take care of my children. Being a working mother is not an easy task, but having the opportunity to bring them to work with me made it easier.
Ten years ago my parents decided they wanted to retire and my brothers were ready for a change. My husband and I purchased the business and have been running Nicholas Pools together for the past 10 years. Sotiris returned to his previous position in information technology and is now at the store part-time; I run the day-to-day operations of the company.
The industry has changed a lot over the past 25 years. It was once a male-dominated industry, and getting people to trust your knowledge and skill was sometimes difficult.
Owning and managing a family business has been challenging. It is thrilling being a part of something from the beginning and watching it grow. I remember how my parents, Nick and Flora, began working very long hours and the trial and error of learning how to run a business. They grew up in a small village in Cyprus and the most important thing they incorporated into the business was the importance of being honest and having a good reputation.
I have enjoyed the thrill of watching the business grow and blossom from a small shop in a strip mall to purchasing a property and constructing a 13,000-square-foot store. Dealing with the growing pains and overcoming the economic situations has been an experience of a lifetime. It may not be what I had in mind in while at college or graduate school, but being the vice president of Nicholas Pools is something I am proud of. In what other job can you say that you build people’s dreams?
My hard work and dedication has been rewarded by being included in the 2012 NJ Monthly Leading Women Entrepreneurs & Business Owners Top 100 List and I was included in the March 2013 Forbes Magazine NJ Women Business Leaders special section.
