Design Basics : Home Plans, Woman-Centric Marketing, Gifts

In 1991, Linda Reimer walked into one of the country's largest home plan design companies, Design Basics Inc., looking for a low-stress, part-time summer job. She was offered a position photocopying blueprints. Today, she runs the Omaha-based company, which employs 50 people.

Reimer spent the two-and-a-half decades before 1991 raising children and directing a preschool. She loved teaching young children and the preschool she directed was very popular. With her own children getting older, however, she was looking for something to fill up some time during the school's summer break.

The type of person who throws herself into whatever she does, Reimer was hooked by the end of the summer and continued working at the home plan design company part-time throughout the school year.

Reimer has always had a natural love for homebuilding. Her father built homes for 35 years; her mother drew many of his designs. Reimer also has a never-ending hunger to learn and grow-something Design Basics' owner, Dennis Brozak, noticed. In 1994 Brozak asked Reimer to accept a full-time position as Director of Human Resources. By 1996, after 13 years at the helm of his company, Brozak began handing day-to-day operations over to Reimer. In 1997 she was named President of the company.

Despite her rapid advancement, it wasn't all smooth sailing along the way. Because the majority of the firm's customers were builders, she had to prove herself in a male-dominated field. Reimer visited builders across the country, asking for their input and learning about their challenges and market trends.

Despite a fluctuating economy, the company has grown at a steady rate, according to Reimer. "Today, many of our clients are consumers. Design Basics' plans are marketed in 98% of the national home publications and in lumberyards and are featured in newspapers across the country every week. Our own publications are sold at Barnes & Noble and Borders. Maximizing opportunities on the Internet has allowed us to sell our plans throughout the world."

Onlookers say Reimer's management style is one of the keys to her success. She often creates positions based on individuals' strengths and interests rather than asking an employee to fit into a position. She encourages personal growth and responsibility; many departments within the firm are self-directed.

Looking back, Reimer is pleased with the turn her life has taken. "I thought nothing could beat raising children and being a teacher, knowing I was making a difference in children's lives. Today, I'm still trying to make a difference for my employees, our builders and thousands of homebuyers. So, in the second half of my life . . . I'm having the greatest time."

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