Origin Stories: K. Tyler's Winding Road To Interior Design Helped Her Become A Jack Of All Trades
This series delves into the myriad ways people enter the commercial real estate industry and what contributes to their success.
The ranks of commercial real estate are filled with accomplished professionals who left successful careers in entirely different industries. Katawna Tyler is one of them. Today she is an interior designer and principal with Evanston-based Morgante Wilson Architects, but her roundabout experiences include time spent as a certified public accountant and then a decade as a high-end furnishings buyer.
When Tyler (who typically goes by K. due to the difficulty many have in spelling her first name) decided on a more creative lifestyle, she found each professional stop along the way armed her with useful tools. Accounting provided a deep understanding of how businesses operate, and from the world of furnishings she learned how to negotiate and who the industry's big players are.
After getting a degree in interior design and joining Morgante Wilson, Tyler said all that background helped her handle clients and explain the business aspects of design, not simply how a certain room would look. That makes all the years spent sampling other professions time well spent.
Bisnow: How did you get introduced to CRE?Tyler: I had quite a few stepping stones to get to CRE. After studying accounting and taking a job out of college as a CPA, I ultimately shifted gears and started pursuing a career related to my longtime love of interior design, first…
Read the full story here.
|
