Women In Business: Whitney Williams

We here at WebMarkets have had the true pleasure of working with Whitney for the past few years. She has proven to be an incredibly dedicated person not only to her company but also her employees. Whitney has a personality that lights up a room and quite an infectious laugh. We interviewed Whitney in hopes to capture her hard working attitude to share and inspire you.

Let's start at the beginning; what were you like in High School and how do you feel about it now?

That’s a really good question! In high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted... I kept trying to find what I was passionate about. I hated math, which is funny because that’s all I do now in purchasing. But, I’ve actually thought about talking to a math class about how important it is to pay attention because even when you think, “I’ll never use this in my life!”, you might be wrong!

And, had I paid more attention, I wouldn’t have had to relearn all of these things now.

I didn’t really know what direction I wanted to go. I started off in the service industry, and would always just sit out on my break and watch the planes go by and think, “I want that to be me one day.” Traveling, maybe being a flight attendant, you know - anything that has to do with traveling the world.

I always questioned what direction I was going to go.

What did you imagine your life becoming after graduating from Academia?

I always wanted to be successful, I just didn’t know what direction to take. I got into this industry because of my father, so I just sort of followed in his footsteps. I started as a receptionist and built my way up from there. But I didn’t really have a firm plan, I just wanted to find something that I loved.

 

What is it your dad did in the industry?

He was a silent partner in Advanced Marble & Granite. And so, he gave me an opportunity to start there as the secretary....

As a young adult first breaking into your career, what fears did you experience? What did you do to combat these worries?

I wanted to be taken seriously. And as a younger woman with older employees, that was kind of rough for me in the beginning. I wanted to earn respect with everybody and prove my place, so that’s how I combated it - working hard and showing them that I was in the trenches with them. Especially when we moved into this building. Even though I wasn’t offloading trucks, I wanted to be there during the hours that they were doing that to show my support.

Did you ever have an experience where you had a big setback? How did you learn to overcome certain failures?

A big setback? I mean, I don’t know. Every day is learning experience! I try and look at it that way. There’s not any one scenario that I can think of, just every day trying to be better than you were the day before.

What's your next big goal? Where would you like to see yourself in the coming years?

It’s the pursuit of happiness! I want to be more active out in the world! I just recently sold my house and I’m moving to the downtown Boise area. I really want to be out in the community and get more culture and music, friends and family, and simply enjoy life.

Do you have any advice on balancing work and non-work life?

That is a struggle that I have not yet mastered! *laughs* You definitely need the balance there to be better at your job. It’s a daily battle.

In your non-work time, what do you like to do?

I love music. I like to see what’s playing locally - which is another big reason why I wanted to move downtown! So, I could go to shows more often. I’m right down from the Knitting Factory now!

What women do you look up to?

My mom, for sure. She’s always been a strong leader of our family and she has worked really hard. My dad traveled a lot when my siblings and I were kids and she was always there for us three kids. She pushed us to be better human beings, not just “Go to school, get an education...,” she actually pushed us to be kind and have respect and pay it forward. She’s always been the leader of the family. It’s definitely my mom.

Bringing it back to where we began, if you had to write a letter to your 18-year-old self, what would you like to tell her?

So, that goes back to sitting on the milk carton on my break and looking up at the planes, and questioning, “When’s it my turn? I want that life.”

I would tell my 18-year-old self that there’s a plan in play, and to keep your head down and work hard and that things are going to happen the way that they are supposed to… Just keep faith and don’t doubt. Keep pushing forward, make goals, and go after it. And don’t walk around with your hand out! You have to earn it!

Francini Marble Idaho | Granite, Quartz, Marble, Boise