DwellStudio创办人：活在当下！

    2000年，克里斯汀•勒米厄创办了家居用品公司DwellStudio，希望生产出比家居连锁公司Pottery Barn这类传统零售商的产品更时尚的家居用品。DwellStudio慢慢赢得了关注，从设计师变身为企业家的克里斯汀•勒米厄也因此吸引了家具电商Wayfair的注意。去年8月份，Wayfair收购了DwellStudio，不过收购价格没有披露。

    《财富》（Fortune）最具影响力商界女性（ Most Powerful Women）榜单始于1998年，次年开始召开年度峰会，活动如今已经成为商界、政界、慈善界、教育和艺术界杰出女性的一次盛会。每周的最具影响力商界女性个人问答专栏将关注领导力、期望等问题，当然也会关注平衡问题。

    1. 当前你所在的行业中哪一点最让你激动？

    我认为目前的家居/生活行业正处于大变革时期。在线零售正以闪电般的速度发展，这也是未来的发展方向。Wayfair是目前北美最大的在线家居产品零售商，能成为它的一员，与这个行业中最顶尖的公司一起，站在行业巨变的前沿，我感到十分激动。接下来的几年，我们会在各领域共同推进行业的发展。我已经迫不及待想看到这个行业未来的图景。

    2. 你错失的最大一个机遇是什么？

    2008年，我们与一家极富远见的战略投资公司商谈合作事宜，当时协商已经进入最后阶段，全球经济却突然跌至谷底，合作也因此没能达成。如果当时达成了合作，我想局面应该会很有趣，我很好奇我的公司现在会发展到哪一步。话虽如此，我还是相信，世上没有偶然性，凡事都有原因。而现在我们与Wayfair的合作也正呈现出更加有意思的局面。

    3. 你所获得的最好建议是什么？

    活在现在。活在当下！

    4. 和以往相比，如今的企业家们更需要具备哪种品质？

    凭直觉来说，我觉得是激情。激情能提供成为一名成功的企业家所必须具备的持久力量。如果你对自己的工作没有激情，那么再努力也无法成功。虽然激情很重要，但在与尼拉吉•沙阿一起工作的过程中，我很快看到了专注的价值。身为Wayfair的CEO，尼拉吉•沙阿非常富有成效，而同时又具有鼓舞人心的力量。他用无穷的智慧和极高的专注力领导着公司的发展，我认为这正是Wayfair疾速发展的原因所在。或许，获得商业成功的超级秘密就在于激情与专注的结合吧。

    5. 对即将进入艰辛职场的年轻人，你有什么建议？

    凡事都要积极尝试——你永远不知道，一些完全随机的事情会引导你走向何方。睁大双眼，不要低估勤奋的作用。

    Christiane Lemieux founded DwellStudio in 2000, hoping to create a line of home furnishings with a trendier vibe than traditional retailers like Pottery Barn (WSM). The company slowly gained a following, helping the designer-turned-entrepreneur catch the eye of Wayfair, which purchased DwellStudio for an undisclosed amount in August.

    Fortune's Most Powerful Women started as a list in 1998, kicked off its annual Summit the following year, and has since become a community of the preeminent women in business, government, philanthropy, education, and the arts. This weekly Q&A features one MPW's personal take on leadership, aspirations, and (of course) balance. (Lemieux was a Fortune Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur winner in 2012.)

    1. What currently excites you most about your industry?

    I think the home/lifestyle industry is in total flux. Online retail is shaping the future. It is moving at lightning pace. I am thrilled to be part of Wayfair -- now the largest online home retailer in North America -- and to be on the forefront of this sweeping change with the best in the business. I can't wait to see what the next couple of years bring as we push all the boundaries together.

    2. What was your biggest missed opportunity?

    We were very far down the road with a great visionary and strategic venture partner in 2008, and then the world bottomed out. I think had that materialized it would have been very interesting -- I am so curious to see where that would have taken the business. That being said, I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and our Wayfair partnership is shaping up to be even more interesting.

    3. What is the best advice you ever received?

    Your life IS the occasion. Rise to it.

    4. What is one trait every entrepreneur needs more today than ever?

    Instinctively, I would say passion. Passion fuels the staying power it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. If you are not passionate about your endeavor it will not succeed. That being said, I now work with Niraj Shah, the inspiring and prolific CEO of Wayfair who has quickly taught me the virtues of focus. Niraj leads the company with boundless intelligence and laser focus which I believe is the reason for the company's meteoric rise. Maybe the super-secret to business success lies in the Venn between passion and focus.

    5. What would you say to a group of young people looking to enter the tough job market?

    Do anything and everything -- you never know where something completely random will take you. Keep your eyes open, and don't underestimate hard work.