Ten years ago, Natalie and Julian Dion moved back to New York from Washington, D.C. They took their passion for creating outdoor spaces and built two businesses, DCL Outdoor Contracting and The Carpentry Shop.
Through their original business, DCL Outdoor Contracting, they are able to landscape beautiful natural spaces. Seeing their customers’ need for handcrafted indoor and outdoor furniture, Natalie and Julian started The Carpentry Shop, which allows them to build the furniture of their customers’ dreams. Both businesses give the Dions the ability to create natural oases tailored to their client’s needs.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Dions were forced to lay off some employees until a PPP loan came through and allowed them to rehire their team.
Natalie reminds other small business owners to make sure they love what they’re doing because it takes so much time and energy. Though her and Julian’s schedules can be hectic, their daughters are becoming self-sufficient and learning valuable lessons from watching their parents do what they love.
DCL Outdoor Contracting’s previous workers’ comp insurance provider changed their business classification out-of-the-blue, hitting them with a $50,000 bill that threatened to end their business altogether. “That’s crippling,” said Natalie. “Where did they expect me to find all this money?”
Her insurance agent found new workers’ comp coverage for DCL from Pie Insurance that fit the work they do and allowed Natalie and Julian to continue operating their business. Recently, when an employee cut his hand at work, Pie made the claims process easy. “Pie totally saved my business,” Natalie said. “[We’re] so happy to have found a company that’s affordable and reliable.”
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