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At one time, Cathy LaValley had a clear vision for her life.

She wanted a husband who could support her in style, a few kids and a Volvo station wagon. She definitely ñ definitely ñ did not want to have to work outside the home.

Things did not turn out exactly as planned.

By age 33, LaValley was a college dropout who had been fired from two jobs. Divorced twice ñ once to a man who was physically and emotionally abusive ñ she was single again and her then-fiance was dragging his feet to the altar. And she had just cashed in her last savings to answer a classified advertisement in USA Today, an offer to train anyone to become a jewelry wholesaler.

The ad, it turned out, was a scam. For her $20,000 investment, she received $5,000 worth of junk jewelry and a worthless training kit. When she called her mother for comfort, she got some succinct advice: "You should have thought about that when you quit college." Ouch.

"Basically, I was a loser," LaValley says. "I had nothing."

She had nothing to lose, either. So LaValley took her box of jewelry and visited every boutique, gift shop and hair salon in the Indianapolis area, working off the yellow pages and learning the business the hard way. "I was used to working in the retail sales environment," she says. "I didnít know how to do cold calling. I sat in the car and cried a lot."

LaValley was, however, smart enough to ask the right questions. On her sales calls to bridal stores, she discovered that those retailers were unhappy with their options in bridal jewelry. "I started asking, ëWhat do you not like about the companies you deal with? What could I do to get your business?í" The retailers pointed out two clear problems: Brides wanted quick delivery of special-order accessories (they invariably seemed to wait until the last minute) and they wanted jewelry to coordinate with their bridesmaidsí dresses. So LaValley promised 24-hour turnaround on all orders and began offering one style of earrings in 18 different colors. Thus, Cathyís Concepts was born.

That was a decade ago, and while LaValleyís life hasnít turned out the way she once imagined, she never would have imagined herself as a successful entrepreneur, independently wealthy and rich in confidence and independence. Today, Cathyís Concepts has sales nearing $5 million, with customers in 50 states, Canada, Japan and Belgium. LaValley predicts another record year after repositioning the company as a full-service bridal accessory wholesaler, selling everything from hundreds of styles of jewelry to garters, champagne toasting flutes, guest books and groomís gifts. These days, LaValley tools to work from her waterfront home at Geist in a white Jaguar and smiles secretively when she discusses the man sheís currently dating. Her life is full of work, good friends and a busy social calendar.

"I have to look at what I have and be grateful. My life is very nice," she says. "Sometimes I think about the responsibility I have ñ there are 50 people who work here and they all depend on me to make the right decisions ñ and the responsibility is staggering, especially for someone who didnít want it. But I played the hand I was dealt."

Happy Workers

Taking a tour of her companyís headquarters is like walking into a comfortable, cluttered home. Every day is casual-dress day, with most employees (all but two of whom are women) bustling around in sweatshirts. LaValley takes the time to introduce a visitor to almost every worker ñ from the accountant to warehouse personnel ñ by their first and last name, stopping to rant with several women about the Pacersí dismal season start. As she walks, two black mutts scamper around at her feet. Mattie, a playful puppy who occasionally suffers reprimands for chewing on the merchandise, was found abandoned in the warehouse last summer. Employees rescued the dog, tied a purple bow around her neck and presented the pooch to LaValley, who now brings both Mattie and workplace veteran Kalie when she heads to her office. "They are my most eager employees," she says.

But LaValley has plenty of loyal support from her human staff, too. Women who started working in the guest room of LaValleyís condominium when the company was just getting off the ground now occupy three management positions, and several others have worked for Cathyís Concepts for three years or longer.

The company saw lean times before things really took off, recalls Vicki Hardin, Cathyís Conceptsí first employee and now director of sales. Hardin worked out of a makeshift office and assembled jewelry on the dining room table, while LaValley hit the road to make sales. LaValley was scrimping by, too, barely making payroll for the two of them and, without any cash to spare, trading jewelry for haircuts at a salon.

Before LaValley dedicated her line to bridal jewelry, Ginnyís Finer Tall Fashions was an early customer. Shop owner Ginny Hall recalls that if LaValley was having a hard time, she didnít show it. "She was so positive and vivacious," Hall says. "I was very impressed with her positive business outlook. If she had not switched to bridal, weíd still be doing business."

After several customers asked, LaValley produced a four-page flyer that served as Cathyís Concepts first catalog. She mailed 2,000 copies and the phone began to ring off the hook. LaValley hired her second and third employee as business snowballed. Cathyís Concepts outgrew her condo and its first location, finally setting into office and distribution space at 71st Street and Ind. 37. There, the company keeps the inventory for a glossy 116-page catalog, fills bridesí orders and does some light assembly work. Calls for orders come in on toll-free lines during business hours, and a loud buzzer signals when the customer-service staff is overloaded. LaValley herself doesnít hesitate to jump in and work the phones.

"Iím good at delegating," she says. "But I still love selling." LaValley developed her management philosophy after years of working for others. She values group decision-making and allows everyone to share in the success (in addition to the usual benefits, Cathyís Concepts offers profit-sharing for employees after one year of employment) but takes full accountability in the end. LaValley remembers once when she overruled her staff and ordered $50,000 worth of sequin earrings, betting that theyíd be a big seller. "They bombed," she says. "Itís a standing company joke. One year we decorated the office Christmas tree with them. Finally, I just told someone to throw away the box that was left.

"That was a big mistake," she says. "But I learned a lot of wonderful things from my previous bosses. One screamed and swore and I would cry. Then sheíd yell at me, ëYouíre weak, youíre weak!í I swore that if I ever owned my own company, things would be different."

Not that LaValley is a pushover. She hates complacency. "Generally, I only get really upset if the phones are ringing and no one is jumping," LaValley says. She wants her employees to be happy, believing that satisfied workers will produce a better product and result in a more successful company. "Without them, I have nothing," LaValley says, shrugging.

Personal Time

Despite the heavy responsibility, LaValley enjoys finally having some freedom after years of putting in 70-hour weeks. She travels when she can, indulging her passions for snow skiing and visiting exotic locales such as Paris and Greece with good friends. She entertains at home and dedicates some free time to her two favorite causes, St. Maryís Child Center and the American Cancer Society. Sheís a believer in the first organization because it helps local, at-risk kids, and works with the latter, in part, because her brother is a cancer survivor.

A native of the small town of Wayland, Mich., LaValley was the middle child of five in a solid, stable middle-class family. LaValley admits that she didnít like the semi-rural setting in which she was reared. "I thought it was small-town hick, and I couldnít wait to get out," she says. She attended Northwood Institute in Midland, Mich., majoring in fashion merchandising, but never finished. "I had every advantage," she says, "but I blew every one."

Her life brought her to Chicago before she transferred to Indianapolis for a retail job in the mid-1980s. For her first several years in Indianapolis, she hated it compared with life in the big city of Chicago. Things got worse when an engagement broke up, leaving LaValley with no man, no family and no connections. A friend suggested that she try volunteer work as a way to meet others.

One of the people she met was Sue Thomas, owner of Thomas Caterers of Distinction, who worked with LaValley on fund raisers for the American Cancer Society. Now a confidante and traveling companion, Thomas describes her friend as "high-energy" with a hearty appetite for laughter and sports. Yet Thomas and others tease LaValley about being "high-maintenance." "With Cathy, everything has to be the best, whether itís a bottle of wine or theater seats," Thomas says. "But what she demands, she gives back tenfold. Sheís a friend to everyone and sheís always there when you need her."

Is there some irony that a woman who has built her career on bridal jewelry isnít married? Perhaps, says LaValley. Her first marriage ended when she was still in her 20s and her second, at age 30, lasted only a year after the man she married began exhibiting extremely jealous behavior, accusing her of infidelity and roughing her up for imagined infractions. Through therapy, LaValley realized that she was becoming a battered wife. "This was before there was any real discussion about domestic violence," she says. "I still think itís a problem that is hidden. A lot of women live with it."

That bitter divorce cost LaValley a considerable amount of money, but she emerged more independent that ever. Single now for 13 years, LaValley treasures her friendships and enjoys dating, although sheís been known to show up alone to black-tie charity functions rather than attend with someone she doesnít particularly like. Financial success intimidates some men, and others her age are looking for younger women, she says. Younger men ñ like the one with whom she enjoys a relationship now ñ seem more accepting of successful women, LaValley says.

"You canít have everything," LaValley says. "The time and energy I could have spent to find a man could instead be spent making money and a life of my own. Iíve poured that energy into my company. And you now, the rewards have been greater this way."