Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 6-4-21

Feature
Tapping Into Her Talents Were Key For This Tenacious Businesswoman
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
Christine Irvin is a self- made businesswoman who proves that you can use your talents to get ahead no matter your circumstances. After being incarcerated, Irvin knew it would be difficult to find a place where she could work and thrive. A job at Tampa Park Apartments, Inc. turned out to be a blessing and a new lease on life.
Today, she has three busi- nesses and is involved with a social justice group, the Racial Justice Work Group at the State Attorney’s Office. It is led by State Atty. An- drew Warren and Asst. State Atty. Jeria Wilds.
Irvin started out with a cleaning service. She is a mas- ter cleaner of both residential and commercial spaces. Today, she does mostly resi- dential cleaning. Her other talent is event decorating. And that business has taken off.
She credits her decorating skills to her work at Tampa Park. At first, she merely helped set up meetings and gatherings held at the com-
CHRISTINE IRVIN
... Owner of 3 businesses
mercial plaza.
She started helping Ms.
Kay Andrews and then property manager, Ms. Yolanda Amos with ideas about set up and décor. Ms. Andrews encouraged Irvin to take a greater role in not just setting up chairs and ta- bles, but also thinking about smart placement that would add to the atmosphere of the room.
Irvin began making sug- gestions and soon Andrews gave Irvin the opportunity to
start decorating on her own. She began building her deco- rations inventory and began decorating for local groups and building a clientele.
After researching pricing and business models, she cre- ated her business, Budget Décor. Her talent and ab- solute passion for decorating foretold of a successful launch. Her clients are famil- iar with her enthusiasm and hard work.
Although hiring a decora- tor can be expensive, Irvin strives to bring affordable op-
tions to the community. Budget Décor, LLC was her second company after Chris- tine Quality Cleaning, LLC.
Irwin is also involved in the care of community chil- dren. Her third company CPWL (Child Protection with Love) Services, LLC where she and her daughter provide babysitting.
Irvin is a native of Tampa and graduated from Hillsbor- ough High School. She has a daughter, Kiara, and two grandchildren, Aaliyah aged nine and Christopher aged one. Her parents are Kathy Irvin and the late David Irvin. She is also a twin. Her brother, Christopher was killed in an explosion at the
TECO Big Bend plant a few years ago.
Irvin would like to build generational wealth and have her companies be passed down through her extended family. She wants to keep those businesses family-ori- ented and a place for family to work and build. She hopes this will also encourage her nieces, nephews, and grand- children to be creative in their own lives.
For more information, visit her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ budget_decor20/ or Face- book at https://www.face- book.-com/. BudgetDecor20/, or email at budgetdecorllc@gmail.com.
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021