When I went to paralegal school years ago [cough cough] I decided my emphasis would be on corporate law. Students had to choose an emphasis on corporate law, litigation, or real estate. Everyone was taking the litigation classes and they seemed way too crowded to me.
I had never even set foot in a law firm and really had no concept of what ANY lawyer did. I had no idea what I was getting into, but it worked out fine. (Ironically, my first paralegal job was in the litigation area, but I learned on the job...)
One thing I realized when taking those corporate law classes was that I found the idea of starting a small business absolutely fascinating. There are so many challenges. Location, startup costs, marketing -- the more I learned the more I was intrigued. [I really should've gone back to college and gotten a degree in marketing but hindsight is 20/20]
It must have been in my genes. My grandfather Thompson ran a small general store in Hepzibah Georgia during the Depression and I grew up hearing my dad and his brothers tell stories about working in the store. The most famous of those was the Hunky Story ["hunky" meaning ice cream on a stick] and Dad and brother Bob got in a big fight over the ice cream.
On Mother's side of the family my great-grandfather Robert E. Butler owned a drug store, a real estate business, a marble works, and lord knows what else. He was a prominent business owner in Cobb County for many years. Several of his children went on to own their own small businesses.
my great-grandparents R.E. Butler and Beulah Phillips Butler
I have a friend, Cindy LaJoy, and she and her husband recently bought a liquor store in their small hometown in Colorado. I have enjoyed thinking up marketing ideas. My favorite idea is for them to have recipes in the store for various foods made with wine or liquor as one of the ingredients. Hopefully they might be able to give out samples, too, if it's legal. I sent Cindy my Apricot Brandy Pound Cake recipe, because I know that would sell some Apricot Brandy.
I find business and marketing fascinating. Years ago when I was in college, I learned a lot about business without realizing it. My roommate was a business major and I used to help her study for tests.
For several years, I've helped small law firms with marketing, through my business The Write Rainmaker, supported by The Write Rainmaker Blog. I think sometimes attorneys don't want to think about marketing because of course they are busy practicing law, but it's vitally important, especially in small firms. I think oftentimes today marketing tends to focus on the high-tech and while that's certainly important, if you have a brick and mortar business you need to be out in the community, meeting people.
I didn't realize it at the time, but a lot of what I feel is correct I learned from my dad. He was a banker in a small town for more than 35 years. A lot of his time was spent going to Kiwanis and Rotary meetings, taking customers to lunch or dinner -- in other words, what we'd now call NETWORKING. He was a social animal and quite gregarious so that aspect of his job was probably his favorite.
He also truly cared about most of his customers. In a bank trust department, customers tend to often be older people, particularly widows. The "little old ladies" loved my dad. He would flirt with them, and they adored that. He was handsome and energetic and could reassure someone with consummate skill. He went out of his way to take care of them. I remember one time a customer had a 500 lb old-fashioned TV on a rickety table and Dad and one of his officers went out and got her a better, smaller TV and a new table, because her eyesight was bad. He charged her account, but she was OK with it. She was too feeble to handle the situation, and Dad took charge. Nowadays he might be reprimanded for that, but we're talking 40+ years ago.
me and Dad, and two customers who were also friends, 1991
Some might argue that in this computer age, personal service like that is not important. I disagree. Here's an example. There is a vegetable stand 5 minutes from my house, Sherry's Produce. It doesn't always have what I need. Sometimes they close if a family member is sick. They are closed in January and February. Most of the merchandise is outside, so in the hot weather you want to shop fast, despite the huge fans. However, I love going there. They call me "Darlin"" and "Sweetheart" and will carry my purchases to the car, but more importantly, they know ME. When my daughter left home they asked where she was. When Michael goes, if he's hesitating about buying a piece of fruit they give him a piece to try, for free. Small children always get a free piece of fruit. They will tell you where everything is grown because they know the farmers. Now, the DeKalb Farmer's Market is much bigger and has a lot more variety and is only about 15 minutes from my house, but nobody in there knows or cares about me, and parking is a nightmare, so I avoid that place. Sherry's is wonderful.
I'm having a hard time finding a job in the marketing field, I suppose because my master's degree is in English rather than a MBA, but I think it would be fun to work in that type of position. I love to see good businesses succeed.
I didn't need to go to grad school to learn that most businesses really succeed or fail because of PEOPLE.
above, a statue at Erskine College, made out of Butler marble. Years after this statue was erected, R.E. Butler's granddaughter in law, my aunt Jane, attended Erskine
