Jane Chuang is a lawyer. I’m not sure I can think of a job that is more demanding and less kid-friendly (ok, oil rig worker, Antarctic geologist, pirate, but otherwise, lawyer). After giving birth to her first daughter, Jane returned to work as a litigator at her high-powered firm. Six months later, she was done. Working long hours (sometimes until 3 am) and coming home to a baby who woke up several times during the night, meant that Jane was pulling all nighters on a regular basis. Unless you are under twenty-five and drunk that is just unacceptable. So Jane did what we all have dreamed of, she packed up her desk and got the hell outta there. Conveniently, some of her friends from law school had just started up their own firm and needed a third person, an organized person to straighten out, well, everything (is it just me or is it often the ladies that end up pulling all the pieces together?). Their firm was such a success that they were profiled by the New York Times and eventually asked to join a larger firm, maintaining their autonomy while getting to enjoy all the resources that a bigger firm could provide (this is what we call a slam dunk). Now Jane is working part-time, has her own base of clients who come to her for advice on start-up and intellectual property issues, is almost always home in time for dinner, and she’s managed to have another baby. All she needs to do is find five minutes alone with her man and she’s got it made. It is, after all, a work in progress.
As Jane and I talked I realized that each of her comments and stories were lessons and cautionary tales. I thought, she represents the voice of experience, the one we all wish we had in the back of our minds, instead of that voice that says, just eat Pop Corners and watch Project Runway All Stars. The first thing Jane touched on was how tricky it was to go it alone after both being in the bosom of a large company that did all the thinking for you, and after the isolation and surrealness of life at home with a new born. One thing that she wished she had done, both before and after her first daughter was born, was network. All those chatty cocktail events, those meet ups and dinners with work acquaintances, those things add up. Keeping up with your alumni association, occasionally volunteering your time, joining professional groups. They all keep you not only on people’s radar, but in a less direct way, they keep you clued into that world (whatever world you are hoping to stay connected to). The thing about a tip like this, it seems simple until you go to do it, and then it feels like a monster. So think of Jane, and go be Jane, be brave and outgoing and organized and fake it till you make it.
Next, like everything in life, the secret to starting your own business is managing your expectations. Know that in the beginning it is a significant investment of (obviously money, oh god the money), but more so, time. It can take three to five years before you know if a new business is truly working. Your goal to spend more time with your kids might evaporate for a while, but know that you are on a path that will lead you to that goal. Whatever your goal maybe, you need to identify it. Figure out what success means to you, as Jane said, “redefine your personal trajectory.” Here we can all consider what it really means to “lean in.” Jane found that it took some time to figure this out, but re-establishing her priorities helped her to find a clear path forward.
Since things don’t always work out as planned, Jane’s advice, “do your due diligence, even with friends.” This is a bit like the rationale behind a pre-nup, get it in writing while everyone is still in love. Often, when starting a business people want to do it with friends, or include their friends somehow. Your friends may be lovely, but who knows what they are like in a work environment. Or maybe you met at work, but working together is different from owning a business together. Por ejemplo, just ‘cause Tribe can pour a mean latte doesn’t mean he knows how to merchandise.
But what is a parent/new business owner to do if, say, they have zero business knowledge? Jane found taking classes at NYC Business Solutions very helpful. FastTrac, a four-week intensive course is like a mini MBA in a month. It helps people just starting, or already running, their own businesses. In other words, get help. Anywhere you can.
Of course, since Jane is a lawyer, I needed to get some free legal advice while we chatted about business, babies and the general horrors of childbirth. Jane’s tip: when finding a space for your business, make sure your commercial lease doesn’t have a straight personal guarantee clause, otherwise you will be personally liable for the remaining rent even if your business has closed. Instead, negotiate a good guy clause that protects you and allows you off the hook, usually at the cost of your security deposit and delivering the keys to the landlord (think of this as a trap door, an escape plan).
Now go open that disco themed juice shack that also provides healing chakra massage while you wait. Or maybe that bookstore/ café called Nemesis Books because you have the same last name as the bad guy in THE quintessential detective series. Or whatever.
The incomparable Jane Chuang
Sarah Moriarty is a writer, editor and adjunct professor teaching composition and literature classes at The College of Staten Island. Sarah’s writing has appeared in such hallowed places as her blog, her mother’s email inbox, the backs of Value Pack envelopes and a waist-high stack of mole skin journals. In addition, Sarah has contributed to F’Dinparkslope.com and edited fiction for Lost Magazine. An excerpt from Sarah’s novel, The Rusticators, is forthcoming in The Brooklyn Writers Space 2013/2014 anthology, The Reader. A resident of Brooklyn for the last eleven years, Sarah lives with her husband, daughter and a dwindling population of cats. Check out more of Sarah’s work at sarahmoriarty.com.