The Lemon Life | online magazine offering a fresh perspective on post-grad life.

Words by: Samantha Finigan

Image by: CarbonNYC

After a year-and-a-half of researching, planning and grassroots development (including an obscene amount of feverish pro/con, risk/reward, crazy/sane list-writing), my now business partner, Whitney, and I jumped ship at the advertising agency we were working for and started our own business – a small high-end custom stationery boutique called Gus & Ruby Letterpress.  Smack dab in the middle of a recession, we decided it was the right time to forgo a steady income, weekends (not to mention vacations!) and employer-paid healthcare.  Nutty?  Maybe.  Necessary?  Absolutely.  Regrets? Not a one.

Of course, the amount of work has been a zillion times more than I could have imagined and the challenges that we’ve faced and weren’t prepared for are a-plenty; but, in all honesty, starting a business has been more pleasure than pain.  We’ve been given exceptional counsel and have been offered a tremendous amount of support.

Advice has come by the boatload; some helpful, some suspect but all worth listening to.

The best piece of advice that I’ve been given came from my realtor, Dave.  It was advice that had been given to him by his son who was, at the time, just shy of nine years old.

Dave had told his son, who was traveling with him on a business trip, that he thought they might skip a meeting with a potential client because Dave doubted the client would be interested in what he was selling.   Dave’s son asked, in true kid fashion, “How do you know he won’t like it?”  Dave had a hard time explaining how he knew the client would say no to his offer.  Happily, his son offered him a simple piece of advice that helped Dave in his business and has helped me in mine: “Why don’t you give him the chance to say no?”

Novel, isn’t it?  Giving someone the chance to say no (or, gasp, yes!) rather than assuming you know their answer and not asking the question.  It’s an easy thing to forget to do, really – in business, in job hunting, in life.  More often than not, I’ve found people are absolutely willing to talk, help and contribute when asked.  Many people offer before you even have the chance to ask if you simply start the conversation.  Asking the question rather than assuming the answer has led to more than a few great things for us (A better lease rate, an angel investor, and a session with an unbelievably talented photographer - to name a few).

While we’re only a small way into the vast and daunting journey of opening our store, my confidence in our ability to navigate the process is largely due to my rediscovered ability to ask: ask for advice, ask for a better deal, ask for the job and ask for the sale. People have come out of the woodwork to help Whitney and I learn and succeed and I don’t think we’re an exception in this situation.  It’s been heartening to remember that most people are good and kind and want to lend a helping hand - especially when times are tough. I’ve fallen in love all over again with my community, my mentors and all the bumps and warts that come with entrepreneurship.

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