Connection is at the heart of everything I do.
In 2019, I faced one of the most pivotal moments in my career. After years of growth and learning, I found myself at a crossroads, ready to take full ownership of my path. The experience was challenging but transformative, marking the beginning of something truly my own. The partnership that I had formed in 2017 had dissolved and looking back the dissolution was inevitable. I value the lessons learned and connections I made but now it was truly my time to shine with a law firm that was solely mine. That was a very challenging time for us, I took my entire team with me and the dissolution was not easy. We had to pivot quickly and seamlessly for the benefit of our clients and referral partners. With one month’s warning, we had to move offices from Etobicoke to Vaughan – finding a commercial space was not easy. With less than two month’s warning, we had to find a new name and rebrand entirely. But we came out strong and faced the challenge with positivity.
My current firm, Vantage Law, was born November 2019 as Vantage Law. This law firm truly embodies me as a person. I operate the law firm in the most genuine and authentic way. My love language is giving and explains why hospitality translated so easily to how we deliver legal services. I genuinely want to give to others. Whether it is my time, my expertise, my listening ear, I want to help others and give. I feel incredibly privileged to be where I am today that it feels like a disservice not to give to others when I have so much available to me.
I also just love people. I walk into the office with positive energy – striving to ensure that the work environment for our team is one that they want to be included in. We empower our staff to think about concepts and make decisions that are within their scope.
I have had really horrible management in the past and I am proud to say I have taken those negative experiences and translated it into an opportunity to be better. It could be as simple as saying please and thank you to my team when I ask for anything. It could be celebrating their birthdays with a way of celebrating that truly embodies them as a person. It could be asking them about who their favourite singers are and surprising them with a pair of tickets to their concert. We value our team and we are not shy to ensure that they know it.
We celebrated Priscilla’s bridal shower (she is getting married next week), where we hosted a cake decorating class at our office. We’ve hosted numerous baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays and milestones for our team regularly. Team building and celebration are a big part of our law firm.
In growing the business, I did what other lawyers did – attend events, network, a bit of advertising here and there but I have a secret weapon. My secret weapon was my personality. I built relationships with my referral partners that were genuine, authentic and 100% real. I never connected with industry people with the sole goal of generating revenue.
I met industry professionals, to connect, to hear their stories, to see how I could fit into their lives whether personally or professionally. Connection is at the heart of everything I do. I connected with them over story telling about their children, talking about their goals, their hardships, every aspect of their lives they were willing to share with me.
My favourite part of being an entrepreneur is the story telling. It is inspiring to hear how people developed their businesses, came out of difficult situations, what kept them motivated and what their future plans were. I genuinely wanted to get to know people and see how I could learn from them to help others around me.
I was not forceful or aggressive when trying to get business. I am genuinely me. I want to connect with people and if it translates into growth for the business that’s just icing on the cake.
