Community Editorial Board: A toast to 10 years of being a small business owner in Cornwall

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May 1st is the 10th anniversary of my solo law practice and being a small business owner in Cornwall.

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Small businesses are the fabric of our economy. The Government of Canada reports that in 2022 there were 1.19 million small businesses in Canada. Small businesses are our local professionals, service providers, artisans, caterers and restaurant owners; the list is endless.

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We are employers, tenants and owners. We pay taxes and support charities. We are members of the community, the parents on the side of the football field, the volunteers at local events. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would own a business, run a law firm and serve a community in Eastern Ontario, I would have laughed at you.

Life circumstances brought us east of my hometown. As a solicitor, I wanted to work in criminal law, but as there were no permanent full-time positions available in criminal defense law in Cornwall, I knew I would have to strike out on my own. I didn’t feel prepared for it.

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Let me be clear: I was ready to be a criminal defense attorney. He had the training, the energy and the drive. He didn’t have the training to run a business. This is simply not taught in law school. I kept going anyway.

The ostrich strategy, as I can confess to having been practicing in those early days, does not work when you are being audited by your professional regulator. I learned it the hard way. I was in avoidance mode, full steam ahead practicing law and ignoring the practicalities of running a business.

When I was first audited by the Law Society of Ontario, a regulator visit that typically occurs in the early years of private practice, I was preparing for the worst. My regulator’s auditors were kind and constructive, helping me get back on my feet and scheduling a follow-up a year later. That year, I found my voice as a small business owner. I had no choice, I knew they would return and I had to get my act together.

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Small business owners take advantage of this opportunity because they have an idea they are passionate about and want to turn into a profitable way to support themselves and their families. Is there a perfect balance to be struck between passion for your product or service and rolling up your sleeves to do the business work? I don’t know what the success ratio is, I just know that pure love for a product or service is not enough.

Small business ownership is not for the faint of heart. It’s definitely a routine. There are months when I don’t know if I will make payroll, and years when I wonder if my love of the law could overcome the tedious needs of the business.

When the economy is severely affected, businesses may not be immune. Riding the ebbs and flows of cash flow tides can sicken some business owners, who crave the stability of a salary net and a reliable paycheck.

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When I look back after a decade as a small business owner, I realize there were many potential exits I didn’t take. Back in the days when we were moving to the eastern region, I could have decided not to work, stay home with the kids, and be a full-time mom.

There were offers to sell the business to urban centers or merge with other companies. There was COVID-19, when we were sent home from court and I could have transitioned to becoming a full-time student and homeschooling mom.

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Post-COVID-19, there have been job postings for online employment and work-from-home opportunities with comparable salaries. I didn’t take any of these exit ramps.

Why have I stayed?

It’s not about income security or non-existent dental benefits. It’s not because of the long work hours that I endure some weeks. It’s not because I like doing my accounts receivable or organizing HST payments. These are the pains required to run your own store.

I stayed for the community of practice and the opportunity to adapt my services to the Cornwall community.

When I started, my practice was unorthodox. I was a young, brown woman in a practice area occupied primarily by men. It was uncomfortable, there was little tutoring, and the space seemed crowded.

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Over time I became more confident and found my voice, my niche and my path.

I was left with the challenge of generating my own unrestricted income streams. I stayed to control my schedule, especially when my children were young, leaving parades and appointments for my children without asking an employer’s permission and working from home on days when they were sick.

When you start a small business, you are undertaking a creative endeavor. In every element of your business, there are little pieces of your brand. The way you initiate a transaction or business relationship. The way you assert yourself in public. Public events that you support and can attend. The prices you charge and the investments you make.

It all comes with a form of remuneration for you and the community. But your love for your work is reflected in every transaction. When you are a business owner in a smaller community, you can see your impact in a clearer picture.

Here’s a toast to my 10 years as a small business owner in Cornwall, Ontario.

Thank you for receiving my business, thank you for supporting me, and I look forward to the ebbs and flows that the next 10 years of small business ownership will bring.

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