The Story Exchange, Nance L. Schick, Law Studio of Nance L. SchickYour Name: Nance L. Schick

Business Name: Law Studio of Nance L. Schick, a holistic law firm

Type of Business: Law Business and Conflict Resolution Counsel

Business Location: New York, New York, United States

Website   www.nschicklaw.com
Twitter   @nschicklaw
Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Law-Studio-of-Nance-L-Schick

Reason for starting
I gave myself a job when I couldn’t find one. It took me more than seven years to accept that I had started a small business that I really needed to manage with the same exceptional care I was giving my caseload and client matters.

How do you define success?
Success is being present and choosing powerfully in each moment, rather than allowing life to “happen to” me. It is a series of moments in which I choose whether I will get a better result from taking a break and going to the gym or working into the wee hours of the morning while my clients sleep. It is the ability to empower people to tap their own greatness rather than enabling them to pretend they can’t have the lives they want. It is loving unity of all people worldwide.

Biggest Success
I’m not a fan of ranking things in a hierarchy of good to bad, smallest to biggest, etc. I try to celebrate all of my successes, regardless of how big or small others might view them to be.

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
My top challenge was accepting that I could not grow and fulfill on my business vision if I did not learn to trust people and to stabilize cash flow. I have been very good about “squeaking by,” probably because I grew up poor and have been used to being resourceful when others might give up. But I can’t let this just be about me taking care of me anymore, if I want to contribute to a unified world culture. So, I had to get myself into professional development courses in team building, financial management, marketing, sales, etc. I am a lifetime student–happily! 🙂

Who is your most important role model?
My mom. She continues to teach me about overcoming obstacles and living life with laughter, regardless of circumstances. She owned a business with my dad and would have been a far more successful entrepreneur if she had not deferred so much of the financial and operations management to him. I know I have to keep that tendency to defer in check if I want to succeed, but she is most important because she taught me to love people from all walks of life.