No matter how many years pass, some memories linger forever. Even though it’s now close to 20 years ago, Ruthie’s face is as clear as if she were here right now. (Using her first name only protects this writer from any possible retaliations should those who’ve been written about somehow have made their way south). The president of a tiny PR firm owned by herself and two other women, Ruthie was in the habit of cursing like a sailor with gentleman clients. She had a reputation for being brash and abrasive, a coping mechanism for being a woman in a man’s world. And while she talked a good game about personal growth, there was no way that woman was helping another woman up the ladder. She wanted to keep the top rung for herself.Then there was Joan, a stunning partner in a burgeoning New Jersey ad agency. She had brains and gumption, but that was certainly not the first thing that struck people about her. Joan felt far more comfortable using her feminine wiles rather than her smarts to attract clients. She could work a room with her shapely legs and short skirts, always able to entice a new client or two through the door. She took the line about sleeping her way to the top a little too literally. Perhaps such behavior would be looked upon strangely now. But 20 years ago, Ruthie and Joan were certain that getting what they wanted required being someone other than who they were. Of course, that was then and this is now. The percentage of new women owned businesses is overwhelming. Which means something must have changed. So what’s it like these days for women in the creative workplace? Are they harassed? Forced to act differently to succeed? Are there advantages or disadvantages to being women owners in Atlanta? To answer these questions, OZ spoke with several successful female entrepreneurs.
Claudia Gaines - Founder, The Headline Group
Looking back over the years, teaching has always been a profession where women have been welcomed. As a former teacher herself, Claudia Gaines knows that there are certain skills that teachers possess that also make them well suited for the workplace. Intuition, listening skills, the ability to inspire and nurture are just a few of those positive characteristics. And certainly the ones Claudia uses as the creator of the Headline Group, a local PR firm with an impressive and ever growing list of clients.
Ever the teacher, Gaines is the committed cheerleader, encouraging employees to do their best. “It isn’t easy in this business because you’re not going to hit a home run every day. So it’s my job to keep staff motivated.” Which is why she’s created a variety of programs to help employees continue growing and learning as well as vent anger and disappointment.
While Gaines herself hasn’t experienced any gender prejudices in her 20 years of business, she does believe there are some differences in the way the genders handle things. “In my experience,” Gaines comments, “the female entrepreneurs I work with are more willing to take the time to market their companies. Our business is all about telling the story and women are willing to give us that time. They’re also more willing to show vulnerability and talk about failures they’ve experienced, challenges they’ve faced or lessons they’ve learned. Women are also more comfortable talking about their dreams and potential, something that’s vital to my being able to help them achieve their goals.”
Gaines herself isn’t afraid to show her own vulnerability. “We’ve had so many employees accomplish wonderful things,” she emphasizes. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried tears of pride. And I couldn’t care less what anyone else might think. Personally, I think it’s a positive to show one’s humanity.”
One thing that Gaines sees as having a major impact on women in the workplace is other women in the workplace. “Women are seeing women with ideas succeed,” she states. “There’s so much modeling going on. And mentoring. Just look at the GA 100. These are all women mentoring other women. Which is exactly what needs to happen for more women to continue making their mark.”
B.A. Albert and Elizabeth Baskin - Co-founders, Match
B.A. Albert will never forget the day she received the phone call to discuss sexual harassment. Never realizing that the caller simply wanted to ask if she’d ever experienced it, her initial response was “just tell them whatever I did, I didn’t mean it.”
To Albert, one of the first female creative directors in Atlanta in the 70s, the response made perfect sense. For her, being a woman was a secret weapon. “It was great because I was the exception to the rule. There we’d be, a roundtable of 14 men and me. I felt they listened to me more because I was different.”
She believes that edge still exists, in part because so many women are making purchasing decisions. Albert notes, “Faith Popcorn says that 92% of buying decisions are made by women. Which gives us the edge because we speak to them in the same language.” Albert also suggests that women tend to get to the heart of the subject at hand more quickly. “In general, women don’t waste time making people think they’re important. Especially working moms. They simply don’t have the time to spare.”
Despite feeling like they had a bit of an edge, when she and partner Elizabeth Baskin entered Atlanta’s advertising fray, they felt a little awkward at first. “We felt strange about being two females,” Baskin notes. “And I have to admit we wished that one of us was a man at first.”
They learned quickly, however, that there were other women willing to lend a helping hand. “Neither of us thought of the business world as being populated by women because we were always the lone female creative directors,” Baskin responds. “We discovered there was an old girls network. They offered help from how to write contracts to how to solicit business.”
What both Baskin and Albert realize is that in the creative business, what counts most is a good idea. “The nicest compliment I’ve ever gotten was from a creative director who told me that what he liked about my book was that he couldn’t tell if it belonged to a man or a woman,” Albert recalls. “That meant a lot because communication shouldn’t be about who you are but about who you’re talking to.”
Which is why they named the company MATCH instead of Albert Baskin after their last names. “We thought Albert Baskin sounded like a man’s name,” Albert says. “We didn’t want to male or female; we just wanted to be an ad agency.” An agency that defied stereotypes. “I remember seeing some women who went before me who felt they needed to be pushy or aggressive to get ahead,” Albert remembers. “It used to be called the bitch niche. Fortunately the times had changed and that behavior was no longer common or accepted.”
Now that women feel more comfortable being who they are, Baskin talks about some of the differences she sees between men and women. “Women,” she comments, “approach business in a less hierarchical fashion. Ours is a more inclusive style. And women build relationships more naturally. I think we’re more apt to know personal things about our clients, like whose child is in college or whose dog is having hip problems.” Which makes sense to Baskin. “When little girls make friends, they do it by talking. Boys do the same by playing basketball or baseball or some other sport.”
It’s that socializing through competition that also accounts for a few differences between the genders. “In my generation,” Albert offers, “girls weren’t taught to compete the way boys were. I was lucky because I was brought up with three brothers. If I was going to survive, I had to step up to the plate and hit the ball.” Which is exactly what she’s doing now.
Morgan Shorey - Founder and Co-Owner, The List
Morgan Shorey will never forget the day she was handed her boss’ photo portfolio to take to a client. She was new to the photography business, and eager to do whatever it took to succeed. “I was handed the portfolio,” Shorey notes, “because I was a girl and was dressed best.” Not one to miss an opportunity, Shorey ran with her golden moment. Suddenly she was traveling to cities like Washington, D.C., Miami and Memphis, representing the studio. Thanks to her top consultative and selling skills, she became a partner in the studio, helping Arrington Morgan reach the top 5% in the nation in revenue.
By the time she hit 30, she was ready to make her own move. And she had an idea. Over the years, Shorey had bought scads of lists in her search for prospective customers, always thinking she could do better. She set out to discover if she could, creating The List, a well researched roster of folks who buy creative work. “People wondered whether or not there was a market for a $300 customer prospect list. My gut said there was.”
Even though Shorey felt confident as a woman in the workplace, it’s interesting to note that she created a business card with a very masculine feel, something she really hadn’t noticed at first. “I guess I thought if the card was frillier, I’d have to work harder to prove myself,” she says. “As it stands now, people think I’m a man until they meet me. To be honest, it felt good to present a strong, masculine identity. By the time clients get to me, they’ve already got an image in mind so when they discover I’m a woman they say, ‘oh’ and proceed.”
Shorey believes there are a few advantages to being a woman in the workplace. “The key to success for us is being able to build relationships instantly so we can get information about who’s doing the buying over the phone. I think defenses come down when it’s a woman doing the asking.”
Shorey also believes in the strength of a woman’s intuition. “I think there are two voices people hear,” she cites. One is in the head and one is in the stomach. “The head voice might ask whether this prospective employee can type 60 words per minute. The stomach voice asks whether this is someone I can trust. I think men ignore the voice in the stomach. Women are more prone to listen to it. I think that’s why I’ve never had to check references. My gut instincts are typically right on.”
Not to say that there haven’t been struggles as well. “When you’re a business owner and a wife and mother,” she adds, “everywhere you go, someone wants a piece of you. ‘There’s no toner, I need posterboard for a school project, I want dinner.’ It’s never-ending. Either you build up the mechanisms to make it work or you have to have help.”
For Shorey, that help came in the form of business partner Todd Knutson. “Now that Todd’s around to help run it, things flow much more easily and smoothly.”
Sheryl Myers - Owner, Comotion
After ten years as a line producer and executive producer, Sheryl Myers decided it was time to try out her own philosophy of running a business. Although she’d never felt any prejudice associated with being a woman, she found herself at an interesting crossroads when she opened the doors to Comotion nearly ten years ago.
“I remember looking around when I decided to open my own firm,” she says. “Most of the production companies were owned by men. Suddenly, I found myself wondering who I needed to be now that I was an owner. I questioned whether or not I needed to adapt some sort of male posturing to succeed. Sure, I knew there were other women out there, but at the time, they were in Los Angeles and I didn’t know them or anything about the way they handled things.”
In doing a little soul searching, Myers realized that gender had nothing to do with success. “There really is no corporate ladder in this business, at least not one that goes straight up,” she notes. “Production is all about the process and the product. The structure in this business is more organic and loose. It goes where it needs to which I think is helpful for women, allowing them to rise. If you’re going to succeed, you’re going to do it on creativity and being innovative.” Two things Myers feels may not always be encouraged in corporate America but make great assets in the creative industry.
What has changed in the close to ten years that Comotion has been in business? Myers notes that when she first opened her doors, clients often asked who the boss was, never expecting it could be Myers herself. “Early on, I knew the reason for starting my own business had nothing to do with feminism or taking a political stand for women’s rights. It was simply about doing what I loved to do.” So she educated her clients. These days, that question doesn’t come up, both as a result of her reputation and the fact that people realize it’s not politically correct to ask.
While Myers doesn’t believe that gender is a barrier to success in the production industry, she does believe that a few gender differences contribute to, rather than hamper, a woman’s success. “I think women are more intuitive and nurturing by nature. I have two kids and it just comes out.” She also believes women are able to deal well with group dynamics and be supportive, both vital assets for production success.
Another interesting observation Myers has made is that women hear things differently than their male counterparts. “I can remember sitting in meetings with the director I’d worked with for years. He was someone I respected tremendously. But we came out having heard different things. I came away with much more information, especially when it came to details that weren’t necessarily stated. I also had more of a gut feeling about what was going on, which, to me, is simply part of the intuition process.”