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In September 2005, as the nation dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, my family and I were dealing with our own disaster. A fire, caused by an improperly installed dryer, nearly destroyed our home, leaving me, my husband and our three young children virtually homeless. I had a newborn son and my business was growing rapidly—this was no time to endure a crisis.

We were extremely fortunate that everyone escaped without injury. But our home was severely damaged and was uninhabitable for six weeks. So off we went, all five of us, to an extended-stay hotel, where we felt sequestered and displaced. My kids’ routines were turned completely upside down. With most of our belongings ruined, I bought one bin of toys for each of them. We had a tiny microwave and a two-burner stove for five people, and after a small initial payment from the insurance company, we were left to our own devices. As we were preparing to leave the hotel, the company rep asked us, “Why didn’t we put you up in an apartment?” We felt angry and alone.

But we were able to rebuild our lives and our spirits through the kindness and generosity of our families and the community. The generous staff and families at my older daughter’s school threw her a “birthday party,” even though her birthday was months away. Quarasan, a woman-owned development house in Chicago, sent us toys—something I will never forget. My parents were a tremendous source of strength, taking in the kids while my husband held down his teaching job and I worked to get my company, Shakespeare Squared, off the ground. And the experience taught us something else: the true value of a healthy work/life balance—a real challenge for small business owners.

Rewind a few years. I co-founded Shakespeare Squared with my husband, Jay, partly as a solution to the problems I faced while juggling work and family. Both educators, we had recognized a huge demand for development work in the educational publishing market and created the company to develop educational materials for the PreK-12 market. With the encouragement and support of my father (a lifelong entrepreneur) and my mom (who is now the editorial manager), we officially launched Shakespeare Squared in 2003 with an investment of less than $10,000. A self-professed micromanager, I kept my hands in every aspect of the day-to-day operations.

We had begun to experience rapid growth just about the time the fire broke out, and my previous abilities to work tirelessly at all hours were severely compromised. There simply was not enough time for me to indulge in my micromanaging habits as I ran around picking finishes for our “new” house and hounding our insurance company. While I won’t say things didn’t suffer, I made sure our clients never knew what was going on. I learned how to prioritize, and more importantly, how to trust. Leaning on my staff to take things off my plate actually forced me to stop micromanaging, and I found a healthier way to work—another blessing that came out of the devastating fire.

In the years since, that lesson has only grown more meaningful. Part of my corporate mission has evolved to address the obstacles that face other working parents. Our staff, which mainly consists of women, are offered flexible hours, telecommuting options and even a “parent’s room,” complete with a crib, toys and playpen, in case someone needs to bring their child to work. Our team of freelancers—mostly educators and publishing professionals—flexes according to current project needs. By offering flexible hours and benefits that provide better work/life balance, I can utilize an untapped source of talent and increase employee retention.

I am proud to say that Shakespeare Squared recently made Inc.’s 2007 “Fastest Growing Companies in America” list, achieving an amazing 815 percent growth in 2007, and was named a 2007 Working Mother Best Small Company by Working Mother magazine. I now have a full-time staff of 20 and a team of over 400 freelance writers, editors and managers. I never dreamed the business would grow so fast.
Surviving the fire was a phenomenal test of strength and endurance for me and my family. But it hardened my resolve to build a business that caters to the dynamic world of education as well as one that enables me—and all of my employees—to achieve a better work/life balance.

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