Brittany McManus

My parents raised me very well, and I think that I'm just a very hard worker. Anything that I've wanted or tried to achieve, I don't stop until it's done. I'm very, very determined and persistent. I guess that could be applied to my personal life too - I'm like that in everything I do. I just keep going until I accomplish what I set out to do.

The best career advice I've ever received is to be doing something that you love, because it's really hard to be good at anything if you don't enjoy it. When you're passionate about what you do, it makes all the difference in your ability to excel and succeed in your field.

You have every right to be there as anybody else. We're all so capable, and I would say just don't let anybody make you think that you can't do something, because you absolutely can. Have confidence in yourself and your abilities, and don't let anyone diminish what you're capable of achieving.

The challenges in my field right now are scaling up, getting more customers, and keeping the program secure. We have to be very careful about forgeries out there in the industry. But the opportunities are incredible - this industry is massively growing. There are so many other businesses popping up that deal with collectibles, whether directly or adjacently, so there are tremendous opportunities not just with grading companies, but with other collectibles companies for people to get into this industry if they're interested. It's definitely a growing market. There was recently an article from either the Times or the Wall Street Journal explaining that the collectibles market has better returns for investing than the S&P 500, a Roth IRA, or gold or silver bullion. We're seeing an influx of new investors and customers who are looking at the stuff they had when they were kids and wondering if it's worth anything. So we're getting an influx of just new faces in this industry.

I think the most important thing is integrity - integrity in what you do and in how you treat everybody. Building up other people around you and being a good person, no matter what it is that you're doing, is essential. Treating the people around you well is crucial because business is extremely personal, even though people love to say business isn't personal. You have to treat everybody that you come in contact with well, because you never know when you're going to see them again. Your reputation, at the end of the day, as a professional, is kind of all you have. So I believe in always being kind, always treating everybody well, and working with integrity. You just never want to burn a bridge - always act kindly, professionally, and with a good heart. There are so many people that I said goodbye to 13 years ago at a job that I have worked with since then, and thank God we had great relationships and it was fun to work with them again.