Jessica Tomac

There have been some folks along the way that have helped support me and been like, hey, you can do this, right, when things got super tough. But really, it's the discipline of the work, right? To do the work, stay focused, and as long as you do that every day and give your best, it will bear fruit. Just knowing that and staying committed to showing up and doing the work has been key to my success.

I don't know if it would be the best advice that I have received, but 13, 14, 15 years ago this was very much a male-dominated industry, and still is. There was a person who said to me, you'll never be successful in this role, literally on my second day on the job. I've crushed it, so I am beyond successful in this role, and to me, that was a motivator because there was such a stigma and a bias from this person specifically that women couldn't and shouldn't do this role. I don't think it was the advice they gave me, because they basically told me to quit and go get something else where it would be better. But to me, that was the barrier that I could help empower women and show them that, yes, we can do it, and we can do it well. I built my business knocking on doors, and I remember distinctly one gentleman came to the door and he was like, why aren't you at home? And I said, why aren't you at work? He was like, well, you're supposed to be at home. And I was like, I'm sure you think I should cook too, but I'm a terrible cook, and no one wants to eat my food.

I would tell them to be authentic, to be themselves. If people are encouraging them to be somebody else, that's not how they'll be successful, but they will be successful by being themselves and really focusing on growing their practice in the way that's best for them. And we can do anything we put our mind to.

The biggest challenges that I still encounter from time to time are just those biases, that women in this position are treated differently than the men in this position. And that is still happening today, as crazy as it sounds. It can make it difficult and you can get discouraged. However, as long as you know who you are and what you're here for, you get through it. As far as opportunities, they come with creating a team of powerful and mighty people that can really holistically serve my clients. So when they need attorneys, I've got a person on my team. That's not me, but I got a person. If you need estate planning, I've got a person. If you've got a tax problem, I've got a person. The opportunities are really collaboration with other areas of expertise to be able to holistically serve your clients well.

It's really about integrity, being empathetic to where people are, letting them walk through the messy middle that many people are in. You know, people are in 6 to 10 transitions at any given moment, and while you might think, oh, they were just super rude, well, maybe they had a really bad day. I'm really trying to find out, okay, what's going on, and understanding where they're at, and then helping them acknowledge, like, this is where you're at, and it's super messy. And you can get through, and we'll put things in place that help give you peace and comfort and feel like you can do that. To me, it's just really important that people have a safe place to ask questions and not feel like, oh, I got a stupid question. No, there's no stupid question, only the one you don't ask. I want people to feel valued and heard.