For U.S. Army veteran Rebecca Smith, owning her own law firm has been a lifelong dream. Her father, also a U.S. Army veteran, was able to attend law school through the G.I. Bill and opened his own practice in Atlanta, Georgia. Rebecca followed a similar path, already planning to open Rebecca Smith Law Firm even as she joined the Army. Eventually, Rebecca was working full-time in the healthcare industry while attending nightly law classes at St. Mary’s University through the G.I. Bill.
Rebecca researched office spaces close to the courthouse and spoke to her friends before deciding to open Rebecca Smith Law Firm at LiftOff, an Eastside small business co-working space. For Rebecca, it was an obvious choice: it was an affordable, modern workspace that was close to her home, the courthouse, and the interstates. Once she moved into the space in April 2017, she discovered even more benefits.
“Through LiftOff, I was introduced to a bigger business community. I was able to attend classes to become a better business owner and was given the chance to network and make contacts. My practice concentrates on business law, so it was a win-win,” she said. The opportunities at LiftOff helped Rebecca’s business succeed; earning her profits she had not expected six months into her business, let alone in the first month. “I’m proud that I have finally been able to achieve my dream,” Rebecca said. “It’s been a long journey, but every long journey is taken just one step at a time.”
Rebecca is excited to continue growing her business and would highly recommend small business community resources like LiftOff and the Small Business Development Center to other entrepreneurs. “Dreams delayed are not dreams denied,” she said. “The resources are there, we just need to take advantage of them.”
