In this Masterclass, Chris McMartin sits down with Kendelle Pollitt, family and divorce lawyer, and founder of Pier Law and Mediation. Listen in as she shares her journey throughout the field of law and business!
Key Topics in this Conversation:
- Kendelle’s journey from climbing up the corporate ladder, to launching her own law firm and becoming an entrepreneur in law.
- Kendelle’s offers tips and advice for young women stepping into entrepreneurship and discusses the positive impact that mentorship can play on one’s own growth and journey.
- The vital role that having a supportive community plays in overcoming challenges, and how the Scotiabank Women Initiative community was instrumental in supporting Kendelle as she scaled her firm.
Tune in to this episode to hear from Kendelle, a leader, founder, mother, and lawyer as she covers her journey, experiences, and advice on climbing up the corporate ladder, starting her own law firm, and the intricacies that come with entrepreneurship in law.
McMartin, Chris 0:16
Excellent, excellent.
So, Kendelle, thank you for joining me today. On behalf of the Scotiabank Women Initiative, I am so excited to have this conversation with you today.
So thank you for joining us for master class.
Kendelle Pollitt 0:29
Thank you so much for having me, Chris.
I'm really excited to be here.
McMartin, Chris 0:33
Excellent. So, I always say that anyone can introduce themselves better than someone else introducing them.
So can you just give us a quick little introduction of who you are and what you do?
Kendelle Pollitt 0:46
Sure. Yeah.
Well, as you said, my name is Kendelle Pollitt, and I am a family and divorce lawyer based out of the lower mainland of British Columbia.
So I have a firm look.
I've got two firm locations right now.
First, the firm name is Pier Law and Mediation, and we have our main location in White Rock, British Columbia and we have a secondary office in Tuscan, British Columbia.
And actually, we are just now in the process, with the help of Scotiabank, of opening up a new office in downtown Vancouver.
McMartin, Chris 1:29
Well, that is exciting.
I am so excited to hear that congratulations. That's amazing.
Kendelle Pollitt 1:34
Thank you.
Yeah, it's awesome.
McMartin, Chris 1:36
That's amazing.
So maybe you could start by telling us a little bit about your story as an entrepreneur and what sort of inspired you to follow this journey to be an entrepreneur in law.
Kendelle Pollitt 1:49
Well, it's funny this question because it actually was never a big desire of mine, really. When I went to law school, my goal was to get established in a law firm and work my way up to a partner of some form in some established, respected law firm where I could just go in and, you know, do my work as a lawyer and pop home when I am done and ready and have someone else worry about the intricacies of the business of law.
So that was always my goal, and it changed slightly.
McMartin, Chris 2:24
Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 2:32
Well, it was really a slow progression.
I think so, as I had kids, things changed a little bit more.
When I had my second son, I got back from maternity leave at the firm I was at, and in some ways I think it was a challenge for this firm.
It was a firm where the partners were primarily, well, entirely men. And as far as I understood at the time, they had never had a female lawyer at that time go off on maternity leave before.
McMartin, Chris 3:04
OK.
Kendelle Pollitt 3:05
And so yeah, so when I came back there was some hiccups and.
It was.
It was a bit of a challenge and so I was starting to look and see what else I wanted to do, and also at the time my husband was contemplating doing his master's degree and so
in our relationship, because my job was always so, I don't know, quote on quote big, right? It would require me to be.
McMartin, Chris 3:32
Yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 3:32
It would take me away from things unexpectedly sometimes.
McMartin, Chris 3:34
Demanding. Yeah, yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 3:36
And so he was always the fill in person if necessary.
You know that's just litigation.
And when you're dealing with families and emergencies, you need to be available to people in need.
So anyway, so what I did was I joined.
I left the bigger firm that I was at, and I joined an association of lawyers, and it was a really good introduction to entrepreneurship for me because I was able in.
I was responsible for my own finances.
I was responsible for making sure that, you know, bills were paid and those kinds of things, and I needed to make enough money to pay the bills, and I was responsible for paying.
McMartin, Chris 4:18
Mm hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 4:22
A staff member, but I had also joined already a well-established, you know, business structure where literally everything was just plug and play, so.
McMartin, Chris 4:33
So the best of both worlds really like kind of that steppingstone.
I like that.
Kendelle Pollitt 4:38
Exactly. Yeah, it worked out really well.
And then, as my husband started his master's program, I was able to really kind of step back from my practice a bit and work just the amount I needed and wanted.
To deal with our family circumstances. And so, it was a really great time actually.
I really loved it, but as time went on and when my husband was done his masters, you know.
It just started to not.
I loved the people I worked with.
I loved.
McMartin, Chris 5:13
Mm hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 5:13
It was awesome, but it just wasn't really fulfilling enough anymore. I I felt like I wanted more.
And then you know also, because we were in an association of lawyers, we had, you know, there's four of us that all needed to agree before we could take any steps and everyone, we were all at varying stages of careers and had different goals, right.
McMartin, Chris 5:26
Mm hmm.
Right.
Kendelle Pollitt 5:33
So.
It was really at that time when I started contemplating.
Going out on my own and thinking about it and then circumstances arose when it just happened. So off I went with my trusty legal assistant Laura. And I'm just so thankful to her still today because she trusted in me to, you know, leave this job that was stable
for her.
And take off on this journey for me.
So it was September 2019 when we went off and started.
McMartin, Chris 6:07
Yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 6:09
Pier Law and Mediation, and of course, as you know, Chris, you know what was it 5 months later or something COVID hit.
McMartin, Chris 6:16
Yeah, yeah, the world turned upside down. You got it.
Kendelle Pollitt 6:20
Exactly. So, you know exactly.
The world stopped in a lot of ways, and I didn't even have a website.
I had really no idea kind of what I was doing really, and I was trying to go to Chamber events and do a few little things to try and get my name out there.
Haphazardly, I would say I think without any real kind of direction, it was the kind of what do they call it, spray and play or whatever it is.
McMartin, Chris 6:49
Yeah, you got it. Yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 6:51
Right method of marketing, which really wasn't much at all.
It was more like the hope and pray method and go have a lunch every now and then without any rhyme or reason.
McMartin, Chris 6:58
Yes.
Kendelle Pollitt 7:02
And so when COVID hit, because I didn't have a lot of files with me.
I had a lot of downtime to figure out, OK.
What do I want?
Number one, is this really what I want?
And if I do, what do I need to do to make this work?
And what do I need to do to succeed?
So really it was at that point I just spent so much time.
It was like an addiction for me.
Really, I was just so motivated and driven and excited about learning about business, learning about marketing, learning about creating efficiencies in work systems.
Learning about leadership, how do we deal with staff?
How do we deal with hiring and firing and all of these icky and tough things that we need to deal with as business owners and entrepreneurs.
So it was really great, but it's definitely been a journey.
McMartin, Chris 8:03
It's so funny you bring up two really interesting points.
One is that it is outstanding to me the number of founders I've spoken to recently who started in that like 2019-2020. Like just before, everything changed and and have just seen such great success.
So, so congratulations to you for taking that jump. And then of course dealing with that immediate need to pivot.
So. So that's one thing I want to say.
Kendelle Pollitt 8:31
Thank you.
McMartin, Chris 8:32
And the second thing that you bring up that we talked about all the time.
Is that many entrepreneurs are an expert at whatever it is their expertise is.
So obviously yours law. You were an expert. You are an expert.
But don't take into consideration the learning around learning the business.
And so having to go out and be an expert at all those things and taking that on that, that must have been a huge challenge and good on you for, for going out and becoming that expert and learning everything you could.
Was there any resources that were, like, really impactful to you or or tips that you could give to other individuals who are like now I need to go and learn the business?
Kendelle Pollitt 9:18
Well, there was, I think a lot of there's a lot of resources out there.
You just need to look and find them, right?
So, you know, first and foremost, you know, I learned that my local Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, you know, they're more.
McMartin, Chris 9:33
Hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 9:34
They do more than just put on luncheons.
McMartin, Chris 9:37
Yes, yes.
Kendelle Pollitt 9:38
Right. They teach you how to run a business?
They have support systems, they have support networks, and they put on some really great programs.
So I really engaged in those.
I leveraged a lot of the relationships I had been acquiring over those few months before, before COVID hit. I think reading books, going online was, you know, reading, just reading and reading and reading.
McMartin, Chris 9:55
Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 10:08
I read a lot.
I read a lot of business books.
McMartin, Chris 10:12
OK.
Kendelle Pollitt 10:13
And in fact some I read I would say most I listen to on audible.
So I love it.
McMartin, Chris 10:18
OK, audio books all right.
Kendelle Pollitt 10:21
Yeah, I just listen. Listen, listen.
I listen before I fall asleep.
I listen in the morning. If I'm cleaning up around the house, I'll just listen to them and I just try and soak up as much as I can.
So one of the most influential books that I think for me at this stage, I‘ve read is, it's called Who, Not How.
And basically it is the mantra, based on the mantra which I keep repeating to myself, especially now as my business is getting bigger and my time is getting spread thinner and thinner.
So it's not OK what does my business need? And I need to look at not how do I do it?
How? How am I going to learn how to do this?
But who am I going to get to do it?
McMartin, Chris 11:05
OK, OK.
Kendelle Pollitt 11:06
Because I can only be spread so thin, there's only one Kendelle.
McMartin, Chris 11:09
Yes, yes.
Kendelle Pollitt 11:10
And so I think that was one of.
Several major resources. It's just reading books.
Leveraging community associations that do help with entrepreneurs accessing grants and certainly during COVID there was lots of those going out, so that was a real benefit.
McMartin, Chris 11:32
Yes.
Kendelle Pollitt 11:36
Finding other, I found another group called Great Legal Marketing.
And they were really.
It's an American group and they were doing so much work on teaching and they continued to do so much work on teaching lawyers, solo and small firm owners. The business of law.
McMartin, Chris 11:57
Amazing.
Kendelle Pollitt 11:57
And so yeah, so really, and I had a business coach like, there's just so many resources out there, but I think.
McMartin, Chris 12:04
Absolutely. I I love that.
Sorry, sorry, Kendelle, but I love the mention of utilizing and really leveraging those relationships that you had built because I I think that your network, your community, those relationships are so important.
Kendelle Pollitt 12:08
No, please.
McMartin, Chris 12:20
What was there any significant? I'm going to say mentor loosely or or formally.
Was there any sort of mentor in your journey either back then or maybe even still today that really had a significant impact?
Kendelle Pollitt 12:37
Well, I mean, quite honestly, I feel like I've had many and some mentors have had.
You know.
Different, different mentors have had different impacts, and they've also had differing.
Trying to think what the word I'm looking for, like some have been fleeting in my life and yet have had very.
McMartin, Chris 13:00
Hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 13:03
Profound impact on my life and the way.
McMartin, Chris 13:05
Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 13:07
I approach business, whereas other mentors have been more enduring and also have had a big impact, right?
But it may have been their impact is evolving over time because as I evolve, their mentorship has evolved in the way I perceive what I'm hearing, right.
I'm a firm believer that when you're ready, the teacher will appear.
McMartin, Chris 13:34
Hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 13:36
And I did learn that from a connection I had met once, I remember I was at a Chamber dinner and I had met some gentleman. And you know, I don't even remember his name today, but he had created a successful business and was approaching retirement and he agreed to go out for lunch with me, and I remember he got a napkin out, and he was showing me, you know, drawing out these charts. And he's saying, OK, Kendelle, what's your goals?
And when I told him my goal, he challenged me to basically 10, or you know, 20X that goal and.
McMartin, Chris 14:06
Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 14:10
You know, really kind of talked me through it and I thought, wow, this is just so fantastic. And I never spoke to this gentleman again.
I don't know why I should have, you know, looking back now, I wish I'd continued to leverage the relationship, but I mean really, I think he was what I needed at that moment in time. And, you know, he was the teacher that I needed in that moment and.
I think that was, you know, for my life that was the purpose of that of that meeting. And I think it was really just meant to be. So, for me, there's been lots of people in law I've had.
I've been so lucky because I've had such fantastic mentors throughout my career teaching me about the law.
How do we be good ethical lawyers?
How do we be effective and efficient at what we do?
You know.
my view, I think in the legal profession we are struggling with that right now.
I think we're struggling with having mentors out there and the practice of law is exactly that of practice.
And so there's only so much we can learn on our own.
And there's also, you know, really a minute amount of what we do as a lawyer is taught in law school.
McMartin, Chris 15:26
That's very fair. That's very fair.
Kendelle Pollitt 15:29
Yeah. So you know, otherwise it's all on the job training and if we're lucky enough to have great mentors, then that really expedites the process and we learn to do it the right way.
So if I think of, you know, mentors in my legal career, I think of John Lee and Martin French. And you know, David Greg, those have been really impactful mentors for me.
David Hart, who's now no longer with us, but.
You know, I've just been really lucky in that regard. And also, my husband, he's.
My husband had a job in leadership for 25 years now, so he's got that job figured out. And so, I'm always able to talk to him about business and how to approach different leadership challenges I might have.
It also helps that he's got an MBA.
McMartin, Chris 16:20
Yeah, I think it's incredible that you bring up a really good point about having different mentors, whether it's for different seasons or for different competencies.
Like you, you speak about your husband, you didn't feel that no, my mentor could only be a lawyer because I'm a lawyer.
Like you, you took the skills he has in leadership, for example, and learned those skills from that mentor.
And so, I think that's so important to point out, because I think sometimes at least in in early stages, whether you're an entrepreneur or in your career in corporate, that sometimes we think, oh, you know, if I want to be a manager, I need a mentor who's a manager.
But that's not necessarily always true. I mean, yes, obviously having someone in a position where you want to be is is great, but you can learn a lot from a lot of different individuals with different expertise depending on what you need.
Kendelle Pollitt 17:15
Exactly. Yeah. No, I 100% agree with that with that statement, yes.
McMartin, Chris 17:18
Now you mentioned some challenges and obstacles. Obviously being in law, specifically to being a lawyer and working in law.
Do you think that there's any challenges that are specific to women in law? That are unique for just women in law?
Kendelle Pollitt 17:38
Yes.
I see that.
That has improved over time.
McMartin, Chris 17:46
That's good to hear.
That's good to hear. Going in the right direction. That's good.
Kendelle Pollitt 17:47
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think when I was, you know, I look back 20 years ago when I first started or almost 20 years ago.
There were fewer women lawyers who were really at the top of their game.
That I could look up to as mentors, right?
And even then, it was fewer women who had children, who were at the top of their game.
McMartin, Chris 18:15
Hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 18:17
And so I I think you know, I'm really lucky because I was really able to, you know, really piggyback off the efforts of those women before me who I know had some tough times and some real challenges and prejudices that they needed to.
You know, work through in order to get to partnership, to stay at partnership.
To get the respect that they deserved in their profession.
But I think that.
You know now.
Currently.
There's more support out there for women.
I think there's more female lawyers out there willing to I I think all women are always willing to help.
First of all I I do get that, I have never met, a professional woman, who ever in my career, quite frankly, not one who has not been open and willing to offer me a hand whenever I need it.
And so I think particularly in the law, I think I'm very lucky to be a woman in law because I have that support. I was just at the trial lawyers, trial lawyers association of BC female lawyers retreat, and that was in October.
McMartin, Chris 19:38
Oh.
Kendelle Pollitt 19:39
And it's so fantastic.
I love this retreat, and I go every year, and it's really great because you see this wide range of female lawyers of varying stages of careers.
And.
Varying practice areas.
And we just all come together, and all of the pretenses of the law and you know, I I wouldn't say professionalism. The pretense of professionalism is gone, but all of those restrictions that we have when we're working with each other on files is gone and we're literally just there for camaraderie, mentorship, support and to enjoy each other.
And it just feels so good because you can go there and you can be a woman.
McMartin, Chris 20:24
Yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 20:29
We can talk about the challenges that we face as women, and we can celebrate ourselves and our successes as women.
In a supportive way, because as women, we don't usually talk about ourselves.
We don't brag like the men generally do.
And so it's really neat when we can get together and express ourselves in the unique way that women express ourselves.
So anyways, I think.
McMartin, Chris 20:54
That sounds like an amazing community to be part of, that sense of community is so important, regardless of the industry that you're in.
Kendelle Pollitt 21:02
Exactly. I think it is.
It's a fantastic community and so while there may be challenges, there's so many benefits.
McMartin, Chris 21:10
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
You talked earlier a couple times actually about being a woman entrepreneur, a woman in law and having children, and how that can add an additional sort of challenge or or, you know, additional. If nothing else, things to think about really like you said, you know, if you‘ve got a a high demanding role like yourself, where you got to run and go and sometimes last minute. That can be a challenge.
So do you have any sort of best practices or tips and tricks on how you've balanced that sort of work life balance?
Kendelle Pollitt 21:45
Well, I think.
I think it depends how you define work life balance. Number one, right?
McMartin, Chris 21:51
That's fair.
That's fair.
Kendelle Pollitt 21:55
For me, work life balance doesn't mean.
Being, you know, home everyday at 5:00 PM, whereas lots of times I am, and depending on the period of my career too. My, you know, my, my career itself will wax and wane in terms of busyness or demands on my time.
So it's not steady all the time in terms of what my career demands of me, both in terms of my business and my practice.
But I think that as a female lawyer and business owner who's also a mom and a wife, I think it's always a challenge.
I think we're always.
You know you've always got the mom guilt that you're never doing or being enough. Whether it's for your business, for your children, for your husband, for your friends, you know.
So you're always feeling pulled in a lot of directions. You know, it's just kind of the way it is, but we just push through it and I think for me, I make sure that.
When I'm with my kids and when I'm around, I try and be present as much as I can and I'm not always great at that, you know.
Sometimes I'll just come home after work and I'm like, Oh my gosh. Like, I just need to to sit right.
McMartin, Chris 23:10
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 23:12
You know, let me rest.
McMartin, Chris 23:15
Yep, Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 23:16
But you know, I'm always there and I enjoy my children and I'm involved in their lives.
I've got two boys, so you know my boys' interests are different than what I was interested growing up. Like when I grew up, I was interested in Barbies and Dolls and fun things like that.
And my boys are all, you know. I dance. My boys are all hockey and sports. And you know all the active, active, active like there's no such thing as colouring when my kids were little, right.
McMartin, Chris 23:42
Yep.
Yeah, yep, yep, yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 23:47
So just kind of, you know, learning what they like and I spend a lot of time at hockey rinks and I also use the friendships and the relationships I've gained through my boy's activities to support me through all of my life.
Some of my really my best friends and my biggest supporters in my career and in my successes are parents of my children's friends so.
McMartin, Chris 24:16
Yeah, those other those other parents, you're sitting on the hockey bench with, right?
Kendelle Pollitt 24:16
It all works together.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah. And those are, you know, a lot of my hockey parent friends are what I would consider my lifelong friends.
And so it's all a big circle.
Everything is intertwined.
You know, I have we all support each other. And so if I'm working late, then I've got friends who will pick my kids up and take them to practice here, there and everywhere.
So I mean it, it's I don't know if it's a balance as if.
It's as more of a dance.
McMartin, Chris 24:48
Yeah, I like that.
I like that, I say.
I say all the time.
I don't know if balance is the right word cuz I don't as I also am a mom and I don't know if balance is the right word, but I like the dance.
I like that, I might start using that.
It definitely is a dance and being, you know, watching your footing and being where you need to be when you need to be there, that's that's pretty much how it works.
So I like that analogy. That's perfect.
That's perfect.
Kendelle Pollitt 25:13
Yeah, that's. Well, that's exactly it, yeah.
McMartin, Chris 25:14
And I I love every question I've asked, Kendelle, I love that it always comes back to having that right.
Community around you, whether that community is a community of lawyers at work, whether it's a community of entrepreneurs. When you're learning the business and now your community, sort of in your home life, whether that's through sports or friends or family or. But I love that it always comes back to the importance of those relationships.
I'm a firm believer that building the relationships around you are what will cause happiness and success, and so I love that everything we've touched on comes back to that importance of community around you.
So thank you for, for that, for sure.
Kendelle Pollitt 25:54
Well, and just to touch on that too, Chris. I mean I I that is exactly how I mean, my community, I've got so many communities right that support me and that I support and.
McMartin, Chris 26:05
Yes.
Mm hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 26:10
Truly, you know what's the saying? It takes a village.
It truly does.
McMartin, Chris 26:12
Yes, yes.
Kendelle Pollitt 26:13
And so we just had Pier Law and Mediation. We just had our five-year anniversary party and we also shared at this party we that we were, Pier Law and Mediation was one of Canada's top growing companies.
McMartin, Chris 26:28
Amazing.
Kendelle Pollitt 26:29
With the Globe and mail.
So we had this great announcement and this great party just at the end of September, and we had it at the Boathouse restaurant here in White Rock and British Columbia. And it's right on the beach overlooking the ocean. And, you know, we can just see the pier of.
McMartin, Chris 26:31
Amazing.
Oh wow.
Kendelle Pollitt 26:50
White Rock, just off into the distance there, and of course our firm is named after the iconic White Rock Pier, which is the largest pier in North America, or at least Canada.
But it was just.
I just remember, like, standing there and looking around and I, you know, you're planning these parties.
You don't.
Who's going to come?
You don't know, you know, are people going to come is, is it going to be just us?
How long is people going to be bored?
McMartin, Chris 27:17
Yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 27:18
Are they going to be trying to get out at the last minute because it was also a Friday of a long weekend and so it was just so humbling and so.
Affirming to me when at this party to see how many members of the Community came out to support us and to support, you know, my firm, the lawyers that work with me and the staff and everyone that helped build this little business that manages to give 16 of
us an income and support our lifestyle, our homes and children, and all those kinds of things. And to see the entire community come together. It was so awesome.
I mean, we had city councilors from 2 communities we had, you know, friends and family and lawyers from you know all around the Lower mainland, and everybody was there to congregate, be together and celebrate not just pure law, but I think the fact that, you know, one of our little businesses had this great success right in our own community.
And it was so fun.
I couldn't believe how much fun people were having. That's all I kept hearing was, it was such a great party and they couldn't believe it and nobody wanted to go home.
And so, you know, for me that was affirming that, you know, my focus on community and giving back to my community, number one, but also utilizing my community for help and assistance when I need it because we're all willing to help and want to, you know we want to see each other succeed.
You know, getting everyone together in that room was really affirming and special to me for that reason.
McMartin, Chris 29:07
I think that's incredible and obviously I mean I know that one of your answers to this next question will be community for sure. But but maybe there's something else too that you want to add. If you could give a piece of advice to a young woman starting out their journey as an entrepreneur, whether in law or not, depends on on you know what advice you have, but is there a piece of advice? And let's say other than build that community 'cause we know the importance of that.
That you would give.
To make sure that don't forget about this.
Kendelle Pollitt 29:41
I think the biggest thing is not getting overwhelmed by your goals and your dreams.
Still, I think it is.
It's important to determine, number one, what is my destination right?
But know that you don't have to figure out today how to get there.
That will come, right?
You don't need to know all of the building blocks do not need to be in place from
A-Z.
But.
McMartin, Chris 30:16
Hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 30:16
What you do need to do is figure out, ok what is my end destination?
And what are some of the things that will help me get there?
And then you set those milestones, and you set those mini goals and every day you wake up and some days you know, you just wake up and you can barely put one foot in front of another.
And that's your goal for the day.
McMartin, Chris 30:33
And that's the goal.
Yeah, that's the goal, yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 30:37
But when you're more days than not, you're sitting down and you're thinking, OK, what is my goal for this quarter?
You know, what do I want to achieve?
What are the things I need to achieve in order to get closer to my goals?
And they don't feel like lots when you are writing them down and when you're putting it out. But over time you can achieve a lot.
One thing I heard is that we over.
Let me make sure I get this right.
We tend to overestimate the amount we can do in the short term.
But underestimate the amount of things we can do in the long term, and so keeping that in mind, one of the things I think is, OK, what are just a few things that I need to do in order to get me closer to my goals. So maybe it‘s.
I need to publish an article in a legal paper.
Maybe I need to figure out a marketing plan for 2025.
Just get the plan done right. So.
McMartin, Chris 31:38
Yeah, yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 31:40
Or maybe I want to attend one speaking event for this quarter.
So try and find a speaking event so that I can go out there and do it. And the thing is is that opportunities build and create more opportunities, so you know you just want.
McMartin, Chris 31:55
Yes.
Kendelle Pollitt 31:57
You just need to start, and you need to try and be as consistent as you can and try not to get overwhelmed by the enormity of all the things you want to do and achieve and just chunk it into smaller pieces.
And before you know it, you look behind you and it's like, Oh my goodness. Wow. When did I get all this done?
McMartin, Chris 32:19
That's right.
Look how far I've come.
Kendelle Pollitt 32:21
Exactly. And look at all these relationships I built and look at all of these successes I've created and achieved, and look how much I've grown over the past three months, six months, five years for me, right and.
McMartin, Chris 32:36
Yeah, yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 32:41
So I think that's just really important is to just stay focused and keep yourself moving forward and keep reminding yourself and your brain, you know, OK.
What am I?
What am I doing to move myself forward, especially when you start to feel.
Because your motivation levels aren't going to be 100% all the time.
Motivation levels wax and wane.
So what can you do to help you stay consistent over these long periods of time?
And so it's setting these goals number one, but also number two for me is finding accountability measures for me.
So for example, I have a business coach.
Now that I've I've retained because I was finding I was starting to.
You know, I was getting lax in some of my.
My my tasks right. OK. I'm not doing things as much.
I'm just trying to.
I'm working in the business more than on the business, going through the motions, getting busy with taking my children to, you know, hockey rinks all over Timbuktu.
McMartin, Chris 33:34
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 33:41
And so, what do I need to do to get myself back on track and hold me accountable?
So I've got a business coach who does that.
I also travel to Washington, DC to meet with an accountability mastermind group.
Which is small law firm owners, and we support each other, and we hold each other accountable for our goals and what we're trying to achieve.
McMartin, Chris 33:56
OK.
Kendelle Pollitt 34:04
And we're all trying to grow businesses together. And so, if you can get these outside supports as well to help you maintain accountability because we need to keep me moving forward even when we're not feeling that motivated.
McMartin, Chris 34:06
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I love the focus.
Kendelle Pollitt 34:18
So those are the things I do.
McMartin, Chris 34:20
Yeah, I love the focus that you put on progress like that it you know, don't feel like you failed because you didn't achieve the final goal yet, that that moving closer, getting closer to that goal is success.
Kendelle Pollitt 34:35
Exactly.
McMartin, Chris 34:36
I love that.
I think that's really important. I think I think often again as an entrepreneur, but even not, even in corporate world. Often that large, you know, overarching maybe five-year, 10-year goal seems so far away and unachievable. And so, if you're really focusing on the progress, then you can celebrate more success along the way.
So I think I think that's a great. I think that's a great tip.
Kendelle Pollitt 35:00
Exactly.
McMartin, Chris 35:03
When you've spoken about your, you know your advice that you gave us as well as your community that you've built, and even your event you were speaking about being surrounded by all that support. Are there any particular organizations, initiatives, anything like that that you think, wow, like these are they're doing amazing things and people should know more about it? Like I know you brought up the Board of Trade, the Chamber of Commerce.
Are there any other things like that that you're like people don't know about this and they need to?
Kendelle Pollitt 35:35
Well, I think there's lots.
I mean really for me.
We support a lot of Community initiatives at my firm.
McMartin, Chris 35:46
Hmm.
Kendelle Pollitt 35:48
And so a lot of them are important to me.
I can say, you know, even just we were at the White Rock Bright Walk the other night and our lawyers, we were the sponsors for it.
McMartin, Chris 35:56
OK.
Kendelle Pollitt 36:01
And it was this big Christmas event and lights and live entertainment. And it was presented by the city of White Rock.
Right. But it was just awesome.
McMartin, Chris 36:09
Amazing.
Kendelle Pollitt 36:12
It was free family and entertainment and sitting there at my booth, I was there with
a couple of people from my firm and we were sitting, and you saw the diversity in the community in terms of, you know, socio economic status.
McMartin, Chris 36:29
Yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 36:30
You saw in terms of age and you know, family like there's families, there's elderly there.
And also lots of different ethnicities. And so, it was really cool. And I thought that was really great how White Rock and it's free, right?
McMartin, Chris 36:40
Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 36:47
Everyone could afford to come.
McMartin, Chris 36:50
Yeah, yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 36:52
It wasn't because it's, you know, that we could all be there together and celebrate our community together.
And so I love helping the community in that way. We also support the Community in terms of, you know, Easter celebrations and.
Our White Rock Pride society is very active and involved, and so Pier Law is really devoted to supporting the White Rock Pride Society.
Now you know outside of those, you know, general things that the firm supports.
McMartin, Chris 37:28
Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 37:30
Specifically, I also am a member of the Soroptimist International.
Of well Soroptimist International, but I'm part of the White Rock chapter.
It's a fantastic women's club.
It is a International Association of women who gather and do great things to benefit women and support women throughout the world.
McMartin, Chris 37:52
Wow.
Kendelle Pollitt 37:53
So it's I always.
I might be wrong on this, but I kind of usually describe it something. As you know, something similar to Rotary.
But for women and you've got lots of opportunities to do good in your community. We meet monthly, we figure out how are we gonna, you know, how are we gonna support the women in our community and women in our broader community throughout quite frankly, the world, right?
McMartin, Chris 38:24
Amazing.
Kendelle Pollitt 38:25
And then we're part of this larger community as well. We've got conventions.
You've got your regional convention, you've got international conventions, and so you can really get an opportunity to get to know women across the world and you see how similar we all are, and how supportive we all are of each other and of ensuring that women in all areas of the world have access to things like clean water, healthcare, you know freedom.
McMartin, Chris 38:57
Yeah.
Kendelle Pollitt 38:57
All those kinds of things as much as our, as much as we can.
So Soroptimist they actually have a seat at the UN as well, so it's pretty cool organization. So I'm involved in that.
And I'm also involved with the Canadian Bar Association women's mentorship program.
And so I helped.
McMartin, Chris 39:16
Wow, that's incredible as a mentor.
So your mentor then?
Kendelle Pollitt 39:19
Yes. Yeah. Right now I've taken a pause. I shouldn't.
McMartin, Chris 39:21
Fantastic.
Kendelle Pollitt 39:23
Well, I should pause.
I've taken a pause on that program for this year, but historically I have been because I've got a few other initiatives that I need to focus on for this next eight-month period.
McMartin, Chris 39:28
Yep, Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 39:35
But I'm a longtime supporter and will continue to be in the future.
McMartin, Chris 39:38
Amazing. Amazing. It sounds like you have an incredible impact on the community that you're in, and that you're very involved and you're always giving back and I think that's so important and I like to think of the Scotiabank Women Initiative as yet one more of your communities that you're involved in, because a lot of what you talked about today, we certainly believe in support and provide as far as mentorship, access to capital education and a community to be part of.
So anything in particular of why you think the Scotiabank Women Initiative is an important community or communities like that are important? Anything you want to share?
Kendelle Pollitt 40:22
Well, the Scotiabank Women's Initiative has been instrumental to me and my firm and in growing my firm.
And speaking of community, it truly is a community.
I mean, Scotiabank was at our five-year anniversary party, right?
McMartin, Chris 40:36
That's amazing.
Kendelle Pollitt 40:37
So there was a few members of my Scotiabank community at the party supporting me and I just thought that was fantastic.
So one of the things I found for like with my experience with the Scotiabank community is that I'm more than just a number to the bankers that work with me.
And so I have this relationship with various members of my team.
And they are just so helpful.
It's just I can't really express how important it is to have a really good relationship with your banker, quite frankly, particularly when you're a growing business because number one the support goes beyond just financial, it goes with business advice and you know.
McMartin, Chris 41:22
Yes.
Kendelle Pollitt 41:35
You know, I can call up my banker either.
You know any of them? Really. And I can think of three right now.
You know Darcy, Tammy, and Char. Different parts of the company, but I can think of three of them and I know I can call each of them and I have to say, OK, I'm, I'm facing this challenge. You know, what is your experience? Because they have experience with lots of businesses like mine.
Right. And OK, is this good?
McMartin, Chris 42:00
Yep, Yep.
Kendelle Pollitt 42:03
Is this reasonable?
Can I afford this?
McMartin, Chris 42:07
Yeah.
Absolutely. I love.
I love that you point out that you have that built relationship, that it's not just a stranger you're contacting hoping for some guidance like it's someone you've built a relationship with, a team that you've built a relationship with, that you trust that you're calling to say I trust your opinion on this.
You're an expert to me and I need to hear what you have to say.
Kendelle Pollitt 42:34
And the team itself has made an effort to create a team amongst themselves as well, right?
So I I guess what I'm saying is I'm not the only.
I'm obviously my business is the focal point for these people, but they work at different parts of Scotia, and everyone is willing to work together and knows of each member of the team to assist me to get me to the right person, to get the right answer the quickest, the most efficient answer to my question, or resource that I need, etc.
And not only that, but there's been times where I've been referred to.
You know, I'm in Whistler with my family and I need to get some things done for banking and so my branch manager in Surrey is contacting the branch manager in Whistler and they're waiting for me and ready there to help me.
And so, it's this whole community that works together, with all the different parts to make sure that my business is able to run and I'm able to focus on my business and not have to worry about all of the other things that come along with the banking end of it. And also as you said, so one of the big benefits right now with The Scotiabank Initiative for me is that I'm able to expand again. And so I'm really excited that I've been able to purchase new office space in Vancouver and get the funding that I need to build that space out so that I can continue to provide my clients a fantastic service.
So I'm really excited about that.
McMartin, Chris 44:09
That's. That's amazing. That's amazing.
I'm very I'm very excited you've shared this with us, and I really can't thank you enough.
I can't thank you enough for taking the time today to really be open and honest with your experience and give your advice and your knowledge and I know it will be impactful for entrepreneurs.
I know it will be impactful for other women in law coming up the ladder.
And so thank you for all that you've done today and all that you continue to do within your community.
And on behalf of the Scotiabank Women Initiative, I can't thank you enough for all of your time.
It really is appreciated.
Is there any last words that you have?
Anything you didn't get a chance to share that you want to make sure that you share with our community.
Kendelle Pollitt 44:57
Well, I just wanna say to anyone who's out there working their own business or considering working your own business, you know, believe in yourself.
You can do it.
We all have so much power within us and we're all so much more capable.
We're capable of more than we could ever imagine, and so take that, take that risk.
If you're feeling nervous, you know, acknowledge when you're starting to push up against your comfort zone and know that that's your sign to keep pushing.
Push up against your comfort zone.
Go for your goals and you can achieve it.
So, but thank you so much Chris.
I really appreciate you having me and I really appreciate all the support Scotiabank Women's Initiative has provided me.
McMartin, Chris 45:44
Thank you so much, Kendelle.
I appreciate you too, and I hope you have an excellent day.
Kendelle Pollitt 45:50
Thank you.
