Starting your own business can sometimes happen unintentionally.
Or at least that was the case for Micki Stockalper, owner of Stock/Alper & Associates, a marketing communications agency based in San Diego.
While she may have stumbled onto the venture, the firm is now celebrating its 15th anniversary and can claim that it is one of San Diego’s largest woman-owned businesses and public relations agencies.
Most people who own their own agency typically work for other agencies for a long period of time, she said.
Stockalper, on the other hand, did not work for another agency for very long and she never worked for one of the big public relations firms. At the time, she didn’t even think that she would be doing marketing for a very long time.
Never intending to start her own business, Stockalper was presented with an opportunity to work for a San Diego hospital when she was 26 years old.
With the choice of working in-house or as an independent contractor, she chose the latter.
Vested in the success of her client, she soon had other affiliated hospitals requesting her representation, she said.
Before long, Stockalper had an office, employees and an agency.
– Office Thrives
15 Years Later
Fifteen years later, business is thriving for Stock/Alper & Associates. The company currently has 12 employees and is looking to find more, especially for the Internet side of the business.
In addition, the agency reported $3.7 million in gross revenues for fiscal year 1999 on the San Diego Business Journal’s List of Largest Women-Owned Businesses. Stock/Alper & Associates is ranked at No. 21 on this year’s List.
While she is happy to have found success, Stockalper finds having one of the largest women-owned businesses in the county a bit strange.
“I don’t think we are large. In talks with prospective clients, we tell them our goal is not to be large,” she said.
She believes that her standing on The List may be the result of San Diego’s business makeup , a few large businesses and then many small- to medium-sized companies.
For Stockalper, growing sensibly is more a matter of diversification and adaptation than anything else, she said.
– More Women May
Enter Marketing Field
Although The List contains only one other agency, Stockalper may find that more women will be at the helm of agencies.
Currently, women make up a large percentage of students pursuing studies in communications and already outnumber the men in the field, according to Abe Wischnia, director of corporate communications for Cubic Corp. and former Public Relations Society of America president.
While the industry trend is leaning toward more women-owned agencies, Wischnia said the growth in this sector can already be seen in industry publications, which feature many women as leaders in the field.
It is definitely not a disadvantage to be a woman in this field, he added.
While being a women may not be a drawback, Stockalper has had to deal with several issues as a woman and a business owner.
– Positioned At
Optimum Level
A few years ago, she realized that the agency was not just surviving, but that business was strong. Without having to grab every bit of business, Stockalper found that it was OK to decline clients.
Relying on instinct and common sense, Stockalper said that it has taken her a while to trust her intuition, which always seems to be right on target.
She has also learned has been that there is no one right way to do things. The results are what matters, she said.
While the business may have been her baby at one point, things changed once she had real babies. She is married and has two boys, a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old.
As a female business owner, the biggest challenge has been finding a standard that is “good enough” for her as she fulfills her duties as a mother and businesswoman.
– With Independence
Comes Flexibility
Although she enjoys working, she has realized that life is sometimes more important than business. As a business owner, she is lucky to have the flexibility to participate in her children’s lives and still find the time to run a business.
“I have been very lucky in being able to have a nontraditional work environment,” she said, adding that her children have accompanied her to work and that some think she is a full-time mother.
Becoming adept at doing two things at once, Stockalper said the agency has a very supportive environment for employees’ lifestyles as well.
Hiring people who can manage themselves and are proactive and passionate, she said employees have the flexibility to have personal and family time as long as their work gets done.
The agency is also lucky in that it has a good team that covers for each other without assessing blame for unexpected glitches or setbacks, she said.
For example, one employee was recently able to adopt a child. Since the adoption occurred rather suddenly and quickly, co-workers helped take care of any unfinished business.
– Choosing To
Stay In San Diego
While Stockalper has no specific business plans for the agency, she said that the firm will stay in San Diego. Currently, there are no plans to open any other offices even though many of the agency’s clients are across the state, she said.
As far as goals, she would like to maintain the agency as a place that employees enjoy working in.
