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Finding
the Strength Within: Tatiana
Sivak Imagine two eight-year-old girls, who love to play with dollhouses. One of the girls built the house and the other asked her mom to buy one from a toy store. What is the difference? The girl who constructed the house herself gets a lot more enjoyment out of playing with her new toy than the girl who put no effort into building her dollhouse. This is how an entrepreneur and a businessperson differ. When a person works for a corporation, he/she may enjoy it, but will never be able to experience the feeling of taking an idea and putting it to work by building a business from scratch with determination and persistence. On the other hand, when a person takes the road of an entrepreneur, nothing could compare with the feeling of accomplishment, achievement, and pleasure that entrepreneurship can bring to the table. By this classification, Linda McAleer, a successful woman whom I had the pleasure of interviewing for this case study, definitely falls under the category of an entrepreneur. Mrs. Linda McAleer is the President of The Melior Group,
a marketing research/consulting company that provides services to
businesses and people all the over the United States. I first encountered
Mrs. McAleer at the Temple University League for Entrepreneurial
Women’s Hall of Fame Luncheon in November 2003, where she
was one of the honorees. I was of aware of her background and what
type of industry she was in, however, I did not find out the full
story until my recent interview with her. As I have come to know,
getting to the successful place that Mrs. McAleer and the company
is in now took many years of hard work, drive, and strong entrepreneurial
skills. Once Linda McAleer has completed her undergraduate degree at Temple University, she found that the mid 60s were not very fair to women who wanted to pursue careers in business. She told me that back then positions in business for women were harder to come by than now. At first, she would send her resume with her full name on it, but when no one called, she decided to change her game plan. Instead of putting "Linda McAleer" on the top of the resume, she'd write her initials "L.J. McAleer". Although she began to receive phone calls, many interviewers hung up when they realized that she was a woman. Today, we call this sex discrimination, and it is illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of gender. However, the invisible barrier still exists and it is very impressive that Linda McAleer was able to break through it back then. Linda McAleer experienced many turndowns, but deep down, she knew that if only she could get an interview, they'd love and hire her. That is exactly what happened. In 1974 she began to work for a tobacco company, which was located on 9th & Columbia – only a few blocks from Temple University. She has been thinking about going back to school for an MBA, and this was the perfect opportunity. It took a lot of effort and determination, but Linda McAleer obtained the MBA degree by 1976. She said that at the time, Temple gave an entrepreneurial training rather than the skills for a corporate environment. As it later proved to be, the entrepreneurial skills that Linda McAleer acquired at Temple would help her start her own business. In 1976, Linda McAleer had two degree under her belt, yet she still did not have the confidence to open her own business. After completing the MBA program, she realized that she no longer wanted to work in a big corporation, but rather in a small company. She decided to join the Hay Group, a consulting firm, as the Director of Marketing Research, where she was able to test her sales and entrepreneurial skills. The risk was minimal since it was not her company; and therefore, she had more room for experimentation. During her employment with the Hay Group, she spoke to many people, including her two closest mentors, who encouraged Mrs. McAleer to open her own business. The idea scared her until she was given the option of coming back to work if things did not work out. Linda McAleer decided to set a time frame for herself: if the business would not succeed in six months time, she would go back to the Hay Group. The Melior Group, which Mrs. McAleer said is the Latin root for “to make better”, had its first “office” at the founder’s house. This helped the company avoid rental expenses. She started the business with three other people, one of whom is still with her today. Everyone spent every day calling all the possible contacts they knew and offered them marketing research services. However, following through with potential clients was very hard to do since the budgets were limited. For example, one time Linda McAleer drove for three and a half hours (flying was too expensive) to meet with a potential client for 30 minutes, and then drove back. Fortunately, the man she met with was interested in the services that The Melior Group had to offer and became a client. Linda McAleer always believed that it was as important to know how to do the research as sell it. Thankfully, she had the right skills that enabled her to succeed at both. Aside from her friends and acquaintances, Linda McAleer had the Temple connections, which sent a lot of business her way. Slowly but surely, the clientele grew bigger, and within six months everyone could see that this company would be successful. Linda McAleer decided to pursue her goal of becoming a great entrepreneur and chose not go back to the Hay Group. However, as the number of employees and clients grew, the size of the “office” stayed the same. One day, Linda McAleer looked around and saw that there was a person in every room and papers everywhere, including her bed. She decided that The Melior Group needed a good office space, where meetings with clients could be done in a professional business setting. Everyone started looking for a place, and soon they found a great spot on South 16th street, which is the company’s office to date. When I visited Linda McAleer there, I found the site to be very warm and inviting. The great location could only help the company grow and prosper. So how did the Melior Group become successful? Linda McAleer had a very good business strategy. She decided to target industries, which at the time were not aware of their desperate marketing needs. They included the financial services field, the healthcare facilities entities (e.g. hospitals, medical offices), and the electric and gas utilities companies. After all, these industries have only marketed themselves for about 20 years, and The Melior Group picked up on the business opportunity at the right time. Today, The Melior Group is doing very well. It has a steady
client base, which reflects very well on the founder. Her long-term
goals for the company include: doing business with other various
industries and sectors, looking into expanding internet research,
and offering services called “Creative Retirement Options”,
where The Melior Group staff would provide career counseling
for people who are reaching the age of retirement but still want
to work. Linda McAleer is one of the most intelligent and nicest businesswomen that I have ever met. The ease with which she approaches people and how natural conversing is for her allows me to see why she is very good at what she does. The biggest advice she ever gave me was that networking and communication is the most crucial part of the formula of success in any field. When I will have my own business, I will follow Linda McAleer’s advice and never give, because persistence and determination certainly pay off. Bibliography |
