We recently connected with Courtnye Gulley-Givens and have shared our conversation below.
Courtnye, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
As a person, I understand that happiness can be fleeting and must continuously be pursued. This logic applies to being a small business owner as well. Not everyday is a happy day, but after working a regular job for the majority of my life, I understand what my options are and the lifestyle of entrepreneurship has greatly impacted my quality of life, ultimately increasing my opportunities to create happiness.
When I resigned from the Criminal District Attorney’s office following seven years of service, I knew that looking back was not an option. Although I had not heard back regarding my law school applications, I knew that professionally only one thing mattered to me, my time.
COVID was the catalyst that exposed how truly business savvy I was. Creating a system that is within legal compliance and incorporating my quirky creative elements was a life-changing experience.
My decision to leave corporate came after returning to the office full-time after COVID. I could not return to a space that I had outgrown. With no opportunities to be promoted or receive a pay raise, I was too ambitious to be comfortable.
I promised myself that I would never look back and I work to make sure I do not break this promise to myself.
Courtnye, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My career is a reflection of who I am as a person. My long-term goal is to build a personal brand.
My law school goals stem from my childhood experience of crawling through the halls of my father’s law firm. I want to be an attorney because I have a responsibility to advocate for my community, specifically Dallas County. Upon graduation, I will own and operate my own firm.
My first business, Salsa de Abuelita, is a loving tribute to my husbands Nana Olga who created and has produced this salsa recipe for over forty years, Nana has made this salsa for every single town event and her salsa is the “go to” amongst friends, family and the small Sierra Vista community. We sat with Nana and learned the exact recipe and process to produce this amazing product and we proudly sell a gourmet salsa across three states.
My second business, Orca Operations Group, began as a consulting business for those who lack a foundational knowledge of the criminal justice system and were in need of local resources. I wanted to use my professional and personal experiences to build a company of advocacy to serve socially marginalized communities. Under this business, Pluto Publishing Co. was born.
Pluto Publishing Co. is an independent publishing company focused on publishing education centered works as well as assist professional school candidates by reviewing their work within the rights of academic integrity. As a Montessori educated student, incorporating Montessori education in to my business was critical. We encourage individuals to explore their interests and leave behind a legacy with their knowledge and interests. Additionally, we offer discounts in our online bookstore to anyone purchasing a book for an inmate in any criminal justice institution and have grief support group meetings.
What is most important to know about my brand is that I am a problem solver who aims to advocate for and educate members of my community.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Unlearning and dismantling professional paradigms has been critical to building my business. After leaving corporate, I had to unlearn the habit of condensing my work day in to a certain timeframe. I had to unlearn the restrictions that were placed on me under someone else’s umbrella by allowing my artistic and creative self to meet my earnest professional self. Unlearning years of conditioning was difficult and confusing when trying to develop a new routine. What I found most important was filling space with creative and constructive activities during “normal business hours.”
As I mentioned, my time is what is most important to me. Unlearning a strict schedule, leaving the comfort of a salary and creating a life I love has been a journey.
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “When any real progress is made, we unlearn and learn anew what we thought we knew before.”
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
At the top of the year, I received my first law school rejection letter. This was after taking the LSAT more times that I would have liked and on my last try, giving it everything I had. For years, I worked hard to make sure ‘no’ was not an option, but after opening the email. I remember collapsing and crying on the stairs. And not just a regular cry, a wailing cry. I thought about my purpose and my family. I thought about losing eight immediate family members within ten years, I thought about all the visits to TDCJ to visit my brother who’s addiction was overlooked. I thought about every victim at the courthouse that I could not help because I lacked the credentials. I thought about the blood, sweat and tears I have given to my community without needing acknowledgment. And then, I remembered being wounded in a drive-by shooting as a toddler. I grounded myself by feeling the scar on my thigh. I allowed myself ten minutes to fall apart…completely. Then I picked myself up, remembered who I am, and completed an online interview for another school. A few weeks later, Pluto Publishing Co. was born.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.plutopublishing.org
- Instagram: @plutopublishing
Image Credits
Logo- Wizarte Photo- Brittany Gilbert