We were lucky to catch up with Justin Avery recently and have shared our conversation below.
Justin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?
When it comes to business and being a business owner, everything is dependent on connections and relationships. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “networking is key,” it really is!
Every step of your entrepreneurial journey needs, what I call, a sponsor (sidebar – find Carla Harris’ TED talk on YouTube to learn more about a sponsor). A sponsor is someone who will speak on your behalf in the top-level, closed-door meetings you’re not invited to (yet). I met my first client while I was working in the private sector for a national law firm, headquartered here in Atlanta, GA. To my benefit, this individual was not my sponsor at the time, but more so one of the top stakeholders in the firm. Specifically, he was a named partner who had been practicing for more than 40 years at this same firm. The first time I met him, I was summoned to his office to provide technical consultation on a problem he was facing. The reason I was specifically sent is another story. To paraphrase that particular ordeal, I was sent to respond to the inquiry as a guppy in a shark tank – and my superiors knew this and thought it to be a joke. Little did they know, this would be the start of a great venture and relationship. When I walked into the office of my “to-be sponsor,” he immediately greeted me with a warm welcome and asked me where I was from. Let me just say this – in the south, business relationships thrive when you can connect with an individual on a personal level. Leaning back into the story, I told him I was from Mobile, Alabama and that I had worked for a firm there. To my surprise, he knew the firm and asked if I knew a particular attorney, which he named. “Of course,” I said, informing him that I had done personal and business work for the individual. BINGO! Now, I’m in there. He invited me to dinner, with his wife and others, at one of the restaurants he owned here in the city. I was compelled to go, forsaking frivolous festivities I had planned with friends – and the rest is history. From that point forward, he became my sponsor and top advocate for my career. When I launched Inherisk Technologies, he was in retirement and pulled me into his other businesses and became my first client. I am very appreciative of him and his continuous support of my business, as well as the many avenues he opened for me.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
For 10+ years, I have been supporting legal operations for law firms, corporate legal departments, and Fortune500 companies around the world. I initially desired a career in International Relations, which brought me to a diplomacy program through Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ and an internship with the United Nations headquarters in New York, NY. In addition, I studied International Business at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain from 2011-2012. Having a background in hospitality, combined with the pathway for diplomacy, provided me with powerful communication skills and cross-cultural relations. Let me add that this was all during my undergraduate years. While I was yet discovering my passion and returning to the United States from my time abroad, I stumbled across a position at a law firm – and the rest is history. When people ask me “what do you do?” it always makes me pause and think. Why? I provide a lot of services and expertise to law firms and legal departments in a variety of ways – but simply put, I solve complex business problems. Moreover, I identify and articulate the need for change in how organizations work and work to facilitate that change. Sometimes my work can bring me to gathering requirements on a project for a Fortune100 company, and other times I am working with the HR department of a firm to improve processes. There is also a need to provide consulting on the best solution for a document management system or assist trial lawyers with litigation strategies using digital media.
Whatever it is that I am asked to do, I am most proud of one fact – I am known to get things done. For this reason, my skill set encompasses a wide range of business technology, acumen, legal operations, and working cross-functionally. I have never turned down a business problem and a problem has never been too big. There have been times when I was the only person who would tackle certain problems, as I saw them as challenges and areas of opportunity. I have also been branded with the name “fire extinguisher” since most of the time I am pulled into business fires to solve the issue – and I am totally fine with that.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My sponsor. You can have many sponsors if you’d like, but you certainly need people who will speak for you in rooms that you are not invited to. My reputation can go before me, thanks to the individuals who know my work and advocate on my behalf. If you haven’t found your sponsor – network.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Managing a team can sound challenging, but it is not. Whether you are building a team or you have inherited one, there are challenges (yes) but find the harmony within the group and lead people where they are – you’ll find the best ways to grow them individually. Everyone on the team will not be on the same level and some individuals require much more investment from their leader than others. One of the ways I manage and maintain morale is to “share the praise” with a team member. Also, find a project or way to incorporate the strengths of your subordinates so as to keep them included. Make a person feel valued and that their voice and ideas matter. These are the individuals who make your leadership tenure easier.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://inherisk.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javerybrinkley/