"Showing up as your authentic self is the key to fast-tracking your success."
Kimberley Odums Tweet
Kimberley Odums, Esq. is the Founder & Principal attorney at The Odums Law Group, PLLC, a brand protection law firm specializing in Trademarks & Business Law services. As a brand protection expert, Kimberley helps entrepreneurs and business owners protect their brands through trademarks, contracts & strategic legal guidance. Her signature service is federal trademark registration, an important brand protection tool that helps businesses protect and fully own their unique brand name, slogan, and other intellectual property assets.
Kimberley, who is known as The CEO’s Secret Weapon, has over 10 years of experience working for large law firms and legally advising some of the world’s largest corporations on their business needs. Through this experience, she has become intimately aware of the legal supports that businesses need to thrive.
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Table of Contents
Let’s learn a little about you and really get to experience what makes us tick – starting at our beginnings. Where did your story begin?
Kimberley Odums: I was born on the small (but mighty!) Caribbean island of Jamaica, but grew up in New York City after my family immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s. My family always stressed the importance of education and academics so the expectation was set quite early that I was required to be a good student. Luckily, I was always very curious so absorbing new information and mastering random subjects was satisfying, even at a young age.
As a child, I remember watching Matlock with my grandmother and deciding then that I wanted to be a lawyer. But as I got older, I ran from that idea. I didn’t know any lawyers, hadn’t had any real-life interactions with anyone in the legal field, and never saw any lawyers that looked like me so that lack of representation tricked me into thinking my dream was unattainable. I also kept hearing that being a lawyer was “very hard” so a fear of failure also took over.
After years of self-doubt, I finally decided to stop running from that long-held dream and applied to law school. I was flat broke at the time but went for it anyway. I remember seeing how expensive the LSAT tutoring and study materials were, but I had a “by any means” mentality and chose to DIY my studying using affordable materials that I found online and at my local library. My hard work paid off and I got into a small, unknown law school and worked my butt off even more. After graduating, I worked for a small local firm, where I hustled and made a name for myself. My hard work continued to pay off when I was later recruited by one of the top law firms in the world, something that rarely happens for lawyers with my non-traditional, non-Ivy league background.
After practicing law for nearly 10 years, I decided to pursue another long-held dream and started my own legal practice – The Odums Law Group, PLLC, a premier, brand protection law firm specializing in Trademarks & Business Law services. Our firm helps entrepreneurs & business owners protect their brands through trademarks, contracts & strategic legal guidance. Our signature service is federal trademark registration, an important brand protection tool that helps businesses protect and fully own their unique brand name, slogan, and other intellectual property.
Not too bad for a little island girl from humble beginnings.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Kimberley Odums: On a personal level, my grandmother has always been a constant source of support and unconditional love. She’s selfless, funny, loving and so full of life. Some of my earliest memories are of me and her at our family home in Jamaica with me serving as her helper and her teaching me life lessons through everyday tasks. Today, I’ve got a million memories (and lessons) that she’s poured into me. Life is filled with so many twists and turns so having someone like her in my life – someone who’s never wavered or switched up on me – is priceless. I love you, Grammy!
Professionally, I’d have to give that honor to Seth N. Stratton. Seth is a fellow attorney and one of my earliest legal mentors. When I was a new lawyer, he gave me my first real opportunity to practice law at a high level. He did it at a time when I was unsure of where my legal career would begin or what my journey would look like. He saw something in me that I didn’t (or couldn’t) see in myself, and I’m forever grateful that he gave me a chance to be great. Thank you, Seth! I’m forever grateful for your guidance and encouragement.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Kimberley Odums: As an entrepreneur, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. Overcoming those periods of trial and error (and evaluating those moments to glean lessons from them) helped me recognize some common pitfalls that new entrepreneurs make. Here are 2 that I see very often:
- Overspending or going into significant debt without having a market-tested product or service. Far too many new entrepreneurs think of an idea, then spend large sums of money developing a pretty website and/or manufacturing products – all before they’ve made a single sale and without testing whether their audience actually wants what they’re offering. I believe it’s always best to start with a lean budget and to test the market to determine who your ideal customers are and what they actually want. Once you’re clear on those basic points, it becomes easier to niche down and fine-tune your business model. Only after you’ve developed a market-tested product and have sales traction would I recommend spending large sums of money to scale.
- Giving in to imposter syndrome or “analysis paralysis.” Imposter syndrome involves feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence despite your education, experience, and accomplishments. It’s the overwhelming feeling that you don’t deserve your success, that you’re not as intelligent, creative, or talented as you may be, and your biggest fear is that one day you’ll be exposed as a fraud. Relatedly, analysis paralysis is an inability to make a decision due to self-doubt and over-thinking. New entrepreneurs often experience a combination of these feelings, which causes them to make critical mistakes that delay their success or lead to the outright failure of their business venture.
I experienced both feelings when first starting out and developed a few mindset shifts that helped me overcome negative self-talk.
- First: Remember that there are people less capable, less intelligent, and less talented than you, who are massively successful simply because they kept going and decided to not give up. They fought through doubt and made their way to success. You can do the same thing.
- Second: Remember that no one has it all figured out. Everyone has doubts, some just hide them better than others.
- Third: Real imposters don’t have imposter syndrome – so that feeling of doubt that you’re experiencing is because you’re on the right path and simply don’t want to screw up. Use that feeling as fuel to make good decisions and do excellent work.
- Fourth: “Launch now, and perfect it later.” Don’t spend so much time trying to perfect your product or service idea that you never actually launch it. Launching and getting feedback allows you to make tweaks and ultimately create something that the market desires.
These realizations have guided me through some very challenging roadblocks. To this day, I still keep them in mind whenever I feel doubt creeping in.
Has the pandemic and transitioning into mostly online shopping affected your company positively or negatively?
Kimberley Odums: It feels odd to admit that the recent pandemic positively impacted my business growth, but it did.
The pandemic led to a national uptick in the number of new businesses started by budding entrepreneurs. At the same time, existing business owners also pivoted and took steps to strengthen their business models to better protect themselves in the face of ongoing uncertainty. As a Trademark & Business lawyer, entrepreneurs & business owners are my target audience so these business growth trends increased my client roster and business revenue. Trademark services and contract templates are our most requested services and we were able to effectively serve an increased number of new clients during the pandemic.
The global transition to mostly online shopping also positively impacted our sale of contract templates, business workbooks, and other digital products. I maintain a strong online presence across several digital platforms so I was able to have uninterrupted engagement with my audience even as the world seemed to be shutting down.
The biggest takeaway from all this was the confirmation that my virtual business model is sound and resilient enough to withstand even a global disaster. I plan to double down and take steps to strengthen this model so that it supports long-term business growth.
When you think of your company, 5 years from now, what do you see?
Kimberley Odums: In 5 years The Odums Law Group will be a premier, go-to, national Trademark & Business Law firm for ambitious business owners determined to protect their intellectual property and grow legally protected empires. I’m manifesting a strong client base, robust revenue, and a prestigious company profile that inspires confidence and trust. We will also expand our team and bring on additional top-performing attorneys. I’m claiming all of this for my growing firm and will continue taking the necessary steps toward this ultimate goal.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Kimberley Odums: I attribute my success, both in life and in business, to my determination, adaptability, and problem-solving skills.
Determination: I’ve always believed in myself and my abilities regardless of whatever obstacles were thrown my way. That belief evolved into a deep sense of knowing that I was destined to be successful – even though I didn’t know how or what my success would look like. As I got older, I made a vow to just keep trying and to never give up. I applied that mindset to my academics, to unexpected challenges that arose, and to every area of my life. I approach my business with the same steadfast determination to tackle whatever comes my way. This mindset has been pivotal to the successful trajectory of my life.
Adaptability: The road to success is filled with bumps and unexpected challenges. My ability to quickly adapt to unforeseen circumstances and pivot toward a solution has brought me through some challenging times. If I was not able to adapt and overcome, I would have quit a long time ago and you wouldn’t be reading about me or my journey right now.
Problem Solving Skills: My motto has always been “I’ll figure it out.” And I usually do. I am very analytical so I thrive in spaces and tasks that require me to assess a situation, analyze data, implement strategy, then execute a plan to arrive at a solution. This is a very useful skill that is critical to my ability as a strong leader.
What have you learned about personal branding that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Kimberley Odums: Showing up as your authentic self is the key to fast-tracking your success. It’s truly a game-changer! It’s your “secret sauce” and it’s what sets you apart from everyone else and what can otherwise feel like a saturated business market. In the past, I minimized my personality to fit what I believed others thought a lawyer should look, sound, and act like. The result was a flat, unremarkable personality that was never truly memorable because I started to blend in with every other lawyer.
It took some time but I later realized that my quirks and unique viewpoints were the things that would help my tribe and ideal clients find me. And ultimately, the more I brought my true self into my work, the easier it became to connect with clients and spark genuine relationships. That genuineness and authenticity allowed me to fall deeper in love with my work and helped to propel my career forward.
In business, I always say: “I can give you the recipe, but I’m the secret sauce.” This means that even in a saturated legal market, where folks are competing for the same clientele and doing the same or similar work, my personality, background, and unique experiences are what set me apart from everyone else. It’s what my ideal clients appreciate and gravitate toward, and it’s what keeps my client base strong. In a sea of 1000 trademark lawyers, there’s only one me. So, I continue to show up as my unique, authentic self so that my tribe can continue to find me.
What’s your favorite leadership style and why?
Kimberley Odums: I’m a hands-off leader who stresses “operating in excellence.” I don’t require and never really cared for “face time for the sake of face time” interactions. That was one of my biggest pet peeves about Corporate America and I certainly did not want to bring that into my business.
In practice this means: so long as the work gets done and is done correctly, I’m a happy camper. This allows my staff to truly own the process of getting a project or assignment done, which builds confidence and strengthens their skillsets. It’s a win-win.
Do you think entrepreneurship is something that you’re born with or something that you can learn along the way?
Kimberley Odums: My business journey is a testament to my belief that entrepreneurship is something that absolutely can be learned. Growing up, I never considered becoming an entrepreneur or a business owner. The very thought of “being my own boss” felt scary and unstable. Plus, I grew up viewing life and “success” in a very defined and linear way that required: going to school, getting good grades, graduating, getting a job, and then working until you retired. That’s it. That’s what I saw around me and that’s what I thought life was.
It wasn’t until I found myself “successful” (as defined by societal standards), yet unfulfilled and unhappy in Corporate America that I began toying with the idea of entrepreneurship. The idea was still scary, but I knew that I was unhappy and needed to make a change. I played it safe at first and began marketing myself as a consultant. I figured that was a good way to get my feet wet without having to fully commit to the idea of starting a business. It was also a way for me to see whether I could actually get clients to pay me for my knowledge and skillset.
My entire perspective changed once I got my first paying client. Earning money outside of my 9-5 ignited a fire in me and showed me that it was possible to live life differently. After that, I invested in business courses, started networking with other entrepreneurs, began reading everything I could find about building a successful business, and became more intentional about learning how to build my brand.
Taking a leap of faith into entrepreneurship was an important first step. However, it was my willingness to invest in ongoing business education and my commitment to learning important business skills that helped me build the thriving business that I have today. Everything that I did was learned over time through trial and error. So, for anyone considering entrepreneurship, I believe they can certainly be successful so long as they are willing to put in the time, energy, and effort and are willing to learn.
What’s your favorite “business” quote and how has it affected your business decisions?
Kimberley Odums: There are two quotes that I live by and use to model my life and business decisions.
The first quote is attributed to actor Michael Caine and states: “Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.” Building a successful business involves lots of trial and error, and with that comes inevitable challenges and unexpected bumps in the road. This quote reminds me to always remain poised and composed even in the face of challenging situations. It also encourages me to strategize and work hard toward finding solutions to resolve whatever issues come my way.
The second quote is an African proverb that says: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far – go together.” Growing a wildly successful business cannot be done alone or in a silo. Sure, the start-up and early growth phase of any enterprise can be done as a “solopreneur” or with a lean team, but to truly grow – without burning out – you’re going to need a strong, committed team. This quote reminds me of that and encourages me to build a trusted network that can help to propel my brand toward success.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Kimberley Odums for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Kimberley Odums or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page / Instagram
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