Maxwell Dunn PLC, Southfield: At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the small business bankruptcy law firm started virtual consultations called Small Business Saturdays, a weekly event to help clients navigate through the business troubles wrought by the deadly virus. But Ethan Dunn, the firm's managing partner, was managing his own firm's troubles as well as clients were peeling off amid tight budgets. What transpired, however, was the realization that the firm could learn alongside the same clients it was aiming to help.
The beginning of the pandemic brought a lot of uncertainty to the business community. What were you expecting?
The expectations initially were we would see this huge influx of small business bankruptcies. Part of me had more faith in the resiliency of entrepreneurs. I knew they were going to do whatever they possibly could to stay in business and we all recognized this would be a temporary situation. The CARES Act, along with PPP, came as almost a sigh of relief from entrepreneurs. But they tend to be an optimistic group of people. During our Saturday morning chats, we could see they were obviously nervous. But things were working out, at least from March through the summer. As the summer turned into fall, things started moving again in the direction people weren't hoping and the anxiety came back. There is definitely a feeling now that this second or third wave, this may not be something that I or my business can survive.
You're a small business owner. But with the lack of expected bankruptcies, was business also difficult for your firm?
Yes, in fact, at the beginning of the pandemic, we suspected we would be extraordinarily busy. But what we found is that business actually declined very quickly and significantly. Business owners were just stuck in this place of indecision until they learned more about how the pandemic would play out. Our business definitely had its challenges. We had to lay off a couple of people, but were able to later bring them back. It also forced us to really kind of dig deeper into our core business, to really understand what our mission was and what our values were. That was the only way we could get beyond the emotions of the other stuff that was going on around us. While this has definitely been a downturn for us, it's also created an opportunity.
- What opportunities?
The key for us was a greater level of transparency from the top down. We're a relatively small team with a dozen people or so. We began to see the people who were down the line and separated from the leadership, they could see what was going on but felt powerless to help. We weren't allowing them in that space and that created this fear among the staff. The only thing they could could do was question whether they had a job next week. So we really started opening up and getting these great ideas. We made sure our people were actually part of the business. They felt like they belonged and weren't simply a cog in the machine. Their ideas were being heard and implemented.
- How did you figure this out?
Our Small Business Saturday calls. Talking to the small business owners we were trying to help. It happened early on and it started with me. I realized I had to get my personal perspective changed to implement change in the business. Businesses are run by people and we all have the same challenges with our humanity. That fight or flight motive. Lawyers tend to think of themselves at the top of the food chain. We're not. We actually serve the people behind the companies we represent. Once you get out of our ego, it allows you to really be receptive to tremendous ideas you can actually implement in your own company. I realized I have been telling my clients to breathe. To step back and ask themselves what's the worst thing that could happen here. The worst is that I go out of business, terminate all my employees, go on food stamps and lose my house and car. Well, that's not what's going to happen to me. It allowed me to find some space about how much better it can be. That mindset takes you out of the thinking that I am limited by the circumstances to let me find some trusted people that have maybe experienced something similar and share some ideas. That is the essence of why we were doing our Saturday calls.
- Did you learn about specific steps you could make for your own business on these calls?
One of the very specific things I learned is there are programs that were there to assist small business owners in retaining their employees. This was something I wasn't aware of before these Saturday calls. It's a state of Michigan program. As a law firm we never typically thought of it as an issue. But it's something I was able to have access to and use it for retention of some of my own employees.
- Has your attitude changed for good?
I think so. I think we have learned to focus on the people behind the business. As we look at a company as simply the sum of its parts, marketing and sales, what we tend to lose and not focus on the human needs that have built this company. We tend to miss the decision makers on what they really want. In times like these, you have to make a real decision for yourself about what it is you want. Especially now. This environment is one of the most least judgmental times for small business. Everyone is struggling. That allows you an opportunity to make real decisions about who you are and what you're choosing to be and develop a relationship to what you've built. Is it time to fight and rebuild or time to pivot and move in a different direction or time to retire and experience something different from your business entirely? After they've made some real decisions, we're able to have a conversation with an owner and understand what they want and set a strategy. We realize people value things differently. Do they value have their time, money or reputation? That's my new mindset, opposed to overlaying my initial thoughts as lawyer for what we need to do to fight and make a company work. Because that may not be what the client actually wants.
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January 04, 2021 at 06:00PM
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Law firm managing partner Ethan Dunn on practicing what you preach - Crain's Detroit Business
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