Entrepreneurial Corner
By Derek Cassoff

November, 2004

There are a lot of similarities between growing a business and raising a child. Just ask Erica Mintz.
Not only has she perfected the art of running a small business - witness the phenomenal growth of her enterprise, Unique Corporate Gifts - but she has spent the past 15 months juggling that challenge with the awesome responsibility of motherhood.
Mintz, 29, is happy to report that both her son, Andrew, and her business are doing well - but not without some harried moments, including a couple of times when she wondered whether she'd be better off selling the business and cashing out.
The fun, so to speak, began in July of 2003, two months before Mintz was scheduled to give birth. A routine visit to her gynecologist revealed that she was at risk for a premature delivery. Her doctor ordered her onto immediate bed rest and Mintz suddenly found herself confined to her mattress, without any time to prepare a transition at the office.
Her first call was to her IT guy, who equipped her bedroom with a lap top, wireless e-mail and a fax machine. But even the fanciest gadgets couldn't save her from doing what she most feared - relinquishing control of her company's day-to-day operations to her employees.
Mintz had always maintained tight reins over her business, and who could argue with that strategy? The company, which she started five years ago with $5,000 in cash, no generates close to $1 million a year in sales, providing corporations with everything from mugs and mouse pads to fancy pen sets and elaborate gift baskets.
A year ago, Profit Magazine listed Unique Corporate Gifts as one of Canada's 50 emerging companies. It was the only business on the list headed by a woman. She is also a past Promie nominee.
But Mintz, a self-confessed workaholic, wondered whether the company would survive without her everyday presence
"I can't neglect it for any amount of time," she says.
Amazingly, the business was still intact when Mintz made it back to her desk one month after giving birth.
But the challenges did not end there. Since becoming a Mom, she has drastically cut back on her 60-hour workweeks, choosing instead to spend four mornings a week at the office and working from home the rest of the time. To accommodate her reduced workload, she has handed all but five of her accounts over to her commissioned sales staff. It means less profit for the company, but she is still able to focus more of her time on running the business and managing her staff of seven. It's also provided her more time to bond with her son.
"I still need the stimulation of putting on a suit in the morning and using my brain," she says. "But then I can come home in the afternoon, change into my sweatpants and take my baby for a walk."
The balance is working well, to the point that Mintz says she and her husband are considering having a second child.
"But next time, I'll be better prepared," she says with a laugh.

Back to Press Releases