Hey, I’m Marissa
I’m not your average lawyer
Focusing on film and media production prior to law school, I understand the hours and hours of work that go into the final buttoned up project. Most lawyers don’t understand how much time and energy goes into one small final detail of a creative project. I also get how frustrating and painstakingly dry the legal realm of business can be as a creative, and that the last thing people get excited about is talking to a lawyer.
But I'm here to flip the script. Instead of being seen as only a fixer of problems or the “department of no,” let's be collaborators and help support your business from the beginning and build it up strong. I'm here to hopefully make those perceived scary ‘musts’ of business feel effortless, allowing you to take care of your business and focus on what you love.
xoxo, Marissa
BE BUSINESS SMARTER
Helping creative entrepreneurs Be Business Smarter™
Business strategy and protection is a fundamental virtue of business ownership.
Did you know that only 9% of entrepreneurs have a degree in business, while only 32% have taken a few business classes (and even fewer are also attorneys!)...so where do you go for the right type of advice for your business?
Pulling a She’s All That (minus the Freddie Prinze), the Business Smarter brand is taking dry business topics like legal, financial, and hr considerations, and making them, dare I say it, sexy and fun! And to top it off, the Shop has an ever growing library of tools, guides, and templates you can use to legally protect your business the smart (and legal) way!
My goal with creating this platform was to create a space for creative entrepreneurs to find easy to digest, but informative content about the legal ins and outs of running a successful business, all while your making your life as a business owner #legaleasy.
Experience
I spent my college years fine tuning my creative skills through drawing, digital design, photography, and film. But when I graduated a few years after the ‘08 crash, getting work in film was not an easy task. After rejection after rejection I decided to move forward with my backup option - law school. I know, I know, saying law school was my “back-up” sounds crazy, but trust me, it made sense to me at the time.
Education
I found the perfect balance of community and focus on real world experience through Hamline Law (it’s since become Mitchell Hamline for anyone out there Googling). I focused on contracts, intellectual property, and international commercial arbitration (a fancy way of saying international business - primarily contract - disputes).
After law school, I was recruited to work for a specialty products company.
With a business focused on social and office stationery, it was the best experience because I got to wear hats across so many areas of both law and business.
From being the main intellectual property attorney; To starting (from scratch) a small transportation company with both state and federal licensure; To negotiating and setting up 7 & 8 figure supply and production contracts; To supporting the launch a of new business (and brand) with exclusivity into Target... this was just a few of my hats! Then in 2019 I launched a boutique business law firm, 45 Degrees Legal, with a colleague. Through my network and client base, I found that there were so many women entrepreneurs that wanted support but they just didn't know where to look, which is where the idea for this site was born.
I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur when...
My now-husband was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in the summer of 2017. I continued to work, but I realized just how precious my time really is. It’s that one resource that’s finite...once it’s gone, it’s gone. I tried to go back into the daily corporate grind but in 2019 after my hubbs was in remission, and I had been working again in full without the worries of chemo, something in my mind had shifted. It was time to build something of my own.
My favorite part about my job (and let’s face it, life) is...
Meeting new people. We like to joke in our house that I can talk to and can befriend anyone. Sitting next to me on a plane? By the end of the flight, we’ll have swapped life stories, favorite pastimes, and life goals...yes, those big life goals that seem to scary to say out loud...and if you like dogs, I’ve probably shown you at least a handful of photos of my pups.
