Even though the title of this blog is a line sung by Ne-Yo in reference to Keri Hilson in the 2009 love-triangle song “Knock you Down” with Kanye West, I think it is an appropriate title for this Galantines Day Blog.
My girl is Lisa Sigman, whom I met through a group for mom-owned business owners. She reached out to me via messenger and said she loved everything I wrote and that she wanted to be me. In case you are wondering, that kind of flattery will make you my bestie any day. So, when I responded that I would love to chat, she indicated she essentially had a four-month wait time. In dating language this is called “WTF, YOU reached out to ME.” In busy mom-owned business language, this is called reality.
At the time I was still trying to get to the mom-hood part, and the fact that Lisa was a single mom making waves as a business attorney instantly made me want to know her. So, I waited with bated breath for those four months to pass, and finally, she granted me a date for us to meet. I had no idea what I was going to wear….
As it turns out, Lisa and I are twins. The kind of identical twins where one is blond-haired, hazel-eyed and the other is black-haired, brown-eyed, but, other than that, virtually indistinguishable. We were both business attorneys with a lot of opinions and a lot of ideas, and huge supporters of mom-owned and women-owned businesses. We also both love prosecco. We try not to drink prosecco while practicing law, but there are never any guarantees.
Lisa and I became friends and colleagues, and even though we were female business attorneys in the exact same space, we were never competing with each other. We complemented each other’s practices and helped each other out. We even recommended each other to people all the time, letting them know we were twins so that getting one of us was like getting the other. Most of all, we kept each other as well as our clients and colleagues laughing. Yes, I am saying we are funny. Double the funny with both of us.
When Lisa had her “aha” moment about In The Know Legal in the shower, she called me and I was immediately on board. It was brilliant, and the only part I did not like was that I did not think of it myself (but my twin did, so it is as if I thought of it). I would like to say the rest of history, but I will say that creating a business together is what brought Lisa and I even closer as friends and colleagues. This was our “pandemic baby” and one that is now just about two years old. It is definitely in that toddler stage of you never know what is going to happen next (or what might break), but it is still exciting and amazing nonetheless.
The toughest part about starting a business with my gal Lisa is that I unexpectedly ended up in California after spending half my life in Boston right around the time ITKL was born. So as great as the title of this blog sounds, it is not often I get to “kick it with my girl today.”
So for all the Galantines out there, go kick it with your besties, colleagues, your mom, sister, doggie, business partner, whomever. Just make sure it is with those women who support and celebrate you in everything you do, and who often make fun of you as well!
In Love and Law
Tania Shah
Co-Founder, In The Know Legal
