Sabrina Shaheen Cronin, Founder of The Cronin Law Firm
Name: Sabrina Shaheen Cronin
Company: The Cronin Law Firm
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
Family law attorney Sabrina Shaheen Cronin is the founder and managing partner of The Cronin Law Firm, JD, MBA, In addition to being an attorney, Sabrina is a family coach, helping couples navigate co-parenting along with the messy waters of separation and divorce. Through her own personal experiences, she has become a strong advocate for promoting healthy co-parenting relationships across the globe.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
Women need to realize that, rather than competing with each other, collaborating and sticking together is the way to change the status quo. I once saw a quote that said, “a woman alone has power, collectively we have impact.” An important lesson to remember is that every woman should be competitive with themselves, to continue to be a better and stronger person than they were yesterday, but they should never compete against other women, their allies. Women should view success as being plentiful and understand that all success comes with the ability to take things in stride and be flexible. Most importantly, we need to commit to always supporting other women and teaching, encouraging, and fostering growth in them. Remember, we have to focus on self-growth and encouragement, while at the same time pushing one another to be better versions of ourselves each and every day in order to become successful together.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
Part of being a successful business owner, or really being successful at anything, is learning to trust yourself. In order to develop the confidence to trust yourself, you must practice that skill repeatedly. It is like building a muscle. Sometimes you will follow your own instincts and make mistakes. More often, though, you lack the confidence in yourself to trust your own instincts and realize too late that you should have. I became more and more aware that I should have followed my instincts much sooner than I started to, whether it was about employees, cases, or even handling opposing counsel. I have always been an intuitive person and many times I have made decisions that may not have been practical or made sense logically, but they proved to bring success more often than not.
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
I never had a grand plan to have a law firm. When I subleased a small office to meet clients and have a space to work, I quickly realized that I needed help to service the clients I was grateful to obtain. Over time, my hard work and dedication paid off.
During the better part of the last decade, owning the firm has shown me how resilient and strong I am. I used to look up to other successful business owners—even putting them on pedestals—and not seeing myself that way. I have now realized that I too am successful. I also know I am unstoppable. While in the past, I may have allowed fear to detract me, I never allowed it to stop me. I pressed on and faced my fears and have gained even more courage as a result. I know I am strong, capable, and resilient. I have withstood a lot of adversity both personal and professional.
Your personal life does not shut off simply because you own a business. To the contrary, things seem to heat up the moment you experience a modicum of success. The level of stressful situations at work, that once plagued me, are not only greater, they occur more often; however, they are easier to withstand. This means my tolerance for handling stress with my business is much better---whether that is good or bad, it just is.
I am also keenly aware that I have the mental ability and physical stamina to handle a significant workload in any given day, and while my work-life balance is in fact, balanced, I am often juggling a variety of different tasks for both roles during the days and evenings, weekends, and holidays. I am blessed to have the energy and stamina that are required to handle my long days and nights. I am after all, a single mom of three amazing children, and I own a successful firm.
What was an obstacle you overcame to get your business where it is today? Please share the story behind it.
We do not practice law in a vacuum, nor are we business owners and nothing else. We are complex, creative, involved, and have many layers to us. Most entrepreneurs have varying degrees of creativity, logic, drive, fortitude, passion, and adventure. Most also have families, and other obligations and demands.
When I started my firm, I was going through a lot personally. I had no monetary or emotional support when I opened my office. It was my own sweat equity that got me going and it was my hard work and belief in myself that kept me going. Failure was never an option. I worked my ass off and still do.
I demand a lot of myself, and now I am starting to hold others’ accountable too. I have also grown personally because of my business. I am no longer afraid to be assertive, vocalize my opinions, or stand firm in my beliefs. I no longer over-explain or apologize for wanting something done a certain way. I am always fair and I am less worried about others’ perceptions of me.
Not only does art imitate life, but I can say confidently that my personal life and professional life have mirrored the other. I experienced very similar patterns both professionally and personally. The good news though, is that as I grew personally, my professional life experienced growth as well. The stronger I became within my own frame, the better I became at listening to my inner voice and standing firm in my own convictions. I do not allow others’ opinions to detract me from my goals.
I do not allow fear to stymie me. I believe in myself. I listen to my instincts and trust myself enough now to follow them. I know with every fiber of my being that I will survive anything that comes my way, because I already have survived experiences I would not wish on anyone; and I still do survive every single day. I have created all of this. No one can take away my education. No one can take away these experiences. These are mine and mine alone.
And while I am a sole business owner, I have a team of amazing people that I have trained and I have trusted to help me and grow with me. My firm is only as good as the weakest employee, and I have learned the hard way that it is not worth holding onto weak employees simply because I am too afraid or care about them too much, to let them go. In that way, it is very similar to a personal relationship. You know you have a deep love for someone, but they are not the best fit for you. To level-up your life, you must be willing to be uncomfortable and stretch yourself beyond the familiar.
I find goodness in everyone, but sometimes as the owner, I must do things that don’t always feel comfortable for the betterment of the firm. It is hard to let an employee go, especially if they are a good person. In other words, sometimes I have to be “bad” in order to do “good” for everyone.
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