Origin Stories: Grandma

 “Creation myths, or origin stories, tell us what a culture believes about how humans came to be. They can also tell us much about what that culture values. These are often religious or spiritual explanations for human life.” - From the Smithsonian Learning Lab.

Imagine escaping from an abusive marriage and needing to find a way to support yourself and your two-year-old daughter. Now, imagine the year is 1946. Options for women were limited, and very few women owned businesses.

My grandma didn’t need to imagine it, as she lived it. She started her own real estate company, “Colonial Realty Co.” and ran it successfully for fifteen years until a traumatic injury forced her into early retirement.

I knew grandma in her retirement years and I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with her. I remember she, as a child of the Great Depression, wasted nothing. Everything was saved and used again. She was also incredibly kind and generous.

I remember asking her how she made her business a success, and she said, “I made sure to have good relationships with banks and loan officers and helped guide buyers through the financing process so I could show them homes that they could afford. The VA loans were new then and people needed advice. Not many people were thinking that way back then, and it helped my business a lot.”

In founding Kean Communications, I thought of Grandma and how thinking of the needs of her clients and being of service as keys to her success, and will strive to make it a foundation of Kean Communications as much as it was for Colonial Realty Co.