The Law Offices of Seymour Wasserstrum
Once an Entrepreneur, Always an Entrepreneur How Getting Fired From My First Law Job Helped Illuminate My True Calling 205 West Landis Ave. Vineland, NJ 08360 • 1040 Kings Highway North, Ste. 304, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 December 2019 856-696-8300
This monthmarks the end of the decade and wraps upmy firm’s 46th year in business. On one hand, it’s hard to believe it has been that long, but on the other, the rollercoaster of experiences I’ve had— in the courtroom and out —has made the years fly. With the 2010s ending, I’ve foundmyself looking back at the beginning of my career. Ironically, I don’t think I really figured out what it means to be a lawyer (or enjoyed the gig!) until I was fired from my first job after law school. Until then, the road had been hard for my family. My parents were both Holocaust survivors and arrived in the U.S. by ship fromAugsburg, Germany, in 1949. Growing up, my family owned a chicken farm and a grocery store, but I had a bigger American dream: I wanted to be rich. I turnedmy first real profit at the ripe old age of 6. Back then, in 1954, 3 Musketeers bars were all the rage at the Jewish Day School where I went to kindergarten. Once or twice a week, a man named Mr. Kempler would stop by the school to sell kosher bubble gum and candy bars, and seeing howmany customers he had gave me an idea. I convincedmy father to buy me a box of 24 3 Musketeers bars at the wholesale food store. The wholesale price was $.04 per bar for a total of $.96, and I handed himover my life’s savings: $1. The very next morning, I took that box of 3 Musketeers bars onto the school bus, and suddenly I became Mr. Super Salesman. Those 3 Musketeers Bars went like, well, 3 Musketeers Bars—nobody could resist them. At the end of the day, I counted upmy profit, and I’dmade $.24 on an investment of $.96. That was a whopping 25% profit! I suddenly had visions of retiring as a multimillionaire before I was 18, buying an island
When Seymour first started law…
…46 years later!
in the Caribbean, and building a Playboy mansion. Life was sure looking good!
and redoubledmy efforts. My goal had changed, too. Now that I was onmy own, I didn’t just want to get rich: I wanted to help people. Today, nearly 50 years later, I can see how getting fired was probably one of the best things that ever happened tome. My one-man business has grown to fill two offices—one inVineland and one in Cherry Hill. I have more than 20 fantastic employees, and we really care about our clients. I feel blessed to be an attorney, and I am so grateful God has givenme the opportunity to help thousands of people throughmy practice. My teamhandles all kinds of cases, including bankruptcy, personal injury, and workers’ compensation (check out the insert in this newsletter to see all the different legal areas we handle), so if you’re in a legal jam, there’s a good chance we can help. Call us today at 856-696-8300 to ensure you have an experienced attorney on your side.
Maybe that experience should have givenme a clue that entrepreneurship was my destiny. Nevertheless, I figured that once I graduated law school and passed the bar, I would get a high- paying job and start living the easy life. Well, I got a great job, but then I was quite shocked when I learned that the partners actually expectedme to work hard—and work overtime! So, what do I do now? I figured I’d hang in there as best as I could, but I realized I hadmade a mistake, and being a lawyer wasn’t for me. So, after having worked there for about eight months, one Friday afternoon, my bosses called me into the conference room and toldme they were lettingme go. I cried, but after a couple of days it actually felt like a huge weight had been lifted frommy shoulders! All the stress of the job went away, and for my last fewweeks at the firm, I was 10 times the lawyer I’d been before. Instead of quitting lawwhen I left, I leasedmy own office
-Seymour Wasserstrum
WipeOutYourBills.com | 1
Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.newsletterpro.com
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator