Pick Your Battles: Savor the Success’s Angela Jia Kim Shares Story ‘We were sued! (And the powerful lesson we learned from it…)”

I am registered and subscribed to ‘Savor the Success,’ a business network for women entrepreneurs. I recently received this story in my inbox from its founder Angela Jia Kim that I believe is  worth sharing with you all.

Often I talk about lawsuits, after all that is what I do. I sue people or defend people who have been slapped with a lawsuit, among other things. However, even when lawyers represent you, it is important to know when to pick your battles.

With many litigants, I have seen that ego has a lot to do with the kind of legal fight that ensues and how long it lasts. Sometimes, the issues at stake are not worth fighting as if your life depended on it. The focus, in those instances,  should be: 1) to think outside the box and your emotions; and 2) to have  your lawyers negotiate an equitable settlement you can live with.

Check out Angela Jia Kim’s story which underscores this point:

“It was a bizarre moment.

I was sitting at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking Central Park with my lawyer (my sister). We were waiting to meet with the people who were suing us. I had had it with lawyer jibber jabber and wanted to meet face to face to see if we could sort it out human to human. They were suing because they didn’t want Om Aroma & Co. associated with spa services, and since a good part of our incoming revenue comes from facial services, we had a problem.

As we sipped on hot tea, a woman approached us and said, “Hi, Angela! Do you remember me?”

I couldn’t place the face.

“You know, we met on Wall Street a year ago, and you have that cute adorable dog…”

My brain wheeled around until I remembered back to when my husband and I lived on Wall Street. Sienna was barely 12 months old. We were out walking our dog when a lady stopped me and said, “Is that you, Angela Jia Kim? I love your vlogs so much and adore Savor the Success! I just love everything you are doing and stand for.”

She was sweet and practically gushing.

“Yes, I remember you! You have a dog, too, right? ”

“Yea.” She looked around. “So is this where we are meeting for the lawsuit?”

It kind of knocked the wind out of me.

“Wait. You… you?” A Savor member?

“Yea, it’s me. I know, it’s awkward.” She sat down.

—-

When I first received the Cease & Desist, my immediate reaction was, “I wonder how this is meant to get me to uplevel.” I’ve learned through the years that when something seemingly bad happens in business, it means that if you are able to flip it right, something really, really good is around the corner.

Then my Korean blood began to boil, the Aries in me rammed through, and I put my boxing gloves on. “I’m not going to give up our name. I’ve spent the past few years building this brand and launched in the spa industry the same time they did. We have such a loyal following, and I am seeing this thing through all the way to court if I have to. . .”

Savor the Success has the full story.

-Uduak
Twitter: @uduaklaw
Photocredit: Angela Jia Kim/Savor the Success