Howell Shares War Stories with Student Entrepreneurs

08 Oct Howell Shares War Stories with Student Entrepreneurs

October 7, 2010. Kathy Howell joined a group of local businesspeople who enjoyed lunch and stimulating discussion with some 40 students from the College of William & Mary’s MBA program. The students, all members of the Mason School of Business Entrepreneur & Innovation Club, got to pick the brains of their guests over lasagna and carrot cake. Questions included how business owners like Kathy got started in their careers, what it’s like to manage a company and what sorts of issues are encountered.

“I told them I worked many all-nighters when I was new to the business world,” Kathy said. “But that’s how I and many others have paid our dues to get where we are today.”

After graduating from Georgia Southern University, Kathy worked for several years as both a designer and art director for agencies in Florida and Georgia. In 1982, she moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, and it wasn’t long before she launched her own business. At first she worked solo out of her home. Then she hired her first employee and bought an office condo. Today she is part owner of a two-story office building in Williamsburg’s New Town, where Howell Creative Group occupies second-floor space for its team of nine full- and part-time employees.

“It’s really encouraging to talk with students like the ones we met today,” Kathy went on, “because they’re already creative thinkers and doers. They have their careers ahead of them and they’re eager to get started.”