Margaret M. Carlson isn”™t an entrepreneur herself ”“ or at least, not so far. But she”™s seen an entrepreneurial spark in her daughters Mary, 13, and Monica, 11, and has, with them, begun building an online business selling dog collars, of all things, to fan that spark a bit to see if it turns into a flame.
“They”™ve always had lemonade stands and were always interested in shoveling snow for people,” Carlson said. They”™ve even started making earrings they plan to sell at dog shows along with the dog collars and leashes, and Monica took all the photographs on their business Web site (www.barkavenueofct.com) that, of course, both were involved in creating.
“It”™s a great way to teach them about running a business,” Carlson said of the online enterprise. “They”™re very involved with inventory and sales and they love going to dog shows and working at the booth.” In fact, “they handle the majority of the work,” which is a good thing, because Carlson doesn”™t plan to give up her day job any time soon. “I don”™t plan to leave my real estate career for it,” she said flatly.
That career began 22 years ago after the Fairfield native tried a variety of career possibilities and landed a job as leasing associate at F. D. Rich Co., which was Stamford”™s designated urban developer. The position was a bit of a stretch from Carlson”™s original intended career in horticulture. After graduating from Notre Dame Catholic High School in Fairfield in 1977, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in horticulture from the University of Connecticut in 1981. “At the time I really loved ”“ and still do love ”“ gardening and plants,” she said.
But after working at a greenhouse and nursery in Fairfield for about two years, “I decided it was not for me,” she said, and “had a variety of different jobs trying different fields until I landed in commercial real estate, where I found a true passion for the business.”
A small family
Carlson”™s real estate career began simply enough. “I gave building tours and assisted Susan Rich with her leasing proposals and deals,” she said. Susan Rich is the daughter of the late Frank Rich, who founded the company. “As I became more familiar with the buildings and the leases and protocol, I became a leasing representative.” Together, Rich and Carlson handled 3 million square feet of office space in Stamford that included High Ridge Office Park, Landmark Square, and the four-building Stamford Forum now known as Stamford Plaza.
During the real estate downturn that began in the late 1980s and stretched into the early 1990s, “the buildings went back to the lenders, and Equity Office Properties bought seven of the Rich buildings in 1993 at a substantial discount,” she said. “I went with the new owners and was with them for 16 years,” until January 2007 when Equity Office Properties was purchased by the Blackstone Group in New York city, which sold off assets city by city, including 1.8 million square feet of office space in seven buildings in downtown Stamford ”“ the 14-story 300 Atlantic St., the 16-story 177 Broad St., 1 through 4 Stamford Plaza and Canterbury Green ”“ to RFR Holdings in Manhattan last August.
Throughout the rapid sales and transfers ”“ “I was with three different owners in 12 months” ”“ she retained her position with each company. “I say I”™m one of the fixtures that went along with the assets,” Carlson said. “I think my history with the buildings and my relationships with the tenants, vendors and the brokerage community” is the glue that kept her in place through the various ownerships.
As portfolio director for RFR”™s Stamford holdings, Carlson is responsible for the leasing and overall operation of the portfolio. “Our portfolio is 91 percent leased because of the quality of our buildings, the amenities we offer and their location in the central business district,” she said.
“It”™s about sales and building relationships with individuals both in the brokerage community and with the tenant space,” she said. From the beginning she was captivated by “the business transactions, the variety of people I was meeting in the industry,” she said. “The Stamford real estate community is a very small family.”
Family affair
As for her own very small family, “we have three dogs and we”™re very interested and passionate about dogs,” Carlson said. For a short time she bred the rare Norwich terrier, but a coyote killed one and after two litters from another, she gave breeding up. “We elected not to do it any more because it”™s a lot of work,” she said.
The fledgling dog collar and leash business is another matter. “We found this manufacturer of very attractive and fun dog collars and started sharing them with our friends and neighbors. They really caught on, and we thought we”™d make a business out of it.”
The business, Bark Avenue of Connecticut, began this past October “mostly for my daughters,” Carlson said. “We have a Web site and a booth at a bunch of different dog shows on weekends,” she said. What the girls are selling, she said, are “specialty collars that are not sold in pet stores.” In addition, “we”™re going to add to the line by adding electric-fence collars that I”™m designing.” Collars on the market are a standard red or black with the transmitter attached, she said. “We”™re going to come up with different designs and hope to have them shipped to me by spring ”“ 1,000 of them in all different patterns and sizes.”
Carlson and her daughters began selling the collars last fall and have been online for about a month. “We had a few hiccups and things have been a little slow, but it”™s picking up. The volume of sales and visibility of the Web site have increased, and we”™ve been getting just under 100 hits a day.”
Those Web site hits “are from all over,” she said. Her daughters “are very surprised and excited, and love to run home from school every day to see what”™s happening.”
Another passion
Carlson is instilling another passion in her daughters ”“ giving back to the community through volunteer work. Among other volunteer projects, they”™ve both participated in events at the Stamford Boys and Girls Club. “Working at F. D. Rich gave me a great foundation on the importance of giving back to the community in which we live,” she said. “They were extremely generous with the organizations they supported, like the Stamford Center for the Arts, the Palace Theater, UConn and the Boys and Girls Club, along with a host of others.”
“When I went to work for Equity Office Properties, we were looking for an organization to become involved with, and we chose the Boys and Girls Club because we saw the need it fulfilled of providing children a safe and fun environment after school.”
Carlson is a board member of the club and served a two-year term as president, spearheading the annual 5K race in downtown Stamford that has raised more than $600,000 for the past dozen years for the club. She also heads the annual golf outing for the club, which has raised another $300,000, and has co-chaired the Stamford Symphony golf outing for three years.
She”™s teaching her daughters what she learned from experience. “People don”™t realize how much need thee is out there, and that it doesn”™t take much time to make a difference.”
