Directories

Service Category

Advertising & PR

Business Description

Words@Work is a marketing, branding, public relations, and consulting company.

Family Business History

Paula Mahony started Words@Work back in 1993 because she wanted to be home with her first child, Sam, rather than working 60 hours a week and traveling 2 weeks of every month. She began by editing and then drafting copy for her former employer. From there, Words@Work grew into a full-time venture for Paula and supported her as a divorced mom with two kids. By 2000, she was writing copy for ten multinational consumer catalogs and for several ad agencies in Portland, Philadelphia, and NYC. Words@Work grew beyond Paula's capacity and hired its first subcontractors around 2005. The first PT employee joined the company around the same time. During this period, the company's revenue grew significantly year over year. Today, the company has three full-time employees and one part-time. When Sam took a gap year in college and needed a job, he joined the company and brought a host of new skills to help clients. He spent a total of 5 years in full and part-time positions and still provides consulting support upon request. “Hiring your son as your first employee is probably the toughest way to start off as a manager,” Paula says, noting that she had to de-construct the mom/son relationship and create the boss/employee relationship. The boys jokingly came up with the terms Moss & Bom (combos of mom/boss). They developed some rules-- family issues were not discussed in the office, and work issues were not discussed at the dinner table. But having Sam there—and needing to keep him busy—was a catalyst for Paula to grow the business. Finding work that fit Sam's skill set and ensuring that the work was well-executed is what led to growth in subsequent years. It has become a routine to find work that fits the skill sets of the various members of the W@W team. And it has Paula thinking constantly about what new services can be added. Neither Sam nor his brother, Matt, has yet committed to the idea of taking responsibility for the business in the future, but they both know the opportunity is there if they want it—and if they want to make Maine home again.