Caroline Maher: Caroline & Co.’s Class Act 

Published by the Columbia Business Times ~ Volume 9, Issue 16                                  March 22 -April 4, 2003
Volume 9, Issue 16
Profile by Robin May ~ Photographs by L.G. Patterson

           

Caroline Maher: Caroline & Co.’s Class Act

Caroline Maher was a high school student in Louisiana, Mo., when her teacher asked the girls in the class what they wanted to be when they grew up. Maher, like nearly every girl in the room, responded with a predictable answer for the '60s era; a housewife and mother.

Maher has never been either.

Instead of following the June Cleaver ideal, she embarked on a journey new to her generation. She grew discontent with the status quo secretarial position she was in and formed a business tailored to her skills and talents and what she enjoys doing. The result is Caroline & Co., Columbia's oldest staffing service.

Serving Columbia since 1982, Caroline & Co. began as a visionary service organization that has evolved through the times, withstanding competition from national chains that eventually arrived on scene. Uncomfortable with the accolades that come from achieving business success, Maher is quick to humbly shift the attention from herself to those around her who she feels have made her success possible. On that list are dedicated employees and other women such as Marty Ferry, Lee Gipson, Muriel Battle, Dee Corn, Elinor Arendt and Janice Schuerman – women committed to breaking new ground and nurturing one another along the way.

"I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for all of those wonderful women," Maher said.

Signing Up

It was a startling realization and a trip to Minneapolis that changed Maher's life and altered her career path.

"One day I was typing and I realized I could see myself in my 60s still doing what I was doing," she said.

Looking for advice from her trusted brother, Maher traveled to Minneapolis for a visit.

"We got down on the floor and on a Big Chief tablet he wrote, 'What you do. What are you good at? What you enjoy doing,'" Maher said. "And when we got done answering those questions we decided I would come back to Columbia and start this business." 

Back in Columbia, Maher rented space in an upper office at 1015 E. Broadway in the Menser Building and set up shop as a typing, word processing and answering service. Then she employed the expertise of Lee Gibson, a female printing shop owner, who helped her create the company's name and logo.

When Maher first started her business, she said she would watch customers come and go from The Candy Factory located across Broadway. But business quickly picked up. Noticing the increase in volume, former director of the Downtown Associations Ed Gaebler announced he was going to find Maher some help.

"The next day, in walks an angel, Mrs. Jo Bray," Maher said. "She came in in her ultra suede suit and her hair perfect in her classy way as it always was, and said, 'I type 90 words a minute and I need something to do.'"

Bray announced she would be back to start the following day, even if it meant working for free. The two agreed on a salary; Maher had found her first employee.

"She was marvelous. She was my saving grace," Maher said.

Gibson and Bray were the first of many women who have helped Maher transform Caroline & Co. throughout the last two decades. Since 1982, Maher has shifted her focus from clerical to staffing services. It was an unexpected move.

"One day Jim Buchart called and said, 'Caroline, Marie's on vacation. Can you come over and help us out?'" Maher said. "It was our first temp job."

Maher says she didn’t experience difficulties in her business based on her gender, but she credits that to the nature of the industry. She encourages women to continue strengthening one another and preparing for the competition in the business world. Offering advice to the young female entrepreneur, Maher says women should learn to be self-sufficient, get their education, taking chances but not wasting life away.

“Women still are left out because they can’t be ‘one of the guys.’ It’s still a man’s world out there,” Maher said. “That’s just the way it is, but we’re moving in on them.”

Nancy Wood, staffing consultant, began working with Maher more than two years ago.

“She has – in a world that is not always kind to women – built a successful business and you have to respect her enthusiasm and integrity,” Wood said.

Logging On

When Caroline Maher established her firm, hers was the only business of its type in town. In the '80s, she bought out an independent competitor and shortly after, the national staffing companies came to town. Maher said the industry has changed drastically through the years. As a result, Caroline & Co. now specializes as a temp-to-hire and direct-hire agency.

"We are able now to take much better care of our employees and clients," she said. "Way back when we would call for reference checks. Today we go much further and do background checks and even criminal checks, which we didn't even think about 20 years ago."

Times may have changed, but there are some parts of the business that Maher says remain the same.

"There's something that still feels really good when you find somebody a job," she said.

Operating by the Golden Rule continues to be cornerstone at Caroline & Co., now located at 311 S. Providence.

"So many different people from so many different walks of life come through our door," she said. "It's important to treat people like you want to be treated."

Kat Cunningham, owner of Moresource Inc. and friend of Maher, has seen this ring true in Maher’s attitude toward others.

“I don’t know how to explain what a wonderful woman she is because she is just so warm hearted and giving. I can’t say enough good things about her. She is the kind of humble woman that exudes class. She’s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside,” Cunningham said.

Maher says she’s never asked an employee to do a job that she wasn’t willing to do and she understands the importance of providing her clients with skillful and reliable employees.

“I used to say so many times,” Maher said, “if secretaries across the country went on strike, the country would come to a halt.”

Although Caroline & Co. has been profitable since its beginning, Maher says owning the small business hasn’t been without challenges. Knowing that companies across Columbia were depending on her to provide the work staff necessary to keep their labor forces efficient is a responsibility Maher has always taken seriously.

“The most difficult part of the 20 years for me was letting it go – that constant thinking of it. When people call us, they are depending on us to take care of that need,” she said. “And you want to find a job for every employee and you can’t. You want to make the perfect fit for every client and you can’t. You want to make sure everyone shows up for work and you can’t.”

Maher says she has just learned in the last year or so that “there’s only so much you can do.” While she continues to love servicing the Columbia community, Maher says she’s realized that there’s more to life than work. Nevertheless, she’s quick to admit that she still loves the sense of urgency to help a company when they call for help.

“I like that crisis situation,” Maher said. “I used to thrive on that. But I’m older now and there are other things in life. I’ve learned to not get so involved.”

Maher approaches the future of the staffing industry optimistically. She says the temporary work force has expanded to include professional positions, such as doctors, attorneys and nurses. Additionally, older workers are now looking to temp agencies for employment opportunities until they are eligible to collect social security benefits.

“I see that this industry just keeps growing and growing and growing. This office is a good way for people to get into a company, especially for those who have a hard time selling themselves. We help them get their foot in the door.”

And Company

Maher is the second of seven children in a tight-knit Catholic family. She attended a private parochial school in Ottawa, Kan. When the family moved from Kansas to West Virginia, Maher found her eyes opened.

“I had grown up in Catholic schools with separate playgrounds for boys and girls,” she said. “Then in West Virginia the school grounds were divided by a rope and the smokers went on one side and the non-smokers on the other. It was quite interesting.”

 Maher’s father worked as a plant supervisor for Hercules, a company best known for making ammunition and missiles during World War II. His job took the family to Maryland before their final move to Missouri 38 years ago.

Young Caroline was approaching her junior year of high school when the family came to Missouri. She says she wasn’t excited about the move.

“I remember the moving van man saying to me, ‘So you’re moving to the Show-Me State. You’ll love it there.’ We didn’t get along very well that day,” she said.

Maher says her siblings and parents have always been at the center of her life.

“We were a very close family and are even more so today. We are very respectful of each other,” Maher said.

Her parents, now 80 and 78, are in the process of relocating to Columbia to be near Caroline, her sister Cindy and the medical care the city offers. This is one move Maher is excited to see occur.

“My folks have been married for nearly 59 years,” she said. “She ran the house; he was the breadwinner. They have always made a good team.”

Although Maher’s siblings and their children have settled across the country, the entire family does get together every year at the Lake of the Ozarks. It is a tradition her parents started more than 20 years ago and is a highlight of Maher’s year.

While the lessons Maher’s parents taught her are important, Maher also credits some of Columbia’s finest women for steering her in the right direction.

One such woman was Marty Ferry, then a counselor working at a non-profit organization called Women's Network that provided counseling to women interested in changing careers.

“She was my hero. She would meet with me for hours just talking with me and I would bet you she put me on the road thinking that I could be 65 and still here typing.”

 Maher met Janice Schuerman of MFA Inc. in the late ‘60s. Maher’s last name at the time was Schuermann, so the two were frequently confused as sisters.

“We met when I applied for a job,” she said. “But she did not offer me a job and we still joke about it. But I think I ended up where I was supposed to be.”

Linda Tindell got the nickname of CNN anchorwoman around the Caroline & Co. office. Maher says Tindell was one of the many prized employees who are responsible for her success today.

“Linda could go in the ditch on a snowy day on the way to work and still be the first one here,” Maher said.`

Then there have been women such as Muriel Battle who have left their lasting impressions on Maher.

“Muriel taught me that you always send a thank you card. Even if it’s only two lines – say thank you,” Maher said. “Not enough good words can be said about her.”

Today Maher surrounds herself with a core group of friends that include Kitty Dickerson, Elinor Arendt and Dee Corn. Together they walk, talk, travel and expand their horizons.

“We are ballroom dancing and having a ball,” Maher said.

Maher is also enjoying learning to play golf.

“We are all in the same boat. We make mistakes and everyone laughs. It’s the laughter – that’s what’s fun,” she said.