DEBRA This is America At Work. I’m Debra Stamp. ANN Well, I opened up envelopes for catalogue requests and then I also was a packager. And I put things in bags. There was something about it that I loved. I always hung around. DEBRA That was when Ann Rockler Jackson was eight years old. Today, she is the President of The Wood Workers Store. A company her father started 40 years ago in Minnesota. Ann and her late brother Gary grew the business to 12 stores nationwide. ANN Honest, fair and direct and tactless. I’ve been in a family business for 25 years and I just don’t understand subtlety and I don’t play games. DEBRA That’s how Ann describes herself. And though she admits she’s moderately hot tempered and certainly not perfect, you always know where she’s coming from. All of these characteristics have helped to run the company effectively. ANN I think most of us are self taught. You can only learn so much in school and then you learn on the job. You get a lot of experience by taking seminars. And joining professional organizations and talking to people and I read a tremendous amount. I probably read three to four hours every day. DEBRA She reads publications and articles that deal with finance, marketing and retail. And she credits her brother, Gary Rockler, with creativity, store design and implementing some advanced technology. ANN For the wood working expertise I have others that do that, I’m not an expert wood worker. My father really was. He certainly knows products and he still innovates products. He’s semi-retired, but that is the one thing he does here is look for new products. He is an incredible man. One of the very few founders that let go in the prime of his life so that he could still enjoy life. DEBRA Ann has some great advice for women and men trying to balance home and career. ANN There have been up and down times. Different crises. I also have two young children and I have missed some school performances and I do travel on my business and sometimes that gets hard. DEBRA It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, the head of a large company or self employed, one of the toughest balancing acts of the ‘90’s is family and career. ANN I asked my daughter two years ago when she was ten, I said, “Lizzie, should Mommy consider selling the business, what would you think? I could be with you more, I’d be at school more often and we could travel.” And she goes, “No, don’t be silly. I might want to run it some day.” It took away all the guilt. DEBRA More and more children are being brought up with a healthy respect for work. And that can help ease the conflict experienced by the parent. But should you expect those moments of doubt? ANN Sure. Sure, but I’m not alone. I belong to several organizations and I hear that exact same thing from the men presidents. “I don’t spend enough time with my family, I want to be with my kids more, I’m missing pieces.” So, it’s heartening to know that the whole culture is changing, that men are valuing their family just as much as women. DEBRA Ann stresses the need for women to hear that you can have a family and a career. Just hang in there. And be creative in involving the children. ANN They come to the office every once in a while. They take great pride in the office. They love it here. They play with the computers; they hang around the art department. And my daughter’s actually started working doing the same job I did 30 years ago. But I pay her more. DEBRA Hear more, at AmericaAtWorkStories.com