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Meet Sydnee Mack of Formally Forms

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydnee Mack.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sydnee. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I sympathize greatly with the newly-minted 2020 graduates. Graduating from school during a time of uncertainty and chaos can feel scary and downright hopeless, but it can also be a catalyst for amazing opportunity. I attended and graduated undergrad and law school during the throws of the ‘Great Recession.’ I know first-hand how it feels to graduate with dreams that exceed the number of available opportunities and feeling pressure to take whatever job you can as a means of survival. When I entered law school, I had great dreams of becoming a sports attorney. However, upon graduating from Emory Law School, a top-20 ranked law school with a 3.0+ GPA, no such opportunities were available to me. So, to get some experience and to pay my bills, I started my career as a government attorney here in Atlanta, GA. I was very unhappy doing this work; but I like to eat. So, for 1.5 years, I worked hard, learned and did the best I could to pretend I wasn’t miserable.

Ultimately, I guess the feeling of underwhelming was mutual because they let me go! At the time, I was nervous, scared and devasted. Even if you’re unhappy doing your job, it never feels good to leave a place before you’re ready. Looking back, I think I was ready. I just needed a push from God to have the faith and courage to begin pushing towards my dream of becoming a sports attorney. With no job prospects on the horizon, a close friend of mine encouraged me to start my own firm and I did. In December of 2016, I started my law firm, Sydnee Mack, Attorney at Law, a boutique law firm based in Atlanta specializing in sports, trademarks and business.

Little did I know at the time, but opening my firm turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made. I ran my law firm successfully for three years. During that time, I served many wonderful clients from large corporations to social media side-hustlers, wrote a best-selling business law book, began teaching as an adjunct sports law professor, was honored as a Forbes under 30 fellow as well as an Emory Alumni Association 40 under 40 list maker and started a second business, Formally Forms, an online business form and contract template shop for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

For me, my law firm was never about pursuing a career as a life-long entrepreneur. It was about providing myself with the experience that I needed, so that I could have greater access to the opportunities I desired. After three years of gaining valuable experiences as a sports attorney and law firm owner, an opportunity presented itself for me to go in-house and serve on the in-house counsel legal team for one of the leaders in the business of college sports live events, media, licensing and sponsorships with Learfield IMG College and I took it. I now serve as an attorney with Learfield IMG College and a sports law professor at Emory Law School and Georgia State College of Law.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I wouldn’t describe the road to where I am now as smooth; but I would most certainly describe it as fateful. Everything that has happened along this journey, both good and bad, was meant to happen and needed to happen for me to be who and where I am today. The biggest challenge that I have had to overcome on this journey was my own insecurity about who I am and my ability to do great things. My insecurities, my fears, my doubts… while all valid feelings, got in the way of me doing many of the things that I have wanted to do. Even with all that I have accomplished, I still have feelings of inadequacy and not being good enough. Imposter syndrome is super real and getting over that was and still is a struggle.

When I first started my journey, I was scared that being a young, inexperienced, bald, black woman with visible piercings and tattoos was going to be my greatest hurdle, but it turned out to be my greatest super power. Once I figured that out and truly believed it, everything really started to come together. The most valuable thing that I have learned is that success requires an unwavering, unshakeable belief in oneself that ANYTHING is possible and EVERYTHING is attainable.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Formally Forms story. Tell us more about the business.
I have gone from full-time entrepreneur to full-time employee and side-hustler with my business, Formally Forms. Formally is an online business form and contract template shop for entrepreneurs, small business owners and side-hustlers.

As owner of Formally, I am most proud of the fact that I built this entire enterprise from the ground up. I drafted every form, produced every commercial, managed every social media account, built the website…etc. Everything associated with my brand, I either created or oversaw its creation. I am most proud of this fact because I originally outsourced most of the work to save time and hopefully build a better product. However, unfortunately, after paying thousands of dollars for third-party vendors to help bring my vision to life, I was left with an inferior product and very little money to bring this project to completion. But I didn’t let that stop me from persisting towards the finish line. To move the project to completion, I spent countless hours scouring “YouTube University” to figure out how to build websites, develop explainer videos, create forms… etc. You name it, I figured it out. That’s what being an entrepreneur is, trying, failing and figuring the rest out on the way down.

At the end of it all I was left with a superior product that I am proud to share with the entrepreneurial community. What sets Formally apart is that we specialize in business forms and not just contract templates. Forms are generally far more eye-catching and user-friendly than just general contract templates. I have never seen another company specialize in business forms that are easy-to-use and drafted by a licensed, experienced business attorney.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I believe that I have done the work to be prepared for many of the opportunities that have presented themselves along my journey. I am grateful for the many blessings that I have been able to receive as a result of my hard work and diligence including the blessing of great friends, family members, mentors, cheerleaders, advocates and sponsors who have helped me at every phase of my journey.

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Sydnee Mack

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