Meet Maria Spear Ollis of Spear IP

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Spear Ollis.

Hi Maria, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I started as many Nashville transplants did — with music. I’ve been a singer all my life and was a voice major at the University of Michigan. During college, I had aspirations to be a musical theater performer on broadway until suddenly, fear got the best of me and that life didn’t appeal to me anymore.

I went to law school in New York with a musical theater professor’s words in my mind, “I had a student who was in law school during the day and in Les Mis at night!” But anyone who has been to law school knows… in law school, there is only time for law school. (Side note: I still love belting it out to Hamilton and La La Land more than the average person!)

I wanted to keep my creativity sharp and was naturally attracted to copyright and trademark law. I graduated and left New York for Nashville, TN. As a child growing up in Michigan, I was a big country music fan (which was rare then!) and always had this romanticized picture of what Nashville would be like and though I knew I didn’t want to plant roots in New York, I wanted to be in a creative, musical city.

I worked for a few years with CMT and at a small intellectual property and entertainment firm until I got the itch to start my own law practice. It had never been a dream of mine to be my own boss until suddenly, it was! I’ve never looked back and absolutely love what I do.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Truly the biggest struggle has been with confidence. We tell ourselves these little stories all our lives, and because *we’re* the ones telling those stories, we tend to believe them!

“Can I really start my own business?”

“Do I have what it takes to land this big client?”

“Who am I to launch this new offer into the world?”

“What if no one wants to work with me?”

Since I started my practice seven years ago, I’ve had all of those thoughts. But I’ve also done a ton of mindset work. The ego tells these stories because they keep us safe and they keep us in our comfort zone (even a comfort zone of self-doubt.) But if we can move past those thoughts, that’s where the breakthroughs are.

I can’t say those thoughts never come up, but now I can recognize them and remind myself that that’s not me talking, it’s my ego trying to hold me back.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Spear IP helps content creators and coaches cover legal hot spots and feel confident they’re legally protected, before “it” hits the fan. This means helping them to protect their branding (trademarks), creative content (copyright), and relationships (contracts), and helping them to make sure they’re doing business legally online when they’re marketing or selling products.

I could not be more excited (or more proud!) of our new program, The Legal Apothecary™ — the first of its kind in our niche. The Legal Apothecary is a holistic, female-forward legal program for creative women focusing on growing their gifts and their influence.

Just like there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to our bodily health, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to our *business* health. This program allows us to do a “business wellness assessment” for our clients to see what protections we can put in place and what needs improvement. (‘Cause we can’t get a business on the right track if we don’t know where its legal strengths and weaknesses are.) Then, we get to work on protecting all of those things for as long as someone is in the program.

In the meanwhile, they have access to The Legal Apothecary Library, which is full of resources and contract templates. We hit the ground running with this program in July 2022 and it has been a big success already!

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I have a love-hate relationship with risk-taking. My husband teases me as a “be-carefuller,” especially when it comes to our two young boys!

When it comes to my clients, it’s a must to advise them of risks. My perspective is that you can’t make an informed decision on anything — whether it comes to your body or your business — if you don’t understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives.

That said, I’ve taken many risks in my business! Just starting my business as a 28-year-old lawyer was a huge risk for me. I also take risks in some of my marketing. I am no dancer, but if you scroll through my TikTok account for Spear IP, you’ll see some dancing. (I can’t promise that it’s stellar, but it *is* entertaining.)

Contact Info:

• Website: spear-ip.com
• Instagram: @SpearIPLaw
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SpearIP

Image Credits
FemForce Photos