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The Brady Bunch
Given the surprising growth of Madison's Business & Legal Reports,
the brothers Brady can probably spare a dime
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Business New Haven
9/22/1997
By: Linda Mele
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Successful entrepreneurs say the hardest part of growing a business is letting go and learning how to delegate responsibility to subordinates without letting it make them crazy. Brothers Robert and John Brady, owners of Business & Legal Reports Inc. of Madison, agree that's true.
“Entrepreneurs have to be comfortable with a certain amount of risk,” says Robert, 51, who founded the company in 1977 in his small Hartford apartment while attending law school at the University of Connecticut.
“When you take that risk, it's not easy to let others take away some of the control. It was a battle we both had to deal with for a long time,” Robert says.
“People who start their own business are 'doers.' And, as their business grows, they find they can't do it all. At some point you have to become the leader instead of the doer,” Robert explains. “Once you hire a few good people and see how much easier they make your life, it's easier to turn things over to them.”
Well, the Bradys must have done something right during the company's 20-year history, because they've grown from a small, kitchen-table operation to a $30 million-a-year publishing company that specializes in how-to compliance and training materials for companies and illustrated, non-curriculum-based training manuals for students regarding alcohol/drug/tobacco use, sexual harassment and peer pressure.
And if a business is judged by the size and strength of its competitors, BLR must have done a few things right, because today its biggest competitors are Prentice-Hall, Commerce Clearinghouse and the Bureau of National Affairs.
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with degrees in English and history (where he also edited the college newspaper), serving a stint at the Pentagon during his U.S. Army service, and working in publishing for a few years, Robert Brady decided he wanted to get out of publishing. So he went to law school.
By 1977, however, he had concluded he that liked publishing better than the law and decided to publish a newsletter that would provide useful legal information for personnel managers.
“I knew there was a need and I had a vision about where the company could go,” recalls the elder Brady. “But it's gotten bigger than I ever thought it would over the last five years.”
Younger brother John, 49, also a U.S. Army veteran who spent time in Vietnam, earned a master's degree in international management from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Ariz., before embarking on what he thought would be a career in advertising.
While Robert slaved over a keyboard in his apartment, hoping he would be able to make some money before his life savings expired, John worked as an advertising account executive for Young & Rubicam in New York City.
Indeed, John's initial involvement with the company was as an investor.
“Bob asked me to invest in the company, but as I learned more about what he was doing, I wanted in,” John Brady recounts. “I pestered him to give me a job.”
“I told him I could give him a job, but I couldn't pay him,” Robert says, “so he stayed put.”
In 1981, the business finally reached the stage where it could afford to pay John, and he became the company's third employee.
Today, the firm employs 177 people at three facilities, all in Madison. When it moved there from Stamford in 1984, it had eight workers.
Growth over the years has been steady. The privately-held company reported sales of $1 million in 1983; $3.4 million in 1986; and $10.6 million in 1990.
Robert Brady followed the advice espoused by successful entrepreneurs since the dawn of time: find a need, find your niche, and serve both better than anyone else does.
From the original newsletter that dealt with personnel matters, the Bradys expanded their information service to include the legalities associated with safety and environmental issues.
Today, the company's loose-leaf add-on manuals cover hundreds of topics and provide training for human-resources managers specific to each state as well as the environmental and compensation laws for 35 states and federal OSHA regulations that apply to all 50 states.
“We've become particularly good at doing the research, keeping it updated and producing these materials in an efficient way,” says Robert Brady.
“If a company wanted to produce its own personnel manual with all the information contained in the one we offer, it would probably cost in the neighborhood of $40,000 plus another $25,000 to keep it current,” Robert says. “And that would not be cost-effective for most businesses.”
John Brady explains that while much of the information contained in the various reports comes directly from government sources, BLR goes beyond the available information and presents it in a way that adds value for their customers.
“Anyone can get a copy of OSHA regulations, but we include the training component and other materials that OSHA doesn't offer,” the younger Brady explains.
The Internet explosion has led to the development of a BLR World Wide Web site that offers on-line ordering, a newsletter and weekly news bulletin. The site also allows browsers to ask specific questions.
Other products and services, including an on-line newsletter and book service which is expected to be launched in late September, are under development, John says.
Robert Brady doesn't foresee the demise of the printed word with the growth of the electronic medium, something that could adversely affect the company.
“The use of computers will make some printed materials obsolete,” he says, “but printing will still be around for a long time.”
“Computers are invaluable when someone needs to find a small item in a vast body of information,” says the elder Brady. “But they aren't practical when the user needs to actually read larger amounts of text.”
So, what keeps the brothers contented and interested?
“Advertising was fun and creative, but ultimately you have to do what the client wants,” John Brady explains. “Here, we make the decisions.”
His brother agrees. “It's always interesting and often frustrating, but we risk our own money and take all the chances. When it works it's tremendously fulfilling.”
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