Barbara Babbit Kaufman – Succeeding in a Man's World
"I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and a love for retail, it's just in my blood.  I don't care what the product is, I just love making the sale, and I love building something from scratch."

There are people who think about doing things, there are people who do things, and then there's Barbara Babbit Kaufman.  A successful entrepreneur, accountant, author, speaker, consultant, and community leader, Barbara has done it all.  Her secret?  Attitude.  Which, not surprisingly, is the title of her book.
 
"You can change almost anything in your life for the better by using the power you have within," she said.  "Attitude is how you approach life.  If you want to change your life and/or create the life that you want, better tend to your attitude!"
 
And Barbara knows of what she speaks.  After high school the Atlanta native took some time to find the right college.  At first she attended the University of Florida and then switched after a year to the University of Georgia.  She chose marketing as her major, but the schools and the major never felt quite right.
 
"I can't really tell you what it was about those schools that I didn't care for, but I can tell you that when I came to Georgia State for my junior year, it all just clicked for me," she said.  "I really liked that the students were diverse in their experiences.  I loved having people in my classes who were older than me, who were already working and able to bring that knowledge into class discussions."
 
In addition to changing schools, Barbara changed majors from marketing to accounting.
 
"I had to take an accounting course and found that I absolutely loved it.  I know that sounds crazy, but I loved working with numbers," she said. "When I told my dad how much I enjoyed it, he said 'If you love it, major in it, because with an accounting degree you can do anything.' And he was right."
 
As an accounting major, Barbara soon learned another lesson that she says has helped her throughout her career. "It might sound like a cliché, but I found that as one of only a few women accounting majors, being a woman had and still has its advantages," she said.  "Remember, we're talking the 1970s, so times were a bit different.  Most of the women who chose a career in business, especially something in the financial field, were told that they had to look, act, and dress just like a man."  But that was never Barbara's style.  She said, "I didn't think I should have to conceal the fact that I was a woman just to prove that I knew what I was talking about.  And just to clarify, this has nothing to do with sex; I'm talking about style, the way you carry yourself, and how you choose to manage people."
 
Barbara says that "being a woman" actually helped her succeed in business.  "Although I did well in school, I wasn't at the top of my class, yet I still received offers from almost all of the big accounting firms in Georgia," she said. "And I know that part of it was the way I carried myself and that I wasn't afraid to be who I am."
 
While Barbara began her career as a CPA working for Alexander Grant & Company (now Grant Thornton), she eventually joined the family business and was named chief financial officer of Turtle's Music, a highly successful chain of music stores owned by her father and cousin.
 
After the family sold the company, Barbara struck out on her own.
 
"I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and a love for retail, it's just in my blood," she said. "I don't care what the product is, I just love making the sale, and I love building something from scratch."
 
In 1990 she cofounded and served as president of Chapter 11, The Discount Bookstore.  Despite competition from megachains such as Borders and Barnes & Noble, Kaufman's company prospered, growing to 13 locations throughout the metro-Atlanta area.  Then in 2002 she decided that it was time to begin her next adventure, and sold the business that she worked so hard to build.
 
Today, Barbara's walls are lined with honors and awards for her business acumen.  She owns her own retail consulting company, is a sought-after motivational speaker, is active in the community, and has even come back to Robinson to teach a course in retailing.  Despite her busy schedule, Barbara says that there's still more to do, including, possibly, another book.
 
No matter what she decides to do, you can bet she'll do it with style, grace, and a positive attitude.

This article was published in the summer 2007 issue of Back to Business, an alumni publication of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

Barbara Babbit Kaufman,
B.S. '76
Chief Executive Officer,
BBK Enterprises, Inc.