The first time I walked into a university classroom as an instructor, not a student, it was the fall of 2019, and 45 students were registered for my introduction to marketing course at Loyola University Chicago. I arrived early and sat in the empty classroom, reflecting on the fact that this was my chance to introduce the students to my passion—to get them excited about marketing as an art as well as a science.

My career prior to teaching included marketing for corporations, such as Gillette, Pillsbury, and L’Oréal. In 2001, I launched The ComfortCake Company, selling pound cakes based on my original recipes to customers ranging from United Airlines to Walmart. But teaching was always at the back of my mind as a potential profession—the personality tests I’d taken over the years kept pointing in that direction, and both of my parents had been teachers during their careers. When I felt I had the time and space to turn to something new, I sent out letters to colleges and universities in the Chicago area and started the third phase of my career.

Now, as I’ve transitioned to teaching in the MBA program at the University of Chicago, I find myself remembering my own MBA experience and the professors who made such a difference in my life. My retailing professor, Claudine Malone, was exceptional in her teaching skills, in addition to being the only Black professor I had at HBS. And I’ll never forget the day my marketing professor, Steve Starr, asked me to open the Acme Paint Company case. I was one of three Black students in my section and definitely wanted to be in the mix. I’m not a shy, shrinking violet, but my knees were knocking. It took every ounce of the confidence I had gained by growing up in Detroit and going to Howard University to say, “I would raise that ad budget by $5 million.” Professor Starr said, “You would?” After I’d explained my reasoning, he said, “Ms. Hilliard, you did an excellent job. We should raise the ad budget.” Well, that made me feel like a million dollars, because I had successfully defended my position in front of 70 people and a tough professor.

I was in love with marketing from then on, but Chip Bupp, my operations and production management professor, showed me how a good teacher can also awaken a dormant curiosity. He made manufacturing a fascinating, exciting topic in a way I’d never expected. Years later, as an entrepreneur, whenever I had to bring on a new manufacturing plant for ComfortCake, I wasn’t intimidated by the process.

Those were turning points for me in the HBS classroom, and I can still experience them now that I’m the professor. I was recently teaching students how to use the BCG matrix and the Ansoff model, a couple of strategic product-positioning classics. The students layered those approaches in a new way that made them even more relevant today, which was so exciting I almost started doing a tap dance around the room. Teaching is truly a two-way street!

I had professors who saw my spark and encouraged it. Now I get to do the same. I bring who I am and everything I’ve done to the classroom—both the successes and the failures. I tell students that it’s never too late, that as long as you can look up, you can get up and try new things.

Like teaching.

Amy Hilliard is an adjunct associate professor of strategy at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; principal of The Hilliard Group; and author of Pivot for Success: Hone Your Vision, Shift Your Energy, Make Your Move, published by Wiley. She recently made another pivot and now licenses the intellectual properties of The ComfortCake Company to the food industry.

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