The Greensheet Founder's Inspiring Journey to Entrepreneurship

Explore the remarkable story of Helen Gordon, a determined mother and entrepreneur, who founded the Greensheet, a groundbreaking free advertising tabloid, in 1970.

About the Author

Rebecca Blakeley

Rebecca Blakeley worked with her mother for more than twenty-nine years. With the two companies the Greensheet and Gordon Freeze-dried Flowers. Currently retired and works as a volunteer in the Houston community. Hobbies would include abstract painting, writing poetry, traveling.

About the Book

Helen Gordon: The Woman behind the Greensheet

In 1969, Helen Gordon moved to Houston with her new husband, Robert DeYoung. A no-nonsense, pragmatic mother of three with the heart of a musician and the soul of a painter, Helen was determined to be her own boss by owning and operating her own company. It didn’t take her long to find success. Helen started the Greensheet, a free advertising tabloid with classified ads and a list of business services, in 1970. Within eight years, she expanded it to five Texas cities without the help of bank loans. But she lived in the good ole boy atmosphere, in which long lunches over dry martinis were the norm and women were generally absent from the boardroom. Even so, Helen was undeterred. She was determined to build a company that would prosper, and prosper it did. By 2012, the Greensheet had grown to a circulation of 650,000 and appeared within four Texas cities. Today, her company is a household name and continues to be one of the most successful classified tabloids in the state. Her irrepressible optimism, sense of humor, and vivacious personality served her well in her personal and professional life. As told by her daughter, Rebecca, Helen Gordon: The Woman Behind the Greensheet is Helen’s inspiring true story. Rebecca G. Blakeley worked for the Greensheet and Gordon Flowers with her mother for more than twenty-nine years. She is currently retired and works as a volunteer in the Houston community.

Excerpts

I Believe that for my mother the word no posed a challenge, a roadblock put in her way to be climbed over, around or tunneled through. This is obviously the spirit that helped her to rise in her business life.

Helen's management style was distinctive in that she was able to lead people with respect. But she did it her way. Employees wanted to work for her and learn from her, and Helen was able to convince you that you would be great, and she was going to make you do it.

When asked " What is most important in life to her" she replied: The children and the family, the people in the family. Life is a composite of those things that are near and dear, people are of course first and foremost. They comprise the basis that makes life worth living. The importance of money and material things are relatively important because that is how and where you live from day to day, you have a place to sleep and brush your teeth, and it is much nicer to have a luxurious place to brush your teeth, much nicer than a tent. But then material things are the fluff of life, and you need a lot of fluff to live pleasantly, cheerfully and happily. But that is not the important part of life.

Helen Gordon