Latest / Power Moves Media / Power Moves Ep. 5: Shavon J. Smith on Business Readiness, Risk & Growth

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Power Moves Ep. 5: Shavon J. Smith on Business Readiness, Risk & Growth · Power Moves Media

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Power Moves on Lit 106, where we explore the ideas, strategies, and stories shaping business, entrepreneurship, and economic growth across Prince George's County, the DMV, and beyond.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Alexander Austin.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm Rose Johnson.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for joining us.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_03: Here's what's ahead on today's show.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_03: Today's question that every entrepreneur and business owner should think about is your business really ready for the opportunities you say you want?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Good question.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Good question.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_03: We'll unpack why preparation is becoming one of the biggest competitive advantages in business, what one of the largest ownership transitions in American history means for entrepreneurs.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_03: And later we'll sit down with attorney Siobhan J.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_03: Smith for a conversation about risk, reward, and readiness.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_03: And make sure you stay with us until the end because we'll wrap things up with On Our Radar, where we'll share business and community events happening all around the DMV that you'll want to add to your calendar.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_03: Alex, let's jump in.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: All right, all right.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: Well, what is the right question?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of asking, how do I grow or how do I get more customers or how do I raise capital?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the better question is would my business actually be ready if that opportunity showed up tomorrow?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_03: Listen, that has played out so much across social media with businesses going viral, and then they can't handle all of that work that comes their way.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, indeed.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's look, opportunity gets all the attention.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Preparation rarely does.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: If I said, hey, I'm going after the$10 million contract and I got the$10 million contract today, that means I need to have at least$2 million of operating capital ready to go.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: So they gotta fund this contract.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_03: Gotta fund it.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's there's a lot to it.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot more to it than what we imagine.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, uh you'll take when you think about what's happening now, we're coming off a primary election uh here in Maryland, regardless of who won, leadership changes, priority shift, you know, budgets get written, projects move forward.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Those changes create opportunities, but they also create uncertainty.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_03: And that's true in business as well.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_03: Markets change, technology changes, consumer behaviors change.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_03: And right now, the way that our economy is going, there has been so many changes.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_03: And the entrepreneurs who succeed aren't necessarily the ones who predict every change.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: They're the ones who are prepared to respond to it.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was looking at some numbers this week, and virtually every business in America is considered a small business.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Those businesses create the majority of new jobs.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: They are the backbone of our economy.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_03: And I love that perspective because small can sound insignificant, but collectively, small businesses are driving local economies, creating jobs, investing in neighborhoods, and strengthening communities.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, small could be, you know, according to the SBA, 250 million in revenue.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, small has a lot of different definitions, but another number that really caught my attention is over the next decade or more, um, there are there are going to be millions of business owners who are expected to retire.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is the baby boomer generation.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're entering one of the largest business ownership transitions in American history.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: And really, we've been in this transition for quite some time, but now it's starting to take effect because my generation, our generation, the Gen X, we're now actually getting to the point where we're becoming the heads of state.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're thinking about retirement down the road, not soon.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: But we're now thinking about what that's going to look like, what the wealth creation model is going to be for us.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a really interesting time.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_03: And aren't they calling that the the silver tsunami?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: The silver tsunami.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_03: And so what's fascinating about the silver tsunami, we're not talking about failing businesses.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_03: Many of these are thriving.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_03: And the question becomes who's going to lead them next?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, for years we've celebrated entrepreneurship as starting something from scratch.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: That was the the wave pretty much from 2010 to 2020.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, today another opportunity is emergency.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not that you can't start a business, but this is kind of a different spend.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it's buying an existing business, growing through acquisition or building on someone else's legacy that they started, and you just taking the baton and building your own legacy from there.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: But none of those opportunities matter if you're not ready.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_03: And preparation is not always exciting.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_03: Think about eating eating the right foods, right?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_03: And you have those cheap days, but you have to be consistent with the ones that are gonna keep you healthy.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: And so things like your financial records, your systems, your contracts, your team, your leadership.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_03: It's the work that nobody sees, nobody applauds until the opportunity shows up.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And one thing I always say is capital follows value.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Businesses don't become valuable because someone invests in that particular opportunity.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Investment follows businesses that have already built the value.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Preparation comes before the opportunity.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um we call it enterprise value, right?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's where you're really looking at the operations, the four pillars, the four the four C's that I've mentioned, and you're making sure that you're getting the maximum output on those four C's, which then equates to a valuation.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And always say this if you were selling a house, you're preparing your house before you're sold.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Your business is the same way.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: What if you never sell it?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: What if you never sell it?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: You still want to get be able to access capital.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_03: And so, Alex, uh just uh briefly tell us what the four C's are in case we have some new listeners here.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: So there's human capital, there's structural capital, there's social capital, and there's customer capital.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So the human capital portion is who's in the business.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about trust.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Trust without being in the room.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Who's actually executing the mission?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Who's bought into the mission?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna hear a lot more of that I think later on in the conversation.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: The structural capital are the systems operations and process that you follow.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: So you get the the people who have bought into the mission that follow the system's operations and process.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Social capital is what are people saying about your business when you are not there?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: What what is what is the marketing brand?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, if you if you think about soda, right, it's Coca Pepsi.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's red or blue.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: No pun intended.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: But right?
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: They have a they have a certain brand.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: When you think about those particular brands, it one thing comes to mind.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Or you think about McDonald's, something comes to mind.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's the social capital.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then the customer capital is who are we selling to?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: When you think about McDonald's, Disney, and some of the other brands who were highly successful, their customer were the children.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because they knew if they got the children, the parents were gonna buy it.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have those four C's and when you break down the four C's in a particular business, if they are running at optimal level, that equates to a certain multiple.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: What we call uh it could be a one times to a nine times to sometimes an eighteen times multiple, which means for every dollar value, that's times eighteen.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So if I make a dollar and I'm a nine times multiple, I'm worth nine.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_03: And so today's takeaway is this don't spend all your time chasing opportunity.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_03: Spend time building a business that's ready when the opportunity comes looking for you.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Amen to that.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's a bar, Rose.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's a bar.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_03: And so that's exactly why I'm excited about today's conversation.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_03: Our guest has spent her career helping entrepreneurs prepare before they make some of the biggest decisions they'll ever face.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: Today's conversation is about something every entrepreneur experiences risk.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_03: Whether you're launching your first business, hiring your first employee, signing your first commercial lease, bringing on a business partner, raising capital or preparing for growth, every major business decision comes with uncertainty.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_03: The question isn't whether you'll take risks.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_03: The question is whether you'll be ready when the opportunity comes.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_03: Our guest today has built a career helping entrepreneurs navigate exactly those moments.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_03: Attorney Siobhan J.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_03: Smith is the founder and principal of the SJS Law Firm, where she serves as fractional general counsel to startups, small businesses, and growing companies throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_03: She advises entrepreneurs on contracts, commercial leases, financing, business acquisitions, employment matters, and growth strategy.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_03: She does it all.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_03: She is also an author, educator, and an instructor for the Prince George's Chambers Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Accelerator.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_03: Siobhan, welcome to Power Moves.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_02: I'm very excited to be here and chat with both of you.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_03: People know you as an attorney.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_03: But the more I learned about your work, I realized you're really helping entrepreneurs navigate making decisions.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_03: Whether it's someone buying a business, negotiating that lease, bringing on a partner, all those good things.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_03: Tell us about your practice and the work you do every day.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you again for having me here.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: And you, your bio, the bio you read of me certainly describes some of what we do, but it's really kind of hard to capture in words what we do.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I always just say we help people solve problems, solve and prevent problems to help them focus on the thing that they do well, which is run their business, grow their business, employ people, um, you know, generate money.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: That's the point of being in business.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_02: So it's all the things that that you named, the core of that, you know, there's contracts, there's employment, there's real estate, there's advising.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, there are big opportunities that come to business owners, and they need someone to talk those things through.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_02: So that's really the crux of our work.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, listening to you, it's very clear that you do more than just reviewing contracts.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_03: I've been in the room with you, uh seeing you educate entrepreneurs on how to make the next step, how to navigate purchasing a business.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_03: When did you realize that your role had evolved from simply practicing law to becoming a strategic business advisor?
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I came to owning my firm after practicing law for several years, first in the court system, then in big law.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: And when I worked in a bigger law firm, you're part of a kind of a hamster wheel of things.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's somewhat feels that way, but not completely.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: But once I started practicing more and I was closer to the decision makers who needed guidance, that's when I realized that my role had changed and when the conversations became non-legal.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: It they were asking me questions on what do you think about this marketing, or what do you think about hiring this person, or we're thinking of doing XYZ?
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: What's your opinion, or just kind of confiding in me of things that were happening in your business, and you realize that your role um becomes a lot bigger, and then you get a lot of godfather references of being a conciliary, you realize that you're wrong as a ball from just merely legal guidance to, you know, advisor.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's an interest interesting perspective because now as a business owner, I don't know if your clients realize how much, how many hats you actually wear.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, like as you mentioned, you're helping clients through growth, risk, strategy, opportunities that they may not have considered really life, right?
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so, you know, you've answered it before, but what keeps you attracted to working with entrepreneurs?
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because we could be a handful.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm and are.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: And are.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: Well, one, I I identify as an entrepreneur myself.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: I own my own law firm.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I think we're I speak the same language as them.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that that keeps me kind of working with business owners.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_02: And there's something just about the concept of having an idea, pulling the trigger on it, and seeing it grow.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's just, it's I'm still fascinated by it.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: I'm still fascinated when my clients are able to do new things, grow their businesses.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so that certainly keeps me um attracted to it.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: And then just to be able to pivot and reinvent themselves and reimagine business as climate changes, economies change.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think just the the thrill of it and the excitement of it kind of keeps me um working with business owners.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I kind of want to dig into uh, you know, just take one step back because you talked about being at a big law firm, feeling like uh, you know, you're on the hamster wheel.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_03: And for a part of my career, I worked at the Washington Post for a hefty eight months.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_03: Because I did come from a smaller publishing company where I was a part of the decision making, and you know, they would ask for your opinion, and then I came into the machine known as the Washington Post, where I was worker B and they already had everything set up and you have to do it this way and things like that.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: And so talk to us a bit about stepping out into creating your own firm.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: So I actually had a job that I was let go from, and I'm never ashamed to tell the story because it was such a blessing to have that happen to me.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: But it had been in the back of my mind.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: I knew I wanted to start a business.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: I had looked at a state farm franchise in a subway.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like I had all these things growing, so I knew that I was meant to do something different, meant to kind of take a risk in something.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that really became the push.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_02: And at the time, and even obviously now I had lots of friends who are business owners.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so I just felt like there was a little bit of a niche there of I know I want to start a business.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: I actually like being a lawyer and practicing law.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: Like I think there's something that I can meld together to help people.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I think ultimately 99% of business owners I know, they started business because they wanted to help somebody.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like they saw a need and they thought, I can help and I can feel this need.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: And that's certainly what I felt as well.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_03: No, I absolutely love that.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, you started the conversation with saying that you wanted to help people solve their problems.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_03: And so after working alongside entrepreneurs for so many years, you've had a front row seat to what success really looks like.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_03: What do you think?
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_03: Um, when you think about the business owners that are successful and who constantly grow and thrive, what mindset or characteristic do they tend to have in common?
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: So a couple things.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: One, they don't think they're the smartest person in the room.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: So they really rely on their team.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: They hire other systems and processes as well.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, they realize that growth is not, can't happen.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's just them.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: So they build out the systems and processes and the teams in order to make that happen.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: And they really systematize.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's almost like they could be selling a widget, they could be selling a microchip, but they have created a way to kind of do that consistently every time.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: I say that that's definitely one characteristic.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they're lifelong learners.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_02: There are people who always want to learn something new, learn from the people around them, kind of learn more about their industry.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: Certainly, you know, people who are consuming information and figuring out how to make themselves better, how to make their businesses better as well.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I would also say, I mean, they're obviously hard workers, like people who are not afraid to put in the hard work to wear all the hats in the business, no matter how unglamorous it may be.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Amen to that.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when you said systems and process, I looked over at Rose.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because Rose knows that everything I talk about is systems and process, right?
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Within everything.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to go back a little bit because you said you went back to how you started your business and said, Hey, I was let go.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: But you had been thinking about it.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so we we normally have these segments where we have conversations and it's always a spiritual tie-in to where the things that God is pushing you to do, if you don't do it, he's gonna position you so that you have to do it.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what it sounds like.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: That's literally what happens.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's what it sounds like.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's very much what happened.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, contrary, now that you're on the other side of it, and Rose, you asked a good question about what are some of the things that you see in successful entrepreneurs, what is the one thing that you see or decisions that entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs continue to make that quietly holds them back?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: That quietly holds them back.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_02: I would say not asking for help and not building a team.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_02: And even if you aren't big enough to hire a person, like there are people that you can pick up the phone and call.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: There are chambers of commons like Georgia Town.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I would say um siloing themselves because being a business owner is a lonely journey and it can be very isolating.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so the further you isolate yourself, um, whatever you're going through, it may feel unique, but it's not unique.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: Someone else has gone through it.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: Someone has a resource, someone has a person, someone has a solution.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so not picking up the phone and not surrounding yourself with people who can help you, I would say that I've seen that be the biggest one.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: And just waiting too long to get help.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like you can't wait until you've been sued, you have the judgment against you, and they're collecting on the judgment before you wake up and want to answer and deal with what has happened.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_02: So just not waiting, um, you know, waiting too long to reach out and get help when you need it.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like I feel like you're talking to me.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_03: I thought it was just talking to me because listen, I'm at a point right now where I'm bursting at the seams and I need the help, and it is so hard.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_03: I have had people that have offered, right?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_03: They're like, oh, you know, what do you need and I can help you?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_03: And it is so difficult.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: It is difficult because you know, business owners always say, Oh, the business is my baby.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, no, a baby is a baby.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: This is a business, systems processes, it should be able to run without you.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: And treat it as such.
• 19:19
  unknown: Yeah.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: I, you know, I relate to Rose a lot on that.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because when you're so immersed in your passionate about what you do and and it's the thing that drives you, it is hard to let go.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: You do have to, if you're talking about taking a risk, but the other part of the risk is trusting someone else to take something you created and do it, if not as well as you, better than you.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: No one's going to do anything like you do it.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's not possible because they are not you.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: So you have to get comfortable with the way other people do things and that it will be done well.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: It just won't be exactly the way you would do it.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, true story.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: True story.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: And and one of the things I want to segue is, you know, people people often assume that they only need an attorney when things go wrong.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: But many of your clients bring you in long before there's a problem.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what kinds of conversations are you having with business owners every day?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to say I'm one of those.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because we talk all the time.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, at least I call you all the time, like, Sean, I want I want your opinion on something.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I don't particularly, this is gonna sound horrible.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: I don't like when people call me because something went wrong.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: Like, if that's the first time you picked up the phone to call me, I'm kind of like, uh, okay, I I can, I'm sure I can help you.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_02: I love for thinking proactive.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: We know we need an attorney.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: We are growing in business.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_02: We just want to make sure we have appropriate, you know, everything in place, that we have guidance when we need it, that we have guidance even if we don't think we need it.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: So certainly picking up the phone just because you should have a team.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_02: You should have an accountant, CPA, banker.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_02: All the things already set, and you should not you your first call, if you've been in business for multiple years, your first call to an attorney should not be because something went wrong.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: It should be you've already kind of developed a relationship with someone.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think that that, you know, being um a good steward over your business if you've already built a team out.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: And then to that point, you know, how are you helping your clients or people that are out there, business owners, shift from that mindset of I only need an attorney when something is wrong to this is a part of a team for your business?
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if I have an answer because a lot of of my clients who sit in that seat who I kind of work as their fractional general counsel, they were already there.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_02: And probably because they maybe had enough things happen when they realized they needed that for th thinking, kind of having counsel there.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm still working through that myself.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how do I even market or express to people?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: No, this is something you need in your business, even if there's not some acute need happening.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I have clients, you know, there's some clients that it's constant.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: I talk to them all the time.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: I really do serve in that fractional general counsel role.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_02: And there's some clients, it's, you know, maybe once a quarter, a few times a year, but I they have me on their team and they don't have to go searching when they need something done.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so I always remind people that there are, because I work for myself, um, there are a lot of ways we can design our relationship that makes sense for where you may be in business.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, all right.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: So let's let's fast forward a little bit.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: You walk into a business with the three signs that tell you this business is ready for growth or this business has some foundational work that they need to do.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: I think that a business is ready for growth when they have a clear understanding of their own plans.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: Of we have a strategic plan.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: Here are the markets that we're going in.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_02: Here's what, even if it doesn't work at all.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_02: People who have a plan are gonna do better than people without a plan, even if the plan they had didn't work.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So say that again.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Say that again.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's a bar.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's a bar.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_02: People who have a plan, you're just going to go further, even if that plan didn't work, you had a direction.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: And so people who have very clear understanding of kind of their plan, have a clear understanding of their numbers, their metrics, like, you know, have measured what's happening in their business, like you are primed for growth because you know exactly what's happening.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: So you can take the next step.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: So I I would say if systems and processes are not in order, you don't kind of have a grasp on even like numbers and what's next or projections of what may be happening, um, you know, growth.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_02: You may be ready for growth, but it's almost like you can't even spiritually step into it because you haven't prepared for it.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's deep.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's deep.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: And and to kind of expand on that a little bit, um, you know, there is a difference between calculated risk, right?
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about the plan and just hoping everything works out.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: Which sometimes happens with the plan, right?
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: How do you how do you help clients think differently about that?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because if, okay, I got an idea, I I make widgets better than anybody else.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna use barbecue sauce because we just left the holiday.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: I make this barbecue sauce better than anybody else.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody makes barbecue sauce better than me.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I have no strategy of how I'm gonna make the barbecue sauce and get it to the customer.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I know because all my neighbors love it.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: And all my homies like, you know, my barbecue sauce, when I when I'm here, all the food is gone.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I know my plan is gonna work.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me how you bring me back to reality.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I don't know if I do because if you made something that's good and everyone said they like it, like that's a start.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: So we are at at least step A of a plan because you have a product that at least you know immediately people think is good.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: So now you maybe need to zoom out a little bit and make sure that other people who don't love you and share your last name think that it's it's good as well.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that plans can take a lot of forms.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I will say I'm I'm not the best at strategic planning, but I know how to find people who know how to do things.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so I would say if a person is at that step, like I have a really good product, I think it's good, everyone around me, they think that it's good.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: I would say if you are not the person who knows how to get to that next step, you gotta find a person who can, i.e., reach out to your chamber or reach out to, you know, other organizations to give you the guidance on the next step.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I would I would say I think people make the mistake of thinking that they have to do it all on their own, of like all the next steps have to be the things that I came up with.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I would say that that's certainly not.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_03: And I certainly think that that is a great juxtaposition to the conversation because sometimes we feel like we have to have all the ducks in a row before we start.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_03: And what I have learned is that sometimes you just gotta start.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you gotta start, and then you start to see where do I need these data points?
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_03: Where do I need to have more information?
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_03: Where do I need to do more research?
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_03: And so to that point, with our naming names, can you share a situation where someone, you know, Alex's customer, they have that barbecue sauce and it's good and it's tested.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_03: Everybody's saying it's good.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_03: And they've been in the business for let's say a year, but they still don't have that plan.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_03: What does that conversation look like when you're like, okay, let me slow you down.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_03: Let's, let's, let's build the foundation.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I think that's a lot of people.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of people have really great ideas and they talk about their ideas a lot because it feels good for people to talk about, like you feel like you've done it because you've talked about it.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but certainly if you have a passion for something and no forward momentum, like you really just have a hobby and a passion.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so I would say the next steps are then thinking about your goals.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what do you want?
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: I always say that, like, that's the when clients call me, we have our initial consultation.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_02: The question I always ask is like, in a perfect world, how does this end for you?
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: Or what does this look like for you?
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say to that person who has the great recipe, they are talking about it, they have all this passion for it, but they don't have to mix up.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: Well, what is it, what does success look like for you here?
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_02: What does success look like for you in 12 months, in three years, and then move backwards from that?
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_03: No, I love that.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, to that point, there's it's certainly a delicate balancing at between moving forward and being strategic.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_03: And so if you're just tuning in, you're listening to Power Moves on Little 106.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: And today's guest is attorney Siobhan J.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_03: Smith, founder of the SJS Law Firm and instructor with the Prince George's Chambers Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Accelerator.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're entering one of the largest, and that's a good segue too, Rose.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Rose is also the program manager for the ETA program.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I have two of the best of the best leading this program, and I'm happy to share that we we have extended the program with our partners from Truist who have invested to uh bring more entrepreneurs to the table.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: So extremely excited for what we all will create together.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: Umsert hand clap.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: Hand clap, hand clap.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and to that, we're entering one of the largest ownership transition in this country's history.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: I've I'm telling you, I've been in this um I've been in this conversation for a little over a decade.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I have not seen this much activity around entrepreneurship through acquisition more than I've seen this year.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean, you know, I saw something this morning with the U.S.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Black Chamber.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Ron Busby was talking about it.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you have the news outlets talking about it, colleges and universities talking about it, you know, particularly with a focus on HBCUs.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: And with this transition, right, it often sometimes um has a lot of gray area because you don't know where the transition is gonna happen.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: We know it's gonna be in business, but we don't know how.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: The assumption is a business owner's gonna retire or sell or try to figure out how to get out of it.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: But the other assumption is maybe it's gonna be in the stock market.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it'll be through retirement assets.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: It'll there's a lot of different definitions for it.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: But through the accelerator, um, you know, what do you think more entrepreneurs are looking at in terms of, or let me say this, why do you think more entrepreneurs are looking at act uh entrepreneurship as an acquisition through a potential career path now?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_03: And Siobhan, before before you answer, um Alex, can you kind of just give a quick explanation what ETA is, what entrepreneurship through acquisition is?
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, so to that, um, it was actually a method that was started in Stanford almost 25 years ago, a little over 25 years ago.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and what it did was it took MBA students um who were at Stanford, and versus them go out and take an MBA, find a job, and Harvard, Harvard also, um, they would actually go and buy a company.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the alumni of Stanford would fund those entrepreneurs or potential entrepreneurs to go find companies.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: So their their working career started in ownership, and they were raising like$25 million, you know, fresh out of NBA school.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward, we have an aging baby boomer population, which is the richest generation in our history to date, and they have made their wealth through business.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so the key now is who will be the next generation of owners in those businesses?
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: There are new businesses in technology, you have uh infrastructure, but then you have legacy companies that have been around for decades that will continue to be because of the need and the the demand of infrastructure development in Prince Rose County in the United States.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so entrepreneurship act through acquisition is just that.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's it can be, hey, I am transitioning from one career trying to take my skills into an existing business.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm exiting this particular career and I want to do something that is a passion for me that generates money.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: I have a business and I need to scale, right?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm looking at revenue streams as the potential vertical in my business.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's it's everything that you just said, and that was a great um explanation of.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I myself am working on several deals right now where it is a person who's older and they're looking to transition their business.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: But I think there are a couple things have them call me, please.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking too.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_02: I would say, well, for one, in this region, obviously we had some big upsets in the federal government with lots of people kind of transitioning and leaving their jobs, and even beyond the federal government.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you see, Oracle and all these companies are many people go.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think it becomes an opportunity for people to think about what's next and taking their skill set to run or start a business.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that that's part of it.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I also think it is, you know, a business between zero years and three to five is obviously the most challenging.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_02: But if you can buy a business that is almost, you know, out of some of those growing pains, while you will still have some as a new owner, like you have a proven concept, you know it works, you have customers, um, and so you're walking into a machine that's already moving as opposed to all of the hurling efforts of getting something up the hill.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that that also is an another reason.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_03: And let's touch on, you know, the opportunity that this presents for for people that typically didn't have opportunities like this or didn't even know that something like this existed.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_03: Talk about it, Alex.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, so you know, if I'm if I'm gonna touch on this just briefly.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um a few things that we have to think about, right?
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: Is with the way that the federal government has repositioned itself, um, the rollback of the civil rights and um DEI and the opportunities, the opportunities are really going to be in acquiring companies.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because wealth is made through business, real estate, stock market.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's the tradition.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: There are there are other ways, but wealth is really through business.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so if now you take skilled labor, you know, you may have worked in Amazon or uh, you know, um Meta or and you all of a sudden are out of a job, but you got a million dollars in your portfolio.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's an opportunity right to grow.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just think that we are um just at a place, a critical place where we have to to really lean into private sector and be when we say self-sufficient and do our own thing, in a sense, that's what it will afford us.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that will allow us to have opportunities to reinvest into our community because the corporate tax dollar, not just large corporations, but these small, medium-sized companies who hire majority of your community are the ones that are supporting a lot of things that we need.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a tremendous opportunity.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_03: We have we have we have participants in the ETA program that have experienced exactly what you said.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_03: They uh they're no longer with their nine to five for whatever reason, but they have a portfolio that allows them now to look at some businesses that are doing well or whatever.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_03: Some of them are looking at real estate and things like that.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_03: And so for us to be able to present this amazing opportunity with people like Siobhan, let me tell y'all, we have five amazing instructors, and we call them the millionaire makers because guess what?
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_03: Once these folks go through the program and they're able to purchase a business or whatever it is they end up doing, they're adding to their wealth, to their bottom line.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_03: And we have these five experts that have helped them do it.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_03: And so we are so proud to have this program.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_03: This listen, this wasn't supposed to be a whole, it wasn't supposed to be an ad, but it is an ad.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_03: It is a testimony because you know, we see the opportunity and we're hearing about what's out there, and we want people to understand that your knowledge, your portfolio is here to support you in generating even more.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like you can, you can be nervous.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_03: We have Siobhan to help you make the decision.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: And so to you have the again the point about being in business can be lonely.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_02: You have all the other people in the cohort who are doing the exact same thing, thing as you.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_02: So you have someone to bounce ideas off of, talk about deal flow with.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_02: So you have kind of a built-in community as well when you go through the cohort.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_03: And so to that uh point, you know, there all of that, all of this that we're talking about, it comes with due diligence and doing the work to find something that is viable.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_03: And so, what are some things that people typically overlook?
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they they bought into the idea and they're ready to take the journey.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_03: What are some things that they overlook when it's time to really assess a business?
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say main thing is just not think listening to their gut.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like I had someone recently, they were purchasing something, um, and we looked at the documents and it just didn't feel right.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like it didn't feel right to him.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_02: I had my concerns, and he certainly could have pushed past that um and moved into it, but maybe it would have been fine, maybe it wouldn't have been fine.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_02: So certainly, you know, you don't want to abandon your all the good sense you've developed over the years as a working professional.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_02: You get to bring all that to the table while you are assessing the deal.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, another thing I think people overlook is building the team of people to help you because no one expects you to have all the answers.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_02: Like, especially if you're buying something that, you know, maybe you're buying a trucking company, you don't have any trucking or trash collection experience.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you want to be able to tap people who have it so you know that you're asking the right questions as well.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_02: I'll say that's something people miss.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then just making sure you don't just just because it's for sale doesn't mean it's it's good.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_02: So you want to make sure you looked at all the documents.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_02: You want to make sure you understand their, you can see the numbers in their financials, but what do they mean?
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like what story do the numbers tell?
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_02: So just kind of digging a little bit under the hood.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's it sounds like um, you know, there's preparation, but there's a mindset shift that needs to happen.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so what what would you say the biggest mindset mindset shift that needs to happen for business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs to go from simply owning a business to truly leading one?
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna harp on the same thing.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_02: The mindset shift is you are not an island of being able to delegate and trusting other people with certain segments of your business is the one way, not the one way, but the way that you'll truly scale your business.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I would say that's certainly a mind shift for some people who, you know, want to do everything on their own, or they don't.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, people have all these trust issues, I don't trust anybody to to do it.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say that that's certainly one shift as well.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_02: But just thinking creatively, like it's really easy to kind of get in your box of black and white, but you gotta create, and I'm bad about this, but creating a little white space in your life to really think big and think strategically and think about the possibilities as well, I think is a mind shift.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_02: And uh when you have a job and a job description and a role and you're supposed to do these things, it may not also always lend itself to creating that white space that I think you need to be an effective CEO.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: Can you expand on that just a little bit?
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because I feel like she's talking to me.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just a little bit.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, in terms of uh what if I don't have the time?
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm busy, I guess.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_02: Between working in the business and working on the business, right?
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think part of this is a good CEO is always gonna find time to work on the business because that's how you move the ship along.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_02: Otherwise, you're just doing busy work.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like you gotta find time to make those big shifts that pull big lovers.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I mean, I people when people ask for I do further level an officer say I answer emails.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_02: Because it's that way.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like I'm just sitting here answering emails for hours on end.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_02: Like, why are some people even doing never-ending emails?
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_02: You wake up and there's a hundred emails, but that doesn't move the ball forward all the time.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_02: It gets things done that have to be done.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_02: So you just carving out space to make those big quantum leaps, I think is necessary.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_02: All right, so and I'm talking to myself too.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_02: I I need that myself.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_03: Listen, we all need a pep talk.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_03: But I I liked what you said about being creative because I think that um when people get into leading a business, some people they don't understand that problem solving is creativity.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_03: Like, and then especially as a lawyer, because I always think about it this way like I have to know what the rules are so that I know how to circumvent.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_02: But I know how to create a solution.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_02: Create a viable solution.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's not circumventing, it's creating a viable solution.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_03: Creating a viable solution.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I it's there's an art to that, you know.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: So we're talking about decisions and and how you make decisions, right?
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so for the entrepreneurs listening today, you know, if they had to make one business decision this year, what would you hope that would be?
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let me let me rephrase it again.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: If they had to make one big business decision this year, because you said pull levers, and I was like, wait a minute.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, hold on, let me sit up for this one.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let me sit up, because it's true.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because when we when we go into, when you think about risk, even being in business, it's a risk, right?
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know if these things are gonna work.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you also, there's certain things that you may have to circumvent to get to your bottom, to get to where you need to be.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right?
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's a big decision because if it goes well, awesome.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: If it doesn't go as well, now you have to be accountable for the decision and accountable to everyone in that ecosystem.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_02: All right, so to answer your the thing that that came to me, the one decision, and I'm talking to me, and I'm probably talking to y'all too.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_02: Find something on your plate that feels like a big thing that you think no one else can do, and stop doing it and have somebody else do it.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: We're rolling to like for real.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_02: Have somebody else do it.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, free up that time for something major, like getting in front of important people, yes, learning something important that will because one, you're gonna quantum leap because now you have a new brain of a smart person that you trust to do this thing that can push it forward.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_02: And now you have this new capacity to go after bigger things.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_03: I love that too.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_03: And I know Alex, you really wanted to talk about trust in this conversation.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_03: We have been touching on trust the whole time because you know, that piece right there when it just made me think, oh Lord, I gotta give that.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like I want to give it up, but just like we said at the top of the conversation, nobody in my mind, I'm like, yeah, I don't think they're gonna do it how I do it.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_03: They're not gonna do it the way that I need it done.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_02: And they won't, but it'll be good and it'll be done.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_03: And that's that creativity, right?
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_03: And the system in process.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because you'll tell them how you want it done.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_02: You have a detailed instructions, and this is how I do it.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_02: They'll put their spin on it.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like a remake of a song.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: Make it a policy.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_02: I like that.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_03: The remix 2.0.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, yes.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_03: Well, now we are at my favorite part of the show.
• 43:47
  unknown: Okay.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_03: The power move.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_03: We have talked about business strategy, we've talked about risks, we've talked about acquisitions and what it takes to be prepared for opportunity.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_03: And so now we're at the part.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_03: Where you tell us about the one decision that was a trajectory for your career.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um, or it could be a setback, something, something that was a moment where it's like, in my in my book, this is going to be the point where everybody's like, wow.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_03: This was the power move.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_03: Gosh.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: What was the power move?
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_03: Of course, we're only talking about up until now.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_02: I'm still looking for the power move.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'm still trying to make the power move.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_02: What was the power move?
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_02: I think starting was the power move.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like just starting and and continuing to push forward was the and continues to be the power move for me.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like it.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_00: I like it.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I um I noticed throughout the conversation um that preparation seems to be reoccurring.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about risks, as Rose was saying.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about trust.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: But what you just touched on was perseverance.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: You said I just keep moving forward.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's the power move.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's another bar.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: Another bar.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so whether you're buying a business, negotiating a deal, or helping entrepreneurs avoid costly mistakes, you bel you're you believe in doing the work before the opportunity arrives.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: Has that always been your philosophy, or is that something you learned as you continue to move forward?
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's who I was before I was, you know, you bring so much of you to whatever you do.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's certainly who I was before I started the business.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_02: Like whatever I did, I was always going to work hard, show up, show up as my my best self.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_02: So certainly no different here.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_03: So before we uh wrap up, what is the one piece of advice, that one principle that you want to leave with our audience?
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_02: This is I don't know how this will land.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_02: But I always tell people my work is important, but I don't operate on base.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_02: Like no one's gonna die.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that the one principle I will say, like, work is very important.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_02: We have we're doing important things, you're affecting a lot of people.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_02: If you own a business, people are depending on you.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_02: But your life, your health, the people who love you, those are the things like, you know, the things that matter in your deathbed.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_02: Like, don't neglect those things for the sake of whatever it is you're building because you don't want to get to the the end here and regret that.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_02: So finding some balance in what you're doing will just make you better at the thing that you're doing.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: I love creation.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's wealth creation.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because that's a wealthy life, right?
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: A wealthy life is I've made money, I've grown a business, but there are people who love me.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_02: There are friends who love me.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there are good people are gonna stand up at my funeral and say, one of my mentors always says you will invite people to your funeral every day.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_02: Or just invite them.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_02: So live a life that, you know, is wealthy all around, because that's how you will feel fulfilled, I think, in the end.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_03: That that is a powerful reminder that business is more than just revenue.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_03: It is about relationships, it is about how we show up, it is about the impact that we leave behind.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_03: Beautiful, beautiful.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_03: So tell everybody where they can find you, where they can connect with you.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, my website is the SJSlawfirm.com.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_02: I am across all socials at Siobhan J Smith.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, my phone number is 202-505-5309.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_02: You're giving up.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um 60,000 followers now.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you won't get me directly, but someone won't answer the phone and make sure you you get in contact.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you can email us two info at the sjslawfirm.com.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_02: So there are multiple of ways.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_02: And if you Google me, I should hopefully be on the first page of Google.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_00: All right, all right.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Siobhan, it's been an absolute pleasure.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you again for joining us.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate you.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: Took some bars away.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_00: I took some bars, and I will definitely be calling you before the problem arises.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: Please do.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, before the solution is solved.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say it that way.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_00: Appreciate you.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we go, it's time for On Your Radar.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: Our quick look at the business, community, and cultural events happening around the DMV that we deserve we think deserve to have a spot on your calendar.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I only have one for me.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and the tickets are on sale right now, and that is our 2026 Prince George's Chamber Excellence and Business Awards Gala, happening Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, at MGM National Harbor.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of Prince George's County's premier business events celebrating the companies, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and leaders making an impact across the region.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can learn more at www.pgccolc gala2026.org.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_00: www.pgclcgala2026.org.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I have, bro.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, I have all the events, but this time I only have three for you.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_03: First, this Sunday, July 12th, check out the inaugural Wineries Without Walls, hosted by Narciso Wine Cellar, a boutique winery right here in Prince George's County, in partnership with the Maryland Wineries Association.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_03: It's your chance to discover Maryland wines, cideries, and meteories that don't have traditional tasting rooms, all in one place.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_03: Learn more at Marylandwines.com and also on the business calendar, the U.S.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_03: Watt Chambers Power 50 Women of Influence luncheon happening Monday, July 13th.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, deep.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_03: Bringing together women entrepreneurs, executives, and business leaders from across the country for an afternoon of recognition, networking, and inspiration.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's definitely one to check out.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_03: And if you're a fan of live music, the Lake Arbor Jazz Festival returns July 15th through the 19th at National Harbor, featuring nationally acclaimed jazz artists and five days of incredible performances.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_03: Find out more at LakeAborJazz.com.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_03: And if you're looking for more events, hidden gems, and things happening around Prince George's County and the DMV, be sure to follow the Spotlight DMV on all social platforms.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_03: I'm always sharing what's happening around the region, so don't miss out.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_03: Alex, where can folks connect with you?
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_00: You can find me on LinkedIn.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: My handle is Alexander K Austin.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: You can find me on Instagram, uh Alexander K Austin.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can find me at the chamber at AlexanderK Austin.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: But definitely happy to be in this time in Prince Rogers County.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so anywhere we can serve, just happy to be here.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm definitely going to be on Rose's calendar because Rose has all the books.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_03: And that's what's on our radar for this week.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's all the time we have for today.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for joining us.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_03: Be sure to tune in every Tuesday at 3 p.m.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_03: right here on Lit 106 for Power Moves.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Alexander Austin.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm Rose Johnson.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next Tuesday on Power Moves.