Latest / TWRS-Leadership Straight, No Chaser / Building a Business That Outlives You
Transcript
- Scott: What happens when each of us are centered to everything? We don't see everything, and then we start missing out. Welcome back to Together We Are Stronger, Leadership Straight, No Chaser. And today we have Sheree on with us. And Sheree, as an attorney, where do you see individuals as business owners, as leaders, really missing the mark when it comes to strategically planning for growth? And then making sure that they're not missing things to ideally not impact their clients and make sure their clients are taken care of. Scherrie L. Prince: I think a lot of business owners really do not begin with the end in mind. It's like, you know, when we're in the early stages of starting our business, we're just doing all the things we consider marketing, staffing. If we have a physical location, where is that physical location going to be? But we don't really, in my opinion, do a great job with reverse engineering that. And part of that is making sure that your business plan complements your estate plan. Because what happens if you become disabled? you become incapacitated or even if you pass away and you still have this new business. So I think primarily that is where a lot of founders are missing the mark. Scott: One one interesting thing you've highlighted about the aspect of partnerships. And so George and I really have a very close relationship and really an insight on here that I don't think a lot of people realize. when George R Dovolis: Hmm Scott: George and I started this, we really were like, What are our values? What do we want to accomplish? And then having that bigger picture of what we want to bring to the forefront. but when you work with leaders, business owners, if they have a partner, how often does the partnership not really have true alignment? And then is it a lot of mismatch that takes place because there's a lack of alignment and values for the leaders and the business owners? Scherrie L. Prince: When some people look for partners, they almost want clones of themselves. You have other people that are in partnerships because they like the yin to your yang. There are things that you're better at than they are. So you compliment one another. You have some partnerships that are made from convenience and some out of necessity. One thing that I see a lot is you will sometimes have founders who will get a partner because they're trying to solve a short-term problem with a long-term solution. So consider this. You start a business on your own and maybe for some reason you're cash strapped. Well, you may not be able to get an investor alone. You can't afford an employee. So your thought is, well, let me just bring this partner on because they have this extra money, this capital, this access to resources. Well, what happens when you figure out that you guys are not on the same page in terms of what you're trying to do with the company? So now you have this person that's kind of tagging along George R Dovolis: Mmm. Scherrie L. Prince: and it affects the company down the road. Scott: Because George, George, and I have had a situation. We had a business before this. And it's it's very interesting about the fact that people just kind of overlook this whole process. And then it's also the fact of not really planning because we all have strengths, but then a lot of us don't want to let go of the things that we're weak in and say, hey, I need to bring somebody on. And allow them to compliment who I am. And so they can focus on that lane, that zone of genius. And then myself, I can focus on what I am really strong in. But a lot of people don't do that. A lot of people are like, I want to hold on to everything or just let me bring on anyone. especially like if you have the infusion of cash. And so the the misalignment really how people don't understand how. detrimental that is to your business because without alignment and clarity with the leaders, then there's nothing that bleeds out to your employees to really drive whatever it is. And one of the things that George and I talk about is the aspect of clarity. A lot of business owners, George R Dovolis: Hmm Scott: we we we talk about that as like the foundational piece. And a lot of people lack the clarity, really don't have a good idea. And so it is one that really is there somewhere in regards to building a business when it comes to planning the exit plan, how much clarity goes into play to make sure that that's in proper alignment to make sure that when it is time to get rid of an exit, it's like all right, here we go. Instead of scrambling and potentially missing things and then we're backtracking. so how much does clarity play into kind of the structure of the business? And the whole planning of what is the end in mind for us as owners. Scherrie L. Prince: So when you talk about clarity, one thing that founders or entrepreneurs need to think about is there's more than one type of exit. You know, sometimes we think that an exit is just that I'm gonna sell my business. An exit also can look like a merger. It can look like a dissolution of the business, it can look like passing that business down to another generation or maybe selling a portion of the business and you maybe staying on for a period of time. It could be you divesting your interest because of a marital dissolution. know you're getting divorced and so now the wife has all your good shares of your or your partnership. So there are so many different types of exits that you have to plan for. Seriously. George R Dovolis: No. Scherrie L. Prince: I love the way tech founders, you know, plan their exits. A lot of them will either purchase a business that has some sort of need that is filling in the market or they'll buy a business and they know from day one, I'm gonna make a seven or eight figure exit. And so what they do, they are very intentional. about certain revenue generating activities so that they can get multiples of that company and they can demand a certain price in the marketplace when they exit. So I think that everyone needs to be as intentional, but you got to be doing the things that put value on the books and not just busy work, which means taking yourself from an operator working in the business day to day to being an owner architect. And so that is just part of it. And you have to be clear on that going into the business. George R Dovolis: Wow, you know one thing I see the passion and love that you have what is what? Makes you so happy when you work directly with founders and for business owners. I mean you get excited about that Scherrie L. Prince: Well, and here's the thing, my first business ended with a hand it it well, it started with a handshake and ended with a goodbye. I met a guy at a leadership summit and we started the business. Great business. George R Dovolis: Yeah. Scherrie L. Prince: Yeah. we had clients, we had contracts, we had employees. And one day his wife walked in and said, I'm your new business partner. And I'm like, Mm, I don't think so. You know, I don't know you George R Dovolis: Hmm. Scherrie L. Prince: and I really kinda don't like you either. and we just had, you know, her husband and I, like he did certain things in the business. I was day to day and we worked very well together. and so my first business was a train wreck. And so now when I work with other entrepreneurs, I'm like, hey, we're you're not gonna, you know, go down that road. These are some things you can do to build a better business. and so I just love helping people with that. And to me it's like second nature, but other people just kinda light up. because they think, wow, this is something great. No, it's building a firm foundation and putting a motor on your business. So that I do kind of light up when I talk about it. George R Dovolis: I think that's pretty exciting, especially being an entrepreneur for 40 years and started my own company. And right when I turned 20 in Palm Springs, California, and it's really crazy how people want to be business partners with you and they have the money. But what happens, you lose everything you work for. I truly been in those areas that it is. I'd rather be where I'm at without having to inflex money. can see the growth, but there's times that you take a look and you really do the background on the individual, what they're all about. And sometimes it's not a good move to have someone come in. it's at that time, I was so young. wish I had someone like you to say, I'm so glad you didn't do that because what we created in the 14 years, you know, in my first business, I would have destroyed it if I would have went in with people that would have took over next, you know, I'll be sitting on the sidelines not owning the business anymore. Scherrie L. Prince: sometimes you just kinda don't know what you don't know. And even a very young Cherie at that point, I don't know if I would have listened to someone like me because you kind of think you know it all. You I was in my twenties, early twenties then. and so what I do now, I'm like the George R Dovolis: Yeah. Scherrie L. Prince: Yeah, I'm like the quarterback for people's money team. You know, yes, I'm a licensed attorney, but when I'm coaching people, I'm not your attorney. I'm working with your attorney. I'm working with your insurance agent, your financial advisor, your banker, and I'm putting together plays to help your business move further, faster. Scott: So Sheree shared on that the foundational piece that she talked about that a lot of people miss out. One of our partners is ADP, and their focus is really helping you on the back end of HR compliance payroll. And most of us didn't get into business for those back end pieces, probably our least favorite thing. And so if those are areas that you're struggling with and you're like, I just don't know what to do, and I need to get better with this, because if that is all out of whack, you're gonna be in a lot of trouble. Reach out to ADP in the show notes, there will be a link. Schedule your call, see how they can help you in those areas so that way you can focus on your zone of genius. And Sri, when you kind of go back as people are building businesses, as they're getting into the thoughts of, hey, what do I want to create? What would be one thing piece of advice that you would give individuals as they start going into that realm that a lot of people overlook and really don't consider? And if you could go back in time, you'd be like, hey, this is something that you really need to consider. George R Dovolis: in Scott: Talking to your younger self. Scherrie L. Prince: Okay, so you've already touched on it and I say this a lot. I quote Stephen Stephen Covey, begin with the end in mind. Now, in doing that, I have a four-part framework. And this is before you ever decide if you need a LLC or if you need a corporation, the first thing you do, you have to get your estate plan together. You know, are you gonna have a will-centered estate plan or a trust-centered estate plan? And sometimes you don't need either. People think that you have to have a will or a trust and you don't. Maybe your assets are minimal. You have a home, a vehicle, and maybe some personal things. Well, I would advise not to get a will or a trust. I would do a transfer on death or life estate deed from a home and then for your George R Dovolis: Mm. Scherrie L. Prince: vehicle, most states have a transfer on death where you can actually list someone with the tax collector in your estate and they just bring the death certificate up there and they'll transfer the title. And so these are things you do for under $100 and your estate is settled, okay? Now for people that have more substantial assets and they actually have a business, I'd recommend a trust. But that's you know the first thing you do, a will or a trust. Then you look at what type of business do I have? is it a service-based business or is it a product-based business? Because depending on that, there are several things that you need to look at in terms of regulations. if it's gonna be, you know, part three to that. brick and mortar, or is it gonna be virtual or e-commerce? Because now we we start talking about tax issues, choice of law, choice of venue if you're sued. Because one lawsuit can take you completely out if you're not structured properly. And the very last thing you do, and this is still before you even decide what type of entity, you figure out, is my business going to be public facing? Like for instance, if I was Cherie Kardashian, I'd probably want my business to be public facing because just the name Kardashian, everybody knows it. And they George R Dovolis: Mm-hmm. Scherrie L. Prince: just make money. They just print money off their name. Or I may be a more reserved investor. And so I want anonymity. And if I'm in the States, I may wanna, you know, incorporate in Delaware, Nevada, or Wyoming. So after you take those four steps, that's when you decide Am I gonna have an LLC, a corporation, a partnership? Because all those other questions about liability, taxation, location will be answered. And so that's where the clarity comes in. People think that the first thing you do is just go start a company. That is the last thing you do. George R Dovolis: Mmm, you know many people go ahead. Well, know Scott I know that was question, but I have a question after yours. Go ahead, sir Scott: It might be in the same realm. So it's it's an interesting thing because I've seen and I've shared stuff with George in regards to like setup of businesses, the L L Cs, George R Dovolis: Mm-hmm. Scott: Delaware, Wyoming, because those are more protection heavy, I guess. And it it's a very interesting thing because you see a lot of inf individuals putting out information on, hey, this is where if you're looking at having your L L C set up in different states, these are the states that you want to go in. But is it really how difficult is it like if you're not in those states? But based on what I see, it seems like they're very protection heavy, they're very business friendly. And when it comes to that, why is like Delaware and Wyoming such business friendly states compared to like everybody else since those are the two that you see a lot of times when it comes to setting up an L L C in your business? Scherrie L. Prince: Because the legislators in those states have propounded laws that are business friendly versus other places that may be more consumer friendly. So if you have a big business and you are prone to lawsuits and claims and things like that, you want to be somewhere that's business friendly, right? Well, George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: it doesn't always protect you because think about this, it really depends on the type of industry that you are in. If you're in real estate, You really want to have a company where the real estate sits because most real property law follows the land or the ground that the property's sitting on. So you don't necessarily want to have your real estate company, depending on the type of real estate, if it's residential, rentals and things like that, in Delaware, in Wyoming, because now you have what's called a conflict of laws. You're trying to apply the law where the property sits and then like other law from a whole nother state. And in most states Real property law is consistent across the state. So it's not a huge thing. But if you have a business where you provide services or you sell the best widgets, maybe you wanna be in Delaware, Wyoming or Nevada. George R Dovolis: I mean, I make perfectly good sense. mean, I have created LLCs as corporations, everything else. But I know many people form LLCs online and they truly believe that they are fully protected. But I know, and I want you to answer that. What might be they be missing? Because usually I go through an attorney to set everything up. but explain to them how important it is. Scherrie L. Prince: So here's the thing. are you guys familiar with the term called piercing the corporate veil? George R Dovolis: Mm-hmm. Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: Okay, so you can set up a company, but if you're using that company like a hobby or shell company, you're co-mingling funds, you're not observing formalities, you're not filing your annual reports and things like that. You don't have a company. So the liability that you that the well the limited liability that you think you have, you really don't have. You just have something that has a name and you may have a bank account. But when you pierce the corporate veil, someone with a claim against you can reach into your personal pockets and get money. And George R Dovolis: Mmm, yeah. Scherrie L. Prince: so you don't have that same liability. And then too, depending on how you set it up and depending on how your documents are, an investor, if you don't have contracts that are in properly, can be like a de facto partner and mess up your tax standing. Liability, that person can bring liability into your company if your contracts are not written properly. So there are so many things you can mess up if you don't have an attorney. And I tell folks, if you have a good attorney, the cost to pay that person, you will save three to four times that. You know, you should have George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: a line item in your budget like you have for marketing and all this other stuff for for legal stuff and counsel. Scott: Hmm. So right now if you're getting nuggets from this video, hit the like button. If you're looking for these types of videos, hit the subscribe button. And if you're in the process of starting a business, having an idea, I know Sheree, you have your own podcast, and so that's probably one of those routes to go and dive and listen to the information Shree provides. So if that is something that you're doing, I would highly suggest tapping into the resource that Sheree has out there with her podcast. And You you talked about six pillars of building the business, George R Dovolis: Hmm. Scott: building out, but there's pillars that people miss. And so what are those six pillars and what's like the top pillar that a lot of businesses overlook and miss out on? Scherrie L. Prince: And before we even get to pillars, can we talk about the stages? Because you kinda got to go through the sta the four stages first. Scott: Mm. Scherrie L. Prince: And so when we talk about stages, we talk about continuity, control, protection and legacy. So and these are things when we talk about starting with begin with the end in mind. You think because you start a business, you control the business. That's not always true. Because If you do not like if somebody pierces the corporate veil or if you do not properly handle your bills and the way that you handle creditors, you can have someone come in and t and do a receivership and actually take over your business. You can have a partner come in. You can have a board that kicks you out. So control George R Dovolis: Thank Scherrie L. Prince: is one of the very first stages that you have to make sure that you solidify when you're building the moat around your business. And do you guys kind of know what a moat is? Have y'all seen Shrek? Scott: Mm-hmm. Yeah. George R Dovolis: What was again, sorry. Scherrie L. Prince: have you seen Shrek, George? George R Dovolis: Yes, truck. Yes. Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: Yes, so you know like the water that's around the castle and they let the drawbridge down? George R Dovolis: Yeah. Scott: Mm-hmm. Scherrie L. Prince: Yeah, the water is the moat. So think about your business and you have this invisible moat that's all your legal protections and all your tax protections and all the things you do to keep your business safe. So first stage is control. Then you gotta have continuity. That is where the estate planning piece comes in. Okay? Because if you got hit by a bus today, you didn't go to you didn't die and go to glory, but you're out of commission for a while. Can George R Dovolis: Yeah. Scherrie L. Prince: your business still run without you? Are you the bottleneck in your business? Okay. Scott: Mm. Scherrie L. Prince: next thing is protection. Is there one incident, one claim, one event that can take the entire business down because you have not done things to properly insulate the business? Maybe you have different divisions. that are co-mingled. You know, depending on how your business is set up, you should be able to even spin off a division and sell it if you'd like to. And the last thing is legacy. When you talk about what's gonna happen to the business when you are no longer there, that is your your exit portion. And so then you start getting into the pillars like control the optics. That deals with everything you do in terms of how you're perceived in the public. Hold the reins, not the title, okay? That is like you control everything. What did John Rockefeller say? Control everything, own nothing. Same Scott: Mm-hmm. George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: idea. You know, you control it, but your name does not have to be on it. And so those are so many things that you miss. And even risk management. We talk about risk and what's the first thing you think about? Is it insurance? Scott: Mm. Scherrie L. Prince: A lot of people think when I talk about risk management, it's just insurance, but it's not. There are so many ways that I work with entrepreneurs to reduce their premiums. Like I believe in whatever the state minimums are. And then we do, we make legal protections to make up for that. So what could George R Dovolis: Okay. Scherrie L. Prince: you do with an extra $2,000 a month that you were paying for premiums? Could you hire an employee? Could you get more marketing? Could you save it for another cushion, you know, for a cushion for a rainy day? And so those are the types of things we do with the pillars. after we go through the four stages. George R Dovolis: Wow, you know, this is incredible. The one thing that is so important and people don't realize this as bringing family in and friends, close friends in. How important is an operating agreement when you come in? And I think a lot of people miss, just miss that. And how important is that? Scherrie L. Prince: Okay, so I cannot say this enough. It is so important. And do not get one from the internet or LegalZoom. Let me tell you why. It is a great place to start for ideas, you know, things George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: like questions you may want to ask the attorney who's gonna actually prepare it for you. But here's the thing about operating agreements. the first thing you do, well, I'm sorry, that plaintiff's attorneys do when you get sued, they do a deep dive on your assets. They go to the local Secretary of State's website and most of them will have this little checkbox and it says, this company has an operating agreement. So when they sue you and they do a document request, they ask for your operating agreement. Now, some of these agreements will say that, you know, each partner has liability limited to their initial contribution or the amount of you know shares they have in the company. So what happens if your initial contribution is $200,000? Your exposure is two is equal to $200,000, right? I would never put that in operating agreement. We're gonna put George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: like most states will take $10 cash in hand or services. So when you sue me, my liability is, you know, I pre did in kind services. There are so many ways you set yourself up for failure because you think that you're being proactive and you want to document things. But there are also internal controls that you can do with your accounting that will track that but not leave the legal liability out there. Scott: So I gotta highlight George R Dovolis: out Scott: another partner of ours, Dr. Joey Slowho Sri. You had highlighted save him money and what that could do for you. And Dr. Joey is really big on working with you. If you're stuck at $150,000 to $3 million in revenue and you just you just spin your wills, you just don't know what to do. But you understand revenue is important. The more revenue you have, the bigger impact you can create. If you're stuck, reach out to Dr. Joey. That's his big focus there, really to help you overcome. In the show notes, there will be a link to have a call with Dr. Joey, see if it's a good fit. And it's it's a very interesting aspect because like you talked about trust and wheels. George and I have been in insurance before. And so when you talk about insurance, life insurance, especially for business owners, partners, having the key man agreements, having the buy sell agreements, a lot of business owners George R Dovolis: Yes. Scott: don't think of that. Then they're like, I don't want to think about dying, so I don't want to talk about this. But it's the fact that because you're scared of this. conversation here, Scherrie L. Prince: Yeah. Scott: you're shooting yourself in the foot because if your partner passes away and then you have to deal with the spouse that's like, I don't like you, I don't like this job, but I got the shares here. Now you've got a headache because you you're like, I don't want to talk about this. And so it's one of those that yeah, it sucks because it's part of life. But it's these conversations that business owners, leaders don't like to have because they're like, I'm not I don't want to think about dying. But how much do people miss out on the opportunities? How much do they miss out because of these thoughts that they have that they're like, I don't wanna talk about this because I don't wanna think about dying or lose my business or whatever it may be with these crazy thoughts that people have. George R Dovolis: Hmm. Scherrie L. Prince: And it's so interesting you said that I think you're reading my mail. I was literally just having this conversation with somebody about people talking about insurance, think they're gonna die the minute they finish. and we're all gonna die eventually, just you know, who knows? But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. you mentioned key man policies and by sale agreements. Also, one thing that ninety percent of the entrepreneurs that I work with, they do not have spousal consent agreements. What is that? That is like a prenup between your spouse and your company saying that they waive certain rights in the event X, Y, and Z happens. Okay? Because yes, you can come to the table and you know Scott and George can make all these decisions, but if you don't have your estate plan together and your operating agreements or your business plan is not cohesive, then your spouse can possibly come in one day and show up to the board meeting or the advisory meeting. or the, you know, the management meeting and say, hey, I'm making this decision because George is not here. And Scott, you can waive the spousal consent agreement. Sorry, Kathy, you can't come in today because we have this. So that's something that I think people miss as well. George R Dovolis: That's Scott: Okay. George R Dovolis: huge. Huge. I didn't even think about that. And I've been in business that long. This is why it's so important when you do your business to go to a business attorney to find everything out. Or a regular attorney. However, find someone who handles businesses, because I've never heard of that. For all the years in business, I have never heard of special agreement. Scherrie L. Prince: Mm-hmm. George R Dovolis: That's just I just I wrote it down thinking not saying my way would do it but for entrepreneurs who have businesses and you know for a fact. If we had a partner and we're like, man, if someone pass away, we got to bring her in. it's going to put a thorn in what we do. And I had no idea about the special agreement. That is like huge. And I think entrepreneurs realize that's out there. Scherrie L. Prince: Well, but here's the thing, it's not sexy. You know, it's like we're just so busy trying to get in the business and trying to make sure things are covered that we're making payroll, paying the light bill, paying vendors. And so they don't think about stuff like that. But the good news is it's really not, I'm not gonna say it's not your job. You just need to know who to call. And so every business should have a money team. Who who's on your money team? There are people you're already working with. If you have a car, a house, or a a a business you're paying somebody an insurance premium, okay? So all insurance agents are not created equal. The person who sells you life insurance maybe can't do your general liability policy, but you start with those people. If you're in business, you have a bank account, okay? That person's on your money team, your financial advisor, your attorney, all the people that you're dealing with. But the difference is you're dealing with them in silos. They're not talking to each other. So I help bring those people together, preferably quarterly on a Zoom. And we set goals for the year. You know, we're no longer talking in silos. We signed limited consent agreements so that they can talk without the founder to make sure that the goals are moving down the road. And now this entrepreneur who may not have a full-time staff has this huge fractional staff that they're already working with. That's their money team. And they're moving their money down the road for them. George R Dovolis: Mmm. Scott: Super important though, like you talked about the whole silo effect because insurance is one of those weird things that people don't fully understand. And so you have property and casualty, home, auto, you have general liability, you have the business insurance, but you might have an agent that doesn't specialize in business insurance. And so when you have the conversations and they're siloed, that's a communication piece that can get cut off that might get misconstrued. Because not everybody is involved in there. And so by bringing everything together, bringing everybody to have a conversation, be there on the same page, helps out where things don't get misconstrued. And so I think that's one thing too. Like George and I talked about having your inner circle inner circle, five to six people, but then you also now have this subsequent circle, your money team as you had described it, that is there George R Dovolis: Love it. Scott: to help you out in those lanes that somebody may not be part of. And so it is one that as we start looking and looking at the different overlaps, it's huge because we're centered to everything. We don't know everything. But having these conversations are super important because it allows you to see and hear things that you don't know. And then it starts opening up because once you're aware, it's on you to go do what you need to. But until you're aware, then you're like, okay, whatever, you're oblivious. But it's these type of conversations that gets people to think and be like, okay, now I don't have this in place, but what do I need to do? Who do I need to talk to to start building this out to better protect my business? So that way at the end of the day I can say my zone of genius, make sure my clients are taken care of, make sure my business is taken care of. But it's these type of conversations that a lot of people don't have or they're missing because they're just stuck in everything. Scherrie L. Prince: Yeah, they are stuck in the operator mindset. And here's the beautiful part about it. Most of the people that you're already working with, they have counterparts in other sectors that they can refer to you. Now that they know that there's a gap in your money team, Sheree, okay, I see that you have this person, but maybe you don't have an MA person. So I I there's somebody I work with in another circle. How about we bring them on? And so a lot of these folks are already being compensated either through commission to the products you purchase for them. Or you're already giving them a fee, but now you're just focusing their attention. So it's not like there's this huge expense that you're adding to your business. You're just becoming more efficient and more streamlined. Scott: Super huge. George R Dovolis: have you ever run out of your clients a family-owned business and they're ready to give it to the next generation and they're not too sure? How do you handle, I mean, I hear it all the time, people like, this is your business and you're like, man, they, not the right individuals to go to. How do you handle that situation when it's supposed to be a generational switch? Scherrie L. Prince: lot of I I put a lot of paper on it because here's the thing, you know, if it is if the if this is the first generation that you're switching the business to, and I did have a family like this a couple of years ago where, you know, mom and dad basically ran it until mom passed away and dad was not really interested in continuing. And so he wanted to pass it to the next generation. Well prior George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: to, they were doing the bare minimal in terms of keeping up with annual reports, paperwork, resolutions and things like that. And so now, you know, here are the kids, and I say kids, they're like, you know, late thirties, early forties, but they really don't have a huge interest. We had to go in and kind of put some structure in place and get it prepared to sale. And they're still running the business, George R Dovolis: Thank Scherrie L. Prince: but you know, dad is older, he does not anticipate George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: it's gonna last long. And so we're pretty much just trying to prepare it for a sale, but they're running it day to day. So you really have to kind of paper it up, make it attractive, put lipstick on a pig. Because it's George R Dovolis: Hmm. Scherrie L. Prince: gonna take, you know, those entrepreneurs in the business to actually run it and make it attractive. But if they don't do it, you just have to build that mode and hope that somebody sees the value George R Dovolis: Yes. Scherrie L. Prince: and what's, you know, and what's there in that asset. George R Dovolis: Man, that is so interesting. Yeah. It's just because these are the questions a lot of people bring up, you know, especially older generation that wants to give it to the, their next generation. And, you know, when the kids get involved or family get involved, like, man, we got to start from the ground up because they, you know, wasn't taught. the way to get it done and man, incredible stories, incredible information. So I asked a question here on being a lawyer, business and all the strategies you do. How does someone find someone like you? know, I mean, it's like the state of Colorado or, you know, where you're at. How does someone find a lawyer that really follows through on everything like you did? I never knew about the spousal agreement and I I've talked to attorneys about all the time anymore, but used to and never heard of it. Scherrie L. Prince: So one thing that I recommend would be like trade organizations. there's one organization that I'm a part of called Wealth Council. And you know, they have directories for people that specialize in estate planning and business planning. And so I mean you look at organizations that specialize in the types of things that your business needs and generally they'll have a free directory. You can look people up where you're located. and that would be my main thing. I would not necessarily go to the bar because the bar is just going to have a general directory. Most bars do, for people that are licensed in that state. And it, you know, some may list a specialty, but you can kind of tell when you're looking at some of these trade organizations what people do. And you can start looking at their websites. Okay, so this is what they have for their blogs. What are their results? Who are they actually helping? And so those are the types of things that I would recommend and look for. George R Dovolis: probably interview too. you know, you got to be some type of I like working with you, Shree. I love how you're putting things down and everything else. It's building that, you know, that partnership, right? Because you're in control. I mean, you're watching my business, you're, putting things in place for me to make sure I don't get myself in trouble, get myself out of trouble if I did something wrong. And it's, it's so important to have someone like you that is part of the business, especially if you're an entrepreneur, and you're not just big, you know, company, you miss those little things because you just want to go in and get business going. You just want to get fired up. And a lot of times people do forget how to get the business taken care of correctly. Scherrie L. Prince: Yeah. And when I start working with people, I no matter what size your business is, I don't see you as the Jeff Bezos that was in the garage with Amazon spray painted on that sign. You know, I see you as a Jeff Bezos that's out vacationing right now with the newest Miss Bezos, you know. And George R Dovolis: Yeah, no. Scherrie L. Prince: so that's where I want all my clients to be. Like I want you to be so comfortable that you're no longer the operator. You're the owner architect and you're just providing resources for this company because we've done a great job with building your foundation. George R Dovolis: This is incredible. You know, we talked about you have the podcast play big faster podcast. What inspires you? to start beginning to have that podcast more educational, let people have more awareness about things. mean, it's a truly, it's incredible to hear that about founders and industry leaders. What really created you to just go out and do a podcast? Scherrie L. Prince: So during the pandemic, I participated in my very first mastermind. I was at home, you know, most of the courts were closed and I'm like, okay, I'm on social media, I'm scrolling. So everybody is a coach and a course creator at the time. in the first mastermind, the guy was like, Write a book, do a podcast, be a speaker, like do all the things, create a course. And so I'm George R Dovolis: Yeah. Scherrie L. Prince: like, Okay, I paid a lot of money for this. So I'm gonna do every single thing this guy said because I wanna achieve these results. And at first it was kind of like I don't know because I didn't even listen to podcasts before then. But if he said it and he was successful, you know, I w I wanna be successful. and I guess George R Dovolis: Exactly. Scherrie L. Prince: over the last three years I have fallen in love with it because I get to talk to people all over the world. George R Dovolis: Hmm. Scherrie L. Prince: and I learn something with every single episode. I am a better person, I'm a better attorney, I'm a better parent. And so yeah, and you know, the the goal now is when you listen to the podcast. to walk away with at least one actionable thing to improve your business. So if I haven't done that, I have not done my job. So that's the goal. George R Dovolis: Incredible. Incredible. You know, last question I have for you, because I know Scott has a few. You know, when you're legacy, you're building through family, your work, lives, you touch different people to change the light. What's the most important thing to you that when that time comes, you want to leave behind that legacy? Scherrie L. Prince: So with every person that I work with, how when I'm I say done with representation, there's so much continuity in terms of how there's overlap with working with people. But I want George R Dovolis: Yeah. Scherrie L. Prince: them to leave with that clarity. You know, I want there to be something new and fresh about what they've learned on how to protect their business that they got from our time together. So a lot of the work is ongoing. I don't have a lot of people that are not with me who, you know, in some capacity. Like, you know, we just kind of grow up together. We start an elementary school, then we go to what they called it junior high. What is it, middle school now? I'm I'm I'm aging myself. Okay. George R Dovolis: Yeah, I know. Scott: Yeah. Scherrie L. Prince: Yeah, I'm aging myself. And so then they're in high school. So hopefully that clarity with their business. Scott: Yeah, it it's a very interesting thing because like I said, for our initial episode and what we see a lot of times is the lack of clarity that business owners have that leaders have. And then we tell we're like, your clarity is your filtering system. So that way when things come up you filter and say, Okay, does this push me forward or does this derail me? Does this detract me from what I'm trying to do? And so it's one of those things that really like businesses try to do something, leaders try to do something, but really not having the end in mind with what they're trying to accomplish. And so as individuals are listening and really taking the information that you're giving to them, where can they go to connect with you at a deeper level, learn more, see what you offer? Scherrie L. Prince: So I do a quarterly free webinar where a lot of these things that I talk about, we, you know, chat for about 90 minutes. You get to ask questions. No cost. Just need about 90 minutes of your time. Shereprints dot com. right now there's a wait list, so you can, you know, check it out there. Also, I have a book coming out October twenty twenty six. It is not a legal manual. It is very practical and is geared toward implementation. So we talk about different scenarios, my different frameworks, and then we have things that you can implement. And I mean the entire book from maybe Friday to Sunday, you're done. And hopefully you've improved your business by then. and I'm very active on LinkedIn. So if somebody wants to reach out, I will respond. So yeah, that is the best way to catch me. Scott: Awesome. Yeah, we'll have those in the show notes so that way people have the different locations to go and track on that one. but yeah, ultimately a as I look at this, if you are listening to this and you're trying to do things on your own, there's too much out here that we're only one person. And so you need the George R Dovolis: Amen. Scott: team, you need to have those people that you trust, have the circle like George and I talked about five to six people. Sure, you brought up your money team because you don't know everything, and if you try to Learn everything, you're gonna hurt yourself. So zone a genius, stay in that lane, and then find those people that complement your weaknesses with their strengths, so that way you can continue to focus on what you do best and go impact the lives. But other than that, we appreciate you guys coming along on the journey with us, allowing us to be part of your George R Dovolis: Thank you. Scott: journey, and we'll catch you on the next episode. George R Dovolis: Thank you.