1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,600 I'm just like a member of our family. So yeah, it works out 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:08,280 good. Oh, that's awesome. Okay. And so why Why? Why did you get 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:09,280 into law originally? 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:16,080 You know, I have absolutely no professional people in my 5 00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:20,360 family. To be quite honest, like, my dad was in sales, my mom was 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,760 a stay home mother of five, I'm the youngest of five girls. So 7 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,720 my sisters became teachers, one became a nurse, one became a 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:33,560 hairdresser, and I was sort of always academic. And when I 9 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:37,560 graduated college, I always kind of had a lot in the back of my 10 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,400 mind, but I was going to go teach English in South Korea. 11 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:47,680 And my mother was like, hell no, you're not. I applied to law 12 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:52,000 school the next day. And that's all she wrote. And I did well 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,360 when I got there and started, you know, just exploring 14 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,760 different practice areas and ended up in IP and business. And 15 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:01,320 I've enjoyed it. 16 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,320 Too fun. Did you know I was raised by my mom and five older 17 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:04,920 sisters? 18 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,240 No, I didn't. Oh my gosh. estrogen fest. There you go. 19 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,680 That's how I that's how I refer to it all the time. 20 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,880 Absolutely. And I was a little brother than ever expected to 21 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:15,400 have. 22 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,560 Okay, well, I'm sure you're very good to women. 23 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:25,880 Yeah, my two ex-wives may disagree with that. But I they 24 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:31,640 are the mothers of my children. And I honor them. And they, you 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:36,520 know, some people. I like what the Rock said. He said, some 26 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,280 people don't like me. Some people have bad taste. All 27 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,520 right. Welcome in to vision pros live with Jackson Calame. I'm 28 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,840 your show host, we'll be doing interviews with you. And we'll 29 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,520 be doing interviews for visionary entrepreneurs and 30 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,680 guest leaders who are building fantastic visions out there. 31 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,840 Hey there and welcome into vision pros live. I may be in 32 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,880 hot water after what I said last, but that's okay. We'll have 33 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,240 some fun with this show. I'm the founder and CEO of first class 34 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,760 business show host here, of course, as well. And I'm so 35 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:20,320 excited to have Melissa Gray on with us. And Melissa Gray is 36 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:25,960 the founder of Oh my goodness, the law spot. And what we I'm so 37 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,880 excited about this episode, because our company is looking 38 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,560 for that law firm as well that we can partner with to be able 39 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:39,160 to provide legal services from within our own brand. And so 40 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,400 this is kind of like an interview, as much as it is the 41 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,680 opportunity to hear what her visions about. And that's, I 42 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:47,560 mean, that's honestly, it's the big reason why I do these 43 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,480 episodes is so that I can interview all these different 44 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,760 really cool visionaries, extract what is there up to and see why 45 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,000 do they do the things that they do, because I want to work with 46 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,280 people who have really cool wise and really big ideas. So I'll 47 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,360 digress out of that for now. We'll bring Melissa on stage in 48 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,880 just a minute. First off, a few tips for anybody who's listening 49 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,800 in that's trying to grow their business. We use a system called 50 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,360 cold click. If you are watching the screen, you'll get to see a 51 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,040 little bit more about that company. This system is what 52 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,720 what handles our LinkedIn automation and art Hoffman has 53 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,920 become a friend of mine, he runs it, we've used you link, we've 54 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:26,360 used buzz, we've used all sorts of different systems. And the 55 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:30,120 systems are helpful. He combines I think buzz, I'm sorry, you 56 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,880 link and octopus and something else, and make sure that we're 57 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,520 playing nicely with the algorithms while our systems are 58 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,080 out there, contacting people on our behalf. Now we create great 59 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,720 messaging for that too. But it allows me to have a whole ton of 60 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,760 people coming through the pipeline, excited about our show 61 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:52,080 excited to talk to us. And it's nice to have somebody in charge 62 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,160 of making sure that as as LinkedIn makes changes and 63 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:57,760 adjustments to the algorithms, I don't have to think about it. 64 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,760 I'm not that first layer of support, nor is my tech team, my 65 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,800 tech team can go to them and see what's going on and learn about 66 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:05,920 those those adjustments, because there are lots of changes 67 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:10,440 coming, especially with AI. So that's one of my secret tools. 68 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,800 Simply fast websites, that's not a tool I use. But if I had to 69 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,120 start over from scratch, and I didn't know where to go, I would 70 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,480 absolutely call Shane Michael, because he's offering websites 71 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:23,040 starting in 179 bucks. And one thing I've learned about web 72 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,480 presence and building businesses over the many years, is how many 73 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,400 people stay busy with their website ended up kind of broke 74 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,880 because they're not out in the world talking to people about 75 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,040 their brand, they're obsessing over an asset that has to change 76 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,040 and evolve with time anyway. So I recommend starting with 77 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,200 somebody like Shane, and saying, Hey, here's 179 bucks, what do 78 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,160 you need from me? Get that produced and out there and just 79 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,040 be excited to go tell people about your vision and what you 80 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,960 do. Don't get caught up in the mechanics of being a chief 81 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,200 marketing officer or worse, that's not even what a chief 82 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,880 marketing officer should do. A chief marketing officer should 83 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,760 have a web dev web design department in order to make sure 84 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,160 that those mechanics get put into place. So I know I fire hose 85 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,920 some of you a little bit. But the goal on that is to help save 86 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:09,000 you the years of pain that it took me to launch each of the 87 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,640 companies that I did. And so if some of you were like, man, I 88 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:16,000 needed that right now. We did our job. The water project. The 89 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,480 water project is near and dear to my heart. I'm so grateful 90 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,960 that I have access to water wherever I go. I never have to 91 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,120 think about it. There's millions of people in the world who do 92 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:30,160 not. And I feel called and responsible to bring up subjects 93 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,840 like these. Now, if you have another charity that you'd like 94 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:35,720 to see a support or dive into, don't hesitate to drop that in 95 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,200 the comments, please. I really do like to pay attention like 96 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,280 what's going on in the world? Where can we help people? You 97 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:43,040 never know who's going to see that and who's going to get 98 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,840 behind it and say, man, I want to do that too. In fact, short 99 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:49,520 story, when I introduced Monte Maldi into how we nestle of 100 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,640 San Antonio, who has this drive called gotcha covered the event 101 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:57,360 just passed again this year, they got 60,000 pounds of 102 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,440 materials off as collection drive and one day 60,000 pounds 103 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,400 of materials. Well, when I introduced the two of them, and 104 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,080 we just happened to talk about it, Monte gave how we $1,000 in 105 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,240 the spot for his other organization, Foundation San 106 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,680 Antonio on behalf of first class business. And I was like, what 107 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,640 do I have to do with this? I mean, like I just introduced you 108 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,040 guys. And so it was cool. It was awesome. You never know what's 109 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,960 going to happen when you open your big mouth for good. So I 110 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,160 recommend doing so. With that said, we're gonna bring Melissa 111 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,680 Gray on stage now put her under under the spotlight a little 112 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,480 bit and under a little bit of pressure if I can. She's used to 113 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,720 that as a lawyer. So thank you for being here today. Thank you 114 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:41,360 for having me. This is gonna be fun. Alright, so we got kids 115 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,400 around the same age as two, I've got a 12, nine, eight and three 116 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,800 year old. You got you got how old again? Seven, five and two. 117 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:54,640 Yeah. And you're you got this massive dream of helping 118 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:59,040 entrepreneurs and SMBs by simplifying making the making the 119 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:03,600 space of law easier. And I've caught no condescension from you. 120 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,400 I've not I've not been disrespected yet. You made space 121 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,240 for me as a as a human being. I'm loving this already. How the 122 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,600 heck did you become you? That's my first question. 123 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:20,040 Right. It's a good one. I I think I've had a lot of amazing 124 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,000 clients and a lot of life experiences, even though I'm 125 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,800 pretty, pretty young. Although I've been practicing for over a 126 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,400 decade, which is hard to believe. But I think the practice 127 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,600 of law is intimidating enough. So what I try and do is just be 128 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:41,280 be a more well rounded attorney, if you will, and try and take 129 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,560 the intimidation factor out of the interactions with my 130 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,640 clients, most of them are coming to you with problems. So if you 131 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,520 can make them feel less intimidated by the conversation, 132 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,560 that's a good place to start to build trust and, and a good 133 00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:59,800 rapport with the people that you serve. So 134 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,680 that's awesome. That's Yeah, not not well known in your industry. 135 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,440 So I applaud you for breaking the mold a little bit. We need 136 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,840 it. We need a lot of advice and business for for illegal and 137 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,760 it's very intimidating to know who to go to. So who do you 138 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:19,400 feel should be listening? And let's let me refine this a 139 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,680 little bit more. Who's at the stage where they benefit the 140 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:28,280 most from knowing you? For for you know, like, because there's 141 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:32,160 a lot of business levels. I'm curious, who's gonna who's gonna 142 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,120 who's like, not just desperate, but you know, like I was also in 143 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,200 that position where it makes sense to really have that 144 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:38,000 conversation with you. 145 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:43,480 Yeah, I think someone who, first of all, anyone in in college, 146 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:46,960 that's a business major, otherwise that doesn't have a 147 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:52,120 focus on the law, should be thinking about that as part of 148 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,360 what goes into a business journey. But for me, the 149 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:57,680 coolest clients are those that are in transition, and they're 150 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,760 really thinking about creating something new for themselves, 151 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:05,960 but they have no idea like where to start. And people have these 152 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,040 amazing ideas, and they, they come up with them, but they have 153 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,920 no idea how to actually like implement them into the world. 154 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:16,280 And once they figure out and start trying things, they 155 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,640 sometimes get bogged down with the details. And then they do it 156 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,240 wrong. And then they spend a bunch of money and they get a 157 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,280 cease and desist letter or some something like that. So it's, 158 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:30,920 it's just anybody who isn't necessarily in there yet, has 159 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,280 these aspirations to do something more potentially like 160 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,480 either either really good foundational things like the 161 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,160 the things that I talk about on my social media, the things that 162 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:48,080 I, I talk about on LinkedIn are just reminders to small 163 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,160 business owners or people thinking about starting a 164 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,440 business on the foundational elements that you need in order 165 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,160 to do it properly and protect yourself and your family and 166 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:01,320 your business, and turn that business into something that's 167 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:03,520 sustainable and something that can make you money. 168 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:09,120 Yes, I love that. I'm gonna be your poster child for a minute. 169 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:13,560 I have received a letter of demand. I have been taken to 170 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:20,040 small claims court. I have received the cease and desists. I 171 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,640 have been sued on accident that was helpful because then I just 172 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,840 got a template for a lawsuit that was pretty well thought 173 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,600 out. I have been sued on purpose. I have had a company 174 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,320 that lost a lawsuit on non compete gone wrong with the my 175 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:39,160 co founder in a business. Apple has patented one of my 176 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:45,000 softwares. And we also had a $20,000 trademark battle at one 177 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,440 of my found one of my companies, where my goal, where my 178 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,680 approach would have been just like go to dang name so we 179 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:56,960 don't have to lose the 20,000. But I wasn't the senior co 180 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:02,320 founder. And so we have learned some heavy lessons with and 181 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:04,840 and workers comp, you know, there's all those types of 182 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,120 things to you just you learn as you go through the experience of 183 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:13,720 life that, oh, there's many legal legal side to this 184 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:19,800 process. So with that said, tough pointed question, easy to 185 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,240 answer on the surface, but are you a bulldog as well, Melissa, 186 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,040 do you have the ability and capacity to do that? Or is that 187 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:32,560 not necessary as a as a legal representative for brands? I 188 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:36,160 will be whatever my client needs me to be in the moment, but I 189 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:42,600 do pride myself on talking through the entire worst case 190 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,440 scenario. And sometimes the most aggressive approach is not the 191 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,680 approach that's going to get you what you want. So I do think 192 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,440 that level of counseling, if you're, if your attorney is not 193 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,200 going through that with you, that's a miss. Because if you 194 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:01,320 can creatively get the resolution that you want without 195 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:06,120 going full on nuclear on the other side, then great. But if 196 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:11,800 that's the approach that you as the client want to take, then 197 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,280 I'm in your corner, I will zealously advocate for you as as 198 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:19,320 I'm required to do under the law. But I, we always go through 199 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,320 the exercise of, you know, is that the highest and best use of 200 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:27,640 your money? Is that going to be a good ROI for you, depending on 201 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,760 what the scenario is? And sometimes it's necessary. But 202 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,960 other times that, you know, do you want to keep that $20,000? 203 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:39,920 Or do you want to do something different? Right? Yeah, well 204 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,840 said. Well, I will say I think I think many entrepreneurs that 205 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:48,760 watch my show or follow will resonate with this. I don't have 206 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,720 the heart to be the bulldog. At the end of the day, I don't. I 207 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,720 like and when I find myself having to do that, I find myself 208 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,680 losing my centeredness as a visionary for others. And it's 209 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:04,880 so hard. I have to learn, right? We all I get the I have the 210 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,760 opportunity to learn how to be a little bit more diplomatic on 211 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,160 one side, but also to be a little bit more dedicated 212 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,560 towards justice on the other. But I think a lot of 213 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:18,960 entrepreneurs, that's one of the reasons why they struggle with 214 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:23,360 that attorney relationship is because the dynamic is almost 215 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,720 like one or the other. And so it's like, Whoa, if I'm a 216 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,720 nurturer at heart, how can I build a relationship with 217 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:35,640 somebody who's only bulldog mode ever? And I love your advice on 218 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,240 that as we as we go into that advice, also drawing in the next 219 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,200 question, which is what's your vision for those that you serve? 220 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,800 Yeah, that's a really great question. And I think it brings 221 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,520 me back to, you know, in addition to private practice, I 222 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,680 was in house for almost five years, and I served as general 223 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:53,920 counsel to a billion dollar company, but we stood their 224 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,720 legal department up from scratch. So I was interfacing 225 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,720 with the executive team and everybody from the warehouse 226 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:04,400 workers, all the way to you know, the C suite. And you 227 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:08,600 really have to have the vision of the company in mind when 228 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:13,440 you're giving that legal advice. So being a strategic partner on 229 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:17,960 a general counsel level is you cannot be the Department of No, 230 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,840 and crush the dreams of the business, you have to find 231 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:25,520 creative solutions, you have to know when to play your card, 232 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,680 that's, you know, nope, this is the legal trump card, you cannot 233 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:33,240 do this. But you hold that and you do not, you don't take that 234 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:38,080 out unless you absolutely have to, right. And I think what it 235 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:42,160 taught me was how to be really collaborative with my clients. 236 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,520 And that's why forming a relationship with an attorney 237 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,520 when you're in sort of those preliminary stages of business 238 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,920 is so important, because you can share in that growth, that 239 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:56,560 strategic vision, like, Okay, let's, let's see how this is 240 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,120 going to impact your long term goal in what we're doing 241 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:04,760 legally. And even from, you know, planning for the next 242 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,640 year, how legal is going to integrate in that into that as 243 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:12,280 you scale, how you're going to, you know, successfully iterate 244 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:17,560 into more sophisticated types of contracts, relationships, and 245 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:22,240 then mature over time, as, as you grow with them, they grow 246 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:26,920 with you. So that's, and how that plays into sort of my 247 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:32,360 long term vision. I mean, I just want to be available to my 248 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:39,080 clients that find value in my advice. And those, those people 249 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:43,760 that take that at the beginning have just reaped the benefits of 250 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:47,640 it long term. And I can see how, you know, we've navigated 251 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,600 scenarios that they would have otherwise gotten in trouble for 252 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,760 and they have those funds to then use to reinvest in their 253 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,880 business. And it's sort of like marketing in a way like you 254 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:00,880 have, you can't view marketing as just an expense, right. And 255 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:05,320 it's an investment. And legal is a little bit, it's a lot like 256 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:10,400 that, really, it's an investment in you and your business, and 257 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:15,440 making sure that you're, you're putting up guardrails for 258 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,400 yourself, but also complying with, you know, the other 259 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:24,200 requirements under the law in other areas, you know, depending 260 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,600 on where your industry is, and it's, you know, it's on-dairy, 261 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,800 but that's where I fit in. 262 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:35,240 So you have this incredibly big vision for the company side, the 263 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,760 business side, and all of that. It reminds me, like the only 264 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,160 now, the best analogy I can think of is like that the giant 265 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,880 dome thing that Apple, you know, now has, like, that's a big 266 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,400 one, right. Then, then Tim Cook and the executives, they have 267 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,200 their own personal visions as well, things that they do 268 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,400 outside of that. What's your personal vision? 269 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:58,280 Gosh, I want the law spot to really serve as a hub for 270 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,240 resources for small business owners that can give a 271 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,960 customized legal experience without, you know, the 272 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:11,320 intimidation factor of a big firm. I have grand plans, you 273 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,840 know, I've just opened less than a year ago, myself, I've been 274 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:21,760 practicing for 12 years now, but I intend to use the legal 275 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:27,040 market, use tech, AI, all the things that are going to really 276 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:32,600 streamline legal services and take the crusty old white man 277 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,440 vision of a law firm and just, you know, turn it on its head. 278 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:40,120 That's really my vision. I want, I want it to be a new age 279 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:47,440 version. I want it to have value and just, there's so many 280 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,200 amazing tools that are on the legal market that firms have not 281 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:55,880 used. And that that's part of my model. That's part of what 282 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:00,680 savings I want to pass on to my clients. And the improvement in 283 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:05,280 how we deliver service to clients is all going to be, you 284 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:06,200 know, part of that vision. 285 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,640 Nice. Awesome. All right. Ready for this? Ready for this? Suits. 286 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:14,600 I don't know that. 287 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:16,040 You don't know the show Suits? 288 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:21,920 I've like seen like two episodes. It's hard for lawyers 289 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,320 to watch lawyer shows because they are not realistic in any 290 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:24,560 way. 291 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:34,040 Yeah, I would say, well, okay, so if we're going on plot, I would 292 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,080 say no. If we're going on actors, then like, you know, my 293 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:38,560 ability to watch it, I would say, 294 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:43,760 Yeah, that's right. Okay. That's fair. All right, moving into a 295 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,800 very heavy subjects. What's the worst leadership experience 296 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:48,560 you've ever had? 297 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:51,120 Oh, gosh. 298 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,760 I would say being given a leadership role and then not 299 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,960 having any actual control over a situation like a fake leadership 300 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,240 role, that is a really difficult position to be in. I feel like I 301 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:10,800 was, I had a situation where I was a partner in a firm, and I 302 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:15,320 had this title and this objective, but then I was kind 303 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:19,920 of, it was empty. People were not, it wasn't really my 304 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,200 vision. So having that title of leadership without having the 305 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:27,360 ability to execute is actually one of the reasons I chose to do 306 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:31,480 it myself. You know, I wanted the ability to make like 307 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,560 formative change and be impactful. And when you're not 308 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:39,720 empowered to do that, it makes it impossible. So yeah, yeah. 309 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,720 Well said. I agree. I think any small business owner who's 310 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:49,320 listening in, take note of this, your employees are likely in 311 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:53,560 that scenario. See it all the time, where people are given 312 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,360 titles that mean very little, or the title itself means 313 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:00,360 something, yet the tasks and the responsibilities and the 314 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:03,760 accountability is nowhere to be found. And that's often more on 315 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:08,040 the entrepreneur than we want to admit. But we have opportunities 316 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:13,320 there to avoid that with you also helping us just take a look 317 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,000 at it. What about the best leadership experience? What does 318 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,440 that look like? This could be yours, this could be somebody 319 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:21,400 you follow as well. It could be a TV show. 320 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:26,640 Well, I just, I think the opportunity to serve as the 321 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,880 general counsel was really impactful for me. Like that was 322 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,440 having, that was a position of authority where people actually 323 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,080 did take my advice, they respected my opinion. I had 324 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,800 built relationships over years with the people that I 325 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:46,680 eventually led. So the ability to sort of put those 326 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,400 relationships to the test in a leadership role where I had the 327 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:54,600 authority to do something was really meaningful. And I was a 328 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:58,200 small team in the legal department, but I felt like I was 329 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:03,360 a part of something much bigger. And having others that, you 330 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:06,600 know, were all aligned on the vision and really respected your 331 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:12,280 opinion, and seeing some of those objectives come to 332 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:15,800 fruition throughout the year was really cool. 333 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:22,400 That's awesome. All right. This question, I'll let you think 334 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:27,000 about it for a minute. If this was your last opportunity to 335 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,000 share a powerful lesson with other visionaries, what can they 336 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:35,600 learn from your experience? Oh, my, so the hardest thing about 337 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:41,400 my journey so far has actually been deciding to take the 338 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:46,240 journey. Like to me, it was the safety of corporate, the safety 339 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:51,240 of working for a firm, the benefit, like, and then I 340 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:56,840 struggled so much with, can I do this? Should I do this? Is this 341 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,240 the right time to do this? I mean, I'm a mother of three, my 342 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:04,680 husband's a lawyer, we have a mortgage and, and cars and a dog 343 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,360 and a cat and all these things, right. And it's like, if you 344 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:13,600 just make the decision, and you fall through on the decision, 345 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:18,200 like you are, you burn the boats, right? Like that, that 346 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,560 was the lesson I learned, I had to burn the boat, and just bank 347 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:27,320 on myself. And then every other decision is much easier at that 348 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:34,440 point. Hmm. Make the decision and follow through. I think that 349 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,040 recipe is extremely important to get right. Right, those 350 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,200 ingredients matter a lot if you're going to burn the boats, 351 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:45,960 make sure you make the decision and make sure that you follow 352 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,880 through. And that's that's good. I like that combination too. 353 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:54,560 All right. So if we were to talk about more specifically what you 354 00:22:54,560 --> 00:23:01,880 do, you know, getting qualified, customize legal services, you 355 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:06,480 know, what, what are some of the what are some of the things we 356 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,200 should be looking for? And the entity we're turning to, I know 357 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,080 this comes from a bias standpoint, but you know, you're 358 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,680 here now and other people, by the way, if you're listening, 359 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,600 feel free to contact myself or contact companies that are not 360 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,320 associated with your brand, right, go get unbiased feedback, 361 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,960 regarding this as well. But Melissa, from your perspective, 362 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:31,560 what should we be asking and looking for in a legal team? Or, 363 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,720 you know, for legal advice, if we need a legal team, do we not 364 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,040 those are I'm just gonna let you talk for a little while. 365 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,320 Yeah, I think that that really depends on where you're at in 366 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,840 your business. If you are extremely fresh, right, you need 367 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,080 somebody that's gonna, first of all, educate you. And if you 368 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:51,440 have the ability to, you know, just pour over some resources 369 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:55,080 and figure out the basics of business, like my first webinar 370 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:59,360 that I gave away was the basics of business blueprint. And it 371 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:01,760 was like, okay, this is these are the types of entities that 372 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,120 exist. These are the foundational contracts that you 373 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:08,840 will likely use for your business. And then this is the 374 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:13,720 protections that you can, you know, expect with intellectual 375 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,080 property, because no matter what, you are providing a 376 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:22,520 business, you're providing a service or product. webinar 377 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,800 still exists. It does, of course, yes. So something we 378 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:30,080 can access. Yes. And I think I put on my YouTube channel, but 379 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,240 I will verify after this. And then I add on the show notes to 380 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:37,200 that we have it. That was that was a good one. And then my 381 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:41,040 second one was diving in deeper to that trademark topic 382 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:42,840 specifically, because that's where I've spent a lot of my 383 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:49,040 practice. But if you it depends, the level of strategic legal 384 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,000 advice that you need, and the expertise that you need varies 385 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,800 by your industry. But if you're talking general counsel, right, 386 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,640 you need to know what you have to have the end in mind when 387 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:01,960 you're talking to your lawyer, what are you looking to build? 388 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,600 What is the end vision that you have? Do you want to take over 389 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,200 the world? Do you want to franchise? Do you want to just 390 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:15,320 have one store in Dallas, Texas, and that's all you ever want? 391 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,520 Do you want an online retail store? Do you want to ship 392 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:23,480 internationally? Like you have to have the vision when you talk 393 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,400 to your lawyer, because then they can actually guide you a 394 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,720 lot better. And if you don't have it, it's probably too 395 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:29,120 early. 396 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,600 And I'll double down on that too. In fact, I'm going to put 397 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,200 the light on the opposite side. If you're talking to a law 398 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,760 entity that does not naturally ask you about your vision, that's 399 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,880 not ask you about the end result. And they're more worried 400 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:47,320 about the consultation fees being paid. And they're not, 401 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,240 they don't take a sincere interest in what you're doing. 402 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:55,640 Run, right? Don't try to force that on the entity because 403 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,720 they're not going to get it. They just showed that they don't 404 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,440 get it. You don't learn how to ask great questions overnight. 405 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,560 It takes a sincere process of understanding listening 406 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,560 behaviors. So I would say that that's the other pieces, making 407 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:12,040 sure that that as you know, you go into that conversation with 408 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,440 a lawyer, ask them what's important to them, you know, 409 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,840 about the situation or how would we work together? What does 410 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,920 that look like? They can't answer that with that type of a 411 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,800 clarity that they care about what you do. I wouldn't I 412 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,720 wouldn't move forward, I would call another lawyer, you got a 413 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,240 thousand that you can call in your city. 414 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:31,040 Absolutely. And there are, and there's varying approaches. I 415 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,160 like that approach of my client, I like to know where they're at. 416 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,040 From a financial standpoint, I need to know where they're at 417 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:41,280 from, you know, a maturity standpoint, and then partnering 418 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:45,840 with them to integrate legal into what they're doing in a way 419 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:50,720 that meets their needs. And I might not, I might not be the 420 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:57,800 most, you know, cheapest option. But if you have this as a line 421 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,280 item in your budget, we can work through the highest and best 422 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,680 use of that budget, as you develop, like what you need for 423 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,920 your business, but you're going to need the right legal entity, 424 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:11,920 you're going to need the right foundational contracts, you're 425 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:16,360 going to need to consider IP. And those are the building blocks 426 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,440 of a solid foundation, getting those right, making sure that 427 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,280 you're protecting yourself that you're limiting your liability. 428 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:28,280 And then you can get into the fun stuff and and make sure that 429 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:33,280 you're you're going on that journey with them as they grow 430 00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:38,360 and take on new projects. Yes, absolutely. One of the one of the 431 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,880 challenges we face as entrepreneurs or business owners 432 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,680 is that those we fit ourselves into those giant boxes. And we 433 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:46,880 assume that it's kind of the same for everybody. I mean, I 434 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:51,800 did this years in the business I set out to create the ultimate 435 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,680 org chart, you know, organization board, like I'm 436 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,120 going to create a universal one. Everybody's going to be able to 437 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:01,440 fit into this because that will simplify the whole business 438 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:05,520 process for the world. And I was just a concept was an idea that 439 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,240 I had was a really crappy idea. You know, and I didn't realize 440 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,480 it until I started to dive into it. And then I started that was 441 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,120 like, wait a second. A restaurant owner has completely 442 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:22,000 different titles than a laundromat than a legal crap. This 443 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,480 doesn't wonder why it's so confusing. You know, and you 444 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,000 can't find great templates online. There's there's not, 445 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,760 there's not necessarily a one size fits all template, even 446 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,400 for a niche, you know, of an entity. So those those 447 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:40,200 realizations to what I'm getting at is when you're hiring a legal 448 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:45,240 team. That's again why it's so important to, to, to have that 449 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:48,280 conversation and time to talk with a legal entity so that they 450 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:52,240 understand how your business is totally different than all the 451 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,400 other business businesses that are even within your own niche. 452 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:56,600 You want to speak to that a little bit? 453 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,600 I do. That's, that's a really great point. And I am, you know, 454 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,640 I'm a small business owner myself, I understand that you 455 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,080 can find a good jillion different templates on the 456 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:10,360 internet. And, you know, you might, the problem is, if you 457 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,280 don't know what those provisions mean, or how they are actually 458 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:16,840 going to interplay in what you're doing, that it could be 459 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:22,320 really damaging. So you want to make sure that it's whatever 460 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,440 you're using is tailored. And it doesn't mean that you have to 461 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,680 you know, start from scratch necessarily, but you need to 462 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,920 make sure that that certain things are in place that are 463 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,560 going to protect you. So yes, I understand that there's 464 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,440 templates, but that is why even just the consult with an 465 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:45,200 attorney to go over it, and make sure that they understand your 466 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,800 business as it relates to the contract that you're using is 467 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,280 so important. Those two need to be married, they need to speak 468 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:57,960 to each other. And you every single word that's in an 469 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:04,680 agreement is there for a reason. It's there as a tool for you to 470 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:09,520 protect yourself or to get paid. I mean, and those are things 471 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,120 that you, you really want to be able to fall back on, hopefully 472 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,880 you won't have to. But having the document is much better 473 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,280 than not having it. Because if you don't, the state that you're 474 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,000 in has default rules that are not necessarily going to be in 475 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,560 your favor. So just if you don't have a contract, the state has 476 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:29,560 written one for you. 477 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:34,120 All right. And that's, that's another aspect about working 478 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,760 with attorneys versus being trying to self represent, as 479 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,920 I've seen. I've seen companies that have phenomenal legal 480 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:47,480 paperwork and processes on the surface, lose in court to 481 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,560 somebody who had a template, but then went and hired the right 482 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:55,920 attorney to save them from this terrible little agreement that 483 00:30:55,920 --> 00:31:00,600 they had. And so the attorney plays in this as well. I found 484 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:06,760 the paperwork often helps make sure that the expectations are 485 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,720 settled on so that the mediation process is just, you know, you 486 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:15,480 never have to actually get into the court process. You mentioned, 487 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,520 you mentioned, I think you mentioned physical products. 488 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,880 There was something that triggered my memory of, of, or 489 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,160 maybe it was doing business. You know what, I saw an article 490 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,720 that you have on your page and talks about doing business in 491 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,440 America as a Latin American organization. And so you did 492 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:34,720 this interview with somebody about that. I'll pull that up in 493 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:39,960 a minute. But I have a company that we're 44% equity owners in. 494 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:45,440 They're based in Canada, and they have supplements that will 495 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:49,680 be shipped to the United States. And we very much have that 496 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:52,400 relationship on cinch to the hose. Like it's on pause right 497 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:57,120 now. Because we have international tax challenges, we 498 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:01,080 have FDA regulation realities that we'll have to face. We need 499 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,600 quite the healthy budget in order to make sure we have the 500 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:08,080 right accountants and the right legal entities supporting us. So 501 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:13,480 we don't end up, I don't have a prison for one. And two, I don't 502 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,320 want to cause a bunch of problems that we could avoid if 503 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:20,520 we just have the right people around us to guide us. Does that 504 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:21,000 make sense? 505 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:26,920 Absolutely. Yeah. And that's where, you know, sometimes the 506 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:31,720 different types of lawyers, like if you, if you go someone that's 507 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,880 specific for two marketing products, international 508 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,680 products, right, they're going to have a lot of different 509 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,520 products. And so we're going to have resources related to 510 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:47,040 labeling, compliance, custom import, export. And I dealt with 511 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,280 a lot of that on the surface in house, because we imported a lot 512 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:56,920 from Asia. And we dealt with the Trump had implemented his import 513 00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:01,080 tax on steel, and we imported nails. And so we had all these 514 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:08,000 different customs issues. So that was, that was a whole mess. 515 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:13,200 But it's, it's important to pause if you're not sure, and 516 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,920 then, you know, form a plan, okay. And sometimes it's 517 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:21,240 collaborating with the, the tax professional as well as legal. 518 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:25,360 Like, not every lawyer is going to have expertise. But that is 519 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:29,040 where, okay, my general counsel hat comes on. I'm like, okay, I 520 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:33,520 can advise you on X, but I'm going to get you to Susie Q, 521 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,600 attorney at law who does that. And we're going to vet that 522 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,800 issue out because, you know, there's no, it's very unlikely 523 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,480 to find a lawyer that is going to be an expert in every single 524 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,000 thing, but they should be able to issue. 525 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,320 It's easy to find a lawyer who thinks they are. 526 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:53,440 Well, an issue spotting, issue spotting is the only thing that 527 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:57,640 you know, I'm obligated to do if I don't feel comfortable 528 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:00,480 doing something, I'm going to get you to the expert that can. 529 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:04,240 But that is a lot of the value that I provide my clients to. 530 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,640 It's not necessarily finding the answer. It's saying, nope, this 531 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:11,760 is a red flag. We need to vet that. I'm going to get you to my 532 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:16,560 contact here that can really vet that and make sure that you're 533 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:18,280 not going to get in trouble in that area. 534 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:22,120 Awesome. Again, for the visionaries who are more 535 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,680 entrepreneurial than business owner, I think this conversation 536 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:26,200 is going to be much more helpful. When I say the 537 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:28,160 difference between the two, for me, one of the big differences 538 00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:31,280 is a business owner usually has a local business or one type of 539 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,680 business. An entrepreneur usually has several businesses 540 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:37,000 and is a little bit more intricate, dynamic, complex, and 541 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:43,480 how they do things. So for the entrepreneurs out there, having 542 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:47,640 somebody like Melissa to kind of bat these questions off of, 543 00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:50,720 you know, even just, you know, kind of you're throwing, I'm 544 00:34:50,720 --> 00:34:53,640 throwing spaghetti against the wall in some respects, but 545 00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:57,800 there's this conference called VidCon. VidCon is one of the 546 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:02,080 number one, it's probably the number one platform for YouTube 547 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:06,760 influencers and creators to go to VidCon in California, mix and 548 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,160 mingle. There's thousands and thousands of people go. It's a 549 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:11,960 really cool event. And I got really lucky one day as I was 550 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:15,240 studying through the speakers that were there. And there's a 551 00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:21,120 lawyer that helps YouTube influencers with their mergers 552 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:24,840 and acquisition negotiations. And I was like, Whoa, that's 553 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:27,240 brilliant. Like you're going on my vendors list immediately. So 554 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:29,000 I reached out to her, she reached back out to me. It's 555 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,280 okay. I'm not a, I got like three subscribers on YouTube. So 556 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:36,360 I can understand why she didn't. But that's also one of those 557 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,960 areas where having legal support when you're in your contract 558 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:43,080 negotiations matters. Do you also assist with that? Or do you 559 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:43,680 refer that out? 560 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:48,920 I do. No, I and I support mostly if a deal gets big enough, 561 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:54,440 obviously, I do not have a huge team at the moment. But I have 562 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:59,000 resources for that. And that's where actually on the M&A side, 563 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:05,040 I think AI and tech can really improve those document reviews 564 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:10,240 and diligence processes long term. But yes, I have done M&A 565 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:14,240 work, mostly on the IP diligence, but also contract 566 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:19,000 reviews, and the purchase agreements. But typically, you 567 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:25,160 know, I would say the deals are below 20 million. So, you know, 568 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,080 above that, you probably need more. 569 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,320 Well, that was interesting that she also proposed just like 570 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,720 she's a negotiator. She's the kind of the sales engine behind 571 00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:37,880 it. And I was like, that's really, really helpful. You 572 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,400 know, to have both of those aspects. Naturally, you still 573 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,520 need everybody in the dialogue. It's a pretty complex sales 574 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,560 process when you're in that environment. That's one of the 575 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,400 things we've dreamed about one of our visions for first class 576 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:52,640 business is as people come in and work with us on more of a 577 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,560 freemium business model, where they can come in and get 578 00:36:55,560 --> 00:37:00,440 support at like unnaturally amazing levels of support, we 579 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:05,120 want to create an incubation process to where they get, you 580 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:07,560 know, they can't afford us, I know they can't afford us for 581 00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:10,880 the things that we do. So how do we orchestrate a rev share 582 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:15,200 model, an equity model, where we've also got the legal support, 583 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,600 not necessarily in house possibly, and I would hope within 584 00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:21,160 the next four or five, six months, we've got that legal 585 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:24,320 entity in house or when we're working with so closely that 586 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:27,960 the K one partnership agreements or any other type of agreement 587 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:32,000 we come up with, everybody's protected in the process, we're 588 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,280 protected, they're protected, they can still get a third 589 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:38,640 party to review it. But we have to we have to find the entity 590 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:42,600 who understands that that type of vision as well. You know, or 591 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:48,120 like go find some young lawyer who is super malleable, that 592 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,960 wants to prove themselves and come out of the gate, you know, 593 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:55,400 super well and sees the vision of of doing just that. Is that a 594 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:57,520 do you feel that's a very dangerous vision? Or do you feel 595 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,760 like that's something that would be helpful to businesses? Feel 596 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:02,600 free to speculate and shoot that down. 597 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:08,400 I mean, if you're creating a one stop shop for entrepreneurs, 598 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:13,160 to have their legal, legal needs and business support needs met. 599 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:17,160 I mean, I think that that aligns a lot with what I'm trying to 600 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:22,160 do, in terms of the the foundational elements for 601 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:29,640 businesses, giving them support, not just not just any support, 602 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:34,800 though the customized, really valuable partnership type 603 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,640 support that's going to take them to the next level of 604 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:42,120 whatever their vision is. And it doesn't have to be this grand 605 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,520 vision necessarily, it just has to be theirs. And they have to 606 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:50,040 know what it is. So that that's, I mean, 607 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:53,760 for me, sustainability has to be well rounded, right? You know, 608 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,560 and when I say well rounded, people love to oversimplify 609 00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:01,200 business, I always say it's business is a recipe book of 300 610 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:05,040 simple recipes. The complex nature of that is you have to 611 00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:08,160 cook the right recipes at the right time for the right people 612 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:10,800 and deliver it the right way. Like the complexities continue 613 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:14,200 to compound as you combine those realities together and have to 614 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:17,800 deliver upon it. So if I build a sustainable business model that 615 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,280 had no legal infrastructure, I mean, I might as well put a 616 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:24,320 house, you know, on top of the earth with no foundation. When 617 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:27,840 the storm comes, you know, that that house is insusceptible to 618 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,480 not having having all the sustainability built into it 619 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:35,760 swept away. So yeah, it's there's it's a huge part of what 620 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:39,480 we want to build. But I am not I am I should not be near the 621 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:40,440 legal department. 622 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:47,280 Well, that's okay. As long as you are aware that those things 623 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:51,240 need to be addressed, and that is in your playbook. And that is 624 00:39:51,240 --> 00:39:54,680 step one, the people that get in the most trouble are the ones 625 00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:58,960 that run without without thinking about this thing. And 626 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:03,400 they get their, you know, the wind taken out of their sails 627 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:07,120 when they get that season assist or whatever it is, and they were 628 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:13,200 you know, so passionate or far along. And I mean, I've had 629 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,120 people that happened to seven years later, and they've when 630 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,960 they've escalated to a point of like, being a player in the 631 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:24,800 market. And that's when somebody wants to knock you down because 632 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:28,920 you're actually making waves. Right. But if you haven't done 633 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,720 those things, exactly right. You're not a target when you're 634 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:36,320 not know. When you're not knowing nobody cares about you 635 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:40,160 once you're known, then everybody's gonna come after you 636 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,280 and not everybody but the people are going to come after you will 637 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:45,560 do so. And more importantly, if you think the scams that are 638 00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:49,400 hitting your email box right now are hard to decipher, just wait 639 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,640 till you Tony Robbins level. Right. And when you're Tony 640 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:56,000 Robbins level, now you got, you know, you don't you have white 641 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,560 collar criminals that are designing systems and things to 642 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:04,240 take Yeah, no business gets much harder. You get bigger and 643 00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:05,320 start to have success. 644 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:07,800 Don't threaten that market share. They'll come after you. 645 00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:11,760 Yeah, I'll be a little bit quiet, quieter about the rest of 646 00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:16,000 our discussion these plans. But now yeah, we we it's one thing 647 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:20,720 to have that lawyer attorney who is there for you, right and is 648 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:23,560 able to help you on on what you're doing. It's another to 649 00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:26,240 find one that has the type of vision that you have. Which 650 00:41:26,240 --> 00:41:28,520 again, it's so much more in line with what we're building towards 651 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:32,600 long term. And that's why I'm like, cool. Like, I, I don't 652 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:34,840 know, I think our automation connected us. I don't even know 653 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:39,040 how that happened. Did we connect on LinkedIn? Yeah, yeah. 654 00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:42,520 So that was that was that was great. Well served. Thanks, 655 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:46,320 Art. Art, we're gonna give you a big shout out for that. Good job. 656 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:51,040 So Melissa, we got a couple minutes left. Is there anything 657 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:54,400 else you'd like to dive into and share talk about for SMBs or 658 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:55,200 entrepreneurs? 659 00:41:55,880 --> 00:42:04,000 Gosh, I think I think really just the planning piece cannot be 660 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,680 underrated. You know, as we go into 2024, I'm like having into 661 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:12,600 I'm having into my my planning stage. So this is the time to 662 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:15,760 sort of do your audit. Even if you're an existing business 663 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:18,960 owner, you can still sort of dust off those contracts, dust 664 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:23,200 off those operating agreements and make sure that things 665 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:27,920 haven't necessarily changed. And if they have changed, then you 666 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,400 can do something about it. After the fact, you don't have to just 667 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:35,840 sit on things that are stale. And whatever that looks like for 668 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:39,080 you in terms of an audit or what you've got going on, your 669 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:42,680 business might not be the same as it was five years ago. So take 670 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:47,000 take some time, do the planning, do the work, maybe dust off your 671 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:50,720 vision, you know, maybe that end looks different than it did when 672 00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:53,680 you started. But that's, that's the beauty of being an 673 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:56,200 entrepreneur, you get to change it, you get to evolve and you 674 00:42:56,200 --> 00:43:00,080 get to, to make it whatever it is. But if you find yourself in a 675 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:04,880 position where you need support or resources, you know, 676 00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:08,760 obviously, first class business is there for you. And, and, you 677 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:12,320 know, that's how I'm looking to plug in with, with people as I 678 00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:12,800 grow mine. 679 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:17,520 Nice to see the last spot doing the same. So everybody, thank 680 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:22,000 you for joining us today on Vision Pros Live. Feel free to 681 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,040 go back in this episode, of course, and take notes on what 682 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:27,400 you've heard. I think it's important to gather what applies 683 00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:30,400 to you specifically. If you know an entrepreneur and you happen to 684 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:32,880 just dive in and listen to this, just tag them in this episode. 685 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:37,160 This is universally applicable to entrepreneurs, SMBs, there's a 686 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:40,080 lot of principles that were shared today. In addition to 687 00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:43,440 that, if you want to be on the show, if you've got a vision, 688 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:46,360 whether it's one you're dusting off or not, don't hesitate to 689 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:50,240 apply to be a guest on our show, because we're here to help make 690 00:43:50,240 --> 00:43:53,280 those visions come to come to reality. Like, that's one of the 691 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:57,040 big parts of why what we do is so important. But also what I've 692 00:43:57,040 --> 00:44:00,880 often seen is when you ask about their vision, just asking them 693 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:05,120 about it propels it forward. And so a lot of the people we talk 694 00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:07,600 to know they don't become clients, that's fine. They become 695 00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:12,000 people whose visions we can track long term and see like 696 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:14,800 where they're headed. And it's just a really rewarding process. 697 00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:17,280 So if you have a vision, come and share it with us. We'd love 698 00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:20,000 to have you. And thanks for joining us on another episode of 699 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,280 Vision Pros Live. Take care. Thank you for having me. Thank 700 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:25,680 you for being here today. I'm really happy that you tuned in 701 00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:29,520 to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions 702 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:32,320 as these episodes continue to move forward. This is going to 703 00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:35,120 get more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement 704 00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:37,920 as well. We'll invite people to participate in the show. And 705 00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:40,400 thank you for giving us your time and attention. Have an 706 00:44:40,400 --> 00:45:00,720 excellent day.