WEBVTT 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.300 Welcome to another episode of Networking Unleashed, 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.640 building profitable connections, where we explore 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:27.420 the people, principles, and conversations that 00:00:27.420 --> 00:00:31.839 move relationships and businesses forward. Today's 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:34.679 guest brings a perspective that's not just about 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:38.619 profit, but about protection, preparation, and 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:41.759 purpose. She's an expert in estate planning, 00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:45.149 but don't let the legal title fool you. Her work 00:00:45.149 --> 00:00:48.890 isn't about stuffy documents. It's about empowering 00:00:48.890 --> 00:00:52.729 families, guiding small business owners, and 00:00:52.729 --> 00:00:55.530 making sure our young adults enter the world 00:00:55.530 --> 00:01:00.030 equipped to thrive both personally and legally. 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:04.170 We're diving into some of the most overlooked 00:01:04.170 --> 00:01:07.890 conversations in both life and networking. Why 00:01:07.890 --> 00:01:10.909 estate planning matters, even if you're not rich. 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:14.760 How to build trust -driven relationships in a 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:18.780 profession where connection is everything. And 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:21.819 how a servant -hearted approach to networking 00:01:21.819 --> 00:01:25.599 doesn't just grow a business, it builds a legacy. 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:29.359 Whether you're a parent, a business owner, or 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:32.099 someone just trying to build smarter, stronger 00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:35.340 relationships, this episode is packed with real 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:39.260 talk and real takeaways. And I would like to 00:01:39.260 --> 00:01:42.859 introduce... I call her Dr. Kelly, but Dr. Kelly 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:46.000 King. I'd like to welcome you to the podcast 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.439 and give us a little bit about your background. 00:01:49.219 --> 00:01:52.319 Thank you so much, Michael, for. Firstly, having 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:56.379 this venture, doing your podcast and giving people 00:01:56.379 --> 00:01:58.959 an opportunity to chat about what's on their 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:01.439 hearts and what's important to them. But just 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:03.540 to share with you a little bit of my background, 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:07.439 I am a native New Yorker, born and raised in 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.500 New York. Yes, two thumbs up for that. And then 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:13.000 I went to school in New Hampshire. So I went 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.370 to Dartmouth College and then... the street and 00:02:16.370 --> 00:02:19.930 went to the medical school. And I am, in terms 00:02:19.930 --> 00:02:22.810 of all of the different titles, I am an obstetrician 00:02:22.810 --> 00:02:25.770 gynecologist. So I love bringing life into the 00:02:25.770 --> 00:02:29.409 world. I am a wife. I've been married for 20 00:02:29.409 --> 00:02:32.770 years, celebrated our 20th year anniversary this 00:02:32.770 --> 00:02:37.210 year. I am the mom of a 17 and 18 year old. And 00:02:37.210 --> 00:02:39.650 I will go into a little bit of that in terms 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:42.729 of why it's important to be Thinking about them 00:02:42.729 --> 00:02:44.629 right from the beginning, which was the estate 00:02:44.629 --> 00:02:47.509 planning part for me, and now thinking about 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:50.949 them as they are young adults. And so I'm doing 00:02:50.949 --> 00:02:53.909 some work to help parents like myself who are 00:02:53.909 --> 00:02:58.409 having kids who are young adulting. Mom of two 00:02:58.409 --> 00:03:03.490 dogs, a golden retriever and a labradoodle. So 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:05.330 those are just my backgrounds, but I'm also a 00:03:05.330 --> 00:03:08.259 business owner. I've been in business. Working 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:11.639 in the legal services arena, helping small business 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:15.580 owners, families, employee groups have affordable 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:18.159 legal protection. That's something that's also 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.599 very dear to me, and I've been doing this now 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:25.439 for over 15 years. Hard to believe. You'd never 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:29.939 know by looking at you. Thank you. I just want 00:03:29.939 --> 00:03:32.479 to say, because I am too a native New Yorker, 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:36.259 and I love talking to other native New Yorkers 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:39.180 who moved out of New York and into where we are 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:42.840 in Georgia. And I've been married almost 37 years. 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:46.879 Oh my goodness. Congratulations. You taught me, 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.840 but it's a good way to be. It's a good way. It's 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.360 a good way. Okay. Let's delve right into the 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:56.000 questions that I have prepared for you. Most 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.400 people think estate planning is just for the 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:04.740 wealthy. I'm sorry. Let's bust that myth. Why 00:04:04.740 --> 00:04:07.979 is estate planning actually critical for every 00:04:07.979 --> 00:04:12.330 family, regardless of net worth? I love that 00:04:12.330 --> 00:04:14.229 question, Michael. And I'll just share with you 00:04:14.229 --> 00:04:16.410 a little bit of my journey. My husband and I, 00:04:16.430 --> 00:04:19.069 we got started doing estate planning actually 00:04:19.069 --> 00:04:21.889 when I was pregnant. We had heard about estate 00:04:21.889 --> 00:04:25.290 planning. I was really blessed to have parents 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:29.209 who had done estate planning. Both of my parents 00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:32.209 did a will and they did a trust. And I will tell 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:34.610 you, when they passed away and they were not 00:04:34.610 --> 00:04:37.680 rich by any... standard that we would think of 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:40.100 as rich. My mom was a registered nurse. My dad 00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:42.899 worked for the New York Department of Transportation 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:46.740 for many decades. And so they would be, I would 00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:49.240 say, comfortably middle class, right? So there 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:53.079 was no huge estate. But when they passed away, 00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:56.519 for my family, for my sister and I, and then 00:04:56.519 --> 00:05:00.360 for my stepbrothers, everything was clear. We 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.680 didn't have to argue. We didn't have to fight. 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:05.439 We knew where everything was. There was a sense 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:10.079 of peace and transparency at their passing. And 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:12.899 it was a beautiful thing that they left that 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:16.360 legacy for us, which wasn't millions of dollars, 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:19.319 but a legacy of having a family that was still 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:23.439 cohesive after the passing of my parents because 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:26.540 they had that plan in place. But for me, again, 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:29.600 I knew about it. It was always peripherally in 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:31.600 my head. This is something that I should do. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:34.439 But both my husband and I are obstetricians and 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.850 gynecologists. And we knew that while Life is 00:05:37.850 --> 00:05:40.290 beautiful. We also know that it's not guaranteed. 00:05:41.230 --> 00:05:44.490 And so I wanted to have a plan in place that 00:05:44.490 --> 00:05:47.509 had nothing to do initially with money. It had 00:05:47.509 --> 00:05:50.870 everything to do with the fact that when my son 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:55.089 was born, I wanted a very clear plan about who 00:05:55.089 --> 00:05:58.129 would raise him if for some reason my husband 00:05:58.129 --> 00:06:00.009 and I were not going to be able to raise him, 00:06:00.050 --> 00:06:04.129 right? We knew that a part of the will is also 00:06:04.129 --> 00:06:07.769 appointing a guardian for your children if you 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:10.170 pass away and you cannot raise them. That was 00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:12.180 the number one. one reason that we did a state 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:14.899 plan. It had nothing to do with money. Now that 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:18.370 being said, Everything that we worked hard for, 00:06:18.550 --> 00:06:23.569 we wanted to clearly pass down to first my son 00:06:23.569 --> 00:06:25.470 and then my daughter about a year and a half 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:28.110 later. We didn't want there to be confusion about 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:30.550 it. We knew particularly when they were young, 00:06:30.649 --> 00:06:33.170 how would they know what we had and what to do 00:06:33.170 --> 00:06:37.029 and where to go? So we wanted it to be clear. 00:06:37.170 --> 00:06:39.889 Whether you have a lot of money or a little bit 00:06:39.889 --> 00:06:43.430 of money, if you have someone you love and care 00:06:43.430 --> 00:06:46.779 about, you should get estate planning done. Leave 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:49.600 the need for whether you need to have super estate 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:52.779 planning done for that later time. But everybody 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:56.240 18 and above should have a plan in place for 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.680 leaving, for making sure that the people that 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:01.579 they love know what they have and how they foresee 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:05.639 that those assets going. And particularly if 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:07.779 you have children under the age of 18, you need 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:10.639 to think of estate planning in terms of the guardianship 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:15.680 part of it. So twofold. I agree a thousand percent. 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:20.000 I used to think that just having a will was all 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:23.879 I needed. And it wasn't until later on that I 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:27.620 got a trust. My wife and I did a trust. And for 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:30.160 my two children, I understand the importance. 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:33.079 And it's like having a left and a right shoe. 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:36.199 You have one shoe on, but what about the other 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:39.199 shoe? And I think a will and a trust work together 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:43.430 just like that. Okay, so. What are some of the 00:07:43.430 --> 00:07:47.250 biggest mistakes families make by waiting too 00:07:47.250 --> 00:07:50.529 long to plan? And how can a simple conversation 00:07:50.529 --> 00:07:55.069 now prevent major heartbreak later? Absolutely. 00:07:55.250 --> 00:07:59.370 Another great question, Michael. I am a big believer 00:07:59.370 --> 00:08:03.310 the best time to have these conversations is 00:08:03.310 --> 00:08:07.370 when everyone is healthy, everyone is well. It 00:08:07.370 --> 00:08:10.920 feels very... confrontational and uncomfortable 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:15.100 when the conversations happen when either two 00:08:15.100 --> 00:08:17.939 things are happening. Someone is ill, they're 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:20.660 not doing well, or quite frankly, the conversation 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:23.779 never happened and it's too late. So the best 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:27.019 time to have these conversations is when everybody 00:08:27.019 --> 00:08:30.939 is okay. It's less threatening. We're really 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:34.539 just talking about finances in our future. I 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:36.700 like to have people have conversations. Some 00:08:36.700 --> 00:08:39.039 people are very direct when they're having a 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:41.340 conversation about estate planning and they'll 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:44.539 say, hey, this is what I envision at the time 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:47.379 of my passing and let's have a conversation about 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:51.100 it. Other times it's easier to start the conversation 00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:54.179 when something has happened maybe to someone 00:08:54.179 --> 00:08:57.940 else, maybe a neighbor. maybe a friend, maybe 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:00.320 you hear something on TV and you say, you know 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:04.759 what? That incident reminds me that you and I 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:07.720 need to have this conversation about what we 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:10.720 envision at our passing. Again, it's a very non 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.799 -threatening way to bring these things up before 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:16.960 it's too late. Now, I don't believe it's ever 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:20.320 too late. Even if someone is ill or you're ill, 00:09:20.500 --> 00:09:22.519 it's still okay to bring up the conversation, 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.580 right? But at the same time, it's actually better 00:09:25.580 --> 00:09:29.480 to bring it up before those critical moments 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:31.919 when it becomes a little bit more uncomfortable. 00:09:32.379 --> 00:09:35.139 I got my first estate planning done again when, 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.460 actually I said when I was pregnant, we could 00:09:37.460 --> 00:09:40.820 not leave something to my son until he was born. 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:43.799 So we had all of the paperwork ready to go. And 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:45.769 then as soon as, he was born, we were able to 00:09:45.769 --> 00:09:49.750 put his name in as the beneficiary. And then 00:09:49.750 --> 00:09:51.649 when my daughter was born, then of course it 00:09:51.649 --> 00:09:53.950 became 50 -50. So we're pretty simple. It was 00:09:53.950 --> 00:09:56.990 50 -50 split, but we had those conversations, 00:09:57.190 --> 00:10:00.730 obviously, and my kids are now 17 and 18, well 00:10:00.730 --> 00:10:03.830 before it needed to happen, but that's the best 00:10:03.830 --> 00:10:07.730 time to do it. It is. I agree that you should 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:10.730 have that conversation when everybody's healthy, 00:10:10.909 --> 00:10:13.909 when everybody is sound mind and that you can 00:10:13.909 --> 00:10:17.090 discuss it rationally. It gets a little sticky 00:10:17.090 --> 00:10:21.009 when somebody gets sick and that's where problems 00:10:21.009 --> 00:10:23.889 begin. But you're right. It's never too late. 00:10:23.990 --> 00:10:28.750 Never too late. OK, let's shift to networking. 00:10:29.470 --> 00:10:33.350 How has building genuine relationships helped 00:10:33.350 --> 00:10:36.529 you grow your estate planning business in a field 00:10:36.529 --> 00:10:41.009 where trust is absolutely everything? Absolutely. 00:10:41.049 --> 00:10:44.490 I will just say in general, networking is at 00:10:44.490 --> 00:10:48.309 the core of building my business in general. 00:10:48.429 --> 00:10:52.590 I have found that like many people, we all live 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:56.509 in a pool where people do something similar to 00:10:56.509 --> 00:10:59.850 what you do. It is pretty rare to have a business 00:10:59.850 --> 00:11:03.190 where what you do is the you're the only one 00:11:03.190 --> 00:11:06.570 you're the. only one who created this thing, 00:11:06.730 --> 00:11:08.750 right? As soon as you're the only one who creates 00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:10.250 it, someone else is going to come along with 00:11:10.250 --> 00:11:13.210 it anyway. So we all live in a world where there 00:11:13.210 --> 00:11:15.830 are people who do something similar. And the 00:11:15.830 --> 00:11:19.490 ability to network and to have relationships 00:11:19.490 --> 00:11:22.750 with people is, in my opinion, the thing that 00:11:22.750 --> 00:11:26.029 helps people to distinguish themselves within 00:11:26.029 --> 00:11:28.649 a certain community. It's the way that people 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:32.279 can truly get to understand who you are. understand 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:35.539 what your passion is, and even understand your 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:38.120 business above that superficial understanding 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:41.240 of what it is that you do. So I feel like it's 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:43.759 one of the most efficient and effective ways 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:48.000 to create a unique voice around what you're doing 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.820 because then people get to know who you are uniquely 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:55.759 and not just what your business does. So I think 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:59.279 that sums it up for... Any part of someone who's 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:01.860 a business owner, networking should be on their 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:04.279 list of things to do to be able to grow their 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:08.080 business. I've said it a thousand times and I'll 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.879 probably say it a thousand more. I feel that 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:15.000 networking is the base of all businesses. And 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:18.120 if you don't do it correctly. You're leaving 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.000 money on the table, but you're leaving more. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:24.980 You can do so much more for somebody else. And 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:27.659 we'll get into networking with a servant's heart 00:12:27.659 --> 00:12:31.940 later on. But there is so much more that you 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:33.820 can do for somebody else than somebody can do 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:36.740 for you. And you have no pressure. You have no 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:39.399 pressure. It's doing good. And like I said, we'll 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:41.779 get to it later on the podcast. But that's a 00:12:41.779 --> 00:12:44.500 beautiful way of looking at the networking. Estate 00:12:44.500 --> 00:12:48.639 planning isn't just paperwork. It's deeply personal, 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:53.039 as you just shared. How do you network in a way 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.019 that builds the kind of trust required to talk 00:12:56.019 --> 00:13:00.519 about life, death, and legacy? So that's a difficult 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:04.600 question. And so I think my role in networking 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:09.100 and introducing the concept of legal services 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:14.299 is more on that level. How are legal services 00:13:14.299 --> 00:13:17.460 valuable to you? Now, I can only know that by 00:13:17.460 --> 00:13:20.419 networking and getting to know that person. I 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:24.440 can't, I can assume. It is valuable to everybody, 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:26.980 right? And that's where I think people go wrong. 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.779 Let's say what I have is good for everyone and 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:32.480 they leave it at that. But you don't really know 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:35.240 what's truly good for people until you actually 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:38.500 get to know them at some level. And I think that's 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:40.899 where networking comes in. Now that I've had 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:43.179 an opportunity to know you, now that I have an 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:46.080 opportunity to know that you have underage children, 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:48.240 now that I have an opportunity to know that you 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:49.980 have adult children, you've got grandchildren, 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:54.159 that helps me. to really act as a consultant 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:58.460 to see how I can best serve them with the legal 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:01.419 services, whether it be estate planning part 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:04.500 of what my legal services offer or whether they 00:14:04.500 --> 00:14:07.120 be a business owner and they're looking to trademark. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:09.879 I can't know that until I have a relationship 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:12.559 with someone to know what their needs would be. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:15.279 Otherwise, it's like what you feel like sometimes 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:17.720 when you go into a store, people are just trying 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:20.279 to sell you anything and everything, but they 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:22.740 don't really know what your needs are. So I think 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:24.519 that would be the way that I would put it as 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.620 you've got to understand people's needs to be 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:30.559 able to serve them. whether it be estate planning 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:34.039 or it be creating a website, right? That's not 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:35.960 what I do, but I'm just saying you have to know 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:38.080 what the person's needs are. And I think networking 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:40.120 gives you the opportunity to know what their 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:43.080 needs are. And it also builds in some ways, Michael, 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:45.960 that trust relationship, right? Because when 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:49.480 you know someone. you're going to trust that 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:51.000 they're going to be looking out for your best 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.620 interests. And I think that's a critical part 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:56.460 of both the conversation about estate planning 00:14:56.460 --> 00:14:59.240 and legal services, because that's one part of 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:01.759 the legal services is estate planning, but also 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.320 that relationship with the other person. It bridges 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:08.639 those two things together. I always say before 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:11.700 the pandemic, which was only five years ago, 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:15.289 networking was very transactional. It's like, 00:15:15.289 --> 00:15:17.090 what you do for me, what I can do for you, so 00:15:17.090 --> 00:15:20.450 on and so forth. Ever since the pandemic, everybody 00:15:20.450 --> 00:15:23.809 was shut in and everybody has to get out. And 00:15:23.809 --> 00:15:27.230 now it's no longer building your customer base, 00:15:27.450 --> 00:15:31.110 but a relationship base. And you have to build 00:15:31.110 --> 00:15:33.950 that relationship with customers because once 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:36.669 you build a relationship, you have that person 00:15:36.669 --> 00:15:40.809 for life. If your networking is just transactional, 00:15:40.850 --> 00:15:43.730 your customer is your customer for as long as 00:15:43.730 --> 00:15:47.490 you have that peace. And you no longer have that 00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:51.470 relationship. So I feel what you're saying. Networking 00:15:51.470 --> 00:15:54.309 is all relationships. And again, that's what 00:15:54.309 --> 00:15:57.600 I live my life by. Okay, you've also made it 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:00.940 a mission to prepare young adults legally for 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:05.740 the real world. What are a few things most parents 00:16:05.740 --> 00:16:11.559 don't know but absolutely should? I love that 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:13.559 question because I'm living that world right 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:18.879 now. So my son turned 18 in January and very 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.330 shortly after he turned 18, I remember receiving 00:16:22.330 --> 00:16:25.629 something from the pediatrician's office about, 00:16:25.750 --> 00:16:29.490 hey, you no longer have access to his information. 00:16:29.789 --> 00:16:32.570 And there were a few other things, little reminders 00:16:32.570 --> 00:16:37.529 that my baby was now an adult. And I will tell 00:16:37.529 --> 00:16:42.750 you, I totally respect that our kids grow up. 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:46.360 And they do become adults and they should and 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:50.120 can make their own decisions. The question for 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.879 parents of young adults is if something catastrophic 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:58.139 happens and they're not in a position to make 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:02.019 medical decisions or to maintain their finances, 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:06.799 do you have the automatic right to step in? And 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:10.519 the answer is after 18, you don't. So what you 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:12.880 have to do, and we don't think about this, we 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:17.940 just assume I'm the mom, I'm the dad. Of course 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:22.539 I can step in, but legally you cannot. So you 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:26.420 want to have things set up ahead of time in collaboration 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:30.910 with your young adults that If this should happen 00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:34.410 or if that should happen, we want it to be clear 00:17:34.410 --> 00:17:36.589 to the courts, to the doctors, to the medical 00:17:36.589 --> 00:17:40.430 authority that you are giving permission for 00:17:40.430 --> 00:17:43.930 mom, dad, sister, brother, whomever it is that 00:17:43.930 --> 00:17:47.349 you trust to step in and help you to make decisions 00:17:47.349 --> 00:17:50.130 that perhaps you can't make at that time. There's 00:17:50.130 --> 00:17:53.269 unfortunately situations that kids get into, 00:17:53.410 --> 00:17:56.849 whether it be a car accident or some other type 00:17:56.849 --> 00:17:59.109 of medical situation where they're not not able 00:17:59.109 --> 00:18:02.809 to speak for themselves, who then steps in their 00:18:02.809 --> 00:18:05.569 place. And so we think it's important, not we 00:18:05.569 --> 00:18:09.230 think, I know it's important for parents and 00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:11.089 for young adults to have these conversations 00:18:11.089 --> 00:18:13.549 because mom and dad are not going to be automatic 00:18:13.549 --> 00:18:18.670 anymore to talk about that medical power of attorney, 00:18:18.970 --> 00:18:22.890 to talk about adorable power of attorney. When 00:18:22.890 --> 00:18:26.569 my son went away to college, I was expecting 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:31.069 the tuition to come to me. And I was like, okay, 00:18:31.109 --> 00:18:33.609 everything else has come, but the tuition didn't 00:18:33.609 --> 00:18:35.589 come. And I was like, okay, let me call the school. 00:18:35.869 --> 00:18:39.190 Turns out they said something that I thought 00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:43.309 was profound. They said the tuition is his responsibility, 00:18:43.450 --> 00:18:47.849 but as a parent, if you'd like to have access, 00:18:48.150 --> 00:18:51.390 he has to sign a waiver. At first I was like, 00:18:51.490 --> 00:18:55.640 yes. The tuition is his responsibility. And then 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:59.380 I was like, no, he can't pay the tuition. So 00:18:59.380 --> 00:19:03.380 he had to sign that waiver to say that I can 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:06.660 step in and help assist him. Those sound like 00:19:06.660 --> 00:19:08.799 small, but they're critical things. What they 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:12.460 are telling us as parents is he or she is responsible. 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:16.819 But we also need to be reminded that 18, 19, 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.500 20 year olds may not have the. financial ability 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:24.220 to be fully responsible. So you do need to have 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:26.759 some of these waivers put in place so that you 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:29.839 can come alongside your young adult, helping 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:32.660 to set them up for success and helping to be 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:36.960 by their side if you're needed. Again, I am very 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.460 careful that I want, we raise our children to 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:43.559 become independent, but we also understand it 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:46.519 doesn't happen right at that one date in time. 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:51.059 It's a transition. It's adulting. So that's part 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:54.660 of some of my things. I am actually doing some 00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:58.279 webinars. We'll be talking about HIPAA, durable 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:00.880 power of attorney, medical power of attorney, 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.210 FERPA, all of these terms that maybe parents 00:20:04.210 --> 00:20:06.750 of young adults don't know, or young adults don't 00:20:06.750 --> 00:20:10.289 know themselves. Yeah, no, that's good. And really, 00:20:10.369 --> 00:20:13.009 at the end of the podcast, I want you to give 00:20:13.009 --> 00:20:16.789 me all of that. But let me continue. In your 00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:20.269 experience, what are the best kinds of networking 00:20:20.269 --> 00:20:24.150 environments for building long term, meaningful 00:20:24.150 --> 00:20:27.509 business referrals, especially in a service based 00:20:27.509 --> 00:20:31.960 profession like yours? That is a hard one, and 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:36.539 I'm going to answer it in part. I'm going to 00:20:36.539 --> 00:20:39.480 say I participate in both what's called open 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:42.839 networking, things like your Chamber of Commerce's. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:45.099 There's so many different open networking, and 00:20:45.099 --> 00:20:47.980 open networking just simply means that there 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:51.880 may be. There may be multiple people in your 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:54.299 industry that are coming to the event. There's 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:57.440 not as many strict criteria for it. It's open. 00:20:57.500 --> 00:21:00.200 You just come and read from it whatever you can 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:03.680 get. Now, I like open networking in the sense 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:07.140 that... You see a lot of new faces. You have 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:09.640 the ability to connect with a lot of new people. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:12.680 But sometimes if you've been to open networking, 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:15.700 it can get a little bit transactional. People 00:21:15.700 --> 00:21:18.660 come and maybe they don't understand how networking 00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:21.460 really works. And they're just passing out business 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:24.079 cards and they're just sharing all of the information 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:27.000 about themselves, not understanding that it needs 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.809 to be a two -way street. Again, the benefit is 00:21:29.809 --> 00:21:32.710 that it tends to be vibrant. It tends to be different 00:21:32.710 --> 00:21:35.809 people coming in so you can get to know new people. 00:21:35.970 --> 00:21:38.690 Now, I also participate in closed networking. 00:21:38.769 --> 00:21:42.009 Closed just simply means that there's one seat 00:21:42.009 --> 00:21:45.009 per industry. Some of the beauty of that is that 00:21:45.009 --> 00:21:49.130 you're not competing within that space with someone 00:21:49.130 --> 00:21:51.410 who does something very similar, exactly the 00:21:51.410 --> 00:21:54.269 same as you. Closed networking tends to be very 00:21:54.269 --> 00:21:57.450 intentional because Not that you are forced, 00:21:57.569 --> 00:22:00.650 but you are monitored. I like to use that word 00:22:00.650 --> 00:22:03.130 based on how many times you get together with 00:22:03.130 --> 00:22:05.849 someone, how many referrals you pass out, attendance. 00:22:06.250 --> 00:22:09.150 And those have that benefit. But sometimes that 00:22:09.150 --> 00:22:11.930 can get a little stagnant for people. There's 00:22:11.930 --> 00:22:14.289 not as many people coming and going. And both 00:22:14.289 --> 00:22:16.650 of those have pluses and minuses. And I think 00:22:16.650 --> 00:22:21.390 that people who intend to add networking to their 00:22:21.390 --> 00:22:25.089 marketing strategy. or even their growth strategy 00:22:25.089 --> 00:22:27.269 as a business owner, because I say networking 00:22:27.269 --> 00:22:30.930 is not even always about the business you will 00:22:30.930 --> 00:22:33.339 get. It should be about that. as the primary 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:36.960 reason. But sometimes we all need to grow as 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.279 business owners. And in networking events, when 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:42.140 I'm growing as a business owner, I'm learning 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:44.839 something. Someone is teaching me something. 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:47.700 I'm still benefiting, even if it wasn't directly 00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:51.259 a client that I got. But going back to the question, 00:22:51.660 --> 00:22:54.380 I think people, including myself, have to choose 00:22:54.380 --> 00:22:58.220 which environment just feels right at its core. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:02.880 And I've been in networking events where I just 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:06.619 felt at its core, it just did not fit for me. 00:23:07.019 --> 00:23:10.980 Maybe it was very clicky or maybe it was people 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:13.279 who had been there a bazillion years and they 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:16.480 really weren't allowing new faces to come in 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.339 and to contribute. And then I've been in others 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:21.769 where, again, it was just. People are just buzzing 00:23:21.769 --> 00:23:23.630 around, but they're not making true connections. 00:23:23.970 --> 00:23:26.250 I feel that you should have your own criteria 00:23:26.250 --> 00:23:28.990 for it. You should give it some time. You need 00:23:28.990 --> 00:23:31.329 to come back several times to really find out 00:23:31.329 --> 00:23:33.890 if it's the right event for you. But you need 00:23:33.890 --> 00:23:38.329 to feel like at its core, you can both give and 00:23:38.329 --> 00:23:41.609 receive. If you're in an event and you're not 00:23:41.609 --> 00:23:44.150 willing to give and you might not be the right 00:23:44.150 --> 00:23:46.210 person in that event, it might not be the event. 00:23:46.289 --> 00:23:48.609 It just may not be that maybe that you're not 00:23:48.609 --> 00:23:50.630 the right person in that event. But I think you 00:23:50.630 --> 00:23:53.049 need to feel out which environment is good for 00:23:53.049 --> 00:23:58.029 you. I agree about the open and closed networking. 00:23:58.410 --> 00:24:01.769 And I also feel that everybody should actually 00:24:01.769 --> 00:24:05.269 take part in. Both of them, because both of them 00:24:05.269 --> 00:24:08.710 bring something else. I belong to a few networking 00:24:08.710 --> 00:24:11.269 groups, one of which comes to mind. It's called 00:24:11.269 --> 00:24:16.240 The Local Link. you know, happens to be founded 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:19.799 by yourself. And you've created a networking 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:24.900 group that really, I've seen it from 15 people 00:24:24.900 --> 00:24:27.940 to about, I think, 60 people was our largest 00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:31.279 one. It has really grown because people feel 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:35.940 the need that they need to go out and show what 00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:39.640 they have. And quite honestly, about three quarters 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:43.720 of them. don't know how to network. They don't 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:46.779 know what to say, what to do. I hope last week 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:49.400 was a little opening for them so that they can 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:53.799 understand what true networking is. But it's 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:58.059 a skill that they have to get better at. And 00:24:58.059 --> 00:25:00.259 the only way they can get better at or people 00:25:00.259 --> 00:25:05.119 can get better is practice. You go out to different... 00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:07.799 networking events, listen, the first time you 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:10.440 go out, you're going to suck. It's going to be 00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:13.839 horrible. It's going to be so bad, but you just 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:16.519 take the good from it. The next time they get 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:17.920 a little bit better, a little bit better, a little 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:19.539 better. And after a while, you're going to say, 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:23.500 this is easy. This is a piece of cake and everybody's 00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:28.380 going to do it. Okay. So what does a great networking 00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:31.950 connection look like for you? And how do you 00:25:31.950 --> 00:25:35.509 nurture those relationships beyond the handshake 00:25:35.509 --> 00:25:39.970 or business card? Yeah, I'll start with the nurturing 00:25:39.970 --> 00:25:42.690 part of it. So the nurturing part of it for me 00:25:42.690 --> 00:25:45.809 means sitting down with people outside of the 00:25:45.809 --> 00:25:48.750 networking event. Networking events are great 00:25:48.750 --> 00:25:52.130 ways to make introductions for people to know 00:25:52.130 --> 00:25:56.289 on a... high scale what you do, but the way to 00:25:56.289 --> 00:25:58.670 really get to know about a person and for them 00:25:58.670 --> 00:26:01.289 to get to know about you is after the networking 00:26:01.289 --> 00:26:04.170 event. So if you've heard the term before, one 00:26:04.170 --> 00:26:07.730 -to -ones, it just means After the event, let's 00:26:07.730 --> 00:26:10.309 sit down for coffee. Let's sit down for a Zoom 00:26:10.309 --> 00:26:13.049 and have a conversation where we can both go 00:26:13.049 --> 00:26:15.710 into more details. And I feel like everybody 00:26:15.710 --> 00:26:19.329 who does networking needs to have a plan in place 00:26:19.329 --> 00:26:22.170 to do that. Again, it shouldn't be everybody 00:26:22.170 --> 00:26:25.150 at the networking event. It should truly be you 00:26:25.150 --> 00:26:28.609 choosing people that you feel like you can give 00:26:28.609 --> 00:26:32.160 to them. and potentially receive for them. And 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:34.480 that falls into the second part of your question, 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:38.140 which is what do those people look like for you 00:26:38.140 --> 00:26:44.640 or for me? And for me, it would be the best connections 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:47.700 are people who cannot just connect me directly 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:51.440 to themselves, which is that one -to -one interaction, 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:56.859 but people who have a client base, a family base. 00:26:57.289 --> 00:27:00.450 or a PTA base where they can then connect me 00:27:00.450 --> 00:27:03.690 to others who need my services. And I think that's 00:27:03.690 --> 00:27:06.769 a really key takeaway too for people who network. 00:27:07.329 --> 00:27:10.170 Please remember when you are networking with 00:27:10.170 --> 00:27:12.910 someone, they're also networking with you. And 00:27:12.910 --> 00:27:16.569 so if you approach people all the time, you need 00:27:16.569 --> 00:27:19.869 my services, it can be something that kind of 00:27:19.869 --> 00:27:22.579 really puts people back. on their feet. Whoa, 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:24.819 wait a second. I'm really just connecting to 00:27:24.819 --> 00:27:27.059 get to know you or to see how I can pass referrals 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:30.240 your way. Now, sometimes that person really does 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:33.079 need your services. And as you're talking, they're 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:34.920 like, you know what? I needed that yesterday. 00:27:35.140 --> 00:27:38.640 By all means, nothing wrong with that. But I 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:41.480 feel like what we should mostly be looking for 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:44.180 are people who can connect us to other people. 00:27:44.359 --> 00:27:48.549 So for me, with estate planning, Financial advisors 00:27:48.549 --> 00:27:51.829 are great connectors. Usually financial advisors 00:27:51.829 --> 00:27:54.690 are advising people about the here and the now, 00:27:54.750 --> 00:27:57.269 but they're also advising about the future and 00:27:57.269 --> 00:27:59.859 the future that involves. involves them not being 00:27:59.859 --> 00:28:02.400 there. So often they are referring people to 00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:05.160 estate planning attorneys or other people who 00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:07.960 can do those services. People who are in real 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:10.380 estate, real estate is also good because they're 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:13.339 dealing with families. And what do families have? 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.500 Kids. And those are things that might be on the 00:28:16.500 --> 00:28:19.400 minds of families is, hey, I know you just bought 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:22.440 this amazing home. But I want to make sure you 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:24.680 speak to someone about making sure that your 00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:27.240 legacy doesn't end with just purchasing the home. 00:28:27.339 --> 00:28:29.960 Insurance agents, because people who are thinking 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:32.900 about insurance are thinking about protection. 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:35.779 People who are thinking about protection are 00:28:35.779 --> 00:28:40.180 also good potential referral clients. So for 00:28:40.180 --> 00:28:44.400 me, yes, that mom who has a kid in college is 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:47.740 a great connection. But more importantly, if 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:49.920 that mom who has a kid in college is a great 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:52.579 connection for my adulting, if they are connected 00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:55.799 to other parents, if they're part of the PTA, 00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:59.420 if they're part of the community where they can 00:28:59.420 --> 00:29:02.339 say, hey, what Dr. Kelly's offering is a valuable 00:29:02.339 --> 00:29:05.460 service, I want to spread the word or spread 00:29:05.460 --> 00:29:09.299 referrals her way. That is honestly the best 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:12.500 way to build your business and for me to build 00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:16.190 my business. the very easy way to think about 00:29:16.190 --> 00:29:19.869 everything you just said, right? Because you 00:29:19.869 --> 00:29:25.089 said not only, you can't think of it as you're 00:29:25.089 --> 00:29:28.529 expanding your network. You have to change places 00:29:28.529 --> 00:29:31.789 with the other person. You have to say, how can 00:29:31.789 --> 00:29:35.529 I become part of their network? Because their 00:29:35.529 --> 00:29:40.700 network involves. XYZ people. So you have to 00:29:40.700 --> 00:29:44.039 be part of their network for them to refer you. 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:47.640 So just a little mindset change, but it's an 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:51.279 important one. Very important. I love that because 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:55.559 we all have a Rolodex of maybe 200 people that 00:29:55.559 --> 00:29:57.599 dates me when I say a Rolodex, but you know what 00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:02.059 I mean? I was just going to say that. But imagine 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:05.539 those. 200 people have 200 of their own. We've 00:30:05.539 --> 00:30:09.460 now expanded our network. And I think maybe as 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:11.579 you were mentioning, Michael, prior to the pandemic, 00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:14.299 we only thought about the 200 people. What can 00:30:14.299 --> 00:30:17.079 you do for me? And I'm going to expand my network 00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:20.700 one by one. But if we change and flip that concept 00:30:20.700 --> 00:30:24.400 around to I'm expanding my network by being a 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:26.980 part of their network, now we've multiplied, 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:32.839 right? We haven't just added. Very true. But 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:36.160 it's a mindset. And if you can change that mindset, 00:30:36.339 --> 00:30:39.099 not only the person who you're talking to, but 00:30:39.099 --> 00:30:43.420 your mindset. And once everybody's mindset turns 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:47.160 to that relationship building, it goes on. The 00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:50.779 referrals can be endless. Okay. You work with 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:53.920 both families and small business owners. What 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:56.839 do you wish more entrepreneurs understood about 00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:00.099 protecting their business legally as part of 00:31:00.099 --> 00:31:03.640 their overall planning? I will tell you, I started 00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:07.539 this business mostly focusing on families. And 00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:10.980 then when I was exposed to what our legal services 00:31:10.980 --> 00:31:14.619 can do for small businesses, it became another 00:31:14.619 --> 00:31:18.000 passion. It didn't replace, but it was an add 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:21.579 -on to that passion because at our core, most 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:25.700 small businesses employ people. And you don't 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:27.819 have to be a target. You can be just a regular 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:30.220 small business owner. And so if we can keep small 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:34.000 business owners, keep their doors open, then 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:36.079 we're helping everyone, whether we're talking 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:38.619 about the small business owner or their employees. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:41.900 But I will say this, a lot of small business 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:44.579 owners think of their business as their baby 00:31:44.579 --> 00:31:47.039 and they think of their product or their service 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:51.990 solely. But Think of it this way, your business 00:31:51.990 --> 00:31:57.390 at its core is a legal entity that does A, B, 00:31:57.470 --> 00:32:03.049 or C. It is a legal entity that does A, B, or 00:32:03.049 --> 00:32:06.839 C. Everyone is focused on the A, B, and C, but 00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:09.460 we have to also remember it's a legal entity. 00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:13.700 And with that in mind, you have to be aware that 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:16.859 there are legal pros and legal cons, and you 00:32:16.859 --> 00:32:19.640 need to be aware of those things. And so unfortunately, 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:23.400 I've heard so many stories of small business 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:27.180 owners going into business with the best of intentions, 00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:31.839 and they're not. left and right by things that 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:35.559 they never expected to happen or they just didn't 00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:37.779 think would happen, wouldn't happen to them. 00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:40.619 Whether it be, oh my gosh, I did this amazing 00:32:40.619 --> 00:32:43.539 construction project and then the person didn't 00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:47.519 pay me. Or I've had story after story of people 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:50.940 starting with a web design company and then their 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:53.880 information was hijacked and the website never 00:32:53.880 --> 00:32:57.259 got put up. Or the story of a business owner 00:32:57.259 --> 00:33:03.140 who started her business and she took over another 00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:05.440 business. There were employees that didn't like 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:10.089 her style. They quit. but then they wanted to 00:33:10.089 --> 00:33:12.750 collect unemployment. She's a brand new small 00:33:12.750 --> 00:33:15.829 business owner. This was not on her list of I 00:33:15.829 --> 00:33:20.150 do A, B, or C. It was on the side that I'm a 00:33:20.150 --> 00:33:24.269 legal entity and I need to be aware of what do 00:33:24.269 --> 00:33:27.430 my contracts say? What do my documents say? What 00:33:27.430 --> 00:33:30.730 if someone does something? Who do I go to as 00:33:30.730 --> 00:33:33.809 a resource, as a small business owner, when quite 00:33:33.809 --> 00:33:36.950 frankly, the big legal dollars are not there 00:33:36.950 --> 00:33:40.180 yet? to defend themselves or to get questions 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:43.619 answered. And so our legal service package with 00:33:43.619 --> 00:33:46.299 LegalShield Small Business Solution gives them 00:33:46.299 --> 00:33:49.740 an affordable package to be able to ask questions, 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:53.259 get documents taken care of, get documents reviewed, 00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:57.339 to trademark, to copyright. The list goes on, 00:33:57.420 --> 00:34:01.319 but in short. It is a resource for small business 00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:04.839 owners to have so that they can protect their 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:08.059 business, which in and of itself keeps them in 00:34:08.059 --> 00:34:13.139 business. Unfortunately, today's day, it's a 00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:17.260 very litigious society and everybody will sue 00:34:17.260 --> 00:34:20.400 anybody at the drop of a hat. And the only thing 00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:24.619 that. Your offering is protection because I don't 00:34:24.619 --> 00:34:27.199 care who sues me, whatever. If I'm protected, 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:30.219 then I know that, okay, I'm going to live to 00:34:30.219 --> 00:34:33.360 fight another day. If I don't have that protection, 00:34:33.579 --> 00:34:36.679 I'm going to give all my resources and all my 00:34:36.679 --> 00:34:40.119 energy to protecting myself. And I'm going to 00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:42.440 forget about the business. It's very important 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:46.519 to become protected. Sorry, go ahead. Yeah. Can 00:34:46.519 --> 00:34:49.400 I just share too, the best way to be. protected 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:53.659 just like in health care is ahead of time. Too 00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:56.340 many small business owners think Oh, I don't 00:34:56.340 --> 00:34:58.800 need to think about that until it becomes a problem. 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:01.519 That's the same concept of I won't think about 00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:04.199 the heart attack until I have it. No, you want 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:07.079 to be proactive in your legal services, just 00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:09.019 like you want to be proactive in your health 00:35:09.019 --> 00:35:12.260 care. So that means before it becomes a problem, 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:15.539 before you sign the contract, before you sign 00:35:15.539 --> 00:35:18.619 the document, when it's at the beginnings of 00:35:18.619 --> 00:35:21.300 a problem, get the attorney involved so that 00:35:21.300 --> 00:35:25.559 it's not catastrophic and it's not fatal. because 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:27.980 the cost then becomes too high for a small business 00:35:27.980 --> 00:35:30.400 owner. Because you can go anywhere to get legal 00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:33.280 services, but the fact is, depending on how many 00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:35.900 dollars you have to protect yourself, it may 00:35:35.900 --> 00:35:38.500 be something that causes you to be a little ill 00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:41.420 or causes it to be fatal for your business. And 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:43.820 we don't want that situation. We want to make 00:35:43.820 --> 00:35:46.659 sure we take care of it and keep you well. And 00:35:46.659 --> 00:35:48.519 if you're getting just a little ill, we're right 00:35:48.519 --> 00:35:50.940 there to try to nip it in the bud before it becomes 00:35:50.940 --> 00:35:54.500 something catastrophic. I have to tell you, I've 00:35:54.500 --> 00:35:58.519 been a Legal Shield member for 15 years. So I 00:35:58.519 --> 00:36:02.820 know both sides of the equation. And it's just, 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:07.239 I call the legal representative, the attorney's 00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:12.199 firm, probably once a month. So it's just a little 00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:15.260 question because questions and answers all day 00:36:15.260 --> 00:36:18.840 long, they're going to give you. But if I went, 00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:21.739 I'm not going to tell you now, but The story 00:36:21.739 --> 00:36:24.440 that I had about when I stayed in a hotel out 00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:27.000 in Savannah, Georgia, they took care of my problem 00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:30.460 like within a day. It was just all handled. So 00:36:30.460 --> 00:36:33.860 I have the greatest admiration for LegalShield. 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:36.679 I think they're the best. Can you share a time 00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:40.780 when a single networking connection created unexpected 00:36:40.780 --> 00:36:44.760 momentum, either in your business or in a client's 00:36:44.760 --> 00:36:49.199 life? I'll share with you how networking can. 00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:53.360 go around in a circle. So you had mentioned that 00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:57.599 during the pandemic, networking really changed, 00:36:57.639 --> 00:37:00.860 right? And so I went from networking in person. 00:37:01.469 --> 00:37:04.730 And honestly, my networking in person prior to 00:37:04.730 --> 00:37:07.550 the pandemic wasn't overly effective, Michael. 00:37:07.750 --> 00:37:10.489 So when you talk about it, we all need to understand 00:37:10.489 --> 00:37:13.570 how to be effective networkers. And when the 00:37:13.570 --> 00:37:16.949 pandemic happened, many of us went to online 00:37:16.949 --> 00:37:19.869 networking. And I thought, oh my gosh, this is 00:37:19.869 --> 00:37:23.070 the greatest thing ever. How convenient. I could 00:37:23.070 --> 00:37:25.750 just put on a shirt. I can be bummy until the 00:37:25.750 --> 00:37:28.889 moment that I get there. But what I found, Michael, 00:37:29.010 --> 00:37:33.500 was that I was It was convenient, but it wasn't 00:37:33.500 --> 00:37:37.579 as effective. It wasn't as effective because 00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:41.679 there is just sometimes you need to shake a hand 00:37:41.679 --> 00:37:44.360 and give a hug. And there's just something about 00:37:44.360 --> 00:37:48.539 personal relationships. You need to feel the 00:37:48.539 --> 00:37:52.340 vibe of the person. You need to feel the vibe 00:37:52.340 --> 00:37:56.599 of the room. And when I shake hands with somebody 00:37:56.599 --> 00:38:00.210 that I'm friendly with in business, we... Do 00:38:00.210 --> 00:38:03.769 that small man hug. And we talk about anything 00:38:03.769 --> 00:38:08.289 else but business because that's how you begin. 00:38:08.469 --> 00:38:11.489 But you're absolutely right. Listen, even through 00:38:11.489 --> 00:38:14.949 Zoom, right? I'm talking to you, but I have to 00:38:14.949 --> 00:38:19.429 realize that you're a person. Yes. So 90 % of 00:38:19.429 --> 00:38:22.849 the networking has to be the same, but I don't 00:38:22.849 --> 00:38:26.119 have that feeling, that vibe. Yes. And that's 00:38:26.119 --> 00:38:29.159 what's missing. So it's very important. Networking 00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:31.739 is a very, I say it again, I'll say it again. 00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:35.360 Networking is the base of all business and you 00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:39.059 have to go out there and do it. Before I ask 00:38:39.059 --> 00:38:44.239 you the last question, I know what you have done 00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:48.360 in the past and I'm sure that all of it was not 00:38:48.360 --> 00:38:54.260 rosy. So what mistakes have you made? Just give 00:38:54.260 --> 00:38:56.800 me a general mistake. And how did you come out 00:38:56.800 --> 00:39:00.019 of it? Just to finish off on what I had started 00:39:00.019 --> 00:39:03.699 with networking prior to the pandemic, I literally 00:39:03.699 --> 00:39:05.900 was one of those people that you mentioned was 00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:08.980 transactional. Like I went into networking events 00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:12.320 with me. Even if I wasn't saying it, I was really 00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:15.119 acting it out, which was what can you do for 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:17.000 me and how much have you done for me lately? 00:39:17.119 --> 00:39:21.690 And that's that song. We may not like to admit 00:39:21.690 --> 00:39:24.489 it, but sometimes we come off like that. And 00:39:24.489 --> 00:39:26.989 I had to take a step back and say, you know, 00:39:27.010 --> 00:39:29.489 I think you used this word about being a servant 00:39:29.489 --> 00:39:33.469 networker. Okay, if I'm going to a closed networking 00:39:33.469 --> 00:39:39.769 event and I'm not willing to give, then there's 00:39:39.769 --> 00:39:42.730 a problem because it has to come from me giving 00:39:42.730 --> 00:39:47.869 first. And when I created the local link, I spend 00:39:47.869 --> 00:39:51.110 more time thinking, and that's that intentionality, 00:39:51.210 --> 00:39:54.389 thinking about how can I give to the people in 00:39:54.389 --> 00:39:57.989 my local link community. So I would say the mistake 00:39:57.989 --> 00:39:59.949 that I made in the beginning was thinking it 00:39:59.949 --> 00:40:03.809 was all about me, even if I wasn't thinking. 00:40:04.750 --> 00:40:06.849 It wasn't like my brain was saying that, but 00:40:06.849 --> 00:40:09.409 I think my actions were saying that in some ways, 00:40:09.530 --> 00:40:12.750 right? And so transforming that thinking was 00:40:12.750 --> 00:40:15.849 a big deal for me. But also one of the things 00:40:15.849 --> 00:40:19.130 that I'm also still currently working on, Michael, 00:40:19.230 --> 00:40:21.090 because we're all in the process of growing, 00:40:21.190 --> 00:40:25.710 is thinking it is a business. We want to give, 00:40:25.929 --> 00:40:29.369 but we also need to be able to receive. And to 00:40:29.369 --> 00:40:31.909 be able to communicate in a way where people 00:40:31.909 --> 00:40:34.730 understand what we need to receive. And then 00:40:34.730 --> 00:40:38.590 also working on closing, right? Because again, 00:40:38.769 --> 00:40:41.150 it's a give and a take. We don't want people 00:40:41.150 --> 00:40:44.789 to think. Oh, it's all about giving and I'm just 00:40:44.789 --> 00:40:48.070 here to spread the love. There is, you want that 00:40:48.070 --> 00:40:50.769 to be a part of the core, but you also want it 00:40:50.769 --> 00:40:53.389 to be fruitful time. And I think that's one of 00:40:53.389 --> 00:40:55.929 the things that you're helping people to do when 00:40:55.929 --> 00:40:58.369 you're talking about the art of networking is 00:40:58.369 --> 00:41:01.730 you want it to be the give and the receive and 00:41:01.730 --> 00:41:03.829 to have that time be fruitful. And it wasn't 00:41:03.829 --> 00:41:06.429 always fruitful in the beginning. That's very 00:41:06.429 --> 00:41:09.949 true and realistic. I use, I would say, a line, 00:41:10.050 --> 00:41:12.449 but I don't want to make it seem as though it's 00:41:12.449 --> 00:41:15.610 just a line. But when I'm having a one -on -one 00:41:15.610 --> 00:41:19.409 with somebody, and before I even discuss what 00:41:19.409 --> 00:41:22.530 I do for a living, I look at them and I say, 00:41:22.570 --> 00:41:25.130 look, I like you. I like the way you do business. 00:41:25.230 --> 00:41:29.170 I like what you do. But how can I make you more 00:41:29.170 --> 00:41:32.989 successful? How can I be a good referral source 00:41:32.989 --> 00:41:36.630 for you? And it usually blows them away. Michael, 00:41:36.710 --> 00:41:39.630 you haven't even said what you do yet. And you're 00:41:39.630 --> 00:41:42.389 already trying to help me. I said, that's the 00:41:42.389 --> 00:41:46.050 whole idea. I am here to help you get business, 00:41:46.110 --> 00:41:49.329 to help you become more successful. And listen, 00:41:49.489 --> 00:41:51.150 if you could do it for me also, that's fine. 00:41:51.250 --> 00:41:54.289 That's not my goal. And that's how it should 00:41:54.289 --> 00:41:59.369 all begin. Okay. You ready? If someone listening 00:41:59.369 --> 00:42:02.960 today. wants to begin both protecting their family 00:42:02.960 --> 00:42:06.920 and building their network with intention, what's 00:42:06.920 --> 00:42:10.119 the first conversation they should start tomorrow? 00:42:12.159 --> 00:42:15.639 Say that again for me, Michael, because it was 00:42:15.639 --> 00:42:19.659 a big question. If someone listening today wants 00:42:19.659 --> 00:42:23.079 to begin both protecting their family and building 00:42:23.079 --> 00:42:26.880 their network with intention, what's the first 00:42:26.880 --> 00:42:30.670 conversation they should start tomorrow? If they're 00:42:30.670 --> 00:42:34.869 local, I would love to invite them out to the 00:42:34.869 --> 00:42:37.690 local link where they can both, one, connect 00:42:37.690 --> 00:42:41.570 with me as well as build their own business community. 00:42:41.989 --> 00:42:46.130 We are in the Johns Creek area for where we are 00:42:46.130 --> 00:42:49.090 networking at the local link. People can also 00:42:49.090 --> 00:42:51.489 reach out to me directly. And I don't know if 00:42:51.489 --> 00:42:54.170 you'll be able to post my contact information 00:42:54.170 --> 00:42:58.539 in the podcast. Yeah. So the best way to reach 00:42:58.539 --> 00:43:04.599 me is via email. It's Kelly. It's Kelly at AskDrKelly 00:43:04.599 --> 00:43:07.880 .com. I had to think about that. I also have 00:43:07.880 --> 00:43:10.460 a website, but the website is not the best way 00:43:10.460 --> 00:43:12.320 to reach out to me. The best way to reach out 00:43:12.320 --> 00:43:16.039 to me is either by phone. My direct number is 00:43:16.039 --> 00:43:22.420 678 -563 -1500. We'll put everything in the... 00:43:22.699 --> 00:43:24.960 some way that you can link up to me or email 00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:27.900 me. The website is really meant for after we've 00:43:27.900 --> 00:43:30.360 had a conversation and we're making a decision 00:43:30.360 --> 00:43:32.559 about what would be the best choices for you. 00:43:32.739 --> 00:43:35.599 So really reach me directly because that's how 00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:38.940 I work is having conversations with people, understanding 00:43:38.940 --> 00:43:41.619 what their best needs are, whether it be for 00:43:41.619 --> 00:43:44.280 the legal services or what their needs are as 00:43:44.280 --> 00:43:46.599 a small business owner to see if I can connect 00:43:46.599 --> 00:43:48.900 them with a networking event that might work 00:43:48.900 --> 00:43:52.610 for them. The best way to check out for a networking 00:43:52.610 --> 00:43:56.349 event, go to meetup .com, meetup .com, eventbrite 00:43:56.349 --> 00:43:58.969 .com. You can check out all the local links. 00:43:59.070 --> 00:44:03.130 But if you're in the Johns Creek, Cumming, Alpharetta, 00:44:03.210 --> 00:44:06.349 even Gwinnett County, if you're around the area, 00:44:06.489 --> 00:44:10.449 check out the local link with Dr. Kelly, because 00:44:10.449 --> 00:44:14.190 I've been a member for, I think, two months now. 00:44:14.329 --> 00:44:18.599 Yes. And I've enjoyed it. I want to tell you 00:44:18.599 --> 00:44:23.559 that this was a fun and fantastic podcast. And 00:44:23.559 --> 00:44:28.039 do you have any last words of wisdom? My last 00:44:28.039 --> 00:44:31.000 words of wisdom is be true to yourself as a business 00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:33.860 owner. Know what makes you passionate and be 00:44:33.860 --> 00:44:37.300 able to share that passion to others. People 00:44:37.300 --> 00:44:40.380 will gravitate towards you because they feel 00:44:40.380 --> 00:44:43.059 from you that you care about them because you 00:44:43.059 --> 00:44:47.340 care about what you do. Very good. I want to 00:44:47.340 --> 00:44:49.820 thank you again for coming on the podcast, and 00:44:49.820 --> 00:44:52.360 I look forward to talking to you soon. Awesome. 00:44:52.400 --> 00:44:54.840 Thank you so much, Michael. So glad to be here 00:44:54.840 --> 00:44:57.139 and also glad to be able to hopefully serve your 00:44:57.139 --> 00:45:04.780 community. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. 00:45:05.159 --> 00:45:08.460 Let's hear from our sponsors. David Neal, co 00:45:08.460 --> 00:45:12.099 -founder, Revved Up Kids. Revved Up Kids is on 00:45:12.099 --> 00:45:15.079 a mission to protect children and teens from 00:45:15.079 --> 00:45:18.059 sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. 00:45:18.340 --> 00:45:21.519 They provide prevention training programs for 00:45:21.519 --> 00:45:25.079 children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go 00:45:25.079 --> 00:45:29.440 to revvedupkids .org. Henry Kaplan, Century 21. 00:45:29.949 --> 00:45:32.190 When it comes to making the biggest financial 00:45:32.190 --> 00:45:35.130 decision of your life, leave it in the hands 00:45:35.130 --> 00:45:38.469 of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry 00:45:38.469 --> 00:45:41.650 is a global real estate agent with Century 21, 00:45:41.849 --> 00:45:45.809 celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter 00:45:45.809 --> 00:45:48.510 where you're moving, Henry has the right connections 00:45:48.510 --> 00:45:55.489 for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888. 00:45:56.170 --> 00:45:59.190 A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such... 00:45:59.559 --> 00:46:02.860 insights today. And of course, a big shout out 00:46:02.860 --> 00:46:06.179 to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in 00:46:06.179 --> 00:46:09.079 and spending your time with us. If you're interested 00:46:09.079 --> 00:46:12.440 in my digital courses, being coached or having 00:46:12.440 --> 00:46:15.559 me come and talk to your company, just go to 00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:18.780 Michael and fill out the request form. Remember, 00:46:19.119 --> 00:46:22.440 networking isn't about being perfect. It's about 00:46:22.440 --> 00:46:25.360 being present. So take what you've learned today, 00:46:25.539 --> 00:46:28.159 get out there and make some meaningful connections. 00:46:28.889 --> 00:46:31.809 If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't 00:46:31.809 --> 00:46:35.130 forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share 00:46:35.130 --> 00:46:37.349 it with someone who could use a little networking 00:46:37.349 --> 00:46:40.349 inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going. 00:46:40.530 --> 00:46:45.070 You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, 00:46:45.230 --> 00:46:49.869 or my website, foreman .com slash podcasts.