Today’s conversation takes us on a journey with a trailblazing former Miss Nevada, who not only conquered pageantry with lessons learned from her Miss Korea mother but also took the legal and baking worlds by storm. She walks us through launching Sin City Cupcakes amidst her legal career, unpacking the thrills of first-time business ownership and the relentless pursuit of success through partnerships & collaborations.
Serial Lisa Song Sutton, joins the conversation to share her own transformative story, underscoring the commitment to ethical practices and creating an empowering environment for her team. You do not want to miss this episode.
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Today’s conversation takes us on a journey with a trailblazing former Miss Nevada, who not only conquered pageantry with lessons learned from her Miss Korea mother but also took the legal and baking worlds by storm. She walks us through launching Sin City Cupcakes amidst her legal career, unpacking the thrills of first-time business ownership and the relentless pursuit of success through partnerships & collaborations.
Serial Lisa Song Sutton, joins the conversation to share her own transformative story, underscoring the commitment to ethical practices and creating an empowering environment for her team. You do not want to miss this episode.
Grow your personal brand or podcast with editing: https://podchop.io/
Book a call here: https://podcastmasteryworkshop.com/training-optin
⭐️Join our free media resource community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/365519618922814/
⭐️Free Podcast Guesting Training: https://podcastmasteryworkshop.com/training-optin
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Welcome to the Honour Pursuit Podcast, where we connect with entrepreneurs, movers, shakers and business owners who build amazing things on the pursuit of their goals and dreams. And I'm your host, brendan Boyd. Welcome to another episode of the Honour Pursuit Podcast, where we interview 6, 7 8-finger entrepreneurs, learn from them, figure out where it took for them to get from where they were to where they are and what they got going on currently Today's episode. I'm super excited to connect with this entrepreneur because I've been watching a bunch of the videos. Right, you got an amazing story, you've done a lot of cool things and I feel like more people just need to know what you have going on.
Speaker 2:Thank you, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:So when I was checking out some of your backstory, I saw that you spent some years in Patentry right. And not only did you just spend some years in Patentry, you champion like back-to-back champion right. So you was a champion at the State of Nevada. And then also, what's the other one you made that you so I'm a former Miss Las Vegas. Miss Las Vegas that's what it is and former Miss Nevada. And.
Speaker 2:I was top 15 over at Nationals.
Speaker 1:So that takes a lot of discipline right. So it takes a lot of discipline, a lot of accountability, and I assume you had other things going on in your life while you're doing that. So do you come from a family that was that important? Was your mom a champion as well? Did she also compete?
Speaker 2:Yes, so my mom's a former title holder, former Miss Korea. And so growing up and I appreciate this my dad told my mom that he didn't want me to compete until I was an adult, until I was like 18 and could choose to compete.
Speaker 1:If you wanted to.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and I think that's really important, because young women, young girls, you kind of have like the rest of your life to worry about, like how you look and how you're being perceived outwardly. So when you have really young girls competing, I think there's a lot of good things that can come out of it, of self-confidence and community work, but certainly, just like anything that you take the good and the bad, and sometimes there could be some negative hurdles that they would just have to deal with because they're in the public eye at such a young age.
Speaker 2:So I appreciate that I had the opportunity to choose once I became an adult, to actively compete, and life-changing experience.
Speaker 1:Do you think that if you didn't choose to compete, your mom or dad would have been like you have to do this? Or did they want you to make your own decision? But basically they want you to compete.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So my mom always tells people like, oh, like you know, I didn't like tell her to compete, but like the real story is, she called me fall of 2013 and she's like hey, are you competing for Miss Nevada? And I'm like or Miss Las Vegas? And I was like I'm kind of busy, I just started a company, Like we're working, you know. And she was like you're getting ready to age out? And I was like so I like woke up one day and aging out of pageantry and modeling.
Speaker 2:So at the time, the Miss division MISS the Miss division was 20 to 29 for the Miss United States organization, and so I was 28 at the time and I was turning 29, heading into that kind of pageant year, and so I was like, oh my gosh, I have to buckle down and like, get serious. I hired a pageant coach and went through the journey of preparing to win.
Speaker 1:What was the business that you were running at that time?
Speaker 2:I was working in a law firm and we had started Sin City Cupcakes.
Speaker 1:So you were working at a long form, and how long were you doing that? Three and a half years, and then you decided to start a business on your off time.
Speaker 2:So the cupcakes. I started that business while I was still working at the firm. I started that with my co-founder at the time, danielle, so she was like the operations partner. So during the day when I was like working my day job to help fund our business, she was, you know, answering phones, baking cupcakes, running deliveries, and then nights and weekends, once I got off work, I was baking cupcakes, running deliveries, helping set up events. Literally was working 70s a week but having so much fun.
Speaker 1:So, like as an attorney, it's pretty taxing right.
Speaker 2:For sure, and this was, you know, business litigation and business bankruptcy, and so this is a time period in Vegas where it was just booming and we were so busy. But it was nice because I got a chance to just have kind of two totally polar opposite worlds, even though both were hard work in their own way, but they were so different from one another so strangely it kept me motivated and interested in both.
Speaker 1:What made you want to start a business or go into business while you had like as an attorney, because, again, like I'm pretty sure, it took a lot of time right. When you're done doing that, at the end of the day you probably want to relax, you know, probably decompress a little bit, but you would start it to work another business.
Speaker 2:I was just so excited about the idea. So Danielle had called me and she's like hey, I've been making these alcohol cupcakes and I'm like that's genius, that's a great idea. We should totally start the business in Vegas. Like I was just like so excited about it and kind of just made all the mistakes you make in the beginning as a first time founder and you don't know anything, and we just jumped in like both feet first, right, there was no business plan, there was no you know like kind of all the things people think you need. It was legit Like how do we just start this? Let's just get it started and so it's just so much fun. Like you don't know what you don't know, which I think is kind of a blessing, because you just jump in both feet first and you're like sprinting because it's so much fun.
Speaker 1:So how were you able to sell or market those, those cupcakes at the time in alcohol cupcakes? I don't think I've ever had that or even heard of that prior.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know, it's one of those things that, like we realized really quickly, like Vegas is a place where people come to overspend, overindulged, buying two things they're not going to buy and do at home, like they're going to spend money on a dozen alcohol cupcakes. And so we just looked at as like, look like how do we pair things that we like, that we enjoy, and kind of bring it to this tourist market that we know clearly exists in Vegas? We have an entire number one industry of hospitality and tourism right here in our backyard as an international destination. So if this product that we're catering towards tourists to, if it doesn't work here, it's not going to work anywhere.
Speaker 1:That's a fact.
Speaker 2:And so we were just like let's just try it. And we did it in the most, I think, kind of risk mitigated way you can, because I still had a day job. I had a day job, I had benefits, so it wasn't this scary like quitting my job. I'm going all in and oh, by the way, we have three months of runway and if we don't make any money in three months, like we just have to go back to our jobs because we're about to be you know out of the house, so she had a job as well.
Speaker 2:She did not, but that was part of our arrangement, because it was like, hey, like, in order for this to like really have a chance, someone has to be on like the day to day ops. Right, and it can't be me, because I literally already have a day job that I have to clock in and clock out at. I have to be at the office. So let's talk about roles, responsibilities and kind of team up. But, like I said, nights and weekends I was literally baking, running deliveries, like I was. I was all hands on deck, even though, looking back, like I probably could have structured it differently where I like I had more time to myself. But I was just so excited about what we were doing and building and we were having so much fun doing it that it didn't feel like work.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like there was a benefit for you like having that job? I guess what I'm saying is like there's a lot of entrepreneurs that's just kind of like they go all in and they don't have savings, they don't have like three, like you said, three months of runway. You know they don't necessarily have even a part-time job, you know, but it sounds like you have some stable that could sustain and allows you to invest in the business. So was that important?
Speaker 2:I think it was super important and I'm really grateful that we did that way, because you know there's always stress and risk when you start a business. But I'm so glad that we took the financial stress and risk out of the equation, because I think you make really desperate decisions sometimes if your back is against the wall from a financial perspective when you're building a company, and so that just eliminated any like weird circumstances we would have had. Like my mortgage was paid for, my car insurance was paid for, like I didn't have to stress right, so it was just every like free dollar that I had. Instead of spending that on a vacation or taking that and going shopping or going out with my friends, I was pouring it back into the business we were building.
Speaker 1:So how old were you when you were obviously an attorney, but starting this business?
Speaker 2:So we started the business. I was 27.
Speaker 1:All right. So where did you get that, I guess, that business mindset to do that? Right, because you know you got the regular job and you saw entrepreneurship but there's a lot of discipline. That's there, right. You have a partnership. You talked about building structure within our partnership, so where did you get some of that mindset from?
Speaker 2:I think just being around my parents. I mean, my dad was a military guy, w2 his entire life.
Speaker 1:So you came through with some structure already.
Speaker 2:For sure. Yeah, my dad was Air Force and then he worked for the Department of Defense. While I was growing up, my mom she was a stay at home mom with me until I was sixth grade and then she went and got her cosmetology license and to this day actually still owns a hair salon.
Speaker 1:That's amazing.
Speaker 2:So just seeing my parents my parents are hard workers I saw them work hard and they were able to build a wonderful life and I certainly didn't want for anything. I was involved in all the extracurricular things. They really pushed education. Education was very, very important to them and so I think just being around that and having that structure I'm very grateful that I came from a family where I had an example of this is what hard work looks like and you can be rewarded for your hard work.
Speaker 1:So one of the things in your story that I thought was really interesting is, you know, cody Sanchez's. Of course, we've been friends a long time, okay so you know how she always talks about boring businesses. So like your post office business, that could be deemed a boring business right.
Speaker 1:And I'm pretty sure it's looked over by a lot of people. I'm pretty sure people drive by like strip malls or sections of town that have different commercial mixes in there and there's always like a post office store or something like that Mail for you or some name that you're like.
Speaker 2:what is that?
Speaker 1:100%. So how did you identify that to be not only a business but something that you know what? I think I could do this and I could see that I could be profitable.
Speaker 2:So just on a straight personal level, I had had a mailbox that I rented from a local UPS store here locally in Vegas for like seven, eight years and they had auto charged my credit card every year for my box and I'd get the notification on my email and I was like I don't really use that, I should cancel it. And then I never would. And so I was like what is this business model Like?
Speaker 2:for sure other people are not canceling you know, and then I started kind of like looking around and initially I was going to buy a UPS franchise store. I was really always like, well, if that off the road? Then that kind of食べ told me that I was like well, this is nice, you have this new Riva hinge on right. So I started kind of going down that route of what does that look like to be a franchisee and buy UPS store. And I called a friend of mine, greg. At the time he had three UPS stores in San Diego franchise stores and I said, hey, I was like tell me about this business model. And he's like it's great. He's like, but like, let me explain to you where the revenue comes from.
Speaker 2:The mailboxes are steady, recurring revenue. That's what keeps your lights on, that's what pays your staff. The shipping is ancillary and seasonal and it's pure profit once you have your mailboxes, like covering your expenses, your top line expenses. And I was like, okay, and I said so, like what's the catch? And he was like, if you call one of my stores right now and say, hi, I'm a new mailbox customer, I'd like to have a mailbox, it's like I don't even have one to give you, I'm maxed out. And I was like why kids just put in more. And he's like cuz I'm in a franchise. He's like the franchise dictates your layout. Mmm right.
Speaker 2:So he had, whatever it was, you know, three hundred ten mailboxes or whatever. It's like three hundred something mailboxes that he was legit maxed out. He couldn't even offer one if, if he, you know, he could offer one, he didn't have one available. So he's like I'm maxed out on their mailboxes that I can put in the store. That means I'm maxed out a number of mailbox customers I can have, which is silly to me because that's steady recurring revenue right every month. So he said if I were you, I would look into doing an independent store because I could see that.
Speaker 2:Then you are not beholden to the franchise fees, you're not beholden to mandatory marketing fees and you can configure the store however you want. So if I could do it over, he's like I'm happy where I'm at. He had him like 10 years. He's like I'm happy where I'm at. It's all good, he said. But if I could do it over, I Would look new in pennant store where I could slam in a thousand mailboxes if I wanted to right and then have shipping in the back and I was like interesting. So then I started paying attention to independent stores.
Speaker 1:I started looking for independent stores around me and I bet, I bet you know, since your subconscious over you seen them.
Speaker 2:Then you start before I never saw and then once I started kind of being on the lookout for an independent store, not a UPS Franchise store, yeah, so I was like looking for independent store, up the street from my house in summerlin is a store still around called postal pros and Andrew, I knew the owner because I was a patron. I realized like oh, it's like I've dropped off Amazon packages there and eBay Pat, you know, with the prepaid label, like I was like I've dropped it off there before. I bought stamps from there before. So I was like Okay, like let me, let me go in there. And I went in there and I realized he's got all these mailboxes up in the front, he's got shipping in the back, like exactly what Greg was talking about.
Speaker 2:And I was like interesting, so I go to Andrew and I was like I have a business proposition for you. I was like do you want to like expand or grow? And he's like no and I was like Okay, he said well, I want to open up one of these stores down at like 215 and Flamingo area. It's far enough away. It's not competition for him. He said I don't know anything about this business. Would you be open? I'll pay you ten thousand dollars if you, let me follow you around for two weeks, capture all your processes. I'll make you like a nice hand. But he didn't have like SOP books. I was like I'll make the SOP book for you that he can use, you know to train, so he got benefit from that 100%.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was like, I will pay you and you'll get freely.
Speaker 1:And I create those resources for you and.
Speaker 2:I will create like SOP is that you can use, you know moving forward for your business. And he was like Right, what you're just like, you're so crazy. He's like okay, fine, and so, literally, like we drew up like a consulting agreement and I legit trained in his store like like a new hire, like I Was there all day, like each day, and so people thought I was a new hire. Like he had customers in there who were like chicken here, you know, I mean like a whole mentor show program hold up straight up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly like a whole thing. And so I I took notes of everything in the store, right literally, starting from like unlock the front door and like what's the next thing you do? Oh, you unlock a folding gate. So it was like these things that I was like, okay, mental, right, mentally I was like, oh, I need a folding gate, I need that, like it was just creating that list based on the actions that are taken in the store. And then just little things that I end up Modifying for my stores, like, for example, and his counters at his store are a good height if you're seated, if you're seated on a stool, you've got like the computer there with the scale and the whole thing. Well, logistically, procedurally, when a customer walks up and they say, hey, I want to ship this, you know, to New York, you stand up and you're, you're talking to them, you're conversing, you got the box on there, maybe you're moving it around, so you're standing, so the counter feels quite low if you're standing up.
Speaker 2:So little things like that like my stores and my stores the counters are standing height Because you know it's not that staff is gonna stand on their feet all day. But when a customer comes in you are on your feet because you're moving around boxes and packing and doing whatever else. So it's more comfortable if the counter is at a standing height Instead of at a lower seated height. But you're standing. So just little tweaks like that we're like clearly here to you had that going in the store.
Speaker 2:So I looked at you know, doing my store.
Speaker 2:I said, okay, how can I improve and modify what I've learned from Andrew? And part of it too is I looked at as an investment in because the UPS franchise was gonna cost me like almost $300,000 to buy into franchise. And so I looked at, hey, if I spend $10,000 and Get into this business, like I think I have an idea of this business and that I I think it, you know, would work the way that it seems that it would work, but I don't know for sure. So I looked at the 10,000 as like an investment into the learning, because I could have worked there for two weeks and been like this is not what I thought it was gonna be and Then saved myself all the time, money and heartache of like actually starting the store right. So I looked at it as an investment in of like, let me just get a peek behind the curtain, try it out and If it works, great. If not, I can pull the plug and it's no harm, no fell. I'm not. I'm not in a franchise agreement, I'm not stuck in a lease.
Speaker 1:I'm not you know any of those things you really save money if you look at it.
Speaker 2:That's exactly what I thought versus 10, to like get into the business like nitty gritty, like work in it and Check it out.
Speaker 1:You don't have any of those, those franchise restrictions like I guess with you know. He had what you said 300, only 300 mailboxes and stuff like that. So we're. So when you open up this, this is do you have one or do you have more than you got to now? So when you opened up your Mailbox store, did you create other revenue strings within that, like that he didn't have? Did you see other other verticals, other opportunities that you can Bring money in?
Speaker 2:yeah, you know, because I looked at where he was bringing money right. So obviously it's in mailboxes, it's shipping. He has merch in his store, so like he starts. No, not t-shirts but, like he's got, you know, these like candles from like a local candle maker, right, he's got like these like knick-knack I know it's like kids plushy toy things with a keychain on him, like he got Stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like he's got stuff in there that like works for his clientele. He's in the most expensive zip code in summerlin, which is 8, 9, 1, 3, 5. So he's got a lot of like summerlin moms up in there right pulling up in the Range Rover with two kids like Running around the store. You know, like, like it works for his clientele. The way I looked at it I was like I don't want to deal with merch because I want to hold inventory.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry yeah one and starting up right, I don't want to hold inventory. And two, I don't even know what would sell here, so let me just focus on the basics, which I know are a core part of the business, which are mailboxes, shipping, notary.
Speaker 1:He offered notary as well, actually just use the notary last week.
Speaker 2:That's what you don't think about notary until you need one. Exactly so. I was like that's solid, you know, because I looked at that is you will make your money back and then over time it Essentially becomes almost a hundred percent profit margin right because you've made the licensing fees back. You've made the 200 bucks back, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and not a gaver to notary suit. Yeah which super comes in handy right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so so I looked okay, what are the core kind of items, like revenue streams, that are core to this business, and then how can I also expand? So these independent stores that's what's cool Is like you have so many options, right, you could do fingerprinting, you do key cutting, you could do you haul, you do whatever. You've got a lot of different options. We have you haul at our store, which is great. They're a great partner to work with. We tried money transfer. Some people do money orders. We tried money transfer for a couple months. I didn't like that. You had to like hold cash in the store and that kind of thing. So we pulled the plug on that. But the point is like we were able to try a lot of different things because we're super flex.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, exactly, you can try whatever you want.
Speaker 2:You could try whatever merch you know you think would resonate, because it's your store.
Speaker 1:So what can like, what's the revenue like these stores can do? Yeah, so then when did you decide like now's a good time to open up another location?
Speaker 2:So I mean now you know, granted, you know we're heading into our sixth year, but you know we're about half a million dollars. You're talking 500,000 top line.
Speaker 1:That's great.
Speaker 2:And it's a 50% margin business, right. This is not like a restaurant or a food business where you're like squeezing for every penny to try to make margin. You know, like um it's, it's solid in relation to your margins, um. But so when we got started, though, the initial plan was um sarah, who's my business partner was ship. She was going to be the operations partner and she she came over to Andrews as well and trained Um, and so that was the original plan, because I've got, you know, the brokerage. At the time, I still have the bakery. Like I had other things going on where I was like, okay, like I need an operations partner, I will put up the money, I'm gonna, I'm gonna build this thing, but I need an operations partner To help me run the store. I'll come work weekends, like whatever is required, but like I do need someone day to day because I'm not gonna be there day to day. That was the original plan.
Speaker 2:Two months into, I'm like how you're struggling your business, yeah two months into our fort of hatchee location, um, I got a wild hair and got super excited about the location we have as as well, which is up in the northeast by Nellis Air Force based, and Um it just. It came available and I heard about it and I was like what is this magical play? It was like a dollar a foot. So I was like what is this magical place that's so cheap, it's outside the beast and like. Coming from a military family, I'm like partial, I'm like perfect, like we can, we can hire military spouses, we can service the base, like that. I'm all in on this, let's get up there. So I go up there. This is the Northeast Las Vegas and Abandoned Walmart was the neighbor and I'm like like just a just a vacant Walmart a vacant Walmart.
Speaker 2:So I'm like that's weird. I'm like Walmart never pulls out of a neighborhood.
Speaker 1:You know they do so much.
Speaker 2:Like you know, research upfront, right, like they don't just pull out of a neighborhood. So I'm like that's weird. So, of course, like I'm on the internet, right, and I find this reddit thread of that Walmart and they called it stab art, yes, and Walmart pulled out because of crime and shoplifting, and I was like, oh, Shit.
Speaker 1:You know Must have been rapping.
Speaker 2:Straight up.
Speaker 2:Yeah it's like I was like this is what is going on, you know so. Then I quickly realized so you have the base. You've no sort of for space. And then you have the community that's right outside of the base. That has nothing to do with the military, it's low income, just a totally different segment, and they don't work on the base, they don't interact with folks in the base, everyone on the base. They live on the base, they live on the base and all their resources are on the base, like there's a post office on the base. Yeah right.
Speaker 2:So I was just like Interesting, okay, again the entrepreneurial side. I'm like, but the rent so cheap.
Speaker 1:You're like opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, I'm like the rent so cheap and like there was nobody there. We were like this island.
Speaker 1:So so that wall, that Walmart, was it any other businesses? Was it just on the island by itself?
Speaker 2:There was a mini Mart that was open and operational. There's a barber shop. Okay and like a Chinese food.
Speaker 1:Like in that, in that same kind of L.
Speaker 2:Exactly so. It was like L situation and then Walmart backed up to the back of that L got you so abandoned Walmart.
Speaker 2:Then you got the L with the mini Mart and you go to the corner and then that's the barber shop and the Chinese food and a tailor and but that whole L side, nobody. So the sweet that we would. You know we were gonna have landlords like, pick a sweet, it doesn't matter, they're all the same price and I'm like this is crazy. So we pick sweet number seven. You're like lucky, lucky number sevens. Vegas, you know, and I'm in there and we start doing tenant improvements. We're like, you know we start building out furniture. You know I'm ordering mailboxes, we're just starting to get it set up. And you know you look out in the parking lot and it's just there's craziness going on at the mini Mart all the time, you know.
Speaker 2:Activity there's activity. You know there's activity going on and I'm like this is crazy. Maybe this is a bad idea, but like I'm kind of in it now. You know, and I called some friends of mine who work for Metro, for the police department, and I was like I give them the address, las Vegas Boulevard, and I'm like I'm gonna open up a store up here. It's in the heart of the Northeast. Can you tell me about the area, like the crime map and stuff? And they were like Lisa, they're like this is a really we call the triangle. This is the longest lead times, the most amount of calls. There's an apartment complex there called the Eagle Trace and at the time was like not great. And they were like Go back to summerlin. Like they were like what are you doing? You know like get out of there, go back to summerlin, you're gonna get robbed.
Speaker 2:And I was like Opportunity was still, you know, I mean, I was just like you know, I think, like most entrepreneurs, I was like very optimistic, yeah you get in there early, right.
Speaker 1:It's almost like if you go to a part of town, you know obviously you're in real estate, right. You go to a part time you like this is next up or I can see what what may happen, or you know they're in a need for you Know business, so I was just like I think, you know, I think it could work.
Speaker 2:I think could work because the closest post office was quite far it's on.
Speaker 2:East Carries pretty far. So I was like, okay, and so unless you have access to the base, you don't even have a post office around you. So I'm like there has to be some. And there's tons of residential. You've got these apartment complexes there. You've got little homes there. So I'm like maybe it could work, maybe it could work. So we soft open. I heard military spouses. I literally had, like I remember one of them. Their husband came over and he was like Like he wanted to like meet me in person, because he was like what crazy person is opening a store over here?
Speaker 2:Like he was just you know, he's like I don't know why my wife wants to work over here, like he was just like what is going on? Yeah, um, and we opened and the very first customers we had the day we opened our doors, with these two little ladies Living in the apartments across the street. They were so happy to have a place to buy stamps Because without us they could take a bus to the closest post office. To get stamps?
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, and they not tell, they pay their utility bill. Yeah, they don't have internet. They don't have internet. They don't have a laptop where they're paying everything online, like they're writing a check and putting in an envelope and putting a stamp on it. Right, and their apartment complex Outgoing mailbox kept getting broken into. Mm. So they were, like, so excited to have us there to have a place to buy stamps. That was convenient, they could walk over and a place, so dropped, dropped a mail, a secure place to drop off their mail.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, they were so pumped and picked, and picked the mail up.
Speaker 2:Yeah they were so pumped and we were like, oh, okay, like we're gonna be just fine, right, like their grandma buys stamps from us, like no one's bothering us here, you know. And so knock on what? To this day, six years in, we haven't been vandalized, we haven't been robbed. Like we're, we're part of the community, right, we provide a much needed service to the community, um, and we do. We do as much as we can in there, right, like we've got a book exchange table. We've hosted resume workshops before.
Speaker 1:We've hosted VA home loan workshops, like oh, so you're doing community stuff inside it too, yeah because of location.
Speaker 2:You know that's crazy.
Speaker 1:So now that you have these two stores, do you look for these opportunities and maybe purchase like all the time? Yeah, I'm always like my head's on a swivel.
Speaker 2:I'm always like you know want to keep an eye out for sure. Um, and I just think too, like you know, kind of it's certainly along, you know, with like Cody's ethos as well, of, like you know, main Street and small business is like the backbone of this country, right, it's truly like what gets, what keeps the society like ticking, you know it, those are, those are the og, job providers and job creators, or small business, and, um, that's why I just love, like you know, the stores. Like, from a, from a practical standpoint, I was excited to explore the business model because, coming from food, coming from the bakery, I was like I want a business where I don't deal with the perishable item. I want a business where I don't have to work on holidays and weekends.
Speaker 2:I want a business and then, coming from real state in law, I want a business where I don't I'm not always available, where, like, customers can't always call me, um, and it's, you know, unreasonable for me not to be available. So I loved the model, so I was like money through, we're open, money through Saturday 96, right, no one calls me after six o'clock Like it's a. It's a really straightforward business, um, and so it's been an amazing journey, not only having our stores, you know, on a local level, but then, um, creating the, the course that teaches other people how to open up their own store, which was at Cody's, pushing like she was, like if you don't open, up store.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, if you don't do a course, I'm gonna do a course and I was like, okay, and I'm so glad that I did, because now we literally have hundreds of students in our course and over 15 of them have opened their own store all around the country. That's crazy, it's crazy.
Speaker 1:So you basically took, you took the SLP, the information, the real life, like data Can consolidate, put it all into one platform exactly. Took it a to z, hired a course consultant to help me out, like make it right.
Speaker 2:Your name's Nikki. She's amazing. Yep. Like like, get it dialed in, you know Um, and then we still continually add to it. So like when we brought on you all as a partner, like I made a you-haul module.
Speaker 2:Like I'm gonna share what is working with us right, because if I'm happy to share it like a to z, there's no gatekeeping, it's literally all in there, like Procedurally phone scripts for UPS access point. I mean all that stuff's in there, because the hardest part is actually executing no 100. Right, I can give you all the information and all the information's on youtube. Anyway, yeah, totally you just package it up.
Speaker 1:You make it super simple for them to go through from a to z, and the nice thing is too. We also have a community that's in there, and so I do a quarterly call as well.
Speaker 2:But we have like a community thread that's like kind of like live in real time. And it's awesome because it's a community thread, that's like a lot of people are doing it Because they all support each other too, all the students right, and you have this gradient of folks who have started their own store All the way to like people who are just like Dabbling and like kind of planning, like next year or two, to start a store, so like they're all together in one community and so they're answering each other's questions, they're sharing what works, they're sharing what doesn't work, and it's really cool to just be part of that and really see it grow.
Speaker 1:How are you marketing Um that digital product?
Speaker 2:so, um, initially it was just sharing it on my personal social media and just getting a chance to talk about it on you know podcasts like this.
Speaker 2:And then now you know nicky and and her team are kind of amping up like the digital marketing side of saying you know, hey, how can we get more eyeballs of business owners who feel a pain point of whatever current business they're in? You know one of our students, for example. He and his wife, they own Um uh Vietnamese restaurant in colorado and they've had it for like 10 years and they're just like we love our business. It like provides for us. But they're like we are tired of working holidays, we're tired of working long hours, we're tired of having, you know, crazy staff issues, you know whatever. So they're like we are so excited to like add this to our business portfolio when eventually maybe we can phase ourselves out of the restaurant, but like have something that's open monday to saturday night six. They're like that sounds fantastic.
Speaker 1:Is your revenue stuff. If your entrepreneur and your revenue is stuck, you don't need to fix your products or services. You need new audiences to discover you more consistently. Podcast guessing is an ideal way to be discovered 24 hours a day by your ideal clients and guess what? The more people that know you, the more people can flow you head over to podcast mastery pack Dot com and take advantage of your first or next podcast. Let's go so like with the uh, with the digital side of the business, right, everyone's doing like some courses or, let's say, a community or being a mentorship. Do you feel like having something that you don't necessarily have to put a lot of time and sweat equity into is important for Entrepreneurs and business owners to have? Or even if you're someone at home, do you feel like having some sort of digital revenue coming in Course project like that is important for people to do?
Speaker 2:you know, I was really surprised at how kind of Streamlined the whole process was, because it sounded really daunting in the beginning, which is why I put it off for so long.
Speaker 1:Like you're talking about, like putting a course together.
Speaker 2:Yes, I put it off for like six, seven, eight months, you know, after I filmed a youtube video with kodi and it like kind of popped off this is like this summer will be two years since we filmed that and it it went viral, it popped off and they had all these people that were, you know, hitting me up on dm Email, whatever being like hey, I want to start my own store. And initially I was answering these one-off emails and then obviously got inundating and I was like this is not like one effective use of my time to like I need to disseminate this information widely, and but it still just sounded daunting, right, like oh, I'm gonna put together this whole like court, like do I need to like teach it? Like I I was like what does this even look like? And I just was like I have so many other things going on, like I just not, it's not a priority.
Speaker 2:And then I went to a goal setting retreat with one of my real estate mentors, ken mackler. We went, so it was not this january but the previous january, so january 23, and One of the exercises at this goal setting retreat was to get out a piece of paper and write down all of your back burner projects. All the things are kind of floating around out there, right that you're like, oh, I should probably do.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna get to it.
Speaker 2:Yes, and so On. That list was creating an e-course for the stores and finally I was just like I'm just gonna pick something on the list and like actually execute.
Speaker 1:Yeah and so that's how it came about so during all the time right Of doing the businesses up to this far, are you in a relationship at all Like? Are you choosing you first? How does that work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, um, so I had a romantic relationship for about a year and a half um Recently, and so it was a very mutual copacetic breakup. Um, I think you know, at this stage in my life I've been so focused on building and that's really where my priorities have been you talking about like building your businesses and finances?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly like building up my businesses, um, you know, even like all the community work that I do too. Like, um, you know, if, if I'm not with someone who kind of folds into all of that or, I guess, accommodates it might be a compliment, maybe, yeah like it's just. It's not that it's not possible, it's just there's more friction or just a little bit harder, right and so.
Speaker 2:So for me, I mean, I'm I'm really excited, just continue to kind of hunker down and focus on the things that I'm building. But I do want in the future, for sure, like you know, like family, marriage, kids, all that stuff, like family's super, super important to me and I'm very close to my family. Um, so I do want that, you know, in the future. Um, it's just not like an extreme priority right now.
Speaker 1:So so what are your business goals? I guess right, could you say that's priority. So is it a number, is it a certain amount of acquisitions, like, like, is it different business categories? Like, what would you? Would the goal be?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's changed over time. Um, I would say, you know, even like six, seven, eight years ago, it was like tied to like a number Right and then like, once you hit that number, there's always another number.
Speaker 1:Yeah it's just yeah out of zero.
Speaker 2:You know I mean like, so you keep kind of reaching for more numbers. Um, so for me at this point, it's how can I diversify my business portfolio and truly be involved in projects that I'm excited about?
Speaker 2:Yeah um, so I did an exercise with Ken McElroy and it was really good. We got out like butcher paper and we wrote down All of the things that I'm involved in. So it was like all the businesses, all the community work, all the boards I sit on, like all everything, everything that you have going on in your life, right, right, all down. And then I circled. Which are the ones that make me money? Okay, all right, so I'm circling. There's a whole side of the page. There's no circles right, I'm like looking at it.
Speaker 2:Then you circle. Which ones could you see yourself doing for 10 years or more? Okay, so I'm circling, circling. There's some stuff over here I'm circling. Which ones do you feel like have like impactful, purposeful work, Like you feel impactful and purposeful in the things that you do for that thing? Right, I'm circling, there's some non-profit stuff over here getting circled, and through that one exercise alone was how I realized like there were some things I need to take off my plate and that included cupcakes right At that point.
Speaker 2:I'd had that business for 11 years and I couldn't see myself doing it for another 10. I didn't feel purposeful in the work that we were doing with it. So I say all that to say that, like the goal has changed over time, but now I'm really excited to put my time, effort and energy and resources into things that I'm personally excited about, that I could see myself doing for like a decade or multi-decades.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's actually really interesting and I think the way that you kind of laid out how you can choose those things, like you basically did like a self-audit right.
Speaker 2:Straight up. Yeah, and there were certain boards that I realized just I'm on it for name alone. There's like no impact. I'm not doing anything impactful, Like I didn't feel impactful in the work I'm doing, certainly to make any money, Like I was just like take that off.
Speaker 1:How do the boards work?
Speaker 2:So I mean there's several non-profit boards that I had sat on, whether as an executive or advisory position, and you just kind of help guide like overall vision. There's certain elements you help execute. There's some that are paid positions, some are not. Quite a few of the ones that I was on were just straight volunteer.
Speaker 1:And it's almost like consulting, like the heads of the business, in a sense.
Speaker 2:A little bit. Yeah, I mean it's more like you're helping drive like overall high level strategy, right? So if you know, let's say it's a non-profit, that you know they have a certain community service platform, you know they want to eradicate homelessness or feed the homeless or whatever the initiative is, then there's going to be certain goals and like metrics that are important to that organization and so, as a board member, in general, you're helping support whatever the larger vision is and you're helping their executive team execute on those things. It's good work, it's solid work, it needs to be done. But it was one of those things where, like I had so much of it on my plate and I was just like I need to consolidate this. I need to pick like two things that are important to me, not six.
Speaker 1:I mean, it sounds like you're really busy. So like those board positions and even work with some of these nonprofits and some of these other companies like what was it about sitting on these boards that you know are attracted to you, or why does that and why does that and how does that fit into your overall vision for business?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so currently, for example, I'm on the executive board for the Nevada Policy Research Institute.
Speaker 1:Nevada Policy Research Institute. Is that how policies are being introduced inside the state Exactly yes, and so we're focused on pro-growth economic policy.
Speaker 2:So these are policies that are going to foster competition, free market collaboration, really empowering the entrepreneur.
Speaker 1:We need that in California because we ain't got nothing to do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you do, california is crazy. I do do Listen.
Speaker 1:California. I'm pretty sure you drive down you can see a lot of opportunities for post-office businesses because a lot of these commercial places is just vacant now because of COVID. They're just like big eyesores yeah.
Speaker 2:See, and that's why, you know, I think, people tend to shy away from politics and policy. I mean one, politics is just ugly, but policy itself can be pretty boring and it can be kind of like over people's heads in general. But the reality is is that if we are not paying attention to policy, we're not paying attention to the type of policy that our elected officials are voting for. Guess what, like? We're still beholden to it. Right, as a citizen, as a resident, you are still beholden to whatever rules they decide upon in their ivory tower.
Speaker 1:Or don't decide on or don't decide on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and especially as a business owner, we're totally beholden to those rules, because we get fined or we get. You know, there's some sort of punishment Tax.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, If you don't follow the rules. So how do we have a say in the rules, right? How do we help drive the conversation so that folks who are boots on the ground and know what it's like to run a business in said local area are helping shape the policy that you're gonna be beholden to 100%? It's very important and so, like that's something that you know, I definitely am very passionate about and I think it's for me, it just kind of helps drive the overall mission of, like you know, empowering entrepreneurship, supporting business, supporting small business, because I am a business owner right, I am a small business owner, like I am an entrepreneur, so naturally I'm gonna be inclined to want to support the very thing that puts food on my table and others' tables.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you're also in real estate too, right, and I think I saw that you are. You're with Engel and Vokers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I own the Engel and Vokers with my partner Kathy.
Speaker 1:I used to work for Engel. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh my gosh In Boston, so all over the world. Awesome, it's a great brand. Three years, one clean.
Speaker 2:Great brand yeah. Crisp, yeah big fan of the brand you know, and I've been with major brands on the real estate side. So I started my real estate career with Sotheby's, had a team there for five and a half years, brought the Christie's brand, christie's International Real Estate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I brought Christie's here, had that for a little over two years. Christie's International Real Estate sold to At Properties in November of 21. So then, top of 22, we acquired the Engel and Vokers for Las Vegas, henderson and Summerlin, and they've been phenomenal. They've been wonderful to work with.
Speaker 1:So what's attractive to you about being in real estate as a broker and then having agents underneath you, and how does that landscape change over time, especially post-COVID?
Speaker 2:So I really enjoy it. So I initially got into real estate when I was still working at the firm. We had clients that had real estate needs and initially we're just kind of like referring it out and it was these Yahoo agents and I was like you know what I mean, Like I could do better now, yeah like someone do better please.
Speaker 2:And again, because I was still working at the firm and oh, we still had, since you know we had, since you had cupcakes going at that time. So then I went to my first real estate partner and we teamed up and I said, look, I was like I've got a pipeline of business, I've got high-end clientele Like off the bat we'll have listings, we'll have whatever. I don't have time to service it in a full-time capacity the way that they deserve.
Speaker 2:They're gonna pattern here the way that they deserve right, but your full-time agent, would you be open to teaming up? We'll create a team. I've got the pipeline of business. I also want to learn the business, so let's team up and let's just split everything 50-50. And he was like all right, and so literally that was almost six-year journey that we were on together and it was awesome.
Speaker 2:I learned all the things right. I literally I was doing open houses, I was running around buyers, I was negotiating contracts. I got a chance to be very boots on the ground and I was picking weeds out of driveways before showing. You know what I mean. Like I was doing all the things and I knew, as a brokerage owner, that I didn't want to foster an environment where I'm competing against my agents for business. It's just a different thing. It's like not good or bad. There's a lot of different ways that you have some brokerages out there that that is their model. You have others that aren't Coming from a very competitive environment. I knew that if I wanted to have longevity, if I wanted to have a brokerage where I have agents with me for a decade or more and they are gonna be top producers because I want them to be top producers, because the house takes a cut right.
Speaker 1:The house takes a cut on every transaction so like?
Speaker 2:why would I not financially be incentivized to want to have every excellent, ethical top producer around me? How do you keep them, though, right? And if you, in my opinion, if you are a broker owner who owns the brokerage, and you're also a top producer, regardless of sphere and whatever lead gen but if there's a cold call that comes in the office and it's a juicy $3 million listing, guess who's getting it? Not top producer Annie, who might be number one on the list. You're gonna take it because you're a top producer. You know what I mean, and that's just that's what it is.
Speaker 1:It's not good or bad. It's a piece of family in this real estate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's what it is. But I've been in Annie's position where you're like I've been here five years like throw me a bone here You're like what's up, son? Yes yeah, you're like throw me a bone here, because I know I've been making you money? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And once it gets to a point where like this is not sustainable anymore, I'm gonna bounce and go somewhere where I have a better split or I get more leads or whatever, or feel more supported or whatever. There's a myriad of reasons, but like the point is that I think you're gonna be hard pressed to find someone who's a top producer, who's good at what they do, who cares about what they do and wants to grow. They're serious about their growth. They're not gonna stay with you if they know that you're gonna get every juicy piece that comes in Right, so I hand out referrals from my sphere, from my network.
Speaker 2:I, literally I'm not a Bicell agent. I don't work a single transaction, I refer it all out and I take a cut. I take a referral fee.
Speaker 1:I should.
Speaker 2:I take a referral fee right, it was my client or whatever, or my contact but they take it and they run with it and over time that person ends up becoming their client and I love seeing that, because then I know I've handed it off to their person and you still have the relationship. Totally, and they're happy. They're happier with me 100%.
Speaker 1:Yes, what's up y'all? I'm Stanley in the middle of the street and I'm willing to risk it all because I want you to grow, whether through paid or organic measures. Over the next five days the Audience Growth Challenge we're gonna be teaching you podcast gifting strategy, video marketing strategy, social media, predictable viral creation strategy to power a radio and digital PR. And these strategies are what you need to grow your business over the next four, six, nine, even 12 months to skyrocket your success. So if you wanna join the challenge, all you gotta do is click the link below and join the Audience Growth Challenge and join us at VIP. Let's get it. So I really like that. It's like you see these opportunities right, different areas that you wanna get into. But then it's like, okay, how can I partner, how can I collaborate? How can I bring some value? You're learning, whether you're investing time or money, right, you're learning. And then you're creating, like these motes in these different areas. So you using the you know what's that? Cupcakes is food, right For using food real estate yeah.
Speaker 2:Shipping, retail Shipping, retail right yeah. Venture capital, I mean it's just you can keep growing the buckets, right, and it's kind of endless. The amount of buckets you have could potentially be endless, depending on how much bandwidth and contribution you're making right. But there's stuff that, like you could just be the money person or you could be the consulting person or you could be whatever. Right, there's so many different things that you can bring to the table and yet still have an ownership stake in the business, still have a meaningful you know, impact yeah, meaningful role meaningful impact and you get to build with people that you actually like, that you want to grow with, that you want to build with.
Speaker 2:So that's part of business, I think, is like choosing who's around you, and that's amazing.
Speaker 1:And what about venture capital? So what was it about that? That was like I feel like I can make some impact here to see the good space for me to be, and obviously you learn a ton right, Learn a ton. So, how did that happen?
Speaker 2:So I had Angel invested for probably about seven years where you're just writing kind of, you know, 25k, 50k, 10k checks.
Speaker 1:And this is just just you personally.
Speaker 2:Yes, like as an individual, as Lisa.
Speaker 1:And were you looking for the opportunities or were they just coming to you, or both?
Speaker 2:Yeah, kind of both right. But people knew I was doing kind of small check, investing kind of for one of the first checks in just locally, and so you know there's great people.
Speaker 1:So I go to Lisa. She got the money.
Speaker 2:So I was like you know what all checks here and there. But I realized, though, I was like I need to learn about private equity venture capital. Like I need to learn about venture capital because, as a founder, as a business is I never raised money. I never went out and raised money for equity, right? So I just I never did that, so I never went down that route and I never had the experience of it.
Speaker 2:But I've been on the other side, where I've been pitched and I'm getting the decks and I'm, you know, negotiating equity, or maybe I'm negotiating debt first and then equity that flips into equity if they're successful, whatever, right. So I've been on that side of it. But I said, how can I do this in a larger way? Because, as an angel investor, you're limited, right? You're writing, like I said, 25k, 50k checks and you're just kind of on this long journey with the founder, right, with venture capital. What I liked about it was that if you invest into a fund, that fund is going to make 25 investments, for example over the life of the fund.
Speaker 1:That's supposed to be just you just doing one. Exactly so that 25 would represent like one Right.
Speaker 2:Exactly, in a sense Right. So you know, with venture, I was like okay, so I can write a $200,000 check.
Speaker 1:For multiple businesses.
Speaker 2:That's going to go into 25 different businesses.
Speaker 1:Which is way more opportunities for success. Exactly.
Speaker 2:Right, it's truly like risk mitigation, it's diversification and like the best sense of the word. And oh, by the way, I don't have to go do all the due diligence myself and go, you know, kick tires and go knock on doors and go talk to people. Right, the investment committee that I'm investing in that runs the fund is responsible for doing that. So then the question becomes like, well, okay, well, what fund do you invest in? Who do you trust? Right, Like, like there's so many funds out there, I feel like everyone's got a fund now. Right, there's so many funds. And so I started just kind of kicking tires a little bit, doing due diligence and a couple funds that were out there that were kind of warm intros of folks that I already knew or folks that I knew that they knew a buddy who had a fund or something like that. So I was like talking to people and I was in due diligence.
Speaker 2:Like there was a fund that I met with out of Park City and I remember talking to them. It was very impressive GP list, general partner list. It was a bunch of like Goldman Sachs guys, like very experienced, you know, and I remember asking them what else are we doing for these entrepreneurs, besides writing checks and no one really had a good answer, Like they were just kind of like well, you know, our role is to help them get prepared to raise for their next round, and I was like I get all that. I said but you know, raising for a round let's say it's a priced round and you're raising, you know, at a $50 million valuation, Amazing, that doesn't mean that you're profitable. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that doesn't mean that your company's actually worth $50 million. You have some other, you know. You have some fun telling you that it's worth that, based on some multiple, based on your industry, right.
Speaker 2:So I was just like, okay, all right, I remember flying back to Vegas and I was like, maybe that's venture, maybe that is venture capital. Right, I'm like okay. Few weeks later I got a call from a good friend of mine, justin Nahama. He's phenomenal, former Marine, former federal prosecutor, former Jag, and he's just a badass attorney. So I trusted him. You know already. So he calls me and he's like hey, he's like, um, so myself and two buddies, we created this fund and I'd love to talk to you about it. And I was like you're supposed to end burning Cause? I was like just talking about, like venture capital and I want to get it.
Speaker 1:That's a lot of attraction right there. 100%, it was totally a lot of attraction.
Speaker 2:So I was like, oh my gosh, tell me more. And um, he and Mike Sherbakov are based in San Diego, ryan's up in the Bay, and so we all got on a zoom because I'm here. We got on a zoom and I just immediately like fell in love in the best way. I already know Justin, I already trust him, I like him, I already find him very competent. Um, mike and Ryan obviously I just met them, but like Justin had had a long-term relationship with both of them in different capacities and and them coming together and like they're all dads too. So it's like they're young but they're dads, so it's like they've got this very nurturing quality about them and like I absolutely felt like kind of right at home where I was, like these guys are going to take care of every single entrepreneur they invest in.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:They're going to come alongside them on the journey and like really do it right. Not this bullshit about like, oh, we should have to get them to their next round and if they fail, that's like part of the process, Like they're in it you know, and so I felt so good about teaming up with them. So I came in as an LP, as a limited partner, and then I called Justin back like two days later and I was like what is it going to take for me to be a GP?
Speaker 1:Now it's a general partner.
Speaker 2:Yes, Okay, Excuse me. Yeah, he's like it's not really how it works. You know what I mean. Like every LP flip into a GP like there's. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1:This is a little crazy. You're like this. Checks and balances, Lisa, yeah.
Speaker 2:He was like it's not really how it works and I was like, look, I was like I'm not anything about venture. I said, but I do think I can provide value. Yeah, one, I know I can bring in LPs. Two, I want to say in the companies that we invest in and I also, more importantly, want to say in how we show up for these founders. Not that I don't trust you guys, but I am so excited about this.
Speaker 2:And I just truly feel like yeah, like I want to be more involved. Exactly, I want to lean in and I think I should lean in for equity on the cap people on the GP side, you know, and he was just like, oh my God you are so crazy, and so I flew out to. We all met up in San Diego in person because I, like I said, I hadn't met Mike Ryan in person, just a little resume. So we all met up in person and hammered it out.
Speaker 1:How long ago was that?
Speaker 2:Two years ago.
Speaker 1:Wow, zombie business have you guys invested in, since We've invested in 10.
Speaker 2:so far, we've looked at like 1500 deals.
Speaker 1:How are the 10 doing Amazing yeah.
Speaker 2:So what I love about our thesis we have a really tight investment thesis. We invest in early stage technology companies that are focused on national security and dual use. So our sweet spot as a fund is helping our companies get non dilutive government funding.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, okay, that's amazing. So one of my good friends, also a client of mine, he was on the podcast twice. He's in government contracting, okay yeah, so he basically teaches it. He's been. He's been in government contracting for I think over 15 years. He literally has a. He just talks about, like, once you acquire a government contract, all the different like verticals that you can go into. So he actually has a corporate partnership. He got one. One of them is with the NFL.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So so he basically the part the contract he got with them was helping them build their infrastructure for the big events yeah. So Super Bowl they needed him to build the infrastructure so they can build Super. So that's pretty dope. The thing about government contracting I think that is really interesting is like it doesn't really matter what industry you're in, like there's a need.
Speaker 2:Totally Exactly. There's government money out there for it. Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 1:So people don't know about or they overlook or whatever. But it's like if, if you land a government contract and you're not a six-figure earner, or maybe arguably even a seven-figure earner, you can find a government contract that will instantly make you that.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. Exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know, you basically just have to make sure that you deliver.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Essentially, yeah, yeah, I mean, the contract is going to be for you know, whatever a lot of years it is for, or maybe you're just doing you know, like the resources, like it could be like toilet paper or you know, or tissues or a paper clip. So whatever the case may be, there's just so many different ways that you can go about it and whatever business you're in like, you can create like a government contracting division and then just service the government, and it may not be in the direct way that you currently are servicing customers, but it could be in a different way that serves them but kind of keeps you in your category.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely yeah, and so that's what I love. That like, like I said, we had this kind of tight thesis around, you know, advancing America through venture capital, and so it's focused on national security and dual use. So our portfolio companies are 3D printed drones, 3D printed satellites, cybersecurity like things, like all the cool stuff that the government needs One right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like we need to be equipping, you know, our government or war fighters. And, most importantly, it's created by veterans and military spouses. Right, it's created by the people who were boots on the ground and now they're creating the technology that they wish they would have had out there. Yeah. It's such a win-win and just on a personal level, like it spoke to me so deeply, like again coming from military family, my dad passed in 2020.
Speaker 1:Sorry to hit that mind as well. Yeah, not 2020, but years ago, yeah.
Speaker 2:So it's like I know he just would have been absolutely thrilled.
Speaker 3:He already is. He just would have been like yeah, he just would have been so frickin pumped about the fund and what we're doing and what we're investing in.
Speaker 2:It just would have been his jam. So it definitely. It just spoke to me Like I was, like I have to be part of this.
Speaker 1:Can you run the store really quick, what it would look like like if someone like would pitch you to you know potentially get, and then what it looks like. How long does it take, you know, if you guys decide to invest in them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so with the fund. So we have an intake form that will direct folks to.
Speaker 1:Is it a job form? Google form.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly it's a job form. So we have intake form and that's where we're asking just kind of their high level stuff. And the kind of first line of of an engagement, so to speak, is Mike, who's our full time fund manager, one of the GPs. He'll hop on a zoom with that founder, like if everything's kind of looking good on the type form and we want to like a preview interview.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:So he'll hop on on a zoom and again just kind of do a little bit more of a deep dive, get a gauge of, like, where they are in the process. You know, what are things looking like? Are they pre-revenue, you know? Do they have commercial? We like to see commercial first application. Have they already looked in the government contracts? Where are they out in the process? And then if he likes it and he's excited, then we schedule a GP call so all of us get on and then that's our opportunity again, just to like, keep peeling back the layers, exactly.
Speaker 2:So if it moves past that, then we ask for access to the deal room. We want all the things, we want to see all the things, and then we also lean on our subject matter experts. So we have incredible LPs and venture partners in our fund. Everything from you know military leadership, general Stanley McChrystal, general Trent Edwards I mean these are like high level military folks to you know, strong, strong business leaders. Ken McElroy, one of my real estate mentors, he's one of our LPs, he's a subject matter expert. And then the mindfulness space Deepak Chopra is one of our LPs. So for us, the mindfulness components is really important because you know this, like when you're building a business, it's hard and if you don't have some of that mental grit and that mental resiliency already equipped in you and I think most veterans do, which is why I like investing in them, because they already have the don't quit button.
Speaker 1:They've gone through it.
Speaker 2:They've been there, they're literally battle tested, right, but with that mindfulness piece, it's really important to us because that means you're self aware. So we have this huge stable of folks that are subject matter experts in name your field. So then, if we like what we're seeing so far and we've started poking through the dill room and they've talked to all the GPs and we're liking it then we'll open it up to essentially an LP call where we'll reach out to our subject matter experts. For example, we were doing due diligence on Proteus Space, which is now one of our portfolio companies that we invested in. They're doing 3D printed satellites and I am not a subject matter expert in 3D printed satellites by any stretch of the imagination.
Speaker 2:So that's not for me to say that this is a good or bad investment. Right, like I can look at numbers, I can look at their burn rate, I can look at all those things, but like I don't have a gauge, right, general Trent Edwards, one of our LPs this guy is amazing. He like stood up Space Force, like he's a big deal and Trent got on and he's firing questions. Right, like he's going through everything. Like he's on with their technical founder and they're going back and forth and like that's what you wanna see, right, like you wanna see that deep due diligence being done by subject matter experts that you trust, so that when the conversation's over and it's all said and done and they've gone through the dill room, that's when they get a chance to come back and we give them kind of like a Julius Caesar, like yay or nay, would you invest?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's pretty dope. How long does that process take about?
Speaker 2:On the short end, just a matter of weeks.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, so there's a lot going on pretty fast.
Speaker 2:We like to move quick because we've been on the other end where, like, you get slow stepped and it's just like this behemoth to try to move things and like you know. The reality is, especially like you know this with companies like money's, like jet fuel, and especially when you're in tech like this, like you need money quickly to deploy it to get it working for you, like you can't be waiting six months, like it's just crazy.
Speaker 1:So, outside of all this amazing business stuff that you're doing and all this impact that you're having right financially and obviously in the community and starting these businesses and helping out these companies and stuff like that, what are you doing? Like what do you enjoy doing? Like, do you take trips, you know, do you knit. Are you reading Like, how are you growing, how are you investing in yourself? And what does that look like when you're not doing all these amazing things that we talked about?
Speaker 2:I read a lot big reader, so you're reading fiction, nonfiction, business.
Speaker 1:Both I like both yeah.
Speaker 2:Big reader, I love going to like impactful conferences that are important to me.
Speaker 1:I really enjoy that too.
Speaker 2:It's important, you know, and I love the people I meet too, so I love like limitless, which is a conference that Ken puts on every year. It's just awesome. It's so good for like real estate, real estate investors. I'm really excited. Just in a couple of weeks here EVX, which is the Anglo invokers national conference.
Speaker 1:It's gonna be in Vegas.
Speaker 2:So we're super pumped for that. They're bringing some amazing speakers and just again, it's just a chance for everyone to like get together and deals bring deals. So when you're around everybody, like it's just such an awesome, exciting environment, and then naturally there's like amazing work that comes out of it too. But you know one of the things I really enjoy? So I have two corgis.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, yeah, I have two corgis.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm a dog mom, and their names are Kimchi and Cupcake.
Speaker 1:Kimchi and Cupcake okay, and they're amazing. I love them.
Speaker 2:But one of them, cupcake. She is a certified hospital pet therapy dog.
Speaker 1:And so on Fridays she got work to do.
Speaker 2:That girl puts in the work okay. On Fridays we actually go volunteer at Summerlin Hospital and we go visit the kids and it's awesome. It is like the most rewarding, selfishly like fulfilling thing that I get to do every week.
Speaker 1:That's every Friday.
Speaker 2:If I'm in town.
Speaker 1:One, two hours.
Speaker 2:One hour. Okay, cool it takes me 20 minutes to drive there. We're there for an hour.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you make an impact.
Speaker 2:It's so nothing out of my time right and yet priceless right. So we do sixth floor, which is kids oncology. These are kiddos with cancer. Fifth floor is kids ICU.
Speaker 1:See, I'll get a dog for that.
Speaker 2:It's incredible. And then first floor is pediatric ER.
Speaker 1:So you visit all the floor.
Speaker 2:We visit all of them. And Cupcake her personality is so sweet and like she's a cuddle bug. She just wants to cuddle with you. She's extremely high tolerance for like kids screaming anything Like she's so good.
Speaker 2:She's so chill, so it's perfect for her cause. She loves it right. This is not a dog that's like doesn't like to be touched or something. Like she loves it and these kids love it right, and the parents love it, the nurses love it. Like they don't know my name but they know Cupcake right. Like we walk in and people are like Cupcake, like they're so excited to see her, she's so excited to be there.
Speaker 2:Like if I say hospital to her, she knows. And so she's like, she's immediately like her butt's wagging. You know, she's so excited and these kids like it's just, it's a reprieve, right, it's a chance for them, and they're all hooked up right, like it's wild, you know, like it's a chance for them to just be normal and like forget about, like being sick in the hospital.
Speaker 2:They have to like cuddle up with this dog and like get licked on the face and just like chill for a second. You know, and the parents I mean God bless it Like there's so many parents and they're just like exhausted right. So they're sleeping on a cot yeah they're sleeping on a cot in the room right and they're. These dogs bring joy right, Like they just light up and they're like so pumped, they're so happy to see their kid happy, it's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you still didn't tell me what you do, though you know what I'm saying no, that definitely like feeds me for sure, Like you know, it's really good.
Speaker 1:I guess the reason why I'm like harping on it a little bit, because like you do so much, but you do so much for others. So I'm just curious, like, how do you continue to pour back into yourself so you can share with?
Speaker 2:others. This might be a byproduct of being an only child, but, like I, spend a lot of-.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, you are too, so am I.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not one child, so like I have a good amount on the loan time. You know I really do. Like my evenings are to myself. Like you know, there might be social stuff or whatever, but like I'm not out regularly I'm out for special occasions you know, like my evenings to myself, my mornings are to myself. Like I'm very, I spend quite a bit of time alone, even though social media just makes me look so busy. Right, like I do.
Speaker 1:So that means you have more time to do another business or something.
Speaker 2:The way I look at it is like you know. Just to your point right you can't pour water from an empty well, so the way that I charge up is like and I need shorter bursts. It's not that I need like two days by myself.
Speaker 1:I agree, that's kind of like how I am.
Speaker 2:I need a little short burst where I'm like, okay, like I've spent my entire day talking to people and like being out and whatever. So like after the dinner I get to go home, I'm gonna take my dog to the park, I'm gonna chill and like I'm gonna talk to my mom and like that's it. You know, like I'm not out and about, I'm not whatever. Like I get a chance to just like chill.
Speaker 1:Hey, listen, if you're looking to grow your podcast business or you're looking to leverage podcast to grow your business, you wanna tap in to the Podcasts to Profits Academy. We're gonna teach you exactly what it takes you to get more exposure, to grow and scale your business or leverage podcast so you can do more revenue. What you wanna do is head over to Podcasttuprofitscom and apply to work with me and a member of my team. So if you were looking back at like your journey thus far, you were starting over. Maybe you're your mentor. Do you mentor ship for, like other entrepreneurs or anything like that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, in a very informal way. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I guess what I'm asking is if you were looking back on everything that you've already done and you wanted to give maybe three or four keys, principles, maybe some important lessons, so they can skip some steps, some hurdles that you may have fell into or maybe stumbled on, what would three or four of those things be that you feel like, hey, listen, these things, if you get down you can accelerate your growth a little bit?
Speaker 2:Number one proximity is everything.
Speaker 1:So when you say proximity to people, environment, what would you say?
Speaker 2:All of the above right. So if you hang out with five pot heads, it'll be the sixth. You hang out with five millionaires, you'll be the sixth. It's inevitable, it's guaranteed. Proximity is everything.
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 2:Number two is a quote my parents told me growing up and it's still so true Hard work beats talent. When talent doesn't work, hard Facts. So you don't have to be the smartest, the most successful, the prettiest, whatever it's like. You don't have to be any of that. If you come in strong with a work ethic. It shows, people see it, they recognize it. You will get further. Displaying that and being consistent Just simply do what you say you're gonna do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, pictures.
Speaker 2:Like as much as possible all the time.
Speaker 1:So I'm from Boston, so pictures had a campaign one season. I forget what it was, but it was really simple, just like, kinda to your point just do your job right, so know what your job is, do it be consistent, show up.
Speaker 2:So I like that yeah that's legit like half the battle. The third thing I'd say don't be scared, like don't be scared to think about teaming up with someone. Like be curious so that you're like, oh, I wonder about that. Or pull in the strain, right. Like I wonder about that business. Like when we started Sissy Cupcakes, I didn't even know how to bake. I did not know how to bake. I didn't start that company because I was a passionate baker. I didn't even know how to bake it. Just Danielle told me what she was doing and I was like, dude, that's such a great idea.
Speaker 1:I think I love that about you, even though I'm just meeting you right now, is that if, like Harry, you tell your story Like you didn't know much about the cupcakes, partner it up right. You didn't really know what's going on with the venture capital. Partner it up Post office stores. Partner it up.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. Like you partner it up but you're getting in right, you're learning as you go. Some of these businesses you might have invested some money in Some of them, so sweat equity, some of them both but I mean you did enough to get in, build a good partnership, like you said, with the proximity, and then you've been able to grow and develop. And I think that's definitely something that people over like they just kind of just overlook it and that prevents them from starting or getting in there or staying in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just like, get in there, right, like, if you want to get into real estate and real estate investing, how are you not going to like a solid you know, like a limitless or like a solid real estate investing conference? Maybe you're not a real estate investor right now, but like, don't you want to be around people who are, like I said, the proximity piece is the largest part, because you are going to be doing whatever it is people around you are doing, for better or for worse.
Speaker 1:Man, this has been amazing. I really enjoyed speaking with you, and is there anything you want to share finally with the people, the viewers, the listeners, anything that you want them to take away from that you didn't already give so much, so much value in it? Yeah, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:I think, just thank you for having me on and you know I just I'm grateful for you know the opportunities that have come just by being open, right, but by sharing information and like not gatekeeping and seeing it out there like publicly like it's been incredible the type of opportunities and people I've gotten to meet, because there's so much that's out there, so much noise right, there's so much noise out there, but like, if you are selective in what you consume right, the sky's the limit you just you never know like what could come of it or what you could learn, or what idea could spark and like your life could change.
Speaker 1:So where can I go tapping with you, learn more about you, maybe grab the course or, you know, like, where's that at?
Speaker 2:The course is at mailboxmoneycoursecom and I'm on all the social platforms Instagram, facebook, linkedin. All the things at Lisa Song Sutton.
Speaker 1:Lisa Song Sutton. Listen, I really appreciate you spending time with us. I wanna ask you one more thing what is the current book you are reading and why are you currently reading that?
Speaker 2:I am currently reading Eight Roles of Love by Jay Shetty and I'm reading it when it was a gift, like kind of an old gift but like. I was like oh, I should get around reading it. So he did it, I finally got around to it and you know I'm a big proponent of just personal development, personal growth. Being a member of YPO, like, we have a forum that meets once a month and it's focused on personal development, and I just think it's so important, so it's something I port into for sure.
Speaker 1:Man. I appreciate that. So listen, I'm gonna put a link below for you guys to grab it, right, if you wanna get into it. Lisa, I really appreciate you spending time with us on the podcast. Make sure you guys follow her. Tap into that course, you know. Look her up on YouTube. There's so many like just like I did. There's so many amazing interviews that she also did where you can kind of dive a little bit more into her story. But this has been another episode of the Honor Pursuit podcast. Lisa Sonsutton, bird and Boy. We'll see you guys on the next one. I'll see you guys next time.