1 00:00:00,255 --> 00:00:02,355 >> Ai Westly: All right, so today we're going to be doing a deep dive, 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:05,439 uh, into asset protection and LLCs. 3 00:00:05,527 --> 00:00:06,087 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 4 00:00:06,191 --> 00:00:08,631 >> Ai Westly: And this is inspired by, uh, an 5 00:00:08,663 --> 00:00:11,111 episode about that wallet. 6 00:00:11,183 --> 00:00:12,655 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, yeah, I listened to that one. 7 00:00:12,695 --> 00:00:15,583 >> Ai Westly: Oh, you did? Yeah. With Anthony Weaver. Yeah. And, uh, he's 8 00:00:15,599 --> 00:00:18,591 talking to Jonathan Feniak, who's, uh, an asset 9 00:00:18,623 --> 00:00:20,727 protection lawyer from llcurnorney.com. 10 00:00:20,751 --> 00:00:22,271 >> Ai Sarah: I was gonna say he's got toa be a lawyer. 11 00:00:22,423 --> 00:00:25,351 >> Ai Westly: Yeah, yeah, he is. And this is a really 12 00:00:25,383 --> 00:00:28,383 good one. If you're, uh, an entrepreneur or if you 13 00:00:28,399 --> 00:00:30,919 have a family member who's maybe thinking about starting a 14 00:00:30,967 --> 00:00:31,439 business. 15 00:00:31,567 --> 00:00:34,439 >> Ai Sarah: It is. Yeah. This is something that a lot of people, I think they 16 00:00:34,447 --> 00:00:37,210 don't think about when they're first starting out, and, uh, 17 00:00:38,255 --> 00:00:39,487 it could be pretty critical. 18 00:00:39,591 --> 00:00:42,287 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And Feniac has, uh, like, a 19 00:00:42,311 --> 00:00:43,551 really interesting background. 20 00:00:43,623 --> 00:00:45,807 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, yeah. Um, tell me about it. 21 00:00:45,871 --> 00:00:47,023 >> Ai Westly: He was an English major. 22 00:00:47,079 --> 00:00:47,447 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 23 00:00:47,511 --> 00:00:49,263 >> Ai Westly: And then got into logistics. 24 00:00:49,359 --> 00:00:49,759 >> Ai Sarah: Wow. 25 00:00:49,847 --> 00:00:52,663 >> Ai Westly: And then he was a hedge fund manager. Hedge fund manager and 26 00:00:52,679 --> 00:00:55,391 a financial advisor. Oay. And now he's an asset 27 00:00:55,423 --> 00:00:56,095 protection lawyer. 28 00:00:56,135 --> 00:00:58,951 >> Ai Sarah: So I feel like I should listen to this one just for that. Like, 29 00:00:58,983 --> 00:01:01,571 how does that. How does that happen? Right. I know. 30 00:01:01,643 --> 00:01:03,923 >> Ai Westly: Yeah'like that's quite a career trajectory. 31 00:01:03,979 --> 00:01:06,027 >> Ai Sarah: I know. That's kind of. That's a wild ride, right? 32 00:01:06,091 --> 00:01:07,979 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Yeah. I'm intrigued. 33 00:01:08,147 --> 00:01:11,043 >> Ai Sarah: So, yeah, I mean, that'he's coming at this from a lot of different 34 00:01:11,099 --> 00:01:12,019 directions, right? 35 00:01:12,067 --> 00:01:13,455 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. A lot offectives. 36 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,531 >> Ai Sarah: Um, and he really hits 37 00:01:16,563 --> 00:01:19,435 on right away this idea 38 00:01:19,475 --> 00:01:21,915 that, like, you can do everything. 39 00:01:21,995 --> 00:01:22,499 Right. 40 00:01:22,627 --> 00:01:22,939 >> Ai Westly: Right. 41 00:01:22,987 --> 00:01:25,915 >> Ai Sarah: But, like, a single unexpected event could, like, 42 00:01:25,955 --> 00:01:26,635 wipe you out. 43 00:01:26,715 --> 00:01:27,059 >> Ai Westly: Totally. 44 00:01:27,107 --> 00:01:29,470 >> Ai Sarah: And he uses this example of, like, uh, 45 00:01:29,535 --> 00:01:32,215 imagine, like, you have a rental property 46 00:01:32,375 --> 00:01:35,247 and there's a fire and someone gets hurt, 47 00:01:35,431 --> 00:01:38,303 and now you're facing this lawsuit that could wipe 48 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:39,391 out your life savings. 49 00:01:39,463 --> 00:01:42,111 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And you're, you know, and you're thinking, well, I 50 00:01:42,143 --> 00:01:43,615 have insurance for that. 51 00:01:43,695 --> 00:01:43,959 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 52 00:01:44,007 --> 00:01:46,783 >> Ai Westly: And that's the thing is, like, a lot of times, insurance isn't going to cover 53 00:01:46,839 --> 00:01:47,247 everything. 54 00:01:47,351 --> 00:01:50,130 >> Ai Sarah: Exactly. Yeah. And that's where asset, uh, 55 00:01:50,575 --> 00:01:52,023 protection comes in. And. 56 00:01:52,119 --> 00:01:55,055 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. That's why this is so important. I think people, you know, 57 00:01:55,095 --> 00:01:57,719 they think, oh, I'm covered. I have insurance. I don't need to worry about that kind of 58 00:01:57,727 --> 00:02:00,295 stuff. But this really kind of, like, 59 00:02:00,715 --> 00:02:03,363 you know, opens your eyes to the fact. 60 00:02:03,419 --> 00:02:06,003 >> Ai Sarah: That, uh, you could overcomplicate it, too. 61 00:02:06,099 --> 00:02:06,475 >> Ai Westly: Right? 62 00:02:06,555 --> 00:02:07,987 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, he talks about that, too. 63 00:02:08,051 --> 00:02:08,939 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Yeah. 64 00:02:09,067 --> 00:02:11,059 >> Ai Sarah: So, uh, let's dive into that. 65 00:02:11,147 --> 00:02:11,451 >> Ai Westly: Okay. 66 00:02:11,483 --> 00:02:14,283 So, yeah, let's get into, like, the nuts and bolts of, like, what is 67 00:02:14,299 --> 00:02:15,235 an llc. 68 00:02:15,355 --> 00:02:15,739 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 69 00:02:15,787 --> 00:02:16,963 >> Ai Westly: Like how does that actually work? 70 00:02:17,019 --> 00:02:17,515 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 71 00:02:17,635 --> 00:02:20,555 >> Ai Westly: So, um, Feeniac talks 72 00:02:20,595 --> 00:02:23,459 about this idea of like a risk bucket. It's like, okay, 73 00:02:23,587 --> 00:02:24,890 you set up an llc. 74 00:02:24,890 --> 00:02:25,370 >> Ai Sarah: Mhm. 75 00:02:25,370 --> 00:02:28,203 >> Ai Westly: You put a certain amount of money into that llc that's 76 00:02:28,219 --> 00:02:29,311 like in your bucket. 77 00:02:29,403 --> 00:02:29,759 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 78 00:02:29,807 --> 00:02:32,415 >> Ai Westly: And so like, let's say you put $100,000 into an 79 00:02:32,455 --> 00:02:35,455 LLC for your restaurant or something. If your business 80 00:02:35,495 --> 00:02:36,310 gets sued. 81 00:02:36,310 --> 00:02:36,970 >> Ai Sarah: Mhm. 82 00:02:36,970 --> 00:02:39,895 >> Ai Westly: Even if they're suing you for a million dollars, the most 83 00:02:39,935 --> 00:02:42,023 you're gonna lose is that $100,000. 84 00:02:42,119 --> 00:02:42,567 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 85 00:02:42,631 --> 00:02:43,543 >> Ai Westly: That's in the bucket. 86 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:44,383 >> Ai Sarah: I see. 87 00:02:44,519 --> 00:02:47,471 >> Ai Westly: So your personal assets outside 88 00:02:47,503 --> 00:02:49,183 of that are protected. 89 00:02:49,279 --> 00:02:51,015 >> Ai Sarah: So it's kind of like a firewall. 90 00:02:51,175 --> 00:02:52,975 >> Ai Westly: It is like a firewall between your. 91 00:02:53,055 --> 00:02:55,911 >> Ai Sarah: You personally and your business. Yeah, that makes 92 00:02:55,943 --> 00:02:56,223 sense. 93 00:02:56,279 --> 00:02:59,231 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. So. And the states actually like, they want you to do 94 00:02:59,263 --> 00:02:59,623 this. 95 00:02:59,719 --> 00:03:00,095 >> Ai Sarah: Really? 96 00:03:00,175 --> 00:03:02,087 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Because it encourages entrepreneurship. 97 00:03:02,151 --> 00:03:02,983 >> Ai Sarah: Would that make sense? 98 00:03:03,079 --> 00:03:05,799 >> Ai Westly: Right. Because they're saying like, hey, we want you to start a business. 99 00:03:05,887 --> 00:03:06,295 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 100 00:03:06,375 --> 00:03:08,207 >> Ai Westly: But we're also going to give you these guardrails. 101 00:03:08,271 --> 00:03:08,775 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 102 00:03:08,895 --> 00:03:10,143 >> Ai Westly: So if things go wrong. 103 00:03:10,239 --> 00:03:11,170 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. If you go belly up. 104 00:03:11,170 --> 00:03:12,167 >> Ai Westly: Ah. You don't lose everything. 105 00:03:12,231 --> 00:03:13,375 >> Ai Sarah: You don't lose everything. 106 00:03:13,455 --> 00:03:16,351 >> Ai Westly: It's not like you're bed in the farm every time you 107 00:03:16,383 --> 00:03:17,215 start a business. 108 00:03:17,295 --> 00:03:20,199 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. Right. And that can be scary. Right. 109 00:03:20,327 --> 00:03:22,719 Like who wants to risk everything? 110 00:03:22,847 --> 00:03:25,719 >> Ai Westly: Like uh, it'like uh, it's like going to the 111 00:03:25,727 --> 00:03:28,463 casino and putting all your chips on one bet every time. 112 00:03:28,559 --> 00:03:31,007 >> Ai Sarah: Every time. Exactly. Who wants to live like that? 113 00:03:31,151 --> 00:03:32,327 So. Yeah, yeah. 114 00:03:32,391 --> 00:03:33,287 >> Ai Westly: So that makes sense. 115 00:03:33,351 --> 00:03:35,780 >> Ai Sarah: But he also has these warnings about, um. 116 00:03:35,975 --> 00:03:36,799 >> Ai Westly: Oh yeah. 117 00:03:36,927 --> 00:03:38,991 >> Ai Sarah: About taking asset protection too far. 118 00:03:39,103 --> 00:03:41,279 >> Ai Westly: Well, yeah. I mean, how, how do you take it too far? 119 00:03:41,367 --> 00:03:44,311 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Well, he talks about these schemes you 120 00:03:44,343 --> 00:03:45,143 see online. 121 00:03:45,279 --> 00:03:45,951 >> Ai Westly: Oh yeah. 122 00:03:46,023 --> 00:03:48,841 >> Ai Sarah: Like, you know, like the ads and stuff. Like, oh, become, 123 00:03:48,953 --> 00:03:49,705 you know. 124 00:03:49,865 --> 00:03:50,921 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Be invisible. 125 00:03:50,993 --> 00:03:51,993 >> Ai Sarah: Invisible to creditors. 126 00:03:52,049 --> 00:03:53,233 >> Ai Westly: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 127 00:03:53,409 --> 00:03:55,769 >> Ai Sarah: And he's like, uh, you know, it. 128 00:03:55,777 --> 00:03:57,641 >> Ai Westly: Is that all about, like, that's like. 129 00:03:57,673 --> 00:04:00,233 >> Ai Sarah: Having a home 130 00:04:00,329 --> 00:04:02,617 security system with aotat and 131 00:04:02,681 --> 00:04:03,553 alligators. 132 00:04:03,689 --> 00:04:05,641 >> Ai Westly: Like sometimes you just need to lock on your door. 133 00:04:05,713 --> 00:04:07,233 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. Keeppt it simple, you know. Ye. 134 00:04:07,329 --> 00:04:09,417 >> Ai Westly: And he actually talks about a Supreme Court case. 135 00:04:09,521 --> 00:04:10,289 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, wow. 136 00:04:10,417 --> 00:04:13,025 >> Ai Westly: Where this company tried to shield all their 137 00:04:13,065 --> 00:04:15,565 assets with all these LLCs 138 00:04:15,875 --> 00:04:17,775 and it didn't hold up in court. 139 00:04:18,475 --> 00:04:20,860 >> Ai Sarah: So the Supreme Court was basically like, nah, uh, 140 00:04:21,379 --> 00:04:22,635 you're trying to hide stuff. 141 00:04:22,715 --> 00:04:24,155 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. They were like, this is too much. 142 00:04:24,235 --> 00:04:25,827 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Like, this is interesting. 143 00:04:25,891 --> 00:04:27,843 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. So he's like, don't overcomplicate it. 144 00:04:27,899 --> 00:04:30,875 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. So it sounds like, I mean, obviously this is good 145 00:04:30,915 --> 00:04:33,739 to have the llc, but you don't want to know 146 00:04:33,787 --> 00:04:34,627 over engineer it. 147 00:04:34,691 --> 00:04:35,011 >> Ai Westly: Right. 148 00:04:35,083 --> 00:04:35,427 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 149 00:04:35,491 --> 00:04:38,227 >> Ai Westly: And it's interesting because he talks about this client he 150 00:04:38,251 --> 00:04:40,571 had who had, like, three different 151 00:04:40,643 --> 00:04:43,491 LLCs. Some of them were esc Cor. 152 00:04:43,563 --> 00:04:44,275 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 153 00:04:44,435 --> 00:04:47,419 >> Ai Westly: But they were all basically doing the same thing. 154 00:04:47,507 --> 00:04:48,175 >> Ai Sarah: Oh. 155 00:04:48,475 --> 00:04:49,483 >> Ai Westly: Just a different name. 156 00:04:49,539 --> 00:04:50,747 >> Ai Sarah: So just different branding. 157 00:04:50,851 --> 00:04:53,379 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. So he was like, why are you making this so 158 00:04:53,427 --> 00:04:54,427 complicated for yourself? 159 00:04:54,491 --> 00:04:56,643 >> Ai Sarah: Right. And I bet that's a nightmare at tax time. 160 00:04:56,739 --> 00:04:57,363 >> Ai Westly: Oh, yeah. 161 00:04:57,459 --> 00:04:59,855 >> Ai Sarah: Three different LLCs, some of them esc cor. 162 00:05:01,275 --> 00:05:02,411 Oh, goodnesse. 163 00:05:02,483 --> 00:05:05,251 >> Ai Westly: And also, like, you're just, like, raising red 164 00:05:05,283 --> 00:05:05,875 flags, right? 165 00:05:05,915 --> 00:05:08,667 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, exactly. The more complicated you make it, the more likely you are 166 00:05:08,731 --> 00:05:10,563 to, uh, get audited or whatever. 167 00:05:10,619 --> 00:05:12,815 >> Ai Westly: And then he brings up this really interesting point. 168 00:05:13,885 --> 00:05:16,437 He compares an LLC 169 00:05:16,541 --> 00:05:19,325 operating agreement to a prenup. 170 00:05:19,485 --> 00:05:19,869 Oh. 171 00:05:19,917 --> 00:05:22,797 >> Ai Sarah: To a prenup. Okay. So this is if you 172 00:05:22,821 --> 00:05:23,565 have a partner. 173 00:05:23,645 --> 00:05:23,981 >> Ai Westly: Right? 174 00:05:24,053 --> 00:05:24,405 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 175 00:05:24,445 --> 00:05:25,901 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. If you're in business with somebody else. 176 00:05:25,973 --> 00:05:28,901 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Because you're not gonna get married to your business. Hopefully 177 00:05:28,933 --> 00:05:29,149 not. 178 00:05:29,197 --> 00:05:29,965 >> Ai Westly: Hopefully not. 179 00:05:30,085 --> 00:05:31,965 >> Ai Sarah: And it's like, you know, you wouldn't. 180 00:05:32,085 --> 00:05:33,229 >> Ai Westly: Yeah, but I see what you're saying. 181 00:05:33,277 --> 00:05:34,853 >> Ai Sarah: You wouldn't go into a marriage without. 182 00:05:34,869 --> 00:05:36,813 >> Ai Westly: A prenup without some sort of understanding. 183 00:05:36,909 --> 00:05:39,610 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Should have that same level of forethought, uh, 184 00:05:39,717 --> 00:05:41,429 clarity with your business partners. 185 00:05:41,517 --> 00:05:44,475 >> Ai Westly: Right. So, you know, what happens if somebody wants out? 186 00:05:44,595 --> 00:05:44,923 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 187 00:05:44,979 --> 00:05:47,739 >> Ai Westly: What happens if, you know, God forbid, somebody 188 00:05:47,787 --> 00:05:50,747 dies or, you know, gets sick or something 189 00:05:50,771 --> 00:05:51,275 like that? 190 00:05:51,355 --> 00:05:54,291 >> Ai Sarah: What are the spending limits? What if one partner goes 191 00:05:54,323 --> 00:05:57,051 and, like, spends a bunch of money, commits the 192 00:05:57,123 --> 00:05:58,275 business to something? 193 00:05:58,355 --> 00:06:00,531 >> Ai Westly: Right. Without the other person's knowledge? 194 00:06:00,603 --> 00:06:03,555 >> Ai Sarah: Without the other person being able actually know. 195 00:06:03,635 --> 00:06:05,267 Contribute their half or whatever. 196 00:06:05,331 --> 00:06:07,627 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. He gives an example of, like, these two business partners. 197 00:06:07,691 --> 00:06:08,067 >> Ai Sarah: Oay. 198 00:06:08,131 --> 00:06:10,095 >> Ai Westly: One of them committed the llc. 199 00:06:10,230 --> 00:06:10,570 >> Ai Sarah: Uh-huh. 200 00:06:10,595 --> 00:06:13,387 >> Ai Westly: To a real estate purchasek without the other 201 00:06:13,411 --> 00:06:14,315 one even knowing. 202 00:06:14,395 --> 00:06:14,867 >> Ai Sarah: Oh. 203 00:06:14,971 --> 00:06:17,163 >> Ai Westly: So. And the other one couldn't even come up with the money. 204 00:06:17,259 --> 00:06:18,339 >> Ai Sarah: Right. They didn't have it. 205 00:06:18,427 --> 00:06:18,835 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 206 00:06:18,915 --> 00:06:21,443 >> Ai Sarah: So that's a recipe for 207 00:06:21,539 --> 00:06:22,427 disaster. 208 00:06:22,531 --> 00:06:23,291 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 209 00:06:23,483 --> 00:06:24,875 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, I see your point. 210 00:06:24,955 --> 00:06:27,771 >> Ai Westly: So, you know, it's, like, really important to have that clarity up 211 00:06:27,803 --> 00:06:28,211 front. 212 00:06:28,323 --> 00:06:31,075 >> Ai Sarah: Well, yeah. I mean, like, it's almost like anything else in life. Right. Like, 213 00:06:31,155 --> 00:06:34,075 you want to have those difficult conversations up 214 00:06:34,115 --> 00:06:34,435 front. 215 00:06:34,515 --> 00:06:34,827 >> Ai Westly: Right. 216 00:06:34,891 --> 00:06:37,621 >> Ai Sarah: So you can avoid the real problems down the road. 217 00:06:37,733 --> 00:06:38,277 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. 218 00:06:38,341 --> 00:06:39,437 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. That's a really good point. 219 00:06:39,501 --> 00:06:42,373 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And so, um, I think this is a 220 00:06:42,389 --> 00:06:45,261 really good point to just like, stop 221 00:06:45,293 --> 00:06:48,093 and think, like, if you were 222 00:06:48,149 --> 00:06:50,973 starting a business with somebody, like, what. 223 00:06:50,989 --> 00:06:52,677 >> Ai Sarah: Are the things, what are your non negotiable. 224 00:06:52,741 --> 00:06:52,965 >> Ai Westly: Right. 225 00:06:53,005 --> 00:06:53,341 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 226 00:06:53,413 --> 00:06:55,989 >> Ai Westly: That you absolutely need to have in that operating 227 00:06:56,037 --> 00:06:56,437 agreement? 228 00:06:56,501 --> 00:06:58,453 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Like, what would keep you up at night? 229 00:06:58,509 --> 00:06:59,677 >> Ai Westly: Right. What are you worried about? 230 00:06:59,741 --> 00:07:00,061 >> Ai Sarah: Ye. 231 00:07:00,133 --> 00:07:03,037 >> Ai Westly: So then he goes on to this other example which I think is we'll 232 00:07:03,061 --> 00:07:05,703 resonate with some parents out there. He's like, okay, 233 00:07:05,829 --> 00:07:08,651 imagine your 21 year old kid wants 234 00:07:08,683 --> 00:07:11,011 to start a lemonade stand business. 235 00:07:11,203 --> 00:07:14,115 >> Ai Sarah: All right. So cute. Classic, right? 236 00:07:14,235 --> 00:07:14,555 Yeah. 237 00:07:14,595 --> 00:07:15,715 >> Ai Westly: It seems pretty harmless. 238 00:07:15,755 --> 00:07:15,979 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 239 00:07:16,027 --> 00:07:17,251 >> Ai Westly: Like, what's the worst that can happen? 240 00:07:17,323 --> 00:07:19,099 >> Ai Sarah: Right. What are they gonna get sued for? 241 00:07:19,267 --> 00:07:22,255 >> Ai Westly: Well, Feeniac is like, 242 00:07:23,395 --> 00:07:26,051 even in that situation, u. Uh-huh. You need a business 243 00:07:26,083 --> 00:07:26,655 plan. 244 00:07:27,155 --> 00:07:29,283 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. I mean, yeah, fair enough. But like. 245 00:07:29,339 --> 00:07:29,579 >> Ai Westly: Right. 246 00:07:29,627 --> 00:07:30,491 >> Ai Sarah: It's a lemonade standak. 247 00:07:30,563 --> 00:07:31,731 >> Ai Westly: But he's like, you know. 248 00:07:31,803 --> 00:07:32,279 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 249 00:07:32,387 --> 00:07:33,295 >> Ai Westly: What's the market? 250 00:07:33,415 --> 00:07:33,791 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 251 00:07:33,863 --> 00:07:35,199 >> Ai Westly: Like, what are your costs? 252 00:07:35,327 --> 00:07:37,383 >> Ai Sarah: What's your customer acquisition strategy? 253 00:07:37,439 --> 00:07:39,255 >> Ai Westly: Right. Like, how are you going to sell this lemonade? 254 00:07:39,335 --> 00:07:39,751 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 255 00:07:39,823 --> 00:07:42,759 >> Ai Westly: And he uses this example of the food service industry in general. 256 00:07:42,847 --> 00:07:43,199 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 257 00:07:43,247 --> 00:07:45,151 >> Ai Westly: He's like, it has a very high failure rate. 258 00:07:45,223 --> 00:07:47,847 >> Ai Sarah: It does. Yeah. Restaurants are tough, right? Yeah. 259 00:07:47,911 --> 00:07:50,855 >> Ai Westly: And there's a lot of unexpected complexities that can come up. 260 00:07:50,935 --> 00:07:51,719 >> Ai Sarah: Like what? 261 00:07:51,847 --> 00:07:54,719 >> Ai Westly: Like he mentioned that, like Whole Foods requires a 262 00:07:54,727 --> 00:07:57,583 million dollar liability policy for vendors. 263 00:07:57,679 --> 00:08:00,433 Lemonade standick or I getting a 264 00:08:00,449 --> 00:08:02,913 barcode. Uh, getting shelf space. 265 00:08:03,009 --> 00:08:04,001 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, that's true. 266 00:08:04,073 --> 00:08:07,073 >> Ai Westly: You know, it's like, I hadn't thought about that. Yeah. So it's 267 00:08:07,089 --> 00:08:09,793 like even something as simple as a lemonade stand. 268 00:08:09,969 --> 00:08:10,377 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 269 00:08:10,441 --> 00:08:11,689 >> Ai Westly: Can get really complicated. 270 00:08:11,737 --> 00:08:12,857 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. It can snowball. 271 00:08:12,961 --> 00:08:15,585 >> Ai Westly: Right. And he's basically saying, like, you should treat your 272 00:08:15,625 --> 00:08:17,249 kids business idea. 273 00:08:17,377 --> 00:08:17,825 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 274 00:08:17,905 --> 00:08:20,897 >> Ai Westly: With the same seriousness as you would treat any other investment. 275 00:08:21,001 --> 00:08:23,089 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Don't just blow it off because it's cute. 276 00:08:23,177 --> 00:08:23,425 >> Ai Westly: Right? 277 00:08:23,465 --> 00:08:23,909 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 278 00:08:24,017 --> 00:08:26,501 >> Ai Westly: And it's interesting because he actually started his own 279 00:08:26,573 --> 00:08:28,277 business when he was 14. 280 00:08:28,421 --> 00:08:29,205 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, really? 281 00:08:29,325 --> 00:08:30,997 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. He had a skateboard company. 282 00:08:31,101 --> 00:08:33,197 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, wow. Okay. So he's been doing this for a while. 283 00:08:33,261 --> 00:08:33,525 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 284 00:08:33,565 --> 00:08:33,853 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 285 00:08:33,909 --> 00:08:35,285 >> Ai Westly: Called Happy Dog Industries. 286 00:08:35,365 --> 00:08:36,341 >> Ai Sarah: I love that. 287 00:08:36,493 --> 00:08:39,205 >> Ai Westly: And so Happy Dog Industries, you learned. 288 00:08:39,245 --> 00:08:41,861 >> Ai Sarah: All these lessons about risk and reward. 289 00:08:41,970 --> 00:08:43,509 >> Ai Westly: Uh, from a very young age. 290 00:08:43,597 --> 00:08:46,557 >> Ai Sarah: I mean, that's the best way to learn, Right. 291 00:08:46,661 --> 00:08:48,973 Like when you're young and you don't have that m much to lose. 292 00:08:49,069 --> 00:08:49,397 >> Ai Westly: Right. 293 00:08:49,461 --> 00:08:49,749 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 294 00:08:49,797 --> 00:08:52,787 >> Ai Westly: And then he goes on to say, like, regardless of 295 00:08:52,811 --> 00:08:55,451 what your business is, you have to be a salesperson. 296 00:08:55,563 --> 00:08:58,251 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. You know, so like, everybody's in 297 00:08:58,283 --> 00:08:58,643 sales. 298 00:08:58,739 --> 00:08:59,059 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 299 00:08:59,107 --> 00:08:59,427 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 300 00:08:59,491 --> 00:09:01,795 >> Ai Westly: Like you could have the best product in the world. 301 00:09:01,875 --> 00:09:02,331 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 302 00:09:02,443 --> 00:09:04,003 >> Ai Westly: But if you can't sell it, you're. 303 00:09:04,019 --> 00:09:04,739 >> Ai Sarah: Not gon toa get anywhere. 304 00:09:04,787 --> 00:09:05,803 >> Ai Westly: You're not go going toa get anywhere. 305 00:09:05,859 --> 00:09:06,163 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 306 00:09:06,219 --> 00:09:08,691 >> Ai Westly: And he's like, assume everything goes 307 00:09:08,723 --> 00:09:11,339 right. Like you create your product or service. 308 00:09:11,467 --> 00:09:14,411 It's perfect. You have a website, you have marketing 309 00:09:14,443 --> 00:09:15,011 materials. 310 00:09:15,083 --> 00:09:15,643 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 311 00:09:15,779 --> 00:09:17,219 >> Ai Westly: Now how Are you gon toa get people to buy it? 312 00:09:17,267 --> 00:09:19,419 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. Yeah. How are youn toa close those deals? 313 00:09:19,507 --> 00:09:19,957 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 314 00:09:20,051 --> 00:09:21,841 >> Ai Sarah: That's a good question to ask yourself. 315 00:09:21,993 --> 00:09:22,401 >> Ai Westly: Right? 316 00:09:22,473 --> 00:09:22,817 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 317 00:09:22,881 --> 00:09:25,857 >> Ai Westly: And he's like, huh. You actually should start with the 318 00:09:25,881 --> 00:09:26,561 sales side. 319 00:09:26,673 --> 00:09:27,209 >> Ai Sarah: Interesting. 320 00:09:27,297 --> 00:09:29,025 >> Ai Westly: And let everything else fall into place. 321 00:09:29,030 --> 00:09:29,240 >> Ai Sarah: Huh. 322 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,729 >> Ai Westly: Hu so figure out that sales process 323 00:09:31,777 --> 00:09:32,321 first. 324 00:09:32,473 --> 00:09:34,841 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. So like figure out your 325 00:09:34,913 --> 00:09:37,769 ideal customer, like who is going to buy 326 00:09:37,817 --> 00:09:40,705 thisactly. And then figure out. Okay, how do I talk 327 00:09:40,745 --> 00:09:41,985 to them? How do I reach them? 328 00:09:42,065 --> 00:09:44,521 >> Ai Westly: And this ties into this concept of like 329 00:09:44,713 --> 00:09:47,230 your network and building a network. 330 00:09:47,230 --> 00:09:47,300 >> Ai Sarah: Mhm. 331 00:09:47,593 --> 00:09:49,905 >> Ai Westly: Of what Malcolm Gladwell calls mavens. 332 00:09:50,025 --> 00:09:50,577 >> Ai Sarah: Mavens. 333 00:09:50,641 --> 00:09:50,953 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 334 00:09:51,009 --> 00:09:51,915 >> Ai Sarah: Or apostles. 335 00:09:52,065 --> 00:09:52,903 >> Ai Westly: Your super fans. 336 00:09:52,959 --> 00:09:54,391 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. Like your early doctors. 337 00:09:54,463 --> 00:09:56,391 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. The people who will spread the word for you. 338 00:09:56,463 --> 00:09:57,103 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 339 00:09:57,279 --> 00:09:57,767 >> Ai Westly: Okay. 340 00:09:57,831 --> 00:10:00,727 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. So basically like what does this all mean 341 00:10:00,791 --> 00:10:01,595 for you? 342 00:10:02,015 --> 00:10:03,063 >> Ai Westly: Right. Let's bring it back. 343 00:10:03,119 --> 00:10:03,807 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 344 00:10:03,991 --> 00:10:04,959 >> Ai Westly: We've talked about a lot. 345 00:10:05,007 --> 00:10:05,367 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 346 00:10:05,431 --> 00:10:06,695 >> Ai Westly: What are like the takeaways here? 347 00:10:06,735 --> 00:10:08,151 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. What are the action items? 348 00:10:08,223 --> 00:10:11,087 >> Ai Westly: So I think the first thing is like you have to 349 00:10:11,111 --> 00:10:13,751 figure out like your risk tolerance. 350 00:10:13,823 --> 00:10:14,335 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 351 00:10:14,455 --> 00:10:16,135 >> Ai Westly: Like how much are you willing to risk? 352 00:10:16,215 --> 00:10:18,287 >> Ai Sarah: How much skin are you willing to put in the game? 353 00:10:18,391 --> 00:10:18,703 >> Ai Westly: Right. 354 00:10:18,759 --> 00:10:19,023 >> Ai Sarah: Ye. 355 00:10:19,079 --> 00:10:21,591 >> Ai Westly: And that's going to inform like how you structure your 356 00:10:21,663 --> 00:10:24,623 business, what kind of investments you make and all of 357 00:10:24,639 --> 00:10:25,007 that. 358 00:10:25,111 --> 00:10:27,967 >> Ai Sarah: If you're very risk averse, maybe don't start 359 00:10:27,991 --> 00:10:28,799 a food truck. 360 00:10:28,887 --> 00:10:30,447 >> Ai Westly: Right. Yeah, something like that. 361 00:10:30,511 --> 00:10:32,230 >> Ai Sarah: Exactlye. Um, 362 00:10:33,335 --> 00:10:35,791 and then an LLC can be a really valuable 363 00:10:35,863 --> 00:10:38,447 cool for asset protection. 364 00:10:38,631 --> 00:10:40,183 But it's not a magic bullet. 365 00:10:40,239 --> 00:10:41,767 >> Ai Westly: Right. It's not go goingna solve all your problems. 366 00:10:41,831 --> 00:10:42,151 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 367 00:10:42,223 --> 00:10:42,495 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 368 00:10:42,535 --> 00:10:45,309 >> Ai Sarah: And you also have to think about like even when 369 00:10:45,357 --> 00:10:47,085 things are going well. 370 00:10:47,165 --> 00:10:47,789 >> Ai Westly: Right. 371 00:10:47,957 --> 00:10:49,781 >> Ai Sarah: What's the worst case scenario? 372 00:10:49,853 --> 00:10:51,389 >> Ai Westly: Plan for the worst y hope for. 373 00:10:51,397 --> 00:10:53,585 >> Ai Sarah: The best and then start simple. 374 00:10:54,925 --> 00:10:57,661 Don't like overco compllicate things from the beginning. 375 00:10:57,733 --> 00:11:00,365 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Don't try to like you know, create some sort of super 376 00:11:00,405 --> 00:11:02,221 complex legal structure. 377 00:11:02,293 --> 00:11:02,621 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 378 00:11:02,693 --> 00:11:05,589 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. When you're just starting out with your lemonade stand, keep it simple 379 00:11:05,637 --> 00:11:05,893 and then. 380 00:11:05,909 --> 00:11:07,213 >> Ai Sarah: You can scale up as you need to. 381 00:11:07,269 --> 00:11:08,745 >> Ai Westly: Right. Exactly. Ye. 382 00:11:10,785 --> 00:11:13,401 Good advice. Yeah. We're gonna pause 383 00:11:13,433 --> 00:11:13,793 here. 384 00:11:13,889 --> 00:11:14,249 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 385 00:11:14,297 --> 00:11:17,193 >> Ai Westly: And we'll come back for part two of this deep dive. 386 00:11:17,249 --> 00:11:19,017 >> Ai Sarah: I'm excited to see what else he has to say. 387 00:11:19,081 --> 00:11:20,553 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. This is a really good one. 388 00:11:20,649 --> 00:11:21,169 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 389 00:11:21,257 --> 00:11:23,073 >> Ai Westly: So stay tuned. We back in a minute. 390 00:11:23,129 --> 00:11:23,929 >> Ai Sarah: I'll be here. 391 00:11:24,057 --> 00:11:27,017 Welcome back. So, um, you know, 392 00:11:27,041 --> 00:11:29,850 one thing that I thought was interesting in that episodeah was 393 00:11:29,850 --> 00:11:32,545 um, the way he kind of tied his 394 00:11:32,585 --> 00:11:35,433 own experience as an entrepreneur to some of 395 00:11:35,449 --> 00:11:38,283 these points about LLCs and asset protection. 396 00:11:38,379 --> 00:11:38,851 >> Ai Westly: Right. 397 00:11:38,963 --> 00:11:41,467 >> Ai Sarah: He started a skateboard company when he was 14. 398 00:11:41,611 --> 00:11:43,227 >> Ai Westly: Oh, yeah. Happy Dog Industries. 399 00:11:43,291 --> 00:11:45,655 >> Ai Sarah: Happy Dog Industries. Yeah. I love that. 400 00:11:46,350 --> 00:11:49,347 Um, but, yeah, he didn't have an LLC at the 401 00:11:49,371 --> 00:11:51,923 time, but he was already thinking about, like, 402 00:11:51,939 --> 00:11:54,779 okay, how much money do I have to put into this? 403 00:11:54,827 --> 00:11:57,459 How much risk am I taking? Um, and it's 404 00:11:57,507 --> 00:12:00,211 interesting because a lot of these principles, they 405 00:12:00,243 --> 00:12:02,979 apply, whether you're running a lemonade stand 406 00:12:03,067 --> 00:12:05,123 or, you know, a Fortune 500 company. 407 00:12:05,179 --> 00:12:06,539 >> Ai Westly: Right. It's all about managing risk. 408 00:12:06,627 --> 00:12:07,707 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. And being smart about it. 409 00:12:07,731 --> 00:12:10,025 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And being smart about it. And planning ahead. 410 00:12:10,105 --> 00:12:13,081 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. And it's funny because he tells this story about how 411 00:12:13,233 --> 00:12:16,217 he hired a friend to design the logo for Happy 412 00:12:16,241 --> 00:12:18,450 Dog Industries. Um, 413 00:12:18,985 --> 00:12:21,969 and he didn't have any kind of formal agreement. 414 00:12:22,097 --> 00:12:25,089 And so he's like, you know, looking back, I don't even know if I own 415 00:12:25,137 --> 00:12:27,817 the rights to that logo. It's like, 416 00:12:27,961 --> 00:12:30,929 you know, even when you're starting out small, it's 417 00:12:30,977 --> 00:12:32,457 important to think about these things. 418 00:12:32,521 --> 00:12:35,513 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Easz to overlook that stuff when you're just excited to 419 00:12:35,529 --> 00:12:36,049 get going. 420 00:12:36,137 --> 00:12:39,097 >> Ai Sarah: Totally. Yeah. You know. Yeah. And I think that that's something 421 00:12:39,121 --> 00:12:41,993 that he kind of emphasizes throughout the whole 422 00:12:42,049 --> 00:12:44,833 interview is, like, the importance of getting advice 423 00:12:44,889 --> 00:12:47,689 from experts. Like, he talks about how much he enjoys 424 00:12:47,737 --> 00:12:50,545 learning from other lawyers, especially lawyers 425 00:12:50,585 --> 00:12:52,865 who specialize in bankruptcy or 426 00:12:52,905 --> 00:12:55,041 divorce or litigationion. 427 00:12:55,193 --> 00:12:55,585 >> Ai Westly: Interesting. 428 00:12:55,625 --> 00:12:58,425 >> Ai Sarah: And he's like, you know, I want to understand how those 429 00:12:58,465 --> 00:13:01,305 things work so I can better protect my 430 00:13:01,345 --> 00:13:01,825 clients. 431 00:13:01,945 --> 00:13:04,275 >> Ai Westly: Yeahuse he's basically trying to think of, like, 432 00:13:04,465 --> 00:13:06,383 okay, what could go wrong? 433 00:13:06,479 --> 00:13:07,471 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Exactly. 434 00:13:07,583 --> 00:13:10,207 >> Ai Westly: He's playing devublin's advocate, and how do we prevent that? 435 00:13:10,271 --> 00:13:11,815 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. How do we protect against that? 436 00:13:11,895 --> 00:13:13,510 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And he even talked about, um, 437 00:13:14,535 --> 00:13:17,471 staying up to date on recent legal developments. 438 00:13:17,583 --> 00:13:19,991 Like, um, there's this corporate transparency act. 439 00:13:20,063 --> 00:13:21,359 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, yeah, I've heard of that. 440 00:13:21,447 --> 00:13:23,039 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And he was kind of like, you. 441 00:13:23,047 --> 00:13:24,223 >> Ai Sarah: Know, what is that about? 442 00:13:24,279 --> 00:13:26,151 >> Ai Westly: It's more nuanced than people think. 443 00:13:26,263 --> 00:13:26,871 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 444 00:13:26,983 --> 00:13:29,719 >> Ai Westly: And you really need to understand the details and, like, 445 00:13:29,767 --> 00:13:30,839 talk to an expert. 446 00:13:30,887 --> 00:13:33,335 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. Don't just rely on some random blog post. 447 00:13:33,415 --> 00:13:33,751 >> Ai Westly: Right. 448 00:13:33,823 --> 00:13:35,455 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. Talk to a lawyer. 449 00:13:35,575 --> 00:13:36,039 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. 450 00:13:36,087 --> 00:13:37,367 >> Ai Sarah: Who knows what they're talking about. 451 00:13:37,431 --> 00:13:40,111 >> Ai Westly: So, um, for our listeners out 452 00:13:40,143 --> 00:13:42,975 there who are maybe thinking, like, okay, 453 00:13:43,135 --> 00:13:46,055 great information. Yeah, but where do I even 454 00:13:46,095 --> 00:13:46,527 begin? 455 00:13:46,591 --> 00:13:48,871 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. Like, how do I actually put this into practice? 456 00:13:48,943 --> 00:13:50,263 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. What would phniac say? 457 00:13:50,359 --> 00:13:53,103 >> Ai Sarah: Well, um, he's a big advocate for 458 00:13:53,159 --> 00:13:55,839 starting simple and scaling up as 459 00:13:55,887 --> 00:13:56,319 needed. 460 00:13:56,407 --> 00:13:56,839 >> Ai Westly: Oh, sh. 461 00:13:56,887 --> 00:13:59,315 >> Ai Sarah: So, like, he uses this example of, like, 462 00:13:59,695 --> 00:14:02,263 you know, someone who has this, like, brilliant tech 463 00:14:02,319 --> 00:14:04,975 idea, but they haven't even written a line of code 464 00:14:05,015 --> 00:14:07,877 Yet. And they're already like, oh, I need to form a 465 00:14:07,901 --> 00:14:10,720 Delaware C corp. And he's like, whoa, whoa, uh, 466 00:14:11,037 --> 00:14:13,985 whoa. Uh, hold your horses, hold your horses. 467 00:14:14,485 --> 00:14:17,149 Just start with a simple Wyoming llc. 468 00:14:17,237 --> 00:14:19,853 >> Ai Westly: Okay, so why Wyoming? 469 00:14:19,949 --> 00:14:22,645 >> Ai Sarah: Well, Wyoming is known for being very business 470 00:14:22,685 --> 00:14:25,269 friendly. They have a really straightforward legal 471 00:14:25,357 --> 00:14:28,141 structure. Um, it offers a good level of 472 00:14:28,173 --> 00:14:29,613 privacy for business owners. 473 00:14:29,709 --> 00:14:30,237 >> Ai Westly: Okay. 474 00:14:30,341 --> 00:14:33,213 >> Ai Sarah: And it's generally less expensive to form an 475 00:14:33,269 --> 00:14:35,757 LLC in Wyoming than in some other state. 476 00:14:35,821 --> 00:14:37,189 >> Ai Westly: Okay. So that's like your starting point. 477 00:14:37,237 --> 00:14:38,295 >> Ai Sarah: That's your starting point. 478 00:14:38,445 --> 00:14:41,107 >> Ai Westly: And then as you grow, you can convert it to a 479 00:14:41,131 --> 00:14:43,867 corporation later or domesticate it to Delaware. 480 00:14:43,931 --> 00:14:46,091 >> Ai Sarah: You need to raise venture capital or something like that. 481 00:14:46,123 --> 00:14:48,731 >> Ai Westly: Right, exactly. So it's all about, like, being 482 00:14:48,803 --> 00:14:50,275 strategic and adaptable. 483 00:14:50,355 --> 00:14:52,323 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Meeting your needs now. 484 00:14:52,419 --> 00:14:52,867 >> Ai Westly: Right. 485 00:14:52,971 --> 00:14:55,803 >> Ai Sarah: But also keeping in mind what might happen in the 486 00:14:55,859 --> 00:14:56,291 future. 487 00:14:56,403 --> 00:14:59,267 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And he talked a lot about, um, kind of 488 00:14:59,291 --> 00:15:01,040 the mindset that you need to have. 489 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:01,400 >> Ai Sarah: Uh-huh. 490 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:02,947 >> Ai Westly: For entrepreneurial success. 491 00:15:03,011 --> 00:15:04,623 >> Ai Sarah: What did he say about that? 492 00:15:04,819 --> 00:15:07,815 >> Ai Westly: Well, he really hammered home this point about 493 00:15:07,975 --> 00:15:10,471 being sales focused. You know, 494 00:15:10,503 --> 00:15:13,279 like, regardless of what your business is, 495 00:15:13,407 --> 00:15:16,119 you have to figure out how you're gonna get people to buy your product or 496 00:15:16,167 --> 00:15:16,519 service. 497 00:15:16,607 --> 00:15:19,503 >> Ai Sarah: Right? Yeah. Everybody's in sales whether you realize it 498 00:15:19,519 --> 00:15:19,999 or not. 499 00:15:20,087 --> 00:15:23,031 >> Ai Westly: And he actually said, like, flip the script a bit. 500 00:15:23,143 --> 00:15:23,615 >> Ai Sarah: Oay. 501 00:15:23,695 --> 00:15:26,647 >> Ai Westly: Instead of thinking about, like, okay, I'm gonna build this product and then people will 502 00:15:26,671 --> 00:15:29,583 come. He's like, start with the sales process. 503 00:15:29,679 --> 00:15:30,087 >> Ai Sarah: Interesting. 504 00:15:30,151 --> 00:15:32,849 >> Ai Westly: Like, assume everything goes perfectly. O develop your 505 00:15:32,897 --> 00:15:35,393 product, you build your website, you're ready to 506 00:15:35,409 --> 00:15:37,985 launch. Now, how are you going to get those customers? 507 00:15:38,105 --> 00:15:40,001 >> Ai Sarah: Okay, so start with the end in mind. 508 00:15:40,113 --> 00:15:40,409 >> Ai Westly: Right? 509 00:15:40,457 --> 00:15:41,505 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. Work backwards. 510 00:15:41,585 --> 00:15:42,097 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. 511 00:15:42,161 --> 00:15:42,489 >> Ai Sarah: Oay. 512 00:15:42,537 --> 00:15:44,825 >> Ai Westly: And that kind of forces you to think about, like, 513 00:15:44,865 --> 00:15:47,353 okay, who is my ideal 514 00:15:47,449 --> 00:15:49,361 customer? What's my message? 515 00:15:49,473 --> 00:15:50,729 >> Ai Sarah: How do I reach them? 516 00:15:50,857 --> 00:15:51,305 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. 517 00:15:51,345 --> 00:15:54,153 >> Ai Sarah: What are their pain points? How do I solve their problemah? 518 00:15:54,169 --> 00:15:57,041 >> Ai Westly: And that ties into this whole idea of, like, the mavens 519 00:15:57,073 --> 00:15:57,905 and the apostles. 520 00:15:57,985 --> 00:15:59,449 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Those early adopters. 521 00:15:59,537 --> 00:15:59,809 >> Ai Westly: Right. 522 00:15:59,857 --> 00:16:02,485 >> Ai Sarah: The people who are going to be your biggest fans. Yeah, 523 00:16:02,605 --> 00:16:03,069 yeah. 524 00:16:03,157 --> 00:16:04,877 >> Ai Westly: And, like, spread the word for you. 525 00:16:04,941 --> 00:16:07,821 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. And it's so much more effective than, 526 00:16:07,853 --> 00:16:10,093 like, you know, just throwing money at ads. 527 00:16:10,189 --> 00:16:11,477 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. It's like authentic marketing. 528 00:16:11,541 --> 00:16:12,661 >> Ai Sarah: Right, Exactly. 529 00:16:12,733 --> 00:16:14,349 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Word of mouth is the best marketing. 530 00:16:14,397 --> 00:16:15,085 >> Ai Sarah: It really is. 531 00:16:15,165 --> 00:16:16,133 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And it's free. 532 00:16:16,229 --> 00:16:17,837 >> Ai Sarah: It is. Yeah. That's a good point. 533 00:16:17,941 --> 00:16:20,765 >> Ai Westly: So, um, you know, he also talked a little bit 534 00:16:20,805 --> 00:16:23,629 about kind of his personal definition of wealth. 535 00:16:23,717 --> 00:16:25,205 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, yeah? What did he say about that? 536 00:16:25,245 --> 00:16:28,021 >> Ai Westly: He was saying, like, you know, it's not just about the number in your 537 00:16:28,053 --> 00:16:28,629 bank account. 538 00:16:28,677 --> 00:16:28,933 >> Ai Sarah: Ok. 539 00:16:28,989 --> 00:16:30,851 >> Ai Westly: It's about having optionality. 540 00:16:30,923 --> 00:16:31,307 >> Ai Sarah: Oay. 541 00:16:31,371 --> 00:16:33,707 >> Ai Westly: Like having the freedom to make 542 00:16:33,771 --> 00:16:34,443 choices. 543 00:16:34,579 --> 00:16:37,403 >> Ai Sarah: So, like the freedom to say no. The freedom 544 00:16:37,459 --> 00:16:40,315 to walk away from a deal that you don't feel good 545 00:16:40,355 --> 00:16:40,675 about. 546 00:16:40,755 --> 00:16:41,227 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. 547 00:16:41,291 --> 00:16:44,099 >> Ai Sarah: The freedom to, you know, start a business that you're 548 00:16:44,147 --> 00:16:46,283 passionate about, even if it doesn't make a ton of money. 549 00:16:46,339 --> 00:16:47,819 >> Ai Westly: It's like, what do you want your life to look like? 550 00:16:47,867 --> 00:16:50,067 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Yeah, Exactly. What's important to you. 551 00:16:50,131 --> 00:16:53,123 >> Ai Westly: And he also talked about managing expenses. Uh, like, 552 00:16:53,179 --> 00:16:54,755 even as your income increases. 553 00:16:54,835 --> 00:16:55,147 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 554 00:16:55,211 --> 00:16:57,815 >> Ai Westly: It's easy to fall into this trap of 555 00:16:58,535 --> 00:16:59,551 lifestyle inflation. 556 00:16:59,623 --> 00:17:01,007 >> Ai Sarah: Loststyle inflation. Yeah. 557 00:17:01,071 --> 00:17:02,543 >> Ai Westly: Where, like, you just keep spending more. 558 00:17:02,559 --> 00:17:04,023 >> Ai Sarah: And more as you make more and more. 559 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:06,023 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And you never actually get ahead. 560 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:08,119 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Yeah. You're on that hedonic treadmill. 561 00:17:08,167 --> 00:17:08,375 >> Ai Westly: Right? 562 00:17:08,415 --> 00:17:08,799 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 563 00:17:08,887 --> 00:17:11,511 >> Ai Westly: And he actually shared a story about how 564 00:17:11,543 --> 00:17:13,807 he learned this lesson the hard. 565 00:17:13,831 --> 00:17:16,687 >> Ai Sarah: Way during the 2008 financial crisis. Yeah. Okay. 566 00:17:16,751 --> 00:17:19,263 >> Ai Westly: He had built this comfortable lifestyle 567 00:17:19,439 --> 00:17:21,195 based on his high income. 568 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:21,840 >> Ai Sarah: Mhm. 569 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:24,275 >> Ai Westly: But then when that income took a hit, 570 00:17:24,674 --> 00:17:25,890 he was kind of like, oh. 571 00:17:25,922 --> 00:17:28,922 >> Ai Sarah: Wait a minute, I'm not as secure as I thought I was. 572 00:17:28,978 --> 00:17:31,954 >> Ai Westly: Right. So his biggest money mistake was not 573 00:17:31,994 --> 00:17:33,170 having that buffer. 574 00:17:33,282 --> 00:17:34,962 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Not saving enough. 575 00:17:35,058 --> 00:17:36,650 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Not having that cushion. 576 00:17:36,722 --> 00:17:38,818 >> Ai Sarah: Not being prepared for a rainy day. 577 00:17:38,906 --> 00:17:39,434 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 578 00:17:39,554 --> 00:17:41,626 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. That's a good lesson for all of us. 579 00:17:41,770 --> 00:17:44,762 >> Ai Westly: And I remember he's a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell. 580 00:17:44,898 --> 00:17:45,934 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, yeah. 581 00:17:46,354 --> 00:17:49,014 >> Ai Westly: And he specifically mentioned, 582 00:17:49,380 --> 00:17:52,335 um, the tipping point. The tipping point. 583 00:17:52,375 --> 00:17:53,327 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 584 00:17:53,431 --> 00:17:56,343 >> Ai Westly: And he was talking about these ideas of, like, 585 00:17:56,519 --> 00:17:57,863 mavens and apostles. 586 00:17:57,959 --> 00:17:58,311 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 587 00:17:58,383 --> 00:18:00,583 >> Ai Westly: These people who have, like, an outsized influence. 588 00:18:00,639 --> 00:18:01,903 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, those influencers. 589 00:18:01,999 --> 00:18:04,871 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. So again, it's like, you know, building 590 00:18:04,903 --> 00:18:05,959 that loyal following. 591 00:18:06,007 --> 00:18:07,223 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Finding your tribe. 592 00:18:07,319 --> 00:18:10,207 >> Ai Westly: Yeah, yeah. And then, of course, like, you can't 593 00:18:10,231 --> 00:18:11,791 forget about his love of paella. 594 00:18:11,820 --> 00:18:13,159 >> Ai Sarah: Uh. Oh, yeah, the paella. 595 00:18:13,207 --> 00:18:15,975 >> Ai Westly: I was picturing him in his backyard. Like, paella pans 596 00:18:16,055 --> 00:18:16,991 sizzling on the grill. 597 00:18:17,063 --> 00:18:18,135 >> Ai Sarah: Orange wood, charcoal. 598 00:18:18,215 --> 00:18:20,355 >> Ai Westly: Delicious. It's like, 599 00:18:22,255 --> 00:18:24,631 even as we're talking about all this serious business 600 00:18:24,663 --> 00:18:26,175 stuffah, it's important. 601 00:18:26,215 --> 00:18:27,679 >> Ai Sarah: To remember to enjoy life. 602 00:18:27,767 --> 00:18:30,135 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Like, what are the things that bring you joy? 603 00:18:30,215 --> 00:18:31,543 >> Ai Sarah: Right. What are you passionate about? 604 00:18:31,599 --> 00:18:33,263 >> Ai Westly: You knoweah? What makes you tick? 605 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:36,231 >> Ai Sarah: So I think, um, we've covered a lot of ground 606 00:18:36,263 --> 00:18:36,551 here. 607 00:18:36,623 --> 00:18:37,319 >> Ai Westly: We have. Yeah. 608 00:18:37,367 --> 00:18:39,047 >> Ai Sarah: In the second part of our deep dive. 609 00:18:39,111 --> 00:18:40,447 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. What if we learned. 610 00:18:40,551 --> 00:18:43,343 >> Ai Sarah: So we talked about the importance of getting expert 611 00:18:43,399 --> 00:18:43,799 advice. 612 00:18:43,887 --> 00:18:44,595 >> Ai Westly: Okay. 613 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,823 >> Ai Sarah: Um, Starting simple and scaling up as 614 00:18:47,879 --> 00:18:48,445 needed. 615 00:18:48,575 --> 00:18:49,001 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 616 00:18:49,073 --> 00:18:51,125 >> Ai Sarah: Cultivating a sales focused 617 00:18:51,465 --> 00:18:54,329 mindset. Um, we talked about Feniac's 618 00:18:54,417 --> 00:18:57,201 personal definition of wealth, the importance of 619 00:18:57,273 --> 00:19:00,177 managing expenses and the power of building a 620 00:19:00,201 --> 00:19:00,633 loyal. 621 00:19:00,729 --> 00:19:03,417 >> Ai Westly: Following and finding those Mavens and apostles. 622 00:19:03,481 --> 00:19:05,705 Yeah, yeah. But there's still more to uncover. 623 00:19:05,825 --> 00:19:06,417 >> Ai Sarah: There is. 624 00:19:06,521 --> 00:19:09,393 >> Ai Westly: So join us for the final part of our Deep divek, 625 00:19:09,449 --> 00:19:10,105 where we'll wrap up. 626 00:19:10,145 --> 00:19:10,897 >> Ai Sarah: I'm ready. 627 00:19:11,001 --> 00:19:13,969 >> Ai Westly: Our exploration of Jonathan Finniak's insights from 628 00:19:14,017 --> 00:19:15,447 about that Wallet podcast. 629 00:19:15,601 --> 00:19:16,459 >> Ai Sarah: All right, I'll be here. 630 00:19:16,507 --> 00:19:19,443 >> Ai Westly: All right, so welcome back to the final part of our Deep Dive. And, 631 00:19:19,579 --> 00:19:22,227 you know, one thing that really struck me 632 00:19:22,411 --> 00:19:24,659 throughout this whole episode about that Wallet. 633 00:19:24,707 --> 00:19:25,219 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 634 00:19:25,347 --> 00:19:28,299 >> Ai Westly: Was Finiac's emphasis on 635 00:19:28,347 --> 00:19:29,019 mindset. 636 00:19:29,107 --> 00:19:30,707 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, yeah, absolutely. 637 00:19:30,811 --> 00:19:33,579 >> Ai Westly: Like, he's saying, you know, you can have all the right legal strategies, all the 638 00:19:33,587 --> 00:19:36,227 right financial strategies, but 639 00:19:36,291 --> 00:19:38,135 ultimately comes down to, like, 640 00:19:39,075 --> 00:19:40,211 your attitude. 641 00:19:40,283 --> 00:19:41,011 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Your approach. 642 00:19:41,083 --> 00:19:41,691 >> Ai Westly: Your approach. 643 00:19:41,763 --> 00:19:42,059 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 644 00:19:42,107 --> 00:19:45,083 >> Ai Westly: And he makes this point about how, like, he's often, like, the 645 00:19:45,099 --> 00:19:46,475 most negative person in the room. 646 00:19:46,555 --> 00:19:47,565 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, yeah, he said that. 647 00:19:47,635 --> 00:19:49,161 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. He's always, like, playingain Devil's Abjectate. 648 00:19:49,193 --> 00:19:51,777 >> Ai Sarah: Oh, right. He's always thinking about, like, what could go wrong. 649 00:19:51,881 --> 00:19:52,241 >> Ai Westly: Right. 650 00:19:52,313 --> 00:19:53,745 >> Ai Sarah: What are the worst case scenarios. 651 00:19:53,825 --> 00:19:56,449 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And that's what makes him so good at his job. 652 00:19:56,617 --> 00:19:58,945 >> Ai Sarah: Right. Because he's anticipating those 653 00:19:59,065 --> 00:20:01,209 problems and figuring out how to avoid them. 654 00:20:01,257 --> 00:20:03,193 >> Ai Westly: And he's like, you know, hope for. 655 00:20:03,209 --> 00:20:05,001 >> Ai Sarah: The best, but plan for the worst. 656 00:20:05,113 --> 00:20:05,729 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. 657 00:20:05,817 --> 00:20:07,297 >> Ai Sarah: And I think that's, like, a really good. 658 00:20:07,361 --> 00:20:08,761 >> Ai Westly: It's a good life lesson in general. 659 00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:11,769 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, yeah. Uh, and he's also like, you know, don't be afraid of 660 00:20:11,777 --> 00:20:12,565 the unknown. 661 00:20:12,865 --> 00:20:14,721 >> Ai Westly: All right. Embrace the uncertainty. 662 00:20:14,793 --> 00:20:17,697 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah, yeah. And know for anyone out there who's 663 00:20:17,761 --> 00:20:20,575 feeling hesitant or overwhelmed, just like, 664 00:20:20,695 --> 00:20:23,367 just start small. You like, you know, test the 665 00:20:23,391 --> 00:20:24,151 waters. 666 00:20:24,343 --> 00:20:25,279 >> Ai Westly: Dip your toes in. 667 00:20:25,327 --> 00:20:28,087 >> Ai Sarah: Yeahah. And scale up as you gain experience and 668 00:20:28,151 --> 00:20:28,671 confidence. 669 00:20:28,783 --> 00:20:29,487 >> Ai Westly: Right. 670 00:20:29,671 --> 00:20:31,495 >> Ai Sarah: Don't try to do everything at once. 671 00:20:31,575 --> 00:20:33,535 >> Ai Westly: Don't overthink it to start. 672 00:20:33,615 --> 00:20:36,415 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. And speaking of getting started, remember 673 00:20:36,455 --> 00:20:39,215 that discount that llcurnorney.com is 674 00:20:39,255 --> 00:20:40,263 offering our listener? 675 00:20:40,319 --> 00:20:41,119 >> Ai Westly: Oh, yeah, that's right. 676 00:20:41,167 --> 00:20:41,975 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. It's a good one. 677 00:20:42,015 --> 00:20:44,999 >> Ai Westly: Yeah's a really good one. So use the code wallet pod100 678 00:20:45,047 --> 00:20:47,797 at, uh, checkout, and you'll get 100% off your initial 679 00:20:47,861 --> 00:20:49,125 LLC formation fee. 680 00:20:49,205 --> 00:20:50,625 >> Ai Sarah: Wow. That's amazing. 681 00:20:51,925 --> 00:20:53,973 All right, so to kind of wrap things up here. 682 00:20:54,029 --> 00:20:54,525 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 683 00:20:54,645 --> 00:20:55,941 >> Ai Sarah: What are the key takeaways? 684 00:20:56,013 --> 00:20:57,021 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Let's, like, recap. 685 00:20:57,093 --> 00:20:57,485 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 686 00:20:57,565 --> 00:21:00,565 >> Ai Westly: What have we learned? So, first and foremost, understand 687 00:21:00,605 --> 00:21:01,733 your risk tolerance. 688 00:21:01,829 --> 00:21:02,509 >> Ai Sarah: Okay. 689 00:21:02,637 --> 00:21:04,805 >> Ai Westly: Like, how much are you comfortable risking? 690 00:21:04,925 --> 00:21:06,805 >> Ai Sarah: How much are you willing to lose? Yeah. 691 00:21:06,845 --> 00:21:09,573 >> Ai Westly: And that's going to inform, like, all your decisions about 692 00:21:09,589 --> 00:21:12,549 your business structure, your investments, your 693 00:21:12,597 --> 00:21:15,475 overall financial strategy, if you're risk averse. 694 00:21:15,605 --> 00:21:16,103 Yeah. 695 00:21:16,199 --> 00:21:18,703 >> Ai Sarah: Maybe starting a business is not the best idea. 696 00:21:18,799 --> 00:21:19,199 >> Ai Westly: Right. 697 00:21:19,287 --> 00:21:22,263 >> Ai Sarah: Or Maybe you need to find a partner who's more willing to 698 00:21:22,279 --> 00:21:22,967 take risks. 699 00:21:23,071 --> 00:21:23,615 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. 700 00:21:23,695 --> 00:21:24,210 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 701 00:21:24,210 --> 00:21:26,555 >> Ai Westly: Um, and then LLCs are a great tool. 702 00:21:26,975 --> 00:21:29,847 They are for asset protection. Uh-huh. But 703 00:21:29,871 --> 00:21:30,943 they're not a magic bullet. 704 00:21:30,999 --> 00:21:33,639 >> Ai Sarah: Right. You still need to be smart. You still need to have 705 00:21:33,687 --> 00:21:34,711 good contracts. 706 00:21:34,823 --> 00:21:36,335 >> Ai Westly: You need to do your due diligence. 707 00:21:36,415 --> 00:21:36,887 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 708 00:21:36,991 --> 00:21:39,343 >> Ai Westly: You know, and you need to plan 709 00:21:39,399 --> 00:21:39,995 ahead. 710 00:21:40,455 --> 00:21:41,191 >> Ai Sarah: Always plan ahead. 711 00:21:41,223 --> 00:21:44,119 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Like, anticipate those challenges and have a 712 00:21:44,167 --> 00:21:45,055 contingency plan. 713 00:21:45,135 --> 00:21:47,989 >> Ai Sarah: What's the worst that could happen and how are you going deal with it. 714 00:21:48,037 --> 00:21:51,029 >> Ai Westly: Exactly. And don't forget out mindset. 715 00:21:51,117 --> 00:21:51,437 >> Ai Sarah: Right. 716 00:21:51,501 --> 00:21:52,997 >> Ai Westly: Believe in yourself. Be persistent. 717 00:21:53,101 --> 00:21:53,781 >> Ai Sarah: Stay positive. 718 00:21:53,853 --> 00:21:55,357 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. Stay adaptable. 719 00:21:55,461 --> 00:21:55,885 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 720 00:21:55,965 --> 00:21:57,349 >> Ai Westly: Surround yourself with good people. 721 00:21:57,437 --> 00:22:00,005 >> Ai Sarah: Find your tribe, your mentors, your 722 00:22:00,045 --> 00:22:00,749 advisors. 723 00:22:00,877 --> 00:22:03,181 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. And, you know, find joy in the journey. 724 00:22:03,253 --> 00:22:03,905 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 725 00:22:04,845 --> 00:22:06,165 >> Ai Westly: Entrepreneurship can be tough. 726 00:22:06,205 --> 00:22:07,341 >> Ai Sarah: It can be a roller coaster. 727 00:22:07,413 --> 00:22:07,829 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. 728 00:22:07,917 --> 00:22:08,253 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 729 00:22:08,309 --> 00:22:10,005 >> Ai Westly: But it's also incredibly rewarding. 730 00:22:10,085 --> 00:22:10,565 >> Ai Sarah: It is. 731 00:22:10,645 --> 00:22:12,949 >> Ai Westly: You know, so celebrate those wins. 732 00:22:13,037 --> 00:22:13,517 >> Ai Sarah: Yah. 733 00:22:13,621 --> 00:22:14,880 >> Ai Westly: Learn from your setbacks. 734 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:15,030 >> Ai Sarah: Uh-huh. 735 00:22:15,437 --> 00:22:18,011 >> Ai Westly: And just keep that entrepreneurial fire burning. 736 00:22:18,123 --> 00:22:19,747 >> Ai Sarah: Keep that passion alive. 737 00:22:19,851 --> 00:22:22,059 >> Ai Westly: Yeah. So to all our listeners out there. 738 00:22:22,147 --> 00:22:22,815 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 739 00:22:23,275 --> 00:22:26,011 >> Ai Westly: Keep exploring, keep learning. Keep diving deep. 740 00:22:26,083 --> 00:22:26,603 >> Ai Sarah: Yes. 741 00:22:26,739 --> 00:22:29,307 >> Ai Westly: And, um, you know, whether you're whipping up a batch of 742 00:22:29,331 --> 00:22:29,763 paella. 743 00:22:29,819 --> 00:22:30,163 >> Ai Sarah: Oay. 744 00:22:30,219 --> 00:22:33,179 >> Ai Westly: Or launching the next big thing, we're here to support you 745 00:22:33,227 --> 00:22:34,027 every step of the way. 746 00:22:34,091 --> 00:22:34,651 >> Ai Sarah: Absolutely. 747 00:22:34,723 --> 00:22:37,403 >> Ai Westly: And be sure to check out the about that Wallet podcast. 748 00:22:37,499 --> 00:22:37,875 >> Ai Sarah: Yes. 749 00:22:37,955 --> 00:22:39,947 >> Ai Westly: For more fantastic financial advice. 750 00:22:40,011 --> 00:22:40,483 >> Ai Sarah: They're great. 751 00:22:40,539 --> 00:22:43,083 >> Ai Westly: You can find them on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 752 00:22:43,139 --> 00:22:46,111 YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. Wherever you get your 753 00:22:46,143 --> 00:22:46,679 podcast. 754 00:22:46,767 --> 00:22:47,343 >> Ai Sarah: Yeah. 755 00:22:47,479 --> 00:22:49,999 >> Ai Westly: Be sure to subscribe. Give them a five star rating. 756 00:22:50,047 --> 00:22:50,847 >> Ai Sarah: All that good stuff. 757 00:22:50,911 --> 00:22:53,863 >> Ai Westly: All that good stuff. And until next time, 758 00:22:53,999 --> 00:22:55,535 happy venturing. Happy venturing.