15 Minutes Share Your Voice

I am thrilled to have Tom Spadea as our guest on the AmiSights Podcast. Tom explains that his firm, Spadea Lignana, helps people turn successful businesses into franchises by providing regulatory guidance, franchise agreements, and structural support. They work with companies with a proven track record and high profitability, aiming to help them achieve generational wealth through franchising.

The conversation touches on the importance of having processes that can be duplicated to create consistency and brand awareness. Tom emphasizes the need for a successful and profitable business before considering franchising, highlighting that potential franchisees are attracted to the value and unique aspects of the company.

"I think those franchisors that have real good emotional intelligence and they've taken the long view when they're building relationships and they're making their franchise successful, even sometimes at their own short-term quarrel, they're the ones who really make it", says Tom.

We discuss the significance of selecting the right franchisees and the common mistake of selling franchises without proper screening.

Recorded on 06/08/2023

Sabrina Shaheen Cronin is the Founder and Managing Partner of The Cronin Law Firm PLLC, which offers law services for cases involving family, divorce, custody, and criminal defense. Sabrina is a nationally recognized motivational speaker, strategist coach, writer, mentor, and television personality. She has developed her own curriculum and hosts weekly workshops providing parents with resources to cope with co-parenting dilemmas.

Sabrina received her JD and MBA from the University of Detroit Mercy and is licensed to practice law in Michigan, New York, and Illinois.

Building a renowned law firm, coaching individuals, and leading business strategies simultaneously can be intimidating. But for Sabrina Shaheen Cronin, it's all in a day's work. Leveraging her extensive education and her commitment to helping others, Sabrina has created space in the legal industry to impact lives beyond the courtroom.

Sabrina combined her business and law degrees to establish Cronin Law Firm, transforming it into a successful practice. Recognizing she could lend her expertise outside the firm, she ventured into life and business coaching to help clients address issues that often serve as roadblocks in their personal and professional life.

In this episode of 15 Minutes, host Chad Franzen welcomes Sabrina Shaheen Cronin, Founder and Managing Partner at Cronin Law Firm, to discuss her law, business, and coaching career. Sabrina shares the initial struggles of starting her practice and how she managed to intertwine her legal work with personal development and coaching.

In today's podcast, MultiFunding President Lynn Ozer, aka SBA Queen, and I talk to Jessica Harrington, owner of Journey to Yourself, a company she started in 2020 that provides a six-month series of interactive corporate workshops focusing on habits and tools for employees as well as 1:1 coaching for employees on stress management. Jessica tells us how keeping the small stuff under control and nipping aggravations in the bud early on can prevent burnout or damaged relationships.

"My mindset on stress is that a lot of it is self-caused on how we perceive it and how we're handling it," she explains. "And so that's what I want to teach people is what stress is, because it is every day, and making sure it doesn't become something chronic or burnout."

Jessica started her career in the drug and alcohol addiction field before going back to school and earning a master's degree in public health. While she is not a certified therapist, she specializes in implementing actionable steps.

"My main bread and butter would be my corporation workshops. I go into offices once a month for six months, 45 minutes, no meditation, no yoga, no PowerPoints, just super interactive activities of working around what is stress, communication, time management, all those kinds of fun things, and bring that into the office place," she says.

Stress, whether in your personal or professional life, typically builds up from reactions to everyday, mundane occurrences.

"We tend to focus on the big stressors in life. We can talk about the bills, we can talk about relationships, we could talk about the drama at work, but those little things – that there's no creamer when I thought there was supposed to be creamer, the traffic, the Dunkin donut line – those things are what starts to add up and what helps in the blow up when we actually have a bigger stress," she says.

Breakdowns in personal relationships also tend to build up over a series of small things that go unchecked until it is too late.

"Those tiny things add up because that's how life works. A lot of times we all are just having our own racing thoughts that we don't even realize when we hurt or bother somebody else sometimes because we are all in our own little world," she said.

Listen here as she also discusses how to navigate perceived tone in texts and emails and the importance of face-to-face interaction in a remote world. Recorded on 05/09/2023

Chris Smith is the Managing Attorney at The Smith Firm, a family law practice based in Oklahoma City specializing in divorce and custody cases. Chris is a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent peer-review-rated attorney representing clients in domestic litigation matters. He was recognized by Journal Record's Achievers Under 40 and included in the Super Lawyer Rising Star list from 2014-2020.

As an advocate for parental equality, Chris contributed to the writing of 2021's House Bill 1151, which strengthened the public policy for equal rights for parents in Oklahoma. Chris is the author of the Oklahoma Divorce Guidebook and Faithfully: Issues of Faith & Family Law in the 21st Century Church.

Navigating the intricacies of family law requires a deft touch, a deep understanding of the legal field, and a commitment to client advocacy. Those ready to face these challenges will discover a career that is rewarding, full of purpose, and can make a real difference in society.

Chris Smith utilized his love for academic rigor, argumentation, and a desire to help families navigate the complicated court system to build The Smith Firm. With his niche focus on high-conflict custody cases, Chris discovered the significance of forging connections with his clients, effectively advocating for their needs, and maintaining a relentless pursuit of justice.

In this episode of 15 Minutes, host Chad Franzen interviews Chris Smith, Managing Attorney of The Smith Firm, to discuss his journey to establish a thriving family law practice. Chris shares valuable insights on the evolution of his career, his passion for family law, the challenges of running a law firm, and the milestones he cherishes. He highlights how personal experiences influenced his professional choices, the importance of perseverance, and the rewarding aspect of being a voice for parents.

Talk about mixing things up a bit: instead of being the co-host on today's podcast, I am the guest – along with my better half Bethany.

We share our experience visiting South Africa – that I tried to memorialize on this episode. We talk about the experience of going on safari, sitting in my grandfather's seat in the synagogue I grew up in, and visiting the orphanage in Langa township.

It was all driven by the Entrepreneur Organization's Global Leadership Conference, which we were honored to attend.

Recorded on 06/01/2023

Adam Rossen is the Founder and CEO of Rossen Law Firm, a practice representing clients in criminal defense cases. Adam has represented thousands of clients across a spectrum of criminal cases and severe felony charges. His experience as an Assistant State Attorney in Broward County provided him a unique understanding of prosecutorial strategies, making him an effective defense attorney. His background and courtroom approach has resulted in numerous acquittals and dismissals for his clients.

Adam is a double-degree holder from the University of Florida and a law graduate from the University of Miami. Over the years, he has received numerous accolades including a perfect 10.0 rating on AVVO, an AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale Hubbell, and recognition as a SuperLawyers Rising Star and a Florida Legal Elite Rising Star.

Constructing a thriving law firm specializing in criminal defense requires a deep understanding of the law, strong relationship-building skills, and the ability to navigate an ever-changing legal landscape. For those embracing these challenges, a rewarding and influential career awaits.

Adam Rossen leveraged his background as a prosecutor and his innate passion for marketing to build Rossen Law Firm into a successful practice that helps good people when bad things happen. He found that the keys to success in criminal defense were building trust with clients, effectively representing their needs, and utilizing creative marketing strategies.

In this episode of 15 Minutes, host Chad Franzen interviews Adam Rossen, Founder and CEO of Rossen Law Firm, to discuss how he built a flourishing criminal defense practice. Adam shares insights on the firm's growth, attracting ideal clients, running a law firm as a business, and the milestones he proudly reflects on. Additionally, he highlights the law firm's proactive approach during the COVID-19 pandemic and the valuable experiences they provided to interns during that uncertain time.

In today's podcast, MultiFunding President Lynn Ozer, aka SBA Queen, and I talk to Angela Pointon, Owner and President of 11outof11, a digital marketing agency that offers outsource content marketing services and HubSpot expertise and training. Angela tells us about what makes her tick and the inspiration behind her book, "Stop Blending In: The 7 Steps for Achieving Thought Leader Status and Standing Out in Your Field."

She explains that when she was working for an agency, she was working 60-70 hours a week, commuting an hour each way and hardly seeing her then-very young children. While she climbed the ranks to COO, she was burnt out and took some time off to freelance before launching 11outof11 in 2017.

"Our business model is comprised of a lot of subcontractors – people who really own their own work-life balance and choose how much they want to work in their life versus spending time traveling or doing other things or spending time with family," she said. "Being able to empower people to own that themselves and dictate that whatever that means for them is something that really makes me tick and gets me excited."

She admits she didn't know much about running a business when she first started, but loved the newness of the first few years.

"With every client that signed, I got really excited, and 'I can't believe they want to work with us' was more my attitude going into that, not because I didn't think that we could deliver, I was just kind of a kid in the candy store, just excited that it was taking off and growing and making money and also empowering people to build a life that they wanted," she said.

As the business grows, she is trying to spend more time working on her business rather than working in it, and empowering others to take control and do what they do best.

"Delegation is a lot about trust. It was really about building the team and providing training or coaching in areas that they needed to grow," she said. "If it's not done the way I want, I swoop back in and do it myself. That's my bad behavior from a delegation perspective. When you have people who actually do things better than you could, you get away from that feeling."

Listen to learn about what marketing expertise her company provides, how she thinks tools like ChatGPT will affect content creation and how she sets goals.

Recorded 05/08/2023.

Chad Shifrin is a Partner at Laurie & Brennan LLP, a boutique construction law firm in Chicago, IL. With over 18 years of experience, Chad focuses his practice on litigating and arbitrating complex construction disputes and represents owners and construction professionals in a court of law. In addition to his litigation work, Chad regularly counsels clients in non-litigation matters, assisting in contract negotiation through project completion.

Building a successful law firm focused on settling construction disputes is a challenging endeavor. It requires an understanding of the industry, the desire to build relationships, and the ability to navigate complex legal situations. For those willing to embrace these challenges, a fulfilling and impactful career awaits.

Chad Shifrin leveraged his experience working for an international law firm to build industry connections and solve complex legal cases. He discovered that the key to success in construction law was building trust with clients, effectively representing their needs, and finding practical solutions to legal disputes.

In this episode of 15 Minutes, host Chad Franzen sits down with Chad Shifrin, Partner at Laurie & Brennan LLP, to discuss his journey in helping build a successful construction law practice. Chad talks about the firm's early days, how the team acquired clients, the challenges of running a law firm as a business, and the problems they solve for their clients. He also shares the advice he's received from mentors and its influence on his career.

In today's podcast, MultiFunding President Lynn Ozer, aka SBA Queen, and I talk to Jon MacDonald, founder and president of The Good, an ecommerce conversion rate and customer experience optimization advisory that helps brands understand the clicks and movements of their website visitors, and use that data to convert more existing visitors into buyers. Jon also tells us how he spent his extra time during the pandemic writing a step-by-step book, "Opting in to Optimization."

"I said, 'If I come out of COVID, what is the one thing that I could really do for the business that is going to move the needle?'" he says. "The more I thought about it, the more I thought, I have time to write a book and share with the world our thought process on how we optimize over the past 15 years for ecommerce brands. I started by interviewing my teammates, my core team members at The Good, and said, 'if you could tell the world anything, what would it be? And let's figure that out.'"

The book, available at bookstores, thegood.com, and Amazon, where it has been a bestseller the past four or five months, is aimed at ecommerce founders or managers who are at the second or third stage of growth, Jon says.

"The third level is really when they start to dial it up. You are spending money to drive traffic, it's working. Now you want to get a better return on that ad spend. Those are the folks who really will get the most out of that book," he said.

While his company primarily works with large companies like Nike, Adobe and Xerox, he started a new wing called The Good Ventures which provides products for small businesses, such as the UserInput tool.

The Portland, Oregon company's name, The Good, derived out if its "mission is to remove all of the bad online experiences until only the good remain," Jon says.

While doing good by its customers, the company also does good by its employees and the community as it is a certified B Corporation.

"We put a lot of emphasis on culture, making sure that we have the right teammates, who embody and are attracted to that benefit corporation where we're putting people and planet before profits," he explains.

Listen here to learn how Jon's larger-than-average shoe size prompted him to delve into ecommerce optimization, how Obama's first presidential campaign changed digital optimization, and how The Good was prepared for what was coming when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit China.

Recorded 04/11/2023.

Elizabeth Yang is the Founder and CEO of Yang Law Offices, a law firm specializing in family law, business law, intellectual property law, and estate planning. Throughout her legal career, Elizabeth has received numerous accolades, including the "Top 100 Civil Lawyers" award and the "Top 40 Lawyers Under 40" award by the National Trial Lawyers Association. Elizabeth is the best-selling author of The Big Secret and Stress-Free Divorce.

Building a successful law firm and embracing entrepreneurship may seem like a daunting task, but with resilience, determination, and adaptability, anything is possible. Even if your background is rooted in a dissimilar industry, you can leverage your expertise to launch your legal career.

Prior to owning her law firm, Elizabeth Yang was an electrical engineer. After gaining experience at a firm, she decided to start her own practice — and faced numerous challenges along the way. Elizabeth had to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship while continuing to establish her legal career. As her practice grew, she demonstrated her entrepreneurial skills by adapting to uncontrollable circumstances and evolving her services to better serve her clients.

In this episode of 15 Minutes, Bela Musits sits down with Elizabeth Yang, the Founder and CEO of Yang Law Offices, to discuss what inspired her to start her firm and how it's progressed over the years. Elizabeth shares the challenges of her career transition, how to grow your clientele, and her advice for anyone contemplating a career change. Tune in to learn how Elizabeth's entrepreneurial spirit and expertise have fueled her commitment to helping families through her legal services.