Critical Thinking Required

In this Part I of “So, You Want To Start A Business!?”, we talked about the cornerstone of starting a business and the preparation phase.  Before you start a business, it’s important to ask yourself: why am I doing this, and who is my audience?  Almost as soon as you start your business, you need to know how you are going to exit.  Why so early to think about exit strategy, you ask?  Because how you exit depends on whether you run it as a lifestyle business or an enterprise business.  As for the preparation, go through your daily financial life with a fine-tooth comb and figure out what you need to make, and what you hope to make.  Know this: for the first couple of years, your business may not be as rosy as you want it to be and something (if not most things) will go wrong.  In LBW’s experience, entrepreneurship is a family affair - even if your significant other is not actually a part of the business.  Without their support, you can’t make it, at least not without sacrificing your personal life.  Selecting the right business partners are another critical piece.  Dan, Tim and Nathaniel couldn’t have been more lucky to have found each other.  We have different skill sets, and the same understanding that what’s good for the team, is what’s good for the individual!  For Part II’s episode, we will talk about positioning (how to actually set up the business) and resources.

Nerd alert!  In this episode, we are going to talk about how to create a framework that not only works for investing but can be also applied in every aspect of life.  Dan first introduced the concept of “Circle of Competence”: imagine a big circle, that’s all the things you don’t know; within it, a slightly smaller circle, that’s all the things you think you know (but you don’t); and then in the middle, there’s a dot, that’s all the things you truly know.  Keep all your big bets within that dot, and continuously grow that dot if you can.  Nathaniel and Tim gave a couple of blogs, books, podcasts that they have benefited from the most in the past couple years.  In terms of applications and implementations of the framework, it’s important to: 1.) Draft your parameters and stick to your little dot; 2.) Know that the longer a timeframe you have, the bigger the possibility you will succeed; 3.) Understand probability and outcomes; 4.) Compound your knowledge.  As Nathaniel pointed out, create a framework that works for you; be persistent, be consistent, give it a long enough timeframe, and you will succeed!

For this episode, we invited Dan’s former classmate Francis Son to talk about his photography career.  Francis is a Chicago-based photographer who works in commercial photography with corporate/non-profit events and fashion photography.  We kicked off the podcast by asking Francis what makes a good photographer?  He thought that one of the most important elements is understanding how light works in a photograph.  He then explained his inspiration and style, and how he found them.  To be a professional and reach another level, other than having basic photograph skills, communication is also crucial to success.  In addition, Francis mentioned that knowing how to take great pictures doesn’t equal knowing how to run a good business.  All you can do is to put yourself out there, do the hard work, improve and grow non-stop.  In the end, as Francis pointed out, finding something that you enjoy doing, is the key to everything in life.

In this episode, we learned self-leadership from our friend Zach Ketterhagen.  Zach is a self-leadership coach, blogger, meditation teacher, and healthcare strategist.  First, we started the conversation with how Zach got into this practice, and what is self-leadership.  Self-leadership is about defining success on your own terms.  It has three layers: define what you want, know how to get there, and lastly, understand how to maximize your time.  Zach then recommended some techniques: meditation, yoga, and optimal breathing.  Tim was curious how these concepts and techniques tie into a sustainable relationship with money and finance.  Dan and Zach discussed how U.S. healthcare is really “sickcare”, and what we are missing here.  If you want to try any of these, as Zach said, balance and consistency are the keys!  For more information, follow Zach's blog and access resources to advance your self-leadership at ZachKetterhagen.com.

This is our quarterly update episode where we talk about the trendiest financial topics from the past quarter (if we haven't already covered it in a separate episode). We started the conversation with people's concerns regarding inflation and rising rates. Tim and Nathaniel discussed the potential impact on the economy and the market if inflation occurs. However, as Nathaniel said, we don't live in a simplified system; in reality, we probably are going to experience some sort of mix: some deflation in the tech industry, some possible inflation in asset-heavy industries. As for how that impacts our investments, we usually gravitate towards companies that have pricing power so that they will most likely perform better under all phases of the economic cycle. Tim then gave a general rundown of the newest stimulus package and its impact. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are another topic that we got asked a lot about in the past quarter. Why would someone pay $500k for an original meme? Dan and Tim said it well: it's like collecting baseball cards, the paper card itself doesn't have any value, its value only exists in the eye of the collector. If you want a collection because you like it, go ahead. But as an investment, they are only worth what others are willing to pay.

Are you a car enthusiast?  In this episode, we invited Alex Schremp to talk about luxury cars.  Alex is the owner of Autohändler, a service-based car dealership.  As always, we started the conversation with "why this industry?", and then asked what are the most important factors in buying a luxury car?  Interestingly, Alex said it's about how it makes you feel and who you want to be.  Dan was curious what types of cars hold their values best, and Alex introduced us to the "25-years-cycle" rule.  I guess most people hold on to their teenage dreams!  We also covered how one should determine which car is the right fit for them, the subscription-based rental experience concept, the cost of owning a luxury car, and how to get a limited-released vehicle.  Alex put it so brilliantly: owning a luxury car is about how it makes you feel, and what story you want to tell about yourself.  If you like it, go ahead and rock it!

In this episode, we invited Dan's close friend Jônatas Chimen to speak with us about the art world.  If you are an artist or in the marketing/creative industry, you have to watch this episode!  Jônatas is a Brazilian-American Symbolist artist, author, academic, and public speaker.  Jônatas started by explaining how his inspiration came from his own family's history of migration, adaptation, and cultural hybridization.  He said it really well: I understand "urgency" in life, that one day my flesh will go back to the dust, but my art will outlive me.  To answer Nathaniel's question about novelty art and how to value art, Jônatas said that scarcity and rarity are very powerful.  He told us the famous Miami "taped a banana to the wall and sold for $300,000" story.  It's quite an "American phenomenon" that out of nowhere, one can suddenly call themselves an "artist" and sell a piece at such an unexplainable price.  It rewards "hype", but not "depth."  Jônatas stressed the importance of creating your own narrative, like Picasso, Andy Warhol etc.  As Jônatas said, being a good artist is not enough, you need to know how to present and promote your work to succeed.

In this episode, we invited our close friend Saran Ouk.  Saran is the Founder and CEO of conNEXTions, a non-profit organization that guides underrepresented young adults to achieve their financial, educational, and career goals through mentoring, networking, and professional development. Born in a refugee camp in Thailand, Saran and her family were able to come to the U.S. as refugees thanks to a non-profit organization.  The seed of giving back to her community grew from there.  Saran talked about how to set up a non-profit: define your "business model", learn to tell your story, and differentiate yourself from others.  We discussed the difficulty in fundraising, networking, and the lack of manpower.  Tim asked a brilliant question: how does Saran define success for conNEXTions?  And we loved her answers: everyone should define their own success, and don't follow other people's goals.  Dan closed the episode well: Sir Isaac Newton once said: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."  Thank you Saran and conNEXTions for being the "giant" for our community!

Diane Seder has had a very inspiring career.  She joined the valves manufacturing family business "Milwaukee Valve" against all advice back in the late '70s when the industry was "not suitable for women", and worked her way up from the very bottom.  We invited Diane to mainly talk about the sale of this multigenerational family business.  Diane was clear about two key points: plan your selling strategy long before you are ready to sell, and communication within the rest of the family is critical.  Tim asked about what one should consider when planning to sell the business.  Diane recommended the following: check the company's legal structure, review all owners' trusts, set up a functional voting system long before selling, and go over the succession plan and tax consequences with professionals.  She then stressed that it's vital to think ahead, hire the right professionals, and most importantly, to have constant communication.  Like Diane said, for a family business, what's good for the business is what's good for the family, and one should never forget that.

We are honored to present this episode with Betsy Hughes.  Betsy has spent her entire career, nearly 40 years, as a student of philanthropy.  Just in the last 20 years, she has raised more than $500M—for universities, museums, and human services organizations.  Nathaniel started the conversation by asking in the U.S., who's your typical major donor, and where does their money go?  Without any surprises, religious groups are the number one charitable recipients.  Betsy then respectfully debunked the myth that most NPOs spend too much money on administrative operations.  She further explained that "passion" is the biggest reason people donate, so it's important for you to vet the organization by understanding its mission and trusting them to utilize your donation.  Volunteering may be a good way to start.  We then discussed how the face of philanthropy has changed, especially during COVID-19.  Betsy is excited to see much more involvement from women, people of color, and the younger generation.  As Betsy said, over 70% of donations come from small individuals, and every bit counts!  We highly courage you to start today if you can, whether to improve your own community or to help a cause that you believe in!  Thank you!