Inside BS Show

Key to Success in Entrepreneurship:  Create a Fantastic Experience | Wendy Spreenberg | #16

If you want to be different compared to everyone else, you must provide a better experience. If you want to be disruptive, you can change the rules of the game to favor you and your company. On this episode of The Inside BS Show, Dave Lorenzo interviews Wendy Spreenberg and she shares how she and her team are changing the game of co-working space by providing a better experience. The business model Wendy has is so different, that her company doesn’t compete with other co-working brands. They change the game so the owner of the space can win as well.

Chapters
00:00 Key to Success in Entrepreneurship: Create a Fantastic Experience
01:30 How Windy and YES! Became Consultants in the Co-Working Space
03:00 What Makes Wendy and Her Team Do that Makes Them Different
04:28 How Wendy Selects Developers to Work With
06:00 How Does it Work If the Developer Has a “Unique” or “Unusual” Space?
08:30 Will the Future of Co-Working Space Include Podcast Studios?
10:40 Are Companies Calling to Have YES! Provide Space for them in Many Cities?
11:50 Can Developers Expect to Get a Premium from a Co-Working Space?
13:30 Dave Tells a Story About a Client Who Did This On His Own
15:30 Can This Be Done as a Sublet?
17:00 What are Some of The Fee Structures That Work For Co-Working?
22:50 What is the Sales Process Like?
25:40 Wendy and Her Team Do Much More Than Consulting
27:25 How Does YES! Get Paid?
28:20 Does Wendy and YES! Help Find Space for an Owner/Operator?
29:15 Can Wendy Help with a Distressed Space?
32:00 Does Wendy See This As a Social Space as Well as a Work Space?
34:15 Could This Be the Future of Work – Come to the Office Once Each Week?
37:40 What is the 15-Minute City Concept?
40:30 Fitness and Coworking is Already Happening and this Idea will Only Expand

Wendy Spreenberg
Founder & President
Yes! Your Exceptional Workspaces
[email protected]
(312) 608-1859
https://www.yes-spaces.com/

About Wendy Spreenberg
Wendy Spreenberg is the founder and president of YES! Your Exceptional Space®, a Strategic Partner in the development of Innovative & Flexible Workspaces. Wendy and her team understand the many layers and complexities that go into creating exceptional workspace—from site selection, experience design, concierge level service, IT infrastructure, staffing, training and operations. She works with a wide array of entrepreneurs, landlords and developers. 
   
Since 2001, Wendy’s experience has taken her across North America, from Vancouver to Puerto Rico, working with over 120 flexible workspace projects (2M+ square feet) to start new locations, to reposition existing businesses or buildings, deploying the proprietary YES! Operational Playbook.

Additionally, Wendy is a frequently sought out speaker and podcast guest including Everything Coworking (podcast), at NeoCon Chicago, IIDA, Bisnow, InBIA, and the Global Workspace Association.

Relationships and Technology: Two Things That Lead to Law Firm Success | Jay McAllister | #15

What can a law firm learn from a 27-year-old tech entrepreneur? What can grizzled business veterans discover from listening to someone who focuses on working with law firms? What can you discover from a person who spends his days listening to his customers?

It turns out there is an ENORMOUS amount we can learn from Jay McAllister, the CEO and Founder Paragon Tech – a company that helps law firms make decisions on productivity and technology. This may be the most valuable conversation you eavesdrop on this week because Jay shares all the SECRETS to being a relationship-focused business leader.

Chapters
00:00 Intro to The Power of Relationship-based Business Development
02:20 Value Proposition: At Age 19 Jay Figured Out How He Could Help Lawyers
03:09 How to Discover Someone’s Value System
04:40 Why Jay Speaks to a Focused Audience
08:10 How Did Jay Become an Entrepreneur?
13:30 How Does Jay Develop New Relationships?
20:44 How Focusing on Law Firms Benefits Jay’s Business
27:00 Why Should You Be Vulnerable?
30:30 How Meditation Helps Jay
40:00 What Specifically Does Jay Do to Help Law Firms?

Jay McAllister
Founder
Paragon Tech
(815) 556-1145
https://paragonus.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaymcalli...

About Jay McAllister
Jay McAllister is an extremely passionate and highly motivated, entrepreneur. He founded Paragon Tech with the guiding principle that technology, when properly used can elevate a law firm's performance beyond levels that were previously possible. With a mindset focused on business mastery, relationship building and a thirst for knowledge, he facilitates high-quality connections every day to expose other high-performance professionals to each other.

Do you want to discover the secrets of one of the most successful Real Estate Brokers in Chicago? Would you like to learn how to create a powerful brand in professional services? Is creating a luxury experience for your clients important?

If you answered “YES” to any of those questions, you don’t want to miss today’s Inside BS Show.

On today’s show, Dave Lorenzo interviews Carrie McCormick, one of Chicago’s most successful Real Estate Brokers. Join us!

Chapters
00:00 How to Create a Luxury Real Estate Experience Introduction
01:30 How Will Interest Rate Increases Impact Real Estate Sales?
03:18 How to Select an Ideal Client as a Luxury Real Estate broker
05:00 How do You Create a Great Experience for Your Client When There are Two Parties to a Transaction?
05:45 What Do You with Listings that Are Not a Good Fit?
08:07 How Did Carrie Get into Real Estate After a Career in Advertising?
11:00 Carrie Tells the Story of Her First Foray into Real Estate
12:50 How Are Affluent Buyers Different?
19:15 How does Carrie Select the Professionals She Puts In Front of Her Clients?
22:00 Does Carrie have a Niche Market?
23:19 How Does Carrie Market an Ugly Property?
25:15 Dave Tells the Story of the “Parisian Entrance”
27:20 How Does Carrie Price a Property that is New to the Market?
30:20 How Do You Play Psychologist to Get Sellers to Change Their Pricing?
32:30 Does Having a Good Brand Make it Easier to Do Deals?

Carrie McCormick’s Contact Information
(312) 961-4612
[email protected]
www.carriemccormickRE.com

About Carrie McCormick
Carrie McCormick, a leader in the Chicago Real Estate market, has more than 20 years of real estate sales expertise along with an unsurpassed reputation for quality and results-oriented service and support. Carrie constantly stays on top of sophisticated technology which has made her a forerunner in the marketing and selling of real estate, she has it down to a science. Her talents and on-target recommendations are always based on facts, reliable market analysis, and her vast knowledge of real estate and the market. Patient yet persistent, she is also highly detail oriented and a very determined negotiator.

McCormick is available to clients 24/7. "I communicate often and educate them on the market," she says. "My clients and I are a team. It is important that we work together to create a successful outcome." Selling real estate is about knowing what you are selling and articulating what the value is.  Year after year, that focus has led to her placement in the top 1% for the Chicago Association of Realtors. She has also earned the association's Bronze, Silver and Gold awards and been named a Top Social Media Contributor. Last year, she started a podcast to share tips and market information with her colleagues and clients.  "My job is to provide a perfect real estate experience for my clients. I have built a support system that does just that".

Litigation is not cheap, fast, or fair and if you are involved in it, you want to be represented by someone you like – because you are going to spend a lot of time together.  But don’t nice (people) guys finish last? Don’t you need a killer attorney who will bang on the table, jump up and down and scream and yell?

No. You don’t

On this episode of the Inside BS Show, Dave Lorenzo interviews Brian Haussmann, an excellent litigator, and a nice person. Brian is the secret weapon people bring into the court room. How does he do it? What are his secrets?  He shares them all on today’s show.

Chapters
00:00 Intro: How to Handle Business Disagreements While Not Being Disagreeable
01:30 How distracting is a lawsuit to a business owner?
03:30 Even Lawyers Get Sucked into Disputes! The Garbage Can Story
08:20 How Do You Talk Sense to an Unreasonable Client?
10:20 The Most Expensive Words in the English Language
11:30 How Does Brian Control His Emotions When Someone He Likes Is Going to Get Beat in a Case?
16:45 What Does a Litigator Do When a Client Won’t Take His Advice?
22:00 What is the Best Recipe for Staying Out of Business Disputes?
27:40 How Does Brian Know When He Has Done a Good Job?
35:30 Why is the Mediation Process Essential to Winning Litigation?
37:00 Why Do you Need a Lawyer Who is Good in a Mediation?
39:00 Mediation is Great for Uncovering Important Negotiation Points
40:30 Is There a Difference Between In-Person Mediation and Zoom Mediation?

Brian Haussmann’s Contact Information
(312) 762-9471
[email protected]
www.tdrlawfirm.com

About Brian Haussmann
Brian a trial lawyer and trusted advisor to founders, owners, and investors in privately held companies. He represents his clients in mission-critical disputes involving corporate ownership and governance. His cases often involve business divorce or dissolution, valuation disputes, fiduciary duty claims, partnership and shareholder rights, and company mergers and acquisitions.

Haussmann also has extensive experience litigating disputes involving commercial real estate for developers, investors, landlords, and tenants.
In addition, he regularly handles business and employment cases concerning trade secrets, executive compensation, restrictive covenants, strict product liability, defamation, the Uniform Commercial Code, antitrust violations, and insurance coverage.

Haussmann also advises clients on matters not in litigation and has helped to resolve important disputes without filing suit. Haussmann regularly counsels corporate clients with repeat litigation matters. For example, he helped a national food chain develop a protocol for resolving common disputes over leased properties throughout the country. He also helped an automobile manufacturer employ early case evaluation to resolve product liability actions.

If you have employees or you manage employees you need to checkout this episode of The Inside BS Show. On today’s show, Dave Lorenz and his guest, Susan Lorenc, a Partner with the law firm of Thompson Coburn LLP, discuss a wide range of issues relating to employee management. Susan is a fantastic source of information and she generously shares what you should and SHOULDN’T do.

This show will save you money, time and a lot of heartache. Join us!
Please Note: The information contained on this show (a) has been offered by Susan Lorenc for informational purposes only, (b) does not constitute legal advice, and (c) is not guaranteed to be complete, up-to-date, or accurate in all respects.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Employment Law
01:10 How Susan Became an Employment Attorney
02:00 What Does an Employment Attorney Do?
04:00 Is It Easier to get Clients If You’re on the Employer side or the Employee Side?
05:00 The Work Environment Has Changed in the Past 30 years. Can We Still Have Fun at Work?
07:40 What is Unwelcomed Behavior?
09:20 What is the Difference Between Quid-Pro-Quo Issues and Third-Party Issues?
14:43 Are You Ever Off Duty as a Manager? Do You Have Legal Exposure After Work?
16:21 Is the Employee Handbook You Buy on the Internet Good Enough?
22:26 What Has Changed About the Workforce with So Many People Working from Home
27:30 Can You Structure a Job Based Upon Outcomes vs Hourly Pay?
31:00 What is a Contractor vs an Employee?
35:00 Can you have a Sales Tryout vs a Probationary Period?
37:15 How Do We Classify a Virtual Assistant for Employment Purposes?
40:00 What are Best Practices for Reference Checks and Background Checks?
42:30 Never Ask About Pay. Here’s Why…
49:00 The One Thing You Must Know About Googling Someone Before You Hire Them

Susan Lorenc’s Contact Information
(312) 580-2324
[email protected]
https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/people...

About Susan Lorenc
Susan is an experienced and trusted employment law advisor who counsels employers at every stage of a personnel-related issue. She drafts policies, assists with hiring and firing, conducts workplace investigations, and provides seamless representation in state and federal courts on employment matters.

For companies with five employees to those with 5,000, Susan provides day-to-day counseling on a wide variety of matters including background checks, discrimination, retaliation, enforcement of covenants not to compete, wage and hours issues, and family and medical leave. She serves as a dedicated extension of a company's human resources department, offering responsive, practical guidance that is shaped by an organization's ultimate goals — not the other way around.

Susan has successfully prepared and argued substantive motions in state and federal court, in addition to mediations, arbitrations and appeals, including experience arguing before the 7th Circuit, which affirmed the granting of a summary judgment motion for her clients.
In recent years, Susan has developed special experience in classification issues for exempt or non-exempt employees and employer obligations for background checks and the Fair Credit Report Act, both areas of increased enforcement by the EEOC. She has also spoken extensively and counseled employers on the impact of legalized medical marijuana laws on workplace policies and employee discipline actions.

You should build a personal brand by using the media. You read that correctly. Building a powerful brand starts with delivering value to a large audience and writing articles, doing podcasts and shooting video can help. Dave Lorenzo’s guest today is Rafer Wiegel and he helps us discover how to build our brand using the tools available to all of us. 

Chapters
00:00 How to Build Your Personal Brand with the Media
01:40 How to Go from Being a Media Personality to Entrepreneurship
03:00 Why Getting Fired was the Best Thing for Rafer to Improve His Life
04:15 How Vulnerability Helps Make You More Attractive in Business in Life
05:40 Rafer Shares the Secret to Connecting with an Audience
07:30 The Things Rafer Learned from Adversity
08:45 Dave Shares Some Vulnerability
10:50 How Do We Get Past Resistance to Doing Media?
14:00 How Video Leads to More Sales
17:53 What is the Right Way to Present a Video Testimonial?
19:45 How Should a Video Position You?
24:00 How Do You Select the Topics for a Video?
26:20 Is Traditional Media Feeling Pressure from Social Media and YouTube?
29:30 How Do You Develop a Media Presence?
33:00 If Your Intentions Are Good it is Ok to Leverage Media to Influence People

Rafer Weigel’s Contact Information
(312) 914-8690
https://weigelmediagroup.com/
[email protected]

About Rafer Weigel

Rafer Weigel is the president and founder of Weigel Media Group.  His passion for storytelling is evident in his decades of experience as a news anchor and reporter for television news and print media. Rafer has won multiple awards working at blue-chip companies, including CNN, Fox News, ABC 7 Chicago, Fox 2 St. Louis, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Years of reporting experience have honed Rafer’s ability to discern the personal connection in any story, from breaking news to a human-interest piece. Even as a sports reporter and anchor, he conveyed stories that appealed even to non-sports fans by focusing on the elements that transcended sports and resonated with viewers on a personal level.  At Weigel Media Group, Rafer is just as committed to identifying those client assets that connect with an audience. He gets to the heart of a story by using his interviewing skills to put people at ease to uncover their key messages.

There is hidden value within your business. It is hidden in plain sight. This value comes from the intellectual property you’ve developed over the years. The key that unlocks this value is the protection of intellectual property. In this episode of the Inside BS Show, Dave Lorenzo interviews Steve Baron, an attorney who helps his clients protect and license intellectual property. Steve’s passion for magic and the attention to detail it requires, gives him a competitive advantage.
 
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Value of Intellectual Property
00:45 Steve Baron’s Background as an Attorney and an Amateur Magician
01:45 How Does Being a Magician Help Steve Master Intellectual Property Law
04:00 The Attention to Deal Involved in Magic Helped Steve Discover the Detail Involved in Law
05:55 How Can Intellectual Property Become a Profit Center?
06:40 What is Intellectual Property?
11:30 How Does a Business Leverage Intellectual Property?
18:00 What is the Best Way to Come Up with a Name for a Product or Business?
20:30 What Happens if Someone Infringes Upon Our Intellectual Property Rights?
22:35 Why is Trademark Enforcement Critical?
24:30 Dave Presents Steve with a Case Study on Trademark Infringement
30:00 When Should You Get an Intellectual Property Lawyer Involved in Your Branding
31:33 Who is the Ideal Person to Connect with Steve Baron?

Steve Baron’s Contact Information
(312) 741-1030
[email protected]
www.bhhlawfirm.com

About Steve Baron
For more than 30 years, Steve Baron has counseled businesses on intellectual property matters and helped clients resolve complex commercial disputes.

His experience includes protecting and advising on trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, trade secrets, defamation, privacy, right of publicity, advertising, and marketing. Steve represents media and entertainment clients’ best interests in federal and state courts, administrative tribunals, arbitrations, and mediations. His clients also include publishers, authors, podcasters, advertising and marketing agencies, graphic artists, recording companies and recording artists, information technology businesses, Internet retailers, and other businesses with intellectual property and publishing issues.

Steve advises clients on evaluating and protecting their intellectual property and business assets. He helps businesses select trademarks, obtain registrations from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and manage trademark portfolios. He also counsels clients on copyright protection and aids them in registering works with the Copyright Office. Publishers benefit from his guidance on matters involving rights of publicity and privacy. At the same time, he leverages his extensive experience as a litigator to draft, review, and negotiate many commercial agreements, including intellectual property licenses and assignments, software escrow agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, work-made-for-hire agreements, employment agreements, merchant agreements, and website terms of use and privacy policies.

Do You Want to Be In Business with Your Partner’s Crazy Spouse? I know it sounds a little strange but when you enter a partnership, you may be setting yourself up to be in business with your partner’s family in the event of their death. This is a COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE situation if you have a good agreement and an insurance policy that will fund a buyout of your partners estate. On this episode of the Inside BS Show, we address this issue and other events you should think about and plan for in your business and your life.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Financial Coaching
01:00 How John Became a Financial Coach
03:00 How Can Insurance Lead to a Better and More Secure Retirement?
05:19 Why is Long Term Care Insurance Necessary?
08:15 The Best Time to Invest in an Insurance Policy
10:00 What Should a Young Person Think About when It Comes to Insurance?
14:40 What About a Insurance for the Spouse Who Does Not Work Outside the Home?
16:00 How can Insurance Be Used as an Asset Protection Tool?
22:00 What Business Owners and Professionals Can Do to Shelter Income from Taxes
25:10 John Gotschall Client Success Stories
29:14 Why is Key Person Insurance Important?
34:20 How John Got Into Financial Services
36:39 How Does John Get new Clients?
38:00 What Groups Does John Gotschall Belong To?

John Gotschall’s Contact Information
(847) 813-5511
[email protected]
http://www.coachfinancial.com

About John Gotschall
John started Coaching Financial in March 1998 and Coaching Insurance in January 2009. He is an expert in employee benefits with specialty in group health plans working as a broker. Coaching Financial and Coaching Insurance support small to large companies.

Coaching Financial is based around sports. We coach our clients and help them win daily! People matter - we treat our team and clients the way we would want to be treated. The Golden Rule. John is a veteran financial planner with licenses in Life, Health, and Property & Casualty licensee -Series 6, 7, and 63 licensee -Registered Representative, The Leaders Group, Inc.,1998 -Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), 2003.

Is your firm as inclusive as it can be? If you’re asking yourself this question, you need to watch today's Inside BS Show. In this episode, Dave Lorenzo interviews Trisha Daho, the Founder of Empowered, LLC. And we discover how inclusiveness is a competitive advantage.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Inclusiveness as a Competitive Advantage
01:40 Trish Daho’s Background
04:00 How Dave Lorenzo Realized the Diversity Gap in His Work
06:00 Where Should We Start?
07:25 Why a Diversity Initiative is Problematic If You Haven’t Addressed in Within Your Culture First
09:00 “The Buzzwords Don’t Do It for Me”
11:00 How You REALLY Find the Best People
12:55 How Do You Recruit People of Color When There Are No People of Color in Leadership?
16:00 Recognize Underrepresented Groups and Focus on Programs to Nurture Their Growth
17:30 Diversity as Competitive Advantage
20:00 How Do You Make Strategic Decisions About Diversity?
24:00 The Value of Societal Role Models
25:00 Every Cultural Measure is 25% Better (at least) Here’s Why
27:30 How Does Trisha Go into an “Old Boys Network” and Help Them?
30:30 Business Strategy and DEI are the Same Thing
34:00 How Do We Bring Up the Subject of Brining a DEI Consultant into a Client Business?
36:00 How Do We Add More Women into Leadership Ranks of Companies?
38:46 What is Trisha’s Favorite Type of Client to Work With?
41:00 How Do We Pitch Trisha?
42:30 What Have You Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic
45:00 What is the Best Place To Start?

Trisha Daho's Contact Information
(224) 938-3348
[email protected]
https://empoweredlc.com/

About Trisha Daho
Trisha spent most of her career leading large, diverse teams toward the delivery of value for her clients at a Big 4 Accounting and Advisory firm, wherein she served as a partner. She has been pivotal in the discovery and sustainability of value in the billions of dollars for her clients. She has worked with executives and their teams in dozens of Fortune 500 companies in the majority of states. She has also created enormous value for entrepreneurs, high-growth companies, and aspiring start-ups.

Having made partner in a Big 4 accounting firm in 9 years, Trisha was charged with building thriving practices from scratch in 4 different regions of the country. Through laser-focused strategies and the ability to scale talent and service delivery quickly, she was able to create growth businesses that have expanded exponentially. The leaders she’s cultivated have gone on to be partners, CFOs, CEOs, and much more.

With her own company, Empowered, Trisha partners with C-suites and managing partners to think, plan, and execute strategically for the purpose of accelerated and sustainable growth, primarily in professional service firms. She also partners with larger firms to create success for women and diverse people who are entering leadership positions through diversity and inclusion peer advisory experience focused on strategy, high-performing teams, and advocacy in leadership.
With a law degree from Case Western Reserve University and a business degree from Miami University, Trisha brings practical results-driven insights as well as leadership acumen. She regularly writes and speaks on a variety of topics, including authenticity in leadership, high-impact teams, creating growth cultures, diversity, and inclusion, and many more.

Do you need a CFO? Maybe. But before you hire one, permanently, there are a few things you should know. On this episode of The Inside BS Show, Dave Lorenzo interviews Brit Summerill, a partner at NOW CFO.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Outsourced CFO Concept
01:00 What Size Business Needs a CFO?
01:55 What Now CFO Does
02:40 How Brit Summerill got Involved with Now CFO
03:30 What Type of Professionals Become Outsourced CFOs?
04:40 What are the Signs a Business Needs a CFO?
08:00 Scenarios When a CFO is Valuable
13:30 What is the difference between a Controller and a CFO?
15:00 What Kinds of Projects Could an Outsourced CFO Help With?
17:00 How Brit Became an Outsourced CFO
21:00 Crazy CFO War Stories
23:30 How an Outsourced CFO Can Help Uncover Fraud
26:20 What is a Great Referral for Brit and Now CFO?
28:59 What Other Groups Does Brit Belong to?
30:40 What is the Hiring Talent Pool Like for Accountants?
33:30 One Piece of Advice Brit has for CEOs

Brit Summerill Contact Information:
(669) 225-0207
[email protected]
https://www.nowcfo.com

NOW CFO is a “roll-up our sleeves” full-service consulting firm with a singular focus on outsourced CFO, Controller, accounting, and finance needs. As a partner at NOW CFO for the Bay Area, CA, and Chicago IL offices, Brit has worked as a CFO/Controller/Auditor for many public and private companies. His expertise includes accounting clean-up, cash flow, financial analysis, dashboarding, M&A, clean-up, financial reporting, SEC reporting, and complicated equity/debt/derivative instruments. He helps companies in all industries and can find you a consultant who specializes in your specific industry or market. We have around 400 consultants throughout our 41 offices in 17 states.