Welcome to the 20th episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast. In this first installment of What Works Wednesday Leland delves into LLCs and some common misconceptions about them, specifically the misconception that an LLC is a tax status. If you are a self-employed professional and navigating the world of LLC’s and taxes, this episode will give you incredibly valuable education and insights that you can take with you. So with that introduction here is the first installment of What Works Wednesday with your host Leland Gross

Welcome to the 19th episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast. Boy do I have an episode for you! My guest on today’s podcast is Arlene Moss. Arlene is the Executive Business Coach at XY Planning Network, a business that supports the community of fee for service financial planners and entrepreneurs, by providing invaluable resources like technology, coaching, systems, processes, and most importantly community to over 1700 advisors- myself included! Arlene has an extensive background in coaching entrepreneurs in solo to small boutique businesses, and joins me today to share some of the keys to success she has seen in her years as a business coach. In this episode, she shares a lot of wisdom and nuggets from making the leap, to planning financially to start a business, to knowing who you serve- your niche- and not serving everyone under the sun. She shares about creating processes for your business but not getting caught up in making it perfect or chasing shiny objects and instead bringing customers and clients through your process to see what works and doesn’t work. Arlene is full of energy and life and that comes through in how much we laughed throughout this conversation. She has been instrumental in my business and I hope the same will be true for you. So with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Arlene Moss.

Links:
https://www.peacelinkfp.com/
https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/advisor-blog/author/arlene-moss

My guest on today’s podcast is Curtis Little. Curtis is the co-owner and partner of Mount Oak Capital, a prominent real estate development and investment company located in Charleston, South Carolina, that primarily works in the underwriting and development of real estate for national brand restaurants like Starbucks, or Chick-fil-A. In this episode, Curtis explains how, in the vast world of real estate, he found his way into the niche of commercial restaurant development. From starting in the DC area selling office building spaces to working in high street retail on King Street in downtown Charleston, to finding new opportunities in suburban areas, and eventually building relationships with brokers in the restaurant industry. Curtis speaks to the challenges of running a business, especially in his field. How he has to navigate factors that are out of his control, like rising interest rates and COVID-19. How projects in commercial development can take years to complete and they only get paid upon completion. And be sure to listen to the end as Curtis talks about building a balanced life, and how that is a measure of success. This episode is packed with principles of entrepreneurship that anybody can relate to. So with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Curtis Little. 

Links:
https://www.peacelinkfp.com/
https://www.mountoakcapital.com/

Welcome to the 17th episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast. My guest on today’s podcast is Molly Rose Speed. Molly Rose is the owner and founder of Virtual Assistant Academy and Virtual Assistant Management, two companies created to train and place high quality, professional virtual assistants with business owners looking to make a hire. What is unique to Molly Rose is that she is both a small business owner and a virtual assistant herself, so she truly has the knowledge and experience to train VA’s in a way that can provide massive value to the employer, while creating a fulfilling, profitable, and flexible career for the VA’s themselves. In this episode Molly tells her story of building these businesses. She details how she was in unfulfilling jobs, in a constant state of dissatisfaction. How she had big dreams of traveling, living life to the fullest, and creating a career around her life, not a life around her career. And how being a military spouse and all that that demands led her to realize that she wouldn’t be able to do that in a traditional office or 9-5 position. Thus she became a virtual assistant. She also explains how others, having seen her flexibility and success, asked what her secret was, thus birthing these companies. And be sure to listen in as Molly Rose provides nuggets of wisdom and advice to anybody interested in becoming a Virtual Assistant, and anybody looking to hire help for their business. So with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Molly Rose Speed.

Links:
https://www.peacelinkfp.com/
https://www.virtualassistantacademy.com/

My guest on today’s podcast is Mallorie Terranova. Mallorie is the owner of Jars Of Dust, a pottery manufacturing studio located in Virginia Beach. What is unique about Mallorie is her bravery and “stubborness” to follow her dreams amidst the messaging that “artists cannot make money” and “You will lose your love for it if you make it a business”. In this episode Mallorie details her story of falling in love with the process of making clay and pottery, how she learned that she is not built to be an employee through an experience working in a pottery studio, and how that pushed her to take the leap and build Jars of Dust into a real business. She describes the emotions and experience of opening a storefront, even when the business wasn’t necessarily ready, and how that experience gave her the confidence to take other leaps in the future, including purchasing an entire warehouse to expand the studio. What I loved most about this episode was Mallorie’s wisdom and profoundness around the experience of owning a business- She speaks to fear, courage, contentment, and the fact that excellence can take many forms. She speaks to taking risks, delegating, and stumbling through the business side of things. She speaks to building something bigger than herself, that provides for others, and that is more beautiful than she had anticipated or dreamt of, and how that STILL comes with constant highs and lows constantly coinciding. This episode is a conversation about the heart of entrepreneurship and I can’t wait for you to hear it. So with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Mallorie Terranova. 

Links:
https://www.peacelinkfp.com/
https://jarsofdust.com/

My guests on today’s podcast are Doug and Polly White, the owners of Gather Coworking Space, a regional coworking business that offers incredible office space for everyone from individuals to large teams across Virginia. What is unique about Doug and Polly is the story of how they came to run Gather- from both losing their separate jobs in 2008, to starting their own consulting firm for small businesses, and then creating business space for small businesses. In this episode we talk about flexibility and learning. They had to pivot their marketing of their consulting business after 4 months, 250 prospect meetings, and zero clients. They had to keep learning when they launched their first gather and it wasn’t profitable, and they had to get creative when covid hit and put small businesses out of business, or sent people home- away from their office, because you cannot “Gather” during a global pandemic. Doug and Polly have a wonderful marriage and they speak to the fact that in business and marriage, challenges will either move you closer together or push you a part and how they moved closer and closer over the years. And be sure to listen to the end as they highlight how they define success as the journey of their faith, their marriage, and their ability to give more money away. So with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of the self-employment success podcast with Doug and Polly White.

Links
https://workatgather.com/
https://peacelinkfp.com/

My guest on today’s podcast is Buddy Powers. Buddy and his wife Jill are the owners of Big Spring Farm. What’s unique about Buddy is that he doesn’t just own one business. Big Spring is not just a farm, but a farm, a wedding venue, a neighborhood, and a micro-resort! And on top of all of that they own a wedding photography business as well. In this episode Buddy shares his story in depth from growing up in the suburbs where farming was nonexistent, to growing a desire for farming, which led to having his own wedding on the farm he was managing, and how that spurred the vision for one day owning a farm that was a wedding venue as well. Buddy also shares how that “one day” came much sooner than either of them expected. And be sure to listen to the end as Buddy shares how he defines success as being in right relationship and leaving a legacy. So with that introduction I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Buddy Powers. 

Links
https://peacelinkfp.com/
https://bigspringva.com/

My guest on today’s podcast is Joel Ankney. Joel is the founder of Ankney Law- a successful law firm specializing in helping entrepreneurs buy and sell businesses, as well as commercial real estate transactions and small business support. What is unique about Joel is that he was elected Top Attorney in Coastal Virginia and even his peers selected him as a Virginia Legal Elite attorney multiple times. What is even more impressive though is his humility and honesty in this conversation as he discusses his highs and lows including anticipatory anxiety that comes from running a business even today. In this episode Joel speaks about what it was like making the jump to starting his own practice at a time in life when he and his wife had four boys ranging in age from one to thirteen. How he and his wife prepared and what it was like in those early days navigating client acquisition and marketing. We talk in depth about marketing including how Joel has self-published a few books and how that has propelled his law practice by positioning him as an authority in his niche field, while also allowing him to discover new pieces of himself and finding a passion for being an author. And be sure to listen to the end as Joel shares how he defines success today, and how his definition of success has been fluid and has changed throughout his career. So with that introduction I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Joel Ankney. 

LINKS
https://peacelinkfp.com
https://www.joelankney.com/

So for today’s episode we are going to do things a little differently. We have had 10 guests come on the podcast so far. They have gotten very real in sharing their stories of entrepreneurship- what they do, why their passionate about it, how they got started, what’s worked, what’s been hard, and how they define success. And that is what this podcast is about. This is a podcast about success and how we define it, and what we do to achieve it. So in today’s episode we are going to listen back at how each guest has answered the question- how do you define success? 

My guest on today’s podcast is Julia Woods. Julia is the owner and founder of Beautiful Outcome, a transformational coaching business that specializes in helping couples communicate in a way that allows them to know and be known by one another so they can partner to build the life they ultimately desire. What’s unique about Julia is the story of how she came to building this business. In this episode Julia speaks to how she herself went through a season of realizing she was not happy with where her life was and where it was going. How she had everything she thought she wanted but wasn’t happy. And how in that season she began to learn the lessons and tools that allowed her to experience a major transformation inside herself and her family. She speaks to how the transformation she experienced and continues to experience birthed a passion for her to share this with the world. Julia explains how building Beautiful Outcome was a one step at a time process. How she and her husband would take the next right step and how that would lead to the next step and so on. These steps might I add were big “sell our business and move across the country” type steps. We talk a lot about growth and how we never outgrow growth. It is a daily choice and decision. And be sure to listen to the end when Julia describes how she defines success as who she is becoming, more than what she wants to achieve. This episode is jam packed with passion and nuggets of wisdom that anybody can apply to their life, relationships, and business. So with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Self-Employment Success Podcast with Julia Woods.

LINKS
https:/peacelinkfp.com/
https://beautifuloutcome.com/