Running Your Business as a Shareholder

Business Brain, the Show for entrepreneurs episode 475 for Wednesday, August 16, 2023. Greetings, folks, and welcome to Business Brain, the show where we tune our business brains together every week. Sometimes twice a week, often twice a week. Sponsors for this episode include Pearl Diver at pearldiver IO, where you can find out information about the folks who visit your website and shopify.com businessbrain where you can sign up for a $1 per month trial period to take your business to the next level. Today. We'll talk about those two in depth in a little bit. For now, here in Durham, New Hampshire, I'm Dave Hamilton.

And in Lafayette, California, I'm Shannon Jean. I have a little tidbit for you, Dave.

Yeah, man.

Every year for at least the last 25 years, it has rained. I'm in the summertime, we're in California. It does not rain. But every year for 25 plus years, it has rained within 48 hours of my birthday.

Oh.

And it did so again last night with a 10% chance of rain. I couldn't believe it. I looked at we. It's a long story about what we were doing. We had a bunch of stuff outside and we were going to unload the next day. And of course, my wife looks at her weather app because she's way more, you know, she watches this stuff when I don't sure she's, oh, there's a 10% chance of rain. I'm like, that's never going to happen. And then she goes, oh, but your birthday's on Thursday. I said, we better unload. Sure enough, while we're unloading, it starts to rain. I don't know what that means, but it's just kind of interesting.

Isn't your birthday today the 16th? Wednesday.

Yeah, there you go.

Yeah, 16th.

The 16th.

The 17th is Wednesday. So happy birthday. There you go.

Yeah, you got it. It's just kind of funny.

That's amazing. I love it.

Yeah.

Love it.

Anyway, I'm excited to be here today. We have a lot of interesting stuff to talk about. We're going to talk about your hardware technology to start. Right.

Did I tell you last week that I had to buy a new computer?

I don't think so.

Okay, great. Well, I can tell you today that I've had to buy a new computer again. So we had a major lightning storm about a week and a half ago, a week ago on Friday. And like, like, like you read about, not just a lightning storm that like comes within even five miles, like this one hit in our neighborhood. I We have had lightning problems here at the house, in the office before. We've got some direct burial ethernet cable between the two. And when we first moved in, I was taught by the weather the valuable lesson of putting Ethernet surge protectors on either end of these lines. Right. So I did that and things are fine. I. Everything, all my electronics are on UPS is all that good stuff. This lightning storm that hit, you know, 10 days ago or whatever was so close that it blew out things just from proximity. So it didn't come in through the ground, it just came in like essentially through the air. Right. It was like, like there was an electromagnetic pulse that just blew things out. Yeah. And one of the things that blew out was not from the power but from the ethernet cord. It blew out the motherboard on a Mac mini that we have at the house that Lisa uses for all her work. So I had to buy one of those last week, you know, and we went a different way with it. We actually moved her to a full time laptop set up with an extra screen and all that. But I like, I had to buy a computer last night here. So then like. And there were a couple other things that you know, got blown up by, by that, you know, so a couple of ethernet ports and on switches and stuff. So it was fine, you know, but it was all low voltage stuff. All the high voltage stuff was totally fine. It was all the low voltage. So a lesson to all of us here, protecting your AC plugs from surges is important and it is also equally important to protect your, your low voltage or DC stuff like your Ethernet if you still have phones, like those sorts of things. Because that is where I've seen more frequent lightning damages over ethernet than over, than over, you know, AC power.

Crazy.

Yeah, yeah. So I did that, finally sorted it all out, rolled over to a couple of new machines last week as we sort of did the hand me down dance and that like figured out what we're going to do. It was fine. Last night I come into the studio, of course I recorded all last week, everything was fine. I was actually in here over the weekend a little bit last night I come in and to sort of prep stuff for what we're doing today. And I have a couple of monitors connected to the imac here in the studio. Now the imac has a built in screen and then there's a couple monitors. I wake up the computer. The extra couple of monitors wake up, no problem. The imac screen stays black. Uh oh, yep. I go back and forth with all of this stuff. Yada, yada, troubleshooting, you know, do all the resets of the geeky things that you. That I know how to do. And then some things that I searched on the Internet to learn how to do. No, no, no. Finally I turned on the flashlight on my phone and I shined it at the screen and I could see all the icons and the windows and everything. It was like, ah, right. The backlight on the, on the display is dead. Yeah. So I, this morning I set it up in a way where I actually put a second screen in front of the imac and told that. Told it to mirror the internal display to the second screen. And it got me limping along, you know, it was fine.

That's good.

Yeah, yeah. But I'm like, all right, I gotta f. Figure out, do I replace the screen and fix this like 5 year old imac or do I just buy a new Mac? And I found on Apple's site a reefer Mac studio that was like perfect for what I needed. And then I realized that our local Apple Mac shop had essentially the same thing for the same price, brand new, because they were trying to like liquidate some inventory and their friends of mine. And so I was like, oh, I'll just come down and pick it up. So I rolled over to that right before we did the show and this is the first thing that I'm doing on that. So if you're hearing this episode, folks, it means it worked.

Yeah, it only took us an extra hour.

It did. It only added an hour. Sorry and thank you. But you know, it's just one of those things. It's like I was sort of prepared to buy a new computer for the business this year. I knew it was going to be time. I wasn't exactly sure how and when I was going to do it. And then of course, when that first Mac died, it was like, well, now I know what I'm doing. Great. This is how it'll all work out. This is great. And then today it's like, all right, great. You get to spend another, you know, whatever, 1700 bucks or whatever it is. Like, you know, it's like, okay, yeah, and it's fine. But it's one of those things where, you know, it adds up. It was like I joked on the way back, I'm going to stop at the blood bank and then, you know, pick up ramen for the family to eat for for the next six months or whatever, you know, um, but it doesn't, it.

They do so much for us. I mean, it's, it's especially like your type of business. My type of businesses, you know, you're. It just. They would be impossible. Well, maybe not impossible. I hate that word. But just think of how difficult it would be to create, manage and run, you know, these, these companies and your life in general without this technology.

Oh no, you need it. And so I'm fortunate in a lot of ways, and one of them is that I have multiple computers. So when one does go belly up, I am able to just jump to another machine and work. Now, the podcast machine is somewhat purpose built in the way that it's set up. I certainly can podcast from my laptop on the road. Like we've done that before. So I, I can do it. It's fine. It's not as comfortable, but it's doable. Right. So I have these backups. But it shows the importance not just of having backup computers to use, but of having backups to my data too.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Being able to access it, being able to mirror it, being able to copy it over quickly and understand how to do it.

Yeah. Understand critically important. Yeah. And practicing, Practicing restoring from your backups is something everyone needs to do before disaster strikes. Because that the last time you want to figure out that you don't know how to get at the data on your backups is when you need it. So take some time, schedule some time for yourself over the next week or two to just go through and practice restoring from your backups. Like, go get something from it. If you haven't done that in the last six months, go do that. Make sure your backups are working. Make sure you know how to work with them.

So yeah, yeah, disaster prep, man. Really important.

It really. Yeah, it really is. It really is important. All right. Earlier this year we had this idea with one of our other businesses to start selling merch, like T shirts and hats and all kinds of things just to allow our users to engage with the brand. It builds a little more loyalty, all of that stuff. We found a vendor to make all of this stuff and make it like in real time. But their store was like, eh, not the best. And didn't really work worldwide. It didn't do all the things we needed to do. And we're like, oh no, like what do we do? I'm like, well, wait a minute, I know what to do. I know that we should use Shopify. And we love it because that's the sound we hear every time there's a new sale on Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform revolutionizing millions of businesses worldwide. Whether you're a garage entrepreneur or IP already, Shopify is the only tool that you need to start run and grow your business without the struggle. Shopify puts you in control of every sales channel. So whether you're selling satin sheets from Shopify's in person POS system or offering organic olive oil on Shopify's all in one e commerce platform, you're covered. And once you've reached your audience, Shopify has the Internet's best converting checkout to help you turn them from browsers to to buyers. We've used this. It's fantastic. It's so cool that you know you get the people get stuff in their car or they start looking at something, you can follow up with them and then get them to come back. It's really, it's amazingly well done and it just, it's so smooth. This is why Shopify powers 10% of all E commerce in the US and Shopify is truly a global force. Powering Allbirds, Rothy's, Brooklyn and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across over 170 countries. Plus Shopify's award winning help is there to support your success every step of the way. This is possibility Powered by Shopify Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com businessbrain all lowercase go to shopify.com businessbrain to take your business to the next level today. Again, that's shopify.com/business brain. And thanks to Shopify for sponsoring this episode. And hey, do you still wonder who all those people are visiting your website but who never convert and then just disappear? You can discover the game changing tool that top professionals are raving about. Our sponsor, Pearl Diver. Pearl Diver is a cutting edge platform that provides in depth visitor identification enabling you to uncover valuable insights about your website's visitors. By uncovering the names, the emails, the company details and more, Pearl Diver empowers you to turn anonymous traffic into high quality leads. With Pearl Diver you'll supercharge your marketing and sales strategy. You don't have to settle for guesswork. Dive deep into your visitor data with Pearl Diver and revolutionize your customer acquisition game. Are you ready to make waves? With Pearl Diver you will see actual people visiting your website. You'll know their names, their emails, their phones, their titles and their company details. Never miss out on the opportunity to engage with your hottest leads. Pearl Diver matches your email interactions with identified website visitors providing the insights you need to close your next deal. Visit pearldiver IO and try Pearldiver today. Again. That's pearldiver IO and our thanks to Pearl Diver for sponsoring this episode. Shannon I read this publication called Bottom Line Personal. It, it's actually a printed publication. I'd like to.

Amazing.

I love it. I've been subscribed since I was like a teenager. I think my dad subscribed me like when I got to college or, you know, started working or whatever. And I've kept up with it. I like having something. It's like the one thing on paper that I read semi regularly and I, I find myself reading it while I eat lunch because it's, I don't know. It's, it's, that's, that's, that's my habit.

Publication.

Yeah. Yeah. And I was reading this article about preparing your business for your retirement. Something that scares me because I'm terrible at this. I do nothing along the lines of getting this done. And there was a paragraph that I shared with you and I want to share with everyone here says reality. The vast majority of businesses can thrive without their founders. But, but achieving that takes some smart planning and a change in mindset. The business owner must stop being the business's hardest working employee and instead become its biggest shareholder. If someone owns shares in Ford Motor Company, he or she receives dividend checks and occasionally offers input by, for example, voting on who should serve on the board of directors. What that shareholder doesn't do is drop by the factory every morning to bolt bumpers onto Ford F150s. Reading this I've known this sort of concept for a while. Work in the business on the business, not in the business. You know, there's all these catchphrases. Reading about bolting, you know, bumpers onto F150s that hit me. This idea of big being the biggest shareholder for whatever reason. For me, that was the perspective that hit me. Now I want to, I want to see where I am with this particular project in, in six months or so they say it's a great article. We'll link to it because it is available online. But one of the things they say in this piece is schedule a month long vacation for yourself. And, and do it like 18 months to two years out. Right? Like this is the, your litmus test, right? Six months before that, take a week. And in both cases do not check in while you're gone. Right. You know, you're, you're, you're. If you can't do a week, six months before you're going to take a month, things aren't, you haven't, you haven't done enough you know, and I just, like, I found this interesting. I like this.

It is, yeah, it's. I think when you sent this to me, I said, yeah, we should talk about this because I'm. I just suck at it. But thinking about it, like, the idea of taking a month up vacation just gives me the willies. The chills go up and down my spine because it would drive me nuts. But looking back, I think one of the ways that I managed this was I started another business. So I was forced to shift my attention away because I had something else going on. And so. And I wasn't. Like I said, I wasn't very good at this. Like, oh, I'm just, you know, rolling in because, you know, I still had that mentality. It's like, oh, you know, I want to be the last person there. I want to. Whatever. It's just. I've always felt that way, probably to my own. I mean, even though things turned out well, maybe it could have been much better.

Even better, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. But.

But I. Thinking specifically about this. I do know when I. Things started working good, you know, started one business, and then I had some time because they're right, you know, most if things run smoothly, often you just kind of get in the way and you. You can become a gatekeeper, which is a big problem. And so delegating that stuff out and letting things run if you go back. Because I could remember this specifically going back into my office, going, well, I don't have now what? What do I do now?

Right?

And it kind of freaked me out. So I started making some calls, started expanding. What, what, what else could I do? Can I start a different business? Is there something I want to do? I wanted to write, wanted to do different things, and that pushed me along the lines because not having something to do is what freaks me out. And I think that that held me back from letting go for years until I figured out I could just go do something else. And then, you know, I'm still there. It was my base of opera operations. But nobody knows what I'm working on. Nobody cares, you know, quite frankly.

Right?

Because, oh, the, you know, the boss is in there, you know, whatever. He doesn't. He just slows things down, you know, And I'd get up and walk around, hey, everything going, you know, da, da, da. Make sure I checked in with everybody, did the Friday barbecue like I talked.

About all the time.

But most of the time, the day to day, they didn't need me. You had a great channel manager. This kind of Thing and then I went out, started a different business. You know, I wanted to get in the TV business. That was a big mistake. Let me save you a lot of trouble there. But at the time it sounded like a great idea.

Sure.

Then I wanted to get into the fashion business, which I didn't know anything about and watches and different stuff. But that kept me busy. But it also kept me away. So maybe that is another way to look at this. Looking back.

Yeah, I, I think, I think that's dangerous too because, Well, I, I, I mean again, why is it dangerous?

Because you have the ball.

Dangerous in relation to what it could be like, like truly stepping back and becoming that shareholder. Right. Because I, I think that the, I think at its core the, the need to, and I share this with you, so I'm not, you know, I'm analyzing me as much as you.

Yeah.

I think that need to, to work is perhaps something that, that initially serves us very well and no, really like getting, getting started going with this. But, but in the end it's the thing we have to let go of and, and I'm not, it's very difficult. No, I'm not saying this is easy. I have yet to figure it out. But, but when I watch other people do it, especially like business partners where it's like I have a vested interest in them, you know, working on the business instead of in the business, if you will. Right. I, it's very easy for me to see just how detrimental it is. And yet I, obviously this is one, as much as I am pursuing self awareness, this is one part of it where I cannot see in the mirror. Right. As well as I would like to. So doesn't it guide you that, that.

It, to do things that you enjoy.

That, well, that's the problem is I.

I think that's the opportunity.

Yeah, well, that's what I'm saying is like it's a double edged sword. Yeah, no, I, I, yeah, yeah, no, I, I just, I, I know I look at people who have made the transition to shareholder and maybe that's why this resonated so well with me because I see people who are like, oh, they figured it out, like what's the trick there? And then when I read this thing in Bottom Line and it said shareholder versus employee essentially, I do love that, you know, it was like, wait, that's what these other people have done and they 10x their businesses by doing it. And so like perhaps it's because I've been pursuing this thing that thus far has been a mystery to Me, even though I talk to these people, we talk to some of them on the show, I have some of them like as mentors or whatever, but they're like, yeah, you just got to like stop doing this and do that. And it's like, yeah, I don't know.

80% once somebody can do your job. But I would argue, have you even put effort into finding someone that could do your job? Because that's the difference.

Right? I'm petrified of that. That's right. That's the thing is I, in order to, to. But that this is why it put it in perspective for me because in order to be the number one shareholder, I therefore have to find someone to replace the jobs that I do. And, and that for whatever reason, that's what clicked in my head. So that's why I wanted to share this.

Yeah, it's a big deal. Oh, no, no, it's a very good topic. It, you know, there's some parallels. There's this, this concept that you should always, you should try to run your business like you're going to sell it tomorrow.

Right.

I've heard this over and over.

Yeah.

Because it makes the books cleaner, the decisions, you know, so it's one of these things.

But I know, I know that phrase. I feel like that phrase as pie in the sky is the idea of being your business's number one shareholder might be. I feel like try to run your business like you're going to sell it tomorrow is even more abstract. And so that's why it never like, I understand, I agree with it, but it's like, okay, well, let's break it down. What does that actually mean? Like, how do you do that? And, and maybe it was the thing about F150s. It's like, yeah, yeah, maybe.

And I think, you know, we started the show talking about tech technology. I do think it's never been easier to step away and still keep an eye on things, have different levels of control than ever before. You know, with the technology that's available with everything's online, every CRM, you know, Salesforce or whatever your stuff you're using all the Google products. So I mean, you can be connected to your business in such a way, a deeper level even as a shareholder than you ever could before. I would say you know, last like 20 years, even 10 years, you know, now. And I, I read about lots of younger people. Oh. Or I'm building a holding company. I'm starting a pressure washing business and then I'm starting this business and I'm starting that business, and they're kind of dash trying to dashboard this whole thing. I don't know how that would turn out, but I've always wanted my finger in each of these things a little bit more. But it's fascinating. And if you're listening and you are picking up what we've done wrong, please tell us feedbackusinessbrain show and we'll talk about your message on an upcoming episode. And you'll be entered to win a MacBook. So tell us how you did it. Tell us what we're doing wrong.

Yeah, tell us us what we're doing wrong and what we could be doing right. That I would. I would love that. So, yeah. Thank you so much, folks. Thanks for listening. Thanks for sharing the show with your business brain tuning friends, and keep living that charmed life. We'll see you next time.