Episode Transcript
Glenn Harper [: 00:00:00
Thank you for landing on the Empowering Entrepreneurs podcast. I’m Glenn Harper.Julie Smith [:00:00:03
Julie Smith.Glenn Harper [:00:00:04
What’s going on, Julie?Julie Smith [:00:00:05
Well, I think we’ve had a little too much caffeine today.Glenn Harper [:00:00:07
Yes, I think that’s probably true. I see the wheels turning up there. What do you got going on today?
Julie Smith [:00:00:12
Well, so we did, we just did a podcast on saying no, and I’m wondering if I should keep that theme with this episode.
Glenn Harper [:00:00:18
Whatever you think, I’ll roll with it.Julie Smith [:00:00:20
So I think it’s important, you know, we get on here and we talk a lot about, you know, we interview a lot of entrepreneurs, a lot of entrepreneur stories. We talk a lot about what we’ve learned throughout our career, tips and tricks or things we see, you know, repeatedly. So maybe, you know, if you’re listening, you, you don’t have to go through that. But I think, you know, we never talk about what do we do, who.
Glenn Harper [:00:00:45
We, we like you with a mouse in your pocket or we like me and you.
Julie Smith [:00:00:48
Well, I just think, like, what do we do? Like, we go to work every, you know, the businesses, how life has evolved, you know, our vision and mission and our dreams 10 years ago versus where we are today. And how did we get here? Right. You know, I’m gonna say it’s because I say yes all the time and he says no. But, you know, that’s neither here nor there. But I think just like a peek behind the curtain of, like, we’re just real people grinding. Just like every entrepreneur that’s listening, we lose sleep, we have hard conversations. Maybe we don’t talk for a few days because we really disagree with each other or we really want to go a direction and one doesn’t agree and it’s, you know, having to go through all of that and then, you know, go home and it’s like, okay, well, we’re not talking about work, but it, it, our minds never shut off. And so it’s really hard because I’m like, oh, did you call that person back? Because I told him that you were going to call him back and it’s nine o’ clock at night and then I say that, and then he can’t sleep because guess what? He didn’t call that person back.
Julie Smith [:00:01:50
And now he’s starting to think like, well, where was that? And how did I get that email? And, and again, I think it’s just, you know, let’s, let’s, let’s go back 10, 11 years ago. You had a different business partner. Your company was being run completely different. And, you know, I Think I was corporate America. Julie, right. Wanted, you know, climbing the ladder, had an mba. I had the dreams of being the CEO of, you know, thousands of people and megacorp, what that looked like. Right.
Julie Smith [:00:02:25
And just wanted to climb that ladder as fast as I could and then making this hard pivot to small Company USA and, and, you know, going through the peaks and the valleys of, you know, corporate America. Julie versus small business. Julie versus Glenn, who has no corporate experience.
Glenn Harper [:00:02:50
In the cutthroat world. No. Yes.Julie Smith [:00:02:52
But now, now we’re in it. No, I’m just kidding. And I think how just the evolution of, you know, then deciding to build a new company and how we’re going to build this and what it looked like in a vision and mission and you know, having these core values of how we make decisions daily, surrounding ourselves with people. We thought there are times, I mean, we could talk. We thought we had really great people and really bought into our mission and our vision and where we were going and they learn what we have to offer and they go start their own businesses. And you know, I look at it as one of the biggest compliments because clearly we have a lot of advice and, and, you know, knowledge about how to run a business, but really we’ve been through the peaks and the valleys so much.
Glenn Harper [:00:03:41
Well, I think the, the, the, the main thing is that the only thing constant in, when you’re in business is change. And it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react to it. And again, if you can, you’re trying to learn. Way back in the day, I was definitely a solopreneur. I was definitely just grinding out the work and just focused on that and just doing work, doing work, doing work. Wasn’t really thinking about growing an organization and running it with like a procedure, a process, know, hierarchy, flowchart of who’s in charge of what and, and those type of things. And so when he came along and I was like, oh, I was already starting to see that writing on the wall, then it was like, okay, now I gotta make that happen. So it’s been really been just a great thing for me personally.
Glenn Harper [:00:04:27
I still probably work harder than I’ve ever worked in my life. It just, it’s a different kind of work, right? It’s a different type of thing. You’re, you’re thinking of different things than just doing a tax return or preparing a financial statement. You’re thinking strategy for the clients. You’re thinking new stuff coming down from the government, new things that are happening and how you can Implement those with things. Working with your teammates to make sure that they have all the tools they need to be able to be part of that. And they believe in what they’re trying to do. And so, yeah, people come, people go, clients come, and clients go.
Glenn Harper [:00:04:55
You just keep trying to do the right thing for everybody and stay true to what you believe and what you want to try to do and what that those standards are. And sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t win, but you keep trying. And that’s what I can tell you.
Julie Smith [:00:05:08
Right? And I think that’s like, we get up every day and we have no idea what’s going to happen.
Glenn Harper [:00:05:13
I have a calendar. What’s supposed to happen? How about you?
Julie Smith [:00:05:17
Yeah.Glenn Harper [:00:05:17
Is that what happens?Julie Smith [:00:05:18
It’s oftentimes filled a little too much to my liking. But I think the other thing, like, just, let’s just talk about this, how this podcast started. Yeah, this podcast. And this happens a lot. And Glenn is always like, oh, I walk in his office, I’m like, I have this great idea, right? I had this great idea. Let’s do a podcast. We’re in Covid, right? Let’s do a podcast around entrepreneurs. Let’s create a community around them.
Julie Smith [:00:05:41
At that point in time, Covid was so lonely.Glenn Harper [:00:05:44
It was a horrible time to be around.Julie Smith [:00:05:46
And so we started out with this, like, small vision of creating a community for our clients and those entrepreneurs and what we’re going through and those life struggles, and we can all relate, right? And pretty soon it became a. I mean, an international podcast. We’re interviewing people that are in. Was he in China that one time? And Shanghai. And so just how quickly things can grow and scale and pivot. And again, it just all goes back to this. This great idea that usually starts small and usually materializes and spirals as. As we start talking through things.
Julie Smith [:00:06:24
But, you know, I think the other part is I think both of us just want to make an impact.
Glenn Harper [:00:06:32
Correct?Julie Smith [:00:06:33
And it’s. Again, we always talk about we just want to solve problems, but it’s so much bigger than that. And it’s about the impact we make. And, you know, I. Glenn and I go and we consult with different CPA firms and, you know, we get to do that, meet so many different people and so many thing. Different people are doing things so differently, but yet it’s all the same.
Glenn Harper [:00:06:57
It’s all the same. It’s the wanting to, you know, we want to help. It’s a nature. You got sucked into this as accountants generally want to help. And even though you don’t want to be an accountant, but you do love to help. And the helping for clients, colleagues, changing the industry, changing the entrepreneurial landscape, because it’s just. It is a lonely place. It’s gotten a little more friendly because there’s more outlets for people to talk to.
Julie Smith [:00:07:23
Well, I think the generations are changing too, right?Glenn Harper [:00:07:26
Correct. And I think what ends up happening is if we know something that’s going to help that customer, that colleague, that person out, I don’t want to just keep it and not share that. And you don’t either. And we want to stand from the mountaintop and say, look, you should try this. This is the shortcut. This will make it work. And so by doing. This is a great medium for us to do that.
Glenn Harper [:00:07:47
That’s what we were doing. And all the different businesses we’re in, it’s really about helping your customers, your clients be the best they can be so they can achieve their goals. And that’s very satisfying for me, and I know you enjoy that.
Julie Smith [:00:07:58
But I think if we look at, holistically, all of these companies that we’re involved in partnered with the. The main thing sticking that all together is impact.
Glenn Harper [:00:08:08
You’re correct.Julie Smith [:00:08:09
And I think, you know, big or small, whatever that is, I think that’s important. That’s been an important part of our journey.
Glenn Harper [:00:08:17
You’re right, because it’s, it’s an. There’s two parts to. When you help a. A client or a colleague or a friend or family, whatever. It’s. There’s an emotional mental impact that can help somebody break free and achieve something that they didn’t know they could achieve. And then there’s always the financial impact that generally can come along. It’s not mandatory.
Glenn Harper [:00:08:41
More. The emotional and mental part is the fun part. Right. To have somebody achieve something great. But the financial. It’s all relative. If somebody’s making $1 million a year and you can save them 100,000 in tax, that’s. That’s a lot of money.
Glenn Harper [:00:08:53
If they, you know, by utilizing the tax cut, if somebody’s making 50 grand a year and you can save them $5,000 in tax, that’s impactful.
Julie Smith [:00:09:01
It’s all, it’s also impactful of like, if one. We always say, if we have one listener that hears one thing and they change one thing about their journey, we’ve made an impact. And if we go into a CPA firm and whatever their goals are, they want to 2x the revenue, 3x the revenue, they want to sell whatever it is they’re looking to do and we can go in and we can expedite what they’re doing. I think that’s, that’s also the impact. And then, you know, we’re involved in a software holdings company where that’s just about the impact, right? It’s about making the industry better. And I think that full circles it is. We just have this belief that there’s enough room at whatever table there is for everybody and everybody should, should succeed, which I think is, you know, not everybody has that mindset or thought, but if you can surround yourself with those people, they’re going to build you up and allow you to achieve your dreams. We’ve been lucky enough to meet a few of those people along our journey that have, share the same beliefs and allow us to be able to do what we do and how we do it or introduce us to new opportunities.
Julie Smith [:00:10:14
And I think that’s really important too, as you’re an entrepreneur, is surrounding yourself with the right people.
Glenn Harper [:00:10:21
Right. And remember, you know, we, we talk about this a lot and we hear the stories all the time. What, what I am doing currently today is not what I was doing a year ago, not what I was doing 34 years ago. It’s all evolved. And your clients expect you to be bringing new things to the table. You can’t just have one thing, the same thing every meal. You got to bring some new things to the table. That’s what we’ve been lucky enough to do.
Glenn Harper [:00:10:49
We’ve found the people and the ideas that we can go conquer those and bring those back and put them into our ecosystem.
Julie Smith [:00:10:58
But I think it’s even bigger than that, right? And it’s like, as an entrepreneur, whatever I’m doing today doesn’t mean that’s what I have to be doing tomorrow. It’s okay if you change. It’s okay if you, you ignite a different passion and you want to go down a different, different path than you are on today. I, I think all of those things are okay. It’s just about the evolution of yourself.
Glenn Harper [:00:11:20
And again, that’s, that’s that mental part of. You’d be surprised if you can sit down and talk to somebody and not just talk about the debits and the credits and the tax. You can get into the root thing. What are you really trying to do? Some people don’t know. And when they think about it and they write it down, it’s like, oh my gosh, there it’s been there. And other people, they think that they just never it down. And when you ask them and they say it, then you just are like, well, do you know if you do A, B, C and D, you got it. And they’re like, what? Yeah, you just got to do this.
Glenn Harper [:00:11:50
And then they do it. And man, that’s the best high five ever. You sleep well at night when you bring that kind of solution to a client.
Julie Smith [:00:11:56
Yeah. So I guess that’s a little peek behind the curtain. Our journey, it’s ever evolving. Probably not the same week to week for us. No. You never know what you’re going to get. Never know what’s going to fall on our calendar. We never know who’s going to make the introduction or we’re going to make an introduction to change someone’s life or make an impact, as we like to call it.
Julie Smith [:00:12:20
But, yeah, I think that’s really what gets us up every morning.Glenn Harper [:00:12:24
So to that point, at the very beginning, there’s a lot of no’s or not yet, but there’s a lot of yeses and a lot of yeses to meetings, a lot of yeses, introductions, a lot of things that say yes to. Because you just never know when one of those ones are going to be, oh, my gosh, that’s the one is.
Julie Smith [:00:12:41
Why I have a hard time saying no. But that’s a whole different podcast, a different thing.
Glenn Harper [:00:12:45
Well, hopefully that was enjoyable for all of you. I’m Glenn Harbor.Julie Smith [:00:12:48
Julie Smith.
