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The post Divorce Expert, Small Business Incubator Startup Entrepreneur Karen Chellew show 042 first appeared on MitchellChadrow.com

0:00you’re listening to the listen up show
0:01doorknob entrepreneur podcast I’m
0:03Mitchell Chad row your host today on
0:05show 0 for 2 today we’re here with Karen
0:09Shalu what are we going to discuss with
0:11Karen what it takes to manage and
0:14operate a law firm the idea launch and
0:17execution of her startup divorce you
0:20solutions lessons learned from running
0:23for the Pennsylvania House of
0:25Representatives her experience with per
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1:21show hey Karen it’s happy to have you on
1:24the show how are you this morning I’m
1:25doing great how are you doing the job
1:27I’m doing super Karen can you tell us
1:30what is the one thing that contributes
1:33most to your success I think the one
1:36thing that drives me is my passion and
1:39my tenacity I have energy enough for
1:41about by people for sure that’s great
1:45well I know when we get into the
1:46interview I know how many different
1:48things that you’re involved with so
1:50you’re certainly going to need that type
1:52of drive and tenacity and passion to to
1:55be able to balance everything that
1:57you’re actually doing can you tell us
1:59what what is what is divorce you
2:02solutions that’s that’s one of your
2:04startup’s can you tell us what that is
2:06sure divorce you solutions as a company
2:09I founded with Katherine Shanahan
2:11and she’s a CDFA so she comes at it from
2:15a financial perspective she’s also a
2:17mediator I come at it from my experience
2:19in the legal field and our mission is to
2:22demystify the divorce process so you
2:25could call us divorce brokers of sorts
2:27but we help women throughout any part of
2:30the divorce process so they come to us
2:32and we find that when someone’s going
2:34through divorce road ahead is so unclear
2:37the emotions are prevalent so we help
2:40break it down for them and make it
2:42really clear all of the things they can
2:44expect all of the topics they’re going
2:46to have to think through and how the
2:48court sees it so that by the time they
2:50get to an attorney they have a full
2:52basic knowledge of the terminology and
2:55all that is expected of them as they
2:57navigate through the process so let me
2:58ask you who actually helped you with the
3:01launch and the execution of the startup
3:04that was just me and Katherine Wow okay
3:07it might sound obvious but how did you
3:09actually come up with the idea I mean
3:11maybe maybe we could explore that a
3:13little bit sure well we’re we’ve both
3:15been divorced and myself coming from a
3:17legal background and having access to
3:19really the best attorneys in the area I
3:22still spent thirty thousand dollars and
3:24I still struggled struggled the entire
3:27way and likewise for her while she
3:29wasn’t in the Lone Eagle field she had a
3:31very strong financial background and
3:33when she went through the divorce her
3:35divorce she found to how challenging it
3:37was because of all of the unknowns and
3:40really the true lack of support when
3:42you’re going through that process yeah
3:44there’s marriage counselors out there
3:46but they don’t truly know the
3:47fundamental basics of divorce so we got
3:51together and I’ve always been passionate
3:53about empowering people to be their best
3:55selves and even in this situation we
3:58knew how important it is to get through
4:00to the other side bill standing up and
4:02still needing to lead your family and
4:04still needing to connect with your valve
4:06your valve we really are focused on
4:09helping the connectivity of the family
4:11unit stay together so when we came
4:14together you know we said we have to
4:15help clients and we found out that
4:18actually our greater good is an online
4:22course we created it
4:23ten lessons so if a person going through
4:26divorce takes its course it helps them
4:29understand exactly what we’re trying to
4:31to impart as you could say it really
4:34breaks down you know what is separation
4:36what is marital property what is non
4:38marital property how to talk to an
4:41attorney how to communicate with an
4:44attorney how disgusted I looked at what
4:48is alimony what are the four ways to get
4:50divorce it’s it’s two and a half hours
4:52of just basic fundamental information
4:55that most people would google but we’ve
4:57put it all together in one package
4:59thinking we also have 15 worksheets and
5:02guidelines we help them through their
5:03budgets and things like that it sounds
5:05like an awesome resource for people who
5:09are struggling through this process and
5:11procedure and in talking about struggles
5:14of your customer can you tell us about
5:16your struggles with starting your own
5:19business yes well when we started you
5:23know and I’m sure a lot of other
5:25entrepreneurs new business owners go
5:27through this you have a thousand ideas
5:29and focusing on a couple and then
5:31branching out has been our greatest
5:33struggle because we want to do
5:35everything every day and so we quickly
5:38found ourselves overwhelmed in what we
5:41call doing our business instead of
5:43running our business and so we have had
5:45to take a couple steps back refocus and
5:47set a plan and then move ahead because
5:50we quickly got submerged in the doing
5:53and all that was coming at us because
5:55the service like this obviously grabs a
5:57ton of attention from professionals as
6:00well as clients as well as the media so
6:03responding to all of that effectively
6:05has really been one of our greatest
6:07challenge challenges we even have
6:09attorneys now saying you’ve got to go
6:11see Catherine and Karen and then come
6:12back to me so we can work together more
6:15effectively so it’s really caught on we
6:17have employers wanting to buy the course
6:20for their employees you know we were
6:23asked constantly to come to workshops so
6:26that is truly our biggest challenge so
6:31as far as focus goes because again you
6:34know you can have a broad focus or a
6:36very
6:37narrow focused who who really are your
6:40customers I mean talk to us a little bit
6:42about your market and the strategy
6:44behind that are our customers are
6:49currently women and men go in through
6:53the doors process but in doing that are
6:57larger purpose meaning getting the word
7:01out I guess that would be our second
7:05line of customers so our customers are
7:10many many different why I’d like to I’d
7:13like to kind of refer to that as like
7:15your your distribution channel and that
7:18yep so in getting in getting in tune to
7:22that focus who are the various
7:25distribution channels how are the
7:28customers in the market coming to you
7:32word of mouth at this point we have a
7:35place can you define that for us because
7:37it’s a buzzword and how does that word
7:41of mouth that grave I’m get to you ok so
7:44again on a couple of different channels
7:46as you say so our clients will go tell
7:48their friends go tell their relatives
7:50and then it goes out from their
7:52employers will send their employees when
7:55we do workshop people will walk away and
7:58go tell their friends we have a program
8:00starting up at the Y and Justin
8:02developing that program word has gotten
8:05out we had an article down on us back in
8:09October and that got picked up across
8:11the nation so we have calls from every
8:14state in the USA know was that was that
8:16load was that a local or a statewide
8:19publication and and and tell us how you
8:21actually were able to to get into that
8:24publication and then get traction from
8:26it it was a bucks county courier times
8:29and they do a segment on new businesses
8:33so they called us and they wanted to do
8:36an interview and of course we acquiesced
8:38and it just went from there we’ve been
8:41about an hour on the phone with them
8:42telling them what we’re doing and you
8:45know they wrote an article it was called
8:47women helping women and it just took off
8:49from there
8:50and we’re going to actually have a link
8:51on the show notes to that article and
8:54for those who are listening outside the
8:57the Bucks County Pennsylvania area that
8:59that’s a local local County here and I’m
9:03a well-known paper in the lope in the
9:06locality great job yeah no no no super
9:10and so then did that then get picked up
9:13by by other media is that how the you
9:15know in terms of the reach yes yes
9:18that’s exactly the Washington Post
9:21Jackson Hole there were like 35
9:24publications across the nation that
9:26picked it up with that you taking the
9:28article and going directly to them or
9:30can you can you talk to us a little bit
9:32about that because I know that there’s a
9:35lot of business owners out there who are
9:37looking to get that type of media
9:39attention and they want to know how to
9:41go from step a two-step be to step c and
9:45so by by taking our audience through
9:49that process I think that would be most
9:51helpful to them sure well we actually
9:53didn’t know that it got picked up until
9:56we subscribe to google google alerts
9:59shortly after that because we were
10:01waiting for it to go lied the article
10:04after they interviewed us and then
10:06another another well free resource it’s
10:10definitely google alerts and also
10:12actually google trends as well you know
10:14from a marketing and sales perspective i
10:16don’t know if you’ve if you’ve ever used
10:18google trends which actually gets into
10:20telling you a little bit about your own
10:23topic so for example your topic being
10:25divorced in this particular instance and
10:27the different words for example that
10:30people sir could actually use google
10:32trend for the other members of the
10:34audience they could also use not only
10:36google alert but but google trends as
10:38well wow that’s fantastic news for me
10:40too absolutely well that’s what the show
10:42is all about you know what I mean care
10:43great that’s excellent oh the associated
10:46press picked it up and that’s how it got
10:48distributed just distributed across the
10:51nation we did nothing to help that
10:54happen
10:55Wow several other divorce communities
10:57picked it up many law firms picked it up
11:00and put it on their website so I’m happy
11:02about it so I’m not happy about it
11:04however we think any press is good press
11:06and sometimes people just need to be
11:10educated as to what we do so we really
11:13do reach out and try to help people
11:15understand that we’re not competing with
11:17anybody we’re an ally to any resource in
11:20the divorce industry let me let me talk
11:22to you a little bit about the
11:24distribution channel of other law firms
11:26I know that you currently are the
11:29manager and operate a local law firm
11:32here in the Montgomery County bucks
11:35county area here in Pennsylvania and so
11:37knowing that and working with other law
11:41firms how do you keep that separate in
11:43terms of them referring business to you
11:46knowing that let’s say you’re you’re
11:48working for not not as an attorney but
11:50as a manager and as an administrator as
11:52an operator in terms of you know getting
11:55referrals and working in that regard
11:57sure absolutely I resigned from the law
12:00firm at the end of December 2016 so uh
12:03bold time with divorce you solution
12:06since then of course with my other small
12:08business my I have a couple of other
12:10small businesses but um I work part-time
12:13with the law firm for the year of 2016
12:17transitioning out because I had been
12:19there for 30 years my intro working
12:22career had been their house has been
12:24with the transition because you know
12:26you’re you’re wearing and managers had
12:28an operations and an administrative hat
12:31working and we could talk a little bit
12:33about what it takes to actually do that
12:36at a law firm after so many years 30
12:38years and transitioning into you know
12:41your own business how has that
12:43transition been for you well on so many
12:45levels exhilarating and enormously
12:48challenging so when I started at the law
12:51firm back in 1986 we were still typing
12:55everything on typewriters well piece of
12:57software was developed I had a hand in
13:00developing so you forward 30 years later
13:03and handing that the time to someone
13:06else was quite a challenge
13:08so the first step was stepping back
13:10going part time and handing the baton to
13:13those people in the organization who
13:16could do those specific jobs very well
13:18so training in house and then we brought
13:22in another firm administrator because
13:24what had happened over the 30 years was
13:26and I think it happens a lot in a small
13:28firm you have the one all be all no that
13:31was not a healthy situation for the law
13:34firm career we did you know bring in
13:36people from the inside and that was just
13:38a great experience because every one of
13:40those employees felt more empowered they
13:44felt more part of the process more a
13:46part of the success of the law firm so
13:49that was great all in and of itself and
13:51then we hired the firm administrator and
13:53I’m still doing some consulting they’re
13:55still bringing her up to speed we do it
13:58in bite-size chunks now but I think it’s
14:02going well I think they’re doing well
14:03i’m so happy i took the year to
14:06transition out it’s not something you
14:09could do in two weeks notice so yes it’s
14:13worked out well but i’m really glad we
14:15took the path that we took to involve
14:17other people in the law firm before we
14:19handed the baton to another professional
14:21if you’re comfortable with talking about
14:24some of the numbers because i know that
14:26the audience is interested in this
14:29because obviously they’re working on
14:31their own figures and revenue and
14:33numbers and so it’s helpful to them to
14:35understand and appreciate where you’re
14:37coming from so how do you get paid at
14:40the end of the day how are you charging
14:42the client how are you incenting those
14:45in terms of referrals since you’re not a
14:48law firm and you could probably get
14:49referrals from whether it be attorneys
14:52and then pay them or maybe non-attorneys
14:54can you can you talk to us a little bit
14:56about that yes I can our current hourly
14:59rate is 190 dollars an hour we even
15:02charge for initial consultation because
15:04we feel that our consultation on the
15:08front end sometimes is all that anyone
15:10needs even to propel themselves to the
15:12next step of clarity so when someone
15:14calls in our office ila I let them know
15:16without a doubt that when you leave our
15:19office you will know where you are in
15:21the divorce process
15:22because so many people don’t even know
15:24that they don’t know if they’re ready to
15:25leave if they should have left yesterday
15:27or they need to wait till tomorrow so we
15:29help them know where they are in a
15:30divorce process sometimes they need an
15:33attorney immediately sometimes they need
15:35to get their affairs in order so we want
15:37them to know where they are we want them
15:39to know what their options are and we
15:41want them to feel really good about the
15:42very next step they’re going to take so
15:44we so that value is extraordinary from
15:48there we charge a hundred and ninety
15:49dollars an hour we are quickly
15:52developing flat fee or I don’t want to
15:55say flat see we’re developing packages
15:57so that our clients don’t have to be
16:00they don’t have to be a part of the
16:02billable hour and I’m losing a word
16:04there because we really want to help
16:06them to mystify the process we know that
16:09that billable hour really becomes an
16:11obstacle as you continue to work
16:14together because if I make a call to to
16:17my know it’s Karen and Catherine to an
16:19attorney to anybody on the billable hour
16:21the first thing in your head is is it
16:23worth my call and we want them to know
16:25that if you call us you’re not on the
16:27clock so we think it’s really important
16:29that we develop a package of sorts
16:31that’s not that’s not the billable hour
16:35in terms of yeah most of the average
16:38people out there when they hear billable
16:41hour they think of an attorney a lawyer
16:43a law firm and so it’s it’s one method
16:47in terms of charging and I know that you
16:49had indicated about a flat see what are
16:51you doing to make sure that obviously
16:54the advice that you’re giving is more
16:56business advice obviously it’s not legal
16:58advice and then some of the other
17:01programs that you’re offering like you
17:03had mentioned the workshops how are you
17:05charging for that and what are you
17:07providing you know for a flat fee or the
17:10hourly fee in terms of you know making
17:13sure that the client where the customer
17:15knows what it is that they’re actually
17:17paying for upfront okay yes so when
17:21we’re developing the flat fee will say
17:24we’ll have the discussion about how far
17:27we want to get for a certain amount in
17:29the consulting world so you know this is
17:32your situation let’s work to get
17:35this point and you know we’ll charge
17:37this amount so that we’re all working
17:39together so that’s how we would approach
17:42it from the consulting perspective for
17:45the workshops they either pay for a
17:48ticket to come to the workshop and
17:49typically the companies that hire us
17:53they set the price for that and they
17:55just hire us as a speaker and they
17:57charge whatever ticket price they want
17:59to charge so have you have you gone out
18:02then and and done presentations where
18:05they’re they’re obviously paying you as
18:07they present her versus you know in
18:10terms of you creating an event yourself
18:13yes yes absolutely so the YMCA is
18:16developing a pathway program completely
18:19based on our divorce online course so
18:23they will just be paying us a speaker
18:25fee vs whatever they’re charging the end
18:28user we’ve negotiated that and it it’s
18:31worth our time then to go in for two
18:34three-hour sessions and that they pay
18:36for that they pay us for that and then
18:39is that is that would that be similar to
18:41an hourly rate that you normally would
18:44get for a client or is that is that
18:46obviously akin to a lot more if for
18:49example my group wanted to hire you to
18:51come in and talk to them for two or
18:53three or four hours you and I mean in
18:55terms of what the hourly rate would
18:56actually be versus charging per client
19:00who’s using your materials the our
19:02speaker fee is more than an hourly rate
19:05be you’re reaching more of an audience
19:07and it’s really another level of
19:11expertise you know when we’re first
19:14going in we may charge a little bit less
19:17of a c2 so that we can create the
19:20relationship but then moving forward we
19:22know what we need to make from a revenue
19:24basis to go out and speak because it’s
19:28not a client coming to you and you’re
19:31not in the rhythm of the day you’re
19:33preparing your driving you’re setting up
19:36your taking down and sure you know it’s
19:39it’s a whole different ball game for
19:41that we talked to a lot of entrepreneurs
19:43about their digital assets their digital
19:46products you know obviously you
19:48to basically create sometimes a virtual
19:51company so that you can you know you can
19:53have many people down downloading your
19:56product so that you don’t have to
19:58physically be there so right now if I
20:00actually went to your site and what will
20:02get the links to everything in the show
20:04notes and at the end of the show but if
20:06the audience members actually came and
20:09wanted to physically download your
20:11course hey can they do that and be what
20:14does that actually cost them today yes
20:16the online course is right on our
20:18website you can go on there’s a complete
20:21sales page that you read about it and
20:23you sign up for the course download it
20:26right there and throughout the course
20:28you have access to Katherine and myself
20:30if you have specific questions or if you
20:33miss something you can download excerpts
20:36from the course because we do ask a lot
20:38of questions we give you a lot of
20:40information so all of the PDFs are
20:43downloadable as well the course sells
20:45for four hundred and ninety-seven
20:46dollars but currently there’s a hundred
20:49dollar coupon there so you can purchase
20:51it for 397 and we say for the time you
20:55would spend paying an attorney two hours
20:57of work or maybe even one hour of work
20:59you can take this course and be so much
21:02further down the road than just calling
21:05the attorney and when we are mantra of
21:08source is you know letting people know
21:09the first step in divorce is not a call
21:12to your attorney the first step is
21:14knowing where you are what your options
21:16are and kind of getting the lay of the
21:19land so call attorneys are very critical
21:21and important parts of the process if
21:23you don’t know what you’re doing when
21:25you call them sometimes you’re you’re
21:27just kind of lost in the process and
21:29they can’t help you if you can’t help
21:31yourself and we want people to be able
21:33to help themselves we we began that’s
21:35excellent we began talking about the
21:38distribution channel of working with
21:40other law firms and obviously the fact
21:42that you’ve now transitioned from the
21:44firm and leaving in December that makes
21:47a lot more sense you know in terms of
21:49incenting other firms to refer to you so
21:52can you can you talk to us a little bit
21:54about that because not only word of
21:56mouth but working with the professionals
21:58not only in the community but throughout
22:00the state
22:01cetera how are you how have you been
22:03been doing that and can you talk to us
22:05your top three referring sources you
22:09know sure attorneys are one of them well
22:11attorneys are not in the top three ah
22:13interesting okay is that right so so can
22:16you continue it can you tell us a little
22:18bit about who who those people are that
22:20are actually referring your business and
22:22how you work in incenting those those
22:25partners with you sure so before we go
22:28there as to referral fees we will not
22:32take a referral fee from anyone nor will
22:35we share one with someone because we
22:37think that creates a conflict for the
22:41client so it would easily it could
22:44easily get into a situation where
22:46someone referred to us we would refer to
22:48them based on the dollar of the feedback
22:50and we want to advocate for our clients
22:52needs and so to keep that as pure as
22:55possible we don’t do the referral fee we
22:58just don’t know I i think i think that’s
23:00not that i would give you any legal
23:02advice nor would you actually need that
23:04from me but i think that that’s pretty
23:05why what i was going to say pray that’s
23:08probably very wise and i’m sure you had
23:10very good counsel back at the farm
23:12regarding that so that’s that’s good to
23:15know because you want someone who’s
23:17obviously unbiased and someone who’s
23:19obviously looking out for you and you
23:21don’t want there even if there isn’t you
23:24don’t you don’t want there to be the
23:25perception you know they say that you
23:27know possession is nine-tenths of the
23:29law I like to say that perception is
23:31nine-tenths of the law and so anyway
23:34that’s that’s my philosophy there even
23:38one step further Catherine gave up all
23:40of her Fenrir licenses she’s a financial
23:43planner so that again she would have no
23:45there would never be anything going on
23:48that she would advise a planned a
23:50certain way about their money that would
23:52and that would make it seem like she
23:54wanted to invest their money she says a
23:57lot about you ladies and it also says a
23:59lot about how your positioning the
24:01company correct yeah well that’s one of
24:03the main reasons I decided to go into
24:05business with her because she did that
24:07and I felt like all right we can do
24:09something with this thing so that’s er
24:11that’s great not only do you want to
24:13work with people
24:14have excellent products but you want to
24:16work with people who have the highest
24:18values and morals and ethics and I think
24:21for a group that actually is doing what
24:24it is that you’re doing I think that
24:26that says that says volumes right there
24:28so I just wanted to I wanted to stress
24:30that to the audience because someone
24:32goes ahead and starts doing things like
24:34that it’s starting to look like that’s
24:36what you’re doing and that’s you’re
24:37advocating for your clients you’re not
24:39having any perceptions of impropriety so
24:42that’s that’s awesome yeah and we’re
24:44where we need to make money as well as
24:46anyone else we just want to make sure
24:48we’re being true two exactly no no I I
24:51think that it’s a win-win-win all the
24:53way around Karen what’s the best
24:55business advice you’ve ever received for
24:58me personally with my personality the
25:00best business advice is stay back stay
25:03focused take one step at a time and for
25:06an entrepreneur I’m sure you can relate
25:08to this we tend to have 8,000 ideas and
25:11we’re striking we’re trying to strike it
25:13all of them all day long and our best
25:16approach truly is to stay focused on the
25:19end goal and keep moving ahead and let
25:22it let your ideas be there but put them
25:25into the bigger plan so that I get that
25:29advice anytime I ask for business advice
25:32anyone who knows me will tell me to make
25:35sure your slowed down and your focus and
25:38have you know very clear where you want
25:40to end up and that for me is a challenge
25:43every day but it’s also a focus for me
25:45every day that’s great you know we
25:47talked a little bit about your startup
25:50we talked a little bit about the law
25:52firm can you can you take us back a
25:54little bit earlier to your personal
25:56story in terms of how you actually got
25:59started professionally because know that
26:02it’s about business and work but it’s
26:04also about family and life and about a
26:07balance and and this kind of tells us a
26:09little bit about who you are personally
26:11and gets into your own story from from
26:14an earlier perspective sure so i
26:17graduated college in pensacola florida
26:20in 1986 I’ve moved to Pennsylvania
26:24my fiance lived here then bucks county
26:27and I came to visit him had my resume in
26:31hand the law firm that it was Weber in a
26:34bar bunnell at the time had an ad in the
26:35perkasie news-herald I walked into their
26:38office laid my resume on the table for
26:41whatever reason they interviewed me
26:43immediately and hired me on the phone
26:47for three dollars and thirty-five cents
26:50or whatever wage was it says great
26:52that’s super where I started that’s
26:57great and you were there for 30 years
26:59yes oh my gosh so they went yeah i was
27:04there from my first marriage my my kids
27:06my divorce my second marriage my entire
27:10life my entire career my entire adult
27:13life was spent at the firm so obviously
27:15they were my family and my complete
27:17support system for so long so what do
27:19you tell these these college students
27:21who are for the first time in school
27:24looking for those internships trying to
27:27get out trying to start up whether it’s
27:30a career as a professional or doing that
27:33and then starting something up on the
27:35side what is your recommendation to them
27:37oh I love this question because so many
27:40students come to me and you know they’re
27:43so confused I have to Millennials myself
27:46I have a 28 year old and a 25 year old
27:48so my advice wow you have a 28 year old
27:50in a 25 year old and you’re doing all of
27:52that I did like how do you how do you
27:55balance how do you balance it and and
27:57before the call you told me that you
27:59have a 13 year old I mean how do you how
28:01do you do all that well I’m not sure
28:03that balance is a part of our society
28:05anymore I really don’t I really don’t
28:08think you can separate work and family I
28:11think it’s all one big knot not a job
28:14but it’s all intermingled and co-mingled
28:16together do the kids get it because if
28:19you’re at home for example and you’re on
28:21your laptop a child doesn’t know that
28:24even though you’re physically there they
28:26see that you’re only on your laptop
28:28doing your work so you know I wonder I
28:31wonder if they appreciate at such a
28:33young age do today do they appreciate
28:36that
28:36yes and I think communication is the key
28:39there so for me and in my kids they know
28:42that I’m passionate about what I do I’ve
28:45always been that way and but likewise I
28:48know that my kids are not going to do
28:50what I say they’re going to do what I do
28:52so they’re going to amend my footstep if
28:55I want them to do something different I
28:57have to change my behavior so my
28:59approach to all of it is and I’m not
29:01perfect at it none of us are but I I
29:04tell them look if you need me if you
29:06need my time let me know I will always
29:08be there for you but don’t expect the
29:11call me on a dime and I’m going to drop
29:13everything because you range your right
29:16finger so I say that because that
29:19empowers them to be independent but
29:22knowing that I’m always there for them
29:24the moment they need me if they truly
29:26need me there sometimes they think they
29:28need me but by the time I get back to
29:30them they’ve already resolved their
29:32issue rather than this the second layer
29:34of that is I make we have consistent
29:37times that they can always count on me
29:39to be there for them so for instance I
29:42take my son snowboarding every Wednesday
29:44night and I have those special times
29:46with every one of my kids where they
29:48know it’s their time with me we catch up
29:51I find a thousand reasons to have them
29:54with me in the car when we’re traveling
29:56my older kids aren’t with me anymore but
29:58you know I I really do try to find those
30:00times that we can just be hanging out at
30:03night making sure we say good night
30:05every night and just having those
30:06consistent times where they know that
30:09they’re touching me and I’m touching
30:10them so and if I’m on my laptop and a
30:14computer they need me they know how to
30:16get me but they also know that my work
30:19is important just as their life is
30:21important and we all have to respect
30:22that that’s great and you know one of
30:25those great quotes that I heard you say
30:28is don’t do it don’t don’t do what I say
30:30do what I do and I think that that’s
30:34yeah that’s great that’s terrific you
30:39know what’s Millennials I still would
30:41like to answer that question because go
30:43for it huge huge I think they have
30:46coming at them all the time
30:49this this is where the opportunities are
30:52in the industry so whatever it may be
30:55whether it’s you know computer science
30:57or nursing or whatever and they think
30:59they have to respond to the industry
31:02because that’s where the opportunities
31:03are and my advice to them without fail
31:06is you always must know what’s in your
31:10heart so everyday connect with that
31:12everyday find a happy whether it’s even
31:15if it’s only ten moments you never never
31:17lose your passion and if you need to do
31:19a job to make money always make sure
31:22you’re responding to your passion and at
31:24some point your passion your ability to
31:27respond to your passion will be greater
31:29than your ability to respond to dollars
31:31in your pocket even though at the outset
31:34you may need to do that obviously but I
31:37want them to know that they don’t have
31:39to give up their passion because it may
31:42not fit in the ten best jobs to have
31:45this year or next year and I think
31:48another challenge that they face is you
31:52know there’s no jobs out there or the
31:54job I want I have to have it all figured
31:56out I may want to interview this job for
31:59this job but I don’t know if I’m good
32:01enough I tell them to go for anything
32:03that looks even remotely interesting
32:06because you can always say no you can
32:08always say yes but if you don’t try or
32:11if you don’t respond to the opportunity
32:13you don’t have the opportunity to
32:15respond mmm so I read huge from
32:18Millennials to not feel overwhelmed by
32:23what’s coming at them now but look at it
32:25more as an opportunity because one step
32:28can lead to another to another and it
32:30may not be the perfect job but maybe you
32:33want it maybe you don’t that’s terrific
32:35how inspiring to to the younger
32:38generation you are and that’s really
32:41terrific you know not that you know one
32:44of the other businesses that you’re also
32:46involved with is per diem space LLC and
32:51so how tell us about that and you know
32:54take us through you know from from your
32:57from starting that to where you are now
32:58with that and how you find
33:01time to also do that as well well that
33:06goes to your passion so I never forgot
33:08my passion of really wanting to help
33:13people be their best self so everything
33:15I do it just kind of revolves around
33:18that so it’s just easy for me so even at
33:20divorce you it’s helping you be your
33:22best self through divorce at per diem
33:24it’s all about being an incubator for
33:27small businesses so again people who are
33:31starting up their business there’s so
33:33much to know there’s so much to do
33:36there’s so much help that you need so we
33:38bring small businesses in we have
33:40co-working space we have private office
33:43space we have meeting space conference
33:45room space and we have workshops and
33:49we’re a full-service office there any
33:53office supply you would need so we want
33:56anybody that’s starting a small business
33:58you can come in and you can develop your
34:02business there and then move out into
34:04the community where you can have your
34:06own space but you know you have had that
34:09opportunity to go through the incubator
34:11of sorts level it’s been phenomenal and
34:14it you know it’s interesting we talk to
34:17our young entrepreneurs about the
34:20different resources that are available
34:21to them so in terms of it being
34:23affordable for not only young startups
34:26but again you know people who are just
34:29starting out or transitioning or what
34:30have you you know how do you charge and
34:33what are all the different solutions
34:35that you’re that are being provided
34:37there I mean what what do you besides
34:39providing the space and some of the
34:42workshops how do you charge and you know
34:44maybe talk to us a little bit about that
34:45because I think that would be very
34:46interesting sure you can rent it that by
34:49the hour or you can rent it by the day
34:51by the day is only twenty dollars
34:53everything is truly affordable and our
34:56philosophy at per diem space is whatever
34:59a small business name our response is
35:02yes we will go find that resource for
35:05you we will respond to your need we will
35:07make it happen for you so we we talk
35:10about their budget and you know maybe
35:13they can only rent the desk for
35:15three days and we help it make we help
35:17their budget work the best for them and
35:20then they come in and then they can grow
35:22from there but you know you can rent by
35:25the hour you can rent by the day you can
35:27rent by the week you can rent by the
35:28month are these mostly entrepreneurs
35:31locally in your bucks county montgomery
35:33county area i mean how do you are you
35:36replicating this particular idea and
35:38other locations so that it’s more
35:40readily accessible to to others because
35:43the concept and the idea is a great one
35:45in terms of how you charge and in terms
35:48of getting people from other areas in
35:51other locations is this is this idea
35:53replicated in other locations so that
35:56other young entrepreneurs and people
35:58that want to you know take advantage of
36:00the way that you charge and and your
36:02philosophy and going out and finding
36:04someone to provide for that solution is
36:08coming to an area closer to them we hope
36:11so but right now we have just started it
36:14in Upper bucks county we’ve only been up
36:16and running since October and again it
36:19has taken off so I have two other
36:21business partners in that business we
36:24have quite a few employees because young
36:26businesses want so much to be a part of
36:28it so we’re allowing employment
36:29opportunities there to just to get their
36:31sea legs need so forth what’s what’s in
36:33your numbers in terms of people coming
36:35through and in terms of attracting
36:37people coming from let’s say even a
36:40little bit outside that area you know in
36:42terms of if they’re willing to kind of
36:44you know they’re using the space
36:46obviously as a convenient Oh again
36:48you’re starting it more locally which
36:50which obviously I appreciate but can you
36:53tell us a little bit more about that
36:54well the workshops would be beneficial
36:56for anyone who would want to drive to
36:58get them to get to them we also alive a
37:01large workshop on a particular topic
37:03tell us all the various different topics
37:06and what what do you charge for that and
37:08how do you get the speakers and tell us
37:10a little bit about your business model
37:11okay so for the workshop we are
37:14currently running to the series workshop
37:17from that we’re too in now so from march
37:19until May and the first series is about
37:22establishing who you are establishing
37:24your brand creating a strategy and that
37:26that’s all done by power
37:28marketing it’s a company that really
37:31focuses on that and they did all the
37:34business building and branding for
37:35another local business here in perkasie
37:38modern male so we can all look at that
37:40local business and say yes I want to do
37:43something like that so he would remember
37:45that company’s power marketing yeah i’ll
37:47have the of all the links to that in the
37:50show notes and well you know anything
37:52that we’re talking about yep great and
37:54the second six series is all local
37:57businesses so we want any new startup to
38:00know all the resources around them
38:03that’s available to them so that will be
38:06social media how to take a picture of
38:08yourself with your cell phone that’s
38:11appropriate for social media as a
38:12business person another one is how to
38:15read financial documents you know your
38:18P&L your balance sheet what do those
38:20mean to your business another one is how
38:22to run QuickBooks and this is just this
38:24first at part series on another one is
38:26an attorney and accountant coming in
38:28talking about what’s the specific what
38:30specific entity is best for you whether
38:32it be an LLC or si core porn S corp or
38:37whatever and wine what are the tax
38:39consequences of that trying to think of
38:42what the other ones are off the top of
38:43my head and if we do we actually go to
38:46per diem space on the website do you
38:49have all of these workshops listed there
38:52in terms of registering for them and
38:55what the costs actually are for for each
38:57differ one it’s all there and we’re also
38:59on Facebook very active on Facebook and
39:02if we have coupon codes if we need to
39:04fill seats at the last minute will
39:06typically have a coupon code on facebook
39:08for that too because we do want to fill
39:10the class and it’s those businesses to
39:12as much opportunity as we can so the
39:15model is bringing in other local
39:17businesses to support the up-and-coming
39:19businesses everyone working together
39:21there’s so much that you’re involved
39:24with that that I could probably spend an
39:26entire interview on just any one of
39:29these things and so real quickly not
39:31only not only do I want to talk to you
39:33quickly about some of your local
39:35involvement with some nonprofits that
39:38you’re involved with and we’ll we’ll get
39:39to that real fast
39:40at the end of this interview I did want
39:43to ask you some of the lessons that you
39:45learned from running for the
39:47Pennsylvania House of Representatives
39:49tell us about that experience that was
39:52one of the most rewarding experiences
39:54I’ve ever been through in my entire life
39:57it was very hard but it was I grew so
40:01much in that year of running I can’t
40:04even tell you I loved going door-to-door
40:08I loved connecting with the people I
40:11learned how to raise a ton of money and
40:15I knew what that meant I also learned
40:20how to get up in front of people and
40:21shoot from the hip and speak and debate
40:25and I’m going to tell you I was not good
40:28at it but it didn’t matter because to me
40:31it was just part of the learning curve
40:33of Karen Shalu and if I could tell any
40:36other this is business advice here again
40:39don’t be afraid so you’re not going to
40:42get it perfect so you may not be perfect
40:44the entire running that are that
40:47particular project it doesn’t matter
40:49because you’re growing and you’re
40:51learning you do as much as you can and
40:53if it’s something you’re passionate
40:54about stand up and do it and it will get
40:58you to your next step and you know I
41:01just had the most rewarding experience I
41:03ran as a Democrat and the reason i did
41:07is because we’re so in this area it’s
41:10very largely republican yes and I wanted
41:17people to understand that local politics
41:21are not party related and I really
41:25wanted people to understand what local
41:28politics meant to their personal life
41:30what does the school board mean to you
41:32what does borough council mean to you
41:34and forty percent of my volunteers were
41:38Republican so I had a lot of a lot of
41:41local support and I feel like I was
41:44successful because i started the
41:48language of what this politics need to
41:52our community
41:53beyond the division of the parties so
41:57anytime someone’s running I hop on board
42:00and I help them just because I think for
42:04local politics we can really help people
42:05understand that we can work together
42:08without it being about the arse and the
42:10DS as we say no I think that I think
42:13that’s terrific like I said I’ve had
42:15clients you know on both sides and I’ve
42:17helped you know a local senator here
42:21with his house run on this Finance
42:24Committee and now he’s in the Senate and
42:27so I really appreciate what it is that
42:29you’re saying and so what I’m hearing
42:32from you though is that even though
42:34everybody’s focused on winning and don’t
42:36get me wrong in business you know you
42:38want to win you know you want to you
42:40want to do the best that you can but it
42:42sounds as if you you got so much more
42:45than that out of this particular
42:47experience and there’s so many more
42:49lessons for entrepreneurs business
42:53startups to sort of gain from what it is
42:56that that you kind of went through
42:58absolutely and getting involved with
43:01your community on that level even as a
43:04business owner I know it may not seem
43:07synonymous but you understand where the
43:11people are coming from you understand
43:13their needs and you understand their
43:15language and what they’re looking for so
43:18from a business perspective you can even
43:19respond to it because you were at their
43:22door and you heard about a day in their
43:25life and their challenges and their
43:27struggles and that is one of the reasons
43:29I started them the nonprofit and the per
43:32diem spaces the need is so great
43:34everyone feels isolated so it was great
43:38experience Karen two other quick groups
43:43that you’re involved with before we wrap
43:46up here at the end you know it’s about
43:49business it’s about family and it’s
43:51about obviously community involvement as
43:53well we just talked about you running
43:55for the Pennsylvania House of
43:56Representatives you’re involved with a
43:58non-profit sisters you and you’re also
44:01an auditor for a local municipality
44:04so can you can you just tell us a little
44:07bit more about about that involvement
44:10and and how you find the extra hour in
44:13the day to to do that sure so I founded
44:18sisters you in 2011 with a another
44:22partner and without a business plan I’m
44:27sure you’ve probably seen that as one of
44:29my pious challenges as a entrepreneur a
44:32cure but um we put it out on Facebook
44:35back in 2011 75 women showed up so again
44:39we hit a nerve there and sisters you has
44:43no agenda in and of itself other than
44:47growing power the individual so we say
44:51when you come two sisters you we have
44:53speakers we have all kinds of different
44:55events to support anyone’s interest but
44:58but our focus is what are you about
45:01where is your passion and how can we
45:04support that passion so it’s very
45:07different it’s very unique a lot of
45:09people don’t understand it until they
45:10actually come and experience it it’s
45:12very positive we’re not a support group
45:15we’re not men haters nothing like that
45:18again you know our mission is to empower
45:22and support the individual to be their
45:25best selves and really jewelry 8 the
45:27community for you whatever that is and
45:30for every single person is different
45:31that’s great and yeah and your euro no
45:35no that sounds terrific and we’re gonna
45:38we’re going to link to that as well
45:39because again you know I mean I have I
45:41have two young girl it’s nice that
45:44there’s there’s an organization that
45:45obviously does that and has that mission
45:48in mind and as far as being an auditor
45:50then for the for the local municipality
45:51I mean you know obviously you have your
45:54hand and a lot of different things here
45:55you know how did you get involved with
45:57that and quickly tell us about that sure
45:59so I got involved with that after my
46:01race for state rep just to stay involved
46:04in local politics because it’s so
46:06rewarding and it I feel for any citizen
46:10of a community they should be or they
46:12would be they would benefit from
46:15participating in some form
46:18local politics whatever it may be you
46:21know maybe you only want to do an hour a
46:22month but having that exposure and
46:25having that ability to really know that
46:28the foundation of your community is just
46:31important and so for me it was auditor
46:33of the township because it allows me to
46:35know more about what’s going on and then
46:38what the township mean so it’s auditor
46:40of east rockhill township we meet once
46:44or twice a year because they have a
46:45professional accountant audit their
46:48books that the elected officials just go
46:51in and review the documents the
46:55accountants provide and just kind of
46:57talk about what’s going on and what
46:59things need to be changed or looked at
47:01differently midnight no that’s great
47:03we’ve talked we’ve talked about so many
47:06different resources just three quick
47:09ones that I wanted to ask you
47:10specifically about that you can provide
47:12to the audience in terms of books you
47:14know I love books you know business
47:16books inspirational books motivational
47:18book what what one book can you
47:20recommend to the audience that that you
47:22really enjoy and that’s kind of helped
47:25you wow there’s so many I know there are
47:28I’m only asking for one I know I know
47:32but you know I want to go back to the
47:34most recent one I read and I I think the
47:38book that I keep going back to its the
47:42four agreements that book keeps me in
47:46focus and whatever I do and I know that
47:49that book is a little bit more spiritual
47:51and not as much business oriented but I
47:55truly think again if you stay true to
47:57who you are in your passions and you can
47:59stay focused on being true to yourself
48:02you cannot help but succeed and anything
48:05you do and anything you touch so perfect
48:09look it’s really small it’s such a quick
48:10read but gradually is good um okay so as
48:14soon as I come off the phone with you
48:15I’m probably going to be looking it up
48:17soon so that’s great and I’ll definitely
48:20i’ll definitely have a link to that as
48:22well you know we you know with with not
48:24only your businesses to obviously get
48:27startups you know up and running you
48:29know they need a present
48:30online and so there’s so many different
48:33hosting companies out there who have you
48:36found to be a really good one were
48:39something that you can recommend for a
48:41website hosting company yep yep exactly
48:44hmm well I mean I mean who do you who do
48:48you work with who do you use well four
48:51sisters you we use volunteers but the
48:53company I am Not sure I’m getting your
48:56question right so bluehost is that yes I
48:59know bluehost very well okay right
49:01bluehost is what I use I use I use one
49:04other their sister companies Hostgator
49:06so bluehost is very very good ya know I
49:09I just was curious and then the other
49:11thing and you mentioned it during the
49:13interview so I wanted to come back to it
49:15and that is graphic design you know a
49:16lot of people can’t you know hire their
49:18own graphic designer or they’re doing
49:20social media and they need to sort of
49:22create blog posts and and and the like
49:25what what do you want resource do you
49:28recommend in that regard well we have a
49:30couple available at per diem per diem
49:33has made connections with so many
49:35different local providers so according
49:38to what a business needs we have several
49:41different graphics design marketing
49:43companies any kind of company really to
49:46help them so for me to recommend one
49:49graphic designer would not be true to
49:53what we do because we believe every
49:55single business that has their own
49:57unique needs so we want them we’ll give
50:00them resources and then they can go out
50:03and make that indivisible connection
50:05because while referrals are good while a
50:08website presence is good in social media
50:11I believe the individual connection is
50:14more powerful so they have to connect
50:16with them you know one-on-one so no no
50:19no Thorin out there yeah no no I and
50:23that’s my approach as well in other word
50:26we’ve had graphic designers on that
50:28we’ve interviewed however I think
50:30showing people you know a number of
50:33different choices and saying these are
50:34the pros and cons you know depending
50:36upon what they’re what they’re looking
50:37for just in those many different
50:40perspectives and some dumb it’s going to
50:42speak to you and some not
50:44cure you know it’s important and three
50:46three main takeaways that we could take
50:49away from the interview today and then
50:50how people can stay in contact with you
50:52that would be super three takeaways well
50:55first takeaway first and foremost always
50:57be true to yourself always be aware of
51:00what makes you happy when you get up in
51:02the morning find your happy every single
51:03day second don’t be afraid to fall flat
51:06on your face because you can always get
51:08up again and tomorrow or even after
51:10lunch it’s always a new day and a new
51:12half a day you know you just gotta keep
51:15moving ahead the third take away is
51:18never give up but maybe that’s the same
51:22as my second takeaway no I liked all
51:25three of them carrying really I did
51:27forgive up and I and I and I think I
51:29think people are going to hear your
51:33personality and and who you are as a
51:35person coming loud and clear through
51:38this interview and I know how
51:39appreciative and thankful I am that I
51:41had you on how are people going to stay
51:44contact yes how are people going to stay
51:46in contact with you well they can eat I
51:48have many email addresses but they all
51:50go to the same place like Johnny cycling
51:56all the roads go down to the same path
51:58yes I I realized that so what’s the one
52:04so what’s the one good email what’s the
52:07one good email and I’ll be able to i’ll
52:09be able to link it all up there George
52:11Karen at sisters plural the letter U
52:15calm so Cara net sisters you calm it’s a
52:19really good email for me okay that’s
52:21that’s great and and I’ll have all have
52:24all the other links to all your other
52:26businesses and whatnot back at back at
52:29the website Karen this has been
52:31excellent i really enjoyed our interview
52:36today and I’m really excited that you
52:39came on and I’m looking forward to
52:42hearing more about what’s been going on
52:44with with all your with all your
52:46businesses as we continue to keep in
52:48contact with you wonderful yeah thank
52:51you I really appreciate the opportunity
52:53certainly you take care now be good
52:57you bye bye bye bye in closing let me
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The post Divorce Expert, Small Business Incubator Startup Entrepreneur Karen Chellew Show 042 first was published on mitchellchadrow.com