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#57 – The Power of Uncomfortable Conversations with Jackie Porter

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Hello, fellow sleepless digital marketers! 😴 😴 😴 

It’s time for another episode of the 4 AM Report, the podcast where we dig into the nitty-gritty of what’s keeping us all up at night!

This week, we spoke to Jackie Porter, an award-winning financial planner and author.

And since it feels lately like uncomfortable conversations are (finally!!! 👏✊✊👏) happening all around us, this episode includes uncomfortable – but needed – conversations with Jackie.

Naturally we talked money, specifically the hair shirt of shame many people wear when it comes to personal finances and wealth – whether you have lots or none at all – but we also dove into:

💥 Racism and social justice uprisings.

💥 Being a woman of colour with a voice in today’s world.

💥 And, the incredible strength that surges when people come together in community.

As Jackie said, “…all these different individuals who make up the world – gay, straight, people of different ethnicities – if we can have real conversations with one another, that’s how we’ll move forward as a nation. That’s how we’ll all be free.”

It’s a very powerful episode. Have a listen.

About Jackie

Jackie Porter is an award-winning financial planner who has been in the financial industry for the past 22 years serving thousands of families, established businesses, and professionals in the Greater Toronto Area. Her practice focuses on cash flow management and tax planning strategies.

Jackie is one of Canada’s most recognized financial planners. Her advice and financial strategies have been featured in top financial publications such as, Forum, Wealth Professional, Investment Executive and The Globe & Mail. Many have benefited from her sound and actionable financial advice offered at business conferences, radio interviews, podcasts and television programs such as CBC, Sun News and BNN. Jackie has also been awarded winner of the Mackenzie Investments Award for ‘Female Trailblazer of the Year’ category in the 2019 Wealth Professionals awards.

A Rebuilding Roundup: Key Infrastructure Needed for Our New Normal

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I don’t know about you, but here at c+p digital we’ve noticed our thinking shifting slightly. Dare we say, toward the positive? We’re not naïve, we know there’s a long way to go before we’ll see ANYTHING resembling normal, but it almost feels like we’ve entered a new, never felt before (in our lifetimes, anyhow) stage of this particular Covid-19 grief we’ve all been going though: let’s call it cautious optimism!

Here in Canada, individual provinces are at different stages of re-opening and loosening social distancing restrictions. But loosening they indeed are! Wheeee!!

And that inspired us this week to bring you a special, “rebuilding roundup” of some of our recent 4 AM Report podcasts. Instead of the gloom and doom of March and April, we’re focused on the new normal for businesses. And we wanted to share episodes that would inspire you as you navigate these new, still slightly choppy waters.

Of course, many entrepreneurs and business owners simply aren’t ready to take next steps. We know that. But inspiration only comes to you if you seek it. So, let’s celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and doing whatever it is you have to do that takes you to the next step and keeps you from jumping off those cliffs!

We’ve curated five episodes we think you’ll learn something from. Let’s get started.

Upending a Successful Business to Follow Your Passion? That’s NUTS! Or IS it?

Sandra D’Souza, Founder and Managing Director of Sandstone Solutions Group, talks about upending your tried and true business networks, what it’s like to feel like a “newbie” while dipping your toes into a new sector, and what it’s like to start again from scratch (sort of).

As an experienced business professional with over 20 years’ experience in senior finance and recruitment roles, Sandra shifted the focus of her very successful business – going from a comfortable money-making space, into new uncharted waters!

Very BRAVE!

That said, it’s not surprising that what keeps her up at night is breaking into a new audience segment and making those solid connections we all strive for in order to grow. 🌱🌱🌱

Why Publishing a Book Can Lead to Serious Business ROI

Be honest. We’ve all thought at one time or another “I should write a book!”…amiright?

Or, maybe you’re looking at the screen cock-eyed right now wondering why a business owner/entrepreneur should put the work in and get a book out?

Well, Scott MacMillan, President and Executive Publisher at Grammar Factory Publishing, brings the receipts!

Of those who wrote a book, 86% of them grew their business, 72% got speaking engagements, and 34% saw their overall earnings double! Plus, being published gave them authority and helped them stand out from competitors.

BOOM!

Building Relationships from Behind the Screen

Video might have killed the radio star, but it ALSO provided many (if not most) of us the ability to continue working during these crazy, Covid times. It’s also added a valuable extra layer to marketing efforts, if done right.

That’s why, on this episode of the 4 AM Report, we did a deep dive into how to slay your next video meeting. This top talk with a video expert – Janine Harris, executive producer at Keyring Media Inc., specializing in video for business – will teach you:

·   Tips and tricks for looking fine on camera.

·   How to jazz up your surroundings so people are focussed on YOU!

·   And how to use video, in general, in your marketing efforts.

Pro-tip – good lighting should be your North Star! LOL

HR and Small Business – Invest in Talent Infrastructure BEFORE Crisis Strikes

We talk a lot about building out corporate infrastructure, most importantly digital infrastructure, that sort of thing. But more and more companies, large AND small, are realizing just how important it is to invest time, energy, and real emotional intelligence in your people.

Life Works Well’s Helen Patterson talks about investing in an often-overlooked part of small biz infrastructure – human resources! What better time, really, when the work-world is upside down!

You’ll learn why it’s so important to have HR policies in place BEFORE a scramble starts. Why the hiring process isn’t the best use of time for a busy entrepreneur. And why compassionate and humane leaders who treat staff with respect will sail through any crisis.

Solid content, and much needed as employees start to return to work.

Sick and Tired of Non-Stop Bad News? Get Ready to Be Covid Inspired!!

Ugh. The news-cycle these days is brutal. And as if 2020 couldn’t get any worse – we now have Murder Hornets!! Murder. Hornets. Ugh. In this episode, rather than doom and gloom and “what’s keeping you up at night?” we shift focus and bring you ALL THE GOOD NEWS!

There are some really exciting and innovative things companies are doing to stay in business and survive Covid-19, and we (Will and Susan, of course!) focused on four categories:

·   The all-in, boots to the ground, search for a vaccine!

·   Health and lifestyle/beauty (Hello! Remember haircuts?)

·   Sports

·   And technology

It’s a nice reminder that there still are great people out there and lots of good news these days. And that’s the type of content I know WE are here for!

We’re of course on Apple Podcasts – subscribe to us – you won’t regret it!

Plus, if you’re losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a line at c+p digital.

And as always, sweet dreams…well, hopefully!

A Rebuilding Roundup: Moving Into Our New Normal, with Helen Patterson, Sandra D’Souza, Janine Harris, and Scott MacMillan

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Welcome to another edition of the 4AM Report – our weekly look at what’s keeping us marketers and fellow business peeps awake at night. 😱😱😱

And as 🔓lockdowns are starting to loosen 🔓and people are starting to think about our “new normal” when it comes to business, we thought it was the perfect time to share an inspirational roundup of five of our latest episodes!

Loosely focused on infrastructure building, we talked to experts in their individual fields, and explore:

🎙 The importance of investing in HR infrastructure, with Helen Patterson.

🎙 How to network yourself into a new business niche, with Sandra D’Souza.

🎙 How publishing a business book can lead to success, with Scott MacMillan.

🎙 Tips and tricks to absolutely KILL your next video meeting, with Janine Harris.

And Will and Susan bring you some really exciting and innovative things companies are doing to stay in business and 🦠🦠🦠survive Covid-19! 🦠🦠🦠.

So, kick back, have a beverage (adult or otherwise! 🍷🤣🍷), and enjoy!

Building relationships from behind the screen

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Remember the great Aretha Franklin’s hit 🎶Who’s Zoomin’ Who? 🎶  

Well, lately it appears we’re ALL Zoomin’ someone, often multiple times a day.

During this  pandemic lock-down  Zoom has become the video conferencing provider of choice.

That’s why, on this week’s episode of the 4 AM Report, we’re bringing you top talk with a video expert!

Janine Harris is the executive producer at Keyring Media Inc., specializing in video for business.

She shares:

  • Tips and tricks for looking fine on camera.
  • How to jazz up your surroundings so people are focussed on YOU!
  • And how to use video, in general, in your marketing efforts.

All that, PLUS a special surprise (hint: it involves ukuleles)!

Let’s get started, shall we!

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Video Killed the Radio Star

Video might have killed the radio star, but it ALSO provided many (if not most) of us the ability to continue working during these crazy, Covid times. It’s also added a valuable extra layer to marketing efforts, if done right.

According to a recent Hubspot survey, “…92% of marketers who use video say that it’s an important part of their marketing strategy — the highest percentage of any year since 2015.”

BUT – if you’re adding simple DIY video to your campaigns this year – it better look good. The average consumer will spend more than 80 percent more time on your site if it has video – but will surely bounce if it’s crap.

Let’s take a look at some of what video expert (and executive producer) Janine Harris had to say about video – both in office – AND in your marketing efforts.

A Checklist to Help You Up Your Zoom Conferencing Game

“Lighting is one of them. The first thing that we always look at in video production is how well can we see you. So many people’s offices, home offices are set up with their back against a window. And you just see this halo of dark face and you can’t see them at all. I think setting up a situation where you’ve got some decent lighting, and it can be as simple as just turn your desk around, face your window. And the difference is unbelievable, you get this beautiful glow a light on your face, and it’s perfect. You really don’t have to stress too much more beyond that.”

“The second one, probably for me is the positioning of the camera where you know, a lot of people are on laptops, and that camera is pointing up to us, or you see the face where they’re right at the bottom of the screen and there’s all this headroom above them. So, you want to put your best foot forward. I’m not saying you have to dress up or do anything like that, but you should have should be easy for people to watch you and they shouldn’t feel awkward, you know?”

“Third. Backdrop. There’s so much you can do. When I moved from my office into my home office, I took over what was essentially a storage space. I set up my background with camera equipment and my ukuleles, because I love playing ukuleles and most clients who knew me know that we play ukuleles around the office from time to time. And I collect keys, so they went up on the wall and just things that reflect me! Also, my favorite – a strike of color on the wall, it could be an art print or it could be some fabric. The worst thing to me is the white wall. I think a little bit of perspective, a little bit of personality behind you is a good thing. I have some fun with it.” 

DIY Video Marketing

“There’s nothing wrong with DIY videos. I’m seeing so many people doing great stuff with zoom, and just with their webcam or their phone. But for some people, they do need to take it up a notch to get above the noise. So, I’ve got a few clients who are producing content on their phone. And what we’ve done is created an animated opening and closing just to help make a cohesive brand for them. They’re shooting their videos, and we package them with this opening and closing, it’s super affordable, but it ups their game.”

On the Power of Video to Help Build – or Maintain – Relationships 

“People are leaning towards video to create connections. They don’t even have any FaceTime in person, with people and their employees, especially the larger organizations of companies that have offices across Canada. They have no FaceTime. There’s a reason Why the Prime Minister is on video every day giving us updates. They’re not just putting an article out in the newspaper, right people, people appreciate that human connection. And so, we are so lucky if you think about it, if this had happened 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have had the technology to have this FaceTime with all these people. And I don’t mean FaceTime the product, but I literally mean, being able to get on Zoom or Skype or whatever you’re using.”

Building relationships from behind the screen with Janine Harris

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Remember the great Aretha Franklin’s hit 🎶Who’s Zoomin’ Who? 🎶  

Well, lately it appears we’re ALL Zoomin’ someone, often multiple times a day.

During this 🦠 pandemic lock-down 🦠 Zoom has become the video conferencing provider of choice.

That’s why, on this week’s episode of the 4 AM Report, we’re bringing you top talk with a video expert!

Janine Harris is the executive producer at Keyring Media Inc., specializing in video for business.

She shares:

📹 Tips and tricks for looking fine 💅 on camera.

📹 How to jazz 🎷up 🎷 your surroundings so people are focussed on YOU!

📹 And how to use video, in general, in your marketing efforts.

All that, PLUS a special surprise (hint: it involves ukuleles)!

Let’s get started, shall we!

About Janine

Janine Harris is a Producer, Director and Editor with a passion for telling stories. With over 20 years experience developing and producing for commercial, television series and documentaries, she brings broadcast skill and technique along with web strategies to telling the stories of business. 

From marketing videos to training videos, Janine works with small and mid- size organizations through to large Companies to help them communicate, educate and engage their stakeholders with video.

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Now get yourself over to Apple Podcasts and subscribe to us – you won’t regret it!

Plus, if you’re losing sleep over a particular marketing/business related problem during this Covid-19 economic uncertainty, or if you have a guest idea on the topic, let us know. Drop us a line at c+p digital.

And as always, sweet dreams…well, hopefully!

Structuring to be the 2% with Andrea Henry

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This week hosts Susan and Will chat with guest Andrea Henry, a business lawyer who is passionate about helping women entrepreneurs get to that 7-figure goal.

What do they discuss?

✔️The barriers facing women business owners when it comes to getting funding for growth

✔️The lack of value funders put on intellectual property here in Canada

✔️How women can be better structuring their business to be more attractive to potential funders

Here’s an interesting stat:

Only 2% of women owned businesses reach the 1 million mark in annual revenue; whereas businesses owned by men are 3.5 times more likely to do so.

Andrea wants to change that. 

Here’s an excerpt from the transcript:

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02:41

Will: We do know that the Canadian government, the federal government launched a program last year, a hundred million dollar program funding for small businesses owned by females. It’s called the Woman Entrepreneurship Fund. So to me that sounds fantastic. They realized there’s a need for this. They’re investing 100 million set up this fund. They have the goal of doubling the number of women owned businesses by 2025 which would add 10% to the national GDP. So this all sounds great, but Andrea, we were talking earlier and you were telling us from your experience with your clients, this program just isn’t enough.

 03:18

Andrea: Well, I think it’s a wonderful idea and I’m thrilled that the government understands that in supporting women owned business, there are certainly just going to help the whole country. You mentioned the 10% of the national GDP. When you empower women and allow them to have access to economic activity, you do better for the whole country. But in speaking to clients who’ve been trying to access funding, whether it’s government funding or other funding, there seems to be a disconnect between the funding that’s available and the types of businesses that people want to run. And so I have a client who is over a million dollars a year in revenue, has been for several years, has very good financials, but can’t get funded because the assets are all intellectual property, right? Is her brand and is her reputation. And so the funding to me seems to be a lot more, you know, traditional, right? So if you’ve got assets that they can hold on to, then you’re going to find it easier to get funded. Or if you only need a very little bit of funding, right? If you’re a micro-business, you need a couple thousand dollars to get started. What I’m concerned about are the ambitious women who want to be industry leaders who want to breach that Mark and go further. There seems to be a gap in the marketplace or that,

04:32

Susan: This is certainly something that keeps me up at night as well, Andrea. It’s a perception versus reality problem. Almost like, you know, we talked briefly about how we see those little ADs for like, Oh, women entrepreneurs apply here and then you go in there and it’s like $5,000 I’m like, that’s one 10th of my monthly burn rate to girlfriend. You know? So there’s just that sort of belief that women entrepreneurs are only in the starter stage of the business, which is not at all true. The real gap like you pointed out is in the middle, maybe those two 50 and up type entrepreneurs who are like on that serious growth path. And like you said, investing in the intellectual property, right? Like I’ve suddenly faced this problem as part of my journey, which is like I’ve invested in creating those systems and building the people and the and the sort of efficiency models which are intangible. They’re worth a whole lot. But when I go in there, the bank is like, all right, little girl come back when you have a property with 1 million bucks, right?

 05:30

Andrea: Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. And so we’re in a new age, right? We are in an age where intellectual property is the thing. It’s what you can create, the systems that you can create, the new innovations that you can come up with. But yet the banking and the funding system lags behind that on is more interested it would seem and the tangible assets which as we develop and as our world changes, we’re going to be less and less important.

 05:58

Will: Now let’s Canada versus the US for a minute. Cause I know you were telling us a story about a woman who couldn’t get funding here in Canada goes to the States and she’s able to set up her business and get funding there. Is there a difference you see in Canadian financial institutions versus the American money that’s available? Is it that our system is just more conservative and we don’t value that intellectual property as much as they do in the States? What do you think?

 06:20

Andrea: I think it’s definitely more conservative, which is not always a bad thing is the reason why our economy didn’t go off a cliff when you know, it did that in the States. So that’s a good thing. So conservative isn’t necessarily, you know, bad is it, but it is true that I have had examples of, of many business owners and women led businesses where they could not get the funding in Canada and moved and one lady in particular, they’ve just raised 7 million in funding in the States.

 06:51

Andrea: And this is a business that would have been able to imply countless numbers of people in Canada. She’s a Canadian, but she only left to go to the States because she couldn’t get the funding because again, their business owns nothing. It is 100% of systems and logistical assets business. And because of that, it was difficult for her to be able to get funded. So my concern is we have so many bright, ambitious entrepreneurs here, we want to keep them here. We want to make sure that they’re growing the economy and hiring people in Canada and not losing out to the States because we’re not in a position to really value assets in a way that some of the banking institutions here and also comfortable with.

 07:30

Susan: Yeah, and as you were saying, you know, it’s like a, it’s like an entrepreneurial brain drain. And you’re, you’re having people sort of move over there. And a point you made earlier that stood out for me was that whole implosion of 2008 didn’t happen because entrepreneurs got it wrong. It happened because of real estate.

 07:50

Andrea: Yes. It was investment bankers in real estate. Yeah.

 07:53

Will: So you know, we’ve set the stage here that it’s not that easy for female led entrepreneurs to get funds from financial, traditional financial institutions. The amount of money they need to really grow their business. What, when they come to Andrea or Susan from your experience, what is out there? What, what are the next things people start looking at and are they good options or not?

 08:12

Andrea: So what will often happen is if you can’t get financing from a bank or credit union or any other type of lending institution, then you’ll look for investment, which which makes sense, right? It’s in a sense less risky than financing through debt where you’re 100% liable and you will usually need to provide a personal guarantee. What I find is a pitfall is that when you’re growing rapidly and you know that to get to the next level, I need marketing help or I need, you know, sales coach and whatever else you need to get to the next level. I need to bring on an employee and someone is willing to offer you their services for a stake in the company. So like you don’t have to pay me, but I want a 10% stake or 20% stake. So at the time you’re desperate and you believe in your company and you know it’s going to get to the next level, that seems like you know, manna from heaven really, I don’t have to pay you and you’re going to give me all the services that I need.

 09:05

Andrea: So I fully understand that. The concern with that is you really have to think about what you think your company’s going to be worth because if someone is to pay for those services would have been $20,000 and you think your company’s going to be worth $1 million and you give up 20% of that, you’ve just spent $200,000 to get $20,000 worth of services. Right. It is an expensive way to fund your growth. If you have no choice, if you really, there is no way out. Our professors would always say, go to go to friends and family first, but the reality is for a lot of us, especially people who are new to entrepreneurship, who are immigrants to the country, who come from communities where they aren’t resources, we can’t write. Like I know there are people who go to their fathers and get a $50,000 loan or $100,000 loan to start a business.

 09:56

Andrea: That was not my case and I know that’s not the case for a lot of people out there. So if you really have no choice, then you want to make sure that you still keep some control of your shares. So maybe you give up some of your company, but you keep control over it through call options or through convertible shares, which allow you then to somehow get your shares back at a later event. It might be more expensive, but it’s not as expensive as if you allow your company to grow to this multimillion beauty that you know it can be and you’ve given up too much too early. The other problem with giving up too much surely is when you then grow. So you use these services and you, you know, and now you’re attractive to people with much deeper pockets. You have already given up, you know, 20-30-40-50% of your company, what do you have left to give?

 10:44

Andrea: Because anything you give at that point is going to make you a minority shareholder and you’ll lose control of your company. So it’s just important to really think about all the ways that you possibly could fund and you know, negotiate. I saw something just this morning in life, we often don’t get what we deserve. We get what we negotiate. So ask for what you want. You want to be able to buy your shares back three years from now. Ask for it. Right? You might have to pay different terms, you might have to pay a little bit more in the future. But if it’s something that was important to you and you think that your companies want to do well, ask for it and work with someone who’s willing to work with you.

 11:20

Susan: That’s such great point to make. Andrea, let’s sort of like give our like female owned business listeners some thoughts that you’ve discussed with us in the past about how you can be structuring your business from a legal perspective to perhaps be more attractive to those funders. And you know, not seem like that person who doesn’t know some of these ins and outs of the whole thing as you grow.

 11:44

Andrea: So from both, whether you’re going to go to for traditional bank financing or you’re looking for investors incorporation. So having a corporate structure in the first place is really important. Not just, you know, incorporating online and having your certificate of incorporation, but actually going through the formalities, having a minute book, all of those things are going to be reviewed by your potential lenders, by your potential investors, and a shoddy minute book are a non-system. And that book can completely just scupper a deal to begin with. Keeping really good records from the beginning. Even a clear distinction between business and personal, which is hard when you’re starting out. And when you know there’s a lot of fluidity between your personal and your business life, but that’s important because you need to be able to, so clearly what’s the business and what’s yours and then that to incorporation incorporated with a structure that gives you some flexibility.

 12:36

Andrea: So generally speaking, people think of shares and we think of common shares and comment and voted in shares as a part of the meat of the shares, right? It’s the things that allow you to keep control over a business and they entitle you to the underlying assets. But there is a whole world of different types of shares that you can have. You can have shares that don’t carry voting rights, you can have shares that are preferred, which means they don’t have access to the underlying assets. You can have convertible shares that can turn from one type of security to another. So shares that will then become debt. At some point in time you can have call options on your shares, which means I sell them to you, but I have the right to buy them back at a particular price at a particular date. So making sure that you are working with a business lawyer who really understands corporate structuring and who understands what it is you want your business to do and where you want it to go.

 13:27

Andrea: A lot of people think you just get the certificate and that’s it, but you are hurting yourself if you, if you want to be a big business and you want to go after significant funding to not have the right corporate structure in place. And then the other thing, and this isn’t even really legal, I just pass this on cause I’ve spoken to so many lenders where this has been a point of frustration. Um, and I wasn’t guilty of it myself when I started out. When we start, especially if you don’t have tons of resources, you spend all of the money on your business, right? You spend all of your savings and you max out your credit cards, and you max like line of credit. I’m sure most of you are nodding with me and only when we’ve like nearly run out of money, then we go for financing.

 14:07

Andrea: It’s just the worst possible time to go. So goal to the lender before you need it. So goal when you still have access to it, when you still have some savings because lenders will look at that, you know, right or wrongly, they will look at the fact that you bought some savings that you’d bought, some access to credit that you’ve been having, you know, increase in sales, go then, they’re much more likely to fund you at that point. The third thing I will say is, it is almost impossible to get funding or invest in debt if you owe CRA, especially if you owe them lots of money. And so, you know, making sure from the very beginning that you are keeping good records, the money that you spend on a bookkeepers is going to be some of the best money that you can spend just so that you are completely on the right side of CRA and that doesn’t prevent you from getting funding in the future.

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About Andrea Henry:

Andrea is a Cambridge-educated lawyer with more than a decade of experience working with businesses of all sizes and at every stage of the entrepreneurial journey. She’s the daughter of an entrepreneur and also married one herself and is pretty much obsessed with all things business.

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