Coffee With E

Don’t Waste the Dream: Legal & Mindset Shifts Every New Entrepreneur Needs

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If you’ve been sitting on a business idea but haven’t taken the leap, this episode is for you. Erica Rawls sits down with Attorney Jenny Chavis to break down how to legally and mentally prepare for entrepreneurship. From deciding on the right business entity to navigating imposter syndrome, Jenny shares real stories and advice that will leave you feeling empowered to finally take action.

You’ll also hear how Jenny transitioned from a 13-year legal career into starting her own law firm, and what she’s learned from helping women and former clients launch businesses that change lives.

Don’t let fear, doubt, or legal confusion hold you back. This is your time.

Guest Info:

📞 Chavis Law Firm: 717-884-8533

🌐 Website: chavislawfirm.com

📸 Instagram: @chavis_esq

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Erica Rawls:

Hey you, episode 30 is here and I'm so excited. Why? Because I had the privilege of actually sitting down with Attorney Chavis. In this episode we actually break down the different types of entities that you can actually create when you're starting a business. This is going to be so good, y'all, because I know if you're anything like me when it came to deciding what type of entity and how it's going to impact me, I just had. I was just all over the place, didn't know where to go. Jenny Chavis she breaks it down for us and we even go a little deeper into her journey as to why she decided to go off on her own and when is it going to be a good time for you, and how to block out that noise of other people, all that chatter you know those naysayers, how does she do it and how can you apply it to your life. You ready, sit back here we go. How did we meet?

Attorney Chaviz:

like I'm really like, yeah, like I know you, like right, you know you so we met at um, the event that was at the new event center emerald sweet. There we go right, yes, um, which I think also kind of deals a little bit about the entrepreneurial or business mindset doing things you're not comfortable doing. Yeah, because it opens up doors for other opportunities that's how we met.

Erica Rawls:

That is how we met.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, I even feel, uh, that we probably met somewhere even beyond that. Not, that's so really trippy. Not my attempt. I was going to say about how small Harrisburg is, a Harrisburg area that makes you just sort of swirl.

Erica Rawls:

That's what I was trying to say, unlike in another lifetime. Yeah, that's not what I was trying to say. That is hilarious, too funny. Well, I'm happy to have you here today, yes, and we're going to go over some really good stuff.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, because one of the pillars of our audience, the target market, that Raptor, is they are ambitious. Go getter women Right. A lot of them are in a leadership position and or a lot of them have the the ambition to want to start a business. Yeah, so, because I know that you practice business law, I wanted to get to you know, sit down with you and have that conversation, so could you share with us your journey to getting to be an attorney? Yeah, jenny Tapis, yes, so born and raised in Harrisburg.

Attorney Chaviz:

Okay, I absolutely love that. That's where I'm from.

Erica Rawls:

So why do you love that so much?

Attorney Chaviz:

Because I felt that growing up people said it wasn't great to be from there.

Attorney Chaviz:

Oh, I love that I know, yeah, and even as a child I had adults saying to me I can't believe your parents, let you go to Harrisburg Middle School, not let you. Yeah, like at one, like I had a choice. And then you know, then it's just the thought of right, I had no option, I had no choice at all but to say that, like that, I'm having to say it. But then in the context of there are animals there, there are animals Like why would your parents, your family, let you associate with the kids who are going there and just carrying that with me? It gives me the drive that I have, that I want to be successful, not only just for the sake of success, but I want to say a kid from Harrisburg I call myself a kid, but a kid from Harrisburg could do it. And if I can do it, so can you.

Erica Rawls:

That's right. So for our audience that's not from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is an urban community and people that come from Harrisburg William Penn High School, Harrisburg, High the high they wear it with such pride. So it just gives me goosebumps. I'm getting goosebumps now, so, yeah, so I envy you all. I wish I was a cougar. I'm a cougar at heart, Right, yeah. So for you to say that I love that.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, I love that. I feel like the city just has this built in resilience, that you have to know how to fight your way through, that. You have to be willing to bounce back no matter what, and I do wear it as a just a badge of honor. So I just want to continue to motivate and empower people within my hometown and beyond. That. You can do it. You can absolutely pursue your dreams.

Erica Rawls:

Right. So, attorney, what made you get into being an?

Attorney Chaviz:

attorney. Wow, so I actually had this notion in college that I was going to be a United States senator.

Erica Rawls:

OK, politics.

Attorney Chaviz:

Politics, politics, yes, and I was actually a political science major with the aspirations of going into politics one day, and I just looked at the demographic then of senators and most of them were attorneys, and I think that's probably still the case today. So I figured, well, if I want to get there, I need to become an attorney.

Erica Rawls:

So after graduating, Because most politicians they are attorneys. Yeah, yeah.

Attorney Chaviz:

It just sort of follows. I'm not sure why, but it just sort of. You know it tracks, yeah, it tracks. So then in college came home, took a year off Before it was even a gap year, before that even was. I knew that was a thing and worked for a local magistrate. So I got to see court from you know entry level, you know in the trenches, so to speak, loved it. Went off to law school and I said I would never go into criminal law. I had a professor my first year who talked R is so strong. Never. It is like the signal of what is going to happen. It really is. I will never that's what is going to happen. It really is. I will never that's what's going to happen.

Erica Rawls:

Yes, it really is, it really is.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah.

Erica Rawls:

I want to take two seconds to share with you that this particular episode is brought to you by Rob Shaw and Allstate Insurance. If you're looking for someone to give you insurance, whether it's home insurance, car insurance go to him. He is your guy. Thank you, rob, for sponsoring this show.

Attorney Chaviz:

So, lo and behold, I fell in love with it and took internships, or did internships in criminal defense and criminal prosecution, and went to come home to my home county and be a prosecutor. That's what I wanted to do.

Erica Rawls:

Oh, wow.

Attorney Chaviz:

So I did that for 13 years Left, did some tour or so for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania again a government attorney and then decided I wanted to open up my own law firm.

Erica Rawls:

That's awesome so in doing that.

Attorney Chaviz:

I ventured into criminal defense because it was something that I was most familiar with, and in business I wanted to go with what's going to bring in revenue. What can I do without having to spend hours learning? I can actually jump in and start doing the work.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah.

Attorney Chaviz:

So I did that and along the way I felt clients. I had clients who felt like, after there was a conviction, after whatever, that their life was then over and that really, that they had to maintain a life of crime. Like that was it. That was their story. But then I had another set of clients who had convictions, who came out and they started their own businesses and they didn't go back to jail, they didn't get in trouble again. And I saw this correlation between people who have been extraordinarily successful in their careers as business owners, who have prior convictions, and that there was some connection with reducing recidivism. And I thought, if I could just give that information to clients who are going through the criminal justice system, like, yes, this is your reality right now. Pay your debt to society, but just because you have this conviction, you can still recreate your life. It doesn't have to be the end of your story. And so I started tying that in together. Some people bought in and said, yeah, I think I'm going to try it, some people not so much. And so as I started helping business owners who were clients on the criminal defense side, it just opened up this door of opportunity to then start working with people who wanted to have a second act.

Attorney Chaviz:

So it was right around the pandemic, nurses were burned out and leaving the bedside and I started getting phone calls from nurses who wanted to start their own business and this was like. I was like what is it Like? What are you talking about? What business are you going to start? And they started opening up IV hydration businesses, med spas what's that?

Attorney Chaviz:

Med spas did come out of COVID, yes, and a lot of them are owned by nurses who could not be in the beds, who could not do bedside anymore. So I absolutely loved walking with nurses because I also did some licensure defense. You know people who have state licenses, licenses with state boards and a lot of them were nurses and I wanted to help them start their new career. A lot of them were very scared. They're like I've never done this before and I'm like let me hold your hand. We got this and it was so satisfying to see the transition of individuals who were just sort of putting their toe into this business water to become just just like, as you described, ambitious, driven go-getters, people who want to change their life or transform the lives of their families, and it was off and running from there.

Erica Rawls:

That is awesome. So many people dream of starting a business but then they struggle. A lot of it has to do with whether we talked about, I think, before imposter syndrome. Yes, so how?

Attorney Chaviz:

so what do we do? Where do we start? The first thing is you have to research what it means to be an entrepreneur. It is not just putting your name on a business card or filing something with the department of state to create an entity. It is way more than that. It is resilience, like we talked about. It is being afraid and doing it anyway. It is borrowing confidence and borrowing courage for the moment, because you know that there's something bigger and better out there.

Attorney Chaviz:

It is embracing that you have to be adaptable and I think the pandemic showed us that the companies that survived were the ones who were able to pivot. And that is a part of the mindset that you are going to struggle. And you have to be okay with the fact that you are going to struggle, that you won't always have the profits sitting there in the bank, that the bank account can get a little low, but you are going to go out there and hustle and do what you need to do to promote and to build your business. So I always say you've got to start with the mindset you can't go in with rose colored glasses and think I'm just going to start a business and somehow people will miraculously just show up at your door ready to buy your products. That does not happen.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, so you say you have to go in with a certain type of mindset, you do have to be resilient and have the ability to to pivot and you actually being an entrepreneur yourself, opening up your own business. Yeah, so what are some of the the mindset? What are the things that you say to yourself, like the self-talk that you give yourself Because you have to cheer yourself on? Oh yeah, but what are some of those things?

Attorney Chaviz:

Well, the first thing is I never knew anyone who started a law firm.

Attorney Chaviz:

I never personally met someone. I never saw what it looked like behind the scenes. My sister started some consulting work after she. She worked for Johnson Johnson for years but I didn't really see like exactly what that consisted of, like the actual building of the business she was. She lives in Maryland, but other than that I really didn't know any business owners. So the first thought, the negative thought, that comes in, is well, you don't know anyone who's done it. How are you going to do this? You don't know anyone. You know Jenny, no one like you does this. And so that's the negative thought. But then you replace it with the positive thought but I can do it. I am smart enough, I can read it. If anyone else out there can do it, I can do it too. Why not me?

Erica Rawls:

Why not me Right? Why not?

Attorney Chaviz:

And that's the balance you know. So, yes, the negative thoughts will come in, but at the end of the day, it's the question of why not you, why not me? And that should be really the foundation of where you start. Of course, you're going to feel like you're an imposter, but there are many tried and true methods to push past the imposter syndrome, and one is study. That's a part of entrepreneurship, that is a part of your craft. Yes, study the market, study the people. Who is your ideal client? We live in this wonderful information age. We call it YouTube University. We can Google everything that we need to know. That is your starting block to understand what you need to do to grow. Just because you feel like I don't know it today doesn't mean that has to be your story tomorrow.

Erica Rawls:

Yes, and to the person that delays starting because they feel that they have to learn everything first. Like what?

Attorney Chaviz:

do you say to them so I am, I know they're and they're probably like official names for it Like there are people who they need to have all the ducks in the row before they then start. They have to know it all or at least have a very comfortable level of it. I'm sort of the other way. Listen, I probably call it flying by the senior pants, except for the jump.

Erica Rawls:

I'm like oh wait, does my parachute work? Where is the parachute?

Attorney Chaviz:

Exactly, and you know so. There are some people who are sort of like give me this general notion. I need to be, I need to be the rolling Stone you know that doesn't collect moss, or whatever the saying is. I need to be the person who's on the move and I will learn as I go. So you will never know it enough. You will never know it all and you.

Attorney Chaviz:

The delaying sometimes is not really because we don't know it. The delay is because we are afraid to jump out there. The fear, it is the fear because it is that feeling of standing on the ledge, standing on the edge of something, standing on the side of the cliff, and you have to take the plunge. You just have to do it and you understand that you're going to make mistakes, is not going to be perfect, but that's how you pivot, that's why you're able to adjust and change and move. But you cannot get the paralysis of analysis. We're just stuck there because you're wasting precious time. That's the one thing we cannot make up In business. You may not have a profitable day one day. The next day may be more profitable, but with time, when it's spent, it's spent. There is no recouping that. So don't waste the time.

Erica Rawls:

And the longer that you wait, the less likely you are to begin.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, yeah, because the giant, whatever giant that we have constructed, I don't know enough, I don't have a great location, whatever it is, that giant gets bigger and bigger and bigger the longer that we wait, and then we can come up with the excuse of well, I've already, I'm past my prime, I'm too old to do it. Like I did spend some time Googling, like I wanted to look at business owners or people who were successful after a certain age, and so I did that a couple of times. I was reminded. I think it was like Colonel Sanders was leaving his 60s, grandma Moses went in her 70s.

Erica Rawls:

I needed some encouragement. I did Like, I think, samuel.

Attorney Chaviz:

Jackson got his, his big break. I think he was in his 40s, like on just a list of people and I'm like, if they did that, they did it again. Why can't I, you know? And, and, by the way, I was nowhere near those ages, yeah.

Erica Rawls:

I know If you're like wait. So how old is she? No, I'm not. This is so funny, too funny. Hey, I'm hoping you're enjoying this episode of Coffee with E. I had to take 30 seconds to share with you one of our sponsors for this episode Top Construction. They are premier construction company located in central PA, so if you live in Dauphin, cumberland, lancaster and Lebanon counties, you want to check them out. Not only are they reliable, they are reasonable and they get the job done. Now let's go back to the episode. Okay. So then how do you recommend people shift from employee mindset Okay To entrepreneurial mindset? Like, how do you? Yeah, those people, so those nurses, the nurses, yes, okay.

Attorney Chaviz:

So there's there is. You have to do the personal work first, so it is planning getting information. Now I know we were joking about flying by the seat of your pants. There's still a little bit of you know, research and information that you should get. So be clear about what your why is and what you're doing. Get the basic knowledge first, but there's going to come a time when you have to no longer listen to the people around you or choose not to share your dream with everybody.

Erica Rawls:

Oh, okay. We're going to pause right there for two seconds and I need you to listen up. Ready, repeat it.

Attorney Chaviz:

Do not share your dream with everybody, because not everybody can handle it, and there's several reasons why. One people, some folks, have a limited viewpoint of life. They would see well, just go to work, get a check, have the work provided for you, that's good enough. And so if you then start basing your plans upon the limits of someone else's dreams, you're only going to rise to the level of that person's limit, versus rising to the level of the dream that you have. Right, that was a gem. So thank you. Right that, start a firm. Well, why would you do that? Just work for a private firm first.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, before you know, everyone will give you a plan B, because it is scary, you know. So you have to be able to tolerate risk, at least to a certain level. But just understand that it can be done. You just have to take the proper steps. But you cannot share it with everyone, because there are, you're going to run into naysayers and you will end up being talked out of your dream, Something that you know you should be doing, because you're listening to someone else. You can't do that.

Erica Rawls:

So I know you're not a marriage counselor, but come on. However, yes, what if that someone is your spouse?

Attorney Chaviz:

OK, well, ok. So I'm looking at my story. I look at my story. Yes, all right, ok. So when I had the dream of starting my own law firm, I had only been married to my husband for about a year, okay, not even a full year, okay, and so this was, for both of us, our second marriage. And you know, I had a great job with the state. I mean a good job, right, what we call a good job, benefits and all. You got a good job and I brought it up and he was, like you know, I could see like I'm not really feeling it Now. For me, my faith is a really big part of my life and I just said, I put it out there. I believe that that was what I was supposed to do, like opening a law firm, was it? And I said, okay, pray about it. I said I'm not going to bring it up until he does, okay, so it was a leap of faith, okay wait, wait, wait.

Erica Rawls:

I want to make sure.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, so you were still doing like I was opening up so I hadn't filed anything, but I was still like researching got it and I was.

Erica Rawls:

You know, I was looking, all the things I was getting, all this wanted to set the record straight because we have some ambitious women out there. She did not say go start something yeah, without your spouse's knowledge.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yes, she still did, because that did open up a whole other can of worms. Yeah, divorce core. Yeah, and then you know it was business that you started while you were married, and so then is that a marital property? But that's a discussion for all the box.

Erica Rawls:

See, that was the attorney. Yeah, that was the attorney. Yeah, yeah.

Attorney Chaviz:

Okay, so we're really back in. So I said, okay, I, he's going to bring it out right. All right, so we both are ministers at our church and one day it would happen to be his sunday to preach and he was preaching about you know faith and get out the boat.

Erica Rawls:

You should start your own business I'm looking around like, oh, bingo, yes, cha-ching, here we go, and I'll have to drive home.

Attorney Chaviz:

I said oh, so I just heard you said so you're ready for me to start.

Erica Rawls:

I go, sis. He was like I'm talking to you, I'm talking to them.

Attorney Chaviz:

Oh, that is hilarious. Of course yes, if I'm encouraging others, of course I'm encouraging you to do this Now I would say it is important to be on the same page.

Attorney Chaviz:

If you're married, you want to do that.

Attorney Chaviz:

I don't have the remedy, for if the naysayer is your spouse, I think that it is a process of presenting it in a way that, if the spouse is nervous about it, that you're coming with the solution right. So sometimes when you show up with a dream, you want the spouse to be supportive, to be the partner in a sense. You know the wind beneath our wings, as we say, and if you know that the person has concern about the financing, what have you? So, as you're presenting it, then you're presenting also the solution for raising capital or revenue, like you're coming with that. Or if it is the knowledge base, if you show that you've done your research, here's the plan.

Attorney Chaviz:

If you're showing up with the business plan, boy, that's a great way to pitch your business to a spouse that might be apprehensive, because you're going to want to have a business plan in place as you're starting the business anyway. Regardless, right, that's a great place to start. So why not start there? It's about conversation. It is understanding the pain point and being able to show up with the counter argument, so to speak.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, yeah, so we have the confidence.

Attorney Chaviz:

Confidence.

Erica Rawls:

We have the support of our significant others, or our you know whoever Right of our significant others, or our you know whoever. Right Now we have to decide. Okay, what type of entity do we actually create? Like, how do we set the foundation? Do we start with forming the entity? Like where do we start? Where do we begin?

Attorney Chaviz:

That's a great question. So here's the thing to when you're considering entity. This is where you want to start the conversation or the thought process. The purpose of starting an entity generally falls into two big categories for liability protection or for tax treatment. Ok, right. So a lot of times people will go to an accountant and they'll say well, you haven't made money, so don't worry about the entity just yet. Well, you haven't made money, so don't worry about the entity just yet. Well, my only concern is, if you are starting a business let's say it's a food truck, or if it's an ice cream shop and someone tastes your food something happens. Now they want to sue you.

Attorney Chaviz:

What's great about the whole accounting side of it? But you have not protected your personal assets by keeping them separate from your business, so therefore you're leaving yourself open to liability on the legal side of it. So in Pennsylvania and I know we have people from outside Pennsylvania, but generally speaking you could either run an entity as a sole proprietor, which means there is no differentiation between the person and the business. It's the easiest to set up because you're not filing anything. Everything's just sort of there together. Right, that's a sole proprietorship. Now, if it's more than one person in business. The equivalent to that is a partnership. Okay, so you know two or more people who then are running the business. You all the revenue comes in, you share the profits, all this and that, but you also share the liability. So if you have a partner who kind of goes off the deep end one day, you could be potentially liable for the actions of that partner. That's all the same.

Erica Rawls:

Okay, so just because you don't file anything, you're just a partnership because you have more than one person, right? So it's just assumed. Yeah, it's an assumed partnership.

Attorney Chaviz:

Exactly, got it Okay. Okay, now different states may have different entities with partnerships that you can then file, like some limited liability partnerships and whatnot. Usually it could be for specific professions, like maybe like law firms or medical practices or something like that.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah.

Attorney Chaviz:

But generally speaking, if it's two or more people it's considered a partnership and the laws on the books will just sort of, you know, regulate that. So then we start talking about the actual best tax treatment and liability protection. It's either going to be a corporation or an LLC, limited liability corporation, company. So an LLC, super easy to run. Yeah, you really don't have to worry about board meetings. You get to set it up, register with the state. You know it can be a little bit pricey because you have to pay every year the registration fees and whatnot, but you have the protection for legal liability.

Attorney Chaviz:

You can elect to either operate as an S corporation or there's certain elections you can make to give you better tax treatment. A corporation. There are some times you have to run as a corporation, depending from the type of business or if it's a nonprofit organization, and so then it's a lot more detailed as far as the governance, because then you have to have like a board, you have to have an annual meeting, you have to have bylaws, that type of thing. A lot of people don't necessarily like that, because either they're going out by themselves and so they just want to get it going and they just choose an LLC, but those are generally the four basic entities that people need to consider.

Erica Rawls:

OK, so I know I have S-Corp, so what's the benefits of having an S-Corp versus the C-Corp?

Attorney Chaviz:

Right, yeah, so S-Corp versus S-Corp is really when you're talking about your tax treatment, so it's like a tax election. I forgot the actual designation for it because I'm not an accountant, but so when you have a corporation, an S-Corp, that is mostly dealing when you have shareholders and the way in which you, I believe, deal with the interest or the equity within the corporation and a C-Corp is just any general corporation.

Attorney Chaviz:

So when you're an LLC and you're a single member like I'm a single member LLC you can then elect to be treated as though you are an S-Corp. So it's not something that I registered with a partner state in Pennsylvania, it's with the IRS. So that way I have like the I think it's called the pass-through distributions of certain monies and whatnot.

Erica Rawls:

I'm not sure they're called technical. So the way you designate or choose to be identified is based on your taxes. So that is where the accountant comes in and says okay, you being set up as an S Corp versus the C Corp is going to work better for you, Right.

Attorney Chaviz:

OK, right, so I'm registered. So what's your actual designation or what's your or the entity that you choose is really how it's registered with the Department of State or Secretary of State, depending on what state you live in. And then you then so that's our really talk about, like the state you live in, and then you then so that's what I'm really talking about, like the liability side, your identity. But when you talk about S-Corp or a C-Corp, that's really how the IRS will see you, because the IRS kind of doesn't really look at the LLC as an actual entity. They call it like a disregarded entity and it's really interesting, I don't know how it sees it. Yeah, so when you talk about S-corp or C-corp, that's really how the IRS will treat you.

Erica Rawls:

Okay, yeah, okay. Big thank you to Sugaring NYC Harrisburg for sponsoring this episode. It's because of them we're able to bring this great content to you. Are you searching for a fabulous place that does lashes and eyebrows that slay, or hair removal that just makes you feel so great you want to check them out. Now back to our show. What's the least? Um, expensive one, because I know people are like okay, so how much is it going to cost me?

Attorney Chaviz:

so sole provider. So if it's just you, sole provider is really the cheapest because you don't have to do anything right. If it's two or more, partnership, super cheap, but after personal assets, then yeah.

Attorney Chaviz:

Okay, so it's cheap Cheap start, but a huge liability down the road, yeah Right, so for me, that's why I think that having something like an LLC is better, because you want to give yourself that protection. Obviously, you want to sit down with an attorney and an accountant and have the discussion about both of those things. And here's another thing. Let's talk about business mindset. There is just as much as imposter syndrome can be a big giant to fight against when you're dealing with the mindset for a business owner, so can scarcity mindset. And so people get a scarcity mindset, thinking that I don't want to spend money on this stuff. It's going to be so expensive.

Attorney Chaviz:

But really, that's the ounce of prevention. If you take the time to invest, or just even to see how much that investment is, you might gain the information that you need. That will prevent something catastrophic or extremely expensive down the road. So I have people I speak to who they have, almost like, cobbled something together for their business because they thought speaking to an attorney would cost them too much or talking to an accountant would waste their time and money. But that's scarcity mindset. You have to invest in the foundation that you build, just like in this beautiful home. If someone said well, I want to waste money on the foundation. This could be as pretty as we want, but it's not going to last, right? And so, rather than you know downloading something online that you think will work, why not get the information to know that it will work for your specific business? Everything online isn't made specifically for every business.

Erica Rawls:

That is so true. It's just a natural human instinct. I want to take shortcuts, thinking that, okay, well, yeah, I can save money here, I can save money there, but are you really saving? In the grand scheme of things, once you get yourself caught in a situation where you're like, okay, well, no, I have my you know LLC, okay, and they reveal it. Well, you skip this, this and this, right, and now you expose yourself and they can now go after your personal assets as well, correct. And then you're somewhere crying.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, I'm 100%. Exactly what the issue is, because if you just go out, I'm going to register with the Department of State and create this entity and create this entity. The issue is that there are still some steps that you need to take and if you don't take those steps and you are sued, the court will see it as you just registered that name with the Department of State just as a sham, because you're not really running it as a corporation. It's really you, and so that's how. Then you have a lien against your home. You know, now the person can get you your personal assets.

Erica Rawls:

Right. So what Jenny Attorney Chavis is saying is you take your time and build up your small business successfully by doing your homework and doing research and hiring an attorney as well as an accountant to determine that you are going to have a sound business and it's going to protect you From any liability.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, and then start making connections with other entrepreneurs, other business owners whether it's a referral group or it could be an organization, even through your local library, whatever it is because you're going to be able to glean great information from people who are already. Things that you don't want to do, like networking has always been like I'm really nervous about doing it like that type of thing. Yeah, but being a part of organizations that are networks or allows networking to occur or, you know, referral partner building, whatever it might be, I have found great nuggets of information and encouragement and it really has opened my eyes with being a business owner and I would encourage anyone to do it.

Erica Rawls:

It's funny that you said that, because I think the art of negotiation has been lost. Oh yeah, we had for our brokers. We had a young professionals networking event, and just to see how they interacted was eye opening. It was a great opportunity from the perspective of when they came in. We gave them their name tags and they said write your name. Or they asked so what are we doing with this? It was clearly was a name tag. So I was looking over to you know, the CEO of our company, and I was like, did I hear that right? Yeah, I was like, OK, well, so I'm just going to say, okay, so pre-COVID, you know, maybe it was a thing. And now post-COVID, networking wasn't. So the next person came in and we're like okay, here's your name tag. So what am I putting on here?

Attorney Chaviz:

Wow.

Erica Rawls:

You're putting your name, just put your name. So what are we doing here? Okay, so this is your opportunity to have great conversations, to meet someone new, that you can make a connection and possibly, you know, help you level up or glean some information. Yeah, that's going to empower both of you. Yeah, so the art of networking has been lost and we saw it as a great opportunity Right For the Gen Z's and possibly the younger millennials. Yeah, that that's a lost art. It really is it is?

Attorney Chaviz:

and isn't that like the, the foundation for business being able to build relationship? Because you want people speaking about your business in rooms that you are not in say that, yeah, it is like that's the wish. I want people talking in a positive way about my business when I'm not there. And that's why, when someone says, oh man, I want to do my will, or oh, I'm opening up a business, oh, I know who to call this person. You know, at the beauty shop, at the barbershop, at the coffee shop, yes, where conversations are happening, you want your name to be remembered Exactly.

Attorney Chaviz:

But that all comes from relationship building. If you're just someone who's passing by, where people either don't know your name or you haven't built a relationship, people aren't going to refer you because they don't want to send friends and family to a person they don't know. Yeah, right, yeah, because they can't vouch for you. But if you take the time to get to know them, like man, you know, erica is such a great listener. She was had a conversation with her. She held on to every word that I said. She was able to respond, she encouraged me, absolutely. I'm going to send people to you, right, right.

Erica Rawls:

And that's what it's about. That's what it's about, yeah. So networking now, getting what you deserve oh yeah, getting what you deserve.

Attorney Chaviz:

Ooh yeah, so that plays into, I think, imposter syndrome and scarcity mindset and, you know, just having the courage to do so.

Erica Rawls:

It is a weird feeling, a very weird feeling, to ask someone to give you money. It's weird, it's weird. Is it weird, it was weird for me? Is it weird? No, it is weird, it's weird. Is it weird? It was weird for me? Yeah, is it weird? No, it is weird. I'm just saying, yeah, I'd never put a label on it, but I guess it is weird to ask for for money.

Attorney Chaviz:

Hey, okay, so let's wrap it into putting a value correct on your work, your work, value on your work, and I love how you said that, because a lot of times people will say, well, you're paying for my time, especially, like in the legal field. Oh, you're paying for the time. You're paying for the time Well, it's not just that, because all of our time is valuable, right, but you're paying for the peace of mind that someone who has the knowledge is now going to advocate for me, going to provide the advice that I don't know they are going to do work that I don't have time to do it. When you are a business owner, if you think that you're going to do everything for yourself, you are already behind the eight ball. You have to outsource something, and so why are you sitting there trying to draft an independent contractor agreement rather than calling an attorney to do it for you?

Attorney Chaviz:

So when you call and say, ok, how much is that going to cost? And you go through the price, and then you realize, ok, oh, that person could do it in an hour. It would take me several hours to do it, and I still don't know if I have the right information within this agreement. And so now tally up how much time did you waste that you could have been meeting with clients, sending out letters, actually conducting business, whatever it is, because you're trying to Google and DIY an agreement that someone could spit out Right Right. Well, there's a value, like at one point when I thought, thought I'm just going to braid my daughter's hair yeah and it took me two days.

Attorney Chaviz:

And so my husband was like, how much do you charge for hour at work? And it's like, why are you now spending that, when you could clearly have a fraction of that for someone just to go do her hair and you don't have to worry about that like, oh, when we put it like that, so it's, it's a matter of saying, ok, I do have value and what I bring to the table, yeah, I guess time to a certain degree is you know, it factors in. But not to say that, not to say that that's where the value comes in, solely Right. When you're asking someone to pay for your services because you are rendering a service, right, you're giving them something that they can't necessarily do for themselves, or you're giving them an experience that they cannot get on their own. So it is a matter of pricing appropriately. Obviously you don't want to have the most expensive, so it's not reasonable. But certainly do not undervalue. Beware of when people ask you to discount. Beware.

Attorney Chaviz:

Now, I don't know if it's true industry-wide, but I had a great advice that was given to me from a coach one time and she said whenever you have a client who's coming in and asking you to discount your rates. They're generally going to be the worst clients you ever had and you're going to regret the discounting of the rate to the person and you're going to be resentful because every time they call you're going to be thinking I'm not getting paid for this work because you have now discounted what you were offering. Now I don't know. Now obviously there might be some incentives that you build into the business. Maybe you might have some, you know, friend and family discount, like that type of thing. But it certainly is not just someone who is calling in as a regular customer, regular client asking for services, and says, okay, you've told me how much it's going to cost. Now I'm asking you to reduce by 20 or 30% or whatever it might be.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, that holds true. Yeah, that does hold true. So then, how do you determine? When someone's opening up a new business, where do they go to determine how much they should be charging?

Attorney Chaviz:

Market research. You definitely have to ask around Now for some industries. Industry is a little bit more difficult. So, like it was, it was weird asking other attorneys well, how much do you charge for this? Some people were kind of scared.

Erica Rawls:

How much do you charge?

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah.

Erica Rawls:

Because I want to do my $50 less.

Attorney Chaviz:

Exactly and that's going to be on my business card, right, right. So, obviously, building relationships. So the people I have relationships with, they are very open and honest about that, and so that helped to kind of gauge what would be acceptable for this region. Yeah, so you have to ask the questions. If you're opening up a restaurant, you'll know, because you know what the food costs are. You're able to look at something that's comparable. I know in the real estate world that there are comps. I know that may not necessarily be. As far as I know, it's heavily regulated regarding what you're able to charge and things of that nature. But you have to get out there and do the market research regarding what is appropriate for your business and then you just have to say the price and don't say anything after that. You put it out there.

Erica Rawls:

So be quiet.

Attorney Chaviz:

Be, quiet.

Erica Rawls:

You know how? Yeah, because they well. Yeah, the person that um seeks first loses.

Attorney Chaviz:

I have to, um, there are times I had to say, oh, you know, here's the fee agreement, this is what it costs, check this out. Or, you know, for some have like different plans, like they can pick their tier plan or package that they want to get for services, and then sometimes I'll have to like leave the room, like I'm just going to go fill this up. You and your husband Check that out. I'll be right back Because I know if I stay going to start talking I'm just playing.

Erica Rawls:

Well, you know your weakness, right. Yeah, just in case you don't know, these episodes are brought to you and funded majority from my real estate team, the Erica Ross team. So thank you for continuing to support this channel. And if you're looking to sponsor in any way, one of the best gifts you can give us is a referral. So if you know anyone that's looking to buy or to sell, reach out. The best gifts you can give us is a referral. So if you know anyone that's looking to buy or to sell, reach out to us. We are here to help.

Attorney Chaviz:

And so it is. Then, once it's out there, it is what it is. And then you know when you're starting out there is a fear like I'm just going to have to take whatever work is out there, I'll take whatever they pay, that type of thing. Do not do that. Do not do that. If you set the price, say it, be quiet. And if they want your services, great. If not, that's fine.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, and I don't have the specific statistic, however, but women tend to be less compensated than men. Oh yeah, so, and I believe it has a lot to do with we don't believe that we're worthy of that Right. And the ones that do go in the rooms and start like I'm worthy, I'm worthy, they're fighting for us and yet they may get, you know, higher rank, but still there's a lot of room for improvement. Still have a lot of room for improvement, so, yeah. So, to the women that are out there, yep, that need to determine, ok, what my value is, just know you're worth it. And if you don't believe you're worth it, then that's a homework assignment in itself. 100%. You need to work on yourself. You have to, because you're going to make it hard and complicated for the rest of the women Right In the world yeah, by diluting your fees, absolutely, so don't do that.

Attorney Chaviz:

Don't do that, you will not get as far as you want to go as a business owner. You'll end up resenting being a business owner and that's not what you want it to be. You don't want to feel like a chore because you feel like you're not getting paid what you should be paid. You have to practice it. You know. Practice saying that number out loud and be OK with it. Get the nerves out, no-transcript. And you've got to do whatever it is to put yourself out there. Get yourself around other women business owners. Do whatever it is to put yourself out there. Get yourself around other women business owners.

Attorney Chaviz:

That is so key because every time I heard the voice of another business owner saying don't discount your rates, ask for what you're worth. This is what the price is. The more I heard it, the stronger I got. And then now I put it out there. I don't just put the number out there, but I say here's how I'm going to serve you, this is what I'm going to give you, this is what you're getting in exchange, and it gives them a choice and make them feel like I'm going to be with them in the fight, whatever that is, or the process, and it just I think you end up respecting yourself more for not pulling back or discounting, but you've got to get yourself out there and practicing it. The first time it's going to sound weird. The second time might sound a little bit weird, but the more you do it, the better it gets.

Erica Rawls:

And to the person that has someone that says, well, that's just too much for my blood, it's too expensive. Trust and believe they're not your ideal clients. Correct, they're not your ideal client. Right Back to the discount. Yeah, so you have to be confident in knowing who your target market is and then know what your value is, the service that you're going to provide it, and put a, put a amount on it. Absolutely, yeah, value, yeah, yeah, you stick to it.

Attorney Chaviz:

Yeah, you often get the person say, well, I want I spoke to this person does the same thing or was at this store down the road, you know similar product and this is what they're offering it. And a lot of times I was like, wow, that's really great, like you should absolutely do that. You know, I don't want to be the reason for causing you stress. If you're not in a position to do this, that's absolutely fine. And get the encouragement Like you, let them know that you're OK if they don't hire you or buy your products and encourage them along the way. That you or buy your products and encourage them along the way, that's absolutely fine. And sometimes you will find people who at least respect you for that, that you aren't so money grubbing, right, that you were willing to discount yourself just to get the business and then you never know, they could end up coming back to you. Like sometimes that has happened, I wish I would have gone to you, I wish I would have hired you.

Erica Rawls:

So true, so true, yeah, I don't think we're a good fit. Yeah, however, I do have this person over here, right, yeah, and I truly do wish you the best. Yeah, person comes back. Hey, you know what? I'm sorry? Yeah, I do want to be a part of that standard. Oh, wait, yeah, like, wait a minute, you turned me Right.

Attorney Chaviz:

I mean also, I think, if you're in the service industry industry, I think when you have a component of seeing what, what value added, can be a part of what you're offering to the general public, that helps. So I am big on like the blog on my website, like I want people to feel at least they can get informed, they can be empowered by the information that we have there. So if they're not ready to hire me, at least they know what to ask if they're moving on to the next person or what to expect. I started doing a YouTube page and doing some recordings there to upload information so that way people at least feel like they have something Right. So if you're in the service industry, think about not only just providing the service, but is there some value added that perhaps it will make people pause and think well, I'm not just getting this, I'm not just getting the massage treatment, I'm also getting this along with it, and that will kind of distinguish you from other people in the industry and make people want to work with you.

Erica Rawls:

Yep, surprise and delight. Yes, surprise and delight. I love that. Yep, surprise and delight. So I loved everything that we had to say. I just want to make sure we didn't miss anything that was important. We overviewed. I loved your journey.

Attorney Chaviz:

Oh, thank you.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, I did. I loved the journey and how we were able to relate it to like a real life. You know situation and talking about mindsets, yeah, having the right mindset and knowing your worth, all of that was just really. Someone should walk away feeling like, yeah, that was good, that was good and thank you for the encouragement. Yeah, oh, I hope so. Yeah, a hundred percent, yes. So let me see here, if there was someone I want to probably say this over, Ben, I want to say this over If someone is listening right now and has been sitting on a business idea for years, oh, that's what I want to say. Okay. So if someone was listening right now and has been sitting on a business idea for years, what's the one action step they should take today? They've been sitting on the business idea for years. They've been sitting on a business idea and after hearing all this mindset, just do it Knees buckling, teeth chattering, put some meat on the bones.

Attorney Chaviz:

Okay, take it from idea and dream to something that is concrete. Whether it is figuring out how to do a business plan, getting into a referral group, getting around a group of entrepreneurs, do one item that at least is going to move the ball down the field right, something that won't necessarily cost you a lot of time and effort, but at least is getting yourself into the shallow end of the pool. But do something down the field, right. Something that won't necessarily cost you a lot of time and effort, but at least is getting yourself into the shallow end of the pool. But do something. Do not let it just be an idea that festers.

Attorney Chaviz:

And this is why I truly believe that if you have this dream that has come to you, this vision, this passion, this goal, and you don't do anything about it, I believe it's going to go to someone else. And how would that person feel? You have this great idea and then you look up and you see someone doing the exact same thing Crushed, crushed, right, crushed, crushed. And it's happened to me. You know, I had this idea like, oh, that would be so great, and then someone ends up doing it. Don't waste the idea, don't waste the dream, don't waste the dream. Don't waste the dream.

Erica Rawls:

Yeah, I love that. Thank you so much. Thank you, yes, attorney Chavis. How do we get in contact with you the best way?

Attorney Chaviz:

Yes, so you can give us a call. Number is 717-884-8533. If you go to our website, chavislawfirmcom, you can contact us. You can get more information about who we are and where we are. We would love to hear from you. And, of course, on Instagram, jenny Chavis ESQ. Let's connect that way as well. Thank you so much for being here.

Erica Rawls:

Thanks for having me. You're so welcome. You know what? Until next time, y'all I need you to take action. You want to build a business? Start a business? Do it today, and I will meet you in the comment section.

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