#25: Excuses that keep you from starting your business and the ONE RULE that can eliminate them

“I don’t have enough TIME to make this happen.” “I don’t have enough money to start a business.” “I don’t know all the steps I need to take to do this right.” “Who would even buy anything from me anyway?”

Is this you?

Making aaalllll of the excuses to sabotage your dream of starting a business that allows you to work within your passion, make more money, and build a dynamic brand?

We’ve all been there at some point. It’s a horrible but very, very common belief that you can’t do or don’t have what it takes to get your business up and running.

This is why I want to talk about excuses, aka the lies you tell, that keep you from starting your business.

Don’t do it to yourself, sis.

In this episode of the Shontavia Show, I talk about excuses, including the many I would make (whew, how much time do we have?) back when I wanted to start a business but didn’t really know how.

I was tired, frustrated, and feeling an internal pull that I really didn’t know what to do about.

This frustration led me to work with a business coach who shared one simple rule that literally changed my entire mindset and finally got me un-stuck and out of my head.

The don’t-can’t-won’t rule.

This rule requires that, any time you find yourself saying “I don’t have”/”I can’t” statements, you replace them with won’t action statements.

I am not kidding when I say this changed my entire mindset. Anytime I hear myself making excuses now, I go back to this rule and get myself all the way together.

Check out the full episode below to learn more about the don’t have-won’t rule, and how I’ve used it to change my life and my business trajectory.

*Warning, there’s a little profanity in this episode.

Show Notes

‘Who is this Robert Smith?’: A quiet billionaire makes some noise with $20 million gift to the African American museum: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/who-is-this-robert-smith-a-quiet-billionaire-makes-some-noise-with-20-million-gift-to-the-african-american-museum/2016/09/23/547da3a8-6fd0-11e6-8365-b19e428a975e_story.html

Hamilton At The White House “The Schuyler Sisters:” https://youtu.be/_ffjFS_4I8c

Report: Women-owned businesses jumped 3,000% since 1972: https://www.fastcompany.com/90224242/report-women-owned-businesses-jumped-3000-since-1972

Black Women Entrepreneurs: The Good And Not-So-Good News: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2018/09/09/black-women-entrepreneurs-the-good-and-not-so-good-news/#46ad5b5a6ffe

The Amazing Power of ‘I Don’t’ vs. ‘I Can’t’: https://www.forbes.com/sites/heidigranthalvorson/2013/03/14/the-amazing-power-of-i-dont-vs-i-cant/#303f8c3dd037

Finding extra time to start your business: https://shontavia.com/episode20/

Questions and Action: Identify and eliminate your excuses

After you’ve had a chance to watch the video, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

Please answer the questions relevant to your current situation:

1. What excuses do you tell yourself about starting your business and putting yourself out there?

2. What “don’t have” statements do you continue to repeat?

3. Write your “don’t have” statements down and replace “don’t have” with “won’t” action statements.

Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want.

Check out the show notes at the end of this page for a few resources from this episode.

Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.

I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with creators, entrepreneurs and innovators like yourself.

Let’s make it happen,

Episode 25: Excuses that keep you from starting your business and the ONE RULE that can eliminate them (transcript)

(00:00):

What’s up, y’all. Welcome to The Shontavia Show, where my goal is to help you start a business based on your life’s vision. This ain’t gonna be your daddy’s business advice. I’m laser focused on entrepreneurship in the 21st century, vision and breaking the traditional mold. If you can get with that, you can get with me, be sure to visit shontavia.com for more episodes, blog posts, and other content. Thank you for listening. The show starts now.

(00:28):

Hey everybody. I’m Shontavia and this is another episode of The Shontavia Show where I want to inspire you, you to build a business based on the vision you have for your life.

(00:39):

Today’s show is about excuses. Everybody’s favorite and least favorite thing in the world. I really wanted to do an episode about excuses because they are really the primary, if not the primary, one of the primary obstacles to good people starting companies.

(01:00):

Entrepreneurship is hard y’all. It really is and I want all of you to be successful. Your mindset really and the way you are communicating about entrepreneurship to yourself will be either what pushes you forward or what holds you back. We are living in an incredible, amazing time right now despite what you might read in the news and see on TV. There are so many amazing things happening, especially when it comes to business and entrepreneurship around the world and in the US and what I want to help you do is recognize where your excuses are paralyzing you, so that you can take advantage of these historic times that we are literally living in. I truly believe this — so much so that you know, I’m banking my entire company on the fact that we are living in a historic time and that more people than ever want to start businesses and grow their companies.

(01:59):

So I want to start with a story. This may be my favorite story from the year 2019 and it starts with a billionaire entrepreneur and investor named Robert Smith. And you guys may have seen this in 2019 he was invited to speak at Morehouse College, which is a Historically Black College in Atlanta, Georgia for men. It’s where many of the US’s, and frankly, people around the world, some of the most dynamic leaders, black leaders, have come from including Martin Luther King Jr., Spike Lee Samuel L. Jackson went to Morehouse. So many dynamic folks are Morehouse graduates. One of my best friendsJudge Selden Peden, is a Morehouse grad. And so Robert Smith anyway was invited to speak at Morehouse College’s graduation. And halfway through his graduation speech, he said to the students that he was going to pay off everybody’s student loan debt. 396 college graduates got their student loan debt paid by Robert Smith, who many of them had never met before.

(03:12):

And according to Morehouse, most students have an average student loan debt of like $30,000 or $40,000 a year. So we’re talking about like 13 million, think I’m doing my math right, about 13 million or so dollars that this person gave to students who are graduating from college. I wish I was graduating from Morehouse college in 2019 because I definitely could use something like that.

(03:37):

So when this story came out. Most people either knew just a little about Robert Smith, or didn’t know anything at all. Robert Smith is an entrepreneur, an investment banker engineer. He’s had a number of different roles. Most recently he’s the CEO and founder of a private equity firm called Vista Equity Partners. And he’s done a ton of interviews over the years, and a few years ago he did an interview with the Washington Post and he said something in that interview that stuck with me, y’all for years.

(04:10):

I’m going to read it to you because I don’t want to get it wrong, but what he said in this interview, he was talking to the Washington Post about his success and about innovation in the U.S. And around the world and all kinds of things. And what he said to the Washington Post was that “this is the first time in history you can create wealth and not have access to capital. You just need intellectual property. A blogger who has a large audience can create wealth by attracting advertisers.”

(04:41):

And so I love that he said this for so many reasons, not just because I’m an intellectual property lawyer, though I love that he shouted out IP law, but just that he recognized something that gets lost a lot because we are living day to day in these times, but these are historic times, like history is literally happening all around us. And I don’t know if I just think that because I love Hamilton, the Broadway Show, I listen to the album once a week, and there’s a line in one of the songs about the Schuyler sisters where they say that if you look around, we’re lucky to be alive right now because there’s history happening everywhere.

(05:22):

But it is true. There is literally history happening all around us when it comes to entrepreneurship especially, and even more especially inclusive entrepreneurship. For so many years, entrepreneurship was primarily available to just one group of people in the U.S. And that is changing. Women are becoming business owners at record numbers, both in the U.S. And around the world. The number of women owned businesses in the United States has increased by like 3000% just in the last 50 years. And in the past decade alone, the number of women-owned businesses in this country has grown almost 60%, and that’s compared to overall business growth of like 12% or so. And if you parse it down even further, black women and Latina women are starting businesses more than any other demographic on this planet. Now, yes, I recognize– I’m a black woman myself, y’all–I recognize that there are disparities that exist in entrepreneurship, especially when it comes to access to resources and funding.

(06:34):

There are deliberate roadblocks, but people of color and women and anybody who has historically been excluded from entrepreneurship are being so incredibly innovative and persistent. And that, I don’t know about you, but that is really, really exciting to me. There are some incredible entrepreneurial ideas out there and I want to see you and yours get out of the gate as strong as possible.

(07:07):

And so that brings me back to excuses. We are living in this historic time. We really, I think are lucky and blessed to be alive when we are right now. So don’t let like these bullshit excuses keep you from taking advantage of the fact that we are living in these historic times. So I want to talk a little about the main excuses I hear and the main excuses I have used in my own life and with my own businesses. Because excuses will slow you down if not stall you forever.

(07:40):

And I don’t want that to happen to you. I definitely don’t want it to happen to me.

(07:46):

So what are some of the most popular excuses? You know them. You could probably say them with me. I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough money. I don’t know where to start. I don’t have a reputation. I don’t have anything to sell.

(08:02):

These are the things I hear all the time from people when I start working with them, especially the time and money, and even more when a person is married or has kids or whatever.

(08:15):

So I know all of these excuses myself because I have used them at various times in my own business, in my own life. For years, my business languished. I would take a client here and there. I would do a couple of things that were not scalable at all. It was just me one-on-one with people in part because I was so focused on what I didn’t have.

(08:39):

I thought I didn’t have time, I didn’t have money. I definitely didn’t have energy ya’ll cause I had a newborn who was not sleeping through the night and did not sleep through the night until she was two years old. And so I thought, you know, there’s no way I can get anything else done until my child is older, until I don’t work in this job that I have anymore. All the things that could be stressful in a life, I had them at the same time: a new baby. My husband and I had just gotten married about 10 months before, a new job, a new city, a new everything. We weren’t even in a great place financially, even though we’re both lawyers. We had student loan debt and a bunch of stuff. So I was focused on lack and I stayed focused on lack for years. And I would say to folks, you know, oh, I’m thinking about this, but right now I just don’t have the time or I don’t have the money or I don’t have the energy or I don’t have whatever.

(09:39):

And it got so frustrated because I had all of these ideas inside of me that I wanted to get out, that I started working with a business coach. I thought if anybody could help get me unstuck, it would be a person who did this full time for a living. So I started working with a business coach and what she helped me realize was that some of my excuses were valid. They were explanations for why I was tired, why there were things that were not happening in my life. But many of the things were just bullshit excuses.

(10:13):

And I’m okay saying that because it was true. At the time, I got a little annoyed that that was one of the first things she said to me. But I got over it and with her I worked through a strategy that I’m going to suggest to you here because it really was like a dynamic shift in my business when I really started thinking about my language differently and not using excuses.

(10:38):

So it was simple. And this is just one rule from this episode. Start replacing, don’t have, so instead of saying, I don’t have blah, blah, blah, you start replacing, don’t have with won’t action statements. And let me explain what I mean by that.

(10:56):

And the reason this is important is you know, instead of allowing some nameless, faceless force or whatever to keep you from moving forward, you can take your power back when you say, it’s not that I don’t have something, is that I won’t do something, I won’t create something. I won’t take on something. And I’ll get into a lot more detail in the next couple of minutes. So when your brain says, I don’t have time to do this, I don’t have time to start a business, turn that into, I won’t make time to start working on a business right now or I will not do that thing.

(11:34):

I will not read that book. I will not listen to that podcast. I will not visit Shontavia’s stuff and listen to her resources. Give yourself permission to just make a choice. And that is very powerful to me because then you get to decide how you’re spending your time. It’s not that you don’t have, it’s that you’re making a different choice. And sometimes that is okay. Like if you have a newborn, like I did, who is not sleeping through the night, then you make a choice to sleep when that newborn sleeps. I made a choice to sleep when my newborn was sleeping instead of working on my brand and working on my business. And that was okay and that will continue to be okay. Other times, sometimes if you say, well, I don’t know where to start, so that means I can’t start anywhere. That means I just don’t want to learn where to start.

(12:23):

I don’t want to go to the library. I won’t go to the library, I won’t check out a book. I will not go read something on Amazon or whatever. Sometimes you just want to scroll through Facebook or Instagram, and I’m not judging you for doing that. I do that sometimes too. The challenge for me though, sometimes, with social media in particular is I start out just saying, okay, I’ll do this for a few minutes. Let me see what’s happening in people’s lives. I’ll click on one thing and then another thing and then it’s two hours later and now I’m at my college roommate’s, brother’ss wedding photos or something. I’m looking at the things they are doing and it is two hours later and then I’ll complain, well man, I just don’t have time to work on my business. But no, what that really means is I’ve just made a different choice and once you start turning, those don’t statements into won’t action statements, you will reclaim the power over your life.

(13:20):

You will start making choices in your journey and it won’t be about lack, it will be about the choices that you actually make.

(13:28):

After you listen to this podcast, open up your phone, get a pen or pencil and some paper or whatever and write down your top two or three don’t statements. Then turn them into won’t actions. Write down a couple of don’t statements, turn them into won’t actions, then head over to shontavia.com let me know what your top don’t statement is and how you’re going to turn that into. Either won’t action or I will action. Turn that into action in some way. When you come over to the website, click around, ask questions about this episode. Find other resources there and let me know what excuses you’re making and how are you going to turn those into choices. Thanks.

(14:16):

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Shontavia Show. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to like, subscribe and leave a comment wherever you’re listening. You can find me on social media everywhere, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and wherever else @ShontaviaJEsq. You can also visit me at shontavia.com to find a transcript of this episode along with other show notes. While you’re there, please be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter. The information shared in this podcast and through my other platforms is designed to educate you about business and entrepreneurship and I love to do this work. While I am a lawyer, though, the information I provide is not legal advice and does not create or constitute an attorney client relationship.

(15:05):

The Shontavia Show is a LVRG Incorporated original. The show is recorded on site in South Carolina and produced at Sit N Spin Studio in Greenville, South Carolina. Original music and sound design is by Matt Morgan and Daniel Gregory. Mixing and mastering is by Daniel Gregory and the video is by GVL Media.

#24: How to build a brand internally at work (especially at a law firm)

I used to believe that all people just went to work and came home for 5 days out of the week and then did whatever they did on the weekends. I didn’t believe it was necessary to build connections or network and I wasn’t really trying to do either.

But then I started to see other folks who weren’t as smart or capable as me getting opportunities that I’d neither seen nor heard about.

I knew there was more to the story than just working hard.

Part of that story had to do with my personal brand. As an employee in someone else’s organization, I didn’t really see myself as having a brand and had never really worked on getting one.

But, seeing that I was being passed for different opportunities and projects made it clear to me.

I needed to build my personal brand and my connections with my colleagues.

Oh, to go back to those early days armed with this knowledge!

On this #ThursdayThoughts episode, I get the opportunity to help a new working professional avoid many of the mistakes I made.

I received a question about how to build a brand internally at work from someone who is just starting her career at a Midwestern law firm, and I enlisted the help of Nichole Hayden, a law firm partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough to tackle the question.

If you’ve ever wondered how personal branding might apply to you as a full time employee with a boss, this is the episode for you!

Even though we’re talking about law firms and new lawyers, all of the advice is translatable to other career paths.

For more, check out the full episode below.

Show Notes

Answering all of your intellectual property questions with Nichole Hayden, law firm partner: https://shontavia.com/episode23/

Where to find Nichole Hayden: https://www.nelsonmullins.com/people/nichole-hayden?#overview

Show Highlights

01:54 Listener Rachel asks her question about creating a “brand” inside her law firm as a new employee

02:49 Why Nichole thinks first impressions are the most important thing when you’re a new employee/law firm associate

05:04 Why being dependable is one of the best things a new employee/law firm associate can do

05:57 Nichole’s advice on what to do when you make mistakes

07:11 How to make connections with colleagues at a new employer/law firm

08:41 How to create a reputation at work without going to any social functions

10:20 How Nichole navigated motherhood and law firm life

Questions and Action: Building your brand at work

After you’ve had a chance to watch the video, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

Please answer the questions relevant to your current situation:

1. Do you know what your current reputation is at work? If not, do you have a trusted colleague you can ask?

2. How do you currently build connections with your colleagues? Are there things you can do at work and/or outside of work to foster better connections?

Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want.

Check out the show notes at the end of this page for a few resources from this episode.

Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.

I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with creators, entrepreneurs and innovators like yourself.

Let’s continue to make it happen,

Episode 24: How to build a brand internally at work (especially at a law firm) (transcript)

Shontavia Johnson (00:04):

What’s up everybody. I’m Shontavia Johnson and this is another episode of The Shontavia Show, where I want to inspire you to build a brand, business and life that you love. It’s Thursday ya’ll and you know what I like to do on Thursday. I’d love to hear from you with questions about building your personal brand and reputation, starting businesses or figuring out how to connect all of your expertise to the work that you want to do now or in the future.

Shontavia Johnson (00:31):

If you have a question that you’d like to hear from me about, reach out to me askshontavia@gmail.com — that’s askshontavia@gmail.com. So I’m excited to have Nichole Hayden here with me today. I got an awesome question from a new lawyer, a lawyer who’s just starting at a law firm and she has a question about being in the firm, and I thought since Nichole was here with me interviewing for a different episode that we could spend a little time answering this question together. Nichole Hayden is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough where she practices intellectual property law. Nichole and I worked at the same law firm about how many years?

Nichole Hayden (01:20):

How many years? At least 10. I don’t know…

Shontavia Johnson (01:22):

10 or 15 some years ago. I used to look at Nichole and think, wow, she’s a phenomenal lawyer and here I am struggling my way through. So I’m excited that she’s here to hell answer this question because I don’t know that I was that great of a new associate but Nichole was, you are phenomenal example.

Nichole Hayden (01:40):

Thank you. You are being too hard on yourself.

Shontavia Johnson (01:44):

Well anyway, we’re going to answer, well Nichole is going to help me answer this question because this is advice I probably could have used back 10 or 15 years ago, whatever it was.

Shontavia Johnson (01:54):

Alright, so good afternoon. I hope my email finds you well. I’ve been following you on social media and subscribe to The Shontavia Show on iTunes and I thought I would reach out. It is so good to listen to and I get such great advice. I just joined a bigger law firm in the Midwest working in the IP field, mostly patent prosecution. I was just wondering, two questions. Number one, how important is it to build a brand or a reputation as an associate? And then number two, how to go about doing that and standing out in a law firm setting. Thank you so much. And I don’t know if this person wants me to use her name or not, so I’ll give her a fake name. Rachel. So let’s talk to Rachel about being a new lawyer and a new firm. And obviously this will translate to lots of different industries, but what do you think about that building a reputation as a new associate?

Nichole Hayden (02:49):

So important. There’s, I mean there’s nothing more important for your career. And I think first impressions mean a lot, and I don’t mean the first time you meet somebody, but the first part of your career can set the tone for your career. And so I think…

Shontavia Johnson (03:04):

What do you think that is? Can you explore that a little? Why do you think that impression sets the tone for your career?

Nichole Hayden (03:09):

I do. I just think it’s human nature a little bit. I think when somebody has a really good experience with you right from the outset, they’re willing to invest in you and they’re willing to continue to bring you up with them. And on the same tone, if they, you know, have a bad experience with you, they, they may not be willing to invest as much time. So I think from a progression standpoint it’s important. I also think from a longterm standpoint, marketing, like you want to have your colleagues, you know, we were colleagues and look at how many times our paths have crossed in the interim. So you want your colleagues to have a good impression of you right from the start because you don’t know where they’re going to end up in life. And those colleagues may present opportunities like this where you’re interviewing for a podcast or they may become your clients. You just don’t know. You never really know.

Shontavia Johnson (04:00):

No, I love that point. And that’s why I want it to stop there because the world is so small in the legal community. I mean, I don’t care how many lawyers there are in America. It feels like within three steps I could probably connect with just about anybody. So even like with Nichole, Nichole and I started working, well, I started working at the same firm as Nichole when I was a new associate and she was the graduate of a law school that two years later I would be interviewing for a job at, and ended up getting that job in part because of your recommendation. So thank you, 15 years later for that. And it just really, you just never know. You don’t know when paths will cross. I’ve been all around the country and frankly the planet and there’s always some random connection that gets me. So it is important to start as a new associate in a firm or a new employee, wherever, building that brand and building that reputation.

Nichole Hayden (04:58):

Right, right.

Shontavia Johnson (04:59):

So how do you suggest Rachel do this in a law firm environment? What can she do?

Nichole Hayden (05:04):

Yeah, I think I think you want to be the one that’s dependable, right? The one that you’re going to do, you’re going to create the work product that is, you know, good work product, but you’re going to deliver it on time. You’re going to be consistent, you’re going to, you’re going to be available. But I’m not saying like sacrifice your personal life for availability, but, but you’re going to be able to be the dependable one. And that’s what, you know as a partner now I look for is somebody that can turn something in on time that’s going to do a good job substantively, and that I can depend on not only to do the work, but also to take visiting, to visit a client and put in front of a client, to have a conversation with a client that’s professional and appropriate and that sort of thing.

Shontavia Johnson (05:49):

So, so can I ask you a couple of things about that? So you mentioned being dependable, turning things in on time. What happens if you get yourself in a position where maybe you can’t turn something in on time or where you do make a mistake or two? How can a new person in a firm or wherever, but in particularly a firm for Rachel here, what can she do or what should young associates do in that instance? Be honest, up front kind of thing.

Nichole Hayden (06:18):

Communication–Cannot underemphasize communication. The worst is to have a deadline and then not hear from that associate and that deadline comes and goes. If you’re not going to make the deadline, communicate, communicate why, what’s going on. This is taking longer than it should have. I ran into an issue that I didn’t realize was going to be there. It’s understandable like you know, the deadlines in some cases are meldable, you know? So it’s understandable sometimes if you’re not going to meet a deadline, but communicate, just communicate. It’s easy,

Shontavia Johnson (06:52):

Especially with IP and patent prosecution because you live and die by the deadline, right? So it’s important to hear from a person about those things. Other suggestions? When you’re a new associate, how you can start to build the right kind of reputation or stand out.

Nichole Hayden (07:11):

For, for longterm I say, you know, make connections with your colleagues, with not just your colleagues in your law firm with some, you know, if, if you’ve got minority groups you can get involved with women’s groups you can get involved with any sort of practice group groups that you can get involved with, you know, IP lawyers or maybe just a certain technology group that you know, that is focused on tech women in technology or something along those lines. Those are the people that when you make those connections, they’re going to spread out all over the world and that’s, and that’s going to be and stick with it. Right? Stick with those connections. Follow up with people every once in awhile. Keep in touch with your college friends, keep in touch with your law school friends, those connections last forever.

Shontavia Johnson (08:00):

Very smart, I needed that advice.

Nichole Hayden (08:05):

Hard advice because that takes a lot of time too.

Shontavia Johnson (08:07):

It is, and social media kind of makes you feel like, Oh I don’t need to do that. But you do. It is really quite important. How can new associates network within a firm? Like do you go around and knock on everybody’s door and introduce yourself? Do you go to all the networking opportunities outside of work? You mentioned like not sacrificing your personal life, but law firms are notorious for asking you sometimes to sacrifice your personal life. So how do you balance the “do really good work” versus the building relationships with your colleagues internally?

Nichole Hayden (08:41):

Yeah, and I think some of that is based on the type of work that you do. I mean, you can build a reputation based on your work product without ever going to a social event. And that works for some people. For other people going to those social events is where they build their reputation. And that works for some people as well. I mean, if you can balance them both, then great. But there are a lot of lawyers that are really good on the marketing end and they focus on the marketing end and, and that’s sort of their, they draw the work in and find other people to do the work. And that works in a certain model. You know, and it completely depends on your personal situation. I think I was very traditional, went to law school right after college. You know, early in my career I had the time to do all of those social things, right? I had the, I had the time to go to every charity event and to sit at every table that the firm sponsored and that sort of thing. Now it’s a little bit more difficult because of you know, kids and life and sports and all of that stuff. So I think accepting that your, your career path is going to kind of move in waves. At least for me it has. And I think for a lot of women it does. You’re not necessarily always going to be on a straight upward trajectory, but as long as you’re sort of continuing on the path and understanding that that path is going to be variable.

Shontavia Johnson (10:01):

No, I love it. All right, so if you are comfortable answering this question, so you mentioned your trajectory looking, I’m doing this for the podcast listeners, I’m moving my hands up and down. What was your trajectory, what did your path look like and how did you keep a great brand and reputation doing that?

Nichole Hayden (10:20):

Right. So when I had my first child, I was in my fourth year, I think. And at that point in time I took a step back and went to 85%. My law firm allowed us to do certain percentages. And so I was basically still working full time. I was still doing, you know, close to 40 hours a week, but I didn’t have to do nights and weekends and I got to do the home stuff that I wanted to do and have time for exercise and personal life and that sort of thing. And then when I went in-house, I was back to full time, so I was back on another because I felt like that was a whole, like there was no option to do a reduced schedule. When you’re in house, you’re in or you’re out

Shontavia Johnson (11:05):

In house at a tech startup.

Nichole Hayden (11:07):

Yeah. Right. And so but it was so exciting and it was so fun and it was, it was so different and I was getting so many new challenges thrown at me. And so that was sort of like a little bit of an uphill. And then when I came out of that, I came back into the law firm and I went even more reduced than I was before. So I went down to 75% and I kind of stayed at 75% and then just made partner this year. So it’s, it’s a lot of up and down, but you just kind of have to go with what works for you and your family. And you know, this whole work life balance concept is it’s difficult to figure out. It’s difficult to achieve, but I think some of it is just being able to turn off when it’s time to turn off, right. Mentally. Like at the end of the day, whatever that end of the day is, whether that’s five o’clock or three o’clock or eight o’clock, being able to actually turn off and focus on the people around you, the people that you’re supposed to be with at that point in time. Yeah. I think that’s just part of the important part. Yeah.

Shontavia Johnson (12:07):

Great advice. But you maintain that good reputation even by doing good work.

Nichole Hayden (12:15):

As long as you’re engaged, as long as you’re, you know, present and there and available for, you know, and, I’m pretty good about being available during the hours I’m available, but people also know that there are certain hours that I’m not available and and, and they sort of accept that and I’ll get back to them as soon as I can, but not at the sacrifice of…

Shontavia Johnson (12:35):

Everything else.

Nichole Hayden (12:36):

Yeah.

Shontavia Johnson (12:37):

So do you think that’s ever hurt you, the not being available at midnight or 2:00 AM or whatever, has that ever had a negative impact on your work or your career trajectory?

Nichole Hayden (12:50):

I am sure that it has on a micro level, but not on a level that I felt. So I am sure that there are some people that maybe wouldn’t want to work with me because I’m not available at nine o’clock at night. And that’s okay because there are a lot of people that do, so. Yeah.

Shontavia Johnson (13:08):

And do you want to always be available at nine o’clock?

Nichole Hayden (13:11):

I don’t right now.

Shontavia Johnson (13:13):

I also think that’s good advice for a young woman starting in a mid sized or bigger law firm, because the brand that you create is the, I mean that is what you’ll have to maintain, rght? And so if you’re available at 2:00 AM then you consistently probably will be available at 2:00 AM. And that’s not a sustainable model for a lot of people.

Nichole Hayden (13:36):

And it’s difficult to change that. Once you’ve created that situation it’s difficult to step back and say, Hey, I’m no longer going to be available at 2:00 AM when you’ve been available at 2:00 AM for the last two years.

Shontavia Johnson (13:47):

So do you have any other advice for like a new associate just starting in a mid size to larger firm? Are there other things this person should be doing or could be doing, going out and seeking work or, or any other things, as this person is figuring out how to build a brand internally, how to create the right reputation?

Nichole Hayden (14:07):

You know, there may be things market-based, you know, she said she’s in the Midwest, so I don’t know if she’s in a big town or a small town or a big city or what the case may be or if it’s even a woman. I don’t even know that. Well you did say her name was Rachel.

Shontavia Johnson (14:22):

She is a woman but her name is a fake name.

Nichole Hayden (14:26):

So I think it depends on the size of the market. So if you’re in a really big market getting out and like going knocking on doors to get business at, at that stage of your career is probably not going to happen.

Speaker 1 (14:39):

I think you, you got to look at the 10 year plan, not the two year plan when you’re starting out and building those relationships with your contemporaries that are going to eventually be the decision makers is the important part.

Shontavia Johnson (14:52):

Oh, building relationships with your contemporaries who will ultimately be the decision makers. That is great advice. Thank you for that, Nichole. That is a good note to end on. Unless you had other insights you wanted to share. Alright you guys, thank you so much for listening. I hope, Rachel, that this advice, this advice helped you and resonated with you as you start your career at your law firm. For everybody else, I hope you can take some of these lessons and translate them into whatever field, industry or place you are in. If you have additional comments or questions, if you agree or disagree, please reach out to me. It askshontavia@gmail.com I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much. Alright.

#23: Answering all of your intellectual property questions with Nichole Hayden, law firm partner

2 comments

When it comes to starting a business, intellectual property (typically patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets) can seem like an expensive thing to be taken care of *later.*

There are so many steps, process, discussions, and emails that need to happen that it’s easy to put all of that kind of stuff on the back burner.

While there are some very good reasons to spend your time, energy and money elsewhere, I wanted to do an episode that explains what you should and shouldn’t do, and when, with someone who breathes intellectual property day in and day out.

I found that someone in Nichole Biglin Hayden, a registered patent attorney and law firm partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, one of the largest law firms in the United States with more than 800 lawyers.

In addition to her work at Nelson Mullins, Nichole spent several years as general counsel for a software startup company.

Nichole is AMAZING and I loved our conversation.

Intellectual property law is really complicated, but she breaks down many of answers to FAQs in a way that people can understand.

We had a wide-ranging conversation about everything from how to find an IP lawyer, to how long the application processes take (and how much they cost!), and how to be a good client.

If you’re an inventor, content creator, or entrepreneur, this episode is definitely for you.

Check out the full episode below.

Show Notes

Where to find Nichole Hayden: https://www.nelsonmullins.com/people/nichole-hayden?#overview

For Women: Finding a Patent Lawyer: https://shontavia.com/for-women-on-being-an-inventor-finding-a-patent-lawyer/

How to find a good intellectual property lawyer on a budget: https://shontavia.com/how-to-find-a-good-intellectual-property-lawyer-on-a-budget/

The Difference Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents: https://www.nytimes.com/article/copyrights-trademarks-patents.html

Show Highlights

08:25 How long it takes to get a registered trademark or patent

09:30 What inventors should do before reaching out to a patent lawyer

10:56 When inventors should reach out to a patent lawyer

12:00 How much it costs to file a patent application

13:09 How a provisional patent application can help you save money up front

15:30 How trade secrets can save you money and protect your invention

18:15 When you should contact a lawyer if you want to protect your trademark (it’s earlier than you think!)

22:13 How much it costs to file a trademark or copyright application

23:36 Why Nichole thinks you need to always have an initial conversation with an IP lawyer

24:27 Why choosing a good IP lawyer can save you now AND years down the line

28:14 How startups can decide when to hire an in-house lawyer versus working with one on a contract basis

30:13 Why creating a software- or app-based company is harder now than its ever been

35:28 How IP lawyers decide whether you’re a good client

37:43 What you should do once you finally get that registered trademark, copyright or patent

Questions and Action: Get your intellectual property action plan together

After you’ve had a chance to watch the video, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

Please answer the questions relevant to your current situation:

1. Are you creating content, building a brand, or inventing things? If so, are you documenting dates and collaborators/co-inventors?

2. Have you created, invented or branded something that, if a third party copied, would be harmful to your business? As a starting point, you could create a list of those things– this is the starting point of your intellectual property portfolio.

3. If you need to consult with an intellectual property lawyer, create a budget of what you can actually spend and share that upfront.

Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want.

Check out the show notes at the end of this page for a few resources from this episode.

Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.

I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with creators, entrepreneurs and innovators like yourself.

Let’s continue to make it happen,