855: QUESTIONS that lead to the right business answers w/ Dennis Duitch

WEBVTT

00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:01.203
Hey, what is up?

00:00:01.203 --> 00:00:04.610
Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:00:04.610 --> 00:00:27.106
As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and I'll tell you what today's guest is someone who I've been so excited to chat with, because this is someone who has had an incredible career, not only helping other companies grow, but growing his own enterprises and making a big difference in the lives of so many high performers, so many professionals and leaders and also so many businesses.

00:00:27.106 --> 00:00:38.167
Because this is somebody that, if there's a gap between where you are and where you want to be, this is someone who not only knows the right questions to ask, but knows how to help you find those right answers.

00:00:38.167 --> 00:00:40.280
So let me tell you all about today's guest.

00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:41.844
His name is Dennis Deutsch.

00:00:42.125 --> 00:00:54.127
Dennis has a background in accounting, in audit, tax, infrastructure and marketing and as a business manager to Los Angeles entertainment industries, such as directors, actors, agencies, musicians.

00:00:54.127 --> 00:01:03.447
You know as well, if you've been listening to the show for a long time, that, as someone who lived in Los Angeles, I know what it takes to succeed in the entertainment industry from afar.

00:01:03.447 --> 00:01:17.021
So, seeing Dennis do that, he's got so many lessons and stories and experiences and perspectives to share with us here today, after serving in three offices of a national CPA firm spanning from Chicago to San Francisco to Beverly Hills.

00:01:17.021 --> 00:01:28.466
Dennis founded his own CPA in business management practice, which grew to become one of California's largest independent firms and subsequently acquired by a public company.

00:01:28.466 --> 00:01:41.368
He now serves primarily as a guidance counselors to entrepreneurs launching new and emerging businesses, c-level leadership of successful or troubled companies, as well as high income, high wealth, celebrities, individuals and families.

00:01:41.368 --> 00:01:49.147
He also serves as a director on advisory boards for not-for-profit organizations and professional service firms nationwide.

00:01:49.408 --> 00:01:53.025
He's been dubbed I love this explanation of the work that Dennis does.

00:01:53.025 --> 00:01:57.808
He's essentially a business therapist that knows how to take you to where you want to go.

00:01:57.808 --> 00:01:59.034
So I'm excited about this.

00:01:59.034 --> 00:02:00.581
I'm not going to say anything else.

00:02:00.581 --> 00:02:12.762
Let's dive straight into my interview with Dennis Deutsch All right, dennis.

00:02:12.782 --> 00:02:14.503
I'm so excited that you're here with us today.

00:02:14.503 --> 00:02:15.144
Welcome to the show.

00:02:15.144 --> 00:02:15.965
Thanks, brian, my pleasure.

00:02:15.965 --> 00:02:22.893
I've watched your show, many of your clips and I learned from them, and so it's my pleasure to give something back if it's useful to your clients.

00:02:23.193 --> 00:02:24.974
Heck, yeah, I so appreciate that, dennis.

00:02:24.974 --> 00:02:26.556
Honestly, that means the world to us.

00:02:26.556 --> 00:02:38.740
We obviously love the fact that we get to create so much content for entrepreneurs and, yes, all of you entrepreneurs all around the world but, dennis, it's because of amazing entrepreneurs like you, who are so generous and transparent with your knowledge and experiences.

00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:41.889
So let's kick things off by taking us beyond the bio.

00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:46.545
You obviously have accomplished so much in your career and life and you continue to help others.

00:02:46.545 --> 00:02:48.955
Talk to us about who the heck is, dennis.

00:02:48.955 --> 00:02:50.762
How did you start doing all these cool things?

00:02:52.627 --> 00:02:59.884
Well, I started off as a practicing CPA in a big office and I moved around a few times and I ended up with.

00:02:59.884 --> 00:03:00.747
Business.

00:03:00.747 --> 00:03:19.811
Management is an expression which is used in Los Angeles, in New York, in particular Nashville, for helping people who have a lot of issues, a lot of money, and they're very clear on their goals and what they want to do in life when they grow up, but they really don't know how to get there.

00:03:19.811 --> 00:03:29.627
So, depending on the professionals that they deal with, they either learn A or B or C or D, one thing at a time, and often it turns into conflict.

00:03:29.627 --> 00:03:34.192
So what I opted to do was to cover all those areas.

00:03:36.561 --> 00:03:37.899
I'm a guidance counselor.

00:03:37.899 --> 00:03:43.432
My tagline in my website, one of them is that I'm a business therapist.

00:03:43.432 --> 00:03:47.365
I sit with people and help them figure out what do you want to be when you grow up?

00:03:47.365 --> 00:03:49.650
What's your goal?

00:03:49.650 --> 00:03:50.752
What does it look like?

00:03:50.752 --> 00:04:00.140
Is there not just clarity, but is there consensus with the other people that you're working with to get there, whether it's your business team or whether it's your one partner or whether it's a spouse?

00:04:00.140 --> 00:04:12.087
And then, if there's clarity in those goals, I can help people determine what are the mechanisms to reach those goals and those are called objectives.

00:04:12.087 --> 00:04:26.189
I teach business school and we break them down into first your goals, then your objectives and then, and only then, the actual tactics that it'll take to get there.

00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:45.774
Yeah, I love that overview for so many reasons, dennis, first of which is that I love that you called out in the entertainment industry you said it very succinctly there's a lot of people with a lot of money and a lot of problems and obviously a lot of times we think, as especially beginner entrepreneurs, that when we have more money we're not going to have problems, they're all going to resolve themselves.

00:04:45.774 --> 00:04:47.137
But of course that isn't the case.

00:04:47.137 --> 00:04:50.345
Of course we have problems at all different stages in business.

00:04:50.345 --> 00:05:04.774
Talk to us about some of those common business problems and I'm curious, because you've worked with businesses of all different sizes and industries and shapes With that perspective and with your vantage point do those problems change over time?

00:05:04.774 --> 00:05:06.624
Does the nature of them change?

00:05:06.744 --> 00:05:35.488
I'd love to hear your insights into the types of problems that we're all facing in business that are clear, because without those, what happens is uh people go off in directions any direction, what what presents itself, and very often uh spend a lot of time and energy in arenas that that don't support the goals the um in in.

00:05:35.488 --> 00:05:49.685
Probably the biggest single problem uh is probably the fact that most business men and women uh surround themselves with people who end up being what's called yes men or yes women.

00:05:49.685 --> 00:05:52.673
They tell them, they nod, and they tell them what they want to hear.

00:05:52.673 --> 00:06:05.134
They really don't have the big perspective, partly because it hasn't been shared that's another issue but they don't get honest appraisals as to the risks that go along with the decisions that they're making.

00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:15.201
I have one client that calls me Dr D, but the D stands for devil, because I'm the one that brings up.

00:06:15.201 --> 00:06:16.785
I'm a devil's advocate.

00:06:16.785 --> 00:06:36.302
I bring up the issues and the problems and the risks that they haven't heard and really don't want to hear, but need to if they're going to try to optimize their purpose, which ranges from productivity to profitability, to stability and valuation.

00:06:36.302 --> 00:06:54.658
As a mediator, I deal with everything from two partners who had a dispute over the business to people who have disputes over money or products, to men and women who are involved in mediation of.

00:06:54.658 --> 00:06:58.367
I need to mediate their prenuptial agreements or their divorce settlements.

00:06:58.367 --> 00:07:11.350
The point is they can't talk to each other because they oftentimes don't let the full sentence be heard, but also because they're not clear enough on their own priorities.

00:07:12.072 --> 00:07:19.762
Yeah, I love how many of your answers, even already this early on in the conversation, keep coming back to that step one of you got to set those objectives.

00:07:19.762 --> 00:07:22.531
You have to have clarity on what direction it is that you're going in.

00:07:22.531 --> 00:07:24.262
Dennis, that's probably.

00:07:24.262 --> 00:07:24.723
It's funny.

00:07:24.723 --> 00:07:25.706
We're talking about problems here.

00:07:25.706 --> 00:07:45.560
It's probably the biggest and first problem that a lot of people really struggle with is to even know where am I going and where do I want to go For listeners, obviously, we've all heard so many different facets of business advice, like having a business plan, maybe one, three, five, 10 years looking outward, or have a North Star as far as your values and your mission go.

00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:46.944
What's your take on it?

00:07:46.944 --> 00:07:49.971
How do we start even setting that direction that we all want to move in?

00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:55.346
Well, defining a goal is a start point.

00:07:55.346 --> 00:07:58.593
For example, people say, well, I want to retire.

00:07:58.593 --> 00:07:59.862
Well, what does that mean?

00:07:59.862 --> 00:08:03.591
Well, I want to not have to work so much, and so forth and so on.

00:08:03.591 --> 00:08:04.362
Well, is your time span?

00:08:04.362 --> 00:08:05.105
A year, five years, 10 years?

00:08:05.105 --> 00:08:05.466
What do you think?

00:08:05.466 --> 00:08:06.752
Well, I want to not have to work so much, and so forth and so on.

00:08:06.752 --> 00:08:07.213
Well, is your time span?

00:08:07.213 --> 00:08:08.077
A year, five years, 10 years?

00:08:08.077 --> 00:08:08.480
What do you think?

00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:09.786
Well, I really haven't thought about it.

00:08:09.786 --> 00:08:11.084
Well, let's think about it.

00:08:11.144 --> 00:08:11.827
That's the point.

00:08:11.827 --> 00:08:23.536
It's pinning down a clear, objective goal here, so that we can then put the pieces of the puzzle in place, again called objectives, which will help reach that.

00:08:23.536 --> 00:08:30.343
Again called objectives which will help reach that.

00:08:30.343 --> 00:08:40.246
And equally important is to avoid decisions that and steps and direction that is not only may not be productive in getting there, but may be contrary and may slow down and even defeat the purpose.

00:08:40.246 --> 00:08:53.110
As an educator, I've taught graduate students in business school, but I've also taught sixth graders for five years, a few mornings a week.

00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:54.614
It's the same situation.

00:08:54.614 --> 00:08:57.293
It's people without clarity as to what they want to achieve.

00:08:57.293 --> 00:09:08.669
Obviously, there's a difference in the thinking process of an 11 or 12-year-old versus a person who says they want to get out of the business they're in, or they want to get out of business entirely.

00:09:09.373 --> 00:09:10.759
I want to have enough money to live on.

00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:11.360
Well, what does it?

00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:12.383
You know, to retire on?

00:09:12.383 --> 00:09:13.625
Well, what does that mean?

00:09:13.625 --> 00:09:15.849
And, uh, and for what purpose?

00:09:15.849 --> 00:09:19.942
Um, usually I get involved at this point.

00:09:19.942 --> 00:09:26.794
My, my cpa practice was acquired by a public company, so I was able to keep the consultancy division.

00:09:26.794 --> 00:09:32.812
But usually what happens is people come to me, they're referred to me because they've run into an obstacle.

00:09:32.812 --> 00:09:36.308
They just say, gee, I'm not getting to where I want to be.

00:09:36.308 --> 00:09:37.230
Well, where did you want to be?

00:09:37.230 --> 00:09:40.570
Well, I thought I'd have enough money without worrying about blah, blah, blah.

00:09:40.570 --> 00:09:42.703
But it's much deeper than that.

00:09:42.703 --> 00:10:09.416
So, again, I my role is to help them figure out, using my own skills in, in not just accounting and finance, but in decades of dealing with businesses of all types and people of all types as to what they're really trying to achieve and what they're trying to avoid, which is quite relevant, uh, but, um, it's form of, well, as you mentioned, a business therapy.

00:10:09.416 --> 00:10:10.803
I'm a business analyst.

00:10:11.326 --> 00:10:16.284
Yeah, I'm going to tag on to that because I'm sure that part of your role as a business therapist is also.

00:10:16.284 --> 00:10:23.947
It must bleed sometimes into a personal therapist, because now you're talking about what people want and where they want to go, and clarity.

00:10:23.947 --> 00:10:27.033
These are all very big topics that are hard to get right for people.

00:10:27.033 --> 00:10:31.892
It requires a level of intentionality to sit down and self-reflection to get there.

00:10:31.892 --> 00:10:35.570
Dennis, what's your approach when people either say, well, I don't know what I want?

00:10:35.570 --> 00:10:37.879
Obviously you guide them down that line of questioning.

00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:44.827
But I guess my bigger question to you is in a world where things are so fluid, and especially in business, things are always changing.

00:10:44.827 --> 00:10:50.722
Look at 2020.

00:10:50.722 --> 00:10:51.645
None of us expected COVID to happen.

00:10:51.645 --> 00:10:53.130
That threw a lot of wrenches into so many of our plans and objectives.

00:10:53.130 --> 00:10:59.830
With that in mind, how do you balance having that North Star, that direction we want to go in, with the real life fluidity of business?

00:10:59.830 --> 00:11:02.380
You talk about some of the life things we all face along the way.

00:11:02.380 --> 00:11:03.660
How do you balance that?

00:11:05.721 --> 00:11:05.902
Well.

00:11:05.942 --> 00:11:19.388
I think the key is that the key, if there is a key, is reality check, and most people but neither have an awareness of what reality is, and I try to help them understand that.

00:11:19.388 --> 00:11:29.371
But secondly, how important that is because it's much easier for people to dream and to say well, here's what I'd like to have happen, here's how I picture it.

00:11:29.371 --> 00:11:33.253
Great, we've got a picture of the future, but it's just unrealistic.

00:11:33.253 --> 00:11:42.937
Well, in five years, I'd like to own a house in the mountains and have a yacht that'll take me to some island that I also own.

00:11:42.937 --> 00:11:45.597
Well, ok, let's work backwards.

00:11:45.597 --> 00:11:58.451
In order to do that, we'd probably have to have financing of something which is unrealistic for where you are today, unless you have a secret rich uncle who's going to leave you mega millions.

00:11:58.451 --> 00:11:59.773
Point is I'm.

00:11:59.773 --> 00:12:04.669
I'm continually, continually bringing people back to reality.

00:12:04.669 --> 00:12:12.831
Let's deal with what you want, but let's deal with the logical and sensible and realistic potential to achieve it.

00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:22.548
Yeah, I love that fact, especially because you are speaking to us not only as a business therapist and as a fellow entrepreneur, but also with your past CPA.

00:12:22.548 --> 00:12:23.421
Hat on, is that?

00:12:23.421 --> 00:12:24.726
What does a CPA do?

00:12:24.726 --> 00:12:26.301
You only look at the facts.

00:12:26.301 --> 00:12:28.287
Here are the financial statements in front of me.

00:12:28.287 --> 00:12:30.172
This is the reality of that situation.

00:12:30.172 --> 00:12:31.282
How much?

00:12:31.282 --> 00:12:38.427
Because I would imagine that your work you've already talked about how it has to do with both business but also the reality of life situations.

00:12:38.427 --> 00:12:40.552
I'm picturing actors and musicians.

00:12:40.552 --> 00:12:46.424
Gosh, there's probably so much life stuff that factors into their ability to perform and show up continuously.

00:12:46.424 --> 00:12:49.034
How much of that reality check focuses on?

00:12:49.034 --> 00:12:50.419
Here's the financial situation.

00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:55.572
But what are those other ingredients that you focus on to paint that picture of what reality is?

00:12:57.280 --> 00:13:02.072
Well, like anything, anything in life, it's about how you allocate your time.

00:13:02.072 --> 00:13:06.330
So, people, yes, I deal with the entertainment industry.

00:13:06.330 --> 00:13:07.926
I also am a musician.

00:13:07.926 --> 00:13:11.509
I actually still play in a couple of classic rock and roll bands.

00:13:11.509 --> 00:13:25.236
I am an artist, a sculptor, and so that for people who are doing that solely, that is their focus and only their focus.

00:13:25.236 --> 00:13:31.587
So then they say, well, I'd also like to have these.

00:13:32.028 --> 00:13:36.174
Picture of my life also needs to include owning a business.

00:13:36.174 --> 00:13:39.327
I've had people who said well, I've always wanted to own a restaurant.

00:13:39.327 --> 00:13:41.480
Why would you want to own a restaurant?

00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:44.346
Well, because I have ideas about this, this and this and this.

00:13:44.346 --> 00:13:47.071
I said, well, have you ever worked in a restaurant?

00:13:47.071 --> 00:13:48.452
Do you know anybody who has?

00:13:48.452 --> 00:13:48.953
And so forth.

00:13:48.953 --> 00:13:49.743
Well, no, not really.

00:13:49.743 --> 00:13:57.551
But I said, are you aware that the owners of restaurants often are the people who are the last ones to leave at night, for a variety of reasons that I can go through.

00:13:57.551 --> 00:14:09.748
Anyway, to get them to grasp the common sense that goes along with a reality check, the common sense that goes along with a reality check they don't.

00:14:09.748 --> 00:14:11.192
They haven't even given thought to it.

00:14:11.192 --> 00:14:12.496
So I'm bringing up more questions than I have answers.

00:14:12.518 --> 00:14:30.293
In the practice, I'm a mediator and in mediation, the way I do it is it's called informal mediation only with the principals, not with their attorneys, not with their mother-in-laws, et cetera, et cetera, and I'm the one who asks the questions and to get them to answer and talk to each other.

00:14:31.115 --> 00:14:36.421
And those are the steps that very seldom get taken when people are in conflict, but they also happen in business.

00:14:36.421 --> 00:14:48.471
The owners of businesses, the directors, the city executives, have a tendency to do what they think they should be doing without genuine consultation with the people who work around them, their team.

00:14:48.471 --> 00:14:58.038
And so, unless the team I mentioned before, unless the team is working in consensus together, what happens is at fort positive.

00:14:58.038 --> 00:15:02.635
What happens is it never reaches optimization, it never gets to the potential it could.

00:15:02.635 --> 00:15:08.246
But what also can happen is chaos and, in some cases, disaster.

00:15:08.246 --> 00:15:09.229
You mentioned the pandemic.

00:15:09.229 --> 00:15:24.931
There are people that had issues that came up they had never even thought of before, not just the cash flow, whether they could get the products on the shelf, or whether they could get the time to get people together who couldn't commute, get between cities, and so forth.

00:15:25.455 --> 00:15:39.729
Anyway, so I am a question answer more than a problem solver yeah, I love that distinction that you just painted for us, and especially because you also layered it with that example from the restaurant industry.

00:15:39.729 --> 00:15:42.778
As someone who has family in the restaurant industry, you are spot on.

00:15:42.778 --> 00:15:43.780
Can they make good money?

00:15:43.780 --> 00:15:45.104
Yes, do they make good money?

00:15:45.104 --> 00:15:47.957
Yes, but are they also the same ones who have missed the most?

00:15:47.957 --> 00:15:49.842
Family events, weddings, all of those things?

00:15:49.842 --> 00:15:53.143
Absolutely, and and these are things that people don't think about.

00:15:53.244 --> 00:15:58.158
And so I think that you have a unique advantage because you've been at the various stages of business.

00:15:58.158 --> 00:15:59.019
You've been at the beginning.

00:15:59.019 --> 00:16:00.240
You've also been at the end.

00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.504
You've had your, your CPA practice acquired, for example.

00:16:03.504 --> 00:16:04.605
How much of that?

00:16:04.605 --> 00:16:15.576
Because so much of our conversation today is focused on the reality of the present, but also that future planning happening.

00:16:15.576 --> 00:16:18.081
Where, along the way, dennis, for you personally, did you say you know what I would like to one day get acquired?

00:16:18.081 --> 00:16:23.571
This is my exit strategy, because we're all in the midst of the day-to-day, trying to figure out how we're going to get from today to tomorrow.

00:16:23.571 --> 00:16:26.700
But you've looked way beyond that and you've lived beyond that.

00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:30.914
Talk to us about how early on that exit strategy comes to mind.

00:16:32.495 --> 00:16:37.938
Well, um, as I mentioned, I think I I was moved around by the firm that I was with.

00:16:38.119 --> 00:16:56.067
I ended up in Los Angeles, which is wonderful, but after leaving them and started founding my own firm, it became a situation where I was spending more time each day in arenas that I preferred not to, in arenas that I prefer not to.

00:16:56.087 --> 00:16:58.729
My life is balanced and I've always tried to do that.

00:16:58.729 --> 00:17:27.048
As I mentioned, I do a lot of other things and other activities, but at some point I said okay, the time that I'm spending in business isn't just the time that I enjoy, which is counseling clients and helping them reach their life objectives, but I also had well, it grew to about 80 employees and out of that group, a great number required for lack of a better word babysitting.

00:17:27.048 --> 00:17:40.686
So I was spending my day helping them focus in order to get the work done for the clients that we had, and I said this is not what I want to do forever and let's pick a timeline and then let's work towards that.

00:17:40.686 --> 00:18:03.367
So, positioning my own company, my own firm, for a space, a position that was attractive to an acquirer, that's what I do for other people help them position so that they can reach their goals by some reasonable timeframe and with a realistic result.

00:18:04.089 --> 00:18:09.864
Yeah, I really appreciate those insights, because nothing happens by mistake in life or in business.

00:18:09.864 --> 00:18:22.421
And that shows that level of intentionality is that you took inventory of your own life which I want to talk about your life in just a second but you took inventory of your own life and what you enjoyed to do and then you said, hey, this isn't aligned.

00:18:22.421 --> 00:18:23.423
I want to make a change here.

00:18:23.423 --> 00:18:28.306
Let's set that barrier or let's set that objective and goal and outcome and then let's work towards that.

00:18:28.306 --> 00:18:30.217
And, sure enough, it didn't happen by mistake.

00:18:30.217 --> 00:18:31.358
You made that happen.

00:18:31.358 --> 00:18:37.307
So I love hearing those real life perspectives and I want to bring it back to life, because you talk about living a balanced life.

00:18:37.666 --> 00:18:40.977
Dennis, you do a lot of things, very cool things as well.

00:18:40.977 --> 00:18:42.647
I'm glad that you shouted out that you're a sculptor.

00:18:42.647 --> 00:18:44.778
It's something that I for sure wanted to bring up here today.

00:18:44.778 --> 00:18:48.326
Talk to us about how you manage that, because I like that you pointed out.

00:18:48.326 --> 00:18:49.517
You practice what you preach.

00:18:49.517 --> 00:18:55.367
You do so many things, from teaching to sculpting, to being a musician, to, of course, your actual business.

00:18:55.367 --> 00:18:57.479
Consulting is something you continue to do.

00:18:57.479 --> 00:18:59.644
How do you balance all of that, dennis?

00:19:01.709 --> 00:19:03.855
well, there's no rigid rule.

00:19:03.855 --> 00:19:07.042
It's not like I get up and I mean there are people that are that are running.

00:19:07.042 --> 00:19:12.082
Uh, they go out running three miles every morning at exactly 8 am, that kind of thing.

00:19:12.082 --> 00:19:17.682
So on any given day it's a matter of me feeling like where am I going to be the most effective?

00:19:17.682 --> 00:19:29.027
I think that it's important that people back to reality, check, focus on what they can do, not just what they dream of doing.

00:19:29.027 --> 00:19:48.326
I got into, for example, into sculpting because I used to be a pretty good tennis player but I tore up my arm bad enough that I had to have surgery and I had to have a titanium shoulder, which ended my tennis and my golf and a lot of those kind of sports.

00:19:48.326 --> 00:19:59.483
So I had to do something that I could function on in reality and I said I appreciate art and sculpture and so forth and I said let's try it and see what happens.

00:19:59.483 --> 00:20:03.059
And I was good enough that you might be able to see one of my pieces right behind my desk here.

00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:06.441
It's bronze, it weighs 20 pounds.

00:20:07.377 --> 00:20:30.603
But I figured out a way that I could use the skills that I had left, in this case using my arms and hands, and then it evolved and then I said, well, I could really do something with this, and now I have probably 100 sculptures and it's sold and been sold in the gallery, so but it was reality check.

00:20:30.603 --> 00:20:35.307
I'm back to what I started with in an earlier question and answer.

00:20:36.195 --> 00:20:42.200
Yeah, I do love that perspective and, by the way, I've been staring at that piece our entire conversation here today, wondering if that's yours.

00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:44.501
So I love that you gave me some clarity on that.

00:20:44.501 --> 00:20:45.384
That's very cool.

00:20:45.384 --> 00:20:49.385
And also, speaking of tennis, for example, I totally relate to that.

00:20:49.385 --> 00:20:58.028
I'm so bummed about your shoulder or arm, because it would be so much fun if we could play tennis on the same court one day in Southern California, but it is not to be.

00:20:58.087 --> 00:21:02.948
But I will tell you this that tennis and chess are two things that came into my life at the same time.

00:21:02.948 --> 00:21:05.597
So it was in my late twenties is actually when I moved to Los Angeles.

00:21:05.597 --> 00:21:10.720
A very wise businessman told me now that you live in this city, either pick up tennis or golf.

00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:19.021
It sounds like you picked both tennis, but I definitely stuck with just tennis, and with that in mind, though I supplemented it.

00:21:19.021 --> 00:21:21.001
Chess, I think, is the ultimate mind game.

00:21:21.001 --> 00:21:23.703
I think there's so many similarities between chess and tennis.

00:21:23.703 --> 00:21:42.939
One thing that I love about chess is people always talk about the difference between strategy and tactics, and what I love about your work and your attitude towards business is that you are a strategist at heart, but you also are able to tie those goals and objectives to those tactics that fill in that gap of where we are and where we want to be.

00:21:42.939 --> 00:21:49.116
Talk to us about your strategic mindset and how strategy and tactics play into these.

00:21:51.038 --> 00:21:55.362
Well, that's a good question and, by the way, I'll take you on in chess any day.

00:21:55.362 --> 00:22:04.148
For example, to the extent that people have clients that want to grow their business.

00:22:04.148 --> 00:22:17.284
We try to define what that means, but maybe it means another location, Maybe they're in the retail business, or they're in the marketing business and want to expand to another continent.

00:22:17.284 --> 00:22:26.567
The idea is fine, but positioning I'll come back to that word for it requires a very deliberate process in order to get the financing to do it.

00:22:26.567 --> 00:22:51.906
For example, you need to be in a position to show that your current business is not only excuse me effective and profitable, but that you meaning the owner in this case were able to do forecasting earlier in life and then meet your forecast to come up with the numbers that are now profitable enough, or cash flow enough that you can get the new financing.

00:22:51.906 --> 00:22:56.165
So I'm the one who helps people design.

00:22:56.165 --> 00:22:59.105
For example, let's talk about forecasting.

00:22:59.105 --> 00:23:07.826
What do you think you can do right now, today, without any changes, and can we set targets that we can later say here was our target and we exceeded it?

00:23:07.826 --> 00:23:12.807
Okay, now let's go to a forecast and say well, what if we added things?

00:23:12.807 --> 00:23:14.355
What if we added the financing you want.

00:23:14.355 --> 00:23:17.602
What if we're able to obtain the extra two locations or whatever?

00:23:17.602 --> 00:23:18.443
What would happen then?

00:23:18.443 --> 00:23:20.528
And do another forecast of here's.

00:23:20.695 --> 00:23:33.127
I've proven what I know how to do, which is thinking through intelligently, do a financial picture with, with help from professionals, I and my other people in my firm and meet that, that target.

00:23:33.127 --> 00:23:55.301
So, given that and given where I am today, here's a realistic expectation that I have for going to the next level, which is why I need capital, investors, or why I need bank financing and positioning in order to, when we head that direction, positioning in order to convince the people that we know what we're doing.

00:23:55.301 --> 00:23:56.825
It doing, it's not just some dream G.

00:23:56.825 --> 00:24:04.637
If you gave me a million dollars, I think I could you know, write, write ten books and and become a global seller.

00:24:04.637 --> 00:24:08.479
Is the difference between achievement, is it success?

00:24:08.479 --> 00:24:08.759
Level?

00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:11.090
This is what this is, the remember its goals.

00:24:11.332 --> 00:24:12.779
And then objectives.

00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:22.414
Well, the objective is to be able to get the money that I need when I need, or to find the location, or to convince someone to get let me have this business as opposed to a competitor.

00:24:22.414 --> 00:24:32.515
And then the tactics to reach it are the functional doing planning, setting up, hiring people, the right people in the right positions and so forth.

00:24:32.515 --> 00:24:35.728
It's on an overall basis.

00:24:35.728 --> 00:24:37.172
It's not rocket science.

00:24:37.172 --> 00:24:41.912
What I'm describing are they've been written in various textbooks by all sorts of people.

00:24:41.912 --> 00:24:48.689
I've been teaching it in classes for years and years, and it's a simple concept.

00:24:48.689 --> 00:24:57.434
The application has to do with one's diligence, setting the direction and then staying on top of it and pursuing it.

00:24:58.339 --> 00:24:59.701
Yeah, to that last point, dennis.

00:24:59.701 --> 00:25:00.481
I think this is right now.

00:25:00.481 --> 00:25:19.431
A lot of people want to talk about AI, and it's something we do talk about here on this show, but something that I have felt.

00:25:19.431 --> 00:25:22.750
So I'm in year 16 of my entrepreneurial journey.

00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:24.487
I started my first business when I was 19.

00:25:24.487 --> 00:25:43.125
And the older and more mature that I get as a person and as an entrepreneur, I realize that there's so many lessons to be gleaned, not from the new successes, but from the people who have been in the game for as long as I have or, dennis, tagging onto that, as long as you have, because you've seen the longevity.

00:25:43.205 --> 00:25:46.353
You've seen my word of this year for 2024 is building.

00:25:46.353 --> 00:25:52.653
When I look at buildings now, buildings don't get built to withstand the pressures for a year.

00:25:52.653 --> 00:26:02.684
They are meant to stand for decades or centuries, which is why, as someone who grew up in Boston, I love our historic buildings and, dennis, for you, business is that way as well.

00:26:02.684 --> 00:26:04.068
You're not talking about tech.

00:26:04.068 --> 00:26:07.288
You're talking about business fundamentals and core strategies.

00:26:07.288 --> 00:26:13.663
Talk to us about that mindset and why it is that we're not talking about tech, which can sometimes distract people.

00:26:15.464 --> 00:26:17.507
Well, tech is one means to an end.

00:26:17.507 --> 00:26:20.230
Ai is the newest game in town.

00:26:20.230 --> 00:26:43.546
Frankly, I think it's probably the most critical development to come about, and since the last critical changes in business were brought about by things like the development of GPS Okay, think of before GPS and how people use it today and it's become an integral part of everything that gets done Computers, the very development of technology.

00:26:43.546 --> 00:26:46.432
But AI is going to change many, many things.

00:26:46.432 --> 00:26:56.154
I can tell you this in today's structuring, two factors, which often were overlooked, are coming into play.

00:26:56.154 --> 00:26:58.424
One is what does AI mean to you?

00:26:58.424 --> 00:27:01.392
Assuming you can understand it, you want to invest in it.

00:27:01.392 --> 00:27:05.770
What's it going to do to your basic operation, the people that work for you?

00:27:05.770 --> 00:27:08.104
Are you going to need fewer or more people?

00:27:08.104 --> 00:27:18.262
Are they going to be people that you care about, replacing, people that you care about replacing?

00:27:18.262 --> 00:27:21.151
And the other is that what's all this going to do to your own balance in your personal life?

00:27:21.171 --> 00:27:25.505
Now, beyond the activities, like I'm involved in a handful of things but comes family.

00:27:25.505 --> 00:27:40.214
As a mediator, I get involved in many situations where my job is to help them settle the assets and the property without going to court and having attorneys fighting, communicating as opposed to the individuals communicating.

00:27:40.214 --> 00:27:51.848
But what happens is that when those have happened, it's typically because, not because the business was a problem, it's because their personal relationships, their personal life, became a problem.

00:27:51.848 --> 00:27:58.433
In my own case, personal relationships, their personal life, became a problem.

00:27:58.433 --> 00:28:06.584
In my own case, I've I've been married for 40 years in another month or two and I have four children and I have soon on the ones on the way.

00:28:06.604 --> 00:28:07.506
I'll soon have 11 grandchildren.

00:28:07.506 --> 00:28:07.946
I'm blessed.

00:28:07.946 --> 00:28:12.962
But the point is, uh, if, if the balance in life doesn't include I?

00:28:12.962 --> 00:28:28.662
I don't even mean responsibilities, because that exists too, but I'm talking about the pleasures that one can derive from a life that has nothing to do with business, other than the financing that comes from business that allows it to be led one way or another it can.

00:28:28.662 --> 00:28:42.334
It doesn't matter how successful the business ended up there, whether you met every goal in business, if you lost the goals in the other aspects of life that are often more important.

00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:53.353
Yeah, incredibly important advice and wisdom from you here today, dennis, and I think that it's very clear to me, as someone who gets to interact with you here today, how important family is.

00:28:53.353 --> 00:29:05.361
It's something that keeps coming back to you and I think that it really shows your overall attitude towards life and business is that we're here to live good things across the entire spectrum.

00:29:05.361 --> 00:29:06.664
And again, I keep coming back.

00:29:06.664 --> 00:29:16.691
It seems like we've really found the themes of today's topic, which is that intentionality of these things don't happen by mistake, and it is all about goals and objectives and the reality check.

00:29:16.691 --> 00:29:29.801
So I think it's so poignant that all of your work always comes back to these fundamental ingredients, because it's not only important but I think it's really powerful, because it's things that are actionable for us to set these building blocks in our lives.

00:29:29.862 --> 00:29:35.362
And with that said, I want to selfishly ask you this question as someone who is a millennial.

00:29:35.362 --> 00:29:46.006
I so respect and appreciate the work that you do inside the classroom as well, and I know that people talk a lot about the younger generations, and even I'm starting to feel like I don't understand these younger generations.

00:29:46.006 --> 00:29:48.621
You get to work with them inside of the classroom, dennis.

00:29:48.621 --> 00:30:01.230
What are some of the things that you see that's different, about the generation that's coming through business schools right now, that, if you can impart some wisdom from your vantage point in them, what is it that you hope they understand about the world and about business?

00:30:04.681 --> 00:30:27.692
I think that, and this is a sad situation, but I think that the focus of today's situation, but I think that the focus of today's the millennials, yes, but the next, the Z-Gen as well is mostly money, in other words, dollars per se.

00:30:27.692 --> 00:30:29.315
I want to get money, I want it.

00:30:29.315 --> 00:30:33.420
Now there's this whole other arena of wanting to help the world and change the world and so forth.

00:30:33.420 --> 00:30:35.862
Now there's this whole other arena of wanting to help the world and change the world and so forth.

00:30:35.862 --> 00:31:02.875
But when the focus is on the money that comes from their business endeavors, as opposed to the value of the endeavors, the value of what the business is providing to others, and that translates to money second or third money, second or third what happens is their emphasis, their priorities, their thought process gets channeled to the point where they forget about the rest of it.

00:31:02.875 --> 00:31:13.894
And that's what's happening, I think, today's kids again being on the values and trying to change the world and so forth, for good in many cases.

00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:22.700
But when it comes to what am I going to do to earn a living so I can survive, suddenly it's on okay, how much money can I get?

00:31:22.700 --> 00:31:23.785
How quickly can I get it?

00:31:23.785 --> 00:31:30.366
How easily can I get it and without regard to the actual.

00:31:30.366 --> 00:31:37.740
I know it sounds silly to say that joy can come from business endeavors, but they can.

00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:45.365
When you, in my case, when I can meet somebody, help somebody meet their objectives, that's the pleasure that comes back.

00:31:45.365 --> 00:31:55.933
Gratitude is the wrong word and certainly in education, students don't or children, for many, many cases don't express gratitude for guidance.

00:31:55.933 --> 00:32:19.397
But if there's a way of knowing that what one is doing in life is purposeful as well as rewarding economically, it's a major difference and I think in the older geezer generation mine there was more focus on that than there seems to be today.

00:32:20.099 --> 00:32:21.183
Yes, amen to that.

00:32:21.183 --> 00:32:30.406
I think that is a conversation that we don't have enough publicly within the world of business or entrepreneurship, and I'm so appreciative of you sharing those insights with us here today, dennis.

00:32:30.406 --> 00:32:34.634
I think it's such an important message for all of us us here today, dennis.

00:32:34.634 --> 00:32:37.259
I think it's such an important message for all of us and for me.

00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:40.183
I think back to the realities of my situation.

00:32:40.183 --> 00:32:41.008
For example, I've had multiple businesses.

00:32:41.008 --> 00:32:42.093
I had an agency that I was not in love with.

00:32:42.093 --> 00:32:44.925
My life was not great when I was running it, the money was great, but I didn't have the life.

00:32:44.987 --> 00:32:55.054
And now I get to have amazing conversations with entrepreneurs like yourself, dennis, and people always ask me aren't you exhausted at the end of a production day where I do eight of these high energy conversations?

00:32:55.054 --> 00:32:56.423
And the answer is no.

00:32:56.423 --> 00:32:58.269
I gain energy from this stuff.

00:32:58.269 --> 00:32:58.971
It does add.

00:32:58.971 --> 00:33:01.229
You use the word joy, and I think that's so important.

00:33:01.229 --> 00:33:05.925
So, with all of that said, there's a lot of homework, there's a lot of food for thought.

00:33:05.925 --> 00:33:11.784
You talked about questions more so than solutions here today, and I think that that's where listeners need to go from here.

00:33:11.784 --> 00:33:16.550
With that in mind and all the introspective thoughts, that listeners will walk away from.

00:33:16.550 --> 00:33:18.032
What's that one action?

00:33:18.032 --> 00:33:19.454
We love action here on this show.

00:33:19.454 --> 00:33:26.779
What's the one thing you hope every listener, wherever they are in their entrepreneurial journey, when this episode finishes playing, they say you know what?

00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:30.130
I'm going to do this thing now because Dennis recommended I do it.

00:33:33.363 --> 00:33:35.200
Well, that is a question.

00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:53.830
I would say that at the end of the day, literally the end of the day, before retiring for the night, to think back and say did I balance my life today in a manner that was, for the most part, pleasant, enjoyable, worthwhile?

00:33:53.830 --> 00:34:06.383
Did I provide benefit to others, whether it was family or business, whatever that means, and can I feel like I was as productive as I could have been?

00:34:06.383 --> 00:34:11.342
Did I contribute to my own life, my own purpose, my own goals and objectives?

00:34:11.342 --> 00:34:17.603
But did I also contribute something to humanity, for lack of a better word?

00:34:17.603 --> 00:34:30.443
And if not, then when I wake up tomorrow morning I need to rebalance a little bit, I need to focus somehow elsewise, in order to achieve that.

00:34:31.050 --> 00:34:40.260
Yeah, really powerful advice there, especially because that last part, dennis, is whether our answer is in the affirmative or not when we ask ourselves that question.

00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:56.150
At the end of the day, we always get the next day to choose what we want to do with that day, and it's that level of intentionality that makes me so appreciate and really admire the work that you do, and I know that listeners are going to be keen, before I toss it over to you, to drop those links on us of where listeners can find more of your work.

00:34:56.150 --> 00:35:02.458
I just want to say that on your website, listeners, I obviously have gone all through Dennis's work here ahead of today's conversation.

00:35:02.458 --> 00:35:15.057
This is someone who not only gives value through his work, but this is someone who shows up, like he showed up here today with so much knowledge and wisdom and experience, but also he does it on a regular occurrence.

00:35:15.057 --> 00:35:25.202
On his website you'll find publications written by him with articles like business success demands, structure, systems and leadership, or the three most important factors why businesses fail.

00:35:25.202 --> 00:35:28.592
There's so much goodness that dennis continues to put into the world.

00:35:28.592 --> 00:35:31.826
So, dennis, now that I've had my say on it, drop those links on us.

00:35:31.826 --> 00:35:33.550
Where should listeners go from here?

00:35:34.373 --> 00:35:34.813
thank you.

00:35:34.813 --> 00:35:41.791
Uh, well, I I'll just mention also that I do a great deal of uh of uh pro bono work.

00:35:41.791 --> 00:35:45.922
I I not just for non-profit foundations and so forth, but for people.

00:35:45.922 --> 00:36:08.045
Before I take on a client that I know I can help and I will charge a fee for before that happens, I'll sometimes spend four, five, six, seven, eight hours helping them understand where they need to go, because if I don't think that they want to get somewhere concrete that I can help with, I don't even want to be involved and I don't ask for a retainer.

00:36:09.969 --> 00:36:24.530
But my website, my business website, is Deutschconsulting D-U-I-T-C-H consulting dot com and there's all sorts of ways there to get a hold of me.

00:36:24.530 --> 00:36:26.815
Again, I'm happy to talk to anybody.

00:36:26.815 --> 00:36:29.394
I spend a lot of time with students just helping them get focused.

00:36:29.394 --> 00:36:40.297
As a courtesy, my sculpture website is under my stage name, which I use for music and art, and I've also had a few published poetry books.

00:36:40.297 --> 00:36:42.954
Because I have a chance, I can just show you.

00:36:42.954 --> 00:36:43.637
This is one of them.

00:36:43.637 --> 00:36:45.954
It's called Thoughts on Life.

00:36:45.954 --> 00:37:02.340
Whoops, there we go, thoughts on Life, end of an Era with one of my sculptures, but I do that under the name Dennis Gray, g-r-a-y that happens to be my middle name and easy to find DennisGraySculpturecom.

00:37:03.429 --> 00:37:05.378
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:37:05.378 --> 00:37:10.835
We are making it as easy as possible for you to find those links wherever it is that you're tuning into today's episode.

00:37:10.835 --> 00:37:13.030
Scroll right on down and find those show notes.

00:37:13.030 --> 00:37:18.891
We are linking to Dennis's business website, as well as his sculpture website, as well as his personal LinkedIn, if you want to reach out to him.

00:37:18.891 --> 00:37:23.512
This is someone who's incredibly generous with the way he shows up in the world.

00:37:23.512 --> 00:37:26.338
You heard it from him firsthand here today.

00:37:26.338 --> 00:37:28.282
His business website is DeutschConsultingcom.

00:37:28.282 --> 00:37:31.639
You'll find a phone number, an email address, right there on his website.

00:37:31.639 --> 00:37:32.541
So don't be shy.

00:37:32.541 --> 00:37:38.193
And, dennis, on behalf of myself and all the listeners around the world, thanks so much for joining us on the show today.

00:37:39.014 --> 00:37:39.655
Vice versa.

00:37:39.655 --> 00:37:41.177
I appreciate what you do.

00:37:41.177 --> 00:37:50.653
As I said, I've I've listened to many of your uh, many of your other uh guests and I've learned from them, uh, and I look forward to a chess game with you someday, brian likewise.

00:37:50.693 --> 00:37:51.697
Thanks so much, dennis.

00:37:51.697 --> 00:37:59.298
All right, okay, hey, it's brian here and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.

00:37:59.298 --> 00:38:03.259
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:38:03.259 --> 00:38:10.036
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at the wantrepreneurshowcom.

00:38:10.036 --> 00:38:12.481
And I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:38:12.481 --> 00:38:21.278
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:38:21.338 --> 00:38:23.322
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:38:23.322 --> 00:38:29.773
These are not infomercials.

00:38:29.773 --> 00:38:31.518
Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

00:38:31.518 --> 00:38:39.380
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:38:39.380 --> 00:38:47.862
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:38:47.862 --> 00:38:49.213
We also have live chat.

00:38:49.213 --> 00:38:53.021
If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:38:53.021 --> 00:38:55.233
Initiate a live chat.

00:38:55.233 --> 00:39:04.670
It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you, as always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.