WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.890 --> 00:00:04.110
Good morning to the leader in you and welcome back
2
00:00:04.209 --> 00:00:07.690
to another edition of The Shift. Today, we're going to
3
00:00:07.710 --> 00:00:13.220
have another engaging conversation. We have a phenomenal business owner,
4
00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:15.740
a phenomenal attorney that's with us on today. I've known
5
00:00:15.779 --> 00:00:20.019
her for over five years. She played a vital role
6
00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:22.219
with Speak Life, so for many of you that you
7
00:00:22.260 --> 00:00:26.280
know me by Speak Life and those that know me
8
00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:30.420
with Strategic Collaboration Network, She's advising me on so many
9
00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.890
principles in terms of business development around a legal perspective.
10
00:00:34.469 --> 00:00:36.609
Without further ado, I would like to bring on to
11
00:00:36.630 --> 00:00:38.090
the show Attorney Durant.
12
00:00:38.130 --> 00:00:40.850
Welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having me, Catherine.
13
00:00:41.509 --> 00:00:44.759
Absolutely. Listen, we are shifting. We're in a new season.
14
00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:46.600
We're in September and October is going to be here
15
00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:47.880
before we bat our eye.
16
00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:48.659
Right.
17
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.219
But I wanted us to pause for a moment, bring
18
00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:53.179
you on the show, because we know that you're one
19
00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:56.329
of the featured speakers here. at Unlocked 2027, but I
20
00:00:56.369 --> 00:00:58.149
wanted the viewers just to take a moment to learn
21
00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:00.409
a little bit more about who you are, right?
22
00:01:01.530 --> 00:01:02.689
Take us through the journey.
23
00:01:02.710 --> 00:01:05.370
I know you're an attorney, but when did you have that,
24
00:01:05.810 --> 00:01:07.390
I don't know, that moment in your life that said,
25
00:01:07.409 --> 00:01:08.859
you know, this is the path that I wanted to
26
00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:09.359
go into?
27
00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:14.060
Well, I'm an attorney by trade. I'm an intellectual property attorney.
28
00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:17.640
But before going to law school, I was a creative
29
00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:22.400
and I was someone that did poetry. So your speak
30
00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:25.480
life was something that resonated with me. I went to
31
00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:31.319
Temple University and Temple University had a vibrant cultural scene there.
32
00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:33.299
So I got involved in that. I took some acting
33
00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:38.510
courses and I always gravitated towards creative people. And I
34
00:01:38.609 --> 00:01:41.489
always wanted to be of service to people that could
35
00:01:41.530 --> 00:01:44.069
do things that I couldn't do, that could master things
36
00:01:44.090 --> 00:01:46.769
that I couldn't master and to help them in their
37
00:01:46.849 --> 00:01:50.769
quest to bring excellence to that. So law school for
38
00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:52.930
me seemed like it was a good place for me
39
00:01:52.989 --> 00:01:56.319
to land because I grew up in Philadelphia and I
40
00:01:56.379 --> 00:01:59.519
have an urban experience. People that grew up in the
41
00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:03.140
city have a similar urban experience. And one of the
42
00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:06.629
most profound things that happened to me after coming out
43
00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:09.370
of law school and graduating and taking the bar was
44
00:02:09.430 --> 00:02:12.009
that I was in court and I was in federal
45
00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:15.009
court and it was my turn to speak. And it
46
00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:17.509
was my first time coming in to speak in federal court.
47
00:02:18.030 --> 00:02:20.639
And the thing that was most remarkable to me was
48
00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.819
that the rest of the room stopped speaking while I
49
00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:28.699
was speaking. And so for me, having a profound moment
50
00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:32.419
of my voice being heard and heard and other people,
51
00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:34.080
now I don't know whether they were listening to me
52
00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:37.680
or not, but at that moment, they were required by
53
00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:39.120
courtroom decorum.
54
00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:40.370
To stop speaking and listen to me.
55
00:02:40.780 --> 00:02:43.789
And so for me, that resonated with me and being
56
00:02:43.849 --> 00:02:47.960
able to give voice to myself and having that urban
57
00:02:48.020 --> 00:02:51.120
experience of not always being heard. You know, I was
58
00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:53.469
certainly seen, but I wasn't always heard. So that was
59
00:02:53.909 --> 00:02:57.590
one of the most profound entrees into the profession for me.
60
00:02:58.069 --> 00:03:00.909
And so what I've done is I've structured my practice
61
00:03:00.969 --> 00:03:03.090
around helping creatives get their voice.
62
00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:06.270
And own what they have. And if they want.
63
00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:08.860
To create legacy, how do you go about doing that
64
00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:10.900
within the bounds of what you're doing in your business?
65
00:03:10.939 --> 00:03:14.110
So that's where I sit right now. And that's my beginning.
66
00:03:14.330 --> 00:03:15.590
And it's up to where I am today.
67
00:03:16.310 --> 00:03:19.150
Well, see, everybody that's tuned into this show, I just
68
00:03:19.210 --> 00:03:24.330
learned something. I had no idea of your poetic passion background.
69
00:03:25.210 --> 00:03:26.930
And see, this is the this is why I love
70
00:03:26.949 --> 00:03:30.349
bringing people on to the segment and learning about the person.
71
00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:30.629
Right.
72
00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:33.360
Because we see the titles, we see, you know, the firm.
73
00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:35.620
But who are you as a person? And now I
74
00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:37.539
understand the connection with.
75
00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:38.280
You and speak life.
76
00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:41.960
And because you have a special niche in entertainment as well,
77
00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.479
you advise individuals that's in the entertainment arena.
78
00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:49.080
So, OK, so let's explore that a little bit.
79
00:03:49.099 --> 00:03:51.819
So when you went to Temple, did you do poetry nights?
80
00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.379
I mean, were you actively engaged?
81
00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:58.439
Well, we had poetry nights and we had spoken word
82
00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.960
nights that we would have on campus. And I participated
83
00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:05.310
in those. My favorite at that time was anything Maya
84
00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:09.110
Angelou or Sonia Sanchez. I would just recite it and
85
00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:11.530
perform it in a way that I thought they would
86
00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.099
be proud of me and doing the performances.
87
00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:17.079
So, yeah, so that's what we did with the open
88
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:17.920
mic nights.
89
00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:19.779
So I see the connections.
90
00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:21.660
For those that are tuned in now, I want you
91
00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.180
to do one thing. I want you to share this
92
00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:25.689
with someone else, someone else that is a creative. But
93
00:04:26.009 --> 00:04:29.089
what I'm seeing, your progression in terms of your passion
94
00:04:29.110 --> 00:04:32.069
for the arts, poetry, and you talked about when you
95
00:04:32.110 --> 00:04:35.850
was in court on a federal level and that was
96
00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:39.180
a shift for you. because you recognized that your voice
97
00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:42.300
was being heard. And so you're giving voice to creatives
98
00:04:42.339 --> 00:04:46.230
in the community by way of educating around legal principles
99
00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:49.769
to make sure your intellectual property and trademarks is where
100
00:04:49.790 --> 00:04:53.449
it needs to be. Talk about the connection that you
101
00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:55.910
have in the business community among creatives.
102
00:04:57.209 --> 00:05:00.649
Well, one of the things, and I'll go back on
103
00:05:00.689 --> 00:05:03.670
what I said initially about my experience in federal court,
104
00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:08.199
One of the things that business owners should be cognizant
105
00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.740
of is that there are certain benchmarks that.
106
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.139
Give you credibility in your space.
107
00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.430
A lot of us spend a lot of time creating
108
00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:20.430
value and creating content, but the ownership piece of that
109
00:05:20.509 --> 00:05:23.689
is one of the most important things. And so for
110
00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:26.709
business owners, what I talk to them about is how
111
00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:30.149
do you not just monetize what you're creating, but how
112
00:05:30.189 --> 00:05:31.899
do you own it? How do you prove it? How
113
00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:35.160
do you create control of it? Because a lot of
114
00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.350
times that's an afterthought. It's something that business owners may
115
00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:40.170
set up their business. They think that, you know, you'll
116
00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:42.990
do an LLC and I'll just start business. And then
117
00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:46.009
when it comes a time where there's a growth benchmark
118
00:05:46.050 --> 00:05:49.810
or something like somebody wants to buy, let's say someone
119
00:05:49.870 --> 00:05:53.579
leaves the business. That's when you look back and think about, well,
120
00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:57.180
who actually owns this content? Who owns this brand? Did
121
00:05:57.189 --> 00:05:59.459
I get someone to work on this for me? Can
122
00:05:59.500 --> 00:06:02.300
I prove that I own that? So I spend a
123
00:06:02.339 --> 00:06:04.560
lot of time with business owners, talk to them about
124
00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.139
how do you, first of all, how do you identify
125
00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:11.240
and inventory what it is are your business assets, your
126
00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:12.079
ownership base?
127
00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:14.620
Then how do you prove that you own it?
128
00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:19.100
Is it living somewhere in a text message from somebody
129
00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.759
that created it for you? Did someone just give you
130
00:06:21.779 --> 00:06:25.389
an invoice and give you no certificate of ownership? And
131
00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:28.769
then how do you control it and how do you
132
00:06:28.949 --> 00:06:32.819
monetize it in an effective way? So I spend a
133
00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:34.959
lot of time talking to business owners about that and
134
00:06:35.029 --> 00:06:36.850
creating the value and thinking about.
135
00:06:36.670 --> 00:06:39.970
It a little bit different. So often I say start
136
00:06:39.990 --> 00:06:41.110
with the end in mind.
137
00:06:41.209 --> 00:06:43.970
So when you think about your business, think about where
138
00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:45.810
you want to end up with it. Do you want
139
00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:48.110
it to be a legacy play where this is something
140
00:06:48.149 --> 00:06:51.910
that your children would benefit from? Of course, you would
141
00:06:52.389 --> 00:06:54.470
talk to your children and see if they're even interested
142
00:06:54.509 --> 00:06:56.649
in that in the first place. But let's say that
143
00:06:56.670 --> 00:06:58.769
they are interested. How do I set it up so
144
00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:02.120
that they have something? tangible that they can own or
145
00:07:02.149 --> 00:07:04.279
have a claim in. Then if I don't want to
146
00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:06.379
do that, let's say I think that I'm going to
147
00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:10.319
set my business up so that Amazon or Google or
148
00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:12.050
some other entity buys it.
149
00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:13.660
You know that they're.
150
00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:17.040
Going to do their due diligence on the ownership piece
151
00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:19.629
of your business because they're not going to buy something
152
00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:21.370
that you can't prove that you own.
153
00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.129
So you think about that at the beginning, say, okay,
154
00:07:24.149 --> 00:07:25.379
this is what I want to do.
155
00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:27.740
How do I set it up so that when it's
156
00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:30.920
time for that, I can demonstrate what I need to demonstrate.
157
00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:35.019
I've had countless instances where I've had business owners who
158
00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:37.800
had an opportunity, but they lost it because.
159
00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:39.879
They didn't do the due diligence at the beginning.
160
00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:42.300
Or we were in a situation where we were trying
161
00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.740
to recreate time and try to go back and figure
162
00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:46.920
out who did what and when did they do it
163
00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:49.769
or track down people that were no longer part of it.
164
00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:52.689
Or it could be, Maybe there was a business partner
165
00:07:52.750 --> 00:07:56.269
or collaboration. And in the middle of the collaboration, you're
166
00:07:56.290 --> 00:07:58.350
thinking about how do we get this out to market,
167
00:07:58.610 --> 00:08:01.149
but not thinking about what happens if we separate?
168
00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.480
What happens if one of the founders dies?
169
00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:07.279
What are those things that we needed to have in
170
00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:10.579
place at the beginning to get us to the end
171
00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:13.769
line that we want to be at? I, you know,
172
00:08:13.829 --> 00:08:14.699
my shift in.
173
00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:17.480
My practice, if you would to borrow your term, is
174
00:08:17.660 --> 00:08:19.680
that I started.
175
00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:22.240
With doing trademarks because someone would call and say, I
176
00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:24.779
want to register a trademark or they would say, I
177
00:08:24.779 --> 00:08:25.579
want to register a.
178
00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:27.300
Copyright or I want to, you know, I want to
179
00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:28.860
work on this patent idea.
180
00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:32.730
But I started to shift it away from that and
181
00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:35.649
more into why, because at the end of the day,
182
00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:40.340
A trademark certificate is part of the ownership process, but
183
00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:41.820
it's not the end process.
184
00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:44.220
It doesn't get you to where you want to get.
185
00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:46.960
It gets you a document that says that I'm staking
186
00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.460
a claim to this, but that doesn't mean that everything
187
00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:52.440
around that trademark is owned by.
188
00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:55.539
You or that you can prove that it's owned by you.
189
00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:58.419
So those are the shifts and those are the things
190
00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:00.139
that I like to share with business owners.
191
00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:02.559
Absolutely. I mean, I think that's powerful.
192
00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:06.600
Again, for anyone that's tuning in now, watching, send this
193
00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.840
link to your business community. Send this link to someone
194
00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:15.279
that has started a company, but you know, they may
195
00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:20.500
not have all of the components structured properly. I highly
196
00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:24.330
recommend to connect with attorney Durant. Again, she has worked
197
00:09:24.370 --> 00:09:27.539
with me for numerous years. She's professional. She follows up.
198
00:09:27.549 --> 00:09:29.450
And these are just some tangibles because a lot of
199
00:09:29.470 --> 00:09:32.549
people can have degrees and different things, but who are
200
00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:36.220
they as a person? And so Attorney Durant, just by nature,
201
00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:40.679
she has integrity and it carries through her whole practice.
202
00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:43.379
And so share this link.
203
00:09:43.470 --> 00:09:47.450
She's also going to be at Unlocked 2027 Business Conference.
204
00:09:47.490 --> 00:09:50.330
It's all going down on Saturday, April 17th at the
205
00:09:50.370 --> 00:09:54.610
BWI Marriott Hotel. Attorney Durant, let's kind of dive in
206
00:09:54.649 --> 00:09:57.470
a little bit deeper. You talked about how you started
207
00:09:57.490 --> 00:10:00.720
getting these phone calls, right? People are calling, asking. about, hey,
208
00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:03.500
I need to get my trademark. They have patent questions.
209
00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:06.879
Did you see a gap in the community? Is that
210
00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:09.399
also another reason why you, you know, because there's a
211
00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:11.299
lot of things you could focus on in your practice,
212
00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:15.039
but you have a specific niche. Is it because there
213
00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:17.519
was an abundance of need? Or did you also see
214
00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:19.139
that there was a gap of knowledge.
215
00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:19.360
In the community?
216
00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:24.500
Well, I think the one of the biggest gaps that
217
00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:29.950
I see is that when modern business owners approach their business,
218
00:10:30.110 --> 00:10:33.250
they approach it with a singular focus. And a lot
219
00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:37.049
of times it's a setup for the purpose of survival.
220
00:10:37.210 --> 00:10:40.509
And so I understand that, you know, people need to
221
00:10:40.590 --> 00:10:41.809
earn a living because.
222
00:10:41.590 --> 00:10:42.330
Maybe you couldn't.
223
00:10:42.409 --> 00:10:44.409
You don't want to work in corporate America and you
224
00:10:44.450 --> 00:10:48.029
want to set up your own business. So I understand
225
00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:51.950
the motivation for that. But as many people get into business,
226
00:10:52.070 --> 00:10:55.450
it starts to grow. And they talk about scaling.
227
00:10:55.490 --> 00:10:58.820
That was something that was a buzzword not too long ago.
228
00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:02.580
And so I started to talk about what it means
229
00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:06.539
to really scale. And unfortunately, you can't scale something that
230
00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:09.519
you don't own. You know, so it's kind of hard
231
00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:13.379
to do that. When you think about licensing, you can't
232
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.480
license something that you can't own because you're giving somebody
233
00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:19.220
a product that you can't stand by and they can't
234
00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:24.460
stand by. You know, you can't assign an entity to
235
00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:27.379
somebody else that you can't own, you know, that you
236
00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:28.200
don't own yourself.
237
00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:30.779
So there are foundational things.
238
00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:33.139
That need to happen in the scope of a business
239
00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.639
in order to operate it effectively and to scale it.
240
00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.539
But again, I found that one of the gaps was
241
00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:43.320
that some in the community, we always have a tendency
242
00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:47.200
to start over for some reason, because legacy is something
243
00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:49.590
that a lot of people talk about, but don't actually
244
00:11:49.659 --> 00:11:53.090
set up the platform for legacy. And so when you
245
00:11:53.110 --> 00:11:55.850
think about whether or not your grandfather owned a business,
246
00:11:55.909 --> 00:11:58.870
there are people, those of us who've had grandfathers that
247
00:11:58.909 --> 00:12:01.509
were in business or great grandfathers who are in business,
248
00:12:02.090 --> 00:12:04.330
you think about what might have happened with those businesses.
249
00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:09.259
What happened? You know, when grandfather passed, what happened to it?
250
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.320
And so I talk about business owners about making a
251
00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:15.580
legacy play, even if it's not within your family member.
252
00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:17.980
How do you transfer it to the community? How do
253
00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:20.500
you take everything that you've created in your business and
254
00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:23.679
make it work for the community and for the greater
255
00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:26.100
good of everyone so that we don't collectively have to
256
00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:29.259
start over again? And the way you do that is
257
00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:32.909
to think about it. in a strategic way and to
258
00:12:33.149 --> 00:12:36.269
set up the ownership layers so that you can have
259
00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:38.649
something that's tangible that you can say you own or
260
00:12:38.690 --> 00:12:40.850
you have an interest in. And so that's one of
261
00:12:40.889 --> 00:12:44.649
the biggest gaps is starting over and also not even
262
00:12:44.669 --> 00:12:46.629
thinking about where you want to end up because you're
263
00:12:46.649 --> 00:12:47.529
in survival mode.
264
00:12:49.029 --> 00:12:51.340
I mean, you said so many things and I've been
265
00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:54.039
jotting down some notes. I like to call them golden nuggets.
266
00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:55.759
For anybody that tuned into this show, you know I
267
00:12:55.779 --> 00:12:58.610
love when anytime we bring someone onto this segment, I
268
00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:00.690
call them golden nuggets. And what I was writing down,
269
00:13:01.690 --> 00:13:04.970
you said you can't scale something that you don't own.
270
00:13:05.669 --> 00:13:06.509
And then you went on to.
271
00:13:06.490 --> 00:13:09.529
Talk about, we talk about legacy, but have we set
272
00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:13.240
up the platform to really build legacy? And then you
273
00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:18.200
also just mentioned ownership layers. Talk about that because sometimes,
274
00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:20.500
you know, so many things that go on social media.
275
00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:22.440
So a part of today's conversation is we get to
276
00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.179
know you and the audience gets to know you is to, to, to,
277
00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:28.419
Tear down some myths because sometimes you can see things
278
00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:30.799
on social media. Oh, you just go submit this and
279
00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:33.460
you're good. But you just say something. So when you
280
00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:36.779
say ownership layers, that would suggest is more than one
281
00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:38.940
thing or one action that you have to take to
282
00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:40.320
make sure you protect your ownership.
283
00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:41.899
Can you just talk about one?
284
00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:45.929
Well, I guess the main layer that people think about
285
00:13:46.129 --> 00:13:50.029
is a limited liability when you set up your formation structure.
286
00:13:50.409 --> 00:13:52.950
That's a layer that people think is part of the
287
00:13:53.090 --> 00:13:55.350
ownership layers and how you demonstrate ownership.
288
00:13:55.830 --> 00:13:56.970
But that's not actually it.
289
00:13:57.529 --> 00:14:01.620
Within that scope of your business, you determine which assets
290
00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:05.240
are owned by which entity, which assets.
291
00:14:06.019 --> 00:14:07.159
If you do a top.
292
00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:09.799
Five list of the assets in your business, it might
293
00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:13.750
be for Nike. It's their brand, the Nike brand and
294
00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:15.029
the Nike logo.
295
00:14:15.049 --> 00:14:16.549
For a content creator.
296
00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:19.570
It might be your course content, you know, your your
297
00:14:19.929 --> 00:14:23.509
modules that you created. So whatever those assets are, if
298
00:14:23.549 --> 00:14:25.899
you think about those assets and you think about who
299
00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:29.860
created those assets, right? So if I'm building a legacy
300
00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:34.460
plate on the ownership, then I'll decide strategically whether I
301
00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:38.730
personally own the assets and license them to the business
302
00:14:38.830 --> 00:14:42.750
entity or whether the business owns the assets and is
303
00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:46.409
able to license them outside of the business to another entity.
304
00:14:46.490 --> 00:14:50.409
So if I'm thinking... well, I want to take my
305
00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:54.710
course content and I want to multiply myself and have
306
00:14:54.830 --> 00:14:58.740
all these little factions creating this content. So I have
307
00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:01.879
a license concept. But then if I say, well, at
308
00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.220
the end of the day, I don't want to lose
309
00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.580
my ownership of this content because I've created it. I've
310
00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:10.649
spent all this time writing this course curriculum. I don't
311
00:15:10.690 --> 00:15:12.690
want to lose it. So then I might say, well,
312
00:15:12.710 --> 00:15:15.889
let me own the copyright. Let me own the copyright
313
00:15:15.929 --> 00:15:19.279
and let me license or assign the copyright to my
314
00:15:19.320 --> 00:15:22.059
business so that my business can be the arm that
315
00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:23.659
does the licensing agreements.
316
00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:23.960
Right.
317
00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.659
That's a strategic decision that you make. And then if
318
00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:29.620
I make that decision and I say, OK, I'm going
319
00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:32.919
to own these copyrights. I think about what happens if
320
00:15:32.970 --> 00:15:36.769
something were to happen to me, because copyright is something
321
00:15:36.809 --> 00:15:40.629
that is owned by the creator. And I would have
322
00:15:40.669 --> 00:15:43.330
that if I pass it 20 years past my life.
323
00:15:43.789 --> 00:15:46.789
that copyright is still effective. So then therefore it's part
324
00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:49.269
of my estate plan. So then I say the other
325
00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:51.120
thing that I have to do is I have to
326
00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:54.259
factor that into my estate plan. So in my will,
327
00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.879
whatever I have, I have to say, I have this
328
00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:02.679
content that's copyright that I own here and give instructions.
329
00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:06.470
It's another gap that we tend to have in the
330
00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:09.669
community is even if we do a legacy play and
331
00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:11.129
we give it to someone, we need to give them
332
00:16:11.190 --> 00:16:13.129
instructions on what to do with it because they may
333
00:16:13.169 --> 00:16:15.330
not know what to do with it. They might get
334
00:16:15.389 --> 00:16:19.590
dumped a whole bunch of copyright certificates and not know
335
00:16:19.629 --> 00:16:21.210
what to do with it and lose it. It's sort
336
00:16:21.230 --> 00:16:25.070
of like what happens when, you know, mama passes and
337
00:16:25.090 --> 00:16:27.590
the house is there and nobody knows, you know, that
338
00:16:27.629 --> 00:16:29.129
they need to, they don't know.
339
00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:30.470
How she's been paying the taxes.
340
00:16:30.549 --> 00:16:30.750
Right.
341
00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:33.169
So that's, you lose the house because the taxes weren't
342
00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:35.809
paid or something ridiculous like that. So you have to
343
00:16:35.850 --> 00:16:37.970
give instructions and say, these are the things that you
344
00:16:37.990 --> 00:16:41.720
need to do with this asset that I'm transferring to you. Um,
345
00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.879
So that's one of the ways that the layers, you
346
00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:52.500
see that the layers got into estate planning, your corporate contracts,
347
00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:55.139
because at some point you might get someone to help you.
348
00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.159
Let's say you get an editor to help you to
349
00:16:57.220 --> 00:17:00.649
refine the course content. That's an editor with a contract.
350
00:17:01.590 --> 00:17:04.069
So you have to make sure that whatever the output
351
00:17:04.170 --> 00:17:07.269
is from the editor, that you own that as well.
352
00:17:07.819 --> 00:17:11.160
If you're using AI, which lots of people are, and
353
00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:12.680
I say go ahead and use it if you want,
354
00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:15.119
but just read the terms so that you know what
355
00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:18.880
it is you are in ownership of. And then also
356
00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:22.279
keep track of what your human contribution is. So what
357
00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:26.880
did I give to the model to create the finished output, right?
358
00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:29.329
Have an idea of what that is in case something
359
00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:31.289
legislatively happens in the.
360
00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:34.230
AI world, which is purged to happen right now.
361
00:17:34.309 --> 00:17:37.190
You want to make sure that you can demonstrate what
362
00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:40.630
your content creation has been. So those are just, I
363
00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:41.950
think we went over five layers.
364
00:17:42.230 --> 00:17:42.549
Yes.
365
00:17:43.190 --> 00:17:46.589
Just to get down to, you know, how do I
366
00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:48.150
demonstrate that I own what I own?
367
00:17:48.990 --> 00:17:50.019
No, and this is powerful.
368
00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:53.700
And again, for those that's watching, you're tuning in via YouTube,
369
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:59.000
or you might be tuning in online, listening to it audibly. It's,
370
00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.259
you know, a huge part of why we're doing this
371
00:18:02.299 --> 00:18:05.740
business conference and why we even host webinars, educational webinars,
372
00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:08.579
is to dispel myths. There's a lot of things that
373
00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:10.609
get put on social media and we take it and
374
00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:12.089
we run with it, but we don't talk to the
375
00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:15.009
specific professional that that's their niche area.
376
00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:17.049
So attorney Durant.
377
00:18:18.509 --> 00:18:21.690
Has tons of knowledge that she can equip the business
378
00:18:21.730 --> 00:18:24.960
community with. And I believe it's important for us as
379
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.420
we continue to move towards the end of this year,
380
00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:28.980
because the fourth quarter is coming.
381
00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:32.319
How are you structured properly, right?
382
00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:36.349
To make sure you're going to thrust into 2027, With
383
00:18:36.430 --> 00:18:38.910
a sturdy foundation with your business.
384
00:18:39.309 --> 00:18:41.490
And if you're not, no worries. You know, you can
385
00:18:41.509 --> 00:18:42.789
hit the restart button.
386
00:18:42.829 --> 00:18:43.069
Right.
387
00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:46.660
And so let's let's talk a little bit about where
388
00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.420
do you see yourself personally in the business community as
389
00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:51.200
far as what are your goals? How do you want
390
00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:53.180
to make an impact? Let's talk about that. You as
391
00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:56.420
a person, you as an attorney, you've already made great impact.
392
00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:58.730
How do you see yourself continuing to make an impact
393
00:18:58.769 --> 00:18:59.549
in the business community?
394
00:19:00.609 --> 00:19:03.490
Well, I'm applying my own ownership layer to myself as
395
00:19:03.529 --> 00:19:08.309
we speak. So I'm walking the talk that I'm talking.
396
00:19:08.390 --> 00:19:13.980
So I see that in the future, human-created content is
397
00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:15.839
going to be the premium.
398
00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.440
And that's my bet. And that's my gamble.
399
00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.500
Because if I'm wrong, then I think that we as
400
00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.529
a society are in trouble. Not just the culture, but
401
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:31.299
we no longer care about what's true content. I think
402
00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.880
we really have slid down a path, you know, and
403
00:19:33.940 --> 00:19:34.779
I'm thinking that.
404
00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:36.539
We'll continue to care about that.
405
00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:41.150
And so I'm putting my stake that business owners will
406
00:19:41.369 --> 00:19:45.170
care and focus on their ownership, because I think that
407
00:19:46.369 --> 00:19:50.349
with AI, I think where people that are still creating
408
00:19:50.390 --> 00:19:53.970
real content are probably a little bit concerned about the direction,
409
00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:57.579
you know, and somewhere in there, there's, you know, I
410
00:19:57.579 --> 00:20:01.359
guess what you say, the originals, the true people are
411
00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:05.200
in there somewhere. And I'm believing that that will rise
412
00:20:05.380 --> 00:20:07.779
and that the human created content will be what we
413
00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:10.309
gravitate to. And I think that we'll look at the
414
00:20:10.369 --> 00:20:13.009
AI created content and we'll laugh and we'll chuckle.
415
00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:15.269
About the AI babies and all that kind of stuff.
416
00:20:15.529 --> 00:20:18.589
But I think that we will we'll stake our claim
417
00:20:18.670 --> 00:20:21.190
is still going to be on human created content.
418
00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:24.299
So that's what that's where I am. Yeah.
419
00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:28.319
And what I hear from you is that your your
420
00:20:28.460 --> 00:20:31.039
niche is still going to be very relative and you're
421
00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:33.440
going to stay focused on the focus. Because sometimes when
422
00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:36.099
new things pop off in society, people shift and change.
423
00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:37.200
Oh, this is the hottest thing.
424
00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:39.680
What I'm hearing from you and your impact is you're
425
00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:43.380
going to stay consistent with what you're already doing. You know,
426
00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:45.920
that's what I'm getting from you. And that human to
427
00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:49.099
human interaction and what's real versus what's not. You know,
428
00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:51.079
one thing that always kind of is a little pet
429
00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:53.680
peeve for me is that when people do leverage the
430
00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:55.799
AI and they kind of distort their face and you
431
00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:59.869
can't recognize that that's even who they are anymore. And
432
00:21:00.029 --> 00:21:05.509
it's levels to using AI, but are we using it
433
00:21:05.589 --> 00:21:08.349
to distort who we are? Are we still our authentic person?
434
00:21:08.410 --> 00:21:12.910
Is our business still reaching in the purpose of why
435
00:21:12.930 --> 00:21:15.029
we got it started? The mission of the business, right?
436
00:21:15.289 --> 00:21:15.730
The purpose.
437
00:21:15.990 --> 00:21:19.029
That's one thing I always go back to for myself personally,
438
00:21:19.049 --> 00:21:20.990
whether it be for Speak Life or for SEM.
439
00:21:22.269 --> 00:21:24.779
Why did I start it? What is the purpose of it?
440
00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:26.750
And now I want us to pivot and talk a
441
00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:29.109
little bit about the business conference in the last few
442
00:21:29.150 --> 00:21:31.970
moments that we have. For those that may not know,
443
00:21:31.990 --> 00:21:34.750
we have a business conference. It's our third annual that's
444
00:21:34.789 --> 00:21:37.730
coming up. It's going to be on Saturday, April 17th,
445
00:21:37.789 --> 00:21:40.769
as I mentioned at the top of the conversation. It's
446
00:21:40.789 --> 00:21:43.990
going to be at the BWI Marriott Hotel. And, you know,
447
00:21:44.009 --> 00:21:47.109
a couple of questions, comments or, you know, reflections from
448
00:21:47.150 --> 00:21:50.369
other people say, well, is this just another conference? So
449
00:21:50.849 --> 00:21:53.910
at the point in time when I decided to start
450
00:21:53.950 --> 00:21:56.420
this conference to give everyone that may not know the history,
451
00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:58.970
Three years ago when I did the first one, it
452
00:21:59.009 --> 00:22:02.670
was hybrid. During the daytime, it was virtual. And then
453
00:22:03.190 --> 00:22:05.750
after the daytime conference, which is where all the speakers,
454
00:22:05.809 --> 00:22:10.130
the facilitators, the trainers took place, and then we met
455
00:22:10.349 --> 00:22:13.490
at the Marriott in PG County at the National Harbor.
456
00:22:14.009 --> 00:22:16.549
The first year, I didn't have the capacity to do
457
00:22:16.609 --> 00:22:18.710
it all in person. And I'm saying this for a reason.
458
00:22:18.750 --> 00:22:20.349
You may have an idea of something you may want
459
00:22:20.369 --> 00:22:22.990
to do. You may not have all the resources in
460
00:22:23.029 --> 00:22:25.019
the first year, but that doesn't mean you can't do
461
00:22:25.099 --> 00:22:27.829
something and do it tastefully. So we had a hybrid
462
00:22:27.869 --> 00:22:31.559
conference three years ago. Daytime virtual, evening was our network
463
00:22:31.619 --> 00:22:34.319
mixer where those that was in the DMV came together.
464
00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.400
Now this year, it was a blessing that came through.
465
00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:39.740
We had it at the Maryland Center for History and Culture.
466
00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.900
I wasn't too versed of that location. How that came
467
00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.099
to be, one of the individuals from that location reached
468
00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:49.500
out to me, said that they heard about Strategic Collaboration Network. See,
469
00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:53.450
when you're putting things out there and you're doing good business,
470
00:22:54.230 --> 00:22:57.819
and you're staying relevant to who you are and your mission,
471
00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:00.960
people will reach out to you. So the conversation had,
472
00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:04.200
we made it happen, did the contract, had the conference
473
00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:06.700
this year, we had 110 business owners in the place.
474
00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:09.849
Even with this year, I was very intentional about, we're
475
00:23:09.890 --> 00:23:11.829
not just meeting to meet, we're not just meeting to
476
00:23:11.910 --> 00:23:15.529
hype people up or to boost people because motivation can
477
00:23:15.589 --> 00:23:17.450
boost you for a moment and then it fades when
478
00:23:17.509 --> 00:23:21.079
reality sets in, right? And I'm setting the stage because
479
00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:22.480
I wanna set the stage for.
480
00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:26.069
Attorney Durant to share. I was saying, doctor, who knows?
481
00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:33.230
PhD down the future. Even with what we did this year,
482
00:23:33.349 --> 00:23:35.130
it was not about just a hype session. It was
483
00:23:35.210 --> 00:23:40.329
so people can come get tangible information that they can execute. Now, 2027,
484
00:23:40.329 --> 00:23:44.430
we have Attorney Durant that's going to be with us.
485
00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:48.319
She's going to be doing a boot camp around legal
486
00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:53.359
strategies for your business. Legacy, right? Intellectual property policy. Attorney Durant,
487
00:23:53.420 --> 00:23:56.200
share with our viewers, what can they expect from your bootcamp?
488
00:23:57.099 --> 00:24:01.680
Well, I expect that they'll leave with a better understanding
489
00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:03.660
of what the core of their business is.
490
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:05.539
What is it really?
491
00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:09.960
After we drill down beyond fluffy stuff, what is it
492
00:24:10.009 --> 00:24:13.210
that is the core of my business? And why did
493
00:24:13.269 --> 00:24:16.089
I start the business to begin with? Why did I
494
00:24:16.150 --> 00:24:18.250
start it? And where do I want to end up?
495
00:24:18.789 --> 00:24:21.150
And steps that it takes for me to get there.
496
00:24:21.670 --> 00:24:24.710
I expect for people to leave with those gaps identified.
497
00:24:24.849 --> 00:24:27.089
Some of them you might be solid in. Some of
498
00:24:27.130 --> 00:24:29.650
them you might need help in. But at least you'll
499
00:24:29.710 --> 00:24:34.599
leave knowing what that is. And so I guess the
500
00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.700
biggest thing is leaving with understanding about what it is.
501
00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:42.039
A lot of us probably know why we're doing it, right?
502
00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:44.680
But what is it that we have? What is the
503
00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:47.960
core of our business? And how do I get my
504
00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:50.700
arms around what I need to do so that I
505
00:24:50.769 --> 00:24:52.750
can scale. If that's what I want to do, if
506
00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:55.250
I can legacy play, how.
507
00:24:55.130 --> 00:24:56.869
Do I get to do what I want to do
508
00:24:56.990 --> 00:24:57.710
with what I have?
509
00:24:58.869 --> 00:25:02.200
You know, the two things that really resonated with me
510
00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:05.099
was when you mentioned earlier, you can't scale something that
511
00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:09.500
you don't own. And a lot of times, um, you
512
00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:11.480
see a lot of things, like I said, on social media,
513
00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.269
but do we own what we say we actually own, right?
514
00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:20.160
And are we just putting ourself out there and we're vulnerable? We,
515
00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:22.200
as the owner of the company, as the owner of
516
00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:23.220
the business, we're vulnerable.
517
00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:26.380
We own it in terms of, yeah, we have an LLC,
518
00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:30.079
but beyond that, where's the body, where's the feet and
519
00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:33.450
the legs that's connecting it to long-term legacy?
520
00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:35.930
And talk about why legacy is important.
521
00:25:35.950 --> 00:25:38.470
When we talk about building our communities and building wealth
522
00:25:38.529 --> 00:25:40.630
in our community, what is your perspective on legacy?
523
00:25:41.569 --> 00:25:43.630
Well, again, legacy is something that.
524
00:25:44.670 --> 00:25:49.960
has historical roots because it's something that we've done historically
525
00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:53.319
in our community. And it's something that's passed on from
526
00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:57.799
community member to community member. And so we do that
527
00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:00.970
in cultural aspects of our lives. So I, when I
528
00:26:00.990 --> 00:26:03.210
was at Temple, I had a history, a.
529
00:26:03.250 --> 00:26:05.430
History class in African-American culture.
530
00:26:05.509 --> 00:26:08.039
And one of the, One of our instructors, he said
531
00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:10.740
that we have epic memory and epic memory is where
532
00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:13.819
you act out things that happened to your ancestors that
533
00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:16.059
didn't happen to you. So it's one of the explanations
534
00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:18.980
for why black men are able to stroll. You know,
535
00:26:19.009 --> 00:26:21.750
if you ask somebody that's not African-American, how you stroll,
536
00:26:21.769 --> 00:26:23.769
they may not know how to do that. But from
537
00:26:23.809 --> 00:26:27.210
having shackles, you learn how to walk in and your
538
00:26:27.250 --> 00:26:29.809
gait is different from that. So it's something that we
539
00:26:29.849 --> 00:26:33.009
can do today based upon what happened to our ancestors.
540
00:26:33.130 --> 00:26:35.720
And the same, if you think about business, There are
541
00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:40.680
business concepts that have historical significance in our community, and
542
00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:42.940
they're passed down. They're part of why we do what
543
00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:44.309
we do and how we do.
544
00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:46.490
What we do, what the culture brings to what we
545
00:26:46.509 --> 00:26:47.109
do what we do.
546
00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:50.410
And that's all legacy in a cultural aspect, but there's
547
00:26:50.470 --> 00:26:54.369
also legacy in the tangible business aspect that would lead
548
00:26:54.390 --> 00:26:57.319
to money and growth in the community if we shift
549
00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:00.440
our focus and think about those in that way. So
550
00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:03.799
I think legacy for me is what we already have.
551
00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:06.119
It's already on board, but we just have to pull
552
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:07.720
it out of what we're doing.
553
00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:11.460
No, I think that's so powerful. And you gave a different,
554
00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:14.660
you allowed me to see legacy from a different lens,
555
00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:17.779
a different perspective, particularly from the cultural aspect. And when
556
00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:21.099
you were talking about what your professor talked about at Temple,
557
00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:24.299
and then talking about the trickle-down effect, this is what
558
00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.319
I'm hearing also, that that's been embedded in the core
559
00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:30.180
fiber of our community from a cultural perspective.
560
00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:32.630
I think that's a topic that Maybe we can touch
561
00:27:32.690 --> 00:27:32.950
on that.
562
00:27:32.990 --> 00:27:35.509
I think that's an interesting topic from a cultural standpoint
563
00:27:35.549 --> 00:27:39.609
in terms of where we see our businesses now. But also,
564
00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:43.539
where's our mindset about passing things on to the next generation? Because,
565
00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:47.180
you know, I've heard comments. So you may or may
566
00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:49.559
not know, but I'm also licensed in the insurance arena.
567
00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:51.700
And one time a person said to me, I'm not
568
00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:54.039
leaving nothing. And this is African-American. I'm not leaving anything
569
00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:56.869
behind for the next generation. I'm focused on me and mine.
570
00:27:56.940 --> 00:28:00.009
When did our mindset shift that we are not thinking
571
00:28:00.029 --> 00:28:01.250
about legacies?
572
00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:04.170
And I'm not saying globally, so this is the podcast.
573
00:28:04.210 --> 00:28:05.710
I don't want anyone saying I'm saying this from a
574
00:28:06.109 --> 00:28:10.049
global perspective, but I've heard these comments before, right?
575
00:28:10.529 --> 00:28:12.230
And when you talked about how.
576
00:28:12.789 --> 00:28:19.730
You know, traditionally how we were really created in our
577
00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:23.559
environment from Africa, it was always about passing things on.
578
00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:27.940
But there's some way somehow a disconnect took place. And
579
00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:29.000
I'm not saying we're going to be able to answer
580
00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:31.480
that on this podcast show or even answer all that
581
00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:33.980
at the conference, but I think that is a conversation
582
00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:34.559
to be had.
583
00:28:35.299 --> 00:28:37.799
Well, I think, and we can't really get into it
584
00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:40.420
totally like you just said, but I think that part
585
00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:44.710
of it is if you have a tangible ownership asset
586
00:28:44.750 --> 00:28:47.170
where I can pull out of my drawer, all these
587
00:28:47.230 --> 00:28:49.710
things that I own. So when you think about jewelry,
588
00:28:49.890 --> 00:28:52.049
when you go to give your jewelry to your granddaughter,
589
00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:53.319
when you.
590
00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:55.059
Can actually physically give it to her.
591
00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:58.440
If we think about our business assets in that way,
592
00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:01.359
because some of them would be tangible, there'd be certificates,
593
00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:04.490
there'd be documents. And then maybe we can think about
594
00:29:04.529 --> 00:29:08.529
it as these are things that I have tangible, physical
595
00:29:08.630 --> 00:29:11.150
things that I have to leave to the next generation.
596
00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:14.009
Then maybe we can get at that for our business.
597
00:29:14.049 --> 00:29:17.299
We can see that the ownership body of our business
598
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:19.680
is the same way we think about our jewelry drawer.
599
00:29:19.990 --> 00:29:22.339
You know, in terms of these are tangible things that
600
00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.500
we can show. And that's the part of ownership that
601
00:29:25.579 --> 00:29:28.440
can you prove it? That's the proof, right? So if
602
00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:31.660
we focus on what we own, can we prove it
603
00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:35.269
with the documentation? And then can we control it? Do
604
00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:38.210
we have access to move that documentation around?
605
00:29:38.630 --> 00:29:40.559
I think it may shift the way... we look at
606
00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:44.180
legacy in the context of business. No, I love that.
607
00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:47.900
And for those that are tuned in, listen, you want
608
00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:51.420
to be there on Saturday, April the 17th of next year.
609
00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:55.569
It's all about legacy. And even with Unlocked, it's about legacy.
610
00:29:55.630 --> 00:30:01.259
We are anticipating about 500,000 person turnout that's representing businesses
611
00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:07.049
throughout the DMV, Jersey, New York. Attorney Durant, she's from Philly,
612
00:30:07.069 --> 00:30:08.950
but she's presently in the Atlanta area. We have some
613
00:30:09.069 --> 00:30:12.109
other individuals from Atlanta that's coming up as well. So
614
00:30:12.130 --> 00:30:15.630
it's going to be very diverse. We have individuals from Boston,
615
00:30:15.670 --> 00:30:18.450
Massachusetts that's going to be there. So we are very intentional,
616
00:30:19.049 --> 00:30:22.859
even with building the legacy of SEN, right? Making sure Yes,
617
00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:25.380
our base is here in the DMV, but we're spreading
618
00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:28.680
the message about connectivity among business owners, but not just
619
00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:32.089
coming together just to say coming together. Anybody that knows me,
620
00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:34.789
I want us to come together for a purpose. And
621
00:30:35.109 --> 00:30:37.329
with that purpose, when we walk out of those doors
622
00:30:39.130 --> 00:30:41.690
from the last speaker of the day on April 17th,
623
00:30:42.029 --> 00:30:44.099
we need to have marching orders on what we're going
624
00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:45.940
to execute. So for those that say, oh, is this
625
00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:47.779
just going to be another rah-rah? No, it's not a
626
00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:50.049
rah-rah session. It's not a hype session. It is an
627
00:30:50.210 --> 00:30:53.589
education session that's called us to activate and calls us
628
00:30:53.690 --> 00:30:57.109
to execute. That is what is it about. Attorney Durant,
629
00:30:57.190 --> 00:30:59.230
any final words as we get ready to close out?
630
00:31:00.150 --> 00:31:01.109
No, I'm excited.
631
00:31:01.190 --> 00:31:04.839
I'm excited to share. I'm excited to share my shift.
632
00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:07.500
I've been using shift the whole time we've been on here.
633
00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:09.599
I love the title. But no, I'm excited to be
634
00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:10.299
able to share.
635
00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:14.680
And hopefully I can help to influence some people to
636
00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:18.259
think about things a little bit differently than we have traditionally.
637
00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:20.200
Absolutely. Plug your website.
638
00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:22.319
There may be someone watching or listening in that needs
639
00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:23.579
your professional services.
640
00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:26.420
OK, well, you can reach me at my website, which
641
00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:28.819
is AureliaMitchellDurant.com, which.
642
00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:32.920
Is my name.com. If you need any, there's a contact
643
00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:34.480
form on there if you want to reach out and
644
00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:35.119
connect with me.
645
00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:36.299
Absolutely.
646
00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:38.519
And with this segment, there will be a hyperlink that
647
00:31:38.539 --> 00:31:40.720
you can click on and go to her website. With
648
00:31:40.740 --> 00:31:43.789
that being said, everybody have a phenomenal rest of the
649
00:31:43.829 --> 00:31:46.190
week and we're going to see you at the top.
1
00:00:00.890 --> 00:00:04.110
Good morning to the leader in you and welcome back
2
00:00:04.209 --> 00:00:07.690
to another edition of The Shift. Today, we're going to
3
00:00:07.710 --> 00:00:13.220
have another engaging conversation. We have a phenomenal business owner,
4
00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:15.740
a phenomenal attorney that's with us on today. I've known
5
00:00:15.779 --> 00:00:20.019
her for over five years. She played a vital role
6
00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:22.219
with Speak Life, so for many of you that you
7
00:00:22.260 --> 00:00:26.280
know me by Speak Life and those that know me
8
00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:30.420
with Strategic Collaboration Network, She's advising me on so many
9
00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.890
principles in terms of business development around a legal perspective.
10
00:00:34.469 --> 00:00:36.609
Without further ado, I would like to bring on to
11
00:00:36.630 --> 00:00:38.090
the show Attorney Durant.
12
00:00:38.130 --> 00:00:40.850
Welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having me, Catherine.
13
00:00:41.509 --> 00:00:44.759
Absolutely. Listen, we are shifting. We're in a new season.
14
00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:46.600
We're in September and October is going to be here
15
00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:47.880
before we bat our eye.
16
00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:48.659
Right.
17
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.219
But I wanted us to pause for a moment, bring
18
00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:53.179
you on the show, because we know that you're one
19
00:00:53.219 --> 00:00:56.329
of the featured speakers here. at Unlocked 2027, but I
20
00:00:56.369 --> 00:00:58.149
wanted the viewers just to take a moment to learn
21
00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:00.409
a little bit more about who you are, right?
22
00:01:01.530 --> 00:01:02.689
Take us through the journey.
23
00:01:02.710 --> 00:01:05.370
I know you're an attorney, but when did you have that,
24
00:01:05.810 --> 00:01:07.390
I don't know, that moment in your life that said,
25
00:01:07.409 --> 00:01:08.859
you know, this is the path that I wanted to
26
00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:09.359
go into?
27
00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:14.060
Well, I'm an attorney by trade. I'm an intellectual property attorney.
28
00:01:14.500 --> 00:01:17.640
But before going to law school, I was a creative
29
00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:22.400
and I was someone that did poetry. So your speak
30
00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:25.480
life was something that resonated with me. I went to
31
00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:31.319
Temple University and Temple University had a vibrant cultural scene there.
32
00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:33.299
So I got involved in that. I took some acting
33
00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:38.510
courses and I always gravitated towards creative people. And I
34
00:01:38.609 --> 00:01:41.489
always wanted to be of service to people that could
35
00:01:41.530 --> 00:01:44.069
do things that I couldn't do, that could master things
36
00:01:44.090 --> 00:01:46.769
that I couldn't master and to help them in their
37
00:01:46.849 --> 00:01:50.769
quest to bring excellence to that. So law school for
38
00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:52.930
me seemed like it was a good place for me
39
00:01:52.989 --> 00:01:56.319
to land because I grew up in Philadelphia and I
40
00:01:56.379 --> 00:01:59.519
have an urban experience. People that grew up in the
41
00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:03.140
city have a similar urban experience. And one of the
42
00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:06.629
most profound things that happened to me after coming out
43
00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:09.370
of law school and graduating and taking the bar was
44
00:02:09.430 --> 00:02:12.009
that I was in court and I was in federal
45
00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:15.009
court and it was my turn to speak. And it
46
00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:17.509
was my first time coming in to speak in federal court.
47
00:02:18.030 --> 00:02:20.639
And the thing that was most remarkable to me was
48
00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.819
that the rest of the room stopped speaking while I
49
00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:28.699
was speaking. And so for me, having a profound moment
50
00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:32.419
of my voice being heard and heard and other people,
51
00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:34.080
now I don't know whether they were listening to me
52
00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:37.680
or not, but at that moment, they were required by
53
00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:39.120
courtroom decorum.
54
00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:40.370
To stop speaking and listen to me.
55
00:02:40.780 --> 00:02:43.789
And so for me, that resonated with me and being
56
00:02:43.849 --> 00:02:47.960
able to give voice to myself and having that urban
57
00:02:48.020 --> 00:02:51.120
experience of not always being heard. You know, I was
58
00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:53.469
certainly seen, but I wasn't always heard. So that was
59
00:02:53.909 --> 00:02:57.590
one of the most profound entrees into the profession for me.
60
00:02:58.069 --> 00:03:00.909
And so what I've done is I've structured my practice
61
00:03:00.969 --> 00:03:03.090
around helping creatives get their voice.
62
00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:06.270
And own what they have. And if they want.
63
00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:08.860
To create legacy, how do you go about doing that
64
00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:10.900
within the bounds of what you're doing in your business?
65
00:03:10.939 --> 00:03:14.110
So that's where I sit right now. And that's my beginning.
66
00:03:14.330 --> 00:03:15.590
And it's up to where I am today.
67
00:03:16.310 --> 00:03:19.150
Well, see, everybody that's tuned into this show, I just
68
00:03:19.210 --> 00:03:24.330
learned something. I had no idea of your poetic passion background.
69
00:03:25.210 --> 00:03:26.930
And see, this is the this is why I love
70
00:03:26.949 --> 00:03:30.349
bringing people on to the segment and learning about the person.
71
00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:30.629
Right.
72
00:03:30.659 --> 00:03:33.360
Because we see the titles, we see, you know, the firm.
73
00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:35.620
But who are you as a person? And now I
74
00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:37.539
understand the connection with.
75
00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:38.280
You and speak life.
76
00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:41.960
And because you have a special niche in entertainment as well,
77
00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.479
you advise individuals that's in the entertainment arena.
78
00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:49.080
So, OK, so let's explore that a little bit.
79
00:03:49.099 --> 00:03:51.819
So when you went to Temple, did you do poetry nights?
80
00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:54.379
I mean, were you actively engaged?
81
00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:58.439
Well, we had poetry nights and we had spoken word
82
00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:01.960
nights that we would have on campus. And I participated
83
00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:05.310
in those. My favorite at that time was anything Maya
84
00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:09.110
Angelou or Sonia Sanchez. I would just recite it and
85
00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:11.530
perform it in a way that I thought they would
86
00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.099
be proud of me and doing the performances.
87
00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:17.079
So, yeah, so that's what we did with the open
88
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:17.920
mic nights.
89
00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:19.779
So I see the connections.
90
00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:21.660
For those that are tuned in now, I want you
91
00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.180
to do one thing. I want you to share this
92
00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:25.689
with someone else, someone else that is a creative. But
93
00:04:26.009 --> 00:04:29.089
what I'm seeing, your progression in terms of your passion
94
00:04:29.110 --> 00:04:32.069
for the arts, poetry, and you talked about when you
95
00:04:32.110 --> 00:04:35.850
was in court on a federal level and that was
96
00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:39.180
a shift for you. because you recognized that your voice
97
00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:42.300
was being heard. And so you're giving voice to creatives
98
00:04:42.339 --> 00:04:46.230
in the community by way of educating around legal principles
99
00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:49.769
to make sure your intellectual property and trademarks is where
100
00:04:49.790 --> 00:04:53.449
it needs to be. Talk about the connection that you
101
00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:55.910
have in the business community among creatives.
102
00:04:57.209 --> 00:05:00.649
Well, one of the things, and I'll go back on
103
00:05:00.689 --> 00:05:03.670
what I said initially about my experience in federal court,
104
00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:08.199
One of the things that business owners should be cognizant
105
00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.740
of is that there are certain benchmarks that.
106
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:14.139
Give you credibility in your space.
107
00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.430
A lot of us spend a lot of time creating
108
00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:20.430
value and creating content, but the ownership piece of that
109
00:05:20.509 --> 00:05:23.689
is one of the most important things. And so for
110
00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:26.709
business owners, what I talk to them about is how
111
00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:30.149
do you not just monetize what you're creating, but how
112
00:05:30.189 --> 00:05:31.899
do you own it? How do you prove it? How
113
00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:35.160
do you create control of it? Because a lot of
114
00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.350
times that's an afterthought. It's something that business owners may
115
00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:40.170
set up their business. They think that, you know, you'll
116
00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:42.990
do an LLC and I'll just start business. And then
117
00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:46.009
when it comes a time where there's a growth benchmark
118
00:05:46.050 --> 00:05:49.810
or something like somebody wants to buy, let's say someone
119
00:05:49.870 --> 00:05:53.579
leaves the business. That's when you look back and think about, well,
120
00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:57.180
who actually owns this content? Who owns this brand? Did
121
00:05:57.189 --> 00:05:59.459
I get someone to work on this for me? Can
122
00:05:59.500 --> 00:06:02.300
I prove that I own that? So I spend a
123
00:06:02.339 --> 00:06:04.560
lot of time with business owners, talk to them about
124
00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.139
how do you, first of all, how do you identify
125
00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:11.240
and inventory what it is are your business assets, your
126
00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:12.079
ownership base?
127
00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:14.620
Then how do you prove that you own it?
128
00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:19.100
Is it living somewhere in a text message from somebody
129
00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.759
that created it for you? Did someone just give you
130
00:06:21.779 --> 00:06:25.389
an invoice and give you no certificate of ownership? And
131
00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:28.769
then how do you control it and how do you
132
00:06:28.949 --> 00:06:32.819
monetize it in an effective way? So I spend a
133
00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:34.959
lot of time talking to business owners about that and
134
00:06:35.029 --> 00:06:36.850
creating the value and thinking about.
135
00:06:36.670 --> 00:06:39.970
It a little bit different. So often I say start
136
00:06:39.990 --> 00:06:41.110
with the end in mind.
137
00:06:41.209 --> 00:06:43.970
So when you think about your business, think about where
138
00:06:44.009 --> 00:06:45.810
you want to end up with it. Do you want
139
00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:48.110
it to be a legacy play where this is something
140
00:06:48.149 --> 00:06:51.910
that your children would benefit from? Of course, you would
141
00:06:52.389 --> 00:06:54.470
talk to your children and see if they're even interested
142
00:06:54.509 --> 00:06:56.649
in that in the first place. But let's say that
143
00:06:56.670 --> 00:06:58.769
they are interested. How do I set it up so
144
00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:02.120
that they have something? tangible that they can own or
145
00:07:02.149 --> 00:07:04.279
have a claim in. Then if I don't want to
146
00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:06.379
do that, let's say I think that I'm going to
147
00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:10.319
set my business up so that Amazon or Google or
148
00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:12.050
some other entity buys it.
149
00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:13.660
You know that they're.
150
00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:17.040
Going to do their due diligence on the ownership piece
151
00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:19.629
of your business because they're not going to buy something
152
00:07:19.649 --> 00:07:21.370
that you can't prove that you own.
153
00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.129
So you think about that at the beginning, say, okay,
154
00:07:24.149 --> 00:07:25.379
this is what I want to do.
155
00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:27.740
How do I set it up so that when it's
156
00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:30.920
time for that, I can demonstrate what I need to demonstrate.
157
00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:35.019
I've had countless instances where I've had business owners who
158
00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:37.800
had an opportunity, but they lost it because.
159
00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:39.879
They didn't do the due diligence at the beginning.
160
00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:42.300
Or we were in a situation where we were trying
161
00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.740
to recreate time and try to go back and figure
162
00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:46.920
out who did what and when did they do it
163
00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:49.769
or track down people that were no longer part of it.
164
00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:52.689
Or it could be, Maybe there was a business partner
165
00:07:52.750 --> 00:07:56.269
or collaboration. And in the middle of the collaboration, you're
166
00:07:56.290 --> 00:07:58.350
thinking about how do we get this out to market,
167
00:07:58.610 --> 00:08:01.149
but not thinking about what happens if we separate?
168
00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.480
What happens if one of the founders dies?
169
00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:07.279
What are those things that we needed to have in
170
00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:10.579
place at the beginning to get us to the end
171
00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:13.769
line that we want to be at? I, you know,
172
00:08:13.829 --> 00:08:14.699
my shift in.
173
00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:17.480
My practice, if you would to borrow your term, is
174
00:08:17.660 --> 00:08:19.680
that I started.
175
00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:22.240
With doing trademarks because someone would call and say, I
176
00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:24.779
want to register a trademark or they would say, I
177
00:08:24.779 --> 00:08:25.579
want to register a.
178
00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:27.300
Copyright or I want to, you know, I want to
179
00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:28.860
work on this patent idea.
180
00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:32.730
But I started to shift it away from that and
181
00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:35.649
more into why, because at the end of the day,
182
00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:40.340
A trademark certificate is part of the ownership process, but
183
00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:41.820
it's not the end process.
184
00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:44.220
It doesn't get you to where you want to get.
185
00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:46.960
It gets you a document that says that I'm staking
186
00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.460
a claim to this, but that doesn't mean that everything
187
00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:52.440
around that trademark is owned by.
188
00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:55.539
You or that you can prove that it's owned by you.
189
00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:58.419
So those are the shifts and those are the things
190
00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:00.139
that I like to share with business owners.
191
00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:02.559
Absolutely. I mean, I think that's powerful.
192
00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:06.600
Again, for anyone that's tuning in now, watching, send this
193
00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.840
link to your business community. Send this link to someone
194
00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:15.279
that has started a company, but you know, they may
195
00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:20.500
not have all of the components structured properly. I highly
196
00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:24.330
recommend to connect with attorney Durant. Again, she has worked
197
00:09:24.370 --> 00:09:27.539
with me for numerous years. She's professional. She follows up.
198
00:09:27.549 --> 00:09:29.450
And these are just some tangibles because a lot of
199
00:09:29.470 --> 00:09:32.549
people can have degrees and different things, but who are
200
00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:36.220
they as a person? And so Attorney Durant, just by nature,
201
00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:40.679
she has integrity and it carries through her whole practice.
202
00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:43.379
And so share this link.
203
00:09:43.470 --> 00:09:47.450
She's also going to be at Unlocked 2027 Business Conference.
204
00:09:47.490 --> 00:09:50.330
It's all going down on Saturday, April 17th at the
205
00:09:50.370 --> 00:09:54.610
BWI Marriott Hotel. Attorney Durant, let's kind of dive in
206
00:09:54.649 --> 00:09:57.470
a little bit deeper. You talked about how you started
207
00:09:57.490 --> 00:10:00.720
getting these phone calls, right? People are calling, asking. about, hey,
208
00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:03.500
I need to get my trademark. They have patent questions.
209
00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:06.879
Did you see a gap in the community? Is that
210
00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:09.399
also another reason why you, you know, because there's a
211
00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:11.299
lot of things you could focus on in your practice,
212
00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:15.039
but you have a specific niche. Is it because there
213
00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:17.519
was an abundance of need? Or did you also see
214
00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:19.139
that there was a gap of knowledge.
215
00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:19.360
In the community?
216
00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:24.500
Well, I think the one of the biggest gaps that
217
00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:29.950
I see is that when modern business owners approach their business,
218
00:10:30.110 --> 00:10:33.250
they approach it with a singular focus. And a lot
219
00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:37.049
of times it's a setup for the purpose of survival.
220
00:10:37.210 --> 00:10:40.509
And so I understand that, you know, people need to
221
00:10:40.590 --> 00:10:41.809
earn a living because.
222
00:10:41.590 --> 00:10:42.330
Maybe you couldn't.
223
00:10:42.409 --> 00:10:44.409
You don't want to work in corporate America and you
224
00:10:44.450 --> 00:10:48.029
want to set up your own business. So I understand
225
00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:51.950
the motivation for that. But as many people get into business,
226
00:10:52.070 --> 00:10:55.450
it starts to grow. And they talk about scaling.
227
00:10:55.490 --> 00:10:58.820
That was something that was a buzzword not too long ago.
228
00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:02.580
And so I started to talk about what it means
229
00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:06.539
to really scale. And unfortunately, you can't scale something that
230
00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:09.519
you don't own. You know, so it's kind of hard
231
00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:13.379
to do that. When you think about licensing, you can't
232
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.480
license something that you can't own because you're giving somebody
233
00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:19.220
a product that you can't stand by and they can't
234
00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:24.460
stand by. You know, you can't assign an entity to
235
00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:27.379
somebody else that you can't own, you know, that you
236
00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:28.200
don't own yourself.
237
00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:30.779
So there are foundational things.
238
00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:33.139
That need to happen in the scope of a business
239
00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.639
in order to operate it effectively and to scale it.
240
00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.539
But again, I found that one of the gaps was
241
00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:43.320
that some in the community, we always have a tendency
242
00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:47.200
to start over for some reason, because legacy is something
243
00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:49.590
that a lot of people talk about, but don't actually
244
00:11:49.659 --> 00:11:53.090
set up the platform for legacy. And so when you
245
00:11:53.110 --> 00:11:55.850
think about whether or not your grandfather owned a business,
246
00:11:55.909 --> 00:11:58.870
there are people, those of us who've had grandfathers that
247
00:11:58.909 --> 00:12:01.509
were in business or great grandfathers who are in business,
248
00:12:02.090 --> 00:12:04.330
you think about what might have happened with those businesses.
249
00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:09.259
What happened? You know, when grandfather passed, what happened to it?
250
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.320
And so I talk about business owners about making a
251
00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:15.580
legacy play, even if it's not within your family member.
252
00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:17.980
How do you transfer it to the community? How do
253
00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:20.500
you take everything that you've created in your business and
254
00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:23.679
make it work for the community and for the greater
255
00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:26.100
good of everyone so that we don't collectively have to
256
00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:29.259
start over again? And the way you do that is
257
00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:32.909
to think about it. in a strategic way and to
258
00:12:33.149 --> 00:12:36.269
set up the ownership layers so that you can have
259
00:12:36.350 --> 00:12:38.649
something that's tangible that you can say you own or
260
00:12:38.690 --> 00:12:40.850
you have an interest in. And so that's one of
261
00:12:40.889 --> 00:12:44.649
the biggest gaps is starting over and also not even
262
00:12:44.669 --> 00:12:46.629
thinking about where you want to end up because you're
263
00:12:46.649 --> 00:12:47.529
in survival mode.
264
00:12:49.029 --> 00:12:51.340
I mean, you said so many things and I've been
265
00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:54.039
jotting down some notes. I like to call them golden nuggets.
266
00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:55.759
For anybody that tuned into this show, you know I
267
00:12:55.779 --> 00:12:58.610
love when anytime we bring someone onto this segment, I
268
00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:00.690
call them golden nuggets. And what I was writing down,
269
00:13:01.690 --> 00:13:04.970
you said you can't scale something that you don't own.
270
00:13:05.669 --> 00:13:06.509
And then you went on to.
271
00:13:06.490 --> 00:13:09.529
Talk about, we talk about legacy, but have we set
272
00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:13.240
up the platform to really build legacy? And then you
273
00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:18.200
also just mentioned ownership layers. Talk about that because sometimes,
274
00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:20.500
you know, so many things that go on social media.
275
00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:22.440
So a part of today's conversation is we get to
276
00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.179
know you and the audience gets to know you is to, to, to,
277
00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:28.419
Tear down some myths because sometimes you can see things
278
00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:30.799
on social media. Oh, you just go submit this and
279
00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:33.460
you're good. But you just say something. So when you
280
00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:36.779
say ownership layers, that would suggest is more than one
281
00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:38.940
thing or one action that you have to take to
282
00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:40.320
make sure you protect your ownership.
283
00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:41.899
Can you just talk about one?
284
00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:45.929
Well, I guess the main layer that people think about
285
00:13:46.129 --> 00:13:50.029
is a limited liability when you set up your formation structure.
286
00:13:50.409 --> 00:13:52.950
That's a layer that people think is part of the
287
00:13:53.090 --> 00:13:55.350
ownership layers and how you demonstrate ownership.
288
00:13:55.830 --> 00:13:56.970
But that's not actually it.
289
00:13:57.529 --> 00:14:01.620
Within that scope of your business, you determine which assets
290
00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:05.240
are owned by which entity, which assets.
291
00:14:06.019 --> 00:14:07.159
If you do a top.
292
00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:09.799
Five list of the assets in your business, it might
293
00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:13.750
be for Nike. It's their brand, the Nike brand and
294
00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:15.029
the Nike logo.
295
00:14:15.049 --> 00:14:16.549
For a content creator.
296
00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:19.570
It might be your course content, you know, your your
297
00:14:19.929 --> 00:14:23.509
modules that you created. So whatever those assets are, if
298
00:14:23.549 --> 00:14:25.899
you think about those assets and you think about who
299
00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:29.860
created those assets, right? So if I'm building a legacy
300
00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:34.460
plate on the ownership, then I'll decide strategically whether I
301
00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:38.730
personally own the assets and license them to the business
302
00:14:38.830 --> 00:14:42.750
entity or whether the business owns the assets and is
303
00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:46.409
able to license them outside of the business to another entity.
304
00:14:46.490 --> 00:14:50.409
So if I'm thinking... well, I want to take my
305
00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:54.710
course content and I want to multiply myself and have
306
00:14:54.830 --> 00:14:58.740
all these little factions creating this content. So I have
307
00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:01.879
a license concept. But then if I say, well, at
308
00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.220
the end of the day, I don't want to lose
309
00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.580
my ownership of this content because I've created it. I've
310
00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:10.649
spent all this time writing this course curriculum. I don't
311
00:15:10.690 --> 00:15:12.690
want to lose it. So then I might say, well,
312
00:15:12.710 --> 00:15:15.889
let me own the copyright. Let me own the copyright
313
00:15:15.929 --> 00:15:19.279
and let me license or assign the copyright to my
314
00:15:19.320 --> 00:15:22.059
business so that my business can be the arm that
315
00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:23.659
does the licensing agreements.
316
00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:23.960
Right.
317
00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.659
That's a strategic decision that you make. And then if
318
00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:29.620
I make that decision and I say, OK, I'm going
319
00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:32.919
to own these copyrights. I think about what happens if
320
00:15:32.970 --> 00:15:36.769
something were to happen to me, because copyright is something
321
00:15:36.809 --> 00:15:40.629
that is owned by the creator. And I would have
322
00:15:40.669 --> 00:15:43.330
that if I pass it 20 years past my life.
323
00:15:43.789 --> 00:15:46.789
that copyright is still effective. So then therefore it's part
324
00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:49.269
of my estate plan. So then I say the other
325
00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:51.120
thing that I have to do is I have to
326
00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:54.259
factor that into my estate plan. So in my will,
327
00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.879
whatever I have, I have to say, I have this
328
00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:02.679
content that's copyright that I own here and give instructions.
329
00:16:04.259 --> 00:16:06.470
It's another gap that we tend to have in the
330
00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:09.669
community is even if we do a legacy play and
331
00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:11.129
we give it to someone, we need to give them
332
00:16:11.190 --> 00:16:13.129
instructions on what to do with it because they may
333
00:16:13.169 --> 00:16:15.330
not know what to do with it. They might get
334
00:16:15.389 --> 00:16:19.590
dumped a whole bunch of copyright certificates and not know
335
00:16:19.629 --> 00:16:21.210
what to do with it and lose it. It's sort
336
00:16:21.230 --> 00:16:25.070
of like what happens when, you know, mama passes and
337
00:16:25.090 --> 00:16:27.590
the house is there and nobody knows, you know, that
338
00:16:27.629 --> 00:16:29.129
they need to, they don't know.
339
00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:30.470
How she's been paying the taxes.
340
00:16:30.549 --> 00:16:30.750
Right.
341
00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:33.169
So that's, you lose the house because the taxes weren't
342
00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:35.809
paid or something ridiculous like that. So you have to
343
00:16:35.850 --> 00:16:37.970
give instructions and say, these are the things that you
344
00:16:37.990 --> 00:16:41.720
need to do with this asset that I'm transferring to you. Um,
345
00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.879
So that's one of the ways that the layers, you
346
00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:52.500
see that the layers got into estate planning, your corporate contracts,
347
00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:55.139
because at some point you might get someone to help you.
348
00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.159
Let's say you get an editor to help you to
349
00:16:57.220 --> 00:17:00.649
refine the course content. That's an editor with a contract.
350
00:17:01.590 --> 00:17:04.069
So you have to make sure that whatever the output
351
00:17:04.170 --> 00:17:07.269
is from the editor, that you own that as well.
352
00:17:07.819 --> 00:17:11.160
If you're using AI, which lots of people are, and
353
00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:12.680
I say go ahead and use it if you want,
354
00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:15.119
but just read the terms so that you know what
355
00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:18.880
it is you are in ownership of. And then also
356
00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:22.279
keep track of what your human contribution is. So what
357
00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:26.880
did I give to the model to create the finished output, right?
358
00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:29.329
Have an idea of what that is in case something
359
00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:31.289
legislatively happens in the.
360
00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:34.230
AI world, which is purged to happen right now.
361
00:17:34.309 --> 00:17:37.190
You want to make sure that you can demonstrate what
362
00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:40.630
your content creation has been. So those are just, I
363
00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:41.950
think we went over five layers.
364
00:17:42.230 --> 00:17:42.549
Yes.
365
00:17:43.190 --> 00:17:46.589
Just to get down to, you know, how do I
366
00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:48.150
demonstrate that I own what I own?
367
00:17:48.990 --> 00:17:50.019
No, and this is powerful.
368
00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:53.700
And again, for those that's watching, you're tuning in via YouTube,
369
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:59.000
or you might be tuning in online, listening to it audibly. It's,
370
00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:02.259
you know, a huge part of why we're doing this
371
00:18:02.299 --> 00:18:05.740
business conference and why we even host webinars, educational webinars,
372
00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:08.579
is to dispel myths. There's a lot of things that
373
00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:10.609
get put on social media and we take it and
374
00:18:10.650 --> 00:18:12.089
we run with it, but we don't talk to the
375
00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:15.009
specific professional that that's their niche area.
376
00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:17.049
So attorney Durant.
377
00:18:18.509 --> 00:18:21.690
Has tons of knowledge that she can equip the business
378
00:18:21.730 --> 00:18:24.960
community with. And I believe it's important for us as
379
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:27.420
we continue to move towards the end of this year,
380
00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:28.980
because the fourth quarter is coming.
381
00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:32.319
How are you structured properly, right?
382
00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:36.349
To make sure you're going to thrust into 2027, With
383
00:18:36.430 --> 00:18:38.910
a sturdy foundation with your business.
384
00:18:39.309 --> 00:18:41.490
And if you're not, no worries. You know, you can
385
00:18:41.509 --> 00:18:42.789
hit the restart button.
386
00:18:42.829 --> 00:18:43.069
Right.
387
00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:46.660
And so let's let's talk a little bit about where
388
00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.420
do you see yourself personally in the business community as
389
00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:51.200
far as what are your goals? How do you want
390
00:18:51.220 --> 00:18:53.180
to make an impact? Let's talk about that. You as
391
00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:56.420
a person, you as an attorney, you've already made great impact.
392
00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:58.730
How do you see yourself continuing to make an impact
393
00:18:58.769 --> 00:18:59.549
in the business community?
394
00:19:00.609 --> 00:19:03.490
Well, I'm applying my own ownership layer to myself as
395
00:19:03.529 --> 00:19:08.309
we speak. So I'm walking the talk that I'm talking.
396
00:19:08.390 --> 00:19:13.980
So I see that in the future, human-created content is
397
00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:15.839
going to be the premium.
398
00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.440
And that's my bet. And that's my gamble.
399
00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.500
Because if I'm wrong, then I think that we as
400
00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.529
a society are in trouble. Not just the culture, but
401
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:31.299
we no longer care about what's true content. I think
402
00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.880
we really have slid down a path, you know, and
403
00:19:33.940 --> 00:19:34.779
I'm thinking that.
404
00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:36.539
We'll continue to care about that.
405
00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:41.150
And so I'm putting my stake that business owners will
406
00:19:41.369 --> 00:19:45.170
care and focus on their ownership, because I think that
407
00:19:46.369 --> 00:19:50.349
with AI, I think where people that are still creating
408
00:19:50.390 --> 00:19:53.970
real content are probably a little bit concerned about the direction,
409
00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:57.579
you know, and somewhere in there, there's, you know, I
410
00:19:57.579 --> 00:20:01.359
guess what you say, the originals, the true people are
411
00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:05.200
in there somewhere. And I'm believing that that will rise
412
00:20:05.380 --> 00:20:07.779
and that the human created content will be what we
413
00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:10.309
gravitate to. And I think that we'll look at the
414
00:20:10.369 --> 00:20:13.009
AI created content and we'll laugh and we'll chuckle.
415
00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:15.269
About the AI babies and all that kind of stuff.
416
00:20:15.529 --> 00:20:18.589
But I think that we will we'll stake our claim
417
00:20:18.670 --> 00:20:21.190
is still going to be on human created content.
418
00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:24.299
So that's what that's where I am. Yeah.
419
00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:28.319
And what I hear from you is that your your
420
00:20:28.460 --> 00:20:31.039
niche is still going to be very relative and you're
421
00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:33.440
going to stay focused on the focus. Because sometimes when
422
00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:36.099
new things pop off in society, people shift and change.
423
00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:37.200
Oh, this is the hottest thing.
424
00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:39.680
What I'm hearing from you and your impact is you're
425
00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:43.380
going to stay consistent with what you're already doing. You know,
426
00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:45.920
that's what I'm getting from you. And that human to
427
00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:49.099
human interaction and what's real versus what's not. You know,
428
00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:51.079
one thing that always kind of is a little pet
429
00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:53.680
peeve for me is that when people do leverage the
430
00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:55.799
AI and they kind of distort their face and you
431
00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:59.869
can't recognize that that's even who they are anymore. And
432
00:21:00.029 --> 00:21:05.509
it's levels to using AI, but are we using it
433
00:21:05.589 --> 00:21:08.349
to distort who we are? Are we still our authentic person?
434
00:21:08.410 --> 00:21:12.910
Is our business still reaching in the purpose of why
435
00:21:12.930 --> 00:21:15.029
we got it started? The mission of the business, right?
436
00:21:15.289 --> 00:21:15.730
The purpose.
437
00:21:15.990 --> 00:21:19.029
That's one thing I always go back to for myself personally,
438
00:21:19.049 --> 00:21:20.990
whether it be for Speak Life or for SEM.
439
00:21:22.269 --> 00:21:24.779
Why did I start it? What is the purpose of it?
440
00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:26.750
And now I want us to pivot and talk a
441
00:21:26.769 --> 00:21:29.109
little bit about the business conference in the last few
442
00:21:29.150 --> 00:21:31.970
moments that we have. For those that may not know,
443
00:21:31.990 --> 00:21:34.750
we have a business conference. It's our third annual that's
444
00:21:34.789 --> 00:21:37.730
coming up. It's going to be on Saturday, April 17th,
445
00:21:37.789 --> 00:21:40.769
as I mentioned at the top of the conversation. It's
446
00:21:40.789 --> 00:21:43.990
going to be at the BWI Marriott Hotel. And, you know,
447
00:21:44.009 --> 00:21:47.109
a couple of questions, comments or, you know, reflections from
448
00:21:47.150 --> 00:21:50.369
other people say, well, is this just another conference? So
449
00:21:50.849 --> 00:21:53.910
at the point in time when I decided to start
450
00:21:53.950 --> 00:21:56.420
this conference to give everyone that may not know the history,
451
00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:58.970
Three years ago when I did the first one, it
452
00:21:59.009 --> 00:22:02.670
was hybrid. During the daytime, it was virtual. And then
453
00:22:03.190 --> 00:22:05.750
after the daytime conference, which is where all the speakers,
454
00:22:05.809 --> 00:22:10.130
the facilitators, the trainers took place, and then we met
455
00:22:10.349 --> 00:22:13.490
at the Marriott in PG County at the National Harbor.
456
00:22:14.009 --> 00:22:16.549
The first year, I didn't have the capacity to do
457
00:22:16.609 --> 00:22:18.710
it all in person. And I'm saying this for a reason.
458
00:22:18.750 --> 00:22:20.349
You may have an idea of something you may want
459
00:22:20.369 --> 00:22:22.990
to do. You may not have all the resources in
460
00:22:23.029 --> 00:22:25.019
the first year, but that doesn't mean you can't do
461
00:22:25.099 --> 00:22:27.829
something and do it tastefully. So we had a hybrid
462
00:22:27.869 --> 00:22:31.559
conference three years ago. Daytime virtual, evening was our network
463
00:22:31.619 --> 00:22:34.319
mixer where those that was in the DMV came together.
464
00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.400
Now this year, it was a blessing that came through.
465
00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:39.740
We had it at the Maryland Center for History and Culture.
466
00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.900
I wasn't too versed of that location. How that came
467
00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.099
to be, one of the individuals from that location reached
468
00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:49.500
out to me, said that they heard about Strategic Collaboration Network. See,
469
00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:53.450
when you're putting things out there and you're doing good business,
470
00:22:54.230 --> 00:22:57.819
and you're staying relevant to who you are and your mission,
471
00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:00.960
people will reach out to you. So the conversation had,
472
00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:04.200
we made it happen, did the contract, had the conference
473
00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:06.700
this year, we had 110 business owners in the place.
474
00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:09.849
Even with this year, I was very intentional about, we're
475
00:23:09.890 --> 00:23:11.829
not just meeting to meet, we're not just meeting to
476
00:23:11.910 --> 00:23:15.529
hype people up or to boost people because motivation can
477
00:23:15.589 --> 00:23:17.450
boost you for a moment and then it fades when
478
00:23:17.509 --> 00:23:21.079
reality sets in, right? And I'm setting the stage because
479
00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:22.480
I wanna set the stage for.
480
00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:26.069
Attorney Durant to share. I was saying, doctor, who knows?
481
00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:33.230
PhD down the future. Even with what we did this year,
482
00:23:33.349 --> 00:23:35.130
it was not about just a hype session. It was
483
00:23:35.210 --> 00:23:40.329
so people can come get tangible information that they can execute. Now, 2027,
484
00:23:40.329 --> 00:23:44.430
we have Attorney Durant that's going to be with us.
485
00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:48.319
She's going to be doing a boot camp around legal
486
00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:53.359
strategies for your business. Legacy, right? Intellectual property policy. Attorney Durant,
487
00:23:53.420 --> 00:23:56.200
share with our viewers, what can they expect from your bootcamp?
488
00:23:57.099 --> 00:24:01.680
Well, I expect that they'll leave with a better understanding
489
00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:03.660
of what the core of their business is.
490
00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:05.539
What is it really?
491
00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:09.960
After we drill down beyond fluffy stuff, what is it
492
00:24:10.009 --> 00:24:13.210
that is the core of my business? And why did
493
00:24:13.269 --> 00:24:16.089
I start the business to begin with? Why did I
494
00:24:16.150 --> 00:24:18.250
start it? And where do I want to end up?
495
00:24:18.789 --> 00:24:21.150
And steps that it takes for me to get there.
496
00:24:21.670 --> 00:24:24.710
I expect for people to leave with those gaps identified.
497
00:24:24.849 --> 00:24:27.089
Some of them you might be solid in. Some of
498
00:24:27.130 --> 00:24:29.650
them you might need help in. But at least you'll
499
00:24:29.710 --> 00:24:34.599
leave knowing what that is. And so I guess the
500
00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.700
biggest thing is leaving with understanding about what it is.
501
00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:42.039
A lot of us probably know why we're doing it, right?
502
00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:44.680
But what is it that we have? What is the
503
00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:47.960
core of our business? And how do I get my
504
00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:50.700
arms around what I need to do so that I
505
00:24:50.769 --> 00:24:52.750
can scale. If that's what I want to do, if
506
00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:55.250
I can legacy play, how.
507
00:24:55.130 --> 00:24:56.869
Do I get to do what I want to do
508
00:24:56.990 --> 00:24:57.710
with what I have?
509
00:24:58.869 --> 00:25:02.200
You know, the two things that really resonated with me
510
00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:05.099
was when you mentioned earlier, you can't scale something that
511
00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:09.500
you don't own. And a lot of times, um, you
512
00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:11.480
see a lot of things, like I said, on social media,
513
00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.269
but do we own what we say we actually own, right?
514
00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:20.160
And are we just putting ourself out there and we're vulnerable? We,
515
00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:22.200
as the owner of the company, as the owner of
516
00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:23.220
the business, we're vulnerable.
517
00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:26.380
We own it in terms of, yeah, we have an LLC,
518
00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:30.079
but beyond that, where's the body, where's the feet and
519
00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:33.450
the legs that's connecting it to long-term legacy?
520
00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:35.930
And talk about why legacy is important.
521
00:25:35.950 --> 00:25:38.470
When we talk about building our communities and building wealth
522
00:25:38.529 --> 00:25:40.630
in our community, what is your perspective on legacy?
523
00:25:41.569 --> 00:25:43.630
Well, again, legacy is something that.
524
00:25:44.670 --> 00:25:49.960
has historical roots because it's something that we've done historically
525
00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:53.319
in our community. And it's something that's passed on from
526
00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:57.799
community member to community member. And so we do that
527
00:25:57.940 --> 00:26:00.970
in cultural aspects of our lives. So I, when I
528
00:26:00.990 --> 00:26:03.210
was at Temple, I had a history, a.
529
00:26:03.250 --> 00:26:05.430
History class in African-American culture.
530
00:26:05.509 --> 00:26:08.039
And one of the, One of our instructors, he said
531
00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:10.740
that we have epic memory and epic memory is where
532
00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:13.819
you act out things that happened to your ancestors that
533
00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:16.059
didn't happen to you. So it's one of the explanations
534
00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:18.980
for why black men are able to stroll. You know,
535
00:26:19.009 --> 00:26:21.750
if you ask somebody that's not African-American, how you stroll,
536
00:26:21.769 --> 00:26:23.769
they may not know how to do that. But from
537
00:26:23.809 --> 00:26:27.210
having shackles, you learn how to walk in and your
538
00:26:27.250 --> 00:26:29.809
gait is different from that. So it's something that we
539
00:26:29.849 --> 00:26:33.009
can do today based upon what happened to our ancestors.
540
00:26:33.130 --> 00:26:35.720
And the same, if you think about business, There are
541
00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:40.680
business concepts that have historical significance in our community, and
542
00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:42.940
they're passed down. They're part of why we do what
543
00:26:42.980 --> 00:26:44.309
we do and how we do.
544
00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:46.490
What we do, what the culture brings to what we
545
00:26:46.509 --> 00:26:47.109
do what we do.
546
00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:50.410
And that's all legacy in a cultural aspect, but there's
547
00:26:50.470 --> 00:26:54.369
also legacy in the tangible business aspect that would lead
548
00:26:54.390 --> 00:26:57.319
to money and growth in the community if we shift
549
00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:00.440
our focus and think about those in that way. So
550
00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:03.799
I think legacy for me is what we already have.
551
00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:06.119
It's already on board, but we just have to pull
552
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:07.720
it out of what we're doing.
553
00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:11.460
No, I think that's so powerful. And you gave a different,
554
00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:14.660
you allowed me to see legacy from a different lens,
555
00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:17.779
a different perspective, particularly from the cultural aspect. And when
556
00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:21.099
you were talking about what your professor talked about at Temple,
557
00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:24.299
and then talking about the trickle-down effect, this is what
558
00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:27.319
I'm hearing also, that that's been embedded in the core
559
00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:30.180
fiber of our community from a cultural perspective.
560
00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:32.630
I think that's a topic that Maybe we can touch
561
00:27:32.690 --> 00:27:32.950
on that.
562
00:27:32.990 --> 00:27:35.509
I think that's an interesting topic from a cultural standpoint
563
00:27:35.549 --> 00:27:39.609
in terms of where we see our businesses now. But also,
564
00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:43.539
where's our mindset about passing things on to the next generation? Because,
565
00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:47.180
you know, I've heard comments. So you may or may
566
00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:49.559
not know, but I'm also licensed in the insurance arena.
567
00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:51.700
And one time a person said to me, I'm not
568
00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:54.039
leaving nothing. And this is African-American. I'm not leaving anything
569
00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:56.869
behind for the next generation. I'm focused on me and mine.
570
00:27:56.940 --> 00:28:00.009
When did our mindset shift that we are not thinking
571
00:28:00.029 --> 00:28:01.250
about legacies?
572
00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:04.170
And I'm not saying globally, so this is the podcast.
573
00:28:04.210 --> 00:28:05.710
I don't want anyone saying I'm saying this from a
574
00:28:06.109 --> 00:28:10.049
global perspective, but I've heard these comments before, right?
575
00:28:10.529 --> 00:28:12.230
And when you talked about how.
576
00:28:12.789 --> 00:28:19.730
You know, traditionally how we were really created in our
577
00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:23.559
environment from Africa, it was always about passing things on.
578
00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:27.940
But there's some way somehow a disconnect took place. And
579
00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:29.000
I'm not saying we're going to be able to answer
580
00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:31.480
that on this podcast show or even answer all that
581
00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:33.980
at the conference, but I think that is a conversation
582
00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:34.559
to be had.
583
00:28:35.299 --> 00:28:37.799
Well, I think, and we can't really get into it
584
00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:40.420
totally like you just said, but I think that part
585
00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:44.710
of it is if you have a tangible ownership asset
586
00:28:44.750 --> 00:28:47.170
where I can pull out of my drawer, all these
587
00:28:47.230 --> 00:28:49.710
things that I own. So when you think about jewelry,
588
00:28:49.890 --> 00:28:52.049
when you go to give your jewelry to your granddaughter,
589
00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:53.319
when you.
590
00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:55.059
Can actually physically give it to her.
591
00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:58.440
If we think about our business assets in that way,
592
00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:01.359
because some of them would be tangible, there'd be certificates,
593
00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:04.490
there'd be documents. And then maybe we can think about
594
00:29:04.529 --> 00:29:08.529
it as these are things that I have tangible, physical
595
00:29:08.630 --> 00:29:11.150
things that I have to leave to the next generation.
596
00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:14.009
Then maybe we can get at that for our business.
597
00:29:14.049 --> 00:29:17.299
We can see that the ownership body of our business
598
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:19.680
is the same way we think about our jewelry drawer.
599
00:29:19.990 --> 00:29:22.339
You know, in terms of these are tangible things that
600
00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.500
we can show. And that's the part of ownership that
601
00:29:25.579 --> 00:29:28.440
can you prove it? That's the proof, right? So if
602
00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:31.660
we focus on what we own, can we prove it
603
00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:35.269
with the documentation? And then can we control it? Do
604
00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:38.210
we have access to move that documentation around?
605
00:29:38.630 --> 00:29:40.559
I think it may shift the way... we look at
606
00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:44.180
legacy in the context of business. No, I love that.
607
00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:47.900
And for those that are tuned in, listen, you want
608
00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:51.420
to be there on Saturday, April the 17th of next year.
609
00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:55.569
It's all about legacy. And even with Unlocked, it's about legacy.
610
00:29:55.630 --> 00:30:01.259
We are anticipating about 500,000 person turnout that's representing businesses
611
00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:07.049
throughout the DMV, Jersey, New York. Attorney Durant, she's from Philly,
612
00:30:07.069 --> 00:30:08.950
but she's presently in the Atlanta area. We have some
613
00:30:09.069 --> 00:30:12.109
other individuals from Atlanta that's coming up as well. So
614
00:30:12.130 --> 00:30:15.630
it's going to be very diverse. We have individuals from Boston,
615
00:30:15.670 --> 00:30:18.450
Massachusetts that's going to be there. So we are very intentional,
616
00:30:19.049 --> 00:30:22.859
even with building the legacy of SEN, right? Making sure Yes,
617
00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:25.380
our base is here in the DMV, but we're spreading
618
00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:28.680
the message about connectivity among business owners, but not just
619
00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:32.089
coming together just to say coming together. Anybody that knows me,
620
00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:34.789
I want us to come together for a purpose. And
621
00:30:35.109 --> 00:30:37.329
with that purpose, when we walk out of those doors
622
00:30:39.130 --> 00:30:41.690
from the last speaker of the day on April 17th,
623
00:30:42.029 --> 00:30:44.099
we need to have marching orders on what we're going
624
00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:45.940
to execute. So for those that say, oh, is this
625
00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:47.779
just going to be another rah-rah? No, it's not a
626
00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:50.049
rah-rah session. It's not a hype session. It is an
627
00:30:50.210 --> 00:30:53.589
education session that's called us to activate and calls us
628
00:30:53.690 --> 00:30:57.109
to execute. That is what is it about. Attorney Durant,
629
00:30:57.190 --> 00:30:59.230
any final words as we get ready to close out?
630
00:31:00.150 --> 00:31:01.109
No, I'm excited.
631
00:31:01.190 --> 00:31:04.839
I'm excited to share. I'm excited to share my shift.
632
00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:07.500
I've been using shift the whole time we've been on here.
633
00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:09.599
I love the title. But no, I'm excited to be
634
00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:10.299
able to share.
635
00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:14.680
And hopefully I can help to influence some people to
636
00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:18.259
think about things a little bit differently than we have traditionally.
637
00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:20.200
Absolutely. Plug your website.
638
00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:22.319
There may be someone watching or listening in that needs
639
00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:23.579
your professional services.
640
00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:26.420
OK, well, you can reach me at my website, which
641
00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:28.819
is AureliaMitchellDurant.com, which.
642
00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:32.920
Is my name.com. If you need any, there's a contact
643
00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:34.480
form on there if you want to reach out and
644
00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:35.119
connect with me.
645
00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:36.299
Absolutely.
646
00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:38.519
And with this segment, there will be a hyperlink that
647
00:31:38.539 --> 00:31:40.720
you can click on and go to her website. With
648
00:31:40.740 --> 00:31:43.789
that being said, everybody have a phenomenal rest of the
649
00:31:43.829 --> 00:31:46.190
week and we're going to see you at the top.
