Building a Business That Outlasts You (David Grau Sr.)

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Escaping the Drift with John Gafford 50 min 2 speakers 8 chapters transcribed
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What is the Founders Treadmill and how does it affect entrepreneurs?

David Grau Sr. 0:00
i was super busy one day and i was doing the hey boss just one quick question you know we couldn't get through a paragraph of anything in our discussion without somebody walking in for me to solve the problem and and i again i was just glowing i felt so good about it and and he finally walked over and just kind of slammed the door and he said Would you just stop it? This isn't a law practice. This is a business. And it can't go any further than you if you're going to keep doing that. And I was kind of stunned. And I thought, wait a minute, I'm solving all the problems. Everybody needs me. And that was the point at which I realized I was on the founder's treadmill.
John Gafford 0:47
And now, Escaping the Drift, the show designed to get you from where you are to where you want to be. I'm John Gafford and I have a knack for getting extraordinary achievers to drop their secrets to help you on a path to greatness. So stop drifting along, escape the drift, and it's time to start right now. back again back again for another episode of like it says in the opening the podcast that gets you from where you are to where you want to go and today beaming into the studio from lexington kentucky i have an awesome guest if you are somebody that is a business builder you're trying to build a business you're thinking about building a business this guy has got you cold he is the founder and ceo of grouse esquire law group
John Gafford 1:28
national healthcare law firm representing physicians and healthcare founders. That was his previous life. And then he kind of fell in love becoming a consultant for small business and teaching you how to build a business that is going to last or outlast you. Anyway, he has published many books, including the stewardship advantage book, building with the end in mind, and acquiring your future through a succession plan. We are lucky to have him and can't wait to learn from him. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the program. This is David Grau, Sr. David, how are you? Pleasure. Thank you for having me.
David Grau Sr. 2:03
What a great way to end the week.
John Gafford 2:05
Yeah, a great way to end the week. So yeah, I've got y'all hyped up now. So obviously you were early in life, an attorney by trade. That's what you did. Tell me about the end of that career and pivoting into the new one.

How can a solopreneur transition to a CEO mindset?

David Grau Sr. 2:19
Well, so I came out of college in the Midwest, and I was an English major. And from day one, I wanted to write books. But, you know, we're not all Stephen King. And I realized I also needed to make a living. And so I chose a profession that I thought would give me a chance to do a lot of writing. And I went to law school. And so I ended up... in the securities trade i was a securities regulator right out of law school i graduated past the bar and eventually opened up my own securities law practice and not not a lot of writing certainly nothing creative um in that line of work so um i got into law and you know i made a good living i started my own small business and i was a sole proprietorship which was
David Grau Sr. 3:12
kind of my dream come true. My dad and my grandfather, you know, they were all sole proprietors in their life. So I had to do it. But lo and behold, I kind of stumbled into a consulting business where I worked with independent financial advisors. Think, you know, the advisors under Charles Schwab, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade or, you know, Ameriprise. But I started working with them and really enjoyed the work and obviously my securities law background, you know, parlayed into a really good meeting of the minds. And so what I did is I started a consulting business. You know, when we opened it in the late 1990s, I thought of it as eHarmony for financial advisors. You know, we were going to be the company that matched them up using this newfangled thing called the Internet.
David Grau Sr. 4:07
And And that worked well enough. But I liked the consulting. I came to love teaching. And so during that career, I got up on stage a thousand times. I actually tracked them. And I got to teach what it was I did to the people in that audience. And most of the people I talked to they were sole proprietors too.

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