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Michelle Weinstein, AKA The Pitch Queen, is the host of Success Unfiltered, which features an array of unique and inspiring guests. She talks to all kinds of innovators and achievers, including multi seven and eight figure entrepreneurs, Shark Tank veterans, authors, performers, and investors.

Her guests share their most intimate stories, no holds barred. It’s the raw and vulnerable stuff that you don’t always hear about, like major rejections, epic failures, and unrelenting setbacks.
They share their most inspiring stories of overcoming adversity, never giving up, and achieving success beyond their wildest imaginations.

She created this podcast to help entrepreneurs realize that they are NOT alone. Everyone who has attempted something epic has had their share of setbacks, failures, and NOs. By sharing unfiltered stories from extraordinary individuals who overcame hardships and ultimately achieved their version of success, her hope is to inspire others to stay in the game and hold out for their own dreams.

Her mission and goal is to inspire rising entrepreneurs to break through barriers, overcome obstacles, and make a bigger impact in the world. It’s her passion to show people how to take action, own their value, and grow their top-line revenue. You CAN build a successful and flourishing business and make a global impact by doing what you love, and Success Unfiltered will inspire you ever step of the way!

https://www.thepitchqueen.com/podcast-success-unfiltered/

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  2. 104 | Harriet Mills Shares How Written Contracts can Save Your Business

104 | Harriet Mills Shares How Written Contracts can Save Your Business

May 22, 2019

Episode 104 | Harriet Mills Shares How Written Contracts can Save Your Business

Have you ever considered a prenup for your business? If you have a partner in the business, you should consider getting a written contract to protect you, your business, and the future of the business!

With over a decade of experience as an entrepreneur, Harriet Mills, a mother of three, co-founded her franchise company Wine & Design to help support her family financially. Since pursuing her dreams to grow her business by bringing art and creativity to new communities looking for a fun alternative to a typical night out, Harriet and her team of talented women have grown Wine & Design to one of the nation's' leading Paint and Sip companies with over 80 locations in the US!

Harriet and Wine & Design have been recognized both locally and nationally through awards and notoriety such as The Triangle Business Journal's 40 Under 40, ABC's Shark Tank, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Yahoo Finance. She has used her position in her local community and through Wine & Design to partner with Project ALS to raise money and awareness for the disease. Harriet strives to provide mentorship and guidance to women navigating the world of business. She understands the value of having a tribe of dedicated and passionate women for support and thrives on helping others achieve their business goals, whatever they might be.  

Spending money on a lawyer to draw up written contracts and agreements is hard, especially when you’re just starting your entrepreneurial journey. When you spend money, you want to make sure that money brings in more revenue.

You might think hiring a lawyer will hurt your cash flow, because it’s not helping you make money, but it is a wise decision in the long run.

I personally understand that! When I started FITzee Foods, I needed to invest money into the things that would make my business grow. So, I avoided spending money on a lawyer, especially since I didn’t have a ton of money.

However, money spent on a lawyer saves you money in the long run.

When I closed FITzee Foods, I lost almost $2 million dollars because I didn’t have written contracts in place to protect me. This week’s guest on the Success Unfiltered Podcast lost $1 million for a similar reason. Learn from our us, and take our $3 million dollar lessons to help you in your business.

These written contracts act like a prenup for your business and can save you money, relationships, and stress in your future.

This week’s guest on the Success Unfiltered Podcast, Harriet Mills, experienced her most devastating NO when her ex-business partner said NO to an investment from an investor from Shark Tank.

Harriet learned from this experience and is coming to share the juicy details with you so that you can learn from her NO and protect your business with written contracts. If you have a business partner or partnership relationships, then this episode of Success Unfiltered is a MUST LISTEN!

Enjoy, and thank you for listening and tuning into Success Unfiltered!

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Special thanks goes out to Harriet Mills for taking the time to chat with Michelle. Be sure to join us next week for our next new episode!

Everyone Gets Rejected In Sales. It’s what you do AFTER the NO that counts! I’ve got 3 ways that you can turn a NO into a win (and maybe even a future YES)! Grab my guide to surviving rejections in business and making them work for you right HERE!

Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode:

  • Michelle introduces Harriet Mills.
  • Harriet shares her inspiration for her business, Wine and Design.
  • When Harriet asked the owners of one of the places she visited if they would be willing to let her have a location in North Carolina, they said NO!
  • “No one tells me NO! I’m going to … make it bigger and better!” ~ Harriet Mills
  • When someone tells you NO, take the fear out and do it on your own, and do it better!
  • Harriet found that people didn’t believe in the concept of her business, and didn’t take them seriously. Even the lawyer didn’t think it would work.
  • The lawyer they hired to do their first franchising agreement recycled an old agreement that had been created for a car-related business. The agreement had terms about cars and oil!
  • As an entrepreneur, Harriet says, “You have to take it upon yourself to learn the business as a lawyer, as a marketer, etc. You can trust people,  but you have to watch your back.”
  • One of the keys for a successful franchise is having a kick-a** flagship store - it shows all of those who want to open a franchise that this business is a viable business and can make money!
  • Harriet would have joined the International Franchise Association sooner. Even though she hadn’t planned on franchising, that would have helped her know the ins and outs of the business.
  • Her most devastating NO came when she appeared on Shark Tank, and one of the investors chose her business! Her business partner said NO to an investment from a Shark, and that was when Harriet realized it was time to do business by herself.
  • Not having an operating agreement with her business partner from the start of her business cost her more than $1 million dollars.
  • “It made me fight for the company.” ~ Harriet Mills
  • An operating agreement is like a prenup for your business.
  • If you don’t have an agreement, you’re not going to work out. You’re going to experience one of these: A) your business will fail, B) you will lose friendships, or C) it will be awful.
  • This was a lesson learned - operating agreements are #1 in your business if you’re going to work with a partner.
  • Spend the money on written contracts! Have everything in writing. Follow verbal agreements up in writing, with an email restating what was said and agreed upon! Everything you have in writing is documented.
  • “I can’t stress this enough - spending extra money on attorneys is worth it. If you can’t afford it, wait to start the business!” ~ Harriet Mills
  • I don’t like to say NO, I am willing to give everyone a chance. Harriet had to fire her marketing firm because they weren’t a good fit. If your marketing firm isn’t giving you statistics about conversions and growth, you need a new firm!
  • Make sure there is an “out” clause with your written contracts, give them a retainer and make sure you’re getting detailed reports. Let them show you conversions - if there isn’t any, they aren’t doing their job & it’s time to implement your out clause.
  • Harriet shares what she would share with her younger self.

Connect with Harriet Mills:

Everyone Gets Rejected In Sales. It’s what you do AFTER the NO that counts! I’ve got 3 ways that you can turn a NO into a win (and maybe even a future YES)! Grab my guide to surviving rejections in business and making them work for you right HERE!


Music produced by Deejay-O  www.iamdeejayo.com