IAM1326 – Lawyer Turned Entrepreneur Helps Businesses File Their Business

Deborah Sweeney is a lawyer turned entrepreneur who runs a legal filing business, MyCorporation.com, which she acquired out of Intuit. She has successfully grown MyCorporation.com by focusing on top-notch customer service, and a long-time customer value.

• CEO Story: Deborah works for Intuit as the general manager, in 2009, she expressed her interest in buying the company. And so a lawyer turned into an entrepreneur and she enjoyed every bit of it.
• Business Service: Business license and filings. Trademarks, copyrights, employee payrolls, withholding filings, etc.
• Secret Sauce: Building relationships with the clients. Listening to them and providing a great resource. Automation technology and tools.
• CEO Hack: Managing Calendar and time-blocking with the team, responding to e-mails
• CEO Nugget: Be Kind
• CEO ReDefined: Providing Leadership

Website: www.mycorporation.com
Twitter: my corporation
Twitter: Deborah Sweeney
LinkedIn: Deborah-Sweeney
Blog: blog.mycorporation.com

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Transcription

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00:26 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:28 – Gresham Harkless

Hello, Hello, Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Deborah Sweeney from mycorporation.com. Deborah, it's awesome to have you on the show.

00:38 – Deborah Sweeney

Gresham, thanks so much for having me. It's my pleasure.

00:41 – Gresham Harkless

No problem. I'm happy to have you on the show. And what I wanted to do was read a little bit about Deborah So you can learn a little bit about all the awesome things that she's doing. Deborah Sweeney is a lawyer turned entrepreneur who runs a legal filing business, MyCorporation.com, which she acquired out of Intuit. She has successfully grown MyCorporation.com by focusing on top-notch customer service and long-time customer value. Deborah, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:07 – Deborah Sweeney

I am ready.

01:08 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, what I wanted to do was kind of give you the mic, so to speak, for the first question to see if you can tell us a little bit more about your CEO story and what kind of led you to start your business.

01:17 – Deborah Sweeney

Sure. So I was running the business, the business I now own as a part of Intuit, as the general manager of the division. And it was 2009, the economy was faltering a bit and I had seen smaller divisions within Intuit be divested or closed. And so around that time, I presented to the Intuit leadership that I was interested in buying a business if they were ever interested in selling it, just to say, to put it in their minds, but not thinking that it might come true.

So then there were other possible buyers and I was fortunate enough to, I guess, demonstrate the ability to continue to run the business, to maintain the business for the employees and the shareholders, and to spin the business out. So we have been successfully growing the business outside for the last almost 9 years. So I've been successful in the sense that I didn't become an entrepreneur necessarily with a mindset of becoming an entrepreneur. I'm a lawyer by trade, as you mentioned, but it was a neat change of pace for me. And it was perfect. And I've enjoyed every bit of it.

02:15 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Yeah, it's funny, sometimes you don't expect things to happen once you put it out into the universe. Or like you said, you just say what it is that you're hoping to happen. It sometimes always happens, kind of catches us off guard.

02:27 – Deborah Sweeney

Right, sometimes you have to be careful with what you wish for.

02:30 – Gresham Harkless

Exactly, Our words are very, very, very powerful. So awesome. Also awesome. So I wanted to hear a little bit more about what you're doing at my corporation.com. Could you tell us, and take us through some of the products and services that you have for entrepreneurs and business owners?

02:43 – Deborah Sweeney

Absolutely. So if you're a new business owner or you're a business owner that's done this many times, you know that there's a part of starting a business where you have to incorporate or form an LLC with the state level, often the state in which you're doing business. There are often business licenses, DBAs, and filings that need to be taken care of. And so what we try to do is to take that burden off of the hands of the entrepreneurs and business owners and take it into our own hands, making sure that they not only file promptly for their new startup but also that they maintain their corporation and good standing for the long-term lifetime of their business.

So we try not to just be a transaction-based company, but to, as you mentioned earlier, focus on the lifetime value. How can we provide value for a business as they're growing, from qualifying outside of its home state, getting into new businesses, filing for trademarks or copyrights, taking on employees, opening payroll, and needing state ID filings, that's SUEs and withholding filings to qualify at the state. So all of those are things that we help business owners with. And oftentimes there are business owner questions just about running a business.

And so we also try to be an information-based company where they can come and help get answers about not just the legal nuances, but the practical pieces of running and maintaining a business.

03:53 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. You've done a phenomenal job of answering a ton of questions that we have on our CEO roundup. So I appreciate you for that and appreciate kind of all of the information that you've given to anybody who might be going through some of our blogs and looking for information on the practical side of actually running a business.

04:10 – Deborah Sweeney

It's fun, right? It's fun to not just think about selling a product, but also offering value to customers and business owners and entrepreneurs. And they often have questions, the same questions I have. So it's fun to share my experience, both in the corporate world, in the legal world, and then also in the entrepreneurial world. It's a neat opportunity to have that experience and share what I know. And often what I don't know.

04:30 – Gresham Harkless

Yes, which is always, can always be a lot for a lot of us. So that's why we're always leaning on experts like yourself to be able to know, at least not know what we don't know, but at least know who we can ask if we need to know an answer to a specific question. So that. Sure. So I wanted to ask a little bit more about your organization, and your company, Like, what do you feel is kind of unique about mycorporation.com? What is kind of your kind of differentiator?

04:53 – Deborah Sweeney

I believe that you mentioned earlier in my intro that it's our customer services that keep us unique. And in an industry that's semi-commoditized, so many providers do incorporations and LLC filings, our focus is really on building relationships with our clients. So what makes us special is our team. We listen, we pay attention to what you need. We work with many large companies that use us as their backend. So sometimes the clients or entrepreneurs may not even know who's doing it behind the scenes.

And so our goal is to create a relationship with our partners and our customers to make sure we're filling that need for them. So what makes us different is we listen. We want to know what they don't know. We want to try to answer those questions and we want to try to be a great resource. We also focus on automation, technology, and tools, but truthfully, a lot of times when business owners are going into business, they might be looking for an online service, but they're also looking for guidance.

And so we try not to, we cannot get legal advice per se, but we try to give them as much guidance about the process, what to expect, how to get started and how to manage the business over the long term, what the filing deadlines are, what the requirements are. So really being a good translator from the state and business nuances to how a business can practically just make sure they're in good standing.

06:06 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I think being able to kind of couple both of those things together where you provide that listening ear, but also can provide the kind of like the technology aspect of it because you know, you can go online and do and find information that you guys provide on your website. I think that's huge because it's such a scary thing to kind of start a business. Sometimes you need to have that conversation with somebody and have that listening ear so you know that you are making the right decision. So it's awesome that you guys focus on that.

06:31 – Deborah Sweeney

Yeah, absolutely.

06:32 – Gresham Harkless

And 1 of the next things that I wanted to ask you was basically for a CEO hack and this might be like a resource or a book or something that you use or can kind of lean on an everyday basis that you feel makes you more effective and efficient as a business owner.

06:47 – Deborah Sweeney

I am, I know it's not something novel, but I am a focused person when it comes to organizing my calendar, to being strategic about how I manage my days. Because sometimes when you're running a business, your days can get away from you and you don't recognize what you've done and you don't meet any of your goals. And so I focus on, it sounds silly, but my outlook. I create an agenda. I even create a calendar for an item for, you know, respond to email for, do particular items when I write or I do write content or work with my team.

So I schedule them very strategically so that, for example, my team members may have questions and everyone always pops in and I sit out on the floor with the team anyway. So People are always asking me questions on any given day, but if they see on the calendar that they have a meeting with me tomorrow, then it's perfect, they organize it toward that. So I would say my CEO hack is really about staying structured and organized, certainly knowing that variables as a business owner come in all day long, but to be as organized in your calendar and how you spend your time at work, rather than sort of letting your workday manage you.

07:53 – Gresham Harkless

I love that. I love that. Yeah. I think that's a, it's a small thing, but it's a huge thing. I always say to myself, control what you can control and be able to kind of manage and kind of map out your schedule and understanding that the team members can also understand when they can talk to you is huge because it helps you be more efficient and effective. So I think that's a phenomenal hack. The next thing I wanted to ask you was for a CEO nugget, which might be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice that you might have for other entrepreneurs and CEOs.

08:19 – Deborah Sweeney

Okay. So I think I look back on how I got this business out of Intuit how the whole deal happened and how I run the business I run today. And I believe that Maybe it sounds childish, but I believe in kindness. I think that people respect you when you have your mind, you are organized and structured, but on top of it all, you're kind. And I believe that that's created an environment for my own business that has led to my success. So I would say a lot of times in a world where entrepreneurship is a dog eat dog and beat the competition and hear what they're doing and try to 1 up and, you know, keep your employees in line and that kind of mindset.

I believe in listening to others, forging my path, but also really spending my days treating people right. So whether it's treating customers right, treating our employees right, and I think it's not just completely altruistic, right? I don't just do it necessarily because I'm a good person, but also because it serves me well to be kind to others. And what ends up happening is kind of sort of comes back to me. So I think that it works out holistically.

And at the risk of sounding corny in an industry that is commoditized like ours, When you show that large businesses, small businesses, employees, customers, and clients all recognize it. And I think that's how you can be a differentiator and have my nugget of wisdom because it does make a difference in life and business.

09:47 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Like we were talking about kind of like energy that you're putting out or things that you're putting out, understanding that that can come back maybe not in the same person, but maybe someplace else, or even, you know, understanding like how small the world and especially the business world is where sometimes people do talk and people do know 1 another. And if you have that reputation, if you have been putting out good vibes, so to speak, then all of a sudden things start to build upon each other.

10:10 – Deborah Sweeney

I believe it. And it's not overnight, right? It's it's who you are. It's committing to being a person of good standing. And I think you're 100% right about the community. I hear all the time, oh, we've heard good things about your business. I think a lot of people say, oh, I've just heard of your competitor, you know? And I think, okay. And then when they hear of us, they hear good things.

And I'm so happy to hear that versus just knowing that they exist as a general matter, but feeling like we're a company that's upstanding, that serves well to entrepreneurs throughout the US, and focusing on that. I love to hear that more than I love to hear, just I know what your company does.

10:44 – Gresham Harkless

I love that, yeah. Make sure you know the company on a different level. So that makes perfect sense. And now I wanted to ask you kind of like what's your definition of being a CEO? And 1 of the things that we get to do on this podcast is as CEOs in different walks of life, so to speak, people that have, you know, huge, huge teams and people that might be just starting up their organization. So I guess for you, what does being a CEO mean to you?

11:08 – Deborah Sweeney

I think it's about providing leadership in the true sense of the word, right? About not just doing everything myself, about not being a dictator or mandating what I need, but about making my team better. We recently had a sales expert come in and the team was so scared. What are they gonna say? What are they gonna do? And I thought it was just about learning. And I think if you can be a good leader and help your team learn and grow, then everybody is going to be better for it.

So I would say that being a CEO is really about being a leader in the type of vein that you would want to be led and wanting to get people to come to your table and to have a great attitude and to treat your customers the way you would treat them. And I think that all makes a difference. People always joke that we have so much fun at our company, silly things like we play games in the afternoons and we have talent shows and we play loud music when we pass out paychecks or whatever. And people are like, How do you, does your team work? And I think, you know, I have to work here too.

And so I want to be the kind of CEO who enjoys going to work myself and working with people who are happy to be here. And I think that that is what makes a difference. You know, being the kind of person for whom you would want to work, but also being a leader, getting your team to think for themselves and do for themselves and be strategic so that again, it helps your business continue to grow.

12:22 – Gresham Harkless

That's awesome. And that's phenomenal. Yeah. It's a quick question you can always ask. We can always ask ourselves as CEOs, would you want to work for yourself? And then the answer is, you know, Maybe you want to make some tweaks or switches to what it is that you're doing. But if the answer is yes, then yeah, that's something awesome that you're doing. And it sounds like, you know, you're creating a phenomenal company culture. So that's awesome.

12:41 – Deborah Sweeney

I try. I'm sure I have failed. I have failed. But anyway,

12:45 – Gresham Harkless

We all do. So, well, it's awesome, Deborah. I appreciate you for taking some time out of your schedule. What I want to do was just kind of give you the floor, so to speak, and see if there's anything additional you want to tell us as far as like pieces of advice, word of wisdom, or anything additional about my corporation that we can kind of take on?

13:04 – Deborah Sweeney

Sure. I mean, I think in general, when entrepreneurs and business owners are getting started, I know you talk to a lot of businesses that have been in business for a long time and know the drill, but I think for those startups out there, 1 thing to keep in mind is separating your assets from your business, protecting yourself, forming a corporation or LLC is a really smart idea. And I think a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs think they have to meet a certain threshold or they have to make a certain amount of money or they have to be a certain level of sophistication.

The truth is that protection, the tax savings can exist no matter what size of business you have. And so being aware of that and knowing that you don't, it's not as complicated as it seems. I think the mystique, I'm a lawyer, so I know that you know, sometimes there's this mystique to the legal filings and the act of creating and forming a business. But the truth is that it doesn't have to be as complicated as a business owner or entrepreneur would think. There is help out there first of all, there's tons of information, but also that the process itself once you get started is not super complicated.

So I think just thinking strategically for yourself, especially if you have business partners, if you have investors, being mindful about how to properly structure your business and get off to the right start. So say that would be, my words of wisdom. It's not as complicated as you think you should do it right from the beginning and grow right into your business successfully, saving on taxes and making smart business decisions. Those are my parting words.

14:23 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And 1 final thing I wanted to ask, if somebody's listening to this and they want to follow up with you and learn more about everything, all the awesome things that you're doing, what's the best way for them to get ahold of you?

14:32 – Deborah Sweeney

I'm active on Twitter. So at Debra Sweeney or my corporation. I'm also great to have people email me. It's D Sweeney at my corporation. And I'm thrilled. I respond to emails. I respond to Twitter. There are questions you have, just general business questions. All of our team members here are happy. You can give us a test if my word is true that we are focused on great customer service. So feel free to give us a call too. I don't know if you want my phone number but it's 877-692-6772 and that's our toll-free number. Call anytime.

15:01 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome. We'll have those contact information, and the show notes, just in case anybody wants to follow up. But Debra, thank you so much again. And I appreciate all the awesome things that you're doing.

15:10 – Deborah Sweeney

It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me. It's been fun.

15:13 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Please tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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