Going the Extra Mile: Seek Wise Counsel
Our company has just been recognized with the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award by the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, and it caused me to think about why I believe we were blessed to receive such an accolade in the city we love.
For those who may not be familiar with Newleaf Training and Development, we’re a staff training and leadership development company.
My wife and I own the business and we moved here in 2006 from England having never run a company before. Five thousand miles away from all we knew and the only way we could legally earn income was through the business, as we started under an entrepreneurial visa, the “E2.”
Seventeen years later, and we’ve now served 293 clients across 28 states and around the globe.
In the first year of operation, our original business partner bailed and returned to England, resulting in us having to buy her out.
Two years in, and we hit the headwinds of the Great Recession.
When we came up for our E2 visa renewal, the immigration authorities moved us onto Permanent Residency, aka “the green card,” as they were so pleased with how the business was growing and the jobs we’d created.
Seven years ago, we duplicated and opened a second office in Orlando, Florida.
I reluctantly blow the trumpet to report that the first year of COVID-19, 2020, was our best year, and the last full year, 2022, broke all records for both offices.
If I was to draw one essential element out of our entrepreneurial story, it would be to always seek wise counsel. I truly believe this collection of professional advisers formed a significant part of the cornerstone — a solid rock upon which our business stands.
One of our mottos from Day 1 was, and still is: “Do Whatever It Takes (Legally).” In our case, it was imperative we followed all of the immigration requirements, and so it was vital that we hired an immigration attorney who could guide us through each stage. That is Chris.
Our corporate attorney helped us establish our limited liability company; ensured our office lease was fair; handled the change in ownership and even helped us create a template for our client contracts we still use to this day. That is Carl.
You can never have enough attorney friends in a highly litigious country. We sought the council of an employment attorney who advised us to “do the right thing” by treating our workers as employees rather than attempt to swim upstream with contractors against the current of Assembly Bill 5. That is Brian.
Our business banker, (who has since retired) trusted us even before we had the legal right to be in this land we love. On a handshake, we deposited three months of working capital in a bank account, while we awaited the legal approval to open our doors. That is Elizabeth.
Jeff is the mind of marketing who taught us how to sow the land and reap a harvest. He not only taught us to spell correctly in American English on marketing copy and our website, but his pipeline process and encouragement to be ever-diligent in datamanagement were gifts that still keep giving.
Our insurance agent has grown as we’ve grown. He has helped us proactively protect ourselves and our business when we didn’t even see what was around the corner. We thoroughly enjoy our annual sit-down with Jon to discuss what we should stop, start and continue doing, to ensure we’re insured.
I’ll always remember our first accountant, (Rick) say to us: “I’ve never known someone so pleased to pay taxes.” Our mindset was — if we’re generating taxes; we’re creating a profit, which meant we could remain here, during those precarious “E2” years. We changed accountants a few years back to Ray, but have always obeyed the command to pay our taxes.
So, seek wise counsel. Sweetest of all — counselors can become good friends, too.