Season 3, #12 - Purpose: Preserving Family Wealth

Speaker A: We're standing, we're standing on the edge of something big and we're gonna make some changes. We're gonna make some changes.

Speaker B: Hi.

Speaker C: I'm pleased to announce something very special to me. A new subscription based service through NextAct Advisors that allows members exclusive access to personal industry insights and bespoke corporate governance knowledge. This comes in the form of blogs, personal book recommendations and early access to the Founders Sandbox podcast episodes before they release to the public. If you want more white glove information on building your startup with information like what was in today's episode, sign up at the link in the show notes to enjoy being a special member of Next Act Advisors. As a thank you to Founders Sandbox listeners, you can use code Sandbox25 at, uh, checkout to enjoy 25% off your membership cost.

Speaker B: Thank you. Welcome back to the Founder's Sandbox. I am Brenda McCabe, your host of this monthly podcast where I have guests that are either founders, professional service providers, corporate, um, board directors, um, that actually share a mission with me which is bringing change to the world through great corporate governance, but building resilient, scalable and purpose driven companies, um, on a monthly basis. Um, my guests are going to tell their origin stories and kind of how I've met them, um, through the work they do. And I've recreated a fun sandbox environment in which we do storytelling and ultimately we will touch upon resilience, purpose driven and scalable or sustainable growth in the businesses that they are. Um, I'm absolutely delighted to have as my guest today Alexis Steinberg. Alexis counsel, um, at Greenberg Glusker and before that she was actually practicing in a smaller law firm and where her story today is going to kind of have some, um, lessons learned on why she chose to leave the firm and move into Greenberg Lasker. But more importantly, you and I go back a couple years. We are part of an informal group of women. We call ourselves Women in Wealth. Um, we meet periodically, um, to really refer business to each other for those women business owners that are seeking perhaps an exit in the next three to five years. And through our skill set, some of us are CPAs, strategy advisors, yourself as counsel. Um, a lot of these businesses are family owned. And so you and I and another, you know, seven other ladies get to meet each other over lunch and discuss these opportunities. And we're all very passionate about helping women business owners, aren't we Alexa? We are.

Speaker A: Brenda. Thank you so much for having me on the founder Sandbox. Um, I am an avid listener so I'm very excited that I get to be a guest.

Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you. So, you know, um, we've had many, many conversations, obviously. Um, but I wanted for my listeners, um, to really dive into, um, what you do today. Right, which is really, ah, purpose driven and it's preserving family wealth. Right. And I know that you actually come from a background where your father owned his business. So tell us a bit. Walk us down memory lane and that first story that you told me.

Speaker A: Well, you know, growing up, I. I watched both of my parents. My, My mother was a career woman, um, my father a financial planner, um, you know, running his own. His own book. Um, my mother, uh, a buyer and then into. In fashion and then into real estate. And you know, I watched. They were both very involved in the community. My mother sat on, on the city, the Studio City council, um, the neighborhood council. She was on many boards involved with the temple. My father as well, um, sat on many boards involved with the Boys and Girls Club, um, involved with the Jewish Federation. So I watched, you know, as my parents, um, really instilled the importance of being involved in community, being involved in family, being involved, um, in. In the greater good and in purposeful and meaningful, um, organizations. And I sort of learned a lot about that watching them both in their respective arenas, being involved, um, and you know, they've. They've truly inspired me, um, not only in my career path, but in how I treat my clients, um, in the arenas that I've become involved in. M. There's a specific story that I think I've shared with you, Brenda, about my father and how he sort of taught me the value of wealth, the value of money. Because as. As his career, that was what he did. He, he. He focused mainly on planning for retirement, um, and financially setting yourself up and your family up to have generational wealth and what that looked like and how you could prepare for it when you were 10, 15, 20, 25 years old. Um, preparing for family, preparing for children. And so when I turned 16, my father went into our QuickBooks. We had a family QuickBooks.

Speaker B: Oh, wow. That was before it was actually. It was probably a hard disk, right? Not even on the Internet.

Speaker A: Oh, yeah, it was like a hard disk. He had, you know, the. A full setup, massive computers, you know, the whole thing, um, in our family office. And he went into his QuickBooks and he took what he spent on me in a year.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker A: And he divided it by 12. And this is. This included insurance, mind you. I just turned 16, so my car insurance, my car lease, um, you know, uh, medical entertainment, um, my Tennis lessons, all of these things that. That were spent on me, what it cost for me to function.

Speaker B: Children are expensive.

Speaker A: You know, I was. I was very expensive. Because I will tell you, that check was large that he. Me every month. And he laid out. These are the things that. That are monthly expenses for you that you need to pay with this money. And the rest you can use on entertainment, gifts, um, shopping, which I loved. Uh, you know, but I had. I had to learn to balance my checkbook and balance this amount of money because I wasn't able to get any more until the next month.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker A: And, um, you know, that. That really taught me how that, you know, money was. Was never something that was readily expendable to me. And you. Even if I went to Starbucks and I bought a drink with my father's credit card, he'd ask me for the receipt, he'd want to know where the receipt was. Always, uh, you know, he was very meticulous in his record keeping, which I am now very much meticulous in my record keeping and I enforce with my clients and, um, make sure that record keeping is so important in your business as well. Um, you know, and so when I. When I graduated high school, my father said to me, okay, the checks are done, and you need to go get a job in college. And what I will do is I will subsidize the paycheck that you bring home. So if you bring home $600, I will pay you 50 cents on the dollar for what you bring home, but only up to $300. So I could get a max of $300 every paycheck that he would subsidize. And then that was, you know, how I. I had money to live and to function. I mean, my parents, uh, I was lucky enough that my parents would pay for my college, um, and my housing, my dorms, um, you know, but it was still really teaching me the value of money. Um, and my father required that a certain portion of those funds get put away in savings and invested. And he would tell me how to do that. Um, and he would guide me. And because my father was a financial planner, he would call me like a client and say, listen, you're 70% stocks, 30% cash. I think you need to swap it. Let's talk about what that means. And of course, I'm like, you're my dad. Just. Just do it. Why are we having this conversation? You, um, know, but it was so valuable because he wanted me to understand what he was doing and why he was doing it, um, and how it really functioned. And that I've also taken into how I guide and advise my clients. I don't just do for them. I understand. I want them to understand, um, how we're doing it, why we're doing it, what the alternatives are and what it means if we do it this way or that way. Um, a lot of my discussions with my clients are about strategy and about structure, um, so they can make an informed decision. Uh, I think that's extremely important, especially in a family business. Um, working with your family is tough. The way that you can make it that much easier is, Is communication and understanding and knowledge. And I try to arm my clients with that. And that's something that my, My father really taught me. Um, you know, and my mother as well.

Speaker B: She.

Speaker A: Because my father managed our money and my mother would bring it home and hand my father check and be like, here, I don't know what you do with it, but do something with it, you know? Um, but she also would. He would say, well, hold on a second. Like, I know you just sold the house and here's your commission check, but let me show you what we do with this and how we create generational wealth and how we invest it and what the best benefit for these funds are and how to use debt to our advantage. Um, you know, and that's. All of these things were such a value add that I obtained understanding about and that I've now turned this value add to my clients and how they run their business. Um, and I'm not a financial advisor, I'm not a tax attorney. Um, these are just really sort of general understandings and general guidance points for my clients to go out and, and have knowledgeable conversations with the appropriate guidance, appropriate people, and the appropriate service providers that are going to help them accomplish those things.

Speaker B: Absolutely. I really. This is very loaded, but I really like the, the methods your father used. They're very, well, first of all, intentional, um, and bespoke. And that's really. And he did communicate to your mother. Right. To instill also in her an understanding of. Although she's bringing the check home. Because many, many women business owners today oftentimes do not own a majority of their companies. Right. And that is a shocking, um, uh, statistic that I run into time and time again that women actually don't know how much, um, equity they have in their own business. So just the informing, um, and you've translated that bespoke, communicating, helping your clients understand. Pardon me. And uh, providing options as well as access to other professional service providers as Your, um, kind of your own bespoke, um, offering to your clients, but it wasn't always like, yeah, go, go.

Speaker A: That's sort of the benefit of, you know, the, the group that you and I met in and, and all of the networking opportunities that I've been involved in. You know, of course, networking is about building, um, your brand and your book and um, but a majority of it and the real value there is meeting and learning and understanding, um, and really coming to know people that can help your clients where you can't. Um, and having trustworthy referral sources to do that. Because I'm not just going to tell my client, oh, this individual can help you with wealth management. Call them without knowing how this person functions, without knowing, um, you know, how, how they run their clientele, how they do business. Those are really important things. And to have trustworthy referral sources is really important. And that's sort of what our group is all about.

Speaker B: That's right. And it wasn't always like this. Right. You graduated from law school and started with a small. It was a, I think a female, um, ah, led law firm. Yeah.

Speaker A: Uh, and female attorneys.

Speaker B: Yeah. So, you know, what was your. This is right out of college, what were you doing and what then informed your decision at a very tender age to leave

Speaker A: so right out of law school? Um, you know, I, I had worked my way through law school. Um, I worked in family law for about five or six years. And um, during the day I was at a law firm and in the evening I took classes from 5 to 10pm four days a week for four years. Took me four years to get through law school. Um, and when I graduated, unfortunately, I wasn't afforded, um, all of the opportunities in law school that most law students take advantage of. Externships, um, fellowships, things like that, because I was working my way through. I had already been financially independent and, um, I wanted to stay that way. So I didn't want to quit my job, who were to, uh, go to school. I, I wanted to be able to do it all. Um, and so as a result, I really didn't have, um, the summer clerkships that turn into job offers. Um, and I was a little lost because I had taken the bar exam and I was like, okay, I'm not an attorney yet, but in three months, if I pass the bar exam, I could be. Am I applying for law clerk positions? Am I client for associate positions? Like, you know, I was so lost. Um, and I went on Craigslist.

Speaker B: Oh my goodness.

Speaker A: And I found law firms that were Hiring because I figured those people, you know, they're, they're looking to hire somebody now, which is what I'm looking for. And, and hopefully those people, um, you know, will transition me into an associate role. I passed the bar exam in a few months and that was, that was like my first sort of in. And I joined a very boutique law firm in West Hollywood. Um, it was, by the time I left, we were three female attorneys. We were all female, uh, for my entire tenure there. I was there for six and a half years. Um, and it was in late 2019, um, early 2020 that I really decided, um, I wanted more for my career and for my book of business. And I wanted to be able to provide my clients with a well rounded, um, advice and guidance. And you know, I, I can't, I can't do it all, nor should I. I'm pretty sure my malpractice of insurance wouldn't like that.

Speaker B: Not at all.

Speaker A: Um, you know, but more and more I had clients that were asking me, um, to help with litigation matters or employment matters. And um, you know, those are, those are arenas that I know just enough about to be dangerous. But to be dangerous, I'm not going to run, you know, a full litigation. And um, I can't willfully and knowledgeably advise on employment matters. Um, you know, especially to, to do justice by my client, do well by them. Um, I'd like to be able to have somebody for them that they can speak to and trust and get the advice and counsel they need. And that really stemmed my yearning to branch out and go to a firm where I had all of those resources at my fingertips. You know, I wanted more for my, my career. But my biggest drive was I wanted more for my clients. I wanted really to be able to provide them with well rounded, multidisciplinary, um, council. And so I sought out, you know, full, uh, service law firms. And um, I found my home at Greenberg Lasker, which is a fantastic place to be. You know, I'm very happy there and everybody is so fantastic and um, everybody is so good at what they do. You know, we've got employment and tax and IP and litigation, um, environmental, entertainment, you name it. Um, and it's been such a benefit not only to my career, but to my clients. But I've learned so much.

Speaker B: And is it true, um, how would you characterize the typical clients without revealing, you know, confidential matters? Is it, um, also a firm that's um, very oriented towards family owned businesses? Would you say that?

Speaker A: Yeah, I would. You know, we, I I'm a council, um, in the corporate and tax department. Um, and you know, we don't have a ton of institutional clients. Um, a lot of our clients are family owned businesses, mostly held entities, you know, which I love. On a daily basis I am working with, um, two sisters that own a business together or a multi generational company where, uh, you know, senior is working with, with G. G2 and G3, um, or were. Um, actually this morning I was working on, ah, assigning interests and reorganizing and restructuring a bunch of entities that own a bunch of real estate for clients. You know. Um, and that's also the kind of benefit that I get that I get to be pulled into real estate matters with my corporate expertise to help a family office restructure their ownership. Um, you know, and I, I love that stuff. We're, we're extremely, um. The way that Greenberg, ah, provides advice and counsel, uh, is on a very personal level. Okay. The way that the firm and myself especially we're, we're a lifestyle firm. Um, you know, we understand that attorneys or people outside of the walls of the office and that we all have lives and we, you know, I translate that to my clients. My clients have lives, my clients have other things going on than their business. And especially when you deal with family offices and family businesses, there's a whole different dynamic. Ah, family interaction.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Um, you know, and, and I have now experienced that, uh, not only with my clients, um, and sometimes I become therapist in that, in that regard. Although I'm a very expensive therapist, I'm sure there are people that are less per hour. Um, but now I'm experiencing it firsthand because my husband, um, has his own business with his brother and I have become advice, uh, and counsel for them as well. And so I'm seeing it sort of from a different angle too. But I think that my clients truly appreciate that when I talk to them, I talk to them as a person. It's not just as a business owner, it's not just as I'm guiding you with this legal advice. Um, it has to make sense and it has to uh, be actually applicable. Um, and sometimes what my advice and guidance would be in a, in sort of this like legal box, um, is not the best for my client and how their business is operating. And you've got to be sort of fluid with that and bespoke. Yeah.

Speaker B: So it's really beyond. It's not a transactional relationship. It is a trustworthy relationship based on the values of the family businesses that, and their goals in Preserving wealth or continue to generate family wealth?

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker B: This is a great segue because you know, I also am passionate and have often um, guests that are sitting on corporate boards as council. Have you observed any best practices and family governance structure? You talk about G1, G2, G3. Right. Have you observed any um, best practices? We don't have to talk about bad practices. Right. But any best practices that you would like to share here?

Speaker A: Um, yeah, I think that I've observed that some of the most effective family governance structures prioritize clear communication, um, well defined roles, professionalized decision making. Um, you know, I use this in a very loose sense of the word, but you could establish a family constitution. Creating a board of advisors is always really important. And having independent members in your board of advisors, um, is so incredibly valuable to have a knowledgeable, independent person that can help through disputes. Because business disputes are one thing, but when you include a family dynamic in these disputes, um, you know, emotions can get high and heated. And so having an independent third board, third party board is um, extremely valuable. Um, somebody that can guide you, something that your family trusts. Um, you know, those are some big things that I've seen as, as best practices. Um, and I think that lastly holding sort of dedicated regular meetings, you'll talk about business, you know, at the dinner table or you know, out and about. You're at a kid, you're one of your niece's birthday parties and everyone's there and you're like, hey, did you see that email from xyz? We got to figure out how to handle that. But uh, those are not the time and place and you're not going to have a productive conversation. And so you need to set aside and create boundaries between your family life and your business life. And set aside regular times, um, you know, weekly, bi weekly to have an hour conversation about what's going on, any disputes that need to be discussed, any decisions that need to be made, uh, and that's your time to solely be in your business mode. Um, because having these conversation piecemeals at ah, dinner on a Saturday night or um, a family's birthday party or a ah, holiday party, it's not effective um, for your business. And one of the biggest, biggest, um, best practices and one of the most important goals is to preserve your family relationships.

Speaker B: Beautiful. You heard it here on the Founders sandbox. To preserve family.

Speaker A: Family. Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: Because if you don't have family, what do you have?

Speaker B: That's right, family.

Speaker A: It's really important. It's really important. And sometimes business can get in the middle of family relationships and it, it hu. See that it hurts to see business tear between brothers, tear between um, father and son. Um, you know, and I've seen those things in it. There needs to be just a second to like breathe.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: And realize that there are bigger things than business and that they need to be resolved. But they can only be resolved if you have a good relationship with your business partner slash your family. M. They're your biggest support.

Speaker B: This has been immensely, um, uh, actionable, um, in terms of governance, the best practice you've seen in family offices. So thank you, thank you for that. It's not often that I do have a um, lawyer work that works in this and this arena. Um, although family businesses just in the la. Um ecosystem is. It's very predominant. It's very, very, um, you know, third, actually third and fourth generation now. So very relevant to your business and mine. Let's switch gears. You are I believe sitting on the board of directors or one of the committees of the association of Corporate Growth. Yes. And tell us a bit. What, um, why, what is the association of Corporate Growth, um, and what committees do you serve on and how do you further your business there? Thank you.

Speaker A: The association of Corporate Growth or acg, um is a national organization, um, for professionals in the M and A sphere. So you've got members that are um, VCs, investment bankers, M and A attorneys, wealth managers, um, insurance specialists, you sort of name it. Anybody that has some sort of involvement in the purchase or sale of a business, um, or just surround, sort of just general business governance that either prepare for an exit. Um, you know, those are the kind of people that are members of acg. Um, and I got involved a few years ago and, and I think three years now I've been sitting on the women's committee, um, which is a fantastic. We, we schedule and create um, women focused programming within the confines of. Of the ACG organization. Um, and really promote networking amongst women more and more. Um, I, um, have had clients that have requested that they only work with women. Um, um, you know, and I, and this sort of goes back to what I was talking about earlier about being able to provide trustworthy referrals.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Um, um, and I've met some incredible, incredible women in connection with acj. In fact, our group kind of came out of acg.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: How I met you, Brenda. And so it's, it's been a fantastic, fantastic um, network to be a part of. Um, you know, I love planning the programming. Our programming, uh, ranges everywhere from you Know, talking about the state of the market, uh, to balancing family and career and what that looks like and, um, mental health and uh, you know, I think it, I hate calling out a distinction that we are women in business, um, because I think a business person is a business person. I don't think it needs to be, um, defined as such. But there is something to be said about the fact that, um, women have a different set of challenges in the workplace than men do. Um, and a lot of those stem from family life.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: And that needs to be balanced. And so there's a lot of programming that the women's committee puts on that sort of talks about that and gears us in that direction and, and gives us tools to be successful and to strive, um, in the face of, of everything else that women just have to, to deal with and take care of.

Speaker B: Yes, that's for another episode here.

Speaker A: Yes, very much so.

Speaker B: Very much so. Yes. Um, as, uh, we all have balanced our careers and, and family. Yeah. Priorities. Right, let's switch gears. How do my, um, listeners contact you? How's the best way?

Speaker A: Ah, well, um, so I'm at, again, I'm at Greenberg Glusker. We're in Century City. Um, they can email me. It's a steinberg.com, um, and on our Greenberg Glassar website, if you search people, I've got my whole bio and all of my contact information as well.

Speaker B: Excellent. Well, that will appear in the show Notes. All right, so we're coming into the final, um, part of this podcast in which I actually enjoy asking my guests what the meaning is of certain terms that I actually practice with my clients. I'm working with purpose driven companies. Resilience. We work on resilience, um, tactics and, um, scalable businesses. Sustainable. So I always love the opportunity to hear firsthand from my guests. What does purpose driven mean to you, Alexa?

Speaker A: Purpose driven means a mission that goes beyond profit. It taps into creating meaningful value for your customers, um, for your employees, for the community that you, um, that you operate in. Um, it's sort of about building a company that, that stands for something. And I'm very pleased to say that we have seen so many more companies start out of a purpose driven, um, you know, goal we've got. There's a bunch of old companies and new companies. There's, you know, a lot of companies that have this sort of one for one model. You buy one, we donate one. Um, there are socks companies, there are eyeglass companies, there are shoe companies, there are cleaning product companies that sort of have, have this as as their motto. Um, uh, and then you see additionally, you know, products and companies that are committed to the environment or sustainability and cleanup efforts. Uh, you know, that's, that's really what, what purpose driven means to me is that these companies have a goal. Um, they want to accomplish something more than what they can show on their balance sheet.

Speaker B: Sheet.

Speaker A: Um, and consumers of that product are helping them achieve that.

Speaker B: Excellent, excellent. We've touched on even other aspects like um, you know, sustainable growth. Right. Yeah, right. What does resilience. You've been particularly resilient, you know, having a father like your father, building life skills early. What would resilience, um, what's the meaning to you, Alexa?

Speaker A: Resilience is about navigating challenges, um, with adaptability and with determination. Um, you know, it's about learning from your setbacks instead of being defined by them. Having them be a fire, um, to your growth and having them be the galvanization of your progress forward. Um, you know, and in, in business it also can be about the ability to pivot while staying aligned with your long term goals. About the ability to um, you know, okay, there's a new regulatory, um, new regulation that's going to affect the way we operate. Okay. How are we going to pivot to continue doing what we do but still can stay in compliance? Um, you know, that's, that's really what it's all. Be on your toes.

Speaker B: Excellent. And you know, scalable. I'd like you to kind of share the meaning. Within the context of scaling the legal practice, what have you found to be um, particularly challenging, um, or easy to do? Right. And scaling. Right. Because it's a very bespoke practice, is scaling important? Right.

Speaker A: Scaling is absolutely important.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker C: Um,

Speaker A: in my practice and in my business, my, my number one, um, my number one goal and the um, biggest galvanization point of scaling my practice, um, are my clients, my current clients. If you do a good job for them, they'll continue to come back and they'll continue to give you more business. Um, you know, creating a network. I watched my parents in their, both of their practices. All of our family friends at this point have at one point or another been a client of my mother's or of my father's. They've swapped clients, referred to each other and these individuals either started as friends and became clients or became friends because they were clients. And uh, that is the way that both of my parents have built their practice and their brands. Um, and that's how I want to do it too. It's a value Add when. Listen, attorneys are scary to begin with. Nobody wants to talk to an attorney. Um, you know, it's expensive. Half the time you have no idea what they're talking about. Language. Uh, you know, but if you create this, this relationship, um, of trust and of loyalty and friendship, and when you feel like your attorney sees beyond just you as a dollar figure or you as a business, uh, it goes such a long way. And that's, that's my main value. Add to my clients, and in turn, they help me scale my business. My clients continue to come back to me, and I'm able to continue to grow that because I can satisfy all of their needs with the network that I'm creating through places like acg. Um, you know, so that's, that's what I see as scalable in my industry. It's extremely important. Um, and it goes to the heart of how I practice law and how, how I guide and advise my clients.

Speaker B: Beautiful. Thank you. You heard it here on the founder Sandbox. Last question. Alexa, did you have fun in the sandbox today?

Speaker A: Oh, it was so fun, Brenda. Thank you so much for having me. This was fantastic.

Speaker B: Thank you. So to my listeners, if you've enjoyed this monthly episode with Alexis Steinberg Council at. Greenberg, is it Greenberg Gloucester, Right?

Speaker A: Greenberg Glasser.

Speaker B: Glasser.

Speaker A: Yep.

Speaker B: Um, I encourage you to sign, um up. Subscribe either on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I'm on all, um, main podcast streaming services where my guests talk about how they felt resilient, scalable and purpose driven, um, practices informed by their origin stories. You can find it here on the Founder Sandbox. Thank you. And signing off for this month. Thank you, Alexa.

Speaker A: Oh, uh, thank you. This was fantastic.