E40: Transcend – An Inside Look

EPISODE 40

[INTRODUCTION]

[00:00:00] AW: Welcome back to another episode of Transcend the Podcast. As always, I’m so happy that you are here. Now, today, we’re going to be talking about what is included inside Transcend the Membership. As you’ve listened to over the past couple weeks, we’ve talked about forming your LLC, getting your contracts together, expanding your team without violating employment law.

And today, I’m going to talk to you a little bit about what is included inside the membership community in case you still have questions about it. So, stay tuned.

[00:00:31] AW: You’re listening to the Transcend podcast. I’m your host, Asha Wilkerson, an attorney by training and an educator at heart. This podcast is all about empowering you to build a business and leave a legacy.

Here’s the thing, the wealth gap in America is consistently increasing. And while full-time entrepreneurship is not for everyone, even a side hustle can change your financial landscape if you’re intentional about using your business to build wealth.

I’ve run my own law firm for over 10 years, and in that time I’ve helped countless California businesses go from idea to six figures. On this podcast, we talk about what it truly takes to build a sustainable business and find financial freedom.

Let’s dive in.

[EPISODE]

[00:01:15] AW: All right. So, inside Transcend is – First of all, Transcend is – Like, it’s my baby, right? I created this membership community because one of the things I realized once I started talking about how to build a business and leave a legacy is that the information, while it’s not always super complicated, it’s not readily available in one place. So my goal with this membership community is to be the one-stop-shop where you go for your business advice, your legal education and your financial planning tools. Really, your connections, right?

And inside the membership community, this is what happens once you join. You get a welcome email that tells you how to log in. And immediately, once you log in, you get access to all of the past recordings that have already occurred in the membership community. We have been doing this for a year, y’all. So there are, what? 12 times 3, 36, at least 36 lessons in there, and meetings that have been recorded that you are able to take a look at and watch at your own leisure.

Aside from that, you also get immediate access to my California LLC Formation Course, called From Me to LLC. That is for single member LLC owners. It literally walks you through the process and the steps of forming your California LLC. I have anticipated all of the questions that you’re going to ask, because I’ve done this a million times, forming businesses for people. So I already know what the most common questions are.

And then it’ll tell you how to get your tax ID number. And what you need to do is to open up a bank account, and your next steps after that, like, exploring insurance, and how to set up and run your business properly. So I really love that From Me to LLC course.

The next thing that you have access to is a training all about contracts. As you learned in the webinar, or from the podcast, that contracts are super essential to business. It is one thing, like, the days, the old school days of shaking on an agreement. Yeah, oral contracts can work too. But it’s really hard to prove what was said orally. So the best thing that you can do is to write them down.

And even before you write down a contract, you might be getting a contract from somebody else. And I want you to have the language that you need so that you can actually review that contract. I want you to know what indemnification means. I want you to understand how, and where, and when and why a non-compete clause works. And more importantly, when it doesn’t work, right? I want you to make sure you have the right party names, payment terms, all of that stuff. I want you to understand the legal vocabulary, so that when you are reviewing your own contract, you can flag the things that need to be flagged. And if you send them to an attorney to review, you’ll already have the language, which then will save you time and money because you’re speaking the same language as the attorney.

After that, there’s a workshop or a course actually, a series of videos on hiring your first employee. What skill set do you need to bring to the table, do they need to bring to the table? What are the gaps that you have that you want to fill? And then how do you even go about logistically setting up a payroll account and setting them up so that they can onboard in your business? And also, we talk about what’s the difference between an employee and a contractor, and why you would want to use one over the other, or when you would use one instead of the other. So those are the three evergreen courses that are always available for you. And they’re available to you immediately inside of Transcend.

Now, the value of those already is way more than the $3,000 annual membership fee that you will pay. If you were to consult with me hourly, my hourly consultation rate is 450, okay? For me to do work on them. And it’s 450 because I have 10 plus years of experience. And my goal is not to charge you my hourly rate. My goal is to package this information up and give it to you in a way that you can digest it, make sense of it and use it at your own pace.

But in addition to that, we have monthly meetings. We meet three times a month on Thursdays from 12 to 1:30p.m. Pacific. And the first two Thursdays of the month have like a substantive content training. So in January, we’re really looking back at our LLCs and corporations. Are they formed correctly? What do we need to update? Is the operating agreement still current? How do we continue to use our business? And just check-in on the foundation to make sure it’s strong and it’s where it needs to be.

In February, we talked about marketing in the sense of like dialing back in and getting visible, right? Coming back into yourself. Understanding what you want, what your mission is. Then how do you share that with the world? March is all about money, money, money, money, money, money. April, we’re talking about taxes. And then we just have a new theme that will help you build your business each month.

I should probably tell you what all of them are, but I don’t have that in front of me. So you have to ask me later if you want to know what all of the themes for the month are. But the first two Thursdays of the month are a training and a workshop. And then the third Thursday of the month is a Q&A session. So it’s your Ask Asha session. It’s your Q&A with me, your attorney. Not your attorney of record. But me, an attorney. I am an attorney and your business coach. So I can walk you through whatever question that you have so we can find an answer. And also, what’s great about that is even if you don’t have a specific question, it is beautiful, wonderful to talk to or to hear other people’s questions in the community.

Aside from all that – Now, if that’s not enough to convince you to join, I don’t know what else you need. But I will tell you what else I’m doing as well, is that when I’m in town, because you know your girl loves to travel, I’m hosting meetups for black and Latinx entrepreneurs. And really, anybody can come to these meetups. But we’re centering our needs and our stories. And it’s really just a good way to see each other, to meet new folks, to think about what businesses you want to support. Kuali Salsas is a member of the community. De La Creamery is a member of the community. My good friend, Jasmine, who has [inaudible 0:07:21] comes out. And we know where to eat.

Okay. Number one. Maybe first and foremost, we know where to eat. We know what jewelry to buy. We know what services to use, all of those things, right? Because we are creating our own ecosystem, our own network of people who are like-minded and want to support us and whom we also want to support.

So I would say, over the year, I would say the biggest benefit that people have received is really the community. I mean, the training is awesome, right? The training is awesome, for sure. I’m not going to downplay that at all. But really, being able to feel safe asking the questions that you want to ask is really important. Saying like, “I don’t have anyone in my family who does this. Is this a silly question? Can you help me with this?” And then all of us come together to provide an answer. So it’s really that safe space when you’re not quite sure.

I will also tell you, too, that I am bridging the legal stuff and the business stuff that I bring. But also, I have this whole spiritual side of me that I am sharing more and more with the community. So we’ve done a couple meditations and visualizations. I’ll be recording some more meditations for you all within the membership community because, as I have learned in my journey, it really is holistic. It really, really is a holistic journey. And the more that you can take care of yourself, get your mindset together. When you take care of your mind and your body, your business is going to flow.

And business, just like humans, right? Every month, we go through a cycle. The moon cycles every 30 days or 28, whatever it is, right? But we have highs and we have lows. We have ups and we have downs. And that’s the same way with business. Some months are going to be really lucrative and you’re on top of the world. And maybe the next month you get one or two clients and you’re not quite sure what you did differently or did wrong. And the most important thing that’s going to help you get through those periods is going to be your mindset and your community to help you. It sounds so corny, and I’ve heard it before. But if you dream it, literally, you can achieve it. You can do it.

I was listening to a podcast a couple weeks ago, and this guy was saying that he had a new board member who was like super business savvy and stuff. And so the guy was telling the board member, “Okay, this is what we have. This is what I think we’ll be able to do tomorrow. This is the money that we have right now. This is where we’re lacking.” And the board member stopped him and said, “Ah-ah. I don’t want to know where you are right now. I want to know where you plan to be in five years, and 10 years, and 15 years, and how you plan to get there. Tell me what your goal is, and then we’ll figure out the steps to get there. What do you need to get there?” And so that’s really the approach of Transcend.

What is the goal? The goal is to build a business and build a wealth legacy. Have some money. Put your kids in private school, if you want. Pay for that vacation. Buy that car that you want and pass some money down to your children. Now, how we’re going to get there is what I’m teaching you inside Transcend. The most important is your mindset. The second thing is having good business and legal strategy. And third is having that financial planning. All of those things together will ensure that you are able to get to where you want to go.

Now, plans for Transcend. So you’re locked in to your membership for a year. So that means, as I add more things and grow more things, you’re going to get more for the same price. So you don’t have to pay anything more than that. And I will be reaching out to some other coaches in the area who want to come in and pour into you all as well. I don’t have a date yet, but my goal will be to offer the same offerings in Spanish with some native Spanish speaking coaches as well. We have a number of other resources, financial resources, financial planning resources, banks, CPAs, other attorneys that are on my list that I’m able to refer you to, branding consultants. Again, one-stop-shop for everything that you might need for your business. And the best part of it is that we have fun. We do it together, and we have fun.

So keep listening. I’m going to put some snippets in here of some reviews and feedback of Transcend so you can really see what it’s like. And then after you listen to this episode, I want you to go to transcendthemembership.com and check it out. Let me know what you think. And I hope to see you within the community.

All right, ciao.

[00:11:49] Speaker 1: During the pandemic, I was ready to just quit and start fresh. But I was like, “I need to give this one more chance. But I can’t do it alone.” And I’ve known Asha for so long, but more on a personal level and not so much on a business level. And I was like, “Let me go check out Asha’s Instagram one day.” And I did. And it was all about Transcend. And it was like everything I had written on my work vision board, like you kind of checked off a lot of those boxes for me.

Joining Transcend has made such a big difference in my life. And just being accountable every week to show up not just for this group but just for myself and taking the bigger goals and actually having a schedule that I stick to. And the days I don’t have it in me, I know I’m going to get to it. And I can talk it out with you all and work through whatever issues I’m going through or have people that can relate. I don’t feel so alone a lot of the time. Because being an entrepreneur or a solopreneur is lonely. Even though I have a wonderful support system, I have family and friends, and a community of people that love me. But sometimes they just don’t understand. And it’s such a pleasure and privilege to be able to just show up and have these conversations, or just sit back and listen. Just have my mic on you and then just listen. My life has changed and continues to change in the best way possible. So, I’m grateful.

[00:13:06] Speaker 2: I feel like Transcend is like my legal insurance for my business, you know? Like, I get everything I need legally. Plus, there’s just extra stuff that I just didn’t know. And the connections are also helpful, too, as a business person, because you just can’t figure it out on your own. You really need to be in a community. And I just feel like the biggest sell part for me was that this was like a black and brown community, and I really enjoyed that, because I’m always in like non-black and brown communities for everything else. So it’s just cool to kind of be in a space where we kind of get each other and we can help each other. And it’s just nice. So, I love it.

[00:13:41] Speaker 3: It helped me get through the pandemic not having to depend on somebody. And I also wanted to be part of a community. I met you in person. It was a mixer. And it was just the energy, the vibe. It was like, yes, motivational, but then this is also how you do it.

So I didn’t think you could connect with people on an emotional level, but also be able to grow and have that formula. So I was like, “This is it.” I think it fills multiple buckets in my life. And I think you can’t say that about a lot of stuff in life. I think it’s worth it. You give the tools. And I like the videos because if I’m not ready to receive it today, I’ll get something out of it and then I can look at it again and continue to implement it in my life.

Definitely become more organized. I felt like I kind of lost it a little bit during the pandemic just being home all the time. And I was like, “Every paper is all over the place.” And so, like, now I’m just more committed. I’m much more structured. And I give certain hours to the business on top of the other stuff that I’m doing. And I secure that time. I don’t let other things get in the way of that time. And it just feels less stressful because I have a plan. Every day has a plan. I think, since I’ve been a part of this group, that’s been something that’s drastically changed. And that has been really good for me.

[00:14:59] Speaker 4: You have amazing guests that have expanded my own resource list and people I could go to. I’ve learned so much about intellectual property and protecting my brand, my business, my worth in general. But I think, mostly, it’s just, you provide actionable steps that you’re not just saying, “All right, let’s be motivated.” Like, you’re showing us how to stay motivated, how to stay encouraged, how to be disciplined.

When we have questions, you’re giving us guidance of like, “Well, maybe try this way instead of this way.” Instead of saying, “You should note contracts.” You’re like, “All right, let’s look at this contract that one of our Transcend members has that she was willing to share with us, and let’s break it down. This is what this means. Or this is what you could do in this situation.” So having that in place has been really helpful.

[00:15:47] AW: So now that you’ve heard from some of my favorite people, I want to make sure you have an opportunity to check out Transcend for yourself. Please head to www.transcendthemembership.com and check out the landing page. It gives you even more detail of what I have to offer you.

Now, if you are listening to this and you sign up within the month of March, so by March 31st, I am offering free one-on-one strategy sessions with all new members inside Transcend. What does that mean? That means that I am putting my eyes and my hands on your business in a private one-on-one session to make sure that you know exactly where you are and that we make a plan to get you to exactly where you want to be.

I really like this, because I really want to know who you are, what business you have and what you are coming to the group with. And I want you to get the maximum value out of what I have to offer and out of all of the resources. And the best way to do that is for me to meet with you one on one. So that is my gift for you until March 31st. I will know when you signed up. And I will make sure that I follow up with you on that strategy session.

In addition, I’m going to offer a live LLC formation class on April 2nd, on Saturday, April 2nd at 10a.m pacific time to help you form live your California LLC. So I’ll be walking you through the steps, the exact steps that I take when I form a business online with the California Secretary of State. You’re going to do it with me. I’m going to show you my screen. And you’re going to follow along on your screen and create your new business entity. And the best part is that you get to ask me as we go when you have questions. And I’ll explain things. I already know most of the questions you’re probably going to ask anyway. But what better way than to do it with me instead of just doing it by yourself? Again, go to www.transcendthemembership.com and join. And I will talk to y’all soon.

[END]