When Ross Albers found himself fired just two weeks before his wedding, most people would have panicked. Instead, Ross did something remarkable: he founded his own law firm. What started as a necessity quickly became a proving ground for building a business with intention—and more importantly, with vision.
In this episode of Paper Napkin Wisdom, Ross shares a powerful lesson written on a napkin: “You have to work ON your business instead of IN it. From there, you can HIRE, ACQUIRE, and INSPIRE.” This isn’t just a play on words. It’s a strategic mindset shift that changed everything for him—and can change everything for leaders and entrepreneurs ready to grow beyond the grind.
From Fire to Fuel: Starting With Nothing but a Desk
Ross candidly tells the story of being let go just before his wedding and deciding to take control of his future:
“I literally walked into my apartment, took a desk from the guest room, and said, ‘This is my law firm now.’”
No fancy plan. No capital. Just a commitment to taking action. That small start taught him something essential: the only way to grow something bigger was to stop thinking like a technician and start thinking like a business owner.
Learning the Hard Way: Getting Stuck IN the Business
Like many founders, Ross spent his early days doing it all—meeting clients, managing cases, running operations. But eventually, he hit a wall:
“I was working 60, 70 hours a week, and I realized I’d built a job—not a business.”
It’s a common trap. Ross’s turning point came when he recognized that in order to scale, he had to let go. That meant documenting systems, trusting his team, and investing in leadership—his own and others’.
The Shift: ON vs IN
Ross breaks it down:
-
Working IN your business means being buried in the day-to-day.
-
Working ON your business means stepping back, building systems, and leading from a higher level.
“Once I got out of the way, I could actually build something bigger than me.”
This shift allowed him to begin hiring the right people, acquiring the right resources, and inspiring a team culture grounded in purpose.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:02):
Ross. Welcome to paper napkin wisdom. I'm excited to have you here today.
Ross Albers (00:06):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me on.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:08):
So, Ross, you shared an interesting napkin. It's not necessarily.
you know, totally different. But I think you've got a different spin on it. I'm really excited to dive in on it. So your napkin today said, if you have to work on your business instead of in it. From there you can hire, acquire, and inspire.
(00:31):
Why did you share that with me?
Ross Albers (00:34):
Well, I think it really goes back to my story of how I started my business, which is a law firm, and coming home 2 weeks before I was supposed to get married, and letting my wife know our future wife, that I had been fired, and I was going to start my own law firm, so she should not worry.
And she she she was worried and not happy because her father had been a solo attorney in in Vermont, 2 blocks from the border of Canada in Derby line. So up your way, I suppose, Ish, and
(01:13):
you know from there we went. We got married. We came back. I started my law firm, and I did what every attorney does. I started practicing law, and it was about a year into my business that I was introduced to a business coach similar to you, and during that meeting he said something that always stuck with me. He said, Ross, you're just an employee of a law firm that happens to be named after you.
(01:38):
And I was like, Oh, what are you talking about? He's like, well, you know you work. You're an employee of this firm that you claim to own, he said. You know, owners of businesses. They work on the business. They don't work in the business, and from there I began sort of a journey of coaching and executive leadership, and
(01:59):
and hiring people and going out and acquiring new business. And then I'd say, really, the thing that we probably all spend the least amount of time on in our small business is inspiring and motivating and encouraging our team. And so that's my paper napkin is you got to work on your business, not in it. And when you're working on your business you should focus on adding talented people, bringing in new business, and then setting a vision that inspires people to want to follow you.
Govindh Jayaraman (02:29):
Yeah, I think it's really
well. 1st of all, what great, what a great truth bomb. You know you were an employee of a law firm that happens to be named after you. And and I think we get caught up in that. And one of the things that I find really interesting.
especially, you know, when we're looking at lawyers.
we're looking at lawyers to be lawyers. Right? That's you. Go to school to do.
Ross Albers (02:53):
Legal work. Yeah. But then you made a hard pivot away from that.
Govindh Jayaraman (02:58):
To to focus on working on hiring. So look, hire, acquire, and inspire sounds nice. But where did you start on that list of 3.
Ross Albers (03:08):
I would say higher, you know, that's, I think the 1st thing that small businesses need to work on is especially for the owner is delegation
right being comfortable, delegating to other people. And so you got, you know, my 1st hire was somebody that worked 3 HA day, 2 days a week, and I think they like opened and scanned my mail and court documents and things like that. And I remember that 1st week when that happened I thought, boy, this is the greatest thing ever. I can't believe this is actually this exists, and
(03:43):
from there it just sort of it went from hiring someone to really take on all the low value tasks that are not worth the business owners time to hiring an attorney and basically saying, Okay.
you practice law. I run the business. I'm not practicing anymore. And that was probably the natural progression. And then it becomes, you know, continuing to add, more team members. And I would say, too, as your business grows, you start to find knots in the hose, right things that are tying up your process and procedure, and oftentimes that might be another role or person that you need to hire.
(04:22):
And so for me, I always put hire first, st because that's the 1st thing I think small business owners need to learn is how to hire people and how to delegate.
Govindh Jayaraman (04:34):
Yeah, you know, one of the things that you said right away is, you know, low value tasks. Now.
that's sort of contradictory to what you said immediately before that, because you couldn't believe how much value you got out.
Ross Albers (04:46):
Oh, yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (04:47):
Doing those tasks. So you're not really saying the task has no value. You're saying that your energy was better placed elsewhere, and if you're hiring. Well, well, you can actually think about acquiring new business right?
Ross Albers (05:02):
Correct, that's, you know. So I go out and I hire, and that frees up my time to go out and acquire new business, which for attorneys, most of our business is referral from other lawyers that don't practice the area of law that we do, and I suspect many of your listeners are in the referral business as well, right? Or at least that's a large portion of their business word of mouth, and
(05:26):
not, you know, licking stamps and answering the phone and filing documents, freed me up to go out and meet with other attorneys that could refer me business meet with other professionals that could refer us clients. And so now, all of a sudden, I'm spending a lot of my time acquiring new business for the firm, which then, you know, throws you back to the higher portion is well. I now have to hire somebody to
(05:51):
handle all of these new cases for me, and then, once you do that. You kind of keep kind of rotating back and forth between the 2.
Govindh Jayaraman (05:58):
So you know, one of the things that I think is really interesting about the legal profession, and especially.
you know, law firms is how you just said it right. Other lawyers tend to refer
clients to you because they don't practice in that area. But in business that's like an uncommon referral because you're you're
(06:21):
technically getting referrals from competition. Right? So.
But I think that lawyers do it much more elegantly because of the specialties that you understand that there are these uncommon partnerships available.
Ross Albers (06:35):
Yes.
Govindh Jayaraman (06:35):
When did that sort of? Was that always obvious to you that these uncommon partnerships existed? And how did you nurture them? Because they are uncommon. Sometimes there's a little bit of an overlap, right? People think, oh, I can do a little bit of this real estate, or I can do a little bit of this corporate, and I can do a little bit of this contract stuff right.
Ross Albers (06:52):
Yeah, I think it went back to working with my executive coach, you know, for me in the beginning, as I was growing my firm. The referral was to go to the public defender's office, which for your listeners, is the attorneys that you know represent folks that cannot afford a private attorney, and so I'd go beg them for referrals, because that's part of their business is referring out cases that have conflicts and things like that.
(07:17):
And as I was meeting with my coach, he sort of introduced me to. Well, you know. Why don't you go meet with chiropractors? They treat people that get in car accidents, and I bet they would refer you work.
And I can remember sitting there one weekend on my couch sort of just cold emailing every chiropractor in the town that I live in, and just introducing myself and asking if they would meet with me.
(07:40):
And sure enough they all did, and everyone to A. T. Was like, no lawyer has ever reached out to us in this town. You're the 1st I'd be happy to refer cases to you
and like, next thing, you know, like a week later or a few days later, I'm getting a personal injury referral. And I would say the same exists for our estate planning group. Right? We go to financial planners right? Because their clients come to them, and they all inquire about their financial plans, but also their estate planning. And so if we meet with the planners and build a relationship with them, they start referring us their clients
(08:15):
and similar, you know, with organizations that you might join construction organizations, subcontractors. You show up, you build relationships. You go where the fish are and you fish where the fish are. You can start getting referrals. So no, I wouldn't say like completely dawned on me. It was something that was encouraged to me, and I spent a lot of time doing that type of activity, and I still do to this day.
Govindh Jayaraman (08:40):
I love how you went to these uncommon partnerships in other areas, and and what also just sort of struck with me. And I really want to ask you about this, Ross, when you made those
emails, when you sat down in your in your living room and and clocked out all these emails to these chiropractors in your town.
(09:01):
did you?
Did you say, hey? Will you give me referrals, or do you say, Hey, will you meet with me, because I think there's a big difference between those 2 questions. Right?
Ross Albers (09:09):
Well, I think if I recall correctly, I did say, you know, hey? I'd love to meet with you. I'm an attorney in town, and the purpose of the meeting is, I'd like to discuss, you know, referring business to each other because I get people that would reach out to me, who need to go to treatment for injuries as a result of a car accident, and I certainly can make referrals back to them. And so I do think I think sometimes
(09:30):
what people don't do in a sales call or a sales email is really clearly defined. This is the purpose of why I want to use your time, and I think that's important, hey? I'd like to meet with you to discuss referrals. So now we're not going to a meeting and sort of talking about nothing and beating around the bush. We're like we're here to meet each other and talk about how we can work together.
(09:53):
And I also think that helped me save a lot of time with people who would be like. I would never refer you anything, or I already refer. I'm not interested right? And so like, now, I'm not chasing after them. I'm more focused on the people that are like, sure, I'd love to meet with you.
Govindh Jayaraman (10:09):
Yeah, and defining the purpose is really important. So you did the chiropractors. You went to estate planners again. These are uncommon partnerships, and I think that a lot of entrepreneurs struggle to find the uncommon partnership, the uncommon relationship, the uncommon other business that could be complementary, but not competitive within that space.
Ross Albers (10:30):
Absolutely.
Govindh Jayaraman (10:31):
And so. But
think of yourself in the pressure of noise, of of just starting, the practice, the solo practice that you started.
Do you think that you would have had the headspace to even think about those kinds of options that creativity.
Ross Albers (10:46):
No, I I think I would, had I not worked with an executive coach. A business coach similar, you know, to you and others. I'm not sure
I would have had the courage, or had been encouraged to go out and do that type of thing, and I would have continued to this day to do what I was doing when I 1st started the firm which was crisscrossing the State of Maryland, going to court every day handling clients and listen. There's no doubt I would have grown. We would have been successful, and each year would have gotten better, and we probably would have hired some people.
(11:25):
but I think.
being encouraged to have the courage to work on the business and not in it, and come to the realization that, hey, you either are going to create a business, or you're going to just create a lifelong job for yourself. Which one do you want to do? And I chose to, I suppose. Take the harder path of really creating a business. And so yeah, that's to me. I don't know that I would have. I would have probably followed the example of a lot of my peers and colleagues who
(11:57):
who have met executive coaches or business coaches or legal coaches, and said, That's not for me. It's too much money, and I look back now, and I'm like that's the best money I ever spent in my life, and I'm happy to pay that every single year when it renews. And so yeah, I'm glad I did it.
Govindh Jayaraman (12:14):
That's amazing. I also like how you combine courage and being encouraged
because that's something you also live in your napkin hire, acquire, and inspire. And I don't think that that I mean
just for people listening. Check out the napkin because these words are in block letters, hire, acquire, and inspire, and I think they're especially important to you.
(12:39):
This part of inspire is really important to you, too. How do you? How does that work in a legal business.
Ross Albers (12:46):
Oh, I mean, it's no different than any other business. I can remember, too, another sort of pivotal moment in my career was after a failure of a merger of a business. And I remember my coach telling me you really need to start reading about leadership. And you really need to start reading about servant leadership.
(13:08):
and from there that set me on a path of reading books about leadership. John Maxwell is a hero of mine, and hopefully, some of your listeners have heard of him, and if they haven't, you should go read every single book he's ever written. And so the inspire portion became really learning about that. You know, a leader's purpose is to add value to others, and most small business owners are, and people that perhaps are solo attorneys or run. Small law
(13:37):
firms are really focused on themselves and what they can get.
and I think it really to be successful. You have to flip it and see yourself as serving everybody else and adding value to them
and to me the inspire part is, you know, do you have a vision and a culture that attracts people to come and want to be a part of what you're doing. And then do you sit down with your team and your people? And do you ask them, what are your goals this year?
(14:03):
How much money would you like to make? What things would you like to accomplish personally or professionally this year, and when you write that down and you keep track of it, and you help them accomplish those things. That's where I think your growth really just explodes, because your purpose as the leader is to inspire your team, provide value to them and motivate them to achieve greater things. And most of us as small business owners.
(14:29):
we definitely focus on hiring. There's no doubt we focus on acquiring new business, but very few take the next step to see themselves as man. Part of my responsibility here is to motivate, inspire, and set the vision, for not only the company, but each person here individually, rarely do other do. Small business owners take that next step. And I think that's really where the big difference happens.
Govindh Jayaraman (14:53):
Yeah, you know, one of the things I think is really relatable here for people listening is
this is not just a legal business
opportunity. Right? This is. This is in every business opportunity. I think you know E-myth and E-myth Revisited both. Tell us that you know when we're just working in the business. We're
(15:14):
we've got a job and sometimes a hobby, not even a job, because it's not paying well enough. So
for for those of you who don't know John Maxwell's got a lot of really key principles, but one of the 1st ones is continuous personal growth, like.
Ross Albers (15:32):
All the way.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:33):
Right.
Ross Albers (15:34):
The law, the law of the lid. Yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:35):
Right, because you got to lift the lid. So how do you do that in your in your.
Ross Albers (15:41):
How you know I'm a voracious reader.
Probably read, you know, 52 books a year.
Listen to podcasts like yours, right? When I'm in the car, you know. What do they call it? You know Carpool University, or, you know, like while I'm in the car and I've got to drive somewhere, I can get a free education listening to a podcast like yours or listening to another business, podcast or listening to a mindset podcast
(16:11):
so for me reading is very important. But I also would say, lifting my lid is observing and trying to copy what other successful people do, and the crazy part is for your listeners, who perhaps aren't voracious leaders of business and success and growth. Let me. I'll give you kind of a preview not to save you a lot of time from reading books, but you should go read them here it is. They all say the same thing.
(16:39):
Yeah, not
of them. Say anything different now all of their stories are a little bit different, and what they do is a little bit different. But the principles of success and growing your business and personal growth, and is, it's all the same, it never changes. And I mean, you can go as far back as the Bible, and the same elements and stories and principles exist there
(17:04):
and then, when you read a modern day book of a successful person. Now you're like, boy, this is the same as that. So that's not to say for your listeners. Stop listening. You've already heard it. Don't listen anymore. What I'm telling you is for me what really works in lifting my lid
is every day to be listening to stuff like that, to encourage me to motivate me because it's a constant battle as an entrepreneur. I mean, I'm looking at quarterly tax statements right now and having a panic attack right? And I'm trying to remind myself, you know what we get through this every year we grow. This is a sign of growth. You can do this. And so for me.
(17:46):
I just think, if you're not constantly reading about business and personal and professional development. You're going to let the the negativity kind of seep into your brain and me personally, I have to read every day and listen every day to keep me in the right mindset, to motivate me.
Govindh Jayaraman (18:04):
I love how you answered the question that I had actually just written.
Because if all the books are the same, why keep reading?
And I do it for the same reason that you do.
because if we don't, the only way to glide is downhill. The only way to rest is slide downhill. So moving up the hill, moving in a growth direction is an intentional
(18:28):
decision. It requires action.
Ross Albers (18:30):
Sure.
Govindh Jayaraman (18:30):
This requires action, and the action that you're talking about is the deliberate learning, the deliberate, intentional revisiting of the stuff that maybe you've heard 97% of over here before or 80% of over there before. But it's a slightly different angle. It's a slightly different perspective. And maybe there's 1% you can just add into your world, and how magical when you can, right? And that's.
Ross Albers (18:54):
I mean, that's that's what I find is, you know. Maybe you need. Maybe something needs to be reinforced that you're not doing. Maybe you catch one little bit of nugget that you're like. Oh, that's a great deal idea. Maybe you're introduced to a new speaker author or somebody that you've never even heard of before. You know I had heard of a good example is I'd heard of Jim Rohn before, right? I'd heard of Jim Rohn, but I had never really
(19:19):
dug deep into his material. And now I'm absolutely obsessed with the guy, and I think he's incredible, and I would encourage your readers and listeners to just go on whatever podcast service you listen to
type in Jim Rohn. And just listen to 10 min of that guy. And that'll that'll get you going for sure. And and that will just take you in other directions. And so, yeah, you got to be intentional about it. You always learn something new, and if you don't learn something new, a concept gets reinforced in you that you're like, oh, I need to do this a little bit better.
Govindh Jayaraman (19:54):
Yeah. And you know.
there's there's so many great pieces along the way. So listen somewhere, listening right now. There's somebody who's sort of trapped. They're exactly where you were working in the business, overwhelmed
because they're probably working 80 to a hundred hours a week.
Ross Albers (20:15):
Yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (20:15):
Maybe solo, maybe alone, maybe feeling feeling alone, feeling a little desperate.
What's go back to your kitchen table when you were starting to make that shift.
Tell me what was the 1st thing you did.
Ross Albers (20:34):
Oh, it was, you know, I remember I it was I had had a conversation with my coach.
And I had turned him down, said, No, it's too expensive for me. It's I don't know. I'm not going to do this.
and then I think there was some follow up.
and for me. It it was. I guess my advice would be like, spend the money.
(20:58):
spend the money, spend the money on coaching, spend the money on books.
spend the money on audible, spend the money on podcasting, you know. Spend the money, because really, what you're doing is you're spending the money on yourself.
So spend the money on yourself.
You had no problem spending tens of thousands of dollars on a college education
(21:19):
unless you got a scholarship, I suppose, but like spend the money right? You're
learning, and growth does not end after someone hands you a legal degree.
You have to continue to do it every single day until the day you die you should always be learning to grow. And so I would tell people. You know, you probably are facing a decision right now of.
(21:40):
do I, you know, start this marketing campaign? Do I work with this coach? Should I pay 1699 for this book? Should I go to this conference that costs $6,000, and I would tell you, spend the money.
because if it's you're spending it on yourself, and you can always say that's not for me, but like you can't do that until you've taken action and actually seen if it fails or it works, so have the courage to spend the money.
Govindh Jayaraman (22:10):
That's amazing.
You know. What? What practice? What area of the law did you start off?
Yeah, I was a prosecutor in Baltimore city, and so
were you in the wire. Is that.
Ross Albers (22:27):
Yeah, that's what I'll say for your listeners, you know. Go watch the wire. If you haven't watched that. It's a great show, you know it's there's obviously some, you know.
dramatization to it, but it's, you know, fairly accurate. So I started as a prosecutor in Baltimore City, and then I
then I moved to the next arena of law that everyone looks so highly on as attorneys. I was a personal injury, attorney, right? So car accidents, criminal defense to car accidents. But that was my areas of law. And you know I know enough about some other areas that we practice to be dangerous, but not for you to hire me as your lawyer right now.
(23:11):
The people that are on our team they're far better than me.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:13):
Yeah. And so do you. Do you practice at all now, still or.
Ross Albers (23:18):
So
about 6 years ago, I think I really, I just stepped out of that role because my focus was on the business instead of in it. You know I'm still licensed, and can go to court, and I'm sure I could do it well. But I completely stepped away, and that was just my choice, and and what I've decided to do, and where I think my focus needs to be is on the business.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:44):
So what does that mean now? So we understand. You sort of described, you know. Case, I think people have a vision for what
you know, being a lawyer is representing clients, you know, preparing documents and and making claims and defending them. But what does that mean for you today? Like, tell me, what does a day a week look like for you today? Ross?
Ross Albers (24:08):
Sure. I think I woke up at 3 30 this morning.
I journaled, I wrote my goals down.
reviewed them, I read some sort of devotional.
I'm practicing German. It's what I took in high school. And so, you know, I'm Duolingo. Shout out to Duolingo hopefully. They're a sponsor of your show. I practiced that.
(24:30):
I read a little bit, and then I went to the gym for about 90 min and worked out and exercised. Got home at 6 30,
got my 3 daughters along with my wife, ready for school, and then I drove about an hour to go meet this morning with a key client and partner of ours who has been having some responsiveness issues in our business with them. And so I had to go meet with a key partner for about an hour with his team to reassure them. That you know
(25:01):
I'm gonna you know. Come to me. If you have issues, I'll I'll resolve them and give me feedback. Then I came to the office. I
I calculated and finalized bonuses for people that I'm paying here today. I'm on this podcast now with you this afternoon we have an interview for a person to join the company that I'll participate in this evening.
(25:27):
I'm going to go coach my daughter's lacrosse practice this evening, and somewhere throughout the day. Here, probably for 5 min, I have peeked at my email and delegated that to an executive assistant who's virtual and lives in Florida to respond. Schedule, you know. Pay bills. So I handled that for probably about 5 min.
(25:49):
and then at some point. I'll I'll wander around and check in on people and pop in. Just say, Hey, what's going on? But yesterday, by better example, too, I probably spent the better part of the 1st half of the day, just doing one on one meetings with my direct reports
to find out how their prior week was. What projects are they working on? Did they hit their numbers? You know their billable hours? Where do they stand in terms of their collections? What consults and new clients are they speaking to? And so like
(26:19):
better, part of my day is spent hiring people, you know, acquiring new business or saving business, and then leading my team, and like, that's my day.
And then I get up and I would say, I spend a lot of it, you know, reading and working on myself. So you know what you don't hear is like, I'm not putting out every fire right? I'm delegating those fires. I'm not going to court, and I'm not responding to every single, you know ding that happens on my cell phone or email that appears in my inbox, I try to be very intentional. And then, before I go to bed tonight, I'll probably spend about 15 to 30 min
(26:58):
writing on a piece of paper my schedule for tomorrow, because I think there's something to be said about a pen in your hand connecting to your brain, so I'll write out my schedule for tomorrow. I'll write out the 3 things that I need to accomplish tomorrow, and then I'll read and I'll go to bed, and then I'll rinse and repeat, and you know, I'm sure you've read this, too, but like
(27:22):
success is kind of boring.
it's the same thing every single day over and over again, and being disciplined. And that's the bridge to success is being disciplined.
Govindh Jayaraman (27:33):
Yeah, absolutely. What time do you go to bed at night?
Probably about between 8 and 9. Yeah.
I reckon it was pretty early the
your one-on-ones. I want to switch back to your one on ones, and one-on-ones are so important. How often do you do your one-on-ones with your with your key reports?
Ross Albers (27:52):
Once a week. Typically on Mondays. So yeah, once a week, about 15 to 20 min. Kind of has a flow checking in. And then, you know, there's Pop-ins throughout the week. But those are key. I would. You know your listeners that have a team? You're not. You're not meeting with them enough. You're not communicating with enough. You're not being clear with them enough about what it is they need to be doing, and you think you are. But I can assure you you're not
(28:21):
the one on ones help with that. And that's something I learned from Dave Ramsey and his entre leadership platform, and I think those are vital, because things can get off the rails quickly, and the one on one is where you need to have the courage to encourage them to get back on track right or encourage them to be like great. You're killing it. This is awesome.
(28:43):
you know, and so it's always a mix of the 2, and that's that's leading right, having the courage to have uncomfortable conversations with folks about how they're doing.
and despite what your readers or your listeners might think your people crave feedback. They're desperate for it. They want to know how they're doing, and they don't want to know. Once a year they want to know.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:03):
To guess.
Ross Albers (29:04):
They want to know all the time.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:06):
I want to guess how they're doing the fun thing about this. And I love that. You talked about one on ones, and you love that you talked about one on ones being once a week, because there's a lot of science that talks about how. If someone if you check in with people once a week.
People believe it's about them. The closer you get to once a month. People believe it's about you.
Ross Albers (29:29):
Yeah, I've never heard that. That's great.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:30):
You're supervising them you're checking into them with for your interests, if it's once a month, and it's destructive. But it's constructive, and you can build rapport when it's once a week.
Ross Albers (29:43):
I love that. Yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:44):
So, Ross, we do this thing at the end of our episodes, and it's a hat tip. To John Rulan. John Rulan, the author of giftology was an early guest on the podcast and he shared a powerful napkin with us. What you appreciate appreciates.
John suddenly passed away a few months ago, and this season we've been honoring his memory and his gift to us with his paper napkin.
(30:10):
asking our guests to pay forward some appreciation into the world. So is there someone or something that you'd like to appreciate or give gratitude to today.
as we close.
Ross Albers (30:21):
Yeah, I love that. I'd give it to my late mother. I'm sure she's listening and watching me every day. But you know, back to my initial story, where I come home. Tell my wife I've been fired. I'm starting my own business. We go to the wedding, we get married, and I found out, months, or maybe years later, that before we got married at the wedding my mother went up to my future mother-in-law and said, Don't worry about Ross. He's going to be okay.
(30:50):
and I think you know, she was my
1st encourager. She was probably the 1st person that really truly believed that I could be successful in doing this, and, you know, shout out to Mom and shout out to anyone else, out there, that's you know your 1st encourager, the 1st person that ever truly believed in you, and your ability to go out and start your own business. If that person's still alive, I'd write them a handwritten. Thank you. Note, today.
Govindh Jayaraman (31:22):
That's beautiful. I do want to. I usually just end the episode right there. But I want to give you a shout out for the fact that you prioritize
in your business life.
taking care of your daughter and your families, your daughters, and your family. In the morning I had 3 as well, and I know the routine of waking up and helping with the lunches and breakfasts and getting them out in the morning.
Ross Albers (31:46):
Chaos.
Govindh Jayaraman (31:46):
It's yeah, it's a battle. And then and then lacrosse in the afternoon, and being there to coach her
as well on both ends of that day shout out to you for paying that same encouragement
forward to your children. It's a powerful gift. Thank you, Ross.
Ross Albers (32:05):
Very much.
Ross. Welcome to paper napkin wisdom. I'm excited to have you here today.
Ross Albers (00:06):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me on.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:08):
So, Ross, you shared an interesting napkin. It's not necessarily.
you know, totally different. But I think you've got a different spin on it. I'm really excited to dive in on it. So your napkin today said, if you have to work on your business instead of in it. From there you can hire, acquire, and inspire.
(00:31):
Why did you share that with me?
Ross Albers (00:34):
Well, I think it really goes back to my story of how I started my business, which is a law firm, and coming home 2 weeks before I was supposed to get married, and letting my wife know our future wife, that I had been fired, and I was going to start my own law firm, so she should not worry.
And she she she was worried and not happy because her father had been a solo attorney in in Vermont, 2 blocks from the border of Canada in Derby line. So up your way, I suppose, Ish, and
(01:13):
you know from there we went. We got married. We came back. I started my law firm, and I did what every attorney does. I started practicing law, and it was about a year into my business that I was introduced to a business coach similar to you, and during that meeting he said something that always stuck with me. He said, Ross, you're just an employee of a law firm that happens to be named after you.
(01:38):
And I was like, Oh, what are you talking about? He's like, well, you know you work. You're an employee of this firm that you claim to own, he said. You know, owners of businesses. They work on the business. They don't work in the business, and from there I began sort of a journey of coaching and executive leadership, and
(01:59):
and hiring people and going out and acquiring new business. And then I'd say, really, the thing that we probably all spend the least amount of time on in our small business is inspiring and motivating and encouraging our team. And so that's my paper napkin is you got to work on your business, not in it. And when you're working on your business you should focus on adding talented people, bringing in new business, and then setting a vision that inspires people to want to follow you.
Govindh Jayaraman (02:29):
Yeah, I think it's really
well. 1st of all, what great, what a great truth bomb. You know you were an employee of a law firm that happens to be named after you. And and I think we get caught up in that. And one of the things that I find really interesting.
especially, you know, when we're looking at lawyers.
we're looking at lawyers to be lawyers. Right? That's you. Go to school to do.
Ross Albers (02:53):
Legal work. Yeah. But then you made a hard pivot away from that.
Govindh Jayaraman (02:58):
To to focus on working on hiring. So look, hire, acquire, and inspire sounds nice. But where did you start on that list of 3.
Ross Albers (03:08):
I would say higher, you know, that's, I think the 1st thing that small businesses need to work on is especially for the owner is delegation
right being comfortable, delegating to other people. And so you got, you know, my 1st hire was somebody that worked 3 HA day, 2 days a week, and I think they like opened and scanned my mail and court documents and things like that. And I remember that 1st week when that happened I thought, boy, this is the greatest thing ever. I can't believe this is actually this exists, and
(03:43):
from there it just sort of it went from hiring someone to really take on all the low value tasks that are not worth the business owners time to hiring an attorney and basically saying, Okay.
you practice law. I run the business. I'm not practicing anymore. And that was probably the natural progression. And then it becomes, you know, continuing to add, more team members. And I would say, too, as your business grows, you start to find knots in the hose, right things that are tying up your process and procedure, and oftentimes that might be another role or person that you need to hire.
(04:22):
And so for me, I always put hire first, st because that's the 1st thing I think small business owners need to learn is how to hire people and how to delegate.
Govindh Jayaraman (04:34):
Yeah, you know, one of the things that you said right away is, you know, low value tasks. Now.
that's sort of contradictory to what you said immediately before that, because you couldn't believe how much value you got out.
Ross Albers (04:46):
Oh, yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (04:47):
Doing those tasks. So you're not really saying the task has no value. You're saying that your energy was better placed elsewhere, and if you're hiring. Well, well, you can actually think about acquiring new business right?
Ross Albers (05:02):
Correct, that's, you know. So I go out and I hire, and that frees up my time to go out and acquire new business, which for attorneys, most of our business is referral from other lawyers that don't practice the area of law that we do, and I suspect many of your listeners are in the referral business as well, right? Or at least that's a large portion of their business word of mouth, and
(05:26):
not, you know, licking stamps and answering the phone and filing documents, freed me up to go out and meet with other attorneys that could refer me business meet with other professionals that could refer us clients. And so now, all of a sudden, I'm spending a lot of my time acquiring new business for the firm, which then, you know, throws you back to the higher portion is well. I now have to hire somebody to
(05:51):
handle all of these new cases for me, and then, once you do that. You kind of keep kind of rotating back and forth between the 2.
Govindh Jayaraman (05:58):
So you know, one of the things that I think is really interesting about the legal profession, and especially.
you know, law firms is how you just said it right. Other lawyers tend to refer
clients to you because they don't practice in that area. But in business that's like an uncommon referral because you're you're
(06:21):
technically getting referrals from competition. Right? So.
But I think that lawyers do it much more elegantly because of the specialties that you understand that there are these uncommon partnerships available.
Ross Albers (06:35):
Yes.
Govindh Jayaraman (06:35):
When did that sort of? Was that always obvious to you that these uncommon partnerships existed? And how did you nurture them? Because they are uncommon. Sometimes there's a little bit of an overlap, right? People think, oh, I can do a little bit of this real estate, or I can do a little bit of this corporate, and I can do a little bit of this contract stuff right.
Ross Albers (06:52):
Yeah, I think it went back to working with my executive coach, you know, for me in the beginning, as I was growing my firm. The referral was to go to the public defender's office, which for your listeners, is the attorneys that you know represent folks that cannot afford a private attorney, and so I'd go beg them for referrals, because that's part of their business is referring out cases that have conflicts and things like that.
(07:17):
And as I was meeting with my coach, he sort of introduced me to. Well, you know. Why don't you go meet with chiropractors? They treat people that get in car accidents, and I bet they would refer you work.
And I can remember sitting there one weekend on my couch sort of just cold emailing every chiropractor in the town that I live in, and just introducing myself and asking if they would meet with me.
(07:40):
And sure enough they all did, and everyone to A. T. Was like, no lawyer has ever reached out to us in this town. You're the 1st I'd be happy to refer cases to you
and like, next thing, you know, like a week later or a few days later, I'm getting a personal injury referral. And I would say the same exists for our estate planning group. Right? We go to financial planners right? Because their clients come to them, and they all inquire about their financial plans, but also their estate planning. And so if we meet with the planners and build a relationship with them, they start referring us their clients
(08:15):
and similar, you know, with organizations that you might join construction organizations, subcontractors. You show up, you build relationships. You go where the fish are and you fish where the fish are. You can start getting referrals. So no, I wouldn't say like completely dawned on me. It was something that was encouraged to me, and I spent a lot of time doing that type of activity, and I still do to this day.
Govindh Jayaraman (08:40):
I love how you went to these uncommon partnerships in other areas, and and what also just sort of struck with me. And I really want to ask you about this, Ross, when you made those
emails, when you sat down in your in your living room and and clocked out all these emails to these chiropractors in your town.
(09:01):
did you?
Did you say, hey? Will you give me referrals, or do you say, Hey, will you meet with me, because I think there's a big difference between those 2 questions. Right?
Ross Albers (09:09):
Well, I think if I recall correctly, I did say, you know, hey? I'd love to meet with you. I'm an attorney in town, and the purpose of the meeting is, I'd like to discuss, you know, referring business to each other because I get people that would reach out to me, who need to go to treatment for injuries as a result of a car accident, and I certainly can make referrals back to them. And so I do think I think sometimes
(09:30):
what people don't do in a sales call or a sales email is really clearly defined. This is the purpose of why I want to use your time, and I think that's important, hey? I'd like to meet with you to discuss referrals. So now we're not going to a meeting and sort of talking about nothing and beating around the bush. We're like we're here to meet each other and talk about how we can work together.
(09:53):
And I also think that helped me save a lot of time with people who would be like. I would never refer you anything, or I already refer. I'm not interested right? And so like, now, I'm not chasing after them. I'm more focused on the people that are like, sure, I'd love to meet with you.
Govindh Jayaraman (10:09):
Yeah, and defining the purpose is really important. So you did the chiropractors. You went to estate planners again. These are uncommon partnerships, and I think that a lot of entrepreneurs struggle to find the uncommon partnership, the uncommon relationship, the uncommon other business that could be complementary, but not competitive within that space.
Ross Albers (10:30):
Absolutely.
Govindh Jayaraman (10:31):
And so. But
think of yourself in the pressure of noise, of of just starting, the practice, the solo practice that you started.
Do you think that you would have had the headspace to even think about those kinds of options that creativity.
Ross Albers (10:46):
No, I I think I would, had I not worked with an executive coach. A business coach similar, you know, to you and others. I'm not sure
I would have had the courage, or had been encouraged to go out and do that type of thing, and I would have continued to this day to do what I was doing when I 1st started the firm which was crisscrossing the State of Maryland, going to court every day handling clients and listen. There's no doubt I would have grown. We would have been successful, and each year would have gotten better, and we probably would have hired some people.
(11:25):
but I think.
being encouraged to have the courage to work on the business and not in it, and come to the realization that, hey, you either are going to create a business, or you're going to just create a lifelong job for yourself. Which one do you want to do? And I chose to, I suppose. Take the harder path of really creating a business. And so yeah, that's to me. I don't know that I would have. I would have probably followed the example of a lot of my peers and colleagues who
(11:57):
who have met executive coaches or business coaches or legal coaches, and said, That's not for me. It's too much money, and I look back now, and I'm like that's the best money I ever spent in my life, and I'm happy to pay that every single year when it renews. And so yeah, I'm glad I did it.
Govindh Jayaraman (12:14):
That's amazing. I also like how you combine courage and being encouraged
because that's something you also live in your napkin hire, acquire, and inspire. And I don't think that that I mean
just for people listening. Check out the napkin because these words are in block letters, hire, acquire, and inspire, and I think they're especially important to you.
(12:39):
This part of inspire is really important to you, too. How do you? How does that work in a legal business.
Ross Albers (12:46):
Oh, I mean, it's no different than any other business. I can remember, too, another sort of pivotal moment in my career was after a failure of a merger of a business. And I remember my coach telling me you really need to start reading about leadership. And you really need to start reading about servant leadership.
(13:08):
and from there that set me on a path of reading books about leadership. John Maxwell is a hero of mine, and hopefully, some of your listeners have heard of him, and if they haven't, you should go read every single book he's ever written. And so the inspire portion became really learning about that. You know, a leader's purpose is to add value to others, and most small business owners are, and people that perhaps are solo attorneys or run. Small law
(13:37):
firms are really focused on themselves and what they can get.
and I think it really to be successful. You have to flip it and see yourself as serving everybody else and adding value to them
and to me the inspire part is, you know, do you have a vision and a culture that attracts people to come and want to be a part of what you're doing. And then do you sit down with your team and your people? And do you ask them, what are your goals this year?
(14:03):
How much money would you like to make? What things would you like to accomplish personally or professionally this year, and when you write that down and you keep track of it, and you help them accomplish those things. That's where I think your growth really just explodes, because your purpose as the leader is to inspire your team, provide value to them and motivate them to achieve greater things. And most of us as small business owners.
(14:29):
we definitely focus on hiring. There's no doubt we focus on acquiring new business, but very few take the next step to see themselves as man. Part of my responsibility here is to motivate, inspire, and set the vision, for not only the company, but each person here individually, rarely do other do. Small business owners take that next step. And I think that's really where the big difference happens.
Govindh Jayaraman (14:53):
Yeah, you know, one of the things I think is really relatable here for people listening is
this is not just a legal business
opportunity. Right? This is. This is in every business opportunity. I think you know E-myth and E-myth Revisited both. Tell us that you know when we're just working in the business. We're
(15:14):
we've got a job and sometimes a hobby, not even a job, because it's not paying well enough. So
for for those of you who don't know John Maxwell's got a lot of really key principles, but one of the 1st ones is continuous personal growth, like.
Ross Albers (15:32):
All the way.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:33):
Right.
Ross Albers (15:34):
The law, the law of the lid. Yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:35):
Right, because you got to lift the lid. So how do you do that in your in your.
Ross Albers (15:41):
How you know I'm a voracious reader.
Probably read, you know, 52 books a year.
Listen to podcasts like yours, right? When I'm in the car, you know. What do they call it? You know Carpool University, or, you know, like while I'm in the car and I've got to drive somewhere, I can get a free education listening to a podcast like yours or listening to another business, podcast or listening to a mindset podcast
(16:11):
so for me reading is very important. But I also would say, lifting my lid is observing and trying to copy what other successful people do, and the crazy part is for your listeners, who perhaps aren't voracious leaders of business and success and growth. Let me. I'll give you kind of a preview not to save you a lot of time from reading books, but you should go read them here it is. They all say the same thing.
(16:39):
Yeah, not
of them. Say anything different now all of their stories are a little bit different, and what they do is a little bit different. But the principles of success and growing your business and personal growth, and is, it's all the same, it never changes. And I mean, you can go as far back as the Bible, and the same elements and stories and principles exist there
(17:04):
and then, when you read a modern day book of a successful person. Now you're like, boy, this is the same as that. So that's not to say for your listeners. Stop listening. You've already heard it. Don't listen anymore. What I'm telling you is for me what really works in lifting my lid
is every day to be listening to stuff like that, to encourage me to motivate me because it's a constant battle as an entrepreneur. I mean, I'm looking at quarterly tax statements right now and having a panic attack right? And I'm trying to remind myself, you know what we get through this every year we grow. This is a sign of growth. You can do this. And so for me.
(17:46):
I just think, if you're not constantly reading about business and personal and professional development. You're going to let the the negativity kind of seep into your brain and me personally, I have to read every day and listen every day to keep me in the right mindset, to motivate me.
Govindh Jayaraman (18:04):
I love how you answered the question that I had actually just written.
Because if all the books are the same, why keep reading?
And I do it for the same reason that you do.
because if we don't, the only way to glide is downhill. The only way to rest is slide downhill. So moving up the hill, moving in a growth direction is an intentional
(18:28):
decision. It requires action.
Ross Albers (18:30):
Sure.
Govindh Jayaraman (18:30):
This requires action, and the action that you're talking about is the deliberate learning, the deliberate, intentional revisiting of the stuff that maybe you've heard 97% of over here before or 80% of over there before. But it's a slightly different angle. It's a slightly different perspective. And maybe there's 1% you can just add into your world, and how magical when you can, right? And that's.
Ross Albers (18:54):
I mean, that's that's what I find is, you know. Maybe you need. Maybe something needs to be reinforced that you're not doing. Maybe you catch one little bit of nugget that you're like. Oh, that's a great deal idea. Maybe you're introduced to a new speaker author or somebody that you've never even heard of before. You know I had heard of a good example is I'd heard of Jim Rohn before, right? I'd heard of Jim Rohn, but I had never really
(19:19):
dug deep into his material. And now I'm absolutely obsessed with the guy, and I think he's incredible, and I would encourage your readers and listeners to just go on whatever podcast service you listen to
type in Jim Rohn. And just listen to 10 min of that guy. And that'll that'll get you going for sure. And and that will just take you in other directions. And so, yeah, you got to be intentional about it. You always learn something new, and if you don't learn something new, a concept gets reinforced in you that you're like, oh, I need to do this a little bit better.
Govindh Jayaraman (19:54):
Yeah. And you know.
there's there's so many great pieces along the way. So listen somewhere, listening right now. There's somebody who's sort of trapped. They're exactly where you were working in the business, overwhelmed
because they're probably working 80 to a hundred hours a week.
Ross Albers (20:15):
Yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (20:15):
Maybe solo, maybe alone, maybe feeling feeling alone, feeling a little desperate.
What's go back to your kitchen table when you were starting to make that shift.
Tell me what was the 1st thing you did.
Ross Albers (20:34):
Oh, it was, you know, I remember I it was I had had a conversation with my coach.
And I had turned him down, said, No, it's too expensive for me. It's I don't know. I'm not going to do this.
and then I think there was some follow up.
and for me. It it was. I guess my advice would be like, spend the money.
(20:58):
spend the money, spend the money on coaching, spend the money on books.
spend the money on audible, spend the money on podcasting, you know. Spend the money, because really, what you're doing is you're spending the money on yourself.
So spend the money on yourself.
You had no problem spending tens of thousands of dollars on a college education
(21:19):
unless you got a scholarship, I suppose, but like spend the money right? You're
learning, and growth does not end after someone hands you a legal degree.
You have to continue to do it every single day until the day you die you should always be learning to grow. And so I would tell people. You know, you probably are facing a decision right now of.
(21:40):
do I, you know, start this marketing campaign? Do I work with this coach? Should I pay 1699 for this book? Should I go to this conference that costs $6,000, and I would tell you, spend the money.
because if it's you're spending it on yourself, and you can always say that's not for me, but like you can't do that until you've taken action and actually seen if it fails or it works, so have the courage to spend the money.
Govindh Jayaraman (22:10):
That's amazing.
You know. What? What practice? What area of the law did you start off?
Yeah, I was a prosecutor in Baltimore city, and so
were you in the wire. Is that.
Ross Albers (22:27):
Yeah, that's what I'll say for your listeners, you know. Go watch the wire. If you haven't watched that. It's a great show, you know it's there's obviously some, you know.
dramatization to it, but it's, you know, fairly accurate. So I started as a prosecutor in Baltimore City, and then I
then I moved to the next arena of law that everyone looks so highly on as attorneys. I was a personal injury, attorney, right? So car accidents, criminal defense to car accidents. But that was my areas of law. And you know I know enough about some other areas that we practice to be dangerous, but not for you to hire me as your lawyer right now.
(23:11):
The people that are on our team they're far better than me.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:13):
Yeah. And so do you. Do you practice at all now, still or.
Ross Albers (23:18):
So
about 6 years ago, I think I really, I just stepped out of that role because my focus was on the business instead of in it. You know I'm still licensed, and can go to court, and I'm sure I could do it well. But I completely stepped away, and that was just my choice, and and what I've decided to do, and where I think my focus needs to be is on the business.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:44):
So what does that mean now? So we understand. You sort of described, you know. Case, I think people have a vision for what
you know, being a lawyer is representing clients, you know, preparing documents and and making claims and defending them. But what does that mean for you today? Like, tell me, what does a day a week look like for you today? Ross?
Ross Albers (24:08):
Sure. I think I woke up at 3 30 this morning.
I journaled, I wrote my goals down.
reviewed them, I read some sort of devotional.
I'm practicing German. It's what I took in high school. And so, you know, I'm Duolingo. Shout out to Duolingo hopefully. They're a sponsor of your show. I practiced that.
(24:30):
I read a little bit, and then I went to the gym for about 90 min and worked out and exercised. Got home at 6 30,
got my 3 daughters along with my wife, ready for school, and then I drove about an hour to go meet this morning with a key client and partner of ours who has been having some responsiveness issues in our business with them. And so I had to go meet with a key partner for about an hour with his team to reassure them. That you know
(25:01):
I'm gonna you know. Come to me. If you have issues, I'll I'll resolve them and give me feedback. Then I came to the office. I
I calculated and finalized bonuses for people that I'm paying here today. I'm on this podcast now with you this afternoon we have an interview for a person to join the company that I'll participate in this evening.
(25:27):
I'm going to go coach my daughter's lacrosse practice this evening, and somewhere throughout the day. Here, probably for 5 min, I have peeked at my email and delegated that to an executive assistant who's virtual and lives in Florida to respond. Schedule, you know. Pay bills. So I handled that for probably about 5 min.
(25:49):
and then at some point. I'll I'll wander around and check in on people and pop in. Just say, Hey, what's going on? But yesterday, by better example, too, I probably spent the better part of the 1st half of the day, just doing one on one meetings with my direct reports
to find out how their prior week was. What projects are they working on? Did they hit their numbers? You know their billable hours? Where do they stand in terms of their collections? What consults and new clients are they speaking to? And so like
(26:19):
better, part of my day is spent hiring people, you know, acquiring new business or saving business, and then leading my team, and like, that's my day.
And then I get up and I would say, I spend a lot of it, you know, reading and working on myself. So you know what you don't hear is like, I'm not putting out every fire right? I'm delegating those fires. I'm not going to court, and I'm not responding to every single, you know ding that happens on my cell phone or email that appears in my inbox, I try to be very intentional. And then, before I go to bed tonight, I'll probably spend about 15 to 30 min
(26:58):
writing on a piece of paper my schedule for tomorrow, because I think there's something to be said about a pen in your hand connecting to your brain, so I'll write out my schedule for tomorrow. I'll write out the 3 things that I need to accomplish tomorrow, and then I'll read and I'll go to bed, and then I'll rinse and repeat, and you know, I'm sure you've read this, too, but like
(27:22):
success is kind of boring.
it's the same thing every single day over and over again, and being disciplined. And that's the bridge to success is being disciplined.
Govindh Jayaraman (27:33):
Yeah, absolutely. What time do you go to bed at night?
Probably about between 8 and 9. Yeah.
I reckon it was pretty early the
your one-on-ones. I want to switch back to your one on ones, and one-on-ones are so important. How often do you do your one-on-ones with your with your key reports?
Ross Albers (27:52):
Once a week. Typically on Mondays. So yeah, once a week, about 15 to 20 min. Kind of has a flow checking in. And then, you know, there's Pop-ins throughout the week. But those are key. I would. You know your listeners that have a team? You're not. You're not meeting with them enough. You're not communicating with enough. You're not being clear with them enough about what it is they need to be doing, and you think you are. But I can assure you you're not
(28:21):
the one on ones help with that. And that's something I learned from Dave Ramsey and his entre leadership platform, and I think those are vital, because things can get off the rails quickly, and the one on one is where you need to have the courage to encourage them to get back on track right or encourage them to be like great. You're killing it. This is awesome.
(28:43):
you know, and so it's always a mix of the 2, and that's that's leading right, having the courage to have uncomfortable conversations with folks about how they're doing.
and despite what your readers or your listeners might think your people crave feedback. They're desperate for it. They want to know how they're doing, and they don't want to know. Once a year they want to know.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:03):
To guess.
Ross Albers (29:04):
They want to know all the time.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:06):
I want to guess how they're doing the fun thing about this. And I love that. You talked about one on ones, and you love that you talked about one on ones being once a week, because there's a lot of science that talks about how. If someone if you check in with people once a week.
People believe it's about them. The closer you get to once a month. People believe it's about you.
Ross Albers (29:29):
Yeah, I've never heard that. That's great.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:30):
You're supervising them you're checking into them with for your interests, if it's once a month, and it's destructive. But it's constructive, and you can build rapport when it's once a week.
Ross Albers (29:43):
I love that. Yeah.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:44):
So, Ross, we do this thing at the end of our episodes, and it's a hat tip. To John Rulan. John Rulan, the author of giftology was an early guest on the podcast and he shared a powerful napkin with us. What you appreciate appreciates.
John suddenly passed away a few months ago, and this season we've been honoring his memory and his gift to us with his paper napkin.
(30:10):
asking our guests to pay forward some appreciation into the world. So is there someone or something that you'd like to appreciate or give gratitude to today.
as we close.
Ross Albers (30:21):
Yeah, I love that. I'd give it to my late mother. I'm sure she's listening and watching me every day. But you know, back to my initial story, where I come home. Tell my wife I've been fired. I'm starting my own business. We go to the wedding, we get married, and I found out, months, or maybe years later, that before we got married at the wedding my mother went up to my future mother-in-law and said, Don't worry about Ross. He's going to be okay.
(30:50):
and I think you know, she was my
1st encourager. She was probably the 1st person that really truly believed that I could be successful in doing this, and, you know, shout out to Mom and shout out to anyone else, out there, that's you know your 1st encourager, the 1st person that ever truly believed in you, and your ability to go out and start your own business. If that person's still alive, I'd write them a handwritten. Thank you. Note, today.
Govindh Jayaraman (31:22):
That's beautiful. I do want to. I usually just end the episode right there. But I want to give you a shout out for the fact that you prioritize
in your business life.
taking care of your daughter and your families, your daughters, and your family. In the morning I had 3 as well, and I know the routine of waking up and helping with the lunches and breakfasts and getting them out in the morning.
Ross Albers (31:46):
Chaos.
Govindh Jayaraman (31:46):
It's yeah, it's a battle. And then and then lacrosse in the afternoon, and being there to coach her
as well on both ends of that day shout out to you for paying that same encouragement
forward to your children. It's a powerful gift. Thank you, Ross.
Ross Albers (32:05):
Very much.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.