#100: Owns a Jet AND Gives Away 50% of Profits😳

Speaker 1 Okay, so Lauren, you got to tell me about this mission that you have of giving away half your profits.

Speaker 1 I think that's probably the thing that is like so compelling and exciting to me about what you're doing.

Speaker 2 Started the month before COVID. I was listening to a sermon at Life Church in Oklahoma City talking about being irrationally generous.

Speaker 2 And at that time, I was making little to no money, but I was felt super compelled and just really encouraged after that to do it. So COVID hit like 10 days later.

Speaker 2 My husband and I were talking and I told him, like, like, hey, I want to give away. And so I'm like, tell me what I can do.

Speaker 2 And he's like, well, you can give away half your profit, but wrote the check.

Speaker 1 How much was that first check?

Speaker 2 So first check was like $1,700.

Speaker 1 And so you committed to doing this like on a monthly basis? I did.

Speaker 2 The whole point was, hey, we're going to give away half, whether it's half of a day of profit, half of a week, or half of a month, like do something, right?

Speaker 2 Like just change what corporate responsibility is. So we still give away half of our monthly profit.

Speaker 2 profit something that we've just committed to and what's funny is we've grown more doing that i say and we've had like our employees are more bought in.

Speaker 2 It's really changed the trajectory of like Quintessa and our employees too.

Speaker 1 I don't know why I'm getting emotional, but guys, welcome to another episode. Super excited to bring you Mrs.
Lauren Vaughn. She's the founder and CEO of Quintessa Marketing.

Speaker 1 They are a personal injury marketing company worth hundreds of millions of dollars. She is a faith-based mother of five that is dedicated to the mission of giving 50% of her profits.

Speaker 1 How would you feel about giving away 50% of your profits? Does that scare you?

Speaker 1 Imagine a world in which you did so and made more money, flew a private jet, and had incredible success in all areas of your life. You're not going to want to miss this episode.

Speaker 1 So tune in to Miss Lauren Baum.

Speaker 1 Okay, so Lauren, you got to tell me about this mission that you have of giving away half your profits.

Speaker 1 I think that's probably the thing that is like so compelling and exciting to me about what you're doing.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 2 So

Speaker 2 started the month before COVID. I was listening to a sermon at Life Church in Oklahoma City and it was the pastor from Watermark talking about being irrationally generous.

Speaker 2 And at that time I was making little to no money, but I was felt super compelled and just

Speaker 2 really encouraged after that to

Speaker 1 do it.

Speaker 2 2019. So yeah, so this was right whenever, so COVID hit like 10 days later.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 So

Speaker 2 in the sermon, my husband and I were talking and I told him like, hey, I want to give away, like, can I give away half our revenue? And he's like, you don't make 50% profit.

Speaker 1 I'm like, he's like, yeah, that doesn't work. No, that math doesn't matter.
And he. You'd have to have some pretty incredible margins and to pull that off.

Speaker 2 You know, I was a reactor. And so I'm like, tell me what I can do.
And he's like, well, you can give away half your profit.

Speaker 2 And so the first time that I was actually due to cut the check was April 1st from March profit. And I had just gotten like termed from some lawyers and employees had quit because COVID happened.

Speaker 2 We didn't even know if we were going to be able to stay open.

Speaker 2 And,

Speaker 2 but wrote the check.

Speaker 1 And then like, how much was that first check?

Speaker 2 So first check was like $1,700.

Speaker 2 Okay. So something really, and it was like to the penny.
It was probably like $1,715.

Speaker 2 Something.

Speaker 2 I was very literal. And then.

Speaker 1 And so you committed to doing this like on a monthly basis? I did. Okay.
Because at least for me as a business owner, I'm like, well, it's really hard to even understand profits.

Speaker 1 Well, you know, when you have an incredible accounting team, it takes, you know, 10 to 15 days to actually close out a month. Right.
And so, like,

Speaker 1 I guess maybe the math was pretty simple at this time.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Well, yeah, you know, you have like four employees and not that much revenue coming in.
It's pretty simple.

Speaker 2 Now it takes a lot more because we have about 100 employees and trying to see what it is. But

Speaker 2 we've kind of figured it out.

Speaker 2 So that's also why we we started Give 50, because the whole point was, hey, we're going to give away half, whether it's half of a day of profit, half of a week, or half of a month, like do something, right?

Speaker 2 Like just be, just change what corporate responsibility is. So we still give away half of our monthly profit,

Speaker 2 something that we've just committed to. And what's funny is we've grown more doing that.
I say, and we've had like our employees are more bought in and it's really changed.

Speaker 2 And I mean, the trajectory of like Quintessa and just, I think, our employees too.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Have there been months that you haven't been able to write a check?

Speaker 2 So I step out in faith and I actually write the check before I get the income.

Speaker 1 Oh, wow.

Speaker 2 Yeah. So that was like kind of the new way to challenge.
So we normally get to.

Speaker 1 So you project what your profit's going to be this next month. Yes.
So has there been a time that you haven't turned a profit? Yes. Okay.
And how did that go down?

Speaker 2 You know, I just trusted that it was going to work out and see if we changed.

Speaker 2 I mean, I'm a gut person.

Speaker 2 And so, I'm also though, knowing, like, is it us? Is it like, is something changing? Could we have done something different? Were we stewards of what we were given?

Speaker 2 Like, I mean, we really dig in into it. But yes, there have for sure been months, especially as we've been growing the company.

Speaker 2 Like, there are times that you just don't profit as much because you're putting more back into the company and into technology or whatever may have you.

Speaker 1 So, what's the largest check you've cut on a monthly basis?

Speaker 2 Half a million.

Speaker 1 That's pretty awesome. Yeah.
So, half a million, meaning that you made a million bucks that month.

Speaker 1 That's fantastic. Yeah.
And so going from, you said $1,700

Speaker 1 was the first one. So essentially a net profit of $3,400 to a million bucks based on this mission over the last five years.
Yes. Okay.

Speaker 1 So, you know, you said that this was, you know, revealed to you or you felt inspired during a church sermon or whatnot.

Speaker 1 But where would you say like this desire to serve and give back really originates?

Speaker 2 You know, I'd say at the DNA level, I always saw my mom and dad be very generous. So I was raised,

Speaker 2 my family just, they're strong Christians. But more than that, my dad, he started his own company whenever I was born.
So I've seen him like have grit and still give away and still be generous.

Speaker 1 And so, like, so what were like some of the things that you saw from your parents that really like touched your heart and inspired you?

Speaker 2 So the biggest thing, I'd say at Sam's, I don't know if you guys have Sam's, but it's like a Costco, right?

Speaker 1 Sam's from Costco.

Speaker 2 And so

Speaker 2 my dad saw a lady behind us and she had a bunch of bilde bears in their uh in her shopping cart and he was like what is it for and he's like oh i'm going down to the burn unit to be able to give these bilde bears and so my dad um told the guy he was like hey how many does she have and he was like add on 20 more how much is it i'm writing the check and he's like don't you dare tell her until i'm out the and then he's like hurry and i'm like what just happened like what are you doing and uh

Speaker 2 and and he didn't ask for any, like, didn't want any notoriety or anything from it.

Speaker 1 But and how old were you at the time?

Speaker 2 I'd say probably seven or eight.

Speaker 1 And it really just stuck out a core memory.

Speaker 2 Yep. And then he always tithed.
He always, like, he always showed us like writing checks.

Speaker 1 10%, no matter what. No matter what.

Speaker 2 Yeah. And there'd be times and he put us in a private Christian school.
So like it was hard. for him because he was his only employee.
So it all came down to him.

Speaker 1 So he was a solopreneur. He's out hustling, figuring out how to make a buck, didn't really know how to leverage himself, but was a very giving and trusting man.
Yeah. That's pretty awesome.

Speaker 1 So you saw him tithe. What were some other examples that like happened in your life that really stick out as a core?

Speaker 2 So

Speaker 2 they would always just commit to like, if our school needed anything or if our church needed anything, like, hey, we need,

Speaker 2 there's a family that's in need. They were always the first to just volunteer, like what in whatever capacity it was.

Speaker 2 So they always were volunteering at the church or helping out in some way, shape, or form. Yeah.

Speaker 2 And then if anyone needed anything like, oh, they don't have enough money to hire movers, let's go do it. So, of course, we hated it, right? We were like, oh, great.
Like, here we go again.

Speaker 2 We had to go do this. But growing up, it was really cool to be able to see that.

Speaker 1 Yeah, that's that's awesome. There's a, there's actually so three

Speaker 1 reasons why I was really excited to have you on the show.

Speaker 1 So that I really resonate with. So one, you're from Oklahoma.

Speaker 1 Oklahoma holds a

Speaker 1 very dear

Speaker 1 I don't know why I'm getting emotional but

Speaker 1 very dear place in my heart

Speaker 1 that's

Speaker 1 as a as a 19 year old kid I you know I went and I gave up what every other 19 year old is is doing and and

Speaker 1 dedicated my life to to Jesus and serving him. And

Speaker 1 so

Speaker 1 spending two years out there, I really got to know the people really well.

Speaker 1 And I love my hokeys. Yeah, they're good people.

Speaker 1 I don't know why.

Speaker 1 Obviously, that

Speaker 1 is very important to me. But

Speaker 1 so that,

Speaker 1 the fact that like your mission of giving back, like

Speaker 1 I was, I was raised very similar.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 I'm, you know, I don't necessarily have an exact mission like you do, which is, which is awesome. And I'm, I'm excited to figure out

Speaker 1 how I can

Speaker 1 can back your mission and figure out and be a part of it.

Speaker 1 Because,

Speaker 1 yeah, similarly, I was raised, but we, we definitely didn't have any money. My dad was a school teacher.
My mom was a stay-at-home mom with seven kids.

Speaker 1 And, but yeah, I saw over and over again the way way that my parents gave, right? And like,

Speaker 1 you know, tithing wasn't ever a question, right?

Speaker 1 Never a question. And then in our, in our church, we do something called a fast offering, where

Speaker 1 you fast once a month and you give up what you would have spent on food and you give it to the poor.

Speaker 1 And so that was, and my parents,

Speaker 1 you know, once again, my dad made max, I think, $60,000 a year growing up.

Speaker 1 And every single, every single month I'd see him give an offering, which was outside of the, of like $300.

Speaker 1 And I mean, we're talking about like 6% of his income in additional offerings outside of his tithing.

Speaker 2 With seven kids.

Speaker 1 With seven kids.

Speaker 1 Yeah. And

Speaker 1 then just like so many experiences over and over again, like similar to like your, your

Speaker 1 Sam's Club experience, right? Like, and, you know,

Speaker 1 I think a cheat code for entrepreneurs or just humans in general is giving.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 I said this on another podcast. It's actually one of the most selfish things you can do.

Speaker 1 And it sounds weird to say that, but the reason why it's selfish, it gives, like, you receive so much when you give.

Speaker 1 And it's like the best feeling, the best reward, the best return, the best karma, whatever you want to call it. Yep.
Right. It comes back tenfold.
It comes back tenfold. And like most people never,

Speaker 1 never experience that. And if they do, it's very, you know, on a very limited basis or whatnot.
And so I really love that you're doing something that is, that is painful, right?

Speaker 1 Like, because 50% of profits, that's painful.

Speaker 2 It's painful. There is lots of pain in that.
But there's also,

Speaker 2 to me, like what's amazing is

Speaker 2 I have helped, because I was called, I felt like, to mission work at a very young age.

Speaker 2 And what's funny is one of the people that we donate donate to is a, their goal is to get the Bible into everyone's hands across the world. Yeah.
And they're doing that through technology.

Speaker 2 And it's the U-version is the Bible app. And what's funny is they were able to show me the ROI, meaning how many people downloaded it from every dollar I give.

Speaker 2 So there's a mathematical equation that I get to do every month that shows me, hey, it's, you know, 10 cents a download.

Speaker 2 And I've been able to help reach more people through that than I could have ever been in the mission field. Yeah.

Speaker 2 And so, you know, God's just used like this idea of what I thought was going to be into something so much greater.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah.
That's so awesome. So it's interesting in my church, we, we have what we call callings, right?

Speaker 1 Which is like where we're asked to go and serve in a, in a certain type of like a position in the church for free. Like we don't, no paid clergy or anything like that.
And, you know,

Speaker 1 for years I kind of struggled with that. I just kind of had some basic callings and I always always wanted to like do more or whatnot.

Speaker 1 But then I came to a realization that I think you've come to is like,

Speaker 1 if as an entrepreneur, I have the ability to share the word

Speaker 1 like

Speaker 1 as I gain influence and power and money and everything like that, if I use those things for good, right? Like I can be a greater missionary.

Speaker 1 I can be good, like then I would ever be able to be just full-time, you know, whether it's trying to preach in front of a congregation or out serving or whatnot, like money allows us to leverage

Speaker 1 our own person,

Speaker 1 which I know if I was a full-time missionary, I would not have any money and I would only be able to be like just one-on-one or one to a few that could gather or whatnot, right?

Speaker 1 And so I think there's so much power, you know, in being able to leverage the resources that we've been blessed with.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 1 I mean, listen, if you told me growing up, I was going to work with personal injury lawyers, I'd be like, I don't, what? Like, what does that even mean? Right. Right.

Speaker 2 But I mean, it's allowed being able to be in here and bring a little bit of light into the industry.

Speaker 2 And again, we're not perfect, but the goal is to be better. Yeah.
Right. And to show people something different for people to ask why.

Speaker 1 That's awesome. Yeah.
And so clearly you've been really successful, right? Making, I mean, a million dollar a month. That, that's fantastic.

Speaker 1 Most business owners would only dream of being able to hit those type of numbers.

Speaker 1 And it's something that we've had in common where both of us have been able to run successful businesses.

Speaker 1 I mean, to the point where today we're both sitting here in Vegas, you flew in on your private jet. That's super cool.

Speaker 1 That's actually the third reason why I wanted to.

Speaker 1 I see.

Speaker 1 There it is. So I had a private jet for a couple of years and really

Speaker 1 grew an affinity for just the convenience and those type of things.

Speaker 1 And so after I sold my business, we sold our jet and kind of shift in, kind of looking for the next thing in that, in that direction. But

Speaker 1 so you

Speaker 1 really

Speaker 1 started, so based on some of the things I've read, like you started your business before then, before 2019. Yes.
So kind of give us a little bit of the journey of kind of, I mean, sounds like.

Speaker 1 The first initial years were just kind of like getting by.

Speaker 1 And it wasn't really until you made this dedication that I'm going to go and give away half of my profits every month that it really took off.

Speaker 1 So can you walk us through kind of the journey of building this incredible empire that allows you to fly here privately and do all these cool things?

Speaker 2 You know, everyone sees the highlight reel and no one sees like everything else that happened.

Speaker 2 So, I mean, one, I'll tell you that I had really the hand of God over me like since we started this, but it was in 16. So I was married to my ex-husband at the time and I had a one-year-old, so Ruby.

Speaker 2 And what pretty much what I wanted to do was I was going to work in real estate with my mom I had worked with someone else and I was doing agency work so TV commercials SEO things of that nature

Speaker 2 worked as a COO for a law firm in Newport Beach in California

Speaker 2 COO got it and uh and so I pretty much learned just from not having a degree you know, finding out just kind of experience over experience, like what personal energy lawyers needed, what the problem was, and then how to solve the the problems.

Speaker 2 And I found out that solving their problems were very, like, I mean, it paid a lot of money.

Speaker 2 And so I figured if I could be the best at that, I just didn't like how people operated because they didn't have a lot of integrity. Yeah.
And so I was like, if I could do this better, right?

Speaker 2 Like, and if I could have freedom to be with my daughter and not travel and be that mom, like, what. what would that mean? Like, what would that do? And so.

Speaker 1 So how many years did you work for other people under these

Speaker 2 positions? Oh, eight. So So 08 to 016.
Okay. So eight years.

Speaker 1 Which I think is very important for like the listeners and viewers to really understand like that

Speaker 1 time has to be put in. I think right now in 2023, 2024, there's like the

Speaker 1 TikToks and the reels preach like, you know, go out and start your hustle early on. Yeah.
You know,

Speaker 1 start your business. If you're not a millionaire by age 21, you're failing.
Like

Speaker 1 ridiculous.

Speaker 1 You know, all these things where what I find more common with success is the things that like what you went through and both, what I, what I went through in my career, which is more of like a paid education.

Speaker 1 Oh, yeah. Right.
Like actually putting in the time, the grit, figuring out things, how things work, not that just there for the paycheck. Right.
So I think the opposite is true.

Speaker 1 Like you shouldn't just be anywhere just for a paycheck, right? Like a job should not just be a job. You don't last.
Yeah, you've got to look at it like, what can I learn? How can I develop?

Speaker 1 Who can I study from? Like, who's doing it right? Who's doing it wrong?

Speaker 1 And like, both good and bad education, because it sounds like you, you saw some negative things going on in the industry that you're like, I don't want to do that. Right.

Speaker 2 Right. And your name gets associated with it.
Right. And so then, I mean, and all you have in life is your name.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 2 So you've got to dig out of it too.

Speaker 1 So what would you say like some key takeaways or principles that you took from those eight years of paid education? There's a lot.

Speaker 2 You know, you never want to compromise your integrity. Yeah.
And so I would say that to me was my biggest thing because I was, I didn't have an education and that was held over my head.

Speaker 2 I walked away whenever the economy crashed. And so I didn't have a college degree.
So I couldn't get hired. I was running, you know, a multi-million dollar firm.

Speaker 2 I can even get hired at Paycom, which is one of the largest, you know, providers in Oklahoma. I was rejected.
Wow. Right.
And

Speaker 2 to me, that was held over my head of like, well, you can't go anywhere else. And you almost become a victim of your own surroundings of like, well, maybe I can't.

Speaker 2 So I would just like, I probably should have gotten out sooner, right? I should have had more because there is just the

Speaker 2 negative words you hear, you start believing them. So I would just say that, like, don't compromise your integrity.
And then two, like, know when enough is enough.

Speaker 2 Like, when you draw your line in the sand, like, don't keep pushing it. Right.
Like, be done. So.

Speaker 2 Those are probably the two most important. And then I can tell you a million ways how not to run this company.
Right.

Speaker 1 Like, so were you given any good examples of how to run it properly?

Speaker 2 I'd say no.

Speaker 1 So you just had a lot of like negative experience over and over.

Speaker 2 I know exactly how I didn't want to run the company and I did everything the opposite.

Speaker 1 You know, it's interesting because both can be great teachers. Yes.
Right.

Speaker 1 And, you know, a good friend of mine, Clinton Sparks, he talks about like the way he was raised.

Speaker 1 was the perfect example of a father what not to be. That's right.
And so he just took notes over and over again. I'm not going to do that.
I'm not going to do that. I'm going to do that.

Speaker 1 And then he just formulated a game plan of everything that he would do. And in turn, has been an incredible father, right?

Speaker 1 Been very successful in business, but completely different than what he was raised. And so, but at the same time, I, you know, there's other people that have had great examples.

Speaker 1 You know, one of, one of my great mentors in building my business was Todd Peterson from Vivint.

Speaker 1 And like, I studied everything he was doing, every move and the why he, why he did what he did and how it worked.

Speaker 1 And so it's just interesting how, you know, you can have two ends of the spectrum and learn the same lesson. Yeah.

Speaker 2 Well, and I think what's hard too is like, one, this company had never been done before. So there weren't really a lot of mentors.

Speaker 2 And then I was also going through a divorce. So I was like a minnow with sharks.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 So I got taken advantage of quite a lot.

Speaker 2 And so, and there were not, there's not really any females. Yeah.
And then the females that are in it, they're not, they don't own it. Yeah.
Or they're a lawyer or there was like intimidation.

Speaker 2 I mean, so it was really like,

Speaker 2 I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm going to figure it out.

Speaker 1 So, you launched this business as a single mother? Yes. Okay.
And how many years later did you get married?

Speaker 2 Were you married?

Speaker 2 So, Leo and I met in 18 and then married in 19.

Speaker 1 Okay. So, three or four years later? Yeah.
Okay. Yeah.
Got it. Got it.

Speaker 1 And so, like, tell me about the struggle those first few years, doing it on your own, figuring it out, not really having a perfect example. Like, what, yeah, give us some color to that.

Speaker 2 You know,

Speaker 2 I mean, I got my bank account shut down multiple times because I didn't have enough cash flow. So I had to take these, I call them payday loans, but like the sharks, like the MCAs, right?

Speaker 2 So there was that one point where I was spending 50,000, either 50,000 a month or 100,000 a month in payback. Oh, I mean, and it was daily.

Speaker 1 And so how much revenue were you doing at that point?

Speaker 2 I mean, not that much. Like it was bad.
I mean, so I think we were probably at about a million a year. And, but still, I mean, our cost of goods sold was like 50, 60%.

Speaker 1 Right.

Speaker 2 You have that coming through. But the problem was I didn't have, I mean, I had no credit.

Speaker 1 I had no credit. Did you end up losing it all? Did you have to? I mean, you made it through.

Speaker 2 We made it through, but it was, but like banks did not want me. Like, I, so I, I would literally be able to, like, sometimes I'd be able to run credit cards.

Speaker 2 Next times, I'm like, I need to go cash a check and I need to be able to be in Oklahoma. Like, it was hard.

Speaker 1 So I'm sure a lot of attorneys were like, so what were, what were some tough decisions you had to make during this time of like, do I buy this or do I pay this bill? Like, what?

Speaker 2 So, there were lots of times I went and ate over at my mom and dad's because so we had a system where it was like green, yellow, red, meaning like green, I could take my daughter out to eat, yellow, we had to eat at home, and red, like, had to go to mom's.

Speaker 2 And so, that was how I knew. And we still operate green, yellow, red.
Obviously, they mean different things now, but like, something so green, fly the jet whenever you want,

Speaker 1 yellow once a month, once a month, and red is like, sell.

Speaker 1 Sell the plane. Got it.

Speaker 2 That's great. No, but

Speaker 2 there was a lot of lessons like that. I mean, financially,

Speaker 2 I never laid off anyone. So that was one thing that I never wanted to do.

Speaker 1 How many people did you have working for you during this time?

Speaker 2 At the max, probably 20. And I was the only one running it.
And so that was a pretty big, I mean, because it was just our sales forward, like the call center, but I never wanted to lay them off.

Speaker 2 So that was something that I really committed to. So that was hard.
Like, I would pay them before I paid myself.

Speaker 1 Is there anything that you would have done differently as far as like maybe had a partner or hired an outside consultant or a coach or invested in a program?

Speaker 1 Is there anything like that that you would have done?

Speaker 2 I would have found my COO faster. So I feel like I was so scared someone was going to steal my idea because I had multiple people who did.
like who tried and went out and became a competitor.

Speaker 2 I had lawyers who worked with me and then became a competitor.

Speaker 2 And so I would say finding that number two, I wouldn't have partnered with someone because I just,

Speaker 2 you know, sometimes you can't explain why you do it. And like, you don't want to have to worry about someone else

Speaker 2 of like holding you back or something like that.

Speaker 2 But finding someone to help scale and grow the company, like the first person I let in to actually help me was my husband because he was the first person that like.

Speaker 1 So he was before your COO.

Speaker 2 He was, yeah. He came in and he helped actually scale out the company.
And the reason why I loved it, because like Leo is so,

Speaker 2 like, he's from Piedmont. Like, it's like country.
Like, he did not, like, I drove up in a G-Wagon and he was like, hey, I like your Jeep. I'm like, first of all,

Speaker 2 like, first of all, like, I worked really hard for that, right? But he did not care. And so he didn't.

Speaker 1 Wasn't impressed. No.

Speaker 2 And so I, it almost pissed me off more, right?

Speaker 2 And, but he was like, I want to, like, you have something phenomenal. Like, I want to help you grow it.
And he actually invested in me.

Speaker 2 And it was the first person that was invested in me instead of like my things. Yeah.
so that uh so he was the first person to really scale it out right right

Speaker 1 now it's it's interesting like these are these are similar feelings that a lot of you know first-time entrepreneurs go through from a from a standpoint of like I don't want to give up control right I got to be able to do it all on my own or you know or even this like thought of like competition oh yeah so what would you say to the people that are feeling similarly about competition like somebody's gonna steal my idea like I don't want to to create my competitor, or so on and so forth.

Speaker 1 What kind of advice do you give to that person?

Speaker 2 So, we've really invested in our hiring process. So, we do a survey assessment.
That's the only EEOC-approved survey to be able to for pre-interview screening. And so, we've really invested into that.

Speaker 2 And it pretty much tells you if someone is right at the DNA level to be in this role.

Speaker 2 So, for instance, if someone is applying to be your VP of sales and they have no drive for sales, like it's you're gonna going to spend 90 days waiting for them to show their true colors. Right.

Speaker 2 And so this, that's really helped us. One.
And then two, I'm, uh, we have an entrepreneurial operating system, EOS, that we use traction.

Speaker 2 And so that was big because I was able to set clear expectations and really articulate, like, okay, we're not hitting the numbers we all agreed on.

Speaker 1 So when did you guys start implementing EOS?

Speaker 2 That was in

Speaker 2 21.

Speaker 1 Awesome. Yeah.

Speaker 2 Awesome. But the survey assessment was just about

Speaker 2 six, seven months ago. Oh, just recently.
Oh, yeah. And it's, but we went from 34 employees to 100.

Speaker 1 In the last six months? Yes. Holy smoke.

Speaker 2 Yeah, we stripped it down. Fantastic.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 Wow.

Speaker 1 Yeah. So for the listeners, if you guys haven't watched the episode that I did with Gino Wickman, the

Speaker 1 originator of the EOS system, go ahead and watch that. It's a fantastic interview.
It's pre-launch of his new book. He just released.

Speaker 1 Have you read his new book?

Speaker 2 No, it's already on order.

Speaker 1 Awesome. Awesome.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 Gino's awesome. We had an experience.
Have you, have you ever met Gino or interacted? Did you hire one of his people to come and implement? That's so cool. So fun story.

Speaker 1 I reached out to Gino through LinkedIn and he texts me. And

Speaker 1 this was like two years ago. And I'm like, Gino.

Speaker 1 I know you probably don't do this, but what is it going to take to get the man in our door? Right. And he's like, oh, I have people that do that.

Speaker 1 I, you know, I kind of sold off the US implementation and there's 500 people you can, you know, handpick from them. I'm like, no, Gino, we want you.

Speaker 1 You're the guy. You're the guy.
And this is back when we had the jet. And, and I'm like, what's it going to take? He's like, well, my day rates or my, my speaking fee is this.

Speaker 1 If you pay me my speaking fee, I would come and spend a day with you.

Speaker 1 And I said, or he's like, maybe, maybe I'd consider it. I'm like, well, what if we send our jet out to pick you up and bring you back? And so that's what we ended up doing.

Speaker 1 So me and my partner, we flew out.

Speaker 1 We spent four hours flying from Detroit to Washington.

Speaker 1 Held him captured.

Speaker 1 Held him hostage. It was like so good.
Spent all day with our team and then sent him home.

Speaker 1 But yeah, so anybody, I mean, obviously you're a big proponent of

Speaker 1 EOS.

Speaker 1 How has that transformed your business?

Speaker 2 Well, I think one as an entrepreneur, you're the visionary, right? So the visionary is the big vision. You come in every day, like new idea, right?

Speaker 2 And it keeps you in line and it keeps a culture of accountability. And then also, it keeps you clear on projections because, you know, one day you think, hey, I'm going to hit 10 million.

Speaker 2 And the next year, you're like, actually, I bet I can hit 30. It's like, no, no, no.
We've said. this is the number we're hitting.
We're hitting this number. You can't change the goalposts.

Speaker 2 Like this is what we're doing. So it keeps everyone in balance.
And I really like that. And then also,

Speaker 2 I know exactly from reports every morning that I get at 10 a.m. from Delilah.
Like, I know exactly where the company is.

Speaker 1 Scorecard coming in.

Speaker 2 It's great. I know exactly where the company is.
And then it tells me the indicators of like what's working, what's not. Right.

Speaker 2 And then just you become a subject matter expert in the company as opposed to like it becoming personal, right? It's like, no, this is what we're supposed to do and it's not being done.

Speaker 2 Let's fix the problem. Yeah.
As opposed to it being about a person or feeling personal.

Speaker 1 Right.

Speaker 1 So how long did it take? Cause the implementation of a program like EOS, and there's a lot of programs out there, right?

Speaker 1 Like similar to EOS that, you know, just running good KPIs and reporting and culture and, you know, good SOPs and all this stuff, right?

Speaker 1 How long did it take for you guys to like really implement and grasp onto the EOS system?

Speaker 2 I would say EOS is great if you have the right people. Right.
So if you have the wrong person in the wrong seat, right? Like that's one of the big things he talks about, like right person, right seat.

Speaker 2 Right. But I would even take it further of like right personality

Speaker 2 because that was really the problem. Like, we had people that I'm like, they're a good person, but they cannot do this role.
Like, what is happening?

Speaker 1 And we were

Speaker 2 oh man. And then, so, when we did the survey assessment, when we started that, we found out 80% of our staff was inductive, meaning if they didn't have a list in front of them every day,

Speaker 2 which I am not going to do that, that they weren't going to be successful in that role.

Speaker 2 And 80% of our roles were deductive. So we literally had to change every single person in a lot of our client-facing roles.

Speaker 2 And then once we stripped that down and then really started, it fanned the flames, I think, with EOS, because then we were like, okay, this is the right person. We know exactly what we need now.

Speaker 2 And then we're seeing it work and click.

Speaker 1 That's awesome. That's awesome.
So I'm assuming inductive and deductive is from this assessment that you guys do. It is.
Cool. Cool.
Tell us more about about that.

Speaker 2 So Culture Index is who we use.

Speaker 2 And so what it does is it talks about, there's four dots. Okay.

Speaker 2 And it talks about like who you are as a person innate, like at the DNA level, it says who you are, DNA level, and then who you feel like you have to be at work.

Speaker 2 So for me, I am 99% of the world is more patient than me. My husband.
is 99% more patient than the world. So we are the exact opposite.

Speaker 2 I have a a really high A, meaning like I want to win like at all costs and I have no patience. So I want to win high

Speaker 1 A. What does A stand for?

Speaker 2 So A is the autonomy, right? And wanting to win. And then

Speaker 2 the B talks about like your sociability. So like how like a lot of people, some people want to be around like they're introverts or they're extroverts or they're ambiverts.

Speaker 2 Ambiverts, meaning you can turn it on when you want to, or you could do, you know, either or.

Speaker 2 And so it goes through and really tells tells you who this person is right so if someone is an introvert they're not going to be good with clients right right if someone is uh really great at socializing but they don't really care about winning you don't want them on your sales phone they're gonna want them to take go to coffee 20 times before they even pitch them great in customer service great in customer service but we're here to make sales right and so um

Speaker 2 It was great going through it. And then we started educating all of our people on it.

Speaker 2 And then they were like, oh, so I'm not a fit.

Speaker 1 I'm just in the wrong role.

Speaker 2 And so then we were able to move people around of like, hey, let's put you here.

Speaker 2 Let's see how this works. And it really helped with everybody.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 I am a big like nerd when it comes to like different personality,

Speaker 1 you know, assessments and stuff. One of the big ones that I love is the disk assessment.
Are you familiar with that one? Yes. Yeah.

Speaker 1 And so,

Speaker 1 what was the name of this one again that you so this is culture index okay culture index yeah sweet yeah like once once we began to understand understand the disc assessment for all of our employees, that was an absolute game changer for sure.

Speaker 1 Right. Understanding that like for an incredible salesperson has to have some D, some sort of dominant characteristic because they're the ones that get people to make decisions, right?

Speaker 1 They push them to the limit to be able to get it. Where the I, as you're talking about, is like just influence, right?

Speaker 1 Like they're the ones that are going to go, if they're only an I and don't have any D, right? They're going to go to coffee 20, right, 20 different times.

Speaker 1 And it's just like, oh, you're just too nice of a person, right? Like, and so, yeah, it's, it's so, so interesting.

Speaker 1 We, we actually do one of the things that we do for our audience is we give them free disk assessments

Speaker 1 because we're so like, like,

Speaker 1 this whole like assessment world is so imperative. Understanding right person, right seat, right, that, uh, that Gino talks about with his EOS program.
It's

Speaker 1 absolute game changer.

Speaker 2 So, let's, let's dive back into the giving away 50 of your income because this is like really intrigues me um so you're you're doing it with bible.com right giving away these bibles which is absolutely fantastic i think a great mission what other ways i because i'm assuming that's not where all your funds are going no so uh we partner with so you version bible app is one we partner with life church as well and then we also partner with like the infant crisis crisis services and uh their goal is to make sure that no one no child goes hungry right or has lack of clothing and so we partner with them we also partner with remerge and so re-merge takes women who have non-violent felonies and help rehabilitate them and we actually help hire them too

Speaker 2 into um quintessential because just because you've gone through something doesn't mean it should define you right like you may have had a bad life home life growing up whatever may have you and uh so that's one of the things we're all about changing so there's a lot of female things that i'm sure that you're kind of seeing.

Speaker 2 And then we've recently partnered with Make a Wish. And so actually this Thursday, we have like one of the first people we're going to help with in Oklahoma to be able to make his wish.

Speaker 2 He wants to go shopping.

Speaker 1 That's awesome. Which I was like, yes.

Speaker 1 Take someone shopping.

Speaker 2 Yes, I will take you shopping. You can get whatever you want.

Speaker 1 So what kind of stuff? So obviously it sounds like you're partnering with some incredible people.

Speaker 1 Are there things that you and your employees do to have boots on the ground to actually be a part of the experience?

Speaker 2 Tell us about that.

Speaker 2 Yeah, so what we've started to do now is we've actually made it to where our employees can take PTO, like not in their normal PTO, but just like we'll give it to them and they can go and partner with any charity that they want and go and volunteer for the day.

Speaker 2 That's awesome. So that's one thing that we've started to do.
And then also like with we did like boots and ball gowns. We bought it like a really big table.

Speaker 2 We invited everybody and we got to see them and be a part of it. So we're really trying to make Quintessa understand like in the people and the employees there, like, this is more than just you.

Speaker 2 Right. Right.
So we really try to tie their why to our why. Yeah.
And we've been able to do that.

Speaker 1 Yeah. That's an absolute game changer for culture, right?

Speaker 1 Like when they're not just there for a paycheck, when they understand there's a physical, an economic, an association, a spirituality aspect, right? That all ties in.

Speaker 1 And like when a company can provide that, right? Like now you have this crazy amount of trust that you've built that people want to go to bat for you.

Speaker 1 They're willing to put in the extra time and the effort because they really understand like, yeah, this isn't, this isn't just a paycheck, right?

Speaker 1 My employer allows me to take time off and go and serve and give back and be a part of these great programs. Yeah, one of

Speaker 1 one of the things that very similarly, once again, we didn't have like 50% goes to,

Speaker 1 but, you know, there was a lot of different things that we would do from a standpoint of around Thanksgiving, all of our employees would go shopping on the company card, and

Speaker 1 we would provide hundreds of families with Thanksgiving dinner. And same thing for Christmas, we team up.

Speaker 1 But one of the things that I always tried to do was like get their boots on the ground so they can actually see it happening, not just hear about it, not just say, Oh, I think we're doing these cool things and it sounds awesome, but like actually being part of that change, being part of that giving back.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 once again, I think these are like just the

Speaker 1 tricks, or not the tricks, tricks, but the

Speaker 1 what do I call them? Just like what

Speaker 1 brings real success.

Speaker 2 Well, and I think it's strategic. I really do.
Right. I mean, so what's funny is we were like,

Speaker 2 you know, you give away half. Why? I'm like, and I explained, I'm like, this is what I felt called to.
But also, like, I am, like, I'm a business owner too.

Speaker 2 Like, I see our employees buy in more from what we're doing. Why would I not want to keep doing this? Right.
Right. And then also, too, we're able to tie our why to their why.

Speaker 2 So we're able to help change their lives yeah so these are people that don't have a college degree and they can make 120 000 a year right in oklahoma and in oklahoma you don't need much yeah 120 is the you know 200 everywhere else i mean it's nice and so our goal is like we are gonna just change our employees lives and we're redefining like what it looks like to hire too i love it so i love it man your your mission is like everything that i preach

Speaker 1 and so like uh once again when we when we talked on the on the phone the first time, I was like, man, like, there, there's very few people that I align like almost perfectly with values and direction and culture and everything like that.

Speaker 1 And so that, uh, that's, that's been like the funnest part of just getting to know you, like how, how much alignment that I see in what you're doing and what I believe about success and, and everything like that.

Speaker 1 So what a wonderful compliment. I appreciate that.
Yeah, yeah, it's awesome. Um, I've appreciated, Lauren, your, your time today.
Where is, like, what's next?

Speaker 1 What are you, so obviously you're building this business.

Speaker 1 How can we help

Speaker 1 you go and accomplish the same mission?

Speaker 2 So we've recently launched give50.org. So it's all spelled out, give50.org.
And so we

Speaker 2 are actually having companies take the Give50 pledge. And so it's committing to giving 50% of your profit and whether it be a day, an hour, a week, a month, something, right?

Speaker 2 Or if you're a new entrepreneur and you want to commit to doing it, I will actually help you figure it out. Like I will help you figure out your problems.

Speaker 2 And so I recently spoke in an event and we had the first 20 companies take it. I love it.
And so I was so excited.

Speaker 2 Now our team's like, oh, crap, like we need, we need people to help scale and grow it. So

Speaker 2 that's what I'm really passionate about right now. You know, I'd say that is really big for me.

Speaker 2 And then, you know, right now, like I'm mom and wife and just doing all of of that and trying to spin all the plates.

Speaker 1 Balance it all. It's great, though.

Speaker 2 I love it.

Speaker 1 It's wild. Five kids, right? Five kids.
So also another thing that we connect on. I have five kids.
Whenever someone hears that I have five kids, they're like, what?

Speaker 1 How's that even possible?

Speaker 2 I know. I get asked that they're like, what religion are you? I'm like, why does that matter?

Speaker 1 But I mean, it's just funny. It's always

Speaker 1 the reason they usually ask because it usually is a sign of religion, a religious person, right?

Speaker 1 Like, I think there's something to say about having an eternal perspective of family and everything else and like the value that our posterity and kids bring to us.

Speaker 1 It does.

Speaker 2 Yeah. And I'll tell you, too, like, I tell everyone, I'm like, if you look at my husband, you'd understand.
Like, he's very attractive.

Speaker 1 So

Speaker 1 that's another reason, too. I love it.
I love it. I love it.
So, give50.org spelled out 50 or the number? Yeah, spelled out. Okay, give50.org.
I think that's a fantastic, you know, like

Speaker 1 anything that scares me, i think is incredible right like because for me

Speaker 1 yeah for for me when i hear that i'm like

Speaker 1 i believe in giving but do i believe in giving that much yeah that's uncomfortable yeah it makes makes me uncomfortable just going through the mental exercise of of thinking okay how can i give 50 yeah right and and i think anything that pushes you and makes you think that way is going to lead to production which eventually blesses you in so many other ways right private jets yeah well and what's funny is because we have five kids and people will ask why.

Speaker 2 And I'm like, listen, time is money. And I decided a long time ago, because I missed enough of rubies kind of growing up.
I was like, I'm not going to miss any more time.

Speaker 2 So I'm going to work harder and sacrifice more to be able to have this because I can come and do this or meet a lawyer or go to a charity event and then tuck my kids in for bed and be there for dinner.

Speaker 2 And that's a big thing for me.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 1 So

Speaker 1 what's so the next big thing, pushing that mission, you're a mom. Do you, where, where do you see Quintessa going?

Speaker 2 So, Quintessa, you know, last year before we kind of changed all of our leadership, we actually went through a process. And so

Speaker 2 I was, because I was done. Yeah.
I was over it. And

Speaker 2 got all the way to the finish line, had multiple offers, nine-figure offers.

Speaker 2 And I was at the Global Leadership Summit, eight months pregnant. And I leaned over to my husband and I said, we need to pull the process.

Speaker 2 And he was like,

Speaker 1 are you feeling okay?

Speaker 1 Are you sure? Because that payday sounds.

Speaker 2 I know. He was like, we're done.

Speaker 2 And I was like, yeah, but I was like,

Speaker 2 I haven't had a boss in 10 years.

Speaker 2 But then also, I said, I won't be able to give half.

Speaker 2 And when they gave the offers, they're like, love you. Love your husband.
Love the idea.

Speaker 1 Don't love the 50%.

Speaker 2 Yeah, don't love the 50% and don't love your team.

Speaker 1 And you just want to like yell at them and be like, this is the reason we have success.

Speaker 2 Yeah. And I did not like in my gut.
Like, I don't know if you ever get like red and splotchy, like on your neck, whenever you feel like something's wrong.

Speaker 2 And I was like, this just like to me, whatever you want to say. I was like, this isn't right.
So I pulled it. And then I was like, you know what? This will be a billion dollar company.

Speaker 2 Like I get very clear on my vision. And so I went out and I'm like, you don't like my team? Great.
I'll go find the best. Like, I'll go find it and scale it.

Speaker 2 So we went out and find some just amazing top tier talent. And what's funny is they didn't come in for the salary.
They came in for the give 50. Like that's what brought them on.

Speaker 2 And these are guys that were at Goldman Sachs and match.com.

Speaker 1 Like top talent.

Speaker 2 And so they're now scaling the company and they know like this is the big vision. Right.
And so we are really pushing that.

Speaker 2 So I think Quintessa, you know, the goal is for, and I say world domination is the easiest thing to say, but we don't want anyone to be able to look in personal injury without seeing Quintessa.

Speaker 2 And we're getting there.

Speaker 1 Man, I love it. I think, you know, just the principle of sacrifice, right? Like, sacrifice brings forth,

Speaker 1 you know, whatever you're going after. And a lot of people never get to the point of understanding.
I know private equity

Speaker 1 real hard.

Speaker 2 It was, it was like looking at empty eyes. They were like, you want to do what? And I'm like, it's okay.

Speaker 1 Yeah, you don't get it.

Speaker 2 It's fine.

Speaker 1 Well, thank you so much for inspiring us with your vision. Guys, go go on over to give50.org, check it out.
And if you feel so called, make the pledge. Super exciting.

Speaker 1 I am feeling it. Once again, it's scaring me,

Speaker 1 which is also an incredible, an incredible way to, like I said, to identify for me that it's probably the thing I need to do. So

Speaker 1 thank you so much, Lauren, for your time. Where's the best place to follow you and follow your vision and your direction?

Speaker 2 So Instagram. So at the Lauren Vaughan.
So V-O-N is the easiest way to follow me and kind of keep up with that and give 50.

Speaker 1 I love it. Thank you so much.
Until next time.