Before You Shake Hands: The Partnership Red Flags That Could Save You Millions with Elle George

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation! JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire! Brought to you by High Level Level Level! the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today, we'll be breaking down, before you shake hands, the partnership red flags that could save you millions. To drop these value bombs, I brought Elle George into EO Fire Studios. Elle is a serial entrepreneur, disruptor, and investor. Her new book, Before You Shake Hands, is the ultimate partnership toolkit with hard-earned lessons on power, betrayal, and avoiding million-dollar mistakes. In today's information, we will talk about avoiding those partnership mistakes.

0:36Elle shares a personal story you won't want to miss and oh so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Elle and our sponsors. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today. Elle, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Hey, John. Thanks so much for having me.

1:21Wow. What would I disagree with? I think talent. You have to be talented. I think there's this perception that to go into business, you've got to be talented. You've got to be searching for balance. And I think, honestly, talent's overrated. It really is. You don't need to have talent. Most people chasing balance, they think, I need to go into this business and not seeking alignment. And I think that's the most important thing. So for me, when you first start a business, there's no balance. It's hardcore hustle. It's late nights. You really need to be completely obsessed with what your vision is and other people might not get it to begin with I think and that's part of you know part of starting a business you need to be obsessed with your vision and not worrying about other people are thinking and then just be completely aligned with with what that is and staying true to that I think that's the most important thing because the balance comes later after you've done the hustle you've done the you know the late nights That's the, you know, whatever the business is that you're in.

2:29That comes, that's a luxury. That's the bit that you get at the end. You know, I think most people think they need to have that vision for balance to begin with. You know, I want to start a business and have just be a total balance of life. Whereas people need to go, if you want that straight up, go and work for someone else. You're in the wrong business. I think that's probably the most, you know, if you really want to be an entrepreneur, you need to double down and it's hard hassle. It's hard hustle. And Fire Nation, you heard that Elle's been there. She's done that. She's a serial entrepreneur, a disruptor and an investor.

2:59And that's why we're talking today about Before You Shake Hands, the partnership red flags that could save you millions. Not only could it save you millions, but it could just save time, like your life. I mean, you know, we are what we do every single day. And you wrote a book, Al, about hard earned lessons. We're talking about on power, betrayal, avoiding million-dollar mistakes. What is Before You Shake Hands really about? Well, look, it is very hard-learned and very hard-earned, and unfortunately, I'm very qualified to write it. But look, it's not just a book. It's a toolkit and very much so an alignment toolkit.

3:40It's for founders, investors, any executives who really want to either grow or whether you're investing or a new partner or you're the partner looking for the investor. And it's about asking the real questions that nobody wants to ask. And when you're sort of swept up in the excitement, it's a bit like dating. We're so excited to be chosen, if you like, and, oh, someone pick me, pick me. But it's a book of the critical questions that we really should be asking before we even think about shaking hands with someone and protecting you before you sign on the dotted line. And, you know, questions from values to, you know, your alignment, values and trust, roles and responsibilities, who's doing what, getting uncomfortable or being comfortable in the uncomfortable.

4:35And it's awkward, I think, when you feel like you're having that first partnership discussion and we just take people at face value. and I guess if we were going into a marriage, we're not going to go on a date and at the end of the third date, we're going to sign over all of our life and give somebody access to our bank accounts, yet we do it in business. So, I think Before You Shake Hands is definitely the prenup toolkit, if you like, for really asking all of the nitty-gritty questions that you need to know about someone before you're going into business and I guess it's, like I said, it's been built from nearly two decades of very hard-earned and hard-learned lessons.

5:16But more importantly, I wrote it because I really would love for other people not to have to learn the hard way that I did. And like I said, I've lost millions along the way and it was a very hard process to go through. So that's what it's about. It's alignment toolkit. Well, I want to dive deeper into partnerships. I want to get a little personal as well because I think we learn so much from stories. I mean, there's a reason why history is his story, her story. We learn from those. So at which point did you personally realize that things had gone wrong in your partnership? Tell us that story.

5:54Wow. Well, for me, it wasn't a gradual thing. It wasn't a buildup. It wasn't a gradual thing. It was fast and it was fast and it was brutal. And it was within weeks of just, I knew something was off and I think we sort of, we want to put those things behind us and think, oh, you know, don't think like that. But it really happened within weeks and it happened because there was no alignment. I went from running my company to being completely locked out out of emails. Files had disappeared, emails were gone, people, you know, having just come into businesses asking to take money out, forging company documents.

6:36They were forging bank documents. It was brutal. It was a screeching in sideways lesson straight up. So for me, it wasn't gradual. And I think when I realised that it wasn't any disagreement, it wasn't a fight, it wasn't anything like that. And I realised that it was a really premeditated, calculated, hostile takeover based on greed. That was, you know, that was the biggest lesson I had. And I think from that, there were huge red flags. Looking back, you know, hindsight's 20-20, right? And so the huge red flags were definitely alignment straight up. And for me, I was, you know, younger. I was not as mature, emotionally mature as I am now in business.

7:27and I would have seen those things now. And that was the hardest thing. And I think being aligned with someone and not knowing their why and not delving deeper into who they were and what they brought to the table and I guess checking out who they were were the biggest lessons that I've, you know, I mean, it was huge. They were the biggest red flags is people asking for money and these people, you remember, they've just invested in your business so you think they're financial. But had I asked those really hard questions, which are uncomfortable, no one wants to sit there and feel like they're giving someone the Spanish Inquisition, but I wouldn't be sitting in the position that I am today without having learned those lessons.

8:14But it was really tough. It was hard. It was fast. It was like a very wonderful romance until it wasn't. Well, Elle, the reality is that a lot of people, they just feel more comfortable starting something with a partner because they feel like it's safer, that people are bringing maybe different skill sets to the equation, et cetera, et cetera. So what advice would you give to somebody listening right now who's thinking about entering a new business partnership? That's a great question. I think the first thing would be slow down. This is not a race. It's not, you know, I think we, like I said, we get so excited when someone's giving us that validation and it's our ego screaming out of saying, oh, you know, someone's validating my business or validating my idea and we get so excited about that.

9:02But, you know, slow down. It's, you need to have, excitement's the enemy of clarity, I think. And like I said, just like dating, we get so excited, we rush into things, we want to know everything about, you know, just get all the hard things out of the way and get into the crux of the relationship. but really ask the very uncomfortable very practical questions I mean just for an example asking someone to do a background check straight up the first question I would be asking somebody is why do you want to invest in my business now you know from an alignment perspective somebody might you know they want to they're coming in because they want to a tax you know they need to park their money for tax whereas you know you've got an exit strategy for legacy for your kids or somebody asking people what their values are what's important to them in in business I might have you know you might want to have a make social change or have philanthropy in mind or work for social causes and somebody's like no no I'm just for profit we're not spending money and giving money away so those basic questions are you know I mean alignment's the most important thing in what you're, you know, what you're all trying to achieve.

10:15So if that basic alignment is not there from the start, it's literally a run, don't walk situation, abort mission. I love that. It's just easy concept of, Hey, let's just start with the background check. Like, let's just start there. And let's just kind of take one step at a time going forward. Because I mean, man, if you can find something at that stage, you know, do not pass go, do not collect$200. And fire mission, 100%. Yeah. We have a lot more to talk about on this topic when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Okay. Let's talk about a platform that's completely changing how entrepreneurs are running their business.

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14:27What advice would you give them? You know what? It does just happen. There are so many people out there. I think, you know, the courts are absolutely full from 8am in every city, in every town, in every country in the world are full from 8am to 4pm every day with people fighting over money and partnerships. So, you know, We don't need to look far to find out what the stats are in failed partnerships. And I think for someone who's already in a partnership and is regretting it or has doubts, their gut's off, they know something's off or the alignment's totally out, in my situation, like I said, hindsight's 20-20 is document everything and I mean everything.

15:08And the one good thing that saw me come through and spat out the other side was keeping everything. Because when money's involved and greed is involved, people will try and recreate history and money changes people. And they will double down and try and make things disappear or invent things to be able to match their narrative. So document everything. And I mean every email, every agreement, every promise, conversations, make notes while it's still fresh because in my situation, you know, I was two decades in still fighting for things and fighting to clear, you know, my name and things like that.

15:50So, you know, your memory fades over time. So document everything in the moment as things happen and immediately when your gut is off and you can feel things going south, it's happening. Get your head around it. It is happening. get legal advice immediately because that thought is again the romance of it. We want to think the best of people and we want to think oh no you know somebody can't be doing that they wouldn't be doing that because maybe you don't think like that but people who do those things that's how they think. They think about takeovers and forging documents and how to strategically do those things so if you're you know if you're in that situation now that's my biggest advice is really make sure that you get legal advice, document everything, every conversation.

16:37And then, you know, you really make a decision. And sometimes staying too long in a toxic relationship, you know, oh, God, it'll cost you more than leaving straight away ever would, you know, both financially, emotionally, your reputation. I mean, I went through it so, it was so painful. It was public. Like it was, you know, but at the end of it, I came out knowing that I'd done all those things. I absolutely came out with my integrity intact. And then also knowing that I'd done the right thing and the freedom to be able to rebuild. And you will get come out the other side. How you come out, whether you get spat out or you do come out with that integrity intact and your freedom to rebuild is key.

17:25And I think sometimes people think it's failure and it's not. leaving isn't failure all the time. It's probably the smartest business decision you'll ever make. Oh, I love that. I mean, if we can learn Fire Nation to fail fast, it will save us so much pain, energy, and just time overall to move on to the right thing. Speaking of which, Elle, you actually have a new business venture. Tell us a little bit about this and what makes it different? I had quite a few successful businesses since then and I still do. What makes them different comes from what makes me different and the lessons that I've learned.

18:04I think that's the key. So now every single business and I've got a wellness brand that I've started. Every single business I do now starts with alignment. Absolute alignment is the key to everything. And it's not about having partners it's the alignment within yourself what do I want there's no ego anymore there's no hype around sort of trying to build something for other people um and if I do work with people not this and I don't do partnerships I have one that has stood the test of time and with a very dear friend and we've got an incredible business but I only work with people I trust whether it's suppliers freelancers whoever it is you know um building things with people in your business that you trust and that you like.

18:50No one wants to come to work every day and not like who they're working with. And I also make sure that there's structure in place from day one. I think having expectations of both yourself and other people in business from day one is so important. I'm a bit of a serial entrepreneur. My kids always laugh at me whenever we travel or go anywhere and I'll be walking past in a town and see a police sign on a shop and they're like, mum, keep walking. So I've already in my head, what could I put in there? And so I think learning my lesson has been not chasing every opportunity anymore for me has been really important and it allows me to instead focus on building businesses that really feel good to run.

19:35And for me, serving people that it feels authentic, we can grow sustainably. It's not just a fast year in. It's like, oh, we need to have this fantastic business that everybody else thinks is amazing. I really don't care what other people think. If I get up every day and I'm doing what I love and I'm so excited every day to be doing that, it just naturally grows. Some people say, oh, my God, you're so lucky. It's like, you know what? The harder I work, the luckier I get. now Elle before shake hands this is just a different business book than your typical business books that are out there how so well I think most business books in my experience they're either inspiration which are amazing there's so many incredible books out there or their theory so they're either all theory or or all you know just a very inspiring book and you know before you shake hands it's it's deeply personal so they're really in the trenches the questions that are in there they're in the trenches questions that you really need to be asking and and very practical so it's not a poor me situation it's not I'm a victim and this happened to me it's really allowing readers to be able to learn and not have to go through what I've gone through it's not being written from you know me sitting up on a pedestal and saying I'm an expert in this because I'm absolutely not but what I am I'm an expert in is my own personal experience and you know so I guess in a way it's it was written from being in the trenches you know being in there after the legal battles the betrayals but also the rebuilding I think that's really really important really easy to read and you know it's set up like in the in the sections like I said it's got you know values and values and trust roles and responsibilities, financials, legals, exit strategies, and each section's sort of got a question for you to ask.

21:32It's really basic. It's got a question for you to ask, and then it really does a deep dive on why it's important. So it's a really hands-on book. It gives you, you know, frameworks to work within, red flag checklists, and all the questions that people need to ask before they even think about signing on the dotted line. And I think it's definitely a book I wish I had back then before I did. So Ella, Fire Nation wants to learn more, wants to get their hands on this book, wants to connect with you. What is your call to action for our listeners today? Well, they can check out the book on Before You Shake Hands at beforeyoushakehands.com.

22:14And also it will be through my Instagram, which is the.lele.geoge on Instagram. So yeah. Perfect. Because Fire Nation knows they're the average of the five people they spend the most time with. And Fire Nation, you've been hanging out with EG and JLD today. So keep up that heat. And for links to everything that we talked about, visit eofire.com, type L-E-L-L-E in the search bar. The show notes page will pop right up. And Elle, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Amazing. Thank you. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Elle for sponsoring today's episode.

23:00And Fire Nation, are you ready to rock your very own podcast? Check out our free podcasting course where I will teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free. Freepodcastcourse.com. I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today.

23:42Thank you.