Sarah Fejfar (00:31.727)
Andrea, welcome to Green Room Central Studios. Say hello to Linchpin Nation.
Andrea (00:36.775)
Hi, Linchpin Nation! I am super excited to be here!
Sarah Fejfar (00:40.403)
I thought we'd have a little fun to start out today and ask you to share a little story. And I will give you a little backstory on why I asked this question. So about six years ago now, I think it was, I made myself, I made my way into my first personal development seminars, four days. And it totally changed my life. Within less than 11 months of being in that room, I left the Midwest where I'd lived my entire life.
and moved my family out to the Pacific Northwest. We've, of course, sold our house. We left a 16-year corporate career and started my own business. We paid off all the debt we'd been under for a decade and a half. It was such a massive shift. And so to start us off today, I thought it would be fun if you shared a story of a room you made it into that changed your life.
Andrea (01:18.837)
Wow. Oh, that's awesome.
Andrea (01:34.994)
Oh yes, of course. I have so many of those stories. But my favorite, I think, is joining Chris Harder's mastermind. So Chris Harder, yeah, he is hands down one of the biggest factors into why I am where I am today. And really, I would say how I got there is just inspired action. So I launched my law firm.
Sarah Fejfar (01:44.541)
I love him.
Sarah Fejfar (01:54.105)
Mmm.
Andrea (02:04.746)
And this was, yeah, I launched it in 2018, middle, so May 2018, almost six years. In the middle, I'd say the summer, fall, I started pitching podcasts because I knew I've said, okay, I've got to make a name for myself. I have to get in front of all these business owners. So I just started pitching random podcasts, had no idea who Chris and his wife, Lori are, which is crazy to say today. Yeah. I had no idea. And he.
Sarah Fejfar (02:28.695)
Really?
Andrea (02:34.406)
ended up, I mean, he emailed me back so many crazy podcasts. I didn't like thinking about it today. It's like, wow, it's crazy that I got on those podcasts back then. But he ended up emailing back and saying, Yeah, let's do it. So we record and immediately we just vibe and he I start following him getting into his world. And I'm just like, Oh my gosh, there's this whole other world out there. And
Sarah Fejfar (02:56.145)
Yes.
Andrea (02:59.83)
he immediately became a client, helping him and his wife with trademark stuff. And then that was the end of 2018. And then 2019, I had my daughter in March. And then that year I joined his mastermind. And it was, it's by far been one of the biggest reasons why I am where I am today, because he's got such this huge audience and is a huge proponent on, I mean, he's always helping entrepreneurs and he has just a huge heart anyway.
Sarah Fejfar (03:03.807)
Okay.
Sarah Fejfar (03:10.9)
Mm.
Andrea (03:29.15)
And then also just promoting me and what I do. Cause what happened was him and actually Laurie, his wife, had, they had got a cease and desist letter for just an old random thing. And it was for copyright infringement for using a photo. And he's like, if we get in this trouble, imagine what everybody else does. So he's always been a huge proponent of promoting the legal stuff and helping other business owners not get in the trouble that they got into.
Sarah Fejfar (03:29.327)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (03:42.487)
Mmm.
Sarah Fejfar (03:46.857)
Right?
Andrea (03:54.134)
But hands down, that's opened some of the biggest doors for me and just having him now as a friend, client, investor, everything. And it all was just from random podcast pitching.
Sarah Fejfar (04:05.931)
Wow, what a beautiful story. Such serendipity in that too. And it makes me wonder what did you say to get on all those podcasts because you must have been really good.
Andrea (04:08.095)
Yeah.
Andrea (04:11.335)
Oh, 100%.
Andrea (04:18.094)
You know, I can tell, I don't know what it is. I'm sure I could go back and find it, but I just sent out the pitches to everybody and I think I followed up. And it was, I know it was a pitch that I just found online because I didn't know how to pitch. I just, I'm, I know I just looked up like how to pitch podcast or something like that.
Sarah Fejfar (04:43.719)
So you've been resourceful from the start, it appears. So let's dive into your business, legalpreneur for a bit. And I love this topic so much because the legal space is really near and dear to my heart. My dad was an attorney and I was in the digital marketing space for over a decade exclusively serving attorneys and I'm an entrepreneur myself. And so I'm really passionate about
Andrea (04:45.954)
Oh, 100%.
Sarah Fejfar (05:13.635)
seeing law firms grow and I want to know from you what is the best part about serving the legal space.
Andrea (05:23.81)
So, what I love is just being able to help small business owners. And I knew early on that's what I wanted to do was help small businesses. Because when I graduated from law school, I had the big fancy, big law job like how you see in suits, the big fancy office and the dream job. That's what I had. But I was absolutely miserable. And
Sarah Fejfar (05:27.573)
Mmm.
Sarah Fejfar (05:38.619)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (05:46.976)
Mm.
Andrea (05:48.606)
I had already had another small business that I had sold by the time I started at the firm. And when that happened, I kind of knew that I had scarred myself for life because I was like, how could I ever go back and work for someone? But that was my dream. I wanted to work in Big Law. And I was making a lot of money, more money than I could ever imagine making. And when I started, I was just like, this sucks. This is awful.
Sarah Fejfar (06:01.699)
Mm.
Sarah Fejfar (06:07.936)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (06:15.415)
Mmm.
Andrea (06:16.494)
And because of that first business, I had a lot of those friends, colleagues coming to me asking for help. And so I saw a need. I saw a need in the marketplace. And the big firm didn't want to serve the small businesses. And I knew that there was something to be said about all these small businesses that were coming to me. I was like, I think I just need to be that person that they can go to because they don't know who to go to. They don't know where to turn. And so...
Sarah Fejfar (06:24.473)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (06:35.138)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (06:42.145)
Yes.
Andrea (06:43.886)
once I started my own firm, it was just always my mission to help small businesses, those that otherwise wouldn't be able to afford working with a lawyer. Because I was on the other side of it where I was working in the big fancy job where they're hourly billing. As a brand new baby attorney, day one, my hourly rate, I think was like $220. I would get assignments from the partner like, oh, make sure you take your time on this.
Sarah Fejfar (06:51.961)
Mmm.
Sarah Fejfar (07:03.699)
Wow.
Andrea (07:09.546)
Make sure you, you know, and I'm just like, this should take me 20 minutes. Why do you want me to say it takes two hours? So I saw the other side of it and I was like, this is not okay. And small businesses can't afford this, but somebody like they need help. Somebody has to be, yeah, somebody has to be the go-to for them. So that's what I'm most passionate about is really just being able to help. The business owners that otherwise wouldn't be able to afford legal help.
Sarah Fejfar (07:19.202)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (07:23.763)
But they need it. Yep.
Sarah Fejfar (07:36.107)
Yeah, I feel like I resonate so much with that story because going into that first personal development seminar, it happened to be a Brendan Bouchard event. And so a lot of entrepreneurs there and I didn't, I know this sounds so naive at 36 to find your way into a personal development seminar and not really know that the entrepreneurial world exists and definitely not know that the expert space exists.
Andrea (07:44.786)
Nose.
Andrea (08:01.422)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (08:01.959)
And that kind of that event opened me up to both of those concepts. And I'm sitting next to people who run their own businesses, and they don't sit in a cubicle and work in like a multi story building with thousands of other people. And it, they don't, they build their own schedule. And sometimes they live in other places in the world. And it was all just really like cracking my head open. And
and sitting next to people that are like, oh, this is amazing. I would love to do this for my business, and kind of pointing at the stage. And I was just thinking to myself, oh, but I know how the wizard behind the curtain works. Like, this is so fun for me. This is, I don't wanna call it easy, but this is what I love to do. And it wasn't something I said, but it was just something that kind of just sat back there. And after going to a bunch more of his events, I realized...
I'm supposed to be serving these people. I feel so connected, like you said, to the small business entrepreneur. And this is where I'm supposed to put my flag in the sand is helping them, like taking all of my 20 years of event knowledge and directing it at these people, this target group. And so, yeah, I love your story. Especially love that it connects to Chris Harder. It's my favorite podcast. I loved getting the...
Andrea (09:07.242)
Yeah.
Andrea (09:21.573)
Yes. Ha ha ha.
Sarah Fejfar (09:23.367)
unwrapped from Spotify at the end of the year and his was like, this is your number one podcast. You're in the top 3% of all listeners. And I'm like, well, why am I not in the top? Oh, I didn't listen to all of them. So you also serve entrepreneurs in any niche, not just law offices, share a little bit about that.
Andrea (09:29.927)
That's awesome!
Andrea (09:37.065)
Yeah.
Andrea (09:44.359)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (09:48.498)
Yeah, so we serve all small businesses which legalpreneur now what I personally am doing more on the side is working with attorneys to help them grow and scale the way that I did and I put it off for a very long time and so Just a little backstory on my actual firm we Grew and made a million dollars within two years, which is almost unheard of for a solo attorney
Sarah Fejfar (10:00.119)
I love that.
Sarah Fejfar (10:15.415)
Wow. Yeah.
Andrea (10:17.846)
And so from that point, I just had so many attorneys constantly reaching out to me asking for help. And I'm like, I just I don't know what you want from me. Like, I don't know how to help you. Like, I just did the thing. I don't know. And over the but over the years, I realized, wow, like not like not every attorney gets it the way I do. Because from day one, I had always said I'm a business owner first, that happens to be a lawyer.
Sarah Fejfar (10:30.034)
Yeah, yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (10:44.515)
Mm hmm. Okay.
Andrea (10:47.006)
Most attorneys go into it, oh, I'm an attorney, I'm going to just have this firm, not knowing how to run a business, not knowing how to really bring in clients and set up an actual business. So, once I really made that connection and I understood what they needed from me, I finally started coaching attorneys, which has been a lot of fun because it's also like I have the small businesses that just have any and every type of small business, but now I also get to work with the solo attorneys that want to do what I do.
Sarah Fejfar (11:10.924)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (11:16.502)
quite frankly, there's only so much that I can do as a lawyer. And now I can just basically multiply myself.
Sarah Fejfar (11:24.088)
Yeah. Oh, that's fabulous. That's fabulous. Because I think it feels like they teach law in law school, but not actually running a business in law school. Yeah.
Andrea (11:34.134)
Mm-hmm. Oh, 100%. And attorneys will just come out the gate and they're like, I'm gonna launch my own firm. And they think just because they say they have a firm, they're gonna have clients. A lot of times attorneys, it's easy to get business because a lot of people need a lawyer sometimes. But what they don't know how to do is how to maintain that stream of clients.
Sarah Fejfar (12:00.966)
Yeah.
Andrea (12:01.718)
get clients coming to you when you're sitting at home. Because that's what attracts a lot of attorneys to me. I've always worked from home. I've never had an office. I've never met with a client in person. I've met them at events and stuff, but I've never met with a client in person. I only do phone calls and it's just a completely virtual law firm. And a lot of attorneys are fascinated that I've been able to do it because when I started, so many attorneys were like, you're not going to be able to do it.
Sarah Fejfar (12:12.531)
Yes.
Andrea (12:30.422)
make a living off of small businesses. And really my bread and butter is trademarks. A lot of attorneys are like, you're not going to be able to just do trademarks. You're probably gonna have to do this or that and supplement with this and blah, blah. Because I made it work. I made it happen. And now I am ranked number 12 out of 40,000 trademark attorneys in the United States. And that what I'm really proud of about that is just the fact that I have stayed true and just only wanting to work with small businesses.
Sarah Fejfar (12:50.116)
It's so awesome.
Andrea (12:58.318)
Because there's some attorneys that have, and I've been recruited by bigger firms, like, oh yeah, bring your book of business over here. And I'm like, I'm good. Thank you, though. But a lot of them like to have the bigger corporate clients because they don't have to continue generating business. But I have hundreds and thousands of clients where it's just a constant stream. And now, now I've set everything up to where I personally only work 10, maybe 15 hours.
Sarah Fejfar (12:58.366)
Mm.
Sarah Fejfar (13:16.119)
Thank you.
Andrea (13:28.67)
at all. And that's just because years and years of hard work of setting up the processes, systems, and even marketing wise, we've created such a name for ourselves that we don't have to do a ton of marketing like we used to.
Sarah Fejfar (13:34.516)
Yes.
Sarah Fejfar (13:43.688)
So good systems, I'm a systems girl. I love it Okay
Andrea (13:46.046)
Yeah, I'm not. I'm the visionary. It is my I'm very, very lucky that my real life best friend is my operations manager. She was yeah, she we've met in college and slowly started working for me when the pandemic hit. And then she just kind of ran with it. And I was like, this is perfect. And because she's very structured, like we got to set up this and that. I'm like, I don't know. I just want I want to be able to do this.
Sarah Fejfar (14:09.715)
Yes. Yeah.
Andrea (14:13.61)
and then she does all the things in the background to be able to do this.
Sarah Fejfar (14:18.539)
That sounds like a match made in heaven. Wow, I love that. And I love, especially love that allowed you to kind of live into this work-life balance that works for you. So I noticed that you started hosting events for your community, your dream bigger event, right? And I'm curious what made you wanna step into that arena and start building your own stages.
Andrea (14:20.894)
It is. It really is.
Andrea (14:29.161)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (14:37.65)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (14:47.074)
So that stemmed from wanting to break down the barrier of legal. Most people think, oh, legal is so intimidating. It's expensive and nobody wants to talk to a lawyer. And I can't tell you how many times clients have told me like how much at peace they were even just having a five-minute phone call with me because we build it up and build it up in our heads and it's really not that scary.
Sarah Fejfar (15:07.59)
Mmm.
Sarah Fejfar (15:13.662)
Yeah.
Andrea (15:14.55)
It's not scary at all. It's only scary when you wait until you need an attorney to actually get an attorney and work with an attorney. And so my idea was hosting this event, bringing together, you know, all the clients and our, in our community, and then also attorneys in our community. Not only is it obviously an entrepreneur event, but they can mingle and meet their clients and they can.
Sarah Fejfar (15:20.549)
Mmm.
Andrea (15:43.87)
really talk to other business owners that let them seem human to where it's not just oh I'm this lawyer and I'm in this fancy suit and you know the stuffiness that comes with being a lawyer sometimes.
Sarah Fejfar (15:56.751)
Oh, I know. I know. My dad was a suit and tie wearing type of lawyer every single day of my entire childhood.
Andrea (16:05.842)
Yeah, so my idea was just to break down that barrier.
Sarah Fejfar (16:11.142)
Mm-hmm. I love that. What was the best part about hosting it for you personally?
Andrea (16:18.706)
I think really just being able to see the attendees reaction and faces when they got to experience everything, all the speakers, all the experiences because we worked really hard to make sure that all of the speakers, the whole event was beautifully curated to really help these entrepreneurs no matter what industry, what niche they're in.
and we had such incredible feedback and we had a great speaker lineup. And even, I think what's really fun as well is putting undervalued speakers on stage and they show up and really deliver and people are like, oh my gosh, how have I never heard of this person? It's like, yeah, that's my best kept secret.
Sarah Fejfar (17:13.307)
Yes, that does feel good to give people a stage who you know deserve it and are just the best kept secret. What details do you geek out on as you play on? You said it was beautifully curated, tell me more.
Andrea (17:22.083)
Mm-hmm. Exactly.
Andrea (17:32.146)
Um, I think so our event planner Dakota She is a very detailed person and she's such an expert at what she does. I Don't have to think about the details She thinks about the details and then I pick out what I want those details to be because I'm telling you like I'm not The detail person I am hey, I want to do this like I want to put on this event Perfect. Okay. Here's all the things we need to make it happen and Her be she's such
so good at what she does that she thinks about all these little things like well we want to do this little detail so that way they'll associate this with it and I'm like oh my gosh you're amazing so it's just being able to even just have someone on my side that does think about all those details.
Sarah Fejfar (18:18.441)
Yeah, yeah, build the team that you need in order to support the vision. Was the vision fulfillment event or enrollment?
Andrea (18:28.762)
Uh, neither. Really, just awareness. Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (18:31.231)
Mmm
Sarah Fejfar (18:34.952)
Mm. Awareness of the people in the room.
Andrea (18:38.138)
The legal industry, yeah, awareness of the people in the room, the legal industry just breaking down, like it's just show people, hey, legal isn't intimidating, like we're entrepreneurs too, we're people too. Just really trying to start to disassociate the stuffiness and scariness around legal at the event.
Sarah Fejfar (18:58.603)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, specifically for that small business community.
Andrea (19:04.878)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (19:07.847)
Okay, so I want to switch gears for a little bit. So I am an extremely driven entrepreneur and I get the sense that we're very similar in that respect. I know as my daughter has grown that I've said to myself on more than one occasion that she was put on this earth to teach me how to have fun and I'm getting better.
Andrea (19:28.07)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (19:34.143)
We have so many adventures as a family here in the Pacific Northwest. I love that we moved here and it's just like adventures at our doorstep. And I wonder that how do you balance running a business and seeking joy?
Andrea (19:53.619)
Such a good question. My answer today is way different than it was a year, two years ago. So in 2020, I got a divorce, left my ex-husband. And that really sent me into a spiral of healing and trying to become the best version of myself.
Sarah Fejfar (20:00.511)
Mm.
Sarah Fejfar (20:09.494)
Mm.
Sarah Fejfar (20:18.966)
Yeah.
Andrea (20:20.762)
In doing a lot of the work and trying to achieve, I lost sight of fun and enjoying what I was doing. And I would say, and it was also a self-love journey. And I would say a year ago, I was getting very burnt out. I was like, what is going on? Like they're like...
Sarah Fejfar (20:31.263)
Mmm.
Andrea (20:49.182)
I'm not having fun, I'm not enjoying this. And I even said to my two best friends, if X, Y, or Z doesn't happen by this date, I think we're done with legalpreneur and we're gonna shut it down. And it's so funny, because I told three people this in the same day, and all of them had the same reaction. They were like, absolutely not.
Sarah Fejfar (21:06.357)
Hmm.
Andrea (21:15.722)
you're not done. And these are people around my life, in my life that are like, they, they know that I'm smart. They know I make good decisions and typically are supportive of all my decisions. And every single one of them to say absolutely not, I was like, oh, okay, maybe, maybe y'all are right. Maybe all three of y'all are right. So from there.
Sarah Fejfar (21:31.919)
Ha ha
Andrea (21:40.482)
I was just like, okay, get to the root of what's going on. And then I did, and it was ultimately me not having fun. And looking hardcore at everything, knowing, okay, I'm not.
Sarah Fejfar (21:47.656)
Mmm.
Andrea (21:54.642)
making the most use of my time. I was filling up my day with busy work just to be busy, to look like I was doing, to look like I was trying to move the needle, but really I wasn't moving the needle. And so, another story about my operations manager, Kayla, she's my best friend. She's a professional bowler. So we both bowled in college, and that's how we met. Well, she bowled on the professional women's tour in the summer. Well, this.
Sarah Fejfar (21:58.181)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (22:13.946)
Oh!
Sarah Fejfar (22:22.359)
Okay.
Andrea (22:23.086)
past summer, 2023, she started her tour and...
Andrea (22:35.498)
Basically that prompted me to start to take it easy for the summer and just try and have more fun. So I also play a lot of poker in my free time and a group of us here in Houston, there were a group of people who were gonna go to Vegas for the World Series of Poker. And they were trying to convince me to go out and I was, you know, of course coming up with every excuse in the book, like, no, I don't wanna go. I gotta do this. I gotta do that.
And finally, one of my friends was like, I don't want to hear it. We're going. I'm going to get the flights. You get the hotel. And I was like, oh, okay. I guess. And I had the time of my life that week, just having fun playing poker. And I, what, what really worked out was that I, I didn't plan to be gone. So I didn't take, like turn my schedule off. I just told my team like, Hey, I'm going to be out. I'll still be available. But.
try not to bug me. And I got to enjoy myself. I got to play a lot of poker and things still worked out at work. And so I, that felt really nice being able to take, take it easy. And so I continued it throughout the summer and we ended up having a really busy summer work wise. And I just attribute that to just taking the pressure off, just focusing on having fun.
Sarah Fejfar (23:44.605)
Ooh.
Sarah Fejfar (23:51.571)
Mmm.
Andrea (24:03.102)
And so really I had to be intentional about having fun again. And so since last summer, that's really when I started to implement working as little as possible. Um, I play, I play more poker. I try to be very intentional and dedicated to my kids. So when I, it's cause I have my kids 50% of the time now. And so I try to be very present with them and spend time with them.
Sarah Fejfar (24:10.964)
Mm.
Sarah Fejfar (24:26.742)
Yeah.
Andrea (24:32.694)
and when they're not around and it's just me time, then I have fun. That's typically my biggest focus for each day is what can I do today to have the most fun.
Sarah Fejfar (24:37.14)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (24:49.948)
Do you have to work hard at figuring out what you're going to do with the free time or is the fun starting and the ideas for the fun starting to just come to you without, with more ease?
Andrea (25:03.802)
Yeah, it definitely comes with more ease. I, what I've realized like on my own journey over the past several years of healing and self-love journey and everything, I've learned that when I personally am in alignment with myself and I feel good, everything just flows really easily. So when I ask myself, okay, what's, what can I do today? What's the most fun thing I can do? Like I just know.
Like it comes to me, it's like, oh yeah, I want to do this. And sometimes it is like, hey, like, yeah, let's get this work thing done and then we can go do this or let's, let's do this. And then it just comes to me now. I don't even have to force myself to go do anything or have fun. It luckily it just comes now.
Sarah Fejfar (25:48.947)
It's a great question. One of my coaches once suggested that if you don't know by 9 a.m. what you're excited about for the day, then you're doing it wrong. And so I do have that as a question that I answer in my morning journaling, but I do find myself having a hard time answering it sometimes.
Andrea (25:59.116)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (26:06.942)
Yeah. Well, I'll tell you another story. So, so the, the fun thing really happened last March. So I went to Austin for South by Southwest and one of my good friends, Liz, she, I met her on a business trip to Costa Rica, like a business mastermind in 2021 or two, 22, 2022. And
I was going to South by Southwest and I was like, Hey, we should catch up one day, blah, blah. We have a whole day and she actually sold her company. I think he had 20 either 2020 or 2021. And she was like, Andrea, I was so burnt out. Like I built this company up to $8 million, basically just me doing everything. And I was no longer having fun. And she was like, F this. I want to enjoy my life.
Sarah Fejfar (26:56.114)
Mm, yeah.
Andrea (27:02.082)
And she was also really stressed. And she's like, I didn't know what to do. She's like, I just started smoking weed. And now she'll admit it. So she sold her company and she loves being a mom. So she's like, Andrea, I wake up every morning, take the kids to school, smoke some weed. And I'm just like, what's the most fun thing I can do? And then I go do that. She's like, and that's every day. And I was like, live life, Liz.
My other friend Courtney and I, that's our motto. It's like live like Liz because she built up this huge company, sold it. Now she works on her investments, makes her money work for her, takes care of her kids. Her and her husband have this great, beautiful life. You know when you look at people from the outside and it's like, oh, they look like they have this great life. They look like they have a good marriage, but most of the time it's not what it appears to be.
Sarah Fejfar (27:41.341)
Yes.
Sarah Fejfar (27:48.383)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (27:58.417)
Yeah.
Andrea (27:59.794)
No, they are the best example and they, it's like they're so intentional with their lives and they get to, they put their kids in an alternative school where I think they get like two weeks off every six weeks or every eight weeks. And so they spent their very intentional with their time. They will travel with the kids. They
Sarah Fejfar (28:19.787)
Okay.
Andrea (28:26.866)
spent, I think they spent a month in South America last summer, so intentional with their time and their marriage. Like they talk openly. They're like, Oh, we were having issues about this. And this is how we worked through it. And we're just like, y'all are the example. Y'all are the example. So ever since last March, when it was South by Southwest, because I was at that point where I was like, F this, like, I'm not having fun. And she was like, Andrea, just have more fun. And she, you know, she's just
Sarah Fejfar (28:31.186)
I love that.
Sarah Fejfar (28:43.677)
Mm.
Sarah Fejfar (28:50.41)
Yeah.
Andrea (28:54.57)
now she's this hilarious pothead mom and she's like Andrea just have more fun. You know how you see hippies and they're just see that is her.
Sarah Fejfar (29:02.575)
Yes. Right now I'm picturing the movie Cars and you know the guy that sells the alternative fuel and the way he talks. That's what I'm picturing.
Andrea (29:14.65)
Yes. So live like Liz is my motto and she got me started on having fun, which I started to implement. And then last summer is when I was like, okay, I do not need to be working all these hours. Like I have a team, they can take care, they can take the load.
Sarah Fejfar (29:30.311)
Yes, yes. Wow, it was beautiful. Yeah, I'm working on that. I'm totally working on that. Yeah.
Andrea (29:40.97)
Yeah, it's hard because we get so lost. And for me, I so what I not struggle with, but something I'm still reconciling is how I grew my law firm so quickly. I made a million dollars within two years made a million dollars every year after that. And what I have realized after my divorce, healing everything, I did that trying to earn the love of other people that I was never going to get.
Sarah Fejfar (29:56.201)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (30:08.996)
Mm.
Andrea (30:12.31)
And quite frankly, that million dollar number was an arbitrary number. And so what I teach now is really figuring out what exactly do you want and need. And then how can you make that happen? And I don't ever push anyone or encourage anyone to make a million dollars. It's like, let's create your dream life. Let's look at what your dream life looks like. And that's what you need to go achieve. And.
Sarah Fejfar (30:24.169)
Mm, yes.
Sarah Fejfar (30:33.447)
Yes.
Sarah Fejfar (30:39.486)
Mmm.
Andrea (30:40.266)
That way you're doing it for you, but in order to do that, you have to figure out what you want, which is really hard for a lot of people actually. But after I realized, oh, I did all of this to earn the love of other people. And finally, I was just like, I don't care anymore. I don't care. All I care about is having fun, being happy, and enjoying my life.
Sarah Fejfar (30:45.683)
Yes.
Sarah Fejfar (30:58.263)
Yes.
Sarah Fejfar (31:09.139)
It's beautiful. I've been working with this coach. I think he's really good friends with Chris Harder, Rob Rucker-Troyd. And he's like the dream life guru. So good at it.
Andrea (31:19.338)
Yeah, yeah.
Andrea (31:24.026)
100% he's done the dream life. Yeah, he's done the dream life budget as well actually went to Italy with Rob Yeah, they had a group a group trip to Italy. That was amazing
Sarah Fejfar (31:30.768)
Oh, did you? Okay.
Sarah Fejfar (31:37.435)
Oh, I love that. Yeah, he's so smart. And that and I and I actually think living into figuring out what you really want does invite you to have more fun now. It really does. Because once you're envisioning the things you're like, well, wait, I actually I can do that right now. That's not out there. That's actually right here. Yeah.
Andrea (31:51.584)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (31:59.407)
Exactly. That's it. Yep.
Right. And that we build it up to be something so much bigger than it is. And we, because we build it up in our heads, it keeps getting pushed off and pushed off. But once we get very clear, get that clarity and get in alignment, Oh, it happens so fast.
Sarah Fejfar (32:06.591)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (32:15.847)
Yeah. I have this vision of this like multi-million dollar home on this very specific beach uh not too far from here and I like just imagine you know just like sitting there and going for walks on the beach like but I just get in my car today and go there and walk on the beach like it's basically the same.
Andrea (32:39.286)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Andrea (32:43.877)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (32:44.819)
The other thing will happen and we can do this now. You talk about doing the work and I have decided, within the last couple of years, I'm going to embrace all the woo because I know that it's working for a lot of people and so let's take off the serious hat for a little bit and just to kind of explore. And I've been working with a therapist for over a year that's been probably the best.
Andrea (32:48.334)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (33:13.407)
best business decision I've ever made, next to meditation, both of those. But I'm curious, what does that look like for you? I've also read a ton of books and podcasts.
Andrea (33:16.61)
Yeah.
Andrea (33:26.342)
Yeah. So what happened was, so in this all honestly stems back to Chris Harder's mastermind. I remember the first meetup, there were like these coaches and these spiritual people and I'm like, what is going on? Like, what is this? I don't know if this is what I signed up for.
Sarah Fejfar (33:34.592)
Mm.
Sarah Fejfar (33:43.571)
Yeah.
Andrea (33:49.386)
really, I just dove into their world. And of course, back then, I was always listening to podcasts and people would always talk about mindset, manifestation. And I was like, there has to be something to this. I had no idea what it was, what it meant. But I just, I remember thinking like, okay, if it's working for all these people, like they're not all part of this secret society, where they're saying, hey, you have to talk about this on a podcast to like scan these people. I'm like, there's something here.
Sarah Fejfar (34:17.291)
Ha ha ha!
Andrea (34:19.258)
So I start diving into that stuff more, but also at home, in my home life, my now ex-husband didn't believe any of it, was just like, that's mumbo jumbo. And he was a very, he had a very hard childhood and struggled a lot with depression and.
I found myself having to hide books I was reading. And ultimately, we ended up splitting up. And I started working with a coach. And she's a therapist but was acting as my coach. And ultimately, I remember the first time I had a session with her, I had just left my ex-husband. We were actually still living together. And I told her, I was like, I...
want to become the best version of myself in order to just be happy, but also call in a partner that, you know, be my higher self and call in a partner from there. Well, also that first session, I will never forget, we still talk about it to this day. I mean, this was September or October of 2020. And I was like, I also don't cry. I was like, I never cry. I'm fine in that department. And she's like,
Sarah Fejfar (35:26.153)
Yeah.
Andrea (35:47.23)
We have a lot of work to do. So she, I would say she, because I read a lot of books, but she really, I would say, catapulted the growth because it was obviously it's a lot easier to work one on one with somebody. I will say I spent a lot of money on that, worth every last penny. But I didn't know how to identify an emotion. I was emotionless. I
Sarah Fejfar (36:01.597)
Yes.
Andrea (36:17.086)
also realize I had dealt with a lifetime of trauma. And since, so, you know, in the past three and a half, four years, I've realized a lot. I have a very different relationship with my parents now than I once did. And this is from, you know, I'm Hispanic.
very traditionally Hispanic family, very enmeshed. And I was always like, we're so close, we're such a tight knit family and da, da. But when I left my ex-husband, I was made out to be the bad guy because you don't get divorced if you're not happy. You only get divorced if there's cheating, if that. And I started to see that it actually wasn't my happiness that mattered, it was me doing what they wanted me to do that made them happy. And so I had a whole life.
Sarah Fejfar (36:59.584)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Andrea (37:14.338)
of overachieving in order to earn their true authentic love, which I would never get. And to even throw another wrench in things, finally, you know, we're 2024, so, but last summer I finally, finally after three years of deep singleness called in a beautiful loving partner that I, and we've actually had this talk where, because we've thought about things and I'm like,
you don't understand like where I am today. Like I was not this person. He's like, well, we probably wouldn't have been together. I'm like, I know, like that's what I'm saying. Like we are only together now because I, I mean, not only, but like I'm able to be here because of all the work that I've put in. And, but what throws in another wrinkle. So he's black and my dad is, when I told my dad, he starts bawling his eyes out. Very traditionally Mexican family.
Sarah Fejfar (37:58.208)
Mm, yes.
Sarah Fejfar (38:07.489)
Oh no...
Andrea (38:11.03)
And I, you know, me having a lifetime of no boundaries, no nothing, I, you know, I was proud of myself because I stood up to him and was like, well, like, I'm happy. And ultimately, like, that's what matters here. And so my relationship with my parents has definitely taken a toll. But I've also realized like...
Sarah Fejfar (38:23.236)
Mm. Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (38:30.876)
Mmm.
Andrea (38:35.298)
They are who raised me and they brought me, you know, as far as they could. And I've done so much work around everything. Um, and it's not even that it's because my boyfriend's black. There's just so many other things and that just happens to be another. Another thing, like even if I would, cause when I told him, I mean, it was like it. Even dating anybody, my parents wouldn't be happy. It just happens to be that you're black and they're.
Sarah Fejfar (38:44.594)
Yes
Sarah Fejfar (38:55.696)
Yes.
Andrea (39:04.946)
My dad is even more not happy. And that's what, because I would always tell him, like, I've never been loved for who I am. And I think that really opened his eyes because a lot of times he didn't really understand until that came out about my parents, my dad. And from there, then on, I think he really did understand. He was like, oh, like, I get it now. Like you, they only loved you.
Sarah Fejfar (39:22.59)
Mm.
Andrea (39:33.686)
when you did what they wanted you to do, when you lived the way they wanted you to live. So very long-winded answer. But so working with the coach, and then I do work with a traditional therapist now. I see her every two weeks. And then always reading. I also do, I've done a lot of energy clearing.
Sarah Fejfar (39:38.19)
Yeah. Yep.
Sarah Fejfar (39:53.28)
Yeah.
Andrea (39:58.558)
plant medicine ceremonies because I believe like we store a lot of trauma, like allow a lot of things to just come up and you know when you accept where you are like you can finally release all that stuff so and new things come up all the time but it's so funny people that I talked to now that I met you know back in 2019 and Chris Harder's mastermind they look at me now they're like
Sarah Fejfar (40:03.675)
Ah, yes.
Andrea (40:27.574)
wow, like you are a completely different person. And Chris too, he's like, it's been so incredible to watch your journey and just see the person that you've become. Cause I was, you know, this hardcore, like very, and I was very masculine. Like I was the breadwinner in my marriage. And now I'm just like, just this soft and totally feminine being that's a completely different version of who I used to be.
Sarah Fejfar (40:34.343)
Mmm.
Andrea (40:53.794)
And it's so, like I try to tell my boyfriend all the time, I'm like, you know, I used to do this, I used to do this and this and then he's like, wow, you're a completely different person. I'm like, yeah, I am.
Sarah Fejfar (41:06.077)
But now you're more of who you are though, you know. Oh my gosh, it's so beautiful. It's bringing up a couple things for me. One, I've been working on this concept that I need to not put people on pedestals. And I just had an aha while you were sharing about your parents that I've done that with my own parents.
Andrea (41:09.018)
Oh, 100%. Yep.
Andrea (41:24.515)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (41:31.954)
Yeah, same here.
Sarah Fejfar (41:32.935)
Yeah, and I think when we are just like processing in real time here, I think when we take our parents off that pedestal and realize that they're human and they were doing the best that they could with what they had. And that might have been wrong, like what they were doing. And to like just, yeah, have an awareness and honor about that.
Andrea (41:42.968)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (41:47.483)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Andrea (41:57.594)
Yeah, and that the whole parent thing has been really tough for me because it's like, what do you mean? Like, the like, such an enmeshed family, like it's so crazy. Because I would, yes, exactly. And so it's like, okay, I want my family now, not my parents, but like, my family, my, you know, my boyfriend with my kids. And it's like, I want this, I want us to do this together. But then I'm like, is that right, though, because that's how I was raised. And
Sarah Fejfar (42:09.193)
Like, part of your identity to be close, right? Yeah.
Andrea (42:27.53)
We know how that turned out. So it's just trying to reconcile all these little things. And at the end of the day, what's also really hard to accept is like, our parents brought us as far as they could, and that may not have been right. And that's okay because they did the best they could. And it's now, what I always talk about people when they're on their own journey, I always try to explain it.
Sarah Fejfar (42:41.715)
Yes.
Sarah Fejfar (42:47.252)
Yes.
Andrea (42:55.334)
saying like we're all put on this earth and unfortunately it's like a board game where we all have different starting places because my boyfriend he at the beginning I'm like oh you've never been to therapy like okay like eventually we'll go to therapy but I'm just like he operates in such a different way that he doesn't
Sarah Fejfar (43:06.111)
Mmm.
Andrea (43:23.246)
have the trauma that I did. I know we're all traumatized in some areas, but the way that I communicate with him with things and I'm just like, you're able to just do that? You didn't have to talk to a therapist on how to do that? How do you operate just being you? It's so funny how I look at the differences and our relationship has just opened my eyes to so much to really show we really have just different starting points.
Sarah Fejfar (43:24.66)
Yes, yes.
Sarah Fejfar (43:39.376)
Yeah.
Andrea (43:52.782)
And hopefully we, and it's not a matter of catching up, but hopefully we can find someone that's on our same frequency and we can continue to grow together. But yeah, it's crazy how much we realize when we get older about our parents, which is also really sad. But I try really hard to...
Sarah Fejfar (43:56.653)
Yeah.
Sarah Fejfar (44:11.479)
Thanks for watching!
Andrea (44:19.338)
raise my kids the best I can.
Sarah Fejfar (44:21.647)
Yeah, oh, me too. Me too. Highest priority. So this next question is, so I wrote these questions before, like weeks ago, because we rescheduled, right? And so I'm going to try and ask you this question without crying. But I feel like I have to ask it. So this morning, I found out my grandmother
Andrea (44:26.506)
Yep.
Andrea (44:35.424)
Yeah.
Andrea (44:51.506)
Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!
Sarah Fejfar (44:52.779)
Yeah, and it's so I was just in a walk with my dog and I was asking, I was going through my questions that I was going to ask you on my phone and this question immediately made me cry. And I was like, oh, how perfect that we are having this conversation today and it was rescheduled today. So the question goes like this. I know you're a poker player and I am not.
but I do know how to shuffle a deck and deal. My grandparents, they were huge card players, bridge specifically, and they taught my sister and I from a very early age, like how to sit at a table and how to play cards and play one of their favorite games, which was 313, which I've decided that we're gonna do as a family tonight at our dinner table. Yeah, and so.
Andrea (45:30.236)
aww mhm
Andrea (45:48.445)
Aww.
Sarah Fejfar (45:51.139)
I have such fond memories of sitting around the table and playing cards with them. But I also think for them, it was about teaching us not just about the strategy, but also the etiquette of the game of like sitting together and playing cards. And so my question for you is, what has your love for the game of poker taught you?
Andrea (46:09.557)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (46:20.039)
about either life or running a successful business. And yeah, and even maybe if you're imparting any of that, like card playing wisdom to your children, take it however you like.
Andrea (46:33.31)
Yeah, I actually love this question.
Because I, so I've always played poker. Growing up, like my parents always had house games. Yeah, like I'll play poker now and people are like, oh, when did you start playing poker? And I was like, when I came out of the womb, like I don't know, I don't know what you wanted to tell me. But I didn't play for the eight years that I was married. So for about 10, yeah, for about 10 years when I was with my ex-husband, I did not play. When, towards the end of our marriage, 2020, I started playing again.
Sarah Fejfar (46:40.903)
Really? Okay.
Sarah Fejfar (46:51.981)
Oh my goodness.
Sarah Fejfar (46:56.403)
What?
Andrea (47:07.062)
like one day, because he didn't want me to play. And then one day I was just like, I'm going to play poker. And he was like, okay. And so I went and I walked in and I was like, it was just immediately I was like, this, like this is what I've been missing. So that was my outlet when I was going through the divorce, like getting my, like.
just completely transforming my life. And that is just continue to be a constant in my life. But I would say more so over the past year as I've been getting better and better, what I have learned is we're all making the best decision with the information that we have. Because poker, so I play usually Texas Hold'em.
Sarah Fejfar (47:53.299)
Mm. Yes.
Andrea (47:59.614)
every move that you make, you're making it based off the new information that you've uncovered. And that's what we have to do in life. Like, okay, now we have this information. What's the best decision we can make now? And the decision right now can be different than the one in five hours or five days or five months. So even if you get told no, something now, that's not no forever. We've all heard it. It's like just not right now. And so,
Sarah Fejfar (48:03.933)
Okay.
Sarah Fejfar (48:10.815)
Mmm.
Sarah Fejfar (48:25.917)
Yes.
Andrea (48:29.002)
We also, if we want somebody to make a different decision, give them different information. So in poker, if you want to, it's all painting a story in poker. If you want somebody to fold, give them information to make them fold. If you want them to call or do something, if you want them to do something, like give them that information for them to do that. And same thing in business. If you want somebody to say yes, give them the information they need to say yes.
Sarah Fejfar (48:56.255)
Mm. Oh, I love that. Yeah, like the both game analogies you've given like that everyone's starting at like a different place on the board. I love that visual. I'm a very visual person. And then this about like, we're just doing the best we have with the information that we have, and that we have to give ourselves grace about whatever happens after that, because it really was like the best week.
Andrea (49:10.475)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (49:21.324)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (49:25.579)
could do with what we had. Oh, so smart. Have you taught your kids how to play? I don't know how old they are, but are old enough to play poker? Okay.
Andrea (49:33.078)
So my son just turned seven, my daughter's about to be five. There's, I haven't taught them how to play Texas Hold'em, but they do know how to play a game called 31, and we'll play that at home. But I, and so I also used to own a poker club and they would, they were there all the time. So they know about other games.
But I will say when I did own that I got really burnt out on poker for a while so I've kept them away. But they will be learning very soon. Because I'm pretty sure that I was, by the time I was seven, I'm pretty sure I was already playing. Which is crazy.
Sarah Fejfar (50:04.)
Mmm.
Sarah Fejfar (50:18.419)
Oh, how fun. But it is just, it is a great way to spend a lot of hours together as a family. Like in this, you know, when I was playing with my grandparents and I just, I had the best grandparents, they, yeah, we just would, we wouldn't go out at night. We would just sit at the table. That was just what we did after dinners. We cleared the table and sat down and.
Andrea (50:27.027)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (50:33.422)
Mm-hmm.
Andrea (50:43.254)
Yep.
Sarah Fejfar (50:45.599)
played cards, it would be ours. So much time spent sitting there without devices, talking to each other like eyeball to eyeball. What a beautiful game. Yeah. About. Let's see. I've got like two questions left. Let's see. What do we have time for? I'll. So I was watching one of your podcast videos on masterminds and it caught my attention when you talked about divine timing.
Andrea (50:48.446)
Yep.
Sarah Fejfar (51:14.363)
because I just love that phrase and one of my favorite movies is Serendipity. And I totally believe that the universe is conspiring in our favor to bring us opportunities and at the right time, in the right order, for the right reasons, you know, and. Just want you to share a little bit about your belief in divine timing and how that's impacted your success as a business owner.
Andrea (51:23.826)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I believe...
that we have everything that we need exactly when we need it, which is also, I believe, the definition of abundance. And that goes hand in hand with divine timing. Like everything happens exactly when it's supposed to. And that's, and when I say be in alignment and know, have clarity, know what you want, like that's all you can do. Like we don't know the how.
Sarah Fejfar (51:48.843)
Mm.
Andrea (52:13.654)
We don't know the when, we don't know all the details. All we know is what we desire. And all we can know is who we are and what we desire. And of course we have to take that action to move towards those things that we want and desire. But that's all we can do. It's all in divine timing. It's all in listening to the little whispers. There's so many things that can change the trajectory.
Sarah Fejfar (52:18.72)
Hmm
Andrea (52:43.542)
of what so many things going on in your life. So it's a matter of being in alignment in order for divine timing to happen, which everything I believe happens in divine timing. I just think when we are in a lot because we're always manifesting, we're always like internally who we are, that is that's what is being projected in our 3d in our world. When we if so if you are not getting
in the physical world what you think you want and what you think you desire, I always think that's because you're not in alignment. You're not clear on what you're wanting, what you're desiring and who you need to be to get those things. So get in alignment, become that person and it all just happens.
Sarah Fejfar (53:18.981)
Mmm.
Sarah Fejfar (53:26.227)
Yes. So good. All right, last question as we wrap up here, Andrea, I value lifelong learning so much. And I also subscribe to the School of Thought that we have to design our own curriculum. And so I'd love to know three parts. What book are you reading right now? And why did you pick it? And what's one thing you learned so far?
Andrea (53:57.112)
Um, what am I reading? I gotta pull up my audible.
Sarah Fejfar (54:00.665)
I'm an audible girl myself. I'm reading the gap in the game right now
Andrea (54:06.151)
I'm actually reading adult children of emotionally immature parents.
Sarah Fejfar (54:11.331)
Oh my gosh, how perfect for this conversation today.
Andrea (54:15.239)
Yes, that is, that's what I've been working through. And what I have learned is a lot of our parents are very emotionally immature.
Which is okay. It's okay.
Sarah Fejfar (54:30.884)
I'm the proud owner of a couple as well. They love me very much and I've not done the work yet. Yeah, so good. Andrea, where can Lynchpin Nation find you and what have you got going on right now that we should know about?
Andrea (54:35.762)
Yes, yes.
Andrea (54:49.674)
Yeah. So you can find me at Andrea Sager Law on Instagram at The Legal Proneur on TikTok and Instagram. And really what I'm working on is having fun. I mean, you know, if you ever need any legal protection, any LLCs filed contracts, trademarks, you know, we can do all of that. Um, but what I'm focused on is really just supporting small businesses and solo attorneys.
Sarah Fejfar (55:01.143)
Okay, oh I love that.
Sarah Fejfar (55:08.908)
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Fejfar (55:16.424)
Beautiful. I'll link all that up in the show notes. Thank you, Andrea, for being here today. It's been a real pleasure.
Andrea (55:23.114)
Thank you.
