Small Business Growth Tips : The Community-Centric Business Path to Prosperity (with Special Guest & Author of The Prosperity Loop, Chris Lautenslager)

Want to create a thriving business that makes an impact? In this episode, Chris Lautenslager, author of The Prosperity Loop, shares his powerful community-centric approach to business that leads to long-term prosperity and success.

What’s Covered in This Episode:

• The Prosperity Loop and how it can transform your small business.
• Why building a strong community is essential for business success.
• Chris’s personal journey and the principles behind his approach.
• Actionable tips for fostering connections that drive growth.
• The mindset shift that can take your business from surviving to thriving.

Chris is a seasoned sales and business veteran with a Masters in Finance and Economics from Northwestern University. His forty-year career began on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where he started his first business in partnership with his brother Curtis.

Driven by an unshakable desire to partner with the leaders of small and medium businesses, Chris founded GET LOOPED, LLC as a platform to showcase the value and benefits of a collective prosperity for people, businesses and communities. Today, he helps businesses and CEOs incorporate prosperity in collaboration with profitability into their business practices.

📚 Books mentioned:
The Prosperity Loop : A Wealth Creation Model For Socially Conscious Leaders, Their Teams, And Their Communities by Chris Lautenslager

🤝Connect with Chris
https://get-looped.com/

🌟Join the WAITLIST for The Faithful Founders Collective at https://reinventing-perspectives.kit.com/231f666d82

💛 Thank you for listening in! 😀

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a review! Much appreciated.

Transcript

Chris: [00:00:00] Your only purpose of having a business is to make money, you're decreasing your possibility of actually being successful. Most certainly in regards to being prosperous, because prosperity is about so much more than just money. Think bigger, be bigger. It's just a better life. 

It's time to reinvent.

Priscilla Shumba: Welcome to the lessons of entrepreneurship, the journey of reinvention. As always, I promise you only great guests and this is no different. Chris Lautenslager renowned keynote speaker. Author, seasoned sales and business professional, and he's here to speak to us about something I think you're going to be interested in.

So stick around, Chris, please let us know who [00:01:00] you are and what's your mission.

Chris : I'm the president of get looped and get looped as an organization dedicated to the advocacy and advancement of small businesses. I believe in the value and contributions that small business and entrepreneurs make to not only the capitalist system, but to literally the fabric and culture of our society.

Without small business owners filling in all of the connections that we have within our communities, our neighborhoods, I feel that our lives would be significantly less of value, less of contribution. And subsequently, I've learned from my own personal experiences and working in small businesses and also working for large corporations that small business Owners are special people and they deserve to be acknowledged.

They deserve to be lauded and they most certainly deserve to be supported.

Priscilla Shumba: Thank you for that. We always love someone who's an advocate for small business. It's so [00:02:00] easy when you're in the weeds of things, you forget the impact that, pushing through with your business will have on the community. the people around you.

So thank you for, highlighting that and bringing that forward. Now, Chris, I'd love to know a little bit about your story because you started out 40 years ago on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Now you have this message around capitalism I'm trying to connect the dots.

Let us know how this all started.

Chris : I am a capitalist and, in today's world, that's not often a message that people want to hear. But the reality is that capitalism has been by far the most successful economic system that's allowed people to be able to make advancements in the quality of lives for hundreds of years.

It is through the individual contributions of people making independent buying and selling decisions that allows the efficiency of goods and services to be allocated [00:03:00] efficiently. Adam Smith wrote Wealth of Nations back in 1776. Here A lot of people don't realize that it was not only the Declaration of independence that was created during that year, but it was literally the foundation of capitalism of actually placing a stake in the ground saying that this is an economic system. And here is why it works.

My background is that I grew up. In a small business family, my father owned a small construction company. And for all of those out there in your audience who grew up in a small business family, we all know that it is like member of the family. We're all there to support each other.

Everyone contributes and the health of that business plays a vital role in the health of the. Family unit. Small businesses not only have an impact on those that are participating in it, but also in all those that it touches within the community. You had [00:04:00] mentioned how small businesses.

Are part of the community. As a business owner myself, and as someone that wants to share personal experiences in regards to, tips and hacks of how you can be a better entrepreneur and small business person. It is by making contributions to others. It is by being invaluable to others within your community.

If you want to compete against the big box stores, against the online commerce platforms, against the behemoths that are out there that have economic advantages beyond you, they have resources, they have advertising, they have reach, they often have a broader product line. Your secret sauce as a small business owner is your relationships, is your ability to know and service your clients.

If you want to be able to compete effectively, it is by being all in on [00:05:00] servicing your community.

Priscilla Shumba: It's so important that you say that because , people, can easily feel discouraged with the thought that there are brands out there who do what you do, who, because of the strength of their brand, you feel like you can't compete. But like you said, the secret source of being rooted in the community is really where the power of the small business owner is.

I know there are entrepreneurs that are really, ambitious and thinking big. And when I saw this, I said, I've got to get this story from you, Chris. You were part of a small business or the board of a small business that developed into a public listed company and is now listed on the NASDAQ or was listed on the NASDAQ.

And wow.

Chris : As I mentioned, I've worked at a small family business growing up. I've worked at some of the largest, most prestigious financial institutions in the world. I graduated from Northwestern which is one of the more premier educational institutions here in the United States, here in the Chicago land area, I'm based in [00:06:00] Chicago and I know what it's like working for large organizations that have an incredible amount of leverage.

With that said, with a small group of people, we were able to identify a niche. Actually, it's a funny story, Priscilla. What we did was we were able to contract to Drill for natural gas in a plot of land in Texas. So, this is when fracking was just becoming available.

It was a new technology and subsequently land that had been deemed previously by large energy organizations as inefficient in regards to trying to extract resources were being overlooked. Plus, it wasn't big enough for some of the larger organizations that are within the energy industry. We were able to negotiate drilling rights [00:07:00] for resources , for piece of land in Texas, utilize newer technology and be able to say strike oil, but it was natural gas, strike natural gas and be able to take that, leverage it, take it public.

The people that were on our team. I will say we're very bright people. We all had expertise. My expertise was in sales and raising capital. Their expertise was in structuring and being able to negotiate deals. We had a geologist, his expertise was being able to read the maps and read the maps, of the different gas lines that they have, but he could do it.

He gave us a high level of probability. He was a member of the board and with a very small team, a very focused effort. We were successful. We took a risk. We raised capital. We were successful with the new technology. We took it public and then we sold it. So it all worked [00:08:00] out according to plan, not your traditional kind of small business perspective, but It was fulfilling.

Not a dream, but a plan. Okay. And I know both stories. I know people who want to be able to provide a service and start very small, usually a side hustle. I recommend if you're an entrepreneur starting a new business, you started as a side hustle. Be prudent in your resources. You start to generate revenues and build that a person at a time, team by team, we had talked about before going live on the podcast.

Some of the. importance of your team. And as an entrepreneur, as a small business owner, hiring and who you have on your team, I think are some of the most important decisions that you can make. One is capital, two is cashflow, [00:09:00] three is talent and teamwork. Who you hire, who you surround yourself with is ever so important because particularly when you're starting out, you don't have a lot of room 

for mistakes, you don't have a lot of runway. That's why I always encourage people to start as a side hustle so that they have the ability to ensure that there is demand for their product, that they have a revenue stream, that they're selling before they're investing in capital and investing in fixed costs.

These are some of the things that people learn in the entrepreneurial business. One of the great things about today's world Priscilla is there are tremendous resources that are available out there in regards to learning. I consider podcasts to be today's. Advanced degree in knowledge, listening to people that have been there, done that before you that have hands on experience in regards to [00:10:00] virtually anything you want to do.

It could be from starting a business to raising capital to sales to manufacturing knitting. Doesn't matter. There's a podcast that's out there like yours that has expertise on it that you can learn from. So all of you listeners out there, kudos to you because some people just want to scroll on social media and be distracted.

You being on an actual podcast is all about learning and advancing yourself. Actually the number one investment that you can make Is in yourself. If you invest in yourself, the business will come along.

Priscilla Shumba: there's so many great things you said there. I don't even know where to start, Chris. 

Chris : I'm a bit chatty, Priscilla. I get carried away.

Priscilla Shumba: no, that's wonderful. It keeps me listening to okay, what did he say? good conversation. You talked about, one, you're looking for the capital. So the sales person in you. Secondly, you're thinking about the cashflow. [00:11:00] And then thirdly, you're thinking about your team, You are seasoned in sales and that's your area. Let's use that scenario. Starting out as a side hustle 

Priscilla : maybe you can speak to some of the things that people especially in small business struggle with. What practices or maybe what approaches they can have to sales to get those three blocks in order. 

Chris : Oh, so there's a lot there, Priscilla, and I don't want to make it sound so overwhelming for people that are just starting out also. One of the things that we talked about when we first started talking was how you can compete against big organizations and the ones that feel like they have all the advantages.

We pointed out that really your advantage as a small business is the connection that you have with the customer, the connection that you have with the community. Let's start with that. Sales is not about convincing people to do something that they do not want to do if you feel like someone's trying to quote, sell you something, they are doing a bad job [00:12:00] because they're doing you a disservice.

Sales is about explaining to people. Why they should or shouldn't be using your product or service. Why they will benefit from the use of your product or service. It's a teaching process. That's why the number one aspect associated with sales to be successful is not about talking or looking good or being smooth.

It's about listening. It's about asking questions as to how this person might be able to utilize your surface. What's the benefit to them in utilizing your service? So it goes back to that fundamental perspective of providing value to your community and your customer. Sales to be successful is really about understanding Your prospects needs or desires [00:13:00] and then identifying how your product or service might be able to fulfill them.

So if you're going into a pitch, so to speak, in which you're laying out all the features and benefits associated with the wonderful service you're providing, you're making it difficult for yourself. If you're successful in sales, you don't have to sell anyone.

They're going to want to buy, they're going to want to utilize your product. One of the things that I believe is the foundation of my being successful in sales has been that I only sell things that I really believe in, that I know is going to be of value. And tried to sell someone, teach someone, share with someone the benefits associated with my service and why it would work for them.

And they don't buy. I don't walk away angry or disappointed or surprised, maybe a little surprised. I questioned as to how did I not [00:14:00] explain this properly so that you fully understood how good this was for you? Because you obviously just didn't hear what I was saying because otherwise you'd have bought it.

So if you go in with a mindset of providing value, of being a teacher, of being an explainer and then The one thing that is about sales that I'm going to encourage is the close. You have to ask, okay? So some people are reluctant. not that hard, particularly when you know that the service and product that you're providing provides value and is helpful to your client to say, Would you like this?

I believe this would be a good fit for you. So being able to speak from the heart, speak with sincerity and speak with integrity is really the key to sales. If I'm sure there are people that are out there that are slick Willie and can sell ice to an Eskimo which. Eskimos [00:15:00] need ice.

I've never understood that phrase, but it's identifying that trying to sell a service or a product to a client that doesn't need it. Who wants to be in that position? Ick. I think one of the great things about being an entrepreneur is you're helping others. You're really providing a service.

So I've had great success. And having that perspective and having that experience of being able to support those that I'm in contact with capital and cash flow. Oh boy. It's hard. being an entrepreneur is hard. Count the pennies, make sure that you're not over spending.

Prioritize your expenses. Make sure that you can sell your product. Here's the nature of entrepreneurship. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to have failures. You're going to have setbacks. You're going to have sleepless nights. You're going to wonder where [00:16:00] the next dollar is going to come from.

It's hard. It's hard emotionally. When you can work through that, When you can succeed against the odds, that's what makes it so rewarding is that the choices that you made the lifestyle that you create, the contributions that you provide, those are from you. They're not from someone telling you what to do.

It's a very different feeling At the end of the month to feel and recognize that your company has been profitable as opposed to just getting a paycheck.

Priscilla : Realness that you've brought to it, as well as , that simplicity of the approach, which is really refreshing. Chris, you talked about raising money, which I know a lot of people who are thinking they've got this genius, product or this thing that they feel is really novel.

And they want to go out there and raise money. Now, it's interesting because I'm thinking [00:17:00] you're a finance person who ended up sales being the superpower and then raising money. Maybe you could speak to that a little bit.

Chris : So raising money is different. Raising money involves answering questions, being prepared. For the objections that are invariably going to come, actually, there's some sense to this in sales too, but the best thing that you can do in regards to understanding how to raise money is to look at it from the other person's perspective.

Why would they invest in your product? Why would they part with their hard earned dollars to. It's Australian dollars. Yes we're in St. Pierre. Why would they part with their hard earned dollars to take a chance on you? Okay. So obviously they're going to want a return. Being able to [00:18:00] anticipate the concerns that they're going to have when you pitch someone to make a capital contribution is your pathway to success.

What are the downsides? What are the risks? What's the value added proposition? What's your pathway to success? What's the timeframe to that success? Raising capital is a bit more sophisticated and on a higher level, unless it's based on a friendship or a family type of connection.

If you're going to raise Capital from professional investors. You need to anticipate that they're looking for problems. They're looking for why they should not do it. And you being prepared to answer those questions gives them a sense of comfort that you have the expertise. To be able to shepherd this project across the finish line. 

Priscilla : Oh, thanks for that insight. I'm [00:19:00] trying to imagine what that would have been like or what that would have looked like., is it like a sprint? Is it like something you're doing continuously? 

Chris : It depends generally in the environment that we were in, it was a spread. We were raising around the funding. We had a timeframe, we had an objective, we had a game plan. These were all pretty sophisticated people that were on our team that knew exactly what they were doing and that was actually part of the value added proposition 

we had people that had done this before. A history of success that we could point to that was part of what we were highlighting when we were raising capital So if you're raising capital, this is an interesting balance So people are like how much money should I raise, because when you raise capital you're going to Give up equity you're going to share ownership of your organization with others.

How much equity do you give up for how much capital [00:20:00] when you're just starting? hear both sides of this in regards to should I? Trying shepherd my equity, or should I just raise as much capital as possible? I'm of the attitude that you raise as much capital as possible because you need the money.

I promise you, you'll always need more money than you think. It goes so fast. And if you're successful in what you're doing, you'll be able to raise more. If you're not successful, You'll need and be grateful for that additional money that you raised initially to be able to stay alive, to get to the point where you can be successful.

Priscilla : Thank you for that insight, Chris. It's also very interesting. Let me not forget why we're here, why we're talking. I was so intrigued by the concept of the prosperity loop and I wanted to know a little bit more about that and how our audience can use that as small business people,

Chris : The prosperity loop started essentially during the pandemic. [00:21:00] So I was retired already. I was living in Breckenridge, Colorado. I had left New York city and was quite happy. I was living the dream that I had created for me. I love skiing. I love the mountains.

I feel a spiritual connection to being in the mountains and outdoors. And when the pandemic came and I started to see the lockups that were occurring and how devastating they were on small businesses I Was just heartbroken. I was heartbroken. I just felt it was such an unfair scenario. They were being asked to shoulder such high level of the responsibilities of protecting others.

And I was thinking, there's so many businesses that were struggling and, or, closing, and there are still so many businesses that are struggling in today's economy. How could I? Provide value contribution [00:22:00] to small business owners. What could I share with them in regards to helping their business be successful now, most business books are about the operational X's and O's.

How do you enhance sales? How do you reduce costs? How do you increase your margins? Mine was really about culture. How do you create a culture within your organization that has a positive reinforcing impact on where you work? Cause we spend so much time at work. It's just miserable to be in an environment in which people \ don't trust each other.

People are competing with each other. People are undermining each other or people don't care. , and so I wrote a book with six steps in regards to how to create a culture in which people have a positive contribution with [00:23:00] each other and with the organization in a manner that allows to be an ongoing prosperous entity. 

Priscilla : During that time particularly here in Australia, you find that especially with small business people the money that people were receiving from the government to cushion them during the pandemic, for them to get people back into the workplace.

Became a really big challenge because of course, if it was just about the money and the work environment was miserable and the stresses were terrible, they realized that not going to work was actually more profitable than going to work for a lot of individuals. In the case of small businesses where typically it's not like you're hiring, the biggest expert who requires a lot of money. That's what intrigued me so much to say, how would somebody in those situations able to employ that? 

Chris : I hear all the time my people at my company are [00:24:00] minimum wage. They want minimum commitment. They want minimum involvement. And My response to that is if that's the environment that you've created in your business, then that's the environment that you'll receive.

. I recognize that costs and labor costs in particular are so Fundamental to the success of organizations and that excessive labor costs or lack of productivity from your employees is devastating to your organization. So the 1st thing that I talk about when hiring people is that. You have to have a hire of character.

Okay. That integrity character matter. And yes, you can hire people that have integrity and character at a minimum wage. . In fact, if you assume that they don't. Then that's what you're going to get, okay? [00:25:00] The other is you have to reflect what you want. If you want your organization to be a positive environment, then you have to be a positive contributing human being.

If you're going to treat others like serfs, Why would you expect them to care about you or your business if you care about them if you invest in them as humans not as Cogs in a wheel, but as humans the likelihood of them wanting to stay the likelihood of them Wanting to contribute is significantly higher.

Is it harder? Yes, but so is high turnover. The cost of having poisonous people in your workforce is literally catastrophic. Small business owners that have the mentality that if this [00:26:00] person just doesn't work out, I'll put an ad in the paper and I'll find someone else and just replace them like a cog in the wheel.

I believe and I've witnessed the likelihood of them being able to keep good people is virtually nil, the likelihood of them being able to have a successful long term business is significantly decreased and your own satisfaction. Is marginalized. Who wants to work in an organization? Who wants to lead an organization in which you're a tyrant? It's just so unsatisfying. 

Chris : your only purpose of having a business is to make money, you're decreasing your possibility of actually being successful. Most certainly in regards to being prosperous, because prosperity is about so much more than just money. 

Chris : Again, we spend so much time in our work environment.[00:27:00]

It is an opportunity to impact others in such a positive manner. 

Chris : Think bigger, be bigger. It's just a better life. 

Priscilla : Thank you so much for that, Chris. We complain so much, but at the end of the day, you have to take ownership that you are the leader.

Chris : This is your life. The where you are right now, what you're experiencing right now the cumulative impact of your actions and decisions. Do things happen? Absolutely. To every single person, but it's your decisions, your reactions, your choices, That creates your life 

Priscilla : absolutely. And there again, lies the opportunity in small business 

Chris : Very much. So Priscilla

Priscilla : If you have a small group of people, to 20 people, surely you can get to know them, really know [00:28:00] them.

Chris : really know

Priscilla : get to know their family members, really get to know their family members. You can really get to so into those people and.

Especially in this time where people, the great resignation and everything in this time, you've got to create all those advantages that you can create by taking ownership of those things. 

Chris : Very much. So why would they want to work for you? I promise you it's not because of minimum wage I hate the concept of minimum wage, not in regards to the requirement that people need to be able to be compensated at least in a manner that allows them to be able to live a life with dignity.

But in the concept of minimum, why do you want to minimize anything? In life, except for, pain, distraction, poverty. It's about contribution. What's the contribution that you're making to other people's lives. Pay is just one of [00:29:00]them. 

Priscilla : that's so true. Thank you so much, Chris. This has been such an enriching conversation. I want to just make sure that The listener has a sense of why they should read The Prosperity Loop.

Chris : Actually, I'd love to have your listeners come to my website, which is at www. Get hyphen looped. com G E T hyphen L O P E D. Get on our mailing list. We do a monthly newsletter. My book, I encourage people to buy my book from a local bookstore. And I hope that you enjoy it.

People should buy it because. It's about more than just making money. It's about making a better business, making a better life. 

Priscilla: Thank you so much for that. Audience, please do that , and support all the small businesses within your community because they do need it, especially in this time. Chris, thank you for your expertise and thank you for your time.

Chris : Thank you, Priscilla. It [00:30:00] was really a joy.