Turning Loss to Legacy, with Amanda Bauer-Frisch

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Welcome to Let's Talk Legacy. I'm your host, Gary

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Michels. Today we have Amanda Bauer Frisch on, who is a serial

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entrepreneur and the CEO of the enduring legacy company, which

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obviously caught our eyes. And we're all about leaving a legacy

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for people. She's dedicated to leaving a lasting impact through

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heartfelt purpose driven businesses that resonate with

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families worldwide. So welcome to the show.

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Thank you very much.

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So your path from human resources to full time

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parenting, and then to becoming a serial entrepreneur is is

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quite a journey, and one which was shaped in many ways by

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grief. Yes, that caught my eye. And I know our team was

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wondering about that. Can you share that story with us?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Absolutely. So in 2017, I was a full time

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human resources manager for a large grocery store chain, and I

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loved my job, love the company I worked for, and my husband and I

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had a one year old son. And I was in April of that year, I was

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four months pregnant with our second and we were eating dinner

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one night, and my husband had a weird pain in his throat, he

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knew that his family had a history of heart health issues.

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So out of an abundance of caution, we decided to go to the

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emergency room just to get checked out to make sure he was

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okay. He was not okay, he was having an aortic dissection,

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which is where his aortic valve was basically was tearing in

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half. And he passed away about two hours after we got to the

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emergency room. Oh, wow. So really, in the blink of an eye,

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you know, my life was totally upside down. And I was pregnant

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widow with a one year old at home. And I needed to figure out

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how to put my life back together. From there, I fast

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forward a couple of years, I was a stay at home mom by choice. I

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had recently remarried, and I started making wood banks in my

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garage, I made these wood piggy banks that have three

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compartments that say give save spend, my late husband was very

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passionate about financial literacy, he was a sheriff's

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deputy, and really had that passion to serve the community.

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But his other calling was financial literacy. So I kind of

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had this feeling inside. Like if I'm going to teach my kids

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anything from their dad, I have to teach them this basic thing.

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So I made these wood banks and I engraved the kids names on top

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and my new husband encouraged me to list them on Etsy. And when I

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did that, they just took off and I couldn't make enough of them.

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In the beginning, I did all the woodworking myself in my garage.

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And I will say I am not a woodworker, I just needed

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something to do a craft a project to do. And also at the

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time when I started this, it was the beginning of the pandemic.

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And I just needed something to do. Now we have a wood toy

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manufacturer, who makes the wood banks for us, and we engrave the

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kids names on top. And then we also just published a book

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called Jeremiah learns to earn that teaches kids a really cute

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story about learning to give, save and spend.

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Wow, that's awesome. Do you have thoughts

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about allowances? Do you have thoughts about when you start to

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give in a What age is the right time for a child to start to

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learn about money?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Yeah, that's a great question. One we

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get a lot. I will say I don't know that there's a right or

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wrong answer it really each family is unique. And I will say

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in our family, there are some chores, if you will, that are

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just expected of our kids, because they're a member of the

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family, brush their teeth and take a shower and that kind of

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thing. And those are just expectations that we have of

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them. And then occasionally, they have an opportunity to earn

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extra money, if they help with a job that we've asked of them.

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And my kids are still young. So the older two are definitely

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starting to earn some money. But we're really like on the cusp of

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their natural interest. Some children are interested in money

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a lot earlier. So I would say if you're your kid is expressing

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interest, that's a great time to start.

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Right? That's pretty cool. Now you say that

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along with the way you learned it isn't about winning or

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failing, it's about simply participant in and that being

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absent is the worst thing you can do. So talk a little bit

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about that.

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: I was able to participate in a TEDx event.

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And the title of my talk was in defense of participation

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trophies, which I know is a is a hot button issue for a lot of

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people and it's quick to kind of dismiss them as junk or just

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encouraging this Everyone's a winner culture. But I know from

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personal experience, when I was really in the depths of grief

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after my husband died, it was very easy to want to just lay in

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bed all day and not participate in basic things in life or the

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community or my family. And I think if we kind of reframe our

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thoughts around what it means to participate, you know, Michael

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Jordan credits his success to missing over 9000 baskets during

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his career. And if we take that mindset of I'm capable of doing

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anything if I put my mind to it, and I keep trying and I get it

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right versus I didn't make it on the first time I tried. So I bet

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just give up. I think that type of growth mindset could be

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beneficial to a lot of people.

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Absolutely. Yeah. But it all goes to a person's

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self worth and self esteem.

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Absolutely. You know, there's a couple

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famous sayings, one that comes to my mind is you're the average

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of the five people you spend the most time with. Yeah. And then

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whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.

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And, you know, if you surround yourself with people who believe

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in you and see your effort, you will start to make your goals a

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reality.

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And it's not a perfect science, but it's pretty

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darn right.

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Absolutely. Or if you're, you're in one of

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those funks, I think, take an audit of who you're spending

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your time with. Maybe it's time to change those five people.

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So what is the enduring legacy bank? How does

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that work? How does the concept work?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Yeah, so one thing that we realized

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really early on when we started selling our banks, is this sense

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of passing on good financial literacy skills that I have for

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my late husband, is common to many families. And so we really

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want to recognize that this is a common trait that a lot of

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families want to preserve. And it's not just about my family's

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legacy, and my late husband, it's about helping each

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individual family preserve their legacy. And then also along the

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way, there was another small woodworking business called Navy

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paddles. And we took over operation of that brand, we make

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plaques and awards that become retirement gifts or military

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recognition. And we felt like the name enduring legacy quo

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really encompassed everything we were trying to do in the

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different spaces, you know, from honoring people's financial

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legacies, legacies, or maybe their their work and

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professional legacies. It's kind of how the name evolved.

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Sweet. What kind of feedback have you gotten from

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parents about how their child's changed or learned from having

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these little small legacies? And these products of these banks?

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Has it been more of like a game for them? Are they actually have

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you heard any feedback about it actually, is they're learning

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some of the concepts?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Yes, one thing that we've heard quite

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frequently over and over is, because our banks are very

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popular to gift around the holidays. And we will get a note

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saying, you know, my kids opened all of their presents, and the

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only one that they played with was the bank. And it's really

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not meant to be a toy, but I'm just glad that the kids are, you

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know, engaging with it. Really, the best feedback that we've

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gotten is that it creates an opportunity for families to

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start the conversation, because a lot of parents just don't even

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know like, how do I even touch this topic with a 10 foot pole.

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And we really believe it's not something that your kids are

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going to learn overnight. This is a lifetime of, you know,

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these small habits that you're trying to build into their, into

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their world, and the small learning moments over time that

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are going to help preserve your legacy. So that's really the

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coolest feedback.

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What is your overriding vision? You did this

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to honor your your late husband, but there's something deeper

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calling you? Yep. What's your message? What's your purpose?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: That is a great question. Because in the

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beginning, my purpose I just felt like was, I need to make my

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late husband proud. And that was really the driving force for a

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while. That's still there. But I think the bigger driving force

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is, I want to leave the world a little bit better for my kids,

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and not just my children, but you know, their generation. I

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don't know what that looks like, or how I'm meant to do that. But

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I think showing up every day with a good attitude. And

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positive intent is half of the battle. So I and I think I do

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that by being a good business owner and a good employer to

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people and showing, you know, being an example of how to treat

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people with respect, and that's what fuels me now.

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That's good. Now, all of your businesses, if I

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hear you, right, you got the bank, you got the recognition

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program, you got your speaking, right?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Yes, and we have one more brand that falls

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under our umbrella. And that is a quilt shop and sewing machine

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dealership called stitches in time, maybe at first glance is

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like how does that fit in with your stuff. But the clients that

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are really passionate about quilting and sewing, the same

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passion that drives me to want to leave a legacy for my kids

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drives them when they're making a quilt. They're thinking about

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the same things every time they make a blanket for the person

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that they're gonna give it to. And it's really just helping

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people unlock that drive that's already in them to help preserve

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their own legacy.

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Do you have any desires to expand all these

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businesses to even a bigger cause? Or are you kind of in the

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very focus to better these brands?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Absolutely, I mean, I've been a small

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business owner for four years now. The Navy paddles brand had

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been in business for 10 years when we took it over and the

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quilt shop had been in business for 24 years. So we, you know,

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have big shoes to fill with the brands that we took over. And,

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you know, the small legacies brand, the banks that I was

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trying to build myself, but I absolutely see them growing. I

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just don't know where yet, in a couple of years, it'll the path

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will materialize.

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Yeah, every day, it probably gets a little

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clearer and then all of a sudden is gonna send a hit, right? So

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legacy is what this show is all about. It's so important. I

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think for so many people in our world, it drives them to what

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they do every day, yet, very few people are ever asked, What's

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your legacy? And the word legacy, though shows up in all

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areas of your life, it seems like, Hmm, what does that word

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mean, specifically to you? And why is it important to further

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legacy on in life?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: You know, for my family, my kids, I have

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three boys. Now, my oldest two biologically, were my late

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husband's, and they've been adopted now by my new husband,

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but I definitely feel like I have a big role to play for

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them, and in helping to introduce them to their dad that

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they never knew and teach them what he was all about, and what

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he stood for as a man and, and human. So the word legacy

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definitely has a stronger meaning. To me personally, I

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think at this stage in my life, just because I've been so

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focused on helping to preserve my late husband's memory for

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these two little boys. But like I said, once I started sharing

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that with people that that was my, in my heart. And what I

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really wanted to do, I realized that so many other people have a

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very similar story, maybe just for different reasons. That

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desire to pass on the positive aspects of your loved ones, is

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something that a lot of people share.

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How many people are involved in your businesses?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: We have 10 employees, there's three that

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are involved in all three, and then I have an integrator for

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each brand. And, and then some, like, we have woodworkers that

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only work obviously, on our woodworking projects, we have a

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couple of quilting instructors who only work at the quilt shop.

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Are you doing anything currently, either

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consciously or subconsciously, to further the legacy with your

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10 employees. And further that we are a legacy company, we are

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a company that's making a lasting difference?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Yes, one thing that's been really a

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passion project for mine is in in my company, to be a great

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employer, to everyone that works for us, but specifically for

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moms. Because if you know, a working mom, like it's very

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difficult to have any type of balance, just being able to

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manage it all is really hard. And we have several moms on our

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team. And I feel like I and our company can help leave a legacy

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for their family by paying them well, by being a great employer.

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By being flexible when you know that inevitable PIDs stuff comes

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up. So I feel like in that small way, we're already we're already

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doing that. And everyone on our team sees the passion behind

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either the words that we're sending out, or, you know,

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seeing the passion behind finding or helping one of our

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clients finish their quilt, they all feel that too. And I think

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that is something I try to do often is call out that like

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special feeling that you get when you help a client finish

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their quilt or when you send out a really cool award. Those kinds

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of moments don't happen at a Joanne fabrics. But they do

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happen in small business and they do happen, you know, when

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you have a passionate group of people. So we try to call those

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out when they're happening, those special moments as they're

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happening.

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As our listeners hop off the podcast today, if

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there was one message that you'd like them to leave with, that

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they would just go, Huh, I want to do that to better my life.

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What would that message be that you hope you've conveyed to them

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today?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: I think if there's one thing that people

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can take away from my message is that participation really can be

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so powerful. And having positive effort in the world. I think

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people are very quick to give up on their own hopes and dreams

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because they're afraid of of participation. And if you can

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take that first step towards whatever is the legacy that you

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want to pass on. take that first step outside of your comfort

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zone and see what happens. I think that could be really

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powerful.

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Awesome. How would someone get in touch with you?

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Absolutely. They could check out our

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website enduring legacy code.com Or check out the TEDx talk on on

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YouTube called in defense of participation trophies. Those

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are two places they could find us.

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Well, thank you so much, Amanda.

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Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Thanks so much.