Good Operators Get Tired; Great Business People Get Rich: Shani Taylor’s Story

Welcome to The Roofing CEO Playbook: Build It to Sell It podcast. I am your host, Lance Bachmann.

I sit with Shani Taylor, an award-winning business coach and entrepreneur in this episode. Shani shares her incredible journey from homelessness to international success, offering insights on overcoming adversity, mastering the mindset for growth, and building sustainable businesses. Tune in to learn why great business people thrive where good operators struggle and discover actionable strategies for scaling your business and transforming your life.

The Roofing CEO Playbook: Build It to Sell It podcast is sponsored by our friends at Rilla and ServiceTitan

Episode resources:

Shani Taylor Automated Transcript

[00:00:00] Shani:  Well, you know what’s really interesting, and it’s so hard for people to believe this, but the woman that you see in front of you today is worlds apart from who I was.

[00:00:11] Lance:  Tell us about that because there’s no way I’d be thinking here thinking that you didn’t have confidence as a young girl.

[00:00:16] Shani:  You know, I’d get thrown into walls for for breathing, um, and you just were always walking on eggshells. And, like, I don’t even remember being hugged as a child. Like, I have no no memory of that whatsoever. And then when I was 16, I got kicked out of home, and I was literally living on the streets. I was sleeping under a bridge.

[00:00:41] Lance:  Hey, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I wanna give a quick shout out to our sponsors, ServiceTitan and Rilla, our technology of choice to helping us scale and grow our business and making sure all of our viewers have the technology to scale their business so when they wanna sell it, they’re able to. Welcome to the Roofing CEO Playbook podcast. Build it to sell it. We’re here to cut through the noise, all the rhetoric to show you how to build your roofing business, make it profitable where you make a boat ton of money. And the chart on top, when you’re ready to sell, you can sell to a private equity firm and change your family’s life. I’m excited here to tell you a special guest. I’m gonna mispronounce your name, but she flew 30 hours from Australia to be on the podcast, which is so heartfelt to me because I met you when you introduced me on stage, and you’re just such a great soul. When I met you, there’s an instant connection. Like, you’re just an awesome person. You have great energy. You’re a hell of an emcee. And then I started doing research on you, and I was like, she won coach of the year. You have this huge coaching group. You struggle. Single mom. Like, there’s a lot to you. And I was like, Kyra, so you gotta get her on on this podcast because you have such an incredible story. And I know it doesn’t relate totally to roofing, but you coach a lot of different groups. You’ve been around home services, so, like, you understand it. But I’m honored that you’re here, and I don’t wanna mispronounce your name. Do you wanna do it? Shonay? Tell is that it? Shonay?

[00:02:03] Shani:  Totally ruined it.

[00:02:05] Lance:  Oh my god. Jesus. Alright. I’ll try again. Tell everybody how you pronounce it. And this is why I hate this part of every podcast I do, people, and I’m not gonna edit this because you don’t edit. So, like, we’re here. Get out of here.

[00:02:18] Shani:  So close, Lance.

[00:02:19] Lance:  And this is why I don’t introduce anyone on stage like you.

[00:02:22] Shani:  Yeah. Go ahead. So it’s Shawnee.

[00:02:24] Lance:  Shawnee.

[00:02:25] Shani:  Yes. So there’s this there’s no r in the spelling, which is why it’s confusing. But, by the way, I’ll answer to anything. And I have a lot of American clients, and I typically they will pronounce it Shanee. So

[00:02:36] Lance:  So I did better than them.

[00:02:37] Shani:  You did. You just do you, boo. It’ll be fine.

[00:02:39] Lance:  Alright. I did better than them. So let’s we met at JT Fox mega success. As I I told you to my wife, you should see this woman. She is energetic. She knows it. You controlled the crowd. You fired everyone up. How the hell did you get into this? I’m just curious because, like, my wife I think it’s the most beautiful woman in the world, but my wife is not getting on stage doing what you do.

[00:03:00] Shani:  Your wife is beautiful, by the way.

[00:03:02] Lance:  Thank you.

[00:03:02] Shani:  And, um, I mean, obviously, I’ve been following you since we met, and one of the things that I love about what I see in your content is is your kids and your wife. So she is beautiful. Um, you know what’s really interesting? I’ve never, not once, done any training on being a speaker

[00:03:19] Lance:  Really? At all. You’re dead serious?

[00:03:22] Shani:  Dead serious. No formal training

[00:03:24] Lance:  No. I really feel like shit because I have Jesus lord. Yeah. So you never do any form so you just feel natural. You’re you’re like my friend, Matt Friedman. He’s just natural. You just love it being up there. You feel great. You feel Well,

[00:03:39] Shani:  you know what’s really interesting, and it’s so hard for people to believe this, but the woman that you see in front of you today is worlds apart from who I was.

[00:03:49] Lance:  Tell us about that because there’s no way I’d be thinking here thinking that you didn’t have confidence as a young girl.

[00:03:55] Shani:  Yeah. And, actually, I should have bought my phone over and showed you her phone.

[00:03:58] Lance:  Don’t grab her phone.

[00:03:59] Shani:  It’s it’s in the bag next the Louis Vuitton.

[00:04:01] Lance:  Bag.

[00:04:03] Shani:  Uh, I need

[00:04:03] Lance:  to show you some photos I see the photos.

[00:04:06] Shani:  Of, um, of what I used to look like. So I don’t I don’t even have these tattoos anymore, but this version of me was heavily into alcohol. No business.

[00:04:18] Lance:  Holy. That’s you? Can I can I put this up right now?

[00:04:21] Shani:  Of course, you can. Sure.

[00:04:23] Lance:  Sure. That’s Jesus, Lord. Let me Jesus, Lord. People. And

[00:04:29] Shani:  that’s that I mean

[00:04:29] Lance:  I mean, I don’t need No.

[00:04:31] Shani:  No. It’s okay. It’s okay. I don’t

[00:04:33] Lance:  think I’m sitting with

[00:04:34] Shani:  a different person. Exactly. Exactly.

[00:04:37] Lance:  So Tell tell tell tell everybody the backstory because when people find out how successful you are, it’s gonna be that’s mind blowing, but go ahead.

[00:04:44] Shani:  Yeah. So I actually was very scared to speak up. So I was born into super low socioeconomic and, uh, by the way, I think so I wasn’t at Mega Success for you and I ran into each other at the airport,

[00:04:58] Lance:  actually Yes.

[00:04:59] Shani:  Because I had to then leave and go to South Africa to go and speak on stage somewhere else. So I didn’t even get to stay at Mega Success, and it was so serendipitous that you happen to be there on the day that I got to be there. Because then I’m listening to your story, and I was I don’t know. Like, it brings me to tears even just thinking about it. I was just like, wow. Like, just cannot believe all that you’ve done, right, from where you’ve come from. Um, but it really struck me because I was born into Sydney’s suburb that’s the equivalent of Compton. Okay. Um, to to this day, it still has the highest rate of homicide out of all of the suburbs in Sydney.

[00:05:34] Lance:  Okay.

[00:05:34] Shani:  Just to give you a gauge on on, you know, the type of person.

[00:05:37] Lance:  Well, as soon as you say Compton, we all know.

[00:05:39] Shani:  Right. Which is why I use which is why I use Compton as the example. Uh, a lot of crime, you know, glass thrown through windows, You know? No low employment, the lot. Um, so that’s where I was born, and we were you know, I I I didn’t know my father growing up, so he had a whole other family. I was I was, um, my mother was his girlfriend, I’ve actually got a sister born, like, a week after me, right, right to to to his his wife at the time.

[00:06:11] Lance:  Your daddy was a rollerster.

[00:06:13] Shani:  Right. Mhmm. And, um, the story goes that when my mom said she was pregnant, he actually told her to to get an abortion or he was gonna blow her kneecaps out. Um, and that’s the Sicilian the the Sicilian blood.

[00:06:25] Lance:  Jesus Christ.

[00:06:26] Shani:  Right? Obviously, she didn’t, so you’re welcome. Aren’t you guys lucky? Um, but then you know so I grew up in a household with her, and, you know, I try to be respectful here, but, you know, I think she had her own problems from her own childhood, and I think she probably had undiagnosed PTSD. And it was very volatile. And, physically, you know, I’d get thrown into walls for for breathing, and you just were always walking on eggshells. And, like, I don’t even remember being hugged as a child. Like, I have no no memory of that whatsoever. And then when I was 16, I got kicked out of home, and I was literally living on the streets. I was sleeping under a bridge. And that led to me becoming an intravenous drug addict. So I used to put needles in my arm. And then, um, pardon me.

[00:07:29] Lance:  Yeah. Take your time. This is just amazing. I would never thought this.

[00:07:32] Shani:  I know. I know. Um, I think I was also really easy for easy target for bullying at school as well because I had bright red hair. Do you wanna see that photo, Liz?

[00:07:42] Lance:  Jesus, lord. Just keeps getting better.

[00:07:45] Shani:  Right. Um, I had bright red hair.

[00:07:49] Lance:  I gotta ask for old, if you don’t mind me asking.

[00:07:50] Shani:  Good. How old am I? Yeah. Um, 41 in in 2 months.

[00:07:54] Lance:  Tell you this. Well, you’re living a better life in your forties. You were oh my god. I’m not well, I didn’t mean that reaction.

[00:08:01] Shani:  I should’ve bought the family album.

[00:08:03] Lance:  Oh my god. Do you know what I mean? It’s it’s scheduled portraits of the year. I mean, it really is. I mean, it’s it’s scheduled portraits of the year. I mean, it really is. I mean, it’s it’s cool. My god. Look at this right here. It’s like it’s like 80 80 from Australia.

[00:08:18] Shani:  So it was a super easy time

[00:08:19] Lance:  to look. Well.

[00:08:20] Shani:  Has I look amazing compared to what I used to look. But, um, so I’d I’d I’d left school. I didn’t even finish school. I left in year 9 because I was kicked out of home on the streets. Um, super low confidence because while I was being bullied at home, I was being bullied at school. So I was super scared to speak up because every time I did, it came with physical ramifications.

[00:08:42] Lance:  Yeah.

[00:08:43] Shani:  Um, and then, obviously, living on the street, I mean, that’s that’s hell in itself. Um, you know, you don’t it’s just so unsafe. And so you’re, like, learning to stay under the radar so that you’re not a target for for violence. Um, so that went on. For me, I always knew I wanted to have a family, and I think it’s because I felt like I didn’t belong in the family that I had. So I just remember from a really young age, always wanting to have children, and I actually thought that I would have 5. That was the plan. Right? I did not have 5.

[00:09:17] Lance:  You have 1, though. Correct?

[00:09:18] Shani:  I have 1. Yeah. Um, so I always knew I wanted to have a family because I wanted to create somewhere that I belonged. And, um, I ended up having my son. He’s born, like, 4 days after my 23rd birthday. And he’s absolutely been the catalyst for becoming a better human. Because as soon as I decided to have him, that was the start of really cleaning my life up. When I decided I would have Oscar, my son, um

[00:09:47] Lance:  I like their names. Call them.

[00:09:49] Shani:  It’s such a great name, isn’t it? Because it’s a really cute baby’s name, but it’s a strong

[00:09:53] Lance:  Man’s name.

[00:09:54] Shani:  Strong man’s name.

[00:09:55] Lance:  Name.

[00:09:55] Shani:  Yeah. So he’s definitely been the catalyst for cleaning my life up. So I had him. About 11 weeks later, became a single parent. Um, so me and his father separated.

[00:10:07] Lance:  Were you still homeless, or you’re kinda figuring out at this point?

[00:10:10] Shani:  No. No. I had a home. Um, so well, interestingly, actually, I’ve gotta bring up I spoke to Kai about this. So when I was 17, even though I was taking drugs, I was driving dump trucks at a gold mine.

[00:10:26] Lance:  Jesus Christ. I mean So You should’ve took some of that gold, but I mean, it’s tough to have that. I mean yeah.

[00:10:36] Shani:  But I share that with you because, yeah, in terms of labor hire and the home services industry, like, I was actually part of that world for a very long time.

[00:10:46] Lance:  So now you have your son. You start getting built back on your feet. I gotta ask because you win coaching woman of the year, which is very hard to do. I know what the award is. I know it’s not easy. I know your coaching group. I know you work with all different types of entrepreneurs, home services, all type of people. Right?

[00:11:06] Shani:  Yeah.

[00:11:09] Lance:  Most coaching groups and and I’m not saying it’s really I know who you are. I know what you’ve done for people. I’ve gotten to know you, so I should be on here. Right? But most coaching group is are dog shit. Yes. Like, they are. Like, I hate to say that, like, it’s people that never done anything. Yes. But you own businesses. You’ve you’ve done you own businesses that you never took debt out, and you still scaled and made money. Can you talk about your coaching group and kinda what your techniques are? I know you’re with JT and your relationship with him. You I’m sure you guys do business together. But you know your shit. So many people seem to act like they know it, but they just don’t know it. Can you talk about that? Because I think that’s why people, like, don’t know who to join or who to believe. There’s so much bull with social media, there’s so much bullshit out there anymore.

[00:11:53] Shani:  So much. Yeah. Um, I’m yeah. I’m so glad you said it because it it makes great coaches in the industry. It makes our life a lot harder to be able to sell to people, to bring them in to help them because there’s such a bad taste in people’s mouths about the coaching industry. Because most people that they’re putting on a facade and they’re not teaching, they’re not embodied. Um, so for me, before I even had this business, um, and when I had my son, I started to work in recruitment, and I worked my way up pretty quickly. And within kind of 18 months, um, I was made branch manager of an international recruitment agency, uh, American, actually, Drake International. And so that was a really great job because that’s where I learned to run business, to learn how to read a p and l, to learn how to manage people, to learn, you know, how to who to become in order to have the nounce to be able to run business and people and lead and and, you know, be a leader. Um, because so many people go into business and they just see a dollar sign, and they don’t realize, number 1, you’re gonna work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. Um, you’ve got way more responsibility, not just for yourself, but to the people that you’re either employing or your clients. Absolutely. Right? It’s all on you.

[00:13:13] Lance:  I mean, I I love when people I ask people why they go in the business, and they say, for more time. Oh, yeah. And I’m like, for more time? For more for more time. Listen. I’ve been in business for 20 years. I really say to people I’ve been in business for about 8 where I took it serious. Like, I mean Right. Yes. I had a booming digital agency. Yes. I was making money, but, like, we’re probably 8 years ago, I hit the switch and said, okay. You’re whenever I married my wife, and then it just skyrocketed. Right. Then business became my sport, but I don’t have time. Do you have time? How much free time do you have?

[00:13:45] Shani:  I live and breathe. 98% of my time is work. I exercise. I sleep. I spend time with my son in the 2% that I have left over, and that’s it.

[00:13:56] Lance:  When someone when you’re coaching someone, they say because I’m sure you asked the question, like, why are you in business? Because I don’t have a coaching group, so I have no dog in the fight. Yeah. People ask me to have coaching groups all the time, but get into 1, start 1, launch you to have 1 base with your brand. I’m like, I don’t I I don’t own 1. Yeah. Like, I just know the work you have to because people don’t understand. For you to have a coaching group, you really have to have that servant mentality of, I’m serving you. I’m taking care of you. Yes. It’s almost like a concierge service. Like, if you’re a good coach, I believe that.

[00:14:27] Shani:  A 100%. You know how I said I didn’t have 5 kids? Well, now I’ve got over a 100 in this community, and I don’t mean that they’re children, but I mean that servant mentality of, I’m here to serve you. And at the same time, you still have to learn how to uphold standards, teach them how to hold standards, how to you know, I mean, this morning is a classic example. I’ve had to go in and speak to my community about um, it just amazes me, like, I’ve had to go in and speak to them basically about their word is their bond. If you sign a contract, you adhere to the contract. If you have an appointment with me, you turn up on time, you know. Otherwise, we’re not making another appointment. Because if you can’t respect my time like, I’m not sitting sitting around twiddling my fingers. I’ve got other things to do if you don’t want to participate. And people go into business to do the thing that they love, and this is where they mess it up. Because you actually have to love the game of business.

[00:15:25] Lance:  Correct.

[00:15:26] Shani:  And you have to love relationship building, and you have to love selling because that is the foundation. You know,

[00:15:31] Lance:  it’s funny you say that because I met you through JT, and I I try and listen. People have their own views of JT. I tell people that because I I’d say I’m friends with them and people are like, well, this I’m like, guys, listen. No one’s perfect, and he’s only been good to me, So I’m good to him, and I like JT. I think he brings a lot of good stuff to the table, or I think he and but what’s funny, I met him was he asked me to be on his podcast. Then he called me up and said I wanna stop by. He was coming from I think he might have been with you or someone overall over in England somewhere for a conference he was doing.

[00:16:02] Shani:  Right.

[00:16:03] Lance:  Closer to my house, goes to the Phillies game with me and my son. I think it was a Phillies game. Yeah. It was Phillies game. And then he asked me to speak at MegaAssess. I was like, is it I’ll pay you this now. I was like, I don’t want any money. I was like, I’ll just come out. There’s guy just flew from another country to my house to spend a day, but I’m not gonna take money from him. But this time, we’re friends. You know, I’m not. So I fly there, and the other guy canceled him. And I was like, you know, how do you tell someone that when they’re put on a big conference that you’re gonna go and you’re gonna speak? And that’s why I give you so much credit because we were supposed to have someone in here yesterday. Correct? And I tell Kyres, what would you say I tell you? Probably 30% of people are gonna cancel. Yes or no. Because they aren’t people that were and they wonder why their life isn’t what and you flew 30 hours here. We offered to pay for your plane ticket. You said, no. I’ll get my own. Yeah. Like, that’s when you know someone’s successful. You fly 30 hours. I’m I’m gonna do it. My I don’t need your money, Lance. We’re and that’s why I don’t take people’s money. Like, Root Max asked me to keynote. They said, how much money do you want? I said, I want money. Just to know we have this much allotted. I said, I don’t want it. I said, I’ll get through with my guys. It’s an honor to speak. I said, will you please donate it to a a um

[00:17:10] Shani:  Right.

[00:17:10] Lance:  I have a donation. I ask for everyone always to do to beat the streets. This is an organization. But the point being is, why is being a person of your word so important? Because, like, so many people just aren’t.

[00:17:20] Shani:  Yeah. You know, um, and it kinda weaves into the coaching thing because, like you said, you know, you’re not at all interested in having a coaching community, and I I totally get it. Um, but for me, coaching has changed my life. And so I’m so passionate about the impact that it can have and the industry at large, and I will fiercely protect it because I am the woman and the businessperson that I am today because of my mentors. Because I didn’t learn the things that I needed to learn to become this human. I didn’t learn them growing up. I didn’t learn them at school. You know, have you ever used a a Pythagoras theorem? Like, what are we teaching at school? Like, it’s totally irrelevant.

[00:17:59] Lance:  I love her. I love her. Listen. I think school’s for fools, and I tell people that, and I don’t mean it. Like like and I my as my kids go to a prestigious school, and they know how I feel. Yeah. I said my son’s not gonna be valedictorian. My and and, honestly, if you gave my I used to say, if you gave my son the microphone to be valedictorian, whatever comes out of his mouth is on you. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I I don’t know what to tell you. If you give me a microphone right? You know?

[00:18:23] Shani:  Lance, I let my son leave school at at 11 years old because he used to come home crying every day because it made him feel dumb, because he wasn’t built that way. He wasn’t built to sit in a classroom for 7 and a half hours and listen to some dictator tell him a bunch of information that had no relevance. You know what? He has thrived. He’s now on he’s 18 in 2 months. He’s been full time employed since he was 12. He’s a DJ on the side, so he’s got his own business. He’s also got a 2nd business where he literally has designed this thing himself in our in our local suburb. Everybody gets him to walk their dogs. He goes and looks after the elderly. I mean, anyway, like

[00:19:03] Lance:  It it’s it’s and and this is where, like, my quandary is, right, for me with my sons. The social aspect for my sons, my sons love playing sports

[00:19:13] Shani:  Right.

[00:19:14] Lance:  That I do believe they go, in my opinion, to one of the best schools in the state. Like, it’s just they worked at my sons for those reasons that you say, like, how your school Sun Infiniti. My oldest son struggles. Like, he struggles, like, just with just being a boy sitting in a room for 8 fucking hours. Right? Yeah. But they go out of their way to accommodate to make so, like, for me, you know, anyone that where where my son goes to school, I’ve they asked me how I feel. I said school lunch breakfast with the president. I said, I love the school. You’ve changed my son’s life because his old school, um, there was no male teachers not being a sexist here. They couldn’t understand what he was going

[00:19:49] Shani:  through. Right.

[00:19:50] Lance:  And they were like I’m like, is my son disrespectful? Like, no. But he he he doesn’t like to sit in his chair all day.

[00:19:56] Shani:  The same for Oscar.

[00:19:57] Lance:  I’m like, look out that window. Like, there’s no run. There’s no job like this in a world where you sit there all there’s no job. There’s no job where you just sit there besides being a college professor or a teacher Right. Where you put 20 to 30 people in a room and you speak down to them all day

[00:20:13] Shani:  Speak down.

[00:20:14] Lance:  And they say, come take a test the next day, then you’re changing the subject to shit. Like, no offense. Someone asked me, who was it? Paul fucking Revere or someone asked me. Who’s Paul Revere? I’m like, who the fucking how would I know who Paul Revere? Like like, they’re like, well, he’s the guy that ran through Boston, like, with the lamp or some shit. I’m like, and how does that affect me today? Yeah. But I could tell you what the net income is. I could tell you how you get to your EBITDA. I could tell you how you get to your gross profit without blinking things that are gonna make me money. Unless I’m gonna be on Jeopardy, Paul Revere does not matter to me.

[00:20:48] Shani:  Exactly.

[00:20:49] Lance:  But that’s the shit they’re teaching.

[00:20:50] Shani:  Exactly.

[00:20:51] Lance:  They’re not teaching kids how to use chat g p t. They’re not using, like

[00:20:55] Shani:  And all they’re testing is wrote wrote memory. Can you remember the crap that we told you yesterday? They’re not teaching you how to solve problems.

[00:21:03] Lance:  There’s no critical thinking, which is a problem. And the other thing too is they’re asking you to remember things that you’re not good. Now do I believe I I tell my sons all the time, you come home and you have bad grades in these subjects, math, reading, English, because my English English is terrible. Right? Math, reading, English, and I want you to be decent at science Mhmm. Just because I believe that’s the one subject that really makes you a critical thing. Like, you gotta you gotta try and figure, But, like, honestly, like, music, I’m not being rude to you. You take that violin and shove it.

[00:21:37] Shani:  Where the sun don’t shine.

[00:21:38] Lance:  Like, Damien? Like Yeah. Like, so your son’s struggling. He’s doing well. I’m assuming you don’t have a college degree.

[00:21:44] Shani:  Well, I do now. So, um, basically,

[00:21:50] Lance:  I ask that question. Were you a millionaire before your college degree or after your college degree?

[00:21:55] Shani:  Well, after. But but but hear me out here, because I don’t think that you need a college degree at all. Right? At all. Um, in 2011 so I had my son. I worked my way up in recruitment, um, when my son was 4. So in 2011, I’d gotten, uh, we were still poor because remember, I hadn’t learned money skills, and I hadn’t learned self worth skills. So even though I was earning quite a good income in recruitment, it was slipping through my fingers. I didn’t know what to do

[00:22:25] Lance:  with money.

[00:22:26] Shani:  Yeah. Right? So we were still poor is a is is a mindset before it’s a bank balance. And so we were still living poor. And then in 2011, I was held in a house for 2 days under duress and repeatedly sexually assaulted by a family member.

[00:22:41] Lance:  Damn. I’m sorry.

[00:22:42] Shani:  That’s okay. Sorry. And, um, and that left me with PTSD so severe that afterwards, at one point, I wouldn’t even leave the house for a long time. I was just too scared. And so I stopped working, and I was on welfare, and now we were really poor. And it was about a couple of years after that of just I mean, the PTSD was so dark, Lance. Like, I didn’t realize that I could get better. I thought that that I was gonna be in fear for the rest of my life. And I was just waiting until my son got older, because I thought I would I would kill myself once he was old enough. I didn’t wanna leave him, but I didn’t wanna be alive. Like, it was so dark.

[00:23:18] Lance:  Damn.

[00:23:19] Shani:  And, um, a couple of years later, I got to a point where I was like, I can’t live like this. I’ve got to rehabilitate. I knew that I couldn’t go back into a corporate office environment. I was a changed person, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So I decided to put myself through university, not once, but twice. So I I went and did an undergrad degree at uni, graduated with honors, which was incredible to me because I was the dumb one at school.

[00:23:48] Lance:  It’s amazing how that works out. Uh-huh. Amazing how that works out. You wanna do something.

[00:23:53] Shani:  Um, because of graduating with honors, I then got a scholarship to do a Juris Doctor in Law, so I didn’t have to pay for my law degree. And it was about halfway through the law degree that I realized I didn’t wanna be a lawyer, because I’m not very good at following rules.

[00:24:09] Lance:  You’re great at talking now.

[00:24:11] Shani:  Well, I probably could have argued my way. Um, but so then I was like, right. Well, what do I wanna do? So I I I just kept searching for answers while I was finishing my law degree. And and then we we land here. I start this business. I didn’t start as a business coach because I didn’t have any embodiment to be able to teach people to to to start and run their own business. The way I started was I used to create content for other businesses.

[00:24:38] Lance:  It was

[00:24:38] Shani:  right? So that’s where I started. And then it grew so quickly. And in that process, I was realizing that I was working out how to grow a business. And so then I shifted an offer and created an offer to teach people how to sell on social media and how to create content. And so then it started a coaching. And, you know, now because of what I’ve achieved, and I understand the financials and the strategy and the people management and the leadership and all of the things that go into running a business, now I teach that. But that’s because I’ve done that. And, you know, the crab in the bucket analogy?

[00:25:11] Lance:  Oh, yeah.

[00:25:12] Shani:  Right? Where that all of the crabs try to pull the the the crab that’s about to get out down?

[00:25:16] Lance:  We call it the crab pot theory.

[00:25:17] Shani:  Right. Mhmm. And so Most

[00:25:19] Lance:  people know that theory. Explain to people what the crab pot theory, how you pull someone back down as priority to get out.

[00:25:23] Shani:  Yeah. Okay. So, um, literally, actual living crabs, you put them all in a bucket. They’re smart enough that they will stack on top of each other to because they know that they can get out. So they they climb up and stack on top of one another. As the one at the very top is about to put his little his little crab claw over the lip of the bucket to get out, the rest of them realize that if he gets out, they can’t get out because of the distance, so they pull him back down. And this is the environment.

[00:25:51] Lance:  That’s why you don’t need a lid on when you’re boiling crabs, people. No one understands that. That is why the crab pot theory came around.

[00:25:58] Shani:  Right. And so

[00:25:59] Lance:  And they now the the analogy relates to who? Your people around. Can you explain it?

[00:26:03] Shani:  Yeah. Exactly. And so it’s like you’ve gotta have a look around you and ask yourself, are these people helping me and encouraging me to be better? In fact, I heard an incredible statement

[00:26:16] Lance:  on

[00:26:17] Shani:  a clip on Instagram this morning, um, from the prime minister of Australia. And so people will have their own thoughts about that, but I don’t care who it is that the the he that he was asked what his ethos was. And I loved this, Lance. He said, my ethos is nobody gets left behind, but nobody stop gets stopped from getting ahead either.

[00:26:36] Lance:  I like that. Right? Real simple.

[00:26:39] Shani:  Isn’t that that’s and so this is the thing. So often, our friends and our family, while they love us, they don’t necessarily understand what we’re trying to do. And sometimes they’re the crab in the bucket.

[00:26:51] Lance:  Explain to people about your friends and family because most of bad things that happen to you are gonna come from

[00:26:58] Shani:  the people people that you know.

[00:26:59] Lance:  Those people you know. And and that’s really the truth. Like, the closest –istically. It it just well, it just think about your social environment. Like, the guy that hooks up with your wife is probably gonna be one of your friends. Right. The guy that hooks up with your, uh, husband’s probably gonna be one of your friends. Like, that’s just statistically. Right? Like, just someone the person in business that screws you over is probably gonna be your partner. The people that hurt you the most, they’re closest ones to you. The people when they see you getting ahead, they get jealous. Mhmm. Like, talk about that, your circle, and and I think every entrepreneur talks about it truly. Like, every entrepreneur goes through it where they lose family members Yeah. Where if you’re not picking up the bill, people don’t wanna come out. If you’re not paying for trips, then all of a sudden you’re the bad person. When, like, when you say no, it’s it’s it becomes a problem. And can you talk about why it’s always the people closest to you?

[00:27:48] Shani:  Well, I mean, it’s always the the people that are closest to you because they have the most access. But I think the the thing that I would love

[00:27:54] Lance:  Damn shit. I never even thought about that. They always have the most access. I swear to god. I’ve always said to that’s the 1st time someone ever explained it so easily.

[00:28:02] Shani:  We’ve gotta normalize saying goodbye to people, especially the higher up you go in terms of your success. You it’s like I see so many people in my community, as an example, um, really stress out about the fact that they feel alone or they worry about losing a friendship or even their partner. Now look. Marriage is on you. If you wanna be married, that’s up to you. I’m not telling people to go get a divorce here, but you’ve gotta marry well. And when I say well, you’ve gotta make sure that that person has the same mentality as you around growth.

[00:28:35] Lance:  Let’s talk about that because I believe this with all my heart. And I told my son I’ll just start LJ the other day is 11. I said, LJ, your biggest decision you’re ever gonna make in your life, the biggest and most important decision you’re ever gonna make in your life is marrying your wife. Mhmm. Marrying your I wanna see if I got this text message I sent to my wife last night, uh, because my wife is, like, just, you know, whatever. Um, so this right here, I’ll play this clip for you real fast. You got a second? Yeah. Because we’re just talking about this. It’s the most important thing for what your success is, and I saw this. Right? And

[00:29:13] Shani:  Oh, yes. No. I saw I’ve seen this.

[00:29:15] Lance:  You see this?

[00:29:15] Shani:  Yeah.

[00:29:16] Lance:  Decision. You’re gonna make a new life. What do you think it is? Who you marry? The spouse. The most important decision you make in your entire life is the spouse. So last night it’s just funny. We’re talking about this. It’s crazy. Last night, you see at 12:09 last night because I was going through, uh, business stuff. I was having a seat. I said, thank god for you every day because I do believe Yeah. My wife changed me because she stuck through so much shit with me. It’s amazing, but she changed me so much for the better. She saved my life in a lot of ways, but there’s no way I’m doing all you see the size of this operation. You see incredible. Isn’t even what’s this? Probably 20% of our operation, Jacob, around the country. Probably only 20% of our operations. Just think how big the operation is around the country. But I told Elja, and that was a straight up conversation. Like, the woman you marry better be on your mission and vision with you, or you are fucked. Yeah. Can you talk about that? Because I know you’re single, but you still you see it every day when you’re coaching these people.

[00:30:18] Shani:  Yeah. And in fact, what I see across the board is one of the most consistent and prominent problems that stops people that I work with from getting ahead is their relationship. And a lot of the time, they don’t even realize it. And then I wanna deal with it because we get so attached to the comfort of the known that we don’t wanna deal with the truth of the situation. And, you know, part of the reason why I’m single is because I refuse to let anyone slow me down or take me backwards. And as soon as there are consist consistent signs of that person becoming a stress in my life, I cut them. Whether that’s a boyfriend, a friend, a client. Um, one of my one of my keys to success is about reducing relational stress. So if you don’t have a partner that’s prepared to work with you, then in my book, they’ve gotta go. Because why would you get to the end of your life and wish that you’d done more, but you sacrificed it for the comfort of getting into bed with the same person every night who’s annoying you anyway?

[00:31:23] Lance:  Well, it’s funny you say that because I always say to people, there’s no coauthor there’s no coauthor to my book, and I say it to my sons all the time. There’s no coauthor to your book. Write your own book. My wife’s writing her own book.

[00:31:35] Shani:  Of course.

[00:31:36] Lance:  Like like, people were, like, saying to me, what do you mean? I’m like like, my wife doesn’t wanna do what I do. My wife wants we don’t even talk business Right. At all. Right. Because my wife wants nothing to do. And we have a saying, I won’t break your spirit. You won’t break my spirit.

[00:31:48] Shani:  Right.

[00:31:49] Lance:  And so my wife knows I wanna go do this. I don’t have to do this anymore. I want to do this. And Yeah. It’s important, but I do believe, like you’re saying, I see it so many times. And I actually told this guy he should get divorced, so he said to me, I wanna be a millionaire. My wife wants me to stay working at this job. It has benefits. I say, get fucking divorced. And he’s like, what? I’m like, get divorced. Like, I got 3 kids with her. And he’s like, dude, I just can’t go get divorced. I was like, yes. You can. Yep. I’m like, you’re never gonna get your goal. If your wife’s worried about how you pay fucking health benefits, like, no offense, I could go Uber at night and get my health benefits covered. Yeah. Like, the sacrifice for what your dream is for health benefits? I don’t think so.

[00:32:30] Shani:  It’s and it’s ridiculous when you say it out loud, and yet people get so attached to this crap.

[00:32:35] Lance:  It’s that poor mindset that you said.

[00:32:36] Shani:  It yeah.

[00:32:37] Lance:  And that’s why like, talk about your network. Like like like, if you are hanging out with like minded people, if you’re hanging out with people that cheat on their I said this. If you hang out with people that cheat on their wife, you’re gonna cheat on your wife.

[00:32:47] Shani:  Yeah.

[00:32:47] Lance:  If you hang out with drunks, you’re gonna be a drunk.

[00:32:49] Shani:  Exactly.

[00:32:49] Lance:  Can you talk about if you hang out with winners, and all of a sudden you start seeing a different because you had to do that at some point in time because you were hanging out with losers. Yep. And now you’re only hanging out with winners.

[00:32:58] Shani:  Yeah. And with that? Yeah. Because it was I mean, one of the hardest things about getting off drugs when you’re an addict is the fact that the network that you’ve got are other alcoholics and addicts. And so Monday morning comes, and you’re like, I’m not gonna do that ever again. And then Thursday afternoon rolls around, and the network is on the phone saying, hey, it’s time. And it’s really hard to get out of that environment. Similarly, though and I think, uh, some of the feedback that I get from my clients, actually so I know that this is this is a thing. Right? I think one of the things that I’ve done really well is that I’ve been prepared to insert myself into places and spaces with people that I haven’t necessarily belonged in, and also not do it from this place of admiration or like, you know, I’m sure you get this as well, and it’s because people admire you, but then they start to kind of bow down to you. And, you know, it’s like how do I explain? It’s like, I can have respect for people who’ve who are doing far bigger things than me without minimizing myself, if that makes sense. Yeah. And show them respect, but also speak to them as an equal. And I think that I think people with success appreciate that because all day long, they’re having to field off other people’s BS.

[00:34:21] Lance:  Yeah. I mean, I judge I I mean, I hate to say this. I judge the character of a man or woman by how to treat your family. Yeah. The business listen. Business is easy. Right? They not only do it as easy. If you love what you’re doing, your business is gonna grow if you just follow the 9, 10 critical things in business that you have to do. Right? And we’re gonna talk about that. But if you had a great business and you’re treating your kids like shit and you’re not showing up to their events Mhmm. And your wife and you listen. I’m not saying me and my wife had the perfect marriage, but I can tell you this. I worship my wife. Yeah. And I never thought I’d ever say something like that before when I was younger. Right? I never worshiped anyone. Like, I worshiped my wife. Mhmm. And I love being with my wife. Um, you know, you know, we we fight about our kids. Like, we’re not fighting about finances, and she wants time with me. Right? So I have to make time, which is hard for a guy like for anyone to make time is very hard. Right? So I don’t think, you know, I ever looked at someone and said, you got more money than me or better because I really don’t give a fuck. Yeah. And and this is my attitude about that really, truthfully is Yeah. That’s your money. Yep. I got my money. You know, it’s funny. I get I give my ex partner, Sam, the utmost respect, and people say, why do you respect your partner, Sam, so much? You’re not his partner. No more. Something had to go bad. Right now, nothing went bad. There wasn’t one bad thing. He was just a man of his we had 2 different visions. Mhmm. But the one thing I learned from him is he never counted anyone else’s money. Never. And maybe that’s why I don’t count anyone’s money. I don’t have that jealous bone because, you know, someone has more money than you. Someone has more money than me, but are they happier than us? Mhmm. I don’t know. Money don’t make you happy.

[00:36:08] Shani:  No. It doesn’t. And, you know, success to me isn’t about the money. It’s about the impact that you’re having. So, like, when I walked in here and I’m looking at your office and all of these stuff, I’m like, again, I’m like, this is just incredible what you’ve been able to create. And what it does is it is it inspires me and helps me to have a bigger vision.

[00:36:24] Lance:  This is only 2 years old. Yeah. Right? I love my capital only started when did it start? 2 years ago. I mean, people are like, how the hell did you build this so fast? And I’m like, I learned my lessons from 1 SEO shot, but this is only 2 years old. Like, not even. Correct? Not even.

[00:36:39] Shani:  Uh, but and that’s the other thing. Like you just said, I learned my lessons.

[00:36:43] Lance:  Yeah. A lot of lessons.

[00:36:45] Shani:  Lot of lessons. And most people make a mistake. And I don’t even believe in that word, by the way, but they call it a failure. They make a mistake, and then they freeze, and they don’t move again. And this is why my motto is anchor in action.

[00:36:56] Lance:  I love that.

[00:36:57] Shani:  Because clarity comes in the doing.

[00:36:59] Lance:  I’ll give you a one better than that.

[00:37:01] Shani:  Yeah.

[00:37:02] Lance:  I call it doubles. You lose and you learn. Yeah. And if you learn, you didn’t lose because you don’t make the same mistakes. Yeah. So I gotta tell it to my sons all the time. When you lose a match, you don’t lose if you learn from it. Yeah. You only lost if you repeat the same fucking mistakes.

[00:37:15] Shani:  Same thing you need. Or don’t even try again.

[00:37:18] Lance:  Same same well, that quitting is not even an option. Like, that’s just I don’t ever understood that. Let’s talk about your coaching clients. Okay? Because I wanna get to that. I know you deal with home services and roofing clients all around the country, all around the world.

[00:37:30] Shani:  Yeah.

[00:37:32] Lance:  What is their biggest problems why they don’t break through the ceiling and grow their companies and get what they want? Like, you just had to say, Lance, these are the top 3 things I see with the roofing companies. I guess we just go to home services in general. Right, guys? We just talk to home services in general. Right? Because I know, um, what would they be? Because you coach hundreds of people. So I’ll tell

[00:37:51] Shani:  I’ll tell you the the the one. There’s there’s one, and it’s that I I’ve got a saying, which is good operators get tired, but great business people get rich.

[00:38:02] Lance:  Oh, shit. I like that. Good operators get tired. Great peep business people get rich. I like that.

[00:38:07] Shani:  So people go into business because they love the thing that they do, and they wanna do more of it, but in less time.

[00:38:15] Lance:  That doesn’t work.

[00:38:15] Shani:  Right? And then the reality of business sets in. And by the way, nobody’s born good at business. Like, you’ve had to learn how to be good at business. I’ve had to learn.

[00:38:26] Lance:  I probably lost no exaggeration if I had to put a number on it, and this is not exact people are gonna say there’s no fucking way this is true. I probably made over 20 to $30,000,000 in mistakes because I never had a I never paid for a coach. Right. You’re like, well, you pay for Shawn Michael Crane. Yeah. I paid for him. He’s a mind coach for me just to keep me healthy, like, just as a Right. What he comes in. But, like, I’ve never had a business coach.

[00:38:46] Shani:  Right. So

[00:38:47] Lance:  I could never find someone that actually had a successful fucking business before. Right. You know what I mean? Like, I saw a thing. Like, someone said, oh, man. Someone paid, uh, Al Alex Murray paid Grant Cardone a 150,000 for 6 hours of his time. I mean, I probably would have too back in the day. Not now. Mhmm. But if I knew the value of time Right. And learning from the right people and not the wrong people. Yeah. At least Grant Cardone has been successful.

[00:39:07] Shani:  That’s right.

[00:39:07] Lance:  At least JT Fox has been successful. Yeah. Um, you know, talk about that part of it. Like, these guys are wasting their time on the shit they shouldn’t be wasting. They think do you think the homeowner cares about what shingle they install? Can you talk about, like because I think this is where the disconnect is between I love what I do, and I wanna be a business person. Yep. Can you talk about that?

[00:39:30] Shani:  Yeah. Yeah. Well, I just think no matter what business you’re in and definitely, you know, roofing services comes into it. Um, but that’s the thing. So they’re they’re they’re focusing on the minutiae and the details that they care about, the things that they get excited about, the trade, the service, right, the the materials Yes. All of those things.

[00:39:50] Lance:  Unknowable.

[00:39:51] Shani:  Right. And, um, and that’s not ultimately, those things are important, but they’re not going to grow and sustain a business. And so, um, you know, one of the things that people really it’s such it is a mindset shift before it’s a strategy though. This is the thing, Lance, because people go into business to do more of the thing that they love. They want less time and then the reality hits. And, you know, I think this is why so many, uh, it’s like, uh, 70% of businesses fail in the 1st 5 years.

[00:40:21] Lance:  Oh, is that a doubt? You know, here’s a question to you. Do you believe guys that are operators are good business people overall, or do you think it’s their mindset of not willing to grow, punch through the ceiling, go lose their ego, go take shop tours, go get better, go to Masterminds, do go be around people that have done it. Do you believe that’s an issue, or do you believe that’s not the answer for them?

[00:40:47] Shani:  I think that anyone can learn to be great at business if they put themselves in the right environment. So guys that are operators and that, you know, have have done the trade absolutely can go and learn. And, you know, so you just did your mastermind. That’s a great place. Like, why you’ve gotta go and put yourself if you don’t know what you don’t know, and you don’t know that you don’t know it.

[00:41:09] Lance:  A 100%. Women are getting more and more into the trades. I don’t want this about women because I I think you look at my leadership team. I have tons of women, so I believe women I actually think women are better leaders than men. I probably shouldn’t even say that. I just do, but that’s a whole another conversation. I just do. That’s my opinion. But Yeah. So I surround myself with women, but I just think they’re more highly intelligent. I think they’re less emotional. I think they have less egos. Right. That’s just what I find. Right? I think they’re just they believe in the mission more, and they stick

[00:41:36] Shani:  to the mission. Also very good at promoting, as in promoting the mission, promoting social cohesion within the organization, within the client within the client base. Yeah.

[00:41:45] Lance:  I just but women are getting more and more into the trades. Can you talk about that or why? And it’s not where people want it yet, but it’s definitely going there. I think you’re gonna see an influx of women getting into the trades all around.

[00:41:58] Shani:  Yeah. Well, I mean, like I shared, um, when I was 17, I was working at a gold mine in Australia, and I was one of the very few females driving the triple seven c dump trucks there.

[00:42:09] Lance:  Oh, without a doubt.

[00:42:11] Shani:  And, um, and even then, even back then, 20 years ago, it was well known in the industry that they preferred female drivers because we took greater care. And I think, you know, part of the reason that people want women in the trades is because they are taking greater care, whether it’s with the actual delivery of the service. Now it’s not to I don’t wanna shit can men in any way.

[00:42:36] Lance:  No. Listen. I got no problem. Like, I think there’s a difference. I

[00:42:41] Shani:  But also the customer service perspective as well. I think that women bring that customer service perspective just naturally because it’s innate that you’re a carer and a nurturer. So I mean, I think that from a from a industry perspective, I think that the customer itself is is appreciating the the female

[00:43:02] Lance:  in Yeah. I mean, I I don’t understand the whole DII thing. So I think common sense is you put the best person there, and it seems like women know my organizations rise very quickly, um, very quickly. And I just I don’t know what it is. And I say to Joe Lou, who’s my CFO, and she always tries to explain it to me. I’m like, I just see such a difference in the output and the loyalty and the willing to go through the tough times. Yeah. Because this shit is hard.

[00:43:31] Shani:  Yeah. Yeah.

[00:43:32] Lance:  And I just see a big difference. You know, what would you say to a young woman out there that’s struggling right now in business that’s looking at you, sees all your success, and she doesn’t believe she can be you? What would you say to her?

[00:43:46] Shani:  Yeah. I think it’s really important that you get yourself around people that remind you of just how incredible you are because you don’t you don’t see it. And I think that doesn’t matter how successful you are. I think you still don’t fully understand how incredible you are.

[00:44:01] Lance:  One final question because I know you gotta go. What is next for you?

[00:44:07] Shani:  So I’m really committed to growing my community to 500 people, And, um, we did financial modeling towards the end of last year to work out what that looks like and, physically, what that looks like. So all of this year, um, I’m in multiple countries delivering in person events to to go and find, you know, the best of the best around the world and and, you know, sell to them so that I can bring them into my community and and serve them to become better at business and and to create whatever their their idea of freedom looks like.

[00:44:39] Lance:  You know, how do people find because I will tell you this. We’ve talked a lot. I know you know business. I know you know coaching. How do people get ahold of you to talk to you? And what does that process even look like? Because I’m curious myself. Like Yeah. If you don’t mind, um, educate me.

[00:44:53] Shani:  Yeah. So, um, we only people can only come in via me meeting and vetting them first now. So that? Yeah. There was a time where people could sign up via a sales page. No more. So what that looks like is I host free events both online and in person every couple of weeks. People come to the event. They hear me speak. They hear what my process is. If there’s a resonance, then they get an opportunity to meet with me afterwards. Um, it’s either online or at the event. And I wanna have a 1 on 1 conversation with everybody. And then, um, you know, if we both kind of deem that it’s a good fit, and then they can come into the community. So the best place to to go is to my website, register for an event. It’s just my Put

[00:45:36] Lance:  the website up here for

[00:45:37] Shani:  It’s just my name, sharnie taylor.com. And the very front page is the events page so you can see what we’ve got coming up.

[00:45:43] Lance:  Listen. I appreciate you taking the 30 hour flight.

[00:45:46] Shani:  My pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity. When when the invitation was there, how could I say no?

[00:45:51] Lance:  I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Hey, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. I wanna give a quick shout out to our sponsors, ServiceTitan and Rola, our technology of choice to helping us scale and grow our business and making sure all of our viewers have the technology to scale their business. So when they wanna sell it, they’re able to.

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