457 Doris Valade

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:00:00] What happens when a young woman walks into a male dominated industry in the 1980s and ends up owning the boardroom two decades later? Meet Doris Valade, an entrepreneur who didn't just break the glass ceiling. She dismantled the whole frame. Doris built Malabar, Super Spice Company, a specialty food manufacturing company from the ground up, eventually scaling it into a national success story and selling it after more than 30 years at the helm.

But her story isn't just about seasoning blends or market expansion, it's about navigating resistance, burnout, reinvention, and redefining success on our own terms. After exiting her company, Doris did not fade into the background she leaned in today. She coaches, CEOs and business owners with the same candor and clarity that helped her lead a manufacturing business through generational change, market disruption and personal transformation.

Doris has lived what most [00:01:00] entrepreneurs only read about her insights cut through the fluff and come from decades in the trenches. Whether you're growing your first business or preparing for your last exit. Doris brings a kind of grounded wisdom that stops you mid-sentence. This is the conversation you didn't know that you needed from someone who's been exactly where you are and knows exactly where it leads.

And before we start this episode, a quick word from our sponsor, Deep Wealth and the 90 Day Deep Wealth Mastery Program. Here's Jane, a graduate who says, and I quote, the Deep Wealth Mastery Program prevented me from making what would have been one of the biggest mistakes of my career. I almost signed on the dotted line with an unsolicited offer that I now realized would have shortchanged my hard work and my future had I accepted that offer. Deep Wealth Mastery has tilted the playing field to my advantage.

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As I hear that, that's exactly what gets me out of bed every day. That's my mission. That's the team's mission here at Deep Wealth to literally change the social fabric of society. One business owner at a time, one liquidity event at a time, and my Deep Wealth Nation, what I want you to know, the Deep Wealth Mastery Program, it isn't theory.

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Deep Wealth Nation welcome to another episode of the Deep Wealth Podcast. Well, we have an alumnus from the Deep Wealth Podcast here in the House of Deep Wealth today. And Doris, welcome back to the Deep Wealth Podcast. The last time that we spoke, it was a very different world. You're one of our first guests.

It was [00:05:00] locked down, dare I say it, it was COVID. It was locked down. I had no idea what I was doing behind the mic. You were gracious enough to come onto the podcast and work through my ebbs and ahs of learning how to do a. Podcast and Wow. Quite a time that was, but Deepp Nation, before we throw it back over to Doris, let me ask you a question.

Deepp Nation, as you look to what's next, do you have an answer for that? Do you know how to get there in the optimal way? Do you know what to be doing? The questions you should be asking, what not to do? And if you're like me on my entrepreneurial journey, the answer was no. It was an afterthought for me.

And so today's discussion is all about that, but I'm gonna put a pause on it. Doors again. Welcome so much. Back to the default podcast. There's a story behind the story. Now, we got your original story way back when in one of the early episodes, but what's the story behind the story since we last spoke?

What have you been up to?

Doris Valade: Oh goodness. Well, first of all, thanks Jeffrey for having me. It's nice to be back and yes, with Covid that occurred six weeks after my last [00:06:00] day after selling my business. So 35 years of working, 50 to 60 hour work weeks. And I went from that into oblivion. I think like most of us did, not able to do anything.

Did survive through Covid, barely, but it certainly brought a lot of different perspectives for me than what I had planned.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Oh my goodness. And Doris when we did speak, and again, duplication, go to the show notes, Doris, believe it or not, we had just broken double digits on the podcast. You were episode 12, and so we're, as we're recording this, we're approaching 500 just to put that in perspective. But you're a episode 12 and Deep Nation.

Listen to that podcast. There's so much wisdom there because Doris, you're a fellow entrepreneur. You sold your business, you're now a Postex exit entrepreneur and offline. You know, I've had a number of conversations. This is not the first time that we're speaking since our recorded episode, and you've been sharing with me along the journey of what you've been doing, and that's when we said, Hey, you know what?

Why don't you come back on and share what you're up to Now you use an interesting word, which. As of late, you don't really hear a [00:07:00] lot about, but I love the word you say, Hey Jeffrey, I'm now an elder and I am helping other entrepreneurs and other people on their journey. And elder for some may have a negative connotation, but for me it's respect.

It's, Hey, you've been down this path, you've been there, done that. To use a modern term, and you have the wisdom because you've been there, you've probably made some missteps, you've also had some successes, and you're now. Passing that along to others. So talk to us about what does elder mean for you? What does that look like in your day in, day out kind of activities and schedule and rhythm?

Doris Valade: That's been a journey as life is in general. Certainly there's the journey of running your business, but then after Covid taking a good look at what's next and we get our business ready to sell, I. After. We also then grow it and nurture it and get it ready for sale, but we don't get ourselves ready to sell as a business owner.

We don't think about what are we going to do afterwards? And I had a few ideas before [00:08:00] Covid thinking that I'd go back to university. Well, of course with the shutdown, that changed everything. So what I did then is I thought, okay, what do I do? I'm used to setting goals. I'm used to having strategies.

I'm used to having a purpose an identity. And all of that kind of stopped almost all overnight. So I kind of looked around. I think we all went online during COVID and I came across MEA called Modern Elder Academy. Chip Conley is the founder and executive chair. He's also an former entrepreneur and business owner.

And how he quotes it as he calls it, in traditional societies, elders are the keepers of culture and meaning, but in our modern world, we need to reclaim this rule and not wait for it to be given to us. And so I did an online, I think it was a 10 week program, and it looked at what do we do? As we get [00:09:00] older, wiser I knew I didn't wanna retire and so I don't even call it that I've retired.

What I'm doing is I'm rewiring so with chip and his MEA Modern Elder Academy, one that he has a couple of really good books, so I ordered his book, the Making of a Modern Elder, learning to Love Midlife with 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better With Age. And that really helped me to think about what I wanted to do next that I wanted to give back.

And so that was the the change and the evolution in what I was going to do. There's an interesting quote from David Viscu called The Purpose of Life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. And the meaning of life is to give your gift away. So I thought, well, I have 35 years of so many ups and downs, both in business and then personal because it all ties together.

And I thought about how can I share that. [00:10:00] So I've done some traditional coaching programs and as we go through all the transitions in life, I now have a better understanding of what's involved and how I can help in that journey and ultimately give back some of the lessons that I have learned.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So let's speak about that because it's actually a great segue if we go. All the way back to episode 12, and if memory serves Doris, the title for that episode was How to Create a Successful Exit and you had a successful Exit. We were just getting going with Deep Wealth at the time and with our Deep Wealth Mastery Program.

You and I were comparing notes and we had done independently so many things we had done similarly. It was incredible of what was there. So as you look back to your business journey to this incredible successful exit that you had, and now as an elder and you're helping. Fellow entrepreneurs, and I suppose perhaps even people who aren't entrepreneurs, but you're just helping in general, that's who you are at heart.

What were some of the big [00:11:00] takeaways or lessons, not just from your exit, but from your business journey in general, that you're now incorporating as an elder into all of those that you're helping with?

Doris Valade: I think one of the key things that I learned is that experience teaches the biggest life lessons. You can have a master's in business, for example, but there's so much that you cannot learn from a book and that you cannot learn in a university course. So that's been part of what I've. Put together in terms of giving back.

It's the listening. It's the support. It's the guidance. It's the awareness that yes, you will make mistakes, but they're only mistakes if you don't learn from 'em. If you learn from them, they're lessons and not mistakes. So, and also understanding that as again, as in life, but certainly in business, there are ups and downs.

I see. I did also do a lot of work with startup companies, and they're just with the tariffs right now, going absolutely crazy. And I've said to them, I said, well, what do you think happened in [00:12:00] 2008? That's when the financial whole mess occurred for those of us that were in business then. So what we're going through right now, as chaotic as it is, is not a first.

This is part of running a business long term. And in 2008, I actually almost closed my company because I wasn't even profitable after the financial downturn. But you learn from that, then to pick up your socks and to think about how you can make changes and efficiencies to then make you more competitive to grow the company and keep it moving forward so that ups and down journey running a business is not all wonderful every day, but it can be very fulfilling with some support and some direction.

Jeffrey Feldberg: From 2008, then we go to 2020 and we had the lockdown. We had covid. Doris. I'm wondering because in the business world, and it's not that one type is any better or less than the other type, you have what some people call your wartime business [00:13:00] owners or entrepreneurs, or your peace time business owners and entrepreneurs.

Simply saying that some prefer, okay, give me this challenge, give me this chaos. Yeah, let's go. I'm gonna make the most of this. I'm gonna take the company into opportunities we wouldn't have had before. Others are the peace time. Hey, I love this peace time. I love the stability and the predictability. I'm not gonna get bored with this.

I'm gonna really take the company to the next level. Where would you fall? Would you fall into one or the other, or a bit of a blend? Where are you on that?

Doris Valade: I'm very much looking for opportunities. I don't see risks. I like to see what can be done well, what can we turn around, what can we make happen? So yes I'm not the a Fairweather business owner by any means.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So, hey, I don't choose the chaos, but now that it's here, bring it on. I'm gonna find my way around it, over it, through it to take myself, the company, the team, to a whole other level. And so I'm wondering, as an elder now, and both in the startup world, but also working with very experienced business owners and entrepreneurs who are looking at the next chapter, life after business.

Believe it or not, there is a life after [00:14:00] business. When you're working with them, is it the good old 80 20 principle, the ALS law, where you're seeing perhaps one, two, or three of the same kind of patterns or types of behavior or missteps that are creating 80% of the challenges for people? And if you are, what does it look like?

What's going on out there?

Doris Valade: Definitely we all go through similar stages in the transition. And I do have a number of friends I call them now. Um. Previous business owners who are also now transitioning and many cases. They've either sold their companies or if it's a family business, it's transitioning through the family.

But in both cases, the lifetime owners so far are now looking at what's next, and there's really three Stages in the transition, and it starts with the emerging endings is what we call it. And that's where you're, the acceptance and the letting go of what you've been familiar with for so long. Part of it is your identity.

You're no longer the [00:15:00] CEO or the president, but also you're no longer, in my case, jumping out of bed at six in the morning, rushing into work and then being the last one to leave at the end of the day. So that kind of accepting those endings then takes into kind of a second stage which we call the messy middle.

And that's the, now what don't have a purpose. I don't know what's gonna happen. It's kind of the place between no longer and not yet. It can be longer for some, it's also a chance to develop our curiosity again,

Right? To look at what would we like to do, maybe what's been on that list.

I had a bunch of things that I thought I would do when I sold the company. One of them was I was gonna get back into competitive sports. Well, I did try that and turned out I have mild arthritis in my right hip. Well, that changed that pretty quick. So now I've taken up golf, so I'm still active, but I'm not as competitive as I would've [00:16:00] liked to have been, but that's okay.

And so after the Nessi middle, then gradually comes into the new beginnings and where we had maybe a more defined purpose when we had our business. I know in my case, I knew exactly who I was as CEO and president. However, as we get into our, elder stage we'll have maybe many purposes. So I have one purpose as a grandmother.

Now, I.

I have another purpose helping startup entrepreneurs. So I have found, and many of us do find that we don't have one main overwhelming purpose or over defined purpose, but many of them. And then we can dabble in each one and grow in each one. And that's the fun part. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: It is interesting, Doris, as you talk about that, I'm just reflecting in my mind. It's really, I'm gonna say a North American phenomenon where it's okay, it's me, myself, and I, I'm gonna figure things out. I don't really need anybody else because if you go to other parts of the world you have elders as a [00:17:00] big part of what they do. To your earlier point of, okay, this is our culture.

This is what we do, this is how we handle things, and oh, we took a misstep here let's learn from that and move on with that. I would say though, with the advent of technology, in particular social media, not to get on my social media box. That kind of thinking of was just me, myself and I. The self-made person has only been elevated more to the front of the lines and yeah, I don't need these elders or old people.

What do they know? They're out of date. They don't get it. And so when you're, as the elder now working with presumably even entrepreneurs that are making a transition, they're younger entrepreneurs and in the startup, there's certainly gonna be younger entrepreneurs.

What are you seeing in terms of their mindset of how they're looking to you as an elder in terms of embracing what you're saying? Or is it a little bit of a dance to test you out? Okay. Yeah, don't really fully understand her, but I can check the box. She checks out. I'm gonna put a little bit of trust in her and see where that goes.

What are you seeing on that front?

Doris Valade: And that's where I've been able to blend it in that the startups see me more [00:18:00] as a mentor and a coach. And that's what they understand. And they also understand that as a mentor and a coach I guide them. I don't tell them what to do. However, as you mentioned with all the, the one central role that they play can be very isolating. With that isolation then can also confine the growth of not only the person, but also the company. So having a mentor or a coach allows them the opportunity to become more vocal, to work things through and to realize that they're not alone and that their trials, tribulations, and their successes can be shared and celebrated.

Guides them to grow faster, both for themselves and their business. So the elder component is probably intertwined with what a lot of people would recognize as a mentor or a coach. The elder component refers more to the age, and if you [00:19:00] have a coach who is in their earlier time of life, they don't have the same experiences.

that an elder has an elder brings both the experience, the compassion, the understanding, and the tranquil moments in life that younger coaches would not have learned yet. So that's probably one of the key differentiators, but they are similar.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So as the elder, as the mentor and the coach, now that you've had more time on this journey, what are some of the insights that you're sharing today that. The doors of 15 years ago, 25 years ago, would not have been in a position to share anything. Generally speaking, anything thematic that you can share with us of some of the same kinds of opportunities you're seeing again and again that are just being missed or misinterpreted?

I.

Doris Valade: The things that I look back on that supported. Me the most and it continues today, is taking not only moments, but time for reflection to be able to sit down. I used to then, [00:20:00] as I, when I still had my business, I would take weekends for just a quiet retreat for myself, to reground, to regroup, and also then to take some of the noise out of the day to day that I had surrounding me.

Because that noise then would bring apprehension. And I would, and oftentimes would inhibit my ability to see clearly. And so that's one thing that I still do today. Those quiet moments. Those quiet opportunities for sure. And the other thing is, as I've gotten older is, and what I missed when I was in my earlier stages of business was looking for the glimmers of.

Acknowledgement of what's going well, what to enjoy, some of the successes rather than running through them and taking that with me into the next. So that's, kind of a, something that unfortunately I think we forget about. And then through, and I wish I had done this sooner in my business as well.[00:21:00]

Was to think about what lightens up my day today that I could then focus on once the business is sold. So, and to think about how I'm going to do that and to not being afraid to try something new, Running the business after 35 years there, other than some of the challenges, which you mentioned every day pretty well, had its purpose already preset.

And I knew how the day was gonna go, and I knew there'd be ups and downs. However, after I re sold my business, I started piano lessons. Now I won't let anybody else hear me play, but it's been fun to learn something new and I thoroughly enjoy doing that. So, it's just, yeah, reaching out and being more self-aware and that helps you not only in business, but through all the different stages of life.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Doris, let me circle back on the two things that you shared and you said it in passing in Default Nation. I really hope you heard what Doris was saying because to me. It's so often overlooked, [00:22:00] it doesn't cost any additional money. The results can be tremendous. And the two things, and you can say Jeffrey OnBase are off base.

The two things I heard you say was Jeffrey, now looking back. I value the ability to take time off, and not only do I value the ability to take time off and really unplug and just decompress, but at the same time I'm not looking forward. I'm looking backward and in looking backward, not just looking backward for the sake of that, I'm looking at a win.

Maybe it's a big win. It could be a small win, something in between, but taking that time off, celebrating a win that recently happened or happened a while back, it's something that I'm proud of. What do those two things do for you that you're not getting with what everyone else is doing? Hey, I'm gonna charge ahead.

I'm going to just full steam ahead and I'll sleep when it's, my time is gone and I'm gonna burn the candle at both ends because the market waits for nobody. Speed is everything. So what's going on there?

Doris Valade: Well, I'll give you an example [00:23:00] of, and this is common to I think just about every business. Business owner is when we go on vacation. What happens the first few days you're on vacation? I remember going on a cruise with my husband. We were at a trade show in Europe going Go, go, go every day. As always got onto this cruise ship.

We was on a nice cruise around Italy and the first two and a half days I spent in bed with a migraine.

How many business owners, the first two to three days of their vacation or more end up sick. That's your body telling you you waited too long to take the quiet time to refocus and regenerate, and that taught me some big lessons.

So in doing that, not you also, then learn to look at the forest and get yourself out of the trees. If you're going every day nonstop, you're gonna miss the big picture. You're gonna miss possibly some of the opportunities that are out there, but you're also gonna miss [00:24:00] some of the areas of weakness in your company that need attention. of those are instrumental and key to the foundation of growth for your business going forward.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And so for the entrepreneur in Deep Wealth Nation, who's saying, okay, yeah, Doris, look, I hear you. We have double digit, maybe triple digit growth and we are creating a market disruption and yeah, that's all fine and good. We just don't have the time to do that. And look, our business success, it speaks for itself.

I don't really have to worry about that. To that entrepreneur, what would you say? I

Doris Valade: Be prepared for the fall ' cause it's gonna come. Nobody stays successful long term without some kind of a challenge. Okay. Or a downfall. I mean, the tariffs right now, there's a lot of companies I'm sure that were riding high and didn't even occur to them that this would happen. so it's gonna happen it may not even be in business.

It might be a family tragedy. Life will impact your business at some [00:25:00] point, as in a rollercoaster. When it goes up, it will come down. You will end up with some challenges, so be prepared.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Okay, so you never know what tomorrow brings. And what I'm hearing you say, and actually if I go back to episode 12 of memory serves. One of the things that was very big for you was resilience. My favorite saying is resilience trumps resources. So what I'm hearing you say, and again, I'm just connecting the dots here, and you may say, Jeffrey on base or off base, when time is taken off to recharge, to do anything but business businesses off to the side out of mind, and it's something else that encompasses you.

And at the same time you're taking the time to reflect on the wins, what worked really well, what are you proud of? Would it be as though we're building a resilience muscle? So when the, you know, what hits the fan? We have the clarity, the focus, the energy, and I'm gonna say the calmness to be able to deal with it.

Okay. Yesterday it was a pandemic. Today it's the tariffs. Tomorrow it's gonna be something else it, I've been through this, I've been through worse. It's not great right now. [00:26:00] I will find a way through this. Is that what we're building, that resilience muscle? Is that what it's helping us to do when we're taking the time out and reflecting?

Doris Valade: Yes, I agree with you because we're not born resilient. It's part of the journey that we go through and. And that resilience muscle is certainly something that you can learn and train. However, you do need self-awareness to be able to do that. It's not, again, something you can learn in a book. It takes some practice and a lot of inner reflection and some being honest with yourself.

In terms of where you can become stronger what are your resources that support you to be stronger? You don't have to do it alone either, so, yep. The resilience I put in line with also being an optimist.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So Doris with all of that, when I look. To you, I see an incredible individual who is in a very unique club in the sense that. You ran a business, [00:27:00] it was very successful. You were not the 90% of business owners who looked to exit and fail. You weren't in the category of leaving 50% to over a hundred percent of the business value in the buyer's pocket.

Based on the strategies that you did at the time that really put you in a league of your own, you crossed that finish line with a very small group of entrepreneurs who can. Say I didn't check both boxes. That's very deliberately. I'm actually exactly where I should be having done the best that I could and getting the best enterprise value and the best deal possible at that time.

So when you look back at that now, and you look at what you learned from that and what that gave you, if you will, in terms of insights, in terms of life smarts, business smarts, what are you taking from that exit experience? That you're now as an elder, sharing with the people that you're coaching, and even if you go to the startup scene, and I know there are two different tracks, very different tracks, but also on the startup scene of what you're taking with you. Any common themes or things looking back at [00:28:00] that, that is embedded in who you are and how you're bringing that to the world.

Doris Valade: I think listening is probably one word that has a lot of meaning to it takes a lot of effort and we don't do nearly enough of it. We hear a lot of the stuff around us, but we don't truly listen, and there are gems of advice and support and lessons to learn if we would listen more. And so I thoroughly enjoy doing that now as an elder, as a mentor and a coach because it's not about giving advice or even telling people what to do.

It starts with the listening.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Doris, come on. You're giving us things that don't cost any money. They're not complicated. This can't work. So you're saying, Hey, take some time off and unplug while you're there, reflect on your wins of what makes you feel proud. And then while you're at it with whatever you're doing listen, as we were born with two ears and one mouth.

So use those ears and [00:29:00] intently listen. So. Easier said than done. Don't confuse. Simple with simplicity. What are you getting out of the listening that perhaps back in the day when you're just on your journey, that maybe you weren't doing it or you weren't aware of it? What are you seeing the difference today when you're deploying the listening side of things?

Doris Valade: Well there are bits of advice that come along when you're listening, and the fact that I don't know everything I. That's another thing. In many of the startups that I've worked with, yes, they know everything about their product or their service, and they'll automatically carry that over thinking that they know everything about business when in fact they don't.

That comes with experience and knowing your product, your service is wonderful, but if you don't truly know yourself and your business, you will not succeed. And that comes with understanding what you don't do well. Listening to your customers, listening to your peers getting involved in groups that will give you feedback.

But again, you have to listen to [00:30:00] that feedback. You have to absorb it and to say, oh, I know that already. Oh yeah, I've been there. Well, maybe not. not, what can you do? What can you do differently? What can you learn from that? And that's where the listening opens more doors for yourself if you're willing to open them.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And if I'm going to be honest, and I am, and I put Jeffrey under the microscope, there were times where I pretended to be listening, but I was really listening for what I wanted to hear. And if someone said something that didn't fall into the bucket of what I didn't wanna hear, I just shut down. Didn't listen to it.

Ultimately to my detriment. Who was I fooling? I was fooling myself. I was the one that was going to suffer. So I hear you. Absolutely. It's not just listening, it's also putting any predispositions aside. Coming in with a clean slate. I don't have to agree with it. I may even feel uncomfortable with it. I could trust but verify if I can borrow that from Ronald Reagan.

Trust but verify. Really listen though. Hear what's being [00:31:00] said, and then think about that and come to my own. Decision point or not, depending on what the case may be, but really having listened to the other side, thoughts about that?

Doris Valade: Well, you brought up one key word in what you just said, being uncomfortable.

If you hear something or read something or see something that makes you uncomfortable, that is the first sign of something that you should and hopefully will take the time to investigate further. Why are you uncomfortable?

Why are you feeling that way? And if you could move to comfortable, what would need to happen? when you're uncomfortable, it means that change. There's an opportunity for change for the better. What does that look like? And how often we feel, and being comfortable isn't a nice place to be. We don't like to be uncomfortable, but growth only happens if you're uncomfortable. If you're comfortable every day, there's no reason to make changes. There's no reason to improve. There's no reason to be introspective, to look at how you can improve yourself or the business. So [00:32:00] embrace being uncomfortable. Recognize it as a sign of something for you to look at.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Endorse, I'm gonna ask something, and again, you can be Jeffrey on base or off base if an individual, if I'm not as an example, taking time out to recharge. Reflecting, looking back and intently listening, there's no way I'm gonna realize I'm uncomfortable because likely my mental health is shot. My energy is shot.

I'm not getting a lot of sleep. I'm not on my best game. I'm wrongly believing I'm drinking my own Kool-Aid. Put the pedal to the metal, work even harder. Stay up even later. Do just one more deal so that even if an opportunity in disguise, which they usually are. It hits me in the face with a two by four.

I'm probably not gonna feel it because I am effectively asleep at the wheel, but I don't even know it just yet. Thoughts about that?

Doris Valade: Like I said before, you will fall. Either your health will give out. There'll be a major business interruption that you missed. Some of your staff and your team may leave and you won't even know why. [00:33:00] to be in the whole situation you just described would be a very sad place to be and it will hurt not only yourself, but also the business.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So the antidote that you've given to us, again, it takes very little to no time. There's no additional cost to it. It's effectively free. Take some time off. It could even be a staycation. We're not saying break open the bank and go somewhere exotic at a luxury gazillion star hotel. Hey, stay at home. Just unplug.

Relax, reflect, maybe do some journaling. Look at your wins, ask yourself some questions. And when you do those three things, take the time out, reflect, listen. That's where the magic begins to happen.

Doris Valade: Definitely. Definitely. And then also realize now we live 30 years longer than we did a hundred years ago,

So what is our life gonna look like? It's not gonna be all business. And it's not gonna be all about me. So what will it look like? 

Jeffrey Feldberg: And Doris, to your point before we go into wrap up mode here, I'm going back to the younger Jeffrey. Running his e-learning company, [00:34:00] still not really sure exactly what to do and figuring things out, flying by the seat of my pants. I am so thankful that at the time I did take the time out and I was intently listening to a customer who made one comment in passing that I picked up on.

Acted on, and that later created a market disruption. That's what led to on my side, the nine figure Exit exit deal. Had I not been listening, had I been okay, I'm speaking to this client, but what do I have to do right after this? What's coming up later on in the day that lights on? Nobody home? I would've missed that and my company would not have succeeded the way that it had done.

And so what you're saying is absolutely true. We've gotta be present. We've gotta be in that moment. But to be in the moment, we need to be healthy. We need to have that clarity, that focus, that energy. So what you're saying is so spot on, and I know offline are many conversations that we've had, not just on the podcast episodes that we've done for your exit, for your business.

There are things that you've shared along the way with me. If [00:35:00] you weren't present, if you weren't in the moment, you just would've missed that buy. In fact, in one of earlier episodes, I remember you saying, Jeffrey, it was interesting. We just kept on winning all the business and I got curious about that.

And it turned out we were undercharging. That's why we're winning all the business. And only after that we started increasing our prices. Well, yeah, we had a little less business. We are insanely more profitable and it's insights like that. If we're not in tune with ourselves and what's going on around us, we're simply gonna miss.

I would love your thoughts on that

Doris Valade: You're right. And that goes back to 2008. Business was going well. I had everything well in control, which as entrepreneurs we love to think we're doing. And when 2008 hit and the financial crisis my business went into the red very quickly, and I remember. How can this happen? And this couldn't happen to me.

Things were just rolling around nicely and I had to take a good, hard look at the business knowing that [00:36:00] it was not doing well, and I learned to listen to a few people around me that. Were coaches, basically. I always had a coach. I had a coach in sports through high school and university, and I always had a coach through business.

And there was a period in time when I didn't have a coach for a while. I didn't think I needed one. Well, boy, I needed one and I had one right through then for years, right up until I sold the business. And I was told, you have to look at the price of your products. You have to look at what your customers.

Want, not what you think they want. And when I did that, I hired a marketing specialist because yeah, I wasn't good at marketing. I thought I was, but no that wasn't my strength. That wasn't my passion. And I hired a marketing specialist. to this day I'll say she helped turn the company around, not me.

And that was instrumental. And then my office manager said, we'll take over and look at what are [00:37:00] the expenses. And we did a, actually a contest in the company where we had everybody on the team provide ideas of where we could either make money or save money, and we had gift cards. Well, the ideas that came from the team, not me. So I wasn't the one with all the answers. They had some fabulous ideas. They helped turn the company around, not me. So by listening to my team and listening to my coach, that is was key to where the company went and grew ultimately, from there, multiple times faster than I was before.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Dare I say, because. We're in a good place. We have the confidence in ourselves. I don't have to have all the answers. In fact, I don't want to have all the answers. Let me have a very capable team that can figure out the how, that they have the answers. That together we will leverage one with the other to get to a better place than I could just on my own.

It takes a very confident leader to be able to do that.

Doris Valade: you're right. And that's where we had the saying in our warehouse, a big banner that said, teamwork makes [00:38:00] the dream work.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. I believe that was Maxwell Mal that threw that out there, that original quote. Wish I would've invented that myself. But

it's that Greek bone. It's one of my favorites. So Doris, all that said, before we go into wrap up mode, I. My goodness. I have my list of questions here, and I've barely scratched the surface.

Is there one question that I haven't yet asked that you would like to address or even a topic or a theme we haven't yet covered to share with Deep Nation before we go into wrap up mode?

Doris Valade: I guess one of the things that I do see is. When you sell a business or leave the business world for whatever reason, a lot of people then automatically say, oh, you're retired with the background, thought that you're doing nothing. That is so not true anymore. When I meet with other people that are in the same spot that I am, there is so much energy and it comes to we're not growing old, we're growing whole. And with that. There is so much that we now love to share. So I encourage [00:39:00] those that look at some of those that have the senior experience and business experience of many years. There's a huge value. Just ask to reach out. Just think about asking for what lessons they've learned and you'll find a whole range of not necessarily advice, but life lessons and suggestions that can, you won't find in a book.

Jeffrey Feldberg: It was interesting about that. Before we go into wrap up mode, as you're talking about that, let's leave modern life as we know it. As great as it is, there's a lot of. Shortfalls are things that simply aren't happening. That is a detractor. And if you go back to communities and society before the modern age, it again, it was the elders who ensured there was gonna be survival, that there was going to be a tomorrow.

That when something unknown came, okay, this is different. It's not that different though, and here's how we're gonna get through that. We've lost that, at least in modern society, of let's look to [00:40:00] those that have been on this path longer than us to help us get to. The next path and be here another day. So there's so much wisdom in terms of what you're sharing with that, and it's a wonderful message to take out there.

And it's actually a great segue. Now, you've been on two times before. This is your third kick at the can. So you've heard this question before, but I'm gonna ask it again and here's the question. And it's again, my privilege, my honor. It's our tradition here. Every guest gets asked the same question. So do, when you think of the movie Back to the Future, you have that magical DeLorean car that will take you to any point in time.

So the fun part is tomorrow morning you look outside your window and there it is. The DeLorean car is curbside, the door is open. It's waiting for you to hop on in which you do. You're now gonna go to any point in time. Doris, as a young child, a teenager, whatever point in time it would be. What would you tell your younger self in terms of life lessons or life wisdom or, Hey, Doris, do this, but don't do that.

What would it sound like?

Doris Valade: Never be afraid to ask for help, [00:41:00] to ask for advice, to ask for a dollar, to ask for a hug. Never be afraid to ask because you have no idea. What doors it will open, and based on my experiences, I can guarantee you it will open doors that you never imagined.

Jeffrey Feldberg: I love that advice, Doris. In fact, as you talk about that, very personal to me, my grandmother makes you rest in peace. Always said, Jeffrey, if you don't ask, you will never know. Always ask.

Doris Valade: Right.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And I took that to heart and I was asking, and everyone around me was cringing. If it was a business negotiation or something personal, but I would ask anyways.

And. I found more times than not, the other person was only too happy to help out or answer that question, or maybe they got so sick of me asking, they just, okay, yeah, here, just take it and off you go with that. But it always made the difference, and at least I walked away. Hey, I didn't leave any stone unturned.

Maybe I can't chalk that up to a wind today, but there's nothing more I could have done. I did the best that I could. So I love that advice. Always ask. Could be for a hug, could [00:42:00] be for help, could be for who knows what, but always ask, never leave any stone unturned. Absolutely love that. And before we wrap up, Doris, if a listener in the default community have a question, they'd like some elder advice, maybe they're on the other side in the startup world, they'd like some startup advice.

If they wanna reach out to you, have a conversation. Where would be the best place online to reach you?

Doris Valade: I'm certainly, I'm on LinkedIn but they can also email me directly. And that's Doris, doris [at] malabargroup [ dot] ca. And there's some bits there and, but. Certainly LinkedIn. We'd love to connect and open to discussion anytime.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Nation. It doesn't get any better. Doris was brave enough and must be being an elder. She was brave enough to share her email address. Take her up on that. Here is a Postex exit entrepreneur, a very successful post exert entrepreneur Also. A terrific individual as well. Reach out to Doris, ask those questions.

Always ask. It never hurts. You'll come up better a whole lot than when you came in. And that [00:43:00] said, Doris, congratulations. It's official. This is a wrap as we love to say here at Deep Wealth. May you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe. Thank you so much.

Doris Valade: Thanks, Jeffrey. Same to you. It was my pleasure. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: So there you have it, Deep Wealth Nation. What did you think? 

So with all that said and as we wrap it up, I have another question for you.

Actually, it's more of a personal favor. 

Did you find this episode helpful? 

Have you found other episodes of the Deep Wealth Podcast empowering and a game changer for your journey? 

And if you said yes, and I really hope you did, I have a small but really meaningful way that you can actually help us out and keep these episodes coming to you.

Are you ready for it? 

The dramatic pause. I'll just wait a moment. Drumroll, please. Subscribe. Please subscribe to the Deep Wealth podcast on your favorite podcast channel. When you subscribe to the Deep Wealth Podcast, you're saving yourself time. Every episode automatically comes to you, and I want you to know that we meticulously craft Every one of our episodes to have impactful strategies, stories, expert insights that are designed to help you grow your profits, increase the value of your [00:44:00] business, and yes, even optimize your post exit life and your life right now, whatever you want that to look like.

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So all that said. Thank you so much for listening. And remember your wealth isn't just about the [00:45:00] money in the bank. It's about the depth of your journey and the impact that you're creating. So let's continue this journey together. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for listening to this episode.

And as we love to say here at Deep Wealth, may you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe. 

Thank you so much. 

God bless.