Amanda Bauer-Frisch, serial entrepreneur and the CEO of the Enduring Legacy Company, talks about the grief and loss that shaped her first product, the importance of teaching kids about financial literacy, why the word "legacy" shows up in almost all of her businesses, and how she's helping to uplift not only her customers, but her employees as well.

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

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

entrepreneur and the CEO of the enduring legacy company, which

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

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

heartfelt purpose driven businesses that resonate with

families worldwide. So welcome to the show.

Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Thank you very much.

So your path from human resources to full time

parenting, and then to becoming a serial entrepreneur is is

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

four months pregnant with our second and we were eating dinner

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

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

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

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

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

which is where his aortic valve was basically was tearing in

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

garage, I made these wood piggy banks that have three

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

passionate about financial literacy, he was a sheriff's

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

called Jeremiah learns to earn that teaches kids a really cute

story about learning to give, save and spend.

Wow, that's awesome. Do you have thoughts

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

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

learn about money?

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

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

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

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

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

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

thing. And those are just expectations that we have of

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

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

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

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

their natural interest. Some children are interested in money

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

interest, that's a great time to start.

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

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

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

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

about that.

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

And the title of my talk was in defense of participation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jordan credits his success to missing over 9000 baskets during

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

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

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

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

beneficial to a lot of people.

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

self worth and self esteem.

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

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

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

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

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

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

reality.

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

darn right.

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

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

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

So what is the enduring legacy bank? How does

that work? How does the concept work?

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

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

of passing on good financial literacy skills that I have for

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

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

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

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

individual family preserve their legacy. And then also along the

way, there was another small woodworking business called Navy

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

plaques and awards that become retirement gifts or military

recognition. And we felt like the name enduring legacy quo

really encompassed everything we were trying to do in the

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

legacies, legacies, or maybe their their work and

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

Sweet. What kind of feedback have you gotten from

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

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

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

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

some of the concepts?

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

frequently over and over is, because our banks are very

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

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

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

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

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

gotten is that it creates an opportunity for families to

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

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

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

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

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

their world, and the small learning moments over time that

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

coolest feedback.

What is your overriding vision? You did this

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

program, you got your speaking, right?

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

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

dealership called stitches in time, maybe at first glance is

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

are really passionate about quilting and sewing, the same

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

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

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

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

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

their own legacy.

Do you have any desires to expand all these

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

very focus to better these brands?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

will materialize.

Yeah, every day, it probably gets a little

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

legacy on in life?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

definitely has a stronger meaning. To me personally, I

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

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

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

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

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

very similar story, maybe just for different reasons. That

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

something that a lot of people share.

How many people are involved in your businesses?

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

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

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

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

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

Are you doing anything currently, either

consciously or subconsciously, to further the legacy with your

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

a company that's making a lasting difference?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By being flexible when you know that inevitable PIDs stuff comes

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

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

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

seeing the passion behind finding or helping one of our

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

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

special feeling that you get when you help a client finish

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

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

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

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

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

happening.

As our listeners hop off the podcast today, if

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

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

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

today?

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

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

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

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

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

take that first step towards whatever is the legacy that you

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

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

powerful.

Awesome. How would someone get in touch with you?

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

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

YouTube called in defense of participation trophies. Those

are two places they could find us.

Well, thank you so much, Amanda.

Amanda Bauer-Frisch: Thanks so much.