078 Making a Million in the Chaos with Rosezena Pierce

Rosezena Pierce: He always told me, “Quitters never win and winners never quit. And if you’re a winner you’re never going to quit.” And so that’s why I respect what 50 say, “I’m going to get rich or die trying”, because [inaudible].

Welcome to the Hello Seven Podcast. I'm your host, Rachel Rodgers, wife, mother of four children, a lover of Beyoncé, coffee drinker, and afro-wearer, and I just happen to be the CEO of a seven-figure business. I am on a mission to help every woman I meet become a millionaire. If you want to make more money, you are in the right place. Let's get it going.

Rachel Rodgers: Okay, Rosezena, you are a Black woman running a thriving law practice and an inspiration to so many people. But for our first question I want to go way back when you were a kid. As a little girl what did you want to be when you grew up?

Rosezena Pierce: It’s so funny you ask me that question because I wanted to be a lawyer.

Rachel Rodgers: I love it.

Rosezena Pierce: I wanted to be a lawyer. My father used to work as a law clerk at a law firm. And my mom worked for the State of Illinois. And so when kids have days out of school that grownups still have to go to work. Because the law firm was so loose, it was a criminal law firm; my father had the opportunity to take me to work. Well, I had the opportunity to go to work with him because my mom couldn’t take me with her because of her state job. And so I was just like I don’t know what these people are doing in this office.

I remember they used to be excited to see me. I could sit at the desk. And I was just like I want to do this. And I didn’t really know what that was at five but I knew it was, you know, they were lawyers. I really didn’t know what they did but I was like I want to be a lawyer when I grow up. And so that’s what I wanted to do. And now I made it happen. And I think every year of my life I was just saying, “I want to be a lawyer.” And every time someone asked you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I would say lawyer because that was the first thing I knew to say.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, I love that. And I know what you mean where you just witness something and you’re like, this looks like important work. And for some reason you’re just drawn to it.

Rosezena Pierce: Yeah. And I have those vivid memories. But it was just like okay, I want to do this. Now, the crazy thing is my dad, even after becoming a lawyer he wanted me to still do criminal law. And I was like, no. He was like, “But this is what inspired the whole…” I was like, “Yeah, but I kind of know a little better now and I know what I want to do.” And I just knew that I wanted to do something related to business instead, so that kind of shift. And I did take a different trajectory but he always just thought I was going to be this criminal lawyer but that didn’t happen.

Rachel Rodgers: Yeah. My mother wanted me to be a judge and she was very disappointed when I stopped practicing law because she’s like, “How are you going to become a judge if you stop practicing law?”

Rosezena Pierce: That’s exactly what my mom’s doing too, she’s like, “I want you to be – you can retire and be a judge one day.” And I’m like, “I don’t know how that’s going to work with the lifestyle I created so far.”

Rachel Rodgers: Yeah. I don’t know how much judges make but I’m pretty sure I make more than them.

Rosezena Pierce: Yeah. I don’t know how that’s going to work so yeah.

Rachel Rodgers: Yeah. Well, I could absolutely see you being a judge Rosezena, so that sounds right to me. I’m with your mom.

Rosezena Pierce: Really? Yeah. And so one thing is I love, you know, I’m a trademark lawyer and so I’m licensed in one state. But just being, you know, I always say being a millennial and wanted more. I felt like I had to leave the big city of Chicago and come somewhere where I can just raise my kids in a better environment. And money can go further because I was broke as heck in Chicago because potholes, they tearing up your car, you steady getting tickets from the red light camera, just all types of stuff. It was like the city was constantly taking but not giving anything back.

Rachel Rodgers: That’s a good way to put it. I feel like New York is on that same payment plan.

Rosezena Pierce: Yes, it’s always taking but you can’t get anything out of it. And so I’m licensed in the state of Illinois. I’m not licensed in Georgia. But then got with the type of law that I practice which is federal trademark law, I’m able to do that from anywhere. And then now just with the past snow storm that just happened, I don’t think I’m moving to Chicago any time soon and moving back home any time soon. And so I just don’t know how I would actually work to become a judge in a state that I’m not licensed in.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, that’s a good point. You do get spoiled, I live in North Carolina. You’re in Atlanta. And you just get spoiled by the mild winters and the lack of stress, the fact that everything is not hyper crowded.

And also I’m not going to lie, I don’t know if you did this too but I was researching, where do Black people thrive when I was deciding to leave New York City and looking for another place to go? And it was all southern cities, cities in the south, that I was taught in the north that those places are racist. And I’m like, “Well, first of all, where isn’t it racist?” Number one.

Rosezena Pierce: Right, what part?

Rachel Rodgers: Yes. But when I got down here I saw Black people having lots of success, being homeowners, having great careers, sending their kids to fabulous private schools. I saw Black people thriving. I saw exactly what the article said. And I feel like we are thriving here as well.

So I totally agree and it’s interesting how the city that you’re in, the location you’re in definitely can affect your ability to have success and if you’re in a place that’s super expensive to live and very stressful, relocating, which a lot of people did during Covid. We all started being, if I’m going to be home I might as well live some place where my cost of living is less, I have a nice backyard. I have some better amenities, better weather so yeah, we get spoiled.

Rosezena Pierce: And so for me it was just like you said, I read the same article, where are people thriving? And I was like where can I see myself? Because I’m the city girl and I was like I will never leave Chicago. But then I became a mother and things changed and it just wasn’t about me anymore. And so it was just like I live in the suburban area of Atlanta. I live literally an hour away from the city. But it’s just like even my house. I’m sitting in my house now. We actually planned to buy a house within four years of our move.

We moved here in 2017 and we was like, “It makes no sense to keep renting a house, let’s buy this house now.” We actually bought the house three years into it, a year ahead of time. And I’m just sitting in my house now and I’m like I could have never bought a house like this in Chicago.

Rachel Rodgers: It’s true.

Rosezena Pierce: And paying taxes. And I’ve got three kids that I want to, you know, I’m trying to create generational legacy and wealth for them. And how can I do that if I’m spending so much just to live?

Rachel Rodgers: Exactly right. And that’s true. And here’s the thing too, some of these cities can be very harsh for you when you have a family. They don’t really lend themselves to family life and you have to spend a lot of money to make family life comfortable in major cities. So you need a nanny and you need somebody to pick your kids up from school. You have a commute so how can you make your commute more convenient? So you just spend, spend, spend.

I mean just the New Jersey crossings, to cross the bridge from New Jersey to New York is damn near $20 now, literally per time you cross. I mean I think actually you only get charged on the way out, you don’t get charged on the way in. So you’re paying $20 a day. But if you drive into the city every day that’s $20 a day, that adds up real quick, $600 a month. There’s so many inconveniences. And I just felt the frenetic energy of there was so much going on.

The other thing, I don’t know if you experienced this Rosezena, but I was so ready to leave because every five minutes I had to go to somebody’s baby shower, birthday party, this, that. Every time I had to do one of these things it was $300 minimum to do this thing. And there was just constantly something to do, spending money, taking up a lot of time. And I was like I can be a better businesswoman, and mother, and wife somewhere else where I don’t have so many demands, so much stress, so much financial stress. And it was true.

Rosezena Pierce: I mean also too, distractions.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, exactly.

Rosezena Pierce: It’s a distraction because when we moved here my husband, his cousin and they’re married, they live here. But they live an hour away. They don’t have any kids. They are retired from the military and they work for the government now. But other than that we didn’t have anybody. So it gave me the ability to just kind of really just hone in and focus on my business. And that might sound selfish, people might hear this and be like, “That’s selfish, you don’t want to spend time with your family or this, that.”

And it’s not that, it’s just sometimes you need that discipline to be focused. And now I don’t feel guilty that I didn’t show up for someone’s birthday party because I’m two hours from a plane ride away. And they’re not expecting me to come.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, exactly. I’m like, “Listen, I’m going to send you some flowers and we’re going to go with it.” [Crosstalk]. I love it, I love it. Okay, so during 2020 in the midst of the pandemic you went through a major glow up. You scaled your company to 7-figures plus, you made over 7-figures actually, significantly over in 2020 in annual revenue. And instead of contracting because of the pandemic you expanded and you made things happen.

What are the top three changes you made in 2020, changes to your schedule, your mindset, your pricing or any area that led to this explosive success, what did you start doing differently?

Rosezena Pierce: So one thing, I think you and I because we were supposed to record our podcast. No, it was…

Rachel Rodgers: Yeah, it was actually when the pandemic was starting, it was March or April we were supposed to record our podcast and we were like yo. No, no, no, it was June. It was after George Floyd, yeah. And we were just like, “We’re not even in the mood.”

Rosezena Pierce: Right, we’re not going to do this. But no, we did talk though right before the – when everything was hitting the fan. I think it was for our Hot Seat, I did a Hot Seat for the club. And you and I talked personally. We had our personal conversation first. And it was something you said to me and it just shifted my whole energy. And you said, “Rosezena, imagine if you can say with all this chaos in 2020 I made a million dollars.” And that just shifted my whole thought process.

I was like, “You know what? You’re damn right, let me [inaudible].” So, I can say in 2020 I made a million dollars. And from there it was just something about that statement that just shifted my whole mindset. And then one of the second things from that I was like, you know what? She’s right because most people are going to step back and kind of seek comfort in this time. This is the time we’ve got to step it up. We’ve got to go hard.

And one of my team members had just said, and she’s going to kill me for sharing this but she had just said, “No one is going to book trademarks now that we’ve got this pandemic.” They had just closed Disneyworld. And she was like, “Shit, I know it’s real now. Aint nobody going to book no trademarks, this is the end of the world, they closed Disneyworld.” And so I was like, “You know what? No. Actually we’re going to tell them why they need to book trademarks right now in this pandemic.”

Rachel Rodgers: I love it.

Rosezena Pierce: I was like, “So, right, everybody is going to think the worst of it. We’ve got to think the best of it.” And I was like, “We’ve got to step it up. We’ve got to be in their faces.” And I was like, “And you know what, matter of fact? Let’s plan an event, we’re going to do the mark-a-thon.” I’m in the midst, everybody’s quarantining right now. I was like, “Let’s do this mark-a-thon.”

I said, “Aint nobody got nothing to do, we’re all in the house. So tell them I want to do a live webinar with them for six hours straight. And I want to tell them why they need to secure their brand in this time of chaos.” And we did it and that was one of – and from there I was just like, “I’ve got this, we’re going to do this.” And you know what? Had I taken the fearful mindset I would have missed out on a lot because in 2020 the most trademarks was filed in history – in history.

And then the kicker of it is it went up by almost 200%. Last year in 2019, only 500,000 trademarks – well, not only, that’s a lot, 500,000 trademarks was filed. But in 2020 738,000 trademarks was filed. So if I had adopted the mindset that this pandemic was a killer for us I would have missed out on all of this greatness and motivation. So it was just that comment that stuck to me like, you know what? Why do I have to give up my goals because of what’s going on outside?

I was just like December 2019, I said, “We’re making a million dollars in 2020 and that is not going to change.” I was like, “You know what? God is great and he shows up in the midst of all this chaos and he’s going to be right there with us and we’re going to do it.” And what’s so crazy is we actually hit it. In the first three months when you and I were talking we were still dong the numbers we were doing in 2019. So I really need to figure out how to get to the point where we can have those months to make it where we were going to hit 7-figures.

And after March, April was our first month we had a 6-figure month. And we have not had a less than 6-figure month since then. And we actually hit 7 figures that August 2020.

Rachel Rodgers: I love it. Listen, you were like, “Actually we’re hitting this million and we’re going to hit it early, how about that.”

Rosezena Pierce: Yeah, we just thought we could solidify and make sure we said we did it in 2020, yeah.

Rachel Rodgers: That’s right. You did it in 2020 despite the pandemic. And I love that mindset. And I mean that decision right there, first of all that’s a million dollar decision, to be like everybody else has fallen back, I’m stepping up. I’m not falling back. I’m not hiding. And I’m not going to tell my customers that this isn’t important anymore because the pandemic is happening. I’m actually going to show them why this is even more important now.

That is so powerful that you, you know, people in business, when we have those challenges like well, now my messaging is less relevant because of what is going on in the world. And it’s like no, actually, why does this matter right now? Why is this important right now? Let me lean into my messaging even more and address the exact question that I know my customers have right now. Let me not hide from that or try to work around it. Let me direct it, directly address it head on. And that’s what makes a difference.

That’s what builds trust, when they know they can rely on you in a pandemic, in a crisis no matter what. That is some powerful stuff and I’m just so impressed. And I mean I’m not surprised at all, this is just who you are. If you were to fall back I’d be like, “Where is Rosezena at cause something ain’t right?”

Rosezena Pierce: And it’s so crazy because doing that I remember the message of being quarantine and chill. And I was like, “That’s a quarantine and create, how about that?”

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, I love it.

Rosezena Pierce: I was like, we’re not knocking anybody who want to take this time and chill and settle it. But I was like, “Chilling wasn’t in my plans for 2020, [inaudible] anyway, so I’m going to do. And so all through that mark-a-thon, I was just talking about, “You’ve got quarantine and create. If you want things to be different, you want your circumstances to be different you’ve got to continue. This is the time now.” And now reflecting back to 2020 it was the year for people to really get focused.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, get focused and get reconnected to your vision for your life, for what you always wanted. We all have more time to think, and to process, and to reflect. And we’re all in this sort of this deadly crisis that is causing us to really look back at our lives and really analyze what wasn’t working for me anyway in this life? And what do I need to shift and change? And so instead of falling back and hiding you came back with a powerful and inspiring message for your audience. And I mean that is so – I have goose bumps right now just talking about it.

That is so powerful, and that is something that most entrepreneurs won’t do. We’re always looking to see what is everybody else doing? Everybody else is falling back. Nobody’s planning launches. I should stop selling my thing right now. And you’re like, “Hell no, I’m here to inspire you all and tell you how we’ve got to use this time.”

Rosezena Pierce: Yeah. We’re in the house, we haven’t got nothing to do. As long as we’ve got internet we can all stay connected and we can be creative. So that was just my whole thought process. I mean now granted, I took about two days to kind of freak out and be like damn, what is really going on? But then I had to slap myself together. And then you make that statement and I was just like, right, let’s get this done. Let’s just do it. And I have sympathy for everybody who was affected by the pandemic and fell victim to this virus and things like that.

But I was just like, you know what? I can’t control that. I can only control what I can do in this moment. And so I’ve just got together what I can do.

Rachel Rodgers: Listen, I mean mic drop. But can we just talk about how you were like, I gave myself 48 hours, it’s an entire global pandemic. And you’re like, “I’ve got two days and then let’s get back to it.” Two days is enough, let’s move on.

Rosezena Pierce: I’m a lawyer so I’m watching, so what type of laws have they got to pass and this, that and the third. And nobody is saying anything about, “We’re putting a stay in one on mortgages.” We’re not collecting anymore lights and gas bills. I’m like, “So they still want us to pay our bills in the midst of this.” So we’ve got to go to work, yeah.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, so good, I love it. So massive mindset shift, leaning into it, stepping into it, coming back with a marketing message that is relevant for this moment in time which I think is something that we always have to do as business owners. We always have to be educating our potential clients about what about this time right now makes my message even more relevant? And constantly be hitting them with that all the time.

Always reminding them why this still matters even in this time or this is relevant regardless. And I mean 2020 was not only the pandemic but then we had this revolts and uprising against racism as well. There’s always going to be things going on in the world. And how can you make your message relevant to the experience that your clients are having right now and really meet them where they’re at? And that’s what you did which is so powerful. I love it so much. Okay, so those are two big things.

Tell me one more thing. What was one more shift that you did? Did you change pricing, your scheduling, team, was there anything else that you did differently in 2020 or even leading up to 2020 that made 2020 possible for you?

Rosezena Pierce: We did hire more people, we did. We hired more people. And it was crazy because everybody was losing their jobs and stuff. And because I was like, “We’re stepping up and we’re stepping into this.” We needed more help. And I was like, “Whoa, really, we’re going to hire?” And I’m not going to even lie, it took me a minute because I was like, “Am I moving too fast?” You begin to question yourself, am I tripping? Should I really be hiring people right now when everybody’s laying off?

And I was just like, “You know what? I’ve just got to do it. I’ve got to do it and see what happens.” And it’s so crazy because we interview – we had a round of interviews. How you teach us how to interview, I ended up out of four people hiring three because I liked the three people. And I was just like [inaudible] for all three of you all to do. And I was just like wow. I guess I was like, “You know what? I’ve even got to make these bold moves or I’m just going to like, it’s not going to happen. It’s not going to work.” And I was just like, “You’ve got to be bold and you’ve got to be fearless.”

And I was just like, “You know what? I’m just going to do it because the business is saying this is what we need.” Even though I’m a business owner, I’m a woman; I’m putting my emotions into it. But the business is speaking for itself, so I’ve got to do what the business is saying it needs. Even though I’m listening to CNN and I’m being emotional about it. But I’m like, “But the demand is here so why not?” And I was fearful about it like oh my God, but what if I have to lay these people off?

And what ended up happening is I hired them and then needed to hire more people. And now I’m at a point where we’re about to put out a job. I mean we have four open positions right now today. And look, think six to eight months ago I was worried about can I really hire these people? And so I think sometimes too especially being females, women, we put a lot of our emotions into some things. And we sometimes have to separate our emotions and look at our business for what it is and make decisions on that.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, I love that. Yes, and that’s just another way, what you’re saying shows that when you shift your mindset everything flows from that. You shifted your mindset and you were like, “No, we’re not going to contract, we’re going to keep going and we’re going to push forward and make it happen.” And you do that and then these bigger decisions. Then you shift your messaging and you let your customers know we are here for you.

And guess what? Not only are we here, we’re going to have trademark-a-thon. We’re going to have all these other things, let’s go, let’s quarantine and create. And you inspire your people. And then you’re like, “Okay, well, team now, now we have demand, now we need to meet the needs and we need to hire more team. So it’s just like making that million dollar decision led to all these other decisions that built you, you know, got you the results that you were looking for. And I love that, making a bold decision.

And I love you saying, “You know what?” It’s not like you weren’t fearful but the business is saying this is what we need and so you took the emotion out of it and you were like, “Well, what would I do if I really believed that I could win?” And you made that move instead of making the move of well, I’m not sure, I’m scared so I’m going to lean into that. No, you leaned into I want to win, I need to make the moves that are going to help me win, let’s go.

Rosezena Pierce: Yes, absolutely.

Rachel Rodgers: It’s so good.

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Rachel Rodgers: So inspiring, I love it so much. So of course we all know it’s a well known fact that if you want to be an extremely high achieving person like a millionaire CEO, or an athlete, or a Broadway performer, then you need a really solid support network. You need either a coach or potentially a whole coaching team. You need peers who you push you to bring your best every day. You need your family to be onboard with your vision. You need extremely strong emotional support because this journey is not easy as you were just saying.

You are making decisions that nobody else is making, or very few people are making and you need support for that. So over the last few years what are some ways that you have upgraded your support network?

Rosezena Pierce: Well, first and foremost I hired you as my coach. And people always ask me, “Do you really think a coach is necessary?” And I’ll be like, “Yeah.” But now because there are a lot of people out here that’s claiming to be coaches and people are not getting good results from it. They are afraid of to invest in that type of thing. And what I tell people is that for me how I decided who was the best coach for me. I needed somebody that had been in the current position that I was in, but they’re in a place that I’m trying to get to.

And that was you because you’re a lawyer, you’re a mom, you’re a wife. We could talk about – we could have 30 – and you’re an entrepreneur. We could have 30 different conversations about us having in common. And so I was just like for me my coach has made $28 an hour like I have as a lawyer, but knew there was something out there better for her. And embarked on scaling her business to a million dollars and that’s what I wanted so why not hire that person that’s been through the same, that journey that you’re trying to go through yourself.

And it’s so funny because sometimes people, they try to talk you out of things. I remember we did a webinar, it was December 18.I have been following you since I finished law school. I think you’re probably two or three years ahead of me. I finished law school in 2013, when did you finish?

Rachel Rodgers: 2009.

Rosezena Pierce: Okay, right, so you’re ahead of me. And so I’ve been following you since I finished law school because I was like, “What do I do?” And I think I stumbled upon you from a virtual law firm, how to create a virtual law firm. But I remember you had a webinar, fast forward five years later, December, because honestly when I first started I wasn’t in a position to engage or hire you, or a buy-in of the courses that you were selling. But December 2018 I got to a point where I was like, I’ve got it, what’s she selling today?

I was like [inaudible] that because I got it. And it was the best thing, it was the best decision made, that I think I made for my business because it was for a webinar for Goal Up. And I paid for it. You actually gave us the prerecorded classes. And I will call them my class, the people who came in with us; they always made fun of me for not showing up on Facebook. But what people didn’t realize is that every single class, because we started meeting that January every Tuesday. I never missed the Tuesday.

And so I took that information and it was now time, I was like, okay, I’ve got it now. Now I need to go implement it. And so I wasn’t showing up on Facebook because I was working so hard to implement the things that was laid out in that course. And it was one of the best decisions because December 2018 I remember my year close we made 200 and maybe – it was shy of $250,000. And then we invested, and I invested into the monthly coaching program at the time that you guys was offering it.

And we stayed connected; the retreat was always just life changing for me. And then what happened was we ended 2019, I had doubled my revenue to 500k. And then 2020 we’re still connected; now I’m a member of the club. And too, it’s so important to just be involved in a community where there’s so many likeminded women like you. And you get to thrive off of each other and see each other.

I remember when we was at one retreat and Trudi and I, I didn’t even really know Trudi but I just knew she was the other girl who raised her hand, who was on a growth scale chart. It was just like me and her. And I was like, “Okay, so let me go meet up and talk to her to see how we could get to this next level.” I think we were at badass, and we had to get to boss now. So to have that community, I would have never known Trudi, because she’s on the East Coast, I’m here in the south and then to have that.

And then from 2018 – December 2018 to then close out December 2020 with 1.16 million dollars. You know what I’m saying? If I were to listen to someone and let them talk me out of how coaching is not good or it’s not a good investment and things like that I would have missed out on my true goal up. So yeah, but it’s so important. It’s very important. And I remember too one of our first retreats just hearing women stand up and say they’re making $50,000 a month. And I was making $25,000, $30,000. And I’m like, $50,000; let me get on that level. Let me see what [inaudible].

Rachel Rodgers: Sometimes that’s all you need is for somebody to say it, for somebody in your proximity, that’s a real human being, that maybe you have some things in common with to say, “Here’s what I’m doing.” And you’re like, “That’s the new plan now. Now we aren’t on 25k months no more. Now we’re on 50k months.” And then somebody else says a 100k and you’re like that’s the new goal now. And you just keep putting that work and just be – how would we know?

When we were kids we had the proximity to people, you know, you had proximity to lawyers. My mom used to watch crime dramas on TV. And so I was like, “I want to be the lawyer in these scenarios, in these courtroom dramas.” And so we had what we could see and we had those goals related to what we could see. Then we became lawyers and we started seeing if I’m a business owner I could become x, y, z, I could have x, y, z. Okay, now I’m going to shoot for that.

But if you can’t see it, if you don’t even know it’s possible, you can’t set those goals for yourself. This is why I think community is so crucial; obviously of course I’m a fan of coaching. And I think that’s, you know, it helps so much. And a big part of what helps with coaching is the community that gets built and the friends you make that you can call when you’re like, “I’ve got a problem with this team member? Have you ever had this experience? Let’s talk about it.”

And that just, you know, relating to your peers in that way is so powerful. But I have to tell you, you also are talking about consistency. You consistently showed up. First of all, even sticking with the same coach, or sticking with the same community long term, I always tell people that. When you are constantly switching they have you start on something completely new, put you on a totally new plan, now you’re doing things differently. And now you have to sort of start again with building the processes and the systems that are going to get you to that level.

And so the consistency is key but you always show up. Like you say, you never missed a class. You always put in that work. And that’s why you have the results you have, going from 250k to 1.6 million in two years. You killed that. You killed that.

Rosezena Pierce: Yeah, also too thankfully just to watch you as an example. I always talk about when people talk ish about Oprah and Jay-Z and Tyler Perry. And I’m like they have done all they need to do for everybody, just really truly just be that example. Oprah walked bare feet in the south to school. She didn’t have shoes. Tyler Perry was homeless. Jay-Z comes from Marcy Projects they’re and now billionaires now. So if they don’t say hi to you, they are the walking example of what’s possible for you.

But also too, to just have you, you know what I’m saying? And talking about – and you’re very transparent and I love that. Okay, well, the company, Hello Seven, we did 265k or we did 280 and then that million dollar month. I’m like, “I can do that.” You know what I’m saying? It’s having that example be right in front of you too is very important. It’s motivating in itself. And that’s service in itself. You have served me by just being an example for me.

Rachel Rodgers: Wow. That is beautiful, thank you for saying that. And now, look, you’re an example for so many people with what you’ve accomplished. And that’s the whole point. We just keep paying it forward, and making it possible for more and more people. And then we will have, we will see the shift for Black people as a community having more wealth, having more generational wealth, having money to leave to your children. To me that is my number one motivation because I didn’t have any type of head start whatsoever, if anything I was behind.

And I had amazing parents who were very supportive and encouraging but they could not support financially because they just didn’t have it. And so now I can support them and I can create wealth for my children. And that is so powerful. So it is important work. Okay, so not only are you, you know, you have this amazing network, you were killing it in 2020 and really making so much money for your business. But literally as a professional, as an attorney you are killing at. You are good at your craft. Can we talk about that for a minute?

I feel like so many people think I just have these financial goals and I’m going to just go out there and get it. And I don’t actually have to work hard. I don’t actually have to deliver results. And we understand that that’s not how it works. We actually have to be good at what we do. We actually have to deliver results. And that is what you do. And in 2019 you were named one of the top 100 trademark attorneys in the US which is incredible, that is amazing.

Tell me, how did this come about? Were you nominated for this title? Did you nominate yourself? Did it just happen magically and you have no idea and one day you got an email notifying you? What happened?

Rosezena Pierce: I just got an email notifying me that. So it was based on the data. And this was off of 2018 numbers that they named me in the top 100 in 2019. And what it was, was that they went and they pulled all the data from the US PTO of the most applications that was filed. And they broke them up among attorneys. And at the time in 2018 I only had a team of four of us. So I was still filing applications because remember, I told you, I didn’t get my life together till around 2019 when you told me I need to stop doing all the damn work myself.

I can grow and sell my business. So I had filed the majority of those trademark applications and they also rated based on which ones became registered too because we do have some entities out here, they do a lot in value where they are filing a lot. But are they getting it registered? Are they putting in good quality work? And so I just got an email like yeah, your name comes up as within the top 100 because you filed these many trademarks. And I was like, wow, whoa. And it was the company that they’re invested in the trademark community.

And they pulled all this data and so they named all these trademark attorneys in this top 100. They did the top 200 in the country. And for us to be in the top 100, I was just like wow, okay. But too, I want to go back to because – but I truly have a passion for intellectual property law. And one of the reasons being is because I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer so I majored in paralegal studies at undergrad. And it was there that I knew I wanted to do business law. And so I signed up for the class IP for paralegals.

And the course was taught by one of my professors, she was a trademark attorney. And once – I’d just seen she was the adjunct professor so she’d come to work, I mean come to the class every day after work. And she was running her own practice. And I was just so inspired by her, another example, another model for me. And I absolutely loved what we were talking about, what we were doing. And she was like, you know, because people have you thinking it’s over for you if you don’t have a science background, you don’t have a technology background.

Because IP they think pens, and they tell people, “If you don’t have this you can’t do this IP law.” And so I was like well, you know, what she showed me, no, you don’t have to, you can do trademark law. And I knew I wanted to do something business related. I knew I wanted, I just thought it was fancy to say I wanted to represent big corporations and do international law. But there it was really clear for me, okay, I want to do this intellectual property law. And so I have a true passion for it.

And then from there when I went to law school all of my, you know, the course requirements, you have to take a course, I took those. But all of my electives were IP courses and I aced them all, I studied. Because I really feel right now people see us on Instagram and they just think if she can do that, I can do it. Because I’m just showing you, you know, I don’t show you the ugly on Instagram.

Rachel Rodgers: Right, you’re not seeing the hard work, and the years of experience and the years of training.

Rosezena Pierce: Yes. I’m not showing you I’m sitting here writing a briefing, legal research and writing and things like that. And sometimes what I’m finding is a lot of people coming out of law school, or in different industries too, you see somebody doing something and they have major success for it. But then you’re trying to do exactly what they’re trying to do, not because you have a passion for it, but because you want that success that they have. But you don’t figure out why you’re failing at it.

And the reason you’re failing at it is because that’s not what’s for you. If I see a nail tech and she’s making bucu money and she’s doing amazing, I can’t just jump in and be like, “I’m going to do that because I want the same type of success.” Because I don’t have a passion for doing nails, I’m not touching nobody’s feet. It’s not going to work for me. So you have to be true to what is good for you, because I can share my success stories because I’m willing to go through the bad, the ugly and the pain to get to the success.

Are you willing to go through the ugly, the bad and the pain to get to the success? And most people are not and they fail in that because they want the success but they’re not willing to put up the hard work to get to it. I have one client, she just got her trademark, she made me cry, after three years of us filing for it. But then I get other clients they say, “Well, they wouldn’t even fight for me.” And then too you just have to have good integrity about going into it. Because I’m not going to file something or I’m not going to take a client’s money if I think it’s no chance in hell.

We do big corporations all day every day and I’m like I’m bring it on, I’m ready because I’m not going to file a trademark that I know in good integrity will infringe on your client’s brand anyway. So if you’re coming at us and I’m ready for it. We go through it all the time with big named brands and I’m like, “You’ve got to be kidding. I know you work at a big law firm, I know you represent a big client but at the same time the law applies to you just the way it applies to me.”

Rachel Rodgers: Exactly right.

Rosezena Pierce: So yeah, so I know that was a whole lot, but.

Rachel Rodgers: No, it was really powerful, I love everything you said because what you’re really saying is the fact that this is your passion, that is why it’s making you so much money. That’s why you are all in and you study and you put in work. And it’s worth the effort for you because you’re passionate about it and you’d probably do it even if you wasn’t getting paid. And that is the key. That is the key to hitting that 7-figure mark, is find that thing the way that you add value to the world, the thing that you’re most passionate about or excited about that you can really dig into.

And if you can really get in there and do the hard parts as well, that’s when the success comes. If I tried to – it’s exactly why you have a 7-figure law practice and I never did. I got close. But I loved business and I loved working with entrepreneurs. I did not love doing the legal work itself. And that’s why I had to realize, I’m not going to get here with this work because I’m not passionate enough about it. What I’m actually passionate about is building businesses so let me transition into that.

And as soon as I did the first year we hit 7 figures. And of course I had seven years of business experience behind me as well. It’s not like it was overnight. But all of that, I had to do the thing that was my thing and that’s what got me there. And so that’s what I hear you saying as well, find that passion and go all in. And stop trying to take somebody else’s formula because that formula doesn’t necessarily work for you.

Rosezena Pierce: Because when it’s yours, and it’s yours, you stand up and you show up different in it. I own this, this is mine. You know what I’m saying? If you’re trying to adopt what other people are doing just because that’s what looks good, it’s going to be hard for you to show up in it because you can’t own it, because it isn’t yours. You’ve got to figure out what works for you. And I understand we want to chase the money and things like that.

But like you said, once you figure out what it is that you want to do and what it is that you’re supposed to be doing and you actually would, like you said, do it whether you get paid or not, because I do some things and don’t get paid for it. Because I have the passion, the money will come. It will just come to you, it will come. But if you’re doing something that you’re not passionate about you’ve got to be out there chasing it because you really don’t care for it.

Rachel Rodgers: Exactly. If you can sort of couple that, your passion for the thing that you want to do with some business strategy, coaching, whatever, that combination is killer. But I can’t do anything with, I can’t help somebody who has no idea what they want to do. I can help you start to figure it out but at some point you’ve got to make a decision about what you’re going to go all in on. And then I can help you accelerate from there.

But if you don’t know what the hell you want to do and you’re floundering and you’re just adopting other people’s ideas or other people’s mission, that isn’t going to work and that isn’t going to lead you to 7 figures.

Rosezena Pierce: Right, no. And the thing is like people like to put things off on coaching. But it’s like you’ve got to check yourself because if you’re – Kobe Bryant, he needed the coach that he had. But he also showed up every morning in the gym. He’s putting in the work. A coach can’t do that for you. The coach can’t bring – it’s just certain things you’ve got to already have in you. So even Robert De Niro, he’s one of the best actors but he’s like, “I need my director to bring that out of me.” But he’s already got it in him.

And you’ve got to have it in you so that the coach has got something to work with.

Rachel Rodgers: I love it, it’s so true.

Rosezena Pierce: Right. I mean if you’re looking for the weird scientist to put together some stuff then you don’t need a coach, you need whoever put together Frankenstein or something. You’ve got to have it in you. You’ve got to have it. And then too, you can’t expect your coach to do the work for you.

Rachel Rodgers: Right. There is no replacement for that hard work, there’s just none.

Rosezena Pierce: No. You’ve got to have the discipline within yourself to get it done. And that’s what it was with Kobe Bryant. He had the discipline within himself. Michael Jordan, all these great people, they have these leaders. They have these directors that’s directing them and guiding them. That’s the prerequisite of you’ve got to have it in yourself first.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, and be willing to rise to the occasion when the opportunity arises. So I love that.

Rosezena Pierce: And it’s helpful too, not be so quick to throw in the towel either.

Rachel Rodgers: Yeah, that’s the word right there.

Rosezena Pierce: We look at Sara Blakely, how many no’s did she get before? But she was determined to not give up. Michael Jordan talked about how he failed so many times before he won. You’ve got to be willing. My father raised me on this and this was another mindset game changer since I was five. He always told me, “Quitters never win and winners never quit. And if you’re a winner you’re never going to quit.” And so that’s why I respect what 50 say, “I’m going to get rich or I’m going to die trying” because [inaudible].

Rachel Rodgers: It’s happening one way or another.

Rosezena Pierce: Or I’m dead, yeah, that’s it, I’m dead. They took me out so it didn’t happen. But other than that as long as I have air in my body and I’m able to breathe, and I’m able to live, I’m going to try to get it until I got it, period.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, period. You know what’s so funny, what I used to say all the time in the early stages of my journey is I would say, “I’m going to have this level of success and I know it because I’m not going to stop until I do, period.” And just had that confidence that it is happening because I know I can rely on me to show up consistently and do what I have to do to make it happen. I’m going to take these lessons. I’m going to take these lumps along the way and I’m going to figure it out and it’s going to happen. You just have to have the energy about you if you want to make it happen.

Rosezena Pierce: Yeah. And that’s why mindset is so key, it is so important. And everybody probably – every time I’m talking to some coach, they always have that mindset. But the reason why is because the mind makes the body do what the body thinks it can’t do.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes. She’s out here preaching today. Yes, the mind can make the body do what the body thinks it can’t. Damn right. That is so good. I love it. Okay, Rosezena I want to wrap up with a couple of quick questions for you, some fun ones. First, what is one thing that makes you feel like a million bucks? It can be something that costs money or something that costs nothing.

Rosezena Pierce: A massage, yes, a massage.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes. I love a massage too.

Rosezena Pierce: Yeah. I’m learning, being at this 7-figure level I have to invest in my self-care, I have to. So for me it’s just being able to just say, “You know what? I’m going to take this time for me.” And so now I booked, where now I have a monthly membership where I go get a massage once a month.

Rachel Rodgers: I love it, yes. It’s making that commitment to your self-care, carving out the time because like you said, taking care of yourself, making sure your mind is right, that is what’s going to lead your company to continue to success. So you’ve got to do that. It’s good for you. It’s good for your family. It’s good for your team. It’s good for everybody involved. Okay, next question, who is your celebrity crush and why?

Rosezena Pierce: Do I have to tell you guys? It’s gorgeous Albert.

Rachel Rodgers: Of course it is. That’s mine too.

Rosezena Pierce: Yes. I mean first of all, so you know how when you bought that CD, people probably – if they’re a millennial they’ll probably know nothing about the CD. But you bought a CD and you listened to the whole album. And there’s that one song on the album that they don’t play on the radio but it’s a hit. And you feel like because you bought the CD you are the only person that know about this song. That’s how I felt about Idris Elba being on The Wire or HBO because I thought I was the only female watching the show.

I said, “Aint no females going to watch this show, only guys are going to watch this show because it’s so rough at heart.” And I was like, “So he’s all mine all to myself.” I put that in my head.

Rachel Rodgers: Listen, I will watch that swagger in anything that he’s in, the accent, all of it, all of it. It’s all very good.

Rosezena Pierce: Yes. He has a work ethic too, he does.

Rachel Rodgers: He does.

Rosezena Pierce: Yes, he has a really good – that’s so sexy, yes.

Rachel Rodgers: Yeah, I agree, I agree. I am a fan. Okay, so imagine that you just booked yourself a four week vacation and you have absolutely zero work on your calendar, tons of free time, what’s the first thing you’re going to do?

Rosezena Pierce: This sounds so bad, and don’t judge me. But I’m going to all the best restaurants in that town.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, that’s not bad, that’s smart. Listen, we all love to eat good food.

Rosezena Pierce: It’s so bad because I’m trying to get this quarantine weight off me. But if I’m being totally honest, I’m going to be like “Can you all tell me what all the good restaurants are.” And I’m going to make sure every day for the four weeks I have one written down. And if I find a really good one I might double back on that one. But I love food. I know it’s bad.

Rachel Rodgers: It’s not bad. Listen, eating good food is pleasure. That is part of the enjoyment and the richness of life. I do the same thing, if I touched – before I even get there I’m researching which restaurants I want to make sure I experience. And then I want to find out what are the best things on the menu. It is a whole strategic plan that I need to hit the restaurant.

Rosezena Pierce: [Inaudible] like me, I get so annoyed with these people where like I’m going to a restaurant, I even know what I want because I’d already researched the menu, everything. And then we just went somewhere and there was a few couples of us and we had to wait like an hour just to get in this restaurant. And then we finally sit down, we had a reservation, we finally sit down, everybody needs to look at the menu. I’m like, “You all don’t know what you all want already? You all can look at the menu while we were standing outside for an hour waiting.”

Rachel Rodgers: Exactly. You didn’t come ready? Listen, I feel the exact same way. Okay, two more questions, one is, to anyone who is considering joining the club but is on the fence and hasn’t decided to jump in yet, what would you say to that person?

Rosezena Pierce: I would say, “You’ve got to do it, you’ve got to experience it for yourself.” I know a lot of people reached out to me when the club was first launched because I think you guys used my testimonial. And it was like, “How is it? What do you think?” I was like, “You’ve got to experience it for yourself.” You have to experience it for yourself because it’s certain things that I think will benefit. Some people love the community on Facebook. That might be a thing for you.

For me, I like the retreats and the meetings. The last meeting was off the chain with the DJ. That was so amazing. I thought yes, he is playing all the good music. But there’s so many different facets to it. There’s different cultures that you might connect with. You have to experience it for yourself. And I would say just take that chance. First and foremost in order to be a business or entrepreneur, you have to be willing to bet on yourself.

You’ve got to be willing to just take chances and invest into certain things so that you can be exposed to different things as entrepreneurs because we don’t know it all. And if you are one of those people that know it all, you need to get around some people that know some shit you don’t know.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, I agree. I agree. I love that, excellent advice. Okay, last question, fill in the blank, before I die I will…

Rosezena Pierce: Create legacy.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, I love that so much. It’s so powerful, so powerful. Thank you Rosezena, you’re an inspiration to us all. Thank you for taking the time to share a little of your brilliant light with us today, I am just basking in the glow, but know all listeners will be too.

Rosezena Pierce: Thank you so much as well. Thank you for allow, you know, for this to happen. I know last time I was like, “Let me just hit a million dollars first so we can say we did it.” And so thank you just for inviting me to this platform and sharing it.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes, listen, everybody needs to go check Rosezena out. Rosezena, tell us where they can find you.

Rosezena Pierce: I am mostly on Instagram at The Biz Lawyer. That is t.h.e. b.i.z. lawyer. Also you guys can visit our website if you want to, it’s www.rjpiercelaw.com. But please come join me on Instagram, The Biz Lawyer.

Rachel Rodgers: Yes. And if you need a lawyer to represent your IP needs you should definitely hire Rosezena and her amazing team, one of the top trademark lawyers in the country, there’s evidence to that, okay, receipts, alright?