Casey Kennedy is a practicing attorney and founder of Hogan Land & Title, a premier real estate title abstracting and genealogy services company. When she’s not flipping through old dusty deed books or driving to counties with no online records, she’s spending time with her adorable toddler, husband, 47 house plants, and two dogs. She’s a muralist, avid gardener, and enjoys cycling, kayaking, and hiking.
Cool! We have a few questions…
What jobs did you have before you landed where you are today?
I’ve lived many, many lives:
Deckhand on Commercial Fishing Boat in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Barista
Assistant on an Alpaca Farm
Administrative Assistant
Planter at Family-Owned Greenhouse
Title Abstractor
Corporate Energy Associate
It’s been a wild ride so I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but I like to say I’m “well-rounded.”
What do you wish outsiders knew about your industry?
I wish outsiders knew how important quality title searches are to even the most basic real estate closings. A sloppy title search or a poorly researched family tree can give you information that looks right—but is fundamentally inaccurate.
What’s the #1 question clients or customers ask you?
It’s usually, “Can you do a title search in [rural location]?” So many rural counties in West Virginia and South Carolina have not scanned all of their records to a searchable website yet. Being able to conduct an in-person search in a dusty old office on short notice is typically what people are looking for.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned the hard way?
You have to teach people how to treat you. Boundaries are important in all relationships—personal and professional—and you lay the ground rules by how you respond to various situations. If you always answer immediately, your clients will always expect you to answer immediately. If you’re available by text, your clients will regularly text you. If you’re always the guy volunteering to stay late, you’ll be staying late a lot. There’s a balance between being dedicated and client-focused, while still maintaining healthy boundaries that are sustainable for life.
What’s one book, podcast, series, or movie you’d recommend…and why?
If you’re a true crime junkie like me, I can’t recommend the podcast “My Favorite Murder” enough. I’m a bona fide #murderino. Georgia and Karen are VERY funny, genuine, and when they’re not telling horrifying and bizarre crime stories, they’re taking you on a journey examining a wide range of social issues earnestly and with open minds.
What’s one way the SOCO community has shaped your life?
Honestly, SOCO saved my company (and my sanity) this year and that is no understatement. When courthouses closed in March, I was uniquely positioned in possibly the worst-case scenario for a title search company. The SOCO Community not only helped keep my spirits up with weekly Zoom meetings, but they also got down in the trenches with me with critical information needed to survive the complete standstill in work. Although I wouldn’t say we’ve fully recovered yet, we are still here and getting by, and I will never be able to thank Greg, Lynn, and the Community (and coffee) at SOCO enough for that.
What improvement do you hope to see in your own life in the next 12 months?
I really want to digitize/automate more of my workflow and systems. I still do a lot of menial tasks by hand that could all be automated. Attorneys have a tendency to be very behind in tech, and I’d like to think I’m not as bad as some, but I have a long way to go.
I’m a paid advertising and digital marketing guru who likes craft beer, video games, and playing music. I used to play in metal bands, and I’m looking forward to teaching my kids how to play when they get old enough. I’m always looking to expand my knowledge, and I’m always on the hunt for delicious food and craft brews.
Cool! We have a few questions…
What jobs did you have before you landed where you are today?
Salad Maker at The German Gasthaus
Supervisor at Taco Bell
Supervisor at UPS
Supervisor at Gamestop
Route Manager at Trugreen
Marketing Bitch at VOLT Lighting (Where I started my internet journey)
Various Agencies
Various Startups
What do you wish outsiders knew about your industry?
Paid advertising isn’t a silver bullet that’ll save a failing business. Businesses themselves actually have the best advantage when it comes to creating the most successful campaigns.
What’s the #1 question clients or customers ask you?
“How much should I spend?”
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned the hard way?
Perfectionism is the enemy. I allowed perfectionism to hinder me to the point where I never released a product I could’ve back in 2013. My perfectionism caused me to never launch, and someone else ended up doing it and making a killing doing it.
What’s one book, podcast, series, or movie you’d recommend…and why?
I hate to sound cliché, but Dale Carnegie’s books have been the most impactful reads I’ve found.
What’s one way the SOCO community has shaped your life?
SOCO has shown me there is a community of like-minded, progressive people here. Being around people who have similar interests and all seem to be striving to live our best lives keeps me motivated.
What improvement do you hope to see in your own life in the next 12 months?
I’m hoping to finish building out my business. I’ve evolved it and changed my agency over the years, and I haven’t been able to really scale up as a result. I think I’m closer than ever before, but I want to get things in scale mode within the next year.
Ben Landers is a Husband, Dad, and Teacher. When he’s not teaching or creating resources online, he loves to get active through camping, hiking, kayaking, surfing, snowboarding, or any other outdoor pursuit that he can manage to squeeze in. He’s also pretty handy with a camera and loves making videos and documenting fun trips and daily life with his family.
Okay, so, who are you?
I’m a Hubs of 13 years and a Dad to 3 kiddos 6 and under. Our life is definitely a circus, but we usually salvage some beautiful moments in the chaos of it all. I’ve been teaching Physical Education to Elementary kids at River Springs Elementary going on 14 years. In 2014, I started a teacher resource website to help out PE teachers and create content and resources to push the profession forward.
Cool! We have a few questions…
What jobs did you have before you landed where you are today?
First Job: Landscaping company doing yard work
Worked 6 years for Mungo Homes installing Sprinkler systems in the Columbia heat
Worked at a summer camp as the Tech Guru and Weekly Highlight Video Creator
Currently taking a break from this to focus on other stuff
Phys Ed Teacher 2007 – present
Online Content Creator and Membership Site Founder for PE Teachers
What do you wish outsiders knew about your industry?
Honestly, I wish everyone realized how real the opportunity is to start a business creating content in almost any niche or area of interest that you are passionate about. I think lots of folks who are discontent with their work should start creating content about something they love and are passionate about and try to turn it into a business through creating resources or a membership. It’s definitely not easy work, but I would rather work 50 hours a week doing something I love than 30 hours a week doing something I hate.
What’s the #1 question clients or customers ask you?
They ask, “How do you find the time to do it all?” I usually answer with a few tips like focus on one thing, prioritize your tasks, and batch your time for different types of work. But in the end, everyone has the same amount of hours in each day—it’s just a question of finding a way to use them in the best way possible to achieve whatever you want to do with your life.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned the hard way?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint…Starting a business takes time to gain traction, and there are a lot of hard and long hours. In our microwave society, we want everything to be delivered in 2 days, but the truth is change is hard, and it takes time. Most people will give up on something before they’ve put in enough work to realize the outcome they were hoping to reach. I have to constantly remind myself of this when I get impatient with the way things are going or how long it’s taking to learn something new, develop a new resource or product, or push out a new initiative.
Another big perspective shift is learning to love the process, sometimes it’s the journey over the destination, and if you can enjoy the journey more than the destination—you’ve pretty much figured out the best life hack there is.
What’s one book, podcast, series, or movie you’d recommend…and why?
My favorite Podcast is The Tim Ferris Show. It’s incredible. The most recent interview with Hugh Jackman is a great one to catch if you haven’t heard it; there are so many takeaways and valuable insights that he shared.
What’s one way the SOCO community has shaped your life?
For the first few years, I built my online business in coffee shops and the public library. But when I found SOCO, I was pumped to be able to have a sanctuary to get more focused on work with fewer distractions…unlimited beer and coffee had a slight impact on my decision as well :-). I enjoy the feeling of working in a place where there are so many other people working towards their goals and building something valuable as well—the hustle is contagious.
What improvement do you hope to see in your own life in the next 12 months?
As a PE Teacher, health and activity has always been one of my top priorities, but the whole quarantine situation with 3 kids has pretty much wrecked both me and my wife’s exercise habits…and most of our healthy routines we had in place before COVID. I’m hoping to get some of those routines back and build in some regular exercise, personal development, and mental health-focused times into my life over the next year.
Jada Willis is a business owner, podcaster, author, and HR professional. When she’s not helping small businesses create scalable HR processes, Jada is usually listening to a podcast or spending quality couch time with her wife. When COVID isn’t a thing, she travels, enjoys the spa, and other adventures. Jada is passionate about being a problem-solver and helping others succeed.
Cool! We have a few questions…
What jobs did you have before you landed where you are today?
I’ve been working in Human Resources in some way, shape, or form since 2001. I started as an HR Intern at Ponderosa Steakhouse working for chicken wings and mashed potatoes. I begged an HR Director for a chance to learn. By 18 years old, I had participated in sexual harassment investigations, attended corporate strategic planning meetings, and interviewed and hired managers in 3 different states. I didn’t receive any money, but the experience was priceless. The chicken wings were pretty good, too!
Prior to Willis HR, I have been a:
Human Resources Business Partner
Human Resources Manager
Recruiting Specialist
Target Store Manager
Server/Runner
Computer Lab Assistant
I believe that every experience has led to Willis HR, an opportunity to help small business owners reach the goals that have previously been unobtainable.
I have this passion for helping others. It’s what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life.
What do you wish outsiders knew about your job or industry?
Everyone should know that, without the right HR partner, a company of any size is like a boat without a rudder. At Willis HR, our team is typically providing guidance, stabilizing or implementing new processes, and chartering the path for growth. A business has the greatest chance of succeeding and reaching its people, purpose, and profit goals with relevant HR systems. HR can be much more than just payroll, benefits, and filing.
What’s the #1 question clients or customers ask you?
Initially, our clients usually want to know how an outsourced HR firm can really get to know their company quickly and customize HR solutions. (That’s actually one of our strengths)
Initially, our clients usually want to know how an outsourced HR firm can really get to know their company quickly and customize HR solutions. (That’s actually one of our strengths).
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned the hard way?
There are a few that I could list, but one worth sharing is that everyone isn’t a potential client. It’s okay to have an ideal client.
Our ideal client has a true desire for an HR partner, sees the value of their employees, and has less than 50 employees. We build partnerships with our clients, and that’s how real results occur. This is our sweet spot. But, it took a little while to get to the point where we weren’t working with clients that just wanted to check a box.
I have learned not to compromise my (our) values for money. We want to be a good fit for the right client. We even state on our website “We don’t say yes to every prospective client.” That’s one of the great perks of being an entrepreneur, the freedom to choose who you serve. As HR professionals, we terminate employees—it’s just the nature of our work. But, I naively didn’t think about the fact that I had to terminate clients. Ugh!
What’s one book, podcast, series, or movie you’d recommend…and why?
I’m going to say, “The Big Leap.” Once someone operates in their zone of genius, lookout. This book helped me realize what a zone of excellence and zone of genius really was for my company and myself. It was life-changing. My fulfillment level went up and revenue increased!
What’s one way the SOCO community has shaped your life?
SOCO was the community that I searched Columbia for. A space to be a game-changing entrepreneur with vulnerabilities, mistakes, and insecurities. The members are insanely smart, generous, down-to-earth, and truly embrace others in the community. I’m thankful to be a part of it.
What improvement do you hope to see in your own life in the next 12 months?
I have learned that when I am taking care of myself and refilling my cup in the ways I need most, I am a better HR, leader, wife, daughter, friend, and stranger. I am structuring my morning routine and self-care to be able to fully make a positive impact on the lives I get to interact with on a daily basis.
