Turning Loss to Legacy, with Amanda Bauer-Frisch

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.