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- [00:00]
A
We've gone to three games ourselves. We brought four people with us, and then I sent two people. So I think it's around like 340 grand we've spent on the Knicks so far in the playoff season.
- [00:14]
B
Anne Molham was on the show about two years ago. She just sold Solidcore, which was a Pilates studio chain she built from 175,000 in her own savings and sold for $88 million. And at the time, her net worth was around $100 million.
- [00:30]
A
I started to put my professional worth in how I was making this money turn into more money. And I had to stop doing that too, because it was getting a little obsessive.
- [00:40]
B
Then we get into what having a baby has done to the way she thinks about how she spends her life, how she spends her money, and just what matters most to her.
- [00:49]
A
But what if you met somebody who had 120 million apples and they're like, what are you doing today? Like, I'm trying to go get more apples. You'd be like, like, why don't you just eat? You have. And frankly share it with some other people who can't find any apples.
- [01:06]
B
Finally, we talk about what she actually wants to be remembered for, which has nothing to do with money. This is Money Wise. I'm Daniel Burke. Here is Anne. Before I get into it, this show comes from Hampton. It's a private community for founders who are doing 3 million a year in revenue or who have sold a company for $10 million or more. Most of the members are running companies doing anywhere from 3 million to hundreds of millions in revenue. And the reason I get to sit across from guests like Ann and have them tell me their actual numbers and have amazing conversations that are really life changing is because that kind of honesty is what Hampton is built around. If that type of honesty, those types of private conversations behind closed doors interest you, this is your world. Check it out@joinhampton.com well, and thank you so much for coming on Money Wise. I'm excited. The second episode. For those listening. She's been on Money Wise before, so this is kind of like a. A ret. Return of the king or queen. As you. As you will. So this is going to be great. Thank you for joining.
- [02:00]
A
Yeah, let's see what's the same and what's changed.
- [02:02]
B
Yes, let's see. And congrats to your Knicks teams. It's so cool. You told me you just flew up to New York for the last game. When this airs, a lot more will maybe have occurred. So let's cross Our fingers.
- [02:14]
A
I'm just gonna predict it. Congrats to the Knicks on winning the championship.
- [02:20]
B
Let's speak it into reality. That's exactly right. What does that look like for flying up for the games?
- [02:27]
A
Yeah. So to New York, it's super easy for us. So we, we definitely have flown our fair share of. Of private, but it's honestly not any easier. So we'll just fly commercial. Like the Delta out of Miami, the gate. I don't know if anybody's flies Delta out of Miami, but it's like literally you walk right through clear, and, and we're within our gate in like 10 minutes, so it doesn't get any faster. The only reason I fly private is if I can't get somewhere direct like North Dakota, which is where I' just the flight times don't work. And that's just not the case from Miami to New York or LaGuardia. So super easy. And then of course, you know, the Knicks tickets are not, not cheap these days. And if I'm going to go all that way, I'm, I'm. I want to sit in good seats. I want to see the action. So we have, gosh, what have we spent so far? We've gone to three games ourselves. We've brought four people with us, and then I sent two people. So I think it's around like 340 grand we've spent on the Knicks so far in the playoff season.
- [03:34]
B
That's wild. Do you go watch the Knicks when they're not in the playoff season or. So you're just a fan.
- [03:41]
A
Every year polishing in my, you know, $5,000 tickets that I'll spend on that seems like nothing. But it's funny, you know, Dan, like, as we've purchased, you know, I look at seats now, I'm like, oh, they're only 50 grand. It's so how fast it happens. Once you spend it once, it doesn't feel like that big of a deal, you know, to do it, to do it again.
- [04:02]
B
There's an important distinction here. Ann is not saying to spend recklessly. What she's describing is something very specific. When you actually have money and you refuse to spend it, you're actively working against yourself. The ceiling doesn't move on its own. You have to move it deliberately. She calls it the expensive ceiling. And the reason it matters is that people listening to the show have probably made more money than they've ever spent. And Ann's argument is that that gap between what you make and what you let yourself spend is actually A problem that you can solve is why I
- [04:36]
A
always tell people when they start to step into money, you have to up your expensive game. And I'm really glad I've been doing that because otherwise you just hang on and you strangle money and you don't spend it even though you can afford it.
- [04:49]
B
What Ann said about not spend money even when you can afford it is the type of thing we hear in Hampton all the time. It's a community for founders who have private conversations you'd never hear out in public. A lot of them are doing 25 million or more in revenue. And when you're in a room with other people who've been through it, it gets a lot easier to actually talk truthfully about some of the different struggles you have with your money and your company. If you own a company or you've had a meaningful exit, check it out@joinhampton.com
- [05:16]
A
so I know for some people that might sound absurd, but it's all a relative game and it's no different. Someone may look at your life and be like, I can't believe you spend a hundred dollars on a pair of jeans. Well, you do it because you can afford it. You meet that calculation. And I owed it to myself to do the same thing.
- [05:34]
B
Yes, absolutely. No, that's. You do owe it to yourself. And then people like me get to hear all about the game. First person experience. Last time you come, you came on money wise, you told us about your 88 or ish million dollar exit. You were spending about 200 to 300,000amonth and it's been two years. So tell me what's changed in your life in those two years and walk me through some of those numbers now.
- [05:57]
A
Sure. So net worth today is right around like115,120, depending on the day of the market. Last couple days have been a little. Last few days have been a little rough. There's a little uptick. But you know, my market, my, my day can have a seven figure day, you know, in either direction. And if the market's going up and there's a few of those in a row, you know, it does, it does make a difference. Which is, which is why I never get hung up either way. It's like you just, you just give it time. So majority of that is in public equities still, I have found that is my number one place where I like to park my money for several reasons. I'll get into in a second. So there's. I wrote these down for you so I wouldn't screw them up. But there's about 65 million in public equities today. There's about 8 to 10 million in hedge funds, 22 million in real estate. Most of that in our primary. Our primary house here. 12 million in private equity, 2.6. Between art, jewelry, and some bitcoin. I don't have a lot of bitcoin, which is a good thing. And then 10 million or so in private. Yeah, sorry. 12 million in private equity and 10 million in private investments.
- [07:17]
B
Very cool. And so you said most of the real estate investments, your primary home, how much, give or take, is that?
- [07:22]
A
Yeah. So the house is probably worth about 15 million now. We bought it for a little under 12, 2 1/2 years ago. Really nice area that's continuing to, you know, appreciate down in Pine Crest. It's crazy how much construction is happening here, but. So Pine Crest is about 25 minutes from Miami. You get a little bigger lot. The schools are excellent out here, so anybody who wants a little bit more space. And you'll. You may laugh at this, but a big primary driver for buying this house was. It was big enough to put a beach volleyball court in the backyard because I play every day, and I didn't want to be inconvenienced. That's one thing that has remained the same, is I will throw money at convenience, no problem. To make sure I can do the things that I want to do. Hence a housekeeper, a night nurse. You know, anything that improves my quality of life is the best use of money that I continue to spend.
- [08:21]
B
Yeah. And congratulations on becoming a mother. That's so exciting. Congratulations.
- [08:25]
A
Yes.
- [08:26]
B
Yeah. So how has your thinking on convenience changed? Because I'm a dad myself. And what used to be convenient and inconvenient, I mean, it just. You. It rewires when you become a parent. So talk to me. Talk to me about that.
- [08:40]
A
I think it's reinforced the convenience piece for me, you know, so again, every. There's 24 hours in a day, it comes. It goes for all of us. And, you know, our house is. Is. Is decent size, and we host a lot and have people here a lot. There's volleyball players here every morning. So there's just a lot to. To take care of. And also, Brett and I, you know, we really don't go out to eat and order food much. We like to. To have our food cooked at home, go to the farmer's market and all that stuff. So when you think about grocery shopping, prepping food, doing dishes, laundry, you know, there's blowouts two to three times a day. Some days for not me or Brett, but for the baby. And, you know, it just, it's a lot to take care of. Plus, when there are guests here, you know, the towels, the sheets, it's. You can see how you could spend 40, 50 hours, which is what our housekeeper spends per week, you know, supporting us to be able to do the things we want to do. Today has kind of been my perfect day, and I'll run you through it. I got up at 5:45 this morning. You know, I let the night nurse go who leaves at 6. My son wakes up right around then. So I get, you know, 6 to 7, 7:30 with him. And then my housekeeper Jacqueline comes and I go to the gym. So I went to the gym for about an hour and a half. Crushed leg day. It's somewhere now in Miami. So the gym is empty, which is amazing. So that was awesome. I did a investment call on my way home from the gym, came home, did a call about my book, which will hopefully be coming out early next year. And then I have volleyball training from, you know, 11:30 to 1:30. That ended, spent more time with my son, did another legal call for an investment and then had a massage. And now I'm doing this podcast with you and then I get to watch the next play. Like, to me, that is a 10 out of 10 day. I got almost four hours of activity. I'll probably take my dog Ruby for, you know, a walk at some point too. And it's like the best. I'm super content and happy right now.
- [10:44]
B
That's so cool. Yeah, that sounds like a great day to me. And the volleyball court being in your backyard is very cool. So I think that adds to the convenience of a perfect day like that. When you think of, I know, some of the things that have changed around becoming a parent and some of the investment portfolio, which you've already kind of broken down, down for us in the last two years. Has anything changed about the way you think of where you put that money? You mentioned a few investment calls even today. Are you doing more or less of those in the last two years?
- [11:14]
A
Interestingly enough, I am doing less. And I'll tell you one of the interesting stats. Did you read that stat? Is Jerry Buss, who owned the Blakers? I think I have that right. He owned the Lakers. I should pull this up too. But he sold, you know, I don't know if you were going to pull it up where you can see, but he sold the Lakers for a ridiculous amount. And the numbers he was staggering, you know, and then the sentence right after that was, if he just would have put it in the S and P, he actually would have made more money. Now, don't get me wrong, it's probably a lot more fun to own the Lakers and be a part of all of that. But what has, what I've learned the most over the last couple of years is my money is best in the market. And again, I like it there for several reasons. One, the returns have been great. I'm not naive to think that there's not going to be, you know, a down year or two. I got pretty lucky with the timing with selling Solid core. Beginning of 2023, it has been on a bull market. 23, 24, 25 and into 26. So far, so good. So the returns have been amazing. And I, I like that it's liquid and if I ever want to pull it out, which I haven't, I can sell some of it. You know, when you own a home, you're not selling 20% of your house to somebody, you know, one, you have to find a buyer. Two, the realtor commission, you know, which I negotiate, but still is, is, is 4 to 6%, you know, of what, of what you're selling your house for. You can do your, you know, stock portfolio on your own. I do have a financial advisor just because my taxes can be a bit complicated and they help with a lot of tax off harvesting and things like that. But, you know, I like the simplicity of it. And let's not fool ourselves here. The people and the powers that be have a vested interest in the market going up. The president, you know, anybody involved, anybody who's wealthy wants to see the market go up. And so I'm going to RSVP to that party every single time. And I'm going to, you know, make sure I get mine. And it just becomes a little bit more complicated from a private investment perspective. And I think the reflection for me, and this is not to discourage folks, but you have to look at the data, Dan. There's not a lot of private investments that go from early stage, you know, to go and having an exit like I did at Solid Core, you're, you're looking at like 1%, you know, so you have to. And I think about, you know, the journey of Solidcore. And I started that company when Pilates wasn't on every corner, and it's on every corner now, you know, so I got in at the right time. I happen to know how to scale. I have a high risk tolerance and our timing for everything, you know, worked in our favor. And I also went through two failed private equity rounds when Solidcore was doing great. But private equity finds reasons not to invest. People think it's a risky business. It's really not. Private equity guys are pretty risk averse because they lose their jobs if they make a wrong bet. You know, so they're looking, they're paid to have pessimists, you know, on their team and look for all of the things that this could go wrong if they make this investment. So it's just not a common thing. And I did what everybody else does. When you get a lot of money, you want to play in some of this fun space. And I don't know if I'll make another private investment. I'm sure I will at some point if something really comes along that I'm very passionate about and I'm doing it more so for the impact of what the business is doing, because I want to see it, you know, whether improve people's lives, health, whatever, rather than a, rather than a return. But I'm telling you, the best, the best place to park your money is in the market.
- [15:08]
B
Yeah. And when you came on the Money wise episode last time, you had a minimum threshold of like 250,000 for each check you wrote.
- [15:16]
A
Yeah.
- [15:16]
B
Now that you're writing less, are your thresholds a lot higher? Do you have a threshold or you really kind of circumstantial?
- [15:22]
A
Yeah, I do. I do the math. Right. So it's like same thing. If I don't invest at least 250 in some of the private investments, it's either going to be, as they say, a zero or you know, a 10x, maybe a 5x.
- [15:33]
B
Yeah.
- [15:34]
A
But it's also going to be a five to seven year period and a 500k check for me in five years. You know, if it 10x's and turns into 5 million based on what my port, my $65 million portfolio would do in those five years, I mean, that 65 is turning into 130. That's not improbable for that to happen. So the 5 million doesn't really mean that much. And that's only if it's a home run. So unless I'm gonna make bigger, bigger bets and say, okay, I'm gonna do a million, but, but I'm not really willing to part with it and make a, okay, I'm gonna take this million and here's a 1% chance it's gonna turn into 10. It just doesn't just doesn't add up for me and it doesn't, doesn't feel, doesn't feel smart. And don't forget that million dollars. I can't access any of it for however long. It could take 10 years, you know, so I just, I. It's just not something that, that feels again, smart to me. And I think everybody who's been in my position in the first couple years, you start to feel like you're a startup, angel investors, and that feels fun and sexy and you kind of realize the boring index funds, public markets. You know, I'll spend my time with my son Elliot, with my husband, traveling to Knicks games, playing volleyball at the gym, and I'll just let my money do the work for me.
- [16:50]
B
Yeah, and I think you're, I mean, you're spot on. Why, why take the risk of losing a million for five to 10 years if you can just let the million stay somewhere? It's making you money every month. Yeah, yeah. That's a classic way to look at it. I am interested. What does your personal spending look like with the liquid money you do have? I mean, let's, let's set the Knicks season to the side for now because that's obviously. Well, I guess you tell me. Is that a one off or are you spending that amount on basketball tickets?
- [17:18]
A
No, I'm not, but I'm not a money if I want to go do something. So, yeah, I'll give you a funny little story. You know, I romanticize about having a lake house. I had a cabin growing up and it was as modest as. I need a different word for modest and humble. Because it was probably 800 square feet. My, my family was my grandma's and it was on the tiniest river. We didn't have running water. We had an outhouse. We had to bring all like, jugs of drinking water. And I had the best time at that cabin. Like, it is my fondest, brightest rush of dopamine memories that I can remember. So every once in a while I'll get on Zillow, you know, and I'll just look at lake houses and I don't even care where they are. And I found this one in Minnesota. And we were in North Dakota visiting my family, and I'm like, babe, like, let's make a pit stop. We flew private there. I'm like, let's make a pit stop in Minnesota. Go look at this. This house on this lake, which was totally my. I mean, everything about it was like screamed my name. And I absolutely loved it. We came Back. I'm like, talking to Brett, I'm like, they just imagine the memories, all of this and all of that. And, you know, I made an offer and they accepted it. And then literally the next day, I'm like, what the f am I doing?
- [18:35]
B
I love this story because it's really, really brutally honest. Ann almost bought a lake house in Minnesota. She made the offer, she got excited, but she pulled up the next morning and realized, wait a second, I don't really want the lake house. I want to buy memories. I want to build memories with my family. And a feeling from a cabin without running water when she was a kid is what was driving this decision that she ultimately sort of regretted making and kind of tried to undo. Once she named that, the math of buying this house stopped making sense. That type of clarity is really hard to get when you have enough money to just say yes to basically anything you ever wanted.
- [19:17]
A
Like, what am I, what am I doing? I have said so often, and Brett, even my husband reminded me, he's like, and I thought you didn't want to have like a second home because we know how much a big home, you know, takes to work. But all I could get in my head was these flood of memories of having a kid. But the reality was, listen, my family's in North Dakota. It was a five hour drive for them to get there. You know, if we're lucky, we're all gonna be able to plan one week a year where everybody can be together. Cause it wasn't close or convenient. And really it was just gonna be me, Brett, and our, you know, six month old baby at that time, who's not gonna remember anything like being like, oh, this was stupid. So I still have those moments. And again, we are driven by these emotions. And that's what money can provide for us is these, you know, memories or whatnot. But I had to remind myself that, like, that this doesn't make. It doesn't make any sense. And I had a friend who also sold his business. He did the same thing. He had three to four homes within two to three years. He's like, I have one house. And he goes, I'm thinking about getting rid of that. It becomes this work and brain space that you have to manage. In Minnesota, what happens in the winter and it's snowing and the pipes, pipes are freezing. And now you're managing and you got to make sure someone's going to the house. So. So I'm telling that story because I want people to know. It's just not all logic like, we still have to keep our emotions in check when it comes to money and what the money actually means. And then back to the spending. You know, we're still averaging a spend around 2,200k. And frankly, if I have like a light month, I'll be like, I need to spend this. Like, I either give it away. It is not crazy for me to give my friends 5, 10, $15,000. They never, they've never ever. I have never had a friend ask me for money. I've never had a family member ask me for money. Like, they know that I am generous and I will give it. And obviously, if someone was in dire need and there was a crisis, you know, someone could come to me if it's my friend or family. But I forced myself, Daniel, to spend that money because if I don't, it just continues to pile up. So if, for example, we had a light month, I will, you know, give 20 grand to somebody. I will take somebody shopping or I will say, hey, let's book an experience. You know, like I was supposed to go see Dolly Parton in Vegas with my. I was like, I was going to take my mom, my sister, my sister in law, my niece, my aunt and her daughter. And then of course she canceled. But I dropped, you know, 40 grand on those tickets because I'm like, I need to spend money this month. Some people might think that that's nuts, but I think that that's how you force yourself to continue to live a life that you know, that you can afford. And so I try to this again. I know I'm in a privileged position, but I try to keep my spending at, at that level. Cause if I don't, it's just gonna stockpile.
- [22:13]
B
That's cool. So when it comes to your actual personal spending and your portfolio, where does your husband come into the mix?
- [22:20]
A
Yeah, good. Good question. I think this is really important for anybody who either has money or with somebody who has money. Brett and I met again six months before I sold Solidcore. And Brett was doing, you know, well for himself. But this was just a different stratosphere, Daniel. Like, you know, I'm about to be, you know, a nine figure net worth. And when Brett and I got engaged, it's like, okay, I know we needed a prenup and we started to talk to all these lawyers and you know, everything was about, well, what's going to happen if you guys get divorced? And I'm just like, this is so stupid. Like, I want to focus on my marriage and making sure my marriage has the Best shot possible. So instead of me planning to give Brett money, if we would get divorced, like, as some kind of consolation prize for being married to me, which, if we're getting divorced, probably is going to be acrimonious, I have to think through that. That's probably going to be the case. You know, why on earth wouldn't I just gift some money to my husband during our marriage so that he can feel on the same financial footing? Because I'll tell you what I wasn't willing to do. You know, I wasn't gonna say, okay, well, Brett, we'll just live in a house that we could afford. If we weren't factoring in my money, that would make me feel like everything that I worked for, you know, was meaningless and wasn't able to contribute to our lifestyle. But I was also asking Brett to step into living in this $12 million house, you know, upping our spending. And if he was always going to feel like he was on borrowed time, that it could be taken away from him at any moment. You know, that's sort of a tricky place to be in. So I didn't want to feel like Brett had to ask me for money or to feel like he was getting an allowance. I thought that that wasn't going to be good for our relationship. So I simply said, I'm just going to gift you some money, and if we get divorced in 10 years, I'm probably not gonna think about the money I gave you at the beginning of our marriage. I'm just probably not. So you can grow. Use this to. To. To invest. I'm here to help if you need questions, but that you have your own set of money so you feel financially secure. Cause I also didn't want him. Daniel, to be with me because of the money, you know, And I. And he didn't want me not to divorce him because I would have had to pay him money.
- [24:41]
B
Right.
- [24:41]
A
So I can tell you with full transparency, we don't. We've never thought about money. It is never something in our marriage that. Since that's happened, and we're like, great, this is what we're doing. And we also collectively share a credit card. You know, we decide, okay, Brett's going to cover this, and then, you know, this credit card is going to cover everything else. We don't have any money fights. It works really well for us. So I think if you have some disparity in your marriage, don't wait till you get divorced or think that that's going to happen. Then you have to pay it out. Give that person some financial independence in your marriage. Let them feel a little bit more financially secure and on the same level that you are. Because Brett was never going to catch up to $100 million. Like, I don't care if he knocked it out of the park. Like, it just was going to be a real low probability, especially as that money continued to grow. So that's how we solved it.
- [25:32]
B
That is the coolest way I've ever heard of someone solving that problem. So I appreciate you sharing that with us.
- [25:37]
A
Yeah, no, it's worked really, really well. Highly advise it.
- [25:41]
B
All right, money wise listeners, quick reality check. It's that time of year when you catch yourself thinking, why didn't I start earlier? We knew summer was coming. It always does. And if you keep doing what you usually do, you'll blink and it'll be New Year's again. Same story, same body, same excuses. That's why today's sponsor is Daily Body Coach. Daily Body Coach is a premium online coaching service for ambitious entrepreneurs and executives who want their body to perform at the same level. As their training is built around your schedule, nutrition is built around your specific needs. There are clear targets and clear metrics. And most importantly, there's no guesswork, just science and a multidisciplinary team covering training, nutrition, and the psychology behind behavior change. Daily Body Coach is run by Anthony Monica, who's a Hampton member himself. And in fact, a bunch of other Hampton members are using it and have been showing great results. Yes, you'll look better this summer. Leaner, stronger, sharper. But the real win is that you'll stop carrying a body that's taxing your energy, confidence, and longevity. If you're serious about fat loss, muscle gain, and building a body that supports your standards, don't think about it. Don't bookmark it, don't push it to Monday. Click the link in the description and I'll hook you up with Anthony directly. Check out dailybodycoach.com moneywise. That's dailybodycoach.com Moneywise. In the last episode you mentioned, just from compound interest alone, you'll be a billionaire by the time you're 70, give or take, I guess. Two questions is one, is that still the case? And two, is that something that causes fear of, oh, only a billion or. No, that's still the comfortable number.
- [27:25]
A
Yeah, there's definitely not any fear in that number at all. And, you know, no, I'm trying. I frankly should pick up my spending because I don't really have any desire. There's no status I could care less about. I couldn't care less about being a billionaire or on some list or anything like that. And you know, I just made an Instagram post about this because people get so hung up on more like as we get older, you should be wiser as you get older, you should be wealthier or if you're lucky enough to be in a category, you know, and sell your company for, you know, whether it's high eight figures or be in the nine figures, you know, at some point. And I make this silly example, Daniel, but what if you met somebody who had 120 million apples and they're like, what are you doing today? I'm trying to go get more apples. You'd be like, you guys insane? Why, like, why don't you just, yeah, you have and frankly share with some other people who can't find any apples or are, you know, so I, it's like if you take the word out. So I just don't want to be one of those people where my self worth or my worth to other people is like, oh, now you're worth this or that. So that's where what I mean when I say I force myself to, to spend it, especially when the market is, is doing really well, you know. So if you think about the portfolio, you know, even the 65ish million, I'm pretty risky with that money. Like I'm not just in index funds. I do have individual stocks. Last time we talked about Nvidia and I have like $15 million of Nvidia. Now I still think it's well priced. I think it's like 205 or something. Today I am a buyer. Today even I will still throw, you know, 100, 200 grand more. I tell people I still think it's an attractive price based on the price to earnings ratio. But a lot of people would be like, you don't need to have individual stocks. I'm like, but I'm, I'm betting against the betting on the biggest companies, you know, in the world. So my portfolio, you know, easily does 15, has done easily 15 to 20%, you know, over the last few years. So yeah, yeah, I just, like I said, I'm not going to be a fool and let myself get hung up on this number continuing to go up when I only have so many lives to, to live. Right. I'm not going to live forever. At least technology isn't out there yet. And you know, we talked about having kids and I don't know how you feel, but I Have to figure that out because I'm a new mom and obviously my baby can't even talk yet. But you know, I don't plan on leaving millions to Elliot or any of my kids. I don't know my strategy quite yet. I do have a will and a lot of that is going to to charity. I'm not leaving a ton of money behind to family. And I still really adopt the die with zero mentality, which is I'm giving my money to my family now. My sister and brother are pretty much the same age I am and you know, if I live to be 99 or 100 and they live to be 98, well what the hell do they need $5 million for then? It doesn't really make any sense. And so I also will take them on vacations. I always pay for plane tickets. We get together every Thanksgiving. I fly everybody down to Miam Me. I'm like, you're not, you're not save your money for something else, but you're not spending it on this. So I'm trying to not have too much delayed gratification in my life.
- [30:51]
B
I think that's really a powerful way to live. I mean, just even going back to the day you described, the perfect day, is that how every day do you kind of aim for that or is, you know, what's a typical week look like?
- [31:04]
A
Yeah, it's so interesting as we think about different versions of ourselves. In my book that again I mentioned hopefully will come up beginning of next year, there's this girl that I was writing about, you know, in, in college and you know, I had this plan. My whole book is called Outsmart the Odds. And I was like, I have to do things so differently than other people in order to get ahead and to be noticed and to stick out. And that's really worked in my favor. But in college I had this grandiose plan of like, I'm going to graduate in three years, everybody does it in four. I'm going to do it in three. It'll give me a leg up up when I'm in an interview. And so I can remember every 15 minute increment of every day of my college experience was planned out. And you can ask my roommates that like I was insane. It was like taking a shower, driving to class, going to finding parking. Like I had to be that maniacal because there was no other way I was gonna do 21 credits every single semester with no summer school. Cause I was doing internships, you know, and be able to get that done. And Then I think about just the execution and operations that needed to take place to grow back on my feet in Solidcore. And it was a lot of the same thing. Like, I did not mess around with energy. Like everything I put into. What's the ROI on this? Do I need to be here? Is this a $10,000 decision or a million dollar decision? And interestingly enough, you know, my husband Brett, we met in August 2022. So I had already, you know, moved into the executive chair role of Solidcore, and I wasn't the CEO anymore. And then I sold it, you know, six months later. He's never really seen that girl. You know, I have been much more in my feminine in our relationship than in my masculine.
- [32:54]
B
I've talked to a lot of people on the show who have had massive exits, and they all share in one form or another, this sake of identity where they've spent 10 or 15 or 20 years being the founder of that company. And when they sell, they don't really understand what their identity is anymore. They don't know exactly where it fits. Ann is one of the few people I've talked to who seems to have really solved this problem rather than just powered through it. The volleyball court in her backyard is not just a flex. It's an answer to a real problem in her life that money lets her solve.
- [33:27]
A
And I sort of like, can I remember her? But she's. She's really not present in my life right now. I love waking up and being like, what do I want to do today? I actually need that a couple days a week. And frankly, if I have too many calls on my schedule, like, I just cancel them. I'm like, I need to move this to next week, even if I don't have anything else planned, because I don't want the structure of having to sort of sit down for five hours a day and be on calls or be on zooms. That's what the money's for. That's why I have money, so I didn't have to do that. And so it's the same question that people say, are you going to start another company? And my immediate answer is like, no. Like, maybe in 10 years, who knows? I'll never try to predict the future, you know, that far down the road. But all starting a company is living the same life that I've already lived a couple times. Because while Back on My Feet was a nonprofit, it was still the same, you know, level of tenacity required to build and scale that across the country. That was required of me. For Cellar Core. And it was a lot of time sitting, a lot of time in meetings, a lot of time on the phone, and I don't want to have the same chapter lived on repeat. Like, that doesn't sound a great use of the limited time I have on this earth. So I am in my volleyball era. I literally will not take a call when I normally. I went to the gym this morning, but normally I have volleyball from 7am to 10am that's, like, off limits for volleyball. It's off limits for time with Elliot. Like, the housekeeper and the nanny will be here. And I'm like, this is Ann's son. Unless, obviously, he's sick. But, you know, other than that, I don't make exceptions to that role. In the other question. Nam. When I speak, and I speak to a lot of entrepreneurs, you know, and I'm like, all right, what's your guys's number? And 1. Most people haven't thought about that, right? Their number is more. Or if someone does give me a number, they're like. They say, like, oh, 100 million. And I'm like, okay, cool. Like, so what's your monthly spend? And they're like, yeah, I don't know. I'm like, well, then why do you need 100 million? Well, that's just. That's going to be enough. And I'm like, enough for what? You know, they can't grasp their arms. And it's because we put somebody's value of importance on how much money they've made in their life and what their net worth is. And, like, I'm not. I'm not a paragon here. And I'm not, like, acting like, I didn't do that. I did the same thing. My number for Solid Core was a hundred million. Not because I thought about any of those things, but it's because nobody could then debate if I was smart enough, if I was talented enough, driven enough, resilient enough, and I was an incredible entrepreneur because I did it twice. And I needed that. I needed the emotion, the public applause, the. Yeah, that's right. But the hundred million had nothing to do with the number that I factored in for the lifestyle choices that I made. And I test myself because I'll say, like, okay, what if, like, Miami came and knocked at my door, the police and said, hey, ma', am, you know, we've decided that volleyball courts are no longer permitted in backyards, and if you want to keep yours, you need to write a check to the city of Miami for 10 million. I'd be like, okay, yeah, do it.
- [36:52]
B
Why not?
- [36:52]
A
You're not going to take something from me that I do three hours a day, there's. And do what? So I have an extra 10 million I can look at on the screen, like, yeah, you know, so those are little games I play with myself, Daniel, to try to figure out what something means to me, how much something is, Is. Is worth. And it's a game worth doing for yourself because otherwise you'll end up with up trading 5, 10, 10 years maybe for money that you actually realize you don't even need. And you spent hours doing something that didn't involve swimming in a pool with waterfalls with your kids.
- [37:29]
B
Yeah, I mean, it's. That is wisdom I'm going to carry with me. Because you're right. I mean, you're absolutely right. I think a lot of people have ideas of numbers, but backing into it doesn't actually add up. And so it's a question worth thinking about. I wanted to ask publicly, you mentioned 2025 being a very difficult year. Can you tell me why that is and walk me through some of the reasons behind that being a difficult year in your Life?
- [37:56]
A
I think 20. So I actually started another company after Solidcore, before Solidcore even sold, called Ambition.
- [38:05]
B
This is one part of Ann's story that wasn't on the last episode. After her solid core company sold, she'd already actually launched a new fitness company called Ambition in new. There were multiple locations. She had a real team, a real raise, but she shut down the entire thing. What she's about to tell you is not the version of Ann that most people know. It's the one she usually spins as a win because she never has a bad day. But this is a different version and I think it's really useful to hear from her words.
- [38:34]
A
And it's so funny when we look back at some of the decisions we make, like some of my hairstyles, I was like, what? But this was one of those things where I was like, man, I'm really. I've really figured out this in person experience game. I understand fitness. No one gets it like I do. You know, it'll be so easy for me to do this again. And so I start this company. The idea was, you know, we would put three to four concepts in one underneath one roof. Because everybody was running around for these particular experiences, bespoke experiences in New York. I'm like, why not just. Just put them together and do them all really, really well. And you know, this. I raised a little bit of money. This company Starts going. And I. I feel like I'm having many panic attacks. And I'm like, not somebody. This was. This was in 2023. And I'm not somebody who has panic. I'm not an anxious person whatsoever. And I can feel it in my body that it's like, rejecting this. And all of the same issues and problems from the beginning of Solid Core started to happen. You know, we frankly had some landlord spaces that needed. There was mold. There was, like, things that got uncovered. Change of use, space that landlord said wasn't going to be an issue ended up was being an issue. We had plumbing, like, actual feces coming up in one of our. I mean, it was just like. It was insane. And I'm like, what am I doing? Like, am I. And halfway through, you know, I started this thing, and a couple months later, Solidcore sold. And I'm like, am I really willing to live the next 10 years of my life, you know, building this thing, knowing what it took at Solidcore for what? Even if I do it again and make another hundred million, am I willing to trade 10 years of my life to have the same story written again? Like, what am I trying to prove? And so, you know, end of 20, end of 23, like, I ended up shutting. You know, I shut the whole thing down. And 2024, Landlord continues. Issues, legal stuff, like, all of that stuff just ended literally a month ago. So it was this remnants from this bad decision that I made out of, like. It's like, I feel like I'm. Like, I should have. It's. I have these weird things where, like, I should have known better. And I'm really grateful I went through that right after Solidcore and I didn't make the mistake three years later or something, because I feel like I got it out of the way and gave me all of this wisdom to be able to know now, like, I want my life to have all these beautiful different chapters. I don't need to do that again. I'm not gonna build, you know, another company in my foreseeable future. And I get to really spend my time on the things that I'm, you know, highly enjoying. So having that all behind me at this point is like, a huge sigh of relief.
- [41:39]
B
I loved your episode two years ago. And hearing you talk now, it just feels like you've grown. Ten years in wisdom in the last two years.
- [41:50]
A
No, just kidding.
- [41:50]
B
Yeah, you haven't. You look great. I do wonder, what would you tell yourself if you went back two years? If you had a crystal ball and you you were right there during the exit. Knowing what you know now, how would you change your thinking? What would you tell yourself to do differently?
- [42:04]
A
You know, it's always so hard to answer those questions because then I wouldn't have the wisdom, you know, that I. That I have today. Like, you have to go through some of that stuff. But, you know, again, I think call, like, after getting that offer accepted on the lake house, the old Ann would have been like, great, we're doing it. You know, like, I can be a little impulsive on things like that, but, like, that memory of ambition was like, wait a minute, let's really think about what this means. And Ann, if you. If. If you're trying to solve for having your family together for a week, why don't you rent a beautiful lake house for a week? That way you're all gonna, like, you know, it's a limited amount of time, you know, so it's. It's like I have that knowledge and the wherewithal to be able to make more rational decisions around money and lifestyle that that experience gave me. It was an expensive lesson because I paid back investors, you know, a good amount of the money. I did pursue legal action against the architects and, you know, landlords, and that took some time and energy, but I felt it was the, you know, the right thing to do. But, yeah, I'm. I'm not going to say that I. That I regret it. And it does take a while, Daniel, after having that amount of money, because, again, I got caught up in it, too. Like, I think I was still caught up and right away of like, oh, this amount has to go up. Like, it makes me feel smart if the accounts are going up, especially when you're not. When you're not working and you don't. I wasn't opening, like, 10 solid core studios in three months. So I started to put my professional worse in how I was making this money turn into more money. And I had to stop doing that, too, because it was getting a little obsessive. So having Elliot now, you know, is definitely a. I focus less on that knowing, like, I know what the numbers say. We have more than enough to be spending 3 to 400 grand, you know, a month. If I really wanted to get that number down, you know, to zero. By the time I was. Even if I did that, there's still money left over, but, like, I just have these other beautiful things to focus on. My son, my marriage, volleyball, working out, you know, the book. And weirdly enough, like, social media, when I put some of the Content out there. Like, I love that it's helping people so much. I love that people find value in, you know, the journey that I've been on, being an entrepreneur, sharing some of that stuff, getting to speak on stages. I feel like I'm in this teaching era where I had my party, I've had and be celebrated, all of those things. And now it's my turn to support in whichever way, whether it's advising, speaking, writing the book for people to be able to try to help them on their own journey of entrepreneurship, at least.
- [44:59]
B
I want to ask one final question. If you and I both just get hit by a car tomorrow and leave this earth, what does Ann want to be remembered for?
- [45:09]
A
Oh, wow. I probably think. I probably think two things. Maybe one. One is that, like, oh, she went for it. Like, you know, that's the message I would love. My niece is here with me for a month, you know, and it's already cool to hear her be like, I'm gonna eat like this when I go home, because she's eating real food. She's eating like, you know, we cook again. Everything is sort of here. And she's like, I feel so good. And so that sort of impact and her watching me go to the gym, play volleyball, and know that I'm 45 and, like, not slowing down at all. So I think, like, oh, you know, again, Anne went for the things that she was important to her, and she never let anybody, you know, tell her what she could or couldn't do. And I think the second piece is probably, you know, the generosity. I know that I'm a generous person, and I try to inflict that on as many people as I can. And I always try to say, if you are on the receiving side of someone's generosity and, you know, you're not paying it forward, like, you're. You're a taker, not a giver. And I don't care how much you have. I don't care if you have a dollar. You could probably give 5 cents of that, you know, to somebody else. So I try to encourage people to just hoard and really, like, oh, you know, like, we gave away two Knicks tickets literally last week to one of the playoff games.
- [46:40]
B
And so cool.
- [46:41]
A
It was, you know, awesome. It was a mom and her and her kid and her little boy was just, you know, crying overjoyed. The tickets were crazy expensive, you know, and that felt better than us going. Than us going to the game. So that's probably the. The. The second thing, what I love most
- [46:59]
B
about doing this show is that we always end up somewhere. I personally didn't really expect we'd end up. I came in to talk about $115 million portfolio and Knicks tickets, which were awesome. But we ended up talking about generosity and what Ann wanted to leave behind. Those are the types of conversations that we hear in Hampton all the time. It's an amazing community for people doing 3 million or more in revenue or who have had an exit of 10 million or more previously and on average people are doing like 25 million. Uh, it's really an amazing place to talk to like minded people. If this is your world, I highly recommend you check it out@joinhampton.com Generosity is so infectious too. And so I think you're right. If you give someone money, they'll give money, they'll give money and it's just never ending. Train. I think that's so cool.
- [47:46]
A
Everybody woke up today and said it's. I mean there should be like, I know there's a giving day but like national generosity day of buy somebody's lunch, coffee if you can afford it, pay somebody's mortgage bill. And if everybody just did that like, yeah, as often as they could and we all stopped thinking about ourselves so much, man, the world would be a much happier and more optimistic place. So yeah, yeah, it would.
- [48:13]
B
And this has been an amazing episode. I'm gonna have to go back and listen to this one a second time just because I feel like I know I'm gonna put it on right on my AirPods and listen away. But an thanks so much for coming back on money wise. I think a lot of people are really going to enjoy this episode.
- [48:29]
A
Well, thank you and thank you for taking time out of your time with your family and hopefully get right back to and, and enjoying it because as they say, no one ever says like, oh, I wish I sat in front of my, my computer more. So soak it all in.
- [48:42]
B
I will. Thanks so much and talk soon.