John: Welcome to Episode 29 of the Green Apple Podcast. It’s overwhelming how many of you have already done my anonymous research survey at greenapplepodcast.com and we thank you so much, this really helps me legitimize the book I’m writing. And if you haven’t done so already, it only takes 60 seconds to do so it would be super cool if you could take some time and do that for me.

Now let me introduce this week’s guest, Rebecca Berneck, maybe the craziest guest we’ve had on the show so far. She races vintage motorcycles, how cool is that. And when she’s not racing she’s the founder and big head of Officeheads, where she provides financial management and strategic coaching to small creative and professional service companies. And prior to that, she spent 15 years as the business manager at RNW Consulting in Chicago.

So, Rebecca, what made you come up with the name, Officeheads?

Rebecca: So I realized that I was 15 years with my strategic consulting firm and they actually let me go. Why did they let me go, because I worked myself out of the job, everything was running like a top I had nothing to do any more. So I was sitting around going “Okay, I’m going to do for small businesses what I did for this small business with all the learnings that I had.” And so I just really thought I would just hang out a shingle and just be a freelancer.

So I called my buddy, his name is Don Reed, he is a standup comedian, producer, writer, and a big guy in LA, and actually he was the warm-up comedian for the Jay Leno Show for many, many years. So I gave him a call and I said “Oh, I should have a company name, I need a tagline, I don’t know what I want to do” and so for three days we just had emails back and forth of this really crazy, just throwing creative stuff all over the place. Some of them were horrible, some of them were awesome, most of them were taken because I go and do a Google search, and through all of that Officeheads started to bubble up and I said, “Oh, darn it, that belongs in a side of a bus, in a bench, it’s such a great name. Now I can’t just be a freelancer, I have to have a company.”

John: Yeah, now you’re using your strategy back on yourself. That’s like some Jedi mind trick, that’s so great, that’s amazing.

I actually have a really good friend, Jimmy Brogan, who was a writer for Leno for many years and still does the Comedy & Magic Club with Jay every Sunday, so I’m sure that they’re good friends. Actually, I’m going to see Jimmy in about a month so I will definitely ask about it.

Rebecca: Well, I’ll give Don Reed a call. We’re both so busy we never get to call, it was usually just little things on Facebook we go “hey, hey, hey.” So maybe I’ll give him a call, this will give me a reason to give him a call.

John: Yeah. It’s a small world out there, that’s for sure.

Rebecca: Indeed.

John: That is so great. And it’s such a huge leap to go from safe corporate job to out on your own, so good for you for taking that leap.

Rebecca: Thanks. Well, it was kind of like the momma bird having to kick the baby bird out. I think I was hanging on longer than I needed to and they kicked me out which was like the best thing that could have happened. And it took maybe a couple of weeks for the fog to clear because I never thought I wouldn’t be working there. And it was funny because I said, you know, it’s going to be so much easier to start a business than to update my résumé and go shaking hands and telling people how awesome I am and how they should hire me. So that was one of the reasons throughout that. Oh, it’s going to be so much easier eight years later.

John: Right, because it’s easier just to put the sign out, that’s fine. Yeah, I’ve got a domain name, we’re going to do this. And you’re like “Oh, my gosh, now what? I don’t know what up is, I don’t know where down, like I’m just floating around…” I know the feeling, yeah, and it’s so funny too because people are like “How do you break out?”, I’m like “It’s way harder over a year, trust me on this.” It is so hard, that’s why the whole people that are like “Follow your passion”, no, do not follow it, keep it as a hobby, it’s so hard to do this as a job, like I don’t want to be reason why you quit.

Rebecca: Well, but no, no, no. Okay, I’ll challenge you and this will be good. I believe you have to have a passion because if you aren’t passionate you don’t have the drive and the energy to put into making what it is that you’re trying to build. Because if you’re just like “Oh, well, I think that I will purchase a franchise sandwich shop” but that’s not your passion, it’s going to be yet another job.

John: No, I agree 100% on that, I agree. It’s just a lot of people that–

Rebecca: It doesn’t mean it’s easy.

John: Yeah, a lot of people that have a hobby and that’s their passion which is great but to make it your job, like wow, that’s hard, that’s where that leap is. But I agree, you can’t make that leap if you’re not passionate about it because you have to live and breathe it every day all the time or else… because every day you get punched in the face by somebody. I mean, somebody doesn’t return a call, somebody doesn’t want your service, somebody doesn’t like what you’re doing, like every day.

Rebecca: Ouch, I know it’s like owwie.

John: Yeah, and so eventually you just get numbed to it. Oh, well…

Rebecca: I think, too, one of the biggest not fears but the risks of taking your hobby that you’re passionate about and throwing it as a business, that it’s no longer fun anymore because it takes all the fun and the joy out of it. There you go, you don’t want to do it anymore because someone’s punching you in the face.

John: Pretty much, it’s like “Well, this was better when I could go back to work”, it’s like ugh. But I’m sure that, I mean obviously running Officeheads takes up a lot of time but you have one of the coolest passions that I’ve come across. So yeah, tell everybody what do you love doing on the nights and weekends when you have some free time.

Rebecca: Well first of all, free time, what’s that again?

John: Right, when you pretend —

Rebecca: What I try to shove in as much as possible is racing vintage motorcycles.

John: Oh, man, that is so awesome. And there’s pictures on greenapplepodcast.com that people can see. And so how did you get into racing vintage motorcycles?

Rebecca: Because I don’t know how to say no and it’s not that it’s a problem of not saying no but… I have so many colorful stories of my entire life but this one here is I bought a Vespa 15 years ago because it was fun and then I saw a girl on a motorcycle and then I said, “That looks cool.” So then I bumped up to a motorcycle and I think motorcycles are more beautiful when you can see through them so that’s the older bikes. So I bought a 1975 Honda. And then I ran into a group here in Chicago called ChiVinMoto, Chicago Vintage Motorcyclists, and the most passionate — ha-ha, here’s passion — people about wrenching, riding, and racing vintage motorcycles.

And so maybe eight months after I got my bike, never rode a motorcycle before, I was on a track, not racing but just on the track to kind of boost up my skills, and everybody’s like “you know, Rebecca, you’re going to race, you should race, you got to race” and I’m like “Okay!” So before you know it I had my mentor building me a custom motorcycle which is — I love that motorcycle, and I started to road race which is yeah, I’ve dragged my knee once. It was a very important day, I was hanging off the bike and I was able to drag my knees.

John: Wow! That is crazy, you’re like an astronaut, like this is so cool, this is just so exciting. That’s fantastic!

So what might be one of the coolest or most rewarding thing that you’ve done from racing?

Rebecca: Okay, so I have to take it a little step further. So I’m road racing, right, next you’ve got a bunch of people on the track, you’re leaning left, taking turns and you’re trying to win. And a buddy of mine who is a BMW enthusiast, he has many, many really gorgeous old vintage BMWs, he started looking in land speed racing which is different. Road racing is about the rider, land speed racing is about the machine, you’re trying to get the machine to go as fast as possible.

So he’s got this 1954 BMW R25/3 and it’s stuck and so I started– he says, “Hey, Rebecca, have you ever thought of land speed racing?” “No, what’s that?” boom! and before you know it I’m land speed racing. So we started on asphalt, we were in North Carolina, we’ve been in Ohio with ECTA, they sanction races there. But the coolest thing I’ve ever done is land speed race at the Bonneville Salt Flats and get records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. My whole land speed race, that’s got to be the coolest thing.

John: Wow! Yeah, that’s unbelievable. So how fast were you going?

Rebecca: Again, it’s about the machine. Now this is a production bike 1954, it was made to go 60 miles to go and it was sort of like the family bike back then. You could stick a sidecar on there and everybody sort of commuted, it was the normal bike. It was built to go at 60 and so I got it to go 81 on asphalt and 78 on the Salt. So it’s not so much the speed, again, it’s about making that machine go fast.

John: Yeah, no, you’re going 81 miles an hour out in the air. That’s crazy. I don’t care if it’s about the machine or whatever, you’re not in a car with a seatbelt on.

Rebecca: No. And a 1954 motorcycle doesn’t have a lot of good shocks and I’m going down on even though the Salt Flats are flat but they’re still crunchy and I’m going 80 miles an hour and that thing is bucking me, it does not want me on there. It’s also about aerodynamics. So I’m in my tuck and I got my butt up, my elbows in, my toes in, my knees in, they say get under the paint so I’m like “Uhh”, and this thing is going, “What are you doing? Just trying to kick me out and it’s painful.

John: Right. That’s when you’re like “I should just be in the office right now,” like this is crazy. No, of course not.

Rebecca: No, I would never say I should be in the office, I still would rather be doing that.

John: That’s true, that’s true. So even with the bucking, that’s how passionate it is. That is so fantastic.

Rebecca: It makes for a great story and wonderful memories and you get off you go “Ouch!” It was awesome.

John: But who else has done that, I mean, nobody, that I know. You know tons of people probably because you’re in that circle but you don’t come across people every day, they’re like “Oh, yeah, I was doing 81” or whatever I did, “78 on the Salt Flats.” It’s like you what? How the heck?

So how many bikes do you have now?

Rebecca: Really, you’re going to ask that question? So when I was doing all of this, when I first started racing I was single. And then I met my now-husband land speed racing so the most motorcycles I’ve had in my garage was five but I realized I really don’t need five so I kind of made… I think I sold one or two. But between the two of us, I believe now the number is 22.

John: Whoa, wow!

Rebecca: I told him the maximum was 20 and he snuck in a couple. I don’t know how that happened.

John: And I’m sure you’re okay with that, you just turned a blind eye.

Rebecca: Except for I don’t want to be that family that has the cars and the motorcycles in the front. I live right outside of Chicago, there’s not a lot of garage space here.

John: Yeah, that’s true, that is funny. Wow! But no, that’s so great, I think that that’s fantastic. And so when it’s road racing is that literally on like a closed road course is it on kind of like a race track?

Rebecca: Oh, yeah.

John: So you’re just on regular roads.

Rebecca: No, no, no, no, it’s a race track, I’m sorry. I would say my favorite, what is my favorite track, because I’ve not been to Laguna Seca, I don’t want to race Laguna Seca, that scares the hell out of me. But I would say that probably Barber Motorsports Park which is in Birmingham, Alabama, is gorgeous track, gorgeous facility and it’s really beautiful and wonderful.

John: Okay. That’s great.

Rebecca: See, I have colorful stories and we don’t have to go down this road too far but I also sing the national anthem at all of my road races that I attend and so I would say that the largest “audience” that I have had when I sang the national anthem was at Barber Motorsports Park during their Vintage Motorcycle Festival and I think there were 70,000 people there.

John: Wow! That’s nuts! And then you get done singing and then you put the helmet on and go win.

Rebecca: Yes, yes.

John: If you live America, you’ll let me win.

Rebecca: Yeah, but I haven’t won yet. These competitive people won’t let me win.

John: Yeah! But you’re out there and you’re racing, man, that is so impressive. That’s so cool. It’s like “By the way, I also sang the national anthem.” Man, this is great! This is so fantastic. We’re going to have to sync up our schedules and I could come and watch. I’ll just be blown away. Yeah, I would just love that, just the whole time my mouth will just be open like “What? What are you guys doing? This is crazy!” And then before you know it you’ll be like “Hey, John, why don’t you just get on a bike?” and I’ll be like, “Ah!” and before you know it I’ve got 22 in Brooklyn and there’s nowhere to put them.

Rebecca: It happens. I was just telling someone yesterday, and whether it’s good or bad, there are two things that I kind of gently suggest people do — one is riding motorcycles and the other one is starting their own business. I believe in entrepreneurship, I believe in making it happen, and a lot of people who say “Oh, I don’t know how to do the back office stuff”, it’s like the scariest piece is the finances, nobody really likes the finance.” So you hire Officeheads because we can do the whole back office stuff and you can do what you’re passionate about, go, go!

John: Yeah, yes. It’s a win-win for everybody right there. That’s so cool.

So how does this come up in work, when you’re talking to clients or things like that. I know right there on your website I think it’s so fantastic, you’ve got pictures of you on the motorcycles. That has to come up in conversation.

Rebecca: It does, it’s kind of an ice breaker because, again… Well, my clients and my prospects and my leads, most people they’re afraid of the numbers. They’re like, “Oh, an accountant, and the numbers, and a P&L.” If they see that I’m… it breaks the ice, they go, “What? You race motorcycles?” and all of a sudden we’re just kind of chitchatting and it breaks the ice. So it’s a really good conversation piece.

But more important, and you know what, I wish I had the ability to take a picture of my wall. I have a wall to the right of my standing desk that is Officeheads blue and it’s got the quotes that I have heard over and over again in the pits when we’re racing that directly apply to business owners.

John: Wow!

Rebecca: The correlation between winning a race and running a business, winning the business race, there’s so many parallels. And one of these days I’ll write a book, I actually started a book, I’ve got too much to do so it’s sitting on the side. Should I read a couple of my quotes?

John: Yeah, yeah, please. I was going to ask you what are some of your favorites.

Rebecca: “To finish first you first must finish.”

John: Oh, wow, that’s like a Yoda. That’s deep.

Rebecca: These are my motorcycle mentors. How about this one, “Everyone crashes — some get back on, some don’t, some can’t.”

John: Yeah, I like that too.

Rebecca: “Look where you want to go.” Meaning don’t look back, you got to look forward.

John: Right, and have a laser focus on where you’re going, yeah.

Rebecca: “Never be ashamed to unlearn an old habit.”

John: Oh, that’s interesting, too. Yeah!

Rebecca: “It’s useless to put on your brakes when you’re upside down.”

John: That’s fantastic, that’s so good. Dial 911 when your business hurts, that’s so great. Oh., man. That is unbelievable though how much it correlates to running a business.

Rebecca: It does and these are just quotes because if I look at my experience alone and I’m sure everybody’s experiences is different, I’m more the writer, I’m not the mechanic so I need my pit crew. I need my mechanic, I need a coach to tell me my body positioning is wrong and I need to make sure that that machine, the bike, is absolutely in tip top shape because my focus should be what I’m physically doing and where I’m going. And then I align it with Officeheads. You need a financial team because you shouldn’t be fixing your bike, someone else should be making sure that your financial engine is running tip top so you as the business owner or motorcycle racer can get on and run with your laser focus on what you’re trying to do and not have to think about the machinery and the tools that you’re using.

John: Oh, man, that is so perfect, how it just marries together like that. And not only that but you have the foresight to be able to see that correlation in the moment. Yeah, that’s so beautiful and so profound, it really is. It just really shows you’ve dovetailed your hobby passion, if you will, the motorcycles, with your job of helping small businesses grow there at Officeheads. That’s the perfect example the being the green apple like that where you’re able to use your passion to jumpstart and accelerate your career and give that Officeheads a boost.

Rebecca: Well, if you love what you’re doing it’s not work, is it.

John: Right! And I’d imagine that the racing, it makes your going to work more fun when it’s like “Oh, I get to talk about racing also while I’m here, while we’re doing Officeheads work” type of things. Yeah, I love it, I think that it’s so great.

So do a lot of your clients come from the motorcycle world or are they just as excited as I am when they hear about it, like a little kid.

Rebecca: I would say they’re just as excited. Am I working with any motorcycle people, right now I am not, so they’re not motorcycle people.

John: That’s so great, yeah, so then they all think you’re a rock star, which you are. I think it’s so cool, it’s so great.

Rebecca: I appreciate that and it’s kind of funny because if ever we start chatting we talk about family and they go “Oh, you got two teenage girls, you must just be so cool now”, “No, I’m still just mom.”

John: Right. No matter what you do you’re still just going to be mom, it doesn’t matter. Deep down inside they think you’re cool but they can’t say it out loud.

Rebecca: Well, I hope.

John: Exactly. So how long have you been doing the motorcycle racing?

Rebecca: Again, I’m like I don’t know, whatever, I’ll tell it’s good so that’s my MO. So I bought my Vespa in 2002, I bought my Honda, my first motorcycle, in 2007. My first land speed race was 2010, my first road race is 2011.

John: Okay, wow, yeah! So a while but not like since you were a teenager or anything like that.

Rebecca: Right, exactly.

John: So just out of curiosity before you got into motorcycle racing was there a hobby or a passion that you shared at work or was motorcycle racing kind of the thing that cracked it all open?

Rebecca: I was a dancer.

John: Oh, there you go!

Rebecca: I was a dancer — tap, ballet, jazz. I actually with the passing of Prince, I grew up in Minneapolis in that time, I was a dancer in Purple Rain, I was a dancer in Graffiti Bridge–

John: Oh, wow!

Rebecca: Yeah. So I could dance. And it’s really interesting, maybe this is why I haven’t won yet in a road race, well, being a dancer is kind of a young person’s, that you want to be good at. So when I started to road race I finally found a replacement for dancing because I want to feel flowing and beautiful and graceful on the race track, to be able to go from the left turn to the right turn and then slide down, put your elbow out and your knee out and to look graceful and smooth, it’s a replacement for dance for me. So one would think I’d be wanting to go fast and forward, instead I want to just kind of lilt on the track.

John: Yeah, and more of in the moment and… yeah. Wow, that’s interesting, too. Holy cow! So you were in Purple Rain… look at this, like this is crazy.

Rebecca: Because I just go, “I don’t know, okay, I don’t know.”

John: It’s like “Oh, I just do back office for businesses” and then people are like “What? You were 81 miles an hour on Salt Flats, you were on Purple Rain music video?” Like what, who? That’s so cool, that is so fantastic! This is unbelievable.

So then you obviously shared some of that when you used to work in your other jobs before Officeheads, I’m sure some of that would come up. Did you find that that would help with relationships with coworkers, clients, things like that, or was it a benefit, how did that kind of play out?

Rebecca: The dance piece?

John: Dance or motorcycle, either one.

Rebecca: Well, I would tell you that both in my experience give me confidence. On the dance side, to be able to go onstage and be a dancer in a movie, you have to be confident, you can’t hesitate. Then it opens up the door for more opportunity. And so whether I’m growing this consulting firm and I didn’t ever say I can’t do it, I just went “Okay, give it to me and let me show you” and it opens up the door for a lot of opportunities.

And then if you slide that over to the motorcycle racing side, I will tell you I have never done anything in my life that is more of a confidence boost than being a on a motorcycle. You get off and you go “Look what I’ve done”, and of course the speed and the smell of the gas and the engine and it’s wonderful and you get off and the adrenaline rush is phenomenal. And whenever I race or be on the track the next month or two, it’s like there’s nothing I can’t do. It’s wonderful.

So either that’s for my clients and I can help them grow their business or it’s for my employees and I’m able to build a wonderful place to work where people are happy and love what they do, or my family, or in my relationships outside of work. It’s a wonderful…

John: Yeah, it just enhances everything.

Rebecca: It does.

John: Where if it was just work all the time then not so much. I think that that’s really cool, really cool.

Obviously, you were open to sharing even early on in your career but what might be some barriers maybe or maybe some words of encouragement for people that are just that “stereotypical” accountant that which I think is the wrong definition anyway, but you know that person that’s kind of just quiet and timid and not so sure.

Rebecca: I give a presentation called JUMP. And not being afraid to jump in any aspect of your life, but if we’re talking about the CPA who, what’s holding you back. And even if it’s standing on the hallway and talking with a group of people and you don’t make that comment, like you go “Oh, I have a comment” but you just don’t, no, jump, do it, what’s the worst thing that could happen? And not be afraid to put yourself out there and jump because opportunities are out there if you just move forward and try new things and take a risk that really, once you take them, aren’t risky because wonderful things happen when you do.

John: Yeah, that’s exactly right. Because those opportunities aren’t going to come to you when you’re sitting in your cubicle all by yourself, they just don’t come to you, you have to speak up… and yeah, I agree wholeheartedly. That’s great.

Rebecca: And if you want to pick like a business word where they say that for small business you should always be innovating, you have to be innovated, you have to be changing, you have to be making sure that you look at what’s happening out there and be innovative so that you can remain competitive in the market place. Even if you’re one CPA sitting at the desk you got to be innovative, when you need to sit there and do what’s been done because that’s what you do well then you’re going to continue to just be sitting there. If that’s what you want, okay, but I don’t know, I move fast, I think fast…

John: No, I agree, if that’s what you’re going to do then don’t complain about it. That’s the thing. It is what it is. But the thing that frustrates me is when people say “I’m not the stereotypical accountant” and it’s like I think the definition of stereotypical accountant is upside down, or stereotypical whatever, lawyer, consultant, we’re not these nerds that only do work. Look at you, for crying out loud, golly. And everyone that’s on Green Apple Podcast and all these accountants I meet all across the country and consultants and lawyers, they’re all doing some great hobbies outside of work and passions, making some really cool things. And so it’s like if there are so many of us then how’s the definition of stereotype that.

Rebecca: Right, well hey, it’s Marketing, right, you got to get the word out.

John: Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do.

Rebecca: And that’s what you’re doing.

John: We’re getting there.

Well, this has been so fantastic, we’ve all gotten to know you and I’m sure that everybody wants to line up to see this race now, this would be so fantastic. But I don’t think we can hang out until I do my 17 rapid fire questions which when you’re looking to expand and hire new people I recommend you just use this as your interview process. Not really, it probably won’t go anywhere.

Rebecca: Really? Because dang, I’m ready.

John: It’s very efficient, it’s fast, it’s not motorcycle fast but it’s fast. So here we go, 17 questions, really fast.

Sudoku or crossword puzzle?

Rebecca: Oh, Sudoku.

John: Yeah. Star Wars or Star Trek?

Rebecca: Star Trek.

John: Interesting. How about PC or Mac?

Rebecca: PC.

John: And a right click or a left click?

Rebecca: Don’t know, I kind of use them both. I’m going to say left.

John: It’s a silly question. How about a favorite sports team?

Rebecca: I’m not a sports person. Oh, wait a minute, I will pick the Minnesota Timberwolves because I hang out with them on their first year. I was hanging out going to all their games and for some reason I got behind… see, there’s another story, “Okay, I’ll hang out with the Timberwolves.” I’m going to say Minnesota Timberwolves from experiences I had 20 years ago.

John: That’s so great and they’re still a team so that makes it better. How about diamonds or pearls? I know you have a preference on that one.

Rebecca: Diamonds.

John: Balance sheet or income statement?

Rebecca: Income statement all the way, that’s the engine of the company.

John: It’s where the money’s at, right? Cats or dogs?

Rebecca: Lizards.

John: Lizards! Did you have one?

Rebecca: I used to have bearded dragons. As a matter of fact I even hatched a couple bearded dragons.

John: Wow, that’s crazy! Unbelievable, that’s so cool, very cool.

How about do you have a favorite color?

Rebecca: Orange.

John: Orange, nice, all right. And least favorite color?

Rebecca: I don’t have one.

John: Oh, all of them, great! Pens or pencils?

Rebecca: Sharpie marker.

John: Sharpie, there you go. How about movies that makes you cry?

Rebecca: I can’t think of one right off the top of my head. Sometimes commercials make me cry more than movies.

John: Do you have a favorite TV show of all time?

Rebecca: Vikings. All time probably goes back way to the day but I;m like addicted to the Vikings on the History Channel.

John: Wow! All right. How about a favorite number?

Rebecca: Three.

John: Three, is there a reason?

Rebecca: Because it’s an awesome number and it’s my birthday probably.

John: There you go. Either way, it’s all good. How about do you have a favorite animal?

Rebecca: No.

John: All right, all of them. How about favorite toppings on a pizza?

Rebecca: Oh. Pepperoni, black olive and spinach.

John: Ooh, that’s an interesting combination.

Rebecca: With thin cracker crust.

John: All right. Yeah, you’re getting hungry as you’re telling me, I could tell right now.

Rebecca: I know.

John: And here’s the last one, the favorite thing you own?

Rebecca: I would say the favorite thing I own is my street bike that my husband built me. It’s a 1975 Honda 400S with my Officeheads’ logo on it and it’s beautiful, it runs like a top, I commuted today to work on it. I think that’s my favorite thing.

John: Oh, that is very cool. Yeah, and your Officeheads’ logo, that’s great. It’s the Rebecca Berneck bike, just everything about it. Wow, that is so fantastic, so cool.

Well, thank you so much, Rebecca, for being with me on the podcast, I really, really appreciate it.

Rebecca: No, it’s my pleasure. Thank you, I really enjoyed the time.

John: I hope you really enjoyed what Rebecca had to share. You could see pictures of her racing her motorcycles and read about her land speed record by going to greeanpplepodcast.com. And when you’re there there’s links to my anonymous research survey and you can go to iTunes and Stitcher. And if you’re listening on one of those, please leave a quick review on there, I really appreciate it. Now, go out and be a green apple.