The Hot Mic @ Arch DevOps
By Michael "Fritz" Fritzius
Enjoy the listen.
The Hot Mic @ Arch DevOpsJul 16, 2020
Paul Benigeri - Helping the Nano-Influencers
Paul Benigeri recently had his company go through a name and brand change, and now they're called Archive. Their focus is to blend automation, artificial intelligence and relationship building, to help people grow their brand on Instagram through nano-influencers. We get into some cool stuff in this episode, and dig into Paul's journey as an entrepreneur. Find more about Archive by going to archive.ai
Kuda Biza - It's Nunbelievable
Kuda's cookie company called Nunbelievable is a philanthropic venture designed to help fight hunger, especially in his home country of Zimbabwe. At around 6 years old, his area suffered severe drought, and he experienced food insecurity. So, he grew up never wanting anyone--especially kids--suffering the same way. He's on his path to fix that problem now. Next time you have a cookie of any kind, remember Kuda's mission. And, find out more about his journey by going to spearmethod.com.
Antoan Rusinov - Marketing and Board Games
Guest Antoan Rusinov has a couple interesting things going on. First, he's the founder of the company Levels Up, but he also has another company called You Lead Brand, where he not only helps small business get their marketing message right, but also created a board game about business strategy. Check him out at https://www.facebook.com/youleadbrand and https://www.instagram.com/youleadbrand.
Terry McDougall - Entrepreneurship is Not for Sissies
Terry McDougall and I met up on Matchmaker, where she filled me in on all the different aspects of her coaching business. Starting her new thing up in 2017, she's carved out a unique niche of helping executives and career seekers figure out how to lead well, and what fits best in their life, respectively. She's always down to mentor her staff, and has a history of lifting others up. Listen for tips about what entrepreneurship really takes (and here's a hint: it's not for sissies!), dealing with the emotional flood that comes with starting up a business, balancing instability with stability, and more at the end. Find her at terrybmcdougall.com, or on LinkedIn too, and also check out Amazon for her book called: Winning the Game of Work. Let's get started now.
Kate Trusova - Zero Waste Lifestyle During the Pandemic
Kate and Natasha Trusova crossed paths with my wife Charlotte and I recently with our company Exactly Zero. They founded their company Kiwi Eco Box in April of 2020, right in the heat of the pandemic. It's a company whose mission is to help people adopt the zero-waste lifestyle easily, by providing a monthly subscription to receive a variety of these kinds of products at their door, sourced from all over the US. Based in Austin Texas, they saw a prime opportunity to start a company even though it was during the pandemic, because they noticed a big uptick in purchases of things that create a lot of wasteful packaging. The timing was perfect, and they're quickly growing into a company that can make a big environmental impact on the world. If you're interested in learning more about the zero waste movement, check out kiwiecobox on Instagram, kiwiecobox.com and their online store at kiwiecoshop.com. Enjoy the listen.
Purdeep Sangha - Being Distinct and Helping Businesses Help Themselves
Fellow entrepreneur, and also entrepreneur coach Purdeep Sangha joins me today to talk about his journey on the entrepreneurial path. He's learned a lot about balancing altruism with business, and why it's not terrible to raise your prices. It felt weird for him the first time he did it, but the client still said yes anyway. Making the mental switch to value-based pricing is a big part of how a business makes it in this world. There's plenty of mindset involved in it, and today's episode will help you learn more about his unique approach to helping businesses help themselves. If you're just starting on your own entrepreneurial journey--or you've been on it for awhile and could learn something new--listen into this episode. Afterward, get to know Purdeep by by visiting his site purdeepsangha.com or email him at team@purdeepsangha.com.
Robert Hall - Staying Kissable with Gummies
A good friend of mine got me introduced to today's guest, and after hearing what he's got going on, I'm sold on the mission. Robert Hall is the founder of So-B and he's answering the call to improve lip health for everyone. Every year 45 million suffer from ailments causing unsightly lip health, and growing up it affected him in a negative way. He shared with me how he started the company in October 2020 and what the journey's been like. Many of the lessons he's learned center around actively listening to customers, and finding out ways to fold in suggestions from a small segment of those customers. The real treasure, and a great way to improve your offering, is figuring out the best blend of all the data to create a wonderful experience across the whole customer base. Not many companies do this on purpose, because it's hard, but the road less travelled is the most rewarding. Find more about Robert on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn by searching for 'sobliphealth'. Enjoy the listen.
Dr. Denise Dennis - Marketing Automation the Right Way
Got introduced to today's guest by a mutual friend and former podcast guest. Dr. Denise Dennis is a marketing automation guru who started her company Action Accelerated after a surge of people kept asking her about her process and how she gets webinars set up. From there it's become a series of projects helping fellow coaches automate big chunks of their process, so they can free up more time and help more people. There's always some way to get a little more efficient and start getting a return on your time investment, especially if coaches are feeling overwhelmed. She shares with me what the journey's been like, what she's learned about herself and some principles of building the know/like/trust factor using some established tools. Dr. Denise has a heart to serve others, and has some free resources out at automate25things.com where you can find what 25 things you should automate in your process. Or reach out to her by visiting her website, drdenisedennis.com. If you're a business or leadership coach feeling like you're chasing your tail and not making much progress, might be time to get some automation in place somewhere. Let's listen in now.
Noah Pusey - Old and Busted Performance Reviews? Not Hotness with Ripple
Second-time guest Noah Pusey joins me today to catch up about what he's got going on with Ripple. Last time we talked it was clear that there's a big problem with how most companies handle performance reviews. If you've ever worked at a place where there's a week-long yearly review that leaves you feeling stressed: that's exactly what Noah and his team are working to do away with. There's so much wasted time and reactive changes when you only find out about problems a year later, and the result is a pretty stressful work environment. In catching up, we talk about what we've learned in the past year, how we've grown and what new goals are on the horizon. Got a lot of great tips for you if you're just starting out or are pretty far on your entrepreneurial journey. If you're wondering if your yearly performance review is working for you, why not take Ripple for a test drive? Head over to ripplecrew.com and see how it works. Let's get started with the show.
Amber Comadira-Smith - The Sweet Side of Entrepreneurship
Today's guest is an energetic lady who got her start in marketing years ago, and found her calling later in cake decorating of all things. It's actually another way for her to exercise her eye for design that she's refined over the years. Amber Comadira-Smith is the founder of Commie's Cupcakes, an exclusive cake decorating boutique located in Australia, and she spends her days crafting amazing work that's good enough you might not want to eat it. But you should because, well, you paid for it and that's what cakes and cupcakes are for. In this episode we talk about what it was that made her go that direction, and the struggles she had starting up her new dream, learning about leveraging social media and treating the business like a business instead of a hobby. There are a lot of sweet angles to the conversation that entrepreneurs of any experience level would learn a lot from. After listening, check out her amazing website over at commiescupcakes.com, or follow her on Instagram @commies.cupcakes. Conversation's already baking now, come on in.
Jas Rawlinson - On Unrealistic Expectations with Entrepreneurship
Jas Rawlinson and I got introduced by a mutual friend recently, and after hearing a bit of her story I was like, 'hey you gotta get on this podcast please'. One of the most frustrating things as an entrepreneur is seeing everybody on social media seemingly having it together. Making six figures, posing next to a lambo and living the life--and yet we don't know about the blood, sweat and tears that went into what looks like an overnight success. Spoiler alert: it wasn't. There's almost a fake kind of impostor syndrome that happens when we're exposed to too much of this manufactured success, which we dig into in this episode. Jas' mission in life is to help people share their own story and use it as a way to build their own business. Leveraging the idea of the 'know, like and trust' factor, sharing your own story is a sure way to get the kind of business that will last you for your entrepreneur journey. Listen in to hear her story about her original plan, how the pandemic made it go bonk, and how she recovered. She's doing some cool stuff these days. If you need help sharing your story, writing a book, getting a handle on public speaking or getting yourself out there, find her at jasrawlinson.com. Let's get going.
Jane Tabachnick - Simply Good Press
Today's guest is Jane Tabachnick, Founder of Simply Good Press. She shares with me how she describes herself as a 'recovering fashion designer' who realized the power that public relations had on her career. With strategy and a little bit of elbow grease, she found herself getting opportunities to talk with big people in the fashion space, who by then had already heard of her. She loved that aspect of the work so much that she pivoted to do that full time. Now she's helping her clients get a lot more visibility. In her career she struggled with figuring out a business model and how to get recurring revenue--which is a challenge for a lot of us too--but she's figuring it out. Constantly surrounding herself with people who have been further down the path of entrepreneurship has helped her tremendously, and it goes right in line with her advice at the end of the episode. Find Jane at simplygoodpress.com, and while you're there take her fun and free assessment to see how visible YOU are. Episode's already going, let's jump in now.
Nelly Yusupova - Putting the Horse Before the Cart
Turns out today's guest and I have a ton in common! We met on Matchmaker and after reading her bio and getting to know her a little bit I said: girl, you're in. Nelly Yusupova is a Startup Tech Advisor, helping leaders understand how to manage their technical teams, without going Full Nerd. She helps companies build out their apps and get their products to market quickly, but she flips the script on how to go about that. Rather than let companies sling their idea out and then try to find customers, she helps them do the market research first and determine if the idea is even viable. And you can believe it, an idea that's shot down is much better than spending thousands or millions of investor funds on something that just wouldn't work. Nelly's poised to help lots of companies figure out how to pull off their dreams on time and under budget. Find more about her at techspeakforentrepreneurs.com, where she hosts free classes every Wednesday, and you can learn the Lean way to build products. Or find her under the handle @digitalwoman all over social media. Let's jump in.
Hanieh Sigari - Helping others to age well, live well, & do good.
It's not often that we look back on our entrepreneurial heritage and know why it is we have the spark to start a business. But today's guest knows exactly what, and who, put that spark in her. Hanieh Sigari shared an amazing story about how growing up in Iran, her mother was incredibly influential. After nearly being executed, her mother was presented with an opportunity to help girls get back on their feet, and make a living after being taught a skill. The Iran-Iraq war happening soon after gave them plenty to work on, and each girl was paid for their work. Hanieh's mother was able to influence the lives of hundreds of girls and help them live by the work of their own hands. And that's what clinched it. Today, Hanieh is a serial entrepreneur, having started multiple ventures and taking what she's learned from each, to create a sizable enterprise focused on high grade and customized skin care. Qyral is the culmination of all the influence she's had from as far back as a young girl in Iran. What a cool mom, and what a cool story! Find more about Hanieh and Qyral by visiting qyral.com, qyralskincare on Instagram, or emailing her directly at hanieh@qyral.com. You're gonna love this story happening right now.
John Bunting - The Startup Startup
'Yo dog, I heard you like startups, so I made you a startup that helps startups startup' Reuse of an old meme here, and I'm pretty sure that's the idea that today's guest John Bunting had when founding Beeso Studios. It's a startup studio, and they partner with up and coming companies who want to scale and need guidance and many hands to help make light work. John's a pretty laid back guy but has really seen some stuff as he continues on his entrepreneurial path. He absolutely loves what he's doing and is eager to help as many viable companies as possible make it in this chaotic world we live in. If you're a startup wondering if you have what it takes, John and his team of experts will tell you. And they'll help you every step of the way. Get in contact with him by going to beeso.io, and he'll take it from there. Let's jump into the show now.
Ean Murphy - Do You Hate Numbers? Listen to This Episode
You know, one of the most stressful parts of business for a lot of entrepreneurs is looking at the books. Ugh. I mean shoot even sometimes I don't like to look at where money's going, but if you plan to have a profitable business, you probably should be at least taking a peek at it once in awhile. Ean Price Murphy is a Mastery Level practitioner of Profit First Bookkeeping, a program designed to give you full transparency and insights on where your money is going, and how to think in terms of driving more profit for your company. On today's episode we talk about the mindset that goes into creating such a business, and the effects of engineering your environment to force yourself into being more successful. It's a relaxing yet energetic mix of mindfulness, brain hacking, financing and spreadsheet, but most of all: moxie. Which is great, because that's the name of her business. If you hate numbers but know you need awesome bookkeeping, reach out to Ean by googling Moxie Bookkeeping, and find her on LinkedIn and Facebook. Let's 'pivot' into the episode now. That's a spreadsheet joke. Sounded better in my head. Anyway, here we go!
Nicholas Prouten - Hot Mic Unplugged: Crypto, Ubiquity, Precious Metals and Psychology
Jumping into the conversation, we right away started talking about cryptocurrency, precious metals, psychology and all kinds of other topics, all before I learned how to pronounce this guest's name! Nicholas Prouten and I talked about the project he's creating called Lode, and modernizing precious metals for the modern world. There's a huge movement to return to that standard because of the inherent allure of the metals, but how we buy, sell and trade has gotten a bit ancient. It's time for a facelift. We're talking about the value of money, investing in assets, and what it takes to get people on board with high tech currency that you find in cryptocurrency. Find out more about his mission to make crypto and precious metals investments mainstream at lodepay.com or lode.one. Get ready to learn some cool stuff.
Sidd Masand - Civil Engineer By Day, Rock and Roll Engineer By Night
He's a civil engineer by day, and a Youtube video producer by night. Sidd Masand is the brains behind the Rock and Roll True Stories channel on Youtube, and hearing his story is a great example of human spirit in action. The financial crash in 2008 and 2009 and a lot of extra work stress made him realize he really wanted to reclaim his freedom and passion for work. So he started up a Youtube channel. And it's ended up being a pretty good revenue stream. The biggest piece of advice he has is, find a niche and go all in. It takes a lot of bravery to do that, but if you go that direction it'll pay off huge. And you won't wear yourself out trying to be all things to all people. If you want to hear more about the stories this chill Canadian is putting together, search for Rock and Roll True Stories to track down his channel. Let's jump into the conversation now.
Lee Chambers - You Are Not Your Business
Lee Chambers is the founder of Essentialise, where he provides top notch service for fellow entrepreneurs who are trying to figure out what's holding them back in business. But before that? He ran a video game company. There were some big things that happened in his life that gave him the fuel to start Essentialise, and helped him realize he had a lot to give to the world. Entrepreneurs all over struggle with the idea of keeping their identity free from the business, while still delegating and creating something self-sustaining. But it is NOT easy, and having someone like Lee on your side is a wise move. We're unpacking a lot of cool stuff here, and if you're an owner listening in, there are some things that will resonate. After the show, if you'd like to chat with Lee and see how he can help, head over to essentialise.co.uk, or to his personal page at leechambers.org. Let's listen in now.
Matt Rosenthal - The Department of Redundancy Dept.
Talking with Matt Rosenthal today about his journey, and how he got started in entrepreneurship was a treat, because he's a huge nerd just like me! He shared how originally he was going to start in the criminal justice space, but had some events happen in life that got him in the path of some key people, and he ended up falling into IT. Happens more that you might think. Later he started up a side gig that his employer found out about, and decided to 'fire himself' and go full bore into the side business. Fast forward a few years, and he's built it into a multimillion dollar enterprise. He's figured out the key to balancing life, and really making yourself and information redundant--two things that seem counterintuitive but really go a long way toward building a scalable business. There's a lot that fellow entrepreneurs can learn from this conversation. Find Matt online on LinkedIn, their website at mind-core.com and on Youtube as well. Also be watching for a new podcast starting up called 'Digging In' hosted by his company. Let's jump into the conversation now.
Laurent Notin - In the Middle of a Challenge There is Opportunity
I met fellow podcast host Laurent not too long ago and learned about his venture as a business coach. Turns out he and I have a ton in common. During the episode I asked him some key questions about major challenges he'd faced, and was honestly floored how similar his challenges were to mine. If you're a frequent listener to this podcast, you already know that building a business is probably one of the hardest things you'll ever undertake. It's comforting knowing I'm not the only one who ugly cries once in awhile! Laurent decided on business coaching because again and again, he kept running into situations where he was foisted into an entrepreneurial role and made to figure things out. And he kept succeeding enough that he decided to become an actual entrepreneur, and help his fellows on the journey. The title of this episode is, 'In the Middle of a Challenge, There is Opportunity', which is his life motto. And it's good enough I might make it mine too. He's got some great tips today, and if you want to reach out to him, head over to his website at laurentnotin.com or find him on LinkedIn. Let's join in now
Frederick Shegog - Here Now For a Reason
Frederick had some events happen in life that hit him hard, right in the mental health. But instead of letting it get him down, he used it to fuel his mission. Soon after recovery he realized: there needed to be someone that could advocate for people who struggle in the same way, and -in- a way that resonates with them. None of this high flying double talk and putting on airs of superiority, it's deep connecting with people and letting them know: hey I've been there too. He started The Message LLC as a public speaker, talking with schools about why America is unhealthy, and more recently, how the pandemic has uncovered things about how we handle mental health that society can't sweep under the rug. When stigma outweighs education, destigmatizing this subject is the key to change. Frederick does that. If you're concerned about mental health, find out more about his mission by visiting themessagellc.com, or finding him on LinkedIn and Instagram. Let's listen to the journey now.
Chantelle Quow - Do You Have a Plan for Being TOO Successful? You Should!
There's been a high concentration of Toronto residents on the show these days. Not complaining or anything, Canadians are awesome and always polite. Today's guest is Chantelle Quow, founder of CQ Business Coach. And we talked about why businesses need a business plan not just for how to operate, but what to do when things blow up in a good way. Some people would say that being too successful is a good problem to have, but if you don't have a plan for when that happens? Well that could be a bad problem. She helps with that. Over the years of being an entrepreneur multiple times, she's found that she has a 'can't stop won't stop' attitude that she wasn't fully aware of until she had situations requiring her to dig deep. A lot of entrepreneurs have that--you probably do too. We talked about work-life balance, good mindset and surrounding yourself with the right tribe of people. And we hit on some really good advice at the end for people who are just starting their entrepreneurial journey. After listening, if you feel like you need to get a handle on your business plan, find Chantelle under the handle @cqbusinesscoach all over social media and her website, cqbusinesscoach.com. Chantelle Quow will make you go 'Wow!' But first: this podcast.
Vinnie Fisher - Rise and Grind - The Right Way
You know, Vinnie and I started off the conversation talking about the nature of busy-ness and how Hustle Porn seems to be eating up how many of us do work. There's a type of work that enriches and energizes you, and there's a type that just drains you of energy. I think we've both figured out what the right kind of work is and how to do the most of that so we can hit the sack and get a good night's sleep. But with the rest of the conversation, we got deep into the nature of building a business, how to get out of your own way, correcting self-talk and how going through struggles really gives you an awesome mindset to tackle all kinds of challenges. This is a fast paced, high energy conversation that you'll learn a lot about. Vinnie's got a free book offer over at fullyaccountable.com/hotmic, and there's a link in the show notes. Learn from that, and from this episode. Let's get going.
Sanjeev Chitre - The Periodic Table of Entrepreneurship
I've only known Sanjeev for... well, officially 36 minutes as of this recording. But already I've found him to be an amazingly sharp guy, always willing to share what he's learned about entrepreneurship. There are some key things in here that every new entrepreneur needs to know about before they run out and build their thing. See, there's a reason why most businesses fail. It's because people largely keep making the same mistakes. It's part of the human condition. But there's a scientific way to go about building business that greatly increases your chances of success, and Sanjeev's got it figured out. Four things to keep in mind: is the market confused about what it wants? Do you bring a unique differentiation to the table? Is there a large market for what you do? And do you have the team or capabilities yourself to make it happen? If the answer to all four is 'yes' then you're on the right track. And if not, now you have some areas for improvement. Yeah! Science! You can build a business in a measurable way. After listening to Sanjeev's wisdom, check the show notes for how to learn more about him and his new book coming out in Q1 2021. Let's get going.
Charles Read - Navigating the Waters of Tax Law, and Having a Blast Doing It
Oh boy. I never know when I'm getting ready to talk to a CPA how the conversation's gonna go. Is it gonna be dry and boring? Well of course not, not on this podcast! Today's guest is Charles Read, retired Marine and an incredibly experienced CPA who started GetPayroll awhile ago. He and his wife originally started up the business and built it into a family-centric company that's serving a bunch of peoples' tax needs. We got to talk about why taxes seem scary, why tax law is as complex as it is, and why CPAs are the ones we should turn to when we need someone to go to bat for us. Some of the challenges he's faced during his journey are simply keeping up with technology and managing time. Near the end, he shared five really powerful insights about entrepreneurship that I don't want to spoil for you here in the intro, but it's well worth hearing. If you need advice about taxes or have questions about compliance, contact Charles anytime. Head over to getpayroll.com, email him at cjr@getpayroll.com or even call him at 972-353-0000. Let's jump into the show now.
Craig Inzana - The Right Time to Stop
Craig Inzana and I met awhile back when both of us were entrepreneurs, and things ended up changing on his end. Turns out it was for the better. He's now working at a marketing agency where he's able to bring everything he learned about business and himself, to the table. Over the last couple years, he's learned that it's really easy to go down rabbit holes and take on different challenges rapidly. That's kinda how the entrepreneurial brain works! But when trying to build a company of employees and foster stability, that approach doesn't work so hot. I was kinda concerned about bringing up the topic of business ownership today and made sure he was cool talking about it, and he was. And this episode is full of great advice. One day we'll get him back, and when that happens he's got a plan to rebuild the right way, and rock socks. Find Craig all over social media, and in particular on LinkedIn. For now, enjoy the listen and the learning.
Dustin Miller - PolyInnovator - Maybe Stop Pushing
Today's guest is Dustin Miller, Polyinnovator, and this is one high energy guy. His excitement is contagious. We got to chat about the nature of habit building and knowing how to push yourself harder. But sometimes, that self-awareness shows us that maybe we *shouldn't* be pushing harder. Sometimes we need to listen to ourselves and honor our limits, so we can always be at our best. This is the second time I've talked with Dustin across all our podcasts and he's just a cool guy who's poised to make a big impact. And he's got some cool stuff to share with you today. If you want to talk with Dustin about how to manage your content and find more about how he's doing it, find him literally anywhere online under the handle @polyinnovator, or his website, polyinnovator.space. Let's jump in now.
Steve Pereira - Becoming a Completed Nerd
From an early age, today's guest was just built different. As a kid, Steve Pereira found great value in experimentation and process improvement. While other kids would spend their time goofing off, Steve found ways to spend less time cleaning his room. It's carried forward to now, where his business focuses on helping software companies deliver faster and at higher quality. It turns out that he's found that problems in corporate technology companies aren't tech-related at all. They're people-related. And coming up with processes and flows for people to dial into and do amazing things helps decrease stress and increase productivity. Don't worry about a couple of nerds being together on the same podcast, we don't get technical at all in this show. But you'll learn some neat stuff that you can apply to your own day-to-day. Find Steve at visible.is, or email him at steve@visible.is. Now jump and see what these two Completed Nerds are chatting about.
Ashlee Dozier - Building Business and Smelling Spectacular
*sniff* You smell that? Well probably not, because you're listening to this. But if the technology were available, smell would be a great way to enjoy this episode. Got the change to talk with Ashlee Dozier today about Anuket Luxury Apothecary. Named for an Egyptian goddess, she shared the story about how she started off working in the public health space, and after some big life challenges, decided to pack everything in storage and travel the world. One of the places she happened to end up was Egypt. And one of the places the guide happened to bring her to was a small family-owned perfumery. And one of the scents they happened to specialize in was Papyrus. It smelled so good, she bought a good amount of it to send home. Turns out that people here in the US loved the fragrance so much they convinced her to start a business. The rest is history. Funny how that happens! Although she's a fairly new business owner, she's already carved out a deep niche as one of the only suppliers of this essential oil in the US, and is helping support that small perfumery back in her second home of Egypt. This is a really good conversation that will give you some neat insights in the world of apothecary, supply chain and entrepreneurship. If you're looking to change how you smell, Ashlee is all over social media under the handle @anuketluxury. Check out the website at anuketluxury.com or email her directly at ashlee@anuketluxury.com. She's always down to talk shop, smells and stuff. Let's listen in now.
Noa Ronen - Look Beyond the Solution That Keeps You Stuck
From Israel to the US, Noa Ronen has found out a lot about herself and how she can now help people. We got the chance to talk about how her coaching company came about, and how the people coming to her with the same kinds of challenges led her to start Noa Ronen Coaching. With so many leaders and executives not sure how to communicate and lead once a company gets to a certain size, she realized she had the ability to help them. Understanding how to manage one's energy and even how to distinguish whether it's 'doing energy' or 'being energy' is a big part of what she does. We barely scratched the surface, but this high energy conversation is sure to leave you wanting to learn more. If you're an executive wondering how to lead in a new era, Noa's an excellent person to get to know. Find her at noaronencoaching.com or noarcoach everywhere on social media. Got something cool for you in this conversation.
Bronwyn Reid - Helping David Make Friends With Goliath
G'day folks, always a pleasure talking with Australians! Got the chance to talk with Bronwyn Reid and found out that her endeavor called Small Company, Big Business, focuses on helping the small companies dotting the landscape be able to provide services for the big monolithic business around the world. As a small business owner myself, the very things she helps with made me go, 'why oh why didn't I meet her five years ago?!' But we're here now. She talks about the recent upsets that COVID brought to supply chains, and how some huge companies are now turning to small ones and looking for local help to keep them able to hit their bottom line. She's definitely been on that side of the coin, and brings years of personal experience from the rural community, and helps small companies be seen and heard by the big ones. If you're in that situation and wondering how you can close bigger deals with companies with deeper pockets, listen into this episode. Afterward, find her by heading over to her website, bronwynreid.com.au. What'll we learn today? Keep listening to find out.
Vanessa Zamy - Supercharge Your 9 to 5
Hoo boy am I energized after talking with Vanessa Zamy today, and I know she knows herself a lot better than I do but I have a hard time believing she's an introvert! She's the Founder of Your Visions Catalyst, and she helps corporate employees figure out who they are, how to manage their time and workload, where to spend their energy and deeply bringing their full selves to work, while feeling safe about doing it. It's no secret that here in the US we have a trend toward workaholism, and the huge amounts of stress we subject ourselves to is a result. Whether it's from us feeling like we can't be honest about problems, or constantly wondering if we're doing enough, that stress adds up. But there's a different way to work, and Vanessa can help. I personally think if someone like her was in my life earlier, I would've turned out a lot different, and felt like I could take more calculated risk. But hey, I'm not living life with regrets here, and if you get in touch with her you won't regret it either. Find out more about the community she's building at vzamy.com. If you're feeling stuck in your 9 to 5, keep listening for tips.
William Walley - Slingin' Wisdom by Storytelling
Got a different episode for y'all today. I met William Walley through a mutual friend who was also a previous podcast guest, and learned more about him on a call a few months ago. And I gotta say: William is the embodiment of 'good old boy'. From the deep south here in the US, he's fashioned himself into an amazing storyteller, painting pictures of his life and lessons learned in a way that you can apply to yours right away. Since our last call of course a lot's happened in the world regarding COVID and political strife, but he keeps plugging away, living life on his terms. This episode inspired me to maybe come up with another type of podcast along these lines. I think you'll appreciate his easy style and willingness to share what he's learned. If you'd like to hear more of him, he's got his own podcast as well called 'World of Walley', and a Facebook page of the same name. Find his personal page on Facebook by looking for, as he describes, 'a bald-headed Bruce Willis looking guy'. There's some key wisdom in today's episode for you whether you're an entrepreneur or not, so listen in and see how it applies. Let's get going.
Jelena Radonjic - Spending 90,000 Hours Being Unhappy :(
Jelena Radonjic is the founder of WhatWork, and her mission in life is to help people really enjoy what they're doing in their career. See the problem is: we spend 90,000 hours on work in our lifetime. And if we're unhappy for all that time... wow that's just no way to live. So she guides people on how to find out what they really want to be when they grow up and gives them all the tools, knowhow and fearlessness to reach out and get it. She shares a lot about her story on what work was like for her and realizing the impact she could have in thousands of other peoples' lives. If you're listening and realizing you're hating the idea of getting up and schlubbing to another terrible day at work, you might need to talk with Jelena. Find out at her site, whatwork.co.uk, where you can take a free assessment quiz along with having a complientary call with her. Or you can find her on LinkedIn and as a published author at places like Forbes and Thrive Global. For now though, let's get into the conversation already in progress.
Angel Ribo - Don't Wait, Take Imperfect Action Now
Angel Ribo... is the CEO Confidant. Well that makes it sound like he's into some secretive cloak and dagger stuff but that couldn't be further from the truth. Guy's awesome. Turns out he had a bit of a spiritual awakening back in 2015, where he realized he could impact a ton of people on a broader scale, doing what he was doing already. His mission is to help corporate CEOs and entrepreneurs get more exposure, and boost their bottom line. Listening to this episode, you'll learn about his view on time, energy, and how money fits in and is actually an exchange of that energy instead of just being a consumable resource. This father of three also helps underpriveleged children with another venture of his, and has an energetic drive to help as many people as possible. Reach out to him anytime on LinkedIn or via email at angel@angelribo.com. Enjoy the listen.
Lisa Cox - It's Ok to Suck At Certain Things
How's an infection lead to building an awesome business? Like this. Today's guest Lisa Cox has a unique company. It's... her! She has a background in advertising and media, and 16 years ago got a buttload of disability. Starting with an infection leading to a stroke, followed by a coma for 3 weeks and being in the hospital for a year. Once that was sorted out she was left with a list of disabilities that would bring most people to the end of themselves. But not her. She asked herself: how can I get back to doing what I love? And the answer: advocating for disabled people. With so many people underrepresented in the disabled demographic, the world has an inaccurate view of what it's like, and so the world at large is misinformed. That's Lisa's mission: keep this demographic at the forefront and help people see what it's really like on the other side of a disability. She's learned that she's a lot stronger than she thought she could ever be. And you are too. Lisa's attitude is well suited to entrepreneurship and her outlook on life makes her someone you'll want to get in touch with. When that happens, find her at her website or on Instagram under the same handle: lisacox.co. Keep listening to find the advice she has for entrepreneurs.
Michael Castiglione - The Cure for Sales Cancer
Today's guest is Michael Castiglione, Los Angeles native and franchise owner at Sandler Training. In our first conversation I had a few weeks back it was impressive how open he was about sales, and what it truly means to sell with a heart for service. So I asked him if he wanted to be on a podcast and here we are! 2020 has been the year of reslience and sales is one of the best ways to build even more of it. And we have some awesome takeaways for you. Learning to love the word 'no' and treat it as an option to learn more. Driving yourself to having more quality conversations. Not being afraid to take people out of a pipeline. And how to use the acronym BAGELS to set goals for yourself every day. I had a hard time keeping up with typing all the great advice I heard today, and am eager to implement it. You will be too. After listening, reach out to Michael on LinkedIn. He's easy to find, just look for a cheesy smile and bald head--his words not mine. Come on in and join the conversation.
Raj Goodman Anand - 3rd Time's the Charm
Raj Goodman Anand's 3rd venture is a company called Goodman Lantern, an exclusive content marketing company focused on the B2B and B2C space. Today we got the chance to discuss his journey. If you're an entrepreneur and feel like you can't do all the things in your company and still stay sane, then this episode is for you. Turns out the lessons he's learned on his journey tie pretty close to mine, and we both learned later in life that delegation is key. Handing off chunks of work to people who, let's be honest, are proably better at it than you are, is the quickest way to scale your company to self-sustainability. Raj's background of storytelling makes this episode one you'll want to hear, and learn tips from. When you're ready to reach out to Raj, find him on LinkedIn, or the company website, goodmanlantern.com. Let's get started.
Swire Ho - Turning Prospects Into Fans With Promo Products
Got the chance to talk to Swire Ho today and find out what he's got going on with his company, Garuda Promo. We often think that promotional products are just cheap throwaway items that you get at conferences that last a few days before they're used up. And I mean, there are plenty of products like that out there. But Swire's mission is different: incredibly high quality products for the purpose of helping build deep relationships with people. Each item that you gift a previous, current or future client is something that they should really enjoy, and have a constant reminder of the kind of relationship that's being forged between them and you personally. Listen in for tips about what he's learned about himself on the entrepreneurial journey, what sectors to go after and the value of true relationship building. Swire and I are already chatting so come on in and join us.
Steven Slutzky - Looking Back on the Last 20 Years (and Forward to the Next 20)
Talking with fellow St. Louisan Steven Slutzky today, founder of Mobile Workflow. We've known each other for a bit now and I invited him on to talk about his journey. He originally started off in the aerospace industry and like many entrepreneurs, didn't plan on being a business owner. He sort of just fell into it. Turns out we have that in common! From working at NASA and McDonnell Douglas to now serving multiple companies with a customizable compliance platform that he created, he's finding new ways to both impact peoples' lives and continue learning about himself. It's been a wild 20 years for Steven, so get ready to learn his advice for both beginning and seasoned entrepreneurs. When you're ready to talk with Steven about how to make sure your large company is keeping compliant so you can save millions of dollars annually, find him at mworkflow.com or on LinkedIn. Keep listening for more.
Craig Lewis - Don't Lose Your Crown, Kings
Craig Lewis used to live in the United States, and went through some really hard challenges in life. So much so that he needed to get away from everything. Most other people, when faced with the reality of everything they relied on crashing down around them may lose themselves in self-pity and negativity. But Craig? Bro this guy's built different. He's lived around the world and learned how to build amazing tribes of people that mutually support each other with respect, friendship and love. And he's using his battle scars of life to equip others to fight and live on their terms too. Join us and hear about mental health, living the life, and enjoying the company of the community cats where he lives now in Mexico. If Craig resonates at the same frequency as you, find him on his site coachcraiglewis.com, or email him directly at punx.in.recovery@gmail.com. Let's listen in now.
Matt Sodnicar - Staying Chill About Entrepreneurship While Staying Just Warm Enough
Fellow entrepreneur and podcast host Matt Sodnicar's company started as a hobby. Warm Front makes a variety of chest warming apparel for skiiers and cyclers to keep them just warm enough to enjoy the sport. And as a resident of Colorado, he knows the importance of this. Starting his career off as a software engineer, he realized he had a crazy idea that he wanted to make into a reality. And through his time building his company, he's done not only that, but built amazing relationships with people he otherwise wouldn't have met. Matt's got some awesome tips at the end for people just starting or already on the entrepreneurial path, and they're so good I asked him to email them to me so I can print them off for myself and tape them up near my computer. If you're feeling the nip of weather setting in and you're getting chilly, find Matt at thewarmfront.com, email him at matt@thewarmfront.com or find him on LinkedIn. We're talking about weather, pizza and bowling here, so let's hop in.
John Paragon - The Paragon of Business Scalability - Literally
John Paragon started off his entrepreneurship journey by building a software dev company, with no software dev experience. And it ended up working out pretty well! He's since sold most of it off and pivoted to become a powerful business coach. I personally had a great time talking with him an learning some things about my own business, and I'm we're both sure you'll get a lot out of this episode. Expect to learn about what it means to overcome Impostor Syndrome, creating a scalable business and how to build one even on a bootstrap budget. John's readily findable on LinkedIn and Facebook and on his site, paragon30.com. Enjoy the listen.
Kathleen Celmins - Video Marketing Might Be the Only Option Now
Kathleen Celmins literally started her company AmplifiedNOW in August 2020. In that short time, she's learned a ton about herself and the market at large. The main thing: video is incredibly important for small and large business owners. Not only are people more like to watch videos because of being on social media more than usual, but the normal ways of building rapport with people aren't quite in vogue these days. Coffee, lunch, networking events and many other close-quarters type events aren't happening. Video may just be the only option a business has to gain more business. But not just any video--it needs to be videos that talk about problems that you solve, so that the viewer can put themselves in those shoes and relate to you and how you can help define and resolve those pains. If you'd like to reach out to Kathleen, find her website at amplifiednow.com, and at @kathleencelmins all over social media. Let's learn more about her journey now.
Jay Shifman - Misuse, Not Abuse
Jay Shifman's been deeply involved in helping people understand substance addiction for years. Recently he started up a public speaking business, but COVID put a damper on that. In today's episode, as we talked about the challenges of Jay getting to where he is today, we got to go pretty deep into some different things about addiction that many people don't realize, and also how vulnerability leads to empathy. Too often we think that sharing about our struggles is oversharing, when it's not really. And too often we go too long without opening up about what we're dealing with, and it goes unhelped. You'll get some cool insights about mental health, entrepreneurship and recovery in this episode. After listening, reach out to Jay at jayshifman.com, and listen to his podcast called The Choose Your Struggle Podcast. Also find him all over social media under the names jayshifman or chooseyourstruggle. Let's listen in now.
Ange Dove - Ahead of Her Time and Too Successful. Good Problems To Have?
Today's guest, Ange Dove, started up her initial company 20 years ago. Coming from a corporate background, she felt the call to start something herself. And even though a lot of friends told her she was crazy, her husband said, 'Go for it'. She had plans to work from home, but since this was the dawn of the mainstream internet and cloud computing wasn't a thing, she had somewhat painted herself into a corner with success. She got big enough that she needed to hire people, which meant the need for office space. It's been a wild ride since then. We talked about the good old days before Google, and about dialup internet, along with some key concepts that have helped both of us in business. Things like: nothing in nature is a straight line. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. Nothing is ever as bad as you think it'll be. But ultimately: if you feel the call toward entrepreneurship, just do it. If you'd like to find out more about Ange, head over to angedove.com, and maybe even book an appointment to chat further with her. Let's jump into the episode already in progress.
Sharon Davies - Getting Ghosted in Sales? Try This One Weird Trick
During the 'pre-show show', fellow owner Sharon Davies and I talked about how it's gotten much easier to build community with people because of covid. So many are struggling to have the togetherness from the olden days of just a little over a year ago, and the speed at which we can form bonds is incredible. Turns out it's a really good superpower to have in the world of sales. Sharon shared how she was working for corporate clients but ended up being made redundant in 2016. When she switched to contract work, a common challenge people came to her with was: we're having trouble selling and having difficulty managing our team. Enough people came to her about this that she realized: the universe is trying to tell me something, and I need to listen. The result? Sales2Success. She custom fits sales training to teams of any size, and with more than 30 years of experience in the world of sales, you'll be in good hands. Find her on LinkedIn, or email her directly: sharon@sales2success.com.au. Let's get started with the first podcast of the new season now.
Raj Subrameyer - Discovering Your Inner Genius
Raj Subrameyer is an international keynote speaker, author, and tech career coach who helps people to land their dream job and become successful leaders. He has helped countless individuals discover their zone of genius and leverage it to live a life that they love. He is a sought-after speaker at various conferences and has been featured in numerous podcast and publications, including Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Addicted2Success and The Good Men Project. He is also the author of the new book – Skyrocket Your Career. In his spare time, he loves traveling with his family and discovering new experiences which includes craft beer. You can connect with him on LinkedIn, on Twitter @epsilon11, or his website www.rajsubra.com. Enjoy the listen
Simi Mandelbaum - Therapy Couches and Spreadsheets
It's a sobering statistic that about 78% of people stress about money. And it's no secret that the more of it you have, the more problems turn up. Many of the problems that occur take place at the relationship level. While most people would either meet with an accountant or a marriage counselor, today's guest realized, "why not both?"
Simi Mandelbaum is the Founder of PROSPR Financial Wellness, and she learned that -how- we view money, and the mindset set have, is vastly more important than what we do with it. When a family isn't in lockstep about what to do with finances, it definitely causes problems that take a blend of both psychology and finance to figure out. She takes her clients through the process to uncover the root of their stresses with money.
Her personal mantra is, "Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else," and she applies that every day with the people she serves. Find out more about Simi's endeavor at www.prospr.fit. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Nir Bashan - The Creator Mindset
Today's guest started off his entrepreneurial journey at 9 years old... and found out really quick that he needed to figure out some out of the box ways to gain business. These days, he knows that the businesses that thrive are the ones that think creatively and not rigidly. Nir Bashan, Founder and CEO of The Creator Mindset looked at the normal perspective of starting a business, and noticed that so much of the content focused on the Why. But the How? Not so much. Talking with Nir we covered the importance of active listening and constantly soliciting feedback so we know what problems we're actually trying to solve. And that's just one of the 90+ tips he offers in his book. Find more about Nir by reading his book, 'The Creator Mindset' and his site at nirbashan.com. And as always enjoy the listen.
Bronwyn Morgan - It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Drone!
It wasn't that long ago that the idea of a "drone" wasn't even a thing. The closest thing we had was mini helicopters that, for 3 easy payments of $9.95, your kids could fly around the house for 15 minutes at a time. And now? Drones are everywhere. It's a stable enough technology that today's guest, Bronwyn Morgan, started a new business venture. Founder of Xeo Air, we talk about the capabilities that you can do with drone technology, and how they can drastically help with challenges in the telecom, energy, oil, gas, wind, geospatial and government sectors. Plus, they're still fun to fly around! Join us on today's episode and learn more about the tech behind the toys. Check out Xeo Air at xeoair.com for more info. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Tenice Wehmeyer - What it Means to be a Chief Engagement Officer
Culture. Some companies have a great one, and some don't. Some have employees who are die-hard fans that are fully on board, and some have employees that just show up to earn a paycheck. What makes the difference? It's a little metric we call: engagement. Today's guest is Tenice Wehmeyer, Chief Engagement Officer at Wehmeyer & Associates. In this episode we talk about what engagement is, and why it's important to make sure employees are engaged both inside and outside of work. When employees feel heard, feel safe and feel empowered, great things happen. But sometimes they don't, and that's where Tenice shines. Determining where the pain points are, and where leadership may be falling short, she and her team have a track record of creating company culture that helps people feel awesome about coming to work, and being fully present at home with their families. After this episode, if you'd like to contact Tenice, find her at wehmeyerassociates.com. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Erin Joy - On Measuring Trust and Creating Confidence
Hoo boy, if I were five years younger, and also a woman, I could have learned a lot about building business from today's guest. Erin Joy is the Founder of Black Dress Circle, and in today's episode we got into a lot of exciting topics. How to build trust in others while measuring said trust, how to fight Impostor Syndrome, and how peer learning is a powerful way to bolster not just your confidence and abilities, but that of those you're investing your time and knowledge into. Erin really knows her stuff, and if you're a female entrepreneur or are planning to become one, this episode is worth a listen. Find out more about Erin by going to blackdresscircle.com. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Mary Beth Flynn - A Unique Art Experience
With a lifelong background in art, today's guest decided to take a different turn in her career, and start something that it appears very few people have thought of. Even though, in her words, 'I've never been a teacher, never taught watercolor art, and never taught seniors,' Mary Beth Flynn began doing just that. Her adventure with her company Artfully Aging started ten years ago, and has pivoted and changed a lot over the years. She's combined her passion for art, with her skill to serve seniors, to create a unique experience for all of her clients. If you'd like to find out more about Mary Beth or even get in touch with her, check out artfullyaging.com, email her at contact@artfullyaging.com. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Kris Edens - Busting the 6-Figure Myth
Ok, today's the day. We're gonna bust a myth. Particularly, the myth that says, 'Starting a business means you're going to make six figures right away.' If that were actually true, who wouldn't start their own thing? The problem, as Kristen Edens and I discuss today, is that there's often an unrealistic image portrayed by social media about what entrepreneurship is like. Both Kris and I shared a bit about our background, how we got started as business owners, and what it felt like for us. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, as they say, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart. If you feel the call to start your own thing, there are some great tips in this episode for you. After listening, if you realize that content marketing or copywriting is something you need help with, reach out to Kris on LinkedIn, or via her website at kristenedens.com. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Luca Ingianni - Accidentally Businessing
Every once in awhile I meet someone who's started a business and it happened accidentally. Today's guest is Luca Ingianni, and he and I first met about a year ago after being introduced by another former podcast guest. Small world! In the time Luca and I have known each other, he's gone from being a solopreneur to working with 3 other professionals to create an elite DevOps training company. Off the air he told me, 'It's mostly about luck, and letting luck happen to you.' The world may tell you that you have to build a business a certain way or follow certain rules, but really, the only rule you may need is to trust your gut, and surround yourself with people who support and strengthen you. Find more about Luca at devopsteam.de, and at ingianni.eu. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Amy Blaschka - It Ain't Cheating!
Is it cheating to hire a ghostwriter for your social media content? Absolutely not! And I'm not saying that because today's guest is biased either. Amy Blaschka is an experience content creator focused on helping you build your presence and brand on social media. With so many people doing the 'post and ghost' approach, the best way is to publish meaningful content, that's true to your personal brand and get knowledge about you, your business or your offerings, in front of the right people. From getting your message consistent with your profile, clarifying what you're trying to say, and mastering the art of content marketing, there's a lot that we all can learn about how to wield social media in a powerful way. If you're struggling how to figure out how this whole social media thing works, you can find Amy at her website amyblaschka.com to see how she can help you. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Tom Harris - "Money is a side effect of success"
It takes a special kind of chutzpah to start a business, and Tom Harris has definitely been bitten by the entrepreneurship bug. Starting off his career as a developer, he realized that he didn't want to work for a boss, and wanted to start his own thing. With a group of trusted co-founders, they set out to change a small part of the software development space: creating charts easily for project management software. While it may not seem sexy, project management is an important part of any software project, and being able to communicate results to higher-ups is even more so. As it turns out, the culture that Tom has helped build at Old Street Solutions is one that's poised to help their company be a powerful talent magnet. Fostering trust, enabling people to succeed, and let everyone tap into their Inner Maker's Mindset are the most important pillars to their company's growth. He said, 'Money is a side effect of success', and success to them is happy employees and happy customers. If you're ready to get your project management leveled up to where everybody can understand what's going on, Google Old Street Solutions or Custom Charts for Jira. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Robin Bennett - Versin' and Vibin'
Today's guest didn't always consider herself an entrepreneur, but after realizing that her approach to business does uniquely solve problems no one else could, she adopted the term. Or at least, kinda. Robin Bennett is an experience content writer, sales and marketing expert, and calls herself a Proud Generalist. The Founder of Verse and Vibe, she helps companies take their content writing to the next level, and encourages straight shooting language. No fluff, no false rapport building and no beating around the bush. These days, direct communication with a clear next step is key when we're drowning in content. How are you distinguishing your message from everybody else, including your competitors? Robin can help you find out. Reach out to Robin anytime at robin@verseandvibe.com. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Jermane Cheathem - Entrepreneurship as a Service
If you've ever struggled with the idea of starting a business, wouldn't it be neat to have someone whose business is helping people do that? Well that's who we have on today. Jermane Cheathem is the founder of Creators Learn, and his philosophy behind starting a new business endeavor has some deep roots in how our minds work. Really it boils down to two categories: humans are either creators, or victims. And to get from one category to the other takes a lot of looking at what makes you scared of change, defining the risks and digging down into the root of why you're feeling that way. Finding your gift, letting it out, following your fear and asking why your motivations are the way they are are key to getting where you want in life. Entrepreneurship can definitely be scary, but listening to this podcast could get you a lot closer to your dream and true freedom, if that's what you're looking for. Find out more about Jermane at www.creatorslearn.com. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Arn Terry - Happiness is the Most Important Metric
Today's guest was a very well respected and successful recruiter, making six figures and climbing his way up the corporate ladder. And one day he decided to start a business. He quickly went from making six figures to making... well, zero! 'Why would someone do that?' you might ask. Well entrepreneurs are just built different, and today's story with Arn Terry shows that living life with a focus on happiness, and not focusing on money will lead to some amazing opportunities. Sometimes you might think like he did, 'Why didn't I start this particular venture 10 years ago?' and realize later: you're right on time, right where you need to be. Life can be a struggle if you have a stranglehold on it. And life can be oppressing if you aren't looking around at the opportunities available to you. What might you be missing out on? Find out in today's episode. And as always, enjoy the listen.
J.C. Granger - Marketing at Scale!
Does marketing seem like a huge chore for you? Welp you're not alone. I got the chance to talk with J.C. Granger today, a really chill dude, about how marketing's changed just in the past year. We've gone from marketing longer-term projects that have a much longer return on investment, to short-term offerings that get a quicker turnaround. Changing up the marketing message is key to that. But then, how do you get that message out to a lot more people, faster? The solution: a sprinkle of automation on our favorite social media platform, LinkedIn. I won't spoil the details about today's episode, but be prepared to pick up some excellent tips to polish up your own marketing message, and what you can say that will keep you top of mind with clients who are also struggling to figure things out.
Find out more about J.C. and Infinity Marketing Group below:
https://www.infinitymgroup.com/jc-granger/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/infinity-marketing-group/
And as always, enjoy the listen.
Justin Cullifer - Hey Alexa, Don't Throw Stones
You know how you might see some cutting edge technology on a show like Star Trek, and then 50 years later it's already mainstream? That's kinda what Justin Cullifer did with his company Glass House Guide. We've had voice activated computers for years now. And we've had the real estate space for a lot longer. But you mix together those two things with coronavirus and now there's a situatio where people aren't as keen about visiting houses for sale in person. Glass House Guide blends different technologies to combine an open house experience and asking voice devices questions about the property, all remotely. It's the perfect storm of challenges in today's world that have come to create this new approach that can change the face of real estate forever. Listen in to hear us both geek out about the technical aspects, but also about what kind of company culture it takes to keep this dream rolling.
Find out more about Glass House Guide at https://glasshouseguide.com. And as always... enjoy the listen.
Megan Miller - The El Nino of Spanish Coaching
Megan Miller is The El Nino of Spanish Coaching. For those of you that don't habla espanol, El Nino is Spanish for... The Nino ;) Megan is a word nerd and loves everything about communication: whether that's using her communication skills as a freelance IT project manager, helping others communicate the best they can in Spanish or English, and making sure that translated documents don't lose their spark or uniqueness when going from one language to another. We talk about how she used to translate 'nerd speak' to language for the rest of the company, and how that's been used to pivot into her dream of becoming an entrepreneur and Spanish coach. Combining a blend of being book smart with being street smart, her approach to language coaching is one that's tuned to each of her clients unique background, and helps them be able to communicate at any level. If you're down to 'esharpen your Espanol', Megan's your gal.
Find out more about Megan below:
@Aprovechar Language Solutions - Instagram, LinkedIn
AprovecharLanguageSolutions.com - website
And as always... enjoy the listen.
Michael McDonnell - Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride
At two months old he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Growing up with an affliction like that would bring most people down, but today's guest, Michael McDonnell is just built different. He ended up using it as a way to unlock his super power. He learned at an early age that he had control of his health, and became a personal trainer and tennis coach. Balancing his life with his work was the key to him having a handle on CF in such a way that many people didn't even realize he had it until it came out in a local paper. The fact that he was able to perform at top levels even with a challenge like this set him apart from many others, and set him on a great path to success. Ain't nothin' gonna break this guy's stride, and you'll hear the energy in today's episode. What's holding you back from success? With the right mindset, the answer should be: nothing.
Find outmore about Michael below:
Ask Mike Show - Podcast
@themichaelbrian on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
And as always.... enjoy the listen.
Ed Evarts - The Squishy Part of Leadership
So what's true leadership all about? Is it just bossing people around or is it something deeper? Well if you're a fan of this show, you already know where my and my guests opinions lie on this matter, and that true leadership is so much more than just delegating tasks to whoever is available. What we haven't talked about much on The Hot Mic though is about how one becomes a leader. What's the catalyst? How does it begin? Today's guest is Ed Evarts, who is both the Founder and President of Excellius Leadership Development, and also a fellow podcast host for the podcast Be Brave At Work. And we have a really engaging conversation about what true leadership not only looks, but feels like. It's more squishy and human than you might think. And away we go!
Ann Sieg - Best Kept Secret About the Internet
Hey, guys listen: I've got a secret. Come close I'm gonna whisper it: you can make money on the internet. Mind blowing, right? Some people treat e-commerce like it's some unattainable thing and that you have to have a huge business in order to sell things online. But when it comes to selling items on Amazon, it makes it much easier. I had the chance to talk with Ann Sieg, founder of the E-Commerce Business School, and multiple best selling author of books in the same genre, and talked with her about how literally anyone can get started making money on Amazon. All it takes is some ingenuity and understanding of how the market there works, which her program digs deep into educating people on. I got so excited on this episode that I'm going to bootleg this and give it to my wife so she can listen to it ahead of schedule. If you're looking for a new way to generate cash flow, this might just be a way for you to create some solid side income. Let's jump in.
Andy Vargo - When We're Our Own Worst Critic
There comes a time in many peoples' lives where they need to make a change. But huge change isn't easy. It doesn't help that our own brains are wired up to resist discomfort, which is kinda required for making lasting differences in our life paths. Fortunately, I know a guy that can help. Andy Vargo is a Lifestyle Change Coach, and author of the book Own Your Awkward Life Changes, which is the cornerstone of what he does as a business owner. From coaching people toward making big changes instead of small ones, and not being overly critical of themselves, Andy knows how to help people live life on their terms and not on anyone else's. If you feel like your life is in the doldrums and you're waiting for your next big thing, might want to give this a listen. Find Andy at his website awkwardcareer.com or anywhere on social media under @awkwardcareer or by name, Andy Vargo. Here we go.
Rev. Fred Shaw - Faulty Medical Models and Misinformed Law Enforcement
There's a lot going on these days. Protesting, rioting, law enforcement issues, adn general chaos. But where does mental health and medication fit in? We find out on today's episode with third-time guest Rev. Fred Shaw, who's had a fire to advocate for true mental health. Did you know that many medications make it difficult to get a clean read on peoples' personality, and can actually affect what law enforcement professionals do in response to a perceived threat? Did you know that the medical model that's been used to gauge mental health today has roots in racism? Did you know that even though our society is paying attention to mental health, that the problem isn't getting better, it's actually getting worse? It's a tough nut to crack, but the people at CCHR are actively working on this. If you find yourself struggling with things that normally would be taken care of with psychiatric treatment, please pay attention to this episode and reach out to Rev. Fred when you can. He always seeks to inform, and there's a lot that can be learned that can help you reclaim true mental health. Let's jump in.
Tracy Nosal - The Renegade Mentor
Today's guest is a tough as nails coach who helps people realize what they're truly capable of. Tracy Nosal is a leading authority who helps awakening high achievers to release mental barriers that have kept them stuck, frustrated and unfulfilled. She comes to the episode today with a quick wit and a sense of humor, and we ended up talking about some deeper aspects of energy management, unlocking potential and why things seem to hold us back. If you feel like you're pushing through life, and success seems always just out of reach, it's likely you're giving off some energy that's repelling what you're wanting to attract. And if that's you, listen to today's episode. Find out more about Tracy at Renegadementor.com. All right here we go!
Jeanet Wade - Is Totally Human Culture Possible in the Workplace?
You might be amazed to know that there are some companies who don't know this yet but: The best companies are the ones that are built with a culture that allows people to bring their whole selves to work. With a large portion of our time being spent at work, it behooves a company to celebrate every aspect of being human, let people learn more about themselves, and allowing them to play toward their strengths. Today's guest, Jeanet Wade is a local St. Louisan, and hardcore EOS practioner. Bringing over two decades of experience, she knows exactly what kinds of decisions leaders need to make to get their companies to the next level. Get your headphones or airpods in for this episode and find out what some different patterns are that can lead to success for any company that's pushing forward into this new era. Find out more about Jeanet at Www.Business-Alchemist.com/TheHumanTeam. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Jon Manley - Stop Touching Base!
How do you feel when a salesperson calls just to check in with you. Or drops a "Hey just touching base to see where you are on the proposal?" Or leave a voicemail followed immediately by an email with the exact same verbiage? Well if you're anything like today's guest, you probably hate it. Jon Manley dislikes the standard milquetoast way that people approach sales SO MUCH that he decided to write a book about it called "Stop Touching Base". And indeed, the focus is on abandoning the corporate lingo word bingo that makes up majority of sales calls, and doing something that works a ton better: connecting with humans on a human level. Every call or email you do should give something to the customer, and leave them happier having talked to you. Check out today's episode, apply what you learn, and the sales will roll in. Find out more about Jon at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmanley/ and at https://gha-associates.com/. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Liz Grantham - What is Your Optimal You?
What does it mean to be truly fit? Does it mean slamming protein shakes, bulking up and being able to bench press a dumptruck? Or does it mean being fit enough to live life the way we want? Does it mean being able to have full range of motion and capability? Today's guest Liz Grantham introduced a unique term in our talk about health and wellness, called "Fit for a Purpose". Her platform called The Optimal Me digs deep into what it means to be fit, and fit for a purpose. Whether you're starting off young, middle aged or older, there are some key tips in today's episode that will help you reclaim your life so you can live it more abundantly.
Find out more about Liz's journey at https://theoptimal.me/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Tim Hebel - Growing a Beanstalk
I got the chance to get with local St. Louisan Tim Hebel today, to talk about how his journey to build his company's been going. Seems like we have a lot of similarity since we're both in the tech space, and we talked about the challenges he's had over the years. From how he came up with the name of the company, to the most recent hurdles having to do with coronavirus, he's had a storied career being the owner of a company.
Find out more about Tim and his company at https://beanstalkwebsolutions.com/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Adriana Gavazzoni - "Lawyers Are Just Frustrated Writers"
"Lawyers are just frustrated writers." That's one of the key topics we talked about today on this episode. Adriana Gavazzoni is a Brazilian lawyer and author, who has taken her passion for happiness in life, and turned it into a unique career. Living life with no regrets, she combines her knowledge of law with the books she writes, and creates bestsellers.
Her advice: don't try to be perfect, and just start moving in the direction you want to go. There's quite a bit of wisdom to unpack here that we both think you'll get a lot out of.
Find out more about Adriana below:
www.agavazzoni.com
@a_gavazzoni (twitter)
https://www.facebook.com/authoragavazzoni
And as always, enjoy the listen.
Helen Fraser - Virtual Travel While Promoting Indigenous Culture
Coronavirus sure hasn't been nice to the world, and particularly the travel sector has taken a hard hit. When today's guest was faced with the grim possibility of what it would do to her business, she had a choice to make: hang it up and go get a j-o-b, or figure out how to pivot. Fortunately she decided on the latter, otherwise this would be a kinda boring episode. Founder of Ultimately Sydney, she figured out a way to make travel great again in a country where individual states are locked down from each other, by doing two things: going virtual, and digging deep into local history. She's found a way to get locals in touch with native culture, gaining tremendous insights about themselves, and cleansing their minds from the busyness of life, while providing a unique experience you won't forget. Enjoy the listen.
Lots of info below about how Helen's company is solving travel challenges:
https://ultimatelysydney.com.au
https://business.facebook.com/UltimatelySydneyTours/?business_id=913298255383040
https://www.instagram.com/ultsyd/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_f70t3ke3-SJ01A2rEaPjA/videos?view_as=subscriber
https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-fraser-27a22916/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Scott Ford - The Bob Vila of The Internet
At the helm of Corgibytes is Scott, who has been called the “Bob Vila of the internet.” Scott is a polyglot developer who, at last count, is fluent in over twenty programming languages. Scott’s love of software restoration and remodeling began in college where he and his team were responsible for retrofitting the testing tools for the X-31 jet fighter. Since then, Scott has maintained a test-focused approach to his work and found the most joy in projects where an existing codebase needed to be improved.
In addition to fixing old code, Scott enjoys anime, reading sci-fi fiction and comic books and spending time with his family. And yes, he did have a Corgi, her name was Ein, and if you recognize that reference, they might just give you a discount.
Check out Scott's company below:
Website: corgibytes.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/corgibytes-llc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/corgibytes
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Julia Wuench - Fostering Human Connections at Work
Julia is passionate about helping her clients find more fulfillment in their work life by introducing more human connections. The Authenticity Guide is a career coaching firm that focuses on solving problems in the business world through a more human centered approach, utilizing tools like connection, communication, and collaboration.
She passionately disagrees with the notion that ICF certification is necessary to be a good coach. And she believes that holistic wellbeing needs to be a core tenant of career development coaching. These are the driving forces behind what she does.
Find out more about Julia below:
https://www.theauthenticityguide.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliawuench/
AND she has a course with a special discount just for Hot Mic listeners:
https://the-authenticity-guide.teachable.com/p/maximizing-your-potential-at-work-and-in-life
Code is HOTMIC at the checkout
...as always, enjoy the listen!
Tessie Castillo and George Wilkerson - Voices from Death Row
Tessie Castillo is a journalist and co-author from Durham, North Carolina. She co-wrote her first book, Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row, with four men serving death sentences in North Carolina. George Wilkerson is a poet and co-author of Crimson Letters who is currently serving a death sentence at North Carolina's Central Prison. Today's show talks about the challenges in having multiple people co-author a book while most of them are in prison. But there's a message that they want to share, and that we all would do well to hear.
Find more about Tessie at www.tessiecastillo.com, on Twitter and Instragram at @tessiethewriter, and Facebook at @crimsonlettersbook.
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Dr. Renee Exelbert - Reclaiming Control After Cancer
Dr. Renee was a psycho-oncologist at a children's hospital and was then diagnosed with breast cancer. During her rollercoaster road back to health, she became a competitive bodybuilder to reclaim control over her body. This deepened her understanding of the mind-body connection, which she has developed into a unique practice at the Center. She released a memoir, Chemo Muscles, earlier this year.
Find out more about Dr. Renee's mission at https://drexelbert.com/. And as always, enjoy the listen.
Brad Farris - Breaking Through Million-Dollar Walls
I got introduced to today's guest by my very first podcast guest awhile back. Brad Farris is the Principal Advisor at Anchor Advisors, and their specialty is helping companies break through the wall to get from 1 million in sales, up to 3-5 million. Turns out it's a common sticking point with many small businesses, which is pretty comforting. If you're almost hitting that wall, feeling like you're at your limit and don't know how to scale, today's episode should help get you unstuck. Enjoy the listen.
Matt Martin - Keeping Performers In Touch With Their Fans
In an age where people are kinda starved for that human connection, Matt Martin and his team found a way to connect two somewhat unlikely demographics: stars and their fans.
The platform is called Starsona, and during the downtime in the entertainment industry where people are struggling to find work, it's built to monetize the connection between athletes, entertainers and influencers to the very people who like them. Enjoy the listen.
Rita Joyan - Unboxing Your Gift
As a qualified Trainer and Learning and Development professional, winning Top Training Awards, training at companies like Fairfax Media, The Australian Institute Education and in industries such as government, education, telecommunications, not-for-profit, and media.
Rita Joyan, took her Learning and Development skills and created the Passion Process™ (how to find your passion minus your resume) and The Signature Speaking Success System™ (how to attract clients in one talk).
She took these programs and delivered them in Australia, New Zealand, Middle East and South Asia.
In 2015 Rita was honoured as Canberra’s Young Business Woman of The Year.
In 2016 and 2017 Rita earned second place in the quarter finals of the World Champion of Public Speaking.
Additionally, in 2017, Rita was honoured to be nominated for the Australian of The Year Award.
And in 2019, Rita was chosen to represent Australia as part of the Australian delegation in Japan at the G20 Young Entrepreneur Alliance.
Rita is the Producer and Host of Australia’s leading passion and career Podcast: Unbox Your Gift: Turn Passion into A Profession.
Rita is the undisputed expert on how to find your passion, use speaking to sell your services and upgrade your skills to finally make your difference to audiences, doing what you love!
Find out more about Rita's amazing journey below at:
www.unboxyourgift.com
https://www.facebook.com/unboxyourgift/
Unbox Your Gift podcast
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Pam Jamison - Dirty Deeds Done at Reasonable Prices
It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it! Offices can get messy but fortunately we've got someone on the case. I got the chance to talk with first-time podcast guest Pam Jamison today,
Owner of Bright Spot Cleaning, about her entrepreneurial journey. She didn't start off thinking she was going to be a business owner, but with her experience and a happenstance meeting with a previous boss, she had the opportunity to take the helm of a successful company. Using her expert janitorial skills that she'd accrued over years of work, she's begun building and scaling her new venture into a more sustainable model. Listen in to hear how she overcame her fear to jump into the business owner world, and also hear stories about some of the dirtiest jobs she's had to take care of.
Find out more about Pam's services at:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Elzie Flenard - Always Wanted to Be a Podcast Host
Today's guest is absolutely what he wanted to be when he grew up. He's always wanted to be an entrepreneur and he sort of fell into it under the right conditions.
Elzie Flenard is the Mayor of Podcast Town, where he provides awesome podcast editing and publishing services. And today we got to talk about what some of the do's and don'ts are of podcast production, along with a bit about how he got to where he is now. If you're a hopeful or budding podcast host yourself, you'll want to listen in and learn some tips that can take your podcast to the next level.
Find out more about Elzie below at:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Susan Sheehan - Living Rich and Healthy Lives
Susan is an International Speaker, Wellness and Business Coach of 25 years and a BRAIN training authority. She is a Managing Partner of SMARTCOACH7, a best-selling author and a Mum.
Susan has operated businesses and studied in Australia, the USA and NZ. She has interviewed celebrities and worked with the leaders in the world of personal and business development. Applying the steely focus she has become known for, Susan is passionate
about sharing her knowledge and experience to help others live healthy, rich lives.
Susan is a rape and DV survivor: buried a daughter and raised a son with an intellectual disability.
She says that the one message she wants to share is that success is the process of continually growing and improving oneself and it starts with overcoming doubts, fears, anxiety, procrastination, and as a result of quality thinking and intended action and, it can all be learned.
Find out more about Susan's coaching below at:
https://wellnessandbusinesscoaching.com
https://meetsusansheehan.com/speaker/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Melanie Wood - Empowering Change Through Public Speaking
Melanie is an International Speaker passionate about helping Business Owners, Entrepreneurs and Passionate for Growth individuals find their voice, sharpen their speaking skills and share their message, story and ideas to Empower Inspire Change. Melanie is on a mission to help as many people find their voice in this world and shares her passion by assisting others to do the same.
Find out more about Melanie's adventure below at:
https://speakingstyles.com.au/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Nicole Santer - Pivoting into Event Planning During a Pandemic
Who starts up an events-based business during a pandemic? This guest! Nicole began her events journey young, in her family catering business, and was instrumental in the expansion of the business into airlines, hospitals and hotel catering. “My family were very well known as the premier catering company in the community”. Nicole is highly driven and ambitious with a passion and flare for business, which led her to start her own venture.
In 1998, Nicole established her own event management agency, Extraordinary Events, and soon started organising events for many of the world's largest brands. Producing many large-scale events and brings invaluable industry insights.
These days, she operates a new venture called Event Buzz 360, which helps bridge the gap between people who want to schedule events, and the supplier who can make those events happen. And during a pandemic which has an end in sight, she's poised to disrupt an industry and make a huge impact.
Find out more about Nicole's new platform below at:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Mark Kumar - Building Business Around Passion, Not the Other Way Around
Fellow podcast host Mark Kumar joined me today and we had a great time talking about how he helps business owners flip the script. With many people trying to form their life around their business, he suggests the opposite: find what you're truly passionate about, and build your business around that. Taking an unorthodox approach of doing what he calls "The Midnight Test", he says that whatever it is that you're passionate about, if you can be woken up at midnight and answer a question about it in 30 seconds, you're in pretty good shape. We even had a real world example where he tested the process on me, and we solved a pretty sticky challenge I've been having for 8 years. I gotta hurry up and take some notes and firm up some ideas, so I'll leave you to it.
Find out more about Mark below at:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Johnny Crowder - How to Cope with Mental Health Using Technology
Johnny Crowder is a 27-year-old suicide/abuse survivor, touring musician, mental health advocate, and the Founder & CEO of Cope Notes, a text-based mental health resource. Whether speaking at events or on the road with his band, Prison, Johnny's firsthand experience with multiple mental health diagnoses (ranging from bipolar disorder and OCD to schizophrenia) uniquely equips him to provide creative insight into the pains of hardship with levity and wit.
Find out more about Johnny's mission below at:
Website: copenotes.com
Podcast: copenotes.com/podcast (or wherever you find podcasts)
FB: facebook.com/johnnyxcrowder & facebook.com/copenotes
IG: instagram.com/johnnycrowderlovesyou & instagram.com/copenotes
Twitter: twitter.com/copenotes
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnnycrowder & linkedin.com/company/copenotes
TEDx Talk: copenotes.com/tedx
Brochure: copenotes.com/brochure
Explainer Video: copenotes.com/video
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Madison and Evan Tate - CBD the Right Way
Second-time guests Madison and Evan Tate came back to share about their second company, Twin Pines Hemp. Based out of Colorado where all the cool stuff happens, they're focused on providing excellent and high quality CBD products. With Evan's background in agriculture as far back as his childhood, and Madison's experience as a nurse, they both realize the tremendous benefits of CBD and what it can do for your body. Find out about the current and future applications of it that help people without getting them high.
Find out more about Madison and Evan's venture below at:
https://twinpineshemp.com/about/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Laura Staley - How to Truly Cherish Your World
The founder of Cherish Your World, Laura Staley passionately helps people thrive by guiding them to a holistic transformation of space, heart, mind, body, and soul. Laura knows that there’s a relationship between the conditions of our homes or workplaces and the quality of our lives. Trained and certified with the Western School of Feng Shui and seasoned by almost two decades of working with a variety of clients, Laura uses her intuition and expertise to empower her clients to produce remarkable results in their lives. Her trifecta of serving people includes speaking, writing, and compassionate listening.
Find out more about Laura below:
cherishyourworld.com
loveyourspaceloveyourlife.com
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Laura DiBenedetto - Accepting the Best You That You Can Be
TEDx Speaker and #1 Bestselling author of The Six Habits, Laura teaches how to create the life of our dreams without sacrificing what we love. As Founder and CEO of Vision Advertising, she has helped hundreds of companies build and grow profitable enterprises. Laura lives on Maui with her husband.
Find more about Laura below at:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lauraldibenedetto/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lauraldibenedetto/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lldibenedetto/
Website 1: https://lauradibenedetto.com/
Website 2: https://www.thesixhabits.com/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Jeff Ikler - Pivoting Education Toward Leadership and Culture Change
Jeff Ikler has worked in education in the broadest sense his whole life – first as a high school history teacher, then as an editor, marketer and executive in the educational publishing industry for more than 35 years and finally as Director of Quetico Coaching where he focuses on leadership development and career shifts. He co-hosts his own podcast, "Getting Unstuck – Educators Leading Change," and he is the author of SHIFTING - HOW SCHOOL LEADERS CAN CREATE A CULTURE OF CHANGE.
Find more about Jeff below at:
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffikler/
Twitter - @jeff_ikler
Company - https://www.queticocoaching.com/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Neil Hughes - From Left Brained to Right Brained - Leaving Corporate Tech to Change the World
After 20 years in IT Neil was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight when he won a LinkedIn Top Voice award.
Here in 2020, he is the host of Tech Talks Daily Podcast with 1,300 interviews under his belt. But he also hosts Switched on Thinking with NETGEAR and Tech Fusion by Citrix Ready.
Neil helps leaders launch their own podcast and also ghostwrites thought leadership articles for them too when not writing his own tech columns. Not to mention the author of Great TED Talks Innovation.
Find more about Neil below at:
www.techbogwriter.co.uk
Twitter @neilchughes
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Brenden Kumarasamy - De-Spooking Public Speaking
Brenden is the founder of MasterTalk, a YouTube channel he started to help the world master the art of public speaking and communication. He coaches purpose driven entrepreneurs on how to master their message and share their ideas with the world.
Find Brandan's Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBYFP4mZLQovr7W6Si6sueA
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Brenda Neckvatal - The HR Force of Nature
Brenda is an award-winning HR professional and is often referred to as the “HR Force of Nature” by her clients. Not only does she help business leaders solve their most difficult people issues, she is a specialist in crisis management, government contracting HR compliance, and mentor to women in HR working as an HR department of one.
She optimizes employee effectiveness and helped mitigate the high costs that are associated with making asty employment related decisions. Perseverance, integrity, and relentless optimism are just of the few of the ingredients that make up what you experience when meeting and working with Brenda.
Find out more about Brenda below at:
brendaneckvatal@gmail.com
www.bestpractices.work
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Kris Edens - Rocking Midlife Like a Boss!
At age 45, Kristen pursued her lifelong dream to become a writer. Through trial and error, she built a copywriting business that now serves healthcare, financial, and senior services. Her blog, Managing Midlife, shares issues important to the 50+ audience and was a 2019 Plutus Award finalist for best Baby Boomer and GenX blog. Learn more about writing, second acts, and living on the edge at https://kristenedens.com/
Find out more about Kristen below:
http://kristenedens.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenedens/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Madison and Evan Tate - Constructing a Construction Biz
Starting from the very bottom, Madison and Evan Tate had a dream of creating a construction business. Or, at least Evan did and Madison came along for the ride. Over the years they've walked the path of entrepreneurship together, and I got the chance to help them reminisce about how far they've come in their journey. It turns out they've gotten themselves into a very interesting niche that only 3% of construction companies can do, while still providing a great service to the environment that they harvest materials from. In short, they're all about doing construction the right way, and in a way that educates homeowners. And today they want to share their story with you.
Find out more about Madison and Evan below:
https://www.facebook.com/twinpinesbeamco/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Stella Gianotto - What's the Future Hold for Marketing and Branding?
Stella Gianotto works with retail business to increase their market share and futurize their customer experience 360 degrees by helping them to understand why consumers buy brands. Starting as a photographer, branching later into marketing and branding, she's had her finger on the pulse on what and why people buy. Futureproofing business is hard enough, but throw a pandemic in the mix? Hoo boy. Listen in to hear Stella's take on what she's seen change in consumer behavior because of the pandemic.
Find out more about Stella below:
https://brandforbrands.com/stella-gianotto/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellagianotto
https://www.instagram.com/stellagianotto/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Dr. Darian Parker - Keeping Fit and Healthy in a Virtual World
Dr. Darian Parker earned his Ph.D in Sports Education Leadership with an emphasis in Behavior Modification from UNLV. He earned his Master and Bachelor degrees from James Madison University in Kinesiology. Dr. Parker is also a certified personal trainer through the NSCA. Dr. Parker has been in the fitness and wellness business for 19 years. Throughout the course of Dr. Parker's career he has served several roles in the fitness and wellness industry. He has worked extensively in both the academic and private club sector as a Director of Education for a Career College, General Manager of a high end luxury residential fitness club and National Director of Fitness for a global leisure management company. Currently, Dr. Parker is the co-owner of Epic Leisure Management. Additionally, he started a live virtual personal training business several years ago and works with many prominent business leaders in the United States. Lastly, Dr. Parker is the host of Dr. D's Social Network, a podcast devoted to genuine, open and honest conversations with people from all over the world.
Find out more about Dr. Darian below:
www.elmadventures.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darianparker/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Abhi Gupta - Virtualizing Learning and Forging New Data Scientists
Well this has never happened before but Abhi Gupta left me speechless with a new concept that I'd never heard of. Before we got to that though, we talked about how he made the big pivot in how to educate people virtually, and used what he knew about Data Science to create a new virtual workshop that, as of this recording, is only a couple months old. A St. Louis local who I've personally known for 5 years, he's brought a calm demeanor to serving those around him in educating them with skills that they can immediately use at their companies.
Find out more about Abhi below:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhimanyu-gupta/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Trevor Newberry - Navigating the Path of Entrepreneurship
It's no secret that building a business is hard, and today's episode with Trevor Newberry is one that really drives that point home. We started off talking about his business, Newberry Consulting, and then pivoted into the tremendous mental weight that comes from when you pour your heart and soul into building your dream. It can be a long lonely road but one worthy of traveling, if you've built the strength and relationships that help you get there. If you're on the path of entrepreneurship yourself, we both think you'll gain some great insights in this episode.
Find out more about Trevor below:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Aaron Shawn Harper - From the Gridiron to the Boardroom, Inspiration vs. Motivation
With 25 years of experience, Shawn Harper has earned an excellent reputation as one of the nation's leading corporate motivational speakers! He is a seven-year former NFL offensive lineman who played with the Rams, the Oilers, the Colts, and NFL Europe and now owns and operates American Services and Protection, a multi-million-dollar security services firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. His journey from the grit and grime of the NFL locker room to the corporate culture of the boardroom proved that both worlds can be won by using the same principles and strategies!
Find out more about Aaron below:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Karin Tischler - Diversifying the Workforce by Upending Cultural Norms
Karin Tischler is the founder of Emily’s Path Consulting, promoting flexible working methods to create a more diverse workforce. She is a researcher, consultant and speaker. Karin hosts the podcast “Job sharing And Beyond” – talking to international experts about job-sharing, reduced work hours, father networks, professionals returning to paid work and much more. A returner herself with a master’s from the University of Oxford and a focus on professional research, Karin utilizes her European & German background to raise awareness of this untapped part of the workforce and to share innovative solutions. She is also a co-host of LinkedIn Local in Vancouver, a global volunteer initiative to organize networking events focused on the human connections behind the social media profiles.
Find out more about Karin below:
https://emilyspath.ca/podcast/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-tischler/
https://twitter.com/karin_tischler
https://www.instagram.com/karintischlerbc/
karintischler@emilyspath.ca
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Chris Chapman - dude don't tell my boss but i'm starting a side hustle lol
From working a 9 to 5 job, to starting a podcast, to now co-founding a company that designs a top notch travel app, Chris Chapman has a really cool story to tell. He's taken lessons learned at every stage and has been able to apply them to his current endeavor, along with having plans for the future. Poke that play button to hear the exciting journey this guy's got.
Find out more about Chris below:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-chapman1/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Kimberly Davis - Being Truly Authentic Leaders, Not Just Paying it Lipservice
An expert on authentic leadership, Kimberly Davis shares her inspirational message of personal power, responsibility and impact with organizations across the country and teaches leadership programs world-wide; most notably, her program “OnStage Leadership” which runs in NYC and Dallas, TX. Additionally, Kimberly teaches for SMU Cox School of Business' Executive Education Program and their Latino Leadership Initiative; as well as for the Bush Institute's WE Lead program (empowering female leaders from the middle east). Kimberly is a TEDx speaker and her award-winning book, Brave Leadership: Unleash Your Most Confident, Authentic, and Powerful Self to Get the Results You Need was named the #1 book to read on Inc. Magazine’s “The most impactful books to read in 2018.”
Find out more about Kimberly below:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Kevin Strauss - Using Social Media the Right Way to Promote Mental Health
Kevin Strauss believes people yearn to feel closer to others. Not to everyone but to the people who matter most to us. He believes we long to feel heard and valued because then we know we matter and that makes us happy and do good things. Kevin is the Founder and CEO of Uchi, a social app dedicated to helping people connect authentically by making conversations easy and fun. Kevin is an expert problem solver and has earned 75+ patents and 10+ publications in spine, infection control, psychology, and behavior change. Uchi is his approach to helping strengthen relationships, reduce conflict, and improve behaviors. When not working, Kevin enjoys expedition backpacking, ballroom dancing, and is a 19-year, Ironman Triathlete and Coach.
Find out more about Kevin below:
https://uchiconnection.com
https://kevinrstrauss.com
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Tom Dietzler - Career Mutt
Tom refers to himself as "Career Mutt" instead of the more genteel "generalist." He's been in his current role for 5 years, served at one time as the entire complaint department for a 2,000 ton a day paper manufacturer, as a supervisor in a printing plant. He's done more than that... but hey, this is just the intro, right? In this episode, we talk about how Tom and I met, what COVID did for social outreach, and how finding our strengths resulted in maximizing the time that we have on Earth.
Find out more about Tom below:
https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/author/thomasdietzler/
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Trish Springsteen - Introversion as a Superpower for Public Speaking
On today's episode, I got the chance to talk with Trish Springsteen, whose goal in life and business is to help introverts realize the incredible potential they have with public speaking. It's not often you get the chance to talk with someone who has a handle on how exactly to take the nervous energy that public speakers have, and turn it into the energy to drive an amazing talk, but today she shared some tips. While I'm not an introvert myself, I still learned a ton, and if you're interested in getting into public speaking yourself, you'll learn some things too.
Find out more about Trish below:
trish@trishspringsteen.com
www.trishspringsteen.com
https://twitter.com/TrishatTrischel
http://www.linkedin.com/in/trishspringsteen/
https://www.facebook.com/trishspringsteenspeaking
http://bit.ly/TrishTalks
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Thomas Halikias - Gameception
Ever play a game inside a game? Fun isn't it? Well today's guest, Tom Halikias, has figured out how to do that within the realm of American Football.
Tom's app is called Drives Football, and he and a team of super smart college students, app developers and quantitative analysts, have joined together to figure out how to place "micro bets" on individual football plays. So even when the team's having a time out, you can still enjoy the game in a different way.
Tom's scheduled to go live pretty soon so be watching for this, and take a look at this new platform that's poised to change sports as we know it.
Find out more about the platform going live soon at:
...and as always, enjoy the listen.
Terri Adams-Munn - Fulfilling Ten Thousand Dreams for the World
How many of us settle for a life that is less than we truly want or desire?
So often we take advantage of an opportunities that come our way early in life, however end up forgetting to look for and take advantage of other opportunities later on
We get stuck in a groove of habits, and conform to the expectations placed on us by the world around us, and we forget to pursue our dreams.
Terri’s goal is to get people to reassess this, to