This episode is not for the faint of heart!

Randy Spurling founded On the Spot Cleaners and the next year started investing in real estate.

While the strategy worked for him, it's not for everyone!

Randy shares some tough stories of how his business wore him out and how, in the short term, several strategic errors cost him his most precious resource: time.

With every hard knocks lesson, there's a silver lining: Randy spent 12 weeks traveling this last year. He has trained his team to run much of the business without him (though he's still very involved). And he's invested in ways that allow him to create more time freedom in his life.

In this episode you'll learn:

👉 How to keep your ego from getting in the way of business decisions

👉 Why it's sometimes better to make less money in your business

👉 The reason you need to think big picture when it comes to advertising (and how you may have missed the most cost effective way the whole time!)

👉 Why Randy loves hiring former restaurant employees

👉 How and when to hire your first and next employee (and how to make sure they pay for themselves)

👉 Why teaching others to replicate your success is often more lucrative than the initial business you were in

👉 And so much more!

Connect with Randy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/randy.spurling.75

Or on his website: https://onthespotcleanersinc.com/

Emily Carpenter has seen a lot in her sixteen years in web design. 

Much has changed about websites, but the bones are still the same.

In this episode Emily and I nerd out about web design but transition gracefully into a ton of topics that will help your business stay fresh even as the technology continues to change.

We cover:

-Who makes the best web design client (not who you'd expect!)

-Essential considerations when building your website

-Why you NEED to make sure your website is getting backed up on a regular basis

-What matters in your personal and professional branding

-The best way to use your website to help your potential customers feel cared for

-How to use an RSS feed to curate relevant content for your website

-How to reinvent your business to avoid burnout

And so much more!


Connect with Emily on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilycarpenter/

Talk about energy! 

Hannah Morgan and I had a lively discussion centered around your next career search.

Whether you already have a job, are actively looking for one, or are looking to hire the right talent, you'll get tons of insight from today's show.

Hannah is a top LinkedIn influencer in career search. She has worked for decades helping people get connected to their dream jobs through her company, Career Sherpa.

If you're a job seeker, apply the advice Hannah shares. If you're looking to hire and retain talent, make sure you aren't giving off unintentional warning signs to your future hires.

Today we talk about:

-Why everyone should have a side hustle

-How to attract the right employees and how to retain your all stars

-Warning signs to watch out for in employers

-What to do about the "salary range" question

-What to do if you're looking for a job (Hint: don't just spam your resume out there)

-How to keep from getting filtered out by computer filtering systems

-The three things you're looking for when networking (A.I.R.)

Connect with her on LinkedIn for some great career advice! (300,000+ followers at the time of this recording!) 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahmorgan/

You can also visit her website:

www.careersherpa.net

Today's episode brings together six(!) different leaders representing four podcasts, with each person covering what they are planning heading into the New Year.

Resolutions abound in January, but not all of them survive to make it until February, let alone December. Each panel member has a unique take on their goals and how they see their future into 2022.

The conversation takes a fun turn when we start to discuss WHY people tend to fail at their goals and resolutions. 

Tune in to hear from: 

Kevyn Rusticic of Timeout with Leaders https://www.linkedin.com/in/hrevolution/
Ben Albert of Real Business Connections https://www.linkedin.com/in/balbertmarketing/
Dr. Rehnuma Karim https://www.linkedin.com/in/rehnuma-karim-31b12721/
Jon Goehring & https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-goehring/
Coach Jim Johnson of the Limitless Leadership Lounge https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachjimjohnson/

There's free money out there, friend.

You just need to take the time to find it.

Grants exist to help further what the government sees as important areas of need. There's an ebb and flow to the types of organizations and projects that governments, localities, and agencies want to sponsor.

Emily Palumbos, owner of ESP Consulting, teaches you the two methods of getting grants.

There's the "Do It Yourself" method which is more time intensive and at first will come with quite a bit of a learning curve.

Then there's the "Done for You" option that comes with a price tag, but a better chance at success.

No matter which way you go, it's important to at least check and see what's out there that can help your business.

Connect with Emily here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-palumbos-4335076/

It all starts at the top.

Are you a leader that is empowering your employees? 

Or are you purposely adding bottlenecks and bureaucracy in an attempt to retain control?

Marvin Deitz is an international adjunct professor and the Managing Partner of North American operations for 2DAYSMOOD. He's consulted extensively with his own business, The Customer Happiness Institute, and has taught courses in Rochester, Dubai, Croatia, and the Dominican Republic.

We talked about: 

Frontline employees that don't have permission to solve customer problems

Why being a customer centric company means you need to focus on employees first

How self directed work teams can transform your company for the better

The reason a customer focused company like Amazon treats it's frontline employees so poorly

How strong, humble leaders recognize that they are often the problem, and what to do if your leader is egocentric and blind to their shortcomings

and so much more!

Connect with Marvin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marvindeitz/

Linda looked across the room and knew that the woman standing there, poised, confident, and dressed to impress, would not be a good coaching match. 

They were paired up anyway, and the story that unfolded over the coming months was a  frustrating emotional roller coaster. 

They both begged to be paired with someone else. They both wanted to quit on each other. 

But by persevering, they both experienced something that neither one was ready for...

Linda Heeler is a Life Coach and one of my favorite people to explore ideas with.

We dive into a myriad of topics from creating a personal brand to finding mentors and handling the biases of the important people in your life.

We cover a lot of ground in this one and I know the time will fly by for you just like it did for us!

"In 2017 I almost put myself out of business."

Michele Liddle started a business from scratch to fill a need in the community. 

And she has made plenty of mistakes along the way. 

It's the learning from those mistakes that have allowed her business, The Perfect Granola, to thrive.

In a society rampant with abundance, it is hard to imagine that there are a large number of people that live with food insecurity.

Michele started volunteering, then she started creating, and then she took things to a whole new level.

You can find her company, The Perfect Granola, positioned next to household brands we've all heard of, at stores everyone in America not only know by name, but shop at on a weekly basis.

Listen in to hear how she took a kitchen project and turned it into national brand.

You'll learn:

- The most important step to turning a "side hustle" into your main gig

-How being hugely successful at the wrong time can almost end your business

-Why you MUST get off of entrepreneur island and how to do it

-The one thing you need to be crystal clear on before you say "yes" or "no" to an opportunity

-How to fight back against imposter syndrome

-What to do to keep your family as your top priority

And soooo much more.

Did you love the episode? Leave a review and let Michele know!


Contact her at: https://theperfectgranola.com/pages/contact

If you're used to relational selling, Joe Morone is about to blow your mind.

It's true that people tend to buy from people they like. 

But Joe shares an uglier truth: Before you can start selling on emotion and logic, you need to start by "poking" the fear center of the brain, the amygdala.

If you can speak to that persons immediate business survival needs, they have to listen, and you can build from there.

Joe is the author of The Smart Sales Method, and President of WORLDLEADERS. He specializes in selling sales training to tech firms.

By fusing all of his core passions together, spiritually, physically, and intellectually, Joe has created a life of passion that helps him thrive. 

Joe shares these gems and more in our discussion...

1. When you make the call to the CEO, don't try to be their friend. You need to speak their language and tell them how you will help with what's most important to him/her.

2. If you don't want to take the time and sacrifice to be a bodybuilder, there's always golf.

3. Follow your excitement, particularly in the realms of the spiritual, physical, and intellectual. These interests and passions will shape you and help you find your best way to live and contribute.


Link to his book: https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Sales-Method-2017-Improving/dp/0692820302 

There are countless success stories of how remote work has changed lives for the better.

Casey Wood seized the opportunity of remote work during the pandemic and bought a 30 acre parcel of land overlooking Canandaigua Lake. 

While still working as a Senior National Account Manager for Under Armour, Casey has started growing crops and raising animals in the hopes of creating a business of his own.

Here are a few things you'll learn about in today's episode:

1. The strategic decisions that helped Under Armour go from garage business where every employee was a friend of the owner to contender with the likes of Nike in only 6 years, and how that all came crashing down (and how it's been built back up again)

2. What the perfect animal is for aerating your soil and creating sustainable farmland

3. Where book knowledge and hands on knowledge meet and how to continually innovate to see massive growth

4. What the future holds for the next generation staring down the barrel of Facebook Meta

5. A Will Smith quote that flies in the face of conventional wisdom

Ben and I had a wide ranging interview going from collaboration, to delegation, and ultimately ended up talking about alcoholism and overcoming hardship. 

-Content creation doesn't have to be hard, according to Ben Albert. If done right, it can be a networking tool as well as an opportunity to help your customers and followers.

-There are some things in your business that you are best at. There are other things that you're not good at. And there are still other things that can be delegated or outsourced at low cost. Those non essentials that you can give away are going to be your key to success.

-Some of your greatest opportunities for growth as a person and as a business owner will not be the "rah rah" exciting moments in a conference center. They will be the dark terrible times that you never wished for. 

-Plus some of the real life hardships that Ben and I have each had to work on and work through in order to get to where we are today.

This one is jam packed with nuggets of wisdom and stories that will not only get you thinking deeper about business, but your own life as well.

*Aspirational professions: 2001*
"I want to be a veterinarian!"
"I want to be an astronaut!"
"I want to be a fireman!"

*Aspirational professions: 2021*
"I want to be an INFLUENCER!"

Ben Albert, of Balbert Marketing, shares how you need to be building a personal brand - starting ten years ago. If you're behind, that's ok, today is the next best time to start. Being a person of influence means you can use your personal brand to further the things that are important to you.

That may mean your business, but it can also be charities, people, and other causes you care about.

Rich with marketing, business, and personal insight, Ben talks about building relationships from networking to a low key sales conversation, how he headed down a dark path at the start of lockdowns last year, and how he positions himself to attract his niche customers.

This interview went so fast that Ben and I promise to do another one in the weeks ahead! Stay tuned!

PS I was the second person to ever call Ben a genius, listen in to hear who the first one was!

Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/balbertmarketing/

Today I dive into a topic that I am very passionate about: personal and team productivity.

We live in a digital age and in many ways the work that we do has been leveraged and multiplied many times over by the technology that we use.

What I want to confront today are six myths that are likely holding you back from your best work.

Here are the Myths:

Myth #1: I'm a good multitasker
Myth #2: I don't need a schedule
Myth #3: An open office design will boost productivity/creativity
Myth #4: I need my notifications
Myth #5: An open door policy is the most important thing
Myth #6: I need more discipline

With 30+ full time employees, Bristol Mountain needs to grow and shrink it's employee base by the hundreds every year. Steve Fuller, Vice President, shares how the business effectively brings in enough of the right people to serve it's customers.

Steve also dives into the strategic decisions that have turned the business from simply ski resort into a thriving outdoor service based business with four distinct units.

I've spent much of my life selling and studying sales.  There are some things that I love about sales, and some things that I hate. 

It turns out the things I hate about sales - strongarm tactics, selling things people don't want, and using psychology to bully people - don't have to be there.

I gave this workshop to the Ibero Business Center located in Geneva, NY. The entrepreneurs in attendance were blown away and I knew I had to share this with you.

We talked about creating your MVP (minimum viable product), the best closing techniques, and how to position your offering to solve your customers needs.

This isn't an episode you'll want to miss!

Strategic decisions and planning aren't just reserved for board rooms and company retreats. It is the lifeblood of successful entrepreneurs. 

Susie Atvell, owner of Kindred Fare in Geneva, NY, shares stories of how strategic planning has helped her create a business that allows her freedom to do the work she loves at a time and place she chooses.  

She also shares some times where making panicked decisions made her worse off than when she started.

Listen in to learn how to make strategic planning a regular part of your business.

Kevyn Rustici shares with us how we can use data to transform Human Resources from a cost center to a profit center. We are entering into the war for talent. If you do not treat your people well, someone else will.

Which phrase resonates more with you:

My employees are lucky to work here.

OR

We are lucky to have these employees working here.

One of these mindsets will evolve your company to the next level, and the other has the potential to make you go extinct. 

Listen in to get Kevyn's insight on how to revolutionize your HR department.

Kevyn also cohosts two podcasts: Timeout with Leaders with Tyler White and The #HRevolution with Bobby Spaziani and Chris Darone.

Bobby started his business by selling off every asset he had and fully committing to a single car wash. He has since grown it to five locations and is now building his sixth. And he plans on building more. 

Though hard work is an undeniable part of Bobby's success, he and his team have made several critical strategic decisions that turned a declining car wash into a quickly growing business.

One of the most exciting things about being in business is the ability to create something from nothing, to see ideas come to life, and to solve problems that were previously unsolvable. Bob talks about how entrepreneurs are often long on imagination and short on execution. 

We discuss the idea of a brand and a brand promise and how execution is key to bringing your ideas (imagination) to life.

Bob spent many years as an executive at Wal-Mart as they became an omnipresent market force. He headed up many aspects of merchandising and has a keen eye for what it takes for small businesses to succeed when the big boys come to town. 

In our first episode with Bob (episode 2 coming next week) we dive into a small detail that makes a world of difference: how you define and interact with your ideal clientele. Many businesses have customers. Bob argues that small businesses need to think of their patrons differently in order to serve them best, and ultimately build a thriving business.

Kristen Fragnoli is a Life and Leadership Coach who specializes in working with emerging leaders who are looking to improve their performance, expand their impact, and become more joyful and balanced in their career and life.

We talk about how each person can benefit from coaching, even if you "don't need it." And she shares some great insight into what to look for in a coach that can take your game to the next level.

Valerie Knoblauch is the President of the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection, an organization dedicated to the advancement of the Finger Lakes region, specifically in the realm of commerce and tourism. 

Valerie generously shares her advice on leadership during the pandemic, how locals can have an outsized impact on tourism, and how working with your "competition" may be your best answer for finding success in the marketplace.

Michelle Pedzich of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust discusses how leaders can practice transparency and vulnerability in ways that build employee morale and create a positive work culture. She discusses the nuances of networking and some best practices you can implement today.

When Kim Porter found out that people who went through a sexual abuse forensic exam had their clothes taken as evidence, and went home in a hospital gown and hospital underwear, she knew she had to do something about it. Kim led an all female brew team to create IMPACT IPA, a beer which will help fund the purchase of undergarments and clothing for those who go through sexual assault forensic exams.

She shares her thoughts on the brewing industry and where she sees it heading.

Andrew Biernat gives a quick overview of who this podcast is meant to serve and how you can get the most out of it.