Work Hard. Be Nice.

Sheri Horvath
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  • Entrepreneurship

Conversations About Business Operations, Leadership & Growth Work Hard. Be Nice. is the podcast from Operator's Edge Co. where host Sheri Horvath sits down with business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs, and community changemakers for honest conversations about what it really takes to build something meaningful. Each episode explores business operations, leadership, growth, entrepreneurship, and the lessons that come from building businesses, leading people, overcoming challenges, and creating lasting impact. Some conversations dive into systems and strategy. Others explore leadership, relationships, community, and the values that shape successful businesses. No matter the topic, you'll leave with thought-provoking insights, fresh perspective, and ideas you can put into action. If you believe success is measured by more than the bottom line, you're in the right place. Building a great business starts with working hard, being nice, and leaving people and communities better than you found them.

Episodes

  1. 3 days ago

    Ep. 07 - Don't Let Them Steal Your Joy w/ Judy Lambert

    Ep. 07 - Don't Let Them Steal Your Joy w/ Judy Lambert Inside this episode of Work Hard. Be Nice., host Sheri Horvath sits down with insurance broker, longtime accounting professional, former restaurant owner, and entrepreneur Judy Lambert for a candid conversation about business, leadership, money, resilience, and learning not to give the wrong people too much power. Judy shares how a difficult experience navigating insurance during her husband’s serious illness eventually inspired her to help other families understand and prepare for the financial realities life can bring. Her approach has always been less about selling a product and more about helping people make informed decisions before they find themselves in a crisis. This conversation goes far beyond insurance. Sheri and Judy talk about owning and operating a restaurant, leading employees across generations, knowing when a team member simply isn’t the right fit, building systems, embracing new technology, and the challenge business owners face when they keep doing work themselves because handing it off feels harder than just getting it done. They also get into one of the harder parts of building something you care deeply about, which is learning not to let one negative voice outweigh a hundred positive ones. Judy shares the story of a single customer review that stole the joy from an otherwise incredible day inside her restaurant and the lesson she carried forward from it… when we allow criticism, negativity, or other people’s opinions to take up too much space, we give away our own power. Together, Sheri and Judy talk about surrounding yourself with people who will remind you who you are, standing up for others when they aren’t in the room, and why the people willing to tear someone down with you will eventually be willing to do the same thing to you. At the heart of the episode is a brilliant reminder for anyone building something meaningful: Work hard. Hold yourself to a high standard. Treat people well. And don’t let someone else steal the joy from what you’ve worked so hard to build. An honest conversation about business ownership, leadership, financial wisdom, hard lessons, resilience, and protecting your ability to keep moving forward. Intro & Outro Music Credit: "Bottleneck" by Neon Beach Connect with Judy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudyInsures Connect with Sheri Horvath via Operator's Edge Co.: https://www.facebook.com/OperatorsEdgeCo/ Like and follow this podcast on social: Work Hard Be Nice Podcast on Facebook Operator's Edge Co. Website: www.OpsEdgeCo.com Free Assessment mentioned in this episode: www.OpsEdgeCo.com/assessment

    Ep. 07 - Don't Let Them Steal Your Joy w/ Judy Lambert

  2. 3 Sept

    Ep. 06 - It's Not Worth The Growth If You Lose The Heart w/ Colleen Kurtz

    It’s Not Worth the Growth If You Lose the Heart w/ Colleen KurtzInside this episode of Work Hard. Be Nice., host Sheri Horvath sits down with Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Colleen Kurtz, founder of Mindfully Nourished Wellness, to talk about what happens when the thing you once needed becomes the business you’re responsible for growing. Colleen shares how years of struggling with her own health, and feeling unheard while searching for answers, eventually led her to build the kind of support she wished she had. But knowing how to help people and knowing how to build a business turned out to be two very different things. Sheri and Colleen talk about learning to ask for help, hiring before you can do everything yourself, finding the right mentor, navigating seasons when the clients stop coming, and changing your relationship with failure. They also dig into Colleen’s transition from solopreneur to leader as she hires another practitioner and learns to create capacity without losing the standards, care, and personal connection her business was built on. They explore boundaries, self-care, delegation, trusting other people with your work, and the sometimes uncomfortable realization that being capable of doing something doesn’t necessarily mean you should keep doing it. At the heart of the conversation is a question every growing business eventually has to answer: How much are you willing to change in order to grow...and what are you unwilling to lose along the way? For Colleen, the answer is clear. Growth matters. But if the business ever loses the heart behind why she built it in the first place, it’s not worth the growth. This is an honest conversation about building what you needed, letting other people help you carry it, and learning how to grow without losing what made it worth building in the first place. CREDITS: Contact Colleen Kurtz, Functional Nutritional Therapist, owner of Mindfully Nourished Wellness at www.mindfully-nourished.com Contact Sheri Horvath, Founder + Lead Strategist, Operator's EDGE Co. at www.opsedgeco.com Take The FREE Operational Freedom Readiness Assessment mentioned at the end of this show at www.opsedgeco.com/assessment Intro and Outro Music Credits: "Bottleneck" by Neon Beach

    Ep. 06 - It's Not Worth The Growth If You Lose The Heart w/ Colleen Kurtz

  3. 27 Aug

    Ep. 05- High Capacity, High Standards, & Knowing When To Give It All To God w/ Jessica Smalley-Perry

    Episode 05 - High Capacity, High Standards, and Knowing When To Give It All To God w/ Jessica Smalley-PerryInside Ep. 05 of Work Hard. Be Nice., Host Sheri Horvath talks with Jessica Smalley-Perry about leadership, faith, service, and what happens when being highly capable means everyone knows you’ll figure it out. Jessica shares her work with Pasco Kids First, the realities of leading and fundraising in the nonprofit world, and the faith that has guided her through opportunities she didn’t necessarily feel qualified for, but trusted she was called to take on. Sheri and Jessica also dig into a leadership tension they know well: having incredibly high standards while still giving other people the space to learn, grow, and figure things out for themselves. They talk about mentorship, accountability, knowing when someone needs more room versus when they simply aren’t meeting the standard, and the danger of being capable enough to keep taking everything on yourself. At the heart of the conversation is a lesson Jessica is still learning: just because you can carry something doesn’t mean you’re supposed to. It’s a candid conversation about high capacity, high standards, servant leadership, family, faith, knowing when to say yes...and learning when it’s time to give it all to God. ::: Contact information for Jessica Smalley-Perry: https://www.facebook.com/jessicasmalleyperry Contact information for Pasco Kids First: www.pascokidsfirst.org Contact information for Sheri Horvath & Operator's Edge Co.: www.opsedgeco.com Intro and Outro Music Credits: "Bottleneck" by Neon Beach

    Ep. 05- High Capacity, High Standards, & Knowing When To Give It All To God w/ Jessica Smalley-Perry

  4. 25 Aug

    Ep. 04- Still Building: Confidence, Failure & The Lessons Before The Finish Line w/ Chellsey Barnett

    Inside Ep. 04 of Work Hard. Be Nice., Host Sheri Horvath talks with Licensed Mental Health Counselor Chellsey Barnett about what it really looks like to build a business while you’re still becoming the person capable of leading it. Chellsey shares the story behind building her private practice, the risks she took before she felt ready, and the expensive business decision that became one of her greatest lessons. Together, Sheri and Chellsey explore confidence, failure, ambition, anxiety, authenticity, and the tension between wanting the freedom of entrepreneurship and doing the hard work required to create it. They also talk about Chellsey’s unique approach to walk-and-talk therapy, why high-achieving people can look successful while feeling stuck, and how values can help guide both personal and business decisions. Most importantly, this conversation challenges the idea that you have to reach some imaginary finish line before your experience is worth sharing. Sometimes the most valuable perspective comes from someone who is still climbing and remembers exactly what the last thousand feet felt like. This is an honest conversation about betting on yourself, learning the hard way, building confidence through action, and giving yourself some grace while you figure it out. ::: Contact Information for Chellsey Barnett, LMHC, Resilient Mind Counseling & Coaching: www.resilientmindcc.com Contact Information for Sheri Horvath, Operator's Edge Co.: www.opsedgeco.com Apply to become a guest of the show at www.opsedgeco.com/podcast Intro & Outro Music: “Bottleneck” by Neon Beach

    Ep. 04- Still Building: Confidence, Failure & The Lessons Before The Finish Line w/ Chellsey Barnett

  5. 13 Aug

    Ep. 03 - You Don't Have To Stay Just Because You Started w/ Heidi Bushko | Travel Advisor

    Starting something doesn’t obligate you to stay with it when it no longer fits. In this episode of Work Hard. Be Nice., Sheri Horvath, Founder & CEO of Operator's Edge Co. sits down with entrepreneur and travel advisor Heidi Bushko for a candid conversation about knowing when to stay, when to pivot, and when it’s simply time to move on. After more than 20 years in business, Heidi is building something new and bringing plenty of lessons with her. They talk about choosing the right systems and partnerships, protecting your time, setting better boundaries, communicating your value, trusting yourself enough to change direction, and redefining what success looks like along the way. And, of course, there’s plenty of travel talk too, including why working with a travel advisor brings more value than many travelers realize. It’s a conversation about building with experience, protecting what matters, and remembering that changing direction doesn’t mean you failed. Sometimes it means you learned. If you'd like to get in touch with Heidi, you can do so here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidi.bushko View Heidi's Website Email: h.bushko@cruiseplanners.com And, here's a link to the free Operational Freedom Readiness Assessment promised to all listeners of this podcast. www.OpsEdgeCo.com/Assessment

    Ep. 03 - You Don't Have To Stay Just Because You Started w/ Heidi Bushko | Travel Advisor

  6. 13 Aug

    Ep. 02 - Total Optimal Health For Entrepreneurs w/ Kate Lazzarotti, NBC-HWC | KCL Wellness

    What happens to your business when the person leading it isn't operating at their best? In this episode of Work Hard. Be Nice., host Sheri Horvath, Founder & CEO of Operator's Edge Co., sits down with Kate Lazzarotti, National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach and founder of KCL Wellness, to talk about total optimal health for entrepreneurs, executives, and business leaders. Kate shares the personal health journey that led her to build KCL Wellness and why stress, sleep, gut health, nutrition, mental fitness, and self-care aren't separate from business performance. They're part of it. Together, Sheri and Kate talk candidly about burnout, boundaries, entrepreneurship, building trust, leading with value, navigating marriage while growing a business, and the importance of making your own health part of the investment you're willing to make in your company. Sustainable business growth requires a healthy business. And, that starts with a healthier person leading it. Work Hard. Be Nice. features candid conversations about business operations, leadership, growth, and the people behind the businesses they're building. If you'd like to connect with Kate, you can find her doing incredible work here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088075114960 On the web: www.kclwellness.com By email: kate@kclwellness.com And, here is the link for the free Operational Freedom Readiness Assessment promised to all listeners of this podcast: www.OpsEdgeCo.com/Assessment

    Ep. 02 - Total Optimal Health For Entrepreneurs w/ Kate Lazzarotti, NBC-HWC | KCL Wellness

  7. 27 Jul

    Ep. 01 - Every Builder Has A Story. This One Is Mine w/ Sheri Horvath | Operations Consultant

    Every builder has a story. This one is mine. Before there was Operator's Edge Co., there was a young pastry chef building hundreds of wedding cakes by hand, convinced that working harder was the only way to succeed. It took burnout, closing a business I loved, and years spent leading companies across multiple industries to realize that operations, leadership, and growth were never separate conversations. In this debut episode, I share the story that shaped everything I believe about business, why your company shouldn't depend entirely on you, and why I created Work Hard. Be Nice. If you've ever felt the weight of carrying your business on your shoulders, this episode is for you. Before Operator's Edge Co., I built a nationally recognized custom cake studio that became one of the busiest wedding cake businesses in the Southeast. From the outside, it looked like success. Behind the scenes, it depended entirely on me. In this inaugural episode of Work Hard. Be Nice., I share the journey that shaped my philosophy on business, leadership, and operational excellence. We explore the lessons that came from building, burning out, walking away, and discovering that the goal isn't to build a business that needs you, but one that benefits from you without depending on you. This episode lays the foundation for everything to come: honest conversations with founders, CEOs, operators, and leaders who are building businesses, teams, and lives with purpose. If you've ever wondered whether everyone else has it all figured out, or if you're carrying more than your business was ever meant to ask of you, you're in the right place. Because every builder has a story. This one is mine. I hope you enjoy this episode. Until next time.. Work Hard. Be Nice. Sheri Horvath Founder & Lead Strategist - Operator's Edge Co.

    Ep. 01 - Every Builder Has A Story. This One Is Mine w/ Sheri Horvath | Operations Consultant
  • 7 Episodes

About

Conversations About Business Operations, Leadership & Growth Work Hard. Be Nice. is the podcast from Operator's Edge Co. where host Sheri Horvath sits down with business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs, and community changemakers for honest conversations about what it really takes to build something meaningful. Each episode explores business operations, leadership, growth, entrepreneurship, and the lessons that come from building businesses, leading people, overcoming challenges, and creating lasting impact. Some conversations dive into systems and strategy. Others explore leadership, relationships, community, and the values that shape successful businesses. No matter the topic, you'll leave with thought-provoking insights, fresh perspective, and ideas you can put into action. If you believe success is measured by more than the bottom line, you're in the right place. Building a great business starts with working hard, being nice, and leaving people and communities better than you found them.

Information

  • Creator
    Sheri Horvath
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Sheri Horvath