Business Mastery Podcast

Dawn Kennedy
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

Business is dynamic. And everything affects you and your business. Fight with your mother-in-law? Mindset struggle? Market Changes? YUP.  So, we're going to talk about it all. No topic is off limits. The goal for every episode is to offer a new and different perspective or provide actionable strategies you can implement now. On the topics you need, to help you run the small business you love, more successfully. To master your own business and to master yourself as its leader and decision maker.Every Wednesday Dawn K. Kennedy, an attorney, author, mentor and the CEO of Convoy Road Coffee Roasters, releases a new episode for your middle of the week dose of ideas and inspiration.  In 45 minutes or less. Small bites, expert guests, big impacts. Whether you are a new or seasoned entrepreneur, this show is about all the things around making a bigger impact with your pursuit and growing into your entrepreneurial vision.

  1. 6d ago

    244. "AI is Not a Software Tool" with Ben Tasker

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with AI expert Ben Tasker about using AI as a business tool and why successful adoption requires strategy and change management, not just buying a tool. Ben explains AI isn’t new, that AI outputs are predictions driven by data, and that tool selection depends on outcomes, business context, and risk/guardrails (e.g., ecosystem protections). They discuss rapid consumer adoption pushing workplace use, frequent model changes, and risks, noting many AI implementations fail because companies treat AI as a pinpoint tool rather than a system solution; Ben shares a pizza-ordering AI example to illustrate poor implementation. He recommends starting with employees’ workflows and ideas, labeling and restricting sensitive data, taking a phased rollout, and building continuous learning with validation of outputs. They cover changing cost models (usage/token-based), the need to measure success over time, “gigantic” language models and infrastructure demands, and layered adoption across frontline staff, advanced technical roles, and leaders; Ben says reaching practical AI maturity can take about 18 months and shares how to contact him. Who Is Ben Tasker And Whom Does He Serve? (00:35) AI Is Not New (01:06) Picking The Right AI Tool (02:29) Consumer Adoption Pressure (03:56) Why AI Projects Fail (06:24) Define Use Cases And Data (07:47) Phased Rollout Vs Plug And Play (11:45) Change Management And Training (15:31) Costs And Gigantic Models (20:05) Layered AI Adoption Framework (24:57) Future Roles And Upskilling (28:57) Wrap Up And Where To Connect (32:21) Ben Tasker’s Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentaskerai/ Website: https://www.bentaskerai.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bentaskerai Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    244. "AI is Not a Software Tool" with Ben Tasker

  2. Oct 21

    243. “Where Are Your Internal Gaps” with Carol Schultz

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with Carol Schultz, founder and CEO of Vertical Elevation, who shifted from executive recruiting and coaching to serving as an organizational strategist for mostly privately held SMB companies (roughly 5M–300M) and typically exits within three to six months after backfilling with roles like chief of staff or COO. Schultz explains how she identifies business “gaps” through separate discovery meetings with executives, boards, and select contributors, listening for what is said and unsaid to build a roadmap. She says the most common root issue is ineffective communication, which often reveals missing internal structures such as SOPs, employee handbooks, org charts, leadership teams, and predictable feedback loops—problems that can keep companies stuck (e.g., at $5M). The conversation highlights that funding or hiring alone won’t fix issues without CEO buy-in, behavior modeling, and patient change implementation, and emphasizes bringing in experts rather than founders doing low-value work. Who Is Carol Schultz And Whom Does She Serve? (00:47) Gap Analysis Discovery (01:56) Communication As Root Cause (03:09) Wild West Operations (04:00) Founder Leadership Bottleneck (04:42) VC Money Isn’t Competence (05:16) Buy In And Accountability (09:41) Change Takes Time (11:41) Building Leaders And Language (15:12) Multigenerational Communication (17:21) Feedback Loops And SOPs (19:32) Fractional HR Fixes (19:50) Building Feedback Loops (20:23) Leading Across Generations (22:01) Founders Need Experts (23:19) Carol Schultz’s Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolbschultz/?isSelfProfile=false Website: https://verticalelevation.com/ Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    243. “Where Are Your Internal Gaps” with Carol Schultz

  3. Oct 14

    242. "How Much Fraud is Affecting Your ROAS” with Rich Kahn

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with Rich Kahn, CEO and co-founder of Anura.io, about why ROAS is dropping as ad fraud rises across digital channels. Rich says global digital marketing spend is about $750B, with a conservative estimate of $165B (22%) lost to fraud; in Anura’s client data, fraud ran 25–28% last year and recently spiked past 40%, meaning up to two out of five ad dollars may reach bots, malware, or fraud farms rather than real buyers. He explains how fraud is monetized via ad networks/“partners and networks,” fake profiles and bought engagement (e.g., Fiverr), and how AI tools like FraudGPT lower the barrier to creating and deploying bots. They discuss how bad traffic corrupts KPIs, can cause teams to “optimize for fraud,” and can also create TCPA risk when fake form fills trigger outbound calls. Rich outlines Anura’s approach: a free traffic quality audit to quantify fraud and sources, then a phased mitigation plan, with educational resources available at anura.io and on LinkedIn. In this episode… Who Is Rich Kahn And Whom Does He Serve? (00:43) Fraud Rates Rising (01:17) What Forty Percent Means (04:07) How Google Fraud Works (06:28) Cheap Traffic Trap (07:40) Fake Likes Still Thrive (09:25) Meta Fake Profiles (11:51) SIVT And Law Gaps (13:38) Fighting Fraud Per Client (17:08) AI Lowers The Barrier (17:56) Bad Data Optimization (22:04) Fraud Since Day One (24:22) Headers That Hook (24:38) Google Ads Fraud Loop (24:46) Agency Incentives And Wins (25:40) Proof From QuinStreet (26:10) Why Nobody Talks Fraud (26:58) TCPA Lawsuit Risk (27:48) Lead Gen Fraud Example (28:54) Insurance Scale Nightmare (30:22) Traffic Audit Game Plan (32:29) Fraud Threshold Benchmarks (35:36) Learning Center Resources (36:36) Origin Story And Growth (38:59) Accuracy Guarantee Model (41:27) Where To Follow Next (43:02) Final Takeaways (44:17) Rich Kahn’s Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richkahn/?isSelfProfile=false Website: https://www.anura.io/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/anuraio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anura.io/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anurasolutions/ X: https://x.com/anuraio Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    242. "How Much Fraud is Affecting Your ROAS” with Rich Kahn

  4. Oct 7

    241. “Building Your Predictable Pipeline” with Javier Lozano Jr.

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with Javier Lozano Jr., a fractional CMO/CRO who helps $1–15M revenue companies with product-market fit build cohesive, repeatable marketing and sales engines. Javier explains that marketing must evolve as companies grow, and he starts engagements with a 360 go-to-market audit covering acquisition, customer journey, data/CRM, website, SEO/AEO, and competition to define the right KPIs for that specific business. He distinguishes funnels from pipeline predictability by assigning dollar values, tracking stage conversions, and using customer insights and strategic channel “bets” to create repeatable outcomes. He discusses focusing on a single wedge offer and avoiding too many go-to-market motions, using vanity metrics directionally, and improving sales cycles through better tracking, automated sales-style communications, and lead scoring. In this episode…. Who is Javier Lozano Jr. and whom does he serve? (00:46) From Founder Hustle To Scale (01:35) 360 Go To Market Audit (03:06) Pipeline Versus Funnel (04:50) Building Predictable Pipeline (07:26) Focus One Wedge Offer (10:52) Staying Consistent Not Bored (14:07) Vanity Metrics Versus Revenue (17:18) Shortening Sales Cycle With Data (18:53) Marketing Sales Task Split (22:16) Sales Emails Lead Scoring Loop (26:29) AEO Reality And Buyer Journey (30:03) Architecture Mindset Adoption (34:16) Where To Find Javier (37:39) Final Takeaways And Goodbye (39:42) Javier Lozano Jr.’s Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javierlozanojr/?isSelfProfile=false Website: https://boldermediasolutions.com/ Podcast: https://predictableb2bgrowth.buzzsprout.com/ Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/javykixs/?_rdc=1&_rdr# Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    241. “Building Your Predictable Pipeline” with Javier Lozano Jr.

  5. Sep 30

    240. "PR That Works" with Steve Turner

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with Steve Turner of Solomon/Turner PR, a St. Louis firm in its 36th year, about making PR work for businesses. Steve explains how PR has shifted from relying mainly on newspapers, TV, and radio to choosing from many “delivery systems” (social media, podcasts, niche outlets) and emphasizes targeting the right audience for stronger ROI. He outlines a five-step PR process from his book PR That Works: define measurable objectives, identify the audience, craft differentiating messaging, choose the best delivery systems, and measure results to adjust strategy. Steve contrasts PR’s long-term trust-building with short-term advertising, discusses extending “legs” from media coverage across channels, and stresses having a crisis communications plan, designated spokesperson, and media training in place before problems occur. In this episode…. Meet Steve Turner (00:44) PR Then Vs Now (03:02) Five Step PR Framework (06:14) Objectives And Audience (06:33) Messaging Channels Measurement (07:45) PR Timelines And Expectations (11:32) Giveback Stories With Legs (13:47) PR For Recruiting Culture (15:46) Sales Enablement With Third Party Proof (19:11) Crisis Communication Basics (21:25) When News Crews Arrive (23:37) Rogue Social Media Fallout (24:11) Is It Really A Crisis (26:22) Pick Your Spokesperson (27:37) Fire Drill Media Playbook (28:30) Industries That Need Plans (30:56) PR Is A Long Game (33:35) PR That Works Book (37:19) Penny The Pig Case Study (38:55) Jeep Book Marketing Wins (40:50) Where To Find Steve (44:00) Final Wrap And Thanks (45:04) Steve Turner’s Informations: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveturnerpr/ Website: https://rockstarpublicist.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steveturnerpr/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockstarpublicist X: https://x.com/steveturnerpr Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    240. "PR That Works" with Steve Turner

  6. Sep 23

    239. "Ethical Influence and Persuasion" with Barry Moline

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with Barry Molin, a speaker, trainer, and author of Connect: How to Quickly Collaborate for Success in Business and Life, about influence, persuasion, and doing business ethically over the long term. Barry distinguishes influence as broad trust in a person and persuasion as focused movement toward a specific idea, product, or service. He defines ethical persuasion through three elements: it must be true, make common sense, and be wise—something the persuader genuinely believes in and would recommend to close others—while also being transparent about unknowns. He argues effective persuasion is matching solutions to people’s needs, not pushing for short-term goals. Barry then outlines three categories and tactics: improving relationships (reciprocity, liking, unity), reducing uncertainty (authority, social proof), and motivating action (consistency, scarcity, reducing friction), noting where misuse can become unethical. In this episode…. Who is Barry Molin amd whom does he serve? (00:47) Influence vs Persuasion (02:59) Ethics First Framework (04:40) When You’re Not Sure Yet (08:40) Asking Better Questions (11:04) Sales Mindset Shift (16:12) Short-Term Pressure Trap (20:33) The How Three Pillars (28:35) Reciprocity As Karma (30:14) Friendship Reciprocity Example (30:49) Liking Through Questions (33:00) Unity And Shared Identity (34:12) Spotting Authenticity (36:45) Reducing Uncertainty (38:26) Authority And Social Proof (38:35) Motivating People To Act (42:29) Consistency And Commitment (42:43) Scarcity Done Right (45:08) Reducing Friction To Buy (47:19) Wrap Up And Where To Connect (49:07) Barry Moline’s Information: Book: https://a.co/d/085XWhFT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-moline/ Website: https://barrymoline.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barryjmoline YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsaUixOhhTSataYQv4oSlgQ9FAugN3I6H Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    239. "Ethical Influence and Persuasion" with Barry Moline

  7. Sep 16

    238. "Finances as Ally" with Nate Littlewood

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with fractional CFO Nate Littlewood, who supports early-stage e-commerce and CPG founders with physical-goods challenges like inventory financing and growth strategy guided by financial statements. Nate explains why founders avoid finances through cognitive dissonance—financial reports can contradict the success story they want to believe—then outlines four phases of relating to money: denial, overwhelm, intrigue, and enlightenment, and the “context vacuum” that makes metrics meaningless without industry benchmarks. He argues you can over-invest in finance too early; before product-market fit, founders mainly need a unit economics model and a cashflow forecast (e.g., 13-week model), plus basic bookkeeping and tax compliance. As decisions multiply, tools like three-statement financial models, ROI and capital-at-risk analysis, bottleneck identification, and aligning strategy to the team’s “zone of genius” help prioritize and focus. In this episode…. Meet Fractional CFO Nate (01:00) Why Founders Avoid Numbers (02:04) Pain Points That Trigger Help (06:16) Four Phases With Finance (09:28) Context and Benchmarks Matter (12:02) When Finance Becomes Useful (14:31) Early Tools Unit Economics Cash (16:07) When You Need a CFO (21:19) Models and Decision Frameworks (26:13) Bottlenecks and Zone of Genius (29:31) Founder Story Focus Wins (34:56) Wrap Up and Where to Connect (38:28) Final Thanks and Next Episode (39:47) Nate Littlewood’s Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlittlewood/ Website: https://www.futurereadycfo.com/ Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    238. "Finances as Ally" with Nate Littlewood

  8. Sep 9

    237. "Legal Vulnerabilities You Need to Know" with Matthew Fornaro

    Send us Fan Mail Dawn talks with South Florida business attorney Matthew Fornaro, licensed in Florida, New York, and DC, about legal vulnerabilities that can arise as businesses grow. Key risks include failing to update foundational documents, operating without written contracts for business relationships, falling behind on industry regulations, lacking scalable documentation like employee/contractor agreements, handbooks, and operations manuals, and being under- or incorrectly insured. Matthew emphasizes proactive “legal checkups,” explains vicarious liability, and warns that businesses generally must be represented by an attorney in court (with limited small-claims exceptions in Florida). They discuss how owners and entities are often sued together, why ignoring service can lead to defaults, and immediate steps after being served—especially tendering claims to all insurance policies. They also highlight corporate-formality failures, commingling, and employee misclassification (1099 vs W-2) as major exposure points, and recommend finding business counsel via trusted referrals. In this episode… Who is Matthew Fornaro and whom does he serve?  (01:05) Hidden Legal Vulnerabilities (01:16) Outdated Docs and Contracts (02:40) Insurance and Liability Risks (04:51) Lawyer as Business Advisor (09:02) When Your Business Gets Sued (14:48) Responding to Service Properly (19:09) Corporate Shield and Formalities (21:43) Employment Compliance Pitfalls (26:01) Penalties and Non Dischargeable Debt (31:42) Affordable Legal Support Options (34:46) Finding the Right Business Lawyer (40:12) Wrap Up and Where to Find Matthew (42:32) Matthew Fornaro’s Information: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewfornaro/ Website: https://fornarolegal.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fornarolegal/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZn4sEROz6hErV5Fb5vvOtQ X : https://x.com/FornaroLegal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fornaro_legal/ Support the show Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe: Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dawnkkennedyxo Follow us in Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/dawnkkennedy For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com  Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/ Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources  New Book: Before You Decide: The Field Manual for Durable Decisions Under Pressure https://dawnkkennedy.com/byd/ Read: Strategic Intelligence Articles, Insights, and Resources Support the show SUPPORT THE SHOW O...

    237. "Legal Vulnerabilities You Need to Know" with Matthew Fornaro
See All (244)

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Business is dynamic. And everything affects you and your business. Fight with your mother-in-law? Mindset struggle? Market Changes? YUP.  So, we're going to talk about it all. No topic is off limits. The goal for every episode is to offer a new and different perspective or provide actionable strategies you can implement now. On the topics you need, to help you run the small business you love, more successfully. To master your own business and to master yourself as its leader and decision maker.Every Wednesday Dawn K. Kennedy, an attorney, author, mentor and the CEO of Convoy Road Coffee Roasters, releases a new episode for your middle of the week dose of ideas and inspiration.  In 45 minutes or less. Small bites, expert guests, big impacts. Whether you are a new or seasoned entrepreneur, this show is about all the things around making a bigger impact with your pursuit and growing into your entrepreneurial vision.

Information

  • Creator
    Dawn Kennedy
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    244
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Business Mastery Podcast
  • Show Website
    Business Mastery Podcast