Your Customer, Your Success

Gary Marra
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Your Customer, Your Success is an entrepreneurial business podcast focused on how client-centric strategy drives sustainable business growth. Hosted by Gary Marra of Schooley Mitchell, the show features candid conversations with founders, executives, and operators who understand that leadership behavior, operational discipline, and client focus are part of the same growth engine. Each episode explores the connection between customer experience, employee experience, growth, and financial performance. Guests share practical lessons on building durable client relationships, scaling with clarity, and leading organizations that grow through trust rather than transaction. This podcast is for business leaders who believe that client strategy is not a department. It is a competitive advantage. If you are an entrepreneur, lead a team, advise clients, or build businesses that rely on long-term relationships, this show is designed for you and your success.

  1. 1d ago

    How PR Builds Trust, Attracts Customers, and Drives Referrals with Lexie Smith

    How PR Builds Trust, Attracts Customers, and Drives Referrals with Lexie SmithSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Lexie Smith, Founder and CEO of GROWTH MODE, PR strategist, thought leadership expert, three-time entrepreneur, and host of the Pitchin' and Sippin' podcast. PR is often reduced to press releases, media coverage, or crisis communications. Lexie takes a much broader view: The second word in public relations is relationships. Those relationships can help a business reach new customers, strengthen existing customer relationships, build credibility, generate referrals, and create a community around the brand. Lexie introduces her seven relations of PR: the public, customers and clients, media, industry, community, investors, and employees. She explains why public and customer relations are especially important for small and mid-sized businesses trying to grow. The conversation moves from visibility to execution. Lexie explains when a business is actually ready to invest in PR, why its owned assets need to be in order first, and why earning a media placement is not the finish line. The businesses that create value from PR understand how to leverage credibility across their website, sales process, customer relationships, and future opportunities. Gary and Lexie also explore the other side of growth: the customers a business already has. Existing customers can become repeat buyers, advocates, and referral sources, but referrals require more than simply asking someone to keep you in mind. Lexie explains why people are far more comfortable referring a business once they have experienced it, trust it, and feel confident putting their own reputation behind the recommendation. Lexie also breaks down her five-layer Trust Stack: Founder Trust → Owned Trust → Earned Trust → Social Proof → Community Trust They discuss the opportunities and risks of building a brand around its founder, why founder visibility has to be managed as a company grows, and what happens when customers expect access to the founder but ultimately work with a broader team. The conversation closes with a timely challenge for business leaders. Podcasts, creator platforms, AI, and new publishing tools have created more opportunities to become visible than ever before. But AI-generated content and easier access have also created a more skeptical marketplace. That makes trust more important, not less. For the business owner who is tired of being the best-kept secret, Lexie's advice is straightforward: start with the channels you control, develop a clear point of view, choose where your audience already spends time, and begin building from there. What You'll LearnWhy PR is fundamentally about relationships, not simply media coverageThe seven relationships that make up Lexie's approach to PRHow PR can help small and mid-sized businesses attract new customersWhat a business should have in place before investing in PRWhy earning media coverage does not automatically translate into revenueHow existing customers can become advocates and referral sourcesWhy trust is essential before someone will confidently refer your businessThe five layers of Lexie's Trust StackHow much of a company's brand should depend on its founderWhy AI is creating both greater visibility opportunities and a more skeptical marketplaceWhere founders should start when they want to build thought leadership and visibility CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold Open 01:15 Introduction 03:26 What PR Really Does for a Business 04:34 The Seven Relationships of PR 06:15 How PR Helps Businesses Reach New Customers 07:35 When a Business Is Ready for PR 11:40 Turning Visibility Into Business Value 15:16 Strengthening Existing Customer Relationships 16:59 How Trust Drives Referrals 22:06 The Five Layers of the Trust Stack 24:44 How Much of the Brand Should Sit on the Founder? 27:35 PR, AI, and a More Skeptical Marketplace 29:57 Where to Start Building Thought Leadership 31:40 Does It Hold Water? 33:52 Chip Shots Book RecommendationA Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas Connect with Lexie SmithGROWTH MODE: https://growthmodeon.com Join the GROWTH MODE Memo: https://growthmodeon.com/newsletter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexie-smith-pr/ Pitchin' and Sippin' Podcast: https://theprbarinc.com/podcasts 🔗 Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast 📣 🎧 Please Listen & Subscribe💡 Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode. 👉 Follow Your Customer, Your Success for conversations about customer relationships, leadership, entrepreneurship, operational discipline, and sustainable business growth. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Connect with Gary through PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 Looking to Reduce Business Expenses?Gary is a Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, helping businesses identify savings across essential operating expenses through independent, vendor-neutral cost reduction consulting. Learn more: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESSYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, entrepreneurship, relationship building, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with founders, executives, advisors, and business leaders about how better relationships, stronger execution, and client-centric thinking create trust, retention, referrals, and sustainable growth. ABOUT GARY MARRAGary Marra is a Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, business advisor, customer experience leader, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on deep experience in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical business lens to customer relationships and growth. Through Schooley Mitchell, he works with businesses to identify opportunities to reduce essential operating expenses while maintaining or improving service. His perspective is grounded in the belief that relationship building drives revenue, client focus creates competitive advantage, and disciplined execution builds stronger businesses over time. #PublicRelations #PRStrategy #ThoughtLeadership #BusinessGrowth #CustomerRelationships #Trust #Referrals #SmallBusiness #Leadership #podmatch

    How PR Builds Trust, Attracts Customers, and Drives Referrals with Lexie Smith

  2. Sep 9

    YOLO Gary Goes Solo: Building the Next Chapter

    SummaryIn this solo episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary steps back to reflect on how the show has evolved, what he has learned from more than a year of conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, advisors, and operators, and how those lessons helped shape the next chapter of his own career. The show began with a strong focus on customer experience and customer success. Over time, the conversations expanded into entrepreneurship, leadership, relationships, operations, profitability, cash, and sustainable business growth. For Gary, those subjects are increasingly connected by one question: How do you build a business that gets stronger as it grows? Growth creates opportunity, but it also creates complexity. More customers, employees, vendors, contracts, systems, subscriptions, and recurring expenses mean more decisions that somebody needs to own. That leads to another question: What does your business pay for every month that somebody approves, but nobody truly owns? Gary explores why busy can become an expensive condition in business, how slow problems become normalized, and why outside expertise can create valuable leverage for owners and operators. He also shares why becoming a business owner with Schooley Mitchell made sense as his next chapter. Rather than abandoning nearly 30 years of experience in client relationships, operations, leadership, and vendor management, Gary saw an opportunity to put that experience to work in a business where client value can be clearly measured. This is not a departure from Your Customer, Your Success. It is where many of the conversations on the show have been leading. What You’ll LearnHow Your Customer, Your Success has evolved from CX into a broader entrepreneurship and business growth conversationWhy Gary believes strong owners do not try to become experts in everythingHow growth creates operational complexity and new ownership gapsThe difference between approving an expense and truly owning the commercial decision behind itWhat Gary means by “silent overspend”Why slow problems can become normal inside an organizationHow outside expertise can create leverage for owners, CFOs, and operatorsWhy cost reduction and indiscriminate cost cutting are very different business decisionsHow disciplined management of recurring expenses can create more options for a businessWhy Schooley Mitchell became a natural fit for Gary’s experience and entrepreneurial goalsHow the show and Gary’s business will continue evolving together ChaptersFinal timestamps to be added after the edited episode is locked. Introduction: Why It Was Time for Another YOLO Gary Goes Solo How Your Customer, Your Success Has Evolved What the Show Has Taught Gary About Business Ownership Growth Creates Opportunity and Complexity Who Actually Owns the Decision Behind the Invoice? Busy Is an Expensive Condition in Business Silent Overspend and the Problems That Slowly Become Normal Why Outside Expertise Creates Leverage Building Gary’s Next Chapter Why Schooley Mitchell Made Sense Cost Reduction vs. Cost Cutting Being “Awesome at Boring” Where Your Customer, Your Success Goes From Here The Question Every Business Owner Should Ask Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell of Weymouth: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Please Listen & SubscribeSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pTZksMmQPwZJSeryfK5Xm Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-customer-your-success/id1783768227 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Audio is available on all major podcast platforms. If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe and leave a review. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, customer experience, relationship building, operational discipline, profitability, and sustainable business growth. Want to Be a Guest on Your Customer, Your Success?Send Gary a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 About Your Customer, Your SuccessYour Customer, Your Success is an entrepreneurial business podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is not merely a service philosophy. It is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, entrepreneurship, relationship building, operational discipline, and financial performance. Each episode features practical conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, advisors, and business leaders about how stronger relationships, better leadership, and disciplined execution build trust, loyalty, referrals, retention, and sustainable business growth. About Gary MarraGary Marra is a business owner, Cost Reduction Consultant with Schooley Mitchell of Weymouth, customer experience leader, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience across financial services, client relationship management, operations, vendor management, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical operator’s perspective to business growth. Through Schooley Mitchell, Gary works with business owners and leaders to understand their operations, evaluate essential business expenses and vendor arrangements, and determine whether opportunities exist to improve value and protect margins without sacrificing service quality. His approach is grounded in the same principle behind Your Customer, Your Success: understand the business, build strong relationships, make better decisions, and create measurable value. #Entrepreneurship #BusinessOwnership #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Profitability #OperationalDiscipline #CustomerExperience #CostReduction #SmallBusiness #SchooleyMitchell #YOLOGaryGoesSolo #podmatch

    YOLO Gary Goes Solo: Building the Next Chapter

  3. Sep 2

    A Leap of Faith: From Ministry to Entrepreneurship with Matt Estrin

    A Leap of Faith: From Ministry to Entrepreneurship with Matt EstrinSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Matt Estrin, entrepreneur, author, and founder of 477 Distilling. After spending 15 years in ministry, Matt made an unconventional career move. A trip to Napa Valley sparked an interest in the business and craft of making spirits. He started learning on a five-gallon still in his kitchen, eventually attended Moonshine University in Kentucky, and in 2018 opened 477 Distilling with his wife, Trista. He had confidence in the product. Running a business was another story. Matt shares what he learned going from pastor to entrepreneur, eventually launching seven businesses, selling two, closing one, and building businesses across distilling and restaurants. One of the biggest lessons came quickly: “If you build it, they will come” is not a business strategy. A great product is not enough. Owners have to build relationships, earn trust, become visible in their communities, and give people a reason to walk through the door. Gary and Matt also explore how Matt’s years in ministry shaped his approach to leadership. Leading volunteers taught him that compensation alone does not create commitment. People give their best when they feel valued, have a voice, believe in what they are building, and can see how the experience will help them grow. That philosophy carries directly into customer experience. Matt believes every person walking into one of his businesses may be having the best day of their life, the worst day of their life, or somewhere in between. His team gets an opportunity to become part of that experience. The conversation also gets into the story behind the name 477 Distilling, why Matt intentionally worked to become someone people could say they “know,” the importance of referral relationships in small-business growth, the challenge of creating unusual spirits, and one of the most misunderstood facts about bourbon. Matt also shares the failure that reinforced three rules he now uses when evaluating brick-and-mortar businesses and explains why entrepreneurs should not wait for complete certainty before moving an idea forward. The lesson is practical: You do not need to do everything today. You need to do something. If you are an entrepreneur, small-business owner, or leader thinking about taking a calculated risk, building a stronger culture, improving customer service, or simply getting an idea off the sidelines, this conversation offers an honest look at what entrepreneurship really requires. What You’ll LearnHow Matt went from 15 years in ministry to owning a craft distilleryWhy learning the craft before taking the leap gave Matt confidence to move forwardThe difference between calculated risk and reckless riskWhy “if you build it, they will come” does not work in businessWhat ministry taught Matt about motivating people and building cultureWhy a paycheck alone will never create great employee engagementHow giving employees ownership can improve service and cultureWhy customer service can matter as much as the product itselfHow community visibility and relationships became a growth strategyThe meaning behind I Know the OwnerWhat Matt learned from the one business he closedWhy entrepreneurs should take one meaningful step forward every day AUDIO TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold Open 01:25 Introduction 02:48 Learning to Distill on a Kitchen Stovetop 05:13 How 477 Distilling Got Its Name 09:20 Calculated Risk vs Reckless Risk in Business 14:00 What New Business Owners Don't Know in Year One 17:42 Leadership Lessons That Transfer From Ministry to Business 20:48 Hospitality, Customer Service, and Staff Burnout 28:29 Why Being Known in Your Community Drives Business 32:27 Creating New Products and What Makes Them Hard 36:29 What People Get Wrong About How Bourbon Is Made 38:49 Advice for Anyone Afraid to Start a Business 41:35 Does It Hold Water? 46:28 Chip ShotsBook RecommendationThe Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter Matt recommends the book for its exploration of discomfort, challenge, and the value of deliberately doing difficult things in a culture increasingly designed around comfort. About Matt EstrinMatt Estrin is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and founder of 477 Distilling. After spending 15 years in ministry, Matt left a familiar career to pursue entrepreneurship. Over the next eight years, he launched seven businesses across hospitality and craft spirits, experiencing the successes, failures, risks, and hard-earned lessons that come with business ownership. His book, I Know the Owner: From Holy Water to Happy Hour, shares those lessons through stories about entrepreneurship, leadership, company culture, customer service, faith, family, and taking the leap into something uncertain. I Know the Owner arrives October 6 and is available for pre-order. Connect with MattWebsite: MattEstrin.net LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matt-estrin-223125113 477 Distilling: 477distilling.co Book: I Know the Owner: From Holy Water to Happy Hour Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell Strategic Partner: Cost Reduction Consulting for businesses and organizations YouTube: youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Please Listen & Subscribe🎧 Audio available on all major podcast platforms. 📺 Video available on YouTube. If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe and leave a review. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, customer experience, relationship building, operational discipline, and sustainable business growth. Want to Be a Guest on Your Customer, Your Success?Connect with Gary through PodMatch: podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 About Your Customer, Your SuccessYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is not merely a service philosophy. It is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, entrepreneurship, relationship building, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, advisors, and business leaders about how stronger relationships, better leadership, and disciplined execution build trust, loyalty, referrals, retention, and sustainable growth. About Gary MarraGary Marra is a business owner, advisor, customer experience leader, and Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, an independent cost reduction consulting firm serving businesses and organizations. Through Schooley Mitchell, Gary helps clients identify opportunities to reduce business expenses, recover billing errors, evaluate current services, and assess marketplace pricing while maintaining or improving service levels. His perspective is shaped by decades of experience in financial services, client management, operations, relationship management, and cross-functional leadership. As host of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary brings those experiences together around a central belief: strong relationships, client focus, operational discipline, and sound business decisions are all part of sustainable growth. #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #SmallBusiness #BusinessGrowth #CompanyCulture #CustomerExperience #Hospitality #BusinessOwnership #RelationshipBuilding #SchooleyMitchell #podmatch

    A Leap of Faith: From Ministry to Entrepreneurship with Matt Estrin

  4. Aug 26

    Leadership Mindset: Limiting Beliefs, Self-Awareness, and Better Decisions with Steve Barton

    Leadership Mindset: Limiting Beliefs, Self-Awareness, and Better Decisions with Steve BartonSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Steve Barton, executive coach, author, and creator of The Game of Ten®, an awareness-based framework designed to help leaders and high performers operate with greater clarity, confidence, and intention. Steve brings more than four decades of real-world business experience, including growing his family’s florist business from roughly $200,000 to more than $2 million in revenue. That experience shaped a perspective on leadership that challenges a common assumption: when a problem becomes more complicated, the answer is not always to think harder. Sometimes the thinking itself is part of the problem. Gary and Steve explore how limiting beliefs, past experiences, self-doubt, and emotional reactions can quietly influence the decisions leaders make today. Steve explains his distinction between what he calls The Game of Ten and “the game often played,” where leaders operate from old patterns without necessarily realizing it. The conversation gets practical when they examine what happens after a difficult customer interaction. If one frustrating conversation affects how you show up for the next client, employee, or decision, the issue is no longer simply personal. It becomes a leadership and business issue. Steve also explains why he believes awareness creates space between an experience and our response, how leaders can better recognize the thoughts that are limiting them, and why intuition can play an important role alongside experience and analytical thinking. This episode is ultimately about developing a stronger leadership mindset: becoming more aware of what you are carrying into a decision, recognizing when old assumptions are influencing new situations, and learning to respond to what is actually happening in front of you. For founders, owners, executives, and managers, the challenge is simple: Are your thoughts helping you lead better, or are they quietly limiting how you show up? What You’ll LearnWhy Steve believes resilience and letting go of ego were critical lessons from decades of running a businessWhat The Game of Ten® is and how it differs from what Steve calls “the game often played”How limiting beliefs and past experiences can influence present-day leadership decisionsWhy self-awareness matters when leaders are under pressureHow overthinking can interfere with clarity and confidenceThe role Steve believes intuition should play alongside rational analysisHow to prevent one difficult customer or employee interaction from affecting the next conversationWhy leaders should pay closer attention to the thoughts they repeatedly tell themselvesHow beliefs such as “I’m not a good leader” or “I’m not good at this” can become self-imposed barriersWhy Steve believes healthy boundaries are an important part of leadershipWhat leaders can learn by questioning the assumptions they carry into their workWhy disagreeing with a boss can reveal a great deal about the quality of leadership inside an organization Chapters0:00 Open 0:56 Introduction 2:48 What three decades running a family business taught Steve 3:13 What the Game of Ten is and why it is different 4:05 The Game OFTEN Played and running on autopilot 5:34 60,000 thoughts a day and why most come from the past 8:16 Steve's definition of awareness 9:55 Why thinking harder makes the problem worse 12:43 The six phrases, demonstrated live 21:48 Thinking versus knowing 22:26 Where intuition comes from in experienced operators 24:45 The levels of awareness and the gap we fill 28:18 Forgiving a person versus letting go of the thought 30:16 One thing a founder can start doing this week 32:16 Limiting beliefs at work 37:04 Does It Hold Water? 38:50 Chip Shots 45:57 Where to find Steve Barton Book RecommendationA Course in Miracles Steve identifies A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman as one of the books that has most influenced his thinking and personal development. Steve Barton’s BookThe Father, The Son, The Aha Moment! Steve co-authored the book with his son, exploring parenting, relationships, awareness, and breaking long-standing patterns. Connect with Steve BartonWebsite: https://www.stevebartoncoaching.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coach-steve-barton/ The Father, The Son, and the Aha Moment: https://thegameof10.com/ Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/gmarra YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Please Listen & SubscribeAudio available on all major podcast platforms. Video available on YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations on customer experience, leadership, and business growth. Want to Be a Guest on Your Customer, Your Success?Send Gary Marra a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESSYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is not just a service philosophy. It is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership behavior, relationship building, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with executives, entrepreneurs, advisors, and business leaders about how stronger relationships, better leadership, and disciplined execution create trust, retention, referrals, and sustainable growth. ABOUT GARY MARRAGary Marra is a business advisor, customer experience leader, Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on experience in financial services, client management, operations, entrepreneurship, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical business lens to the connection between customer relationships and growth. His perspective is grounded in a simple principle: strong businesses are built by creating value, earning trust, strengthening relationships, and executing consistently. #Leadership #LeadershipMindset #SelfAwareness #DecisionMaking #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessLeadership #Entrepreneurship #LimitingBeliefs #CustomerExperience #podmatch

    Leadership Mindset: Limiting Beliefs, Self-Awareness, and Better Decisions with Steve Barton

  5. Aug 19

    Marriage, Identity, and the Empty Nest with Rick & Clancy Denton

    In this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Rick and Clancy Denton, husband and wife of 26 years, co-hosts of The Loud Quiet podcast, and co-authors of The Loud Quiet: Love, Laughter, and Life in the Empty Nest. Rick also holds a special place in the history of the show: he was Gary’s very first guest! This time, the conversation is much more personal. It started with a question Clancy asked Rick as their youngest child was preparing to leave home: What happens to us when the “kid glue” is gone? That question became the starting point for a larger conversation about marriage, identity, parenting adult children, friendship, and the transition into the empty nest. Rick and Clancy explain why strong relationships cannot simply run on history or autopilot. When the schedules, sports, school activities, and constant responsibilities of raising children suddenly disappear, couples have to make an intentional choice about what comes next. They share how The Loud Quiet began as a kind of weekly therapy session, a reason to sit down together and talk honestly about what they were experiencing. Over time, they discovered that many other couples were wrestling with the same questions: Who am I now? Who are we as a couple? And what does parenting look like when your children are adults? Gary, Rick, and Clancy also explore the three phases they associate with the empty nest: grief, gratefulness, and growth. The sadness is real, but so is the freedom to rediscover interests, build new friendships, strengthen a marriage, and even reinvent parts of your personal or professional life. The conversation also turns to parenting adult children and the difficult shift from being the person who provides answers to becoming more of a coach or consultant. Rick and Clancy discuss why transparency matters, why adult children need room to make their own mistakes, and why sometimes the best parenting happens by asking questions rather than immediately offering solutions. And for the parent sitting in a suddenly quiet house after dropping off their last child? Their advice is simple: Feel it. But do not stay there. Relationships do not stay strong on autopilot. Identity can evolve without erasing what came before. And the empty nest can create room for connection, reinvention, and an entirely new stage of growth. If you are approaching the empty nest, already living it, parenting adult children, or simply thinking about how relationships change across different seasons of life, this conversation offers an honest, funny, and practical perspective on what comes next. What You’ll LearnWhy Clancy’s question about losing the “kid glue” changed how she and Rick thought about their marriage Why intentionality becomes even more important when the structure of raising children disappears How The Loud Quiet podcast grew from a weekly conversation between Rick and Clancy into a community and book Why empty nesters often move through grief, gratefulness, and growth How to recognize the opportunities that come with a suddenly less crowded calendar Why saying “yes” helped Rick and Clancy move through the first year of the empty nest How simple date nights and intentional connection during the parenting years can strengthen a marriage later Why making new friends can become surprisingly difficult in midlife How the empty nest can create opportunities for personal and professional reinvention Why parenting adult children requires moving from parent to coach or consultant How transparency with children can create stronger communication as they become adults Why adult children sometimes need space to make mistakes without their parents immediately stepping in What Rick and Clancy want every new empty nester to understand about feeling the loss without getting stuck in it Chapters 00:00 Cold Open 01:14 Introduction 03:42 The question in the car that started everything 04:59 What Rick heard, and the two choices that followed 06:01 Cruise control, entropy, and why connection requires action 12:51 From weekly reset to podcast, book, and community 16:16 Grief, gratefulness, and growth: the three phases 22:05 Saying yes, and learning when to say no 25:02 Date night, done simply, and why it pays dividends later 29:36 From parent to coach to consultant: staying connected without hovering 37:25 The one thing to hear on the first quiet night 39:52 Does It Hold Water? 44:47 Chip Shots Books RecommendationThe World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman Connect with Rick & Clancy DentonWebsite: https://theloudquiet.com Podcast: The Loud Quiet Book: The Loud Quiet: Love, Laughter, and Life in the Empty Nest Information about the podcast, book, speaking, and book bonuses is available at TheLoudQuiet.com as well as great free bonuses when you buy the book! You get three free bonuses: Empty Nest Bingo CardVideo series: Empty Nesting - Living The First MonthLive webinar in September 🔗 Connect with Gary Marra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/gmarra Email: gary.marra@schooleymitchell.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast 📣 🎧 Please Listen & Subscribe 💡 Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode! 👉 Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more insights on leadership, business growth, and client-centric strategy. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Send Gary Marra a message on PodMatch here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESS Your Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built on the idea that client focus is not just a service philosophy, it is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, leadership behavior, customer experience, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with founders, executives, and advisors on how better decisions and better relationships drive trust, retention, and sustainable growth. YCYS is now heard in 70 countries! ABOUT GARY MARRA Gary Marra is a Schooley Mitchell Franchise Owner, business advisor, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on deep experience in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary helps business owners think more clearly about how service, trust, and execution shape growth. His perspective combines entrepreneurial strategy with practical operating discipline, making the show especially relevant for founders, operators, and leaders responsible for long-term client relationships. #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #SMBGrowth #EmptyNest #CareerReinvention #FoundersJourney #ClientCentric #OperationalDiscipline #Podcast #PodMatch

    Marriage, Identity, and the Empty Nest with Rick & Clancy Denton

  6. Aug 12

    Leadership, Ownership, and the Discipline to Let Go with Jennifer Staats

    Leadership, Ownership, and the Discipline to Let Go with Jennifer Staats In this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Jennifer Staats, owner of Staats Solutions and Chief of Staff at Sure Send CRM and ez Home Search. Jennifer has built her career inside the operations of real estate firms, mortgage teams, and service businesses, helping owners turn the systems in their heads into processes their teams can follow. The conversation opens on one of the most common barriers to small business growth: the founder becoming the bottleneck. Jennifer explains why the habits that work for a solopreneur stop working as the company adds employees, clients, and complexity. Growth requires the owner to evolve alongside the business. Jennifer’s strongest proof point comes from her own company. Before accepting a full-time Chief of Staff role, she had to redesign Staats Solutions so it could operate with only a few hours of her attention each week. She documented responsibilities, promoted team members into focused leadership roles, and transferred ownership of business development, marketing, and client relationships. Within 90 days, the team had taken the company to a waitlist. From there, Jennifer walks Gary through the role technology should play in a growing business. Her view is straightforward: the best CRM is the one the team will actually use. When client information remains inside the founder’s phone, inbox, or memory, the business cannot scale. A useful CRM creates visibility across sales, service, billing, follow-up, and the customer journey without turning leadership into micromanagement. Jennifer also explains how she leads through concise, highly focused meetings. Her leadership team uses segmented 15- to 30-minute conversations to make decisions rather than repeat information everyone should already know. She connects that discipline to respect for employee time, client time, and the operating capacity of the business. The conversation closes on the personal discipline behind operational leadership. Jennifer discusses learning to give herself more grace, deciding what genuinely needs to happen today, and looking at her own behavior before assuming an employee or system is the problem. She also shares an early leadership failure that continues to influence how she shows up for her team. This episode reinforces a core principle of the show: Systems create clarity. Ownership creates capacity. Letting go makes growth possible. If you are a founder, operator, franchisee, or business leader trying to grow without remaining at the center of every task and decision, this conversation will sharpen how you think about delegation, operating rhythm, technology, and leadership accountability. What You’ll LearnWhy founders often become the bottleneck as their businesses grow How the owner’s role must evolve as the company adds employees What a productive daily operating rhythm looks like How Jennifer prepared Staats Solutions to operate without her daily involvement Why focused team members can outperform a founder who is wearing every hat Why the best CRM is the one employees will consistently use How shared client information improves leadership and service decisions Why information stored inside the founder’s phone cannot support scale How short, focused meetings protect employee and client time Why leaders should examine their training and behavior before blaming an employee How Jennifer decides what genuinely needs to be completed today Why learning to let go is a leadership discipline, not simply a delegation tactic Chapters00:00 Cold Open 00:12 Introduction 01:28 Owning a business while taking on a full-time Chief of Staff role 02:12 The most common operational mistake when growing past five or ten people 03:20 What a strong daily operating rhythm looks like 06:32 How Jennifer built Staats Solutions to operate without her 09:02 What most businesses get wrong about the role of a CRM 12:48 Building a CRM that can work across service industries 13:44 Why new real estate agents struggle and how better systems can help 17:06 What leaders overlook in client tracking and management visibility 18:48 Leading a company without managing every daily activity 21:05 Building a culture of focused, efficient meetings 23:47 What balancing ownership and a full-time role taught Jennifer about priorities 25:42 What leaders should do when the operating rhythm feels wrong 27:40 Why outside coaching and support can still matter 29:07 Does It Hold Water? 31:50 Chip Shots Book RecommendationTraction Jennifer has read the book three times and applied its lessons from two different perspectives: first as the visionary and owner of her business, and later as an operator and integrator. Connect with Jennifer StaatsSure Send CRM: https://sure.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifernstaats/ Instagram: Jennifer the Realtor Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Website: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/gmarra YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Listen & SubscribeSubscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations on customer experience, leadership, and business growth. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Send Gary Marra a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 About Your Customer, Your SuccessYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built on the idea that client focus is not just a service philosophy, it is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership behavior, and operational discipline. With listeners in more than 70 countries, each episode features practical conversations with executives, advisors, and business leaders on how better experiences drive loyalty, trust, retention, and sustainable business growth. About Gary MarraGary Marra is a Schooley Mitchell Franchise Owner, business advisor, customer experience leader, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on more than 25 years in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary helps business leaders think more clearly about how service, trust, and execution shape growth. Through his Schooley Mitchell practice, he works with small and mid-sized businesses on vendor-neutral, performance-based expense optimization across telecom, wireless, merchant services, small package shipping, and waste removal. His perspective combines client-centric strategy with practical operator discipline, making the show especially relevant for founders, operators, fractional executives, and business leaders responsible for long-term growth and margin. #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #SMBGrowth #FounderLeadership #Delegation #CRM #CustomerExperience #OperationalDiscipline #SmallBusiness #Podcast

    Leadership, Ownership, and the Discipline to Let Go with Jennifer Staats

  7. Jul 29

    Century-Old Playbooks, Reinvention, and Building a Business That Lasts with Kenneth Kollasch

    In this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Kenneth Kollasch, a certified business coach, founder of Kenneth Coaches, and former operator of an Arthur Murray franchise, one of the oldest franchise systems in the country at 114 years. Kenneth is also a certified coach under Will Guidara, author of Unreasonable Hospitality. The conversation opens on the operator lens Kenneth built inside a business designed to last a century. He walks Gary through how a 114-year-old franchise weathers cultural cycles, market crashes, and shifts in relevance by pivoting its offer, its people, and its customer experience. That same operator instinct shapes the framework he uses with small business owners today. Kenneth's sharpest challenge is that most owners over-index on what they supply and under-invest in what the market actually demands. He argues that a business ready to double in 12 to 24 months has two things going for it: an owner in a real growth phase, and the willingness to bring in someone the owner will trust with the business the way they trust themselves. From there Kenneth walks Gary through the Customer Advantage Map, his applied version of the Will Guidara customer journey work. He explains why owners cannot read the label from inside the milk carton, how to map every touch point, and how ordinary businesses can create a premium customer experience at a fraction of the cost most owners assume. Kenneth also breaks down the six suites of his Small Business Flight Plan, leadership, marketing, sales, product, management, and cash flow, and closes with a direct answer for owners who feel stuck: stop being alone. Accountability is half the battle. This episode reinforces a core principle of the show: Reinvention is the mechanism. Demand research beats supply thinking. Accountability turns intention into execution. If you are a founder, operator, franchisee, or advisor thinking about how to build a business that lasts, this conversation will sharpen how you think about customer journeys, growth phases, and the operator discipline that keeps a business relevant across cycles. What You'll Learn How a 114-year-old franchise stays relevant through cultural and economic cyclesWhy most business owners over-invest in supply and under-invest in demand researchThe two conditions that have to be true for a business to double in 12 to 24 monthsWhy the biggest cost of hiring a coach is not money, it is exposing what is actually happening in the businessHow the Customer Advantage Map identifies positive, neutral, and negative touch pointsHow ordinary businesses can create a premium customer experience without a premium budgetThe six suites inside the Small Business Flight Plan and how they compoundWhy the five-meeting cadence moves owners from reactive to proactive leadershipWhy James Clear was right: owners fall to the level of their systems, not the height of their goalsThe one question Kenneth asks every client that resets their focus Chapters 00:00 Cold Open 00:59 Introduction 02:22 From a professional soccer contract to ballroom dancing and how it shaped Kenneth's decision framework 05:03 What a 114-year-old franchise reveals about durability, reinvention, and weathering cycles 08:29 Why most new business owners over-invest in supply and under-invest in demand research 11:32 The two conditions that have to be true for a small business to double in 12 to 24 months 15:43 Will Guidara's Unreasonable Hospitality applied to ordinary everyday businesses 19:27 The Customer Advantage Map and finding the touch points owners cannot see 25:27 The Small Business Flight Plan from leadership to cash flow 32:11 The one thing owners can do differently this month when they feel stuck 35:14 Does It Hold Water? 36:52 Chip Shots Book Recommendation The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell Also referenced in this episode: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara and Atomic Habits by James Clear. Connect with Kenneth Kollasch Website: https://kennethcoaches.com/free Generate your first (or next) $100k in your business with these 12+ free resources! Things like: • Courses • Assessments • Softwares • Workbooks • ...and more! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethkollasch/ Connect with Gary Marra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Website: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/gmarra YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Listen & Subscribe Subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations on customer experience, leadership, and business growth. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Send Gary Marra a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 About Your Customer, Your Success Your Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built on the idea that client focus is not just a service philosophy, it is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership behavior, and operational discipline. With listeners in more than 70 countries, each episode features practical conversations with executives, advisors, and business leaders on how better experiences drive loyalty, trust, retention, and sustainable business growth. About Gary Marra Gary Marra is a Schooley Mitchell Franchise Owner, business advisor, customer experience leader, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on more than 25 years in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary helps business leaders think more clearly about how service, trust, and execution shape growth. Through his Schooley Mitchell practice, he works with small and mid-sized businesses on vendor-neutral, performance-based expense optimization across telecom, wireless, merchant services, small package shipping, and waste removal. His perspective combines client-centric strategy with practical operator discipline, making the show especially relevant for founders, operators, fractional executives, and business leaders responsible for long-term growth and margin. #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #SMBGrowth #CustomerExperience #Franchise #Reinvention #SmallBusiness #Founders #OperationalDiscipline #Podcast

    Century-Old Playbooks, Reinvention, and Building a Business That Lasts with Kenneth Kollasch

  8. Jul 15

    Mid-Year Review: The Best of Does It Hold Water and Chips Year to Date 2026

    In this special mid-year episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary looks back at the first half of 2026 and revisits the ten best moments from two of the show's signature segments: Does It Hold Water and Chip Shots. Does It Hold Water is the segment where Gary tests a piece of thought leadership against a guest who has never seen it in advance. The setup produces some of the most honest conversations on the show, and it delivered again this year on feedback, structure, empathy, business modeling, and the difference between joy and happiness. Chip Shots is the shorter form segment, a rotating set of professional questions with a personal edge. The answers this year covered the book that changed how one guest communicates, the line between a real risk and a terrible idea, an underrated travel destination, the risk of putting your ideas into the world, and the one question that changes the tone of any meeting. Nine guests. Ten clips. One question running through all of it: What actually holds up when leaders make decisions about their people, their clients, and their businesses? This episode reinforces the core principles of the show: Client focus is a growth strategy. Leadership behavior drives revenue. Operational clarity drives scale. If you have been listening this year, this is a compressed dose of what the best guests have said. If you are new to the show, this is the best possible entry point. What You'll Learn Whether leaders really want honest feedback, and what that means for cultureWhy structure and documentation create the freedom to deliver great experiencesWhere empathy gets misused, and how it connects to accountabilityWhat business lessons hide inside how a global artist runs her enterpriseThe difference between joy and happiness, and why it matters for leadersWhy saying less is often the harder disciplineHow to tell a real risk apart from a terrible ideaAn underrated travel destination worth putting on the listWhy putting your ideas into the world is a professional risk worth takingThe one question that changes the tone of any meeting Segments Introduction Does It Hold Water, 5th Place Does It Hold Water, 4th Place Does It Hold Water, 3rd Place Does It Hold Water, 2nd Place Does It Hold Water, 1st Place Chip Shots, 5th Place Chip Shots, 4th Place Chip Shots, 3rd Place Chip Shots, 2nd Place Chip Shots, 1st Place Closing Thoughts Featured Guests (alphabetical) Laurie Fainer, Alex Grant, Sid Meadows, Jessica Millhiser, Ali Ramer, John Sampogna, Katie Stabler, Dannah Vaughan, Kris Wauters 🔗 Connect with Gary Marra · LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ · Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/gmarra · YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast 📣 🎧 Please Listen & Subscribe 💡 Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode! 👉 Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more insights on customer experience, leadership, and business strategy. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Send Gary Marra a message on PodMatch here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESS Your Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast focused on the idea that client focus is not just a service philosophy, it is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with executives, advisors, and business leaders on how better experiences drive loyalty, trust, retention, and sustainable business growth. Now heard in 70 countries. ABOUT GARY MARRA Gary Marra is a Schooley Mitchell Franchise Owner and the host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on deep experience in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary helps organizations think more clearly about how service, trust, and execution shape growth. His perspective combines customer-centric strategy with practical business discipline, making the show especially relevant for founders, operators, and leaders responsible for long-term client relationships. #MidYearReview #Leadership #CustomerExperience #BusinessGrowth #SMBGrowth #Feedback #Risk #Empathy #Gratitude #PodMatch

    Mid-Year Review: The Best of Does It Hold Water and Chips Year to Date 2026
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Your Customer, Your Success is an entrepreneurial business podcast focused on how client-centric strategy drives sustainable business growth. Hosted by Gary Marra of Schooley Mitchell, the show features candid conversations with founders, executives, and operators who understand that leadership behavior, operational discipline, and client focus are part of the same growth engine. Each episode explores the connection between customer experience, employee experience, growth, and financial performance. Guests share practical lessons on building durable client relationships, scaling with clarity, and leading organizations that grow through trust rather than transaction. This podcast is for business leaders who believe that client strategy is not a department. It is a competitive advantage. If you are an entrepreneur, lead a team, advise clients, or build businesses that rely on long-term relationships, this show is designed for you and your success.

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  • Creator
    Gary Marra
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Gary Marra
  • Show Website
    Your Customer, Your Success