Business Growth Spotlight

Heidi Schalk
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Daily

Welcome to Business Growth Spotlight, the podcast where we shine a light on innovative business leaders, cutting-edge strategies, and the latest trends shaping the world of business growth. Whether you're a CEO, Founder, Corporate leader or Entrepreneur, this podcast delivers actionable insights and expert conversations to help you scale your business, increase revenue, and stay ahead in a competitive market.  Join host Heidi Schalk as we dive deep into the stories and strategies of industry leaders, uncovering the tools and tactics they use to drive success. From navigating corporate challenges to mastering online visibility, this podcast is your go-to resource for scaling your business and reaching your goals. Tune in on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for inspiring conversations, practical advice, and a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to thrive in today’s ever-evolving business landscape.

  1. 37m ago

    Ep. 244 The Triple Bottom Line: How People, Planet, and Profit Build Competitive Advantage

    Most business owners are already living their values every single day. They treat their people well, they think about their impact, they make decisions that go beyond the bottom line. But they are doing it without proof. In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Tom Hering, founder of Benefit Corporations for Good, to explore what happens when purpose-driven businesses decide to make that commitment official. Tom launched Benefit Corporations for Good in 2018 after spending two acts of his career in the advertising world as a copywriter and creative director across Portland and Seattle. Alongside his co-founder Marianne Harmer, he set out to do something meaningful in his third act, and that led him to the benefit company movement. Today he helps small and mid sized businesses across North America commit to a triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. The conversation digs into why certification matters even when a business is already doing good. Tom explains that third party verification gives owners something a PR campaign never can: credibility, accountability, and a public marker that holds them to their commitments year after year. He shares why this resonates so strongly with Millennial and Gen Z talent who want to work for companies making a difference, and how it becomes a genuine differentiator in a crowded market. Tom also tells the story of a steel fabrication company in Portland led by a 40 under 40 honoree, a business building alternative energy products while training and employing women who have been through the prison system. It is a powerful example of what purpose-driven leadership looks like when values move from intention into practice. Heidi and Tom close on one of the most timely questions in business today: how AI fits into values-driven organizations. Tom shares that he is assembling a panel of AI professionals to help his community navigate authenticity and purpose in an AI world, and his core guidance stays refreshingly simple. Look at your values first, then ask whether the decision syncs up. Bio: Tom’s work is focused on growing the Benefit Company movement in Oregon and throughout North America. When he launched Benefit Corporations for Good (BCFG) in 2018, he realized the positive impact small businesses could have on their employees, their communities and their planet through commitment to a triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit.  Currently, BCFG has certified businesses in 13 different states and one Canadian province with the majority of businesses headquartered in Oregon. In June of 2023, Tom received word that the bill he sponsored in the Oregon legislature passed both chambers and headed to Governor Kotek for signing. The bill provides a sustainable advantage to Oregon Benefit Companies seeking a contract through the state's procurement office. Tom has worked as a creative director, copywriter and brand strategist. Before starting his strategic marketing communications firm, he worked for well-regarded agencies in Portland and Seattle as copywriter and creative director.  He is the co-author of the book, Putting Soul Into Business: How the Benefit Corporation is Transforming American Business and 25 Building Blocks to Create a Conscientious Organization. Tom is a graduate of the University of Oregon's School of Journalism. To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/benefit-corporations-for-good  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/bencorpsforgood/  Website:  https://benefitcorporationsforgood.com/  Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

  2. 2d ago

    Ep. 243 The Three Movement Symphony That Makes Any Presentation Land with Oratium CEO, Mark Bourgeois

    In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Mark Bourgeois CEO of Oratium to unpack why so many business presentations fall flat and what it actually takes to communicate in a way that drives decisions. Mark has delivered thousands of presentations and now leads the teams at Oratium who teach, consult, and coach companies like Pfizer, Cisco, Amazon, and Rockwell Automation on the art and science of presenting. The conversation gets straight to the heart of "death by PowerPoint." Mark explains that the problem almost never starts with delivery. It starts with design. Our instincts as presenters lead us to pack in too much information, assume the audience has more mental bandwidth than they do, and make the whole thing about us instead of them. He calls this sender-centricity, and it quietly kills more presentations than any nervous delivery ever could. One of the most valuable ideas Mark shares is retellability. Every high-stakes presentation is really the first of two meetings, because the actual decision gets made later in a room you are not in. If your message is too complicated, too jargon-heavy, or too focused on your own solution, the person in that first meeting simply cannot carry your story into the second one. It becomes a game of telephone, and your message arrives distorted or lost entirely. The result is longer sales cycles, lower win rates, and the same meeting happening over and over. Mark walks through his practical framework for fixing this, the three movement symphony. First, you have a problem that is bigger and more serious than you realize. Second, we know how to solve it and we solve it better than anyone else. Third, here is what working together looks like and here are the next steps. He also shares the rule of one third, which says that in an interactive meeting you should design your content to fit inside a third of the total time so the rest can be spent on genuine discussion. Throughout the episode, Mark drives home that customers rarely buy what you think you are selling. Through a memorable story about a company selling industrial drives to mining operations, he shows how the real value was not the product at all but the promise of asset reliability and thirty minute on-site repair. The lesson is to sell what they are buying, not what you are selling. The conversation closes with a grounded take on AI. Mark cautions against handing your creative voice and original ideas to a machine, since that path leads straight to sounding like everyone else. Instead he recommends using AI from the bottom up, as a quality checker, an editor, a slide-builder, and increasingly as a coach that can simulate real customer conversations. The throughline is simple and freeing: anyone can become an effective presenter, because it was never about being gifted on stage. It is about the design and the story. Bio: CEO Mark has delivered thousands of presentations and now leads teams who teach, consult and coach using methods developed by Oratium. Additionally, he leads teams responsible for revenue development, for operations and for product development and management. Mark's background spans journalism, consulting, finance, and public service. Mark holds a master’s in Public and Private Management from Yale and a bachelor’s from Tulane. He’s also a husband and father of three. To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-bourgeois-a0440b/  Website:  www.oratium.com  Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

  3. 4d ago

    Ep. 242 How Strategic Partnerships Can Become Your Biggest Growth Engine with Justin Boyum

    In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Justin Boyhum, founder of Charge Forward, to explore why relationships may be one of the most powerful growth strategies available to business owners. Justin shares how his military background, entrepreneurship journey, and experience navigating business during COVID led him to develop the Force Multiplier Method, a relationship based approach to generating conversations, partnerships, referrals, and revenue. The conversation covers how to use LinkedIn as a relationship building platform rather than simply a content publishing tool, why vanity metrics can distract from meaningful growth, how strategic partnerships can create exponential opportunities, and why AI should support human connection rather than replace it. Justin also shares real examples of businesses generating significant revenue through strategic partnerships and explains how entrepreneurs can stop trying to do everything themselves and start leveraging the networks and audiences that already exist. A key takeaway from this conversation is simple: you may not need more leads. You may need the right relationships. To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinboyum/ Website:  https://thechargeforward.com/ https://ezlinkedintraffic.com/bgs Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

  4. Aug 14

    Ep. 241 Why Human Agency Is the Next Competitive Advantage in an AI-Driven World with Dr. Michael J. Becker

    Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Dr. Michael J. Becker, founder of Identity Praxis, educator at Cal Poly Pomona and National University, and a strategic leader who has spent over two decades helping people navigate how technology reshapes the way we work, think, and connect. His work centers on a vital shift: moving organizations away from transactional thinking, where people and data are treated as one-off numbers, and toward relational approaches built on genuine trust and lasting connection. Michael walks through the four pillars of what he calls relational technology architecture: artificial intelligence, identity and data sovereignty, knowledge management, and engagement. He unpacks the difference between deterministic, generative, and agentic AI, and explains why human agency and sovereignty matter more than ever as autonomous agents begin acting on our behalf. Along the way he shares a chilling real-world example of an AI agent that erased a company's entire production database and every backup in a matter of seconds. The conversation moves into what all of this means for how businesses reach people. Michael explains the coming shift from the traditional purchase funnel to relationship journeys, the rise of RCS messaging, the emergence of self-sovereign identity and "MyTerms" protocols, and why the connected individual has become the point of sale. He and Heidi also dig into the growing reality that buyers now research and get recommendations through AI rather than traditional search, why that makes findability and recommendability essential, and how to use AI in content without losing the human voice that earns trust. This is a wide-ranging, forward-looking conversation that every business leader needs to hear, because the infrastructure underneath how we connect, communicate, and conduct commerce is already changing beneath our feet. Bio: Hi, I’m Dr. Michael J. Becker. My work focuses on a simple, yet vital shift: moving organizations away from 'transactional' thinking—where people and data are treated like one-off numbers to be processed—and toward 'relational' approaches that build genuine trust and lasting connections. In today's complex world, I help leaders and teams clear the noise, manage their information better, and make decisions that actually lead to meaningful results. As the founder of Identity Praxis, an educator at Cal Poly Pomona and National University, and a strategic advisor, I’ve spent over two decades helping people navigate how technology changes the way we work, think, and solve problems together. To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichaeljbecker/  Website:  www.identitypraxis.com  Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

  5. Aug 12

    Ep. 240 How to Find the Hidden Friction Points Slowing Your Business Growth

    Show Notes: Most business owners chase the next shiny AI tool while the real growth killers sit hidden in plain sight. In this episode, Heidi Schalk sits down with Darrell Gunter, strategic management consultant and host of Leadership with Darrell W. Gunter, to talk about the friction points quietly slowing your business down and why the tried-and-true fundamentals still outperform every trend. With more than 25 years building high-performing teams and scaling organizations from startups to billion-dollar companies, Darrell breaks down where growth actually stalls. He walks through the critical path from prospect to invoice, the friction points that live along the way, and why sometimes the person creating the friction is the leader. He makes the case that vision, mission, current job descriptions, and real performance reviews are not busywork, they are the foundation most companies skip. The conversation moves into AI as a behavioral and mindset shift rather than an IT project, and why leaders who hand it off entirely are missing the point. Darrell shares how he uses AI for analysis, prospecting, and competitive intelligence, and offers a grounded reframe for teams resisting change: it is not that you don't have time, it is where you are choosing to spend it. He also opens up about his own growth edge right now, protecting his time. After spreading himself across five nonprofit boards, he is learning to choose one opportunity out of ten, and explains why saying no is a growth strategy. Plus, his consultative outreach method that lands the meeting every time, why he skips mass mailing and drip campaigns, and a look at his new venture, Pubs 21, a professional information platform built on AI and blockchain. Bio: Darrell W. Gunter is a strategic management consultant, executive advisor, and media host with more than 25 years of experience building high-performing teams and scaling growth-oriented organizations. He specializes in the intersection of strategy, business ideation, and commercialization—operating on the principle that sustainable business growth is achieved when all three are tightly aligned. Darrell works with executives, boards, and founders to drive clarity, execution, and measurable outcomes, and he is also the host of *Leadership with Darrell W. Gunter*, where he explores leadership, innovation, and enterprise transformation. To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellwgunter/ Website:  https://www.guntermediagroup.com/  Podbean - https://bit.ly/LeadershipDWGunter YouTube - https://bit.ly/LwDWGYouTube2 Broadcasts Sunday 8 am ET wsou.net /iheart Podbean 370+ shows -  https://bit.ly/LeadershipDWGunter YouTube 40+ shows more to be uploaded - https://bit.ly/LwDWGunterYT Seton Hall Univ. WSOU 89.5 FM / wsou.net 8 am EST Sundays  Text:  973.454.3475 Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

  6. Aug 10

    Ep. 239 The Sales Samurai Approach: How Serving Your Customer Closes More Deals

    Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Julien Recoussine, founder and managing partner of Sales Fixx and the self described "sales samurai." Julien reframes selling as an act of service rather than confrontation, drawing on the origin of the word samurai, which stems from service rather than warfare. The conversation moves through the neuroscience of buying decisions, why trust drives roughly seventy percent of the decision before a single product detail is mentioned, and why great salespeople sort rather than convince. Julien breaks down the pain versus gain equation that governs human decision making, explaining that people default to avoiding pain seventy percent of the time and lean toward risk avoidance ninety percent of the time when the two forces are matched. He shares why most sales teams are trained ninety percent on product knowledge and almost nothing on the psychology of human to human interaction, and how that gap quietly limits growth. The discussion turns to AI and its proper place in the modern sales process. Julien is candid about where AI creates real value, in research, lead vetting, content drafting, and freeing reps to focus on the human moments that actually close deals, and where it is being badly misused as a bigger shovel digging faster in the wrong spot. Heidi and Julien explore Answer Engine Optimization, the growing importance of being recommended by AI platforms, and why trust remains the one thing technology cannot replace. Julien closes with a message to salespeople everywhere that selling is a learnable skill rooted in understanding how humans make decisions, and that manipulation is acceptable only when the intent is to reach an honest yes or no. Bio: L. Julien Recoussine is the founder and managing partner of Sales Fix, a management consulting firm specializing in sales training and coaching. Sales Fix helps salespeople and companies improve their sales conversations, with a focus on clear and concise communication — minimizing time spent on uncommitted prospects while increasing sales through genuine understanding of customer needs, finding common ground, creating interest, and providing value.  Born in France and raised internationally across Europe and the Americas, Recoussine holds a B.S. in Communications from the University of Miami (1993) and brings experience from previous roles at notable companies including Amazon, Groupon, TruGreen, and Entertainment Publications, Inc.  Affectionally referred to as a "Sales Samurai,"  Recoussine is dedicated to serving sales professionals to cut through selling obstacles using strategy and sales science. He is the host of The Sales Fix Podcast, where he guides listeners toward better client conversations and a smarter strategic approach to selling — drawing on psychology, science, and the art of human connection to elevate sales performance. Colleagues and clients describe Recoussine as "the most dynamic and passionate sales coach" they've worked with — someone who diagnoses challenges and revenue opportunities quickly, designs gap-closing strategies, and drives measurable results.  A recognized voice in the local business community, Recoussine was recently selected to present at Florida State University Panama City's Leadership Strategies event, sharing his expertise in a TED Talk format alongside other Bay County entrepreneurs To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julienrecoussine/ X:  https://x.com/SalesFixx YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@salesfixinc9019 Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-3239562 AI Julien:  https://persona.yoorz.ai/expert/ai-julien  Website:  www.salesfixx.com  Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

  7. Aug 7

    Ep. 238 From Egypt to Silicon Valley Building Global Business Growth

    Show Notes: What does it take to leave behind a successful career, move to a new country without a concrete plan, and build a company that helps startups expand across continents? In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Yousra Gaballah, founder of Sprintly Partners, to discuss how she transformed uncertainty into opportunity. Originally from Egypt, Yousra shares her remarkable journey through leadership roles at Careem, Amazon, and the startup ecosystem before launching a company dedicated to helping founders bridge the gap between the Middle East and the United States. The conversation explores international expansion, startup growth, operational scaling, AI implementation, fundraising, and why relationships still matter in an increasingly automated world. Yousra also shares practical advice for founders looking to scale beyond their home markets and explains why sometimes you have to start before you're ready. Bio: Yousra Gaballah is the Founder and CEO of Sprintly Partners, a Silicon Valley-based firm bridging the Middle East and Silicon Valley ecosystems. Through Sprintly, she supports Middle Eastern founders expanding into the U.S. market, as well as U.S. founders and companies looking to unlock opportunities across the Middle East. Yousra’s work sits at the intersection of growth, market expansion, investor readiness, and ecosystem building. She has led and supported multiple cross-border programs connecting MENA founders with Silicon Valley investors, accelerators, mentors, and corporate partners, working with ecosystem players such as Techstars, Plug and Play, 500 Global, Monsha’at in Saudi Arabia, Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, and other regional partners. Through these programs, she has helped founders access U.S. networks, secure investments, and build stronger expansion and fundraising pathways. Before founding Sprintly Partners, Yousra spent over a decade working across growth, product, and market expansion roles in the Middle East and the U.S. She contributed to regional expansion and logistics growth initiatives at Amazon across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and worked on market growth for Careem across North Africa prior and during the acquisition by Uber. She has also supported startups across logistics, e-learning, and content in scaling regionally. Earlier in her career, Yousra worked on mobile internet growth and customer value management in the telecom sector with Vodafone and Etisalat, where she focused on user growth, engagement, retention, and data-driven commercial strategy. Yousra also mentors founders across both ecosystems, including through Techstars and Plug and Play in the U.S., and regional programs across the Middle East in KAUST & Monsha'at. She studied Economics and Political Economy at the American University in Cairo, with additional academic experience in the U.S. at UC Berkeley and the University of Washington in Seattle. To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yousra-gaballah-328a034a/  Website:  www.sprintlypartners.com  Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

  8. Aug 5

    Ep. 237 The AI Paradox: Why Trust Becomes Your Biggest Competitive Advantage

    Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk welcomes Larry Stybel of Stybel Peabody Associates, a serial entrepreneur, psychologist, entrepreneur in residence at a private equity firm, and monthly contributor to Psychology Today. Larry helps companies achieve higher net income and higher perceived institutional trust through C suite coaching, retained board search, and family business succession work. Larry unpacks what he calls the AI paradox. As AI makes analytical thinking a commodity and products harder to differentiate, it is also fueling a historic rise in mistrust. His argument is that perceived institutional trust, measured yearly against your competitors, becomes the real differentiator, and boards will be focused on it within three to five years even if they are not today. He walks through simple ways to measure it, including the customer loyalty index applied internally with one honest question. Using the story of Nokia, Blackberry, and Apple, Larry illustrates the leadership blind spot he sees most in 2026. When companies run at 120 miles an hour, peripheral vision disappears, and they miss the side threats and opportunities that decide their future. He makes the case for spending one day a year looking sideways, for hiring leaders high in openness to new ideas, and for treating growth like a researcher testing hypotheses rather than selling a magic bullet. He also shares how AI note taking lets him be more present and empathetic with clients and patients. Bio: Larry is a serial entrepreneur, entrepreneur-in-residence at a private equity firm, and a regular monthly contributor to PSYCHOLOGY TODAY.  He works with companies interested in achieving a higher level of net income AND a higher level of perceived institutional trust.  Core services revolve around the measurement of perceived institutional trust, C-Suite leadership coaching, and retained search for Board Directors.  Larry has specific expertise in working with family businesses facing complex leadership succession. To connect with our guest, click on the links below: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lstybel  Website:  www.stybelpeabody.com  Connect with me: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/ 🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint  🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

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5
out of 5
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About

Welcome to Business Growth Spotlight, the podcast where we shine a light on innovative business leaders, cutting-edge strategies, and the latest trends shaping the world of business growth. Whether you're a CEO, Founder, Corporate leader or Entrepreneur, this podcast delivers actionable insights and expert conversations to help you scale your business, increase revenue, and stay ahead in a competitive market.  Join host Heidi Schalk as we dive deep into the stories and strategies of industry leaders, uncovering the tools and tactics they use to drive success. From navigating corporate challenges to mastering online visibility, this podcast is your go-to resource for scaling your business and reaching your goals. Tune in on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for inspiring conversations, practical advice, and a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to thrive in today’s ever-evolving business landscape.

Information

  • Creator
    Heidi Schalk
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    245
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Business Growth Spotlight
  • Show Website
    Business Growth Spotlight