American Business Story with Taylor Walden

Taylor Walden
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Each week, you'll hear from a business owner on what it’s really like to grow and run a business. Business books and theory are helpful, but nothing beats mentorship and lived experience. This podcast is everything I needed (and still need) to hear as an entrepreneur building businesses myself. Episodes drop on Wednesdays. Subscribe to join the conversation.

  1. 5d ago

    How 1 Viral Video Turned into a Media Company Creating for World Class Brands | Hunter Harrison

    Hunter Harrison was sitting in a bank office doing the same thing day after day when he stumbled onto a six second video app called Vine. He had no plans to start a business. He just thought stop motion was cool. So he made a video, posted it, and the next day Vine featured it as an editor's pick. He woke up with thousands of followers. Then world class brands like Samsung started calling. This week on American Business Story with Taylor Walden, Taylor sits down with Hunter Harrison, serial entrepreneur and founder of Smash Waffles and Catch Creative Agency, to talk about what it's really like to accidentally build an influencer marketing business before influencer marketing even existed. Hunter shares the story of picking up South Korean executives from the Raleigh airport with a briefcase handcuffed to their wrist, faking a studio in his garage with signs he printed the night before, and charging $10,000 for six seconds of content shot on an iPhone. He also gets real about why he started Smash Waffles out of a church kitchen, what he wishes he'd done differently when investors came knocking, and why he thinks AI characters are about to take over social media whether we like it or not. This episode is an honest look at building businesses by accident, riding waves before anyone else sees them coming, and learning when to pause instead of just running faster. Connect with Hunter Wells: Find Catch Creative on Instagram @madebycatch or visit madebycatch.com Check out Strange Maple Syrup @strangesyrups or visit strangesyrups.com About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University. American Business Story highlights the stories of business leaders and entrepreneurs. More American Business Story: Thank you for your continued support of the American Business Story with Taylor Walden Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website (https://radiateprints.com/radiateprints/shop/page/shoptalk) and fill out our nomination form under the "Podcast" tab. You can find more episodes of the American Business Story with Taylor Walden Podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe-9mDwEvElrOVCAROBzYTw⁠), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shop-talk-business-leaders-share-their-story/id1825982148⁠), and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

    How 1 Viral Video Turned into a Media Company Creating for World Class Brands | Hunter Harrison

  2. Aug 19 ·  Video

    How a Random Mr. Beast Visit, 4,000 Disc Golf Discs, and Hacky Sacks Built a Thriving Local Business

    Vince walked into Play It Again Sports to buy a couple of disc golf discs and overheard they were hiring. Eleven years later, he's running the store and has grown the business tremendously through unique marketing efforts, finding ways to connect with the community, and staying on top of sports trends. This week on American Business Story with Taylor Walden, Taylor sits down with Vince Tricarico of Play It Again Sports in Greenville, to talk about what it's really like to run a new and used sporting goods store. Vince shares the story of the day Mr. Beast showed up with five U-Haul trucks and cleared the shelves, and how he turned a small disc golf section into a 4,000-disc catalog that has people lining up to shop in his store at 4 a.m. on National Disc Golf Day. He also gets real about the Bat Bros effect on baseball bat sales, designing disc golf courses across Eastern North Carolina, and why supporting youth leagues isn't just good marketing, it's what keeps local business alive. This episode is an honest look at local brick and mortar business, what it means to connect with your local community as a business, and what happens when you're open to walking through doors you didn't expect. Connect with Play It Again Sports: Find Play It Again Sports Greenville on Facebook and Instagram @pisgreenvillenc About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University. American Business Story highlights the stories of business leaders and entrepreneurs. More American Business Story: Thank you for your continued support of the American Business Story with Taylor Walden Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website (https://radiateprints.com/radiateprints/shop/page/shoptalk) and fill out our nomination form under the "Podcast" tab. You can find more episodes of the American Business Story with Taylor Walden Podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe-9mDwEvElrOVCAROBzYTw⁠), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shop-talk-business-leaders-share-their-story/id1825982148⁠), and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

    How a Random Mr. Beast Visit, 4,000 Disc Golf Discs, and Hacky Sacks Built a Thriving Local Business

  3. Aug 12

    "There's a Plane in My House" | Responding to Disasters and Running a Business on Faith, Not Fear

    Chris Miles didn't set out to start a restoration company. He was sitting on his couch one night reading a book about ministry in the marketplace when he felt the Holy Spirit tell him to go into business for himself. He had no idea what that business would be. His wife, a schoolteacher, thought he'd lost his mind. But soon enough he found himself in the restoration business, cleaning clothes after house fires. This week on American Business Story with Taylor Walden, Taylor sits down with Chris Miles, founder of RevitaLife, to talk about what it's really like to walk people through the worst days of their lives. Chris shares the story of the airplane that flew into a second floor bonus room in Manteo (and yes, the pilot and his son walked away without a scratch), why most people don't understand their insurance policies until it's too late, and the moment God showed him he was carrying things he was never meant to carry. During our conversation, Chris walks through why he shifted his business from residential to commercial work, what advice he has for business owners on developing an Emergency Response Plans so you can be proactive instead of reactive, and the two prayers God told him were the only things he needed to ask for. He also gets real about operating by faith instead of fear, why electrical fires are some of the worst he's seen, and the advice his dad gave him that still guides every decision: at the end of the day, just do the right thing. This episode is an honest, unfiltered look at what it takes to serve people in crisis, how to build a business with humility, and why surrounding yourself with good counsel might be the most important decision you ever make. Connect with RevitaLife: www.revitalifeinc.com About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University. American Business Story highlights the stories of business leaders and entrepreneurs. More American Business Story: Thank you for your continued support of the American Business Story with Taylor Walden Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website (https://radiateprints.com/radiateprints/shop/page/shoptalk) and fill out our nomination form under the "Podcast" tab. You can find more episodes of the American Business Story with Taylor Walden Podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe-9mDwEvElrOVCAROBzYTw%E2%81%A0), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shop-talk-business-leaders-share-their-story/id1825982148%E2%81%A0), and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

    "There's a Plane in My House" | Responding to Disasters and Running a Business on Faith, Not Fear

  4. Aug 5 ·  Video

    Building a Michelin Recognized Restaurant Through COVID, Doubt, and 100-Day Work Streaks | ABS #53

    Sam Jones BBQ has a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Skylight Inn is a family name that shows up in National Geographic. And the guy running it had never cooked a pig until he was in his twenties. This week on American Business Story with Taylor Walden, Taylor sits down with Michael Letchworth, co-owner of Sam Jones BBQ. Michael started at Skylight Inn at 16 as one of his first jobs in high school, worked the counter, washed dishes, and felt like it was just another restaurant job. At the time, he didn't understand the history. He didn't know how to cook a pig. Then one night in 2013, sitting around a burn barrel at an event in Raleigh, something clicked. He realized Skylight wasn't just another restaurant, i was something worth preserving. That realization led to a partnership with Samuel Jones, the opening of Sam Jones BBQ in 2015, and a crash course in opening a restaurant. During our conversation, Michael walks through the 100 day work streak that nearly broke him, the moment he sat on his front porch during COVID with financials spread out wondering how long they could survive, and the consultant who told him to stop complaining and start leading. He talks about why throwing bodies at problems isn’t always the answer, and the loneliness that comes with leadership when you're trying to hold it all together. He also opens up about Fox Hollow Outdoors, the lifestyle brand and content project he started with his eight year old son Larken, how a Yeti campaign turned into a TV show, and why he's learning that highly produced content isn't always what connects with people. Michael's story is encouraging, raw, real, and a reminder that success doesn't mean you have all the answers. It just means you kept going when everyone else quit. Connect with Sam Jones BBQ and Fox Hollow Outdoors: samjonesbbq.com // foxhollowoutdoors.com // @samjonesbbq and @foxhollowoutdoors on Instagram About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University. Shop Talk highlights the stories of leaders with ties to Eastern North Carolina. More Shop Talk: Thank you for your continued support of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website (https://radiateprints.com/radiateprints/shop/page/shoptalk) and fill out our nomination form under the "Podcast" tab. You can find more episodes of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe-9mDwEvElrOVCAROBzYTw%E2%81%A0), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shop-talk-business-leaders-share-their-story/id1825982148%E2%81%A0), and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

    Building a Michelin Recognized Restaurant Through COVID, Doubt, and 100-Day Work Streaks | ABS #53

  5. Jul 29

    Smashing Scales - How Carissa Turned a Franchise Nightmare into a 4-Year Success Story | ST #52

    Carissa thought she was buying a successful boxing gym franchise. Instead, she walked into a business model built on selling memberships to people the gym hoped would never show up. Within weeks of her taking over, 30% of the membership base canceled, grandparents were calling to report stolen credit cards, and she realized the entire operation was designed to choose money over people's actual health. This week on Shop Talk with Radiate Prints, Taylor sits down with Carissa Chappell, owner of Rebel Fitness, to talk about what it's really like to take over a struggling franchise, survive COVID while being told to "stick to the playbook," and make the terrifying decision to walk away and build something completely different. Carissa shares the moment she smashed the gym scales and went weight neutral (despite being told it was "business suicide"), why she caps her membership to go deeper with fewer people instead of wider with thousands, and how her own history with eating disorders and mental health shaped the way she runs her gym today. During our conversation, she walks through the franchise nightmare, the legal battle that left her signless for over a year, the unsolicited advice from male gym owners in town, and why she believes weight is the most evil genius metric the fitness industry ever sold us. She also gets real about cortisol, GLP-1s, the psychology of gym contracts, and why she forces her mom to lift twice a week. This episode is an honest, unfiltered look at what it takes to rebuild a business from the ground up while everyone around you is betting against you. Connect with Rebel Fitness: rebelfitnessnc.com or @rebelfitnessnc on social media About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University. Shop Talk highlights the stories of leaders with ties to Eastern North Carolina. More Shop Talk: Thank you for your continued support of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website (https://radiateprints.com/radiateprints/shop/page/shoptalk) and fill out our nomination form under the "Podcast" tab. You can find more episodes of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe-9mDwEvElrOVCAROBzYTw%E2%81%A0), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shop-talk-business-leaders-share-their-story/id1825982148%E2%81%A0), and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

  6. Jul 22

    Evolve or Die: Gus Roberson on AI, Acquisitions, and Building a $10M Insurance Agency | ST #51

    This week on Shop Talk with Radiate Prints, Taylor sits down with Gus Roberson, founder of CapCo Financial, to talk about growth, AI, and the reality of what happens when businesses refuse to adapt. Gus grew up on a family farm with no succession plan, struggled in class at NC State until one personal finance course redirected his entire life, and eventually walked away from a career at an insurance company to go fully independent, a move he describes as "not fun, but you enjoy it." Somewhere in the grind, he looked at his numbers and realized he'd quietly built a $10 million agency, brick by brick, without ever stopping to accept it. Now he's chasing the next level. During our conversation, Gus shares how he approached a 70-year-old competitor about buying his book of his business (and exactly how that went), why "I'm ready to sell" is easier said than done, his five-tenet approach to growth, and the $20,000 filing-cabinet story that turned him into a true believer in going digital. Connect with Gus Roberson & CapCo Financial: gocapco.com and @cap.co_financial About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University. Shop Talk highlights the stories of leaders with ties to Eastern North Carolina. More Shop Talk: Thank you for your continued support of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website and fill out our nomination form under the “Podcast” tab.  You can find more episodes of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

    Evolve or Die: Gus Roberson on AI, Acquisitions, and Building a $10M Insurance Agency | ST #51

  7. Jul 15

    I Won $18,500 in 24 Hours at 19 Years Old - How I Started a $1M Business in My College Dorm Room with Taylor Walden | Shop Talk with RP #50

    Today marks one year of Shop Talk with Radiate Prints. I've spent twelve months asking other business owners how they built what they built, and now I’m in the hot seat. I started Simple & Sentimental in a dorm room at ECU as an interior design major who couldn't sell a single thing on Etsy. Buying a vinyl cutter at 2 am on Black Friday run turned me into “sticker girl." Then, I won $18,500 in 24 hours at two pitch competitions. And in 2020 when COVID hit, every product I was selling came to a screeching halt overnight. I made a major pivot that kept the lights on, then happened to create a "Happy Quarantine Birthday" box that exploded my business. In a matter of weeks I scaled from 5 to 25 people six feet apart. It's an honest look at growing too fast, the mentors who picked up the phone, and why I started this podcast in the first place. About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University.  More Shop Talk: Thank you for your continued support of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website and fill out our nomination form under the “Podcast” tab.  You can find more episodes of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

    I Won $18,500 in 24 Hours at 19 Years Old - How I Started a $1M Business in My College Dorm Room with Taylor Walden | Shop Talk with RP #50

  8. Jul 8

    “There Has to Be a Better Way” - Turning a Pain Point into a Product Used by Pro Sports Teams with Sharon Moore and Sportscale | ST #49

    We’ve all had an experience where we thought “there has to be a better way”, but today’s guest tells the story of how she built a business from it. This week, Taylor sits down with Dr. Sharon Moore, ECU professor, athletic trainer, and founder of Sportscale. Sharon shares how a 2008 tragedy on a high school football field pushed a school system to put an athletic trainer in every school, and how that work led her to a burdensome weigh-in problem no one had solved. Sharon turned that problem into a smart scale that automatically tracks athlete hydration and flags who's lost too much weight to safely practice. She walks through her journey as an inventor and founder: securing a patent, having an NFL team reach out before she even had a prototype, building the first version in a friend's garage, raising half a million dollars one month before the pandemic, and iterating through a decade of hardware. Sharon’s story is an honest account of what it looks like to go from idea, to prototype, to market. Connect with Sharon Moore: Follow Sharon on social media at Sharon Moore on Linkedin and https://www.sportscalesystem.com/ About the Host: Taylor Walden is the founder of Radiate Prints and a serial entrepreneur who started her first business in her dorm room at East Carolina University. Shop Talk highlights the stories of leaders with ties to Eastern North Carolina. More Shop Talk: Thank you for your continued support of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast! Know someone who should be a guest? Nominate them! Head to the Radiate Prints website and fill out our nomination form under the “Podcast” tab.  You can find more episodes of the Shop Talk with Radiate Prints Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. We release new episodes weekly on Wednesdays! Connect with Radiate Prints: We print apparel people love to wear. If you need t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or a company store for your organization, reach out to us! Taylor and the team would love to help. @radiateprints on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn Website: https://radiateprints.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/radiateprints TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@radiateprints

    “There Has to Be a Better Way” - Turning a Pain Point into a Product Used by Pro Sports Teams with Sharon Moore and Sportscale | ST #49
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Each week, you'll hear from a business owner on what it’s really like to grow and run a business. Business books and theory are helpful, but nothing beats mentorship and lived experience. This podcast is everything I needed (and still need) to hear as an entrepreneur building businesses myself. Episodes drop on Wednesdays. Subscribe to join the conversation.

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