Authentic Business Adventures Podcast Draw In Customers Business Coach James Kademan

Glenn Plumby - Retired COO and Author









On the the Importance of Frontline Employees and Customer Service: "If that's a terrible experience, that guy could go on to have a terrible day."





There are basically two ways to learn something.  Dig in and make your own mistakes, which will take years and a lot of time, money and effort, or learn from those that have already done it, which if you pay attention can be done in a few hours or sometimes just moments.





Glenn Plumby went from COO of a major convenience store chain to a bestselling author of a book entitled, A Charmed Life, which outlines his life advice for those juggling life and work.





Glenn shares valuable lessons from his extensive 41-year career, discussing everything from the importance of prioritizing relationships and adapting to life’s changing priorities, to innovative marketing strategies and the complexities of labor management in the convenience store industry. He also touches on personal stories, such as learning to balance exercise and sleep and successfully navigating two marriages.

Listen as Glenn delves deep into topics well outside of what I expected and into the tips, tricks and philosophies that can improve your life dramatically, if you take action on them.







Enjoy!













Visit Glenn at: https://www.amazon.com/Charmed-Life-Practical-Wisdom-Successful-ebook/dp/B0D3VM8VC5?ref_=ast_author_dp











Podcast Overview:



00:00 Book addresses transition from academics to workforce.

09:29 Interest in extracurricular activities, soft skills crucial.

12:19 Successful loyalty program for convenience store chain.

19:24 Build diverse experience within a trusted company.

24:41 Labor key to customer service and satisfaction.

27:58 Store workers are undervalued during the pandemic.

35:52 Collaborated on book, marketed to universities successfully.

39:33 Building trust takes time, embrace people's identity.

46:10 Taught operations about marketing, built understanding. Supported growth.

52:32 Transition roles improve performance, provide soft landing.

56:26 Time pie changes at 40, prioritize wisely.

01:01:50 Second wife supported and understood work passion.

01:04:35 Spouse neglect, prioritize connection, avoid future regrets.



Podcast Transcription:



Glenn Plumby [00:00:00]:

The marketing people, if they're in a silo, they're gonna come up with all these great ideas and half of them are stupid. Right? They sound good in a boardroom, but it just doesn't work. We always reverse engineer In and put operating people in marketing along with some marketing, you know, talented people, and we were able to do that.



James Kademan [00:00:20]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link On at draw In customers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well as calls on call extraordinary answering service and the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Glenn Plumby, operations and marketing expert, former executive vice president and CEO I'm sorry, COO of Speedway convenience store chain, and author of a great book called A Charmed Life. So, Glenn, how is it going today?



Glenn Plumby [00:00:59]:

Wonderful. Been looking forward to this, and, it's been a great day.



James Kademan [00:01:05]:

Yay. You know?

Mike Schuster - FiddleSmart Marketing









On the Getting Efficient Answers: "You might have people on the phone. It might be you, depending on your business, talking to owners, but you get the same kind of questions all the time when you're talking to people. So answer those on your website."





Marketing and innovation are the two keys to success in business, or so the saying goes.  But how is a business owner supposed to market their business when they are not a marketing business, they are a business that does something else?  To get over this hurdle, a business can hire a marketing company.

Mike Schuster, the founder of FiddleSmart Marketing joins us to chat about his business journey and adds some tips to successfully market your business. We delve into the importance of building business relationships and using marketing to scale them effectively. We discuss why the ultimate goal of a business shouldn't just be making money, but also serving a greater purpose and making a meaningful impact. Small business owners and entrepreneurs face unique challenges, and Mike shares his expertise on sustainable marketing strategies, ethical practices, and connecting with customers on an emotional level.

Listen as we explore how to create enticing and user-friendly websites, the significance of transparency in pricing, and the pitfalls of chasing multiple marketing strategies simultaneously. Plus, Mike will reveal his journey from attending industry conferences to helping struggling businesses and ultimately starting his own marketing consultancy. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking to boost your marketing game or simply interested in genuine business insights, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways.







Enjoy!













Visit Mike at: https://fiddlesmartmarketing.com/











Podcast Overview:



00:00 Transitioned from corporate to entrepreneurial journey.

05:56 Attended conference, offered marketing analysis, confident in abilities.

07:15 Understanding industry dynamics and financial impacts.

12:05 Ensure consistent experience in-store and online.

13:02 Employees respond to hypothetical billboard question interestingly.

16:41 Balancing choices to avoid decision paralysis.

20:49 Forgetting names and occupations at social events.

25:01 Navigating marketing budgets for maximum impact and reach.

26:55 Pushback from ego-driven entrepreneurs on marketing ideas.

32:08 Daily crew email template measures customer assistance.

34:53 Motivation and pay raise didn't work.

37:44 Entice with samples, let the crowd come.

40:35 Observing food truck lines at Korn Fest.

43:13 Understanding interconnectedness of ideas and portability.

47:12 Provide detailed answers, pricing, and value.

49:19 Transparency in pricing prevents high-pressure sales.



Podcast Transcription:



Mike Schuster [00:00:00]:

The reason I like small businesses and entrepreneurs is there's such a bigger mindset and a a passion and a purpose behind why they're doing what they're doing.



James Kademan [00:00:13]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you to the struggle stories and strength and successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Saint Prairie. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at draw in customers.com. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Mike Shuster, the owner of Fiddle Smart Marketing, which means that we're talking about marketing. So Mike, how is it going today?



Mike Schuster [00:00:39]:

Yeah.

Valerie McGeHee PhD - Author of Atomic Grit









On the Her Recipe for Success: "If you had grit, if you could set goals, and you had some sort of social support, which was the missing piece, which is accepting help from others, accepting, mentoring for account help getting help with accountability, you would be successful."





Just about every successful business owner has learned, often the hard and expensive way, that you often need to dig deep and find the drive and passion to push through whatever the current obstacle is so that they can keep moving forward.  This is something like what people refer to as grit.

Valerie McGeHee, a dynamic leader, author, and motivational speaker, shares her compelling story of grit and perseverance that led her to achieve incredible milestones, including the launch of her impactful book, "Atomic Grit."  This is a skill that is not a nice to have for entrepreneurs, this is a must have.

Listen as Valerie explains what is needed for all business owners to find and use their grit.  She also shares some incredible tips to help you get moving in your business.







Enjoy!













Visit Valerie at: https://valeriemcgeheephd.com/











Podcast Overview:



00:00 Dissertation struggle leads to embracing social support.

03:18 Setting goals, grit, and social support success.

07:10 Epilogue shares story of challenging school experience.

10:31 Received college scholarship, achieved academic success. Taught.

14:41 Unexpected journey from teaching to business sales.

17:48 Importance of career guidance for younger people.

20:35 Decade of experience prepares for educational sales.

25:17 Teaching English in China, juggling multiple jobs.

27:20 Many lack goals and motivation for success.

31:24 Leadership and management: challenging but fulfilling.

36:18 Know numbers, communication, leadership, be always prepared.

38:33 Senior leaders are great at storytelling with data.

42:34 Delayed response, professor support, husband coaching dissertation.

45:25 Moments of achieving ultimate happiness in accomplishing.



Podcast Transcription:



Valerie McGeHee [00:00:00]:

So prior to being committed to this, it would ruin my day, my week if somebody asked, oh, are you finished yet? And I'm like, not yet.



James [00:00:10]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes. Business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie and calls on call extraordinary answering service as well as the Bold Business Book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Valerie oh, my goodness. Valerie McGeHee. Did I say the name right, Valerie?



Valerie McGeHee [00:00:40]:

Right. Valerie McGehee.



James [00:00:42]:

Alright. Author of Atomic Grit, which that's gonna be 1 of the coolest names of a book that I've ever heard. So, Valerie, how is it going today?



Valerie McGeHee [00:00:51]:

It's great. It's a beautiful day in Atlanta. And, I'm loving being an executive and now a new author. So it's



James [00:01:00]:

Nice.



Valerie McGeHee [00:01:01]:

Can't complain.



James [00:01:02]:

So let's let's start with the the Atomic Grit book.



Valerie McGeHee [00:01:05]:

Yeah.



James [00:01:06]:

What triggered you? What was the big inspiring moment or 2 that caused you to write that book?

Larry Pendleton - Larry Pendleton CPA









On the Getting the Right People: ""I gotta be able to kind of find the right people to trust instead of finding someone that I halfway trust and I gotta oversee every every step of the way."





Just about every successful business owner has learned, often the hard and expensive way, that taxes can be a heavy burden to carry.  Once your business starts bringing in some money, after going through all of the sweat and challenges, you learn that the government wants a very large piece.  But how do savvy business owners navigate the tax code?

They do it with skilled CPA's that do more than just enter numbers and spit out results.  They do it with careful tax strategy to help you and your business make smart moves before it is tax time.

Larry Pendleton is a CPA that went from hustling numbers like most accountants to really bringing tax strategy to his clients.  Larry shares his transformative journey from having a limited mindset to becoming an astute real estate investor, thanks to the guidance of a trusted partner. We explore Larry’s first profitable residential investment, the challenges of dealing with contractors, and his strategic pivot from property flipping to new construction for better stability and lower risk.

Larry sheds light on the intricacies of cost segregation, a powerful tax strategy popularized by the 2017 tax reforms, and discusses the depreciation rules that real estate investors navigate. We also delve into the concept of self-directed retirement accounts, a game-changing financial tool that allows for diverse investment options beyond traditional stocks and bonds.



Listen as Larry gives details and strategies for both business taxes as well as real estate investing.







Enjoy!













Visit Larry at: LarryPendletonCPA.com











Podcast Overview:



00:00 Former athlete advising on tax strategies and coaching.

05:15 Accountant becomes year-round adviser and coach.

13:09 Struggling with project, need trustworthy professionals.

15:57 Adapting real estate investments to market changes.

22:45 Rolling over retirement accounts, choosing short-term investments.

29:44 Lack of promotion of self-directing investments.

31:30 Investors look for credibility, security in deals.

38:05 Explore budgeting, technology, and planning for accounting.

45:27 Clients aspire to be investors, achieving freedom.

49:50 Public accounting firms specialize in different areas.

55:52 Depreciation benefits and potential government changes summarized.

57:41 Understanding tax savings and depreciation in investments.

01:04:03 Quick cost assessment for new construction.



Podcast Transcription:



Larry Pendleton [00:00:00]:

Then you wanna know, okay, how much you how much is needed? How is secured? Like, who are you? Like like, what's your credibility and and and and what's my returns are going to be. But it's the security aspect of where like, are you sure, like like like if everything goes wrong, like am I at least gonna be like make my money back where, like, with with stocks and bonds, like, you can really lose everything. You can lose everything in real estate as well, but that's more so just not doing the proper due diligence, not, not really knowing what you're doing.



James Kademan [00:00:33]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, a business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well ...

Mickie Kennedy - eReleases PR Agency









On the Knowing Your Audience: "A journalist's job is, of course, to produce content. But even more importantly is to keep their audience happy."





News is everywhere, and most of it isn't exactly positive.  A lot of it is pretty morbid and serves only to bring the eyeballs to whatever medium the news is being presented on.  But those eyes are watching and reading and interested in this information that is taken as fact, almost to a fault.

Which means that press releases can be a more powerful tool than a typical advertisement, which does not have the trust that a news article does.

How do you get press releases written and released for your business?

Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, brings over 25 years of expertise in the PR world to his business, helping small businesses craft and distribute impactful press releases.

Listen as Mickie explains why the majority of press releases should be concise, the art of adding human interest elements, and how to build meaningful relationships with journalists. Mickie also sheds light on the early days of Google's pay-per-click advertising and why he remains cautious about using AI for press releases. Plus, we'll uncover practical tips on leveraging earned media for SEO benefits, the importance of strategic PR campaigns, and the potential financial rewards of a well-executed press release.







Enjoy!













Visit Mickie at: https://www.ereleases.com/











Podcast Overview:



05:30 Leverage newswires for wide-reaching press release.

11:39 News organizations pull and license articles from wires.

19:26 Effective PR is about building relationships, not databases.

21:25 A la carte, packages, and press releases.

27:30 Small businesses benefit from sharing relatable stories.

36:13 Small businesses at risk, targeted for breach.

40:46 People can write press releases, AI helps.

46:37 Build relationships with top media outlets.

49:28 Reach out, highlight green efforts, standout quotes.

57:30 Media articles build trust and influence conversion.

01:01:24 PR campaigns need 6-8 releases for success.

01:04:19 Regret over wasted money on ineffective PR.



Podcast Transcription:



Mickie Kennedy [00:00:00]:

Had one client come to me and say, hey, Mickie. I followed your advice, but now my customers are mad at me. And I said, well, then you didn't you didn't follow my advice if your customers are mad at you. 1st rule is do not alienate your existing customer base.



James Kademan [00:00:14]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomerscom. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well as calls on call extraordinary answering service, and, of course, the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Mickey Kennedy of Ereleases, the PR model of the world, I suppose you would say, or something of that nature. So, Mickey, how is it going today?



Mickie Kennedy [00:00:51]:

It's going well. How are you?



James Kademan [00:00:52]:

I'm doing very well. Tell me just really briefly, I guess, in a nutshell, what is ereleases?



Mickie Kennedy [00:00:59]:

So ereleases is a press release distribution platform. I started it a little over 25 years ago. I started it as a database of journalist. I was doing PR and I was faxing at the time and a lot of journalists started requesting it for ...

Jamie Gale - Helping Leaders Create Content and Podcast Guru









On the Power of Gratitude: "People that are grateful, abundance tends to come to them."





Podcasts.  Almost everybody has them, almost everybody listens to them.  But how do you as a business owner get a podcast going?  Should you get a podcast for your business?

Jamie Gale, serial entrepreneur and podcast builder for businesses in many areas explains how podcasts work and if you should get a podcast for your business.





The dynamic entrepreneur Jamie Gale delves into the essential aspects of launching and promoting a successful podcast, emphasizing the importance of investing in quality equipment and clear branding. She also shares her robust marketing strategies and highlights the significance of constructive feedback versus protective criticism when starting a business.

Jamie, owner of Jamie Gale LLC, brings a wealth of experience from teaching kids yoga to managing a podcast network. She offers profound insights into managing business risks and the transition from in-person to virtual support during COVID-19. Tune in to discover Jamie's journey from a nonprofit marketer to a successful entrepreneur, her tips for podcast production, and her mentorship for business-owning moms.



Listen as Jamie explains all that podcasting involves and if it is right for your business.













Enjoy!



Visit Jamie at: https://www.jamiegalellc.com/











Podcast Overview:



00:00 Started kids' yoga company, expanded to include parents.

06:02 Passion for kids yoga led to entrepreneurship.

09:20 Teaching kids yoga to promote mental wellness.

13:00 Balancing projects with family and childcare.

14:59 Growth through small steps and collaboration with educators.

18:06 Business grew organically through minimal marketing efforts.

20:16 Created personal and professional development group for moms.

24:30 Certifications and training to lead diverse groups.

28:43 Identify supportive voices and filter their feedback.

31:12 Starting a business was treated casually by narrator.

35:46 Entrepreneurial-minded individuals face fear in business.

37:59 Preference for in-person meetings over virtual.

40:49 Enthusiastic podcast consumer embraces learning about production.

43:45 Podcast networks support shows in various ways.

48:22 Invest in a good mic for clarity.

52:54 Video editing more laborious than audio. Consider audience preferences, add video accordingly.



Podcast Transcription:



Jamie Gale [00:00:00]:

But, I really urge my clients to think anytime their mom, let's just in this example, says something like, what are you gonna do if nobody buys it? Instead of feeling like, yeah. What am I gonna do if nobody buys it? You know, that that they say she's just coming from a place of protection.



James Kademan [00:00:18]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, a business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at draw in customers dot com. Today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Jamie Gale, the owner of Jamie Gale LLC. And today, on this podcast, we're talking podcast. So, Jamie, how is it going today?



Jamie Gale [00:00:46]:

It's going awesome. I'm really glad to be here.



James Kademan [00:00:49]:

Yeah. Thanks for being on the show. So tell us just to lay a foundation here. What is Jamie Gale LLC?