Future Proof Creative Marketing

Brian Pritchard
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Brian talks to business owners about their successes and failures, as well as their paths forward, 30 minutes at a time.

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  1. -1 дн.

    From Engineering Patents to 6 Crumbl Cookie Locations: Systems, Service, and Scale With Nate Tolleth

    I've been doing this show long enough now to recognize when a conversation has something extra in it. This one did. Nate Tolleth is someone I've gotten to know over the past few years, we first crossed paths at Friday night concerts at Mapleside, talking shop while walking the grounds. At the time he had four Crumbl Cookie franchise locations and was about to open two more. Today he operates six locations across the greater Cleveland area. And watching how his mind works has been one of the genuinely great privileges of building this community. Here's the thing about Nate that took me a while to fully articulate: he's an engineer who wandered into the cookie business and found out that it was actually manufacturing the whole time. Mechanical engineer by training, window cleaning entrepreneur by necessity, Crumbl franchisee by calculated instinct. He sees raw materials, value-added processes, and quality control where the rest of us just see pink boxes and rotating menus. And that way of seeing things turns out to be a real asset in the franchise world, because whatever Crumbl corporate hands you, the back-end operation is entirely yours to build. What I didn't expect from this conversation, and what I think will stay with you, is the story he tells about a window cleaning customer from his early days. An elderly woman called in a complaint. He went to investigate. She turned out to be legally blind. And what she was actually asking for, underneath the complaint, had nothing to do with the windows. That story is why I do this show. It says something true about every transaction any of us has ever been part of. We also dig into: how Crumbl's rotating menu creates a recurring engagement loop that most businesses can't manufacture; the psychology behind why bad customer service makes the product itself taste worse; Nate's plans to build a genuine sales culture across six locations rather than a passive one; and why his engineering background gives him a vocabulary most entrepreneurs lack, the expectation that version one fails, and that's not a setback, that's the process. Nate is also among the first Crumbl operators in the country to roll out the new flavored soda program, and his take on how complementary products build customer relationships rather than just upsell opportunities is worth the listen on its own. The LEAP framework, Learn, Evaluate, Act, Protect the Dream, runs underneath this whole conversation, even when we're not naming it explicitly. Nate knows where he's been, he's honest about where he is, and he's calling his shot about where he's going. That's the whole game. This is one of my favorites. I hope it's one of yours. Topics covered: Mechanical engineering background and the leap into franchise ownership Building and selling a 3,500-customer window cleaning business from scratch Why franchises are still independent businesses, and what that demands of operators Customer service psychology: peak memories, high/low points, and the Chick-fil-A "my pleasure" effect The rotating Crumbl menu and why flavor novelty drives engagement Launching the dirty soda program as one of the first 75 U.S. operators Building a sales-minded culture vs. a passive one AI and workflow automation as operational tools for multi-location businesses The engineering "version one always fails" framework applied to business iteration

    50 мин.

  2. 28 июн.

    White Glove Service, Real Estate Growth, and the Power of Betting on Yourself With Kristen Eiermann

    There are moments in life where the plan you made and the life you're living stop matching up. What you do in that gap, that's where character gets built. I've known Kristen Eiermann for over a decade through our BNI networking world here in Northeast Ohio, and I've watched her work up close. She is, without question, one of the most polished, committed, and genuinely excellent professionals I know. But what I didn't fully appreciate until this conversation was the full weight of the story behind all of it. Kristen came up as a high school English teacher and reading specialist. By 24, she was already a landlord, living in one half of a Lakewood double while renting the other, and then flipping HUD homes in her summers with her own two hands. She wasn't handed a head start. She built one, slowly and deliberately, long before she ever had to. And then life handed her a moment she didn't choose. Home on maternity leave with a one-year-old and a two-year-old, a month after giving up her tenured teaching position, her husband came home and everything changed. The income they'd counted on was gone. The trajectory she'd planned was gone. And in that moment, Kristen made a decision that would define the next twenty years of her career: she bet on herself. That first year as a real estate agent? Rookie of the Year, not just for Ohio, but across multiple states. No one was close. Because she was, as she said herself, hungry in a way that isn't manufactured. What's followed is a career built on the kind of relentless professionalism that most people don't even see happening. Subtle negotiations on your behalf. Paperwork that's legally sound and filed on time. The invisible work on the back end that makes the experience feel effortless for clients, which, as Kristen puts it, is the highest compliment she gets: "Well, that was really easy." She's been in the top 1% of agents nationally for somewhere between eight and ten years. She and her team partner Kira did nearly $25 million in sales last year, just the two of them. She has her own brokerage? No, and that's the point. She's deliberately kept her team tight: two family members she trusts completely, soon to be a third agent, never more than five or six. Because at a certain scale, you stop doing the work you love and start managing. And Kristen isn't built for management. She's built for quality. That phrase, "I'm not built for quantity, I'm built for quality," is the key to everything she's done. Her philosophy on team-building mirrors her philosophy on client relationships: deep investment, real loyalty, and nothing half-done. In this episode, we cover the origin story behind her teaching-to-real estate pivot, the practical real estate investing moves she made in her 20s that gave her a financial foundation when she needed it most, what it actually takes to stay in the top 1% year after year, her vision for the Kristen Eiermann Group going forward, and what "betting on yourself" actually feels like when the alternative is real. Kristen can be reached at callkristen.com or homes@callkristen.com. Her direct line is 440-935-0993. Future Proof is built on the idea that the best business owners don't stumble into success, they LEAP into it. Learn. Evaluate. Act. Protect the Dream. Kristen has done all four, and this conversation is proof of what that looks like across twenty years of real work. Future Proof Podcast is hosted by Brian Pritchard and produced by Iron Age Marketing. To learn more about working with Brian on your marketing and financial future, visit makemefutureproof.com

    38 мин.

  3. 22 июн.

    How an SEO Expert Turns Small Business Websites Into Lead Machines | Kim Kitchen, Burning River Marketing | Future Proof 010

    There's a phrase that stuck with me from this conversation: "It's a problem, not a brag." Kim Kitchen has been doing search engine optimization for small businesses since 2015. She has her first client from that year still on retainer. Her clients see their names showing up in AI overviews. Her phone rings because of referrals from people who love working with her. By most measures, Burning River Marketing is a success story. And yet, Kim will be the first to tell you: she's the bottleneck. That's what makes this episode so interesting to me. Kim isn't somebody who doesn't know what she's doing, she knows exactly what she's doing, and that's the problem. The strategy, the insight, the ability to reverse-engineer how a potential customer thinks before they even know what they're looking for, that lives in her head. It's not easily documented. It's not easily handed off. And it's the reason clients stay. We talked about what it actually means to build a business around SEO in the age of AI overviews and ChatGPT results. We talked about why the phone book analogy still holds, the delivery mechanism changes, but the need to be found never does. We talked about BNI, about partnerships, about the very real fear of training your competition. And we talked about the crossroads that naturally emerges when growth requires you to replicate something that, until now, has only ever existed as you. Kim also gave one of the clearest explanations of how SEO actually works for a small business that I've ever heard, and it involves a chimney nest. You'll understand when you hear it. I genuinely look forward to checking back in with Kim down the road. These conversations are designed to be revisited, and I suspect the next chapter of Burning River Marketing is going to be worth documenting. Connect with Kim Kitchen: 🌐 burningrivermarketing.com 🔍 Search "Kim Kitchen BNI" to find her full profile and social links 📧 Email is her preferred way to connect The Future Proof Podcast is a place where Cleveland-area entrepreneurs talk openly about where they've been, where they are, and where they're going, with the intention of coming back to hold each other accountable.

    32 мин.

  4. 8 июн.

    Between the Lies: How Wall Street and Banks Profit From Your Financial Passivity with Luke Tatum

    There's a concept that I keep running into, and the more I dig into it, the more I think it's one of the most underappreciated ideas in personal finance. It's called the Infinite Banking Concept, and my guest today, Luke Tatum of Perfect Spiral Capital, has made it the foundation of everything he does. Luke is the author of Between the Lies: How to Reclaim Your Future from the Banks and Wall Street, host of the Between the Lies podcast, and founder of a financial education company built on a deceptively simple premise: somebody is going to control your money. It ought to be you. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation. Luke walks through why checking a box on your 401k enrollment form isn't investing, it's abdication. He explains what it actually means to become your own banker, and why the conventional opportunity cost argument (just put it in the S&P 500) misses the most important variable: life happens. Pipes burst. Kids need cars. Kitchens get renovated. And if your wealth strategy can't survive contact with reality, it's not a strategy. What surprised me most about this conversation was the human side of the work. Luke describes his process as something closer to financial counseling than sales, sitting with people who've been carrying an entire ideology about money that no one in their life has ever bothered to listen to. That resonated with me. I'll also be transparent: I have a policy with Perfect Spiral Capital. I'm newly licensed and actively building out my own understanding of this world. That's part of why I wanted to have this conversation publicly, because I think too many people have never been given a genuine explanation of what IBC actually is and what it isn't. We close with Luke sharing the vision for The Perfect Spiral Capitalists, a private community he's building for clients and engaged followers who want to be in a room that elevates them rather than drowns them in noise. Connect with Luke: PerfectSpiralCapital.com: "Become a Client" button in the top corner Book: Between the Lies: How to Reclaim Your Future from the Banks and Wall Street Podcast: Between the Lies Connect with Brian: makemefutureproof.com Ready to talk about protecting your dream? Reach out directly.

    48 мин.

  5. 25 мая

    Claudia Duffy & Women's Wellness Cruises, Autism Travel, and the Business of Transformative Experiences

    There's a certain kind of courage that doesn't always get talked about, the courage to stop mid-life, look at what you've built, and say, "I want something more." That's the Claudia Duffy story, and it's one I think you're going to find genuinely energizing. Claudia came up as an x-ray technician. Good career. Stable work. And then a cruise changed everything. One trip, one moment of clarity, and she decided that her next chapter was going to be built around helping other people experience the same sense of wonder she felt on that boat. Sapphire & Silk Travel was born, and she hasn't looked back. What I love about Claudia's approach is that she's not just booking flights and hotels. She's providing a full-service relationship, before the trip, during the trip, and after. When something goes wrong at a hotel at 11pm in a foreign country, she's the one picking up the phone. When you need half your money back for a Wi-Fi situation on a cruise ship, she's the one running point. In her words: she's your answer to the what-if. What makes this episode particularly fascinating to me is the depth behind the business model. Claudia is a certified life coach and Reiki master healer, and she's putting those skills to use in a way I genuinely hadn't considered before. She's building hosted women's wellness group cruises that blend transformative coaching work with the magic of travel. Think of it as a floating conference for women who are ready to receive something new. She's also doing meaningful work in the autism travel space. As a mom of a son with autism, she knows firsthand how families can feel locked out of travel experiences, and she's determined to change that. This is a conversation about reinvention, boldness, and what it actually means to step into the unknown, whether that's booking the trip or starting the business. Find Claudia at sapphireandsilktravel.com and across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

    27 мин.

  6. 18 мая

    Marijuana, Microaggressions & Mission-Driven Business: The Girls Joint Story | Future Proof 007

    There are businesses that exist to fill a market gap, and then there are businesses that exist because someone got tired of being made to feel like they didn't belong in the room. This episode is the second kind. I sat down with Mandi Cavano and Judy Vegh, the co-founders of The Girls Joint, a Cleveland-based cannabis accessories shop built from a shared frustration and a genuine friendship. These two met at their day jobs, bonded over the fact that neither felt seen in the existing cannabis retail landscape, and decided to build the space they'd always wanted to walk into. What I found fascinating isn't just the business idea, it's the clarity of purpose behind it. When Mandi describes walking into a smoke shop and being talked down to, or Judy compares the experience to going to a car dealership and being asked what color you want before anyone finds out what you actually know, it crystallizes a real problem. The cannabis subculture has always been more diverse than the commercial side of the industry suggests. The Girls Joint is doing something about that. We got into a lot of ground in this conversation: How 90% of their inventory comes from women- and minority-owned businesses The events they've built, rhinestoning nights, cannabis cooking classes with a Food Network personality, a comedy fundraiser that raised nearly $3,000 for Preterm Ohio What the Cleveland small business community showed up and did when The Girls Joint needed support The future they're building toward, including their own branded product line What legalization actually does and doesn't do for stigma, and why the consumer experience is the next frontier I also had my own moment of self-reckoning in this one, realizing, fairly publicly, that I'd never clocked what wasn't being offered to me in those spaces because everything in those spaces was already built for me. That's the kind of conversation that Future Proof is here for. The Girls Joint is working toward reopening their brick-and-mortar location in Gordon Square. In the meantime, find them at pop-ups across Cleveland and follow them on Instagram @girlsjointco for all updates. If you're a Cleveland business with space that could host an event, these events require no cannabis on site — I'd encourage you to reach out to them directly. This is what future-proofing looks like: knowing who you're for, building for them with intention, and refusing to let a temporary setback become a permanent story. Connect with The Girls Joint: Instagram & Facebook: @girlsjointco Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

    39 мин.

  7. 11 мая

    Airbnb, Flipping & Wholesaling: How to Build a Real Estate Business That Lasts with Stephen Greene | Futureproof Creative Marketing 006

    There are people who talk about real estate investing, and then there are people who've spent 17 years doing it, the dirty work, the evictions, the flips, the management headaches, all of it. Stephen Greene is the second kind. Steve and I have known each other for a while, but I'd never really sat down and talked business with him. That changes this episode. And what came out of it was one of the most grounded, practical conversations I've had on this show. Steve grew up watching his father work the rental game in Providence, Rhode Island, not the glamorous side of it, either. South Providence. The parts of the city that gave him an early, unfiltered education in what real estate actually looks like up close. He came to Ohio, put himself through college, and eventually dove headfirst into every corner of the market: property management, buy-and-hold, house flipping, short-term rentals, and now wholesaling. Here's what struck me: he's tried it all on purpose. Not because he couldn't pick a lane, but because he understood you can't find your niche until you've tested a few. That's a mindset worth sitting with. We get into what's happening to the Cleveland market right now, out-of-country investors from Canada and Israel showing up with 15 offers and $50K over list price. We talk about why that's a structural shift that's already played out in Rhode Island. And we get into the wholesaling conversation, what it looks like to do it the right way, and why that matters. Steve's not on every platform, but you can find him on Facebook, search Stephen Greene (Stephen with a P-H, Greene with an E). He genuinely loves talking real estate, so don't hesitate to reach out.

    32 мин.

  8. 5 мая

    Why Young Entrepreneurs Get Underestimated, And How Nolan Buchanan Proved Everyone Wrong

    There's something powerful about sitting across from someone and realizing they've already figured out things it took most people decades to understand. That's the feeling I walked away with after this conversation with Nolan Buchanan. Nolan is the founder of Northlake Pressure Washing out of the greater Cleveland area, and he started this business at 15 years old. Not as a summer side hustle. As a real company, with SOPs, a training program, a performance pay structure, and a vision for what it looks like in five years. What we talk about in this episode: It starts the way a lot of great things do, a grandfather, a power washer, and a weekend visit to Kentucky. Nolan takes us back to the moment the business became possible, and then walks through exactly how he turned possibility into a paying operation with no driver's license and no budget. His first marketing move? Free jobs for Google reviews and a Facebook post in the local community group. Simple. Deliberate. Effective. We get into the competitive reality of the pressure washing industry, an unlicensed field where anyone can show up with a machine and cause thousands of dollars in damage to your siding, your concrete, or your roof. Nolan explains the difference between high-pressure and soft wash techniques, and why Northlake's commitment to doing it right is what separates them. Then we talk about something that I think is the mark of a genuinely sophisticated operator: building a team the right way. Nolan built a McDonald's-style training SOP before most people his age have their first resume together. Two-week shadowing periods, a 10-point accountability system, and a performance pay model designed to build careers, not just fill shifts. We also talk about something I noticed watching Nolan navigate the professional world: the challenge of being young in rooms full of people who assume you need their advice. I called it "age-splaining." He called it "finding the loophole." Either way, it's a dynamic he's handled with a lot more grace than I would have at his age. The LEAP framework that drives Future Proof is about knowing where you've been, where you are, and where you're going, and protecting the dream that gets you there. Nolan has that in abundance. If you're a business owner, a parent of a young entrepreneur, or just someone who finds it energizing to watch someone get it right, this episode is for you.

    30 мин.

  9. 30 апр.

    No Degree, No Problem: Greg Snyder on Entrepreneurship, Identity, and the Anti-Establishment Brand

    One of the things I love most about these conversations is that nobody's story is ever a straight line. Greg Snyder's path to founding No Alumni wound through the construction trades, the 2008 economic collapse, BNI networking rooms, and a chance encounter with a Harley mechanic's anti-establishment merch. At every turn, Greg found himself recognizing something, a cool factor, a gap in the market, a moment where people were being left behind, and deciding to do something about it. No Alumni starts with a simple premise: college isn't for everyone, and there are many paths to success. But the more Greg and I talked, the more I realized it's about something deeper than just education. It's about belonging. It's about the working-class kid who builds engines for fun not having a community that holds them up the same way a Notre Dame alumni network holds up its graduates. It's about giving people who took the long way around a brand they can identify with and a place to stand. We got into some territory that I think a lot of business owners need to hear. Greg called out a conversation he had with a business owner who was frustrated that three young hires didn't work out, they didn't want to work 40 hours, they had different expectations. And Greg's response was essentially: so what? Why not meet them where they are? The businesses that are going to survive the next generation of workforce aren't the ones holding firm on 30-year-old assumptions. They're the ones willing to figure it out. We also talked about the Six Types of Working Genius, which Greg is certified in, and which he's bringing to companies as a culture change tool. The premise is straightforward: 80% of this is about how you work and where you find fulfillment. Knowing what you're genuinely great at, and being able to say out loud where you struggle, is a kind of quiet confidence that most of us spend decades trying to find on our own. Greg's using it to help businesses and individuals get there faster. And of course, we talked about goals. Greg's calling his shot: he wants No Alumni to become a brand that people without the formal education experience can identify with the same visceral pride that a Notre Dame fan feels at a football game. A tribe for the people who didn't have one. That's a shot worth calling. Find Greg and No Alumni at noalumni.com, on Facebook and Instagram @noalumni, or at newgameoldgame.com.

    36 мин.

  10. 20 апр.

    From Door Hangers to 35 Years Strong: How Century Chimney Built a Legacy in Cleveland

    Nobody wakes up wanting to be a chimney sweep. That's what Gary Spolar told me, and honestly, it might be the most honest thing anybody's said on this show so far. Gary is the owner of Century Chimney, a Cleveland-based chimney service company he's been building since 1988. We're talking 35-plus years in the same city, the same trade, the same commitment to doing things right. That is not a small thing. His origin story is exactly the kind of zig-zag I love talking about. He started at Cleveland State in computer science and figured out pretty quickly that programming would drain the life out of him. After spotting a want ad in the Plain Dealer for a chimney sweep, he signed  up and never looked back. In those early years, the bar was low: show up, do it sober, and Gary cleared that minimum with room to spare. He saw the opportunity and took it. What followed was two decades of solo work. A cell phone, paper roadmaps, and a reputation as the guy everyone called in the fall. The growth came slowly and deliberately, which is exactly how Gary wanted it. Letting go of the micromanager in him was the real turning point, learning to trust that a different approach could still deliver great results. Today Century Chimney has Theresa, a CSIA-certified office manager who came in wanting to sweep chimneys and ended up running the office. It has Patrick, the operations manager who according to Gary runs around with his hair on fire so Gary doesn't have to. It has retirement matching and healthcare. It has a culture where employees come first, because Gary understands that happy people take care of customers. And it has Gary's full-throated frustration with the lead generation companies gaming Google Maps with fake addresses and impossibly low bait prices. He's been documenting them, reporting them, and getting some of them removed. Not for spite, but because it protects customers and legitimate local businesses at the same time. His approach to sales is worth lingering on: no pressure. Not low pressure, no pressure. They do the inspection, give you a real report with actual photos, quote the repairs, and leave the ball in your court. No follow-up call. No manufactured urgency. If you need to shop around, please do, just make sure the next company is actually CSIA certified. The goals for Century Chimney going forward aren't about aggressive scaling or franchise deals. Gary is focused on efficiency, tightening the slow season, and building out internal systems, maybe finally implementing a CRM. He'd sell the business someday only to someone who would keep it local and keep the culture intact. Givers gain, Gary said. He's been living it for 35 years. Find Gary at centurychimney.com or on Facebook at Century Chimney Sweep and Repair. You can also reach him Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm at 440-871-7707.

    27 мин.

  11. 13 апр.

    Planning for Aging Parents: How a Senior Living Advisor Navigates the Hardest Conversations

    One of the things I've come to believe pretty firmly is that the most important conversations are often the ones people work hardest to avoid. This episode is a good example of that. Jake Schoch is the owner of Assisted Living Locators of West Cleveland, and he does something that, when you hear it described plainly, sounds almost too good to be true. Jake helps families navigate one of the most stressful transitions of their lives: finding the right senior living situation for a loved one, and he does it completely free of charge to the families he serves. That's not a marketing line. That's the model. Jake has built relationships with assisted living communities throughout the Cleveland area, and those communities compensate him when a placement is made. Which means when your family is in crisis mode: after a fall, after a diagnosis, after a moment where everything changes overnight, the last thing you're getting from Jake is an invoice. We talked about a lot of things in this conversation that I think are worth sitting with. There's a real and persistent stigma around assisted living that Jake works to dismantle every single day. The word "facility" conjures something cold and institutional. The reality, especially in the assisted living communities Jake works with, is often a far more vibrant picture: people taking shuttle buses to the theater district, communal dining, genuine social lives. Going back to college is how more than one of Jake's clients has described it. We also talked about the difference between nursing homes and assisted living that most people don't understand until they're already in the thick of a difficult situation. Knowing that distinction ahead of time is genuinely valuable. Jake is also a committee member with the Alzheimer's Association and was part of the Cleveland walk that raised over $850,000 last year, outgrowing the Cleveland Zoo in the process. His commitment to this cause goes well beyond professional networking. It's personal. As for goals, Jake called his shot clearly. Three new hires by December 31, 2026. And at least 15% of his placements will be pro bono for individuals who rely on Medicaid waivers, because those are, in his words, the people who need the most help. That's the kind of goal-setting I find genuinely compelling. Not just revenue targets kept private, but a built-in commitment to the community baked right into the growth plan. Connect with Jake: 📞 216-815-3131 📧 jakes@assistedlivinglocators.com 🔍 Google: Assisted Living Locators West Cleveland

    30 мин.
  12. From Band Practice to Business Strategy: How Creative Roots Build Better Marketers

    6 апр.

    From Band Practice to Business Strategy: How Creative Roots Build Better Marketers

    Welcome to the very first episode of the Future Proof Podcast, a place where we explore the past, present, and future of real business goals with real people doing real work. For my inaugural guest, I didn't have to look far. Nicky P is someone I'm proud to call a friend and a colleague. He runs Iron Age Marketing, and when I look at his LinkedIn profile, the through line is unmistakable: creative output. Music. Writing. Podcasting. Video. All of it woven together by someone who figured out how to turn a passion for creativity into a genuine business strategy. What struck me most in this conversation was how Nick's journey mirrors something I see repeatedly in the entrepreneurs and small business owners I work with. He didn't set out to be a marketer. He set out to be a musician, and marketing was just the tool he needed to get more people to the shows. But somewhere along the way, the psychology of it grabbed him. And that's where the real insight lives. We talk about what I call "life inside the numbers," the idea that data isn't just for corporations with war chests the size of Coke and Pepsi. Small businesses have access to meaningful metrics too. They just need to start looking at them. Nick makes the point simply and powerfully: do you even know how many people are on your email list? Do you know how many of them are opening your emails? That baseline is everything. Nick also shares how podcasting changed the game, not just as a content tool, but as a relationship-building mechanism. In a world where "corporate" has become synonymous with "taking advantage of me," the authentic voice of a small business owner cuts through in ways no ad budget can replicate. We close with Nick calling his shot, Babe Ruth style. His goals: double his client base within the year and achieve full geographic independence within five to ten. That's the kind of clarity that makes future-proofing possible. And I plan to hold him to it. This is what Future Proof is all about: protecting the dream by putting the right systems in place. Welcome to the journey.

    30 мин.
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Brian talks to business owners about their successes and failures, as well as their paths forward, 30 minutes at a time.

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  • Автор
    Brian Pritchard
  • Годы выхода
    2 тыс.
  • Выпуски
    12
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
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    © 2026
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    Future Proof Creative Marketing