Authentic Business Adventures Podcast

Draw In Customers Business Coach James Kademan
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The business podcast designed for entrepreneurs and small business owners to be inspired by, listen to, enjoy and take some action from.

  1. APR 3

    Learn How to Play Golf Better

    Todd Graves  - Graves Golf On Understanding Your Value: "Your customer is going to feed on your clarity of what you have to offer. And without clarity, you're just going to be a commodity." Some things just go hand in hand with business.  Things like marketing, closing a deal over a beer, meeting for coffee and, of course, golfing.  It seems that golf is a sport that allows you to chat on a more casual level with vendors and clients to get deals done and have a good excuse to be out of the office on a beautiful day. But this can be challenging, especially if you don't golf well. Todd Graves grew up with golf and learned the single plane swing from the best in the business, Moe Norman.  Using Moe's unique swing that works well, along with a 5 step training process, Todd has built a business to help golfers become better golfers and non-golfers become golfers that don't hurt their back.  He has systematized the golf swing to the point of making the game fun for entrepreneurs. With Graves Golf, Todd has built a business around helping golfers get better.  His process has value for businesses of all types, helping you understand the reason behind the rule of 'Systematize Everything'. Listen as Todd explains his approach to training golfers and how he built his business around one guys process that went against the norm. Enjoy! Visit Todd at: https://gravesgolf.com/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Outdated PGA teaching methods 09:52 Regulating equipment in sports 13:15 Learning step-by-step skills 18:40 Todd's seminar on clarity 23:42 Understanding golf swing mechanics 30:20 Fixing common golf swing mistakes 33:51 Starting Graves Golf with a trailer 37:12 Prioritizing values over quick fixes 42:22 Building a custom golf academy 51:08 Raising your standards for excellence 54:44 Golf club components explained 01:02:16 Range balls vs. regular golf balls 01:03:41 Choosing the right golf ball Podcast Transcription: Todd Graves [00:00:00]: Now when you, when you look at the way the game has advanced and I'll just give you some, some data, but just from in the late 80s, early 90s, John Daly led the Tour driving distance. John Daly was the longest striker of the golf ball on the, on the Tour at the time. And he was driving the ball, I think 288 yards, 289 yards. Something was the, he was the longest. And the Tour average driving distance was around 265. Today it's 30 yards greater than that. So now. Oh yeah, yeah. Todd Graves [00:00:29]: So now the average driving distance is in the 295 range and the longest drivers out there in the 32330 range and sometimes longer. James Kademan [00:00:42]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at https://drawincustomers.com We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie Calls On Call, Extraordinary Answering Service, The bold business book as well as Live Switch. Today we're welcoming slash, preparing to learn from Todd Graves of Graves Golf. And Todd, I'm excited. We are now entering what, at least in my world in the Midwest, is golf weather. So let's talk golf today. Todd Graves [00:01:19]: Well, yeah, the Masters, you know, coming next week. So really golf, golf season across the country and probably across the world really kicks off for us around Masters. We always gear up for this time of year. You know, nothing's more exciting than the Masters tournament. So that's a, it's a big week next week. So we're excited about what's happening. You know, it's been a, been kind of an early, interesting season this year because the weather seems to be, it's, it's always off and on, but it's, you know, I own a golf course here in Edmond, Oklahoma, and the, the grass came out early this year, which I don't know if that's always a good thing. But, but, but we're, yeah, we got some nice, nice playing conditions and we're ready to go. Todd Graves [00:01:58]: You know, golf's golf kicks off for us and we're ready to get busy this year. James Kademan [00:02:02]: Nice. Yeah, I'm in Wisconsin and we always joke that we have six springs. Todd Graves [00:02:06]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:02:07]: Last a day or two at a time. So I know that the course has been open and they've been snowed on and all that jazz. But at any rate, let's, let's talk about how you got started because it's been a while you've been in this game for quite a bit, it sounds like. Todd Graves [00:02:21]: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I'm not sure, you know, in business, being an entrepreneur, I'm not sure that you ever really know what you're doing at first. You know, you get into the game because you, you have an idea or you have something unique that you want to offer the world and help people with. And I think that's kind of what I stumbled into. I, you know, I, I played professional golf. I played in college, and I played professional golf, and, you know, I aspired to be a player, and I played for a while on the, on the tours around the world, and, and I just, you know, I kind of fell into. I saw a problem. Todd Graves [00:02:53]: I saw a problem in the golf world from, from a golf learning teaching methodology standpoint because I struggled, you know, I struggled to learn the game. I struggled to become better at playing it, even though I was a good player. I, I, you know, I came from a background of, of educators. My parents were both. My dad was a PhD in microbiology, taught at the medical school. My mother owned civil learning centers here in Oklahoma City. She was an entrepreneur herself. So, you know, I came from this background of always questioning how things worked. Todd Graves [00:03:23]: And, and I, I would consider myself relatively smart. I don't think I'm the most intelligent tool in the, you know, the smartest guy in the world. But, but I always, you know, I'm, I'm inquisitive. I always was curious about things and, and as I tried to approach the game of golf and get better at it, there was a lot of, A lot of dogma in, in the golf instruction world. And there was. There was really no standardized teaching methods. There was, and it just didn't seem simple to me. So the more I tried to improve, the more trouble I saw with the industry that teaches the game of golf. Todd Graves [00:03:54]: Matter of fact, to give you an example, the PGA teaching manual, the manual that they teach from today, if you go into a pro shop and you want to learn from a PGA pro, that teaching manual that they operate from and they, and they use has not been updated since 1990. So, so you would think that, you know, with the technology today and with, with the way the game works and with all the, I mean, look at, look at the industry. Look at your world. You know, we got AI. We got so much, we got so much information out there and the ability to do things we could never do before, and you got this antiquated way they teach the game of golf. Now, I'm not saying that everything in that manual is bad and wrong. I'm just saying that there's so much more that we can, we can offer and become better at what we do. And, and that's, that's part of an entrepreneur's job is to, so I look at that. Todd Graves [00:04:41]: That was part of it. And there was, you know, everybody's teaching a different method. So I just, I said, look, there's, there's something wrong with, with the game of golf. It's how it's being taught and it's what's being taught. And I've been, I, I built a business around that and, and so I kind of stumbled into it just because I saw a big need and a problem. You know, that's what we do as entrepreneurs. We find needs, we find problems, we try to solve those things as best we can. You know, that's fair. James Kademan [00:05:03]: That's totally true. Tell me a story, because I have to admit ignorance here I am just getting into golf, like just getting into golf. So I have played golf. Not well. We play best ball and out of 18 holes, we're probably using mine two or three times at best. Todd Graves [00:05:19]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:05:19]: And I'm going to call that pure luck. Nothing. Todd Graves [00:05:22]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:05:23]: So at any rate, tell me a story about, let's just say a typical drive. A typical drive in 1990 versus a typical drive now with the skills and the tools and all that kind of stuff. Is it. When I say a typical drive, I guess a good drive, not my drive. A good drive where it goes straight, where you intended to go. Is it farther than what it was? Todd Graves [00:05:44]: Well, here's what's interesting about it. You know, when you, when you look at the way the game has advanced and I'll just give you some, some data. So just from in the late 80s, early 90s, John Daly led the Tour driving distance. John Daly was the longest striker of the golf ball on the, on the Tour at the time. And he was driving the ball, I think 288 yards to an 89 yards. Something was the, was he was the longest and the tour average driving distance was around 265. Today it's 30 yards greater than that. So 10%. Todd Graves [00:06:15]: Oh, yeah, yeah. So, so now the, the average driving distance is in the 295 range and the, the longest drivers out there are in the 32330 range. So. And sometimes longer so that, you know, you can, you can attribute that to probably, we call it the tiger effect. In the game. You can, you know, better athletes,

    1h 11m

  2. MAR 28

    How to Invest in Notes

    Eddie Speed  - Note School On Timing the Market: "What's the best time to be in the note business? I said, there's two things. Either it's inflationary times or disruptive times. Right now we have both." It is always best to have an attorney before you need one, especially in business. Often, to make a deal happen, you need financing.  In real estate especially.  But often the typical bank cannot offer financing for a home to an entrepreneur.  We just don't check the W2 box like the banks want to see.  So where can you get financing for a home, if you are an entrepreneur? From another angle, you want to invest in something that has some great returns, but being a landlord isn't really your idea of fun.  What is another real estate investing option that can help you make money in your sleep? Eddie Speed has started the Note School.  A school that teaches how to invest and offer notes to people that need financing outside of traditional banks. Eddie shares insights from his decades of experience teaching people how to "be the bank, a strategy that has helped countless real estate investors convert their rental properties into seller-financed opportunities. As rental profits dwindle and banks tighten their lending standards, Eddie explains how seller financing can transform a landlord’s cash flow and serve an underserved market of aspiring homeowners. From practical math to tax strategies, and a behind-the-scenes look at the NoteSchool training process, Listen as Eddie explains innovative ways to thrive in disruptive, inflationary times. Whether you’re a seasoned investor, a curious landlord, or an entrepreneur seeking new revenue streams, Eddie’s expertise will open your eyes to possibilities beyond conventional real estate. Enjoy! Visit Eddie at: https://noteschool.com/DrawIn Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Learning to become the bank 04:18 Discussing rental properties as businesses 07:22 Helping sellers with financing 12:41 Rental income and market comparison 13:35 Tax tips for installment sales 19:13 Training successful yet overthinking students 22:05 Starting in the business 25:22 Finding a niche in real estate 27:43 Challenges of property management 32:12 Challenges with traditional mortgage lending 35:16 Frustration with appliance durability 40:36 Comparing 30-year vs 50-year loans 44:25 Finding reliable, hardworking realtors 47:50 Finding local property services 50:19 Getting started with online basics 54:43 Funding notes and marketplace strategy Podcast Transcription: Eddie Speed [00:00:00]: Think and think in terms of the easiest way. People say, people say, give me a reference of seller financing that everybody can relate to the car industry. You, you buy, buy a car, maybe it's a used car or you are, you know, whoever your secretary buys, whatever that is. Right. Somebody buys a car and the car dealership carries the financing. They sell or finance the car. Does that make sense? James Kademan [00:00:26]: It does. Eddie Speed [00:00:26]: Instead of seller financing a car, you sell or finance a property. So you're not renting it anymore. You're, you're transferring the deed to the new guy, but you're saying, wait a minute, I'm going to carry, I'm going to be your bank and I'm going to carry long term financing. James Kademan [00:00:47]: 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@drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie Calls On Call Extraordinary answering Service, the Bold business Book as well as Live Switch. Today we're welcoming Slash, preparing to learn from Eddie Speed of the note school. So Eddie, how is it going today? Eddie Speed [00:01:15]: I'm great, how are you? James Kademan [00:01:17]: I am excited. We're talking about real estate notes and I gotta admit, I don't know much about that at all. So I'm excited to learn from you. So let's start with the basic foundation. What is the note school? Eddie Speed [00:01:31]: Well, note school teaches people how to be the bank. There's basically two ways you could be the bank. You might have a rental property that's far more profitable for you to finance the rent property than continuing to pay rent and taxes and insurance and the plumber and the all that. Right. And, or you may say, no, I don't have a rent house, Eddie. I just, I like the idea of being a bank. How would I find a note? And so we have run a school for 25 years showing people how to go be the bank. James Kademan [00:02:09]: So help us with a foundation here. A real estate note. Is that essentially the same as the deed or what is that? Eddie Speed [00:02:15]: No, is what we all sign when we go to the title company and buy a house and get financing. James Kademan [00:02:22]: Gotcha. So it's the loan on the property. Eddie Speed [00:02:25]: You know, you sign a promise to pay to the bank, it has an amount that you owe, it has interest, it has a monthly payment and then you sign another document that says if I don't pay, the bank can foreclose. Usually in some states that's a deed of trust in some states, that's called a mortgage, something kind of like that. James Kademan [00:02:46]: Okay. Eddie Speed [00:02:47]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:02:49]: So if somebody has a property, is this. I guess in this case with the notes is this. You are helping somebody purchase the property. So instead of a bank, they'd be using this person? Eddie Speed [00:03:00]: No, I. No, I am, I am pretty specialized in the business, and so we help people. Seller finance. James Kademan [00:03:12]: Okay. Eddie Speed [00:03:13]: So I deal with a lot of landlords. Main, I don't usually deal with too many mom and pops. Normally the people that I deal with are people that are real estate investors. Some really big, some super small, but normally they're a real estate investor. And so I help them create notes and I buy notes that they've already created. And in the, in the little, narrow little world of seller financing, I bought 50,000 seller finance notes. Wow. James Kademan [00:03:42]: So I feel like that's a lot. Eddie Speed [00:03:44]: It is. And in that little industry, it is. And so we're. We're pretty. We've got a seat at the table in that industry. And so we find a lot of these notes and we spend a lot of energy trying to find them. Right. So we do pretty good at that. Eddie Speed [00:04:00]: And then right now we have a really active program where. And a lot of the podcasts and things I do, people are interviewing me, like, okay, how do I convert my rental to seller financing? Because rentals aren't making near the profit they used to. Inflation messed up the rental model. James Kademan [00:04:18]: It turns out as I, as I interview people that are in the real estate world and I look at the rental property world, I'll reach out to a real estate agent and I'll be like, hey, man, from my point of view, a rental property is a business. You look at what it costs, acquisition costs, and then the money coming in, the revenue, the expenses. I don't see how some of these businesses are making money. Who would buy this? This is a. Not necessarily a failing business, but it's a business that's going to cost you money rather than make you money, unless you're working on speculation and saying, in 30 years down the road, this is going to be worth more. Eddie Speed [00:04:55]: So we help people get paid now versus having to wait for appreciation. James Kademan [00:05:00]: Gotcha. Eddie Speed [00:05:01]: And if you, if you just look like this would be kind of an easy way to think about it. The average rent in the United states is about 1800 bucks. James Kademan [00:05:12]: Okay. Eddie Speed [00:05:13]: Ohio and California and Iowa, and you know what? James Kademan [00:05:19]: In the whole US So you got New York and San Diego, and you Eddie Speed [00:05:21]: also have everywhere in between, right the middle of nowhere. The average single family house rents for about 1800 bucks. Okay, that's not an apartment. That's not. That's not a duplex. That's it. That's a single family standalone house. The average payment that a brand new customer pays their mortgage payment is 138% of rent. Eddie Speed [00:05:49]: Okay, so that tells me the banks are making. Getting a bigger payment now. That includes taxes and insurance. So you got to saw a little off of that. Right. But Even if it's 110%, 100, 115%, people's mortgage payment is more than rent. But wait a minute. If I'm the landlord, half of my money runs out the door and paying expenses. Eddie Speed [00:06:10]: And if I'm the bank, none of my money runs out the door. So it doesn't, it doesn't take a, you know, a long spreadsheet to look at the math and go, you know, you know what, Eddie? It is more profitable for me to be the bank than a landlord. James Kademan [00:06:27]: Gotcha. So tell me, who is coming to you? Eddie Speed [00:06:35]: In the last two weeks, I've been to the largest two real estate masterminds for house people in the United States. So call it top, you know, 800 top thousand house buyers. A good percentage of them are in. Are one of those groups or another couple that I'm involved in. They have. I sit down with a guy on Friday who's a fractional CFO for other real estate investors.

    59 min

  3. MAR 20

    Real Stories of Legal Struggles and Successes

    Jane Muir  - J. Muir & Associates P.A. On the Bold Truth: "But long story short, litigation has to be part of your comprehensive business plan." It is always best to have an attorney before you need one, especially in business. Jane Muir is a business attorney that has seen almost everything.  She started her law practice to help entrepreneurs navigate the law. From the basics of forming your business entity to protecting yourself through solid contracts and smart bookkeeping, Jane Muir shares invaluable advice for business owners at every stage. She discusses common pitfalls companies face, such as collecting unpaid invoices, navigating litigation, and when (or if) it’s even worth chasing what you’re owed. You'll also hear about the often-overlooked power of credit reporting, and why a solid business plan includes preparing for legal disputes, not just dreaming big. Jane Muir gets candid about her own journey: growing up in a family of lawyers, how market downturns led her to start her own practice, and why embracing technology and AI has helped her firm stand out and serve clients more efficiently. Plus, she recommends the essential business books every entrepreneur should read (hint: it’s not all about law). Listen as Jane explains what to look for in a great business attorney and how an attorney can help you prevent and solve some issues you may come across. Enjoy! Visit Jane at: http://www.jmuirandassociates.com/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Business Entity Options Explained 05:45 "Small Claims: Worth the Chase?" 08:51 "Litigation: A Business Strategy" 12:59 "Enforcing Judgments with Legal Writs" 16:03 "Fighting for Justice and Fees" 18:49 Settlements vs. Trials: Key Insights 21:01 Partnerships and Legal Financial Dynamics 26:20 Beginner Business Tax Tips 28:49 "Credit Reporting Agencies Explained" 33:02 "Gemini and AI Automations" 34:07 Automated Document and Scheduling System 39:03 "Spot, Read, Decide Quickly" 42:00 Vespa Insurance Coverage Gap 46:24 "Starting a Law Firm" 50:33 "Legal Challenges and Opportunities" 51:21 "Assessing Threats and Opportunities" 56:23 Bookkeeping: Your Business Backbone Podcast Transcription: Jane Muir [00:00:00]: in whatever that area is. You could be a painter or a social media marketing person, but if you're not getting your invoices out and getting paid, you're just not going to have a business. Well, that's really so important that we make sure everybody is aware that bookkeeping is the backbone of your business and you might not like it. It might be boring. So you got to find someone who's going to do it for you. But if you don't have your bookkeeping in order, then you're lost and you'll never be able to succeed. James [00:00:39]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, The Bold Business Book, as well as LiveSwitch. Today we are welcoming/preparing to learn from Jane Muir of J. Muir and Associates, PA. Jane, how is it going today? Jane Muir [00:01:09]: It's a beautiful day in Coral Gables. How are you? James [00:01:12]: I am doing well. You know, you and I were chatting right before here about the initials after the name, J. Muir and Associates, the PA. So let's dig into some legal stuff right away. What is the PA? Jane Muir [00:01:26]: Every state has statutes that define the different types of corporate entities that they allow. And in order to tell the public what corporate entity you have, there are little letters at the end of the name of the company, like Inc. or LLC or Co. And those are designed to give notice of what rules and, um, rights and responsibilities apply to that corporate entity. Uh, my entity is called a professional association, which is specific to professionals who hold a license. It can apply to accountants, architects, engineers, lawyers, doctors, and it's essentially a partnership form. Um, which is an option just for licensed professionals. James [00:02:18]: Nice. So that would be in addition to, or instead of an LLC or S corporation, something like that? Jane Muir [00:02:26]: It would be instead of. James [00:02:27]: Uh, instead of. Jane Muir [00:02:28]: A professional group like lawyers or doctors, they can have a PA or a PLLC, or they can have another thing called a limited liability partnership, an LLP. Theoretically, they could have other types of entities to allow non-licensed professionals to participate. Like if, if I were going to start a non-law firm business, for instance, I can have anything I want. It could be an LLC, it can be an Inc. And in Florida, they allow us to kind of make a Frankenstein where we take features of the different statutes and make them into one. Corporate entity that has features of all of them. Uh, but really anything goes and the, the little letters at the end are supposed to just kind of give the public an idea of what to expect. James [00:03:24]: Interesting. Is that, is the PA thing newer or has that been around for a while? Jane Muir [00:03:29]: No, it's ancient. It's, it's one of the earliest corporate forms. James [00:03:33]: Oh, really? Jane Muir [00:03:34]: All right. James [00:03:35]: How cool is that? And just outta curiosity here, why did you or your team choose PA versus LLC or LLP or whatever? Jane Muir [00:03:44]: I think, well, I, I'm the sole shareholder of our firm. We have partners, but, um, I'm the sole shareholder and I just think it's a classic choice. It, to me, it conveys that we're traditional even though We're advanced in technology and we're advanced in, in our approach to managing matters. We, we do want to convey to the public that we're old school lawyers doing real legal work. James [00:04:18]: Right on. I love it. So let's dig into that, Jane. What is, what do you do? Jane Muir [00:04:24]: I'm a business lawyer. I'm located in Miami, Florida. Our firm has offices in Dade, uh, Palm Beach, and, um, opening soon in Alachua County. James [00:04:36]: Nice. Jane Muir [00:04:37]: And we help business owners with their legal issues from mainly contracts and, and issues relating to permits needed or, or business licenses, troubleshooting all kinds of random things that can pop up in a business. Uh, and then the remainder of our practice is commercial litigation. James [00:04:59]: Oh, that sounds like fun. Jane Muir [00:05:01]: I don't, yeah, we deal with a lot of conflict. James [00:05:05]: All right. All right. So let's dig into that cuz that sounds like fun, right? Uh, tell me about the conflicts that a typical business owner or business entity would run into. Jane Muir [00:05:15]: I would say mainly it's collecting money. All right. Or dealing with— James [00:05:20]: it always comes down to money, right? Jane Muir [00:05:21]: Yes. It's always money. James [00:05:23]: All right. Um, and is this because somebody put together a partnership that's bad or more, uh, vendor-customer type relationship? Jane Muir [00:05:32]: We do have the partnerships gone bad, but I would say the majority of our work is vendor and customer relationships. Like someone owes you and you need to sue to force them to pay. James [00:05:45]: All right. So in my extremely limited experience. There is a dollar amount threshold where it's just not worth chasing from the headache and the way the system is set up. I guess in the, the little experience that I had of going to small claims court, it was annoying. It was expensive. And in the end, even when I won, I still didn't get paid. So tell me a story from, uh, what you would like small business to know, small business owners to know when it comes to collecting money, when it comes to dollar amounts. Or who's worth chasing and things like that? Jane Muir [00:06:19]: What a great question. That's, that's my every day. I process that question. What, what the cost benefit analysis is for a litigation. So first you want to know how much is at issue. And let's say if it's under $50,000, I really don't, I usually tell people, don't throw your good money after bad. And the reason is because our average litigation has expenses of about $50,000. And takes 2 to 2.5 years to come to a conclusion. Jane Muir [00:06:50]: Wow. Our, our least expensive litigations are $10,000 to $15,000, and they either resolve early by settlement or we win by default. And then the most expensive litigation we've had so far was a 3-year litigation. It had expenses of like $800,000. We ended in a jury verdict of $6.3 million. So that justified the expense, but whether we're ever going to collect on that is still an open question. So question number 1 is how much is at issue? Does it make it worthwhile to pursue? Then you want to ask, is there a way to recover the fees if you win? Because you don't just want the money you lost, you want to get the fees back. So oftentimes when I consult a business owner, I'm looking at their agreements with their customers and they don't have a prevailing party fee provision, which makes it not really worthwhile to pursue. Jane Muir [00:07:51]: So you want to see if you can collect fees and then you want to see that there's a pocket to pull the money out of either insurance or a property that's not protected by homestead or some other exemption that makes it uncollectible,

    1 hr

  4. MAR 14

    Mind and Body Wellness

    Annie  - The Garden Mind Body On the Figuring Out That it is All Connected: ""I was so skeptical because I was like, how is working with my mind going to change what my body's doing?" Pain seems to be everywhere.  In our bodies, often we have the aches or headaches that seem to have no real reason for existing other than to feel like misplaced karma. But what if the aches in the body were due to issues in the mind?  What if you realized that everything in the body is connected to the mind and vice versa.  Through many challenges and illnesses and a lack of progress from typical doctor visits, Annie Kubena has researched and discovered what should be common knowledge, but isn't.  Our thoughts and our bodies live and work together, essentially as one.  Sometimes there messages are delivered by using pain as an esoteric way to inform your mind that your subconscious mind has some issues it needs you to deal with. Annie discovered this and this has led her to become a holistic mind-body coach.  She is helping others find relief from anxiety, chronic pain, and even the lingering effects of COVID through nervous system regulation, brain rewiring, and tools like somatic parts work and EFT tapping.  Annie Kubena details the ins and outs of her methods, and why tending to our “inner garden” is essential for lasting health. Listen as Annie explains how you can get the relief you need from the pain that may be slowing you down. Enjoy! Visit Annie at: https://www.thegardenmindbody.com/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Listening to My Body 04:43 Listening to My Body 08:36 Long COVID's Lingering Body Effects 11:05 "Building Resilience Through Reflection" 15:53 Homeopathy and Nervous System Rewiring 18:32 Understanding People One-on-One 21:08 "Overcoming Functional Freeze Patterns" 26:24 "Vagus Nerve Healing Commitment" 27:08 "Everyone Has Their Baggage" 30:42 "Remote Coaching Works Well" 34:36 Mind-Body Connection and Pain 37:51 Surgical Collaboration Insight Podcast Transcription: Annie Kubena [00:00:00]: And also I always prioritized like work and school over what my body was asking for. So I learned how to like tune in more to what my body is really asking me for, tune in more to like impulses. I was the kind of person that would like sit at my desk for so many hours without moving, without going to the bathroom when I needed to, like anything. I was just like, I would like settle into my work and just focus and push through. And so this was really having to train myself out of that and more into like, what's my body asking me for today? James [00:00:37]: 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 drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sunbury, and today we're welcoming/preparing to learn from Annie Kubena. Of The Garden Mind Body Wellness. So Annie, how is it going today? Annie Kubena [00:01:01]: It's going great today. Thanks so much for having me. James [00:01:03]: Yeah, thanks for being on the show. Tell us the story. What is The Garden Mind Body Wellness? Annie Kubena [00:01:08]: Um, I am a holistic mind-body coach and I help people with anxiety, chronic illness, chronic pain, um, recover or prevent those things too through the power of the nervous system. James [00:01:21]: All right. And how do you get in there? Annie Kubena [00:01:25]: It's really a passion I have because of my own decades-long health journey. James [00:01:32]: Decades? Annie Kubena [00:01:33]: Decades long, yeah. James [00:01:34]: All right. Annie Kubena [00:01:35]: I struggled for a really long time with my health and just being a highly sensitive person in the world. James [00:01:43]: Okay. You're talking emotionally, physically, both? Annie Kubena [00:01:46]: Both. Yeah. Yeah. I've always been just really sensitive since I was a little kid. James [00:01:51]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:01:53]: Yeah, I really struggled with my health for a very long time. I got into a lot of holistic health approaches to help myself, and then I did a 1-year-long nervous system and brain rewiring program. James [00:02:09]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:02:10]: Just because I was like really desperate. I was like, I'm doing everything right. Like, why am I— why am I having— I kept having these cycles of like, pushing really hard when I felt well and then crashing and getting really sick. Oh, um, and I think that happens to a lot of people with chronic illness. But I did this nervous system program and realized, wow, like, I've almost never in my life just been like calm and centered on a consistent basis. James [00:02:37]: Is that an option? Annie Kubena [00:02:40]: It is, yeah. And it's what your body needs to really heal and digest food and absorb nutrients and turn over cells and all different kinds of things. So So I got into this because I'm so passionate about it and I think it's so needed in our world right now. I think people are chronically stressed and really struggling with their health, and I'm hoping that I can get to people before they have these like debilitating crashes like what I was having. James [00:03:12]: So now where are you at now, I guess, with your health? Annie Kubena [00:03:15]: Are you tip-top or I'm I'm probably realistically like at 80%, but I have all these tools where I'm like, oh, I'm starting to push too hard now. Oh. And I know when to pull back. I'm someone who just, I wanna do everything. I'm so driven and then my body kind of fights against me with that. So I have all these tools now for taking much better care of my nervous system that go really well with all the great food and movement things that I was doing. So I think it, it might take me a while. I was really sick when I was a kid and then I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease when I was in college. Annie Kubena [00:04:00]: So, but I, I feel so much stronger now because I have this more holistic approach to taking care of myself. James [00:04:10]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:04:11]: Yeah. James [00:04:12]: Tell me about the, you said nervous system rewiring. Annie Kubena [00:04:15]: Yeah. James [00:04:15]: I've never heard of that. So tell me what that is. Annie Kubena [00:04:18]: Yeah. Well, I think for most of my life I ran on adrenaline. I motivated myself with stress and I really had to change my way of being to one where I could say I can do, I can do life and do everything I want from a more centered, relaxed place. James [00:04:41]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:04:43]: And also I always prioritized work and school before, like over what my body was asking for. So I learned how to tune in more to what my body is really asking me for, tune in more to impulses. I was the kind of person that would sit at my desk for so many hours without moving, without going to the bathroom when I needed to, like anything. I was just like, I would settle into my work and just focus and push through. And so this was really, having to train myself out of that and more into like, what's my body asking me for today? How can I prioritize like grounding before I like just dive into my work or dive into the day or taking care of other people or other things? So that was part of it. Another part of it was just training my nervous system not to react to everything. So I had a point in my health where I was like reacting to almost every food I ate. James [00:05:47]: Like physically rash type stuff? Annie Kubena [00:05:49]: Yeah, just like all different kinds of reactions. Okay. But some, sometimes it would just be a stomachache or a headache. Sometimes it would be a rash, but I was down to like barely being able to eat anything without like feeling sick. James [00:05:59]: Oh. Annie Kubena [00:06:00]: Because my nervous system was in such a, such an activated state all the time that it can start just tagging a lot of things in your environment as dangerous. James [00:06:12]: Oh. Annie Kubena [00:06:13]: It's like, oh, you're in a state of fight or flight and you are eating a strawberry. You must be allergic to, you know, the strawberry must be dangerous. And so it just, our nervous systems were never meant to be in that state like all the time. So anyway, part of the program was exposing yourself to things that you're reacting to and like staying really calm, just small amounts at a time. So I started eating like small amounts of the foods I was reacting to. I started, listen, like sounds were something that really bothered me. So I started like exposing myself to louder sounds and then keeping myself calm so that my body could learn that the world is a safe place again and stop reacting to everything. James [00:07:01]: All right. Annie Kubena [00:07:01]: Yeah. James [00:07:02]: And was this a program you went through or is this something you did on your own? Annie Kubena [00:07:06]: Yeah, it was a program I went through. It's called Primal Trust. It's a nervous system regulation and brain retraining program. I did a lot of my own stuff too. I learned a lot about somatic parts work, which is, um, it's a therapy style called Internal Family Systems where it's like the movie Inside Out. James [00:07:26]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:07:27]: You kind of work with your anxious part or your angry part or— yeah. So you really like learn a lot. Um, through that I really learned a lot about parts that were reacting and why.

    41 min

  5. MAR 7

    Gio’s Garden – Respite, Therapy and Resources for Families with Special Needs Children

    Hilary Berning - Gio's Garden On the Unrealistic Timelines of Insurance Companies: "It's a 6 to 9 month process just to get a wheelchair. I really need some way to get my son from point A to point B." Families with special needs children already have some challenges.  These families need help and some guidance on where they can get this help.  This is where Gio's Garden comes in. Gio’s Garden is a one-of-a-kind therapeutic respite center based in Middleton, Wisconsin, and recently expanded to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Their essential mission: to provide safe, enriching respite care for children with special needs aged 0–7, giving parents the chance to take a break, run errands, or simply breathe. Hilary Berning shares the struggles many of these families face.  From finding a place to care for your child temporarily since you can’t just leave your medically complex child with the teenager down the block. Gio’s Garden fills that gap with one-on-one care, specially trained staff, and a joyful, home-like atmosphere. Their houses are filled with arts, crafts, sensory rooms, gym equipment, and caring people who “never like to say no” to a family in need. Listen as Hilary explains the needs and complexities of these children and their families and how Gio's Garden is a place that is doing all they can to help these children and their families. Enjoy! Visit at: https://giosgarden.org/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Local, Unique, Community Focused" 06:03 Supporting Families Through CLTS 08:49 Greek Life Fundraising Show 11:10 "Sanfilippo Syndrome Journey Shared" 13:51 "Growth, Funding, and Strategic Planning" 19:18 Franchise Expansion Plans 20:56 Inclusive Childcare and Respite Plan 25:14 Emergency Presidency Amid Crisis 27:07 "Sun Prairie Location Announcement" 30:07 "Navigating a Life-Changing Diagnosis" 35:42 Sun Prairie Studio Renovation Details 38:07 Wiseman Center Connection Insights 40:48 "Planning Ahead for Kids' Safety" 44:38 "New Podcast Venture Launch" 47:10 "Reinventing With Youthful Engagement" 51:00 Nonprofits: Vital, Challenging, Impactful 52:00 Supporting Local Nonprofits Podcast Transcription: Hilary Berning [00:00:00]: Um, because you have the big nationwide organizations, right? Make-A-Wish, Boys and Girls, like they're all over the nation. They've got nationwide people telling them what to do when providing all these things. And then you have organizations like mine, like there's no one else that does this. We are the only one that does it. We're doing it on our own. We are local. We're serving local people. All the money stays here and goes back to the kids. Hilary Berning [00:00:22]: People can really think that through a little bit where we don't have We are local, we're serving local, and we're doing good. Goal and focus on those nonprofits. James Kademan [00:00:35]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link from drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Hillary Berning of Gio's Garden. So Hillary, how is it going today? Hilary Berning [00:00:58]: I'm good. Thanks for having me. James Kademan [00:01:00]: So let's start with the foundation here. What is Gio's Garden? Hilary Berning [00:01:03]: So Gio's Garden, so we are a respite center. We are located in Middleton, which is our original location, and we recently just opened a new location in Sun Prairie. James Kademan [00:01:11]: Nice. Hilary Berning [00:01:11]: So what we do is we provide therapeutic respite for children with special needs from ages 0 to age 7. So respite means to take a break. So it's really hard for parents of special needs kids to get a break. James Kademan [00:01:23]: Mm-hmm. Hilary Berning [00:01:23]: Because you can't just leave your special needs child with the teenager down the street. So we provide that opportunity for them to come leave their child with us and they can go and have a break. James Kademan [00:01:33]: Nice. So when you say special needs, tell me the gamut there. Hilary Berning [00:01:36]: We will see, um, everyone with, from autism to cerebral palsy to diabetes, to babies who have had strokes in utero to rare genetic disorders. We have kids with seizure disorders, so we kind of really don't say no very often. There's a few higher-grade medical needs that we can't see, like if they would have a tracheostomy or something like that. But otherwise, we don't— our motto is we don't like to say no. James Kademan [00:02:04]: Fair. And what does the care look like? Because I imagine it's not just an empty room. Hilary Berning [00:02:09]: It isn't, no. So our original location in Middleton, it's a house. It's a 100-year-old house. But we have specific rooms set up for different activities. So we have a sensory room. A lot of our kids have sensory sensory issues. So it's a quiet, subdued room where they can go and have quiet time. We have a reading room. Hilary Berning [00:02:26]: We have an arts and craft room. We have a gym that has swings that hang from the ceiling and an indoor play structure that kids can play on. Wow. Um, in Middleton, we also have outdoor, um, fenced-in yards so kids can run around and we have a place, a play structure out there as well. James Kademan [00:02:42]: Okay. I imagine you need people to be there present, right? Hilary Berning [00:02:45]: Absolutely. Yes. James Kademan [00:02:46]: It sounds like you'd need a lot. Hilary Berning [00:02:47]: We need a lot of staff. Yeah. So we provide one-on-one care. Oh, you do? Oh, wow. For every child that's in our care, they have an adult with them. James Kademan [00:02:54]: Okay. Hilary Berning [00:02:55]: So we currently have, including our executive director, 6 full-time employees. And then we have around 24 part-time employees that kind of comes and goes depending on the semester. James Kademan [00:03:06]: Okay. Hilary Berning [00:03:06]: And then we have a ton of volunteers that work with us. We are blessed to be in the Madison area where we have 3 colleges essentially that we can pull from and a lot of students who are going into medical fields or educational fields or occupational therapy or recreational therapy who need experience working with children with special needs. So we're able to provide that opportunity for them. So we're lucky that we have a large pool of students to pull from. James Kademan [00:03:33]: That's amazing. Hilary Berning [00:03:34]: But also means we have a lot of turnover and their availability changes every semester. James Kademan [00:03:38]: So that's just the nature of students. Hilary Berning [00:03:40]: It's just the nature of the, the, our staff that we work with just because we working with students, but we're blessed to have them and we, we give to them just as much as they give to us. James Kademan [00:03:50]: So nice. Hilary Berning [00:03:50]: It's really great. James Kademan [00:03:52]: So I got a lot of questions for you. Hilary Berning [00:03:53]: Nice. James Kademan [00:03:53]: So I'm gonna try to keep on task somehow. How do you let the students know that you exist even as an opportunity for them? Hilary Berning [00:04:00]: So we are on like all the job boards, like through the university and we're well connected within the different disciplines in the universities at Edgewood and at UW and at, is it Madison College? MATC? I don't— sure. James Kademan [00:04:13]: Sounds good. Hilary Berning [00:04:13]: Yeah. Yeah. So we are heavily involved in word word just kind of has gotten out about us and the people. And there's a special program, especially at UW-Madison, where they can get— part of a class credit is to volunteer at organizations. So they know about us. So they send a lot of students our way as well. James Kademan [00:04:29]: Gotcha. I imagine there's an interview process. Hilary Berning [00:04:32]: There is. Yep. There is an interview process. It's not just like, hey, come on in. Yes. There's a background check that we put all of our employees through. And it all varies depending on if you're coming in as a volunteer basis or you're coming in as a paid employee. James Kademan [00:04:44]: Okay. Hilary Berning [00:04:44]: Because your level of Um, if you're coming in as a volunteer, you're kind of paired with a full-time or part-time paid staff member, um, versus we won't just have 6 volunteers and 6 kids in the house at once. We will have paid staff to kind of help balance with that. James Kademan [00:05:01]: All right, let's talk funding. Hilary Berning [00:05:03]: Funding is— with nonprofits, yes, it is. My life revolves around funding quite a bit. James Kademan [00:05:08]: With for-profits, it's a big deal. Hilary Berning [00:05:10]: It really is. Yes. James Kademan [00:05:11]: Tell me a story. The parents of the children, are they paying? Hilary Berning [00:05:15]: They, yes and no. So when we first, when they first started opening Gio's Garden back in 2012 is when they opened their doors. It was a small subset of parents that got together and be like, we need help, we need help. We have special needs kids and there's no one to help us. So they, the idea of Gio's Garden was born. It's named after Charlotte de Lassiter. She used to be on Channel 3 News and her husband, Ron, it's their son Gio. Okay.

    58 min

  6. FEB 27

    Building Your Personal Brand

    Jake Isham - Creative Minds On Knowing Who You Are Competing Against For Views: "You're not competing with your competitors anymore. You're not competing with this podcast right here. You're not competing with other entrepreneurial podcasts. You're competing with Netflix. You're competing with Coca-Cola." Marketing as a business owner is necessary.  Jake Isham argues that marketing yourself, essentially as your business, can help your marketing explode.  People buy from people they like and they trust.  and they need to know you, in order to trust you. To help entrepreneurs with this marketing need, Jake Isham built his marketing agency, Creative Minds.  Drawing from his own experience as a filmmaker and marketer, Jake Isham shares actionable insights on how entrepreneurs can leverage their personal brand to drive revenue, why social proof matters, and the importance of consistency in content creation. Plus, hear why being the “face” of your business isn’t just about fame.  It is a strategic move for building lasting trust and relationships. Listen as Jake explains what tools to use (which you probably already have) to grow your marketing in this world that has the largest opportunity that we have ever seen for a brand to grow so quickly. Enjoy! Visit Jake at: https://jakeisham.com Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Actors and Entrepreneurs: Business Challenges 08:00 "Personal Branding Mindset Shift" 12:18 Accidental Path to Creative Agency 21:13 "PR: Perceived Reality Redefined" 24:41 "Authentic Marketing in TikTok Era" 31:24 Know Your Audience First 37:37 "Roofing Content for Local Needs" 40:23 "Finding Your Core Principles" 46:40 Personal Branding Through Authenticity 52:23 Consistency and Learning in Content 57:56 Consistency Builds Niche Recognition 01:01:22 Overcoming Paralysis Through Action 01:05:46 "Creative Minds Digital Show" Podcast Transcription: Jake Isham [00:00:00]: And it's the same thing, you know, to go back to kind of that conversation that we had at the very beginning about actors is that they know acting. They don't know how to run a business. A buddy of mine who is a very successful entrepreneur gives this speech all the time when he does seminars, which is, you know, you're a car mechanic, you're the top car mechanic at the shop and you see the boss making all the money and you're like, well, screw him. I wanna open up my own car shop until you realize you have to understand HR, accounting, Promotion, sales, marketing, advertising. Like, that's what the boss did. Yeah, there's a couple things to it more than just turning it into all the risk. Yeah. James Kademan [00:00:39]: 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 drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls on Call Extraordinary Answering Service, The Bold Business Book, as well as LiveSwitch. And today we're welcoming/preparing to learn from Jake Eicham of Creative Minds. So Jake, we're talking marketing today, right? Jake Isham [00:01:10]: Yes, sir. James Kademan [00:01:11]: I am super excited because I don't— I've been in this marketing kick and I was talking actually with a— I'm going to call it a friend of mine who's in the marketing world way deeper than me. And it was interesting, the conversation that we had. So I'm excited to talk marketing more with you. It's just top of mind. So, and all businesses need it. So let's get started. First up, what is Creative Minds? Jake Isham [00:01:35]: We're a creative agency based in Los Angeles. We've done over a billion views online, driving millions in revenue for our clients. And we focus on helping build personal brands and really helping that entrepreneur scale their attention so that they, you know, because at the end of the day, attention drives revenue. James Kademan [00:01:56]: Interesting. Now you touched on something there and I want to dig into this a little bit because another conversation I had was the, it's kind of like chicken and egg thing or nature nurture. It was personal brand versus company brand. Which one do you push? So you as a marketer, if we were to ask you that question. Jake Isham [00:02:14]: It depends a little bit on the industry and the entrepreneur who I'm talking to, but you could say what's gonna beat out in my opinion is personal brand. James Kademan [00:02:25]: All right. Jake Isham [00:02:26]: Because at the end of the day, most entrepreneurs don't stick with one business, just majority, you know? James Kademan [00:02:36]: Yeah, yeah, you're not wrong. Jake Isham [00:02:37]: They sell or they give up or they, or whatever, you know, life comes around. And personal brand, you know, I think one of the individuals who's done it the best regardless of politics is Elon Musk. You look at what he's been able to do as a marketer and as an entrepreneur, purely that, right? James Kademan [00:02:58]: Right. Jake Isham [00:02:58]: This isn't a politics show. James Kademan [00:03:00]: Right, right. Jake Isham [00:03:02]: Yeah, it reminds me of, uh, have such an ultimate personal brand to be able to do that. Another gentleman who came before him was Steve Jobs. He was the face of Apple. And to be honest, if we look at the era of Steve Jobs Apple versus Tim Cook Apple, it's not as good. James Kademan [00:03:23]: Not even close. Yeah. Jake Isham [00:03:24]: Not a force to be reckoned with, but because that was a personal brand also, even though it was a company brand. And, you know, and I'm gonna take, I'll go one step further on this, right? People will, you know, bring up the example of sports and Nike. All right, Phil Knight is not a personal brand. Yes, but what he did was really intelligent. He's not a top athlete, but he got the best athletes to be the personal brand of the brand Nike, right? He got MJ, he got Kobe, he got LeBron. Like, he got these top individuals to be the personal brand of Nike, right? James Kademan [00:04:02]: It makes sense. Makes sense. It reminds me of, uh, somebody was, uh, there's an article that I was reading, I'm sorry, that was talking about these tribes in way out in Africa, and they had heard of Michael Jackson. Wow. I didn't know anybody else famous, right, that we would relate to. I mean, we're talking the '80s here, but they knew Michael Jackson. Like, it had reached like Coca-Cola and Michael Jackson. It had reached that far. Jake Isham [00:04:28]: He, I mean, he is the ultimate persona of you know, the greatest personal brand to ever have done it. He was literally the biggest celebrity on the planet as your example right there. James Kademan [00:04:41]: Yeah, surreal. So, let's dig deeper into that. How do you market yourself as a personal brand knowing, and this is the caution that I have, or I should say the concern that I have, is you market yourself as your personal brand. Now, you always have to be on and you always have to be that voice, or you always have to be pumping out content that you can't necessarily farm out to anyone else because they're not you. So you have to give all the presentations and do all the things. So tell me about that. Jake Isham [00:05:14]: But that's— I, I have two things. The first overall is that's the, that's the business you're going getting into. If that, that is the roles and responsibilities of a CEO. That is like, all right, then don't be a CEO. Don't be an executive. Like, look, you don't have to do a personal brand. I'm gonna 100%, I know lots of millionaires and a few billionaires who you could not point out in a crowd, who you could never name by, like, you would never know their name, never know anything about them. And they are unbelievably successful. Jake Isham [00:05:49]: Okay. 100%. So I'm not saying, oh, you have to or you will never be successful, but if it's just a different path and it's a different— again, it depends on that niche you're in. If you want to be like hyper B2B, you can slightly stay, but you're still going to be known within your industry. Like your personal brand doesn't have to reach the millions of people, right? If you say you service the top 100 law firms in the US, you still have to be the personal brand that is known by those top 100 law firms in the US. Now, Joe in Iowa doesn't need to know you, but you, Better make sure every partner in all those top 100 law firms know you so you can service them. And that's where the personal brand is so important. Like, you know, I mean, as simple as this, you think about like, it's silly, I forgot this example until now. Jake Isham [00:07:04]: Some of the biggest brands that we know were all personal brands. Ford. It's a guy's last name. Walt Disney. That's his name. There was a dude named Walt, last name Disney. J.P. Morgan. Jake Isham [00:07:23]: These are, these are just people, and they literally built a company based on their name. So That's where it's like, again, personal brand is everything. And you don't have to name the company after your name, but there's an aspect of knowing who's running the company, who's the face of the company, who— where does the buck stop, who's leading it? And I think that's where it's so important. So that's kind of— I know I got off a little bit of a tangent on your question, but— James Kademan [00:07:57]: Oh, you're good, you're good. That's the game. Jake Isham [00:08:00]: It's a mindset shift that a lot of entrepreneurs get scared. Oh,

    1h 6m

  7. FEB 20

    Disneyfy Your Business for Success

    Vance Morris - Deliver Service Now Institute On the Customer Experience: "Every detail in your business is either enhancing or detracting from the experience. There is no middle ground." Many businesses focus on customer acquisition, but not all businesses focus on customer retention.  Some businesses just have a hard time figuring out what to do beyond being nice to retain customers. Vance Morris has taken his Disney work experience, along with his other life experiences and created a coaching platform to teach business leaders how to retain customers.  He does this by teaching these entrepreneurs how to build their brand by expanding the positive perceptions their customers have of their business, by giving these customers wonderful experinces as they do business.  Helping their customers feel something almost magical. Vance reveals the power and profitability of focusing on the customer experience. You’ll hear how small details can set your business miles ahead of the competition, why customer retention often beats new lead generation, and how “Disney-fying” your business can create raving, repeat customers. Plus, Vance Morris discusses creative, actionable low-cost ideas to wow your clients, and explains why any business, from the boring financial services to routine oil changes, can become a premium brand with the right approach. Listen as Vance explains how you can make doing business with you something clients actually look forward to. Enjoy! Visit Vance at: https://vancemorris.com/ Also at: https://wow52ways.com/   Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Customer Retention and Experience" 06:21 "Franchise Search After Corporate Exit" 09:15 "Flexible Franchise and Challenges" 11:13 "Contract Dispute Leads to Exit" 16:15 Grassroots Marketing Success Steps 18:55 "Recruiting College Students Effectively" 21:35 "Importance of Personal Thank You" 26:39 Mold Removal and Home Renewal 27:46 "Fogging Walls with Pencil Holes" 32:55 Networking Leads to Unexpected Opportunities 34:15 Disney's Lesson: Attention to Detail 37:22 Kwik Trip vs. BP Station 41:35 Chick-fil-A Ownership Model Explained 46:12 "Building Fanatical Brand Loyalty" 48:42 Differentiation Through Office Experience 51:36 "Transforming Financial Advisor Client Experience" 54:29 Professional Technician Standards Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan Podcast Transcription: Vance Morris [00:00:00]: So now she can charge whatever price she wants to charge, but she still was just a dentist. I said, we've gotta niche down. So I said, who do you like working with? She said, oh, I love working with the kids. I said, okay, great. Let's just have you be a pediatric dentist. So now you work with them from, you know, 2 to 18. And after that, they— you don't talk to them. And I said, okay, great. Vance Morris [00:00:20]: Now you specialize. So you're gonna get a little bit more, um, elasticity in your pricing. You'll be able to charge more cuz you're a specialist. I said, but you need, you need something from your personality to really make this work. I said, what's your favorite movie? And she says, Peter Pan. Great. So you're going to be the pirate dentist. So she dresses up like Captain Hook. James Kademan [00:00:40]: 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 on the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls on Call Extraordinary Answering Service, The Bold Business Book, and LiveSwitch. Today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Vance Morris of Deliver Service Now Institute. So Vance, how is it going today? Vance Morris [00:01:09]: It is fantastic, James. Hopefully we'll drop a couple of golden nuggets today. James Kademan [00:01:14]: That's, uh, that's the goal here. So why don't we start with what is the— oh my gosh, what was it? Deliver Service Institute? Deliver Service Now Institute? Vance Morris [00:01:21]: Yep. James Kademan [00:01:22]: All right. What is that? What is that? Vance Morris [00:01:24]: That's a great question. It is a place where, um, I teach business owners, entrepreneurs, uh, really about customer retention. Cause there's a lot of gurus out there that are, you know, can give you, you know, 10,000 leads by Monday afternoon and, you know, you know, flakebook ads, Google, all that stuff. There's not a lot of folks focusing on retention. Um, and then of course, in order to have retention, you've gotta have great customer experiences. So those are the two areas that I really focus on. Um, you know, showing businesses how to— word I've been using a while is Disney-fy. So taking all of the boring mundane things that we have to do day in and day out in the business, uh, finding a way to create an experience out of them. Vance Morris [00:02:12]: So that we become memorable, uh, we're top of mind, um, and, uh, you know, people are doing that, uh, word-of-mouth marketing for us. James Kademan [00:02:22]: Nice. So tell me, how do you get involved in this? Vance Morris [00:02:26]: That's a great question. Um, well, here in Maryland, I have, uh, 3 home service businesses, so I'm, I'm not one of those consultants that have never done anything. James Kademan [00:02:36]: I read a few books, right? Vance Morris [00:02:38]: You know, yeah, you know, I went to consulting school, I got the little, you know, thing. No, it's not, not who I am. So I own 3 home service businesses here in Maryland, mold remediation company, Oriental rug washing facility, and a traditional carpet cleaning company. All very sexy businesses, I will tell you. James Kademan [00:02:56]: Yeah, super duper. Well, they're based on dirt and— Yeah, right. Vance Morris [00:03:00]: Dirt and all the good stuff. James Kademan [00:03:01]: Right. Vance Morris [00:03:03]: So, you know, I— when I started those businesses, I've had them now for 19 years. Um, I knew that I was going to be aiming for an affluent client. I didn't want to be, you know, scrubbing down and dirty rentals and things like that. I wanted to, you know, really have a premium service just like Disney, uh, for affluent clients. And so from day one, that is the direction that I went with my marketing, with the service, with the experiences. Um, after a few years, um, people started asking me, you know, Vance, you don't look like you're working too hard. Um, What's your secret? How do you do it? Um, so I said, well, it's really simple. This is actually the first thing I learned. Vance Morris [00:03:44]: I worked for Disney for 10 years. First thing I learned there was that Disney runs on systems. They got marketing systems, operation systems. You wanna learn— you wanna change a tire on a bus, they got a system for that. Carry a tray in a restaurant, they got a system for that. So all I really did was take all of that, put it into those businesses. Um,, and 7 years ago I actually was able to hire, uh, a GM and fast forward to today, I spend about 90 minutes a week on, on those 3 businesses. James Kademan [00:04:16]: Very cool. Very cool. And how do you— let's just take these one by one, cuz I imagine you didn't start all 3 of those businesses at the same time. Vance Morris [00:04:25]: Did not. James Kademan [00:04:26]: Nope. And I would imagine carpet cleaning came first. Vance Morris [00:04:29]: It did. All right. Yes. Um, and actually I, I, uh, started with a franchise. Um, you know, because I— it had a great proven concept. You know, I was new to business ownership. I'd been in, you know, corporate muckety-muck for 20-plus years. And so I needed something that had a system behind it. Vance Morris [00:04:51]: So I was with the franchise system for about 15 years and then jettisoned it and went out on my own. Along the way, you know, people— I hated walking into people's homes And stepping over things that I could be cleaning, but I didn't know how. When tile floors, wood floors, Oriental rugs. Uh, so I was like, well, might as well add Oriental rug washing. Nobody is doing it in our area. Um, and so we added that service. It was great. I already had a built-in customer base. Vance Morris [00:05:23]: All I had to do was go to them and market that service and boom, we were up and running. Um, and then about, uh, 6 years ago we added the mold company. Again, we had the existing customer base. I mean, I got 10,000 names in my database. Just had to market to them and say, hey, uh, we are now in the mold business. If you like this for cleaning, you'll love us for mold. Well, not love us, but you know what I mean? James Kademan [00:05:47]: Yeah, right. Nobody's in a good mood when they have mold. Vance Morris [00:05:50]: Nobody's in a good mood for that. James Kademan [00:05:52]: So tell me a story with, uh, franchise. Let's back up. I mean, we're talking a long time ago, so yeah, way back when machine here. How did you choose which carpet cleaning franchise to use or to join? Because there's hundreds, probably thousands of them. And that's a, that's a big, that's a big ask to figure out what you're gonna do. Cuz the equipment's expensive. The capital outlay's pretty intense. It is. James Kademan [00:06:16]: The theories and the marketing and all that kind of stuff. Some are well known, some are not. Tell me about that. Vance Morris [00:06:21]: So yeah, I worked with a, um, I didn't know these things existed, but I worked with a franchise headhunter, um, after I left corporate, uh, world. And, you know,

    59 min

  8. FEB 14

    Understanding Health Insurance

    Taylor Bowker - Mindful Insurance Agency On Common Mistakes in Medical Billing: "She ended up getting a bill for $14,000 for a pee test." Health insurance in the United States is a pain.  We all know that.  As business owners, we often get stuck needing to shop for our own insurance.  Only during certain times of year and only with all of these rules.  But how do you buy health insurance, without going crazy? There is a marketplace, but it isn't exactly like going to buy grapes.  It helps to have an expert on your side, as with most things.  In this case, the expert offers their expertise at no additional cost to you. Taylor Bowker is the health insurance expert.  She started Mindful Insurance Agency to help people navigate the murky waters of health insurance.  As an entrepreneur, a business owner with multi-state employees, or someone simply trying to make sense of the marketplace, this episode breaks down the trends, challenges, and solutions in health insurance. Listen as Taylor offers tips on choosing the right coverage, using HSAs, and understanding group versus individual enrollment periods. Enjoy! Visit Taylor at: https://mindfulinsuranceagency.com/   Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Starting My Own Business" 05:11 Health Insurance vs. Cost Sharing 12:34 Cost Challenges in Employee Insurance 19:59 "Updating Marketplace Applications Challenges" 26:40 "$14K Surprise Medical Bill" 29:26 "Health Insurance Subsidy Reduction Impact" 37:36 Snowbirds, Coverage, and Emergencies 38:45 Healthcare Coverage Tips by Age 45:35 "Streamlined Application Support Platform" 51:59 "Insurance Enrollment Rules Explained" 55:45 Employee Coverage Plan Explanation 01:01:10 "Specializing in Individual Coverage" 01:08:09 QSEHRA Benefits and Marketplace Savings 01:11:50 "HSA Usage and Restrictions" 01:16:07 FSA Contributions and Usage Rules Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan Podcast Transcription: Taylor Bowker [00:00:00]: I saw the largest health insurance increase of my entire career this past open enrollment because these folks no longer qualified for a subsidy because their income— your income could literally go a dollar over the threshold to receive a subsidy and you no longer qualify for $1,000 a month's worth of savings. You could owe, you know, $12,000, $13,000, $14,000, $15,000 back at tax time if you go even a dollar over. So that's kind of where the issue lies. James [00:00:35]: 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 drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today we are welcoming slash preparing to learn from Taylor Belker of Mindful Insurance Agency. So Taylor, How is it going today? Taylor Bowker [00:00:59]: Hello. Good. Staying warm or attempting to. James [00:01:02]: Wisconsin, here we are. So tell me a story. What is Mindful Insurance Agency? Taylor Bowker [00:01:07]: Oh, sure. So at Mindful Insurance Agency, we assist individuals and businesses get health insurance, health, dental, and vision. And we are a brokerage. So we are essentially the middle person between the members and the health insurance carriers and just try to advise and educate and help people get health insurance. James [00:01:30]: Right on. How do you end up in health insurance? Taylor Bowker [00:01:33]: Well, um, so I started in the insurance industry back in 2012. I was 5 years old. I'm just kidding, I was a little bit older than that. Um, yes, yes, yes. Um, so I started very entry-level job at an agency in Waunakee, around town here. Um, again, just doing very entry-level things. And then I shortly got promoted to a business development role. Um, and then from there, there there was a different agency hiring that was focusing on health insurance, and I was ready for a change. Taylor Bowker [00:02:11]: They needed a customer service rep, front desk person, so I went there to work, and within a year of me working there, they actually asked me if I wanted to become an agent or a broker, and I had never thought that that was something I wanted to do. Insurance, it can be a very just like cutthroat kind of a situation with sales and quotas and things like that. And that always kind of made me a little nervous. But I am very much a people person. So I, you know, I thought, why not? Let's give it a try. So I got licensed and became an agent back in 2016 now. And then, so started as an agent there doing health, dental, and vision, like I said. And then back in 2019, I decided to start my own business. James [00:03:05]: So that's awesome. Taylor Bowker [00:03:05]: Yeah, I've been doing that for 6 years now. James [00:03:08]: So what was the motivator to start your own gig versus just maintaining with where you were at? Sure. Taylor Bowker [00:03:12]: Yeah. Well, I guess I've always kind of just been somebody who works just, I prefer to kind of be on my own. Being my own boss sounded really great. I was in a group of individuals at the time and other business owners, the group that you're in with me now where we met. And again, there were just a lot of business owners there and they were doing a really good job of owning a business. And it just sounded like a feasible option for me and something that I wanted to do. I also felt like I kind of had learned everything I really could being at the place I was at previously. So I figured, you know, why not give it a shot and rip the Band-Aid off? And it's been, yeah, it's been working out well so far. Taylor Bowker [00:04:00]: So that's good. James [00:04:01]: Right on. Taylor Bowker [00:04:02]: Yeah. James [00:04:02]: So has health insurance changed much over the past, what are we talking, 9, 10 years? Taylor Bowker [00:04:08]: Sure. So I would say yes, yes and no. So I think the biggest thing that's changed is rates, insurance rates. James [00:04:19]: They keep going down. Taylor Bowker [00:04:20]: Yeah, that would be amazing. No, similar to a lot of other things, they just keep increasing and by a lot, especially the last couple years. So a lot of other products have come into play to try to help mitigate those premium costs for people. There's a lot of other products out there now that aren't necessarily health insurance as it is defined by, you know, the commissioner of insurance, if you will, or the government. But there are other products out there that are designed similarly to help people, you know, still get the care that they need and save money on their premiums and their out-of-pocket costs. So I would say prices have changed and other products have been developed in the market to try to help with those pieces. James [00:05:08]: And other products, you mean, I guess, help me what you mean by other understand products. Taylor Bowker [00:05:11]: Sure, yeah. So obviously you have typical health insurance. This would be either through, it's all kind of under the Obamacare umbrella as we've known it for a while now. It can be a group plan through an employer that you work with, or it can be an individual plan on the marketplace or direct with an insurance carrier. And that would kind of be your more typical, just average health insurance policy. But as of the last, say, maybe decade, a couple of new products have come out, one of them being referred to as medical cost sharing. So medical cost sharing in layman's terms is essentially a product that you pay a monthly subscription fee for, similar to a premium, and you choose what's called an initial and shareable amount, similar to a deductible, where essentially you're saying, I'm willing to pay this cost upfront in the event that something catastrophic were to happen to me. And so because it's covering you for more catastrophic occurrences and not the full shebang like a regular health insurance policy would,, they tend to be less expensive for certain people in certain situations. Taylor Bowker [00:06:24]: Those types of products also work really well for lucky individuals that are more healthy, that don't necessarily use their benefits all the time, but just want something there in case. That also works well with what's called direct primary care, which is a newer model, at least around the Madison area. It's where you work with a primary care doctor directly. So they're not affiliated with any any hospital systems. You do pay them a small monthly subscription fee to utilize their services. However, it's, it's really very worth it because a direct primary care doctor is always going to make sure they have same-day or next-day appointments available for their patients, which is very unheard of nowadays. Yeah, unfortunately. And then they can also do a myriad of things for you, you know, because you're paying that monthly fee. Taylor Bowker [00:07:18]: They can run labs for a couple of dollars, which is also very crazy to say. They can run prescriptions for people at cost. If you have an appointment with them, it'll be either a 30-minute or an hour-long time block, which again is not very common if you go to a clinic through a hospital system. They can help you with most acute and even urgent care needs as well. So that can just be, yeah, those two things specifically go hand in hand pretty well together. There's also things out there that have been out there for a while, like short-term policies, you know, through UnitedHealthcare or Allstate or something like that. Those can be less expensive for folks,

    1h 19m

  9. FEB 6

    Unlocking Hidden Revenue

    Doug Brown - CEO Sales Strategies On Knowing What to Look For: "Number one, we help companies find revenue, hidden revenue that they already paid for but they haven't collected in their bank." There's a funny thing about business, and that is that your entrepreneurial journey will take you places you may have never dreamed of.  This can often mean that you are in a situation, with a business, that you may not fully understand.  That can lead to you leaving money on the table.  So how do you make sure your business sis as profitable as possible? Doug Brown learned these lessons early on.  Trial by fire, similar to how many of us entrepreneurs get taught.  After years of experience and some profitable success, he decided it was time to share his knowledge. From sweeping floors at his father’s electric machinery repair shop as a young child to discovering multi-million dollar opportunities inside companies, Doug Brown shares his journey through entrepreneurship, the lessons learned from the trenches, and the emotional impact of helping business owners transform not just their companies, but their lives. Listen as Dough explains some things to look for in your business to make sure you keep of the cash you have earned. Enjoy! Visit Doug at: https://ceosalesstrategies.com/   Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Entrepreneurial Journey and Business Insights" 05:29 Early Lessons in Business Leadership 15:06 Medicine to Music Business Shift 16:48 From Medicine to Business Success 25:18 "Straight Talk Changed My Life" 26:58 "Moral Obligation to Guide Others" 33:37 "Connection Builds Rapport" 37:36 "Preventing Revenue Leakage" 43:57 Customer Insights Through Questions 47:42 "Seeking Feedback on Past Missteps" 56:06 Effective Prospecting Leads to Opportunities 01:01:24 "Hiring: Learning and Improvement" 01:03:34 "Preparing for Top Talent" 01:10:10 "Skate to Future Success" Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan Podcast Transcription: Doug Brown [00:00:00]: So what they would do is they did a two and a half hour business training and at the end of the, toward the end of the training, they would go around the room and say, hey James, what did you find here? And you go, Well, I found $600,000 in my business, you know, and they go from person to person to person. They were small rooms, they were only like 10 to 20 people. But what they were doing after that, you know, I mean, they were literally finding sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars in these trainings. Right? James Kademan [00:00:30]: You have found Authentic Business Ventures, 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 phone@drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, the Bold Business Book and Live Switch. Today we're welcoming Slash, preparing to learn from Doug C. Brown of CEO Sales Strategies. So Doug, how are you doing today? Doug Brown [00:00:59]: James? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me here. I'm so grateful. James Kademan [00:01:02]: Yeah, you know, it's funny, I just came back from a trade show in Florida, so. And when you work in a booth, the name of the game is sales. So I'm excited to talk to you now because maybe I should have talked to you last week before I went to this thing. Let's just lay the foundation. What is CEO Sales strategies? Doug Brown [00:01:19]: So the company itself is a company that does primarily four things. Number one, we help companies find revenue, hidden revenue that they already paid for but they haven't collected in their bank. And I don't mean, you know, outstanding invoices, I mean in the whole customer journey, there are places where revenue just stagnated, stopped, not optimized. Could be, you know, something as simple as pricing dormant clients, lack of follow up, something like that. Where we get in there, we find what that revenue is and we, we go, you know, identify it and then help collect it and put that money in the bank for the folks. We also do that with margins, ebitda, so profit, if you will, in some capacities. We manage or build, you know, teams of sales people as well for companies. And then we end up coaching CEOs and founder led businesses on how to do all of the above. James Kademan [00:02:28]: All right, and how do you get involved in something like this? Imagine you don't. Just, you're not born with sales strategies for CEOs. Doug Brown [00:02:37]: No, no, I actually it started when I was very young. I didn't realize it until, you know, I'm 63. This year and I was doing a podcast and somebody asked me, how did you learn what you're doing? And I actually started working for my father's business when I was three years. And. Yeah, three, all right. Yeah, I was sweeping floors for 25 cents a week. I loved it because they used to bring me to the, to the lunches, you know, so we'd go to like the, the local, you know, pub and grub, if you will, or whatever. They prop me up on the bar stool, give me my Roy Rogers and they'd sit and have business conversations. Doug Brown [00:03:19]: I hear my mother wasn't too pleased they took me to the bars. James Kademan [00:03:22]: But, you know, you learn in all kinds of places. So it's all. Doug Brown [00:03:28]: So, you know, a lot of that stuff when we're with children, it sets in. Like you hear CEOs and business owners talking and, and so along the path, you know, we started selling at 5 or 6 to clients, but it was a family owned business, so the family helped me. And one day I sold a part for $20 and we paid 10 for it. And I realized I was making 25 cents a week at that point, which was still pretty good for that time. But I had to work a whole week for 10 bucks. And I just did this in like six minutes. Right. So what I realized is you can make money by looking at ratios and numbers and that's where it kind of started. Doug Brown [00:04:10]: So even in my dad's business when I was a young boy, I mean, 10 years old, I'm looking at his inventory and trying to figure out, because, you know, when you have inventory at the end of the year, you got to pay taxes on it. And so I was looking at, like, how do we widen out the margins in the company? And I, I always had my own businesses growing up since 13, and you know, I always worked my dad until I was up to about 19, before I went into the military. And so I was kind of doing this with all these businesses back then and that's how it sort of started. I didn't realize it, but then as I got into larger businesses, you know, tens of millions and hundreds of millions, I realized that they had the same challenges that businesses in the hundreds of thousands or the millions, multi millions still have, just on a different level. But when you look at the math and metrics in all of this, you can find all these great stories that tell you the story of where you're supposed to be going. Once you figure that out, then you just optimize the point. So it's, I guess I Don't know if I was born with this or it just kind of, you know, it certainly the skill grew over, over time, but I enjoy doing it because to me it's like a treasure hunt. James Kademan [00:05:23]: Sure. Fair. It sounds like you were sent on that trajectory with your dad's business. What type of business did your dad have? Doug Brown [00:05:29]: He had an electric machinery repair company, so industrial machinery, and it was sales and service and you know, so I was constantly around all kinds of different businesses from manufacturing to, I mean, you name it, pretty much we were, we were around anything that had a, like even in an office building, they had a commercial fan or something. We would, you know, we would work on that. So it was a great, wonderful part of my life that, you know, I love doing it. And you know, sometimes when you're a little, little kid, you don't realize some of the things that shape you as you get older. But as I start to look back on things, you know, even my dad ended up in the hospital one time. He had a heart attack and I was 17 years old and I had to run the company for a little while and that was a super learning experience. But I got at certain levels of the books I never got at before, so I was able to kind of look at it. So when he came back, I was like, dad, I think we should do this and this and that. Doug Brown [00:06:33]: And one of the things that was successful in my dad's business was actually raising prices because he hadn't done it in over 10 years. James Kademan [00:06:40]: Oh, wow. Okay. Doug Brown [00:06:41]: Yeah, yeah. So my dad was a brilliant guy. He just wasn't the, he was a guy who knew how to build a business around him, but he didn't know how to build a systematic, functional, you know, business without him being present. James Kademan [00:06:57]: Sure, that's fair. So the inspiration for, I guess growing the business or seeing even that the pricing should be different. Imagine a 17 year old. That's not necessarily something that every 17 year old in the world is going to be aware of or even know that it's a thing, let alone no look at it. Doug Brown [00:07:16]: Well, I mean, Most of the 17 year olds I meet are really smart. They just, they didn't, they weren't around it probably for 14 years. Right. And so, you know, and I, I had, you know, I, I could, I could look and see things that, and spot things that could be monetized a lot of times. So for example, even when I was, I think I was 8 years old and I wanted to, you know,

    1h 12m

  10. JAN 24

    Timeclock Software

    Dean Mathews - On the Clock On Watching Your Numbers: "They just realized that their sister in law who's been working for them for 10 years has been adding 10 hours onto every pay run for the last 10 years." Dean Mathews, CEO of On The Clock, shares his journey as an entrepreneur and the evolution of his timekeeping software. He emphasizes the importance of building a people-centric culture, the challenges of managing hybrid teams, and the significance of customer service in differentiating his business in a crowded market. Dean also discusses the future of On The Clock, including plans to integrate HR solutions and enhance their payroll services. Visit Dean at: https://ontheclock.com   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Introduction to On the Clock and Dean Mathews 02:55 The Journey of a Serial Entrepreneur 05:56 Transitioning Technology: Moving to Modern Solutions 08:48 Building a People-Centric Culture 11:59 Career Advancement in Small Teams 14:55 Understanding Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) 17:48 The Importance of Culture in Modern Workplaces 20:57 Navigating Hybrid Work Environments 23:53 Fostering Team Interactions and Communication 26:58 Management Style and Learning from Experience 29:51 Insights from 'Scaling' by Claire Hughes Johnson 31:18 Effective Communication and Team Dynamics 33:01 Navigating a Crowded Market 35:58 Customer Service Excellence 41:06 The Importance of Payroll Solutions 46:48 Common Mistakes in Timekeeping and Payroll 51:46 Proactive Business Management Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan Podcast Transcription: Dean Mathews [00:00:00]: Tracking payroll, all of those things are very complicated things to do. One of the most common mistakes we see people do is they try to do it themselves, like with a spreadsheet. If your business grows and you end up, you know, like Most businesses do, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20 people, and you're still trying to use spreadsheets and not use a system that ends up in a really bad place. You don't have audit logs for traffic, you know, for, for, for history. You don't have compliance, you know, you don't have transparency a lot of times. So you lac of these modern features where, you know, you choose a system like us and like everything's right here in your phone. That's probably the biggest mistake is they're either choosing the wrong system, not choosing a system at all, or they're trying to like, leverage a spreadsheet or a word doc or a Google Doc to run their business. And that, that never turns out well. James Kademan [00:00:54]: 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@drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie Calls On Call, Extraordinary Answering Service as well as the Bold Business book. And today we're welcoming Slash, preparing to learn from Dean Matthews from On the Clock. So, Dean, how is it going today? Dean Mathews [00:01:21]: It is going wonderful, James. Thank you so much for having me. I can't wait to chat with you. James Kademan [00:01:26]: Yeah, you know, I'm excited to talk to you for a few reasons. One, you've been in business seemingly forever, so that's. Dean Mathews [00:01:33]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:01:34]: And the other is you seem to be pretty people centric, which is great, and I'm gonna dare say rare. And on top of that, you run a service, the timekeeping system, I guess that we. My gosh, when I was looking for a timekeeping system forever ago, it was bizarre to me how few options I found that actually could do all of the things. Dean Mathews [00:01:59]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:01:59]: And I'm like, I'm not asking for a rocket ship to the moon or anything. I'm just literally asking to keep track of employees hours. That's all I want. Dean Mathews [00:02:06]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:02:07]: So how about you? Let's just start from the very beginning, right back at the dawn of time. Dean Mathews [00:02:11]: Dawn of time. James Kademan [00:02:12]: When did you get started with? On the clock? Dean Mathews [00:02:14]: Yeah. So I'll give you the quick rundown. So I'm kind of a, I guess you call it a quote unquote, serial entrepreneur, if you will. Quite A few startups, businesses, side projects, passion projects throughout the years. But with on the Clock back In like the mid 2000 era, I had several projects, passion projects going on. On the Clock was one of them. I'm always looking for problems that I can solve. So this is the kitchen story or the kitchen table story. Dean Mathews [00:02:49]: This was late 2003 ish. So like 20 some years ago now, sitting at the kitchen table, looking through forums, business forums, remember those business, small business accounting forums. And I saw this trend of all these small business owners and accountants in this forum, just talking. I just looking for something simple, something like you just said, that works well, something that can track my employees time. And I want it online and I want it easy and I want it reliable. That was their two requests. So I was sitting there and I was reading that and I'm like, I'm going to build that for them. So I'm also a software developer or in a former life I was a software developer. Dean Mathews [00:03:34]: So I set out to build it and pretty much within a couple months we actually had on the clock running. It was very simple, very bare bones, but it was up and running. Employees could clock in and clock out, managers and admins could get time for payroll. And it was really just a passion project at that time along with, you know, several others. And kind of fast forward to right around 10ish years ago, it had just been kind of organically growing on its own. Like I said, it was more of a side project. But about that 10ish years ago, Mark, really it started, started getting to the point to where I couldn't ignore it anymore. So decided to go all in with on the Clock and want to just focus on one thing really, really heavily and put all my energy into it instead of half a dozen or a dozen different projects. Dean Mathews [00:04:26]: So focused on that and decided to turn it from a passion project to a real business. Got it into an llc. My brother Mark was also interested in doing some of these things so got him to come on board. And we hired our first employee, Samantha. She's still with us today. She's actually moved up a lot in the tier. She is now product owner. Super proud of her. Dean Mathews [00:04:52]: And so now we're sitting where it's 22 of us total and we serve about 18,000 customers, mostly here in the United States. James Kademan [00:05:00]: Yeah, 18,000. Dean Mathews [00:05:01]: 18,000. Yeah. It's crazy. James Kademan [00:05:04]: Holy cow. Dean Mathews [00:05:04]: That is a. James Kademan [00:05:06]: That's a pool and a half. Dean Mathews [00:05:07]: Yeah, it's a. Yeah, two and a half pools. James Kademan [00:05:10]: So crazy. Dean Mathews [00:05:11]: Yeah, it's kind of crazy when you Step back and look at it and. But you know, it goes to show you, you know, you put your effort and your time and your energy into something and it can pay off, it can turn into something big. James Kademan [00:05:22]: Yeah, yeah, Tell me a story. You were doing software before you said so were your other passion projects software based? Dean Mathews [00:05:30]: Almost all of them were, yes. So built a kind of like an online survey type tool similar to like a survey monkey where you could ask different surveys. Had a database type tool where you could just create a database for anything you wanted to contacts customers, sales online. Started that one, had another payments processing, a business to business payments processing, Ach type solution. Those are two or three of the ones that I started. There was a couple others as well. They kind of, some started, some really took off, some didn't, some just kind of floundered. But yeah, so I always had that entrepreneurial spirit, just wanting to do something big, you know, just make a change, something I could just stand on and, you know, just be happy with. James Kademan [00:06:18]: Yeah, it's interesting, I had another guest on the show, I don't know, fairly recently and he said all we want to do is sell usernames and passwords. So I feel like you're, you're in that world, which is pretty good world to be in. Dean Mathews [00:06:34]: Yeah, yeah. James Kademan [00:06:36]: Tell me a story as far as the back end goes, because programming languages that were popular 20 years ago are not necessarily the same now. So has your platform shifted or had huge rewrites or anything over the course of the past couple decades? Dean Mathews [00:06:52]: Yeah, from a technology standpoint, the technology we wrote it in, you know, 22, three years ago now is an older technology. Right. And it, it still worked, but you really have to keep up with the times. You can't just sit on these older technologies. You know, developers aren't versed in them anymore, they're inefficient. And the new technologies have so much more to offer for our customer experience. So we started a venture about three years ago, ish, where we called it Move and Improve, where we pick off a couple pages, a couple screens at a time and move those over to the new new technology. So now as of the turn of this year, there's just a couple little pieces we're picking up now, but we are going to be 100. Dean Mathews [00:07:41]:

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About

The business podcast designed for entrepreneurs and small business owners to be inspired by, listen to, enjoy and take some action from.

Information

  • Creator
    Draw In Customers Business Coach James Kademan
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Authentic Business Adventures Podcast, via Draw In Customers Business Coaching. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Authentic Business Adventures Podcast