Your Customer, Your Success

Gary Marra
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Your Customer, Your Success is an entrepreneurial business podcast focused on how client-centric strategy drives sustainable business growth. Hosted by Gary Marra of Schooley Mitchell, the show features candid conversations with founders, executives, and operators who understand that leadership behavior, operational discipline, and client focus are part of the same growth engine. Each episode explores the connection between customer experience, employee experience, growth, and financial performance. Guests share practical lessons on building durable client relationships, scaling with clarity, and leading organizations that grow through trust rather than transaction. This podcast is for business leaders who believe that client strategy is not a department. It is a competitive advantage. If you are an entrepreneur, lead a team, advise clients, or build businesses that rely on long-term relationships, this show is designed for you and your success.

  1. 3d ago

    Digital Transformation, Smarter Workflows, and the Student Experience in Higher Ed with Mike Toguchi

    Digital Transformation, Smarter Workflows, and the Student Experience in Higher Ed with Mike ToguchiSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Mike Toguchi, Chief Strategy Officer at Tectonic, to discuss digital transformation, smarter workflows, and the student experience in higher education. Mike has spent more than 25 years helping universities, nonprofits, foundations, and other mission-driven organizations modernize operations. His work connects strategy, technology, data, workflows, governance, and organizational change. For universities, the stakes extend well beyond administrative efficiency. Students are evaluating the cost, value, and experience of higher education. Mike argues that institutions that fail to provide a good student experience put their future at risk. The student experience is shaped by how the organization works behind the scenes. Gary and Mike explore how leaders can determine whether the real problem is technology, workflow, ownership, or staffing. Mike explains why choosing a platform first is a warning sign, and why organizations need to understand their processes and desired outcomes before deciding what to implement. They also discuss why technology initiatives lose credibility with employees. Repeated launches, abandoned systems, poor communication, and limited staff input can leave people skeptical of the next promised improvement. When leaders fail to listen, employees often create their own workarounds, including shadow workflows and unapproved AI use. The conversation moves from internal operations to the student experience. Individual departments can be hardworking and well-intentioned while still creating a disconnected experience for students. Mike explains how weak coordination, inconsistent data, and separate processes can force students to navigate several offices to get the support they need. Mike shares how Tectonic and its Orchestrate platform help institutions improve scholarship applications, reviews, disability accommodations, and other student-support processes. Better workflows can give staff more time for the work they came to higher education to do: helping students. Gary and Mike discuss how to evaluate results through cost, capacity, service quality, risk, and scalability. They also explore how these principles apply to nonprofits and associations, where the people being served may be donors, members, or communities. Gary connects the conversation to his work with Schooley Mitchell and the opportunity to reduce unnecessary expenses so organizations can focus more resources on their mission. In Does It Hold Water?, they consider why not everything that matters can be measured. In Chip Shots, Mike discusses Die With Zero, leaders he would like to shadow, a difficult lesson from losing a client, and balancing research with decisive action. What You'll LearnHow to identify whether the real issue is technology, workflow, ownership, or staffingWhy digital transformation should begin with processes and desired outcomesHow repeated technology initiatives can erode employee trustWhy leadership accountability must continue beyond implementationHow ignoring staff feedback leads to workarounds and shadow workflowsWhere internal inefficiencies appear in the student experienceWhy cross-functional collaboration matters in higher educationHow better scholarship and disability-services workflows help staff and studentsHow to evaluate ROI through cost, capacity, service quality, risk, and scalabilityWhy the same operating principles apply to nonprofits and associationsWhy meaningful outcomes cannot always be reduced to a metric CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold Open: Why Student Experience Decides Whether Institutions Survive 01:00 Meet Mike Toguchi, Chief Strategy Officer at Tectonic 02:55 Technology, Workflow, Ownership, or Staffing: Which Lever Is Actually Broken 04:03 Why Most Higher Ed Technology Problems Are Really Workflow Problems 06:01 Change Fatigue: Why Staff Stop Believing in the Next Initiative 08:30 Shadow Workflows and Shadow AI: What Happens When Leaders Stop Listening 10:00 How Internal Silos Show Up in the Student Experience 12:27 Why No One Owns the Full Student Journey 14:28 Inside Orchestrate: Automating Manual Work in Higher Ed 17:55 Measuring ROI on Digital Transformation: Cost, Capacity, Compliance, Revenue 19:46 Scholarship Management at Scale: Eligibility, Blind Review, and Awards 22:36 Case Study: Accommodations and Disability Services Across the UC System 25:47 How This Applies to Nonprofits, Associations, and Foundations 27:11 Where Leaders Should Start: Evaluating Process, Workflow, and Collaboration 28:46 Does It Hold Water? Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted 33:29 Chip Shots: Die With Zero, Shadowing Leaders, and Decision-Making Book RecommendationDie With Zero by Bill Perkins Connect with Mike ToguchiTectonic: https://teamtectonic.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miketoguchi 🔗 Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast 📣 🎧 Please Listen & Subscribe💡 Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode. 👉 Follow Your Customer, Your Success for conversations about customer relationships, leadership, entrepreneurship, operational discipline, and sustainable business growth. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Connect with Gary through PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 Looking to Reduce Business Expenses?Trim the overspend. Keep your capacity. Gary is a Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, helping businesses identify savings across essential operating expenses through independent, vendor-neutral cost reduction consulting. Learn more: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESSYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, entrepreneurship, relationship building, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with founders, executives, advisors, and business leaders about how better relationships, stronger execution, and client-centric thinking create trust, retention, referrals, and sustainable growth. ABOUT GARY MARRAGary Marra is a Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, business advisor, customer experience leader, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on deep experience in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical business lens to customer relationships and growth. Through Schooley Mitchell, he works with businesses to identify opportunities to reduce essential operating expenses while maintaining or improving service. His perspective is grounded in the belief that relationship building drives revenue, client focus creates competitive advantage, and disciplined execution builds stronger businesses over time. #HigherEducation #DigitalTransformation #StudentExperience #WorkflowAutomation #NonprofitLeadership #CustomerExperience #EmployeeExperience #OperationalDiscipline #Leadership #podmatch

    Digital Transformation, Smarter Workflows, and the Student Experience in Higher Ed with Mike Toguchi

  2. Sep 30

    The Nonprofit Flywheel: How Strong Organizations Create Lasting Impact with Suzanne Smith

    E70 — The Nonprofit Flywheel: How Strong Organizations Create Lasting Impact with Suzanne SmithA strong mission is not enough to build a sustainable nonprofit. Suzanne Smith returns to Your Customer, Your Success to discuss her new book, The Nonprofit Flywheel: A Playbook for Sustainable Growth, Smarter Strategy and Lasting Impact. Suzanne is the founder and CEO of Social Impact Architects and has spent nearly three decades working across the nonprofit, government, and business sectors. Her framework connects six critical areas: impact, brand, revenue, operations, culture, and governance. The core idea is simple: mission and management have to work together. Gary and Suzanne explore why nonprofits need strong operating discipline, how friction in one part of an organization can slow the entire flywheel, and why operations are often overlooked even though they directly influence an organization’s capacity to create impact. They also discuss financial stewardship and the important difference between smart efficiency and indiscriminate cost cutting. Every dollar committed to an unnecessary expense is a dollar that cannot support people, programs, or mission-critical priorities. At the same time, investments in professional development, infrastructure, and organizational capability should not automatically be dismissed as overhead. Gary connects the conversation to his work with Schooley Mitchell and the opportunity for nonprofits to protect mission-critical resources by taking a disciplined look at recurring expenses, vendor relationships, legacy contracts, billing issues, and unused services while maintaining or improving service quality. The conversation also covers nonprofit workforce challenges, organizational fragility, the role of exceptional boards, culture, and how leaders can use The Nonprofit Flywheel as a practical playbook rather than a traditional book that has to be read sequentially. The Nonprofit Flywheel publishes October 1, 2026. What You’ll LearnWhy mission and management have to work togetherHow impact, brand, revenue, operations, culture, and governance reinforce one anotherWhere friction develops inside nonprofit organizationsWhat organizational fragility looks like before a crisisWhy operations are an overlooked driver of sustainable impactHow to distinguish financial stewardship from damaging cost cuttingWhy legacy contracts, unused services, billing issues, and recurring expenses matterHow better expense and vendor management can protect resources for the missionWhy exceptional boards contribute more than oversightHow to use the Flywheel as a practical management tool Chapters00:00 Cold Open 01:07 Introduction 04:21 Why Suzanne wrote The Nonprofit Flywheel 07:13 Where mission and management discipline collide 08:56 Why use a flywheel? 11:11 Where friction develops inside nonprofit organizations 15:06 How weakness affects the entire flywheel 17:37 What organizational fragility looks like 21:29 Smart financial stewardship vs. damaging cost cutting 27:03 Getting past “we’ve always done it this way” 33:34 How strong boards create organizational momentum 36:25 What leaders should do when the flywheel slows down 39:01 Does It Hold Water? 41:48 Chip Shots Does It Hold Water?Suzanne considers the idea that “a merger is a cataclysmic event second only to the Big Bang” and explains why mergers require leaders to manage both the mechanical and emotional sides of organizational change. Chip ShotsSuzanne shares her latest book recommendation, the leader she would most like to spend time with, an entrepreneurial failure that became an important learning experience, and the decision-making practice she relies on when the stakes are high. Connect with Suzanne SmithConnect with Suzanne on LinkedIn, Social Impact Architects and MeetSuzanne.com.Social TrendSpotter — Suzanne’s weekly newsletter on the future of the social sector.The Nonprofit Flywheel: A Playbook for Sustainable Growth, Smarter Strategy, and Lasting Impact launched October 1, 2026, with a free digital edition, companion tools and resources, and print editions on Amazon. Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast 🎧 Audio available on all major podcast platforms. 📺 Video available on YouTube. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESSYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast hosted by Gary Marra. The show explores how customer focus, leadership behavior, employee experience, operational discipline, relationships, and financial stewardship contribute to sustainable growth and stronger organizations. #NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitManagement #NonprofitGrowth #TheNonprofitFlywheel #Leadership #OperationalDiscipline #Governance #FinancialStewardship #SocialImpact #BusinessStrategy #podmatch

    The Nonprofit Flywheel: How Strong Organizations Create Lasting Impact with Suzanne Smith

  3. Sep 23

    Define Success, Build Stakeholder Alignment, and Get Results with Brianna Sylver

    Define Success, Build Alignment, Get Results with Brianna SylverSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Brianna Sylver, founder and president of Sylver Consulting and author of Leading Through Free Fall: How Innovators Turn Turbulence into Trust. Organizations rarely struggle because they lack ideas, information, or smart people. The harder problem is turning what they know into action. Brianna calls this the Activation Gap, the distance between an organization’s intent and what actually gets executed. Her argument is that many execution problems begin much earlier than leaders realize: the team never clearly defined what success should look like, aligned the right stakeholders, or surfaced the assumptions and concerns that could derail the work later. Brianna walks through her Five Intention Setting Questions, including why she deliberately starts by asking what people do not want to happen and how they do not want to feel. Getting those concerns into the open can create the clarity and candor needed to have a more productive conversation about what success really looks like. She also shares two contrasting business cases. In one, individual stakeholder conversations created the appearance of alignment, but the organization ultimately struggled to act on the findings. In another, stakeholders came together at the beginning, clarified expectations and guardrails, and built alignment around the work. That initiative ultimately contributed to four product launches that exceeded market projections. The larger lesson is straightforward: Actionability is not something a great presentation creates at the end. It is something leaders design into the work from the beginning. Gary and Brianna also explore why more data does not automatically produce better decisions, how hierarchy can suppress candid feedback, why emotion belongs in serious business conversations, and how leaders can create an environment where people are willing to say what they actually think. And in Does It Hold Water?, things get considerably more colorful when Brianna explains why a difficult business problem might be exactly the right time to break out the LEGO! :) What You’ll LearnWhat Brianna means by the Activation GapWhy more information does not necessarily lead to better decisionsWhy defining success should happen before the work beginsThe Five Intention Setting Questions Brianna uses with leadership teamsWhy starting with negative concerns can create better conversationsHow separate stakeholder conversations can create a false sense of alignmentWhy collective alignment matters before an initiative moves forwardHow leaders can uncover hidden assumptions and organizational guardrailsWhy actionable insight is created through the process, not just the final deliverableHow LEGO Serious Play can expose team dynamics that ordinary conversation misses Chapters00:00 Cold Open 01:06 Introduction 02:46 The Activation Gap 05:43 Five Intention Setting Questions 12:47 When Stakeholder Alignment Is Missing 20:54 Alignment That Drives Business Results 25:17 Creating Candor Across Hierarchy 30:58 Defining Success Before the Work Begins 32:45 Does It Hold Water? 37:15 Chip Shots Book RecommendationThe Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann Connect with Brianna SylverWebsite: https://www.sylverconsulting.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannasylver/ Read the first chapter of Leading Through Free Fall: https://leadingthroughfreefall.com/chapter1 Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Gary is also a Schooley Mitchell Strategic Partner, helping businesses identify opportunities to reduce operating expenses while maintaining or improving service levels. Please Listen & SubscribeAudio is available on all major podcast platforms, and video is available on YouTube. If you enjoy the conversation, subscribe to Your Customer, Your Success and leave a review. Follow the show for more conversations about leadership, client relationships, operational discipline, and sustainable business growth. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Connect with Gary through PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 About Your Customer, Your SuccessYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is not merely a service philosophy. It is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show explores the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership behavior, relationships, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with executives, entrepreneurs, advisors, and business leaders about building trust, strengthening client relationships, improving execution, and creating sustainable growth. About Gary MarraGary Marra is a business advisor, customer experience leader, Schooley Mitchell Strategic Partner, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on extensive experience in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical business lens to the relationship between client experience, trust, execution, and growth. #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #BusinessGrowth #Execution #StakeholderAlignment #Innovation #ChangeManagement #OrganizationalChange #CustomerExperience #PodMatch

    Define Success, Build Stakeholder Alignment, and Get Results with Brianna Sylver

  4. Sep 16

    How PR Builds Trust, Attracts Customers, and Drives Referrals with Lexie Smith

    How PR Builds Trust, Attracts Customers, and Drives Referrals with Lexie SmithSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Lexie Smith, Founder and CEO of GROWTH MODE, PR strategist, thought leadership expert, three-time entrepreneur, and host of the Pitchin' and Sippin' podcast. PR is often reduced to press releases, media coverage, or crisis communications. Lexie takes a much broader view: The second word in public relations is relationships. Those relationships can help a business reach new customers, strengthen existing customer relationships, build credibility, generate referrals, and create a community around the brand. Lexie introduces her seven relations of PR: the public, customers and clients, media, industry, community, investors, and employees. She explains why public and customer relations are especially important for small and mid-sized businesses trying to grow. The conversation moves from visibility to execution. Lexie explains when a business is actually ready to invest in PR, why its owned assets need to be in order first, and why earning a media placement is not the finish line. The businesses that create value from PR understand how to leverage credibility across their website, sales process, customer relationships, and future opportunities. Gary and Lexie also explore the other side of growth: the customers a business already has. Existing customers can become repeat buyers, advocates, and referral sources, but referrals require more than simply asking someone to keep you in mind. Lexie explains why people are far more comfortable referring a business once they have experienced it, trust it, and feel confident putting their own reputation behind the recommendation. Lexie also breaks down her five-layer Trust Stack: Founder Trust → Owned Trust → Earned Trust → Social Proof → Community Trust They discuss the opportunities and risks of building a brand around its founder, why founder visibility has to be managed as a company grows, and what happens when customers expect access to the founder but ultimately work with a broader team. The conversation closes with a timely challenge for business leaders. Podcasts, creator platforms, AI, and new publishing tools have created more opportunities to become visible than ever before. But AI-generated content and easier access have also created a more skeptical marketplace. That makes trust more important, not less. For the business owner who is tired of being the best-kept secret, Lexie's advice is straightforward: start with the channels you control, develop a clear point of view, choose where your audience already spends time, and begin building from there. What You'll LearnWhy PR is fundamentally about relationships, not simply media coverageThe seven relationships that make up Lexie's approach to PRHow PR can help small and mid-sized businesses attract new customersWhat a business should have in place before investing in PRWhy earning media coverage does not automatically translate into revenueHow existing customers can become advocates and referral sourcesWhy trust is essential before someone will confidently refer your businessThe five layers of Lexie's Trust StackHow much of a company's brand should depend on its founderWhy AI is creating both greater visibility opportunities and a more skeptical marketplaceWhere founders should start when they want to build thought leadership and visibility CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold Open 01:15 Introduction 03:26 What PR Really Does for a Business 04:34 The Seven Relationships of PR 06:15 How PR Helps Businesses Reach New Customers 07:35 When a Business Is Ready for PR 11:40 Turning Visibility Into Business Value 15:16 Strengthening Existing Customer Relationships 16:59 How Trust Drives Referrals 22:06 The Five Layers of the Trust Stack 24:44 How Much of the Brand Should Sit on the Founder? 27:35 PR, AI, and a More Skeptical Marketplace 29:57 Where to Start Building Thought Leadership 31:40 Does It Hold Water? 33:52 Chip Shots Book RecommendationA Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas Connect with Lexie SmithGROWTH MODE: https://growthmodeon.com Join the GROWTH MODE Memo: https://growthmodeon.com/newsletter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexie-smith-pr/ Pitchin' and Sippin' Podcast: https://theprbarinc.com/podcasts 🔗 Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast 📣 🎧 Please Listen & Subscribe💡 Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode. 👉 Follow Your Customer, Your Success for conversations about customer relationships, leadership, entrepreneurship, operational discipline, and sustainable business growth. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Connect with Gary through PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 Looking to Reduce Business Expenses?Gary is a Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, helping businesses identify savings across essential operating expenses through independent, vendor-neutral cost reduction consulting. Learn more: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESSYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, entrepreneurship, relationship building, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with founders, executives, advisors, and business leaders about how better relationships, stronger execution, and client-centric thinking create trust, retention, referrals, and sustainable growth. ABOUT GARY MARRAGary Marra is a Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, business advisor, customer experience leader, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on deep experience in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical business lens to customer relationships and growth. Through Schooley Mitchell, he works with businesses to identify opportunities to reduce essential operating expenses while maintaining or improving service. His perspective is grounded in the belief that relationship building drives revenue, client focus creates competitive advantage, and disciplined execution builds stronger businesses over time. #PublicRelations #PRStrategy #ThoughtLeadership #BusinessGrowth #CustomerRelationships #Trust #Referrals #SmallBusiness #Leadership #podmatch

    How PR Builds Trust, Attracts Customers, and Drives Referrals with Lexie Smith

  5. Sep 9

    YOLO Gary Goes Solo: Building the Next Chapter

    SummaryIn this solo episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary steps back to reflect on how the show has evolved, what he has learned from more than a year of conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, advisors, and operators, and how those lessons helped shape the next chapter of his own career. The show began with a strong focus on customer experience and customer success. Over time, the conversations expanded into entrepreneurship, leadership, relationships, operations, profitability, cash, and sustainable business growth. For Gary, those subjects are increasingly connected by one question: How do you build a business that gets stronger as it grows? Growth creates opportunity, but it also creates complexity. More customers, employees, vendors, contracts, systems, subscriptions, and recurring expenses mean more decisions that somebody needs to own. That leads to another question: What does your business pay for every month that somebody approves, but nobody truly owns? Gary explores why busy can become an expensive condition in business, how slow problems become normalized, and why outside expertise can create valuable leverage for owners and operators. He also shares why becoming a business owner with Schooley Mitchell made sense as his next chapter. Rather than abandoning nearly 30 years of experience in client relationships, operations, leadership, and vendor management, Gary saw an opportunity to put that experience to work in a business where client value can be clearly measured. This is not a departure from Your Customer, Your Success. It is where many of the conversations on the show have been leading. What You’ll LearnHow Your Customer, Your Success has evolved from CX into a broader entrepreneurship and business growth conversationWhy Gary believes strong owners do not try to become experts in everythingHow growth creates operational complexity and new ownership gapsThe difference between approving an expense and truly owning the commercial decision behind itWhat Gary means by “silent overspend”Why slow problems can become normal inside an organizationHow outside expertise can create leverage for owners, CFOs, and operatorsWhy cost reduction and indiscriminate cost cutting are very different business decisionsHow disciplined management of recurring expenses can create more options for a businessWhy Schooley Mitchell became a natural fit for Gary’s experience and entrepreneurial goalsHow the show and Gary’s business will continue evolving together ChaptersFinal timestamps to be added after the edited episode is locked. Introduction: Why It Was Time for Another YOLO Gary Goes Solo How Your Customer, Your Success Has Evolved What the Show Has Taught Gary About Business Ownership Growth Creates Opportunity and Complexity Who Actually Owns the Decision Behind the Invoice? Busy Is an Expensive Condition in Business Silent Overspend and the Problems That Slowly Become Normal Why Outside Expertise Creates Leverage Building Gary’s Next Chapter Why Schooley Mitchell Made Sense Cost Reduction vs. Cost Cutting Being “Awesome at Boring” Where Your Customer, Your Success Goes From Here The Question Every Business Owner Should Ask Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell of Weymouth: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/office/gmarra/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Please Listen & SubscribeSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pTZksMmQPwZJSeryfK5Xm Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-customer-your-success/id1783768227 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Audio is available on all major podcast platforms. If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe and leave a review. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, customer experience, relationship building, operational discipline, profitability, and sustainable business growth. Want to Be a Guest on Your Customer, Your Success?Send Gary a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 About Your Customer, Your SuccessYour Customer, Your Success is an entrepreneurial business podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is not merely a service philosophy. It is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, entrepreneurship, relationship building, operational discipline, and financial performance. Each episode features practical conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, advisors, and business leaders about how stronger relationships, better leadership, and disciplined execution build trust, loyalty, referrals, retention, and sustainable business growth. About Gary MarraGary Marra is a business owner, Cost Reduction Consultant with Schooley Mitchell of Weymouth, customer experience leader, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience across financial services, client relationship management, operations, vendor management, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical operator’s perspective to business growth. Through Schooley Mitchell, Gary works with business owners and leaders to understand their operations, evaluate essential business expenses and vendor arrangements, and determine whether opportunities exist to improve value and protect margins without sacrificing service quality. His approach is grounded in the same principle behind Your Customer, Your Success: understand the business, build strong relationships, make better decisions, and create measurable value. #Entrepreneurship #BusinessOwnership #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Profitability #OperationalDiscipline #CustomerExperience #CostReduction #SmallBusiness #SchooleyMitchell #YOLOGaryGoesSolo #podmatch

    YOLO Gary Goes Solo: Building the Next Chapter

  6. Sep 2

    A Leap of Faith: From Ministry to Entrepreneurship with Matt Estrin

    A Leap of Faith: From Ministry to Entrepreneurship with Matt EstrinSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Matt Estrin, entrepreneur, author, and founder of 477 Distilling. After spending 15 years in ministry, Matt made an unconventional career move. A trip to Napa Valley sparked an interest in the business and craft of making spirits. He started learning on a five-gallon still in his kitchen, eventually attended Moonshine University in Kentucky, and in 2018 opened 477 Distilling with his wife, Trista. He had confidence in the product. Running a business was another story. Matt shares what he learned going from pastor to entrepreneur, eventually launching seven businesses, selling two, closing one, and building businesses across distilling and restaurants. One of the biggest lessons came quickly: “If you build it, they will come” is not a business strategy. A great product is not enough. Owners have to build relationships, earn trust, become visible in their communities, and give people a reason to walk through the door. Gary and Matt also explore how Matt’s years in ministry shaped his approach to leadership. Leading volunteers taught him that compensation alone does not create commitment. People give their best when they feel valued, have a voice, believe in what they are building, and can see how the experience will help them grow. That philosophy carries directly into customer experience. Matt believes every person walking into one of his businesses may be having the best day of their life, the worst day of their life, or somewhere in between. His team gets an opportunity to become part of that experience. The conversation also gets into the story behind the name 477 Distilling, why Matt intentionally worked to become someone people could say they “know,” the importance of referral relationships in small-business growth, the challenge of creating unusual spirits, and one of the most misunderstood facts about bourbon. Matt also shares the failure that reinforced three rules he now uses when evaluating brick-and-mortar businesses and explains why entrepreneurs should not wait for complete certainty before moving an idea forward. The lesson is practical: You do not need to do everything today. You need to do something. If you are an entrepreneur, small-business owner, or leader thinking about taking a calculated risk, building a stronger culture, improving customer service, or simply getting an idea off the sidelines, this conversation offers an honest look at what entrepreneurship really requires. What You’ll LearnHow Matt went from 15 years in ministry to owning a craft distilleryWhy learning the craft before taking the leap gave Matt confidence to move forwardThe difference between calculated risk and reckless riskWhy “if you build it, they will come” does not work in businessWhat ministry taught Matt about motivating people and building cultureWhy a paycheck alone will never create great employee engagementHow giving employees ownership can improve service and cultureWhy customer service can matter as much as the product itselfHow community visibility and relationships became a growth strategyThe meaning behind I Know the OwnerWhat Matt learned from the one business he closedWhy entrepreneurs should take one meaningful step forward every day AUDIO TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold Open 01:25 Introduction 02:48 Learning to Distill on a Kitchen Stovetop 05:13 How 477 Distilling Got Its Name 09:20 Calculated Risk vs Reckless Risk in Business 14:00 What New Business Owners Don't Know in Year One 17:42 Leadership Lessons That Transfer From Ministry to Business 20:48 Hospitality, Customer Service, and Staff Burnout 28:29 Why Being Known in Your Community Drives Business 32:27 Creating New Products and What Makes Them Hard 36:29 What People Get Wrong About How Bourbon Is Made 38:49 Advice for Anyone Afraid to Start a Business 41:35 Does It Hold Water? 46:28 Chip ShotsBook RecommendationThe Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter Matt recommends the book for its exploration of discomfort, challenge, and the value of deliberately doing difficult things in a culture increasingly designed around comfort. About Matt EstrinMatt Estrin is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and founder of 477 Distilling. After spending 15 years in ministry, Matt left a familiar career to pursue entrepreneurship. Over the next eight years, he launched seven businesses across hospitality and craft spirits, experiencing the successes, failures, risks, and hard-earned lessons that come with business ownership. His book, I Know the Owner: From Holy Water to Happy Hour, shares those lessons through stories about entrepreneurship, leadership, company culture, customer service, faith, family, and taking the leap into something uncertain. I Know the Owner arrives October 6 and is available for pre-order. Connect with MattWebsite: MattEstrin.net LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matt-estrin-223125113 477 Distilling: 477distilling.co Book: I Know the Owner: From Holy Water to Happy Hour Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell Strategic Partner: Cost Reduction Consulting for businesses and organizations YouTube: youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Please Listen & Subscribe🎧 Audio available on all major podcast platforms. 📺 Video available on YouTube. If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe and leave a review. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, customer experience, relationship building, operational discipline, and sustainable business growth. Want to Be a Guest on Your Customer, Your Success?Connect with Gary through PodMatch: podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 About Your Customer, Your SuccessYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is not merely a service philosophy. It is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership, entrepreneurship, relationship building, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, advisors, and business leaders about how stronger relationships, better leadership, and disciplined execution build trust, loyalty, referrals, retention, and sustainable growth. About Gary MarraGary Marra is a business owner, advisor, customer experience leader, and Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, an independent cost reduction consulting firm serving businesses and organizations. Through Schooley Mitchell, Gary helps clients identify opportunities to reduce business expenses, recover billing errors, evaluate current services, and assess marketplace pricing while maintaining or improving service levels. His perspective is shaped by decades of experience in financial services, client management, operations, relationship management, and cross-functional leadership. As host of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary brings those experiences together around a central belief: strong relationships, client focus, operational discipline, and sound business decisions are all part of sustainable growth. #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #SmallBusiness #BusinessGrowth #CompanyCulture #CustomerExperience #Hospitality #BusinessOwnership #RelationshipBuilding #SchooleyMitchell #podmatch

    A Leap of Faith: From Ministry to Entrepreneurship with Matt Estrin

  7. Aug 26

    Leadership Mindset: Limiting Beliefs, Self-Awareness, and Better Decisions with Steve Barton

    Leadership Mindset: Limiting Beliefs, Self-Awareness, and Better Decisions with Steve BartonSummaryIn this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Steve Barton, executive coach, author, and creator of The Game of Ten®, an awareness-based framework designed to help leaders and high performers operate with greater clarity, confidence, and intention. Steve brings more than four decades of real-world business experience, including growing his family’s florist business from roughly $200,000 to more than $2 million in revenue. That experience shaped a perspective on leadership that challenges a common assumption: when a problem becomes more complicated, the answer is not always to think harder. Sometimes the thinking itself is part of the problem. Gary and Steve explore how limiting beliefs, past experiences, self-doubt, and emotional reactions can quietly influence the decisions leaders make today. Steve explains his distinction between what he calls The Game of Ten and “the game often played,” where leaders operate from old patterns without necessarily realizing it. The conversation gets practical when they examine what happens after a difficult customer interaction. If one frustrating conversation affects how you show up for the next client, employee, or decision, the issue is no longer simply personal. It becomes a leadership and business issue. Steve also explains why he believes awareness creates space between an experience and our response, how leaders can better recognize the thoughts that are limiting them, and why intuition can play an important role alongside experience and analytical thinking. This episode is ultimately about developing a stronger leadership mindset: becoming more aware of what you are carrying into a decision, recognizing when old assumptions are influencing new situations, and learning to respond to what is actually happening in front of you. For founders, owners, executives, and managers, the challenge is simple: Are your thoughts helping you lead better, or are they quietly limiting how you show up? What You’ll LearnWhy Steve believes resilience and letting go of ego were critical lessons from decades of running a businessWhat The Game of Ten® is and how it differs from what Steve calls “the game often played”How limiting beliefs and past experiences can influence present-day leadership decisionsWhy self-awareness matters when leaders are under pressureHow overthinking can interfere with clarity and confidenceThe role Steve believes intuition should play alongside rational analysisHow to prevent one difficult customer or employee interaction from affecting the next conversationWhy leaders should pay closer attention to the thoughts they repeatedly tell themselvesHow beliefs such as “I’m not a good leader” or “I’m not good at this” can become self-imposed barriersWhy Steve believes healthy boundaries are an important part of leadershipWhat leaders can learn by questioning the assumptions they carry into their workWhy disagreeing with a boss can reveal a great deal about the quality of leadership inside an organization Chapters0:00 Open 0:56 Introduction 2:48 What three decades running a family business taught Steve 3:13 What the Game of Ten is and why it is different 4:05 The Game OFTEN Played and running on autopilot 5:34 60,000 thoughts a day and why most come from the past 8:16 Steve's definition of awareness 9:55 Why thinking harder makes the problem worse 12:43 The six phrases, demonstrated live 21:48 Thinking versus knowing 22:26 Where intuition comes from in experienced operators 24:45 The levels of awareness and the gap we fill 28:18 Forgiving a person versus letting go of the thought 30:16 One thing a founder can start doing this week 32:16 Limiting beliefs at work 37:04 Does It Hold Water? 38:50 Chip Shots 45:57 Where to find Steve Barton Book RecommendationA Course in Miracles Steve identifies A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman as one of the books that has most influenced his thinking and personal development. Steve Barton’s BookThe Father, The Son, The Aha Moment! Steve co-authored the book with his son, exploring parenting, relationships, awareness, and breaking long-standing patterns. Connect with Steve BartonWebsite: https://www.stevebartoncoaching.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coach-steve-barton/ The Father, The Son, and the Aha Moment: https://thegameof10.com/ Connect with Gary MarraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/gmarra YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast Please Listen & SubscribeAudio available on all major podcast platforms. Video available on YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoy the episode. Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more conversations on customer experience, leadership, and business growth. Want to Be a Guest on Your Customer, Your Success?Send Gary Marra a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESSYour Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built around a simple idea: client focus is not just a service philosophy. It is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of customer experience, employee experience, leadership behavior, relationship building, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with executives, entrepreneurs, advisors, and business leaders about how stronger relationships, better leadership, and disciplined execution create trust, retention, referrals, and sustainable growth. ABOUT GARY MARRAGary Marra is a business advisor, customer experience leader, Strategic Partner with Schooley Mitchell, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on experience in financial services, client management, operations, entrepreneurship, and cross-functional leadership, Gary brings a practical business lens to the connection between customer relationships and growth. His perspective is grounded in a simple principle: strong businesses are built by creating value, earning trust, strengthening relationships, and executing consistently. #Leadership #LeadershipMindset #SelfAwareness #DecisionMaking #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessLeadership #Entrepreneurship #LimitingBeliefs #CustomerExperience #podmatch

    Leadership Mindset: Limiting Beliefs, Self-Awareness, and Better Decisions with Steve Barton

  8. Aug 19

    Marriage, Identity, and the Empty Nest with Rick & Clancy Denton

    In this episode of Your Customer, Your Success, Gary sits down with Rick and Clancy Denton, husband and wife of 26 years, co-hosts of The Loud Quiet podcast, and co-authors of The Loud Quiet: Love, Laughter, and Life in the Empty Nest. Rick also holds a special place in the history of the show: he was Gary’s very first guest! This time, the conversation is much more personal. It started with a question Clancy asked Rick as their youngest child was preparing to leave home: What happens to us when the “kid glue” is gone? That question became the starting point for a larger conversation about marriage, identity, parenting adult children, friendship, and the transition into the empty nest. Rick and Clancy explain why strong relationships cannot simply run on history or autopilot. When the schedules, sports, school activities, and constant responsibilities of raising children suddenly disappear, couples have to make an intentional choice about what comes next. They share how The Loud Quiet began as a kind of weekly therapy session, a reason to sit down together and talk honestly about what they were experiencing. Over time, they discovered that many other couples were wrestling with the same questions: Who am I now? Who are we as a couple? And what does parenting look like when your children are adults? Gary, Rick, and Clancy also explore the three phases they associate with the empty nest: grief, gratefulness, and growth. The sadness is real, but so is the freedom to rediscover interests, build new friendships, strengthen a marriage, and even reinvent parts of your personal or professional life. The conversation also turns to parenting adult children and the difficult shift from being the person who provides answers to becoming more of a coach or consultant. Rick and Clancy discuss why transparency matters, why adult children need room to make their own mistakes, and why sometimes the best parenting happens by asking questions rather than immediately offering solutions. And for the parent sitting in a suddenly quiet house after dropping off their last child? Their advice is simple: Feel it. But do not stay there. Relationships do not stay strong on autopilot. Identity can evolve without erasing what came before. And the empty nest can create room for connection, reinvention, and an entirely new stage of growth. If you are approaching the empty nest, already living it, parenting adult children, or simply thinking about how relationships change across different seasons of life, this conversation offers an honest, funny, and practical perspective on what comes next. What You’ll LearnWhy Clancy’s question about losing the “kid glue” changed how she and Rick thought about their marriage Why intentionality becomes even more important when the structure of raising children disappears How The Loud Quiet podcast grew from a weekly conversation between Rick and Clancy into a community and book Why empty nesters often move through grief, gratefulness, and growth How to recognize the opportunities that come with a suddenly less crowded calendar Why saying “yes” helped Rick and Clancy move through the first year of the empty nest How simple date nights and intentional connection during the parenting years can strengthen a marriage later Why making new friends can become surprisingly difficult in midlife How the empty nest can create opportunities for personal and professional reinvention Why parenting adult children requires moving from parent to coach or consultant How transparency with children can create stronger communication as they become adults Why adult children sometimes need space to make mistakes without their parents immediately stepping in What Rick and Clancy want every new empty nester to understand about feeling the loss without getting stuck in it Chapters 00:00 Cold Open 01:14 Introduction 03:42 The question in the car that started everything 04:59 What Rick heard, and the two choices that followed 06:01 Cruise control, entropy, and why connection requires action 12:51 From weekly reset to podcast, book, and community 16:16 Grief, gratefulness, and growth: the three phases 22:05 Saying yes, and learning when to say no 25:02 Date night, done simply, and why it pays dividends later 29:36 From parent to coach to consultant: staying connected without hovering 37:25 The one thing to hear on the first quiet night 39:52 Does It Hold Water? 44:47 Chip Shots Books RecommendationThe World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman Connect with Rick & Clancy DentonWebsite: https://theloudquiet.com Podcast: The Loud Quiet Book: The Loud Quiet: Love, Laughter, and Life in the Empty Nest Information about the podcast, book, speaking, and book bonuses is available at TheLoudQuiet.com as well as great free bonuses when you buy the book! You get three free bonuses: Empty Nest Bingo CardVideo series: Empty Nesting - Living The First MonthLive webinar in September 🔗 Connect with Gary Marra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-marra/ Schooley Mitchell: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/gmarra Email: gary.marra@schooleymitchell.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourcustomeryoursuccesspodcast 📣 🎧 Please Listen & Subscribe 💡 Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode! 👉 Follow Your Customer, Your Success for more insights on leadership, business growth, and client-centric strategy. Want to be a guest on Your Customer, Your Success? Send Gary Marra a message on PodMatch here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1726154102094403cb5558fc4 ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER, YOUR SUCCESS Your Customer, Your Success is a leadership and business growth podcast built on the idea that client focus is not just a service philosophy, it is a growth strategy. Hosted by Gary Marra, the show sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, leadership behavior, customer experience, and operational discipline. Each episode features practical conversations with founders, executives, and advisors on how better decisions and better relationships drive trust, retention, and sustainable growth. YCYS is now heard in 70 countries! ABOUT GARY MARRA Gary Marra is a Schooley Mitchell Franchise Owner, business advisor, and host of Your Customer, Your Success. Drawing on deep experience in financial services, client management, operations, and cross-functional leadership, Gary helps business owners think more clearly about how service, trust, and execution shape growth. His perspective combines entrepreneurial strategy with practical operating discipline, making the show especially relevant for founders, operators, and leaders responsible for long-term client relationships. #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #SMBGrowth #EmptyNest #CareerReinvention #FoundersJourney #ClientCentric #OperationalDiscipline #Podcast #PodMatch

    Marriage, Identity, and the Empty Nest with Rick & Clancy Denton
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Your Customer, Your Success is an entrepreneurial business podcast focused on how client-centric strategy drives sustainable business growth. Hosted by Gary Marra of Schooley Mitchell, the show features candid conversations with founders, executives, and operators who understand that leadership behavior, operational discipline, and client focus are part of the same growth engine. Each episode explores the connection between customer experience, employee experience, growth, and financial performance. Guests share practical lessons on building durable client relationships, scaling with clarity, and leading organizations that grow through trust rather than transaction. This podcast is for business leaders who believe that client strategy is not a department. It is a competitive advantage. If you are an entrepreneur, lead a team, advise clients, or build businesses that rely on long-term relationships, this show is designed for you and your success.

Information

  • Creator
    Gary Marra
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    72
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Gary Marra
  • Show Website
    Your Customer, Your Success