Make It Count ™ with Tanya Waymire

Tanya Waymire
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Business
  • Weekly

Make It Count™ is a show about builders. Entrepreneurs. Operators. Investors. Sales leaders. People who move. Hosted by Tanya Waymire, each episode is a direct conversation with high-capacity humans who have done the work—built companies, scaled teams, raised capital, created impact, and carried the weight that comes with it. This is not theory. It’s lived experience. You’ll hear how real businesses are structured. How deals are funded. How culture is shaped. How authority is built. How setbacks are absorbed and converted into leverage. The throughline is simple: clarity creates movement,

  1. 15h ago

    What If Health Insurance Is the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in America? | with Seth Denson

    Have you ever stayed in a job just to keep your health insurance? Put off a doctor's visit, then had the bill make you sick? Or handed over your insurance card and paid more than you would have in cash? You're not crazy. The system is built to be confusing, and that confusion costs you. Seth Denson is a health care strategist, a national TV economy commentator and the bestselling author of The Cure. In this Make It Count conversation, he shows you how health care billing really works and how to take your power back as the customer. You'll hear: The question to ask before you hand over your card. It turned a $187 x-ray into about $50.How a 9:02 PM croup visit got billed as a $2,300 "level three trauma," and how he got it fixedWhy health insurance should work like auto insurance: it's your money, so you pick the shopThe business plan that cost him his job within eight hours, and the firm he built from itThe CEO who taught him that good leaders listen, but great ones understandHis dad's advice that changes how you think about success: never chase money, and the money will chase youWatch to the end for the funniest founder mistake you'll hear all year. It all came down to one website address. If this episode changes how you'll handle your next doctor's bill, subscribe to Make It Count and send it to someone who needs to hear it. New conversations every week. Find Seth and The Cure at SethDenson.com.

  2. Oct 28

    Private Equity Is a Sport: Ted Kramer of HKW

    Would you rather try and fail, or lie awake wondering "only if"? Ted Kramer chose the first one a long time ago. He played hockey at Michigan and in the minors, then walked into private equity and started in sourcing. In his words, "Let's just call it is what it is. You know, it's a sales job." Today he's a partner leading HKW, a 125-year-old firm, and he'll tell you it's still a sport. In this conversation: You're only as good as your last shift. Ted doesn't rest on his laurels, and he doesn't lead from a title: "I really view myself as a partner, not a CEO, because we're a team."Private equity is a contact sport. The numbers matter, but people drive them: "I think the jockey is more important than the horse."How to say no and keep the relationship: "Be timely and be respectful and be truthful." And "showing you care is not hard."Losing with class: "You don't need to win everything." You got beat today, but that doesn't mean you'll be beat tomorrow.Why he still wants to be challenged: "Anybody who thinks that they know enough doesn't know that much.""I'd rather try and fail than lay awake at night and say, wow, only if I would have tried." (Ted Kramer) Guest: Ted Kramer is a partner and leader at HKW, a 125-year-old private equity firm. He's a former University of Michigan and minor-league hockey player who built his career starting in sourcing. Follow Make It Count so you don't miss next week's conversation. Then tell me in the comments: what's the one thing you'd rather try and fail at than never try? Make It Count is hosted by Tanya Waymire.

  3. Oct 21

    From Barn to Blue Collar Millionaires - Dru Reiss on Building and People

    He built a company out of a barn and retired at 37. Then a voice in his head said, "I bet you can't do it again." So why did he answer it? Dru Riess leads ILS Gummies, a McKinney, Texas manufacturer that formulates and makes nutraceutical wellness gummies for other brands. It has 400+ employees, six private equity firms invested, and plans for a second campus by 2028. It has no sales reps, pays no commissions and does no trade shows, and in Dru's words, "our website doesn't even work." The business comes in by word of mouth. Before this, he was a lead singer whose band fell apart, a server back at P.F. Chang's with a college degree, and a 24-year-old sleeping on a cot next to an old printing press in a barn. He built that press into Popular Ink, sold it twice, and went home at 37. He didn't stay home. In this conversation: The voices that pulled him off the couch after he retired: "I bet you can't do it in a different industry. I bet you can't do it without the people that did it with you last time."Looking in the mirror after college and seeing, in his words, "a loser," and the jobs and seasons God used later: the stage, the cubicle cold calls, the restaurant.The barn: a $3,000 draw for one month, 20 acres he mowed before anything else, snakes and mice, and customers like Hormel and Abbott.The day the owner pushed him and his partner Ray out with nothing in writing, and the customer who said, "We do business with Dru and Ray. We don't do business with you."How he leads 400+ people now: no ego, "drop the title and go do that task. It starts with me."Why he says entrepreneurship isn't for everyone: "I paid my people and I just prayed."What he's building at home: humility and gratitude for his kids, and a 10-year-old son learning a P&L by running his own gym and giving the extra away."In my mind, when I walked out there, I saw Willy Wonka's factory. I saw something beautiful because I saw opportunity." — Dru Riess, on the barn Chapters00:00 Welcome: Tanya introduces Dru Riess01:07 Not a one-hit wonder: "I bet you can't do it again"06:44 Back to the beginning: the band, the mirror, P.F. Chang's14:10 The barn, the printing press and the $3,000 draw30:30 ILS Gummies today: what they make and who they serve47:44 Being a dad: humility, gratitude and a 10-year-old's gym54:35 Why entrepreneurship isn't for everyone59:39 You die twice: legacy and the send-off he never got Follow Make It Count so you don't miss the next conversation. If this one stayed with you, share it with someone who is building again. Make It Count is hosted by Tanya Waymire, an executive coach since 2015 and NLP Master Practitioner. She builds people and portfolios, and this is where she asks the questions most people skip.

  4. Oct 14

    Owen Mecham: Two Brain Surgeries, Four Daughters & Building With AI | Make It Count

    He had more luxuries than he needed. Then he traded them for a tin roof and cinderblock walls. Owen Mecham has been through two brain surgeries, and I didn't find out until almost a year after I met him. That's Owen. He's too busy being grateful to lead with his pain. He's a husband to Mary, a dad to four daughters, a brand-new grandpa, and he's been selling cars online for 25 years, since before most people thought you could make money on the internet. We get into: Why kids playing baseball with a stick and a rock taught him "it's people that matter, not things"Why "multitasking is a lie," and the 45-minute focus blocks he runs his day onHow to stop trading being busy for being productiveHow he runs AI agents for an hour each morning while working a W-2, and why the technical barriers are gone for anyone with an ideaSo let me ask you: are you busy, or are you productive?

  5. Oct 7

    What happens when the thing you thought proved your worth disappears?

    Sandi Morse spent years helping people untangle their worth from food and their bodies. Then she lost what she considered her dream job at Google—and had to confront how much of her own worth had become tangled up in achievement. That’s where this conversation starts. It doesn’t stay there. Sandi is a therapist, behavioral health leader and author of Feed Your Purpose: Intuitive Eating as a Spiritual Practice. We get into the messages many of us absorbed long before we knew to question them: shrinking our bodies, earning our food, chasing the next accomplishment, and believing enough discipline or control will finally make us feel okay. We talk body image and diet culture, GLP-1s, intuitive eating, the problems with BMI, why food can become a form of control, what our kids are learning from us, and why women can succeed in nearly every area of life and still believe their body makes them a failure. Sandi also shares what losing Google forced her to face about identity and success, why putting her own story into this book terrified her, and what changes when mental health, nutrition and spirituality stop being treated as separate conversations. One line from Sandi captures where this ultimately goes: feeding your purpose means putting your energy and intention into what you believe you’re here to do. If you’ve ever measured yourself by the title, the scale, the mirror, the promotion—or someone else’s definition of success—this episode is for you. Follow Make It Count on Spotify so you don’t miss the conversations that go beyond what people have accomplished and get into who they became getting there. And share this one with someone who needs the reminder that their life was never meant to be reduced to a number.

  6. Sep 9

    From Engineer to Private Lender: Paul Brown on Risk, Reinvention & Building Forward

    Paul Brown thought he was answering a wrong number. Instead, he was being asked to lend $89,000 in second position on a fix-and-flip—something he had never done before. That unexpected yes became the beginning of a private lending business and a new chapter he never planned. Paul began as a mechanical engineer, spent nearly three decades in global banking and financial services across the United States, Japan and Singapore, and eventually built businesses of his own. Today, he operates private lending, private credit and debt and surplus recovery businesses. In this conversation, we talk about the cost and value of a W-2 career, the risk of building from scratch, how he evaluates deals, why deal flow takes longer than people expect, and what it takes to build businesses that can operate beyond you. Paul also shares the lesson he wants people to carry with them: your mistakes are not your identity, and your worth is not determined by what you produce.

  7. Sep 2

    Tye Patrick (Shay Fox): The Business of Unforgettable — Leadership, Creativity & Living Authentically

    Some people walk into a room and get noticed. Tye Patrick knows how to walk into a room and make everybody else feel seen. I’ve known Tye for more than 20 years, and I’ve watched that gift show up everywhere he goes—from luxury retail and entrepreneurship to producing live entertainment and stepping onstage as Shay Fox. But this conversation went somewhere much bigger than the stage. Tye has built his career around understanding people: what makes them feel something, what makes an experience memorable, how to lead different personalities, and why the person on the other side of the table should matter more than your own ego. We talk about the business behind creating unforgettable experiences, why he considers himself an entertainer and businessman before an artist, and what leading a highly creative team has taught him about communication, accountability and earning respect instead of demanding it. And then we go deeper. Tye opens up about separating his public and private worlds, protecting his peace, refusing to let negativity take up valuable space, and the very personal journey of reconciling his faith with who he knew himself to be. One of my favorite things he says in this conversation: “They walked so I could run. I’m running so you can fly.” This episode is about leadership, creativity, business, faith, identity and having the courage to live authentically—without waiting for somebody else to give you permission. If you lead people, build experiences, run a business, create for a living, or have ever wrestled with who the world expects you to be versus who you actually are, there’s something in this conversation for you. Tye Patrick. Entrepreneur. Producer. Leader. Entertainer. Husband. Father. Friend. And one seriously unforgettable human.

  8. Aug 19

    Beyond the Title | How to Lead Through Change Without Losing Yourself: Dr. Debra Atkisson

    If your answer to “Who are you?” begins with your title, this conversation may hit closer than you expect. Dr. Debra Atkisson brings more than 35 years of experience as a psychiatrist, physician leader and mentor—along with the lived perspective of facing cancer at 29 and being forced to confront her own mortality, faith and identity. We unpack why understanding yourself doesn’t automatically create change, how resilience can become a mask for high achievers and what unaddressed pressure eventually does to the people you lead. Dr. Debra also shares why your value cannot depend on what you produce—and the two words she wishes everyone would claim: “I matter.” Stay through the end. Her story about one teacher, one struggling student and a ripple he never knew he started brings the entire conversation home. If you’re building success without wanting to disappear inside it, press play—and subscribe to Make It Count™ for more conversations that challenge how you lead, live and use what you’ve been trusted with.

See All (40)

About

Make It Count™ is a show about builders. Entrepreneurs. Operators. Investors. Sales leaders. People who move. Hosted by Tanya Waymire, each episode is a direct conversation with high-capacity humans who have done the work—built companies, scaled teams, raised capital, created impact, and carried the weight that comes with it. This is not theory. It’s lived experience. You’ll hear how real businesses are structured. How deals are funded. How culture is shaped. How authority is built. How setbacks are absorbed and converted into leverage. The throughline is simple: clarity creates movement,

Information