Leadership in Action eoleadershipinaction

Sharing his journey on this week’s episode of Leadership In Action is a local entrepreneur who takes pride in a job well done. With a knack for entrepreneurship, he started his first landscaping company in his early teens. Welcome to the show, Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes, Greg Cuoco! Host Mark Stiles interviews Greg to learn about how he got started as an entrepreneur, the importance of transparency with employees, and what the future of the landscaping industry holds. 
 
 
Takeaways:
For Greg, starting a business meant the freedom to control the direction and growth in a way that he wanted to. When Greg was looking to make a switch, his background in landscaping made owning a landscaping company a promising venture. 
Buying a company has advantages, but finding the right company is a full time job. To successfully find one to buy, you need to build strong relationships with business owners, so when it comes time to sell, you’re the first person on their mind. 
Landscaping offers many benefits for potential business owners. With a contract based clientele, you build up a steady stream of recurring revenue. Landscaping is also recession resistant, as most residential clients will continue paying for services. 
When starting or buying a business, it’s important to play to your strengths. If you’re great at sales, you want a team that can excel operationally. Establish a role that lets you utilize your skills, and enable your team to fill in your weak areas. 
To build a strong roster of employees, you need to focus on building relationships and being transparent. Don’t sell dreams. It won’t take an employee long to realize it was a false bill of goods, and to start looking elsewhere for employment. 
When looking for an industry to purchase a business in, trades based industries are rife with opportunities. There are many owners who are looking to retire, but few of their kids want to take over. Because of this dynamic, there are many trades businesses available. 
AI is revolutionizing businesses, and landscaping is no exception. For landscaping, AI could calculate a quote, and send a potential customer a personalized outreach at the click of a button. 
 
 
Links: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycuoco/ 
Website: https://thedifferencelandscapes.com/ 
 
 
Quote of the Show
“Ultimately what it comes down to is relationships.” - Greg Cuoco

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/MK-sbxwxlX8
 
Transcript:
 
Mark: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization local podcast. I am really excited today to talk about some forward thinking trades, especially the landscaping trade and where that is going in the future. Today's guest is a local entrepreneur. Who takes pride in a job well done.
He started his first landscaping company in his early teens. He's a leadership legend who knows how to motivate teams and drive effective results. He's the Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes. Please welcome Greg Cuoco. Welcome to the show. Greg.
Greg: Thank you. Appreciate the introduction.
Mark: Let's go right into it. Why did you start your business?
Greg: Yeah, so I've always had the, uh, entrepreneurial bl bug in me ever since I was a kid. Um, always looking for ways to, um, make money. Um, I started my first landscaping company just in my neighborhood. One of my, um, neighbors actually approached me. Uh, they needed some landscaping, uh, and some snow shoveling done.
So, uh, it j

Today’s guest on Leadership In Action is an experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working in the luxury goods and jewelry industry. She’s been on Shark Tank, was recently recognized as a Entreprenista 100 award winner, and had her business listed on the INC 5000 list for 2022. Joining us today is CEO and Founder of Tiny Tags, Melissa Clayton! Host Mark Stiles sits down with Melissa to dive deep into the background of who she is, and what motivated her to start Tiny Tags. In this episode we’ll cover why you don’t need to work 100 hours a week, the importance of being vulnerable, and what it takes to get on Shark Tank.
 
 
Takeaways:
To be an entrepreneur, you do not need to work 100 hours a week. While starting a business is hard work, it is important to make sure you are not overworking, and that you still have time for friends, family, and hobbies. 
Tiny Tags was founded to provide mothers with personalized jewelry. Their lineup features pieces with your children's names, birthdate, and birth time on them. These allow you to keep the things that matter most to you close. 
If you want to connect with your customers, you need to be vulnerable, regardless of your business. For a brand like Tiny Tags whose business is celebrating motherhood, an inauthentic approach would turn customers away. 
While Melissa grew up in an entrepreneurial household, her main driver for Tiny Tags were the connections she made with other moms. 
As an entrepreneur, it’s ok to be protective of your brand. While outside influences or potential investors may want you to pivot or expand services, it’s ok to stay true to where your business currently lies. 
While keeping prices low to appeal to customers may be your initial strategy, you need to be conscious of the business’ needs as well. Your product may be incredibly affordable, but without enough profit to cover costs, you won't have a successful business.  
When running a business, you need to factor in how certain business decisions will affect your time. While growing to the next level means more business and better profits, it also means more work and less time at home. 
 
 
Links: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-clayton-817b568/ 
Website: https://tinytags.com/ 
Website: https://www.thematte.com/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinytags/ 
Email: Melissa@tinytags.com 

Quote of the Show
“I'm not trying to be authentic. I'm just being me.” - Melissa 

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/WdodKPcCSeA
 
Transcript:
Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization podcast today's. We are very excited to have with us. She is an entrepreneur, inventor, and leader in the luxury goods and jewelry industry. She comes from an accounting background.
She's included on a list of Inc. 5,000 fastest growing companies this year. That's nationwide folks. She was a semi-finalist in the ERs and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018. She is the founder of the, Matt has a patent and because of that was featured on NBC's Today Show and wait for it. Shark Tank in April of 2020.
She's the founder and c e o of Tiny Tags. You've probably heard of it. Meryl Streep wears it. Please welcome Melissa Clayton. Welcome to the show, Melissa. 
Melissa Clayton: Thanks for having me. Happy to be here. 
Mark Stiles: You ready to get right into it? Let's do it. All right. Like every episode, we start with the same question. What is a common misconception about leadership and

Today's guest on Leadership In Action is an entrepreneur, innovator, and leader in his industry who fights for the game makers of the world. As a game developer, he created one of the first commercial Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Joining the show today is an EO Boston member of 5 years, CEO of Beamable, Jon Radoff. Jon joins host Mark Stiles to talk about what it takes to get a business started, the value of customer feedback, and what visiting Everest base camp is like.
 
 
Takeaways:
You don’t need to be special to be an entrepreneur. All you need is an idea and the drive to take it and run with it. 
It’s ok to pivot. Your original idea doesn’t need to be what your product looks like for the rest of the business. As you meet others, and bring on new perspectives, your idea will evolve and change.
While those who criticize your new idea may seem demoralizing, their feedback can provide ways to improve. They might point out something technical that hasn’t been solved yet, or tell you about a customer type you weren't aware of.
Entrepreneurship can be a perseverance game. Sometimes you will need to stick with your idea for a long time before the market is ready for it. While this will slow you down, it doesn’t mean game over. 
Sometimes the business needs to be built before the idea. If you have grand ideas of how your product will fit into the future, you need to start by selling the thing consumers will buy now. 
AI tools are something that every entrepreneur should keep an eye out for over the next few years. As new, more powerful tools emerge, they will empower you to try new ideas with lower costs and less risk.
As AI becomes more prevalent, it will shift the types of skill sets that are needed to be successful. Instead of being a specialist on a given topic or process, establishing a well rounded skill set will line you up for success.
 
 
Links: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonradoff/  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jradoff  
Company website: https://beamable.com/  
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Radoff  
Medium: https://jradoff.medium.com/  

Quote of the Show
“We're all in the business of serving customers.” - Jon Radoff

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/h4OCqARffMQ 
Transcript:
Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership and Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization podcast.
Today's guest. Is an entrepreneur or innovator and leader in his industry. He fights for the game makers of the world and is responsible for creating one of the first M O RPGs, massively multiplayer online role playing games is what that stands for. He's been an EO member for five years. He also publishes a blog called Building the Metaverse, c e O of Beam Able.
John Rador. 
Jon Radoff: Welcome to the show. Hey Mark. How are you? Thanks for having me doing 
Mark Stiles: well. Question number one, what is the common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur? 
Jon Radoff: Go. To me, it's the idea that you have to be some kind of special person to be an entrepreneur. Let me zoom back the camera lens though, my purpose in life as far as business is concerned is just multiplying creativity through the world.
That's what I've done through some of the game businesses I've made, through the technology company I have through the website creation tech company that I started years ago. Everything was about just allowing people to be more creative and just get online, make stuff, express th

On this episode of Leadership in Action, we are joined by a financial mastermind and member of almost 10 years. He has 25 years of experience as an investment fiduciary and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Bloomberg, and more. Starring on the show this week is Partner, Chief Investment Officer at Antaeus Wealth Advisors, LLC, Evan Welch. Mark and Evan take this opportunity to discuss what it means to be an effective leader, some of the challenges of being a wealth advisor, and how to get started coaching youth hockey. 

Takeaways:
A common misconception about entrepreneurs is that they are selfish. A good leader puts their team and employees first. 
Making your employees feel appreciated is a key component of retaining your employees. Sustainable employee practices establish long term employee retention. 
How you treat your employees affects how customers enjoy the experience at your business. Your customers can often subconsciously pick up on if your employees are enjoying their job, and that association will affect your customers enjoyment. 
Many investment professionals have moved into the RIA space. RIA’s don’t work on commission, and are held to a legal liability. The combination of those factors make your clients feel more comfortable. 
Technical skills are not enough to run a business alone. Joining a network like EO can help teach you business skills to augment your current knowledge. 
A good leader needs to help their employees understand the why behind the business. Knowing the why will motivate your employees, and provide them with a better sense of direction. 
 
 
Links: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanpwelch1/ 
Website: http://www.antaeuswealth.com/ 

Quote of the Show
“An entrepreneur can not do a good job if they don't have a good team behind them because you can't build a business all by yourself.” - Evan Welch

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/MUtQY_l1aL4 
 
 
Transcript:
Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston chapter of EOS podcast. Today's guest, a financial mastermind. He has 25 years experience as an investment fiduciary. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal Investors Business Daily and Bloomberg, just to name a. Partner, chief Investment Officer at NTAs Wealth Advisors L L C.
Please meet Evan Welch. 
Evan Welch: Hi everybody. How you Ben? I'm great. I'm great. Well, I'm excited for 2023. 
Mark Stiles: Awesome. You ready for the question? I'm ready. What is a common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur? Go 
Evan Welch: so. I think a common misconception about leadership and business owners and entrepreneurs is that they are selfish.
Um, particularly among those who are not business owners or entrepreneurs. Um, I think that, you know, a good leader puts their team first, puts their employees first, and those are the firms that that really thrive because frankly, a good leader and a good business owner and an entrepreneur, Do a good job if they don't have a, a, a good team behind them because you can't build a business all by yourself.
It's pretty hard. And, you know, I think a good leader is curious and they help their employees understand the why behind the business. I know we've all heard about that with Apple and some other companies, not just, you know, here's what we do, but, you know, why do we do this? Like, what's the, what's the North Star?
Uh, and, and I think frankly, you know, the. The media is easy

On this episode of Leadership In Action, we are joined by a franchising force to be reckoned with. He’s a new EO member who leverages his  experience and knowledge of franchising, real estate, fitness, and business to create game changing businesses. Welcome to the show, CEO of The DRIPBaR Ben Crosbie. Host extraordinaire Mark Stiles sits down with Ben to learn about his experience as an entrepreneur, the future of franchising, and how Ben is taking The DRIPBaR to the next level. 
 
 
Takeaways:
One of the biggest misconceptions about being an entrepreneur is that it is inherently easy, and that you can become an overnight success.
While success doesn’t happen overnight, franchising is a great way to increase the speed and scale of a business much faster than you normally would. 
As a franchisor, identifying personal overlap with non competing franchises can provide insight into areas for potential markets. Areas with a high concentration of those franchises likely have a high concentration of your target demographic.
Dripbar has taken a “semi-absentee” approach rather than a traditional owner operator approach. While you will still need to spend a few hours a week at a drip bar, much of the work is set up to be done remotely for owners. 
A franchise doesn’t need to be a stand alone physical location. In Dripbar’s case, they have found success inside or adjacent to a health and fitness club, physical therapy office, or multi unit developments.
One challenge with franchising is the different legislation of different areas. International markets, and even different states can have different legal requirements of your franchise. With multiple locations, it is important to dot your i’s and cross your t’s
The use of AI and automation has allowed Dripbar to revamp their franchisee lead process. By automating the early touch points they are able to filter through potential clients more easily, and reduce needed person hours. 
 
 
Links: 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-crosbie-85a59a7/ 
Website: https://www.thedripbar.com/ 

Quote of the Show
“Replication is key” - Ben Crosbie

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/UW7fsOqOOO0
 
Transcript:
Mark Stiles: folks. Welcome back to another episode of Leadership in Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization podcast. Today's guest is an entrepreneurial powerhouse, a franchise veteran, an entrepreneur who leverages his experience and knowledge of franchising real estate, fitness, and business to create game changing businesses.
 
He's a brand new member of EO Boston Chapter. And he is the c e o of Drip bar. Please meet Ben Crosby. Welcome to the show, Ben. 
 
Ben Crosbie: Perfect. Thank you very much. Mark, 
 
Mark Stiles: you ready to be here? Here comes question number one. All right. What is the common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur?
 
Go? 
 
Ben Crosbie: Sure. That's a great question. Um, really to me, the, biggest misconception is that, you're an overnight success in that. It's easy. very few people can, truly recognize, unless you're an entrepreneur and you've done it, how much time and energy it takes for you to, just make your first dollar and then continue to grow the business until it becomes, what everybody hopes that it becomes profitable and successful.
 
So the overnight success, the, long hours, the focus, the unrecognition Along the way, the path and the journey. A lot of times it's the best part of it, most stressful part of it, and le

Welcome back to another episode of Leadership In Action! Joining the show this week is an IT visionary who started her journey into Information Technology over 20 years ago.
Providing both consulting and training, she has over 200 video based courses available for purchase worldwide. Please welcome to the show, Founder and CEO of Sandra Network, Sandra Batakis. Host Mark Stiles sits down with Sandra to learn about the importance of having an easily communicable name, using education and humor to handle conversations with clients, and Sandra’s gardening setup in Maine.

Takeaways:
Many people are drawn to being an entrepreneur because you “get to make your own schedule”. You do get to make your own schedule, but that schedule revolves around running a business.
A lot of people view being an entrepreneur as not having a boss. While you don’t have a traditional manager, both your customers and employees end up being your boss as you have to meet their needs.
It is important to make sure your company name is easily communicable, and that people can spell it and find it easily. 
When you face business challenges, it is tempting to first go to your spouse or friends for advice. While they may be great listeners, and incredibly caring, if they don’t run businesses their advice may fall a little short.
Imposter syndrome is more common than you may think. Those same feelings of inability can provide a powerful tool to help you identify areas to learn more about. 
Despite strides made to improve the gender gap, networking IT still remains a heavily male dominated field.
Having recorded educational content provides value in multiple ways. That content can be used as a marketing tool, but it can also be used as an onboarding tool when implementing new processes at a client of yours. 
 
 
Links: 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SandraNetwork 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandranetwork/ 
Website: https://sandranetwork.com/ 

Quote of the Show
“Anyone who thinks they are permanently on top, is wrong.” - Sandra Batakis

Ways to Tune In:
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2t4Ksk4TwmZ6MSfAHXGkJI
Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/show/leadership-in-action
Google Play - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGVhZGVyc2hpcGluYWN0aW9uLmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4263fd02-8c9b-495e-bd31-2e5aef21ff6b/leadership-in-action
YouTube - https://youtu.be/9UhnUYBv8ew
 
 
Transcript:
Mark Stiles: hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership in Action. This is your Boston chapter of EOS podcast. Today's. Is an IT visionary.
She started her journey into information technology over 28 years ago, providing both consulting and training. She has 200 video-based courses available for purchase worldwide. In 1999, she started her own company with the goal to combine great IT support with user functionality. She's been neo member for under one year. She's the founder and c e O of Sandra Network. Please meet Sandra Patak. Welcome to the show, Sandra.
Sandra Batakis: Thanks, mark. Glad to be here. 
Mark Stiles: Cool. You ready to get right into it? Sure. Let's go. What is a common misconception about leader? Running a business and or being an entrepreneur to you? 
Sandra Batakis: Ah, that's easy. Uh, that it is easy, actually. I guess that is a misconception, , um, that I get to make my own schedule and I seem to have endless vacation time , 
Mark Stiles: so it's easy at the top.
Look at me at the top, I'm at the top. I'm doing it all. 
Sandra Batakis: Absolutely. I stroll in and out what I want, you know, there's, there's no one above me to tell me what to. And, uh, I guess that's pretty wrong, right? Well, so 
Mark Stiles: tell me the reality of it. . 
Sandra Batakis: Well, you know, the reality is I might not make it in the office till, you know, 10, but I've been up since five hitting it, you