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Customer Experience
Keith Lee’s Make-You-Happy Management System didn’t just come about overnight. In 1991, his business was growing rapidly and generating profit, but he decided he didn’t want it to grow anymore. It seemed like the only thing that grew as fast as his business was his headaches. Keith shares about the changes he made that allow him to take breaks from work when he wants and keep the business running smoothly.
Barry Moltz helps small business owners get unstuck. He is a small business expert who helps entrepreneurs grow again by unlocking their long-forgotten potential. With decades of entrepreneurial experience and consulting with other entrepreneurs, Barry has discovered the formula to get stuck business owners unstuck and marching forward. Barry is a nationally recognized speaker on small business and has given hundreds of presentations to audiences ranging in size from 20 to 20,000. In this episode, Barry shares his top predictions for 2023 and what business owners can do to capitalize on the opportunities in the year ahead.
The idea for XION was born when CEO/Founder Dan Fairbanks owned and operated multiple small specialty running shoe stores in the Seattle area. He teamed up with Co-Founder Robert Ivie, and together they developed XION to make it easier for consumers to buy online from local small business retailers.
Zac Garside is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Power Selling Pros. In this episode, Zac discusses how your customer service department can be a profit center – and the effects that great customer service can have across your organization.
We’re taking a look back with host Gordon Henry at key lessons from Winning on Main Street episodes in Q1 2022. We hope these insights and tips can help you if you’re thinking about starting a new business or looking to accelerate growth.
Hank Ebeling is the Owner and Lead Coach at H4 Training. In this episode, Hank shares how his focus on great customer service has given him an edge in the highly competitive fitness industry.
Dominic Rubino is a successful entrepreneur, business coach, and podcaster. He has built, grown, and sold several businesses over the past 20 years, and now he wants to help other entrepreneurs do the same.
Howard Tiersky is the CEO and Founder of FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency. Howard shared his thoughts with us on how small businesses can bridge the digital gap to interact with their customers the way they want to interact.
We’re taking a look back at some of the best Winning on Main Street episodes from 2021. We hope you enjoy and we look forward to bringing you more great content in 2022.
Mitch Joel is the Founder of Six Pixels Group. He's a visionary, digital expert, community leader, and bestselling author. Mitch talked about the power of creating great content and how the business world could change in a post-COVID era.
Human Resources
Margeaux Thomas is the founder of Thomas Law PLC law office located in Fairfax, Virginia. With more than 15 years of experience, she has skillfully represented individuals and small businesses in resolving a wide range of disputes through civil litigation and mediation. Margeaux boasts a strong educational foundation and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Old Dominion Bar Association. She is also an active member of the Northern Virginia Black Attorney's Association, the Federal Bar Association, and a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. Working with an attorney can assist you in proactively managing your risk before falling in a situation where you’re searching for support with a legal dispute. Discover why it’s essential to consider working with an attorney before making a significant contractual commitment.
Paul William Davis hails from County Dublin, Ireland, and he is the Founder and CEO of The Genius Code. As an awarded consultant with three bestsellers under his belt and a diverse background of expertise, Paul is on a mission to help individuals discover their true life's purpose and reach their fullest potential. When you passionately embrace your calling, you become determined to overcome any obstacles or challenges in your path. Businesses are more likely to succeed when their owners are aligned with their core motivations. If you're like many, you may not have yet unearthed your unique source of inspiration in life. Some of us may even reach retirement feeling unfulfilled. Paul shares how unlocking your Genius Role can create a profound transformation in both your personal and professional life.
Hiring employees is a key piece of running any business and an important responsibility for you as the owner or manager. As the employer, it’s critical to ensure you’re getting who and what you think you’re getting. Travis Reiter is the President and Co-Owner of Perfect Fit Background Checks. Travis’s business provides accurate and reliable background screening services tailored to the small and medium-sized business owner’s unique needs. Perfect Fit makes background checks fast, easy, and affordable even for small businesses – and Travis explains how working with Perfect Fit will help you avoid potentially big problems down the road.
Kurt Wilkin is a trusted advisor as well as the founder and managing partner of Bee Cave Capital and Co-Founder of HireBetter. Kurt shares his insights on identifying the skill gaps on your team so that you can make better hiring decisions.
Dr. Kevin Elko has been hired as a performance consultant by organizations ranging from The Philadelphia Eagles and The New Orleans Saints to the Mutual of Omaha. Learn how he approaches connections in both his personal and professional life.
We’re taking a look back at some of the best Winning on Main Street episodes from 2021. We hope you enjoy and we look forward to bringing you more great content in 2022.
Cynthia Blackwell is a powerhouse networker, author, friend, mother, and wife. Cynthia gave us the inside scoop on her new book, The Magical Power of 3, and the transformational insights covered.
Laura Tolhoek, CEO and Founder of Essential HR, knows that when a business faces HR problems, there is no room for ambiguity. Laura shares her insights on how small businesses can attract top talent and build loyalty with their employees.
Dr. Kevin Elko has been hired as a performance consultant by organizations ranging from The Philadelphia Eagles to the Mutual of Omaha. Learn how he approaches connections in both his personal and professional life.
Financials
Today, we’re sharing some big news and some bitter-sweet news. After hosting this podcast for over four years and 200+ episodes, we’re moving on and passing the baton to a new host who will be launching a new show. Thanks to all our loyal listeners and those who contributed to the show. Wishing you all success, and we invite you to check out Jay’s new show, Small Business Quick Wins.
Malcolm Peace is the founder and president of Tsetserra Growth Partners. He’s a native of Austin, TX. He is passionate about assisting family-owned small businesses in building enduring legacies. He specifically works with acquiring and running blue-collar industrial businesses in Texas and working with small business owners to drive long-term growth and profitability. He takes pride in helping family-owned small businesses sustain a lasting legacy. Succession planning is an integral part of his efforts. As a result, he focuses on building businesses up instead of tearing out people and processes.
Crystalynn Shelton, CPA, is a business advisor and a QuickBooks expert who helps small businesses master their finances. As the founder and CEO of Crystalynn Shelton, CPA, she offers financial accounting software training, coaching, and consulting services to clients across various industries. She has been recognized as a QuickBooks Top 100 Pro Advisor and is the author of the best-selling Mastering QuickBooks 2024 series, set to release later this year. In 2010 Shelton opened her own practice, Small Business Development Consulting dedicated to helping small businesses find easy-to-use, accounting solutions that fit within their budget, and train them on more digestible terminology, so they can independently manage their business. Today, Shelton continues to share her passion and knowledge for finance teaching students at UCLA, aspiring to become Certified Public Accountants. With her extensive knowledge and experience, Crystalynn can help you simplify your bookkeeping tasks and optimize your financial perfor
Tim Calise knows how to scale a business – and he’s done it in many different businesses with six business exits under his belt. Tim started young, and by the age of 25, he had successfully raised over $325 million through his first investment company. Tim later served as the “silent #2” at GymLaunch, a leading fitness firm that was recently acquired by American Pacific Group (APG). Today Tim is a business coach, investor, and advisor to over 15 privately held businesses with annual revenues from $250,000 to $10,000,000+. Tim says he was destined to be an entrepreneur from an early age – always looking for a different way to do just about everything. Tim is on a mission to drive up the value of small businesses by crafting stronger products and developing operational and financial systems to improve revenue growth. In this episode, Tim generously shares some of the key ingredients to his recipe for success in various industries.
Jeremy Harbour is the founder and CEO of Unity Group and a globally renowned expert in Mergers & Acquisitions. Unity Group has over two decades of experience and a remarkable track record completing over 150 successful transactions in 11 countries. Jeremy has honed a unique method called agglomeration. This approach involves skillfully pooling together well-managed small businesses, offering them the advantages of going public without sacrificing their distinct company brand and rich culture. Considering that small businesses individually are too volatile to be attractive to most outside investors, Jeremy focuses on crafting small to medium-sized business portfolios with a more manageable risk profile aimed at capturing the attention of wealthy investors. In today’s episode, Jeremy clears up some of the misconceptions about going public, what it takes to go public, and how you can get involved in buying and selling businesses through the Harbour Club.
Ray Drew is a well-recognized Business Development Officer at Fund-Ex Solutions Group and Host of the #1 SBA Podcast: “The Art of SBA Lending.” Ray has established a successful career helping small business owners and investors secure the capital they need. Profitable businesses can take advantage of an SBA 7a loan to enhance their operations, acquire other businesses, or pursue competitive ventures. Fund-Ex Solutions Group is 1 of 14 SBA-licensed direct lenders. Ray explains the advantages of SBA loans, their wide range of applications, and the motives driving entrepreneurs to leverage this financial resource.
Ruth King is a renowned business coach, and consultant who helps entrepreneurs and small business owners increase their profits and cash flow. She is the author of several books, including "The Profitability Master," which reveals the secrets of creating a profitable business in any industry. Ruth has over 40 years of experience helping small businesses profit and understand the importance of their finances, accounting, and operations. Ruth is extremely passionate about sharing her knowledge and expertise with others. She offers online courses, coaching programs, and live events to help her clients achieve their goals and dreams. Ruth explains why it is crucial to understand the balance sheet as a business owner. Did you know that you can grow yourself out of business?
Doug Houlahan is Chief Commercial Officer at ClickLease. Clicklease is an equipment financing company focused on small businesses. Clicklease makes it faster and easier for small businesses to get the equipment they need. With over 18 years in small and large equipment finance, Doug has helped thousands of businesses grow by financing their equipment. Hear from Doug how ClickLease has helped address this underserved portion of the market. Doug explains why Clicklease’s service is critical to small business owners. For example, while you don’t pay your employees’ wages upfront, many small businesses do pay for their equipment upfront. If being unable to purchase critical equipment is slowing you down, you want to hear this episode.
Chris Joyce is the CEO and founder of Gusher, a startup platform that focuses on successfully launching a company by using time equity. Chris has also founded 24 other companies across a wide range of industries. Having started many companies, Chris kept running into the same issue over and over…the best ideas and entrepreneurs were not getting funded and promising ideas never saw the light of day. Chris shared about his background and how that led to the passion behind his current company, Gusher.
Franchise
Matthew Haller is the CEO and President of the International Franchise Association. The IFA’s mission is to protect, enhance, and promote franchising. Matthew’s team supports the franchise industry by lobbying for policies to support and promote franchise owners on the federal, state, and local levels. Matthew works to provide education on new policies, professional development opportunities, and to promote franchising to the general public. Are you interested in owning a franchise? Tune in for today’s episode to learn why franchising may just be the path you’re looking for – and what you need to watch out for.
Paul Baron is the founder and CEO of The Wall Printer USA, a product that is changing how walls get beautified. Paul is responsible for all executive functions, driving the growth of the corporation and the success of businesses that purchase a Wall Printer. His decades of business experience span B2B, B2C, retail, manufacturing, distribution, international business, and franchising. Paul thrives in rapid growth, high-energy environments and values a diverse culture with good people who like to dream big, work hard, and have fun. He leads with a positive attitude, humor, and humility.
Tom Pabin is the founder and owner of Class 101, a company that provides families with expert guidance on the college search, admissions, and financial aid process. Class 101 is a growing national franchisor. In this episode, we explore the opportunities available in becoming a Class 101 franchisee. Class 101 enables students to get into a great college at a price their family can afford. Tom’s career as a business owner and college/financial planner has spanned almost two decades. In that time, he has helped students and families save millions of dollars on higher education. Working with students across 16 states and doing direct consultation with over 20 high schools, he’s helped more than 2,200 students find their way to college and significantly improved their scores on over 6,000 tests. In his spare time, Tom enjoys traveling and being involved with his son’s basketball teams; he is husband to Christie and father of two boys, Matthew and Thomas.
Craig Jooste is the Co-Founder and CEO of Local Handyman Group, where he developed the model, brand, and franchising systems to take the Local Handyman Group from one location to more than 20 locations across North America. Craig ran operations at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and has extensive experience across the facilities service and consumer services industries. His broad areas of expertise include franchising, franchise viability, brand development, strategic planning, operations management, business development, and business coaching. If you are considering buying a franchise, hear from Craig about how he started and scaled his business.
Jeffrey Krentzman started The BBQ Cleaner, a barbeque grill cleaning business, in 2009 and has overseen its growth to over 270 locations nationwide. For a decade, he’s been helping future entrepreneurs start their own BBQ grill cleaning business by arming them with a proven, turnkey business model.
Jeff Tomaszewski is on a mission to help as many people as possible live a high quality of life into their golden years. Hear from Jeff on his journey to help people live a higher quality of life throughout their golden years.
Jeff started Caring Senior Service as the solution for local and long-distance caregiving. Jeff talks about how to build a business that leaves a legacy and aligns with your passions.
Giuseppe Grammatico is a franchise veteran whose greatest joy is helping people realize the American dream and sharing the freedom that comes from franchising. In this episode, Giuseppe shared his story with us.
Charles Bonfiglio is Chief Executive Officer of Tint World®, a retail automotive accessories and window tinting franchise company. Charles shares how franchising can often be the shortest route into entrepreneurship and the management style that has helped him find success.
Management
Matt Murray is the Founder and CEO of Evolution Mechanical, Inc., which serves the commercial and industrial HVAC/R market. He is also the founder and CEO of Blue Collar King Coaching & Consulting, through which he guides owners and would-be owners of service-based businesses in the blue-collar trades to succeed personally and professionally. As such, Matt’s expertise goes far beyond “just” his technical expertise in the HVAC/R field. Matt is also an expert in leadership, business development, business systems & strategy, operations, strategic planning, sales, and more. Matt runs his life and businesses based on strong core values and is passionate about helping others live happy, successful, and fulfilling lives.
Charles Alexander is the author of the new book Start Now, Quit Later: How to Start and Grow Your Business Without Quitting Your Full-Time Job. The book is a practical guide for aspiring entrepreneurs to start a successful business. Divided into four parts, the book covers topics such as identifying the right time to launch, creating a marketing strategy, and managing a business's legal and financial aspects. Alexander is also the founder and CEO of Your Charles Alexander, an online platform delivering creative animated training videos and marketing content for small businesses. His company also provides personalized coaching to help entrepreneurs initiate and expand their businesses without quitting their full-time commitments. Charles is passionate about helping entrepreneurs reach their goals. He is a Director at the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and has coached thousands of small business owners and aspiring owners. He is also the host of the podcast “Do More By Doing Less.”
John Morlan is the CEO and founder of Smarter Risk. John has been in the insurance and risk management industry for over 20 years. He’s worked with numerous companies, saving them millions of dollars in insurance costs through the development of risk control and safety programs. John believes risk management is a simple formula: reducing your risk of having a claim lowers your insurance cost. His company, Smarter Risk, has developed an app that automates the process of creating these programs, allowing businesses to qualify for the best insurance rates. By putting controls in place to reduce your risk of incidences, you are effectively decreasing your cost of insurance by becoming a healthier operation. Listen to today’s episode to learn more about the unexpected costs you may face if you do not have the correct systems in place to manage your risk, and the importance of risk management.
Coach Juli Shulem, M.S., PCC, CPC, began as an Efficiency Specialist and Professional Organizer decades ago. As a Productivity Coach & Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, she is an expert in dealing with the many challenges of those struggling with more difficult organizing, relationship, professional and personal management issues. Having been an entrepreneur and solopreneur her entire career, most of her clients tend to be entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and corporate leaders worldwide. Learn how Juli helps her clients balance the overwhelming aspects of entrepreneurship and implements systems to improve productivity.
Patrick Hardy is the founder and CEO of Hytropy Disaster Management™, the largest full-service small business and family disaster management company in the US. He leverages his decades of experience to empower large companies, small businesses, families, event planners, and more in the face of any emergency. Patrick is a Certified Emergency Manager®, a Certified Risk Manager®, and a FEMA Master of Exercise®. Patrick has been published or featured in dozens of industry journals, periodicals, and popular media outlets such as Today, Parade Magazine, Yahoo!, and Good Morning America. Listen to Patrick to learn more about why he believes disaster planning is key to a strong business foundation.
Travis Rosbach is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Hydro Flask, the world’s most-used water bottle, and the Tumalo Group, his latest venture where he advises would-be entrepreneurs. Rosbach shares his entrepreneurial journey and how Hydro Flask’s explosive popularity resulted from some things he planned, such as the product’s unique logo and design, and others he didn’t – such as becoming the darling product of the VSCO girls.
Kristina Schlegel is the founder of Make Bake and the creator of 100% edible Stickies™ – that's right, stickers you can eat! Kristina was a product designer in Silicon Valley who took a detour to pastry school and is now on a mission to bring delight to your kitchen. Kristina is a creative product & marketing strategist with a 20+ year track record of creating category-defining products and customer experiences that deliver strategic, measurable growth for businesses. In today’s episode, Kristina takes us behind the scenes of how she broke into a new category, the challenges she faced with packaging, and how she sourced her manufacturing.
PJ Weiland is a certified award-winning coach, speaker, entrepreneur, mentor, and philanthropist. Since 2011, Coach PJ has coached a thousand business owners and executives to accelerate their progress to the next level and achieve their biggest goals. She brings more than two decades of corporate leadership experience in a broad spectrum of industries to guiding her coaching clients with strategic planning, improving their leadership skills, building engaged, high-performing teams, creating effective marketing plans, and managing change. Coach PJ shared her coaching journey and how she pivoted into entrepreneurship.
Jonathan Maynard is the President of Red Door Unlimited, which is the holding company for several brands such as Red Door Pro Wash, Red Door Lighting Company, Company180, & Sun Hands Media. After spending several years in IT, he ventured into entrepreneurship, creating companies from scratch and leading them to 7-figure revenue in a short time.
Marketing
Mark Newsome (a.k.a. Mr. Marketing) is a small business marketing consultant who routinely helps semi-cash-strapped small business owners generate or discover previously hidden profit centers within their business. Mark joins the show to discuss proven and innovative marketing strategies to help cash-strapped businesses generate red-hot prospect lists, stay ahead of the competition, and systematically increase their gross profits with strategic email marketing.
Henry McIntosh is the founder and CEO of Twenty-One Twelve Marketing. Based in the UK but working globally, the firm delivers predictable results for high-ticket businesses in niche sectors looking to scale up to the next level. Henry works with successful B2B and B2C clients, usually in the $1-10 million revenue range. Twenty-One Twelve Marketing focuses on content marketing and synergistic non-competitive partnerships to increase your exposure and deliver consistent growth. He’s helped sell superyachts, written copy for geospatial data engineers, and even helped sell smoke prevention vents. Henry delivers quality results and continues to expand his eclectic client base with compelling marketing strategies.
Jay Schwedelson is the president and CEO of Worldata Group, a multi-brand marketing services company whose portfolio includes SubjectLine.com. Jay is also the founder of Subjectline.com, a leading free subject-line rating tool ranked in the top 1% of all websites worldwide. Jay is a highly sought-after speaker known for using his straightforward and energetic style to present actionable, data-driven marketing best practices. Having a strong subject line in your email campaign is essential to capture your audience’s attention. Jay’s free tool, SubjectLine.com, scores your email subject line and incorporates AI to provide stronger suggestions. Many small businesses struggle to capture the attention of their audience with emails; resulting in poor click-through rates. In today’s episode, you will learn some ways to strengthen your emails, how important it is to leverage this cost-efficient tool, and why you should collect your client’s emails.
Augie Johnston, the Founder and CEO of VidChops, has established a thriving business focused on editing YouTube videos for full-time content creators, thought leaders, and influencers, allowing them to pursue new endeavors. Augie recognized YouTube's potential in late 2010 and found success by specializing in basketball coaching, drawing from his experience as a former professional player. As his channel and platform expanded, he bumped up against an editing bottleneck and set out to solve this challenge for himself and creators alike. Augie, along with his dedicated team, navigate the complexities of YouTube to empower content creators, helping them regain time and boost their viewership through captivating content that grabs the audience's attention.
Gordon Borrell serves as the CEO of Borrell Associates Inc., a leading research and consulting firm focused on media and advertising. The company specializes in delivering data-driven insights and strategic counsel to media entities, advertisers, and industry stakeholders. His research and analysis have proven invaluable to media companies seeking to thrive in a dynamic media environment, enabling them to align their marketing strategies with evolving consumer behaviors and technological shifts. Advertising plays a very important role in the success of businesses across all industries. As Gordon aptly puts it, "Are you allocating enough of your revenue to marketing? Are you targeting the right audience? Do you have the optimal mix of marketing channels? Avoid aimless efforts; ensure you have a clear target and the right tools."
Howard Wolpoff is the Chief Marketing Strategist at Profit Master Business Solution. Howard is a Measurable Marketing Solutionist with over 25 years of experience helping hundreds of businesses create profitable solutions to drive sales, attract and maintain customers, and build a solid corporate brand. It’s important to note that you don’t need to carry the weight of figuring out your marketing strategy alone. Howard generously shares steps you can take to identify your ideal clients and the strategies to make them repeat customers. Tune in to learn the importance of meeting your customers where they are.
Dean Mercado is the founder and CEO of Online Marketing Muscle (OMM). OMM helps small businesses automate their repetitive sales and online marketing task. Through popular demand, business owners wanted to learn “how to fish for themselves” and evolve their strategies to grow their business to the next level. Dean is very passionate about coaching small businesses. Dean emphasizes identifying what you want and why you want it! Systems are important to help you solve your what and why; is it repeatable, can we make it more efficient? Tune in to learn the importance of having strong fundamentals and the right perspective!
Kevin O’Connor has been hosting the Emmy Award-winning series This Old House and Ask This Old House since 2003. He is the host of the podcast Clearstory, published a book The Best Homes of This Old House, and has hosted shows for the DIY and History’s H2 networks. The show has inspired millions to renovate their homes and showcased the work done by home contractors around the country. Kevin shares a bit of his story, how he ended up on the show and some insider information any small business can use to grow.
Mike Vannelli is the Creative Director at Envy Creative. In his role, Mike leads a production team to film online and TV commercials and explainer videos for brands, products, and businesses. As Mike shares, there is a lot involved in creating the perfect video, and Envy has everything you need for the whole process, including a film studio, actors, filming equipment, and an entire creative team. Hear tips on how small businesses can leverage videos to increase their brand exposure and get their message in front of potential customers.
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