Business Machine: Recent Episodes
Brian Town
Author of the book “Personality Marketing: Join Your Industry’s A-List by Embracing Your Inner Nerd” and the upcoming book, “The Crisis of the Ordinary: What to Do If You Secretly Wish for More Than What You’ve Got,” Brittany has a passion for helping people remember how to DREAM BIG (and then giving them the strategic marketing steps to turn those big dreams into realities.
Mother of 4 and self-professed musical theatre and personal development nerd, she spends her days mashing her clients’ “inner potatoes” until they’re magically delicious.
Mission: Brittany wants to make sure that people know to figure out what you want as an entrepreneur, and then help them form a plan to make it possible. She then helps you learn what the market wants and how it aligns with what you want.
Mistake: Brittany struggled with remembering as a leader that this a business first, so hiring friends and family as employees sometimes made things more challenging, as it made it harder to say no to them. She also recommends to not tell your team everything that is on your mind because it may get confusing, and learn to filter your thoughts through a spouse or friend first before talking to your team.
Recommended:
Quote: "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Book: Working with the Law
Eat with: Tony Robbins
Can't Live without: Asana, Slack and Google Calendar
Contact:
nerdygirl.co
Facebook - The NerdSpace
Facebook - Nerds for Life
Legacy: People will learn how to mash their "inner potatoes", and that mashing potatoes will become a common practice in households across the world.
Mikael Dia is a digital marketing expert and founder of Funnelytics, a software company helping entrepreneurs and marketers convert traffic into more profit. Passionate about helping entrepreneurs scale their business in a faster and more efficient way, Mikael developed a simple, visual tool for entrepreneurs and marketers to understand the numbers in their marketing at a glance in order to easily fix the holes and optimize what’s working. Using this method, Mikael scaled one of his businesses form $2,500 / month to $5,000 dollars per day in revenue, and has helped countless clients grow at a similar quick rate as well. Mikael has grown his marketing agency, White Coat Digital to over a Million dollars in revenue in just 18 months. Originally from Montreal, Mikael lives with his wife and 18-month old daughter in Toronto, Canada.
Mission: Mikael turns advertising to profit. He builds marketing funnels to help businesses find their dream customers and helps to convert them into paying customers. Mistake: Even though he's made so many, Mikael tells people not to shy away from making mistakes. He says that the pain of making mistakes helps people grow and develop a thicker skin as an entrepreneur. Recommended: Quote: "You are the average of the five people you spend time with." -Jim Rohn Book: Ready, Fire, Aim Eat With: LeBron James Can't Live Without: Slack Contact: www.funnelytics.io Facebook LinkedIn The Dia Project
Richard Chapo is a business lawyer in San Diego who has been practicing for 25 years. Richard advises small and large online businesses on how best to comply with laws such as copyright and FTC regulations. Richard is a massive hockey fan and avid traveler having lived in such exotic locations as Siberia. Richard can be reached through his website SoCalInternetLawyer.com.
Mission: Richard is dedicated to helping businesses grow by helping them minimize the risk of doing business online. This way, they can then focus on the aspects of the business that they originally started it for.
Mistake: He wishes he hadn't waited so long to take the risk and do what he liked rather than dealing with the higher stresses of a job he didn't love for a decade. He also warns business owners against starting multiple projects at the same time before seeing if their first one will pan out.
Recommendations: Quote: "Never promise to do the possible. Anyone could do the possible. You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible. And if you failed, well, it was always impossible to start with." - Terry Pratchett
Book: Will It Fly?
Eat With: Elon Musk
Contact: SoCalInternetLawyer.com LinkedIn
Legacy: He hopes to be remembered as someone who helped his clients grow and kept them out of trouble. He also hopes to be remembered by his family and friends as someone who, when bad times hit, he was able to be counted on.
Known as the “Olivia Pope of the Midwest”, Camille D. Jamerson is the Senior Principal Consultant as well as President and CEO of CDJ &Associates. CDJA is a boutique business management consulting firm that specializes in Strategy, Branding, PR & Content. She is also the Founder of a new lifestyle brand, The Camille Company which features a behind the scenes look at balancing your personal life and entrepreneurial ventures. Its tagline is #LetsDoLifeTogether.
Camille has been quoted nationally in the New York Post, USA Today, Yahoo Travel, Costco Connection, CEO Blog Nation, NCR and Successful Meetings. Locally, she has been featured in Crain’s Detroit Business, Hour Magazine & Metro Times.
Eventually leaving behind a 6-figure salary and longtime career, Ms. Jamerson formalized CDJ & Associates with nothing but faith, her confidence in her skill sets and her hand-picked team. The firm formally announced its opening at their 300-person black tie formal launch event and within 30 days of launch CDJA landed two major contracts and was sought after for proposals on numerous others. The company has experienced exponential growth ever since.
Additionally, Ms. Jamerson is an award-winning author of two books and a freelance writer of numerous published articles and white papers. She is a former international beauty pageant Queen and a nationally featured public speaker. Camille is also the founder of The Mogul Makers Entrepreneur & Leadership Symposium which is held in August.
Camille is certified through Harvard University, graduating with honors and receiving executive certifications in business, leadership, and management. She is also trained and certified through the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] for crisis and disaster management.
Camille loves the theater. She enjoys traveling both domestically and internationally as well as reading. Most importantly, she is a wife and mom and lives in Oakland County Michigan with her family.
Mission: She hopes to use her business management consulting firm to fill the holes of your business's needs, and to be the answer to your business's issues. In other words, she hopes to be known as "The Answer Woman."
Mistake: Camille wishes she hadn't traded her time for money. She wishes she had handled billing and invoicing better, and restructured how she billed people, as there were times she looked at her packages and realized it was too much offered for too little return financially.
Recommendations: Quote: "In all thy getting, get a book." "What you want is on the other side of what you won't do."
Book: Finish
Eat With: Richard Branson
Contact: Rima - Info@CDJAndAssociates.com www.CDJAndAssociates.com (401) 402-0754
Legacy: She hopes her kids and grandkids will look at what she did and know the price she had to pay to get there, and will respect the process and the risks it took to get there. They will then be able to respect and honor their own processes to accomplish what they set out to do as well.
Conference Event Details:
Mogul Makers Entrepreneurial & Leadership Symposium August 2nd-3rd Detroit Metro Area CDJAndAssociates.com/MMELS-Symposium
A decade ago, Josh embarked on a one-man quest to stop spending so much freaking money on groceries-- and so transformed himself into America’s coupon-crusading “Savings Angel.”
With a little bit of his own PR fairy dust (thanks to his U.S. Navy journalist experience), he became an influencer with his digital consumer advocacy and lifestyle brand SavingsAngel.com which has grossed more than $6 million in sales with less than $500 spent in advertising. Yes, he literally dropped more $$ on toner for the office printer!
Today he's:
· A well-known influencer in the Startup PR space · The host of an iTunes chart-topping podcast · A syndicated newspaper columnist with a reach of over 1.1 million readers · A sought-after keynote & workshop speaker · Media guest clocking over 2000 TV, radio, and podcast appearances.
And NOW, he takes all the PR magic tricks, ancient wisdom and special sauce recipes that got him here - and sets them all free!
Mission: Josh is passionate about turning thoughtful entrepreneurs into media celebrities, increasing their authority, their influences, and their revenue.
Mistake: When he switched from solo practitioner to having multiple leaders under him, he had to learn quickly to take a step back and let his leaders make some decisions instead of making all of the final decisions in the company without listening to them first. He also learned to attract people who could fill-in areas of expertise, and also learned from his fear of selling and overcoming the lies he believed about selling to people.
Recommendation: Quote: "A person is just about as happy as he or she makes up their mind to be." Abraham Lincoln Book: The Miracle Morning Eat With: Napoleon Hill
Contact: UpMyInfluence.com SavingsAngel.com LinkedIn Twitter
Legacy: Josh hopes to help everyone realize that they are the person that the world has been waiting for, and to help them take advantage of the resources they have to make it happen.
While early in his career, Jeff Sass was making B-movies. He has spent more recent years in the C-suite as a COO, CEO, and currently as CMO for .CLUB Domains. With a career spanning the entertainment, computer-game, mobile, and Internet worlds, he has written and produced for film and TV, and he has been a tech start-up entrepreneur. A graduate of Cornell University, Jeff is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship, mobile marketing, domain names, and social media, and has had articles appear in FORBES, ENTREPRENEUR, AdAge, and many other publications. As the father of three, he has also been a prolific “dad blogger,” participating in influencer campaigns for brands including Intel, Sony, Ford, LG, Asus, and others. Despite this seemingly successful career, Jeff Sass is happy to admit that everything he knows about business and marketing, he learned from The Toxic Avenger.
Mission: Jeff is a passionate marketing guy who hopes to help businesses gain traffic to their sites by supplying them the best domain name extension for their business's individual purposes.
Mistake: He stresses the importance of having a backup plan for when Plan A doesn't end up working out. He also tells others not to wait and to trust their guts when it comes to certain decisions.
Recommendations: Quote: "If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough." -Mario Andretti Book: Good to Great Eat With: Guillermo del Toro and Greg Glassman
Contact: Get.Club or Names.Club ToxicAvenger.Marketing For Book EverythingIKnowAbout.Marketing JeffreySass.com or JeffreySass.Club Twitter
Legacy: Jeff hopes to inspire and help as many people as possible, including his children. He also wants his children to become good, happy people and good citizens. Mostly, though, he wants them to be happy.
With 20 years of Six Sigma and Lean experience in high profile fields such as government, pharmaceutical manufacturing, aerospace, and healthcare, Bernie has developed and fine-tuned his skills to bring effective process change to any and all levels of an organization. As a Six Sigma and Lean Black belt, and now as the CEO and founder of ProcessPro, he is taking his knowledge and experience and bringing it to all businesses who are striving to raise their business to the next level by creating consistency and reliability within every process.
Mission: Bernie is passionate about helping businesses create processes that make daily practices run smoother for every employee. This makes it easier for every customer to receive the same experience when they walk through the doors, and every new employee to have everything they need to start immediately.
Mistake: He hopes to show that people need to find a new process to fix problems in the business if the processes they are currently using are not fruitful. He also is glad he started being transparent in his lack of knowledge in various areas so he could ask the right questions to clients, therefore helping cement their new processes further.
Recommendations: Quote: "What you permit, you promote." Book: "The E Myth." "Traction." Eat With: Oprah Winfrey
Contact: ProcessPro.net Bernie.adams@processpro.net
Legacy: Bernie wants his kids to remember that they were loved, that there was someone who did everything he could for them, and that they can make this world a better place based on what he did with it today.
Dave Jackson is an award-winning podcaster who has been podcasting since 2005.
He is a featured/keynote speaker at events, author of the book "More Podcast Money," and has served as the Director of Podcasting for the New Media Expo.
He also works at Libsyn.com, the largest Podcast Media Hosting Company in the world.
He is best known for founding the School of Podcasting and helping hundreds of podcasters launch successful podcasts.
Mission: Dave focuses on helping people create their own podcasts by focusing on why they should start their podcast and how they should do so.
Mistake: He wishes he hadn't put as much effort on his early website without researching to see if anyone else was doing something similar at the time, thus realizing too late that others were doing similar and doing it better. He also wishes he hadn't bought a very good radio microphone without learning at first how it picks up every tiny sound, and thus never uses it.
Recommended: Quote: "If you act the way you wanna be, someday you will be the way you act." Books: Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, Will It Fly? Eat With: Henry Ford
Contact: SchoolOfPodcasting.com
Legacy: He hopes to have helped further podcasting as a pioneer who had fun while he was doing it, while also believing in value and integrity.
Alexandria believes in creating purposeful communities where people feel a sense of belonging and are empowered to create real human connection.
Alexandria’s why led her to become an advocate for incorporating the human element back into modern business practices. Her leadership and teaching on these principles has earned her recognition by top leaders within Central Florida. She is the co-founder of Purpose Pioneers, a purpose-first company that empowers organizations to help their employees find meaning in their work and customers find meaning in their purchases.
Alexandria’s background is in communication, executive coaching, and community engagement. She specializes in leadership development, methodology & framework design, and purpose alignment.
Alexandria has coached for the University of Central Florida, the largest college in the nation, in a variety of their departments including the College of Business Administration, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Rosen College of Hospitality Management. She is a 2016 BizVenture Competition winner and 2017 BizVenture Coach for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation. She is a graduate of Starter Studio, Orlando’s leading tech accelerator, where she founded her first venture, community engagement company, myLoop.
Mission: She hopes to help businesses find meaning and fulfillment in everything they do in real time, instead of waiting for fulfillment through the paychecks they collect or special events that may occur. She also hopes to lead people towards a purpose-first mindset to help both their employees and their customers find meaning.
Mistake: Alexandria wishes she had focused on listening to people around her so she could supply them with this awesome service in a way that they could have easily digested sooner.
Recommended: Quote: "When you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." -Ralph Emerson Book: The Purpose Economy Eat With: (Dead) Steve Jobs (Alive) Simon Sinek and Tony Robbins
Contact: Facebook PurposePioneers.com Alexandria@purposepioners.com
Legacy: She hopes to have a voice, not only for the world but also for her generation, telling everyone that unlocking your potential and living a purposeful life the way you want to live it is 100% possible.
College Sweethearts and now Business partners, this husband & wife team are owners of 3 very different businesses. While running their real estate business, wine & liquor store, and coaching & training business for entrepreneurs, they've also raised two energetic youngsters. They believe in integrating life and business and focus on helping entrepreneurs build their ideal lifestyles.
Mission: Tom and Ariana focus on helping people gain something more out of life than what is the "normal" thing to do. They help those people clarify what that "something more" is and help them start a business that will create that ideal life for them.
Mistake: In an early mistake, they did not keep communication open between the two of them so they weren't always on the same page, such as not discussing what each wants for the future, their goals, etc.
Recommendations: Quote: Tom's favorite is "Keep moving forward." Ariana's is "Just be yourself." Book: Tom's recommendation is "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." Ariana's recommendation is "For Better or For Work." Eat With: Ariana would love to eat with Ellen DeGeneres. Tom would love to eat with anyone!
Contact: TomAndAriana.com/BM
Legacy: Arianna hopes to show her kids that they need to have open minds when it comes to what they can accomplish and do as they grow into who they are. Tom hopes to be remembered as an awesome person who inspired others to do great things.
Akshay Nanavati is a Marine Corps veteran, author, speaker and entrepreneur.
Through his new book, Fearvana and his coaching programs, Akshay draws on his expertise around understanding fear. He's dedicated his life to helping people reframe fear so that they can accomplish their goal and live limitless lifestyles.
Mission: Helping people recognize and acknowledge their fears so they may be able to work with them and therefore empower them to do great things.
Mistake: He wishes that he didn't try to rush himself while he compaired himself with others. He should have acknowledged that he was compairing, and instead grew more patient in advancing his business based on what he saw.
Recommendations:
Books: Success Principles Peak Buddha's Brain
Eat With: Richard Branson
Get In Touch: fearvana.com
YouTube
Legacy: He hopes to help people truly make their lives better by finding the meaning and gifts in the struggle.
Sarah Anne Stewart was thrown into the world of wellness as a teenager when her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her family made a choice – to fight back with alternative medicine. Seven months later, her father was declared cancer-free, and a spark was lit in Sarah that propelled her to dedicate her life to spreading the healings her family had discovered. Today, Sarah runs one of New York City and LA’s leading private coaching practices, as a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner (AADP), with a primary focus on nutrition and permanent weight loss. Her heart-centered approach has allowed hundreds to reach their health goals naturally, without ‘crash’ dieting. Sarah is also the founder of the Holistically Slim Movement, an in-demand public speaker, and author of the e-course, “Meditate Slim”.
Mission: Sarah works with women to help them reprogram their subconscious patterns around food and their bodies so they may be able to lose weight easier. She hopes to help them see what is holding them back from losing weight, stopping them from conquering their eating disorder, or making them uncomfortable with going out so they can get through it.
Mistake: She wishes she had not attended business school to become an entrepreneur, since the courses didn’t seem to align with what she needed to go down that path. She also wishes she did not hide behind her story for so long.
Recommended:
Quote: “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion, and if you’re not passionate about something, don’t do it.”
Books: Three Billion Under 30 Beautiful Money
Eat with: Kris Carr
Technology: Grammarly and Evernote
Contact: SarahAnneStewart.com/Free About Sarah Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube
Legacy: Sarah hopes to change the conversation surrounding weight loss and eating disorders. She also hopes to inspire the next generation to rethink social media, how we lose weight, and our body image, and hopes to keep the conversation going so people look outside of the “traditional dieting” methods so they can be inspired to lose weight healthily.
Bedros Keuilian is a best-selling author, speaker and business consultant. He's the founder and CEO of Fit Body Bootcamp, one of the nation’s fastest growing franchises and an investor in over a dozen companies ranging from software, digital ad agencies and coaching and consulting services.
He's known as the hidden genius that entrepreneurs, best-selling authors and thought leaders turn to when they want to create high level mastermind and coaching programs, quickly scale their businesses.
His sales, marketing, and business systems are the secret weapon used by thousands of successful digital marketers and entrepreneurs who want to reach more high paying clients and customers without the use of unpredictable or sleazy marketing tactics.
An immigrant from a communist country turned hugely successful entrepreneur, Bedros uses the stage, TV and social media platforms to share his personal Immigrant Edge and American Dream story to help inspire audiences worldwide to reach their fullest potential.
Mission: Bedros hopes to teach that at first it is about the hustle and grind to start your business, but the smart entrepreneur knows that after some time, it's about scale and strategy. He also strives to let people know how it is easier than ever to strive towards the American Dream in terms of resources, it only becomes more difficult because of the transparency so many customers want when looking into businesses.
Mistakes: He had started selling supplements online far before many people used the Internet, thus he lost $55,000 because the business was too far ahead of its time. He also started an online subscription when no one knew, liked, or trusted him, and thus he lost $126,000. He also brought in a business partner that did not do well with the company, and urges entrepreneurs to only add a partner if they bring a specialized skill or knowledge that they do not possess or care to possess to help strengthen the business.
Recommendations:
Quotes: "Circumstance does not change responsibility." -Doug "How you do anything is how you do everything." -T. Harv Eker
Book: Outwitting the Devil
Dinner With: The Rock or Oprah Winfrey
App/Tech: Gmail and Google Calendar
Tip: Don't bang your head against the wall trying to figure out where the door is. Someone has already gone through the door. Find the mentor, pay them, get the wisdom, and move on.
Contact: BedrosKeuilian.com Facebook Instagram
His Book: Man Up, Cut Your Bullshit, Dominate Your Path. Comes out Fall 2018.
Legacy: He wants his kids to remember that their dad was a good man who taught them how to serve.
On this episode, Justin talks about his new corporate program at Jackson National Life and how he runs both the smaller program and his main program at State of Fitness.
Contact: MyStateOfFitness.com GrinnellTraining.com Instagram
On this episode, Justin Grinnell talks about his internship program, why he started it, how he came up with the program, and how to recruit interns.
Contact: MyStateOfFitness.com GrinnellTraining.com Instagram
Justin's Book: How to Develop a Rockstar Internship Program
On this episode, Justin talks about getting started on your fitness journey by participating on the 21 Day Challenge.
Contact: MyStateOfFitness.com GrinnellTraining.com Instagram
On this episode, Leigh talks about helping people find their meaning in life while also discovering who they want to be in life. He helps people with speaking, coaching, writing, and podcasting.
Mistake: He wants to make sure people don't get carried away with their dreams and ambitions, and hopes people question what they are doing and think about if it is giving meaning in their lives.
His Book: Delegate to Freedom
Recommendations:
Books: Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Waking Up
Eat with: Richard Branson
Contact: TheHiddenWhy.com thehiddenwhyguy@gmail.com
Legacy: He hopes to give enough to others to benefit their lives because nothing else will come with him when he passes. He also hopes to give as much as he can and help as many people as he can while still alive.
Susan is an entrepreneur, brain and cognitive scientist, and food psychologist. She's a Ph.D, and author of the new book Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin, & Free.
She built her business to over $6MM in revenue (with a 300k+ list) in under a year. She's an expert on the neuroscience of weight loss, willpower, and food addiction and helped more than 4,000 people in 63 countries lose a collective 133,000 pounds.
Mission: Susan hopes to show people how their brain blocks them from losing weight so they can be more successful in losing it and keeping it off.
Mistake: She wishes she didn't hire people without meeting them first.
Her Book: Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin & Free
Recommendations:
Quote: "There's always time for what's most important. That's not a slogan, it's a truism. It's just true. There's always time for what's most important." -Ryan Eliason
Book: Triggers
Contact: BrightLineEating.com SusanPeirceThompson.com
Legacy: Susan hopes that anyone, anywhere, who's desperate to get off their weight and change their relationship with food and live free, knows about Bright Line Eating and that there's a roadmap to have access to it. She also hopes society recognizes the addictive pull of flour and sugar, and thus realizes that not all people react to them the same way and we all need to be accepting of a person's struggle with them.
Adam Linkenauger is a former ACC Champion athlete and coach turned serial entrepreneur. Owner of the world leader in basketball training, I Love Basketball and Authority Online. Adam is the creator of several six and seven figure businesses, and is also a premium marketing and authority consultant to multiple industry leaders. His specialty is building large, passionate communities around businesses and/or influencers to create market celebrities.
Mission: Adam runs online businesses that publish and sell information, such as I Love Basketball and Authority Online.
Mistake: He has worked himself to the point that he was burnt out, in bed all day and unable to work. Now he knows how to eat and live healthier to avoid those burnouts.
Recommendations:
Book: Ask, Advertising Secrets of the Written Word
Quote: "If not you, then who? If not now, then when?"
Eat With: Mark Cuban
App/Tech: Slack
Contact: ILoveBasketballTraining.com I Love Basketball TV (YouTube) I Love Basketball Facebook Authority Online Personal Facebook
Legacy: From within his business, he hopes that he changed a lot of lives by having people do what they loved when they decided to put their lives within his vision so he could give back to them. As for his clients, he hopes the majority knew that he was thoughtful, helpful, sincere, and made a difference in their lives.
Carolin is a well respected business coach, specializing in helping passion-driven women bring their skills to the world and launch thriving online coaching businesses with international reach, make an impact, and create free and abundant lives. She's built a seven figure business while maintaining a healthy work-life balance b/c she's so dedicated to being fully present with her two young boys.
Mission: Helping women create the life of their dreams by empowering them and giving them the tools they need to do just that.
Mistake: When she first started, she spent her first year-and-a-half tied to her desk, working alone and focusing on doing things cheaply instead of with quality. It was fear that held her back from quitting her corporate job and committing fully to her business, and because of that her personal relationship with her family, her business, and her sanity suffered.
Recommendations: -Book: Think and Grow Rich
-Quote: “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it! Begin it now.” - William Hutchison Murray
Eat With: Tony Robbins and Mark Zuckerberg
App/Tech: Facebook Messanger, Calendar
Contact: Carolinsoldo.com
Legacy: She hopes to show her boys that she took some risks, even when it wasn't always easy, and she worked hard to succeed, even if she didn't always do so. She wants them to feel that they are limitless and free to do what they want to, whether that means college or just finding a job, and to go for what they are driven to do.
Charlene Gilman is a Business Executive Sage for Life Excellence, Author, Trainer, and Podcaster.
Charlene is dedicated to the concept that development is both a business tool and a life tool. As a strategic, visionary thinker, she has a passion for inspiring people, at all levels, to optimize their full potential while maintaining a focus on living a balanced life.
Charlene Gilman holds a Masters in Business Administration and published her book - WAKE UP! BREAK RULES!
For fun…Charlene enjoys fly fishing with her husband, hiking, camping and spending time in the mountains.
Mission: She hopes to change others' lives for the better through life excellence coaching. She also hopes to help people to live up to what they think their standard of living should be today and elevating it to the next level for themselves for the future.
Mistake: Wishing that she didn't let her ego weigh her down so that she couldn't give all she has to offer.
Recommendations:
Quote: "Knowing others is intelligence, but knowing yourself is true wisdom." - Lao-Tzu
Best Book: Outwitting the Devil
Eat With: Richard Branson
App/Tech: Email
Contact: My Time is Now (Podcast) Executive Edgeworks charlene@execedgeworks.com (469) 964-4299
Legacy: Charlene hopes to teach people to take responsibility for themselves, their actions, and who they spend their time with. Through that she hopes to build a platform so that those people can teach others to do the same as well.
Lisa Larter is a high school drop-out who worked her way up the corporate ladder until her entrepreneurial spirit took over in 2006. Since then, Lisa has built and sold companies and generated millions of dollars in sales. She spends the bulk of her time helping others develop strategies for building profitable businesses. Lisa's clients have said that she's a rarity because she understands business strategy, and how to leverage social media by turning connections into paying customers.
Mission: Lisa wishes to help business owners with sales and marketing strategies so that they can build successful businesses and get from where they are now to where they want to be.
Mistake: She wants to make sure that business owners know what "sunk costs" mean, and how to remedy it so it no longer negatively effects their businesses in the long run.
Recommendations:
Quote: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt; "If I observed all the rules, I never would have gotten anywhere." -Marilyn Monroe
Book: Pilots to Profit
Tech/App: InfusionSoft
Eat With: Tony Robbins and Oprah Winfrey
Contact: Lisalarter.com, Lisalarter.com/book, Lisalarter.com/blog
Legacy: She hopes to inspire millions of people to build successful businesses and not feel bad while they make the money they deserve.
Today on the Fitness Machine, Justin talks about eating fats and what is good fat versus bad fat.
We need to eat good, healthy fats to lose weight. * There's a central fatty acid that the body needs that we can't produce, only consume * Eating healthy fats keeps body satisfied, balances hormones, and gives energy
Paleo * Don't eat processed food. * It consists of eating only meat and veggies.
Justin's favorite fat: * Coconut Oil: A saturated fat that everyone needs for brain development.
Sugar: Yay or nay? * Sugar is sugar, though how the body takes it depends on what the source is * Blueberries have other properties other than sugar to help keep you healthy, so good thing to have * Really only need about 2 servings of fruit a day * Sugar alcohol (or any sugar substitute) is generally bad for you and needs to be done in moderation
Morning breakfast for good fat: * Greek yogurt with almonds and blueberries.
Eat smaller portions throughout the day. * Stay away from large meals at lunch! * The serotonin release that comes after eating causes a crash afterwards, thus having a large meal before bed is more beneficial to your health and your energy throughout your day.
Fasting in afternoon: * Not for everyone * With the insulin that is released upon eating, avoiding that and the crash throughout the day can keep the energy going longer * Getting all of your calories at night won't have you gaining weight as long as you're not obtaining too many calories
Good fatty dinner: * Eating a grass-fed beef burger with avocado, ketchup, and mustard, a sweet potato or sweet potato fries on the side, and a side of salad or broccoli. * The basics: A protein, veggie, and a potato, fries or fats (like avocado or nuts).
To get in touch for more information and a 30 Day Trial: * Mystateoffitness.com * Facebook
Today on Business Machine is Amanda Goldman-Petri, founder of MarketLikeANerd.com. Amanda is an internationally renowned “Work Smarter, Not Harder” Online Marketing Coach for entrepreneurs who want to maximize their profits while minimizing the amount of time and effort they put into their business. After overcoming poverty, child abuse, rape, teen pregnancy, and near death, Amanda was able to persevere and create her first $10K month within 4 months at the age of 22. She generated over $150K in her next business within 4 months at the age of 23, and in her first Market Like A Nerd launch she generated over $120K in 90 days while also expanding her business to 19 different countries.
She has helped clients turn $700 into $100K using Facebook ads, $300 into $16K using webinars, and sell out coaching programs completely within 90 days using free Facebook Group marketing strategies. Amanda has featured on major media outlets such as Small Business Trendsetters, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, The Huffington Post, Worth Magazine, International Business Times (and more) for her unique and nerdy approach to marketing. If you want to discover how to make more money while working less so you can screw hustle, screw sacrifice, and create a financially-free life full of impact and freedom, Amanda is the expert you need to talk to.
Mission: Geek out with business owners about how they can make more money while doing less.
Mistakes: Amanda wishes she had put systems in place while she was starting out so she wasn't overworking herself while trying to make money, and instead trying to focus on how to make her business better as well. She also wishes she had managed her money properly so she wasn't as in debt as she ended up being in the beginning.
Recommendations:
Book: No BS Direct Marketing
Quote: “What’s possible has been done. What’s impossible must be done."
Eat with: Russell Brunson
Can’t Live Without Tech: Zoho Projects
Contact:
marketlikeanerd.com
The Balanced Entrepreneur: marketlikeanerd.com/invite
Legacy: Hopes that she will obliterate the hustle mentality.
Today on the Fitness Machine, Justin talks about injuries and how to work-out through them so you can continue to stay fit and healthy.
What is being fit? * Being able to perform tasks through every day life and feel good while doing it.
How to stay healthy and fit through injury: * Do Physical Training * Strengthen the parts of your body that aren't injured * Stay active so it won't be difficult to return to later * Have an end goal and keep it in mind while working out to stay with it through the rough times
Is there ever a time that we have reached a goal and thus can stop working out? * Can never stop getting better at staying healthy * There is no such thing as a "fast result." It takes time * It's okay to mess-up every now and then, just get back into it and keep going * Take it one day at a time. It takes every day to improve and keep going
Bottom line: If you're injured, you can still likely work-out and improve your health. Don't let it defeat you!
Today on the Fitness Machine podcast, Justin talks about where he thinks fitness will be within the next ten years.
For the next ten years: * He hopes to see that the mindset of working out for weight loss lessens, and instead is replaced with a "Functional Training" mindset. * He hopes to find that more people are looking to use movement to work out so they can stay generally fit.
In ten years, he sees State of Fitness as: * Opening more space for people * More climbing and obstacle courses * Keeping the Dumbbells, Kettlebells, and Barbell training * Keiser Unit for cables will likely be taken out * Keep Cardio Machines and bikes * Getting rid of treadmills so people can go walk and run outside
Corporate Wellness: * Smaller businesses are now using gyms and wellness benefits for recruiting * People are getting to know one another while working out
Core Values in Fitness that won't change: * Customer Service - Wanting to making people feel safe and welcome while being there and working out. * Online Marketing and Content - Bringing people into the door by having a strong, professional and trustworthy online presence.
For more on Planet Fitness, visit: * Justin@mystateoffitness.com (Email him today for a chance to win a FREE 30 day trial!) * Mystateoffitness.com * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest * Snapchat
Look for challenges to help guide you on your journey to fitness as well!
Why Kettlebells are a good idea to have on your exercise regime.
Kettlebells can be used anywhere, including business trips. They are the most versatile and useful tools for anyone at any level, and are good to have around when you need something portable that can keep you exercising.
Exercises: * The Hinge: If done correctly, it should really be working your core and hips without harming your back, as many believe it could do. Good exercise for weight loss. * The Carry: This can be done with many things, though a Kettlebell is more useful and easier for this exercise.
Jump rope is another good exercise to do because it: * Helps improve posture. * Brings back muscle mass and bone density. * Is good cardio if you can't do much of that anymore due to an injury.
Which Kettle Bells should the average person start with? * Men: 16 or 24 kilo Kettlebells is what you want to get to. If just starting out, then go for the 12 kilo to begin. * Women: 8, 12, or 16 kilo Kettlebells are what you want to go for. 8 and 12 would be good for Presses and Rows. 12 may also be for Swings and Goblet Squats. * Ages 55 - 70: Kettle Swings are good depending on mobility and joint stiffness. Can generally begin a Kettlebell Deadlift exercise after making sure body is ready for it, then can add weight to it based on how you're improving.
Today on the Business Machine we have Tom Schwab. Tom is a Michigander Navy Veteran who is a self-identified "Marketing Engineer." He is an author, speaker, and teacher who helps you get more traffic, leads, and raving customer fans by being interviewed on podcasts--like this one!
Mission:
He hopes to show people the importance of podcasts and how they can help spread the word of what you're doing as a business, and turning listeners into leads by connecting with them on more of an one-on-one basis.
Mistake:
He wishes he didn't have such a strong case of "Superman Syndrome" when he first started out, and instead allowed others to do what he really couldn't do all the time.
Recommendations:
Book: Thou Shalt Prosper
Quote: "What's ordinary to you is amazing to others." Derek Sivers
Tech/App: Rev.com
Eat With: Marshall Fields
Contact: interviewvalet.com/businessmachine https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasmschwab https://twitter.com/tmschwab
Legacy:
Tom hopes his employees and team members will tell others about the skills they had learned, and how those skills helped their lives and families in the long-run. He also hopes that his clients will tell stories of how his business had a positive impact on theirs and helped them grow. He really hopes he uses the gifts he's been given to better others' lives.
Today on Business Machine we have Elizabeth Dukes. Elizabeth is a partner and executive vice president of iOffice Incorporated. iOffice Inc. has provided innovative facilities, management, and solutions to hundreds of Fortune 1000 incorporations since 1989 and focuses on the marketing sales, customer solution implementation, and ongoing customer satisfaction.
Mission:
She hopes to deliver software that helps the workspace become a more productive and engaging environment so workers will feel more comfortable moving around within their work environments.
Mistake:
In the beginning, she wishes she had asked more questions to those who are leaders within specific areas of the field so she could understand what to do more easily without relying on them so much. She also wishes she didn't go for a consulting deal thus couldn't produce much of anything for the software.
Recommendations:
Book(s): Good to Great and Purple Cow
Tech/App(s): Maps, Weather, Telecast, and Flightview
Eat With: Sara Blakely
Contact: edukes@iofficecorp.com twitter.com/iofficecorp linkedin.com/company/iofficecorp
Legacy:
She wants to happily contribute to her family, friends, and community. She wants to be remembered as a joyful resource who could be counted on for what was needed to be done.
Forming Healthy Eating Habits
Taking the First Step
- Pick one thing that you need to either eliminate or start today
- Start with a simple goal such as drinking 70 ounces of water a day
- Form an attainable goal such as 21-Days
- Eventually forms a compound effect and helps you set more goals
Digestive and Gut Health
- Eat fermented foods such as sour kraut or whole fat organic yogurt
- Red Wine has good gut benefits
- Probiotic supplements
To Diet or Not to Diet
- Take ideas and concepts from diets but they tend to set unattainable goals
- Cut out sugar and process carbohydrates out with a two-week detox
- Eat vegetables and proteins
- Diets tend to lure people to transition back to pre-diet habits
- Use a habit based formula
Fats: The Good and the Bad
- Essential nutrients are things our body needs to operate efficiently and effectively
- Proteins contain essential amino acids which means they only come from an outside source
- Essential Fats are the same
- No such thing as an essential carbohydrate
Not Fast-Food that Fills You Up
- Eggs are loaded with good fats and proteins
- Grass fed beef
- Salmon
- Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, root vegetables, beets, and squash are great natural sources of energy
- Coconut oil, fish oil, almonds, avocados, and bone broth are all loaded with great nutrients
- Plant-based items such as wheat grass, and corella
Late Night Snack
- Nuts
- Protein shake
- Eggs and Peppers
- Whole fat yogurt with berries
Your Homework
- Make a list of 10 things you can do every day that will improve the way you feel and operate that are nutrition and movement based, then master that list. Tweet Your 10!!!
Why Weight Lifting? * The body is meant to lift heavy objects. * Building muscle tissue and bone. * More functionality in moving up and down. * Feeling better in how you can do more tasks through the strength training you've done.
Myth about Weight Lifting: * It will bulk you up immediately.
7 Fundamental Human Movements and Lifting Weight Exercises to Go With: * Push Things * Pull Things * Squat in any way, shape, or form. * Hinge (Bending in a way that is getting ready to jump.) * Carry Weight (Loaded Carry) * Resist Rotation and Rotate (Trunk and Core) * Groundwork (Turkish Get-Up, Crawling, etc.)
How to Measure Success: * Are you feeling or moving better? * Are you functioning in a max capacity in life and at the gym?
Starting Your Day
-Don’t hit the snooze button
-Start your day with water
-Get your body moving
-Bullet-Proof Coffee: Add coconut oil to your morning cup to get immediate nutrients into your body. Boost your energy, fat burning potential, and immune system.
Simple Ways to Incorporate Coconut Oil into your Diet
-Chocolate Flavored Coconut Butter
-Stir into coffee
-Add to your shake
-Spread onto toast
Afternoon Fasting
-Take time to let your digestive system relax and reset
-Give your insulin level a break
-Use water to fill your hunger void
www.mystateoffitness.com
Taylor is the co-founder of Traffic and Funnels where they help entrepreneurs scale their businesses to six figures and beyond. His campaigns have helped multiple clients break the seven-figure mark and is consistently growing his clients endeavors to six figures in a matter of months.
Mission- To help produce client based businesses produce systems to get more clients.
Mistake- Waited to long to hire people as a result of wanting to keep their business lien.
Recommendations:
Quote- “The fellow who never makes a mistakes takes his orders from the one who does” - Herbert Proshnow
Book- They System Club Letters - Ken McCarthy
Tech/App- GoogleDrive and Cloud Beats
Eat With- Nick Sabban
Contact:
www.trafficandfunnels.com/client/funnels
www.facebook.com/taylorawelch http://trafficandfunnels.com/our-top-10-life-business-tenets/ View Traffic and Funnels most popular webinar HERE
Legacy- Taylor wants people to be different because of his business and how it helped them achieve their goals.
On today’s episode of the Business Machine we have Chris Evans. Chris is the co-founder of Traffic and Funnels and they help entrepreneurs scale their businesses to six figures and beyond.
Mission- Chris’s mission is to help establish systems in their clients businesses in which they will never have to worry about getting clients or an inconsistent of income again. They achieve this by bringing in high-quality leads via quality traffic and use of sales funnels.
Mistake- A notable mistake made by Chris was not hiring a mentor to show him the path to quicker results during the start of his business as well as not focusing on one quality product to offer.
Recommendations:
Quote- “The opportunity of a lifetime must be ceased in the lifetime of the opportunity”-Leonard Ravenhill
Book- Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
Tech/App- Slack
Eat With- Donald Trump
Contact:
www.trafficandfunnels.com
facebook.com/chrisaevans
www.trafficandfunnels.com/contact
View Traffic and Funnels most popular webinar HERE
Legacy- Chris wishes to be remembered as a man who loved and his family. He wishes for his kids to be the reflection of his legacy as well as remembered as being humble and having built something beyond financial success.
Daily Habits to Maintain Fitness
-Walk more and walk faster
What Makes State of Fitness Different
-Hold ourselves to a standard to deliver the best service
-Develop a group mentality
What Does Exercise Do For Us
-The human body was meant to move so if you don’t use it you lose it
Favorite Exercise
-Loaded Carry- The ability to do work over a period of time. Helps posture.
www.mystateoffitness.com
Today on our podcast we have Mike Sutton. Mike runs a podcast entitled Be Build Have, and teaches entrepreneurs and business owners how to feel happier, more successful, and more fulfilled within their business and lives.
Mission: Happiness and fulfillment are vastly important to him, so he strives to help small business owners grow, make more time and money, and have a clear path forward within their business to gain that happiness.
Mistake: He wishes he could have trusted himself more with what he could do within his business.
Recommendations:
Quote: "You can't solve a problem using the same thinking that you used when you created it." Book: The Pumpkin Plan Eat With: Joe Polish Tech/App: Calendly or ScheduleOnce
Contact: mike@mikesutton.com facebook.com/ZenMike
Legacy: To be a leader in the movement of success for the small business owner economy.
Today on the podcast we have Dana Oliver. Dana is the Senior Director of Research and Development at Medronic Surgical Technology. He is also author of the book "Mantra Design - Innovate, Buy, or Die!"
Mission: To help people become good leaders using the ideas found in his book.
Mistake: He warns against being afraid to fail.
Recommendations:
Quote: "Succesful people aren't afraid to fail; they are afraid to not try."
Book: What the CEO Wants You to Know Eat With: Bill George Tech/App: Wikipedia Contact: Mantraleadership.com
Legacy: He wishes to be remembered as a good leader who made the lives of many people better while at work and through every day life.
Today on our podcast we have Tom Lindsay. Tom runs a podcast titled SmallBiz Brainiac and is the CEO of Alternative Market Solutions (AMS).
Mission: His passion is to relieve the burdens of small business owners from being an employer, and helping them to be relieved from the non-core activities that can take place when running said business.
Mistake: He warns against expecting the company to expand and therefore making accommodations to grow the lifestyle with the generated income that is being made at this given moment.
Recommendations: Quote: "If you give up a sense of liberty to attain temporary safety, then you don't deserve either liberty or safety." Benjamin Franklin Book: The Creature from Jekyll Island Eat With: Walt Disney App/Tech: Zapier
Contact: tom@smallbizbrainiac.com smallbizbrainiac.com/contact
Legacy: He wishes to make sure his kids are proud of their dad, and that he will be accomplished in what he sets out to do. He also wants to teach them to be kind, productive, and responsible, and for them to carry these traits down to their children as well.
Mission- Andrea is very passionate about teaching people how to “go for the no” by overcoming failure, fear, and rejection to get to where they want to be within their business. She also helps people find missed opportunities by expanding their comfort zone.
Mistake- Not keeping enough focus in her dream in order to visualize the end goal.
Recommendations:
Quote- “Persistence is the twin sister of excellence. One is a matter of quality; the other, a matter of time.” -Marabel Morgan
Book- The Four Agreements
Tech/App- PicMonkey
Eat With- Mark Cuban
Contact:
www.goforno.com
Legacy- Andrea wants to be remembered as the person who helped other people pursue their dreams by helping them accept failure so they can become successful.
Today on our podcast we have Sharon Hadden. Sharon is the Principal Consultant for Social Savvy Consulting Group, LLC, where she assists small businesses and entrepreneurs with public relations, marketing and social media.
Mission- To help small businesses run communications as if they were on a big-business scale. Sharon also focuses on strategic planning and training within the company so that she is giving the businesses the proper skills they may use to help themselves succeed within the industry they have chosen.
Mistake (Learning From)- She regrets not starting her business sooner.
Recommendations:
Quote- Marie Forleo: "The world needs that special gift that only you have."
Book- The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki
Tech/App- Canva
Eat With- Mari Smith
Contact:
- http://imsocialsavvy.com/
- https://twitter.com/imsocialsavvy
Legacy- She wants to be known as the person who also gave back, and wants to one day be known as the go-to person for learning how to communicate within small businesses.
Mission- Aron’s mission is to spread his passion of how people share and communicate online. He achieves this by taking the best of the offline world and bringing it online while making it safer and more private for the parties involved.
Mistake(Learning From)- He didn’t have a co-founder in the beginning, which hindered the foundation of his business.
Recommendations
Quote- “Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what is right.” -Isaac Asimov
Book- Creativity Inc.
Tech/app- Slack
Eat w/- Elon Musk
Contact
-contact/promo: www.postly.co www.aron@postly.co
Legacy- Aron hopes he's able to move from entrepreneurship to investing in for-profit and non-profit ventures, while also helping transition society to a more automated future.
Today on the Business Machine we have Trajan King. An entrepreneur since 1995, Trajan has worked with large companies such as Apple, Ebay, Yahoo, and IBM. Currently, Trajan is running Invincible Start-up.
Mission:
Trajan advises entrepreneurs to successful launch their start-ups and take action on their ideas. In 10 years, Trajan hopes he is doing something similar to what he is doing right now.
Learning From Our Mistakes:
Not testing assumptions right away.
Spending to much time doing market research.
Recommendations:
Quote — “Succesful people do what they have to do when they have to do it; not what they want to do, when they want to do it.”
Book — The Richest Man In Babylon by George Clason
Eat With — Elon Musk
Contact:
Twitter— TrajanKing
InvincibleStart-up.com
Legacy:
A great family, and building a network of entrepreneurs. As well as play a part in the success of entrepreneurs.
Today on the Business Machine we have Zac Johnson. Zac is an entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in the world of online marketing and blogging.
Mission:
Through his blogs at ZacJohnson.com and blogging.org, Zac consults and releases tips on how to successfully advertise online. In 10 years, Zac hopes to run his business the same as he is today and continue to add value to people.
Learning From Our Mistakes:
Stay focused on what is working at the time. Don't pursue other interest when one project becomes difficult.
Recommendations:
Quote — “Your 100% in charge of your life, quit bitching.”
Book — Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
Eat With — Shaquille O’Neal
App/Tech — WordPress
Contact:
ZacJohnson.com
blogging.org
Legacy:
Known as a great person who has helped others and provide value long after he is gone.
Today on the Business Machine we have Cole Hatter. Cole is an entrepreneur, investor, author, and award-winning speaker.
Mission:
Coles greatest passion is giving a platform to educate and helping others. In 10 years, Cole will be producing movies, continuing Thrive, traveling and spending time with his family.
Learning From Our Mistakes:
Cole states that a mistake he notices other entrepreneurs make when starting a business is being confused on the difference between busy and productive. If you are busy with your business without obtaining revenue you are not being productive.
Recommendations:
Quote — “The truth is that you can spend your life any way you want, but you can spend it only once.”
Book — Thinking For A Change by John C. Maxwell and Whats The Secret? by John DiJulius
Tech/App — Google Calendar
Eat With — Henry Ford
Contact:
AttendThrive.com
AttendThrive.com/Friends
Social Media— ColeHatter
Legacy: That his time made a difference and mattered to others continuing even after he is gone.
Today on the Business Machin ewe have Bill Parravano. Bill is known as the “ The Knee Pain Guru”. He has over 26 years of martial art and body work experience understanding movement and tensions patterns that lead to physical pain.
Mission
Bill’s mission is to help individuals with knee pain by pain pattern interrupts. This method relaxes the body to release pressure on the nerves without drugs, shots, or surgery. In 10 years, Bill hopes to see practitioners and clinics utilize his method for knee pain.
Learning From Our Mistakes
A mistake Bill learned was being over-productive and not taking a break during the day. This created stress that hurt performance later in the week.
Recommendation
Quote: “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
App/ Tech: Active Campaign
Book: Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Contact
TheKneePainGuru.com
Quick Free Assessment
Legacy
“Pain is just an illusion”
That people will think about pain differently and be better equipped to fix their pain.
Today on the Business Machine we have Jason Treu.
Jason Treu is a nationally recognized, business and executive, coach, sales trainer, and Amazon Best Seller author of Social Wealth. He is also owner and CEO of Be Extraordinary.
Mission
Jason’s mission is to help his clients build communication skills, increase performance, customer retention, and how to influence people. In doing so, he helps his clients move past hurdles to put excitement, passion, and drive back into their lives.
Learning From Our Mistakes
A mistake Jason learned from was working with another business partner and not focusing on building his own personal brand.
Recommendation
Quote: “What's the greater risk? Letting go of what people think - or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?”
Book: Rising Strong and Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
Eat With: Richard Branson, Larry Ellison, Mark Cuban
App/Tech: Google Calendar
Contact:
BeExtraordinary.tv
Today on the Business Machine we have Regan Hillyer.
Regan Hillyer is a serial entrepreneur, investor, mindset coach and the author of the bestselling book Be Your Brand. In her client work, she helps entrepreneurs uncover their true message so they can make a bigger impact in the world.
Mission
Regan’s mission is to unlock your greatness by disrupting what you perceive as “normal”. She helps people connect with who they really are and what they are passionate about. In 10 years, Regan hopes to amplify her business and impact more people's lives.
Recommendations
Quote: Just Do It
Book: E-Myth by Michael Gerber
Eat With: Richard Branson
App/ Tech: Stripe, Click Funnels
Contact:
ReganHillyer.com
Legacy: That she has impacted people's lives for the better
Today on the Business Machine we have Tony Cappaert. Tony is the COO and Co-Founder of Contactually. Contactually is a CRM software that helps monitor and follow up with clients, and leads to build lasting relationships.
Mission
Contactually builds businesses through building relations. Tony stresses the importance of relationships and the personal aspect of CRM. Contactually helps individuals by segmenting contact data by frequent contacts, old clients, and referrals. The data collected in return reminds you to follow up with clients and leads. In 10 years, Tony hopes that Contactually will be the go-to platform in building strong rapport and strong relationships for small and large businesses.
Learning From Our Mistake
A mistake Tony learned from early on was focusing to much on self contribution rather than on empowering the team.
Recommendation
Quote: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Eat With: Warren Buffett
Tech/App: Point Solutions
Contact: contactually.com -Free 30 day trial
Legacy: To be known as a honest guy who tried to make the lives around him better.
Kevan Lee
Today on the Business Machine we have Kevan Lee of Buffer. Buffer is a content marketing, social media tool, that helps entrepreneurs and businesses schedule post for social media.
In 10 years, Kevan would like to see Buffer be more personalized for its users.
Recommendations
Quote: “If you give freely, there will always be more.”
Books:
Poke the Box by Seth Godin
Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Contact
buffer.com
Free plan or 30 day free trial for businesses
Esther Kiss is the founder of Born To Influence, a boutique publicity firm specializing in helping experts and personal brands get more publicity, leads and sales. Her clients have been featured on TV, in newspapers, magazines and on some of the top podcasts in the world, resulting in millions of dollars in additional sales. She is also the producer and host of Born To Influence: The Marketing Show, where she interviews highly successful entrepreneurs and NY Times bestselling authors about their marketing and publicity strategies.
Mission
Esther’s helps experts, coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs by getting them in front of the right target audience. Depending on their marketing strategy she uses online media as well as tv spots, radio, and interviews. She also helps her clients with their media marketing strategy giving them more time, energy, and money.
Learning From Our Mistakes
An early mistake Esther learned from was the importance of a strategy. This led to procrastination and underestimating what it will take to produce and market properly as well as going too far without ever launching.
Recommendations
Quote: “I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn't know how to get along without it.”
Book: You Inc. by Harry Beckwith
Eat With: Oprah Winfrey
App/ Tech: Streak
Contact:
(323) 770 3530
esther@borntoinfluence.com
BornToInfluence.com
Text Influence to 33444 for frequently asked podcast questions
Today on Business Machine we have Kat Loterzo. Kat Loterzo is a business coach, bestselling author, speaker & mentor to revolutionary leaders who want it all, on their terms. Having built a 7-figure online fitness business, Kat draws on that experience when she mentors her coaching students how to create their own successful businesses online.
Mission
Her mission is to help people reach clarity on their purpose in life and to help create achievable goals. In 10 years, Kat sees her business blend more entertainment and inspiration by increasing more content, more consistency, and higher quality media content.
Learning From our Mistakes
A mistake Kat learned from was never stop listening to your gut, and to never stop being yourself. The more in tune you are to yourself the more successful you will be at achieving your goals and sense of purpose.
Recommendations
Book: How Rich People Think by Steve Siebold
Eat With: Gary V.
Quote: “You don’t need to slow down and breathe, you need to wake up and live.”
App/ Tech: Iphone
Contact
KatLoterzo.com
Social Media: @KatLoterzo
Today on Business Machine we have Robert Hartline. Robert is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Call Proof, he built his businesses to where today they generate $24 Million in total revenue. His expertise around sales and automating follow up sequences helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and sales people, contributing to millions of dollars in additional sales.
Mission
Robert’s mission is help entrepreneurs outsource their outside sales people and improve the quality of their overall sales process.
Learning From Our Mistakes
A mistake he learned was to not be a technician for his business and to delegate task. In doing so he could have more time to lead, think, and plan for his businesses.
Recommendations
Quote: “Setting a goal is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
Books: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Eat with: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Contact
CallProof.com/blog
Twitter: @callproof
email: robert@callproof.com
14 day free trial demo at CallProof.com
Today join Business Machine is Sheevaun Moran. Sheevaun is a business advisor, master coach, quantum energy thought leader and the founder of Energetic Solutions®.
Having worked with 15,000+ entrepreneurs, Sheevaun has combined her corporate experience, rapid growth expertise and her unique approach using energetic techniques & principles to help innovate small businesses into big conglomerates.
Mission
Sheevaun’s mission is to empower business leaders and entrepreneurs by teaching them how to channel positive energy to help be better leaders and be more successful. In 10 years she hopes to see people she has coached bring more energy to other people throughout the world. As well as see more integrated things to understand this energy.
Learning From Our Mistakes
A mistake Sheevaun has learned from was not having a strategy at first, and not having an end point or goal. The downside of not having a strategy is not having a system. A systematic strategy helps set up goals and a plan of what you want to achieve.
Recommendations
Quote: “Consistent aim, and consistent efforts, yield consistent results.”
Book: Tell To Win by Peter Guber
Eat With: Warren Buffett
App/ Tech: Trello, IFTTT (If This Then That), and Slack
Eat At: Au Loc
Contact:
Phone: 714 374 1988
Email: athor@sheevaunmoran
http://www.sheevaunmoran.com/
Today on Business Machine is Jenn Scalia. Jenn is an online business coach and entrepreneur, known for her tough love, no-B.S style. She helps entrepreneurs overhaul their biggest fears and empowers them to share their message.
Mission
To help entrepreneurs build and promote their online businesses by generating new customers, clients, and more revenue. In 10 years, Jenn would like to make her business more training and educated based, and less one on one consulting. She would like to expand her reach to help more entrepreneurs.
Learning From Our Mistakes
A mistake Jenn learned early on was trying to do everything on her own. The struggle of taking on all the work can quickly burn you out and that it is okay to look for help and support for your business.
Recommendations
Quote: “At any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”
Book: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Eat With: Tony Robbins
App/ Tech: Grid Diary
Eat With: Franklinville Inn
Contact:
JennScalia.com
MichiganCreative.com/videoreport
Today on the Business Machine is Mike Bass. Mike is account representative of Friedland Industries and founder of Connect and Pull. He also is a musician and host his own podcast, Running a Family Business.
Mission
To educate the public on recycling, scrap, and environmental services. In 10 years, Mike wants to offer a family-friendly experience of Friedland Industries in the hopes to engage and educate more people. He also would like to see more manufacturers come back to Michigan.
Learning From Our Mistakes
A mistake Mike learned from was not validating the demand for a product or service before diving into the efforts of starting the idea. The value of researching the market before entering.
Recommendations
Books: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, Boron Letters by Gary Halbert, and The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
Quote: Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’
Eat with: Tim Ferris and Eckhart Tolle
Apps/ Tech: Pen and notebook. Evernote.
Eat at: Zoobies, Creole, and Beggars Banquet
Legacy: Create something timeless, and one day educate business students on how real world business works.
Contact:
http://friedlandindustries.com/
http://connectandhaul.com/
http://www.mikebassmusic.com/
Today on Business Machine is Kim Barrett. Founder of Your Social Voice an agency specializing in online marketing and lead generation. Helping small businesses and entrepreneurs generate more engagement leading to more sales.
Mission
Helps put profits in business owners pockets by educating business owners on online marketing and successfully generating leads through social engagement. In 10 years, Kim hopes to grow his agency to a 50 million dollar company, educate more people on digital space, and create a fun work environment.
Learning From Our Mistakes
An early mistake Kim learned was having a split focus in business, and not having a narrower focus on achieving goals and outcomes. Believing the power of specificity drives successful business and achieves more goals.
Recommendations
Quote: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
App: Podio
Eat with: Sam Walton
Books: Scaling Up by Verne Harnish and Built to Sell by John Warrillow
Today on Business Machine is Eddie Donato from Australia, founder, and the host of the EdTalks podcast. This podcast interviews experts and studies research from all over the world to help people stop feeling tired, regain our energy and achieve health and happiness in a way that’s truly attainable for busy moms and dads. Starting as an engineer for General Motors, Ed traveled much and always had entrepreneurial dreams. After the birth of his son, Ed was inspired to leave a legacy and later, he stumbled upon entrepreneurial podcasting.
Mission
To help busy moms and dads regain vitality to live the life that they want to. In 10 years, Ed envisions a multi-billion dollar health and wellness company with numerous divisions, including charitable work, with a luxury boat and a family traveling the world.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Ed recalls that the most important thing he learned was making time for family. It’s easy to get caught up in his passion, especially for the sake of the family, but it’s paramount to make time to be present with his wife and son’s life. It’s not a matter of being there all of the time, but it is about listening and respect.
Recommendations
Eat: Settler’s Tavern.
Quote: “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” from Miles Davis.
“I want to say to you, ‘help yourself so you can help someone else.” from James Brown.
Books: Richard Branson material.
Eat with: Richard Branson.
Apps: WorkFlowy and traditional paper notes.
Contact
Website: TheEdTalks
Today on Business Machine is Todd Duckett, a former NFL running back and founder of New World Flood. New World Flood is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to flood the world with service.
Mission
Make people believe in themselves and spread positive messages by raising awareness and being a cause. In ten years Todd plans on opening a community center in Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Arusha, Tanzania.
Learning From Our Mistakes
An early mistake Todd learned was not separating the line between business and friends and having rules in place. Todd also believes in continually being true to yourself.
Recommendations
Eat: Troppo
Quote: "I was early taught to work as well as play;
My life has been one long, happy holiday—
Full of work, and full of play—
I dropped the worry on the way—
And god was good to me every day"
Eat with: Jay-Z
Can’t Live Without: iPhone
Contact
http://newworldflood.org/
http://www.simple-t.org/home.php
Today on Business Machine is Russell Ruffino, founder of Clients on Demands, who help various clients find their own clients at the right time and the right price. Previously a bartender, Russell looked into different ways to make money online through information products. Soon, Russell wanted to create more valuable results for his clients and set a premium price that attracted clients committed to a more personable process and greater result.
Mission
Help others attract the clients they want to work with at the price they want to charge. In 10 years, Russell envisions a more robust market that realizes the importance of transformation, not just a slight improvement. In 5 years, Russell envisions more business partnerships.
Learning From Our Mistakes
One mistake Russell made was disengaging with his team as his business became more automated. He realized that while automation is great, people do not operate like machines and one of the roles of leadership is to keep their team motivated, not just leave them along to work. Russell also knows now that for a business to sustain itself, it needs a sales process. You can’t rely on a product or service to sell itself on goodwill alone.
Recommendations
Eat: Cucina Alessa
Quote: “Somewhere in the invisible heart of all self-made wealthy men and women is a sliver of razored ice. The love of another, or of a family (or of their God, if they have one), can help to contain it. Seeking great wealth will release that sliver to grow. it’s in the nature of the beat.” From Felix Dennis.
Read: “How To Get Rich” by Felix Dennis.
Eat with: Felix Dennis.
Apps: Stealth Seminar
Contact website: Clientsondemand.com/webinar
Facebook: Clientsondemand.com/facebook
Founder of Second Flight Academy, Nick Kullin. SFA is an eight week, one-on-one academy that helps entrepreneurs revolutionize the way they leverage their online marketing efforts through growth hacking. Nick began the academy as a spin-off of his previous marketing agency.
Mission
Help business owners innovate their online marketing efforts while reducing marketing costs. In 10 years, Nick imagines an accelerated program that takes the concept of growth hacking even further for the industry.
Learning From Our Mistakes
An early mistake Nick recalls was in his client acquisition. It was important for him to realize that while many can benefit from his services, he needed a proper and dynamic persona for who would truly invest and see the value in his work. Nick also believes it’s important to be happy and motivated, but you have to learn how to handle the low points as well.
Recommendations
Eat: Dough pizza place.
Quote: “Inside of every self-made successful person is a poor kid who followed his dream.”
Read: “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.
Eat with: Richard Branson.
Apps: Yesware.
Contact
SecondFlightAcademy.com
Today on Business Machine is Chuck Wang, founder and CEO of MVP Consulting, which creates online business processes to help you streamline your sales. Inspired by other podcasts and a want for more sustainability, he made the leap to entrepreneurship in order to work to live, not live to work.
Mission
To listen to your questions. Chuck assesses that most small businesses get stuck on their first sale, and his purpose is to act as a mirror to discover how to add value to their audience’s interests. In 10 years, Chuck imagines a virtual reality component.
Learning From Our Mistakes
One mistake Chuck has made before is playing small and worrying that your novelty can’t be taken seriously. Another place that leaves room for error is communication. It’s important to know how to articulate who you are, what you do and what you expect from your team.
Recommendations
Eat: Anthology: Fine-Tuned Music & Cuisine.
Quote: “What we do in this lifetime echoes in eternity.”
Read: E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.
Eat with: Curtis “50-Cent” Jackson.
Apps: Acuity Scheduling.
Contact
mvp.consulting
Today on Business Machine is Casey Zeman, author of Build Your Audience With Live Video, founder of EasyWebinar, and developer of the Fullscope, a Periscope analytics software tool.
Mission
Casey creates training and software to help clients build their business through webinars, videos, and live videos. In 10 years, he envisions building out EasyWebinar to continue empowering others to find their communities.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Casey realized that incentivizing people to do business with you should be kept simple and digestible instead of robust. The reason is that it saves time to develop the actual business. Casey also believes the ability to say no is invaluable because that discretion saves you time and money to invest more productively. He also thinks it is important to trust in your value and what you can provide in the bigger picture of keeping your business running.
Recommendations
Eat: Stir Market in Los Angeles, CA.
Read: “The School of Greatness” Louis Howes “Launch” by Jeff Walker “ DotCom Secrets” Russell Brunson
Eat with: Elon Musk
Apps: LeadPages, InfusionSoft, Periscope, Meat Edgar, Wordpress, Kajabi,
Contact
caseyzeman.com
Fullscope.tv
Today on Business Machine is Bolaji Oyejide, founder of Bravepreneur Parents Academy, the #1 podcast to help parents raise superhero kids and 7-time best-selling author of the “Brave Little Heroes” book series. Education was always paramount in Bolaji’s family, and he followed the college path to success with a corporate career and family life. After being laid off from several jobs, he decided to give in to the voice in the back of his head that entrepreneurship would lead him where he wanted out of life.
Mission
Help kids discover what makes them unique and tenacious so they can get excited about changing the world. The origin story is imperative to the identity of superheroes, and Bolaji believes kids are in that origin story phase that can define them in some way for the rest of their life. In 10 years, Bolaji envisions a stand-alone company called Bravequest that will use video game concepts to help over one million kids develop.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Bolaji’s biggest lesson has been the mistake of not using a business model conducive to their industry. If you don’t plan how to monetize, you will sacrifice your health, relationships, and goals. You also should find a mentor that has been down the path that you now walk.
Recommendations
Eat: The Pit in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Quote: “Fall down seven times. Stand up eight.”, an old Japanese proverb.
Read: “Little Bets” by Peter Sims.
Eat with: Stan Lee.
Apps: Audible, Evernote or a similar app to collect your thoughts.
Contact
Website: Bravepreneur.com
Today on Business Machine is Jason Benavides, gym owner of Octane Athletic Performance, which is a six-figure business that helps clients obtain amazing results while making great margins.
Mission
Octane empowers people through fitness and helps coaches develop their brands. Jason first decided to enter the personal health field in college and 10 years, he imagines more multi-sport events that fundraise for good causes and include track and field.
Learning From Our Mistakes
One way Jason is making sure his business runs like a fine-tuned machine is by hiring an admin. In starting a business, Jason stresses that you can’t please everyone, even if the people you can’t please are the loudest segment of your audience. Another caution he offers is the creation of an online program without having people around with that expertise to help start it. Jason advises this because it can take away from other objectives. Jason is a bigger picture guy, so he has to keep up with the details as much as possible.
Recommendations
Eat: Oleos Perk Coffee Bar
Tip: If you’re tight on time in the morning, have a yogurt and edible nuts to kickstart your metabolism. If you do have time, shoot for a larger meal.
Quote: “Reality is interpretation,” from unknown.
Book: “Drive” by Larry Bird.
Eat with: Todd Durkin or Richard Branson.
Apps: TextExpander
Contact
Facebook: Jason Benavides
Website: http://octaneathleticperformance.com/
Today on Business Machine is Samantha Riley, creator of The Accelerant Group. With over 20 years of experience, Samantha has built several highly successful businesses, and she uses these experiences to help thought leaders and entrepreneurs clarify their message to attract ideal clients.
Mission
The Accelerant Group ignites business growth so those businesses can make more impactful messages and charge higher fees. In 10 years, Samantha sees a small, beautiful office and happier people.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Samantha sees mistakes as learning experiences and one caution to new entrepreneurs is hiring someone who does not share the same values or passion as the business. Skills can be taught but fitting in either works or it doesn't. She also recommends that new business owners learn how to negotiate and think of the right questions when buying property.
Recommendations
Eat: Opera Bar in Sydney, Australia.
Quote: "Do or do not. There is no try."- from Yoda.
"Legacy is greater than currency." from Gary Vaynerchuk.
Read: "The E-Myth" by Michael Gerber.
"Losing My Virginity" by Richard Branson.
"Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port.
Eat with: Gary Vaynerchuk
Apps: Canva design program.
Contact
Facebook: The Accelerant Group
Instagram:@thesamriley
Claim your free copy of "The Heart of Entrepreneurship" today! Only 20 copies available: https://theheartofentrepreneurship.com/machine/
Today on Business Machine is Kavit Haria, who started his first online business in 2005 selling marketing education to musicians. He blogs weekly at InsiderInternetSuccess.com, writes an inspiring daily e-mail to 15,000 business owners daily, and has taught at seminars and conferences in the UK, America and Australia over the last 6 years.
Mission
His flagship program, Automated Business Systems, helps people with great ideas turn those meaningful intentions into profit.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Kavit holds the speed of implementation as crucial to business, but cautions to remember the critical steps that must be given time. He personally utilizes checklists to assure all the details are covered to help his own marketing machines run smoothly. He also stays mindful of when it’s time to get his mind off of work and focus on his family and personal life.
Recommendations
Eateries: Manna Vegetarian Restaurant in London.
Quote: “Everybody shines, given the right lighting.”, from Susan Cain.
Read:
- "Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain.
-“Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got” by Jay Abraham.
-"The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" and "Leaders Who Had No Title" by Robin Sherma.
Eat with: Robin Sharma, a prominent leadership coach.
Apps: Infusionsoft, Asana, Skype.
Contact
insiderinternetsuccess.com
Today on Business Machine is Rob McCartey, managing partner of the Image Shoppe.
Mission
Located in Grand Rapids, the Image Shoppe helps businesses clearly understand what a brand is, then take advantage of their own in new ways. In ten years, Rob imagines the Image Shoppe will maintain its intimate size as a team, as well as helping others decide what kind of professional they want to be.
Past Notable Mistakes
Rob notes that a business should not only stick to the services they excel but understand that it’s OK to refer clients to other relationships. He considers himself a workaholic by trade, but has realized the importance of effective communication and spending time outside of work. Rob also talks about the importance of employee happiness and people being a good fit in company culture.
Recommended
Eating: The Green Well Gastro Pub in Grand Rapids
Quote: “People make your life.” from Derek Coppess, founder of 616 Development.
Eat with: Warren Buffett
Contact
Email rob@theimageshoppe.com!
Today on Business Machine is Justin Grinnell, owner and CEO of State Of Fitness training facility. Justin has been a trainer since he was 20 years old and decided to apply his expertise to small business with the help of his newly wed wife, six other trainers and a large room. He has now reached a place where he can work on his business instead of within his business, operating to support his team’s dreams and the unique network of leaders in his industry. He also talks about the origin and importance of his internship program, from working the front desk to training to empower others.
Mission State Of Fitness focuses on top-notch customer service to help people reach their health goals. In 10 years, he would like to open more fitness facilities in the corporate world, as well as expand their internship program into a larger mentoring school.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Justin describes his beginnings as learning the hard way. He’s encountered challenges like how to manage employees, optimism in business, and the fact that you can’t please everybody. Despite these challenges, he always remembers the words of one of his mentors, “If it doesn’t scare you, you probably shouldn’t do it.”
Recommended Eat: Anywhere with an outdoor section. Quote: "Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus" from "The One Thing". Read: "The One Thing" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, “Attitude 101” by John Maxwell. App: Wunderlist Contact Email justin@mystateoffitness.com Website: mystateoffitness.com Twitter: @StateOfFitness or @JustinGrinnell4 Facebook: State Of Fitness
Today on Business Machine is Todd Uterstaedt, former army officer turned corporate VP turned entrepreneur of From Founder To CEO based in Cincinnati.
Mission
From Founder To CEO helps young creators enhance their capacity as business owners to create sustainability. In 10 years, Todd sees his initiative as a larger platform for communities to access resources in a timely and easily processed fashion.
Founder vs. CEO
A founder does a lot for themselves to lead a team where a CEO leads an organization and holds people accountable through other people.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Todd encourages listeners to strategically think of returns on investments. Marketing is not sales. He also discovered networking has a strategic component involving making impressions, not just trading business cards. As a leader, he also has learned to trust others to micromanage.
Finding the Right People Todd relies on behavioral based interviewing including an investigation into behavior at other work areas. A new employee is also not committed to for the first couple months to discover how he or she fits into the work culture.
Recommendations
Quote: "The Best potential of me is we." from Coach Dale Brown.
Reading: Business As a Calling by Michael Novak.
Eating: Wild Flower Cafe in Cincinnati.
App: Wunderlist
Contact
Email: todd@fromfoundertoceo.com
Twitter: @FromFounder2CEO
Today on the Business Machine is Kate Snyder, principal strategist and owner of Piper & Gold Public Relations, a Lansing firm dedicated to helping governmental agencies and nonprofits. Kate began her journey by acting as a business consultant within her network after searching for a senior position that matched her experience.
Mission
Help small businesses tell their stories in a way that effects change and builds relationships within their communities.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Kate explains the importance of transparency of operations, as well as trust in employees to grow self-sufficiency. She also speaks to some of the mistakes she has made in this pursuit, such as the sacrifice of physical health. She encourages recreation to keep the body as focused as the mind. She also encourages understanding both the strengths and challenges of your personality to better realize your capacity as a leader.
Favorite quote: "You have the same number of hours in a day as Beyonce"
Eating: Likes to taste different foods.
Read: "10% Happier" by Dan Harris.
Eat with: Barbara from Shark Tank.
Contact
Webpage: www.piperandgold.com
Email: kate@piperandgold.com
Twitter @PiperGoldKate!
Today on Business Machine is Mike Maddox, president and CEO of ASK, a Lansing-based Information Technology company. He made the jump to small business from his career in sales where the further he moved up in his corporate work, the more internal and impersonal his work became.
Mission
Take the hassle out of technology so that you can focus on your business.
Learning From Our Mistakes
When he took over as president, he sat everyone in a room and they decided on a tagline. He notes this is very important when communicating with colleagues and strangers. This ties into another challenge he’s encountered, which is focusing on what the company does best, not what it can make time for. As a leader, he also believes in keeping a personal connection with employees, which can be difficult when work needs to be done but it is something he treasures.
Recommendations
Favorite quote: "Never confuse activity with achievement" from a board hanging in his office.
Eating: Big dip ice cream scoops from Quality Dairy, preferably in the summer.
Eat with: Steve Jobs to learn how he managed the growth of Apple, not just the creation.
App: Microsoft One Note
Contact
Phone: 877-ASK-4-ASK
Webpage: www.justask.net
Podcast: Bottom Line IT every Tuesday at noon on the Michigan Business Network.
Today on Business Machine is Amanda Washburn, owner of Rough Draft Solutions, which specializes in creating and articulating content for businesses to bring customer relations to the next level. This includes blogs, proposals and grant writing and website content.
Mission
To help businesses realize the investment of marketing to create meaningful communication with their audience.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Rough Draft started in March of 2014, so one mistake Amanda notes as a young owner was a lack of an actual plan. This was important to realize because she also had no prior business network to pool from and get the word out about her goals. She posits that if she had made a strategic plan first instead of realizing its importance after nine months, she may have reached the success she enjoys now more quickly. She also speaks on how her family balances work with outdoor activities and turning off technology.
Recommendations
Favorite quote: "It’s a terrible thing I think, in life, to wait until you’re ready.... generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” from Hugh Laurie.
Reading: Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi.
Eating: Soup Spoon Cafe in Lansing, MI.
App: Google docs.
Contact
Email: amanda@roughdraftsolutions
Webpage: www.roughdraftsolutions.com
Today on Business Machine is Amanda Stitt, CEO of Change Media Group (CMG), started by her husband who saw a market full of saturated services. Amanda always admired small business owners in her own family while never seeing herself as an entrepreneur. Now, she excels in the business of helping people connect. She envisions the company as space for young talent to enjoy their work.
Mission
a full-service creative agency providing targeted media services including direct mail, print, and digital advertising to a broad range of clients.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Amanda’s number one advice is exercising the ability to say no. She urges others not to stray from specific services just to please clients. Use time wisely and meaningfully, and refer clients to other trustworthy colleagues. This is especially paramount for businesses who provide services to other businesses.
Recommendations
Favorite Quote: “If I asked people what they wanted, they would’ve asked for faster horses.” from Henry Ford.
Eating: Beer Grotto
App: Asana for project management.
Podcasts: Fresh Air, Death Sex & Money, and Here's The Thing.
Contact
Email: amanda@changemediagroup.com
webpage: changemediagroup.com
Today on Business Machine is Tom Stewart, who first had thoughts of entrepreneurship with a group of high school friends. Over the last decade, he has provided consultation to 44 organizations in a wide range of industries – the majority of which were new or small companies. Tom has also worked on transition teams for larger organizations, including the State of Michigan, and his efforts have resulted in nearly $7M in new client revenues and 60 new jobs in the Capitol Region.
Mission
Helping people start businesses. In 10 years, Tom would like to accomplish a private multi-million dollar fund for greater opportunities, as well as an actual office and team. He also talks about automation and getting small businesses able to function with one process and expand their opportunities from there.
Learning From Our Mistakes
He advises inspiring entrepreneurs to not tackle their dreams alone because you have to know your limits. Tom learned that balance is important to assure your personal life is taken care of too. He regrets that, at the time, he did not pay attention to his relationships outside of his work, which risked his stability outside of work.
Recommendations
Favorite Quote: "To whom much is given, much is expected." from Luke 12:48 of the Bible.
Eating: Cosmos Pizza Restaurant and Zoobies Old Town Tavern in Lansing.
App: Pocket Informant
Contact
Webpage: neocenter.org
Visit the NEO Center at 934 Clark St., Lansing, MI!
Today on Business Machine is Chad Jordan, owner of Craving's Gourmet Popcorn in Old Town Lansing and Okemos, who started with nothing but debt and a willingness to learn from others.
Mission
Craving’s Gourmet provides world-class popcorn to making people happy. In 10 years, Chad imagines a more robust brand that acts as a staple of Michigan and reaches more urban areas.
Learning From Our Mistakes
Chad believes that his biggest mistake was not strategically thinking about worst-case scenarios, substituting confidence with money. He also strives to improve his time management skills at all times. While business is business, it is also about building relationships to build confidence in those business dealings. His employees rely on him and he does his best to do right by them every day.
Recommendations
Eating: Any good BBQ
Apps: Google Drive and other apps
Contact
Facebook: Chad Jordan or business page.
Twitter: @CravingsPopcorn