American Dreamers

Do you spend your weekends watching car shows or perusing the latest edition of your favorite car magazine? This week we talk with Nick Cefalu of FyneTuned and see how he is building his dream business customizing cars. From tinting windows to remote starts, stereo and light systems, trim detail and more, see how Cefalu took his 10 years of experience and hard work to become Cincinnati's go-to custom detailer.

Has your business evolved with the times? If you don’t grow to keep up with your industry, chances are your business will suffer or even fail. In this episode, Dan O'Keeffe and Lisa Dyson of O'Keeffe PR and Marketing Solutions discuss the evolution of their business, the areas where you need to focus your marketing efforts and some quick fixes that could help your brand right now.

Every business needs good employees. For some companies, it’s more difficult to find good employees than others. At strategic HR, it is their mission to help you solve your human resource challenges — from hiring to managing to firing and recruiting. In this week's show, Cathleen Snyder, CEO of strategic HR, takes a deep dive into recruitment and retainment strategies that work.

Ever wonder what constitutes good drinking water? This week Emmanuel Briquet from Searen discusses his aquatic resources management company, which helps municipalities, cities and even fish farmers clean their water. Searen is an exclusive supplier in North America for a proprietary system that removes gases and other chemicals from water sources. Emmanuel discusses the challenges of running a business internationally, from France to the U.S.

Have you ever thought about starting a crowdfunding campaign? Tune in as Margarita Moksin and talks about her successful Kickstarter campaign and The trials and tribulations of developing a new product and bringing it to the market.

Known as one of the best rated breweries in the county, Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora, Indiana is an authentic homegrown business that started in Dan Valas' kitchen. After a failed attempt in 1999, Dan, his wife and son started Great Crescent Brewery in 2008, during the Great Recession, and began packaging their beer. After four or five years, they decided to bring everything back in-house and sell only at their brewery. Since then, this local brewery has seen nothing but success and increased sales since 2014. In this episode, Dan tells their story, their struggles and their decisions that helped make them the success they are today.

Are you an entrepreneur? Just starting out? Ever dream of being on TV? Today’s episode is all about dreaming, entrepreneurship and what it takes to make your business successful. Cohost Sunho Donovan also discusses her latest venture, American Dreamers TV. We are looking for entrepreneurs interested in participating in a fun, engaging and educational reality TV show for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses. Listen and send us a note if you are interested in auditioning for the show!

Find your voice. That's what Kae Denino did and she's making money doing it. A voice-over artist, Kae shares her secrets on breaking into the biz and her alter egos. Tune in to hear what she's got to say.

Are you a female business owner or career professional? Have you struggled to get financing or an increase in pay? Meet Melissa Cutcher from the Women in Business (WiBN) Leadership Conference. Cutcher joins the hosts to discuss the upcoming conference, as well as topics like the financial discrepancy between men and women in business. Be sure to visit the women in business networking conference website for more information on the conference this September.

Do you struggle to market your business? You know you're good at what you do, but you just aren’t sure how to get the word out there? At American Dreamers, we understand the entrepreneur’s struggle, and how hard it is to break away from what you do to actually figure out how to market your business. On this episode of American Dreamers, Robynn Anton (our co-host and owner of RGA Creative) discusses the new program she has put together for entrepreneurs and small business owners: the 100x100 Do-It-With-Digital Challenge (Renamed to the $100K Accountability Craze Challenge). 100 Entrepreneurs will work side-by-side to help each other increase their bottom lines by $100K in 12 months or less! Are you up for the challenge? We encourage all entrepreneurs to check out the program to see if it could help you take your business to the next level. Learn more about the challenge here: https://www.rgacreative.com/craze-challenge/

This week on American Dreamers, Marc Kiner & Jim Blair of Premier Social Security Consulting discuss everything you want to know about social security (but are too afraid to ask). Will it be there for you? How about for millennials? How does an improving economy affect social security reserves?

From starting a church in Las Vegas to improving Rebel Pilgrim, this small business owner understands that it takes persistence, stamina and a little street smarts to build a successful business. Joe Boyd of Rebel Pilgrim has transformed his career and business into something he had never envisioned but truly loves. Listen in as Joe reveals who the true HERO is in your business and how you should tell your story to attract the right customers.

Are you struggling with growing your business? Have your numbers been flat for several years? Could it possibly be your sales process? Or maybe you have the wrong players in place for selling? Jared Moore of Sandler Training dives deep with Tom to figure out why his business isn’t propelling quite the way he had hoped. Listen in to help figure out what your roadblock is as a leader and make a change.

Ever dreamed of owning a boat, but never quite ready to take the plunge? We have the answer for you! Gunnar Graves of Freedom Boat Club talks about his new venture in the boat franchising company. Similar to purchasing a timeshare in a condo, you can now do the equivalent with a boat. House on the Ohio River with other locations across the United States, this new franchise is making waves in Cincinnati.

This week we chat with Paul and Tara Noia, owners of SMILES Integrative Therapy Services. Focusing on highly specialized pediatric speech and occupational therapy, SMILES has a unique business with an even more unique business model.

Are you currently in a business partnership that isn’t quite working out the way you planned? Not every venture turns into the success you hope it will. Listen in as Matt Strippelhoff of RedHawk technologies talks about his journey, from partnership with an organization that didn’t work out to running a highly successful software application company with a former co-worker. Matt offers his advice and tells us how he politely stepped away to create Red Hawk Technologies. Working with manufacturing and other organizations to help streamline processes and turn ineffective spreadsheets into easy-to-use apps, every day is something new and creative for Matt and his team.

Sometimes life gives you unexpected turns. In this episode of American Dreamers, Sharon Byrnes of The Yoga Groove discusses her journey to becoming therapeutic yoga instructor. From an avid racquet ball player to a back injury, Sharon turned to yoga to relieve her pain and never looked back. 

Is your data safe? Are you protected from cyber attacks? Many of us have insurance to protect our valuables—how valuable is your private information and data? Shadow IT Group is here to help protect you from the threats of a cyber invasion by making sure you have the protection you need. Join us as Matthew Davis of Shadow IT Group gives us the latest on cyber security and how it can affect you and your business.

Are you looking to launch a new stay-at-home career? Consider listening in to this week's episode of American Dreamers, featuring Ron Allan of Big Voice Productions. With a long career in radio, acting and modeling, Ron uses his experience and natural given talent to train others who want to become voice-over specialists. With the ability to earn six figures working from home, a voice-over career can be lucrative and fun—we may be signing up for classes soon!

What can a small business learn from a $5 million Super Bowl commercial? Tune in this Sunday and listen to Drew Dinkelacker of Marketing Accelerator. Drew gives us his play-by-play on the best commercials and the worst fails—great lessons from the pros.

Is your business struggling? Has your market changed but you aren't quite sure how to change with it? This week Chuck Proudfit of Skillsource Business Builders discusses the three pillars of a successful organization, as well as how each pillar supports the other and plays a pivotal role in the success of your business. 

Writing a book is a full time job—so is becoming an attorney. Margarita Moksin, this week's guest, did both at the same time. Moksin, who moved to the U.S. when she was 16 years old, is now an author, attorney and entrepreneur. This week she chats about what she's been up to the past few years, as well as her new product, MOX. 

Let's face it: public speaking is hard. On this week's episode, Michael Davis of SpeakingCPR gives advice on how to improve your presentations, overcome your fear and tell your company story.

Looking to sell your home? Jane Nowiski of Joseph Home Staging knows how it should look before you ever consider putting it on the market. This week on American Dreamers, Jane talks about being a certified home stager, as well as what it means to make homes pretty — not practical.

This week on American Dreamers we talk to Sunho Donovan about her career in show business!

Join us for an adventurous conversation with Chuck Doran, a successful restaurant franchisee who owns several Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken locations and an Arby’s in the Dayton area. Hear how Chuck is rebuilding brands by changing their culture, updating facilities, bringing in new technologies, partnering with local high schools, and starting a catering business.

Has your business plateaued? Are you stuck and not sure what to do? Or do you know what you need to do, but just can’t seem to do it? Join us as we talk to business and executive coach Jeanne Omlor, and see how an outsider's perspective can transform your business. Great tips and advice on what you need to do to take your business to the next level. Stay tuned for a special offer from Jeanne at the end of the show for all of our listeners! Reach out to Jeanne at Jeanne@jeanneomlor.com.

Do you have a family owned business, or are you considering hiring a family member? See how Becky Edgren of PuroClean has made a successful run of it with her three daughters, this week on American Dreamers. From business planning to weekly leadership training, Edgren has an impressive story for any entrepreneur to hear. PuroClean is now hiring in the Dayton and Cincinnati area.

After 40 years in the business, Darrell Jasper decided to venture out on his own. Using his skills, building relationships and managing people, Jasper has built a business based on past relationships. This week, Jasper discusses his ventures with Clear Image Solutions after working for others for almost 40 years.

We welcome back Tom Waltner of Fuller Information Technology, a 16-year radio show veteran, who shows us the ropes on this week's episode. While Waltner is also a talk show host, during the day he consults small business owners on their IT solutions and data storage, helping owners protect themselves and keep up with the latest in technology to make sure business runs smoothly.

Do you, like many of us, struggle with your weight? Have you been on hundreds of diets, only to find yourself worse than before? This week on American Dreamers, our producer, Joe Strecker, talks about his heroic 200-pound weight loss journey and how he has turned his success into a small coaching business. To reach Joe, check out his website or send us a note.

This week's episode is an emotional journey with Shannan Villalba of HIME Wellness. In December 2015 Shannon was diagnosed with Stage 4 cervical cancer. Through a combination of western and holistic medicine, Shannon is now cancer free and on a mission to help others live a healthier, more purposeful life. As a result, she created HIME Wellness, a group of wellness practitioners who came together to spread the word about the power of taking control of your health. Shannon has made it her mission to help others not only in their journey with cancer, but also others who are interested in living a more holistic life.For more information and to Check out upcoming events, visit HIME Wellness.

On this episode of American Dreamers, our guest is Kai Schneider of Dude, Seriously hot sauce. We asked him one question: How did you get started in the hot sauce business? Kai proceeded to tell us his life story in business, took us through college, several jobs in the entertainment business until that fateful day he got the recipe for the hot sauce that was used in the bloody marys served to the Rat Pack! Dude, Seriously!

It's better to give than to receive. True, but it's BEST to give AND receive. At least when you are talking about investing your hard earned money. This week on American Dreamers, our guest is Chris Flores of Three Corners Capital, and he discusses strategies that will help you do both.  

Where do you fall on the DISC assessment and how does it effect your ability to close a deal? Sales success comes in many shapes and sizes. Join us as we talk with Brett Harpel from Accelerate Accountability and explore what makes someone successful at sales, as well as what you need to do to better understand your prospects and clients.

Sometimes what's old is new again. This week on American Dreamers, Jason Hertzenberg of Recycle Cincinnati talks about leaving a successful job in financial services to open up his own business, hauling away peoples junk and re-purposing the same in his shop.  Doesn't that seem like a natural transition?  We didn't think so either!  You could say he's just re-playing the second hand he was dealt.

Everybody has a different relationship with money, for better or worse. For Steve Kehoe of Kehoe Financial Advisors, that means seeing things through his clients' eyes to learn more about them. It means listening, educating and guiding his clients to get them from point A to point B. With 35 years in the business, Kehoe has more than a few tips on this week's episode.

On this episode of American Dreamers, our guests are Krissi and Dan Barr, authors of The Fido Factor! The book shows us how to get a leg up at work by following the example of our four legged friends. Even if your dog can't catch a ball or fetch a stick, she can still inspire you to become a more effective leader at work. This show has truly gone to the dogs!

In this episode of American Dreamers, we visit Grace Green Beauty of West Chester, OH. Listen in and see how a series of events pushed Tempal Grace Hitt to develop a product, start and grow a business, develop a brand, open a manufacturing facility and plan for her future success. An inspiring, uplifting and encouraging story for all entrepreneurs. Be sure to check out GraceGreenBeauty.com for products that nourish you body, help troubled skin and reduce the signs of aging — all developed with natural, holistic ingredients.

Brent Sexton, founder of STAC, is our guest on this week's show.  Brent's company is simplifying the process of safety training verification.

On this episode of American Dreamers, our guest does her best to UN-teach about half of our listeners what they've been taught their whole lives. Kay Fittes is a national speaker, trainer, consultant, coach and author on issues for women in the workplace. Kay leads women in overcoming behaviors that often block career success. She holds a certification in Leadership Training and created numerous Leadership Training series for women. If you'd like to achieve high heeled success, take a listen!

Everybody has a freak flag...they just don't always fly it. That is definitely NOT the case with our guests, Dave Willacker and Brandi Clark. They fly it high and proud! Dave eats fire, swallows swords and electrocutes himself...on purpose! And Brandi...well, she walks on broken glass, gets buckwhipped and lays in a coffin filled with 80 of biggest hissing cockroaches you've ever seen!  And...sometimes she eats them! They're just a couple of freaks... trying to earn a buck. 

Meet Matt Marvin, owner of MGM Consulting. Marvin works with business owners and corporate leaders to help maximize the potential of their business. His latest book, “Nailed It”, highlights 10 keys to crushing the interview. 

This was truly a show that could've gone on for hours. Marc and Jim helped us navigate the complicated world of social security benefits. Grab a pen and get ready to take notes.

If you have the guts, vision and determination to start your own business... we applaud you.  Unfortunately, some of you...actually MOST of you won't make it.  You should know that the odds are stacked against you.  In this episode of American Dreamers, we talk about some of the most common, but unexpected, challenges you will likely face. Tom also tricks Robynn into giving us some free marketing advice!

Freeset is in Business for Freedom. The mission is simple: to help stop sex trafficking and prostitution in West Bengal, India. Freeset USA is a non-profit distributor for two social enterprise businesses: Freeset Bags & Apparel (FBA) and Freeset Fabrics. Through the distribution of tees and accessories, they are providing a new approach for confronting trafficking and prostitution through sustainable business. Freeset works to provide freedom to women who have been trafficked by offering them an alternative choice of employment. They are taught sewing and screen printing skills, and are also provided physical, emotional  and psychological support. Freeset women learn how to read, write, budget and handle their finances, plus they receive insurance and a pension.

You can go as far as the eye can see. But what if you can only see a foot in front of you? And what if you don't have the financial resources to go to the eye doctor? Enter Patrick Ward, president and CEO of The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation. Established in 2006, the mission of The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation is to preserve and improve sight. The Foundation provides access to eye care for vulnerable and under-served populations, including the operation of free charitable eye clinics, and provides community outreach services, supports community and professional education, and funds research.

In this show we learned the story of an unlikely partnership born of a chance meeting. Laura Laureto, fashion designer working for Cantarelli, near Cortona, Italy, and Lisa Lehner, attorney from Cincinnati, Ohio. They met, became friends and started a company.

In this episode of American Dreamers our co-host, Sun Ho Donovan, talks about her new business venture, Blue Chip Charters.  It took awhile, but I (Tom Tasset) was able to connect all the dots from her previous business experience and discover why someone who has never owned a boat, is the perfect candidate to start a riverboat charter company.  She says...it's all about the experience.  I say...whatever floats your boat!