Build Your Queue

Starting a company is great, but how do you get enough revenue early on so you don't have to stress about keeping your doors open? And then how do you scale that operation? Mosquito Joe Franchisee Trey Powell joins the Build Your Queue podcast to talk about opening one of the first Mosquito Joe franchises, how he got his early customers, and how he streamlined operations while creating delightful customer experiences to take his business to new heights. Listeners will walk away knowing how to do exactly the same.

Releasing a new product or feature is great, but how do you get customers to start using it? How do you leverage it to bring in new customers while also getting your existing customers on board? Kelly Oechslin, product marketing manager for flooring dealer software company RollMaster, joins us in The Queue to discuss. Listeners will walk away understanding how to take a new product or feature to market, how to how to build partnerships with customers instead of just transactions, and what it ultimately takes to help customers succeed.

Running restaurants is tough, and it's gotten exponentially tougher throughout the pandemic. How do you handle hiring and turnover? How do you keep customers coming in? How can you change your operations to be more profitable while creating great customer experiences? How do you navigate unexpected challenges without failing? These are some of the questions Owner of Bitter Alibi and Daily Ration Jason Bowers answers in his interview with Build Your Queue. Have a listen.

Building a SaaS company from the ground up is no joke. How do you get your first customers? Build a brand? Start to grow exponentially? StoragePug co-founders Tommy Nguyen and Matt Huddleston stop by The Queue to share their story of finding answers to these questions. You'll walk away knowing where to go to find your first customers, how to build a reputable brand that grows by word of mouth, how to create top quality content, and more.

Leading an organization's marketing and communications takes a lot of planning. But what needs to be included in that plan? How far in advance should you be working on stories? How do brand and messaging come into play? Sybil Topel, Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce's VP of Marketing and Communications, joined Build Your Queue to discuss. Listeners will walk away with a deeper understanding of corporate communications planning and strategy, how long it takes to see results from your work, and how to find partners to help you along the way.

Retailers tend to sell commodity items or niche products.  It's tough in both cases to stand out and draw in the traffic you need (digitally or in-person) to hit sales goals. You're either competing with everyone or fighting to create demand. So how can brands differentiate themselves, and bring in enough customers to keep business booming? Owner of furniture marketing agency R&A Marketing, Kevin Doran, joins Build Your Queue to discuss. You'll walk away understanding how to get hyper focused with your customer targeting, create repeat customers, and ultimately grow your profits.

Startup founders have a tough time educating customers, usually because your products are unique - first of their kind solutions that most people aren't familiar with. So how do you educate customers on your new product and why it's valuable? Felicia Jackson, founder of CPR Wrap, drops by Build Your Queue to discuss turning traumatic events (watching those close to her choke almost to death) into life-saving products, and how to educate potential customers without using fear. You'll walk away from this understanding how to connect with customers, find channel partners, and use education to draw engagement and grow sales.

Fitness studios and gyms see a boom in new memberships with new year's resolutions (and around other big holidays and promotions). But then there's a large drop off. What happens? Why do so many people who've just made this commitment choose to back out, and what can fitness professionals do about it? Loud Rumor's Brittany Welk and Corbyn May, who have worked on both the consultant and studio sides of the fitness business, joined Build Your Queue to talk customer retention, effective marketing, and putting yourself in a place to grow without straining your resources.  This is can't-miss content for anyone running a fitness studio, gym, or personal training business.

Small businesses can be about more than making profits, but how do you balance leading a mission-fueled company with making money? According to Luis Contreras, Owner of The Local Juicery + Kitchen and Squeaky Clean, they should be one in the same. Check out Luis's story of immigrating to the U.S. from Venezuela, starting multiple businesses, and committing to impacting people's live through small business.

Kim White has spent decades running for-profit and non-profit organizations, and one of the keys to her (and her orgs') success is how she intentionally interacts with people - employees, customers, and others in her community. Kim joins The Queue to chat with Text Request VP of Marketing Kenneth Burke on putting those people skills to use to lead effectively and grow an organization.

Subscription businesses from magazines to clubs to software products are all trying to increase subscription revenue, but how do you do it? How do you bring in more customers, keep them longer, and encourage them to spend more? Co-founder and CEO of Profitwell, Patrick Campbell, joins The Queue to tell us. This episode covers gaining new subscribers, retaining them (or decreasing churn), and how to continually add more value so those subscribers are happy to pay you more. You'll walk away with advice on freemium services as a customer acquisition channel, good and bad approaches to handling retention, and how to price your services.

You'd rather do a few things that have a major impact than do a lot of things that have little impact, right? Today's episode of Build Your Queue is just for you! Alex Pang, author of Shorter, Rest, and The Distraction Addiction, and founder of Strategy and Rest, joins us in The Queue to discuss how you can accomplish more by doing less. We discuss creative and impactful work, restorative rest, and creating systems that empower you to pack a bigger punch. This episode's filled with science and practical applications. After listening, you'll understand why constant work is counterproductive, know how to create personal boundaries that set you up for success, and how to shape a company culture of accomplishing more by doing less.

It's no secret - there's been a major shift to working from home, and it's not going away anytime soon. How can company leaders handle the transition and set their teams up for long term success? Chris Wilson, CEO of Smart Furniture, joins The Queue to discuss. In this episode we talk about differences in work from home and office cultures, taking care of employees, and where companies need to improve. You'll walk away knowing what your employees need to be successful working from home, how you can improve communications and management to make distributed employees work for your company, and common mistakes company leaders make that you can address.

Local businesses face lots of competition, both from other local businesses and from larger brands who've set up shop in town. How do you compete? How do you stand out from the pack and grow your business? Justin Knott, President of Intrepy Healthcare Marketing, joins The Queue to discuss. In this episode we talk about understanding your customers, storytelling, using social proof effectively, and more. After listening, you'll know how to craft a compelling story to market to customers, when to use organic tactics vs. paid tactics, and ultimately how to win your local market.

Running a business is tough, and there are always pressing issues or tasks you need to handle. But business leaders can get so caught up in that day-to-day problem solving, that they miss out on the big picture, on long-term growth opportunities. How do you fix that? Marcus Shaw, Executive Director for The Company Lab startup accelerator, joins The Queue to discuss. In this episode we discuss how to look at longer term trends, finding the right talent or hire to help you do that if it's not your strong suit, and how a strategic plan is a living, breathing document. You'll walk away knowing how to put a strategic plan in place, improve on what you have, and - most importantly - how to execute that plan successfully over time.

Many businesses think they're doing great things, and wonder why media professionals aren't covering their successes. Others want media coverage, but aren't sure how to go about getting it. Mary Fortune, Staff Writer for the Chattanooga Times Free Press and Editor of EDGE Magazine, joins The Queue to share her decades of experience in both journalism and corporate communications to show business professionals how to get the coverage they want. Mary discusses a day in the life of a writer, what goes into a story, and how to make sure your pitches stand out. Listeners will walk away knowing how to build quality relationships with media pros, craft a pitch that resonates with a writer's audience, and get the coverage you want.

Studies show that sales and marketing leaders view in-person events as their #1 lead generation tactic. So how do you host a successful event that makes your brand look great and brings in new business? Mackenzie Burysek, Event Sales Manager with LEO Events, joins the Build Your Queue podcast to discuss. We'll cover what successful events have in common, what attendees want to get out of your event, and how to structure your event to encourage lead generation. You'll walk away feeling confident in hosting your own event to build quality customer relationships and close new deals.

Getting in front of prospective customers is always valuable, so how can you use public speaking as a strategic customer acquisition channel? Max Farrell, co-founder and CEO of Workhound, joins The Queue to discuss. We talk about gaining the confidence and skills to speak publicly, finding opportunities that will yield positive ROIs for your company, and how to turn opportunities into deals closed. You'll walk away knowing how to host and market an effective speaking event, what content needs to be included in your talk, and how to handle public speaking for virtual events.

Running a store and building a brand are both difficult. Doing it entirely online is perhaps even more tough, because you have fewer personal interactions. So how do you define and grow a strong ecommerce brand? Rob Bettis, an independent paid media manager for ecommerce brands, joins the Build Your Queue podcast to teach us all about it. We'll talk about standing out from competitors, earning loyal followers, and growing your brand online. After listening you'll know how to create a concrete foundation to succeed online, how to bring in and keep customers, and how to use paid media to pour fuel on your fire.

Businesses often need more capital to create or execute on opportunities. How can you think strategically about where you get your capital from, and whether you need outside funding at all? Forbes 30 under 30 honoree and Partner with Dynamo Ventures Santosh Sankar joins us in The Queue to discuss. We talk about different funding sources, what you give up and get with each, and what funding looks like during (and after) a pandemic. After listening, you'll know whether outside investment is the best option for you, the mindset you need to have going into your search, what mistakes to avoid, and how to get the most value out of every dollar raised.

Starting and growing a successful company takes more than a good idea. There are tons of free online resources to help you with sales, marketing, and management, but what about the legal side of your business? How do you create a legal framework today that puts you in a great place to succeed today and years down the road? Autumn Witt Boyd, founder of the AWB Firm, joins the Build Your Queue podcast to teach us. We discuss what to do when you're starting out, when you need to re-evaluate your legal work, and common mistakes too many entrepreneurs make. You'll walk away from this episode knowing whether you have protectable intellectual property (IP), the right contract details in place, and what your next steps need to be. You'll also learn a thing or two about entrepreneurship in general, and how to improve as a business leader. 

Any organization is essentially a group of people working towards a common goal. So how do you bring out the best in your employees and help your organization thrive? Joining us in The Queue is Wade Hinton, VP of Global Inclusion and Diversity for Unum, to discuss. We'll talk about discovering employees' "super powers," creating ideal environments for team members to contribute their best, and "doing your homework." You'll walk away knowing what's needed to draw out your employees' untapped skills, and what you can do to facilitate their growth.

Can building up your community actually build up your business? Is nonprofit or economic development work something you should focus on as a business leader, or should you avoid the distraction? Tim Kelly - owner of Kelly Cars, managing partner of Chattanooga Brewing Co, co-founder of Chattanooga Football Club, and past chairman of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga - stops by The Queue to share his experience making civic and business responsibilities work together. You'll learn about how your business fits into broader issues, how to align values between your business, your customers, and organizations you support, and how to lead employees through the same situations. You'll walk away encouraged to contribute in your town knowing that work can come back to grow your own company.

Your customers and target audience are spending time on social media, and you should spend resources to be where your customers are. But how do you turn social media marketing into an effective and profitable marketing channel? Mickey Cloud, Executive Director of The Sasha Group (a VaynerX company), drops by The Queue to give us all the answers. He covers grabbing consumers' attention, social media strategies that work, and how even small companies can out-compete much larger brands. By the end of the episode you'll know how to stand out on social media platforms, what tactics will work for you, and how to turn time and dollars spent on social media into profitable returns.

Every business and organization wants to build a large and loyal following. You want to build a community around your brand. But how in the world do you do it? Shannon Stephenson, CEO of Cempa Community Care, joins The Queue to discuss creating a brand based on what the community you serve values, and how to then grow a following around that brand. Listeners will walk away knowing how to develop a brand identity, how to deliver that message to the people you serve, and how to consistently grow a loyal community while deepening relationships.

How do you get sales people to do the things you know they need to do to succeed, and so your organization can succeed? How do you keep your people motivated so that everyone wins? Brian Trautschold, co-founder and COO of sales gamification software Ambition, joins the Build Your Queue podcast to talk about improving sales team performance. In this episode, we talk about what organizations do that saps sales reps' energy, how to continually keep reps on course, and how to turn the ship around so that teams enjoy competing against each other. By the end of the episode you'll be able to implement coaching that improves individual rep performance, a culture that fosters healthy competitor, and processes that increase sales and employee retention.

Every business leader thinks they have a great story worth telling, and wants positive media attention. So why aren't you getting the coverage you want? And what can you do to fix that problem? John Martin, morning news anchor for WRCB-TV (NBC, Channel 3) in Chattanooga, stops by The Queue to give us all the answers. John shares what a day in the life of a newsroom looks like, how to build relationships with the right people, and what reporters value in a story. Listeners will walk away knowing how to craft a great pitch and story, how to create more opportunities, and how to get the media coverage you want and need.

"The talent we hire at our companies is the most valuable resource we have," but keeping and developing employees can be your most difficult project. What can you do to strengthen your employees so that they become powerful assets, and is there a way to do that without draining your time and other resources? We're bringing in Katie Love, Marketing Manager with Workhound, to give us the game plan. After listening, you'll know how to successfully onboard employees with defined milestones, how to be intentional when developing and communicating with employees, and how to turn new employees into advocates that share your company's mission with the world.

Every franchise and franchisee is trying to increase profits, but that's easier said than done. How do you cut costs while increasing revenue? You start by shoring up your customer communications. Your franchise and your customers have to be able to reach each other when you need, after all. Otherwise you're wasting your time and dollars. Former franchisee, franchisor, and Text Request CEO Brian Elrod stops by The Queue to discuss what you can do to grab customers attention, inspire them to buy, and make your brand more available to them. After listening, you'll know how to revamp your customer communications, connect with your target audience, and drive business through lead generation, increasing appointments, and earning more online reviews.

Every business wants more customers reaching out to them for sales and service. So how do you get more people to reach out? You start by creating demand for your products and services, but that's easier said than done. That's why Patricia Diaz, Senior Demand Generation Manager for Credly, came by The Queue. In this episode, we talk about how to generate interest even when no one knows you exist, how to create valuable content that connects with target customers, and how to capture demand (turn it into revenue) once you create it. Listeners will walk away knowing how to implement a demand generation strategy, set budget and timeline expectations, and improve your sales and marketing conversion rates.

Sales is the lifeblood of any business, but how do you make sure sales are constantly flowing? Tom Wengler, experienced sales professional and HubSpot partner with OctoUX, stops by The Queue to share how you can start more sales conversations and make those conversations more effective, so you can strengthen your company and increase revenue. After listening, you'll walk away knowing new and effective sales conversation starters, how to create or refine your own sales process, and how to get into your target customers' mind so you can provide the value they need and ultimately close more sales deals.

A common (and helpful) piece of advice is to manually complete a task or process until doing it manually creates a bottleneck, then find a way to automate that process. The problem is most businesses don't automate processes once they create bottlenecks, so they're stuck holding themselves back. David Rowland, Director of Marketing for SigniX, stops by The Queue to show us how to fix it. Listeners will walk away knowing how to identify what bottlenecks exist in their companies, how to get multiple teams to collaborate to solve the problem, and what steps you should take to automate your workflows. 

Everyone wants to see their company highlighted in major media outlets, but that's not always a good goal for small-medium businesses. So what should you do to build your PR presence? We brought in David Martin, co-founder of Heed Public Relations, to talk about crafting your unique PR game plan. You'll learn how to build a local presence that grows nationally, how to set the right expectations when working with PR partners, and how to tell your company's story in a way that makes media outlets (and others) want to talk about you.

Most people understand that social media is valuable for business, but how do you actually get value - a strong ROI - from social media marketing? And how does that look specifically for multi-location businesses like franchise brands? Mike McDowell, Director of Operations for Social Joey, drops by The Queue to discuss how you can succeed on social media through custom local content. By the end of this episode, you'll know how to turn your brand into a staple of your community, how to develop a loyal following, and how to turn social media content into stronger profits for your company.

Everyone wants to talk business when things are going well. What about when your business is struggling and you're doing everything you can just to survive? How do you right the ship to turn your failing business into a healthy and profitable enterprise? Nick Phillips, serial entrepreneur and founder of Cash Flow Mapping, comes by The Queue to share how business owners can identify problem areas, correct them, and get on the path to profitability. Listeners will walk away with actionable steps to prioritize problems, identify which metrics matter, define your end goal, and realign your strategies and tactics to increase profits. 

Good sales and marketing is all about connecting with your target market, sharing that you understand their problems and what it takes to solve them. But how do you communicate that? The most powerful way is through story, and we're talking with Storybrand certified guide and Principal of 8Bend Marketing Josh Davis to uncover how you can tell your brand's story. By the end of this episode, you'll understand exactly what a company's story is, how to define yours, and how to use your story to drastically improve your sales and marketing results.

Digital advertising is not new, but there's so much to digital ads that business leaders do not take advantage of, or even understand. But how do you learn what you don't know you're missing? Philippe LeMaitre, Digital Coordinator with ad agency Workshop, comes by to talk creating demand for your products and services, capturing that interest, and converting it through digital advertising channels. After listening, you'll know how to access big data to reach your ideal buyers, what questions to ask your digital partners, and how to attribute revenue goals to specific ads.

Remote workers can be incredibly valuable to businesses of all sizes, but you can't manage remote employees the same way you manage people who work in the office with you. What should you do? And if you're nervous about taking the leap into hiring remote workers, how can you set your business up for success? Natalie Martin, co-founder of Heed Public Relations, stops by The Queue to discuss. Listeners will walk away with steps to hire the right remote employees, bring them into your company culture, and empower them to do their best work outside the office.

Business is all about people coming together to create and serve. But how do you find the right people in your town or industry who can help you and your business grow? And how do you build relationships with them to create a supportive and powerful community that will propel you forward? We bring in Alexis Willis, Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship with the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce to discuss. Listeners will walk away with a framework for creating time to build your network, how to foster relationships with key people, and how to put yourself in the right positions to create more opportunities.

We're excited! Why? Because we're launching the Build Your Queue podcast to help business leaders like you create more opportunities for their companies. Season 1 launches Tuesday, March 3. Stay tuned!