The decision to grow your business is easy. Making it happen, now that’s the challenge. Join us for lunch as we offer insights and actionable steps you can incorporate into your business.
People are in relationships with brands. Where does your brand stand? Customers come to know you by how you behave, not by how you say you behave. Brands are evaluated and understood by their actions, not necessarily by their intentions. Above all, your brand must be meaningful and relevant to your audience. If it doesn't motivate, persuade, or change behaviors and attitudes then . . . what's the point? Today for your 5-Minute Break, I'll highlight some prompts to get you thinking about how clear you REALLY are on your branding. Learn more about the power of effective branding at craftmarketingandbranding.com.
Whose responsibility is it to take ownership of a customer-first strategy? Customer experience is key to the success of any company, and ensuring this positive relationship with your brand depends on your ability to truly know your customer, and ultimately deliver on your brand promise. Only when you know the voice of your customer can you truly improve upon your crafted strategy to better serve those who interface with your brand. Today's5-Minute Break centers around how your brand can implement a customer-first mindset and start seeing consumers as people, not just personas. Not sure where to get started with developing a customer-first strategy? Visit www.craftmarketingandbranding.com and learn more!
I'm guessing you're like me. Your calendar is jam-packed with meetings. But the one with the most meetings doesn't necessarily win. Listen in for an idea to plan time in your day.
At the end of all of the planning, you need to execute. What are the right tactics that reach your target customer at the right time, regardless of whether you're building awareness, generating interest, or making the sale?
What's your brand's product or service differentiation strategy? Do you even have a point of differentiation?
You want to change. Tried with the status quo. But what resistance do you need to overcome to achieve that change?
Take a short break from your day - how persistent are you in your marketing activities?
Take a short break from your day. How relevant is your brand messaging to your customers?
Take a short break from your day! Let's talk about the importance of research.
Take a short break from your day to listen to how consistency is key in your marketing.
Jason Locklin, Founder and CEO of CloudCompli joined me at the Business Growth Cafe for a frank conversation about the ups and downs of starting and growing a business.
Krista Hollingsworth, Chief Revenue Officer for Consilien, joins me at the Business Growth Cafe to talk about CyberSecurity, Risk medications and Ransomware, and how to protect yourself. www.consilien.com Listen on your favorite platform: https://linktr.ee/BusinessGrowthCafe
Is there a right time to bring in a sales coach/trainer for your organization? Joining me at the Business Growth Cafe is Leslie Groene, President of Groene Consulting. Leslie's company has been helping companies for over 24 years set up, train, and manage sales organizations. In this episode, we'll explore various strategies, tips, and recommendations to get your sales team heading in the right direction for success. To learn more, visit: http://www.groeneconsulting.com/ To learn more about the Business Growth Cafe and Craft Marketing Architects, visit www.craftmarketingarchitects.com
INBRACE CEO John Pham joins me at the Business Growth Cafe to discuss how his company focuses on improving people's lives. We explore his experience launching startups helped him to build a new kind of company; integrating advanced orthodontic methods, practice development, healthcare software systems, lean manufacturing, systems management, and marketing & sales excellence to innovate purposefully and nimbly. His efforts have been recognized in 2018, 2019, and 2020 when INBRACE was one of Orange County's Top Workplaces and in 2019 and 2020 when he was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. Join us as we explore his journey to build this highly successful company.
Leilani Quiray, CEO of be the change HR joins me once again on the Business Growth Cafe to bring her year-long journey as she traveled the US while growing her business, and personally as well. As a regular guest on the show, Leilani shares life and business lessons that everyone can benefit from. www.bethechangeHR.org
Sales and Marketing are your growth engines for your business. That's why it's important that the relationship between sales & marketing are in alignment to drive business growth and profitability. Today my guest, Rich Cocuzzo, President of Sales Velocity Advisors, and I discuss the relationship between sales and marketing, as well as our own challenges in growing our individual businesses. Visit www.salesvelocityadvisors.com to learn more about Rich's services Visit www.craftmarketingarchitects.com to learn more about my services
Karl Pontau, founder of Squash and Stretch Productions joins me at the Business Growth Cafe to discuss the power of storytelling and animation to communicate complex ideas, simply. Karl's mission is to improve the lives of people around the world by telling engaging stories that build empathetic connections and inspire positive change. You can find Karl's LinkedIn profile here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau As a special free offer to Business Growth Cafe listeners, Karl is offering you a 30 minute Exceptional Brand Storytelling coaching session over Zoom. Click this link to schedule your session now! www.squashandstretch.net
Five hundred million plastic straws are used daily, and with many states and cities issuing bans on single-use plastics, what's the alternative? Well, it's UrthPact! UrthPact is now the leader in compostable manufacturing focused on developing products from earth-friendly materials. UrthPact CEO Paul Boudreau joins me at the Business Growth Cafe to discuss his mission to keep 25 billion plastic pieces from reaching the oceans and landfills by the year 2025 and how UrthPact straws can help, one sip at a time!
Steve Hoffman, CEO of Founders Space, one of the world's leading startup accelerators, with over 50 partners in 22 countries joins me on the Business Growth Cafe to explore and discuss the world of startups. Founders Space was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines. Hoffman is also a venture investor, founder of three venture-backed and two bootstrapped startups, and author of several award-winning books. These include “Make Elephants Fly” (published by Hachette), “Surviving a Startup” (published by HarperCollins), and “The Five Forces” (published by BenBella). www.foundersspace.com/10 to download the 10 Commandments of raising venture capital
The Great Resignation is here! In the United States alone, 4.3 million employees have quit their jobs. On top of that, there are over 11 million open jobs in the U.S. How has this impacted your business? Or, if you're the one looking for a new job, what has been your strategy. Join me this week at the Cafe for my discussion with Kathy Dawson, CEO of Dawson and Dawson. We'll explore the current state of the job market, and impact of Covid on the way people work, and the approach to hiring that businesses now need to take? Learn more about Dawson & Dawson at https://www.dawsondawsoninc.com/
Supply Chain consultant Richard Montellano, the founder of RAM Supply Chain Inc., joins me, Angelo Ponzi, on the Business Growth Cafe podcast to discuss current supply chain issues and their impact on businesses in the US and worldwide.
Glenn Gow, CEO Therapist joins me, Angelo Ponzi, at the Business Growth Cafe to discuss the many challenges and decisions facing CEOs and the steps they can take to become better leaders. Having been a CEO, leading his own company for 25 years, and working with brands such as Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Apple, Glenn brings a unique perspective having been a CEO to help CEOs.
What are the key issues you're facing that might impede your business growth in 2022? The internal and external factors that you need to address. Do you know what they are? Have you held your company planning session yet? If not, what are you waiting for? 2022 is right around the corner. In the episode, I'll discuss some of the critical areas you need to include in your planning, along with some ideas to get them accomplished.
You screwed up. Made a bad decision. Now if you're human, this has happened to you. It's inevitable. Whether you're an employee or business leader it has happened. And, I'm sure it has happened in your personal life as well. The question is, how do you deal with this bad decision? And, what do you do about it? One of the questions you need to consider with any bad decision is what are the unintended consequences? Join me, Angelo Ponzi, at the Business Growth Cafe as I explore this topic and offer up some ideas and steps you can take to deal with a "Bad Decision."
Joining me at the Business Growth Cafe is Jeff Brown, Founder, and President of Brown and Associates, specializing in improving large-scale systems to develop and adopt a culture that eliminates waste and improves operational effectiveness. With 25 years of experience creating, building, and growing successful companies, Jeff has a unique ability to identify even the slightest improvements in operations and processes that yield dramatic results. A true entrepreneur with a passion and energy for driving results while maintaining fiscal responsibility, Jeff is uniquely able to recruit and hire only the best talent to build winning teams of sales and operational staff successfully. Learn more about Brown and Associates at: https://www.jsbnetwork.com/ Listen to the Business Growth Cafe on your favorite podcast platform: https://linktr.ee/BusinessGrowthCafe
Joining me at the Cafe this week is Meredith Bell, co-founder, and President of Performance Support Systems, a global software company providing assessment and development tools for the workplace. Meredith is an expert in leader and team communications, the author of two books, and the host of the Strong for Performance podcast. https://growstrongleaders.com/podcasts/ Will explore her book, Connect with Your Team, which covers the top 10 communication skills. Which 2 or 3 would you put at the top of the list? Visit Amazon to purchase the book.
Originally published 10/2019 Storytelling has been used to shape and redefine events in order to persuade and change possible outcomes in history. Storytelling evolved as a way to ensure that history was handed down from generation to generation, so historical events were retold over and over to educate and entertain an audience. Join me at the Cafe as I explore the value and strategies of storytelling, along with some practical advice on establishing your story's premise
Joining me at the Business Growth Cafe is Joanie Connell, Ph.D., is a talent management expert, organizational consultant, author, public speaker, and a leadership and career coach for people across job levels, ages, and industries, and especially loves helping technical people improve their people skills. As a psychologist, she works with both management and their teams to improve communications resulting in more effective and efficient teams. Listen in as she shares some great advice that every business leader, especially those tech-oriented leaders can use to improve their business. Learn more about her company at: https://flexibleworksolutions.com/ Check out her podcast, https://reinventingnerds.blubrry.net/ Or, connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanieconnell/
Join me, Angelo Ponzi, and my guest, Andy Peters, Founder and Managing Partner at AAKEN Business Brokerage. Andy and his team are engaged when a business struggles and needs a fresh perspective, change directions, or someone to make the hard choices. In addition, they are brought in when an owner wants or needs to prepare to sell or is ready to sell now. As a consultant, fractional or interim CEO, and COO, Andy, I explore the value and perspective a consultant brings to a business in helping them achieve their goals. Want to explore and learn more about how Andy can help your business? You can reach him at andy@aakeninc.com or visit his website: https://aakeninc.com
If you're in business, you most likely have a LinkedIn profile. However, most people don't have an effective profile. Why, because we're not LinkedIn experts! Today at the Business Growth Café I have Rhonda Sher, a LinkedIn expert to discuss the ins and outs of optimizing your LinkedIn profile to help be discoverable when someone is searching for a service or person like you. This is a master class in LinkedIn, so grab a notebook while you listen. As a special offer, Rhonda is offering to audit your LinkedIn profile in 30 minutes on Zoom Review for $97, $100 off the normal price. To take advantage of this offer, send an email to LinkedIndiva@gmail.com and the Business Growth Café Offer in the subject line. Rhonda will respond with the details. To connect with Rhonda on LinkedIn, go to LinkedIn.com/in/RhondaLSher
Today's special guest is Kara Goldin, Founder, and CEO of Hint Water. Kara joins me at the Business Growth Café to discuss her journey from the media and tech world to growing the #1 Unsweetened Water on the market. In her new book, Undaunted, Overcoming Doubts and Doubters, you'll get to experience all of her ups and downs in her pursuit of growing Hint. Listen in to this extended Business Growth Café episode as Kara offers up many life and business lessons you won't want to miss. I also highly recommend you pick up a copy of the book, a handbook really on entrepreneurship. Click here to access Amazon Books. Click here to buy Hint online or to find a store near you.
Frank Caperino, known as Franchise Frank, joins me at the Business Growth Cafe for a master class on buying a franchise. If you ever thought about buying a franchise, this is the show for you. With over 20 years of franchise experience, Frank gets into all of the important things you need to know as you navigate this process to help you make the right and intelligent choice. This experience comes from not only helping people buy franchises but from being an operator himself. To learn more, visit: www.franchisefrank.com
Original airing: September 2, 2020 At the Café, I've invited Rich Cocuzzo, the founder and president of Sales Velocity Advisors, to talk war stories, the good, the bad, and the ugly of today's business environment and to provide some insights on what to do and not to do when it comes to planning your sales strategies and tactics.
Leilani Quiray, CEO and Founder of BeTheChangeHR took a different route in 2020 during the pandemic. She packed up her car and began traveling the country. But being remote didn't slow her down. She grew her business, added employees, and managed to have adventure after adventure hiking mountains and scaling rock faces along the way. Join us at the Business Growth Cafe this week for a special and insightful show with a very special woman.
IZO Spirits CEO Gaston Martinez joins me at the Business Growth Cafe to discuss growing the IZO brand during the challenges of 2021. What do you do when one of your primary channels of distribution, restaurants, is not available? How do you grow from one product to eight and maintain the highest level of quality? And, what is the impact on your brand when you're winning awards competition after competition? Grab a glass, sit back and let's sip some Mezcal! www.izospirits.com
Originally posted August 6, 2019 Have you ever thought and wondered how you became an entrepreneur? What drove you to start your first business? It's an interesting question. Today at the Cafe, I'm going to talk about where I believe I got my start, motivation. I'm calling this show, life lessons from the #1 plumber, in the #2 business, lessons my father taught me that I never listened to, but found valuable later on in life. Life Lessons and Unintended Business Advice From the #1 Plumber in the #2 Industry
Join me and my guest, Michael Haynes, B2B Customer Strategy Specialist and author of the book, Listen Innovate and Grow. We explore the importance of listening to the market to generate innovative thinking to drive revenue and company growth. This is a fun, insightful, and educational show and one I'm sure you'll benefit from listening to. It's a workshop in 60 minutes! Click here to learn more about Michael's book.
When you graduated with your degree and entered the workforce armed with all of the freshly minted knowledge, you were ready to conquer the business world. What you and frankly most of us found out is that we were missing the soft skills necessary to be successful. Most of them, we picked up along the way. How to work effectively, interview, be a leader, network, or even negotiate, are the essential skills to be successful. Mark Herschberg, author of The Career Toolkit and I discuss the essential skills for success that no one ever taught you. Use code BGC20 for the next 60 days to receive a discount on book purchases. Click Pathway to access.
When you think about influencer marketing do the big names pop into your mind? And, of course, so do the big budgets to get on their radar. But, maybe there is an opportunity for small businesses to get on the influencer marketing bandwagon. Consider Micro-Influencers. My guest today, Aaron Kosinets, CEO of Influencer Hunter, and I explore the world of how businesses can strategically use influencers to help build their business.
If you own or manage a business and have employees, you know what a pain in the "ass" payroll can be. It's not just about cutting the paychecks, it's about making sure you're dealing with the taxes, timekeeping, making sure breaks are being taken and everything is being documented. Today, I have Debbie Biscotti, Senior Product Advisor of Heartland to talk payroll, time tracking, onboarding, Work Opportunity Tax Credits, and much much more.
When we think about marketing, the 4P's come to mind. Product /Service, Place, Price, and Promotion. But today, there are many more P's, or possibly even C's, depending on your thinking. Join me at the Business Growth Cafe to explore, and count the number of P's you might have in your business and how they can impact the growth of your business.
Unless you've been hiding under a rock, the conversation on energy conservation and climate change is not new but certainly one you need to participate in. My guest and expert on the subject, Marc Brener, Director of Renewable & Energy Efficiency Services of Energy Experts International, Inc., is here with me today to help explore ideas and the facts you need to be thinking about. This is an important, educational and stimulating conversation.
The world of public relations has changed and my guest, Amy Levy, Founder and CEO of Amy Levy Public Relations has changed too. Not only in the way she runs her business but the types of services she provides her clients. Listen in as Amy shares her decades of experience from her big agency days in New York to the successful twenty years and counting with her own business. She shares some wonderful insights on the work she does for her clients and I'm sure you'll walk away with ideas of how they might help drive business for your company.
Be honest with yourself. Have you ever been the person who interrupts or feels the need to take over a conversation? Not really listening and just waiting for the opportunity to grab hold of the conversation and interject what's on your mind? Is that a conversation? What is the cost of not being a good listener? Mistakes at work, family issues, losing friends? Good, active listening is a soft skill you need to develop, as it's essential in your life's every aspect. Join me, Angelo Ponzi, at the Business Growth Café this week as we explore the dos and don'ts of being a good listener.
You’ve heard the saying…healthy, wealthy, and wise. Interestingly, so many people I speak to say they understand and it’s "wise" words to live by, but many have just not taken them to heart. And, in many cases, when they do, it’s a little too late. Well, today, I have Scott Sage, President of Sage Financial Innovations, to help us think a little differently when it comes to wealth strategies and to ensure you are healthy, wealthy, and wise enough to enjoy whatever end goal you have in mind.
Unless you have been hiding under a rock or sitting in your bedroom staring at a wall, you’ve heard the term Brand or Branding. Now depending on who you’re talking to, what a brand stands for or how you leverage it in your business to differentiate and build a relationship with your customers, well that is the question. Today on the show I have Bronson Ma, Chief Creative Officer at Bronson Ma Creative to talk about brand and brand building.
Do you love Christmas? Santa Claus? Presents? Decorating your house? Tree? Caroling in the neighborhood…Christmas cookies…my absolute favorite. Fun and memorable times…whether you’re thinking of your childhood or those of your children. Now imagine if you could have Christmas year-round? It sounds like fun! Joining me at the Cafe this week is Mike Sterling, President of Dekra-Lite Industries, a commercial Christmas company, to talk about the business of Christmas.
How many of you want to write a book? How many of you started writing a book or two, but never finished. I hate to say it, but I fall into the latter category. I have spoken to so many people that think about writing a book, get overwhelmed, and it never gets from your head to paper. That's where a ghostwriter comes in. Today I had a great conversation with Laura Gale, Ghostwriter on how a ghostwriter can help get your idea onto the page, the process of publishing and so many other insights. It's a lesson to get your idea from your head to a published book. Please join us for a stimulating conversation.
Join me and my guest, Heath Goldman, CEO of ICON Wealth and Legacy Partners for insights on the following, plus many more questions. Don't wait to plan...plan for success. What do business leaders need to know to take advantage of the current estate tax exemption? What the right goals for wealth as it relates to transfers? Thinking about selling a business? When should you start planning? What is legacy planning and why you should care?
So you’re thinking about starting a podcast. Three years ago, so did I, and here I am with about 130 or so under my belt on a variety of podcast platforms from iTunes, Spotify, Google, Amazon music…pretty much anywhere you can listen to a podcast. As of February 2021, there are over 1,750,000 podcasts and over 43 million episodes, up from 500,000 active podcasts from just two years ago in February 2018. But like sports, there are a few that make it to the top…have great success, and make money. Today on the show, I have Jeremy Slate, founder, and CEO of Create Your Own Podcast Life and Comand Your Brand, to help us navigate building your network and business through podcasting.
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