Saunders & Cash

Mallory Marney started Premier MedExperts to provide a network of expert witness to facilitate expert testimony for all sorts of civil, medical and legal cases in the United States with a primary focus on the Midwest. You can learn all about how she got started in the interview on this podcast. She has seen dramatic growth in her first year of business. Mallory discusses how she has grown the business in respond to significant demand that includes both medical and non-medical expert witnesses. Law firms are now able to find expert witnesses in a wide range of medical specialty areas. Premier MedExperts does all of the research to validate qualifications and accreditations of the witness. Mallory discussed her passion for the business by explaining how she did some soul searching after working in sales and making others successful. The larger law firms are focused on the east and west coasts, so Mallory discovered the mid-west was not really covered. She went from concept to reality in less than a year. Learn more in the podcast. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.

For this podcast we invited Wayne Bell, the local director of the Small Business Administration to the show to learn more about the programs available at the SBA. Wayne Bell has been the local director at the SBA for 12 years. The SBA is a part of robust ecosystem for entrepreneurs in Kansas and across the nation. With the SBA entrepreneurs has an opportunity to use a number of programs that help to strengthen the local and national economy. Small businesses contribute over half of all jobs in the economy. Listen in and find out all of the programs, workshops, loan programs, referrals to approved banks and a number of services that help support the growth and development of local businesses. For example, right now you might want to know more about disaster assistance.  SBA works with a wide range of partners including the Small Business Development Centers, typically at local universities, SCORE and groups like NetWork Kansas. Anyone who wants to get started in business can go to SBA.Gov for help with creating a business plan or learn more about being a government contractor.   When you need loans the SBA uses it LenderMatch program to get you connected with approved banks for SBA approved lenders. You can learn a bunch more about the SBA by listening to the podcast and checking out the resources available with the SBA. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.

Learn how a real estate investor sees growth by bringing back a formerly popular espresso coffee cafe to be a neighborhood destination for fresh coffee and freshly prepared food, combined with great customer service. Daniel Mariotti started in real estate but saw an opportunity to expand his business opportunities by taking over a well-established coffee café that had been in decline due to the owner having moved out of the area and not able to manage the café. With the improvements, he has seen tremulous growth by improving customer service, the product and the décor while rebuilding a loyal customer base. Joins us and listen to his story of entrepreneurship. He moved to Wichita from Southern California and his family started out on seven acres of land, raising animals and a garden much like the TV show Green Acres. He attended college and took a corporate job on the east coast before realizing he wanted an different opportunity for his family and returned to Wichita to work with in real estate, partnering with his father. He attended college at College of the Ozarks, as known as Hard Work U. The entire campus is run by the students, all working about 15 hours a week and resulted in no student debt but also a work ethic. As Daniel said “It instills the responsible of having to balancing life, work and school”. He grew up with a family of entrepreneurs, so this is something he has always wanted to do and it comes from hard work, honesty and integrity. He got established in the real estate business partnering with his father, buying distressed properties and estate properties, fixing them up and retaining about one in ten as rentals, reselling the rest. What has changed in Wichita is a more positive business environment than a few years ago. But with the availability of cheap money and investor interest the real estate market may have peaked. With the Wichita real estate market, price swings does not occur as much compared to other markets. As a regular customer, Daniel saw that the II Primo Expresso Café had been in decline and saw an opportunity to take over and refresh the product line, the café and improve customer service. What he did was bring the business back with better customer service, improved décor and better food options. He also recently opened a coffee and café in a downtown office building. And the customers at the office building have really responded. That response have been built around preparing everything fresh every time, something the people in the building has really appreciated. II Primo is just one part of a growing coffee scene in the Wichita area all built around what each neighborhood seems to want. This is just one of the many success stories about entrepreneurship we have been able to share with our audience. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.

For this podcast we caught up with Henna Hundal, a recent graduate of Harvard University who is the host of a syndicated radio program that has featured the likes of Bill Gates, Nobel laureates, Fortune 500 CEOs, and most recently, several of the 2020 U.S. presidential candidates. When Henna started podcasting, she didn’t realize it would grow into a project she was passionate about, but the Henna Hundal Show is a now nationally syndicated news program in addition to being a podcast. Henna has been fortunate be able to launch her show from the studios of Harvard Radio Broadcasting. The story starts from her dorm room, where she started turning discussions with fellow students about the most important issues of the day into podcasts. She then expanded this to recording her professors and leveraging that connection to interview some of the more significant leaders not just in Boston but across the nation and around the world. The show features the world’s foremost experts for groundbreaking discussion within their respective fields, spanning medicine, science, technology, business, politics, policy, law, and more. Now Henna Hundal is on a mission to understand how contemporary high-impact issues are being tackled by the world’s most influential leaders and has so far interviewed nine of the candidates for president running in the early primaries. Henna Hundal holds a bachelors degree in stem cell biology from Harvard University. She has been working in radio for six years, including having served as the Chief Operator of Harvard Radio Broadcasting (WHRB Cambridge, 95.3 FM). Taking into account all of her high school accomplishments, it comes as no surprise that Harvard University accepted Hundal as a student from a small farming community in Northern California. Hundal was originally inspired to apply to the prestigious university for its phenomenal programs, as well as the “movers and shakers” who engage in pioneering research daily.   Imagine, if you will, that you could interview anyone alive today from among world leaders, who would you choose? For Henna Hundal, this is not a question but a reality. Henna leveraged seized the resources at Harvard to interview a wide diversity of distinguished guests on her eponymous radio show. Hundal, who grew up in an immigrant family of almond farmers, was first introduced to radio in high school, so it was a natural fit to join the student-run Harvard Radio Broadcasting (WHRB 95.3 FM) program. Inspired by the stimulating environment at the radio station, Hundal created a broadcast of her own, the “Henna Hundal Show,” a forum committed to breaking down contemporary issues exploring how the world’s movers and shakers approach them. Since its creation, the show has hosted guests such as Bill Gates, and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, among others. “As you can imagine, it was an unbelievable experience to sit down with Bill Gates and gather his perspectives on HIV/AIDS, as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has dedicated an enormous sum of money towards HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives.” She is also a contributing author to a book that provides tools and tips for young people to harness their full potential and make a difference in the world (Millennials to Boomers: Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World). You can learn more by listening to the entire podcast. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.    

Pat Pelkowski as a veteran of the U. S. Air and a retired Air Traffic Controller who knew he loved the idea of owning his own business. He retired at 50 years of age and as he started thinking about what would come next he turned to entertaining others with a mobile bartending service. With a degree in entrepreneurship from Wichita State University he also gives back by ensuring 20 to 25 percent of his business is provided to non-profits with his mobile bartending business. Shaken or Stirred is a service he provides for weddings, corporate events and parties of all types. It’s interesting he didn’t create his business plan on the back of a napkin. He actually grew his business mostly from word-of-mouth referrals. He found that only 10 percent of his business came from bridal fairs, and 90 percent came from referrals. The business has grown for just his wife and himself to several employees and several events each week that includes corporate events, private parties, anniversaries, birthdays and weddings. One key advantage of using a professional mobile bartending service is Pat and his team have figured out how to best plan and put on a successful event, from planning the beverages to serves customers it all takes some experience.   He also offers the Art of Mixology classes so you can learn just what it takes to mix a great cocktail. Much like a cooking school except for drinks.  Over the four years he has been in business his business has grown each year growing from just one event a month to several events each week with teams of employees handling the set-up and serves requirements. Pat actually started his business before he actually retired so that by the time he was ready to leave air traffic control work, he was ready to go full-time. He actively works to nurture his network for repeat business by reaching out to corporate events that frequently happens every year and makes sure that he gives back to the community by providing his services to local non-profits. He also actively works the local business networking events to make sure people are always aware of his services by attending several different chamber of commerce organizations and the local vistor's agency. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.

The Women Empowered Market started just a year ago to have a global impact for women.  A diverse group of women entrepreneurs and leaders of nonprofits, designed to help women around the world, got together to plan and bring to the community a market of products produced or sold by women. Each of members of the organizing group are either entrepreneurs themselves or have programs to help enable women to become more self sufficient by helping them start a business. The group organized the first Women Empowered Market with over 40 vendors offering fair-trade, fairly traded and direct trade goods created by local and global small businesses run by women.  Since then the Women Empowered Market has hosted three markets and are about to host the four market during International Women's Month.  Two of the primary organizers, Katy Penner of Alegria Fair Trade and Ginger Lobdell of SheHopes.org joined in the interview to discuss how the market was formed and the success it is having in its second year.  The next market is March 21st at First Presbyterian Church in Wichita.  The market features both local women entrepreneurs and products from women owned businesses from diverse areas like India, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda as well as Southeast Asia and Central America.  Some of the nonprofit program, like SheHopes works directly with women in villages to teach them selfdefense skills and sewing skills so they can make products that are then sold locally as well as brought to the United States for events like the Women Empowered Market.  Women are now over half of the world's population and studies have shown that when women become entrepreneurs, the entire community improves, kids do better in school and men benefit as well.  Listen to podcast, come to market and support women entrepreneurs. 

Local Entrepreneur Opens Fireworx CoWorking in Historic Fire House Image the excitement you might feel when you have a strong attachment to historic building and you want to encourage entrepreneurship in your hometown and you discover an opportunity.   For Bruce Rowley, an entrepreneur, marketer, creative thinker, commercial real estate developer and managing partner at RSM Marketing, that's what happened one day as he drove by an historic firehouse near his office in downtown Wichita, Kansas.   He had driven by this building many times. The city was using as staging area for public works projects, with trucks and gear parked here and there around the site.   He stopped one day for look at the building, just a bit curious about what the inside looked like. As he was looking around, he stepped into the historic fire station, and was greeted by one of the workers. He got a tour of the building from one of the city employee who mentioned that the city was planning to move their functions out and sell the space. Once Bruce saw the space, that got Bruce's creative juices flowing and he went home that evening, wrote up a plan and sent it off to his parters by 10 PM that night.   In his research he discovered that co-working has gone into old banks and old schools. He realized that his rather difficult spaces can be repurposed in some space ways. It took some time to get a contract with the city in place to acquire the building with an agreement to turn the firehouse into a co-working space. One of the creative things they did was to take the huge doors of the fire station and used them for interior walls for conference space.   The grand opening included many of the retired fire workers who actually served at the station. Find out more information FireWorxWichita.com.   Bruce, grew up in Wichita when the aviation industry was growing rapidly as a community of entrepreneurs that included Pizza Hut and the Rent-A-Center corporations grew to national chains. That changed later in the 1990s and the early part of this decade. But over the last few years things have really taken off for entrepreneurs in Wichita with the whole ecosystem for entrepreneurs rapidly expanding.   As Bruce said, “We got the beginning of our MoJo back and we are not taking no for answer anymore.” and “We are not playing by the rules set by who knows who anymore.”   The entrepreneurship is the reason Bruce and his business partner Mike Snyder choose to locate their business here as it as grown to a national firm. One of the things they have done is look around in the downtown area with other investors to build up the area south of the sports arena.   The entire top floor of the building has been leased out, but there is space on the ground floor and the loft area. The plan is to bring even more economic diversity to the area with the addition of the co-working space and is within walking distance to the sports arena, the new baseball stadium and many eating spots.   Be sure and tune in to find out what Bruce feels is the three elements needed to make entrepreneurship grow in any community.   Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy, FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.   You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.

  There have been a lot of wins for EmpowerHer Conference sponsored by the Women Entrepreneurs of Kansas (WEKAN). March 13th at WSU Tech on Webb Road. The Theme is “Her Vision For the Future.” We were joined by Marquetta Atkins and Brandy Willett. Two of the board members for both Women Entrepreneurs of Kansas and Camp Destination Innovation. One of those wins is Jennifer McDonald of Jenny Dawn Cellars who started with an idea three years ago at the conference. She was able to put together her business plan, find investors, go learn the wine business at UC Davis in California and bring all of that back to Wichita where she now has her own business with the first urban wine cellar in Kansas. Another win is of course, Christina Long, founder of the Create Campaign. The Create Campaign does so much to help launch businesses in Wichita with counseling, connections, workshop and serves as the hub of minority business development, growth and innovation in Kansas. Another win for entrepreneurs in Wichita is Founders Grove includes, the Create Campaign, Camp Destination Innovation, Real Mean Real heroes and the Heartland Wichita Black Chamber of Commerce. Another win features at this year’s conference is The Hive founded by Andrea Hattan, who recently bought the office space she uses to create her co-working business and building a community for women of entrepreneurs. This conference is about following your dreams and passions and about investing in yourself to make a future for yourself and your family. According to Brandy, a problem for women is they sometimes hesitate to invest in themselves. With just a few dollars, (admission has been cut in half this year) you can start getting connected to some of the best resources for women entrepreneurs in Kansas. For the economy to grow in Kansas and across the United States we need more women entrepreneurs. It currently the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurs in the United States and has been a big part of the growth in business formation for Wichita over the past three years. As Marguetta said: “We are in our season, 2020 is the year of the women.” and she when on to say: “What not? We don’t lie and say it’s not hard. It’s a grind. But I would rather live in I did and say I tried.” We need all types of businesses for the economy to thrive. Another theme is talking about moving up from failure. A lot of women need to talk about their failures, rather than hide from it. At this year’s conference, Renee Duxler will talk about the failure of her business and how she rebounded to be the executive director of the Douglas Design District. Again according to Marquetta: “There is no absolute failure in failure, it’s just a lesson.” The theme of the EmpowerHer conference is Her Vision 2020. It’s important to come out and meet people and develop networks with other entrepreneurs and tap into the Wichita ecosystem of entrepreneurship. Wichita has great resources to help any entrepreneur launch a business. This is one of many conferences, workshops, networking groups and business support groups that support business formation, technology startups and growing businesses all across the region. You are not alone in the effort to be entrepreneur in Wichita. Marquetta: “There is no being alone. Someone is speaking life to your name, someone is giving you a reference, somebody is opening a door for you, someone is helping you take it to the next level.” You will be meeting the top entrepreneurs in Wichita and the event is open to women, youth and men too. We also highlighted the Camp Destitution Innovation program that features a three-week summer camp and this year it will feature applying technology. There is an amazing and talented group of people who are not mudded by the world and are coming up with some amazing solutions to the problems facing the world. The camp really nurtures the creativity of youth. We also discovered that one of the attendees at last year’s camp is now meeting with investors to launch his business in a serious way. The sun in a box idea was another element the campers discovered with their visit to Koch Industries.   The camp really opens up creative thinking with a number of exercises and activities. Another example is a young lady from Texas who is legally bind, and featured in the news for running track but also create a tee shirt to feature her business idea of See Braille. The idea of this camp program for this year and in the future is to develop holistic entrepreneurs and leaders by teaching coping skills, conflict resolution, and mindfulness skills. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.

Professional organizer Rachel Murphy joins us in the interview on Saunders and Cash to talk about her experiences starting a business to help people de-clutter their homes, offices and work spaces. In just a few short years Rachel helped over 150 people and has worked with clients who want a simple redo of their closet all the way to a complete redesign of their home or garage. She hasalso help hoarders overcome the challenges they face by dealing with the psychology of hoarders which often includes holding on to a deep seated underlying trauma. Rachel helps clients find what really serves them well and makes it much easier to maintain an organized life. Her solutions are custom, as there is no one size fits all solution to having an organized life. Her clients often feel overwhelmed by the clutter in their life or even their workspaces. Rachel is about to launch her own podcast on the topic of simplifying your life, which is also the business also her business. In the second half of the interview, we talk about the common junk drawer and the fact that everyone has one, but it seems useful to keep even the junk drawer organized. Rachel decided to start a business to help support her family members after working in real estate as an assistant who helped stage and de-clutter homes for sale. By taking care of the clutter in a home, many of her customers are able to complete a sale much faster, One reason Rachel decided to be self-employed is so she has more control over her time and income. One thing that she has learned from being an entrepreneur is learning to overcome fears of things like public speaking and is now also has a successful speaking career and is about to launch both her own radio show and podcast. One thing that she has learned along the way was not to just trust everyone, good to do your research on the people you might want to enter into business arrangements with and along way has meet some amazing entrepreneurs.  We love capturing quotes from our guests and here is Rachel's:  “Entrepreneurs go where other people don't and we do what other people don’t.” She has learned to barter for services and skills that she does not do well, exchanging organizing talents for things like building a website. She participates in One Million Cups but finds most of her clients by word of month.   The Magic of Thinking Big by David J Schwartz is one of favor books. Rachel offers a special printable handout from her website that is a 15 minute day exercise to help you de-clutter your home. SimplifyMyLifeICT.com or on Facebook at SimplyMyLifeICT. All of her speaking engagements have also been on a referral basis as well Her podcast will be Jump, Pivot and Roll. Look for it soon. This will be co-hosted by Shannon Stiles who is also the host of Successful Living, locally on KQAM 1480 AM and 102.5 FM. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.

As a part of National FFA Week across the United States we interviewed FFA members and leaders in the state’s agriculture education programs. Kansas is an agriculture state with more than 30% of the economy based on farming and agriculture business. National FAA is a national youth program and in Kansas it includes 110 programs across the state and 10,000 young people We started the interviews with Kurt Dillon, from the Kansas State Department of Education. Kurt is focused on agriculture education and is also the state advisor for the 110 FFA programs across the state. Joining Kurt, we also talked with Mary Kane, the Kansas FFA Association Executive Secretary and JoAnn Farmer, a teacher at Southwest High School and local advisor for the FFA program. JoAnn teaches agriculture and agribusiness courses. She teaches over 200 students and 145 members in the FFA program. The Mission of Agricultural Education is to prepare students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber, and natural resources systems. When asked about what agriculture is, Kurt defined is as “Agriculture is if you wear it, eat it, live in it or grow it is agriculture”. In this interview we highlighted the use of agriculture technology today in the production of agricultural products. Technology allows producers to grow more products with fewer labor inputs. We also discovered that there is a huge need for people to enter the agriculture fields with many robust opportunities. We also highlighted the future of the industry with the need to make sure young people are prepared to enter the field with the proper work skills with critical and creative thinking skills. Workforce skills training at the high school level includes classroom education and work-based learning along with the FAA part that includes leadership and entrepreneur skills. One of the challenges in the need for more teachers to teach agriculture and agribusiness training that is needed. JoAnn Farmer, a teacher at Southwest High school talks about the joy of working with students via the FFA program. At Wichita Southeast High School most of the students are urban based, so the training is more focused on agriculture business. All of her students are encouraged to have an SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) in which many students choose to focus on entrepreneurship. Each student in the agribusiness course spends the first semester developing detailed business plans for their own agriculture-based business and the second semester is used to launch their new ventures. In the second segment, we talked with Austin Nordyke and Tate Ahlvers, two of the leaders in the student FFA program. Tate for example, learned his passion was really farming by being in agriculture courses in high school. Tate also talked about what precision farming is including mapping of fields with drones, and GPS tracking for maintaining fields to increase yield. Austin started a lawn mowing business as part of his agribusiness courses and completed in both local and national programs for proficiency awards in agribusiness and was the 2017 National FFA Star in Agribusiness award winner. Austin is in his final year of undergrad studying Engineering Technology Management and started an accelerated Master's Degree in Innovation Design, a new program focused on design thinking and human-centered design. Tate Ahlvers is the 2019 National FFA Proficiency Award Winner in Forage Production and a member of Beloit FFA Chapter in Kansas. He also continues to work on his family farm, working 9,000 acres across four counties. Twelve hundred of those acres are for forage production. On average, the operation produces around 2,000 alfalfa bales and 3,000 straw bales each year. Ahlvers uses a number of management techniques to increase production, including fertilizing all of the ground in the winter off- season, thus maintaining the organic matter in the soil. Ahlvers is current a student at Cloud County Community College studying Precision Agriculture. Advise from these student leaders include just following your passion and take the risk. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.  You can listen to the Saunders and Cash podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and most other popular podcast directories.      

We may have found the “Apple” of Wichita as we interviewed Reid Hansen and Margie Crawford of Callcap, a company that has grown from an operation started in the founder's garage to a nationwide firm providing call tracking and rating services for any company that needs to track all of their customer service calls, from scheduling appointments to handling any sort of customer service call. This technology started with a simple rating service for inbound calls to insure that business calls were properly handled per the business expectations. It has grown into a company using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve how customer calls are responded to, with a goal of continuously improving the quality of calls for both inbound and outbound marketing programs. On average a business will lose or mishandle 18% of their calls, often with an auto-attendant service. Advances in the way calls are tracked and rated for mishandled calls or calls not responded to make it easier to reduce that error rate and increase revenue.  Companies that use conversation analytics see an increase in ROI because calls are better managed and customers don't drop calls or leave unable to get their questions answered.  Read more about conversation analytics in our blog article.  For example in the health care industry, the rate for dropped calls for inbound calls is15%. If the services provided by Callcap can reduce the rate of dropped calls then a business sees higher levels of customer satisfaction, higher sales and better revenues.  Learn more about their customers say in their reviews.  For Callcap, tracking what marketing efforts generated responses, and how calls lead to appropriate responses is essential to how they improve call responses. The tracking and analytics details provide opportunities to identify any weakness or need for additional training. And now with their merger with Marchex, they have more ability to use artificial intelligence to improve the call servicing within a customer services. With AI data, it is possible to identify a caller’s intent, based on the callers words used in a call. For example does a caller want to book an appointment or have a problem solved? AI can help to identify that intent better that an auto responder system. Our interview included Reid Hansen and Margie Crawford. Reid Hansen is the director of technology and innovation at Callcap. Reid has spent many years in the Wichita technology scene working with startups and established businesses alike. Reid has made it his mission to help businesses he is a part of as well as his clients and customers solve complex, vital business problems. Margie Crawford has had an extensive career in sales and her success may be attributed to listening and solving problems. I have a natural curiosity to uncover customer challenges and identify a strategic business solution. Through my latest endeavor with Callcap, I now have access to tools which improve ROI, marketing effectiveness and staff performance. Following Callcap's acquisition with Marchex, we now have the largest set of business conversation data in the market. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.   

The technology council of Kansas has had a solid year of growth in 2019, as we learned when we talked with Lisa Roberts, the executive director of FlagshipKansas and Stan Finger, a writer for the technology council, both of whom joined us for the interview. Growth has been fantastic after starting a year ago with 50 charter members, the organization has grown to 23,000 members and an additional 58,000 student members. Many of the universities in Kansas have paid for the student members making it free for students to join and participate. Stan Finger joined FlagshipKansas to write a number of stories about the initial charter members and we discussed a really interesting story he is working on about teaching coding and programming skills to inmates at the Topeka Women’s Correctional Facility. With this training, women upon release can use their new coding skills to get great paying jobs in the Kansas technology industry. Most of the students in the first class didn’t have any sort of coding skills before taking the classes and now see a better future for them. We also talked about the value of including a diverse set of backgrounds to improve the ability of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Greater diversity is something that the technology industry recognizes the need for diversity in programming. For the industry having women in programming jobs will help to bring some of that diversity in thought that will benefit the industry. In addition to the coding training in programing languages the training covers the soft skills development that so needed to be effective team members in technology settings. The Last Mile program was founded by a venture capitalist that visited inmates in a California prison and saw in them a strong desire to improve them. It started a training program that now is in five states including Kansas. An interesting fact is the number of applicants for the program has doubled from the first class to the second class, starting soon.– For 2020 the technology council has a number of programs on their agenda. Machine Learning and AI is a topic of interest to insure this technology is used for good. So the council will be studying the potential for inherent basis. FlagshipKansas will also be participating in the first Data Analytics Showcase, at Wichita State University on April 17 at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex. he showcase aims to deepen the understanding of research advances, curricular programs, top software, hardware and skill-building. The event will create a venue for campus researchers, community representatives and industry experts in Wichita to build professional networks, discuss analytics and develop collaborations. Students, faculty, staff and community members are able to attend the event for free.  Working with a variety of educational boards of education and school districts the council is striving to revise and implement now policies around Computer Science Education and computational thinking as it relates to computer science. This shift in the education approach is more about applying scientific methods more than teaching basic computer skills. Lisa also introduced us to Sarah Bond a student Bioengineering major at Wichita State that as contestant in Miss Kansas competitions makes science education a part of her platform. Lisa also announced a Cyber Security conference at Groover Labs, March 26, organized by the technology council and a workshop with students from Friends University to help participants insure there personal devises are properly cyber secure before they leave the workshop. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.   

We started the interview, with Andrew Gough, the founder of Reverie Roasters, with a brief summary of the grand opening of Groover Lab, a new co-working space locally here I Wichita, KS and a preview of our partnership with FlagshipKansas.tech, followed by introducing our guest, the founder and CEO of Reverie Roasters, a local company that includes a wholesale operations, coffee shops, a bakery and a community events space. Andrew didn’t start out thinking he would flourish as a entrepreneur with a business focused on community and coffee. He completed a degree in public relations at Kansas State University and worked first in financial services where he coordinated and delivered retirement planning education to local businesses employees. It while traveling for work, that he first realized the challenge for a local coffee establishment is building up excellent coffee experience but also a place for community. He also learned that coffee as a business is a service industry that attracts younger workers. As he started his entrepreneurial journey, one of the first groups he engaged with was One Million Cups, a local group for connecting business leaders to each other. His presentation was the foundation for his continued support of the group by providing coffee to the group each week. He was then able to be in the first person in the e2e Accelerator program, now NXTUS. Later engaged with Wichita State LaunchPrep program and worked with the Small Business Development Center to get his business plans launched. He also found a relationship with Network Kansas to provide a number of connections and a grant to do some research for a program called economic gardening. Andrew has always had an expansion, growth mindset and looking back at his first five-year plan, realized that he achieved those goals, but the goals were not his focus, it was really building community around coffee. His why for being engaged in the community is really simple: “I believe communities blooms in the presence of opportunity.” At Reverie, they are committed to how they source, roast, and serve coffee. The coffee beans come from various origins around the world and are chosen through a rigorous sourcing process. At the café, they offer pour overs, craft espresso beverages, cold brew, and delicious drip coffee. Reverie is just a comfortable place for anyone to meet, study, or even just relax and get some alone time. One of the things that happen at Reverie is they ignite meaningful connections among team members and customers, creating a place for opportunities to happen, and the community to thrive. For Andy his love for coffee is because coffee is a connector. It provides opportunity for conversation or to break the ice in an uncomfortable situation. We only touched on the surface in this interview, we will have Andy back for a more in-depth discussion about his philosophy around building a business around community. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy, FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.   

An Army of “Yeasayers” might be the best way to describe Connecting ICT, group of forward thinking Wichita citizens who have banned together in an informal group to help the community to connect to each other and contribute to a stronger, growing and vibrant city. Connecting ICT has become a hub for area professionals who are committed to making a positive impact on the growth of their community.  In our interview with Todd Lewis and Doug Ledbetter we discussed the activities for the group in 2019 and their plans for 2020. Connecting ICT is committed to impacting the growth of the region around Wichita, KS through a combination of business, personal, civic, and community connections and to engage with every interested group. Be sure to connect on Facebook to learn more.  Some of the significant events hosted by Connecting ICT in 2019 include doubling the size of the membership to over 800 members and connecting dozens of the members to the Wichita State University workgroups to evaluate and help implement the master plan for growth of the university. Another event was bringing together more than 300 local people to engage with the developers of River Visa at the Last25Next25 event. It was an opportunity to talk with developers and city leaders about future development around the river front area. Connecting ICT was engaged with Wichita Baseball to help promote the arrival of a triple A baseball team and a brand new state of the art baseball stadium. For 2020 the group plans to continue to expand its membership, reaching out to the entrepreneurial community, non-profits and be engaged in the riverfront and downtown developments, work the Delano and Douglas Design Districts on the ongoing renaissance of these areas. The best thing about this group is they like to describe themselves as “Switzerland”, a neutral place devoted to being available to help Wichita grow. The organization is not aligned with any political group, has no dues or required meetings, it lacks an official structure and does not seek funding from anyone. As both Todd and Doug said: “When we meet with a group, our question is not how can you help us, but rather how can we help you.” As they seek to grow their membership to at least 10,000 commitment local people, they want to continue to work toward making a positive impact within the city and the region is a way that builds an army of “Yaysayers”. Todd Lewis is an Employee Benefits Account Executive for IMA. Born in Wichita, but having grown up out of state, Todd returned to the Wichita metro in 2000 on a football scholarship to Bethel College. While Todd’s professional career has been focused primarily in human resources and operations leadership, his community involvement has been wide-ranging. He has devoted time and energy to civic engagement efforts like Leadership Wichita and “City-to-City” trips, served as an advisory board member for WSU Career Services, and serving as a board member for several local non-profit organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Kansas and the Friends of the Great Plains Nature Center. He is a founding member of Connecting ICT, a movement whose purpose is to be a hub for commitment ICT professionals to connect, engage, and impact their community. Doug Ledbetter is a Partner with EY, a public accounting firm. Doug grew up in Kansas City and went to college at Oklahoma Baptist University, majoring in Accounting and Finance. He started his career with EY in 2005 in the Oklahoma City office and transferred to the Wichita office in 2010. In Wichita, Doug has found a fantastic mix of working with large global clients while having the time to spend with his wife and two children. This experience led him to co-found ConnectingICT with others who share a passion for promoting Wichita and seeking its best. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto. 

We are with Seth Etter, one of the co-founders of DevICT talking about how they are growing a technology community in Wichita, KS.  DevCT is a community group of software engineers and anyone interested in technology. Members often join and participate in meetings to connect with others, to learn, share, and find connections that might lead to job opportunities. DevICT has been in Wichita for the past eight years. It got started to develop a community group around technology at a time when Seth was teaching at a local community college and was complaining about the lack of a community group. So someone suggested they just get started and create a group. DevICT grew from that challenge. The group started using MeetUp.com to schedule gathering,  and because technology people like to talk technology, members would give talks at monthly meetings on a variety of technical topics. They now meet at a co-working space, The Labor Party, located in the Old Town part of Wichita. Membership now numbers in the thousands, rather than hundreds. Today they have at least five events each month, with 40 to 50 members at each event. The group also uses a chat app, Slack that has 1200 members in it and about 1100 people following their MeetUp site to learn about events. Seth also founded Open Wichita, a community organization focused on using technology to drive civic change, part of the Code for America brigade group. Seth got engaged with the group to do his part. A quote that impacted Seth was: “Being involved means offering your hands, not just your voice.” For a day job, Seth is a software engineer at AdHoc, and a remote worker in the technology industry, where he supports the development of APIs and Data Pipelines for healthcare.gov. With Open Wichita, the group focused on working on local software projects that wanted to have an impact. In the second part of the interview, we learned more about what DevICT plans look like in the 2020. We also announce our partnership with FlagshipKansas.tech, the technology council for the state of Kansas. One of the topics we covered was how the technology community has grown in Wichita over the last few years, specifically focused on software development. With more than 1,100 local members in DevICT, we see members from not only a few large technology employers, but also a number of smaller software development shops, focusing on developing technology and applications for other companies and a host of workers who largely work remotely, to enjoy the low cost of living and maintaining a wonderful lifestyle. For example, Seth’s employer, AdHoc, is 100% virtual workers.   WE also highlighted companies like the Flint Hills Group that was formed after a layoff by a handful of workers with different but similar skills. Seth also highlighted how he works from various coffee shops and now recently started using a hot seat at Groover Labs as a primary work spot. You can listen to our podcast with the founders of Groover Labs to learn more about this new co-working, maker space in Wichita. KS.  The interview wrapped up with how to develop a career in technology. Seth pointed out that going to college for getting a technology education is more structured than trying to learn everything from the internet. And while either of these two approaches can work, the best you thing you can is participate in a technology community like DevICT.

In our interview with members of the Matchstick Alliance we discovered they want to be that friction that causes the spark to ignite new business growth not just in Wichita, KS but across the region. The Matchstick Alliance will fill the need of “second stage” startups that already have a viable idea that they are pursuing and need help growing to the next level. Each company is committed to growing the resources available to entrepreneurs in this community, and the alliance believes they can do it more effectively as an integrated team.  Their ultimate vision is that the startups they support will be better positioned to grow and secure funding. Most “second stage” startups need some or all of these key services – technology, consulting, marketing and legal – at some point in order to get to the next level and secure funding. The Matchstick Alliance is four well-known Wichita companies – High Touch Technologies, AGH, Gardner Design, and Foulston that have come together to offer these key services through a coordinated alliance. Bill Gardner, founder of Gardner Design started the discussion with a brief idea of the purpose behind the alliance of business service providers. Francis Baalmann, an attorney with Foulston says, “The partners have a long history of supporting startups in the community. By bringing together the four services providers, for accounting, legal, technology and branding we can help propel these companies forward to their next stage of growth.“ Josh Odling introduced Accelerate Venture Partners a local group of angel investors, “So many times, entrepreneurs walk in the door, thinking they have found the guy with money, when they really first need nine other things to better prepared, vetted and ready to present to venture capitalists. An interesting data point is that AVP has invested in four local businesses and only 15% of the funding came from outside Wichita. The why for this group, that so often is working with small growing companies, a common problem they see is a business hasn’t developed all of the elements they need to properly get funding, because they don’t have the experience or knowledge needed for proper branding or legal structure. Again from Francis Baalmann, “By aligning as a group of providers, we’ve created what we believe can be a hand up for entrepreneurs with great ideas who are driven to make them a reality.” An example company they have helped is Profer, a local company with a network of service providers in the real estate and home improvement space.  The founders of Profer needed some help, after going thru the LaunchPrep program at WSU to get some additional funding and legal assistance. According to Francis Baalmann, this group will fuel economic growth by helping companies to get to the next level it will spur employment hires and foster the startup community in Wichita. One of the elements that Josh Odling has worked hard on is to help Wichita to develop a reputation as a startup community. The group officially launched at the Startup Grind Wichita Pitch Battle in December. This group recognizes that not every entrepreneur needs all of the services available from the alliance, and they will work with each startup in a way that is customized to their needs. Each startup must apply to work with the Matchstick Alliance through ourMatchstickAlliance.com.  In addition to offering a one-stop service model, the Matchstick Alliance will also consider deferral arrangements for certain qualified, vetted startups which become payable at an agreed date or when the startup receives its next round of funding. Website: MatchstickAlliance.com Company POCs: Francis J. Baalmann, partner on the business law team at Foulston Siefkin Derrick Nielsen, president and CEO of High Touch Technologies Daniel White, senior organizational development consultant with AGH Bill Gardner, president of Gardner Design Bios Bill Gardner is the owner and president of Gardner Design. As the leader of Gardner Design since its inception in 1983, Bill has continued to produce effective and award-winning results for clients, with a special place in his heart for entrepreneurs. He is an ongoing contributing author to LinkedIn Learning as well as a guest author to numerous national and international publications, including Graphic Design USA, Communication Arts, Forbes, Fast Company and Fortune. Gardner Design website: https://gardnerdesign.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billgardner3/  Francis Baalmann, a business attorney and Foulston Siefkin partner, represents companies in the Midwest and across the country in start-ups, supply chain management, M&A, and general business. He works with large public and private corporations as well as closely held businesses, and has lead several multimillion-dollar transactions. Francis is also a serial entrepreneur who founded three successful real estate related companies. Francis also serves as a mentor for the Wichita Launch Prep Program and a finalist judge for the Shocker New Venture Competition at Wichita State University. Website: https://www.foulston.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-baalmann-74846053/ Josh Oeding is the President & CEO of e2e Wichita and the Founder of Accelerate Venture Partners. His passion is working with and supporting early stage high-growth entrepreneurs and growing the Wichita Startup Ecosystem. He spent the previous 10 years with Koch Industries, and held various innovation and leadership roles during that time. Most recently, he was the Vice President, Marketing & Strategy for EFT Analytics, a SaaS analytics company. Prior to Koch he spent time in small business and startup growth roles. Josh earned his degree in entrepreneurship from Wichita State University. Website: https://www.avpict.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshoeding/ Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.     

Join us in this interview from September of 2019 as we talk with two of the staff from QuiCC, Taylor Stevenson and Krissy Buck, about the exciting new technology launched several months from Wichita, KS for creating captions from the audio in your videos. Look for fresh updates from QuicCC in the near future on our podcast, as the company is growing rapidly and they have new announcements frequently.  85% of video is now watched with the sound off, so your really need to learn about this new approach for creating video with hard captions burned right to the video with their own algorithms for capturing the audio and burning into the audio file captions that can be read from any mobile device QuiCC is an Artificial Intelligence company, headquartered in Wichita, KS is using software they developed for the QuiCC app.  This hard caption software app they have released to the market works and the success of the rollout of the beta to all seven continents including Antarctica. Creating hard caption of your video files in just a few minutes and have it work with a high level of accuracy is a real breakthrough in the voice recognition software space and with this new approach, the conversion software works in just a few minutes rather than overnight as is the case with some providers. What is QuiCC? QuiCC is an automated video captioning tool.  You upload a video, and its caption engine will transcribe the video with about 91% accuracy.  From there, the tool provides an easy interface to make final edits before burning captions into your video and letting you download the final version. Burning in captions (also called open captions) essentially just adds the captions permanently to your video, as opposed to being able to toggle them via the video player (closed captions). This allows you to you can style the captions to help them match your brand No matter what platform they are uploaded to, your videos will always have captions available In the nine months since their launch QuiCC has already saved video content creators nearly 500,000 minutes of their time in captioning post-production work. QuicCC was also the winner of the 2019 Visionary Award for the best start-up idea in Wichita, KS.

When Andrea Hattan embarked on her journey to start a co-working space for women, she thought she would find women with part-time side businesses that needed a place to work away from distractions. What she discovered was that it was more about building a community of women in business. While many of her members are entrepreneurs, a large number actually work at corporate jobs but have found they wanted a community were they could connect with other women in business.   Andrea’s prior experience was along the lines of teaching, photography and marketing before starting to realize that connecting with other women about growing personally and professionally was very important to her. When she first started freelancing, she worked out of a local co-working space with a lot of men in technology. That didn't really work well for her; she needed a space to connect with other women, to be inspired and to inspire others, so she did some market research, created the branding elements she wanted and got busy creating her own business.    The Hive is intentionally set up to be light, bright and nurturing. Within in a short time period after she did her market research and pitched her ideas to others, she was ready to launch The Hive. The first month in business, she had 50 paying members supporting her idea of a co-working space for women and now there are over 200 members.   There are a lot of brilliant women in Wichita. But where are they hanging out? Where are the real, down to earth conversations happening?  It seems a lot of them are hanging out at the The Hive. The Hive is a space where these local women entrepreneurial leaders connect and empower each other to succeed faster in their careers and lives. Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.   

Desiree Plamer has an amazing story of not accepting her doctor’s diagnosis that she was dying and it was an issue that had no cure. At the time she did have health issues and they were certainly affecting her life, her future and the future of her family. But she turned a life-threatening problem into an opportunity and now a successful business, Satori. She began her path toward energy healing after being given a diagnosis that was essentially a death sentence. Not willing to lay down and die, she determined to find out how the human body can heal itself. After helping herself, she knew she would be able to help others feel better as well. Now she has dedicated her business to do just that. In this interview, we dig into How Desiree turned a diagnosis of “We can’t cure you” into a business focused on using cutting edge bio-field technology, to help you find you path to self-healing. At Satori, they treat the energetic body field in several different ways, using mind, body, and spirit. Energy therapy, holistic therapy, epigenetic bio-field treatments, and natural frequency synchronization help you as you travel your path to wellness, health, and manifesting the life you desire. If this sounds like it's just too far out there, please keep an open mind and listen to the story Desiree tells about how these treatments turned her life around. Desiree is an author with several published books. Including her newest book, Lifestyle Plan: Mind. Body. Soul.: Supplements. Mindful Eating. Journal available from Amazon. This the Satori method and plan, as well as supplements. This journal also talks about fasting if you have ever been curious about the healing properties of intermittent fasting. Desiree loves to mentor other young entrepreneurs who are bringing new energy methods to our area.   She grew up in Wichita, completing her Bachelors in Operations Management and her Master’s in Business Law. She spent 30 years in the corporate world with success and finally found the courage to venture out on her own and start her energy healing business. This business expanded a year later to include holistic beauty treatments. Desiree is married with 2 daughters, 19 and 9 years old, she also takes care of her grandparents who live with her and her family. In the interview we talk with Desiree about how she came to write her first book, a small trade non-fiction, The Human Customer Experience and the Not So Secret Formula.  One of her most successful books, likely because you can read it in about an hour and it helps small businesses understand how to scale a customer life cycle program. She also wrote her first in a fiction series, Made of Stone ©2018. More recently she wrote, Energy Evolution: The Flowering of Human Consciousness is a non-fiction just released in August of 2019. All of her titles are available in Paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats through Amazon. She talks in the interview about how she inspired her youngest daughter to start writing, her first published book, Bamboo Pandas Amazing Adventures and the accompanying activity book was published on her 9th birthday.       Her Business:  https://satorihealer.com/  Desiree's books: https://www.amazon.com/Desiree-M-Palmer/e/B07HKRQH63?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1565626403&sr=8-1   The Human Customer Experience https://www.amazon.com/Customer-Experience-Not-So-Secret-Formula/dp/1499611390/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  Made Of Stone https://www.amazon.com/Made-Stone-Book-One-Satori/dp/069218483X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Energy Evolution https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1086037308/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0      

How do you take a trusted family recipe for wonderful, melt-in-your mouth cheesecake and turn it in to a full time business you are passionate about?  Learn how as we talk with the CEO of Wichita Cheesecake Company and 2019 visionary award winner for entrepreneur of the year, Mark Daniels.  Mark talks about how he can to the Wichita area on active duty in the United States Air Force. Liked the area so much, he stayed and earned a BA degree in business from Wichita State, where he took advantage of the programs to develop an entrepreneurial business and started forming his business plan.  The company is 100% bootstrapped with their own savings and they have taken a planned approach of building up, testing the market, watching demand and marketing with local events and the good recommendations of their customers.  Wichita Cheesecake Company is a premier family owned bakery based in Wichita, Kansas devoted to delivering a high-quality dessert that is decadent and delicious each and every time.  From a small dinner party or birthday celebration to a bridal shower, wedding, or corporate event, Wichita Cheese Company offers an exquisite assortment of goodness made from scratch. They have added catering, delivery and special events from their Union Station cafe. Their cheesecake is also featured in various local restaurants, where you get it really fresh and o so good.  Mark and Grace Daniels are passionate about cheesecake and started The Wichita Cheesecake Company, after earning attention with some high-profile gigs around town. Encouraged by the response they’ve gotten, they opened a sit-down cheesecake cafe with coffee and tea making it the perfect place for a morning or afternoon break.  The idea for a cheesecake company came from Grace Daniels’ love for cheesecake, which she first tasted as a 13-year-old girl at a family dinner. She loved it so much, she learned how to make cheesecake, and as an adult, she would serve her cakes at family functions and for special occasions. Her family would encourage her to consider opening a cheesecake business, but that didn't happen right away.  After a nephew requested a cheesecake for an office party and it was a big hit, Grace and Mark started making custom ordered cheesecake. Next they presented their cheesecakes at a two-day wedding expo, preparing 500 samples, which disappeared into delighted future brides within two hours. The next day, another 500 samples were consumed within just a few hours and Mark and Grace knew they have a future business. They got access to a commercial bakery and started a business called All About Cheesecake. They started by approaching several top caterers and event planners in the Wichita area and offering their cheesecake from a booth at Botanica’s weekly Tuesdays on the Terrace concerts, where they sold cheesecake for $4 a slice to concertgoers. The response was so good the couple decided to get serious about their dream of opening a brick-and-mortar café, and rebranded as the Wichita Cheesecake Company. Their first retail outlet opened next to the refurbished Union Station next to the Old Town district. The couple serves up cheesecake in 30 plus flavors and sizes, from minis to by-the-slice to whole. Learn more at their website.   https://www.wichitacheesecakecompany.com/  Find them on Facebook Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto. 

Earlier this year, we caught up with the very busy, Regina Miller, known with affection by her clients as the Mother Goose of Consulting. Regina has a history of helping others start a business, often over the phone as her dinner got cold. She is now the owner of RMiller Consulting, and as she says in our interview, "you have to take my advice if you want to work with me because I want you to succeed". Regina’s background includes over 40 years of early childcare education starting out providing childcare and then moving up to the director of the LaPetite Academy before starting the Princeton Children’s Center in 2009.  As she says in the interview "I always knew I wanted to be in business, and was fortunate to find partners to help with the funding." Regina tells the story of how she started RMiller Consulting on a dare from her husband because she was spending so much time giving free advise to others wanting to start a business.     Over the past few years, Regina has collected numerous awards including one of Wichita’s Top 25 Women-Owned Businesses, Leader in Diversity Awards and Top Day Care Center in Wichita. She has also been nominated for Wichita Small Business Award and has been a judge for the same award. You can learn more about RMiller Consulting at http://rmillerconsulting.com/ Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.   

Eddie Sandoval started Pinole Blue as a senior in college just three years ago, once he reached the point where he know he needed to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He remembers as a child making family trips back to Chihuahua, Mexico and visiting family in the mountains where the Tarahumaras live. He decided he needed a way to give back to this community that is the basis of his heritage. On these trips, his family would always bring the Pinole, a ground blue corm made into a refreshing and filling drink. He family had consumed Pinole for generations, and further research into the properties of the drink used by the natives of Chihuahua found there were many renowned runners who drank Pinole before they started long-distance runs of 50 to 100 miles. In our interview with Eddie, we learned more about his passion to develop a business that has very quickly grown into products being distributed to 18 states and now available on amazon.  You will love listening to the passion this young man has for his business and his desire to give back to his heritage via is his support for this native tribe, but also the local community with various fund raisers and sponsorships.  One of the ways Eddie has grown his business the old fashion and proven method of knocking on the doors of coffee shops, natural foods groceries and running conventions. His natural ability to talk with passion about the benefits of his product has made growing the business with personal connections easier. But he didn't stop there, he has partnered with people that are experts in digital content management and has grown a rather large following on social media.  Pinole Blue corn is organic certified and rich in antioxidants. The product line now includes baked goods, protein mixes, and the drink mix. When Eddie started his business he pledged to give back a percentage of sales to the Tarahumara tribe to help provide the necessary resources needed for their every day lives. Lean more in the interview. Learn more: https://www.pinoleblue.com/ Buy products on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pinole-Blue-Original-10-oz/dp/B0763S1C81 Be sure and check out our sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto. 

For this podcast we recorded the FlagshipKansas.Tech Scaling Up Tech event, held on October 23, 2019, in Manhattan, Kansas. As the official podcast partner of FlagshipKansas, the technology council for the state of Kansas we were able to capture most of the chats and discussion between the founders of three local technology companies. These chats are real, first-hand, authentic accounts of what happened to a business on their way to rapid growth, what happened when another business is acquired by an industry leader, and what is happening as an entrepreneur is currently scaling with successful funding. The chats were hosted by Lisa Roberts, the Executive Director for FlagshipKansas and the speakers included TJ Frevert, a company with headquarters in Wichita, focused on innovative technologies supporting call monitoring and analytics to insure clients are getting the highest level of customer service. Also on the panel was Matt Moody, the founder of Bellwethr, a startup focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence. Jason Toevs, Co-Founder and CTO at QuiCC, a startup developing a closed caption app for video and also Ben Burrus, the Chief Technology Officer at PK Technology. In these chats you will learn from the first hand stories of the speakers how they were able to not only get started on the entrepreneurial journey but grow their business and learn to respond to the changing demands of their markets and customers.  This event was sponsored by Foreman Law, BKD, CPAs and Advisors and Intrust Bank. We also want to recognize the organizations that support and lead the technology council here in Kansas: Flint Hills Group, Cornerstone Data, CallCap, NetApp, High Touch Technologies and the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas.  Be sure and check out sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto. 

For this podcast we recorded the second part of the FlagshipKansas.Tech Scaling Up Tech event, held on October 16, 2019, in Wichita, Kansas. As the official podcast partner of FlagshipKansas, the technology council for the state of Kansas we were able to capture most of the chats and discussion between the founders of three local technology companies. These chats are real, first-hand, authentic accounts of what happened to a business on their way to rapid growth, what happened when another business is acquired by an industry leader, and what is happening as an entrepreneur is currently scaling with successful funding. The chats were hosted by Lisa Roberts, the Executive Director for FlagshipKansas and the speakers included Dana Wright, a managing director at MATH Venture Partners. Dana is a leading voice on fundraising strategy, leadership during extreme growth, managing board dynamics, and optimizing for an exit. Also on the panel was Molly Breitenbach, a Senior Manager with BKD, a regional CPA firm. Molly is focused on the technology sector. From Intrust Bank, the panel included Steve Castro-Miller, a managing director for technology and Josh Oeding, Founder and Managing Member of Accelerate Venture Partners. In these chats you will learn from the first hand stories of the speakers how they were able to not only get started on the entrepreneurial journey but grow their business and learn to respond to the changing demands of their markets and customers.  This event was sponsored by Foreman Law, BKD, CPAs and Advisors and Intrust Bank. We also want to recognize the organizations that support and lead the technology council here in Kansas: Flint Hills Group, Cornerstone Data, CallCap, NetApp, High Touch Technologies and the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas.  Be sure and check out sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto. 

For this podcast we recorded the FlagshipKansas.Tech Scaling Up Tech event, held on October 16, 2019, in Wichita, Kansas. As the official podcast partner of FlagshipKansas, the technology council for the state of Kansas we were able to capture most of the chats and discussion between the founders of three local technology companies. These chats are real, first-hand, authentic accounts of what happened to a business on their way to rapid growth, what happened when another business is acquired by an industry leader, and what is happening as an entrepreneur is currently scaling with successful funding. The chats were hosted by Lisa Roberts, the Executive Director for FlagshipKansas and the speakers included Miguel Johns, CEO and founder of KingFit, a local startup technology company featuring educational videos for various major health issues with a focus on diabetes education and the winner of the 2019 Visionary Award for best tech startup, Also on the panel were Joy Eakins, CEO and founder of Cornerstone Data, a Wichita based company focused on solutions to help clients understand use their business data more effectively and TJ Frevert, a company with headquarters in Wichita with a focus on innovative technologies supporting call monitoring and analytics to insure clients are getting the highest level of customer service.  In these chats you will learn from the first hand stories of the speakers how they were able to not only get started on the entrepreneurial journey but grow their business and learn to respond to the changing demands of their markets and customers.  This event was sponsored by Foreman Law, BKD, CPAs and Advisors and Intrust Bank. We also want to recognize the organizations that were the initial supporters for the technology council here in Kansas: Flint Hills Group, Cornerstone Data, CallCap, NetApp, High Touch Technologies and the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas.  Be sure and check out sponsors for Saunders and Cash and let then know you found them right here: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto.   

Danielle Kunkle Roberts is a Medicare Supplement Accredited Advisor, National Social Security Certificate Holder and founding partner at Boomer Benefits, a national agency specializing in Medicare-related insurance. We caught up with Danielle to learn her story of entrepreneurial success and how she has grown into a $15 million dollar business.  Danielle Roberts was a journalist student at Texas Christian University before she spend 10 years working in human resources and then realized she really wanted to start a business that would make an impact on people's lives. She started selling insurance over the kitchen table like everyone else in the business and it took some time before she realized setting appointments every night just didn't scale. Plus she would leave appointments and have several voices mails she would have to return from clients with questions about their policies or questions about how to get their parents signed up for the proper insurance with medicare coverage.  This is when the light went on and she realized that selling medicare insurance coverage over the internet and phone, was the same as the companies doing this for things like auto insurance.  Her focus is customer service, so she has over a million dollars in payroll every year, just to staff the customer service support calls the company, Boomer Benefits takes,  Boomer Benefits serves tens of thousands of policyholders, by helps seniors learn the ropes regarding Medicare. As a nationally recognized Medicare expert with a journalism background, Danielle regularly writes personal finance and Medicare articles for top publications such as Forbes. She is repeatedly cited for her knowledge about Medicare, retirement, and insurance and regularly speaks out about the need to prepare for the costs of healthcare in retirement.  Learn more about Danielle and the story of Boomer Benefits in this podcast and be sure an share it with friends, and family.  We always appreciate reviews and would like to thank our many sponsors. Be sure and check out our sponsors and let then know you found them on Saunders and Cash: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending, and 2UAuto. Learn more about Boomer Benefits at https://boomerbenefits.com/

Groover Labs is a concept that takes elements from tech centers like Boston and Silcon Valley and brings that start-up vibe to Wichita, Ks with a space that includes activities for business start-ups, the arts, technology, co-working space, hot seats, classrooms and events.  We talked with the founders of the labs, Curt Gridley and Tracy Hoover in the podcast.  Curt Gridley, a native of Kansas and his wife, software engineer Tracy Hoover says that when they lived in the Boston area, they were immersed in emerging technologies and start-ups. “You would go to the grocery store and be surrounded by people talking about their latest tech start-up, it was pretty cool.” In the podcast, Curt tells the story of, while working in Boston realizing a simple messaging switch that was the size of a refrigerator could be reduced in size and cost, leading to the establishment of Amber Wave Systems, a venture-backed Boston startup that he sold to US Robotics for $50 million. They now hope to foster that kind of atmosphere in Wichita with Groover Labs, a nonprofit opening soon in the former Printing Inc. building at Third and St. Francis. Groover Labs is a 42,000 square foot co-working center and maker space near the Old Town section of Wichita. Old Town is known for being a bit edgy and includes many of the start-up featured on Saunders and Cash.  Many in Wichita feel that Old Town is the neighborhood that sits as the anchor of the startup revival we have been seeing in Wichita over the past year. The two co-founders want Groover Labs to be a place where entrepreneurs take ideas from concept to market. While Wichita has other maker spaces like the expanding MakeICT and GoCreate spaces, Groover Labs will be the only one to focus on product prototyping. “Some but not all of these things are available at other maker spaces”, Gridley and Hoover say. MakeICT and GoCreate “definitely fill a niche in the community,” Hoover says. Wichita has existing maker spaces — and both Curt and Tracy have been involved with them. They are eager to build on that and offer a place where people can take ideas from concept to market — something that’s not really being done right now in Wichita Tracy says Groover Labs isn’t about taking anything away from those places. They really want to add to the capacity in Wichita to be a place where collaboration and creation happens. What the founders are hoping to do is grow a culture at Groover Labs where anyone with heart and drive has the opportunity to innovate. Prototyping is a key part of the discovery process in innovation for many tech start-ups.  It is typically the third step behind ideation, design, and then prototype.  Many startup ecosystems struggle to build growing companies because they lack the ability to build physical prototypes cheaply. Groover Labs fill an important role in the development of startup ecosystems – providing space and expertise in building the first, flawed product. Groover Labs is more than a prototyping space, it will offer hotseats, dedicated work space, private offices and 14,000 square feet of maker space including electronics shop, a CNC mill, a CNC plasma table, a stable of 3D printers and a wood shop with a CNC router table and more. The Groover Labs team also offers a 275-person event center, and Wichita State University’s student-operated art gallery, ShiftSpace, has moved in.  The event space will be utilized for community space and available for rent. Two classrooms for all sorts of seminars and educational events is also part of the space as is a board room and meeting room spaces. In the podcast, we sat down with the founders of Groover Labs learned more about their backgrounds, careers and the motivation for starting the space, with the intention of making it a diverse set of working spaces that can be the seed to grow businesses. Tracy grew up in New Jersey and after college, worked as a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard. More recently she has taught music at Wichita State. The founders want to create a place to fuel collaboration and product development. They hope Groover Labs, with co-working and maker space labs as well as event space, will create a community that not only encourages people to learn new skills but also take risks and launch startups. Curt, who grew up in Kansas, went to college here. Curt and Tracy moved back to Wichita in 2005 after careers in the Boston area, because they wanted to be closer to family and they valued the lifestyle in Wichita. Curt talked about the desire to bustling technology community where members contribute to and celebrate each other’s wins. He especially wants to help teams start successful Kickstarter campaigns, and see members huddled together working out solutions and figurative making sparks in the fab lab, electric, metal and wood shops. The goal is to create a community where everyone at Groover Labs feels invested in a community of inventors, innovators and start-ups. At Groover Labs, the goal is to make sure people are meeting like-minded folks who understand that the startup culture is not limited to the coasts. And some people might even re-locate to Wichita to work in the labs, as they create their products, Conserve your startup capital by doing your initial product development here. Groover Labs is in an Opportunity Zone, which opens up funding sources for startups that make their home at Groover Labs. Groover Labs is an excellent addition to the Wichita startup scene.  To discover more about the company, check out its website at www.grooverlabs.org. Be sure and check out our sponsors and let then know you found them on Saunders and Cash: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending

Brandy Willett Brandy Willett, an “entrepreneur enabler” is closely engaged in a broad number of entrepreneur programs in Wichita including the E2E incubator, Start Up Grind, One Million Cups and Women Entrepreneurs of Kansas. In the interview she talks about the advantage of working with entrepreneurial start-ups because of the flexible of starting with a dream and a vision of what you want to do, but also have the ability to pivot if the market demands its. Her best advice to a startup entrepreneur is to start with yourself to make sure you are authentic. And then look at what your customers want and then, third is what are you doing for your employees with your company brand.  The entrepreneur starts the dream and then as part of branding be able to tell a clear message about what your company does or what products you are providing. Entrepreneurs need to keep the big picture in mind, and not the small details about the right font for marketing materials. The number one thing you need to do to get your message out is understanding the central message you want to communicate and then finding the right channel for that communication. The one thing that stands out with entrepreneurs is an understanding of what their passion is. And then working on that passion. We also highlighted the social impact of one of sponsors, Retreat to Joy and the advantages of understanding mindfulness and the balance of the leadership team. After the break we talk about creating strategy. A lot of people talk strategy and get tactical in trying to get the strategy going. A strategy is really the big dream, and then the ability to break it down into tactical action plans. Entrepreneurs also need to have the ability to adjust along the way. Understanding if you are getting off track from a strategy. We also talk about the purpose of One Million Cups as being a organization that inspires connections. The common themes of this podcast is really about connecting to a network, using mentors/advisors, giving back, being authentic, working with advisors. Connecting is really learning about what someone does and then helping them before you use that connection for yourself. We also talked about Brandy’s work with the Small Business Development Center workshops she does on branding and communications. Brandy also talks about her engagement with Camp Destination Innovation and how it actually builds youth entrepreneurs in four weeks. The common theme of Brandy’s work is being an enabler, her most recent project is Women Entrepreneurs of Kansas. We also talked about the need for early stage capital in the Wichita Entrepreneurial community. One of the highlights is the new Founders Grove ability to connect with Network Kansas to help find seed funding for a new small business entrepreneur. We highlighted the various groups that can help entrepreneurs, Network Kansas, Small Business Development Center, SCORE, the SBA, and groups like One Million Cups, Start Up Grind.  Be sure and check out our sponsors and let then know you found them on Saunders and Cash: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending

  We caught up with a very busy young entrepreneur,Jessica Thomas Tang who found her inspiration as to start a business as she was planning her own wedding, focused on helping brides on a budget.  Jessica is a new bride; an MBA student; works at the Hive; a local company designed to help women with co-working space and support to start businesses and a new entrepreneur. Wichita Coordination is designed to help brides on a budget have the wedding of their dreams, without breaking the bank. We also talked about why Dad’s might want to use a business like Wichita Coordination, to help stay on a budget. Part of what Jessica does is to help empower brides to work with family expectations and her own dreams to get a wedding that works for everyone. We also highlight the relationship Jessica has with Andrea, her boss at the Hive. Jessica really used that inspiring network to get a real business start-up. Jessica started her business two weeks before her own wedding. It wasn’t a business honeymoon, she actually came back to inquires and potential clients based on the works she did on social media channels like Instagram. Her supportive groups have included One Million Cups, The Hive, and the Wichita State University (WSU) supportive groups. Learn more about her ideas and how she plans to grow this business and make the business repeatable as it grows. We also talk about the entrepreneurial resources at WSU including LanuchPrep. Be sure and check out our sponsors and let then know you found them on Saunders and Cash: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending Lean more about Wichita Coordination. 

Media producer, podcast expert and the host of The Salty Dog Podcast, Jason Angel Villanueva joins us to talk about his move from Houston, TX to Wichita, KS, getting married and starting podcasting with The Salty Dog Podcast, as a series of conversions between himself and a buddy, mostly about Christian topics. Jason discovered podcasting in 2013 as he was recording short teachings on a free Word Press blog. He started his graphic design background working for a professional hockey team. Over the years he moved from blogging, to video to podcasting and in 2019 started a short course to teach how to start podcasting as the Podcast Camp. His course is a practical approach to getting a podcast started. Jason believes that if you are entrepreneur you have to get your story out there, via a blog, video, you tube and/or podcasting. The Podcast Camp starts with the basics of what you need you record a show, edit you files and publish.   This program is really a practical how to workshop. the course is offered right here in the Wichita entrepreneur community. An interesting side note is that  many of the people starting podcasts locally have actually been on the Saunders and Cash radio show, before they started their own podcast. Looks like they have taken the advice of Jason that every entrepreneur needs a marketing mix that often includes a podcast. One of Jason’s suggestions for entrepreneurs to get started is you can goggle a lot of your questionsto get help, or check out the number of You Tube videos that help you understand the basics. In Wichita, you can use the recording studio at the library. His suggestion on content was to get a book, They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan a guide for Inbound Sales, Content Marketing and Today’s Digital Consumer. He plans to have additional workshops in 2020 and currently provides consulting services at his website The Podcast Camp..   The choice of content and format really varies based on what you want to accomplish, but you should passionate about whatever you topic is, because that authentic passion is easy to recognize. As part of your marketing efforts, podcasts should be part the mix. The reason to podcast is to share your story and passion with essentially the world. This is a great interview and you are likely to learn a lot about podcasting as part of an entrepreneurs marketing mix. Learn more about The Podcast Camp. Just want to say thanks to our sponsors: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending    

Join us as we interview Gary Oborny the Chairman and CEO of Occidental Management. We have a wide ranging interview, starting with Gary's early years growing up in Kansas, the son of two entrepreneurs. Gary Oborny got his start in entrepreneurship at 19 as a freshmen at Wichita State University. In his freshman year, he started a landscape company and later transitioned to the oil and gas industry. Gary, established Occidental Management in 1997. Occidental evolved into a development company with the construction of the Bristol Square property in 2000. Today Occidental is a multi-faceted company specializing in acquisitions and development as well as sales, leasing and property management. Occidental Management operates in a variety of real estate segments including retail, office and industrial development. The company is a vertically integrated with services in development, construction, sales and leasing brokerage and property management.  Gary Oborny and Occidental Management is known for innovative and dynamic real estate development concepts. Two recent projects were in the Kansas City/Overland Park market with the acquisition and renovation of the Overland Park Xchange and the recent acquisition of the Sprint campus. We also discuss his team's development of the old Union Station into a modern retail complex, that preserves the history of Wichita's rail station. His team is also do a rehab of the old Ice House in the Old Town area of Wichita, that will include new offices for his company. In the podcast, Gray talks at length about the importance of developing an entrepreneurial community and working to establish the WSU Launch Prep program, the E2E accelerator and supporting programs like the Create Campain and Camp destination innovation with the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats. He carries a Class A International Builders Certificateand is also an active member in the Wichita community by serving on multiple boards andcommittees, including founding co-chair of the Entrepreneurship Task Force (ETF) of TheGreater Wichita Partnership. Learn more about Occidental Management.  Just want to say thanks to our sponsors: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending

This is part two of our interview with Kenneth Friedel as we learn more about the model for mastering entrepreneurial resiliency. Our podcast is based on our radio show which airs every Sat. @ 2 Pm Central time on KSUN 95.9. You can also listen to the live stream via the TuneIn app.  Just want to say thanks to our sponsors: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending Ken is a consultant, master facilitator and trainer. As a certified trainer and facilitator, Ken works with leaders and staff to realize their best-self and enable cultures to thrive during change, conflict, and strategy implementation. What is entrepreneurial resiliency? Why is important to an entrepreneur? And How to do develop it in yourself as an entrepreneur and in your business team? That’s just a few of things we learn in the this podcast and the next one, as we have a lot of material to cover, so we did two podcasts on this topic. In this interview we dig into Entrepreneurial resiliency as being the ability to manage conflict constructively. Resiliency as an entrepreneur is being aware of what you control, finding the gap in any conflict (between what you control, and what others control) and then managing that conflict for constructive outcomes. Ken describes this a difference between where you are and where you want to be. Ken further discusses that resiliency is the self-care needed to manage the tension and conflict by first recognizing feelings and determine what you want to happen from any set of feelings. Ken is a trained facilitator in the process model developed by Next Element Consulting. The model is first being open to change. Then understanding the problem solving that comes from being resourceful , being perceptive to conflict and then coming back to being open again. This is a great interview, you will want to listen to both parts. You can reach Ken, via email (friedelkenneth@gmail.com).           

Join us as we kick off the second season of our Saunders and Cash podcast. Our podcast is based on our radio show which airs every Sat. @ 2 Pm Central time on KSUN 95.9. You can also listen to the live stream via the TuneIn app. And of course we want to thank our sponsors: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,FlagshipKansas.tech  South Central Kansas Economic Development District (SCKEDD),  Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University and Shaken not Stirred Bartending We are following up with Kenneth Friedel, the founder of Purple Crayon Enterprises as continue to explore entrepreneurial resiliency. Ken is a consultant, master facilitator and trainer. As a certified trainer and facilitator, Ken works with leaders and staff to realize their best-self and enable cultures to thrive during change, conflict, and strategy implementation. What is entrepreneurial resiliency? Why is important to an entrepreneur? And How to do develop it in yourself as an entrepreneur and in your business team? That’s just a few of things we learn in the this podcast and the next one, as we have a lot of material to cover, so we did two podcasts on this topic. Entrepreneurial resiliency is the ability to manage conflict constructively. If you have trouble finding the time to work on your business, rather than in your business and find that managing self care is a problem, then this podcast is for you. Resiliency as an entrepreneur is being aware of what you control, finding the gap in any conflict (between what you control, and what others control) and then managing that conflict for constructive outcomes. Ken describes this a difference between where you are and where you want to be. Ken further discusses that resiliency is the self-care needed to manage the tension and conflict by first recognizing feelings and determine what you want to happen from any set of feelings. There is a process model for this that was developed by Next Element Consulting and for which Ken is a trained facilitor. The model is first being open to change. Then understanding the problem solving that comes from being resourceful , being perceptive to conflict and then coming back to being open again.  This is a great interview, you will want to listen to both parts.  You can reach Ken, via email (friedelkenneth@gmail.com). 

If you want to hear an inspiring story of a hard luck guy growing up with limited resources, marrying young, putting family first and then when the time is right taking the leap into being an entrepreneur by becoming the local publisher of Medical Professionals, then tune in to hear this interview of Miguel Olave.  Miguel attended high school in Derby, Kansas and would have dropped out, except for a special teacher that took him under her wing and mentored him to complete high school and start to make a career for himself.  Miguel loves sales and people which helped make him successful in wireless and a solutions consultant for local wireless providers.  But Miguel realized he wanted more for his future and more for his family, so when the time was right, he become the local publisher for Medical Professionals, a unique lifestyle publication for local doctors and health care administrators. Miguel realized that medical professionals more than anyone, need to connect with each other, learn about other doctors and medical providers and be part of a community, while working long hours serving patent needs.  The publication tells the stories of medical professionals in their own words and for Miguel he is able to develop a network of service providers that can reach medical professionals in print and in a way that is focused on the needs of these professionals. In our interview we also learn more about Miguel passion around communicating with the community to educate them on the need for mental health services.  In addition Miguel is a passionate spokesperson, speaking at area community groups and schools on the issues of mental health services.   We also discuss the growth opportunity for this business as Wichita, Kansas is only the fourth location for this publication and there are opportunities in most of the major cities across the United States.  We now see Miguel reaching his potential as an entrepreneur and advocate for mental health.  You can learn a lot here and its just more inspiring story of the entrepreneurial spirit that is growing in Wichita, Kansas.  To learn more, reach Miguel on LinkedIn. He also provides his phone number in the interview, should you be interested in knowing more about this opportunity. 

In this episode, we are joined by leadership expert and host of the A Dose of Leadership podcast, Richard Rierson. Richard started out as a US Marine Corps pilot where he got his first exposure to the principles of leadership he teaches others today as a leadership coach and business consultant. Richard is a student of leadership as well as a practitioner.  Richard’s continual quest to influence the lives of others has led him into what he is doing now, teaching leadership and sharing the experiences of other leaders via his podcast. Richard started the Dose of Leadership podcast six years and has interviewed more than 300 CEOs, thought leaders and others about their leadership style. What You Will Learn Leadership has nothing to do with position or title How to lead from a place of clarity in times of uncertainty Keys to take your leadership to the next level How to overcome the beliefs that are limiting your leadership You can lead from the front, middle, or bottom of an organization Resources The Dose Of Leadership Podcast https:/ Bio Richard is a husband, father of four daughters, prior Marine Corps officer, commercial pilot, leadership speaker, trainer, coach, and entrepreneur. Richard works to help professionals and organizations develop an authentic leadership presence, crush limiting beliefs, & overcome mediocrity; creating a more purpose driven life full of time & economic freedom. Richard is a change management and leadership expert. Richard’s philosophy of inspiring “everyone to think and act like a leader” is based on timeless natural principles; and from his experiences as a Marine Corps pilot, professional executive, husband of 22 years, and father of four daughters. Richard’s previous positions include Vice President of Operations & Vice President of Brand Communication for Value Place Hotels; Director of New Product Development & Director of International Operations for The Hayes Company; and Boeing 727 Flight Engineer for American Airlines. Richard is a Wichita native and received his BS of Computer Science from Wichita State University in 1991.  He is also a 2007 recipient of the Wichita Business Journal’s annual 40-Under-40 award.

We caught up with Wichita-based entrepreneur and business coach, Ivy LaClair to learn more about her pivot to being a life coach for entrepreneurs with a focus on motivating others to be more confident in their sales strategies.  Ivy grew up in Wichita and moved to Berkeley, CA building a multiple 6-figure motivational speaking and coaching business, before returning home recently.  To accomplish her business objectives she created Shine On, Wichita! to provide events, group programs, and one-on-one coaching services supporting heart-centered entrepreneurs in Wichita to make more money and grow their businesses in an authentic way that doesn’t feel “salesy.”   One thing that Ivy has learned about working with what she calls "Heart-Centered" entrepreneurs is that many times they go into business with a desire to give back and help, and feel that commitment isn't about making as much money as possible, while providing the services they feel are important to make their communities better.  Ivy LaClair is committed to helping heart centered entrepreneurs finally gain all the confidence they need to show up for themselves and shape a life and business they love, while making money for the work they do.   Ivy brings experiential insights from her own journey and a gold standard coaching certification as a business and abundance coach to her work. She delivers a unique blend of mindset and spiritual support with highly effective branding and sales conversion strategies. Ivy LaClair paves the way for all heart centered entrepreneurs to boldly step into their power and own their worth.   Ivy LaClair specializes in helping leaders hone their “inner game” so they can achieve their biggest professional and financial goals. She is the host of Mind Climate, a podcast for folks who want to turn their headspace into a place fit for a destination vacation.   Ivy is also a nationwide facilitator and expert in the realm of change, transformation, and success. She founded Shine On, Wichita!, a company dedicated to creating community, prosperity, and happiness for business owners in Wichita, KS.   You find her on Facebook and LinkedIn.   For our audience of podcast listeners, here's her guide to being authentic in your sales approach.       

When it comes to creating a business succession plan, there are several important question you want to answer as to start the planning process and we asked Daniel White and Bryan Hanning of AGH Advisors to join us in the podcast to discuss these questions to give entrepreneurs a starting point as they begin to plan for a business succession.  Here are just a few of the questions we covered: Are you ready financially, mentally and emotionally to step away from your business? Is your business ready to transition? It could take several years to get a plan in place an prepare a successor to a business founder. Are you following best practices? How much is your business worth? Are you maximizing value?As a family business, are you addressing the unique family dynamics as you transition? Daniel White and Bryan Hanning are two of the leading experts in this field. Daniel White is a Consultant in the Organizational Development & Family Business Services division at AGH, and Bryan Hanning Vice President Insight Wealth Services. Together they bring considerable insight into the process of business succession planning and help entrepreneurs appreciate that this is a process not to be taken lightly. 

Every entrepreneur at some point in their business career realizes, it’s time to hang it up, and pass the business on to others. Business succession planning is a series of logistical and financial decisions about who will take over your business upon retirement, death or disability. We asked two experts from AGH, Todd Richardson, the VP of Corporate Finance and Eric Thummel, VP of Tax Services to help identify the key areas of concern for entrepreneurs when considering succession planning.  Join us in the podcast for this engaging discussion about succession planning, tax concerns and how to get your business ready for a transition that maximizes returns and business value, while managing the tax implications so you don't overpay your obligations to Uncle Sam.  To write a succession plan, the first step is to identify the ideal successor to take over the business, then determine the best selling arrangement. Key questions you have to address and we discuss in this podcast are: Are you ready financially, mentally and emotionally to step away from your business? Is your business ready to transition? Are you following best practices? How much is your business worth? Are you maximizing value? How can you structure the transition in a way to minimize tax liability for both parties? Get ready for a discussion with two true experts in accounting, business, taxes and succession planning.  This is part one of two on this topic.  Learn more about AGH. 

We recently caught up with the very busy Liz Farha of Midwest Billboards as our guest on Saunders and Cash and it turned out to be an exciting enterview.  Twelve years after getting a start in the billboard business, Elizabeth Farha is now the Chief Executive Officer of Midwest Billboards  and has finally achieved "what I was always moving towards."  She now has 15 billboards in the Wichita area and a total of 55 digital billboards across Kansas and Oklahoma. For marketing of a business, digital billboards have changed into management company, to get a marketing message to potential clients with ads that can change based on things like the weather, time of day or specifics of a marketing message.  She says she's able to have an immediate response to customers and to market conditions her billboards feature new ads every day, including multiple new ones from the same clients.  Learn more about this female leader and entrepreneur in our interview and learn more here.  

When Kenneth Friedel started out he didn't really plan on becoming a certified master facilitator, one of only 35 in the world. His work has really been in strategic planning, succession planning, mergers, acquisitions and process improvement.   The concept for Purple Crayon Solutions comes from the beloved child's book by Crockett Johnson. In the story a boy creates his own path using his trusty purple crayon to draw exactly what he needs for his ideas and dreams to come true.  In our podcast with Kenneth we cover the basics of a concept of entrepreneurial resiliency.  This is simply put the idea that an entrepreneur has to have the skills to take care of him or herself, because often times there isn't someone standing in the wings ready to be part of a support system.  Listen and learn more about entrepreneurial resiliency.       

Join us in the interview as we talk with two very dynamic college students, Jessica Aldrich and Christian Ammerman, co founders of a chapter of Startup Grind U at Wichita State University. Start UP Grind is a global organization promoting entrepreneurism and now has university chapters, among the first to be started was the chapter at Wichita State University.   Jake Wayman, the chapter director of the local Start-up Grind Wichita got together with Biomedical engineering graduate student Jessica Aldrich and Christian Ammerman, an undergrad student, to lead the way in bringing StartUp Grind U to Wichita State.  StartUp Grind was started by Google for Entrepreneurs and is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire and connect entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship and innovation are near and dear to Jessica, one of a handful of WSU students chosen as a University Innovation Fellow, a global community of students leading a movement to ensure that all students gain the necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge required to compete in the economy of the future.  Jessica recently completed her Masters degree at WSU and is now starting a PhD program at Florida State University. Christian Ammerman, is student at Wichita State University studying Secondary English Education and English Literature with a minor in Graphic Design and is al a University Innovation Fellow. Christian is now a co-director with Maggie Brown, and will be running the program at WSU this fall. Join Startup Grind Wichita for it’s next event, Aug. 29th to hear Dr. Gene Zaid, founder of Genzada Pharmaceuticals. The event starts at 5:30 and will be held at the Wichita State Experiential Engineering building.

In this interview we talk with Joe Witte and Lindsey Stillwell from Legacy Book. For Joe Witte, the Chief Operating Officer of Legacy Book, launching their new app was the fulfillment of personal goal, satisfying his "Why", if you will. According to Joe, “I joined the LegacyBook team so I can help families. I don’t want anyone to have to go through the painful experience I’m still dealing with.”  He  and the company founder, David Thorne, wanted families to not have to sort out all of the financial assets and family heritage after a loved one has passed. So they designed a solution for financial planners.  We also talk with the team's project manager, Lindsey Stillwell about how she has brought her background in social work to the team to help manage the interaction between they creators and the developers.   Lindsey also talks a bit about being a women in technology, especially is a smaller tech community like Wichita, Kansas.  LegacyBook LLC, a Wichita, Kansas based startup company has launched its first app for the financial planner market. The LegacyBook app helps the financial planner grow their book of business while building their clients legacy. With LegacyBook, financial planners can now realize a more complete adviser-client collaboration that elevates the services provided to clients. Financial planners who want to elevate their services, to talk purpose, family, and giving, now have a tool to help with that issue.  Legacy book is the first digital solution to bring the digital age to advisors and their clients where it matters most.” LegacyBook allows clients to record and update their legacy information during their life journey that brings together and organizes information about the client’s family, finances, assets, heritage and values in one secure location. All where clients tend to live - on their phones and tablets.” The LegacyBook App is designed to be: CONVENIENT – Uniquely available 24/7 on a smartphone or tablet so information can be added in real time and as life changes. SECURE - Boasting 11 layers of security, The LegacyBook App is designed to safeguard the most sensitive types of data. COLLABORATIVE – Better planning thanks to tools that capture where the client’s life is during a particular point in their journey, along with what their aspirations are. COMPREHENSIVE – Helps financial planners grow their book of business while offering clients a mobile solution to preserve their legacy. About LegacyBook We guide advisors and their clients to help them build a full legacy. This process removes the use of tedious or product-specific tools and enhances advisor-client communication. Advisors will grow their book of business while helping their clients. VISIT WEBSITE            

We can all agree most entrepreneurs are not accountants and many accountants are not really entrepreneurs. The best of two worlds is when you find that one guy who get its from both the world of understanding the challenges of entrepreneurship and the need to make sure that as an entrepreneur you understand your financial numbers.  In this interview with Fabrice Metan, the founder of SimplyMyNumbers.com we learn more about how an accountant who is also a successful entrepreneur might be the best trusted advisor when it comes to your financial numbers. Its like getting an outsourced Chief Financial Officer without the big salary.  Simplify My Numbers was founded with the goal to provide CFO and Accounting expertise to small business owners in a simplified and affordable way.  Fabrice has a strong background as a CFO with years of experience in industries where numbers matter tremendously and drive the entire ecosystem of the Business (Construction, Aircraft, Retail, etc.). The average small business owner stays overwhelmingly busy working "in the Business", and may not work "on the business" in terms of understanding their financials until tax filing season. The challenge can be this, without proper accounting, the financial health of the Business is unknown. At Simplify My Numbers, their mission is to make proper financial accounting and consulting more accessible for small businesses, not just the "big guys".  Fabrice graduated from Wichita State University with a BS in Accounting in 2010, then completed his MBA in 2015. He has worked at every level of the Accounting profession, including as a Controller/CFO. With success as an entrepreneur, he decided to start Simplify My Numbers when  his expertise with numbers and financial analysis was constantly being requested by smaller businesses. With that in mind, he found a way to simplify what could seem complex to most and make it affordable to every business, regardless of size.  In our interview we learn more about how this service can help the small business owner be more successful and grow their business, by working with an outsource CFO for businesses of their size.  

Join us as we talk with Lisa Roberts, the newly named executive director of the technology council,FlagshipKansas.tech, about what a positive story, technology in Kansas. With Lisa onboard the world will now discovery what a great opportunity exists in Kansas for all sorts of technology companies.  FlagshipKansas.tech is a statewide technology nonprofit, designed to grow the tech workforce, cultivate educational programs, and more importantly, raise awareness of the rapidly growing tech industry in Kansas.   Nine Wichita-area businesses have teamed up to create FlagshipKansas.Tech, a technology council focused on cultivating programs that help grow technology companies in Kansas and building a road map for a successful technology-forward future.. That includes creating a plan to retain and recruit young talent to the Sunflower State. Cities look to technology-based companies to create a sustainable economy and attract talented residents. With high-paying jobs, exciting career advancement opportunities, and indulgent benefits, tech companies usually have no problem attracting the best talent in the industry. According to its website, “FlagshipKansas.Tech is a non-profit organization that brings together Kansas technology companies to shine a light on the depth of skill, ingenuity, and innovation running in our cities and communities. Together, we can unlock career potentials and grow technology talent in Kansas.”   The board contains technology leaders from nine Wichita-based technology companies, including Flint Hills Group, NetApp, Cornerstone Data Inc., High Touch Technologies, the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, KeyCentrix, LLC, Callcap, CURO Financial Technologies, and PK Technologies. Fostering the growing tech community in kansas and cultivating tech talent is beneficial for all businesses involved.  FlagshipKansas.Tech is affiliated with the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA). Through this affiliation, FlagshipKansas.Tech gains the opportunity to work with national tech council leaders to efficiently grow the organization and make a difference.   This is a great story and one well worth your time.   

Have you ever wondered if you could be a paid speaker? How would you do?  Are you following your passion? Join us in this podcast as we talk with Mindy East, the founder of Baron Ridge Productions and Scott Pierce, the voice of Friends University football, an MC and professional speaker.  Mindy found her passion years ago after a career as a publicist for local weather broadcasters when she developed a relationship with Steve Sax, former star of the Los Angeles Dodgers and started acting as his agent for speaking engagements.  The passion for this work has grown into a successful business as Baron Ridge Speakers Agency providing keynote speakers and emcees across the nation for corporate events, conferences, seminars and personal appearances. Scott Pierce started his career in the medical field, and by chance, became the announcer for sports at Friends University and a talented public speaker.  Both Mindy and Scott are following their passions and have turned public speaking into careers.  Would you like be a professional keynote speakers at business events or corporate functions? You just a passion for motivating, educating and inspiring your audience and leave them with a lasting, memorable experience. Learn more:  https://baronridgeproductions.com/ Follow Mindy East on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindy.cook.963

Not every entrepreneurial start-up can manage everything, that's why developing a network of trusted advisors is essential to business success. We talk with Lee Gray of ActionCoach Business Coaching in Wichita, KS about the value of working with a business coach on developing strategies for both long-term and short-term growth. It's called "Working on the Business, Not in the Business".  In our interview we uncover the "why" Lee decided to start business coaching.  We are also talking with Eileen McNichol, the founder of HRx Consulting. Eileen McNichol has human resources in a variety of industries: utilities, entertainment, healthcare and government in both Kansas and Georgia for nearly 25 years.  HRx clients include Turner Broadcasting, the Atlanta Braves, Cox Communications, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Atlanta Check Cashers.  She provides strategic guidance in organizational development, HR risk management, workforce development, and compliance.  Eileen holds a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from the University of Kansas and is a SHRM – Senior Certified Professional and a certified Human Capital Strategist. When you have business growth questions, ask Lee Gray. When you want to make sure your HR programs are up-to-date, ask Eileen McNichol for help.  Learn more about Lee Gray at ActionCoach Lear more about Eileen McNichol at HRx Consulitng 

When you think of a "Finishing School", it's an old fashioned concept of teaching manners and grace, but not the Finishing School for Modern Women. The concept was developed by the founder, Jill Miller who is not training woment to be "ladies" with etiquette classes and culture. O no, this is something different. These courses teach women how find their authentic selves, claim their power in business, finance, communication and life.  Classes are short, powerful and best of all reasonable priced.  Jill is the founder of Creative Solutions, an experienced entrepreneur, trainer and public speaker.  Check out her web site and learn about the online courses she is getting ready to launch.  https://www.finishingschoolformodernwomen.com/ and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/creativesolutionsbusinessconsulting

Every entrepreneur needs a core team of trusted advisors, someone to turn to for advice and encouragement. Because as much as we would like to think we can do it all, there are experts available to help. In this episode we continue our series of interviews with trusted advisors as we talk with Kyle Nation, a vice president with First National Bank of Hutchinson and Dan Reisig, the co-founder of Concergent IT about how they act as advisors for entrepreneurs.  Kyle talks about why community banking is really about building relationships with business owners so they can be make well-informed business decisions about financing their business. Dan Reisig discusses some of the risks every business has with supporting their information technology needs. Both Kyle and Dan share their experiences being trusted advisors to entrepreneurs as the start and grow their businesses.  Learn more about Kyle Nation  and Dan Reisig on LinkedIn.    https://www.concergent.com/

  Josh Enlow might be the smartest guy in the room, when he is fixing your computer issues as the founder of Protech IT Support Services. But what makes Josh really interesting is how he gives back to the community by making sure the underrepresented middle and high school students in the community have training in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The training is free and is frequently connected and offered during summer camps, like Camp Destination Innovation. Josh started ProTech in 2015 as a tech support startup in Wichita, KS. We all know that technology can be great, until it breaks and your business is at a stand-still. In these critical moments, businesses need competent technical support to respond to the situation. And that is where people like Josh step in, as a business person he understands the impact these outages can have on business.  IT infrastructure for most small businesses isn’t perfect. All of that geek jargon, and the careful planning and execution associated with it, is a necessary evil that has to be handled by somebody, and Josh want to stand in that gap for your business.  His philosophy isn’t just to twiddle our thumbs until something breaks, or to just fix problems and walk away. We provide the tools and education that empowers your business users, freeing up IT to innovate and focus on adding value to your business.  Josh likes to say his purpose is two fold. First to help businesses fully leverage the opportunities available to them using a mix of modern technologies, and accelerating the impact across businesses in a strategic and prioritized way. But second his purpose is to give back with STEM training in the community.  I think that is an interesting interview.  Learn more about ProTech Services  and follow them on Facebook.  And follow Saunders and Cash on Social Media Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

What's the best thing about working with a lawyer that is also an entrepreneur? Connection.  Isn't that's what you really need when you are starting, growing, managing a business, a lawyer that gets it because he has been there. Sam Foreman works closely with technology start ups and entrepreneurs to understand first what the business owner is all about, but second what the goals and direction of a business owner are.  You get legal advise, legal services and a work ethic that business owners understand.  Sam is also commit to the success of the Wichita entrepreneur community, working closely with Connecting ICT, Start Up Grind, and Young Professionals of Wichita.  We learn more about why Sam Foreman feels he can best serve the community working as an entrepreneurial lawyer and where he sees the growth of Wichita heading in this interview.  Learn more about on LinkedIn and Facebook 

In this episode we learn from Damon Young and Dan Shurtz of Lead Wichita, what they are doing to build leadership across Wichita by participating in the Global Leadership Summit program. Leadership isn’t something we are born with; it’s something we learn, develop and grow. Leadership isn’t a position; it’s something we each have the opportunity to live out wherever we are. The next program is coming up August 8th and 9th and it will be held at the Intrust Bank Arena. But that is not all, the LeadWichita organization has partnered with a number of sponsors to drive down the cost of attending this two day event and they are providing lunch.  Last year, Wichita had the second most attendees of any location in the United States, so you will want to join your neighbors, co-workers, friends and go.  Lead Wichita's aim is to share with Wichita some of the country’s most influential leaders in faith, business and academia. So come join this coalition of businesses, churches, nonprofits and community leaders who, through this singular event, are working to be catalysts of change and lead higher in Wichita. Register to attend