The Fresh Kisgen Show

Today Kim talks about how she chose her company values as well as what drives and intrigues her. She introduces a nugget of information she shares with some of her clients, as well as offering a FREE personal coaching session with her!

Kim has some big plans for the future, including a "short" long-term vision and a "long" long-term vision. Today she shares both, as well as her key strategies for getting there. She also talks about how the coaching process works and where they are located.

Kim has passed down her coaching talents to a very strong staff of five coaches, with 11 more waiting in the wings for their certification. She's used her knowledge to build an excellent team and it gives her great satisfaction to see their success. She's taking a purposeful step back from constant coaching and limiting her clients because she knows she must also be the voice and face of the company. Today she shares about her typical day, and find out what she has in common with our host!

Kim has been involved with assessing people for many years and in 2005 she made a change. She wanted to work one-on-one with people and help coach them to success. She got going quickly and today she shares how she started and what drove her to make journaling the focus of her coaching.  

Jay's lived through many successes and some failures, and he preaches that young entrepreneurs are in the perfect position to put all their eggs in one basket. That's the time to take the risk, according to him, and the key is to know how to protect your basket! Today he shares about his father and how he was influenced by his success and his failure, as well as sharing an inspiring book title from way back when.

In today's episode, Jay talks about how he will continue helping young entrepreneurs in the future, as well as his plans to write a book with Tony Jeary about getting advice from the right sources.  He shares an anecdote that will be included in the book, which will be titled Advice Matters as well as passing along valuable information about franchising. 

Jay spent 62 years building and selling businesses, and today he shares what he does with his time now. He could've retired 30 years ago, but he loves helping young entrepreneurs so much he still works full-time hours doing so. He talks about his a-typical day and what he has shared with entrepreneurs throughout the years, as well as sharing some interesting stories about how several investments turned out.

Jay Rodgers has had his hand in a lot of cookie jars over the past 60+ years, and he got his entrepreneurial start at age 13. He didn't stop with just one business, however. He was always looking to make things bigger and better and then make his exit. Although he's about to hit the 75 mark, he keeps himself young by adding to his ever-growing list of companies he has either started or improved. Today he shares how he started a couple of those and what it takes to be successful in any business.

Hunter feels great about what he does, because it allows him to give back to the community that he grew up with. He also has a knack for making people feel important, including knowing every single member of the Stunt Players Directory by face and name. (and that's a lot!)

Hunter is excited about the future of Stunt Players Directory, especially as they continue to become more innovative. The service he provides has greatly changed the industry, and he has plans to do even more. Today he shares how he plans to continue to change the industry, and how he will balance his studies with his jobs and Stunt Players.

Hunter has only had the reins for just over a year, but he's already making changes and keeping up with the times. He's constantly striving to improve his business, but he's also a full time college student as well as spending much of his time auditioning for commercials and other things in Hollywood. He says most "kids" his age these days overthink things too much and can really stress themselves out.

Hunter was a regional winner of the Global Student Entrepreneur Award in Los Angeles and he recently traveled to Chicago for the national contest. As the youngest guest on the show to date, Hunter has a surprising amount of information to share. Today Hunter shares the interesting story of how he came to be the owner of Stunt Players Directory. He didn't want to break bones or set himself on fire, but he knew he wanted to be involved in his father's world of stuntmen and women, so this was the next best thing.

Michael believes his success comes from always putting the customer first. Today he shares an example of how that plays out in business for him. He also shares what he would do differently if he could start all over, as well as what has been the most fulfilling for him at this point in his young business.  

Michael believes bigger is not necessarily better, and although they have plans for growth, they're not looking to conquer the world and spend most of their time traveling the globe to put out fires.  Today Michael shares his plans for the future, as well as his astonishing stats on the job placement rate they have from their very first class of students. 

Michael is focused on continuing to deliver quality training, and they have worked hard to have an 80% job placement rate for their classes so far.  They are working on their customer acquisition model right now, and they've already got a new program in place that bridges the gap between high school and college. 

Michael noticed that San Antonio lacked a computer programming training or education of any real sort, so he jumped ship and partnered with a few other techies to create Codeup in late 2013. They've already helped 95 people in just a year's time to become computer programmers and they are focused on adding even more value to the San Antonio area.

Mike wants to change the world, and he's working on making it safer for his daughter. He succeeds in business by not getting too high on the highs and too low on the lows. He believes entrepreneurship is a marathon, and he teaches his employees to believe the same thing. He loves seeing his vision come alive and he shares today why he doesn't have any sales people.

Mike eventually wants to sell his company, and he's being very strategic about his key plans for the business because of it. He's become known as the king of "quick hit cafes," which happen in churches and other businesses around the country. Today he shares his plans for expansion.  

Mike has been in business for 19 years and he's about to make a big move in order to be able to grow even more. He believes in building communities one cup at a time, and he makes certain all hires understand and agree with that philosophy. He's getting geared up for the first quarter of 2015 and he has plans, but he's learned that he can't just go with every single idea he comes up with.

Mike was working his own advertising company when a client approached him about selling espresso machines in 1995. Starbucks wasn't around yet and he didn't even know what a latte was, but he decided to take it on as a side job. After a tough first year, he went out on his own and started making more money than he thought possible selling coffee machines and he soon sold his advertising company to make room for the time needed for his new business.

Todd's why has definitely changed, because initially it was about paying the bills. Now, he has more money than he ever dreamed he would, but he quickly found out having a new house and two new cars in the driveway were not all they were cracked up to be. Today he is very candid as he shares with Fresh about his struggle with purpose, why he's been successful and how he'd cheat if he could do it all over again. (Yes, you read that right)  

Todd doesn't necessarily want to grow any larger with his companies, but he does want to work smarter and maximize what he's already doing. Today he shares about some of the ways he wants to give back in the future. He's already planning his exit strategy, because he expects to have his role change in about 10 years, although he doesn't believe it means retiring and laying on a beach all the time.

After being in business nearly 25 years, Todd has a conglomerate of companies and he is busy working on them, but not bogged down working IN them. Today he shares why he isn't paying off his mortgage early and why he wishes he could shut his mind off sometimes.

Todd got a rough start in 1990 when he used $10k to start Cleaning Connection. For several years, he sold the accounts during the day and did the cleaning at night, burning the rope at both ends. Mentorship is what turned things around for him and why he highly recommends it. In 1995, he considered closing his doors, but his mentor helped him see what he could do, and today he's got multiple businesses with hundreds of employees.

Michele is a self-admitted "big nerd," and shares in today's episode how that led to becoming the Queen of Balance in Chicago and beyond. She worked with the DOD and figured out that she wanted to help people in a unique way.

Entrepreneurship: "All the cool kids are doing it!" According to Michele Kehrer, now is the best time to be an entrepreneur, because everyone is more free to be who they want to be.   She's planning to grow by scaling down. Does that make sense? It will when you listen to the episode!

Michele has been in business for eight years and she's paid off her original loan for seed capital, and she's working on continuous improvement. Today she shares what she loves and hates about the business, including how to think outside the box when it comes to physical therapy as well as her insurance company woes.

Michele's always had the "entrepreneurial bug in her belly," and although it took her three tries to finally realize her current situation wasn't going to change, she finally got the message and got her doctorate in physical therapy. Today she shares how she got her start and why she is always the "go big or go home" type of person.

  Tony's always gone for the highest level possible, causing others to hate him in school, since he was usually a curve-wrecker. But he believes in going for the best you can achieve. Today he shares why he thinks he's been successful so far, who and what has inspired and influenced him the most, and what has been the most fulfilling to him so far.

Tony has a long-term plan in place, and he's just getting started. In today's episode, he shares some of his strategies for reaching his 10-year goals as well as what those goals are. He wants to build disciples, or others whom he can train to either take his place or come alongside him to take on the bulk of the business and help relieve him of some travel pains, since he currently spends over 80% of his time traveling.

Tony is past the pebble stage and today he shares where they are right now. They are approaching 300 employees and he likes to run lean, meaning he likes to be tight on cash because they are continuing to grow. When someone says enough is enough in their business, that's where Tony comes in. He can take a successful business and ramp it up.  

Tony Rock founded Cimarron Infrastructure Group just over 3 years ago, but he's got grand plans. He won't put all his eggs in one basket, but he's discovered he'd rather have a small piece of a much larger pie than 100% of a small pie. Today he talks about surprises in the first year and how he dealt with them.

Mike got into his own business because he's a terrible employee. He admits that when he was working for someone else, he just felt like he wanted freedom. He's willful and stubborn and refused to not see things work out. Today he does get philosophical when he explains what he'd do differently if he could start over and what has been most fulfilling for him as a business owner.  

Although Mike wants to expand and rebrand, he doesn't have plans to take over the world. Today he shares how he plans to get to the $5 million mark and why he's looking to the future. He plans to narrow down what they offer as a company and he hopes he will do more of the leading and less of the managing side of things in the future.  

Mike shares a birthday with the original owner of Bob Wright Creative, and they met a few years back, realizing he was exactly half of the original owner's age. He's learned a lot in the past dozen years, and today he shares his experiences with cash, growing pains, things he loves and the shallowness of the industry.

Mike Gastin is a serial entrepreneur, and he'll be the first to admit he's had a lot of starts and fails. Twelve years ago, he took a chance on acquiring a company that was already in existence, and Bob Wright Creative became his new livelihood. Today Mike shares some of his challenges and surprises in taking over an existing company, and he speaks frankly about what he had to change and what he didn't touch in that first year.

All jokes aside, Mark Giltner takes his work very seriously. His goal is to take care of the clients, and his role has become more that of counselor to his clients. He's enjoyed long-term relationships with the representatives of some of his longest running clients, and he shares in their victories as well as laying awake at night worry about their possible defeats.

Mark enjoys setting traps for the opposing clients and the success that comes with setting a good trap. He's great at what he does and he knows how to train a new attorney to do what he does. Shelton & Valadez wants to offer their clients quality work and they want to be able to continue to pay the people they hire, so they aren't in a hurry to hire. Today he shares how Obamacare has affected them as well as why he still has sleepless nights.  

Although Mark knows he's still too much in the weeds in his business, he loves litigation and loves setting traps for plaintiffs in his cases. He loves what he does, but he also realizes he needs to make some tough decisions and train attorneys to take his place. Today he talks about how he manages his typical day, as well as what he calls "The Moving Lunch," which allows him to pack more into his busy schedule.

Mark Giltner started his journey with Shelton & Valadez more than 20 years ago, but it was an interesting trip that got him there. Starting out in investment banking, he decided in his senior year that he wanted to do security law. After his internship, he knew that wasn't the place for him. Today he shares how he valued the people at Shelton & Valadez and was willing to take a benefits and pay cut to get on board with a company he believed in and how that paid off.

Frank Fantozzi knows there are some things he would do differently if he was starting all over again, but most importantly would be to value his services. Advice early on suggested he give away part of his services to get referrals. After three years, he was barely making it and his referrals weren't getting any better. When he started charging for those services, he suddenly hit the referral jackpot and his money started increasing as well.

Frank's customers appreciate his ability to turn on a dime, and he doesn't want to get so large he can't still do that, but he does have plans for growth. His company currently has clients in 19 states, and because he likes to travel, he wants to get someone in all 50 states. Today he shares his 3 motivations for why he set up the company he did, as well as his key strategies and also his key obstacles.

Frank knows cash is king, and he's sitting pretty right now. He got smart during the recession, starting not just a "rainy day fund" but also an "opportunities fund." His employees love this setup, because they have secure bonuses and they feel secure in their job. Today he talks about the "return on life" and what that means to him. His biggest challenge is scaling, and he talks candidly about how that looks in his business.  

When Frank Fantozzi decided being a regular cpa wasn't for him, he chose to blaze a new trail as a financial advisor. What he didn't expect was to get knocked down the totem pole so far. He dealt with the lack of respect and built his company anyway, and today he shares how that start took place.

When Maritza started her business back in her teen years, her core why was just to have the freedom to do what she wanted and not take orders from someone else, as well as making money without having to cash a paycheck. Today, her core why is still freedom, but it has changed to having freedom to be able to affect the lives of others. On a recent trip to Uganda, she got to see first hand how money she had donated helped kids have a school built.  

Maritza has big plans for the future, including raising up the next generation of performers as well as providing more people with opportunities to learn horsemanship and online marketing training. Today she shares how she sold $30,000 of product in just a few days--don't miss it! She also shares her optimism for future entrepreneurs who have either passion or expertise. Her main advice? Be consistent!

Although Maritza didn't want to admit just how long she's been in business, she shares candidly in today's episode how her cash situation is as well as why cash is freedom. She talks about her typical day and why she sometimes feels like the wedding planner as well as the bride when planning and performing in a horse show, but she also shares about the difficulty of letting horses go.

Maritza Parra started her company very early, after putting on a horse show for her father's birthday. The idea caught on and soon she was working with her other three performers and their horses at shows all over the place.

Rick's core why hasn't changed since 7th grade. He's always wanted to be a difference-maker, and he's accomplished that many times and through many different avenues. Today he shares about his philosophies, as well as who has inspired him most (you don't want to miss THAT) and what he thinks it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

Rick follows the advice of Jim Collins in his book Good to Great by doing something he is passionate about, can make money at and in his own world, he is the best at it. He faces challenges in his business mostly because there are so many directions he could go in, including musician, novelist, cpa, speaker, and even mounted horseman!

Twenty-two years ago, Rick started his company with a dream of being more than just a cpa. Today, he runs a website filled with articles and videos, all free, for both individuals and businesses. When the recession hit, he went against the flow and hired more people instead of letting people go, and it paid off for his business. Now he's writing a novel as well as doing normal cpa things plus spending time with his family and delegating tasks.