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The Dad Edge Podcast (formerly The Good Dad Project Podcast)
In this solo episode, I share what's coming in March inside the Dad Edge Alliance, including a full breakdown of how we're helping dads move from authoritarian parenting to grounded leadership and collaboration. I also announce The Men's Forge live event, the next Roommates to Soulmates cohort, and highlight an incredible 1st Phorm transformation story from inside our community. If you've been feeling the drift — in your parenting, your marriage, your energy, or your leadership — this episode is your reset. Timeline Summary [0:00] Who this episode is for — dads stuck in power struggles or marriage drift [4:19] Why holding kids accountable feels harder than asking them to do something [5:51] Moving from authoritarian parenting to grounded leadership [7:06] Mastering regulation before correction [8:16] Building accountability without authoritarian energy [9:59] The Men's Forge live event announcement [13:22] Guest speaker lineup including G.S. Youngblood [15:03] F3 Nation President Frank "Dark Helmet" Schwarze joining the event [17:01] Dad Edge 1st Phorm Dad of the Month transformation [18:53] Roommates to Soulmates course update and preview call details Five Key Takeaways: Authoritarian parenting creates compliance — but often erodes trust. Regulation before correction is a leadership skill every dad needs. Collaboration builds accountability far better than control. Intimacy fades when emotional leadership is missing at home. Transformation accelerates in community, not isolation. Links & Resources Roommates to Soulmates: https://thedadedge.com/soulmates The Men's Forge Live Event: https://themensforge.com Micro Factor Pack: https://1stphorm.com/products/micro-factor/?a_aid=dadedge Phormula-1 + Ignition (Post Workout Stack): https://1stphorm.com/products/post-workout-stack/?a_aid=dadedge Collagen with Dermaval: https://1stphorm.com/products/collagen-with-dermaval/?a_aid=dadedge Protein Beef Sticks: https://1stphorm.com/products/protein-sticks?a_aid=dadedge&a_bid=970de3cd Episode Shownotes: http://thedadedge.com/1445 Closing Remark If you're tired of the battles at home, the roommate vibe in your marriage, or feeling worn down physically and emotionally — don't wait for crisis. Take action. Join us. Step in. Lead differently. From my heart to yours — go out and live legendary.
Recruiting has always been shaped by the time and resources available. Resumes are short because recruiters only have a finite amount of time to read them. Interview shortlists are small because hiring managers can only meet so many candidates. The whole funnel narrows because no team can fully evaluate everyone who applies. None of these are strategic choices, they're simply workarounds for human capacity. Now AI agents can screen hundreds of candidates in a matter of hours, run outside business hours, and deliver structured evidence for recruiters to review. The data coming back is already challenging assumptions about how these processes should work, while the growing influence of AI on who progresses through the hiring process makes questions around ethics, fairness, and regulatory compliance impossible to ignore. So how should TA leaders rearchitect their processes while keeping them responsible? My guest this week is Sachit Kamat, Chief Product Officer at Eightfold. In our conversation, Sachit shares early data from AI interviewing at scale and explains why it's time to reimagine recruiting processes as the traditional constraints around time and resources start to fall away. In the interview, we discuss: Lifting capacity limitations in recruiting The impact of AI interviewing on the candidate experience What humans do better than technology Radically improving the candidate experience. Building agent scale processes The first steps to transforming recruiting Regulation and responsibility Could the time to hire be reduced to less than 1 hour? What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.
In this episode of Storage Wins, Alex Pardo works with Dan Wentzel on live deal analysis—breaking down a real storage opportunity step by step. Together, they walk through how to evaluate a market, identify unsophisticated competition, spot pricing inefficiencies, and determine whether a facility has true upside or hidden risk. This episode pulls back the curtain on how experienced operators think when they're underwriting deals. It's less about spreadsheets and more about pattern recognition—understanding markets, competitors, and operator behavior so you can make confident offers without needing perfect information. You'll Learn How To: Evaluate storage markets using competition and operator sophistication Identify pricing gaps that signal upside potential Analyze deals even when data is incomplete or unclear Use market behavior—not just numbers—to guide your offers Build confidence by underwriting deals faster and more consistently What You'll Learn in This Episode: [1:28] Recap of the Season 2 journey and why accountability matters [3:05] Why progress creates confidence—and confidence fuels action [5:34] Back-of-the-napkin analysis using square footage and market rents [6:58] Why offer volume matters more than perfect underwriting [9:03] How trust and rapport unlock seller information [13:01] Momentum update: increased offers and underwriting speed [17:35] Why teaching what you're learning accelerates mastery [21:17] Building a storage deal pipeline that doesn't rely on luck [23:15] Why follow-up—not first contact—wins most deals [29:15] Live deal overview: secondary market, size, and price range [31:44] Spotting unsophisticated operators through online presence [35:05] Using Google Maps, reviews, and websites to read a market [37:56] Understanding rate gaps and competitive positioning [39:20] How competitor pricing can reveal hidden opportunities [43:09] Making offers the right way—with explanation and context [45:16] Why buyer credibility matters with brokers and wholesalers [50:31] Learn → execute → tweak: the real framework for progress [51:42] The next challenge: increasing offer volume to six per week Who This Episode Is For: Investors who want to understand why a deal works—not just if it works Listeners struggling to evaluate markets and competition Anyone unsure how to make offers with imperfect information People ready to build confidence through repetition and real analysis Why You Should Listen: Most deals aren't lost because of bad math—they're lost because investors don't know how to read a market. This episode shows you how to think like an operator, spot opportunity where others don't, and make informed offers without waiting for perfect data. If you've ever wondered "How do I know if this deal is actually good?"—this episode walks you through the answer in real time. Follow Alex Pardo here: Alex Pardo Website: https://alexpardo.com/ Alex Pardo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexpardo15 Alex Pardo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexpardo25 Alex Pardo YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexPardo Storage Wins Website: https://storagewins.com/ Have conversations with at least three storage owners, brokers, private lenders, or equity partners inside the Storage Wins Facebook Group. Join for free here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/322064908446514/
Most entrepreneurs don't fail because they can't make money — they fail because they don't understand the tax game behind the money.In this powerful episode of Inside the Vault with Ash Cash, Dr. Rosie Thomas — tax strategist, accountant, educator, and wealth architect with over 20 years in the industry — breaks down the REAL strategies behind keeping more of what you earn.If you've ever made money but still felt broke… if you're confused about write-offs… if you want to scale but fear the IRS… THIS is the episode you'll replay twice.Inside this masterclass, you'll learn:
Today's guest is Vern Gambetta. Vern is a world-renowned sports performance coach with over 50 years of experience across Olympic, professional, and collegiate sport. A pioneer in modern athletic development, he's known for blending movement skill, strength, and long-term athlete development into a practical, coach-driven system. The more coaching and training leans into data points, KPI's, rigid standards and an overly specialized model, the more true athleticism, movement and skill development gets choked out. By understanding all aspects of the athletic movement equation, we can give athletes a better total experience in their sport and movement practices. In this episode, Vern leans into his wisdom for a wide-ranging conversation on movement, skill, and the art of coaching. With over 50 years of experience across Olympic and professional sport, Vern shares insights on functional training, sport specificity, plyometrics, rhythm, and why skill expression, not rigid technical models, drives true performance. From jump rope to the dot drill to developing movement “signatures,” this episode is a masterclass in coaching the athlete in front of you. Today's episode is brought to you by Hammer Strength and the Just Fly Sports Online Courses Use code “justfly10” for 10% off the Vert Trainer Use code “justfly20” for 20% off of LILA Exogen Wearable resistance gear at www.lilateam.com View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 3:00 – The Birth of Functional Training 10:39 – The Nature of Fascia 15:33 – Training Spectrum 28:16 – General vs. Specific Movements 38:00 – The Art of Movement 49:31 – Rhythm and Movement 55:15 – Plyometric Training Perspectives 59:50 – The Role of Technology 1:13:16 – Sketching Athletic Sequences About Vern Gambetta Vern Gambetta is a pioneering sports performance coach, educator, and author widely recognized as one of the foundational voices in modern athletic development. With more than five decades of coaching experience, Gambetta has worked across track & field, baseball, swimming, cricket, soccer, basketball, and rugby at youth, collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels. A former track and field coach and longtime advocate for holistic athlete development, Gambetta helped popularize the concept of “functional training” in the 1980s, while consistently emphasizing that training must serve the demands of sport, not marketing trends. His work integrates biomechanics, skill acquisition, rhythm and movement literacy, strength training, and long-term athletic development into a unified system. Gambetta has coached at the Olympic level, worked in Major League Baseball, and served as a consultant to professional teams worldwide. He is the author of multiple books, including Athletic Development and Building the Complete Athlete, and is a sought-after international speaker known for blending science, experience, and practical coaching wisdom. Above all, Gambetta advocates coaching the athlete in front of you, prioritizing movement quality, adaptability, and lifelong development over rigid systems or trends.
In this episode of FYI, Brett Winton and Nick Grous sit down with Leif Abraham, co-founder and co-CEO of Public. They examine how the brokerage landscape is shifting as digital-native investors seek more sophisticated tools, and why Public is focused on the top quartile of earners positioned to compound wealth. Leif discusses agentic AI workflows, generated assets, platform design trade-offs, prediction markets, and how Public is balancing short-term monetization with long-term customer lifetime value.Key Points From This Episode: 00:00:00 Public's positioning in the modern brokerage landscape00:07:17 The K-shaped economy and focusing on the top quartile00:09:04 Building a “serious” financial service centered on trust00:10:06 Product depth vs. simplification in brokerage design00:11:00 Generated Assets: prompting AI-built custom portfolios00:13:21 Digital natives as hybrid self-directed investors00:15:04 How AI is transforming internal product development00:19:55 Launching agentic workflows for money movement and trading00:23:38 Compressing the distance from idea to execution00:27:34 Guardrails, approvals, and trust in AI-driven execution00:30:26 Short-term trading revenue vs. long-term lifetime value00:33:32 Agents as retention and lock-in strategy00:35:05 Replacing financial advisors: automation, advice, and emotion00:37:54 Tokenization and private asset access00:40:40 Prediction markets and avoiding sports betting00:45:55 Building the last investing account customers ever openEditing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)
The Bulletproof Dental Podcast Episode 426 HOSTS: Dr. Peter Boulden, Dr. Craig Spodak and Ian de Jongh GUEST: Cory Pinegar DESCRIPTION This episode explores the transformative potential of outsourcing and remote teams in dentistry, focusing on cost savings, efficiency, and practice growth. Guests share insights on building hybrid teams, leveraging international talent, and optimizing practice operations. TAKEAWAYS Outsourcing in dentistry Building hybrid teams Cost savings and efficiency International talent and remote work Practice management and analytics CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction and Guest Credibility 01:16 Ian's Background and Connection to Dentistry 02:09 The Origin of Bulletproof Dental Ecosystem 02:56 Ian's Personal Journey and Family Background 03:56 The Need for Support Networks in Dentistry 05:06 The Value of Building Hybrid Teams 06:44 Decentralization vs Centralization in Dental Teams 08:52 The Impact of Unanswered Calls on Practice Revenue 11:57 The Productivity Myth in Dentistry 13:22 Layering Responsibilities in Dental Practices 15:14 Real-Life Examples of Call Overload 16:02 Missed Calls and Practice Profitability 17:23 Data-Driven Practice Improvements 18:21 The Emotional and Data Aspects of Practice Management 20:40 The Competitive Edge of Outsourcing 21:26 International Talent and Cost Savings 22:30 Overcoming Language and Cultural Barriers 24:35 Global Talent and Long-Term Practice Growth 26:18 Emulating Big Business Strategies in Dentistry 28:06 Financial Benefits of Outsourcing 30:23 Craig's Advice on Cost Per Hour and Efficiency 30:44 When Outsourcing Is Not the Right Fit 31:48 Setting Realistic Expectations for Outsourcing 32:58 The Importance of SOPs and Systems 35:59 Identifying the Gateway for Practice Improvement 36:40 Starting with Insurance Verification and Call Management 37:36 The Biggest Opportunities in Practice Management 38:16 Vetting and Integrating Remote Team Members 39:13 How to Connect with GetReach and Bulletproof 40:24 Special Offer and Next Steps for Listeners 40:56 Outro REFERENCES Bulletproof Summit Bulletproof Mastermind Reach
In this episode, Caleb breaks down how the health of your business directly reflects your leadership, discipline, and personal development. Key topics include: Personal development as the foundation for self-realization and self-awareness Clearly defining what a "win" looks like for yourself and your company The importance of carving out time for focused, deep work Dollar-bracketing systems to ensure efficiency and accountability Building a leadership pipeline — from apprentices to managers Giving true ownership and responsibility at every level Aligning training and SOPs so they reinforce each other Setting clear plans and executing them with precision A powerful episode on leadership, structure, and building a business that runs with clarity, accountability, and purpose. https://www.elitenetworks.us Auman Landscape on YouTube Primed For Growth www.companycam/kcpodcast Company Cam- 50% for 2 months! Linktree/AumanLandscape @aumanlandscapellc www.CycleCPA.com Use code: Auman and save $200 when signing up. LMN Software Save on onboarding! Code: AUMAN
Most Female Founders who are starting a business for the first time only think about legal support when something goes wrong. Leslee Cohen, founder of AllRise Legal Counsel, shares how the right legal guidance can make starting a business safer and less stressful. Drawing on decades of experience advising female founders through fundraising, growth, and exit, Leslee explains why so many first time business owners delay legal decisions and the risk that can create in their businesses.Many legal legal decisions shape a startup from the very beginning, including business structure, equity, co-founders, and long-term protection. Leslee shares how a small shift in how founders talk about their business can open doors and why legal strategy works best when it supports momentum instead of slowing it down.Leslee also reflects on what changed when she became a startup founder herself and rebuilt her firm around flexibility, trust, and accountability without sacrificing quality. If you're starting a business for the first time and you want legal guidance that feels practical, human, and aligned with real life, this episode offers clarity and a smarter way to think about legal support.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Female Founders Building Businesses For The First Time in the Dear FoundHer Forum01:30 From Diplomacy to Corporate Law and Startup Legal Work 05:45 How One Sentence Changed Her Startup Legal Business 08:50 Building a Flexible Legal Firm for Female Founders 12:08 Networking Strategies That Drive Business Referrals 16:30 Legal Decisions Every New Business Owner Must Make Early 23:26 Redefining Growth and Success as a Legal Founder 29:44 Practical Advice for Women Starting A Business For The First TimeConnect with Leslee Cohen:Follow AllRise Legal on InstagramSubscribe to The FoundHer Files Follow Dear FoundHer on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I'm Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I've spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.In this episode, I talk about one of the biggest bottlenecks in restaurant leadership. When your team constantly comes to you with problems but no solutions, you become the ceiling of your business. If everything runs through you, growth slows down fast.I break down what I call the 1-3-1 rule, a simple framework that trains your team to think critically instead of outsourcing decisions upward. When someone brings a problem, they also bring one clear issue, three possible solutions, and one recommendation. This shifts your culture from dependency to ownership.We also dig into how better communication and operational discipline create faster decision making and stronger leaders inside your restaurant. If you want a team that solves problems without waiting on you, this is where you start. TakeawaysDid the year actually pay you or just add stress?January sets the pattern for the year ahead.The 1-3-1 rule encourages independent problem-solving.Train your team to think critically about solutions.Empower staff to present problems with solutions.Effective communication reduces management burden.Operational efficiency is key to restaurant success.Utilize free resources for restaurant growth.Engage with the audience for feedback and questions.Building a sustainable restaurant requires strategic thinking.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Restaurant Challenges02:33 The 1-3-1 Rule for Problem Solving05:23 Empowering Your Team to Think IndependentlyIf you've got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.
Seth Deutsch is the Founder and Managing Partner of Samson Partners Group, a strategic advisory firm that helps founders build investor-ready companies and maximize value before a private equity exit. He has managed teams in over 80 countries, acquired more than 70 companies, executed four recapitalizations, and operated businesses with revenues from $25 million to $2 billion. Seth is the author of The Owner's Manual and the creator of the Exit Value Realization System™ (EVRS), a framework that helps owners reduce risk, increase valuation, and prepare for successful transitions. In this episode… Building a business is one thing. Turning it into a valuable, investor-ready asset is another. What separates founders who scale successfully from those who leave millions on the table at exit? Seth Deutsch, a seasoned dealmaker who has acquired more than 70 companies and led multiple recapitalizations, believes strong exits start with intentional value creation long before a sale. He emphasizes de-risking the business by reducing key-person dependency, improving financial visibility, and strengthening margins. The shift from operator to investor — focusing on predictable future cash flow — is critical. In The Owner's Manual, he outlines specific value levers to help founders scale strategically and exit stronger. In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz sits down with Seth Deutsch, Founder and Managing Partner at Samson Partners Group, to discuss scaling and preparing a business for a successful exit. They explore the seven levers of value creation, how to reduce key-man and client concentration risk, and why investor readiness should start years before a sale. Seth also shares how his personal journey shaped his philosophy on leadership and value creation.
Host Jesse Jackson welcomes author and former teacher Sara Goodman-Confino to Set Lusting Bruce to talk Bruce Springsteen, fandom, and fiction. Sara shares her path from 21 years teaching to writing full-time, her Springsteen origin story rooted in hearing “Atlantic City” during a difficult college week, and her family's deep reading culture. She recounts seeing Bruce live (including being pulled onstage in Charlottesville in 2012 with a “Can I dance with Jake?” sign), attending dozens of shows, favorite songs and albums (especially Born to Run and “Backstreets”), and sending Bruce a copy of her novel Don't Forget to Write featuring a brief Bruce cameo. They discuss Sara's focus on humorous, intergenerational stories with strong female characters and “Jewish joy,” including why she writes Jewish characters beyond suffering narratives and how her novels highlight the recentness of women's legal and social limitations. Sara previews upcoming projects, including her June 9 release Off the Record about a young woman in a 1960s newspaper typing pool who uncovers a Cuban spy plot, plus a planned 2027 novel centered on the Beatles' first U.S. concert after Ed Sullivan. Find more about her and her books here - https://saraconfino.com/ 00:00 Welcome to Set Lusting Bruce + Meet Author Sara Goodman Canino 00:53 From Teacher to Full-Time Writer: Beyond the Palace Origins 03:54 Growing Up with Books & Classic Rock (and Early Bruce Memories) 05:24 The Springsteen Mix CD That Got Her Through Grief 10:13 Writing Strong Women & Finding Her Voice (Humor, Publishing, Historical Fiction) 13:29 Jewish Joy on the Page: Representation Beyond Trauma 16:28 Intergenerational Healing: The Mother-in-Law Story Behind Good Grief 19:24 New Release Spotlight: Off the Record—Jewish Romcom Meets Cold War Spy Thriller 23:00 Why the Early '60s Still Matters: Women's Rights, Research, and Remembering History 27:34 Why These Stories Matter (Especially for Younger Readers) 29:04 Next Novel Tease: The 1964 DC Beatles Show + A Photographer's Big Break 31:12 Switching Gears to Bruce: The ‘Dance with Jake' Sign & Getting Pulled Onstage 34:20 Counting Shows & Favorite Springsteen Songs (Born to Run, Backstreets, Sandy) 37:29 Have You Met Bruce? Mailing Him a Book + The New Jersey Cameo 39:27 Family Concert Memories: Dad, Uncle, and the Legendary Ticket Scores 42:46 What's Next as a Writer: Secret Projects, Building an Audience & Future Horror Book 44:09 Thunder Road Debate: Does Mary Get in the Car? (Plus ‘Waves' vs ‘Sways') 44:58 Where to Find Sara: Socials, Website, Buying Options & Final Wrap-Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
#794 Most entrepreneurs don't have a revenue problem — they have a “where did the money go?” problem. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, host Brien Gearin sits down with Bobby Hoyt — founder of Stellar Brands, CEO of The Bottom Line, and creator behind Millennial Money Man — to unpack why “knowing your numbers” is non-negotiable if you want to build a business that actually pays you. Bobby shares his journey from high school band director to entrepreneur, how a mentor helped him pay off student loans and take the leap, and the hard lessons that come from running your business on “napkin math.” Together, Brien and Bobby dig into why most entrepreneurs get blindsided at tax time, what it really means to have a proactive tax strategy, and how systems like Profit First (and the right bookkeeping/CPA team) can bring clarity, stability, and confidence to your cash flow — so you can grow without hitting the financial “electric fence!” What we discuss with Bobby: + Why entrepreneurs must know their numbers + The danger of “napkin math” finances + Bobby's journey from teacher to CEO + How mentors accelerate business growth + Why revenue doesn't equal personal income + The importance of proactive tax strategy + Common CPA and bookkeeping mistakes + How Profit First stabilizes cash flow + Paying yourself consistently as an owner + Building financial systems that scale with growth Thank you, Bobby! Check out Stellar Brands at StellarBrands.com. Check out The Bottom Line (TBL) at TheBottomLineCPA.com. Check out Brilliant Bookkeeper. To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to MillionaireUniversity.com/training. To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In episode 604 of Lawyerist Podcast, Stephanie Everett sits down with Andy Hays to explore the shift from solo practitioner to true business owner. After nearly two decades of firm ownership, Andy shares why he recently rebranded to remove his personal name from the firm, a strategic move designed to reduce dependency on him and strengthen the firm's future. They discuss delegation, hiring before you feel fully ready, automating repetitive processes, and setting clear expectations for team performance. The conversation also dives into accountability, leadership growth, and how small operational improvements compound over time. If you are ready to move beyond founder dependence and build a firm designed for scalability, resilience, and long-term value, this episode offers practical frameworks and real-world insight to help you get there. Listen to our previous episodes on Scaling & Building a Sellable Firm. #306: Getting to Know & Love Your Numbers, with Bernadette Harris Apple | Spotify | LTN #583: From Survival to Strategy: Scaling Your Law Firm Finances, with Bernadette Harris Apple | Spotify | LTN #588: Practice Smarter, Not Harder: 411 Tips for Modern Lawyers, with Jordan Couch Apple | Spotify | LTN Have thoughts about today's episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X! If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you. Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com. Chapters / Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction 03:50 – Standards, KPIs & Hard Conversations 07:30 – Meet Andy 08:45 – Lessons from 18 Years in Practice 10:15 – Removing Your Name from the Firm 12:45 – Building a Firm You Can Sell 15:30 – Automation & Low Hanging Fruit 17:00 – Accountability & Team Meetings 19:25 – The “I'll Just Do It Myself” Trap 21:15 – Hiring Strategically 23:30 – Expanding the Physical Office 25:40 – Closing Thoughts
Building a sustainable brand is about creating something strong enough to outlast trends and survive copycats. It's doing the hard work, staying passionate and embracing who you are. Get an inside look at what it really takes to create thriving global platforms, certifications and methods in Episode 712: The Pilates Journal Expo with Lise Kuecker and Tracey Mallett.* Invest in protection: trademark and defend your brand and messaging Lose your ego: ask for help and develop confidence through experience Simplify to scale: create frameworks and roadmaps to maintain quality Pay it forward: mentor others to close the gap between certification and skills Separate yourself: ensure your business doesn't rely on your name so you can exit Decades into this, Tracey emphasizes leaning into your unique personality, power and grit to impact and empower others. Learn lessons from a legacy in Episode 712. Follow Tracey on Instagram at @traceymallett. *Recorded live at The Pilates Journal Expo. The Pilates Journal is the leading voice of the global Pilates industry. Subscribe free at www.pilatesjournal.com/subscribe. Catch you there, Lise PS: Join 2,000+ studio owners who've decided to take control of their studio business and build their freedom empire. Subscribe HERE and join the party! www.studiogrow.co www.linkedin.com/company/studio-growco/
Meet Your All·in·One Creator Store (Stan)https://join.stan.store/the505podcastUnlock your first product and start getting paid as a creator (FREE download)https://the505podcast.courses/paidofferplaybookWhat's up Rock Nation! Today we're joined by Matt Gray, creator of Founder OS, who's built multiple eight-figure businesses and published over 36,000 pieces of content. In this episode, we break down the battle of longevity, why your leadership is the real cap on your success, what scaling from $1M to $10M actually demands, the hard lessons of hiring and firing, and how to build systems that let your personal brand become a real company, not just a content page.Check out Matt here:https://www.youtube.com/ @realmattgray https://www.instagram.com/matthgray/Timestamps00:00 – Intro00:01:07 – Paid Offer Playbook00:01:22 – First System That Changed Everything00:03:24 – Scaling Content While Traveling00:05:10 – Early Content Was Messy00:07:00 – Systems Born From Frustration00:08:03 – How the Content Waterfall Works00:10:25 – Generating Endless Content Ideas00:11:49 – Why Founders Burn Out00:13:14 – Founder Doubt: Quit or Push Through00:14:07 – Think Like an Investor, Not Founder00:15:19 – $1M vs $10M Systems Shift00:15:29 – Stan Store Sponsor Break00:16:02 – Scaling Requires Real Infrastructure00:17:16 – Hard Hiring Lessons00:18:17 – Moneyball Hiring Strategy00:19:37 – Hiring for ROI and Values00:23:09 – Firing 23 People in One Day00:26:20 – Slow Growth over Hyper Scaling00:27:30 – Defining Success as Peace00:28:10 – Are Systems Only for Big Teams?00:29:02 – Systems Create the Success00:30:16 – Simple Way to Document Systems00:31:20 – Using AI to Build Systems00:33:17 – Is Personal Branding Optional?00:35:19 – Disrupting Your Business Every Year00:37:00 – AI Is an Opportunity00:41:43 – Minimalism and Experiences Over Things00:43:44 – Why He Started His Personal Brand00:44:29 – Low Testosterone Wake-Up Call00:45:52 – The Artist's Way Changed Everything00:48:05 – Why Storytelling Scales Your Brand00:49:44 – Emotional Connection Beats Tactics00:50:35 – Why Most Brands Aren't Unique00:51:26 – Caring Is the Differentiator00:59:07 – Trust Takes Time and Touchpoints00:59:59 – The Skeptic Buyer Mindset01:00:25 – Are Founders Looking for Exits?01:01:04 – Why Exits Are a Lottery Ticket01:02:18 – Cash Flow vs Chasing Liquidity01:04:02 – Building for Freedom, Not Headlines01:06:11 – Why Most Founders Stay in Operations01:08:27 – The Real Goal is Time Autonomy01:10:03 – Escaping the Founder Bottleneck01:12:14 – Designing a Business That Runs Without You01:14:49 – Revenue vs Lifestyle Alignment01:17:06 – When Growth Becomes a Trap01:19:32 – The Hidden Cost of Ambition01:21:18 – Identity Tied to Your Business01:23:07 – Building Something You Don't Resent01:25:41 – Systems as Emotional Insurance01:28:10 – Why Simplicity Wins Long Term01:30:55 – Complexity Kills Margin01:33:22 – Founder Energy Is the Constraint01:35:48 – Scaling Without Losing Soul01:38:16 – Trust Compounds Over Time01:40:07 – Why Distribution Beats Perfection01:42:33 – Obsession With Craft01:44:58 – Caring Is a Competitive Advantage01:47:21 – Playing the Long Game01:49:39 – Building a Brand That Endures01:52:12 – Peace Is the Real KPI01:54:49 – The After Party If you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on. DM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!) Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/
Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by Lou Pizzichillo, Lead Pastor of Community Church on Long Island. Community Church launched in January 2020—just ten weeks before the world shut down—then relaunched after 52 weeks online. Now averaging around 1,200 people across Thursday and Sunday services, Community is known as “a church for people who don't go to church.” In a region where skepticism toward organized religion runs deep, Lou and his team are building trust by creating space for honest questions, lived-out faith, and tangible community impact. Is your church serving in a skeptical environment? Are you trying to reach people who already think they know—and don't like—what church is about? Lou shares practical wisdom on posture, transparency, and earning trust one decision at a time. Starting where people really are. // On Long Island, while some residents may identify culturally with faith traditions, most see church as judgmental, hypocritical, or irrelevant to everyday life. Lou quickly realized that the biggest obstacle wasn't apathy—it was reputation. Rather than fighting skepticism, Community Church chose to acknowledge it. The church repeatedly communicates three cultural values: You can belong before you believe. You have permission to be in progress. And there's no pretending. These aren't slogans—they shape how the church operates. Permission to be in progress. // One of the most resonant phrases at Community is “permission to be in progress.” Many people assume that following Jesus requires instant agreement with every doctrine and behavior expectation. Instead, Community encourages people to wrestle honestly with the claims of Christ first. Secondary issues and sanctification come later. This posture doesn't mean watering down truth—it means sequencing it wisely. By focusing on who Jesus says he is, rather than debating every peripheral topic, the church keeps the main thing central. No pretending—and real transparency. // Transparency builds credibility in skeptical contexts. Stories of real life—parenting mistakes, marriage tensions, leadership missteps—often resonate more than polished success stories. At the same time, Lou draws a boundary between “scars and wounds.” He shares what he has processed, not what he is still unraveling. This authenticity signals that faith isn't about perfection but transformation. For many in the congregation, seeing a pastor admit imperfection dismantles years of distrust toward church leaders. Becoming an asset to the community. // Community Church doesn't just talk about loving Babylon—it demonstrates it. Early on, Lou realized trust would not come through marketing but through partnership. Before launch, the church created “12 Days of Christmas,” giving away gifts purchased from local businesses. In year one, stores hesitated to participate; by year seven, businesses were reaching out to collaborate. What began as skepticism has shifted to partnership because trust was earned gradually. Serving instead of competing. // A defining moment came during the annual Argyle Fair, a 30,000-person event held across the street from the church—on a Sunday. Rather than fight the inconvenience, Community canceled services and mobilized volunteers to serve the fair, providing parking and manpower. When the event was rescheduled due to rain, the church canceled services a second week to honor its commitment. Lou describes this as a defining cultural moment: demonstrating that service isn't convenient—it's convictional. Earning trust through inconvenience. // Lou recounts being called to the mayor's office days after launch to address parking concerns. Instead of pushing back, the church chose to rent additional parking space—even when legally unnecessary—to honor neighbors' concerns. In another instance, Community canceled a planned Christmas light show after Village neighbors expressed concern about traffic. Though disappointing internally, the decision earned significant community goodwill. Lou believes canceling the event built more trust than hosting it would have. Posture over persecution. // Lou cautions leaders against defaulting to a persecution narrative when facing resistance. Most pushback, he says, comes from practical concerns—not hostility toward Jesus. By listening humbly and responding thoughtfully, churches can win trust among the large percentage of community members who are neither strongly for nor against them. To learn more about Community Church, visit communitychurch.net or follow @communitychurch.li on social media. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: TouchPoint As your church reaches more people, one of the biggest challenges is making sure no one slips through the cracks along the way.TouchPoint Church Management Software is an all-in-one ecosystem built for churches that want to elevate discipleship by providing clear data, strong engagement tools, and dependable workflows that scale as you grow. TouchPoint is trusted by some of the fastest-growing and largest churches in the country because it helps teams stay aligned, understand who they're reaching, and make confident ministry decisions week after week. If you've been wondering whether your current system can carry your next season of growth, it may be time to explore what TouchPoint can do for you. You can evaluate TouchPoint during a free, no-pressure one-hour demo at TouchPointSoftware.com/demo. Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, thanks so much for listening in, tuning in into today’s episode. I’m really looking forward to today’s conversation. We’re talking with a leader leading a prevailing church in frankly a part of the country that is not known for tons of prevailing churches. And so it’s an opportunity for all of us to lean in and to learn.Rich Birch — Super excited to have Lou Pizzichillo with us from Community Church. They’re in Babylon, New York on Long Island. They’re known as a church for people who don’t go to church. They’re big on being real, bringing real questions, struggles, hangups, doubts, disappointments, and failures. Lou, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here today.Lou Pizzichillo — Thanks so much. Yeah, it’s a privilege to be here.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s an honor that you would take some time to be with us today. Why don’t you kind of tell us a bit of the Community story, kind of give us a flavor of the church, help us kind of imagine if we were to arrive this weekend, what what would we experience?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. So we have an interesting history. We launched in January of 2020. And so we were open for 10 weeks.Rich Birch — Great time.Lou Pizzichillo — I know it was perfect. And then we closed down for 52 weeks, and we relaunched. But because of that, what’s been really cool is, you know, when you’re launching a church, the launch team is a big deal. And to launch twice, we’ve had really like two two launch teams. And so team culture has always been a real big part of our church.Lou Pizzichillo — But yeah, we like to say that we’re a church for people who don’t go to church. and So we try to keep things pretty casual. We try not to assume that there’s any interest or experience with the people who are showing up on a Sunday. And yeah.Rich Birch — Nice. Give us a sense of, so like size and like your, you know, the ministry style, that sort of thing. Like what would you help us kind of place what the, what the church is like if I was to arrive, arrive on a weekend?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah, we’re a pretty contemporary attractional church. We’ve got services on Thursday night and on Sunday morning. So we say the weekend starts on Thursday. Rich Birch — Love it. Lou Pizzichillo — We call Thursday night thurch, which is… Rich Birch — Oh, that’s funny. Thurch. Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah, it was a joke at first, but then it kind of like, I don’t know, just kind of gained a life of its own.Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — So yeah, so the church over the course of the weekend, right now we’re at about 1,200. And it’s exciting. There are a lot of new people. And things are constantly change changing. Change is that really the only constant for us.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, that’s so good. Well, you’re on Long Island, and I can say as somebody who I ministered for years in New Jersey, I’m from Canada, I I get that people don’t wake up on Long Island on Sunday morning and think, hey, I should go to church today. Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah, yeah.Rich Birch — You’re serving a community that is is more unchurched than other parts of the country, which is a challenge for planting. So help us understand, you know, help us just kind of get into the mindset or the um perspective of people who are outside of the church. What do they view on, you know, Christianity? Tell us, give us a sense of of kind of what you’ve learned, you know, planting in that kind of context.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. So one thing that was really helpful right off the bat was somebody mentioned to me, they were like, you know, I’m not a gym person. And so when a new gym opens up in town, I don’t even really notice it.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And they’re like, I think it’s the same thing for church people.Rich Birch — Right. Lou Pizzichillo — It’s like, if you’re not a church person, then you don’t really notice when churches are doing things. And so that’s like, really, it’s a big reason why we’re so vocal about saying it we’re a church for people who don’t go to church, you know?Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — Um, and yeah, from there, honestly, we found that the biggest obstacle with people here is the existing reputation of church, of what church is like and what church people are like.Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — This church is seen as very judgmental, hypocritical, fake, exclusive, impractical, you know, it’s something you just do to kind of check the boxes and then you go on with your life. I’ve spoken to even a lot of, um, like devout Catholics here who have, have said like, they don’t, they do their church thing because, because it’s what they think that they’re supposed to do, but they’re, what they are doing in church does not translate to everyday life.Lou Pizzichillo — And so church is seen as kind of an impractical thing. And, that’s kind of the starting point for a lot of people who we’re trying to connect with.Rich Birch — Yeah, I’ve heard it said in other contexts, it’s like, not that people don’t know the church. It’s like, it’s what they know that they don’t like.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah, yeah.Rich Birch — It’s like, they have a sense of, you know, that that reputation. Are there any, maybe even stories or engagement you know conversations or engagements you’ve had with folks that have kind of brought that reputation to the fore. That obviously has led you to say, hey, we’re going position ourselves as a church where people don’t go into churches. Was there something that kind of influenced that as you were having, you know, even in these early years as you’ve been kind of get the ball rolling?Lou Pizzichillo — A big part of it honestly is a lot of my extended family. Like they’re, most of them are not church people. You know, they have a lot of respect for God. Like most people on Long Island, uh, especially, you know, most kind of nominal Catholics, like they would say they’re Italian or Irish. They say, oh, of course, Jesus is my savior. You know, like they, they know the right things to say, but in terms of what it actually means on a regular basis, it’s like kind of a totally different thing. So, so yeah, I mean, that’s kind of, kind of where we’re starting.Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, people have criticisms about the church and they have criticisms of of their experience with the church. How do you discern between criticisms that maybe you either need to be challenged, like, hey, that’s actually just not true, or like, oh, that’s a critique that is actually fair, and we’re going to try to steer in a different direction, ah you know, than that. Help us think about those, you know, when we think about skepticism towards the church.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah, I think, honestly, the best thing for us has just been to have a posture of listening.Rich Birch — That’s good.Lou Pizzichillo — Because even even if their claims aren’t valid, a lot of their experiences are. And so, you know, they’re like, there’s somebody who’s been going to the church for a while now, and somebody that was very close to them has like a pretty intense story of church hurt, like real damage. And so to know that he’s walking in with all of this baggage and that there are a lot of other people walking in with that baggage that don’t let you know that they have that baggage… Rich Birch — Right. Lou Pizzichillo — …just kind of giving them the space to, to be hurt and for it to be real. That’s been huge for us just having that kind of posture of humility. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. So that obviously has led to the way you’ve developed either the way you talk about ministry or the values that are underlining, you know, the ministry.Rich Birch — What has been important for helping communicate or articulate to people like, hey, this is a place that you can show up, you know, before you, you know, you’ve kind of bought it all. It’s like, Hey, you there’s a place to explore that sort of thing. Help us think through how do you communicate and then how do those, whether they’re phrases or yeah that sort of thing, how does that translate then into the values of how you actually operate?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. So big thing is for us, it’s training the team, like getting those values into the team and helping them to understand what that looks like in a concrete way. So we say, like a lot of churches say, you can belong before you believe. And the the illustration I give almost every single time, I’m like, if somebody walks in with a church, with a shirt that says, I hate God, we are glad that person is here, right? Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — Like we’re not assuming that they are walking in with interest or experience. And they might have a story that’s a lot more complicated than we know. So um so yes, we try to celebrate that.Lou Pizzichillo — When somebody walks in and they’re very open about their beliefs and their views not lining up with us, that’s something that we celebrate, right? Like because these are the people that we want here.Lou Pizzichillo — The other value that’s been really helpful for us is to say that people have permission to be in progress. And that has to do with their actions, the choices that they make, but also the things that they believe. And so you can be on board with some of our beliefs and not be on board with all of our beliefs. And we’re okay with that, right?Lou Pizzichillo — Like rather than just saying, okay, I accept all of it at one time. And now I completely agree that everything in the Bible is true. And, you know, I endorse it. Like we just kind of give people space to say, okay, like let’s maybe let’s start with the claims of Jesus, like right to this guy really rise from the dead. And now let’s look at what he says about things like the Old Testament, you know?Lou Pizzichillo — And so that’s that’s been a huge thing. We go back to that over and over and over again. It started as kind of like a main point in a sermon where I was like, you’ve got permission to be in progress. And so many people repeated it back to me that I was like, okay, this needs to be woven into our culture because it needs to be articulated…Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — …or people just assume, okay, if I’m going to say I believe, I got to say I believe it all. And there’s no room for disagreement.Lou Pizzichillo — And then from there, we say like, you got you can belong before you believe, you got permission to be in progress. And if both of those things are actually true for us as a church, then we can also say like our third value is no pretending.Lou Pizzichillo — Like you don’t have to pretend to be on board with certain things if you’re not there yet. And I think if we create an environment where people can be real and dialogue and be open about the things that they’re, you know, that they disagree with, I think that’s where there’s real hope for ultimately ending in a place of alignment.Rich Birch — Yeah, permission to be in progress to me feels very like a very Jesus value It feels like, oh, that to me, that’s like when I read the New Testament, that feels like the way he oriented himself to the people around him, right? There were clearly people that were like the rich young ruler came to him and was like, you know, asked a pointed question. Jesus gave a clear answer, and he didn’t, you know, Jesus didn’t, even though he said harsh words to or clear words, I would say, all was it always done in an environment of trying to say, hey, we I want you to be a part of this conversation. I’m really trying to be on the same side of the table. How do I bring you along?Rich Birch — Can you, like, let’s double click on permission to be in progress. Talk us through what that looks like. Because I think, I think so many churches draw very strong lines on like, you got to believe these 15 things to be a part here. Even if we wouldn’t explicitly set that say that, it’s like implicit in our cultures.Rich Birch — How does your culture look different when you say, hey, you’ve got permission to be in progress? What would be some of the things that might stand out to us as like, that’s a little bit different than how maybe some other churches handle this?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. So we have like we have values, but then we also just have sayings, right? Like it it is too hard for me to define what the most important values are. Like I get too obsessed with the wording and how we’re going to phrase things. And so in our our conference room, we have a big whiteboard and we write down little sayings. We actually write them in permanent marker on the whiteboard, which is wasteful, but at least we have something to reference.Lou Pizzichillo — So when somebody says something and we’re like, hey, that’s a culture thing, it gets written on the board. One of the things that came up that’s really helped us with this idea of permission to be in progress is that the goal is to get people to Jesus and everything else is secondary. Everything else comes after that.Rich Birch — That's good. Yep, that’s good.Lou Pizzichillo — And so I’m not going to like get into it with someone over a secondary issue or really something that’s an issue of sanctification, when we believe sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit, right? Maybe your view on that will change after you understand who Jesus is and begin to follow him.Lou Pizzichillo — And so in a lot of ways, I feel like when we when we get too into the issues, we’re putting the cart before the horse, right? Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — And so we’re trying to bring people to Jesus and show him show them what he’s like. And ah that that has been clarifying when it comes to permission to be in progress.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. And I think in heavily church context, when we kind of assume, oh, basically everyone here has some level of faith, those secondary issues can become like a really big deal. It’s like we spend a lot of time talking about those things.Rich Birch — But when the majority of people we’re interacting with you know, they haven’t, they haven’t really, really wrestled with what they think about Jesus and the difference he can make in this life. And we got to keep that, that really clear. Rich Birch — So no pretending is an interesting value as a communicator. How do you live that out in the way you show transparency? There’s this interesting thing years ago, I had one of the ah preacher that I love or communicator. I just think the world of, you know, he talked about how there’s this tension when we’re, communicating that, you know, we’re we’re trying to be transparent, but up into a point and how, where is that point? And how do we do that in a way that’s not, that brings people along? So ah what what does that look like for you even as a as ah as a leader to say, hey, it’s not my job to pretend. I’m going to just be honest and transparent, authentic to where we are? Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. Well, I mean, I can definitely say that every time I tell a story that has me screwing up, it is it is the thing that people come to tell me about. Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — Like, oh, thank you so much for telling me about you know the way you spoke to your kids… Rich Birch — Yes. Lou Pizzichillo — …or the thing that you said to your wife. Or it is just by far the thing that people love to hear. And that’s been encouraging. Now, I have had people like throw it back at me and that that comes with the territory. But I think that the stories of how that’s been helpful for people um like dramatically outweigh the people that are going to you know weaponize that stuff against you.Lou Pizzichillo — Something else I heard, um I think Brene Brown said this in one of her books. She said she doesn’t share things she hasn’t processed through yet.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And that for me is a really helpful thing. Like If I’m in the middle of something and just in the thick of it, it’s not the time for me to like bring that to the congregation. I think that could be really unhealthy for a lot of reasons.Lou Pizzichillo — So that’s, that’s kind of something that, and it doesn’t mean I can’t share something that just happened. You know sometimes I’ll explain an issue that just happened with my kids. That’s different than something I’m still processing and haven’t resolved yet.Rich Birch — Right. I think she said it’s the difference between scars and wounds, right? You can talk about your scars. That’s like, that’s an area that has, has had some level of healing to it versus an open wound, right? Like this is a part that’s, that’s still gaping.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah.Rich Birch — And, uh, you know, we don’t necessarily want to to share that. And that, you know, uh, that is a change. So I’m, you know, I’m of a certain age, been in this game a long time. And I remember when we first started, when I first started, that generation that came before me, people wanted like the superhuman religious leader. They wanted the like pastor to be, to have their stuff a hundred percent sewed up. Like, don’t tell me that you’re a real human. They didn’t want that.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah.Rich Birch — You know, and that has completely reversed.Rich Birch — People are like, no no, like you said, we, we need to be transparent, open, authentic. People know that we’re not perfect. Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. Rich Birch — They know that we don’t have it all together. Lou Pizzichillo — Right.Rich Birch — And when we try to hide that, when we try to, in your language, pretend that actually is repulsive, it pushes them away. Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah.Rich Birch — One of the things that stood out to me just by reputation, kind of seeing your church is it appears that you guys have a conviction around getting out and serving the community, actually making a difference in the community. You know, it strikes me as very ah a very James-approach, faith in action – it’s it should make a difference in our community. What how do talk to me about what that looks like for Community. How does that, even your name, Community, you know, Church, reflects that. Talk talk to talk to me about what that looks like.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah, so we’re pretty clear. Like we we tell people we want to be an asset to the community. We want people to be glad we’re here, whether they attend our church or not. And so that started really early. Actually, before we launched, we did this thing called the 12 Days of Christmas where, so our church is in a village, right? So there are a lot of local businesses around us. What we did is during the 12 days leading up to Christmas, we went to shops and we gave away gifts from those shops. There was a different shop every day for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. So we planned this out ahead of time. But we would post on social media and be like, Hey, today the, you know, the shop is Bunger surf shop. The first 25 people there are going to get beanies from Bunger surf shop.Lou Pizzichillo — And we paid for them. We sent the, Bunger agreed to hand them out. And people went to go get them. And what was, so it was a win, win, win, really. Like the people who participated got free beanies, the surf shop are like all the different shops in the village. They got people to go, they got traffic to their business, right?Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah.Lou Pizzichillo — Because people went in then bought other stuff. And it helped us communicate that we we say we want something for you, not from you, right? We want to be an asset to the community. And so it helped us communicate that message. And the response to that has been great.Lou Pizzichillo — Now, what’s interesting, if this doesn’t tell you something about the church’s reputation, on year one, before we launched, it was very hard to get 12 shops to agree to do this with us. Like they were like, you’re a church? I’m sorry. No, we’re not doing it.Rich Birch — Forget it. Yeah.Lou Pizzichillo — Now it’s year seven. Right now we’re in the middle of our our seventh year and there are shops lining up to do it. There are shops reaching out to us, asking us to collaborate.Rich Birch — Wow.Lou Pizzichillo — They’re helping to pay for the stuff. So it’s actually in some ways getting a little bit cheaper.Rich Birch — Huh.Lou Pizzichillo — And it’s just cool. It’s shown like this posture of partnership with what’s going on… Rich Birch — Yes. Lou Pizzichillo — …rather than, okay, there are the shops and then there’s the church. Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — And yeah, we actually have a someone on staff now who first heard about the church on year one during the 12 days of Christmas. She started coming to the church. she eventually got baptized and now she’s on staff. And it’s just like, it has been so, so cool.Rich Birch — Yeah, I love that. That’s what a cool, you know, even just a cool tactic, kind of an expression of that. Is there other ways, other kind of activities like that, that you’re engaged with throughout the year that would could illustrate this idea of being for the community, being an asset to the community? What would be another example of that that that’s happened?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. So there is this fair that happens right across the street from the church. It’s called the Argyle Fair. It’s it’s around a lake. There are about 30,000 people that come to this fair. And the fair is on a Sunday during church.Lou Pizzichillo — The first year that we were here and had services during that Sunday, it was a mess. There were people you know like parking all over the place. It was hard to have services. Traffic was crazy. And we left church and my wife and I walked to the fair and just felt like something didn’t feel right. Like there’s some, here’s something everybody’s doing and we’re fighting against it.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — So we went to the people who ran the fair and we were like, is there any way we can help? Like, is there, what do you guys need? And right away she was like, we need volunteers and we need parking. And as a church, we are uniquely equipped with volunteers and parking. Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo —And so really it was there, like that almost right away, we were like, okay, next year, ah we’re going to be on board with what you’re doing.Rich Birch — Wow. Wow.Lou Pizzichillo — And so we decided to cancel services. And in the weeks leading up to that, we teach about the importance of serving the community. It’s kind of like the grand finale to whatever, you know…Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — …outreach series or message is being given.Rich Birch — Yeah.Lou Pizzichillo — And um yeah, so we teach on that. And then we’re like, hey, you know, two weeks from now, we’re not going to have services. Instead, we’re going to go out instead of staying in here talking about serving, we’re going to go out there and serve. And, you know, we’ve said like… Rich Birch — Love that. Lou Pizzichillo — …yeah, what’s what’s happening out there is not more spiritual than what’s happening in here. It’s a different way to express and grow in our faith. So we did that. And the response has just been unbelievable. Like the community has loved it. The the fair has had the help that they need. The people in our church have loved it. But this year we actually it got rained out on the first week. And so they postponed it to the next week.Rich Birch — Oh, wow.Lou Pizzichillo — And that made it tough for us because now we were like, okay, are we going to cancel church two weeks in a row? Rich Birch — Right. Lou Pizzichillo — And we had a meeting about it and like looked at our values, looked at what we were talking about. We were like, you know what, this is actually an opportunity for us to really double down and say, we’re not doing this out of convenience. We’re doing this because it’s a value. And so I called up the guy who was running the fair and he was like, I get it. If you can’t do it, I get it. And it felt, it was, it was amazing to be able to say on the phone, like, Hey, we’re with you, uh, no matter what. So, uh, so we did and it was, it was awesome.Rich Birch — That’s incredible. Like ah that, again, that what a vivid example, because I think there’s a lot of church leaders, if we’re honest, we’ve been engaged in the conversation that’s literally on the opposite side of that, where we’re like, man, how do we, these people, they’re, you know, they’re cramping our style or whatever. It’s like we naturally default towards that rather than to serve. Rich Birch — Take us back early in the discussions because I think a lot of us have not done a good job in building trust bridges in our communities. And you know trust isn’t built with just you know, one conversation. It takes time, right? It takes, like you said, those those first 12 days of Christmas, you couldn’t get anybody. And now here’s seven years later. We want we want to get to the seven years later part really quickly.Rich Birch — But ah those early conversations, how are you handling yourself, interacting with the like other people, you know, approaching them, having those conversations. What did you learn in the early dialogue that could help us if we’re trying to build, you know, deeper community trust in a place that just is so skeptical of that we’re coming with, just looking to take from our people.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. I mean, you have to be willing to be inconvenienced. I think that’s been a big part of it.Lou Pizzichillo — On week one, so we we launched literally on the first day and launch day was bigger than we thought it was going to be. And on that Monday, I was called to the mayor’s office, the mayor of the village.Lou Pizzichillo — And I was like, okay, thought I was going to go have a conversation. And when I got there, it was the it was him, it was the head of code enforcement and the fire chief all in a room waiting for me Rich Birch — Oh, gosh. Lou Pizzichillo — And they had pictures of cars parked all over the street. And I I realized there, like, there was a real concern about what this church was going to be in the community.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And so from there, we’ve just been looking for opportunities to earn trust. The neighbors have made it very clear that they don’t like cars parking on the street. And so we, we began paying for a lot so that we could take the cars off of the street. We don’t have to, they can legally park in the street, but we rent the lot. We told the owner of the property why we’re doing it. And he got on board with what we’re doing. We’re now in a place, kind of a long story, but we now don’t have to pay for that lot.Rich Birch — Wow.Lou Pizzichillo — We also, like the trust has been earned one decision at a time. We were going to do this big thing in the parking lot. We did a parking lot renovation that took the whole summer. After the summer, we were like, hey, in our new parking lot, let’s put on a Christmas show. We’ll run it throughout two weeks in December.Lou Pizzichillo — We had an animator who goes to the church. He like had this great idea for a show. He’s like, we’ll project it on the building. People will drive in. We’ll run it multiple times a night, do it for a few weeks throughout December. We were calling it Christmas in Lights.Lou Pizzichillo — So we put this whole plan together. He’s making the thing. We start advertising it and the village comes to us and they’re like, you’re in violation of the code. You can’t do this. And and they’re giving us all these reasons that I felt like didn’t really hold that much weight, you know.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — But in thinking about it, I do understand the inconvenience it would have been. We just had a major parking lot renovation. There were huge trucks making tons of noise for months. Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And now that’s finally over. And we’re going to ask the village to deal with the traffic of a show happening every single night, you know, for a few weeks in December.Rich Birch — Right Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And so I went to the mayor and I was like, hey, ah it’s a new mayor at this point. But I just sat down with her and I was like, hey, listen, if you have concerns about this, I want you to feel the freedom to just come to me and say, this is a lot for the neighbors. Like, what do you think about pulling this in?Lou Pizzichillo —And it was cool. It was an opportunity for the two of us to kind of bond, like there was some trust earned there and we canceled the show. We decided not to do it. And I released a video explaining why we weren’t doing it.Rich Birch — Wow.Lou Pizzichillo — And the amazing thing is that I think canceling the show accomplished more than we would have accomplished if we actually did the show.Rich Birch — Interesting.Lou Pizzichillo — Like it earned, it was so well received when people found out that we weren’t going to do it. They were like, and even the people that attend the church, they were like, I want to be part of a church that supports their community like this.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And so it went really well, and it was a lot less work, and so it was it was kind of a win all around. Rich Birch — What did the animators say? I feel but feel bad for that person who started doing that work. Did they understand. Obviously, they’re bummed or concerned.Lou Pizzichillo — He was bummed out, but he’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and so he he totally got it. And he’s on board with what we’re trying to do, and when he knew the reason why, he was totally, totally supportive of it.Rich Birch — Interesting. So where have you seen churches kind of get this wrong as we’ve tried to engage with the community? Maybe a common a pothole that we fall into or a way that we stub our toes, you know, a thing maybe you’ve you’ve you’ve seen that we just, we you know, kind of consistently make the same mistake.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. You know, one of my mentors told me a while ago, he was like, when you’re thinking about the church in the community, he’s like, there’s a small percentage of people that are for you. He said, there’s, there’s also a small percentage of people that are anti-church and they always will be, and you’re not going to change their minds.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And he’s like, but then there’s this large percentage that’s just kind of going to go one way or the other. And he’s like, that’s the percentage that you really have to be intentional about connecting with.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And so I think, you know, it is very easy to tell the story like, hey, they don’t want us to do our Christmas show. This is persecution… Rich Birch — Yes. Lou Pizzichillo — …you know, and we got to fight and suffer for the name of Jesus. And ah we’ve just found that that’s not always the case. Rich Birch — Right. Lou Pizzichillo — You know, it’s people that don’t want to be inconvenienced and they may love church, but there’s there’s all this stuff going in the community. Maybe they maybe they have you know other reasons why. So i think I think it’s just the posture.Lou Pizzichillo — Like a lot of, most people, most people aren’t unreasonable. And I think if we give them the chance to really articulate what’s going on, I’ve been surprised at how understandable a lot of the feelings have been, a lot of the resistance to church comes from real stories, real experiences.Rich Birch — Right, right.Lou Pizzichillo — And so, yeah, I think it’s the you know the whole like persecution thing or suffering or that is real and people do really experience that. But a lot of times I think we’re a little too quick to say, oh, this is what that is when really it may not be.Rich Birch — Well, and it it’s, ah in some ways, it’s like a low form of, well, it’s a leadership shortcut for sure to like demonize, to like, oh, there, those people are come out to get us. You know, any leader that’s led before realizes, oh, that’s like a that’s a tool that actually works. People respond to that, but, but we don’t want to do that. Like that isn’t, these are the people we’re trying to love and care. These are people we’re trying to see point towards Jesus. They’re not our enemies.Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. Yeah.Rich Birch — They’re not, you know, they’re, they’re not, they might just not like parking, like you at the end of the day.Lou Pizzichillo — Right. Right.Rich Birch — And so let’s not, let’s not get over-revved, ah you know, on that. And unfortunately there are, I know, you know, way too many churches that have got themselves on the wrong side of this. And it’s very hard to backwards engineer out of that. Once you go down that road of like, we’re going to try to go negative with our community. That just isn’t, it’s just, it’s, it’s very difficult to to step back from that.Rich Birch — If you think about a church leader that’s listening in today and they’re, they’re saying, Hey, They’re thinking we want to do a better job being trusted more locally, trusted by local leaders, trusted by other you know businesses in town, that sort of thing. What would be a couple first steps you think they could take? A couple things where they could start to try to build that kind of trust with the community around them?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. You know, I think I’m a big believer in praying for those opportunities. And also just giving things a second look, you know. When you’re in a situation that may seem like a challenge or something that may seem like it’s getting in the way, to just stop and think, okay, is, is there an opportunity here to build trust with the community?Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Lou Pizzichillo — Because we, and when we say the community, we’re not just talking about this nebulous, you know, idea of Babylon village. There are people there.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And if those people see this church as trustworthy, they may come here, you know, when their relationships are falling apart or when they’re looking for answers.Rich Birch — Yep.Lou Pizzichillo — Um, and so it’s really just been… We have great people here who have bought into what we’re doing, who have really helped us to see like, this is an opportunity to win with the community. And yeah, you gotta, you have to look outside the box and, and also be willing to, there, there are moments like with Church Has Left the Building—with the fair—and with the Christmas and light show, there are moments where they’ll see, okay, do you really care? Do you really care?Rich Birch — Yes. Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — Like are how how much will you inconvenience yourself? And I mean, the payoff from that has just been huge, even though it’s been an inconvenience and our giving goes down that week and it throws off the series and we got to restructure the calendar.Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — It has gone, there’s there’s never been a time where we’ve regretted it.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s good. And, you know, there’s no doubt one of the things I think we can in our our little world of kind of church leadership, I think we can forget often that people in the communities that we’re serving, they really don’t have any frame of reference for a church of 1,200 people. Like they that that isn’t people’s normal perception of what a church is. Like a church is 25 people or 50 people in a room somewhere super small.Rich Birch — And, and their perception can be, they just don’t, they just don’t have any idea. What is that? What’s that look like? And some of that can skew negative because it’s busy and blah, blah, blah, all those things. And so we’ve, we, we have to take it on ourselves when our church gets to the size that you’re at or larger to try to help them understand and see though this is like really positive for the community and actually point towards that.Lou Pizzichillo — Yes.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s good.Lou Pizzichillo — Yes. And, and like along those lines, ah it’s also perceived as a source of power, right? Like if, if there, if you have 1500 people that all believe the same thing and you’re trying to run a village or a community, there is this, this sense of like, okay, well, are they going to be for us or against us? Like, are all these people going to be anti-village?Rich Birch — Right.Lou Pizzichillo — And so there is like that, that instinct to kind of protect from this group of people that make, make things really hard for us. But over time, as they begin to see like all these people are, are behind us, they’re here to support us and they want to make this place better.Rich Birch — Yes.Lou Pizzichillo — It’s, it really is a beautiful thing. And we’re not there yet as a church, but we’re getting there. And, uh, we’ve just seen a lot of, lot of positive signs and, uh, Yeah, think it’s paid off.Rich Birch — So good, Lou. That’s, that’s great. Just as we wrap up today’s conversation, any kind of final words you’d have to, ah you know, to leaders that are listening in thinking about these issues today?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah. I mean, I think I would just say it’s worth it. It's it’s messy. It does make things difficult. It can be inconvenient. And when you have people who don’t go to church coming to church and you give them permission to be in progress, you get a lot of hairy situations. And we have a lot of conversations where we’re trying to figure out which way to go.Rich Birch — Yeah, 100%.Lou Pizzichillo — But it’s in those conversations that we cant kind of stop and remind ourselves like, Hey, we’re, we’re glad that these people are here and we’re glad that these are the problems that we’re having. And, the end of the day, this is what we feel like it’s all about. So.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s so good. I just want to encourage you as you’re leading, you’re doing a great job and and it’s been fun to get a chance to get a little window into what’s going on at Community. Want to encourage you and your your team, just you’re doing the right thing. If people want to track with the church or with you online, where do we want to send them to connect with you guys?Lou Pizzichillo — Yeah, so communitychurch.net is our website. On Instagram, we’re communitychurchli, we’re @communitychurchli, and we try to keep that handle throughout all the platforms. So YouTube, same thing. But yeah, that’s it.Rich Birch — Great. Thanks for for being here today, Lou.Lou Pizzichillo — Thanks for having me, Rich. It’s an honor to be here, and I love what you guys are doing for the church.
This week on the Wellness Edge Podcast, Dr. Mia joins Field Engagement Manager Dawn Edens to continue the conversation on reducing toxic load at home. Building on “Are You Toxic?”, Dr. Mia breaks down how everyday products create “hormone noise” — low-dose, repeated chemical exposures that can disrupt endocrine balance, increase inflammation, and add to metabolic stress over time. In this episode, you'll learn:Why synthetic fragrances, plastics, and aerosols matterHow laundry detergents and dryer sheets become hidden exposure sourcesHow simple format shifts (powders, sheets, sticks, glass bottles) can lower your environmental loadWhat it looks like to build a home that supports your hormones and long-term resilienceGood health doesn't just begin in your body — it begins in your home.
This week, I talk with Jon McCormack, the leader behind the iPhone camera at Apple—the most widely used camera in human history. But Jon's story goes far beyond technology. He grew up on a farm in rural Australia without full-time electricity, dropped out of a PhD to chase an unexpected opportunity in tech, helped build Kindle, and founded schools in Kenya that now serve thousands of children. Along the way, he developed a body of photographic work rooted not in spectacle, but in wonder. We talk about letting go of camera snobbery, building technology that empowers rather than exploits, and why beauty and awe make us more generous and connected. If you've ever wrestled with the tension between ambition and meaning—or wondered how to use your success in service of something deeper—this conversation is for you. Let's get to it! In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:41) From camera snobbery to something deeper (03:34) When Jon realized photography isn't about the gear (06:22) What a photograph means in the age of AI (13:11) The unseen work behind meaningful images (15:51) Beauty, stewardship, and why the environment matters (28:39) Returning to the same landscape—and learning to see (32:16) Growing up in Australia and the roots of Jon's vision (34:38) How colorblindness shaped Jon's sense of pattern and form (36:07) Dropping a PhD and stepping into tech (38:06) A one-way ticket to Seattle—and an unexpected path (40:10) Building products that connect people to what matters (47:45) The double helix of art and technology (52:46) Leading the iPhone camera and democratizing storytelling (59:56) From safari camp conversation to schools in Kenya (01:11:50) Why Jon stayed quiet about his philanthropy until now (01:15:49) Wonder as a daily practice (01:21:44) Where Jon has become world-class (01:23:11) Filling gaps and shaping a more beautiful future (01:26:53) Rewriting your algorithm with beauty (01:27:53) Who Jon is becoming Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks. Apply for 1-on-1 Coaching with Barrett: https://barrettbrooks.com/coaching Subscribe to Tiny Leadership Lessons: https://barrettbrooks.com
“It's up to us to regulate ourselves first, because when you walk into a room from a regulated, open nervous system state, it's contagious.”In this episode of Business is Human, Rebecca Fleetwood Hession shares five practical shifts that create real nervous system safety at work so people can access better thinking, creativity, and collaboration. She reframes “love vs. fear” as the difference between a protective, vigilant state and a connected, open one, then walks through what leaders can do to move teams out of constant urgency and into clarity, trust, and grounded momentum. In this episode, you'll learn:Why self regulation is the first leadership responsibility and how your tone, pace, and presence set the room How clarity beats pressure and why “important” is not the same as “emergency”How to normalize real humanity, name uncertainty, and recover from mistakes without shame Things to listen for:(00:00) Introduction(03:08) Building teams where people feel safe and seen(05:45) Regulation first your nervous system sets the tone(08:51) Clarity over pressure leading without urgency(12:13) Slow the moment down when everything feels urgent(14:24) Notice effort before you measure outcome(16:35) Normalize humanity mistakes emotions and repairConnect with Rebecca:https://www.rebeccafleetwoodhession.com/Get tickets for Stand Tall in Your Story (March 12): https://www.rebeccafleetwoodhession.com/
On today's episode, we hear about: A woman who feels guilty about hiding her affair from her ex-husband A man struggling to stop obsessing over his family's finances A dad feeling guilty for having hobbies Next Steps: ❤️ Get away with your spouse today!
As parents, many of us want to raise kind, empathetic kids, but we don't always feel equipped to talk about race, bias, and identity in everyday life. In honor of Black History Month, this conversation feels especially important. I sit down with culturally responsive therapist Anjali Ferguson to unpack how early children begin noticing differences and how small, ordinary moments shape their understanding of the world. We talk about the discomfort adults feel, the fear of saying the wrong thing, and why silence often teaches more than we realize. This episode is not about blame. It is about giving families tools to move forward with intention. Dr. Ferguson brings both professional expertise and deeply personal experience as a South Asian woman raising biracial South Asian and Black children. Together we explore how culture, trauma, and identity intersect in parenting, and why these conversations are not optional extras, but foundational to raising emotionally healthy kids. Her children's book, An Ordinary Day, shows how subtle bias can show up in everyday childhood experiences and how families can use those moments to build empathy instead of fear. My hope is that this episode helps parents feel less frozen and more ready to start small, stay curious, and keep showing up. We discussed: • Why kids notice race and differences earlier than most adults expect • How racial bias forms in early childhood • The gap in culturally responsive parenting resources • Growing up between cultures and identity formation • Raising biracial children and protecting cultural identity • Everyday microaggressions and their long-term impact • How racism creates chronic stress in the body • Generational trauma and epigenetic effects • The role of racial socialization in protecting children • Why avoiding conversations about race harms kids • How parents can respond when bias shows up in real time • Teaching empathy through ordinary daily moments • Building diverse environments through books, toys, and media • Supporting kids when they experience exclusion or bias • Why parents don't have to be perfect to start • Practical ways families can talk about race at any age To connect with Dr. Anjali Ferguson follow her on Instagram @dranjaliferguson, check out all her resources at https://draferguson.com/ and buy her book “An Ordinary Day”: https://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Day-Dr-Anjali-Ferguson/dp/B0B8BDNXVK Additional Resources: www.parentingculture.org 00:00 The Hidden Impact of Microaggressions 00:56 Why This Conversation Matters During Black History Month 02:57 Representation in Parenting Spaces 06:34 Dr. Anjali's Personal Story: Culture, Trauma, and Identity 10:42 Racism as Trauma: A Professional Awakening 14:30 Parenting Biracial Black Children 19:32 When Do Kids Notice Race? 24:56 Inside An Ordinary Day and Why It Matters 31:37 Chronic Stress, Racism, and Long-Term Health 37:13 What to Say When Bias Happens 42:51 Why Every Family Must Talk About Race 47:18 You Will Mess Up, And That's Okay Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and subscribe to PedsDocTalk. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. Join the newsletter! And don't forget to follow @pedsdoctalkpodcast on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships page of the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this episode, my mom Cindy is back for an honest conversation about her journey starting anxiety medication, why she's drinking less, and how she's loving this current stage in her life. We talk about why she waited so long to try anxiety medication and the impact that it had on our relationship. She also gets candid about her recent cosmetic procedures, views on aging gracefully, and what it was like being a mother in her generation. Plus, more on why we are both proud of each other and how I think we are in the best stage in our relationship!Key Takeaway / Points:Cindy's journey starting anxiety medication and the positive impact it's had on her lifeThe challenges and rewards of cutting back on alcoholOn ditching her Airpods and the story behind “Airpod gate” The key to her long-lasting marriageA rundown of the cosmetic work she's done (more on her recent facelift)Listener questions on aging, her favorite life chapters, and motherhoodThis episode is sponsored by Roller Rabbit. Use code CAM20 for 20% off your order of $150 or more at www.rollerrabbit.com Listen to more episodes with Cindy:My Mom, Cindy, on Close-Knit Families, Building a "That's My Sister" Dynamic, and How She's So FabulousMy Mom, Cindy Linville, on Our Relationship and Being A MotherFollow me:Instagram: @cameronoaksrogersSubstack: Fill Your CupWebsite: cameronoaksrogers.comTikTok: @cameronoaksrogersYoutube: Cameron Rogers
Bob and Kevin talk through life down south for the 2026 Winter Training Trip and this year's SEWE fun. This event is always great and allows Bob to see some good friends in-person. Unfortunately, Bob forgot to accidentally buy a trip to Argentina this year so that's a downer. Here's a few highlights from the show: How was SEWE this year? Who was there and what events happened? If Bob did luge, could we call it bobsledding? Explaining wagon wheel (2 tier vs 1 tier) and how we feed puppies Transitioning from small birds to bigger ones like geese... this is a challenge for so many people. Building confident pups Teaching "soft mouth" Support the Lone Duck Podcast | patreon.com/loneduckoutfitters Interested in our Online Dog Training Programs? | Check them out HERE! Follow us on social media | Youtube and Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
"Marketing is required in any business, and the marketing landscape is constantly changing. You have to evolve with it." In this episode, Heather and Jess Shirra break down what it actually looks like to evolve with the marketing landscape without burning yourself out or throwing money at strategies that don't move the needle in your unique business. This is a real conversation about the identity shift that comes with hiring a team, the weight of holding the bigger pieces alone, and why bringing in the right marketing leadership at the right time can change everything. If you've ever felt the pressure to "figure it out" yourself, questioned your strategy, or wondered whether you're investing in the right things, this episode will challenge how you think about growth, support, and building a business that honors your lifestyle, not just your revenue goals. What to listen for: ✨ The identity shift and initiation that come with hiring a team for your business ✨ How the heaviness of holding the bigger pieces can negatively impact your work ✨ Understanding the right hiring order for team members, and finding their best role "The CMO role is almost like having insurance for your marketing budget and marketing efforts. Someone inside your business is making sure you're not wasting money, spending too much, or focusing on the wrong thing,s and that every single little bit of energy, effort, revenue, like budget is being directed towards the most needle-moving things." ✨ Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer who honors your lifestyle and goals ✨ Why you need a marketing strategy and a dedicated lead-generation funnel ✨ The importance of asking for support in advance so you don't expect instant ROI "If you have a strong CMO, what that person will do is hear your ideas and then think about that in the bigger picture of where we're going, and this thing actually does make sense, or it's going to actually make that other thing faster or better." ✨ The importance of having a solid marketing strategy in place, even if you're new ✨ Building self-trust and navigating the lack of ethics in online marketing ✨ Understanding there's no one right way to market a business About Jess Shirra: Jess Shirra is a Fractional CMO and the founder of The CMO Office, where she partners with 7- and 8-figure creators and brands to bring them the clarity, direction, and leadership they've been missing in their marketing. Over her 15-year career, she's led marketing for global brands like Lululemon, Pottery Barn, Strava, and Deloitte, and has supported top creators including Jenna Kutcher, Lori Harder, and Vanessa and Xander Marin. Jess' superpower is her ability to cut through the noise and help founders understand what their businesses truly need to grow. Connect with Jess: Website: https://www.thecmooffice.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marketing.by.jess LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicashirra/ *** For those of you who are ready to stop feeling drained, overextended, and out of alignment… join me for a one-on-one Time & Energy Audit, a focused session designed to help high-achieving women uncover what's draining them, clarify what truly matters, and create a simple plan that fits their life. We'll pinpoint your biggest time + energy leaks, identify the top areas to focus on for quick momentum, and map out exactly what to let go of so you can reclaim your energy, your time, and your joy. Ready to make your time work for you without adding more to your plate? Book a Time & Energy Audit: https://heatherchauvin.com/audit Apply for the next Coaching Cohort: https://heatherchauvin.com/apply Not ready for 1:1? Join the membership (cancel anytime): https://heatherchauvin.com/membership
Join us in this panel episode of The Edge of Show, live at the Future of Money, Governance, and the Law (FOMGL) 2025 event in Washington, D.C. Join our moderator, Gerard Dache, along with distinguished panelists Amelia Gardner, Jacob Hample, and Adel ElMessiry, as they share their insights on the future of energy and technology. Discover how access to cheap, abundant energy is essential for the flourishing of societies and how it impacts the development of AI, blockchain, and decentralized systems.In this episode, you'll learn about:The groundbreaking work of Filecoin in decentralized cloud storage.The challenges faced by tech companies in securing data center infrastructure.The importance of energy accessibility for sensitive industries.Innovative solutions for modular data centers and decentralized compute power.How individuals and organizations can participate in this rapidly evolving ecosystem.Don't miss this opportunity to hear from visionaries and disruptors who are pushing the boundaries of innovation in the digital renaissance.Support us through our Sponsors! ☕ Want to make content like ours? Sign up with Castmagic to make your creative process easy: https://bit.ly/CastmagicReferral Work smarter, grow faster. Automate your SEO, get AI insights, and manage all your clients in one place with Helm. Start today at helmseo.comAre you a content creator, podcaster or interested in your business getting its voice out there? Then reserve a .podcast domain by paying just one-time as little as $10 for a lifetime of benefits! Check out the details and snag your .podcast domain today! https://get.unstoppabledomains.com/podcast/
Feeling lonely in your homeschool journey because co-ops just don't fit? You are NOT failing—neither are your kiddos. In this episode, Colleen shares why neurodivergent kids often struggle with traditional group settings and how you can help your child build real, interest-led friendships that honor who they are. Tune in for encouragement, practical steps, and a permission slip to stop chasing "normal" and start creating meaningful connections in your own way. Key Takeaways: You can re-define social success for YOUR family There are easy ways to find connection outside the co-op A simple 3-step plan to build interest-led community Show yourself compassion for the tough days You've got this. You're the perfect parent for your perfect child. Links and Resources from Today's Episode Thank you to our sponsors: CTC Math – Flexible, affordable math for the whole family! Curiosity Post – A Snail Mail Club for kids – Real mail; Real life! The Learner's Lab – Online community for families homeschooling gifted/2e & neurodivergent kiddos! The Lab: An Online Community for Families Homeschooling Neurodivergent Kiddos The Homeschool Advantage: A Child-Focused Approach to Raising Lifelong Learners Raising Resilient Sons: A Boy Mom's Guide to Building a Strong, Confident, and Emotionally Intelligent Family The Anxiety Toolkit Sensory Strategy Toolkit | Quick Regulation Activities for Home Affirmation Cards for Anxious Kids Nurturing Neurodivergent Friendships: Practical Tips for Parents and Kids RLL #42: What It's Like to be Homeschooled with Best Friends Molly and Ella Teaching Kids About Being a Good Friend with Help From Great Books and Netflix Teaching Kids to Befriend Others 5 Tips for Helping Gifted Children Make Friends Navigating Sensory Overload: Actionable Strategies for Kids in Loud Environments The Not-So Friendly Friend: How to Set Boundaries for Healthy Friendships Social Skills Activities for Kids Growing Friendships: A Kids' Guide to Making and Keeping Friends Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids One Big Heart: A Celebration of Being More Alike than Different Life Skills for Kids: Unlocking a World of Possibilities through Friendship, Decision-Making, Cooking, Achieving a Success Mindset, Time-Management, Budgeting, and More Empathy Workbook for Kids: 50 Activities to Learn About Kindness, Compassion, and Other People's Feelings
This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Aaron Greene and Neal O'Connor of Slush Management, the artist-first team behind Porter Robinson, Eden, Jai Wolf, and more. Slush has helped their artists generate billions of streams, sell millions of tickets, and craft long-term careers rooted in creativity rather than quick wins. With 15 years of experience across touring, branding, and global fan development, they've become leaders in sustainable artist strategy and innovative experiential storytelling.In this episode, Ari Neal and Aaron dive into what modern artist development truly looks like. From building immersive worlds to cultivating real, lasting fan communities beyond vanity metrics, Neal and Aaron share how managers decide when an artist is ready for representation, why social media isn't the only path to growth, and how long-term strategy beats short-term virality every time. The conversation also covers label paths (self-release, indie, major), when to tour, how support slots actually happen, and the importance of meaningful experiences. Hint: music videos might be more important than most folks realize. https://www.instagram.com/slushmgmt/05:58 – What “world-building” means for modern artists08:12 – How Porter Robinson developed his immersive universe12:00 – Building an entire festival world with Disney-level partners16:00 – Artist development: when an artist is ready for management18:20 – Why immediacy is a trap & long-term growth matters20:35 – Deepening 100 true fans vs. chasing viral moments27:45 – Majors vs. indies vs. self-releasing: what actually works31:55 – The real purpose of music videos in 202536:50 – Touring strategy: when to headline, when to support39:20 – How artists actually get support slots42:55 – What “making it” means in the new music businessEdited and mixed by Peter SchruppMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari's TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Trust is everything in the coach-client relationship. In this solo episode, Meg explores “The Trust Triangle,” a three-dimensional framework that reframes trust in coaching beyond simply the coach-client relationship. Drawing on client stories and 17+ years of teaching coaches, Meg breaks down the three interconnected dimensions of trust that determine whether coaching truly creates transformation: the relational trust between coach and client, the client's trust in themselves, and the client's trust in the coaching process. You'll learn practical strategies for assessing, strengthening, and protecting each dimension, along with an understanding of how these strategies provide coaches with a powerful diagnostic tool when sessions feel stuck. Join us to learn more!Show Highlights:Understanding three dimensions of trust:The trust between coach and clientMutual respect and trust are built with presence, consistency, confidentiality, appropriate boundaries, and honest authenticity.Things that erode trust: breaking confidentiality, being inconsistent, focusing on our own needs, defensiveness, trying to fix or rescue a client, overfunctioningMeg's tips for applying these principles to build trustThe client's trust in themselvesFully stepping into the coaching process and moving from insight into action requires the client to trust themselves.Building self-trust in your client happens when they fully access their inner knowledge, hold space to celebrate micro-wins, reframe failures as data, and normalize the “messy middle.”Things that erode self-trust: a coach who gives advice, rescues a client from discomfort, and is too attached to the client's successMeg's tips for building the client's self-trustTrust in the coaching processIt's a challenge to leave our expertise at the door and let the client be the expert in their life.Building process-trust depends on how we set the stage with clear expectations, help create early wins, make the “invisible” become visible, and be transparent about the process.Things that erode a client's trust in the process: meandering sessions, abstract/philosophical coaching full of promises that can't be kept, and having no structure or clear coaching agreementMeg's tips for building trust in the coaching process (Begin with a clear coaching agreement!)The trust triangle gives the coach a new perspective (a measuring stick) to explore and be curious about what's going on with the client. Meg explains how to use the triangle as a diagnostic tool.Hear Meg's practical strategies for leaning into each leg of the trust triangle through rapport-building,
What happens when a "late-starter" ER doc finally hits FI at 60, then must figure out how to actually spend the money without blowing it—or hoarding it forever? Bill joins Mindy and Scott on the BiggerPockets Money podcast to walk through his full "caught up to FI" debrief. Here his decade-long sprint from single-digit savings to 40%, taking his money back from a private bank, and the 60th-birthday retirement-readiness check that came back with a 100% success rate. From there, they dig into his move from a simple three-fund portfolio to a risk-parity setup, why he hired a flat-fee planner after years as a DIY investor, and how he's using FI to buy back time and jump-start his kids' wealth with Roth IRAs, HSAs, and tax-savvy living gifts. This episode covers: ➡️ Going from "rich but broke doctor" to FI in about 10 years ➡️ Boosting a savings rate from single digits to ~40% without feeling deprived ➡️ Shifting from a three-fund portfolio to a risk-parity decumulation strategy ➡️ Using flat-fee, advice-only planner instead of 1% AUM ➡️ Order of withdrawals: taxable, pre-tax, Roth, plus asset location ➡️ Modeling taxes, RMDs, and Social Security timing in real life ➡️ Building a "3-1-1" spending plan for needs, comfort, and luxury/giving ➡️ Helping adult kids fill Roth IRAs and HSAs as part of generational wealth ➡️ Weighing when to actually leave medicine once money is no longer the boss ============================== DEALS & DISCOUNTS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS MONARCH MONEY The modern way to manage money! Monarch will change the way you organize your financial life. Track, budget, plan, and do more with your money – together. Get 50% off the first year using this link and entering code: CATCHINGUP50 For a full list of current deals and discounts from our partners, sponsors and affiliates, click here: catchinguptofi.com/our-partners SUPPORT THE SHOW
“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Mark 13:32 Submit a Podcast Listener Question HERE! Podcasts by Series Level One Book Study Level Two Book Study “The religious needs and capacities of older children are no less great or essential than those of younger children. Their religious potential is no less strong; rather, it is expressed through the new capacities of their own stage of development.” - Sofia Cavalletti, The History of the Kingdom of God, Part 1, Pg. 173 Rebekah joins us on the podcast today to discuss the Spiral Method and how it applies to our work in CGS. Rebekah Rojcewicz is a catechist and formation leader in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd having completed her training in 1981 in Rome with Dr. Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi. She has translated several of their books and articles from the original Italian and has written and edited various parts of the CGS core texts. She is also the author of Life in the Vine: The Joyful Journey Continues. Rebekah is a catechist at her parish, St. Patrick Catholic Church, and for the Missionaries of Charity atrium in Memphis, Tennessee. She serves on the formation advisory council for CGSUSA, as well as on the International Board for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Characteristic #3 - The atrium is a community in which children and adults live together a religious experience which facilitates participation in the wider community of the family, the church, and other social spheres. The atrium is a place of prayer, in which work and study spontaneously become meditation, contemplation, and prayer. The atrium is a place in which the only Teacher is Christ; both children and adults place themselves in a listening stance before his Word and seek to penetrate the mystery of the liturgical celebration. “The pilgrimage of faith is not a journey in a straight line with death waiting at the end, but a kind of spiral through which progress is made only in successively deeper experiences of death and rebirth.” - Mark Searle Books you might be interested in: The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Year Olds History of the Kingdom of God Part 1: Creation to Parouisa History of the Kingdom of God Part 2: Liturgy and the Building of the Kingdom Life in the Vine: The Joyful Journey Continues Podcast Episodes you might be interested in: Episode 42 – The Mystery of Time Episode 57 – Celebrating the Life of Tina Lilig TINA LILIG MEMORIAL FUND During the month of February, we remember our first national director, Valentina Lillig, and we honor her legacy by encouraging generosity to the Tina Lillig Memorial Fund. The mission of the Tina Lillig Memorial Fund is to support the growth and development of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd through catechist formation, missionary outreach, and the work of the United States Association of The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGSUSA). To these ends, the TLM Fund offers a source of financial aid (in the form of partial scholarships) to applicants who would find paying the full tuition of a course to be a hardship. If you or your community needs scholarship or grant support for formation, please visit our website and apply [this could be a link in the show notes]. The next deadline for applications is April 30. Thank you to all the donors who have generously supported the TLM Fund and made formation courses possible for catechists across the US and the world. BECOME A CGSUSA MEMBER AUDIOBOOK: Audiobook – Now Available on Audible CGSUSA is excited to offer you the audio version of The Religious Potential of the Child – 3rd Edition by Sofia Cavalletti, read by Rebekah Rojcewicz! The Religious Potential of the Child is not a “how-to” book, complete with lesson plans and material ideas. Instead it offers a glimpse into the religious life of the atrium, a specially prepared place for children to live out their silent request: “Help me come closer to God by myself.” Here we can see the child's spiritual capabilities and perhaps even find in our own souls the child long burdened with religious information. This book serves as a companion to the second volume, The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Years Old. The desire to have this essential text available in audio has been a long-held goal for many. The work of many hands has combined to bring this release to life as an audiobook. Find out more about CGS: Learn more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Follow us on Social Media- Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd” Instagram- cgsusa Twitter- @cgsusa Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA YouTube- catechesisofthegoodshepherd
Connecting with customers is part of the job. In this episode, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share why staying close to the people who use your product still matters, even as companies scale. They touch on writing customers directly, keeping the door open after the first reply, and why real conversations beat shouting into the social media void.Key Takeaways00:11 – Writing customers from a real inbox05:21 – Building real relationships with the people who use your product11:34 – Keeping the line open after the first exchange14:07 – Why email still feels more personal than sliding into DMs19:29 – Getting to know who your customers actually are21:55 – Why real human connection is still the pointLinks and ResourcesFizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.doRecord a video question for the podcastSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comBooks by 37signalsHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X
#793 What does it take to build a photography business that lasts — and scales? In this powerful conversation, host Kirsten Tyrrel sits down with Lesle Lane from Studio 13 to uncover how she turned a multi-generational legacy into a thriving corporate photography brand. Lesle shares her unique journey from learning the ropes as a kid in her family's studio to running a team of photographers and navigating loss, motherhood, and massive industry shifts. You'll hear how she built a systemized business that values professionalism over ego, why fast turnaround times and client experience are key to standing out, and how she's structured her team to support both lifestyle freedom and long-term growth. Whether you're a creative looking to go full-time or an entrepreneur building a service-based brand, this episode is packed with real talk, proven strategies, and inspiration to help you think like a CEO! (Original Air Date - 6/27/25) What we discuss with Lesle: + Three generations of photography legacy + Transitioning from creative to CEO + Systems and processes that scale + Corporate vs. portrait photography + Fast turnaround as a competitive edge + Building a flexible, family-first team + Strategic networking for business growth + Pricing structure and profit margins + Letting go to grow and scale + AI's role in modern photography Thank you, Lesle! Check out Studio 13 at Studio13Online.com. Follow Lesle on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn (here and here). Watch the video podcast of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to MillionaireUniversity.com/training. To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this engaging conversation, Bill Umansky hosts a discussion with the head coach and CEO of the Orlando Pirates, a new indoor football team in the IFL. They explore the team's vision, the differences between the IFL and AFL, and the importance of community engagement. The conversation highlights the challenges and opportunities in building a successful sports franchise, emphasizing the need for a strong connection with the local community and the significance of creating an entertaining experience for fans. The Pirates aim to establish themselves as a competitive team while also giving back to the community and fostering a love for football in Orlando.
Voice agents are moving from novelty to true revenue infrastructure—and businesses that treat them like strategic roles instead of talking FAQs are pulling ahead. In this episode, John Jantsch sits down with Ryan Murha of Yodify to explore how purpose-built voice AI agents can qualify leads, guide buyers, facilitate conversations, and even create new revenue streams for creators and brands. They break down how multi-layered LLM orchestration, brand voice alignment, and AI guardrails reduce hallucinations and improve real-world performance. If you're curious about using voice AI for business development, customer experience automation, or scalable personalization, this conversation shows why voice AI is finally ready for prime time. Today we discussed: 00:00 Voice AI Fundamentals 02:32 Prompt Strategy, Personas, and Sales Roles 05:17 Critically Thinking Voice Agents 08:33 Voice Agent Framework 10:02 AI Transparency, Ethics, and Trust 11:43 Building and Testing AI Agents 14:59 Guardrails, Gemini, and Limitations 16:41 Integration, Monetization, and Pilots 19:59 Closing Thoughts and Contact Info Rate, Review, & Follow If you liked this episode, please rate and review the show. Let us know what you loved most about the episode. Struggling with strategy? Unlock your free AI-powered prompts now and start building a winning strategy today!
What does it take to grow a business while setting high standard and holding your values close? Malaysia Speaks, owner of Paw Time Favorite Pet Sitting in San Antonio, shares her journey from working in the veterinary field to building a family-run business rooted in professionalism and heart. She and her husband intentionally structured their business from day one with strong policies, team support, and faith at the center. Malaysia discusses hiring early, trusting her team, maintaining client relationships, and ensuring quality care for every pet. Her story is one of perseverance, balance, and doing business the right way — for her family, her employees, and her clients. Main topics: Building a family-run business From vet tech to owner Hiring early and trusting team Establishing professional standards Client connection and community care Main takeaway: "I wanted to do it the right way from the beginning." That mindset set the foundation for Malaysia Speaks' success. Instead of rushing into business, she focused on structure, education, and integrity—making sure every system reflected professionalism and care. From hiring her first team member to building strong client relationships, her focus on doing things right created long-term stability and trust. For Malaysia, excellence isn't about perfection—it's about intentionality, faith, and consistency. Her journey reminds us that when you start with purpose, growth naturally follows. About our guest: Malaysia Speaks is the founder and co-owner of Paw Time Favorite Pet Sitting, based in San Antonio, Texas. A former veterinary professional with over eight years in the field, Malaysia turned her passion for animal care into a thriving family business alongside her husband, Jonathan. Together, they lead a ten-person team providing dog walking, pet sitting, overnights, and pet taxi services. Malaysia is a UTSA graduate, a proud mom of two, and a strong advocate for professional standards and family balance in the pet care industry. Links: Website: https://pawtimefavoritepetsitting.com Email: pawtimefavoritepetsittingllc@gmail.com Phone: 443-561-5466 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pawtimefavoritepetsittingllc Check out our Starter Packs See all of our discounts! Check out ProTrainings Code: CPR-petsitterconfessional for 10% off
Scott Dancy is the founder and CEO of Azuna, a fast-growing brand in the natural air freshener space. With a background in staffing, technology, and several entrepreneurial ventures, Scott started Azuna in Buffalo in 2019, scaling the business from hand-packaging orders to becoming the world's largest purchaser of tea tree oil and achieving significant success in both DTC and Amazon channels. In this episode of DTC Pod, Scott shares his journey of launching Azuna, from navigating supply chain challenges and product R&D to unlocking consistent growth and managing cash flow as order volumes soared. He covers the pivotal product decisions, strategies for boosting AOV, lessons from high-profile partnerships, and Azuna's approach to retail expansion. Scott also offers practical advice for founders on knowing their numbers, avoiding expensive mistakes, and building a team that's invested in the brand's success. Episode brought to you by Stord - 3PL for Commerce Episode brought to you by EMF Radar - Health Starts with EMF Safety in mind Interact with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack. On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover: 1. Scott Dancy's entrepreneurial background and Azuna's origin story 2. Early-stage bootstrapping: packaging, fulfillment, and ad writing 3. Scaling operations: manufacturing, 3PLs, and hiring expert talent 4. Product and packaging strategy: sustainable materials, bundling, and raising AOV 5. Building a brand moat with proprietary tea tree oil sourcing 6. Subscription economics and customer retention strategies 7. Navigating cash flow, funding growth, and working with MCAs 8. Knowing key metrics: revenue, gross profit, AOV, and cash allocation 9. D2C vs Amazon vs retail channel strategy 10. In-house vs agency operations and pitfalls 11. Brand marketing and influencer partnerships 12. Lessons learned from sports and celebrity partnerships 13. Timing retail entry and optimizing product mix for channels 14. Importance of customer service and product quality 15. Entrepreneurial learnings: failures, details, and staying data-driven Timestamps 00:00 Scott Dancy's background and founding Azuna 03:05 The “aha moment”—tea tree oil product discovery 04:10 Early days of hand-packaging, first sales, COVID impact 05:36 Scaling up: building the team, manufacturing, growth in Buffalo 07:14 Transition to 3PL and challenges of scaling past $10M 08:10 Product development, bundling, and packaging strategy 10:05 Target audience and tea tree oil sourcing 13:41 Growth channels: Meta, Google, and influencer seeding 15:53 Subscription model economics and retention 19:03 Funding growth: inventory buys, cash flow, using Clearco 22:24 Data-driven decisions and knowing your numbers 26:25 Channel mix: Amazon, DTC, retail launch, pricing strategy 32:00 Learning from agency mistakes and shiny object syndrome 35:06 Retail timing, product mix, and learnings from entering stores 42:02 Brand partnerships: AKC, NFL, influencer marketing 46:44 Final lessons and what Scott would have done differently 47:50 Where to find Azuna and connect with Scott Show notes powered by Castmagic Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more. Additional episodes you might like: • #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth • #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content • #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views • #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands • #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook • #243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands ----- Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further? Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you. Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox? Check out our newsletter here. Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for Content Follow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTok Scott Dancy - CEO & Founder of AzunaBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Guest: Ryan Hall When severe weather is on the horizon, many people turn to their local meteorologist—but millions are heading to YouTube to get the latest from Ryan Hall, Y'all. With his signature down-to-earth style and real-time, no-nonsense weather coverage, Ryan has built one of the most popular and trusted weather communities online. But what's it really like to cover major weather events on social media's biggest stage? How does he balance entertainment with accuracy? And where does he see weather communication heading next? Today on Weather Geeks, we're pulling back the curtain with Ryan Hall himself. From storm-chasing stories to the power of digital weather, we're diving into how one YouTuber is changing the way we watch the skies.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Ryan Hall, Y'all02:57 Ryan's Journey into Weather06:07 The Rise of Ryan Hall, Y'all08:49 Transitioning from Traditional Media to Digital11:15 The Evolution of Weather Communication14:37 Building a Community and the Y'all Squad17:12 The Role of Teamwork in Content Creation20:27 Navigating Severe Weather Coverage23:26 Addressing Misinformation in Weather Reporting26:25 The Impact of AI on Weather Communication29:26 Advice for Aspiring Weather YouTubersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
For many girls in Uganda, one opportunity can alter the course of their entire future—and that opportunity often begins with education. Around the world, poverty creates barriers that shape a child's path long before adulthood. But through the work of ministries and local partners, those stories are being rewritten with hope, dignity, and the love of Christ. Aaron Griggs joins the show today to share how Cross International is helping young women stay in school, discover their God-given purpose, and step into a future that once felt out of reach. The Mission: Serving the Most Vulnerable Cross International exists to serve some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable children and families for the glory of God. Rather than operating independently, the ministry works through trusted local churches and organizations across Africa and other regions—partners who understand the communities, relationships, and long-term needs on the ground. This approach allows them to provide immediate help—such as food, clean water, and education—while also fostering sustainable, long-term change. Local leaders remain present long after programs begin, ensuring care that is relational, consistent, and rooted in the Gospel. The Everyday Realities of Poverty For many families in countries like Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia, daily challenges are not simply inconvenient—they are life-altering. A single meal may be the only food a child receives all day. Clean water often requires walking for hours to contaminated sources. Preventable diseases spread quickly due to limited medical care. Education is frequently out of reach because families cannot afford school fees. When children cannot attend school, their opportunities shrink dramatically. For girls in particular, the consequences are often more severe—and more permanent. Why Girls Are Especially Vulnerable When resources are scarce, girls are often the first to be pulled out of school. In some communities, families facing desperate financial strain may feel forced to arrange early marriages for daughters—sometimes as young as 11 or 12—simply to survive. This leads to a heartbreaking cycle: Education ends early Marriage and motherhood begin prematurely Economic opportunities disappear Poverty passes from one generation to the next Without intervention, the very pathway that could break the cycle—education—remains inaccessible. Local Partnership in Action: Project Princess Initiative One of Cross International's key ministry partners in Uganda is the Project Princess Initiative, based in Kampala. Together, they walk alongside vulnerable girls by: Helping them stay in school Providing mentorship and spiritual guidance Teaching practical career and life skills Building confidence rooted in their identity in Christ The goal is not only academic success but whole-person transformation—spiritual, emotional, practical, and relational. As many girls grow older, something remarkable happens: they begin mentoring others. The hope they received becomes the hope they give. Karen's Story: From Hopelessness to Purpose Karen, a young woman from Uganda, once faced a future filled with uncertainty. After her father abandoned the family, her education stopped. Surrounded by poverty, drugs, and despair, she felt trapped and hopeless. Through Project Princess, everything changed. She returned to school. She encountered mentors who reminded her of her worth in Christ. She discovered a future she never thought possible. Karen eventually attended college and studied economics—an opportunity few girls from her background ever experience. Today, she mentors younger girls facing similar challenges and speaks passionately about the role of faith in her transformation. Her story reflects a powerful truth: when education, mentorship, and the Gospel intersect, lives change. Why Faith Matters in Education Cross International's work centers on more than academics. While education opens doors, true transformation begins in the heart. Their approach focuses on the whole person: Physical needs like food and clean water Emotional support through mentorship Practical training for future careers Spiritual formation through prayer and discipleship Education alone can inform the mind. The Gospel renews the heart and reshapes identity. Together, they empower girls to become who God created them to be. How You Can Get Involved Scripture calls believers to care for the vulnerable. Psalm 82:3 urges us to “defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” For many, generosity becomes a practical way to live out that calling. Through partnerships like this: Food reaches children who would otherwise go hungry Education keeps girls in school Mentorship restores dignity and hope The message of Christ transforms lives A relatively small gift can create a lasting impact—helping a child receive education, care, and spiritual support for an entire year. Through FaithFi's partnership with Cross International, every $62 helps provide a vulnerable child with a year of support—including education, nutritious food, mentorship, and the hope of the Gospel. Larger gifts can extend that impact to multiple children and families. To learn more or make a one-time gift, visit FaithFi.com/Cross. As you steward the resources God has entrusted to you, this is a tangible way to defend the vulnerable, uplift the oppressed, and invest in futures filled with hope. One opportunity can change a life. Your involvement can help make that opportunity possible. On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions: We're expecting a car accident settlement this year. Will it be taxable, and do we report it as income? After medical bills and attorney fees, how should we think about tithing on what remains? Our estate is set up in a trust, and we have two adult sons who don't get along. Should we name just one as trustee and power of attorney, or appoint them both? I have $24,000 in credit card debt. A debt management plan would lower my interest rates, but the payments are more than I can afford. If I withdraw $6,000 from my Roth IRA—I'm over 59—to reduce the balance and lower the payment, would that be wise? Resources Mentioned: Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner) Cross International Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and Anxiety Rich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich Fool Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A rug cleaning company in Arizona just cracked the code on social media without ever paying for ads. Miranda Gwilliam from Rug Worx joins me to explain how she and her husband turned their family business into an industry authority with 900,000 followers across platforms.I started following their page because the content was impossible to ignore. Real production work. Real problem solving. Real people who actually show up on camera, even when they don't want to. What grabbed me was how they built something that resonates with both industry professionals and high-end homeowners, while keeping their kids as their absolute priority.Miranda breaks down the exact strategies that moved the needle, why going viral on TikTok changed everything, and how they've stayed referral-only for 22 years while still dominating digitally. If your social media feels stale or you're chasing followers who never turn into customers, this conversation will shift how you think about it all."My love language is referrals." – Miranda GwilliamIn This Episode:- The #1 growth strategy for any business- Hidden revenue streams like rug storage nobody talks about- NC Rapid Fire Hot Seat with Miranda- The TikTok turning point and going viral their very first weekend- What most rug and flooring businesses get wrong on social- Why perfection kills good content before it ever posts- Why posting time matters less than you think- How to attract higher-end clientele on social media- Building long game referral networks with interior designers- When to say no and how to fire a client the right way- Upcoming events like Textile Pro Masters and the ARCS convention- Miranda's private coaching servicesConnect with Miranda and Rug Worx:- Website: https://rugworx.com/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rugworx/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rugworx Connect with Mal and NC Carpet:- Website - https://www.n-ccarpet.com/ - Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/nccarpetmachines/ - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nc_carpet_binding/
You track your food. You lift. You can explain why protein matters for building muscle. So why hasn't your body changed? The gap between knowing what to do and getting results is not a discipline problem. It's a structure problem. And more nutrition and fitness information won't fix it.Philip breaks down what's actually missing for experienced lifters over 40 who have tried multiple programs and still feel stuck. Drawing intake data from hundreds of coaching clients, he explains why conflicting advice creates rational paralysis, why 49% of knowledgeable lifters still struggle with the basics, and the 3 specific things (sequencing, context, and feedback loops) that separate people who know what to do from people who get results. He also covers why this gap hits harder after 40, when hormonal shifts from perimenopause, menopause, and declining testosterone shrink the margin for error on both strength training and nutrition.If you've been doing "all the right things" and your body composition hasn't budged, this episode will reframe what's actually standing in your way, and what an effective solution looks like.Join the Eat More Lift Heavy waitlist to be the first to hear about a brand new structured asynchronous coaching process built for experienced lifters who have the knowledge but need sequencing, context, and feedback loops to finally close the gap between knowing and doing:https://witsandweights.com/eatmoreTimestamps0:00 - Knowing vs. doing (the real reason you're stuck) 2:02 - The information trap in nutrition and fitness 6:45 - Conflicting advice and analysis paralysis 11:25 - What's actually missing (it's not discipline) 14:30 - Sequencing: why 1 change per week beats 50 19:10 - Why generic plans fail lifters over 40 23:20 - Building feedback loops for your training and nutrition 27:10 - Structured asynchronous coaching 28:30 - What good coaching actually looks like 36:20 - The middle ground that barely exists in fitness
In this episode of The Birth Lounge Podcast, HeHe is joined by Tracy aka Modern Day Midwife (a hospital-based midwife in Arizona with a NICU background) for a candid, behind-the-scenes conversation about the realities of modern healthcare. Together, they unpack how the U.S. healthcare system is failing both patients and providers, from provider burnout and lack of mental health support to the pressures of hospital politics, insurance reimbursement, and productivity quotas. They explore the difference between “Medicine 1.0” (acute care) and “Medicine 2.0” (preventative care, functional medicine, wellness), and how insurance-driven, fee-for-service models often prioritize sick care over true health. The result? Confusing medical bills, rushed care, poor patient experiences, and providers who are stretched thin despite doing deeply meaningful work. HeHe and Tracy dive into the unique challenges facing women's health, maternity care, and birth: over-medicalization, the cascade of interventions, the limits of 10-minute OB-GYN appointments, maternity care deserts, and the need for individualized care, informed consent, and continuity of care. From ACOG guidelines to ever changing evidence and research, they explore possible solutions including a midwifery-led model of care, better transfer systems for home birth and birth center patients, coverage for doulas and health coaching, and shifting consumer demand away from traditional insurance and towards alternatives like health shares. Tracy shares her exciting vision for an integrated wellness hub that could include midwifery, obstetrics, pelvic floor PT, lactation, chiropractic care, and community-based health supports, and ends by sharing how to connect with her at Premier OB GYN in Phoenix and via Modern Day Midwife online and on Instagram. 00:00 Why Healthcare Breaks Providers 02:24 Burnout and Speaking Up 04:59 Fear and Privilege in Advocacy 07:18 Who Supports Clinicians 12:32 Medicine 1.0 vs Prevention 17:25 Billing Confusion and Fee for Service 19:06 Burn It Down or Reform It 23:55 Disrupting Insurance and Incentives 26:49 Birth Care Needs a New Model 29:36 Preeclampsia Prevention Debate 30:47 Rethinking Maternity Care Roles 32:04 Money in Wellness Care 34:55 Building a One Stop Birth Hub 37:43 Continuity Across Birth Settings 41:45 Evidence Based Medicine Reality Check 47:56 ACOG Guidelines vs Individual Choice 53:23 Demanding Individualized Care 55:11 Rebuilding Healthcare and Provider Support 56:59 Where to Find Tracy 58:15 Closing Thanks and Resources Guest Bio: Meet Tracy Burns, Board Certified Nurse Midwife. Tracy graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2003 with her bachelor's degree in nursing. After graduation, Tracy spent a year in labor and delivery as a bedside RN and then took a job in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Tracy spent the first 13 years of her career taking care of premature infants and mothers before pursuing her advanced practice career in Women's Health. Tracy graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017 with her Master's degree in Midwifery. With a big heart for women, Tracy is an advocate for midwifery care for women and the continuity of care model. Tracy has been an active team player in bringing midwifery services to Banner Estrella and Abrazo West. Tracy is passionate about health and wellness. She believes in using a functional/integrative approach to health promotion/disease prevention through an early introduction to nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, sleep, and community. Tracy is committed to caring for women by collaborating with other like-minded providers who are as committed to changing the way we care for women in America. Tracy is married and has two teenage daughters. She enjoys Crossfit, hiking, and spending time with family and friends. She is a co-owner of Crossfit Fury, CrossFit Trainer, and BirthFit professional. Tracy and her husband are actively involved in changing maternal and neonatal outcomes globally through Helping Babies and Mothers Survive Campaign. Connect with Tracy here: Www.moderndaymidwife.com SOCIAL MEDIA: Connect with HeHe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tranquilitybyhehe/ Connect with Tracy on IG: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymidwife/ BIRTH EDUCATION: Learn how to stay in control of your birth and reduce the risk of unnecessary interventions in our Avoid a C-Section Webinar. HeHe breaks down the cascade of interventions, explains what's really happening in the hospital, and shares practical strategies to protect your birth plan, advocate for yourself, and navigate labor with confidence. Perfect for anyone who wants a positive, informed hospital birth experience: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/csection Feeling nervous about speaking up in labor? Our Scripts for Advocacy give you the exact words to handle the most common conversations that can make or break your birth experience. From declining unnecessary interventions to asking the right questions about procedures, these scripts empower you to stay in control, speak confidently, and protect your birth plan — even when the pressure is on. Think of it as your personal toolkit for advocating like a pro, so you can focus on your baby, not the stress: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/Scripts-for-Advocacy And if you haven't grabbed it yet… Snag my free Pitocin Guide to understand the risks, benefits, and red flags your provider may not be telling you about, so you can make informed, powerful decisions in labor: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/pitocin Join The Birth Lounge for judgment-free, evidence-based childbirth education from HeHe that shows you exactly how to navigate hospital policies, avoid unnecessary interventions, and have a trauma-free labor experience, all while feeling wildly supported every step of the way: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/ Want prep delivered straight to your phone? Download The Birth Lounge App for bite-sized birth and postpartum tools you can use anytime, anywhere: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/app-download-page
In this episode of the Contacts Coaching Podcast, we are joined by Paul Caffery, the Director of Athletics at LaHabra High School. Paul shares his extensive background in coaching and administration, highlighting his journey from growing up in an athletic family to becoming an athletic director. He discusses the vital role of community culture, the importance of multi-sport athletes, and shares invaluable insights on creating cohesive and branded athletic programs. Paul also delves into the challenges of balancing coaching duties, family life, and handling unexpected health issues. Towards the end, he provides advice for new athletic directors on establishing effective systems and fostering strong relationships within the sports community. Don't miss this insightful discussion packed with practical tips and heartfelt experiences on leading successful high school athletic programs.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome00:26 Paul Caffery's Athletic Background01:41 Transition to Public School Education02:21 Coaching Career and Health Challenges03:54 Return to La Habra as Athletic Director05:43 Building a Supportive Athletic Culture12:34 Challenges and Learning as a New AD19:20 Promoting Multi-Sport Participation26:29 Transitioning Between Seasons26:41 Lessons from the Sporting Goods Industry27:54 The Importance of Branding30:18 Building Relationships and Trust33:03 Challenges of Being an Athletic Director35:23 Networking and Mentorship39:48 Balancing Approachability and Efficiency47:39 Changing Perspectives on Student Interaction52:42 Evaluating Coaches Effectively55:56 Conclusion and Future Plans
What does it really mean to build wealth — not just earn money? In this episode of Wine After Work, Bryce sits down with Doug Kinsey, founding member of the Sweater Cashmere Fund and partner at Artifex Financial Group, for a grounded conversation about wealth, investing, and long-term strategy. With more than 25 years of experience in wealth management and investment strategy, Doug works with individuals and organizations to align financial decisions with real life goals — not just short-term performance. Holding a master's degree in management and strategy from Harvard and a certification as an Investment Management Analyst, Doug brings a thoughtful, disciplined approach to building and protecting wealth. In this conversation, we discuss: The difference between income, success, and true wealth Common mistakes high earners make with investing and retirement planning How to think about private assets and long-term strategy Why clarity and intention matter more than timing the market Building financial confidence as your career and responsibilities grow This episode is especially valuable for professionals who've focused on building their careers — and are now asking bigger questions about sustainability, freedom, and long-term security.
Create Without Consequence with The PhroneticThe Phronetic is a Colombian-born, Brooklyn-raised producer, composer, and creative director who emerged from the live beat-making scene around 2017. Since then he's built a career spanning music, videography, and branded content — and in 2023 launched a creative agency merging both.In this episode we get into making music that invites rather than overwhelms, developing taste through repetition, the real cost of grind culture, and what success actually looks like when you stop measuring it by numbers.Three things to take away: Invitation beats force. Taste is built through doing. Sustainability is the long game.If this resonated, the ProducerHead Substack goes deeper — essays, loops, and resources for producers who want to create with more clarity and less noise. Free to subscribe, and there's more waiting for you when you do.[Subscribe at producerhead.substack.com]Chapters:00:00 – The Instrumental Dilemma00:26 – Welcome from Mexico City01:34 – Music as Invitation, Not Force02:55 – The Remix Turning Point04:33 – Why Lyrics Connect Faster06:41 – The Connecticut Breakthrough Moment08:23 – Can Taste Be Taught?09:44 – Learning Tools vs. Having Vision10:28 – Teaching Production Like Language12:11 – Perfectionism and Sound Selection13:47 – Creation vs. Organization Sessions15:53 – Limiting Tools to Build Identity16:39 – Excuses, Blocks, and Self-Doubt17:21 – Working Alone vs. Collaboration19:52 – 10 Years In: Rethinking the Grind21:05 – Early Instagram and Finger Drumming23:48 – Burnout, Health, and the Cost of Overwork25:10 – Pressure and Public Deadlines26:39 – Where Pressure Really Comes From26:46 – Is Success in Your Control?28:15 – How Success Evolves Over Time30:58 – From Beats to Video Editing33:06 – High-Level Video Advice34:52 – Visual Identity and Differentiation37:05 – Do You Even Need to Make Content?38:33 – The Five Minute Rule and Inertia40:22 – Aesthetic Shifts in the Beat Community43:04 – Building a Visual Identity from Color46:07 – YouTube University and Self-Education48:04 – Be Careful What You Consume49:10 – Advice to Younger Self50:33 – Quick Hits53:51 – Upcoming Projects and Where to Follow55:12 – The Creative Act and Final Thoughts56:17 – Closing Reflections and OutroConnect with The Phronetic: YouTube, Instagram, Spotify — @thephroneticConnect with Toru: @torubeat Get full access to ProducerHead at producerhead.substack.com/subscribe
Indiana is a national champion. Say it again. Indiana. Is. A. National. Champion.On this celebratory edition of CrimsonCast, Scott is joined by Jerod Morris of The Assembly Call for a full-on IU football retrospective — from Bill Mallory roots and Memorial Stadium childhood memories to the Peach Bowl, the Rose Bowl, and that unforgettable national championship night in Miami.This isn't just a recap. It's therapy. It's joy. It's disbelief. It's perspective. It's what happens when a program that spent decades building brick by brick finally stands at the top of the sport.Jared shares what it was like growing up the son of a Mallory assistant, how Indiana football shaped his identity long before basketball ever did, and what this title means to fans who lived through 0-11 seasons, coaching changes, near-misses, and rivalry heartbreak. They dig into the signature moments — the Ohio State statement, the CFP run, the championship game atmosphere — and why this wasn't a fluke, but the culmination of vision, culture, and belief.There's laughter, there's nostalgia, there's a little Purdue ribbing, and yes — there's a reminder that no one can ever take this away.You're a champion. We're all champions.(Note: These may not be clickable depending on your podcast app.)03:30 – 14:00 – Jared's IU football origin story: Bill Mallory, childhood memories, Memorial Stadium, and growing up in the program14:00 – 22:00 – The Peach Bowl feeling, when belief became real, and the shift from “great season” to “we can win it all”22:00 – 36:00 – Building a champion: culture, leadership, recruiting, development, and the vision behind the rise36:00 – 45:00 – The National Championship Game: atmosphere in Miami, signature moments, and why beating elite teams mattered45:00 – 54:00 – The Ohio State factor, rivalry validation, and what made this title feel complete54:00 – 1:03:00 – The emotional aftermath: pride, identity, what it means for IU fans everywhere (even in Texas)1:03:00 – End – Legacy talk, perspective, and the simple truth: you can never take away a national championshipIf you've ever sat in Memorial Stadium in bad weather.If you've ever defended IU football to skeptical friends.If you've ever believed — even just a little — that someday it could happen…This episode is for you.
In this episode of Excess Returns, we sit down with Matt Russell of Business Breakdowns to explore how AI is actually being used in investing today. We go beyond the hype and break down practical use cases for AI in portfolio management, stock research, due diligence, monitoring, and idea generation. From deep research models and agentic AI to prompt engineering and workflow design, this conversation walks through how professional investors can use AI tools to increase productivity, improve decision-making, and reduce blind spots without losing their edge. If you are an asset manager, analyst, allocator, or DIY investor wondering how AI will impact investing and stock picking, this episode offers a clear, practical roadmap.Main topics covered:The evolution from early large language models to deep research and agentic AI for investorsLLMs vs agent-based AI and why the distinction matters for investment researchHow AI fits into an investor's workflow, from due diligence to portfolio monitoringUsing AI to monitor KPIs, earnings calls, and cross-industry signals in real timeHow AI can help kill bad ideas faster and surface deal breakers earlyPrompt engineering for investors, including mindset framing, audience targeting, and output designBuilding mental models into AI systems to reflect your investment philosophyAI tech stacks for investors, including writing tools, deep research models, and browser-based AIIteration, experimentation, and standardized testing of prompts across model upgradesThe impact of AI on alpha generation, active management, and generalist vs specialist investorsOrganizational adoption strategies for investment firms considering AICustomization, agentic workflows, and what AI in investing could look like five years from nowTimestamps:00:00 How AI tools increase investor productivity01:16 Why early ChatGPT was a head fake for investors03:07 The inflection point with deep research and agentic AI05:00 LLMs vs agents explained in plain English07:01 Where AI fits inside an investment workflow09:28 Replacing manual earnings transcript work11:40 Real-time monitoring and AI alerts19:24 Using AI to kill bad investment ideas faster22:01 Trust but verify, hallucinations and safeguards25:29 Matt's AI tech stack for investing30:00 Prompt engineering breakthroughs33:00 Standardized experimentation across new AI models36:07 Building idea generation prompts step by step40:15 Using AI as an editor and critical reviewer43:50 Does AI compress investor skill differences46:10 How funds should adopt AI internally50:40 Fear of falling behind in asset management53:05 Generalists vs specialists in an AI world55:18 AI and the pursuit of alpha57:00 Customization, agents and the future of investing01:01:10 Coding agents and building tools with AI
Kate, Molly, Andrea and Kristin begin the episode with an apology about a technical snafu that plagued our website's Contact page and some corrections. They go through some listener questions and discuss copyeditors and the other roles editors can play, share advice, ideas, theories and encouragements about a range of topics, share insights on how to survive the submission process and thoughts on genre mash-ups. This episode closes out Season 8 but we'll be back very soon with Season 9! Thank you for listening and participating!Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsKristin Donnelly's Cookbook Coaching ServicesWill This Make You Happy, by Tanya BushKitchenBookshelf on InstagramCultFlave on YouTubeThe Marketing Hustle Podcast Episode 70: Building a Global Brand Without Paid Media: The CMO behind Ottolenghi's Growth StrategyPublishers Marketplace Sally Ekus' SubstackJenna Helwig's SubstackEpisode 122: Start With WhoEpisode 137: Being a Cookbook Editor with Sarah Billingsley of Chronicle BooksEpisode 158: Cookbook Marketing and Publicity with Brianne Sperber and Felix Cruz Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showDirt Candy by Amanda CohenHeartland Masala by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon MukharjiWill This Make You Happy, by Tanya Bush
There's a Lit song that's been stuck in my head for weeks: "My Own Worst Enemy." And it's the perfect metaphor for my entire solo journey.I've blocked myself at every stage—consulting, fractional leadership, and now with The Escapee Collective. Not intentionally, but by doing what corporate trained me to do: overanalyze, overstructure, and wait for perfection before taking action.In this episode, I walk you through the three times I made the same mistake—and what I'm doing differently now.If you're overthinking, over-structuring, or waiting for the "perfect" website, pitch deck, or system before you start—this one's for you.In This Episode:The consulting mistake: Building the perfect website, pitch deck, and pricing before having a single conversation with a client (and why it led to zero wins)The fractional repeat: Doing the EXACT same thing again—new methodology, new deck, same lack of resultsThe Escapee Collective lesson: How TikTok took off with zero plan, then how I complicated it again with masterminds, classes, and modules—and why I had to simplifyWhy corporate trains us backwards: Plan first, act second works in corporate—but solo requires the oppositeWhat actually works: Conversations, experimentation, messy wins FIRST—then structureThe 79% reality: Why most burned-out corporate workers won't take action (and how to be in the 35% who do)How to catch yourself: Recognizing when you're building systems before you have proofKey Takeaway:Action beats planning. Momentum beats perfection. Get early wins first—THEN build the structure around what's working.
In this episode, we sit down with Myisha Moore, founder of Saint Enzo — a luxury modern Lambrusco designed to rival Champagne in quality and sophistication. Launched in August 2025, Saint Enzo's first release sold out within minutes online. Retailing at $80, the wine is produced entirely in Italy using 100% organic Lambrusco Grasparossa, with zero additives or cellar manipulation — challenging outdated perceptions of Lambrusco and restoring it to its historic prestige. Myisha, a brand management leader with experience across Nike, BlackRock, Ferrari, and Christian Louboutin, identified a white space in the wine and celebration market. Partnering with Armon Moore — a Creative Director with experience spanning Bentley, Bevel, and global luxury wine markets — the duo spent six years developing a product intentionally designed for modern connection and elevated celebration. In this conversation, we discuss: • Repositioning misunderstood categories as aspirational • From personal observation to market opportunity • Six years of vineyard visits and producer partnerships • The intersection of design, strategy, and luxury • Building a brand ecosystem rooted in joy and cultural relevance Saint Enzo is more than wine — it's a reframe of celebration itself. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who appreciates bold branding, luxury innovation, and visionary founders. #LuxuryWine #FounderStory #BrandStrategy #WineIndustry #Entrepreneurship saintenzo.com