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Send us a textJames tells Haley the story of Branden McIntosh's 18th Birthday and Graduation Celebration... Surrounded by family and friends, James gives Branden a detailed blessing, and a prayer calling him into Manhood. They get emotional when discussing how this is now a core foundation of The Royal Grant Initiative.  Support the showMore from James & Haley: The Royal Grant Initiative Chef James K Jones Website Cooking with Chef James K Jones (YouTube Channel) Facebook Instagram Subscribe for extra content here: Become a Subscriber and support the Show: Support our Sponsors Hurst Towing and Recovery - Lynn & Debbie Hursthttps://hursttowing.com/ Holland Home & Commercial Services https://hollandhcs.com/ Ironwood Realty https://www.instagram.com/ironwoodrealty/

Send us a textJames & Haley share their own personal stories... and the statistics about the importance of Fathers.  Support the showMore from James & Haley: The Royal Grant Initiative Chef James K Jones Website Cooking with Chef James K Jones (YouTube Channel) Facebook Instagram Subscribe for extra content here: Become a Subscriber and support the Show: Support our Sponsors Hurst Towing and Recovery - Lynn & Debbie Hursthttps://hursttowing.com/ Holland Home & Commercial Services https://hollandhcs.com/ Ironwood Realty https://www.instagram.com/ironwoodrealty/

Send us a textJames & Haley are back in the saddle. In this episode they are talking about the Royal Grant Initiative Launch…and a whole lot more. Thanks for tuning in.  Support the showMore from James & Haley: The Royal Grant Initiative Chef James K Jones Website Cooking with Chef James K Jones (YouTube Channel) Facebook Instagram Subscribe for extra content here: Become a Subscriber and support the Show: Support our Sponsors Hurst Towing and Recovery - Lynn & Debbie Hursthttps://hursttowing.com/ Holland Home & Commercial Services https://hollandhcs.com/ Ironwood Realty https://www.instagram.com/ironwoodrealty/

Send us a textJames & Haley are back and heading on a new adventure. In this episode they discuss the events that led to the creation of The Royal Grant Initiative... a non-profit that helps single moms (and caretakers) navigate raising boys without an active Father. This epidemic is close to their heart, and it is a major part of their story. Tune in for more... Support the showMore from James & Haley: The Royal Grant Initiative Chef James K Jones Website Cooking with Chef James K Jones (YouTube Channel) Facebook Instagram Support our Sponsors Hurst Towing and Recovery - Lynn & Debbie Hursthttps://hursttowing.com/ Holland Home & Commercial Services https://hollandhcs.com/ Ironwood Realty https://www.instagram.com/ironwoodrealty/

Send us a textIt's been over two years since they taped an episode... and now James & Haley are back and heading on a new adventure. Tune in for more...Support the showMore from James & Haley: The Royal Grant Initiative Chef James K Jones Website Cooking with Chef James K Jones (YouTube Channel) Facebook Instagram Support our Sponsors Hurst Towing and Recovery - Lynn & Debbie Hursthttps://hursttowing.com/ Holland Home & Commercial Services https://hollandhcs.com/ Ironwood Realty https://www.instagram.com/ironwoodrealty/

The Legally Speaking Podcast has visited one of the world's most exciting legal hubs: Dubai. But we're not just visiting — we're starting the year in style with a brand-new miniseries that showcases how innovation, opportunity and culture come together in this incredible city.What's it all about?Our Legally Speaking Podcast series features short, punchy episodes (10–15 minutes each), where we dive into conversations with inspiring legal minds to explore:

Are you exploring going global with your business, but don't the best way to really start? In this super-fast episode of 10 Minute Tech Talks, Host Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council walks you three three quick steps as you prepare to take your business overseas or across the border. He cites key info from the U.S. Commercial Services' latest article article in TEQ Magazine that provides a step-by-step guide for the tech entrepreneur looking to go global. Hit that awesome PLAY button and read the entire article right here for full details. Produced by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, this is a podcast for tech and manufacturing  entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.  

Send us a textIn this episode, Dr. Margot Jacquot speaks with Eileen Lysaught about the critical aspects of employment law relevant to mental health practitioners. They discuss the importance of having an employment attorney, the nuances of corporate structures, and the distinctions between employees and independent contractors. Eileen emphasizes the necessity of proper documentation, such as operating agreements and offer letters, to safeguard practices from legal issues. The conversation also covers the implications of non-solicitation and non-compete agreements, providing valuable insights for practice owners. The discussion highlights the evolving nature of employment regulations and the necessity for business owners to stay informed and proactive in their practices.Eileen Lysaught joined Laner Muchin in 2024 as Of Counsel, launching the Firm's Corporate and Commercial Services practice. With over 30 years of experience in business and corporate counseling, she assists her clients with concerns related to corporate agreements and business and employment law counseling.Eileen has extensive experience in the drafting, review and negotiation of corporate agreements for clients related to asset sales and purchases, manufacturing, distribution, vendors, licensing, non-disclosure, leases, operating and shareholder agreements. Eileen is adept in drafting handbooks, record retention plans, and corporate policies as well as in assisting in the implementation and training on those policies. She is also well-versed in offering employment law guidance to assist clients on matters such as ADA disability accommodation requests, human resource auditing, preparing offer letters, severance and employment agreements, as well as guiding clients on matters related to EEOC, ADEA, FMLA and Title VII.Eileen has managed complex human resources issues, training programs and investigations. Prior to joining the firm, she owned a general counsel and business and employment law advisory law firm, where she regularly prepared policies and procedures related to employee leave, sexual harassment, COVID, telehealth and employment handbooks. Eileen also served as Capital Partner for an intellectual property firm where she handled human resources requirements including performance management, onboarding, training and employee counseling in addition to managing all employee training programs such as cybersecurity, sexual harassment, bystander, document retention and more.HONORS, MEMBERSHIPS AND PUBLICATIONSMember, Society of Human Resource Management, 2006 – PresentMember, American Corporate Counsel Association, 1999 – PresentPanelist Speaker: Building It To Scale: Growing a SMB at Every Level – Business Minute Clinic (2018)Eileen Lysaught OF COUNSELO: 312.467.9800 | elysaught@lanermuchin.comDr. Jacquot and her team at The Juniper Center specialize in comprehensive mental health services for individuals, families, and organizations. Whether you're seeking therapy, coaching, or professional consultation, they are here to help.Contact Dr. Margo Jacquot and The Juniper Center:Email: margojacquot@thejunipercenter.comWebsite: www.junipercenter.comBe sure to like this episode, subscribe to our podcast, and share it with someone who could benefit from Dr. Jacquot's expertise!

If a union has rights under a contract of employment, should they be able to enforce those rights as a third party? https://uklawweekly.substack.com/subscribe Music from bensound.com

In this episode, Vince Burruano, President of Vince Burruano Consulting Services, discusses how he has had 2 stints of working within the industry, the first as Sales Leader within Office Movers (2.5 years), and the second as Vice President of Sales for Commercial Services for JK Moving Services (8 years). Today Vince is a consultant to the moving industry, helping business owners and leaders in making their companies become more successful, something Vince has been doing for the past 3 years. Vince has had many challenges within the industry, however, the two discussed are, finding the right talent, and the way Sales Professionals and others are treated once they are a member of the company. Vince wouldn't want to change anything from his moving past because he is fearful making a change in one regard would alter everything else. Vince's highpoint of being within the industry was his experience during Covid, where even when he had to reduce the size of his team, he still grew the business to be more successful. The one thing Vince would like to change within the industry is the mindset of individuals, especially company owners and leaders. The advice Vince would give himself just starting out within the industry again is to spend as much time as possible building the team, and more importantly the culture. In the next 5 years Vince hopes to continue to carve out a niche for himself within the industry. Industry wise, Vince hopes that the industry continues to evolve in a good way. Outside of the industry Vince is spending more time on photography and has a huge passion for reading books (physical not digital). And as always, we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, in fact three, and are all related to Vince's son. Enjoy! Links to Vince Burruano: * Website (https://www.practical-sales-wisdom.com/) * Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-burruano) * Understanding Millenials (https://www.practical-sales-wisdom.com/_files/ugd/95a04f_15fb93f8ee554b6792579c584b5ce55c.pdf) Special Guest: Vince Burruano.

In 2021, the U.S. Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine – Transportation Research Board (TRB) “to conduct a study on the operation of freight trains that are longer than 7,500 feet.” Railway Age reported on the 105-page study, “Long Freight Trains: Ensuring Safe Operations, Mitigating Adverse Impacts – TRB Special Report 353.” Sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration, the TRB convened a 12-member committee “with experience in freight and passenger railroad operations, state rail transportation, national rail safety oversight, and freight and passenger rail research” that met 16 times (six in person) to examine impacts of long trains and invited presentations from individuals and organizations. Meetings focused on railroad technology and highway-rail grade crossings. This Rail Group On Air podcast features six of those members and TRB Senior Program Officer and Study Director, Consensus and Advisory Studies David O. Willauer, who coordinated their participation: • Debra L. Miller (Chair), Former Secretary, Kansas Department of Transportation and former Surface Transportation Board Vice Chair. • Gary F. Knudsen, Locomotive Engineer, BNSF Railway (retired). • Allan Rutter, Freight Analysis Program Manager, Texas A&M Transportation Institute and former Federal Railroad Administrator. • Dr. John M. Samuels (National Academy of Engineering), President, Revenue Variable Engineering and retired Senior Vice President Operations Planning and Budget, Norfolk Southern. • Peter F. Swan, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management, Emeritus, The Pennsylvania State University. • Paul E. Vilter, Assistant Vice President Planning, Commercial Services, and Sustainability, Amtrak (retired).

Pace Law Firm (+1 844-606-0225) can guard your business against the most damaging and common legal disputes, regardless of your industry or the size of your company. Click here to learn more about Pace Law Firm Corporate and Commercial Services. Pace Law Firm City: Toronto Address: 191 The West Mall Website: https://pacelawfirm.com Phone: +1 844 943-2983 Email: info@pacelawfirm.com

Andrew Spier is the Vice President of Advanced Cyber Solutions and Commercial Services at Core4ce, a company specializing in protecting healthcare organizations and critical infrastructure from cyber threats. The healthcare environment has outdated software, weak access controls, insecure network connectivity, and a large Internet of Things network with many connected medical devices vulnerable to cyberattacks. Core4ce provides cybersecurity services, risk assessment, and education so that healthcare organizations can be more proactive in recognizing vulnerabilities and protecting against cyber criminals.  Andrew explains, "Core4ce is a data-centric national and enterprise security organization primarily specializing in protecting the nation and healthcare organizations. Critical infrastructure is mostly from cyber threats, which could be insider threats, cybersecurity or cyber criminals, or adversarial nation-states. We also provide a full suite of cybersecurity solutions in support of those customers." "I think that primarily in the healthcare environment, individually, you've got a giant IoT footprint, and for the listeners at home, IoT is the internet of things. This creates some challenges for healthcare organizations and medical device providers. The cybersecurity services that those customers typically use are vulnerabilities, vulnerability assessments, network assessments, network design, and penetration testing. I mean everything from policy reviews. The list goes on and on, but it's full spectrum of cybersecurity services." "If you think about the complications associated with a number of IoT or medical devices inside an organization or a hospital, it can be quite daunting. But many of the fixes are available. It's just a lot of time, bandwidth, and budget, and periodically, it's just a lack of staff and knowledge. Frankly, that's where we can come in and supplement, educate, help get them remediated, get them set up, protect their network, and work with them on an ongoing educational or iterative basis." #Core4ce #HealthcareCybersecurity #MedicalDevices #MedicalDeviceSecurity #HealthcareThreats #IoT core4ce.com Download the transcript here

Andrew Spier is the Vice President of Advanced Cyber Solutions and Commercial Services at Core4ce, a company specializing in protecting healthcare organizations and critical infrastructure from cyber threats. The healthcare environment has outdated software, weak access controls, insecure network connectivity, and a large Internet of Things network with many connected medical devices vulnerable to cyberattacks. Core4ce provides cybersecurity services, risk assessment, and education so that healthcare organizations can be more proactive in recognizing vulnerabilities and protecting against cyber criminals.  Andrew explains, "Core4ce is a data-centric national and enterprise security organization primarily specializing in protecting the nation and healthcare organizations. Critical infrastructure is mostly from cyber threats, which could be insider threats, cybersecurity or cyber criminals, or adversarial nation-states. We also provide a full suite of cybersecurity solutions in support of those customers." "I think that primarily in the healthcare environment, individually, you've got a giant IoT footprint, and for the listeners at home, IoT is the internet of things. This creates some challenges for healthcare organizations and medical device providers. The cybersecurity services that those customers typically use are vulnerabilities, vulnerability assessments, network assessments, network design, and penetration testing. I mean everything from policy reviews. The list goes on and on, but it's full spectrum of cybersecurity services." "If you think about the complications associated with a number of IoT or medical devices inside an organization or a hospital, it can be quite daunting. But many of the fixes are available. It's just a lot of time, bandwidth, and budget, and periodically, it's just a lack of staff and knowledge. Frankly, that's where we can come in and supplement, educate, help get them remediated, get them set up, protect their network, and work with them on an ongoing educational or iterative basis." #Core4ce #HealthcareCybersecurity #MedicalDevices #MedicalDeviceSecurity #HealthcareThreats #IoT core4ce.com Listen to the podcast here

On today's show: – Union Strong with Jenny Heinl, senior vice president and CRA officer, and Trina Tyler, vice president, Union and Commercial Services at ABOC – Ross Rocketto Morales and Brad Bauman of White Dudes for Harris – Abbie Perrault, co-director of the 2024 documentary “Zurawski v Texas,” which is being shown twice at the Chicago International Film Festival – Heartland Signal's Rich Eberwein –  Gwen Levey, Survivors for Kamala ambassador Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive). "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" now has its very own podcast. Two, in fact: "Joan Esposito Full Episodes" and "Joan Esposito Featured Interviews." You can subscribe to one or both! Just search for Joan Esposito wherever you get your podcasts, or get links to the podcasts by visiting heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive.

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In today's episode of the IC-DISC show, Eric Miller from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EX-IM) provides valuable insights into how this 90-year-old institution supports American exporters through strategic financial services. I also learned that EX-IM is one of just two governmental agencies that is an actual profit center. ​ Before joining EX-IM, Eric worked for a privately-held exporter that was a customer of EX-IM. His expertise both inside and outside of EX-IM sheds light on crucial products like export credit insurance, export financing, and financing for foreign buyers. These solutions can alleviate common hurdles inhibiting international trade growth. ​ We also talk through some real-world examples of these various EXIM solutions. This is a must-listen episode for any company doing substantial direct exports.   SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Eric Miller from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) discusses the role of the bank in aiding exporting companies with financial services, operating without costing taxpayers. We delve into how Ex-Im Bank and the Small Business Administration (SBA) offer loan guarantees and insurance to boost companies' borrowing capacity. Eric shares insights into export credit insurance and how Ex-Im Bank's products can help resolve common financial challenges in international transactions. The discussion covers Ex-Im Bank's new domestic project finance product, designed to support projects that have a significant export component. We touch on the requirement for a U.S. majority in product content, aiming to foster manufacturing and job growth in the United States. Eric explains the importance of services, like engineering and architectural services for foreign projects, requiring a U.S. majority for cost. We discuss government resources that can aid businesses in exporting, such as tax incentives and the Gold Key service provided by the U.S. Commercial Services. The episode highlights the STEP grant, a federal program managed by states to support companies with export-related expenses. Eric and I settle the Tex-Mex vs. BBQ debate with an appreciation for both, adding a lighthearted twist to the episode. Contact information for Eric Miller is shared for listeners who wish to connect and further explore export financing options. Contact Details Email (eric.miller@xmexim.gov) Phone Number (713-306-7969) LINKSShow Notes Be a Guest About IC-DISC Alliance About Export-Import Bank of the United States GUEST Eric MillerAbout Eric TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dave: Hi, this is David Spray. Welcome to another episode of the IC Disc Show. My guest today is Eric Miller of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, colloquially known by the acronym of XM. More useful takeaways for privately held exporting companies than any guest I've ever had. We talked about the history of the XM, its purpose and the four service offerings that they have for privately held exporting businesses. We also talked about three other governmental arms that can also be of value. The other interesting thing about Eric is he actually was a customer of XM early in his career when he was a minority owner of an exporting business. So Eric's a really dynamic guy. He's really passionate about serving exporting companies and he really understands what it's like to be in the shoes of their customers. I really recommend you take a listen to this one. It's really valuable hey good morning Eric. Welcome to the podcast. Eric: Thank you, Dave. It's a pleasure to be here. It's an honor. Thank you. Dave: Well, the pleasure is all mine. So where are you connecting from today? What part of the world are you in at the moment? Eric: The great state of Texas. I'm in the Houston area, born and raised in Texas and been all over the world, but this is home. Oh, that's awesome. Dave: In fact, I think you even stayed close for college, right. Eric: I did. I'm a Cougar alumni, so a proud Houston native. Dave: Awesome, so I'm really excited to have you on. You are with the Export Import Bank of the United States, correct? Correct so we also go by XM Bank, sorry. Eric: Yep. Dave: So tell me about XM, tell me about the kind of the history of the organization and why it exists, and then we'll get it. We'll see where the conversation goes. Eric: Yeah, no, it's a good question. I'm biased, of course, working here, but I think it's one of the most fascinating government agencies that exist. We're set up in the executive branch of the federal government. We've been around for 90 years. Most people haven't heard of us. We are small. We've got anywhere between 400 and 500 people as a part of the agency. Most are headquartered in Washington DC, but we do have a dozen regional offices scattered throughout the US and all the major cities. I cover the Houston office and in doing so, I work with exporters in the great state of Texas and help them export more US made products and services. That's really what we're about here at XM Bank is supporting our US companies that are exporting a US made good or service. We're on the finance side of that help. There's other government agencies. Throughout the whole process of a transaction, whether it's finding buyers, whether it's financing a transaction or even getting grant money to help you export. There's other support, but EXIM is specific on the finance piece. Dave: Okay, and so does EXIM. At the end of the day, you know, does this cost taxpayers, you know, billions of dollars to have this thing in place. Eric: Yeah, that's another good question. So you know, we're one of the few agencies historically that have actually built a surplus of money for the taxpayer. In other words, we're using less than we're making and we send money back to Treasury. It changes year to year, but historically, if you look over the past you the past 20, 30 years we're generating a surplus and sending that back to treasury, so costing taxpayers billions of dollars. No, we like to operate a little differently than a government agency. We are an independent government agency, which means we're not inside a cabinet, but we are set up in the executive branch and we like to say we run at the speed of business Internally, we're very efficient, we're very effective and we're very aggressive, trying to reach out to US companies and get them involved in helping them. Dave: Well, that is awesome. I think it sounds like just a win, right. It's a win for the taxpayers. It's actually a profit center, if you will, for the taxpayers. It's good for the exporters, it's good for the country. Am I correct? I think the only other government agency I've ever heard of that's a profit center is like the Patent and Trademark Office. Have you heard that too? Eric: I think you're right. Now, I haven't researched that myself, just in passing and conversations I've heard of the same and there might be one or two others out there. But yeah, it's an unusual feat of a government agency to kind of generate that surplus for a taxpayer and send it back to Treasury. We do charge, you know, fees and that's how the agency itself makes and brings in money. We charge fees for our different products and you know we have products like export credit insurance. To just kind of dive into what we do, yeah, let's do that In export credit insurance to just kind of dive into what we do yeah let's do that In export credit insurance. So let me take a couple steps back. When an exporter engages in international business, when they find a foreign buyer in a country and they say, hey, here's what I sell, whether it's a product or service, there's always a sticking point. If you will product or service, there's always a sticking point if you will in the negotiations, when it comes to money flow. And what I mean by that is the exporter will say, hey, I'll ship my product or I'll do the service, but go ahead and wire me money before I ship it. And then the importer, the buyer there's always a reluctance to say well, I don't want to wire you money, because what if you close your doors? I never hear from you again. So when there's a new relationship and there's a transaction that's trying to occur, money, the movement of money, is always a sticking point. Who sends it first? And exporters lose a lot of deals because of this. I speak to exporters on a daily basis and every week there's at least one that says I wish I would have known about this. It would have helped me with the last negotiation I had with a foreign buyer who said you know, ship me the product on open account and I'll pay you 60 days later. I wasn't comfortable with that as an exporter so I closed the door and lost the deal. So XM gets involved and we say no, go ahead. And you know, if they're asking for credit terms, go ahead and provide that to them and we will back you up on the payment. We will insure that receivable from default. So if something goes wrong and the foreign buyer doesn't pay back the exporter as intended, we will insure it. They put a claim into us. So when I say claim, just like any other insurance policy, right, you're driving a car and you get to an accident, you file a claim. Something goes wrong with the house, you file a claim with the home insurance provider. We're no different. We're an insurance provider on foreign receivables and the government gets involved in this space because you know, david, look at the trade deficit. Last year we're nearing a trillion dollars. Most years, from year to year in the last 10 years, it's getting worse and worse. So what I mean by that is we're bringing in way more than we're sending out, and what we have found through our research as a government agency is the number one reason more US companies are not sending more product abroad is the number one reason is fear. They are fearful of what that process looks like and the government gets involved. Then we say let's take away that fear. We'll put the risk on our shoulders as it relates to credit insurance. Go ahead and give your foreign buyer terms or open account. We'll shoulder the risk and if they don't pay you, we'll pay you. And we want to help the trade deficit. We want to as a government agency. We want to stimulate US manufacturing. We want to create jobs through exports. That's really what the mission is here at Ex-Im Bank. Dave: Okay, yeah, no, that's really good. And do you specifically underwrite each customer? You know each foreign customer, or is there just you guys? Just use some general parameters. Eric: Yeah, no, it's a good question, like what does that process look like? So we have four different credit insurance policies. We can do everything from hey, we'll underwrite every buyer if you're not comfortable with it. Or hey, we'll give you a policy where you can do your own underwriting according to our credit standards but give you that autonomy inside your company to do it without coming to us every time there's a buyer. So there's different approaches. Most exporters like the autonomy because they can approve a credit right then and there, rather than sending us the paperwork and then us process it and then get back to them. So it just depends on timeline. But yeah, we can do either. Dave: And does the policy insure 100% of the invoice or is there a co-insurance piece where your customer is taking some of the risk? Eric: So the coverage will be anywhere from 90 or 95%, depending on which policy. Most of them are in that 95% range, but some of them are in the 90. Okay, they have the option. Dave: Yeah. So it's enough that as long as the company's got decent margins right, if their margin's greater than 5% or 10%, then their risk is just if a deal goes bad. They didn't make any money on that deal. Eric: That's a fair way of looking at it? Dave: Yep, but they have enough skin in the game that they do want to make a profit on that transaction. They want to all that trouble. So they have a motivation to not, you know, sell to people who you know they have serious concerns about their ethics or integrity or ability to pay. Eric: Exactly, and that's really what it's all about. Hey, I've got a new relationship and you know, name a country. They're asking for open account. And open account, you know, most people are comfortable with that in the US. They have a recourse in mind. Hey, if I don't pay, here's the process where I can recoup. But that all goes away when you send it to a foreign country. Like you know, how do I even get my money if I don't? I'm dealing with a different legal environment, political currency, culture, I mean. The list goes on and on. So that's where, wherein lies the fear for the exporter. And there's government agencies, both local, state and federal, all of them. We want to surround the exporter, prop them up, take away the fear, shoulder the risk and get them comfortable in international business. Dave: Okay, so you may mention the one person you were talking to that said they wish they'd known about XM because they kind of lost this deal. Do you have another case study, if you will, or example and obviously you don't have to mention the specific company by name where everything did work out kind of a success story, where maybe they were not exporting much but with this credit insurance it really helped them materially increase their sales? Do you have any examples like that, just to help people further understand? Eric: Oh yeah, we have a whole list of resources on our website. There's a section dedicated to success stories of all the different companies and we like to diversify the industry and the product and we've got you name it and it's probably up there. One that just immediately comes to mind is a company and they've been kind of a strong advocate of Ex-Im Bank. They're called BuzzBalls and it's alcohol manufactured here in Texas in the Dallas area, and they were very successful domestically. I mean, you can find these little alcohol glasses basically in any kind of retail store in the US. But as they looked abroad they wanted to de-risk a lot of their open account with distributors and really I think the last I heard they either doubled or tripled the revenue by focusing on foreign buyers, distributing it to the distributors, the foreign distributors giving them credit to pay and Ex-Im Bank insuring the risk. I mean, it's just one interesting example that you know, if little cups of alcohol can move abroad, mostly anything can. Dave: Oh, that's great, I love that and thank you for that. Thank you for that example. So now let's say that a company is contemplating exporting and let's say they have this large potential order you know large for them, you say it's a $5 million company annual revenues and suddenly they have this pay for the materials from their supplier and they maybe don't have enough working capital to do that and maybe they're in a spot where you know a traditional bank loan or line of credit. They're maybe, just maybe what you'd call not bankable. What happens then? Does the whole process just fall apart? You know they've got the credit insurance but they don't have the cash to buy the goods. What happens then? Eric: Yeah, that's really the second big problem in international trade. So the US banking system in general is challenging to help US companies fill export orders, and what I mean by that is, in your example, a $5 million revenue company. It can even be bigger than that, it could be 20, 30, 40. The problem with a lot of US companies is when their foreign sales start to get significant and they go to the bank and say, hey, I need a line of credit, not just for my domestic business, I need it for my international too. There becomes a problem in the banking system. There's this view that it's high risk and, as bankers tend to be more conservative and shy away from risk, so most times US companies have problems getting the money they need to fill these export purchase orders. So government gets involved, Ex-Im gets involved and SBA also has a product similar to the Ex-Im bank. It varies according to the banker who wants to use the product, but the idea behind it is we become a guarantor of repayment to the lender. So in your example, $5 million a year company, $2 million foreign sale that we're going to insure they walk that over to the bank and they say, hey, I got insurance on the receivable. Great, it's a $2 million deal. Now I need a million bucks or whatever as a line of credit to build all this stuff or go out and buy it. The bank will say, okay, where's it going? Oh, it's leaving the country. I can't help you. But when you come back with a US purchase order, then we can get serious in our talks. The company is stranded and they can't get the money, the capital they need to fill these orders with working capital. So we get involved and we say, hey, if they're presenting financial statements and the financial statements merit the ability to borrow what they're asking for a million, whatever it is and you're only saying no because it's an export, go ahead and give them the money that they need that they're asking for again, as long as it meets the credit standards, and we'll co-sign, we become a repayment guarantor to that line of credit so they can have access to the money that they need to fill these foreign buyer purchase orders. Guarantees and insurance is really kind of what we're about here at Ex-Im Bank to enable this cross-border trade. On the finance piece, Now, with that line of credit that we guarantee, they could also use it to issue bid bonds or performance bonds or standby letters of credit. Because another problem in our banking system is when a exporter bids on a foreign tender, that tender sometimes will say hey, if you want to bid on this, you got to put up a performance bond or a bid bond and that kind of weeds out the non-serious suppliers versus the serious. And when they want to supply that bid bond and they go to the bank, put the equivalent amount of cash in your account, I'll escrow it and then issue the bond. And then the exporter you know has this confused look. And well, I don't want to pay for my own deal and block my own cash. So under the XM line of credit you can actually use borrowed money to issue those bid bonds, performance bonds, standby LCs at a reduced cash collateral, so you're not tying up your cash. Dave: Interesting. Eric: And what's the? Dave: typical I think the term like if you're factoring an invoice, it's called. I think it's called like the advance rate, like what percentage you could borrow, like on the you know the purchase order or the invoice that you create. What's that percentage? You know, through the XM financing. Eric: So we put it into two categories pre-export and post-export. Okay, pre-export is the working capital right, the inventory, work in process, finished goods. So under that you could borrow a 75% advance rate. Then post-export, once it becomes a receivable, you could borrow 90. So it's pretty generous advance rates and typically it helps exporters fill these purchase orders much easier if we weren't involved. Dave: Yeah, Cause I think I was a CFO of a company many years ago and we were growing rapidly and we're using factoring and the. It seems like the advance rate we were able to get on the factoring for domestic sales, let alone international, was only like 70 or 80%. So, and even I think I'm told that even if a company has a line of credit that they're backing with inventory and domestic receivables, that still a typical kind of advance rate is really only like I think, about 80. And so you're talking about an even higher, if I'm using the correct term, than what a traditional bank would provide to a traditional bankable customer for a domestic sale. Is that accurate, based on your knowledge? Eric: Yeah, very accurate. And sometimes you know I go back to the example of US banks don't like export orders, and they don't. Sometimes they will give an advantage. They've got a traditional line of credit set up for domestic. They may say we'll let you borrow 10, 20, 30% advance rate on the export stuff. With our guarantee we can expand that to 75, up to 90. So it could be that we expand the borrowing base or just let alone get them access to it for export orders, with our guarantee. Dave: Okay, yeah, this is really valuable and I can't wait to get the word out to our contacts. So, on the working capital piece so how does that work then? Is the process that they call up their bank and say, hey, do you guys do anything with XM and they just work purely through their banker? Or do they call you up and say, hey, we need some working capital? We don't really have a big banking relationship. Can you recommend somebody? Help me understand the logistics? Eric: of it, Absolutely. Yeah, it's a good question. We recommend starting with us. It's very easy to get lost in the banking system and trying to figure out who to talk to about getting the setup. A lot of time exporters will speak to their local relationship manager and they start talking about XM working capital and they're like you know who's XM? I don't, I don't even know what you're talking about. Slow down, so it's more efficient to start with us and if they're working with a bank that is in our lender network, we can go directly to the right person and connect them with the exporter to have those conversations. If they're working with a lender that is not inside our our network, we can still locate a lender to set up kind of a XM specific line of credit if that's something they want to pursue. Dave: Okay. Eric: Okay. Dave: Now this is really valuable. Does the bank have any other service lines besides the foreign receivables insurance and the working capital? Eric: We've got a couple others. One of them is called foreign buyer finance. Okay, this is a real interesting one. This is when a US company is selling capital equipment to a foreign buyer and when that capital equipment quotation gets to the foreign buyer, what we see often is they'll go to their bank. In some of these emerging markets, developing countries, the buyer will go to the bank and say, ok, you know, I got a quotation for, let's say, you know, john Deere equipment, ag equipment or Caterpillar, construction equipment or mining equipment, whatever. They go to their bank and they say I need to borrow to pay the US company for the equipment. And when they get a term sheet from their local bank, if you're familiar with international business and international finance, the cost can be much higher than what we're used to paying in the US as far as cost of capital Cost of capital I've seen even triple and quadruple in some of these developing markets. And then the buyer the deal falls to the wayside because the buyer can't afford to pay the bank all this cost associated with the capital. So in situations like that and kind of high cost capital markets, we can get involved and find a lender, as long as we've got good audited financial statements and they meet credit standards, we can find a lender to give that foreign buyer a term loan, a three to seven year term loan, of which we guarantee repayment of to the lender, to buy that US made capital equipment. So, in simple terms, we can finance a foreign buyer when the foreign buyer is buying US made equipment, and what we have found is the US companies that really know this product inside and out use that as a competitive advantage. They're saying, hey, sure, on one hand, here's my quotation for the equipment and on the other hand, I can get you finance if you need it. And I can get you finance if you need it. And the companies that do that well, I mean their sales shoot through the roof because now they become this finance facilitator for foreign buyers to access cheaper capital, which we've even seen companies where maybe they're 10% higher on the bid than some of the other countries, but they're saving them 15% on the finance. Dave: Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, I can see that that's really clever. I was familiar with the first two pieces, but I really was not familiar with that. I mean, yeah, that's a real competitive advantage. I mean it makes you wonder how a company in I don't know pick your country, brazil, that you know is trying to compete Like how do they compete when they can't? I'm guessing that they probably don't have the same type of capability to offer you know these, you know more attractive financing rates. Eric: So, yeah, that's a great point XM Bank we're also referred as an export credit agency, eca. So every developed country in the world has the equivalent of us. Out of, let's say, roughly 200 countries, there's 120 of us representing the nation of each country. So what we know is, as it relates to international business, there are, you know, foreign. When there's foreign competition in the tender, sometimes that foreign competition knows about their local ECA also. Right, so they could be offering the same thing. Hey, I can get you, you know, finance through my local ECA. You know name, a country, country. So we want companies in the US to be aware of how we can help them and support them, just like other member countries of partner ECAs do, because it's a competitive advantage and if they're not aware of it, it's a loss really for the exporter. And I mentioned four products. So we went over export credit insurance, the working capital getting the foreign buyer a loan, and then the fourth one. It came out about a year and a half ago. It's a new product that we're super excited about and it's really domestic project finance where there's an export nexus. And what I mean by that, david, is let's take an industry, let's take LNG. When an LNG liquid natural gas. When liquid natural gas projects in wherever let's call it Texas, when they go live and you've got a solid entity set up for the purpose of building an LNG plant maybe there's corporate shareholders, maybe there's individual shareholders, whatever it may be when banks take a look at this and they see that it's a domestic project finance structure meaning the off of any kind of contract will repay the loan Bankers don't like that. Bankers don't like project finance. If we look at a project where there's an export nexus and what we define as an export nexus is 25% of the sales will be exported we could potentially be a lender or a loan guarantor to that domestic project as long as there's going to be 25% foreign sales, and we could go down to 15% if it's a small business, so we can involve oh, that's really cool. Dave: Yeah, because I mentioned the bank is going to say, yeah, it sounds like a great opportunity. Go find some investors to fund this and then, once you start exporting the LNG, give us a call. We'll give you some working capital and you'll work with XM to ensure the receivables, but until then, hey, it's on you. Eric: That's it. That's the problem. That's where a lot of these projects get stuck in the banking system as it relates to traditional banking. They can't get the money they need to lift this project up, and it could be a great project, but yeah, banks like to see history right. I want to see your balance sheet income statement, cash flow last three years. Let me underwrite it Well, there is none. It's a new project and we're building it. Well, we can't help you Go find some investors, and that's typically the conversations. So, instead of these deals disappearing, as long as there is solid offtake agreements, we can look at that, potentially to repay the loan, and we do that on the foreign buyer side too. Dave: Yeah, and to be fair to the bankers I know many bankers and have great relationships If a bank is paying 5% for a deposit and they're lending it out at, say, 8%, by the time they pay their fees and stuff they really don't have a lot of margin left. So you know they have an imputed default rate. You know that they can tolerate of like half a percent, right, maybe 1%, right. I mean, that's just their model. Eric: Margins are thin, you're right. Dave: Yeah, and they're probably even I'm guessing even prohibited from saying okay, yeah, we'll finance this deal for you, but this is high risk. So instead of a 7% loan, it's gonna be 30%. I mean, the banks probably aren't even allowed to do. There's probably usury laws or something. Am I correct in that? Eric: Yeah, yeah. So they would definitely view the risk differently as a domestic project finance. But I would say, even more so, the regulatory issues involving domestic project finance probably prohibit the lenders from doing that. Dave: Even oh yeah, yeah, that's right. I never thought about that. Eric: There's definitely some challenges in that space. I never thought about that. There's definitely some challenges in that space. Dave: Yeah, that makes sense because really, from a holistic perspective, you would say hey, bank, this isn't your sweet spot. This is like venture capital, risk capital. Let them find a lender, like a hard asset lender, that'll charge a much higher rate, or let them raise equity capital to finance this. This isn't what you're designed for, mr First National Bank, Exactly. Eric: Okay. Dave: What are some of the limits, minimum maximums for these different products? Let's start with the credit insurance. Is there a minimum size that you all have insurance? Is there a minimum size like that you all have? I mean, I'm guessing if somebody has a hundred dollar foreign receivable that they want to insure, probably doesn't really make sense for everybody. So is there a minimum size? Is it a hard minimum or kind of a soft minimum? Eric: Yeah, that's a great question. So we don't have a minimum per se, documented minimum, but yeah, it's got to make sense right To go through the process. So I mean, we've insured receivables as low as a couple thousand bucks, so that's for credit insurance. For working capital we also don't have a minimum, but that's set by the lender. So we say hey, as long as the lender will do the loan, we'll take a look at the guarantee and most lenders that we have spoken to we probably would say that the minimum with most lenders is around a half a million for a working capital line of credit. And then on the foreign buyer side, again it's got to make sense to the lender. We don't have a minimum. Most lenders, I would say the minimum I've seen where a US lender would give a loan to a foreign buyer is also around a half a million. Maximum, no maximum, but anything above 25 million has to go to our board. The largest we did in the bank's history was in Mozambique, for an LNG facility was 5 billion. Oh wow. Dave: And then are there limits on the working capital and credit insurance, similar limits that require board approval. Eric: Anything above 25. Yep, it's the same 25 number, correct, which it's. You know it's not prohibitive, it just adds another layer to the process. Yeah. Dave: And even again, even if XM wasn't involved, I know a lot of banks, just you know, when loans get above a certain amount they want to syndicate them with other banks, just for their own risk. And I think a lot of times those syndication amounts for a medium-sized bank will start in that 10 to $25 million, as I understand it. And then what about the domestic projects that have 25% export expectations, any minimum or maximums there that you've seen? Eric: So I would say there's no hard set minimum, but the soft minimum I'm seeing is probably 5 million plus and the reason for that is the SBA, the Small Business Administration, also a federal government agency. They have similar products that go up to five, so this will take it past five and we don't want to compete with another government agency. They have similar products that go up to five, so this will take it past five and we don't want to compete with another government agency, so it's five below. Sba might be a better fit. Five above we're probably the only game in town. Okay, zero to five, taking some notes on this Five plus. Dave: You know, one of the other interesting things is we've had this conversation that if you think people have never heard of XM, they're even, I think, less likely to have heard of the ICDISC program. You know we specialize and what's interesting is how is the number of parallels? I mean, the thing that I can't, you know that blows me away is how logical everything is with XM. Like you know, there's a, you know there's a perhaps a belief that some government programs, agencies that there's no real logic to it. It was just it was some negotiation in Congress and they had just some arbitrary rules. But you know, as I kind of look at these, they just all seems very logical, right? And you know, like you know, above a certain amount you need board approval Again, just like in a bank, right, when they're doing a $25 million loan, it's probably got to go to a loan review committee or something. But the other thing is there's some similarities between XM and the ICDISC and one of them is the 51% US content. Can you explain how that works with XM, because I think it's pretty much the same as ICDISC. Eric: To my knowledge it is also yeah. So it goes back to really the mission right Creating jobs through US exports, and we want to stimulate US manufacturing. So we can't support a trade where you know Houston companies buying from China and sending it down to you know name a country in South America. There's no value add for the country. So Congress basically put a policy to the agency that says anything that we support has to be greater than 50% US content. So another way of saying it's just 51%. Right, majority of the product has to be US content, and the way that we calculate that is we look at the cost. So if they're selling a widget that they sell for $100, but it costs $70, we're going to look at the $70 and say $30 of that, 70 needs to be US content. So that's really we look at the cost and the majority of the cost needs to be US made, whether it's product. Dave: Or another way of saying it is no more than $36 foreign cost Yep, that makes sense. Eric: And if it's a service, by the way, sometimes we get these service questions, by the way, because sometimes we get these service questions where, hey, you know, I'm an engineering company designing, you know, a refinery plant for a foreign buyer. How do I look at that as far as US content? So what we do is we say, okay, start with your invoice. Right, whatever you're billing out, if it says engineering services or CAD drawings or whatever, take that and then look at the cost and greater than 50% needs to be US citizens or green card holders as part of that cost for services. So we basically look at the citizenship of the provider for evaluating US content and the cost. Dave: Yeah, and that's somewhat similar to the ICDISC really only includes two types of services that are eligible engineering services and architectural services for foreign construction projects or services that are an integral part of the sale. You know, like if you sell a product for a million dollars and there's a $200,000 installation service, as long as that's an integral part of the, you know the project that qualifies, you know that service does. But yeah, that's interesting. So let's say somebody says hey, you know, eric, I really like the sound of this and I'd like to talk to you. But you know, I just feel like you know, you're probably a lifelong government employee. You probably want to work right out of college. You don't know what it's like to sit in my shoes. You don't know what it's like to have been on the private side. You know having these foreign customers. What would you say to them? Eric: Yeah, so being a government employee is new to me also, yeah, so after college I started at a company and worked there for a decade, grew into sweat equity. I was a part minority shareholder and I was a customer of Ex-Im Bank for 10 years. Yeah, we were a company that exported capital equipment all over the world, but with a concentration in Sub-Saharan Africa. Okay, and we grew rapidly with the help of Ex-Im Bank. We used all the products of credit insurance, the working capital, getting the foreign buyer a loan and that really became a competitive advantage to the company. Because we looked at ourselves saying, hey, we're an equipment supplier, but so is the other hundreds of companies around, if not thousands of companies. How do we make ourselves different? And the finance became very important to that conversation, because you can Google, search equipment companies in the US and you're going through thousands of pages trying to find an equipment supplier. But not everybody is saying, hey, we have financial solutions too. If you need them, we can get you a loan. We can sell to you an open account with our insurance. We can get the capital we need to fill these export purchase orders. We can get the line of credit that we need to send bid bonds and performance bonds to some of these large tenders. So, going back to your question, I've been at Exxon for seven years, but the majority of my career was in the private sector and being a minority shareholder of a company that used the bank that I work for now to grow a small business. Dave: What a great story, like it would seem like you have the perfect background for your role I mean, you're actually a customer for your role. I mean you're actually a customer. So the private companies that you're trying to help you really do understand what it's like to be in their shoes. Eric: I think most employees that work here at ExxonMobil found we're very service oriented. We like to help. We like to help. It's fun for us to help. It's fun for me to help. The best part of my day is meeting small business exporters, helping them become aware of all the resources that are available to them to become more competitive and grow, like we did when I was with that company. Dave: Yeah, it's just amazing how similar our days are. That's also the favorite part of my job is when I get a phone call from somebody and they say hey, you know, bob said I should call you. You know we're. Our exports have really grown a lot, and there's this thing called ICDISC and you know, tell us about it, are we the right fit? And it's great to be able to help them. Oh, I was just going to ask you something. Oh, what about indirect exports? Do they qualify under an indirect export? Eric: Great question, yeah, so under the working capital it does. So if you have an exporter that's selling to you know name a major company, let's say a major oil and gas company who in turn is exporting that out, we call that an indirect export. That does qualify them to get the capital they need to fill that order. Dave: Yep, Another parallel with the IC disk. The IC disk is the same way. Yeah, Most of our clients are actually indirect exporters. So some of the products would not be as beneficial, you know, like the credit insurance, for example, because they don't have any foreign receivables. But you know, they don't have any foreign receivables, but they still may have use for some of the other products. Okay, so I've got just a couple more questions. Eric: Well, first off, is there anything we didn't cover that you wish I had? I would say there's other government resources that every exporter should know. Dave: Okay, what are those? Eric: Yeah, so one of them is the US Commercial Services. They're a part of the Department of Commerce and they've got an office in every major city in the US. I think there's a hundred, if I remember right, a hundred US Commercial Service offices scattered throughout the US. If you're in Houston, there's one in Houston. Great folks, we work with them closely. They've got some really good products as well for exporters. One of them is called the Gold Key, and the Gold Key it basically connects buyer and seller. So once the agency understands the company, they met with them. They understand the company, they understand what they're selling. They have to be what's called export ready. So an existing business that's already selling, let's say they're successful here domestically and they want to export. You know, let's say that to the, to our closest neighbors, first Canada and Mexico. But they're like hey, I don't, how do I even do that? How do I find a buyer, how do I find a distributor in these countries? That's really the first step in kind of the. The maze of exporting is first you got, you have to have a buyer. We're kind of second to that right. Once you have a buyer, then it's money talks and then we get involved. But even before us. The commercial services can get involved and under the gold key they can find distributors, partners, buyers in foreign markets. Wow, yeah, under the gold key. So they basically, once they understand the business, they work with the embassy in that country and say, hey, I've got, you know, bob, here's his company, been around for 10 years, successful in the U? S, but they want to start with Mexico. And can you find them buyers, can you find them distributors? And they try to play matchmaker. So they generate a list and they recommend going to the country that you want to export to shake hands, stare them in the face, sit down with them physically, because that's another important thing in international business you can't just stay behind the phone or email. You really have to go to these places. Dave: Wow, so that's amazing. Now the bad news, Eric, is you and XM may have just dropped to number two as far as my favorite government agency. I mean, depending on where a company is, that might be even more valuable, right? Because without the customers, they don't even need the other products of XM. That's really cruel. Eric: That's right yeah. I mean they need a buyer before they come to XM. They need a foreign buyer and commercial services can help with that. Dave: So be careful. You're about to list some other agencies and may further knock you down on the priority list, so be careful there. Eric: That's OK, we're here to help. So you know. Another problem with small businesses you know I'm selling domestically. You know successful I'm selling domestically. You know I'm successful. Maybe I'm running on thin margins. I don't have the capital that I need to go into all these countries and spend all this money and cross my fingers that I get business. And I just don't want to spend that kind of money and risk that kind of money because I need to keep my lights on and pay employees first. So there's something called the STEP grant S-T-E-P grant. Dave: STEP grant. Eric: It stands for statewide trade export promotion, so most states participate in it. It's federal money given to the states who in turn give grant money to companies who are looking to export, and they can use that grant money for travel you know, hotel, stay, airfare. They want to do website translation on their website from you know English to Mandarin and Spanish to. You know capture half the world. They want to. You know create design, create print flyers. You know any kind of marketing collateral that will aid them in promoting their company to foreign buyers. This is a reimbursable grant, which means you apply for it. You can say, hey, I want to go to Mexico, my airfare is going to cost this, my hotel is going to cost this, conference in Mexico is going to cost this, and all together it's going to be $10,000. So you apply for it and then, once approved, you can get up to 75% of that back. Dave: So you have to actually spend the money. Eric: First you got to spend. That's the key thing there. You got to spend the money, but you got to get it approved. Once it's approved, then you spend the money and then you come back and give them your receipts. Dave: Wow, that's pretty cool. Does that fall under one of the federal agencies? Is that kind of the ultimate umbrella, or is it really more of a state by state program? Eric: In Texas the Department of Ag is administering the fund and I think it does vary state by state on who holds the money and approves it and disperses the money, and I may be wrong, but I think it goes up to $10,000. It's either $7,500 or $10,000 max amount that can be approved. Okay, you can apply every year. Some companies do that. Okay, and what else? Are there some other? The SBA, small Business Administration Sure, most people know them for domestic business, but they also have an export arm called the OIT, which is Office of International Trade. So they have export finance products just like we do. They're not competitive to one another. They're slightly different in various aspects. They can get you working capital, usually for smaller loans, or they can get you something called an international trade loan and what that is used for is like, hey, I need to buy some capital equipment to go into my factory and it's going to cost a million bucks and it's going to generate export sales, that kind of finance structure. Dave: Is the structure kind of the same, or does the borrower have to put up a bigger percentage? Or do you know? Eric: For the international trade loan. I think it's similar. They guarantee the lender just like we guarantee the lender. The international trade loan I think it's similar. They guarantee the lender just like we guarantee the lender and lenders. You know, we like to say the lender makes the decision because our guarantees are slightly different than one another. So some lenders will say, hey, I'm more comfortable with XM, or hey, I'm more comfortable with the SBA, or hey, this is above $5 million. The only one you could do is XM Bank. So it's really up to the lender to evaluate the guarantee and what fits them best. Dave: Well, that is awesome. Any other government agencies that you tend to work with regularly those are the big ones. Eric: They'll always be in the same circles the SBA, the commercial services, and ourselves in the same circles, promoting as much as we can to our communities. Dave: That's awesome. Well, this has been so informative. I really appreciate the time. I just have two more questions, and they're really kind of fun ones, okay. So the first one is if you could go back in time and give advice to yourself, like right, when you were graduating college, what advice might you give to yourself? You know, with the benefit of hindsight, you know, if you kind of go back in time. Eric: What advice might you? Dave: give to yourself. You know, with the benefit of hindsight, you know if you kind of go back in time what advice might you give to yourself, you know? Things to do instead, or do sooner, or what comes to mind. Eric: That's a really good question, you know, going back in time, I would say, for the company that I worked for and some of the things that I don't like to say did wrong. But if we could repeat it and how we would do it differently. When the business grows and we grew fast our operational costs also grew fast and I think if we were better controlling the operational cost when there was a dip in revenue, there wouldn't be so much growing pains or slowing pains. I think getting a better grasp operationally on a business when it's going through the growth phase is key to its long-term success, because a business is not always going to accelerate up. There's going to be peaks and valleys and as long as you manage the operational cost of the company, it can get through. You know look at COVID right Nobody predicted that how many businesses went through all kinds of painful experiences. So that, going back in time, just from a business standpoint, I think that would have been super helpful in our judgment and assessment of looking towards the future. Dave: Okay, I really like that. Well, we just have one left, and this one's even more fun. Don't think about this, I just want. It's kind of a snap answer. Okay, so you're a native Texan, right Native Houstonian, tex-mex or barbecue. Eric: Oh, I got to go with Tex-Mex. I love barbecue, barbecue. Oh, I gotta go with tex-mex. I love barbecue, but you know the chips and queso and salsa and guacamole. Dave: I don't think everything competes with that. Yeah, I, I asked this question of all my guests and and I had two answers that were interesting. One answer was if it's, if I know that the food is going to be average, I, I absolutely would take the Tex-Mex, because Tex-Mex has more tolerance for averageness. Ok, they said. But if it's going to be world class, then they would take the barbecue. But they don't want mediocre, tough, dried out brisket. Ok, so I'm like, well, that's a good one. And then I had a guest telling me about I forget the name of the place, but it was a place that had like brisket tacos or brisket enchiladas, and they basically said both, they'll take both. Eric: There you go. I like that. Dave: Yeah, I am with you. If people want to get ahold of you, what's the best way to reach out? I know you're on LinkedIn. Are you very active on LinkedIn? Eric: Not super active on LinkedIn, but I'm very accessible Cell phone, email, office phone. You can always get ahold of me. Dave: What's the email address? Eric: So ericmiller M-I-L--LE-R X-M-E-X-I-Mgov gov. Dave: So eric.miller@xmexim.gov and if they want to just call you, what's the best number to reach you? Eric: at 713-306-7969 awesome. Dave: well, thank you so much for taking the time to come on here. This may be the most information dense episode I've ever done for an exporter. Usually it seems like we've got one or two good nuggets, but we may have a dozen takeaways, so thank you so much for making time out of your day and this has really been fun. And don't be surprised when this goes live if you don't have a few folks reaching out to you. Eric: I look forward to it. Thanks for having me. It's been an honor. Special Guest: Eric Miller.

Chris Silcock, President of Global Brands and Commercial Services at Hilton, shares his advice on rest and taking breaks - something he has learned is foundational in providing hospitality. You may also enjoy: Career Lessons in Leadership - Chris Silcock, HiltonHow We Build Strong Brands - Chris Silcock, HiltonMusic by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Chris Silcock, President of Global Brands and Commercial Services at Hilton, shares his perspective on what it takes to create a strong, differentiated brand in today's competitive hospitality landscape.Listeners will learn about:The key elements that define a strong hospitality brand.How Hilton approaches brand differentiation to meet customer and owner expectations.The crucial role of technology in enhancing the guest experience.Strategies for engaging with different generations of travelers, including the upcoming Gen Alpha.The importance of a reliable and friendly stay across all hospitality brands.Insights into Hilton's unique brand pillars: product, service and culture, and technology.The development and benefits of the Hilton for Business program for small to medium-sized businesses.Chris's vision for maintaining the unique Hilton experience across its brands.Whether you're a hospitality professional looking to elevate your brand or simply curious about the industry's latest trends, this episode offers valuable insights. Resources:Hilton Research: What Millennials, Gen Z, Gen X and Baby Boomers Tell Us About Travel in the Year AheadThe Inside Story of How Hilton Built Hampton Inn's “Hamptonality” Culture - Eleanor Erickson & Phil CordellMusic by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Chris Silcock, President of Global Brands and Commercial Services at Hilton, shares what he has learned in his journey to overseeing Hilton's 22 brands and the company's pivotal commercial functions, including customer engagement, technology, sales, marketing, and revenue management.Listen now to hear about:Career Progression: How Chris's diverse roles within the hospitality industry, from waiter to president, equipped him with the necessary skills and understanding to make impactful decisions and lead effectively at the highest levels.Leadership Advice: The advice that has shaped Chris's approach to leadership, including the importance of focusing on the job at hand rather than the next career move, and the benefits of playing the long game in an industry and company you love.Skill Development: The critical skills to cultivate as you ascend the leadership ladder, such as listening intently, critical thinking, and the art of questioning to add value across various functions.Revenue Management: Insights into how revenue management serves as a foundational element in understanding customer demand, segmentation, and the business model of hotels, which is crucial for delivering returns and fostering growth.People Management: Chris's perspective on the transition from leading a team in a familiar field to managing functions outside of one's expertise, and the significance of building and leading large organizations.Whether you're a hospitality professional aiming for the C-suite or someone passionate about the industry, this episode is packed with actionable advice and inspiring stories to help you reach your goals and lead with excellence.Music by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

I'm thrilled to share with you some of the most fascinating insights from the latest  Deal Scout episode, where I had the pleasure of chatting with Malcolm Peace, a savvy business buyer from Austin, Texas. If you're curious about the world of blue-collar business acquisitions and growth, you're in for a treat!

Guest: Francesco Cipollone, CEO & Founder at Phoenix Security [@sec_phoenix]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fracipo/On Twitter | https://twitter.com/FrankSEC42On YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@phoenixsec____________________________Host: Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/sean-martin____________________________This Episode's SponsorsImperva | https://itspm.ag/imperva277117988Pentera | https://itspm.ag/penteri67a___________________________Episode NotesIn this episode of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast, host Sean Martin is joined by Francesco Cipollone from Phoenix Security for a riveting conversation on the vulnerabilities associated with using pre-made tools for website development. The dialogue revolves around the inherent security risks these tools pose, especially when used by non-technical teams like marketing.Francesco shares a fascinating account of discovering a potential SQL injection in a well-known CRM system. This revelation underscores the importance of input validation and the necessity of secure defaults in any tool. The discussion also brings to light the fact that many systems do not consider these potential security risks as standard, often requiring additional licenses or configurations for basic security measures.The conversation takes an interesting turn as they discuss a new concept of a Workflow Bill of Materials™ (WBOM)—a term coined by the host, Sean Martin, for the first time. This idea extends beyond the typical focus on software bill of material security (which often focuses on source code, services, and APIs) to include a broader view of the tools and systems that teams use in their daily operations. The WBOM concept emphasizes the need for organizations to understand the associated risks of these tools and implement more secure practices.Sean and Francesco highlight the importance of threat modeling in identifying potential risks. They also discuss the challenges organizations face in ensuring security, especially when these tools are used by teams with zero security knowledge. The episode concludes with a call to action for the industry to move towards security by default and the ethical use of technology.This episode offers listeners an insightful look into the complexities of cybersecurity in the context of commonly used tools and systems, and the urgent need for a shift in perspective when it comes to securing these tools.___________________________Watch this and other videos on ITSPmagazine's YouTube ChannelRedefining CyberSecurity Podcast with Sean Martin, CISSP playlist:

Guest: Francesco Cipollone, CEO & Founder at Phoenix Security [@sec_phoenix]On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fracipo/On Twitter | https://twitter.com/FrankSEC42On YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@phoenixsec____________________________Host: Sean Martin, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast [@RedefiningCyber]On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/sean-martin____________________________This Episode's SponsorsImperva | https://itspm.ag/imperva277117988Pentera | https://itspm.ag/penteri67a___________________________Episode NotesIn this episode of Redefining CyberSecurity Podcast, host Sean Martin is joined by Francesco Cipollone from Phoenix Security for a riveting conversation on the vulnerabilities associated with using pre-made tools for website development. The dialogue revolves around the inherent security risks these tools pose, especially when used by non-technical teams like marketing.Francesco shares a fascinating account of discovering a potential SQL injection in a well-known CRM system. This revelation underscores the importance of input validation and the necessity of secure defaults in any tool. The discussion also brings to light the fact that many systems do not consider these potential security risks as standard, often requiring additional licenses or configurations for basic security measures.The conversation takes an interesting turn as they discuss a new concept of a Workflow Bill of Materials™ (WBOM)—a term coined by the host, Sean Martin, for the first time. This idea extends beyond the typical focus on software bill of material security (which often focuses on source code, services, and APIs) to include a broader view of the tools and systems that teams use in their daily operations. The WBOM concept emphasizes the need for organizations to understand the associated risks of these tools and implement more secure practices.Sean and Francesco highlight the importance of threat modeling in identifying potential risks. They also discuss the challenges organizations face in ensuring security, especially when these tools are used by teams with zero security knowledge. The episode concludes with a call to action for the industry to move towards security by default and the ethical use of technology.This episode offers listeners an insightful look into the complexities of cybersecurity in the context of commonly used tools and systems, and the urgent need for a shift in perspective when it comes to securing these tools.___________________________Watch this and other videos on ITSPmagazine's YouTube ChannelRedefining CyberSecurity Podcast with Sean Martin, CISSP playlist:

Meet Robin Wurzel, the construction industry's powerhouse and the brains behind 1st Home and Commercial Services. Out of Austin, Texas, this general contracting titan has dominated for over two decades. Alongside her husband, Robin has birthed several ventures. Clocking in an explosive 98% growth this year alone, Robin's sights are set on an ambitious 80% bump in the next!Join Chaz and Robin as they unpack the magic behind putting people first in business, the gravity of aligning your team with your brand values, and the potential pitfalls of accelerated growth. Don't miss out; plug into Robin's vast experience and supercharge your entrepreneurial journey to the million-dollar league and beyond.

This week's episode covers a DoD final rule that revises DFARS 252.244-7000 (Subcontracts for Commercial Products or Commercial Services), a protest decision relating to key personnel, and a DOJ resolution demonstrating the application of the new safe harbor policy for voluntary self-disclosures made in connection with mergers and acquisitions, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring's "Fastest 5 Minutes" is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.

In this episode, we're breaking new ground by featuring Martha Schoenewe, Site Director of Paws for Purple Hearts San Antonio, and George Saldaña, Owner of Evenflow Home and Commercial Services. From supporting veterans through innovative programs to mastering the ins and outs of home and commercial services, don't miss this chance to learn, connect, and be inspired! ▶ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dzqVGV ✅ Marc Ebinger, Crükus Marketing Agency

In this episode, we are joined by Mark Vondrasek, who serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at Hyatt Hotels, overseeing a dynamic team responsible for shaping and enhancing the guest experience at Hyatt's extensive portfolio of 1,200+ hotels and all-inclusive properties spanning 76 countries across six continents. In his leadership role, Mark guides the Commercial Services team, a multifaceted unit encompassing revenue generation and guest-centric functions such as global sales, revenue management, distribution strategy, corporate marketing, loyalty, digital innovation, and more. Together, this collaborative effort ensures that every aspect of the guest and customer journey is finely tuned to exceed expectations, reflecting Hyatt's commitment to listening, diverse talent recruitment, and innovative strategies that set them apart in the industry. Tune in to learn more!

Check out this 45th episode of BoomATX to hear Glenn sit down with long time Austin staple in the pest control and home services world, Bobby Jenkins!  Bobby is a proud Aggie, comes from and has continued on with a long lineage of Aggies and won the lottery by getting the Aggie territory in the friendly sibling rivalry that is the ABC Home & Commercial Services Texas empire!Bobby is a staple on the Austin airwaves for decades with as the owner and commercial spokesman for the ABC family business and continues to grow the company for the next generation of Aggies but Bobby doesn't stop there....Bobby help found and continues to play a big role at the Chamber of Commerce with Austin Gives which encourages corporate philanthropy and donation of 1% of company earnings thru time, talent and treasure donations.  Austin Gives is excited to partner with Silicon Valley based Pledge 1% as they look to encourage new tech companies in town to take the pledge!Bobby not only employs over 800 people offering a wide variety of services including pest and termite control, lawn care and mowing, landscaping and irrigation, tree trimming, air conditioning and heating, plumbing and electrical, pool cleaning and repair, handyman services, window cleaning and power washing, and appliance repair, but he is also incredibly active in so many aspects of the Austin community he calls home.Bobby was named the 2017 Austinite of the Year as well as served as past chair of the Austin Chamber of Commerce and past chair of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He is a past president of both the Texas and National Pest Management Associations and a past chair of the Better Business Bureau, Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and the Alzheimer's Association. Bobby currently serves on the Agricultural Development Council and Mays Business School Development Council at Texas A&M University. He is a past chair for Caritas of Austin and has served as a tri-chair for the bond oversight committee with AISD. He the past chair and current board member of the American Heart Association and has served as the co-chair for the Heart Walk.  Bobby is a past co-chair for the United Way Annual Campaign and current United Way board member.  Bobby and his family created the Moss Pieratt Foundation after the tragic loss of their grandson, one-year-old John “Moss” Pieratt, Jr., from a condition known as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). During the summer of 2017, Bobby and his two brothers held a nationwide fundraiser and awareness builder by riding bikes over 52 days and 3,500 miles, from Seattle, Washington to New York City and are currently planning a similar ride again to raise funds and awareness for this issue so dear to their family.Give this episode a listen to learn more about this great Aggie Austinite, listen for his great jingle on the airwaves, give him a call whenever need some help around the house and plan on seeing him at his ABC Kite festival next summer in Zilker Park!BoomATX - Interesting Austinites Doing Interesting Things!

It's time to take a walk down memory lane and review the wackiest and wildest loan program ever: the Paycheck Protection Program. Omar Shute of DFTC and Jeff Lyons of MBFS joined us for a topic that we couldn't fit into just one episode.IN THIS EPISODE:[00:31] Mark gives an overview of Part One.[01:35] The expectation of how long the PPP loans would last. [03:36] Jeff describes the second round of PPP loans, and Omar shares his view of Part Two of PPP loans and how technology assisted the process. [11:22] Jeff and Mark talk about the eligibility for the second round of PPP loans. [18:23] Jeff reflects on how business owners admittedly stated they didn't need the money, but it was free. [20:37] Omar suggests which industries should have received the money, and Jeff talks about the forgiveness process. [26:50] What worked well on the PPP and what didn't work. KEY TAKEAWAYS: The PPP Loan Round One wasted a lot of taxpayer dollars.By the time Round Two of PPP Loans began, institutions could make more money because they had worked out the kinks they experienced in Round One.The PPP loans are responsible for the inflation we have today.RESOURCE LINKS:Mark Ritter WebsiteDFTC Inc. WebsiteBIOGRAPHY: Omar Shute is the Senior Vice President of Commercial Services at Development Finance Training and Consulting Inc. (DFTC). In this role, he oversees commercial underwriting and participates in all the related suites of services offered by DFTC. Omar has 20 years of commercial lending experience, and his career background encompasses commercial loan origination, relationship management, commercial loan underwriting, credit administration, commercial portfolio management, policy generation, and senior leadership experience, including working with boards of directors.

It's time to take a walk down memory lane and review the wackiest and wildest loan program ever: the Paycheck Protection Program. Omar Shute of DFTC and Jeff Lyons of MBFS joined us for a topic that we couldn't fit into just one episode.IN THIS EPISODE:[02:31] Jeff and Omar introduce themselves and share their responsibilities at their respective firms. [04:24] Jeff's view of the history of PPP loans and Omar reflects on the beginning phase of PPP loans. [08:12] Mark remembers the chaos, Jeff shares his perspective and Omar talks about rules changing three times a day. [13:34] Mark and Jeff speak about the bad actors, fraud and loan farms. [19:31] Omar reflects on how the credit union prevented fraud. [21:33] Mark tells about the largest fraud case. [26:07] Jeff and Omar discuss the systems in place to make the program work. KEY TAKEAWAYS: The PPP loan program was vulnerable from the start because it was rushed, and there were no clear guidelines.The government was just asking for fraud because the regulations were so loose, and unfortunately, FinTech wasn't doing its job.The credit unions stepped up and did what was necessary to care for customers while protecting the taxpayer.RESOURCE LINKSMark Ritter WebsiteBIOGRAPHY: Omar Shute is the Senior Vice President of Commercial Services at Development Finance Training and Consulting Inc. (DFTC). In this role, he oversees commercial underwriting and participates on all the related suite of services offered by DFTC. Omar has 20 years of commercial lending experience and his career background encompasses commercial loan origination, relationship management, commercial loan underwriting, credit administration, commercial portfolio management, policy generation, and senior leadership experience including working with boards of directors.

We promise that by the end of this episode, you'll be inspired and equipped with the knowledge to build a successful cleaning business - all thanks to our amazing guest, Carolyn Arellano. As a clean influencer and entrepreneur, Carolyn shares her incredible journey of personal development, mentorship, and mindset shifts that catapulted her from poverty to prosperity in the cleaning industry.Listen as Carolyn spills the secrets of transitioning between residential and commercial services and the importance of investing in your skillset through courses and certifications. She also talks about how essential it is to take extreme ownership of mistakes, maintain client satisfaction, and continue learning - even if you're not using those skills yet! Her invaluable insights will help you kickstart or level up your cleaning business venture.But it's not all about business! Carolyn also discusses the importance of personal growth, time management, and finding balance between work and personal life. Discover how outsourcing tasks, prioritizing health, and developing a routine have helped her stay on track toward her goals. Carolyn's story is living proof that with determination, mentorship, and self-improvement, anyone can achieve the life they've always dreamed of. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from her incredible experiences and insights!In this Profitable Cleaner Podcast, you will learn:The importance of investing in your skillset through courses & certifications for the success of your Cleaning Company. How to transition between residential and commercial services in the Cleaning Industry.The importance of taking extreme ownership of mistakes & maintaining client satisfactionThe value of personal growth, time management, and finding balance to grow your Cleaning Company. We highly recommend you connect with Carolyn Arellano and check out Cleaning Business Mentor:Connect with Carolyn Arellano on LinkedIn hereFollow Carolyn Arellano on Instagram hereCheck out Cleaning Business Mentor Website Here Are you looking to accelerate your professional network and cleaning business? Register for our second event: The Cleaning Prophet$ 2.0 - The Statement. If you're looking for true transformation, both personally and professionally, and you're ready to make a STATEMENT about who you are and could become, this is the event for you.  Register here for The Cleaning Prophets 2.0 - The StatementIf you're in commercial cleaning and want to increase your sales, become part of our community today and get the best cleaning sales content and data in the industry. Join Our Private Profitable Cleaner FB GroupIf you enjoyed this podcast, you can help us out immensely by sharing it with a colleague and giving us a rating. We appreciate you!

It's Derby Week!  In this episode Neil and Will sit down with Keith Gabbard, CEO of the People's Rural Telephone Cooperative or PRTC in McKee, KY.  It doesn't matter where you live, in this day and age everyone deserves an equal opportunity at broadband access.  PRTC is delivering just that in one of the more rural and underserved areas in the country - in turn making Jackson County one of the most connected small communities in the nation.  Putting "connectivity over profit" PRTC has become a best practice in how you can transform a community by being a "doer" and providing opportunity where there once was none.  Take a listen as Keith describes what (and how) PRTC has done in this slice of Appalachia and how much it has benefited the residents in the place he has always called home.  Keith believes what PRTC is doing is similar to the quote from his favorite PIRATE - " If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on the Earth."  You might even hear Neil and Will's picks for the Derby and how they unexpectedly celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the  process.  Also, don't forget the #App Biz(s) of the week: Paris Signs;  and Annie's Flooring and Commercial Services - and find out why we are celebrating them on THIS WEEK!        People's Rural Telephone Cooperative - https://prtcnet.org/  Kentucky Derby (Official Site) - www.kentuckyderby.com/  #AppBiz: Paris Signs - www.parissigns.com  Annie's Flooring and Commercial Cleaning Services - www.anniesflooring.com  National Small Business Week (and award winners) - www.sba.gov/national-small-business-week  Appalachian News:  Rural Action Receives USDA Funding - https://ruralaction.org/news/2023/usda-funding-will-support-appalachian-farms-and-food-businesses/  Rural Partners Network - www.rural.gov/  Rural Partners Network and Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation Forum (Pineville, KY) - www.arc.gov/event/rural-partners-network-community-forum-in-pineville-ky/  Heritage Ohio and Buckeye Hills Regional Council Workshop (Downtown Revitalization) - www.eventbrite.com/e/financial-tools-incentives-for-downtown-revitalization-workshop-tickets-607595152457     

Pest Posse TV was live and in the house Monday, May 1, 2023, discussing Military Veterans in the Pest Control Industry. This kicks off The Pest Posse 2023 US Armed Forces in Pest Control recognition series that is sponsored by Cedar Pest Control Software and Catchmaster. Guest Trent Kucherka from ABC Home and Commercial Services was the guest and he talked about Pest Vets, veterans, and their role in the pest control industry. Catchmaster https://catchmasterpro.com/ Cedar https://www.cedarpestsoftware.com/ Pest Vets https://www.pestvets.org/ Do you enjoy the content that we are bringing you each week? Then buy The Pest Posse a cup of coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/pestposse to show your support one time or join our monthly membership. Your support will go a long way in helping us bring new content. Look for The Pest Posse swag? Check out The Pest Posse General Store for awesome pest control related swag at teespring.com/stores/pest-posse-general-store

Andrew Page, Head of Commercial Services at Anglian Water shares the benefits achieved from alliancing with Tom Douglas, Construction and Engineering partner at Eversheds Sutherland and Edd Burton, Director in Buildings and Places and Advisory Services Lead in Infrastructure at AECOM.

Today we are joined by Blake Walker, VP and  Director of Commercial Services at First United Bank & Trust, and Dana Jung, 1st VP and Director of Business Resiliency at Eagle Bank, to discuss the MBA 2023 Emerging Leaders Champion Program and their philanthropic effort to assist Maryland and West Virginia Food Banks with a year long food drive.

This week, we are excited to have Aaron Bramwell on for the first time on the podcast! If you don't know Aaron, he's the founder and CEO of Click to Buy Services and Monkee-Boy Web Design Inc. He's been in the digital industry for over 25 years and he has been helping businesses in the home services industry for over 15 years. After becoming disenchanted with the music industry in the 1990s, Aaron found the web and started a small digital agency in Austin, TX called Monkee-Boy (m-boy.com).  25 years later, Aaron's team has helped thousands of organizations evolve online.  One client most relevant to this conversation is ABC Home & Commercial Services - one of the nation's largest privately-owned home service companies (doing almost $200M/year). After a decade of working together, Aaron's team has helped ABC grow its pest & lawn services offerings into 11 different service lines, including HVAC, appliance repair, plumbing, and electrical. Through that relationship and experience, Aaron's new company, “Click to Buy Services,” was born and is now on a mission to bridge the gap between how home service companies sell and how homeowners want to buy.In this episode, we will talk about how they have facilitated some of the first-ever purchases of home services online, how Click to Buy Services is changing the landscape of the trades, and of course, we will know the question he wishes that people ask him more but don't! Another episode full of nuggets and fun is coming your way so go get your drinks and join in the conversation!What is the reason for the slow adoption of e-commerce in the trade?How can you start your digital journey as a home service entrepreneur? What is the value of providing online pricing? How can you be confident in online pricing? What are your opinions on the psychology of pricing? What does it look like to add e-commerce to your website? What are your thoughts on big tech giants like Amazon or Google when it comes to the home service industry? Find Aaron :On The Web: https://www.clicktobuyservices.com/Via Email: aaron@clicktobuyservices.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/clicktobuyservicesLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronbramwell/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/click-to-buy-services/Join Our Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvacrevealedPresented By On Purpose Media: https://www.onpurposemedia.caSponsored by Sera. Sign up now! https://sales.sera.tech/hvac-revealedSponsored by Profit Rocket. Start. Launch. Grow. https://www.callprofitrocket.com/Sponsored by Chiirp. Sign up now! https://chiirp.com/hssr/?fpr=opm

BlueCollar.CEO –Paul Olsen is the Operations Manager at 1st Home & Commercial Services, a company providing cost-effective repair and maintenance for plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical services in Austin, Texas. Paul started his career as a plumber but has spent the last 15 years in management positions for various home services companies. He has made it his mission for the past couple of years to transform his company's culture in Austin, Texas from the ground up.In this episode, Ryan and Paul discuss why culture is one of the most critical aspects of your business and how to improve it.

The Agriculture Department recently lost a contract award protest. It was attempting to purchase commercial style services for evictions and foreclosures for homes behind in their loan payments. It all hinged on what the department meant by "commercial services." Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked about all this with Smith Pachter McWhorter procurement attorney Joe Petrillo.

All the Thursday Night Football reaction, Jerry Jones admits to the Kraft rumors?? Bobby Jenkins of ABC Home & Commercial Services joins us to talk some Aggies and the foundation he is running and MORESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of CU Succeed, we chat with Josh Boyce, Commercial Loan Officer, and Faith Smythe, Commercial Services Specialist. They discuss what products and services we offer to our business members and borrowers and how their product line-up is designed to meet the needs of our commercial members, big and small. Episode recorded 9/2/2022.

Dennis Jenkins joins the show to lay out his motivations and priorities as a man, a leader, and a business owner. Dennis is President of ABC Home and Commercial Services of DFW, providing high-quality, effective pest control services in Texas since 1949. Dennis shares who he is outside of work, how ABC's unparalleled sense of purpose has led to deep missional investments in their communities, their people, and company culture, who should get into the pest control business, and much more.

Verra Mobility provides smart mobility technology solutions and services. The company operates through three segments: Commercial Services; Government Solutions; and Parking Solutions. Listen as Brett and Ryan ask Ben questions about the company, its business model, and valuation. Enjoy the show! ***************************** This episode is sponsored by Stratosphere. Get started for free at stratosphere.io to get access to powerful data visualizations, specific company KPIs, and much more. ***************************** This episode is sponsored by Quartr, the new way of doing company research. Access conference calls, presentations, transcripts, and more for FREE on your mobile device. Download Quartr on the App Store here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/quartr-investor-relations/id1552412128 Download Quartr on the Google Play Store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.quartr.android ****************************** Access our “Not So Deep Dive” episodes by signing up for CCM+. Sign-up directly through Spotify or Apple Podcasts. If you listen on another podcast player, use this link and create a private RSS feed: https://anchor.fm/chitchatmoney/subscribe Need more information? Check-out our launch newsletter: https://chitchatmoney.substack.com/p/welcome-to-chit-chat-money-plus ****************************** Want updates on future shows and projects? Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chitchatmoney Interested to see more of Ben's work? Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/VestRuleCapitaI?s=20&t=1EcEAx9vTIzotQmrBsR7TA Contact us: chitchatmoneypodcast@gmail.com Timestamps Verra Mobility | (3:53) Parking Business | (13:38) Robot Traffic Tickets | (24:55) Disclosure: Chit Chat Money hosts and guests are not financial advisors, and nothing they say on this show is formal advice or a recommendation. Brett Schafer and Ryan Henderson are general partners and portfolio managers at Arch Capital. Arch Capital and its partners may hold securities discussed on this show.

We speak with Kameke Mitchell, Chief of Contracts for Commercial Services at Space Force. She shares with us her passion for small business and contracting and the ways in which the Commercial Service Office is helping cultivate partnerships with small business. Learn more at Space Systems Command's website at www.ssc.spaceforce.mil | Also, catch my interview with Kameke at DAU's flagship conference, here: https://bit.ly/3wEkfcA | Listen to All Things Small Business  Listen on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-things-small-business/id1523710805

Welcome back global listenership. On this episode of Builders Build we have the one and only Chris Munn. Chris runs the Fairfield Company. It is a small, independent private investment firm. They are focused on acquiring and growing small businesses. We do a deep dive into buying and running small businesses with SBA debt. What's it like to own a holding company? Where is the opportunity? What regions are best to own in? And more Find Chris on Twitter at https://twitter.com/chrisxmunn Check out the Fairfield Company at https://fairfieldcompany.com/ Follow Us On Twitter! Listen to the pod, share it with your network, and follow along for more like this: @jamesoncamp @orenmeetsworld @landforce For great ideas on making and selling products, and where to source suppliers, head on over to Oren at https://www.productworld.xyz/ For expert tips on: buying a website to jump-start or expand your business, sign up with James at https://nanoflips.com/

2.00 Laura McCarthy, founder, Drink Botanicals Ireland. Laura was selling since the age of 8. She founded her business, Drinks Botanicals, whilst still in college in 2017. Whilst her pals were heading overseas on holidays, Laura stayed at home to mind the shop. Literally. Botanicals is the fancy name for flavours, used in drinks like gin. Since getting listed in Redmonds off license in Ranelagh Dublin she went on to get a listing in 200 shops. But then somebody copied her product. So she launched more products. She is forever 'standing back from the business' to think up new products. And that brought her to her new opportunities, including a premium syrups for cocktails. She's now focussed on the 'on trade' - bars, hotel bars, cocktail bars. She's now heading overseas and she's looking for the right partners and distributors. She explains how she uses Amazon UK for product research. She gives some very useful insights into Amazon as well as the US website Faire. Her 'hire in a heartbeat' PJ Rigney of Drumshanbo Distillery - obviously!25.00" Maeve McMahon, CEO OFX Ireland and Europe discusses why banks charge around 3% to switch currency whilst OFX are 'considerably cheaper' to do the exact same transaction. Maeve explains why and how Australian company OFX has based itself in Ireland to take on the European markets. The OFX business model is very interesting and attracts talent by its openness she says. Brexit drove OFX to open in Ireland, and she explains why. Maeve explains how OFX can intervene and cut your costs if like Laura McCarthy, you're using Amazon to sell. The business started in Australia looking after student travellers to Australia and they do cover personal customers as well as businesses. She has met former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg and she tells us what she's really like. Her 'hires in a heartbeat' - Marshall Goldsmith, author 47.00" Andrew Walker, co-founder Beacon Business Commercial Services - BBCSWhy it's good to be nice to people in business, because it's like karma, it comes back on you. Here 'nice-guy' Andrew explains how to sell better. He served a year work experience with Penneys at one stage and has decades of experience in selling with major UK companies. He explains how those companies use focus groups and how a tiny company can do the same research, for free. He says you have to ask the question 'why' five times. He loves Zoom and has been hugely useful for him and his business to grow. He swears by network groups. LinkedIn has proven invaluable for growing his business and he says SMEs must, must use it. SMEs should use tablets for customer feedback. Referral marketing is essential, get a referral and testimonials now. And make sure to have an 'ask'. His 'hire in a heartbeat' - Kingsley Aikens, master networkerAll the insights on That Great Business Show are thanks to our sponsor, De Facto Shaving Oil, the world's best shaving oil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the Mavens talk with Sean King, SVP of Commercial Services at Veritone to talk about all things Artificial Intelligence. Specializing in the company's commercial sector, King discusses both how the company found success through the pandemic along with how they are looking towards the future with new ways to innovate in the realm of digital media. With our world's ever-increasing focus on technology, King details a number of fascinating applications that A.I. will have down the road, showing how it will affect all facets of human life, even where you may not expect it! To learn more, tune in to “Powering Intelligence With Innovation.”

If you've ever considered the opportunity of buying and owning rental properties, today's guest will inspire you. In this episode, we're joined by Angelica Resto, manager of our South Nashua branch and longtime employee of Triangle Credit Union. Angelica joins us to discuss her experience as a real estate owner and how she manages the responsibilities of running a successful rental property business. Learn more about Triangle's Commercial Services for business planning and funding Learn more about Triangle's Mortgage program or chat with a Mortgage Originator to discuss properry funding options Like what you heard? Go ahead and share on your social media! Visit trianglecu.org to learn more about how we can serve you and don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

James and Haley talk about the Myth of Perfection, the Eighth Key, and a necessary step in getting from where you are to where you want to be.More from James & Haley:Cooking with Chef James K Jones (YouTube Channel)Cooking Guides & Team Jones StoreCookbook by James K JonesChef James K Jones InstagramThe Straight Outta Prison Podcast The 4Real Reel Podcast Narrowing The Gap Podcast Team Jones InstagramStraight Outta Prison InstagramFor exclusive, ad-free content, download the Patreon App, and look up Team Jones Media. Or, head over to Team Jones.co/podcast and click the “Become a Patron” Button.Please Support our Sponsors. They help us provide this content for free. Alec Priola -NMLS# 1301247apriola@assurancemortgage.com205-215-2888www.assurancemortgage.com/apriolaAssurance Financial- Equal Housing Lender NMLS# 70876Hurst Towing and Recovery -Lynn & Debbie Hurst205-631-8697 (205-631-TOWS)https://hursttowing.com/Deidre Tolbert Designshttps://www.instagram.com/deidretolbertdesigns/ 205-746-5328Home & Commercial ServicesCall or text 205-798-0635email office@hollandhcs.comInstagram Home & Commercial Services  Musicality Studio www.MusicalityStudio.comemail  info@musicalitystudio.comCrossfit Mephobia - Hayden SetserCrossFitmephobiainfo@gmail.com256-303-1873https://www.instagram.com/crossfitmephobia/Glamping Alabama - Katelyn MooreClick here to connect!Check out her instagram page: Glamping Alabama Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/straighouttaprisonpodcast)

Join Vince with his guest Jill Rodriguez, the Vice President of Private Banking and Commercial Services at Frankenmuth Credit Union, as she talks about everything you need to know as a real estate investor when lending. For Jill, if there's one thing that borrowers need to understand, that is it's critical to treat your lender as your future business partner. They're not the only ones who should get to know you; you should also be prepared on how you can get to know them better. In this episode, Jill simplifies the concept behind credit unions and commercial banks. She also talks about how risk factors form from union to union, the purpose of credit scores, the layout of the whole lending process, what lenders consider red flags, and so much more. There's a lot to unpack, so stay tuned and enjoy the episode! Outline of the episode:  ●    [01:47] What is private banking? ●   [05:21] How different are credit unions from commercial banks? ●   [10:40] Everyone has their own risk factors unique to them ●   [15:21] Vince Gethings – on turning to lenders and community banks ●   [20:18] Who pays attention to your credit scores? ●   [26:26] This is why you should have a network of partners and mentors ●   [30:08] Commercial building rentals before and after 2020 ●   [33:45] The red flags that lenders watch out for ●   [39:16] Jill Rodriguez – on the overview of the lending process ●   [44:20] Jill's biggest piece of advice to anyone applying for a loan Resources: ●   Website ●  LinkedIn ●  Read The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Book by Warren Buffett Connect with The Cashflow Project! ●    Website ●    LinkedIn ●    Youtube ●    Facebook ●    Instagram