Podcasts about contracting

construction trades back to the basics contracting

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2023 27:31

Catch up with Tyler this week as he shares how things are going in his life right now, and all about the not so typical project he's completed with a return customer. Check us out on Youtube for a surprise guest appearance from Tyler's pup Polly! The Modern Craftsman: linktr.ee/moderncraftsmanpodcast Find Our Host: Tyler Grace Podcast Produced By: Motif Media Music: "Dessert" by Nate Gusakov

The Military and the Neurodiverse- Important Research with Cortney Weinbaum

The Faster Than Normal Podcast: ADD | ADHD | Health

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2023 21:43

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. Over the past month, we have been fortunate enough to be sponsored by Skylight Frame. [Check it out at: https://www.skylightframe.com] And guys, if you need a calendar for your family, for your kids, if your kids are neurodiverse- look at skylightframe.com! You order it, you hang it on your wall. It connects to your WIFI. You import your calendars, you add chore lists. My daughter knows all her chores. She knows everything she has to do. There's no more fights, no more arguments. She looks at the chores. She does them. She clicks the little button, the little touch screen, and it means that she's done and she gets her Roblox cuz that pretty much is what kids exist on today under the age of 12. They exist on, on Robux and, and apparently high quality mac and cheese. Apparently, you know, regular mac and cheese that we ate as kids. No, that's not good enough anymore. Skyline Frame is awesome. Use code PeterShankman at checkout. That will give you up to $30 off. I love the thing. You can also throw up all your photos on it. Uh, so when you're not using the calendar, it just. Scrolls your entire life by you and it looks pretty cool. It's in our kitchen. When I wake up at two in the morning to go get some cold water, I see a photo of me and my daughter or my dog, or my late cat, NASA, and it's pretty awesome. Makes my night. So https://www.skylightframe.com code: PeterShankman up to 30 bucks off. You will not regret this. If you get it, send me a note, let me know that you have it, and uh, I'll send you a photo for it. All right, again thank you to Skylight Frame! Enter discount code: PeterShankman for 10% off, up to $30 off https://www.skylightframe.com Cortney Weinbaum (she/her) is the lead author of a new RAND Corporation report on Neurodiversity and National Security (link). She is a senior management scientist and senior national security researcher at RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think-tank in Washington, DC. She specializes in intelligence and space topics, and she has worked with the Intelligence Community (IC) and Department of Defense to improve policies, practices, and technologies. She has improved analytic and collection tradecraft; identified emerging technologies and their impact on space architectures, special operations, countering weapons of mass destruction, and intelligence; and examined new workforce models for intelligence agencies. The study: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1875-1.html I am beyond excited that this study and research are basically backing up IN WRITING so many of the things we've been saying for almost THREE HUNDRED EPISODES!! We're definitely asking Cortney Weinbaum back! Enjoy and listen up! 00:40 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing! Thank you Skylight Frame - Get your coupon now! https://www.skylightframe.com Discount Code: PeterShankman for 10% off, up to $30 off 01:45 - Introducing and welcome Cortney Weinbaum!! Ref: What is RAND anyway & why does it matter? 03:30 - I want to talk to you about the recommendations you and your team have made on this incredible research report. But first of all, what prompted this? 04:40- I love that Rand was so open and wanted you to do this, and you got no pushback or feedback or anything like that? 05:00 - Explaining to companies & governments how interviewing neurodivergent job candidates is a benefit to all, even your talent pool! 06:00 - Combatting prejudice, discrimination, and bias with the Neurodiverse Ed: [this part right here] 07:48 - “You're the first person I've ever met like me who's successful” 08:40 - “Two female civilian intelligence officers both came up to me.. from different agencies, and they said they both identify as autistic in their own workplace…We both face bias and discrimination for this. Ironically, they never met each other until that day” 09:54 - Within the US government, neurodivergent diagnosis are treated as a Disability. 11:54 - The Catch 22 paradox. 15:30 - The US national security community isn't taking a position yet they're not saying we're neurodiverse friendly or we're not. They're more, maybe neurodiverse ignorant at this point. And that ignorance is changing for sure.. one organization, one office at a time.. 17:51 - I want to touch on a few more recommendations 18:42 - This is why we say don't treat it, (or ADHD), as disability.. 20:16 - How do our spectacular subscribers find out more about you? So, yeah, if people want to post or write to me, I say that anyone who doesn't sound like a troll, I will respond to. Web: https://www.rand.org/about/people/w/weinbaum_cortney.html Socials: @cortney_dc on Twitter. @cortneywdc on Instagram, LinkedIn, Mastodon it says. “I'm on everything except Facebook” 20:30 - Thank you so much for making time for all of us today Cortney! 21:00 - Hey, you there! Yes YOU! We are thrilled that you are here & listening! ADHD and all forms of Neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. And by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number one bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you're looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman 16:40 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits. Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you'd like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We'd love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! — TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. somewhat, (first trial run is today May 17, 2023): As always, thank you Skylight for sponsoring this episode as well as many others of the Faster Than Normal Podcast. https://www.skylightframe.com Discount Code: PeterShankman for 10% off, up to $30 off. Peter Shankman [00:00:40]: Hey, everyone. Peter Shankman. Welcome to the Faster Than Normal Podcast episode number “Happy You're Here!” We're happy you're here as always! It's a gorgeous Monday. We are recording on Monday. I try to do all my podcasts in one day a week, and I do all my zooms the same day. And basically, I just know that there's going to be one day where I'm be super productive and not that productive, and you get everything done, and then that way you can spend the rest of the week doing everything. That's been my ADHD sort of lifestyle going on, like, ten years now. It really does work. Anyway, big shout out to Skylight Frame. You guys have heard me talk about them before. Skylight Frame is this awesome little frame that hangs in my kitchen right over there. And it shows my calendar, and it shows my daughter her chores and her calendar and what she has to do for school and what she has to bring everything in one place. It's touchscreen. It's Skylightframe.com. Peter Shankman. The code Peter Shankman will get you $30 off. I love it. I can upload pictures of anything. My parents can send pictures to the frame. So if they instead of that's their new way of guilting me for not bringing the kid over. They only live three blocks from me. So their new way of guilting me for not bringing the kid over is to send me photos of themselves that show up my Sky Frame, where they're holding little signs and say, forget about us. Remember us. We miss our granddaughter, things like that. It's lovely. Lovely Jewish guilt via digital. Anyway, skylightframe.com use code peter Shankman and we thank them for sponsoring this episode of Faster than Normal. And guys, I am so stoked today because we have a wonderful woman who I just met named Cortney Weinbaum on the podcast today. Get this. She is the lead author of a new Rand Corporation report on neurodiversity and national security. Okay, that is huge. And you know what the key finding is? Neurodiversity, like other forms of diversity, can strengthen a national security organization. I feel like Vindicated, like, for the first time, this stuff that I've been shouting from the rooftops about companies and neurodiversity in the workplace and neurodiverse. Cortney, sitting here right now from Bethesda, Maryland, and has verified everything that I've been screaming for ten years. I'm, like, the happiest person. A Cortney, Welcome to festival. Ed: [that's so funny- Castmagic.io thinks this is a festival.. well.. kind of it IS a festival, really.. but anyway, back to your transcript here- that has been corrected at least to this point by a human]. I'm so glad you're here. Thank you so much for taking the time. Cortney [00:02:43]: Oh, thank you for having me, and I love your enthusiasm! Peter Shankman [00:02:46]: Oh, my God. This came across my I don't remember who said this to me, but someone said to me that, you're going to love this. They're like, oh, my God, I am, like, so stoked about this. And we're going to talk about how you decided to do this study, but listen to this, guys. Neurodiversity, like other forms of diversity, can strengthen a national security organization within the US. Government. Neurodivergent diagnosis are treated as a disability and requiring employees to identify as disabled benefits those with severe needs, while stigmatizing employees who have spent decades overcoming the challenges of workplaces designed for neurotypical workers. Several aspects of the recruiting and hiring process can pose barriers to a neurodiverse workforce. And then, once on board, neurodiversion employees can face challenges, navigating careers and workplaces that were not designed for them in mind. So I want to talk to you about the recommendations you and your team have made on this incredible research report. But first of all, what prompted this? Cortney [00:03:38]:Wow. I want to unpack all of that in this episode with you. So what prompted this? A dear friend of mine who's the president of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance got together with one of her summer interns to write an op ed two years ago now on neurodiversity and intelligence. And my background is from the intelligence community. I joined the intelligence community very soon after 911, and that's how I entered National Security. And so when she and her intern called to interview me, it was like I got hit with a ton of bricks. Why hasn't anyone written about this before? And so I said, Send me that op ed as soon as it's done. And they did, and I took it inside Rand. For those listeners who aren't familiar with Rand, we're a nonprofit, nonpartisan, federally funded research center. I'm in our Washington, DC. Office, and I took that op ed inside Rand, and I said, we need to research this. There needs to be data about this topic. And I got an immediate gap. There was no hesitation at all. And so we got some project funding, and we did this study that you're looking at now. Peter Shankman [00:04:40]: That is amazing. I love that Rand was so open and wanted you to do this, and you got no pushback or feedback or anything like that? Cortney [00:04:47]: None. Peter Shankman [00:04:48]: And we're starting to see that now. I mean, the companies that I'm dealing with and I'm working with, adobe and Morgan Stanley and Google, they're understanding not only that neurodiversity is real, not only that neurodiversity is something that needs to be addressed, but that it can benefit companies tremendously. And that's the story screaming from the rooftop. So let's talk about the key findings. First, in terms of neurodiversity, like other forms of diversity, can strengthen a national security organization. So that the hardest part there is explaining to companies that that can be a thing, right? As opposed to companies look at it. Okay, something else we have to deal with. No, this can benefit. Cortney [00:05:22]: Absolutely. One of the questions that we were asked at the beginning of the study and then again at the end of the study were, but which jobs? Just tell me which jobs I should be opening to the neurodivergent candidates. And I'll flag those jobs as the one. And I'm laughing for those who can't see my face. And what we found out, what all of your listeners probably already know, is the answer is all of the jobs. And the way we make that point is I tell people this story, which is that when we started doing this research project, our goal was to talk to program managers, hiring managers. We were not trying to ask people to self identify as having a diagnosis and tell us about their experience. We didn't want to put at risk a population that's already at risk for prejudice, discrimination, and bias. So we weren't asking anyone about a diagnosis. But people started calling me. My phone started ringing by people who would say, I heard you're doing this study. I'm an intelligence officer, or I'm a military officer, and you need to interview me. I'm autistic. And I've never told the military that before. I got diagnosed outside the military health system so that there was no military record of my diagnosis. We heard all these personal stories so very early on. It was very clear that people with all of the Diagnoses we talk about in this report already are serving in the military, are serving as civilians in the entire national security enterprise, and that they're usually doing in a way that is masking, that is hiding whatever is their neurodivergent trait in order to fit in in their office so that they're not known. They describe themselves as living in the closet, like the LBGT community used to in the military. And that masking is exhausting, and it leads to burnout, and it prevents them from really leveraging the talents and the benefits of their conditions, but it also leads to burnout, exhaustion. It's psychologically draining all of the things. And so it creates this environment where the neurotypical employees and managers think, well, there's no one neurodivergent here. And it prevents us having role models that we can see with these diagnoses so that we can realize that, yeah, we actually should be making on ramps and making entry easier because our colleagues, who we really value, already have these diagnoses. So by having that community hide, it's a disservice to everyone. And so that's one of the first findings we had in this report, that. Peter Shankman [00:07:48]: Last point about the fact that we're not being more public about it. I gave a talk last week to a bunch of hundred fifth graders in school in New Jersey, because my latest book is for kids called The Boy with the Faster Brain. And it's hard. I tear up every time I think about this. Fifth grader came to me at the end of the class, and his head was at the end of the talk. And as everyone else was leaving, his head was down. He didn't really mumbling. I'm like what? And he's like, it you're the first person I've ever met like me who's successful, and my heart, oh, my God, my heart. Cortney [00:08:27]: Oh, my gosh. Peter Shankman [00:08:28]: Right? And it's like, we need why we. Cortney [00:08:30]: Do what we do. Peter Shankman [00:08:31]: Oh, my God. We need to be telling these stories. We need to be telling these stories. And I'm so glad that you are. Cortney [00:08:40]: I have to give you one more example. We were at a conference. I mean, it was a small event, not massive, but it was a small event for neurodivergent service providers in the national security sector. So there are some please don't think there are none. And two female intelligence officers came up to me after I explained, I stood up, I said, I'm doing this project. If anyone wants to talk to me afterwards, come find me. And two female civilian intelligence officers both came up to me. They're from different agencies, and they said they both identify as autistic in their own workplaces. They're out of the closet, quote, unquote, in their workplaces as autistic. And they said, we need more of this. We need other people to be able to be out just like us. There's no one else that either of us could ever look up to. We both face bias and discrimination for this. Ironically, they never met each other until that day. They knew each other existed. I think they talked to emails, but this event was the first time they'd been in the same room, and it was really powerful. There are people who are trying to be role models, and they're doing it at cost. And we wanted to put this study out there to provide data and analysis and objective, unbiased data analysis on what is the benefits and what are those costs. Peter Shankman [00:09:54]: That's amazing. I'm so glad you did this. So let's look at this. Within the US government, neurodivergent diagnosis are treated as a disability. And so my first reaction is, no, it's not. But I understand why that would be, right. You're looking at a lot of these things are based on 50, 67 year old rules or the Ada from 82. So talk to me about what you learned from that standpoint. Cortney [00:10:18]: Yeah, this was just eye opening, so I'm not a disability researcher. So a lot of this was new ground to me. If you want to get a job in the US government and you want to self identify as being disabled, any type of disability, you get what's called a schedule, a letter, from the Department of labor. Basically, you fill out a form, the department of labor gives you a letter called a Schedule A Letter. The schedule. A letter does not state your disability. It just says Mr. Smith has a severe disability and therefore qualifies for accommodation. That's all it says. It doesn't say what your disability is. You can be blind, you can be an amputee. Well, because of that process, no matter what your disability is, you're just identified as disabled and severely disabled. When government agencies are calculating data, we ask them, how many people do you have for neurodivergent your agency? And they said, I don't know, I can only give you my disability number. So the blind employees, the deaf employees, the amputees, and the autistic employees are all lumped in one category. So that was one finding. The second finding is that Schedule A Letter says severely disabled. And all the people we talk to don't identify as severely disabled. And they take deep personal offense at the idea that they should have to describe themselves as severely disabled just to wear noise canceling headphones in a classified room. Peter Shankman [00:11:34]: Exactly. Cortney [00:11:35]: Or just to ask that the light bulb be taken out from over their desk, or that their desk be moved from the bullpen further away from the door so they don't hear the door every time it opens. These are like basic requests of a manager, but the government treats them as accommodations and if you want an accommodation, you must have a declaration of disability. Peter Shankman [00:11:53]:Right? Cortney [00:11:54]: So we provide a few metaphors in the report and we call this the accommodations dilemma because it was like this whole catch 22 paradox. Cause you either declare yourself as disabled and all of a sudden you get all these benefits along with the risk of bias and discrimination, right? You don't declare yourself as disabled, don't worry about the bias and discrimination, but now you've got to cut it. And we said if you compare this to other diagnoses, and I use vision in the report as the example, I'm sitting here wearing eyeglasses, I'm near sighted. I am not disabled by any standard. I drive a car I can see perfectly with my eyeglasses on if I want to apply for military service or for a civilian job. I'm not considered disabled simply because I'm near sighted. Now, there's a point at which a vision diagnosis does become a disability, but it's a spectrum, and we know it's a spectrum and we know that simply having a vision diagnosis is not a binary yes you're disabled, or no you're not. For the government, having a neurodiverse divergent diagnosis is a binary yes or no. Whereas we all know, those who are in this community or researchers in this community, that it is a spectrum. There are some people with ADHD, autism and other diagnoses who do self identify as severely disabled and there's plenty who don't. And the government right now doesn't give people the option. Peter Shankman [00:13:07]: What's interesting, I think another aspect of that is because it's government work, it's the premise that you can't just move your desk away from the door if you just want to. There has to be an accommodation for. Cortney [00:13:20]: It because someone else in the office is going to say, well, that's unfair. Why did they get to their desk? I want to be near the window. Peter Shankman [00:13:26]: And I think that what companies are starting to realize is that those rules don't. I interviewed someone who was a boss once and I said, what are the neurodiversion aspects of how you're dealing? He goes, there are none. He goes, you get your work done. He goes, I do not care how you do it. You're not in junior high. You don't have to ask for a bad bathroom pass. Do whatever works for you as long as you're getting stuff done. And I think back to my first and only job I ever really had working for someone else was for America Online and under Steve Case back in the 90s in Virginia, right near you, Northern Virginia, they said the same thing. We don't care when you come in, right, work from a forest, just get your stuff done. And that was so amazing. And of course it screwed me because I thought, oh wow, this must be what the workforce is like. And my second job at a national magazine was, no, the hell it ain't. That was sort of a wake up call, but now there's no question about that. It is difficult if you have to constantly label yourself as only one thing or the other. I've never looked at this as a disability from my perspective. I understand I've had to write it down at some points for surveys or qualifications or things like that. But again, I don't qualify my ADHD as a disability. And the funny thing was, I remember growing up in school, in the New York City public schools, you could qualify for something called resource room, which would give you extra time on tests and allow you lots of different accommodations. To get there, though, you had to fall below a certain level in reading and in math. And because I loved reading, I was on a 12th grade level from first grade. Because I hated math, I qualified. But because I didn't qualify for both, I didn't get anything. So yes, there's a lot that needs to be addressed in that. Talk about for a second the concept of and I want to be constantly time, but we're definitely having you back, but the aspects of recruitment and hiring process, right? So there are companies now that I'm advising that are trying to create conversation, that they are more neurodiverse aware and that they are neurodiverse friendly. And is that not the case in government yet or how is that happening? Cortney [00:15:29]: Well, for the most part, the US national security community isn't taking a position yet they're not saying we're neurodiverse friendly or we're not. They're more maybe neurodiverse ignorant at this point. And that ignorance is changing for sure. But one organization, one office at a time, we're hoping this report can blow that door open. So what we did is we actually went through real government job vacancy postings and said, how is this worded today? And how might one word it differently? And there's actually a point in the report. We take a table. We take three or four job descriptions. And we wanted to make sure that these aren't very stereotypical job descriptions. We had people come to us say, oh yeah, I could hire people who are neurodivergent and they could be the cyber analyst in the corner who never have to speak to anyone. And so we made sure that the job descriptions we chose were not just like that person you put in the back corner who doesn't actually interact with people. We chose an accountant. Yes, a cyber operations officer. We chose a contracts officer. Contracting is a huge part of the national security workforce, and we chose some of these job descriptions. And then based on what we had learned from the commercial sector, we said, here's how you might do it differently. Sometimes it's just changing the wording. Like, instead of saying, demonstrate that you're an effective communicator. I don't know how to do that in a cover letter very well. Instead, we write it in a way that for someone who has trouble with nuance, who has trouble with interpretive language, who doesn't know how to do that, we'd be able to figure out what exactly is that they need to see from me. We took one of the job descriptions that was asking for financial analysis skills as the accounting position. And we said instead of all these things that they're asking the applicant to prove in a resume, instead let's interview this person by giving them a practical exercise, which is what some companies do, we email them a spreadsheet three days before the interview. The spreadsheet is fake financial data. We say to them, in three days, you're going to present your analysis to the hiring manager or a board of three people. Well, by doing that now, this person isn't worried about making eye contact and making sure they know how to answer the question of what do you want to get out of your career? Instead, you're really assessing this person on their financial analytic skills and their ability to convey analytic findings to a customer. That's probably all you really cared about in the first place. You didn't really care if they could make eye contact and shape your hand with a firm handshake. So we provide those kinds of really specific, tangible recommendations. Peter Shankman [00:17:51]: I want to touch on a few of the more recommendations. We have a few minutes left. One of the ones that I saw immediately, and I love this, help all employees understand neurodiversity right and this goes back to what I've taught at some of the companies that I work with in the concept of curb cuts. I'm sure you know that is at the end of World War II, 600,000 US servicemen came home disabled. And every city and every town across the country put ramps at the at the corner of every block, make up the sidewalks, making curb cuts. And they wound up helping those 600,000 servicemen and also wound up helping pregnant women and people with boxes and children and people with strollers list goes on and on. So you help one group and it benefits all. So the concept of teaching, understanding university, go ahead. Yeah. Cortney [00:18:42]: This is why we say don't treat it as disability. By putting ramps in buildings, you didn't just help the people who are disabled. Like you said, you help the Janet or push the card more effectively. So if you change your interview practices or your management practices in ways that provide clear communication to everyone, everyone will benefit from that. It's not just the few employees that have a diagnosis. And by the way, there's plenty of employees who are not diagnosed because they didn't have the availability to have a diagnosis. So it helps them, too. So, yeah, we wanted to make sure that the recommendations in here were really widely applicable. We heard from plenty of people we interviewed. It's one thing to give the neurodivergent employee the feedback that they need to be a better communicator, but did you also give the rest of the team the feedback that they need to be better communicators, too? And that's what we're talking about. Why is the whole burden on one person to be able to improve team wide communication? The burden shouldn't fall on one person's shoulders 100%. Peter Shankman [00:19:41]: Courtney, I want to have you back again. I really appreciate you taking the time. I'm going to tell Meagan immediately that I want to have you back. I could talk about this for 6 hours. Maybe we'll break our rules and do like a 45 minutes version if you're up for it. But thank you so much for taking the time. And this research is available. Anyone can download it. It's at RAND.org under publication for free. Cortney [00:20:03]: It's for FREE!!!! Peter Shankman [00:20:04]: That's the coolest thing. It's like, Here, have it. I'll put a link to where it is in the show notes. But again, if people want to find you, I mean, you're pretty easy to find. Do you mind if people contact you? Do you have a social account or. Cortney [00:20:16]: How can people yeah, I'm on Mastodon, I'm on Twitter. I'm on Instagram, LinkedIn. I'm on everything except Facebook. So, yeah, people want to post to me. I say that anyone who doesn't sound like a troll, I will respond to. Peter Shankman [00:20:30]: Awesome. Cortney Weinbaum, thank you so much for taking the time. Really. Cortney [00:20:34]: Thanks for having me. Peter Shankman [00:20:35]: Phenomenal. Most definitely. We'll be live in a few weeks. Guys, thank you for listening. Really appreciate your time. I love that you are still listening to Faster Than Normal. We are closing in on 300 episodes. How amazing is that? I've never been able to do anything 300 times in a row, so I am super excited about that. And we will be back next week with another interview with someone probably not as cool as Cortney, but we're going to try. Thank you again, everyone for listening. Cortney, thank you one more time. We will talk to you guys soon. Have a great day. Stay safe. — Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

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OFI 1709: Facilitating Success For Young Families In Agriculture | Stacy Carr | Farm Foundations Ag Consulting & Coaching

Off-Farm Income

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2023 57:02

Stacy Carr is an Agricultural Consultant and Coach from Johnson City, Tennessee. Hearing her story, it is obvious what it takes to be able to consult young and beginning farmers with no experience in the way that can - decades of work and experience in agriculture. Stacy has a fantastic, exciting and rewarding business, but it is not the type of business that you just choose and start. This business takes a passion for all aspects of agriculture that has driven you to take your own risks, do your own work and spend your own money over a lifetime pursuing farming. Stacy has done that, in multiple different states and in multiple different ways. And today, she is reaping the rewards of all of that knowledge and experience by being able to share it with people from all walks of life, including young families who want a rural lifestyle, and help them to succeed in farming. In today's episode Stacy and I discuss all of that experience, and how her business works. We will also talk about who the people are that want an agricultural lifestyle so much that they are willing to pay for somebody to guide them to that destination.

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Maria L. Quintana, "Contracting Freedom: Race, Empire, and U.S. Guestworker Programs" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2022)

New Books in Latino Studies

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2023 52:20

Contracting Freedom: Race, Empire, and U.S. Guestworker Programs (U Pennsylvania Press, 2022) explores the origins of twentieth-century U.S. guestworker programs from Mexico and the Caribbean. It investigates these government-sponsored programs as the unexplored consequence of the history of enslaved labor, Japanese American incarceration, the New Deal, the long civil rights movement, and Caribbean decolonization. Quintana shifts the focus on guestworker programs to the arena of political conflict, revealing how fierce debates over the bracero program and Caribbean contract labor programs extended and legitimated U.S. racial and imperial domination into the present era. Her work also unearths contract workers' emerging visions of social justice that challenged this reproduction of race and empire, giving freedom new meanings that must be contemplated Dr. Quintana earned her Ph.D. at the University of Washington and taught at San Francisco State's College of Ethnic Studies before joining the Department of History at California State University, Sacramento. Michael G. Vann is a professor of world history at California State University, Sacramento. A specialist in imperialism and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, he is the author of The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empires, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam (Oxford University Press, 2018). When he's not reading or talking about new books with smart people, Mike can be found surfing in Santa Cruz, California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latino-studies

Midweek with Tyler: Choosing Your Work Vehicle

building construction vehicles contracting

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2023 33:33

This week Tyler discusses his work setup, and the pros and cons of a work van or trailer. Whether you're looking to make the best decision for yourself or curious to see what works best for Tyler, check out the episode! The Modern Craftsman: linktr.ee/moderncraftsmanpodcast Find Our Host: Tyler Grace Podcast Produced By: Motif Media Music: "Dessert" by Nate Gusakov

CompanyCam Integration: The Key to Effective Contracting Management w/ Sammy Petersen & Claire Ficke

Service Business Mastery - Business Tips and Strategies for the Service Industry

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 24:56

In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh and Josh interview two Business Development Representatives from CompanyCam, Claire Ficke and Samantha Petersen, who are passionate about empowering women in various industries, including HVAC, plumbing, roofing, windows, remodeling, and solar. We highlight their experiences attending Women in HVACR events, networking, and sharing knowledge with others. We also talk about how CompanyCam's innovative app simplifies documentation and enhances collaboration for contractors, with a specific emphasis on the importance of photo documentation for project quality and marketing success in the HVACR industry. Resources And People Mentioned: Check out CompanyCam's photo and video documentation software for contractors to improve organization and streamline communication within teams. Explore CompanyCam's features like live time and cloud-based storage, allowing team members to access project information easily. Utilize CompanyCam's user-friendly app to separate professional and personal work on mobile devices. Take advantage of CompanyCam's to-do lists and task management features to ensure technicians complete all necessary steps and document their work. Attend the Women in HVACR conference to network with other professionals in the industry and learn about new tools and strategies for success. This episode is kindly sponsored by Sera (visit their website) CompanyCam (visit their website), UpFrog (visit their website) and Emerson (visit their website). Visit www.companycam.com/SBM and use code SBM for a free 2-week trial, 1:1 training and account setup, and 50% off your first two months! Join the Service Business Mastery Facebook group

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Assertiveness And Soft Skills: Client Relationships, Effective Communication, and People Skills - Julie Howell - Commercial Flooring Services

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 65:20

In this episode of the Floor Academy Podcast, we will be joined by Julie Howell, a senior project manager at Commercial Flooring Services in Denver, Colorado, who recognized the importance of soft skills in the flooring industry. Julie noticed that her young team members were skilled at their jobs, but lacked the necessary people skills to build and maintain relationships with clients, resulting in clients relying solely on her for their projects or questions. This realization led Julie to invest in training her team on soft skills to improve client satisfaction, ensure future work, and empower her team to work independently with multiple team members.Julie will share her insights on the significance of soft skills in the flooring industry and how they can impact client relationships and business success. She will discuss her approach to training her team on soft skills, including effective communication, customer service, relationship-building, and problem-solving. Julie will also explain why she believes in providing thorough training to her team members, so they can excel in their roles and work autonomously with clients.Don't miss this episode of the Floor Academy Podcast as Julie Howell shares her experiences and strategies for training her team on soft skills to enhance client satisfaction and improve overall business success. Learn about the importance of people skills in the flooring industry and how investing in soft skills training can benefit your team and your business. Join us to gain valuable insights on how to empower your team to build meaningful relationships with clients and excel in their roles.Need new headphones for working and listening to Floor Academy? Check out ISOTunes using the link below. Amazing Bluetooth headphones that are OSHA certified. http://bit.ly/2P5A9pRCheck out the virtual estimates software here! Don't forget to create an account after submitting a sample estimate to get access to more features.Check out our sponsorsJohns ManvilleThe International Surfaces EventCheck out our website and storeSupport the showFloor Academy is a podcast hosted by Kyle Hedin that provides small business information and guidance to flooring, tile and stone contractors on how to build a successful and sustainable business. The podcast aims to help contractors move from owning a job to owning an asset, by providing insights and strategies related to management, entrepreneurship, and networking.Floor Academy covers a range of topics related to flooring, tile and stone business management, including small business advertising, paid traffic, and organic traffic. The podcast also provides information on promotional marketing, LLC setup, simple small business management, and networking strategies.The podcast aims to help carpet, tile, stone, hardwood, floating floor, and many more types of contractors develop a deep understanding of business management, including effective networking and entrepreneurship strategies, which are crucial to achieving long-term success in the flooring industry. By discussing various topics related to small business management, such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, human resources, branding, advertising, interviewing, taxes, company structures, and more the podcast provides valuable insights to help flooring, tile and stone contractors become successful business owners.

Tired of Wasting Money Marketing Your Outdoor Living Business? Don't Spend Another Penny Until You Listen to This Episode w/ Marketing Expert Jack Jostes

The Jason & Scot Show - E-Commerce And Retail News

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 47:22

Tune in for a conversation with special guest Jack Jostes of Ramblin Jackson.Connect with Joshua at:The WebsiteThe Facebook GroupDesign & Sales Master ClassesSubscribe to Outerspaces on your favorite podcasting platform and never miss an episode!

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EP305 - Amazon and Shopify Q1 2023 Earnings

Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2023 39:00

EP305 - Amazon and Shopify Q1 2023 earnings Amazon and Shopify both reported their Q1 2023 earnings last week. Amazon had a strong first quarter, slightly over-shadowed by it's slowing AWS growth. Shopify also had strong Q1 2023 earnings although it did not achieve profitability. Shopify also announced a second reduction of headcount and announced that they were selling all of the recently acquired logistic assets. Don't forget to like our facebook page, and if you enjoyed this episode please write us a review on itunes. Episode 305 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Thursday, May 4th 2023. http://jasonandscot.com Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Scot Wingo, CEO of GetSpiffy and Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing. Transcript Jason: [0:23] Welcome to the Jason and Scot show, this is episode 305 being recorded on Thursday May 4th May the 4th be with you I'm your host Jason retailgeek Goldberg and as usual I'm here with your co-host Scot Wingo. Scot: [0:39] Hey Jason and welcome back Jason Scott showed listeners Happy Star Wars Day May the 4th be with you hope everyone had a great Star Wars Day Jason people can't see you but you are wearing your Jar Jar Binks cosplay. Jason: [0:53] I kind of assumed people just assume I'm always wearing that. Scot: [0:57] You should do the whole episode and jar jar speak well said Jason what's a new at the Amazon what. Jason: [1:10] I feel like people don't get the jar jar one I did I did do an act during covid-19 doing all this pitch theater online I did a pitch on Halloween in a Darth Vader mask. And we won the pitch so I feel like I should be doing costumes more. Scot: [1:28] Awesome you guys intimidate them and it's called the Darth Vader intimidation closed when you wear the Vader the Vader suit. Jason: [1:34] Exactly exactly and it had the voice changing thing and so it is. Scot: [1:38] Honest I find your lack of faith yeah there's a lot of death lot of lot of puts you can use in a pitch. Jason: [1:48] Yes unfortunately not a large enough chunk of the total addressable Market are Geeks. If you like is wrong I know how I got in this like funky like creative advertising world with all these I kept custody clients like I totally don't fit in. Scot: [2:09] Yeah been a misfit toy my whole life so sir not going to stop anytime soon embrace it Jason. Jason: [2:15] Yeah it was announced today that we won a big new client lvmh and so I like went on LinkedIn and joke that like it was largely thanks to my my stature is a luxury influencer. Scot: [2:29] Nice congrats your tick-tocks on luxury have one the death. Jason: [2:32] I know I know for a long time people were like why are you wasting your time with that and now they know. Scot: [2:38] Who will we have it's been a while since we dropped a pod because we both had spring breaks and then you've been traveling a bit so it's great to be back. Jason: [2:49] Yeah it's super fun to catch up with you and with the audience. I feel like the last show we did was right after shoptalk so I did get to see a bunch of folks and now you know it's a treat your season is starting to heat up so I have a bunch of upcoming trips so. If listeners are going to any of these shows make sure you make a point to catch up with me and you could see the jar jar costume. In person so I'm actually doing this show from. The famous Mayflower Hotel in Washington d.c. because I'm in town for the. Home and Commercial products Association I'm doing the keynote for their annual conference tomorrow morning. And then I'm going to sap Sapphire which is their big customer show in Orlando in on May 15th if you like. There's a fair amount of our listeners that go to that show and then to fun ones that are you know core Commerce shows after that we have Commerce next by our friends Scott Silverman is in New York in June so June 20th. And I'll be doing some fun stuff stuff on stage there and then in RFC you know has their kind of future looking executive digital Summit. [4:07] On the beach it Tara no in Rancho Palos Verdes it's called the inner F Nexus on July 10 and all both be giving a keynote and I will also be interviewing Kara Swisher so I feel like. I'm going to spend an hour just making fun of Scott Galloway with her. Scot: [4:25] Nice yeah that's good the dog dog is off the porch whoo. Jason: [4:30] Exactly I was thinking about like maybe bring a mask I've already you know I have audio collection of a lot of my favorite Scott Galloway predictions meaning which didn't come true. Scot: [4:43] Macy's Woodberry Amazon and apparel. Jason: [4:47] But I feel like this is. Scot: [4:48] Amazon to be Roadkill. Jason: [4:50] Like Freaky Friday like so like Cara is this like super famous interviewer and I am interviewing her and we're doing it at Tara know where she started code conference so it's very topsy-turvy. Scot: [5:03] Yeah yeah just bring red tears without her trademark thing. Jason: [5:07] I assume she just travels with one of her own yeah that Herman Miller red chair yeah. Scot: [5:09] BYO RC okay. Jason: [5:15] I actually think she's not with Vox anymore so I don't know you know she may be in withdrawn not she may have said said goodbye to the red chairs will have to ask her. Scot: [5:24] Look that's that's question number one. Jason: [5:26] Yeah but besides all of that we are just getting started on q1 earnings season and you know of course for most of our listeners one of the most important earnings calls happened last week. Scot: [5:39] Yeah it wouldn't be a Jason and Scot show if we didn't have some Amazon news. So on April 27th which was last Thursday when we're recording this Amazon had their earnings it was what Wall Street would call a clear beat meaning both top and the bottom line where a beat this is welcome news because Amazon's earnings have been kind of like not not mrs. but not amazing. [6:07] So revenues came in two percent above consensus which is a slight beat but what got Wall Street very excited was operating income came in 57 percent above and longtime listeners will know I usually cover the retail portion of Amazon and Jason covers the cloud or a WS part, we're going to mix it up because I read all the reports and what was most interesting right now in kind of the world of Internet stocks the whole world has been turned upside down by chat GPT which is put out by open AI Sam Altman startup who is partially owned and supported by Microsoft there and investor and the hole, infrastructure runs on Azure their cloud computing, platform this has been a huge win for Microsoft because it's enabled them to add a chat gbt like component to Bing. [7:02] And you know the buzz is that, search is dead a lot of people are even speculating maybe even apps will be dead you know maybe maybe you don't really need apps on a phone if you could just talk to your phone and say hey book me restaurant reservation as 6:30 at the one of these three restaurants why do you need a nap if an AI can go to that room so there's there's a lot of people in the Wall Street and Tech world are, I would say there's like this wall of worry around this new innovation and this is real so chat GPT was the fastest product to 100 million users what was it Jason like four weeks or something. [7:42] Like an egg yeah if you see a chart it's like this a vertical wall whereas like Facebook and some of those kinds of things were previous record holders for this and it took, you know years and so-so. Jason: [7:54] Two months to a billion or 4 months to a billion users. Scot: [7:58] Yeah so it's just this crazy adoption curve unlike anything we've ever seen before so you know there's, this was top of mind when this came out so the so while streets pretty obsessed with what's going on with the cloud also Amazon's Cloud division has been slowing their growth it was the you know the darling of the Amazon portfolio and now it's been slowing because as we head into this recessionary period, also another concern is we cover this a little bit last time but Silicon Valley Bank failed we've had all this kind of startup craziness and a lot of those startups use cloud computing and Amazon so, so that was what all eyes were on and you know what we saw was the growth did slow to 11 and a half percent which was less bad than what people were thinking so is kind of viewed as positive which is always one of these counter, Wall Street all about expectations not like the real absolute numbers but 11.5 percent growth is this is this part we've been covering this for for. [9:04] Years of this point five years and it's always growing north of 50% but this time it really slowed down and they're even projecting for next quarter or slow 2011 Amazon did Jesse did talk a lot about AI there they've talked about how they're going to do a lot of people the other problem with Chad gbt is it looks the prior to the prior a I think we all spend a lot of time with which was Alexa now feels wildly inferior because you're having these really robust conversations with chat gvt and Alexis can do like, yeah it's not really like at that level of conversational AI you can get some weather maybe play a song and a couple other little things add something it'll talk to you about do you want to reorder your dog food and yeah that's about it right so very, Barry and then you know that used to be cool and now in a world where we're chatty be teeing it feels inferior so Amazon like Google is a little bit on their heels from this and they basically came out and said we're going to do a lot around Alexa here and it will we're dedicated that being by far the best voice assistant, and we'll be adding chats ubt like capabilities but then for AWS they basically said look there's all these language models out there and we're going to be neutral will have all kinds of different flavors kind of thing so whatever you want we'll have. [10:30] And the one of the concerns is these large language models use a ton of gpus and those are expensive. Azure is adding a ton of workloads from this and their conference call they went so far as to say. It's like accelerated growth dramatically at Azure they're getting all these loads that they would have never seen before thanks to their relationship and, they're scaling up this gpus and so it kind of feels early and Aang's like maybe Microsoft has got like this. Bit of an advantage over both Google and they WS so, so you know it was interesting because I'm saying all that because what happened is they announced their up a little bit that day and then they announced and they were down and they've been kind of sideways since then so and what was clear be quarter with AWS not as bad as you would think it would be you had the numbers would say oh the stock should go up 5 to 10% but they didn't because I don't think everyone really liked, body language around you know what's going on chat gbt and Amazon's response. [11:40] So that was a that was a long part but that was I thought it was kind of interesting. The whole world and like the last yeah six months has been turned upside down by this and it's always an option or that always gets my attention because this is where unique opportunities are created for disruption and all kinds of what happens is when my favorite books is the innovators dilemma when something new like this comes along, people that were previously the leaders have a really hard time adapting to it because they get baked into their business model so for example to pick on Google it's very hard for them to offer a chat interface on the core Google search because, every pixel of core Google search is like so highly optimized and them hitting their numbers relies on that that real estate. [12:28] Basically not changing that to change that real estate and experiment with something that is expensive and not monetized is. Almost impossible you know it's it will certainly make them lose mountains of Revenue and even worse on ibadah, so it's really kind of fascinating to Think Through the strategy here of what's everyone going to do and how do they adapt to this new world and to some extent Amazon not as bad as Google I would argue but that Amazon is a little bit of a in a pickle. Um it got even so bad also around the same time Jeff Bezos was at Coachella and he was just out there dancing and wearing this kind of fun butterfly shirt and everyone's kind of like you know it almost felt like fiddling while Rome burned so a lot of people are like and then you know so Disney's CEO has come back and a lot of people are projecting that maybe we'll see a day where like a Larry Page comes back to Google and a Bezos comes back to Amazon to it's going to be interesting to see what happens this next next three to six months are gonna be really fun to watch in the world of large trillion-dollar internet companies to see what's going down. Jason: [13:39] Oh for sure and I keep saying this but we're going to have to do another. Deep dive on AI and chechi because there are so many it's changing so, fast and there's this whole like shift from keywords to prompts and you know like all of you know Google's intrinsic strengths are suddenly becoming weaknesses there's this interesting battle, um between like these AI capabilities as destinations versus these AI capabilities as. Sort of infrastructure that that you add to any destination right and so you know the interesting thing about Chad gbt you can license the. The GPT for engine and build it in your own apps or your own website but 1.2 billion consumers a month, are going to chat. Open a i.com so that's now a destination on the web that's bigger than Bing. [14:40] Like move more people last month went to their website opening eyes website then went to Bing and that's a, Game Changer I get it's feels like a huge missed opportunity side note that there's not ads on that website yet I'm sure I'm sure that that that is coming in Italy but so there are all these like super interesting changes. I kind of feel like even if all that wasn't playing out like just the the fact that AWS is decelerating a little bit. [15:10] Would be the news from this earning thing and it's what everyone's talking about and it's almost a shame because it's kind of masking what otherwise like is a pretty remarkable quarter compared to like what most of their peers are likely to do. Scot: [15:25] Yeah yeah walk us through some of the highlights that you saw in the non aw site. Jason: [15:30] Well so the first thing if you look at North American gmv it grew 13% in q1 so that that is a deceleration from, their Q4 growth but like to put that in comparison. Us retail sales grew four percent in the first quarter so so you know this is kind of back to pre-pandemic levels where Amazon's growing. Despite being you know the largest or second largest retailer in the US depending on how you count growing quite a bit of water faster than the industry, you don't normally we would we compare Amazon's growth to all retailers growth but also to all of e-commerce has growth, so the US Department of Commerce comes out with their Q2 growth numbers in a couple weeks so May 18th I think if you want to mark your calendars will do a show and talk about that but. Just kind of interpreting the data and extrapolating. [16:31] U.s. e-commerce and q1's likely to grow about 10% which is kind of a recovery for e-commerce but still, that means Amazon the largest e-commerce player out there is growing faster than the industry as a whole which is. You know typical for Amazon but you know not very typical in the rest of the world so the retail story was, was really strong and it was driven almost exclusively by your favorite part of the retail Echo System the marketplace right it was almost all. [17:00] 3p sales which I want to say grew 16 percent. Or fifteen percent for the quarter so so 3p continues to be a super important part, and you know I always like to talk about the ad business ads were up 21% which is a, a deceleration of the ads business as well just like AWS but a couple interesting things, there's a ton of headwinds, for traditional dip digital ads right now as the economy is getting a little more challenging you know a lot of brands are cutting back on their spinned because the privacy issues they're cutting back on a lot of the traditional digital channels, um so you look at like metas ad business in q1 it grew three percent Google's ad business grew to percent. [17:55] Pinterest was the leader of those kind of traditional platforms their ad business grew five percent, and Amazon which is has a bigger ad business than Pinterest Amazon grew 21% so that that growth you know continues to be remarkable, um I did a quick back of the napkin estimate and I, I know AWS generated about 5 billion dollars in earn income for the quarter the ad unit probably generated 7.1 billion dollars in earning come for the quarter so quite a bit more, profit to the bottom line coming from that ad business then coming from from AWS, and then you know Amazon you know as they always do they kind of pepper and some favorable stats so they talked about how. They they had 26 million customers for same-day delivery in q1 which is fifty percent growth year over year so you know you. You kind of you've seen a lot of other retailers that as the economy has gotten kind of tough they've kind of. [18:58] Ratcheted back their service level a little bit like you're seeing a lot of people starting to charge more for returns you're starting to see delivery promises get stretched out a little bit and you know Amazon is kind of. Adjusting their returns policy as well but like they're they're all in on that fast same day delivery. And it seems like consumers are continuing to embrace that. Um there's this kind of big strategic shift that they talked about Scott that I know you've been falling which is kind of the shift from a national fulfillment model to a regional fulfillment model. And this is all about getting more efficiency so the idea is you know in the old model you placed an order and you know they ship from whatever Warehouse fulfillment center had the goods in stock so often that. Are shipping things from pretty far away, and mold you know in a you know your your multicart order could have Goods coming from a lot of different fulfillment centers and you know this quarter the focus is really on redesigning the whole fulfillment center to optimize. [20:06] How many trips they have to make to your house and how many, how much of the goods can all come from the same fulfillment center so there's a laser focus on kind of getting the inventory in each fulfillment center right for the market that it's serving, um and the you know in their investor call the CFO was talking about how like they're starting to they're already starting to unlock. Um significant improvements in their operating margins as a result of cutting down on the amount of trips in order to serve the same amount of gmv and they think there's a lot of Headroom to continue improving math if you've been following that kind of, Regional shift it almost feels like the Reinventing the you know kind of against innovators dilemma they're Reinventing their whole fulfillment model despite the fact that they have the. The world's largest fulfillment model. Scot: [21:00] Yeah yeah I think this is really interesting and in some ways maybe the go Puffs the world kind of showed him how to do this ironically enough and you know and this surge of same-day delivery I think they're having. I think you know in the early days the same day delivery I remember Sebastian going ham he was SVP saying yes he was at our conference and he said something like we just put out there to see and we were surprised by how many people use it and then you know they had data that indicated this is like five years ago that it was addictive because you. [21:37] We have forget which of us going this is your zero friction addiction so once you have one of these low-friction experiences you're like yeah yeah you know of course I would like it yeah, I'm running this morning all like it the same day but that's making them for deploying a lot more of the product to be able to satisfy that demand but they have the data to do it the key is it's a you know there's, there's this you know something like 300 million skus out there in the cloud that you can buy a small portion of those percentage-wise large sales wise is in the network of FCS and then the system learned what to, put at the edge near you and that same day thing there's a set of skus and it's probably down to 10,000 at that point, that they know those are the most frequently Asked seemed a things it's going to be things like toilet replenishable toiletries, dog food for me all those types personal items Healthcare Beauty and you know it's not the it's not the Xbox or something that can kind of weight well I guess some of that could be but you know there's plenty of stuff people are happy to wait for so, that that edge Network allows them to Ford deploy 5 to 10,000 excuse and get them to you really fast. Jason: [22:56] Yeah and I think what's interesting is that it turns out that the. The those skews that are needed for same-day delivery in Raleigh are not the same as the skills that are needed in Chicago and AI is really helping them sort of optimize. Those fulfillment centers and the numbers are actually a little bigger than your you're saying there are now like 300,000 same day skus in the system and in some markets there they have over 100,000 skus available for same-day so it y you know there. [23:26] They're kind of expanding from the head in skews to you know at least the chunky middle scuze. On that same day delivery and it and it seems like that's continuing to work for them. I just think it's you know again a lot of people that had you know the huge infrastructure lead the Amazon had him fulfillment centers you know would. But I find it hard to disrupt that model and pivot to a new model and it seems like you know Tim zones credit they're they're not afraid to disrupt themselves and it feels like that's kind of what they're doing here. And it seems like it least pull narrowly it's working you know they're also. Over the covid time there have been some capacity constraints and they rolled out a lot of technology to help help third-party sellers better manage their own. Capacity and you know I'm hearing from third-party sellers that that is going better that they have you know are better able. [24:29] Predict the cost and the capacity that will be available for them and they're not getting as many unpleasant surprises as they as they kind of had had in the past of that that stuff is all interesting, I also think Amazon's big enough that they're they're you know kind of a. A good surrogate for for the actual consumer economies at this point and so is interesting you know they talked about the Americans can consumer and you know the North America was where a lot of Amazon's growth was. Um They they had a statement that they're continuing to see the US consumer is being conscious that she's definitely moderated her spending on discretionary categories, she's trading down to more value oriented eizan's. [25:16] You know there continues to be healthy demand for Staples and you know I think we heard similar things from other big retailers like Wal-Mart and Target so that kind of felt in line but what was interesting was Europe. The growth is much slower but it was a significantly higher beat versus expectations than North America was and they had kind of an interesting editorial on Europe they said that, European demand while cautious came in better than expected, we see customer confidence increasing with inflation tickling down in the EU and that's kind of at odds with a bunch of other retailers that that are competing in Europe that are still you know kind of talking about, the consumer Demand Being really repressed in Europe and the European consumer really struggling due to even higher inflation then then what consumers are experiencing here in North America so, um it either sounds like Amazon's having a better go of it than a lot of other retailers in Europe, or Amazon is being the first one to sort of see the economy turning a little more favorable in Europe so. I kind of found that interesting. [26:42] Yeah well again you know the. Historically like Europe is smaller than North America for Amazon but it you know because it's smaller it was growing faster but you know there have been more. Challenges supply chain disruptions there's more uncertainty in a lot of the European economies and so you know it's like for global companies I'm particularly brands that do business everywhere. Um that European softness has been a challenge the one outlier of all that is luxury so it does feel. Like kind of a bifurcated economy that like luxury can you know is actually kind of bounce back in Europe and is continuing to do pretty pretty well worldwide while. High inflation is hurting a lot more of the kind of staple Industries a lot more. Scot: [27:35] Having Survived the Great Recession of 08 and 09 at Chow buzzer the weird thing about the data was the luxury segment accelerated you have to have the the wealthy folks do find during economic downturns turns out. Jason: [27:50] Yeah this was a weird one in that like that's for that was for sure true where the demand was shifted in unusual ways because often you have a lot of. Really wealthy consumers are also tend to be really mobile consumer so you have, historical you'd have a lot of really wealthy people from China that would go to France and buy a lot of luxury goods and in covid of course nobody was going anywhere so there was this huge, spike in luxury goods in China so like the overall worldwide demand for luxury was very high but there were these weird mismatches where the demand was not coming from the markets that it typically came from and now it feels like it's. Reverting more it's starting to revert to more traditional. [28:37] So there was a another interesting earnings call this morning. Scot: [28:41] Yeah so Shopify came out with their earnings and they've had just kind of set the stage. In the during covid they were Off to the Races and they've had a really hard time in the last year kind of in that post covid era as they invested so much and then covid the e-commerce growth reverted to the mean as you've been, so good at pointing out and they thought it would just continue up into the right and so they did about a ten percent reduction in force I think is a year ago maybe a little longer, and so then this morning they came out and they beat Lowered Expectations to put this in perspective of their growth has slowed to 25% and they were consistently growing well north of 50% so they're they're definitely, this was good for a while there were kind of Contracting but now at least they're back to growth they are losing money but they should get back to profitability here in a quarter or two but the big surprise was you know if you recall they were going to take on Amazon and they started really building out some fulfillment and they bought a couple companies to do that and started building out this whole infrastructure called Shopify fulfillment Network or sfm. [30:00] So they announced on the call today that they're just basically abandoning that whole strategy and the assets they previously bought an aggregate for over two billion dollars they sold to a company called Flex port for a billion so that had to hurt so basically a billion dollar loss on the strategy and they basically said you know the future is AI and that's where we're going to put our effort, and then when they sell this unit there also some people go with that but they're also announced they're doing at 23% that would include some of those people it's not it's not entirely clear. [30:36] How many will be core Shopify versus the people leaving with the sfn I think it's. Relatively small you know I don't think that's happened was like this huge. People operation like you have an Amazon anyway so they're going to reduce headcount by 11,000 people 29k so from 11,000 29k, so about 23% reduction these things are always kind of. [31:06] Little tricky emotionally because you feel for those people that are losing their jobs and found out this morning that's going to be no fun, but then Wall Street loves a good reduction for us because that means more profits oh, the stock this is a huge win for the stock because Wall Street has hated hated hated this idea if you take this super high margin software business and you layer in a super low margin fulfillment business, so you know Wall Street this is part of the innovators dilemma, once you've baked your margins in at 85% or whatever you can't then go to Wall Street and say we're going to bring that down 15% 270 because we're going to be fulfillment and that's a, yeah 30% margin business your blend that in with our 85 you get us to 70 or whatever it is, so so Wall Street was very happy to see them abandoned us, it does raise the question one of the reasons they got in this is you and I talked a lot about Shopify versus Amazon and you know the same time. Amazon is raising the bar on e-commerce we just talked about this two same day, Shopify was going to arm the rebels so that they could at least keep up with two day now they're abandoning that you know there's gonna continue to be, yeah this could be a big moment in history where Shopify messes up and you know. [32:29] What's a I going to solve if you have this great product recommendation or something that doesn't show up for five days in Amazon eats the Shopify Merchants lunch because they just are better at Logistics so this is this is a big decision throwing in the towel and it's going to be interesting to see, if this is wise or not I obviously lean towards I don't think this is going to be a great in decision for him. Jason: [32:57] Yeah it is tricky. The you know I would also mention there's this so I you know scary service from Amazon looming on the Shopify Horizon that it's not clear Shopify his really declared what they want they're going to do with yet which is the. The by with prime service which is you know in in effect to use that really solid Amazon Fulfillment Network even when you sell stuff on Shopify. And so you know maybe they're they're dumping on the Shopify fulfillment Network stuff in there just gonna see the Fulfillment Amazon we'll have to see. Um I do I've decided to correct one thing you said like Shopify is huge on talking about e-commerce regress to the mean. That's actually not true right get when they talk about that they're talking about the ratio of e-commerce sales to retail sales and it's partly true for that. That you know we kind of went from 14 or 15 percent of all sales being online to 17 or 18 percent and we bounced back down to 15%. Um you know that that shape varied while we you know depending on the category so image digitally immature categories like Grocery and Automotive had kind of a permanent Spike whereas, like apparel you know had kind of a temporary bump. [34:23] In absolute dollars e-commerce is way bigger than before the pandemic e-commerce is 90% up from from 2019 and so when when they kind of use that. As an excuse for the layoffs I would say like don't buy it right like that. [34:41] There's a lot more demand for digital Goods than there were in 2019 and Shopify isn't laying people off because that demand has receded like throwing people off because they haven't perfectly figured out what the right business model is and from my standpoint. They're still a little dyslexic on who they're even trying to serve they still have all this language around you know serving the small Independent Business the mom-and-pop and arming the rebels and all that but like you know when you listen all the success stories in their earnings calls. It's it's Staples it's why it's it's you know it's it's bigger or midsize specialty retailers that are moving to the platform, it's not the rebels I, Kendall Jackson and Kendall Jenner and Staples are not the rebels and so I don't know like I think they like that that narrative but like I'm not sure they've come a perfectly aligned their product offering to the. The companies that are like driving the bulk of their gmv growth and when they you know do focus on the long tail Mom and Pops. It really makes that gmv number kind of office gated because there's so much churn over there right and they go or gmv went up 25%. Was that because like all your customers are thriving and they're all growing or is it because you just added way more companies that will have a nine-month mortality rate than you then you did the quarter before. [36:09] So I think it's like I definitely like there's a lot of strong, sort of advantages and and experiences still in the Shopify ecosystem and. Feel like shot pay is getting some traction the shop app has got a lot more traction than I originally predicted and now there are some legitimate. Marketplace features in there there's a lots of things going for them I certainly would not write them off but I do think. Like in the next couple of quarters we need to see some more clarity about like what they want to be and where their growth is really going to come. Scot: [36:46] Yeah yeah it's going to be we'll be tracking it closely on the show as we have them so it's going to be interesting to see I don't think either of us had this in our predictions though sadly. Jason: [36:57] Yeah no I mean I was definitely caught by I never thought this Acquisitions made sense but I certainly thought that you know they would hold on to him longer so I don't know I guess if you're an investor like. Like once you realize it was the wrong decision like there's probably something good about like cutting bait quickly instead of trying to. Drag it around drag it out longer just because you you don't want to own up to the mistake. So anyway that feels like a pretty good recap of the two big earnings there's a you know a bunch of the traditional retailers will be record reporting over the next four weeks and of course we'll have US Department of Commerce data, including q1 e-commerce. Later this month so lots of reasons to have another new show and I still do think we got to get that. That large language Model A I show on the on the books. Scot: [37:52] Yeah yeah we will we're through our vacation period and we should have some time to lay that down and Jason you've got a keynote tomorrow and you got some slides to work on buddy so we're going to make this a short one in the pantheon of Jason and Scot show lengthy episodes. Jason: [38:09] Yeah yeah we'll give it a few minutes back to our listeners and I will go write a keynote for tomorrow. Scot: [38:15] Awesome it's always good when you're up against deadlines so you're going to crush it. Jason: [38:20] I feel like the one thing I have going for me is the present the content will be very Timely. Scot: [38:26] Good yep fresh like. Jason: [38:30] Awesome Scott thinks every very much everyone for listening as always enjoyed the show we sure would love it if you jump on iTunes and give us that five star review and until next time happy commercing!

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#260 - Travis Brungardt and Joe Cook of Catalyst Built

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Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2023 117:39

Our Partners: Andersen Windows Buildertrend The Episode: Travis Brungardt and Joe Cook join Nick and Tyler to speak about the current projects developing at their company, Catalyst Built. Working to teach building science in an engaging way, Joe and Travis aim to spark an interest in the trades in young people. Tune in for more! The Modern Craftsman: linktr.ee/moderncraftsmanpodcast Find Our Guest: Chris Murray Find Our Hosts: Nick Schiffer Tyler Grace Podcast Produced By: Motif Media Music: "Dessert" by Nate Gusakov

9: Connery Schiebel and Jenifer Kempka from Universal Contracting & Solar

SWFL Business Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2023 61:33

Welcome to the SWFL Business Podcast, where we interview business owners in the Southwest Florida area to learn about their business and where they're heading.Today's guests are Connery Schiebel and Jenifer Kempka from Universal Contracting & Solar.In this episode, Connery and Jen dive into the world of roofing and contracting, and the impact of Hurricane Ian on those industries. They outline some of the different kinds of roofs, as well as what people can expect when buying a new roof.They put together a guide on what consumers need to know before getting a new roof: https://www.ucroof.net/optin1678906434007Visit Universal Contracting's website: https://www.ucroof.comShow Universal Contracting some love on Instagram @ucroofShow us some love on Instagram @swflpodcastsListen on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3NYks1FListen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3x1rufIWatch on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3j69E3gWant to be a guest on the show? Book an intro call here: https://calendly.com/cheineproductions/interview-introLike what you hear? Want to have your own podcast produced in the Bonita Springs, FL area? Visit www.swflpodcasts.com to learn more.

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168: The Power of Veteran-Owned Businesses with Peter Vazquez

Govcon Giants Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2023 12:08

In this episode of Govcon Giants, we have Peter Vazquez, Executive Director of the Veteran Owned Business Roundtable and CEO of Brand Echo Media Solutions. Peter shares his insights on how his organization educates, mentors, and connects veteran-owned businesses with corporate and government contracting opportunities. He discusses his background in internet marketing and how he applies his expertise to help his clients increase their brand reputation and awareness. During the conversation, Peter emphasizes the importance of supporting veteran-owned businesses and the unique advantages they bring to the table. He also talks about the challenges that veterans face when transitioning from military to civilian life and how the Veteran Owned Business Roundtable helps them overcome those challenges. Listeners will gain valuable insights into the world of veteran-owned businesses and the opportunities available to them. Whether you are a veteran entrepreneur or a government contractor looking to work with veteran-owned businesses, this episode is not to be missed. Let's welcome our next giant, Mr. Peter Vazquez.

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You're A Psychologist: Managing Teams, Company Culture, and Expectation Setting - Sean Monett - Blackton Inc.

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2023 70:56

In this episode of the Floor Academy Podcast, we will be joined by Sean Monett, the president of Blackton Inc. in Orlando, Florida, who specializes in new construction with a focus on larger builders. Sean has recognized the importance of effectively managing teams and maintaining a harmonious work environment, as he understands that employees have their own lives outside of work and that interpersonal dynamics within the team can impact productivity and overall success.Sean will share his insights on how to navigate the delicate balance between being too friendly with employees and being too strict, and how to effectively play the role of a psychologist to manage relationships within and outside of the office. He will discuss the importance of setting clear rules and expectations for employees while also fostering a positive and supportive work culture. Sean will also share tips on how to keep the team focused on the important aspects of the business and maintain productivity.Managing teams can be challenging, and Sean will provide valuable insights on how to effectively handle employee complaints, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and create a positive work environment that fosters productivity and team cohesion. Join us as we delve into the intricacies of team management and learn from Sean's experiences in maintaining a successful flooring business while prioritizing employee well-being and team dynamics.Don't miss this episode of the Floor Academy Podcast for valuable tips on effectively managing teams, establishing clear rules and expectations, and maintaining a positive work culture for your flooring business. Gain insights on how to navigate the challenges of team dynamics and create a productive and harmonious work environment for your team.Need new headphones for working and listening to Floor Academy? Check out ISOTunes using the link below. Amazing Bluetooth headphones that are OSHA certified. http://bit.ly/2P5A9pRCheck out the virtual estimates software here! Don't forget to create an account after submitting a sample estimate to get access to more features.Check out our sponsorsJohns ManvilleThe International Surfaces EventCheck out our website and storeSupport the showFloor Academy is a podcast hosted by Kyle Hedin that provides small business information and guidance to flooring, tile and stone contractors on how to build a successful and sustainable business. The podcast aims to help contractors move from owning a job to owning an asset, by providing insights and strategies related to management, entrepreneurship, and networking.Floor Academy covers a range of topics related to flooring, tile and stone business management, including small business advertising, paid traffic, and organic traffic. The podcast also provides information on promotional marketing, LLC setup, simple small business management, and networking strategies.The podcast aims to help carpet, tile, stone, hardwood, floating floor, and many more types of contractors develop a deep understanding of business management, including effective networking and entrepreneurship strategies, which are crucial to achieving long-term success in the flooring industry. By discussing various topics related to small business management, such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, human resources, branding, advertising, interviewing, taxes, company structures, and more the podcast provides valuable insights to help flooring, tile and stone contractors become successful business owners.

What is Life All About? Joshua & Zach Go Deep...

Fastest 5 Minutes, The Podcast Government Contractors Can't Do Without

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2023 88:39

Tune in for a conversation with Uli & Brad Klein—Joshua's dear friends of 20+ years, along with co-host, Zach Day!Connect with Joshua at:The WebsiteThe Facebook GroupDesign & Sales Master ClassesSubscribe to Outerspaces on your favorite podcasting platform and never miss an episode!

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Fastest 5 Minutes: False Claims Act, Emergency Contracting Measures

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2023 5:05

This week's episode covers resolution of False Claims Act allegations relating to alleged payments in violation of the Anti-Kickback Act, cessation of certain emergency contracting measures deployed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and DoD Instruction 8310.01 relating to DoD IT, 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.

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167: Empowering Women Veteran Entrepreneurs: Insights from the Director of the Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative with Michelle Gardner-Ince

Govcon Giants Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2023 21:54

In this episode, we're joined by a highly decorated Air Force Veteran and a retired Colonel, Ms. Michelle (aka “G-I”) Gardner-Ince, who is the Director of the Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative (WVOSBI) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). Ms. Gardner-Ince is the architect of the first program of its kind in the federal government, the WVOSBI, which connects and enables women Veteran entrepreneurs within the VA, federal and commercial marketplace. The program is known in the Veteran and small business community as “VetBizLady” or “VetBizLadies,” and Ms. "G-I" leads the Department's efforts to develop programs that remove obstacles and enable the success of veteran-owned small businesses. She has successfully led several directorates within OSDBU, including the National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE), which is the Department's premier event for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) to connect with Procurement Decision Makers and contracting experts from the federal and commercial marketplaces. Don't miss this inspiring conversation with Ms. Michelle Gardner-Ince. Let's welcome our next giant, Michelle (aka “G-I”) Gardner-Ince.

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Nonprofits struggle with state's slow contracting process

The Capitol Pressroom

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2023 13:59

April 28, 2023 - While nonprofit organizations play a vital role in providing state services, the state government has been notoriously slow to approve contracts and authorize payments for services. Empire Justice Center President & CEO Kristin Brown explains how this dynamic threatens nonprofits and makes the case for codifying new contracting requirements.

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Celebrating 10 Years of Employee-Ownership! Clue # 1, Giveaways, and More! | S4 E14

safety employees construction giveaways asap ownership teamwork hard work clue herb contracting price is right sargent

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 47:11

Happy (almost) 10 years of employee-ownership! Tasha, Eric, and Herb talk about what employee-ownership means to them and give the first clue in the month-long series of Price-Is-Right questions. Don't miss out on the opportunity to win a big prize and the bragging rights when you get it right!Resources: If you're an Employee-Owner at Sargent, and haven't joined the Sargent Employee Facebook page, please send a request and it will be approved ASAP. https://www.facebook.com/groups/654722688058070/permalink/2072270649636593/ If you liked this week's episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/careers/open-positions/

Midweek with Tyler: Visit to Andersen Windows

windows construction andersen contracting

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 27:49

Tyler shares about the team's trip to Andersen Windows, learning about the company's history, culture and engineering processes. Check out the episode! The Modern Craftsman: linktr.ee/moderncraftsmanpodcast Find Our Host: Tyler Grace Podcast Produced By: Motif Media Music: "Dessert" by Nate Gusakov

Customer Service Vs. Customer Experience - Dianne Grossman - The Carpet Girl

The Contracting Experience

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2023 64:38

In this week's episode of the Floor Academy Podcast, we will dive into how customer service and customer experience are different, what makes The Carpet Girls Experience so unique, and how you can build an experience unlike any other in your market, and lastly how it all needs a why.In this episode of the Floor Academy Podcast, we will be exploring the difference between customer service and customer experience with our guest, Dianne Grossman, the creator of The Carpet Girl Experience and co-founder of The Carpet Girl in Springfield Township, NJ.Dianne believes that customer service and customer experience are not interchangeable terms. She sees customer service as the act of resolving problems and ensuring customer satisfaction, while customer experience encompasses the entire journey from start to finish, including how the customer is handled, educated, and nurtured throughout the process.Dianne will share her unique approach to creating an exceptional buying experience for her clients at The Carpet Girl, which has allowed her to grow her business and build a loyal customer base. She will discuss how she recognized the disparity between the decision-makers (mostly women) and the salespeople (mostly men) in the flooring industry, and how she leveraged this insight to create a buying experience unlike any other in her market.Lastly, we explore the importance of knowing your "why" in business, as Dianne will share her experiences with her nonprofit organization and its powerful mission. Learn more about Mallory's Army.Need new headphones for working and listening to Floor Academy? Check out ISOTunes using the link below. Amazing Bluetooth headphones that are OSHA certified. http://bit.ly/2P5A9pRCheck out The International Surfaces Lookbook here!Check out the virtual estimates software here! Don't forget to create an account after submitting a sample estimate to get access to more features.Check out our sponsorsJohns ManvilleThe International Surfaces EventCheck out our website and storeSupport the showFloor Academy is a podcast hosted by Kyle Hedin that provides small business information and guidance to flooring, tile and stone contractors on how to build a successful and sustainable business. The podcast aims to help contractors move from owning a job to owning an asset, by providing insights and strategies related to management, entrepreneurship, and networking.Floor Academy covers a range of topics related to flooring, tile and stone business management, including small business advertising, paid traffic, and organic traffic. The podcast also provides information on promotional marketing, LLC setup, simple small business management, and networking strategies.The podcast aims to help carpet, tile, stone, hardwood, floating floor, and many more types of contractors develop a deep understanding of business management, including effective networking and entrepreneurship strategies, which are crucial to achieving long-term success in the flooring industry. By discussing various topics related to small business management, such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, human resources, branding, advertising, interviewing, taxes, company structures, and more the podcast provides valuable insights to help flooring, tile and stone contractors become successful business owners.

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The Contracting Experience - Episode 45: Contracting Conversations: A Defense Acquisition University Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2023

This guest episode features the Defense Acquisition University's (DAU) Contracting Conversations podcast hosted by DAU Department Chairs, Jim Valley and Scott Williams. Contracting Conversations aims to provide listeners with updated information on the credentialing contracting curriculum and answer questions on the training structure at Defense Acquisition University. This featured episode from Contracting Conversations talks about the Back-to-Basics certification structure, one year after implementation. Search for the podcast in your favorite podcasting app or go to dau.edu and search for Contracting Conversations to hear more topics that can help you on your acquisition journey. “Contracting Conversations” at dau.mil: https://media.dau.edu/media/1_vi98l1at If you would like to share feedback on the podcast, please submit via thecontractingexperience@gmail.com.

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ECONOMIC UPDATE: What Should Business Owners Be Preparing for Next? w/ Simple Numbers 2.0 Author Greg Crabtree

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2023 48:28

Tune in for a conversation with special guest Greg Crabtree of Simple Numbers.Connect with Joshua at:The WebsiteThe Facebook GroupDesign & Sales Master ClassesSubscribe to Outerspaces on your favorite podcasting platform and never miss an episode!

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4/22/23: Exodus 34 - revisited

Keys of the Kingdom

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2023 105:00

Mixing meat and milk; Bizarre interpretations; Listening to God; Quieting your mind; Meditation; Doing mischief; Carrying your weight; Peculiarity; Covetousness; Interpretation of the Holy Spirit; Drawing near to the Lord; Middle of Leviticus; The second Ten Commandments; Re-reading for deeper understanding; Making connections; Connecting you with the Holy Spirit; God gives you free choice; Falling away; Exodus 34:1; The second set of commandments; Avoiding mischief; God commanding Moses; Eating of the Tree of Life; God writing upon your heart and mind; Accepting the consequences of your choices; Wrath of God; Forgiveness?; Recompence; Sin of the golden calf?; Idolatry; Col 3:5; The way back to God; Covetous practices; Common purse; Arts of the temple; Grain reserves; Church by grain?; God's protection?; Eph 5:5; 1 Cor 5:10; Contractual fornication; Proclaiming of the name of God; Mercy + Justice; Accountability; God's criteria for graciousness; Longsuffering; Abundance; Strengthening; Driving out mischief; Avoiding snares; Rom 11:9; Altars of sacrifice; Organizing Israel; Precedents of Moses; Are there just people to belong to your jury?; Contracting with public religion; nun-tav-tzedek = "destroy" and "overturn"; Eating of sacrifices to other gods; Molten gods?; Appearing before the LORD - not empty-handed; Mimicking Israel; Ex 34:27; Moses' social safety net; Justice + Mercy + Faith; Placement of "seething kid in mother's milk".

#214 BS from the MTGA studio 1B

Make Trades Great Again

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2023 36:25

Eric and Andy talk about lawn mowers and other totally random thoughts in the BS session. Ever heard of a vole? Are they real? Should we be paying for lawn mowers?Hard hitting questions the world needs answered. Send us a voice message here Send us your feedback or topic ideas over on our social channels!Eric Aune @mechanicalhub Andy Mickelson @mick_plumbCheck out our website: mechanical-hub.com

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Let's Get an Update: The Asphalt Plant & Quarry | S4 E13

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Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2023 32:07

President & CEO Herb Sargent is joined by General Manager Asphalt & Aggregates Joshua Shaw, Plant Manager Ed Barnes, and Quarry Foreman Chris Curtis in the Flywheel Studio. The crew fills us in on their operations and they fill us in on all the improvements they've made over the winter. An awesome amount of shout-outs are shared and an important announcement is made.Resources: If you're an Employee-Owner at Sargent, and haven't joined the Sargent Employee Facebook page, please send a request and it will be approved ASAP. https://www.facebook.com/groups/654722688058070/permalink/2072270649636593/ If you liked this week's episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/careers/open-positions/

Identifying Your Bottlenecks - Jamie Hawk - Altitude Operations

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2023 72:53

In this episode, we will be discussing the role of technology in streamlining business operations, particularly in the contracting industry. Our guest, Jamie Hawk, is the founder and CEO of Altitude Operations, a company that helps business owners leverage technology to streamline their processes and gain more time to work on their businesses.Jamie will share her insights on why smaller companies, including contracting firms, may not always utilize technology to its full potential. She will discuss common reasons such as concerns about expenses, lack of understanding on how to gain value from technology, and fear of technology itself. Jamie will also highlight the specific challenges that the flooring industry may face when it comes to adopting technology.We will delve into the benefits of using technology to streamline business operations, including automating repetitive tasks, improving communication, and creating repeatable systems that can be easily followed by employees. Jamie will share her extensive knowledge of the tools and technologies available to businesses, and how they can be used to optimize processes and gain efficiencies.We will also discuss the importance of taking a step back from day-to-day operations and working on the business as a whole, rather than just in the business. Jamie will provide practical tips on how business owners in the flooring industry can leverage technology to gain more time, improve communication, and create scalable systems that can drive long-term success.Need new headphones for working and listening to Floor Academy? Check out ISOTunes using the link below. Amazing Bluetooth headphones that are OSHA certified. http://bit.ly/2P5A9pRCheck out The International Surfaces Lookbook here!Check out the virtual estimates software here! Don't forget to create an account after submitting a sample estimate to get access to more features.Check out our sponsorsJohns ManvilleThe International Surfaces EventCheck out our website and storeSupport the showFloor Academy is a podcast hosted by Kyle Hedin that provides small business information and guidance to flooring, tile and stone contractors on how to build a successful and sustainable business. The podcast aims to help contractors move from owning a job to owning an asset, by providing insights and strategies related to management, entrepreneurship, and networking.Floor Academy covers a range of topics related to flooring, tile and stone business management, including small business advertising, paid traffic, and organic traffic. The podcast also provides information on promotional marketing, LLC setup, simple small business management, and networking strategies.The podcast aims to help carpet, tile, stone, hardwood, floating floor, and many more types of contractors develop a deep understanding of business management, including effective networking and entrepreneurship strategies, which are crucial to achieving long-term success in the flooring industry. By discussing various topics related to small business management, such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, human resources, branding, advertising, interviewing, taxes, company structures, and more the podcast provides valuable insights to help flooring, tile and stone contractors become successful business owners.

How to Find Your Superpower w/ Strategy Sprints Coaching Founder Simon Severino

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Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2023 36:13

Tune in for a conversation with special guest Simon Severino of Strategy Sprints.Connect with Joshua at:The WebsiteThe Facebook GroupDesign & Sales Master ClassesSubscribe to Outerspaces on your favorite podcasting platform and never miss an episode!

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#213 Bonus ISH show in Germany Recap

Make Trades Great Again

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2023 18:04

Eric and Andy recap some of the highlights of the ISH show in Frankfurt, GermanySend us a voice message here Send us your feedback or topic ideas over on our social channels!Eric Aune @mechanicalhub Andy Mickelson @mick_plumbCheck out our website: mechanical-hub.com

The evolution of non-contracting radar in chemicals, oil & gas and utilities

Control Amplified

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2023 18:24

A Control Amplified podcast with Ilya Rikhter, general manager of Rosemount Process Level at Emerson.

evolution radar chemicals utilities contracting

The Importance of Having Each Other's Back | S4 E12

president safety operations construction asap teamwork hard work contracting sargent

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2023 25:44

President & CEO Herb Sargent, Vice President-Operations & COO Eric Ritchie sit down to discuss a returning guest to Sargent, safety, and the importance of having each other's backs. They share the weekly shout-outs and two important announcements.Resources: If you're an Employee-Owner at Sargent, and haven't joined the Sargent Employee Facebook page, please send a request and it will be approved ASAP. https://www.facebook.com/groups/654722688058070/permalink/2072270649636593/ If you liked this week's episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/careers/open-positions/

#212 @thelittlestplumber Danielle Browne

Make Trades Great Again

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2023 51:34

What's it like being the coolest Red Seal plumber on the island of Newfoundland? Listen to Danielle “Twig” Browne in this episode of MTGA and you'll get to know her a bit more. Twig has been a longtime proponent of being a good friend and mentor to anyone and everyone, please follow her over on IG or TikTok at @thelittlestplumber Send us a voice message here Send us your feedback or topic ideas over on our social channels!Eric Aune @mechanicalhub Andy Mickelson @mick_plumbCheck out our website: mechanical-hub.com

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What Does It Take To Franchise? - Bryan Park - Footprints Floors

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2023 66:29

In this episode, we will be discussing the process of franchising a business and the importance of building a repeatable system for success. Our guest, Bryan Park, is the owner of Footprints Floors, a successful flooring business that he has successfully franchised to other contractors.Bryan will share his journey of starting out as a sand and finish guy and eventually transitioning to sales and management before venturing out on his own in 2008 to start Footprints Floors. He will discuss the challenges and lessons learned in building a business that was scalable and replicable, leading him to the decision to franchise his business in 2013.We will delve into the process of franchising, including the documentation and systemization required to ensure a consistent and repeatable process that can be replicated by franchisees. Bryan will share insights on how he developed a proven system that could be easily replicated, including operational processes, marketing strategies, and training programs for franchisees.We will also discuss the benefits and challenges of franchising a business, including the importance of maintaining brand consistency, providing ongoing support to franchisees, and ensuring the long-term success of the franchise system. Bryan will share his experiences and lessons learned from franchising his business, including tips for aspiring entrepreneurs who are considering franchising as a growth strategy.Need new headphones for working and listening to Floor Academy? Check out ISOTunes using the link below. Amazing Bluetooth headphones that are OSHA certified. http://bit.ly/2P5A9pRCheck out The International Surfaces Lookbook here!Check out the virtual estimates software here! Don't forget to create an account after submitting a sample estimate to get access to more features.Check out our sponsorsJohns ManvilleThe International Surfaces EventCheck out our website and storeSupport the showFloor Academy is a podcast hosted by Kyle Hedin that provides small business information and guidance to flooring, tile and stone contractors on how to build a successful and sustainable business. The podcast aims to help contractors move from owning a job to owning an asset, by providing insights and strategies related to management, entrepreneurship, and networking.Floor Academy covers a range of topics related to flooring, tile and stone business management, including small business advertising, paid traffic, and organic traffic. The podcast also provides information on promotional marketing, LLC setup, simple small business management, and networking strategies.The podcast aims to help carpet, tile, stone, hardwood, floating floor, and many more types of contractors develop a deep understanding of business management, including effective networking and entrepreneurship strategies, which are crucial to achieving long-term success in the flooring industry. By discussing various topics related to small business management, such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, human resources, branding, advertising, interviewing, taxes, company structures, and more the podcast provides valuable insights to help flooring, tile and stone contractors become successful business owners.

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How to Get Out of Debt & Create Generational Wealth w/ Tyler Waters

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2023 62:28

Tune in for a conversation with special guest Tyler Waters.Connect with Joshua at:The WebsiteThe Facebook GroupDesign & Sales Master ClassesSubscribe to Outerspaces on your favorite podcasting platform and never miss an episode!

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Procurement trends in small business contracting

Off the Shelf

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2023 43:12

Tiffany Hixon, assistant commissioner for the Professional Services and Human Capital Category at the Federal Acquisition Service, joins host Roger Waldron on this week's Off the Shelf to discuss Professional Services Category procurement trends.

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The problem with cluttered backlogs and how to declutter them, coaching Product Owners | Daniel Westermayr

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2023 14:24

Daniel Westermayr: The problem with cluttered backlogs and how to declutter them, coaching Product Owners Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Daniel Westermayr discusses his belief in the importance of the Scrum Master role in helping companies achieve their product goals. He shares his experience of encountering a cluttered backlog with items that were years old and how he cleaned it up, only to face complaints from someone in support. Daniel emphasizes the need for Scrum Masters to clarify why a large backlog is a problem, and why the company wants to keep all items. He also advises that Scrum Masters should understand what they stand for and constantly question why certain practices are being implemented. Finally, he suggests that, in order to avoid fears of losing important information, the older requirements can be stored in a safe location. Daniel also mentions an article on how to declutter product backlogs. [IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company. About Daniel Westermayr Daniel is a Kanban Trainer with a knack for all things Lean and Theory of Constraints. He wants to help teams achieve and measure their continuous improvements. You can link with Daniel Westermayr on LinkedIn.

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Let's Get an Update: Workforce Advancement | S4 E11

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Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2023 35:32

President & CEO Herb Sargent is joined by Workforce Advancement Director Kevin Gordon and Workforce Development Specialist Pete Parizo in the Flywheel studio. Those two guys have been busy this winter, and they tell us all about it on this episode. The crew reads off a big list of shout-out submissions (keep them coming) and there's one new announcement.Resources: If you're an Employee-Owner at Sargent, and haven't joined the Sargent Employee Facebook page, please send a request and it will be approved ASAP. https://www.facebook.com/groups/654722688058070/permalink/2072270649636593/ If you liked this week's episode and are interested in becoming an Employee-Owner at Sargent, please visit our careers page on the Sargent website. https://sargent.us/careers/open-positions/

How to Get Out of the Rat Race By Investing in Real Estate w/ Rusty Horn

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2023 57:41

Tune in for a conversation with special guest Rusty Horn.Connect with Joshua at:The WebsiteThe Facebook GroupDesign & Sales Master ClassesSubscribe to Outerspaces on your favorite podcasting platform and never miss an episode!

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Buying Back My Time - Buddy Mitchell - Simply Floors

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Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2023 87:44

In this episode, we will be discussing the importance of leveraging time and resources to build a successful business. Our guest, Buddy Mitchell, has a track record of building successful businesses, including deck building, basement build-outs, remodeling, and currently Simply Floors with his wife Karen, which has generated over $8 million in revenue.Buddy will share his insights on how he has been able to buy back his time and create a profitable business by making strategic decisions on hiring, managing resources, and investing in the growth of his business. He will discuss the mindset shift required to transition from "doing it all yourself" to effectively delegating and leveraging resources to scale a business.We will explore Buddy's strategies for hiring the right team members, understanding when and how to invest in the business for future growth, and managing cash flow and profitability. He will also share his experiences and lessons learned from his previous businesses and how they have shaped his approach to building and growing successful ventures.Join us as we delve into Buddy's journey of building successful businesses and his insights on how to buy back your time while ensuring the long-term success of your business. Gain practical tips and strategies on how to effectively scale your business and achieve profitability, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.Need new headphones for working and listening to Floor Academy? Check out ISOTunes using the link below. Amazing Bluetooth headphones that are OSHA certified. http://bit.ly/2P5A9pRCheck out The International Surfaces Lookbook here!Check out the virtual estimates software here! Don't forget to create an account after submitting a sample estimate to get access to more features.Check out our sponsorsJohns ManvilleThe International Surfaces EventCheck out our website and storeSupport the showFloor Academy is a podcast hosted by Kyle Hedin that provides small business information and guidance to flooring, tile and stone contractors on how to build a successful and sustainable business. The podcast aims to help contractors move from owning a job to owning an asset, by providing insights and strategies related to management, entrepreneurship, and networking.Floor Academy covers a range of topics related to flooring, tile and stone business management, including small business advertising, paid traffic, and organic traffic. The podcast also provides information on promotional marketing, LLC setup, simple small business management, and networking strategies.The podcast aims to help carpet, tile, stone, hardwood, floating floor, and many more types of contractors develop a deep understanding of business management, including effective networking and entrepreneurship strategies, which are crucial to achieving long-term success in the flooring industry. By discussing various topics related to small business management, such as finance, operations, marketing, sales, human resources, branding, advertising, interviewing, taxes, company structures, and more the podcast provides valuable insights to help flooring, tile and stone contractors become successful business owners.

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Episode 136: How Joe Borress Balances Electrical and Low-Voltage Contracting

Residential Tech Talks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2023 46:47

On this week's podcast, Joe Borress joins us from Malibu, CA, where he is founder and president of Tri-Star Electric & Automation. Our guest today grew up immersed in high-end New York City construction projects, as a third-generation electrical contractor. He spent the early decades of his career navigating and troubleshooting complex job sites, working with clients and renowned architects in the ultra-luxury residential markets of New York City, the Hamptons, and Greenwich, CT. Then, in 2013, drawn to California's sunshine and quality of life, Joe and his family moved from the east coast to Malibu, where he established his company as a sought-after designer and consultant in the most exclusive areas of Southern California, combining his qualifications as an electrical contractor, lighting designer, and low-voltage integrator.Today's episode of Residential Tech Talks is brought to you Nice, a global manufacturer of smart home, security, and building automation solutions. Nice is bringing together 30 years of innovation with award-winning products from ELAN, SpeakerCraft, and Panamax, to create a holistic ecosystem for builders, integrators, and consumers. Learn more about how you can create One Home with One Solution at go.niceforyou.com/rtt.

Let's Get an Update: The Maintenance and Fab Shop | S4 E10