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Shahayra Majumder and Jonathan Chizever - Hydrate IV Bar Madison, WI On Focusing on What Really Matters: "They're passionate about their health, which is your only wealth at the end of the day." What good is money if you're spending your time hurting and not able to enjoy this great gift of life that we have all been given?  Health is arguably the most important thing to focus on, to make sure you can do the things you want to do.  Whether that is growing a business or enjoying time with friends. Shahayra and Jonathan set out to help boost the health of the midwest by starting a Hydrate IV Bar franchise in Madison, Wisconsin. Through our candid conversation you will learn what is a IV bar, why do people get IV drips and how they started this business in the IV drip world. Learn how they identified a gap in the Midwest's wellness market, navigated the highly regulated and rapidly evolving IV bar industry, and brought a community-focused approach to health and hydration. Are you curious about how IV therapy went from hospital wards to vibrant wellness lounges?  Or what it takes to build a franchise rooted in both science and local values?  This conversation will open your eyes to the business challenges, customer stories, and passion that drive this growing trend. Shahayra and Jonathan share some great insights into franchise selection, the science behind vitamin infusions, building a winning team, and the power of connection within a unique new “third space” for health-minded people. Listen as they explain the power of IV drips and how they can help you in your health and life journey. Enjoy! Visit Shahayra and Jonathan at: https://hydrateivbar.com/locations/madison/ Sponsors: Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Bringing IV therapy to Madison 05:39 Navigating Franchise Regulations 07:47 IV therapy goes mainstream in Tokyo 12:50 Curated med spa offerings 14:44 Choosing Hydrate IV Bar for Madison 19:02 Starting with franchise questions 20:37 Building a Health-Focused Community 24:53 Benefits of Vitamin D Supplementation 27:55 Challenges with supplement patents 32:20 Functional medicine consultations at Hydrate 34:08 Patient advocacy and safe care 39:05 Frequency of sessions per week 41:33 Supplements and their credibility 47:04 Choosing the right location 48:42 Optimizing franchise location space 52:48 Hiring nurses for IV procedures 56:16 Spa services and mobile options Podcast Transcription: Jonathan Chizever [00:00:00]: This gentleman with Parkinson's started supplementing the NAD with us, and the results we're seeing are just, like, amazing. He's not perfect in running marathons, but he's walking around without his hunch in his cane. I check in with his wife the next day, like, hey, how's he doing? And she's like, I couldn't believe it. I woke up and I walk out and he was up before me, which is rare. And he's sitting in his chair in the living room, giant smile plastered across his face. And. And it's like, what's going on? And then I see him get out of the chair, stand up with no cane, no hunch, and he's like, I feel better than I felt in a long time because of something that we all. James Kademan [00:00:41]: You have found authentic business adventures business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found@drawincustomers.com we are locally unwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie, and today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Sahara and Jonathan of the Hydrate IV bar. So, Sahara, Jonathan, how are you guys doing today? Jonathan Chizever [00:01:06]: Wonderful. Excited to be here. James Kademan [00:01:08]: Yeah. Shahayra Majumder [00:01:08]: Woot, woot. James Kademan [00:01:09]: Let's talk about Hydrate IV bar. I don't know what in the world an IV bar is, and I bet a lot of people don't either. So let's just start with what is an IV bar? Jonathan Chizever [00:01:18]: Happy to tell them you want to go or want me to go? Shahayra Majumder [00:01:20]: Um, yeah, I'll kick it off if you want to add in, if there's anything that I miss. But have you ever had an IV before? James Kademan [00:01:28]: I had. Yes. I had a saline IV thing when I had a. A gut thing, a stress gut thing Shahayra Majumder [00:01:35]: way back when, probably in the hospital. James Kademan [00:01:37]: Yeah. Yeah. Not a fan. Shahayra Majumder [00:01:39]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:01:41]: Not a fan of being in the hospital. Shahayra Majumder [00:01:42]: Yeah, right. Yeah, I. A lot of people are used to thinking about IVs being something that you get in the hospital or at urgent care in an emerg situation. But an IV bar actually takes those services outside of an emergency situation and lets you be a little more proactive about rapidly rehydrating your body. James Kademan [00:02:04]: All right. Shahayra Majumder [00:02:05]: For your different health and wellness goals. There's lots that we can do with supplementing things that you might be deficient in or if you're just feeling certain ailments that could be improved with additional vitamin supplements, meditation, or hydration. That's usually why people come to an IV bar. For me, it's been more of a proactive thing. I realized as I started doing IVs on a regular basis, I felt more energy. I was getting sick less. I didn't really let anything get me down as much. Like during cold and flu season. Shahayra Majumder [00:02:49]: Yeah. Anything that you would add to that, Jonathan Chizever [00:02:52]: I think that sums it up. Great. Yeah. James Kademan [00:02:54]: All right. How do you get in the IV bar business? Shahayra Majumder [00:02:58]: You take that one. Jonathan Chizever [00:03:01]: So we both, in our travels, neither of us are from Madison. I've been here 10 years. Sahara's been here seven. And we've both, in our travels and living other places, seen this as a more established concept in other places. And, you know, in the Midwest, whether it's fashion trends or wellness modalities, we're generally the last to get just about everything. And so here we are. And so, you know, IVs have saved us in numerous occasions from feeling bad, and really, until we got in the business, didn't yet understand how much it can make you feel good in a consistent and proactive sense. But we just saw this as a market that makes so much sense for it, because, you know, what people traditionally associate it with is hangovers, at least in the selective sense, which it is phenomenal for, I've heard, at least. Jonathan Chizever [00:03:54]: But. But beyond that, you know, like, the founder of our brand, she got into this. She was a Broncos cheerleader, and she noticed all the guys in the team are doing these IVs routinely, all the time. And that was part of her origin story of getting into this. And so athletes love it, and athletes have been ahead of the curve and, you know, taking advantage of this. So for athletics and drinking Madison, we have a lot of bubbles, and turns out. James Kademan [00:04:24]: Yeah, yeah. Jonathan Chizever [00:04:25]: So. And then beyond that, we also have a very vibrant wellness scene. You know, we have a population that likes to take care of themselves. And, I mean, in so many ways, it made sense, but it was something that we saw being severely underserved. So it wasn't like we wanted to start a business. And we're like, what business do we do? It was like we noticed that there was a gap in the availability of these types of services in a place that it makes so much sense to have them. And the rest kind of naturally came from there. James Kademan [00:04:55]: Right on. So did you hunt down a franchise, or did you get introduced to the franchise? And you're like, yes, that's what we want. Shahayra Majumder [00:05:03]: Little column A, little column B. I did interview, like, every franchise under the sun doing IV stuff. James Kademan [00:05:09]: All in the IV stuff. Shahayra Majumder [00:05:10]: Yes. James Kademan [00:05:11]: Okay, how many are we talking here? Shahayra Majumder [00:05:12]: Oh, my God. I think I Started talking to folks in September of 2024, and then we signed our franchise agreement February of 25. So, yeah, I mean, that gives you a little gauge. It took me months and months of. James Kademan [00:05:27]: So just talking like, I don't know how many franchise I've seen. Are we talking five? We talking 50? Jonathan Chizever [00:05:32]: Oh, no, I'd say a dozen and a half maybe. Shahayra Majumder [00:05:35]: Yeah, maybe closer to like the 20 or 30. Jonathan Chizever [00:05:37]: Wow. Shahayra Majumder [00:05:39]: Yeah, franchise franchises. And there are a few that dominate the market. There are a few that are bigger. But what's interesting is this industry, it's very highly regulated, but the regulations are different state to state. So if you know a little bit about franchising, you know that franchises have to be registered in every single state. And some states are harder to get registered in. And so I talked to a lot of the folks that I was able to get their franchisees on the phone and get honest opinions about the kind of support they're receiving, how the market has received them. I particularly talk to folks in the Midwest or familiar with the Midwest because, you know, the market in the Midwest is not going to be what it is in, you know, Nashville, Tennessee, for example, where you're getting a lot more tourism and. James Kademan [00:06:38]: Yeah, sober me up. Sober me up. ...

When people ask how to find new music, I hope you'll point them toward DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio! This week's show--#446 on Mixcloud and #294 on HearThis--is now available for streaming and includes new tracks from Peter Murphy, Makes My Blood Dance, Mortes, Extize, The City Gates, Georgi, Octavian Winters, and Thin Eater, among others, plus some excellent requests for KMFDM, Depeche Mode, IAMX, and Voltaire. I hope you'll give it a listen and thanks for your support! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 7 June 2026 Mortes, “Join Me in Death” Extize, “I Don't Wanna Be Me” Wingtips, “After the Storm” Cold Showers, “Measured Man” Bellhead, “Nothing as It Seems (Loveless Love remix)” KMFDM, “Juke-Joint Jezebel” The City Gates, “Radium Love” Ships in the Night, “I Was Your Body” Depeche Mode, “Ghosts Again” Solmen Assembly, “Halo of Fire” Jesus on Exstasy, “Something Far Away” Affect Effect, “Saturday Night Shootout” Demonwarp, “Warlock Second Coming” GunFight, “Street Sweeper” Makes My Blood Dance, “Time and a Place” Peter Murphy, “Swoon (Magic Wands remix)” Navaja, “El Silencio” Incirrina, “Careworn Faces” Esses, “Little Mouse” Voltaire, “It's Always Wednesday” Balduvian Bears, “Hill (Past Dream)” Eisbrecher, “Everything is Wunderbar” IAMX, “Surrender” Thin Eater, “Silently Quitting at the Speed of Light” Damien Hearse, “Sick of You” Taxi Girls, “Rainy” Octavian Winters, “By the Stars” Georgi, “Reign (Glass)” Darkswoon, “Blood Let” Xenturion Prime, “As One Forever” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Inquiries to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Ronica Cleary - Cleary Strategies On Trying DIY PR: "You don't know what makes you newsworthy. You don't know what lands. You don't know what's a really good pitch and what's not." Every business wants, well actually, needs customers.  How do you get customers?  You get noticed and you get your business in front of potential customers.  How do you grow this awareness?  You can shout from the street corner, cold-call, pay for advertising, or use the tried and true way to build trust and that is to get some news stories written and published about you. The interesting thing about public relations is that, with the right public relation expert, you can control the narrative about your business and grow the awareness of your brand in a trusted space.  People generally trust the news much more than they trust an advertisement.  So if you are in the news, you are much more likely to be a trusted brand. Ronica Cleary has been on the news side of the desk and now helps businesses get noticed with her PR firm, Cleary Strategies.  She and her crew craft the stories and push them to the editors and people that can get them on the pages, print and web, that people read. Listen as Ronica explains the power of PR and how she has built her PR firm from her incredible experience as a television journalist. Enjoy! Visit Ronica at: https://www.clearystrategies.com/ Sponsors: Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Starting Cleary Strategies Unexpectedly 06:09 Covering Trump's first election campaign 09:09 Media relations and crisis management 11:33 Evolution of media placements 13:59 Pitching to a busy newsroom 18:23 Managing media queries efficiently 22:16 Managing Public Relations Challenges 25:45 Concerns about paid media placements 27:11 Shady PR practices discussion 30:51 Using PR to Boost Visibility 33:50 Developing client content themes 37:20 Building a thought leadership presence 40:08 Importance of a founder's story 42:59 The value of PR in business 46:37 Podcast audience quality over size 50:26 Reflections on Starting a Business 53:56 Assessing contractor fit and retention Podcast Transcription: Ronica Cleary [00:00:00]: We, we think like producers when we pitch our clients. We don't. We have to think as a producer would so that when we present the pitch to the newsroom, it's like we've produced the segment for them and not because they aren't capable, not because they can't, but because maybe they don't have the bandwidth to do so. And so if our pitch comes perfectly packaged with the pieces in place, the B roll ready to go, the expert teed up the potential questions all written for you. You know, they're not going to take it word for word, but it's like all of the pieces are there. James Kademan [00:00:36]: You have found authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found@drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun prairie, Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, as well as Live Switch. And today we're welcoming, slash, preparing to learn from Ronica with Cleary Strategies. And today we are talking pr. So Ronica, how is it going today? Ronica Cleary [00:01:07]: It's going so well. Just poured myself a fresh cup of coffee, finished the pot. James Kademan [00:01:12]: So lucky. Ronica Cleary [00:01:13]: We've had a caffeinated day, but it's a good day. James Kademan [00:01:17]: Yeah, nice. Tell me, how long have you been in the PR business? Ronica Cleary [00:01:24]: So I'm approaching eight years this summer. So we started our agency, I always say we opened our virtual doors before it was cool. Yeah, nearly eight. And so it's, we're kind of, I can see in the horizon that 10 year mark, which is exciting. James Kademan [00:01:42]: I don't know what the, what the metrics are, what the data is for. How many businesses make it 10 years? It's not many. So I feel like you're doing very well. Ronica Cleary [00:01:50]: They talk about that five year mark as a really big turning point and I felt it and I think that's a very valid marker for, you know, a shift in your business. But I think you maybe hear less about the 10 year mark because people probably throw in the towel by then. James Kademan [00:02:06]: They're like, forget this, I'm done. No more, no more. Oh, it's funny. How did you end up in the PR business Ronica Cleary [00:02:14]: accidentally? You know, it was not on purpose, but that's been the beautiful part of the journey. So if I'm being more specific than accidentally, I think it was really client request for that type of service. So I'm a former television journalist and when I left TV I did obviously intentionally start a business and open Cleary strategies. But my vision was to do a lot of communicate traditional communications and support with internal communications and writing and, you know, coaching and. But what people were asking for in my network, because when you started business, you know, your first customers are usually in your network, was, you know, you used to be on tv. Can you help me get on tv? And it was, you know, I didn't call it PR in that moment, but I did have an aha moment a few years into running my business where I said, I think I'm a publicist. Like, how did that happen? And, you know, then we, I mean, we realized that was becoming our identity. I've really leaned into it and I love it. Ronica Cleary [00:03:12]: And we are now a full service PR agency. And that is very, very much our identity today. And we don't do any internal comms or anything like that. So a big shift from customer demand and direction, which is a really cool way to grow. And it's been great. James Kademan [00:03:27]: Nice. So what made you get out of tv? I guess that's an assumption. Maybe you haven't. What made you get out of being a video journalist? Ronica Cleary [00:03:35]: So that is, you know, a lot of reasons. But I'll make it brief because we only have 52 minutes. So let's see. I had a really beautiful career in television. I like to say I had a storybook career in tv. And my most recent work in television was as a White House correspondent. I worked in Washington D.C. and I covered the White House as a journalist. Ronica Cleary [00:03:56]: And my contract was coming up for renewal and I was pregnant with our second child. And at the time, my husband and I actually lived in different states. I lived in the District, the, the District area. I lived in Maryland, but right outside of D.C. with our daughter on my own. And most of the time and he was up here in Pennsylvania. And, you know, it just seemed like the right time to live under one roof with a. With the birth of our second coming and now we have three, which is really beautiful. Ronica Cleary [00:04:26]: And family's very important. And I always really was entrepreneurial. I always had a passion and an interest. I had a really bad attempt at entrepreneurship in my 20s, and I didn't have the drive or the focus to really turn it into something. And in my, let's see, how old was I? I guess my mid-30s. When I started this business, I was a different person and I was ready to really give it an honest try in, in the real sense of the, of making a service business work. And it felt like the right time. And I had done so many wonderful things in tv, it wasn't that, you know, I certainly hadn't done everything, but I felt like I had checked that box in my. Ronica Cleary [00:05:09]: And that I could really look back on that and feel accomplished and like the ride was extremely meaningful. And it felt like a time when I could close that chapter in a thoughtful way. So that's. That's kind of the. The Cliff Notes. James Kademan [00:05:24]: All right, this is. I want to go down the White House correspondent journalist a little bit. Ronica Cleary [00:05:29]: Sure. James Kademan [00:05:30]: Tell me about the contract. Was that with a specific channel or. Ronica Cleary [00:05:35]: Oh, yeah, sure. So I worked for the local Fox affiliate in Washington. So my TV contract was with WTTG, and that's Fox 5. That's the local station in Washington. And then if you cover the White House, you can become a member of the White House Correspondents association, which I was. But my contract in television was with the local Fox station in Washington. And, you know, I moved down there to become the political reporter for the station. It's actually, you know, I don't know if your listeners are super into this, but, you know, it's really rare for local stations to have White House correspondence. Ronica Cleary [00:06:09]: Usually that's a network thing or a print and print reporter thing or some radio stations. But I was down there. I covered the presidential election leading up to the election of Donald Trump for the first time, his first campaign. And, you know, I know he is president today, but that first time that he won, I mean, that the, the media momentum was a frenzy. It was all consuming. And so independent of the politics, I was down there at a really unique time that as a local news reporter, they actually said, we need someone in the briefing room. So that's kind of where, like, I call it like a bit of a storybook career, because usually to get in that briefing room, you've got to follow the journey into working at a national network or, you know, working for, I would argue, maybe a. A bigger news outlet. Ronica Cleary [00:06:58]: And while WTTG,...

Rowan Childs - Madison Reading Project On Building Up Youth: "We want to make sure every kid is excited and sees themselves on the cover or as the main character." Often we take the skills we have for granted.  We want this and that, but rarely take the time to have gratitude for all that we have.  I'm not talking material things, I am speaking of opportunities and education.  As business owners, we know how to read. Did you know that many children have challenges achieving the literacy needed to understand the other subjects in school?  Rowan Childs saw this need and built a non-profit to help children get access to books to read.  Not just any books.  These are books that kids want to read.  Madison Reading Project is a non-profit that offers free books and literacy resources to children to ignite a love of reading. The beautiful thing is Madison Reading Project has blossomed from a small startup to a non-profit that continues to serve thousands of books to children.  This is truly an amazing success story and a story that is making the world a better place. Enjoy! Visit Rowan at: https://www.madisonreadingproject.com/ Sponsors: Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, phone answering for small businesses: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Starting a reading pilot program 04:15 Addressing literacy challenges 07:50 Finding support and gathering books 13:52 Benefits of being a smaller team 14:32 Navigating diverse board challenges 19:27 Building trust with the community 22:38 Offering diverse book options 26:55 Selecting books for community programs 30:36 Lessons from volunteering at food bank 33:00 Donating books through our program 37:20 Giving out books during holidays 39:20 Paper fashion design contest 43:41 Deciding to make paper dresses 45:51 Building Awareness and Finding Volunteers Podcast Transcription: James Kademan [00:00:00]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggles, stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at https://drawincustomers.com.  We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today we are welcoming, slash, preparing to learn from Rowan Childs of Madison Reading Project. Rowan, I'm super excited to be here. Rowan Childs [00:00:32]: Thank you. Welcome. James Kademan [00:00:34]: This is amazing. We got. I mean, people can see we got whatever, 5 billion books behind us and all that stuff. So tell us the story. What is Madison Reading Project? Rowan Childs [00:00:44]: Yeah. So we are a nonprofit. We provide all kinds of literacy resources, whether they are physical books, digital resources, and our wonderful stuff. We're here to support adults and children in support of them learning how to read in support of them re engaging or engaging in reading and love of books, ultimately to help raise literacy rates in Dane county and now just in Sauk county as well. Yes. That's a brand new thing. James Kademan [00:01:27]: Wow. Rowan Childs [00:01:27]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:01:28]: All right. Rowan Childs [00:01:29]: But we're really here to make sure that kids have their books and to help remove some of those barriers that they have. So whether it's been from the very beginning through what we do today, we do that in a way more sophisticated way than how we started, but it really is to try and provide really high quality materials that children and adults can keep. So we want to make sure that kids are excited about the books and about reading and that they ultimately are inspired to want to hang on to those and to continue to read and love books. James Kademan [00:02:08]: Nice. I love it. I love it. It's so interesting because when you give me address to the place, I just follow gps. And I was like, it's just going to be some warehouse or something like that. But this is a very bright. It's vibrant, it's welcoming. It's not just some dingy, like, there's the books in the back kind of thing. Rowan Childs [00:02:25]: Not at all. James Kademan [00:02:25]: So this is cool. This is very nice. Rowan Childs [00:02:28]: Good. That's how we want everyone to feel. James Kademan [00:02:30]: Yeah. I love it. Let's go back to the way back when, when you first started this 12 years ago, you said, yep, that is a while. We got pandemic. We got. Rowan Childs [00:02:41]: Man. James Kademan [00:02:42]: I feel like every few years there's some kind of a crisis. So I don't remember all the crisis we've been through. But what triggered you to start Madison Reading Project? Rowan Childs [00:02:51]: Yeah, I had just helped my own son re engage in reading. He liked reading things at home, but not so much the books that he was reading at school. And after I helped him figure that out, it just got me thinking about what if I hadn't understood the teacher who had messaged me at home? Or what if they hadn't messaged me? It took me some time and resources to figure that out. So I started just researching and couldn't really find what I was looking for, which wasn't necessarily volunteering on helping kids how to read, it was the other piece of it. And so I spent some time interviewing at some schools and some other after school locations and no one really knew of something of what I was describing and eventually had this idea of potentially how I this pilot program idea. But I wanted to find a pilot program location that would be smaller versus starting somewhere that had 200 kids. So I eventually found a program at Salvation army on Darbo drive that had 30 kids. And Zarbo Drive area is a pretty impoverished area. Rowan Childs [00:04:15]: And the director at that time said he was actually trying to help the kids with homework, but they were behind in reading and he was trying to engage kids in reading. So it was this perfect sort of timing. And the week that we met, the Race to Equity report came out, which was a five year data set on everything that you kind of need for the proof of why literacy is so important. So anything on the actual literacy rates of every school in the county, comparing not just districts and schools, but also third grade reading levels, fifth grade high school in poverty rates, and also race, comparing kids who are white and black or Hispanic. And some of the differences not only were maybe 10 or 15%, but some of the schools were up to 40% differences. And that's just heartbreaking. Still, every time I talk about it, it makes me just really sad because if you can't read whether you're in third grade, you. You're just always going to be behind. Rowan Childs [00:05:28]: Ultimately, you might still be able to struggle through school, but what kind of job are you going to be able to get or can even get your driver's license? You know, it's just snowballs from there. James Kademan [00:05:40]: Yeah. Rowan Childs [00:05:42]: And Will, who was the director at the time, was really adamant that if you can't read, it's just going to be a really difficult life or could lead to a life of incarceration. And so the two of us were very passionate about trying to figure something out. And then the last piece was the funding. James Kademan [00:06:05]: It's a pretty big piece, kind of. Rowan Childs [00:06:07]: I had no money to put towards my pilot program. Someone I had mentioned what I wanted to do, said you really need to have the right money to do the pilot program. Correctly. James Kademan [00:06:19]: Thanks. Rowan Childs [00:06:20]: Yes. And wrote me a check for $1,000. Oh. Which is really nice. That way I could actually purchase the right materials to make the program the pilot. Correct. James Kademan [00:06:32]: Wow. Rowan Childs [00:06:33]: So that was the last piece for that. So we did a three month pilot program that went really well. The parents, the kids were really engaged and excited about clearing out some of the old books that nobody wanted to read, putting in new books that the kids helped so select. The teachers were excited to have new materials so successful that they asked me to come back and do it again. James Kademan [00:06:59]: All right. Rowan Childs [00:07:00]: Which we did. And one thing led to another. But it definitely, as we stayed and sort of kept learning from that, that really was the beginning of learning that. Absolutely kids do want to learn how to read. They absolutely do want to read great books and to select books. And there's a lot of pride in being able to select their own books. And we stayed at that location exclusively for nearly two years, just learning with the kids and the parents and the teachers really what we did or didn't want to do or what we could do before we were going to scale at all. And that was great. Rowan Childs [00:07:50]: And the other piece was, how are we going to fund all of this apart from that initial check? And while we were doing that initial pilot program in that first year, people just started giving me boxes of their nice books that they had never used or just unsolicited. They're like, oh, oh, by the way, I have a box of books for you. Like, oh, thank you so much. Or people were asking me how they could donate some money because they loved what they had heard what I was doing, whether I really knew them or not, till the point where I had a basement full of books in my house. And I was like, this seems like we have something here. So we have definitely children in a population in Madison initially that absolutely would love to have more books and programs. We have people who absolutely seem to love books and want to provide books....

This week's Dark Nation Radio broadcast is now available for streaming. After two back-to-back themed shows (my annual World Goth Day and Gothic Beach Party programs), this week's installment is back to “normal,” meaning a two-hour dark music program leaning heavily into new and recent releases—including PIG, NITE, Sine, Octavian Winters, IAMIMPERFECT, Xenturion Prime, Mesh, and Requiem in White. I hope you'll give it a spin and thank you for your support! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 31 May 2026 PIG, “DNA” In Strict Confidence, “Ask Your Soul” Gossamer, “Run (Wayne Hussey remix)” The Razor Skyline, “Vittoria” Brittany Bindrim, “Volcano (The Boundless remix)” Legend, “Devil in Me” White Ritual, “Furious Passion” Ironic Sweden, “The Light” Sine, “Trauma Bondage” Split Vision, “Once and For All” False Figure, “Original Sin” Circuit Preacher, “This All Hurts” Eisbrecher, “Adrenaline (Neuschnitt)” Matt Hart, “Absolute Zero (Rotersand's Classic Ride Rework)” Clicks, “The World is Ending” Heartworms, “Jacked” Nite, “Oblivion (My Obsession)” Requiem in White, “True Lovers and Whores” Nyx Division, “Dead Man” Lone Assembly, “The Pain Keeper” Mesh, “Kill Us With Silence” District 13, “Decision of Ego (White Noise TV mix)” IAMIMPERFECT, “The Fallen” Octavian Winters, “Element of Air” Clubdrugs, “Anybody (Spike Factory Science Club remix)” The Saint Paul, “DNA” Xenturion Prime, “As One Forever” Dina Summer, “Promise Me” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Inquiries to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

The annual Dark Nation Radio GOTHIC BEACH PARTY broadcast can now be streamed! Memorial Day weekend is considered the “unofficial start of summer” in the US and, to mark the occasion, I'm pleased to present my friskiest show of the year—I throw out all the rules for this one to bring you an eclectic mix of rockabilly, electronica, New Wave, punk, and, of course, satanic doo-wop. Anything goes as long as its devilishly fun—I mean, where else are you going to find a show that includes Evil Elvis, Red Elvises, Dead Elvi, and Dread Zeppelin? Also in the mix this year are My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Wanda Jackson, The Clash, Laibach (!), Twin Temple, Santigold, The Ramones, Genesis Owusu, and, of course, The Cramps—plus a lot more. The show pairs well with evil tiki drinks and cursed idols, so pass the moon-tan lotion and turn it! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 24 May 2026 GOTHIC BEACH PARTY 2026 HorrorPops, “Horror Beach” The Cramps, “Aloha from Hell” My Life w/ the Thrill Kill Kult, “Hit & Run Holiday” Kat Robichaud, “Break My Heart” Klack, “Good Luck Babe (1982 Cassette version)” Diechotomy, “Blood Beach” Wanda Jackson, “Shakin' All Over” Tiger Army, “The Devil That You Don't Know” Karen O, “Love is Strange” Genesis Owusu, “Leaving the Light” The Clash, “London's Burning” Mister Monster, “Science Fiction Double Feature” The Interrupters, “Broken World” The B-52s, “Private Idaho” Flesh for Lulu, “Sleeping Dogs” Teddybears, “Punk Rocker” The Brick Bats, “Na Na Na Na (The Creature)” Dead Elvi, “The Creature Stole My Surfboard” Red Elvises, “I Wanna See You Bellydance” Evil Elvis, “I Wanna Wed (the Undead)” Dead Elvis + Thee Gravemen, “Munster Boogie Woogie” Dread Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” Twin Temple, “Let's Have a Satanic Orgy” Imelda May, “It's Your Voodoo Working” Devil Doll, “Liquor Store” The Creepshow, “Cherry Hill” Voltaire, “Captains All” The Ramones, “Rockaway Beach” Emi Pop, “Amigos Vampiros” Meat Loaf / Rocky Horror, “Hot Patootie” Sweet, “Ballroom Blitz” The Young Werewolves, “Zombie Prom” The Tomb Tones, “Hex Girl” The Damned, “Black is the Night” Laibach, “Allgorythm” Chris Harms, “Lunamor” Volbeat, “Lola Montez” Tiffany Hadish, “Evil Queen” The Beastie Boys, “Shake Your Rump” THOT Squad, “Pound Cake” Tunde Adebimpe, “Magnetic” Book of Love, “Boy (Dave Audé remix)” Kite, “Ways to Dance” The Cars, “You Might Think” Emilie Autumn, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” Cyndi Lauper, “I Drove All Night” The Rosedales, “Stars are Falling” The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, “1979” Santigold, “The Keepers” Social Distortion, “The Way Things Were” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Step into a blow-me-away, thought-provoking, and deeply illuminating conversation with Dr. Richard Blake, psychologist, researcher, breathwork practitioner, and author of the upcoming book The Anxiety Industry, on this episode of Intimate Conversations: Dark Night to Divine Light. Dr. Blake is known for challenging modern therapy culture, questioning the narratives surrounding trauma and mental health, and bringing the conversation back to evidence, physiology, nervous system regulation, and true healing. Richard shares his own journey through severe anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, binge eating disorder, and compulsive behaviors as a young man. While therapy helped him survive rock bottom, he eventually realized that talk-based approaches alone were not creating the deep transformation he longed for.  That turning point led him into conscious connected breathwork, nervous system regulation, and eventually groundbreaking research, including the largest randomized controlled trial on breathwork to date. We explore the uncomfortable but important question at the center of his work: Why are mental illness rates increasing despite more therapy, awareness, and mental health conversations than ever before?  Richard discusses what researchers call the "treatment prevalence paradox," where more people entering therapy has not led to lower rates of anxiety, depression, or mental illness, and how therapy culture may unintentionally reinforce victimhood, blame, helplessness, and identity around suffering! I agree! Richard also shares the fascinating science behind breathwork, psychedelics, and neuroplasticity, explaining how practices like conscious connected breathing can create profound shifts in the brain, increase resilience to stress, and help people break out of deeply conditioned emotional and behavioral patterns.  Rather than endlessly analyzing the past, he emphasizes building tolerance for discomfort, strengthening the nervous system, and learning how to engage with life more directly and courageously. (YES!)  We also talk about: -The rise of therapy culture and "trauma inflation" -Family estrangement and the unintended consequences of therapeutic language -Why nervous system dysregulation is not always trauma -The difference between validating feelings and reinforcing suffering -Breathwork, psychedelics, and how neuroplasticity actually works -Exposure therapy and learning to tolerate discomfort -The connection between stress resilience and mental health -Social media, comfort culture, and the collapse of meaning -Lifestyle habits that fuel anxiety, depression, and emotional fragility -The importance of community, purpose, movement, sleep, and embodiment -Hormesis, resilience, and why "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" matters -How breath holds, meditation, and nervous system training increase emotional capacity -This friggin' fantastic aligned and enlivening episode is an invitation to question the stories we've inherited about healing, trauma, and mental health. It reminds us that growth is not about eliminating all discomfort, but learning how to stay present through it with greater capacity, awareness, and self-responsibility. I could have talked with this great man for hours!  Dr. Blake's work calls us back into the body, back into reality, and back into the profound human ability to adapt, heal, and evolve. Go deeper with me inside The Intimate World. patreon.com/AllanaPratt #TheIntimateWorld ➡️ Go check out patreon.com/allanapratt for Exclusive content! About Richard   Dr. Richard Blake has a PhD in psychology and is known for challenging the way mental health is discussed and treated today. His research focuses on anxiety, breathwork, and nervous system regulation, including the largest randomized controlled trial on conscious connected breathwork to date. He has built a following of over 113,000 on Instagram, where his evidence-based reels critiquing therapy culture, trauma inflation, and mental-health misinformation have gone viral. Alongside his research, his work on family estrangement examines how therapeutic language and ideology can shape relationships, often with unintended consequences. Richard's broader aim is to move mental health away from ideology and moral narratives, and back toward evidence, physiology, and approaches that genuinely help people recover rather than stay stuck.   Website: https://www.RichardLBlake.com Instagram URL https://www.instagram.com/the_breath_geek/ YouTube URL https://www.youtube.com/@The_Breath_Geek Guided breathwork experience. (Downloadable) https://richardlblake.com/products/p/soma-breathwork-experience Book Your Intimacy Breakthrough Experience with Allana https://allanapratt.com/connect Scholarship Code: READYNOW Finding the One is Bullsh*t. Becoming the One is brilliant and beautiful, and ironically the key to attracting your ideal partner. Move beyond the fear of getting hurt again. Register for Become the One Introductory Program. http://allanapratt.com/becomeintro Use Code: BTO22 to get over 40% off. Let's stay connected: Exclusive Video Newsletter: http://allanapratt.com/newsletter Instagram - @allanapratt [ / allanapratt ] Facebook - @coachallanapratt [ / coachallanapratt ]

WORLD GOTH DAY is May 22nd, so put on your blackest black for the annual WGD edition of DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio! The first of two back-to-back expanded broadcasts, this one offers three hours of new and classic goth, including London After Midnight, Ritual Howls, Autumn-U.S., Kill Shelter, Depeche Mode, Corpus Delicti, Black Angel, Lunar Paths, Requiem in White, Then Comes Silence, New Model Army, Ashes Fallen, House of Harm, Valentine Wolfe, Peter Murphy, Frenchy & the Punk, Nox Novacula, and Siouxsie & the Banshees. Enjoy and may your World Goth Day be suitably dark. And I hope you'll join me again this coming Sunday, May 24th, for the annual Dark Nation Radio GOTHIC BEACH PARTY--A 3-hour anything goes mix of goth, new wave, psychobilly, dark wave, surf rock, and general mayhem to kick off the unofficial start of summer in the northern hemisphere. BYO Tiki drinks of despair. 9 PM EDT on sorradio.org. As always, if you like what you hear, I hope you will support the bands and consider following me on your preferred platform. Reposts of the show so that others can find out about it are particularly appreciated. Questions and promo materials may be directed to darknationradio@gmail.com. Thanks for your support! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 17 May 2026 WORLD GOTH DAY 2026 Shadows Hold, “Nosebleed” Nox Novacula, “Disappear” Amulet, “When Winter Comes” Ashes + Diamonds, “Boy or Girl” Frenchy & the Punk, “Not Under Your Spell” Corpus Delicti, “Room 36” Kill Shelter & Antipole, “Burn Bright” David Galas, “You're a Needle in My Arm” Octavian Winters, “By the Stars” London After Midnight, “Nothing's Sacred” Requiem in White, “Reckless in Misery” Then Comes Silence, “Strangers” Autumn-U.S., “Still Breathing” Lunar Paths, “Afterlight” Cemetery Sex, “Pain” Ritual Howls, “Follow the Sun” The Bolshoi, “Happy Boy” Reptyle, “Souls' Damnation” Darkswoon, “Antivenom” Peter Murphy, “Sherpa” Black Angel, “Alchemy” Still Patient? “Looking Glass” Hunter as a Horse, “Obey” Bellhead, “The The Empty” Scary Black, “American Gothic” Depeche Mode, “Halo” House of Harm, “Carousel” Isabel Shrine, “Always” Siouxsie & the Banshees, “Peek-a-Boo” Reversed Chakra, “Game of Chess” Vikowski, “Pollution” New Model Army, “Family” Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, “Driving Black” Christ vs. Warhol, “Welcome Home” Rosegarden Funeral Party, “Ghost of You” Valentine Wolfe, “Somnus Aeterna” Hangwire, “The Trial” Amaranth, “Ghost in the Rain” Ashes Fallen, “Vampira—the Ballad of Mailia (William Faith remix)” The Sisters of Mercy, “Black Planet” 404 Error, “What is Goth” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Shane Perkins - Ultimate Strategy On the Reality Banks Overlook: "If you have that kind of equity and you've worked and you've saved that down payment, then there's nothing telling me that you're not going to make your payments." When you have a job with a W-2, you fit in the traditional bucket.  Traditional things for people with traditional jobs are fine.  They are simple, and easy and everyone can buy them with ease.  You want a loan, let's see your W-2, and see how much house you can afford. The challenge comes in when you are an entrepreneur.  You make money, but it isn't nearly as easy as looking at a line on a document supplied by your employer.  There are many more factors and a bit of gray area.  These are the types of things that traditional banks get scared of.  That is where the Ultimate Strategy comes in.  To get entrepreneurs into homeownership, without the limitations of traditional banks. Listen as Shane Perkins describes how he is training more students to help entrepreneurs implement the Ultimate Strategy to achieve the homeownership they desire. Enjoy! Visit Shane at: https://TheUltimateStrategy.com Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Issues with current mortgage system 05:36 Helping families become homeowners 08:58 Understanding mortgage pre-approval vs. approval 12:45 Real estate deals in different states 13:21 Working in your local market 18:39 Discussing home loan qualification criteria 20:11 Discussing home loan options 24:35 Benefits of refinancing a mortgage 26:57 Real estate investment strategy 29:52 Housing affordability concerns 34:22 How mortgage payments are managed 36:41 Investor strategies for real estate students 41:23 Discussing payment reminders with clients 43:56 Passion for helping people in real estate 47:03 Maximizing returns on home equity 51:38 The value of entrepreneurship Podcast Transcription: Shane Perkins [00:00:00]: I've created a strategy that helps people get into homes that don't qualify for traditional mortgage. I just realized that the demand is so high that I can't help everybody. So I'm creating an army of folks that want to go out there and help people become homeowners. If someone's looking for a real estate investment strategy, there's nothing better out there. It's consistent. Couple deals a month, two, three deals a month, every single month. There's always a demand for it. James Kademan [00:00:33]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found@drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie Calls On Call, Extraordinary Answering Service, the Bold Business Book, as well as Live Switch. And today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Shane Perkins of the ultimate strategy. So, Shane, how is it going today? Shane Perkins [00:01:02]: It is going great. How are you doing? Do you have a good Mother's Day? Yeah. James Kademan [00:01:06]: Oh, yeah, yeah. That was. It just came and went. Yeah, it's so funny. My kids in sports, so any day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, whatever, Memorial Day, Labor Day, they're all. You're just traveling to some different grassy field where he's playing some sport. So, yeah, I imagine that's what a lot of parents are doing. Let's start with the ultimate strategy. James Kademan [00:01:29]: Shane, what is the ultimate strategy? Shane Perkins [00:01:31]: Well, I have been a real estate investor for 29 years, and I've created a strategy that helps people get into homes that don't qualify for traditional mortgage. And I didn't start that until 2001. And so I've been doing that for about 25 years. James Kademan [00:01:49]: Wow. Shane Perkins [00:01:49]: And so I call it the ultimate strategy. And I did it myself for many, many years. And. And now that my kids are grown and gone, and I've decided that I need to empower other people to help more people get into homes. So I teach other people how to do the ultimate strategy, and they use that strategy to go and help other people get into homes. James Kademan [00:02:15]: Right on. And is it the property that has the challenge getting lending happening, or is it the borrower, the people trying to get into the home? Shane Perkins [00:02:23]: You know, James, I say that we have a broken mortgage system. You know, they've been using the same system for 30 years and they're, you know, people change jobs, people start businesses. Business owners are notoriously turned down for mortgages because they are taught, as all of us entrepreneurs are to minimize their taxes. Right. Well, that means writing off everything that you can. And there's many things that you can write off. And at the end of the day, your tax return says that you don't make enough money to pay for a house, but you're sitting there paying $3,000 a month in rent. And so we know that these people can pay. Shane Perkins [00:03:01]: We know how to record their income in a manner that will finance them on a house. And when I say finance, we get them into a house. We are not lenders, so we use creative financing strategies, real estate investment strategies that have been around for, you know, a hundred years. And so that's what we do. We help people get into homes. James Kademan [00:03:26]: Right on. You know, it's interesting you mentioned the small business thing, because I remember the last house that I bought with my wife. We, the lender straight up told us, let's just put her W2 on there and just ignore your income. And if we get challenged by it, then we'll come back and figure something out. But it's better just to not even use the word entrepreneur or self employed. Shane Perkins [00:03:49]: It is. James Kademan [00:03:51]: I'm like, I'm pretty sure I make more money than her, but whatever makes. Shane Perkins [00:03:56]: But that's the way it works. And it is, it's a broken system. And I, you know, what I've figured out over 25 years of doing this program is that there's three components that make people pay for their home. And the first one is the most important one. And that's in that they're in the home of their choice. You know, there are owner finance programs out there on specific houses, but if that's not what you want, what's, you know, what's, you know, what's the factor there? Yeah, you can call yourself an owner, but it's in something that you're having to settle for. And so that's the first factor. The second one is that they must have equity. Shane Perkins [00:04:35]: And so we do require down payment. You know, it's similar to the older old school. Right. 20% down. We do some 15% down deals, but you got to have some skin in the game. So you got to, you know, save for a down payment. And that and the fact that you have income is the third thing. But documenting that income for a bank is far different than documenting that income for what we do. James Kademan [00:05:01]: Right on. So are people coming to you or are you having a cold call and reach out to people? Shane Perkins [00:05:07]: No, once, once you get this program up and running, people seek you out. You know, there's a statistic that I heard, and I can't verify if it's true or not because they're pretty close. Close lipped on their. And I've tried to verify it, but I had a friend of mine tell me that, that, that actually works with Zillow very closely. That said 7,000 people a day are turned down that have a 20% down payment on Zillow. And I don't discredit it. I believe that that's true. I just can't prove it. Shane Perkins [00:05:36]: But that's a lot of people. And they don't want to rent again, you know, that, you know, renting is. It's great when you need it, but when you have kids and you have a family, you don't want to be at someone else's mercy to just raise your payment or, hey, I want somebody else to move into there, you know, or we're going to sell or something like that. You want to give your kids roots, you want to give them a home. You want to be able to build a tree house or paint your girl's bedroom pink and your boy's bedroom blue or what have you, you know, you want to call it yours. And so we've recognized what it takes to be able to help people get into homes. And now I just realized that the demand is so high that I can't help everybody. So I'm creating an army of folks that want to go out there and help people become homeowners. James Kademan [00:06:26]: Right on. Let's talk about this army. Is this army people that are just looking to start their own business in this space, or is this other people that are already in the mortgage industry and they're looking for. Shane Perkins [00:06:37]: It's a little bit of both. Yeah, it's a little bit of both. So, you know, real estate investing, there's a lot of people that want to get into it, you know, and there's all these programs out there, and I don't, you know, wholesaling and fix and flip and burr methods, you know, buy, repair, rent and repeat and all of these different methods. And they're all good strategies, but they're a lot more competitive nowadays because there's so many people getting. Getting into it. So it takes you, you know, you have to go through quite a few cold calls. And the things that loi blaster, where they. You blast out letters of intent, agent outreach, door knocking, foreclosure list, there's all these different strategies. Shane Perkins [00:07:22]: And again,...

This week's Dark Nation Radio includes contributions from bands in Germany, Australia, Belarus, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, the UK, and the US. It's a very international line-up and features new music from Dogtablet, Black Rose Burning, Ayria, Sleep of Mirrors, Neo Dimes, Bustié, Horror Vacui, Divider, Beyond Obsession, Love Ghost, Institute for the Criminally Insane, and The Joy Thieves. I hope you'll give it a spin and thank you for your support! Two upcoming themed broadcasts: This Sunday (May 17th) is World Goth Day and then the following Sunday, May 24th, will be my annual Gothic Beach Party! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 10 May 2026 Sleep of Mirrors, “Gemini” Ayria, “Long Gone” Beyond Obsession, “In My Blood” Love Ghost, “Silk Noose” Divider, “Behold” Pig, “Rope (Keith LeBlanc remix)” Mondträume, “Whole (Elektrostaub remix)” Horror Vacui, “Shadows Sanctuary” pMad, “Feed” Neo Dimes, “Trigger” Night Train to Nowhere, “The Eaten” The Dark Shadows, “Sliced” The Bellwether Syndicate, “Dystopian Mirror” Corpus Delicti, “Room 36” The Joy Thieves, “The Wrong End of Your Rifle” Bustié, “Smile Now, Cry Later” Daddybear ft. Grabyourface, “Science Fiction” Diffuzion, “Ain't Gonna Fuck With My Brain (Matthew Creed remix)” Religion of Heartbreak, “Telic” Numb, “When Gravity Fails” Institute for the Criminally Insane vs. ee:man, “The Fabric of You” Dogtable ft. Sapphira Vee, “This is What We Wanted Then” Octavian Winters, “Saints of Absolution” Beauty in Chaos, “Grasp the Stars (Collide remix)” I Am a Rocketship, “A Little Bit of Heaven” Black Rose Burning, “You're Retro (William Faith remix)” Byronic Sex & Exile, “Your Name on the Wind” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Fred Fisher  - Fisher Consulting On the Unrealistic Expectations We Have in the Insurance World: "You have to know more about your insurance needs than the guy selling it, the guy who has to take continuing education classes." Insurance is basically paying for a promise you hope you will not need to ask to be kept.  To avoid great financial loss, or to have the support of a team of lawyers, insurance is a necessary evil.  Like most things that are necessary. Fred Fisher of Fisher Consulting has been in the insurance world for decades.  He has been working in insurance in different roles throughout his career and knows the industry inside and out.  What he shares is both educational and a bit frightening. Listen as Fred Fisher shares hard-earned insights gained through decades in the industry as a claims expert, lawyer, consultant, and author. He uncovers the pitfalls of buying on price alone, exposes the risks of working with “order-taker” insurance agents, and explains why business owners need to demand more from their insurance brokers. Enjoy! Visit Fred at: https://www.fishercg.com Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Pursuing law to help artists 06:12 Understanding legal claim complexities 14:22 Undisclosed potential claims risk 17:01 Handling an insurance claim oversight 23:41 Managing legal risks and disclosures 31:51 Handling policy order requests 36:00 How Farmers handles declines 39:30 Unexpected renovation challenges 44:34 Understanding building code coverage 48:41 Understanding tech liability policies 55:16 Delayed claims denial examples 01:01:21 Restrictive insurance policy drafting 01:09:55 Choosing not to compete anymore 01:12:29 Challenges in insurance claims handling 01:19:56 Treating renewals as new business 01:22:53 Program introduction and sponsorships Podcast Transcription: Fred Fisher [00:00:00]: I used to tell my staff, never take a renewal for granted. Treat every renewal as new business because our competitor will. They're going to dive deep, they're going to find a hole, they're going to find out that our insured's doing something new that we didn't know about, that that we're not covering. And they can. So treat every renewal as new business because our competitor is going to do that because it is new business for them. So either we dig deep and compete or we lose the account. James Kademan [00:00:31]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, the Bold Business Book and as well as Live Switch. And today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Fred Fisher of Fisher Consulting. And Fred, I gotta say I'm excited. Though you probably don't hear this very often, I'm excited to talk insurance with you. Fred Fisher [00:01:05]: That's, that's really interesting. That's the fastest way to clear the room is. Oh yeah, we're talking about insurance tonight. James Kademan [00:01:10]: We're going to talk about insurance. I got a thing at that place, right? Fred Fisher [00:01:14]: Absolutely. James Kademan [00:01:14]: No, I'm, I am super excited for a few reasons, right? One, I have some property insurance that's due, so it's top of mind. Two, I live in southern Wisconsin and we just got hit with I think four out of five days. We had hail, there's tornadoes. I got some buddies that had some baseball size hail. And I'm like, man, if I was an insurance company, I'd be like, oh, we gotta write checks. We're supposed to collect the checks, not write them. So anyways, it's top of mind. Fred Fisher [00:01:43]: That's the product though, that's the whole problem. The claim department is where, and this is a quote from a colleague of mine, Chantelle Roberts. The claim department is where the product is produced. James Kademan [00:01:57]: Ah, I like it. Fred Fisher [00:01:59]: I do too. And I will never take credit for it. It's Chantel's. No, she's a phenomenal professional. James Kademan [00:02:06]: That's awesome. So tell me a story about your business and how you got started by accident. Nah, as per usual, it's all good. Fred Fisher [00:02:15]: You know, up until recently, the insurance industry has never been a destination profession. Everybody got into it by accident. You don't go to business school, say, I want to be working for an insurance company. That just does not happen. It Is more so now, though, because more and more colleges and universities do have risk management insurance curriculums, which is unnecessary. But for me, when I went to University of California, berkeley in the 60s, at least I think I did, and I graduated with a social science field major, but I'm more of a gestalt thinker. And so I couldn't just take political science because what good is that without knowing something about journalism or know something about sociology or know something about psychology? In the real world, all that works together. And so that's why I did a social science field major. Fred Fisher [00:03:06]: But when you graduate with a degree like that, where you're going to end up is probably selling life insurance, which is exactly what happened. But I intentionally had already enrolled in law school to go at night. And the reason I did that and the reason why it was intentional is back then, everybody wanted to be a lawyer. And so unless you really were smart, you didn't get into the top law schools. And even then, if, even if you did, if you didn't graduate in the top 10% of your class, you probably didn't have a job waiting for. James Kademan [00:03:36]: For you. Wow. Fred Fisher [00:03:38]: And I didn't, you know, and I didn't want to work for corporate America or whatever anyways. I wanted to be an entertainment lawyer. I wanted to represent artists and musicians because I had a lot of friends who were artists and musicians in Berkeley, in the Bay Area at that time. And I thought, well, I could help protect them, you know, from the evil of corporate America, what have you. And one thing led to another, and I got a job as a law clerk eventually. And the other reason I did this too, is because if you went to the top law schools, like I said, you wouldn't have a job. But if you went to a night law school and you could get a job in the legal industry during the day, you had a job waiting for you was 90%. I like those odds. Fred Fisher [00:04:15]: I like those odds. So I ended up kind of getting a job as a law clerk in what was called an insurance defense law firm. And I have nothing but good experience from that. The gentleman who was heading that firm up, and we were all employees of an insurance company, so this was in house counsel. And he loved teaching, he loved young people and helping them really learn. And as a result, you, if you work there, you, you could move to another law firm, you know, after a year and a half or so, and one thing led to another, and I did that. And then I. And then, unfortunately, the partner of that law firm, after eight months, decided, well, we don't really need a law clerk. Fred Fisher [00:04:57]: What we need is somebody who's licensed and can do Fred's job and also go to court, you know, on minor motions, so. Enough to send somebody heavy out. And so I got laid off. Boo. Yeah. But he actually did me a favor. I had friends that were work. I had a couple of friends that were working at this claim adjusting firm, and they were doing something I didn't even know existed. Fred Fisher [00:05:19]: They were handling nothing but what were called professional liability claims. They were handling cases against lawyers, insurance agents, real estate brokers, medical malpractice, which I stayed away from. A little too real for me. And oddball stuff for Lloyd's of London, including Seedman Zo, you know, for companies that manufacture seed, you know, for. For farmers, so to speak. James Kademan [00:05:42]: Yeah. Fred Fisher [00:05:42]: Coat it with this little clay stuff so that it could be put into a mechanical planter so they could have control over one seed every six inches. How do you like that? I mean, if you're. If you're going to be planting seed in 500 acres, you know, that's a lot of seed if you don't manage it correctly. And it's really expensive. So this was a whole different world. And so I handled a claim involving that where nothing grew. 500 acres, nothing. It was like what happened. Fred Fisher [00:06:12]: You know, I'll never forget the phrase necrosis of the cotyledon boy. There's a federal regulation on it, and I'll never forget it. But it was interesting work and I was good at it. And especially when it came to lawyers and insurance brokers, you had what was called a claim within a claim. I mean, at first you had to decide that the attorney screwed up or did the insurance broker screw up, and then what was the underlying matter they were working on? Because that's where the damages are, supposedly. And so you didn't know whether you were with an attorney malpractice case, whether you were going to handle a personal injury statute of limitations problem, or the attorney didn't file the lawsuit on time. And then the next case has to do with a merger and acquisition. Wow. James Kademan [00:06:55]: You see, What a variety. Fred Fisher [00:06:56]: Yeah, exactly....

Eighteen months in the making and shaped by feedback from thousands of families, the brand-new Euka Learning Experience is here. In this episode of the Future Learners podcast, Brett Campbell (CEO and co-founder of Euka) and Ellen Brown (Founder and Head of Education) take you through a screen-share walkthrough of what’s changed and why it matters for your family.From age-appropriate visual design across Primary, Secondary, and Senior cohorts to the new four-part lesson structure (Learn, Practice, Apply, Reflect), in-built textbooks for Grades 7–12, and a redesigned parent portal with proper progress reporting — this is a platform built around how children actually learn, not how systems prefer to deliver content. If you’re already a Euka family, listen for the migration path. If you’re considering homeschooling in Australia, this is the clearest look yet at what your week could feel like. Key Points: What’s new at a glance: A new look for each stage — Primary, Secondary, and Senior get age-appropriate visuals (no koala mascots staring down 17-year-olds) Two ways to navigate the curriculum: by Term and Week, or by Subject. Whichever fits your child’s rhythm Euka’s four-part lesson structure: Learn, Practice, Apply, Reflect Designed for how children really learn: The Practice activity gets hands-on (think Play-Doh fractions, plant life-cycle dioramas) The Apply section gives instant feedback, no more sitting down at 6 pm trying to remember a 10 am lesson Reflect prompts let kids think about how they learn, not just what they learned Built-in textbooks (Grades 7–12, brand new): Modular short chapters mapped to specific lessons No need to buy outside textbooks for the curriculum Reporting upgrades: Every family now gets baseline progress tracking and downloadable certificates Parent portal shows lesson completion, grade reports, and (for Grades 11–12) assessment marks Premium Reporting is available for families needing government-compliant documentation Migration for existing families: Wait until the end of your current term, then reach out to the Customer Support team Email updates will guide you through the move Euka’s Upgraded Learning Experience: A platform that actually fits the child When Brett opens the walkthrough, the first thing he points out is something subtle but deliberate: the Euka program now looks different depending on the student’s stage. A Grade 3 student logs in and sees Echo — Euka’s koala mascot — front and centre, alongside a soft, warm colour palette. Move into Secondary, and Echo’s still around but less prominent. He’s grown up a bit. By Senior years, the koala is gone entirely, replaced by a more grown-up interface that respects where 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds are at. It’s a small thing visually, but it speaks to a deeper design decision: meet the student where they are. Age-appropriateness isn’t just about content — it’s about how the whole experience feels. How can families navigate the new curriculum? One of the most-requested features from existing Euka families finally lands here. The curriculum is now navigable in two ways: By Term and Week — the structured path. Click into Term 1, see your weeks, click into Week 1, see the lessons. Predictable, organised, calendar-friendly. By Subject — for the child who’s deeply engaged in English (or Maths, or Science, or anything else) and just wants to dive in without weekly distractions. Click English, see all the English lessons, work through them at your own pace. Both paths lead to the same content. The flexibility sits in the navigation — and that’s exactly what families have been asking for. The new four-part lesson structure This is the change Ellen is most excited about, because it reflects what the team has learned about how children retain knowledge. Learn is the core content — the equivalent of a teacher introducing a topic. Read, watch, take it in. Practice is hands-on. Building a Play-Doh pizza to represent fractions, constructing a diorama for plant life cycles, and making a comic strip. The point is to use the new knowledge in a way that gets it out of the head and into the hands. Apply is where instant feedback comes in. Multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, drag-and-drop — different question types for different lessons. Crucially, it’s framed as checking your understanding, not as a test. Children can get hints, check their answers, and try again. No anxiety, just learning.Reflect is the bit that most curricula skip entirely. Instead of asking “Did you like the lesson?”, we ask children how they felt learning it, what worked for them, and whether they feel confident with the material. And here’s the practical bit: every child is different. If your child gets the most out of Practice and doesn’t need Apply, that’s fine — every section is flexible. You can complete the lesson without having done every component. The system fits the child, not the other way around. This is a unique opportunity for students to think about how they learn, not just what they learn. — Ellen Brown What’s included in the new in-built textbooks for Grades 7–12? This is genuinely new. For the first time, every Euka student in Grades 7 through 12 has access to in-built textbooks woven directly into their lessons. These aren’t 300-page tomes you have to wade through. They’re short, modular chapters mapped to specific lessons. Looking at global biomes? The textbook section for that lesson is right there, broken into focused sub-sections. The practical benefit: families don’t have to buy external textbooks for the Australian Curriculum-aligned lessons Euka delivers. The deeper benefit: children who are passionate about a subject can dive deeper through the textbook, while children who don’t connect with reading-heavy learning can complete the lesson via Learn, Practice and Apply alone. Same outcome, different paths. A reporting dashboard parents can actually use Reporting has been one of the harder parts of homeschooling — both for parents trying to track progress against the Australian Curriculum and for families navigating state-by-state government requirements. Every family now gets a baseline reporting tier included in the standard Euka program: Lesson completion progress (visible in real time) Downloadable certificates per term Grade reports across subjects Parent feedback fields, so observations are captured alongside the data For families who need formal documentation, Premium Reporting layers government-compliant reports, work-sample integration, and achievement-standard mapping on top. There’s also an unexpected benefit Ellen highlights. The Premium Reporting becomes a keepsake: pictures of work, milestones, the whole year captured in one place. When grandma asks “what did you do in Grade 4?”, you’ve got the answer ready. “I’ve homeschooled my own kids for many years, and that niggling ‘am I doing enough?’ feeling is real. Reporting answers that question — not by comparing your child to others, but by showing how they’re going with the content itself. That’s peace of mind.” — Ellen Brown Why the Reflect section matters more than you’d think We almost glossed over this in the walkthrough, but it deserves its own beat. Metacognition — thinking about how you learn — is a focus of work by the Australian Education Research Organisation, and the Reflect section is how Euka brings that practice into every lesson. It also feeds into Euka’s Personalised Learning Plan (PLP) for families who use it. The data gathered through reflection helps spot patterns. A child consistently flagging boredom in maths lessons might be ready to advance Grade 4 student finding Grade 4 maths too easy, could move into Grade 5 or Grade 6 content. A child flagging difficulty in a particular subject area gets surfaced early, before it becomes a confidence issue. This isn’t about labelling kids. It’s about giving parents and the Euka team a clearer picture of what each individual child needs, beyond what a one-size-fits-all curriculum can offer. What do existing Euka families need to do to migrate? If you’re already learning on the original Euka platform, here’s what to do: Don’t switch mid-term. Finish your current term on the existing platform. At the end of term, reach out to the Customer Support team. They’ll guide you through the migration. Watch for emails. Euka has been sending detailed migration updates — check your inbox. If you’re new to Euka, you’ll start directly on the new Learning Experience. Key Insights for Families Flexibility is built in, not bolted on. Whether it’s choosing term-by-term or subject-by-subject navigation, completing only the lesson sections that suit your child, or pacing through textbooks at the depth that matches their interest — the platform respects that no two children learn the same way. Reflection is a learning skill in itself. Asking children to think about how they learned, not just what, builds a meta-cognitive habit that pays off for life. It’s also how parents catch boredom, confusion, or readiness for harder content before it shows up as frustration. Reporting belongs to the family. Whether you need it for government compliance, peace of mind, or as a keepsake of the year, the new dashboard puts your child’s progress in your hands — without requiring you to be a project manager on top of being a parent. The platform fits the child, not the other way around. Brett and Ellen come back to this point repeatedly. Every section of every lesson is optional. Every navigation path leads to the same outcome. The structure is there as a scaffold, not a cage. “It’s really important to us at Euka that the lesson is fitting the child rather than the other way round.”— Brett Campbell Your Family, Your Journey What we’ve shared here is the first cat out of the bag — but it’s not the last. The Euka team has more coming, and they want your feedback on what’s working as you use the new Learning Experience. Click the support function inside the platform to share ideas; some of Euka’s best features have come straight from family suggestions. If you’re an existing Euka family: thank you for trusting us through this evolution. Your patience, your feedback, your willingness to learn alongside us — it shapes everything we build. If you’re considering homeschooling with Euka for the first time: this is the clearest look yet at the platform you’d be working with. Take your time. Listen to other episodes of the Future Learners podcast to hear from families who’ve made the switch. And when you’re ready, we’re here. The post Meet the Upgraded Euka Learning Experience | 41 appeared first on Euka.

DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio this week features new ACTORS, Nine Inch Noize, Vampire Valentine, Huir, Nerdy Sanchez, Demonwarp, 404 Error, Cathedral Bells, Theo Vandenhoff, Tangients, Darkside Cowboys, and I Ya Toyah. This is a fun one! Thanks for giving it a spin and, if you like what you hear, remember to support the bands. DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 3 May 2026 Vampire Valentine, “Thorns” Days of Sorrow, “80s Cry” Nine Inch Noize, “Copy of A” Darkswoon, “Pacific City” Cathedral Bells, “Unreal” 404 Error, “Tanzen Ohne Sinn” ACTORS, “Left on Read” Damien Hearse, “Trash Factory” Peter Murphy, “Sherpa” Lowsunday, “You Lost Yourself” Vikowski, “Pollution” Reptyle, “Never Complain” Raven Said, “A Flowering and a Flattering” Huir, “Runaway” Wingtips, “Relativity” I Ya Toyah, “Feelings” Nerdy Sanchez, “Yes No Man Woman” Affect Effect, “Crash + Burn” Extize, “Sunglasses at Night” Basscalate, “Feel This Beat” Demonwarp, “Protocol Obey (Frontal Boundary mix)” Project .44, “Free” Acumen Nation, “Fool Me Thrice” Theo Vandenhoff, “April Showers” Tangients, “Void” Spectres, “Provincial Wake” Siouxsie & the Banshees, “She's a Carnival” Dark Side Cowboys, “Landmark” The Hangman's Daughter, “Some Safer Ground” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Feed Your Soul with Kim, we are talking about “movement as medicine,” reframing exercise from diet-culture goals like shrinking the body, burning calories, and punishment into intuitive, mind-body-spirit movement that supports mental health. We look at movement the ways movement can regulate the nervous system, improve mood and sleep, increase emotional resilience, and help process emotions by reducing stress hormones and boosting endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. Join us on the Feed Your Soul with Kim Podcast as we explore:  What is the difference between exercise and movement?Why is movement so critical for your mind/body/spirit wellness?What are ways to get started on your movement journey?00:00 Welcome and Topic 00:47 Reframing Exercise 02:46 Movement Basics 04:40 Why Movement Helps 06:19 Emotions and Regulation 09:18 Intuitive Movement 11:24 Start Small Today 12:42 When Motivation Fades 14:31 Move With Others 17:27 Self Love Mindset 18:48 Final Encouragement Please note this podcast is not a substitute for mental health therapy or seeing your physician. Please see a qualified professional if you think you have mental health struggles.  Get your Downloadable copy of How to Choose Your Right Therapist https://go.feedyoursoulunlimited.com/choosetherapist-completeguide Connect with Kim Therapy: https://feedyoursoultherapy.com/ Coaching: https://feedyoursoulunlimited.com/ You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTuSnNrSDhLvbhxoTMXZgog Kim McLaughlin, MA Kim McLaughlin is a psychotherapist. coach, speaker, and author. She helps people who feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and overloaded, and it shows up in feeling unsatisfied in your life. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Clinical Psychology. Kim is a certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, helping people to gain peace with food. We would love to get your feedback on this show and let us know what you would like to hear about in upcoming shows. Email us at info@FeedYourSoulUnlimited.com Thank you for listening. Please be sure to leave a review for others to find us and share this podcast with a friend. Join us for more conversation at:Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/feedyoursoulunlimited/@feedyoursoulunlimitedWebsite:http://feedyoursoulunlimited.com/We would love it if you would leave us a 5 star review on your favorite platform.Thanks for listening to the Feed Your Soul with Kim Podcast.

This week's edition of DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio is ready for streaming and includes new Nine Inch Noize, Dogtablet, Black Rose Burning, Isabel Shrine, Mesh, Bustié, Prometheus Flame, Krimea, Madeline Goldstein, Replicant, and Blaklight. I hope you enjoy it and, if you do, please support the bands! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 26 April 2026 Replicant, “Unable to Feel” Nine Inch Noize, “Me, I'm Not” Urban Heat, “Trust” Dance My Darling, “The Fairy Tale Has No Happy Ending” Sun's Spectrum, “God is a Machine” Blood Dance, “Sacrament” Isabel Shrine, “Autonomy” Lone Assembly, “The Pain Keeper” Mesh, “Kill Us With Silence” Frenchy & the Punk, “War Against War” Blackbook, “Minefield” Dogtablet, “So Long” The Mystic Underground, “We Could be Fugitives” Ego Bliss, “Fragile” Talk to Her, “PLD” She 1 – Him 2, “Melt Away” Bootblacks, “Wilderness” SYZYGYX, “Hold Tight” Miss Trezz, “Control” AL1CE, “Perfectly Broken (Below)” Artic Sunrise, “Feeling Changing Hands” Youth Code, “Tiger's Remorse” Sleek Teeth, “Endless” Bustié, “Lady of Dread” Black Rose Burning, “You're Retro (DasMaschineX mix)” Prometheus Flame, “This is Our Time” Madeline Goldstein, “My Own Design” Krimea, “Over and Over” Blaklight, “Cruel (Beyond Obsession remix)” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Alisa Sparks  - Linden Creek On Realizing Your Own Success: "I kind of had this moment where I paused and realized I had accidentally worked myself out of a job, and that should be a good thing. My team had it covered, my clients were happy, things were rolling well, and I kind of scratched my head and went, what do I do next?" As business owners we often have one speed: Go.  We run relentlessly, sometimes with action without actual accomplishment, and other times we find ourselves with an empire we built and we realize we can idle down a bit and not work quite as hard. This is the goal, of course. Selling houses is big business.  Like anything of value, the better it is presented the higher the sales price.  This is why staged homes sell for more than empty or lived-in homes.  But who has the skills and furniture to stage a home? Alisa Sparks started her home-staging business, Linden Creek, and was successful.  Then she built that business into a franchise empire that took success to another level. Listen as Alisa explains what it takes to make start a home staging business, what it takes to build a franchise from scratch, and what can be done when you have the systems and people in place and things are actually running well. Enjoy! Visit Alisa at: Linden-Creek.com Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Discovering a passion for staging 9:22 Real estate staging process 15:42 Learning to delegate effectively 19:25 Shifting demand from staging to design 26:04 Considering a franchise business 28:37 Franchise owner support and coaching 33:07 Ensuring brand consistency across franchises 40:10 Evaluating franchise prospects 48:24 Navigating software development challenges 51:37 Importance of honest sales communication 59:48 Program sponsor and listener call-to-action Podcast Transcription: James Kademan [00:00:00]: Tell me about the art or pictures. And most people's houses you'll see pictures of family or graduation pictures or grandma or whatever. Are you including some pictures like that or is it more art or maybe it's nothing. Alisa Sparks [00:00:11]: Yeah, definitely do not include family photos when you're selling a home. Now, you could have a really cute family and they could be fantastic, but the problem is the moment they see a picture of your family, the conversation in their brain changes from this is this could be my home. I can imagine myself living here to. To somebody else's living here. And all of a sudden it changes that emotional connection. And so we highly recommend you don't have photos of your family in a home. James Kademan [00:00:39]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found https://drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie Calls on call Extraordinary Answering Service, the Bold Business Book and Live Switch. Today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Alisa Sparks of Linden Creek. And Alisa, I believe we're talking home staging here. So how is it going today? Alisa Sparks [00:01:11]: It's going great. Thank you so much for having me today. I'm excited to be here. James Kademan [00:01:15]: Yeah. I'm actually very excited to talk with you because I've met some home stagers before, but I have never met a home stager with a company that's beyond many offices or even beyond really their home office. So I'm excited to talk to you, talk to you about your business growth. That's huge. Alisa Sparks [00:01:35]: Yeah, it's been a really fun journey. This is an industry. You're absolutely right. Most individuals in this have their one stop location and so expanding outside of just our four walls has been a really fun adventure over these last few years. James Kademan [00:01:49]: Nice. So let's go to the way back. Right. When did you first start this? Alisa Sparks [00:01:53]: I started Linden Creek eight years ago. My background has nothing to do with interior design or real estate. I have a background in finance, so I love numbers. Give me an Excel spreadsheet and I will entertain myself for hours. Right. Like that is my. My bread and butter. However, with that being said, I found myself in this place where I was always trying to fulfill this creative itch. Alisa Sparks [00:02:15]: So. So when I would finish my day job, I would spend time buying the ugliest houses I could find and renovating them, building furniture in my garage, whatever I could do to kind of fulfill this creative itch that I had until finally I had this aha moment of like, maybe I should take this passion that I have and this hobby and build it into something that's a true business. James Kademan [00:02:36]: How cool is that? And when were you working in finance industry before? Alisa Sparks [00:02:41]: I was in the finance industry and actually supported the Department of Defense for nearly a decade, managing their aircraft budgets. So again, nothing at all related to what I do today. But so many of the skills that I learned from that experience, whether it came from systems and operations to managing financials, have been crucial for the success of where Linden Creek is today. James Kademan [00:03:03]: Nice. And what was the major contributing factor to make you shift? Saying, I gotta go off and do this on my own. Government, you got health care and whatever. W2BI weekly paycheck, whatever. Alisa Sparks [00:03:16]: All the great benefits, all the safety nets. And so much so that I had a good friend of mine that I worked with two years into me starting Linden Creek. We caught up and grabbed coffee, and she looked at me and she goes, why did you leave such a safe, stable job with such good income? And I was like, there's something more to this. So, yeah, it was a big shift in change to get faster of make this massive jump. It actually all came down to a book. I was at the gym listening to an audiobook of Rich Dad, Poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I'm sure many are familiar with that one, but he talked about the value of building a business and how that becomes an asset. It's not just a job. Alisa Sparks [00:03:54]: And there was something about that that struck for me when it came to just that ownership of what you have and the work that you're putting into something. And as I started kind of scratching my head going, okay, what kind of business could I start? I'm playing with aircraft, right? Helicopters and things like that. That's not transferable to my own business. And as I was really thinking about it, we had just put a home on the market that we had renovated and flipped. And the feedback we got was the staging was good, but it wasn't staged. It was just my furniture that I had collected over the years and kind of made look right for the home. But it was this aha moment for me of maybe I could stage houses. I don't have an interior design degree, but there might be something to the staging. Alisa Sparks [00:04:33]: And so that was really what started the entire concept of Linden Creek. James Kademan [00:04:37]: How cool is that? All right, so what was the answer that you gave your friend? So when you're at the coffee shop and she's like, what are you doing? Alisa Sparks [00:04:45]: I Smiled politely. And I said, this one's for the long game and it's going to be worth it at some point in time. And it has been. I'm thankful for the transition I made. I can look back and say with confidence, this was a good call, but it's scary in that interim, right. Like when you don't know, when the math doesn't math, when you're still building your business and reinvesting every penny. It's a scary transition. James Kademan [00:05:05]: Oh, I totally understand that. I. You know, you remind me of a time I had a buddy of mine offer me a job at a place that he was working out. And I'm like, I'm actually starting my own thing. And he was like, why? It's just one of those things where it was interesting. Where? To a point. When someone asks you a question like that, you really don't know how to answer it, because in order for them to ask that question, they don't really have the foundation that's needed to understand the answer that you would give. Alisa Sparks [00:05:36]: Yeah, that's exactly right. James Kademan [00:05:38]: Just say, like, because. Whatever. So tell me, when you first started your business, I imagine you get the website is this. Well, I have to back up a step because I don't know a whole lot about home staging other than I have seen homes that are staged. Inserting couches, furniture, rugs, stuff like that, that once the house is sold, those go to a different house or how does that work? Alisa Sparks [00:06:02]: That's exactly right. Yeah. So we own our own furniture and inventory. It started small in my garage. I became best friends with my FedEx delivery guy who would drop off new furniture every day, and I would spend my evenings, you know, assembling furniture in my garage until everything was built out. We do a much larger scale of that today. So the operations are different. But yes, I was slowly building and collecting my own set of inventory and furniture, putting it in a home and. Alisa Sparks [00:06:27]: And the moment the home sold, taking it out and moving it to the next property. Wow. James Kademan [00:06:32]: So I imagine that takes a lot of space. You have all. I mean, coaches aren't small, right....

Most firms grow like strip malls—more offices, more people, more chaos.The best firms? They build skyscrapers.In this episode of Ask Anything, Todd Burnham and Phil McCarthy break down how to scale a law firm without losing control of culture, client experience, or economics. From intake to billing to case updates, every touchpoint either builds trust—or breaks it.This isn't theory. It's how high-performing firms eliminate leaks, create consistency, and turn service into sustainable growth.One system. One standard. One experience—no matter how big you get.Because if your client experience changes as you grow…you're not scaling—you're spreading inconsistency.Downloadable worksheet here!YouTube

April 11, 2026Strength to Strength welcomed Paul Lamicela to explore the place that the kingdom of God has within the Scripture.Sometimes we use “kingdom” as a buzzword, perhaps paired with a few prooftexts from the Gospels. But what did Jesus really mean when he proclaimed that the “kingdom of God” was at hand? Hint: we have to dig into the Old Testament to get the full picture. And doing so will bring a richer, deeper, more compelling dimension to our own lives in Jesus' kingdom.An interactive question-and-answer period follows.Downloadable handout available on our website.https://strengthtostrength.org/the-kingdom-in-context-of-the-whole-scripture/

Michael Shapiro  - Ketubah.com On How the Artist Gets Inspired for the Ketubah: "There would be a discussion of the couple's values, maybe how they met, maybe where they met, and the artist would be listening for things that were important to them, including things between the lines, maybe that they weren't speaking about, but that they got a sense of" Business owners that become business owners because they learned a craft and saw a need are some of the most fascinating people to speak with. Michael Shapiro learned about Ketubahs and took the bold step of starting https://ketubah.com/.  The website connects ketubah artists with Jewish couples soon to be wed. After speaking with Michael, you learn about his keen awareness of what couples want, what artists can offer and combines this to help couples get a beautiful piece for their special day, and beyond. Listen as Michael explains what it takes to make a great ketubah and how he has built his business around helping others. Enjoy! Visit Michael at: https://ketubah.com/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Reviving historical Jewish art forms 04:21 Understanding the Ketubah document 09:03 Ketubah sizing and ceremony use 11:43 Early ketubah art practices 15:12 Blending tech with craftsmanship 16:28 The significance of ketubahs in weddings 22:28 Transition to online services 24:10 Custom calligraphic font for Ketubahs 29:06 Starting the first website 32:02 Early marketing efforts 33:26 Providing custom design options 37:19 Meeting artists in Israel 42:02 Struggling to break even 43:39 Learning to delegate tasks 46:52 Managing through pandemic challenges 50:01 Managing cash flow challenges 53:09 Following your passion and persistence Podcast Transcription: Michael Shapiro [00:00:00]: There are some. It's something that usually the couple, you know, there's been some dream of it for years and years, in some cases since childhood, people have imagined what their wedding day was going to be like. On top of that, add the hopes, dreams and expectations of parents, other family members. So it can be a very stressful thing. So I'm very proud of the fact that at least with the purchase of the ketubah, thanks to my team's expertise, empathy and real human customer service, the ketubah is one thing that you can just relax. It's not something you're going to have to worry about. We're there to hold your hand every step of the way and make sure that everything is absolutely right. James Kademan [00:00:40]: You have found authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link Fun to draw in customers.com we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie calls on call, Extraordinary answering service, both business book as well as live switch. And today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Michael Shapiro of ketubah.com and I gotta say, Michael, I'm excited because we're talking about what looks to be some art that. It's funny, I had no idea stuff like this existed. So let's start with the foundation. What do you do? Michael Shapiro [00:01:18]: Absolutely. So ketubah.com sells ketubahs. What is a ketubah? The ketubah at its core is the Jewish marriage contract. The traditional text of it goes back more than 2,000 years. And there is a tradition which is only a thousand years old, if you will, of making this document into something beautifully written and beautifully decorated. James Kademan [00:01:43]: Is this so thorough? Thousands of years who or thousand years who, I guess. Tell me how that has translated over the course of modern times. Is it essentially the same that it was forever ago? Michael Shapiro [00:01:57]: Very, very interesting. And, and you know, I, I actually just, just published a book that looks into the history of this art form and then brings it up to date because there was a very interesting ebb and flow, which is it all started that the tradition of decorating these started in the land of Israel and in Egypt about a thousand years ago. It then moved through Europe all the way to Spain. And then after the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, it moved all throughout the Mediterranean into the Middle East. Then over time, with the invention of the printing press and the application of the printing press to making inexpensive versions of this, the art form started to die out. From sort of the late 1800s onwards. Then in North America, starting in the early 1970s, some Jewish artists in the United States and in Canada started to bring the art form back to life. And that's what the book is about. Michael Shapiro [00:02:55]: My book is called Ketubah Renaissance and it's about the modern revival of this ancient art form in a North American context. And that really is what made my business possible. James Kademan [00:03:07]: That is incredible. It's so funny something that I would consider this to be pretty major that I must be just living under a rock because I had never heard of these until connecting with you. Michael Shapiro [00:03:18]: Don't feel too badly. I actually, until 1995, I wasn't aware of this tradition either. So my parents and grandparents just had a simple Ketubah, a simple marriage document that was given to them by the rabbi just on a piece of paper filed away. So that was, you know, that was from the period time when this tradition of the beautifully decorated one had died out. So it was only in 1995, when I was studying in Jerusalem, networking with Judaica artists with an idea to open a shop when I came back to came back home to Canada that I met my first Ketubah artist. So don't feel too bad because I didn't know about this tradition either until, well, 30 years ago. And then I started the company. James Kademan [00:04:01]: Right on. That is awesome. So tell me about the contract itself right before we dive into the art, which is probably more fun. Part, tell me about the contract. Is this just a typical copy paste from every other marriage out there or is there some type of a conversation that happens between the parties, the husband, wife, as to what's going to be included there? Michael Shapiro [00:04:21]: So yes and yes. So the handed down text has changed very little up until this period of the Ketubah revival. And it was a revolutionary text for its time. Imagine in biblical times a woman on her own, either because her husband died or because they became divorced. And divorce is allowed in Judaism, not encouraged, but it is allowed in Judaism. Women and her children on their own could be in serious financial straits. So this was a document that basically was a little bit like, if you will, a prenup slash insurance life insurance policy, which is that if she ended up on her own, she would have financial sum that would be available to her so that she and her children would be okay. That very legal text changed very little up until, as I said, the early 1970s. Michael Shapiro [00:05:17]: Around the time, and this was one of the contributing factors that opened up the, the revival of the art form, there started to be A proliferation of texts, and these included texts that went outside of the religious legal framework that the original text had come down. By that time, not all Jews were practicing sort of Orthodox Judaism. Their reform there was conservative and a whole range of texts that were more like what you're mentioning in your question. Many of them now are more like love documents, commitments of shared value, rather than a legalistic sort of a document. James Kademan [00:05:54]: Gotcha. You know, it's interesting because I'm thinking that the. The men are essentially assigned to support the women. So if the guy goes away for whatever reason, divorce, death, whatever woman is taken care of, does it also. I mean, we're in a time now where that could be flipped, where the woman is the one making all the money. So does that go both ways? Michael Shapiro [00:06:12]: You know what? That's a really interesting question. The traditional text, as far as I know, does not take that into account. And the more I would say contemporary texts, they don't get into the financial end of it at all. So I guess in that circumstance, it would really be up to the state laws in terms when a couple divorces to make sure that they're treating each other fairly versus the religious document requiring that. James Kademan [00:06:43]: Right on. And then last question, in regards to the contract itself, is this a legally binding document? So if some. A divorce happens, the spouse can say, hey, or the ex spouse can say, hey, this is. You owe me, according to this. Michael Shapiro [00:06:58]: Well, it's. So it's binding within a Jewish rabbinical court, if you will. It is. There have been some attempts to bring the ketubah to the so sort of, you know, courts of the state, so to speak. I'm not an expert in that field. I don't know how successful they have been. So I guess the answer is kind of yes and kind of no. James Kademan [00:07:20]: All right, fair enough. Let's get into the fun stuff. Tell me about the art side of these. Michael Shapiro [00:07:25]: Okay, so as I mentioned, the art form, it, you know, goes back about a thousand years. It's a very rich art form. And one of the things that I find fascinating is the.

Now in its 25th year, DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio is my weekly “dark music” broadcast. It leans heavily toward new and recent releases, but should appeal to fans of bands such as Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Sisters of Mercy, New Order, Front 242, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Bauhaus, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and the like. This week's show features fantastic new tracks from Finnish act Kirke, South Africa's Hunter as a Horse, Sweden's Thing Eater, the Italian act The Spoiled, Oregon's Hexxes, and the UK's 404 Error. I hope you'll give it a spin! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 12 April 2026 Hunter as a Horse, “Paradise Lost” Advocatus Dei, “Morgenlicht” The Spoiled, “Two Souls Apart” Balduvian Bears, “Regret” The Violent Youth, “Sledy” Project .44, “Never – Nothing” Nuclear Invertebrate, “Colonist” 404 Error, “Fallout (Retro Future mix)” Admore ad Lunem x Bam Magera, “Behind the Green Door” Ritual Howls, “Follow the Sun” Octavian Winters, “Elements of Air” Byronic Sex & Exile, “Your Name on the Wind” Reviser, “Dead Eyes” Black Rose Burning, “Retro” Isabel Shrine, “Somewhere” Cold Cause, “Das Gespenst” Miss Trezz, “Fade Into the Black” Hexxes, “Fragile Thing” Thin Eater, “Half of a Double Giving Birth” Lowsunday, “Call Silence” J:dead, “Silence Calls” Sorrow Stories, “Too Early” Starsign, “Shiver” The Witch Said No, “Dead Cat” Shadows Hold, “Nosebleed” Kirke, “Demoni” Traumabond, “Mating Ritual” Dead Lights, “When the Lights Come Down” The Sisters of Mercy, “Flood II” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Nettle has a reputation…

This week's Dark Nation Radio is a bit perkier than usual and includes a new 40th anniversary mix of Book of Love's “Boy”; new Lords of Acid x Princess Superstar; some club classics from Seabound, Depeche Mode, and VNV Nation; a trinity of “devotional music” for Easter from Laibach, TKK, and Ministry; the latest from Kate Robichaud; industrial bangers from Aesthetic Perfection and Ruined Conflict; and new tracks from Mesh, Demonwarp, Hunter as a Horse, and Chalice Sect. If you need something to put a smile on your face and a bit of bounce in your step, I hope you'll give this one a spin! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 5 April 2026 Book of Love, “Boy (Dave Audé 40th anniversary mix)” Dead on a Sunday, “The Promise” Leathers, “Daydream Trash” Blue Images, “Her Light” For All the Emptiness, “Prayers (Icon of Coil mix)” Seabound, “Hooked” Solar Fake, “Nothing's Wrong” VNV Nation, “The Farthest Star” The Galan Pixs, “Use the Flashlight” Depeche Mode, “Pleasure, Little Treasure” Laibach, “Jesus Christ Superstar” My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, “Kooler Than Jesus” Ministry, “Jesus Built My Hotrod” Kat Robichaud, “Break My Heart” The Lords of Acid x Princess Superstar, “Karaoke Superstar” Aesthetic Perfection, “Into the Void” Demonwarp, “Protocol Obey” Ruined Conflict, “War is Coming” Hemlock for Socrates, “You're Not Here” Mesh, “Exile” Hunter as a Horse, “Lighthouse” Death Valley Fight Club, “This Feeling” Faith & the Muse, “Soverign” And It Was Night, “What's Beyond the Light” Chalice Sect, “Silent Fever” Shanx FM, “Yesterday” French Police, “Neptune” Undertheskin, “Done” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Todd Graves  - Graves Golf On Understanding Your Value: "Your customer is going to feed on your clarity of what you have to offer. And without clarity, you're just going to be a commodity." Some things just go hand in hand with business.  Things like marketing, closing a deal over a beer, meeting for coffee and, of course, golfing.  It seems that golf is a sport that allows you to chat on a more casual level with vendors and clients to get deals done and have a good excuse to be out of the office on a beautiful day. But this can be challenging, especially if you don't golf well. Todd Graves grew up with golf and learned the single plane swing from the best in the business, Moe Norman.  Using Moe's unique swing that works well, along with a 5 step training process, Todd has built a business to help golfers become better golfers and non-golfers become golfers that don't hurt their back.  He has systematized the golf swing to the point of making the game fun for entrepreneurs. With Graves Golf, Todd has built a business around helping golfers get better.  His process has value for businesses of all types, helping you understand the reason behind the rule of 'Systematize Everything'. Listen as Todd explains his approach to training golfers and how he built his business around one guys process that went against the norm. Enjoy! Visit Todd at: https://gravesgolf.com/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Outdated PGA teaching methods 09:52 Regulating equipment in sports 13:15 Learning step-by-step skills 18:40 Todd's seminar on clarity 23:42 Understanding golf swing mechanics 30:20 Fixing common golf swing mistakes 33:51 Starting Graves Golf with a trailer 37:12 Prioritizing values over quick fixes 42:22 Building a custom golf academy 51:08 Raising your standards for excellence 54:44 Golf club components explained 01:02:16 Range balls vs. regular golf balls 01:03:41 Choosing the right golf ball Podcast Transcription: Todd Graves [00:00:00]: Now when you, when you look at the way the game has advanced and I'll just give you some, some data, but just from in the late 80s, early 90s, John Daly led the Tour driving distance. John Daly was the longest striker of the golf ball on the, on the Tour at the time. And he was driving the ball, I think 288 yards, 289 yards. Something was the, he was the longest. And the Tour average driving distance was around 265. Today it's 30 yards greater than that. So now. Oh yeah, yeah. Todd Graves [00:00:29]: So now the average driving distance is in the 295 range and the longest drivers out there in the 32330 range and sometimes longer. James Kademan [00:00:42]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at https://drawincustomers.com We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie Calls On Call, Extraordinary Answering Service, The bold business book as well as Live Switch. Today we're welcoming slash, preparing to learn from Todd Graves of Graves Golf. And Todd, I'm excited. We are now entering what, at least in my world in the Midwest, is golf weather. So let's talk golf today. Todd Graves [00:01:19]: Well, yeah, the Masters, you know, coming next week. So really golf, golf season across the country and probably across the world really kicks off for us around Masters. We always gear up for this time of year. You know, nothing's more exciting than the Masters tournament. So that's a, it's a big week next week. So we're excited about what's happening. You know, it's been a, been kind of an early, interesting season this year because the weather seems to be, it's, it's always off and on, but it's, you know, I own a golf course here in Edmond, Oklahoma, and the, the grass came out early this year, which I don't know if that's always a good thing. But, but, but we're, yeah, we got some nice, nice playing conditions and we're ready to go. Todd Graves [00:01:58]: You know, golf's golf kicks off for us and we're ready to get busy this year. James Kademan [00:02:02]: Nice. Yeah, I'm in Wisconsin and we always joke that we have six springs. Todd Graves [00:02:06]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:02:07]: Last a day or two at a time. So I know that the course has been open and they've been snowed on and all that jazz. But at any rate, let's, let's talk about how you got started because it's been a while you've been in this game for quite a bit, it sounds like. Todd Graves [00:02:21]: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I'm not sure, you know, in business, being an entrepreneur, I'm not sure that you ever really know what you're doing at first. You know, you get into the game because you, you have an idea or you have something unique that you want to offer the world and help people with. And I think that's kind of what I stumbled into. I, you know, I, I played professional golf. I played in college, and I played professional golf, and, you know, I aspired to be a player, and I played for a while on the, on the tours around the world, and, and I just, you know, I kind of fell into. I saw a problem. Todd Graves [00:02:53]: I saw a problem in the golf world from, from a golf learning teaching methodology standpoint because I struggled, you know, I struggled to learn the game. I struggled to become better at playing it, even though I was a good player. I, I, you know, I came from a background of, of educators. My parents were both. My dad was a PhD in microbiology, taught at the medical school. My mother owned civil learning centers here in Oklahoma City. She was an entrepreneur herself. So, you know, I came from this background of always questioning how things worked. Todd Graves [00:03:23]: And, and I, I would consider myself relatively smart. I don't think I'm the most intelligent tool in the, you know, the smartest guy in the world. But, but I always, you know, I'm, I'm inquisitive. I always was curious about things and, and as I tried to approach the game of golf and get better at it, there was a lot of, A lot of dogma in, in the golf instruction world. And there was. There was really no standardized teaching methods. There was, and it just didn't seem simple to me. So the more I tried to improve, the more trouble I saw with the industry that teaches the game of golf. Todd Graves [00:03:54]: Matter of fact, to give you an example, the PGA teaching manual, the manual that they teach from today, if you go into a pro shop and you want to learn from a PGA pro, that teaching manual that they operate from and they, and they use has not been updated since 1990. So, so you would think that, you know, with the technology today and with, with the way the game works and with all the, I mean, look at, look at the industry. Look at your world. You know, we got AI. We got so much, we got so much information out there and the ability to do things we could never do before, and you got this antiquated way they teach the game of golf. Now, I'm not saying that everything in that manual is bad and wrong. I'm just saying that there's so much more that we can, we can offer and become better at what we do. And, and that's, that's part of an entrepreneur's job is to, so I look at that. Todd Graves [00:04:41]: That was part of it. And there was, you know, everybody's teaching a different method. So I just, I said, look, there's, there's something wrong with, with the game of golf. It's how it's being taught and it's what's being taught. And I've been, I, I built a business around that and, and so I kind of stumbled into it just because I saw a big need and a problem. You know, that's what we do as entrepreneurs. We find needs, we find problems, we try to solve those things as best we can. You know, that's fair. James Kademan [00:05:03]: That's totally true. Tell me a story, because I have to admit ignorance here I am just getting into golf, like just getting into golf. So I have played golf. Not well. We play best ball and out of 18 holes, we're probably using mine two or three times at best. Todd Graves [00:05:19]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:05:19]: And I'm going to call that pure luck. Nothing. Todd Graves [00:05:22]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:05:23]: So at any rate, tell me a story about, let's just say a typical drive. A typical drive in 1990 versus a typical drive now with the skills and the tools and all that kind of stuff. Is it. When I say a typical drive, I guess a good drive, not my drive. A good drive where it goes straight, where you intended to go. Is it farther than what it was? Todd Graves [00:05:44]: Well, here's what's interesting about it. You know, when you, when you look at the way the game has advanced and I'll just give you some, some data. So just from in the late 80s, early 90s, John Daly led the Tour driving distance. John Daly was the longest striker of the golf ball on the, on the Tour at the time. And he was driving the ball, I think 288 yards to an 89 yards. Something was the, was he was the longest and the tour average driving distance was around 265. Today it's 30 yards greater than that. So 10%. Todd Graves [00:06:15]: Oh, yeah, yeah. So, so now the, the average driving distance is in the 295 range and the, the longest drivers out there are in the 32330 range. So. And sometimes longer so that, you know, you can, you can attribute that to probably, we call it the tiger effect. In the game. You can, you know, better athletes,

Show Notes: Raman Julka is the founder and CEO of ValueChaser AI Labs and a former McKinsey Partner, where he served clients on operations, procurement, and digital topics and was a leader in McKinsey's procurement analytics practice. ValueChaser.ai is an AI-powered strategy and diagnostic platform that transforms raw business data into consulting-grade insights in under 10 minutes — work that typically takes analysts and consultants 1–3 weeks. Unlike generic AI tools, ValueChaser produces structured, benchmarked, auditable outputs: full diagnostic reports with health scoring, value levers, implementation steps, and action plans. It does not produce summaries or chat responses. It produces deliverables (pdf reports, excel models and csv files) your team can review, present, and act on. ValueChaser.ai Homepage ValueChaser.ai Demonstration In this episode, Raman gives Will a live demonstration of two products: • Company Diagnostics — upload a 10-K, annual report, or financial statements and receive a full business diagnostic with peer benchmarks, health scoring across functions, a value creation roadmap, and a detailed Excel model. Powered by a curated library of thousands of functional levers across industries and sub-industries. • Procurement Insights — upload transactional AP or spend data and receive category savings analysis, supplier intelligence, negotiation playbooks, and a prioritized action plan mapped to industry-specific procurement taxonomies. Includes a full categorized CSV of every transaction with confidence levels. Tested on datasets up to 1 million rows across 45 sub-industries. Value Chaser vs ChatGPT Raman explains how ValueChaser differs from simply prompting ChatGPT: deterministic and auditable outputs (not probabilistic), multi-model orchestration (Gemini for large data, Claude for narrative and reporting, Perplexity for market research), and enterprise-grade data security. Pricing and Subscription The platform is priced at $900 per report with subscription and white-label options available. It publicly launches on April 8, 2026. Subscribers get their own space, access to historical reports, and the option to white-label the platform. The tool is currently in private beta, with a few consulting companies, private equity funds, and independent advisors piloting it. Raman highlights ongoing developments, such as a module for sim and data room analytics for PE. The platform is also building a proposal development and client intelligence module for consulting engagements. The tool is designed to evolve based on client feedback and real-world testing. Interested listeners can reach out to Will directly for an exclusive discount on their first report. Products covered: Company Diagnostics, Procurement Categorization, Procurement Insights. Coming soon: CIM & Data Room Analytics for PE, Proposal Development & Client Intelligence. Source of Data ValueChaser.ai relies on uploaded data rather than searching the web. Raman explains that the tool uses three sources of information: uploaded data, information shared by the user, and curated knowledge from experts. The platform includes standard functional levers and taxonomies for different industries and sub-industries. Raman highlights the importance of curated knowledge in providing comprehensive outputs. The tool's hypothesis is that analytics expertise can be drawn from models with proper calibration and control.   Example of a Diagnostic Report Raman shows the diagnostic report for a healthcare company, which includes an executive summary, financial performance, and areas of opportunity. The report highlights financials, extended financials, and specific levers for the business, with detailed calculations and implementation steps.The health score tracks the business across functions, using benchmarks built from publicly available sources. The market intelligence section provides an overview of the company's market position and growth drivers. Example of a Procurement Insights Report Raman demonstrates the procurement insights report for a software company with transactional spend data. The platform categorizes spend to industry-specific taxonomies and maps against intelligence playbooks to provide levers and actions. The report includes a high-level spend overview, maturity score, quick wins, and detailed recommendations. The tool provides a detailed CSV file listing transactions with categorization and confidence levels. Timestamps: 02:03: Homepage and Product Overview  03:03: Data Upload and Validation  05:59: Multi-Source Information and Knowledge Base  08:48: Company Diagnostics Report  20:11: Procurement Insights Report  26:44: Comparison with ChatGPT  27:04: Pricing and Customer Set  29:09: Future Developments and Use Cases Links: Raman's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramanjulka  Website: www.valuechaser.ai   Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/valuechaser-ai-labs-inc/about   Example reports — Downloadable reports based on examples for all products: https://eu.valuechaser.ai/case-examples    This episode on Umbrex: https://umbrex.com/unleashed/episode-640-the-ai-platform-turning-raw-business-data-into-consulting-grade-insights-in-under-10-minutes/ Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com. *AI generated timestamps and show notes.  

This week's edition of DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio is ready for streaming and is perhaps a bit moodier than usual. In the mix are new tracks from bands including Oui Plastique, NECRØ, Mortes, Corvin, Trippy Hearts, The SPKtR, Oh Madonna, The Violent Youth, The Antoine Poncelet Band, Hatif, Noir Addiction, Feyleux, Rain Diary, Simon Carter x Slighter, Abel Autopsy, and Cathedral Bells. I hope you enjoy it and, if you do, please support the bands! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 29 March 2026 The Cure, “Plainsong” Abel Autopsy, “Ghostride” The SPKtR, “The Last of Men” Ships in the Night, “Wells of Pain” Luckyandlove, “Lonely at Night” The Antoine Poncelet Band, “We Are the Waves (Breaking R'lyeh mix)” Trippy Hearts, “Sweet Crash” Talvekoidik, “Such a Perfect Day” Legend, “Amazon War” NECRØ, “Hanged Man” Mortes, “Forever (Just Save Me)” Cathedral Bells, “Crashing Out” The Violent Youth, “Tsvety” David Galas, “Pillar of Sorrow” Youth Code, “To Burn Your World” Simon Carter x Slighter, “Autonomy (Here We Belong) (Dark Rave Mix)” Oh Madonna, “Desire” Feyleux, “Frailty” Rain Diary, “Night Church” Noir Addiction, “Serve Me Some Crime” Hatif, “Arm's Length Away” Oui Plastique, “Revival” Corvin, “Dead End Pyre” Ashes Fallen, “We Belong Nowhere” Pink Stiletto, “Amour Finale” Ductape, “Fine” Holy Wire, “Phantom Nihilism (KVB remix)” Occults, “Truth or Desire” Vempire, “Pet Sematary” The Exploding Boy, “She Said” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio This week's edition of DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio is ready for streaming and is perhaps a bit moodier than usual. In the mix are new tracks from bands including Oui Plastique, NECRØ, Mortes, Corvin, Trippy Hearts, The SPKtR, Oh Madonna, The Violent Youth, The Antoine Poncelet Band, Hatif, Noir Addiction, Feyleux, Rain Diary, Simon Carter x Slighter, Abel Autopsy, and Cathedral Bells. I hope you enjoy it and, if you do, please support the bands! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 29 March 2026 The Cure, “Plainsong” Abel Autopsy, “Ghostride” The SPKtR, “The Last of Men” Ships in the Night, “Wells of Pain” Luckyandlove, “Lonely at Night” The Antoine Poncelet Band, “We Are the Waves (Breaking R'lyeh mix)” Trippy Hearts, “Sweet Crash” Talvekoidik, “Such a Perfect Day” Legend, “Amazon War” NECRØ, “Hanged Man” Mortes, “Forever (Just Save Me)” Cathedral Bells, “Crashing Out” The Violent Youth, “Tsvety” David Galas, “Pillar of Sorrow” Youth Code, “To Burn Your World” Simon Carter x Slighter, “Autonomy (Here We Belong) (Dark Rave Mix)” Oh Madonna, “Desire” Feyleux, “Frailty” Rain Diary, “Night Church” Noir Addiction, “Serve Me Some Crime” Hatif, “Arm's Length Away” Oui Plastique, “Revival” Corvin, “Dead End Pyre” Ashes Fallen, “We Belong Nowhere” Pink Stiletto, “Amour Finale” Ductape, “Fine” Holy Wire, “Phantom Nihilism (KVB remix)” Occults, “Truth or Desire” Vempire, “Pet Sematary” The Exploding Boy, “She Said” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Eddie Speed  - Note School On Timing the Market: "What's the best time to be in the note business? I said, there's two things. Either it's inflationary times or disruptive times. Right now we have both." It is always best to have an attorney before you need one, especially in business. Often, to make a deal happen, you need financing.  In real estate especially.  But often the typical bank cannot offer financing for a home to an entrepreneur.  We just don't check the W2 box like the banks want to see.  So where can you get financing for a home, if you are an entrepreneur? From another angle, you want to invest in something that has some great returns, but being a landlord isn't really your idea of fun.  What is another real estate investing option that can help you make money in your sleep? Eddie Speed has started the Note School.  A school that teaches how to invest and offer notes to people that need financing outside of traditional banks. Eddie shares insights from his decades of experience teaching people how to "be the bank, a strategy that has helped countless real estate investors convert their rental properties into seller-financed opportunities. As rental profits dwindle and banks tighten their lending standards, Eddie explains how seller financing can transform a landlord's cash flow and serve an underserved market of aspiring homeowners. From practical math to tax strategies, and a behind-the-scenes look at the NoteSchool training process, Listen as Eddie explains innovative ways to thrive in disruptive, inflationary times. Whether you're a seasoned investor, a curious landlord, or an entrepreneur seeking new revenue streams, Eddie's expertise will open your eyes to possibilities beyond conventional real estate. Enjoy! Visit Eddie at: https://noteschool.com/DrawIn Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service: https://callsoncall.com Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Learning to become the bank 04:18 Discussing rental properties as businesses 07:22 Helping sellers with financing 12:41 Rental income and market comparison 13:35 Tax tips for installment sales 19:13 Training successful yet overthinking students 22:05 Starting in the business 25:22 Finding a niche in real estate 27:43 Challenges of property management 32:12 Challenges with traditional mortgage lending 35:16 Frustration with appliance durability 40:36 Comparing 30-year vs 50-year loans 44:25 Finding reliable, hardworking realtors 47:50 Finding local property services 50:19 Getting started with online basics 54:43 Funding notes and marketplace strategy Podcast Transcription: Eddie Speed [00:00:00]: Think and think in terms of the easiest way. People say, people say, give me a reference of seller financing that everybody can relate to the car industry. You, you buy, buy a car, maybe it's a used car or you are, you know, whoever your secretary buys, whatever that is. Right. Somebody buys a car and the car dealership carries the financing. They sell or finance the car. Does that make sense? James Kademan [00:00:26]: It does. Eddie Speed [00:00:26]: Instead of seller financing a car, you sell or finance a property. So you're not renting it anymore. You're, you're transferring the deed to the new guy, but you're saying, wait a minute, I'm going to carry, I'm going to be your bank and I'm going to carry long term financing. James Kademan [00:00:47]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found@drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie Calls On Call Extraordinary answering Service, the Bold business Book as well as Live Switch. Today we're welcoming Slash, preparing to learn from Eddie Speed of the note school. So Eddie, how is it going today? Eddie Speed [00:01:15]: I'm great, how are you? James Kademan [00:01:17]: I am excited. We're talking about real estate notes and I gotta admit, I don't know much about that at all. So I'm excited to learn from you. So let's start with the basic foundation. What is the note school? Eddie Speed [00:01:31]: Well, note school teaches people how to be the bank. There's basically two ways you could be the bank. You might have a rental property that's far more profitable for you to finance the rent property than continuing to pay rent and taxes and insurance and the plumber and the all that. Right. And, or you may say, no, I don't have a rent house, Eddie. I just, I like the idea of being a bank. How would I find a note? And so we have run a school for 25 years showing people how to go be the bank. James Kademan [00:02:09]: So help us with a foundation here. A real estate note. Is that essentially the same as the deed or what is that? Eddie Speed [00:02:15]: No, is what we all sign when we go to the title company and buy a house and get financing. James Kademan [00:02:22]: Gotcha. So it's the loan on the property. Eddie Speed [00:02:25]: You know, you sign a promise to pay to the bank, it has an amount that you owe, it has interest, it has a monthly payment and then you sign another document that says if I don't pay, the bank can foreclose. Usually in some states that's a deed of trust in some states, that's called a mortgage, something kind of like that. James Kademan [00:02:46]: Okay. Eddie Speed [00:02:47]: Yeah. James Kademan [00:02:49]: So if somebody has a property, is this. I guess in this case with the notes is this. You are helping somebody purchase the property. So instead of a bank, they'd be using this person? Eddie Speed [00:03:00]: No, I. No, I am, I am pretty specialized in the business, and so we help people. Seller finance. James Kademan [00:03:12]: Okay. Eddie Speed [00:03:13]: So I deal with a lot of landlords. Main, I don't usually deal with too many mom and pops. Normally the people that I deal with are people that are real estate investors. Some really big, some super small, but normally they're a real estate investor. And so I help them create notes and I buy notes that they've already created. And in the, in the little, narrow little world of seller financing, I bought 50,000 seller finance notes. Wow. James Kademan [00:03:42]: So I feel like that's a lot. Eddie Speed [00:03:44]: It is. And in that little industry, it is. And so we're. We're pretty. We've got a seat at the table in that industry. And so we find a lot of these notes and we spend a lot of energy trying to find them. Right. So we do pretty good at that. Eddie Speed [00:04:00]: And then right now we have a really active program where. And a lot of the podcasts and things I do, people are interviewing me, like, okay, how do I convert my rental to seller financing? Because rentals aren't making near the profit they used to. Inflation messed up the rental model. James Kademan [00:04:18]: It turns out as I, as I interview people that are in the real estate world and I look at the rental property world, I'll reach out to a real estate agent and I'll be like, hey, man, from my point of view, a rental property is a business. You look at what it costs, acquisition costs, and then the money coming in, the revenue, the expenses. I don't see how some of these businesses are making money. Who would buy this? This is a. Not necessarily a failing business, but it's a business that's going to cost you money rather than make you money, unless you're working on speculation and saying, in 30 years down the road, this is going to be worth more. Eddie Speed [00:04:55]: So we help people get paid now versus having to wait for appreciation. James Kademan [00:05:00]: Gotcha. Eddie Speed [00:05:01]: And if you, if you just look like this would be kind of an easy way to think about it. The average rent in the United states is about 1800 bucks. James Kademan [00:05:12]: Okay. Eddie Speed [00:05:13]: Ohio and California and Iowa, and you know what? James Kademan [00:05:19]: In the whole US So you got New York and San Diego, and you Eddie Speed [00:05:21]: also have everywhere in between, right the middle of nowhere. The average single family house rents for about 1800 bucks. Okay, that's not an apartment. That's not. That's not a duplex. That's it. That's a single family standalone house. The average payment that a brand new customer pays their mortgage payment is 138% of rent. Eddie Speed [00:05:49]: Okay, so that tells me the banks are making. Getting a bigger payment now. That includes taxes and insurance. So you got to saw a little off of that. Right. But Even if it's 110%, 100, 115%, people's mortgage payment is more than rent. But wait a minute. If I'm the landlord, half of my money runs out the door and paying expenses. Eddie Speed [00:06:10]: And if I'm the bank, none of my money runs out the door. So it doesn't, it doesn't take a, you know, a long spreadsheet to look at the math and go, you know, you know what, Eddie? It is more profitable for me to be the bank than a landlord. James Kademan [00:06:27]: Gotcha. So tell me, who is coming to you? Eddie Speed [00:06:35]: In the last two weeks, I've been to the largest two real estate masterminds for house people in the United States. So call it top, you know, 800 top thousand house buyers. A good percentage of them are in. Are one of those groups or another couple that I'm involved in. They have. I sit down with a guy on Friday who's a fractional CFO for other real estate investors.

Jane Muir  - J. Muir & Associates P.A. On the Bold Truth: "But long story short, litigation has to be part of your comprehensive business plan." It is always best to have an attorney before you need one, especially in business. Jane Muir is a business attorney that has seen almost everything.  She started her law practice to help entrepreneurs navigate the law. From the basics of forming your business entity to protecting yourself through solid contracts and smart bookkeeping, Jane Muir shares invaluable advice for business owners at every stage. She discusses common pitfalls companies face, such as collecting unpaid invoices, navigating litigation, and when (or if) it's even worth chasing what you're owed. You'll also hear about the often-overlooked power of credit reporting, and why a solid business plan includes preparing for legal disputes, not just dreaming big. Jane Muir gets candid about her own journey: growing up in a family of lawyers, how market downturns led her to start her own practice, and why embracing technology and AI has helped her firm stand out and serve clients more efficiently. Plus, she recommends the essential business books every entrepreneur should read (hint: it's not all about law). Listen as Jane explains what to look for in a great business attorney and how an attorney can help you prevent and solve some issues you may come across. Enjoy! Visit Jane at: http://www.jmuirandassociates.com/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Business Entity Options Explained 05:45 "Small Claims: Worth the Chase?" 08:51 "Litigation: A Business Strategy" 12:59 "Enforcing Judgments with Legal Writs" 16:03 "Fighting for Justice and Fees" 18:49 Settlements vs. Trials: Key Insights 21:01 Partnerships and Legal Financial Dynamics 26:20 Beginner Business Tax Tips 28:49 "Credit Reporting Agencies Explained" 33:02 "Gemini and AI Automations" 34:07 Automated Document and Scheduling System 39:03 "Spot, Read, Decide Quickly" 42:00 Vespa Insurance Coverage Gap 46:24 "Starting a Law Firm" 50:33 "Legal Challenges and Opportunities" 51:21 "Assessing Threats and Opportunities" 56:23 Bookkeeping: Your Business Backbone Podcast Transcription: Jane Muir [00:00:00]: in whatever that area is. You could be a painter or a social media marketing person, but if you're not getting your invoices out and getting paid, you're just not going to have a business. Well, that's really so important that we make sure everybody is aware that bookkeeping is the backbone of your business and you might not like it. It might be boring. So you got to find someone who's going to do it for you. But if you don't have your bookkeeping in order, then you're lost and you'll never be able to succeed. James [00:00:39]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service, The Bold Business Book, as well as LiveSwitch. Today we are welcoming/preparing to learn from Jane Muir of J. Muir and Associates, PA. Jane, how is it going today? Jane Muir [00:01:09]: It's a beautiful day in Coral Gables. How are you? James [00:01:12]: I am doing well. You know, you and I were chatting right before here about the initials after the name, J. Muir and Associates, the PA. So let's dig into some legal stuff right away. What is the PA? Jane Muir [00:01:26]: Every state has statutes that define the different types of corporate entities that they allow. And in order to tell the public what corporate entity you have, there are little letters at the end of the name of the company, like Inc. or LLC or Co. And those are designed to give notice of what rules and, um, rights and responsibilities apply to that corporate entity. Uh, my entity is called a professional association, which is specific to professionals who hold a license. It can apply to accountants, architects, engineers, lawyers, doctors, and it's essentially a partnership form. Um, which is an option just for licensed professionals. James [00:02:18]: Nice. So that would be in addition to, or instead of an LLC or S corporation, something like that? Jane Muir [00:02:26]: It would be instead of. James [00:02:27]: Uh, instead of. Jane Muir [00:02:28]: A professional group like lawyers or doctors, they can have a PA or a PLLC, or they can have another thing called a limited liability partnership, an LLP. Theoretically, they could have other types of entities to allow non-licensed professionals to participate. Like if, if I were going to start a non-law firm business, for instance, I can have anything I want. It could be an LLC, it can be an Inc. And in Florida, they allow us to kind of make a Frankenstein where we take features of the different statutes and make them into one. Corporate entity that has features of all of them. Uh, but really anything goes and the, the little letters at the end are supposed to just kind of give the public an idea of what to expect. James [00:03:24]: Interesting. Is that, is the PA thing newer or has that been around for a while? Jane Muir [00:03:29]: No, it's ancient. It's, it's one of the earliest corporate forms. James [00:03:33]: Oh, really? Jane Muir [00:03:34]: All right. James [00:03:35]: How cool is that? And just outta curiosity here, why did you or your team choose PA versus LLC or LLP or whatever? Jane Muir [00:03:44]: I think, well, I, I'm the sole shareholder of our firm. We have partners, but, um, I'm the sole shareholder and I just think it's a classic choice. It, to me, it conveys that we're traditional even though We're advanced in technology and we're advanced in, in our approach to managing matters. We, we do want to convey to the public that we're old school lawyers doing real legal work. James [00:04:18]: Right on. I love it. So let's dig into that, Jane. What is, what do you do? Jane Muir [00:04:24]: I'm a business lawyer. I'm located in Miami, Florida. Our firm has offices in Dade, uh, Palm Beach, and, um, opening soon in Alachua County. James [00:04:36]: Nice. Jane Muir [00:04:37]: And we help business owners with their legal issues from mainly contracts and, and issues relating to permits needed or, or business licenses, troubleshooting all kinds of random things that can pop up in a business. Uh, and then the remainder of our practice is commercial litigation. James [00:04:59]: Oh, that sounds like fun. Jane Muir [00:05:01]: I don't, yeah, we deal with a lot of conflict. James [00:05:05]: All right. All right. So let's dig into that cuz that sounds like fun, right? Uh, tell me about the conflicts that a typical business owner or business entity would run into. Jane Muir [00:05:15]: I would say mainly it's collecting money. All right. Or dealing with— James [00:05:20]: it always comes down to money, right? Jane Muir [00:05:21]: Yes. It's always money. James [00:05:23]: All right. Um, and is this because somebody put together a partnership that's bad or more, uh, vendor-customer type relationship? Jane Muir [00:05:32]: We do have the partnerships gone bad, but I would say the majority of our work is vendor and customer relationships. Like someone owes you and you need to sue to force them to pay. James [00:05:45]: All right. So in my extremely limited experience. There is a dollar amount threshold where it's just not worth chasing from the headache and the way the system is set up. I guess in the, the little experience that I had of going to small claims court, it was annoying. It was expensive. And in the end, even when I won, I still didn't get paid. So tell me a story from, uh, what you would like small business to know, small business owners to know when it comes to collecting money, when it comes to dollar amounts. Or who's worth chasing and things like that? Jane Muir [00:06:19]: What a great question. That's, that's my every day. I process that question. What, what the cost benefit analysis is for a litigation. So first you want to know how much is at issue. And let's say if it's under $50,000, I really don't, I usually tell people, don't throw your good money after bad. And the reason is because our average litigation has expenses of about $50,000. And takes 2 to 2.5 years to come to a conclusion. Jane Muir [00:06:50]: Wow. Our, our least expensive litigations are $10,000 to $15,000, and they either resolve early by settlement or we win by default. And then the most expensive litigation we've had so far was a 3-year litigation. It had expenses of like $800,000. We ended in a jury verdict of $6.3 million. So that justified the expense, but whether we're ever going to collect on that is still an open question. So question number 1 is how much is at issue? Does it make it worthwhile to pursue? Then you want to ask, is there a way to recover the fees if you win? Because you don't just want the money you lost, you want to get the fees back. So oftentimes when I consult a business owner, I'm looking at their agreements with their customers and they don't have a prevailing party fee provision, which makes it not really worthwhile to pursue. Jane Muir [00:07:51]: So you want to see if you can collect fees and then you want to see that there's a pocket to pull the money out of either insurance or a property that's not protected by homestead or some other exemption that makes it uncollectible,

Looking for new dark music and bands? Let DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio be your guide! Each week, I offer a carefully curated introduction to the best in new releases (with more than 430 archived shows on Mixcloud!). This week's show includes new or recent material from bands including NECRØ, Krimea, October, Dreamspy, Chalice Sect, Miss Trezz, The Original Sin, Kyunaa, Theo Vandenhoff, Beyond Obsession, Gary Robert and Community, Blackbook, Unearthly Vessels, Last Dusk, False Figure, The Mystic Underground, and The Silence Industry. Thank you for your support for underground music! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 15 March 2026 NECRØ, “Hanged Man” Miss Trezz, “Control” The Original Sin, “Poison Candy” The Mystic Underground, Drowning” Ironic Sweden, “My Ego” Palindrones, “Kyrne Lamiya” Plastic Estate, “Meet You There” Krimea, “Die-Monds” TR/ST, “Gone” Reversed Chakra, “Game of Chess” Chalice Sect, “Silent Fever” Crying Vessel, “Killing Time” Blood Bells, “Destroy” UnderTheSkin, “Done” Reptyle, “Silence and the Cold” The Silence Industry, “The Coldest Fire” Kyunaa, “Ghosting” Oui Plastique, “Compulsion” Oxchitl, “Peñafiel” False Figure, “Julia (Asylum Party mix)” Sjöblom + The Halo Trees, “Weirdo” The Paper Road, “Nyctophobia” October, “For Elisabeth” Dreamspy, “Neon Dream” Beyond Obsession, “You're Not My Lover” Last Dusk, “Doldrums” Unearthly Vessels, “Theta's Twilight” Blackbook, “Unlovable (Thank You For Hating)” Anna von Hausswolff, “Stardust” Theo Vandenhoff, “April Showers” Corbeau Hangs, “Technicolor” Gary Robert and Community, “Passion” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Annie  - The Garden Mind Body On the Figuring Out That it is All Connected: ""I was so skeptical because I was like, how is working with my mind going to change what my body's doing?" Pain seems to be everywhere.  In our bodies, often we have the aches or headaches that seem to have no real reason for existing other than to feel like misplaced karma. But what if the aches in the body were due to issues in the mind?  What if you realized that everything in the body is connected to the mind and vice versa.  Through many challenges and illnesses and a lack of progress from typical doctor visits, Annie Kubena has researched and discovered what should be common knowledge, but isn't.  Our thoughts and our bodies live and work together, essentially as one.  Sometimes there messages are delivered by using pain as an esoteric way to inform your mind that your subconscious mind has some issues it needs you to deal with. Annie discovered this and this has led her to become a holistic mind-body coach.  She is helping others find relief from anxiety, chronic pain, and even the lingering effects of COVID through nervous system regulation, brain rewiring, and tools like somatic parts work and EFT tapping.  Annie Kubena details the ins and outs of her methods, and why tending to our “inner garden” is essential for lasting health. Listen as Annie explains how you can get the relief you need from the pain that may be slowing you down. Enjoy! Visit Annie at: https://www.thegardenmindbody.com/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Listening to My Body 04:43 Listening to My Body 08:36 Long COVID's Lingering Body Effects 11:05 "Building Resilience Through Reflection" 15:53 Homeopathy and Nervous System Rewiring 18:32 Understanding People One-on-One 21:08 "Overcoming Functional Freeze Patterns" 26:24 "Vagus Nerve Healing Commitment" 27:08 "Everyone Has Their Baggage" 30:42 "Remote Coaching Works Well" 34:36 Mind-Body Connection and Pain 37:51 Surgical Collaboration Insight Podcast Transcription: Annie Kubena [00:00:00]: And also I always prioritized like work and school over what my body was asking for. So I learned how to like tune in more to what my body is really asking me for, tune in more to like impulses. I was the kind of person that would like sit at my desk for so many hours without moving, without going to the bathroom when I needed to, like anything. I was just like, I would like settle into my work and just focus and push through. And so this was really having to train myself out of that and more into like, what's my body asking me for today? James [00:00:37]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sunbury, and today we're welcoming/preparing to learn from Annie Kubena. Of The Garden Mind Body Wellness. So Annie, how is it going today? Annie Kubena [00:01:01]: It's going great today. Thanks so much for having me. James [00:01:03]: Yeah, thanks for being on the show. Tell us the story. What is The Garden Mind Body Wellness? Annie Kubena [00:01:08]: Um, I am a holistic mind-body coach and I help people with anxiety, chronic illness, chronic pain, um, recover or prevent those things too through the power of the nervous system. James [00:01:21]: All right. And how do you get in there? Annie Kubena [00:01:25]: It's really a passion I have because of my own decades-long health journey. James [00:01:32]: Decades? Annie Kubena [00:01:33]: Decades long, yeah. James [00:01:34]: All right. Annie Kubena [00:01:35]: I struggled for a really long time with my health and just being a highly sensitive person in the world. James [00:01:43]: Okay. You're talking emotionally, physically, both? Annie Kubena [00:01:46]: Both. Yeah. Yeah. I've always been just really sensitive since I was a little kid. James [00:01:51]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:01:53]: Yeah, I really struggled with my health for a very long time. I got into a lot of holistic health approaches to help myself, and then I did a 1-year-long nervous system and brain rewiring program. James [00:02:09]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:02:10]: Just because I was like really desperate. I was like, I'm doing everything right. Like, why am I— why am I having— I kept having these cycles of like, pushing really hard when I felt well and then crashing and getting really sick. Oh, um, and I think that happens to a lot of people with chronic illness. But I did this nervous system program and realized, wow, like, I've almost never in my life just been like calm and centered on a consistent basis. James [00:02:37]: Is that an option? Annie Kubena [00:02:40]: It is, yeah. And it's what your body needs to really heal and digest food and absorb nutrients and turn over cells and all different kinds of things. So So I got into this because I'm so passionate about it and I think it's so needed in our world right now. I think people are chronically stressed and really struggling with their health, and I'm hoping that I can get to people before they have these like debilitating crashes like what I was having. James [00:03:12]: So now where are you at now, I guess, with your health? Annie Kubena [00:03:15]: Are you tip-top or I'm I'm probably realistically like at 80%, but I have all these tools where I'm like, oh, I'm starting to push too hard now. Oh. And I know when to pull back. I'm someone who just, I wanna do everything. I'm so driven and then my body kind of fights against me with that. So I have all these tools now for taking much better care of my nervous system that go really well with all the great food and movement things that I was doing. So I think it, it might take me a while. I was really sick when I was a kid and then I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease when I was in college. Annie Kubena [00:04:00]: So, but I, I feel so much stronger now because I have this more holistic approach to taking care of myself. James [00:04:10]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:04:11]: Yeah. James [00:04:12]: Tell me about the, you said nervous system rewiring. Annie Kubena [00:04:15]: Yeah. James [00:04:15]: I've never heard of that. So tell me what that is. Annie Kubena [00:04:18]: Yeah. Well, I think for most of my life I ran on adrenaline. I motivated myself with stress and I really had to change my way of being to one where I could say I can do, I can do life and do everything I want from a more centered, relaxed place. James [00:04:41]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:04:43]: And also I always prioritized work and school before, like over what my body was asking for. So I learned how to tune in more to what my body is really asking me for, tune in more to impulses. I was the kind of person that would sit at my desk for so many hours without moving, without going to the bathroom when I needed to, like anything. I was just like, I would settle into my work and just focus and push through. And so this was really, having to train myself out of that and more into like, what's my body asking me for today? How can I prioritize like grounding before I like just dive into my work or dive into the day or taking care of other people or other things? So that was part of it. Another part of it was just training my nervous system not to react to everything. So I had a point in my health where I was like reacting to almost every food I ate. James [00:05:47]: Like physically rash type stuff? Annie Kubena [00:05:49]: Yeah, just like all different kinds of reactions. Okay. But some, sometimes it would just be a stomachache or a headache. Sometimes it would be a rash, but I was down to like barely being able to eat anything without like feeling sick. James [00:05:59]: Oh. Annie Kubena [00:06:00]: Because my nervous system was in such a, such an activated state all the time that it can start just tagging a lot of things in your environment as dangerous. James [00:06:12]: Oh. Annie Kubena [00:06:13]: It's like, oh, you're in a state of fight or flight and you are eating a strawberry. You must be allergic to, you know, the strawberry must be dangerous. And so it just, our nervous systems were never meant to be in that state like all the time. So anyway, part of the program was exposing yourself to things that you're reacting to and like staying really calm, just small amounts at a time. So I started eating like small amounts of the foods I was reacting to. I started, listen, like sounds were something that really bothered me. So I started like exposing myself to louder sounds and then keeping myself calm so that my body could learn that the world is a safe place again and stop reacting to everything. James [00:07:01]: All right. Annie Kubena [00:07:01]: Yeah. James [00:07:02]: And was this a program you went through or is this something you did on your own? Annie Kubena [00:07:06]: Yeah, it was a program I went through. It's called Primal Trust. It's a nervous system regulation and brain retraining program. I did a lot of my own stuff too. I learned a lot about somatic parts work, which is, um, it's a therapy style called Internal Family Systems where it's like the movie Inside Out. James [00:07:26]: Okay. Annie Kubena [00:07:27]: You kind of work with your anxious part or your angry part or— yeah. So you really like learn a lot. Um, through that I really learned a lot about parts that were reacting and why.

Week after week, DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio presents to you the best in new and recent dark music. This week's show includes new tracks from Ayria, Faderhead, Huir, The Original Sin, Oh Madonna, Noromakina, Days of Sorrow, Orange Sector, The Fair Attempts, Scheitan, False Figure, Vioflesh, and Hunter as a Horse. Thank you for your support for underground music! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 8 March 2026 The Original Sin, “Kerosene” The Fair Attempts, “Ghost Within” Absurd Minds, “Samsara” Scheitan, “Heaven Tonight” False Figure, “Favorite Game” Assemblage 23, “Believe” Isaac Howlett and A State of Flux, “Spiralling” Leathers, “Crash” Sarajevo Moi, “Chute Libre” Sonum Unum, “Take Me Away” Chimes, “First at None” Curses, “Another Heaven” Medejin, “No Other Name” Rasputina, “Wish You Were Here” Ayria, “Viscious World” Agency-V, “Never Meant to Be (Inertia mix)” Oh Madonna, “Rosemary” Noromakina, “Abismauta” Days of Sorrow, “Let It Out” Orange Sector ft. Lis Van den Akker, “Treat of Life” Vioflesh, “Chains” Hunter as a Horse, “Here's to All the Ones” The Penthouse Pets, “The End of Anna” Huir, “You” Faderhead, “We Are Black Again” Ashes and Diamonds, “Boy or Girl” Rotersand, “Forgotten Daydreams (Back to the Other Side mix)” Alex Braun, “Zeitfresser (Silica Gel mix)” Byronic Sex & Exile, “Vampire Guitars” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Hilary Berning - Gio's Garden On the Unrealistic Timelines of Insurance Companies: "It's a 6 to 9 month process just to get a wheelchair. I really need some way to get my son from point A to point B." Families with special needs children already have some challenges.  These families need help and some guidance on where they can get this help.  This is where Gio's Garden comes in. Gio's Garden is a one-of-a-kind therapeutic respite center based in Middleton, Wisconsin, and recently expanded to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Their essential mission: to provide safe, enriching respite care for children with special needs aged 0–7, giving parents the chance to take a break, run errands, or simply breathe. Hilary Berning shares the struggles many of these families face.  From finding a place to care for your child temporarily since you can't just leave your medically complex child with the teenager down the block. Gio's Garden fills that gap with one-on-one care, specially trained staff, and a joyful, home-like atmosphere. Their houses are filled with arts, crafts, sensory rooms, gym equipment, and caring people who “never like to say no” to a family in need. Listen as Hilary explains the needs and complexities of these children and their families and how Gio's Garden is a place that is doing all they can to help these children and their families. Enjoy! Visit at: https://giosgarden.org/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Local, Unique, Community Focused" 06:03 Supporting Families Through CLTS 08:49 Greek Life Fundraising Show 11:10 "Sanfilippo Syndrome Journey Shared" 13:51 "Growth, Funding, and Strategic Planning" 19:18 Franchise Expansion Plans 20:56 Inclusive Childcare and Respite Plan 25:14 Emergency Presidency Amid Crisis 27:07 "Sun Prairie Location Announcement" 30:07 "Navigating a Life-Changing Diagnosis" 35:42 Sun Prairie Studio Renovation Details 38:07 Wiseman Center Connection Insights 40:48 "Planning Ahead for Kids' Safety" 44:38 "New Podcast Venture Launch" 47:10 "Reinventing With Youthful Engagement" 51:00 Nonprofits: Vital, Challenging, Impactful 52:00 Supporting Local Nonprofits Podcast Transcription: Hilary Berning [00:00:00]: Um, because you have the big nationwide organizations, right? Make-A-Wish, Boys and Girls, like they're all over the nation. They've got nationwide people telling them what to do when providing all these things. And then you have organizations like mine, like there's no one else that does this. We are the only one that does it. We're doing it on our own. We are local. We're serving local people. All the money stays here and goes back to the kids. Hilary Berning [00:00:22]: People can really think that through a little bit where we don't have We are local, we're serving local, and we're doing good. Goal and focus on those nonprofits. James Kademan [00:00:35]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link from drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Hillary Berning of Gio's Garden. So Hillary, how is it going today? Hilary Berning [00:00:58]: I'm good. Thanks for having me. James Kademan [00:01:00]: So let's start with the foundation here. What is Gio's Garden? Hilary Berning [00:01:03]: So Gio's Garden, so we are a respite center. We are located in Middleton, which is our original location, and we recently just opened a new location in Sun Prairie. James Kademan [00:01:11]: Nice. Hilary Berning [00:01:11]: So what we do is we provide therapeutic respite for children with special needs from ages 0 to age 7. So respite means to take a break. So it's really hard for parents of special needs kids to get a break. James Kademan [00:01:23]: Mm-hmm. Hilary Berning [00:01:23]: Because you can't just leave your special needs child with the teenager down the street. So we provide that opportunity for them to come leave their child with us and they can go and have a break. James Kademan [00:01:33]: Nice. So when you say special needs, tell me the gamut there. Hilary Berning [00:01:36]: We will see, um, everyone with, from autism to cerebral palsy to diabetes, to babies who have had strokes in utero to rare genetic disorders. We have kids with seizure disorders, so we kind of really don't say no very often. There's a few higher-grade medical needs that we can't see, like if they would have a tracheostomy or something like that. But otherwise, we don't— our motto is we don't like to say no. James Kademan [00:02:04]: Fair. And what does the care look like? Because I imagine it's not just an empty room. Hilary Berning [00:02:09]: It isn't, no. So our original location in Middleton, it's a house. It's a 100-year-old house. But we have specific rooms set up for different activities. So we have a sensory room. A lot of our kids have sensory sensory issues. So it's a quiet, subdued room where they can go and have quiet time. We have a reading room. Hilary Berning [00:02:26]: We have an arts and craft room. We have a gym that has swings that hang from the ceiling and an indoor play structure that kids can play on. Wow. Um, in Middleton, we also have outdoor, um, fenced-in yards so kids can run around and we have a place, a play structure out there as well. James Kademan [00:02:42]: Okay. I imagine you need people to be there present, right? Hilary Berning [00:02:45]: Absolutely. Yes. James Kademan [00:02:46]: It sounds like you'd need a lot. Hilary Berning [00:02:47]: We need a lot of staff. Yeah. So we provide one-on-one care. Oh, you do? Oh, wow. For every child that's in our care, they have an adult with them. James Kademan [00:02:54]: Okay. Hilary Berning [00:02:55]: So we currently have, including our executive director, 6 full-time employees. And then we have around 24 part-time employees that kind of comes and goes depending on the semester. James Kademan [00:03:06]: Okay. Hilary Berning [00:03:06]: And then we have a ton of volunteers that work with us. We are blessed to be in the Madison area where we have 3 colleges essentially that we can pull from and a lot of students who are going into medical fields or educational fields or occupational therapy or recreational therapy who need experience working with children with special needs. So we're able to provide that opportunity for them. So we're lucky that we have a large pool of students to pull from. James Kademan [00:03:33]: That's amazing. Hilary Berning [00:03:34]: But also means we have a lot of turnover and their availability changes every semester. James Kademan [00:03:38]: So that's just the nature of students. Hilary Berning [00:03:40]: It's just the nature of the, the, our staff that we work with just because we working with students, but we're blessed to have them and we, we give to them just as much as they give to us. James Kademan [00:03:50]: So nice. Hilary Berning [00:03:50]: It's really great. James Kademan [00:03:52]: So I got a lot of questions for you. Hilary Berning [00:03:53]: Nice. James Kademan [00:03:53]: So I'm gonna try to keep on task somehow. How do you let the students know that you exist even as an opportunity for them? Hilary Berning [00:04:00]: So we are on like all the job boards, like through the university and we're well connected within the different disciplines in the universities at Edgewood and at UW and at, is it Madison College? MATC? I don't— sure. James Kademan [00:04:13]: Sounds good. Hilary Berning [00:04:13]: Yeah. Yeah. So we are heavily involved in word word just kind of has gotten out about us and the people. And there's a special program, especially at UW-Madison, where they can get— part of a class credit is to volunteer at organizations. So they know about us. So they send a lot of students our way as well. James Kademan [00:04:29]: Gotcha. I imagine there's an interview process. Hilary Berning [00:04:32]: There is. Yep. There is an interview process. It's not just like, hey, come on in. Yes. There's a background check that we put all of our employees through. And it all varies depending on if you're coming in as a volunteer basis or you're coming in as a paid employee. James Kademan [00:04:44]: Okay. Hilary Berning [00:04:44]: Because your level of Um, if you're coming in as a volunteer, you're kind of paired with a full-time or part-time paid staff member, um, versus we won't just have 6 volunteers and 6 kids in the house at once. We will have paid staff to kind of help balance with that. James Kademan [00:05:01]: All right, let's talk funding. Hilary Berning [00:05:03]: Funding is— with nonprofits, yes, it is. My life revolves around funding quite a bit. James Kademan [00:05:08]: With for-profits, it's a big deal. Hilary Berning [00:05:10]: It really is. Yes. James Kademan [00:05:11]: Tell me a story. The parents of the children, are they paying? Hilary Berning [00:05:15]: They, yes and no. So when we first, when they first started opening Gio's Garden back in 2012 is when they opened their doors. It was a small subset of parents that got together and be like, we need help, we need help. We have special needs kids and there's no one to help us. So they, the idea of Gio's Garden was born. It's named after Charlotte de Lassiter. She used to be on Channel 3 News and her husband, Ron, it's their son Gio. Okay.

This week's Dark Nation Radio will definitely get you moving with new tracks from The Mechanical Sheep, Bellhead, Requiem in White, Sine, Hexxes, SpankTheNun, 404Error, Hangwire, Peak Flow, Night Ritualz, Violent Vickie, Starsign, and Shadows Hold, among others. I hope you'll give it a spin and thanks for your support! DJ cypher's Dark Nation Radio Playlist 1 March 2026 The Mechanical Sheep, “Das Lindenblatt” 404Error, “Mr House Always Wins” Spankthenun, “Feeding on Corpses” Blackbook, “Wait Until Midnight” De/Vision Redux, “Synchronize (8 AM Bar Mix)” Pneumagnosis, “These Days Will End (Slighter remix)” Mondträume, “Heart Machine” Lights of Euphoria, “No Need for Words” A Spell Inside, “City of Reborn” Siluett, “Blindside” Sine, “Blood + Wine” Requiem in White, “Reckless in Misery” Shadows Hold, “Nosebleed” StarSign, “Shiver” The Polybius Cabinet, “Corazon Azul” Trade Secrets ft. Chris Connelly, “Welcome Home” Diary of Dreams, “Echo in Me (X-Version)” Violent Vickie, “High” Siren Section, “Equilibrium” Hexxes, “Fragile Thing” Bellhead, “The The Empty” Then Comes Silence, “Blind Eye” Plague Garden, “Los Niños Perdidos” Aiming, “At Sea” 9-Volt Velvet, “Riptide” Tisiphone, “Ranged” Je T'aime, “Passive” Secret Shame, “Hide” Bikini Death Race, “Refrigerator” True Moon, “In the Dead of the Night” Night Ritualz, “Un Tiro” Hangwire, “The Trial” Peak Flow, “Reception” DJ CYPHER'S DARK NATION RADIO—25 years strong! **Live Sundays @ 9 PM Eastern US on Spirit of Resistance Radio sorradio.org **Recorded @ http://www.mixcloud.com/cypheractive **Downloadable @ http://www.hearthis.at/cypheractive **Questions and material for airplay consideration to darknationradio[at] gmail[dot]com **Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/darknationradio

Jake Isham - Creative Minds On Knowing Who You Are Competing Against For Views: "You're not competing with your competitors anymore. You're not competing with this podcast right here. You're not competing with other entrepreneurial podcasts. You're competing with Netflix. You're competing with Coca-Cola." Marketing as a business owner is necessary.  Jake Isham argues that marketing yourself, essentially as your business, can help your marketing explode.  People buy from people they like and they trust.  and they need to know you, in order to trust you. To help entrepreneurs with this marketing need, Jake Isham built his marketing agency, Creative Minds.  Drawing from his own experience as a filmmaker and marketer, Jake Isham shares actionable insights on how entrepreneurs can leverage their personal brand to drive revenue, why social proof matters, and the importance of consistency in content creation. Plus, hear why being the “face” of your business isn't just about fame.  It is a strategic move for building lasting trust and relationships. Listen as Jake explains what tools to use (which you probably already have) to grow your marketing in this world that has the largest opportunity that we have ever seen for a brand to grow so quickly. Enjoy! Visit Jake at: https://jakeisham.com Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Actors and Entrepreneurs: Business Challenges 08:00 "Personal Branding Mindset Shift" 12:18 Accidental Path to Creative Agency 21:13 "PR: Perceived Reality Redefined" 24:41 "Authentic Marketing in TikTok Era" 31:24 Know Your Audience First 37:37 "Roofing Content for Local Needs" 40:23 "Finding Your Core Principles" 46:40 Personal Branding Through Authenticity 52:23 Consistency and Learning in Content 57:56 Consistency Builds Niche Recognition 01:01:22 Overcoming Paralysis Through Action 01:05:46 "Creative Minds Digital Show" Podcast Transcription: Jake Isham [00:00:00]: And it's the same thing, you know, to go back to kind of that conversation that we had at the very beginning about actors is that they know acting. They don't know how to run a business. A buddy of mine who is a very successful entrepreneur gives this speech all the time when he does seminars, which is, you know, you're a car mechanic, you're the top car mechanic at the shop and you see the boss making all the money and you're like, well, screw him. I wanna open up my own car shop until you realize you have to understand HR, accounting, Promotion, sales, marketing, advertising. Like, that's what the boss did. Yeah, there's a couple things to it more than just turning it into all the risk. Yeah. James Kademan [00:00:39]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls on Call Extraordinary Answering Service, The Bold Business Book, as well as LiveSwitch. And today we're welcoming/preparing to learn from Jake Eicham of Creative Minds. So Jake, we're talking marketing today, right? Jake Isham [00:01:10]: Yes, sir. James Kademan [00:01:11]: I am super excited because I don't— I've been in this marketing kick and I was talking actually with a— I'm going to call it a friend of mine who's in the marketing world way deeper than me. And it was interesting, the conversation that we had. So I'm excited to talk marketing more with you. It's just top of mind. So, and all businesses need it. So let's get started. First up, what is Creative Minds? Jake Isham [00:01:35]: We're a creative agency based in Los Angeles. We've done over a billion views online, driving millions in revenue for our clients. And we focus on helping build personal brands and really helping that entrepreneur scale their attention so that they, you know, because at the end of the day, attention drives revenue. James Kademan [00:01:56]: Interesting. Now you touched on something there and I want to dig into this a little bit because another conversation I had was the, it's kind of like chicken and egg thing or nature nurture. It was personal brand versus company brand. Which one do you push? So you as a marketer, if we were to ask you that question. Jake Isham [00:02:14]: It depends a little bit on the industry and the entrepreneur who I'm talking to, but you could say what's gonna beat out in my opinion is personal brand. James Kademan [00:02:25]: All right. Jake Isham [00:02:26]: Because at the end of the day, most entrepreneurs don't stick with one business, just majority, you know? James Kademan [00:02:36]: Yeah, yeah, you're not wrong. Jake Isham [00:02:37]: They sell or they give up or they, or whatever, you know, life comes around. And personal brand, you know, I think one of the individuals who's done it the best regardless of politics is Elon Musk. You look at what he's been able to do as a marketer and as an entrepreneur, purely that, right? James Kademan [00:02:58]: Right. Jake Isham [00:02:58]: This isn't a politics show. James Kademan [00:03:00]: Right, right. Jake Isham [00:03:02]: Yeah, it reminds me of, uh, have such an ultimate personal brand to be able to do that. Another gentleman who came before him was Steve Jobs. He was the face of Apple. And to be honest, if we look at the era of Steve Jobs Apple versus Tim Cook Apple, it's not as good. James Kademan [00:03:23]: Not even close. Yeah. Jake Isham [00:03:24]: Not a force to be reckoned with, but because that was a personal brand also, even though it was a company brand. And, you know, and I'm gonna take, I'll go one step further on this, right? People will, you know, bring up the example of sports and Nike. All right, Phil Knight is not a personal brand. Yes, but what he did was really intelligent. He's not a top athlete, but he got the best athletes to be the personal brand of the brand Nike, right? He got MJ, he got Kobe, he got LeBron. Like, he got these top individuals to be the personal brand of Nike, right? James Kademan [00:04:02]: It makes sense. Makes sense. It reminds me of, uh, somebody was, uh, there's an article that I was reading, I'm sorry, that was talking about these tribes in way out in Africa, and they had heard of Michael Jackson. Wow. I didn't know anybody else famous, right, that we would relate to. I mean, we're talking the '80s here, but they knew Michael Jackson. Like, it had reached like Coca-Cola and Michael Jackson. It had reached that far. Jake Isham [00:04:28]: He, I mean, he is the ultimate persona of you know, the greatest personal brand to ever have done it. He was literally the biggest celebrity on the planet as your example right there. James Kademan [00:04:41]: Yeah, surreal. So, let's dig deeper into that. How do you market yourself as a personal brand knowing, and this is the caution that I have, or I should say the concern that I have, is you market yourself as your personal brand. Now, you always have to be on and you always have to be that voice, or you always have to be pumping out content that you can't necessarily farm out to anyone else because they're not you. So you have to give all the presentations and do all the things. So tell me about that. Jake Isham [00:05:14]: But that's— I, I have two things. The first overall is that's the, that's the business you're going getting into. If that, that is the roles and responsibilities of a CEO. That is like, all right, then don't be a CEO. Don't be an executive. Like, look, you don't have to do a personal brand. I'm gonna 100%, I know lots of millionaires and a few billionaires who you could not point out in a crowd, who you could never name by, like, you would never know their name, never know anything about them. And they are unbelievably successful. Jake Isham [00:05:49]: Okay. 100%. So I'm not saying, oh, you have to or you will never be successful, but if it's just a different path and it's a different— again, it depends on that niche you're in. If you want to be like hyper B2B, you can slightly stay, but you're still going to be known within your industry. Like your personal brand doesn't have to reach the millions of people, right? If you say you service the top 100 law firms in the US, you still have to be the personal brand that is known by those top 100 law firms in the US. Now, Joe in Iowa doesn't need to know you, but you, Better make sure every partner in all those top 100 law firms know you so you can service them. And that's where the personal brand is so important. Like, you know, I mean, as simple as this, you think about like, it's silly, I forgot this example until now. Jake Isham [00:07:04]: Some of the biggest brands that we know were all personal brands. Ford. It's a guy's last name. Walt Disney. That's his name. There was a dude named Walt, last name Disney. J.P. Morgan. Jake Isham [00:07:23]: These are, these are just people, and they literally built a company based on their name. So That's where it's like, again, personal brand is everything. And you don't have to name the company after your name, but there's an aspect of knowing who's running the company, who's the face of the company, who— where does the buck stop, who's leading it? And I think that's where it's so important. So that's kind of— I know I got off a little bit of a tangent on your question, but— James Kademan [00:07:57]: Oh, you're good, you're good. That's the game. Jake Isham [00:08:00]: It's a mindset shift that a lot of entrepreneurs get scared. Oh,

Join the team along with special guest Al from Critical Moves as we jump into the deep and ever expanding world of DLC.This podcast has a companion article available here, as well as a companion video, available here.

Vance Morris - Deliver Service Now Institute On the Customer Experience: "Every detail in your business is either enhancing or detracting from the experience. There is no middle ground." Many businesses focus on customer acquisition, but not all businesses focus on customer retention.  Some businesses just have a hard time figuring out what to do beyond being nice to retain customers. Vance Morris has taken his Disney work experience, along with his other life experiences and created a coaching platform to teach business leaders how to retain customers.  He does this by teaching these entrepreneurs how to build their brand by expanding the positive perceptions their customers have of their business, by giving these customers wonderful experinces as they do business.  Helping their customers feel something almost magical. Vance reveals the power and profitability of focusing on the customer experience. You'll hear how small details can set your business miles ahead of the competition, why customer retention often beats new lead generation, and how “Disney-fying” your business can create raving, repeat customers. Plus, Vance Morris discusses creative, actionable low-cost ideas to wow your clients, and explains why any business, from the boring financial services to routine oil changes, can become a premium brand with the right approach. Listen as Vance explains how you can make doing business with you something clients actually look forward to. Enjoy! Visit Vance at: https://vancemorris.com/ Also at: https://wow52ways.com/   Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Customer Retention and Experience" 06:21 "Franchise Search After Corporate Exit" 09:15 "Flexible Franchise and Challenges" 11:13 "Contract Dispute Leads to Exit" 16:15 Grassroots Marketing Success Steps 18:55 "Recruiting College Students Effectively" 21:35 "Importance of Personal Thank You" 26:39 Mold Removal and Home Renewal 27:46 "Fogging Walls with Pencil Holes" 32:55 Networking Leads to Unexpected Opportunities 34:15 Disney's Lesson: Attention to Detail 37:22 Kwik Trip vs. BP Station 41:35 Chick-fil-A Ownership Model Explained 46:12 "Building Fanatical Brand Loyalty" 48:42 Differentiation Through Office Experience 51:36 "Transforming Financial Advisor Client Experience" 54:29 Professional Technician Standards Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan Podcast Transcription: Vance Morris [00:00:00]: So now she can charge whatever price she wants to charge, but she still was just a dentist. I said, we've gotta niche down. So I said, who do you like working with? She said, oh, I love working with the kids. I said, okay, great. Let's just have you be a pediatric dentist. So now you work with them from, you know, 2 to 18. And after that, they— you don't talk to them. And I said, okay, great. Vance Morris [00:00:20]: Now you specialize. So you're gonna get a little bit more, um, elasticity in your pricing. You'll be able to charge more cuz you're a specialist. I said, but you need, you need something from your personality to really make this work. I said, what's your favorite movie? And she says, Peter Pan. Great. So you're going to be the pirate dentist. So she dresses up like Captain Hook. James Kademan [00:00:40]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls on Call Extraordinary Answering Service, The Bold Business Book, and LiveSwitch. Today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Vance Morris of Deliver Service Now Institute. So Vance, how is it going today? Vance Morris [00:01:09]: It is fantastic, James. Hopefully we'll drop a couple of golden nuggets today. James Kademan [00:01:14]: That's, uh, that's the goal here. So why don't we start with what is the— oh my gosh, what was it? Deliver Service Institute? Deliver Service Now Institute? Vance Morris [00:01:21]: Yep. James Kademan [00:01:22]: All right. What is that? What is that? Vance Morris [00:01:24]: That's a great question. It is a place where, um, I teach business owners, entrepreneurs, uh, really about customer retention. Cause there's a lot of gurus out there that are, you know, can give you, you know, 10,000 leads by Monday afternoon and, you know, you know, flakebook ads, Google, all that stuff. There's not a lot of folks focusing on retention. Um, and then of course, in order to have retention, you've gotta have great customer experiences. So those are the two areas that I really focus on. Um, you know, showing businesses how to— word I've been using a while is Disney-fy. So taking all of the boring mundane things that we have to do day in and day out in the business, uh, finding a way to create an experience out of them. Vance Morris [00:02:12]: So that we become memorable, uh, we're top of mind, um, and, uh, you know, people are doing that, uh, word-of-mouth marketing for us. James Kademan [00:02:22]: Nice. So tell me, how do you get involved in this? Vance Morris [00:02:26]: That's a great question. Um, well, here in Maryland, I have, uh, 3 home service businesses, so I'm, I'm not one of those consultants that have never done anything. James Kademan [00:02:36]: I read a few books, right? Vance Morris [00:02:38]: You know, yeah, you know, I went to consulting school, I got the little, you know, thing. No, it's not, not who I am. So I own 3 home service businesses here in Maryland, mold remediation company, Oriental rug washing facility, and a traditional carpet cleaning company. All very sexy businesses, I will tell you. James Kademan [00:02:56]: Yeah, super duper. Well, they're based on dirt and— Yeah, right. Vance Morris [00:03:00]: Dirt and all the good stuff. James Kademan [00:03:01]: Right. Vance Morris [00:03:03]: So, you know, I— when I started those businesses, I've had them now for 19 years. Um, I knew that I was going to be aiming for an affluent client. I didn't want to be, you know, scrubbing down and dirty rentals and things like that. I wanted to, you know, really have a premium service just like Disney, uh, for affluent clients. And so from day one, that is the direction that I went with my marketing, with the service, with the experiences. Um, after a few years, um, people started asking me, you know, Vance, you don't look like you're working too hard. Um, What's your secret? How do you do it? Um, so I said, well, it's really simple. This is actually the first thing I learned. Vance Morris [00:03:44]: I worked for Disney for 10 years. First thing I learned there was that Disney runs on systems. They got marketing systems, operation systems. You wanna learn— you wanna change a tire on a bus, they got a system for that. Carry a tray in a restaurant, they got a system for that. So all I really did was take all of that, put it into those businesses. Um,, and 7 years ago I actually was able to hire, uh, a GM and fast forward to today, I spend about 90 minutes a week on, on those 3 businesses. James Kademan [00:04:16]: Very cool. Very cool. And how do you— let's just take these one by one, cuz I imagine you didn't start all 3 of those businesses at the same time. Vance Morris [00:04:25]: Did not. James Kademan [00:04:26]: Nope. And I would imagine carpet cleaning came first. Vance Morris [00:04:29]: It did. All right. Yes. Um, and actually I, I, uh, started with a franchise. Um, you know, because I— it had a great proven concept. You know, I was new to business ownership. I'd been in, you know, corporate muckety-muck for 20-plus years. And so I needed something that had a system behind it. Vance Morris [00:04:51]: So I was with the franchise system for about 15 years and then jettisoned it and went out on my own. Along the way, you know, people— I hated walking into people's homes And stepping over things that I could be cleaning, but I didn't know how. When tile floors, wood floors, Oriental rugs. Uh, so I was like, well, might as well add Oriental rug washing. Nobody is doing it in our area. Um, and so we added that service. It was great. I already had a built-in customer base. Vance Morris [00:05:23]: All I had to do was go to them and market that service and boom, we were up and running. Um, and then about, uh, 6 years ago we added the mold company. Again, we had the existing customer base. I mean, I got 10,000 names in my database. Just had to market to them and say, hey, uh, we are now in the mold business. If you like this for cleaning, you'll love us for mold. Well, not love us, but you know what I mean? James Kademan [00:05:47]: Yeah, right. Nobody's in a good mood when they have mold. Vance Morris [00:05:50]: Nobody's in a good mood for that. James Kademan [00:05:52]: So tell me a story with, uh, franchise. Let's back up. I mean, we're talking a long time ago, so yeah, way back when machine here. How did you choose which carpet cleaning franchise to use or to join? Because there's hundreds, probably thousands of them. And that's a, that's a big, that's a big ask to figure out what you're gonna do. Cuz the equipment's expensive. The capital outlay's pretty intense. It is. James Kademan [00:06:16]: The theories and the marketing and all that kind of stuff. Some are well known, some are not. Tell me about that. Vance Morris [00:06:21]: So yeah, I worked with a, um, I didn't know these things existed, but I worked with a franchise headhunter, um, after I left corporate, uh, world. And, you know,

Taylor Bowker - Mindful Insurance Agency On Common Mistakes in Medical Billing: "She ended up getting a bill for $14,000 for a pee test." Health insurance in the United States is a pain.  We all know that.  As business owners, we often get stuck needing to shop for our own insurance.  Only during certain times of year and only with all of these rules.  But how do you buy health insurance, without going crazy? There is a marketplace, but it isn't exactly like going to buy grapes.  It helps to have an expert on your side, as with most things.  In this case, the expert offers their expertise at no additional cost to you. Taylor Bowker is the health insurance expert.  She started Mindful Insurance Agency to help people navigate the murky waters of health insurance.  As an entrepreneur, a business owner with multi-state employees, or someone simply trying to make sense of the marketplace, this episode breaks down the trends, challenges, and solutions in health insurance. Listen as Taylor offers tips on choosing the right coverage, using HSAs, and understanding group versus individual enrollment periods. Enjoy! Visit Taylor at: https://mindfulinsuranceagency.com/   Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Starting My Own Business" 05:11 Health Insurance vs. Cost Sharing 12:34 Cost Challenges in Employee Insurance 19:59 "Updating Marketplace Applications Challenges" 26:40 "$14K Surprise Medical Bill" 29:26 "Health Insurance Subsidy Reduction Impact" 37:36 Snowbirds, Coverage, and Emergencies 38:45 Healthcare Coverage Tips by Age 45:35 "Streamlined Application Support Platform" 51:59 "Insurance Enrollment Rules Explained" 55:45 Employee Coverage Plan Explanation 01:01:10 "Specializing in Individual Coverage" 01:08:09 QSEHRA Benefits and Marketplace Savings 01:11:50 "HSA Usage and Restrictions" 01:16:07 FSA Contributions and Usage Rules Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan Podcast Transcription: Taylor Bowker [00:00:00]: I saw the largest health insurance increase of my entire career this past open enrollment because these folks no longer qualified for a subsidy because their income— your income could literally go a dollar over the threshold to receive a subsidy and you no longer qualify for $1,000 a month's worth of savings. You could owe, you know, $12,000, $13,000, $14,000, $15,000 back at tax time if you go even a dollar over. So that's kind of where the issue lies. James [00:00:35]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today we are welcoming slash preparing to learn from Taylor Belker of Mindful Insurance Agency. So Taylor, How is it going today? Taylor Bowker [00:00:59]: Hello. Good. Staying warm or attempting to. James [00:01:02]: Wisconsin, here we are. So tell me a story. What is Mindful Insurance Agency? Taylor Bowker [00:01:07]: Oh, sure. So at Mindful Insurance Agency, we assist individuals and businesses get health insurance, health, dental, and vision. And we are a brokerage. So we are essentially the middle person between the members and the health insurance carriers and just try to advise and educate and help people get health insurance. James [00:01:30]: Right on. How do you end up in health insurance? Taylor Bowker [00:01:33]: Well, um, so I started in the insurance industry back in 2012. I was 5 years old. I'm just kidding, I was a little bit older than that. Um, yes, yes, yes. Um, so I started very entry-level job at an agency in Waunakee, around town here. Um, again, just doing very entry-level things. And then I shortly got promoted to a business development role. Um, and then from there, there there was a different agency hiring that was focusing on health insurance, and I was ready for a change. Taylor Bowker [00:02:11]: They needed a customer service rep, front desk person, so I went there to work, and within a year of me working there, they actually asked me if I wanted to become an agent or a broker, and I had never thought that that was something I wanted to do. Insurance, it can be a very just like cutthroat kind of a situation with sales and quotas and things like that. And that always kind of made me a little nervous. But I am very much a people person. So I, you know, I thought, why not? Let's give it a try. So I got licensed and became an agent back in 2016 now. And then, so started as an agent there doing health, dental, and vision, like I said. And then back in 2019, I decided to start my own business. James [00:03:05]: So that's awesome. Taylor Bowker [00:03:05]: Yeah, I've been doing that for 6 years now. James [00:03:08]: So what was the motivator to start your own gig versus just maintaining with where you were at? Sure. Taylor Bowker [00:03:12]: Yeah. Well, I guess I've always kind of just been somebody who works just, I prefer to kind of be on my own. Being my own boss sounded really great. I was in a group of individuals at the time and other business owners, the group that you're in with me now where we met. And again, there were just a lot of business owners there and they were doing a really good job of owning a business. And it just sounded like a feasible option for me and something that I wanted to do. I also felt like I kind of had learned everything I really could being at the place I was at previously. So I figured, you know, why not give it a shot and rip the Band-Aid off? And it's been, yeah, it's been working out well so far. Taylor Bowker [00:04:00]: So that's good. James [00:04:01]: Right on. Taylor Bowker [00:04:02]: Yeah. James [00:04:02]: So has health insurance changed much over the past, what are we talking, 9, 10 years? Taylor Bowker [00:04:08]: Sure. So I would say yes, yes and no. So I think the biggest thing that's changed is rates, insurance rates. James [00:04:19]: They keep going down. Taylor Bowker [00:04:20]: Yeah, that would be amazing. No, similar to a lot of other things, they just keep increasing and by a lot, especially the last couple years. So a lot of other products have come into play to try to help mitigate those premium costs for people. There's a lot of other products out there now that aren't necessarily health insurance as it is defined by, you know, the commissioner of insurance, if you will, or the government. But there are other products out there that are designed similarly to help people, you know, still get the care that they need and save money on their premiums and their out-of-pocket costs. So I would say prices have changed and other products have been developed in the market to try to help with those pieces. James [00:05:08]: And other products, you mean, I guess, help me what you mean by other understand products. Taylor Bowker [00:05:11]: Sure, yeah. So obviously you have typical health insurance. This would be either through, it's all kind of under the Obamacare umbrella as we've known it for a while now. It can be a group plan through an employer that you work with, or it can be an individual plan on the marketplace or direct with an insurance carrier. And that would kind of be your more typical, just average health insurance policy. But as of the last, say, maybe decade, a couple of new products have come out, one of them being referred to as medical cost sharing. So medical cost sharing in layman's terms is essentially a product that you pay a monthly subscription fee for, similar to a premium, and you choose what's called an initial and shareable amount, similar to a deductible, where essentially you're saying, I'm willing to pay this cost upfront in the event that something catastrophic were to happen to me. And so because it's covering you for more catastrophic occurrences and not the full shebang like a regular health insurance policy would,, they tend to be less expensive for certain people in certain situations. Taylor Bowker [00:06:24]: Those types of products also work really well for lucky individuals that are more healthy, that don't necessarily use their benefits all the time, but just want something there in case. That also works well with what's called direct primary care, which is a newer model, at least around the Madison area. It's where you work with a primary care doctor directly. So they're not affiliated with any any hospital systems. You do pay them a small monthly subscription fee to utilize their services. However, it's, it's really very worth it because a direct primary care doctor is always going to make sure they have same-day or next-day appointments available for their patients, which is very unheard of nowadays. Yeah, unfortunately. And then they can also do a myriad of things for you, you know, because you're paying that monthly fee. Taylor Bowker [00:07:18]: They can run labs for a couple of dollars, which is also very crazy to say. They can run prescriptions for people at cost. If you have an appointment with them, it'll be either a 30-minute or an hour-long time block, which again is not very common if you go to a clinic through a hospital system. They can help you with most acute and even urgent care needs as well. So that can just be, yeah, those two things specifically go hand in hand pretty well together. There's also things out there that have been out there for a while, like short-term policies, you know, through UnitedHealthcare or Allstate or something like that. Those can be less expensive for folks,

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Paul McArthur and Daniel Reid from BitKiwi, New Zealand's premier Bitcoin community organisation. Discover their journey into Bitcoin, the growth of crypto adoption in NZ, and what the future holds for digital currency in our nation. Topics Covered: Bitcoin's role as a store of value vs medium of exchange Currency debasement and the decline of fiat money Lightning Network and Layer 2 scaling solutions Bitcoin taxation challenges and de minimis exemption proposals Institutional adoption: BlackRock, JP Morgan, and the changing landscape Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) vs Bitcoin The K-shaped economy and inflation's impact on savings Bitcoin's comparison to the internet revolution Stablecoins and their role in crypto adoption Whether you're a Bitcoin beginner or seasoned holder, this conversation offers valuable insights into the current state and future potential of Bitcoin in New Zealand and globally. About the founders: Paul McArthur: better known in the New Zealand Bitcoin community as Bitkiwi Paul, is a passionate advocate for Bitcoin adoption in New Zealand. Paul is a co-founder of Bitkiwi, the grassroots movement behind New Zealand's premier Bitcoin event. Paul is also a co-founder of Orange Pages, a Bitcoin-focused marketplace project designed to connect buyers and sellers within the Kiwi Bitcoin community, making it easier to trade goods, services, and value using Bitcoin. Paul is a Bitcoin expert with a deep passion for Bitcoin education, regularly sharing knowledge to help onboard and empower individuals and businesses in the space. Professionally, Paul is an IT programmes and projects consultant, bringing proven expertise in project delivery, strategic implementation, and technology management to the Bitcoin ecosystem. Daniel Reid: better known in the Bitcoin community as Bitkiwi Dan (@satstothemoon), is a passionate advocate for Bitcoin adoption in New Zealand. Dan is a co-founder of Bitkiwi, the grassroots movement behind New Zealand's premier Bitcoin event. Dan is also a co-founder of Orange Pages, a Bitcoin-focused marketplace project designed to connect buyers and sellers within the Kiwi Bitcoin community, making it easier to trade goods, services, and value using Bitcoin. Dan is also a dedicated home miner, using the heat generated from his Bitcoin mining setup to efficiently heat his home during New Zealand winters and warm his pool in summer. Professionally, Dan is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and a chartered member of the Institute of Directors, bringing financial expertise and governance insight to the Bitcoin eco space.  Connect with BITKIWI: Website: Kiwi BitCoin Guide X: @BitKiwi1 Learn about Bitcoin Policy New Zealand's initiatives and how you can get involved in the Bitcoin community across New Zealand. Upcoming BITKIWI Events:  BitKiwi 15 - Christchurch: March 7th (featuring Francisco Colombo) BitKiwi 16 - Auckland: July 20th BitKiwi 17 - Wellington: October  

Are you stuck in a frustrating loop of pain — wondering if you should keep pushing, completely rest, or give up altogether? In this powerful follow-up to last week's conversation on how pain talks to us, I'm walking you through real-world tools to assess, interpret, and troubleshoot pain in your body — especially when you're dealing with pelvic floor dysfunction, core issues, or musculoskeletal imbalances. We're ditching the outdated “no pain, no gain” model and stepping into an approach that's rooted in safety, nervous system regulation, and smart progression. Whether you're postpartum, lifting heavy, or managing chronic tightness or leaking — this episode will help you take back control and move forward with confidence.

Pain is one of the most misunderstood signals in the body — especially for women who are trying to heal from pelvic floor dysfunction, prolapse, back pain, or just rebuild strength postpartum. We're told to “push through” or to “stop everything”... but what if there's another way? In today's episode, I'm diving into what pain really means — and how to know if it's a red flag, a protective response, or simply your body asking you to shift. Whether you've been ignoring pain for years or feeling trapped by it, this conversation will give you new perspective, clarity, and confidence in your healing. We'll talk about: Why pain ≠ damage — and why it's not something to fear What it means when your pain flares even though you're doing “everything right” The role of your nervous system in pain perception How to tell the difference between discomfort, danger, and a healing edge My signature Body Boundaries framework to help you train smarter, not harder You'll leave this episode feeling empowered to listen to your body without letting pain control the narrative — and you'll learn how to take your next healing step with intention and support.   Ready to Reset your pelvic floor & core with intention in the new year?

Do you ever feel like you're “doing the core work” — but still leaking, bracing wrong, or not feeling strong? You're not alone. In today's episode, I'm breaking down the true role of your pelvic floor in core bracing and how this often-overlooked connection is the reason your workouts might not be working the way you want them to. Whether you're postpartum, managing prolapse, or just trying to feel stronger — this episode is a must-listen. You'll learn: What “bracing” really is (and isn't) The role of the pelvic floor in creating core stability The biggest mistakes women make when trying to “engage their core” How to connect your breath, pelvic floor, and core — safely and functionally Why kegels alone won't cut it (and what to do instead) One simple cue you can use today to feel stronger, more supported, and more confident in movement PLUS — this ties directly into our Pelvic Reset 5-Day Challenge happening right now!

In this episode of Super Terrific Happy Hour, Steph and I return with our customary blend of easy-going banter coupled with a shameless plug and a sobering assessment of the global financial landscape. What begins with complaints about the cold weather and Seinfeld callbacks, as well as our upcoming live event in St. Petersburg, quickly turns into a candid examination of sovereign refinancing risks, leveraged corporate balance sheets, and a Treasury market increasingly supported not by central banks but by hedge funds and private foreign buyers. As short-term debt dependence grows and refinancing waves collide across governments, corporates, and AI-driven capex, we explain why we continue to sleep better owning gold—and why this moment feels less like a trade than long-term insurance for an unstable monetary age. Every episode of the Grant Williams podcast, including This Week In Doom, The End Game, The Super Terrific Happy Hour, The Narrative Game, Kaos Theory, Shifts Happen and The Hundred Year Pivot, is available to Copper, Silver and Gold Tier subscribers at my website www.Grant-Williams.com.  Copper Tier subscribers get access to all podcasts, while members of the Silver Tier get both the podcasts and my monthly newsletter, Things That Make You Go Hmmm… Gold Tier subscribers have access to my new series of in-depth video conversations, About Time.