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David Cramer is the co-founder of Sentry, the leading open-source error monitoring tool used by over 90,000 companies. A self-taught engineer, he went from 9th grade high school dropout and Burger King manager to building one of the most widely adopted developer tools in the world — by working hard and rejecting conventional wisdom. As of 2022, Sentry is valued at over $3 billion. David now serves as Chief Product Officer, after previously holding roles as CEO and CTO. In this episode, we discuss: How David went from managing a Burger King to landing his first job as a software engineer How an code snippet grew into a ubiquitous monitoring platform Why open source is an underrated distribution hack How a ruthless competitive streak and obsession with excellence fueled Sentry's rise And so much more… Referenced: Aaron Levie Beats by Dre Cursor Dan Levine Datadog Disqus Dropbox Heroku Max Levchin Okta Omar Johnson Oracle Sentry Satya Nadella Stripe Uber VS Code WindSurf Y Combinator Yandex Where to find David: LinkedIn Twitter/X Where to find Brett: LinkedIn Twitter/X Where to find First Round Capital: Website First Round Review Twitter/X YouTube Timestamps: (4:01) Learning to code through gaming (6:31) Dropping out of high school (9:47) Building infrastructure at Disqus (10:20) “Software is not that hard” (12:45) Early interest in open source (15:45) The birth of Sentry (23:37) Two common founder mistakes (27:13) David's unwavering focus (28:17) Sentry's journey to venture backing (36:43) Finding conviction in decisions (41:11) How Sentry found PMF (46:34) More confidence, less ego (48:08) Is sales valuable? (51:31) David's personal philosophy (1:01:17) Money is not the hardest problem (1:06:27) Marketing won't fix a bad product (1:10:34) What makes Sentry's market unique (1:16:24) “You're gonna mess up” (1:22:08) Why brand will always matter (1:30:51) Eliminating all competition
• Promo for Jeff's Bagel Run and Summer of Sips drinks • Use #TDBagel for monthly giveaways • Show opens from the Just Call Mo Studio • Savannah Boan joins in-studio, plays Deadpool pinball, shares disco aunt story • Talks Chirag, South Carolina roots, and jumping a train to get to work • Addresses fan misconceptions about past absences—just scheduling, no drama • Wildlife influencer and Gatorland rep discusses needing credit in conservation • Dan jokes about craving credit like his dad; influencer culture toxicity discussed • Savannah blocks trolls to avoid bandwagon hate; Dan never blocks • Savannah meets Tom & Dan fans at Gatorland, praises niche wildlife creators • Girl becomes cicada influencer; cicadas vs. toxic lubber grasshoppers clarified • Savannah named official Tom & Dan wildlife correspondent • Fans fabricate drama between her and Chris Gillette; they made joint video to clarify • Savannah gets strange DMs; impersonated online by teen scammer feeding fake gators • Legal action taken; catfishing dangers highlighted • Recognized at LAX; has met celebs through reptile work • Praise for Steve Irwin's no-gimmick fame; Savannah's voice and tattoos make her stand out • Grew up around monster trucks; dad built Carolina Crusher • Ran away at 16 to work as Cinderella; ended up partying with Billy Idol • Shares awkward Nick Swardson encounter and better meeting with TJ Miller • Treats celebs like regular people; most aren't that weird • Presented croc talk to Aussie scientists, forced them to take selfies • Sees herself as bridge between science, zoos, and public • Push to make conservation engaging and accessible • Mentions viral gator dummy video and Gatorland Global travels • Visited Australia, Jamaica, Cuba, Belize, Mexico; missed India trip due to COVID • South Africa trip included rhino dehorning and friend Dingo's death by snakebite • Rhino horns removed via helicopter-assisted vet crew; antiseptic and tags applied • Explains wild dogs' gruesome hunts and lion mating patterns • Lions tranquilized with baited zebra for contraceptives and blood work • Rhino and lion work brought staff to tears; sacrifice explained • Initiation involved drinking elephant dung water with venomous death adder nearby • Close elephant encounter; kicked beer can nearly provoked it • Savannah values rare access to behind-the-scenes wildlife work • Gatorland audience fades if crocs not involved; one panther there hates her • Story of wild gator leaping into a tree for birds • Modern humans are soft compared to wild animals in constant survival mode • Vote for Gatorland as Best Theme Park in Orlando Weekly • JustCallMoe.com promo and upcoming Cimarron Skateway event • Savannah's close inyala encounter at lodge; laid next to her, ate TP, watched TV • Contracted African tick bite fever; symptoms appeared back in U.S. • Got botfly from Cuban tree rat; missed its emergence on camera • Talk on authenticity in wildlife media; Bear Grylls faked past survival content • Dangerous boat encounter with hippos; they walk riverbeds and kill more than crocs • Raised pet hippo story ends in tragedy; maturity turns animals aggressive • Savannah balances kid-friendly content with high-risk animal work • Marine Corps background and past goal of air traffic control • Struggles of influencer life—millions of views but under a million subs • Running a show or channel requires nonstop work behind the scenes • Tom's family trip to Sweden; Savannah recalls chaotic Times Square • Drew Barrymore show visit; connected more with Ross Mathews • Some newsrooms felt hostile; entertainer mode helps smooth tension • Praises Orlando and Florida for supporting weird local talent • Cuba is her favorite place; Northern Australia is a close second • Crocodiles are more dangerous than gators; Australia's wildness fascinates her • Australians question trips to NT unless for crocs; she loves the remoteness • Got lost finding the studio; invited to return anytime ### **Social Media:** [Website](https://tomanddan.com/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/tomanddanlive) | [Facebook](https://facebook.com/amediocretime) | [Instagram](https://instagram.com/tomanddanlive) **Where to Find the Show:** [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-mediocre-time/id334142682) | [Google Podcasts](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2FtZWRpb2NyZXRpbWUvcG9kY2FzdC54bWw) | [TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Comedy/A-Mediocre-Time-p364156/) **The Tom & Dan Radio Show on Real Radio 104.1:** [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-corporate-time/id975258990) | [Google Podcasts](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2Fjb3Jwb3JhdGV0aW1lL3BvZGNhc3QueG1s) | [TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Comedy/A-Corporate-Time-p1038501/) **Exclusive Content:** [Join BDM](https://tomanddan.com/registration) **Merch:** [Shop Tom & Dan](https://tomanddan.myshopify.com/)
Instructure's Canvas, the learning management system used by over 4,000 school districts and 2,500 higher education institutions, became a lifeline during the pandemic. On this episode of Behind the Deal, Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Holden Spaht and Partner Brian Jaffee sit down with Instructure CEO Steve Daly to discuss how they worked together to refocus Instructure to grow into a leading EdTech platform. For more information on Thoma Bravo's Behind the Deal, visit https://www.thomabravo.com/behindthedeal Learn more about Thoma Bravo: https://www.thomabravo.com/ Visit Instructure's website: https://www.instructure.com/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
I'm often asked to share on hot tips when it comes to business. I'm no business guru, just a Melbourne mum who had an idea to start a podcast, turned it into a business and had so many stumbles along the way. So this week I'm sharing some of my lessons including:
Shopify Masters | The ecommerce business and marketing podcast for ambitious entrepreneurs
Dorian Morris built Undefined Beauty into a national retail brand without investors, relying on her industry expertise, community insight, and bold pivots. By staying self-funded and mission-driven, she proved that inclusivity and smart strategy can scale on her own terms.For more on Undefined Beauty and show notes click here. Subscribe and watch Shopify Masters on YouTube!Sign up for your FREE Shopify Trial here.
- Counterpoint: iPhone Topped China Sales in May, Grew 15% Globally - Foxconn and Tata Increase Indian iPhone Production for US - Apple Starts Repair Program for M2 Mac mini with Power Issues - M4 MacBook Air Hits Apple Refurbished Store - iPhone XS Goes Vintage While Fifth-Gen iPad Goes Obsolete - Apple Slips Revised iOS 26 Beta to Developers - Apple Plans Global, In-Person Deep Dives for Developers - Steam Client Beta Drops Need for Rosetta 2 - Apple Music Competitors Can Animate the Lock Screen in iOS 26 - Sponsored by Insta360's new X5: Get 8K 360° video and an invisible selfie stick at store.insta360.com with code macosken - A.I. hallucinates current events and Apple tweaks Parental Controls on Checklist No. 427 - find it at checklist.libsyn.com - Catch Ken on Mastodon - @macosken@mastodon.social - Send Ken an email: info@macosken.com - Chat with us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Support the show at Patreon.com/macosken
Register for the webinars:DO's and DON'Ts of the LOI - Jun 17th - https://bit.ly/441EocMHow to Offshore in a Blue Collar Business - July 1st - https://acquiringminds.co/hiringKevin Ramsier bought a "guy in a truck" business for radon mitigation. 10 years later it was a multi-state franchise.Topics in Kevin's interview:Finding ways to earn money as a kidBouncing back from early career setbacksThe Wall Street Journal ad that changed everythingTurning around a bankrupt concrete businessBuilding and scaling a radon mitigation companyUsing franchising to manage growth and quality control3 questions that transformed his lifeTransitioning into the role of an independent sponsorInvesting in people instead of public marketsHow he teaches his kids to value moneyReferences and how to contact Kevin:LinkedInSier Capital PartnersGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamWork with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:Pioneer Capital AdvisoryGet a complimentary IT audit of your target business:Email Nick Akers at nick@inzotechnologies.com, and tell him you're a searcherConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton RohozovProduced by Pam Cameron
16 Jun 2025. We break down the numbers with economist Ed Bell, and look ahead to the UAE President’s visit to the G7 in Canada. Plus, we assess the latest oil market moves with Kpler’s Matt Stanley after a weekend of regional military activity. And Citi’s Ronit Ghose tells us why 2025 is shaping up to be Blockchain’s “ChatGPT moment” - and what that could mean for UAE finance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
June 15, 2025 - He Grew and Became Strong - Dr. Austin Carty
Interview with Director Joe Menendez on "Henry Danger: The Movie"Joe Menendez's Background:Always wanted to be a director and producer.Grew up in the '80s influenced by iconic films like Star Wars and Steven Spielberg's works, making escapist, popcorn movies his passion.Early interest led him to make Super 8 movies as a child.Based on: Popular Nickelodeon sitcom "Henry Danger," originally aired 2014–2020.The movie expands on the show's universe, adding spectacle and action beyond what the sitcom format allowed.Targets a wide audience—original fans (now older), current younger viewers, and parents, ensuring there's entertainment value for all age groups.Believes strongly in respecting and understanding the craft of actors, writers, and editors without personally wanting to perform in those roles.Finds collaboration with actors deeply rewarding, especially moments of genuine discovery during filming.If Joe could travel back and guest-star in any classic show or film, he'd choose:Moonlighting (working at the detective agency).Star Wars (as a Jedi).E.T. (as a kid flying across the moon).Would love to direct a crossover between "Henry Danger" and "Star Trek: Picard," humorously envisioning Kid Danger joining Jean-Luc Picard on a space adventure.Joe emphasizes the importance of valuing friends and family above career or material success, a theme central to "Henry Danger: The Movie."Premiere Date: January 17th on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.About "Henry Danger: The Movie":Joe's Approach to Filmmaking:Fun and Personal Insights:Important Life Lesson Shared:Premiere Information:
If you've ever thought: “I know I'm called to this work… but why aren't families enrolling?”—you are not alone. In today's powerful episode, I'm introducing you to Lori Rubel, a former teacher and now the successful founder of Bloom Beautiful Academy, a growing microschool and homeschool hybrid in Florida. Lori didn't start with a marketing degree. She started with a calling—and her living room. Like so many of us, Lori left the traditional classroom with a dream to build a safe, joyful, and personalized space for students—but struggled with one major hurdle: How do I find families? She joined our Microschool Marketing Blueprint course during those uncertain early days, and today, she shares what happened next: how the course helped her build clarity, consistency, and confidence—and how she grew Bloom Beautiful into a place where students and parents feel seen, supported, and empowered.
Blue moon ice cream is a staple at roadside shops throughout the Upper Midwest. But where did this Smurf-colored treat come from? And what explains its long-standing appeal? WPR’s Sarah Lehr brings us the scoop from an ice cream shop in Columbus as part of our Wisconsin Road Trip series.
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dr. Shaan Patel, founder and CEO of Prep Expert, a leading online test prep company. The conversation explores Patel’s journey from struggling test-taker to perfect SAT scorer, bestselling author, and successful entrepreneur. He shares how his personal experience inspired a mission to help students unlock scholarship opportunities and academic success.
How do you grow a high-margin recruitment business without hiring a big team—or chasing every lead? And what happens when you go all-in on yourself, right before a global pandemic? In this episode, I'm joined by Jordana Matsos, founder of Higher Equity, who shares how she launched a solo sales recruitment agency with no prior agency experience—and grew it into a $500K+ business by being radically transparent, highly organized, and boldly direct. We discuss why blunt messaging often works better than polished sales talk, how Jordana systematized her entire operation to run lean, and the lessons she learned after scaling too quickly. She also shares how she created an online academy for job seekers, turning inbound candidate traffic into an additional revenue stream. Episode Highlights: [03:43] From sales leader to recruiter: Jordana's career pivot [11:16] Building the business: pricing, tools, and tech stack [14:28] Leveraging video and short-form content to attract talent [21:58] What went wrong when she scaled too fast [28:45] Creating the HireQuity Academy to serve job seekers [40:46] SOPs and templates that saved time and ensured consistency [45:48] Business development: blunt pitches, smart triggers, and warm referrals [58:30] Why transparency builds trust with both clients and candidates Blunt Messaging That Converts Jordana's “blunt honesty” approach is one of her biggest differentiators. She shares full job details upfront—company name, comp, and expectations—which earns her 55–70% candidate response rates. For clients, her pitch deck goes out in the first message, including fee structure and recent placements, eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth and building immediate trust. Systematizing Solo Success Coming from a corporate sales background, Jordana knew she had to create repeatable, efficient processes. She templatized everything—from client onboarding to follow-ups and outreach. Tools like Google Sheets, Taplio, Otter.ai, and Aspect helped her automate and scale as a solo operator. Lessons from Scaling Too Fast After a strong first year billing nearly $300K solo, Jordana hired a full-time recruiter, BD rep, and sourcer. But expenses skyrocketed, margins plummeted to 20%, and client relationships suffered. She course-corrected by downsizing, letting go of low-margin clients, and doubling down on her niche—bringing her gross margins back to 60%+. Creating a Revenue Stream with Purpose Unable to serve every candidate personally, Jordana built the HireQuity Academy—an online course that gives job seekers an inside look at how recruiters think. With templates, interview prep, and real-world advice, it helps candidates stand out—and gives Jordana an additional income stream without trading time for money. About Jordana Matsos Jordana spent 15 years leading sales teams before founding Higher Equity in 2021. She now helps companies hire high-performing sales talent while running the HireQuity Academy to support job seekers. Tools & Resources Mentioned: Taplio | Otter.ai | Aspect | Cliff AI – now part of Quantive. Connect with Jordana: LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | HireQuity Academy | HireQuity Recruitment Connect with Mark Whitby: Free 30-Minute Strategy Call | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter and leave a review if you found value in this episode!
President of Priefert Manufacturing; a powerhouse in rodeo and ranching equipment! Eddie spills the beans on transforming a family legacy into a global brand, from crafting iconic blue chutes to dominating the steel industry. With grit, humor, and a fearless approach to failure, Eddie shares wild tales—like building rocket-ship roping chutes that changed the game at the USTRC finals and bucking chutes that stormed the PBR. Discover how a competitor's taunt sparked a fire, leading to innovations that made Priefert a staple at the NFR. Eddie's philosophy? Embrace opportunities, learn from nine-out-of-ten failures, and always put people first. From his grandfather's $60 headgate to modern AI-driven automation, Eddie's story is a masterclass in tenacity and vision. Tune in for a front-row seat to the heart-pounding world of rodeo innovation, where every chute, gate, and dream is built to last. Enjoy the show! This episode is brought to you by Kimes Ranch (kimesranch.com) and Kerry Kelley Bits and Spurs (kerrykelleyspurs.com)
Going from a potential career in pharmacy to chiropractic. Experience as a chiropractic patient with college athletic performance. Chiropractic chose me. Inspired to help kids and women during their pregnancy. 7 years in practice, miracles, running my own business and creating community.Grew up in Hawaii, but stayed in the mainland for opportunitiesI am a holistic family chiropractor. My practice is called The Village Chiropractic and Family WellnessFIND HER HERE:@dr.kaitlynshikada @thevillage.chiro
Discovering Grayslake: Unveiling the Stories and People That Make Our Town Unique
In this episode of "Discovering Grayslake," host Dave sits down with Alan, a local lawyer, to discuss life, law, and community in Grayslake. Alan shares heartfelt stories from his legal career, insights into family and criminal law, and his passion for giving back through local organizations. The conversation is filled with humor, personal anecdotes, and reflections on Grayslake's vibrant spirit—from favorite pizza spots to community events. With a warm, hometown feel, this episode highlights the importance of connection, kindness, and supporting one another in the Grayslake community. Automatically Transcribed With Podsqueeze Speaker 1 00:00:03 Looking for a car dealer that actually feels like your hometown. Welcome to City Chevrolet of Grayslake, where the vibe is friendly, the pressure is off and you'll always be treated like family. Meet Anthony Scala. He's just not the owner. He's a guy that grew up in the car business, worked his way from porter to owner. Anthony believes in people first. That's why City Chevy sponsors your kids teams, your town events. And matter of fact, this show, they give back every chance they get. Anthony thinks that the experience of buying a car should be fun. No pressure, just honest people who care whether you need a new Chevy, a quality used car, or just service you can trust. City Chevy is here for you. Come visit City Chevrolet of Grayslake right off of 120. And thank you for sponsoring Our town. Our stories, our voice. Let's get after it. Grayslake. Grayslake Rehabilitation Center is a community based private practice physical therapy provider. Do you know they have 13 clinical providers with various levels of specialties including orthopedics, sports, neurology, vestibular geriatrics, pelvic floor and aquatic. Speaker 1 00:01:05 What did I just say? They have a pool. Well they do. And it's the largest indoor warm water pool in Lake County. Featuring two underwater treadmills and swim currents and recently added clinical treatment specialties. In layman's terms. Shockwave. They have both radial and focus units that are the newest tool in regenerative medicine available to everyone. They pride themselves on the most current and up to date specialized care to keep you moving. If you're looking for physical therapy, make sure to see our friends at Grayslake Rehabilitation. All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Discovering Grayslake. I'm so happy to be here recording again at Agora Co-working. Agora. As you know, if you've listened to any of these shows, Agora is on the corner of Centre Street and Atkinson. It's a co-working place, so if you guys are looking for a place to get your, your business out of the house for a day, for an hour, for a week or a lifetime home, Luke over here is a great dude, and I'll be happy to help you out. Speaker 1 00:01:58 So shout out to Agora for having us here. so I'm not going to mess up your name because you help me. So I'm here with Alan and Ziggy today. That's right buddy. Speaker 2 00:02:07 Hi, Dave. Nice to see you. And, Hello, internet. Speaker 1 00:02:09 Yes. So, actually, it's funny that we, Just as we sat down, we went over just a short thing of all the people from Grayslake that we just from just the Grayslake people that we know we have in common. Speaker 2 00:02:20 Right? I was living in Grayslake for the last 15, 20 years, and, my family lives in Grayslake. My mom does still, even though my dad passed away and I've been active in the Grayslake Exchange Club for a long time. So that's how I kind of got to know the people in that business community, stuff like that. Speaker 1 00:02:35 Right. Okay, so when I got arrested for the third time when I called you and then I called you, and I've not been arrested. Speaker 2 00:02:42 I would not be able to disclose the details unless you told me it was okay. Speaker 2 00:02:45 So just let me know, and I'm happy to. But we have attorney client confidentiality, which prohibits me from talking about it. Speaker 1 00:02:51 Which means all the fun stories that I want to ask you about to tell me today. You can't. Speaker 2 00:02:54 I can tell you stories, but I can't say like, hey, you know my client, Sergio. Guess what happened, right? I can't say that, but I can say I had this one guy and this one thing. I could do that, right? Speaker 1 00:03:03 He looked a lot like Mike Steiner, but. Speaker 2 00:03:06 Nobody looks like Mike Steiner. No, Mike Steiner is like Mike Steiner. Speaker 1 00:03:10 Doesn't even look like Mike Steiner. Speaker 2 00:03:12 He's like a ten. I mean, he's like, maybe mistaken for George Clooney from time to time. Speaker 1 00:03:17 He gets that a lot. I am. Speaker 2 00:03:18 Sure. Speaker 1 00:03:19 Shout out. Shout out to right at home. By the way, one of the sponsors of. Speaker 2 00:03:21 The show is an okay. Speaker 1 00:03:22 Dude. He's great. okay, so, Grayslake has changed, but what is your job? Speaker 2 00:03:27 Okay. Speaker 2 00:03:28 I am a lawyer. Speaker 1 00:03:29 Okay. What kind of a lawyer? Speaker 2 00:03:30 Okay, so my background is as a prosecutor. And when I was a prosecutor with the state's attorney's office. I guess I'll answer this in a long winded way. The easy question is, I tell people at Christmas parties. Like, what kind of lawyer are you? Divorces and DUIs. Okay. Okay. Because that's an easy way to break down family and criminal law. Those are my two specialties. I'm in a law firm called Johnston, Tommy Lansky and Goldberg. I'm one of the founding partners of that law firm, and we do everything collectively. I have a partner that does real estate. I have a partner that does business formation. I have a partner that does wills and trusts. We do probate litigation, foreclosures. We do all kinds of stuff. But my particular role at that law firm is family. So your divorces, child custody, child support type cases sometimes, and then also criminal cases. And, like, I have a murder right now. Speaker 2 00:04:20 So everything from murders down to traffic tickets and suspended licenses. Speaker 1 00:04:24 Is that normal for me? Because this shows how much I know. Is it normal for an attorney to have such a broad range of things like that? Speaker 2 00:04:30 So for me, I want two things, you know, so two things is pretty normal. If you're a guy that only, let's say only does criminal, it's I don't know you people do that, but I like to have a second sort of, type of case because sometimes it ebbs and flows in what you're getting. You know, the family law cases are hourly. The, criminal cases are a flat fee. Usually both are great. The family law cases are more, I guess intellectually and emotionally challenging sometimes. Which which maybe surprises some people. My criminal cases are usually a joy. Like family law cases can be tough. Speaker 1 00:05:08 Yeah, and that's one thing, because, it's no secret that I've been divorced twice. And, you know, for the for the people. And many people listen to the show, I mean, just from the, from the age demographics that I know that if people gone through these, like, heart wrenching, terrible parts of their life where they need someone like you to help guide them through and and hopefully make it as easy as possible. Speaker 2 00:05:29 Divorces are hard. I mean, a lot of you that are listening, have experienced it or your parents did or whatever. So, divorces are very difficult for people, and the plan with me would be just to get them done on time and under budget with a handshake at the end. Speaker 1 00:05:44 Okay. And I've never heard that before because I, I unfortunately, you know, I was spending a lot of time in courtrooms and seeing stuff like that, that it seems like, you know, the guys maybe that aren't doing well, or maybe they need to pay off their boat or something, string things along as long as they can. Speaker 2 00:05:58 They okay. I would never cast aspersions. I tell you, you might be surprised. The family law bar in Lake County is mostly fantastic people. Yeah. most of those lawyers I really like, I get along with the strength of our bench, you know, which means the judges in Lake County is good. Our bench is good. Our bar is good. there are a couple of lawyers that I'm like, oh, I got a case with her again. Speaker 2 00:06:21 Oh, I got a case with that guy. Right? because sometimes the law, just like any maybe more than some other, professions, can attract people with, like, a type of personality. That's annoying. I don't know, I don't want to. I'm not a psychiatrist or psychologist, so I can't say, like, all my clients come in and they say, oh, my husband, he's a narcissist. Or like, he's gaslighting me. People like those psychological sort of terms from today. Like the now times. Like we didn't know what narcissism and gaslighting was in 1997, right? Or I didn't, but now I do for sure, because all my clients are like, he's gaslighting me, he's a narcissist, he's a blah, blah. Speaker 1 00:07:01 One minute your world is normal, the next it's gone. A flood, a fire, a crime scene. Your home shattered, your business shut down, your life on pause. But in the darkest hour, when chaos knocks at your door, that's when Servpro of Northwest Lake County shows up. Speaker 1 00:07:20 Not just a company, not just a cleanup crew, but neighbors, parents, coaches, locals who care. Drake and his team aren't just restoring properties. They're restoring peace, restoring dignity, restoring lives. So when your worst day arrives, call the oh no guy who becomes your, thank God guy. Servpro of Northwest Lake County, locally owned, nationally known, unshakable and trusted from devastation to restoration. Duration. Servpro, northwest Lake County. Speaker 3 00:07:50 Hey, neighbors, this is Bill Mack with the Grayslake Chamber of Commerce. And if you're looking for a network of hardworking, customer focused and generally friendly local businesses who are dedicated to helping each other succeed, then I'd like to invite you to check out and consider joining our Grayslake chamber. We offer our members so many ways to advance their businesses through social networking events, special events, sponsorships, informative lunch and learns, and the ever popular after hours mixers. Come see why we say we're the new wave of business here in Lake County. Speaker 1 00:08:22 Well, at this time of day, everything needs a label, right? Speaker 2 00:08:24 They throw those labels around. Speaker 2 00:08:26 Which, I mean, there's there's nothing wrong with it. it helps me to identify, at least. Now, I don't know if the person saying he's a narcissist means that. Really, she's right and he is a narcissist. Or if it just is helping me to flag this case is going to be a little bit tougher than maybe some other ones. Truth, right? I could see that. It's like one. Okay. Like in internet. Now, I'm sure people are, like, watching TikTok. Like red flag. Red flag. Like I see, yes, red flags when those kind of cases walk in. Speaker 1 00:08:56 Absolutely. Yeah. And I'm sure things changed like that too. Okay. So I want to go back a little bit because you have a it's a very interesting that for me, if I was doing your job I would love it that you could do one day like you have a murderer thing. Totally. But but then you can have a family law case or maybe help a dad get, you know, custody of his child. Speaker 1 00:09:13 Like, yeah, at least there's a little variety for fun, right? Speaker 2 00:09:15 It's interesting. I mean, today I had a couple of DUIs up, you know? And DUIs are like a bread and butter type case for a criminal defense attorney. Because most people, especially in Grayslake, especially in Lake County, they're not murderers. They're not gang members, but otherwise good dude or an otherwise good lady who is not necessarily manifesting a criminal intent. Like I'm going to go shoplift. It's a guy saying, I've had too much to drink, I'm gonna drive. He's making a dumb choice to drive home, but he's not having the criminal intent. Like I want to endanger somebody tonight. Right. Right. And so a DUI is usually the first time that somebody that's a good person is in hot trouble. Speaker 1 00:09:55 Okay. Gotcha. And, you know, it's got to be nice to, some of these, I'm sure, having satisfaction to be able to to help people out and help them navigate through things they have no idea what they're getting into. Speaker 1 00:10:05 Right. Speaker 2 00:10:05 So. Okay, I used to work for a really fantastic attorney in Round Lake Beach, and I want to make sure to give a shout out to Round Lake Beach. That is an awesome town full of super awesome people. And this lawyer I used to work with, named Bruce Scotland. He taught me a lot. And he's still out in Round Lake. He's a competitor of mine, but I really respect him. And when I started working for him, he. He said, Alan, we love helping people for money. And I'm like, yeah, I love helping people for money. Right. Speaker 1 00:10:34 Well put. Right. It wouldn't be as fun as if you didn't get. Speaker 2 00:10:37 Paid for it. No, but I mean, and that, you know, it's a business. You want to help people? Yes. For money. Right. Right. So. And I'm not trying to sound cold, I do some pro bono. I know it's me, but I don't do pro bono divorces. Speaker 2 00:10:47 No way. They're too hot. They take too long. I'll do a pro bono traffic ticket. I'll give people. I used to volunteer at a safe place, and they have a, a battered women's shelter in Zion. And I used to go there, and I used to talk to the ladies about free legal advice. How can I help you? What do you. They have questions about everything, and I would just volunteer and talk to them. I love that, but, a really hot case to do pro bono is is a big mistake for attorney, in my opinion. Yeah. Attorney in my position, I'd say right. Speaker 1 00:11:16 Okay, so the one thing that really, that I found appealing when I was looking through, when we got connected and I went through your website and I was looking at things like places, like a safe place, like, those are people that really need help, right? Yeah. It's tough. I tip my hat to you for going in there and helping out, because I know there's a list of different things that that you do to give back, which is which is extremely generous of you. Speaker 2 00:11:39 Thanks. I just I just signed up to do the mock interviews at Libertyville High School. That's a cool program. Yeah. Cool. That high school has a really good program where they have these kids that are in the business class, and you give them mock interviews to, you know, improve their skills, to hone their hone their interviewing abilities. And I was blown away by how great the kids were. Really? I was like, you're really smart. You're really smart. Wow. You're what an active, wonderful person. And I was like a bump on the log. When I was in high school, I wasn't active like. Speaker 1 00:12:10 I would have loved to seen what my interview would have been like in high school. Speaker 2 00:12:14 I don't know, they were fantastic, but. So some of the stuff I do, yeah. In Libertyville, I was been active in Grayslake because I lived in Grayslake for many years. over there on West Trail. my mom lives in Harrison Farms and, yeah, that's we were living in Grayslake ever since about the turn of the millennium. Speaker 2 00:12:32 So that that wave of people that like third wave of of immigrants to Grayslake that began in the 90s when the, you know, when they started building the subdivision. Speaker 1 00:12:42 Farms, right? Yes. I think that I was one of the first off the Mayflower to when I landed at Avon on the Prairie, one of the first ones off of Atkinson. That was like one of the first things that wasn't in, you know, Grayslake proper. Right. So to say. Right. Right. That's what we showed up. But but so then how long ago is that? Speaker 2 00:13:01 So we moved here in like 2001. Okay. So my mom and dad bought a place in Grayslake on West Trail North in Harrison Farms. And I remember the first day we came to graze. Like, I'm from Florence, Illinois. Speaker 1 00:13:12 Okay. I was just gonna say. Where did you originally come from? Speaker 2 00:13:14 I'm from philosopher. I went to Homewood Philosopher High School. I was born in Harvey, at Ingalls. and, But that's why sometimes I get, like, a Chicago accent. Speaker 2 00:13:22 I don't know, whatever. It's like, it's a but but floss more is is a nice town in the 90s. I mean, it's like the lake bluff of the south side. Yeah. So we we had a good time growing up. Speaker 1 00:13:31 They should put that on their sign. Speaker 2 00:13:32 By the way. Yeah. Right. The lake bluff off. Speaker 1 00:13:35 The. Speaker 2 00:13:35 South side. I need the. Speaker 1 00:13:36 T. Speaker 2 00:13:36 Shirt. I mean, it is. I mean, it's kind of like being the tallest midget, you know? I mean, but no offense to people that are little people. I love them, too. but, you know, I don't know where I was going at that. Speaker 1 00:13:51 Time of growing up in Hollywood or more. Speaker 2 00:13:54 Grew up there. So then I came to, I lived in Champaign because I went to school down at U of I and Champaign, and it was fantastic. And my parents moved up to to Grayslake. So I come up to Grayslake, and on our first day, the restaurant they took me to was Bill's Pub North. Speaker 2 00:14:08 Yeah, right. Engages like and I just thought in my mind I'm like, I'm in the woods. My parents moved to Wisconsin, you know, where am I? I'm like, this is the woods. I mean, here in Wisconsin, there's a polar bear hanging there and there's fish every on, on the wall. And I thought, this is this is great. And it turned out Lake County's not quite Wisconsin, but it's close. It's an interesting. Speaker 1 00:14:29 Perception, I guess if you've never been here. And that's the place they took, I had to. Speaker 2 00:14:33 The only thing I had done with Grayslake before that when my parents moved here, Let's go to Prairie Crossing. Okay. Because my aunt and uncle lived in Prairie Crossing, which is a interesting. I wouldn't say the word weird, but it's an anomalous little part of the world. Prairie crossing is. Speaker 1 00:14:51 Absolutely. Speaker 2 00:14:51 I had never seen anything like that before, because I think that community at the time was novel and maybe still is. so I thought that all Lake County was like that. Speaker 2 00:15:00 And then I saw Bill's Pub and I went, oh my gosh, I'm in Wisconsin. Speaker 1 00:15:03 What's going on? You have no idea. Speaker 2 00:15:04 Where you're at. Am I at the U.P.? I mean, how is ten feet of snow? You know, this is I came from 708. You know, the land of good pizza and terrible baseball. Now, here I am. Speaker 1 00:15:15 The lake bluff on the south side. Speaker 2 00:15:17 Right, right. Yes. Speaker 1 00:15:18 That's awesome. okay, so, when you're studying law. So when you went to, you went to U of, I, law school? Speaker 2 00:15:25 No. So I went to I was an undergrad at u of I. Okay. and then I went to law school at DePaul. Speaker 1 00:15:30 We're taking a quick break just to say hello, because everybody knows Nano and Nano knows real estate. And actually I believe that's the name of her Instagram page. So if you're looking to buy a home, sell a home, or know somebody in the market for a home, contact nano from Baird and Warner. Speaker 1 00:15:44 She's a Grayslake girl helping out Grayslake people. And when you when you went to law school, did you know what you wanted to practice? Speaker 2 00:15:52 Yeah. So I don't mean to be, like, whatever, a little bit, emotional or emo in the, in the interview, but it was September 11th of 2001. Right. And you probably remember that day, but I could remember that day. I wanted a date with the girl. I looked in the sky and I saw there was no jet contrails. What a what a crazy day. And after that day, I thought to myself, I would like to be in law enforcement because I'd like to help our country for, I don't know, because America, I like America. Amen. And I was mad. Oh, I'm nine over 11, right? I mean, come on. Speaker 1 00:16:27 Everybody was. Yes. Speaker 2 00:16:28 So. But after that, I thought I'd go into criminal law. I thought I wanted to be a prosecutor, So then I got a job with Mike Waller, at the State's Attorney's office. Speaker 2 00:16:39 And I tell you, you know Mike Waller, I owe him everything. I love the guy. I know some people don't, but he's a politician. There's people that hate his guts, people that love and support him. He always was a gentleman to me, and I never. I just thought that, the decision making he made was good, and he gave me a job saving my bacon. You know, and so I got to begin my career as a prosecutor. And I was a line assistant state's attorney in Waukegan. They start you off as a DUI assistant. So, you know, brand new 25 year old kid. I was prosecuting DUIs. Misdemeanor DUIs. Right? Misdemeanor traffic cases out in the branch courts. And that was very good. Fulfilling. Fun work, I liked it. Okay. You know, you did. and then, they switched me to just misdemeanor stuff. And I was prosecuting your retail thefts. And back when weed was illegal, I was prosecuting your weed cases and your trespassing. Speaker 2 00:17:31 And here's your fights. And then they stuck me in the domestic violence division for a long time. Speaker 1 00:17:35 Okay, so how was that? Speaker 2 00:17:38 Okay. You know Lew Frank. Of course. Okay. Lew Frank is a fantastic Grayslake. And he would say felt like five minutes underwater, you know, to to be a line assistant in the domestic violence courtroom is hard. Speaker 1 00:17:55 I. Speaker 2 00:17:55 Bet. Because you have to look at the cases. And so, like, are you familiar with the cycle of violence? This is this theory. Speaker 1 00:18:02 I am not. Speaker 2 00:18:03 Okay. So it's a theory that's a big part of criminal prosecutions of domestic violence. And the cycle of violence goes like this. Right now we're having a fight, and I'm going to use the gender of he and she, you know, whatever. But sometimes women can be the victim of domestic violence. Sometimes guys can. But in a classic situation, let's say he slaps her. Okay. Then she calls the police. He's arrested. But then in a few days she's like, maybe he's not that bad or I need him out of jail so he can, like, work and pick up our kid from school. Speaker 2 00:18:35 Like you've been a parent, you know? And so maybe she takes them back and then they have a honeymoon period where it's, like, passionate, like we love each other, and then it can happen again, you know? And that cycle of violence. The State's Attorney's office was really keen to interrupt it. Right. But then that meant that lots of times you'd have the victims, I guess recanting, they'd say, hey, that didn't happen like that, or I'm not coming to court, you know? And so that was frustrating. And then sometimes you had cases, not all, sometimes you had cases where it was a situation where the family's going through a domestic violence thing. Maybe. But maybe what it really is, is a child custody thing. And somebody ringing the bell of domestic violence to get a leg up on somebody in a child custody type proceeding. Right. Like, like I'm going to get an order of protection against him. So I get our kid, which, I mean, I get that, but you need to really be careful about abuses of the system. Speaker 2 00:19:32 So as a line assistant with the State Attorney's office, as back then, I mean, things have changed a little bit now. They have had two different, changeovers between the state's attorney. but anyway, long story short, you still have to use your discretion to decide what really happened. And at least at the time I was a state's attorney, we were empowered with a good amount of discretion. It was awesome. Speaker 1 00:19:53 Really. Speaker 2 00:19:54 So. Speaker 1 00:19:54 Yeah. And and I'm sure with that, too, like, you probably get to be a really good read of people. but then sometimes you probably think you are and then people bamboozle whatever. And you probably don't even know. Speaker 2 00:20:06 I mean, you ever been lied to about your own kid, right? Speaker 1 00:20:09 I mean, you believe. Speaker 2 00:20:09 Him, and then you believe him, and you're like, I have egg on my face. I was lied to in kind. You know, so sometimes, you know, you just you don't have a, a lie detector that buzzes when she lies or he lies, you don't know. Speaker 2 00:20:25 So you have to do your best with what the facts are. But there was a good team at the time. But yeah, I did. Two and a half years as a as a domestic violence prosecutor. And then so when I left the State's Attorney's office, I thought to myself, well, I've been doing family law cases basically already. I may as well do them as a business. Sure. You know, so that's what I did. So now my practice is a hybrid. That's why I say divorces and DUIs. It's family law cases. And then it's criminal law cases too, because I've done all that. Speaker 1 00:20:52 Wow. So your resume is quite deep for all kinds of different things, right? Speaker 2 00:20:58 I guess. Speaker 1 00:20:59 Right. Speaker 2 00:20:59 You know, it's just like, I don't know how other people get through life. This is just what I did. Right. Speaker 1 00:21:05 Well, and everybody, you know, people look at different people, whether you're a doctor, whether you're a lawyer, whether you're a podcaster, where whatever you do that, everybody does something for a line of work that, you know, people are. Speaker 1 00:21:16 You deal with very delicate situations, people going through stuff. And especially the one thing about the family law stuff, it it must be hard for you to stay. You have to almost train yourself to not get emotionally involved in some of those things, right? Speaker 2 00:21:28 I sometimes. Speaker 1 00:21:28 Do. Speaker 2 00:21:29 I remember my first adoption. You know, we had a case that was a very ugly family law case, and it went on a long time. And then at the end of it, the dad, he agreed to put the child up for adoption. To the mom and her new husband. Okay. So the dad was making a very hard choice. Because, I mean, to give up your child, you know, and to look in the mirror and say, all right, I wasn't doing that good of a job. This new dude who's married my ex girl, he'll do better in the best interest of my child. It takes kind of like a man to do that. Speaker 1 00:22:06 Oh, that's a big decision, right? It's a big leap of faith. Speaker 2 00:22:08 But on the other hand, too, you know, maybe people are judging him about. You walked away from your kid, you didn't fight harder. So it's very tough, you know. And that's the type of case I remember I had, like, one manly tear going down my. Speaker 1 00:22:18 Face. Speaker 2 00:22:19 Looking into my steely eyed gaze. No it wasn't. I was bawling like a baby. I was so happy for them, you know? But also that's that's. Those are big moments. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:22:30 So you cool stuff too? Yeah, right. And to see people come through stuff that they deserve that the, the law can either work in your favor or against you. And it's nice when it actually works, right. Speaker 2 00:22:40 It's hard. I will say, okay. I was worried as a kid that I would come into the law and see a lot of weird stuff, like judges tossing cases in exchange for Cubs tickets. I have never seen any of that in Lake County. Really? I have never seen anything crooked or weird. Speaker 2 00:22:58 Everybody's been really professional. I mean, and I'm like, me that right? It's not just because I want to keep on working with these people. Most of them are fantastic. Speaker 1 00:23:06 Well, well, the Cubs have been doing that. Speaker 2 00:23:08 Well, no better than the White Sox, sadly. Speaker 1 00:23:11 Now, if somebody did something bad. Speaker 2 00:23:12 For White Sox. Speaker 1 00:23:13 Tickets, we really question what. Speaker 2 00:23:15 I heard. You could buy some chili at Wendy's and you get free season tickets to the White Sox, right? A cup of chili at Wendy's. Speaker 1 00:23:22 So well. In all seriousness, it is really good to hear you say that because, you know, everybody watches all these TV show, every law TV show and court TV show that people have this fantasy of things, how how they how they go along. Speaker 2 00:23:34 I don't ever watch any legal TV at all. Ever. I just don't. That's probably a good idea. The last legal movie was probably Liar Liar with Jim Carrey, which is a fantastic movie. Speaker 1 00:23:46 Very serious movie about the law. Speaker 2 00:23:48 I don't because I like do it for a living. And then honestly, at 502 when I'm at home, I'm like, I'll see you tomorrow. That sounds like a a modern day problem, al. Speaker 1 00:23:58 Right. Right. Speaker 2 00:24:00 So no, because otherwise you go insane. Speaker 1 00:24:02 No. Yeah, well, everybody needs a break from their job. Nobody wants to go home and do it. And that's why, you know, I've been self-employed for a very long time. That's why most self-employed people end up getting in office in hopes that when you go to the office, you can leave and leave your work there and go home. And if they can make that work. Speaker 2 00:24:20 That's why I don't work from home. Ever. Speaker 1 00:24:22 Yeah, well, good for you. Speaker 2 00:24:23 I mean, I guess ever is a word, I mean. I, I don't. Never say never. I don't like to work from home. And I very, very, very seldom. Speaker 1 00:24:30 Do. Speaker 2 00:24:30 It. Speaker 1 00:24:30 Right. Okay. That's good. Speaker 1 00:24:32 let's do something, because I have a couple other questions to ask you, but, you've said you've listened to a couple of podcasts. Sure. so we do something about halfway through. I call the Grayslake hot seat, where we have some rapid fire questions to get to know you just a little bit better. Speaker 2 00:24:45 I ain't scared enough. Speaker 1 00:24:46 Remember when you said, are these open ended questions, or is this an interrogation or whatever? I ain't scared, right? The Grayslake hot seat is brought to you by Joe Velez, JP financial. It's often said that those who fail to plan are planning to fail. Joe Velez and his team at GPB financial create unique financial plans that are some of the most difficult challenges that people might face as they get older, no matter what stage of life you're in. Having a proactive financial plan can help navigate some of the difficult decisions you'll face, helping you live your life by design, not default securities and investment advisory service offered through Mosaic Wealth, Inc. member Finra, SIPC. Speaker 1 00:25:26 Now for the Grayslake hotseat. Hey. Thanks, Joe. This is where we need the, This. We should have done with a surveillance camera to do this, I think would have been really good. Speaker 2 00:25:36 I've seen lots of those police interviews. I'm looking around for the mirror with the guy behind it. Speaker 1 00:25:42 It's just. It is behind there. We just have the, newer ones, so to say. okay. So, Grayslake. Casey, did you play a, a sport in high school in the lake bluff of the the swimming. Speaker 2 00:25:58 I was on my country club swim team. The floss. More flyers. Yeah. Wow. Speaker 1 00:26:03 Yeah, that sounds bougie as all good. Speaker 2 00:26:05 It was kind of bougie, but, I mean, at the time, I didn't think it was. And at the time, I thought I looked fat in that Speedo. But now I look at those pictures, I'm like, you looked awesome, right? Speaker 1 00:26:13 Well, you got to look back. Speaker 2 00:26:14 Were you wearing a Speedo and everything? It was the 90s. Speaker 1 00:26:17 Were you good? Speaker 2 00:26:18 I mean, okay. Okay. I didn't come in last place because I'm kind of tall, right? And they made me swim a lot. I mean, in the morning, they would say it's 7:00 in the morning, do a bunch of laps. And when you're 14, 15, 16, you do that a lot. You get to be fit. Speaker 1 00:26:32 Oh, absolutely. It's the best. Speaker 2 00:26:34 That was nice. I like that I played T-ball as a little kid. but no, swimming was my jam. And then I became a lifeguard. I was a lifeguard for the H.F. Park district. That was fantastic. Speaker 1 00:26:43 Yeah, that's not a bad gig to have. Awesome gig. Yeah. Nice. First car. Speaker 2 00:26:48 Well, Volvo 740, a blue baby blue Volvo 740. Speaker 1 00:26:52 Nice. I'm a Volvo. Speaker 2 00:26:54 It helped me get one of my first girlfriends who was, honest to God, a Swedish foreign exchange student at my high school. No way. Anne-Marie. Honest to God. Speaker 2 00:27:04 And she. Speaker 1 00:27:04 Got her with a Volvo. Speaker 2 00:27:06 Because they make them in Sweden. And she. She sees it and she goes, oh, she goes, what an awesome car. But I wish it was a Saab. Speaker 1 00:27:14 You did? Speaker 2 00:27:15 She did. Totally. Speaker 1 00:27:16 That's so great. And, folks, I want you to listen closely. Maybe. Hit the rewind button there, because that is the first and last time you'll ever hear on the show about how a guy got a girl because of a Volvo. Speaker 2 00:27:25 That was unlikely. Speaker 1 00:27:27 The only reason that it will happen, totally. Speaker 2 00:27:29 But it was it was. That was my Volvo. It was my in with the Swedish girl. I was fine by me. Speaker 1 00:27:34 That was hilarious. Yeah, and they don't make many blue ones like that either. So it. Speaker 2 00:27:38 Was cool. It was a baby blue Volvo. I mean, whatever, I don't think it was. No, it wasn't cool, but it got me from A to B and. Right. Speaker 1 00:27:45 Whatever, man. Speaker 1 00:27:46 Hey, I got 200,000 on mine sitting in the parking lot. Speaker 2 00:27:48 I had a Dodge Neon for a while. I love that Dodge Neon. Right. I can talk about cars. Speaker 1 00:27:51 Yeah. You were, Yes. The the, two of the hottest cars. I could think of. Hot stuff in my head. speaking of that. So this is what? Oh, maybe this would be a fun one for you. What's the fastest you've ever gone in a in a vehicle? Speaker 2 00:28:06 Well, I got, like, an airplane, like. Speaker 1 00:28:07 No, no, no, we'll leave that out. Speaker 2 00:28:09 Like in. Speaker 1 00:28:10 A car. In a car. Speaker 2 00:28:10 I don't know, a hundred. Speaker 1 00:28:12 Just a. Speaker 2 00:28:12 Hundred, you know. Yeah. Because, I mean, I was a kid and stepping on it. Right. And nowadays, if you do that, like, I never do that anymore. I don't speed anymore. I don't, because the consequences. And I don't mean like death and dismemberment. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:28:24 That happens. Speaker 1 00:28:25 That's all legal consequences. Speaker 2 00:28:26 Yeah. The cops light you up, you know, and the the cases are class A misdemeanors. and they're punishable by up to a year in jail and or a fine of $2,500. Speaker 1 00:28:36 Wow. Speaker 2 00:28:37 Back when I was a prosecutor, I became friends with some police. And maybe they don't say this anymore, but I used to hear nine year fine, 11 year mine. Okay. All right. Which is consistent with my lived experience. Speaker 1 00:28:49 Of going nine miles over. Speaker 2 00:28:50 Nine year fine 11 year. Mine is what the police would say. And and that bears with what I've seen during the time that I've, I've done lots and lots of traffic tickets as a, as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney. And you never see somebody getting pulled over for five over. Right? You know, they are looking at you for 11 to 15 starting at 11, maybe 15 now 20. They want you right? You know, but like I said, nine. You're fine. Speaker 2 00:29:15 11. Your mind. I think that's pretty good. That's the advice I give a lot of the kids that I represent. This is. Speaker 4 00:29:20 Bob Churchill. I know you are always there for your family, caring for your children, your spouse, and even your parents. But in critical times, will you be able to make decisions that assure the best result for your family? Power of attorney may be necessary if, on behalf of a loved one, you need to talk to a doctor, a bank, or the college infirmary. A power of attorney may sound daunting, but the lawyers at Churchill, Quinn, Hamilton and Van Dantzler can easily create this document for you. We are right here in Grayslake supporting the community for over 122 years. Reach out to us at Grayslake law.com or call us at (847) 223-1500. Whether you need a power of attorney, a will or legal help with your business, we'll take care of you so you can care for others. Go to Grayslake Law.com today for more information. Have a wonderful day. Speaker 4 00:30:09 And now back to the program. Speaker 1 00:30:11 Interesting. That's good advice, too. which is funny. I won't tell you how fast I've gone then, because I would not have been fine. Tell me something. Do you like to travel? You have not been. Speaker 2 00:30:25 So I've been like Johnny Cash. I've been everywhere, you know. I have been to lots of different places in this country because my wife is a maniac for travel. She loves it. And we have little kids and we take road trips. But we had little kids. Now they're getting old. my oldest is a sophomore in high school. Speaker 1 00:30:40 Oh, my gosh, it goes fast. It does it really. It just moves. It moves moves, moves so fast. And then I think I heard you have a ten year old too, right? Speaker 2 00:30:46 He's he's a wonderful guy. Awesome guy. but yeah, I have a of a 16 to 12 and a ten, and we've always done road trips around the country. you know, I don't know, early ones where? Tennessee and Kentucky, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, all through Wisconsin. Speaker 2 00:31:00 Indiana. Out to Maine. East coast, Florida. A lot of times we've flown out to California, Utah and Nevada. so around the country And then, like I used to, I lived in Europe briefly. I lived in London for a few years. Speaker 1 00:31:14 Did she really? How cool is that? Speaker 2 00:31:16 My mom, she was a lawyer at, Amoco. Right. The the gasoline company, you know, Amoco. They used to have that big white tower in downtown Chicago. The Amoco building, right? Absolutely. Formerly Standard Oil of Indiana. John Rockefeller's thing. And then they trust. Busted it. Whatever. Monopoly busted it. Right. So. But Amoco, if you remember, in the 90s, merged with BP, British Petroleum. So they moved my mom's job from Chicago to London. So we lived there for a while, and I was kind of in school in champagne and going to London in the summertime. That was awesome. Speaker 1 00:31:47 Oh yeah, especially at that age. But it was really cool. Speaker 2 00:31:50 I worked at a bar. I worked at a pub called the Prince Albert Stafford. That is the guy. It was awesome. Speaker 1 00:31:58 Folks, this isn't a real interview. Just so you know, I just brought one of my buddies in. Speaker 2 00:32:02 I worked at a at a pub called the Prince Albert, and it was in, Notting Hill. Right. You remember Notting Hill with the Hugh Grant movie? You've probably never seen that movie. Speaker 1 00:32:11 I've seen the movie poster. Speaker 2 00:32:12 I saw the poster. Yeah. So Hugh Grant, I thought he was good in the dad movie. But I never saw Notting Hill. But I worked in Notting Hill. so. Yeah, I don't know. Travel places. Speaker 1 00:32:23 There's nothing that you have, like a bucket list. Like I gotta. Speaker 2 00:32:26 Go. Like I don't need to go to Thailand. I don't know. I guess if I had infinite money, I'd travel Europe again, I like it. Sure. Speaker 1 00:32:32 You know, when the. The age of your kid. It sounds like you did your traveling and you did what you wanted to. Speaker 1 00:32:36 And your kids have got, like, some of the best education that kids can get is traveling all over the United States because the United States is cool. Speaker 2 00:32:43 It's fantastic. And like when you travel the United States, like the other day I was coming back from Florida on I-65. We stopped at the Bucky's in Athens, Alabama, which is, you know, a Bucky's is like a like a, you know, if you, you know, a Bucky's, of course. Yeah. It's a giant gas station in front of a giant Walmart, basically. You know, or maybe more like a Kmart. Speaker 1 00:33:03 But one of my favorite places, one of my favorite things, if anybody goes on TikTok right now, there's a woman that explains what Buc-ees is and is the most brilliant thing I've ever seen in my whole life. I love it. Like, if you want to feel like your true, true white trash, she explains exactly what it is. And because we all get excited to go to a Bucky's right. Speaker 2 00:33:22 My kids were stupid excited. They were. And I'm like, guys, it's a gas station that's in front of a K-Mart. What are you talking about? You know. Speaker 1 00:33:29 Exactly what. Speaker 2 00:33:30 It is. I mean, whatever. Back in the old days, Kmart used to have barbecue sandwiches, too. True. Speaker 1 00:33:35 You just couldn't get a puzzle. A sweatshirt and a, you know, corned beef sandwich? No. All at the same time. Speaker 2 00:33:40 It's a fancy dress I've traveled around. It's great. I like. Speaker 1 00:33:43 The train. I like the Bucky's. Was one of the highlights on your trip. Kept coming back. It kind of was. It's kind of. It's kind of fun. And we're getting one close to here now. I keep seeing the signs. God love. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:33:53 God love them. I hope that they take over. I'm ready for Bucky's to be the only employer in the United States. Speaker 1 00:34:00 Did we talk? What was your first job when you were. So you lifeguard was a lifeguard? Speaker 2 00:34:05 Yeah, I was a lifeguard. Speaker 1 00:34:05 Did we call that a job? Is that a job? Speaker 2 00:34:07 Oh, really? Man. Lifeguard. It could be my career. That is a fantastic job. Speaker 1 00:34:12 Maybe when you want to retire, you can go back and be a lifeguard. Speaker 2 00:34:14 My uncle, actually, he was like a car salesman and stuff. And then when he retired, he used to be a lifeguard at his, you know, apartment complex. Like, that's a great job, dude. Come on. Speaker 1 00:34:24 Wow. Maybe when I grow up, I'll look into that. Speaker 2 00:34:26 Be a lifeguard. Speaker 1 00:34:27 It's cool. I'm gonna. Speaker 2 00:34:28 It's cool. Speaker 1 00:34:29 I think it could be a. Speaker 2 00:34:30 Tad creepy. Speaker 1 00:34:31 If I applied at the Grayslake pool right now. Speaker 2 00:34:33 No, I mean, they need people that with with with maturity and experience. Yes. You know. Speaker 1 00:34:39 I have a shirt that says that that's for my requirements. Speaker 2 00:34:42 And it was nice. And I worked at Jewel. I worked at the library in summer. I mean, it was great. Speaker 1 00:34:47 So you had a lot of different jobs? Yeah. Speaker 1 00:34:48 So you actually were taught some work ethic as a as a child from your parents as well? Speaker 2 00:34:53 Well, they worked hard. My parents, they loved each other. They stayed together the whole time. They were both lawyers. They worked. And I just wanted to work. Right. Speaker 1 00:35:01 I don't know. They said very good examples, right? That's awesome. first concert you ever attended? Speaker 2 00:35:07 Man, I don't know. okay. It was, the World Music Center, right? Yeah. Q101 had one of those concerts that's like, not it wasn't, not not, Twisted Christmas. It's the one they did in the summertime. And I remember that garbage. Jamiroquai. Mighty, mighty. Speaker 1 00:35:27 Boston's nice. Speaker 2 00:35:29 Were there. I mean, that's, like, awesome. And I went with a Swedish girl. Really? So. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:35:34 Did you drive the Volvo. Speaker 2 00:35:35 There, though? Maybe I might have got dropped off by my parents, so. Speaker 1 00:35:39 Good, good. Good concert. Speaker 2 00:35:41 I saw the Smashing Pumpkins down there, but that was a different day. Speaker 2 00:35:44 Oh, nice. Billy Corgan, love that guy. Speaker 1 00:35:46 Yeah. He, Billy was at that because I had forever. I forget that where they're from, around North Shore. Yeah, right. And I was hanging out, and I was doing a daddy daughter dance, and a guy came up that looked a lot like Billy Corgan and asked for a song. And I had told him no. Yeah, because it wasn't really. It wasn't really appropriate. Yeah, right. And then somebody came back and one of the people said, well, Mr. Corgan asked for a song, and I guess you told him that you weren't going to play it. And I'm like, okay, well, it just didn't fit with what we were going to do, because I like to think that I do the right thing, right? You do the wood, you work music, you do the right thing for the party. You got to know your audience, unless it's Billy Corgan. And then you just say. Speaker 2 00:36:23 Do what he says. Speaker 1 00:36:24 Right? Speaker 5 00:36:24 Despite all my rage, he's awesome. Speaker 2 00:36:27 It was the best. Speaker 1 00:36:28 And it wasn't a pumpkin song, though. Speaker 2 00:36:29 Oh, that's too bad. Speaker 1 00:36:30 I wish I knew what the song was, though, to look back. Speaker 2 00:36:32 I would think that Billy loves putting on pumpkin songs. I would think that he lists the pumpkins all the time. Speaker 1 00:36:38 He's driving around right now listening. Speaker 2 00:36:40 To all these new stuff because his old stuff is for posers. He's like that old stuff. I'm over it. Only my new stuff. Only Billy and Machines have got to listen to right now. Speaker 1 00:36:48 Yeah. That's hilarious. if you had to have a superpower, what would it be? Speaker 2 00:36:54 Being the greatest golfer ever. Speaker 1 00:36:57 Really? Speaker 2 00:36:57 Yeah. Speaker 1 00:36:58 Come on. That would be good. But then you wouldn't have. Would it be any fun? Because then you beat everybody all the time. But yeah, you could play with people though. Speaker 2 00:37:05 Then you'd be good at golf. And that's what my dream would be. I would love to. Speaker 2 00:37:08 I'm not that good at golf. I wish I were okay. I practice and practice and the people that are naturally gifted, I look at them with such envy, you know? Speaker 1 00:37:17 Now, being a being an attorney makes you a better golfer, though. Doesn't like doctors and attorneys and like. Speaker 2 00:37:22 Yeah, yeah. And some of the attorneys really suck, which is great because I can just stuff them. You know, these old guys especially that that don't play that much. Oh, I'm way better than them. That makes me feel so good about myself just to stuff them. Yeah. Hey. Nice chat counsel. Oh. Speaker 1 00:37:38 That's fantastic. what do you wish you learned sooner in life? Speaker 2 00:37:43 Spanish. Really? Totally, dude. Speaker 1 00:37:45 It's a great answer. Speaker 2 00:37:46 Spanish. Speaker 1 00:37:47 Wow. Okay. So, you know, young people, people in high school, people go in and they're like. I have to tell them. It's probably one of the best things you can do. Right. As an education level, Just. Speaker 2 00:38:00 Your friends, your coworkers, your clients. You know, I mean, learning Spanish is awesome. I personally have a super awesome, legal assistant, and, she is bilingual and she helps me do so much. So I shout out to Crystal. Crystal, you're fantastic. But, like I said, if only I had paid more attention in school and I was better at Spanish, I wish. Right? Speaker 1 00:38:21 Yeah. No. And it's really. That's a great answer. I'm going to. Maybe I'll start learning a different language. have you ever eaten a roller dog from a gas station? No, really? With all the all the road trips you've taken. Speaker 2 00:38:34 I don't do that. Speaker 1 00:38:35 Maybe I'm smarter than me. Speaker 2 00:38:36 Because I'm worried about, like, dying from bacteria. Like it's. Guys, it's only ten more hours to Chicago. Stop 11. Speaker 5 00:38:43 Times. Speaker 2 00:38:43 Or having. Speaker 1 00:38:44 Explosive diarrhea on a. Speaker 2 00:38:45 On a road trip. You know, I don't either. I never eaten, I mean, I've bought stuff at gas stations, beer, I've bought smokes, I've bought lots of things. Speaker 2 00:38:53 if I'm gonna shop for food at gas stations, it's probably beef jerky. Speaker 1 00:38:57 They do have some coffee. Speaker 2 00:38:58 Beef jerky. Maybe some candy. Speaker 1 00:39:00 Okay, nice. what's the chance that, Bigfoot exists? Speaker 2 00:39:04 0%. Speaker 1 00:39:05 Really? Speaker 2 00:39:05 It's a hoax. Speaker 1 00:39:06 Really? Speaker 2 00:39:07 Yeah, I don't believe. I don't think so. Cryptids. Speaker 1 00:39:09 Really? Speaker 2 00:39:10 I'm not aliens. I'm not sure. Ghosts I don't believe in. Okay, okay. Speaker 1 00:39:15 All right. Okay. We were friends right up until. Let's see, what's the mark on there? 3605. Speaker 2 00:39:21 It's okay. You think that Bigfoot exists? Speaker 1 00:39:23 I. I think that the best, the best answer I ever got from it was from Doctor Terry Silky. our wonderful big. One of the biggest philanthropists in town. who's a orthodontic specialist for Lake County. Big shout out, Terry. he said that we think about all the things that we've gone through, like from history, from dinosaurs, to, like, all this thing. He's like, if you don't think it's a distinct possibility that we have a Bigfoot, maybe. Speaker 1 00:39:48 Maybe not today. Right. But maybe in the past. Like with all the things that we've had, he said. But, you know, this guy's been on 20 safaris and you've seen the whole thing. Speaker 2 00:39:58 You would think that there would be, like, Bigfoot heads mounted in the Smithsonian, you know. Speaker 1 00:40:03 Or at Bill's Pub. Speaker 2 00:40:04 Or Bill's Pub. Definitely. You know. I mean, there would be that. And I mean, the fact is, like, I know people lie and they sometimes lie for attention. So ergo, could it have been a hoax, too? Oh. Speaker 1 00:40:15 Maybe. Speaker 2 00:40:16 Right. Speaker 1 00:40:16 And actually, if anybody's watching, I just got this shirt as a gift. It's come from. It's from Logan, Ohio. And they have a, in the summertime. They have a Bigfoot festival there. Yeah. So my only thing is, if he doesn't exist, because this is this podcast is really about Bigfoot. It's not about you. Just so you know. Speaker 2 00:40:35 But I. Speaker 1 00:40:35 Hear you. But why or why is it such a big hoax everywhere? Then why do they have festivals for these? Speaker 2 00:40:40 Cute. I mean, like, people, you know? I mean, people, like, they think he's adorable. He's funny. He's like a meme. I think before memes. Speaker 1 00:40:47 Kill people, I think that might be. Speaker 2 00:40:49 What about Harry and the Hendersons? He was nice. Speaker 1 00:40:51 Yeah, that was just a. That's fiction. Like, he was nice, like Notting Hill. Speaker 2 00:40:54 He would always be like. He would always, like, hide bashfully in the closet. He's cool. Speaker 1 00:40:59 And John Lithgow, isn't that too? Speaker 2 00:41:00 He's nice. Right? He's always frustrated here. He does something. Speaker 1 00:41:04 Well, when I have evidence, I'm calling you. Speaker 2 00:41:06 Call me. I would love to be proven wrong about this, and I will. I would be happy to to to shake Bigfoot's hand. Speaker 1 00:41:12 Okay, good. Because now that we have these new phones that have better, you know, they focus better. Speaker 1 00:41:16 Now we'll get a clear picture of them, not just the fuzzy ones. Speaker 2 00:41:19 I only wish that Nessie was existing. The Loch Ness monster, that's my favorite cryptid. And I have never seen any good proof of that. That's a darn shame. Speaker 1 00:41:28 Yeah, well, hey, you never know. We're finding out all kinds of fun things these days. You never know. All right, so I think it's time we switch off of our hotseat. Questions that we've covered the really important stuff. Thank you. one thing I want to thank you for, because I know that you are a part of an organization, here, which is the Exchange Club. Yeah. so I know that, let's talk for people that aren't familiar with the Exchange Club. What is it? What is it based upon? Speaker 2 00:41:53 Okay, so the Exchange Club is cool. It's really an old organization. It's from, I don't know, 1913. And it is a group that I like in Grayslake because I just get together with my friends and have lunch. Speaker 2 00:42:05 Right. You know, so it's a bunch of business and community leaders. or not even, I mean, not at all. Some of them are just regular people. We have a, you know, like, I don't know, I want to say a retired teacher, not a community leader, but, you know, retired teachers come. And we had a retired accountant lady for a long time. And, you know, people that are just townies. Right. and, they come on, they have lunch where at first draft it's noon. if anybody wants to come to the Exchange Club, it's free lunch. Call me. (847) 549-0600. You can be my guest, but I like the Exchange club, because the main thing is that they plan big parties for the town. You know, they have the craft beer festival, you know, they do, stuff with, I got a taste of Grayslake downtown summer thing. Yeah. Speaker 1 00:42:46 And what did you change the name of all the time? Summer days. Speaker 1 00:42:48 Summer days, Summerfest. Speaker 2 00:42:50 They. but they they do cool stuff. They raise money and then they give that money away to kids in grades, like to go to school, right? Speaker 1 00:42:56 SIPs for scholarships. That's what the, the the craft beer festival is. Speaker 2 00:42:59 Yes. And then and it's good money. They're like, here's a thousand bucks, kid. And it's a Grayslake student that's a top student to go to college. You know, they do good stuff like that. They promote Americanism. you know, what is that? It is what? It's that Americanism is like liking 911 and being interested in our country and like. Right. You know, so it's a cool organization. Check it out. Speaker 1 00:43:21 Yeah. And I like all the nice things they do and the, the men and women that are involved in that. I happen to be fond of a lot of them. Yeah. I think the one day that I knew I knew nothing about the Exchange Club, and I think it was the day that you guys were doing your, you you had picked a couple of kids for scholarships. Speaker 1 00:43:36 You were giving them. And I saw these kids first. I was walking down to have an afternoon beer at the first draft or something like that. So I saw these two kids, like walking back to school and these big smiles on their faces. right? So I get to the bottom and a bunch of the Exchange Club members are hanging out, and to see these men that were standing there, and they were so blown away and so happy and so just straightforward, just happy about what they did. It was it made me really have a fondness for the organization. Speaker 2 00:44:05 And I just want to shout out to the Grayslake kids from North and Central. They're like really fantastic kids, you know? the some of the kids that are winning these awards, I mean, back when I was a kid, I tried to get good grades. I tried to do well in my tests, but otherwise I just went home. Speaker 1 00:44:22 How did I get so smart? Speaker 2 00:44:23 I don't, and they. And they have the energy, this boundless energy that is really. Speaker 2 00:44:27 It's admirable and kind of scary. So God level, I mean, whatever. Speaker 1 00:44:33 Which is. Speaker 2 00:44:34 Good. Don't you ever nap, you know, don't you ever eat too much pizza and then go to sleep, right, like me. So. Speaker 1 00:44:39 Right. Right. And especially as a high school kid. Right. And these guys are doing really, really well with things. Yeah. Speaker 6 00:44:44 Hey, Lake County, I know you know, a teacher out there that needs to be recognized. I'm Jodi, former educator, now realtor, and I'm here representing Educators Advantage. We want you to nominate a teacher of the month. Click the link in the show notes and nominate your favorite teacher. Make your favorite teacher feel appreciated and give them a shout out. Speaker 1 00:45:09 Cool! So I love to see people that get involved with organizations, especially like when going back, like the Safe Place kind of things. So explain this to me too. Are there more than one location for Safe Place? Because there's one in Zion. Speaker 1 00:45:21 Is there also one in Mundelein? Speaker 2 00:45:23 So okay, that is the family visitation center. Okay. Okay. That I believe has moved. Okay. So you'd want to check with Safe Place about the details for when I was involved in the organization. They had two places. They had a women's shelter. That was like a big apartment building in Zion, and it's tucked away. So you don't know about it, right? God love them. But then they also have a really important role that they play, having to do with, facilitating visitation or exchanges of parties that have, like ops against each other. Orders of protection. Yep. Okay. So you've got to go there. You, like drop off your kid in the front, and then dad comes in the back, and then they have like a meeting and they hang out for an hour and have pizza. And then there's people watching, like little child. Jimmy smiled when you saw dad. Right. And they take notes and they give that to the court and the safe place. Speaker 2 00:46:16 Like, honestly, so many exchanges, so much visitation just couldn't happen because of the acrimony between the parties. But for what a safe place does. So they're cool. They're they're fantastic. Speaker 1 00:46:27 I love them and it's nice. And I like places that are put together that look for the best for the children and to keep them safe to and keep, because sometimes just two people just don't get along. So that's a nice way to then get in there. Speaker 2 00:46:38 It's one of the toughest things about family cases is when you have a tremendous amount of acrimony, even like a good divorce, where it's just. I don't love him anymore. You know, you've got to co-parent the kid. But when it's a situation where it's like he raped me or he beat me up, or he right got 60 Y's or he. Whatever those cases, you know, the judges are very reluctant to totally shut out a parent. So they'll give him or her sometimes. Sometimes it's a her, you know, supervised visitation, wrangled by a safe place or supervised by perhaps somebody else, like a mom or grandma or whatever. Speaker 2 00:47:13 Okay. but those, those organizations that facilitate the, the best interest of the kid and the, the parenting time, the the courts. I don't know how they could function before that. That, safe place started doing that. Speaker 1 00:47:26 Yeah. No, it must be a really, really hard thing to do. well, one of the things that I really enjoy, I have to tell you, because I was having a conversation before we got together today, and a man was, who's potential, guest on another show was asking me my my, my motivations on why he wanted to come on. And the guy clearly, wanted to come out and just advertise his business. Right. And I was trying to explain to him that this these are the conversations you are having. You and I are having right now that I really like that. very soon, hopefully, we're gonna have Chief Myra chief of police on, because I really like humanizing. some people have jobs or positions that people don't really get to know, right? So if I had to hire somebody for a family attorney or a DUI attorney or a criminal attorney, I hope that I get to listen to the show so that they get to know your personality, to know that you're a human being, right? Speaker 2 00:48:16 My personality is is unique, but there are a lot of really good attorneys in Lake County. Speaker 2 00:48:21 I'm happy to help people. Whatever. Speaker 1 00:48:23 Yeah. Well, no. And I think it's nice. Speaker 2 00:48:24 I like to be humble. I'm not trying to. Well, you're very humble out there, right? I'm not. I'm not trying to be like. Oh, yeah. I'm like the only one around because I'm not, you know, and like I said, in Lake County, we're blessed with a strong bench and bar, right. You know, and honestly, I get along with just about all of them. Speaker 1 00:48:40 That's cool. Okay, so let's do this. because of people. So let's, to help our listeners out there listening. So let's talk. first of all, when starting to divorce proceedings like they're they know they're going to get divorced, maybe some advice on how they go about finding an attorney that would be right for them. Is that a hard question? Speaker 2 00:49:00 Yeah. So finding an attorney. I mean, a lot of people want to do word of mouth. They talk to their their cousin. Speaker 2 00:49:06 How you got divorced in Lake County. Tell me who you use and then call that guy. That's probably a good decision. Speaker 1 00:49:12 Not to tell you who not to use. Speaker 2 00:49:13 Right? Speaker 1 00:49:14 In their opinion, though, totally right. maybe the decision didn't go their way so it could be false information, right? Speaker 2 00:49:21 Totally. A lot of people just go to Google and they'll Google like Libertyville divorce attorney or Lake County divorce attorney or whatever. And you can get hits there. And you look at their Google reviews we have I mean, my law firm has fantastic reviews, but that's just because we try to just, I don't know, do a good job and then clear the case. You know, try to Because, like, if you take one guy's divorce case and you're like a vampire on his neck and you drain him till he's totally out of blood. Well, you know, that's one case, okay? I'd rather just, like, help a guy and then get a good review and help another guy and get a good review and help a guy and get a good review, and then just, like, kind of build it up that way. Speaker 2 00:49:56 That's way better, right? Speaker 1 00:49:58 And with integrity, when you're walking away, then you can sleep at night and make sure that you know that you can help people out. Speaker 2 00:50:04 I sleep. Speaker 1 00:50:04 At night. Right. That's good. Yeah. All right, so how about, DUI? Speaker 2 00:50:09 So. Okay. How to find a DUI attorney or. So same. Speaker 1 00:50:13 Thing. I know how to get one. Speaker 2 00:50:14 I know. Speaker 1 00:50:15 It's just not the. Speaker 2 00:50:16 Attorney. So, I mean, man, I use Lyfts now. Yes. You know, I, I really do I. Speaker 1 00:50:21 I cheapest thing to do. Right. Speaker 2 00:50:23 It's 20 bucks here and back and you don't have to worry about. Am I going to get in trouble. Right. You know, and you don't have to worry about. Am I going to hurt somebody or whatever? Speaker 1 00:50:32 So yeah, I heard somebody. Maybe it was another stupid social media thing I saw. But there again, like it was a $20 ride home, right? For, let's say I have to go from Grayslake up to Atkinson, like at the bar. Speaker 1 00:50:42 How many Lyft rides would it take to equal to a two? Would it cost to hire an attorney to go through the DUI process? Speaker 2 00:50:51 So I think it was NHTSA, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, one of those organizations, used to run a billboard campaign here in Lake County. And one of the billboards I remember was a picture of a kid blowing into a portable breath test. And there's the police cars, lights behind him, and it says, you just blew $10,000. Speaker 1 00:51:12 Most people have no idea what to do with their aging loved one who needs help. Well, there is a solution. A company that provides care and assistance to make your loved one feel right at home, at right, at home. Their mission statement is to improve the quality of life for those they serve. They offer extensive services personal and companion care, safety, supervision and transportation, fall prevention, dressing and bathing assistance. Medical reminders, meal prep, hospice support, ambulation support, stroke recovery, Parkinson's support, the list goes on and on and on. Speaker 1 00:51:43 If you have an aging loved one that needs help, call. Right at home. Most people prefer to age in their home rather than moving to an assisted living or nursing home. Right at home can make this happen. Contact right at home at right at home NHL.com or give them a call (847) 984-0103. Now back to the show. Speaker 2 00:52:02 You know, which I think is like not inaccurate. Speaker 1 00:52:06 Ten. Speaker 2 00:52:06 Grand right. Because like so the legal fees like, I don't know, cheap one 2500, you know, a hot felony DUI 568, whatever, $1,000. So that's good money there. But even for your first time misdemeanor DUI, you're spending 2500, $3,500 on a lawyer. And then you get the fines, the court costs. There are 3 or $4000. There's treatment that you must do, you know, so you do alcohol or risk evaluations and pay for the classes and then woo woo. It gets to be expensive. So yeah, you know,
In this episode, I sit down with Shegun Otulana, founder and former CEO of Therapy Brands. His journey from arriving in Birmingham, Alabama at 18 to leading one of the largest software exits in the state's history is nothing short of remarkable. Shegun opens up about his early days, the lessons learned from failure, and the moment his wife encouraged him to finally go all in. He explains how he used consulting work to attract real-world problems and applied a personal framework to choose which one was worth building into a business. We talk about why pricing can be a powerful form of innovation, how Therapy Brands stood out by aligning with what customers actually valued, and why differentiation often beats being the best. Shegun reflects on communication as the greatest innovation of all time and shares his passion for helping build Alabama's innovation ecosystem through his work with Innovate Alabama. This is a conversation about self-awareness, long-term thinking, and what it really takes to build something meaningful.
Who knows the meaning of the term “Business Continuity management” without looking it up? Our guest this week, Alex Fullick, is intimately familiar with the term and its ramifications. I first met Alex when we were connected as participants in a conference in London this past October sponsored by Business Continuity International. The people involved with “Business Continuity management” were described to me as the “what if people”. They are the people no one pays attention to, but who plan for emergency and unexpected situations and events that especially can cause interruptions with the flow or continuity of business. Of course, everyone wants the services of the business continuity experts once something unforeseen or horrific occurs. Alex was assigned to introduce me at the conference. Since the conference I have even had the pleasure to appear on his podcast and now, he agreed to reciprocate. Our conversation covers many topics related to emergencies, business continuity and the mindsets people really have concerning business flow and even fear. Needless to say, this topic interests me since I directly participated in the greatest business interruption event we have faced in the world, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Alex freely discusses fear, emergency planning and how we all can improve our chances of dealing with any kind of emergency, personal or business related, by developing the proper mindset. He points out how so often people may well plan for emergencies at work and sometimes they even take the step of developing their own business continuity mindset, but they rarely do the same for their personal lives. Alex is the author of eight books on the subject and he now is working on book 9. You can learn more about them in our podcast show notes. I think you will gain a lot of insight from what Alex has to say and I hope his thoughts and comments will help you as you think more now about the whole idea of business continuity. About the Guest: Alex Fullick has been working in the Business Continuity Management, Disaster Recovery, and Operational Resilience industries as a consultant/contractor for just over 28 years. Alex is also the founder and Managing Director of StoneRoad, a consulting and training firm specializing in BCM and Resilience and is the author of eight books…and working on number nine. He has numerous industry certifications and has presented at prestigious conferences around the globe including Manila, Seoul, Bucharest, Brisbane, Toronto, and London (to name a few). In July of 2017 he created the highly successful and top-rated podcast focusing on Business Continuity and Resilience ‘Preparing for the Unexpected'. The show aims to touch on any subject that directly or indirectly touches on the world of disasters, crises, well-being, continuity management, and resilience. The first of its kind in the BCM and Resilience world and is still going strong after thirty plus seasons, reaching an audience around the globe. Alex was born in England but now calls the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, his home. Ways to connect Alex: www.linkedin.com/in/alex-fullick-826a694 About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hello, everyone, wherever you happen to be, welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet and unexpected is anything that has nothing to do with inclusion or diversity. As I've said many times today, our guest is someone I got to meet last year, and we'll talk about that. His name is Alex Bullock, and Alex and I met because we both attended a conference in London in October about business continuity. And I'm going to let Alex define that and describe what that is all about. But Alex introduced me at the conference, and among other things, I convinced him that he had to come on unstoppable mindset. And so we get to do that today. He says he's nervous. So you know, all I gotta say is just keep staring at your screens and your speakers and and just keep him nervous. Keep him on edge. Alex, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're Alex Fullick ** 02:19 here. Thanks, Michael. I really appreciate the invite, and I'm glad to be here today. And yeah, a little nervous, because usually it's me on the other side of the microphone interviewing people. So I don't fit in this chair too often Michael Hingson ** 02:33 I've been there and done that as I recall, yes, Alex Fullick ** 02:37 yes, you were a guest of mine. Oh, I guess when did we do that show? A month and a half, two months ago? Or something, at least, Michael Hingson ** 02:45 I forget, yeah. And I said the only charge for me coming on your podcast was you had to come on this one. So there you go. Here I am. Yeah, several people ask me, Is there a charge for coming on your podcast? And I have just never done that. I've never felt that I should charge somebody to come on the podcast, other than we do have the one rule, which is, you gotta have fun. If you can't have fun, then there's no sense being on the podcast. So, you know, that works out. Well, tell us about the early Alex, growing up and, you know, all that sort of stuff, so that people get to know you a little bit. Alex Fullick ** 03:16 Oh, the early Alex, sure. The early Alex, okay, well, a lot of people don't know I was actually born in England myself, uh, Farnam Surrey, southwest of London, so until I was about eight, and then we came to Canada. Grew up in Thunder Bay, Northwestern Ontario, and then moved to the Greater Toronto Area, and I've lived all around here, north of the city, right downtown in the city, and now I live an hour west of it, in a city called Guelph. So that's how I got here. Younger me was typical, I guess, nothing Michael Hingson ** 03:56 special. Went to school, high school and all that sort of stuff. Yeah, yeah, no. Alex Fullick ** 04:02 Brainiac. I was working my first job was in hospitality, and I thought that's where I was going to be for a long time, because I worked my way up to I did all the positions, kitchen manager, Assistant Manager, cooks, bartender, server, did everything in there was even a company trainer at one point for a restaurant chain, and then did some general managing. But I got to a point where computers were going to start coming in to the industry, and I thought, well, I guess I should learn how to use these things, shouldn't I? And I went to school, learned how to use them, basic using, I'm not talking about building computers and networks and things like that, just the user side of things. And that was, did that for six months, and then I thought I was going back into the industry. And no fate had. Something different for me. What happened? Well, my best friend, who is still my best friend, 30 years later, he was working for a large financial institution, and he said, Hey, we need some help on this big program to build some call trees. When you're finished, he goes, get your foot in the door, and you could find something else within the bank. So I went, Okay, fine. Well, they called the position business recovery planner, and I knew absolutely nothing about business recovery or business continuity. Not a single thing. I'd never even heard the term yeah and but for some reason, I just took to it. I don't know what it was at the time, but I just went, this is kind of neat. And I think it was the fact that I was learning something different, you know, I wasn't memorizing a recipe for Alfredo sauce or something like that, you know, it was completely different. And I was meeting and working with people at every level, sitting in meetings with senior vice presidents and CEOs and giving them updates, and, you know, a data analyst, data entry clerk, and just talking. And I went, This is so much fun, you know, and that's I've been doing that now for over 28 years. Michael Hingson ** 06:14 Well, I I had not really heard much of the term business continuity, although I understand emergency preparedness and such things, because I did that, of course, going into the World Trade Center, and I did it for, well, partly to be prepared for an emergency, but also partly because I was a leader of an office, and I felt that I needed to know What to do if there were ever an emergency, and how to behave, because I couldn't necessarily rely on other people, and also, in reality, I might even be the only person in the office. So it was a survival issue to a degree, but I learned what to do. And of course, we know the history of September 11 and me and all that, but the reality is that what I realized many years later was that the knowledge that I learned and gained that helped me on September 11 really created a mindset that allowed me to be able to function and not be as I Put it to people blinded or paralyzed by fear, the fear was there. I would be dumb to say I wasn't concerned, but the fear helped me focus, as opposed to being something that overwhelmed and completely blocked me from being capable and being able to function. So I know what you're saying. Well, what exactly is business continuity? Alex Fullick ** 07:44 You know, there are people who are going to watch this and listen and they're going to want me to give a really perfect definition, but depending on the organization, depending on leadership, depending on the guiding industry organization out there, business continuity, Institute, Disaster Recovery Institute, ISO NIST and so many other groups out there. I'm not going to quote any of them as a definition, because if I if I say one the others, are going to be mad at me, yell at you, yeah, yeah. Or if I quote it wrong, they'll get mad at me. So I'm going to explain it the way I usually do it to people when I'm talking in the dog park, yeah, when they ask what I'm doing, I'll say Business Continuity Management is, how do you keep your business going? What do you need? Who do you need the resources when you've been hit by an event and and with the least impact to your customers and your delivery of services, yeah, and it's simple, they all get it. They all understand it. So if anyone doesn't like that, please feel free send me an email. I can hit the delete key just as fast as you can write it. So you know, but that's what a lot of people understand, and that's really what business continuity management is, right from the very beginning when you identify something, all the way to why we made it through, we're done. The incident's over. Michael Hingson ** 09:16 Both worked with at the Business Continuity international hybrid convention in October was Sergio Garcia, who kind of coordinated things. And I think it was he who I asked, what, what is it that you do? What's the purpose of all of the people getting together and having this conference? And he said, I think it was he who said it not you, that the the best way to think about it is that the people who go to this conference are the what if people, they're the ones who have to think about having an event, and what happens if there's an event, and how do you deal with it? But so the what if people, they're the people that nobody ever pays any attention to until such time as there is something that. Happens, and then they're in high demand. Alex Fullick ** 10:03 Yeah, that that's especially that being ignored part until something happened. Yeah, yeah. Well, well, the nice thing, one of the things I love about this position, and I've been doing it like I said, for 28 years, written books, podcasts, you've been on my show, YouTube channel, etc, etc, is that I do get to learn and from so many people and show the value of what we do, and I'm in a position to reach out and talk to so many different people, like I mentioned earlier. You know, CEOs. I can sit in front of the CEO and tell them you're not ready. If something happens, you're not ready because you haven't attended any training, or your team hasn't attended training, or nobody's contributing to crisis management or the business continuity or whatever you want to talk about. And I find that empowering, and it's amazing to sit there and not tell a CEO to their face, you know you're screwed. Not. You know, you don't say those kinds of things. No, but being able to sit there and just have a moment with them to to say that, however you term it, you might have a good relationship with them where you can't say that for all I know, but it being able to sit in front of a CEO or a vice president and say, hey, you know, this is where things are. This is where I need your help. You know, I don't think a lot of people get that luxury to be able to do it. And I'm lucky enough that I've worked with a lot of clients where I can't. This is where I need your help. You know. What's your expectation? Let's make it happen, you know, and having that behind you is it's kind of empowering, Michael Hingson ** 11:47 yeah, well, one of the things that I have start talking a little bit about with people when talk about emergency preparedness is, if you're really going to talk about being prepared for an emergency. One of the things that you need to do is recognize that probably the biggest part of emergency preparedness, or business continuity, however you want to term, it, isn't physical it's the mental preparation that you need to make that people generally don't make. You know, I've been watching for the last now, five or six weeks, all the flyers and things down here in California, which have been so horrible, and people talk about being prepared physically. You should have a go bag so that you can grab it and go. You should do this. You should do that. But the problem is nobody ever talks about or or helps people really deal with the mental preparation for something unexpected. And I'm going to, I'm going to put it that way, as opposed to saying something negative, because it could be a positive thing. But the bottom line is, we don't really learn to prepare ourselves for unexpected things that happen in our lives and how to react to them, and so especially when it's a negative thing, the fear just completely overwhelms us. Alex Fullick ** 13:09 Yeah, I agree with you. You know, fear can be what's that to fight, flight or freeze? Yeah, and a lot of people don't know how to respond when an event happens. And I think I'm going to take a step back, and I think that goes back to when we're young as well, because we have our parents, our grandparents, our teachers, our principals. You know, you can go achieve your goals, like everything is positive. You can go do that. Go do that. They don't teach you that, yeah, to achieve those goals, you're going to hit some roadblocks, and you need to understand how to deal with that when things occur. And use your example with the fires in California. If you don't know how to prepare for some of those small things, then when a big fire like that occurs, you're even less prepared. I have no idea how to deal with that, and it is. It's a really change in mindset and understanding that not everything is rosy. And unfortunately, a lot of people get told, or they get told, Oh, don't worry about it. It'll never happen. So great when it does happen. Well, then was that advice? Michael Hingson ** 14:25 Yeah, I remember after September 11, a couple of months after, I called somebody who had expressed an interest in purchasing some tape backup products for from us at Quantum. And I hadn't heard from them, and so I reached out, and I said, So what's going on? How would you guys like to proceed? And this was an IT guy, and he said, Oh, well, the president of the company said September 11 happened, and so since they did, we're not going to have to worry about that anymore. So we're not going to go forward. Or worth doing anything to back up our data, and I'm sitting there going, you missed the whole point of what backup is all about. I didn't dare say that to him, but it isn't just about an emergency, but it's also about, what if you accidentally delete a file? Do you have a way to go back and get it? I mean, there's so many other parts to it, but this guy's boss just basically said, Well, it happened, so it's not going to happen now we don't have to worry about it. Yeah, Alex Fullick ** 15:27 like you hear on the news. Well, it feels like daily, oh, once in 100 year storm, once in 100 year event, once in 100 year this. Well, take a look at the news. It's happening weekly, daily, yeah, yeah. One in 100 Michael Hingson ** 15:44 years thing, yeah. Nowadays, absolutely, there's so many things that are happening. California is going through a couple of major atmospheric rivers right now, as they're now calling it. And so Southern California is getting a lot of rain because of of one of the rivers, and of course, it has all the burn areas from the fires. So I don't know what we'll see in the way of mudslides, but the rain is picking up. Even here, where I live, we're going to get an inch or more of rain, and usually we don't get the rain that a lot of other places get. The clouds have to go over a lot of mountains to get to us, and they lose their moisture before they do that. Yeah, Alex Fullick ** 16:23 yeah. We just had a whole pile of snow here. So we had a snowstorm yesterday. So we've got about 20 centimeters of snow out there that hasn't been plowed yet. So bit of Michael Hingson ** 16:36 a mess. There you go. Well, you know, go out and play on the snow. Well, Alex Fullick ** 16:41 the dog loves it, that's for sure. Like troubling it, but, yeah, Michael Hingson ** 16:46 I don't think my cat would like it, but the animal would like it. He'd go out and play in it. If it were here, we don't get much snow here, but Yeah, he'd play it. But, but it is. It is so interesting to really talk about this whole issue of of business continuity, emergency preparedness, whatever you want to consider it, because it's it's more than anything. It's a mindset, and it is something that people should learn to do in their lives in general, because it would help people be a lot more prepared. If people really created a mindset in themselves about dealing with unexpected things, probably they'd be a little bit more prepared physically for an emergency, but they would certainly be in a lot better shape to deal with something as like the fires are approaching, but they don't, but we don't do that. We don't teach that. Alex Fullick ** 17:43 No, we it's interesting too, that a lot of those people, they'll work on projects in their organization, you know, and they will look at things well, what can go wrong, you know, and try to mitigate it and fix, you know, whatever issues are in the way or remove roadblocks. They're actually doing that as part of their project. But when it comes to themselves, and they have to think about fires or something like that, is now that won't happen, you know. And wait a minute, how come you've got the right mindset when it comes to your projects at work, but you don't have that same mindset when it comes to your own well being, or your families, or whatever the case may be. How come it's different? You go from one side to the other and it I've noticed that a few times with people and like, I don't get it. Why? Why are you so you have the right mindset under one circumstance and the other circumstance, you completely ignore it and don't have the mindset, Michael Hingson ** 18:45 yeah, which, which makes you wonder, how much of a mindset Do you really have when it comes to work in all aspects of it? And so one of the things that I remember after September 11, people constantly asked me is, who helped you down the stairs, or was there somebody who was responsible for coming to get you, to take you downstairs and and the reality is, as I said, I was the leader. I was helping other people go downstairs. But by the same token, I'm of the opinion that in buildings like the World Trade Center towers, there is people talk about the buddy system. So if somebody is is in the building, you should have a buddy. And it doesn't even need to be necessarily, in the same office, but there should be an arrangement so that there is somebody looking out for each each other person. So everybody should have a buddy. I'm of the opinion it isn't a buddy. There should be two buddies, and at least one of them has to be outside of the office, so that you have three people who have to communicate and develop those lines of communications and work through it. And by that way, you you have a. Better chance of making sure that more people get whatever communications are necessary. Alex Fullick ** 20:06 Yeah, you create your like a support network, absolutely, Michael Hingson ** 20:10 and I think at least a triumvirate makes a lot more sense than just a buddy. Yeah, Alex Fullick ** 20:14 you you might be freaked out, you know, nervous shaking, but with a couple of people standing there, you know, talking to you, you're going to come right back hopefully. You know, with that, the calmer, you know, stop shaking when a couple of people are there. Yeah, you a lot of times when you have the same one person doing it, usually, oh, you're just saying that because you have to. But when you two people doing it, it's like, okay, thank thanks team. You know, like you're really helping. You know, this is much better. Michael Hingson ** 20:48 Yeah, I think it makes a lot more sense, and especially if one of them isn't necessarily a person who's normally in your work pattern that brings somebody in from someone with the outside who approaches things differently because they don't necessarily know you or as well or in the same way as your buddy who's maybe next door to you in the office, right across the hall or next door, or whatever. Yeah, yeah. I agree. I think it makes sense well, the conference that we were at a lot to well, to a large degree, and at least for my presentation, was all about resilience. What is resilience to you? How's that for a general question that Alex Fullick ** 21:31 has become such a buzzword, I know it Michael Hingson ** 21:35 really is, and it's unfortunate, because when, when we start hearing, you know, resilience, or I hear all the time amazing and so many times we get all these buzzwords, and they they really lose a lot of their value when that happens. But still, that's a fair question. I Alex Fullick ** 21:53 do think the word resilience is overused, and it's losing its meaning. You know, dictionary meaning, because it's just used for everything these days. Yeah, you know, my neighbor left her keys. Sorry. Her daughter took her house keys this morning by accident. She couldn't get into her house when she got him back, and she had a comment where she said, you know, oh, well, I'm resilient, but really, you just went and got some Keith, how was that so? So I'm, I'm starting to get to the point now, when people ask me, you know, what's resilience to you? What's it mean to you? I just, I start to say, Now, does it matter? Yeah, my definition is fine for me, if you have a definition of it for yourself that you understand you you know what it means, or your organization has a definition, we'll take it and run. Yeah, you know what it means. You're all behind that. Meaning. We don't need a vendor or some other guiding industry organization to say this is, this must be your definition of resilience. It's like, well, no, you're just wordsmithing and making it sound fancy. You know, do it means what it means to you? You know, how, how do you define it? If that's how you define it, that's what it means, and that's all that matters. My definition doesn't matter. Nobody else's definition matters, you know, because, and it's become that way because the term used, you know, for everything these days. Yeah, I Michael Hingson ** 23:30 think that there's a lot of value in if a person is, if we use the dictionary definition, resilient, they they Well, again, from my definition, it gets back to the mindset you establish. You establish a mindset where you can be flexible, where you can adapt, and where you can sometimes think outside the box that you would normally think out of, but you don't panic to do that. You've learned how to address different things and be able to focus, to develop what you need to do to accomplish, whatever you need to accomplish at any unexpected time. Alex Fullick ** 24:06 Yeah, and you're calm, level headed, you know, you've got that right mindset. You don't freak out over the small things, you know, you see the bigger picture. You understand it. You know, I'm here. That's where I need to go, and that's where you focus and, you know, sweat all those little things, you know. And I think, I think it's, it's kind of reminds me that the definitions that are being thrown out there now reminds me of some of those mission and vision statements that leadership comes up with in their organizations, with all this, oh, that, you know, you read the sentence and it makes no sense whatsoever, yeah, you know, like, what? Michael Hingson ** 24:45 What's so, what's the wackiest definition of resilience that you can think of that you've heard? Alex Fullick ** 24:51 Um, I don't know if there's a wacky one or an unusual one. Um, oh, geez. I. I know I've heard definitions of bounce forward, bounce back, you know, agility, adaptability. Well, your Michael Hingson ** 25:07 car keys, lady this morning, your house key, your house key, lady this morning, the same thing, yeah, yeah. I don't resilient just because she got her keys back. Yeah, really, yeah. Well, Alex Fullick ** 25:17 that's kind of a wacky example. Yeah, of one, but I don't think there's, I've heard any weird definitions yet. I'm sure that's probably some out there coming. Yeah, we'll get to the point where, how the heck did are you defining resilience with that? Yeah? And if you're looking at from that way, then yeah, my neighbor with the keys that would fit in right there. That's not resilient. You just went and picked up some keys. Michael Hingson ** 25:45 Yeah. Where's the resilience? How did you adapt? You the resilience might be if you didn't, the resilience might be if you didn't panic, although I'm sure that didn't happen. But that would, that would lean toward the concept of resilience. If you didn't panic and just went, Well, I I'll go get them. Everything will be fine, but that's not what people do, Alex Fullick ** 26:08 yeah? Well, that that is what she did, actually. She just as I was shoveling snow this morning, she goes, Oh, well, I'll just go get her, get them, okay, yeah. Does that really mean resilience, or Does that just mean you went to pick up the keys that your daughter accidentally took Michael Hingson ** 26:24 and and you stayed reasonably level headed about it, Alex Fullick ** 26:28 you know, you know. So, you know, I don't know, yeah, if, if I would count that as a definition of resilience, but, or even I agree resilience, it's more of okay, yeah, yeah. If, if it's something like that, then that must mean I'm resilient when I forget to pull the laundry out after the buzzer. Oh yeah, I gotta pull the laundry out. Did that make me resilient? Yeah, Michael Hingson ** 26:52 absolutely, once you pulled it out, you weren't resilient, not until then, Alex Fullick ** 26:57 you know. So, so I guess it's you know, how people but then it comes down to how people want to define it too. Yeah, if they're happy with that definition, well, if it makes you happy, I'm not going to tell you to change Michael Hingson ** 27:11 it. Yeah, has but, but I think ultimately there are some some basic standards that get back to what we talked about earlier, which is establishing a mindset and being able to deal with things that come out of the ordinary well, and you're in an industry that, by and large, is probably viewed as pretty negative, you're always anticipating the emergencies and and all the unexpected horrible things that can happen, the what if people again, but that's that's got to be, from a mindset standpoint, a little bit tough to deal with it. You're always dealing with this negative industry. How do you do that? You're resilient, I know. But anyway, yeah, Alex Fullick ** 27:56 really, I just look at it from a risk perspective. Oh, could that happen to us? You know, no, it wouldn't, you know, we're we're in the middle of a Canadian Shield, or at least where I am. We're in the middle of Canadian Shield. There's not going to be two plates rubbing against each other and having an earthquake. So I just look at it from risk where we are, snowstorms, yep, that could hit us and has. What do we do? Okay, well, we close our facility, we have everyone work from home, you know, etc, etc. So I don't look at it from the perspective of doom and gloom. I look at it more of opportunity to make us better at what we do and how we prepare and how we respond and how we overcome, you know, situations that happen out there, and I don't look at it from the oh, here comes, you know, the disaster guy you know, always pointing out everything that's wrong. You know, I'd rather point out opportunities that we have to become as a team, organization or a person stronger. Yeah, Michael Hingson ** 29:01 I guess it's not necessarily a disaster. And as I said earlier, it could very well be that some unexpected thing will happen that could be a very positive thing. But again, if we don't have the mindset to deal with that, then we don't and the reality is, the more that we work to develop a mindset to deal with unexpected things, the more quickly we can make a correct analysis of whatever is going on and move forward from it, as opposed to letting fear again overwhelm us, we can if we practice creating This mindset that says we really understand how to deal with unexpected situations, then we are in a position to be able to the more we practice it, deal with it, and move forward in a positive way. So it doesn't need to be a disaster. September 11 was a disaster by any standard, but as I tell people. People. While I am still convinced that no matter what anyone might think, we couldn't figure out that September 11 was going to happen, I'm not convinced that even if all the agencies communicated, they would have gotten it because and I talk about trust and teamwork a lot, as I point out, a team of 19 people kept their mouth shut, or a few more who were helping in the planning of it, and they pulled off something that basically brought the world to its knees. So I'm not convinced that we could have stopped September 11 from happening. At least I haven't heard something that convinces me of that yet. But what each of us has the ability to do is to determine how we deal with September 11. So we couldn't prevent it, but we can certainly all deal with or address the issue of, how do we deal with it going forward? Yeah, Alex Fullick ** 30:52 I agree. I I was actually in a conversation with my niece a couple of months ago. We were up at the cottage, and she was talking about school, and, you know, some of the people that she goes to school with, and I said, Well, you're never going to be able to change other people. You know, what they think or what they do. I said, what you can control is your response. You know, if, if they're always picking on you, the reason they're picking on you is because they know they can get a rise out of you. They know they it. Whatever they're saying or doing is getting to you, so they're going to keep doing it because it's empowering for them. But you can take away that empowerment if you make the right choices on how you respond, if you just shrug and walk away. I'm simplifying it, of course, yeah, if you just shrug and walk away. Well, after a while, they're going to realize nothing I'm saying is getting through, and they'll move away from you. They'll they won't bug you anymore, because they can't get a rise out. They can't get a rise out of you. So the only thing you can control is how you respond, you know. And as you keep saying, it's the mindset. Change your mindset from response to, you know, I'm prepared for what this person's going to say, and I'm not going to let it bother me. Yeah? Michael Hingson ** 32:08 Well, bullying is really all about that. Yeah, people can't bully if you don't let yourself be bullied. Yep, and whether it's social media and so many other things, you can't be bullied if you don't allow it and if you ignore it or move on or get help to deal with the issue if it gets serious enough, but you don't need to approach it from a shame or fear standpoint, or you or you shouldn't anyway, but that's unfortunately, again, all too often. What happens when we see a lot of teenage suicides and so on, because people are letting the bullies get a rise out of them, and the bullies win. Alex Fullick ** 32:51 Yep, yep. And as I told her, I said, you just mentioned it too. If it gets out of hand or becomes physical, I said, then you have to take action. I don't mean turning around and swinging back. I said, No, step up. Go get someone who is has authority and can do something about it. Yeah, don't, don't run away. Just deal with it differently, you know. And don't, don't start the fight, because then you're just confirming that I'm the bully. I can do this again. Yeah, you're, you're giving them license to do what they want. Yeah, but stand up to them, or tell, depending on the situation, tell someone higher up in authority that can do something and make make a change, but you have to be calm when you do it. Michael Hingson ** 33:39 I remember when I was at UC Irvine, when I was going to college, my had my first guide dog, Squire. He was a golden retriever, 64 pounds, the most gentle, wonderful dog you could ever imagine. And unfortunately, other students on campus would bring their dogs. It was a very big campus, pretty, in a sense, rural, and there were only about 2700 students. And a bunch of students would bring their dogs to school, and they would just turn the dogs loose, and they go off to class, and then they find their dogs at the end of the day. Unfortunately, some of the dogs developed into a pack, and one day, they decided they were going to come after my guide dog. I think I've told this story a couple times on on this podcast, but what happened was we were walking down a sidewalk, and the dogs were coming up from behind, and they were growling and so on. And squire, my guide dog, jerked away from me. I still held his leash, but he jerked out of his harness, out of my hand, and literally jumped up in the air, turned around and came down on all fours, hunkered down and growled at these dogs all in this the well, about a two second time frame, totally shocked the dogs. They just slunked away. Somebody was describing it to me later, and you know, the dog was very deliberate about what he did. Of course, after they left, he comes over and He's wagging his tail. Did I do good or what? But, but he was very deliberate, and it's a lesson to to deal with things. And he never attacked any of the dogs, but he wasn't going to let anything happen to him or me, and that's what loyalty is really all about. But if something had happened and that hadn't worked out the way expected, then I would have had to have gone off and and I, in fact, I did talk to school officials about the fact that these dogs were doing that. And I don't even remember whether anybody did anything, but I know I was also a day or so later going into one of the the buildings. Before he got inside, there was a guy I knew who was in a wheelchair, and another dog did come up and started to try to attack squire, this guy with in the wheelchair, pulled one of the arms off his chair and just lambasted the dog right across the head, made him back up. Yeah, you know. But it was that people shouldn't be doing what they allowed their dog. You know, shouldn't be doing that, but. But the bottom line is, it's still a lesson that you don't let yourself be bullied. Yeah, yep, and there's no need to do that, but it is a it's a pretty fascinating thing to to see and to deal with, but it's all about preparation. And again, if we teach ourselves to think strategically and develop that skill, it becomes just second nature to do it, which is, unfortunately, what we don't learn. Alex Fullick ** 36:48 Yeah, I didn't know that as a kid, because when I was a little kid and first came to Canada, especially, I was bullied because, well, I had a funny voice. Michael Hingson ** 36:57 You did? You don't have that anymore, by the way, no, Alex Fullick ** 37:01 if I, if I'm with my mom or relatives, especially when I'm back in England, words will start coming back. Yeah, there are words that I do say differently, garage or garage, yeah. You know, I hate garage, but garage, yeah, I still say some words like that, Michael Hingson ** 37:18 or process, as opposed to process. Alex Fullick ** 37:21 Yeah, so, you know, there's something like that, but as a kid, I was bullied and I there was, was no talk of mindset or how to deal with it. It's either put up with it or, you know, you really couldn't turn to anybody back then, because nobody really knew themselves how to deal with it. Yeah, bullies had always been around. They were always in the playground. So the the mechanisms to deal with it weren't there either. It wasn't till much later that I'm able to to deal with that if someone said some of the things now, right away, I can turn around because I've trained myself to have a different mindset and say that, no, that's unacceptable. You can't talk to that person, or you can't talk to me that way. Yeah, you know, if you say it again, I will, you know, call the police or whatever. Never anything where I'm going to punch you in the chin, you know, or something like that. Never. That doesn't solve anything. No, stand up saying, you know, no, I'm not going to accept that. You know, which is easier now, and maybe that just comes with age or something, I don't know, but back then, no, it was, you know, that that kind of mechanism to deal with it, or finding that inner strength and mindset to do that wasn't there, Michael Hingson ** 38:43 right? But when you started to work on developing that mindset, the more you worked on it, the easier it became to make it happen. Yep, agreed. And so now it's a way of life, and it's something that I think we all really could learn and should learn. And my book live like a guide dog is really all about that developing that mindset to control fear. And I just think it's so important that we really deal with it. And you know, in this country right now, we've got a government administration that's all about chaos and fear, and unfortunately, not nearly enough people have learned how to deal with that, which is too bad, yep, although, Alex Fullick ** 39:30 go ahead, I was going to say it's a shame that, you know, some a lot of people haven't learned how to deal with that. Part of it, again, is we don't teach that as well. So sometimes the only thing some people know is fear and bullying, because that's all they've experienced, yeah, either as the bully or being bullied. So they they don't see anything different. So when it happens on a scale, what we see right now it. It's, well, that's normal, yeah, it's not normal, actually. You know, it's not something we should be doing. You know, you should be able to stand up to your bully, or stand up when you see something wrong, you know, and help because it's human nature to want to help other people. You know, there's been so many accidents people falling, or you'll need their snow removed, where I am, and people jump in and help, yeah? You know, without sometimes, a lot of times, they don't even ask. It's like, oh, let me give you a hand, Michael Hingson ** 40:33 yeah. And we had that when we lived in New Jersey, like snow removal. We had a Boy Scout who started a business, and every year he'd come around and clear everybody's snow. He cleared our snow. He said, I am absolutely happy to do it. We we wanted to pay him for it, but he was, he was great, and we always had a nice, clean driveway. But you know, the other side of this whole issue with the mindset is if we take it in a more positive direction, look at people like Sully Sullenberger, the pilot and the airplane on the Hudson, how he stayed focused. He had developed the mindset and stayed focused so that he could deal with that airplane. That doesn't mean that he wasn't afraid and had concerns, but he was able to do something that was was definitely pretty fantastic, because he kept his cool, yeah, Alex Fullick ** 41:23 I think he knew, and others in other situations know that if you're freaking out yourself, you're not going to fix the issue, you're going to make it worse. We see that in Hollywood tends to do that a lot. In their movies, there's always a character who's flipping out, you know, panicking, going crazy and making everything worse. Well, that does happen, you know, if you act that way, you're not going to resolve your situation, whatever you find yourself in, you know. And I tell people that in business continuity when we're having meetings, well, we'll figure it out when it happens. No, you don't know how you'll behave. You don't know how you'll respond when, oh, I don't know an active shooter or something. You have no idea when you hear that someone you know just got shot down in the lobby. Are you going to tell me you're going to be calm? You sorry? You know you're going to be calm and just okay, yeah, we can deal with it. No, you're going to get a wave of panic, yeah, or other emotions coming over you, you know. And you have to have that mindset. You can still be panicked and upset and freaked out, or however you want to describe that, but you know, I have to stay in control. I can't let that fear take over, or I'm going to get myself in that situation as well. Yeah, I have to be able to manage it. Okay, what do I have to do? I gotta go hide. You know, I'm not saying you're not sweating, you know, with nervousness like that, but you understand, gotta think beyond this if I want to get out of this situation. You know, I'm going to take these people that are sitting with me, we're going to go lock ourselves in the storage closet, or, you know, whatever, right? But have that wherewithal to be able to understand that and, you know, be be safe, you know, but freaking out, you're only contributing to the situation, and then you end up freaking out other people and getting them panicked. Course, you do. They're not, you know, they don't have the right mindset to deal with issues. And then you've got everyone going in every direction, nobody's helping each other. And then you're creating, you know, bigger issues, and Michael Hingson ** 43:37 you lose more lives, and you create more catastrophes all the way around. I remember when I was going down the stairs at the World Trade Center, I kept telling Roselle what a good job she was doing, good girl. And I did that for a couple of reasons. The main reason was I wanted her to know that I was okay and I'm not going to be influenced by fear. But I wanted her to feel comfortable what what happened, though, as a result of that, and was a lesson for me. I got contacted several years later one time, specifically when I went to Kansas City to do a speech, and a woman said she wanted to come and hear me because she had come into the stairwell just after, or as we were passing her floor, which was, I think, the 54th floor. Then she said, I heard you just praising your dog and being very calm. And she said, I and other people just decided we're going to follow you down the stairs. And it was, it was a great lesson to understand that staying focused, no matter what the fear level was, really otherwise, staying focused and encouraging was a much more positive thing to do, and today, people still don't imagine how, in a sense, comet was going down the stairs, which doesn't mean that people weren't afraid. But several of us worked to really keep panic out of the stairwell as we were going down. My friend David did he panicked, but then he. He walked a floor below me and started shouting up to me whatever he saw on the stairwell, and that was really for his benefit. He said to have something to do other than thinking about what was going on, because he was getting pretty scared about it. But what David did by shouting up to me was he acted as a focal point for anyone on the stairs who could hear him, and they would hear him say things like, Hey, Mike, I'm at the 43rd floor. All's good here. Everyone who could hear him had someone on the stairs who was focused, sounded calm, and that they could listen to to know that everybody was okay, which was so cool, and Alex Fullick ** 45:38 that that probably helped them realize, okay, we're in the right direction. We're going the right way. Someone is, you know, sending a positive comments. So if, if we've got, you know, three, if he's three floors below us, we know at least on the next three floors, everything is okay. Michael Hingson ** 45:56 Well, even if they didn't know where he wasn't right, but even if he they didn't know where he was in relation to them, the fact is, they heard somebody on the stairs saying, I'm okay, yeah, whether he felt it, he did sound it all the way down the stairs. Yeah, and I know that he was panicking, because he did it originally, but he got over that. I snapped at him. I just said, Stop it, David, if Rosell and I can go down these stairs, so can you. And then he did. He focused, and I'm sure that he had to have helped 1000s of people going down the stairs, and helped with his words, keeping them calm. Alex Fullick ** 46:32 Yeah, yeah. It makes a difference, you know. Like I said earlier, you doesn't mean you're still not afraid. Doesn't mean that, you know, you're not aware of the negative situation around you. It's and you can't change it, but you can change, like I said earlier, you can change how you respond to it. You can be in control that way, right? And that's eventually what, what he did, and you you were, you know, you were controlled going downstairs, you know, with with your guide dog, and with all these people following you, and because of the way you were, like, then they were following you, yeah, and they remained calm. It's like there's someone calling up from below who's safe. I can hear that. I'm listening to Michael. He'll tell his dog how well behaved they are. And he's going down calmly. Okay, you know, I can do this. And they start calming down, Michael Hingson ** 47:28 yeah, what's the riskiest thing you've ever done? Oh, word. Must have taken a risk somewhere in the world, other than public speaking. Oh, yeah, public speaking. Alex Fullick ** 47:40 I still get nervous the first minute. I'm still nervous when I go up, but you get used to it after a while. But that first minute, yeah, I'm nervous. Oh, that there's, I have a fear of heights and the so the the two, two things that still surprised me that I did is I climbed the Sydney bridge, Harbor Bridge, and, oh, there's another bridge. Where is it? Is it a Brisbane? They're both in Australia. Anyway. Climb them both and have a fear of heights. But I thought, no, I gotta, I gotta do this. You know, I can't be afraid of this my entire life. And I kept seeing all these people go up there in groups, you know, on tours. And so I said, Okay, I'm going to do this. And I was shaking nervous like crazy, and went, What if I fall off, you know, and there's so many different measures in place for to keep you safe. But that that was risky, you know, for me, it felt risky. I was exhilarated when I did it. Though, would you do it again? Oh, yeah, in a heartbeat. Now, there you go. I'm still afraid of heights, but I would do that again because I just felt fantastic. The other I guess going out and being self employed years ago was another risky thing. I had no idea, you know about incorporating myself, and, you know, submitting taxes, you know, business taxes, and, you know, government documents and all this and that, and invoicing and things like that. I had no idea about that. So that was kind of risky, because I had no idea how long I'd be doing it. Well, I started in what 2007, 2007, I think so, 18 years, yeah, so now it's like, I can't imagine myself not doing it, you know, so I'm but I'm always willing to try something new these days. You know, even starting the podcast seven and a half years ago was risky, right? I had no idea. Nobody was talking about my industry or resilience or business continuity or anything back then, I was the first one doing it, and I'm the longest one doing it. Um, I've outlived a lot of people who thought they could do it. I'm still going. So that started out risky, but now I. Imagine not doing it, yeah, you know. And you know, it's, you know, I guess it's, it's just fun to keep trying new things. You know, I keep growing and, you know, I've got other plans in the works. I can't give anything away, but, you know, I've got other plans to try. And they'll, they'll be risky as well. But it's like, Michael Hingson ** 50:21 no, let's go for it. Have you ever done skydiving or anything like that? No, I haven't done that. I haven't either. I know some blind people who have, but I just, I've never done that. I wouldn't Alex Fullick ** 50:32 mind it. It's that might be one of those lines where should I? I'm not sure about this one, you know, but it is something that I I think I wouldn't do it on my own. I think I would have to be one of those people who's connected with someone else, with someone Michael Hingson ** 50:51 else, and that's usually the way blind people do it, needless to say, but, and that's fine, I just have never done it. I haven't ever had a need to do it, but I know I can sit here and say, I'm not afraid to do it. That is, I could do it if it came along, if there was a need to do it, but I don't. I don't have a great need to make that happen. But you know, I've had enough challenges in my life. As I tell people, I think I learned how to deal with surprises pretty early, because I've been to a lot of cities and like, like Boston used to have a rep of being a very accident prone city. Just the way people drive, I could start to cross the street and suddenly I hear a car coming around the corner, and I have to move one way or the other and draw a conclusion very quickly. Do I back up or do I go forward? Because the car is not doing what it's supposed to do, which is to stop, and I have to deal with that. So I think those kinds of experiences have helped me learn to deal with surprise a little bit too. Alex Fullick ** 51:52 Yeah, well, with the skydiving, I don't think I'd go out of my way to do it, but exactly came along, I think I would, you know, just for the thrill of saying, I did it, Michael Hingson ** 52:03 I did it, yeah, I went ice skating once, and I sprained my ankle as we were coming off the ice after being on the ice for three hours. And I haven't gone ice skating again since. I'm not really afraid to, but I don't need to do it. I've done it. I understand what it feels like. Yeah, yeah. So it's okay. Have you had any really significant aha moments in your life, things that just suddenly, something happened and went, Ah, that's that's what that is, or whatever. Alex Fullick ** 52:30 Well, it does happen at work a lot, dealing with clients and people provide different perspectives, and you just, Oh, that's interesting, though, that happens all the time. Aha moments. Sometimes they're not always good. Aha moments, yeah, like the one I always remember that the most is when I wrote my first book, heads in the sand. I was so proud of it, and, you know, excited and sent off all these letters and marketing material to all the chambers of commerce across Canada, you know, thinking that, you know, everyone's going to want me to speak or present or buy my book. Well, ah, it doesn't happen that way. You know, I got no responses. But that didn't stop me from writing seven more books and working on nine. Now, there you go, but it was that was kind of a negative aha moment so, but I just learned, okay, that's not the way I should be doing that. Michael Hingson ** 53:34 Put you in your place, but that's fair. I kind Alex Fullick ** 53:37 of, I laugh at it now, a joke, but you know, aha, things you know, I You never know when they're going to happen. Michael Hingson ** 53:47 No, that's why they're Aha, yeah. Alex Fullick ** 53:51 And one of one, I guess another one would have been when I worked out first went out on my own. I had a manager who kept pushing me like, go, go work for yourself. You know this better than a lot of other people. Go, go do this. And I was too nervous. And then I got a phone call from a recruiting agency who was offering me a role to do where I wanted to take this company, but that I was working for full time for that weren't ready to go. They weren't ready yet. And it was kind of an aha moment of, do I stay where I am and maybe not be happy? Or have I just been given an opportunity to go forward? So when I looked at it that way, it did become an aha moment, like, Ah, here's my path forward. Yeah, so, you know. And that was way back in 2007 or or so somewhere around there, you know. So the aha moments can be good. They can be bad, and, you know, but as long as you learn from them, that's exactly Michael Hingson ** 54:57 right. The that's the neat thing about. Aha moments. You don't expect them, but they're some of the best learning opportunities that you'll ever get. Alex Fullick ** 55:06 Yeah, yeah, I agree completely, because you never know that. That's the nice thing, and I think that's also part of what I do when I'm working with so many different people of different levels is they all have different experiences. They all have different backgrounds. You they can all be CEOs, but they all come from a different direction and different backgrounds. So they're all going to be offering something new that's going to make you sit there and go, Oh, yeah. And thought of that before, Michael Hingson ** 55:38 yeah. So that's, that's so cool, yeah, Alex Fullick ** 55:42 but you have to, you know, be able to listen and pick up on those kind of things. Michael Hingson ** 55:46 But you've been very successful. What are some of the secrets of success that that that you've discovered, or that you put to use? Alex Fullick ** 55:55 For me, I'll put it bluntly, shut up and listen. Michael Hingson ** 55:59 There you are. Yeah. Well, that is so true. That's true. Yeah. Alex Fullick ** 56:03 I think I've learned more by just using my two ears rather than my one mouth, instead of telling people everything they you should be doing. And you know, this is what I think you should do. And like talking at people, it's so much better just talk with people, and then they'll, even if you're trying to, you know, really, really, really, get them to see your side, they will come onto your side easier and probably better if you let them realize it themselves. So you just listen, and you ask the odd probing question, and eventually comes around, goes, Oh, yeah, I get it. What you mean now by doing this and going, Yeah, that's where I was going. I guess I just wasn't saying it right, you know. And have being humble enough to, you know, even though I, I know I did say it right, maybe I just wasn't saying it right to that person, to that person, yeah, right way. So listening to them, and, you know, I think, is one of the big keys to success for me, it has, you know, and I've learned twice as much that way. And maybe that's why I enjoy answering people on the podcast, is because I ask a couple of questions and then just let people talk, Michael Hingson ** 57:18 which is what makes it fun. Yeah, Alex Fullick ** 57:21 yeah. It's sometimes it's fun to just sit there, not say anything, just let someone else do all the talking. Michael Hingson ** 57:29 What you know your industry is, I would assume, evolved and changed over the years. What are some of the major changes, some of the ways that the industry has evolved. You've been in it a long time, and certainly, business continuity, disaster recovery, whatever you want to call it, has, in some sense, has become a little bit more of a visible thing, although I think people, as both said earlier, ignore it a lot. But how's the industry changed over time? Alex Fullick ** 57:54 Well, when I started, it was before y 2k, yes, 96 and back then, when I first started, everything was it focused. If your mainframe went down, your computer broke. That's the direction everyone came from. And then it was you added business continuity on top of that. Okay, now, what do we do with our business operations. You know, other things we can do manually while they fix the computer or rebuild the mainframe. And then it went to, okay, well, let's bring in, you know, our help desk. You know, who people call I've got a problem with a computer, and here's our priority and severity. Okay, so we'll get, we'll respond to your query in 12 hours, because it's only one person, but if there's 10 people who have the issue, now it becomes six hours and bringing in those different aspects. So we went from it disaster recovery to business continuity to then bringing in other disciplines and linking to them, like emergency management, crisis management, business continuity, incident management, cyber, information security. Now we've got business continuity management, you know, bringing all these different teams together and now, or at least on some level, not really integrating very well with each other, but just having an awareness of each other, then we've moved to operational resilience, and again, that buzzword where all these teams do have to work together and understand what each other is delivering and the value of each of them. And so it just keeps growing in that direction where it started off with rebuild a mainframe to getting everybody working together to keep your operations going, to keep your partners happy, to keep your customers happy. You know, ensuring life safety is priority number one. When, when I started, life safety was, wasn't really thrown into the business continuity realm that much. It was always the focus on the business. So the these. The sky, the size and scope has gotten a lot bigger and more encompassing of other areas. And I wouldn't necessarily all call that business continuity, you know it, but it is. I see business continuity as a the hub and a wheel, rather than a spoke, to bring all the different teams together to help them understand, you know, hey, here's, here's how you've Incident Management, you know, help desk, service desk, here's how you help the Disaster Recovery Team. Here's how you can help the cyber team. Cyber, here's how you can actually help this team, you know, and being able to understand. And that's where the biggest change of things is going is now, more and more people are understanding how they really need to work together, rather than a silo, which you know, a lot of organizations still do, but it's those walls are starting to come down, because they can understand no One can do it alone. You have to work together with your internal departments, leadership, data analysts, who have to be able to figure out how to rebuild data, or your third parties. We need to talk with them. We have to have a relationship with them our supply chain, and understand where they're going, what they have in place, if we or they experience something. So it's definitely grown in size and scope Michael Hingson ** 1:01:27 well, and we're seeing enough challenges that I think some people are catching on to the fact that they have to learn to work together, and they have to think in a broader base than they have in the past, and that's probably a good thing. Yeah, well, if, if you had the opportunity, what would you tell the younger Alex? Alex Fullick ** 1:01:50 Run, run for the hills. Yeah, really, no, seriously, I kind of mentioned a couple of them already. Don't sweat the small things. You know, sometimes, yeah, and I think that comes down to our mindset thing as well. You know, understand your priorities and what's important. If it's not a priority or important, don't sweat it. Don't be afraid to take risks if you if you do your planning, whether it be jumping out of a plane or whatever, you know the first thing you want to do is what safety measures are in place to ensure that my jump will be successful. You know, those kind of things. Once you understand that, then you can make knowledgeable decisions. Don't be afraid to take those risks. And it's one of the big things. It's it's okay to fail, like I said about the book thing where you all those that marketing material I sent out, it's okay to fail. Learn from it. Move on. I can laugh at those kind of things now. You know, for years, I couldn't I was really like, oh my god, what I do wrong? It's like, No, I didn't do anything wrong. It just wasn't the right time. Didn't do it the right way. Okay, fine, move on. You know, you know, don't be afraid to fail. If, if you, if you fail and get up, well then is it really a failure? You learned, you got back up and you kept going. And that's the part of resilience too, right? Yeah, if you trip and fall, you get up and keep going. But if you trip and fall and stay down, well then maybe you are Michael Hingson ** 1:03:30 failing. That's the failure. I mean, the reality is that it isn't failure if you learn from it and move on. It was something that set you back, but that's okay, yeah, Alex Fullick ** 1:03:41 my my favorite band, Marillion, has a line in one of their songs rich. Failure isn't about falling down. Failure is staying down. Yeah, Michael Hingson ** 1:03:50 I would agree with that. Completely agree Alex Fullick ** 1:03:53 with it. He'll stand by it. W
Reach Out Via Text!In this vulnerable and insightful episode, Jeremiah Jennings shares the full story behind the rise and closure of Brighter Bins, a trash can cleaning side hustle he started alongside Growing Green Landscapes. He walks through why the business launched, the operational challenges they faced, and ultimately, the hard but healthy decision to shut it down. Jeremiah opens up about ego, profit distractions, customer misalignment, and what every business owner needs to consider before chasing a new opportunity. This episode is packed with lessons on focus, humility, and knowing when to walk away so you can build the right thing the right way.Support the show 10% off LMN Software- https://lmncompany.partnerlinks.io/growinggreenpodcast Signup for our Newsletter- https://mailchi.mp/942ae158aff5/newsletter-signup Book A Consult Call-https://stan.store/GrowingGreenPodcast Lawntrepreneur Academy-https://www.lawntrepreneuracademy.com/ The Landscaping Bookkeeper-https://thelandscapingbookkeeper.com/ Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/growinggreenlandscapes/ Email-ggreenlandscapes@gmail.com Growing Green Website- https://www.growinggreenlandscapes.com/
Avery Pennarun raised $160M for Tailscale—without even meaning to. What started as a small, simple project exploded into an unstoppable force in network connectivity and security. This episode reveals exactly how Avery turned a tiny seed round into millions of dollars in ARR, powered by nothing more than word-of-mouth and an obsession with solving everyday developer headaches. Learn why your startup idea is probably wrong (and why that's okay), how Tailscale found explosive product-market fit, and why the biggest opportunities are hiding in the “smallest” problems. If you're an early-stage founder looking for practical insights, game-changing growth hacks, and lessons from someone who's been through it all, this is the episode you can't miss.Why You Should ListenLearn how Avery grew Tailscale from zero to millions in revenue purely through word-of-mouth.Discover why chasing enterprise deals too early might actually slow you down.Find out why solving “small, simple” problems can lead to billion-dollar outcomes.Hear the counterintuitive reason why your product failing early users is actually a huge advantage.Understand how Tailscale turned COVID lockdown into an explosive growth opportunity.Podcast Keywordsproduct market fit, startup growth, product-led growth, Tailscale, word-of-mouth growth, startup fundraising, developer tools, network security, B2B SaaS, early-stage founder advice(00:00:00) How Tailscale Raised $160M Without Chasing Investors(00:01:48) Building a Billion-Dollar Idea From Scratch(00:05:18) How to Find Real Problems Worth Solving(00:13:14) Landing the Critical First Customer(00:22:25) Why Great Founders Start Small, Not Big(00:28:33) Turning Bottom-Up Adoption into Enterprise Deals(00:36:55) Growing from Zero to $1M+ ARR Through Word-of-Mouth(00:46:16) When Avery Knew Tailscale Had Product Market Fit(00:48:27) Avery's Most Important Advice for Early-Stage FoundersSend me a message to let me know what you think!
In episode 56 of Video Brand Infusion, I sat down with Video Brand Academy member Alexandra Jeffert, who has grown her YouTube channel from zero to 1,100 subscribers in just one year (yep—one year!).Alexandra started with super simple gear—just her phone—and carved out a niche in the manifestation space, helping people manifest love. We talked about the viral video that really took off for her, the SEO and thumbnail strategies that helped her ride that wave, and how YouTube has become the #1 driver of sales for her courses and membership.We also got into the nitty-gritty of her recording setup, how she juggles creating content across multiple platforms (because yes, that can get overwhelming), and what she's planning next for her channel and her business. ▶︎ Alexandra's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@alexandrabellerose/ ✨ Cringe or Binge: How does your channel rank? Download the VBA app to analyze your channel in 1 simple step. It's free! https://videobrand.link/app
Send us a textUnlocking Medium Success: Building an Audience and Monetizing Your ContentGrab a Copy of the Build Your Audience Book: https://platformgrowthbooks.comIn this episode of the Market Your Message Show, Jonathan Milligan dives into hidden opportunities within Medium.com, a platform for thinkers and storytellers. The discussion revolves around Benjamin Hardy's journey from having no audience to gaining 20,000 subscribers in just six months. The episode outlines key strategies for thriving on Medium, including focusing on quality content, leveraging Medium's unique ecosystem, and engaging with its community. Jonathan also provides valuable tips from his book, 'Your Message Matters,' on successfully building an audience and creating impactful content on Medium. Listeners are encouraged to follow along with the book, which is available for free as an audiobook.00:00 From Obscurity to 20,000 Subscribers: Benjamin Hardy's Journey00:28 Introduction to Medium: A Platform for Thinkers and Storytellers01:27 The Medium Traffic Playbook: Chapter 11 Overview01:35 Benjamin Hardy's Medium Success Story03:02 Understanding Medium's Unique Audience03:28 Avoiding Common Mistakes on Medium05:45 Adopting the Thought Leader Mindset06:41 Your Medium Success Roadmap09:46 Today's Exercise: Analyzing Popular Medium Articles11:37 Key Takeaways and Conclusion
Are you trying to show up everywhere just to grow your business? You feel the pressure. The constant hustle. Posting to stay relevant. Afraid to put your phone down in case you miss something. Or worse, lose clients. I get it. As an online entrepreneur, I truly believed I had to be on all the time. Showing up on every platform, all day, every day. But what if I told you that deleting social media was the very thing that grew my business? In this episode, I'm sharing what happened when I finally followed God's leading and walked away from social media. Spoiler: it didn't kill my business. Instead, it unlocked more peace, more clarity, and more clients than ever before. If you're tired of the pressure and the scroll, and you're craving a different way to do business, one that honors God and actually works, this conversation is for you. Let's talk about the truth behind why stepping away accelerated my growth and helped me build a business that's fully aligned with God's vision. I pray this blesses you! Ready to Make Consistent Income From a Podcast? Join my 5-Day Profitable Podcast Bootcamp! I'll show you how to create a podcast that makes steady income on autopilot—without relying on social media.
On this episode of Ask The Expert, CRS's Visionary Founder Ashley Taylor discusses the company's rapid growth, the rising demand for contents restoration and how CRS is setting new industry standards through transparency and strategic alignment with carriers and TPAs.This episode is brought to you by:
Reneze shares her miraculous birth story and spiritual journey from childhood struggles with rage to finding her purpose through God's transformative love.• Born in Trinidad when doctors said her mother's fibroids made pregnancy impossible• Grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn where Sabbath observance was part of the community• Played with "guardian angels" as a child when feeling alone and isolated• Experienced healing from rage when a teacher responded with compassion rather than punishment• Found strength in Scripture, particularly Matthew 7:7 and Matthew 18:6• Struggled with depression during college despite previous academic success• Discovered her calling in counseling after teaching English in South Korea• Faced health challenges similar to her mother's fibroids• Navigated racial tensions during the pandemic that deepened her understanding of God's work• Found community with Love Reality, reinforcing her belief in transformation through Jesus"God really loves you, really cares. He's never left you or forsaken you and even though it's hard to be steadfast in your beliefs in Him, keep holding on. It gets better. God will answer those prayers. It may not be the next day, but God is working. He's never stopped working."
Mark Diaz Truman is the ENnie award-winning co-founder of Magpie Games, a co-founder of the Indie Game Development Network, the designer of Cartel and Our Last Best Hope, and the co-designer of Urban Shadows, Zombie World, Root: The Roleplaying Game, Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, and more. Since 2011, Mark has led tabletop game projects that raised over 12.5 million dollars on Kickstarter, and he has served as a developer on many award-winning roleplaying games, including Firefly, 7th Sea: 2nd Ed, Masks: A New Generation, and Bluebeard's Bride. He currently manages a team of more than ten full-time creators and support staff as CEO of Magpie Games.It was a true honor to talk to mark, to bond over our weirdness and to even brainstorm a game togther! You will love this chat!Check out Magpie Game!magpiegames.comThank you for listening to Weird Games & Weirder People!Please subscribe to the show to keep up with new episodes!If you would like to support the show, leave a review and/or join the Weirdos' Cool Club! It will help keep the podcast going! It will help me pay collaborators! It will help me do this work more often and better! I will really help! https://buttondown.com/old_skull/archive/join-the-weirdos-cool-club/You can also support me buy buying one of my games!Kosmosaursgot released in print, and it is my RPG inspired by Saturday morning cartoons about Space Dinosaur Rangers defending the galaxy from evildoers! Get your copy right here: https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/kosmosaurs-pdfGet other games of mine on Exalted Funeral: https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/search?q=Diogo+nogueiraOr buy anything at DriveThruRPG using this link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/?affiliate_id=338514Or buy something from my itch store: https://diogo-old-skull.itch.ioSUBSCRIBE TO WEIRD TALES FROM THE OLD SKULL!The place where I share ideas, discoveries, weirdness, and the things I am developing, like new TTRPG books, zines, illustrations and a lot more. Lets get weird!Check out our latest post: https://buttondown.com/old_skull
Robyn Grew is the CEO of Man Group, one of the largest hedge funds in the world, with nearly $170 billion in assets under management. Robyn joins Adam to share her journey and her best lessons and advice. Robyn and Adam discuss a wide range of topics: leadership, career success, authenticity, breaking into and breaking stereotypes in finance, hiring, decision-making, and much more.
What does it take to grow a home organizing business from a one-woman side hustle to the largest operation of its kind in Western New York? In this episode, Tonya Cunningham, founder of Next Chapter Solutions, shares the real behind-the-scenes journey of building a 17-person team—without a business degree, startup capital, or traditional management experience.Entrepreneurs will hear how Tonya:Turned her natural talent into a scalable serviceBuilt a flexible team culture that thrives without burnoutAttracts the right clients by knowing when to say noCreated systems out of chaos to streamline growthUsed family collaboration to spin off multiple aligned businessesWhether you're in the service industry or simply looking to grow with more intention, Tonya's story is packed with practical lessons and fresh perspective on leadership, hiring, and growing a business that reflects your values.Listen in and walk away with clarity, encouragement, and maybe a few ideas to clean up your own operations.
What happens when the life you thought you were building no longer feels like it fits? What if the path that once felt exciting now feels... heavy? In this powerful episode, Lindsay Simcik, host of Almost 30 Podcast, joins Kelsey for a deeply honest and illuminating conversation about evolving through life's biggest transitions.From Saturn Returns to soul journaling to postpartum rediscovery, Lindsay opens up about her own journey of transformation. She shares what it was like to leave behind a version of herself that no longer aligned with who she was becoming and how motherhood became one of her greatest spiritual teachers.Kelsey and Lindsay explore how in their late 20s and early 30s often demand a full-body, soul-level reckoning. Together, they break down why this season of life can feel so intense, how to tell the difference between fear and intuition, and how to build a life that truly reflects you not the one handed to you by society, parents, or past versions of yourself.Lindsay also shares the powerful inner tools she uses to stay grounded and connected like her soul journaling practice and energetic hygiene rituals and talks candidly about redefining success, slowing down in a hustle-driven culture, and learning to honor the natural seasons of life and creativity.Whether you're navigating the chaos of new motherhood, stepping away from something that used to define you, or simply trying to tune back into your inner voice, this episode will leave you feeling seen, soothed, and supported.IN THIS EPISODE, WE ALSO CHAT ABOUT:What the Saturn Return actually is (and why it hits hard in your late 20s)The neuroscience behind feeling more conscious, clear, and emotionally grounded around age 26How to navigate moments when you realize your life isn't alignedThe spiritual power of surrendering to changeLindsay's simple yet transformative practice of “Soul Journaling”Why getting quiet (and off your phone) might be the most revolutionary actHow to read the messages behind your emotions instead of running from themTIMESTAMPS[06:22] The powerful moment Lindsay realized she needed to completely start over[09:47] Why chasing “balance” was actually causing disconnection and resentment[13:01] The unmistakable signs from the universe that pushed her to finally honor her own needs[16:39] A deep dive into what a Saturn Return really means[23:50] How she released old expectations and is courageously rebuilding her life in real time[30:12] A comforting reminder that feeling like your life is “falling apart” is okay[33:45] Embracing the magic and potential that comes with uncertaintyCONNECT WITH KELSEY Thanks for tuning into this episode. All links, events & offers can be found below.Episode show notes can be found on my website |https://www.kelseyreidl.com/podcastThe WAVE™ Mastermind: where Canadian female entrepreneurs scale from 0-10k / months and 10-50k / months. Learn more about our group + explore upcoming events |https://www.kelseyreidl.com/mastermindWork with me 1:1 as your Marketing Consultant |https://www.kelseyreidl.com/visionary-marketing-coachingRank on Page # 1 of Google with Everyday SEO™ |https://kelseyreidl.lpages.co/seo/ Subscribe to our Email Newsletter |www.kelseyreidl.com/dose
The MAC effect is welcoming Tommy Huynh @tommyhuynh He is a husband, a father, a business owner, off road mountain bike rider, and more. Please welcome Tommy with lots of love and bravery to share his story. Tommy lost his father at the age of 12. Grew up knowing about God but hated Him for a very long time due to his fathers passing. He shares how he felt unloved by his mother and family, never really seemed loved in other places, but did seek adrenaline by fighting, breaking the law and following the wrong type of crowd. Which lead him to do some prison time. Crazy right!! To be honest, when be first explained this to me… I said… “Tommy, no way! Not you… you are a peaceful man, a relaxing man, a business owner, and I can see you have it all together'. And Tommy just lough. Not because I said something funny… but because Tommy was realizing how good and far God has brought him. Tommy has his own YouTube channel @tommyhuynh t_wrex_mtb where she shows off his skills and passion. He also owns along with his wife a Vietnamese restaurant called Monarch9 in Yorba Linda, check them out amazing food and atmosphere. I want to thank Tommy for sharing his story but more importantly being brave enough to heal from his past to create the beautiful future he currently has. If you have any questions for Tommy or myself please ask… out information is here and would love to help. Please connect with us, via comments, your stories, what relates and / or what helps you… as we understand we are not alone or the only ones. Help is here for you too. Family and friends I ask for a favor, please feel free to comment, share, like, subscribe and turn on notifications! My email is Themaceffect19@gmail.com for all questions and inquiries. I promise you this will bless you. How do I know, because my God word is never void. My (our) prayer for this season 5, Dear God, gives us the wisdom to hear and listen with attention, patience and the will to accept what is for me (us). I ask that you develop and grow me (us) as individuals, so that I (we) can be of a blessings to those around us, family, friends and all relationships in between. I have faith and strongly believe this season 5 will be of impact and create memorable moments. Bring… change, challenge, and healing. The MAC Effect is in your hands, grow it, use it, this is yours. I pray for the mission statement to be: “Helping / Leading hurt people, to hope. In heart, mind, body and spirit” but open to change if you please to do so. I pray all this in Jesus Christ name, Amen' I want to thank all my guest in advance for the love and time gifted to this podcast, as all is a direct blessing and healing to my inner child, and others. Amen' #Themaceffect #maceffect #mac #mikecampos6 #god #love #hope #faith #joy #question #hurtpeople #hurt #healing #healpeople #healingmind #healingbody #heartofgold #healingspirit #morals #chorebelieves #growingpain #thewilltofight #keepgoing #youhavepurpose #awakening #understanding #building #fundamentals #ihaveaquestion #iwanttolearn #growing #growingpains #letsgetitright #nottoday #nottodaysatan #jesuschrist #inJesusname #lovealwayswins #peace #letsgetit #testing #learning #process #developing #maturing #fatherhood #motherhood #husband #wife #partnership #equals #tildeath #god #processing #process #guest #podcast #shorts #growth #development #growth #purpose #will #plans #goals #challange #opportunity #welcoming #bringit #letgoletgo #lakersin5
Are you chasing your first passive income dollar or scaling your portfolio? If you're looking for fresh strategies and powerful reminders about building lasting wealth, this episode proves that it's more than just numbers–it's about the people, knowledge, and actions behind the scenes.Today, Russ and Joey share their latest insights, connections, and investments fueling their passive income journey. They discuss how building and nurturing relationships opens doors to exclusive investment opportunities and why tracking key performance indicators beyond just returns is vital. In addition, they dive into innovative ideas like fractionalized home ownership as a creative way to unlock liquidity in second homes, and the concept of premium funding for high-net-worth investors.Tune in for inspiration on how consistent action, learning, and relationship-building multiply your passive income streams.Top three things you will learn: -How networking unlocks exclusive investment deals-Why ongoing learning sharpens your investor mindset-Updates on land sales, vehicle rentals, and digital assetsApril 2025 Income At-A-Glance: -Gross Income for April: $56,934.29-Total Expenses for April: $16,462.04-Total Net Profit for April: $40,472.26-Difference b/t March & April: ($11,841.04)-% of net profit to overall gross revenue: 71%Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely those of the hosts and guests and do not constitute financial advice. Always consult a licensed professional for financial decisions.This episode is sponsored by a podcast show partner. We may receive compensation if you use links or services mentioned in this episode.The hosts may have a financial interest in the programs or services mentioned in this episode.For Accredited Investors Who Want to Invest With Us:-Email: info@wealthwithoutwallstreet.com (Reply: Accredited)Turn Active Income Into Passive Income:-https://wealthwithoutwallstreet.com/piosThe Simplest Passive Income Business You've Never Heard Of:-https://go.wealthwithoutwallstreet.com/thesimplestbizBook Your Free Passive Income Game Plan Session:-https://wealthwithoutwallstreet.com/freecallWant to raise millionaire kids? Watch how Sharran Srivatsaa — former Goldman Sachs banker turned entrepreneur and investor — is building a generational wealth system with his kids, step-by-step. -https://go.wealthwithoutwallstreet.com/millionaire-kidsLearn How to Invest in Real Estate with The Land Geek:-https://thelandgeek.com/Join the Inner Circle Live Waitlist:-https://www.wealthwithoutwallstreet.com/liveIBC Webinar:-https://wealthwithoutwallstreet.com/ibcWealth Without Wall Street New...
We're onto episode 2 of our 3-part series specifically for handmade and product-based small business owners who want to create ANOTHER revenue stream in their business... through digital products.In this episode, you'll hear from Lindsay, the owner of A Touch of LA. From the beginning of her business journey, she knew she wanted to diversify her revenue streams. She started selling customized party decor on Etsy and then pivoted to selling printable party decor that her customers would customize on their own… and grew her Etsy shop to over 13,000 in sales. She then diversified her revenue streams further by launching a digital product course where she teaches other small business owners how to run a successful Etsy printable business. She has over 300 members in her program, with her program ranging from $197 - $497, which is a revenue stream that has brought in an additional $50K+ from leveraging her experience!In this episode, you'll learn:- How diversification is the only way to create real security in business- How teaching what you've mastered can open doors to additional revenue in your business- How to overcome imposter syndrome in order to grow in new ways- That your existing knowledge may be more valuable than you think… and can be something you can monetize to bring in more income and more security Lindsay Ashworth started her business selling handmade party decorations on Etsy, after she got burnt out, she switched to printables and never looked back. Since then, she has taught women how to make printables as well as coaching creative business owners to grow their businesses so they can make an income online.LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODEFollow Lindsay on Instagram @lindsay_ashworthRegister for THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL CEO free training on how to start and grow a digital product businessLEARN MORE FROM MONICA LITTLEWebsite: www.monicalittlecoaching.comInstagram: @monicalittlecoachingJoin the Product Biz Academy waitlist to be first notified when doors open
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Stephanie Stuckey. The chair of Stuckey’s, a historic snack and candy company. She shares her journey of revitalizing the brand, her family’s legacy, and the importance of entrepreneurship and branding.
#WillSmith got some special advice! Meanwhile, #Redman reveals he & #MethodMan have grown apart.
BlueCollar.CEO –Ray Stubbs is the Owner and President of Tru North Heating & Air, an HVAC repair shop he purchased in 2020. Under his leadership, Tru North has scaled from $400,000 to $4 million. With 16 years of experience in home sales, Ray worked with four $100+ million remodeling companies, including Power HRG, Bath Fitters, Empire Today, and The Solid Wood Cabinet Company. In this episode, Ryan and Ray discuss how Ray's focus on people allowed him to scale his business to new heights.Blue Collar CEO is a podcast that is all about helping you build a better, more profitable, more sustainable & kick-ass home service business. Join Levergy® CEO Ryan Redding each week who will be joined by industry experts who will break down their success stories and give their best-kept secrets for industry domination. You do not want to miss it! Learn more at https://www.bluecollar.ceo/, or https://www.levergy.io.
Episode 153: Grab the Ultimate Ad Script right HERE - https://join.digitaltrailblazer.com/ultimate-ad-script Many successful business owners find the coveted time-freedom promise to be elusive. They've traded a 40 hour per week job for an 80 hour per week business.Many online business owners who've managed to grow to 7 figures or more struggle to hand over even the smallest tasks in their business to hired help because they're afraid of things not getting done right and then losing revenue.In this episode, Jake Setterlun tells us how he's strategically built teams to scale multiple marketing agencies to the 7 figure mark while only working 15 hours per week himself.About Jake Setterlun: Jake is a 28-year-old entrepreneur from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who began his business journey at the age of 19 while navigating college and searching for his life's direction.Along the way, he has experienced both remarkable successes and significant setbacks, including failed ventures, scaling to million-dollar months, losing it all, and rebuilding from scratch. These experiences have given Jake a unique and diverse perspective on business and starting from the ground up.His businesses have been featured in Inc., Yahoo Finance, and Influencive and were recognized with the prestigious 2024 Inc. 5000 award for being the fastest-growing marketing company.Connect with Jake:https://jakesetterlun.com/ https://www.instagram.com/optimizedjake https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakesetterlun/ https://www.youtube.com/@jakesetterlun https://www.facebook.com/optimizedjakeGrab the Ultimate Ad Script right HERE - https://join.digitaltrailblazer.com/ultimate-ad-script✅ Connect With Us:Website - https://DigitalTrailblazer.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/digitaltrailblazerTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@digitaltrailblazerTwitter: https://twitter.com/DgtlTrailblazerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/DigitalTrailblazer
Gabriel Kaam shares his entrepreneurial journey from web developer to founder of a luxury e-commerce agency serving prestigious brands like Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and L'Oreal Paris. His specialized approach to helping fashion, beauty, and luxury brands perform better in e-commerce has created a niche that even the largest agencies can't fill.• Founded agency in 2016 after turning his passion for web development into a career• Grew exclusively through referrals rather than cold outreach, which rarely works in the luxury sector• Created a specialized service helping luxury brands create immersive online experiences on enterprise platforms• Positioned his small agency as an advantage rather than limitation when working with prestigious brands• Scaled gradually from solo work to interns to freelancers to building a core team• Found success by focusing on one service rather than trying to do everything• Built sustainability through retainer relationships rather than one-off projects• Recommends transparency in pricing when working with luxury clients• Advises entrepreneurs to start with adjacent markets to luxury before targeting top-tier brands• Values organic growth over rapid expansion to maintain quality and avoid painful contractionsCheck us out online for more episodes about entrepreneurial journeys from zero to success. This episode is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something.===========================⚡️PODCAST: Subscribe to our podcast here ➡ https://elevatemedia.buzzsprout.com/⚡️Need post-recording video production help? Let's chat ➡ https://calendly.com/elevate-media-group/application⚡️For Support inquires or Business inquiries, please email us at ➡︎ support@elevate-media-group.comOur mission here at Elevate Media is to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs elevate their brands and make an impact through the power of video podcasting.Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all our episodes or videos on the Elevate Media and Elevate Media Podcast YouTube channels. https://elevatemediastudios.com/disclaimer
Dax built Lightspeed into a $1B ARR public company—even though he bootstrapped for the first 7 years. In this episode, he reveals exactly how he used a 4x pricing shift to create a global reseller machine that grew him to $10M ARR. He also breaks down why obsessing over design and deep customer empathy built the foundation for success.—and how stepping away from his comfort zone as an introverted developer was the key to scale. If you're an early-stage founder trying to nail pricing, distribution, and long-term strategic decisions, this story is your playbook.Why You Should ListenLearn how to price your product to build a distribution machine.Why early profitability can make your startup unstoppable.How bootstrapping forces clarity—and can unlock massive scale.Why the hardest move for founders is often letting go of what they're best at.Why giving away titles and equity too soon is a trap.Keywordsproduct market fit, pricing strategy, bootstrapping, reseller partnerships, early-stage startups, go-to-market strategy, startup scaling, founder lessons, Lightspeed POS, profitability00:00:00 Intro00:07:56 Landing the First Customers Without a Product00:11:28 The Pricing Strategy that Changed Everything00:19:20 Growth Through Partnerships00:26:18 Why a Business Plan Can Actually Help00:34:33 Profitable from Day One00:42:15 From On-Premise to the Cloud00:46:59 Finding Product-Market Fit00:49:15 The Truth About Early Employees and Equity00:53:18 Reinventing Your Role as Founder Every YearSend me a message to let me know what you think!
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dr. Shaan Patel, founder and CEO of Prep Expert, a leading online test prep company. The conversation explores Patel’s journey from struggling test-taker to perfect SAT scorer, bestselling author, and successful entrepreneur. He shares how his personal experience inspired a mission to help students unlock scholarship opportunities and academic success.
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dr. Shaan Patel, founder and CEO of Prep Expert, a leading online test prep company. The conversation explores Patel’s journey from struggling test-taker to perfect SAT scorer, bestselling author, and successful entrepreneur. He shares how his personal experience inspired a mission to help students unlock scholarship opportunities and academic success.
We are kicking off a brand NEW 3-part series specifically for handmade and product-based small business owners who want to creare ANTOHER revenue stream in their business... through digital products.Our first guest is Kristin from Hillside Studio, a successful polymer clay earring maker who built a thriving handmade earring business — and THEN scaled her expertise by creating an online membership that now brings in an additional $2,000/month, where she teaches others how to make polymer clay earrings themselves.By the end of this episode, you'll hear:How to know when your handmade business is READY to branch into digital offersThe steps Kristin took to create a low-ticket, high-value digital membershipHow to repurpose your existing knowledge into tutorials, templates, or other digital productsThe tools Kristin used to build, host, and grow her membership platformHow digital products can help you build financial stability beyond physical inventory/physical productsSmart, simple ways to market and grow your digital product alongside your handmade businessWhy teaching your craft can be both profitable and creatively fulfillingKristin is a polymer clay artist and handmade business coach. She started her business- Hillside Studio - in a little closet in her basement in 2015. Over the last 10 years, it has grown into more than she could have imagined and now she spends her days creating unique jewelry, filming tutorials and guiding other handmade business owners to thier dream lives.Ready to create your own digital product revenue stream? Enroll in THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL CEO training with my own coach AND Kristin's coach who has helped us both create digital products so you, too, can learn what it takes to get started with your own additional revenue stream of digital products.LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODEFollow Kristin on Instagram @shophillsidestudioRegister for THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL CEO free training on how to start and grow a digital product businessLEARN MORE FROM MONICA LITTLEWebsite: www.monicalittlecoaching.comInstagram: @monicalittlecoachingJoin the Product Biz Academy waitlist to be first notified when doors open
INTELLIGEMSIntelligems is the ultimate profit-optimization tool for DTC brands. Use it for all of your CRO efforts by visiting https://intelligems.io.WORKSPACE6Workspace6 is a private community for 7, 8 & 9 figure+ eCommerce operators and executives. Join for just $1 for your first month and no annual commitments at https://workspace6.io. //Sam Mendelsohn is the co-founder of Workspace6, the co-founder of three ecommerce brands doing $12M in revenue at a 7% profit, and the co-founder of BoxFort, a 3PL servicing fashion and apparel brands. Follow Sam on X at https://x.com/SamMendelsohn4, where you can DM him about any of those businesses.//How do you scale multiple brands, hit $12M in revenue, and still sleep at night? In this episode, Andrew interviews Sam Mendelsohn—co-founder of three eCommerce brands, the 3PL Boxfort, and the elite operator community Workspace 6. Sam gets brutally honest about what actually helped him move from plateaued growth to meaningful profit: focusing on fewer things, trimming complexity, and ruthlessly prioritizing margin over vanity metrics.You'll hear about:- How he grew multiple brands without adding headcount- Why focusing on one ad channel (Meta) was the unlock- A practical framework to evaluate whether your brand has real growth potential- What 900+ brand applications to Workspace 6 taught him about success patterns- How to tell if your pricing is too low—and what to do about it- The emotional toll of early-stage plateaus and how he worked through itThis episode is packed with operator-grade insights for brand owners doing 7–9 figures and looking to improve margin, sanity, and scale.CHAPTER TITLES:1:26 - Sam Mendelsohn Discusses Starting Out In E-Commerce6:00 - Improving Your Bottom Line Margin12:58 - Tips From Taylor Holiday23:06 - Keeping Sane During Growth Mode37:26 - Variable Costs In Business51:26 - Importance of a Community// SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL FOR 2X/WEEKLY UPLOADS!//ADMISSIONGet the best media buying training on the Internet + a free coaching call with Common Thread Collective's media buyers when you sign up for ADmission here: https://www.youradmission.co/andrew-faris-podcast//FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW X: https://x.com/andrewjfaris Email: podcast@ajfgrowth.comWork with Andrew: https://ajfgrowth.com#metaads #facebookads #ecommerce #advertising
#418 Ever thought college essays could be your golden ticket? Join host Brien Gearin and Carter Osborne, the mastermind behind a six-figure college essay tutoring empire. Carter spills the beans on how he turned a side hustle into a booming business, all while dodging pre-calc nightmares and SAT tutoring horrors. Discover his secret sauce for snagging clients, why he ditched traditional marketing, and how AI isn't stealing his thunder—yet. Packed with laughs and lightbulb moments, this episode is your go-to guide for turning passion into profit. Tune in and get ready to take some notes! (Original Air Date - 6/17/24) What we discuss with Carter: + Meet Carter Osborne: From Side Hustle to Six-Figure Business + Carter's Journey: From College Tuition to Tutoring + Building a Client Base: The Power of Referrals + The College Admissions Industry: Supply and Demand + The Importance of College Essays + Marketing Strategies: Word of Mouth and Referrals + Business Logistics: Clientele and Sessions + Seasonality in the College Admissions Business + Navigating the Off-Season + Student Roster and Workload + Balancing Meetings and Offline Work + Financial Margins and Business Models + Transitioning from Full-Time Job to Entrepreneurship + The Impact of AI on College Essay Consulting + Challenges and Opportunities in Tutoring Business + Final Thoughts and Entrepreneurial Advice Links and resources from this episode: Carterosbornetutoring.com ChatGPT.com Gemini.google.com Claude.ai Google Profiles Yelp for Business Thank you, Carter! To connect with Carter, go to: Carterosbornetutoring.com For more information go to MillionaireUniversity.com To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to MillionaireUniversity.com/training. And follow us on: Instagram Facebook Tik Tok Youtube Twitter To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/millionaire. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Want to hear from more incredible entrepreneurs? Check out all of our interviews here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Can walking your neighborhood really help grow your fitness or physical therapy business? For Shayna Gross, the answer is a resounding yes.In this episode of the Optimal Aging Podcast, Jay Croft of Prime Fit Content talks with Shayna, a veteran physical therapist and the owner of Physiovation in Atlanta. After moving to a larger location in the eclectic Little Five Points neighborhood, Shayna expanded her offerings to include small group personal training — and got to work building real relationships.You'll hear how she:Met her neighbors and local business owners one by oneFormed smart partnerships and sponsored a wellness festivalAttracted clients from a large local employerCombines strength training and physical therapy to focus on prevention and lifelong wellnessShayna's story is a masterclass in grassroots marketing and community connection. If you're a fitness or wellness professional looking for authentic ways to grow, this episode is for you.This episode is a must-listen for fitness, health and wellness professionals looking to expand their business and connect with their community in meaningful ways.Learn more about Shayna: Physiovation, Shayna Gross on FacebookSubscribe to the show and learn more at: Optimal Aging on ApplePrime Fit Content helps you reach more people over 50 to grow your fitness, health and wellbeing business.
Building your email list doesn't have to be overwhelming, complicated, or time-consuming. In this special “do it with me” episode of the She Means Business Show, I'm walking you through the exact steps I took to grow my email list to over 100,000 subscribers - starting from 0. I'm sharing: Why your freebie doesn't need to be perfect (or even big!) to be powerful The exact strategy behind my first-ever viral freebie (and what made it take off) What kind of freebies convert best - from PDFs and checklists to email challenges and quizzes A step-by-step walkthrough to help you create your freebie idea today How to use ChatGPT or other AI tools to help brainstorm, write, and even design it Smart tips to make your freebie irresistible and high-converting Read the full show notes: https://femaleentrepreneurassociation.com/2025/05/this-simple-freebie-strategy-grew-my-email-list/
What happens when the unexplained keeps escalating? In this follow-up story, a listener gives an unsettling update from their ranch-style home, where strange voices, whispering warnings, and shadowy figures have started to invade the night. From a toddler's room to the basement stairs, something unseen seems to be watching—and waiting. Even the family dog won't go near one particular room. With each new event, the house grows quieter… and darker. This is a daily EXTRA from The Grave Talks. Grave Confessions is an extra daily dose of true paranormal ghost stories told by the people who survived them! If you have a Grave Confession, Call it in 24/7 at 1-888-GHOST-13 (1-888-446-7813) Subscribe to get all of our true ghost stories EVERY DAY! Visit http://www.thegravetalks.com Please support us on Patreon and get access to our AD-FREE ARCHIVE, ADVANCE EPISODES & MORE at http://www.patreon.com/thegravetalks
Megan Yelaney organically grew a new Instagram account to over 34,000 followers in under a year—while pumping for her newborn twins and running a coaching business. This second account was separate from her business brand account, born as a passion project documenting her motherhood journey. But by applying the same content strategies she's taught over 1,000 coaches to help them stand out and sell out, Megan turned limited time into maximum audience growth—without paid ads or trend-chasing. In this case study, she shares the simple but strategic approach behind her viral content that grew her audience by 34,000: the three types of posts that consistently performed, her lead generating storytelling framework, and why choosing a topic you're already living can be the easiest way to create high-impact content. If you're short on time but big on intention, this conversation will change the way you think about your content. Thank you to our sponsor! Get at least 15% off any annual Masterclass membership at https://masterclass.com/cubicletoCEO Connect with Megan: Check out Megan's Main Character Energy private podcast! Available for a LIMITED TIME only: https://meganyelaney.com/main-character Get Megan's Business Story Blueprint: www.meganyelaney.com/business-story-blueprint IG: @meganyelaney IG: @megdoestwinmotherhood https://meganyelaney.com/podcast Megan's client's example post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHqQVbMxhPQ/?img_index=1 Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://cubicletoceo.co/quiz If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Post a screenshot & key takeaway on your IG story and tag me @missellenyin & @cubicletoceo so we can repost you. Leave a positive review or rating at www.ratethispodcast.com/cubicletoceo Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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