Podcasts about in mike

Mike Capone is the CEO of Qlik, a business intelligence company that provides end-to-end cloud data integration and data analytics solutions for organizations around the world. Mike leads a team of over 2,600 people around the world.  Mike's experience as a leader started at the age of 24 when he was working in IT and he says he was totally unprepared for it. At the time he had no training, no experience, and he found it very intimidating at first. But with time, advice, and on the job learning he figured things out.  He says that his progression from an entry level leader to being the CEO leading over 2,600 people came about because of hard work, a willingness to volunteer for the hard jobs, and the ability to help others be successful.  The things that made a difference in Mike's career Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is a leader that Mike really respects and someone that he has watched for a long time. In an interview Jamie shared that when it comes to success, there is no substitute for hard work. And Mike agrees with that completely, people who work hard get rewarded. But while that is a huge part of achieving your goals, there are other important things to focus on. Mike says you also have to be unafraid to volunteer for tough jobs. In Mike's own career there was a time when he was working for Oracle Financials when the company was rolling out a global financial system and they had already gone through two separate leaders who had been placed in the roll and then let go.  One day Mike was selected to be the next leader of the project, and everyone around him told him not to take it--it's where people's careers go to die. But Mike saw it as an opportunity to get noticed and advance his career. So he took the job and sure enough it was a huge stepping stone for him. As Mike shares, it is a combination of things that get you to the level of CEO, but if no one notices you and if no one knows who you are, then it doesn't matter, you won't get ahead. You have to have people believe that you are a key to their success. Mike's leadership style One thing that is very important to Mike as a leader is listening twice as much as he talks. As a leader it is so important to let other people talk, even if you already know the answer. It's also important to have diverse opinions and backgrounds around you.  But it's equally important to be decisive as a leader. You have to listen, listen, listen, then decide and move on. “You always want to control the future and not let the future control you. But that said, like, that is the biggest failure I've seen of leaders is this kind of paralysis, this inability to decide. And you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who would accuse me of that, they'll accuse me of ready, fire aim sometimes, right. But they'll never accuse me of, you know, not deciding something quickly.” There are going to be tough decisions that you have to make as a leader, but time is not going to make it go away. Some leaders also struggle with trying to build consensus around a decision, they want to be popular and liked, and while it is normal to want to be liked, you're not always going to be and that shouldn't stop you from making a decision.  “I always tell leaders, look, you have to do the listening and let people know they're heard, then you've got to use your best judgment and the data at hand and decide, and then your team has to get behind you. Time for discussing and then time for deciding and time for action.” And if he makes a bad decision, Mike says he admits it and fixes it fast. He doesn't dwell on it or let it eat at him.  What to do if you feel stuck in your job Most of us have had a moment or moments in our career when we feel like we are stagnant and there is no way to move inside a company. It can be frustrating and disengaging. So what should you do in this situation?  Mike says before you make a decision, take a look at yourself. How much do you market yourself? How much are you trying to get noticed? Are you working on gaining new skills and improving the ones you have?  There are a lot of ways you can change your situation. Mike says, “If you're not fulfilled coming to work every single day, you've got to do something about that. You can't just complain about it. And I know economically, people sometimes say, well, I need this job. That's great, like, you need the job, but you know, then skill yourself up. So your life isn't dependent on that particular job and then go find something else. But don't stay in a situation you're not happy in.” Two things that hold leaders back There are two main things that Mike says hold leaders back from their full potential. The first one is that leaders tend to think that the thing that got them where they are today is the thing to get them there tomorrow. They think that because they have a playbook that has worked before that they can just keep running the same one.  There's a reason why most CEOs don't last more than 5 years, because after that time they have to reinvent the thing that they invented, and it's really hard to admit that what you did before isn't lasting. But the pace of change is fast, and the world is changing so quickly. You can't keep doing the same thing over and over.  The other thing that Mike says holds leaders back is thinking their time is more important than anyone else's. This mindset manifests itself in canceling meetings, showing up late to meetings, being on your phone when someone is talking to you, etc...When you are in a meeting or talking with someone, be present completely. Multitasking doesn't work, it's just a productivity killer. If you need to respond to emails or text messages, set aside time for that.  What sets great leaders apart from good ones There are a lot of leaders who can get things done through command and control, but the great leaders inspire the people around them. People are jumping in the boat because they want to follow that leader. It's all about inspiration.  And this is something you can work on. Find people around you that model great leadership and watch them. Find someone who can mentor you. Practice things like empathy, listening, caring for others every single day. Catch people doing good things and let them know with an email, a call or a letter. It takes hard work and practice, but it's worth it in the long run and it will ensure your success as a leader.  Now more than ever we need to take a step back to define what it means to be a leader and what great leadership looks like. But this isn't easy to do. In fact, many business leaders struggle with this. You cannot become and build what you don't define. In the PDF you will get a framework you can follow and also see how some of the world's top CEOs define leadership. Click here to get the PDF. Get the latest insights on Future of Work, Leadership and employee experience. http://futureofworknewsletter.com/  Let's connect on social! Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobmorgan8 Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacobmorgan8 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jacobm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FuturistJacob

Want to grow and scale a profitable business? It's just like growing a giant pumpkin! Back on the show after discussing Profit First, we have multi-best-selling author Mike Michalowicz to discuss some of newest books: The Pumpkin Plan, and Get Different. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it6WjNmBU7A I promise, a few minutes with this guy and you'll have a whole new perspective on your business. So if you want to transform your business, find out how to hit your sweet spot where you're serving clients you love, profitably, and marketing in a way that always gets results… tune in now! Table of contentsWelcoming Back Mike MichalowiczStand Out from the CrowdWhy You Should Profit FirstThe Mindset ShiftThe Pumpkin Plan1. Match the seed to the soil. 2. Pruning.Creating JobsA Special OfferAbout Mike Michalowicz Book A Strategy Call Welcoming Back Mike Michalowicz For the second time, we're excited to welcome Mike Michalowicz of Profit First back to The Money Advantage. You can read more from his first interview here. We're fans of Mike because he helps entreprreneurs bring profit into their business FIRST, so that they can help more people.  It's like putting on your own oxygen mask first, so that you can help others—you'll do more good for more people when you take care of yourself and your business.  Stand Out from the Crowd Mike recently asked his clients, “What is your biggest struggle right now?” And for most, their pain point was that they weren't getting consistent quality in lead flow. This prompted Mike to consider what the root of the problem was.  He determined that industry “best practices,” after some time, become a prime example of what NOT to do. That's because once they're adopted throughout the whole industry, everyone's the same. And prospects are seeking someone who stands out—someone who they perceive as  uniquely positioned to help them with their problems.  [3:23] “Do you vaguely remember getting that first email that was like, ‘Hey friend'?” In Mike's example, he recalls how excited he was to receive his first “hey friend” email. The initial feeling was one of excitement and belonging, until he opened it and realized that it was just marketing. The second time he got an email with that subject line, he was more cautious. And by the third, he stopped opening emails with that subject line altogether.  We're sure you can relate.  [3:57] “That points to the power of habituation. Meaning when we, the prospect, see something, we very quickly learn to qualify it as relevant or irrelevant. And ‘hey friend' is irrelevant. What I researched was how to break through the habituation. Best practices are the ‘hey friend's' of the world.” Why You Should Profit First [5:30] "Every time you...sell something, you have a responsibility to deliver up what you sold--that product or service. So the more we sell, the more responsibility we have. And as small business owners, that's more and more weight on our shoulders. It starts to show the cracks in the foundation. We don't have the deliverable systems in place, the sales aren't profitable. So we're putting more burden on the organization, without extracting health.” So instead of placing all focus on sales, new businesses should actually be focusing on profit (first). Once profits are in place, sales and efficiency can come next. Otherwise, having attention too divided can be dangerous.  The Mindset Shift [7:37] “Most entrepreneurs and business owners, like us, call ourselves entrepreneurs and business owners. I believe hose words have become bastardized. An entrepreneur is about hustle and grind, how bad do you want it, workaholism. And I think that's a horrible thing to put out into the market. I think what we are about is, we're a creator of jobs. Our job is to create a business that actually provides for people who want jobs. The way to make this mindset shift is to frame it with a different word.

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents Podcast, host Jeff Pfitzer talks to Mike Berland, founder and CEO of Research Data and Analytics from Decode_M. He is an expert on how consumers and decision-makers think and behave; He is also the  author of the  book called, Maximum Momentum: How to get it, How to keep it. Episode Highlights:  Data: How do you dissect it? How do you use it to your advantage?  Jeff and Mike discuss the pandemic and how everyone is going to come out from this. Mike talks about his life journey and how he learned valuable lessons from working in political campaign trails and applied it to business. When data became more and more available, he took his polling expertise and went into analytics.  Decoding data into momentum is what helps people to feel that they are moving forward.   The five key drivers of momentum are disruption, innovation, polarization, stickiness, and social impact. Residential real estate has been the hardest topic for the past year as everybody was quarantining and started talking about their home. People are now much more interested in improving their homes to make them more comfortable than they ever were before. Decode_M analyzes how they can meet their consumer’s needs through the momentum mindset. Pre pandemic, clients were hyper-focused on amenities and aesthetics. Post pandemic, statistics show trends of people moving from urban to suburban situations. Space is at a premium and priority factors have shifted. In Mike’s research, he has found that people are willing to pay more for things that they believe have momentum.  Social media plays a huge role in real estate and you cannot over promote yourself on the platforms. The real estate industry is a confidence industry that values knowledge, expertise, and relationships, which are all keys to this business. In residential real estate, it is usually even more emotional than it is transactional. Understand your target, the objective, and be flexible to embrace what will help you succeed in your business and what forces can knock you out of business Jeff says we have to shift the way we think about how we are marketing properties; Think about focusing on safety, outdoor space, and things that today have become the most important to consumers. Moon shot is a vision that’s out in the future that inspires people and motivates them to achieve it.  What should be done in business to maximize success with a potential moon shot?  Communicating to people about both safety and making long-term decisions is critical. 3 Key Points: Mike talks about using artificial intelligence and different data types to collect and analyze how customers behave and work with their potential. Momentum in business applies to brands, products, and people. The five key drivers of momentum are: disruption, innovation, polarization, stickiness, and social impact. Jeff asks Mike, “How do you believe that last year will change many things for many industries and how 2020 is reshaping our future? Resources Mentioned:  Lab Coat Agents  | Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram  Jeff Pfitzer   | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter Mike Berland |Website | Team |  LinkedIn | Book StreetText (sponsor) Follow Up Boss 

Mantis Radio 327 + Snooks Snooks has a deep love of all things dub and sub, which you'll hear in his label Niteshade Inc and in today's guest mix. In Mike's bag this week - music from POLAAR, Minor Science, Natural Sciences, Swarm Intelligence, Carl Craig, Keleketla!, Metz, Paul Woolford, Ryoji Ikeda, and clipping, together with new cuts from Voitax, Shpongle, Echologist, and The Ebertbrothers. playlist → show archives. support the show → become a patron.

In Mike's first solo episode we discuss MLS offseason rumors and much more! We are 2 out of 3 matches into the SheBelieves Cup and the #USWNT looking to add some more silverware to their trophy case (which is pretty jammed) maybe we should start covering the USWNT more! Starting this Wednesday with a live on Youtube! Who has signed in MLS and who else is looking to make some moves? Mike breaks down the news and moves. The US Olympic Qualifiers are starting in a few weeks and Mike breaks down the depth chart and the great opportunity that lays ahead for the Red, White and Blue youngsters! Lastly we chat about Liga MX and the Thierry Henry Drama will he leave or wont he? Thanks for listening and make sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast hosting site! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Mike Cline is Vice President of Franchise Development at Alliance Franchise Brands. Alliance Franchise Brands LLC and its subsidiary, KK Printing Canada ULC, are the franchisors of approximately 600 locations in North America operating the company’s brands: Allegra Marketing Print Mail, Image360, Signs Now, Signs By Tomorrow, KKP, Insty-Prints, American Speedy Printing Centers and RSVP. Independently owned and operated franchises provide national, regional and local businesses and organizations with a one-stop resource for technologically advanced solutions for their printing, marketing and graphics communications.   Key Takeaways: [0:18] Today’s episode of Franchise Euphoria is brought to you by IndyFranchiseLaw.com, a leading resource in the franchise space. Head over to IndyFranchiseLaw.com learn more! [0:59] Josh introduces today’s guest, Mike Cline, the VP of Franchise Development for Alliance Franchise Brands. [2:14] Josh welcomes Mike to Franchise Euphoria. [2:38] Mike began his career with Alliance Franchise Brands in 2004 when he took on an opportunity with one of Alliance’s brands, Signs By Tomorrow. [5:28] Mike addresses his thoughts on the status of the printing industry and some of the common misnomers that surround it. [9:12] Mike discusses who the ideal franchisee candidate is for Alliance and what a potential candidate can expect when they sign on. [13:15] Mike shares about the various support systems Alliance has in place for their franchisees. [16:18] Mike talks about what the impact of COVID has been on Alliance’s brands. [19:47] In Mike’s opinion, a good franchisor’s second level of support includes being proactive. [22:44] With 600 North American locations, Alliance Franchise Brands is still looking to expand across the US and Canada. [24:05] If you want to learn more about Alliance Franchise Brands, visit their website listed below. [25:00] Thanks for listening, and please, reach out to Josh anytime through email at josh@franchiseeuphoria.com. If you enjoyed this interview, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.   Mentioned in This Episode: josh@franchiseeuphoria.com www.indyfranchiselaw.com https://alliancefranchisebrands.com

Welcome to a very special Episode of "The Good Listening To" Podcast with me Chris Grimes!And I'm very happy to be in "GLT Clearing" today with a lovely man - a really good friend - and  fellow Comedy Improvisation performer, Mike Akers - also known as the legend that IS "Reverend Lemon!"I have had the great joy of standing alongside Mike many times - helping many an audience to laugh over many years together - appearing in my Comedy Improvisation Company and ongoing 'passion project' which is INSTANT WIT.  We also have the great delight of co-facilitating a Comedy Improvisation Event with other members of INSTANT WIT once a year (the "Zombie Apocalypse" notwithstanding!) at one of the most beautiful places on the planet - in SW  France - surrounded on 3 sides by Sunflowers! It's at www.lessoeursanglaises.com - a majestic space and venue curated by the very lovely Katie Elliott Armitage, who I have also had in "The Clearing" in another Episode.The Workshop that we run  is called "INSTANT WIT Laughter Lab" where we invite (what always turns out to be a lovely Group  each year) to  join us in exploring the wonderfully liberating Comedy Improvisational mindset of "yes and..." Each year it's one of my very very favourite things to do!Mike is also (he won't mind my saying - because it's also true!) my Table Tennis bitch!In Mike's own words:Writer, Theatre Maker, Early Years Specialist"Hi, I'm Mike. Thanks for stopping by. I work in theatre because I love telling stories. Whether I'm at home in my shed struggling with the first draft of a new play, working in a rehearsal room with a company of actors or listening to a three-year old in a nursery setting tell me a tale they have just invented, story is the common thread that unites all the strands of my work. If you're interested in what I do or in working with me then please get in touch".Mike also talks in the Podcast about a lovely writer's exercise called "The Mysterious Well" .So - thanks for listening to another episode of a "GLT with me CG!"The Podcast series that features "The Clearing":  Where all good questions come to be asked and all good stories come to be told!With some lovely juicy storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:The Clearing itself - A Tree (where we get to "shake your tree to see which storytelling apples fall out, in the form of a lovely storytelling exercise called "5-4-3-2-1") - some Alchemy - some Gold - and finally a Cake with a Cherry on Top!Think "Desert Island Discs" but in a Clearing! Also think about William Shakespeare:"All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages..."Jaques: Act II Scene VIIWho are you? What's your story? And what 'life-lessons-learned-along-the-way' would you like to share with us? And just to get bit "existential on yo ass" too (!) what would you like your legacy to be?  How would you most like to be remembered?And all my guests have at least 2 things in common: They are all Creative individuals  - and all with an interesting story to be told!Plus if you'd be interested in the experience of being given "a damn good listening to" yourself, or you'd like to explore the idea of some Personal Impact Coaching from me CG - to help level-up your confidence, communication, and personal impact c/o my online Coaching proposition: The Second Curve "Zoom Room" - then, by all means, do get in touch via any of the usual social media channels (see above) or you can email me at chris@secondcurve.uk (The Second Curve "Zoom Room": Coaching to help you 'level up' your IMPACT - or to get Clarity on how to get to "where next?")

Mike is the Director of Public Safety at Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital in Athens, Georgia. In Mike's over 18 years of experience, he has been a pioneer in proactive security solutions including leading the development of a collaborative workplace violence prevention program that has reduced incidents of workplace violence by over 50% at his facility. Prior to healthcare, Mike was a member of the U.S. Army where his service included a response to Hurricane Katrina and combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Mike has published numerous articles related to violence prevention and officer training, he currently manages the Proactive Security blog, and is the co-host of the Proactive Security Podcast. Here in Episode #92 Mike starts our show with the mindset centered on learning from our mistakes; Mike takes us through his career story and how he accidentally landed in healthcare; We dive deep into the world of healthcare security and safety; Mike delivers a range of resources for reducing violence in the healthcare setting; Mike highlights an important career learning centered on gaining collaboration in our efforts; Mike teaches us why we need to shut up and listen; he teaches us why it's important to draw the line between disease progression and criminal intent; he highlights innovative tools including violence risk assessments and patient flagging as upcoming industry trends; Mike highlights how quality people and better support healthcare security leaders; he pushes a great call to action that workplace safety is everyone's responsibility; Mike highlights a great opportunity to include ancillary departments in our safety improvement efforts; Mike calls out the healthcare industry to be more open-minded for innovative thinkers, And shares his best career advice to take imperfect action. • Connect with Mike on LinkedIn • Mike's Blog: Proactive Security Blog • Proactive Security Blow • Access The Healthcare QualityCast LinkedIn Group • Leaves Us a Rating • Earn Your Lean Six Sigma for Healthcare Certification

Michael Glaspie had his humble beginnings in Texas. Having been born and raised there, he naturally went to college in-state and eventually joined the military. What was a means to pay the bills became a sort of passion for him, as he rose to become a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, better known as the “Green Berets.”   However, several years into his tenure, he started to question whether there was something more out there for him. Was service all that he was meant to do?   Sure enough, Mike realized that in order to be able to do more with his life, he had to be able to financially support it. In enters real estate investing. Mike purchased his first duplex with less than $2,000 and inadvertently House Hacked without fully understanding what House Hacking even was.   Along the way, Mike experimented with many different strategies and have come to accept rental income as his main vehicle for financial freedom. By having steady, passive cash flow every single month, Mike is able to supplement his once military income and build his portfolio to scale.   Up to date, Mike is a real estate agent and looks to triple (yes, triple!) his investment portfolio within the next five years. He attributes this feat to the people he surrounds himself with, as well as his continued education because that’s what got him started in the first place.   Our takeaways from our conversation with Mike: 1) “Subject-to”: Term is used when a property is acquired “subject-to” the existing financing. The mortgage remains with the same person (seller), but the title transfers over to the new owner, you (buyer). In Mike’s case, it works well with military members who have to sell a property with no equity (because military members usually move every 2-5 years). That way, they can maintain their credit score, not pay money out of pocket to sell their home, and have a pain-free solution to their relocation. 2) AirBNB Arbitrage: “A sexy way of saying a ‘sub-lease,’ which is a sexy way of saying ‘to rent out a rental.’ ” says Mike. His reasons for implementing this strategy are speed and profitably. In other words, to be able to invest quickly with less capital compared to other popular strategies with just as much, or more, return on investment (ROI). There is enough room for creativity in this strategy that other larger investments don’t necessarily allow because of the red tape involved.  While many landlords might not like this idea, there are many benefits to them as well. Some include being able to receive steady income for longer term leases, endure less wear and tear on the unit, and have the peace of mind that the unit is being kept in tip-top shape. 3) Three lessons Mike learned on his first wholesale deal: 1. Don’t be overconfident, always keep the other party’s best interest in mind. 2. Keep out of pocket costs to a minimum. 3. Start with the end in mind. During the early stages of Mike’s real estate career, like we mentioned, he tried many different things. One of which was wholesaling. While it sounded simple enough to him at the time, with hindsight, Mike admitted that he did not make the best decisions on that first deal. As a result, the deal fell apart resulting in lost capital for Mike and housing trouble for the seller. Although he learned his lesson, if he might’ve been a little more cautious, the deal could’ve actually went well. 4) Implement fail-safes. Being involved in short-terms rentals (AirBNB), Mike ensures that he and his team are prepared in case a push were to shove. But this goes for every investment strategy out there all across the board. Whether it be on lease agreements, purchase/sale contracts, or partnerships, just to name a few, have specific terms and agreements in place so that all parties are on the same page, all parties can weather out a storm if one were to arise, and all parties are not put in an uncomfortable or unfair situation during the deal or life of the investment.   If Mike could go back and talk to his 16 year old self, he’d tell him, “Be patient and think about the results of your actions.” An unexpected benefit of real estate investing, Mike said, was the freedom it grants you. With this business, you can truly work for yourself and be self sufficient. A piece of advice Mike would tell his friends looking to get started in real estate would be to “Make the first deal… get started as fast as you can!” Mike recommends using Personal Capital to assist you in all of your financial and accounting needs. Mike recommends reading The Millionaire Real Estate Agent/Investor and The One Thing by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan, and Dave Jenks, as well as The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.   If you’d like to get in touch with Mike, visit: www.fivepillarsrealty.com or follow him on Instagram @michael.s.glaspie

In this week's show, Mike Gunn of Gunn Landscaping shares his thoughts on the importance of balancing work and family. In Mike's experience, getting this right is key for not only the family dynamic, but also for setting boundaries with customers, and avoiding general burnout. Topics on the show today include: why you need to shut work off at the end of the day the danger of burning out how not switching off can impact your family, relationships, and kids how the arrival of his new baby made him think about time management the importance of setting boundaries on when customers can all you realizing why you're in this industry is key Settle in for an insightful episode about doing good work and living life the right way. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode! Connect with us online: https://echomeansbusiness.com/ (Visit us at ECHO Means Business) https://www.echomeansbusiness.com/pages/emb-mobile-app (Download our mobile app) https://www.instagram.com/echo.meansbusiness/ (Follow us on Instagram) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3_dtdhrJqS1thoH5WhK07Q (Watch us on YouTube) https://www.facebook.com/echomeansbusiness/ (Like us on Facebook) Connect with Mike: https://www.instagram.com/getitdonewithgunn/ (Instagram) https://www.youtube.com/c/Getitdonewithgunn (YouTube) http://www.facebook.com/GunnLandscaping (Facebook)

Trading through big FX macro events in the 1990’s, Mike Novogratz is no stranger to market instability and the Central Bank response that is ultimately required to restore order. Our conversation is a retrospective on the long ago period when firmly positive interest rates were a thing and when market prices were discovered through supply and demand. In Mike's rendering, today's world looks a lot different. Central Banks have taken an increasingly activist role in guiding interest rate markets and preventing unwind events from becoming self-reinforcing. The result, stable prices in some asset markets but increasingly speculative characteristics in plain sight in others. Our conversation covers a lot of ground, and Mike has much to say about bonds, bubbles, bitcoin and even bail. About the latter, he has founded the "bail project", a passionate effort focused on creating a more humane pre-trial bail system. Lastly, we discuss Mike's founding of Galaxy Digital Holdings and his investments in various aspects of the crypto value chain. On bitcoin, he says both simply and emphatically, "we value it because we say its valuable." And in a world where money-printing has accelerated, bitcoin may still be in the early innings of a tail outcome resulting from the change that has been thrust upon us all.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One Podcast, Mike talks with Chris Champion. Chris is the Director of Field Development for Corporate Chaplains Of America, a good friend of Mike's, and if you are an owner/operator of a business - your next connection! Please welcome Chris to the Follower of one Community!   Episode Breakdown:   1:40 - Meet Chris Campion 4:40 - Chris' Thoughts on the Situation in the World 7:05 - Lessons on God Transforming Us 9:45- Colson Fellows Program 12:10 - Key Takeaways from Colson Fellows Program 14:40- Chris' Thoughts on God in the Workplace 17:30- Corporate Chaplains of America 21:40- Being Intentional   Listening and Seeking Understanding   The times we are all undergoing are difficult. In Mike's interview with Chris, Chris addresses some things we could specifically be doing with our Christian foundations. The two major points are listening to other people and seeking a better understanding. These things are inherent in how we need to act moving forward. We as Christ-followers need to listen better. We need to seek understanding first and with that understanding, we can push forward to a better tomorrow. How are you listening to other people today? How are you seeking understanding? Tell us in your own words on Facebook so we can all learn from you!   Appreciating People   Another big obstacle we face is stress during these times. This is probably the most stressful work-life situation we have all been through. COVID has changed everyone's lives across the world and we are just now seeking to do something after the initial shock. Appreciating people needs to be at the top of our list. How do we appreciate people? Chris talks about several ways to do so but the first step is being genuine to your friends, family, and coworkers about how you don't take them for granted. Asking simply "How are you?" and listening to those answers are just as important as well. How do you appreciate your co-workers? Your family? Friends? Maybe it is time to change some habits to make it clear!   Connect with Chris Chris' LinkedIn Corporate Chaplains Of America Chris' Email     Connect With Follower Of One Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!

In this episode, we invited Mike Steadman, a fellow Bunker Labs veteran entrepreneur, to speak on topics ranging from race to entrepreneurship. Mike is the Founder of IRONBOUND Boxing, a veteran-owned company whose core purpose is to “change lives through boxing.” We started the conversation with his experience in the Marines as an African-American infantry officer, and how he grew from there to become an entrepreneur. He talked about his non-profit part of the business and how the boxing coaching experience transforms and benefit youth. Tim asked Mike where he got his drive to start all of this, and Mike spoke about his mother's influence and his family's tradition of "giving back." In Mike's opinion, when we discuss race, we focus a lot on social injustice, but not enough conversation on economic drive. It's important to build an economic environment that every race can thrive within and to achieve that, education and consistency are key. We hope you enjoy this episode. Talk soon!

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents Podcast, Tristan Ahumada, Nick Baldwin, and Eric Sachs of The Breakthrough Broker interview renowned real estate coach, Mike Ferry. Mike shares great advice on how to manage challenging times, gives insight on what to expect moving forward, and delivers actionable ideas on how to position yourself to win. Episode Highlights:  Should we expect a substantial decline in the amount of business being done if this continues for a longer period of time? Mike doesn't think it will continue for a very long time. Worst case, we're going to do four million transactions this year in the U.S. That's eight million commission checks. If you're not prepared and don't have great skills, you will have a problem. Mike is concerned for agents who started after 2012 who haven’t been through something like this. Today, agents need to expand their empathy. 98% of the agents have stopped working. This is a huge advantage for agents that are working. What type of schedule should someone be following while they're home right now to continue to stay productive? Take an hour and fifteen minutes three times per day. There's a minimum you should be working every single day. Does Mike anticipate that prices will drop as this crisis continues and gets resolved? The lack of inventory is what stabilizes prices and we have a lack of inventory in most of the nation today. This is the advantage to now vs. 2008. The focus should be on listing property more than ever before. What would you say to a realtor when they're dealing with a client who has said they want to wait it out right now? The public has a built-in series of excuses. People will go to the agent they've been communicating with. Nick suggests letting people know what the market is doing while not focusing on the virus. What do you think virtual appointments mean for the long run? Mike believes 50% of all transactions will become virtual because it speeds up the process. Technology offers efficiency to buyers and sellers. Practice your scripts and dialogues virtually with other agents. How do you build rapport when you're meeting people virtually? 50% of sellers want rapport. 50% want the job done quickly. The pre-qualifying process will tell you which direction to go in. Who should we be prospecting to and talking to during social distancing? Call anybody today because people are sitting in their homes by themselves. If you can't make cold calls due to tight restrictions, make care calls. Rule #1 for any realtor is always to follow the law, period. What should we do now about our 2020 goals? For May, June, and July make a one-month business plan for each month. Focus on the thirty day period that you have control of. Raise your standards for yourself. How does the world economy compare to what he has seen in the past? In Mike's opinion, the worst moment in American history was 9/11. From 2007-2012 we made it through the worst real estate recession in history. Americans are resilient and we’re going to make it through this. What do you do to keep your mindset so strong and cut out the negativity and fear? Earl Nightingale beat into his head the importance of being positive. Mike speaks on how he limits his media consumption.  He recommends taking a fifteen-minute mindset break twice daily. What is Mike reading right now and what should agents consume now? Mike has read 10,000 books in the last fifty years. 3 Key Points: Many agents have stopped working. Those who are still working on their business will have a huge advantage going forward.  Take advantage of this opportunity to learn how to use technology. It will offer you greater convenience and efficiency.  Get on the phone. Your clients want somebody to talk to right now and people will do business with the agent they’ve been communicating with.  Resources Mentioned: LCA Marketing Center: LCAmarketingcenter.com Lab Coat Agents: LabCoatAgents.com Mike Ferry website, email: mike.ferry@mikeferry.com Breakthrough Broker Think and Grow Rich (book) The Essence of Success (book) Think Outside The Box (book) Connect with Lab Coat Agents: Lab Coat Agents on Facebook Lab Coat Agents on Twitter Lab Coat Agents on Instagram Lab Coat Agents Facebook Group

Today's episode is going to be a little different than previous ones: We're not going to interview anyone. In lieu of a guest, Joe will be discussing three different levels of add-backs. The three levels of add-backs are various ways to add value to your business. Most of these suggestions are fairly easy to enact, but may not have been things you've previously thought of doing. Tune in to hear about calculating a seller's discretionary earnings, where you will make the majority of your money, and much more. Episode Highlights: Where you make 50% of all your money. Calculating Seller's Discretionary Earnings. Valuation multiples. Making sure the acquirer understands the value of your business. Breaking down expenses. Pros and cons of certain business credit cards. The pitfalls of hiring family and friends. How current tariffs may affect your bottom line. Illegitimate add-backs. Being careful not to erode trust. Transcription: Joe: Hey everyone thanks for joining the Quiet Light Podcast. This is going to be a little bit of a different podcast than some of the others we've done. I'm not interviewing anyone on the podcast with Mark. It's just me. It's just me talking about something that's critically important. As many of you know, I've been doing this for over eight years now, tracking towards personally 100 million in total closed transactions. I've talked to thousands of entrepreneurs over the last eight years. And what I hear more often than not is so the multiple is still around three times and [inaudible 00:01:54.5] is asking me from New England always wants to say it depends upon your definition of three times of what. Most people don't get the “what” correct so I want to focus on that right now; that “what”, three times of what. It is a three times multiple or four times or five times or two times depending upon the financial key metrics that Mark and I talked about; the four pillars that have been created, and then these three levels of add-backs. It's a multiple of Seller's Discretionary Earnings and calculating it correctly and getting it right is one of the most important things you can do for your business. So I'm going to talk about it here. I'm also recording a video for those that want to go to the Quiet Light YouTube channel and look at the video as well. From the video there'll be a set of slides that you can download from the show notes from this podcast as well. So on to the three levels of add-backs. First, what we want to do is actually define the reality that if you've got a physical product e-commerce business, more than 50% of all the money you'll ever make from your business comes the day that you actually sell it. That's pretty substantial. And you think about it, we're all trying to drive revenue and make a living as entrepreneurs but in a physical products e-commerce business and many others as well, most of the money you'll ever make comes the day you sell it. So you want to prepare to sell all along the way. I know it makes your eyes bleed but if you do the right thing and focus on running the business like a professional and creating a great opportunity for your buyer; and there's many buyers in this audience that are listening, if you create a great business to hand over to somebody that wants to take it to the next level and do the things that you may not want to because the business has outgrown you, you're going to get more than 50% of all the money you've ever made from the business. Odds are as well that your business is your most valuable asset. And I'd venture to guess that, you know the value of your house within 5 or 10% and your investment portfolio, and your retirement fund, and your car, and your condo, and your townhome, or how much you have in your bank account but you are 30, 40, 50% off in terms of the value of your business. And some of you are running businesses that are completely unsellable even though you're doing great things with driving revenue. And they're unsellable because you're co-mingling too many things with one brand. You've got seven brands in an account, you want to sell off one and you don't use proper accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero. I've seen this too many times. Too many people say, oh, okay three times I've got this. I've got an 18 year old and 16 year old; I hear I got this all the time. Please don't say I've got this. Go through this. Listen to the full podcast. Get these three levels of add-backs right and you will get the real value for your business along with all the other things that you need to do for the four pillars. The real value of your business is important to understand here. We're not talking about maxing out the value of your business and jacking up your Seller's Discretionary Earnings; we're talking about you getting paid for what you've created. It's not boosting or jacking anything, its legitimate black and white add-backs that are owner benefits or one-time expenses. And I'll go through the whole list that you deserve for the value of your business. If you're a buyer out there listening and you're looking at businesses for sale, you can look at some of the add-backs that have been missed by the broker or the individual that's selling the business and calculate your own instant equity when you buy the business. Okay, so in terms of the valuation and the way that it works, it's hard to understand, but simple at the same time. The calculation for the list price of a business; it's the earnings base multiplier approach and you've all heard the term at this point Seller's Discretionary Earnings. Well, the math is simple. The formula is simple but it's hard to remember. Its Seller's Discretionary Earnings times the multiple equals the list price. Again, calculating the Seller's Discretionary Earnings accurately is important and it's hard and then determining the multiple and what range you're going to fall in depending upon the four pillars and financial key metrics is hard. But when you get the two of those right and you've got the right data, it equals the list price. Plus, in a physical products business, the landed cost of goods sellable inventory on hand at the time of closing. Almost everyone does it that way with the exception of one broker in the sub 20 million dollar range. Some of the larger investment banking firms may be doing something totally different in the 50 to 250 million dollar range. Okay, so to calculate Seller's Discretionary Earnings first you have to have a Profit & Loss statement. And that's why I always preach QuickBooks and Xero. I had an email from somebody yesterday and he wrote he doesn't use QuickBooks or Xero and he's using other stuff and he says I don't trust QuickBooks. Well, he doesn't trust himself then or a bookkeeper that he would hire because QuickBooks is just information that's entered or imported from the person doing the work. But you've got to calculate Seller's Discretionary Earnings properly. As I said to get the list price, Seller's Discretionary Earnings times the multiple equals your list price. How do you calculate Seller's Discretionary Earnings? It's your net income on your Profit & Loss statement, plus your add-backs. And again, we've coined the three levels of add-backs here at Quiet Light Brokerage. And under each level there are six different levels. So there's a total of 18 points that we focused on for add-backs. So, net income plus add-backs equals your Seller's Discretionary Earnings or SDE. Now valuation multiples; I'm going to cover them real quickly here because everybody wants to know what multiple ranges are. But that person says so you know the ballpark, multiple ranges three times. Is that right? First question is a multiple of what? Second thing to say is without accurate Seller's Discretionary Earnings your multiple means nothing; absolutely nothing. So you've got to get the discretionary earnings right in order to get the multiple right. Important thing to understand is that the size of the business does impact value. Also, multiple channel revenue versus a single channel of revenue impacts the value. So if you've got a business that is less than $100,000 in Seller's Discretionary Earnings and you are 100% direct consumer brand not selling on third party platforms, let's say you're 100% Shopify. If you've got a business that's got all the four pillars that we talked about and good financial key metrics, you're probably going to be in that three to four time multiple range. That's a pretty good number. But if you are a 100% Amazon brand and by 100%, I really mean 85 to 90%, you are going to be in a drastically different range. You're going to be in two to three times. And this is at sub $100,000 in discretionary earnings. And this is all subject to change. It floats and changes depending upon the economy, the type of business, the recurring revenue aspect of it, B2C versus B2B; all sorts of different variables. So this is just general information. So again sub 100,000 three to four times if you're selling direct to consumers, if you're a 100% third party platform, two to three times; a pretty dramatic difference in value. As low as 200,000 if you're 100% Amazon brand and as high as 400,000 if you're 100% your own you are all selling to the customers. In the $100,000 to $500,000 range, you're pure B2C brand jumps from three to five times multiple of Seller's Discretionary Earnings. The Amazon brand jumps as well, but it's only two to three and a half times. We started at the same floor of two, and then got bumped up to three and a half times. There are exceptions to every rule and it's a very broad range depending upon trends of the business, how much you're spending on advertising as a percent of total revenue, how clean your books are, growth opportunities in the business, the transferability of the business; all these different things. But the multiples will overlap as I go through this. Jumping up to discretionary earnings of 500 to a million, you're looking pure B2C at four to six times Seller's Discretionary Earnings and on 100% Amazon brand you're at three to five times. The five times here has to be really, really solid. It's going to be a great business. But the three times is as low as that sub hundred thousand dollar business because it's just a broad, broad range. If you've got a hero SKU that's doing 70% of your revenue, that's going to bring your multiple down; as simple as that. There's a lot of competition on single channel third party platforms like Amazon that could change your revenue trends overnight. I've seen it many, many times. Okay, so Seller's Discretionary Earnings last level north of a million dollars, you're looking at a pure B2C, you're looking at six times plus. Amazon brand you're at four times plus; a lot of overlap there. Again, because no two businesses are alike and you can't just make the assumption that you're going to be at X if you're doing Y in Seller's Discretionary Earnings. Again, though, size does impact risk. That's what we're talking about here in terms of the multiple ranges and where they go. Okay, so the three different levels of add-backs will be defined clearly; detailed clearly but let's just define what the heck an add-back is. If you think about it as simple as an owner benefit; something that you personally get from the business, they're also one-time accounting expenses, they're one time legal expenses and expenses that don't recur or carry forward to the new owner of the business. That's broad, but very specific. The goal of identifying add-backs again, it's to identify the true baseline earnings for potential acquirers of your business and also for you so you'll understand the value of your most valuable asset. It's not to jack up the price. That's not the point. The point is to make sure you get the true value for your business and so that the acquirer of the business understands the real value of it as well. There are three different levels that we've developed here at Quiet Light. The first one, Level 1, they should be pretty obvious. They're obvious benefits that I think almost anyone could identify. Level 2 are one time and accounting expenses. They get a little bit more complex there. But it's Level 3 that an inexperienced broker or if you are someone that is selling your business directly to a buyer yourself, you could be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the overall value of your business if you're not focused on Level 3; if you're not digging deep and I always say using math and logic, it's not magic. It's not gray. It's black and white math and logic in that third level. And we'll go through some of them right now. But there's six different points to each level. So let's talk about this Level 1. I had somebody approach me at a Mastermind event recently and asked me what I thought was a pretty obvious question; Level 1. He said, hey, I don't make a whole lot of net income in the business, but I do take a $250,000 salary, is that an add-back? Yes, that's an add-back, that's an owner benefit; crystal clear owner benefit. So if you're only making your businesses $10,000 net income a year, but you're taking a $250,000 salary, your total owner benefit there with those two things alone would be; or Seller's Discretionary Earnings would be $260,000. The exception here is unless there are two partners that are working well over 40 hours a week combined. We can only add-back one owner payroll in that situation and have to do an adjustment for the second. If you've got two owners that are generalist in terms of their skills working less than 40 hours a week combined, then we could add-back both of them. The second one in Level 1; and by the way, with owner salaries, again, there's little asterisks that I put all over these things. There are exceptions to every rule. You have to talk through each and every one. Estimated income taxes; if you've been in business a long time as an entrepreneur probably making quarterly estimated income taxes payments, that's an obvious owner benefit that goes into the add-backs schedule that your broker or adviser or you if you're selling your business on your own would create. Owner health benefits; pretty obvious, if I sell my business today, I'm not going to pay for the new owners health insurance. They would have their own. Charitable contribution is number three, pretty obvious. Interest expenses, we see a lot of businesses come through for sale that were purchased years ago with an SBA loan and there's expenses there that do not carry forward to the new owner. Or if you were a 100% Amazon business owner and you've taken advantage of the Amazon Lending Program, there are interest expenses in your P&L as well, those do not carry forward and those are an add-back. Retirement contributions are number five; pretty obvious there. And number six has got a lot of them, it's little things that are owner benefits, like your personal meals and entertainment that you run through the business, travel that you run through the business. And we'll get into Level 3, we'll talk about some travel with mastermind groups and events and things of that nature. Vehicles or miles that you write off on the vehicles. This one should be pretty obvious, but it's mobile phones. No one is going to buy your online business that doesn't already have a mobile phone. So if you write off your mobile phone through the business, it is an add-back because it's not an expense that carries forward because the new owner already has a mobile phone. If they don't, they shouldn't be buying an online business. And yes, I've had a conversation with people before, a lot less in recent years than seven or eight years ago. If you've got a home office and you choose to write off tax for tax reduction that expense does not carry forward, nor do the utilities. So those are the first six in Level 1. Those are the more obvious owner benefits. In Level 2 they're a little less obvious so let's go through them again. There are six different levels there. The first one is trademarks, copyrights, patents, logo designs; things of that nature, it's all centered around intellectual property. These are mostly onetime expenses that do not carry forward to the new owner of the business. And I've sold businesses, as many of us have here at Quiet Light where somebody had just gotten a utility patent in the 12 months prior to selling the business and there's 20,000 dollars' worth of legal fees there. That's an amazing thing to have in terms of selling your business; that's defense ability; part of the risk pillar but it's also an add-back. So you can put that $20,000 back into your Profit & Loss statement below the [inaudible 00:17:27.5]. Same with logo design, copyrights, things of that nature. The second point here is these other types of legal expenses like a lawsuit. It happens now and then, but it generally doesn't happen every year so you could do an add-back of that as well. Unless you've got a P&L and you've been sued every year because of the type of business that you have. We may not sell that. Sorry, no one might buy it. Sorry. But if you try to sell it on your own, it would be an add-back. Enforcement letters that someone would write for you, those are generally one time and don't carry forward same with incorporation documents. The third point here in Level 2 is the new bookkeeper setting up books and arrears. You guys have always heard me talk about our book keeper referral list. We don't get paid referral fees from bookkeepers. We keep a list of good qualified bookkeepers because we want you to run a better business and have cleaner books because it's going to help us help you get a better value for your business. It's going to help the buyer take something over that is clean and documented well. So sometimes people will come to me and they need to have their books cleaned up. They would hire an e-commerce bookkeeper that would go through the last 24, 36 months of data and pull it into QuickBooks or Xero. There's generally a one-time fee for that. That expense does not carry forward to the new owner because you've already done it. There is a monthly fee that you would pay a bookkeeper that might charge you $500 a month to do your bookkeeping for you but if they charge you two or three or $4,000 to do your book in arrears, that is absolutely an add-back and its money well spent; well invested. It's fuzzy math to calculate the return on investment on that but you would, in my opinion, get well over 100% ROI if you spent money on hiring a bookkeeper to do your books in arrears. Equipment purchases are generally one-time expenses and often buried in the P&L under office supplies and they're very often personal in nature. Most of these businesses that are run remotely from a solopreneur that has VAs or even if you've got people that work closely and you all go to an office, there's not a lot of physical equipment that is purchased. So personal computers, we often see the office supplies get bumped up a little bit in the fall or in the late summer when kids are going back to school or during the holidays when people are spending money on gifts or just before the New Year when they're getting new products for themselves to reduce their taxes in a sense. Those are buried in the P&L; these are definitely add-backs when they're personal in nature. The last two points here in Level 2, they're kind of obvious as well but sometimes people don't catch them. It's depreciation. It's an accounting expense, it's not an actual cash out expense. And the same goes for amortization. Okay, so Level 3, again, thanks for hanging in here, this is the dig deep most important use math and logic part of the three levels of add-backs. This is where you're going to get the most bang for your buck by taking your time and digging deep and keeping good records so that you can go through these different things. First one is a website redesign. Several years ago, I sold a business that had just spent $20,000 on a website redesign. That business was listed at a 3.5 multiple and the website redesign; the business was maybe seven years old at the time and it had not done a website redesign since the inception of the business. So it's not going to recur every year. In this case, it's not going to recur every five years. So we chose to do a 100% add-back of that. So at three and a half times, that added $70,000 to the Seller's Discretionary Earnings at a 3.5 multiple. It sold at full price and the person that bought that business has been running it since then and is now listing the business for sale in the next few months at a great return on investment. But it's absolutely an add-back. If in the P&L, it shows that you've done this every two and a half years then at the very least, it's a partial add-back. Point number two on Level 3 is something that most people in the e-commerce world are involved with in some way, shape, or form and that's Masterminds, events, and related travel expenses to Mastermind. Sometimes there's a pretty hefty joining fee as well. So if you are part of a Mastermind whether it's; should I name them all? I'm not going to name any today. You've heard me name some of them before. If you're a Mastermind member, you're the member, not your business. When you sell your business, that expense does not carry forward. It helps you personally grow your business and gain business knowledge and the new owner of the business may or may not join that Mastermind as well. They may actually be in their own Mastermind and have their own expense because they're bolting on new businesses to it. So this one is an add-back and it's missed by most people. The same goes for those events that you may go to. You choose to go to those events that are Mastermind related and odds are you checked out a lot of personal benefits there and travel and sightseeing and things of that nature. The exception to this rule is if your business is similar to Quiet Light Brokerage. We sponsor Masterminds, we sponsor events and we go to them to build our network of relationships therefore, it's not an add-back. It's an integral part of our marketing campaign. The other exception is if you brought your CMO; somebody that's on staff. If you the owner of the business goes it's an add-back but if you the owner of your business goes and you choose to bring your CMO, that's a business expense. That CMO is going to move forward and carry forward with the business and would go to that Mastermind every year, so to speak if the new owner of the business joins the Mastermind or has their own CMO because it's a great way to learn new marketing techniques. That part wouldn't be an add-back. So there are again exceptions to almost every single rule. Point number three here is pretty important. Most people listening to this podcast that own any kind of online business or doing some form of advertising. The biggest mistake I see people make is with, let's say, an Amazon FBA businesses, they're allowing Amazon to simply deduct the ad cost from their deposits every couple of weeks. That means that you are not getting the benefit on your spending. You're not getting that cash back and you're not getting the rewards. American Express Gold Card will give you four times the points on advertising spend up to $150,000 and then the levels change. There are cash back cards that you can get 1½, 2% cash back. The IRS hasn't figured out how to tax this. It's really; these are discounts, there's no method for tracking it. So I see a lot of people; it never shows up on their P&L, some people with bookkeeper's do; that's an exception rather than the rule. They do an adjustment in the Profit & Loss statement. They've got the total advertising expense and then they've got an adjustment for it there. But when it's not there at all; and let's talk cash back only for now, people just slide it into their personal income and bank account and they use the money for perks. It's an owner benefit so therefore, if it's an owner benefit, it is an add-back. The key here is to track it and find a way to convey it to your adviser if they don't ask; everybody at Quiet Light will but if they don't ask, convey to them that it is an owner benefit. You do have the data. It's math. It's logic. And your buyer will accept it. I've had situations where we've had $24,000 a year in cash back and tracked it and the business sold for a three time multiple, for instance. So it's almost $75,000 in value to the business when it's being sold; a huge benefit there. When it comes to rewards; this is the tricky part, a lot of people use the rewards instead of the cash back, which is really smart because you can get a lot more bang for your buck with the rewards. But you cannot convert that bang for your buck into actual dollars at that high level. So if you are going to travel internationally and use your points that you've accumulated to buy a $10,000 first class ticket somewhere around the world, you don't then get a $10,000 add-back. What you get instead is a percentage of your points. Most of the cards say you can convert them at 1%, so you would simply take the points that month times 1% and that is you add-back amount. That's a huge one that most people miss and it can add a tremendous value to your business. Now, as entrepreneurs, we first often seek employees that we know and we trust. Those employees are often friends and relatives. First point of advice I'd give you is don't hire somebody that you cannot comfortably fire and those are usually friends or relatives. Second point is, if you go ahead and do that, try not to overpay them. Because if you're overpaying them, you're getting some loyalty there, yes, but when you go to sell your business, you will lose 2, 3, 4, 5 times the value of how much you're overpaying them. But you don't have to fire them. My bad, advocated firing people before for this very situation. But you don't have to be the Grinch if it's around the holidays. Here's what I did in a particular situation. I had a business that was for sale, three and a half time multiple, really strong business, ended up getting multiple full price offers and sold at that level. But the owner of the business paid his brother who he loved dearly $20 an hour to do customer service work. Who wouldn't want to do remote customer services work at $20 an hour? It's a great deal. His brother loved it. It turned out the brother was really working about five hours a week because he was really good at creating canned responses, most of these; 99% of the communications from customers were via email so he just had a canned response. He was open about it, talked about it. There's a lot of logic to saying this brother is loved and overpaid excessively so we did a negative add-back, meaning we adjusted his income and dropped down to the add-back schedule and put an expense in for a virtual assistant to do the customer service work. We bumped the customer service work from what the brother said he worked from five hours to 10 hours. And instead of paying that VA the standard maybe $5 an hour if they're working remotely in the Philippines, for instance, we actually doubled it and made it 10. So we overpaid the VA. We paid them for more hours and this is all on paper, of course, and did an adjustment. We were conservative in our adjustment, but basically it was about a $10,000 add-back at a three and a half time multiple. It boosted the value of business by $35,000. So you've got to think through some of those things when you're making hiring decisions and firing decisions and plan in advance when you're selling your business. We don't want you to wake up some day and just be so tired and frustrated and fearful that you're too overleveraged in your business and decide to sell. We want you to plan it out so we can help you get maximum value for your business, but also have a better business for the buyer so that they can take it on with less risk that they're willing to pay more and they can grow it someday and eventually exit their business. Okay, point number five, most people miss this. If partway through the year, your cost of goods sold go up by $2 a unit and you're selling a thousand units a month, do you think your buyer is going to ask for an adjustment in due diligence? Yes is the only answer. They're smart. They're going to stroke a check for half a million, a million, to five million dollars. They're going to hire somebody to do their due diligence. They're going to pay attention and they're going to dig deep. You need to do the same thing. So last year, I sold Mike Jackness' business. Many of you have heard me talk about it with Mike on this podcast. We've done many presentations together. Halfway through the year Mike renegotiated his cost of goods sold on his one primary SKU. It was doing about; let's just call it a thousand units a month for simple math, he's doing many more than that. And it was more than $2 and a unit that was adjusted, but it happened in the last six months; the most recent six months of his P&L. That savings carries forward to the new owner of the business. So what we did is in the first six months of that year, we took the total number of units that were sold, multiplied it times let's say $2 a unit. That's two thousand dollars a month if a thousand units were sold a month or it's $12,000. And then you multiply that $12,000 times your multiple and you see what added value there is to your business. It's a legitimate black and white add-back. In Mike's situation off the top of my head; I'm guessing at this point, I'm going from memory but I think it was about $54,000 that was added to the list price of this business; true, legitimate black and white value. It's sold. Obviously we know that. The buyer has bought five businesses from Quiet Light Brokerage and multiple others. He's very, very well educated. He's very smart. It's a legitimate add-back. 99% of people that sell the business on their own missed that and I'm sure a lot more with other firms. At Quiet Light Brokerage; and here I am preaching Quiet Light, I'm telling you that you got to dig deep. All right, reduced cost of goods sold. That's what that is, that definitely carry forward. The other part here is that most people that are listening to this that are entrepreneurs bootstrapped their business and they listened to an influencer, an expert in the space, and they gave it a try. And it turns out all the stars were aligned. They worked hard, they got lucky. And they've got a business that is generating revenue for them. And you're just working like crazy on that treadmill, trying to keep up with growth, and inventory, and cash flow management; things of this nature. You didn't slow down yet or haven't had the opportunity to slow down and look at your packaging and maybe working with somebody like Inventus or Gembah to work on repackaging your products and your SKUs. When you do that, if the weight comes down, the pick pack and ship fees at your 3PL or at the FBA comes down and that will carry forward just like reduced cost of goods sold. So think about those aspects of it. They're all really important. When those savings carry forward to the new owner of the business, it's an adjustment or an add-back. We've all heard of the tariff wars in recent years, months, depending upon when you're listening to this. We've had tariffs that have been; first they were doubled; now they've been cut in half. If you're in the middle of this and your tariffs have been reduced by 50%, that savings will carry forward and you can do an adjustment on that as well. But you've got to have the data in order to do it. You can't ballpark these numbers. You've got to have the details and the data and the numbers. You've got to dig deep. You've got to use all of the math and logic that's at your fingertips if you're running your business really well and really focused with data to drive the value where it should be so the buyer can take it over again and do the right thing for the buyer. And that buyer takes it over and again does something great with the business. That's the third point; I'm sorry, sixth point of Level 3. Let's talk briefly about an add-back schedule and what it looks like and what it does for this business. For those that have planned in to jump over to video, they can see this in a P&L format, for those that are listening, I'm going to talk through it. The example I've got here is it's got a lot of add-backs in it. Let me make it crystal clear that this list I've got up in front of me, not every one of them is on every P&L add-back schedule. It's kind of excessive. But the point here is to show you how many there are and what the possibilities are. In this example though, the net income, we've got $297,000 in this add-back example. The Level 1 add-backs between payroll, payroll taxes, health insurance, charitable donation, meals and entertainment added almost $75,000 back to the net income. At a four time multiple that's $299,000 added to the list price. The Level 2 add-backs one time legal and professional fees, depreciation, and interest expenses added almost $21,000 back to the Seller's Discretionary Earnings. At a four time multiple that's $82,000. Level 3, we've got reduced cost of goods sold. You replaced an in-house bookkeeper, you've got a new e-com bookkeeper; a negative adjustment there, Mastermind joining fees, travel to events and Masterminds, and then adjustment on cost of the goods sold, cash back there; oh no this one is a cash back on your credit card. All of those total about $62,000. At a four time multiple it's adding $247,000 to the list price of the business. Between the three different levels of add-backs; $157,000 in add-backs, we started at almost $300,000 in net income and now we're at 157 in total add-backs, it's $455,000. All in at a four time multiple, these add-backs; these three different level of add-backs are adding $629,000 to the list price of the business. The bottom line is when you pay more attention to the details of the business your value is going to be much, much higher. Now, what is not a legitimate add-back? These are things that people have come to the table saying, hey, can I add this back? Hey, this is a one-time expense. It's not going to carry forward or things of this nature. And in most cases, they do carry forward or the math is really fuzzy and we can't do an add-back. The first one is inventory stock outs; lost revenue because of it. I've had people that have tried to talk me into this and in one case he did talk me into it. He was an investment banker, an attorney, an MBA; a really, really bright guy. He showed me the math and the logic behind being out of stock for a particular time in the trailing 12 months and wanted to do an add-back. The reality is that with a rapidly growing business, most people are going to be out of stock at one time or another until we get better at cash flow management. And then you're not going to be and you're going to be able to buy more inventory and you're not going be out of stock. But it occurs in most e-commerce businesses. So it's not an add-back, mostly because it does happen again and because the math is speculative at least. Okay, failed advertising campaign, point number two here, new advertising is something we all do in businesses. It's recurring and it's simply part of doing business and it's definitely not an add-back. The second owner salary that I talked about at level one in this case, it's not an add-back. If combined you're working more than 40 hours or that second owner if you're working less than 40 combined. If they've got some kind of non-transferable skill, let's say that they've developed the backend to your website and that's their primary role and they're only doing it 20 hours a week, but they're really skilled at it. Odds are the generalist buyer is not going to have that skill set. So it's not an add-back. And in fact, that payroll, you can do an adjustment on payroll if they're grossly overpaid, but you're going to have to do an adjustment in an add-back schedule showing the true cost of hiring somebody for that role after the business is sold. Recently fired essential staff is point number five. You want to let 9 to 12 months before adding back essential staff to prove that the business can be operated without them and that the trends and all the work has been separated out between new people that took over their roles. The last is I see this from some people and it's just not the right thing to do. Recent cost cutting is not a legitimate add-back. Cost cutting critical costs to increase your Seller's Discretionary Earnings, it's obvious and it erodes trust. So if you've traditionally spent $10,000 a month on advertising over the last 24 months but in the last three, you've cut it to $2,000 a month and the logic for you is because you got to boost Seller's Discretionary Earnings it's just going to hurt the new owner of the business and that's going to come back and bite them. And it's not the right thing to do but these types of things; other cost cutting is critical costs, just cut them to boost your Seller's Discretionary Earnings is definitely not an add-back. We always talk about black and white math and logic here with add-backs. There's no magic and there's no gray. Pushing too hard on add-backs is going to erode trust. We always talk about, again, the four pillars; the risk, growth, transferability, and documentation. Those are the Quiet Light four pillars. There's a fifth invisible one here and maybe it's the motor that keeps these pillars together, not a fifth pillar and that is you. That's the person behind the business that is running it. And if you push too hard on add-backs it's going to erode trust. And if you erode trust buyers are not going to give you the same value for the business or the deal structure is not going to be one that it could be if they trusted you. The more they trust you, the more they're going to pay for the business and the better deal structure you're going to get. So be a good person. Do the right thing. Run a great business. And you're going to get more value for it. Okay, so just to wrap this up for those that are stuck with me this long, I appreciate it, know your business' value. It's likely your most valuable asset. More than 50% of the money you'll ever make from your business is going to come the day that you sell it. So if you're a buyer of a business and you're on the hunt, these things are really, really important. You haven't bootstrapped, you haven't scrambled, you're coming into the business, it's already established, you could do some of these things and make these things a priority so that when you eventually exit your business; and everybody exits at one time or another, they don't think they will and they say no, I'm never going to sell. You're going to die someday; I'm sorry to tell you. So you're going to exit your business or it's going to exit you, outgrow you and not be sellable because of downward trend. So number one, know your business's value. Number two, know your numbers. Review your P&L monthly; Profit & Loss statement monthly. Get the details. The best thing you can do is outsource to an e-commerce bookkeeper or let them just give you that report every month. It takes two minutes to run the report yourself. Your cost of goods sold must be on an accrual basis. If you can get freight in on an accrual basis as well, please do because the businesses are sold on an accrual basis, not a cash basis. When you spend money on inventory and you do it on a cash basis your COGS will go up and down like a seesaw and the timing of the sale of your business will hurt you or hurt the buyer. And if you're going like crazy and you're putting all sorts of money into inventory, it's depressing your Seller's Discretionary Earnings and that's simply not the right way to do it. Review your key metrics, your churn rate, your average order value, ACOS or TACOS, your monthly recurring revenue, revenue by SKU, your inaudible [00:41:56.5]; all of these are important. Buyers are going to ask about them. The more detail you have about them, the more that knowledge is going to be conveyed, the more confidence you're going to instill in them, and the more value you're going to get for your business. Lastly, number three, track your perks. Personal expenses that are buried in the P&L owner benefits and we want to be able to pull those out of them. It's important because they are legitimate owner benefits and therefore they are add-backs. Track your cash back and travel points. Travel points can be converted. These owner benefits overall can add hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of value to your business. And you've earned it. Get paid for it. Don't take any shortcuts. There are no shortcuts to getting the true value for your business. Take the time and effort to review these and dig deep and by that, it's not an hour phone call with somebody that's trying to sell you on their ability to sell your business. I've got the perfect buyer for you. They just made an offer on another business. And I think they're going to buy your business. Please don't fall for that. You're smarter than that. We're here to help you understand the value of your business first and foremost. If you don't ever sell, that's okay. You're getting benefit from Quiet Light Brokerage, you're building a valuable business, you need to tell other people about it. Someday you will exit. Someday you will have somebody else that will exit and hopefully you'll think of us. But the key here is that you'll have a more valuable business that's better operated. And better for who? Somebody else; the buyer, and they're going to pay you more value for that. And someday oddly enough, I know it all comes back to selfishly Quiet Light Brokerage. Someday that buyer is going to sell their business as well. Maybe they'll think of us. That's our model. We want to help you first. Please take advantage of it and ask for a valuation. It's what we do. Don't say yeah, I'm not ready to sell. We do want to talk to you when you're ready to sell. We want to talk to you 12 to 24 months before you're ready to sell. Even if when you hit your target financial goal and you say you know what, I'm having fun. I want to hold on another year. Hold on to your business. You sell it when you're ready, but plan in advance. The best thing you can do is say, I want to exit; I want to change your mindset here and then I'm going to wrap this up. Change your mindset. Instead of going, how much can I get for my business? Say I want to get X for my business and then reverse engineer your pathway to that number. And the way to do that is a business valuation with a qualified expert at Quiet Light Brokerage. Now I'm pitching, right? I got to stop it. Everything we do is online. Everything we do is in the podcast. It's on YouTube. It's on our website. You could do a lot of this on your own. Go to the website, go to the show notes for this and download this PDF that matches this podcast presentation. And you're going to be able to do a lot of this on your own. If you can't do it and you don't want to do it, we're here to help. There's no cost to it. We're going to help you with it no matter what. So reach out. And don't forget, the most valuable asset is your business and you should pay very, very close attention to it. All right everybody thanks for listening. That wraps up this episode of the Quiet Light Podcast. Resources: Quiet Light Brokerage

In this live interview at “The Arts Club” Dover Street Mike shares many sales and success secrets to get you rolling! We also discuss technology of course... This recording was originally released during 2018, but as Mike shared so much value we are re-releasing it. Mike received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) with recognition from Her Majesty The Queen for his contribution to the UK digital economy.  In his business life Mike was CEO of Telecity, a company he helped successfully from a market cap of 6 Million to well over 3 Billion. Here are some of the questions that I asked Mike. How do people stay focused on that one idea that is going to get their business rolling? How do people stay focused on that one task that is going to get them to the next level? I know you are big believer in taking action before strategy? How do you think big data affects scaling a start-up business? Do you think it is important to create a clearly defined target market or can you go wide? Why are you a maverick? In your book Live Love Work Prosper you don’t believe that there is a work life balance? In Mike’s book he shares some great stuff with 3D technology. Get Mike’s book here Live Love Work Prosper (https://www.amazon.com/Live-Love-Work-Prosper-integrating/dp/1781258767) Originally released here  (https://natschooler.com/sales-and-success-secrets-to-scale-up-your-startup-with-mike-tobin-technology-entrepreneur/)

In Mike's talk with Matt, we hear God's faithfulness. In a world of chaos and brokenness, Matt's story is one of God working through every aspect of his life to shape Matt into the Godly man he is today.

In Mike's absence Blake and Janice continue their campaign against Kanye, rant about Amber Guyger, and speak about the bar being on the floor among other things.

Do you have a hard time talking about your business to other people?One of the things I hear the most from other entrepreneurs is that they often feel like they are faking it, but they don't know how to be more authentic when they sell.If that sounds like you, wellllll: I can't wait for you to get the rock-solid tips in this episode all about branding yourself and your business!My guest, Mike Lloyd is a branding coach who not only helps businesses and entrepreneurs to present their best selves, he's also learned from some of the very best minds in business to recognize opportunities and create his success.In Mike and I's conversation in this episode of the Dream Cast, you'll also learn:How to tell your story so that people actually listen (and buy from you!)How to hone in on your business message so that it feels authentic to youMany more business tips from Mike's experience that both new and seasoned entrepreneurs will find valuable!Listen now to get your Branding 101 crash course!Support the show (http://paypal.me/bwalsh)

This week we're talking about a lyric essay that was first published in 2002 and has since become part of a new canon of creative nonfiction: Jenny Boully's "The Body," which first appeared in The Seneca Review and was re-released in book form by Essay Press. The big question of this episode: are we smart enough to understand this piece, which is written in footnotes to an invisible text? Or is it even a thing meant to be "understood" in a traditional narrative sense? Is it a beautiful evocation of a language that's just beyond conventional meaning? Is it a whole bunch of word salad? And, seriously, are we big dummies who just barely manage to get our pants on each morning? Also this week: In Mike's continuing search for a good donut, he pits two bitter Pennsylvania rivals against each other. That's right, it's Sheetz vs. Wawa. If you like the show, please consider subscribing to our Patreon, which helps us make a bit of money each month and keep the show going. For just $5 a month, you'll get access to a monthly bonus episode, Book Fight After Dark, in which we visit some of the weirder, goofier corners of the literary world. Recently, that's involved reading a paranormal romance novel, the debut novel of Jersey Shore's Snookie, and the novelization of the movie Robocop.

Mike Allsop is an airline pilot who has climbed to the peaks of the world in search of adventure and meaning. In Mike's new book, High Adventure, he brings all of his hard-earned lessons together and shares how he found a way of incorporating his adventures into family life and how you can as well! In this episode of Please Blow My Mind with Will Fleming, Mike talks about his drive for adventure and the risk that comes along with that. If you are trying to find a way to take chances in your life, Mike's story can help. Check out and get High Adventure by following the link: https://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/High-Adventure-Mike-Allsop/9781760633622 This episode is sponsored by Float Culture: http://floatculture.co.nz/ Get 20% off your next float by using the promo code ‘MINDBLOWING’ at checkout. Subscribe and watch the video version of ‘Please Blow My Mind’ on my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/PleaseBlowMyMind --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pleaseblowmymind/message

Episode 46           It is my honor to sit with Caleb Daigle and His Father Mike Daigle as we discuss Mike’s 6 year battle with Kidney Disease. As many of you know Caleb and I completed a 3 part series on Trusting God and mentioned his Father Mike and how it would be great to have him join us in a podcast. Well in this Show we will be talking with his Father Mike about the journey that nearly took his life. But God….. Intervened through a wonderful, young woman and his life changed forever, as well as his amazing family. I want to strongly encourage all of you to take the time to listen to this message, a message of hope, sadness, love, unselfishness, strength, and victory through Jesus Christ. Mike’s story is amazing and hearing about each part of his journey as He woke up each day not knowing what it would bring. God blessed him with an amazing wife and four boys who love him dearly. You will also get to hear about his amazing wife Tiffany who not only stood by his side but also filled in as Mom, Dad, Moral Support, and Wife. In Mike’s words he would never have made it through the past 6 years without her. So sit back relax and listen to this great testimony on how a Man waited 6 years for a Kidney and how a high school classmate of Caleb’s saved his Father’s life. God Bless You and Yours, please write some comments for us to share with Mike’s family and also please consider sharing, enjoy the Show.

This week we had a great chat with Mike Moreno, co-founder of Much More Media. In Mike's words: "I’m a creator and strategist with a love for great stories, technology, and content marketing. My wife can attest that I am part of the 15% that watch video content with the sound on, thank you very much. I’ve been a storyteller since I was a tiny human when I first started work as an actor, and I even did stand up comedy at some of the best LA comedy clubs *as a preteen. Now, you can find me here helping business owners tell their stories through great content, guided by the right strategy for them. My first foray in the online space was building The Actor CEO Podcast, where I teach actors how to treat their acting careers like a business – often using content marketing – where I’ve got 40K+ downloads."

Interview of PGA Tour Professional and current Director of Golf at Secession Golf Club in Beaufort, SC, Mike Harmon. Mike Harmon is a titan in the industry, he's also the Director of Golf at Secession Golf Club in Beaufort, South Carolina. Mike has been in and around the game for almost 50 years. In that time he has seen and done it all and we talk about all of that in this show. We start with how he got started in the game as a kid and worked his way to becoming a member of the PGA Tour in the early 1980s where he rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest and best players to ever play the game. We then follow his career from the PGA Tour to the club side of the business where he goes from walking the fairways and playing at the elite level, all the way back to the beginning where he is washing golf carts, washing golf clubs and folding sweaters. From there we get into his progression on the club side of the business, where he worked his way up and became Director of Golf at Secession Golf Club and he was very instrumental in helping to build the club up from the ground level. We also talk about Secession Golf Club itself; the name, the unique experience, the challenges, and the success. In Mike's more than 30 years of helping to make Secession Golf Club a world-renowned club, he's also found time to win a number of awards at the local, Sectional, and National levels and his mentoring program, not only for assistants, but the kids in and around the city of Beaufort, illustrates his commitment to giving back. I caught up with Mike during one of the busiest times of the year, for him and the club, but in typical Mike fashion he is always more than willing to help someone, and he made time for this interview. He gives a ton of wisdom, tells some great stories and I hope you find this interview as enjoyable as I did while talking to him. 

In Mike's mind, 'March Madness' has more to do with stupid events than college basketball.

Dr. Michael Fox is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Harvard University Medical School and Director of the Laboratory for Brain Network Imaging and Modulation. In addition, Mike is Associate Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Co-Director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Deep Brain Stimulation Program, Assistant Neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a practicing clinical neurologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In Mike’s research, he uses wiring diagrams of the human brain to try to make sense of brain problems and help patients. In the clinic, Mike treats patients with movement disorders like tremor and Parkinson’s disease using deep brain stimulation. He also uses noninvasive brain stimulation to treat people with psychiatric conditions like depression. When Mike isn’t doing research in his lab or working with patients in the clinic, he loves spending time with his wife and two daughters. They enjoy hiking and having fun outdoors together. He received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University, and he was awarded his MD and PhD from Washington University in St. Louis. Afterwards, Mike completed a medical internship at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Next, he completed his Neurology Residency and Movement Disorders Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston before becoming a faculty member with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. Mike is the recipient of the inaugural Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. In our interview, Mike tells us more about his life and science.

On This Week's Episode....​ Just because we have a new format, doesn’t mean we raised our standards! We’re covering more topics and introducing a reoccurring segment called Weekly The F#$%! Each week, we’ll round up some crazy headlines you might have missed. This week, we discuss how a flailing New Democratic Party could spell trouble for the Conservative Party, and we discuss ditching cable and traditional media for online streaming services. Editor’s Note: We normally do not censor our language, because…you know…internet…but for Weekly The F#$%, it’s all part of the shtick. Just relax and enjoy. Also Overheard:​  The Marijuana Party is basically pointless now.  We call Josh’s hips “Gimpy” and “Noodle”.  We need to get Josh a Foam Bat’leth…although at this price, we should just get him a real one. Introducing our new segment, Weekly The F#$% Everything is legal in the country that it’s recorded in! In Mike’s defense, Steve Scully is a sexy man. Oddly enough, Netflix IS raising it’s prices by $3 dollars…. Mike’s wife is making toilet wine.   WeeklyTF Headlines:​ You Can’t change math! The Darty Farty Party Blowin’ Up The Bathroom Your Wife Is Transparent Bedazzled Pigeon Finds His Way Home! Talk About Mommy Issues….       We want to hear what you think! Don’t just yell angrily at whatever dumb thing Tim just said, or laugh derisively at one of Mike’s opinions! Write a comment in the comment section below, email us at info@twoandchange.ca, or find us on Facebook or Twitter! The more you comment, the easier it is for people to find our show. Remember, we have to justify this to our wives somehow….

Go to http://AgentonFire.com and Download Your Free Copy of “7 Listing Secrets” Entrepreneurs are like the modern-day rock stars and the thought of being one is extremely appealing to many. But few agents actually know the real truth about entrepreneurship. It’s hard and can sometimes feel like you’re fighting a solid stone brick wall. There are no shortcuts or magic ‘tricks’ to make stacks of cash appear at the touch of a button or the click of your fingers. You have to work relentlessly hard. In Mike’s own words… “Everyone wants to be the entrepreneur...until you’re the one who writes the cheques, and that’s where everyone fails.” Get yourself ready for another ignited episode of Agent on Fire where you’re going to learn the REAL truth about what it takes to be an Entrepreneur in real estate. Leave all your preceded thoughts at the door, and be ready to have the torch held under your ass. Ready to learn how to make stuff happen like a total boss? Then go to www.agentonfire.com and download the free cheat sheet showing you how to list houses in 30 minutes (or less) while charging more than ever before EVEN in un-listable markets. Go there right now!

Mike Paton joins me today to talk about how EOS® (the entrepreneurial operating system) and Traction can help you accelerate your business. Mike is the “visionary” of EOS Worldwide. He is a consultant to the massive client base looking to EOS® to identify the problems and strengths of their businesses. He shares what his job entails and how someone like him can help a struggling business. As an adopter of EOS® in my own business, I highly recommend this operating system for small businesses. It is a great tool. Mike and I explain the two-year process that businesses go through to get their business into a healthier state. EOS is not a quick process, but it is totally worth the time and resources invested in it. You will learn about: Mike’s book with EOS Worldwide’s founder called Get a Grip. Mike’s business background. What is EOS? How to use EOS in your business? The 6 components of the EOS process. The importance of working with the “big picture” in mind. Common results Mike sees with his clients. Why EOS works. How to clarify roles within the company. What is the integrator role in a company? What is the visionary role in a company? Finding and maintaining passion in the business. How EOS works for family businesses. Why EOS is a great option for businesses. We’ve talked in the past about making things easier in your business by using all the tools you have available to you. Today we’re talking specifically about EOS, or Entrepreneurial Operating System, as a way to free up some of your time and help you run your business more efficiently. Not every company is a good fit for EOS, of course, but our guest today (Mike Paton) says it’s important to pick just one operating system to work with so everything aligns in the software world and also between the humans who use those systems. Transparent Operations Mike identifies six key areas to assess when looking at implementing an EOS®. Typically once EOS® is in place, if there are issues in these key components, you’ll see evidence of that pretty quickly and therefore be able to get to the root of the problem. In Mike’s own words, here are the 6 key components of EOS® in order to gain Traction® that you should evaluate: Vision — Getting everybody on the same page with where you’re going and how you plan on getting there; People — Making sure you have great people in your business so you can achieve your great vision; Data — Running the business on a handful of objective numbers rather than the feelings, egos and emotions that so often are the basis of decisions in an entrepreneurial company; Issues — Because when your vision, people and data components are strong, your organization is transparent. This means all your problems, challenges and obstacles are smoked out. You need to be good at issues resolution at this point. Get good at recognizing, prioritizing and resolving your issues for the long-term greater good; Process — Getting the most important stuff in the business done the right and best way every time, even when you’re not there to manage everybody closely. It creates consistency and

In Mike’s first episode since his one-year podcast contract extension, the guys discuss a list of questionable pieces of advice. They also dive into the age old argument of being nice vs. being cool. Chris ends the episode with an impressive GameTime feat. Without a doubt, this is the BEST EPISODE YET.

Go to www.AgentOnfire.com and Download Your FREE Copy of “7 Listing Secrets” Are you spending too long on listing appointments and still unsatisfied with your closing percentage? Many real estate agents today talk themselves out of the sale without even knowing it. In Mike’s words... “The more you talk, the faster you talk yourself out of the sale and decimate your closing percentage.” Watch as clients eyes glaze over as you ‘chit-chat’ your way out of yet another listing. However, there is a simple solution. Today, Mike turns up the heat and shares with you his secret for drastically slashing your time spent at appointments while simultaneously increasing the number of listings you close without the sleazy ‘cheesy’ sales pitches. Make sure you head over to www.agentonfire.com and download the free cheat sheet showing you how to list houses in 30 minutes (or less) while charging more than ever before EVEN in un-listable markets. Go there right now!

In this week’s episode of Uncharted Performance we are joined by Mike Flynn of the Impact Entrepreneur show. Mike provides tons of wisdom on how we can become better box owners, coaches and most importantly, human beings. He is an avid CrossFitter through which he pursues developing his mind, body, and spirit. A successful entrepreneur in his own right as the owner of Flynn Wealth Strategies, he is a husband, father, who wants to have a game changing impact in the lives of others. We discuss what impact moments are and what they can mean to our development, how CrossFit and Entrepreneurship are very much alike, the concept of self efficacy, the power of choice, the true meaning of legacy, how to develop the right skills to develop confidence to be able to perform, the peak performance framework, and an in-depth look at the six bridges of personal growth and the importance of the concept of the future five. In Mike’s words, lets brace for impact!

In this episode, Marc discusses what you repurpose when you make a career pivot, and he examines the pivots of three clients to illustrate what he means. Marc starts by reading a review on iTunes, and then discusses the three career pivot examples. More information about each client example will be found in Episodes #020, #024, and #028.   Key Takeaways: [:56] Marc takes this episode to examine the components of a career pivot, and what you are repurposing. He does this by reviewing the late-career pivots of three clients. [1:15] Marc thanks everyone who has left a review on iTunes of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. On this episode he reads a listener review from iTunes user Unpobregato, who calls the podcast a lifeline. You can read the review on iTunes. [2:26] In preparing a career pivot, you have two things you can repurpose: your existing skills, or your industry knowledge. The examples on this episode did one or the other. [3:01] Example 1: Elizabeth Rabaey was interviewed in Episode #020. Elizabeth went from environmental engineering air and water permitting, to marketing in a mining construction equipment company, making multiple pivots. [3:21] Example 2: Mike Martin is on Marc’s blog. In Mike’s first pivot, he went from industrial sales to driving trains for the Houston Metro Line, and being a trainer for them, as they launched the Red Line. [3:45] Example 3: Jennifer will be on a future podcast. Jennifer went from handling sponsorships for live sporting events for a major broadcaster, to a project manager for an agency that deals with curly hair, and has moved from broadcast to digital media. [4:36] Episode #020 is Elizabeth’s story. Elizabeth had a political science and journalism degree, and went to an engineering firm. She was detail-oriented. Years later, she wanted something different. Elizabeth left, but returned to do business development and marketing, which were new skills for her. She repurposed her industry knowledge. [5:57] Marketing for them was painful, but Elizabeth gained valuable skills. A few months ago, she took a job with a mining equipment company. She now coordinates marketing events and conferences, and writes social media. She got the job because she knew equipment. What she’s doing now is not at all what she did before. [6:58] Mike will be on Episode #024. Mike spent many years in industrial sales. After a layoff, he wandered around, considering teaching. He had an associate’s degree in aviation technology. He could have gone back for a bachelor's degree in aviation. He is a pilot. With some thought, he decided to apply to drive trains. [8:09] Houston Metro Authority was rolling out their Red Line. Mike’s pilot skills and mindset made him a good candidate to drive a train. He tested the line, and also trained other drivers. Mike repurposed his existing skills. However, the commute was hard, and after a couple of years, he came back to Austin to train drone pilots. [9:48] Jennifer will be on Episode #028. Jennifer is a Gen Xer. She spent 20 years at a major broadcast company. She handled the NBA, NASCAR, and everyone loved her job. She, however, hated it; especially dealing with sponsors. She got laid off, moved to Austin, and met Marc, and he evaluated her. [11:15] She had very good project management abilities, especially to manage creatives. She landed at a digital media company, dealing with curly hair. She repurposed her project management skills, and being able to deal with creatives. She started as a contractor, part-time. She “dated” to get the job. [13:14] Elizabeth repurposed her industry knowledge, to get a job to learn knew skills. Jennifer repurposed her project management skills, to learn digital media. Both of these will likely continue to transition. Mike repurposed his skills to get jobs where he learned new knowledge. He made two pivots, to driving trains, and being a drone pilot.   Mentioned in This Episode: CareerPivot.com/episode-22 CareerPivot.com/blog Contact Marc, and ask questions at: Careerpivot.com/contact-me   Please take a moment — go to iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. Give this podcast a review and subscribe! If you’re not sure how to leave a review, please go to CareerPivot.com/review, and read the detailed instructions there.

Mike Maloney and David Morgan talk about the recent evidence of Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Barclays colluding to rig the silver markets. Also, they cover where stocks and speculation belong in precious metal investors' portfolios.If you enjoyed watching this video, be sure to check out the Hidden Secrets of Money website at https://www.hiddensecretsofmoney.com/. It's a world-leading educational series by Mike Maloney, the bestselling author of the Guide to Investing in Gold & Silver. As Mike explains in the series and his book, we live in an economic system that is made complicated by design. Basically, it's set up so most people don't even try to understand it. In Mike's videos, he breaks down these concepts using easy-to-follow analogies, real pages from history, and animations that tie it all together.

The complicated world of insurance, and how to pick a broker to best serve your needs. In today’s episode of, From Chaos to Control by The Project Guys, Craig interviews Mike Lay, owner of Foresight Financial Planning.  This particular episode is interesting because it gives the listeners a peek of financial planning.  Mike brings over thirty years of experience in Financial Planning firstly in the U.K, and the last 11 years in New Zealand.   What makes Foresight Financial Planning different from the big insurance companies is that they offer personalized advice to clients on their personal insurance needs.  They insure people, not assets.    Insurance is important because mitigates the risk to your business and family.  If something goes wrong, it’s something you wish you had.  Insurance covers certain scenarios if something doesn’t go on as planned.  “It’s not about telling people what they do.  It’s about providing them with information and assistance so they know where they’re potentially at risk or where their business is at risk”   A question Mike frequently gets is, “What should I do?  What’s the average?”  Mike doesn’t believe that there is anything in business that you can say is the average.  If the business has debt, it’s important to insure that if anything happened to you, your fellow directors, or people who rely on the business, that there will be money available to get them through that.  It’s having a backup in case of illness or death.  If you have a backup plan, you will be able to maybe bring somebody in to run the business in your absence or at the very least, you can get rid of debt and have a business continuity plan in place.   Not all brokers and advisors are the same.  One of the key differences is the agreements that the brokers have in place with the actual insurance companies. Some brokerage firms have access to the whole market in New Zealand while others financial agreements in place to work with just one or two different insurance companies.  This can obviously determine and dictate which policy ends up getting sold to the client.   Likewise there are two different types of governing rules and qualifications that brokers and people giving advice have the option of working under.  They can be either an Authorised Financial Advisor (AFA) or a Registered Financial Advisor (RFA).  The difference is that and AFA is governed to actually be allowed to offer financial advice, whereas a RFA is only allowed to sell a certain product.   What you need to look for in a broker is finding the right person for you who suits the way you work.  It has to be somebody you trust.  According to Mike, trusting your gut is his first rule.  You also have to ensure the quality of advice that you’re getting.  You need to be talking to someone who can provide you with advise that’s relevant to you.  You don’t want to work with people who are limited to one or two companies only.  That person has to have access to the whole insurance market.  You have to make sure the advisor or broker you’re dealing with has the right professional qualifications.   Being a small business owner has its upside.  Mike is able to truly work with his clients and give them very personalized service because he knows his clients well.  He regularly interacts with them through his newsletters and the social media, among others.  He maintains focus on giving added value to his clients.  As its downside, he believes that the playing field in the financial advisory industry is not leveled.    The downside to being a small-business owner and an authorized financial advisor is that banks don’t have to adhere to the same rules and government regulations that he does.    What the big companies don’t want you to know is that they are selling you insurance products that may not be a perfect match with your needs.  When you make a claim, it might get thrown out for some specific reason because something wasn’t mentioned.  When you buy something over a counter at the bank, you actually can’t be sure what you’re buying.  In Mike’s experience, he even saw the small print of one of the big four banks that said a claim won’t be paid if it’s in relation to any terrorist event or war-related activity.  If you happen to be on holiday and get killed because of a terrorist event, the insurance won’t pay out.    To manage this risk if you choose to deal with the bigger companies, you need to read the fine print.  Or better yet, you can have a qualified professional do it for you.    A benefit of working with a firm like Foresight Financial Planning is that you get more personalized service.  If you ever had to claim anything from the insurance companies, Mike will hold your hand through the process.  He also works with lawyers and accountants to make sure his recommendations don’t interfere with their advice.  His interest is in developing long-term relationships with his clients.    QUICK FIRE ROUND:   Best Marketing Tip:    Do something.  There are businesses that don’t have any web presence.  As a new generation of youngsters who do mostly everything on the internet, come through, in the future, it’s very important to engage with them as early as now.   Best Operations Tip:   Use a system called “Twenty Points to Success.”  It’s about setting goals each day in order to grow your business.  Mike has been using it for about ten years now.  He makes sure his role in growing the business continues and that he doesn’t get sidetracked just doing stuff that’s not going to add to profitability or increase his business.  That helped him get some clarity to ensure he was doing the right thing to make his business better.    Best Insurance Tip:   Regularly review your situation.  Get out of that mindset that if they review their insurances, they have to spend more.  Circumstances change, children grow up, and business situations change.  An ideal time frame would be to do so every one to two years.  That way, you are able to make adjustments based on what’s different in your life.   For personalized financial advice, you may contact Mike Lay through Facebook, Linkedin, or his website at www.foresightfinancial.co.nz     THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY OF INSURANCE:  INTERVIEW WITH MIKE LAY   In today’s episodes of From Control to Chaos, Craig of the Project Guys interviews Mike Lay, owner of Foresight Financial Planning.   Tell me a little bit about your background, who you are, and how you ended up doing what you do today.   Okay, so I’ve been in financial planning for over thirty years now.  Lucky enough, the last eleven years have been based here in New Zealand, following immigration from the U.K.  So, I’ve got a strong background of working with various insurance companies through the years.  I’ve held a couple of different management roles including being a high network manager for a large pension transfer company in the U.K. and now, obviously, I’ve got my own business here in New Plymouth, also for financial planning.   What services do you offer at Foresight Financial Planning?   We basically provide personalised advice to clients on their personal insurance needs.  That encompasses the straightforward stuff like life insurance, critical illness, disability insurance, income protection, health insurance…So we basically insure people but not assets.  So for example, we don’t do business insurance.  We don’t insure homes or cars.  We concentrate on dealing with the people.  Basically, anything to do with the person or the people, we insure.   Why is insurance so important?   I think the whole criteria of having insurance is a bit like a power board on the computer.  It’s there behind the scenes.  If something goes wrong, it’s something that you wish you had.  So, I think that insurance is very important, whether it’s for a family situation or a business situation because realistically, it does cover a certain scenario if something doesn’t go to play.  And that’s basically what we’re here for.  Our business isn’t about telling people what they must do or what they should do but it’s about giving them information and help so that they can make more informed decisions themselves as to perhaps, you know, where they’re potentially at risk or where their business is at risk and then we look at the options, if they can alleviate that.     I’m in business and have a partner, or I’m in business with my wife.  What should I be insuring myself against and why?   Yeah, I mean, it’s always hard and certainly in our industry, one of the questions I get asked a lot is, “What should I do?  What’s the average?”  I actually don’t believe there is anything in business that you can say is the average but to give you an example, if you’re in business, perhaps the business carries debt, so it’s important to insure that if anything happened to you or your fellow directors or the people that you rely on in the business, that in the event of something like death or critical illness, that there’s a lumps…that there’s basically money available to come into the business to get them through that.   I think it’s important from a business point-of-view to have a look at, perhaps, what’s your backup plan if something goes wrong?  If you die, does it mean because you haven’t gotten insurance in place, that you found that there is a chance that you’re going to potentially lose the house.  What’s the implication if maybe you don’t die, but an accident or even an illness means that you’re no longer able to work in the business?  You know, if you don’t have a backup plan, potentially, you might find yourself having to sell the business in a fire sale, whereas you know, if you’ve got the right coverage in place, you can maybe bring someone in to run the business in your absence or at least to get rid of debt or make sure that the business continues.   Brokers are trusted advisers, just as important as accountants and your lawyer.  What sorts of things should they be asking?  What should they look for in a broker?   I think the first thing to look at or to understand is that not all brokers and advisers are the same.  For example, I’m an Authorised Financial Advisor.  So that means, that I can provide insurance and investment planning advice.  So, I would always say the first thing that’s really important looking at a broker, is finding the right person for you that suits the way that you work.  Someone that you trust.  And trust your gut.  That’s the first rule for me.  I think also, one of the big things to ensure is the quality of advice that you’re getting because there are a lot of brokers out there that perhaps have got financial agreements in place to work with only one or two different insurance companies.  So it’s important that you deal with someone that has access to the whole market in New Zealand.  That someone who can actually provide you with advise that’s relevant to you rather than the advisor.  That’s also the same when it comes to the likes of banks because as you can imagine, the banks are always recommending their own products.  But that may not necessarily be in your best interests.  So, yeah, I think in reality, it’s making sure that you’ve got someone with the right professional qualifications and someone that you know has access to the whole insurance market for investment.    What do you enjoy the most about being in business?  And likewise, what do you enjoy the most about your industry?   I think the thing that I enjoy the most is the interaction with the clients.  Nothing is ever the same.  There’s no one size fits all.  So I think the biggest thing I enjoy is the interaction with the clients and helping them to find the right solution for their insurance needs.  We’re only a small team as you know this.  And myself and my wife, and we’ve got Guinness the dog who’s an important part of our business.  But apart from that, we are a small family owned business.  So, we’re not looking at being the biggest.  We’ve got no interest in being the biggest but we want to focus on giving the clients good quality advice.  So for us, it’s all about people.   I think the beauty about what we offer is it’s very, very personalised, so we know our clients well.  We know their families.  We know their situation.  So we’re not a corporation.  If the client finds out there’s only two people in the business, that they speak to.  I accept that if you’re part of a bigger organization, they’ll have a different view on how it works but for our own situation, it works well and we have regular interaction with our clients, with our newsletters, and social media, or what have you.  So, it’s all about giving that added value back to our client.   So what frustrates you about your industry?   I guess the thing that frustrates me the most is probably the compliance aspects of it.  I think there’s an awful lot of necessary compliance.  I do believe in compliance.  I do believe it’s important that people are adequately protected.  Equally, I think that the regulations are in place don’t always necessarily achieve what they were supposed to do, which is make things safe for the clients.  I think there are still a lot of rogues out there.  I think one of the biggest frustrations we have is that there doesn’t appear to be a level playing field between the different types of advisor.  So as an authorised advisor, I have to abide by a code of ethics.  I’m directly responsible for the advice that I give, for the actions that I take compared to, for example, somewhere like the banks that tend to self-regulate and don’t have to really act in the client’s best interest.  So, that frustrates me.  I think there was a level playing field and we were all treated the same, then that’s something that I think would benefit everyone.   Where do you see your industry going in the next five to ten years?  Every other industry’s changing and there’s also a trend?   Undoubtedly so.  I mean, there’s been a lot of financial crossover the last few months about financial advisers, about the earnings, the commissions, that advisers received.  I think that’s a very one-sided argument.  We earn commissions on the advice that we give on our insurance products and we’re happy to do so.  Equally, if a client wanted us to work on a fee-basis for them tomorrow, we have a fee-structure in place for our clients.  I think the thing is that we are in one of the industries that unless you’re in one of the big cities like Wellington or Auckland and you’re on a fairly phenomenal salary, people don’t want to actually see me for their insurance needs and they don’t want to be presented a bill to pay a few hundred dollars yet a lot of the regulators and the financial bodies are saying the commission should be outlawed and everyone should work on a fee.  But I don’t think it suits everyone.  So, if the regulators ended up going down that route, then what’s the…where do people then go to get quality advice?   I think the direct route is going to grow, especially with the new generation coming through.  Equally, I think if you buy something more direct and you’re choosing what you buy, you are effectively making that decision yourself and then very much comes a “buyer beware” situation.  So, I think that will probably happen to some degree.  If it does, there will also be a negative side to it further down the line when maybe someone goes to make a claim direct on an insurance product and the claim gets thrown out for some specific reason or because something wasn’t mentioned.  So, maybe it’s because I’m old and I’ve been in this industry a long time.  But I always advocate face-to-face advice and that’s how you build up a relationship and with us, we truly value that level of advice and then with our clients, for example, if something goes wrong and they need me to make a claim, they’re not doing that on their own.  They contact us, we deal with the whole claims process all the way through.  So, yeah, in answer to your question, I think when you buy direct or you may go buy something over the counter at the bank, you actually can’t be sure what you’re buying.    Wasn’t there a sign in your industry that said, “we put the proof in the pudding.”   Absolutely right.  I think it is.  I saw one of the big four banks on their life insurance in the small print, actually says that a claim won’t be paid in relation to any terrorist event or war-related activity.  So, you would imagine, if someone take out life insurance with a bank, happens to go abroad on holiday, like London, they get killed, then potentially, the insurance won’t pay out because it’s a terrorist activity.  So that’s the thing where it’s that buyer beware whereas if you actually get advice from a qualified individual who can do that research and make sure that sort of provision aren’t in your contract…   Absolutely and one of the big things we do which we also give clients a lot of advice around income protection and what have you.  As you know, ACC can be a minefield on their own.  So, we not only offer that advice free of charge but we also work with the clients or a business’ accountant or lawyer to ensure that anything that we do or any recommendations we make don’t interfere with anything that perhaps the accountant and lawyers advice.    You have to understand the big picture.   Absolutely and I think that’s really, really important and that’s the difference perhaps between an adviser who wants a good long-term client as opposed to someone who just wants to make an insurance sale and then you won’t hear from them again.   I think with anything like that, it’s important that you protect what’s important to you and if you get the right sort of advice, it doesn’t have to cost the earth.   QUICK FIRE ROUND:   Best Marketing Tip:    Best marketing tip is to do something.  I see so many businesses out there that don’t do anything.  They still don’t have websites.  Still aren’t on social media, etc.  And as a new generation of youngsters come through and ultimately will end up starting their own businesses, in the future, I think it’s very, very important to engage with those people.   Best Operations Tip:   My best operations tip that I swear by is I use a system called “Twenty Points to Success,” which basically means that I have to make so many phone calls and client contacts each day in order to grow the business.  So I’ve been using that system now for probably round about ten years.  It makes sure that my role in growing the business continues and I don’t get sidetracked just doing stuff and ultimately something that’s not gonna add to the profitability and increase our business.  It’s something that I picked up along the way years ago and perhaps I picked it up at a time when I was busy but I wasn’t doing things that actually helped grow my business.  So that helped give me some clarity to ensure that I was doing the right thing just to make my business better.  And I’m still using it.  You’re busy being busy but you’re not actually doing anything.   Best Business Growth Tip:   Business growth tip is number one is see the people.  Number two is see the people and number three is see the people.   Best Insurance Tip:   Regularly review your situation.  Everyone thinks that if they review insurances, there’s going to be a knock on their door and they’re gonna spend more money but quite often, circumstances change, children grow up.  For example, business situations.   Yearly would be fantastic but let’s be honest.  With families, business, day-to-day life, it’s not going to happen.  Equally, I’ve come across people that don’t know what they’ve got in place having reviewed insurances for five to ten years perhaps even longer.  Ideally, every one to two years you should have a general review.  Look at what’s changed.  Look at what’s different and then you can make the necessary adjustments.   For personalized financial advise, you may contact Mike Lay through Facebook, Linkedin, or his website at www.foresightfinancial.co.nz

TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS…. Before I get into it, I want to say thanks to everyone who has been sending me feedback about the show, and about the video spot HooplaHa did about us.  The feedback I’m getting really makes my day.  It makes me feel like we are on the right track, that the message is being received, and that it is having a positive impact in the world.  So, thank you to everyone who has reached out and let me know your thoughts about the show…I do not take it lightly.  It makes me feel like I should keep doing this. Today’s episode is a result of some of that feedback.  This is a listener inspired episode.  The remarkable thing to me was that this was sent in by a man who is being a better man, and he is only 16 years old.  That is so awesome, It’s great for me to know that people of his age are listening.  His name is Mike, and his question was about a certain type of relationship that many of us, myself included, are familiar with. Many of you will probably identify with Mikes story, he had been in a serious but toxic relationship.  The girl in this relationship was manipulative and controlling and eventually had him become separated with all of his close friends, he was even getting in fist fights because of this girl, and it was putting stress on his relationships with his family as well. After ending the relationship his friends and family came right back into his life with love and support, all of his important relationships have luckily been restored.  But, it has been two years and Mike finds himself avoiding relationships with other girls, he is meeting nice girls but the memories of the pain of this toxic relationship prevent him from making new connections. So, like I said…I think this is a pretty common story.  It happens to guys all the time, and it happens to women as well.  I have seen women and men get involved with very controlling people or energy vampires.  They start influencing your behavior; how you dress, what you eat, who you hang out with and mostly…how you spend your time.  People like this drive wedges between you and your family because they insist on being the most important thing in your universe. Eventually, when the relationship falls apart, which it always does…there you are, left with the remains and rubble of your former relationships.  In Mike’s case he was lucky that his friends and family rallied around

In this inaugural episode, Mike and Doug discuss the WHY behind this podcast and describe the calling to engage with those who are considering Christianity, simply go to church because "that's what you do when you have kids," or feel an emptiness and want to establish a deep relationship with Christ once and for all - but have never been woken up and challenged by the Holy Spirit. God hasn't talked to either of us yet - but he did turn the crockpot on slow simmer a few years back in my case. In Mike's case, he was a Lutheran Minister for 17 years and has a rich background in theology. We think you'll appreciate our open dialog and discussion of the journey. You'll know whether this podcast is speaking to your condition after an episode or two so give us a try and see if your crockpot turns on high.

We're talkin' TRUE FIRE, airbrush techniques and future projects with Mike Lavallee!Renowned for his TRUE FIRE airbrush technique which has revitalized the automotive art industry, the artist, Mike Lavallee, traces his roots to sign painting. Graduating with a degree in Sign Painting from Boston's Butera Art School in 1979, he would not work exclusively on bikes until after attending his first rally in Laconia, New Hampshire. It would become weekend event that would permanently change his life. It sparked what would eventually become a lifelong endeavor. Immersing himself in a decades long trek he would travel the motorcycle circuit as an artist until choosing to settle in the Pacific Northwest. In 1999 he opened his airbrush studio, Killer Paint, in Snohomish, Washington.After several successful collaborations with Chip Foose of Foose Design, Mike was introduced to a unique market of enthusiasts with an unquenchable appetite for fast rides and custom paint jobs. Sunny California was set ablaze when Mike's signature flame jobs burst onto the scene, instantly branding his technique a hot commodity. A friendship with Jesse James of West Coast Choppers landed Mike his first spot on television. Appearing as a guest artist on The Discovery Channel's, "Monster Garage," was an exciting experience. Mike attributes a significant portion of his success to both Chip Foose and Jesse James. Chip, in particular, has been a major component in the exposure of Mike’s distinctive TRUE FIRE technique.Since his appearances on Monster Garage, Mike, has since been honored to participate in TLC's wildly popular "Overhaulin'" and "RIDES"; shows he credits for their publicity of his TRUE FIRE technique. Mike has poured over 25 years of his life into his artwork, making it his primary focus, second to none. It's been a journey from one end of the country to another, some times being far easier than others. Along the way he's touched lives, inspired awe, spread smiles and lived to the fullest. In Mike's words, “What more could you ask for?”ABOUT KILLER PAINT - The custom automotive industry has never been the same since Killer Paint has come onto the scene. Mike Lavallee, Brooklyn native, has continued to invent, create, and elevate an industry that he calls home. The breadth of Mike’s vision and creative talent is long and wide. Mike and Killer Paint can transform any client’s dreams into striking realities one airbrush stroke at a time. Lavallee specializes in fine art, portraits, wildlife, murals and so much more. The creation of True Fire, revolutionized the entire industry and is still a highly sought after technique and effect. Barely letting the paint dry in his airbrush, Mike created Skelebrities, phenomenal and edgy renditions of the likes of Clint Eastwood and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. And, Mike Lavallee and Killer paint are constantly giving back to the custom automotive community, traveling and teaching new students the art of the airbrush.Mike Lavallee and Killer paint are located in Snohomish, Washington, and are available to discuss your custom project at any time. Working within the budgets of our clients is our specialty, realizing that Killer Paint does have a minimum of $500.00. All quotes from Mike and Killer Paint include prep, artwork, clear, cut and buffing unless other details are specified. When you are considering where to spend your custom cash, go no further than trusting your project with Mike Lavallee and Killer Paint. Killer Paint, where custom goes to the next level.www.killerpaint.com Keep up with Killer Paint on facebook!

We're talkin' TRUE FIRE, airbrush techniques and future projects with Mike Lavallee!Renowned for his TRUE FIRE airbrush technique which has revitalized the automotive art industry, the artist, Mike Lavallee, traces his roots to sign painting. Graduating with a degree in Sign Painting from Boston's Butera Art School in 1979, he would not work exclusively on bikes until after attending his first rally in Laconia, New Hampshire. It would become weekend event that would permanently change his life. It sparked what would eventually become a lifelong endeavor. Immersing himself in a decades long trek he would travel the motorcycle circuit as an artist until choosing to settle in the Pacific Northwest. In 1999 he opened his airbrush studio, Killer Paint, in Snohomish, Washington.After several successful collaborations with Chip Foose of Foose Design, Mike was introduced to a unique market of enthusiasts with an unquenchable appetite for fast rides and custom paint jobs. Sunny California was set ablaze when Mike's signature flame jobs burst onto the scene, instantly branding his technique a hot commodity. A friendship with Jesse James of West Coast Choppers landed Mike his first spot on television. Appearing as a guest artist on The Discovery Channel's, "Monster Garage," was an exciting experience. Mike attributes a significant portion of his success to both Chip Foose and Jesse James. Chip, in particular, has been a major component in the exposure of Mike’s distinctive TRUE FIRE technique.Since his appearances on Monster Garage, Mike, has since been honored to participate in TLC's wildly popular "Overhaulin'" and "RIDES"; shows he credits for their publicity of his TRUE FIRE technique. Mike has poured over 25 years of his life into his artwork, making it his primary focus, second to none. It's been a journey from one end of the country to another, some times being far easier than others. Along the way he's touched lives, inspired awe, spread smiles and lived to the fullest. In Mike's words, “What more could you ask for?”ABOUT KILLER PAINT - The custom automotive industry has never been the same since Killer Paint has come onto the scene. Mike Lavallee, Brooklyn native, has continued to invent, create, and elevate an industry that he calls home. The breadth of Mike’s vision and creative talent is long and wide. Mike and Killer Paint can transform any client’s dreams into striking realities one airbrush stroke at a time. Lavallee specializes in fine art, portraits, wildlife, murals and so much more. The creation of True Fire, revolutionized the entire industry and is still a highly sought after technique and effect. Barely letting the paint dry in his airbrush, Mike created Skelebrities, phenomenal and edgy renditions of the likes of Clint Eastwood and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. And, Mike Lavallee and Killer paint are constantly giving back to the custom automotive community, traveling and teaching new students the art of the airbrush.Mike Lavallee and Killer paint are located in Snohomish, Washington, and are available to discuss your custom project at any time. Working within the budgets of our clients is our specialty, realizing that Killer Paint does have a minimum of $500.00. All quotes from Mike and Killer Paint include prep, artwork, clear, cut and buffing unless other details are specified. When you are considering where to spend your custom cash, go no further than trusting your project with Mike Lavallee and Killer Paint. Killer Paint, where custom goes to the next level.www.killerpaint.com Keep up with Killer Paint on facebook!

We're talkin' TRUE FIRE, airbrush techniques and future projects with Mike Lavallee!Renowned for his TRUE FIRE airbrush technique which has revitalized the automotive art industry, the artist, Mike Lavallee, traces his roots to sign painting. Graduating with a degree in Sign Painting from Boston's Butera Art School in 1979, he would not work exclusively on bikes until after attending his first rally in Laconia, New Hampshire. It would become weekend event that would permanently change his life. It sparked what would eventually become a lifelong endeavor. Immersing himself in a decades long trek he would travel the motorcycle circuit as an artist until choosing to settle in the Pacific Northwest. In 1999 he opened his airbrush studio, Killer Paint, in Snohomish, Washington.After several successful collaborations with Chip Foose of Foose Design, Mike was introduced to a unique market of enthusiasts with an unquenchable appetite for fast rides and custom paint jobs. Sunny California was set ablaze when Mike's signature flame jobs burst onto the scene, instantly branding his technique a hot commodity. A friendship with Jesse James of West Coast Choppers landed Mike his first spot on television. Appearing as a guest artist on The Discovery Channel's, "Monster Garage," was an exciting experience. Mike attributes a significant portion of his success to both Chip Foose and Jesse James. Chip, in particular, has been a major component in the exposure of Mike’s distinctive TRUE FIRE technique.Since his appearances on Monster Garage, Mike, has since been honored to participate in TLC's wildly popular "Overhaulin'" and "RIDES"; shows he credits for their publicity of his TRUE FIRE technique. Mike has poured over 25 years of his life into his artwork, making it his primary focus, second to none. It's been a journey from one end of the country to another, some times being far easier than others. Along the way he's touched lives, inspired awe, spread smiles and lived to the fullest. In Mike's words, “What more could you ask for?”ABOUT KILLER PAINT - The custom automotive industry has never been the same since Killer Paint has come onto the scene. Mike Lavallee, Brooklyn native, has continued to invent, create, and elevate an industry that he calls home. The breadth of Mike’s vision and creative talent is long and wide. Mike and Killer Paint can transform any client’s dreams into striking realities one airbrush stroke at a time. Lavallee specializes in fine art, portraits, wildlife, murals and so much more. The creation of True Fire, revolutionized the entire industry and is still a highly sought after technique and effect. Barely letting the paint dry in his airbrush, Mike created Skelebrities, phenomenal and edgy renditions of the likes of Clint Eastwood and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. And, Mike Lavallee and Killer paint are constantly giving back to the custom automotive community, traveling and teaching new students the art of the airbrush.Mike Lavallee and Killer paint are located in Snohomish, Washington, and are available to discuss your custom project at any time. Working within the budgets of our clients is our specialty, realizing that Killer Paint does have a minimum of $500.00. All quotes from Mike and Killer Paint include prep, artwork, clear, cut and buffing unless other details are specified. When you are considering where to spend your custom cash, go no further than trusting your project with Mike Lavallee and Killer Paint. Killer Paint, where custom goes to the next level.www.killerpaint.com Keep up with Killer Paint on facebook!

Standing next to a water cooler at work might be the last place you'd think to scout for new hunting spots. You also might not get super excited when a co-worker says they have 20 acres of 4 wheeler property and you're welcome to it. But for Mike Behrmann, this was a dream come true.  One thing Mike has learned over the years is that asking access to hunt a property, even if the conversation starts at the company water cooler, is a skill that all hunters should perfect to be successful in the field. In Mike's case, it lead to a buck of a lifetime. Have You Heard Any Untold Deer Stories? Let Us Know: 724-613-2825 or Email Us Stories@BigBuckRegistry.com In this Show You Will Hear: The Detailed Play by Play of the Hunt for the Living Room Buck Why Nobody is Going to Laugh at You on Your First Deer Hunt Dusty's View of hte Ohio Whitetail Deer Herd Population Jay's First Big Buck Autograph & Autograph Tips from Mike Adams- THE Godfather of Outdoor Podcasting, Up North Journal Mike Behrmann's First Big Buck Autograph "Grab a leg, we're bring him in the house..." Down in the Dumps and Inspiration to Hunt  Passion of a Son's Buck Shout Out! Doug Kostreva HBSC Future SHOT SHOW Recap with Jana Waller BBR Rank in iTunes Last Week: #1 Outdoor, #2 Sports and Rec, #98 ALL PODCASTS Period! Weekly Improvements How to Ask Permission to Hunt and When to Back Off The Magic of a Water Cooler for Scouting Big Bucks Why Mike Hunts Thickets Mike's Equipment and Gear Breakdown Checklist Treestand Theft and Vandalism Stealing a Treestand AND a Buck Hunting with a Son and Satisfaction of Having them Shoot First When to Bring a Kid Hunting Memories Created Outdoors VS Watching TV Crying and Closure When a Big Buck Goes Down The Importance of Having Many Spots to Hunt: Pressure Relief How/Why Did The Buck End Up in the Living Room? Contact Us: FEEDBACK HOTLINE: 724-613-2825 REVIEW and SUBSCRIBE on iTUNES and Stitcher: www.BigBuckRegistry.com/itunes www.BigBuckRegistry.com/stitcher Want to Know When the Next Big Buck Podcast is Released? Then Join the Club: www.BigBuckRegistry.com/huntmail Submit A Buck: www.BigBuckRegistry.com/mybuck Be a Guest:  Guests@BigBuckRegistry.com Share for Share: www.BigBuckRegistry.com/s4s Facebook: www.Facebook.com/bigbuckregistry Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigbuckregistry Feedback:Feedback@BigBuckRegistry.com   Also find us on these fine networks:  iTunes Stitcher Blubrry Libsyn TuneIn Other Recommended Podcasts: CarrieZ  Wildgame IamTurkeyHunting BowRush FishNerds Bowhunting Freedom Up North Journal

The dark side of the music business comes under scrutiny again as British artist manager, producer, and all-round industry veteran Mike Angel guests. Mike shares some of his personal experiences with demonology and the dark occult, and touches on the part it has always played in the entertainment business. He goes on to disagree with the findings of many current researchers, however, (myself included), including the idea that artists such as Jay-Z place occult symbols into videos and live shows under instruction from their Satanic paymasters, and the suggestion that many A-list artists have been subjected to mind control techniques. In Mike's estimation, the corporate industry machine is motivated by pure greed, and much of what gets interpreted as occult symbolism is cynically placed there to generate controversy, attention, and ultimately profit. He also argues that much of the erratic and bizarre behaviour of A-list artists may not be the result of mind control abuse, but is simply the inevitable result of a lifetime lived in the public spotlight, and all the pressures and restrictions on personal freedom that come with it.This is not to say that occult practices aren't present in the industry however, he suggests - including blood sacrifices - and to write these off as pure 'conspiracy theory' is to be naive. We speculate on how many artists who discover the true nature of what they've got involved with when signing a pact with the industry, wish they could go back to a life of obscurity and freedom. They never can, because once you sign up, you sign up for life.Mike addresses the incredible fascination that Alesteir Crowley and organisations such as the OTO have held for so many artists through the ages, including the late Peaches Geldof, and we finish by discussing the influence of another notorious occultist, Kenneth Anger, on the careers of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.Other specific artists discussed include Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Jimmy Page.

The dark side of the music business comes under scrutiny again as British artist manager, producer, and all-round industry veteran Mike Angel guests. Mike shares some of his personal experiences with demonology and the dark occult, and touches on the part it has always played in the entertainment business. He goes on to disagree with the findings of many current researchers, however, (myself included), including the idea that artists such as Jay-Z place occult symbols into videos and live shows under instruction from their Satanic paymasters, and the suggestion that many A-list artists have been subjected to mind control techniques. In Mike's estimation, the corporate industry machine is motivated by pure greed, and much of what gets interpreted as occult symbolism is cynically placed there to generate controversy, attention, and ultimately profit. He also argues that much of the erratic and bizarre behaviour of A-list artists may not be the result of mind control abuse, but is simply the inevitable result of a lifetime lived in the public spotlight, and all the pressures and restrictions on personal freedom that come with it.This is not to say that occult practices aren't present in the industry however, he suggests - including blood sacrifices - and to write these off as pure 'conspiracy theory' is to be naive. We speculate on how many artists who discover the true nature of what they've got involved with when signing a pact with the industry, wish they could go back to a life of obscurity and freedom. They never can, because once you sign up, you sign up for life.Mike addresses the incredible fascination that Alesteir Crowley and organisations such as the OTO have held for so many artists through the ages, including the late Peaches Geldof, and we finish by discussing the influence of another notorious occultist, Kenneth Anger, on the careers of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.Other specific artists discussed include Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Jimmy Page.

Continuing on in the Months of Bond, TFG1Mike and MovieRevolt Dan take on Lazenby! In Mike’s opinion the worst Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Dan really liked it. Tune in to hear all their thoughts on the one “hit” wonder Lazenby as Bond!  Geeks: Mike “TFG1” Blanchard Dan “MovieRevolt” Clark Subscribe to …