Podcast appearances and mentions of James Stevenson

Giuseppe Castellano talks to author and long-time New Yorker cartoonist, Michael Maslin, about the reasons why Michael chronicles the history of cartooning; what differentiates a cartoonist and an illustrator; what “being there” means for cartoonists… and illustrators; and more.To learn more about Michael and Inkspill, visit michaelmaslin.com.Artists mentioned in this episode include: Liza Donnelly, Roz Chast, Roxie Munroe, Jack Ziegler, Laurent de Brunhoff, Peter Arno, Helen Hokinson, Charles Addams, James Thurber, Barbara Shermund, Robert Crumb, Sam Gross, David Sipress, Whitney Darrow Jr., John Cuneo, Syd Hoff, Ludwig Bemelmans, William Steig, James Stevenson, Edward Frascino, Barney Tobey, Saul Steinberg, Ed Koren, Ilonka Karasz, Alan Dunn, Mary Petty, Mischa Richter, Ed Sorel, Frank Modell, Rea Irvin, Christoph Niemann, Pearl Mann If you find value in this podcast, you can support it by subscribing to our best-selling publication, Notes On Illustration, on Substack. Among other benefits, you will gain access to bonus episodes we call “Extra Credit”. | Visit illustrationdept.com for offerings like mentorships and portfolio reviews, testimonials, our alumni showcase, and more. | Music for the podcast was created by Oatmello.

This week on ‘Work Hates' we chat to identical twins and comedy duo Ben and James Stevenson aka The Stevenson Experience. They've been performing together since they were 15 and whilst it hasn't always been an easy ride, they genuinely like each other. Individually they had some awful work stories including the time they were teenagers and a woman made Ben look at her naked photos. Together, they had a gig that was so bad they feared for their lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What more can be said about returning guest Steve Michener (Big Dipper, Volcano Suns) that hasn't been said already during his SEVEN previous appearances?!? Perhaps not much, but Steve is ALWAYS a great guest, and he returns with a gem of a record that many may not have heard of before - the delightful one-and-done release by British singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist Henry Badowski, 1981's 'Life Is A Grand' Songs discussed in this episode: All Going Out Together - Big Dipper; Life Is A Grand - Henry Badowski; I Dream Of Jeannie - Hypnolovewheel; My Face, Baby, Sign Here With Me - Henry Badowski; Right To Work - Chelsea; Antipope - King; Kids In America - Kim Wilde; My Face, Henry's In Love - Henry Badowski; That Summer Feeling - Jonathan Richman; Swimming With The Fish In The Sea, The Inside Out - Henry Badowski; The New World - Robert Fripp; Lester Leaps In - The Monochrome Set; Life Is A Grand - Henry Badowski; Don't Bring Harry - The Stranglers; Silver Trees, This Was Meant To Be - Henry Badowski; Common People - Pulp; Anywhere Else - Henry Badowski; Baby, Sign Here With Me - King; Edward The Bear - The Damned; Baby, Sign Here With Me - Henry Badowski; Shot By Both Sides - Magazine; Dead Finks Don't Talk - Brian Eno; Rampant - Henry Badowski; Love Is The Drug -Roxy Music; Making Love With My Wife - Henry Badowski; She's Fetching - Big Dipper; My Baby Don't Care - King

summaryIn this conversation, James Stevenson shares his extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), fundraising, and business turnarounds. He discusses his journey from construction to technology and marketing, leading to his current role in helping companies prepare for exits. Davidson provides insights into the challenges faced during a turnaround of a marketing services business, the sale process, and the importance of creative deal-making. He emphasizes the need for businesses to focus on fundamentals and strategic planning to maximize their value when preparing for sale.takeawaysJames Stevenson has a diverse background in M&A and fundraising.He emphasizes the importance of strategic planning for business exits.Turnarounds require a focus on cash flow and sales.Creative deal-making can enhance business valuations.Understanding the emotional aspects of business sales is crucial.Good money is preferable to giving away equity.Businesses should focus on fundamentals before selling.A well-motivated team is essential for business success.The sale process can be influenced by internal perceptions.Preparation for sale should start years in advance.Connect with Barnaby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barnabycook/Join The Exit Plan mailing list: http://eepurl.com/iC8sIY

Hilarious twins Ben and James Stevenson join Clairsy & Lisa in-studio to talk about their Perth Fringe show ‘The Stevenson Experience’, and all the fun things about being twins.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show today, Clairsy & Lisa open up the phones to ask you ‘what exploded?’... and were shocked at the stories.Twins Ben and James Stevenson come in to tell us about their Fringe Show ‘The Stevenson Experience’.In Clairsy’s Tragic Music Box, we’re treated to some nostalgia by looking back on everything that happened in the year 1986.Ben O’Shea swings by to give us the rundown of the new Bob Dylan Biopic, ‘A Complete Unknown’.And in The Shaw Report, Lisa tells us all about who’s nominated for the worst films in the 45th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards, and more controversy over the song ‘Every Breath You Take’ by the Police.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with James Stevenson, the visionary behind Awaken as Love retreats, to delve into the transformative realms of Tantra, Biodanza, and spiritual retreats. James has spent over 20 years weaving ancient wisdom with integral theory, creating a unique approach that empowers individuals to embody their true power. As a leading organizer of Tantra festivals, with more than 30 under his belt, James shared his evolving mission to empower other teachers and help individuals unlock their potential. We explored the intersection of leadership, conscious living, and spiritual development, emphasizing the challenges of delegation and the necessity of systems that foster growth beyond individual involvement. Integral theory, described as a "theory of everything," offers a comprehensive framework that integrates with spiritual practices like Tantra, encouraging a balance between intellectual understanding and embodiment.James and I also discussed the concept of awakening as love, focusing on the importance of simplicity and removing ego-driven obstacles to access one's inherent nature. We explored love beyond romantic notions, emphasizing awakening to one's true self and the simplicity of being. Our conversation touched on the application of integral theory in understanding global leadership dynamics, referencing figures like Zelinsky and Trump, and how developmental stages influence political landscapes. We expressed a desire for leaders who embody deeper wisdom and inclusivity. The episode wrapped up with excitement for upcoming Awaken as Love projects, including retreats in Bali, highlighting the importance of integrating practices and theories for both personal and collective development.

It's not easy living with a zealot. Or being at the local supermarket where he prowls. Suppose you like bacon? Suppose disposable diapers? There is interference in the air.   Sheila: A Year In The Life Of is a world-premiere James Stevenson commission from Playwright Laureate of Boston Kirsten Greenidge (Milk Like Sugar). Melia Bensussen (Artistic Director of Hartford Stage) directs a terrific ensemble of Seret Scott, Postell Pringle, Nikkole Salter, Brittany Allen, Mary Bacon, Marchánt Davis, and Lee Wilkof.    Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation among the playwright, actors, and Playing on Air's founder, Claudia Catania.   Please be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn or visit us at www.playingonair.org, where you'll find our complete collection of audio plays.

What's with these birthdays that end in a zero? How is it that a mere multiple of ten can wield such power? A touch of wit and love language can help.    Crisis Planning is a world premiere James Stevenson commission from Bay Area-playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb (The Making of a Great Moment). Directed by Jason Eagan (Founding Artistic Director of Ars Nova), the play features Andrew Garman (The Holdovers, “The Gilded Age”) and PoA legend April Matthis (Mary Jane, The Piano Lesson).   Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation among the playwright, actors, and Playing on Air's founder, Claudia Catania.   Please be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn or visit us at www.playingonair.org, where you'll find our complete collection of audio plays.  

Parents, Don and Charlotte, summon their adult children, Susanna and Brian, to a meeting at Le Pain Quotidien scheduled smack in the middle of their workday. What's up? Patricia Cotter's comedy ensues.   Did I Miss Anything Important? is a world-premiere James Stevenson commission from accomplished playwright Patricia Cotter (Mulan, Jr., The Daughters). The cast includes stalwarts David Rasche, Maryanne Plunkett, Zach Appelman, Lesley Fray, and Lakisha May. Marchánt Davis (Reality, Ain't No Mo') directs.   Music by Tom Kochan   Stay tuned after the performance for a conversation between the playwright, actors, and Playing on Air's founder, Claudia Catania.   Please be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn or visit us at www.playingonair.org, where you'll find our complete collection of audio plays.

Join Vintage Classic Radio this Friday the 13th for a spine-tingling special on "Friday Night Noir," featuring classic tales that will haunt your dreams! First up, delve into the eerie corridors of "Lanceford House" from the "Beyond Midnight" series, also known by its chilling alternative title, "The Green Vase." Originally aired on January 24, 1969, this haunting story takes you to an old mansion where a family heirloom holds a terrifying secret. The episode stars Eric Anderson as the troubled protagonist Charles, with Joan Alexander as his skeptical wife, Helen, and Mark Wells playing the enigmatic caretaker, Mr. Drayton. The night only gets darker as we transition to the "Suspense" radio show with the episode "Body Snatchers," first broadcast on November 24, 1942. In this horrifying tale, listeners find themselves in a small town grappling with mysterious disappearances linked to an unscrupulous doctor. The cast includes James Stevenson as Dr. Henry, a man with a dark side, Sarah Golding as the determined journalist, Anne, and Robert Harris as Sheriff Collins, who uncovers more than he bargained for. Don't miss these captivating stories that have chilled listeners for decades. Tune in to "Friday Night Noir" for an unforgettable evening of mystery and suspense!

Traditional and new energy sources alike are playing starring roles in the energy transition and modernization of the grid. Therein lie opportunities for investors. Barron's Senior Managing Editor Lauren R. Rublin and Deputy Editor Ben Levisohn talk with Dr. James Stevenson, Executive Director, Coal, Metals & Mining, at McCloskey by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company, about the global outlook for commodities and related stocks.

Join Chris as he sits down and talks with the creative minds of Moonlight Films. James Ian Mair, James Stevenson, and Deron Morgan talk about the early beginnings, the challenges with micro budget film making, what inspires them, and what they're currently working on. Ian shares some exclusive information in this episode about an upcoming project that they're excited to begin work on. Go support Moonlight Films and find out everything they have going on over at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MoonlightFilms1 You can also watch several of their films on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoonlightFilms Get your Electic merch here: http://tee.pub/lic/ElecticEntertainment   WHATEVER CREATIVE - Home (weebly.com) https://whatevercreative.weebly.com/electic-entertainment.html   Facebook @electicentertainment Electic Entertainment | Facebook   Instagram @electicentertainment Electic Entertainment (@electicentertainment) • Instagram photos and videos   Letterboxd @electic ‎electic's profile • Letterboxd   Twitter @ElecticEnterta1 Electic Entertainment (@ElecticEnterta1) / Twitter   TikTok electicentertainment https://www.tiktok.com/@electicentertainment Thanks for listening. Stay Spooky! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chris-gentry2/support

Want to join the podcast? Come together with other listeners in a deep dive into this summer's episodes, discussing ideas, asking questions, and sharing your experiences about issues brought up in our interviews. Perfect for writers at every level. Only a few spots available. Email 7amnovelist@substack.com for more info.Today we get to hear from Annie Weatherwax whose much-lauded novel, All We Had, was adapted by Katie Holmes for her  directorial debut. But Annie and I will be talking about how her career as a visual artist inspires her writing and vice versa, particularly as a writer and artist with dyslexia. Watch a recording of our live webinar here. The audio/video version is available for one week. Missed it? Check out the podcast version above or on your favorite podcast platform.To find Weatherwax's debut and many books by our authors, visit our Bookshop page. Looking for a writing community? Join our Facebook page. Annie Weatherwax is an author and artist who spent her early career sculpting superheroes and cartoon characters for Nickelodeon, DC Comics, and Pixar. Winner of the Robert Olen Butler Prize for Fiction, her debut novel All We Had, was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award and is now a major motion picture from Tribeca films. In 2017, she received The Hamilton Life Achievement Award for individuals with dyslexia. In 2021, she was the inaugural fellow at New Yorker Cartoonist, James Stevenson's Lost and Found Lab. Character sketches and stories from her  collection, “Odd Balls and Relationships,” appeared in the winter 2023/24 issue of Ploughshares Magazine. Her work exploring the relationship between language and vision, visual art and literature has been published in the New York Times and Publishers Weekly. Her most recent endeavor is "Monster in a Dress”—an animated short about her journey with gender, identity and personhood.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Exploring The Depths of "X-Love Death Sorrow" And The Life Of This Artist And His Iconic Group#80smusic #newmusic #newalbum #xlovedeathsorrow #singersongwriter #genelovesjezebel Jay Aston, the driving force behind the indomitable, critically acclaimed rock outfit Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel, has once again summoned the essence of the group's iconic sound with their latest studio album, X – Love Death Sorrow. Released across all formats on December 1, the album represents a culmination of the band's collective artistry. With the steadfast collaboration of esteemed guitarist James Stevenson (renowned for his work with The Alarm, Gen X, The Cult) and seasoned bassist Peter Rizzo, along with the return of acclaimed producer Peter Walsh, known for his instrumental role in crafting the band's classic '80s albums, X – Love Death Sorrow delivers a compelling blend of original compositions and captivating cover songs. This latest offering stands as a testament to the band's enduring legacy and serves as one of the most formidable additions to their extensive discography.Order the CD/Vinyl: https://cleorecs.com/store/?s=Love+Death+Sorrow&post_type=productPre-order/pre-save the digital: https://orcd.co/genelovesjezebel-xlovedeathsorrowWatch the video: https://youtu.be/u1aHEnwzNToWebsite: https://genelovesjezebel.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genelovesjezebelwithjayaston/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGeneLovesJezebelX: https://twitter.com/geneluvsjezebelYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@therealGLJ Thanks for tuning in, please be sure to click that subscribe button and give this a thumbs up!!Email: thevibesbroadcast@gmail.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/listen_to_the_vibes_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevibesbroadcastnetworkLinktree: https://linktr.ee/the_vibes_broadcastTikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeuTVRv2/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheVibesBrdcstTruth: https://truthsocial.com/@KoyoteFor all our social media and other links, go to: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/the_vibes_broadcastPlease subscribe, like, and share!

BRITISH ROCK MASTERS JAY ASTON'S GENE LOVES JEZEBEL COMPLETE THEIR COMEBACK WITH NEW ALBUM ‘LOVE DEATH SORROW' AND MASSIVE U.S. TOUR WITH THE ALARM AND BELOUIS SOME! EXCLUSIVE ZOOM  INTERVIEW WITH JAY ASTON! Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Interviewing the Legends I'm your host Ray Shasho Jay Aston, the driving force behind the indomitable, critically acclaimed rock outfit Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel, has once again summoned the essence of the group's iconic sound with their latest studio album, X – Love Death Sorrow. Released across all formats on December 1, the album represents a culmination of the band's collective artistry. With the steadfast collaboration of esteemed guitarist James Stevenson (renowned for his work with The Alarm, Gen X, The Cult) and seasoned bassist Peter Rizzo, along with the return of acclaimed producer Peter Walsh, known for his instrumental role in crafting the band's classic '80s albums, X – Love Death Sorrow delivers a compelling blend of original compositions and captivating cover songs. This latest offering stands as a testament to the band's enduring legacy and serves as one of the most formidable additions to their extensive discography. But that's not all! Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel is thrilled to reveal a major announcement: they will be embarking on a cross-country US tour alongside The Alarm and Belouis Some, set to kick off in May. This highly anticipated tour promises to be a must-see event for fans of both bands, offering a unique opportunity to experience their electrifying live performances in venues across the nation. PLEASE WELCOME LEGENDARY SINGER/SONGWRITER/GUITARIST FOR BRITISH ROCK BAND GENE LOVES JEZEBEL JAY ASTON TO INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS … PURCHASE THE NEW ALBUM BY GENE LOVES JEZEBEL Featuring JAY ASTON entitled X – LOVE DEATH SORROW The triumphant return of gothic/dark rock icons Gene Loves Jezebel, with this landmark studio album! This is the first studio album the band has released since 2017's Dance Underwater and features the return of producer Peter Walsh (who produced the band's classic albums)! This album mixes superb original tracks with outstanding covers of songs originally performed by Magazine, The Cure, Edwynn Collins, The Only Ones and more! Purchase the CD/Vinyl: https://cleorecs.com/store/?s=Love+Death+Sorrow&post_type=product Order the digital: https://orcd.co/genelovesjezebel-xlovedeathsorrow “LOVE DEATH SORROW IS THE BEST ALBUM TO DATE BY JAY ASTON AND BRIT ROCK LEGENDS GENE LOVES JEZEBEL. PASSIONATE SONGWRITING BLENDED WITH COVERS THAT HAVE CREATIVELY SURPASSED THE ORIGINALS MUSICALLY. A CELEBRATORY RETURN SINCE 2017's ‘DANCE UNDERWATER.'” 5 STARS! … BY MUSIC JOURNALIST RAY SHASHO   FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GENE LOVES JEZEBEL Featuring JAY ASTON Visit https://genelovesjezebel.co.uk/ Official website https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGeneLovesJezebel/ Facebook https://www.instagram.com/genelovesjezebelwithjayaston/ Instagram https://twitter.com/geneluvsjezebel?lang=en Twitter https://music.youtube.com/channel/UChfYyBcr2ViG4RowNCUusUw YouTube https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Egyhh5C7MvfJaWXFx1qc4 Spotify   GENE LOVES JEZEBEL LIVE 2024 USA ‘LIVE TODAY LOVE TOMORROW' TOUR SUPPORTING THE ALARM MAY 2024 as Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel May 1 New Orleans, LA House of Blues May 2 Austin, TX Emo's May 3 Houston, TX House of Blues May 4 Ft. Worth, TX Tannahill's May 6 St. Louis, MO Delmar Hall May 7 Kansas City, MO Knuckleheads May 8 Minneapolis, MN Parkway Theater May 9 Chicago, IL Des Plaines Theatre May 10 Detroit, MI Magic Bag May 12 Pittsburgh, PA Jergel's (Warrendale) May 13 Toronto, ON El Mocambo May 14 Buffalo, NY Asbury Hall May 15 Cleveland, OH Temple Live @ Masonic May 16 Asbury Park, NJ Asbury Lanes May 17 Philadelphia, PA Colonial Theater (Phoenixville) May 18 Falls Church, VA State Theater May 19 Richmond, VA The National May 22 Huntington, NY Paramount May 23 Pawling, NY Daryl's House May 24 New York, NY Irving Plaza May 25 Salisbury, MA Blue Ocean Music Hall May 26 New Haven, CT Toad's Place May 28 Northampton, MA Iron Horse May 29 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall May 31 Cincinnati, OH Ludlow Garage   Discography Albums Year Title 1983 Promise 1985 Immigrant 1986 Discover 1987 The House of Dolls 1990 Kiss of Life ² 1993 Heavenly Bodies ² 1995 In the Afterglow (live) 1999 VII² 1999 Love Lies Bleeding ¹ 2001 Giving Up the Ghost ¹ 2002 Accept No Substitute (Greatest Hits Live) ²              - 2003 Exploding Girls ¹ 2003 The Thornfield Sessions² 2004 The Dog House Sessions 2006 Anthology, Vols. 1-2 ² 2009 Dead Sexy ¹ 2017 Dance Underwater ² 2023 Love Death Sorrow²   Singles Year Title 1982 "Shaving My Neck" 1983 "Screaming / So Young" 1983 "Bruises" 1984 "Influenza (relapse)" 1984 "Shame (Whole Heart Howl)" 1985 "The Cow" 1985 "Desire" 1986 "Sweetest Thing" 1986 "Heartache" 1986 "Desire (Come and Get It)" 1987 "The Motion of Love" 1987 "Gorgeous" 1988 "Every Door" (withdrawn) 1988 "The Motion of Love" 1990 "Jealous" ² 1990 "Tangled Up in You" ² 1993 "Josephina"² 1999 Survive This EP (promo only) ¹ 2017 "Summertime" ²   *¹ Michael Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel *² Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel     Support us on PayPal!

In their new series of More Tea, Vicar, B&A Church's Wayne Massey and James Stevenson welcome listeners back following their summer break.  This week the news has been filled with human suffering on a mass scale; the death toll from floods in Derna stands at nearly 4000 and Morocco's earthquake has so far claimed 3000 lives. How can we understand who God is and what He is like in a world where things go wrong? Suffering is topical but it is a personal issue too because it can be a barrier to understanding who God is. What can we make of disasters like those in Libya and Morocco and how do we reconcile this with God.

Rachel Aldred, Professor of Transport and Director of the Active Travel Academy, interviews Ellis Fannin, a PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, about their research on queering cartographic methods. Show notes and transcript link available at https://blog.westminster.ac.uk/ata/queering-cartographic-methods/. Thanks to Ellis and to our ATA interns, Rob Coates (who prepared and edited the audio files) and James Stevenson (who corrected the transcript and wrote the show notes). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this exciting episode of NZ Business Owners, Ryan J Melton sits down with James Stevenson, a prominent figure in the field of Engineering Recruitment in New Zealand. As the founder and driving force behind Grada Recruitment, James has built a reputation for successfully connecting exceptional talent with leading clients across various sectors, both locally and internationally. Having spent considerable time as the National Manager of Architecture and Engineering teams at a multinational recruitment company, James made a bold decision in 2017 to establish his own venture, focusing solely on Engineering and Architecture Recruitment. Grada Recruitment was born out of a desire to redefine the recruitment experience in these specialized industries, aiming to set new standards and exceed client and candidate expectations. Join Ryan and James as they delve into the fascinating world of Engineering and Architecture Recruitment. Discover how Grada Recruitment stands apart from its competitors, providing unparalleled market insights, salary benchmarking, and personalized services to both clients and candidates. Whether you're an organization seeking top talent or an ambitious professional searching for your next career move, James offers valuable advice and unique perspectives on why not all recruiters are created equal. Don't miss this insightful conversation that sheds light on the innovative approaches and dedication behind Grada Recruitment's mission to elevate the recruitment bar within the Engineering and Architecture sectors. Tune in to gain invaluable insights and learn how to make the most of your recruitment journey. To connect with James Stevenson and explore the exceptional services offered by Grada Recruitment, reach out via email at jstevenson@gradarecruitment.com or give them a call at 022 3171 208. For more information, visit their website at http://www.gradarecruitment.com/

Dulce Pedroso, PhD researcher at the Active Travel Academy, interviews Akwesi Osei of Possible about his research into barriers to Black men cycling in London. Show notes and transcript link available at https://blog.westminster.ac.uk/ata/barriers-to-black-men-cycling-in-london-ata-podcast-3/. Thanks to Akwesi and Dulce and to our ATA interns, Rob Coates (who prepared and edited the audio files) and James Stevenson (who corrected the transcript and wrote the show notes). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From beloved and bestselling poet Jack Prelutsky come over 100 hilarious poems about strange creatures and people—from jellyfish stew to a bouncing mouse, to the very unexpected new kid! For fans of Shel Silverstein and Louis Sachar's Wayside School series. “The illustrations bring the frivolity to a fever pitch.”—School Library Journal. Open this book to any page to begin your exploration. Here are poems about things that you may never have thought about before. You'll be introduced to jellyfish stew, a bouncing mouse, a ridiculous dog, and a boneless chicken. You'll learn why you shouldn't argue with a shark, eat a dinosaur, or have an alligator for a pet. You'll meet the world's worst singer and the greatest video game player in history. You'll even find an invitation to a dragon's birthday party.... This playful collection is a wonderful introduction to the pleasures of poetry and word play from a master of the genre, Jack Prelutsky. “It's the author's joyous sense of the absurd that propels the reader from page to page.”—Horn Book (starred review) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/support

From beloved and bestselling poet Jack Prelutsky come over 100 hilarious poems about strange creatures and people—from jellyfish stew to a bouncing mouse, to the very unexpected new kid! For fans of Shel Silverstein and Louis Sachar's Wayside School series. “The illustrations bring the frivolity to a fever pitch.”—School Library Journal. Open this book to any page to begin your exploration. Here are poems about things that you may never have thought about before. You'll be introduced to jellyfish stew, a bouncing mouse, a ridiculous dog, and a boneless chicken. You'll learn why you shouldn't argue with a shark, eat a dinosaur, or have an alligator for a pet. You'll meet the world's worst singer and the greatest video game player in history. You'll even find an invitation to a dragon's birthday party.... This playful collection is a wonderful introduction to the pleasures of poetry and word play from a master of the genre, Jack Prelutsky. “It's the author's joyous sense of the absurd that propels the reader from page to page.”—Horn Book (starred review) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/avant-garde-books/support

Professor Rachel Aldred, Director of the Active Travel Academy, interviews Matt C. Smith of Brighton University about their research into trans in planning, and trans experiences in the city. Show notes and transcript link available at https://blog.westminster.ac.uk/ata/planning-for-trans-futures-ata-podcast-20232/ Thanks to Matt and to our interns, Rob Coates (who prepared and edited the audio files), James Stevenson (who corrected the transcript and wrote the show notes), and Chinaemerem Obiegbu (who helped with the transcript). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Rachel Aldred, Director of the Active Travel Academy, interviews Dr. Therese Kenna of University College Cork about her research into experiences of neurodivergence in the city. Show notes and transcript link available at https://blog.westminster.ac.uk/ata/new-ata-podcast-season/ Thanks to Therese and to our interns, Rob Coates (who prepared and edited the audio files) and James Stevenson (who corrected the transcript and wrote the show notes). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20% DISCOUNT CODE FOR HELPYOUFIND.ME (OFFER ENDS 8TH APRIL 2023): https://helpyoufind.me/RMGoSafe20 TO WIN A ONE-YEAR POWER PLAN THROUGH HELPYOUFIND.ME, SHARE VIA MY SOCIAL LINKS BELOW A TIP FOR TRAVELLING SOLO SAFELY.In this episode, I'm delighted to have back in the studio Kyle Henning (Episode 23: Cycling Solo From Djibouti to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro). He's joined by his friend, James Stevenson, to discuss their new extreme travel challenge: to journey from the lowest point to the highest point of the 21 highest islands in the world. Varying between 3,000 to 5,000 metres and each with its own challenges, Kyle and James will attempt to summit the islands by various means, including cycling, on foot and skis. Find out what inspired them to take up this new challenge, how they prepared and trained for it, the equipment they are taking and how they have been getting along so far.You can follow Kyle on Instagram at @FromAfarBook or email him at FromAfarBook@gmail.comAnd you can catch up with James on Instagram: @mywaywardsoles, @21islands or via his website: waywardsoles.netProduction (for this episode)Creator, producer, writer and host: Ruth MillingtonMusic credit: Epic Orchestra - Blockbuster Adventure Music by JuliusHAdditional music: Motivation Epic Inspire by LiteSaturationFind out more at www.ruthmillingtonauthor.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthmillingtonauthor/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RuthMillington1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruth.millington.52/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-millington-54915b24/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSSupport the ShowSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ruthmillington)SponsorA huge thanks to today's sponsor HelpYouFind.Me Find out more at https://helpyoufind.me/RMGoSafe20 and get a 20% discount when you sign up! Offer ends 8th April 2023Share Your Story Have an extreme travel story to tell? Contact me at: https://ruthmillingtonauthor.com/contact/

On Sunday, James spoke about Jesus' encounter with the man born blind in John's gospel and explored where we as disciples find home, how we get there and how we can help others to discover it. John 9:1-4 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

Hunter is not smart sometimes. Recently, Hunter had Culver Karate Club's James Stevenson in the 247 Studio for an episode of the Pittsburgh Combat Sports Podcast. They had an awesome chat. ...and then Hunter realized he isn't a smart man. You'll see what we mean. > Sure, it's available on any computer or phone, but you can also watch via the 247 Live app on Roku, Apple TV, and iOS. We recommend the apps. And we also recommend you snag your tickets to April 15's Brawl in the Burgh 16 NOW. Seats are rapidly selling out, and Stevenson has an insanely fun matchup ahead. You're not going to want to miss it. >

Hunter is not an intelligent man sometimes. But James Stevenson is friggin' awesome. You'll see what we mean. Enjoy the podcast.  The post Podcast: Hunter is Really Dumb Feat. James Stevenson appeared first on 247 Fighting Championships.

Where is home? This Sunday James spoke about Andrew's encounter with Jesus from John Chapter 1. We looked at Andrew's question “Where are you staying?” - what it meant for him then and what it means for us now and for the people in our lives we want to introduce to Jesus. John 1:35-42 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

The talented twins Ben & James Stevenson drop in for a hilarious chat ahead of their Fringe show. Plus, our man Ryan Daniels gives us the inside scoop on all things sports. Also, when have you broken multiple bones? The stories will make you cringe, wince and giggle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Todays's guest is Douglas Wilcox.  You may be familiar with Douglas' work testing boats and equipment. You can find his test results and trip reports online through Facebook, his website, and in magazines like Ocean Paddler over the years. He brings a natural curiosity to kayaking and that shows in today's interview.  Douglas is a storyteller in every sense of the word, so get ready for us to cover a lot of ground. Also, thank you to listeners who have taken the time to support the show by visiting our website at www.paddlingthebue.com  and clicking the Buy Me A Coffee link on the bottom right of the page. I really appreciate your support. Thank you! Enjoy today's episode with Douglas Wilcox! Connect: SeaKayakPhoto.blogspot.com   Special offer for Paddling the Blue listeners from Online Sea Kayaking Our friend Simon Osborne (episode 41),and James Stevenson, have created an online coaching resource with 14 different courses and over 30 hours of high-quality video in onlineseakayaking.com.  They've agreed to offer a special deal for Paddling the Blue podcast listeners.  If you're not already a subscriber, here's your chance.  Visit onlineseakayaking.com and use the coupon code PTBPODCAST at checkout and you'll get 10% off up to 12 months or the first year of an annual subscription investment.   

This Sunday we continued in our series on HOME, looking at Prophecy: speaking out how God sees the present and the future. James looks at prophecy in both the Church today and the Bible and how we can read the prophets in the Old Testament. Together, we looked at Isaiah 11 and how Isaiah looked towards the person of Christ and the second coming. In our Little Churches we looked at these passages... Isaiah 9:2-7 Isaiah 40:1-5 Isaiah 58:6-12 And discussed these questions... Which verses are speaking about the context, the cross, the second coming? What is God saying to me/us/our culture in this passage?

This Sunday James spoke on the importance of communal suffering and what we can learn from the exile, and in particular Psalm 137, about being real with others and with Jesus. Psalm 137 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

We're in a new series, Home, helping us understand where we are in an uncertain world. This week, James explains some of the history of the exile from the Old Testament and explores why embracing God's holiness can help others see Jesus. In our Little Churches this week we asked these questions: How are those you are serving experiencing the world right now? How are you presenting Jesus to them? What do you want God to do next in your Little Church? What do you think God wants you to do next in your Little Church?

Jack hears the story of Nebraskan military kid who lived all over the country bookended by homes in Nebraska who became a stalwart in the video game industry in LA with Insomniac games about his journey, the gaming indsutry, the landmark moments in video game history and the connection between the Price is Right stage and an immersive Star Wars experience in Orlando.

From brilliant New Yorker cartoonist, illustrator, and children's book author James Stevenson comes this darkly hilarious reimagining of iconic animated characters - now "over the hill" and waiting out their golden years at a seedy retirement community in Los Angeles.   Directed by Tony nominee Dana Ivey (The Last Night of Ballyhoo, "Boardwalk Empire"), EVENING AT ANAHEIM features Richard Kind (The Producers, "Spin City", "American Dad!"), Karen Ziemba (Tony winner for Contact), Emily Bergl ("Gilmore Girls," Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Brandon Uranowitz (Falsettos), Carson Elrod (Peter and the Starcatcher), Peter Maloney (Requiem for a Dream), and Tom Alan Robbins (The Lion King). Stay tuned after the play for a high spirited conversation with the cast, director, and Playing on Air founder and consulting director Claudia Catania. EVENING AT ANAHEIM was co-presented with Playwrights Horizons and recorded live in New York City.

The Electricity Authority says it's made urgent changes today, to make sure consumers aren't disadvantaged by big deals. The amendment to the Electricity Industry Participation Code means that deals for more than 150 megawatts, can only go ahead if they meet specific criteria. It impacts powercos' ability to strike a deal with Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, as it works on plans to stay operating beyond 2024. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 2, Episode 22 - A man of many musical talents, James Stevenson may not be a name you recognize, but the bands he's been in..... you surely will. We talk to James about his band history, his influences and his most recent album from 2021, The Other Side Of The World.James Stevenson CDs are only available from his website:http://jamesstevenson.info/ And can be purchased on most all streaming services: https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-other-side-of-the-world/1576230820https://open.spotify.com/album/3mou7KJu7AoiaTy6MK91meOur official website:http://newwavemusicpodcast.comPlease help support our podcast:https://glow.fm/dontyouforgetaboutme-thenewwavemusicpodcast

At The Gathering this week we continued in our series on Live, Love, Give Go, talking about giving our lives away. James spoke from Matthew chapter 6 about how we can seek first the kingdom and live generous lives. Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

James (Jim) Stevenson, PharmD, FASHP, FFIP, is the Chief Clinical Officer at Omnicell and Professor at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. He received the International Pharmaceutical Federation's (FIP) Distinguished Practice Award in 2021 for his work in the international pharmacy community.Dr. Stevenson and I talk about his work in international pharmacy as a member of FIP, his push for change of pharmacy's medication use systems that led him to Omnicell, and pharmacy's need for technology integration. This episode will speak to so many as he started his career with a passion for elevating clinical pharmacy. Whether you are interested in clinical, operations, technology, or international pharmacy, you'll find it in this episode. You'll see why he has been able to accomplish so much in his career!

NOW ENROLLING: Immunotherapy + chemotherapy as first line treatment for mesothelioma Drs. Anne Tsao of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Patrick Forde of Johns Hopkins, and James Stevenson of the Cleveland Clinic join Mary Hesdorffer to discuss a new clinical trial, Dream3r, a phase 3 study into the efficacy of combination chemotherapy with immunotherapy as first line treatment for mesothelioma.

Discussion with Dr. James Stevenson of the Cleveland Clinic about staging of mesothelioma. Does staging matter and can it predict outcomes? Cancer staging conveys to the patient and physician information about the cancer's spread (for example, has the the cancer metastasized to the lymphatic system or other organs, etc.) This information is used to determine the course of treatment (i.e. whether the cancer is operable or not), as well as prognosis (predicting a patient's survival time). For scientists, this classification is also helpful in a research setting as it allows comparison of patients (simplistically, it allows them to compare apples to apples.) Currently, staging for pleural mesothelioma (peritoneal mesothelioma does not have a standardized staging system) is based on the TNM system. T: the extent of spread of the main tumor. N: the spread of cancer to nearby (regional) lymph nodes. M: indicates whether the cancer has spread (metastasized) to other organs of the body.

We've packed all kinds of cocktail-loving goodness into this issue. We start with a review two of fruity (ish) cocktails: one, Apples, a refreshing, super delightful cocktail in cans from the clever team at Coupette in East London; the other, the unmistakable taste of Jaffa Cakes, distilled into a trio of spirits. Bear with us here, we are very much aware that it sounds like a gimmick but we were pleasantly surprised by the taste.Our books review takes in Beautiful Booze by Natalie Migliarini and James Stevenson and we head over to A Bar With Shapes For A Name to discover how the Bauhaus movement translates into an artfully conceived venue and equally creative drinks.Jim Meehan speaks to us from Portland, Oregon where we check in with him to talk all things Punch, from the ingredients to the glossary and how and when to serve. Last but no means least, JJ Goodman from the London Cocktail Club shares his invaluable cocktail hack for making kitchen cupboard triple sec (file this one under 'essentials')What we're mixing:A Mojito (in celebration of National Mojito Day on 11th July)Ingredients:Approx 10 fresh mint leaves25ml freshly-squeezed lime juice20ml sugar syrup*50ml white rum – we use Bacardí SuperiorLime sprig to garnishMethod:Add fresh mint leaves, freshly-squeezed lime juice and sugar syrup to a Collins glass. Half fill glass with crushed ice and stir to combine ingredients. Top up the glass with more crushed ice. Place the mint sprig in in the palm of your hand and 'clap' together to release the oils, then place in the side of your glass along with a paper or better still, metal straw. (No plastic straws allowed!)*To make sugar syrup, combine equal parts caster sugar and water in a sterilised bottle. Shake to dissolve. Store in the fridge.The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' WatsonFor more from The Cocktail Lovers, including signing up for our digital and print magazine, visit our website, thecocktaillovers.comTo see the products featured in this episode, check out our Instagram page @thecocktaillovers and see their websites below:A Bar With Shapes For A NameApplesBeautiful Booze – Stylish Cocktails To Make At HomeJaffa Cake SpiritsMixography IncTabiki, Portland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cwill is back after taking a week off he brings a special guest! James Stevenson! Cwill mentor growing up! They have a conversation about what made James want to be a mentor, and about how he helped the program C.R.A.F.T mentor younger African American males. Also discuss KG and what it was like for James to see KG in person in highschool! We talk about the challenges of coaching your kids in basketball and how to separate the two.. being a father and a coach

Selling doesn’t mean putting pressure on someone to sell something. When you have a product or service that solves a problem people will purchase it. Craig dives into the following top 8 tips: Listen to your customer Know your product Don’t lead with price Measure demand Answer Phone Calls Don’t Put Artificial Deadlines Ask Questions Action Items: Access our FREE Resources Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Newsletter Follow The Biz Sherpa on LinkedIn Follow The Biz Sherpa on Instagram Follow the Biz Sherpa Facebook Page Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Youtube Channel Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast or Stitcher. Connect with Craig on LinkedIn TRANSCRIPTION: Speaker 1: From his first job, flipping burgers at McDonald’s and delivering the Washington Post, Craig Willett counts only one and a half years of his adult life working for someone else. Welcome to the Biz Sherpa podcast, with your host Craig Willett, founder of several multimillion dollar businesses and trusted advisor to other business owners. He’s giving back to help. Speaker 1: Business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve fulfillment, enhance their lives and create enduring wealth. The Biz Sherpa. Craig Willett: This is Craig Willett, the Biz Sherpa. Thanks for joining me today. On today’s episode, I’m going to share with you the Biz Sherpa’s tips on selling. Often we think selling means putting pressure on someone to make a decision and I think that that’s the wrong impression. How many times have you been, and I remember my first trip to the car dealer and I don’t mean to trash car dealers. I have some friends as you know, Warren LeSueur and his family. They don’t put pressure on people, but my first trip to a car dealer was when we had our first child and I knew our little Honda Prelude and my little Dodge Daytona wouldn’t be sufficient to be able to put a car seat in the back or be safe for our child so we went to a car dealership to buy a Chevy Tahoe, well, what’s the equivalent of a Tahoe today? Craig Willett: But anyway, this is a long time ago. I remember going in to the dealer and sitting down with my wife and not only were they going to give us some big, huge tiger stuffed animal if we bought a car that day, but more importantly, they sat down and went over a matrix of what the car would do for us, how much they could finance it for and what the price would be if we paid cash and then they kept putting pressure on us. What can we do for you to make you buy the car today? And that’s what I didn’t like. I wanted to buy a car. I didn’t have to have it that day. It was a little early for me to be buying one but if we found the right car, then we would buy it. But I don’t like the pressure and I don’t think any of us like that pressure. Craig Willett: One of the things that I say always about business when it comes to having any kind of product or service is, have a product or service that solves a problem and then you need to learn to listen. You need to learn to listen when people show up or call or inquire about your product or service and train your staff to learn to listen. They will tell you what their problem is and why they need your product, I promise you. Spend some time. If you have a sales staff that sells by phone, record their calls and then listen with them. Listen to what people say. They tell you. They tell you right off. Craig Willett: I remember James Stevenson on our podcast, where he shared with us that he went through all these benefits that his property management company could do when at the end of the day, all the customer wanted to know is if somebody from his staff could be at the house next Tuesday to let the furniture movers in. That would have sealed the deal, not what happens if there’s a leak on the second story of the house and what kind of problem that would do and how they could solve that for them. Craig Willett: I think it’s that simple, listen. The other thing that I think is important and it causes us not to listen, but I think it’s really important is to know our product. Know its features, know how it distinguishes you from your competitors. Now, often I find that it’s really easy to say what the competitors don’t do that yours does. I don’t like that. Someone told me early on, “If you’re going to be the best at what you do or you’re going to have the best product, then your features should stand on their own.” When I developed office buildings, we said what our product had and all of its features and we listed them out. As people shopped our product, we were more expensive, but they started to learn why some of our features were important and then when they would ask our competitors if they had those features, they couldn’t say they did. Let them lose the deal. You gain the deal by saying what you do and then stand behind it. Craig Willett: The third area I just sort of mentioned and that is, don’t lead with price, focus on the features that solve the problems, not the price. The price will take care of itself if they understand how and why your product or service solves their problem. And once they understand that, a lot of people are relieved and you’d be surprised how much people are willing to pay just to have a problem solved. It gets it off their problem list and it allows them time think about managing their time and their business. It all of a sudden solves a big issue for them. Craig Willett: The other thing that I would say you need to do, the fourth tip to selling is, measure demand. Now you might say, “Well, how do I do that?” Well, it’s based on the number of calls you get, based on the number of inquiries you have. It kind of tells you how interested the market is in your product or service. When you see that go up, you need to step back and ask yourself, “Do you have the ability to ration this product or service?” And if you do, you may want to consider raising your price. If the demand for your product is continuing to go up, it’s time to raise the price. Craig Willett: Let me tell you a story. I went to Europe, I told you that one of the things I did to help decompress and spend time was I’d schedule away three to four weeks in the summertime to go with my family to Europe. Why? It was eight hours time zone or nine hours time zone difference from here and I could then spend time with my family during the day while the people working in my business and my customers were sleeping. And then I was sleeping while they were up working and it gave me time to decompress. Craig Willett: But anyway, back to my point, while I was gone on one of these trips, my key employees were just taking orders like crazy on one of our projects. When I came back, they said, “Craig, we sold out.” And I thought to myself, well gee, that’s great but how did you sell out so quickly? Well, the week after you left, they announced a hospital a mile away from that project and we just got calls from all kinds of doctors. And I thought to myself, boy, if we had only been able to take a pause or you had called me, I would have told you to raise the price. This is the only opportunity we have to be within a mile and to be having buildings ready before the hospital opens so that those doctors that want to locate near that hospital can buy from us. It’s supply and demand and so you need to measure that demand accordingly. Craig Willett: The other thing that I think is really important is to answer phone calls. If you’ve ever sold for me, you’d understand what I demand of my sales staff and that is answer your phone. I wanted to make sure that when people call on our buildings, that they got a live human. There’s nothing like leaving a message and wondering when you’re ever going to hear back. The person calling you is busy. They have things to do too. They’ve set aside some time to call and to learn about your product or service. If you can’t answer their call, you’re not treating them with the respect they deserve to be interested in your product. Craig Willett: One of our guests on this show is Jim Stachowski, and you’ll find that Jim Stachowski always has a phone ear piece in and will answer his phone at any time. I’ve called him at 10:00 o’clock at night, he’s answered his phone. I’ve called him at 2:00 in the afternoon and he’s been on the back of a horse and he answers my call. Why? He’s one of the best horse trainers in the world bar none and he probably does the most deals in buying and selling horses in the country. He answers the call. You never know who it’s going to be and you never know how important the request is going to be, so answer the call, make yourself available to your clients. Craig Willett: Now, the other thing that I think is really important in the sales process is not to set artificial deadlines. People sense that. We all like to get and meet a quota during a month and sometimes you hear people putting these deadlines. If I sell a few more, I get a trip or I get a prize. If you buy this today, you’ll help me win that prize or you’ll help me be the top salesperson this month. You know what? That may work for some things but I think it’s a low blow to the customer when you do that. Why do I say that? Because I think the customer, you have to show them integrity. You have to show them respect for their time. If it’s a big decision that they’re trying to make, respect their timeframes. They’ll make it in due time. They’ll have their own deadline. Craig Willett: In the office building market, they had a lease that was going to expire and once you knew when that was, they had their own self imposed deadline. You could help work it backwards so you could say, “Look, I know you have a lot to think about, but to make the decision and to give yourself enough time so that your building is ready when your lease expires, you need to make a decision by this date.” But you’re only helping them schedule their lives so that they can make a good decision and not rule yours out because of lack of time. But when you give the artificial times, like somebody else is going to put an offer on this tomorrow and they may or they may not, you can tell them other people are interested, but what’s important is to be open and to be honest with them. You never know what people are going to do. Craig Willett: I remember one time needing to meet payroll and you’ve probably heard this story from me before. Somebody flew in, was interested. We announced a new project and once we got the information out, a chiropractor called, who owned a number of chiropractic offices in the Valley and he called and he said, “I really want one of those buildings there. How can I meet you today?” He flew in on the site and met our salesperson on site, left him with a check for the deposit on that building for 10% because he wanted the one on the street right there on the corner so he could have his name on it and get all the advertising he’s used to getting for being a prominent chiropractic firm in the area. Be careful about deadlines, you never know. They’re going to have theirs, they’re going to have them for different reasons, but you want to understand what your customer really needs first. Craig Willett: The other thing that I think is important to be able to do all that I’ve talked about is to ask questions. Learn to ask questions. Once you understand who your customer is, what their needs are, then you can address those. And that relates back to my first tip and that is, learn to listen. When you ask the question, then learn to listen. I had a friend, he was really good. He leased retail space and one of the tricks he taught me early on in my career, is he said, “Craig, when you ask the question, sit back and put a mint in your mouth. It’s time for you to be quiet.” You’ll be amazed at what they’ll tell you if you’re asking the right questions. Craig Willett: And then of course you can’t forget to ask for the deal. I think it’s an extremely important thing. How many times have you been ready to buy something, but they fed you with so much information that you got confused and you went away wondering whether it was for you. If you’ve worked the process correctly and educated your potential customer on your product, on your service and it’s a match, there is nothing wrong with asking for the deal and say to them, “Since this seems to meet your needs or at least it’s my perception that it does, how about we do the paperwork that’s necessary to reserve this for you?” Now that’s not putting pressure, that’s trying to help them out before somebody else does and they lose on the opportunity or time slips away and they get busy doing other things. That’s another way to say it. “Hey, I understand you’re busy and I know it might be hard to get together again for another week or two. How about we put together the necessary paperwork to reserve this for you?” Craig Willett: These are very easy things to say and if they’re said right, you’re asking for the deal and you’re asking for a commitment. When you ask for that commitment, you’re trying to see if you’ve met all of their criteria and answered all their problems. Now that’s another time to listen. When you ask and they hesitate, you could ask them, “What’s your concerns?” And then listen and take note and then say you’ll look into it and see how you can resolve those concerns for them. Craig Willett: Biz Sherpa’s tips for selling are learn to listen. Understand the problem that they have so that you know how to solve that problem for them. Know your product but the problem with knowing your product is you could start to list a whole bunch of features like James Stevenson said, “I can solve your problem if you have a leak on the second floor,” when really all they want to do is be able to move their furniture in next Tuesday and make sure you have a staff person there or a property manager there to greet the furniture movers and let them in. It’s important to know your product and know how it meets their needs. Craig Willett: Make sure you distinguish yourself from the competition by saying what you do and what your product or service does. They’ll figure out for themselves what the others don’t do. They may ask you a question to compare. Never trash another competitor’s product that could come back to haunt you. Focus on features, look at what yours does well that solve the problems. Don’t focus again on other things. It’s easy to become distracted. Measure demand, make sure that you’re pricing your product or your service to meet the demand that’s there. I talked about meeting an increasing demand and I shared a story today about that, but you might have decreasing demand and you may offer a special once in a while to measure the demand and get it back up. Where you give a percentage off for a period of time if they buy or commit to a contract with you in a certain period of time. Craig Willett: Most important, answer the phone, answer the calls. If someone’s taking the time to call you, answer it. I know we live in a day where we text each other and I think we do that out of respect so we’re not taking up time. But if someone like my very first customer, when I put up my first sign on my first project called and said, “I’m out looking to renew my lease and I see your sign own for less than rent. I have a lease expiring in about four months. I didn’t know I could own my office building.” You want to be there to get that call. And also keep in mind, they have a limited amount of time and if they leave a message and it takes you a long time to return that call, then it’s going to reflect poorly on you and you may not be able to reach them for a long period of time and may have missed the opportunity. Craig Willett: Don’t put artificial deadlines. Remember no artificial deadlines. Be genuine. Ask questions to qualify. Again, you should listen from the beginning and then ask more questions to be sure you understand. And then don’t forget to ask for the deal. There are ways to ask for the deal that don’t put pressure on the buyer or the customer. Craig Willett: As you master these eight tips to selling you’ll understand that the Biz Sherpa podcast is here to help you. If it can make a difference in your life, that’s all I care about. This is not here for paid content. This is not here to make me somebody important. This is here to make a difference in your life. I’m here. I spend this time on your behalf. This is where I give back. I’m grateful that you would spend the time and listen to my podcast today. This is Craig Willett, the Biz Sherpa. Thanks for joining us. Speaker 1: Be sure to go to our website to access the resources related to this episode at www.bizsherpa.co. If you enjoyed this show, tell your friends about us and be sure to rate our podcast. Craig would like to hear from you so share your thoughts in the Facebook community bizsherpa.co. Follow us on Twitter @bizsherpa_co and on Instagram @bizsherpa.co.

Co-owner of Cooper’s Luxury Home Collection in Park City, Utah, James Stevenson shares principles as to what makes his business more successful and how he achieves emotional satisfaction from his business. www.bizsherpa.co Park City Luxury Vacation Rentals Instagram: @bizsherpa.co Speaker 1: From his first job flipping burgers at McDonald’s and delivering The Washington Post, Craig Willett counts only one and a half years of his adult life working for someone else. Welcome to The Biz Sherpa podcast with your host, Craig Willett. Founder of several multimillion-dollar businesses and trusted advisor to other business owners, he’s giving back to help business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve fulfillment, enhance their lives, and create enduring wealth. The Biz Sherpa. Craig Willett: This is Craig Willett, the Biz Sherpa. I’m grateful that you’d join us today for our podcast. We have a special guest. And before I introduce him, I just want to thank you for your continued viewing and listening. I hope that our episodes are very helpful. I think our guest today, James Stevenson, will be a great example for us to learn from on the principles that we try to teach here at The Biz Sherpa podcast. What I like about James is, he’ll have a story of leaving corporate America to start his own business, which I think is the American Dream and I think all of us can benefit from his experiences. The other thing that I like about James is that he’s honest. He’ll speak from his heart. He’ll tell you exactly how he feels. So it’s my pleasure to welcome to The Biz Sherpa podcast, James Stevenson. James Stevenson: Thank you, Craig. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Craig Willett: Great to have you here today. Now, I forgot to mention. James is from England so I don’t want you to misunderstand that he might have an Australian accent, but he’s really from England. James Stevenson: That’s right. Craig Willett: Tell us a little bit about your upbringing in England—what you did and what part of England you’re from? James Stevenson: Yeah. So I grew up on the south coast of England, Brighton. Just a little town outside of Brighton, went to school just outside of Brighton, did what we call a sixth form and then decided whether or not—I was trying to chase that dream of being an English soccer professional or football player as we would call it, realized that I wasn’t that good and just had to accept that I probably was smarter than I was good at football. My dad and my mom coached me through that, if you like, and instead of going to university in the UK, I went to university in Long Island. And that was my first thing. I had a soccer scholarship out there, which was a really fun thing to balance. You always have that athletic drive, but then you manage to sneak in some schooling at the same time. So it was the perfect balance for me leaving what I thought was going to be a career in soccer to then actually focus on some academics as well. So I went to school in Long Island, Long Island University, had a soccer scholarship, and then graduated from there. I got my MBA there as well and then started working in finance in New York. That was the start of this long journey, if you like. Craig Willett: Great. What was it like to give up the dream of a football career, or in the United States, what we would say a soccer career? How did you make that connection and decide that you had to rely on your education? James Stevenson: It’s really difficult and I think a lot of players struggle with it especially when they don’t have anything else to fall back on. I think professional athletes, you have to admire their drive, their passion for it. As soon as that drops off, we go back and we look at some of the players that we played with that made it to the professional leagues. And the differentiating factor wasn’t necessarily skills, it was their driving passion. As soon as you dilute that with something—for myself was I do want to go to university, I had other dreams, I had other travel dreams, et cetera. As soon as I diluted that dream of being a soccer professional, it was pretty much over. I realized that I didn’t have that same drive as everybody else did. And you have to respect the commitment that those athletes have to that next level of professional sports. Craig Willett: One thing I like about your background, I always have thought that owning a business is like being a professional athlete except instead of playing at your peak for 70 minutes, you’re playing at your peak for seven to 10 hours a day. You never know what’s going to happen when that phone rings, you always have to be performing at your top level. Whereas an athlete, they practice, they get some time off, they get time to mentally prepare but then they give physically for an hour, hour and a half on the field. James Stevenson: And that’s easier sometimes, isn’t it? You’d love to just focus for two hours and know that that was your workout or that was your thing. Unfortunately, seven to 10 hours can become 18, 20 if you don’t know how to switch off. You related to the sport so well and we’ve talked about the scorecard. It’s hugely important for someone that was in sports to realize you’re still competing. You’re still competing whether it’s nine to five or whatever, but you have to be able to switch off because their game ends at that final whistle. We don’t have a final whistle so you have to score yourself on your years of growth and realize you’re winning or you’re losing and act accordingly. Craig Willett: And make the adjustments, right, Make the adjustments, get the healing done, right? James Stevenson: Yeah, absolutely. Craig Willett: Get injured, right? James Stevenson: And realize that you were injured because of a weak ankle or you’re injured because of a weak employee, and you have to go back, and you have to rehab, and do physio, and you have to do training with the employee, whatever it is. It’s tough, but there’s a lot of comparisons you can draw between them. Craig Willett: I love the analogies in there and I think it’s something that we all have to consider as business owners that, Are we in top condition mentally, emotionally, and physically for the rigors of business ownership? Not to discourage anyone. But I think that’s why some of your background makes you a good business owner. So you graduated with an MBA and an emphasis in finance and you went to work in finance in New York? James Stevenson: Yeah. So I was working for MassMutual, a big insurance company, and I did believe in the product, but I wasn’t immersed in it. I wasn’t truly passionate about it. My network of my clients and the products, the trust and the estate stuff we were doing, it wasn’t relevant for the network that I had at that time. I was pushing products and trying to sell to people that were 30 years my senior and I just realized after a while, I was like, “I’m not passionate about this. I’m not passionate about whether it was wills, or—.” It just wasn’t relevant to me. The pain wasn’t close enough for me. Craig Willett: But that’s a big step to go from New York City. England to New York City to Park City, Utah. How did you make the jump? James Stevenson: Well, I made a sneaky jump in between. I’d done a ski season when I was 18 right before I came out to New York to go to school. In a ski season for most people, as much as they want to pretend it’s educational and it’s professional development and stuff like that, it’s really just a gap year to go and have some fun. So I’d done one in Les Deux Alpes in the French Alps and then I couldn’t stop talking to my wife now about how fun it was. So we went back and we actually ran a—it was an eight bedroom ski chalet and it was eye-opening for her. It was eye-opening again for me to realize the way that the service industry is treated. We look at the service industry and sometimes we think of them as the help. Now, we’ll talk about my business a little bit. We’re the help, right? There’s a way that the help is treated and sometimes it’s pretty demoralizing. So one of the things that differentiated us and one of the ways we were able to cope with it, was we explained that that was a choice for us. We explained that when we moved out to France, we didn’t have to. We were making good money. We were educated. We could do whatever we wanted. We made that choice. So when travelers came out or people came out on their vacation, we were able to—by the start, when they thought of us as the help, to the end of it where they realized that we were choosing that lifestyle, to watch their behavior pattern shift—they were in the kitchen helping us cut carrots. Craig Willett: So you became their friends? James Stevenson: Exactly, right. They wanted to know where we were skiing. They wanted to experience what we were experiencing because we’d made that choice. It wasn’t that we had to sit in that kitchen and bake a cake for tea time or whatever it was, we chose to do that so we could ski for 120 days. Craig Willett: So you no longer were the hired help, you became, “Hey, we can help you understand what’s the best thing to do here and we have aspirations similar to yours.” James Stevenson: Absolutely. And that was a lot of fun to see that transition. Craig Willett: I think that’s a great principle in business is to be able to become friends with your customers and to be able to relate to them. And I think that really has been a key common characteristic that I’ve seen in a lot of people that I’ve interviewed. So you went over to France. When was this? James Stevenson: This was eight, nine years ago. Craig Willett: Okay. All right. But you were still working with MassMutual? James Stevenson: No, I’d quit. Lindsay was a teacher on Long Island. I was working for a group on Long Island and we just upped and went for it and everyone thought we were crazy, absolutely crazy. Craig Willett: How do you go from the French Alps, then to the ski resort of Park City? James Stevenson: Yeah. Well, something that’s interesting about the English tourism industry was we’re set in our ways. What we realized was if we tried to take the English or European model that traveled in France and tried to relate that to Park City, we thought, “This is going to be great. We’re going to have English travelers come out to America. We’re going to have the US travelers embrace the European style experience.” And then we got here and we realized—we wrote a whole business plan the entire time we were there. We were planning on Utah. Craig Willett: As a bed and breakfast type? James Stevenson: Yeah. We were thinking we were going to run one chalet. Craig Willett: Okay. James Stevenson: And we’d had a couple of cool interactions with local people. Dana Williams was the mayor. I met him at a coffee shop once when we came out here and just that local Park City feeling was really, really infectious. So we said, “All right. We’ve decided on Park City.” We did our due diligence in Colorado and we said with the airport where it was and stuff like that, we said, “Park City is the place to be.” James Stevenson: So we think that this bed and breakfast idea is going to work. And then we’ve even talked about this. If I told you to come down and have breakfast with everybody else on a big, common dining table—thank God we didn’t do it during COVID times, right? Craig Willett: Right. James Stevenson: Everyone was like, “Well, I don’t really want to sit with those guys,” or whatever it was. So we realized that, that wasn’t the right fit for that. Craig Willett: The European model doesn’t— James Stevenson: It didn’t necessarily translate. So what else was happening was Vrbo and Airbnb was changing the game. It was changing how people would travel. So people were happy to take someone else’s house. They didn’t want to share it with others, but they were happy to come and rent a home and have the experience like that. We pivoted there and realized that, that was the demand and we’ve got these huge marketing powerhouses just coming off the ground and they were so beneficial for us. Craig Willett: I love the thought that you had a business plan and then when you got here, after doing all your research, even then you found out your business plan wouldn’t work. So you threw it out the window, but what did you do? How did you get into the property management business? James Stevenson: So we got in because we thought we were going to do this kind of concierge. The services that we thought we were going to offer to the one house, we said, “Let’s try and offer it to a lot of houses.” We weren’t making money. I was coaching soccer. Lindsay was coaching soccer and she took a teaching job. We were just scraping by. I don’t know why, but a couple of our clients that are still clients with us today—which is a great success story—just said, “We’ll take a flyer on you. We like your passion. We like the fact that you’re going to answer the phone.” I think one really cool story is that in New York when I was trying to sell, no one would ever answer my phone call, right? So then if somebody ever called me, I was like, “Wait, there’s a client calling me for business?” I was like, “This is brilliant.” Of course I’m going to answer. And they were like, “We hired you because you answered the phone.” I was like, “Wow, well this is great. This is easy.” Right? So after a while, we just pivoted and we realized with offering some of these concierge services and because we picked up the phone, we were doing everything and then we realized, “Hang on, we’re managing properties.” And that’s where Lindsay decided—she went in, got her real estate license. We added a few homes that first year. I think we had six. I was driving a suburban up and down from the airport, trying to make it—that was before Uber luckily, but I was making 100 bucks running people up and down from the airport. But we were doing whatever we could. Then one year goes by, second year goes by, people realize that we’re present, realize that it’s truly owner run. Craig Willett: You’re committed. James Stevenson: We’re committed. Craig Willett: You give it a personal touch. James Stevenson: Yeah. Craig Willett: Right. James Stevenson: And then fast forward to where we are now, we manage 100 plus homes and 20 HOAs. It’s been a serious journey, but it’s been fun. Craig Willett: Now, did you start from scratch or did you buy an existing business? James Stevenson: So we started from scratch on the property management side and then about five years in we had an opportunity. It was very random from a proximity standpoint. There was an HOA company where the owner was looking to retire. She was right across the road. She was looking to retire. So we did acquire an HOA business and that was really, really interesting. The whole transaction was just interesting. So that’s boosted our growth. We realized there was a lot of synergies between the two businesses and that was something that— Craig Willett: So that was a way to augment to the next level. What motivates you as you grow your business? I mean, you had an opportunity and you looked to buy, but what was your motivation in that? James Stevenson: Yeah, I think the competitive nature, you just can’t suppress it sometimes. I’m not passionate about property management. I don’t think that’s going to come to a shock to any of my clients. I’m not passionate about property management. I’m passionate about solving problems, seeing growth and then finding efficiencies. I love relating it back to when you get that IKEA booklet of trying to build some furniture. You start going, and then by the end of it, if you’ve got that drive, you’re trying to work out how quickly you can screw something in or how quickly you can put together the next whatever it is. And that’s the same way I feel about the business. I’m not passionate about property management, but I’m passionate about improving the process. And that’s something that for me motivated me a lot the whole way through this. Craig Willett: So given that, what are some of the key management principles you like to apply in business? James Stevenson: Yeah. So communication. Really, I’m a big believer and it’s come back and bitten me in the butt a few times, both employee-side as well as with client-side. There’s the old cliché, “The door is always open to the manager’s office.” There’s something to be said about that. That was a good idea, all right? But then you start hearing some baggage. Then you start hearing about what they need and stuff like that. But if you don’t know that you don’t know why your employee is not performing, and you don’t know why they’re off this week. If you know that their grandmother has died or they’re having a tough time with a kid or something like that, that communication can really keep a true pulse on the business. Then I would probably add honesty and transparency, and you touched on it. If we’re not the right fit, we’re going to find that out eventually. So you go back to that growth and efficiency phase. If you extrapolate it out and you know it’s not going to work in a couple of years, let’s just cut the cord here. Craig Willett: Right. You’re very practical. You want to say, “Look, hey, this isn’t a good relationship. Let’s just figure this out today rather than two years from now through a lot of pain.” James Stevenson: And that’s that’s something that I think has helped me become a trusted advisor for a lot of our clients, because I’ll tell them—they’re going to say, “Hey, we want to put these crazy bunk beds in this room.” I’m going to say, “It’s not going to work. That’s a terrible idea.” If you empower the employees to feel the same kind of, “I can communicate, I can tell people this,” that’s something for me that’s hugely valuable because people want that honest feedback. They don’t want to just be appeased, and going back to the ski chalet, they don’t want to just be the help, right? They’re paying you for a service. Sometimes, we’re just going to be the help. But if you can add to that level of service, that’s really where you have clients for life and that referral network and stuff like that. Craig Willett: Yeah, I like that. I tend to call that exceeding their expectations. So if you are empowered as an employee or as a business owner to go above and beyond what they’re normally expecting, then they’re going to come back. James Stevenson: Yeah, absolutely. Craig Willett: Great. Now recently, you experienced some difficulties. Well, uncertainties I should say. Really not difficulties, but with the pandemic, the ski resort in Park City—I remember hearing, “If you don’t live here, go home.” And they shut down the slopes and they shut down the resorts. How did you respond to that, because I’m sure that impacted the people who were renting homes that you managed? James Stevenson: It was really difficult. It was an emotional rollercoaster. We had owners that have true investment properties and they’re worried about their investment. You have travelers that have spent all this money on a trip and they need that money back and now everything’s—we’re all hearing, “Batten down the hatches, hang on to everything that you’ve got.” So you’re in this really difficult emotional conundrum or business conundrum to navigate. And really as much as in hindsight, maybe I wish I’d said, “This is the protocol,” we’re just saying, “This is the answer.” But we had a list of 96 problem clients. Craig Willett: Wow. James Stevenson: And they were all 96 different traveler groups that wanted something or they had a story or they really wanted to sell me on something as to why they couldn’t come and why they needed the full refund. And then we had the flip side of that where we have 96 owners or so that— Craig Willett: Say, “Hey, I have to pay my property taxes. It’s not my fault they closed the ski resort.” James Stevenson: And I think going back to some of the stuff you’ve spoken about before, talk about client loyalty. We were just honest with them. We said, “Guys, this sucks. This is horrible right now. How do we navigate this?” We reached out to a lot of our clients that are smarter than I am and I said, “What do we do?” And Craig, thank you, you are one of them. But a lot of people turn around and we saw some amazing, amazing people show their real true colors during that time. Clients gave money, clients said refund, clients said, “You keep your piece, you give them theirs.” It was really, really difficult, but I would say just being honest in saying, “Guys, this is unprecedented times.” We all knew that. And so how do we deal with it? We didn’t learn that in an MBA book, right? There was no textbook to tell me how to navigate that one at all. Craig Willett: Well, there’s certainly dark clouds. It was totally unprecedented to say the least to have ski resorts shut down totally. I can’t think of any time in history where that’s happened and then people ordered to leave town because they didn’t want the pandemic spreading. So that was pretty dramatic in and of itself. So there was this dark cloud, but how did you find your way out because I think some patterns and behaviors changed a few months later? James Stevenson: They did and I think we were fortunate that we diversified when we did and we bought the HOA business because the HOA community management side of things was the steady paycheck and we were very fortunate that we’d done that. It was intentional, but it wasn’t intentional to prevent against the COVID pandemic. Craig Willett: Right. You never thought the other side of the business would totally collapse. James Stevenson: Yeah. When that literally shut down in the middle of March, we were so fortunate to be able to keep employees on, cover our core contractual obligations, and then again reached out to people and said, “Hey, what do we do?” And the best reaction was, “As soon as you’re allowed to, we need to paint our house. Can you guys do it for us? We need to redo our deck. Can you guys do it for us?” So people were almost paying it forward in that dark cloud moment and that gave me the—I went to a skeleton crew in the office and I went to some of my core guys and I said, “You got to keep the lights on here. You got to go for it,” and they worked their butts off. They got through it and then be careful what you wish for. We had the busiest summer we’ve ever had because everyone had these projects lined up for us. Then what? The pattern shift here in Park City was people came out for a really long time. You had owners coming out for a prolonged period. You had travelers staying for extended stays. So we were just slammed. And the guys that worked their butts off during the spring weirdness, they had to keep working their butts off. Craig Willett: Keep really busy still. James Stevenson: Really busy. It was dark for a bit there and again, being honest with your employees and saying, “Guys, this sucks.” We heard about other companies. The word on the grapevine was certain people had just fired everybody and just shut up shop. So I think the employees recognized that and instead of just sending an email or whatever, it was like, “Nope, I’m going to call every single one of them and explain what’s going on.” And those are some awkward phone calls. Craig Willett: I’m sure they were, but you also had the philosophy—I think as you explained to me—that you don’t want to just let people go. It takes a lot to train them. So you worked with them to try to meet their needs during the interim, but bring them back when you really could use that. James Stevenson: Again, being so close to your employees is a good and a bad thing. I knew that certain employees had kids that didn’t have child care. I knew that certain employees needed the paycheck because they weren’t going to make rent. I knew that certain employees had different situations. So I called them up. The cool thing about it being a small business, we’ve got 30 employees. Everybody knows each other. So if I say to them, “Hey, so-and-so has got this situation where he can’t work or she can’t work. Are you happy to work?” I felt like going back to your reset button, everybody clicked it. They had to. So luckily employees did as well and they were like, “Yep. You know what, I’ll take one for the team here or you know what, someone else can have that shift because I don’t need it,” and stuff like that. Craig Willett: Wow. That’s awesome. James Stevenson: It was powerful to be honest with you to see that. Now, our core group coming back talking about it, will joke about it and they’re stronger for it. You go through some of those things and you definitely struggle for it. Craig Willett: With the pattern change, we all of a sudden became a country where we realized we didn’t have to live in a certain city to be able to work in that city. We’ve seen it. We’ve seen it here, especially in Park City where people from New York and Florida realize that, “Hey, they can still run their high-powered office from wherever they are because everything became remote.” And so did school and everything else. So patterns of stay changed. How have you capitalized on that and how has that impacted your business? James Stevenson: And that’s been really difficult because the patterns of stay changed and we have software that’s designed around vacation rentals. Four nights to sort of 12 nights would be your typical vacation rental. And then all of a sudden people say, “I want to stay for three months.” Well, your pricing algorithms go out the window. You have to communicate with the owner. So you’ve got all these extra touches. So it was nothing efficient about it. But we were clambering to grab anything we could. Again, I would say we pivoted, but we didn’t pivot well. We pivoted how we had to and even to today, it’s not an efficient system that we have yet. We wonder whether or not it’s just going to be short-lived and we’ll revert back to our regular one this winter, but we’re already seeing these longer-term stays. Craig Willett: Yeah, it’s hard to know whether we’re on the precipice of a real change in total lifestyle and total travel pattern change, or whether this is temporary. James Stevenson: And I think we talked about the consumer behavior a little bit and before this because we hit the reset button, but we don’t think they’re going to necessarily—we’re not going to have a click of that button in the same way to revert back. So that consumer behavior is going to take a while to either transition back or— Craig Willett: Or solidify. James Stevenson: Or solidify where they are. So we’re just hanging on to those and just adapting to those changes as they come up. Craig Willett: One thing that impresses me as I listen to your stories that you share with us today, you don’t mind being in touch and communicating with your clients and your customers. So you have both. You have the property owners and you have the guests that come on a temporary basis. Share some tips on what you use to close deals. James Stevenson: Yeah, it goes back to that communication and honesty piece. I think we can joke about the fact that it’s because I’ve got a good English accent so people think I’m more educated, but for me— Craig Willett: That’s a good advantage. James Stevenson: Yeah, that’s definitely an advantage. But that was one of the reasons I left New York was because it was quite scripted. I think that whenever we look at sales manuals and how to sell, there’s some great principles to pick up on, but it’s got to be in your own voice, and I think that’s hugely valuable. When it’s your own product as a business owner, of course it’s your voice. I don’t have to pretend that I’m selling a product for, Craig. I’m selling my own products. So that’s the most authentic voice there is. So educate yourself on the product. Make sure you know it inside out, so you can be able to talk to its strengths and weaknesses. And then one of the best things I like when it’s truly coming to close a deal, I like talking through scenarios that are negative because I like going through— Craig Willett: With the client? James Stevenson: With the client. What would happen in this situation? If you come to that conclusion together like for instance, “Hey, we manage your house. Let’s talk about what would happen if you’re upstairs flooded.” They go, “Oh my goodness. This would be a nightmare, right?” Well, this is what would happen. We’d go through it. So you build value in the fact that you can talk through a negative experience and realize that you are the solution for that. I think that the honesty and transparency side of it, definitely can create some situations where if you’re listening to the client, you can tell them exactly what your product is. But if you’re not listening and you’re so confident in your own voice, and you’re being fully transparent about what your product is, you might miss on their one pain point. And their one pain point might be, “I need to get this piece of furniture delivered in two weeks.” It’s like, “Well, that’s easy. Obviously, we can do that.” Craig Willett: Right. We can have somebody there to make sure your furniture, it’s in your house. James Stevenson: Of course. That’s a given. You’re trying to explain to them all these different scenarios. But if you don’t listen to the one thing that they’re trying to buy right now, you can miss and that’s that’s something that I’ve learned is listen to that pain point and realize, “Wow, that was actually a really easy sale.” I could have just told them I’ll meet them for the furniture. I could have been in and out of there in five minutes. Do you know what I mean? They would have signed up. Craig Willett: Right. James Stevenson: So that’s the part that as much as you want to believe in your product and sell your product, you’ve got to listen to the pain point and realize pick up on that and why they want to hire a service like this. Craig Willett: I think that’s interesting because so often I think we think we have to convince people that we’re the best solution for them when I think often you have to either let your past history speak for yourself by referrals, and the other thing you have to let speak for yourself is you have to be able to understand them. If they feel you can relate to them and understand what could go wrong for them, all of a sudden it’s an easy deal. Price becomes less of an issue. James Stevenson: Absolutely. And I think that there’s an insurance company that I think is Travelers when they talk about, “We’ve seen it before.” That’s where the experience piece comes in because then they say, “Well, what happens in this situation?” And you can say, “Well, we’ve seen that before. This is what happens,” and you play it out. As cliché as that is and it’s very salesy, there is some honesty to that of having truly experienced that whether it’s floods, fires, whatever. Those are the sort of things that you can say, “Yep, in that situation, this is what happens and I hear your pain point, but we can fix it.” Craig Willett: So as you run your business we were talking a little bit about pricing here, because that’s one way to get new business. Sometimes when you start out a business or sometimes you feel to get new business, you have to discount to be able to get volume or to get client customers, what’s your theory on pricing? James Stevenson: So I think I messed that up to be honest with you. I think we came in—well, in hindsight everything happens for a reason. We are where we are now because we did what we did. But we came in cheap and we came in to undercut people to realize probably because we didn’t necessarily believe in our own value at the point. I think the hardest thing—and I wouldn’t say it’s our biggest failure because it also created market share that then put us on the map. But it’s now a lot harder to increase my prices. It’s a lot easier to discount your prices than it is to just keep bumping it up. So you know we came in and we tried to price very competitively and we gained some market share because of that. But now I’m in a situation where I’m saying, “No, but we’re offering a better product than those guys were.” Craig Willett: And your cost to do the business has gone up. James Stevenson: Cost to do that has gone up. And yet we’re still down here. So certain clients are going to accept it and they’re going to say, “You’re doing a great job. Yeah, that’s fine.” But then, there’s other people that are going to be looking at—the other thing that’s difficult about our businesses, a lot of our owners are remote. So they don’t necessarily touch and feel this product every day. It’s not like they get in their car and they go, “I realize the value of this car.” Craig Willett: They get a check from you once in a while. James Stevenson: Check or a bill, right. So they’re either going one or two ways, and I think that’s something that’s hard to sometimes sell is a remote service. And then you’ve got to believe in it and you’ve got to be transparent with the accounting and transparent with your services. But I would just say from a pricing standpoint, if you truly are offering a product that is superior to others, trust your pricing. Trust it and let your product speak for itself. Craig Willett: I love that because I think that’s one of the hardest parts in business is being able to price properly. So many people do feel as you originally did and then you get caught in a trap because the hardest thing to do is to raise prices. The easiest thing to do is to give a sale or a discount. You can still maintain that pricing. You can bring somebody in to try you for a year and say, “Hey, we have a special going. We’ll give you 20% off.” And if they like it the next year, then they know it’s going to reset back to that other price. You’re not raising it. Their discount expires. It’s a different mental process. James Stevenson: Absolutely. And we’re all suckers for those deals, right? Craig Willett: Right. James Stevenson: We’re all suckers for the “buy one, get one free” or whatever it is, and we know that’s human nature. So I completely agree with that. That’s something that’s a lot harder to ratchet up than it is to, you know discount down. Craig Willett: Great. One of the other things that you mentioned earlier is that you bought a business. I’m curious to know a little bit about that. How did you go about buying it? I know it was a homeowner’s association business and it opened a lot of doors for you, but how did you go about it and how did you finance it? James Stevenson: Yeah. So it was seller financed and it was a really, really difficult transaction. When you look at a textbook of how to value a company, all of these different equations of business valuation that you learn in school, it was completely irrelevant. It was such a personal experience for the exiting owner. She’d built this business for 25 years. She’d built an amazing business. Craig Willett: It really was her baby. James Stevenson: That was her pride and joy. Craig Willett: So if you saw weaknesses in it, it would have been hard for you to point at those— James Stevenson: It’s so hard to translate that and say, “Hey, I like the way you’re doing this, but I’m going to do it this way.” So having that sensitivity around that transaction was more important than the dollars and cents on that. We worked out that because of the efficiencies that we’re going to recognize in the future, we were buying a business based on growth opportunity, not necessarily set it and forget it. It wasn’t that we could buy that business and sit back. Craig Willett: Right. You just continued to collect on cash flow. You knew there was expertise you had that could immediately improve the profitability. James Stevenson: But that thing, I think everybody thinks that a transaction is all an Excel document. It’s all about P&Ls and balance sheets and stuff like that. You asked what I experienced. It was like I wish I could have brought in a broker and then I probably needed a life coach more than I needed a broker. Because it was as much saying, “Hey, how do we navigate this situation? How do we navigate that friendship, that relationship, all those things?” People think it’s sexy to buy and sell businesses. That was tough. There was tears. There was some awkward moments where we had to just be blunt with each other and say, “Hey, we’re not doing this” or “Sorry, I don’t like that way.” And that’s hard. That’s really difficult. Craig Willett: So how did you get through it? You eventually closed on it. James Stevenson: Yeah. After a while, I think it was—she was proud of what we were doing with her name and what we were running with and she’d created this legacy and she’d created this reputation. And I think she was worried that we were going to do it badly, right? So I think in a way, she was worried that her baby that she’d built was going to be mistreated. Craig Willett: Right. James Stevenson: So after a while and reshuffle employees and a few different things, we got through it. But it took a long time to be honest with you. It took probably almost two years for us to truly get through that. Craig Willett: So how was that? I mean, you probably have your own philosophy on employees and somebody else who’s been doing it for 25 years may have a totally different philosophy on employees. How did you take two organizations and bring them together and still manage cohesively your employee philosophy? James Stevenson: That was rough to be honest with you and I think that from an age standpoint, I had—the business that Lindsay and I had built was very young from an employee age standpoint. And their business had some people that had been in it for 20 years and that was the way they did it. I always use this example. They had these carbon paper for work orders. Craig Willett: Oh, yeah. James Stevenson: And I said, “Well, what do we do with these work orders?” They said, “Well, I write this down and then I send an email off to the maintenance guys that tells them that I’ve—” I was like, “So then what happens with the carbon copy?” She’s like, “Well, I store this in a filing cabinet.” I said, “Well, what happens if I do this?” And this was one of my mean ways of a transition. I was like, “What happens if I do this?” And I grabbed all the carbon copies and threw them in the garbage. I was like, “Are we still going to get those maintenance requests out?” And she was like, “Yeah.” I was like, “Okay. Well, let’s lose the paper. Let’s use the email, and we’ve got this.” Craig Willett: Do it electronically. James Stevenson: Even that was awkward, right? You’re telling someone that the way they’ve done something for so long could be improved. Craig Willett: It’s duplicative and arcane. James Stevenson: It’s hard. That’s really, really hard. So that was tough. We lost employees during that transition. But the good ones hung with us and they’re still with us today and it’s been good. Overall, it’s been really good. Craig Willett: I like the fact that you did seller financing. Here’s one thing. Sometimes people always worry that they’re going to overpay for a business and sometimes to entice a seller to sell to you, you have to pay a little more than maybe what you think it’s worth. And I think that’s the signature of a good deal. Usually, the seller feels like they’re selling it for less than they really wanted and the buyer feels like they’re paying more than they really want, but sometimes you have to but you have to have a greater vision than that. But I think it’s a great equalizer on seller financing, because if there are things, big accounts or major weaknesses in the business or the representations that they made that aren’t right, you have the ability to renegotiate the price. Did you end up having to renegotiate or was everything— James Stevenson: No, but some of the flexibility that she offered from the financing standpoint helped and I used that. It probably was—the only piece from a negotiation standpoint was the cash flow side of things and that was something that, versus a bank or somebody like that, we would have been in default, but because we were able to explain this is kind of the situation that you handed over, this is where we’re at. Craig Willett: Right. They’ll make the payment but it’s going to come later. James Stevenson: But having that human person-to-person touch was hugely valuable in that sense versus calling up your bank and saying, “I haven’t got the money.” It was an easier conversation to explain why I don’t have the money. So that was important. Craig Willett: I think that’s great. I mean, we did a three-part series on starting a business and one of the areas is financing the business and I think if you acquire one, seller financing is a great way. You don’t have to involve the banks in that. James Stevenson: Absolutely. Craig Willett: Well, do you have any talents that you have that make your company unique or the way you run your company unique that makes you stand out above the competition? James Stevenson: I think being present. I think that often—one of our hardest struggles at the moment is we offer a very customized product and everybody has unique needs from what they want from their second home or something like that. As an entrepreneur, you’re always wanting to automate that, right? You’re always wanting to scale, scale, scale and how can I take this across the whole country? How can I make a robot do that? How can I do this? I think just accepting sometimes that we’re in a service. We’re in a labor-intensive business. There’s nothing sexy about having—if you’re in private equity and you’re looking at a labor-intensive business, it’s probably a red flag, right? It’s harder to scale. You’ve got a lot of issues. Craig Willett: It’s hard to leverage a margin. James Stevenson: Yeah. So you look at that and then you say to yourself, “Okay. Well, is it a weakness, or is that our strength?” And I think that for me, I could spend thousands of bucks on SEO, right? Instead, I like to invest it in the staff. Pay well and going back to that kind of what’s the best referral. You don’t want the random Google search of hoping that it’s the right client. You want the friend of a friend in that situation and that for me—we’ve had employees for a long time now. We try to keep them because they’re expensive to train. It’s the same thing with owners. If you’ve got a homeowner, it’s expensive to learn the house. It’s expensive to go through and get acquainted with it. For me, I’d say accepting that we can’t automate this whole process and just saying we want to be transparent about what we’re doing has really been a difficult struggle, but I think now realizing that struggle has actually become one of our strengths. We are a service, labor-intensive business and we want to make our employees happy. And then as a result, if our employees are happy then our clients are going to be happy. Craig Willett: Right, because they’re the touchstone to the clients. James Stevenson: Yeah, absolutely. Craig Willett: They either interact or are the beneficiary of their services. James Stevenson: Absolutely. If someone is having a bad day, they’re going to wear it on their sleeve. So going back to one of the first things I spoke about, the communication piece, if someone’s walking around with their shoulders heavy in their body language, you’ve got to pick up on that because they’re going to go out and they’re your billboard to sell and you’ve got the worst salesman ever. He’s in a bad mood, right? Craig Willett: Right. James Stevenson: So that’s something that’s hugely important is like, “Why is he in a bad mood?” So that’s the sort of stuff that being a present owner is hugely important. Craig Willett: I think that’s great. Well, there’s one question that no one can escape in the Sherpa’s Cave and that is, What’s your greatest failure and what did you learn from it? James Stevenson: Yeah. That’s a tough question and I think you can pinpoint individual moments. For me, I think it was a span of a work-life balance issue for me. We left New York because we didn’t have that. We came out here. We were skiing. We were having— Craig Willett: Having a good time. James Stevenson: We were having a good time, and then all of a sudden it was like, “Oh my goodness. We’ve got employees. We’ve got responsibilities. We’ve got this, we’ve got that.” Both Lindsay and I, my wife, was completely involved. We worked right next to each other the whole time. We had a small office to start with. We both realized— Craig Willett: I love that image. Carol worked with me for a little while. She said she’d never come to work for me again. But I think Lindsay might be more compassionate. James Stevenson: It’s tough. That was our baby for a while and just having that crazy kind of moment where you go home from work and we both leave and then you go home and you talk about work again. And we messed up. We couldn’t get away from it. We didn’t travel enough. We didn’t see family enough. We neglected our health. I was 20, 30 pounds overweight. It’s just things that you believe are true core values to you, you disregard because— Craig Willett: Because you immerse yourself in the business because you want the success and you give it your all. James Stevenson: Yeah, absolutely. Craig Willett: So how did you reverse that. What did you learn and how did you apply that? James Stevenson: Yeah, it was funny because it was actually last winter, Lindsay was just all in and we’ve talked about how we—as much as we pretend to be not micromanagers, a lot of entrepreneurs are still micromanagers, and they’re going to— Craig Willett: I think it’s in the DNA. James Stevenson: It is. And they’re going to hear a conversation over there and they’re going to be like, “That’s not how I would do it. That’s not how—I’m going to go and tell them how I do that.” And that just takes it out of you because now you’re involved in everything. You’re involved in linens, toilet paper, fires, and the real stuff that you should be involved in, acquisition, all those things. And you just can’t get away. This winter we had a moment and I sat down with Lindsay and I said, “What happens if you don’t go in tomorrow?” She was like, “What do you mean? I’ve got to do this, this, and this.” And I said, “What happens if that doesn’t happen, right?” And she goes, da, da, da, da. So we went down the negative spiral of what could happen if Lindsay didn’t do what she was doing. We both came to the conclusion that realistically the worst case scenario was we might lose a client. We thought about it and we were like, “The reason that we might lose that client is not based on anything that we’re doing, it was based on the client’s expectations, et cetera, et cetera.” So Lindsay didn’t go in the next day and we went for it. We just tried it and we ripped that band-aid and we said, “Don’t come in. All right? You’re not coming into the office. You’re going to stay home.” Craig Willett: You’re not going to call in. James Stevenson: You’re not going to call in. You’re not going to do anything. You’re truly not working, right? And it worked. I came home and she— Craig Willett: Now, she never wants to come in. James Stevenson: Now, she doesn’t want to come in. But it’s brilliant because now when she does come in, she’s involved in the stuff that she wants to be involved in. She’s involved in the bigger picture of things and she’s not getting herself stuck in the weeds. I was fortunate when we did the HOA acquisition that I didn’t go and jump into the weeds on that. I tried to be a little more macro on that one. So I was able to— Craig Willett: So you had key management that you brought in so you didn’t have to immerse yourself. James Stevenson: And that was hugely beneficial because Lindsay was still running the vacation rentals, but she was in the weeds. So until we said, “All right. You’re out.” And we both made that decision together, it was just amazing. Recently in the last couple of months, I’ve moved my office to try and do the same thing to say, “I’m not getting in the weeds. I’m not going to make that random decision.” Craig Willett: I like what you said you found another office across the hallway from the office. James Stevenson: Literally. Right across. Craig Willett: I like that because you know what I found in business is it’s easy as a business owner. When it’s your baby, you care so much that you just want to give your all to it. And when you’re giving your all to that business, you tend to be involved in all of the details. And what we did is we would go to Europe for three weeks and it would be nine hour time zone difference away from Arizona, and so while we were—while they were sleeping in Arizona, I was out having fun. And when they were working, I was sleeping there. So it gave myself a chance to be away, let them manage on their own, which they were capable of. I didn’t have to hover and it helped me mature as a manager. And I think sometimes it takes stepping back and operating at the highest impact level what you can do that makes the greatest difference in the business. James Stevenson: I would say that where the stabilizers—or what do you guys call them, the wheels on the side of the stabilizers? Craig Willett: Stabilizers, yeah. James Stevenson: With those wheels on the side of a bike and realistically— Craig Willett: Training wheels. James Stevenson: Training wheels. That’s it, yeah. Craig Willett: There we go. James Stevenson: But unfortunately, a lot of the employees can ride without them. We’re actually the problem. Craig Willett: We’re slowing them down. James Stevenson: We’re slowing them down. If they didn’t have those two wheels, they’d be a lot faster. So I think sometimes it’s up to the owner to realize, take that leap of faith and realize yes, if you did it yourself, it would be 100%. And if an employee does it, maybe it’s going to be 90%. You know what, 90%. Now, you’ve got 190% production because you’re not sitting there managing that other 90%. So that for me was one of those moments where I’m like, “Okay, I could probably do this better, but they’re going to get it. They’re going to work it out.” So there’s a few of those like training wheel moments where you just have to embrace it and I would say that’s a really tough thing especially for a young entrepreneur to try and just be like, “Are you going to be okay? Are you going to crash that bike?” Craig Willett: Right. “Are you going to ruin my business?” James Stevenson: Yeah. “Are you going to ruin that business, because that’s an expensive bike. I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into that one.” Then sure enough, they’re flying. They’re flying quicker and then you can go and get another bike. Craig Willett: Oh, I think that’s great. Well, I have one more question because this just keeps haunting my mind and that is, I want to understand what you think the greatest sale or the greatest transaction or deal you ever closed?” Maybe you can describe it in terms of money or not. I don’t really care about the finance, but what was it about the deal that made you feel good and why was it so monumental to you? James Stevenson: Yeah. You got a lot of those little deals and I think when you think about finance and you go back and you close a deal and the old school like ding the bell and it’s done. I think for me, one of the interesting parts was that, “I can’t do that.” When I come back and I’ve closed something, I’ve closed it and yes, I’ve done my sales bit. But then you’ve got to do the ops part, right? So one of the transactions that we’ve done this year, we’ve acquired a group of houses. And I think the reason it was our best deal was because we analyzed it truthfully, very honestly, and decided is it the right fit for us. And I thought that we were going to mess it up because I thought us being that brutally honest was going to make them realize they wanted to go somewhere else. And really all it did was solidify the relationship because what we did was we went through going back to the—go through some of those negatives. What happens if we don’t do this? What happens if this happens? We went through hundreds, well, 10, 20, scenarios of situations that could occur and Lindsay and I, we had a final Zoom call with them and Lindsay sat off to my side and we both said, “All right. Based on this phone call, we’re going to decide whether or not we’re in or not. We are. Not the client.” Craig Willett: Right. It’s yours to lose. James Stevenson: It was ours to lose and we said, “Do we want to do this, right?” I remember about 15 minutes in the clients were great and they were saying all the right things. They were realizing it was a relationship. They were speaking the language that we wanted them to speak. And I remember, Lindsay write on a post-it note, “Let’s do it.” And she just wrote it on the post-it note next to me. And going back to transparency, I said, “Okay, guys. Well, here’s Lindsay’s opinion.” So I picked up the post-it note and I said, “Let’s do it.” I showed it on the Zoom and they were like, “All right. That’s brilliant. We’re all in.” That was for me, it wasn’t the biggest financial gain. It wasn’t the hardest, most analytical transaction I’ve ever done, but it was just the emotional involvement of it going back to, “Do we need this? Do we want this?” And we navigated that. So that was really, really fulfilling to close that knowing that we’ve actually done a weird due diligence. Not your typical due diligence. It was an emotional due diligence and that was really, really—we were proud of that one. Craig Willett: I think that’s good because often I say people start a business to make money, and I think that’s that’s an honorable objective and the business should make money and be profitable and you need to learn to manage it effectively and efficiently. But if that’s the sole objective, then you’re not going to get the satisfaction. So I’m glad to hear that you derived an emotional satisfaction from that because that’s one of the key principles I emphasize often in The Biz Sherpa podcast is that you have to derive something more than dollars and cents or you’re not going to come back, then you’ll burn out. You start to do business with people you want to do business with. They become your friends. You’re able to interact with them and derive something that wakes you up in the morning that’s more than, “Hey, what am I going to make this month? What can I buy with that?” It’s going to become, “Boy, I can achieve and there’s people I can relate to and they can relate to me.” James Stevenson: And I think your scorecard resonates fully with me, and I think that that was something that when we looked at it, and you made that comment in one of the earlier podcasts about how Carol said, “We’re not going to lose everything. We’ve got each other, we’ve got this.” And it allows you to get grounded. It allows you to realize what is your emotional currency. What is it that’s driving you. I thought about that and I was thinking, “Well, Lindsay said to me multiple times like, ‘We’re good, okay? We’re okay.’” And that wasn’t based on numbers, that was based on our love for each other, the situation that we had. That was something that then empowers you to go and take a risk. It empowers you to go and be honest with yourself and not just be beating your head against the wall. So those for me from an emotional currency standpoint. If you can’t reconnect to why you’re doing it, you’re going to burn out for sure. Craig Willett: Exactly. It’s just the same old thing. You’re not sharpening the saw. Well, I’m grateful that you would agree to be a guest on our podcast today. I think the principles that you’ve experienced and that you apply in your business every day are symbolic of what makes businesses successful. So I’m grateful you’re willing to share your secrets with us. James Stevenson: Thank you. Our secret is just a lot of bruises and learning from as you go through it. So I appreciate it. Thank you very much. Craig Willett: It is the School of Hard Knocks being an entrepreneur and being a business owner, but it’s well worth it, not only financially, but also emotionally. I’m grateful that you’d come and participate with us today, but I’m also grateful for our recurring listeners and viewers. I think that the principles that we discuss here can add to and enhance success, but also enhance the satisfaction you get in life. And I think James has done a great job of sharing with us some of the successes that he’s experienced and the way he’s able to reset his life in a way that he is able to achieve some emotional satisfaction from his business. I’m grateful you joined me today in the Sherpa’s Cave. This is Craig Willett, the Biz Sherpa. Speaker 1: Be sure to go to our website to access the resources related to this episode at www.BizSherpa.com. If you enjoyed this show, tell your friends about us and be sure to rate our podcast. Craig would like to hear from you, so share your thoughts in the Facebook community @BizSherpa.co. Follow us on Twitter @BizSherpa_co and on Instagram @BizSherpa.co.

Co-owner of Cooper's Luxury Home Collection in Park City, Utah, James Stevenson shares principles as to what makes his business more successful and how he achieves emotional satisfaction from his business.    CLICK HERE to access our free resources, social pages, and website!

Where to Get Days on Market and other Decision Making Data (LA 1360) Transcript: Steven Jack Butala: Steve and Jill here. Jill DeWit: Hello. Steven Jack Butala: Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Jill DeWit: And I'm Jill DeWit, broadcasting from sunny still Park City, Utah. Yes, we are still here. Steven Jack Butala: We decided to stay another week. Jill DeWit: Yep. And if you could see us, if you're watching on YouTube and you can see us, or if you're not watching on YouTube, you should zip over to YouTube and check this out, because you might hear popping and crackling in the background, because that really is a legitimate fire behind us. It is a cool day. And I just have to say, it's so funny, the way we're sitting, the way we're set up, I feel like I'm announcing at the Rose Parade. And the float coming along, now I want to say that all of the yellow were hand-picked sunflowers, and ... Just kidding. Steven Jack Butala: I got up early today and rearranged the entire place that we're staying in, this condo. Jill DeWit: Yeah, you did. Steven Jack Butala: And I'll put it back when we're done, I guess. Jill DeWit: We have a week to put it back. It looks great. Steven Jack Butala: Today's topic, today Jill and I actually talk about where to go to get days on market and other decision-making data. And here's a hint, this is where not to go, your local real estate agent. Jill and I recorded a few podcasts since we've been here, and I keep saying Salt Lake, Park City. And we were the guests on other people's shows. One guy informed us that that's where he gets his information from, his real estate agent. Jill DeWit: It's amazing. Steven Jack Butala: He's got a show. Jill DeWit: It's amazing. Steven Jack Butala: And he's out there telling everybody bad information. Jill DeWit: Some people just don't know that there's reliable sources of data, not just what you hear and talk about. Steven Jack Butala: We'll clear it up today about where to get data, if you don't already know. But before we get into it though, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free. Jill DeWit: Okay. Paula wrote, "Hi there, I hope everyone is doing well. I'm here to gain as much education as I can about land investing. Currently, I'm watching all of Steven and Jill's YouTube videos and have almost finished reading the Stevenson System, a unit which we [inaudible 00:02:16] that book. Wish me luck. Take care. See you around." Steven Jack Butala: My point here is twofold. Jill's going to tell us, if you're brand new or thinking about being brand new, Jill's going to tell us what she thinks about that. But I want to talk about- Jill DeWit: About being brand new? Steven Jack Butala: The Stevenson System is a book that this guy, I think his name's James Stevenson or Jim Stevenson, he and his wife wrote, I think in the early '70s or mid-70s'. And he gets this cockamamie idea to send his wife to the assessor's office and asks her to look up with a pad and pencil the people who own all the pieces of land in a certain area that he thought was a good place to buy land, so he could resell it. And so she did. She went and got the names and the mailing addresses of all these people in the property, and some details about the property, wrote it all down. And he sent them offers, or he sent the notes in the mail, I think. And my point is, if you can get a copy of the Stevenson System... We have a copy. A member let me know about this a couple years ago. Jill DeWit: A lender sent it to us, on my birthday said, "I'm going to send you this book." Steven Jack Butala: So if you can find an old copy, it's out of print, I've contacted the publisher, it's actually the son of the author, multiple times to try to buy the rights entirely, because I think it's something really good that we could teach and republish.

Craig Willett: I’m grateful for the enthusiastic response given to Episode 3, Building Enduring Wealth. I hope each of you are having fun saving and designing a dynamic investment plan. Today, we’re going to talk about adding value. I read recently an article in BBC News on July 24th about an international team of researchers who reported that in the March through May period during the lockdown of the pandemic, that it represented the longest period and most prominent global anthropogenic seismic noise reduction on record. So in plain English, that means that that earth movement caused by human movement from everything we do—from driving our cars to operating our factories—produces ground motions that can be detected by seismometers. In some cases, the noise was reduced by as much as 50%. Normally, this human noise needs to be filtered out to detect low magnitude earthquakes. So at first, we think, “Yeah sure, New York City kind of shut down, so the noise levels did drop. If you’ve ever been there, you know what I mean. The horns honking alone would reduce the noise level. But it also occurred in places like the Black Forest of Germany, even in quiet areas like boreholes 700 yards below the ground and quiet places like that. Just think of the stillness. This is quite a phenomenon. When I read about this phenomenon, my first question was, “Well, what noises do I make that cause a stir?” Well, aside from snoring at night or cheering at a sporting event, I reflected more upon this question and I thought: it is in our actions and service to others that we can make the biggest difference to those around us. We can move the earth, so to speak, to benefit the lives of others. From this thought came the self-examining question that I think is worth spending time to reflect honestly, and answering to ourselves. And that is: what value do I add to my service or product that makes the biggest difference in the lives of others, so much so to the extent that it changes the very ground upon which they stand? Let’s call this difference “adding value.” In fact, let’s call it “adding exceptional value.” As I consider some life-changing and life-enhancing moments I’ve experienced and value-added moments from people who’ve interacted with me, I’d like to share a few that have made the earth move in my life. When I started my CPA firm in 1987, my father-in-law offered what proved to be life-enhancing, profit-boosting advice. I guess I could say he really added value to my life. I’m sure his concern was for my wife to make sure that I took good care of his daughter. Whatever his motivation was, it was a life changer for me. He shared with me an experience he had in his life when he was working for the IRS. He did accounting work on the side at nights and on weekends for clients around town to bring in extra income for the family. Of course, he went on to become the president of a bank and was very successful in his own right, I’m sure because he applied the same advice to his professional life. He said, “Craig, as you get busy doing work for your clients, don’t get too busy to take an afternoon off each week from office work and go out and visit your clients at their place of business.” He told me he did that and he seemed to just grow in clients as a result. I viewed my father-in-law as having had a successful career and chose to follow his advice. For me, I chose Wednesday afternoons to visit my clients. Over the years, I watched not only my CPA practice grow to over 700 small business clients, but its revenue per client soar. The fact was a simple request. The impact was tremendous. Not only did I gain the trust of my clients by taking time to show that I was interested in their success, but that trust grew to produce two outcomes. The first was that they would refer their friends and family to me for help. And the second was that at the end of the day on a Wednesday, I would not only head back to the office with unsolicited referrals, but also with additional work from the clients I visited. Some of this work benefited me in other ways. For example, one of my clients was considering an investment in a startup bank. He shared with me the investment prospectus and told me he was considering making an investment and wanted my opinion. I took the information and a few days later, we met to discuss my thoughts. I shared with him that I thought it was a good investment opportunity and asked if I could join in the investment with him as well. He said he was hoping I would say that, because really he had planned to only invest if I did as well. What a great experience to help start a community bank and be one of the founding board members alongside one of my respected clients. Some of our listeners are not business owners and as such, I thought of one of my sons and how he is an example of the ideal employee. As our family grew and the businesses I founded became more successful, we moved into a larger home on five acres. This home was a lot of work to maintain as you can imagine. I would assign my son, Matthew, to do certain chores outside. Without exception, he would not only do the work assigned, but when he was finished with the assigned work, he reported back to me saying, “Is there anything else that needs to be done? And, oh, by the way, when I was out there, I saw this and this that needed to be done so I went ahead and did that too.” You can imagine how any employer would feel to have an employee that makes the earth move so deeply by doing not only what is expected of them, but doing more without even being asked. These types of employees enhance the profits and pleasure of doing business. They add value and are a treasure to have. You can imagine having the same interaction with your clients or customers going above and beyond their expectations. As you take time to be quiet and ponder your steps, think about how your service or product can enhance and change the lives of others. The steps you take, if taken with care and attention, can really make things move for other people. As you figure out how to add value to those you interact with, as my father-in-law did with me, you too will experience greater success and fulfillment from the small and simple steps of seeking to understand the needs of others and taking the time to meet and exceed those expectations. Let’s talk about how you add value, and to focus on that question, why don’t we all go back to our first job interview? Mine was at McDonald’s. I think it went something like this. “When are you available to work?” “After school.” “How much money do you want to make?” “How much are you offering to pay?” was my answer. In other words, it was quite a simple exchange, right? They had money that I wanted and they needed help working, so if I worked, they would give me money. Very simple. But is this really the basis of our interactions? You need to match your unique characteristics, or your product’s unique characteristics or your services, to the needs of your customers so that their perception is that you offer the best value, not necessarily the lowest price. Of course, I went to work for McDonald’s for minimum wage, so I did offer the lowest price. Let’s look at your customer’s needs. How do you fill those better than anyone else? This is where you take the dollars and cents out of the equation of business and add a tangible and an intangible value beyond what others can do. How do you know you’re making a difference in the lives of your customers or clients? A few weeks ago, I was golfing with James Stevenson, a friend of mine in Park City, Utah. As we golfed, he shared with me some thoughts and reactions to the first episode of the Biz Sherpa Podcast. He said, “Craig, I get this, looking at what I do best and how I spend my time is great. In fact, it got me out of my investment banking job and into owning a vacation rental management company in Park City.” What could be nicer than that, right? He said, “I want a scorecard so that at the end of each day, I know I’m on track.” I’ve contemplated James’s question for several weeks and found the key to keeping score in my life takes time and honest evaluation. Let me share with you a brief experience of selling a product for 30 percent more than the competition in half the time across the street. My development business was selling their product for 30 percent more per square foot than our competition. What caused this? We knew that the value to drive up to the front door and walk in and having your name on that building was more valuable to a business owner than having their clients park on the outside perimeter of a building that was courtyard-oriented, only to have them walk through the courtyard, trying to find the front door to the business they were going to solicit. You have to understand that when you go to school for two to eight years to get a college degree or become a professional, you want the look of a professional office that makes a statement about you. Normally, in business school, you would think that the answer to the question of who’s going to sell out faster—the one with the lowest price—will always win. I say the product with the greatest perceived value will have the highest demand. This type of success doesn’t happen by accident. It takes time, deliberate focus, and effort, and of course, some luck. We took three months and looked at our very first project and looked at who bought our office buildings and what were their needs. Then, we surveyed those needs and put together a successful ownership proposition that also made the location more valuable to the business owner than just another building. In other words, the enhancements we built into it made their business operation more successful and more profitable. This study and taking this time put us over and above what anyone else was doing. It meant we spent more money, but we were able to sell for more money and probably at a greater margin, certainly when you consider the time factor. If you don’t take the time to figure out and deliberately have your plan, it’s like ordering take-out, running in and picking it up, being in a hurry to get home, and you get home to unpack the take-out and you realize you have the wrong meal. You ordered chicken fried rice, but you get home and you have beef with broccoli. As I’ve pondered my friend’s, James, desire for a scorecard, I’ve discovered in looking back at my life, how I achieved as a CPA and growing from one client to over 700 small business clients in eight years; and as a real estate developer, I grew from our first 8 million dollar project to developing over 750 million dollars worth of real estate over the next nine years. The key is to exceed expectations and add value at every interaction on every level, and you will not need to advertise. Your customers will do it for you. Remember, this process takes deliberate time and focused contemplation. By taking time to score your progress, you will avoid the trap the world uses to measure progress, which is growth in sales or other metrics. The world wants to use metrics and compare price per pound, or in real estate, price per square foot. We have all been to the grocery store and found that the most expensive meat, Prime, the prime quality of prime cut, is many times more expensive per pound, and sometimes 15 to 20 dollars per pound more than the Choice cut. So what kind of steak do you want to grill? I like bone-in filet that is Prime. So to answer my friend James’s question about a scorecard, the ultimate scorecard that focuses on measuring personal performance, evaluating results of your performance, and setting objectives to elevate your performance is where I have focused my career and my life. So I’m excited to share with you my scorecard. My personal trainer asked me a question at the beginning of the year. He said, “Craig, what are your personal fitness objectives this year?” To be honest with you for a minute, I couldn’t even think of an answer to that question. I’m not planning on running in a triathlon or a marathon, and last year I won a World’s Championship in the Amateur Gentleman’s Fine Harness, and so I had some objectives, but I had got caught flat-footed at the beginning of this year. It took me a minute to think of an objective. So I made one. So, on the scorecard that you can find on our website at www.BizSherpa.co, you’ll find under the tab, “Resources,” the scorecard. The scorecard, you should start off each week with a personal performance objective. Don’t be caught like me without one. Define that objective. An effective objective should be well-defined, and be able to be recorded in one sentence. For example, “Determine why my delivery times this month have doubled, and resolve the production or fulfillment problems so that our customers receive timely fulfillment to their orders.” Or, “I want to build my sales pipeline so that I have a hundred potential orders for next month.” Those are all worthy objectives in your business. Then, the next thing you should do is at the end of each day, look back and measure the percentage of your time spent each day working on your personal performance objective. I would say that if you’re distracted more than 20 percent of the time, then you’re not able to adequately focus on your key objective. For example, you may have a 50 minute workout plan, but you’re interrupted by telephone calls and texts for 14 minutes of that 50 minutes. So now you’ve only achieved 72 percent of your workout, unless you extend the time. By focusing and using 80 percent as an objective, you’re able to then set aside some of the things that become obstacles to you in business. And believe me, I’ve owned a number of businesses, and I’ve seen 700 clients get distractions, as well as a CPA watching them. I know how to learn to focus, and I think it takes that focus to be able to enhance your personal performance. The next step after you measure it each day is to evaluate what obstacles you faced. Then next, you’ll identify what you can change, or who you can empower, to help remove those obstacles, or delegate to, that stand in the way of you achieving your objective. These are key principles. I can’t stress enough that, to avoid getting burned out and having a business own you, you need to be able to focus, and you need to be able to have an objective in mind to spend 80 percent of your time on what you feel is your key objective on any given week. The next area I think you should focus on is exceeding expectations performance. This is an area where you get to receive emotional currency and accumulate that to give you energy and power, and help you know where to focus. So to do it, you need to measure the feedback from your clients, customers, and employees. If you don’t receive any, then that might be your 80 percent objective, to get on the phone and get some feedback. I think it’s important to a business to be able to measure their feedback they’re getting. I’m not talking about the survey like you get when you buy a car and they say, “Hey, please give me a good rating.” I’m talking about honest feedback about your product, your service, and your performance. Some of these come unsolicited, and that’s the best kind of feedback that you want. But if you’re getting no feedback, then you need to start reaching out so that you have something to make changes and evaluate and to enhance your performance. After you get the feedback, then you need to evaluate it, write it down, and rate it. Is this a positive thing? If it’s positive and saying that you’ve gone above and beyond, then go ahead and give yourself 100 points. In other words, if you’re exceeding your customer’s expectations, then you should be able to give yourself 100. If you have negative feedback, don’t be too hard on yourself, but don’t give yourself more than 50 points. I think it’s important to score this so that you can see where you are. And if on any given day, you got no feedback, then put in a zero. The next step is to take action. Outline the changes needed to enhance the performance. If you have a positive, exceeding-expectations feedback, then you need to highlight that in your social media campaigns. If you had an employee go above and beyond, then you need to take action to reward and encourage that among other employees as well. If you had negative feedback about a product’s functioning, then you need to be able to contact those in your business who are responsible, to enhance and fix the product’s performance. If you’re getting negative feedback about fulfillment, then you need to talk to operations, and help them understand that you’re getting negative feedback so they know what to fix. When you do this, then you are aligning your actions. You’re aligning the other 20 percent of your time that you’re spending on areas where you can tweak and enhance the overall performance of your company. And I would dare say, if you do this, your customers will take care of themselves. Your profitability will soar. Then I would take the score of all five days, add up all five days, and rate yourself. This really does focus you, or your company, on getting daily feedback. Know where you stand with your customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Again, not like the car surveys you take when you buy a car, where they say, “Please rate me well.” They’re trying to have the company win an award, or the sales person is trying to win an award. I’m talking about honest feedback with detailed information about what you’ve done well, and maybe what you haven’t done well. And sometimes this is done by survey, but the best thing is to have a conversation. The last area that I think should be measured on a weekly basis, and certainly monthly basis, is how are you doing at building your enduring wealth? You should measure and record the amount you transfer to savings on a monthly basis, and then calculate that as a percentage of net income from the prior month. That way you can evaluate each month, how you’re doing. The next area is, you need to evaluate what time did I spend, and what investment options did I identify this week, and how do they play into my overall long-term plan to have a recurring income stream independent of my business? The action you should take is figure out what your next steps are on the investment vehicle you may have chosen or found. If you do this, you’ll be well on your way. Now to score yourself here, I would say 16 to 20 percent of net income, you’re a champion. If you’re 11 to 15 percent, you’re a pro. And 6 to 10 percent, you’re an amateur. If you’re 1 to 5 percent, you’re a beginner, and I have hope for you because you are starting. This scorecard will focus you on what’s important and allow you to elevate your performance and enhance customer satisfaction, which alone will increase your profitability more than any other factor, as I’ve mentioned before. Now, I would go back to number one and you do need to total up your percentage for the week, the area where you’re having your personal performance focus, and there you need to score yourself. You need to look at it. If you’re getting between 320 and 400 points, then you’re a champion. If you’re getting 280 to 319 points, you’re a pro. And 280 and below, you’re an amateur. I think it’s important to score yourself at the end of each week, and then evaluate and take time to look at those three aspects of your performance to determine what your objectives should be the next week. You may find that they fall out from these things. I certainly wouldn’t make the investment the number one objective, but I would look at your personal performance focus and certainly your exceeding-expectations performance, and see what you can do the next week to enhance that performance. A friend of mine, Tommaso Cardullo, a fashion designer, told me that a way to quantify to track performance creates excitement, and energy, and drive. And that scoring your progress is a way to elevate your performance. If you don’t take the time to contemplate and look beyond a dashboard or a set of financial metrics, you will lose sight of the enhanced value you, your company, your employees, and in turn, your products or services, can add to someone else’s life. You will know you are making a difference in someone else’s life when you start anticipating their needs before they recognize they have the need. The Biz Sherpa scorecard will liberate you from the day-to-day business rigors to free you up to focus on doing just that—enhancing value for others. Scoring your progress will bring excitement, energy, and drive, and above that, it will elevate your vision and eventually your performance. Remember the month the earth stood still. Take time to be still, measure, evaluate, and set elevated objectives. As you do, you will make the earth move for someone else. This is why I created the Biz Sherpa scorecard. It will look a little bit more like a journal. You need to take time to contemplate, evaluate, and record your thoughts and feelings, what is working, and what is not working. It’s a creative process to focus on these areas of your life, not a quantitative approach, or there would be an app or a software that would analyze all of your business and give you recommendations. You are unique. You’re a unique individual with talents, vision, and drive, that no one else has. Use those to customize your performance and set your objectives. Consider this thought as you do from British novelist, Jon McGregor: “Pen and paper is always at hand. Writing on the page stays on the page, with its scribbles and rewrites and long arrows suggesting a sentence or paragraph be moved and can be looked over and reconsidered. Writing on the screen is far more ephemeral. A sentence deleted can’t be reconsidered.” “For decades, my own journals have been incubators for creative projects. Each time I start a new book, workshop, or business expansion, I use my journal to work out questions, obstacles, details, procedural notes, and deadline management. I also benefit from the safe container for my own self doubts; uncertainties, frustrations, and other feelings that are part of the creative process.” And the nice thing about this scorecard, you don’t share it with anyone else. You can put in here your personal doubts. You can look at your weaknesses. If you don’t encourage employees. If you’re not spending the kind of time encouraging the right actions to be taken in your business. This is a time for you to be quiet and evaluate, and improve yourself. I wouldn’t use it as a time to beat yourself up. This is a time to set objectives. And then at the end of each week, turn around, and set a new objective that will help you enhance your performance. I look forward to your feedback as you use the Biz Sherpa scorecard. Go to www.BizSherpa.co, and click on “Resources.” You’ll find it under Episode 4. Oh yeah, in two weeks, you will join me for my first video podcast in the Sherpa’s Cave, with the king of the Reset Button, Warren LeSueur. Warren is a two-time stage IV cancer survivor, who established a family-owned and operated used car dealership in Tempe, Arizona in 1975, with barely over 50,000 a year in sales. Now, today it has grown to over 38 million. We will be discussing how he manages a family-owned business, and how his life’s experiences of hitting the reset button have led to success in business, and fulfillment in life. I’d like to give special thanks to Tommaso Cardullo and James Stevenson for their thought-provoking discussions about scorecards. I hope you use the scorecard and find it rewarding for you. I can’t wait to meet you next time in the Sherpa’s Cave. This is Craig Willett, the Biz Sherpa. Speaker 1: Be sure to go to our website to access the resources related to this episode at www.BizSherpa.co. If you enjoyed this show, tell your friends about us and be sure to rate our podcast. Craig would like to hear from you, so share your thoughts in the Facebook community at BizSherpa.co. Follow us on Twitter @BizSherpa_co and on Instagram @BizSherpa.co.

We're back from our bicentennial break, and we've got Insomniac's Brian Allgeier and James Stevenson in tow to tell us all about the farm freshly-announced Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus! Plus all the new releases for 07/16, new listener PSN Gems + moar!