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Episode Summary: Benoy Thanjan sits down with his co-host Nate Jovanelly, Founder & CEO of SunRaise Capital, to break down how the Big Beautiful Bill is reshaping residential solar. They discuss Section 25D's removal, the surge in solar + storage, and innovative financing models like prepaid leases. Biographies Benoy Thanjan Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, and a strategic advisor to multiple clean energy startups. Over his career, Benoy has developed over 100 MW of solar projects across the U.S., helped launch the first residential solar tax equity funds at Tesla, and brokered $45 million in Renewable Energy Credits (REC) transactions. Prior to founding Reneu Energy, Benoy was the Environmental Commodities Trader in Tesla's Project Finance Group, where he managed one of the company's largest environmental commodities portfolios. He originated REC trades and co-developed a monetization and hedging strategy with senior leadership to enter the East Coast market. As Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners, Benoy crafted project finance solutions for commercial-scale solar projects. His role at Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund with 125 MW of U.S. renewable assets, involved evaluating investment opportunities and maximizing returns. He also played a key role in the sale of the firm's renewable portfolio. Earlier in his career, Benoy worked in Energy Structured Finance at Deloitte & Touche and Financial Advisory Services at Ernst & Young, following an internship on the trading floor at D.E. Shaw & Co., a multi billion dollar hedge fund. Benoy holds an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from NYU Stern, where he was an Alumni Scholar. Nathan Jovanelly Nate is the CEO and Founder of SunRaise Capital's mission is to provide affordable and accessible renewable energy options to homeowners, while reducing carbon footprints and creating a sustainable future for generations to come. They achieve their mission by partnering with industry leading solar installers to provide our customers with the best possible solar experience at competitive rates. As the CEO of an innovative residential solar lease company, he spearheads strategic initiatives aimed at harmonizing the objectives of our funding partners, installation teams, and homeowners. With a relentless focus on alignment, he cultivates collaborative relationships to ensure mutual success and satisfaction across all stakeholders. Through innovative leadership and a commitment to transparency, he drives sustainable growth while delivering exceptional value to our investors, installers, and customers alike. Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com Nathan Jovanelly SunRaise Capital Website: https://www.sunraisecapital.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natejov/ Email: nate@sunraise.com Thank you to AMS Renewable Energy for Sponsoring this Episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast! This episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor—AMS Renewable Energy. AMS is a top-tier solar EPC that operates with the precision and mindset of a commercial general contractor. Headquartered in the Bronx, New York—and licensed nationwide—AMS has over 30 years of construction experience, tackling even the most complex solar projects with unmatched expertise and craftsmanship. Whether it's a challenging C&I rooftop, ground mount, or full turnkey solution, AMS is committed to best-in-class service and results that last. If you're looking for a solar EPC partner who understands construction inside and out—AMS Renewable Energy should be at the top of your list. Learn more at [ams-renewable.com] and tell them the Solar Maverick sent you! Nate's other interviews on the Solar Maverick Podcast SMP 205: Revolutionizing Solar Finance: How SunRaise Capital Attracts Investors to Residential Solar Projects? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smp-205-revolutionizing-solar-finance-how-sunraise/id1441876259?i=1000702871242 SMP 194: 2025 Solar Outlook https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-194-2025-solar-outlook/ SMP 176: REplus takeaways https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-176-replus-takeaways/ SMP 166: Residential Solar Trends https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-166-residential-solar-trends/ SMP 150: How SunRaise Capital is innovating residential solar financing? https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-150-how-sunraise-capital-is-innovating-residential-solar-financing/ Solar Maverick Episode 147: RE+ Takeaways https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-147-re-conference-takeaways/ Solar Maverick Episode 139: Opportunities and Challenges with the PJM Solar Market https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u14GHBkqcqo Solar Maverick Episode 134: 2023 Solar Predictions https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-134-2023-solar-predictations/ SMP 131: How Technology and Software are innovating the Solar Industry? https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-131-how-technology-and-software-is-innovating-the-solar-industry/ SMP 100: US Residential Solar, Storage, and Electric Vehicle Trends https://solarmaverick.podbean.com/e/smp-100-us-residential-solar-storage-and-electric-vehicles-trends/ SMP 74: Impact on COVID-19 on Residential Solar https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smp-74-impacts-of-covid-19-on-residential-solar/id1441876259?i=1000475840259 SMP 58: Residential Solar Financing and Other Interesting Topics https://podcasts.apple.com/tc/podcast/smp-58-residential-solar-financing-other-interesting/id1441876259?i=1000459212910 SMP 20: The Solar Intrapreneur Story: How Nate helped IGS become one of the biggest solar asset owners in the US https://podcasts.apple.com/tc/podcast/smp-20-solar-intrapreneur-story-how-nate-helped-igs/id1441876259?i=1000432329129
Buying a home can feel overwhelming, especially for pharmacists facing student loans, rising rents, and high interest rates. Tony Umholtz, mortgage loan officer at First Horizon, shares a realistic path to homeownership, even in today's challenging real estate environment. This episode is brought to you by First Horizon. Episode Summary Buying a home as a first-time buyer in today's market can feel overwhelming, especially for pharmacists juggling student loans, high rents, and rising interest rates. In this episode of the Your Financial Pharmacist Podcast, Tim Ulbrich is joined by Tony Umholtz, mortgage loan officer with First Horizon Bank, to share a realistic path to homeownership, even in today's challenging real estate environment. You'll learn: ✅ How today's lending environment impacts first-time buyers ✅ The role student loan repayment changes play in qualifying for a mortgage ✅ Strategies to make homeownership more attainable for pharmacists ✅ Why the door to buying a home may be more open than you think Whether you're planning to buy in the next few months or just starting to explore your options, this conversation will help you feel informed, empowered, and ready to take your next step toward owning a home. About Today's Guest Tony Umholtz is the Senior VP of Mortgage Banking at First Horizon. He graduated Cum Laude from the University of South Florida with a B.S. in Finance from the Muma College of Business. He then went on to complete his MBA. While at USF, Tony was part of the inaugural football team in 1997. He earned both Academic and AP All-American Honors during his collegiate career. After college, Tony had the opportunity to sign contracts with several NFL teams including the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and the New England Patriots. Being active in the community is also important to Tony. He has served or serves as a board member for several charitable and non-profit organizations including board member for the Salvation Army, FCA Tampa Bay, and the USF National Alumni Association. Having orchestrated over $1.1 billion in lending volume during his career, Tony has consistently been ranked as one of the top mortgage loan officers in the industry by the Scotsman's Guide, Mortgage Executive magazine, and Mortgage Originator magazine. Mentioned on the Show YFP YouTube Channel YFP 416: Student Loan Changes: Key Takeaways from the Big Beautiful Bill Learn More About First Horizon's Pharmacist Home Loan Your Financial Pharmacist
Josh Payne is the Founder and CEO of Coframe, an AI‑powered platform that optimizes website copy, UI, and conversion performance through machine learning. A serial entrepreneur, he previously co‑founded Autograph, a fan‑experience unicorn backed by a16z and Kleiner Perkins, and AccessBell, a video‑conferencing startup acquired by Tata Group. A Stanford graduate with BS, MS, and MBA degrees, Josh has authored over 20 papers and patents in AI and frequently guest lectures on generative AI. He is passionate about advancing AI‑driven tools that help businesses scale through personalization and intelligent automation. In this episode… Many companies struggle to turn website visitors into paying customers. Conversion rate optimization often feels slow, costly, and dependent on endless iterations, leaving teams unsure how to test the right elements efficiently. How can businesses rapidly identify what truly drives user engagement and lift conversions without exhausting their resources? Josh Payne, an AI innovator and serial entrepreneur with experience building self-improving digital systems, shares how his AI-powered approach solves this challenge by automating and accelerating conversion rate optimization. Drawing on lessons from CRO expert Justin Christianson, Josh explains the importance of systematically testing site elements, understanding visitor intent, and leveraging data-driven iteration. He also details how companies can scale experiments, reduce engineering and design burden, and uncover winning website variations faster to drive significant revenue growth. In this episode of the Inspired Insider podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz interviews Josh Payne, Founder and CEO of Coframe, about using AI to transform website conversion optimization. Josh discusses the power of iterative testing, lessons from raising capital for multiple startups, and the role of hackathons in building high-performing teams. He also shares insights on partnering with major brands, scaling experiments efficiently, and leveraging AI for competitive advantage.
In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Filipa Lancastre, PhD. Filipa is someone who has never been afraid to do things differently. While most young adults in Portugal stay under their parents' roof until their 30s, Filipa took a different route. As a rising McKinsey consultant, she bought her own place, got her parents to guarantee the loan, and walked away five years later with a 50% return. But that was just the beginning. Filipa is an Assistant Professor (adjunct) of Strategy at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. She holds her PhD in Management from NOVA SBE. Filipa was a senior researcher and faculty at Nova SBE and Universidade Europeia. Prior to her academic activities, Filipa worked in telecom, serving as advisor to the board at ZON and leading the customer relationship management department at TV Cabo. She was also a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company. Filipa is an Industrial Engineer from Instituto Superior Técnico (Universidade de Lisboa) and holds an MBA from INSEAD.
When consumer trust is more fragile than ever, how can brands, particularly in highly scrutinized categories like infant nutrition, utilize the latest approaches to not only build trust but also deepen consumer relationships? Agility requires not only adapting to evolving consumer expectations and technological advancements but also maintaining ethical and transparent practices, especially when dealing with sensitive topics such as infant health. It also demands a willingness to experiment, learn, and iterate quickly in response to market feedback and emerging trends. Today, we're going to talk about building trust in a digital age, navigating the complexities of launching a purpose-driven CPG brand, and redefining what “healthy” means for a new generation of parents. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Meika Hollender, Chief Marketing Officer at Nara Organics. About Meika Hollender Meika Hollender is the Chief Marketing Officer of Nara Organics, a pioneering brand redefining infant nutrition with its first-of-its-kind USDA-certified organic whole milk formula. Before joining Nara, Meika served as Vice President of Brand and Corporate Communications at Grove Collaborative, a leading sustainable consumer products company and the first plastic-neutral retailer in the world. At Grove, she led the development and execution of communications strategy across brand, sustainability, and innovation, driving awareness through powerful storytelling and purpose-driven campaigns. Grove, a certified B Corp, is on a mission to move Beyond Plastic and be 100% plastic-free by 2025. Meika first made her mark as the Co-Founder and CEO of Sustain, the pioneering brand of natural sexual wellness products for women. After growing Sustain into a category leader, the company was acquired by Grove in 2019. Meika stayed on as President of Sustain while stepping into a broader role at Grove, where she brought her passion for product innovation, social impact, and women's health to a wider CPG platform.She holds an MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business and is the author of Get on Top, published by Simon & Schuster in 2018. Meika also serves on the board of Net Impact and the Young Visionaries Committee for Planned Parenthood of New York City. Meika Hollender on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meika-hollender-b574b519/ Resources Nara Organics: https://nara.com/ https://nara.com/ The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Boston, August 11-14, 2025. Register now: https://bit.ly/etailboston and use code PARTNER20 for 20% off for retailers and brandsDon't Miss MAICON 2025, October 14-16 in Cleveland - the event bringing together the brights minds and leading voices in AI. Use Code AGILE150 for $150 off registration. Go here to register: https://bit.ly/agile150" Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company
Today's guest is former Naval Intelligence Officer, global tech executive, and New York Times bestselling author M.P. Woodward. During his service with U.S. Pacific Command, Woodward developed strategic war games and deployed multiple times to the Persian Gulf and Far East, working alongside U.S. Special Operations Forces, the CIA, and NSA.After leaving the military, he earned his MBA and built a career in the tech sector, eventually leading international distribution marketing for Amazon Prime Video. His work at the intersection of media, geopolitics, and technology now informs his acclaimed espionage novels, including The Handler and Dead Drop, and his contributions to the Tom Clancy universe. In this episode, Jack and M.P. discuss his path from the Navy to the tech world, the lessons learned in uniform that translate to business, and how he approaches writing with both an operational and market-driven mindset. They dive into the research and process behind The Handler, the strategic vulnerabilities explored in his upcoming standalone thriller Red Tide, and the family and service themes woven into the novel. The conversation also touches on writing historical fiction, the art of a strong prologue, book cover design, and Tom Clancy's legacy, along with a few detours into classic films, Dark Wolf, True Believer, and Land Cruisers.FOLLOW MP WoodwardX: @MPWauthor Facebook:@MP_Woodward Website: http://mpwoodward.comFOLLOW JACKInstagram: @JackCarrUSA X: @JackCarrUSAFacebook: @JackCarr YouTube: @JackCarrUSASPONSORSCRY HAVOC – A Tom Reece Thriller https://www.officialjackcarr.com/books/cry-havoc/Bravo Company Manufacturing - https://bravocompanyusa.com/ and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSATHE SIGs of Jack Carr:Visit https://www.sigsauer.com/ and on Instagram @sigsauerinc Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here https://jackcarr.co/gear
Title: Travel Like a Billionaire: The 90% Off Secret to a First-Class Lifestyle with Eli Facenda In this conversation, Eli Facenda shares insights on maximizing travel experiences through strategic use of points and credit cards. He discusses his nomadic lifestyle, the entrepreneurial journey that led him to travel hacking, and the importance of understanding the value of different points systems. Eli emphasizes the need for a structured approach to travel, focusing on maximizing points, optimizing travel upgrades, and effectively using credit cards to enhance travel experiences. The discussion also touches on the significance of having a clear strategy for business owners and how to navigate the complexities of travel rewards. In this conversation, Eli Facenda shares his expertise on maximizing travel experiences through strategic use of points and credit cards. He discusses the importance of community in travel planning, innovative solutions for entrepreneurs, and his personal journey in the travel industry. Eli emphasizes the significance of experiential wealth and actionable steps listeners can take to enhance their travel experiences. Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://youtu.be/c7QqSscsajc Bullet Point Highlights: Seth and Eli kick off with casual banter about van life, audio gear, and the nomad lifestyle. Eli shares his background going from broke entrepreneur to travel-hacking expert. He explains how he got obsessed with using points after a free trip to Thailand changed his mindset. Eli now helps entrepreneurs take $20K–$50K luxury trips for 90% off using credit card points. His 3-part system includes maximizing points, optimizing travel perks, and redeeming for bucket-list trips. He gives a real-world example of booking a $20K ANA business class flight to Japan for just $12. Seth dives into a real-life org structure and Eli explains how points flow to the guarantor, not the LLC. Best practice: 2–3 business cards and 2–3 personal cards tailored to your biggest spend categories. Eli introduces his new “DreamTrip Alert System” that delivers full trip itineraries at massive discounts. In the Million Dollar Monday segment, Eli shares how he made, lost, and remade his first million. His next million will come from scalable digital products and a wider reach through content and community. What makes Eli top 1%: He walks the walk, traveling the world and running a business around it. His #1 tip: Pick your dream trip, put it on the calendar, and commit, then let the how figure itself out. Transcript: Eli Facenda (00:00.059) What's up, Seth? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:01.43) Yo, what's going on, brother? Eli Facenda (00:03.237) How we doing, man? How we doing? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:05.141) Excellent man, what's happening? Eli Facenda (00:06.893) Not much. you, how's the audio coming through here? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:11.032) Sounds good, sounds good. Eli Facenda (00:12.547) it clean? Okay, because I'm, it's basically we're in the middle of a Nomad trip here, so I normally have like a, like a shirt mic like you have, but on the road I haven't had, so I haven't had to test this yet, but I figured the DJI's are pretty solid, so I wanna make sure it's actually coming through decent. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:16.962) Okay. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:26.732) Nice. Yeah, no, it sounds good. Sounds good, man. Eli Facenda (00:29.425) Okay, cool, awesome. Awesome Dave, we'll get to connect with you. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:33.802) Yeah, brother definitely, so I don't butcher it. How do you pronounce your last name? Facenda, okay, cool. Cool Awesome, man. Yeah, we've we've crossed paths on social media. I think or maybe our va's have crossed paths who knows Eli Facenda (00:39.077) for sender. Yep, yep. Eli Facenda (00:47.663) Yeah, think that was where, yeah, think we were initially connecting, yeah, totally. Instagram, I think, was the place. Yeah. Because you're out in California, right? Nice, I'm in West Palm right now. And I mean, normally based in Austin, but we're in the middle of a like, six to eight month nomad adventure. And so we are, we're on the road here, and we go to Europe in a few weeks for like the next several months. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:53.42) Yeah, nice, nice, where you at right now? Yep, San Diego. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:10.446) Sweet dude. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:17.166) That's awesome dude, awesome, awesome. Love it man, that's a long time. So we did last May we did, man it's been like a year, geez. We did like 30, 33 days in a van trip. So we took our van up through Wyoming into Montana and into Canada. That was a long time for us, but 68 months. Right, yeah. Eli Facenda (01:18.117) Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, man. Eli Facenda (01:33.455) Nice. Eli Facenda (01:37.465) sick. Yeah, well vans are intense too. You know, I haven't done van life but my fiance, she did that before and it was like a lot for her. But yeah, so totally depends on the way you're traveling as well. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:47.266) Yeah. Nice, nice. Cool, man. Just give you a quick rundown. our audience, my audience is typically, so it used to be passive investors, right? So it used to be the passive income attorney podcast. I think when we might've tried to schedule before and that was for investors. So accredited investors trying to get them to invest in my commercial real estate deals, that sort of thing. But now I've rebranded to raising the bar, which is more geared towards active investors and entrepreneurs and folks like that. So still, Eli Facenda (02:10.619) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:19.982) Still, I'm sure your clients, wealthy folks that are starting businesses, that have businesses, that are raising capital for real estate or private equity or other types of businesses, that sort of thing. And then we'll do about, we'll do it a little on the shorter side. So we'll do about 30 minute interview, probably at the longest. And then we'll kind of just close that out. And then I do two little smaller sections that I break down into like little five minute episodes. One is a million dollar. Eli Facenda (02:25.403) Totally. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:49.622) Monday I put that in the notes and it's basically just like real quick, like how you made your first million dollars, how you made your last million, how you plan on making your next million. then, yeah, and then the last one is the top 1%. Basically just kind of what separates you and makes you the top 1 % in what you do. Eli Facenda (02:59.675) Cool. Yeah, I love it. It's great. Eli Facenda (03:08.699) Okay, beautiful. And then as far as, is there any place you want me to point people that is connected to you or do you care if you're asking about that? I don't have any hard call to action kind of pitch thing, but it's more just like. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:19.916) No, man, whatever, it's up to you, man, whatever you want to do, whatever you, whatever call it action you want to use, if want to send it to your website or social media, whatever you want to do, Eli Facenda (03:26.577) Cause you know what we do have, I can do this. We have a pretty cool playbook that's normally 150 bucks and I'm happy to give it to your listeners for free. So I could give them a code, just say what would be the best code for that? Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:37.175) Okay, awesome. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:43.429) Um, just raise would probably be good. use that a lot for like call to action, like DME raise. So you could use a raise. Eli Facenda (03:46.161) Cool. All right, so yeah, so I'll just say go to the website and just DM or just put in the code RAYS and you'll get it for free. But it's like a whole playbook on how to maximize points for trips. I've act like legitimately I've had someone buy it and within 48 hours he texted me a screenshot. was like, dude, I just saved 20 grand on a trip from your ebook. And I was like, wow, okay, it works. So it's good. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:57.07) Sweet. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:09.366) Nice, Cool. All right, man, well, we're already recording, so I'll just jump right in, and then if I need to add anything to the beginning, I'll do that later. And cool, man, yeah, we'll just jump right in. Eli Facenda (04:14.129) Sweet. You're welcome. Eli Facenda (04:20.27) Awesome. Eli Facenda (04:24.913) Let's do it. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:27.444) Eli, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show. Eli Facenda (04:30.181) Thank you man, excited to be here and I we're going coast to coast today so this will be good. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:34.382) Absolutely, man. So we chatted beforehand, but I think you're tuning in on a road trip right now. So you're living proof of what you do, right? Eli Facenda (04:44.065) Yeah, totally. are, well this part's kind of like a road trip. We're in West Palm Beach right now, but this is basically leg number two out of, we'll end up being probably an eight month nomadic adventure with me and my fiance and our little puppy. And so we're in West Palm Beach right now in Florida. We head to Europe in less than a month and we'll be bouncing around different parts of Europe for about four months roughly before we decide where we're gonna go next, which we're not exactly sure. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:58.904) Nice. Seth Bradley, Esq. (05:12.28) That's awesome, man. Are you using all your hacks and secrets and travel tips that you put out there? Eli Facenda (05:18.449) Absolutely, yeah, 100%. I mean, we just got back from a crazy trip to Japan. This was really cool. I run an entrepreneur mastermind. So we integrated our own trip around Japan around this mastermind event. So I had 53 people come out for like eight days. We went snowboarding in the mountains in Niseko in the Northern Park. And then we went down to Tokyo for the cherry blossoms. But for myself personally, to get there and back and do a lot of the hotels, we used points. We saved over 50 grand just on that portion of the trip. We then... know, flew down to West Palm on points and then going over to Europe and a lot of the stays over there will also be leveraging the point strategies that I help clients use and then I talk about on social media and the stuff that we'll dive into today. But yeah, I like to be living proof of it because it's pretty awesome. It's something that's really impacted my life. I love doing it. And when I do it, I get to share it too. So has like a multiple benefit for everybody. Seth Bradley, Esq. (06:06.648) That's awesome, man. I'm excited, dude. I'm excited to dig in here, because it's just for my own personal benefit and education, because I'm super stoked about this stuff, and I travel a lot with my fiance, or my fiance, my wife, and it's something I'm personally interested in as well. We've had past conversations too, so it's great to have you on, man. So just to start off, man, if somebody, you meet somebody in the street, they ask you what you do, how do you explain that? in a sentence, right? Like without going into some crazy like tangent about all the awesome things that you do. Like what, how do you answer that question? Eli Facenda (06:36.453) Yeah. Eli Facenda (06:41.329) Sure, sure, Yeah, it really does depend on the situation, but I oftentimes will ask a couple questions because it makes it easier for people to understand. So usually it's like, do you have any big dream bucket list trip you've ever wanted to take? And they'll be like, oh yeah, Greece. I'm like, well, what we do is we help you get to Greece in business or first class, stay in five star hotels, have the trip of your dreams at about 90 % off. So that's kind of the tagline is take the trip of your dreams for about 90 % off. I'll get into the whole point side of things, but some people don't know what points are, or some are really well studied in that world. So I just leave with the trip because that's usually what people want. They want to have the experience where it's you and your wife flying first class, sipping champagne on the way to Paris to go see the Eiffel Tower and the points and the credit cards. That's really the mechanism. That's how we make the experience happen. But at end of the day, what we want is the amazing memories, the beautiful experience, all that stuff. So I leave with the trip when I talk about it. Seth Bradley, Esq. (07:37.848) That's awesome, man. Yeah, I mean, you're literally selling the dream, right? Like in marketing, you sell the dream or hit on a pain point. Like you are like the quintessential selling the dream. Like that's what everybody thinks about. So. Eli Facenda (07:42.969) Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Right. Well, it's funny because, you know, in marketing, they'll say like, sell the destination, not the vehicle, right? They'll be like, sell the outcome, not how you get there. And so we do that in our marketing. But then when you think about it, when people are taking a trip, what we are helping them do is make the vehicle to get to the destination part of the destination. Because really, when you travel well, and you do it in style, the flight becomes a part of the trip that you're excited for. I can't wait to see the the drinks and the champagne and the food they're gonna have and how awesome the seat is and the movie selection, how big's the screen. At least for people that love to travel, it becomes a fascination of the trip, not just getting there. So that's a big difference maker when people start to go on these flights, and this is what a lot of our clients will say, and for me, it goes from flying economy to like, I'm counting down the hours to get off this freaking plane. to like, we do another lap around the city? Cause like, I'd love to just hang out here longer, right? And like the flight attendants treat you really well. So yeah, it's a whole experience. Seth Bradley, Esq. (08:49.314) That's awesome, man. Yeah, that's great. Was there a trip that you went on personally where you just kind of thought, man, I can turn this into a business, right? Like you're just enjoying it so much that you just were like, like the light bulb went off or how did this business spawn? Eli Facenda (09:04.515) Yeah, there wasn't one trip that I made the connection between like, trip is awesome, let me start a business. But there was one trip that gave me the light bulb of, my God, I am obsessed with this, I need to learn everything I can. There was zero intention or thought about business that when it first started. And that'll take you back about 10 years. So was around 22 years old and I'm just coming out of college. And basically I'm in my mom's basement and I remember this really... like heavy feeling because I went to a good university near New York City and all my friends went to Wall Street and they were making like six figures plus right out of school. And I had this like entrepreneurial bug. I was like, that's not for me. I don't want to sit in an office. I don't care if I can make a lot of money. I want to like play life on my terms, even if it means I'm making less. So at this point I have friends that are making tons of money, know, lots of disposable income and I'm making like 20 grand a year. I'm working four side jobs. I was trying to build a company. I remember getting this text. And my stomach just dropped, because I was like, shit, I'm going to miss out on this incredible experience. was friends inviting me to go to Thailand. And I was like, if I don't figure out a better strategy of either how to make more money or figure something out, I'm not going be able to go on this trip. And I was like, damn, this is going to be just a life of missing out on experiences. Is that what it means to follow my dreams with entrepreneurship? It's like, I have to forego everything that my other friends are doing. And so was like, let me think about this differently. And I had a mentor that told me, you don't need more money, you need a better strategy. And he was talking about growing a business. But for me, I was like, oh wait, there's this credit card point thing. What if I could figure that out? So I ended up piecing it together. I got a trip to Thailand for free. I had this amazing experience with some of my best friends. It's like still, you know, 13 friends in Thailand at age like 22, 23. Memories you don't get back. So was really grateful to have that. And then I came back from that trip and I got another flight a few, probably a year later to Europe in business class where it was a $6,000 ticket that I paid $6 for. Now after that one, I came off that flight and I was like, I will read every blog, I will watch every YouTube video, I will learn everything about this because it meant I could travel the world and have this incredible lifestyle without having to go take a corporate job. So was like, I get to have my entrepreneurial dream and the travel I want without any trade-offs and I was like, this is amazing. So that was my first time I got hooked. It took me years of researching and reading blogs and websites and doing stuff for myself before I even had the thought of helping anyone else. I just became obsessed with it on my own. Seth Bradley, Esq. (11:27.086) I love that you recognize you had the entrepreneurial bug early on, right? Before you got drugged down into the corporate ladder and then you got the golden handcuffs, we like to call it, and that sort of thing where it gets much, much harder to escape that gravity. I know for myself, it took a really long time. ended up going to, I went to med school, then I got my MBA, and then I went to law school, and then I worked in a big law firm, and it just took me all this time to figure out like, I don't want this. Eli Facenda (11:38.405) Yeah. Eli Facenda (11:49.201) Mm. Eli Facenda (11:56.763) Right, well the social pressure alone of like everyone year round is going one way, it takes a lot of guts for you to zig when everyone else is zagging, like it's not easy to do. Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (11:57.015) And I think it's. Seth Bradley, Esq. (12:06.648) For sure, for sure. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough, right? And especially when you see your friends making six figures right out of college, you're like, man, I could do that right now if I wanted to do it, but I don't want that. So it takes guts to be able to go out there and do your own thing. Eli Facenda (12:21.873) Totally. And I think everyone has their own version of that still. There's even vert flavors of that today that are still existing for me where it's like, everyone's kinda going this way, but when I really get quiet and listen to myself, I'm like, yeah, you could do that, but you actually, what your soul or your heart really wants is to go over here. And so I've always just tried to listen to that more because I think about one of my North stars is, at the end of my life, I'm 80, 90 years old, I do the rocking chair test and look back, it's like, What regret would I rather not have when I'm 90? I'd always rather be like I bet on myself than like I took the sure, you know, the well-paid path, which is the old cliche, but I think it's really true. Seth Bradley, Esq. (13:01.004) Totally, I love that North Star, man. Have you ever asked ChatGBT to give you advice as your 80 or 90 year old self on your deathbed? It's great. Yeah. I love it, man. I love it. Yeah, it's great. It you great insight. You start reading, you're like, this is good. Eli Facenda (13:07.409) Yeah, yeah, I actually created a custom GPT and it's my future me that coaches current me. yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Yeah, totally. Seth Bradley, Esq. (13:21.326) Awesome man, well let's get back kind of on the business of travel, right? So somebody comes to you, they do that introduction that we talked about, you get in a deeper conversation, they're super interested in it, they wanna learn more about these travel hacks and strategies, like where do they start? Where do you point them? Eli Facenda (13:42.447) Yeah, so in terms of the process, I like to chunk it into three main buckets. And it's important to have context around this game because if you don't, it just starts to feel like there's so many moving pieces and who has time for that and it's too confusing and then it becomes overwhelming and overwhelm just basically leads to an action. And then that is the person who's like, well, I just don't wanna do that, I'll just take a cash back card or I'll just stick to my Delta card, right? And so when you have the right context, you can start to understand the highest leverage moves to make and then you know really how to get the result you want with the least amount of effort. So that's what we focus on and specifically like I've worked with probably over a thousand business owners now. And with business owners, investors and entrepreneurs, it's a different, the points game takes on a different context, right? Because usually the constraint we have to solve for is time and complexity. And if you work a nine to five, you know, after five o'clock, you've got hours for your night. But entrepreneurs, it's like every hour is kind of an asset that you can use. So it's a little bit different. So the three buckets are, the first one is to maximize the points that you earn. So this happens from getting the right cards and the right expenses. because all of these different points are like currency, so you wanna earn the right type of points and then you wanna maximize the amount of them by getting the right cards and the right expenses. So that's the first piece and that's really, really key, because nothing else happens if you don't get that right. The second bucket is gonna be to upgrade and optimize your travel. So you've got domestic trips for a conference, are you getting TSA pre-check and clear, are you getting the best lounges, are you getting first class upgrades and free bags and hotel suite upgrades and free breakfast at the hotels and free wifi. Really it's just like, There's all these opportunities available for people that are traveling domestically for work, for family events, you know, your kind of ordinary traveling might have. And what we want to do is we just want to enhance the quality of all of that and reduce all the headaches and annoyances by maximizing benefits on cards and status perks and all the kind of like little tactics that you can play. So that's the second thing that just makes your travel more comfortable. And then the third bucket, which is really the most important in terms of impact in your life and the most meaningful piece is to take your dream bucket list trips for 70 to 90 % off. Eli Facenda (15:45.775) And so that's where you're gonna take the points you've accumulated. You're gonna use some strategies that I can break down here around transferring these points from the banks to the airlines and hotels, and you're gonna get these dream trips for literally a fraction of what they should cost if you're paying cash, or compared to if you were using your points through a site like Amex Travel or Capital & Travel or Chase Travel. Okay, so that's a mouthful, but those are the three. So maximize your points, get the best possible upgrades, and then take your dream trips for 90 % off. Seth Bradley, Esq. (16:13.934) Yeah, dive into one of those little those connecting strategies there that you mentioned. Eli Facenda (16:19.183) Yeah. Yeah. So I'll talk first about the cards. That's the order. This is the first mistake that most business owners and individuals are making is they're just getting random cards. They're like, well, I live in Dallas. Let me get the American card or live in Atlanta. So I'll get the Delta card or, whatever it may be. Or live in San Diego and I fly domestic. So I'll just get the Southwest card. Well, they don't realize is that again, these points, these points like currencies. And so if I told you, Hey, do you want 150 Mexican pesos or 150 us dollars for your couch that you're selling on Facebook marketplace? you're obviously gonna take the US dollars, right? Because the currency is much higher. But with points, people don't realize that. So they might be racking up Hilton points or Delta miles or other points and miles that just aren't as valuable as other ones out there. And then they burn through them quick or they don't go as far. And they end up just basically sitting there being like, I feel like I should be getting more. This is the common thing I hear. I feel like this should be taking me further, but like it's not doing much. And so what we wanna focus on is bank points that are transferable. So certain banks, have this ability to convert the points to the airline hotel loyalty programs. And what happens is the banks have a different way of pricing than the airlines do. And certain airlines and certain hotels have really good what we call sweet spots or opportunities for you to get the best possible deals. Okay, so when you earn these effective points, which the top ones I recommend are generally Amex, Chase, and Capital One, and there's a new program built actually is out where you can put your rent on a card with no fees and earn points, it's really cool. But when you get those right, And then you look through your expenses and you say, what do I spend the most on? Is it groceries and dining and the personal side? Cool. There's a card like the Amex Gold that is specifically really good for those types of expenses. Then you look at your business. What do I spend a lot on? Is it ads and software and taking clients out for dinners? Great. The Amex Business Gold earns four points per dollar on those categories, but maybe it's you're spending a lot on flights for company travel, or maybe you have inventory you're buying, or you're paying a lot of contractors, or you have a lot of payroll. You want to assess where you're spending the most money. and make sure you have the optimal card lined up for that type of expense. So I'll pause there, but that's kind of the first bucket. The other one is on using the points effectively, which I can talk about too, is pretty powerful. But that first one is really the linchpin. Because if you have a bunch of Delta miles and you want to go to Europe, I'll give an example actually one more before I kind of pause. There was an example recently I saw of a client and they wanted to go to Europe and we're looking at different options. This was from JFK to Amsterdam. If you have Delta miles, Eli Facenda (18:43.547) The ticket for Delta One, this big awesome Delta Suite, was 320,000 miles. That's what Delta was charging to go from JFK to Amsterdam. It's really expensive amount of miles. But the same exact flight, like same flight number, same aircraft, everything, if you booked it through Virgin Atlantic, it was 50,000 miles. One seventh of the amount almost. It's really, really big difference. And so here's the kicker, right? If you have a Delta card, you only earn Delta miles, so you have to pay the 320,000. Seth Bradley, Esq. (18:46.765) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (19:02.124) Hmm. Eli Facenda (19:12.497) but if you had an Amex card that earned Amex points, so like the Amex gold or business gold, you could actually convert those points into Virgin to book the Delta flight because Virgin and Delta are partners, and you'd pay 50,000 points instead of 320,000. So this is the part where like, for people that kind of get this, they're like, whoa, and the other people are like, what did you just say? So I get it can be, it can be tricky for some people that are just getting to grasp it, but I want to make sure to lay out the whole game so people can understand really what's possible for them. Seth Bradley, Esq. (19:34.764) Yeah Seth Bradley, Esq. (19:42.329) Totally, totally. Yeah, it's just, mean, I'm sure people out there listening, it's both, right? Some people know these things exist, but they don't know the extent of it. And you're opening up their minds regardless, right? Like all the possibilities. I think most people are just like, sure, I need to find a great car that has a welcome offer of some sort. That's usually what people look at. And then they just try to pick, perhaps they take it a step further and they're looking to see like what they spend money on the most and they'll... Eli Facenda (19:54.139) Tour then. Eli Facenda (20:04.443) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (20:11.128) calibrate that card to that. But you're taking it step further because you know, it's kind of just opening yourself up to knowing all the possibilities, right? All these different connections, where to spend the points, where you can earn the points, those sorts of things. How thick is your wallet, man? Do you have, is your wallet like this and it's got 25 cards in it or what? Eli Facenda (20:19.419) Totally. Right. Yeah. Eli Facenda (20:28.123) Haha Yeah. Yeah. Well, caveat this first by saying when we work with clients and we might do recommendations for people, I always recommend if you have a business, two to three personal cards and two to three business cards. That is a simple way to set this up. That's only four to six cards across both things. That's enough where you're really gonna get some serious ROI, but it's not so much that's really complicated. Some people are kind of curmudgeoned about it, like I only want one card. And I'm like, that's fine. There's no right or wrong in this. It's really preferential, but you should just know if you do that, you're gonna be leaving for most business owners that spend at least a few thousand a month. that's gonna cost you tens of thousands of dollars of free trips a year. So I'm like, is your simplicity of having one card worth that much? If it is, great, but maybe having a second or third card doesn't add that much complexity. But if you get an extra $30,000 a year trip out of it, probably worth it, right? So that's the first thing. But to answer your actual question, so I have an entire thing called the Credit Man purse. It's like this portfolio binder, and it's just stacked with cards. I mean, I have over 40 credit cards, but I've been doing this for a long time, right? And there's like, here's the thing also with credit. Seth Bradley, Esq. (21:28.28) Hahaha Eli Facenda (21:34.041) A big question, a lot of investors, specifically people that are doing real estate or business owners, really want to their credit clean and we're huge advocates of actually not just keeping your credit score the same but improving it over time. And when you get business cards, they don't show up on your personal credit report. Okay, the vast majority. The inquiry will, but the actual card won't. And some banks, you can actually get multiple cards with no additional inquiries. So like when we do a custom card plan for someone or when we're just recommending it, we're always saying like, make sure to look at which banks you already have relationships with. Seth Bradley, Esq. (21:48.142) Mm-hmm. Eli Facenda (22:02.373) which ones you can get a soft pull from, the order matters of these card applications. But at end of the day, you just want a couple of specific cards that are really gonna be custom built for you, and you don't have to go crazy with it. If you get excited and you're like passionate about it, you can get 10, 15, 20 cards over the course of several years, and if you do it right underneath your businesses, it's not gonna drop your personal credit score. Your personal credit score will actually go up over time. Seth Bradley, Esq. (22:26.314) Mm-hmm. That's a good hack, man. I'll get I'm put you on a spot a little bit. I'm gonna explain like what what I see a lot of the people that are probably listen to this show have in place structured wise like organizational structure and it's kind of similar to mine. Mine's probably a lot more complicated, but just to keep it simple, you know, there might be a parent company, right? Like this overhead parent company that owns everything. So let's let's call it parent company, right? And then below the parent company, the parent company owns, let's say a management company. This management company probably manages funds, manages properties, manages equity for investors, that sort of thing. And then they also might have these other businesses, right? Like it just depends on the person. Like for instance, I own gyms and some other, my law firm, things like that. So they might have these own individual operating companies that owns a gym or owns another business or does these other things. you know. Eli Facenda (22:55.889) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (23:20.066) Based on that structure, so you've got a parent company, you've got a, let's call it an equity management or fund management or property management company, and then you've got kind of this other operating business. How would you structure, what credit cards I guess would you kind of recommend? Not necessarily specific ones, but like, do they need one for all three or, yeah, how would you think about that? Eli Facenda (23:27.301) Mm-hmm. Eli Facenda (23:36.593) Yeah, yeah, but how would you think about that? Yeah, totally. I mean, it's a super common question. Like this is exactly the kind of clientele that we work with all the time where they're like, are you sure this is gonna work for me? I have four rental properties, two companies, one holding company. I have an investment thing. I have this thing over here. It's like, yeah, it all works. So simple is the key. So it's always a spectrum too. Like some people are, again, really minimalist with like what they want. we always, like when we're doing this for a client, we custom build it. But. The real recommendation there is we wanna, again, assess which of these companies are actually generating the highest amount of spend. And those are the ones we wanna start with first in terms of cards and really optimizing. Now, if you have a bunch of different companies and they all have a bunch of spend, the first key thing to know is that the points will go to the business owner, the person who personally guaranteed the card, not to the business. So there's no business points account. It's underneath your name, even if it's underneath the LLC. So the points go to you. So if you have like six different companies and you have like three Chase cards and three Amex cards, all of those three Chase cards and all of those three Amex cards are gonna basically funnel up to your account, okay? So that keeps it simple in terms of how you can think about accruing these points. They're not gonna be scattered everywhere where you can't use them. So that's good to know. Same with the airlines, right? doesn't matter if it's an airline or a bank card. So that's the first thing. For these management companies, usually lot of them don't have much spend. So what we'll tend to do is just get one card that is like a catch-all card. And so this would be a card that we want to have earn around 1.5 to two points per dollar spent. Because what we've done is we've taken the floor of what you're gonna earn on your everyday spend and we just increase it by 50 to 100%. Okay, so like let's say a parent company is used for some client meetings and some basic legal and admin stuff and it's like 1,500 bucks a month just to do upkeep and normal stuff like that. and it's not a crazy amount of different categories to spend. You're not running ads, you don't have that much software, there's not really a lot travel happening with it. But if that's the case, then what we wanna do is get a card, maybe like the Chase Inc. Unlimited, which earns 1.5x on everything, and we'll say, look, we're gonna keep this simple. That holding company doesn't have a lot of points earning power, so let's make sure we get a card on it just to earn, but we don't wanna like go crazy and get a bunch of cards and try to maximize every dollar. But this company that owns four different gyms and spends... Eli Facenda (25:52.369) 50K a month on equipment and advertising and payroll and all this stuff, that's the company where we wanna look to get maybe two or three cards that are specifically aligned with that business to spend because that is where you as an entrepreneur, as an owner, are gonna be generating the most return. It's gonna be from that one entity. So I hope that breaks it down in a way that makes sense, but this is also where, again, having your cards across two to three main banks will keep it relatively simple because even if you have four different entities, if it's under one Amex login, that makes it nice and easy too. Seth Bradley, Esq. (26:22.53) Totally, totally. Awesome, man. I knew you could handle that. Easy, easy peasy. Cool, man. Let's go to number two, right? Using the points effectively. You kind of touched on a little bit of that strategy, but let's jump into that. Eli Facenda (26:26.682) Easy basic. Eli Facenda (26:32.709) Yeah, yeah, so the second thing was optimizing the upgrades and all that. I'll cover that one really quick. If you're going through the airport and you don't have TSA PreCheck and clear and lounge access, you're missing out on some really easy perks that will just make your life way more enjoyable. So that's the first thing. There's a lot you can do with hotel upgrades and status. So like when I travel and go to Miami tonight for a conference, I have status at Hyatt. I'm staying at Hyatt for two of the nights down here. Seth Bradley, Esq. (26:39.628) Okay. Eli Facenda (27:02.225) I probably would get upgraded to a suite that's worth like thousand to 1500 bucks a night because I know how to use the suite and I certificate, it's my globalist status, I know how to message the hotel the right way. So there's some strategies there where if you do that, whenever you're traveling, you just get a much better experience. You get early check-in, late check-out, the free suite upgrade, much more spacious room. A lot of times they have lounges at the property like when we were in Tokyo, a bunch of us stayed at the Grand Hyatt there. They had a beautiful lounge overlooking the city. They had breakfast every morning. They had drinks all day. They had a great lounge area. We actually had a mastermind session in there and they like a 15 person breakout room for us to go to. It cost us $0 to use it. They had afternoon drinks and stuff like that. So these are just the things that make your travel much better. So small tweaks that over time just again, make it a much more enjoyable experience. But that bucket on how you use your points, this is one of the most critical pieces. And I've already kind of alluded to it with that Delta One example, but I'll share another one. So on the way to Japan, right, we flew ANA business class. This is all Nippon. It's one of the premier airlines in the world for international business class travel. They actually have a seat called The Room because it's so spacious and big, your own big sliding door. They have like an omakase menu. You've got ramen, champagne. It's like really, really good. Amazing sake and green tea and all this good stuff. It was like an incredible way to fly and you know, it's an 11 hour flight and I didn't sleep a wink because I was just eating the whole time. But here's the deal, right? So that flight for my fiance and I, it would have been $20,000 for the two of us. It's 10,000 a piece. Okay, San Francisco to Tokyo. We're going in peak season, mind you. So I have three options to book that flight. I pay cash for it, which you know, I do decent in business, but I'm not dropping 20 grand on flights. just to get to Japan, like that's out, that's way out of my bucket of what I would ever want to do. The second option, I go to the bank site. Okay, so again, if you have AMEX points, a lot of people have AMEX cards, like the platinum or the gold card, and this is a good start, but when you go to the bank site, each point is worth one penny. Okay, this is the baseline value of a point. So what happens is if you go to AMEX travel, they'll say, okay, this flight would cost, let's call it 20 grand. So 20 grand times one cent for each point equals 2 million points. Eli Facenda (29:20.977) So my second option would have been to go to Amex's site and pay two million points, which I don't even have. Okay, so I'm like, that wouldn't have even worked, but that's what most people are doing at use points. They're going directly to the bank site and they're booking using Amex travel and they're getting absolutely screwed. Okay. There's kind of, and then there's a third option, which is to go through the airline site. So there's like three A and three B. Three A would be like, again, you only have Delta miles and you're kind of screwed going just to Delta. I don't recommend that. But the last option is what we did. which is where we had Amex points and Chase points, and I looked at my different options and I said, okay, what are the best partner airlines I can book through to get to Japan? Well, it turns out, ANA is a part of the Star Alliance, okay? United is also part of that alliance. Chase and United have a partnership where I could convert my Chase points into United miles. When I looked that up, I ended up finding the deal and there's ways you have to kind of search this and track it, but that same flight that would have cost me two million points, through Amex or Chase travel directly cost me 220,000 points to transfer from Chase to United. And I paid $12 out of Okay, so $20,000 flight, I paid 12 bucks. But how did I do it? I had the right points first. I had enough of them because I had the right cards and the right expenses. I knew how to search for this flight. And then I was able to transfer these points from Chase into the airline. So the hardest part of this entire process Seth Bradley, Esq. (30:30.402) Hmm. Eli Facenda (30:49.413) is figuring out the points transfers and which partners are the right ones for certain airlines. That gets very nuanced and complicated. It's kind of like, you know, if you were talking to a CPA and someone's trying to explain how like the Augusta rule works, whatever, and like the CPA pulls up like the tax code and is like unveiling this long list of tax jargon. The average person is just like, what, just like tell me how to do it, right? That's kind of the same thing here. There's a lot of different like angles and transfer partners and bonuses and. Seth Bradley, Esq. (31:12.43) Right. Eli Facenda (31:17.689) alliances and partnerships and it gets kind of complicated but that's how it works. Seth Bradley, Esq. (31:22.434) Totally, totally. So let's talk about that. how do you help people keep track of that or learn that or execute, I guess, on these strategies? Eli Facenda (31:32.241) Sure, yeah, so for us, our company really has two main levels to it. So we have a community-based level where it's like you're just getting the fast track, you're getting help from experts. So I'm really good at this, but I'm more of an entrepreneur than a points nerd. So as I built this, initially I was the one on the phone with all the clients, walking everyone through it, and then I built a team. So I found basically some of the other points nerds in the world that I was mind blown by. I knew them from social media and just seeing their stuff, and I was like, that person has their stuff. So I brought them onto the team. And so our clients will interact with both me and them inside of our community, but it's not just points. We're also providing really cool travel experiences. So for example, I posted this, but I'm going kiteboarding in Egypt in June on this epic like entrepreneur kiteboard trip where it's 40 entrepreneurs going to learn how to kiteboard together and masterminding on one. And so I'm attending, I sent it out to our clients and I said, Hey, if you want to come on this, our team will help you plan the flights out there on your point so you can get business class on the way out. So I like to, because ultimately I wanna help people, my mission is to help people create more experiential wealth in their life. There's financial wealth, and a lot of people accumulate dollars, but they're not turning it into experiences. So I'm like, let's create more experiential wealth, and the points are the way to justify it. So we have that community level where you get access to our team, there's calls you can jump on, ways we help you plan trips, and then we have the done for you services, where we basically just handle it for you. That's more like, think of like a travel agency on points for entrepreneurs. That's more of what that is. And in there we'll do the custom card planning and map out what cards you need based off of what your specific spends are and stuff like that. So we do some pretty deep intake. And we kind of are almost like a travel agent. It's a little bit different in some ways, but that's basically the two levels in how we help people. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:12.29) Great, man. I love how you build in the experience, right? Like that's part of it. Like that's what you're teaching anyway. So it's like, it's not like, hey, join this, join this group and then we'll talk about all these things. You're actually doing it. You're actually inviting them to execute on what you're teaching so that they can see it in motion and then they can continue to do it and experience life at a different level. Eli Facenda (33:32.497) Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, like, I really love it too. like, I'm like, everyone that works with us is really, usually a pretty cool person. Like, if you're an entrepreneur and you have the guts to build your own business, and then you wanna travel the world, like by nature of that, you're already probably a pretty cool person. Like the majority of people that are doing that, I think well-traveled people are some of the most interesting people. If you want the best stories in life, like, someone who's traveled the world is gonna have some stories for you. And so when you combine those two, it's like, these are people I wanna hang out with anyways. So like, I'm going on a trip to Egypt. I'm like, come with, like. Whoever in the community wants to come, let's have a party, let's go do it. So it's great thing. Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:04.994) That's great. Awesome, man. How are you raising the bar in your life and your business right now? Like what are you doing to build your business further, building off of some of the things that you're offering right now? Where are you taking it to the next level? Eli Facenda (34:18.833) Yeah, so we have a new project we're rolling out inside of our community, which I'm really excited about, which is even just in our lower tier membership, and it's called our DreamTrip Alert System. So what this is, is when people come in, this has never been done before in the world of points and miles or travel at all. So we're the first to do this, which I'm really excited about. So let's say you were to sign up. You're gonna come in and give us your DreamTrip destinations, the seasons or windows that you could go, the points you have, your home airport, all this stuff. and our team is going through and we're not just finding you like a flight, because there are different alerts out there that'll be like, hey, we found a flight. And it's like, cool, one way from LA to London, but like, what am I gonna do when I'm there? Where am gonna stay? How am getting back? Right, it's like part of the puzzle, but it leaves a lot on you to figure out. And for our clients, most business owners and entrepreneurs, investors, they're too busy to piece all that together. So they're like, well, cool, that doesn't really help me. So we decided to do, we said, what if we... just basically sent people like a mystery subscription box of their dream trips. And so when you come in and you fill that out, we gather it. And then a couple times a month, we're gonna send out alerts where it's like a 30, 40 or $50,000 type trip, somewhere incredible in the world. We're talking Greek islands, Amalfi Coast, Japan, New Zealand, African safaris, Maldives, Bora Bora, places like that, business and first class flights, five star hotels, four pennies on the dollar. So these are like, we get $40,000 trips where people will end up paying a thousand bucks, 1500 bucks, two grand out of pocket. Seth Bradley, Esq. (35:25.389) Mm-hmm. Eli Facenda (35:44.337) And so we're gonna send the entire trip to you. So it's like the flights, the hotels, the entire step-by-step booking, the recommendations on the ground, the entire experience. And so we're sending those out so people come in, they tell us when, where, like the things they wanna do, and then they're just gonna get these alerts where it's like every month they're gonna be like, you you're sitting there with your wife, hey babe, you wanna go to Bora Bora in like June? It's gonna cost us like 800 bucks and it would be a $30,000 trip. It's like that's what I want. That's what I wanna create. So that's us raising the bar in the industry and in our business. Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:06.35) you Eli Facenda (36:13.615) I'm very excited, it's brand new for us, so I'm just pumped to see that continue to roll out, because it's, for me the mission is to help people live with experiential wealth in the form of travel. And so, usually there's some barriers that get in the way. There's time, there's planning, and then there's cost. And what we're trying to do is eliminate as many of those barriers as we can to make it just easier to say yes to the trip. Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:34.252) Yeah, man, sign me up, dude. Sign me up. I feel like you've got to get both significant others on your list, right? So they both see it and whoever's like the person is like, we've got to do this, you hit both of them and then they convince the other one to do it. Eli Facenda (36:36.625) All right. Eli Facenda (36:49.477) Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly. There's usually one. There's usually like sometimes it's the husband's on the call and he's like, dude, I don't know where we ever travel. Like I'm gonna pay for this, my wife's gonna do everything or it's the opposite where the guy's like, you know, she just shows up and I tell her where we're going. And so like that's my relationship. I'll be like, you know, it's my industry, my passion. I'm like, we're going here and then here. And she's like, tell me where to be. And she just has no idea where we are and she just loves it. And I'm like, I like planning. So, you know, but it's different for everybody. Seth Bradley, Esq. (37:11.736) Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (37:17.144) For sure, for sure, man. All right, brother, this has been incredible. Tell our audience where they can find out more about you, where they can get involved with all the things, all the incredible things that they've heard on this show. Throw it out there, Eli Facenda (37:28.859) Totally. Yeah, a couple of main places. So the first thing I'll share is that we have what I call the CEO Points Playbook. This is something I custom built. Took me a long time, and this was not a Chad TBT prompt. Like, I really built this on my own. And it is like a 30 to 40 page playbook that any business owner or entrepreneur can use to really maximize their travel experiences, get better bucket list trips, figure out the right cards for them. And it's normally 150 bucks, but if you go to freedomtravelsystems.com forward slash playbook and you put in the code RAYS, you're gonna get it for free. Okay, so anyone listening, it is free for you. And so that's gonna be freedomtravelsystems.com forward slash playbook and then use the code RAYS, maybe we can put it in the show notes. And so that'll be the first thing. Second place is if you're like just want done for you services, just take off that forward slash and go to freedomtravelsystems.com. can talk to myself and one of the team members. And the last place, I hang out on Instagram and post a lot there, that's where we connected. Seth Bradley, Esq. (38:14.049) Absolutely. Eli Facenda (38:27.595) And that's where I'm sharing the most like behind the scenes and as I'm booking this stuff, as I'm planning it, as I'm showing like what our clients are doing, you get to see more of the visuals and the fun and come along for the ride. And so I love engaging on Instagram as well. Seth Bradley, Esq. (38:40.27) Great. Thanks Eli. I really appreciate you coming on the show, Eli Facenda (38:43.973) Thanks Seth, appreciate you having me on. Seth Bradley, Esq. (38:45.806) All right, brother, talk soon. All right, sweet dude. Nice. Yeah, right around 30 minutes. Let's see. Yeah, we'll just jump into these last few questions here. Eli Facenda (38:51.748) Awesome. Eli Facenda (38:55.205) Perfect. Seth Bradley, Esq. (39:03.862) Welcome to Million Dollar Monday with Eli Fisenda. Let's just jump right in. Hey brother. Yeah, how did you make your first million? Eli Facenda (39:09.243) Let's do it. Eli Facenda (39:13.499) So I actually made my first million in a tour company. Now I made the first million, I didn't get to keep the first million, but what we were doing, we were running sports trips all over the world. This is actually part of how I fell in love with the travel industry and the work that I now do with points. And ultimately what we were doing, we were creating these international tour packages for youth sports teams and families to go on these international tours. think of like a 14 year old baseball team in your, you're in San Diego. We'd like do a selection of kids. Seth Bradley, Esq. (39:19.694) Sure. Eli Facenda (39:41.329) from that area and the families would come and they would go to Japan or Italy or wherever and travel for 10 days, experience the culture, have an educational tour and also play the local teams. So we did that in a variety of sports, ice hockey and baseball and lacrosse and all these different sports. And we were growing a lot and then that was ramping right until COVID and that just decimated the entire business. we took us about two years to get to a million and then we started to double almost every year for a few years and that was like. Seth Bradley, Esq. (40:02.432) Mm. Eli Facenda (40:09.399) Really, really tough break at COVID, but that was the first million. Seth Bradley, Esq. (40:11.63) COVID man. Nobody saw that coming. mean. Eli Facenda (40:13.881) No, definitely, you know, group, large, large group sports international travel was like the worst potential. Like you can't go overseas and you definitely can't do it with 60 people. So was, was a brutal industry to be in. Seth Bradley, Esq. (40:25.506) Right? Yeah, there were certain sectors that just, I mean, there was nothing you could do. We opened up our first gym actually two weeks before COVID hit in 2020. we had our, us like two years to open and then our grand opening. And then we had a bunch of free clients in those first two weeks. And then they ended up being free clients for about a year because we couldn't charge them. Cause we couldn't get them back in the gym. We're doing online workouts and all that kind of stuff is insane. Eli Facenda (40:36.817) Ugh. Eli Facenda (40:47.696) Wow. Eli Facenda (40:53.337) And that's like where the true entrepreneurial muscles are definitely strengthened in times like that though. mean, like the people that bounce back and figure it out, like you just have a new sense of confidence of like, you know, I can handle anything. Seth Bradley, Esq. (40:54.22) But hey, we adapt, Seth Bradley, Esq. (41:06.764) Yeah, man. I mean, you pivot, right? Like I actually ended up launching my first podcast during during COVID because I was stuck inside and it was like, all right, let's let's do this. Let's get on Zoom and interview people and all that kind of stuff, man. So that leads us right to the next question. And how do you make your last million? How do you make that transition? Eli Facenda (41:12.859) Cool. Nice. Cool. I'll it. Eli Facenda (41:24.143) Yeah, so the last million that I made was in the current business that I have. so essentially what we've been doing there for about four years now is helping entrepreneurs maximize their travel on credit card points. So helping them get their dream bucket list trips, these 30, 40, $50,000 trips all over the world for about 90 % off by leveraging credit card points. And we've traditionally had some pretty high ticket services. I mean, not crazy expensive, but like, you five, 10, 15 K and that range has been the main main service. And so, We cracked our first million about two years in, so that was 2020, 2024 actually was the first year we made a million there. Seth Bradley, Esq. (42:00.526) Awesome man, awesome. How about your next million? Where are you scaling to? Eli Facenda (42:04.305) Yeah, so the next million I wanna make is the same business. love what I do, I really enjoy it. And what I wanna do is do it in a more community oriented and lower ticket way. So I wanna have bigger reach, more digital products, more of the community, more affiliate services and stuff like that. And I'm really excited about kind of cracking the code on that, because we've done it decently with the higher ticket stuff, more agency level, service level stuff, which is great. And we're still cranking on that, we're gonna keep growing it. But I really wanna see what we can do with... So the lower ticket stuff, creating awesome stuff on YouTube that leads to different channels and distributions there. So that's the next million and same business, just different type of money. Seth Bradley, Esq. (42:41.57) I love it man, yeah, that's kind of opposite of how some people approach it, right? You usually start with a lower ticket and then you have to build up that base before anybody will give you, you know, higher, pay for that higher ticket product, but you're kind of working backwards because you want to help more people. Eli Facenda (42:56.677) Totally, exactly, yeah, and there's a limit. mean, what we do in the high ticket is incredible, but it really is a specialized skill. Like you think about like a bookkeeper or an accounting firm or something, like there's like a million bookkeepers. There's like 50 people that know points and travel to the level that I need them to know it to really serve clients with the highest level. So there's a real limit on the ability to scale that. And so it's also just like, we wanna be able to do really quality work for less people, but then serve more people with the other stuff too. Seth Bradley, Esq. (43:25.368) Totally, totally. Seth Bradley, Esq. (43:29.518) Cool, let's jump into the next one dude and we'll wrap up. Eli, you're clearly in the top 1 % of what you do. I don't even know if there's that many people out there that do what you do at all, period. So clearly in the top 0.0001%, what is it about you that separates you from the rest of the field? Eli Facenda (43:49.701) I think it's our ability to actually live what we preach. This is something where, you know, there are other fantastic people that talk about credit card points, but very few of them are actually business owners, like that's who we serve, and very few of them are actually traveling in the way that they're trying to help people travel. So we've done both. I've built multiple businesses, so I understand the psychology and the relatability of how you wanna think about travel and points and the various stresses in your life, the limitations on time and complexity. And I also, Seth Bradley, Esq. (44:06.062) Hmm. Eli Facenda (44:20.636) What just happened? Seth Bradley, Esq. (44:22.998) I'm not sure. We can splice it together, but let's see. Lost the video. Eli Facenda (44:26.748) Let me see here. Did my camera die or something? Bizarre. second. Seth Bradley, Esq. (44:36.076) Yeah, weird. Never had that happen. Seth Bradley, Esq. (44:42.038) Not a big deal, we can splice it together, but let's see if we can get your camera working again. Eli Facenda (44:46.992) Don't see my camera get help. Is the audio coming through okay? Did it switch over there to my MacBook from the other one? Or it sounds the same. Seth Bradley, Esq. (44:51.564) Yeah, I can hear the audio. Seth Bradley, Esq. (44:57.806) I don't know. All I see is like a car. It's like I don't know. It's a card with a symbol on it I wonder what that is that riverside or is that your symbol? I can't be your symbol Eli Facenda (45:06.556) weird. Get help. Eli Facenda (45:12.006) Let me see. trying to check this out. Seth Bradley, Esq. (45:19.458) We can also just finish it with audio. Eli Facenda (45:23.556) Is it, Dude, I don't know what's going on. Sorry about that. I've never seen... Seth Bradley, Esq. (45:28.654) no worries, dude. We can just finish it with audio anyways. Eli Facenda (45:31.63) New recording track created the participants have been recorded. Issue device struggling to record. High load on your device. Try closing all other apps. Give me one second. I don't have any apps open. That's really weird. Eli Facenda (45:53.126) Yeah, I don't know man. I apologize. I Okay, well yeah Seth Bradley, Esq. (45:57.219) you're good, We'll just finish an audio and then I'll pull up for the video. I'll just black screen to a logo or something. So all good. I don't exactly know where you're at. If you want to start that sentence over. Eli Facenda (46:04.048) Okay, cool. Eli Facenda (46:07.866) Yeah, I'll just, I'll say, I'll just start. So yeah, so not only have we really walked the walk with actually living what we preach, but we also understand that psychology of what it's like to be a business owner, your limitations on time and complexity and all that stuff. And because we're talking about travel, people also want to know like what's actually in store for me in this destination. I've been to 50 countries now and my business partner has been to almost 100. We have other team members who are all over 30, 40, 50 countries. So we've been to a lot of the destinations around the world that we're advising people to go to. So we know the ins and outs, best places to stay, hidden gems, top restaurants, stuff like that, that really add another layer of personalization and true experience into the service. So I think those are the things that really make us most credible in this space. Seth Bradley, Esq. (46:57.506) Dude, it's so important, right? Like there's so many, you know, there's so much content out there now. There's gurus and coaches and mentors, whatever you want to call them. Like the ones that are truly valuable and that people should pay attention to are the ones that are actually practicing what they preach, right? The ones that aren't just selling you education or aren't just selling you a product. Like they're actually, they've done what they're selling and they continue to enjoy or do what they're selling. Eli Facenda (47:28.635) 100%, yeah, if you're a living embodiment of what you do, it makes it that much easier to communicate it and sell it because you just are the thing you're selling. Seth Bradley, Esq. (47:38.764) Yeah, absolutely. What's one thing someone listening could do today to get 1 % closer to their dream life? Eli Facenda (47:45.089) One thing that would be the easiest is to spend 30 minutes, go on Instagram, go on your favorite social media site, go on some travel blog site, look for your dream destination, then pull up your calendar and put a time on the calendar where you're committing to go. One of my favorite quotes is from Tim Ferriss, I forget the exact quote, but basically the idea is that if you don't schedule your fun first, it won't happen. because your business and your life will take up as much space as you allow it to. So most people find that I'll take the trip when it's convenient. I'll take the trip when I have more time. That time is never coming until you make it a priority. So the one thing they can do to get closer to their dream life is to just make a more bold commitment to putting the time on the calendar and be like, I am going and make some sort of investment, whether you're telling someone, whether you're putting some money down, whether you're learn the point stuff, that's gonna be the biggest leverage you can make. to make sure that you actually follow through on taking these trips and then you'll find how to get there on points if you need to from there. Seth Bradley, Esq. (48:50.766) 100 % man, gotta put it, people, entrepreneurs, people like us, we work in all the time, you've gotta put it, put it in your schedule. You've gotta block it out, commit to it. Eli Facenda (48:59.821) Absolutely, 100%. Seth Bradley, Esq. (49:04.554) Alright dude, I think we got it wrapped up, man. Eli Facenda (49:05.743) Beautiful. Awesome, Dan. Well, this was super fun and I apologize agai
Self-care podcast exploring Alkalinity, Immunity and Benefits of Algae, Differences Between Spirulina and Chlorella & Healthy Aging and Algae With Catharine Arnston. TOPICS:: ** Alkalinity, Immunity and Benefits of Algae (05:09). ** Differences Between Spirulina and Chlorella (15:05). ** Healthy Aging and Algae (30:06). NOTES:: Show notes: amberapproved.ca/podcast/599 Leave me a review at amberapproved.ca/review Email me at info@amberapproved.ca Subscribe to newsletter: https://amber-romaniuk.mykajabi.com/newsletter-sign-up SHOW LINKS: Click below to schedule a 30 minute Complimentary Body Freedom Consultation https://amberapproved.ca/body-freedom-consultation/ Take my free Emotional Eating Quiz here: http://amberapproved.ca/emotional-eating-quiz Listen to Episode 291 about what it's like to work with me here: http://amberapproved.ca/podcast/291/ Follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/amberromaniuk Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amberromaniuk/ MY PARTNERS: Thanks to ENERGYbits algae tablets, improving and protecting your health and longevity is now effortless and affordable. ENERGYbits are tiny algae tablets you swallow, chew or add to a smoothie to improve your energy, focus, hormones, weight, detox, health, longevity, nutrition and more. The benefits of algae have been known and enjoyed in Asia for decades. You just don't know about these benefits of algae because no one told you. So that's what ENERGYbits and their Founder Catharine Arnston are doing! Did you know algae is FOOD? It's a raw, unprocessed whole food. Algae tablets are NOT a supplement. In fact, ENERGYbits refers to their algae tablets as “bits” because they are “bits of food” ENERGYbits algae tablets make it easier for women to sail through perimenopause and menopause without the painful symptoms of brain fog and fatigue and they help all of us sail through life preventing decline or disease. What's not to love about that? Nourish yourself and your entire family effortlessly with ENERGYbits “bits of food”. Pets love them too! Want to start protecting your body and brain now? Visit energybits.com and use the code NOSUGARCOATING to enjoy 20% off your entire order. If you take 10 tablets daily it's just a $1.00 a day. You and your health are worth it! Shop here! About My Guest Catharine Arnston Founder & CEO of ENERGYbits® Inc. Algae Nutrition Expert Catharine Arnston is an expert in algae nutrition, a wellness thought leader, an experienced entrepreneur, and a sought-after speaker. Catharine has a PhD, MBA, BA Hons, and is a board-certified health coach. Catharine's journey into the fascinating world of algae began in 2008 when her younger sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and advised by her oncologist that an alkaline diet would improve her healing. Catharine left her 25- year corporate career to help her sister identify which foods were alkaline and this led her to algae - the most alkaline, chlorophyll-rich, high-protein, nutrient-dense food in the world. When Catharine learned that algae's vast healing properties were documented in tens of thousands of scientific studies but that none of these studies or benefits were known outside of Asia, she knew she needed to do something. And so ENERGYbits® was born. Catharine has spent the last fifteen years researching algae, writing papers, giving presentations, lecturing at conferences, and speaking on 300+ podcasts to explain the benefits of algae. To do this, she read thousands of scientific papers that detailed, validated, and confirmed algae's nutritional, health, longevity, and global benefits. Remarkably none of these findings are known by consumers. It is Catharine's vision and passion to change this and her PhD in natural health has given her the scientific fluency that allows her to explain algae with such simplicity and clarity, it quickly becomes obvious why algae is something we all urgently need. Catharine's passion for algae is contagious, inspiring and thought-provoking. Her efforts have led to algae being better understood by educators, consumers, doctors, and wellness practitioners. Catharine's extensive knowledge and playful personality is both entertaining and educating and her speaking style leaves audiences informed, uplifted, and hopeful.
Sometimes “Why do you need an MBA now?” is an essay question that programs ask directly, but more often than not it's something applicants should end up covering in an essay response even if there isn't a question about it. Questions around the timing of an applicant's MBA pursuit could also be asked in an interview. This episode covers common reasons why applicants need an MBA now versus earlier or later in their careers, and suggests exercises to help articulate a strong response to questions about MBA timing.
This is A Fan-Favorite Rerun EpisodeIn this episode, I welcome back my friend and colleague, Jeff Copper, an ADHD and attention coach, to dive into a revolutionary approach he's developed for understanding ADHD. Jeff introduces his new tool, the "Attention Scope," designed to help individuals with ADHD and neurodivergent traits by bringing a new level of awareness to executive functioning. Through simulations and metaphors, Jeff walks us through how Attention Scope reveals the mechanics behind executive functions, empowering users to see their cognitive challenges and strengths from a fresh perspective. This method could be a game-changer for those seeking practical, data-driven strategies to improve their daily lives.Jeff Copper is an expert attention coach and authority on ADD/ADHD, holding an MBA and various coaching certifications. He founded DIG Coaching Practice, Attention Talk Radio, and Attention Talk Video, coaching individuals and entrepreneurs with ADD/ADHD to enhance their personal and business outcomes. Leveraging his personal experience with attention management challenges, Jeff developed the Anatomy of Attention construct and employs unique methods, including Cognitive Ergonomics and his proprietary AttentionScope®, to help clients identify natural solutions to overcome attention-related obstacles. Jeff integrates Dr. Russell Barkley's Executive Functioning Construct into his coaching, focusing on objective problem assessment and personalized strategy development. With a background from Indiana University and the University of Tampa, Jeff is deeply involved in the ADD/ADHD coaching community, holding memberships and accolades from several professional organizations. In 2023, he was honored with the Excellence in Coaching Award by the ADHD Coaches Organization. Jeff lives in Tampa, Florida.Episode Highlights:[0:59] – Welcoming Jeff back and introducing his new intervention tool, the Attention Scope.[4:24] – Jeff explains how Attention Scope uses simulations to reveal executive function impairments.[8:19] – The role of emotional regulation and self-awareness in ADHD coaching.[11:30] – Understanding executive functions in a tangible way through real-life tasks.[16:37] – Why methodical thinking requires different strategies than insightful thinking.[21:20] – Jeff discusses how Attention Scope is conceptually different from traditional ADHD approaches.[28:45] – Addressing executive dysfunction through guided questioning as a low-cost accommodation.[32:16] – How cognitive ergonomics benefits individuals by teaching them to advocate for the accommodations they need.[39:56] – Where to learn more about Attention Scope and how it may help individuals with or without ADHD. Connect with Jeff Cooper:DIG Coaching – Learn more about Jeff Copper's work and the Attention Scope tool.Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dig.coaching/ Thank you for tuning into "SuccessFULL with ADHD." If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach and help more individuals navigating their journeys with ADHD.
Retirement expenses go far beyond housing and travel. In this episode, Miguel Gonzalez, CRC, reveals the most overlooked retirement costs—like medical bills, taxes, and inflation—and how to plan for them now.Cortburg Retirement Advisors is a boutique financial planning firm committed to helping you grow, protect, and preserve your assets from your first job to retirement. We specialize in wealth management, estate and tax planning, group retirement, employee benefits, insurance, and retirement planning to navigate any economic climate.Miguel Gonzalez, a Retirement Specialist with 20+ years of experience, offers expertise in retirement income planning, investment management, and retirement plan design. With an MBA from Columbia Business School, and professional experience with JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, and more, Miguel is a trusted advisor for his clients.#Cortburg #retirementplanning #retirementcosts #hiddenexpenses #retirementstrategy #financialplanning #healthcarecosts #RMDs #inflationrisk #SocialSecuritytaxes #retirementbudget #financialadvisor #Medicare #longtermcare #homeexpenses #familyfinances #retirementincome #moneytips #CortburgSpeaksRetirement #MiguelXGonzalezWelcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement Podcast with Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC® CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MIGUEL'S LATEST PODCAST FOLLOW US ON: YouTube->https://m.youtube.com/c/CORTBURGRETIREMENTADVISORS Facebook-> https://m.facebook.com/CortburgInc Twitter-> https://twitter.com/CortburgInc LinkedIn->https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguelxgonzalez/ Website: www.CortburgRetirement.com Email: Miguel@CortburgRetirement.com
Send us a textCathy Carroll learned about family business leadership the best way you can – by leading her family business. After a twenty-year corporate career, she left United Airlines to lead her father's business and instantly recognized a difference between leadership in a family business vs leadership in a large corporation. Founder and President of Legacy Onward, Inc., Cathy Carroll is a family business leadership coach and author of Hug of War: How to Lead a Family Business With both Love and Logic. She also trains advisors serving in family enterprises, as well as coaches who maintain their credentials with the International Coaching Federation.Cathy earned certificates in both Leadership Coaching and Executive Facilitation at Georgetown University, an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a BA at Boston College. She is also a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) in the ICF.An active member of the community, Cathy currently serves as Vice-Chair the Board of the Purposeful Planning Institute and co-founder & Treasurer of A Leg To Stand On which provides prosthetic limbs to children in developing countries. A Few Quotes From This Episode“I have to get comfortable with disappointing people. That's my growth edge as a leader.”“A polarity is like breathing — you can't inhale without exhaling. In leadership, you need both.”“An overused strength becomes your biggest liability.”Resources Mentioned in This Episode
After navigating a challenging endometriosis diagnosis, multiple surgeries, and a complex healthcare system, Andria “Monique” Pourkarimi '25 decided to tackle a gap she experienced firsthand. While pursuing an online MBA at Rice, an idea born in the classroom grew into Dr. Clara, LLC — a women's health startup focused on closing the communication gap between patients and providers.Just a year earlier, Monique founded Pourkarimi & Associates, LLC, a financial consulting and independent insurance brokerage firm that helps clients navigate complex financial decisions and insurance needs. In this episode, Monique joins co-host Brian Jackson '21 to share how her health journey inspires her work with Dr. Clara, why financial and insurance literacy are so important, and what led her career from the aisles of Costco to entrepreneurship and a Rice MBA.Episode Guide:00:00 Introduction to Monique Pourkarimi01:23 Balancing Business and MBA09:08 The Inspiration Behind Dr. Clara10:46 Challenges and Advocacy in Women's Health19:19 Future Plans and Reflections22:29 The Importance of Financial Education27:43 Pursuing Public Policy for Healthcare Reform30:51 Concluding ThoughtsOwl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.Episode Quotes:Where did Monique get her entrepreneurship spirit?07:45: I think entrepreneurship runs in my blood. So my uncle has a logistics company that is here in the US and transports in Mexico as well. My grandmother, she works with him and his business, and, my mom has her own insurance brokerage as well, specializing in Medicare. So independent of my pursuits, my grandmother and my mom are the ones who raised me. So here it was three generations of strong Mexican women who were, you know, just under one roof. And I think that is kind of what shaped me in terms of the woman that I am today and that entrepreneurial spirit.Success is about impact, not numbers27:25: I think for me, success is counting how many people am I able to help at the end of the day, right? And it's not a number of just benchmarks of, oh, okay, I have a quota of helping 500,000 people. No, it's not about that at the end of the day. And do I confidently know that I have been able to help make a positive impact in this world? I do not want to leave it as I am starting these businesses because I am doing them for myself, or even with awards that I received through Rice. I think success is: what is my legacy? And if I were to die today, you know, what would people think about me? I think success is: what is my legacy? And if I were to die today, what would people think about me? Did I make a positive impact in people's life? That, to me, is success.The moment Monique said yes to Rice05:21: For me, I was thinking, wow, there is so much potential—especially with an MBA. There is so much potential I have in growing my businesses. And, as you said, Brian, being connected with the other students—I joke that Rice did all the background checks for us because I love my cohort. The people at Rice, the alumni—we are one big Happy Owl family. I had a lot of people who believed in me and were willing to help and point me in the right direction.Show Links: TranscriptGuest Profiles:2025 Best & Brightest Online MBA: Andria Monique Pourkarimi, Rice University (Jones) | Poets & QuantsAndria Monique Pourkarimi | LinkedIn
Thanks to our key sponsor, Elite Executive Partners — a premier recruiting firm helping businesses scale with top-tier talent.Whether you need one critical hire, like a CFO, or an entire team of skilled tradespeople, Elite delivers. They work across multiple industries, filling roles quickly with the right fit. Learn more at elitestaffco.com.$500M+ entrepreneur and serial founder Peter Wokwicz has built, scaled, and invested in more than 60 companies. In this episode, he sits down with Andrew Namanny to break down the future of money — and why ignoring crypto could be your biggest financial mistake.Peter explains blockchain, exposes the myths about crypto, and shares practical ways busy professionals can get started safely. We cover stablecoins, DeFi, tokenization, prediction markets, and how digital assets will disrupt banks, governments, and traditional finance.You'll learn:Why blockchain is more secure than any banking system in historyHow to earn yield on your money without leaving it in a low-interest savings accountThe coming wave of tokenized real estate, companies, and assetsWhat “truth markets” are — and how they could change journalism foreverPeter's portfolio strategy for someone starting with $25K in extra cashWhether you're crypto-curious or already investing, this is your one-hour MBA in digital assets from one of the sharpest minds in the game.
ClimateAi co-founder and CEO Himanshu Gupta explains how his company uses machine learning to forecast extreme weather and help businesses adapt to climate volatility. Himanshu shares his journey from rural India to co-founding ClimateAi while he was an MBA student. He describes how ClimateAi's "biophysics-driven AI" combines limited weather and crop yield data to inform procurement, logistics, and planting decisions for a quarter of the top 200 food and beverage companies. He also shares examples of government partnerships focused on food security and national supply chain resilience and offers insight on the future of adaptation technologies and enterprise AI. Finally, Himanshu gives advice to those looking to work at the intersection of AI and resilience in the food and agriculture industry. This episode is a part of our series on Climate Resilience, which also features Sarah Russell, Managing Director at Google X; Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen; and Alex Berkowitz, CEO of Coastal Protection Services. Visit climaterising.org to explore the entire series!
Notion te regala 3 meses del plan Business + IA ilimitada
In this Season 8 finale, Tracy reflects on eight months of breakthrough conversations and authentic connections while revealing what's been happening behind the scenes. She shares favorite moments including Dr. Ruth Mannschreck's inspiring time freedom story, Jennifer Raams' insights on emotional intelligence, and David Ford's MedWay innovation. Tracy discusses her surprising passion for addressing the clinical-to-CEO skills gap and announces expanding partnerships with medical associations in California, Georgia, and beyond as they build toward the global Thriving Practice Community launch. Key Highlights: The overwhelming success of authentic "snack episodes" with Miranda Dr. Ruth Mannschreck's journey from forced practice reduction to time freedom mastery Partnership expansion with medical associations across multiple states The critical importance of "switching hats" between clinician and CEO roles Behind-the-scenes look at building a global practice owner community Preview of Season 9's deeper CEO development focus Episode 200 milestone celebration announcement Memorable Quotes: "The moment you open your practice, you become a CEO, but nobody ever tells you that." "Practice owners are absolutely starving for authentic connection and real, unscripted conversations." "The gap between clinical excellence and CEO thinking is so much wider than I initially realized." "You became a CEO the moment you opened your practice - Season 9 is about helping you fully step into that role with confidence, community, and clarity." "We're not just creating content - we're building a movement." This season finale captures the momentum building in the practice owner community while setting the stage for even greater impact in Season 9. Tracy's Bio: Tracy Cherpeski, MBA, MA, CPSC (she/her/hers) is the Founder of Tracy Cherpeski International and Thriving Practice Community. As a Business Consultant and Executive Coach, Tracy helps healthcare practice owners scale their businesses without sacrificing wellbeing. Through strategic planning, leadership development, and mindset mastery, she empowers clients to reclaim their time and reach their potential. Based in Chapel Hill, NC, Tracy serves clients worldwide and is the Executive Producer and Host of the Thriving Practice podcast. Her guiding philosophy: Survival is not enough; life is meant to be celebrated. See Where Your Practice Stands: Take our Practice Growth Readiness Assessment Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy's LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page
What do NASA and luxury beauty have in common? In this stellar episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, Jodi Katz sits down with Lindy Firstenberg, Senior Vice President, Beauty & Luxury at Alix Partners and Catherine Nekavand, Partner at Alix Partners - two powerhouse leaders who traded space suits and oil rigs for silk scarves and fragrance launches.Lindy, who once tested satellite mechanisms at NASA, shares how her journey took a glamorous turn at Louis Vuitton, where she helped launch the brand's fragrance line. Catherine, a petroleum engineer who's worked everywhere from Chad to Norway, reveals how she pivoted into the world of Tiffany & Co. and luxury retail, armed with a global perspective and an MBA from HEC Paris.Together, they unpack the art of transformation in luxury consulting, preserving brand heritage while using data and strategic insights to drive growth. They also share their leadership philosophies, tips for navigating career pivots, and how they keep the “magic” alive during mergers and acquisitions.And yes, we play a little game of “Beauty in Zero Gravity” because who says astronauts don't need great moisturizer? Whether you're in the boardroom or dreaming of the stars, this episode will inspire you to embrace your path, even if it's not linear.A huge thank you to our partners at Beauty Connect Series - grab your ticket today at beautyconnectla.com and use code WBMB for 10% off!
If/Then: Research findings to help us navigate complex issues in business, leadership, and society
As we celebrate the conclusion of the second season of the If/Then podcast, we present a bonus episode featuring Deborah H. Gruenfeld, the Joseph McDonald Professor and Professor of Organizational Behavior and a Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Gruenfeld, who appeared on the first season of If/Then in an award-winning episode about hierarchies and the nature of power, returned to the studio to share her thoughts on the value of academic research and its impact on individuals and organizations. “The nice thing about research is that it provides tools and methods and an approach to learn about what's true in the world, taking into account that what we learn from firsthand experience is not reliable,” she says. “Research helps us build a body of knowledge about what's actually true that we can trust.”This episode was recorded on July 16, 2025.Related Content:Deborah H. Gruenfeld, faculty profileWhy Research MattersWhy I Research: Findings Fueled by the Head and the HeartIf/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society. Each episode features an interview with a Stanford GSB faculty member.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On this week's episode, it's another Jenn Gore takeover! Her guest is none other than COO of Mike Morse Law and co-author of Fireproof, John Nachazel. They discuss the John's foray into coaching, the launch of fireproof, what makes a great COO, the importance of data-driven decision making, and why doubling your law firm isn't as crazy as it sounds. Get in touch with John at https://www.855mikewins.com/ or https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Get in touch with Jenn at https://sweetjames.com/ Guest John Nachazel (@855mikewins or @fireproofperformance on Instagram) is the COO of Mike Morse Law Firm. A pioneer in the practice of applying business metrics to law firms, John's precise insights and financial forecasts have been instrumental to the firm's growth. John has an MBA from the University of Michigan and twenty years of sales and marketing experience. Host Jennifer Gore (@jenngorelawyer on Instagram) is the Managing Partner of Sweet James GA East Coast and currently spearheading Sweet James Accident Attorneys' Georgia expansion. She also founded Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group. Her leadership led Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group to Inc. 5000 recognition for three consecutive years as one of the fastest-growing U.S. law firms. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in wrongful death, trucking, and motorcycle cases, achieving exceptional client outcomes. _____ LawRank grows your law firm with SEO Our clients saw a 384% increase in first-time calls and a 603% growth in traffic in 12 months. Get your free competitor report at https://lawrank.com/report. Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app Rate us 5 stars on iTunes and Spotify Watch us on YouTube Follow us on Instagram and TikTok
On this week's episode, it's another Jenn Gore takeover! Her guest is none other than COO of Mike Morse Law and co-author of Fireproof, John Nachazel. They discuss the John's foray into coaching, the launch of fireproof, what makes a great COO, the importance of data-driven decision making, and why doubling your law firm isn't as crazy as it sounds. Get in touch with John at https://www.855mikewins.com/ or https://www.fireproofperformance.com/ Get in touch with Jenn at https://sweetjames.com/ Guest John Nachazel (@855mikewins or @fireproofperformance on Instagram) is the COO of Mike Morse Law Firm. A pioneer in the practice of applying business metrics to law firms, John's precise insights and financial forecasts have been instrumental to the firm's growth. John has an MBA from the University of Michigan and twenty years of sales and marketing experience. Host Jennifer Gore (@jenngorelawyer on Instagram) is the Managing Partner of Sweet James GA East Coast and currently spearheading Sweet James Accident Attorneys' Georgia expansion. She also founded Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group. Her leadership led Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group to Inc. 5000 recognition for three consecutive years as one of the fastest-growing U.S. law firms. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in wrongful death, trucking, and motorcycle cases, achieving exceptional client outcomes. _____ LawRank grows your law firm with SEO Our clients saw a 384% increase in first-time calls and a 603% growth in traffic in 12 months. Get your free competitor report at https://lawrank.com/report. Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app Rate us 5 stars on iTunes and Spotify Watch us on YouTube Follow us on Instagram and TikTok
Can artificial intelligence map your heart and help prevent strokes, dementia, and even death from cardiac arrhythmias? In this episode, host Elaine Hamm, PhD, talks with Rob Krummen, JD, CEO of Vektor Medical, and Travis Manasco, MD, Principal at Solas BioVentures, about how AI is changing the game for diagnosing and treating heart rhythm disorders. They share how Vektor's vMap technology — the “Google map of your heart” — pinpoints arrhythmia sources using standard EKGs, fitting seamlessly into existing clinical workflows. The conversation also dives into what investors look for in AI-driven health innovations and how startups can stand out in a crowded field. In this episode, you'll learn: Why cardiac arrhythmias are more common — and more deadly — than most people realize. How vMap's AI-driven insights can improve outcomes, reduce repeat procedures, and expand care to rural hospitals. The key elements investors want to see in AI healthcare pitches, from workflow integration to reimbursement strategy. If you're interested in AI in medicine, medtech innovation, or how to pitch to venture capital, this episode delivers valuable lessons straight from the front lines of clinical care and investment. Links: Connect with Rob Krummen, JD, and check out Vektor Medical. Connect with friend of the show Travis Manasco, MD, and check out Solas BioVentures. Connect with Elaine Hamm, PhD, and learn about Tulane Medicine Business Development and the School of Medicine. Connect with vMap inventor David Krummen, MD, and Solas BioVentures co-founder David Adair, MD, MBA. Listen to our previous episode with Travis on Crafting a Pitch That Attracts Venture Capital. Connect with Ian McLachlan, BIO from the BAYOU producer. Check out BIO on the BAYOU and make plans to attend October 28 & 29, 2025. Learn more about BIO from the BAYOU - the podcast. Bio from the Bayou is a podcast that explores biotech innovation, business development, and healthcare outcomes in New Orleans & The Gulf South, connecting biotech companies, investors, and key opinion leaders to advance medicine, technology, and startup opportunities in the region.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rand Selig about his book - Thriving, available on his website: https://www.randselig.comRand Selig has an MBA from Stanford and earned undergraduate degrees in mathematics and psychology. He has managed hundreds of complex projects in his career and has run his own financial services firm for over 35 years. He has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, Mexico, and the Caribbean. He was a Little League coach and Scoutmaster and has served on numerous boards for decades. He is a roll-up-your-sleeves conservationist committed to helping others and Mother Earth by making annual philanthropic contributions. This book is based on extensive research and a wide range of experiences he has had going through life. Having a high set point for happiness and being relentlessly positive has been invaluable to him in overcoming his challenges and setbacks. He is committed to personal growth and is willing to learn from his mistakes. Rand believes he can design his own life and believes others can too. Rand takes time every week to rest and recharge. He loves reading, watching movies, hiking, and playing tennis. He lives with his wife of 44 years in Mill Valley, California. They have two children and three granddaughters.
Derick Van Ness of Big Life Financial returns to the podcast to discuss with Kiera the new realities of the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill — and how dentists can capitalize on the impacts. They discuss bonus depreciation, research and development credits, and more. Further, there's an opportunity for DAT listeners at biglifefinancial.com/DAT, where you can learn if you're overpaying on your taxes and what new opportunities exist. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript Kiera Dent (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I'm excited to welcome back a popular guest. He and I have chatted multiple times. We've gone around and around on different topics of how to help dentists build more wealth. So Derick, ⁓ with Big Life Financial, we talked about our research and development credits. Today we're going to be talking about this big, beautiful tax bill, how it's going to impact dentists, how it's going to impact building wealth. I do think it also impacts team members. So Derick, welcome back to the show. How are you today? Derick Van Ness (00:29) I'm great, Kiera. I really appreciate you bringing me on the show again. It's always fun to talk. Kiera Dent (00:34) Of course, we all know that I love wealth strategies. love ⁓ it takes time like you and I were talking about pre show. ⁓ I think it's something to educate ourselves on and to be around really smart people and to constantly be looking at different things like I know hot in the real estate world right now and with buying businesses and buying practices, the big beautiful tax bill is actually great for the bonus depreciation coming in. So just like educating ourselves and that's what I wanted today to be. not getting high into politics. These are bills that are into place ⁓ and how to take advantage of them, how to maximize them. Derick, you work with a ton of dentists. So Derick, for those who don't know, you kind of give a little bit background on how you and I even got connected, how you got into dentistry, ⁓ how does Big Life Financial play into this. We have a lot of mutual clients together. So just kind of give people a background on who you are and how you got to the dental space. Derick Van Ness (01:26) Absolutely, you know, I started out back in like 2010 2009 2010 helping small business owners with taxes and financial strategy I was working for another firm at the time and I had been a house flipper and if for those of you who remember 2008 wasn't so good if you're a house flipper, right and When that whole thing fell apart kind of fell in my head I took a lot of the skills that I had and a friend of mine hired me to help Kiera Dent (01:46) It is not. Derick Van Ness (01:55) small business owners with taxes and financial and business strategy. ⁓ Working with them, I had a chance to work with about 1,500 business owners over seven years. And then eventually went out and started doing my own thing because there were some different things that I wanted to do that they didn't offer. ⁓ essentially, in that time, I worked with a lot of dentists and a lot of doctors. ⁓ And so I kind of stayed in that arena, which led me to ⁓ meeting you, Kiera. through Mark over at DSI and all the stuff that I'd done with him and then found you guys and just love what you guys do with helping people to build their teams. Cause I'm such a huge advocate of how important that is to have the right team to run your practice, right? Especially if you're going to have multiple practices, it just can't be about you. And so it was just kind of a natural fit. And like you said, you, you definitely love financial strategies. So. We got into it, we talked about a bunch of different things, had a chance to work together. Like you said, have shared a lot of clients along the way, but it just seems like dentists have a lot of the problems that we solve, which is they pay a of taxes, they make good money, and most of them didn't get an MBA in college to understand how business and finances work. They've had to learn along the way. And so we see ourselves as part of that process of helping dentists become. better business owners, better entrepreneurs, and honestly create freedom in their life instead of just having a business that runs them, because it's easy to have that happen in dentistry. So that's sort of how we got connected. I don't know, over the last, since whatever 2008, 2009 was, last 15 plus years, I've probably worked with somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 business owners. I would say a good chunk of those have been dentists. So that's how we ended up together. Kiera Dent (03:48) Yeah. I love the journey. love hearing what you've done. I also agree on like building wealth. And I think going through dental school, working at the dental college, dentists are coming out with, you know, upwards of 500, 600, 700, $800,000 in debt somewhere up towards that upper million. Midwestern was a very expensive school. looking at that and then watching offices and I remember the first dentist that I worked with and we were partners. We, called her 2.5 because we were 2.5 million debt. Derick Van Ness (04:03) Cheers. Kiera Dent (04:18) was like, you better straighten that spine 2.5. Like we need that spine for a long time. But it was something where I realized like, that's a substantial amount of debt. One to walk out of school with two you buy a practice on top of that and then you want to try and like even remotely live your own personal life. It just felt like the odds are possibly stacked not in a dentist favor. I've had several dentists where this is the case where they're multimillion in debt, trying to get these practices off the ground. And so really coming up with Derick Van Ness (04:43) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (04:47) like yes, long-term, if they make it, awesome. Hopefully it will pay off for them. But what are maybe some strategies and tips that they can do now? I think like so many of us look at real estate and wish that we would have gotten in at the 2008 because now you're selling them out or even in 2020. And so it's like, what can people do now, even if they didn't maximize or we didn't buy practices back in the day when they were so cheap, they were pennies on the dollar. What things can we do now to maximize? I was even talking to this girl the other day. And she's like, yeah, my baby was born on New Year's Eve. And I was like, wow, talk about a great tax write-off. And she's like, I didn't even know that that was a tax write-off. I didn't even know the benefits of things. And so I feel like just so many little pieces that could make us smarter business owners to, I'm here, I love living in the United States. I love paying taxes for the country that we get to live in. I love the opportunity that we have to be business owners. With that said, I also think it's smart for us to be very wise stewards over our money to figure out different strategies. And no, it's not sexy. No, it's not fun. A lot of it is just like save, like invest, do the things you're supposed to do. And it's going to be part of what is it? Like the eighth wonder of the world of compound interest. Like there are other pieces, but Derick, like, let's talk about this big, beautiful tax bill. How does this work? How does this impact business owners? What are some of the benefits we can take care of? Now we're talking in 2025, things will change and shift as the landscape shifts, but knowing that's in place, what are some of the things dentists owners can do now? to maximize that coming out. Derick Van Ness (06:18) Yeah, you bring up a good point, Kiera. You know, it's not that this stuff happens overnight, but it is, it's systemic, right? You're doing it day in and day out. And tax is one of those things, whether you like it or not, you have to file them every year. And I'm not going to lie to you, that's part of what I like about being in the tax world is people have to do it every year. It's a pretty good business model that way, right? Kiera Dent (06:30) Right. I was gonna say you've got the reoccurring opportunities because it has to happen every year just like dentists have profis every six months. I mean it's a great built-in business. mean kudos to you. I don't enjoy it but it is a necessary evil to be done. Derick Van Ness (06:52) I totally get that. If you would have told me you're going to work in taxes even 15 years ago when I first got into it, I would have said absolutely not not interested. But what I can tell you is every dollar you make in taxes is the same as a new dollar you make in your business. Right. But you don't have to have employees and risk and additional insurance and additional equipment and all this other stuff. So it really is pure profit when you can reduce your taxes. So even a small amount of tax strategy can go a very long way in increasing what you get in the bottom line, right? And if you could just take a lot of dentists across the country, they're in the 40 % tax bracket, maybe a little higher or lower depending on your state, but somewhere in that range, if you could even lower that by 10%, that's keeping an additional 10 % of your income. That's a lot of extra money for people to be able to save and put to work without having to go do more risk and... buy a bigger building and do a build out and deal with more personalities in the office because all of those things are variables, right? So I see it as a pure profit machine if you get it right. And so I've chosen to think it that way because I spend so much time in it, but it really does come down to just keeping a lot more of the money you make. And it's a very potent way to do it because honestly, with 10 to 15 hours a year, so think of that as like one hour a month. you can really add a lot to the bottom line of what you get to keep. In some cases, we can cut taxes almost in half for high, high income earners. So it's a pretty big deal. Kiera Dent (08:25) Well, and as you said that I think it's a big deal for today because yes to have that back to you is great. But like we talked about compounding, compounding until you've experienced compounding seems like not real. Just like I think when like you have bought your first house and it's like, how am I ever supposed to do this and make money on it until you bought your first practice? A lot of those things I think feel ⁓ arbitrary, they feel false. And then once you get into the compounding world and you're like, my gosh, like we're making money without having to do anything. It's like, yeah, I could save on my taxes in a legal, ethical way, have more money at the end of the year that I could then put towards this, like you said, make it work for me. Well, now that it's just duplicating, it's multiplying, it's replicating, those things to me are things I get excited about. Those are things that I look for, because I don't think there's a lot of money. I call it the money making machine. What things can we put into your money making machine to where it's working for you day in, day out without you having to do any extra work? I think all of us check yes, let's say yes to that. So Derick, let's talk about how we can create more of these money making machines, putting our money to work for us rather than constantly trying to chase the money dream to where at the end of our careers and even during our careers, we're living the lives that we wanted to get to when we first started out into these careers. Derick Van Ness (09:29) Yep. Yeah. And I can tell you guys this, if you only walk away with one thing, it's the idea if you want to build wealth, you need to create systematic savings, right? Systematize putting money aside, whether that's actually savings account or investing or however, but just getting money out of the spending cycle and into the building cycle. And it's like watching your child, right? Like in the beginning, kids grow and it's like day to day, you don't see it, but year to year, it starts to make a bigger and bigger and bigger difference. And then, you know, when they're teenagers, you're just like, what's happening, right? So it's the same kind of thing with your money. In the beginning, if you're just watching a day to day, you don't really see the growth. You have to trust the process, right? But the biggest thing you can do is put that on autopilot, because if you have to automatically go into your bank account every month and move money over or every year, move money over, it's much harder. And like writing, Kiera Dent (10:28) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (10:42) 25, 50, 100, $200,000 checks feels hard. Setting aside 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, $10,000 a month, and then you cut that in half per pay period, and all of a sudden it gets a lot easier. It's like, oh yeah, $1,000 a pay period, not that big a deal. Much easier than writing a $25,000 check, right? Or two or $3,000 per pay period. It really does add up. And that's where the tax piece comes in is, in many cases, it's like found money. I try to teach our clients to... Kiera Dent (10:46) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (11:11) save like you're going to pay full blast on taxes. And then when we do the tax strategy, all this money is left over. And so it feels like extra money, and then you can put it to work, right? And that's where you do get to play with some bigger chunks. ⁓ But really, it's that habit of automating, setting money aside. If you can just only take one thing from this, it's that. And taxes can create a huge amount of that for you along the way. So let's talk about the tax bill, right? Kiera Dent (11:24) Mm-hmm. Yeah, let's talk about it. And I just want to highlight on that, Derick, of I was talking to a CPA the other day on the podcast and he talked about how like there's a different psychology of business owners. ⁓ We go from getting a W-2 paycheck that we're used to being able to spend all of it because taxes have already been taken out to them becoming business owners and not having taxes automatically taken from that and needing to be super disciplined on saving. And so I agree with you. And when I realized like, I got so annoyed when I'm like, great, so now I never get a refund check ever again in taxes. I was like, no, actually it's actually so much better now than it ever was. Because if I just set it aside, I'm like, taxes are pretty simple. I guess there's some nuances to them, but it's pretty much like whatever tax bracket you are, take your profit at the end of the month, set that aside. And lo and behold, if you do the tax planning strategy, like you said, usually I'm ending up with a pretty good substantial chunk at the end of the year that I count as my like quote unquote, like the refund check or whatever. It's been so long since I've gotten one that I don't even know what it is. But it's awesome because then you have this huge lump of money because you've been saving it. You weren't expecting it. All your expenses in your life is taken care of to where now, like you said, it is really fun. Is that an investment? Is that buying something that I've always wanted to get? Is that real estate money? Because the amount of cash, if you are strategic in how you do it, is exponentially substantial. It is truly life-changing. So I'm excited, Derick. Let's talk about the tax bill, but I will second you and ditto you and just say, yes, there's discipline to it, but that discipline equals so much freedom on the other side that just try it. Trust us on this. Save, learn to save on it and ⁓ be blown away at how much you're able to have at the end of the year if you do it really well. Derick Van Ness (13:25) Yeah, I 100 % agree and I love your approach, Kiera. That's exactly what we try to teach with people. So let's talk about the tax bill, right? There's a ton of stuff that's in there that we're not going to touch on because like the child tax credit go up $200 a year. Yes. Is that going to move the needle for you as a business owner? Not really, right? Is there a little bit for senior tax relief in there where there's $6,000 of income that they don't pay taxes on? Yes. Does that really matter for you? Probably not, right? So we're going to... Kiera Dent (13:33) Okay, let's talk. Derick Van Ness (13:55) we're going to talk a little bit about a couple of key things that can really move the needle. One of them you alluded to, Kiera, that I think is really important is the idea of bonus depreciation, right? People who don't know what bonus depreciation is, it's when you buy certain types of equipment or real estate, you can take all the depreciation in the first year, right? And that can be ⁓ a huge chunk, especially when you combine it with something like cost segregation. For those of you who don't know what cost segregation is, the two really Kiera Dent (14:04) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (14:24) work well together. So I think it's worth taking just a sec, even though it's not new, it really enhances this strategy. ⁓ Cost segregation is when you have a piece of real estate, you bring in an engineer, and there are companies that do this, right? So you don't have to know all this stuff. ⁓ But they come in, they reclassify as much of your building as they can as equipment. And so what you get to do is depreciate a portion of the building, the stuff that's equipment much more rapidly. So a lot of times five, seven or 15 years. versus either 27 or 39 and a half years. So you get a lot more depreciation on the front end. It's not like you get more overall, but money today is worth a whole lot more than money 20 or 30 years from now. You can invest it and use it to grow your business, et cetera. But then when you add bonus depreciation to that, you can get a lot more of it in the first year. what this really means is if you're Kiera Dent (15:06) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (15:21) buying the right kind of equipment or you're buying a building or you're doing big improvements, you can get a lot more depreciation and that depreciation can save you in taxes, right? And this is one that I feel like most CPAs kind of get bonus depreciation, but a lot of them don't bring in the cost segregation piece. So if you own a piece of real estate, especially if you bought it in the last few years and you haven't done a cost segregation study, this is something that you would have to know about because someone has to physically come to your building. If you haven't done one, Kiera Dent (15:39) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (15:51) should talk to your CPA about it or talk to someone about it. I'm sure Kiera knows people, we know people, there are plenty of people out there who do it. But that's something worth looking at, especially if your building's worth, I would say, $250,000, $300,000, and you've had it less than five years and you haven't done this, yeah, it's totally worth looking at. It could be a real nice windfall. So that's a big one. It had been in place, then it started phasing out from 100 % to 80 % to 60%. Kiera Dent (16:04) I Derick Van Ness (16:20) but now we're back at 100%. So this is a big one, especially if you own your building or you're buying a lot of equipment. ⁓ Another really big one is the SALT tax. Now, people hear SALT tax and they're like, what? They're thinking of like the SPICE, right? SALT stands for state and local tax. And really to simplify this, and there's kind of a workaround in almost every state where you can do it as a pass-through setup. And essentially what that means is, Kiera Dent (16:27) Mm-hmm. Bye. Derick Van Ness (16:49) If you pay all your state taxes before the end of the year, those state taxes become a write off for your federal taxes. Now this was in place up to $10,000. So if you were in a 40 % tax bracket, it could have saved you $4,000. Now it's up to 40,000, four zero, $40,000. So if you're making a lot of money or you're in a high tax state, you can pay those state taxes before the end of the year and it creates a federal tax write off. And so like if you were in a, you know, paying in a 32 % tax bracket and you paid $40,000, it's going to save you, you know, between 12 and $13,000 in taxes that year, which is pretty significant for found money. All it has to be done is you have to pay those taxes and then your, your CPA or your tax pro has to claim that. Right. So that's another big one that got raised and you probably heard a lot about it in the news because People were trying to get it raised higher and some people thought it should be lower. It really does favor business owners. It's not something a person who doesn't have a business can do. And that was part of the controversy, right? ⁓ But at the end of the day, it's law. So you should be taking full advantage of that. Kiera Dent (18:03) I feel like that definitely impacts like the high state tax ⁓ states like California, New York, like some of those bigger ones, definitely because I live in Nevada, it's a no state income tax state. So if I understand correctly, Derick, and this is where I love bringing smart people on, the salt tax doesn't apply to me per se in Nevada, because we don't have state income tax. Is that correct? But in those higher ones, it definitely helps you out tremendously by being able to take those those credits and apply them. Derick Van Ness (18:32) That is correct, yeah. And like another really high one is Oregon. They have quite high state tax, whereas Washington has none. So yeah, that doesn't apply to everybody. But if you're in a state that has even medium, like I'm in Utah, income tax there is right around 5 % for the state. It's still significant, right? You can still do up to the same amount. You'll just get there slower than if you're in California. Kiera Dent (18:36) Mm-hmm. I agree. Right. Derick Van Ness (19:00) Once again, just one of those things like you talked about, know, having kids or, you know, having the ADA like disability access to your building or a lot of these other things that like there are a bunch of little things, but they really do add up doing the Augusta rule. I'm sure you guys have talked about a million times and paying your kids properly. And we have a whole strategy of actually how to help people use tax strategy to pay for their kids college, which is a pretty cool one using some of that. Kiera Dent (19:15) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (19:29) But those aren't part of the tax bill, so we won't dig into that today. ⁓ Kiera Dent (19:32) But they are smart things to know because as you're listing it off, I think when someone's making, let's say your practice is doing a million, let's it's doing 2 million, 5 million, let's say you're at a 50 % overhead, let's just do 5 million, that's 2.5 mil. Not all of that's going to come to you as profit, but let's use like, it also could be coming to you as profit, even if it's in the form of distributions and different pieces. I'm like, Derick Van Ness (19:42) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (19:55) on that 2.5, if that's your taxable income, now let's just do, let's say you're in the highest, like that would put you in the highest tax bracket. So we're at a 37%. Like that's almost a million dollars worth of tax money right there on 2.5. So I understand that say 12 grand doesn't seem like that much, but I'm like, but 12 grand is still going to chip down this tax bill. And then you do another 20 grand here, then you do another 15 grand here. All of that does exponentially chip down and like the bonus appreciation. That's why I think Derick, you're talking like the $200 on a million of taxes, not really going to move the needle, but 12 grand, 15 grand. It's the stacking and being able to keep that money. You have to pay this tax no matter what. And why not like benefit and minimize and reduce it and keep that money. then even worst case scenario, you even go invest it or you put it somewhere like a high yield savings account, but still making 4 % for you. that you wouldn't have been making so that money's working for you. I think it's a no brainer ⁓ no matter what tax bracket you're in just to see. But like I also think this is where I don't like to get lazy on my taxes like, is it really worth doing the Augustus roll? Yes, it is. Because like you said, every dollar saved today, if I could even take that 600 or that 2000 or that 12 grand, put it in right now, like go back to college. How many of us wish we would have invested at that point in time? 20 bucks when we were in college. Derick Van Ness (21:02) You Kiera Dent (21:19) into the stock market and what that would be worth today, I think that there's just value in being strategic and smart and this is how you build wealth. It's not sexy, but if you do it consistently, you will exponentially become wealthier much faster than otherwise. I think it's the fastest way to get to wealth long term because you've got a runway in front of you. Derick Van Ness (21:38) Well, I'm going to throw something out here, Kiera, because I get to see behind the scenes, right? I work with a lot of successful dentists and dentists have a really good income. Dentists generally are not great at creating wealth. I'll just be totally honest with you. A lot of them, they make enough money that they, ⁓ they can spend and they have a good life and they're able to put some money away, but proportional to their income, a lot of them are not great savers because of exactly what you talked about. A lot of them make all this money, but they got to pay off a lot of debt. Kiera Dent (21:42) Mm-hmm. I would agree. Derick Van Ness (22:08) right, student loans and a business loan. Well, that's a lot of cash flow, especially in the first five years going out of lot of people's pockets. So a lot of times I'll see a dentist and they're making, let's say they're taking home $500,000, which is very common. ⁓ But you look at their investments and everything and they've got 300 grand saved. And they've been at it for 10 years and you're like, what happened? it's they paid off student loans, they paid off business debt. Kiera Dent (22:27) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (22:33) They've had to invest in equipment along the way. They've had to remodel their office. They bought a house. You know, and they have some nice things. But now when you start going back and saying, hey, we can do this, this, and this, and now you get to save an extra, let's go really, really low, an extra $20,000 a year. Okay. I did some math the other day for our newsletter, $20,000 a year. If that's what someone saved and they just put that money to work at 7%. Over 30 years, they'd have $2.1 million roughly. Right? So it's like, it's not, it doesn't appear to be a huge thing, but over time it really does add up. And to be quite honest, someone who makes $500,000, I can think of a bunch of ways that are outside of the new tax bill, things we've been doing for years that can really save them a whole lot more than that. And so for a lot of people, like if somebody is making two and a half million dollars, there's actually some advanced strategies that can really move the needle in a big, big way. But these small things like paying your state tax by the end of the year, It takes you five minutes and you saved 13 grand. Okay, that's a big deal. Doing, making sure you're paying yourself properly so that you don't end up paying self-employment tax unnecessarily on more of your income than you. Okay, that's another seven, 10, 15, 20 grand. ⁓ Paying your kids, Augusta rule, bonus depreciation. Okay, now all of sudden we took a bill that was maybe 120,000 of taxes for someone who makes 500 grand and now they're paying 50. Kiera Dent (23:34) Hmm. Derick Van Ness (24:00) So they kept 70,000. Like that's a big deal. You put that together and using the math I just did there, that's about $5 million over 30 years, right? So it's significant and I bring up the two and a half million thing, because I don't see a lot of dentists. I have a few clients that make that kind of money, but most of the dentists, especially people who own one or two practices, they're making between on the lower end, maybe 300, 350, on the higher end, maybe 800, 900,000. Kiera Dent (24:00) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I agree. Derick Van Ness (24:29) You know, so suddenly an extra 50, 70, 80, $100,000 a year is a lot of money. It makes a really big difference. Kiera Dent (24:37) I agree. I even think though, on no matter where your bracket is, I think like, well, one, I just hope I don't know, Derick, I need to surround myself with people like this. I hope that no matter what income I make, I don't ever like pish posh 70 grand. Like I just hope I hope I never I mean, I hope that I'm a freaking billionaire at one point in my life, like that'd be incredible. And like the amount of good that we'll be able to do in this world, like even today. But I'm like, I hope that I stay humble and grateful enough that I would never say like 20 grand or 50 grand is not worth my time to do ⁓ in a small effort. ⁓ And so I think that that's just a zone of like, let's remember the humility as well of like, yes, these things are tax savings, but they're also going to exponentially grow you, you, your practice, your family, like your contribution, your good that you're able to do in this world. So even if you're not using it for yourself, think of the good that you can give back to this community in this world. So I think And then I'm also like, yeah, and if you're at 300, 70 grand is a lot. If you're at 900, 70 grand should still be a lot. If you're at 2.5 million, 70 grand should still be a lot for you to where I think like, I also feel it's a skill of staying sharp rather than getting lazy and sloppy as we evolve. I know I've done it. Like I used to be way more scrappy when I first started the company and I'm like, yeah, well, do we really have to do all this? And it's like, but I think this... sharper we can keep ourselves and the more disciplined we can to be expert saviors. Like I talked to Ryan Isaac of Dentist Advisors often and he and I talk about like the biggest thing is like being a great saver, like building your wealth, but then also not losing your wealth by doing dumb things or not being disciplined and watching what you've built. Like it's kind of two sides of the coin and being able to get there at the end of the day, I think is what we're all striving for. So I think it's brilliant and I hope that nobody says pish posh to us. Derick Van Ness (26:12) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (26:34) 70 grand if we could save you that much in taxes. Derick Van Ness (26:37) I sure hope not, right? And if you do, it's because you've got a better use of your time than that. But quite frankly, most of this stuff, especially taxes, the cool thing is we've had a few tax rewrites in the last, you know, 10 years or so. But typically we don't have a lot of tax rewrites. So once you know the rules, it doesn't change that much year to year. A few little things change here or there, but for the most part, if you can take the time. get yourself the right team or learn the rules yourself. mean, I think even people who know how to do this themselves, having a good tax pro on your team can be worth a lot because things do come up. ⁓ But honestly, most of it, once you know it, doesn't take a lot of time, right? We're talking a couple hours a year. And if you know what you're doing, a lot of this you kind of do along the way or it's already set up, like setting the money aside for taxes that's already set up, paying before the end of the year. That's just the thing you do one time, you write one check or make one payment online and Kiera Dent (27:17) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (27:32) and you're done, right? And a lot of these things are easy. ⁓ Another one that's a really big one that came up with the tax bill that I'm very excited about is they brought back the research and development credits. And this is another thing that for a dentist, it'll probably take you two hours of time ⁓ to do it, like an hour to work with someone to do the projects, which is basically an interview of what have you done, what's the research so that the tax team can look at that. Kiera Dent (27:43) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (28:00) And then just getting your tax returns over because not only do these credits come back, but you can retroactively, we've got one year to do this retroactively. You can go back and claim the credits for 2022, 2023 and 2024. And so that gives us three years where you can amend and go back and get that money. And I mean, for a typical dentist, I see on the low end, there are a lot of them. If you're investing in equipment, trying new stuff, which Kiera Dent (28:15) Wow. Derick Van Ness (28:29) most dentists to compete have to be doing today. If you're doing, you know, still doing mercury fillings from the seventies, then maybe that's not you. But most people who are listening to your podcast are... Kiera Dent (28:32) Mm-hmm. I was going to say you, most of the podcast community should be in that realm. Derick Van Ness (28:44) Yeah, I'm kind of joking, but typically, I mean, it's between $10,000 and $20,000 a year. if you have a big practice, I mean, we've had clients that have gotten multiple six figures back because they did some major overhauls and a bunch of stuff. But let's call it $15,000 to $20,000 a year for a lot of dentists. It takes 45 minutes to do it, the interview, and then a little bit of time to review that, make sure it's good. So let's call it two, maybe three hours of total time to get that money back, right? And you can do this every year when we amend. You have to amend them and they go back to the IRS. And the IRS is taking about a year to get checks out. They're a little buried ever since COVID. They got behind and they just never caught back up. But once you get on top of that for 2025 and beyond, like you can just do it proactively. You just don't pay the taxes. You don't have to wait for a refund. And so it's another one of those things where you spend an hour or two a year and you get 10, 15, 20, $30,000 a year that you just get to keep. Right. And so this one to me is a huge one for dentistry because the rate at which the industry is changing, right. Uh, went from, from cone beams to milling people, milling their own crowns. Now it's 3d printing pretty soon. It's going to be, you know, a lot of these things you see at the shows with the robots doing things and all kinds of different things that Kiera Dent (29:50) Awesome. Totally. Derick Van Ness (30:12) Dentistry is a very progressive industry, right? A lot of AI coming in with answering phones and scheduling people and answering questions and all of that kind of stuff. You may as well get credits for it. You're doing the work, you're buying the equipment, you're figuring this stuff out. So if you're doing anything where you're upgrading, trying new technology, looking to get better, faster, more efficient, you're probably accruing the credits. ⁓ And it's just something you don't want to miss out on. R &D credits are... ⁓ not as well known as they could be because it's very much a specialty thing and it's relatively new to the tax code. It only became permanent in 2015. It's been around since the 80s but it changed a bunch and became permanent then. And the reason we didn't do it through 2022 through 2024 was there was a change in the 2017 tax code and you know they gave tax breaks. Kiera Dent (30:43) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (31:07) to corporations, they had to make it up somewhere. And this was the place where they said, if people claim R &D, they also don't get to write off all the expenses without going into all the detail. It just wasn't worth doing. Now we can go back and recover that. Congress didn't think it was even going to become a law. I think they thought they were going to amend it. And then COVID happened. And they sort of forgot about it. So it became a law in 22. Anyway, this is all fixing it. So to me, this is a huge one. It's an easy win for a lot of a. Kiera Dent (31:18) Yeah. Derick Van Ness (31:36) a lot of dentists to be able to go out and just get a bunch of money back in taxes you've already paid for stuff you've already done. And it's pretty minimal effort. ⁓ There are lot of different people out there who do it. We do a free estimate for people so they can kind of see what's on the table. But yeah, it's pretty straightforward. To me, that's probably the one specific to dentistry that's going to apply to almost everybody listening almost every year. And so I kind of saved it toward the end here because I think it's the big win. know, the others, the bonus depreciation can be bigger, but you're probably not buying a business or massive amounts of equipment every year. But if you are, then that's going to be a huge one too. Kiera Dent (32:20) Yeah. No, Derick, I love that. And I did some math because you talked about like one hour approximately per month to do these things. And I just I did some really, really conservative numbers. So I was like, if we were doing 20 grand of how much we get for tax savings of like actual dollars to you. And that was in 15 hours a year. That's 1333. So about 1400 per hour. And so thinking about a dentist who's producing 1400 per hour. That's actually, that's a pretty high production. You're producing about $11,000 a day as a dentist at that rate. Then I was thinking like, okay, the R &D is 10 grand, 20 grand in two hours. That's now producing $10,000 an hour. I was like, that dentist would be producing $80,000 a day. Just to put in comparison of your dollar per hour on production, you apply that to your tax savings. I think that it's to me, Not all dentists are even producing $1,300 an hour. Even very, very skilled dentists, like 500 to 1,000 is actually pretty great. That's what we try to target for doctors to do. 8,000 a day is a pretty good amount. So when I just did the quick math and I'm like, a lot of dentists are not working five days a week. A lot of you are working four days a week. So if you just added this as part of your CEO time, one hour per month to dedicate to this. What's the ROI of that time? think it's very well worthwhile. And I will agree with you, Derick. We've had you on the podcast before. That's why I had you come back on, because I am seeing multiple clients get these R &D credits coming through that I just think it's a worthwhile thing. Again, I feel like it's Geico. That's what I feel like right now. Like one hour or like one quick call could save you 10 to 20 grand. I think that that to me, again, let's be sharp. Let's be savvy. Let's make sure we take advantage of these opportunities because again, Derick Van Ness (34:00) you Kiera Dent (34:13) Like you've said, the compound of that 10 or $20,000 that you get over the course of the next 20 to 30 years while you're doing dentistry, even if it's five years, even if it's 10 years, ⁓ that to me is so worth your time. I feel like that's the best use of your time you can possibly do as a CEO, as a business owner. So Derick, that's why I want to do back on because I think everybody should connect with you. Everybody should talk to their CPAs about this. I know you guys do the R &D credits. I also know that you guys do accounting. So if people are looking to connect with you, Derick, like what's the easiest way? Like I'm fired up listening to this podcast. I'm committed to my one hour a month. It's like one and a half guys. So you're gonna have to be a little bit more, but I'm committed to that. Where do I start? How do I get going to make sure that I can maximize this big, beautiful tax bill and also the R &D credits for my practice. Derick Van Ness (35:03) It's a great question. So we actually set up a page just for Dental A Team listeners, right? So it's just, my company's called Big Life Financial. And we do that, it's not big money financial. Our goal is to help you get money out of the way so you can live the life you're here to live as a human, right? And really spend the family time and make the contributions and express yourself as you want to. But it's BigLifeFinancial.com/DAT. So if you go there, it's a research and development credits opt in right for the page because I think that's the biggest win. But we will also do, if you would like, a full three year tax review for people. Anybody who wants to see, have I been overpaying? There's a million things we didn't touch on today because they're not part of the new tax bill. There are things that have been around for a long time. ⁓ But we can help you to get a good idea of have you been overpaying and what are the opportunities out there? ⁓ And so that's a great way to start. And then from there, if it seems like you want to Kiera Dent (35:46) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (36:03) find out more, you have questions or things come up, but that's a good starting point, right? It's like a diagnostic that gives us a good place to start from. So BigLifeFinancial.com/DAT will set up a free call. It should only take maybe 15, 20 minutes at first just to answer any question. That's great. Kiera Dent (36:19) 15 or more could save you. It really fills up, it's true. It's true. Daria, I do have a question though, because people get creeped out by taxes. How often do doing this and looking back at past taxes alert audits within the IRS? Because people creep out about this. Derick Van Ness (36:37) So doing it, so the R &D credits, especially this because they literally passed a law and said, yes, you can go back and do it. So there's going to be a ton of people doing it. So I don't think it's going to be any type of audit unless you really weren't doing research, right? But that's what the interview is for, is to help us to identify it. And our team will essentially tell you what does and doesn't qualify. But there's no risk to it, especially because they're saying, hey, yeah, you can go back and do this. You could. I mean, you could have claimed it before, but nobody did. So it's not going to stand out. also, even in the past, when we've done this for people prior to that law change, I think out of 16,000 filings, there's been like maybe 12 or 15 audits. It's lower. It's even lower than a typical audit range. And I don't know how that's even really possible, but it's just been very low. It's not something the IRS is really worried about. It's not huge amounts of money. Kiera Dent (37:10) Mm-hmm. Derick Van Ness (37:35) You know, some of these other strategies care that you're aware of. people are getting 50, 100,000, $200,000 tax breaks and those are much more highly scrutinized. You really doing this work, which dentists do, uh, and based on your industry, I don't think they're really going to bat an eye. It doesn't mean there's a zero chance, but it's very, very low. Just like if you had a piece of equipment, forgot to depreciate it. Now you went back and amended to do that. It's that straightforward. It's a permanent part of the tax code. It's not gray area stuff. Kiera Dent (37:42) Right. which is super helpful. And that's just where I wanted to clarify because I know people get kind of weird of like, yeah, I want to save on my taxes, but I'd rather not get audited. And so I think this is a world where you can be both. You can save on taxes legally, just like the Augustus rule. Like that is something very common. People do it if you don't know about it, talk to your CP about it, ⁓ your kids having real jobs. So I feel like it's something where, like you said, it's not talked about as much, but that does not mean that it is not as commonplace or that you shouldn't bonus appreciation on real estate, on big equipment. Derick Van Ness (38:10) Yeah. Kiera Dent (38:36) These are things that I also feel this is the time like a political landscape for you as a business owner to take advantage of tax benefits. The person who's in the White House currently, whatever you choose to believe or not believe is very pro businesses in a lot of ways. And so I'm like, if you're ever going to try it based on who's in office, ⁓ I think now is a great time ⁓ with how many things are coming forward for businesses and being more business. ⁓ I would just say business friendly, I think is where the political landscape is currently. Again, not to go down a political path, just to be looking at like, if I'm hedging my bets, now is probably a really good time where odds of audits are probably a little bit lower than maybe at other times of the political landscape. So just things to think about. Derick, I love these podcasts. I love building wealth. So guys go to BigLifeFinancial.com/DAT, so Dental A Team. So it's just DAT our initials. Derick Van Ness (39:15) Yeah. Kiera Dent (39:32) And Derick will take great care of you. Derick, any last thoughts as we wrap up today? I appreciate you so much being on here. Derick Van Ness (39:38) No, just think, you know, dentists work really, really hard and I feel like a lot of them don't get the fruits of their labor because there's a lot of these little things that they haven't been taught. And I think all the little things do add up. So, you know, this is one of those things that if you choose to just take it on, figure it out in a year or two, you'll be way ahead of the game and you get to benefit from that basically forever. Right? lot of this stuff, once you figure it out one time, you can just ride. 80%, 90 % on autopilot. So if you've been afraid of it, would say it's climb over that hill, whether it's with us or someone else, it is really worth it. You guys work too hard, take too many risks, deal with too much headache to not get the full amount of the money that you really deserve to keep. So yeah. Kiera Dent (40:23) I agree. That's why Derick gets to be on the podcast because we're very aligned. I've always said I want dentists to be insanely wealthy, insanely. I see what you go through in school. mean, 2.5 million debt ⁓ to even get the opportunity to practice. ⁓ That's really where I was on a very strong mission to help dentists just like Derick to be as successful as you want to be. And there's little strategies like what we talked about that are big strategies. So take advantage, get over the hump. Chat with Derick or your financial advisor or your CPA. But these things, I think, need to be part of your every single year conversations. They need to be talked about multiple times. You need to be asking what's been changing in the tax bill, keeping yourself a part of it. Very simple moves, big gains this year. Derick, as always, thanks for being a part of it. I really appreciate you. And for all of you listening, thank you for listening, and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
Socrates Rosenfeld is the CEO and Co-Founder of Jane Technologies, a leading technology company for the cannabis industry. A visionary entrepreneur, combat veteran, and MIT graduate, Soc and his team have revolutionized cannabis commerce by creating a trusted platform that serves thousands of dispensaries and brands across 39 U.S. states. Jane powers the majority of all legal cannabis transactions in the U.S.After leaving active duty in 2011 as a U.S. Army veteran and Apache helicopter commander, Soc turned to cannabis to help him re-acclimate to civilian life. Living in Massachusetts, where cannabis was illegal at the time, he faced challenges navigating the black market. Frustrated and motivated to improve access for veterans, Soc co-founded Jane with his brother Abraham to create a transparent platform for cannabis consumers. Prior to launching Jane, Soc earned an MBA from MIT Sloan and worked at McKinsey & Company, gaining strategic business expertise.Since launching in 2017, Jane has become the cannabis industry's leading digital provider, offering solutions like ecommerce, AI, market analytics, payments, advertising, POS, and a consumer-facing app. Its Universal Product Catalog ensures consistent inventory across thousands of retailers, while the AI-powered MyHigh engine personalizes the shopping experience. Jane Gold, a brand-sponsored rewards program, deepens consumer engagement and highlights personalized product recommendations. With 13 software patents, Jane continues to set the standard for innovation in cannabis retail.Soc and his team at Jane have been recognized with multiple distinctions including Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers (2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025), Forbes' The Cannabis 42.0 (2024), Inc. 5000's Fastest-Growing Companies (2023), Inc. Power Player (2023), Inc.'s Best Workplaces (2023), and Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 (2022), in addition to participating on panels at SXSW and MJBizCon. To View This Episode- https://youtu.be/q73Owow14f8#whoknewinthemoment #podcast #philfriedrich #Janetechnologies
On today's episode, Dr. Mark Costes sits down at Thrive Live with Doug Fettig, CPA, MBA, and dental business advisor, for a deep and dynamic conversation on leadership, joy, and what it really means to run a successful dental practice. Doug brings energy and perspective to the challenges facing dentists today, from burnout and depression to poor delegation and leadership struggles. They discuss why so many dentists are trapped in the “Eeyore” mindset, how to break free by embracing abundant thinking, and why hiring the right office manager can transform your business and your life. Doug explains why outsourcing everything but leadership and clinical work is essential, and how to avoid confusing abdication with effective delegation. If you've ever felt stuck in your practice or unsure of how to lead, this is a conversation you don't want to miss. Be sure to check out the full episode from the Dentalpreneur Podcast! EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.gradyhealth.org https://www.truedentalsuccess.com Dental Success Network Subscribe to The Dentalpreneur Podcast
What does it really take to become a professional coach? In this episode, you'll hear the story of one coach who transitioned from a high-level corporate and nonprofit career into a thriving part-time coaching practice designed to fit her life and values. If you're wondering how to get started, how to build gradually without overwhelm, or how to align your coaching with your faith, this conversation offers clarity and practical guidance. In this episode, you'll discover: A real-life example of how to transition into coaching from another profession Why starting slow can be a smart strategy for long-term success How to market your coaching services without pressure or expensive campaigns What makes professional training worth the investment How to build a sustainable business that supports your life, not the other way around You'll walk away with encouragement, practical ideas, and renewed confidence for taking your next step in the coaching journey. About Jenn Nickel, PCC Jenn Nickel is a PCC level life and leadership coach who began her training at PCCI in 2018 and joined the faculty this year. She's had her own coaching practice for 6 years where she partners with for-profit andnon-profit leaders to help them live and lead with intentionality. Before she began coaching, she spent 13 years with a multi-national insurance company in roles ranging from product development to sales and marketing, working with Wall Street and institutional investors. During some of that time, she and her husband Mark lived in Dublin, Ireland for her job. Once her children were born, Jenn moved into a decade of non-profit work in her city where she held various board and staff roles and was chairperson of the board of a non-profit she helped start. Now she gets to utilize her experience in for-profit and non-profit as she coaches leaders in both of those worlds. Jenn did her undergraduate in Public Relations and Marketing at Western Kentucky University and obtained her MBA at Indiana University Southeast. Connect with Jenn Nickel: jlnconsultants.com --- Start your journey to become a Professional Christian Life Coach! Connect with an Academic Advisor: https://calendly.com/d/cqkt-5nf-5pw/connect-with-an-academic-advisor?utm_source=podcast Join the Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/professionalchristiancoaching/ Our gift to you! 15+ Hours of FREE Training "The Ultimate Christian Coaching Bundle": https://professionalchristiancoaching.com/bundle PCCI Website: https://professionalchristiancoaching.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristianCoaching/videos
We've got more tools, more tech, and more opportunities than any generation before us. On paper, we should be thriving. So why is it that, despite all this progress, work still feels exhausting? Why have our workplaces become places of stress and burnout even though we've never been more prosperous?In this episode of the Happiness Squad Podcast, Joseph Loizzo and Elazar Aslan, co-authors of Boundless Leadership, join Ashish Kothari to talk about how you can move from survival mode to truly flourishing by activating boundless leadership.Joseph Loizzo, MD, PhD, is a renowned human flourishing consultant, meditation researcher, and contemplative psychotherapist. He founded the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science and co-developed the Boundless Leadership program, integrating rigorous scientific research, deep meditation practice, and compassionate psychotherapy.Elazar Aslan, MBA, CPC, is an accomplished author, speaker, and executive coach who has pioneered the field of Conscious Leadership, guiding leaders in cultivating clarity, compassion, and embodied presence. As Director of Boundless Leadership at the Nalanda Institute and founder of Caterfly Solutions, Elazar empowers organizations to shift from stress-driven survival to purpose-driven flourishing.What does it mean to be a boundless leader? Learn how to rewire your mind, heart, and body so you can lead with clarity, compassion, and energy, and turn from survival mode to flourishing.Things you will learn from this episode:• Why workplaces keep us stuck in survival mode—and how to break free• The leadership risk of AI if we don't use it with intention• The three disciplines of Boundless Leadership: mind, heart, and body• How self-awareness helps you lead with more clarity• Why compassion is a leadership superpower, not a soft skill• How somatic practices shift your energy and presence• Simple ways to start flourishing—wherever you are right nowWe got all the expert insights you need in this episode. Tune in now!Resources:• Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science: https://nalandainstitute.org/ • Boundless Leadership Program: https://nalandaboundlessleadership.org/ • Vipassana Meditation: https://www.dhamma.org/ Books:• Boundless Leadership: The Breakthrough Method to Realize Your Vision, Empower Others, and Ignite Positive Change by Elazar Aslan and Joseph Loizzo https://a.co/d/a6FB83v • More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead by Rasmus Hougaard: https://a.co/d/4O3poBf • Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari: https://a.co/d/6MKT87e
How can you effectively manage stress and stay composed in high-pressure situations? In this episode, Dr. Susan Bernstein dives into the power of somatic leadership, offering insights on how you can use body signals to transform your responses to time pressures and unexpected changes. Drawing from her extensive experience working with top companies like Cisco and Google, Susan shares practical techniques that foster self-awareness, reduce stress, and enable you to create a sense of calm in chaotic environments. By learning to tune into your body's signals, you can improve decision-making and enhance team dynamics. Susan discusses six common nervous system response patterns—fight, flight, freeze, fawn, fade, and fix—and shows how leaders can shift from a reactive, “fight” mode into a more grounded, mindful approach. This shift not only alleviates stress but also boosts resilience and fosters a healthier workplace culture. Susan is the CEO of a boutique consulting firm called Powerful Under Pressure. As the name implies, she helps leaders and teams at companies like Cisco, Google, and Uber excel under the most demanding conditions. Susan combines her past experiences in leadership roles at Intel and Accenture with an MBA from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Somatic Psychology in her work with clients. Susan developed the Powerful Under Pressure framework to help organizations strengthen operational capacity by increasing the resilience and clarity of the people leading them. This emphasis equips teams to navigate complexity with sound judgment and sustained performance. You'll discover: The concept of "somatic smarts" and how small shifts in body awareness can lead to greater leadership effectivenessThe six nervous system response patterns and how they impact your decisionsSimple somatic techniques you can use to enhance self-awareness and relaxationHow self-awareness can help you navigate high-pressure situations with calmness and clarityStrategies for supporting your team in managing stress and building resilienceCheck out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedInFollow Meredith on TwitterDownload the free ebook Listen Like a Pro
This conversation explores the lived experience of practicing and teaching Ashtanga as a visible minority, and what it takes to evolve a lineage without losing its heart. We examine how unspoken norms, lack of clear standards, and performance-driven culture can exclude people, and what a more inclusive, structured, and compassionate approach looks like in real rooms. What You'll Hear Identity, visibility, and belonging in traditional Ashtanga spaces Why standards matter, and how “no structure” quietly creates inequity Mixed messaging around asana achievement vs yoga as healing Practical inclusion: bodies, props, pacing, and permission Decolonizing the mat and having necessary, uncomfortable conversations Teachers' responsibility around food, body image, and modeling care Reframing progress when life, injury, or anatomy write the rules Community dynamics after leadership changes in Mysore Privilege, access, and taking practice to underserved communities Key Takeaways Clear standards protect students and teachers and reduce bias. Inclusion is practical: adapt sequence, use props, cue options, honor cycles. Your value is not your vinyasa. The practice is a lab for self-knowledge. Community health > cults of personality. Build learning organizations, not pedestals. About Our Guest Jamaica-born and South Africa–based, Shakira Bouwer is an Ashtanga yoga teacher authorized in Mysore. She began yoga in 1999 while working in corporate finance, later earned an MBA, and ultimately followed dharma into full-time teaching. Her work centers on accessibility, decolonizing the mat, and creating spaces where every body can practice with dignity. Connect + Resources As shared in the episode: Instagram and Threads: @kirasadhana Email shared in-episode: kirasadhana@gmail.com COMMUNITY Here is the link for free access to our community. https://community-harmonyslater.com/landing/plans/412807 Check out Harmony's events -- around the world! https://harmonyslater.com/events Check out Harmony's upcoming events: https://harmonyslater.com/events FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation FIND Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ JOIN the Finding Harmony Community: https://community-harmonyslater.com/ FOLLOW Harmony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/ FOLLOW the Finding Harmony Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/ FREE AUDIO GUIDE - Download your 2 min breathwork practice: https://harmonyslater.com/morning-breathwork-optin JOIN ANCIENT BREATHING 2.0 and Live Classes with Harmony: https://harmonyslater.com/ancient-breathing-2-0 Find your Spiritual Entrepreneur Archetype! Take the Quiz! https://harmonyslater.com/spiritual-entrepreneur-archetype-quiz BOOK Your Spinal Energetics Session: https://harmonyslater.as.me/
Drs. Jeffrey Jensen and Johanna Richey welcome Dr. Naomi Choi, a third year resident at Yale New Haven Health. Dr. Choi received her Undergraduate degree from UCLA with a Bachelors of Art in Sociology. She received an MBA from Quantic School of Business and technology on a full ride scholarship as well as completing post-bac work at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science. She went on to complete her Podiatric Medical degree from Samuel Merritt University. Dr. Choi has an interesting and non-traditional background as she had the opportunity to travel to South Korea and be a translator for the First Lady of Korea. She also worked internationally as a clinical research associate in Lucca, Italy and Potsdam, Germany. Join us, as she dives into her fascinating story about how she found podiatric medicine. Her diverse background provides her with different perspective and she has applied this to her podiatric medicine career. She holds 9 provisional patents (as a resident!!!) and her innovation work has received first place awards at the Columbia University: Hack Health and MIT: Hacking medicine “Grandhack” competitions. Despite her incredible accomplishments, Dr. Choi is kind, humble and transparent as she discusses her passion around innovation and serving vulnerable populations. We hope you will enjoy this special episode with one of podiatry's young physician pioneers in the world of innovation and service. https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiii/ https://www.ynhh.org/medical-professionals/gme/our-programs/podiatric-medicine-and-surgery https://www.apma.org/ https://www.abfas.org/residents https://bmef.org/ https://www.acfas.org/
In this episode, I sit down with Grace Yung Foster, a Korean adoptee, foster care alumna, and NYU MBA graduate who shares her powerful story of navigating identity, systemic barriers, and the nonprofit world. Grace opens up about growing up in white environments, the struggle with internalized racism, and how becoming a mother sparked a turning point in embracing her heritage and herself. Now, as the founder of the Inclusion Initiative, Grace is creating spaces for adoptees and foster youth of color to find community, mentorship, and professional support that she didn't have. IN THIS EPISODE:Grace's experience growing up as a transracial adoptee in foster careChallenges she faced in the nonprofit sector and leadership rolesThe internalized racism and self-acceptance journey that transformed her lifeHow motherhood became a catalyst for embracing her Korean identityThe founding and mission of the Inclusion Initiative, focused on building community and access for adoptees and foster youth of colorThe importance of authentic mentorship and allyship in breaking systemic barriersGrace's story sheds light on the often unseen struggles of adoptees and foster youth of color, especially in professional spaces where representation and support can be scarce. Her honest reflections and dedication to creating inclusive communities remind us all of the power of visibility, self-love, and advocacy.TIMESTAMPS:[00:30:00] Discussing the underrepresentation of people of color, especially women, in nonprofit leadership and the limits of advanced degrees in breaking systemic barriers[00:32:00] Personal reflections on feeling silenced despite credentials and expertise in leadership roles[00:34:00] The decision to walk away from nonprofit leadership and create a space to embrace and amplify marginalized voices[00:36:00] The racial reckoning of 2020–2021 and how workplace conversations about race often felt performative and incomplete[00:38:30] Challenges of acceptance within Asian communities as a transracial adoptee raised in a white family[00:42:00] Growing up minimizing Korean identity due to pressure to assimilate in predominantly white environments[00:44:00] The impact of internalized racism and learned self-hate during youth and early adulthood[00:45:30] The turning point of impending motherhood sparking the desire to reclaim and embrace cultural identity[00:48:30] The importance of unlearning unconscious bias and committing to ongoing self-reflection and cultural competency[00:51:30] Feeling excluded from nonprofit sector despite education and experience, highlighting the lack of authentic mentorship and sponsorship[00:54:30] The stigma around foster care and adoption in professional spaces and the invisibility of foster alumni leaders[00:56:30] The critical role of authentic mentorship and the difficulty in finding mentors who share or understand lived experiences[01:02:00] Building the Inclusion Initiative to create access, community, and visibility for adoptees and foster alumni facing systemic barriers[01:04:00] How the Inclusion Initiative supports career navigation, networking, and leadership development for marginalized identitiesAfter a career in nonprofits and getting her MBA, Grace Yung Foster wanted to do something with more impact. She is now the Founder & CEO of The Inclusion Initiative that focuses on changing the future of work and close the professional opportunity gap Adoptees and Foster Care Alumni often face due to a lack of an established network. Through The Inclusion Initiative, she works to create belonging. The company was born from Grace's lived experience in struggling to achieve the professional and...
John Fairclough learned leadership the hard way—even sleeping in a car through a Chicago winter. That crucible taught him more about people, resilience and alertness than any MBA ever could.Rejected, uprooted and on his own by his late teens, John transformed trauma into a playbook for authentic leadership—what he calls “Authenticship.” Rather than molding yourself to fit someone else's rules, John shows high‑performers how to define success on their own terms, build business systems that match their values, and lead with integrity instead of control.He's built multiple 8-figure businesses, not on inherited relationships or pedigree, but through frameworks honed in adversity—frameworks that help leaders come “home to themselves,” dismantle perfectionism, and stop chasing approval. His upcoming book equips readers to reject cultural myths, break free from people‑pleasing, and unlock the courage to show up exactly as they are.A devoted dad who's learned to balance ambition with stability, John doesn't peddle one‑size‑fits‑all blueprints. He of
5-Day Storytelling ChallengeWhether you're looking to boost sales, enhance marketing, or captivate audiences in meetings, this challenge is for you.To sign up, go HERE.SHOW NOTES:In this episode, Matt Zaun sits down with Lisa Dy, a mindset coach and public speaking advocate, to explore how leaders can create meaningful change by mastering communication, embracing vulnerability, and developing confidence from the inside out. With over 25 years of experience across multiple industries, Lisa now helps individuals and teams break through limiting beliefs, sharpen their leadership presence, and communicate more effectively.In addition, they talk about: ✅ Why vulnerability is the hidden catalyst for building strong, high-performing teams. ✅ How Toastmasters helped Lisa go from painfully shy to speaking in front of thousands. ✅ Why public speaking skills are more important than ever in the age of AI.BIOS:Lisa Dy, CPA, MBA, is a mindset coach who helps individuals and teams create lasting change by addressing the root causes of their challenges. She leverages her 25+ years of experience in multiple business settings to guide her clients in overcoming limiting beliefs and developing the confidence, communication skills, and leadership presence necessary to excel. Matt Zaun is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who shows business leaders how to inspire action and drive results through the power of strategic storytelling. With a track record of catalyzing significant sales growth for over 300 organizations across industries—from financial services to health and wellness—Matt's approach has been proven to deliver measurable impact.
Description: In this deeply moving episode of Inside Personal Growth, Greg Voisen speaks with Meredith Parfet — chaplain, MBA, TED speaker, and founder of Raven Yard Group — about the profound intersections of grief, crisis, and leadership. From the devastating loss of her sister and her own near-death experience to leading organizations through catastrophic crises, Meredith shares the frameworks, tools, and mindset shifts that transform suffering into purpose. Her insights on “grief brain,” decision-making under pressure, and finding meaning amid chaos will inspire leaders and individuals alike to navigate life's hardest moments with resilience and grace. What Listeners Will Learn: -How personal tragedies shaped Meredith's unique approach to crisis management. -The biological and emotional effects of “grief brain” and how to counter them. -Why defining a crisis clearly is the first step toward resolving it. -Meredith's 5-step Risk Readiness process for organizations. -How to balance authenticity with responsibility during uncertainty. -The role of self-compassion, forgiveness, and meaning-making in healing. -Why active engagement with grief leads to growth, rather than letting it passively consume you. Our Guest, Meredith Wilson Parfet: ➥https://meredithparfet.com/ ➡️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaplain_mba ➡️LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithwilsonparfet/ Learn more about your Inside Personal Growth host, Greg Voisen: ➥ https://gregvoisen.com ➡️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidepersonalgrowth/ ➡️Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsidePersonalGrowth/ ➡️LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregvoisen/ ➡️Twitter/ X: https://twitter.com/lvoisen/
Drug diversion threatens patient and staff safety—and preventing it requires a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach. In this episode, Dr. Ruth Igwegbe and Shaylee Mitchell of JPS Health Network join host Carolyn Liptak to share how their organization transformed a fragmented diversion process into a high-functioning, collaborative program. From building trust with frontline teams to using AI software and proactive data monitoring, Ruth and Shaylee highlight how culture, consistency, and communication are essential to effective diversion prevention. Tune in for actionable strategies that elevate both patient safety and professional accountability. Guest speakers: Dr. Ruth Igwegbe PharmD, MBA, Pharmacy medication safety officer JPS Health Network Shaylee Mitchell, BS, RN, MJur Pharmacy medication safety officer JPS Health Network Host: Carolyn Liptak, , BS Pharm, MBA Vizient Show Notes: [01:02-02:32] Ruth and Shaylee Backgrounds [02:33-04:46] Background on diversion detection and prevention program at JPS [04:47-06:55] Shaylee's clinical background and how it shaped how she works with teams across the organization [06:56-09:20] How the JPS diversion response team evolved [09:21-13:55] Advice to our listeners to strengthen their own diversion prevention programs [13:56-16:03] Where our listeners should go to get more information about drug diversion prevention and detection programs Subscribe Today! Apple Podcasts Amazon Podcasts Spotify Android RSS Feed
Matt Steen has served the local church for over two decades as a youth pastor, church planter, and executive pastor. Originally from Baltimore, Matt currently lives in the Orlando, FL area with his wife Theresa, and has a B.S. in Youth Ministry from Nyack College and an M.Div. and MBA from Baylor University.Certified as an Urban Church Planter Coach by Redeemer City to City and as a StratOp facilitator by the Paterson Center, Matt has made a career of helping churches thrive through intentionality, clarity, and creating healthy cultures. He is convinced that a healthy church is led by a healthy team with great chemistry, and loves partnering with Chemistry's churches to do great things for the Kingdom.Matt joins Dale on today's 95Podcast to discuss the subject of succession planning. As the average age of the American pastor continues to get older, it's imperative that churches begin having conversations around the subject of who will lead the church in the future.Show Notes: https://www.95network.org/how-chemistry-staffing-can-help-you-with-succession-planning-w-matt-steen-episode-298/Support the show
Why finance is surging and tech is fading
SD319 - Como Treinar sua Secretária para Vender Mais e com Ética. Quer aumentar as vendas do seu consultório de forma ética e eficaz? Neste episódio, Dr. Lorenzo Tomé apresenta estratégias práticas para capacitar sua secretária a se tornar uma verdadeira aliada na conquista de pacientes. Descubra como liderar um processo consultivo, implementar um playbook com passos claros para abordagem do paciente e otimizar cada canal de aquisição e transforme de vez a sua relação com seus pacientes, potencializando os resultados do seu consultório! Dicas de livros: Alcançando Excelência em Vendas - Spin Selling por Neil RackhamTo sell is Human - Daniel H. Pink O podcast Saúde Digital te ajuda a abrir a mente? Dois dias de imersão com a gente pode potencializar isso ainda mais e fazer muito pelo seu negócio médico. Garanta sua vaga com 10% de desconto na Imersão da SD Escola de Negócios Médicos nos dias 29 e 30 novembro/2025. Só clicar AQUI. Participe das comunidades SD Conecta. Acesse AQUI! Baixe nosso app: Android ou IOS O Background do Lorenzo Casado com a Natália e pai de 3 filhos, Lorenzo é médico, Cofundador e CEO da SD Conecta e SD Escola de Negócios Médicos, host do 1º podcast do Brasil a apresentar tecnologias para médicos e que está no ar desde maio de 2018. Ele é Professor de Medicina Digital na Faculdade de Medicina São Leopoldo Mandic, fez Mestrado e MBA em negócios nas melhores escolas de negócios do país, é Internship no Hospital Center University de Rouen - França entre várias outras atividades. Assista este episódio também em vídeo no YouTube no nosso canal Saúde Digital Podcast: AQUI! Acesse os Episódios Anteriores! SD318 - Medicina do Estilo de Vida: Solução para a Saúde Contemporânea SD317 - Carreira Médica em Transformação: O Que Esperar do Mercado nos Próximos Anos? SD316 - Investimentos, estratégia e macroeconomia: o que médicos de alta renda precisam saber Music: Friendship | Declan DP "Music © Copyright Declan DP 2018 - Present. https://license.declandp.info | License ID: DDP1590665"
Featuring Sensient's President, Steve MorrisJoin host Jeff Klopfenstein and guest Steve Morris, President of Sensient Flavors and Extracts, as they discuss adapting to mega trends in flavors, meeting global challenges head on, and what is driving growth at the company. Steve Morris joined Sensient's Color Group in June 2007 and served as Sales Director of Food Colors US. He served as General Manager, Food Colors from October 2012 through August 2017, during which time his oversight progressively expanded from the US to North America, and ultimately to the Americas. Mr. Morris has held his current role as General Manager, Sweet & Beverage Flavors North America since August 2017. Prior to joining Sensient, Mr. Morris held various commercial leadership roles at DuPont (Solae) and operations management roles at Unilever. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from Washington University's Olin School of Business. Mr. Morris was born and raised in Iowa and is married with three adult children.Sensient Technologies Corporation is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of colors, flavors, and other specialty ingredients. Sensient uses advanced technologies and robust global supply chain capabilities to develop specialized solutions for food and beverages, as well as products that serve the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and personal care industries. Sensient's customers range in size from small entrepreneurial businesses to major international manufacturers representing some of the world's best-known brands. Sensient is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Visit Guest Steve Morris' LinkedIn
Medicine stands at the threshold of a new era, where artificial intelligence and systems biology are working hand in hand to make care more personal, predictive, and precise than ever before. AI is already improving diagnostic accuracy, automating administrative tasks, and uncovering patterns in data—like retinal scans or genomics—that humans often miss. Rather than replacing doctors, AI enhances their ability to deliver more informed, precise, and efficient care. At the same time, individuals are gaining tools—from at-home diagnostics to wearable biosensors—that empower them to track and optimize their own health. This shift marks a move from reactive, disease-centered care to a proactive, data-driven model of scientific wellness. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Eric Topol, Dr. Nathan Price, Dr. Leroy Hood, Dr. Vijay Pande, and Daisy Wolf about how artificial intelligence, personalized data, and wearable technology are converging to radically transform medicine. Dr. Eric Topol is Executive Vice President of Scripps Research and founder/director of its Translational Institute, recognized as one of the top 10 most cited researchers in medicine with over 1,300 publications. A cardiologist and author of several bestselling books on the future of medicine, he leads major NIH grants in precision medicine and shares cutting-edge biomedical insights through his Ground Truths newsletter and podcast. Dr. Nathan Price is Chief Scientific Officer at Thorne HealthTech, author of The Age of Scientific Wellness, and a National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leader. He also serves on the Board on Life Sciences for the National Academies and is Affiliate Faculty in Bioengineering and Computer Science at the University of Washington. Dr. Leroy Hood is CEO and founder of Phenome Health, leading the Human Phenome Initiative to sequence and track the health of one million people over 10 years. A pioneer in systems biology and co-founder of 17 biotech companies, he is a recipient of the Lasker Prize, Kyoto Prize, and National Medal of Science. Dr. Vijay Pande is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and founder of a16z Bio + Health, managing over $3 billion in life sciences and healthcare investments at the intersection of biology and AI. An Adjunct Professor at Stanford, he is known for his work in computational science, earning honors like the DeLano Prize and a Guinness World Record for Folding@Home. Daisy Wolf is an investing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, specializing in healthcare AI, consumer health, and healthcare-fintech innovation. She previously worked at Meta and in various startups, holds a JD from Yale Law, an MBA from Stanford, and a BA from Yale, and is based in New York City. This episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers. Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use code HYMAN10 to save 10%. Full-length episodes can be found here: Can AI Fix Our Health and Our Healthcare System? The Next Revolution In Medicine: Scientific Wellness, AI And Disease Reversal The Future of Healthcare: The Role of AI and Technology
Dominate C. diff! Learn to distinguish colonization from infection, select first-line therapies, and counsel patients on recurrence prevention and microbiome recovery. We're joined by IDSA past president and expert on foodborne and intestinal infections, Dr. Cindy Sears (Johns Hopkins University) for a comprehensive update on Clostridioides difficile (C. diff, Cdiff, CDAD, CDI). Claim CME for this episode at curbsiders.vcuhealth.org! Patreon | Episodes | Subscribe | Spotify | YouTube | Newsletter | Contact | Swag! | CME Show Segments 00:00 Intro 03:00 Guest bio and hobby 04:25 Case of Charles Fleur Fontaine 06:00 Risk factors and epidemiology 08:00 Antibiotic hierarchy of risk 10:00 Diagnosis, testing strategies 14:00 Defining severity 17:30 Treatment options 20:00 Microbiome recovery strategies 24:00 Probiotics and postbiotics 27:00 Infection control counseling 30:00 C. diff and colon cancer 32:00 Recurrent C. diff strategies 35:00 Why some FMT and bezlotoxumab were discontinued 38:00 Microbiota replacement therapies 43:00 Prophylaxis strategies 45:00 Future therapies and ongoing research 47:00 Audience Q&A 52:00 Outro Credits Written and Produced by: Matthew Watto, MD, FACP Cover Art and Infographic by: Hosts: Matthew Watto MD, FACP; Paul Williams MD, FACP Reviewer: Sai S Achi MD,MBA,FACP Showrunners: Matthew Watto MD, FACP; Paul Williams MD, FACP Technical Production: PodPaste Guest: Cynthia Sears MD Disclosures Dr. Sears reports no relevant financial disclosures. Dr. Williams financial relationships disclosed include a Merck grant or research support. This relationship has not ended. Sponsor: Mint Mobile This year, skip breaking a sweat AND breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/CURB Sponsor: Panacea Financial Let Panacea Financial take the financial stress off your plate,so you can get back to doing what matters most. Visit panaceafinancial.com Sponsor: FIGS Get15% off your first order at wearfigs.com with the code FIGSRX
Estate planning isn't fun to think about, but skipping it can cost loved ones time, stress, and money. In this week's episode, Ari breaks down the essentials so you can take action with confidence.Learn the key differences between wills and trusts, which states make trusts especially valuable, and why even residents of “will-friendly” states might still need one. Explore the “dead box” strategy, an annual practice that keeps important info like passwords and funeral wishes accessible if something happens.Get clarity on overlooked tools like POD (Payable on Death) and TOD (Transfer on Death) designations, plus the risks of outdated paperwork through real-life client examples.The episode also covers power of attorney, healthcare directives, and how HEMS provisions can protect assets for beneficiaries with special needs or unique situations.Estate planning is about more than documents—it's about creating peace of mind. Start now to give your family clarity when it matters most.Listen to Part 1: Here's When A Will Is Sufficient And Trust Isn't NecessaryCreate Your Custom Early Retirement Strategy HereGet access to the same software I use for my clients and join the Early Retirement Academy hereAri Taublieb, CFP ®, MBA is the Chief Growth Officer of Root Financial Partners and a Fiduciary Financial Planner specializing in helping clients retire early with confidence.
In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing a couple of webinars that are in the works. Graham and Alex will host an AMA-style webinar, as the new admissions season gets underway on August 26. More details to follow, but it will be livestreamed on YouTube! Graham also highlighted the September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit will host the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. Sign ups for this series are here: https://bit.ly/cainsidemba Graham then noted a few new publications on the Clear Admit site. We have a post that covers all the top MBA programs' in-person admissions event activities for the month of August. We also cover all the early and Round 1 application deadlines for the top MBA programs in a useful guide, and have a timely admissions tip on how to best prepare recommenders. We continue our series of Adcom Q&As; this week we hear from CMU / Tepper. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a career in undergraduate admissions, and a side-career in comedy. They want to use the MBA to pivot into the entertainment industry. This week's second MBA candidate is a data scientist who also plays a rock guitar. They have a 695 GMAT. The final MBA candidate is a reapplicant. They have a low GPA of 2.75 but have now completed MBA Math. They do have a super GRE score of 331. This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, USA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!
Welcome to Author's Voice on KAJ Masterclass LIVE. In this episode, we dive into the inspiring journey of Rand Selig, author of Thriving: How to Build a Healthier, Happier, and More Prosperous Life. Rand shares powerful insights on designing a life full of purpose, positive choices, and lasting fulfillment. Whether you're navigating career changes, personal growth, or simply seeking balance, this conversation offers practical wisdom to help you thrive every day.
In this episode, I chat with Jesse Myers, aka “Croesus” on X, a Bitcoin strategy advisor and former co-founder of OnRamp Bitcoin. With an MBA from Stanford and experience at Bain & Company, Jesse is now leading Bitcoin strategy at SmarterWeb and advising UTXO Management. We dive deep into the rise of Bitcoin treasury companies—how they're reshaping capital markets, unlocking trapped fiat, and potentially becoming the most valuable companies in the world. ––– Offers & Discounts ––– Theya is the world's simplest Bitcoin self-custody solution. Download Theya Now at theya.us/cedric Get up to $100 in Bitcoin on River at river.com/matrix The best Team Bitcoin merch is at HodlersOfficial.com. Use the code Matrix for a discount on your order. Become a sponsor of the show: https://thebitcoinmatrix.com/sponsors/ ––– Get To Know Today's Guest ––– • Jesse Myers on X: https://x.com/Croesus_BTC ––– Socials ––– • Check out our new website at https://TheBitcoinMatrix.Com • Follow Cedric Youngelman on X: https://x.com/cedyoungelman • Follow The Bitcoin Matrix Podcast on X: https://x.com/_bitcoinmatrix • Follow Cedric Youngelman on Nostr: npub12tq9jxmt707gd5vnce3tqllpm67ktr0mqskcvy58qqa4d074pz9s4ukdcs ––– Chapters ––– 00:00 – Intro 01:05 –Jesse Myers: background and focus 03:12 – Why Bitcoin treasury companies? The “elephant in the room” 04:05 – From maxi to treasuries: the journey and mindset shift 10:08 – Paying a premium for Bitcoin yield vs spot Bitcoin 14:00 – Small-cap dynamics: high MNAV bands in hypergrowth 16:24 – Meta Planet example: growing into the premium in 0.4 years 17:35 – Portfolio framing: cold storage vs risk capital slice 18:40 – Global thesis: a leader in each capital market 20:02 – New industry lens: BTC treasuries as conduits for trapped capital 23:05 – Endgame vision: refiners that hoover global fixed income 25:22 – “Is this a Ponzi?” Addressing the core critique 28:05 – Centralization tradeoffs and why cold storage still matters 32:05 – Smarter Web snapshot: 2,050 BTC, no debt, NAV lens 34:25 – Risk management: leverage across lifecycle stages 38:10 – UK context: no ETF access, retirement money tailwind 43:18 – Could BTC treasuries hold half of all Bitcoin? 48:40 – Will BTC treasuries issue stablecoins or partner on them? 52:20 – M&A and distress cycles among BTC treasuries 55:05 – Why Apple/Microsoft won't be first movers 58:50 – Fundamentals vs price: adding BTC while prices consolidate 1:02:22 – Volatility as vitality vs TradFi's downside skew 1:04:45 – Mindset shift: humans are volatile, Bitcoin is programmatic 1:05:40 – Closing toughts DISCLAIMER: All views in this episode are our own and DO NOT reflect the opinions/views of any of our guests or sponsors. I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for tuning in, supporting the show, and contributing. Thank you for listening!
Today we are joined by Shang Saavedra, the Founder and CEO of Save My Cents, an influential personal-finance website and social-media platform. Saavedra teaches readers the key habits and behaviors needed to become less fearful of money and live life with joy. Saavedra was named one of the "25 Most Influential New Voices of Money" by TIME/NextAdvisor in 2022 and is an Expert Reviewer and Contributor at CNET Money. She received her bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard and her MBA from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business. Saavedra and her husband finished saving for their retirement by the age of 31 and now live a work-optional life in Southern California with their two boys and two cats. [Aug 11, 2025] 00:00 - Intro 00:37 - Intro Links - Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/ - Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/ - Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/ - Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/ - Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb - CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/ - innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/ 01:27 - Shang Saavedra Intro 02:23 - Motivation for Success 04:03 - Save My Cents 07:29 - The Feelings Mutual 10:07 - It's Emotional 12:01 - Root Causes of Bad Money Habits 13:02 - Feast or Famine 13:45 - Adverse Events 15:26 - Scarce Immigrant 17:08 - Mind Over (Money) Matters 21:05 - Your Worth, More 24:07 - Book Recommendations - The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg 25:06 - Mentors - Therapist 25:59 - Shang Saavedra Online - Website: https://savemycents.com/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savemycents/ - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@savemycents - Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216282934-wealth-is-a-mindset - Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Mindset-Change-Your-Money/dp/B0D94QCZL6/ - Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/wealth-is-a-mindset/21633491 26:42 - Parting Advice 27:04 - Guest Wrap Up & Outro - www.social-engineer.com - www.innocentlivesfoundation.org
What's really going on in freight brokerage right now? Why are rates stuck, and how should we position ourselves as brokers for the next market shift? Together with our guest today, Ken Adamo of DAT Freight & Analytics, we dig into the supply-and-demand imbalance that's keeping rates flat, the impact of tariffs and interest rates on shipper behavior, and why DAT's acquisition of Convoy's tech could change how we approach automation! Plus, the reality of cold calling in a stagnant market, how shorter RFP terms make sense right now, and why consistent service still beats chasing margin in building trust with shippers! Hear all these and more from today's episode! About Ken Adamo Ken Adamo, Chief of Analytics and Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at DAT Freight & Analytics, leads strategy, customer engagement, and industry analysis. He played a key role in DAT's acquisition of Trucker Tools, strengthening the company's visibility solutions. A recognized expert in freight market trends, Adamo has helped customers navigate shifting conditions by translating complex data into practical insights. He has led key strategic initiatives, advanced predictive analytics, and serves as a trusted resource for industry analysts, customers, and journalists. Before DAT, he led pricing and decision science teams at FedEx, developing forecasting models to optimize decision-making and profitability. He was named a 2025 Pro to Know (Rising Stars category) by Supply & Demand Chain Executive and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and trade publications. Ken holds a bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Akron and an MBA from The Ohio State University. Connect with Ken Website: https://www.dat.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-adamo-8481611a/ / https://www.linkedin.com/company/dat-freight-and-analytics/