Podcasts about ROI

In "Freight Tech Strategy: Avoiding the Implementation Trap with JBF's Brad Forester", Joe Lynch and Brad Forester, Founder and Managing Partner of JBF Consulting, discuss the critical need for a strategic roadmap to ensure logistics technology delivers real ROI rather than becoming a costly mistake. About Brad Forester Brad Forester is the Founder and Managing Partner of JBF Consulting, bringing more than 25 years of leadership experience in transportation strategy, logistics technology, and supply chain transformation. A recognized industry expert, Brad has advised Fortune 500 companies and high-growth brands on complex global transportation initiatives, from network design and technology selection to implementation and value realization. His background spans senior roles in consulting, software, and shipper operations, giving him a uniquely balanced perspective on strategy and execution. Brad is a frequent industry speaker and thought leader on TMS, visibility, and logistics innovation.  About JBF Consulting JBF Consulting is a leading logistics strategy advisory and technology integration firm that partners with shippers to transform their logistics and supply chain execution operations. We empower clients to achieve operational efficiency and scalable, sustainable value through strategy development, roadmap orchestration, unbiased technology selection, expert implementation, data-driven insights, and ongoing managed services. For over two decades, our client-centric approach and alliances with best-of-breed solution providers have ensured that every strategy and solution we deliver drives measurable impact, long-term success, and customer satisfaction.  Key Takeaways: Freight Tech Strategy: Avoiding the Implementation Trap In "Freight Tech Strategy: Avoiding the Implementation Trap with JBF's Brad Forester", Joe Lynch and Brad Forester, Founder and Managing Partner of JBF Consulting, discuss the critical need for a strategic roadmap to ensure logistics technology delivers real ROI rather than becoming a costly mistake. The Trap is Set Early: Implementation failures (going over budget or missing ROI) are usually symptoms of a missing strategy months prior, rather than errors made during the setup itself. Strategy as Insurance: Investing just 1% to 2% of your budget in a strategic assessment acts as an insurance policy, potentially mitigating up to 80% of common implementation risks. "Slow is Steady, Steady is Fast": Rushing to execute without "future-casting" (planning for growth or acquisitions 5–10 years out) leads to the "$10 million mistake"—having to rip out and replace a system that no longer fits. Create a Shipper Profile: Use a "matchmaking" approach to tech. A tool that works for a retail giant might fail for a bulk chemical shipper; you must find the specific vendor that matches your unique mode mix. The Hybrid Tech Trend: Large shippers are increasingly owning the software and data while outsourcing physical operations, allowing them to switch 3PLs without losing their historical data or visibility. Beware of Shiny Objects: Avoid "AI for AI's sake." Don't buy a hammer and then go looking for a nail; ensure any new tech solves a defined problem statement rather than just chasing industry hype. Phase Two is a Myth: Brad warns that "Phase Two never comes." If you don't build the necessary capabilities into the initial launch, the project often stalls at 75% completion, and the promised ROI is never realized. Learn More About Freight Tech Strategy: Avoiding the Implementation Trap Brad Forester | LinkedIn JBF Consulting | LinkedIn JBF Consulting Freight Tech Trends with Mike Mulqueen FreightTech for Fortune 500 Shippers with Brad Forester and Mike Mulqueen FreightTech Reality Check with Brad Forester The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

Finally! U-Haul's President and CEO Joe Shoen took a public stand in opposition to the deplorable pricing practices most of the bigger REITs and institutional players use today, with the absolute worst being Extra Space in my opinion. I am talking about the bait and switch tactic of luring customers in with lower rates, then raising them exponentially, knowing it is difficult for many customers to move. U-Haul nationwide is declaring enough is enough and offering a 12-month rent rate lock to new customers. Let's explore why I think this is so important and what could be avoided for our industry. **Self-Storage Turnaround Playbook** https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/episode-476-four-steps-i-use-to-revive-a-self-storage-facility-non-fb/ **Startup Checklist** https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/episode-475-self-storage-startup-checklist-4-steps-owners-miss/ **Cap Rate, ROI & IRR Calculator** https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/episode_472_cap-roi-irr-worksheet-2/ **The 4 Critical Metrics Download** https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/episode-474-4-critical-metrics/ **Five Mistakes PDF* https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/episode-473-5-mistakes-new-owners-make-in-self-storage/ **Cap Rate, ROI & IRR Calculator** https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/episode_472_cap-roi-irr-worksheet-2/ **Online Courses at The Quickstart Academy** https://TheQuickStartAcademy.com/ **Listen on Apple Podcasts** **5 KPIs we measure** https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/top-5-kpi-ebook/ **My blog** Creating Wealth Through Self Storage **Facebook** https://www.facebook.com/markhelmselfstorage/ **Twitter** Tweets by MarkHelmSelfSt **The Storage World Analyzer** http://storageworldanalyzer.com/ **The QuickStart Academy Store** https://quick-start-academy.myshopify.com

BIGGEST DAY OF RACING AT COLONIAL DOWNS THIS SPRING! We'll preview the Late P5 on Virginia Derby /Oaks Day, including the Derby Prep with 50 points to the winner!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Go to our website: https://www.hhhracingpodcast.comTwitter/X: @hhhracingpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hhhracingpodcastTiktok: /hhhracingpodcast _________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to the excellent, informative and profitable "Power Picks" Tip Sheet! Please go to: https://www.patreon.com/hhhracingpodcastFantastic ABC P4 and P5 grids, along with Spot Plays and Price Plays provided that hit close to 30% in 2025 and an ROI way above the national average. Picks arrive via email every Sat. morning for that day's races. Purchase your Power Picks NOW and make 2026 and beyond your best handicapping years ever! RECEIVE A DISCOUNT IF YOU SUBSCRIBE YEARLY INSTEAD OF MONTHLY!!__________________________________________________________________________________________________Montage Info:Track: Brian Rian Rehan - DarkMusic provided by Brian Rian RehanFree Download / Stream: https://music.brianrianrehan.com/Dark__________________________________________________________________________________________________#horseracing #horseracingtips #gambling #fanduel #gradedstakes #adelphi #fanduel #nyra #breederscup #saratoga #belmontatthebiga #twinspires #churchilldowns #gulfstreampark #pegasus #fairgroundspicks #kentuckyderby #oaklawnpark #oaklawn #tampabaydowns #colonialdowns #virginiaderby

SPONSORED BY SANTA ANITA / 1ST RACING, "Wire to Wire" previews the fantastic $1 base bet Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 at Gulfstream and Santa Anita. There is a low 15% takeout and NO CAW's allowed in this betting pool....this week we'll preview the Saturday, 3/14, CTC Pick 5.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Go to our website: https://www.hhhracingpodcast.comTwitter/X: @hhhracingpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/hhhracingpodcastTiktok: /hhhracingpodcast _________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to the excellent, informative and profitable "Power Picks" Tip Sheet! Please go to: https://www.patreon.com/hhhracingpodcastFantastic ABC P4 and P5 grids, along with Spot Plays and Price Plays provided that hit close to 30% in 2025 and an ROI way above the national average. Picks arrive via email every Sat. morning for that day's races. Purchase your Power Picks NOW and make 2026 and beyond your best handicapping years ever! RECEIVE A DISCOUNT IF YOU SUBSCRIBE YEARLY INSTEAD OF MONTHLY!!__________________________________________________________________________________________________Montage Info:Track: Brian Rian Rehan - DarkMusic provided by Brian Rian RehanFree Download / Stream: https://music.brianrianrehan.com/Dark__________________________________________________________________________________________________#horseracing #horseracingtips #gambling #fanduel #gradedstakes #adelphi #fanduel #nyra #breederscup #saratoga #belmontatthebiga #twinspires #churchilldowns #gulfstreampark #pegasus #santaanita #coasttocoast #pick5

In this episode of "Scouting for Growth," Sabine VanderLinden welcomes Florian Graillot, founding partner at Astorya VC, for an in-depth conversation about the evolving landscape of risk management and insurance innovation. The discussion explores how risk management is shifting from static predictions to adaptive strategies designed for tomorrow's uncertainties, emphasizing the rise of the “frontier firm”—organizations that continuously learn, adapt, and act in real time.   Florian Graillot shares insights from his experience investing across insurtech, cyber, climate risk, and financial fraud, highlighting the increasing importance of technology, data, and AI.    Together, Sabine VanderLinden and Florian Graillot discuss the structural advantages Europe may hold in building AI-native, trust-driven business models and the critical role of agent-human collaboration in future risk management. They address the challenges faced by incumbents—including talent acquisition, cost efficiency, and profitable growth—and consider what distinguishes great founders in the frontier firm era.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   This episode underlines that risk management is no longer about controlling yesterday's uncertainties but engineering resilience for tomorrow. I was struck by Florian Graillot's argument that insurance leaders must rethink the entire risk value chain—not just the insurance segment—but encompassing prevention, risk assessment, capital efficiency, and claims. Simply layering AI onto legacy workflows isn't enough; true transformation requires intention, an openness to external partnerships, and a clear ROI focus.   It's clear to me that embracing AI isn't “optional practice"—it's existential. Organizations that experiment vigorously and collaborate with tech-first ventures gain a competitive edge, especially as emerging risks outpace traditional data models. Europe's more measured regulatory approach, sometimes critiqued as cautious, actually presents an opportunity to build trust-by-design, ensuring AI is explainable and aligned with both ethics and end-customer value.   Ultimately, the essence of any successful frontier firm lies in clarity of vision, a readiness for real change, and a focus on trust between leaders, employees, and customers. As the industry shifts, those who can articulate and measure technology's value, while empowering agent-human teams, will undoubtedly shape the risk landscape of the future.   BEST MOMENTS   "Risk management is no longer about predicting yesterday's risk. It is about designing for tomorrow's uncertainty."    "Either you consider emerging risks as a threat and retreat from the market, or you leverage technology to build resilience. That resilience is the optimistic side of the challenge."    "The perfect founding team is a blend of technology expertise and deep industry knowledge—you need both to create real value in insurance."    "If you expect big figures tomorrow morning, it will not work... But if you are ready to take more time and invest accordingly, innovation can deliver real and very nice results."    "In the end, technology doesn't remove risk. It actually reveals our choices."    ABOUT THE GUEST   Florian Graillot is the co-founder and founding partner at Astorya VC, one of Europe's most influential venture capital firms focused on early-stage insurtech, risk, and regulatory technology.    With 15 years of tech investing experience—ten of them specializing in insurtech—Florian Graillot has an unparalleled vantage point on the evolution of the insurance and risk landscape. He is passionate about backing founders who are redefining resilience, tackling climate, cyber, and financial fraud with cutting-edge data and algorithms, and reshaping how risk is owned and governed across enterprises.   ABOUT THE HOST   Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet.   If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights.   And if you're interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at hello@alchemycrew.ventures

Morgan Keim, founder of Ocean Ridge Capital, raised over $400 million in venture capital before he turned 35. One of his companies alone pulled in over $300 million pre-revenue—convincing pension funds and VCs to invest hundreds of millions in a company that hadn't made a single dollar yet. On a recent Sales Gravy podcast, he broke down exactly how he did it. The surprising truth? It had almost nothing to do with the pitch itself. “Your single biggest tools in your toolkit are going to be your eyes and ears,” Morgan said. “It’s about listening and seeing where your prospect is and what they really want. That might be different than the words they use.” Consider this: only 7% of communication comes from actual words. Another 38% comes from tone, and the remaining 55% shows up in body language and nonverbal cues. If you're in high-ticket sales, you're probably spending most of your time perfecting that 7%, while missing the other 93% of what your prospect is really telling you. What You’re Missing in Every Conversation Most salespeople obsess over crafting the perfect email. They rehearse their pitch until it's flawless. They tweak their value proposition endlessly. All of that lives in the 7% of communication that comes from words. Meanwhile, prospects are giving away everything you need to know through their tone, body language, and the questions they ask—or avoid. Morgan learned this quickly when raising capital for a food tech startup. Different investors wanted completely different things, even when they all said they cared about “returns.” One investor cared deeply about sustainability and environmental impact. Another focused purely on velocity of capital and exit timelines. A third had unusual mandates that weren't apparent until Morgan listened carefully in person. “It all comes down to having a real understanding of the emotion that person’s feeling, the desired state of where they want to be,” Morgan explained. “Living in that reality of who they are and what they want.” High-ticket sales often fall apart here. Salespeople treat follow-up like a broadcasting exercise: same message, same pitch, same value proposition to everyone because it's “efficient.” Efficiency without effectiveness is wasted motion. The Language Barrier Costing You Deals There's a language of entrepreneurial speak, a language of corporate speak, and a completely different language people use at home. You might communicate seamlessly with colleagues, but explaining your day to your spouse can feel like speaking a foreign language. The same disconnect happens between you and your prospects. Most sellers speak “sales language,” while their buyers speak business or personal language. Top salespeople code-switch naturally. They pick up on how prospects talk, the patterns they use, and the words that matter to them—and mirror that style back. In high-ticket sales, you're asking someone to make a significant investment. They need to feel understood before they'll trust you with that decision. Take an HR leader versus a marketing leader in the same organization: HR cares about employee retention, engagement, and compliance. Marketing focuses on campaign ROI, conversions, and brand lift. The same pitch to both? One will check out halfway through the first sentence. Understanding Their Desired State Make the prospect the hero of the story. Put your ego aside. Stop thinking about your quota. Focus entirely on their desired outcome. Morgan never leads with what Ocean Ridge Capital offers. He starts by understanding their situation: Are they trying to create passive cash flow? Looking for tax efficiency after selling a business? Building generational wealth for grandchildren? Each scenario requires completely different emotional framing. A person focused on legacy thinks about family and long-term impact, while a recent entrepreneur selling for eight figures cares about protecting capital and deploying it efficiently. Same product, completely different language. Send the same follow-up email to both, and you're solving the wrong problem for one of them. How This Changes Your Follow-Up Strategy Once you realize that 93% of your communication lives outside words, your follow-up strategy has to change. Morgan uses multiple channels: Video messages let him read facial expressions and body language. Phone calls provide tone, pacing, and emphasis that email strips away. Handwritten notes show he's willing to slow down in a world that automates everything. Educational content positions him as a resource, not just a seller. He runs A/B/C testing across messaging angles because he can't assume he knows what a prospect wants. When someone doesn't respond to initial outreach, he shifts to “passive value creation”—delivering insight, education, and context—while still prospecting actively through multiple channels. Every touchpoint adds value. Every channel gives a new way to read the prospect, learn their language, and adjust. What to Do on Your Very Next Call Here's your homework. Not next week. Not when you have time. On your very next sales call: Spend five minutes reading the room before you pitch anything. Notice: When their energy shifts. Words they repeat. Moments they lean in or check out. Mirror it back. If they say, “We're building something sustainable,” don't respond with, “Our solution drives ROI.” Stay in their language. Stay in their world. Try a different channel. Been emailing for weeks with no response? Pick up the phone. Send a 60-second video. Mail a personalized note. The mechanics haven't changed. You still need multiple touches. But if you ignore tone, body language, and emotional state, you're having a completely different conversation than your prospect is. Why This Approach Wins High-ticket sales are about human connection more than polished words. Prospects respond to feeling understood, recognized, and respected. The words you say matter far less than how you convey empathy, awareness, and relevance. Morgan's results speak for themselves: reading the unspoken signals and adapting builds trust, shortens sales cycles, and secures investments that others can't reach. High-ticket sales aren't only about what you say—they're about what you see. Pay attention, and everything changes. – Take your follow-up strategy to the next level. Download the FREE ACED Buyer Style Playbook and learn how to read what your prospects really want.

In this solo episode of the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, host Josh Hadley shares his proven framework for hiring senior leadership in ecommerce. Drawing from personal experience, Josh outlines the costly pitfalls of bad hires and emphasizes the value of securing top 1% talent. He details a structured, three-part interview process focused on track record, culture alignment, and role competence, offering actionable tips for assessing candidates. Josh also discusses the legal and financial implications of hiring, underscoring the importance of systems and focus for business growth. The episode concludes with a call to share and review the podcast.Hiring the wrong person can be a costly "hiring mistake" for any business, impacting your bottom line significantly. This video dives into effective "recruitment" strategies and a robust "hiring process" to help you avoid these pitfalls. Learn about crucial "interview questions" and how to "how to hire" the right talent to propel your e-commerce brand forward.

Recorded at the EMARKETER Creator Trends 2026 Virtual Summit, this panel explores how creator video is opening new territory for brands on CTV.  EMARKETER Analyst, Emmy Liederman along with Nicole Marcus, Manager of Influencer Strategy at Dick's Sporting Goods and Allison O'Keefe, Senior Manager, Influencer and Creator Marketing at Best Buy, discuss how to shape programming cadence, package content for bigger screens, measure ROI, ensure brand safety and suitability, and build partnerships that make the most of this expanding format. Listen everywhere you find podcasts and watch on YouTube and Spotify.   Subscribe to EMARKETER's newsletters. Go to https://www.emarketer.com/newsletters   Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/   For sponsorship opportunities, contact us: advertising@emarketer.com   For more information, visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/   Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com    For a transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-new-creator-video-play-moving-shorts-ctv-behind-numbers-special-edition   © 2026 EMARKETER

Enterprise leaders are investing heavily in AI, but many struggle to generate measurable business value. In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Kellie Romack of ServiceNow about how the company is scaling AI across its operations to produce real, quantifiable results. ServiceNow has already generated $355 million in AI-driven value internally, with automation resolving many service requests instantly and improving operational efficiency across the enterprise. Key topics include: How ServiceNow runs its own platform internally as Customer Zero Examples of AI resolving 90% of some IT service requests on first touch Why AI governance and oversight are essential at enterprise scale How automation transforms the workforce rather than replacing it Lessons for CIOs seeking real ROI from AI investments

Is your CRM system working for you, or are you working for it? CRM expert Taylor Payne joins Mark Hunter to demystify the true purpose of CRM tools and challenge the perception that they exist only to monitor sales teams. Taylor sheds light on the big disconnect between sales leadership and salespeople, and breaks down why most organizations treat their CRM as an overpriced spreadsheet instead of a growth engine. This episode uncovers common mistakes that leave CRM investments wasted and reveals how culture, customization, and clarity all play a role in transforming CRM from a "gotcha" tool into a "getcha" tool. Mark and Taylor also explore how designing the right process and getting sales team input can turn a CRM into a daily road map to more deals and deeper client relationships. The episode is packed with thought-provoking anecdotes and actionable steps for anyone ready to finally see ROI from their CRM system.

The Last Ten Nights Are HereBefore diving into the final ayah of Surah Al-Muzzammil, a timely reminder — tonight is the 23rd night of Ramadan. The last ten nights are upon us, and the Prophet ﷺ told us to hunt for Laylatul Qadr in these nights, especially the odd ones. Tonight is one of them.So what should fill these nights? Extra raka'at. Extra Quran. Extra dhikr. And the best du'a for this occasion comes to us through Sayyidatuna Aisha (رضي الله عنها), who asked the Prophet ﷺ: if I encounter the Night of Al-Qadr, what should I say? He replied: “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa'fu ‘anni” — “O Allah, You are the Most Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”Now, there's an important distinction here between ‘afw and ghafar. When we say astaghfirullah and ask for Allah's forgiveness (ghafar), the record of the sin remains — but the punishment is cancelled. The deed is still in the books on the Day of Mahshar, but Allah will not punish us for it.Al-'Afw is something else entirely. It is when the record is expunged altogether. Wiped clean. As if the sin never happened. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever fasts sincerely and prays during the nights of Ramadan — and catches Laylatul Qadr — will have all their past sins forgiven. They exit Ramadan like the day they were born. No record of sins whatsoever.It's just a few nights. Sleep a little less. Yes, there will be tiredness — that's okay. This is our training. Don't miss a night that is greater than a thousand months, greater than 83 years of worship.Grounded is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Where We Left Off — The Arc of Surah Al-MuzzammilThe surah opened with a command: stand up at night, pray, and recite the Quran. Why? Because the day is full of heavy tasks — spreading truth, standing for justice, enduring hardship — and the strength to carry all of that comes from the spiritual work done at night. Reading about Jannah motivates. Reading about Jahannam sobers. The connection to Allah realigns everything.Then came the warning through the story of Fir'aun — richer, stronger, more powerful than the Quraysh, yet destroyed in an instant when he rejected Prophet Musa. Then the terrifying imagery of Yawmul Qiyamah: skies torn apart, children's hair turning white from sheer terror. And finally, the choice: believe and take the prophetic path, or reject and face the consequences. Every choice carries a consequence.Now the surah circles back to where it began — Qiyamul Layl — but this time with something remarkable: mercy.Allah Knows Our WeaknessThe original command was demanding. Stand up most of the night — two-thirds, or at least half, or at the very minimum a third. The Prophet ﷺ did this every single night, without exception, even while travelling, even during battle. But Allah knew that the rest of the ummah would struggle.Allah says: “Indeed, your Lord knows that you stand less than two-thirds of the night, sometimes half, sometimes even less than a third — and so do a group of those with you.”Allah is the One who measured the length of night and day. Some seasons, the nights are long and Qiyamul Layl is easier — in Perth during winter, Maghrib comes in at 5:15 and Fajr isn't until around six. Plenty of time to sleep and still wake up. But in the peak of summer, when Fajr is at 3:30? That's a different story. Allah knows all of this.And so He says: “He has forgiven you.” Qiyamul Layl is fard upon the Prophet ﷺ, but for the rest of us, Allah has already shown mercy and lifted that strict obligation.But Don't Abandon It AltogetherHere's the key — just because the full obligation has been eased doesn't mean doing nothing is an option. Allah says: “So read what is easy for you from the Quran.” Stand up for even two raka'at. Read whatever surahs have been memorised. Carve out even a small portion of the night for spiritual work.This is a fundamental principle in Islam: what cannot be accomplished entirely should not be abandoned in totality. Islam doesn't teach perfectionism — it's not 100% or nothing. It teaches consistent effort. The Prophet ﷺ said that the most beloved deeds to Allah are those that are consistent, even if they are small. Two raka'at every single night outweighs a marathon session once a month.And this, by the way, is one of the great purposes behind memorising the Quran — so that those surahs can be recited in prayer. Al-Kahf, Al-Mulk, Al-Baqarah — they come alive when recited standing before Allah at night.The Three Excuses Allah AcceptsThen Allah provides specific concessions. First: those who are sick. Illness isn't a choice — when rest is needed for recovery, Allah says it's okay.But then come two more categories that are remarkable, because they are things people can choose — and Allah still grants them as valid reasons for doing less Qiyamul Layl.The first: those who travel the earth seeking Allah's bounty — meaning those who are out working, doing business, building economic stability. The second: those who fight in the path of Allah, defending the religion and the community.These two are placed in equal standing. Working hard to earn a living is given the same weight as defending the faith. That is extraordinary. It tells us something profound about how Islam views economic productivity — not as a worldly distraction, but as an act valued by Allah Himself.The Prophet ﷺ said the best rizq is what a person earns from their own effort, and he pointed to Prophet Dawud (عليه السلام) as the example — a prophet, a king, and yet also a blacksmith who worked with iron and ate from the labour of his own hands.Ibn Umar expressed this beautifully. He said the best deaths he could wish for were two: martyrdom in the path of Allah, and dying on a business journey — on his camel, with his trade goods, on his way to earn a living. Because this ayah puts them side by side.Islam Wants Muslims to Be Wealthy — But With PurposeThe encouragement to work hard and build wealth doesn't come without direction. Islam doesn't say: get rich so you can buy the fanciest car, then a fancy island, and once you run out of things to buy on earth, spend a trillion dollars trying to conquer Mars.Islam says: be rich, but that's not the end goal. The ummah becomes strong when Muslims have economic power and an akhirah mindset. With wealth, the community can build schools, support students in critical fields, fund long-term projects. This is Sadaqatul Jariyah — continuously flowing charity that keeps giving long after the initial contribution.There's a telling hadith in Imam Al-Nawawi's Forty Collection that captures this tension perfectly. The poor companions once came to the Prophet ﷺ and complained: “Ya Rasulullah, the rich have taken all the extra reward! They pray like we pray, they fast like we fast — but they can give charity from their surplus wealth, and we can't.” The Prophet ﷺ reassured them that dhikr — saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar — is also charity. The poor companions went away happy. But a few days later? The rich started doing dhikr too. Now they had both. The poor came back and said: what about us now?The point isn't to vilify poverty. The Prophet ﷺ went on to explain that there is charity in every good act — helping someone onto their ride, carrying someone's load. But wealth opens doors that nothing else can. Zakat, the pillar of Islam, is only payable by those who have wealth. And the framing matters: it's not that the wealthy have to pay zakat — they get to pay zakat. Without wealth, that entire pillar of Islam is inaccessible. And hajj is the same.The story of Sayyidina Uthman (رضي الله عنه) at the Battle of Tabuk drives this home. He donated so generously — horses, camels, wealth — that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Nothing Uthman does after this will harm him.” Guaranteed paradise. And Uthman wasn't living in poverty. He had luxuries. But look at the scale of what his wealth allowed him to do for the ummah.At the same time, Islam doesn't expect anyone to give 100% away. The best charity, the Prophet ﷺ said, is what is spent on family — on spouses, on children. The balance is always there: spend on yourself, on your family, and on the ummah for the sake of the akhirah.The Beautiful LoanEven with all these concessions, Allah says: still, read what is easy from the Quran. Establish your salah. Pay your zakat. Don't let the extras overshadow the foundations — a hundred raka'at of Qiyamul Layl mean nothing if Fajr is missed. Generous charity donations mean nothing if zakat is neglected. The obligatory always comes first.Then comes a stunning phrase: “And give Allah a beautiful loan (qard hasan).”A qard hasan is a loan with no deadline for repayment and no interest. Every good deed — every act of worship, every charity, every kindness — is a loan to Allah. And here's the beauty of it: Allah doesn't need our loan. He owns everything in the heavens and the earth and everything in between and beyond. He could simply say: “That's Mine, I gave it to you, give it back.”But in His mercy, Allah understands human nature. He understands that people are wired to think in terms of profit and return on investment. So He frames it as a transaction: give Me a loan, and I will surely repay you — multiplied many times over. In human transactions, demanding extra on a qard is riba. But with Allah, He is the One promising to multiply the return. It's the ultimate ROI.And what can a person invest with? Two things: wealth or skills. Both require Muslims to be hardworking.It's All For UsAllah then makes something clear: whatever is sent forth for the akhirah, it's essentially for our own benefit. Allah doesn't need our investment. Every command He gives is for our sake, not His.And there's a profound observation embedded here. As humanity lives more and more comfortably — materially, physically — mental health continues to decline. The richer the country, the higher the rates of depression and anxiety. Why? Because life without purpose erodes the soul. When everything is easy and comfortable, humans lose their sense of direction.Islam solves this by providing a purpose so enormous that no amount of wealth or comfort can make it irrelevant: getting to Jannah. How do we get there? That question structures every day, every decision, every effort. It keeps life purposeful no matter the circumstances. And when the community works together with that shared purpose, everyone rises.Ending with IstighfarThe surah closes with a command to seek Allah's forgiveness. Wastaghfirullah — make istighfar. There are two dimensions to this.First, the timing. The pre-dawn hours — suhoor time — are the best time for istighfar. Allah praises those who seek forgiveness in the early morning. For those already awake for Qiyamul Layl, this flows naturally.Second, there's a subtler reason. Sometimes, in the middle of worship and good deeds, something dangerous creeps into the heart. A feeling of: “I woke up for Qiyamul Layl. I read Surah Al-Kahf in one raka'ah and Surah Al-Mulk in the next. I'm amazing.” Or after giving a large charity: “I'm so generous. Look at what I gave.”This is kibr — arrogance — and it's one of Shaitan's favourite tricks. When he can't stop someone from doing good deeds, he tries to spoil the deed through the intention. So the surah ends with the antidote: astaghfirullah. Centre yourself. Realign the intention. “Ya Allah, if there was any misalignment in my heart, I seek Your forgiveness.”Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful.The Complete Message of Surah Al-MuzzammilAnd with that, Surah Al-Muzzammil comes to a close. Its message is beautifully complete: stay up at night, even a little. Pray. Read Quran. Let that spiritual recharge fuel everything in the day — the work, the earning, the serving of the ummah. Islam is a religion of balance: worship at night, work hard in the day. And in between, give everything its right. The body has a right — rest, nutrition, exercise. Family has a right — time and attention. And Allah has a right — acts of worship.Fulfil all those rights. That's the straight path.Your Action Steps This Week* Make the du'a of Laylatul Qadr every night. Memorise “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa'fu ‘anni”and repeat it abundantly in the remaining nights of Ramadan. Understand the difference — this isn't just asking for forgiveness, it's asking for a complete clean slate.* Do something every night, even if it's small. If two raka'at is all that's manageable, pray two raka'at. If one page of Quran is what's realistic, read one page. Don't let the inability to do everything become an excuse to do nothing.* Reframe how work fits into worship. This ayah places earning a livelihood alongside fighting in the path of Allah. Approach work this week with the conscious intention that economic productivity is an act Allah values — and use what is earned to benefit family and community.* Audit the foundations before the extras. Before adding more nawafil, make sure the obligatory salah and zakat are fully in order. The extras don't compensate for gaps in the foundations.* End every night with istighfar. After Qiyamul Layl, after du'a, after any act of worship — close with astaghfirullah. Let it be the safeguard against arrogance creeping into the heart through the very deeds meant to bring closeness to Allah.May Allah grant us the strength to apply the lessons from Surah Al-Muzzammil — to pray at night, recite the Quran, and work hard in the day for the benefit of the ummah. May Allah allow us to enter Jannah with the Prophet ﷺ and with the Sahaba.Next week, inshaAllah, we begin Suratul Muddaththir. Don't forget — tonight is the 23rd night. Qiyamul Layl. Stay up extra. Make lots of du'a.Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.Thanks for reading Grounded! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit groundeddaily.substack.com/subscribe

Leadership can look shiny and still feel lonely. In Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Yusuf sits down with business consultant Shelley Cadamy to name the mental load behind entrepreneurship. This episode is for founders, CEOs, and high-responsibility leaders who feel pressure to stay “strong” while quietly running on empty. Shelley reframes resilience, normalizes the messy stages of business growth, and shares grounded ways to protect your mind while you build. About the Guest: Shelley Cadamy is a business consultant at Cadamy Business Consulting who has supported business owners and CEOs since 1999. She's currently completing a Master's in Social Work after realizing how much leadership support is also mental health support. She's also a foster-adoptive parent. Episode Chapters: 00:07:39 — The quiet truth of entrepreneurship 00:08:45 — When leadership starts to feel lonely 00:09:40 — Resilience isn't “just push through” 00:11:33 — Treat mental health support like any other expert resource 00:13:27 — The business life-cycle: stop making it a personal flaw 00:17:03 — Stress signals + avoiding “sparkly” quick fixes 00:19:40 — The ROI of peer groups and coaching Key Takeaways: Redefine resilience as leveraging strengths plus self-care, not just pushing through. Use experts early—coach, consultant, therapist—like you would a CFO or HR partner. Normalize the “awkward adolescent” phase of growth so you don't internalize it as failure. Watch for stress signals: sleep, mood, self-care drop, and decision-making turns reactive. When overwhelmed, don't buy quick fixes—pause, name the state you're in, and get grounded counsel. How to Connect With the Guest: Website: https://www.cadamyconsulting.com/  Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik Disclaimer: This video is for educational and informational purposes only. The views expressed are the personal opinions of the guest and do not reflect the views of the host or Healthy Mind By Avik™️. We do not intend to harm, defame, or discredit any person, organization, brand, product, country, or profession mentioned. All third-party media used remain the property of their respective owners and are used under fair use for informational purposes. By watching, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer. Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it's become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate. With over 6000+ episodes and 200K+ global listeners, we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters.

Enterprise data estates often optimize for platform expansion over decision velocity, producing reporting layers that signal activity but fail to accelerate strategic outcomes. In this episode, Barry McCardel, CEO at Hex, examines how leading organizations can compress the gap between executive questions and decision-grade insight to materially increase the enterprise value of data. The discussion focuses on tightening feedback loops, operationalizing collaborative and AI-augmented analysis, and redefining data ROI around adoption, trust, and measurable business impact rather than production metrics. This episode is sponsored by Hex. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/partner. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!

Discover how real estate investors reduce their taxes to little or nothing and accelerate their wealth—using two powerful strategies built directly into the U.S. tax code. In this podcast, Peter breaks down cost segregation and 100% bonus depreciation, showing you exactly how they work and why savvy investors rely on them year after year.Key Takeaways:Cost segregation breaks your building into components you can depreciate fasterBonus depreciation lets you take those deductions all in the first yearA $7,500 cost seg study can produce a 632% ROI in tax savingsThese strategies are 100% legal and intentionally designed by CongressThis is how wealthy investors scale portfolios and reduce taxes

What does it really look like to pause something successful, trust your gut, and come back even stronger? I'm joined by powerhouse entrepreneur Stephanie Ross, CEO of Small Business Sister Circle, author, podcast host, realtor, and mom, to unpack her bold podcast rebrand and relaunch. Stephanie shares what led her to step away, why now was the right time to return, and how she approached this new season differently by recording the audio version of her book through her show, leaning into more solo episodes, implementing affiliate ad partnerships, and hiring support. We also dive into what it truly takes to host a large-scale event like the upcoming Sister Circle Summit in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from the pressure of year six to the energy required to create a safe and transformative space. Our conversation expands into the realities of motherhood and entrepreneurship, how becoming a mom reshapes your capacity and definition of success, and why protecting your energy as a leader matters more than ever.Key Topics Covered:The mindset behind choosing a strategic pause instead of pushing through burnout.Lessons learned from hosting a multi-day summit in a small-town market.Why delegation becomes non-negotiable as your event and business grow.The internal pressure that increases with longevity and reputation.How to intentionally prepare before attending a live event to maximize ROI.A practical strategy for introverts to confidently enter high-energy networking spaces.Balancing visibility with privacy as the face of a community.Navigating evolving ambition alongside changing seasons of life.Links & Resources:Riverside Referral Code: https://riverside.sjv.io/WOXq0PGet your copy of the Pivot Ball Change Editing Guide: https://www.pivotballchange.com/howtoeditpodcasts/p/how-to-edit-podcasts-with-pivot-ball-changeUse code KRYSTLE to get $50 off your Sister Circle Summit Ticket: https://sistercircle.co/home/?page_id=2317Follow Stephanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanieleaross/Visit Stephanie's Website: https://www.stephanieleaross.com/Follow Small Business Sister Circle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallbusiness.sistercircle/Get Your Copy of Stephanie's Book, Seasons of a Soul-preneur, Here: https://amzn.to/4shWnWGLet's Connect! Book Your Podcast Consultation Today: https://www.pivotballchange.com/services Follow Pivot Ball Change on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pivotballchange/ Visit Pivot Ball Change's Website: https://www.pivotballchange.com/

Why do smart marketing teams keep optimizing for the wrong things?In Part 1 of this Sharp Cut series, we explored Goodhart's Law — when a measure becomes a target, it stops being a good measure.But the real problem doesn't start on the marketing dashboard.It starts two floors above it.In this episode of The Sharp Cut, Marc Binkley and Vassilis Douros trace the incentive problem all the way from the boardroom to the media buy, showing how the pressure to maximize shareholder value, hit revenue targets, and prove short-term ROI cascades through the organization — eventually shaping how marketing is measured.Drawing on insights from seven past Sleeping Barber guests, including Roger Martin, Peter Field, Avinash Kaushik, Dale Harrison, Herman Simon, Augustine Fou, and Koen Pauwels, this episode breaks down why marketing metrics often drift away from real business outcomes.We explore:Why shareholder value maximization may distort strategic decision-makingThe difference between revenue growth and real competitive growthHow efficiency metrics like ROI and ROAS can mislead organizationsWhy marketing dashboards are often 90% activity and only 10% outcomesWhy CPM may be one of the most dangerous metrics in media planningHow platform data quietly shapes the decisions marketers makeWhen incentives reward the wrong signals, even brilliant organizations can optimize themselves into decline.TakeawaysGoodheart's Law illustrates how metrics can become targets, leading to poor decision-making.Shareholder value maximization is a flawed approach that can harm long-term business health.Revenue growth does not equate to market growth; understanding this distinction is crucial.Short-term metrics can mislead organizations into making detrimental decisions.Effective marketing requires a balance between efficiency and effectiveness.Dashboards often reflect activity rather than meaningful outcomes, leading to misinterpretation of success.CPM is a dangerous metric that can create a false sense of accountability.Data reporting without context can lead to 'data puking' and poor decision-making.Organizations must evaluate whether their primary metrics truly reflect business health.Good measurement practices should focus on long-term outcomes rather than short-term gains.Chapters00:00 - Introduction to the Incentive Series01:00 - Understanding Goodheart's Law and Its Implications03:02 - The Shareholder Value Maximization Trap04:56 - Revenue vs. Growth: A Misunderstanding09:04 - The Dangers of Short-Term Metrics12:08 - The Role of Dashboards in Marketing Decisions14:59 - The Need for Better Measurement Practices

Theory Ventures GP Tomasz Tunguz talks with TITV Host Akash Pasricha about Nvidia's $2 billion bet on Nebius and Meta's new custom AI chips. We also talk with Citi's Tyler Radke about Oracle's accelerating AI-driven cloud business and E-comm Reporter Ann Gehan about OpenAI's ChatGPT apps and early struggles in online shopping, and we get into OpenAI's Sora video model, its integration into ChatGPT, and the soaring costs of AI with Stephanie Palazzolo. Lastly, we chat about how AI is reshaping SaaS sales, ROI, and boardroom expectations with PwC's Dallas Dolen.Articles discussed on this episode: https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/ai-cloud-company-nebius-gets-2-billion-nvidia-investmenthttps://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-plans-launch-sora-video-ai-chatgpt-strategy-shifthttps://www.theinformation.com/articles/openais-betting-chatgpt-apps-people-need-find-firstSubscribe: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinformation The Information: https://www.theinformation.com/subscribe_hSign up for the AI Agenda newsletter: https://www.theinformation.com/features/ai-agendaTITV airs weekdays on YouTube, X and LinkedIn at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Or check us out wherever you get your podcasts.Follow us:X: https://x.com/theinformationIG: https://www.instagram.com/theinformation/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@titv.theinformationLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theinformation/

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupWe co-authored The Conversational Report with Postscript to understand one simple question: when shoppers text brands back, what happens next? The punchline is uncomfortable. Customers treat texting like a real conversation, but most brands treat replies like a support inbox, or ignore them entirely. That gap is where a lot of abandoned carts live.Role-based hook: For DTC founders and operators scaling past $1M who want SMS to do more than broadcast promos, and want replies to turn into revenue plus better creative and PDPs.Mike Manheimer from Postscript joins to break down what the data says, why brands struggle operationally, and how AI changes the economics of responding quickly.What we get into:Why brands misread replies as “support,” and why that kills revenueThe consumer expectation gap, plus why 26% real time reply rate is a gift for anyone who executesThe easiest way to start: add one question to your welcome flow and watch what comes backTurning reply data into a weekly insight loop for PDP, creative angles, and offer clarityWhat a real playbook looks like beyond “send more promos”Who this is for: Retention, growth, CX, and founders who know SMS works, but feel like it has not matured into what it should be.What to steal:The “question mark” strategy for welcome and abandoned cart flowsA reply triage model that does not require headcount explosionsA simple way to turn conversations into segments you can act onPostscriptMikeReportTimestamps00:00 Why brands are wasting SMS potential02:00 The gap between brand assumptions and shopper behavior04:14 Why SMS should be treated like sales, not support06:00 The staffing problem behind slow SMS replies08:10 How Postscript's conversational AI actually works11:20 Why fast replies create a better buying experience13:05 The LTV upside of real SMS relationships15:10 How to write SMS flows that get real responses18:12 The revenue and ROI from conversational SMS21:35 Why PDPs cannot answer every shopper question25:05 How SMS conversations create better customer insights31:20 The best conversational SMS playbook for brands37:45 Why one-way SMS is becoming obsoleteSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

Rewarded user acquisition and offer walls are suddenly becoming a major part of mobile game UA strategy.In this episode of Two and a Half Gamers, Matej and Felix talk with Max from MAF about how rewarded UA evolved from a questionable growth hack into a legitimate acquisition channel.Studios are now allocating 30–40% of their UA budgets to rewarded channels, and some games are scaling them even more aggressively.The conversation covers ROI timelines, retention dynamics, monetization setups, genre fit, and how rewarded playtime models are changing the economics of offer walls.If you're running UA in 2026, ignoring rewarded UA might be a very expensive mistake.

Why 87 Million Americans Are Ditching Traditional Employment (And How You Can Too) Summary Discover why millions of Americans are quitting their traditional 9-to-5 jobs and transitioning into lucrative side hustles in 2026. In this episode, Tracy Brinkmann dives into the top 8 side hustles open to digital entrepreneurs and online entrepreneurs, highlighting opportunities to make money online with six-figure income potentials. From AI automation services and experience-based consulting to digital products for beginners and specialized tutoring, learn proven marketing strategies and tips for entrepreneurs to build passive income and replace your day job. Tracy breaks down startup costs, realistic earnings, and practical email marketing tips to help you grow your email list and boost sales. Whether you're looking for side hustles for busy parents or innovative digital marketing tactics, this episode equips you with actionable advice and digital product ideas. Subscribe to the AI Escape Plan Newsletter for weekly insights and start your journey toward online entrepreneurship and financial freedom today. Key Timestamps 00:00 Opening  - The 2 AM bank account reality check 00:45 Episode Overview 01:50 The Foundation Shift 02:45 Carter Osborne Case Study 04:05 Side Hustle #1: AI Automation Services - $200/hour with zero coding experience 05:15 Side Hustle #2: Experience-Based Consulting - Package your expertise 06:00 Side Hustle #3: Digital Products - Create once sell forever 07:25 Side Hustle #4: Specialized Tutoring - Steven Menking's $1,000/hour strategy 08:20 Side Hustle #5: User-Generated Content - Kelly Rocklein's 6-figure UGC business 09:05 Side Hustle #6: Skilled Trades - AI-proof income up to $300/hour 10:35 Side Hustle #7: Content Creation & Podcasting - Anonymous income with AI tools 11:15 Side Hustle #8: Remote Healthcare Support - 70% growth opportunity 12:25 The Reality Check - Why most side hustles fail and what 2026 changes 13:30 The Bigger Picture - Death of industrial employment model 15:05 Whiskered Wisdom - Your specific action step for this week Key Insights & Strategies Shared The Economic Reality 95% of workers say income hasn't kept up with cost of living Global gig economy hit $674 billion in 2026 87 million Americans will be freelancing by 2027 (nearly half the workforce) One in four adults already runs a side business The Carter Osborne Blueprint Started tutoring as side hustle in 2017 Quit PR director job by 2024 to earn $220K working 10 hours/week Most income from digital products, not direct tutoring $37 Google Doc made $800 in first week The 8 High-Earning Opportunities 1. AI Automation Services $60-200/hour rates on Upwork/Fiverr Projects range $2,000-15,000 Startup cost: $117/month (ChatGPT Plus + HighLevel) Example: Austin wellness studio paid $400/month for 10-minute ChatGPT bot 2. Experience-Based Consulting $75-150/hour for specialized knowledge Focus on specificity (customer retention specialist vs. business consultant) Mid-to-late career professionals excel with battle-tested solutions 3. Digital Products 90% profit margins after fees E-learning market racing toward $370 billion by 2026 Earnings: $1,000-50,000 monthly depending on niche Sell transformation, not just information 4. Specialized Tutoring Market hit $10.4 billion in 2024, growing 14.5% annually Steven Menking: up to $1,000/hour private tutoring Platforms: iTalki ($30-60/hour), Preply, Wyzant Focus on specialization, not competing on price 5. User-Generated Content Kelly Rocklein: six-figure business while keeping corporate job $200-500 per video through Billo, Insense, #paid Social media management: $50/hour once ROI proven No massive following required 6. Skilled Trades AI-proof income streams Marisa Risden: $4,500/month via TaskRabbit/Thumbtack Independent contractors: up to $300/hour specialized work Recession-resistant demand 7. Content Creation & Podcasting Ginni Saraswati-Cook: $50K monthly, doubled yearly 2026 twist: Anonymous channels using AI tools ElevenLabs (voice), Runway (editing), ChatGPT (scripts) Top podcasters: $30K-100K through multiple streams 8. Remote Healthcare Support 70% year-over-year growth Medical coders: nearly $40/hour average Lower barrier to entry than expected Certification requires organization skills, not medical degree Resources Mentioned AI Automation Platforms ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) HighLevel ($97/month) Zapier (workflow automation) Make.com (no-code automation) Upwork & Fiverr (freelance marketplaces) Digital Product Platforms Teachable (course creation) Thinkific (online courses) Etsy (template marketplace) Shopify (e-commerce store) Gumroad (digital downloads) Tutoring Platforms iTalki (language learning) Preply (conversational practice) Wyzant (academic subjects) UGC & Social Media Billo (UGC platform) Insense (brand collaborations) #paid (influencer marketing) Skilled Trades TaskRabbit (home services) Thumbtack (local services) Content Creation Tools ElevenLabs (AI voice generation) Runway (video editing) ChatGPT (script writing) Action Steps to Take This Week's Specific Action Pick ONE of the eight side hustles and spend 30 minutes researching the first step: AI Automation: Sign up for ChatGPT Plus Consulting: Write down 3 specific problems you've solved in your current job Digital Products: Identify one thing you know that others struggle with Tutoring: Research rates in your expertise area on iTalki or Wyzant UGC: Create sample content and research brand collaboration platforms Skilled Trades: List your practical skills and research local demand Content Creation: Experiment with AI tools for anonymous content Healthcare Support: Research certification requirements in your area Financial Preparation Research quarterly estimated tax requirements for 1099 income Consider forming an LLC if scaling toward full-time Don't let tax considerations stop you from starting Mindset Shifts Required Security comes from diversification, not dependence Focus on solving real problems, not chasing trends Start with proof of concept before major investments Call To Action Ready to stop trading hours for dollars and start building income streams that work around your family schedule? Subscribe to the AI Escape Plan Newsletter - specifically designed for parents ready to break free from the 9-to-5 grind. Each issue delivers practical, AI-powered strategies to start, grow, and streamline side hustles, all designed to protect your family time while boosting your income. Your roadmap to more money, more freedom, and more of what truly matters. Visit: DarkHorseInsider.com   Key Quotes "The side hustle economy isn't a backup plan anymore - it's become the foundation of American work." "People pay for solutions to their problems, and you don't need thousands of subscribers to make money." "There are no prerequisites to starting a successful side hustle." "The side hustle economy is no longer coming. It's here. And it's waiting for you to claim your piece of it."

March 10, 2026: AI is generating real, measurable productivity gains at major companies. Workers aren't seeing any of it. A new survey of 100 major CEOs finds only 9% plan to cut jobs because of AI this year — but buried inside that optimistic headline is an admission about ROI that changes the entire picture. China just launched the most ambitious society-wide AI employment push in history, betting that the technology creates more jobs than it destroys with 300 million retirements on the horizon. Fortune has the one metric CEOs are now using to quietly recalculate how many humans they actually need — and most employees have never heard of it. And Mercor, a $10 billion startup, is paying doctors, lawyers, and investment bankers hundreds of dollars an hour to train the AI that may eventually replace them.

Revolutionizing Digital Advertising: Strategic Insights into AI-Driven Campaign Management with Seva UstinovIn a recent episode of The Thoughtful Entrepreneur Podcast, host Josh Elledge sat down with Seva Ustinov, the Founder and CEO of plurio, to discuss the seismic shift occurring within the digital advertising landscape. As managing ad spend across Google, Meta, and TikTok becomes increasingly fragmented and complex, Seva shares how autonomous AI agents are moving beyond simple data reporting to active execution. This conversation provides a masterclass for high-growth founders and marketing executives who are looking to bridge the gap between surface-level platform metrics and true bottom-line business outcomes.Navigating Complexity: The Rise of Autonomous Ad OptimizationThe primary bottleneck for modern marketing teams is the sheer volume of data generated across diverse sales funnels and advertising platforms. Seva explains that while traditional ad platforms optimize for immediate conversions—like a simple lead form submission—they often lack the visibility into deeper business goals, such as closed-loop sales or long-term subscriptions. This disconnect forces marketers into a grueling cycle of manual analysis and constant dashboard toggling. By implementing an autonomous agent that aggregates performance data across all channels, businesses can finally align their digital spend with their actual revenue cycles, ensuring that every dollar is attributed to a meaningful customer journey.Adopting AI in advertising is not about replacing human creativity, but rather acting as a force multiplier for strategic talent. An AI agent can handle the "grunt work" of identifying creative fatigue, reallocating budgets in real-time, and pausing underperforming segments across thousands of campaigns simultaneously. This level of granular management allows agencies and in-house teams to shift their focus away from repetitive tactical adjustments and toward high-level creative strategy and client relationship management. When the machine handles the math, the humans can focus on the mission, resulting in a more agile and responsive marketing engine that scales without a proportional increase in headcount.Ultimately, the goal of integrating autonomous agents like Plurio is to achieve a superior Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) through continuous, data-driven learning. Seva emphasizes the importance of the "human-in-the-loop" model, where the AI provides transparent, human-readable reasoning for every recommendation it makes. This transparency builds trust and allows marketers to maintain strategic oversight while the agent executes daily optimizations. For enterprises and growth-stage startups managing significant monthly spend, this approach transforms digital advertising from a cost center into a predictable, high-performance asset that evolves as quickly as the market does.About Seva Ustinov: Seva Ustinov is a tech visionary and the Founder and CEO of Plurio. With a background in building scalable marketing technologies, Seva is dedicated to helping companies navigate the complexities of digital acquisition through the power of autonomous AI agents.About plurio: plurio is an innovative AI platform that revolutionizes digital ad management by combining unified analytics with autonomous optimization. The platform connects to major ad accounts to analyze performance, identify inefficiencies, and execute campaign adjustments, helping businesses maximize their ROI with minimal manual intervention.Links Mentioned in This Episode:plurio Official WebsiteSeva Ustinov on LinkedInKey Episode HighlightsThe Full-Funnel Gap: Why standard ad platforms often fail to optimize for long-term business goals and how AI bridges that data void.Autonomous Execution: The shift from passive dashboards to active agents that can pause, scale, and reallocate spend in real-time.Force Multiplying Creativity: How AI frees up marketing agencies to focus on high-level strategy rather than manual spreadsheet analysis.Combating Creative Fatigue: Using AI to proactively spot when ad assets lose effectiveness and rotating them before ROI drops.Transparency and Trust: The "Human-in-the-Loop" model that provides clear reasoning for every AI-driven campaign adjustment.ConclusionThe conversation with Seva Ustinov makes it clear that the future of digital advertising lies in the synergy between human strategy and autonomous execution. By leveraging AI to handle the complexity of multi-channel optimization, leaders can ensure their growth is driven by data rather than guesswork.More from The Thoughtful Entrepreneur

Email marketing might be the most boring topic in the music industry… and also the most profitable. PRESENTED BY LANDR - get.landr.com/otherrecordlabels In this episode, Scott breaks down why email lists remain the most powerful marketing tool for record labels and indie artists — even in a world obsessed with TikTok, reels, and algorithms. While platforms come and go, email has quietly remained the most reliable way to reach fans, sell records, and stay top of mind. Scott explains why email consistently outperforms social media in ROI and conversions, and walks through the five simple steps any label can use to start building an email list today. If you run a record label or release music as an independent artist, this might be the most important marketing strategy you're overlooking. Step 1. Gather Any Email Address You Have Step 2. Get New Emails Step 3. Get an Email Tool Step 4. Create an Email Schedule Step 5. Stay Consistent And Grow Slow   ***Get FREE Email Marketing Resources at http://otherrecordlabels.com/emailmarketing  

Today's guest is Ylan Kazi, Chief Data and AI Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota. With deep experience leading enterprise AI strategy in regulated healthcare, Ylan brings a grounded perspective on how organizations can innovate responsibly with emerging technology. Ylan joins Emerj Emerj Client Narrative & Content Strategy Lead Nick Gertsch to discuss how healthcare leaders can approach AI adoption through clear organizational posture, strong governance, and a focus on measurable customer and operational value. Ylan also shares practical takeaways, including balancing build-versus-buy decisions, embedding explainability and auditability into workflows, and prioritizing AI use cases that reduce friction in the patient experience while delivering sustainable ROI. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!

On this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen is back with Dr. Mike Catangui, of MWI Animal Health, to chat about natural insecticides for dairy farm fly control.Dr. Mike describes growing dairy interest due to milk safety concerns about residues, environmental and sustainability expectations from consumers, and reduced risk of insect resistance. He outlines practical use of natural pyrethrins (derived from plants) that can be sprayed directly on calves, heifers and cows, and in sensitive areas where synthetic products may be restricted, supported by improved application tools like battery-powered foggers. He cites research showing stable flies can reduce milk production 10–20% during fly season and estimates a strong ROI, including a prior calculation of $27 gained per $1 spent.This Episode is Brought to you by MWI Animal HealthAt MWI Animal Health, we are your partner in animal health. Our people drive us to think forward every day. We are committed to working with you to identify cutting-edge solutions to your common challenges. We unite with innovators and manufacturers to provide access to products and solutions designed to help you find success in each aspect of your animal health business. Visit www.MWIAH.com for more information.00:00 Meet Dr. Mike Catangui01:32 What Natural Insecticides Are03:13 Why Dairies Want Natural Options04:57 How Pyrethrins Are Used06:07 Calves & Heifers: Direct Spray Benefits09:34 Milk Loss From Flies10:14 Fly Control ROI Math12:58 Wrap Up And Resources

In this episode, Matt sits down with Katherine Pack to explore what it really takes to sell into senior living today. Katherine explains why so many vendors miss the mark: they bring in aggressive, feature-first playbooks from other industries without taking the time to understand the culture, language, and emotional reality of senior living. Her core message is simple but powerful: this is an industry built on trust, and vendors have to lead with heart, curiosity, and real understanding of people.Katherine also shares how the senior living buyer has changed over the last few years. After a wave of rushed technology adoption and poorly implemented tools, operators have become far more intentional. Buying decisions now involve more stakeholders, more scrutiny, and better questions, which means vendors need to earn trust through transparency, preparation, and consistent follow-through.The conversation also dives into what modern sales excellence looks like in this space. Katherine makes the case that being human and being operationally strong are not opposites. The best vendors pair relationships with structure: thoughtful discovery, disciplined follow-up, honest communication, and a clear understanding of who they are serving. If you sell into senior living, this episode is a strong reminder that the human touch is not a soft skill here — it is the strategy.Guest bioKatherine Pack is a senior living technology sales leader and former VP of Sales with more than a decade of software sales experience. She entered the senior living space in 2020 through an operator-built enterprise software company, where she developed a strong understanding of how providers evaluate, implement, and use technology in real-world settings.Timestamps02:42 — Katherine's path into senior living and how an operator-built software company shaped her view of the industry.04:59 — What vendors get wrong about selling into senior living and why “heart” matters more than a generic sales playbook.07:19 — Why the best outreach feels personal, informed, and persistent without becoming annoying.09:44 — How the senior living buyer has evolved and why decision-making is now more intentional and team-based.13:50 — Why relationships still need structure, process, and disciplined follow-up to work.16:06 — Honesty, transparency, and why overpromising is one of the fastest ways to lose trust.24:48 — How sales and marketing can better align around buyer language, qualified leads, and personalization.29:41 — Conference strategy, follow-up discipline, and getting more ROI from events.37:27 — Katherine's advice to her younger self and why senior living became such a meaningful fit.

The Voice Of GO(r)D podcast is very happy to bring you a great history lesson which addresses the question of what a Canadian is, given the destruction of Canadian identity we see after decades of caustic acid poured on the country by the Trudeau Dynasty and their ‘Post Nationalist State' nonsense.Lance Audette is a multi generational cattle rancher and can trace the history of his own family as far back as 1663, who eventually moved from Québec to Saskatchewan, and has connections to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The man is as Canadian as it gets, and you want to hear his oral history as delivered to me.You can find Lance on Twitter - https://x.com/LaserAudWe mention our online colleague Fortissax; this is a great essay by him about French history in Canada. Fortissax often discusses Le Filles du Roi, of whom Lance is also a direct descendant.https://fortissax.substack.com/p/what-canada-can-learn-from-quebecFor my American and international listeners who might not know why there appears to be so much discontent in Canada at the moment, another writer here on Substack whom I am a big fan of, John Carter, gives us a status update on the joint.https://barsoom.substack.com/p/the-state-of-canadaIn the show we also reference this interview between Candace Malcolm and Daniel Tyrie, the maestro of the Dominion Society of Canada -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcb_wRy_5xMLance and I also discussed the Humboldt Tragedy, which looms large as a turning point in recent Canadian history and politics. Just this past weekend, former guest of this show Mocha Bezirgan, The Last Journalist in Canada, released a truly infuriating and deeply moving interview with Chris Joseph, the father of one of the boys killed in that completely unnecessary collision. Mr Joseph tells us how the media have been twisting and omitting the words of many families who have suffered great loss from this incident, and how the government campaign to keep Jaskirat Singh Sidhu in Canada is an affront to the entire country, misses out on what a contemptible figure Mr Sidhu is, and will remove any accountability from the trucking industry when the next tragedy like this takes place. And there will be more, especially from the folks sent here by Narendra Modi for his Profit through Emigration program.Please watch Mocha's interview here -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKjkFW84SXAAs always, thanks for listening, pass this around to interested parties, especially any friends or family members still caught under the spell of the CBC, and if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, corrections or Hate Mail, send them directly -gordilocks@protonmail.comIf you haven't already, please check out my book and consider ordering yourself a copy here -https://creedandculture.com/books/end-of-the-road-inside-the-war-on-truckers/Listeners in Canada should order it at Indigo and avoid the expense and hassle of my publisher having to deal with Canada Customs.https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/end-of-the-road-inside-the-war-on-truckers/9781967613021.htmlOutside of North America, consult with your local book store until I find out more about international distribution from my publisher.

In this episode, Jesse sits down with Isaac from White Oak Painting and his new field marketing manager for a live coaching session focused on one of the biggest opportunities in a painting business: generating more leads from the neighborhoods you're already working in.They talk through what the field marketing manager role should actually look like, how to use job site marketing more intentionally, and what it takes to turn nearby homeowners into real estimate opportunities. The conversation also covers flyer drops, door knocking, confidence in the field, tracking activity, measuring ROI, and setting realistic expectations for performance.If you've ever wondered how to make your marketing more local, more proactive, and more measurable, this episode gives you a practical look at how to build that system inside your painting company.

Augmenting Employees & Consumers with AI!In this clip, Moutia Khatiri, Global CTO for Online & Omnisales at L'Oréal Groupe, shares how technology drives impact on two fronts: employees and consumers.On the employee side, the focus is on smarter decision-making. For example, tools like Bet IQ help optimize advertising spend using mixed marketing modeling, ensuring budgets are allocated across the right channels to maximize ROI

With Global Pet Expo right around the corner, I sat down with Jessica McCarthy, Founder & CEO of Brand Energy, to talk about something that should be on every pet brand's radar: the untapped power of LinkedIn as a marketing and relationship-building platform. Jessica brings serious pet industry credibility to the conversation, having spent nearly seven years at Mars — including a five-year run leading their national customer marketing program.In this episode, we explore:Why 99% of LinkedIn users are "lurkers" — and why that matters more than you thinkHow B2B sales and marketing in pet has evolved from boots on the ground to digital relationship buildingThe future of independent pet specialty in a convenience-driven, at-home delivery worldWhy brands questioning trade show ROI are often the ones not doing the digital work before, during, and after the showThe execution gap between knowing the LinkedIn playbook and actually running itWhat Jessica covers in her forthcoming book, Marketing Magic, and her upcoming talk at Global Pet ExpoJessica is a fractional CMO and CRO who works with pet brands and businesses of all sizes to build marketing strategies that drive real results. Her perspective on why independent pet retailers have been slow to adopt digital marketing — and what that means for the channel's future — is a must-listen for anyone in the pet industry.About Petworking:Petworking is the podcast for pet care and animal health professionals. Hosted by Peter Kenseth, VP & Partner at Maia Strategy Group, Petworking features interviews with founders, executives, and veterinarians driving innovation across the pet industry.

Send a textImagine a teammate who never sleeps, never burns out, and never forgets a playbook. That's the promise of modern AI agents, and we brought on Daniel Hindi, founder and CEO of Noem.ai, to unpack how teams move beyond clunky chatbots and into human-like, action-taking systems that actually sell, support, and scale.We start with the pain: SDR and CS turnover, endless retraining, and leaders dragged into low-leverage work. Daniel explains how agents flip the script—acting like a concierge that understands intent, personalizes paths, and executes tasks. Not just “here's a link,” but real actions: adding a lead to your CRM, sending a password reset, booking a call, or escalating a VIP with crisp context. The result is a smoother customer journey, faster resolutions, and humans freed up for deep work—discovery, expansion, and relationships.From there, we get tactical. Daniel breaks down the difference between chatbots and agents (autonomy and tooling), why build-vs-buy matters when AI changes weekly, and where ROI shows up first: conversion lifts from existing traffic, multilingual reach, and instant responses across web, SMS, WhatsApp, and social. We cover the hidden metric most teams miss—executive time—and how weekly sentiment and “state of the union” reports turn raw conversations into clear moves. Plus, a candid look at rollout failure modes, eliminating ambiguity in your briefs, and using training gaps to permanently strengthen SOPs.Getting started is fast: ingest your site, set clear goals and guardrails, integrate with your stack, and let the agent cook. Pricing scales with usage, not hype, so you can test without breaking the bank and expand as results compound. If you're ready to replace IVR-style friction with hospitality at scale—and give your team the headspace to grow—this conversation is your roadmap.If this episode hits a nerve, share it with a founder or operator who's stuck in the weeds, subscribe for more brand-building plays, and leave a review with the one task you'd offload to an AI agent first.Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates, visit 5starbdm.com. And don't miss Grant McGaugh's new book, First Light — a powerful guide to igniting your purpose and building a BRAVE brand that stands out in a changing world. - https://5starbdm.com/brave-masterclass/ See you next time on Follow The Brand!

Are you tired of the "dark side" of real estate—dealing with toilets, tenants, and trash? In this episode, Scott Carson, "The Note Guy," pulls back the curtain on a real-world case study in Texarkana to show you how to become the bank, not the landlord. We dive deep into a performing note deal on a $65,000 property that delivers a staggering 16% return—or even an infinite return if you know how to structure the arbitrage. Whether you are looking to invest a small amount of your own capital or want to learn how to raise private money using Self-Directed IRAs, this episode provides the blueprint for building a cash flow machine without the headaches of traditional property management.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeThe Texarkana Case Study: A breakdown of a 3-bedroom, 2-bath asset sold on owner-finance terms with a 13% interest rate.The Math of a 16% ROI: How buying a performing note at 80% of the Unpaid Principal Balance (UPB) creates immediate equity and high-yield cash flow.The "Infinite Return" Strategy: How to use private money at 8–10% to fund 85% of a deal while you keep the difference in interest and a "cha-ching" on the front end.The Three "Cha-Chings": Identifying profit centers on the front end (origination/funding difference), the middle (monthly cash flow), and the back end (payoff/refinance).The 6-Figure Blueprint: Why you only need approximately 20 "small" deals to generate over $100,000 in annual income.SDIRA Secrets: How to find the 6 to 9 private investors you need to raise $1,000,000 for your note portfolio.Foreclosure as a Safety Net: Understanding why Texas is a "friendly" state for note holders, allowing for a 90-day foreclosure process if a borrower stops paying.Asset Appreciation: How a $65,000 property can grow to $100,000 over 10 years, increasing your security and potential REO profit.11 Exit Strategies: From "The Flip" to "The Flow," learn the various ways to monetize both performing and non-performing notes.Market Insights for 2026: Why note buying is the smartest strategy in a landscape where traditional REOs and wholesale deals no longer make sense.Stop flipping burgers and start flipping notes. Real estate investing in 2026 is about being a "Lienlord" and leveraging the power of the bank. If you're ready to master the fundamentals and start your journey toward a 6-figure side hustle, don't miss our upcoming 3-day Virtual Note Buying Workshop. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee because we know this proven plan has helped thousands of investors succeed. Visit NoteBuyingForDummies.com to grab your seat at 50% off and start building your cash flow machine today! Watch the Original Video HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

email chris@drchrisloomdphd.com with "Podcast freebie" to book a coveted FREE guest spot on the show. To book a PREMIUM spot on the Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.drchrisloomdphd.com/_paylink/AZpgR_7f⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a 1-on-1 coaching call: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.drchrisloomdphd.com/booking-calendar/introductory-session⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to our email list: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://financial-freedom-podcast-with-dr-loo.kit.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Disclaimer: Not advice. Educational purposes only. Not an endorsement for or against. Results not vetted. Views of the guests do not represent those of the host or show.  

On today's podcast, we're joined again by James Hwang, co-founder of Stellar Housing Solutions in New Jersey, where he and his partners operate 20+ midterm rentals through a mix of ownership, co-hosting, and arbitrage. James breaks down how he's expanded his reach far beyond his own units by building a local MTR network—a WhatsApp group of New Jersey operators who share leads, referrals, and vendors. That collaboration acts like a “third OTA,” keeping units booked even in slow seasons and opening doors to new co-hosting and arbitrage deals. We dig into arbitrage in today's market—where it still works, where it doesn't, and how James structures profitable deals. He targets solid but slightly less “premium” areas near hot markets, negotiates creatively around rent vs. deposits, and positions himself as the stress-free solution for landlords. James also walks us through his landlord conversation playbook: speaking as a fellow owner, addressing pain points like non-payment and property damage, and demonstrating how midterm rentals can mean early, automated rent and better-maintained units. That credibility often leads to repeat opportunities and more doors. If you're looking to scale midterm rentals, tap into community instead of competing, or revive arbitrage with smart analysis and systems, this episode with James is a masterclass in doing MTRs the right way.     Resources: Simplify how you manage your rentals with TurboTenant Get in touch with Envy Investment Group Connect with James on Instagram Get the deets on Stellar Housing Solutions Find out more about MTR Office Hours Listen to Episode 193 Make sure your name is on the list to secure your spot in The WIIRE Community  Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts Leave us a review on Spotify Join our private Facebook Community Connect with us on Instagram

If you're implementing AI and want to realize that promised ROI, let's see if Octalysis fits → professorgame.com/chat Breaking down why most AI projects fail despite being technically flawless. The problem isn't the code; it's the lack of behavioral design. By applying the Octalysis Framework, we see how to move away from "Black Hat" implementations that trigger resistance and identity threats. Instead, we shares how to design AI as an individual contributor's superpower. It is a deep dive into balancing short-term Black Hat-driven data bumps with long-term White Hat engagement to ensure your team feels like masters of their craft rather than data entry clerks for an algorithm. Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.   Links to episode mentions: Let's implement AI successfully leveraging Octalysis Behavioral Design professorgame.com/chat How gamifying AI shapes customer motivation, engagement, and purchase behavior Harmonizing human-AI synergy: behavioral science in AI-integrated design Digital tracking, gamification, social media, and AI: How technology influences motivation AI-Driven Gamification Approaches: Enhancing Engagement Through Intelligent  Systems Some of The Octalysis Group's resources: Why Your Sales Leaderboard is Killing Performance (And What AI-Driven Motivation Actually Looks Like) How AI Loyalty Programs are Rewriting Loyalty Why Corporate Learning Platforms Fail (AI Corporate Learning) AI-Powered Behavioral Design for Customer Loyalty The Fintech Engagement Crisis: Why AI Without Behavioral Design Creates Apps Nobody Uses AI Powered FMCG Loyalty: Escaping the Points Trap with Behavioral Design   Lets's do stuff together! Let's chat about your gamification project YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Start Your Community on Skool for Free Ask a question

Artificial Intelligence is transforming sales faster than any technology shift we've seen before. In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows sits down with Peter Grant, CRO of You.com and a four-time unicorn operator who helped scale companies like Salesforce and Siebel.Peter shares his journey from the British military to enterprise software leadership, and how that experience shaped his approach to leadership, hiring, and sales discipline. The conversation dives deep into how AI is changing enterprise sales, go-to-market strategies, and the future of work.They explore why AI literacy is becoming a mandatory skill, how sales organizations are evolving, and why the gap between top performers and average sellers is about to grow dramatically.If you work in sales, leadership, or technology, this episode will challenge the way you think about productivity, hiring, and the role of AI in modern business.What You'll Learn in This Episode• How Peter Grant went from the military to leading revenue at multiple unicorn companies• Why AI is the biggest disruption to sales since the internet• The evolving role of sales professionals in an AI-driven world• Why top performers are becoming even more effective with AI tools• The risks of relying too heavily on AI without critical thinking• How enterprise companies are adopting AI and measuring ROI• The importance of AI literacy for professionals in every industry• Why the future of work will reward curiosity, adaptability, and continuous learningAbout the GuestPeter Grant is the Chief Revenue Officer at You.com, an AI platform helping enterprises deploy generative AI solutions with measurable ROI. He has helped scale several high growth technology companies, including Salesforce and Siebel, and is known for building high-performing revenue teams in emerging technology markets. MIHM Peter GrantKey TakeawaysAI is accelerating the performance gap.Top performers who embrace AI will become dramatically more productive, while those who rely on outdated processes risk falling behind.AI literacy is becoming essential.Understanding how to effectively use AI tools will soon be a core skill across nearly every profession.Sales roles are evolving.The traditional sales process is changing as buyers gain access to more information and automation tools.Curiosity and adaptability matter more than ever.Professionals who continuously learn and experiment with AI will have a significant advantage.Resources MentionedYou.com – https://you.com/businessJohn Barrows Training – https://jbarrows.com

People profit from complexity, but some of the most successful investors prioritize their return on hassle (ROH), even over their ROI. We dig into the age-old debate of trading our time for our money and explore how complexity can make us become an employee of our own wealth. By shifting our focus from complex optimization to intentional simplicity, we can stop paying a "hassle tax" with our lives. Let's look at why the best-performing portfolios are often the most invisible ones and how you can audit your own financial and personal decisions to reclaim your mental bandwidth.Get the full show notes, show references, and more information here:  https://www.insideoutmoney.org/153-return-on-hassle-escaping-the-complexity-trap/

Customer service leaders face rising pressure to resolve more interactions faster, while maintaining high-quality experiences — and many legacy systems and processes can't keep up. In this episode, Craig Walker, CEO of Dialpad, joins Daniel Faggella, Emerj CEO and Head of Research, to break down how AI can augment human agents to handle routine requests like order status and password resets, freeing teams to focus on complex issues. He shares actionable strategies for enterprise leaders, from cleaning knowledge bases and analyzing ticket patterns to running controlled pilots and scaling AI agents across the organization. Craig also explains how AI can coach agents in real time and surface insights for managers, creating a continuously improving support system that drives measurable ROI. This episode is sponsored by Dialpad. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1 Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast!

When you sell with integrity, the marketplace notices. Join Mark Hunter as he explores the real ROI of integrity-first selling and why it matters at every level of the sales process. Discover how selling with integrity can transform your relationships, reduce stress, and elevate productivity for both individuals and teams.  Mark breaks down the unique benefits for salespeople, managers, and companies, showing how integrity fuels business growth and reputation. Get a glimpse into actionable ways to attract better customers, boost team morale, and increase profitability. 

Modern enterprise leaders face a critical strategic challenge in balancing seamless digital onboarding with the increasing threat of sophisticated, AI-driven fraud. In this episode, Mary Ann Miller, VP of Client Experience and Fraud Advisor at Prove, unpacks why a robust "welcome mat" strategy centered on high-assurance identity verification enables the safe scaling of high-value services and drives institutional ROI. The conversation examines the implementation of endpoint bot protection to counter agentic AI attacks, the transition to intelligent data pre-fill to reduce abandonment, and the role of tokenized identity in creating a persistent, frictionless customer experience. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/e2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on Emerj's flagship 'AI in Business' podcast.

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Leah Miller discuss: Run your law firm like a business, not a hobby Use accurate financials to avoid hidden risks and overpayment Track key metrics and benchmarks for people, operations, and marketing Leverage metrics to make strategic growth decisions   Key Takeaways: Long-term growth requires regular attention to financials. Cash in the bank is not a strategy; data should guide hiring, marketing, and operational decisions. Bad bookkeeping masks problems and can cost in taxes. Early investment in a bookkeeper or financial team yields high ROI and clarity. Monitor payroll, operating costs, and marketing spend as percentages of revenue. Focus on trends over time and adapt to what works for your firm. Financial data informs hiring, marketing, and process improvements. Treat new hires as investments, plan for cash gaps, and track time spent on business development for accountability.   "If you're not paying attention to the dollars and you're not operational decisions based on the finances, you are not going to have that long-term, sustained growth that you're looking for as a lawyer in a firm." —  Leah Miller   Check out my new show, Be That Lawyer Coaches Corner, and get the strategies I use with my clients to win more business and love your career again.   Ready to go from good to GOAT in your legal marketing game? Don't miss PIMCON—where the brightest minds in professional services gather to share what really works. Lock in your spot now: https://www.pimcon.org/   Thank you to our Sponsor! Rankings.io: https://rankings.io/ Lawyer.com: https://www.lawyer.com/   Ready to grow your law practice without selling or chasing? Book your free 30-minute strategy session now—let's make this your breakout year: https://fretzin.com/   About Leah Miller: Leah N. Miller, MBA, is the founder and CEO of Firmly Profits, a firm providing fractional CFO and bookkeeping services to law firms across the United States. Starting her career as a paralegal, Leah rose to become a firm administrator and CFO at a personal injury law firm in Fort Myers, Florida, where she recognized the need for law firm owners to gain confidence in their finances. Passionate about helping attorneys achieve financial clarity and sustainable growth, she now leads a team dedicated to offering expert financial guidance, process improvement, and strategic planning for firms of all sizes. Outside of work, Leah teaches paralegal courses and enjoys spending time with her husband and three daughters in sunny Southwest Florida.   Connect with Leah Miller:   Website: https://firmlyprofits.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LNMFinancialServices/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/firmlyprofits/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/LNM-Financial-Services/100091343407958/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_lnm_financial/   Connect with Steve Fretzin: LinkedIn: Steve Fretzin Twitter: @stevefretzin Instagram: @fretzinsteve Facebook: Fretzin, Inc. Website: Fretzin.com Email: Steve@Fretzin.com Book: Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science and more! YouTube: Steve Fretzin Call Steve directly at 847-602-6911   Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Host: Annik Sobing Guests: Jennifer Varney (Volvo Group), Penny Chen (PAX) Recorded at: ICPA Conference, San Antonio, TX Published: March 2026 Length: ~25 minutes Presented by: Global Training Center AI Meets Trade Compliance: From Auto Supply Chains to AI Live from ICPA San Antonio, Annik sits down with Jennifer from Volvo Group and Penny from PAX for an all‑women, International Women's Day‑timed conversation about how AI is actually being used in trade compliance today—far beyond the buzzwords. They explore the reality of AI inside a massively complex automotive supply chain, how duty drawback is being reimagined with AI, and what trade teams should think about before buying or building any tools.​ What You'll Learn in This Episode Session highlights from ICPA Jennifer: Practical implementation of AI to support customs clearance at the enterprise level—how one company uses AI to survive an “ever‑changing and incredibly volatile” trade landscape. Penny: A “beginner‑friendly” intro to general AI tools, how large language models work, and how trade compliance leaders can evaluate AI quality and fit.​ The automotive reality: 1,000+ policy changes and thousands of parts In just the last year, there have been 1,000+ trade policy changes worldwide, affecting about 5 trillion dollars in spend. Most of the real impact comes from trade barrier changes, not facilitation measures. A single vehicle can have 2,000–3,000 parts sourced from thousands of suppliers globally, some in‑house, some external. New demands around Section 232 (steel/aluminum/copper), forced labor, EUDR, connected vehicle rules, dual‑use, etc. mean OEMs must know their supply base down to raw material origin and processing, sometimes 5–6 tiers deep.​ Why human-only workflows can't keep up Many tier‑1 suppliers don't even have the data OEMs now must report, or consider it proprietary. Trade teams are drowning in documentation, entry creation, and ever‑changing regulatory demands—falling behind risks blocked shipments and massive cost. Jennifer's view: AI is less about replacing people and more about augmenting limited resources before they're “buried under all of the legislative changes.”​ Where AI fits in (and where it doesn't) Example use case: consolidating multiple documents (PO, invoice, BL, shipping manifest) to build a single 7501—AI reads different formats, extracts the right fields, and populates data so humans review instead of retyping. Penny's rule of thumb: if it's a task you'd happily delegate to an intern, it's a candidate for automation or semi‑automation. AI frees people to focus on high‑value work: audits, wider coverage (5% → 99%), forecasting regulatory changes, and adjusting systems/processes for what's coming next.​ Starting your AI journey: practical adoption path Step 1: Use free or existing tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot) for summaries, data cleaning, and simple tasks. Step 2: When needs get more complex, consider specialized AI tools (like PAX's AI‑powered duty drawback service), but pair them with solid ROI analysis: cost vs. time savings vs. recovered dollars. Step 3: For large enterprises, begin with defining pain points and a data strategy: Where do you spend the most time? Which activity is eating 90% of your bandwidth? What data will go into AI, and what exactly do you want back out?​ Overcoming fear and building buy‑in Penny's take: curiosity is your best ally—if you don't know how to use AI, start by asking AI how to use AI. Jennifer's advice: Engage stakeholders early; give them a voice in how the tool is designed and used. Set realistic expectations—even with aggressive automation, maybe only ~30% of workload can be automated today. Focus human effort on strategy and change management, not repetitive admin.​ Choosing the “right” AI for your team Not every company needs every AI—e.g., if you classify one item a month, a classification platform may not be worth it. For trade leaders, tool selection should be guided by: Where you lose the most time or money. Data type mix (text + structured data). Compliance/guardrail needs and vendor transparency about models and controls. Conferences like ICPA are key: they surface real use cases, connect trade and tech experts, and help teams refine what they actually need.​ International Women's Day Spotlight This episode also celebrates International Women's Day and highlights women leading in trade, tech, and compliance—from OEMs to AI startups. Annik closes with a shoutout to all women in trade who are building, leading, and pushing the industry forward.​ Credits Host: Annik Sobing Guests: Jennifer (Volvo Group), Penny (PAX) Recorded at: ICPA Conference, San Antonio, TX   Listen & Subscribe Simply Trade main page: https://simplytrade.podbean.com​ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/simply-trade/id1640329690​ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/09m199JO6fuNumbcrHTkGq​ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8de7d7fa-38e0-41b2-bad3-b8a3c5dc4cda/simply-trade​ Connect with Simply Trade Podcast page: https://www.globaltrainingcenter.com/simply-trade-podcast​ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/simply-trade-podcast​ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimplyTradePod​ Join the Trade Geeks Community Trade Geeks (by Global Training Center): https://globaltrainingcenter.com/trade-geeks/  

The Windermere Coaching Minute | Hosted by Michael FanningEPISODE OVERVIEWGeographic farming isn't about blasting postcards and hoping the phone rings. In this episode, Michael Fanning breaks down what it really means to own a neighborhood neighbor first, agent second and why consistency is the only competitive advantage that compounds over time. If you're tired of starting over every quarter, this one's for you.CASE STUDY: STEVE LAEVASTUSteve Laevastu is one of the best examples of geographic farming done right. A longtime Windermere agent, Steve built his business by owning his neighborhood not occasionally, but month after month, year after year. His production is consistently steady because he became part of the fabric of the community. Neighbors talked about his newsletter. His signs were everywhere. People knew his name before they ever needed an agent. That's the compounding power of showing up. Steve didn't chase the market the market came to him.STATS WORTH WRITING DOWN• 87% of neighborhoods have no consistent agent farming them right now• 63% of agents who start a farm quit within 12 months if you stay, you win• Direct mail earns a 91% open rate vs. 20-30% for email• The average person spends 132 seconds with a piece of physical mail• Real client result: 500-home farm, 2 mailers/month = 497% ROI over 2 yearsTHE FARMING TIMELINE (DON'T BAIL EARLY)• Months 1–3: Plant seeds. Build your list, send first mailers, join community groups.• Months 4–6: Roots grow. Face recognition begins. First inbound call possible.• Months 7–9: "I see you everywhere." Referral calls start.• Months 10–12+: Harvest. First farm listing. Repeat referrals. 10:1 ROI potential.5 CRITERIA FOR PICKING YOUR FARMTurnover Rate Target 5-6%+ annually (500 homes = ~25 transactions/year)Home Count 250 to 2,000 homes is a workable rangeAgent Saturation Look for areas where no agent holds more than 10% market sharePersonal Connection Living in or near your farm adds authentic credibilityPrice Point Alignment Match average home price to your income goalsTHE 8X8 LAUNCH CAMPAIGNStraight from Ninja Selling 8 weeks, 8 touchpoints. Perfect for launching a new farm or reviving a dormant one. Stagger your starts (25/week) so week 8 door knocks and calls are manageable.• Weeks 1-2: Introduce yourself personal letter, market snapshot, handwritten note• Weeks 3-4: Add value local business spotlight, equity analysis• Weeks 5-6: Stay useful Home Update newsletter, seasonal home care tips• Week 7: Earn the ask personal note, "I hope this has been helpful"• Week 8: Show up door knock, phone call, or personal visitBy week 4, they remember your name. By week 8, they trust your expertise. The ask is earned.WINDERMERE TOOLS TO USE NOW• Windermere Home Update Branded newsletter via Xpressdocs, auto-sends monthly with trackable QR codes• Boomerang Buy one, get one postcard program through Windermere• Cloze Set up your farm tags and manage touchpoints• Title Company Rep Free custom geographic lists with equity data, absentee flags, and moreYOUR 3-ITEM HOMEWORKIdentify your farm run turnover rate, home count, and agent saturation numbersCall your title company today get your farm list, don't wait until next weekSet up your farm tag in Cloze and put a date on your first mailer"I would rather be a neighbor first and a real estate agent second. The more you show up for your community, the more your community shows up for you." Scott SteadmanGO DEEPERJoin us every Thursday at 10:00 AM Pacific on the Windermere Path Call. Find us at windermerecoaching.com.Stats Worth Writing DownThe Farming Timeline (Don't Bail Early)5 Criteria for Picking Your FarmThe 8x8 Launch CampaignWindermere Tools to Use NowYour 3-Item HomeworkGo Deeper

Unlock the secret to influencer marketing that actually drives sales, without breaking the bank. Chelsea Clark, founder of Momfluence, shares how she built a network of nearly 9,000 mom creators and scaled campaigns that are authentic, values-driven, and ROI-focused.In this episode, you'll learn:-Why consistent, multi-touch campaigns outperform one-off posts-How to build trust with creators without micromanaging-Tips for budget-friendly campaigns using gifted content and targeted ads-Why smaller, niche influencers often outperform big namesIf you're a small brand, startup, or entrepreneur looking to make your influencer dollars count, this episode is your blueprint for building long-term relationships, trustworthy content, and campaigns that convert.Listen and transform your influencer strategy today!Work with Momfluence: https://www.momfluence.co/Connect with Branding with Becks: https://becsea.com/

Description Stop experimenting with AI and start driving ROI. Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this keynote from the Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat, Nina Harding breaks down the massive shift happening in the AI landscape as customers move away from experimental pilots and demand concrete ROI and business outcomes. She emphasizes that the era of selling products and time-and-materials approaches is over, replaced by outcome-based, verticalized selling where vendors and partners share accountability. Through real-world examples in healthcare and retail, Harding outlines how partners can leverage Copilot Studio, Agent 365, and Microsoft’s incentive programs to build specific superpowers, differentiate themselves, and ultimately lead the AI mission alongside Microsoft. Key Takeaways Customers are no longer interested in AI experimentation and now expect immediate, concrete return on investment. Selling products is dead; the modern approach requires a consultative, signal-based strategy focused entirely on business outcomes. The traditional time-and-materials billing model is disappearing as clients demand shared accountability for project success. Rapid proliferation of AI agents has made security and governance top priorities for enterprise customers. Success in the Microsoft ecosystem now requires partners to highly verticalize their value propositions by industry. Defining and clearly articulating your unique “superpower” or niche is essential to stand out to the Microsoft field sales organization. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJJ4Zcf4tZc&t=1920s If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags Nina Harding, Microsoft AI, artificial intelligence ROI, AI agents, Agent 365, Copilot Studio, outcome-based selling, verticalization, healthcare AI, retail AI, Cognizant, Davos 2026, AI governance, AI security, technology transformation, Ultimate Partner Live, enterprise AI adoption, digital transformation, system integrators, AI pilots Transcript [00:00:00] Nina Harding: More importantly, we want to serve more and more people faster, and AI is coming in and having a very practical approach in healthcare alone. [00:00:14] Vince Menzione: We just finished Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat here in beautiful Boca to a sold out [00:00:19] Vince Menzione: crowd. Come join me now for a compelling discussion on the impacts of the tectonic shifts we’re all seeing. [00:00:27] Vince Menzione: I feel incredibly fortunate, uh, to have this, this, this friend Nina who came into the studio here for the first time, actually earlier, well last year, geez, earlier this year. [00:00:38] Vince Menzione: It was last year, right after my accident I think. And, uh, we gotta spend some time together. And she was so good to, uh, make her time available and her team’s time available to come down here to be with us today. Ne I’m so thrilled to have you. I am going to turn over the stage to you. Uh, you’ve got some incredible learnings. [00:00:57] Vince Menzione: I know you’ve been on the AI tour with Microsoft. Yeah. And you’ve got some great learnings you’re gonna share about what’s happening. Absolutely. So it’s so great to have you. [00:01:05] Vince Menzione: It’s nice to see you. [00:01:06] Nina Harding: Nice to see you. [00:01:07] Nina Harding: Thank you. Well, thanks everyone. It’s great to see so many familiar faces and then some new faces as well. [00:01:15] Nina Harding: Um, because we’re in a little bit more of an intimate environment, I thought I would approach this a little bit differently. Give you some better insights into what we’re actually hearing at Microsoft with our customers, some of the things that are actually moving the needle that we’re seeing some of our partners do. [00:01:34] Nina Harding: So really to share some of the best practices out there, and hopefully you’ll leave with some more insight or tips and tricks, um, is really what I would love to do because our job. Collectively is really this transformation and to take a advantage of it out there in the market right now. [00:01:57] Nina Harding: Let’s see [00:01:57] Nina Harding: here. [00:01:59] Nina Harding: I can move slides. Well, this one isn’t moving. Any slides? [00:02:07] Nina Harding: No. Okay, great. So, um, some of you might. Uh, know that I’m a Floridian now, right? So I just live right up, up the way in Palm Beach. Um, so not too far, but I still wouldn’t miss this opportunity to be with all of you. Um, there is an energy that I think that we’re all feeling right now, and, uh, it’s, it’s palpable. [00:02:32] Nina Harding: We’re finding right now that our customers are really going from this landscape of experimenting with ai. Really to looking at the outcomes and having expectations around the momentum that they’re seeing. Right. That’s a big shift, right? We, and things are going pretty quickly, so I look at things almost quarterly now on what is that core message and what are, what is the difference in the tone from our customers of what they’re expecting? [00:03:06] Nina Harding: What we’re gonna talk a little bit about today is how all of you, our partners, are such a critical part of that journey. Actually, sometimes the most important part. You’re on the front lines with the customers. You’re the ones having those conversations. You’re the ones that are in there arm to arm with their teams, listening to what they’re experiencing, their challenges that they’re facing, and they’re really wanting now to go from this world of, Hey, we have lots of different pilots. [00:03:41] Nina Harding: Right? A lot of us know that right into, oh my gosh, it’s not about pilots anymore. They really want that ROI story. They want those outcomes and it’s looking very different for all of us. The way that we sell, the way that we go into our engagements, the way that we even price things, the way that we, meaning Microsoft partner and customer are locking arms is fundamentally very different. [00:04:15] Nina Harding: We have to go in collectively. We have to also be responsible for the outcomes and deliver on those. ROI is that headline that we’re all after. Right. It is the most important part of the puzzle right now because there isn’t a single boardroom that isn’t talking about AI and you guys are all experiencing it. [00:04:39] Nina Harding: It’s easier than ever to go in and have the conversation. The hardest part is how do we quickly get to an ROI study, so you or ROI case so that we can continue to build on that. And when you’re looking at this every. Customer is providing signals out there to help you grow that penetration into the account. [00:05:04] Nina Harding: And I’m gonna share some of the signals that I think that are really meaningful. But that’s the most important thing is we’re no longer, and I know you guys all know this, we’re no longer selling product at all anymore. We’re selling those outcomes. And I can tell you at Microsoft, we’re spending a tremendous amount of time retraining all of our sales reps. [00:05:25] Nina Harding: Really to be focused on how do you listen and do that consultative signal based sale. How do you actually go in and start selling, not selling, but I mean it is selling, but listening to the journey that they want to go through. What are the challenges that they’re facing and what’s the transformation that we’re able to kind of go and be a part of together with our partners? [00:05:54] Nina Harding: Notice it’s not about product. Product is just the tools in your tool chest to create those outcomes. So that’s gonna be really important as we go through this journey. [00:06:09] Nina Harding: Uh, so I saw the, the title of the session, uh, mentioned Davos and Davos was an interesting time. Uh, Microsoft has a very, actually, a very big presence at Davos and, uh, we had over 300 customer meetings there, uh, where we were meeting with some of the top companies around the globe. And it was very much affirmed that. [00:06:34] Nina Harding: Uh, the, the concept of AI we’re past, like curiosity stage, right? We’re way past that and we’re even past that. The art of the possible discussion, right? Uh, what the, the customers are almost at the point is, is come in and tell me, tell me what to do. Show me how to do it. It’s a very different position than, Hey, we’re presenting you with all these different possibilities. [00:07:08] Nina Harding: They’re They’re tired. They’re tired of all the possibilities. They wanna get to the brass tacks of how are you gonna change my customer service department? How are you gonna make it easier for my hr? How am I going to derive growth? What are some of the other things that you guys are experiencing out there? [00:07:23] Nina Harding: Like what are some of those other ROI drivers that people are asking, where am I gonna find the money? What for? For doing the project or out of the project? Other people? I Okay. To do the project. Okay. Resourcing. Okay. So what we’re seeing here is that, uh, the conversation is very much now focused on, okay, I need sec, I need security. [00:07:50] Nina Harding: That has been louder than ever before. So, Vince, the one thing I would say about that slide where you had those five different pillars, I’d put security on the bottom. Understanding your data, your data platform on the bottom, those are consistent across all those pillars. And then you can kind of hit at them. [00:08:10] Nina Harding: But, uh, there’s a lot of energy, there’s a lot of excitement, but it’s rooted in what are you materially going to do to change my business, and is your skin in the game to help me do it and I’ll pay you for that outcome? The concept of this time and materials approach gone. Gone. Even at Microsoft, we’re adjusting to the fact that the customers aren’t like, oh. [00:08:35] Nina Harding: Just hand it over to a system integrator and they’ll deliver on it. They’re like, oh no, we want you accountable too. You’re accountable for the outcomes as well, which is, oh gosh, okay. How do we do that in a partnery model that makes sense where we’re not tripping over each other, but we’re going in stronger together. [00:08:54] Nina Harding: We have one message together and we’re really focused on driving that. They’re also really concerned around the governance of all these agents, right? I see a lot of heads shaking on this. I mean, there’s a lot of proliferation right now. There’s a lot of excitement. I mean, I don’t know in your companies, but people are building agents faster and quicker, uh, than ever before, and some of them are really, really cool and they’re making huge point savings of times. [00:09:22] Nina Harding: Everything from. You know, some of you guys have probably heard me talk about everything from, uh, working on performance reviews to what are all of the incentives that we have for partners and making that easy to understand to, uh, to helping me understand patterns in our financials and what partners are really performing and growing. [00:09:45] Nina Harding: All of these agents are just popping up everywhere, but that creates a real governance issue and a real security issue for a lot of companies as well. So you take all of this and you hear this momentum and I think, uh, that together we’re really well poised. I think Microsoft is in a unique position together with you. [00:10:07] Nina Harding: On this frame, we have Agent 365, which helps you manage all these different agents, right? So that’s an exciting. How many of you’re familiar with agents? 365. Great. And I promise I’m not a product person. I’m not gonna do a lot of pitches, so don’t worry about that, um, at all. But, uh, we also have copilot studio and foundry, and so we have this whole, uh, set of capability, but that capability only comes to life if we’re able to connect with the customer, build the outcome, and making sure that the CEOs see all of us as their partners on that strategy and journey. [00:10:47] Nina Harding: So what does that look like? So I talked a little bit about signals, and signals, is that ability to listen to the, to the customers, what’s really, really me, uh, meaningful and frontier firms are doing this on a consistent basis all the time. Listening to the specific needs use cases, et cetera. So we at Microsoft have been trying to not only share all these different use cases that we have exposure to, but in addition. [00:11:17] Nina Harding: We turned on functionality, and I’ll talk about that in a little bit so that we can also share amongst each other as a community and understand those use cases. Uh, what’s really important is that, um, we’re moving from this world of all these like little one-off projects to a strategy and a platform that everyone wants to move to, but it’s all also getting powered by agents. [00:11:42] Nina Harding: That’s, that’s where we are today. So. [00:11:49] Nina Harding: Having a little trouble. I’m not gonna go through this too. Everyone’s familiar with this in, in here, the Frontier overview. If you’re not, let me know. Um, but basically one of the things that we find is really helpful is, is just sharing where we have seen proof behind having the conversation around the AI journey. [00:12:12] Nina Harding: Around the, the customer journey as you’re going out there. Um, there are really four different areas that we’ve talked about, and I’m not going to drain this ’cause there’s lots and you can, you can, uh, go onto the internet. You can see me talking about all these different areas. I don’t wanna spend too much time here, but these are four of the different. [00:12:33] Nina Harding: I would say categories where when you’re looking at different ways that you can make a material difference with the, the, the customer that we find the most momentum. So around enriching employee experiences, changing the way we, uh, engage with customers. Uh, changing processes as well. And then, uh, the outcomes, like really transforming the way we go about business. [00:12:59] Nina Harding: And we wanna do something about bringing it in to the flow of the work, everyday work. How many of you are finding that you’re actually using agents in your day-to-day workflow? Isn’t that cool? And then as you continue to use it, it becomes easier and easier and easier. And. I know from my team, I’m starting to look at what is the e everyday usage versus the monthly usage, right? [00:13:26] Nina Harding: It’s the every day. It’s become almost, uh, your second hand. And what’s important, uh, on this is that we’re giving, uh, listening to all these signals giving, um, the consistency, um, of the, the engagement with. With the clients, we’re able to all share the same stories and be able to scale at a much faster pace. [00:13:54] Nina Harding: So what does that look like? Here we go. Um, one of the things that we talk about at Microsoft, and the reason why I have this up here is that we’ve moved the conversation away from product into these customer outcomes, which really becomes about. Industry discussion. You have to speak their voice. You have to understand their business problems. [00:14:21] Nina Harding: You have to listen for what is materially different. So I’m actually sharing this, which you don’t normally see in a lot of presentations out to Microsoft about the structure of the organization, the takeaway. This is a sales organization in enterprise. The takeaway that I want you to have from that is look at the verticalization. [00:14:43] Nina Harding: We’ve done. It’s no longer by territory. The ball has moved, the conversation has moved entirely. So what does that say to all of you as well? Your value proposition as you’re working with our field has to be verticalized. The way you engage has to be verticalized. What you say, um, what the, the outcomes that you think differentiates yourself. [00:15:12] Nina Harding: Verticalized. So there isn’t the approach of like doing this like mask gorilla campaign across, for example, the Americas. And I’m just using this as an example on, um, the small and medium business side as well. Um, the, they’re a little bit more territory based still, but um, at least at the enterprise, everything has to be about customer value. [00:15:38] Nina Harding: Customer value. So, um, what this also suggests to me is the way we’re working and where we’ve seen a lot of success is when all of you are starting to tailor your messages and differentiate yourselves by customer success stories. Use cases where you’ve had premise, uh, penetration as a software partner, but you have to tie it back to the industry again. [00:16:05] Nina Harding: It’s just different. And so if I’m very transparent that that’s become, has gone from a nice to have to critical as the field is looking at, who are those go-to partners? It’s the go-to partners that speak retail. It’s the go-to partners that speak oil and gas and I don’t know, I, I, I see some nodding of heads. [00:16:27] Nina Harding: Some people know this, some people don’t. But I can see the shift tremendously over the last six months. So, um, hopefully that’s helpful in, in, in kind of sharing just how we’re walking the walk and talking the talk. So as I go back to industry, um, I thought what would be helpful is to take a few examples so you have a chance to see. [00:16:52] Nina Harding: In life, what are, what are we actually seeing at Microsoft? And if you guys are seeing something else, I would love to hear that too. But these, this is an example in healthcare and when we’re looking at, uh, a particular industry, we’re looking at what are some of the pain points? What are the top trends? [00:17:11] Nina Harding: What are some of the challenges folks are, are facing? And then what are the use cases that are really making traction here? This is a different way of taking that frontier vision and doing that click down by industry. And so what we’re also doing is we’re looking at who are partners that can help us in healthcare that can help answer some of these key challenges. [00:17:35] Nina Harding: Who are the ones that have the ability to have those material conversations in that trust? In healthcare, for example, there’s a ton of pressure. I mean. We all are consumers of healthcare. Hopefully we, all of us, have been lucky enough to have healthcare, um, in the, in this, uh, forum, but there’s a lot of clinician burnout, rising costs, right? [00:18:01] Nina Harding: The, the expense for, uh, medicines and so forth. But more importantly, we want to serve more and more people faster, and AI is coming in and having a very practical approach. Healthcare alone. So many of you, I talk about, um, the fact that at one point I was paralyzed, right? So I was paralyzed from T two down and, um, I go in every six months for an MRI, uh, to check, to check if everything’s still functioning. [00:18:32] Nina Harding: And the nervous system is going well. My doctor has had to manually look at that. Now he’s using AI to look at. History and the progression since 2008. That’s game changing. And on top of that, he is looking at me and having a conversation and looking in my eyes and observing me instead and using Dragon to have it feel epic to really think about how that’s changed my personal experience with the healthcare system and changed how a physician can show up. [00:19:09] Nina Harding: So there are many, many, um, many use cases around like patient access and, uh, innovation that we’re trying to do, surgeries, uh, being able to do clinical, clinical trials, but AI is everywhere and that’s what’s really important is that we’re figuring out for all of you what your software solution. Services offering, or even if you’re selling that, you have that value, value proposition down at that level. [00:19:43] Nina Harding: So let’s take a look at retail, for example. We have a short little video. Are we gonna be able to run that video? This is where we’re seeing a lot of shrinking. Margins, people wanting more, uh, intimacy with their customer. Here we go. [00:21:09] Nina Harding: Are we good? Well, that was a quite, uh, quite a nice, uh, uh, digital response to the end of the video. But what you’re seeing is people are using it in all different facets as we go into an example. I always love to do, use examples of partners that are hitting the mark ’cause we can all learn from ’em and myself included. [00:21:30] Nina Harding: We’re partners that are really successful. I chose to use Cognizant. Cognizant was actually our partner Si of the year, um, at the Americas level. And one of the things, and I won’t drain it on, um, the right hand side of this, uh, the slide, but they really are helping the customer’s move in a framework approach by industry, uh, to an AI landscape. [00:21:58] Nina Harding: Uh, they, they have secured an end-to-end solution and they’re focused on real business outcomes, and they have been growing at over 30% year over year. Huge. That’s great. Right? That’s what we all want for our businesses. And so what you’re seeing here is. They have a narrative around the frontier firms and they pull that through when they’re engaged in the clients and with our field. [00:22:27] Nina Harding: And then they’re using the incentives that we have. And don’t worry, I have a slide on some of the incentives we have, um, to actually make sure that they’re using those effectively in the pre-sales motion, but most importantly on the adoption and the change management after they’ve actually, uh, built out the solutions. [00:22:45] Nina Harding: And that’s really, really, really key here. So here’s an example of, um, of Cognizant at Coldwater Creek and Soft Surroundings. They had two different platforms and they brought it all together and then they brought Dynamics in as well. And what they have actually been able to do is improve a lot of the inventory management, the visualization, um, of all the inventory around. [00:23:14] Nina Harding: Around all of their stores and their warehouses, and they’ve been able to streamline the fulfillment and improved, uh, reduced back orders. What you’re seeing is those are all concrete examples of the outcomes that they were trying to drive for at the beginning, and those were all. Key pain points. And so they go in, cognizant will go in and understand with what are the material things that you are, that’s keeping you up at night, that is creating that drainage, uh, in your accounts or if you could transform, what does that look like? [00:23:52] Nina Harding: And so there, they spend the whole conversation together with Microsoft focused on doing that. And then we do the outcome based proposal. Very different, right? It creates for a much stronger vendor relationship, and the customer feels like they really have in the essence of the word partners, helping them to be successful. [00:24:15] Nina Harding: Right. [00:24:20] Nina Harding: Here we go. So I promised you some of the incentives, and I know you might just take a, a quick peek at some of these. These are, these are, um, some of the incentives that. Microsoft has put forward to help our partners on this journey. Uh, this is a slide that we’ve created from the America’s perspective to try and simplify it. [00:24:42] Nina Harding: Now there’s a lot behind it, right? But to try and help simplify, um, where are the incentives available? And I think this is one of the first times you’re actually saying what’s available for the sis. Versus for the software partners. And then we’re gonna hear more today about what’s also available for the channel partners as well. [00:25:03] Nina Harding: Um, it’s really thinking about what is your behavior as a partner? How are you showing up? How are, uh, you making a contribution to that customer? And then how can Microsoft best support you in that journey? So there’s all sorts of, uh, all sorts of incentives here, and it’s really, uh, designed to be flexible to what you need. [00:25:24] Nina Harding: But for the, I, I think it’s very focused on the value proposition as well that you bring to the table. So, um, I encourage you to take a look at this, make sure that you have this in your diary or your flipping of, of how are we maximizing, um, deals. And we can certainly go through a lot more of this. And we have webinars and so forth that will take you through all of that. [00:25:52] Nina Harding: Alright, so. I’ve talked a lot about this outcome-based selling, and that’s, it’s literally how Microsoft is starting to move forward on how do we go about engaging with the customers and with our partners. You’re gonna see, because our customers are asking more Microsoft involved and for us to go jointly into the opportunities. [00:26:16] Nina Harding: Not that we necessarily, we’re not building out a larger consulting force or anything like that, but. We want to make sure that the customer ask that Microsoft is engaged in working with our partners, is honored, um, and that we’re, we’re part of that, and that we’re also sharing our, our experiences and learning from all of you at the same time on who has the best, uh, approach, Beth best, best methodologies and best practices to light up our customers together. [00:26:51] Nina Harding: But the ROI doesn’t really show up just in dollars alone. We all know this, right? Um, it could be in, uh. Satisfaction it could be in care. So as you’re starting to look at this new evolution of how we’re really landing the value proposition of ai, we have to think outside of the box that it’s not just monetary and it’s not, I think you said savings or securing funds and so forth, but it’s really of how do I leapfrog into the modern world? [00:27:22] Nina Harding: How do I change that entire experience and think outside of the box? And, uh, make sure that the conversation is not just about how do we optimize certain practices, but how do we have this more executive level strategy conversation on the future of how we’re gonna engage with our clients, uh, their clients in a much more, um, I think transformative and personal [00:27:51] Nina Harding: way as we go forward. [00:27:54] Nina Harding: So we know that if the outcomes are the, what we’re looking to go drive, the next question is really how do we go do that? And that is gonna be through the agents on here. You’ll see just from from out in the market, what we see will light up the market. We think that, or I can’t even say we, IIDC says 81% of leaders are expecting agents. [00:28:24] Nina Harding: Full utilization in the next 12 to 18 months. And to be honest, I think this quote is probably even two months old. So we’re already, we’re probably down to like, you know, eight, eight to 12 months. And what I’m seeing that proliferation happening, it’s crazy. So understanding that value proposition, um, whether you’re from a software company or a services company or even some of our resellers, what’s that niche? [00:28:52] Nina Harding: What’s that industry or sub-industry? What is that? Horizontal. I go after customer service within, uh, the manufacturing vertical. Right. And then are you building out agents or do you have capability? And that’s what we’re doing internally at Microsoft as well, is to help make that really visible to the field so that you’re differentiated. [00:29:15] Nina Harding: Differentiation is gonna be really key right now because there’s so many people that say, oh, I do migration services, or I can help with data, or I can do security. But it’s the specificity around the industry and what you are truly known for within that space. So one of the things that we look to do is, is looking at all of the different areas where we see agents popping up. [00:29:44] Nina Harding: And this is a helpful slide. Sometimes I think, um, it starts to highlight, um, where we’re seeing some traction in financial services. Or in healthcare manufacturing. And then when I talk about the horizontals or the personas, you start to see some of the um, really repeatable, high return on investment type of things. [00:30:08] Nina Harding: Is this resonating with some of you guys? Yeah. I’m seeing a hit, a lot of head nods. This, if you’re on the services side, right? We’re in an intimate setting. This is where I encourage you to try and build an agent, right? Package that agent, put it on marketplace, make that available, and then make that known to our field sales organization. [00:30:27] Nina Harding: ’cause they are looking for quick wins along those lines. [00:30:31] Nina Harding: So on that, um, [00:30:36] Nina Harding: uh, one of the things that we’re along the journey for is the skilling. This is moving at such a fast pace, right? Um, so you’re looking at. Um, anthropic is really a big topic right now, right? Gemini, you’re looking at cloud, you’re, um, or Claude. [00:30:55] Nina Harding: Um, you’re looking at all of these different, uh, scenarios and one of the things at Microsoft is we really wanna be open to all of these different technologies because our customers are open. So we want to be part of taking you on that journey. And one of the things that we invest in white. [00:31:12] Nina Harding: Significantly is all of the training. Um, and I wanna encourage you guys to take advantage of it. Training is not a one-time thing. It is, it is a constant muscle that you must exercise. So as I come to my conclusion, I have a couple three key things, right? One is really understanding what your superpower is, right? [00:31:33] Nina Harding: The partners that I’m finding are really aligned well with the field are really winning. Those stories are the ones that have. Know and can articulate their superpowers. What am I known for? What are the use cases I can either build to or have agents against? And where have I done this consistently? And packaged really, really concretely, right? [00:31:55] Nina Harding: Um, this, this proliferate of like, I can do everything. Unfortunately, you get lost a little bit in the noise, right? So clear positioning, proof point’s, so critical right now, and reinforcing that credibility with the clients that have adopted. The second thing is that you’ve heard a little bit about this hopefully. [00:32:16] Nina Harding: How many of you have heard of the part partner success story? Okay, this is really, really key. We launched about maybe a month ago, and we already have over a hundred, uh, stories from partners, and the field is loving it. What it is is it brands the stories with your brand if you submit them. So what? Talk about credibility, um, with the field and with our marketers to have your name and that recognition picked up. [00:32:45] Nina Harding: It’s really, really fantastic. So I encourage you to do that. For those of you taking quick snaps, I did put a code on here, so if you wanna go straight to it, uh, you can take it. Um, and go explore with it. What’s nice about it is it’s AI based, so it will help you write these stories very, very quickly. [00:33:04] Nina Harding: There’s no reason why your sales reps can’t be writing these stories, and then yes, [00:33:11] Nina Harding: uh, yeah, you can do no meaning like from enterprise. No. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You can do it on any, on any, there is a different level of fidelity of if you have the customer’s permission. Right. Um, to pu to publish it or not. And that’s some functionality we’re working on. If there’s enough traction of, of this is to help you guys. [00:33:32] Nina Harding: Secure that with Microsoft. Yeah. Um, but yeah, it can be any customer there. But I encourage you to take a look at that. And I know I’m two minutes over here, so I’m just gonna leave you with this. Um, at the end of the day, as I, as I wrap up here, I just wanna make sure that what, where we’re going and we’re going together, that it’s simple and actionable between us and it’s easy for our field to understand. [00:34:00] Nina Harding: Where you play the value proposition you play so that we’re going into deals even more effectively together. Right? So you heard industry, sub-industry, persona level or horizontal. Put that in if, um. Figuring out what your superpower is, making sure that you’re trained, that there’s evidence around the success, and capturing that in ways, uh, that are critical to not only your business, but giving us the visibility of that success. [00:34:31] Nina Harding: Like scream from the rack rafters. Use these tools to make sure that we know just how transformational you’ve been in some of the customers and where you’re uniquely winning. So, so important. So keep investing in the skilling. You can see my kind of like five power plays, right? And the last one always being that superpowers. [00:34:56] Nina Harding: So with that, um, if we do all of these things consistently, you won’t just be keeping up with ai. I think we will all be leading on that AI mission. So thank you very much. I appreciate it. [00:35:14] Vince Menzione: Don’t forget, ultimate Partner Live is coming soon, May 11th through the 13th in beautiful Bellevue, Washington. I hope to see you there.

#808 What if your love for a sweet treat could bring you sweet success? In this episode hosted by Brien Gearin, entrepreneur Loren Castle shares how she built Sweet Loren's into the #1 natural cookie dough brand in the country — all without compromising on ingredients or flavor. From testing recipes at NYC farmers markets to landing in Whole Foods with no packaged product, Loren walks us through the scrappy early days, the seven-month search for a factory, and the leap into major retailers like Kroger and Publix. She opens up about scaling to 35,000+ stores, building the right team, navigating supply chain chaos, and staying laser-focused on her mission to make better-for-you food more accessible — and more delicious — for everyone! (Original Air Date - 7/7/25) What we discuss with Loren: + Turning a passion into a product + Testing recipes at farmers markets + Landing a Whole Foods meeting early + Choosing packaged goods over a bakery + Finding a small factory to scale production + Growing into 35,000+ stores + Expanding beyond cookie dough + Hiring challenges and team growth + Staying profitable while scaling + Using smart, ROI-driven marketing Thank you, Loren! Check out Sweet Loren's at ⁠SweetLorens.com⁠. To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Sampson breaks down nearshore vs offshore talent, critical thinking vs scripted VAs, and how Latin America teams create true ROI for real estate operators.In this episode of RealDealChat, Jack Hoss sits down with Brian Sampson, co-founder of PLUG, to unpack the real differences between offshore, nearshore, and onshore talent — and why it matters more than ever in the age of AI.If you're a real estate investor, realtor, or operator using virtual assistants, this conversation will challenge how you think about cost savings versus business multiplication.We cover:Offshore vs nearshore definitionsWhy scripted call centers damage brand equityCritical thinking vs process-following talentAI answering services vs human problem solversThe hidden cost of Fiverr and UpworkLatin America talent pools (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico)The three layers of labor arbitrageUsing AI tools like n8n to amplify remote teamsLoyalty, longevity, and turnover differencesWhy entrepreneurs should think ROI, not expenseBrian explains why nearshore talent often costs slightly more than Asia — but produces dramatically higher long-term return through cultural alignment, time zone overlap, and independent problem-solving.If you're trying to scale your team without racing to the bottom on hourly rates, this episode is for you.Learn more: https://plug.techBuild smarter systems: https://realdealcrew.comWork With RealDealCrewIf you're already closing deals but your intake, follow-up, or visibility feels inconsistent, here are two ways to go deeper:Take the Deal Intake AssessmentSee how resilient your current operation actually is.→ https://assessment.realdealcrew.comBook a Fit CallIf you want to explore what a fully system-driven deal flow looks like, let's talk.→ https://realdealcrew.com/bookLIKE • SHARE • JOIN • REVIEWWebsiteApple PodcastsYouTubeYouTube MusicSpotifyAmazon MusicFacebookTwitterInstagramMentioned in this episode:intro to RealDealCrewbook a Fit Call at RealDealCrew.com

Stop guessing your returns and learn the exact formula to calculate your real estate success. Kris Krohn breaks down why the operator matters more than the property and how to target a consistent 25 percent annual return. Discover the power of compounding your original investment and how using other people's money can lead to an infinite ROI.

Hoy Paco y Roi hablan sobre algunos casos sorprendentes de personas que se levantaron del coma hablando otro idioma.