Podcasts about Speed

On an all-new episode, host Joel Kim Booster sits down with the hilarious and thoughtful Jay Jurden to talk about Joel's impending nuptials! Jay has been married for a few years, and together with his husband for a long time before that, so he's an ideal person for Joel to chat to. They'll talk about what marriage means to them as gay men, the benefits of preventative couples therapy, balancing everybody's happiness, keeping a marriage happily open, and finally Jay explains why Megan Thee Stallion is making him believe in love this week. Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual, Fire Island, Loot Season 3Jay Jurden: @jayjurden on socials, stand-up special Yes, Ma'am on Hulu Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Bad Dates ad-free. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does it really take to build a multi-six-figure author business with no advertising? Is running your own warehouse really necessary for direct sales success — or is there a simpler path using print-on-demand that works just as well? In this conversation, Sacha Black and I compare our very different approaches to selling direct, from print on demand to pallets of books, and explore why the right model depends entirely on who you are and what your goals are for your author business. In the intro, Memoir Examples and interviews [Reedsy, The Creative Penn memoir tips]; Written Word Media annual indie author survey results; Successful Self-Publishing Fourth Edition; Business for Authors webinars; Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant; Camino Portuguese Coastal on My Camino Podcast; Creating while Caring Community with Donn King; The Buried and the Drowned by J.F. Penn Today's show is sponsored by Bookfunnel, the essential tool for your author business. Whether it's delivering your reader magnet, sending out advanced copies of your book, handing out ebooks at a conference, or fulfilling your digital sales to readers, BookFunnel does it all. Check it out at bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Sacha Black is the author of YA and non-fiction for authors and previously hosted The Rebel Author Podcast. As Ruby Roe, she is a multi-six-figure author of sapphic romantasy. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights, and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Two models for selling direct: print on demand vs running your own warehouse. Plus, check out Sacha's solo Rebel Author episode about the details of the warehouse. Cashflow management Kickstarter lessons: pre-launch followers, fulfillment time, and realistic timelines How Sacha built a multi-six-figure business through TikTok with zero ad spend Matching your business model to your personality and skill set Building resilience: staff salaries, SOPs, and planning for when things change You can find Ruby at RubyRoe.co.uk and on TikTok @rubyroeauthor and on Instagram @sachablackauthor Transcript of the interview Joanna: Sacha Black is the author of YA and nonfiction for authors, and previously hosted the Rebel Author podcast. As Ruby Roe, she is a multi-six-figure author of sapphic romance. So welcome back to the show, Sacha. Sacha: Hello. Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure to be here. Joanna: I'm excited to talk to you today. Now, just for context, for everybody listening, Sacha has a solo episode on her Rebel Author podcast, last week as we record this, which goes into specific lessons around the warehouse in more detail, including financials. So we are going to come at this from a slightly different angle in our discussion today, which is really about two different ways of doing selling direct. I want us to start though, Sacha, in case people don't know your background, in case they've missed out. Can you just give us a quick recap of your indie author journey, because you haven't just come out of nowhere and jumped into this business and done incredibly well? Sacha's Indie Author Journey Sacha: No, I really haven't. Okay. So 2013, I started writing. So 12 years ago I started writing with the intention to publish, because I was writing before, but not with the intention. 2017 I first self-published and then two years after that, in 2019, I quit the day job. But let me be clear, it wasn't because I was rolling in self-published royalties or commissions or whatever you want to call them. I was barely scraping by. And so those are what I like to call my hustle years because I mean, I still hustle, but it was a different kind. It was grind and hustle. So I did a lot of freelance work. I did a lot of VA work for other authors. I did speaking, I was podcasting, teaching courses, and so on and so forth. 2022, in the summer, I made a realisation that I'd created another job for myself rather than a business that I wanted to grow and thrive in and was loving life and all of that stuff. And so I took a huge risk and I slowed down everything, and I do mean everything. I slowed down the speaking, I slowed down the courses, I slowed down the nonfiction, and — I poured everything into writing what became the first Ruby Roe book. I published that in February 2023. In August/September 2023, I stopped all freelance work. And to be clear, at that point, I also wasn't entirely sure if I was going to be able to pay my bills with Ruby, but I could see that she had the potential there and I was making enough to scrape by. And there's nothing if not a little bit of pressure to make you work hard. So that is when I stopped the freelance. And then in November 2023, so two months later, I started TikTok in earnest. And then a month after that, December the eighth, I went viral. And then what's relevant to this is that two days after that, on December the 10th, I had whipped up my minimum viable Shopify, and that went live. Then roll on, I did more of the same, published more Ruby Roe books. I made a big change to my Shopify. So at that point it was still print on demand Shopify, and then February 2025, I took control and took the reins and rented a warehouse and started fulfilling distribution myself. The Ten-Year Overnight Success Joanna: So great. So really good for people to realise that 2013, you started writing with the intention, like, seriously, I want this to be what I do. And it was 2019 when you quit the day job, but really it was 2023 when you actually started making decent money, right? Sacha: Almost like we all need 10 years. Joanna: Yeah. I mean, it definitely takes time. So I wanted just to set that scene there. And also that you did at least a year of print on demand Shopify before getting your own warehouse. Sacha: Yeah, maybe 14 months. Joanna: Yeah, 14 months. Okay. So we are going to revisit some of these, but I also just want as context, what was your day job so people know? Sacha: So I was a project manager in a local government, quite corporate, quite conservative place. And I played the villain. It was great. I would helicopter into departments and fix them up and look at processes that were failing and restructure things and bring in new software and bits and bobs like that. The Importance of Business Skills Joanna: Yeah. So I think that's important too, because your job was fixing things and looking at processes, and I feel like that is a lot of what you've done and we'll revisit that. Sacha: How did I not realise that?! Joanna: I thought you did know that. No. Well, oh my goodness. And let's just put my business background in context. I'm sure most people have heard it before, but I was an IT consultant for about 13 years, but much of my job was going into businesses and doing process mapping and then doing software to fix that. And also I worked, I'm not an accountant, but I worked in financial accounting departments. So I think this is really important context for people to realise that learning the craft is one thing, but learning business is a completely different game, right? Sacha: Oh, it is. I have learnt — it's wild because I always feel like there's no way you can learn more than in your first year of publishing because everything is brand new. But I genuinely feel like this past 18 months I have learnt as much, if not more, because of the business, because of money, because of all of the other legal regulation type changes in the last 18 months. It's just been exhausting in terms of learning. It's great, but also it is a lot to learn. There is just so much to business. Joanna's Attempts to Talk Sacha Out of the Warehouse Joanna: So that's one thing. Now, I also want to say for context, when you decided to start a warehouse, how much effort did I put into trying to persuade you not to do this? Sacha: Oh my goodness, me. I mean a lot. There were probably two dinners, several coffees, a Zoom. It was like, don't do it. Don't do it. You got me halfway there. So for everybody listening, I went big and I was like, oh, I'm going to buy shipping containers and convert them and put them on a plot of land and all of this stuff. And Joanna very sensibly turned around and was like, hmm, why don't you rent somewhere that you can bail out of if it doesn't work? And I was like, oh yeah, that does sound like a good idea. Joanna: Try it, try it before you really commit. Okay. So let's just again take a step back because the whole point of doing this discussion for me is because you are doing really well and it is amazing what you are doing and what some other people are doing with warehouses. But I also sell direct and in the same way as you used to, which is I use Bookfunnel for ebooks and audiobooks and I use BookVault for print on demand books, and people can also use Lulu. That's another option for people. So you don't have to do direct sales in the way that you've done it. And part of the reason to do this episode was to show people that there are gradations of selling direct. Why Sell Direct? Joanna: But I wanted to go back to the basics around this. Why might people consider selling direct, even in a really simple way, for example, just ebooks from their website, or what might be reasons to sell direct rather than just sending everything to Amazon or other stores? Sacha: I think, well, first of all, it depends on what you want as a business model. For me, I have a similar background to you in that I was very vulnerable when I was in corporate because of redundancies, and so that bred a bit of control freakness inside me. And having control of my customers was really important to me. We don't get any data from Amazon or Kobo really, or anywhere, even though all of these distributors are incredible for us in our careers. We don't actually have direct access to readers, and you do with Shopify. You know everything about your reader, and that is priceless. Because once you have that data and you have delivered a product, a book, merchandise, something that that reader values and appreciates, you can then sell to them again and again and again. I have some readers who have been on my website who have spent almost four figures now. I mean, that is just — one person's done that and I have thousands of people who are coming to the website on a regular basis. So definitely that control and access to readers is a huge reason for doing it. Customising the Reader Relationship Sacha: And also I think that you can, depending on how you do this model, there are ways to do some of the things I'm going to talk about digitally as well. But for me, I really like the physical aspect of it. We are able to customise the relationship with our customers. We can give them more because we are in control of delivery. And so by that I mean we could give art prints, which lots of my readers really value. We can do — you could send those digitally if you wanted to, but we can add in extra freebies like our romance pop sockets, that makes them feel like they are part of my reader group. They're part of a community. It creates this belonging. So I think there is just so much more that you can do when you are in control of that relationship and in control of the access to it. Joanna: Yeah. And on that, I mean, one of the reasons we can do really cool print books — and again, we're going to come back to print on demand, but I use print on demand. You don't have to buy pallets of books as Sacha does. You can just do print on demand. Obviously the financials are different, but I can still do foiling and custom end papers and ribbons and all this with print on demand through BookVault custom printing and bespoke printing. The Speed of Money Joanna: But also, I think the other thing with the money — I don't know if you even remember this, because it's very different when you are selling direct — you can set up your system so you get paid like every single day, right? Or every week? Sacha: Yes. Joanna: So the money is faster because with Amazon, with any of these other systems, it can take 30, 60, 90 days for the money to get to you. So faster money, you are in more control of the money. And you can also do a lot more things like bundling and like you mentioned, much higher value that you could offer, but you can also make higher income. Average order value per customer because you have so many things, right? So that speed of money is very different. Sacha: It is, but it's also very dangerous. I know we might talk about cashflow more later, but— Joanna: Let's talk about it now. Managing Cashflow With Multiple Bank Accounts Sacha: Okay, cool. So one of the things that I think is the most valuable thing that I've ever done is, someone who is really clever told me that you're allowed more than one business account. Joanna: Just to be clear, bank accounts? Sacha: Yes, sorry. Yeah. Bank accounts. And one of my banks in particular enables you to have mini banks inside it, mini pots they call it. And what I do with pre-orders is I treat it a bit like Amazon. So that money will come in — you know, I do get paid daily pretty much — but I then siphon it off every week into a pot. So let's just say I've got one book on pre-order. Every week the team tells me how much we've got in pre-orders for that one product and all the shipping money, and I put it into an account and I leave it there. And I do not touch it unless it is to pay for the print run of that book or to pay for the shipping. Because one of the benefits of coming direct to me is that I promise to ship all pre-orders early, so we have to pay the shipping costs before necessarily Amazon might pay for its shipping costs because they only release on the actual release day. But that has enabled me to have a little savings scheme, but also guarantee that I can pay for the print run in advance because I haven't accidentally spent that money on something else or invested it. I've kept it aside and it also helps you track numbers as well, so you know how well that pre-order is doing financially. Understanding Cashflow as an Author Joanna: Yeah. And this cashflow, if people don't really know it, is the difference between when money comes in and when it goes out. So another example, common to many authors, is paying for advertising. So for example, if you run some ads one month, you're going to have to pay, let's say Facebook or BookBub or whoever, that month. You might not get the money from the sale of those books if it's from a store until two months later. In that case, the cash flows the other way. The money is sitting with the store, sitting on Amazon until they pay you later. This idea of cashflow is so important for authors to think about. Another, I guess even more basic example is you are writing your first book and you pay for an editor. Money goes out of your bank account and then hopefully you're going to sell some books, but that might take, let's say six months, and then some money will come back into your bank account. I think this understanding cashflow is so important at a small level because as it gets bigger and bigger — and you are doing these very big print runs now, aren't you? Talk a bit about that. The Risks of Print Runs Sacha: Yeah. So one of the things I was going to say, one of the benefits of your sell direct model is that you don't have to deal with mistakes like this one. So in my recent book, Architecti, that we launched at the end of September, we did a print run of a thousand books, maybe about 3,000 pounds, something like that, 2,000 pounds. And basically we ended up selling all thousand and more. So the pre-orders breached a thousand and we didn't have enough books. But what made that worse is that 20% of the books that arrived were damaged because there had been massive rain. So we then had to do a second print run, which is bad for two reasons. The first reason is that one, that space, two, the time it's going to take to get to you — it's not instant, it's not printed on demand. But also three, I then had to spend the same amount of money again. And actually if we had ordered 2,000 originally, we would've saved a bit more money on it per book. So you don't — if you are doing selling direct with a print on demand model, the number of pre-orders you get is irrelevant because they'll just keep printing, and you just get charged per copy. So there are benefits and disadvantages to doing it each way. Obviously, I'm getting a cheaper price per copy printed, but not if I mess up the order numbers. Is Running a Warehouse Just Another Job? Joanna: So I'm going to come back on something you said earlier, which was in 2022 you said, “I realised I made a job for myself.” Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: And I mean, I've been to your store. You obviously have people to help you. But one of my reservations about this kind of model is that even if you have people to help you, taking on physical book — even though you are not printing them yourself, you're still shipping them all and you're signing them all. And to me it feels like a job. So maybe talk about why you have continued — you have pretty much decided to continue with your warehouse. So why is this not a job? What makes this fun for you? The Joy of Physical Product Creation Sacha: I wish that listeners could see my face because I'm literally glittering. I love it. I literally love it. I love us being able to create cool and wacky things. We can make a decision and we can create that physical product really quickly. We can do all of these quirky things. We can experiment. We can do book boxes. So first of all, it's the creativity in the physical product creation. I had no idea how much I love physical product creation, but there is something extremely satisfying about us coming up with an idea that's so integrated in the book. So for example, one of my characters uses, has a coin, a yes/no coin. She's an assassin and she flips it to decide whether or not she's going to assassinate somebody. We've actually designed and had that coin made, and it's my favourite item in the warehouse. It's such a small little thing, but I love it. And so there is a lot of joy that I derive from us being able to create these items. Sending Book Mail and Building Community Sacha: I think the second thing is I really love book mail. There is no better gift somebody can give me than a book. And so I do get a lot of satisfaction from knowing we're sending out lots and lots of book presents to people and we get to add more to it. So some of the promises that we make are: I sign every book and we give gifts. We have character art and, like I've mentioned before, pop sockets and all these kinds of things. And I get tagged daily in unboxings and stories and things like this where people are like, oh my gosh, I didn't realise I was going to get this, this, and this. And I just — it's like crack to me. I get high off of it. So I can't — this is not for everybody. This is a logistical nightmare. There are so many problems inherent in this business model. I love it. Discovering a Love of Team Building Sacha: And I think the other thing, which is very much not for a lot of authors — I did not realise that I actually really like having a team. And that has been a recent realisation. I really was told that I'm not a team player when I was in corporate, that I work alone, all of this nonsense. And I believed that and taken it on. But finding the right team, the right people who love the jobs that they do inside your business and they're all as passionate as you, is just life changing. And so that also helps me continue because I have a really great team. Joanna: I do have to ask you, what is a pop socket? Sacha: It's a little round disc that has a mechanism that you can pull out and then you — and it has a sticky command strip back and you can pop it on the back of your phone or on the back of a Kindle and it helps you to hold it. I don't know how else to describe it. It just helps you to hold the device easier. Joanna: Okay. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was confused. I'm like, why are you doing electrical socket products? Know What Kind of Person You Are Joanna: But I think this actually does demonstrate another point, and I hope people listening — I hope you can sort of — why we are doing this partly is to help you figure out what kind of person you are as well. Because I can't think of anything worse than having lots of little boxes! And I've been in Sacha's thing and there's all these little stickers and there's lots of boxes of little things that they put in people's packages, which make people happy. And I'm like, oh, I just don't like packages of things. And I mean, you geek out on packaging, don't you as well? Sacha: Oh my goodness. Yeah. One of the first things I did when we got the warehouse was I actually went to a packaging expo in Birmingham. It was like this giant conference place and I just nerded out there. It was so fun. And one of the things that I'm booked to do is an advent calendar. And that was what drove me there in the first place. I was looking for a manufacturer that could create an advent calendar for us. I have two. I'm not — I have two advent calendars this year because I love them so much. But yeah, the other thing that I was going to say to you is I often think that as adults, we can find what we're supposed to do rooted in our childhood. And I was talking the other day and someone said to me, what toy do you remember from your youth? And I was like, oh yeah. The only one that I can remember is that I had a sticker maker. I like — that makes sense. You do like stickers. And I do. Yeah. Digital Minimalism vs Physical Products Joanna: Yeah, I do. And I think this is so important because I love books. I buy a lot of books. I love books, but I also get rid of a lot of books. I know people hate this, but I will just get rid of bags and bags of books. So I value books more for what's inside them than the physical product as such. I mean, I have some big expensive, beautiful books, but mostly I want what's in them. So it's really interesting to me. And I think there's a big difference between us is just how much you like all that stuff. So if you are listening, if you are like a digital minimalist and you don't want to have stuff around your house, you definitely don't want a warehouse. You don't want all the shipping bits and bobs. You are not interested in all that. Or even if you are, you can still do a lot of this print on demand. Then I think that's just so important, isn't it? I mean, did you look at the print on demand merch? Did you find anything you liked? The Draw of Customisation Sacha: Yeah, we did, but I think for me it was that customisation. We are now moving towards — I've just put an order in this morning for 10,000 customised boxes. We've got our own branding on them. We've got a little naughty, cheeky message when they flip up the flap. And it's little things like that that you can't — you know, we wouldn't have control over what was sent. So much of what I wanted, and some of the reasons for me doing it, is that I wanted to be able to sign the books. I was being asked on a daily basis if people could buy signed books from me, and it was driving me bonkers not being able to say yes. But also being able to send a website mailing list sign-up in the box, or being able to give them a discount in the box. I mean, I know you do that, but yeah, there was just a lot more customisation and things that we could do if we were controlling the shipping. Also, I wanted to pack the boxes, the books better. So we wanted to be able to bubble wrap things or we wanted to be able to waterproof things because we had various different issues with deliveries and so we wanted a bit more control over that. So yeah, there were just so many reasons for us to do it. Print on Demand Is Still Fantastic Sacha: Look, don't get me wrong, if I suddenly wanted to go off travelling for a year, then maybe I would shut down the warehouse and go back to print on demand. I think print on demand is fantastic. I did it for 14 months before I decided to open a warehouse. It is the foundation of most authors' models. So it's fantastic. I just want to do more. Joanna: Yeah. You want to do more of it. Life Stage Matters Joanna: We should also, I also wanted to mention your life stage. Because when we did talk about it, your son is just going to secondary school, so we knew that you would be in the same area, right? Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: Because I said to you, you can't just do this and — well, you can, you could ditch it all. But the better decision is to do this for a certain number of years. If you're going to do it, it needs time, right? So you are at that point in your life. Sacha: Yeah, absolutely. We — I mean, we are going to move house, I think, but not that far away. We'll still be in reachable distance of the warehouse. And yeah, the staying power is so important because it's also about raising awareness. You have to train readers to come to you. You have to show them why it's beneficial for them to order directly from you. Growing the Business Year Over Year Sacha: And then you also have to be able to iterate and add more products. Like you were talking earlier about increasing that average order value. And that does come from having more products, but more products does create other issues like space, which may or may not be suffering issues with now. But yeah, so for example, 2024, which was the first real year, I did about 73 and a half thousand British pounds. And then this year, where — as we record this, it's actually the 1st of December — and I'm on 232,000. So from year one to year two, it's a huge difference. And that I do think is about the number of products and the number of things that we have on there. Joanna: And the number of customers. I guess you've also grown your customer base as well. And one of the rules, I guess, in inverted commas, of publishing is that the money is in the backlist. And every time you add to your backlist and every launch, you are selling a lot more of your backlist as well. So I think as time goes on, yeah, you get more books. Kickstarter as an Alternative Joanna: But let's also talk about Kickstarter because I do signed books for my Kickstarters and to me the Kickstarter is like a short-term ability to do the things you are doing regularly. So for example, if you want to do book boxes, you could just do them for a Kickstarter. You don't have to run a warehouse and do it every single day. For example, your last Kickstarter for Ruby Roe made around 150,000 US dollars, which is amazing. Like really fantastic. So just maybe talk about that, any lessons from the Kickstarter specifically, because I feel like most people, for most people listening, they are far more likely to do a Kickstarter than they are to start a warehouse. Pre-Launch Followers Are Critical Sacha: Yeah, so the first thing is even before you start your Kickstarter, the pre-launch follow accounts are critical. So a lot of people think — well, I guess there's a lot of loud noise about all these big numbers about how much people can make on Kickstarter, but actually a lot of it is driven by you, the author, pushing your audience to Kickstarter. So we actually have a formula now. Somebody more intelligent gave this to me, but essentially, based on my own personal campaign data — so this wouldn't necessarily be the same for other people — but based on my campaign data, each pre-launch follower is worth 75 pounds. And then we add on seven grand, for example. So on campaign three, which was the most recent one, I had 1,501 pre-launch followers. And when you times that by 75 and you add on seven grand, it makes more or less exactly what we made on the campaign. And the same formula can be applied to the others. So you need more pre-launch followers than you think you do. And lots of people don't put enough impetus on the marketing beforehand. Almost all of our Kickstarter marketing is beforehand because we drive so many people to that follow button. Early Bird Pricing and Fulfillment Time Sacha: And then the other thing that we do is that we do early bird pricing. So we get the majority of our income on a campaign on day one. I think it was something wild, like 80% this time was on day one, so that's really important. The second thing is it takes so, so very much longer than you think it does to fulfil a campaign, and you must factor in that cost. Because if it's not you fulfilling, you are paying somebody else to fulfil it. And if it is you fulfilling it, you must account for your own time in the pricing of your campaign. And the other thing is that the amount of time it takes to fulfil is directly proportionate to the size of the campaign. That's one thing I did not even compute — the fact that we went from about 56,000 British pounds up to double that, and the time was exponentially more than double. So you do have to think about that. Overseas Printing and Timelines Sacha: The other lesson that we have learned is that overseas printing will drag your timelines out far longer than you think it does. So whatever you think it's going to take you to fulfil, add several months more onto that and put that information in your campaign. And thankfully, we are now only going to be a month delayed, whereas lots of campaigns get up to a year delayed because they don't consider that. Reinvesting Kickstarter Profits Sacha: And then the last thing I think, which was really key for us, is that if you have some profit in the Kickstarter — because not all Kickstarters are actually massively profitable because they either don't account enough for shipping or they don't account enough in the pricing. Thankfully, ours have been profitable, but we've actually reinvested that profit back into buying more stock and more merchandise, which not everybody would want to do if they don't have a warehouse. However, we are stockpiling merchandise and books so that we can do mystery boxes later on down the line. It's probably a year away, but we are buying extra of everything so that we have that in the warehouse. So yeah, depending on what you want to do with your profit, for us it was all about buying more books, basically. Offering Something Exclusive Sacha: I think the other thing to think about is what is it that you are doing that's exclusive to Kickstarter? Because you will get backers on Kickstarter who want that quirky, unique thing that they're not going to be able to get anywhere else. But what about you? Because you've done more Kickstarters than me. What do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned? Reward Tiers and Bundling Joanna: Oh, well I think all of mine together add up to the one you just did. Although I will comment on — you said something like 75 pounds per pre-launch backer. That is obviously dependent on your tiers for the rewards, so most authors won't have that amount. So my average order value, which I know is slightly different, but I don't offer things like book boxes like you have. So a lot of it will depend on the tiers. Some people will do a Kickstarter just with an ebook, just with one ebook and maybe a bundle of ebooks. So you are never going to make it up to that kind of value. So I think this is important too, is have a look at what people offer on their different levels of Kickstarter. And in fact, here's my AI tip for the day. What you can do — what I did with my Buried and the Drowned campaign recently — is I uploaded my book to ChatGPT and said, tell me, what are some ideas for the different reward tiers that I can do on Kickstarter? And it will give you some ideas for what you can do, what kind of bundles you might want to do. So I think bundling your backlist is another thing you can do as upsells, or you can just, for example, for me, when I did Blood Vintage, I did a horror bundle when it was four standalone horror books in one of the upper tiers. So I think bundling is a good way. Also upselling your backlist is a really good way to up things. And also if you do it digitally, so for ebooks and audiobooks, there's a lot less time in fulfillment. Focus on Digital Products Too Joanna: So again, yours — well, you make things hard, but also more fun according to you, because most of it's physical, right? In fact, this is one of the things you haven't done so well, really, is concentrate on the digital side of things. Is that something you are thinking about now? Sacha: Yeah, it is. I mean, we do have our books digitally on the website. So the last — I only had one series in Kindle Unlimited, and I took those out in January. But so we do have all of the digital products on the website, and the novellas that we do, we have in all formats because I narrate the audio for them. So that is something that we're looking at. And since somebody very smart told me to have upsell apps on my website, we now have a full “get the everything bundle” in physical and digital and we are now selling them as well. Surprising. Definitely not you. So yeah, we are looking at it and that's something that we could look at next year as well for advertising because I haven't really done any advertising. I think I've spent about 200 pounds in ads in the last four months or something. It's very, very low level. So that is a way to make a huge amount of profit because the cost is so low. So your return, if you're doing a 40 or 50 pound bundle of ebooks and you are spending, I don't know, four pounds in advertising to get that sale, your return on that investment is enormous for ads. So that is something that we are looking at for next year, but it just hasn't been something that we've done a huge amount of. A Multi-Six-Figure Author With No Ads Joanna: Yeah. Well, just quoting from your solo episode where you say, “I don't have any advertising costs, customers are from my mailing list, TikTok and Instagram.” Now, being as you are a multi-six-figure author with no ads, this is mostly unthinkable for many authors. And so I wonder if, maybe talk about that. How do you think you have done that and can other people potentially emulate it, or do you think it's luck? It's Not Luck, It's Skill Set Sacha: Do you know, this is okay. So I don't think it's luck. I don't believe in luck. I get quite aggressive about people flinging luck around. I know some people are huge supporters of luck. I'm like, no. Do I think anybody can do it? Do you know, I swing so hard on this. Sometimes I say yes, and sometimes I think no. And I think the brutal truth of it is that I know where my skill set lies and I lean extremely heavily into it. So what do I mean by that? TikTok and Instagram are both very visual mediums. It is video footage. It is static images. I am extremely comfortable on camera. I am an ex-theatre kid. I was on TV as a kid. I did voiceover work when I was younger. This is my wheelhouse. So acting a bit like a tit on TikTok on a video, I am very comfortable at doing that, and I think that is reflected in the results. Consistency Without Burnout Sacha: And the other part of it is because I am comfortable at doing it, I enjoy it. It makes me laugh. And therefore it feels easy. And I think because it feels easy, I can do it over and over and over again without burning out. I started posting on TikTok on November the 19th, 2023, and I have posted three times a day every day since. Every single day without stopping, and I do not feel burnt out. And I definitely feel like that is because it's easy for me because I am good at it. Reading the Algorithm Sacha: The other thing that I think goes in here is that I'm very good at reading what's working. So sorry to talk Clifton Strengths, but my number one Clifton Strength is competition. And one of the skills that has is understanding the market. We're very good at having a wide view. So not only do I read the market on Amazon or in bookstores or wherever I can, it's the same skill set but applied to the algorithm. So I am very good at dissecting viral videos and understanding what made it work, in the same way somebody that spends 20,000 pounds a month on Facebook advertising is very good at doing analytics and looking at those numbers. I am useless at that. I just can't do it. I just get complete shutdown. My brain just says no, and I'm incapable of running ads. That's why I don't do it. Not Everyone Can Do This Sacha: So can anybody do this? Maybe. If you are comfortable on camera, if you enjoy it. It's like we've got a mutual friend, Adam Beswick. We call him the QVC Book Bitch because he is a phenomenon on live videos on TikTok and Instagram and wherever he can sell. Anything on those lives. It is astonishing to watch the sales pop in as he's on these lives. I can't think of anything worse. I will do a live, but I'll be signing books and having a good old chitchat. Not like it's — like that hand selling. Another author, Willow Winters, has done like 18 in-person events this year. I literally die on the inside hearing that. But that's what works for them and that's what's helping grow their business models. So ah, honestly, no. I actually don't think anybody can do what I've done. I think if you have a similar skill set to me, then yes you can. But no, and I know that I don't want to crush anybody listening. Do you like social media? I like social media. Do you like being on camera? Then yeah, you can do it. But if you don't, then I just think it's a waste of your time. Find out what you are good at, find out where your skill set is, and then lean in very, very hard. Writing to Your Strengths and Passion Joanna: I also think, because let's be brutal, you had books before and they didn't sell like this. Sacha: Yep. Joanna: So I also think that you leaned into — yes, of course, sapphic romance is a big sub-genre, but you love it. And also it's your lived experience with the sapphic sub-genre. This is not you chasing a trend, right? I think that's important too because too many people are like, oh, well maybe this is the latest trend. And is TikTok a trend? And then try and force them together, whereas I feel like you haven't done that. Sacha: No, and actually I spoke to lots of people who were very knowledgeable on the market and they all said, don't do it. And the reason for this is that there were no adult lesbian sapphic romance books that were selling when I looked at the market and decided that this was what I wanted to write. And I was like, cool, I'm going to do it then. And rightly so, everyone was like, well, there's no evidence to suggest that this is going to make any money. You are taking a huge risk. And I was like, yeah, but I will. I knew from the outset before I even put a word to the page how I was going to market it. And I think that feeling of coming home is what I — I created a home for myself in my books and that is why it's just felt so easy to market. Lean Into What You're Good At Sacha: It's like you, with your podcasting. Nobody can get anywhere near your podcast because you are so good at it. You've got such a history. You are so natural with your podcasting that you are just unbeatable, you know? So it's a natural way for you to market it. Joanna: Many have tried, but no, you're right. It's because I like this. And what's so funny — I'm sure I've mentioned it on the show — but I did call you one day and say, okay, all right, show me how to do this TikTok thing. And you spent like two hours on the phone with me and then I basically said no. Okay. I almost tried and then I just went, no, this is definitely not for me. And I think that this has to be one of the most important things as an author. Maybe some people listening are just geeking out over packaging like you are, and maybe they're the people who might look at this potential business model. Whereas some people are like me and don't want to go anywhere near it. And then other people like you want to do video and maybe other people like me want to do audio. So yeah, it's so important to find, well, like you said, what does not work for you? What is fun for you and when are you having a good time? Because otherwise you would have a job. Like to me, it looks like a job, you having a warehouse. But to you, it's not the same as when you were grinding it out back in 2022. Packing Videos Are Peak Content Sacha: Completely. And I think if you look at my social media feeds, they are disproportionately full of packing videos, which I think tells you something. Joanna: Oh dear. I just literally — I'm just like, oh my, if I never see any more packaging, I'll be happy. Sacha: Yeah. That's good. The One Time Sacha Nearly Burnt It All Down Sacha: I have to say, there was one moment where I doubted everything. And that was at the end — but basically, in about, of really poor timing. I ended up having to fulfil every single pre-order of my latest release and hand packing about a thousand books in two weeks. And I nearly burnt it all to the ground. Joanna: Because you didn't have enough staffing, right? And your mum was sick or something? Sacha: Yeah, exactly that. And I had to do it all by myself, and I was alone in the warehouse and it was just horrendous. So never again. But hey, I learned the lessons and now I'm like, yay, let's do it again. Things Change: Building Resilience Into Your Business Joanna: Yeah. And make sure there's more staffing. Yes, I've talked a lot on this show — things change, right? Things change. And in fact, the episode that just went out today as we record this with Jennifer Probst, which she talked about hitting massive bestseller lists and doing just incredibly well, and then it just dropped off and she had to pivot and change things. And I'm not like Debbie Downer, but I do say things will change. So what are you putting in place to make sure, for example, TikTok finally does disappear or get banned, or that sapphic romance suddenly drops off a cliff? What are you doing to make sure that you can keep going in the future? Managing Cash Flow and Salaries Sacha: Yeah, so I think there's a few things. The first big one is managing cash flow and ensuring that I have three to six months' worth of staff salaries, for want of a better word, in an account. So if the worst thing happens and sales drop off — because I am responsible for other people's income now — that I'm not about to shaft a load of people. So that really helps give you that risk reassurance. Mailing Lists and Marketing Funnels Sacha: The second thing is making sure that we are cultivating our mailing lists, making sure that we are putting in infrastructure, like things like upsell apps. And, okay, so here's a ridiculous lesson that I learned in 2025: an automation sequence, an onboarding automation sequence, is not what people mean when they say you need a marketing funnel. I learned this in Vegas. A marketing funnel will sell your products to your existing readers. So when a customer signs up to your mailing list because they've purchased something, they will be tagged and then your email flow system will then send them a 5% discount on this, or “did you know you could bundle up and get blah?” So putting that kind of stuff in place will mean that we can take more advantage of the customers that we've already got. Standard Operating Procedures Sacha: It's also things like organisational knowledge. My team is big enough now that there are things in my business I don't know how to do. That's quite daunting for somebody who is a control freak. So I visited Vegas in 2025 and I sat in a session all on — this sounds so sexy — but standard operating procedures. And now I've given my team the job of creating a process instruction manual on how they do each of their tasks so that if anybody's sick, somebody else can pick it up. If somebody leaves, we've got that infrastructure in place. And even things down to things like passwords — who, if I unfortunately got hit by a car, who can access my Amazon account? Stuff like that, unfortunately. Joanna: Yeah, I know. Well, I mean, that would be tragic, wouldn't it? Sacha: But it's stuff like that. Building Longer Timelines Sacha: But then also more day-to-day things is putting in infrastructure that pulls me out. So looking more at staffing responsibilities for staffing so that I don't always have to be there, and creating longer timelines. That is probably the most important thing that we can do because we've got a book box launching next summer. And we both had the realisation — I say we, me and my operations manager — had the realisation that actually we ought to be commissioning the cover and the artwork now because of how long those processes take. So I'm a little bit shortsighted on timelines, I think. So putting a bit more rigour in what we do and when. We now have a team-wide heat map where we know when the warehouse is going to be really, really full, when staff are off, when deliveries are coming, and that's projected out a year in advance. So lots and lots of things that are changing. And then I guess also eventually we will do advertising as well. But that is a few months down the line. Personal Financial Resilience Sacha: And then on the more personal side, it's looking at things like not just how you keep the business running, but how do you keep yourself running? How do you make sure that, let's say you have a bad sales month, but you still have to pay your team? How are you going to get paid? So I, as well as having put staff salaries away, I also have my own salary. I've got a few months of my own salary put away. And then investing as well. I know, I am not a financial advisor, but I do invest money. I serve money that I pay myself. You can also do things like having investment vehicles inside your business if you want to deal with extra cash. And then I am taking advice from my accountant and my financial advisor on do I put more money into my pension — because did I say that I also have a pension? So I invest in my future as well. Or do I set up another company and have a property portfolio? Or how do I essentially make the money that is inside the business make more money rather than reinvesting it, spending it, and reinvesting it on things that don't become assets or don't become money generating? What can I do with the cash that's inside the company in order to then make it make more for the long term? Because then if you do have a down six months or worse, a down year, for example, you've got enough cash and equity inside the business to cover you during those lower months or years or weeks — or hopefully just a day. Different Business Models for Different Authors Joanna: Yes, of course. And we all hope it just carries on up and to the right, but sometimes it doesn't work that way. So it's really great that you are doing all those things. And I think what's lovely and why we started off with you giving us that potted history was it hasn't always been this way. So if you are listening to this and you are like, well, I've only got one ebook for sale on Amazon, well that might be all you ever want to do, which is fine. Or you can come to where my business model is, which is mostly even — I use print on demand, but it's mostly digital. It's mostly online. It's got no packaging that I deal with. Or you can go even further like Sacha and Adam Beswick and Willow Winters. But because that is being talked about a lot in the community, that's why we wanted to do this — to really show you that there's different people doing different things and you need to choose what's best for you. What Are You Excited About for 2026? Joanna: But just as we finish, just tell us what are you excited about for 2026? Sacha: Oh my goodness me. I am excited to iterate my craft. And this is completely not related to the warehouse, but I have gotten myself into a position where I get to play with words again. So I'm really excited for the things that I'm going to write. But also in terms of the warehouse, we've got the new packaging, so getting to see those on social media. We are also looking at things like book boxes. So we are doing a set of three book boxes and these are going to be new and bigger and better than anything that we've done before. And custom tailored. Oh, without giving too much away, but items that go inside and also the artwork. I love working with artists and commissioning different art projects. But yeah, basically more of the same, hopefully world domination. Joanna: World domination. Fantastic. So basically more creativity. Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: And also a bigger business. Because I know you are ambitious and I love that. I think it's really good for people to be ambitious. Joanna: Oh, I do have another question. Do you have more sympathy for traditional publishing at this point? Sacha: How dare you? Unfortunately, yeah. I really have learnt the hard way why traditional publishers need the timelines that they need. This latest release was probably the biggest that — so this latest release, which was called Architecting, is the reason that I did the podcast episode, because I learned so many lessons. And in particular about timelines and how tight things get, and it's just not realistic when you are doing this physical business. So that's another thing if you are listening and you are like, oh no, no, no, I like the immediacy of being able to finish, get it back from the editor and hit publish — this ain't for you, honey. This is not for you. Joanna: Yeah. No, that's fantastic. Where to Find Sacha and Ruby Roe Joanna: So where can people find you and your books online? Sacha: For the Ruby Empire, it's RubyRoe.co.uk and RubyRoeAuthor on TikTok if you'd like to see me dancing like a wally. And then Instagram, I'm back as @SachaBlackAuthor on Instagram. Joanna: Brilliant. Thanks so much for your time, Sacha. That was great. Sacha: Thank you for having me.The post Two Different Approaches To Selling Books Direct With Sacha Black And Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Sponsor Details:This episode of Space Nuts is brought to you with the support of NordVPN. To get our special Space Nuts listener discounts and four months free bonus, all with a 30-day money-back guarantee, simply visit www.nordvpn.com/spacenuts or use the coupon code SPACENUTS at checkout.Cosmic Curiosities: Time Dilation, Supernova Remnants, and Aurora ColorsIn this engaging Q&A edition of Space Nuts, hosts Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson tackle a series of thought-provoking questions from their curious audience. From the enigmatic nature of time in anti-gravity fields to the vibrant colors of auroras, this episode dives deep into the mysteries of the cosmos.Episode Highlights:- Time in Anti-Gravity Fields: Andrew and Fred explore the implications of time dilation in gravitational and anti-gravity environments, discussing how time appears to flow differently depending on the observer's frame of reference.- Supernova Remnants: The hosts address whether we can still see the star remnants that contributed to the formation of heavy elements in our solar system, revealing the complexities of cosmic recycling.- The Colors of Aurora: Listener Nate's question about the stunning colors of auroras leads to a fascinating discussion on the atmospheric processes that create different hues, from greens to reds and beyond.- Relativistic Mass and Spacecraft Acceleration: Lee from Sweden poses an intriguing idea about using relativistic mass ejection to enhance spacecraft propulsion, prompting a conversation about the theoretical limits of current technology and the physics involved.For more Space Nuts, including our continuously updating newsfeed and to listen to all our episodes, visit our website. Follow us on social media at SpaceNutsPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music Music, Tumblr, Instagram, and TikTok. We love engaging with our community, so be sure to drop us a message or comment on your favorite platform.If you'd like to help support Space Nuts and join our growing family of insiders for commercial-free episodes and more, visit spacenutspodcast.com/about.Stay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts-astronomy-insights-cosmic-discoveries--2631155/support.

December 7th: Ed Shin Convicted (2018) Speed is of the essence when it comes to reporting someone missing. But what happens when that opportunity is taken away from you? On December 7th 2018 a man was convicted for the crime he committed in which a family was led to believe someone they loved was alive and well long after they went missing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Black, Death, Speed, Thrash, Doom, Folk, Shred, Power, Prog & Traditional MetalPlaylists: https://spinitron.com/WSCA/show/160737/Black-Night-MeditationsWSCA 106.1 FM is non-commercial and non-profit.

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David Schreiber, Gründer von Duna, spricht  über den Aufbau kritischer Infrastrukturprodukte. Er teilt, warum sie sich bewusst gegen schnelle Iteration und für sorgfältige Architektur entschieden haben, wie sie trotz sensibler Daten erste Piloten gewannen und warum Vertrauen der entscheidende Faktor ist. Was du lernst: Wie du kritische Infrastruktur aufbaust Die Balance zwischen Speed und Qualität Warum Architektur entscheidend ist Den richtigen Mix aus MVP und Vertrauen ALLES ZU UNICORN BAKERY: https://stan.store/fabiantausch   Mehr zum Gast: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ds-berlin/  Website: https://duna.com/  Join our Founder Tactics Newsletter: 2x die Woche bekommst du die Taktiken der besten Gründer der Welt direkt ins Postfach: https://www.tactics.unicornbakery.de/

Welcome to Exponential View, the show where I explore how exponential technologies such as AI are reshaping our future. I've been studying AI and exponential technologies at the frontier for over ten years. Each week, I share some of my analysis or speak with an expert guest to make light of a particular topic. To keep up with the Exponential transition, subscribe to this podcast or to my newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/ --- In this episode, I reflect on the third anniversary of ChatGPT's launch as a marker of where we are in the exponential age. As a product, ChatGPT captures the speed of technological progress, the new behaviours emerging around it and the widening gap between innovation and institutional change – all symptomatic of the era I called the exponential age in my 2021 book. I cover: (00:09) How ChatGPT became synonymous with AI (01:41) The rise of the reasoning model (03:53) Why NVIDIA's chip cycle is exponential (05:53) How general-purpose tech changes everything (07:59) The subtle power of building bespoke software (11:46) The iPhone calculation that breaks everything (14:53) Who profits from a general-purpose technology? (16:38) The software market example (20:07) Are we headed towards another .com crash?  Where to find me: Exponential View newsletter: https://www.exponentialview.co/ Website: https://www.azeemazhar.com/ LinkedIn: /azhar Twitter/X: https://x.com/azeem Production by supermix.io and EPIIPLUS1 Production and research: Chantal Smith and Marija Gavrilov. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Speed is winning deals, but speed is also feeding fraud. We sit down with CRC Specialty Professional Lines Broker Mark Waldeck to unpack the messy middle where e‑signatures, legacy policy language, and decentralized bank controls collide. From the difference between a simple e‑signature and a cryptographically protected digital signature to why underwriters hesitate when controls vary by department, we map the risk pathways that turn convenience into claims friction.We examine a headline‑grabbing fraud where a bank funded a multimillion‑dollar loan to an impersonator despite notary involvement and remote verification. The dispute with the insurer highlights a wider issue: policy forms born in the era of signature cards are being stretched to cover today's remote closings, and the gaps show up at the worst time. If you work with financial institutions, you'll get a practical checklist to help ensure your banking clients are protected, from enforcing MFA and encryption to tightening scrutiny as transaction size grows. Tune in to understand how small cracks in verification can become multimillion-dollar failures—and what you can do right now to help clients stay ahead of emerging fraud risks. Visit REDYIndex.com for critical pricing analysis and a snapshot of the marketplace. Do you want to take your career to the next level? Join #TeamCRC to get access to best-in-class tools, data, exclusive programs, and more! Send your resume to resumes@crcgroup.com today!

The CEO of Muon Space predicts that artificial intelligence coupled with laser communications “ could ultimately become entirely transformative on blowing open things like the earth observation market.” Laura Winter speaks with Jonny Dyer, CEO and co-Founder of Muon Space.

Newt talks with Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR-4th), Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, about the importance of the bipartisan legislation known as the SPEED Act, “Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act.” The SPEED Act aims to reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to streamline permitting processes and expedite economic development. Westerman highlights the inefficiencies of the current NEPA process, which can delay projects for years, contributing to increased costs and hindering the U.S.'s ability to compete globally. Their discussion emphasizes the need for reform to facilitate infrastructure development, energy projects, and national security initiatives, while also addressing environmental concerns. The SPEED Act proposes a more streamlined permitting process, giving states a better role and reducing bureaucratic obstacles. Westerman has been working on this policy for eight years, aiming for bipartisan support to pass the legislation. Their conversation underscores the potential economic and environmental benefits of the proposed reforms, advocating for a balance between development and environmental protection.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hinch is in Abu Dhabi with the F1TV crew, so he took some time to chat with lead Formula One commentator for F1TV, Alex Jacques. He takes Hinch through how he got into racing, his progression in F1, and the most exciting race he's ever watched. Spoiler alert, it's an Indy 500. Check out Alex's book, Grid to Glory!+++Off Track is part of the SiriusXM Sports Podcast Network. If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, please give a 5-star rating and leave a review. Subscribe today wherever you stream your podcasts.Want some Off Track swag? Check out our store!Check out our website, www.askofftrack.comSubscribe to our YouTube Channel.Want some advice? Send your questions in for Ask Alex to AskOffTrack@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter at @askofftrack. Or individually at @Hinchtown, @AlexanderRossi, and @TheTimDurham. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today's guest is Dr. Jarod Burton. Jarod is a chiropractor and sports performance coach focused on neurology-driven movement. He blends manual therapy, strength modailities, and nervous system training to unlock better mechanics and athletic output. His work centers on identifying and clearing the neural limits that hold athletes back. In training, there are many layers to human performance and athletic outputs. One critical layer is the power transmission of the nervous system, and how to unlock this ability in all athletes. Many athletes naturally have a more adept system, while others may need more bridges to reach their highest levels of performance. In this episode, Jarod speaks on how his approach has evolved since entering clinical practice. He shares how he uses flywheel training to teach rhythm, “the dance” of force, and powerful catches rather than just concentric effort. He and Joel dig into spinal mobility, ribcage expansion, and even breakdance-style spinal waves as underrated keys to athletic freedom. Jarod then simplifies neurology for coaches, explaining how posture reveals brain-side imbalances and how targeted “fast stretch” work, loud/sticky altitude drops, and intelligently high training volumes can rebalance the system and unlock performance. Today's episode is brought to you by Hammer Strength. Use the code “justfly20” for 20% off any Lila Exogen wearable resistance training, including the popular Exogen Calf Sleeves. For this offer, head to Lilateam.com Use code “justfly10” for 10% off the Vert Trainer View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. (https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-home/) Timestamps 0:00 - Jarod's background and early coaching lens6:55 - Internal vs external focus and simple cues13:40 - What good movement feels like20:10 - Speed shapes and improving posture29:18 - Blending strength with elastic qualities41:02 - Breathing mechanics and better movement options52:37 - Pelvis function and creating better positions1:00:15 - Skill acquisition and training that sticks1:11:48 - Programming principles and individual needs1:19:40 - Coaching philosophy and athlete communication Actionable Takeaways 0:00 – Jarod's background, influences, and early coaching lens Jarod draws heavily on mentors in track and field, particularly their ability to teach posture, projection, and simple shapes. He notes that he used to overcoach mechanics and learned that athletes need experiences, not micromanagement. Emphasize principles over preferences. As Jarod says, “If I can teach the principles, the application can change.” 6:55 – Internal versus external focus and simple cues that work Jarod prefers cues that help athletes feel positions instead of thinking about them. He explains that internal cues can work when used to create awareness, but they cannot dominate the session. Use cues that point the athlete toward an outcome. For example, he prefers “push the ground away” instead of detailed joint instructions. 13:40 – What good movement feels like and the problem with forcing technique Jarod warns that coaches often chase “pretty” movement at the cost of effective movement. Technique should emerge from intention, not the other way around. He encourages coaches to give athletes tasks that naturally produce the shapes they want. If an athlete is struggling, simplify the environment rather than stack more verbal instructions. 20:10 – Speed development, posture, and improving shapes without overcoaching Jarod explains that acceleration improves when athletes learn to project rather than lift. Upright running quality comes from rhythm and relaxation, not from forcing tall mechanics. He recommends using contrast tasks to improve posture, such as wall drills combined with short accelerations. Let the environment teach the athlete and save verbal coaching for key errors only. 29:18 – Blending strength training with elastic qualities Jarod sees weight room work as support, not the driver, of speed and skill. He focuses on the elastic properties of tendons and connective tissue for speed athletes. He notes that heavy lifting can coexist with stiffness and elasticity if programmed strategically rather than constantly chased. Use low amplitude hops, bounds, and rhythm-based plyos to balance the traditional strength program. 41:02 – Breathing, ribcage mechanics, and natural movement options Jarod uses breathing work to help athletes find positions that allow better rotation and force transfer. He explains that tight ribcages limit athletic expression, not just breathing capacity. Many athletes struggle with rotation due to rigid breathing patterns, not lack of strength. Use breathing resets before high-speed work to create better movement “access.” 52:37 – Understanding the athletic pelvis and creating better positions Jarod emphasizes that pelvic orientation shapes nearly every aspect of movement. He encourages developing a pelvis that can both yield and create force, instead of being locked in extension or tucked under. Simple low-level movements like hip shifts, step-ups, and gait-primer patterns can transform sprint positions. Train the pelvis in motion, not just through isolated exercises. 1:00:15 – Skill acquisition, variability, and choosing training that sticks Jarod believes athletes need movement options and adaptability, not one perfect model. Variability builds resilience and skill transfer. Too much rigidity in training creates athletes who cannot adapt to chaotic sport environments. Coaches should create tasks that allow athletes to explore rather than follow rigid repetitions. 1:11:48 – Programming principles and adjusting training to the individual Jarod adjusts cycles based on athlete readiness rather than fixed rules. He focuses on how athletes respond to stress rather than the stress itself. Training should follow the athlete's progression of competence and confidence, not arbitrary timelines. He prefers a flexible structure where principles guide but the athlete determines the pace. 1:19:40 – Coaching philosophy, communication, and what athletes need Jarod highlights that coaching is not about showing off knowledge but helping someone move better. He builds trust through communication and clarity rather than overwhelming athletes with science. He believes athletes need environments that reward curiosity and creativity. The coach creates the environment, but the athlete creates the movement. Jarod Burton Quotes “If I can teach the principle, the application can change, and the athlete can adapt.” “Good movement should feel rhythmic and natural, not forced.” “The environment will teach the athlete faster than a paragraph of cues.” “When an athlete stops trying to make the movement pretty, it usually starts to become pretty.” “The weight room supports speed. It should not compete with speed.” “Breathing gives athletes access to positions they did not know they had.” “Adaptable athletes win. Rigid athletes break.” “Coaching is about creating options for the athlete, not limiting them.” “I want athletes who can solve problems, not just follow instructions.” “Trust comes from communication, not complexity.” About Jarod Burton Dr. Jarod Burton is a chiropractor and sports performance coach who lives in the intersection of clinical practice, neuroscience, and high-performance human movement. A student of neurology and motor learning, Jarod works to uncover the hidden nervous system constraints that influence posture, coordination, elasticity, and power expression in sport. His methods combine manual therapy, joint mapping, sensory integration, and movement-based diagnostics to create individualized solutions that free up range, recalibrate neural rhythm, and unlock athletic speed, strength, and resilience. Jarod is passionate about a holistic philosophy of performance; one where the brain, body, and environment work in concert to reveal the best version of the athlete.

In this episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, Matt Britton sits with Ofori Agboka, Vice President of Amazon People Experience and Technology, for a grounded look at what it takes to run and scale the Amazon workforce responsible for the most complex retail operation on the planet. From Amazon Cyber Monday operations and robotics-enabled fulfillment to AI in warehouse operations and large-scale training, Ofori breaks down how Amazon prepares people for the Future of work while keeping safety, clarity, and dignity at the center of the experience.Follow Suzy on Twitter: @AskSuzyBizFollow Ofori Agboka on LinkedInSubscribe to The Speed of Culture on your favorite podcast platform.And if you have a question or suggestions for the show, send us an email at suzy@suzy.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from the Amazon Warehouse in Robbinsville, in this episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, Matt Britton speaks with Amanda Doerr, Vice President of Core Shopping at Amazon, for a deep and practical look at how Amazon AI shopping is reshaping the entire buying journey. From the launch of Rufus AI shopping assistant and breakthroughs in AI review summarization to the rise of conversational commerce, voice commerce, and mobile-first e-commerce, Amanda shares how Amazon is solving customer friction and building the foundation for the future of e-commerce 2026.Follow Suzy on Twitter: @AskSuzyBizFollow Amanda Doerr on LinkedInSubscribe to The Speed of Culture on your favorite podcast platform.And if you have a question or suggestions for the show, send us an email at suzy@suzy.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Speed to Power” is the new race — but can the grid keep up?Hyperscalers, AI, and industrial demand are pushing load growth from flat to vertical. Yet most projects still take five to seven years just to interconnect.That's the bottleneck Hugo Mena is tackling as Chief Growth Officer at Electric Power Engineers (EPE).This live conversation addresses the forces shaping the grid of the future — and what it'll actually take to deliver power at the speed innovation demands. Hugo shares how developers, utilities, and data centers can collaborate to unlock speed to power without sacrificing reliability or long-term vision.Expect to learn:

I think we are spoiled by Trump, because he acts fast. Take the drug war, for example.To be clear, I have mixed emotions about what he's doing. That said, what else has worked?Kurt Schlichter said that the US bombed ships trying to bring mustard gas to the US and mustard gas killed no one American.But drugs kill 100,000 Americans a year.Reagan got Nancy to launch, “Just say no!”, as Americans were saying, YES YES YES!We had commercials showing our brains as fried eggs, and drug addicts just asked for bacon!Trump acted. Definitively. Is it working? I don't know. But I know I would get on any boat out of Venezuela for the foreseeable future. And Maduro is in BIG trouble politically, since drugs finance his regime.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 10 Minute Personal Brand Kickstart (FREE): https://the505podcast.courses/personalbrandkickstartWhat's up Rock Nation! Today we're joined by Ross McKay, second-time founder, brand architect, and the mind behind Cadence, the $2 sports drink built like a luxury brand.Ross previously built Daring Foods into a nine-figure company, and now he's moving faster, smarter, and with way more edge. In this episode, he shares how to build a brand that people brag about, why speed beats capital, and what it really takes to scale from startup to shelves in Target, Walmart, and GNC.We get into why most founders focus on the wrong metrics, how to stand out in crowded categories, and why Ross thinks distribution doesn't matter, velocity does. You'll also hear how he hires, how he sets boundaries, and why the secret to Cadence's success is obsession-level execution.Check out Ross here:https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@RossMackay1⁩  https://www.instagram.com/rossmackay/https://www.instagram.com/cadence/SUSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER: https://the505podcast.ac-page.com/rock-reportKostas' Lightroom Presetshttps://www.kostasgarcia.com/store-1/p/kglightroompresetsgreeceCOP THE BFIGGY "ESSENTIALS" SFX PACK HERE: https://courses.the505podcast.com/BFIGGYSFXPACKTimestamps: 0:00 – Intro1:14 – What Ross Is Doing Differently This Time2:50 – The Power of Saying No3:54 – Raising $150M and Losing Control4:37 – How He Kept Control at Cadence6:40 – Why He Only Raises From People He Likes7:28 – Branding That Breaks Through the Noise11:00 – Brand or Product: What Comes First?12:20 – 600 Runners Showed Up for Day One14:04 – Personal Brand Kickstart14:29 – How Ross & George Launched With $240K16:42 – Beverage vs Powder: Why They Went Hard Mode18:57 – The Exact Moment They Knew It Was Working21:11 – The Secret to Getting Repeat Customers22:53 – How Cadence Became a Fridge Trophy26:13 – Making Money at $2.50 a Can27:54 – Competing With Gatorade (Not Hipster Brands)28:44 – Why Store Count Is a Vanity Metric30:28 – Ross's Speed Strategy for Beating Big Brands31:37 – Can You Stay Fast While Scaling?34:03 – His First Hires & Who He Looks For35:32 – Where His Relentless Drive Comes From37:43 – Building a Billion-Dollar Brand With Boundaries41:06 – Never Too High, Never Too Low41:56 – How Cadence Is Built to Scale Fast44:30 – The Real Game Behind Shelf Placement46:04 – What Happens When You Flop in Retail47:52 – Using Sales Data to Break Into Big Stores50:05 – His Pitch to Take Over Retail51:49 – Why Cadence Isn't Just a Trendy Brand52:30 – Going Head-to-Head With Beverage Giants54:01 – How He Gets Retailers to Say Yes55:16 – Outselling 50 Brands at GNC56:22 – Why Every Retailer Gets a Unique Offer58:55 – The $2 Luxury Philosophy1:01:55 – What Your Fridge Says About You1:03:29 – How Ross Obsesses Over the Consumer1:07:20 – Why Cadence Doesn't White Label Anything1:08:43 – This Can Is Their Best Marketing Tool1:13:28 – The Truth About Distribution Obsession1:15:51 – The Only KPI That Matters in Retail1:17:57 – You'll Never Beat Big Brands on Capital1:21:41 – How He Makes Million-Dollar Decisions Fast1:23:52 – Speed vs Scale: Keeping the Culture Intact1:26:29 – How He Handles Pressure in High Stakes1:28:24 – Why Ross Is Gunning for a Billion in Revenue1:30:08 – Leading When Everything's on Fire1:32:03 – Real Talk for Founders Building from Scratch1:33:06 – Post Pod DebriefIf you liked this episode please send it to a friend and take a screenshot for your story! And as always, we'd love to hear from you guys on what you'd like to hear us talk about or potential guests we should have on. DM US ON IG: (Our DM's are always open!) Bfiggy: https://www.instagram.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.instagram.com/kostasg95/ TikTok:Bfiggy: https://www.tiktok.com/bfiggy/ Kostas: https://www.tiktok.com/kostasgarcia/

Listener Lyla is frustrated that her LSAT progress isn't going faster. Nate and Josh tell her to stay the course and keep prioritizing accuracy over speed.Read more on our website. Email daily@lsatdemon.com with questions or comments. Watch this episode on YouTube!

On this episode of Keep the Flame Alive, we have conversations with Olympic speed skater Erin Jackson and Olympic short track skater Corinne Stoddard that we had at the Team USA Media Summit. Follow Erin and Corinne on social: Erin: https://www.twitter.com/@ErinJackson480 https://www.instagram.com/@speedyj https://www.facebook.com/ErinJackson480/ https://www.youtube.com/US%20Speedskating https://sites.google.com/site/jacksonerin5032/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinjackson480 https://www.tiktok.com/@ErinJacksonSkates   Corinne: https://www.instagram.com/c0rie815/ https://www.tiktok.com/@fastbutunstable https://www.facebook.com/share/1B8epkSqbg   Alison reports back from a Milano Cortina 2026 talk on branding, where she learned about the thinking that went into the look of these Winter Olympics.    We have plenty of news about Milano Cortina, including the torch relay ceremony, the victory ceremony uniforms, woes about the ice hockey stadium, results from the speed skating test event, the Cortina Athletes Village, and woes about the construction delays of a gondola from Cortina to Tofane. Read more about the gondola here:  https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/sport/olympics-2026-cortina-ticket-sales-cap-intl   Plus, LA 2028 has a new sponsor, and SLC 2034 has a new name! And we travel to TKFLASTAN to get the latest from Team Keep the Flame Alive.   For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!   *** Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT. ***     Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com Hang out with us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348        

For Ad Free shows go to:www.patreon.com/dopeypodcastDave kicks off the first-ever Wednesday Dose of Dopey talking about post-Thanksgiving food insanity, a brownie-topped cheesecake Linda brought home, and his evolving stance on cheesecake as a “real” dessert. He updates the Dopey Nation on the Dopey Fitness Challenge, his failed attempt at jogging with his dog Winnie that ends with him eating pavement, ripping his pants, smacking the dog in frustration, and then feeling guilty about it all week. Dave reads an email from Haley in Mississippi, who loved the Glenis and Billy Strings episodes and promises heavy dopey stories from homelessness, prison, and IV meth. He begs for more voicemails and then plays a chunk of Miles Davis's autobiography, where Miles describes sliding from snorting heroin into shooting it, realizing he has a habit, and sinking into a four-year “horror show” of heroin and cocaine in New York.Then Dave introduces Naughty God (Dakota), a heavily tattooed Instagram/TikTok/YouTube creator who built a big following rating nod videos “sportscaster-style.” Dakota tells his story: growing up between a sweet, young mom and a meth-addicted dad, starting drugs at 13 by snorting random pain pills he found in a friend's brother's room, and becoming the classic weed-identity kid with a pot-leaf MySpace. He forms the band LAW with his friend Jacob Nowell (Bradley Nowell's son, who now sings for Sublime), and they grow up playing shows in San Diego and Long Beach while having access to grown-up levels of partying. Dakota falls in love with cocaine in his mid-teens, then with speed, and his using gets him kicked out of LAW when Jacob gets sober and can't handle him showing up high to everything.After moving to Orange County, Dakota dives into selling and using coke in San Clemente, then adds Oxy 30s (“blues”), fentanyl pills, and heroin to his daily rotation. He and his tight crew—especially his best friend Robert—live in a constant loop of dealing, partying, and using. Over two months, Robert, Dakota's cousin, and three other friends all die from fentanyl. The losses break him: he has a mental breakdown, calls his grandma, and checks himself into a San Diego hospital detox, where he's put on 100mg of methadone and spends years on the clinic grind.Dakota talks about being on methadone for four–five years, barely using anything else, then deciding—with help from a therapist—that he'll never fully turn a corner if he stays on it forever. He tapers himself from 100mg down to 4mg over about a year, jumps off, and goes through a long, foggy, uncomfortable withdrawal. He's now about a year and a half off methadone, occasionally smokes weed, sees a therapist, plays bass in his band Somehow Unseen, and works on content. He and Dave riff on nodding (“my whole life”), nod techniques, fentanyl's short “legs,” and the economics of why heroin likely won't “come back” in a big way.Dakota explains how he built NaughtyGod into a fast-growing account by structuring it like a recurring “show” and inventing/collecting phrases like “Charm City Rainbow,” “Nodwalk Shuffle,” “Baltimore Street Yoga,” “Sheriff of Nottingham” to describe different nod poses. They talk about Instagram flagging and banning drug content, other junkie meme/recovery pages, and how both of them accidentally stumbled into helping people through content that started out as pure jokes and self-centered ambition. They agree to collab on a nod reel, and Dakota shouts out his band and pages.All that and more on a brand new WEDNESDAY Episode of the good old dopey show! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this first solo show for December, the host, Larry Hagner, comes to the audience with anger and urgency to discuss a massive, sinister online threat targeting children through seemingly innocent games like Roblox and Minecraft. Drawing heavily from a recent Sean Ryan Show interview with ethical hacker Ryan Montgomery (Episode 255), the host alerts parents to the dark fringes of the internet and a dangerous group, 764, described as a dark web cult with an "indifference" belief that lives and families mean nothing.   The episode features the heartbreaking, public post from Adam and Amanda Tate whose 15-year-old son, Bryce Tate, tragically took his own life after being a victim of sextortion. The host details how these criminals build trust, escalate quickly (the Tate tragedy occurred in just three hours), and use threats of public exposure to manipulate vulnerable children. Beyond sextortion, the episode warns about extreme acts of self-harm, pet-killing, and even violence against family members being coerced for things as trivial as Roblox Robux.   The host emphasizes that parental awareness is the only defense. He strongly recommends using a parental monitoring software like Bark (about $15/month) to monitor online chats, text messages, and social media, allowing parents to get immediate alerts and intervene before tragedy strikes. This is a passionate call to action for fathers to educate themselves, have ongoing, fruitful conversations, and protect their children's lives.   TIMELINE SUMMARY   [0:00] Introduction [1:47] Episode disclaimer for parents [2:22] Alerting parents to the "massive threat" in games like Roblox and Minecraft [3:35] How innocent games can be tampered with and made evil [3:59] Introducing the Sean Ryan Show and the interview with Ryan Montgomery [4:37] Episode 255 of The Sean Ryan Show: "Roblox and Minecraft. Hacker exposes the largest online video games." [5:22] Warning: Roblox is not safe; introduction to the online group 764 [6:07] The 764 group's belief in indifference and not caring about the welfare of children [6:51] Sharing the story of Bryce Tate (15) and his parents, Adam and Amanda Tate [8:57] The discovery: Bryce was a victim of sextortion—a serious and growing threat  [9:49] The extortion phase: demanding $500 and threatening to share photos.  [10:22] Bryce, believing his world was destroyed, was manipulated into taking his own life [11:11] The rapid timeline: the first message to the final tragic act occurred in just three hours [12:02] Episode recommendation: Sean Ryan/Ryan Montgomery interview  [13:13] Discussing extreme acts: forcing a 14-year-old girl to hang herself naked on video [14:08] Forcing kids to tattoo usernames, burn themselves, and kill their pets or parents/siblings on video [15:10] The shocking detail: kids are being coerced for Roblox Robux, not even real money  [16:49] Bark: Parental Monitoring Software [19:11] Call to parents: Make an effort to have ongoing conversations with your kids [19:35] The modern threat: the bully can be in your kid's bedroom, 25 feet away, and you have "no idea" [20:25] Conclusion: The only protection our kids have is us; a passionate final call to action.   5 KEY TAKEAWAYS   The Threat is Real and Sinister Online platforms like Roblox and Minecraft are being exploited by a large, sadistic group (764) on the dark web that preys on vulnerable children, escalating from sextortion to coercing extreme acts of self-harm and violence for Robux or recognition. Speed is Critical—Intervention Must Be Immediate. The sextortion process is incredibly fast. A child can be manipulated into a catastrophic decision in as little as three to six hours, as seen in the Bryce Tate tragedy, highlighting the crucial need for immediate digital awareness and monitoring. The Stakes Are Life and Death. These criminals are professionals who exploit children's innocence and sense of shame, often leading victims to take their own lives. The host argues this is a heinous crime, describing the acts as being "murdered... through his phone".  Awareness is the Only Defense. Parents cannot protect their children unless they know what is happening. The host urges parents to research the topic (especially the Sean Ryan Show interview with Ryan Montgomery) to understand the depth of the technological and psychological infiltration. Protect Your Kids with Technology and Ongoing Conversation. While open, ongoing conversations are vital, parental monitoring tools like Bark are essential for a safety net. Bark monitors 30+ apps and texts, sending immediate alerts to parents, allowing intervention within minutes to stop a fast-moving threat.   LINKS Podcast Shownotes: https://thedadedge.com/1409 Bark: Parental Monitoring Software: https://thedadedge.com/bark #255 Ryan Montgomery - Roblox & Minecraft: Hacker Exposes the Largest Online Video Games: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2GPd36fFPuLsBSlZp6WUvc?si=7BfOCdNOTzuoW4LkvHzyAA #JusticeforBryce - Adam Tate's Official Announcement: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=32876961955250751&id=100000911118224&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=nnmVU8LFIdec2oLO# Pentester: https://pentester.com Ryan Montgomery: https://www.youtube.com/@0dayCTF

From jumping straight to deal structure to building repeatable acquisition programs that scale, Corey Kupfer shares the exact whiteboarding process he uses with clients to create successful deal programs across M&A, joint ventures, licensing, and any deal-driven growth strategy. In this solocast episode of the DealQuest Podcast, host Corey Kupfer walks through the five critical steps that must come before deal structure when building a repeatable deal program. Drawing on 35+ years of deal-making experience and countless whiteboarding sessions that have helped create platforms completing dozens of transactions, Corey reveals why most attorneys start in the wrong place and how proper planning separates successful programs from expensive mistakes. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: In this episode, you'll discover why deal structure should be the sixth step in your process, not the first, and how to identify your personal and business motivations before pursuing any deal program. Corey shares the five whys technique from Honda's former CEO to uncover your real drivers, how to define your ideal target or partner profile to avoid wasting time on opportunities that don't fit your strategic criteria, and why your value proposition must differentiate you from competitors who may have more capital. You'll learn how to assemble the right deal team with both internal and external expertise, why building a repeatable model before doing individual deals prevents cap table nightmares and integration problems, and the power of having template documents ready to demonstrate you're a serious player. The framework applies whether you're pursuing acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing deals, franchising, or any other deal-driven growth approach. THE WHITEBOARDING PROCESS: Most clients come to Corey asking about deal structure. What should the terms be? Should they pay cash or offer equity? What about earnouts? These are important questions, but they're not where you should start. After doing whiteboarding sessions with countless clients over 35 years, Corey can say with complete confidence that every single one has gotten significant value from the process. The firms that skip these steps end up with inconsistent deal structures, cap table problems, and integration nightmares. The companies that do this right create efficient, repeatable processes that let them scale their deal programs. THE INTERNAL JOURNEY: Corey often talks about things other lawyers don't discuss. He focuses on the internal journey, making sure business leaders and executives move forward on deals from the right place. When you get to wherever you think you want to go, you should actually be happy and satisfied, and it should help you achieve your objectives and goals. Too many entrepreneurs pursue growth strategies based on external pressures or assumptions about what they think they should be doing, based on entrepreneurial wisdom out there. They grow and do things in ways that don't actually end up making them happy and satisfied and aren't necessarily best for their business. STEP ONE: START WITH YOUR WHY: The first question in every whiteboarding session is why. Not just the corporate why, although that matters. Corey wants to know your personal why as the founder or executive driving this strategy. If your why is geographic expansion because your clients need services in other markets, that's legitimate. If your why is adding capabilities that will create a better integrated client experience, that works too. If your why is increasing enterprise value before an exit in five or ten years, there's no judgment about that. You just need to be clear on what drives you, because that clarity will shape every subsequent decision. Corey uses the five whys technique, which comes from the former CEO or chairman of Honda. You ask why five times, going deeper with each question. Why do you want to grow? To get bigger. Why do you want to get bigger? To serve clients better. Why will that serve clients better? Because they have needs we currently send elsewhere, and integration would improve their experience. Why does that matter to you? Because I genuinely care about my clients and believe this will make them happier while helping our company grow. That depth of understanding separates deal programs that succeed from those that become expensive distractions. STEP TWO: DEFINE YOUR TARGET PROFILE: Once you know your why, you can determine who you should be targeting. This is where many firms waste tremendous time and energy. Doing deals is a distraction from running your business, especially if you don't have a dedicated corporate development team with finance people, legal resources, and integration specialists. You need to be surgical about who you pursue. Think about the wealth management space, which Corey works in extensively. There are huge numbers of buyers right now. The market is incredibly competitive. If you're trying to compete with private equity backed aggregators on their terms, you'll lose every time. They can pay top dollar, close fast, and offer the second bite of the apple through rollover equity and multiple arbitrage. If you don't have PE backing, you need a completely different value proposition. Maybe it's culture. Maybe it's the opportunity for advisors to expand their service offerings. Maybe it's taking administrative burden off retiring founders so they can focus on what they love. Your value proposition should be authentic to who you are and what you can actually deliver. STEP THREE: ASSEMBLE YOUR DEAL TEAM: Before you start actively pursuing deals, you need to know who will be on your deal team, both internally and externally. This includes whoever sources deals for you, whether that's an internal corporate development person, an investment banker, a recruiter, or a consultant. You need financial expertise, and it better be someone with deal experience. Accountants, CFOs, and controllers who have never worked on transactions are very different from those who have. The same goes for legal. Your general corporate lawyer is not the person to build your deal program. Then you have all the integration functions. Technology integration. HR and culture integration. Client communication and retention strategies. You might not have every person in place on day one, but you need to know what roles are required and have a plan for filling them before you close your first deal. STEP FOUR: BUILD YOUR MODEL: This is where most companies make a critical mistake. They do deals opportunistically without creating a consistent model first. Someone approaches them, they negotiate terms, they close. Then another opportunity comes along, they do it differently. After three or four deals, they have completely different structures with different equity classes, different earnout provisions, different everything. This creates massive problems. If you have different classes of equity, your cap table becomes a mess. If sellers talk to each other and realize they got very different deals, you have credibility issues and potential legal exposure. Integration becomes nearly impossible because you don't have standardized processes. The best acquirers find their model and make it repeatable. They have template legal documents. They have standardized financial analysis and underwriting processes. They have systems for due diligence and integration. Every deal follows the same fundamental structure with minor variations based on specific circumstances. When you build your model, you're deciding the big conceptual components. Are you doing all cash deals or creating an equity class for rollover? How much will you pay upfront versus over time? Will you have retention requirements tied to revenue or client retention? What about earnouts for partners who stay involved in growth? In service businesses where client relationships matter, you almost always want some backend money contingent on retention. If you're buying a manufacturing business with hard assets, the calculus is different. STEP FIVE: DRILL DOWN TO DEAL STRUCTURE: Once you have your model, you can determine the actual deal structure for individual transactions. What specific equity class will you offer? If you're an S corp, you can only have one class of equity. Will you restructure as a C corp or an LLC to offer different equity terms? What exact percentage will you pay upfront versus backend? Over how many years? If you know you're targeting retiring business owners who want to cash out, they probably want more money upfront and less backend risk. If you're targeting younger partners who want to stay and grow, they might prefer less upfront and more backend upside. All of these specific terms fit within your broader model. You're not reinventing the structure for each deal. You're applying your established approach with minor customizations based on the specific situation. THE POWER OF TEMPLATE DOCUMENTS: The ideal scenario is completing your whiteboarding session, building your model, and creating template legal documents before you start seriously pursuing targets. When someone expresses interest, you can immediately send a letter of intent. You can start due diligence with established processes. You can deliver definitive legal documents quickly. This makes you look professional and serious. It shows potential partners that you know what you are doing and have your act together. Speed matters in competitive markets. Corey understands the practical reality. Template documents cost legal fees before you have a deal in place. Some clients aren't willing to make that investment without more certainty. Others have already started conversations with potential partners before they come in for the whiteboarding session. Recently, a client did the whiteboarding session in the morning, then met with a potential seller that same afternoon. The seller was ready to move faster than expected. The documents got built for that specific deal, which also became the templates for future transactions. REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS: The framework works across any deal type. While Corey uses M&A as the primary example because that's what most clients ask about, the principles apply to licensing strategies, joint venture partnerships, franchising programs, or any other deal-driven growth approach. The key is understanding what the ideal process looks like and getting as close to it as circumstances allow. A lot of these factors depend on your industry and the types of relationships with clients and customers. The contractual length and other factors with those customers and clients help dictate what the model will be around things like retention requirements. If you're bringing in retired folks who are looking to get out of the business and will be gone after a consulting arrangement, that will dictate a different part of the model than somebody who is younger, coming in, going to stay with the company, and wants to continue to grow. THE PERSONAL WHY MATTERS MOST: Company objectives matter. Strategic rationale matters. Financial considerations matter. But your personal why as the founder or executive is equally important. Why are we entrepreneurs if we're not creating companies that let us build the lives we want? Too many business leaders grow based on external pressure or assumptions about what they should be doing. They read about how some company scaled through acquisition, so they think they need to do the same thing. They hear about the multiples PE backed platforms are achieving, so they assume that's the only path. Then they build companies they don't actually want to run. They create obligations and structures that make them miserable. They achieve financial success but personal dissatisfaction. Your personal motivations are relevant and legitimate. If you want to build a legacy company, own that. If you want to create enterprise value for an exit, be honest about it. If you genuinely care about providing better client experiences, let that drive your decisions. When your personal why aligns with your company strategy, you create something sustainable. PROVEN RESULTS: These whiteboarding sessions have helped build platforms that have completed dozens of acquisitions. The firms that invest in proper planning make deal-driven growth look easy because they've built proper foundations. The firms that skip these steps end up scrambling, making mistakes, and wondering why their deal program isn't delivering expected results. The process creates tremendous value for every client who goes through it, helping founders create businesses they actually want to run while achieving their financial objectives. Perfect for business leaders considering deal-driven growth, entrepreneurs building acquisition programs, executives exploring joint ventures or strategic alliances, and anyone who wants to pursue deals without wasting time and resources on opportunities that don't align with strategic objectives. • • •FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/dealprogram• • •FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER:https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/http://coreykupfer.com/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today! Episode Highlights with Timestamps [00:00] - Introduction to the whiteboarding process for building deal programs [01:01] - Why this process applies to all deal types, not just M&A [01:53] - Five steps that must come before deal structure [02:43] - The passion for visioning, planning, and strategy sessions [03:24] - Why starting with deal structure is the wrong approach [04:18] - The internal journey and making sure deals align with happiness [05:24] - Step One - Starting with your why and getting clear on motivations [06:26] - Using the five whys technique to go deeper on your drivers [06:49] - Example of the five whys in action with client scenarios [08:02] - Step Two - Defining who you're targeting to avoid wasting time [09:54] - How to compete when you don't have PE backing in competitive markets [10:59] - Creating authentic value propositions that differentiate you [12:43] - Step Three - Assembling your deal team internally and externally [13:27] - Why you need the model before individual deal structures [14:08] - The mistake of doing deals opportunistically without consistency [14:44] - Problems created by inconsistent deal structures across multiple deals [15:02] - Step Four - Building a repeatable model that can scale [17:01] - Deciding conceptual components like cash versus equity structures [19:35] - Step Five - Drilling down to specific deal structure within your model [20:34] - Determining upfront versus backend payment percentages [22:17] - The ideal scenario of having template documents ready [22:38] - The practical reality when clients have already started conversations [24:56] - Socializing deals to key stakeholders after closing [24:58] - The importance of not skipping the process even under time pressure [25:25] - Why your personal why matters as much as company objectives [26:24] - The danger of building companies you don't want to run Host Bio Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker with more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Show Description Do you want your business to grow faster? The DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer reveals how successful entrepreneurs and business leaders use strategic deals to accelerate growth. From large mergers and acquisitions to capital raising, joint ventures, strategic alliances, real estate deals, and more, this show discusses the full spectrum of deal-driven growth strategies. Get the confidence to pursue deals that will help your company scale faster. Related Episodes Episode 80 - Deal-Ready Foundations with Corey Kupfer: Explore the foundational elements needed before pursuing any deal strategy, including team building and internal preparation. Episode 84 - Business Partnerships Deals with Corey Kupfer: Understand how partnership structures work and how to create successful collaborative deals. Episode 90 - The BEST Of Company Founders with Corey Kupfer: Learn from multiple founders about their deal-driven growth strategies and what worked in building their companies. Episode 134 - Deal Preparation with Corey Kupfer: Discover the five steps toward deal-making success and how proper preparation prevents poor performance. Episode 138 - 5 More Steps Towards Deal-Making Success with Corey Kupfer: Building on the foundation of deal preparation, explore additional critical steps for executing successful transactions. Social Media Follow DealQuest Podcast: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ Website: https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Keywords/Tags deal program planning, M&A strategy, acquisition planning, joint venture strategy, licensing deals, deal structure framework, whiteboarding sessions, strategic deal planning, repeatable deal process, deal-driven growth, deal team building, value proposition for deals, target partner profile, deal legal structure, franchise strategy, strategic alliances, five whys technique, business motivation alignment, personal why in business, cap table management, template legal documents, integration strategies, corporate development, wealth management M&A, PE competition strategies, deal model building

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we discuss speed. Far too many candidates focus on being faster. That is another myth.   Speed is an outcome of having good technique. So if you are slow, deconstruct your technique, analyze weaknesses and develop a new way to solve arithmetic. That is key. Unless your technique improves aka "your process to solve math," you will never improve. We explain how in this podcast. Moreover, if an interviewer or practice partner indicates you are slow, think carefully if your technique can be improved, versus merely trying to speak faster. Note, there are many different techniques to solve arithmetic problems so do not search for the "best" technique. Find one that works for you.   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

This week's episode is a quick-fire catch up with Davi and Olly as they race the clock, talking winter riding, long johns, sauna chats, Facebook Marketplace rabbit holes and getting properly hyped for The Ride Companion Christmas Ride at BikePark Wales.  The Ride Companion Christmas Ride at BikePark Wales! Episode Sponsors:-  - For a limited time, our listeners get 60% off FOR LIFE AND 2 Free Gifts at Mars Men when you use code RIDE at https://mengotomars.com/ - Looking for a new car or van and don't want to deal with dodgy dealers? Check out https://www.cargurus.co.uk - WORX Tools → 15% off the full range with code THERIDECOMPANION: https://uk.worx.com Get early access & ad-free episodes → https://www.patreon.com/theridecompanion You can also support our long term partners: - Marin Bikes: marinbikes.com/gb - Focus Bikes: focus-bikes.com - HUEL: Get 15% OFF with code 'RIDE' at huel.com/ - Hiplok: https://hiplok.com/the-ride-companion  - Get 10% off Troy Lee Designs with code 'theridecompanion' at saddleback.avln.me/c/OzduCWvjtcOr - Athletic Greens: Get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs at athleticgreens.com/RIDECOMPANION - Compex: Get 20% off with code 'THERIDECOMPANION' at compex.com/uk/ - Worx: Get 15% off with code 'THERIDECOMPANION' at worx.com - LAKA: Get 30 days of FREE insurance with code 'RIDECOMPANION30' at laka.co - HKT Products: Use code 'PODCAST' for 10% off the entire site. Follow Olly Wilkins Instagram @odub_23 YouTube @owilkins23 The Ride Companion Instagram @theridecompanion YouTube @TheRideCompanion YouTube clips and BTS channel @moreridecompanion Get official Ride Companion merch, find old episodes and more theridecompanion.co.uk

Imagine logging in next month to find your bill for the AI tool you use has doubled, or that you've run out of credits halfway through a critical project.The explosion of AI video tools has brought incredible capabilities to content creators, but alongside these innovations comes a new challenge: complex pricing models that make it difficult to budget, explain costs to your boss, or know if you're getting sustainable value from your tools.Joining us in this episode is Daniel Foster, Director of Monetization at TechSmith, who studies the evolution of software pricing and has been closely watching how AI tools are being packaged and priced.Daniel shares practical advice for evaluating AI tools beyond just their features, looking at the "whole product" including support, documentation, and pricing sustainability. He explains how to navigate credit-based systems, and why bundled solutions might save you both money and headaches.Learning points from the episode include:00:38 - 01:52 Introduction to Daniel01:52 - 03:06 Daniel's tip for using images and video in work03:06 - 05:05 Why pricing decisions matter as much as features05:05 - 07:51 Current AI pricing models emerging in the market07:51 - 10:56 The complexity of credit-based systems10:56 - 13:47 Alternatives and features to look for in pricing13:47 - 19:54 Evaluating all-in-one vs. specialized tools19:54 - 22:29 Support and documentation considerations22:29 - 23:23 The most popular AI feature: Voice generation23:23 - 27:56 Speed round questions27:56 - 28:53 Daniel's final take28:53 - 30:14 OutroImportant links and mentions:Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielfoster/Camtasia: https://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/

Vivek Pandya of Adobe Digital Insights spotlights Cyber Monday shopping. “Consumers are still very much prioritizing these days to get the best deals,” he says. Momentum is more in “the direction of Black Friday” as they still have the latitude to decide when the best time to buy is, he adds. Vivek discusses trends within holiday shopping and how AI and BNPL services are transforming the experience.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Before trading, read the Options Disclosure Document. http://bit.ly/2v9tH6DSubscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Show Notes In this episode of Develop This!, host Dennis Fraise sits down with Jason El Koubi, President and CEO of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), to explore how Virginia has earned — and maintained — its reputation as one of the best states for business. Jason shares how Virginia's nonpartisan approach to economic development ensures continuity, focus, and accountability. He dives deep into the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, a national model for workforce training that has helped attract global leaders like AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly. From site readiness to speed-to-market, Virginia's economic playbook emphasizes agility, collaboration, and long-term talent development. Jason also discusses how the state is positioning itself for the industries of the future — including pharmaceutical manufacturing and artificial intelligence — all while doubling down on its goal to be America's Top State for Talent. If you're passionate about strategic, results-driven economic development, this episode offers a rare look inside a state model that works — and what other regions can learn from it.

About Dylan Papa:Dylan Papa is a seasoned healthcare technology executive with more than a decade of leadership experience at Zelis, where he has played a central role in driving commercial growth, transformation, and data-driven strategy. Now serving as Senior Vice President of Commercial Growth, he brings a strong track record of expanding revenue, shaping organizational direction, and guiding high-impact initiatives across the payments and cost-management ecosystem. Throughout his tenure, Dylan has held progressive leadership roles spanning growth and transformation, payments transformation, business insights and analytics, and business solutions—each one sharpening his expertise at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and financial operations. His career began in analytics and business development, giving him a grounded, operational understanding of the industry he now helps steer at a strategic level. Backed by a foundation in finance from Montclair State University, Dylan combines analytical rigor with a forward-looking mindset, making him a trusted leader in navigating complex healthcare challenges and scaling innovative solutions.Things You'll Learn:Providers increasingly want secure, simple, and expedited transactions supported by actionable data. This shift gives them more control while improving payer efficiency.Modernizing payments isn't just about speed; it's about giving providers a single, transparent view of all transactions across multiple payers. This visibility helps them reduce denials, identify payment discrepancies, and forecast revenue more accurately.Consumer expectations for transparency and personalized benefits are pushing healthcare toward more flexible, customized models. Younger generations especially demand clearer information and greater financial control.Fragmentation remains the biggest obstacle in modernizing healthcare payments, from legacy tech stacks to inconsistent treasury processes. Harmonizing these systems is essential for building a seamless, end-to-end experience.The next frontier is transforming payments from an administrative task into a strategic asset. When speed, transparency, and control converge, every stakeholder—payer, provider, and consumer—wins.Resources:Connect with and follow Dylan Papa on LinkedIn.Follow Zelis on LinkedIn and visit their Website.

This week on Speed This Week, the Crew Chief and Trey break down the opening days of the antitrust trial pitting 23XI and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR. From Denny Hamlin's emotional testimony and the soaring cost of charters to Commissioner Steve Phelps' “stupid redneck” text about Richard Childress and NASCAR's grip on the media narrative, they dig into what this all means for teams, fans, and the future of the sport.Then the guys shift gears to the NFL, where Trey's bold call about the Panthers upsetting the Rams comes true and Bryce Young looks like a different quarterback. They talk Carolina's playoff path, what the Panthers should do with Bryce long-term, Lane Kiffin's latest chaos, and why trying to watch every NFL game across 10 streaming platforms could run fans nearly $750 a year.

In this weeks episode of the Better With Running Podcast features Run2PB Coach Ben Stolz and athlete Shaun White, return to the show to recap Shaun's spectacular 2025 running season. Following a strategic focus on speed development, Shaun achieved a string of major Personal Bests (PBs), including significant improvements in the 3K, 5K (15:25), 10K (32:02), and Half Marathon. This performance surge was a deliberate part of Coach Stolz's plan to boost Shaun's foundational speed and power, setting the stage for a strong marathon attempt at Berlin Marathon, with tough conditions, we hear about how that all went down, including his fuel plans,and some training partners, who left Chriso speechless with the carb intake!Reflecting on his breakout season, Shaun and Ben highlighted several key takeaways for listeners. Shaun credits his success to consistency in training and adding strength training, which he had previously avoided for 20 years. He strongly encourages other marathon runners to "back themselves in" and focus on getting quicker at shorter distances like the 3K and 5K, asserting that this speed and confidence naturally translate into better marathon performances. The episode also touches on his shoe rotation.With thanks to Oat Running our partner, Listeners of the show can get a a 15% discount using "run2pb15" at the check out. Visit www⁠.oatrunning.com.au

We would like to thank our advertisers for our podcast: This episode is brought to you by Gold Co! Get up to $10,000 in FREE silver when you go to https://DineshGold.com. Don’t wait - The time to invest in gold and silver is now! Danielle D’Souza Gill covers Trump’s incredible executive orders from 2025 and the lightning speed of his success in office. Danielle also interviews Texas Congressman Troy Nehls about his recent bill signed into law by President Trump, the Medal of Honor Act.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's harder than ever for companies to get their marketing messages in front of the right customers. One increasingly popular -- but also risky -- tactic is fastvertising, the rapid development of ads that tap into a cultural moment, aiming to increase brand relevance and awareness. Harvard Business School associate professor Ayelet Israeli shares pitch-perfect examples, including those from her coauthor, the actor Ryan Reynolds, and his marketing firm Maximum Effort. She explains the importance of timing, describes the talent, culture, and processes you need to succeed, and outlines how to extend the impact of these ads. Ayelet, along with Leonard Schlesinger, Matt Higgins, and Ryan Reynolds, wrote the HBR article "Marketing at the Speed of Culture."

Hinch's Qatar hotel had an impressive water park. Both of the guys had travel experiences, then they dive into the F1 race. A baffling pit decision from McLaren helped tighten the championship battle even more. And fan anger at Kimi Antonelli has reached an unacceptable level.+++Off Track is part of the SiriusXM Sports Podcast Network. If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, please give a 5-star rating and leave a review. Subscribe today wherever you stream your podcasts.Want some Off Track swag? Check out our store!Check out our website, www.askofftrack.comSubscribe to our YouTube Channel.Want some advice? Send your questions in for Ask Alex to AskOffTrack@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter at @askofftrack. Or individually at @Hinchtown, @AlexanderRossi, and @TheTimDurham. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, Matt Britton sits down with Kenny Mitchell, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Levi Strauss & Co., to unpack how Levi's balances 170 years of history with the urgency of modern culture. Kenny shares how Levi's marketing strategy is evolving through cultural partnerships like the Beyoncé REIMAGINE campaign, the Shaboozey Men's Icons campaign, and the Nike Levi's collaboration. This conversation explores how an iconic global brand stays relevant through culture-led brand growth, data, AI-powered personalization, and disciplined leadership.Follow Suzy on Twitter: @AskSuzyBizFollow Kenny Mitchell on LinkedInSubscribe to The Speed of Culture on your favorite podcast platform.And if you have a question or suggestions for the show, send us an email at suzy@suzy.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The latest edition of the retail industry's leading podcast features an in-depth conversation with Jason Buechel, CEO of Whole Foods Market and Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores, who shares Amazon's rapidly expanding grocery ambitions. Already surpassing $100 billion in gross sales, Amazon is leaning into grocery as a strategic category driven by frequency, loyalty, Prime stickiness, and the potential to unite all household purchasing into a seamless digital and physical ecosystem.Buechel explains how Amazon is transforming grocery shopping—a category in which consumers currently visit four to five retailers a month—into a single, unified experience. With more than 1,000 same-day grocery delivery locations today scaling to 2,300 cities, store-level innovations such as Whole Foods Daily Shop formats, and the integration of perishables directly into Amazon baskets alongside electronics or apparel, the company is erasing long-standing channel barriers. He also outlines the “one grocery” operational vision: unified supply chains, technology stacks, and customer journeys across banners, while preserving the brand trust and standards that Whole Foods customers demand.The episode opens with co-hosts Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc breaking down early holiday results. This year's hottest retail storyline, however, may be the sudden emergence of agentic AI. Tools such as Amazon's Rufus and ChatGPT are now influencing search and conversion decisions, helping fuel what the hosts dub “the most agentic Christmas yet.” With traffic gains from AI agents multiplying, the shift from traditional search to intelligent assistants is poised to accelerate dramatically in 2026.The discussion then turns to Kohl's, and the decision to name interim CEO Michael Bender to the permanent position. The hosts frame this as symptomatic of a deeper issue: a retailer with declining relevance in a shrinking total addressable market.On the heels of new quarterly earnings reports they also spotlight the theme of “profitless prosperity”—brands reporting modest sales improvements but sliding EBITDA as tariffs, promotions, and supply chain pressures erode margin—the overarching message: top-line growth is not victory unless gross profit dollars follow.The episode concludes with the remarkable rise of Google's AI game, and Sears inexplicably still operating a handful of stores (though likely not for much longer). SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Send us a textFlyball is loud. Barking. Gates slamming. Paws pounding turf. Behind it all -  pure skill.In this episode, Nicole - a force-free flyball trainer and vet - breaks down how elite teams turn raw arousal into laser-focused speed and rock-solid safety, even under the pressure of Crufts.What We Cover (Fast + Clear): • How to fix box turns without frying your dog's brain • When food beats toys for technical flyball work • Why the fixed nine-inch Crufts jump changes stride planning • How to prep for loud crowds, benched halls, and high-energy lanes • The real mechanics behind a 3.33-second singles run • Rabbit-skin balls: useful tool or training trap? • Why her team runs indoor-only on springy rubber for long-term safety • How to know when a dog needs to retire—even if they love to runNew to Flyball? We map out UKFL, BFA, and the new outdoor-only league, plus exactly what to look for in a great team: their training choices, warm-ups, cooldowns, and culture.If you care about speed, kindness, and teamwork, this conversation gives you practical takeaways you can use in your next session.

For years, we've been taught that SEO was the key to being found online, write the blogs, keep the website fresh, get your backlinks, and trust the process. But there's a new shift happening in real estate that most agents haven't caught onto yet.  AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, is quietly becoming more powerful than traditional SEO. And it makes perfect sense. Buyers and sellers aren't searching the way they used to. They're asking full questions out loud into their phones, their cars, and their AI tools. They don't want links…they want answers.  AEO is built for exactly that. It rewards the agents who show up with real answers to real questions, not just blog posts stuffed with keywords. It's the reason some agents are suddenly popping up in AI overviews, even if their websites aren't the "best ranked." How do we set ourselves up for success with AEO? How can we take AI to the next level?  In this episode, I'm joined by digital marketing expert, StoryBrand Certified Guide, and the founder of Changescape Web, Ken Tucker.   We talk about what this shift means for real estate pros: why AEO is winning, how zero-click search is changing consumer behavior, and why some of the platforms we stopped paying attention to, like Yelp and Bing Places, are becoming essential again.   Things You'll Learn In This Episode  Yelp and Bing Places matter more than you think LLMs pull their local business data from platforms most agents ignore. What opportunities open up when our Yelp and Bing profiles are fully optimized and feeding the AI tools directly? Zero-click search is reshaping how people choose agents Consumers are getting everything they need in the AI overview, no clicks required. How do we stand out when the decision is made before they ever reach our sites? Your FAQs are the new fuel for visibility AI tools elevate the agents who answer specific buyer and seller questions clearly and consistently. How do we build a robust FAQ ecosystem? Speed-to-lead is being rewritten by AI phone systems. AI voice assistants respond instantly and book appointments before a human can even glance at their phone. How would this impact our conversion rates?   About the Guest Ken Tucker is a Fractional CMO and Marketing Solution Architect, StoryBrand Certified Guide, marketing expert, speaker, and President and Founder of Changescape Web. Changescape Web was founded in 2005. Many businesses struggle to be found online. Changescape Web builds websites that generate customers so their clients can grow and thrive. They specialize in digital marketing: marketing strategy, website design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, content marketing, lead generation, and marketing automation. To learn more, head to https://changescapeweb.com/ or follow @changescape on Instagram.    About Your Host Marki Lemons Ryhal is a ​​Licensed Managing Broker, REALTOR®, and avid volunteer.  She is a dynamic keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, both on-site and virtual; she's the go-to expert for artificial Intelligence, entrepreneurship, and social media in real estate. Marki Lemons Ryhal is dedicated to all things real estate, and with 25+ years of marketing experience, Marki has taught over 250,000 REALTORS® how to earn up to a 2682% return on their marketing dollars. Marki's expertise has been featured in Forbes, the Washington Post, Homes.com, and REALTOR® Magazine.   Subscribe, Rate & Review Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm, so our show reaches more people. Thank you!     

What if you could get a behind the scenes look at China's most innovative tech companies, factories and logistics hubs—seeing how they really run and asking the questions most Americans never get to ask?This week, you do. Matt Kirchner and Todd Wanek, CEO of Ashley Furniture, sit down to debrief the trip they took together to China. In a candid, off-the-cuff conversation, they trade questions and challenge each other's assumptions as they compare what they saw there with what's happening in U.S. business, policy, and education.After six days of nonstop plant tours and tech company visits, they debrief what they saw: an engineering-driven society, central planning at massive scale, open-source AI innovation, and humanoid robots that are improving in real time. They contrast that with U.S. politics, policy, education, and workforce development, and lay out the uncomfortable truths and huge opportunities for American manufacturing and technical education.

On episode 194 of March Forth with Mike Bauman, Mike chats with Dead Fish Handshake! Comprised of Matthew Paul (vocals), Rob Ferreira (guitars), Vito Rauseo (guitars), Ant Salcedo (bass), and Mark Birkelbach (drums), Dead Fish Handshake is a rock band out of the Northeast in the United States.  After coming onto the scene with their debut entitled Across State Lines in 2011, Dead Fish Handshake teamed up with Clint Lowery (Sevendust, Dark New Day) to produce their 2013 EP The Sixes. Following the release of their 2020 album Lies...and All That Jazz, Dead Fish Handshake went on a hiatus. Having gone through lineup changes and their own life events, Dead Fish Handshake is back together for their first release in five years. On November 7th, the band dropped their brand new single entitled "Traveling at the Speed of Life." The single is the first from Dead Fish Handshake's forthcoming LP Safe in the Harms of Love, which is due out in 2026. On this episode, Matthew, Rob, and Vito of Dead Fish Handshake stop by the pod to talk with Mike about how their individual love for music started, the formation of Dead Fish Handshake, working with Clint Lowery, the development of their sound, their hiatus after the release of Lies...and All That Jazz back in 2020, reconciling and making new music together, the importance of men's mental health, and more.  This episode of the pod also features the aforementioned "Traveling at the Speed of Life" from Dead Fish Handshake, available where you get your music! Follow Dead Fish Handshake on Instagram @deadfishhandshake. To stay up to date with the band and see them live, visit http://www.deadfishhandshake.com/blog/. Follow Mike on Instagram @marchforthpod. To stay up to date on the podcast and learn more about Mike, visit https://linktr.ee/marchforthpod. Big thanks to Schae of Deadbolt PR for setting up this conversation! Thanks for listening! If ya dug the show, like it, share it, tell a friend, subscribe, and above all, keep the faith and be kind to one another.

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year, but it can also be a melting pot of triggers, emotions, stress, leading to very dysregulated nervous systems.. which can lead to poor choices or even some self sabotage. Me and a host of other beautiful previous guests, experts and people who have made it through these times have got your back. For the 25 days of Christmas I will be posting 25 mini episodes with a tip every single day to help get you through.Fore more info or to work with me go to www.iquitalcohol.com.auFind Benny at https://www.socialremedy.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3/8. Darwin's Finches: The Evolution Myth and the Speed of Adaptation — Steven Moss — Moss corrects widespread misconceptions regarding Darwin's Finches, noting that Charles Darwin collected the specimens but failed to properly label their specific island origins, and subsequently employed pigeons rather than finches to explain evolutionary mechanisms. Moss discusses researchers Peter and Rosemary Grant, who demonstrated that evolutionary adaptation can occur with extraordinary rapidity, occurring within single El Niño weather events. Moss explores Australian birds, including the Magpie, as examples of misnamed convergent evolution. Moss emphasizes that all bird species, including the frequently underestimated pigeon, possess sophisticated cognitive and intelligence capabilities. 1862

The Alan Cox ShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Alan Cox Show

On this episode of Passion to Profession sponsored by eBay, Brett sits down with Nick Pivovarnik, Head of Consignment at QuickConsign. Nick brings a clear view of what growth looks like when more cards, more collectors, and more categories hit the market at the same time.They talk about the surge in TCG, the strength of WNBA, the value of speed on new releases, and why collectors want ease above everything else. Nick shares how QuickConsign keeps scaling without losing sight of accuracy, payouts, or customer experience.They also walk through some of the biggest cards sold this year and what those sales say about where the hobby is going next.A special thank you to eBay for sponsoring Passion to Profession. The biggest and best marketplace to buy your next favorite trading card.Get exclusive content, promote your cards, and connect with other collectors who listen to the pod today by joining the Patreon: Join Stacking Slabs Podcast Patreon[Distributed on Sunday] Sign up for the Stacking Slabs Weekly Rip Newsletter using this linkFollow Stacking Slabs: | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tiktok ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

True success doesn’t happen overnight. In his new book Gradually Then Suddenly, bestselling author and pastor Mark Batterson reminds us that God is often doing His deepest work slowly—beneath the surface, over time—so that when the breakthrough comes, we’re ready for it. In this conversation, Mark and Alan explore how faithfulness in small, daily choices prepares the way for unexpected moments of transformation. They talk about persistence, conviction, “cathedral thinking,” and how God grows us at what Mark calls the speed of a seed. If you’ve ever wondered whether your quiet obedience still matters, this episode will encourage you to trust that God’s gradual work always leads to sudden grace. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why what looks like “overnight success” is really the fruit of long obedience. How small, consistent actions create a “compound effect” of spiritual growth. What it means to live and lead at the speed of a seed. How to hold a long view of faith—what Mark calls cathedral thinking. Encouragement for weary hearts who feel stuck in slow seasons. Resources Mentioned: Gradually Then Suddenly by Mark Batterson Learn more at markbatterson.com Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

"Your contracts are your source of truth. You should have a tool that can go through the contracts and help you understand the impact and make an assessment, all in one place." -Toby Laforest, Senior Director PMM - Market Insights and Solutions at Ironclad  Procurement leaders can no longer afford to wait for requests to land in their inbox. Facing regulatory change, market volatility, and growing demand for business partnership, some organizations are reimagining their procurement operating models and putting technology and process both front and center.  In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Clare Cassano, Head of Procurement Strategy & Execution at Invesco, and Toby LaForest from Ironclad, share how Invesco tackled the shift from reactive service to proactive business enablement. They discuss the tough choices behind their technology stack, the reality of orchestration layers, and why "best fit" often wins over "best-in-class" for their unique needs. Listen in for practical lessons on realigning talent, building true contract intelligence, and future-proofing your procurement process with an eye toward AI and automation.  In this episode, Clare and Toby discuss: How AI-enabled contract management can deliver real-time contract insights, not just document storage Honest advice about choosing best fit tech over one-size-fits-all suites Future opportunities (and things to watch out for) related to agentic AI in procurement Links: Toby Laforest on LinkedIn Clare Cassano on LinkedIn From Reactive to Strategic: Transforming Procurement Through Contract Intelligence Contracting for Speed: How Orchestration Empowers Procurement Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube  

What does it really take to scale AI across a global enterprise? In this episode, Jaime Montemayor, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at General Mills, shares the AI playbook behind the company's digital transformation from foundational investments in cloud and data governance to business-led innovation across supply chain, e-commerce, and marketing. With 96% of General Mills’ supply chain data now clean and governed, Jaime's team is shifting from predictive analytics to agentic architectures that enable scalable, AI-powered automation. Key insights include: Why cloud migration came before ERP modernization How trust and business integration drive AI adoption Building a connected data foundation to serve every segment Agentic AI use cases in supply chain and marketing Org design strategies to “lift and shift” innovation at scale