Podcasts about stores

Our Paper Camp alumni are doing incredible things and growing their wholesale businesses in a very intentional and meaningful way. Today's guest is Lesa Muehlstein from Birdie Mae Designs, and she is no exception.  I've been keeping tabs on Lesa's progress ever since she attended Paper Camp in early 2022.  Lesa added 200 new stores within 2.5 years of attending Paper Camp, and as she will share today, that number is even higher now.  Lesa came to Paper Camp in early 2022 and before our 4 weeks were up, she had secured 5 new stores, bringing her total count to 15. During that time, she also raised her prices and refined her sales system. August 2023, she messaged me to say that she was now in 100 stores and that her brand had been featured in a national magazine in August 2024. Just one year later, she shared that she was in 200 stores! This growth did not happen overnight and it was not without its challenges, but it is worth celebrating Lesa's successes every step of the way. On today's episode, Lesa shares her startup story and we talk about inventory and product challenges, particularly balancing how much inventory to order when space and cash flow are constraints. She shares what sales data she's tracking and how she uses that data to make decisions in her business, including what to discontinue or what to buy more of.  We also talked about the benefits of wholesale, specifically how we can systematize the sales, production, and fulfillment of wholesale orders in a way that makes the business work around personal responsibilities. Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.  Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the wait list and you'll get early access to enroll. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/428  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp

Jeff and Christina are out of pocket this week, so Erin Dawson heroically steps in to keep the show afloat during trying times. Life, religion, dating, blogging… an everything bagel of a show. Sponsor Copilot Money can help you take control of your finances. Get a fresh start with your money for 2026 with 2 months free when you visit try.copilot.money/overtired. Chapters 00:00 Erin 00:04 Introduction and Guest Introduction 00:44 Siri Mishap and Water Troubles 05:20 Mental Health and Daily Struggles 11:00 Physical Health and Exercise Challenges 18:45 Productivity Tools and Sponsor Message 21:57 Sponsor Break: Copilot Money 23:59 On Aging 24:53 Vision and Aging 26:55 Intelligent Design and Evolution Debate 28:58 Blogging and Social Media Verification 29:13 The Cost of Verification 30:18 Embracing the Content Game 33:12 Exploring Blogging Platforms 48:10 The Decline of Blogging 50:54 Navigating Employment and Content Creation 55:54 The Art of Dating and Bits 58:30 Wrapping Up and Final Thoughts Show Links Gestimer In Your Face Ghost Join the Conversation Merch Come chat on Discord! Twitter/ovrtrd Instagram/ovrtrd Youtube Get the Newsletter Thanks! You’re downloading today’s show from CacheFly’s network BackBeat Media Podcast Network Check out more episodes at overtiredpod.com and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Find Brett as @ttscoff, Christina as @film_girl, Jeff as @jsguntzel, and follow Overtired at @ovrtrd on Twitter. Transcript Erin [00:00:00] Introduction and Guest Introduction Brett: Hey, welcome to Overtired. It’s me, Brett Terpstra. Um, Christina and Jeff are both out this week, but I have Erin Dawson here to fill the void. Hi, Erin. How you doing? Erin: Hi Brett. I’m well. How are you? Brett: I’m, I’m, I’m okay. So before, like, for people that haven’t tuned in with an episode with you before, give your, give yourself a brief introduction. Erin: Hey folks, my name is Erin. I, uh, make art under the name Genital Shame. I’m based in Los Angeles, California, and I used to work with Brett Terpstra. Siri Mishap and Water Troubles Erin: I’m doing, I’m doing, uh, you know, that broadcast voice, but I’ve started to. When I’m using CarPlay, I’ve started to speak to Siri in my own Siri kind of as a bit, but I really enjoy doing it.[00:01:00] Hey Siri, play REM. Oh shit. It just, I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry. That activated mine. Um, oh no. And now my home pods are doing it. Can you hear that? Brett: I can Erin: I literally have to turn that off now. I really apologize. Ready? Brett: we’ll wait. Erin: Anyways, that’s, this is a shit show. Okay. I’m turning it off. Uh, that’s who I am. I’m someone who activates, um, the, the dingus. Brett: activates digital assistance. That’s amazing. Um, so update on me. I got water back after four and a half days with no running water. Um, but now I’m showering and washing dishes like a pro. Erin: Oh my God, I’m so that, that truly sounds horrific. Brett: It was, you don’t realize exactly how much of your life [00:02:00] revolves around just running water. Um, it’s true of like anything, when your power goes out, when your internet goes out, when your water goes out. We’ve had all of those things happen frequently over the last year. Um, and you, you realize exactly like how handicapped you are without these kind of. The modern conveniences we take for granted? Erin: Did your pipes break? Brett: No, uh, they did freeze. Uh, the solution to the water problem was heat lamps on the well pump. On the on the pipe, the underground pipe that goes from the well pump into the house is about a foot underground, and that’s where the freeze happened. So we had heat lamps on the ground for two days while we were waiting for a plumber to show up. We just decided to try heating things up and after two days it finally creaked [00:03:00] into life, and then we ran a bunch of water and got it all cleared out. And then you Erin: have a TLC show. Now you’re Brett: you know, Erin: solving Pioneer Living. Uh, Brett: You know what happened because of that, to flush the toilet while that was happening, we were melting snow on the stove and on the fireplace and dumping it into the toilet. But when I first started, I didn’t know you could just dump like a gallon and a half of water into the bowl and it would flush. So I was filling the tank up, which takes about twice as much water. And because I was doing that, I was putting a bunch of silt from the snow. Into the tank. So the little, the rim holes around the inside of the rim of the toilet where the water swirls in those filled up with silt. So once we got running water again, the toilet wouldn’t flush all the way. And I had to go in with a coat hanger and try to clean out all of those holes in the toilet. And I got it [00:04:00] clean and it flushed all the way twice and now it’s. Stuck again because I’m just pushing shit in with the coat hanger. And the silt Erin: by shit you mean you mean silt. Brett: silt? Yes. The, the, the silt is still there and as the water runs it just fills the holes again. And I don’t yet know how to fix that, so that’s gonna be a thing. That’s what I’m doing after this. ’cause, uh, the toilet. It sounds like it flushes all the way, but then you leave and the next person comes in and says, oh my God, why didn’t you flush? Because you know there’s floaters in the toilet. Erin: I. Just watched a Todd Salons movie and, and there is a scene in which, um, a character is, is being sort of abused by her family and the abusive family says, we’re laughing with you, not at you. And she [00:05:00] says, but I’m not laughing. You know, and I apologize. I don’t mean to laugh, but that, that sounds truly horrific. Brett: Yeah, that, Erin: I mean, the shower alone, I, I don’t know about you. I use showers to process, Brett: sure. Erin: you know, showers and walks. That’s where I do it most. Mental Health and Daily Struggles Erin: And like I, yeah, I need it to, this is a very 2019 way to frame mental health, which we can pivot to. Um, but I use it to regulate. Do you remember when we used to say, I feel unregulated? We don’t say that anymore. Brett: I do remember. That was a while ago. Erin: Yeah, it’s 2019 to me, but it maybe had a shelf life beyond that. I don’t know. Brett: Yeah. Erin: but yeah, I use showers to regulate. So even if you’re kind of like me, I, my heart goes out to you that that is really not just inconvenient, but like bad for your mental health. Brett: Your quote reminded me [00:06:00] of an and or quote that’s been going around where it, it’s so, uh, I can’t remember who, but someone says, uh, if you’re doing nothing wrong, what do you have to fear? And the response is, I fear your definition of wrong. Erin: Mm. Brett: I’m like, yeah, nope, that, uh, that’s very apropos to the current situation in Minnesota. Um, but yeah, let’s do mental health. Tell me about your mental health. Erin: Yeah. Uh, I’ve seen better days have been the star of many plays. Do you remember that song, Brett? Brett: No, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Erin: All right, cool. Um, I don’t believe in resolutions because I, I went to college, but, but I do believe in the power of January as a moment of. [00:07:00] Intentional reflection and yeah, goal setting, which can be different than resolutions. And for this January, January, 2026, I put a lot of pressure on myself to sort of remake my physical life, which I hoped would have knock on effects for my mental life. So what’s that mean for me? Every year for the last three or four years, I have done dry January dj, and in the past, the keto diet has worked well for me. So I thought in January that I would, with, with these powers combined, I would become, you know, a superhuman. I’m like 20, 26. I’m getting really, I’m gonna get really hot. And I’m going to [00:08:00] be very critical about the role that alcohol plays in my life. And what had happened was, without getting too much into it, I had a bad first week and it kind of snowballed, reverse snowballs. How does a snowball, what is it? I don’t know. It just got a lot of your, your, your toilet silt in it. Yeah. And, um, and I had no release valves for dopamine. Um, because on keto you’re not eating bread. You are not having sugar. I wasn’t having any alcohol. Um, also, and, and I’ll, I’ll shut up about this in a second. I have a foot injury. A right foot injury, something called turf toe, not TERF, but TURF. [00:09:00] Um, it’s basically what happens if you kind of stove your big toe. There’s a in the ball of your foot that’s like a repetitive stress injury. I’m not a p uh, podiatrist, but that’s, that’s my beat. Very basic understanding. And so what does all this mean? That mean this means that it was like a perfect storm of like. I can’t exercise and I exercise is really, plays a really huge role in my mental health. I am in two different basketball leagues, you know, uh, I take a lot of walks. I’m a runner. Couldn’t do any of that. And I couldn’t have Alfredo and I couldn’t have fornet. And so no wonder. And in hindsight with therapy, I’m like, yeah, no wonder I, I just didn’t have any release valves, um, for joy. So in the third week I’m like, fuck [00:10:00] it, I am gonna have fries and I’m going to have a tiki drink. And I don’t regret doing that, but I fear. That, and I think, I think you have this too, Brett, the like, puritan guilt, complex guilt for just like not organizing a particular corner of your fridge correctly, just like that level will give me, be like, oh man, I, I really do suck. Huh. Um, so that scales, you know, that feeling and that complex scales and so it’s easy for me to be like, man, I have no integrity. Huh? I really just. When I got tough, I just, uh, which is also an unhealthy way to think about things, but, um, but I’m, I’m kind of over it now. Uh, but uh, I was pretty disappointed in myself for a while there. I still kind of am. That’s how I’m doing. Brett: Wow, that sounds, that sounds pretty rough. [00:11:00] Physical Health and Exercise Challenges Brett: I, uh, I don’t, I, so I haven’t had a drink in as long as I can remember. Um, because I have a very short memory. It’s only been a matter of months, but, um, I do, I don’t miss drinking. I miss having that release. Um, and I, my only substitute has been CBD. Which is, you know, doesn’t do jack shit. Uh, it’s like a mental game for me. Um, have a, I I I’ve switched to drinking CBDT ’cause it’s way cheaper than like CBD carbonated beverages. Um, so for like 50 cents I can have a mug of five milligrams of CBD and pretend I feel okay. Um, that’s. It’s alright. Um, I do, so my release has been consuming [00:12:00] these outshine coconut bars, which. I find a perfect blend of fatty and salty and sweet and, um, they, as of like two weeks ago, outshine has discontinued them, which had an outsized effect on my mental health. Erin: Yeah. Brett: I bought the last three boxes that were at the grocery store, and those lasted a little bit, and then I was down to two bars and I decided, I, I I would ration them. And night after night, I just looked at those bars, but I wouldn’t, ’cause if I ate one of them, that would mean I only had one left. So it’s easier for me to have two left. So I had two sitting in the fridge, and then yesterday l went to a different grocery store and I said, just on the off chance would you check. And she came home with seven [00:13:00] boxes, six to a box. So yeah, I, I got, I hugged her. They were not expecting it. I like jumped up, just effusively, Erin: What do you, I have never had even this affinity for like my favorite meal. What do you like about these bars? Brett: Oh my God. They just like, I don’t know my, they like dopamine rush, pupil, dilate. Um, Erin: D filled? Brett: no, they’re just sugar. It’s sugar and coconut. Sugar and coconut. Dairy free. Gluten-free. Like it’s a, it’s a sugary snack and. Uh, so I’ve been like my, I don’t know what happened. Uh, it somewhat coincided with my last weight gain, but not exactly. But now I can’t stand up for more than about five minutes. [00:14:00] Um, just like if I empty the dishwasher, the, the act of bending over a few times, I have to sit down and I have to recover for 10 minutes. My back just freezes up and I’ve gone through physical therapy and I have, I like push myself every time it happens. I like, without injuring myself, I try to push it and try to strengthen and nothing helps, like nothing changes at all. That combined with my dizziness, which is still a thing, means the only exercise I’m getting is like half an hour a day on a recumbent bicycle, um, which gives me leg exercise and a little bit of cardio and not much else, and it doesn’t seem to strengthen my back at all, and it doesn’t seem to help me sleep and I keep doing it because I have that guilt thing. If I don’t do anything then. I’m a piece of shit. Um, but [00:15:00] man, I, yeah, the coconut bars are like the only, the only way out. Erin: The Brett: all I’ve got. I’m working, I’m working on finding something new because seven boxes will last a while, but not forever. It’s still a finite amount. Um, Erin: of spring, maybe you Brett: yeah, no way. I eat, I eat a couple a day. Erin: Oh, okay. Brett: a once a week treat for me. Um, so, so I, I’m trying to like ration and I’m trying to find an alternative that is more healthy, not less healthy. Um, we’ll see. I’ll keep you posted. Erin: The guilt thing. I’m gonna, I’m gonna be thinking about the, uh, digital device dingus thing later, there are people for whom, you know, but wait back to the, the treats and living a treat based [00:16:00] lifestyle, which I’m really trying not to do. I’m really trying not to Brett: reinforcement. Erin: I think I, this is the second time I’m, I’m bringing up therapy, but I think I, I brought up that I live a treat based lifestyle up to my therapist and she didn’t, doesn’t love that paradigm of thinking. Um, but it’s kind of all I know. And for me, you know, given this month the treat that I have had before breaking. And now I’m in this habit, and now I’ve, I’m in a trap. I have taken two using, having heavy whipping cream in my coffee each morning. Um, and it’s like adding ice cream to coffee. And so I make my coffee and I have my heavy weapon cream, and I get my little frother that [00:17:00] looks like a vibrator. A very small vibrator, and I do vibrate heavy whipping cream with my coffee in a deli container. And that, unfortunately, I, I’ve tried going back to black coffee, which is my norm. Can’t do it now. I, I really, I’m trapped and unfortunately that is the height, that is the best part of my day. Brett: Do, do Erin: coffee. Brett: I have a suggestion? Um, have you ever tried barista blend oat milk? Erin: I don’t do oat milk. I’ll just say it. Brett: Okay. Erin: Yeah. Brett: It’s all I do. I, I like for me, whatever milk I’m used to is the milk. That’s good. Um, and like I got used to soy milk and everything else tasted crappy. And I got used to almond milk and then I finally like switched to oat milk, got used to that. And [00:18:00] now every other milk tastes terrible. But once Erin: Yeah. Brett: I switched to oat milk, I no longer could like make a good, um, like latte. And I like, it didn’t, uh, it didn’t foam at all. But then I found Barista Blend from C Calisa Farms, and it’s like a full fat oat Erin: Oh Brett: for as much fat as you can get out of oats. And it, it, it fros. You can put it in a steamer and get a nice big frothy latte out of it. Um, but just a suggestion. I can’t do the heavy cream, or I probably would just by lactose intolerance and Erin: Yeah. Brett: lactose allergy. Productivity Tools and Sponsor Message Erin: We talked about, I’m gonna try to combine two topics right now. We talked about Gude and you also suggested before we started recording that I stop you at a half hour [00:19:00] for the A read. We’re not quite there, but as soon as you said that, I pulled down on my. Menu bar, a little app called Just Timer. Brett: I love that app. Erin: Do you Brett: yes. Erin: I, I have, I do have not upgraded to the sequel. Just Timer two, I think it’s Brett: I haven’t tried that. Erin: I think I, I think I tr I did a trial Brett: It’s just such a good idea. Erin: it’s great. And so. have about nine minutes before you’re requested, but I, I just wanted to, I guess, shout out Jess Heimer because it rules. Brett: Yeah. No, it’s such, it’s so for anyone who hasn’t used it, it’s just a way to like, it’s almost like pulling a cord. To set a timer, and it’s just this simple, like you reach up to your menu bar and you just pull down and you pull down the amount you want and you let go and you’ve got a [00:20:00] timer running and it’ll remind you in that amount of time Erin: The main use case I had for that when we worked for the Borg together on the Borg team, was using text expander to, you know, if we had a meeting at three o’clock, I would pull it down for 2 55 and type. MTNG, and that would create a, a string that just says meeting in five exclamation mark. Um, it’s just, it’s just a great time saver and, and keeps you honest and yeah, it’s a great app. Brett: I, uh, I’ve written a lot of command line utilities, so I can like, just on the command line, I can just type, remind me five minutes and then a string, whatever to do, and it runs in the background and it uses like terminal notifier, whatever’s handy at the time to like pop up a reminder. But I kind of gave that up. So now I use just timer. And have you seen in your face. Erin: I don’t know in your [00:21:00] face. Brett: In your face ties into your calendar. You tell it to go off, say five minutes or one minute, or on the time, and anytime an event happens, it blocks out your screen. Pops up a little dialogue telling you what you’re supposed to be doing at that minute and you have to like say, join call or dismiss. And, um, ’cause I, I miss notifications all the time. And when we were working for the board, I would just completely miss meetings because I’d get into coding. I wouldn’t notice the little. Things in the corner, I’d be focused on code and I’d look up two hours later and be like, oh God, I gotta text someone. Sorry I missed the meeting. So in your face stops me from working and like, takes over the screen. Erin: That Brett: So those are, that was our gratitude. I’m gonna do a, a quick sponsor read. Sponsor Break: Copilot Money Brett: This episode is brought to you by [00:22:00] copilot money. Copi copilot money is not just another finance app. It’s your personal finance partner designed to help you feel clear, calm, and in control of your money. Whether it’s tracking your spending, saving for specific goals, or simply getting a handle on your investments. Copilot money has you covered as we enter the New year. Clarity and control over our finances have never been more important with the recent shutdown of mint and rising financial stress for many. Consumers are looking for a modern, trustworthy tool to help navigate their financial journeys. That’s where copilot money comes in. With this beautifully designed app, you can see all your bank accounts spending savings, goals, and investments all in one place. Imagine easily tracking everything without the clutter of chaotic spreadsheets or outdated tools. It’s a practical way to start 2026 with a fresh financial outlook. And here’s the exciting part. As of December 15th, copilot money is [00:23:00] now available on the web so you can manage your finances from any device you choose. Plus, it offers a seamless experience that keeps your data secure with a privacy first approach. When you sign up using our link, you’ll get two months for free. So visit try dot copilot money slash Overtired to get started with features like automatic subscription tracking so you never miss a renewal date again. And customizable savings goals to help you stay on track. Copilot money empowers you to take charge of your financial life with confidence. So why wait start 2026 with clarity and purpose. Download copilot money on your devices or visit, try. Do copilot domo slash Overtired today to claim your two free months and embrace a more organized, stress-free approach to your finances. Try that’s, try copilot money slash Overtired. On Aging Brett: Ugh. [00:24:00] people are, people aren’t gonna know how many edits I put in that. had a rough time with that one. Erin: Reading’s hard. Brett: I’m, I’m, I’m working on my two big displays. I have two, like 27 inch high def displays, but I, I’m used, I’ve been working on my couch on my laptop for months now. Um. Like Mark II was written entirely on my couch, not, not at this fancy desk I have. Um, and on this desk everything is about three feet away from my face, and I don’t have the resolution set to deal with the fact that my eyes are slowly turning to shit, so I can barely read what’s on my screen anymore. I have to like squint and lean in, and. Vision and Aging Brett: It is so weird that I, I’m told this is just a normal thing that happens at my age, but when I try [00:25:00] to read small print on something, I can’t see it. But if I lift my glasses up and remove my glasses, everything within a foot of my face is clear as day, and that never used to be the case. But now I can see way better without my glasses than with my glasses at very close range. Which means when I wear contacts I really can’t see either. They gave me a, a special kind of contact that the eyes are interchangeable. I have different prescriptions in each eye, but it doesn’t matter which. So the contacts are kinda like universal. I don’t know how it works, but they’re supposed to give you pretty good distance and pretty good closeup while not being especially good at either. And they’re okay. Um, I can’t really, I have to squint to read street signs and I have to squint to read medication bottles and I just spend a lot more time in glasses. Now. Erin: This is one of those [00:26:00] moments where I cannot relate, but I am here Brett: Do you have 2020 vision? Erin: I believe I do. Brett: Wow. Must be nice. Erin: It is nice and I’m gonna own that. Yes, I’m privileged. Ocularly, get off my back about it. Brett: I, I wasn’t giving a shit. I’m, I’m happy for you. I had 2020 vision up until I was about Erin: 2020. Brett: 10. Erin: Oh Brett: I got glasses when I was 10. I. Erin: mm. I bet you Brett: I guess no, I did not have 2020 vision. ’cause I remember at the age of 10 when I got glasses and realized that from a distance, trees had leaves, um, I was like, oh my God, I’ve been missing out on Erin: God is real, bro. Intelligent Design and Evolution Debate Erin: You know, Christians usually, I don’t know about you, but sometimes I, I grew up [00:27:00] with this idea that like. Intelligence, intelligent design is a thing because take something as incredibly complex as the human eye. Tell me that there wasn’t a designer for that, but also like if you’re over 30, like take something as complex as like the human back. it’s not that they’re not that they’re saying that eyes don’t have quality issued degradation over time. It’s a different argument, but it’s just like also like not everything’s that intelligent. I mean, Brett: but the other part that I grew up with was that our, we aged and our eyes went bad, and our back went bad because of sin. It was all like a result of the original sin, and according to like Young Earth creationists, like every generations of humans that get farther away from Adam and Eve. Get [00:28:00] are, are in worse health. They’re, they’re genetically deteriorating, uh, Erin: they’re genetically sinful. Brett: Yeah. And it, it is. I don’t know. It took a long time to unlearn a lot of that stuff, but my dad brings Erin: evil. Brett: it’s called the watchmaker argument. Um, and my dad brings it up anytime we start talking about evolution, which I generally avoid these days, but he brings up the idea of the, the eye, the human eye. Erin: They love the human eye. Brett: I explain to him the, the process of like light sensing cells on amoebas. Erin: Our skin Brett: how, and how they developed into maybe a light sensing cell with a water sack, and then that developed into over time a retina. And like it’s not designed. Um, dad, it, Erin: Oh dad. Brett: yeah. Erin: Anyways. Blogging and Social Media Verification Erin: Can I talk to you about [00:29:00] blogging? Brett: Could you please? Erin: Well, here’s, let me set the table so I not to brag. Became Instagram verified recently. Why? Brett: Must be nice. The Cost of Verification Erin: Yeah, Brett: More privilege. Erin: the first, the eyes are now $13 a month. I don’t know, I don’t know how the bank’s, you know, letting me spend all this, but, um, I did it because, as I said at the top, when the REM may have been drowning me out, I don’t know. Um, I make music under the name Genital Shame and. Over time, as my account has grown on that particular platform, I have had other people alert. I’ve had followers alert me that there’s a new genital shame that just popped up in their feed asking for, Hey, my account was just hacked. [00:30:00] Like, can you help? You know? And I just thought that like for $13 a month, you know Brett: That’s how they get you. Erin: That’s fine. Yeah, get me. I’ve, they already, they already got me. Um, unfortunately, Brett: Zuckerberg that cloned your account. Erin: I got sucked. Embracing the Content Game Erin: So I, so now that I’m verified, I’m, I’m kind of leaning into playing the stupid content game, which is this, which is how, here’s how I think about it. I believe in my art. I believe in what general shame is and I want the maximum amount of people to experience it. The maximum amount of people are in the primary world, which is to say the digital world and the folks with who would resonate with general shame the most are on a platform called Instagram. So it makes sense [00:31:00] for me to play the game, which is like get the. Aforementioned eyeballs on my stuff. ’cause again, I believe in it. So I’ll do whatever it takes. Inc. Like we live in the world of Caesar. We own to Caesar. What a Caesar, in this case, Zuckerberg is Caesar, whatever. So one of my January projects, you know the, the Capital G. Capital M, good month that I was supposed to have was to block out some ugh content. To record some videos, right? Some reels of me playing Bach, of me playing, um, my favorite carcass riff or whatever. And so I found myself writing little essays about each of these things. You know, for the Bach one, there’s, I started writing about how, you know, I don’t believe in God anymore really, but [00:32:00] if I was to cite one thing that gets me. Close to it, it would be Bach like. I’m not predictable like it is. It resonates with me so fundamentally and so deeply that like that is the one thing. And I ended up writing way more than can probably fit within an Instagram comment. And then I got bit by the bug, which is like, do I, should I? Extend this to a platform that is more appropriate for long form writing. So then I’m like, okay, Erin, be realistic about starting projects that you don’t finish or won’t be consistent with. So for me, I’m defining that as one blog per month seems reasonable enough. I don’t know, but I really, I’m a writer. When we were part of the [00:33:00] Borg, you know, we were writers partially, and I found that writing alongside these stupid reels was really satisfying. Exploring Blogging Platforms Erin: So then I’m like, okay, what in 2026, what levers do I have to pull? For this type of platform. We got Ghost, we got Tumblr kind of making it a comeback. We’ve got Substack, which has shitty politics. Um, I could do something on my GitHub pages or something if I wanted to, but I. Don’t know. I don’t know how to make this decision. This is, I, I’m just bringing this up as a topic. I don’t have anything further than that. I think you may have mentioned a platform that you like, but I just thought it might be interesting to talk about. Probably Brett: No, there are, there are a lot of options. I personally. Have gone the way of static site [00:34:00] generators like GitHub pages would be, um, and will probably never go back to anything that’s based on a database or requires an online subscription. Um, I just pay a few bucks a month for a shared host and our sync, my blog to it, um, which is a super nerdy way to blog. Um, but ultimately you get. A, a folder full of markdown files that you can do anything you want with, and you can turn it into a book. You could turn it into a searchable database in obsidian. Um, you could load it up in NB ultra and have full text, rapid search, and all these things that you can’t really do with something like WordPress or Ghost. Um, WordPress is still the heavyweight. as much as it’s kind of a beast and I don’t enjoy using it, um, but ghost, [00:35:00] I just, so I’ll tell you why I bring this up in a second. But, um, ghost seems like maybe the best intermediate option. Um, I, I don’t like blogger. I don’t like Google. Um, I don’t have a lot of faith in Tumblr. be, uh, to have longevity. That’s the other thing about a static site is. I am in full control, and if I want to sunset it at any point, I just cancel the domain. But as long as I have a web server, I have a website, and I’m not dependent on any service that, you know, showed up and failed to make a profit and then terminated, as we’ve seen multiple platforms do, um, or, or turn into like a heavily paywall system that is geared like medium. Substack where [00:36:00] ultimately it’s supposed to be a moneymaking endeavor for the writers and like I use my blog as a marketing tool, but I don’t expect a lot of people to pay to read my blog. That said, I am pay walling some content these days, um, just to get people to pitch in a few bucks a month because. I never got into Patreon or anything, but I’m building this tool. This is a side note. Um, I showed you the icon for it the other day, but I didn’t show you the tool. Um, it’s called blog book. And right now it works perfectly with WordPress, but I, this morning I’ve been working on adding Micro blog, which is another good option. Um, and it might, micro blog might actually be kind of, no, it’s not, it’s got like a 300 character limit for most posts. But, um, anyway, uh, [00:37:00] micro Blog and Ghost. I’m adding so that if you’ve had a blog for a couple years and you want some kind of hard copy. This app will pull in all of those posts, let you Filch them by author or by tag or category or a date range, and it’ll generate a markdown book for you. And you can load that up in Mark three, and you can create an eub that you could go sell if you Erin: Oh wow. Brett: Um, you could turn it into like a PDF for distribution or just for your own archiving. Um. I may add more platforms to it over time. Medium killed their API. Um, so I can’t, as much as I would love to have it work for Medium, I think it would be really useful for medium authors. Um, medium made that impossible, but, um, but yeah, I actually, I built that app in about a week and I’m gonna sell [00:38:00] it on the app store as kind of a companion to Mark three. Um, as like a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Um, but yeah, I, I love blogging and I love blogs. I’ve been blogging for 30 years and I, I don’t know what I would do for expression, ’cause I’m not, I, I, I use Mastodon and that’s about it for social media. Um, I still have, uh, uh. Instagram account and I log on and I, I love seeing your, your older reels where you would just like, just fuck around with a cord or a simple progression and the face you would make when you messed up. I love that. Erin: I’ve never messed up. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Brett: I would watch just to see you make that like grossed out face. Like, what the fuck sound was that? Um, um, [00:39:00] but. Yeah, I, social media is so ephemeral though. It’s, there’s no guarantee of your post being anything other than AI fodder and like, I left x, I left Twitter. Erin: Everything app. Brett: Yes. Um, completely deleted myself there. Um, deleted myself on threads. I still have a Facebook account. Um, Facebook and Blue Sky are actually surprisingly my political activity accounts. Um, Facebook is where I complain about billionaire. Um, about Zuckerberg’s and the what not. Um, and it’s where I share with my activist friends in the area, like it’s mostly for local people. And then Blue Sky is where I get like all my anarchists. News and all of the news right now from like the [00:40:00] front in Minneapolis, the people that are out there doing direct action and, and uh, mutual aid and seeing things live as they happen. And I never appreciated blue sky until the federal occupation of Minnesota and then suddenly it became my primary news source. Um, so Erin: pretty good for that. There’s a, there’s a journalist I follow there. I think she’s pretty, like the, the, the trans beat is her beat. Erin Reed. Um, she’s really great. Um, but you’re, you’re all, all that to say, I think blue sky functions really well. Yeah. As like a, a new, like, I canceled, I canceled my New York Times subscription, um, because god damn, Brett: Yeah. Erin: just their opinion section alone is just trash. Also, yesterday, um, you know, the time of this recording was, there was a protest in March yesterday, which very cool. I also. Canceled. The, [00:41:00] another, another dimension of that day was about, you know, anti consumption, not spending anything, not buying anything, and canceling subscriptions if you can. And yesterday I did cancel my prime subscription, which was hard to do. But, you know, I did, I and I, I was thinking about this a couple months ago before moving, but I was like, you know, I’m gonna move. I’m only human. Like the two day shipping thing is going to come in handy for real. Like ordering things to the new apartment knowing that it’ll get there. You know, I’m glad I did that. That’s cool. But like, now’s the time where I’m a little more settled and I can do that. And so I did that yesterday. Um, but anyways, blue sky’s cool for political stuff. Brett: I. I have been trying to cut Amazon out. I removed Alexa from my life entirely. Um, I had it, Alexa is a good [00:42:00] cheap solution for like whole home automation. Um, so, but I replaced that with home pods and, um, I only buy from Amazon if I absolutely can’t find something somewhere else. Um, because these days, because of competition with Amazon, almost every vendor will offer free shipping. Not always two day shipping ’cause they don’t have the infrastructure for that. Um, but, uh, but I’ll get free shipping and I’ll get comparable prices. And Prime doesn’t really save me anything anymore, and I never use Prime video and I’m Erin: terrible streamer. It’s a terrible streamer. Brett: I’m on the verge of canceling that as well, and once I do that, I will be mostly free of Amazon. Erin: That rocks do. I think that’s really cool. I, I was thinking about this the other day too, that like canceling Amazon [00:43:00] has knock-on effects that I think are really positive as well. For example, you know, I’m lucky to live in a city where, you know, I have within walking distance to me a lot of options. So if I needed packing tape or I needed. I don’t know, some pilot G twos or whatever, like instead of for let’s say, let’s say it’s a project specific thing, like I need a certain type of pen or whatever. Instead of being like, I will order these, do the two two day shipping and put off that project for when I have that tool. Instead, which shifts the nature of the project. Like on a project level, you’re thinking about differently already. And so instead, by not having the affordance to do that, I can get out of my house. That’s a good get sun. That’s another capital G. Good. See human beings interact with human beings, you [00:44:00] know, and then also do the project the same day and not give money. To AWS, which is the backend for a bunch of evil shit. Like, it just like, you know, it stacks. Brett: Yeah. Erin: So, I don’t know. Brett: Yeah. I don’t have options Erin: It’s a lot. It’s a privilege at see above, like I’m very ocularly privileged. Brett: Yeah, no, I, I mean, there are, there are some good. Stores in my little town. Um, we are, we are fortunate to have a community that will support some more esoteric type of stores. And I don’t shop at Target and I don’t shop at Walmart, so, um. I have to depend on the limited selection in small town stores, and a lot of times I can make due with what I can find locally. Um, but I do have to [00:45:00] order. Online a lot, which is why it’s been a slow process to wean off of Amazon. But Amazon is shit now too. Like you, it seems like you have selection, but you really don’t. It’s just a bunch of vendors selling the same knockoff thing and, uh, you don’t save any money if you’re buying like an original version of a product that Amazon didn’t already like bastardize and undersell, um, or undercut the seller on. Um, and it’s so much low quality and they tell you every time you buy Prime tells you you’ve saved $5 with Prime, but if you went to the actual vendor website, you would’ve saved that $5 anyway. Um, it’s shit. Amazon is shit, but yeah. So anyway, about, about, yeah. Erin: Um, uh, go ahead. Brett: I was gonna ask that we, we kind of trailed off on the blog discussion, but I just wanted to say [00:46:00] like, if you have questions about any platform or you do wanna do like a static site, I’m more than happy to help. Erin: Thanks Brett. I think I was gonna, I might take you up on that I, another direction I was going to go with this is like, I could also see someone saying like, systems order thinking. Like, what is your goal? Like, who is this for? And that’s also where I have some internal resistance because I’m on the precipice of being a douchey content creator or something in which this fits in. being cute about it, but like this fits into an ecosystem of like maybe a new career pivot for me. ’cause we’re not part, part of the Borg. So like I’ve started teaching guitar, like I went to school for music. I used to teach guitar a lot, classical and jazz guitar, and I haven’t done it for like 15 years. I just started doing that again and I can’t believe. [00:47:00] A couple things. How good I am at it. I’m a natural, like I, it sucks to be good at something, but you know, it, it doesn’t pay at all. So it’s like, um, so a couple things like do I want to start teaching again and do I want a blog to sort of be part of a funnel into a Patreon? And do I want the Patreon and. All these questions, you know, start forming around this. Like, well, I just want a blog. It’s like, why, why do I wanna blog? And I, I don’t think I have to have the answers to those questions right now. I don’t. But it seems like the choices you make, the very, like the zero width choice you make for a tool like this is really important. So that’s, that’s the other kind of. I’m having [00:48:00] internally about it, who cares? Like all the stakes. Ultimately, who, who gives a shit? Like, there are no stakes here. But I, I do think about it as a sort of like, you know, The Decline of Blogging Brett: I, I will say that everything about my career is due to blogging. Like since, since like the year 2000, um, every job I’ve gotten has been because people found me via my blog. Um, and when I have like applied for a job, they’ve used my, they’ve been like, oh, we went and read your blog and we think you’re a great candidate. Erin: But don’t you think the excuse my use of this term, the meta around blogging has changed? Or do you think it’s like that stalwart Brett: it, it, it really has like tremendously. Um, Erin: like just to be crude about it. Okay. Brett: Yeah. So like in, uh, maybe. [00:49:00] 2015, I was doing about a hundred thousand page views a week. Um, right now I’m down to more like, I think last time I checked I was doing like 8,000 page views a week. And if I look at the charts, it’s just been a steady downward trend. Um, people are not you, pe so, okay. That said, I still get about 30,000. Hits a week from RSS, which means there’s, for a nerd, for a tech site, for a tech blog. Like there’s still an audience that uses the ancient technology, RSS, um, and I get a lot of traffic from that. But in general, like social media has eaten my lunch as far as blogging. But that said, like, the only reason anyone knows who I am, and I’m not saying I’m famous, but like I, I Erin: I’ve been to Max. [00:50:00] You you have an aura? Yeah. Brett: and uh, it’s all because of 30 years of blogging. And I think, honestly think it takes like 10 years just to build up a name. So it’s not like a, oh, I’m gonna start a blog for my shop and everything’s gonna take off, Erin: Yeah, I think, I think if you, for, for the employment alone, it might, it might be worth it, I think. I think that’s huge. Like, you know, the Borg or Pre Borg, a OL where, you know, like if, if, if they were like, oh my God, yeah, you’re Brett Terpstra from Brett TURPs. Uh, like that’s worth it even if you’re getting zero clicks and they found, you know, Brett: What do you Nell from the movie Nell? Um, did you Did what? Oh. Did you give up on finding, uh, gainful employment? Navigating Employment and Content Creation Erin: no. But I give I [00:51:00] gainful employment. Um, no, but I’m taking it a little sleazy and I’m taking it a little easy. Um, unfortunately, it is a truth universally acknowledged. My version of every gainful employment that I’ve, that I’ve enjoyed is through blogging. My version of that is any. Job at that level that I’ve enjoyed has started with a dm. It’s never started with a, a shot in the dark application through Workday. Like it’s just, and I’m convinced that that’s true for everyone. Like I suspect that’s maybe the dark truth that. The it, it’s not what you are or what you can do, it’s who you know, unfortunately is an organizing principle for anything in life basically. And [00:52:00] being under someone’s employee is probably no different. So on one hand, the Puritan. Really creeps up on me here. On one hand, I’m like, oh, I’m not really spending a lot of time crafting my portfolio. I’m not really spending a lot of time crafting my resume and tailoring it to this position. I should really be doing that. I, the economy is be, my bank accounts are really behooving me to do that. But on the other hand, I’m balancing it with that truth, which is. waiting for the dm. I’m sending dms. I can play that game if I want, and I’m kind of trying to, but only to get the guilt monkey off my back, not because I have good. It’s a good faith bid for the universe, for some HR hiring manager, whatever, to be like, okay, I’m gonna Filch by this. I’m Filch by this. This is a cool candidate. It won. I’m convinced it won’t [00:53:00] happen like that. I could be wrong, and maybe that’s the case for you too, but like it’s more of a personal connection off of CRMs, know? Brett: I, uh, I stopped panicking. My, my app income is sufficient right now to survive, and I’m working to make it more than just survival. And like over the, over the course of a few months, I sent out prob, probably 150 resumes, like shots, shots in the dark. But I had, I had referrals, multiple referrals from. AWS Google, apple, like meta, like I had people at all of these places and I still, I could barely get a response. Um, I would apply for jobs I was wholly qualified for. I would, Erin: Probably overqualified Brett: I would craft the resume. I would take my time, and I wrote a different resume for each, at least [00:54:00] for the big ones. And, yeah. Yeah, I did it all. I had a whole, I had a whole workflow, an automated workflow where I could just write like in markdown and then hit a button. It would generate like a nice PDF that I could Erin: God damn right. Yeah. Brett: Um, and none of it, it didn’t do any good. And eventually I just stopped wanting it. Um, I would much rather just make my own way at this point. I couldn’t. I can’t wrap my head around being in a corporate environment anymore. I just don’t, I don’t wanna play that game. I want the money, I want the steady paycheck, but I just, I can’t play the game. Erin: Is the game to you doing the like, um, dom sub theater of like, I must respect my manager. My manager knows the way, even if they’re wrong, I ch raise my, you know, objections lest I Brett: know me, you know, I objected all the time. [00:55:00] I, I was full of objections and I, I don’t like, I don’t like the, I don’t like sitting in meetings. I don’t like pretending to care about someone else’s project. Erin: That’s it. That feels wrong to you, I feel like. Is that right? Yeah. Brett: Yeah. Erin: Yeah. I’m happy to do that for Brett: I’m not an employee. I can’t. Erin: Yeah. I don’t identify as an employee. I heard someone say, I think around. Last year’s pride as a bit, um, that we need to add con a content creator, stripe and color to the L-G-B-T-Q-I-A flag. And when I said that, I repeated that as I just said to you, to someone, and they didn’t laugh. I was like, oh no. Why have I surrounded myself with your life? Go away from me anyways. The Art of Dating and Bits Erin: I was on a date the other day. Brett: Yeah. Erin: And, um, Brett: Must be nice.[00:56:00] Erin: date privilege. Yeah. Being single. Mm. Love it. And, um, you know, I’m very sensitive to people who don’t do bits. Uh, I have an allergy to like selfer people. And, and this woman who was in like so attractive, like so attractive did a power move where she was like, we, we met at a coffee shop. And she was like, whatcha gonna get? I was like, oh, I’m gonna get a nice espresso. And when she went to order and I thought we were gonna do Dutch or whatever, she ordered her thing and then she was like, and a nice espresso as well. And I was like, oh, hot, cute. You harvested me for information and then used that as a power thing anyways, so that it was going well. But then we started talking and I was like, oh, she’s not really picking, I’m giving her, it’s like some like B [00:57:00] plus material and she’s not really responding at all. And we were talking about, I find it helpful on dates to acknowledge that we’re on a date and that we met on a dating app. So one way that I did this on this date was to say like, I saw someone with this word in their profile. What do you think it means? And the word was, or the phrase was, the desire was that they like to be corded, which I. I, I didn’t, I got into a sort of like debate with my other friend about what that means, what that means when someone puts that and they’re pan like, is that gendered, is that like a power thing? Is that like a noble abl thing? Like what is that? So we started talking about what it means to be courted on a date and she said something like, you know, a part of it too is probably that they like to be whined and dined. And I was like, in 69. She gave me nothing. I was like, [00:58:00] oh no, I forget why I brought this up. Um, Brett: I forgot too. Um, I like, I like that you associated corded with noble abl just. Erin: uh, Brett: As like a matter of course there, um, maybe they wanna gesture. Erin: oh, I think I brought it up because. I said that content creators deserve Brett: Mm, right, right, right. The bits we’re talking about Erin: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, Wrapping Up and Final Thoughts Brett: All right. Well, you gotta get going. I know we have like eight minutes. Erin: ooh, Brett: So we should give you some time to prep for whatever it is you’re cutting us short for. I’m not kidding. I’m just kidding. It’s like fif. We’re 58 minutes in. This is good. This was a good episode. Thank you so much for coming. Erin: I just did it ’cause I wanted to catch up with you to be Brett: Yeah. I feel like this was good. This was good for that. Erin: Yeah. Brett: Yeah. Erin: Thanks Brett. Brett: Well, good luck with everything. [00:59:00] been fun. Erin: Say the line. Brett: Get some sleep. Erin: Get some sleep. Brett, I.

In This Hour: SHOT Show 2026 From The Banish Suppressors Booth-- Formerly available only through Silencer Central, the entire line of advanced Banish suppressors now can be purchased at gun stores.  Joe Kurtenbach breaks that welcome news.--  Austin Knudson, the attorney general of Montana, not only fights for gun rights, but he loves to shoot and hunt.--  Timney Trigger's squirrel hunting champion Chris Ellis introduces the company's new CEO, John Trull.Gun Talk 02.01.26 Hour 2Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.

D&P Highlight: Will there every be a tipping point that brings cashiers back into stores? full 545 Fri, 30 Jan 2026 19:56:00 +0000 EPGlpp4S5H89snwk0WZ0dwVvYsK7znVj news The Dana & Parks Podcast news D&P Highlight: Will there every be a tipping point that brings cashiers back into stores? You wanted it... Now here it is! Listen to each hour of the Dana & Parks Show whenever and wherever you want! © 2025 Audacy, Inc. News False htt

Story of the Week (DR):Trump's ICE tactics force CEOs to choose between staying silent and risking White House backlash MMCEOs of Target and Minnesota's Biggest Companies Call for ‘De-Escalation' After ShootingMinnesota workers pressure employers to take action against ICE operationsCEOs, long silent on Trump's immigration crackdown, seem to hit their breaking point over killing of Alex Pretti in MinnesotaTarget's incoming CEO tells staff violence in Minneapolis is 'incredibly painful' – without naming Trump or ICEJan 28: Target Unveils Largest Spring Beauty Assortment Ever — Making Trend-Driven, Expert-Backed Beauty More AccessibleTech's top CEOs mum after ICE killings, while leaders like Reid Hoffman, Yann LeCun speak outICE is going too far': Sam Altman, Jamie Dimon, and more CEOs on the unrest in MinnesotaReid Hoffman says business leaders are wrong to stay silent about the Trump administrationApple's Cook says he's 'heartbroken' by Minneapolis events and has spoken with TrumpCompanies reap $22bn from Trump's immigration crackdownMeta blocks links to ICE List across Facebook, Instagram, and ThreadsAs Big Tech CEOs speak up about violence in Minneapolis, 1 in 3 corporate leaders think ICE tensions are ‘not relevant to their business'How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters AreAgents use facial recognition, social media monitoring and other tech tools not only to identify undocumented immigrants but also to track protesters, current and former officials said.Freefloatanalytics data blast:Palantir Technologies: Continues to be a primary partner. In 2025, they were awarded a $30 million contract to build "ImmigrationOS," a platform designed to provide "near real-time visibility" on individuals for the purpose of streamlining apprehensions and tracking self-deportations. Gender Influence Gap -26%RELX: LexisNexis Risk Solutions: Provides ICE with investigative databases used to track, vet, and target individuals. Their current contract is valued at over $22 million. Gender Influence Gap -24%Thomson Reuters: Supplies ICE with access to massive databases, including over 20 billion license plate scans. This data allows agents to track vehicle movement history and identify where individuals may be living or working. Gender Influence Gap -28%Clearview AI: Recently signed a $3.75 million contract (September 2025) to provide facial recognition technology. While officially limited to certain types of investigations, procurement records suggest its use is expanding. Gender Influence Infinity% (no women on advisory board; Hal Lambert and Richard Schwartz as co-CEOs)King “Bumps”JPMorgan's Dimon sees 10.3% pay bump to $43MDisney CEO Bob Iger's Pay Increased 11.5% to $45.8 Million in 2025Goldman Sachs hikes CEO David Solomon's pay 21% to record $47 millionWells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf Gets 28% Pay Boost to $40 MillionWhy Starbucks is letting Brian Niccol use the company plane for more personal travel“Following a security review of risks, the Starbucks board of directors made the decision to enhance security measures for Brian,” a company spokesperson said. “This included a decision by the board to require Brian to use private aircraft for all travel.”$96M in 2024; $31M in 2024, including temporary housing expenses in the amount of $371,536; and security expenses in the amount of $1,142,700; and $997,392 in expenses related to his use of Starbucks aircraft for commuting and personal usemedian employee: $17,279. CEO Pay ratio 1,794 to 1 (January 1st: 10:10am)Temporary housing expense ratio: 22:1The docu-bribe: At ‘Melania' Premiere, the President Sees ‘Glamour' and Others See GraftAmazon paid Melania Trump's production company $40 million for the movie and then paid another $35 million to promote it.Guests included:Jordan Belfort: The real-life "Wolf of Wall Street."Director Brett Ratner, accused of rape, sexual assault, sexual harrassment, and homophobic abuse by at least 9 women:Melania Trump documentary marks a post-#MeToo comeback for its directorBrett Ratner was all but exiled from Hollywood after facing sexual misconduct allegations. Trump's win gave him an opening to return.Tim Cook (Apple)Andy Jassy (Amazon)Lisa Su (AMD)Eric Yuan (Zoom)Lynn Martin (President of the NYSE)Larry Culp (GE)Sam Altman (OpenAISatya Nadella (Microsoft)Sundar Pichai (Google)Safra Catz (Oracle):David Brown (Victory Capital)David Ellison (Skydance/Paramount)Marc Benioff (Salesforce)Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Diversity on Fortune 50 boards: white men haven't been a majority for 3 years in a rowWhereas about a decade ago, white men held two-thirds of the seats on the top 50 Fortune boards, in 2023, for the first time, they held fewer than 50%. In 2024, that number dropped to 48.4%, but this year it climbed back to 49.7%.Since white men make up about 31% of the U.S. population, they still have been very much overrepresented in all three years.DR: National Shutdown: General strike on January 30 aims to push ICE out of Minnesota. Stores closed, protests scheduled in all 50 statesMM: Delivery Robot Gets Stuck on Train Tracks, Gets Obliterated by LocomotiveMM: Judge greenlights Massachusetts offshore wind project halted by Trump administrationVineyard Wind, which joins Revolution Wind, Empire Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind in restarted because lawsAssholiest of the Week (MM):WHICH ASSHOLE DO YOU BLAME: Trump's ICE tactics force CEOs to choose between staying silent and risking White House backlashTrump/ICEHis personal military got orders to be “ethical”, but to fuck up everyone - and recruited specifically targeting Call of Duty players and lonely, angry men who wish they could call their friends “retarded” again but it isn't politically correctPalantir and the ICE industrial complexAlex Karp went out of his way to insist to his disgusted employees that AI and Palantir “bolsters civil liberties”Meanwhile, Palantir employees signed a letter from tech employees pondering whether or not they are actively destroying our country and abetting oligarchsBut Palantir, while making some of the creepiest, most heinous software known to man (I mean, worse than CHINA! And we all HATE CHINA, RIGHT???), has $100m in contracts with ICEIn fact, there's a whole private infrastructure complex that's largely not politically agnostic that's made $22bn from ICE and immigration crackdowns - and it's only been a year! That's some awesome shareholder value illegally sending weeping mothers to countries they don't live in with no due process!CEOs (Target, looking at you) DRThey managed to find a pen and craft a strongly worded letter that asked, pretty please, for “de-escalation”, calling ICE out not by NAME of course, but as a “recent challenge” that created “widespread disruption” - and named the White House only as someone they are “communicating” with. Signed by 60 Minnesota CEOs, co-signed in spirit by the Business Roundtable (though not like, officially), they managed to write a whole 199 words about the execution of a VA nurse whose crime was filming the Gestapo in actionTarget's incoming CEO (obviously not the CURRENT CEO Brian Cornell, he's busy polishing his mahogany chair for board meetings where he will be Executive Chair, making as much as a CEO with none of the responsibilities) also addressed the unlawful and unwarranted arrests of Target employees in Minneapolis by thugs - oh, wait, no he didn't - he said, “The violence and loss of life in our community is incredibly painful.” - IT WAS YOUR EMPLOYEES IN THE CROSSHAIRS, SCHMUCK. Target employees are currently skipping work in Minnesota, but solid leadership.Boards of directorsOur analysis of the boards of the Minnesota 60 showed that nearly half of them sit on each other's boards. Basically, you have a massive groupcoward problem - about 25 of the CEOs sit on some other CEOs board or overlap in some way, and the lawyers that carefully crafted the letter absolutely had to have it run through every other board and company lawyer, a task made easier when half of you are on the board with each other. No need for authenticity when you have collective ass covering.Jeffrey EpsteinIf not for those files, there wouldn't NEED TO BE MURDERS so you look somewhere else!InvestorsIf not for “shareholder value”, we could pay attention to humanity and authentic real world values!WHICH ASSHOLE DO YOU BLAME: As You Sow leads criticism of SEC's updated restrictions on smaller shareholdersSmaller investors!For three decades, small investors have used precatory proposals either as a means to extract more data, a means to improve governance, or a means of advertising - many of the non profits use it as a fundraising tool as much as a means of changeMeanwhile, those proposals have almost entirely failed at the vote - though they HAVE succeeded in increasing our data over time (the long arc of disclosure)Then the zone gets flooded by the anti-woke shareholders looking to de-trans companies, and now we have a massive influx of performative proposalsNow that the insiders are in charge (vs. career bureaucrats), in a six month period, virtually all rights have been revoked with threats of paperwork for non complianceAs a final cherry, they are now trying to keep EXEMPT SOLICITATIONS off the filing docket unless you have $5m in stock, so you can't even file your intent to vote directionally unless you're super richJohn CheveddenThe gadflyfather - if not for being the winningest shareholder in history with a nearly obsessive focus on improving shareholder rights, the most boring of topics, the SEC would probably have ignored the whole thingBut the data shows the SEC is taking the time to blanket ignore everyone BUT Chevedden, responding to affirmatively say no to his proposalsJC, no one likes a repeat champion dynastyThe SECBrain Daly at the SEC is out there suggesting maybe NO ONE should vote proxies while SEC Chair Atkins tried to gaslight the entire investment community by claiming the “government shutdown” made it too hard for the poor ole SEC to do its job, so they just gave companies immunity from proposals in lieu of doing their jobsMeanwhile, Atkins has overseen a steep drop in enforcement of accounting irregularities and reporting while simultaneously green lighting crypto scams and Exxon's new “retail vote” capture plan (which gives management anywhere from 5-20% of the company vote depending on the company by auto voting retail that opts in)All with Trump family in the backdrop raking in 1.4bn in the first year of the presidency from crypto token bullshit, asset seizures and sales, and pure graft - none of which will obviously be investigated despite Trump's son actively on a public board of directorsBigger investors!THEY NEVER REALLY CARED ABOUT VOTING ANYWAY! 96% average support for directors, 0.2% of directors globally voted out annually, and of those that are voted out (~20 a year), MORE THAN HALF STAY ON THE BOARD either by bylaw (cumulative voting) or as zombies (Jay Hoag!)And still, NO ONE CARES!WHICH ASSHOLE DO YOU BLAME: Marc Andreessen says the real crisis isn't AI job losses — it's what would have happened without AIThe powerless AI makersSam Altman: Sam Altman Says AI Will Cause Massive Deflation, Making Money Worth Vastly More - that's pretty good if you're already a billionaire, yeah?Dario Amodei: Anthropic CEO Warns That the AI Tech He's Creating Could Ravage Human Civilization - uh, don't create itThe CEO of Microsoft Suddenly Sounds Extremely Nervous About AIAI anxiety is so widespread that veteran Microsoft researchers are having panic attacks because they're making themselves obsoleteThe VC Navel Gazing Manchild EconomyAndreessen's genius was investing in manchildren: Facebook, Roblox, AirBnBVCs actually are giving LESS MONEY to women than the INCREDIBLY LOW AMOUNT they already gave during the AI raceYOU - you should have been a plumber or a peasant or a construction workerHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Cracker Barrel Wants Its Staff to Eat One Thing on Work Trips: Cracker BarrelMM: The company Americans say is the best place to work in 2026 isn't who you thinkCrew Carwash - washing cars is better than tech bro manbaby festsMM: The Worst People Alive Are Obsessed With Meta's Video Recording GlassesWho Won the Week?DR: Resistance in Minnesota and Maine (I'm attempting to be optimistic here, give me a break)MM: 33% of corporate leaders: As Big Tech CEOs speak up about violence in Minneapolis, 1 in 3 corporate leaders think ICE tensions are ‘not relevant to their business'PredictionsDR: January 1st will officially be recognized by the Business Roundtable as "Equality Day"—celebrating the grueling minutes it takes a CEO to earn more than their average worker for the year. Engraved badges with the exact time (10:10 for SBUX) will be created to honor the achievement.Ok, maybe that's silly, my real one is that Target announces its "De-Escalation" Collection: a "Minneapolis-Inspired" line of high-fashion neutral-tone hoodies, specifically marketed as "non-threatening" to ICE agents and heartbroken CEOsMM: Alex Karp, social justice warrior out for the little guy, mass fires his staff at Palantir and replaces it with an AI robot named “The Job Displacer”, does a road show claiming he's “freed” his employees using AI and now they can really have authentic jobs like “bagger at grocery store” and “guy who mixes paint”

Bobby shares the story of how he rescued a man on the road who got stuck and couldn't get out. But the disaster that happened to Bobby in the process left us with our mouth wide open. A woman threw her "Costco-loving husband" a surprise birthday party at a Costco food court. We all shared what store would have our birthday parties at. We got a legal answer if your boss can fire you for something we all experienced this week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seahawks Super Bowl gear is flying off the shelves, which is providing a boost to the local economy. Super Bowl tickets are outrageously expensive. Amazon is ditching its walkout shopping stores. // Big Local: A suspect that targeted elderly women in Pierce County has finally been caught. A Pierce County woman is sounding the alarms about rising fees for surrendered pets at the humane society. Mukilteo scuba divers want a dive park. // You Pick the Topic: AI is now being used for pets’ mental health.

Luke is a podcaster and Twitch streamer who hosts Fortnite Talk Show, in which he jumps into random Fortnite channels and chats with his fellow players like a talk show. He also hosts the show STORES, a podcast about the universal experience of going to stores.We sat down for a science-fantasy adventure in Troika!, a science-fantasy roleplaying game where you and your cosmopolitan group of fellow travellers explore the ends of the multiverse.A skeleton buys a house. It goes badly from there.THELUKEMAN: https://linktr.ee/thelukemanSTORES: https://www.youtube.com/@storesthepodcastTROIKA!: https://www.troikarpg.com/MOON'S SHOT: https://signalstation.itch.io/moons-shotHOUSE ON LICH LANE: https://unchartedworlds.itch.io/lich-laneAUTOMATOWN: https://shamaeimagines.itch.io/automatownALL MY FANTASY CHILDREN: https://moonshotpods.com/all-my-fantasy-children/PARTY OF ONE DISCORD: https://discordapp.com/invite/SxpQKmKSUPPORT JEFF ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/jeffstormerFOLLOW JEFF ON TWITCH: https://www.twitch.tv/gmjeffstormerTHEME SONG: Mega Ran feat. D&D Sluggers, “Infinite Lives,” RandomBeats LLC, www.megaran.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/party-of-one-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Raymond James' Josh Beck talks with TITV Host Akash Pasricha about Amazon's massive 16,000-person layoff and what to expect from Meta and Microsoft earnings tonight. We also talk with The Information's Aaron Holmes about Microsoft's internal reaction to Anthropic's Claude CoWork as well as Ann Gehan & Theo Wayt about the shutting down of Amazon's grocery store experiments. Finally, we get into the return of speculative SPACs with our Finance Editor Ken Brown.Articles discussed on this episode: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-races-respond-new-threats-anthropichttps://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/the-information-finance/new-spac-boom-let-last-spac-boomhttps://www.theinformation.com/briefings/amazon-cuts-16-000-employeeshttps://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/the-briefing/amazons-fresh-dream-expiresSubscribe: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinformation The Information: https://www.theinformation.com/subscribe_hSign up for the AI Agenda newsletter: https://www.theinformation.com/features/ai-agendaTITV airs weekdays on YouTube, X and LinkedIn at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Or check us out wherever you get your podcasts.Follow us:X: https://x.com/theinformationIG: https://www.instagram.com/theinformation/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@titv.theinformationLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theinformation/

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Grocery Dealz and Mirakl.In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses:Amazon closes all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, pivoting to expand Whole Foods with 100+ new locations as it admits failure in creating a differentiated grocery format.Michael Burry discloses he's been buying GameStop shares as a long-term value play, betting on CEO Ryan Cohen's capital allocation strategy rather than meme stock speculation.Meta tests new premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, offering exclusive features and AI capabilities while keeping core experiences free.The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketing up the Feedspot charts, so stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail insights.Be careful out there!

"You can't control tariffs. You can't control the weather. But you can control what's happening within your business."Salena Knight has audited thousands of retail businesses since 2007 and found that 4 out of 5 seven-figure stores share the same blind spot—and it's not marketing. It's money. We talked about why inventory is secretly taxable cash sitting on your shelves, how one brand increased profit margins 30% by auditing their pick-and-pack costs, and why running a 30% off sale on luxury products got zero orders.SPONSORSSwym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & moregetswym.com/kurtCleverific - Smart order editing for Shopifycleverific.comZipify - Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURTPromo Party Pro - Boost sales with promotional campaignspromoparty.appLINKSBringing Business to Retail Podcast: https://salenaknight.com/podcastSalena Knight: https://salenaknight.comThe Retail Academy: https://theretailacademy.comWORK WITH KURTApply for Shopify Helpethercycle.com/applySee Our Resultsethercycle.com/workFree Newsletterkurtelster.comThe Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

Thrifting isn't just shopping, it's a mindset. On the latest Get Thrifty Podcast, Maggie Scivicque sits down with Bethanie Jean (@bethaniejeanofficial) to talk vintage finds, luxury thrifting, and why secondhand is one of the most creative ways to express personal style. From estate sale treasures to small-town thrift store gems, this episode will change how you see thrifting.    SHOW NOTES: Check out Facebook Marketplace for amazing finds. The hidden gems that are small-town thrift stores! Seek out estate sales and thrift stores where older people donate; the treasures are fabulous! Luxury thrifting is possible! Tips for manifesting your vintage and thrifting dreams!! How she is a "student of people" and why storytelling as central to her work.

This is our daily Tech and Business report. KCBS Radio News Anchor KCBS Radio News Anchor Margie Shafer spoke with Bloomberg's Matt Day Amazon is closing its brick-and-mortar Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores some of which will be turned into Whole Foods locations.

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 in San Diego at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga speak with Bruce Burrows, former CIO of Loblaw and Sobeys and current Strategic Advisor at Simbe, about how technology, AI, and shelf intelligence are reshaping grocery retail. Bruce shares his perspective on why retailers should focus on being great retailers, not software developers, and how the buy versus build debate is evolving in an era of AI and private LLMs. The conversation explores where grocery sits on the maturity curve for connected stores, why in store execution is becoming table stakes, and how retailers can use data to drive better decisions across merchandising, supply chain, and store operations. Bruce also outlines a practical crawl, walk, run framework for adopting shelf intelligence, starting with fixing out of stocks and pricing issues, then moving toward smarter merchandising, supply chain integration, and new monetization opportunities. The discussion touches on agentic AI, avoiding solution sprawl, and why mid market grocers are often moving faster than larger enterprises. Key Topics Covered - Buy versus build in retail technology - The role of AI and private LLMs in grocery - Shelf intelligence and the connected store maturity curve - Crawl, walk, run adoption of smart store technology - Improving in stock, pricing accuracy, and execution - Using store data to enhance merchandising and supply chain - Agentic AI, solution sprawl, and platform strategy - Why mid market grocers are leading tech adoption Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, recorded live from the Simbe booth in the FMI Tech section. #FMI2026 #RetailTechnology #GroceryRetail #AIinRetail #ShelfIntelligence #SmartStores #RetailLeadership #OmniTalk

Recorded live at FMI 2026, Omni Talk Retail hosts Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton sit down with Justin Weinstein, EVP, Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer at Giant Eagle, Inc., from the Simbe booth. Justin shares an update on Giant Eagle's progress since their last conversation, including how the company is reinvesting in stores, sharpening value, and doubling down on fresh and quality across the business. He discusses how Giant Eagle is thinking about store prototypes, department level differentiation, and how trends like GLP 1s are influencing merchandising, space allocation, and customer engagement. The conversation also explores agentic AI in grocery, where the hype is real but still evolving, and why operational rigor, real time insight, and strong partnerships are critical to serving customers when it matters most. Key Topics Covered: - Progress on Giant Eagle's growth and reinvestment strategy - Store of the future thinking and department differentiation - Value, pricing, and promotional focus - Fresh, protein, and nutrient dense foods - GLP 1s and implications for merchandising and space planning - Agentic AI and its role in grocery commerce - Operational execution and real time visibility through technology partners For more insights from grocery and retail leaders, continue following Omni Talk Retail's live coverage from FMI 2026, recorded at the Simbe booth. #FMI2026 #OmniTalkRetail #GroceryRetail #GiantEagle #Merchandising #RetailMarketing #FoodRetail #RetailTechnology #Simbe

The Dallas Cowboys hire Christian Parker as their new DC, Shelves are cleared for winter storm, Bobby Belt joins the show to talk about Parker, and Chase Senior joins the show to talk all about Christian Parker.

There's a lot to love about Vermont general stores.  This episode includes an interview with Ben Doyle, the president of the Preservation Trust of Vermont in Montpelier. The organization has helped many Vermont towns save or reopen general stores.  I also chat with Dan and Alison Singleton of Singleton's Store in Cavendish, which opened 80 years ago.   https://happyvermont.com https://www.patreon.com/cw/happyvermontpodcast      

-What Does the Upcoming Snow & Cold Mean for Your Yard? Chris McKeown from the Bloomin' Garden Centre has the Answers!-The Stores are Already Packed!-Sportsinnati Podcast has a New Episode!-The Dad Joke of the Day!-They're Spending How Much for Lunch at Work?-Good Vibes: Some Florida Kids.....See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The good old days.

Andrew Warburton from Peak Beverage Co. joins Phil and Kenny to share his journey building a premium fruit soda brand in BC's competitive beverage market. From launching with minimal research to now being in 175+ stores across Western Canada, Andrew opens up about the realities of scaling a local CPG brand.In this conversation, you'll hear about Peak's channel strategy—why food service and wineries have been their sweet spot, how Amazon opened up eastern markets without expensive direct-to-consumer shipping, and the importance of staying connected to customers through farmer's markets and demos. Andrew discusses navigating distributor relationships, managing seasonal fluctuations in the food and beverage industry, and why understanding your consumer and picking your spots matters more than being everywhere.Whether you're launching a beverage brand or scaling a local food product, Andrew's honest, practical approach to building Peak Beverage Co. offers valuable lessons on entrepreneurship, distribution strategy, and staying true to your brand. Thank you to LGDF Wholesale for sponsoring this episode. You can find them at: www.lgdfwholesale.comYou can find Andrew at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwarburt0n/Check out Peak Beverage here: https://www.drinkpeak.ca/Buy it on Amazon here: Apple Rhubarb: https://a.co/d/eRoHXAPHaskap Lemonade: https://a.co/d/iXhD0XYTell us which one is your favourite here: https://www.instagram.com/thiscommercelife/

Cam takes a look at a Virginia bill imposing new security mandates on all FFLs, as well as a preview of tomorrow's Supreme Court oral arguments in Wolford v. Lopez.

Macy's announced it's closing approximately 14 stores during the first fiscal quarter as part of its "Bold New Chapter" turnaround strategy, which includes shuttering about 150 underperforming locations by the end of 2026. The statement from the Clintons comes a day after they released a scathing letter addressed to Comer saying that "now is the time" to "fight for this country" and blasted Comer's efforts as "partisan politics." Please Like, Comment and Follow 'Philip Teresi on KMJ' on all platforms: --- Philip Teresi on KMJ is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever else you listen to podcasts. -- Philip Teresi on KMJ Weekdays 2-6 PM Pacific on News/Talk 580 AM & 105.9 FM KMJ | Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | Podcast | Amazon | - Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We argue about something that really doesn't matter in any way and spend much too much time doing it. The good scale debate. Dylan takes a stance on allowing pets in stores. He thinks people should not be allowed to bring their fur babies into every establishment. Robbie makes the argument that kids can be just as much of a nuisance as pets. Pepper has a very wholesome reaction to getting a surprise present from Dylan and his stepson. If you know Pepper, you'd know he has a massive love of elastics. Pepper makes a shocking observation about Dylan's current relationship. Now it seems like Dylan's world is shook!

Are you wondering if launching an online skincare store could boost your esthetic practice and provide more convenience for your clients?Today, Andrea and Taleesa are going over the pros and cons of starting your own online skincare store and diving into whether they really think it's worth it for your business. . Listen to this episode to get the inside scoop on the challenges, benefits and real-world considerations like logistics, tech setup, and marketing when it comes to starting your own online store. If you enjoyed this episode please share, rate and review it! Also mentioned in today's episode: Benefits of starting an online store 5:35Challenges of starting an online store 9:04Who should be starting an online store? 14:50Shopify vs. Jotform 20:00When having an online store might not be worth it 27:02Links:Estie Social Suite:https://smithandcrawford.com/aesthetically-social-suite2026 Visibility Vault:https://smithandcrawford.com/visibility-vaultShow transcripts: https://smithandcrawford.com/notesEmail us: hello@smithandcrawford.comJoin our newsletter: https://smithandcrawford.com/newsletterhttps://calendly.com/smithandcrawford/30-min-strategy-session?back=1&month=2024-10https://calendly.com/smithandcrawford/aesthetically-discovery-call?back=1&month=2024-08https://smithandcrawford.com/

In this Omni Talk Retail episode, recorded live from NRF 2026 at Vusion's booth, Jim Norred, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Vusion, and Gina Ayala Claxton, CVP of U.S. Retail & Consumer Goods at Microsoft, join Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton to explain why connected stores are quickly becoming a P&L priority for retailers in 2026. As margin pressure, labor constraints, and ecommerce fulfillment demands intensify, retailers are being forced to connect store infrastructure, data, and AI to drive faster, more accurate decisions. From Bluetooth-enabled connectivity and real-time shelf availability to agentic AI, data readiness, and governance at scale, this conversation breaks down what it really takes to modernize stores without creating costly “science projects.” Key Topics covered: -Why ecommerce picking accuracy is accelerating connected store adoption -Operational vs. marketing-led drivers of connected store investments -The anatomy of a connected store: BLE, data, and AI -Why Bluetooth is emerging as the heartbeat of in-store connectivity -Agentic AI, observability, and speeding decisions from signal to execution -Platform vs. point solutions and how retailers avoid technology sprawl -Governance, security, and scaling AI across thousands of stores -How retailers are prioritizing initiatives with measurable P&L impact -Turning connected store investments into loyalty, efficiency, and ROI Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from NRF 2026, and stop by Vusion booth #4921 to say hello. #NRF2026 #ConnectedStore #RetailTechnology #RetailAI #OmnichannelRetail #StoreOperations #VusionGroup #Microsoft #RetailInnovation #OmniTalk

Want to heal your child's eczema without steroids? Click here to get started → EczemaKids.com If the diaper area is the last place to heal, it is not bad luck. I sat down with engineer and founder of Kudos Diapers, Amrita Saigal, to talk about why plastic, heat, moisture, and friction keep irritation stuck, and what actually matters when it comes to diaper materials for eczema-prone skin.   Ready to Reverse Your Child's Eczema Naturally? Everything you need to calm the itch, clear the skin, and finally feel confident you know what to do.  

Send us a textWe're back! After taking a month-long break to recharge and deal with the holidays, the crew returns to break down a few topics that matter in the gaming world.In Episode 207, we recap 2025, talk about what we're looking forward to in 2026, discuss the rising prices of PC RAM and GPUs and how it impacts PC gaming, and cover GameStop closing even more stores. Plus, we hit a few other topics too… because of course we still manage to go off the rails.But hey, that's why you love us.So yeah… welcome back!Episode 207 Timestamps00:00 – Intro 10:37 – What We Have Been Playing 17:47 – 2025 Recap 52:58 – Wishes and Plans for 2026 1:09:22 – PC Gaming just got even more expensive1:28:29 – GameStop Closing More Stores 1:37:00 – Outro#GamingPodcast #VideoGames #GamingNews #gameindustry Make sure to listen, drop a comment, and share the episode if you enjoyed it. And we want to hear from you: what topics do you want us to cover in the next episode?Support the showYou can find the Spectator Mode podcast on the following podcast platforms. Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast, as it will go a long watch in more people discovering us. Thank you! Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Amazon Music

I'm thrilled to share some incredible insights from my latest podcast episode with the legendary Brian Dunn. Brian's journey from a frontline associate to CEO of Best Buy is nothing short of inspiring. Here are some key takeaways that I believe will spark your curiosity and encourage you to tune in:1. The Power of Listening and Mentorship  • Early Lessons: Brian's first job in a grocery store taught him the value of listening and caring about what people think. His mentor, Kenny, showed him that great leadership starts with a genuine human connection.  • Mentorship Impact: Brian emphasizes the importance of mentors who help you see your strengths and build on them. He believes that everyone should find mentors to open new opportunities and overcome imposter syndrome.2. Navigating Transformations and Challenges  • Leadership During Change: Brian shared his experience leading Best Buy through massive shifts, including moving from commission-based sales to non-commission. He highlights the importance of resilience and holding paradoxical thoughts without going insane.  • Scaling with People in Mind: As Best Buy grew from 8 to 441 stores, Brian kept the focus on people, ensuring that human connection remained central to the company's culture.3. Embracing AI and Technology  • AI's Role in Leadership: Brian sees AI as a tool to open up new capacities and opportunities, not just a means to cut costs. He believes AI will make human skills like empathy and judgment even more crucial.  • Future of Work: AI will allow us to do things faster and better, but it will never replace the need for leaders to care about their employees and manage crises with heart.4. Culture, Trust, and Values  • Human Connection: Brian insists that as organizations grow, leaders must fight the drift away from the human side. He believes that trust, judgment, empathy, and values are profoundly human responsibilities that technology cannot replace.  • Core Values as a Compass: For Brian, family, faith, and friendships are central. He stresses that if a situation requires violating core values, it's a sign to leave that situation.5. Bold Leadership and Risk-Taking  • Brave Fish Metaphor: Brian uses the metaphor of brave fish taking risks wisely to describe the competitive business environment. He warns against complacency and emphasizes the need for leaders to keep pushing forward.  • Strategic Thinking: Boards should look for leaders who are bold, willing to take calculated risks, and surround themselves with diverse perspectives to sharpen strategies.6. Personal Legacy and Success  • Defining Success: For Brian, success is about the positive impact he leaves on the world and the people he interacts with. He cherishes his role as a father and values the time and freedom to engage meaningfully with his family.  • The Most Important Podcast Ever: Brian's podcast highlights ordinary people doing extraordinary things, emphasizing the importance of human stories in leadership and culture.7. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs  • Just Do It: Brian encourages young entrepreneurs to take action without hesitation. He believes the only real barrier to success is oneself and stresses the importance of moving quickly, showing up, listening, and learning.I hope these insights have piqued your interest! Brian's journey and wisdom are truly inspiring, and I'm excited for you to hear the full conversation. Tune in to the latest episSend us a textConnect with Kip on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kipknippel/Watch Bite-Sized Clips on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@capitalistculture/shorts

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Mirakl.In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses:GameStop kicks off 2026 by closing over 430 stores across 42 states as CEO Ryan Cohen races toward a potential $35 billion stock option payday tied to hitting a $100 billion market cap.Walmart and Wing announce plans to scale drone delivery operations to 270 stores by 2027, reaching over 40 million potential customers in major metros including Los Angeles, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Miami.Aldi celebrates 50 years in the U.S. by unveiling plans to open 180-plus stores across 31 states in 2026, enter Maine and Colorado, and launch a redesigned e-commerce platform at Aldi.us.The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketing up the Feedspot charts, so stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail insights.Be careful out there!

GameStop sounds pretty f*cked going into 2026. They're closing 300 more locations with little or no notice to employees, they're betting the farm on Bitcoin (??!) the new CEO is eying up a $35 billion dollar payout for himself and he can make this company worth 10x its current market cap. Good luck with that...Watch this podcast episode on YouTube and all major podcast hosts including Spotify.CLOWNFISH TV is an independent, opinionated news and commentary podcast that covers Entertainment and Tech from a consumer's point of view. We talk about Gaming, Comics, Anime, TV, Movies, Animation and more. Hosted by Kneon and Geeky Sparkles.D/REZZED News covers Pixels, Pop Culture, and the Paranormal! We're an independent, opinionated entertainment news blog covering Video Games, Tech, Comics, Movies, Anime, High Strangeness, and more. As part of Clownfish TV, we strive to be balanced, based, and apolitical. Get more news, views and reviews on Clownfish TV News - https://more.clownfishtv.com/On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ClownfishTVOn Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4Tu83D1NcCmh7K1zHIedvgOn Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clownfish-tv-audio-edition/id1726838629

08 Jan 2026. Parkin has entered into a management agreement with Spinneys and Waitrose to deploy parking solutions across six selected retail locations in Dubai. How will it work? We ask Tom Harvey, GM of Spinneys. Plus, Saudi Arabia is opening its property market to foreign investors from January 21. What could it mean for the Saudi economy and real estate sector? We get analysis from Knight Frank and a real estate lawyer from Mohamed Ghanem and Associates Legal Consultancy. And with the UAE’s new sugar-based tax now in force, we ask PepsiCo what it means for soft drink prices and product strategy. Finally, as construction tops out on the $3.9bn Wynn Al Marjan Island, we hear from the new head of RAK Tourism on what the resort means for the emirate’s ambitions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textAmazon has rolled out a new "brand store quality rating" metric for 2026, indicating a shift in focus for the platform. This new system measures brand store dwell time and sales, providing key performance indicators for sellers.Understanding these metrics is crucial for optimizing your amazon store and boosting sales performance. Learn how to leverage this new rating to improve your online business and master selling online.Take control of wasted ad spend, book a strategy call to structure your campaigns right: https://bit.ly/4jMZtxu#AmazonPPC #AmazonAds #EcommerceMarketing #PPCStrategy #ProductVariations--------------------------------------------------------------------------Want free resources? Dowload our Free Amazon guides here:Amazon SEO Toolkit 2026: https://bit.ly/4oC2ClTQ4 Selling Playbook: https://bit.ly/46Wqkm32025 Ecommerce Holiday Playbook: https://bit.ly/4hbygovAmazon PPC Guide 2025: https://bit.ly/4lF0OYXAmazon Crisis Kit: https://bit.ly/4maWHn0TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Should You Advertise Every Variation?00:19 - ASINs and Parentage Setup Example01:01 - Why Targeting Strategy Matters01:24 - Campaign Setup Using Similar Products02:11 - High Relevancy Keyword Examples02:49 - Why Multiple ASINs May Show at Once03:49 - When to Segment by Keyword Specificity04:09 - Keyword Example: Black T-Shirt Campaign05:01 - Relevancy and Variation-Specific Targeting06:06 - Control Your Targeting for Better Results________________________________Follow us:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28605816/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenpopemag/Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/myamazonguys/Twitter: https://twitter.com/myamazonguySubscribe to the My Amazon Guy podcast:My Amazon Guy podcast: https://podcast.myamazonguy.comApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-amazon-guy/id1501974229Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4A5ASHGGfr6s4wWNQIqyVwSupport the show

LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured  Sprinkles — the original viral cupcake shop — is gone. Stores closed. Vending machines shut down. And no, this wasn't a “market failure.”In this episode, we break down:• How private equity hollowed out Sprinkles and walked away• Why leveraged buyouts destroy otherwise healthy businesses• How debt gets dumped onto companies until they collapse• Why doctors, HVAC firms, schools, and advisors hate life after PE buyouts• How absurd valuations only work if there's a bigger sucker later• Why this isn't capitalism — it's financial cannibalism• How private equity is reshaping wealth management (and not for the better)And why mom-and-pop businesses are the comeback story no one sees coming!

Welcome to the new year! On the first episode of 2026 Ashley Alderson is joined by Sara Burks for a big-picture retail conversation that every boutique owner needs right now! Retail is changing fast — and 2025 proved that "business as usual" isn't enough anymore. With reports showing 15,000+ store closures, Ashley & Sara unpack what really happened, what retailers got wrong, and how small businesses can build a stronger, more profitable plan for 2026. In this episode, Ashley and Sara walk through the six layers of retail (the proven Retail Bootcamp framework) and share what to double down on in each one — from customer clarity and CEO focus, to product profitability, team leadership, sales strategy, content planning, and modern marketing that actually works today. You'll learn: How consumer behavior is shifting: time, trust, and emotional connection How the six-layer Retail Bootcamp framework creates a strong, sustainable business from the inside out Why trying to be "something for everyone" is a losing strategy Why 2025 saw 15,000+ stores close (including major big-box brands) What successful retailers are doubling down on in 2026   Join The Boutique Hub Retail Bootcamp  ____________________________ Ashley Alderson: Instagram     The Boutique Hub: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok | YouTube

The Cybercrime Magazine Podcast brings you daily cybercrime news on WCYB Digital Radio, the first and only 7x24x365 internet radio station devoted to cybersecurity. Stay updated on the latest cyberattacks, hacks, data breaches, and more with our host. Don't miss an episode, airing every half-hour on WCYB Digital Radio and daily on our podcast. Listen to today's news at https://soundcloud.com/cybercrimemagazine/sets/cybercrime-daily-news. Brought to you by our Partner, Evolution Equity Partners, an international venture capital investor partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs to develop market leading cyber-security and enterprise software companies. Learn more at https://evolutionequity.com

Four new Barnes & Noble stores are opening in 2026, including one at 150 N. State Street in the Loop. The others are planned for Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, Oak Park and Hyde Park.

In this episode, Carly and Sherry unpack the hidden “LIMITS” that often hold back independent pet retailers and brands. They introduce a powerful acronym—L.I.M.I.T.S.—that identifies the six common barriers to growth in the pet industry:

This is the All Local morning update for Saturday, January 3rd

PREVIEW JIMMY LAI: THE TROUBLEMAKER VS. BEIJING Colleague Mark Clifford. Mark Clifford details the history of Jimmy Lai, a billionaire who risked his fortune to challenge the Chinese regime. Despite Beijing closing his stores in 1994, Lai funded Apple Daily and knowingly faced imprisonment to advocate for freedom, characterizing himself as a persistent "troublemaker." 1930 HONG KONG

In dieser Folge von Kassenzone spricht Karo mit Helena Karlinder-Östlundh, CEO des skandinavischen E-Commerce-Händlers Nelly.com, über den erfolgreichen Turnaround des börsennotierten Unternehmens. Helena erklärt, wie sich Nelly.com von einem Händler für preiswerte Party- und Abendgarderobe zu einer profitablen Anlaufstelle für Mode im Stockholm-Style entwickelt hat, welche Rolle Rentabilität, Kundenbindung und Retourenmanagement dabei spielen und warum klare Markenpositionierung für sie entscheidend ist. Außerdem gibt sie Einblicke in Nelly's Marketing- und Social-Media-Strategien, den Umgang mit Wettbewerbern wie SHEIN sowie rechtliche und regulatorische Herausforderungen im E-Commerce. Zum Abschluss geht es um Internationalisierung, physische Stores und die wichtigsten Wachstumshypothesen bis 2026 Das Gespräch im Überblick: (2:29) Aktuelle Lage im E-Commerce und Marktumfeld (4:01) Nellys Geschäftsmodell, Finanzielle Performance und Turnaround (8:43) Marketingstrategien und Markenpositionierung (14:04) Retourenmanagement und Kundenerfahrung (16:41) Team, Organisation und Unternehmenskultur (25:50) Konkurrenzanalyse: SHEIN und andere Player (31:14) Rechtliche Herausforderungen und Marktregulierung (35:29) Zukunftsstrategien und Wachstumsperspektiven bis 2026

Did you overspend this holiday season? Get a bunch of stuff you don't need? Nashville's thrift stores are ready to welcome you with open arms. We're revisiting our conversation between host Marie Cecile Anderson and her mom, Linda, the queen of thrift. From housewares to fashion, they'll help you find the bargain of your dreams. Learn more about the sponsors of this December 30th episode: Simply Eloped Get more from City Cast Nashville when you become a City Cast Nashville Neighbor. You'll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm/nashville Want some more City Cast Nashville news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Nashville newsletter.  Follow us @citycastnashvilleYou can also text us or leave a voicemail at: 615-200-6392 Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

California’s plastic‑bag rules continue to evolve. After banning most single‑use bags in 2016, the state will tighten restrictions again on January 1, 2026, eliminating thicker “reusable” plastic bags that became a loophole. Stores must shift to paper, marking the state’s strictest standard yet. Please Like, Comment and Follow 'Broeske & Musson' on all platforms: --- The ‘Broeske & Musson Podcast’ is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you listen to podcasts. --- ‘Broeske & Musson' Weekdays 9-11 AM Pacific on News/Talk 580 AM & 105.9 FM KMJ | Facebook | Podcast| X | - Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Booming team is hard at work on some new episodes coming out next year. In the meantime, we wanted to revisit some of our favorite stories this holiday season. We think this one will be particularly useful for those of you still doing some last-minute holiday shopping. It explores the ways AI is being used by some of your favorite retailers to get better at selling you stuff. This story first aired in December 2024 -- you can read the original story here: How Stores are Spying on You If you want to give Booming a gift this holiday season, you can give us a rating and review on your favorite podcast app. Finally, a big thank you from all of us at Booming. We appreciate everyone who listens to the show, and we hope you have a great holiday season. Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes. Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.Support the show: https://kuow.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nas & Premier's long-anticipated album is finally here, but did it hit the mark or miss the vibe?

Christmas & A New Player in PredictionsDescription: Over $7 trillion of options expire today-- the largest expiration ever. Retailers are coming to the rescue in the last-minute holiday shopping rush. Plus, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins joins us as the gambling giant enters prediction markets. 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, Dr. Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University discusses different ways we can store carbon into our soils.    Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

- Apple CEO Lobbies Congress Against App Store Accountability Act - Apple and Google Remove Apps from Sanctioned Developers - 42 State Attorneys General Send Letter to Apple and Others Over A.I. Safety Concerns - India and Massachusetts Getting New Apple Stores - Protests Against ICEBlock Removal Planned for Portland Apple Store - Disney Nominates Former Apple COO to Board of Directors - Three Apple TV Shows Honored Among AFI Awards 2025 - Sponsored by OpenCase - MagSafe for iPhone Perfected. Build your own holiday bundle and save at TheOpenCase.com - Catch Ken on Mastodon - @macosken@mastodon.social - Send Ken an email: info@macosken.com - Chat with us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Support the show at Patreon.com/macosken

Italian cuisine gained a new honor this week when it became the first gastronomic style to be recognized as “intangible cultural heritage” by UNESCO, the United Nation's cultural body. But American cooks face a new potential tariff that may double the cost of pasta from Italy, an essential part of that cuisine. Deema Zein reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

We are fatigued and fed up this week! Benny and Mary Beth die for carrying things and lines outside stores.Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.Sponsors:To learn more about therapy with NOCD, go to nocd.com and schedule a free 15-minute call with their team. Earn points on rent and around your neighborhood, wherever you call home, by going to joinbilt.com/rideSecure your online data TODAY by visiting ExpressVPN.com/ridepod.Ritual.com/RIDE for 25% off your first month.Go to GOLDBELLY.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code RIDE.Get $15 off your purchase at thirdlove.com with code PODCAST15.Produced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.