Podcasts about Westshore

Send us a textThis week, we continue our Pizza Expo Interview Series from the show floor at Pizza Expo 2025. In this special edition of The Hot Slice Podcast, we talk to passionate franchisees and a dedicated pizza enthusiast. They are:Tyrell Reid and JR Lambert partners at Westshore Pizza in Brandon, Florida started out as employees of Westshore before becoming franchise owners. We talk Tampa's competitive market, hurricane prep and response, and an eye towards tech solutions.Shean Taylor with 31DaysofPizza.com wanted to stop by and chat on how National Pizza Month inspired his pizza quest. He has been eating as slice a day and interviewing pizza pros since 2002. He even does an awards program called “The Slicies”.We'll continue our regular interviewing format next week. If we missed you at Pizza Expo and you want to chat on The Hot Slice, reach out to me at dgreer@pizzatoday.com.Check out more news from International Pizza Expo, including pizza competition results, show floor takeaways and happenings in our Pizza Expo News Hub.

In an age where local journalism is struggling to survive, Lake Tahoe is fortunate to have Julie Brown Davis, a West Shore native and staff writer for SFGATE who exclusively covers Lake Tahoe. As the daughter of ski bums who moved to Tahoe in the 1970s, Julie grew up skiing Homewood and Alpine Meadows, worked her first journalism gig at the Sierra Sun and eventually became managing editor of Powder Magazine. After a handful of years as a freelancer, Julie has returned to her journalism roots as a staff reporter, and she isn't afraid to take on the big, controversial stories. On Episode 62 the boys chat with Julie about stories including infamous bears, the crush of tourists amidst the changing face of Tahoe, the role of TRPA, the negative effects of the season ski pass from mega resorts, recent federal staffing cuts and the potential impacts it will have on Tahoe tourism, the effect AI has on journalism and why corn is the new pow. 2:15 – Happy Mother's Day!8:00 – Introducing Julie Brown Davis – professional journalist who works as the SFGATE Tahoe editor.13:00 – Trail Whisperer and his former life as a freelance writer for Chevron.14:20 – What kind of gasoline should you put in your vehicle?19:00 - The problem with bears in Lake Tahoe and all the bear stories Julie has reported on.29:20 – Julie's youth growing up on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe in Tahoma.35:42 – Julie's path to getting into writing as a profession and her first job at the Sierra Sun and Tahoe World, later writing for Moonshine Ink and going to UC Berkeley for graduate school.41:45 – Going from an unpaid intern to managing editor at Powder Magazine and Transworld.46:46 – What print magazines and newspapers do you subscribe to?52:14 – Being a full-time employee for SFGATE as the Lake Tahoe region beat reporter.57:28 – Is there a sustainable future for recreation, traffic control and parking in Lake Tahoe?1:00:20 – Is the cheap season pass from IKON and Vail Resorts good for mountain communities?1:06:55 – What is a better model for digital media – paywall or free content that's ad driven?1:11:15 – Julie's story about the history of Graeagle, California and the West family who owned Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay.1:15:30 – Doing a story about the wolf pack situation in Plumas and Sierra County.1:19:31 – Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make reporting quicker and easier, but it isn't developed enough to replace good journalists.1:22:20 – Reporting on federal staffing cuts to the U.S. Forest Service and the negative impact it will have on the summer tourism season in Lake Tahoe.1:28:05 – Road construction, new bridges, new bike paths, tons of traffic and the TRPA transportation plan.1:31:00 – Lightning round questions for Julie.1:16:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?

In episode 129 of the TBD Podcast, Garrett sits down with Michael Maurino, the Executive Director of the Westshore Alliance, to unpack the bold and ambitious future of one of Tampa's most important and underappreciated districts. They discuss Westshore's unique zoning advantages, the massive redevelopment potential of WestShore Plaza, and how the district could become Tampa's most walkable, transit-friendly hub. From the River to Bay Greenway plan and the Howard Frankland Trail to complete streets, buried utilities, and murals that bring identity to neighborhoods, this conversation covers it all. Michael also dives into Tampa's transportation challenges, regional trail connections, and what it would take for residents to thrive without owning a car. Whether you're a policymaker, developer, or Tampa resident, this episode reveals what's next.0:00:00 - Introduction0:05:41 - Rejected Westshore Multifamily Project 0:14:28 - Infrastructure Issues0:27:56 - Connecting Tampa Neighborhoods0:41:43 - Westshore Mall Redevelopment1:02:22 - Corporations Moving to Tampa1:11:55 - More People Are Choosing To Walk1:24:23 - Westshore Mall Redevelopment Continued 1:38:04 - River to Bay Greenway

Recapping a polarizing winter that has been “clear and still” – either literally clear with no snow and still with no wind, or snow clear up to your ass and still snowing, the boys catch up on a number of topics including PowBot's surf trip to Costa Rica, Trail Whisperer's Death Valley four wheeling adventure and helicopter skiing, the sketchy last month of avalanches and the lack of stoke for resort skiing. The boys DERP local ski resorts for their season pass money grab of selling next years pass in March, they also DERP @palisadestahoe for leaning on local law enforcement to bust ski pass poachers. The ASS rants about social media and the unnecessary steepness of West Shore skin tracks and ponder why skins haven't improved that much in the last 10 years. The boys also play some 888 COR LORD call-ins from listeners. 2:00 – Recording from the Tahoe City Transit Center in PowBot's new van.4:20 – Recapping a banger couple of days skiing the West Shore of Lake Tahoe.10:20 – PowBot witnesses public hate for the Tesla Cybertruck.14:20 – Trail Whisperer takes the Land Cruiser four wheeling in Death Valley then goes to Tonopah to stay at the Mizpah Hotel.21:20 – Trail Whisperer goes helicopter skiing.25:40 – Skiing in the Toiyabe.26:25 – PowBot goes surfing in Costa Rica34:55 – The boys have been down on the ski resort experience this year, too busy everywhere.39:20 – DOPE OR DERP – Do you buy next year's ski pass now in March?46:00 – ASS rant about the state of social media and podcasting.55:40 – Tom has an encounter on his flight home from Costa Rica related to the podcast.58:45 – ASS rant about the unnecessary steepness of West Shore skin tracks.1:01:40 – Why have skins not improved that much in the last decade?1:05:20 – DOPE OR DERP – Alterra and Vail leaning on local law enforcement to prosecute ski pass poachers.1:13:05 – ebiker gets stranded for 30 hours in rural Texas after her ebike battery died and PowBot's story of his ebike dying in Downieville.1:16:00 – Listeners call into the 888 COR LORD hotline, talking about attainable, approachable backyard adventures.1:23:55 – Shout out to Alenka Vrecek – new article in Adventure Sports Journal about her Tahoe to Baja ride.1:25:10 – Trail Whisperer restores a vintage road bike and takes it for a ride.1:33:34 – The recent rash of avalanche incidents and fatalities since early February.

The Pocket is RETURNS for another loaded episode this week! Former Nittany Lion & NFL Jason Cabinda Fullback steps into The Pocket with Christian Hackenberg to discuss some more offseason Penn State Football breaking news! This episode tackles the big picture surrounding West Shore Home's massive donation, its impact on Beaver Stadium, and how it intertwines with the ongoing conversation about Joe Paterno's legacy. Here's what to expect in this loaded discussion:- BJ Werzyn's $50M contribution and its influence on Penn State's future.- The balance between honoring past legacies and embracing modern college football economics.- Insights on the cultural and emotional weight of Joe Paterno's impact on PSU football.- The importance of preserving Penn State's "Success with Honor" ethos through change.- Personal anecdotes and heartfelt reflections on the program's deep-rooted traditions.FOLLOW STATE MEDIA HERE:► TWITTER | / statemediapsu⁠ ► TIKTOK | / statemediapsu⁠ ► INSTAGRAM | / @statemediapsu ► YOUTUBE | ⁠ / @statemediapsu CHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro03:04 - West Shore Homes Donation to PSU04:09 - Setting the Stage for Discussion08:38 - BJ Werzyn's Influence on PSU15:26 - Success with Honor Concept17:48 - Simple Solutions for Challenges20:18 - Joe Paterno's Legacy24:35 - Importance of Legacy in Sports27:35 - Cultural Impact and Legacy Significance31:36 - The Witchcraft Moment Explained36:25 - Final Thoughts and ReflectionsThe Pocket is co-hosted by former Nittany Lions Christian Hackenberg and Jason Cabinda, presented by The College Sports Company.For sponsorships or business inquiries, reach out to: ads@collegesportsco.com#pennstate #psufootball #cfb #collegefootball #weare #football #nfl #ncaa

Ross is joined by B.J. Werzyn, the founder & CEO of West Shore Home to discuss West Shore's naming rights deal with Penn State & Beaver Stadium! Afterward, Ross & Jack break down all of the big deals that were agreed to on the first day of NFL free agency division by division including Sam Darnold & Justin Fields finding new homes, Laremy Tunsil being traded, and more! AFC East: 14:35 AFC North: 16:20 AFC South: 17:15 AFC West: 19:00 NFC East: 20:30 NFC North: 22:40 NFC South: 24:35 NFC West: 25:35 Download the DraftKings Sports Book App and use code ROSS! Connect with the Pod: Website - https://www.rosstucker.com Become A Patron - https://www.patreon.com/RTMedia Podcast Twitter - https://twitter.com/RossTuckerPod Podcast Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rosstuckerpod/ Ross Twitter - https://twitter.com/RossTuckerNFL Youtube: Youtube.com/RossTuckerNFL TikTok: tiktok.com/@rosstuckernfl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Penn State announces they've sold the naming rights to Beaver Stadium, which makes us obviously think of how it would go down at Memorial Stadium?

PennLive's Johnny McGonigal and Bob Flounders react to the news that Penn State's iconic Beaver Stadium has a new naming-rights partner in West Shore Home. Johnny and Bob discuss the importance and timing of the 15-year deal worth $50 million. Plus, two talented second-year PSU players – edge rusher Max Granville and interior offensive lineman Cooper Cousins – could loom large in Penn State's 2025 plans. Johnny and Bob discuss their many talents and how they fit on defense and offense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a focus on simplicity, minimalism and human-powered adventure, Nick Russell embodies what it is to be a free-spirited, big line splitboarder while making a living at it. Russell has eschewed guidebooks for true adventure, hunting for big lines and pow based more on a feeling than a calculation. This organic approach to becoming an expert in the backcountry takes years and more than a couple sandbag missions, but in the process creates a deeper connection with the land and with his comrades. Russell's most recent mission, captured in the Patagonia Films feature Papsura – Peak of Evil, along with his partner Jerry Mark and filmers Morgan Shields and Blake Gordon, claimed a first splitboard descent on an iconic line in the Indian Himalaya, a month-long mission that exceeded all expectations – a rare occurrence PowBot refers to as “The Jerry Effect”, related to the late Jerry Garcia. The boys also chat about the state of public lands in the midst of an onslaught against government agencies, with Russell encouraging listeners to call (202) 224 3121 and tell your local elected officials what you think about the drastic cuts against the Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management.4:45 – Introducing Nick Russell – core lord big mountain splitboarder.8:30 – Follow up to the butt vest discussion – Nick endorses the concept of the butt vest.15:15 – A little more about who Nick Russell is. Redefining big mountain splitboard freeriding.18:00 – Starting out in Utah's Wasatch and the organic process of getting into splitboarding.25:00 – Living simply, minimalism to reduce expense and maximize free time….filming their Alaska adventure, a film called “Free” on Vimeo.28:40 – Finding pow based “on a feeling” and the resulting Fun scale – Type 1, Type 2, Type 3.37:30 – All about the Papsura film mission, spending a month in India to ski one line.41:20 – The added complexity of having a film crew while accomplishing such a huge mission.46:30 – “The Jerry Effect” – Not just with the Grateful Dead, but also in Nick and Jerry's Papsura mission – everything went perfectly and according to plan.58:00 – Reviewing the last week of avalanche conditions in Lake Tahoe and how Nick navigates dangerous snowpack and staying out of avalanche terrain when it's high risk.1:07:30 – Becoming more conservative in the wake of a serious injury falling into a crevasse in Alaska on Mount Saint Elias.1:12:45 – How does a line that's so difficult to ever ski make the 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America?1:17:10 – Coping with the loss of friends in the backcountry over the years and the draw of social media FOMO feeding into dangerous situations.1:23:35 –Nick's take with the state of public lands and current federal workforce firings and budget freezes. Call 202 224 3121 – tell your local elected representatives what you think about what's happening to our public lands.1:33:00 – The potential silver lining in the recent attacks against our government and public lands.1:37:25 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?1:39:30 – Trail Whisperer and PowBot recap the discussion with Nick Russell.1:42:00 – Recapping the recent four-day trip to Frog Lake Huts.1:48:40 – PowBot encounters the Zoa Engineering Backcountry Tow Rope on the West Shore.1:59:40 – Shout out to HeavyDSparks and the Diesel Brothers for recovering the plane wreckage and the victim's body from Mount Jefferson with their Blackhawk helicopter.

Send us a textWelcome to this week's Safe Dividend Investing's podcast. You may want to go to the printed transcript, provided with this podcast, to review the detailed information there on the 5 outstanding US stocks and 5 outstanding Canadian stocks identified this week. It is interesting to see these 10 stocks strengths and weaknesses revealed by 9 data elements.The first 190 Safe Dividend Investing podcasts answered hundreds of  questions from my podcast listeners and readers of my publications. Not wanting to repeat  material that has already been covered, the weekly podcasts now deal with identifying each week 10 dividend stocks whose recent exceptional share price growth may make them worth considering as possible portfolio acquisitions.Visit www.informus.ca for information on my six investment guide books and stock scoring software.IANimacd@informus.caIan Duncan MacDonaldAuthor, Artist, Commercial Risk Consultant,President of Informus Inc 2 Vista Humber Drive Toronto, Ontario Canada, M9P 3R7 Toronto Telephone - 416-245-4994 New York Telephone - 929-800-2397 imacd@informus.ca

Host Jen Miller meets with Bob Painter of the West Shore Masonic Lodge to talk about what Freemasonry is, what they do within the Lodge, and their involvement in the community. Upcoming events happening in Avon Lake: January 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Avon Lake Public Library Closed - No City Council Meeting January 21, 7:00 PM: Collective Committee Meeting January 27, 7:00 PM: City Council Meeting February 6, 7, & 8, 7:00 PM & February 8 & 9, 1:30 PM: Mighty Goliath Productions Presents The Wizard of Oz at the Avon Lake High School Performing Arts Center February 7, 6:00 PM: "Dark Skies, Bright Kids 2025" at The Anchor Recreation Facility March 2: Deadline for Snowman Building Contest submissions Christmas trees will be collected the first and second full weeks of January.  Ornaments, tinsel, etc. must be removed and the tree cannot  be encased in plastic. For information about these and future events/meetings in Avon Lake, please visit www.AvonLake.org/Events.

Tampa Bay Business Journal Real Estate Editor Ashley Kritzer joins to discuss commercial real estate and business stories, including another store leaving Westshore Plaza.

In the last couple years of record-breaking snowfalls, budget shortfalls, staffing shortages and lack of affordable housing for CalTrans road crew workers, plowed parking areas for backcountry access are no longer a given. The Tahoe Backcountry Alliance is working with community leaders to help address these issues, focused on expanding winter access for all non-motorized users. Since 2015, TBA has expanded access for motorized and non-motorized use in Johnson Canyon, created a plowed parking lot on the west end of Donner Lake, is about to open a new lot for Tallac access and created a free SnoPark pass system for local residents. We sit down with TBA Executive Director Anthony Cupaiuolo to chat about the importance of access for winter recreation in and around Lake Tahoe, the ongoing parking issues on the West Shore, its impacts on the local recreation economy and what the protocol is for backcountry users when parking areas haven't been plowed.3:00 – PowBot rides a legit snowmobile for the first time and actually liked it.5:00 – Bumping into the Tahoe backcountry legend Otto on the skintrack in Ward Canyon.7:00 – Palisades Tahoe can't manage to get their mountain open…again. 7:45 – On a Musical Note: Trail Whisperer is loving listening to The Black Keys and The White Stripes and Pow Bot is watching No Good Deed. 10:15 – Listener shout outs and Dope or Derp? Subaru Crosstrek17:00 – Introducing Anthony Cupaiuolo of Tahoe Backcountry Alliance and First Tracks Productions.22:00 – Backcountry “carpooling” with three people using one snowmobile and PowBot's skijouring harness. 24:50 – Blowing up the secret spots. Cody Townsend's new The 50+ episode about the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. 26:50 – Anthony got invited by Sierra Academy to the Hutchinson Lodge at Donner Summit for a photo and video presentation to kids about skiing.28:30 – Mount Rose aka Mount Surprise and skiing the Bronco Chutes near Relay Peak. 33:20 – Anthony featured in a short film about Mount Rose called “A Rose for All”, and the importance of public access to the outdoors in Mount Rose Meadows. 40:00 – Collaborating with Lake Tahoe Snowmobilers on safety and awareness and gaining access in Johnson Canyon thanks to help from Truckee Donner Land Trust.43:20 – Brief history of the Tahoe Backcountry Alliance – came to be when parking was going to be eliminated for the Jake's Peak area on the West Shore in 2015.48:30 – Issues on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe – lack of plowing and challenges with CalTrans plow crews can have a negative impact on the local tourism economy when plowing isn't done.57:00 – The etiquette of parking in a snow storm before an area has been plowed and cleared.1:04:50 – When did Anthony get involved with Tahoe Backcountry Alliance?1:06:50 – The Lake Run parking lot success story at the west side of Donner Lake. 1:11:30 – TBA founded a recreation-specific, grant-funded micro transit program to help alleviate trailhead traffic and raise awareness around the need for Lake Tahoe public transit.1:17:40 – The California State Parks SnoPark system – is it working? Meiss Meadows parking to access into Kirkwood when Highway 88 closes.1:24:40 – The headwaters of the Truckee River is Meiss Meadows, and the Meiss hut was the cabin Snowshoe Thompson used in the 1860s. Floating the Upper Truckee River in South Lake.1:27:50 – All about the challenges of Mount Tallac parking in Spring Creek and the new parking lot for Tallac access. 1:38:15 – How do people get involved and support Tahoe Backcountry Alliance? Donate at tahoebackcountryalliance.org.1:44:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:52:45 – Pow Bot Scraper – the first Mind the Track swag coming soon!

Ashley Watters, President of the Westshore Alliance and Commercial Relationship Manager for The Bank of Tampa, talks shop with Owen LaFave about the exciting future of the Westshore District, one of Tampa's most prolific areas. Ashley shares a brief history of the Alliance and the leadership that has solidified its position as the leading business district, not just in Tampa Bay, but all of Florida. She also discusses how they are facilitating the district and region's growth through infrastructure developments, transportation solutions (the Westshore Interchange), and it's incorporation of WORK, LIVE, and PLAY. Lastly, Ashley talks about female leadership, her road to becoming the current president, and the impact of public art on a community.   The Bank of Tampa | Member FDIC

Stephen oversees Baldi Management Group (BMG), an airport concessions and management consulting company that manages restaurants in Reagan National Airport, JFK International Airport and Dulles International Airport. Established in 2008, BMG operates various food and beverage outlets, including franchises like Dunkin’ Donuts, Potbelly, and Smashburger. Stephen is an alumnus of Georgetown University, where he was a Community Scholar and student-athlete. He attributes his success to mentorship and now mentors young people, aiming to provide growth opportunities within his company. As founder-led company, Stephen has formed connections with other DC-based founder-led restaurants like Founding Famers and Timber Pizza as well as with larger national brands. About 15-20% of BMG's customers are employees from the airport itself. Stephen is a strong advocate of mentorship and helping employees grow and advance within an organization, even if it means the employee leaving the organization for a better opportunity. QUOTES “My commitment to making meaningful connections with people comes from way back then when I was forced to do it, not only because of who I am but my circumstances and I've tried to carry that out through my career and my life.” (Stephen) “There's something different about a founder-led company, because you've built it.” (Stephen)“Airports are a wonderful place to work. Once you end up in this ecosystem, it's hard to walk away.” (Stephen)“(In airports), the passengers are dynamic. We get to meet and connect with them all. We have the privilege of participating in whatever journey people are on every day and the following day, we get a whole new group of people.” (Stephen) “The (airport concessions and restaurant industry) is about an $8 billion a year industry nationally but the industry is controlled by about 20 key companies. It's a small ecosystem.” (Stephen) “Operating a streetside restaurant versus a restaurant in an airport is a completely different sport. The speed, the requirements, the logistical challenges (of being an in airport), all of our crewmembers have to go through background checks. Unless you're a serious player, you're not trying to participate in airports.” (Stephen) “We encourage our crewmembers just to meet people where they are. It may be the 50th time you've welcomed someone to our restaurant but it's the first time you've spoken to the person in front of you. You should be additive to their experience and not add additional stress or complications.” (Stephen) “We welcome the chaos. When it's raining and snowing outside and your flights are delayed, we kind of welcome that because that means we get to hang out with you a little bit longer.” (Stephen) “If I bring in someone as a front line worker who's pouring coffee, if they're still pouring coffee in three years, both them and the organization has done something wrong. We want to scale people up.” (Stephen)  TRANSCRIPT 00:01.9900:01.99vigorbrandingHey folks, welcome to Fork Tales, and I’m excited. Today’s guest is Stephen Baldi He’s the founder and president of Baldi Management Group. Baldy Management Group is an airport concessions and management consulting company. It’s a mouthful there. ah Manages concessions in Reagan National Airport, JFK International Airport, and Dulles International Airport. Stephen, welcome to Fork Tales, and thank you so much for joining us.00:25.82Stephen BaldiMichael, thank you for having me. I’m looking forward to the conversation.00:29.01vigorbrandingSo for those that don’t know, all of these are located in the sort of DC Metro, Baltimore or down at DC Metro area, right?00:36.21Stephen BaldiCorrect.00:37.04vigorbrandingYeah.00:37.19Stephen BaldiYeah, even though Philadelphia is my hometown, I’ve been in Washington DC for almost 30 years. um So this is home base for us.00:46.37vigorbrandingyeah Well, you you you know, I have a little trick question because that was going to be my first question. Are you still a Philly sports fan? I mean, do you bleed Eagle Green?00:53.03Stephen Baldiif If you cut me, it would be nothing but green. I live in Washington, DC.00:56.48vigorbrandingOK, beautiful.00:57.88Stephen BaldiMy heart is in Philadelphia.00:59.81vigorbrandingBeautiful, beautiful. Wow. There’s, there’s guys, I don’t even know what they call themselves these days. these’s The commanders, the Washington football club.01:04.91Stephen Baldioh The Washington football team, they’re all.01:05.40vigorbrandingI mean, they’re just, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just, it’s irrelevant. It’s irrelevant.01:10.11Stephen BaldiYeah, Michael, my family would disown me if anything other than my ah zip code changed as far as my hometown affiliation.01:10.06vigorbrandingSo that’s fantastic. Hey, it’s awesome. You got to bring, I had a gentleman come in, uh, from, uh, Oregon last week to speak to a bunch of advertising agencies from North America. We hosted them in Philadelphia and this guy was so excited. He was, he, he, he came from there, but he was Philly through and through. So everything in his presentation tied back to a Philly icon, something about Philadelphia that was iconic. And, you know, ah in our company, we’re,01:44.34vigorbrandingWe’re very proud that we’re an independent advertising agencies. We have an agency called Vigor and an agency called Quench. Vigor’s restaurant branding. Quench is food and beverage marketing. And the whole thing was around independence and how it’s how important it is.01:57.06vigorbrandingAnd he had all these great icons from like Nick Foles to, ah you know, ah Mike Schmidt to the Fanatic to, I mean, Will Smith.02:07.11vigorbrandingI mean, he just went through all the Philadelphia stuff, you know, the Liberty Bell and everything else. and So it was cool. It was cool.02:11.77Stephen Baldium I love it. I’ll tell you an interesting story about Nick Foles. So I had a really good feeling about our Super Bowl run, even though you know Carson Wentz, who was leading as the MVP that year, went down. And the Friday before the Super Bowl, something told me to go online and buy a Nick Foles autograph helmet.02:33.57vigorbrandingWow.02:34.10Stephen BaldiAnd I did. Now, I did not expedite the shipping, Michael. So it was not in my possession on Monday after we had won the Super Bowl. And many of my friends said that helmet’s never going to show up, but it did.02:47.65Stephen BaldiSo I bought it for $99.02:47.77vigorbrandingThat’s awesome.02:49.77Stephen BaldiAnd I can tell you, it’s it’s worth a lot more than that.02:51.92vigorbrandingThat’s awesome. Yeah, it’s worth a lot to people in Philadelphia. So it’s fantastic. And the pride of that city runs deep. So alright, so tell us about Baldy enter Management Group and what it does what inspired you to get into the airport concession games. I mean, you started I think in residential property, right?03:06.90Stephen BaldiI did. I started in residential property management in 2002. And I started in airports in 2005. And it was all kind of serendipitous. I had a really ah prickly history before starting in 2002.03:23.22Stephen Baldiat Kettler Management, which managed tax credit properties, but also Class A luxury communities.03:29.04vigorbrandingOkay.03:29.23Stephen BaldiAnd I had a tenant coming to my office. And she said, Steven, I see you engaging with the residents and how you handle issues. And I think you should be doing more. And I thought to myself, like this woman doesn’t know me.03:39.92Stephen BaldiYeah, I just fixed her fireplace. But who are you to come in my office and tell me what I should be doing? And at the time, I was making $22,000 a year with a Georgetown degree. And the job that they wanted me to interview for paid $85,000 a year.03:54.21vigorbrandingwow03:54.39Stephen BaldiSo as you can assume, Michael, goal I took the interview, I got the job. And so for three years, I worked in development for Westfield, which most people know as shopping mall developers, they have an airport division.04:05.82vigorbrandingHmm. Ah.04:07.99Stephen BaldiAnd so I was responsible for the redevelopment of national airport here in Washington, DC from 2005. to 2008. And then I leveraged a relationship with OTG Management, which has a very large presence at Philadelphia International, um into a joint venture relationship and actually launched the company, BMG, in 2008. And two thousand and eight and it’s we’ve not looked back since.04:31.36vigorbrandingThat’s fantastic. you know It’s funny. I really i don’t know you. we’re We’re really talking for the first time. I can tell right away, like youre you have a positive attitude, and I can tell you’re engaging. And so I could see how someone would see you in action and be like, hey, you know you you could do more. like You can be a part of something bigger. And it’s obviously what’s happened, which is it’s awesome. I’m a big proponent of attitude. I mean, i I love to know where people went to school. I mean, if you if I interview you, I want to see your brains on the table.04:58.39vigorbrandingBut I really want to know what your personality is like. I want to know about your attitude. I want to know ah how ah how much of a ah person you are that wants to win and be engaging and help people. And it’s ah like it comes through with you right away.05:09.91vigorbrandingAnd that’s ah it’s cool.05:10.18Stephen BaldiI appreciate that.05:11.03vigorbrandingnow it’s it’s05:11.32Stephen BaldiYeah, i’ll I’ll take it back if you if you want me to. So ah back in 1988, I was turning 13 and I begged my mom for a pair of Air Jordan sneakers.05:24.58Stephen BaldiAnd you’ll remember when Gordon’s first came out, ah they were the first shoe over a hundred dollars.05:25.72vigorbrandingOh, yeah.05:29.85vigorbrandingOh, yes, they were.05:30.36Stephen Baldiyeah I grew up in a upper lower class household and it was a stretch for my mom to purchase these shoes.05:31.49vigorbrandingYep.05:37.09vigorbrandingMm hmm.05:38.21Stephen BaldiBut I begged her and I begged her and I begged her and and she ended up buying them for me. And she said, you know, I just want you to be safe. Well, you probably can assume where the story goes. Within like a month of getting these sneakers, I was an attempted robbery, and I acted very violently to defend myself, and it resulted in me getting expelled from the school that I was at.05:59.94Stephen BaldiAnd as a punishment, ah rather than letting me play basketball for the entire summer, my mom forced me to go to the reading math and basketball clinic at Friend Central, which is a very prominent independent school on the main line of Philadelphia.06:14.39vigorbrandingMm hmm.06:14.96Stephen BaldiAnd that decision changed my life. um I went from living in a predominantly all-Black neighborhood to a private school that I was the only Black male in my class.06:25.11vigorbrandingWow.06:25.74Stephen BaldiAnd what it did was it changed my perspective of what was accessible. like I had never seen a computer before.06:31.75vigorbrandingRight.06:32.14Stephen BaldiAnd at this school, there was in a computer lab where we could sit down and navigate things.06:34.40vigorbrandingYeah.06:36.15Stephen BaldiAnd so going to Friends Central, having my mom make that leap of faith changed my trajectory in many ways. I matriculated from there to Georgetown University here in Washington, DC, which is how I got.06:48.20Stephen Baldito Washington DC. So I am a super Philadelphia sports fan, because not only am I from Philly, but Allen Iverson was my classmate at Georgetown University.06:51.93vigorbrandingThat’s awesome.06:55.50vigorbrandingIs that right?06:56.61Stephen BaldiYeah, we were the same class.06:56.89vigorbrandingWow.06:57.61Stephen BaldiAnd so, yeah, very cool.06:58.33vigorbrandingThat’s so cool. Yeah.07:00.38Stephen BaldiAnd so maya my commitment to making meaningful connections with people comes from way back then when I was forced to do it, not only because of who I am, but my circumstances.07:00.74vigorbrandingAI. It’s legendary.07:12.75Stephen BaldiAnd I’ve tried to carry that out through my career and my life.07:15.84vigorbrandingThat’s fantastic. what a great That’s great. That’s a great story. you know it’s like It’s funny that on the Air Jordans, at that time, when they came out, and I can follow you on that. i know you You nailed it. You said the first sneaker that was over $100. My dad had ah this like mom and pop retail sporting store. We sold mostly like hockey stuff. We were from Hershey, Pennsylvania.07:35.39vigorbrandingAnd I was working in a store in in Camp Hill and outside of Hershey. It’s up in the West Shore, they call it. Anyway, long story short, I was in the mall and we sold some sneakers and the Air Jordans came out and we had them on the wall.07:48.37vigorbrandingAnd it was like, it was insane. $100 for a pair of sneakers.07:52.08Stephen BaldiYeah.07:52.28vigorbrandingAnd I mean, like, whereas I’ll say the average then was probably like on the high end was probably like 50, 55.07:57.40Stephen BaldiYeah, for sure.07:58.58vigorbrandingAnd this went right to 100. And it was funny, my dad, maybe that’s where I started learning about, and I really did learn a lot about marketing, working in retail, because you have to talk to people, you have to sell. And I think that’s the most important skill a person can learn. Communicating with people and learning how to sell, like, you know, at least present yourself, right? So I put these sneakers at the very top. I said, dad, you know what? ah I said, everybody wants the Air Jordans. Most people can’t afford them.08:21.42vigorbrandingbut everyone wants to come and look at it. So I always sell them the white, the white, men’s the body they’re like but you know, so for every one Air Jordan, I saw, I used to sell like 30 other pairs of shoes.08:25.49Stephen Baldiah yeah08:30.65vigorbrandingYou know what I mean?08:31.05Stephen BaldiIt’s been up in the store. It’s like a newspaper. People don’t necessarily want just the newspaper, at least the retailer does it, but they come in to buy the newspaper and then they buy the water, the soda, the candy.08:33.13vigorbrandingThat’s right.08:39.73vigorbrandingThat’s right. yeah I lured them in with the Air Jordans. I think we had like five parrot the most. I mean, we couldn’t afford, you know, it’s a little mom pop store.08:46.41Stephen BaldiProbably two sizes.08:47.56vigorbrandingYeah, right. That’s exactly right. So that’s funny. So okay, you talked about sports and and and you know, Philly and all that you you pride yourself on um being a local company and playing in front of the home crowd.08:58.99vigorbrandingTalk a little bit about the the local connection in DC that you have.09:02.34Stephen BaldiYeah, so I’ll tell you, when you fly into most airports, what people don’t automatically see, but being a former developer, I understand that any airport authority, when you land in their airport, they want you to know what city you are in.09:18.24Stephen BaldiSo national brands are extremely important. So you’ll have your Dunkin’ Donuts. You’ll have your Pop-Belly’s, which are ah franchises that we operate.09:22.12vigorbrandingMm hmm.09:25.89Stephen BaldiBut every airport wants you to have a sense of place. So when you fly into Philadelphia Airport, you’ll have a Jim Stakes, because that’s you know historical to that region.09:34.38vigorbrandingYeah.09:34.93Stephen BaldiWhen you fly into National Airport here, or Dallas International, you’ll have your South Blocks, which is an ASE base. com concept here in the DC.09:45.49Stephen BaldiYou’ll have Ben’s Chili Bowl, which has been around since the 60s.09:45.90vigorbrandingMm hmm. Mm hmm.09:49.41Stephen BaldiAnd so we’ve prided ourselves from identifying and connecting with other founder-led brands, because I’m a founder. And nothing against a hired gun.09:56.93vigorbrandingMm hmm.09:58.81Stephen BaldiI know they are often effective at their job. But there’s something different about a founder-led company because you’ve built it.10:06.95vigorbrandingYeah.10:07.27Stephen Baldiit probably has more ah meaning to you behind just the bottom line um results that you drive. It’s personal.10:15.52vigorbrandingYeah.10:15.69Stephen BaldiAnd so we’ve developed very deep relationships with companies like founding farmers, with timber pizza, who are all local based companies here. And we expect to continue to grow it, not just in this region that we’re in, but as we grow into other markets to do the same.10:30.68vigorbrandingYeah, that’s that’s fantastic. And you nailed it. I mean, like, I’m a founder, I’m an entrepreneur. And you know, and ah again, wonderful folks that that work with me, I’m very, very, very lucky. But you know, for for most people, it’s their job, you know, their career, and and hopefully there’s a sense of of a family and a real relationship.10:49.53vigorbrandingBut for me, it’s my life. I mean, i am I am defined personally by this, which is probably pretty shallow.10:51.05Stephen Baldiright10:54.86vigorbrandingI mean, i mean look, um I love my daughters. I’m a dad. I’m ah a husband. I love my family with all my heart, but I feel like I’m defined by my company and the what I’ve built. and and all of that And I just, you know, so again, I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or a good thing or whatever, but it’s just, it’s ah it’s a lot deeper, right?11:11.93vigorbrandingWhen you found something and ah it’s it’s a lot deeper, everyone thinks it has to do with like money and stuff, and it really doesn’t.11:12.49Stephen BaldiRight. For sure.11:17.73vigorbrandingIt’s a it’s really about, you know, sort of like your life’s life’s work. and You know, you know, I get I get the most excitement out of seeing the growth of the folks in the company. ah It’s great to see the brands grow and the companies grow.11:30.42vigorbrandingBut I really get a kick out of of seeing the folks that have been here a long time and and all that. So anyway, that’s just that’s me.11:35.91Stephen Baldiright11:36.26vigorbrandingBut I just I totally I totally concur with what you’re saying as far as the founder led. I mean, that’s that’s fantastic.11:41.40Stephen BaldiYeah, at some point as a founder, you most likely had to put something at risk that meant something to you.11:47.14vigorbrandingYeah.11:47.50Stephen BaldiWhether it’s personal guaranteeing, first leverage to build the company or, you know, having to bail it out because you run into a pandemic, which we all face back in 2020.11:47.75vigorbrandingOh, yeah. Yeah.11:55.18vigorbrandingAll right.11:57.80Stephen Baldium Oftentimes you can’t just walk from that business and matriculate to another W2 position because this is yours. And so I love when I can connect with founders.12:04.69vigorbrandingYeah.12:07.41Stephen BaldiI’ll work with non-founders also, but there’s something unique about the journey we’ve all been on.12:09.54vigorbrandingSure.12:11.88vigorbrandingYeah, absolutely. So let’s let’s talk a little bit. I just so folks know, I mean, what’s really cool about this conversation is I, ah you know, with vigor, we work with restaurant brands, right?12:22.32vigorbrandingSo we’re very familiar with restaurant brands. And you you have brands like Potbelly, Smashburger. You said founding farmers soon to come. ah Timber Pizza, Dunkin, I mean, some some household names.12:33.94vigorbrandingI don’t know if I’m um yeah any ants.12:34.26Stephen BaldiOn the end, don’t forget on the end, this is what else we have.12:35.99vigorbrandingNo, I can’t actually. Yeah, we actually worked on any answers. We have an agency called quench that a branding agency, Food and Beverage, that that actually worked with Auntie Anne’s because they started here in Lancaster.12:40.96Stephen BaldiOkay.12:45.88vigorbrandinghu Yeah, and I got to meet Anne Byler in the beginning.12:45.98Stephen BaldiThey did.12:48.81vigorbrandingSo, Auntie Anne is actually a person and she’s a wonderful lady and It was a really really awesome to meet her and and and what a she was so she’s a very philanthropic lady very very ah ah Generous and very successful very so she’s got a phenomenal story as well. But so yeah, I certainly won’t leave the auntie hands out But you so you have all these great brands um Talk a little bit about I mean, you know, you said somewhere founded by they you know the founders and all that what’s it like to to manage all these different brands and13:18.00Stephen BaldiI’ll tell you, it’s a dynamic environment. Airports are a wonderful place to do business. Again, I share with you briefly how I matriculated into them, but once you end up in this kind of ecosystem, it’s hard to walk away.13:33.35Stephen BaldiWe get the privilege of serving the traveling public every day. And what’s special about that are the passengers are dynamic. There are people who are going on business trips. There are people who are going on vacations. There are people who are going to be celebrated and there are people who are going to, you know,13:51.28Stephen Baldiusher people off into a transition of life. And we get to meet and connect with them all. And so I tell our crew members that we have the privilege of participating in whatever journey people are on every day.14:03.68Stephen BaldiAnd then the following day, we get a whole new group of people coming through.14:06.48vigorbrandingyeah yeah14:07.36Stephen BaldiSo that’s dynamic in the industries are small. I will tell you it’s about a $8 billion industry nationally in the United States, food and beverage and airports.14:14.57vigorbrandingYeah. Yeah.14:19.40Stephen BaldiBut the industry is really controlled by about 20 key companies. And within those 20 companies, you probably have 50 total key players.14:23.32vigorbrandingyeah14:27.50Stephen BaldiAnd so we know each other. you know You typically don’t leave the industry. Your business card may change. So you may go from company to company, but it’s a small ecosystem. And so I’ve enjoyed being in the industry now.14:40.58Stephen Baldi18 years. I started when I was two. ah But it’s a buy it’s been an extraordinary 18 years, except for some of the challenges like COVID. But you know for the people who were able and blessed to push through it, I think we have a different perspective on what we can be and what we should be in the businesses that we lead. To your point,15:00.50Stephen Baldium being defined by your business is not necessarily shallow, but there’s levels, there’s there’s depth to what we do.15:08.62vigorbrandingYeah.15:08.91Stephen BaldiAnd I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to swim in those depths ah for many years.15:14.41vigorbrandingThat’s awesome. We’ll get to COVID in a second, but I want to go back to airports. ah I’ll say, fortunately or unfortunately, I’m a customer. I’m in an airport every single week. So when you’re describing the people you see there, it’s like, yeah.15:21.70Stephen BaldiAwesome.15:24.71vigorbrandingI mean, you know there’s it’s every single walk of life. Everyone seems to have a higher level of stress.15:30.65Stephen Baldiyeah15:30.77vigorbrandingEveryone’s in a hurry, even when they’re not, or even worse, if someone’s really not in a hurry and they’re walking slow in the airport, that can actually be more frustrating and stressful. but ah So how do you how do you deal with that chaos? I mean, you got all these people that are amped up and nervous and they have anxiety or whatever, and then all of a sudden you’ve got to serve them and take them, you know, and represent these great brands and and and actually make the stuff and and in a and a fast time because they’re always running late, even if they’re not, they just think they’re always stressed.15:56.04Stephen BaldiRight.15:59.20vigorbrandingTalk about airport concessions. Talk about that chaos.16:02.08Stephen BaldiYeah, so you meet people where they are. And I will tell you, operating a street-side restaurant versus an airport, it’s a completely different sport.16:09.79vigorbrandingI cannot imagine.16:10.73Stephen BaldiI tell ah these founder-led companies when they’re thinking about matriculating in the airports, I tell them you know it’s like playing high school varsity basketball.16:10.80vigorbrandingyeah16:19.70Stephen BaldiAnd then you get drafted to the and NBA, like the speed, the requirements, you know, we have to go through the logistical um challenges of having every box that comes into your restaurant scan.16:20.40vigorbrandingYeah. Yeah. Yeah.16:31.21Stephen BaldiLike Cisco’s not pulling up to our back door and delivering our ground beef for Smashburger.16:31.53vigorbrandingYeah.16:34.05vigorbrandingRight.16:35.85Stephen BaldiLike it’s going through an X-ray, just like your luggage is.16:38.86vigorbrandingYeah.16:39.39Stephen Baldium All of our crew members have to go through a 10 year federal background check.16:44.03vigorbrandingSure.16:44.19Stephen Baldium There’s complexities to the business, which are to our challenge. But to me, it’s also kind of to our benefit, Michael, because it reduces my competition. Because unless you’re a serious player, you’re not trying to participate in airports.16:54.14vigorbrandingMhm.16:56.81Stephen BaldiAnd so for me, understanding those barriers and be able to navigate them are great. But from a day to day operation standpoint, We encourage our crew members just to meet people where they are.17:07.93Stephen Baldium It may be the 50th time you’ve welcomed someone to our restaurant, but it’s the first time you’ve spoken to the person that’s in front of you. And again, you don’t know if they’re going on vacation or they’re going to a celebration of life to send a family member home.17:16.31vigorbrandingright17:22.96Stephen BaldiRegardless, you should be additive to their experience and not adding additional stress or complications. Just try to deliver them fast, friendly, exceptional,17:34.09Stephen Baldiservice because that’s our standard. That is our vision for the company, which is being exceptional is our standard. It’s not something that happens intermittently.17:42.84vigorbrandingAll right.17:44.59Stephen BaldiIt happens all the time. And so we welcome the chaos.17:45.78vigorbrandingYeah.17:48.05Stephen BaldiYou know, when it’s raining and snowing outside, even though your flights are delayed, we kind of welcome that because that means you get to hang out with you a little bit longer.17:54.78vigorbrandingYeah. Yeah.17:55.63Stephen BaldiSo as long as we’re not canceling flights, if they’re just delayed, that’s kind of our sweet spot.18:00.01vigorbrandingThere you go.18:00.65Stephen BaldiSo we welcome it all.18:02.58vigorbrandingThat’s awesome. You know, you you said something really interesting. So as I mentioned, Vigor is our agency that that does branding and marketing for restaurants. I know, and it’s not, you know, it’s common knowledge that turnover and and employees in the restaurant industry is like the biggest hassle, right? and Everyone’s dealing with that that turnover. But you just said something. they They have to go through this long, arduous process to get through. So do you find that you have, I’ll say, maybe better better qualified, better quality,18:32.38vigorbrandingah team members in your restaurants?18:34.64Stephen BaldiI would tell you that our hourly and even our salary leadership ah on some levels, they’re more committed because it is a personal investment to get through the process.18:39.98vigorbrandingMm-hmm.18:45.54Stephen BaldiAnd so, you know, typical food and beverage turnover is anywhere from 100 to 150%. And only ours is closer to like 30.18:51.64vigorbrandingRight.18:54.91vigorbrandingthat’s hey That’s fantastic. I never thought that that would have never dawned on me that that would be ah an unfair advantage. you know It’s funny, like yeah I was telling someone the other day, you know the higher the barrier to entry in business, actually the better the business is because you don’t have just everybody and anybody competing.19:12.66vigorbrandingSo you you have a higher barrier of entry.19:13.25Stephen BaldiCorrect.19:15.58vigorbrandingum And with that, you have you sort of have ah have a capture to a degree ah group of people, right? ah But the one thing that is interesting, I think if I remember correctly, I think there’s like 30%, I’ll say of ah if it’s a Dunkin Donuts on the street corner, 30% of their their ah customers will probably repeat, right?19:35.43vigorbrandingah you You are not, I mean, you know you might have the same business guy that flies every Thursday out to you know wherever,19:37.58Stephen BaldiNo?19:40.80Stephen Baldiwe have We’ll have our Michaels.19:41.81vigorbrandingYeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.19:42.16Stephen BaldiWe have our Michaels.19:43.59vigorbrandingI’ll hit your place and at the airport get a coffee on the way out, but that’s it. Yeah, that’s it. So that’s.19:48.43Stephen BaldiI will tell you, though, we do have outside of the the traveling public, we do have recurring customers who are the people who work at the airport. I mean, at National and Dulles Airport, you get anywhere from five thousand to ten thousand employees that are there every day.19:56.97vigorbrandingNo, that makes sense. Sure.20:03.65Stephen BaldiAnd so ah they are also extremely important to us.20:03.75vigorbrandingMm hmm. Hey, they got to eat and drink, right?20:07.86Stephen BaldiThey got to eat and drink and they have to do it fast.20:09.70vigorbrandingRight. That’s right.20:10.84Stephen BaldiWell, we have different incentives to get them in and out, but they are our recurring customers and they’re about 15 to 20 percent of our business.20:15.10vigorbrandingYeah, that makes sense. Hey, going back to the old mall days that I was talking about the sneakers, I sold a lot of sneakers to people that worked in the mall, not many Air Jordans, but a lot of the, you know, a lot of the lower end sneakers.20:22.26Stephen BaldiYeah, for sure.20:27.36vigorbrandingSo, we talked to you hit on earlier and I know we, we inevitably, hopefully one day we, we don’t, and we don’t have to talk about, we always go back and talking about COVID and, uh, you know,20:35.54Stephen BaldiOh, yeah.20:37.21vigorbrandingOne of our companies and our holding company is a company called Varsity. And Varsity does retirement communities around the country, we market retirement companies. Well, that that industry shut down. I mean, no one was going, no one was visiting, and people were sick. It was bad. Restaurants, another one of our our agencies, right? We marketed restaurants. No one was going. It was basically shut down. you know Your hospitality Uh, and your restaurants, I mean, and your travel, I mean, you’re, you’re combining it all and how, talk about that a little bit.21:06.75vigorbrandingI mean, you were hit from both ends.21:07.11Stephen BaldiOh, I had the privilege of double dipping.21:11.81vigorbrandingYeah.21:11.93Stephen BaldiSo we were in hospitality beverage, but we were also in travel.21:12.41vigorbrandingIn turmoil.21:15.47vigorbrandingYeah.21:16.03Stephen BaldiAnd so I remember very specifically on March 11th, 2020, President Trump came on television and he announced a 30-day travel ban to Europe.21:27.16vigorbrandingMm-hmm.21:28.65Stephen BaldiAnd at the time, ah most people only thought about the impact of air traffic travel to Europe, places like London, Paris.21:37.58vigorbrandingright21:38.31Stephen BaldiBut I anticipated that this was really the big moment for our industry.21:43.00vigorbrandingRight.21:43.21Stephen BaldiI know a lot of people associate kind of their aha moment with COVID becoming a significant thing when the NBA shut down and more importantly, when the NCAA tournament shut down.21:53.85Stephen BaldiBut that announcement on March 11th signified for me that things were about to change for my business.21:58.60vigorbrandingYeah.21:58.72Stephen BaldiNow, I didn’t know it was going to be 18 months.22:02.21vigorbrandingRight.22:02.55Stephen Baldium But within about two weeks, we lost 85% of our top line revenue. And so on March 18, we shut the company down for 18 months. um And it was a challenge to what we talked about earlier, where a lot of my identity was tied up in this company that I built.22:20.39Stephen BaldiWell, there was no company to have an identity he tied to. And so for me as a leader, It really pushed me during that time to redefine who I was in that moment and who I was going to aspire to be if we were privileged enough to come out of it. And we did. We’ve come out very strong, stronger than actually we went in. um We actually sold 35% of the business last year to some strategic, but then also some individual investors. And so I’ve had the privilege of surrounding myself where before I was the only voice in the room and now there are many.22:55.69vigorbrandingRight.22:55.77Stephen BaldiAnd it presents some unique challenges, but also some extraordinary opportunities for me to low to learn and grow from other individuals and institutions that have built companies to scale, not all in food and beverage, many not.23:10.17Stephen Baldium But it’s really given me the opportunity to become a better leader um and to take our company into the next five to 10 years of what we will be.23:20.35vigorbrandingThat’s fantastic. you know i the the The COVID obviously affected everybody. It affected everybody in different ways. and like For us for a business, it was and it was really interesting in that you know because we have several different agencies in our holding company, it was sort of a little bit of a like a mutual fund where one or two stocks could be really down, but then others can be up. Our CPG agency, Quench,23:40.72vigorbrandingyou know we’ We’re doing we’re doing brands national brands like you know Sunmade Raise and Stark Institute. To me, COVID, to to that to that company and those brands, COVID was like the greatest sampling program in the history of Earth. i mean If you put it in a package back then, it was on a shelf. People bought it. They stuck it in their pantries. They ate it. They bought more of it. i mean They couldn’t get enough of it. i mean It was just ah an insane time.24:01.94vigorbrandingfor those companies. and then the other the The negative side obviously was the restaurants and everything else. i mean It’s a really interesting time. and and you know You said about how you it can define things. the other thing One of the other things we did was we took adversity. We had all these CEOs that were like, what is everyone doing? i mean like you you know This just happened. It was unprecedented. What is everybody else doing? so We thought, well,24:23.89vigorbrandingAll right, we’re not making i mean and and again it’s not we’re not making revenue businesses down, but we still have these relationships. They’re our clients. So what can we do? So it wasn’t my idea, but one of our guys said, hey, let’s create sort of a round table. of that And our agency is called Varsity. So we called it the Varsity Round Table. So we got all these CEOs that were just like,24:41.34vigorbrandingWhat’s everyone doing? And they were able to talk and it was so successful that we did it the next week. And then they talked more and then more and more CEOs jumped in. They weren’t even our clients and became this open source sharing that has now been, we are on about, I think it’s like 250th.24:58.49vigorbrandingroundt We’ve been doing them every week since the first month of COVID.25:04.38Stephen BaldiWow, impressive.25:05.19vigorbrandingAnd what’s done for a company, for us, i mean again we don’t make any money from it. And it wasn’t about that. It was just a place for people to really vent and help. And now we have speakers come in and talk, and everyone’s obviously well beyond COVID.25:16.71vigorbrandingBut it’s really allowed us to be a thought leader and assist these folks. And you know at the end of the day, it’s what it’s all about. And I know a big thing for you is is mentorship, right? I mean, you know talk about giving back. you want you Do you want to talk a little bit about that?25:27.81Stephen BaldiYeah, I’ll talk about that but I’ll also talk similarly to your roundtable so in February of 2020 I had the privilege of joining the organization YPO, which is Young President Organization, which is very similar to what you define there’s 35.25:42.82Stephen Baldi1,000 YPO members globally. And it’s really for business leaders who have decided that they want to walk towards betterment as a person, as a leader, as a family member, as someone contributing to their community in partnership with other leaders.25:58.55Stephen BaldiAnd so I am in the Washington DC Baltimore chapter here ah in the region.25:58.93vigorbrandingMm hmm.26:04.18Stephen BaldiAnd I’m in leadership. And I can tell you that organization was really critical in me navigating everything that I had to go through ah during COVID.26:14.98Stephen BaldiNow, we didn’t we didn’t meet weekly, um but we do meet monthly in a small group of seven to 10 people, and we have forum.26:15.26vigorbrandingSure.26:19.82vigorbrandingMonthly forum.26:22.81Stephen BaldiAnd, oh, there you go.26:22.85vigorbrandingI didn’t know I’m i’m YPO, too. I didn’t know your IPO. Yeah, I’ve been.26:25.92Stephen BaldiYeah!26:26.21vigorbrandingYeah.26:27.01Stephen BaldiSo YDO is really what sustained me during COVID.26:27.03vigorbrandingSo Oh.26:29.86Stephen Baldium And I’m privileged to be on the ladder now in leadership.26:32.72vigorbrandingDo for you.26:35.01Stephen BaldiAnd so, yeah, as far as mentorship, when I started the company, you know it was a priority for me to give opportunity to underrepresented populations. um Now, as I started to grow the company, my focus started to turn inward, Michael, if I’m being honest. And you know the beginning of 2020, it was difficult for anybody to tell me that I wasn’t the shit. I built this company from zero to something much larger than I had ever aspired to as a young person.27:04.34vigorbrandingRight.27:06.68Stephen Baldium But COVID took all of that away.27:08.81vigorbrandingYeah.27:09.14Stephen BaldiAnd so what it reminded me of is that there was a mission that I started this company with. And it was something that I needed to recommit to when we reopened.27:19.90Stephen BaldiAnd so now um we’re really pouring into our crew members um When I hire someone, specifically, let’s take Dunkin Donuts.27:30.76Stephen BaldiIf I bring in someone as a frontline worker that’s pouring coffee, if they’re still pouring coffee for us in three years, both them and the organization has done something wrong.27:34.59vigorbrandingMmhmm.27:41.17Stephen Baldium We want to scale people up. It is not cost effective for us to have people in the same position for multiple years. So if we’re not scaling someone up to take on additional responsibility inside our company and sometimes even outside of our company, then we’ve done something wrong. you know My mentor told me a good leader ah expects or wants people to leave. A great leader expects them to.28:08.64vigorbrandingYeah.28:09.01Stephen BaldiAnd so either they’re leaving the position that we’re hiring them for or they’re leaving to go to another organization. But either way, we have to invest in our hourly crew members because we can’t afford not to.28:20.86vigorbrandingYeah.28:21.76Stephen BaldiAnd so that’s something that we really communicate out and share out. to our community and our organization and people know that we’re gonna invest in them in ways that other companies might not to and we feel like that gives us a competitive advantage and as a leader it makes me feel a good about not only our bottom line results but also the success that we can feel. I have a manager who’s been with us for eight years.28:46.57Stephen BaldiHer name is Marta. And she started as a single unit manager. And now she’s a multi-airport director.28:53.24vigorbrandingawesome.28:53.39Stephen BaldiAnd to see her growth and to understand the impact that that has has had on her family is tremendous. And I want to do that a hundred times over.29:00.50vigorbrandingSure.29:00.79Stephen BaldiAnd I have the privilege of being able to do that as a leader of our company.29:01.01vigorbrandingYeah.29:04.70vigorbrandingand And think of it this way, I mean, and that’s what’s so great about this country, I’ll say is like, you were making whatever $22,000 a year, I think you had free room or board or whatever you were managing, right?29:12.60Stephen BaldiI did.29:13.65vigorbrandingSo you you’re probably like, I’m getting by, this is okay. And look, you and you know, obviously, you’re you’re very well educated, you have a great drive and personality, but you you created a a huge company. And that’s, that’s, that’s really super cool, really super cool.29:25.90Stephen BaldiWell, Michael, I can tell you specifically in that first year, 2002, I made $19,117 and 43 cents. I can tell you that specifically because that W2 still sits on my desk.29:36.80Stephen BaldiI have it framed.29:36.84vigorbrandingYeah, yeah.29:37.68Stephen BaldiI look at it every day just to remind me of where all of this started and where now we’ve grown the company to I’m, I’m extremely proud.29:45.15vigorbrandingYeah. And you know, you mentioned YPO and I’ve been very privileged to be in that organization for, gosh, I think at least 20 some years.29:53.06Stephen BaldiSo you joined when you were 17.29:54.45vigorbrandingYeah, no, but yeah, it’s one of those things, is we you know, it used to kick you out when you’re 50. In fact, I did, I got the rocking chair and showed up at the front door.30:02.59Stephen BaldiOh, there you go.30:03.68vigorbrandingYeah, that was the thing. And then they decided to have YPO Gold, WPO and all that. stuff So I stayed in and now we’re like a forum for life. So my guys, we meet once a month and we are together. ah we A lot of it’s virtual because these guys, a lot of it, we’re retired and stuff.30:15.91vigorbrandingSo um I’m old. I mean, the it’s YPO o Gold, but I always say it’s Silent G, you know, YPO old. So, but it’s a, it was the greatest thing I’ve ever done for me.30:26.29vigorbrandingMaybe a better husband, better father, better businessman, a better employer, better ah a friend. I mean, and I i mean that.30:32.27Stephen Baldiand human30:33.29vigorbrandingYeah. It’s just a better human. And I think a lot of people see it from the outside and think it’s all, it’s a bunch of guys didn’t talk about how many cars they have and where they want vacation. It’s not that at all.30:40.24Stephen BaldiIt’s not that it’s a transformational community, you know, having a high trust network is invaluable.30:40.92vigorbrandingYou know, it’s, you know, it’s a, it is, it is.30:47.41vigorbrandingYep. Yeah. Someone’s got your back, right? You can always pick up that phone and call your, one of your folks and just, they got your back. No, that’s yeah.30:54.39Stephen BaldiAnd it’s nobody, and it’s nobody, nothing, never. And to have that level of confidentiality is special.30:57.03vigorbrandingThat’s right. Yep. Yeah. Yeah, that’s that’s awesome. That’s all good for you. I had no idea. That’s fantastic. um So, but now I’m going to do a little ploy here. You got to go and you should go to Austin this year to the food and beverage round table.31:10.60vigorbrandingI mean, if you can check it out, it’ll be, I think it’s in in January, you know, I’ll probably be speaking there, but you should go.31:14.55Stephen BaldiOK.31:16.84vigorbrandingI mean, you know, I’d love to meet you in person. It’d be fantastic.31:18.67Stephen BaldiYeah, I’d love that.31:18.88vigorbrandingAnyway, so could we do,31:20.42Stephen BaldiMaybe we’ll be celebrating a Phillies World Series by then.31:22.74vigorbrandingOh man, you’re making me nervous. um I hope so. I hope you’re right. I hope you’re right. But our company, we do it we do an annual food and beverage trends report every year. We’ve been doing them for like, jeez, 15, 16 years. And so a lot of times we launched it at the food and beverage round table. So it’s always really cool stuff.31:40.96Stephen BaldiAwesome, send me an invite and I’ll be there.31:41.00vigorbrandingum Yeah. All right. Well, definitely. I’ll make sure you get it after this, after our conversation here. So, okay. When you go to a restaurant, you you have a choice between human interaction or self ordering kiosks. I know that, you know, you guys need to be really ah high speed, efficient and all that. What what do you, what do you prefer?31:58.57Stephen BaldiWell, it depends, right? Deploying technology is a strategy that ah should be done with intention and asking the question, and then what, right?32:12.55Stephen Baldium I will tell you a story. So the first time we experimented with self ordering technology was in 2008 at JFK airport terminal five.32:24.65Stephen BaldiAnd we deployed at the time iPads um at our Dunkin Donuts because we thought, you know, technology is moving in this way and it’s fun and it’s cool, but nobody wants to walk up to a counter and order a coffee by pressing buttons.32:29.75vigorbrandingMm-hmm. Yep.32:39.85vigorbrandingMm-hmm.32:44.46Stephen BaldiYou know, communicating to a cashier, ah medium cream and sugar takes about 15 seconds. When you are forcing someone to press hot coffee, then medium, then sugar, then extra sugar, like that’s just, we found that that was a ah strategy that wasn’t ah successfully deployed at that time.32:58.57vigorbrandingwho33:05.34Stephen Baldinow That was back in 2008. I will say trends have matured since then and so there is an opportunity to have self ordering technology at a place like Dunkin Donuts and people have learned to navigate it quickly. um You have hot buttons for certain high usage items and so I say to people all the time because my friends question me, whenever they see an iPad, they assume that that means that that technology has taken someone’s job. And what I try to educate people on is that you know if you deploy technology in a intentional way, in a smart way, it allows you to redirect33:45.29Stephen Baldiwhat you would have otherwise spent on front of house and the back of house.33:46.57vigorbrandingMm33:49.72Stephen BaldiOr maybe you’re deploying it at a ah leadership level that’s multi-unit capable.33:49.78vigorbrandinghmm.33:55.24Stephen BaldiAnd so it’s not necessarily ah replacing jobs, but allowing savvy business leaders to take that investment and redeploy it in other ways. I will tell you that the benefit is you know technology doesn’t call out. Sometimes you have to reboot the system, but it always upsells. It always asks you if you want a dessert and always ask you if you want to package your burger with fries. And so to be able to grow your top line ticket, ah that’s only going to drive bottom line outcomes, which allows a business owner like me to look at expansion, to go into other cities, to be able to bring other people along with us because the business is growing. And so there’s opportunity beyond just taking someone’s order. And so34:40.31Stephen BaldiTechnology is something you have to look at in parallel kind of decision making. But I enjoy it. There’s some concepts that it resonates more significantly than others. But I think there’s a balance and there needs to be a balance of both going forward. I don’t think we’re ever going to have an industry that is exclusively technology or self ordering driven. um And I think you go in with a bunch of assumptions, you understand how your customers respond to it, and then you be agile enough to adjust appropriately.35:08.96vigorbrandingYeah, I mean, it makes a lot of sense. And i I concur. I mean, you know, I don’t want to wait in a massive line, especially from an airport. But, you know, just ordering, pre-ordering and all that kind of stuff isn’t all that funny either.35:19.32vigorbrandingSo it’s just you with that happy balance. You know, I do like talking to somebody and, you know, because I talk a lot, I guess. But plus, I always ask for some ice in my coffee just a little bit. I don’t want nice coffee.35:27.30Stephen BaldiThere you go.35:27.67vigorbrandingSo it’s a little tough to explain to an iPad, you know, so very soft.35:31.57Stephen BaldiTo drop it into a couple of cubes, yeah.35:32.20vigorbrandingWhoops. Yeah. Yeah. I don’t want to burn my, burn my mouth. So now I know you have at least one daughter, correct?35:38.70Stephen BaldiI’d have two daughters and a son.35:39.87vigorbrandingTwo daughters. right All right. Sorry. There we go.35:41.61Stephen Baldi26, 25, and eight.35:41.75vigorbrandingThis will be great then. Wow. Wow.35:45.67Stephen BaldiI started over, Michael.35:45.74vigorbrandingA little gap here.35:46.59Stephen BaldiI started over.35:47.16vigorbrandingYou had a little gap here.35:48.55Stephen Baldihad I had a couple of gap years.35:48.93vigorbrandingA couple of gap years. i well so I have two daughters, 26 as of last week and coming coming up on 29. The reason I bring up these families is you know we all know we love all our kids the same.36:01.78Stephen BaldiNo, we don’t.36:01.79vigorbrandingBut on any but okay but on any given day on any given day, depending on the phone call, depending on the visit, there’s certainly ones that we like other better than others.36:02.97Stephen BaldiNo, we don’t.36:09.94vigorbrandingMichael Alex, it happens it back and forth all the time, just in case you’re listening. Those are my daughters. um36:14.34Stephen BaldiLove it.36:15.04vigorbrandingso you know, we talked about pot belly, we talked about smash burger, we talked about dunking, we talked about timber, we talked about founding farmers, am I missing any any ends?36:25.21Stephen BaldiThere you go.36:27.03vigorbrandingWhich one?36:27.28Stephen BaldiIt’s the end. Yeah.36:27.84vigorbrandingWhich one’s your favorite? What’s your favorite kid there?36:29.64Stephen BaldiMy favorite. Wow. You’re going to force me to say that.36:33.77vigorbrandingYeah, yeah.36:34.15Stephen BaldiWell, I will tell you, because I don’t know if any of our franchisors are going to listen to this part. I love them all equally, and I am privileged to be able to operate them. I will tell you the one that probably um sits deeply in my soul as a person ah is probably Dunkin’ Donuts.36:55.45vigorbrandingNice.36:55.85Stephen Baldiand And I’ll tell you Dunkin’ Donuts because when I was growing up ah in Southwest Philadelphia off of Cobbs Creek Parkway, I had family that lived out by the airport. And in order to get into that area of the city, you have to travel on Cobbs Creek Parkway.37:11.63Stephen BaldiAnd there’s a Dunkin Donuts on the corner of Cobbs Creek Parkway and I can’t remember the cross street, but it’s been there for close to probably 30 or 40 years. I’m 48 and I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t there. And I remember seeing that Dunkin Donuts and thinking how rich that franchisee must be to have that score.37:30.65Stephen BaldiNow I know that owning a single franchise is not necessarily a path to generational wealth, but it did, that Dunkin Donuts did put in my mind like what was possible.37:40.22vigorbrandingYeah, that’s cool.37:40.70Stephen Baldium And so to be able to be now a 14 year franchisee of that brand, um which is our longest franchise relationship, it’s pretty special.37:46.48vigorbrandingSuper.37:50.20vigorbrandingThat’s cool. And you know, I’ll say this from the, from the branding side of the world. Uh, what a phenomenal job. I mean, Duncan’s been around forever. I mean, at one point time it was getting a little tired. It was sort of just fading in the woodwork.38:01.35vigorbrandingAnd we know, I mean, all these brands, I mean, they come on strong. They’re, they’re always started somewhere. There’s this regional thing. And then they become these big brands and is they, they struggle to stay relevant.38:10.04Stephen BaldiRight?38:12.62vigorbrandingRight. And I think Duncan has just done a remarkable job.38:16.08Stephen BaldiWe have, yeah.38:16.24vigorbrandingof staying relevant i mean from their graphic design from their marketing their branding to their advertising and all the cool stuff they’ve done that you did you did they blew it away they they absolutely did and yep38:22.42Stephen BaldiI mean, we had the best Super Bowl commercial in my opinion. I mean, Ben Affleck and J.Lo, they did their thing. And Mark Wahlberg, it like it was it was a beautiful commercial.38:33.65vigorbrandingYeah, and you know, it just shows like when you have passion for something, and those guys certainly have passion for for for that part of the world and ah from the Boston area. I just think it’s it was exceptional. In fact, ironically, we have at at our holding company level, Pavone Group, we have the longest running, okay, this is no kidding, the longest running Super Bowl commercial voting mechanism called spotbowl.com.38:56.66vigorbrandingSo every year we get38:57.28Stephen BaldiOK.38:59.26vigorbrandingyou know, thousands and thousands and thousands of votes from around the world, and people vote for their favorite Super Bowl commercial as it’s being played, as the game is being played. And then the the national media outlets reach out to us, and then we tell them the results.39:13.08vigorbrandingAnd Dunkin Donuts was was certainly a stellar winner.39:13.26Stephen BaldiOK.39:16.02Stephen BaldiIt was and had to be at the top.39:17.26vigorbrandingYeah, it was awesome.39:17.88Stephen BaldiCome on out. Tell me Michael it was at the top.39:19.04vigorbrandingYeah, yeah. It was, well, I’m looking over here at my guy that runs it. it was It was the top one. Yeah, it was, it definitely was.39:24.42Stephen BaldiIt was, it I thought it was.39:25.10vigorbrandingOh, yeah, yeah, yeah.39:25.89Stephen BaldiThere you go. Thank you for, thank you for phoning your friend and getting confirmation.39:26.59vigorbrandingIt was it was awesome.39:29.55Stephen BaldiIt was a pretty special advertising.39:31.41vigorbrandingYeah.39:31.85Stephen BaldiAnd yeah, I didn’t get a chance to order my Duncan jumpsuit, but I’m sure it’s in the mail somewhere.39:36.72vigorbrandingYeah, there you go. there That’s that that everything.39:38.41Stephen BaldiMaybe Duncan corporate will see this and they’ll send me one.39:38.96vigorbrandingAlthough. yeah Yeah, all the merch, everything they did around that was super cool. and the take the outtakes from the39:43.99Stephen BaldiSuper cool.39:46.35vigorbrandingyou know It’s funny too because when it comes to this marketing stuff, like it used to be just a TV spot. and The reason I looked over to ask Dave, Dave’s the guy you spoke to. He’s the one that that kind of heads up this podcast. He’s also the one that really runs Spopple. We’ve been doing this so long that In the beginning, we didn’t know anything.40:03.48vigorbrandingIn other words, they would the game it was all about the game. The game was played. And then people realized, well, people love the commercials. So we never knew, like like you and everybody else, we just sit there and watch the game, cut the commercial. Oh, it’s a commercial for fill in the blank.40:15.61vigorbrandingNow, they release the commercials to us ahead of time.40:15.73Stephen BaldiYeah.40:18.45vigorbrandingThey tell us what it’s about. They send us outtakes. They give us information. Because they realize it, because it’s a couple million dollars for 30 seconds, that they need to get as much juice out of the you know squeeze as much juice out of this as possible so they want to know they put stuff online they do teasers and it’s it’s turned into a an event unto itself and uh we’re really proud to have been a part of it so it’s kind of funny that you brought that up that’s cool stuff all40:39.58Stephen BaldiYeah. Now I will tell you my all time favorite Super Bowl commercial.40:44.35vigorbrandingright uh40:45.67Stephen BaldiNow I remember the star, but I don’t even remember the brand.40:49.95vigorbranding-oh40:50.06Stephen BaldiRemember the the commercial with the kid and the Star Wars mask and he was going around zapping things and he went and he zapped the car and the car started.40:55.24vigorbrandingVolkswagen. Yeah. Yeah.40:58.28Stephen BaldiThat was my all-time favorite more commercial.40:58.46vigorbrandingYeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s great. Yeah. That was ah that was a Volkswagen spot. That was a fantastic spot.41:03.91Stephen BaldiFantastic commercial.41:03.93vigorbrandingIt was a fantastic. You know, I’ll i’ll tell you mine next. i’m I’m a simp and I, you know, ah the Budweiser commercials and41:11.83Stephen BaldiOh yeah.41:13.17vigorbrandingThere was one though in particular where the guy, you know, he raises these horses and it goes on to be a Clydesdale and it it takes off and the horse leaves and there’s a parade. And I almost get choked up thinking about it.41:24.28vigorbrandingIt was so well done. There’s a parade, the guy standing there to parade and the horse sees him, breaks away, chases him down on the road. Oh my gosh. It was, it was, I had to do a live TV commercial. I had to do a live segment on the news about the the best TV spot and and they they, you know, they played it and I wasn’t expecting them to play it.41:40.60vigorbrandingI’m like, I had tears going down my face.41:42.56Stephen BaldiOh, you got emotional.41:42.51vigorbrandingI’m like, That’s my favorite.41:43.64Stephen BaldiOh, look at you.41:45.41vigorbrandingI still get emotional. i think but i think it I think it was the best all-time i mean story. It was just cute. so anyway That’s right, man.41:50.70Stephen BaldiAnd the best story always wins, Michael. Best story always wins.41:53.25vigorbrandingThat’s right. right yeah Yeah, you know, we always tell people a brand is a promise, ah but you have to tell a story. You have to draw a motion, make them laugh, make them cry, make them feel something about your brand. And that’s how you break through. And it’s always important, you know, a lot of times clients will say stuff, um you know, hey we just want to sell more, we got to do this, we got to do that. And and really it comes down to ah the fact that you’ve you got to do great creative to break through to get people’s attention.42:19.09vigorbrandingSo, well, I have a couple more questions for you and I want to hit them for sure.42:21.03Stephen BaldiOkay.42:22.25vigorbrandingSo now look, ah we talked about the airports you’re in, in the in the in the greater DC area, some of the most, I mean, they’re they’re busy, they’re they’re important, they’re huge. Other airports, I mean, you have great concessions in those airports.42:34.37vigorbrandingOther airports that you think have great concessions in the country?42:37.16Stephen BaldiYeah, I will tell you, Atlanta, one of the busiest airports in the world, definitely in this country.42:42.95vigorbrandingOh yeah, oh yeah. yeah42:45.86Stephen Baldium And then Houston, Orlando, Chicago, Charlotte, these are all markets that we kind of look at.42:49.80vigorbrandingMm hmm. Oh yeah.42:54.54vigorbrandingMassive hubs.42:56.51Stephen Baldium It’s important for us to be in high demand airport systems, because you never know how the world’s going to,43:02.80vigorbrandingYeah.43:05.21Stephen Baldirespond. And Morgan Hausl is one of the people who I look to for kind of strategic direction.43:12.04vigorbrandingMm hmm.43:13.49Stephen BaldiI’m thinking about my business. And one thing he always says is that as a business leader, if you’re only planning for the risk and threats that you can predict, you’re probably missing the biggest one.43:24.90vigorbrandingOh, yeah.43:25.41Stephen Baldium And so how we kind of shelter ourselves from that is we go into high demand markets. So even if an airline, a legacy airline like an American or United or a Delta or a Southwest ah decides that they no longer want to operate in that market, there’ll be another legacy carrier chomping at the bit together.43:44.09vigorbrandingSure.43:44.40Stephen BaldiAnd so that’s one of our strategy when we’re looking to grow nationally is to look at high demand airport markets.43:44.77vigorbrandingSure. Mm hmm.43:51.29Stephen BaldiAnd those are just a few that I named.43:53.58vigorbrandingI’m a big fan of Morgan has effect. We have him speaking at our, at our YPO. He’s, he’s one of, I think he might even be next month’s speaker. So I’m really, really, are you really, that’s all his book.44:00.64Stephen Baldiah We’re bringing them in on the 13th of November. Yeah.44:04.00vigorbrandingHis book’s incredible. Incredible. I made my daughter’s read it. So, um, what’s next for balding management group. And mean we talked about in other airports. What’s, what’s next for you? What’s what’s your vision? Where are you were are you hoping to go?44:13.26Stephen Baldimy My vision is to grow the tent and plant trees that I may never even know their shade, um because that’s when I think a community and when a business is thriving is when you’re willing to do things that you might not be able to see to fruition. And so we’re trying to build a company, not trying, we are building a company that will rise the tide for all the boats. I want to create another 20, 25 stories just like mine.44:41.46vigorbrandingYeah.44:41.62Stephen Baldium I can invest and grow my company so that it’s beneficial and creates generational wealth for me, but I also have the opportunity to listen to the individuals whose stories might not necessarily be taken to the top because they’re not fully formed or well articulated.44:59.34Stephen BaldiI try to look for those people, because I was once that person.45:00.66vigorbrandingyeah45:02.15Stephen BaldiI was the property manager in the office, and Cynthia Garber came and tapped me on the shoulder, which she did not have to do.45:02.50vigorbrandingyep45:08.96Stephen BaldiAnd so I’m trying to identify those voices in our companies, the people in leadership, but also the people who we don’t necessarily identify with immediately, because a lot of our workforce our ESL where English is a second language.45:24.24Stephen BaldiAnd so verbal communication is a challenge, but I don’t want that to get in the way of us knowing or ide

As the communities of the West Shore continue to grow, would it make sense for them to quit being suburbs and instead form their own region apart from Greater Victoria? On this week's episode, we look at the pros and cons of working together as a capital region - and ask the existential question "is the West Shore part of Greater Victoria?"

In this episode, CJ interviews Philip Brenckle, CFO of West Shore Home, a company that's revolutionizing the way that people are remodeling their homes. Phil shares insights on the home remodeling market, an unconsolidated industry with a total addressable market (TAM) of $500 billion. He explains how West Shore Home is growing its TAM by meeting customers where they are, before shedding light on the company's model and its direct-to-consumer component. Phil dives into the role of credit in home remodels and West Shore Home's financing module. He also breaks down the average split between labor and materials, why the company chooses to work with W2 employees over subcontractors, and how they determine pricing. Additionally, Phil talks about how M&A is part of their strategy, the types of acquisition deals West Shore Home does, and why you should only work with great advisors, before giving tips on how to effectively build relationships with banking partners. If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.—SPONSORS:Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages.

West Shore Food Bank Board President Julie Sunde 09-09-24

In episode 73 of the TBD Podcast, Garrett sits down with developer Eddie Hall and architect Bob Hall to discuss their new venture, AQUA at Westshore Yacht Club. Built on the last available parcel in the highly desirable Westshore Yacht Club community, AQUA's waterfront location offers amenity-rich living and unobstructed sunset bay views from luxury tower residences. AQUA features 77 grand waterfront condominium residences including two penthouses. 0:00:00 - Eddie Avila Introduction 0:05:08 - Bob Hall Introduction 0:07:41 - AQUA Project 0:16:38 - Past Tampa Condo Projects 0:19:00 - The Status of Older Condos in Florida 0:21:36 - Needing FAA Approval to Build 0:24:32 - How The Market Affects Development 0:33:26 -The Difference in Architecture From the 80's Compared To Now 0:39:36 - West Shore Yacht Club 0:47:46 - AQUA Project Continued 1:01:44 - Outro

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN! I asked you who you wanted me to interview, and you said "Give us The Pizza Boy, Al Kominski!" Well, I cannot defy or deny the people, so I went down to Al's of Hampden in Enola on the West Shore and got the interview...and then hung around and visited some more breweries: Ever Grain, Mellow Mink, Sworn, Hemauer, and Liquid Noise. I got in a visit to Sugar Run Brewing in Duncansville as well, and I'll tell you about opening night at the newest bar in Millheim: our home bar, First Draft, is finally complete, and spreading joy among our friends. And if you're interested...check out the @stagpodcast Instagram page to see a picture of our new Corgi puppy, Samwise! Next episode? Back in April, I did an Earth Day presentation at Ploughman Farm Cider's Gettysburg taproom on the agricultural aspects of rye whiskey, along with a cider guy talking about the same thing. We'll hear that, plus I'll tell you what it was like at the PA Cider Fest. See you in two weeks! Until then? TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THE PODCAST! Seen Through A Glass is sponsored by the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau. Come visit Centre County!   This episode uses these sounds under the following license: Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ "Champ de tournesol" by Komiku at https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ arrow-impact-87260 Sound Effect found on Pixabay (https://pixabay.com) "Glow" by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au Music promoted by https: //www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ All sounds sourced by STAG Music Librarian Nora Bryson, with our thanks.

Three words that encapsulate Josh Wood and Westshore Home. Values, Culture, and Language.  Josh Wood is the Chief Development Officer of Westshore Home based out of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.   Westshore Home is a home renovation company, but like nothing that you have ever seen before. They are all about extreme ownership, default aggressive. When have you heard a renovation company say that.   Josh is all about leaning into relationships. It's hard to be angry at someone at the same time, sincerely serving them.  Josh and Westshore better the pond by bringing happiness into every home. This was an amazing conversation, and I am honored to introduce to you, Josh Wood.    Website: https://westshorehome.com  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-wood/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or41fd37GH8    Westshore for Warriors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5FeF5Z5xvE       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrD7m6rAurg     

Welcome to Church Chat, the show where we have the conversations about ministry you wish we were having. Today Josh and Emily are joined by Dan Spino, Discipleship Pastor at West Shore Free Church in Mechanicsburg, PA! They talk about why clarity is important, how the corporate world can benefit the church, ministering from your wounds, results vs. systems, leveraging feedback, valuing people over the organization, being addicted to our ideas, church culture shock and more! Dan provides strategic leadership for many ministries at West Shore. He has a diverse background in organizational talent and culture and has a Master's Degree in ILR, and a Master's of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Dan and his wife, Stephanie, reside in downtown Mechanicsburg. For fun, he enjoys working on house projects, traveling, visiting coffee shops and getting to the ocean. Mentioned in this episode: Deep Discipleship by J T EnglishChurch Chat 2 with Matt SaxingerEFCA East Cohorts Listen to more Church Chat episodes. Connect with EFCA East efcaeast.comInstagramFacebook

B.J. Werzyn is the founder and CEO of West Shore Home, one of the largest direct to consumer home remodelers in the nation. Through a combination of acquisitions and new office openings, West Shore Home has over 38 locations in 18 states with over $750 million in revenue. In this episode, B.J. talks about how he is revolutionizing a traditionally fragmented and tech averse industry. He talks through how West Shore Home mapped out the 67 processes of home remodeling, removed inefficiencies, and implemented streamlined processes empowered by technology to ultimately make the easiest, quickest, most stress-free customer experience. At the end of the episode, current Penn State student Jennifer Natale joins the conversation. Jennifer is a senior at Penn State majoring in finance with a minor in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is the president of the Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Society at Penn State. She talks to B.J. about overcoming initial entrepreneurial obstacles. B.J. graduated from Penn State in 1999.

We put em on blast every single morning... and after the weekend Joe had - its no surprise why Joe is adding these people to the list.

Joe has officially gone scorched Earth! His apartment complex has started to flood YET AGAIN this weekend... but is it the worst one in Tampa Bay? We spill the tea every Monday/Wednesday on THEjoeSHOW!

We are taking a break this December, but we'll be back in late January with an episode featuring B.J. Werzyn, the founder and CEO of West Shore Home, one of the largest direct-to-consumer home remodelers in the nation. Listen to this episode for a quick preview of the interview. Happy holidays!

Joe wants to call out someone he ran into on Westshore... things didn't end well for him and led to some possible road rage?

In 2020, Harrison Biehl bought his first mountain bike and immediately put his mind in the track, progressively doing bigger and bigger rides. In summer 2022, he successfully completed his first “Everesting” mission - repeating the same climb until reaching 29,032 feet of elevation gain. As a fundraiser for TAMBA, Harrison tackled Stanford Rock trail on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe and completed the mission in under 24 hours. In the afterglow, tragedy struck when his close friend Joe Fazzio took his own life a week before Christmas. To honor Joe's life and bring awareness to mental health, Harrison partnered with High Fives Foundation and launched the Pedal for Positivity. His new mission; “Trench to Everest” - climbing 65,099 feet - the elevation difference between the lowest point on earth, the Marianas Trench, to the highest, Mount Everest. Harrison did the ride on Old Highway 40 from Donner Lake to Historic Donner Summit on September 8-9 with a group of friends who rode by his side, completing nearly 60 laps in 29 hours. Recorded on Donner Summit at the site of the event, this is a heavy story of friendship, community, commitment, struggle and loss. 3:30 – During the latest brown pow cycle, Tom crashes his mountain bike hard.6:40 – Steven Kotler – Gnar Country – learning to become a park skier at age 53. 9:40 – Introducing Harrison Biehl – Everesting Stanford Rock, trenching Old Highway 40.13:30 – Another sign of a big winter coming – crazy squirrels. Another Hunga Tonga correlation.16:22 – Harrison Biehl interview recording on old Highway 40 on Donner Summit. 20:00 – Riding from the lowest point on the planet, Mariana Trench to the highest point on the planet, Mount Everest. 381 miles and 65,249 ft of climbing in 29 hours 42 minutes.24:20 – Completing massive rides with only three years of experience cycling. 26:30 – Everesting Stanford Rock trail on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, a fundraiser for Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association.29:00 – Learning fitness, strength and training from Derek Teel of Dialed Health, who Everested Braille Trail in Soquel Demo Forest near Santa Cruz. 30:30 – Using the ride to raise funds for new mountain bike trails in Lake Tahoe, including the new Meeks Ridge trail. 37:00 – What did Harrison learn from the first big Everest challenge on Stanford Rock?39:45 – The backstory of the Old Highway 40 ride – in memory of Joe Fazzio. 41:00 – Living with loss and suicide, trying to make sense of those who take their own lives. 46:00 – The bicycle as a vehicle for blowing off steam, helping deal with the stress and loss.48:00 – Finding Joe on Donner Lake. 54:00 – Angry riding in the wake of Joe's passing, starting Pedal for Positivity with High Fives Foundation. 1:04:00 – Riding Old Highway 40 from Donner Lake to Historic Donner Summit. 1:11:00 – Pro grade support from the folks at Paco's bike shop in Truckee. 1:13:00 – Contribute to the Pedal for Positivity – highfivesfoundation.org/pedal-for-positivity/1:14:00 – Tom's grandfather, Raymond Beckering and Robert Schuller, of Garden Grove Ministries, built the Tower of Hope in the early 1970's; the first suicide helpline in North America – New Hope. 1:18:00 – What was harder, Stanford Rock or Old Highway 40?1:25:30 – Did Harrison ever think he couldn't complete the ride?1:28:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?1:30:00 – Follow Harrison – @harrison_biehl and @pedal_for_positivity

The Flathead National Forest is reopening more of the Hungry Horse Reservoir to the public as recent rains have helped firefighters contain wildfires in the area.

The Flathead National Forest is reopening more of the Hungry Horse Reservoir to the public as recent rains have helped firefighters contain wildfires in the area.

The Mark Moses Show is joined by Sean Hayes of Palm High School to talk about surfing this fall on the Space Coast, how he is coaching the Golf Team at Westshore and his latest Surfing Report going into this weekend with Mark.  Listen to The Mark Moses Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 pm eastern on Sports Radio 107.9 FM/1560 The Fan & Sportsradio1560.com. You can also listen to Mark Mid days on 95.9 The Rocket. Follow him on social media @markmosesshow

In this episode, we'll explore many of the expenses in your life that might drastically change (one way or another) in retirement. We'll break those expenses down further to see which ones are the top priorities and analyze some of the other factors that impact your cash flow in retirement. Helpful Information: PFG Website: https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/ Contact: 813-286-7776 Email: info@pfgprivatewealth.com Disclaimer: PFG Private Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investment involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any individual. Listeners are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal, or investment adviser to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Transcript of Today's Show: For a full transcript of today's show, visit the blog related to this episode at https://www.pfgprivatewealth.com/podcast/ ----more---- Marc: Welcome back to the podcast. It's Retirement Planning-Redefined, with John and Nick here with me to talk investing, finance, retirement, and mastering retirement cashflow, part one, is going to be the topic today. We're understanding just changing expenses. We're going to break this into really a two-parter here, obviously, by calling it part one. And we'll do a little more focus on some of the other things on the next session. But for today, I want to explore some of the expenses in life and how they just change as we're moving some things ... as we're moving from working into retirement. And things you guys see with your clients and how you work through that process for them. So that's the topic today. Let's get into it. John, first of all, how are you doing, buddy?   John: I'm doing all right. Getting ready for the summertime here.   Marc: If it happens. I don't know what's going on in the south. I'm in North Carolina, and we've had one 90 degree day, and it's almost July. Totally unusual for us, so it's very, very weird.   Nick: Oh, it's hot here.   Marc: Yeah. It's like two states seem to be in a weird spot. I don't know what's going on with the middle of the south here. It's very strange this year. But Nick, I heard you chime in. How are you, my friend?   Nick: Doing pretty good.   Marc: Yeah. So you guys are sweltering, is that what you're saying?   Nick: It's definitely hot, yeah.   Marc: Well, kick a little this way because I don't know what's going on. It should be warmer here than it has been. So, very weird.   Nick: Well, I'll trade.   Marc: Okay. All right. Yeah. Like today, it's ... well, we're getting a ton of rain. Today, taping this podcast, it's 72 for the high, and tonight's overnight low is 58. That doesn't happen usually in North Carolina in late July or late June.   Nick: Yeah. That is pretty surprising. That's cool for North Carolina.   Marc: Very, very weird. So I don't know, Mother Nature is off her meds, I guess. But what can you do? So let's get into this conversation, guys, about changing cash flow, before I keep going down that tangent. I've got a few parts here I want to run through. What are some of the expenses that might drastically change one way or the other, either to saving us money or to costing us more money? Whichever way you guys want to take this, whatever you've seen with your clients. But let's start it off with housing. I think housing is probably the number one expense in retirement. Correct me if I'm wrong there, but what do you think?   Nick: Yeah. I would say for a lot of people that maintain a mortgage past retirement, it's definitely a significant monthly expense. One thing that we are seeing here with the tick up in interest rates over the last 12 months, we had had conversations with multiple clients from 2018 through 2021 about taking advantage of low interest rates and keeping their mortgage and that sort of thing. And for a lot of people, that makes them feel uncomfortable. But to a person, everyone that we've talked to that has done that, now that rates are where they are, they've been pretty happy about that decision and being able to take advantage and lock in those low rates. But for those people that just naturally, with the schedule mortgage that they had, and ended up paying off the mortgage by the time they retired, that drop in expenses is usually a big help. I would say one thing that jumps out that's a reminder that we use for people is ... especially because the homeowner's insurance market here has now gone completely insane. Taxes and insurance don't go away. So I can't tell you how many times we've had a conversation where maybe somebody had a mortgage that was $3,000 a month, and they're like, well, once I retire, that 3,000 a month is going to go away. And we point out, well, hey, about half of that is. The rest of it's for taxes and insurance. So sometimes that drop in expense isn't quite as much as they thought it was going to be.   Marc: Gotcha. Yeah. And it's easy to do, even with downsizing, because the market's been high. So it's not always just lowering things just to go to that downsizing piece. John, what's your thoughts there?   John: Yeah, I would say the downsizing is a big part of it. Not only if you downsize, you might be able to get some equity out of your house there. So if you downsize, buy a two or $300,000 house, you get some cash that you could do something with. But then you start looking at smaller house, less homeowners insurance, less maintenance costs, things like that, it could really be a pretty significant savings. Especially, as Nick mentioned here, with homeowners insurance. I think mine went up like 60 or 70% in a year, which was ... ... I've heard a lot of people. At first, I thought it was just me. And then I talked to some clients, friends, family, and it seemed across the board that it just shot up.   Marc: That's hefty.   Nick: Yeah, there's a lot people that are falling between five and $10,000 a year now. For homeowners insurance down here, it's gone just wild.   Marc: Well, I imagine the big hurricane added a lot to that, right? That's probably part of it. From last year.   Nick: Yeah, yeah.   Marc: Yeah, for sure. Insurance companies are like, we got to recoup some money. How are we going to do that? 60% hikes. All right, no more work stuff. Category two on the changing in expenses. I think we probably assume for the most part that no more work stuff means we're going to save a little bit of money.   John: Yeah. So this is something that when we do planning, we definitely hit on. We have different categories of current expenses and then retirement expenses, and then we actually go one further and we're looking at advanced age expenses. But this is one where you're not commuting anymore, or at least to work. So depending on what your commute was, you could be saving quite a bit on gas, car maintenance expenses, things like that. And then the big one, I know when Nick and I worked in West Shore, was the lunch expense. Where it's like every time for lunch it's like, all right, where are we going? A good excuse to get out of the office and just get a change of scenery, you find you're going out to lunch every day. That does tend to add up quite a bit.   Marc: Oh, yeah. You can spend some dough that way, for sure. So I think in this category, we feel like ... and this one I think maybe drives a lot of people feeling like, oh, I'm going to spend less money in retirement. Right, Nick? I mean, this is one of those things. Well, I'm not doing all those things now, so I'm going to be saving money. But you're also doing more stuff because you don't have to go to work, so you may not save as much as you think.   Nick: Yeah. I would also say too, that this post-COVID work from home shift has prepared a lot more people to have a better idea of the expenses that have changed. We do have a fair amount of clients that used to commute, and no longer do. And so they've gotten a peek into what that looks like. And people are creatures of habit. Inevitably, they develop new things that they do, and usually there's other expenses that replace previous ones, but-   Marc: There's always something, right?   Nick: Yeah. But oftentimes, there are reasonable reductions in some of those work-related expenses.   Marc: Okay. Let's go to healthcare. This one here, this one to me seems like this is not going to be going into the positive. This is not going to be putting money back in our pocket. More than likely, this is going to cost us more.   Nick: Yeah. I mean, for a big chunk of people, especially if they work at a company that has pretty good health benefits, and maybe they haven't had their kids on their plan for a while, so it's just them and a spouse or them solo. Oftentimes, the shift to what we budget for post-age 65 Medicare-related premiums, oftentimes it goes up for people. So we typically budget about $4,000 a year, and we have a more aggressive inflation number that we use on that. Oftentimes, people come in less than that, especially with a high deductible plan, those sorts of things. I just had this conversation the other day with someone, where they were going to have a pretty substantial jump. And they had worked for the same company for a long time, didn't realize-   Marc: You mean a jump in the premiums?   Nick: Yes. Yep. They had worked for the same company for a long time. It was big company and had really good health benefits, and premiums were going to go up. So it can be a little surprising that way. If it's somebody that's shifting more from the perspective of, kids recently got off their plan and they're cutting back on ... maybe went from a regular health plan to a high deductible, those sorts of things. It can be a drop. But honestly, I see it more neutral or go up than I see it go down.   Marc: Yeah, definitely. John, taxes, let me hit you with this one. This is a big misnomer that's been around for years. That when we get to retirement, our taxes are just generally lower because we're not getting a paycheck, we're not making as much. But more times than not, eight out of 10 times people are not in a lower tax bracket.   John: No. Typically, they tend to be in the same, if not, maybe a little bit lower. Because what you're really trying to do when you do planning is you want to keep the person's income where it was while they were working.   Marc: Right. You're trying to fill in the ... you're shortening the short shortfall. You're pulling from our assets to make up the shortfall based on Social Security or if you have a pension or whatever those kinds of things are. So you're trying to keep the numbers basically the same, correct?   John: Exactly, yeah. So we are trying to keep the numbers the same. And we find a lot of people ... I would say we find the majority of people have most of their money in pre-tax accounts. So what you'll find is when you're pulling out of the pre-tax accounts, you're paying taxes on it. So this is really important when it comes to planning, where you ... and we harp on this constantly. It's a matter of setting yourself up to adjust. So maybe if you have some tax-free money, some after-tax dollars in some other accounts, you can really try to eliminate ... or not eliminate. But try to lower what your taxes are going into retirement. And I'll say one thing that happens quite often with clients, and this is only maybe a year or two that we see in retirement, is they just have a couple of years of just massive expenses where ... we just had someone that's purchasing a second home and they need to pull out of their retirement account. And all of a sudden, it's like in that given year, that's going to be a big tax hit. Or it's a health expense. Or I've had other ones where they want to do a remodel on their house and it's like, well, I got to pull money out of my account. And everything is pre-taxed, so they really get ... we see a significant increase in their taxes in those years.   Marc: Yeah. And that's why we want to get tax efficient, if we can. And maybe that's worth looking at, trying to maybe move some money so we don't have that tax time bomb sitting there waiting on us. Some different things. And speaking of actually that, Nick, let's go to the next one here because you can chime in, it fits well with that. Is one of the biggest things we're doing is pumping money, hopefully, especially the last 10 years of working, into our retirement account. Maybe that 401K that John was just talking about. And therefore we're growing those dollars. And that is an expense that goes away once we stop working, we're no longer feeding that.   Nick: Yeah. That deferral is usually the lowest hanging fruit of expenses or cash flow going down.   Marc: Money back in our pocket, kind of thing, right?   Nick: Yeah, exactly. That outflow is usually the biggest drop, especially if it's ... if you're talking a couple that is essentially, maybe they're both maxing out or pretty close to maxing out, they're saving around 25,000. That's $50,000 a year. Granted, that's the money that they're used to living on anyways.   Marc: Yeah. Because we weren't seeing that. When we're working, it's going straight to the paycheck ... or straight to the 401, for example. But now that we're not working, we also don't have the paycheck. So to me, is it truly a savings or is it a wash, because you weren't seeing it before either? You know what I mean?   Nick: Yeah. I think for a lot of people it's a wash. Realistically, in the day-to-day setting and from a lifestyle perspective, it tends to be a bit of a wash.   Marc: Okay. Yeah.   Nick: Yeah, it's more of an on-paper reduction, more than anything.   Marc: Makes sense.   Nick: And in theory, when you start ... if you want to nitpick a little bit. The money that you defer into those plans, you still pay payroll taxes on it. So there's a little bit of a savings there. So that's something that can factor in. And one of the changes that fits in with both the tax and retirement things is a lot of times at that point in time, they're no longer claiming kids. Maybe the mortgage is paid off. So from a deduction perspective, there's also a change as well from the standpoint of what they're able to deduct versus what they can deduct in retirement.   Marc: Okay. And so what we're doing is we're talking about these categories here on understanding how our expenses are going to change, whether it's to the plus or to the minus. And then we'll talk a little bit more later on about how that's going to affect us in our overall expenses and some things to cover in ways to be more efficient in that. So let's continue on with a couple more categories here and then we'll wrap it up for this podcast. So we went through housing, work stuff, healthcare, taxes, the retirement savings account when we're no longer feeding the 401 animal. John, so you mentioned earlier travel and leisure, when you were talking about there's different things we're going to spend money on. So if every Saturday is the day I spend the most money, well, guess what retirement is?   John: Every day seems like it's a Saturday.   Marc: It's a bunch of Saturdays, right?   John: Yep.   Marc: It's Groundhog Day.   John: The more time you have, you find yourself trying to fill the gap of what to do. And we see a lot of people that are, if they're like golfing, they tend to be golfing a little bit more. Or fishing or whatever it might be. I'll see-   Marc: But that's the point, right? That's the point of retirement. It's what we're striving for. But I think the scary part is, is if we haven't budgeted for how much we're ... the activity. That's when we can maybe shortfall ourselves.   John: Exactly. Yeah. That's where it's important where you're doing a cashflow analysis for retirement. Like I said, we typically look at retirement expenses. We'll look at what the person does for hobbies and try to estimate, okay, this is what we can expect. And you always want to go over the amount, you never want to go under.   Marc: I was going to ask you that. Yeah. You want to-   John: Yeah, you always want to go over, because-   Marc: ... inflate it a little bit.   John: Yeah, exactly. I'll tell you this ... and my wife doesn't listen to the podcast. When she's at home more, I start to notice my Amazon bill goes up and packages end up at the door. So when there's a lot more downtime, you tend to say, okay, what's out there? Oh, let me go run to the store. Let me go do this real quick. And all those things add up to just added expenses, which fine-   Marc: Yeah. Well, sitting on the computer or the phone, you're just like, I'm bored, I'm not doing anything. Next thing you know, you're on some sort of shopping site because you're like, I was thinking about this or that, or a new set of golf clubs. Right, it's easy to do.   John: Home projects because Pinterest is giving you all these different ideas that you should be doing with your home. So yeah, all those things are up.   Nick: All right, John. This is not a therapy session.   Marc: No, but I mean he's right, though. I mean, it totally ... and people do that.   John: So Marc, that's coming from the single guy right now.   Marc: Right. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. And you mentioned, you were talking about projects, DIY projects or Pinterest. We're right in the middle of rebuilding ... I'm building a billiards room here next to my office for the pool table. And it's just, scope-creep has taken over. It's like, oh, I can ... I factored in the budget. I'm like, I could do it for this amount of money. And I'm way over budget. And that's, again, if you're retired ... I'm still working. But if I was retired, that could be a real problem. If I let scope-creep get in there and I'm spending 25% more than I budgeted for this project, that could be an issue. So you want to make sure that you are inflating it, to your point. Puff those numbers up a little bit, just to be on the safe side.   Nick: Oh yeah, big time. I don't think I've seen anybody come in under budget on anything in the last three years.   Marc: Yeah. And that's with professionals, let alone doing it yourself, right?   Nick: For sure.   Marc: Okay. So that's travel and leisure. So the last one here, last category, insurance. Many people, guys, walk into retirement saying, well, I don't need insurance anymore. That's also that old standard, as far as the financial services world. Well, who needs ... why do you need insurance if your kids are grown and you don't have to replace your income because you're not worried about sending them to school. Or all that kind of stuff that you guys have heard probably a million times.   Nick: Yeah. So we'll see ... one of the most common insurances that go away, whether it's at retirement or early in retirement, is life insurance. So we obviously emphasize the fact that a death early on in retirement is the bigger risk, especially if there's outstanding debt, those sorts of things, versus later on in retirement. So sometimes we'll have people that, maybe they've got three to five years left on their term policy and the premiums aren't prohibitive. And we'll just them keep the coverage because there's still a mortgage, or just that additional money if something were to happen would be a big boost to the surviving spouse. But disability definitely goes away because disability insurance, by definition ensures your ability to work. So if you're not working, then you're not insuring anything. So that's something that drops. And then some of these supplemental policies that maybe were provided by the employer, aren't portable and you can't take them with you anyway. So some of those things will drop off. So that's definitely something that can be adjusted and adapted to reduce some of the costs.   Marc: Well, I think for every situation, insurance is one of those questions, John, that goes either way. Some people may not, when you guys are developing and looking through the plan, maybe insurance isn't needed. But then again, maybe it is. Or maybe they're using an insurance policy for the cash value policy side of things or whatever. So this one is one I think could go either direction.   John: It definitely could go either way, it really depends on the individual. And like we were just talking about here, each person, whatever is important to them will dictate whether your insurance is going to be going up or down. That's really what it comes down to is, each individual, what they value and what they want to protect with insurance and what they're ... oh, okay. I'm okay without it.   Marc: Well, and that's a good way to think about what we're going to get into for the next podcast, is really assessing must-haves, nice-to-haves, things of that nature. And then how other aspects in the financial services world could affect those categories we just ran down. So we're going to wrap it up this week. So again, these are just the expenses categories, and some major ones here to think about how they may change to the plus or to the minus with our cash flow in retirement. And we'll be back next week with the second half of this conversation. So do yourself a favor, if you haven't done so yet. Reach out to the team if you don't have a strategy or a plan in place, and get started with a consultation and a conversation for yourself. You can find the guys at pfgprivatewealth.com. That's pfgprivatewealth.com, where you can get started today on a strategy for yourself. Reach out to John and Nick there. And guys, thanks for hanging out. I'll see you next week ... well, in two weeks on the podcast. Nick, have a good one.   Nick: See you.   Marc: All right, John. Thanks, buddy.   John: Sure.   Marc: And I'll catch you later. We'll see you guys here on retirement Planning-Redefined, with John and Nick.

Buffalo Beer Buzz: West Shore, Rusty Nickel Merge, New Beer At 12 Gates, West Shore & Big Ditch, Pints In The Park, Brickyard Can Sale, NYSBA Design Contestto see the full stories, go to: https://buffalobeerleague.com/buffalo-beer-buzz-west-shore-rusty-nickel-merge-new-beer-at-12-gates-west-shore-big-ditch-pints-in-the-park-brickyard-can-sale-nysba-design-contest/This week we talk about:WEST SHORE BREWING, RUSTY NICKEL BREWING TO MERGEAfter closing their Clarence taproom, West Shore Brewing Company announced that they are merging with West Seneca's Rusty Nickel Brewing Company. The new partnership will expand distribution for both breweries, according to Rusty Nickel president Jason Havens, who made the announcement at their 8th anniversary party. DRINK WEST SHORE BREWING CITRUS LAGER FOR A GOOD CAUSEOn June 10, West Shore's Lake to Rail Citrus Lager will serve as the centerpiece for a fundraising event for the Flour-by-Rail Legacy Project at Duende Silo City. The event features tours of the grounds and boxcar, West Shore beers, live music, and more. Tickets for unlimited beer are $25 online and at the door, or you can just show up and enjoy the day a la carte. 12 GATES BREWING TO RELEASE NEW MONSTERS & MYTHS IPALeshen, the latest release in 12 Gates' Monsters & Myths Hazy IPA series, will be released on June 9 (12pm). The hazy IPA is 6% and is brewed with Azacca, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. Taken from ancient Slavic mythology, the Leshen is depicted as a malevolent and powerful woodland spirit believed to have control over the forest and its inhabitants, including animals and lesser forest spirits. ERIE COUNTY PINTS IN THE PARK RETURNS WITH RESURGENCE & 42 NORTHResurgence Brewing and 42 North Brewing will once again take part in the Erie County Parks Department Pints in the Park Program, which features pop-up beer gardens across the Erie County Park System throughout the summer and fall. BIG DITCH, EXPLORE BUFFALO TEAM UP ON HISTORY BUFF KOLSCHBig Ditch Brewing and Explore Buffalo have teamed up on History Buff, a German-style Kolsch, to celebrate Explore Buffalo's tenth anniversary tour season. The beer is slightly fruity, slightly bready, and refreshing. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Explore Buffalo. SUBMIT A DESIGN FOR THE 2023 NYS PINT DAYS GLASSThe New York State Brewers Association is hosting an artwork contest for the design of the 4th Annual New York State Pint Days Glass. Each year's glass features a unique design that celebrates NYS craft beer. Entries will be accepted until June 18 before being narrowed down to the top 2-3 designs. Then, a public vote will take place to determine the winning design.INVENTORY CLEARANCE SALE AT BRICKYARD BREWINGTo make room for more beer, Brickyard Brewing is holding a special can inventory clearance sale at their Lewiston taproom. As part of the sale, the brewery is offering $10 4-packs of Fiji Mermaid, a guava, pineapple and coconut sour, BerryBerry NannerNanner, a berry, guava and banana smoothie sour, Under the Bridge, a dry-hopped West Coast IPA brewed with El Dorado, Amarillo, and Chinook hops, and Irish Goodbye Red Ale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Calen describes his experience opening a new Big Wheel location on the West Shore.

This week it's back to just the lads again with the story of the sidewheeler Alaskan, sunk in May 1889 off of Cape Blanco.Sources:"The Alaskan Founders." New York Times, 17 May 1889. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/05/17/100961000.pdfAnderson, Matthew. "SS Columbia - The Lost Ship Who Lit the World." Shipwreck World, 23 Oct 2016. https://www.shipwreckworld.com/articles/ss-columbia-the-first-electric-ship"The Olympian and the Alaskan." The West Shore, 1 May 1884. https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2012260361/1884-05-01/ed-1/seq-7/Schultz, Duane. "Inconvenient Truth: A Daring Reporter Tells Abraham Lincoln What His Own Government Would Not." America's Civil War, Nov 2012, pp. 26 - 33. "Villard, Henry. "1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Villard,_Henry"Yaquina Head Lighthouse." Lighthouse Friends. https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=133Villard, Henry. "Recollections of Lincoln." The Atlantic: 2012 Civil War Special, pp. 34 - 37. Check out our Patreon here!Support the show

Without one critical element, your business is at risk of stagnation or failure. It's not enough to simply keep up with the latest trends and technology - you need to get down to the core of what really drives the sustainability of your business.I host CFO Philip Brenckle of West Shore Home, who reveals the raw truth about the lifeblood your business needs to thrive, and why ignoring it could mean the failure of your enterprise.West Shore Home is a powerhouse in the home remodeling world. During his tenure they've grown revenue by 1,000%+ with the majority of that coming organically.He started his career in IT and Business Systems before transitioning to a 15 year career in Corporate & Institutional Banking with PNC Financial Services Group and Huntington Bancshares. He received his undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and his MBA from University of Pittsburgh.West Shore Home started as a local window & door replacement company in a small Pennsylvania suburb and has grown into a technology-enabled home improvement powerhouse with over 2,500 employees across 13+ states. With continued national expansion plans, they've committed to staying true to their roots with a customer-first mindset and an employee-centric culture. This includes over 20,000 5-star reviews on Google, Facebook, etc and were recently recognized as a “Top Workplace USA'.LinkedIn Profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-b-99950214/Company Link: https://westshorehome.com/What You'll Discover in this Episode:No free rides: The compelling case for earned leadership.How one thing solved 95% of his business woes.Lessons from the financial frontline: What banking taught him about leadership.An M&A tip that can mean success or failure.Surviving the business rollercoaster: Why executives must plan for every cycle.The journey to becoming America's most admired home remodeling company.The incredible story of his first week as CFO (which happened to be the day the Pandemic shut things down).-----Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben FanningSpeaking and Training inquiresSubscribe to my Youtube channelLinkedInInstagramTwitter

Ashley gives updated details on the Tampa Flasher at the Ramada Inn over on Westshore. We also find out which Tampa Bay dining establishment is making customers prepay before going?

A Tampa man is wanted after exposing himself AND impersonating a police officer at the Ramada on West Shore... and Ashley admited THIS?!

For episode 50 Ed and Bill hit the road visiting two West Shore of Harrisburg classics. The White Hill Tavern for a morning sip and then to Evergrain. Cheers!

Nobody does Fun and Team Bonding Better! Our first episode in our amazing new office! Located in the Urban Centre in Westshore. 4890 W Kennedy Blvd Suite 100 in Tampa 33609We get a chance to spend some time roullete style with each and every member of the Team! The very definition of Synergy:The Total is greater than the sum of all its individual parts!A team that Podcasts Together wins Together!

Tampa Bay Business Journal Real Estate Editor Ashley Kritzer joins the show to discuss how the late Christine Burdick impacted Downtown Tampa, an update to the I-275/Westshore expansion project, and a major apartment complex coming to Lakewood Ranch.

Westshore Community Church Pastor Ted Van Dyken joined the KGEZ Good Morning Show with John Hendricks and Robin Mitchell on Monday September 12th , 2022 to talk about the Big Arm Blues Festival & BBQ.  Sponsored by Westshore Community Church, this event's proceeds will go towards those affected by the damages of recent fires. 

In the 7a hour, Ryan, Aaron, and Katie discuss a few state and national political stories. Plus, Chris Trenkman with today's top stories, a rendering of a potential public art display at the Westshore interchange, Aaron's sports update, 10 Tampa Bay Reporter Liz Crawford with a report on "Jordan's Law," and Katie's trending stories.

In part 2 of this interview, Dr. Fedrizzi-Williams and Lou Baverso discuss a strategic partnership with Central Penn College that includes tuition reimbursement! -- Lou Baverso is the chief operating officer of UPMC Central Pa., and he is the president of UPMC Harrisburg, West Shore, and Community Osteopathic hospitals. Baverso has more than 29 years of health care management experience in clinical and supports operations. His background is diverse in both information technology and hospital operations, and he has held roles in executive leadership in both disciplines during his more than 25 years at UPMC. Prior to coming to Central Pa. in July 2019, he served as vice president of operations at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside in Pittsburgh, which has consistently been ranked among the top hospitals in the state and the nation. Baverso has also served in a wide range of leadership roles in UPMC, including vice president of operations and chief information officer at UPMC Magee Women's Hospital. Prior to joining UPMC, Baverso worked in a for-profit IT company, focused on education and support of businesses implementing office-based solutions or transitioning staff into new roles. Baverso holds an MBA from Chatham University and a Master's Degree in Information Systems Management from Robert Morris University. He also has a Bachelor of Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Lou Baverso is the chief operating officer of UPMC Central Pa., and he is the president of UPMC Harrisburg, West Shore, and Community Osteopathic hospitals. Baverso has more than 29 years of health care management experience in clinical and supports operations. His background is diverse in both information technology and hospital operations, and he has held roles in executive leadership in both disciplines during his more than 25 years at UPMC. Prior to coming to Central Pa. in July 2019, he served as vice president of operations at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside in Pittsburgh, which has consistently been ranked among the top hospitals in the state and the nation. Baverso has also served in a wide range of leadership roles in UPMC, including vice president of operations and chief information officer at UPMC Magee Women's Hospital. Prior to joining UPMC, Baverso worked in a for-profit IT company, focused on education and support of businesses implementing office-based solutions or transitioning staff into new roles. Baverso holds an MBA from Chatham University and a Master's Degree in Information Systems Management from Robert Morris University. He also has a Bachelor of Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Matt Rolfe is the Founder of Results Hospitality, Westshore Hospitality Group, and Matt Rolfe Hospitality Leadership Coaching. Matt is a leadership trainer who has worked with the top ten percent of the hospitality industry toward unlocking their true potential. As founder of the Results Hospitality and Westshore Hospitality Group, he has worked with hundreds of leadership teams throughout North America. Beginning his career with companies like Bacardi and Labatt/Anheuser Busch, Matt has become an industry expert dedicated to helping leaders and team members examine the human element of their businesses and execute effective communication, and team-building training unique to their needs. Additionally, Matt is the author of You Can't Do It Alone: Focusing on People to Scale, Develop and Lead Your Restaurant. Check out Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill as recommended in today's episode. Check out Atomic Habits by James Clear as recommended in today's episode. Today's feature affiliate: Bentobox. In need of a restaurant website? Click this link to find out why so many of my guests use Bentobox! Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and get your first 30 days on me!  Connect with my past guest and a community of superfans. Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!) Favorite success quote or mantra: "You can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself." In this episode with Matt Rolfe we will discuss: Childhood trauma Recognize great behavior Relationship with money The differences between a consultant and a coach How to earn and recognize trust? Today's sponsor: This episode is brought to  you by Plate IQ, your Accounts Payable Automation and Expense Management solution. PateIQ works with 20,000 restaurants across the country. Plate IQ uses OCR "Optical Character Recognition" and Deep Machine Learning to eliminate manual data entry from the AP process. Automate the full life cycle of your invoices from General Ledger coding to bill payment via PlateIQ's VendorPay network. With PlateIQ's VendorPay you can seamless flow from invoice upload to paying your bills. You can earn cashback on invoices from over 180,000 vendors. With Plate IQ Vender Pay, you can see what is due when. Schedule payment by check/ACH/or Plate IQ Card. Lastly, VendorPay is also FOR Vendors. Keeping your vendors happy will give you leverage in negotiating your terms. Vendors participating in Plate IQ's VendorPay network LOVE it because it shortens Day Sales Outstanding by 25% - AKA: Vendors get paid 25% faster. To learn more head to plateIQ.com/unstoppable to get at least 25% off implementation. Fluctuating food prices. Staffing challenges- Now more than ever you need to control costs to remain profitable. MarginEdge is a restaurant management software that lets you see your food and labor costs in real time. By automating your invoice processing and totally digitizing your back office, MarginEdge saves your team hours on paperwork and gives you instant insights to manage your prime costs. Try MarginEdge free for 30 days. No contract. No setup fee. Learn more at marginedge.com/unstoppable   Diageo Bar Academy equips bartenders, servers, managers, and hospitality professionals with the insights, stories, and tools to be better - raising the bar on industry standards. Diageo Bar Academy reaches a diverse audience, with backgrounds and skill levels of all ranges- providing them with skills, knowledge, and the techniques they need to improve their personal and professional lives. Contact info: Website: mattrolfe.com Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you'd like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Matt Rolfe for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time! Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!

Brennan Lagasse is a ski guide, educator, and writer living on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, California. Brennan and Adam have an interesting conversation about our planet, how to do your part and what we can continue to do as individuals to help create a better space for us [...] The post The Pursuit – E63 – Brennan Lagasse appeared first on Out Of Collective.

If every problem is a people problem then you really only need to get better at one thing right? That's why I've called in Matt Rolfe. Matt is a people expert and he's leveraging his 15+ years in this industry to share what the top ten percent do that's fundamentally different from the rest of the us. For more on Matt and his company visit https://mattrolfe.com FULL COMP is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time. ________________________________ CLICK HERE to Chat with Josh Free Download: 5 Steps to Achieve a 15% Net Profit We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out the FULL COMP media universe by visiting: FULL COMP Restaurant Marketing School The Playbook Industry Town Halls

Mandy Anderson, co-founder of Lake Effect Kitchen in Grand Haven, Mich., talks about the ghost kitchen she and her partner started that was inspired by their children with autism and continues to provide learning and professional opportunities for differently abled individuals.    Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (00:00): Welcome to More Than A Mile. Today, you're going to hear from Mandy Anderson, she co-founded Lake Effect Kitchen in Michigan. It's a catering company specifically designed to employ young adults with different abilities like her own son. Listen on to hear how it's going. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (00:17): Welcome to More Than A Mile, a local food podcast from Market Wagon focused on connecting you to local food through farmer stories from across America. I'm Nick Carter, your host, a farmer and CEO and co-founder of Market Wagon. We are your online farmers market with a mission to enable food producers to thrive in their local and regional markets. Food is so much more than just nutrients and calories. It's actually the fabric that holds us together. And I look forward to crafting a generational quilt of farmer stories and experiences, the victories and challenges of individuals, families, and teams doing their part to help democratize food in America. Thanks for joining me for this episode of More Than A Mile, and thank you for buying local food. It's one critical step in making an investment in food for future generations. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:09): Well, my guest today is Mandy Anderson from Lake Effect Kitchen. And I'm looking forward to hearing your story, Mandy. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (01:17): Thanks for having me. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:17): Thanks for joining me. So, Lake Effect Kitchen--you're from the beach side of Michigan. Grand Haven, is that correct? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (01:26): Yep. Sunny Grand Haven. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:28): Okay. Are you from there originally? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (01:30): No, I'm originally from the Metro Detroit area. I moved over to Grand Haven in 2000. My spouse had gotten a job over here in this area and I had actually fallen in love with West Michigan when I was a college student at Hope College a few years prior to that. The beach is beautiful, people are friendly and welcoming, and it's just a nice kind of relaxing sort of vibe. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (01:54): Do you think it's yeah, easier or better to start a small business in a smaller town? Or no? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (02:00): I think there's challenges either way. A bigger city might have more customers for opportunity, but a smaller town--they reach out more, I think, and really try to support small businesses because we know more people, we're more connected since there's--since it's a small town kind of feel. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (02:19): Easier to be connected in the community and have the community support you? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (02:23): That's right. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (02:24): Yeah. I'm a small town kid and now I live in a big city, so I'm always curious. So what sparked you and Aaron to start Lake Effect Kitchen? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (02:33): So Aaron and I each have a child on the autism spectrum. We served for five or six years together on the Board of Autism Society of West Shore, which is now called Autism Support of West Shore, our local autism advocacy organization. So we worked together to provide support for parents living with--and people living with autism. We were working together on all kinds of like family activities, but also trying to focus on the transition age student. So your older teenage student exiting the school system or just exiting high school and needing some kind of next steps: job skills, training, paid employment. A lot of them aren't working when they're still in high school, which isn't ideal. We need to get them out into the workforce and give them those solid job opportunities. So we started looking around for what, how we could support them and what we could do personally to, you know, bring that to life. And we stumbled on a catering business for sale. We thought we'd take the plunge and just kind of go for it. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (03:43): So Lake Effect Kitchen began with buying an existing catering business? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (03:49): Yeah. We bought a facility that had been renovated into a kitchen and so it was in 2017 that we got started. And so the, the business that was here was doing meal prep and catering much like we're doing now. And we just sort of changed the focus a bit to be hiring and training people that have intellectual disabilities, including autism and other types of disabilities. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (04:16): So that's a clear focus in a direction for your company is being able to teach job skills to people who are differently abled. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (04:24): Yes. And employment equity too. We don't pay a sub-minimum wage, which is also called deviated wage. We pay a full wage to all of our employees, no matter what their disability or not disability. And we want to get them out into the community, doing our catering events, delivering food to schools or locations so that people can see that people with disabilities are able to work. They want to work. They make great employees. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (04:55): They make great food. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (04:56): They make great food. So, yeah, and that's a, you know, a great important point. This is the food is excellent and the people that we are employing are doing a great job learning as they go building those confidence skills and getting their first job. For most of them, this is their first job opportunity, their first job experience. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (05:19): Some of them are working on getting their driver's licenses or moving out of their parents' home for the first time. And they might be in their mid-to-late twenties and there's, you know, but we're helping them work toward those goals as well. Work provides that--that dignity, that opportunity to earn and support yourself. And it's also a good social opportunity that we spend a lot of hours at work. And we make friends there and then that can turn into, you know, more social opportunities that they don't always find on their own, especially once they exit the school system. There isn't a lot of opportunity for that if they're not working. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (05:54): Yeah. So you're a for-profit company, is that correct? For-profit business with a mission. That is a challenge. I know because Market Wagon is a for-profit business. We have a mission to enable food producers to thrive, and I know we constantly are coming up against situations where it might seem like it could make us more money to do something that's off mission. Do you ever come across scenarios like that where you have to make the decision to take mission over profit? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (06:26): Definitely because some of our employees need more support and not just learning the job, but to maintain their level of job performance, just retraining and someone to come alongside them. There's a lot of situations where I could just have one non-disabled person doing the job, but I end up paying for two or three people to do that job so that we can create those opportunities for people with disabilities. So there is an additional cost involved in some of this, but I tell people--you know, I went to journalism school. My goal in life was not to be a caterer but--so, you know, the food isn't the reason for this. The mission of employment equity is the reason for that. So we try to focus on keeping our employees in their jobs and supporting that, even though it ends up more costly and hits the bottom line, Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (07:20): The impact is the important part. And the food happens to be a means for you to be able to create that impact. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (07:26): Correct. Yep. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (07:28): Well, that's, that's wonderful. Thanks for sharing that. And so we've talked about the for-profit side of your business Lake Effect Kitchen, that you and Aaron created. Now, there's also a nonprofit arm, is that right? Eat Well, Do Good. And that's a nonprofit. Tell me about that. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (07:43): Correct. We were hitting kind of some of those numbers that weren't looking as good as we'd hoped. So we tried to find how we could bring in more revenue to be able to continue to support these employees and, and bring more jobs. So we decided to start a nonprofit. We had been asked a number of times by a number of different people, why we weren't a nonprofit to begin with. And switching over was gonna be too cumbersome. So we just decided to open a new LLC. I had been using Eat Well, Do Good as sort of our hashtag tagline at Lake Effect Kitchen. So we decided to go with that for the name of the nonprofit. We got our IRS certification last summer. And so now we have the website and socials up and running. The idea behind that is to raise money, to support the mission, not just for Lake Effect Kitchen, but to hopefully be able to provide money for other small businesses in the area who might want to take a chance on hiring some of the young adults in the area with intellectual disabilities. And that way they don't have to put their own money in. We can maybe support them with three or six months worth of wages to give them a chance. And then if it's a good match and everything's working well, then they can take them onto their own payroll. And it'll be a good longer term relationship for the employer and the employee. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (09:09): Very cool. So the two work together: Eat Well, Do Good and Lake Effect Kitchen, kind of compliment one another. And you're also then being able to help other businesses to carry on the same mission that Lake Effect Kitchen has. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (09:22): Yes. That's the goal. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (09:24): That's really neat. So, all right. Let's go back to the business side of things, because I love business. So ghost kitchens--would you consider yourself a ghost kitchen? Is that...? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (09:31): Definitely. We're in a kind of a little funny corner of town. We're not in the downtown high traffic area or anything. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (09:38): So nobody's coming to you. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (09:39): So people do not come here. We used to have pickups for meals. When COVID hit we had to figure out what we were gonna do because we couldn't have, you know, 80 people coming in to pick up their meals every Tuesday. So we just decided to go to a fully only delivery model, which actually has worked out really well. I think people like the convenience of it. They don't have to remember that Tuesday's the day they gotta come and get their food. So there really is not much of an opportunity for people to come to the facility. We are an all production facility. We don't have like seating in front of the house type of anything. It's just, when you walk in, you are in the kitchen. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (10:19): Now I think most people have come to know, especially in business, what a ghost kitchen is since COVID, it kind of popularized it, right? Because delivery became pretty key. And, but you started this, you, you were doing ghost kitchens before ghost kitchens were cool back in 2017. Di you call it that back then? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (10:37): We didn't. I mean, we'd heard a few, a few people start to use that term. People have used the term commissary kitchen, incubator kitchen. There's some other terminology that people use. We weren't using it at first, but it really does do a good job describing, you know, that we are, the facility is kind of invisible. What really matters is the food is going out either to the catering events or wherever. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (11:01): So it's all being consumed off from premise. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (11:02): Right. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (11:03): Okay. Well, one of the ways that it's going out is through Market Wagon, so let's talk about that real quickly. And about your menu. So if a shopper is on Market Wagon, they're gonna take some of your meals home with their local food delivery. What are they gonna find? What kind of stuff do you have out there? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (11:19): Well, our menu changes each week. We do kind of a two month cycle. So we look at what's seasonal [for] ingredients. What kind of vegetables are available in the winter versus, you know, spring and summer? We have a couple of chefs that work on the menu together. So we'll have a couple of different soups. We'll have usually a vegetarian option or two--or a vegan option or two each week. You can order a' la carte or you can subscribe and just kind of get like a meal pack and it'll be a variety of whatever we happen to be making that week. So there's usually something for everybody. There's a whole muscle meat dish, like a, a Salisbury steak or a chicken breast meal or a pork chop kind of a meal, just a real meat and potatoes type of a thing. And then we also have handhelds--our sweet potato burrito is pretty popular. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (12:11): Sweet potato burrito? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (12:12): Yeah. And I'm not a vegetarian, but it is, it's an excellent meal. It's tasty. It's kind of got some new flavors that you might not get at when you think of a burrito, but yeah, the chefs are creative and they come up with some really good, some really good meal options. So there's eight to 10 things available each week. And we try to run the favorites, you know, bring the favorites around every so often. Chicken jalapeno soup is always a popular one. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (12:41): Chicken jalapeno? What's your favorite? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (12:43): I think chicken jalapeno is probably my favorite. It's a cream-based soup. And it's got, it's got a little bit of heat to it, but it's not too overpowering. So, you know, you don't have to go running for the pitcher of water. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (12:54): Right. Jalapeno done right, it's got good flavor. It's not just about the heat, but--I like the flavor of jalapeno too. Yeah. People usually miss that. Okay. We talked to the beginning about your relationship in your community. Have you been able to build relationships on Market Wagon with customers that are shopping with you online too? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (13:12): We have, we have a few customers that email us regularly and just to give us encouragement--and one person even orders our meals regularly to give out to single moms that they happen to encounter and just support other people in their community, which is a great use of our meals. We encourage that for like meal trains. I'm thinking of--I'm involved in the foster care world and we try to provide meals for foster families to kind of ease some of that burden. So we love to see when people are using our service to provide meals, not just for their own family, but for other families who might need them or just need a break. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (13:51): And are you able to get everybody to understand what's behind the food? Like what the mission is that you are carrying out with this menu that, that it's, it's delicious food. It's good food. They should buy because it's good. But are--do you feel like people that are eating your food also understand that they're a part of carrying out this greater good for differently abled individuals that you're employing? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (14:12): I hope so. I mean, we try to highlight some of our employees on our social media and on the Market Wagon newsfeed. We try to talk about what we're doing with the nonprofit and with some of the new things that we have going on, including the food truck that I think we'll talk about pretty soon. And just let people know that this is--it goes beyond food, great food, we all need it. It's fun and tasty and all, but the real reason behind it is to keep people working and engaged in the community. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (14:41): Yeah. Food with the purpose. So, okay. I was getting there, tell me about your food truck. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (14:46): So yeah, so the city of Grand Haven bought a couple of new trollies for the trolley tours that go on around here in the summertime with the tourists and everyone. And so they put the two trolleys that were now out of service up for a bid. And so a bunch of us local businesses put in bids and we were chosen to acquire one of the trolleys. We got blue trolley number four, and we are working on fundraising right now to refurbish that into a food truck. So we're gonna strip out all the seats, put in a hood system, all that good cooking equipment and everything, and hopefully be ready to roll, once the summer season starts--and start serving some food and vending out in the community, Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (15:27): Is it seasonal? I mean, do you have a lot, like a tourist season there on the... Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (15:33): We do. We have a very big tourist season here in Grand Haven, and we have the Coast Guard Festival. We are Coast Guard City USA. So I believe we bring in about a million people for that 10 day festival every summer, and Grand Haven is not a big place, so a million people, it is jam packed, but we have a carnival and all kinds of fun things going on. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (15:55): So it's not a food truck, it's a food trolley. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (15:58): Right, right. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (16:02): Michigan's first-ever food trolley. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (16:03): Right. Right. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's really good looking. It's blue and the woodwork inside is, is really cool looking and everything. So I think it's yeah, it's gonna be a big attention grabber, which is helpful being a ghost kitchen. We don't get a lot of attention on our actual building, which is just a converted house. So it doesn't the looks of that doesn't stand out. So hopefully the trolley is gonna be kind of a showpiece and a fun, you know, historical marker for the city and also serving some tasty food to everyone down on the beachfront in the summer. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (16:37): So I just have these pictures of like a San Francisco trolley. I mean, do you have a bell or do you have a whistle or anything? That'll make it really fun? Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (16:44): There is a bell. There's a string and yeah, we took it--I actually took it with some of my kids and some of our employees on a little tour around town on Sunday, just because I needed practice driving it. It's kind of big . And so we were driving around and I was having my son ring the bell while I was driving through town. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:01): Did you hit anything? Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:02): I didn't, I didn't even hit any curbs, which is a kind of a running joke with my family because I drive a big vehicle anyway and I do hit a lot of curbs, but I didn't this time. So I did well. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:14): My trick--I drive for farming, you know--it's truck and trailer a lot and you never wanna pull--you always wanna know how you're getting out of a street when you pull into a street, when you have to put it in reverse to get back out. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (17:27): Yeah. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:28): You turn cautiously. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (17:29): I tried to not reverse at all. Cause there's no, there's no backup camera. Right? Like my vehicle has a backup, a camera. There's no camera on this thing. , it's just this great big trolley. And it's got like even the front, it's got a cow catcher on the front. So you know, that adds a little extra length that you gotta take into account when you're making those turns. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (17:47): That's great. Will it require any additional training or care with the staff that you work with being in a different scenario? Out into the public and under a lot of pressure, like a quick serve kitchen, it's a different kind of pressure than a ghost kitchen, right? Fast service. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (18:04): Oh definitely. I think that it's gonna be learning curve for all of us. I've never run a food truck before. I've worked in fine dining restaurants, but I've never worked in a quick-serve type of a restaurant. So yeah, we're planning hopefully a month of training and small soft opening kind of events to get everybody up to speed. We'd also like to include an extra position for kind of a greeter person, a host for the food truck, which will be a great position for someone like my son who has autism or someone else that might not really be able to run the cash register or something like that, but can welcome people to the food truck. Talk about you know, why we're doing what we're doing, hand out a little literature or something and just sort of explain, you know, what we're serving that day, what the process is and all of that. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (18:53): That sounds like a great way to get your message and your mission out into the community even more, so congratulations on that next venture. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (18:58): Thanks. Yeah, it's exciting. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (18:59): I'll follow that with interest. Okay. Well aside from looking for the bells and whistles around Grand Haven, listening for the bells, how else can our listeners find you on social media? Where are you at? Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (19:13): We're on social media. We're on Facebook and Instagram and then we also each have a website for Lake Effect Kitchen and for the nonprofit. So LakeEffectKitchen.com and EatWell-DoGood.org. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (19:30): EatWell-DoGood.org and Lake Effect Kitchen on Facebook and Instagram. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (19:35): Yes. And at LakeEffectKitchen.com. Yep. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (19:39): Okay. Well Mandy, thanks so much for joining me today. Mandy Anderson (Lake Effect Kitchen) (19:42): Yeah. Thanks for having me. It was fun. Nick Carter - Host (Market Wagon) (19:50): Thanks for listening to this episode of More Than A Mile. Be sure to sign up for Market Wagon at MarketWagon.com or after downloading the Market Wagon app for iOS or Android. Follow us @MarketWagon on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for stories, recipes, special announcements, news, and just digital handshakes from our friendly farming community. If you enjoyed More Than A Mile, please rate the podcast and write a review on iTunes, CastBox, PodChaser or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Thank you for continuing to support local food.

Spine specialist, Dr. Salvator Tocco in Cleveland shares a patient story from a referral from Dr. James Cox of Fort Wayne.  Dr. Tocco treats the son of a colleague with a disc extrusion and transitional segment with Cox Technic. About Dr. Tocco: Dr. Tocco received his Doctorate of Chiropractic from the esteemed Life University, College of Chiropractic, Marietta, Georgia in 1985. He regularly attends conferences and symposia sponsored by the American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board. Dr. Tocco completed a post–doctoral course of study in rehabilitation; The American Chiropractic Rehabilitation Board currently registers him. Dr. Tocco has attended a post –doctoral course of study in clinical neurology at Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, Missouri and an advance course in spinal related trauma from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego, California. Dr. Tocco is committed and dedicated, personally and professionally, to helping patients in Cleveland and the West Shore communities to realize their optimal health and well being through quality Chiropractic and Spine care. He and his team are continually striving to provide the friendliest, caring, nurturing and professional healthcare possible to meet the individual needs of each patient. Dr. Tocco and over the years has given lectures and seminars for groups, organizations and corporations on chiropractic - spinal care and its benefits. He is available for seminars and lectures. He has been on talk radio and has had articles written about him and his expertise in this field. Resources: Contact Dr. Tocco Find a Back Doctor The Cox 8 Table by Haven Medical More episodes