Podcasts about Yellow pages

Deborah Sass is the CEO & Founder of SpaceVrse, a global space ecosystem connecting industry leaders, innovators, creators, and next-generation talent across more than 150+ countries. Her work focuses on shaping how space is communicated, commercialized, and culturally understood — beyond borders, sectors, and silos. Over the past 25+ years, she's worked across media, entertainment, and technology, partnering with some of the world's most influential organizations — from Mirror Group Newspapers and The Times in the UK, to TV networks including Channels 9, 7 & 10 in Australia, and later with global digital platforms such as Amazon, iTunes, Shazam, and Spotify. She is also a Co-Founder of AstroBridge Advisors, supporting companies, founders, and investors operating across space, emerging technologies, and future-focused industries — helping bridge strategy, capital, and opportunity on a global scale.

"If you're up for it..." Greg Cote made an offer after a few beers several months ago, and now, unfortunately, he has to cash in. Then, Chris eloquently explains the difference between the White Pages and the Yellow Pages, the crew breaks down their first cars, and College Football heads toward a 96-team CFP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don’t miss the AI partnership revolution Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this episode, Vince Menzione sits down with Amit Sinha from WorkSpan and Marc Monday from ServiceNow to dissect the rapid evolution of AI-native partnerships and the shifting dynamics of the channel ecosystem. They explore how the hyperscaler co-sell model has transformed into a complex strategy of asymmetrical collaboration that demands unprecedented speed, simplicity, and scale from publishers. By integrating AI agents to orchestrate workflows, manage high-risk renewals, and automate low-dollar deals, companies can activate their sellers and drive explosive, exponential growth in their partner programs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP4cFBcCI9Q Key Takeaways The partner channel is no longer just a piece of the strategy; it is the entire strategy for winning in 2026. Modern co-selling is an asymmetrical collaboration where publishers must often do more than fifty percent of the heavy lifting. Implementing AI agents within partnerships can lead to massive revenue impacts, such as a 24% higher lift on renewals for companies like Boomi. True scaling requires moving beyond traditional time-and-materials consulting toward outcome-based frameworks for customers. Activating sellers through continuous AI-driven account orchestration is the ultimate key to unlocking exponential ecosystem growth. The market is moving faster than ever, necessitating that partner enablement and roadmaps shift to agile, sprint-based cycles rather than long-term rigid plans. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags AI native, ecosystem shifting, hyperscalers, Work Span, ServiceNow, lifecycle incentives, cloud native, consumption led, DocuSign, Gong, Boomi, workflow orchestration, asymmetrical collaboration, CRM integration, marketplace private offers, high propensity, seller activation, agentic solution, outcome based consulting, LLM control tower. Transcript Amit Sinha and Marc Monday Audio Episode [00:00:00] Marc Monday: We have to be soup drop dead simple and we’re gonna talk about that nice. In this world. It has to be simple. Even though under the covers it’s very complicated, [00:00:10] Vince Menzione: you can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us. The way Hyperscalers are partnering, how AI is remaking the channel and what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: Welcome to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Menzi, own your host. And each week I sit down with leaders at the intersection of technology, partnerships and outcomes. The voices shaping how ecosystems actually work. We talk about what’s real, what’s changing, and what it takes to lead in this era where the partner channel isn’t just part of the strategy. [00:00:43] Vince Menzione: It is the strategy because being in the room [00:00:46] Marc Monday: changes everything. Let’s start. [00:00:52] Vince Menzione: And, uh, two incredible friends up on, uh, up on stage. But I think I’m just gonna have my, one of my first friends come up. Amit Sinha from Work Span, a great, great friend and supporter. We’ve been together since the beginning, since the very first ultimate partner in Dallas when we commandeered Microsoft facility. [00:01:12] Amit Sinha: Yeah, [00:01:12] Vince Menzione: you have a little bit that you’re gonna share first and then we’re all gonna come join you. [00:01:16] Amit Sinha: Absolutely. And [00:01:17] Vince Menzione: then we’re gonna have my other great friend, mark Monday on us on stage with us as well. So yeah, [00:01:21] Amit Sinha: what a privilege. Uh, what a privilege. Vince, you do an amazing job as a community and, uh, incredible. [00:01:27] Amit Sinha: Shout out to Alexandra. Uh, we work together at Cisco talking about lifecycle incentives across the whole lifecycle. So amazing work done there as well. So. Very quickly, I’m gonna talk to you about AI native partnerships. A quick motivation. That’s me. Of course, we are using Nano banana to cover that. [00:01:45] Amit Sinha: That’s me looking up a Yellow Pages. I will date myself. That’s, uh, McDonald’s coming to India and me looking up, uh, the nearest McDonald’s, right? And this is me now booking Uber Eats Ma and I had this real experience yesterday night. I flew in from Sapphire in Orlando and I was hungry. Ma said, let’s, let’s get Uber Eats. [00:02:06] Amit Sinha: And we had a great. De this is digital native, right? We had no idea the world would transform this way, but completely new ways of working. Okay. Um, and, uh, another great experience that Mike, my co-founder and CEO seated the back half, I spent a decade at SAP, uh, doing hana, which was a database product, but it was on premise. [00:02:28] Amit Sinha: We had these racks and our whole gig was actually take an amazing HANA database with this server mounted, deployed. Wow. The CIO and the CFO, that this is the most amazing thing. And they would not say, Hey, you can’t take that box away, because it’s such a good insight that I get for my, uh, analytics product, right. [00:02:47] Amit Sinha: So that’s the old way. And look at us. We are all cloud native, right? Cloud has gotten to a place where it’s not just about infrastructure, running things and meters and stuff like that in a scalable way. It is a also source of innovation. New capability, new business model, consumption led business model. [00:03:07] Amit Sinha: Whole new way of working, right? So this comes to the new world now, what does AI need to look like? We heard all the amazing speakers talk about, uh, you know, the promise of ai, right? But you have a choice. Uh, you have a choice to do it yourself or, uh, especially as partnership professionals, right? When you do it yourself, you have this chat bots and stuff that you get from all the major. [00:03:33] Amit Sinha: You can always get more productive, but that’s about half an hour saved. The bar is too low there. So this is an amazing piece of, uh, research put together by all the experts. Vince, thank you for doing that. Uh, we had Jay McBain lend his voice as well. We had Rob Moyer with all his, uh, decades of, you know, insight and wisdom as to what would the future with AI look like, uh, encapsulate in that. [00:03:57] Amit Sinha: So go ahead, take a picture. Uh, this is not gated. Um, beautiful piece of content has also new insights from leading firms. AI native, I would dare say frontier firms who are like DocuSign or Gong who are really pioneering AI native partnerships, Boomi, and how they’re powering their renewal business case across AWS Google and Microsoft Marketplaces. [00:04:21] Amit Sinha: Uh, this really talks about that. And here, uh, this is the thought leadership that we bring to the table. And again, this is not a vendor pitch. This is, you know, as you elevate from the low bar about making yourself productive where you’re cut and paste, uh, into a chatbot, your context so that you can get a better co-sell email out there. [00:04:40] Amit Sinha: You DIY, this thing. But if you think of working with works span, these are three things that you should think about. First is imagine instead of cut and paste, you have your entire partnership context right there. And because the context is there, the right better together story, the right case study, the right partnership documents, the right opportunity and accounts that intelligence not only informs you, but also your team in a, in an extended way, and even your partnership in an extended way that’s fully automated. [00:05:13] Amit Sinha: Second is it’s not just informing you or sensing you, it is also acting. And I think this is where there are, you know, death by a thousand cuts if happening in the world where all this time gets taken up, right? But if you have an agent that scales in ly, whether you are big mature partnership, you got lots and lots of accounts and opportunities to cover, the agent can do that. [00:05:36] Amit Sinha: Or if you’re a new partnership, how do you get to market quickly? With the right assets, the right get to market content. This can work both ways. And lastly, how do you secure this partnership is done in trust. So you should have an agent for every partnership, uniquely your partnership with Microsoft, your partnership with ServiceNow, your partnership with uh, AWS and Google. [00:05:59] Amit Sinha: They all get a different agent. And the point here is these agents can work in a circle of trust and the boundary that gets established. So via work span, come talk to us outside. And with that, Vince, let’s uh, bring Mark along. Come on, mark. [00:06:17] Vince Menzione: Alright. I am gonna have you and then Mark, uh, yeah. Want mark in the middle? [00:06:22] Marc Monday: Oh, uh oh. [00:06:24] Vince Menzione: So, uh, let me move over so I get back to the picture slide. Look at those two handsome gentlemen up there. Uh, thrilled to have you Mark as well. Uh, for those of you who don’t, because you’ve been, you were just in Boca with us this Yeah. This winter. [00:06:39] Marc Monday: That’s right. [00:06:40] Vince Menzione: And, uh, tell us about your new role at ServiceNow. [00:06:43] Marc Monday: Well, I have the absolute privilege of leading the partner channel at ServiceNow. Yeah. Um, it’s comprised of our partner programs, our program gives and gets, and importantly our five routes to market, our consulting and implementation partners, our resell partners, our service provider partners, our hyperscaler partners, and importantly our build partners. [00:07:03] Vince Menzione: I love it. I love it. So let’s talk about the partner programs and why they’re so critical to ServiceNow right now. [00:07:08] Marc Monday: I think in this world scale is everything, and so this profession has always been a bit mercurial and a little bit of a black box for organizations. What does the partner team do? What does that look like? [00:07:21] Marc Monday: But what we have to continue to do is explain, this is your force multiplier. Working together in collaboration helps you scale beyond your individual numbers. And that’s really the thing that we’re focused on is how do we drive that? And I have three big things that we have to focus on is we have to be sup, drop dead simple, and we’re gonna talk about that [00:07:40] Vince Menzione: nice. [00:07:41] Marc Monday: In this world, it has to be simple. Even though under the covers it’s very complicated. We have to be incredibly fast. Agility is the key in this very moment. And then as I said, with that becomes the scaling element and the force multiplier. [00:07:56] Vince Menzione: And you have spent many, you, well, we both worked at Microsoft together. [00:07:59] Vince Menzione: It’s [00:07:59] Marc Monday: true. [00:07:59] Amit Sinha: Way back way. [00:08:00] Marc Monday: I feel like you’re punking me having me right before lunch. Like I remember back at Microsoft, you did something to me, so I’m gonna have you right before lunch. [00:08:07] Vince Menzione: It’s, no, it’s really terrific to have you. But, uh, so yeah, you, you mentioned about like the change and the specificity and the clarity around it. [00:08:16] Vince Menzione: Amme you have, uh, broken the model, so to speak, working with ServiceNow, right? Yeah. You went from being a traditional. I’ll call it co-sell Engine Marketplace Company. Uh, tell us, tell us, tell us about the innovation that’s going on in the room. We’re working with ServiceNow. [00:08:31] Amit Sinha: Absolutely. Uh, when you think of co-sell, the first mine goes to just co-sell with the hyperscalers, right? [00:08:36] Amit Sinha: Because they kind of pioneered and started this in a unique way. We, of course, got started with Microsoft eight years ago, doing not just co-sell and P two P, but since then AW S and Google right. You would be surprised to know that we do about 10% of AWS sales through work, expand co-sale. Right. Just [00:08:53] Vince Menzione: wow. [00:08:53] Amit Sinha: But that’s where we started. Where we ended up is really looking at all partner types and all motion types and. Mark and I disagreed and he, he really pushed me hard on this. Yeah, and the point here is if you look at your build partner motion, it’s also a co-sell. You build, then you co-sell and go to market, [00:09:11] Vince Menzione: right? [00:09:12] Amit Sinha: If you think about your services partners, right? You have a product. They have amazing last mile services and digital transformation. Uh, capabilities, and again, there’s a coastal motion there. So where we world works span eventually was not just coastal with hyperscalers, but across all partner types. And Mark, thank you for pushing us on that. [00:09:31] Amit Sinha: Yeah. And being a pioneering partner on works span with us. I really appreciate [00:09:34] Marc Monday: this. It was a fun rumble we got there. [00:09:37] Vince Menzione: So why does it matter now for ServiceNow specific? [00:09:40] Marc Monday: Yeah. I mean the reality is, um, I’m gonna say something provocative. We’re, we’re all friends. Yeah. Um, Cosell iss probably a misnomer. It’s not a 50 50 coequal relationship. [00:09:53] Vince Menzione: Yeah. You don’t walk in together holding it back. [00:09:55] Marc Monday: It’s asymmetrical collaboration. I love that. And I want to put the stake in the ground. The co-sell motions that have been created by the hyperscalers are wonderful. The pipe has been opened, but the reality is the publisher. Has to do a lot of the work and the systems are there, but the key is not just connecting into partner center as an example. [00:10:16] Marc Monday: Yeah. But building your own infrastructure and processes. That’s where the magic comes together, and that’s where we really drive scale. And so if we approach co-selling is asymmetrical collaboration and recognizing that you probably need to do more than 50%. When a, when a a team collaborates on co-authoring a book, it’s not like someone’s writing every other word, and it’s exactly 50%. [00:10:40] Marc Monday: Or if a pilot, a co-pilot is with a pilot on a plane, they’re not doing exactly 50% of the work’s, [00:10:46] Vince Menzione: right? No. [00:10:47] Marc Monday: This asymmetric approach requires that we do a lot of the work on our side. Yeah. And that’s where AM and team have really helped us a ton. [00:10:55] Vince Menzione: And ServiceNow was known as a ticketing solution back in the day. [00:10:58] Vince Menzione: Right. And you’ve kind of, I mean, it it, it started that way. [00:11:01] Marc Monday: We have a wonderful heritage 20 plus years Yeah. Of workflow orchestration. Yeah. And in a diggen world, what are we really doing? We’re orchestrating workflows, and importantly, we need to govern those workflows and we need to sequence them in a meaningful way. [00:11:17] Marc Monday: And so our vision of a control tower across any hyperscaler, any LLM, any workflow, any system of record, any time, that’s the key to everything. [00:11:27] Vince Menzione: And so now you’ve taken the work span approach and driven it across what I see, like taking, taking this. This stack, we’ll call it. Yeah, the tower. Yeah. And then applying all of the methodologies and best practices on what we’ve called co-selling and ecosystem orchestration, essentially is what it really is. [00:11:46] Amit Sinha: Absolutely. [00:11:46] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:11:47] Amit Sinha: Yeah. And we are thrilled to partner with ServiceNow on this. So ServiceNow, as you guys know, uh, release their CRM product. So we got in at the ground floor on that opportunity and with the now assist agents as well. What we’ve really built is an integration between work span as a platform. [00:12:03] Amit Sinha: And ServiceNow, CRM as well. So if anybody is using that all the way from ServiceNow opportunities to Marketplace private offers, you can a genetically do that. Of course you can do it on Salesforce Hub, spot and Dynamics, but now ServiceNow is an additional option on that. I wanna really double click though, mark, on your point around asymmetry around this, when we say six to seven partners are gonna surround the end customer, right? [00:12:27] Amit Sinha: Yes. They will come at different points in time. Yes. Right? And they will also have different roles to play. So just as you think of a team, right? A soccer team for that matter, or a football team, pick your analogy right. Not everybody’s equal. Right? There’s always a qb. There’s always somebody who holds the prime on the deal. [00:12:45] Amit Sinha: There’s always a role to play. [00:12:46] Marc Monday: Yeah, [00:12:47] Amit Sinha: and I think what’s beautiful about our partnership here is when you look at it applied to services partners, it’s about building billion dollar businesses around ServiceNow, using their competency, but knowing the kind of joint accounts you need to go pursue in order to. [00:13:03] Amit Sinha: You know, burn down their inventory or, or co-sell alongside. If it’s the build partner, it’s about attacking an industry vertical or a joint account there. Right? So knowing very intelligently who to partner with and when to bring them on is the AI orchestration that is key in this partnership [00:13:19] Vince Menzione: here. Yeah. [00:13:19] Vince Menzione: So important. ’cause you, it isn’t single threaded this, this asymmetrical approach. [00:13:24] Amit Sinha: Right. So [00:13:25] Vince Menzione: incredible. You just ha you just finished your big event. I was hoping I did spare Share with us a little bit of your perspective on what’s been changing and how your ecosystem is evolving. Uh, I had Jen Odes in the studio. [00:13:38] Vince Menzione: That’s right. As you know, back in the fall. Fall, go back and watch it again. Yeah, it’s available. Great. Great podcast interview. Yeah. And you’ve been on stage at our events before and we’ve had that as a podcast, but take us how things are changing from the partner type perspective. We have MSPs in the room. [00:13:53] Vince Menzione: I know MSPs are, I know again, hands on the steering wheel. So important, right? Yeah. This technology is so complex. How are you thinking about ecosystem in your role? [00:14:03] Marc Monday: Yeah, I said earlier it’s about simplicity, speed, and scale. Yeah. Last week we had our big customer event knowledge, and on the first day we had our partner event. [00:14:13] Marc Monday: I think the biggest thing that’s happening right now is the pace of change is a bit overwhelming at times. And keeping pace with that is super critical. So what we’ve tried to do and what we announced last week was a lot of investment in giving our channel partners the exact same tools that we use in our business, right? [00:14:32] Marc Monday: So we were really focused on. Um, delivering business value. And so we took our, the solution that we use or the tools that we use for, um, delivering, uh, business value through our partners. It’s an assessment tool. Um, we’ve syndicated that to our partners. We’ve made that available. We also put a little bit of a stake in the ground around what do customers expect right now? [00:14:56] Marc Monday: Um, the time and materials business is gonna be under a tremendous amount of pressure. Some studies are predicting that it could be. Compressed by as much as 30% customers are looking for outcome based. Yeah. Um, they may stop on that journey and, and have something that’s fixed fee. But the reality is everyone is expecting value from the, the technology that they buy, and particularly from an agent perspective. [00:15:21] Marc Monday: We really leaned in on that and published what I think is a pretty good framework mm-hmm. For, um, outcome-based consulting. And we had a couple partners co-author that with us, which was really wonderful. Nice. Um, and it was a nice piece of co-creation and I think I’m seeing more and more of that where we’re co-creating with our partners in ways that we’ve never done before. [00:15:41] Marc Monday: And then I think importantly, security and reliability, um, and managing risk increasingly will be important. In an agentic world, we call it a control tower. We made two fairly big acquisitions in the last several months in terms of both the front door and the back door in terms of securing with the calls that are going into that agent or from that agent. [00:16:04] Marc Monday: To your various data sources. And so for us trying to bring that all together with our strong history of workload flow, orchestration, and then importantly, governance, security, and risk, uh, in the environment today, when you have the potential for hundreds of thousands or even millions of agents touching your core systems of record, [00:16:24] Vince Menzione: how are you thinking about both tiering your partners and also enabling your partners? [00:16:30] Marc Monday: Yeah, I think this is also an, an an area where I’d love to benchmark with y’all, um, because, you know, historically most of us built a fairly robust learning plan for our partners. You’d have a certification and then you would have a competency, and then you, maybe you’d have a wrapper around that competency. [00:16:48] Marc Monday: And it would take a long time, maybe 12 or 18 months to get to that highest level of certification. And it was incredibly robust and that’s wonderful. But when the roadmap is moving so fast that we’re releasing weekly, monthly, and every 90 days, does that type of training still hold water? So I’m proposing that we have both a volume view of how many trained individuals can we get as quickly as possible, and then value. [00:17:16] Marc Monday: And so we don’t want to lose this rich history, what I would describe as the rear view mirror, how we got here, but we also need to approach the windscreen, the windshield, where are we going and what is that opportunity? Yeah, so we have to go a little bit faster when it comes to enablement, [00:17:32] Vince Menzione: so. You, you were in a partnership, you, you call it a built on partnership. [00:17:37] Vince Menzione: Is that, is that the approach that [00:17:38] Amit Sinha: Yeah. ServiceNow has an ISV program called The Built On Partnership. Built On [00:17:41] Vince Menzione: Partnership, yeah. [00:17:42] Amit Sinha: Uh, so we sign onto that program, great accelerators to build lot of coaching and help to build on the ServiceNow platform. It’s not just the CRM integration, where it’s the opportunities and orders. [00:17:54] Amit Sinha: And by the way, this is the best platform or order management out there. So if you think of, uh, of your, if you are a MSP or consulting partner, building orders for your customers, now you want them to land on the marketplace, right? You wanna build that highway. Think of work span, right? So that’s where we came in and we said that if we look at the large number of channel partners, MSPs, who need to do that and are using ServiceNow as a platform to do it, can they genetically do it right from the now CRM? [00:18:24] Amit Sinha: Yeah, so that’s why we came in. The three big use cases we saw, number one was renewals. You talked about Alexandra doing it. Renewals is so [00:18:31] Vince Menzione: important. Yeah. [00:18:32] Amit Sinha: Oh my goodness. If you think about the renewals playbook [00:18:34] Vince Menzione: was so huge, [00:18:35] Amit Sinha: six months, nine, you know, uh, 90 days out, you wanna build that playbook. Mm-hmm. In an agent way when you reach out. [00:18:43] Amit Sinha: And by the way, you heard, uh, die Talk about 462 billion of uncontested Cloud commits out there. Yep. You want your high risk renewals to go against the high propensity to buy accounts. Right. So imagine that matchmaking, if you were to do it humanly, it’ll take you days. If you had an agent to do it like the now assist agent, it can just be done like that. [00:19:06] Amit Sinha: So that was the first use case we went after. Nice. The second one was the low dollar automation. We all have businesses that we land, right? Sub 50 K deals, so we have inside sales teams calling on those customers all day long. So now imagine a Gentech solution where you take all those low dollar deals and again, tie to the marketplace. [00:19:26] Amit Sinha: How can you have express private offers, right, from your opportunities? So those were the two use cases that we went after first and boy, uh, we got some amazing results, [00:19:36] Vince Menzione: I bet [00:19:36] Amit Sinha: for one of these companies, Boomi, we showed that 24% higher lift on renewals. That’s like hundreds of millions in impact just in one year alone. [00:19:46] Vince Menzione: And using AI internally as obviously you’re an AI company. Yeah. How are you thinking about how’s the impact of AI helping the partner function within ServiceNow? [00:19:54] Marc Monday: I, I think there’s this really wonderful opportunity right now where in the short term, we’re taking busy work out of the partner management profession. [00:20:05] Marc Monday: Um, partner managers historically have spent a lot of time chasing data and chasing information and really acting as an ombudsman for the partner within the organization. That work is very quickly. Getting identified. That’s phase one. The thing I’m actually a little more excited about is when it can expand the horizon to have different types of conversations, expanding the partnerships, expanding the multi-partner oppor opportunities. [00:20:29] Marc Monday: That, for me is the next phase, but we, I believe we are the most progressive when it comes to using AI on ourselves and really trying to take the profession to the next level. [00:20:40] Vince Menzione: Nice. Well, I was gonna, I was gonna, I want to go back to the platform again. ’cause you, you’re, you’re starting, you, you mentioned renewals, you’re mentioning some of the success. [00:20:50] Vince Menzione: What else can you point to on the success side, [00:20:52] Amit Sinha: there’s some, uh, amazing research that Sam here has done, uh, with all the data that Wepan has. So we looked at close to a million opportunities and, uh, looked at all the companies doing well. And we actually tabulated how many sellers are engaged on co-sell, not the partnering team, but how many end sellers. [00:21:11] Amit Sinha: This shows the extent of the transformation that the company has gone through, and what we found was amazing. If more than 50% of your sellers have engaged on 10 or more deals, your ecosystem is exponential. It doesn’t need the kind of the doctoring or the prod or the push to kind of say, Hey, use partners. [00:21:31] Amit Sinha: The sellers get it themselves, right? So we, we did this analysis and found like, wow, how can we then get sellers to activate? And the bottleneck that we found was. That there are not enough partner managers to assist every seller in the world. I think that seller activation is the unlock that AI can do. [00:21:50] Amit Sinha: Imagine if you have a partner agent sitting on every account and every opportunity 24 by seven, right? As the world changes, as the world evolves, as the solutions come in. As you know, market events happen. These agents are listening, positioning the right. One of those six partners, or all six partners for that matter, in front of people. [00:22:10] Amit Sinha: So I feel like that that big unlock is seller activation. Yeah. So if all partner managers do with ai, next is one. Of course, get yourself skilled up and yourself productive. But next, direct it to your own internal sales teams and get them activated on your partnerships because that’s where you will move the revenue lever the fastest, in my opinion. [00:22:30] Vince Menzione: Fantastic. What advice do you have for whether they be ISV partners or other partners in the room? ’cause we have partners of all types here. Yeah. What would you have, what would you say to them that need to do differently or better? [00:22:43] Marc Monday: Yeah. [00:22:44] Vince Menzione: Starting today, [00:22:46] Marc Monday: I, I don’t wanna be a broken record, but I would just say go faster. [00:22:48] Marc Monday: However fast you think you’re going, it’s not enough. Yeah. Um, the reality is I think Bill McDermott says like, the market’s never been this fast before and it will never be this slow again. Oh. The reality is this is the pace we run at, and the only way we can run at this pace is if we have the agents doing much of the work for us. [00:23:09] Marc Monday: So I would say go faster. The second thing I would say is automating a bad process is a bad process. So really go and interrogate the workflow that you’re actually thinking about identifying. I’ve seen too many instances from partners and partnerships where you’re taking a bad process and you’re trying to build automation. [00:23:29] Marc Monday: Go back and deconstruct it or start fresh blank piece of paper. Um, again, to my metaphor of the rear view mirror and the wind screen, like it’s, we should honor the past. We’ve done a wonderful job in the last 30 years of building all of this stuff. It’s just not built for this speed. So we need to really stay focused on what’s in front of us. [00:23:49] Vince Menzione: We talked a little bit earlier in one of the other sessions about the playbook and the three year plan, and then maybe moving to sprints. That’s right. How are you, how are you thinking? Are you thinking along the same lines? A [00:23:59] Marc Monday: hundred percent. Uh, we need to move at the pace. Sorry, I’m, we need to move at the pace that the roadmap is moving. [00:24:05] Marc Monday: So if we’re doing weekly, monthly, and quarter releases, we don’t wanna whipsaw the channel. We have to be careful of that. But the reality is, if we’re pivoting our product strategies or release strategies on a quarterly basis. We have to have that same level of agility. That’s where the people who’ve grown up in this profession taking really complicated stuff and making it simple is so critical. [00:24:26] Vince Menzione: Ami, you touched on AI’s role in the partner function. But let’s expand on that. What, what’s it gonna look like in two years? If AI becomes, will it replace the partner function? What, what do you see happening? [00:24:38] Amit Sinha: Absolutely not. I think, uh, we are seeing this evolution and, and you can see the parallels in the engineering organization. [00:24:44] Amit Sinha: When Claude Cursor came along, you saw engineering completely transformed as to how products are now built. How they are, how product managers write PRDs, how engineers actually code this, you know, code the scaffolding all the way to the user experience, how it’s tested. Everything has fundamentally changed. [00:25:01] Amit Sinha: So if you went and asked the engineering leader, how will your role change? Right? Imagine answering that question today, right? It’s fundamentally different. I feel like it’s coming to every function. Whether you want it or not, it’s coming to every function. And the partnership leader will look like the partnership operator that Rob talks about. [00:25:19] Amit Sinha: Yes. It’ll be about orchestrating real time relationships at the account level, at the opportunity level, and being a hands-on person. Uh, i, I would say even at the leadership level or down to partner managers, how can you cover the breadth of accounts and opportunities that’s out there to, for you to prosecute? [00:25:36] Amit Sinha: It’ll not look like I’m managing a partnership. It’ll not look like, Hey, I have to offer an MDF. It’ll not look like, Hey, let’s do A QBR, you know, and get all the teams engaged because that’ll be too late essentially. So this operator perspective is what’s gonna change just as it changed in engineering, it’s gonna happen in partnerships [00:25:56] Vince Menzione: perspective as well. [00:25:57] Marc Monday: Big plus one on what Rob’s talking about. I, I, I’m a big fan of that and I love this idea of using what’s happening in the developer world as an analog for where we’re going. Yeah. Um, I met a product manager last week and she was saying that she was producing 30 or 40 product requirement docs every week. [00:26:14] Marc Monday: Um, that’s remarkable output and she can only do that because of the way she’s leveraging ai. The same will be true for a partner manager, a 10 x, a 20 x, a 30 x on each individual once we get to that stage, and it will happen very quickly. [00:26:29] Amit Sinha: Yeah. Imagine putting a hundred joint account plans together in a day. [00:26:33] Amit Sinha: Yep. [00:26:33] Vince Menzione: Right. Incredible. [00:26:34] Amit Sinha: Imagine putting like five connections on an opportunity just surrounding your deal right now. Right. Doing that. [00:26:41] Vince Menzione: I couldn’t even, I, I couldn’t even imagine. I know you couldn’t even imagine when we were back in the days we were running PAMs and Yeah, totally. Those resources, what they had to do and what’s all totally automated today. [00:26:52] Marc Monday: It. It’s true, it’s true. I was, um, I was bemoaning this, I’ve been on the road a lot lately and I was like telling my wife, like, I long for the days where you have one meeting and you go, you know, you go to New York and you do a two hour QBR and you go to a nice dinner and then maybe you walk around Central Park. [00:27:06] Marc Monday: The reality is you’re doing a hundred of those every single day. It’s a different era. That’s where we need to get the tools to work for people. [00:27:15] Amit Sinha: Mark, I love your analogy around the rear view mirror versus the windshield. Mm-hmm. You have to see through the windshield. [00:27:20] Marc Monday: We do. We do. It’s amazing. Don’t be afraid. [00:27:23] Marc Monday: I, I mean, I would just say do not be afraid. Be excited. We in this room, get to lead the path. Yeah. It is an absolute privilege. [00:27:32] Vince Menzione: So insightful, gentlemen, you’ve been incredible to be on stage with today. Uh, I we have a le a little less than a minute. I was hoping maybe if there was like one question we could take. [00:27:42] Vince Menzione: I got John with a mic and then it’s lunchtime after this, so [00:27:48] Marc Monday: ask on because he can be more pithy. [00:27:50] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:27:55] Vince Menzione: Well, you’re both are gonna be around here. I hope [00:27:57] Marc Monday: we will be here. [00:27:58] Vince Menzione: Mark didn’t have you got to sleep in your own bed last night? [00:28:00] Marc Monday: Uh, yeah. It was a long day, but yes. I thank you for, it was very late. Thank you so much. Let’s put this on the record. Marks down. We’re having the event in Bellevue. That was great. [00:28:09] Marc Monday: We’re gonna [00:28:09] Amit Sinha: bring it back. We’re gonna bring it back to Bellevue. [00:28:12] Marc Monday: Seven mile commute is the best trip that I’ve had in many, many weeks. [00:28:17] Amit Sinha: Thank you. Well, thank you, gentlemen. It [00:28:19] was [00:28:19] Marc Monday: incredible. [00:28:20] Vince Menzione: Thanks for listening to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. If today’s conversation resonated, share it with a partner leader in your network. [00:28:28] Vince Menzione: Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the Ultimate partner.com for show notes related content and the resources for this episode. And if you haven’t already, now’s the time to register for the Ultimate Partner Live event in Reston, Virginia, [00:28:44] Marc Monday: October [00:28:45] Vince Menzione: 26th through October 28th. Until next time. Keep showing up in the rooms that matter because being in the room changes everything.

Running an Australian eCommerce or Shopify store? Your customers have started shopping inside ChatGPT, and shoppers arriving from AI answer engines convert around 1.5x better than any other source.Melbourne eCommerce Aus Event - Tickets Here. Online shopping has become… boring? A recent Criteo study found 77% of Australians describe online shopping as unexciting, and that's just the starting point for one of our most forward-looking conversations yet.Ryan sits down with Matt Hurle from Criteo to unpack the findings of their latest report and what they mean for anyone running an eCommerce business in Australia. Matt brings 20 years in advertising, 15 in digital and 10 in martech, from cold-calling rural businesses out of the Yellow Pages to sitting at the front edge of AI-powered retail media.The big theme: the path to purchase is no longer linear. Consumers are bouncing between publishers, retailer sites, social platforms and AI answer engines like ChatGPT, and increasingly starting their entire shopping journey inside those answer engines, at the very first spark of an idea. Criteo was the first technology company integrated with OpenAI via API and has already run 2,000+ campaigns in that environment. Early signal? Shoppers arriving from ChatGPT convert about 1.5x more efficiently than any other source.We also get into the eternal marketer's tension Ryan sums up perfectly: "The thing I love about digital marketing is you can track every dollar. The thing I hate about digital marketing is you can track every dollar." Attribution, brand vs. performance, the resurgence of SEO (or GEO/AIO, whatever we're calling it this week), influencer strategy, and why customer support and honest reviews now beat polished influencer content for building real trust.Key TakeawaysThe funnel is dead — long live discovery. Consumers now begin shopping journeys inside AI answer engines, far earlier than the traditional mid-to-lower funnel signals marketers relied on. Brands need to show up higher up the discovery journey.Commerce data is the new gold standard. Moving away from demographics and guesswork toward real commerce signals — what people add to cart, actually buy, and browse before and after. Criteo observes 1T+ in annual eCommerce transactions across 730M+ daily active shoppers.Show up across surfaces, not just your own. Criteo's independence means it serves ads on whichever "surface" (open web, ChatGPT, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, X) is most likely to convert — not a walled-garden's owned inventory.ChatGPT shoppers convert ~1.5x better. They've researched and validated inside the answer engine, so trust is high by the time they land.SEO/GEO/AIO matters more than ever. As search shifts from keywords to full-sentence, conversational queries, rich product data and verifiable messaging determine whether you appear in AI answers — or get left out of the consideration set entirely.Trust beats polish. Verified reviews and genuine customer support now outweigh paid influencer content. 200 five-star reviews can be less trusted than a 4.7 average. Reply to bad reviews honestly. (Ryan's Nero merino example and Matt's Artisan chopping-board recall story both make the point.)Match the influencer to the job to be done. Celebrities drive reach and exposure; micro-influencers drive engaged, community-level trust and conversion. Different jobs, different tiers.AI answer engines stay out of sensitive categories. OpenAI keeps advertising away from health-related matters, directing people back to their GPs.

Brian Peterson is currently Digital Marketing Director at the top tier sample company, EMI Research Solutions, where he has been for the past 9 years. He's also the long-time host of the Intellicast podcast.We talk synthetic data, digital twins and training data. But we also discuss our respective experiences with the Yellow Pages, the Dallas Stars and what it's like to be a Canadian raising a family in the US, eh?

In this episode, Donnie and Dan discuss how the traditional customer journey—web searching, reviewing multiple companies, and contacting businesses directly—is going away due to AI, comparing it to the shift from Yellow Pages to Google. Donnie also does a live demo of an AI agent researching and recommending local services, and he explains how business owners should respond to this shift in consumer behavior.    Hosts: Dan Gordon, PCO Bookkeepers & M&A Specialists: https://pcobookkeepers.com/ Donnie Shelton, Triangle Home Services: https://trianglehomeservices.com/ Sponsors: Coalmarch: https://www.coalmarch.com/podcast PestSure: https://www.pestsure.com/ Voice for Pest: https://www.voiceforpest.com/podcast Forshaw: https://www.forshaw.com/ PestPac by WorkWave: https://www.pestpac.com/pmpindustryinsiders Peer Groups: https://www.pmpindustryinsider.com/peergroups Insiders Conference:  https://www.pmpindustryinsider.com/conference

SEASON: 6 EPISODE: 36Episode Overview:Welcome back to Becoming Preferred, the podcast for ambitious entrepreneurs and business professionals who want to level up their game and become the best version of you.Every week, we talk about how to become preferred, but let me ask you a tough question: You might be building a brand that customers love, but are you building a business that an investor would actually buy?Whether you're an established entrepreneur looking for an exit strategy, an investor looking for high-yield cash flow, or a professional wanting to skip the startup phase and buy an existing company, today's episode is your ultimate playbook.Joining us is David C. Barnett, an international private transaction consultant, 3-time best-selling author, and the master strategist behind 11 books on business acquisitions, financing, and valuation.Today, we are pulling back the curtain on how businesses are actually bought, sold, and valued in the real world. Join me now for my conversation with David Barnett.Guest Bio: David Barnett has been working with small and medium sized businesses for over 20 years. He has helped entrepreneurs buy and sell them. He has helped them grow. He has helped people finance them.David is the host of a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos about buying, selling, financing and managing small and medium sized businesses and can be found anytime at his blog site www.DavidCBarnett.com.Resource Links:Website: www.DavidCBarnett.comDavid's Books: https://www.investlocalbook.com/p/buy-book.htmlProduct Link: https://www.investlocalbook.com/p/courses.htmlInsight Gold Timestamps:03:13 It seems very obvious to me, and I didn't understand why they didn't see what I saw07:07 I was with the Yellow Pages for about seven years, it was fantastic10:46 If they don't pay for it, they don't value it13:54 People seem to have a lack of imagination19:06 All you're doing if you overpay for a business is you're trading startup risk for financing risk20:40 There isn't anyone who is cautious, intelligent, and wise who's willing to write a check for that business23:23 Would you like to hear some sobering statistics?24:53 Cashing out of a business is something that happens in Silicon Valley, i's, it's really a unicorn story29:15 Let me get something absolutely clear, it is possible for somebody to buy a business with none of their own money30:15 How do you expect to trade nothing for something of great value...31:28 I'll say, "What's the debt to equity ratio on your opening balance sheet?"34:27 Do you know what it's called when you run a household profitably38:57 Can you invest in a small business and outperform things like the stock market and all those other kinds of things?41:05 You can actually get paid to learn about businesses by going and working there43:25 Whether or not you're going to be able to sell your business comes down to two questions46:01 The top 5 reasons small, privately controlled businesses go up for sale are...43:37 You authored a book called 21 Stupid Things People Do When Trying to Buy a Business47:05 You become the end of all blame-chains49:08 If you're buying, selling, or starting, davidcbarnett.comConnect Socially:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbarnettmoncton/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidCBarnettInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dbarnettmoncton/Email: info@alpatlantic.comSponsors: Rainmaker LeadGen Platform Demo: https://calendar.summit-learning.com/widget/booking/JKItVP7WErmCBjU2cCIxRainmaker Digital Solutions: https://www.rainmakerdigitalsolutions.com/

In this episode, Bill chats with Pam Rowley of Best Friends Pets as she celebrates an incredible 40 years in dog grooming. From starting out in the days of “poodle parlours”, Yellow Pages adverts and hand shears, to becoming an educator, examiner and long-standing business owner, Pam shares a fascinating look at how the grooming industry has changed over the decades.This conversation explores the evolution of grooming equipment, training, customer expectations, marketing, pricing and professionalism. Pam also shares honest reflections on what it takes to build confidence as a groomer, charge your worth, adapt as the industry changes, and keep your passion for dogs at the heart of your business.A brilliant episode for groomers who want perspective, reassurance and a reminder that grooming can be a long-term, rewarding and well-paid career when you believe in your skills and treat yourself as a professional.As always, I'd like to thank the podcast sponsor, Lopay, the low-cost payment platform that helps you keep more of the money you earn.You can find out more and sign up for Lopay here:https://merchant.lopay.app/ref/PETPASSION2500Listeners of this podcast get £2500 of fee-free transactions.And if you'd like support building a stronger, more profitable grooming business, visit:https://petpassiontoprofit.com/

In this episode, Bill chats with Pam Rowley of Best Friends Pets as she celebrates an incredible 40 years in dog grooming. From starting out in the days of “poodle parlours”, Yellow Pages adverts and hand shears, to becoming an educator, examiner and long-standing business owner, Pam shares a fascinating look at how the grooming industry has changed over the decades.This conversation explores the evolution of grooming equipment, training, customer expectations, marketing, pricing and professionalism. Pam also shares honest reflections on what it takes to build confidence as a groomer, charge your worth, adapt as the industry changes, and keep your passion for dogs at the heart of your business.A brilliant episode for groomers who want perspective, reassurance and a reminder that grooming can be a long-term, rewarding and well-paid career when you believe in your skills and treat yourself as a professional.As always, I'd like to thank the podcast sponsor, Lopay, the low-cost payment platform that helps you keep more of the money you earn.You can find out more and sign up for Lopay here:https://merchant.lopay.app/ref/PETPASSION2500Listeners of this podcast get £2500 of fee-free transactions.And if you'd like support building a stronger, more profitable grooming business, visit:https://petpassiontoprofit.com/

Paris Chong chats with Lee Kaplan, the owner of Arcana Books, about the evolution of the independent bookselling scene in Los Angeles. Lee shares the story behind starting his iconic store in 1984, operating initially from a small one-bedroom apartment in Westwood, and explains the strategic reasoning behind choosing the name "Arcana" to stand out in the pre-internet Yellow Pages. Throughout their conversation, they reflect on how the industry has shifted over the last four decades, the disappearance of many historic and metaphysical bookstores, and Lee's personal journey of building a long-lived, all-consuming business with passion and energy.Show Clip from The Paris Chong Show with Lee Kaplanhttps://youtu.be/lHTJIxcMj44https://www.theparischongshow.com

In this episode, we explore a bold prediction that the UK will implement a total social media ban for adults within the next 5 to 10 years. As advanced Western democracies shift their focus toward the role of the state as a protector responsible for "keeping people safe," we examine how current restrictions on under-16s might evolve into a government-run, nationalised digital service. We discuss the theory that because the UK is a stable democracy where the government has "run out of things to do" to improve lives, the state is increasingly intervening in personal habits through popular, low-cost measures like the sugar tax and smoking bans.  Drawing on the historical precedent of the Yellow Pages which began as a government-owned advertising monopoly in 1969, we analyse how a state-controlled social network could recapture advertising revenue currently lost to tech giants like Meta and X. Topics covered include: The evolving role of the state from service provider to "protector." Why the government intervenes in digital habits and public health to remain relevant. The "Yellow Pages" model: How the UK previously managed a successful advertising monopoly. The economic case for a nationalized social media service to keep profits within the UK. Is a state-run social network the future of digital communication, or is it an example of extreme government overreach? We dive into the potential for a "cleaner, safer" nationalized alternative to the platforms we use today.

In this episode, Bill chats with Pam Rowley of Best Friends Pets as she celebrates an incredible 40 years in dog grooming. From starting out in the days of “poodle parlours”, Yellow Pages adverts and hand shears, to becoming an educator, examiner and long-standing business owner, Pam shares a fascinating look at how the grooming industry has changed over the decades.This conversation explores the evolution of grooming equipment, training, customer expectations, marketing, pricing and professionalism. Pam also shares honest reflections on what it takes to build confidence as a groomer, charge your worth, adapt as the industry changes, and keep your passion for dogs at the heart of your business.A brilliant episode for groomers who want perspective, reassurance and a reminder that grooming can be a long-term, rewarding and well-paid career when you believe in your skills and treat yourself as a professional.As always, I'd like to thank the podcast sponsor, Lopay, the low-cost payment platform that helps you keep more of the money you earn.You can find out more and sign up for Lopay here:https://merchant.lopay.app/ref/PETPASSION2500Listeners of this podcast get £2500 of fee-free transactions.And if you'd like support building a stronger, more profitable grooming business, visit:https://petpassiontoprofit.com/

In this episode, Bill chats with Pam Rowley of Best Friends Pets as she celebrates an incredible 40 years in dog grooming. From starting out in the days of “poodle parlours”, Yellow Pages adverts and hand shears, to becoming an educator, examiner and long-standing business owner, Pam shares a fascinating look at how the grooming industry has changed over the decades.This conversation explores the evolution of grooming equipment, training, customer expectations, marketing, pricing and professionalism. Pam also shares honest reflections on what it takes to build confidence as a groomer, charge your worth, adapt as the industry changes, and keep your passion for dogs at the heart of your business.A brilliant episode for groomers who want perspective, reassurance and a reminder that grooming can be a long-term, rewarding and well-paid career when you believe in your skills and treat yourself as a professional.As always, I'd like to thank the podcast sponsor, Lopay, the low-cost payment platform that helps you keep more of the money you earn.You can find out more and sign up for Lopay here:https://merchant.lopay.app/ref/PETPASSION2500Listeners of this podcast get £2500 of fee-free transactions.And if you'd like support building a stronger, more profitable grooming business, visit:https://petpassiontoprofit.com/

From Scotland to Silicon Valley: Garry Drummond on Bootstrapping, Security Startups & Buying Back TimeOn the Your Message Received podcast, host John Duffin interviews Scottish entrepreneur and Loch Technologies founder Garry Drummond about his journey from early adversity and a teenage “Kiddo Video” venture to building security-focused startups in Silicon Valley. Drummond shares lessons in persistence, execution over ideas, and the importance of margins, recounting how his UK mail-order company Microworld sold millions but failed on thin 10% margins, forcing him to sell assets and move to California with his wife and young son. He describes landing a role via Dice, helping pioneer vulnerability management by turning penetration testing into a scalable appliance, and later growing Loch from a garage to global deployments, including drone detection. Garry also details his bootstrap principles, his work-life health focus (Garry doesn't speak from the typical work-life balance perspective), and his delegation strategies to “buy back time.”I will also share that part 2, with Garry Drummond, is coming soon. You'll see today, and in the next episode, that Garry Drummond is a prolific storyteller. Check out the links below and secure your copy of Garry Drummond's Bookhttps://www.scotsman.com/business/22-of-scotlands-smartest-tech-founders-head-to-silicon-valley-and-singapore-5267188https://thebootstrapceo.com/00:00 Early Hard Lessons00:53 Podcast Welcome02:01 Humble Beginnings05:12 Kiddo Video at 1409:00 Milk Run Mindset11:09 Why Silicon Valley14:37 Greyhound Rescue Lesson20:19 Microworld Margin Mistake22:50 Yellow Pages to Vulnerability27:05 Scaling and Market Timing31:05 Bootstrap CEO Principles38:10 Revenue Model and Delegation42:33 Wrap Up and Links43:47 Final Sign-Off

Paris Chong welcomes Lee Kaplan, owner of the long-lived Arcana Books in Culver City, a destination known for its vast selection of visually-driven material, including modern and contemporary art, photography, music, and fashion. Kaplan discusses his eclectic background, revealing he was a musician and visual artist before opening his store. Notably, he was one of the original three employees at Rhino Records starting in 1975, where he pioneered the store's renowned selection of jazz, world music, and reggae imports.Kaplan founded Arcana Books in 1984, originally operating out of a one-bedroom apartment in Westwood. The name "Arcana" was inspired by an avant-garde composer (and was strategically chosen to start with "A" for the pre-internet Yellow Pages). He reflects on the dramatic transformation of the book-selling landscape since the 1980s, noting the closure of many original, small used bookstores. Kaplan contrasts the early days of "the thrill of the chase" when hunting for used books with the modern grind of managing the business, sharing that his wife and partner, Whitney, assists with the operations from an annex in the Helms Bakery complex.Today, Arcana is situated in the Helms Bakery complex, in a building rebuilt on the site of the official bakery for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Kaplan emphasizes that the store serves as more than just a retail space; it acts as a "confluence and meeting place" that connects artists, photographers, and publishers for various projects, an aspect he finds very rewarding. They also discuss the importance of books as a tangible calling card for photographers, mentioning the legendary initial success of Ed Templeton's “Teenage Smokers*”*, and reflect on the patronage of late client Diane Keaton, who was a passionate book lover and photographer.Show Notes:www.theparischongshow.com/episodes/lee-kaplan-arcana-books-art-and-the-history-of-los-angeles-book-cultureChapters:00:00 Show Intro and Guest01:27 From Music to Books03:24 Rhino Records Deep Dive06:00 West LA Food Detour07:27 Family Roots and Influences11:09 Why Arcana Books15:10 Bookstore Life and Partnership24:32 Old Hollywood Holdouts25:03 Diane Keaton at Arcana29:22 Arcana's Book Universe31:11 Famous Faces and Connections34:45 Selling Books and Being Cut Out40:04 Why Photographers Need Books44:17 Martin Parr Pick and Final Plug

"If you don't plan for where your customers are moving, you're not going to have a business." – Melinda PowelsonIn this week's episode, Carol sits down with Melinda Powelson, CEO of Match Engine, to explore what brand survival really looks like when the industry you built your business on starts disappearing beneath your feet. From a Denver recycling company founded just after the first Earth Day to one of the earliest lead generation platforms on the internet, Match Engine's story is a masterclass in knowing when to pivot — and having the courage to actually do it.Melinda breaks down why so many businesses get left behind when industries shift, why watching trends and data is non-negotiable for long-term survival, and how her company is already preparing for the decline of paper shredding by moving into medical waste, electronic recycling, and AI-powered sales tools. Carol and Melinda also dig into the tension between embracing AI and protecting the human touch in customer relationships, why office paper shipments have dropped 36% since COVID, and what the Yellow Pages and Kodak teach us about ignoring the writing on the wall.The conversation also covers family business succession, founder syndrome, why 70–80% of family-run businesses fail between the first and second generation, the real difference between wanting something and committing to it, and why hiring people with a tolerance for change may be the single most important thing a leader can do right now.TakeawaysBusinesses that fail to track industry trends risk becoming the next Kodak or Yellow Pages.Office paper shipments in the U.S. have dropped 36% since COVID — document-heavy industries must adapt.Medical waste and electronic recycling are growth verticals as paper shredding declines.AI search is reshaping lead generation, and businesses that ignore it will fall behind.Using AI to enhance your team's performance is fundamentally different from using it to replace people.Customers in certain demographics still strongly prefer speaking to a human over a bot.Family business succession fails 70–80% of the time between the first and second generation.The baton handoff only works when the original founder is willing to fully let go.Commitment — not just wanting — is what separates entrepreneurs who make it from those who don't.Hiring for change tolerance is as important as hiring for skill.Women leaders may have a natural advantage in delegation and trust-based team building.A subscription revenue model offers stability that a pure lead-generation model cannot.Chapters00:00 Intro: Office paper is down 36% — is your business paying attention?01:09 Introducing Melinda Powelson and Match Engine01:58 How it all started: Tri Our Recycling and the first Earth Day02:34 Building a website in 1995 before Google existed03:38 The birth of Shred Nations and early lead generation04:09 Why the internet business was losing $20K a month — and how they fixed it04:46 The fundamentals of pivoting: platform economics and customer value06:19 Advice for leaders who know they're falling behind07:09 "Fish where the fish are" — and the fish have moved07:32 Why AI search is the next frontier for lead generation09:37 Defining risk: changing what works today for an uncertain tomorrow10:26 Match Engine's AI philosophy: enhance people, don't replace them11:31 Why boomers won't talk to bots — and why that matters12:28 Salesforce's AI hiring reversal as a cautionary tale13:12 The value of people and hiring for change tolerance13:57 How Melinda entered the family business (she was an English major)15:09 The gradual baton handoff from father to daughter16:16 Why family business succession fails 70–80% of the time17:16 The personal commitment that made the difference18:48 Eight years as CEO — and the three and a half that changed everything19:23 Why CEOs need peer groups — and how hard they are to find22:11 Founder syndrome and why women may be better at letting go24:24 Planning your own exit from day one26:19 Building a new team and saying hard goodbyes27:27 Vision first, then team, then adapt28:26 Industry shift: paper down, medical waste and e-recycling up30:04 The Yellow Pages and Kodak lesson30:56 Revenue targets and the move toward a subscription modelConnect With Host Carol SchultzFind more information about our host Carol Schultz and her company at Vertical Elevation, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.Want to be our next guest expert? Email cat.gloria@verticalelevation.com with your information.And of course, click "follow" to stay up-to-date on new episodes and leave an honest review/rating letting us know what you thought!

Nobody told you building a brand would feel this lonely. This episode might change everything.You've been working hard. Posting. Trying. Watching others blow up while you wonder what you're missing.What if the problem isn't your talent — it's that you never stopped to figure out who you actually are?In this raw, no-filter conversation, we sit down with Jacqueline Muhwereza — Regional Manager at Rage East Africa, communication strategist, and one of the most refreshingly honest voices in African marketing today.She doesn't sugarcoat it.She tells you exactly what most people are too polite to say.

Alan explores the shifting landscape of digital reputation, from the "gold rush" era of 2018 to the current state of consumer skepticism and review fatigue. He dives into how online feedback has largely replaced traditional SEO and Yellow Pages for dental marketing, specifically through its influence on the Google "three-pack." He balances his perspective as a practice owner—noting how automated systems like Podium drive high call volumes—against his skepticism as a consumer, highlighting how the system can be gamed through professional reviewers and paid removal services. The episode serves as a candid look at whether the influence of online reviews has peaked and how modern practices navigate the deluge of automated patient communication. Join the Very Dental Facebook Group using one of these passwords: Timmerman, Paul, Bioclear, Hornbrook, Gary, McWethy, Papa Randy, Frank or Lipscomb!  The Very Dental Podcast network is and will remain free to download. If you'd like to support the shows you love at Very Dental then show a little love to the people that support us! We're proud to be supported by the folks at Net32! I'm a big fan of the Bioclear Method! I think you should give it a try and I've got a great offer to help you get on board! Use the exclusive Very Dental Podcast code VERYDENTAL8TON for 15% OFF your total Bioclear purchase, including Core Anterior and Posterior Four day courses, Black Triangle Certification, and all Bioclear products. Crazy Dental has everything you need from cotton rolls to equipment and everything in between and the best prices you'll find anywhere! If you head over to verydentalpodcast.com/crazy and use coupon code "VERYSHIP" you'll get free shipping on your order! Go save yourself some money and support the show all at the same time! The Wonderist Agency is basically a one stop shop for marketing your practice and your brand. From logo redesign to a full service marketing plan, the folks at Wonderist have you covered! Go check them out at verydentalpodcast.com/wonderist! Enova Illumination makes the very best in loupes and headlights, including their new ergonomic angled prism loupes! They also distribute loupe mounted cameras and even the amazing line of Zumax microscopes! If you want to help out the podcast while upping your magnification and headlight game, you need to head over to verydentalpodcast.com/enova to see their whole line of products! CAD-Ray offers the best service on a wide variety of digital scanners, printers, mills and even  their very own browser based design software, Clinux! CAD-Ray has been a huge supporter of the Very Dental Podcast Network and I can tell you that you'll get no better service on everything digital dentistry than the folks from CAD-Ray. Go check them out at verydentalpodcast.com/CADRay!

Colin Jeavons is a seasoned British entrepreneur and digital media pioneer with over 30 years of experience in publishing, search technology, and e-commerce innovation. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Nomix Group, a venture studio that operates at the intersection of AI, performance media, and retail.A self-described "product-first" leader, Jeavons began his career in the UK publishing industry at age 18. By 20, he was leading the Yellow Pages division at Guardian Communications. His career is marked by an early understanding of how search serves as a primary signal of consumer intent.Nomix Group: Jeavons leads this holding company, which oversees subsidiaries like Shopnomix and Appnomix. The group focuses on creating "seamless digital commerce" by integrating AI-driven search into unconventional environments like apps and creator content.NTENT (formerly Seekr): As Founder and CEO, he played a pivotal role in advancing semantic search technologies and machine learning long before they became mainstream buzzwords.Vertical Search Works: He served as CEO and President, leading a reverse merger with Convera Corporation to scale vertical-specific search ad models that rivaled early versions of Google AdWords.Parliamentary Communications: Earlier in his career, he was the CEO of Europe's largest political communications group, where he launched ePolitix.com and transformed the organization into a digital powerhouse before its eventual sale.

In this episode of the GaryVee Audio Experience, I talk about the massive technological shift happening right now: the rise of AI. I encourage you to put in the 100 hours of homework required to understand how AI agents will soon be making decisions for your customers. I also discuss why the "Interest Graph" has replaced social media and why your current Google SEO strategy is about to become as irrelevant as the Yellow Pages.You'll learn about:The Ultimate Funnel: Building a Personal BrandWhy Video Proof is Dying in the Next 10 YearsHow to Scale Content to 4,000 Posts a Day Using AIThe B2B Opportunity on LinkedIn Right Now

Welcome to episode 351 of The Cloud Pod, where the weather is always cloudy! Justin, Matt, and Ryan are in the studio today and ready to bring you the latest in cloud and AI news. And it's that time of year again – we're coming up quickly on Google Next, place your AI money bets, so we've got our yearly predictions for what's coming from Vegas, as well as more news about Mythos, Amazon finally becoming a utility, and even an aftershow where we discuss the computing power of Artemis. It's a great show, so let's get started!  Titles we almost went with this week Three StorageClasses Walk Into an AI Workload Deprecated Models Don’t Die, They Just Fail Your API Calls SQL Walks Into a Graph Bar and Stays Too Many Agents Spoil the Workflow One Registry to Rule All Your Rogue AI Agents Eight CPUs Walk Into Space, Only One Comes Back Stop Retyping the Same Gemini Prompt Like a Caveman Claude Code Routines Let AI Work While You Sleep AWS Builds a Yellow Pages for Your AI Agents GPT Finally Stops Refusing to Talk About Hacking None of the hosts is ready for Next We are once again trying to look into our next next next crystal ball and failing Google is gonna announce AI, it’s just mandatory now Las Vegas is calling, our Livers are crying A big thanks to this week's sponsors: There are a lot of cloud cost management tools out there, but only Archera provides insured commitments. It sounds fancy, but it’s really simple. Archera gives you the cost savings of a 1 or 3-year AWS Savings Plan with a commitment as short as 30 days. If you do not use all the cloud resources you have committed to, Archera will literally cover the difference. Other cost management tools may say they offer “insured commitments”, but remember to ask: Will you actually give me my rebate? Because Archera will.  Check out thecloudpod.net/archera to schedule a demo today.  We also wanted to tell you about something coming to the US for the first time — WeAreDevelopers World Congress!  They’ve been doing this in Europe for years, 15,000-plus attendees in Berlin, it’s one of the biggest developer events over there. Coté from Software Defined Talk is actually speaking at their Berlin event this summer, so we’ve got some firsthand context here. In September, they’re launching the North America edition. San José, September 23 to 25. 500-plus speakers, 18 tracks — cloud, infrastructure, DevOps, security, AI, data engineering, all of it. Speakers from Datadog, Honeycomb, Sentry, Google, LinkedIn, and Stack Overflow. Olivier Pomel, Christine Yen, Milin Desai, Kelsey Hightower – plus workshops and masterclasses, not just talks. These are people who know how to do a developer conference at scale. wearedevelopers.us, code DEVPOD26 for 15% off. Group rates on top of that for 4 or more. Follow Up 01:47 AI Cybersecurity After Mythos: The Jagged Frontier  Since the original Mythos/Project Glasswing announcement, AISLE published follow-up testing showing that small, inexpensive open-weight models can replicate much of the vulnerability detection work Anthropic attributed to Mythos, with all 8 tested models detecting the flagship FreeBSD NFS buffer overflow, including a 3.6B parameter model costing $0.11 per million tokens. A notable correction to the framing of the original announcement: cyb

The Architect of the Modern Men's English Premier League: Richard Scudamore CBE This week's podcast, is with Richard Scudamore CBE, the visionary who sat at the helm of the Men's English Premier League from 1999 to 2018.  Over his nearly two-decade tenure, Richard didn't just manage football; he re-engineered the business of sport, overseeing a staggering increase in broadcasting rights and global reach. In this podcast chat, we trace Richard's journey from the Yellow Pages to the ultimate boardroom, uncovering the leadership philosophy and tactical "pillars" that sustained the league's golden era. In this episode, we explore: What skills do you need to be a CEO for a Football League? Richards shares how he went from the Yellow Pages to being the CEO of the English Premier League Richard explain's the 3 pillars to run a successful Football Club The Rise of the Underdog, a look at AFC Bournemouth, why their ascent remains one of the Premier League's most iconic football stories. Richard reflects on how his leadership style evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing digital and commercial landscape and much more. Podcast Show Note:   Related Podcasts: Jeff Mostyn: What is the Role of a Football Chairman?

4/7/2026 PODCAST Episodes #2349 - #2351 GUESTS: Todd Sheets, Susan Kelly, Mark Mix, John Deaton, Abraham George, Matt Rinaldi, Paul James Jr, Bianca Gracia+ YOUR CALLS! at 1-888-480-JOHN (5646) and GETTR Live! @jfradioshow #GodzillaOfTruth #TruckingTheTruth   Want more of today's show? Episode #2349 The Straight, Oil and Enriched Uranium Episode #2350 If You Can Find It In The Yellow Pages, The Government Shouldn't Be Doing It! Episode #2351 Paxton Running Away With TX Senate Nomination Race    https://johnfredericksradio.libsyn.com/

In this episode, Bradley sits down with David Barnett, consultant, author, and longtime advisor on buying and selling small businesses. David shares his path from early interest in business to working in Yellow Pages sales, business brokerage, banking, and eventually building a consulting practice focused on helping people buy and sell Main Street and lower middle market companies.They discuss how buyers think about business value, why multiples are only the first pass in evaluating a deal, and what separates a business that is merely profitable from one that is actually sellable. David also explains the difference between SDE and EBITDA, why systems matter so much in a sale, and how terms can be more important than headline price.This conversation moves beyond valuation and into ownership itself. What makes a business attractive to a buyer? How do systems and delegation increase both freedom and enterprise value? And why do so many owners build businesses that only a younger version of themselves could buy?If you care about building a company that is easier to run, easier to grow, and eventually easier to sell, this conversation is for you.Visit https://workshop.blueprintos.com to register for the upcoming Above The Business workshop.Learn more about David Barnett: https://www.investlocalbook.com/ Listen to David Barnett's Small Business podcast: https://www.investlocalbook.com/p/in-media.html Find David Barnett's books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=David+C.+Barnett&i=audible&ref=dp_byline_sr_audible_1 Thanks to our sponsorsCoach P ConsultingCoach P found great success as an insurance agent and agency owner, leading a large and stable team of top-performing professionals. Today, he shares the systems, delegation strategies, and specialization methods he developed along the way. Gain access to weekly training calls and mentoring at:https://www.coachpconsulting.comBe sure to mention you heard about it on the Above The Business Podcast.Autopilot RecruitingAutopilot Recruiting helps small business owners solve staffing challenges by taking the stress out of hiring. Their dedicated recruiters work on your behalf every business day, optimizing your applicant tracking system, posting job listings, and sourcing candidates through social media and local communities.https://www.autopilotrecruiting.comMention Above The Business Podcast when you reach out.Direct ClicksDirect Clicks is built by business owners, for business owners. They specialize in custom marketing solutions that drive real results. From paid search campaigns to SEO and social media management, they provide comprehensive digital marketing support to help your business grow.Exclusive offer for listeners:https://directclicksinc.com/abovethebusinessGet a free marketing campaign audit and actionable recommendations.About Above The BusinessAbove The Business is hosted by Bradley Hamner, founder of BlueprintOS, and focuses on helping small business owners transition from Rainmaker to Architect by building systems, teams, and operations that scale.

Nate Browne didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a Division I head coach. He grew up racing cousins in a church parking lot in Iowa. He chased a scholarship. He switched from the 400m to the 800m and found his event. He built All-American credentials.And then he walked into the business world.

#838 If you've never considered building an online directory as a business, this episode might just change your mind! Host Brien Gearin is joined by Frey Chu — known as the directory expert — who shares how he built multiple profitable directories from scratch and turned them into passive income machines. Frey breaks down what a modern directory business really looks like (hint: it's way more than Yellow Pages), how to find profitable niche ideas, and the step-by-step process he uses to build, rank, and monetize directories using SEO, affiliate links, and display ads. He also reveals how directories can become sellable assets or fuel even bigger ventures like SaaS or lead gen agencies. Whether you're an SEO nerd, digital side hustler, or aspiring solopreneur, this episode uncovers an underrated business model with surprising upside! (Original Air Date - 7/28/25) What we discuss with Frey: + What online directories actually are + How Frey built passive income from directories + SEO strategies for ranking directory sites + Niche research and data enrichment tips + Common monetization methods (ads, leads, products) + Tools used to build and scrape data + How to stand out from larger competitors + Selling directories as digital assets + Why directories still work in the AI era + Growth potential through lead gen and SaaS Thank you, Frey! Check out Ship Your Directory at ⁠ShipYourDirectory.com⁠. Follow Frey on ⁠YouTube⁠. Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠video podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Season 5, Episode 11 of The Pest Control Marketing Domination Podcast, we bring the conversation full circle. After discussing the importance of building a strong website and then covering the basic organic best practices that help pest control companies get found online, we now move into the final step: advertising.In this episode, Casey Lewis breaks down how pest control companies can use paid advertising to attract new customers and create a complete marketing system. The discussion covers high-intent online channels like Google Ads, Bing, Yelp, Angi, Thumbtack, and Nextdoor, along with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. Casey also explains how traditional outbound methods like direct mail, yard signs, door hangers, billboards, and radio still fit into a smart media mix.The episode also digs into the concept of Google Ads bidding, how the auction works, what pest control owners need to understand about Performance Max campaigns, when YouTube ads may make sense, and how to set realistic expectations when starting with a new advertising budget. Casey uses simple math to explain clicks, leads, close rates, customer value, and ROI so owners can better understand what profitable advertising really looks like.At the highest level, this episode is about making sure your company is present in the right places when prospective customers are ready to buy. Years ago, the Yellow Pages called this directional advertising. Today, that same concept still applies — just across many more platforms. The goal is not to be everywhere blindly. The goal is to build the right mix, track what works, and make smart decisions that lead to profitable growth.For pest control owners who want to grow, this episode offers a practical framework for thinking through budget, channel selection, conversion rates, and the role advertising plays in a complete marketing strategy.Connect with Casey Lewis and Rhino Pest Control Marketing:Email: casey@rhinopros.comWebsite: https://rhinopestcontrolmarketing.com/SMART Pest Control Websites: https://rhinopestcontrolmarketing.com/smart-pest-control/

In this episode of Leading You, Julie Hyde is joined by memory expert and Australian memory champion Tansel Ali for a fascinating conversation about memory, focus and mental performance in a world full of distractions. What makes Tansel’s story so powerful is that he didn’t begin with a brilliant memory. In fact, he believed the opposite. For years he saw himself as someone who constantly forgot things, struggled to retain information and relied on Post-it notes just to stay organised. Then everything changed. After discovering memory techniques through a friend, Tansel began deliberately training his brain. That journey led him to extraordinary achievements, including memorising two full Yellow Pages directories in just 24 days. It sounds impossible, yet his story is a reminder that the brain is far more trainable than most people realise. In this conversation we go beyond memory techniques. We explore how memory training strengthens focus, improves communication and supports clearer thinking, something that matters enormously for leaders navigating complex and fast-moving environments. We also talk about cognitive overload, a challenge so many leaders face today. Moving from meeting to meeting, decision to decision, conversation to conversation without pause can leave the brain scattered and exhausted. Tansel explains why this doesn’t just feel draining. It actively weakens recall, focus and mental clarity. Another important theme in this episode is the role of AI and technology. Tools like AI can support our thinking, but they should never replace it. As Tansel explains, if we outsource too much of our thinking and remembering to technology, we risk weakening the very skills that help us lead well. We also dive into practical ideas, including simple strategies to remember names, prepare your brain before meetings and reduce the mental clutter that drains focus and energy. If you have ever felt mentally overloaded, distracted or forgetful, this episode will challenge how you think about memory and give you practical ways to sharpen your mind. In this episode we explore How Tansel Ali went from believing he had a bad memory to becoming a memory champion• Why memory is far more trainable than most people think• How memory training improves focus, learning and communication• What cognitive overload does to leaders and why so many people feel mentally exhausted• How to think about AI without outsourcing your own thinking Timestamps 00:00 Focus Memory Hack00:22 Podcast Intro01:30 From “Bad Memory” to Memory Champion02:48 Discovering Memory Techniques05:00 Benefits of Memory Training08:05 AI and Technology Trade-offs11:59 Authentic Leadership and Mental Clarity14:31 Cognitive Overload17:09 Remembering Names20:40 Sharpening the Mind23:16 Switching Off at Night26:29 Final Takeaways Links:Learn more about my group coaching program here Connect with Julie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-hyde/Instagram: @juliehydeleadsWebsite: https://juliehyde.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Unconventional Path, hosts Bela Musits and Mike Wasserman sit down with Vi Wickham, the founder of Wizard of Ads Online, to discuss how small to medium-sized businesses can navigate the complex world of digital marketing. Vai is not only a digital marketing expert and web developer but also a five-time Colorado state fiddling champion, bringing a unique, creative perspective to entrepreneurship and innovation.The transition from traditional advertising—like the local newspaper and Yellow Pages—to the digital age has created a complex environment for modern entrepreneurs. Vi simplifies this landscape by breaking down the three foundational "layers" every business owner needs to establish a credible and searchable online presence.The Website as Your Home Base: Why your website is the foundation of your online reputation and why it must communicate your purpose clearly without using "insider language" or "techno mumbo jumbo".+1The "Grandfather Test" for Business: Bela and Vi discuss the strategic importance of being able to explain your business so simply that even your grandfather would understand it.Local Search Marketing: How to use local search submissions to provide "proof" to Google that your business is a real entity deserving of a high rank in your specific town.+1The "500-Pound Gorilla" of Search: Why the Google Business Profile is the most critical third-party site for local businesses and how it controls over 90% of search traffic.Navigating Secondary Platforms: A look at the next tier of digital reputation management, including Facebook, Yelp, Bing, and the emerging challenges of Apple's business tools.Strategy vs. Wordsmithing: Understanding the difference between knowing your core message and the creative process of picking the right words to attract the customers you want—and repel the ones you don't.Vi Wickham is a web developer, digital marketer, and the founder of Wizard of Ads Online, where he helps companies establish and implement effective digital marketing strategies. He is also a celebrated musician, holding five state fiddling titles and three national runner-up titles.Our podcast is now available on YouTube. Simply search for "The Unconventional Path" to subscribe and never miss an episode.We're always on the lookout for interesting guests to feature on our show. If you know someone who has an inspiring story, unique perspective, or valuable expertise to share, please let us know. We're eager to connect with potential guests who can bring fresh insights and engaging conversations to our audience.We also love hearing from our listeners! Your questions, comments, and suggestions are incredibly valuable to us. Send us an email at bela.and.mike@gmail.com with your thoughts, and we'll do our best to address them in a future episode. Whether you have a question about a specific topic, feedback on a recent episode, or ideas for future content, we want to hear from you. Your engagement helps us shape the show and deliver content that resonates with our listeners.Thanks for listening,Bela and MikeIn This Episode, You'll Discover:About the Guest:Connect with the Show:

IF IT CAN BE FOUND IN THE YELLOW PAGES GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT DO IT A longtime friend from Kentucky used to use that statement all the time when analyzing whether government should be doing some thing or another. It applies perfectly to what the City of Denver is doing to the small business that rents paddle boats at Civic Center park. Or used to anyway. I've got the Josh Catron, owner of the business that is being put out of business by the City of Denver on the show at 1 to talk about this very thing. Read more here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the third episode of our new series dedicated to the builders of the Farcaster ecosystem (⁠⁠⁠https://farcaster.xyz⁠⁠⁠). In this limited run, we are going to understand the strategies, timing, and mental models of the founders building the next generation of onchain experiences. In today's episode, we sit down with Ahn.eth (⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/ahn_going and https://farcaster.xyz/ahn.eth), the founder of Quidli (⁠⁠https://quid.li/). We are looking at the plumbing of social finance with Ahn.eth (Justin), a founder who is tackling one of the most persistent points of friction in crypto: making value transfer as intuitive as sending a direct message. We discuss: + why your social graph might be your most valuable on-chain asset, + the structural limitations of current identity systems like ENS, and + how to build a 'Yellow Pages' for the decentralized web that works across Farcaster, Telegram, and email without locking users into a single platform.It is a very useful episode for understanding how portable social graphs can abstract away complex blockchain UX to enable seamless value transfer across any platform.-- The podcasts are authored, edited and produced by Raphael Grieco (⁠⁠⁠⁠raphael-grieco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠olivecapital.vc⁠⁠⁠⁠).

(this episode is an excerpt) --- Welcome to the third episode of our new series dedicated to the builders of the Farcaster ecosystem (⁠⁠⁠⁠https://farcaster.xyz⁠⁠⁠⁠). In this limited run, we are going to understand the strategies, timing, and mental models of the founders building the next generation of onchain experiences. In today's episode, we sit down with Ahn.eth (⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/ahn_going⁠ and ⁠https://farcaster.xyz/ahn.eth⁠), the founder of Quidli (⁠⁠⁠https://quid.li/⁠). We are looking at the plumbing of social finance with Ahn.eth (Justin), a founder who is tackling one of the most persistent points of friction in crypto: making value transfer as intuitive as sending a direct message. We discuss: + why your social graph might be your most valuable on-chain asset, + the structural limitations of current identity systems like ENS, and + how to build a 'Yellow Pages' for the decentralized web that works across Farcaster, Telegram, and email without locking users into a single platform.It is a very useful episode for understanding how portable social graphs can abstract away complex blockchain UX to enable seamless value transfer across any platform.-- The podcasts are authored, edited and produced by Raphael Grieco (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠raphael-grieco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠olivecapital.vc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

This episode features John Rebagliati, a 26-year food service brokerage veteran at IPS, in conversation with Jay. John started his career in restaurant operations before making the leap to the brokerage side in the spring of 2000, the same week he learned he was expecting his first child. He shares the culture shock of going from managing restaurants (where he assumed distributors stocked everything) to learning that roughly only 10–20% of SKUs are actually stocked at broad-line distributors.The conversation covers how John built his career from cold-calling out of the Yellow Pages with a bag phone in his Mazda, to becoming a seasoned broker navigating complex manufacturer-distributor-operator dynamics. Key themes include the irreplaceable value of having worked in restaurant operations, how broker-operator trust is built over years, the misconceptions operators have about distribution, and how technology and AI are reshaping the industry. John also shares personal insights on mentorship, morning routines, reducing screen time, and the importance of stepping away to recharge. The episode wraps with mutual appreciation between two long-time industry friends who've known each other since 2004.

This episode features John Rebagliati, a 26-year food service brokerage veteran at IPS, in conversation with Jay. John started his career in restaurant operations before making the leap to the brokerage side in the spring of 2000, the same week he learned he was expecting his first child. He shares the culture shock of going from managing restaurants (where he assumed distributors stocked everything) to learning that roughly only 10–20% of SKUs are actually stocked at broad-line distributors.The conversation covers how John built his career from cold-calling out of the Yellow Pages with a bag phone in his Mazda, to becoming a seasoned broker navigating complex manufacturer-distributor-operator dynamics. Key themes include the irreplaceable value of having worked in restaurant operations, how broker-operator trust is built over years, the misconceptions operators have about distribution, and how technology and AI are reshaping the industry. John also shares personal insights on mentorship, morning routines, reducing screen time, and the importance of stepping away to recharge. The episode wraps with mutual appreciation between two long-time industry friends who've known each other since 2004.

In this episode, I'm joined by Mandy Mooney — author, corporate communicator, and performer — for a wide-ranging conversation about mentorship, career growth, and how to show up authentically in both work and life.   We talk about her path from performing arts to corporate communications, and how those early experiences shaped the way she approaches relationships, leadership, and personal authenticity. That foundation carries through to her current role as VP of Internal Communications, where she focuses on building connections and fostering resilience across teams.   We explore the three pillars of career success Mandy highlights in her book Corporating: Three Ways to Win at Work — relationships, reputation, and resilience — and how they guide her approach to scaling mentorship and helping others grow. Mandy shares practical strategies for balancing professional responsibilities with personal passions, and why embracing technology thoughtfully can enhance, not replace, human connection.   The conversation also touches on parenting, building independence in children, and the lessons she's learned about optimism, preparation, and persistence — both in the workplace and at home.   If you're interested in scaling mentorship, developing your career with intention, or navigating work with authenticity, this episode is for you. And if you want to hear more on these topics, catch Mandy speaking at Snafu Conference 2026 on March 5th. 00:00 Start 02:26 Teaching Self-Belief and Independence Robin notes Mandy has young kids and a diverse career (performing arts → VP of a name-brand company → writing books). Robin asks: "What are the skills that you want your children to develop, to stay resilient in the world and the world of work that they're gonna grow up in?" Emphasis on meta-skills. Mandy's response: Core skills She loves the question, didn't expect it, finds it a "thrilling ride." Observes Robin tends to "put things out there before they exist" (e.g., talking about having children before actually having them). Skill 1: Envisioning possibilities "Envision the end, believe that it will happen and it is much more likely to happen." Teaching children to see limitless possibilities if they believe in them. Skill 2: Independence Examples: brushing their own hair, putting on clothes, asking strangers questions. One daughter in Girl Scouts: learning sales skills by approaching strangers to sell cookies. Independence builds confidence and problem-solving abilities for small and big life challenges. Skill 3: Self-belief / Self-worth Tied to independence. Helps children navigate life and career successfully. Robin asks about teaching self-belief Context: Mandy's kids are 6 and 9 years old (two girls). Mandy's approach to teaching self-belief Combination of: Words Mandy uses when speaking to them. Words encouraged for the children to use about themselves. Example of shifting praise from appearance to effort/creativity: Instead of "You look so pretty today" → "Wow, I love the creativity that you put into your outfit." Reason: "The voice that I use, the words that I choose, they're gonna receive that and internalize it." Corrective, supportive language when children doubt themselves: Example: Child says, "I'm so stupid, I can't figure out this math problem." Mandy responds: "Oh wow. That's something that we can figure out together. And the good news is I know that you are so smart and that you can figure this out, so let's work together to figure it out." Asking reflective questions to understand their inner thoughts: Example: "What's it like to be you? What's it like to be inside your head?" Child's response: "Well, you worry a lot," which Mandy found telling and insightful. Emphasizes coming from a place of curiosity to check in on a child's self-worth and self-identity journey. 04:30 Professional Journey and Role of VP of Internal Comms Robin sets up the question about professional development Notes Mandy has mentored lots of people. Wants to understand: Mandy's role as VP of Internal Communications (what that means). How she supports others professionally. How her own professional growth has been supported. Context: Robin just finished a workshop for professionals on selling themselves, asking for promotions, and stepping forward in their careers. Emphasizes that she doesn't consider herself an expert but learns from conversations with experienced people like Mandy. Mandy explains her role and path Career path has been "a winding road." Did not study internal communications; discovered it later. Finds her job fun, though sometimes stressful: "I often think I might have the most fun job in the world. I mean, it, it can be stressful and it can't, you know, there are days where you wanna bang your head against the wall, but by and large, I love my job. It is so fun." Internal communications responsibility: Translate company strategy into something employees understand and are excited about. Example: Translate business plan for 2026 to 2,800 employees. Team's work includes: Internal emails. PowerPoints for global town halls. Speaking points for leaders. Infusing fun into company culture via intranet stories (culture, customers, innovation). Quick turnaround on timely stories (example: employee running seven marathons on seven continents; story created within 24 hours). Storytelling and theater skills are key: Coaching leaders for presentations: hand gestures, voice projection, camera presence. Mandy notes shared theater background with Robin: "You and I are both thespian, so we come from theater backgrounds." Robin summarizes role Sounds like a mix of HR and sales: supporting employee development while "selling" them on the company. Mandy elaborates on impact and mentorship Loves making a difference in employees' lives by giving information and support. Works closely with HR (Human Resources) to: Provide learning and development opportunities. Give feedback. Help managers improve. Wrote a book to guide navigating internal careers and relationships. Mentorship importance: Mentors help accelerate careers in any organization. Mandy's career journey Started studying apparel merchandising at Indiana University (with Kelley School of Business minor). Shifted from pre-med → theater → journalism → apparel merchandising. Took full advantage of career fairs and recruiter networking at Kelley School of Business. "The way that I've gotten jobs is not through applying online, it's through knowing somebody, through having a relationship." First role at Gap Inc.: rotational Retail Management Training Program (RMP). Some roles enjoyable, some less so; realized she loved the company even if some jobs weren't ideal. Mentor influence: Met Bobby Stillton, president of Gap Foundation, who inspired her with work empowering women and girls. Took a 15-minute conversation with Bobby and got an entry-level communications role. Career growth happened through mentorship, internal networking, and alignment with company she loved. Advice for her daughters (Robin's question) Flash-forward perspective: post-college or early career. How to start a career in corporate / large organizations: Increase "luck surface area" (exposure to opportunities). Network in a savvy way. Ask at the right times. Build influence to get ahead. Mentorship and internal relationships are key, not just applying for jobs online. 12:15 Career Advice and Building Relationships Initial advice: "Well first I would say always call your mom. Ask for advice. I'm right here, honey, anytime." Three keys to success: Relationships Expand your network. "You say yes to everything, especially early in your career." Examples: sit in on meetings, observe special projects, help behind the scenes. Benefits: Increases credibility. Shows people you can do anything. Reputation Build a reputation as confident, qualified, and capable. Online presence: Example: LinkedIn profile—professional, up-to-date, connected to network. Be a sponsor/advocate for your company (school, office, etc.). Monthly posts suggested: team photos, events, showing responsibility and trust. Offline reputation: Deliver results better than expected. "Deliver on the things that you said you were gonna do and do a better job than people expected of you." Resilience Not taught from books—learned through experience. Build resilience through preparation, not "fake it till you make it." Preparation includes: practicing presentations, thinking through narratives, blocking time before/after to collect thoughts and connect with people. "Preparation is my headline … that's part of what creates resilience." Mandy turns the question to Robin: "I wanna ask you too, I mean, Robin, you, you live and breathe this every day too. What do you think are the keys to success?" Robin agrees with preparation as key. Value of service work: Suggests working in service (food, hospitality) teaches humility. "I've never met somebody I think even ever in my life who is super entitled and profoundly ungrateful, who has worked a service job for any length of time." Robin's personal experience with service work: First business: selling pumpkins at Robin's Pumpkin Patch (age 5). Key formative experience: running Robin's Cafe (2016, opened with no restaurant experience, on three weeks' notice). Ran the cafe for 3 years, sold it on Craigslist. Served multiple stakeholders: nonprofit, staff (~15 employees), investors ($40,000 raised from family/friends). Trial by fire: unprepared first days—no full menu, no recipes, huge rush events. Concept of MI Plus: "Everything in its place" as preparation principle. Connecting service experience to corporate storytelling: Current business: Zandr Media (videos, corporate storytelling). Preparation is critical: Know who's where, what will be captured, and what the final asset looks like. Limited fixes in post-production, even with AI tools. Reinforces importance of preparation through repeated experience. Advice for future children / young people: Robin would encourage service jobs for kids for months or a year. Teaches: Sleep management, personal presentation, confidence, energy. "Deciding that I'm going to show up professionally … well … energetically." Emphasizes relentless optimism: positivity is a superpower. Experience shows contrast between being prepared and unprepared—learning from both is crucial. 16:36 The Importance of Service Jobs and Resilience Service jobs as formative experience: Worked as a waitress early in her career (teenager). Describes it as "the hardest job of my life". Challenges included: Remembering orders (memory). Constant multitasking. Dealing with different personalities and attitudes. Maintaining positivity and optimism through long shifts (e.g., nine-hour shifts). Fully agrees with Robin: service jobs teach humility and preparation. Optimism as a superpower: "I totally agree too that optimism is a superpower. I think optimism is my superpower." Writes about this concept in her book. Believes everyone has at least one superpower, and successful careers involve identifying and leaning into that superpower. Robin asks about the book Why did Mandy write the book? Inspiration behind the book? Also wants a deep dive into the writing process for her own interest. Mandy's inspiration and purpose of the book Title: "Corporating: Three Ways to Win At Work" Primary goal: Scale mentorship. Realized as she reached VP level, people wanted career advice. Increased visibility through: Position as VP. Connection with alma mater (Indiana University). Active presence on LinkedIn. Result: Many young professionals seeking mentorship. Challenge: Not sustainable to mentor individually. Solution: Writing a book allows her to scale mentorship without minimizing impact. Secondary goals / personal motivations: Acts as a form of "corporate therapy": Reflects on first 10 years of her career. Acknowledges both successes and stumbles. Helps process trials and tribulations. Provides perspective and gratitude for lessons learned. Fun aspect: as a writer, enjoyed formatting and condensing experiences into a digestible form for readers. Legacy and contribution: "I had something that I could contribute meaningfully to the world … as part of my own legacy … I do wanna leave this world feeling like I contributed something positive. So this is one of my marks."   21:37 Writing a Book and Creative Pursuits Robin asks Mandy about the writing process: "What's writing been like for you? Just the, the process of distilling your thinking into something permanent." Mandy: Writing process and finding the "25th hour" Loves writing: "I love writing, so the writing has been first and foremost fun." Where she wrote the book: Mostly from the passenger seat of her car. She's a working mom and didn't have traditional writing time. Advice from mentor Gary Magenta: "Mandy, you're gonna have to find the 25th hour." She found that "25th hour" in her car. Practical examples: During birthday party drop-offs: "Oh good. It's a drop off party. Bye. Bye, honey. See you in two hours. I'll be in the driveway. In my car. If you need anything, please don't need anything." Would write for 1.5–2 hours. During Girl Scouts, swim, any activity. On airplanes: Finished the book on an eight-hour flight back from Germany. It was her 40th birthday (June 28). "Okay, I did it." Realization moment: "You chip away at it enough that you realize, oh, I have a book." Robin: On parents and prioritization Parents told him: "When you have kids, you just find a way." Children create: Stricter prioritization. A necessary forcing function. Mandy's self-reflection: "I believe that I am an inherently lazy person, to be totally honest with you." But she's driven by deadlines and deliverables. Kids eliminate "lazy days": No more slow Saturdays watching Netflix. "They get up. You get up, you have to feed these people like there's a human relying on you." Motherhood forces motivation: "My inherent laziness has been completely wiped away the past nine years." Writing happened in small windows of time. Importance of creative outlet: Having something for yourself fuels the rest of life. Examples: writing, crocheting, quilting, music. Creativity energizes other areas of life. Robin mentions The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. Advice from that book: Have something outside your day job that fuels you. For Robin: Physical practice (gym, handstands, gymnastics, ballet, capoeira, surfing). It's a place to: Celebrate. Feel progress. Win, even if work is struggling. Example: If tickets aren't selling. If newsletter flops. If client relationships are hard. Physical training becomes the "anchor win." Mandy's writing took over two years. Why? She got distracted writing a musical version of the book. There is now: "Corporating: The Book" "Corporating: The Musical" Three songs produced online. Collaboration with composer Eric Chaney. Inspiration from book: Time, Talent, Energy (recommended by former boss Sarah Miran). Concept: we have limited time, talent, and energy. Advice: Follow your energy when possible. If you're flowing creatively, go with it (unless there's an urgent deadline). You'll produce better work. She believes: The book is better because she created the musical. Musical helps during speaking engagements. Sometimes she sings during talks. Why music? Attention spans are short. Not just Gen Z — everyone is distracted. Music keeps people engaged. "I'm not just gonna tell you about the three ways to win at work. I'm gonna sing it for you too." Robin on capturing attention If you can hold attention of: Five-year-olds. Thirteen-year-olds. You can hold anyone's attention. Shares story: In Alabama filming for Department of Education. Interviewed Alabama Teacher of the Year (Katie). She has taught for 20 years (kindergarten through older students). Observed: High enthusiasm. High energy. Willingness to be ridiculous to capture attention. Key insight: Engagement requires energy and presence. 28:37 The Power of Music in Capturing Attention Mandy's part of a group called Mic Drop Workshop. Led by Lindsay (last name unclear in transcript) and Jess Tro. They meet once a month. Each session focuses on improving a different performance skill. The session she describes focused on facial expressions. Exercise they did: Tell a story with monotone voice and no facial expressions. Tell the story "over the top clown like, go really big, something that feels so ridiculous." Tell it the way you normally would. Result: Her group had four people. "Every single one of us liked number two better than one or three." Why version two worked best: When people are emotive and expressive: It's more fun to watch. It's more entertaining. It's more engaging. Connection to kids and storytelling: Think of how you tell stories to five-year-olds: Whisper. Get loud. Get soft. Use dynamic shifts. The same applies on stage. Musical integration: Music is another tool for keeping attention. Helps maintain engagement in a distracted world. Robin: Hiring for energy and presence Talks about hiring his colleague Zach Fish. Technical producer for: Responsive Conference. Snafu Conference. Freelancer Robin works with often. Why Robin hires Zach: Yes, he's technically excellent. But more importantly: "He's a ball of positive energy and delight and super capable and confident, but also just pleasant to be with." Robin's hiring insight: If he has a choice, he chooses Zach. Why? "I feel better." Energy and presence influence hiring decisions. Zach's background: Teaches weekly acrobatics classes for kids in Berkeley. He's used to engaging audiences. That translates into professional presence. Robin: Energy is learnable When thinking about: Who to hire. Who to promote. Who to give opportunities to. Traits that matter: Enthusiasm. Positivity. Big energy. Being "over the top" when needed. Important insight: This isn't necessarily a God-given gift. It can be learned. Like music or performance. Like anything else. 31:00 The Importance of Positive Work Relationships Mandy reflects on: The tension between loud voices and quiet voices. "Oftentimes the person who is the loudest is the one who gets to talk the most, but the person who's the quietest is the one who maybe has the best ideas." Core question: How do you exist in a world where both of those things are true? Parenting lens: One daughter is quieter than the other. Important to: Encourage authenticity. Teach the skill of using your voice loudly when needed. It's not about changing personality. It's about equipping someone to advocate for themselves when necessary Book is targeted at: Students about to enter the corporate world. Early-career professionals. Intentional writing decision: Exactly 100 pages. Purpose: "To the point, practical advice." Holds attention. Digestible. Designed for distracted readers. Emotional honesty: Excited but nervous to reconnect with students. Acknowledges: The world has changed. It's been a while since she was in college. Advice she's trying to live: Know your audience Core principle: "Get to know your audience. Like really get in there and figure out who they are." Pre-book launch tour purpose: Visiting universities (including her alma mater). Observing students. Understanding: Their learning environment. Their day-to-day experiences. The world they're stepping into. Communication principle: Knowing your audience is essential in communications. Also essential in career-building. If you have a vision of where you want to go: "Try to find a way to get there before you're there." Tactics: Meet people in those roles. Shake their hands. Have coffee. Sit in those seats. Walk those halls. See how it feels. Idea: Test the future before committing to it. Reduce uncertainty through proximity. What if you don't have a vision? Robin pushes back thoughtfully: What about people who: Don't know what they want to do? Aren't sure about staying at a company? Aren't sure about career vs. business vs. stay-at-home parent? Acknowledges: There's abundance in the world. Attention is fragmented. Implied tension: How do you move forward without clarity? 35:13 Mentorship and Career Guidance How to help someone figure out what's next Start with questions, not answers A mentor's primary job: ask questions from a place of curiosity Especially when someone is struggling with what they want to do or their career direction Key questions: What brings you joy? What gives you energy? What's the dream? Imagine retirement — what does that look like? Example: A financial advisor made Mandy and her husband define retirement vision; then work backwards (condo in New Zealand, annual family vacations) Clarify what actually matters Distinguish life priorities: Security → corporate job; Teamwork → corporate environment; Variety and daily interaction → specific roles Mentoring becomes a checklist: Joy, strengths, lifestyle, financial expectations, work environment preferences Then make connections: Introduce them to people in relevant environments, encourage informational interviews You don't know what you don't know Trial and error is inevitable Build network intentionally: Shadow people, observe, talk to parents' friends, friends of friends Even experienced professionals have untapped opportunities Stay curious and do the legwork Mixing personal and professional identity Confidence to bring personal interests into corporate work comes from strategy plus luck Example: Prologis 2021, senior leaders joked about forming a band; Mandy spoke up, became lead singer CEO took interest after first performance, supported book launch She didn't always feel this way Early corporate years: Feel like a "corporate robot," worrying about jargon, meetings, email etiquette, blending in Book explores blending in while standing out Advice for bringing full self to work Don't hide it, but don't force it; weave into casual conversation Find advocates: Amazing bosses vs terrible ones, learn from both Mentorship shaped her framework: Relationships, reputation, and resilience Resilience and rejection Theater as rejection bootcamp: Auditions, constant rejection Foundations of resilience: Surround yourself with supportive people, develop intrinsic self-worth, know you are worthy Creating conditions for success Age 11 audition story: Last-minute opportunity, director asked her to sing, she sang and got the part Why it worked: Connections (aunt in play), parent support, director willing to take a chance, she showed up Resilience is not just toughing it out: Have support systems, build self-worth, seek opportunity, create favorable conditions, step forward when luck opens a door 44:18 Overcoming Rejection and Building Resilience First show experiences Robin's first stage production is uncertain; she had to think carefully At 17, walked into a gymnastics gym after being a cross country runner for ten years, burnt out from running Cold-called gyms from the Yellow Pages; most rejected her for adult classes, one offered adult classes twice a week That led to juggling, circus, fencing, capa, rock climbing — a "Cambrian explosion" of movement opportunities About a year and a half later, walked into a ballet studio in corduroy and a button-up, no ballet shoes; first ballet teacher was Eric Skinner at Reed College, surrounded by former professional ballerinas First internal college production was his first show; ten years later performed as an acrobat with the San Francisco Opera in 2013, six acrobats among 200 people on stage, four-hour shows with multiple costume changes and backflips Relationship to AI and the evolving world of work Mandy never asks her daughters "What do you want to be?" because jobs today may not exist in the future Focus on interests: plants, how things are built, areas of curiosity for future generations Coaching her team: Highly capable, competent, invested in tools and technology for digital signage, webinars, emails, data-driven insights, videos Approach AI with cautious optimism: Adopt early, embrace technology, use it to enhance work rather than replace it Example: Uses a bot for scheduling efficiency, brainstorming; enhances job performance by integrating AI from day one Advice: Approach AI with curiosity, not fear; embrace tools to be smarter and more efficient, stay ahead in careers 53:05 Where to Find Mandy Mandy will be speaking at Snafu Conference on March 5, discussing rejection and overcoming it. Author and speaking information: mandymooney.com LinkedIn: Mandy Mooney Music available under her real name, Mandy Mooney, on streaming platforms.  

In this episode we sit down with Paul Richmond, owner of Branching Out Tree Specialists in Australia. Paul shares his incredible journey starting as a horticulture student in the UK, working his way up from ground crew to contracts manager, building his own tree service on weekends, and eventually moving across the world to Australia to start over from scratch. We talk about what it really takes to grow a tree service business the smart way. Slow, steady growth, saving capital, investing in equipment strategically, and building a strong reputation through quality work and clean job sites. Paul also shares insights on residential vs commercial tree work, the difference between “tree lopping” and professional arboriculture, safety standards, and how marketing evolved from leaflet distribution and Yellow Pages to Google rankings and online reviews. If you're a tree service owner, arborist, or contractor looking to grow your business, generate more leads, or transition from working in the business to building a brand, this episode is packed with real-world lessons you can apply immediately. Join our FREE facebook group - Tree service marketing secrets!   / treeservicemarketingsecrets   Download our Ultimate Internet Marketing Checklist FREE: https://treeservicedigital.com/free-c... Listen to our Podcast @ https://treeservicedigital.com/podcast/ Follow our new LinkedIn Page :   / tree-service-digital-marketing  

What happens when addiction, loss, and uncertainty collide with discipline, honesty, and trust. In this episode, I sit down with David Price, a visionary CEO who shares his journey from growing up with addicted parents and battling his own drug addiction to building a multi-million-dollar insurance organization in less than a year. David opens up about hitting bottom, finding clarity through recovery, and learning how mindset, patience, and consistency reshaped his life and business. We explore what it really takes to build trust, lead people well, and stay focused when growth feels uncomfortable. This conversation is about resilience, personal responsibility, and why an Unstoppable mindset is built one honest decision at a time. Highlights: 00:10 – Hear how David Price's early life with addicted parents shaped his resilience and stress tolerance03:18 – Learn how growing up unstable planted the seed for David's drive to become a business owner05:01 – Discover the moment David realized addiction was no longer something he could manage alone15:51 – Hear the unexpected reason David walked into a recovery meeting that changed everything24:16 – Learn how small, achievable habits helped David rebuild his life after getting clean37:50 – Understand the hard business lesson David learned after choosing the wrong partner44:34 – Hear how losing six figures of monthly income overnight forced David to rebuild from zero53:49 – Learn why David believes trust is more valuable than money when building an unstoppable business About the Guest: David Price – CEO & Founder, The Price Group IMO David Price is the visionary CEO and Founder of The Price Group IMO, one of the fastest-rising organizations in financial services. His journey to success was anything but ordinary. Growing up in a broken home and battling drug and alcohol addiction for years, David hit rock bottom more than once. In 2013, he made the life-changing decision to get clean and rebuild his life. That moment of clarity became the foundation for everything that followed, teaching him resilience, grit, and an unshakable drive to create a better future. In 2018, David discovered the insurance industry. With no prior experience, he earned his license and built a simple, scalable system that allowed everyday people—single moms, career changers, and those just looking for a side income—to succeed. Within 36 months, he became a millionaire, and by his fourth year he was generating more than $1 million annually. In October 2024, he launched The Price Group IMO, partnering with top carriers and introducing a superior lead program that created even greater opportunities for people to work from home and build real financial freedom. In less than 350 days, the organization produced over $10 million in sales, cementing itself as one of the fastest-growing IMOs in the country. Today, David's mission extends far beyond personal success. He is dedicated to helping people reinvent their lives, showing them how to earn an income, work flexibly from home, and build businesses of their own. Many of the agents and agencies he mentors are already on track to reach six and seven figures, proving the power of his model. Beyond business, David is a member of the Forbes Business Council and an active voice on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube, where he shares transparent insights, strategies, and motivation for people seeking more freedom, flexibility, and purpose in their careers. Ways to connect with David**:**

Ever notice how two dental practices can sit a mile apart, offer the same services, and charge similar fees, yet one stays booked out while the other struggles to fill chairs? The difference is rarely clinical skill. It is visibility. Most dentists still believe SEO lives on their website. Google does not agree. Today, the real fight for new patients happens inside your Google Business Profile. That is where rankings are decided, trust is built, and calls are generated. If your profile is treated like a digital Yellow Pages listing, you are already behind. The Biggest SEO Misconception In Dentistry A great-looking website does not equal growth. Many practices obsess over design elements, videos, and aesthetics while ignoring the engine that actually drives traffic. SEO is not about how polished your site looks. It is about whether Google understands who you are, what you do, and when to show you. There is also a growing belief that AI has made SEO obsolete. The opposite is true. SEO feeds AI. If your digital footprint is weak, AI-powered search will simply skip you. Strong SEO is no longer optional. It is the baseline for being discovered at all. Why Google Business Profiles Dominate Local Rankings Search for any dentist, orthodontist, or specialist in your area. What shows up first? The map pack. Google Business Profiles sit above traditional organic results, and only three practices make the cut. That scarcity is intentional. Google wants to surface what it believes are the best local options, fast. This matters even more now as Google begins layering AI directly into Business Profiles. Pricing prompts, service summaries, and conversational answers are already being tested in other industries. Dentistry is next. If you are not optimized where Google is investing its AI future, you will miss the next wave of patient discovery. Free Growth Session Google Business Profiles Are More Than A Directory Treating your profile like a static listing is a costly mistake. Google Business optimization works much like website SEO. Categories, services, descriptions, and photos act as ranking signals. If you want to be found for Invisalign, implants, or pediatric dentistry, those services must be intentionally built into your profile. Think of it this way. If your website never mentioned Invisalign, you would not expect to rank for it. The same logic applies inside Google Business. Practices that structure services, write optimized descriptions, and maintain fresh activity give Google clear signals about relevance. That clarity is rewarded with visibility. Review Velocity Is A Competitive Weapon Most dentists understand reviews matter. Fewer understand how they actually work. Google looks at more than total review count. It tracks history, consistency, and momentum. A practice earning steady reviews each month often outranks competitors with a larger but stagnant total. Reviews serve two roles. They are algorithmic trust signals and they are patient decision drivers. The practices winning here do not leave reviews to chance. They build internal systems, train staff to ask at the right moment, and treat reviews as a non-negotiable growth lever. Discipline beats hope every time. Free Growth Session Hyperlocal SEO Expands Your Reach Without New Locations Local SEO is no longer just city-based. It is neighborhood-based. Patients search from specific pockets of a city. Google responds by prioritizing proximity and relevance at a hyperlocal level. Practices that only optimize for one city limit their reach. By creating hyperlocal content, aligning website pages with nearby areas, and reinforcing those signals through Google Business and reviews, practices extend their visibility radius. Think of it as casting multiple lines instead of one. More hooks create more opportunities to be found. Ranking Is Only Step One. Conversion Is Where Growth Happens Ranking does not guarantee patients. Once you appear in the map pack, patients compare fast. Reviews, photos, branding, and credibility signals decide who gets the call. A practice with five reviews will lose clicks to one with five hundred. Grainy photos and thin websites erode trust. Strong branding, clear doctor credibility, and proof of experience convert attention into action. Google gets you seen. Trust gets you chosen. Free Growth Session Practical Takeaways Dentists Can Use Now Here is where to focus if you want results, not theory. Log into Google Business Insights monthly and review calls, clicks, and profile interactions Build a consistent internal review system with full team buy-in Optimize categories, services, and descriptions for high-value treatments Align website content and Google Business messaging so they reinforce each other Track real outcomes like calls and bookings, not just keyword positions Stop guessing. Start measuring what actually moves patients. The Bottom Line Google Business Profiles are no longer secondary assets. They are becoming AI-powered decision hubs for local search. Dentists who treat them as set-it-and-forget-it listings will fade. Those who optimize, monitor, and adapt will own their local market. Visibility creates opportunity. Execution creates growth. If you want to win, start where Google already is. Free Growth Session The post Local SEO for Dentists: The Strategy Everyone Gets Wrong appeared first on HIP Creative.

Most healthcare clinics focus on Google Business Profile and their website for local SEO, but there's another listing you might be ignoring that still makes a difference. Believe it or not, your Yellow Pages online listing continues to carry weight with search engines and can boost your clinic's visibility.In this episode, you'll learn why Yellow Pages hasn't faded into the past, how it helps strengthen your local SEO, and the simple steps to optimize your listing so it works in your favor.If you want a quick, low-effort way to get found by more patients, this episode shows you how.Episode webpage, blog, and show notes: https://propelyourcompany.com/yellow-pages-local-seo/Send in your questions. ❤ We'd love to hear from you!NEW Webinar: How to dominate Google Search, Google Maps, AI-driven search results, and get more new patients.>> Save your spot

What does relationship banking, fraud prevention, and real leadership have to do with the Energize Conference?Everything.In this episode of Hanging with the Hoopers, Andrew Hooper sits down with Angela Saiz and Toni Carroll from Capital Bank to unpack why they continue to sponsor FNF Energize year after year…and why this event matters so much to the title industry right now.Angela shares her journey from Yellow Pages advertising to becoming one of the most trusted connectors in the title and banking world. Toni breaks down what she's seeing on the front lines of wire fraud, check fraud, and positive pay, and why too many businesses still don't understand the risks.Together, the conversation hits on:• Why personal relationships still win in banking• How fraud has evolved…and what title companies must do now• Leadership lessons that hold up in any market• Why “do what you say you're going to do” still matters• And why Energize is designed to reset your mindset at the start of the yearThis isn't hype. It's a real conversation about growth, protection, leadership, and partnership…and why Energize creates space for the conversations our industry actually needs.

‘Five Nights at Freddy's 2' star Josh Hutcherson joins the show. Over Thai iced teas and Pad Thai, Josh tells me about splitting his time between California and Spain, what he loves about living on the Eastside, and why the subtle trolling of the hipster LA enclave in the HBO Max series ‘I Love LA' hits so close to home. We also bond over being senior dog dads, and he tells me how his acting career started by peeling open the Yellow Pages at age 8. Plus, he tells me how nabbing Peeta in ‘Hunger Games' changed everything. This episode was recorded at Night + Market Song in Silver Lake, CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Franchise Fit Podcast (formerly Eye on Franchising) returns with a powerhouse episode on the future of influencer marketing in franchising — featuring two industry icons: Angela Olea (Founder & CEO, Sweet Influencers) and Liberty Bernal (President & COO, Sweet Influencers).If you've ever wondered how AI, micro-influencers, and real UGC content will transform franchise growth, this is your episode.From the early days of Blackberries, Yellow Page ads, and landlines to AI-powered influencer campaigns… marketing has changed forever. And Sweet Influencers is leading the next wave.Whether you're a franchisor, franchisee, or future business owner — this episode reveals how influencer marketing REALLY works, how campaigns are matched to the right audience, why micro-influencers drive massive ROI, and how AI now predicts what content will actually convert.This episode is sponsored by SEO Samba — AI-Driven, Predictable Franchise Marketing Success.

Send us a textUnlock Proven Strategies for a Lucrative Business Exit—Subscribe to The Deep Wealth Podcast TodayHave Questions About Growing Profits And Maximizing Your Business Exit? Submit Them Here, and We'll Answer Them on the Podcast!“Go slow so you can go fast, and always remember it's never too late. - Dan MonaghanExclusive Insights from This Week's EpisodesDan Monaghan, a global entrepreneur, decade-long digital pioneer and AI futurist, doesn't just warn of the disruption, he reveals the one move companies must make to survive.0:10 – Dan's origin story: from ice-cream bicycle franchisee to global digital agency founder2:45 – The early web was a scattershot Yellow Pages — why that matters to your business today5:20 – Why “rankings + backlinks” is now a dinosaur method in an AI-driven world7:30 – The concept Dan coined: Adaptive SEO — what it is and why it replaces traditional SEO13:45 – Why traffic from AI-driven agents (not humans) may soon dominate your analytics16:00 – How Dan's own companies use AI voice agents and large language-model traffic to outperform traditional lead generation19:30 – The human element: why storytelling, taste and real leadership still outmatch raw automation22:15 – What every entrepreneur should do today: the first step toward AI-driven resilienceClick here for full show notes, transcript, and resources:https://podcast.deepwealth.com/496Essential Resources to Maximize Your Business ExitLearn More About Deep Wealth MasteryFREE Deep Wealth eBook on Why You Suck At Selling Your Business And What You CanUnlock Your Lucrative Exit and Secure Your Legacy

Raised with strong faith values across multiple religious traditions, Meshell Baker discovered early on that the best people she encountered weren't defined by their specific beliefs, but by how consistently they practiced core principles of love, kindness, and service. In the beginning of her career, Meshell was exposed to diverse spiritual communities while selling Yellow Pages advertising in the most racially diverse county in America. Her experience would later become the foundation for everything she built. After a period of incarceration that stemmed from personal trauma and lost confidence, Meshell threw herself into rebuilding through corporate success. She became exceptional at climbing the ladder. You know the routine, the one that involves chasing promotions, better cars, bigger paychecks. On paper, she was winning. But she felt like she was running on a hamster wheel, hitting milestones that gave her five minutes of satisfaction before she had to chase the next achievement high. The turning point came during a Bible study group where she discovered her gift for helping women transform their confidence and step into their power. She realized this work brought her more joy than any corporate achievement ever had. Now as an entrepreneur and confidence coach, Meshell has learned the crucial difference between transformation and transaction. She emphasizes that once you transform internally, the external transactions (success, money, opportunities) naturally follow, but the reverse isn't true. Her story illustrates how confidence isn't something you summon on demand like an Amazon delivery. It's a way of being that you embody through consistent practice and self-compassion, even when, or especially when, you don't feel like it. Resources: Meshell Baker's website: https://meshellrbaker.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meshellrbaker Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeshellRBaker Instagram: http://instagram.com/MeshellRBaker Meshell's Hype Song is Confident by Demi LovatoInvitation from Lori:This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. Smart leaders know trust is the backbone of a thriving workplace, and in today's hybrid whirlwind, it doesn't grow from quarterly updates or the occasional Slack ping. It grows from steady, human communication. Plenty of companies think they're doing great because they host all-staff meetings, keep “open door” policies, and throw the occasional team-building event. Meanwhile, leaders who truly care about culture are choosing better tools. That's where I come in. Forward-thinking organizations bring me in to create internal podcasts that connect people through real stories, honest conversations, and genuine community—your old printed newsletter reinvented for the way people actually work now. If you run, work for, or know a company ready to upgrade communication and strengthen culture, reach out at Lori@ZenRabbit dot com. Because when people feel heard, they engage. When they engage, they perform. And when they perform, the business succeeds beyond projections.

Social media is an important part of our lives. We wish people a happy birthday, find out about births or deaths, stay in touch with people, are entertained by hilarious videos and get our opinions out across to everyone (for better or worse). Breweries use social media as well, a sort of visual Yellow Pages to get out their vision, their beers and their events to the masses. But with an everchanging world and social media constantly changing its rules, how do breweries adapt and change? In this episode of the All About Beer podcast, we talk to three guests about how they handle trolls, creating content, and showcasing what their brewery does in a thoughtful way that stays true to their brand values. This Episode is Sponsored by:RahrBSGNeed ingredients and supplies that deliver consistent, high-quality beer? RahrBSG has you covered. From hops to malt to yeast to unbeatable customer service, we are dedicated to your success. RahrBSG—Ingredients for Greatness.Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, where trailblazing runs in the family. From crafting a movement with their iconic Pale Ale, to taking the IPA haze craze nationwide with Hazy Little Thing – it's an adventurous spirit you can taste in every sip. Find your next favorite beer wherever fine beverages are sold. With new brews for every season, there's always something to discover. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Still Family-Owned, Operated & Argued Over.Hosts:  Em Sauter and Don TseGuests: Julie Rhodes, Christa Brenner, and Liz WilsonSponsors: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., RahrBSG, All About BeerTags: Social Media, Business, BeerPhoto: John HollThe following music was used for this media project:Music: Awesome Call by Kevin MacLeodFree download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3399-awesome-callLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist website: https://incompetech.com ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode of The Business of Tech, host Dave Sobel engages in a conversation with Tammy Cannizzaro, the Chief Marketing Officer at Thrive, a company with over a century of experience that has transitioned from selling Yellow Pages ads to providing a comprehensive SaaS-enabled marketing solution for small businesses. Tammy outlines Thrive's mission to help small businesses grow by enhancing their online presence and competing effectively against larger enterprises. She emphasizes the importance of a structured approach to marketing, which includes getting found online, converting leads into customers, and fostering customer loyalty.As the discussion progresses, Tammy highlights the significant impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on small businesses, particularly in marketing. She shares insights from Thrive's research, indicating that a growing number of small business owners are adopting AI tools to improve their marketing strategies. Tammy explains how AI can assist in optimizing online visibility, managing customer reviews, and maintaining fresh website content, all of which are crucial for small businesses looking to thrive in a digital landscape increasingly dominated by AI technologies.Tammy also addresses the challenges small business owners face when integrating AI into their operations. She advocates for a gradual approach, suggesting that starting with simple AI applications can yield meaningful results without overwhelming business owners. By focusing on practical use cases, such as automated customer outreach and review responses, small businesses can leverage AI to enhance their marketing efforts and drive repeat business. This incremental strategy allows them to build confidence and familiarity with AI tools over time.Finally, the conversation touches on the importance of customer retention and the balance between marketing-driven and product-led growth. Tammy emphasizes that understanding customer needs and preferences is key to delivering effective SaaS solutions. Thrive aims to meet customers where they are, offering various engagement options, from hands-on support to self-service models. This flexibility ensures that small business owners can choose the approach that best suits their unique circumstances, ultimately fostering long-term relationships and driving growth.

Episode Description "If your fortune teller asks for $600,000, whose future are they really looking out for?" In this riveting episode of “Kent Hance, The Best Storyteller in Texas,” Kent dives headfirst into the wild world of fortune tellers, internet rumors, and the ever-shifting American workplace. Kent opens with a tale from Montgomery County, where fortune tellers convinced locals to part with staggering sums—all in the name of happiness and curses. With his trademark wit, Kent recalls his days as a young lawyer defending a fortune teller in Lubbock, weaving in lessons about skepticism and the power of persuasion. The episode doesn't stop at fortune-telling. Kent explores viral internet rumors—like the great Polish potato heist—and discuss how misinformation can spark chaos in unexpected places. Listeners are treated to stories of lottery winners, workplace surveys, and the surprising dreams of Gen Z, including one respondent whose “American dream” is to retire to the coast of Scotland with their cats. Kent's insights on workplace toxicity are especially timely, as he shares memorable anecdotes about office politics and the importance of a healthy work environment. “If you get somebody toxic, you gotta let them go quick or you'll have all the office leaving and quitting,” Kent warns, highlighting the delicate balance between mental health and job security. The episode is peppered with nostalgia—Yellow Pages, floppy disks, and Blockbuster—reminding listeners how quickly technology can upend entire industries. Kent's reflections on exercise, multitasking, and the wisdom of living for today round out the show, leaving listeners with practical advice and plenty of laughs. Notable Quotes & Moments: “I've never had somebody turn down a hundred dollar bill anywhere in the world.” “The internet killed the Yellow Pages—and changed everything.” “Halloween displays so realistic, the fire department showed up 30 times!”   Call to Action Don't miss this episode packed with unforgettable stories, sharp insights, and Kent's legendary Texas humor. Subscribe now, leave us a review, and share the show with friends who love a good story and a fresh perspective on today's world!  

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training What do you do when your career takes an unexpected left turn? And how do you know when it's time to stop hustling like a freelancer and start leading like a CEO? Today's featured guest found herself in that situation and made the bold choice to go from career misstep to becoming an agency owner. She'll dive into what it really takes to go from a one-woman shop with dial-up internet to leading a team with vision, systems, and staying power. From handwritten letters with a 15% close rate to breaking free from client dependency and leveraging AI without losing the human touch, she shares the hard-earned lessons every agency owner needs to hear. Kriston Sellier is the President and Founder of Id8, a specialized branding agency based in Atlanta. With more than 25 years in the business, she's built a reputation for helping food, beverage, and manufacturing brands stand out and thrive. Kriston is passionate about research-driven branding, cultivating strong communities, and proving that the human side of leadership is just as critical as the strategy. In this episode, we'll discuss:                                    Starting over after being fired. Outgrowing freelance mode. What do agency owners need to grow? Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources This episode is brought to you by Wix Studio: If you're leveling up your team and your client experience, your site builder should keep up too. That's why successful agencies use Wix Studio — built to adapt the way your agency does: AI-powered site mapping, responsive design, flexible workflows, and scalable CMS tools so you spend less on plugins and more on growth. Ready to design faster and smarter? Go to wix.com/studio to get started. Thriving in the Agency World After Being Fired Kriston didn't step into agency ownership with a clean, corporate plan. She was fired. After leaving IBM to co-found an agency, she found herself pushed out after a handshake deal gone wrong. At 20-something, she was suddenly unemployed and staring down two options: get another job or finally chase her dream of starting her own shop. It wasn't easy, but that leap turned out to be the right one. Starting out with no clients, she set a modest goal of making $35,000 in her first year. Instead, she closed out her first nine months with $90,000. That was the moment she knew she wasn't just freelancing; she was building something real. From Cold Calls to Handwritten Letters: Building the First Client Base Kriston started with just a basement office and dial-up internet. Since this was the 90s, if her husband picked up the phone line upstairs it would disconnect the whole system. She started out making cold calls to every food and beverage brand in the Yellow Pages. Additionally, she also sent handwritten letters pitching her services, yielding an impressive 15% close rate. In today's digital-first world, that kind of return sounds impossible, but back then it got her first wave of clients. It's a reminder that persistence and a personal touch can cut through the noise, even if the tools have changed. Outgrowing Freelance Mode and Thinking Like a CEO Like many agency owners, Kriston spent the early years acting more like a freelancer than a CEO. That all changed in 2006 when one client made up 75% of her business. The sleepless nights and anxiety from being handcuffed to a single account forced her to rethink everything. A colleague recommended working with a business consultant, so Kriston hired one and for four years, she worked with a full-time consultant who helped her transition from operator to CEO. That shift meant putting systems in place, committing to sales, and most importantly, diversifying her client base. Within the first year of working with her consultant, she added 25 new clients and broke free from the one-client trap. What Agency CEOs Need to Grow? Kriston strongly believes that CEOs should surround themselves with subject matter experts. Every agency owner needs a good advisory board that tells them the truths they doesn't necessarily want to hear, which is why she recommends relying on financial, HR, and sales consultants that can help you look at things from a different perspective. Regarding her role as CEO, Kriston definitely sees herself as more of a coach than a manager. For her, leadership is about helping team members uncover the real issues behind their challenges and guiding them to their own solutions. Likewise, the best team members are those who show they're coachable and open to feedback. She doesn't see failure as the end of the road but as a symptom of something deeper. Her job is to help her team ask the right questions, recognize the root cause, and take ownership of the fix. That shift from micromanaging tasks to coaching outcomes not only freed her up as a leader but also empowered her team to make better decisions without her constant oversight. AI, Research, and the Future of Agencies Running a research-based agency, Kriston is a big fan of Perplexity, a research-focused AI she uses 20–40 times a day for everything from writing stronger emails to analyzing massive datasets. But she's quick to point out that AI isn't a replacement for agencies—it's an enhancer. Where some fear AI will eliminate agency work, Kriston agrees that companies will still want experts to navigate the complexity and not DIY everything themselves. Clients may use AI for certain tasks, but they'll still rely on agencies for strategy, creativity, and execution.. AI + human expertise is the winning formula. And with large organizations outsourcing more marketing again, Kriston believes the future is bright for agencies that bring innovation, research, and personal connection to the table. Cooperation Over Competition Kriston wants agency owners to stop treating each other like competitors and start seeing each other as collaborators. She believes the industry's future depends on agency owners being open, honest, and willing to share both wins and lessons learned. Most agency owners see every other shop as a threat when they're starting out, fearful of competition instead of open to collaboration. At some point, however, through masterminds and peer groups, they come to realize the real growth comes when owners start to build community and create strategic partnerships. For Kriston, it all comes back to community, the same mission she set when she started ID8 decades ago. Build the community, and the business will follow. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Kris welcomes “The Jens”, aka Jennifer House (CEO) and Jenni Grawvunder (COO) of Children's Choice Preschool, to share the remarkable story behind their 12-center child care empire in San Diego County. What started as a nonprofit program with 25 children has grown into a thriving operation serving nearly 1,300 kids across 11 centers (with a 12th on the way) and supported by a team of over 300 staff.   From pet chickens to RV-based school openings, the Jens talk about blending practical business strategy with fun, managing both nonprofit and for-profit centers, building culture through grace and accountability, and how a vivid vision exercise helped reawaken their passion (and their animal sanctuary dreams). They also share some great advice on marketing, building a community, and not staying stuck as a leader.   Key Takeaways: [8:24] The Jens join Kris from sunny San Diego. [9:37] Jen House reflects on starting Children's Choice in 1998 as a nonprofit with 25 children. [10:11] They now operate 11 schools, with the 12th in escrow. [11:27] Jenni G shares how she started as an aide in 2008 and worked her way up. [12:28] The hilarious Yellow Pages story of how Jenni found her job and showed up with a posse. [13:35] They now care for nearly 1,300 children and manage over 300 employees. [14:25] The pet mascots of Children's Choice. [17:29] How a vivid vision exercise during a mastermind reignited Jen's goals. [18:08] Why events, parent engagement, and low ratios keep them nearly full. [19:56] How they separate their nonprofit and for-profit businesses. [22:55] Culture tips: give grace, hold accountability, and never stop training. [23:51] Why adaptability has been key to their continued growth. [24:05] Their dynamic: Jen is the visionary; Jenni is the implementer and numbers brain. [26:34] Jenni recalls stepping up as a leader during COVID after Jen's family loss. [28:18] Jen reflects on shedding the nonprofit scarcity mindset and embracing self-worth. [30:15] Their marketing strategy includes events, banners, mailers, and constant hustle. [33:38] Why they gave up enrollment specialists and returned to director-led tours. [36:02] Jenni's personal journey of staying in California and building a life she never imagined. [37:33] Their next move? An RV to launch school #12 on the road. [39:12] The Jens share their fun facts, including chasing cows and running a puppet business.   Quotes: “I told her, when I interviewed with her the first day, I said, ‘I'm gonna run one of your schools one day.' And here I am.” — Jenni Grawvunder [11:43]   “You say give grace, but we also have to hold accountability.” — Jennifer House [23:13]   “Everything that we do, we learn from, we grow from, and who I am today is because of the things that I went through.” — Jennifer House [35:17]   “You're always marketing. Even when you're full, you keep marketing.” — Jennifer House [32:52]   Sponsored By: ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI) Use code CCSC5 to claim a free course!   Mentioned in This Episode: Kris Murray @iamkrismurray The Child Care Success Company The Child Care Success Academy The Child Care Success Summit Grow Your Center Childcare Education Institute: Use code CDARenewal22 to get $100 off your renewal LocaliQ Trainual Children's Choice Preschool Children's Choice Academy