Best.podcast.ever.

When a personal life event negatively affects your business you can choose to let it defeat you or bounce back stronger than ever before. Traci Miller, a woman of resilience and empathy, shares a story of loss and how it affected both her personal life and professional career. We discuss new life mantras, the importance of your mental health, and how a sense of community can change your life.   Takeaways  Create a community of people or “tribe” to use as a sounding board, community, and support system. Entrepreneurs have their own language, they tend to understand each other. Having that support, even if it's the lack of judgment. Keep track of your victories. Journaling is a great way to remind yourself of your highs as well as your lows. Questions to live by: “Am I going to regret those words tomorrow?”, “Did I have a positive impact on those around me?”, and “Will they think of me in a way that they were better for having been part of my life?” Imagine that every conversation could be the last words

Growing your network and surrounding yourself with other entrepreneurs can help you get through the highs and the lows of starting your own business. Over time, Chas realized that creating a constructive and prosperous business culture starts from hiring the correct people that can work together effectively. He started using the Culture Index to identify changes that needed to be made in order to help his employees meet their maximum potential.    Takeaways: Find an experienced mentor who can assist you with the highs and lows of running your own business. Don’t let other people’s expectations of you affect your future. Only you are in control of where you go and what you do. The Entrepreneurs Organization has helped many aspiring entrepreneurs grow their business and feel a sense of belonging. There comes a time when business owners move from using personal intuition to making decisions based on scientific data. Learning how to communicate effectively with different types of personalities is important

“One big family!” There are benefits to pulling from a pool of people you know when you’re first starting a new business venture. There’s also a lot of risks! What happens when you hire a sibling or a friend of a friend, and your expectations of their capabilities don’t line up? Mark Schneiders has accomplished the almost unimaginable - owning and managing a company where almost everyone is a first-degree connection or “once removed from the family”. Listen to this episode to hear his tips and tricks on this mastery! Takeaways  “There is an entrepreneurial paranoia, you’re often taking risks… and we find ourselves pushing forward, doing what you have to win, to overcome, to adapt.”   As a business owner & leader, when you take ownership of problems and manage them the business takes off and breeds success. One of the best tools Mark employed is a culture Index. This helped him understand how his employees need to be motivated, led, talked to, and utilized.  Not every employee will think like you

Alex talks to Christian Klein, owner of the digital marketing firm Company 119. As one of the first in their field, they experienced explosive growth and learned some hard lessons in the years that followed. Learn about CAP (communication, anticipation, preparation), the core elements of a successful emergency situation, and how it can help you evaluate the decisions facing your business in light of the question, “Is this a risk I’m willing to take?”  Takeaways  Look at decisions in light of “Is this a risk you are willing to take?” Marketing puts the best face on your organization to the outside world, but every company has problems. Fix the ego element in your company  CAP (Communication, Anticipation, Preparation): the core elements of a successful emergency situation Know these two things and your clients will trust you. Take ownership of your career and turn it into a craft. Links Twitter: https://twitter.com/company119?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianklein/ Website: ht

Bridget Thibeault went from working for an ad agency to going to culinary school full-time; baking and selling goods out of her small kitchen to opening Luna Bakery and Cafe in Cleveland Heights. With her marketing background and passion for baking, there were lines out the doors--but she wanted to become a better leader and create a company that was not only sustainable but could grow. With 10 years of hard work behind her and many lessons learned, Bridget shares how a shift in mindset helped her become profitable and create a company culture that draws and maintains the best employees.   Takeaways: Shift your mindset: Stop working IN your business and start working ON your business Increase your knowledge about running a business by taking advantage of opportunities like Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program Become a better leader: take a step back and think about what’s the right way to grow Learn how to stay positive through the ups and downs as a business owner How to “mind the gap” betwee

Hiring the right people for your organization is key to a successful company and its culture. This weeks’ special guest, Terry Walkerly, joins us to discuss the importance of establishing a company’s core values, personal values, and how to best implement them.   Takeaways  Avoid holding onto toxic employees longer than you should. If there is an issue, address it directly and take action. Try to also avoid letting stress and fear impact your decision to make role changes. Be selective with who you place your trust in. It is critical to have your company culture and values stem from the head(s) of the company. Establish your personal values and balance them with your company’s values. See that your employees take pride in their personal lives so that they will take pride in your business and their work. Hire employees that closely match or reflect your company’s core values. Create an interview guide that includes questions that play into your core values. Prepare in advance for an employee departu

Running a business may seem straightforward to some, but any seasoned veteran understands that the world around us is ever-changing. Changes in our social climate, economic climate, or a new disease can wreak havoc on a new company. In this week’s episode, special guest Dan Charney takes us on his company’s journey of weathering the storm and how moving from one crisis to the next strengthened his company and his leadership style.   Takeaways  The strength of a firm or company is not always seen in the good times but is clearly visible during the bad. Even CEOs can suffer from Imposter Syndrome. A more diverse client base is a great way to expand your business and can also help you weather multitudes of economic storms By “making mistakes faster” you can see what potential threats your business could incur and work around them. Properly research opportunities, focus on the good ones and don’t throw every dollar at every idea. There is no “CEO Playbook” that helps us get to where we are or want to be.

Host, Alex Gertsburg, is interviewed by fellow podcaster, Casey Cheshire of Ringmaster Conversational Marketing and shares an important story of ego and how to not let it affect your personal and professional life. Alex dives into his personal growth on handling insecurities, staying vulnerable, and creating a successful work environment.   Takeaways:   When a professional relationship becomes toxic to your work environment, it is okay to sever ties. Mindfulness training and meditation have helped many professionals with stress and anxiety levels. Attitude is a choice. Gratitude is the enemy of anxiety and fear  If you are going to have partners, who you want to be empowered and considered equals, be transparent and communicate to build trust. Be flexible and listen to your peers. Try to remove yourself from thinking “what should have been?” “The best way to be a leader, partner, and advocate is by being totally vulnerable, open, and transparent.” - Alex Failure is healthy and a learning opportunity

Trust in your partners is essential to promote a healthy and productive work environment. Michael Cantor, Managing Director of Allegro Real Estate Brokers & Advisors, shares how the cultural fit for his company was failing due to conflicting core values between his partners. In this episode, Michael discusses the transition into a team-oriented business that values putting clients first.  Takeaways:   Ensure that your core values and purpose match with your partners’. This avoids conflicts of interest and allows goals to be achieved efficiently.  Corporate culture is key in professional services environments. It is important for employees to be excited to serve customers, and steer away from being money-oriented.  You need to have employees that are growing with you and developing to help clients. If your cultural values do not align with your partners, adjust your business to what is best for your company. Michael and his team used their power to remove two untrustworthy partners who were prima

As a business owner, it takes practice to put your ego aside and trust your employees to accomplish the tasks you delegate. Randy Carver, CEO of Carver Financial Services, discusses how he transitioned from a CEO focused business to a team business in three phases. Learn how to hire the best employees and develop them as leaders for the success of your business. Takeaways:   When it comes to financial service businesses, it is important to be service-based providers. When someone hires you, they are not hiring you for financial planning or investments, they are hiring you to pay for retirement, college, a trip, etc. The most important transformation a business can make is the transition from a CEO-based business to a team business.  If you make yourself as a leader less important, your business will grow You need to delegate some of the things you’re doing. Look at your strengths as a business owner, and delegate the rest.  Hiring is not all about technical skills, it is about fitting in culturally

John DiJulius, a successful entrepreneur of John Robert’s Spa and The Di-Julius Group, joins host Alex G to discuss creating a unique customer service revolution. After his workforce walked out on him due to substandard employees, John shifted his company’s vision. Instead of compromising his business culture for sales, he established a strict hiring system that brought him passionate and dedicated workers.   Takeaways: Ensure that the employees that you hire have the same vision for your company. You need passionate workers that are dedicated to your vision as an entrepreneur Do not compromise your business goals and values for sales. This puts your company in a position of inevitable failure. Good customer service is essential. John made the mistake of hiring employees that lacked effective communication skills, making his company suffer. Not investing in good customer service will destroy your company and its financials. Have a strict hiring process. If you make the mistake of hiring an employee with

It can be difficult to manage working both in the business and on the business. Bob Coppedge, CEO at Symplex IT, walks us through how he transitioned to working entirely within his business and its operations, to working on the business by developing a system to plan for the future. He discusses the importance of failure as a learning lesson, and optimizing your time and money by delegating the things you do poorly. Takeaways:   It is important to know from day one that scaling is important. Only working in the business will take up a lot of time and limit a company’s ability to scale. Failure has a bad reputation. In reality, failure is vital because it promotes learning and growth. If you don't fail, then where is the risk? You have to have an understanding of what your employees can do better than you. Slice things off your plate by delegating the things that you do poorly to your employees. In your business, there is what you envision and what actually happens. You have to ensure that there is a

Learning how to become aligned within a partnership is difficult. Louis Licata, Co-Manager of Gertsberg Licata, discusses how he developed as a partner and an individual after being betrayed by his co-founders in their start-up law firm. Louis reminds us that when working with other partners, make sure you share the same core business values, and keep your ego in check. Takeaways:   Treat your business partners like partners; respect them as equals. Have similar core business values and long-term visions as your business partners in order to have alignment. Without alignment between partners, behavior is misread and trust issues are formed. You may have many skills, but you may not be utilizing them properly in your business. Once you become aware of these skills, you can work on developing as a business person.  Look at yourself and your failures as a partner in order to grow; keep your ego in check, and admit when you’re wrong. Confirmation bias can work against you, and can block you from big op

The habits instilled by over 20 years of wrestling training have prepared Aaron Grossman, CEO of TalentLaunch and Alliance Solutions Group, for the physical and mental challenges of entrepreneurship. Starting and growing a business isn’t for the faint of heart, and knowing how and when to take a risk can pay off with big rewards. Aaron shares his unique experiences with host Alex G on this special episode of CEO Confidential.     Takeaways  As an entrepreneur you have to be confident in being able to take risks, you know that not all of the risks are going to create wins. “Failures are a great opportunity to learn if you are reflecting in the correct way and you’re allowing the risk to pay off… a risk can also pay off if they don’t go the right way because you can still grow.” - Aaron Grossman On adversity Aaron says, “I treat every day like it’s a wrestling match or practice, and how much am I going to put in and how much do I want to get better every day.” Let fear help you, don’t let it sit in the d

What does it mean to be a humble leader? Adam Kaufman, Founder of Up2 Foundation, shares his story of how he leaned on his support network and began his journey to becoming a more empathetic and humble leader.   Takeaways  Having a support network, whether you are a CEO or not, is invaluable. Seek out and lean on peers, mentors, and family if you are in need of guidance. “We are all going to face curves in the road. It is up to us to know how we’re going to navigate them.” ~Adam A key component of humility is forgiveness. In order to be forgiven, you need to first learn to forgive others. Take steps towards cultivating who you want yourself to be. Meditation, acts of kindness, or keeping a momento close help slow down automatic thinking.   Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-kaufman-62073453/ Company: https://www.up2foundation.org   Ways to Tune In iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-confidential/id1197044116 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5an441bbj

When the pandemic hit, the world went into disarray. Phil Rankin, President of Even Mix™ & Special Metal Stamping, shares his story of how he seized an opportunity that changed his company. Even Mix™ is a patented 3D mixing technology. They have used aerospace engineering techniques to design pump technology into their variable pitch blades, bringing true mixing technology to in-drum liquids.     Takeaways  Be attentive to current events. Capitalize on challenges that are in high demand by pivoting your marketing strategy to target that market. When shifting into a new market, be mindful of scalability. How can the company grow sustainably? What structures need to be in place to ensure growth? Listen to the customer. Better pricing and new technologies can only go so far if the product is not applicable to the customer’s needs. Trust your gut as a business owner. We are approached daily with new opportunities. Do not be afraid to take calculated risks. Getting the right mix of resources commit

We all are faced with stressful situations at one point or another. It is our reactions and next steps that help mold the future of our company and yourself. Ben Bebenroth, Chef/Owner of Spice Kitchen + Bar, Spice Catering Co., and Spice Acres Farm, shares his story of how to pivot a highly stressful situation into an opportunity for personal and company growth. Spice Hospitality Group offers local food focused restaurants, catering, and foraging from their Spice Acres Farm. They strive to change how people connect with food through sustainable agriculture.   Takeaways  It’s ok to be vulnerable and let yourself feel your emotions. When you encounter a stressful situation, be mindful and take a step back before tackling the issue. It is important to develop a sense of self awareness while encountering stressful situations. How are your actions or reactions affecting your team? Behind every emotion distress is fear. It is what drives emotional outbursts, reactions, and responses. What is your modality of

Sticking to your company values is crucial to building a brand and protecting the integrity of your product or service. Leslie Zinn, Owner of Arden’s Garden, shares her story on owning her values through the thick and thin of it. Arden’s Garden is Atlanta’s premier fresh juice manufacturer. Over the last 26 years, it has grown from bringing wellness to the local community to now being available in 1500 stores across six states. The 170+ team at Arden’s Garden is dedicated to providing pure and healthy juices, smoothies and plant-based foods for consumers.   Takeaways  “The biggest lesson learned is don’t ever give up. You have got to keep pushing forward.” ~Leslie Consistently doing the right thing and not cutting corners pays off in the long run. Have well defined core values within your organization. Stay true to your company's core values, especially when making big decisions for your product or service. “Do the right thing just because it’s the right thing. For no other reason. You got that path a

Looking to hire your next employee? How do you deal with picking the WAY wrong employee? Better yet, how do you pick the right candidate? Lee Stacey, CEO & President at McGowan Allied Specialty Insurance has some insight and a story you do not want to miss on this episode of CEO Confidential. Takeaways  Do your due diligence! Create a candidate checklist and interview process, then stick to it Consult counsel (legal or human resources) on how to deal with tricky employee situations Check references! Ask, “can you comment on this candidate's behavior in the workplace?” Sometimes brief answers are a red flag  When checking a reference, if a previous employer will only confirm dates of employment, that could be an indication to dig deeper and call another reference Do background checks, reference checks and even a culture index can be helpful Hire the right people for the right seats and your business will run as smoothly as possible Links Lee Stacey’s Best Podcast Ever Episode 107: https://www.ceo

Alex sits down with nationally acclaimed speaker, financial planner, author, coach, entrepreneur and CEO, Jason Smith, to discuss how a diagnosis of a complex heart condition at the age of 29 opened Jason’s eyes and led him from a revenue-generator to the creator and CEO of multiple, self-managing companies. Notes: Jason’s many hats How one company branched out into five Following in his father’s footsteps - whether he wanted to or not How a sudden heart condition diagnosis at 29 years old opened his eyes to what was really important Going from revenue maker to the creator of self-managing companies What it was like to “die” on the operating table Having to say your goodbyes Raising kids with blue-collar values in a white-collar world The 80/20 Rule and building the right team with the right processes Jason’s unique ability Personal development and “thinking about your thinking” Lightning Round Links: Jason’s LinkedInThe JL Smith Group Strategic Coach“The Advantage: Why Organizational Health T