angishields, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

BRX Pro Tip: Should You Hire a Business Podcast Coach?

August 23, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Should You Hire a Business Podcast Coach?

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BRX Pro Tip: Should You Hire a Business Podcast Coach?

Stone Payton : Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, today’s question, should you hire a business podcast coach?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, that’s a question that I get asked a lot because a lot of folks think they can do it alone. Having a business, especially a B2B podcast, doing it alone, is not a difficult thing when it comes to kind of the technology of doing the activity of podcasting.

Lee Kantor: So, you definitely can do it alone. Just watch some YouTube videos, subscribe to a couple of blogs, and you’ll see it’s pretty easy to produce and publish a podcast. That’s really not the hard part. And I think this is where a lot of folks kind of go off the rails because they think that that’s the hard part. But if you look at any of the stats, you quickly realize that 90% of B2B business podcasters and really podcasters of all kinds – all kinds of podcasters, they publish less than four episodes and then they quit. And if it was really easy, that wouldn’t be the case.

Lee Kantor: And so, it’s easy to start. It’s just difficult to maintain it over time and get the results that you were trying to get. So it’s one of those things that seem easy. But without really the right systems in place, it’s nearly impossible to sustain and even more difficult to get the results that you were hoping to get.

Lee Kantor: So, the people that work with Business RadioX are professional service providers who don’t have the time to go on this kind of learning curve. Most of them don’t cut their own hair, or they don’t change their own oil, or they don’t mow their own lawn. They’re the people who value their time and want to have and work with kind of a best-in-class system to get the job done and get the result that they desire, the result from doing the activity, which is the result of doing a B2B podcast. You don’t have to do everything unless you want to, and it’s just a really difficult thing to do right.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re ready to get help from experts who can deliver an easy-to-implement system to execute a business podcast that reliably delivers measurable results, then contact Business RadioX. We can help you do it yourself. We can do it with you, or we can do it for you.

Brian Shields with Handoff Partners

August 22, 2024 by angishields

Buy a Business Near Me

Brian Shields with Handoff Partners

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Brian L. Shields is a business development and acquisition expert with 15+ years of experience. Throughout his career he has owned, operated and invested in over 15 industries, and has worked on over $4 billion in various investments.

Brian has had a lot of experience acquiring businesses from retiring entrepreneurs. In the last 5 years, he’s led 16 transactions and put over $16m to work. His most recent business rollup sold for ~3x it’s original purchase price, after significant hands-on operational improvements were implemented.

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Buy a Business Near Me now. Here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Buy a Business Near Me. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Guys, you are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Handoff Partners. Brian Shields. How are you, man?

Brian Shields: I’m doing great. Stone, thank you so much for having me on today.

Stone Payton: Well, I’ve really been looking forward to this conversation. Brian, I got a ton of questions. I know we’re not going to get to them all, but. But I think a great place to start would be if you could just share with with me in our listening audience mission. Purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks, man.

Brian Shields: Yeah. So with hand off partners, myself and my partner, we really endeavor to be the best stewards of businesses from retiring entrepreneurs. And we look to shepherd in the next generation of entrepreneurs to run those businesses. So we really think of ourselves as a part of an ecosystem that we’re building to ensure that people who have toiled and labored and built something that’s meaningful get rewards for their hard work and and also play a role in ensuring that their legacy continues on by supporting the folks who are going to take over and see it into the next generation.

Stone Payton: Well, it sounds like a noble pursuit and good work if you can get it. But I gotta know, man, what is the backstory? How did you find yourself doing this kind of work for these kind of folks?

Brian Shields: Oh, man. Well, big picture. I went to Morehouse College, actually. So, you know, my cell phone is still a 404 number, and I got recruited into Wall Street from there, which is great. And I learned about this thing called private equity. And I was like, what is that? And I came to learn that it is, at its core, really about maximizing the value of an asset that you own, which was super cool. But then something about me for that felt like unfulfilled. And I realized what I really liked doing is actually having a hands on ownership and involvement in the day to day of the businesses that I work with, and so that sent me on a journey that ultimately put me in a position where, while I was at a venture backed company, I acquired 12 small businesses. They were property management businesses from people who wanted to retire, wanted to shift their lifestyle a bunch of different reasons. And I realized, hey, there are some great businesses out there, and B, we are, you know, in the early innings of a generation of people looking to retire, but not having people to hand off the business to. Whether that’s internally or their family. You know, a lot of people have built businesses to put their families through college or support them through the ups and downs. But, you know, now their kids are lawyers or doctors or software engineers and they don’t want to take over the, you know, accounting business or the, you know, like the stone cleaning business or whatever. And that’s where we come in.

Stone Payton: Well, if you’re up for it, I would love for you to walk us through kind of a use case. Of course, you know, you don’t. You may not want to share any names, but everything from identifying a good. I don’t even know what you call it. Target a good business to to acquire to to valuating that business to, you know, just the the whole process of making sure that you are buying what you think you’re buying because this is a whole new world for for me.

Brian Shields: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I’m happy to jump into it. Well, so. So I spent like, almost two decades now, like, looking at businesses and stuff like this. So I’ll break it down for you. So there’s an here’s an example. There’s a business that was a software enabled business we were looking at recently. Um, the owner, super great guy, um, experienced some family tragedy a few years ago and from that suffered a lot of burnout and has started to step more and more away from the business. Uh, that tragedy unfortunately, put him in a position where he did not have a family succession plan anymore, but had a great business, um, a team that wasn’t really ready to sit in the ownership seat, but were great at their jobs and with the right guidance, could potentially grow into leadership. But they were looking for someone who understood how to modernize businesses, how to tweak them so that they could grow a little bit faster, and who could shepherd that talent to reach a little bit higher than where they were today. So we got connected and we started doing diligence. And so I would say first, like in just finding a business, a lot of it’s just talking, man. Like doing, having conversations like this, being in the market, I suggest to people all the time, if you are currently a CPA or you work in procurement at a large company you likely already have relationships with, like the vendors of those companies or in your industry to just start having conversations about what people’s succession plan is.

Brian Shields: And that’s the framing I like to use for myself. And I also suggest other people use, because it opens the conversation in a way that that feels approachable to the potential seller. Um, and then, you know, you got to do a whole bunch of things like look at is the industry the kind of industry you want to be in? Is this business type the kind that you want to own? So in that diligence packet, we usually look at the unit economics of the business or service. Right. Does this thing, once we sell the thing, do we make 50% margin? Do we make 20% margin? When I say margin, I mean profit. Do we make barely any profit, etc.. And like that’s one benchmark. We also look at the financials for the last few years just to understand the trends. And is this on the upswing. Is it on the downswing. Is it struggling. Is it stable. So we can pay the right price for the risk that we’re taking. And there’s a bunch of other like odds and ends that go into that. But ultimately we want to be able to look ourselves and our investors in the eye and say, we looked at this business.

Brian Shields: We think that it’s stable and we can keep it stable. We think that it’s needs a little bit of TLC, but we know how to get it there. We have the team in place and we’ve structured a deal that protects everybody involved, and we think the industry is one that’s going to be here for the next 20 years. So once we have all of those pieces in place, then you get down to having a conversation with the seller and say, hey, look like this is what we think that it’s worth, and we’d be willing to pay. What do you need? What’s important to you? How can we get creative, etc. and start really starting to find middle ground, right? That reach across the aisle kind of energy that helps you get to agreements and compromises that everybody’s happy with. And so, you know, we not every deal goes through. I would tell people that I think the statistic for most people who are like searching for a business to buy is they they acquire something like less than 5% of the businesses that they look at. So you have to have some comfort with with rejection and with failure because it’s all a process, right? But you only need one, you know, instead of it being YOLO. I tell people, yo know, you only need one.

Stone Payton: So I got to believe that given your experience, you’ve probably seen some patterns and, you know, have your your key list of I’ll call them red flags. Like, you know, if we see this, this and this, you know, we’re out. We’re not taking it any further. Is that accurate?

Brian Shields: Oh, yeah, man. I’ll tell you. So one big red flag is usually when people position their business as tech enabled. And, you know, we’ve talked to a couple of businesses that have tried to sell us on the fact that they are technology enabled when in reality. And as a derivative of that, that means that they want a valuation based on their revenue, not on their profits, which is a Silicon Valley metric. There’s a bunch of reasons why that exists. Um, but not every bit. Most businesses don’t qualify for that. But people try to get that right and listen like, if you can get it, fine. You’re not going to get it from me, stone, because I get it. I understand what creates a business that should be valued on RR. Most of them aren’t. So that’s one red flag. I would say. The other red flag, honestly, is we spend a lot of time talking to the sellers about why they built the business, the values that they run the business from. You know, I described our mission to you in, in a, in the context of values, right.

Brian Shields: Like not necessarily in the context of investment returns and stuff like that, because truly we’re motivated by our values. And when we talk to the seller, a lot of times we can suss out, you know. Excuse me. Excuse the abbreviated French, but like, if they’re an a hole or not. Um, and and like that that has downstream impacts on the team on how they feel, on how they deliver the service or the product to the customer, what they think is acceptable in terms of excellence and performance. And like you start to see all these little things that come out of how the founder and the owner operator holds certain values in their lives and how that imputes down to the company. So that’s like a big red flag. Like, we like to work with people that hold high standards for themselves and maybe don’t take themselves super seriously, but take the work and their obligations seriously. And you can tell in a conversation and like, you know, spending some time across the table from someone where they land on that side of the fence.

Stone Payton: So what are you finding at this point in your career? What are you finding the most rewarding. What’s the most fun about it for you these days?

Brian Shields: You know, I love the creativity of sitting across from somebody and hearing what’s important to them in their life, whether it’s they’re ready to retire and they want to have ongoing income, or they want a big cash payout now so they can make investments that set them up for success because they need to take care of elderly parents or, you know, some people are just ready to move on to the next thing because they’re burned out. And I have experience with burnout myself. So I respect that. And and being able to come up with creative solutions for that. Right. It’s just a ton of fun to get creative and just like, take out a blank sheet of paper and start sketching out stuff and be like, oh, I think this might work. And this will address what they want. But this also saves me from what I’m worried about and just kind of connecting dots. That’s a ton of fun. And outside of that, honestly, I just love the discussions, right? You get to learn about new industries, about new ways that people have built things and solved problems for people in those spaces. And there’s always something new to learn. And I think you said this to me on our pre-call. But, you know, it’s just nice to be a lifelong learner. There’s a lot of things that you don’t know and I don’t know. And I’m like, I just love learning more stuff. So it’s it’s a fun day to day.

Stone Payton: Say more, if you would, about your experience with burnout, because this really has shaped your character. It shaped your approach to to serving. Yeah. Say say more about that.

Brian Shields: Absolutely. So so I had acquired a business in 2019 and then sold it in 22. Um, had a really successful exit. Um, you know, sold ahead of schedule. Like, wasn’t intending to sell it. So I remember when we had when we closed. My daughter came up the stairs with this banner that she had made and little crayon, and it said congratulations. And I was like, cool, thanks. Just like that. Very flat. Like I didn’t have emotion. And she walked back downstairs, kind of disappointed. And I was like, what was that? What’s wrong with me? And so I started to recognize that I was so emotionally drained, having turned around the business. Uh, navigated it through Covid, ensured that we integrated with the acquirer. Well, that I was really, really, really, really exhausted to the point where not only were my decisions not as sharp, my attentiveness not as consistent, but also I didn’t have enough energetic and emotional capacity to deal with what was coming, which I didn’t, you know, obviously know this was happening. But we got pregnant with our second kid and my wife had a really hard pregnancy. So, you know, I’m holding down the house, the daughter making sure my wife is okay and she’s not sick. And then we moved into a new house and like, you know how that is when you move in, new stuff’s happening around where you live. And then the cherry on top was my father passed away that year. And so and I and I had this realization stone that I was the same age that he was when he had me. And I was about to have a son that year. And so I was like, man, if this is halfway like, I’m a terrible dad right now, I’m a terrible husband.

Brian Shields: I’m a terrible leader. And it’s all due to this stress. And so I had to take time off. And I took a year off. Didn’t intend for it to be a full year, but it ended up being that. And through that really kind of found my connection to the value of rest and recovery and recharge and have started to look at it differently because the first part of my career was all just like full speed ahead, power through the work, keep grinding, and at some point, mostly in line with the change in responsibility, being in charge, being an owner, I had to come to appreciate, and it took me a while to appreciate this, that you really do have to approach things differently. It’s not all about the grind. It’s about like the mental capacity and the quality of decision making and the energetic reserve that you have to recognize trends and issues ahead of time without having to grind at it. And so I’ve taken a different approach to how I work now, which has been really, really fabulous. It’s unlocked a huge amount of productivity for me. And yeah, I’m sensitive to all those business owners out there who have, you know, buried themselves to make sure that the business is working, to make sure that their employees are taken care of and their livelihoods are protected, and that their customers and clients are getting the promise of what they asked for. But you know that that crown weighs really heavy on you. And so I’m just here to say, I see you and I hear you and I feel you.

Stone Payton: I know in our business, but my business partner, Lee Kantor and I, we own the Business RadioX network and we’ve had some success. But in our business, there are at least a handful. I’ll just call them myths, but preconceived notions, just fundamental assumptions that are really largely off the mark, at least in our experience, in terms of the best ways to truly leverage this platform to help people and make money. I got to believe there’s probably at least a handful of myths or misconceptions or just some misinformation out there about buying and selling businesses. Is that accurate?

Brian Shields: Oh man, there’s so many. The first one I would say that’s probably like well-trafficked in the interwebs is you can buy a business for no money down and listen. I mean, that is technically possible, but it is factually inaccurate as an example. Typically, how that works is you have some other assets to leverage to get you cash to use as a down payment and then get more debt on the business asset you’re buying. So then in total you’re effectively buying with all debt. So one of my buddies bought a business recently. He refinanced his house, took the equity that he’d built up, used that as a down payment, then got an SBA loan for the remaining 90%. So his business was 100% financed by debt. And, you know, you have to personally guarantee the SBA, SBA loan. And obviously your mortgage is backed by your house, so he’s in effect bet the house on this business. So I would say like, don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s just like a risk free, no money down, like free and clear opportunity like there is a lot of risk tied into that. And that is a very difficult thing to pull off. So I’d say that’s number one. And number two. Listen, man, the grass isn’t always greener. Uh, a lot of people who come to me are employed at a corporation and have a nice, steady paycheck and benefits and an assistant who will, you know, call to schedule doctor’s appointments for them, and then they’ll say, oh, man, you know, I’m just tired of this bureaucracy.

Brian Shields: And I want to I think I want to go do my own thing. I want to go run my own business. And I’ll say to them, hey, if you water your own grass, that grass will be just as green as the grass on this side of the fence, because it’s hard being an owner man, I know you can speak to this like you are responsible for everything, whether it’s the, uh, the the Comcast account that sets up your internet and making sure that that’s good to go to the contracts that go out to your clients to protect you and them from each other. It’s all on you, man. And so understanding that it’s like being a parent, like you don’t really understand it until you’re in the seat and then you’re like, oh, this is this is different. Like every all the books I’ve read, all the stories I heard, that was just tip of the iceberg stuff. But, you know, for those of you who it does fit for, I welcome you with open arms because it is a it is a unique fraternity to enter into. And, you know, really only other entrepreneurs understand what entrepreneurs go through.

Stone Payton: Okay, let’s talk about me for a minute. It’s my show. Oh, so no, I mentioned Lee Kantor. He’s my business partner. We’ve been at this a while. You know, we’ve been in this business for a little over 20 years. We’re not there yet, but we want to carefully plan our exit. And there I’m operating under the impression that there are some things we should be doing now, even if we’re five, ten years out to get ready. And I suspect that there are things that someone that wants to acquire the kind of business that we have, they need to think through. Okay, what’s the best way to work with, you know, a couple of guys like that that spent their, you know, much of their career building this baby. So yeah, any counsel you have on either side of that equation would be great, man.

Brian Shields: Oh, yeah. So I’ve looked at enough media businesses to have a perspective. So don’t hold this as gospel, but just hold it as like, you know, like a parable. Yeah. So I think the number one thing for businesses in your space is to just demonstrate a real strength of consistency of audience, right. And that might mean having a few shows that monetize like a certain demographic consistently. So we always get, you know, X amount of people from this demographic across these shows. Right. Um, and or your ability to have a like, own a topic That is presented to different audiences in ways that capture the diversity of those audiences. So I think an example would be, um, uh, The Ringer Network, right? Like, I’m a huge basketball fan. Mhm. Uh, and so Bill Simmons approach was kind of like, hey, number one, traditional media is dying. People are moving into their cars and want something to ride along with them. That’s like sports radio, but more customizable, more intimate. So he got off ESPN, built, uh, a podcast network, right. And was able to consistently capture the attention of, you know, male adults between the age of, let’s call it like 25 to 50 and get a demonstrably, demonstrably, demonstrably consistent, uh, amount of time from them. Right. Like they, on average listened to 60 minutes of our podcast a week, a day, whatever, because that then communicates to a buyer that there is consistency in an asset and you have a market that you own.

Brian Shields: Right. And so that that makes it acquirable. Right. I can step into your shoes. And I know that if I believe in this market and its growth or its, you know, value because these people love to spend money on, uh, you know, buck knives and coffee and basketball shorts and whatever, then I can take that audience and market it to all the different advertisers that, you know, we can we can generate revenue from. And I can add in additional shows, additional experiences. So capturing that audience and then having consistent metrics that are clear, number one thing for you. Number two thing is just consistent financials man. Like like just demonstrate that this is a financially viable business. Right. Uh, and like you’re off to the races. So I think I would look at those two things as like steps for you first, which I suspect you’re already doing. And then the last thing, honestly, Stone, would be to start networking. Like, I can’t tell you how useful visibility is to the people who could potentially acquire your business, right? Like if you were to just have friends at Sirius, at Spotify, at Yahoo, at other places that I probably can’t think of off the top of my head and just like, be in relationship with them, play golf, ride bikes, you know, whatever.

Brian Shields: Have a poker game. But just keep that, keep top of mind. I will tell you as they will watch your ascent. Right? And I think the best deals are built out of watching a trend line. Right. Like not making a bet at a point in time, but saying, hey, I’ve seen you over time and a stone and Lee and Lee are good people. Um, so they they like to my values point. They’re not going to they didn’t build, like, a house of cards. So cool. Then second, I’ve seen them grow and I’ve seen them consistently own and capture this audience. So there’s something there and oh, they’re ready to retire. Mm. Well, you know, we could be interested in that or. Hey, we’re Spotify. We’re looking to get into that market specifically. We’d love to own some content and some audience there. Bring them in. And I thought of you first, Stone, because, you know, you know, we’ve been playing golf for the last three years. So so I think those three things combined will help position you to be in a good spot when.

Stone Payton: You’re on the acquiring side of things, how important is it or is it important at all really to try to keep, um, I guess some anchors in place, like keep some of the, the key cultural dynamics the same, and surely you’re going to come in and make changes and improve the business if you can. I mean, is that an important factor or just that’s just a case by case thing?

Brian Shields: Hugely. So one of the number one questions I get and things that I hear sellers care about is I want to take care of my team. Right. And it’s tough, man. It is so hard because I am not you. Right. So there’s just going to be a basic difference between you and me being in charge, just from a vibes perspective. Um, and then if I am, say, a private equity firm with institutional investors and a ten year fund life, or a search funder who has a ten year fund life, I’m going to manage the business and create a culture of accountability that is different than someone who has a little bit of patience, a little bit of flexibility, who understands some of the cultural dynamics that are going on in the business. Right. And so that just creates discomfort in different ways for the team. And so yeah, man, like it is as an acquirer, it’s important to preserve that insomuch as it allows me to accomplish the financial goals that I’m setting out with this investment. And so yeah, things can change. Right. Like if you I don’t know, like let’s say you gave everybody free coffee and lunch every day. And if we get into a position where, hey man, that’s cool. But that is a not the same as what other radio networks do and be costing us a ton of money. And we need that for debt service, because I bought this business with a lot of debt, then that’s going to change. And then you can imagine what that does to the morale, right? That shifts things. Or on the other side. I’ll give you an example from my last business. I brought in a project management system so that I could understand what people were working on.

Brian Shields: And when I got a call from a client, I wouldn’t be like, oh, I don’t know. I got to get back to you in like two hours. I could answer their questions right then. And people struggled with that because it was very quickly evident that there were some people who were knocking their work out of the park. Right. Like if you ask them to do ten things, they got 7 to 9 things done by the end of the week. But then there were some people who came in and were like, you asked me to do ten things, and I got to two of them and then the rest I forgot about. But now you can see that I was BSing, and you’re holding me accountable to that. And that then creates like this environment where people were feeling like, oh, I could kind of get away with stuff. And then they start freaking out about that. And like, it can create some temporary discomfort. But it’s kind of like the positive discomfort that you want. So so it can go a lot of different ways, man. And I will tell you personally, the reason we ask about values up front is because we want to ensure that there is as much alignment as possible, like, I’m going to hold all of my teams to a high standard of excellence, but I’m also like a super cool dude. Like I’m just chill, man. Like, I would love to just hang out, like, do stuff that’s fun, like create culture so that people want to work there. Because I do fundamentally believe that happy teams produce better than teams that feel on edge.

Stone Payton: So what’s next for you, man? Anything in particular on the horizon over the next? I don’t know, 6 to 18 months?

Brian Shields: Well, we expect to have a first close for this fund. So, you know, happy to have conversations about that. Um, and we expect to close on a business acquisition in the next six months for sure. We have an offer out on one right now and you know, fingers crossed everybody send up some prayers for us. We’ll hopefully get that done. Um, outside of that, man, you know, we’re just trying to enjoy life with two kids and a wife and, you know, all the crazy stuff that that God puts in my path.

Stone Payton: Okay. What’s the best way for our listeners to tap into your work, connect with you, maybe, uh, have a conversation with you or someone on your team, learn more about this arena, whatever you feel like is appropriate. But let’s let’s make it easy to for for them to come into your circle, if it makes sense.

Brian Shields: Absolutely. Um, you can find all of my stuff and bio on my website. It’s Brian Lee shields l e e e um. Com Brian Lee shields. Com. And then, um, you know, there will be a bunch of podcasts and stuff there. I’ll put this, uh, this, this conversation on there as well, so you can kind of get to know me that way. And then if you want to chat, man, just find me on LinkedIn. I’m super active on LinkedIn. Brian Lee shields on there. Just DM me. Happy to chat if it makes sense. We’ll get on the phone. Like I try to be as available as possible. You know, I don’t have infinite time, but I make time for conversations.

Stone Payton: Well, Brian, it has been an absolute delight having you on the broadcast this afternoon. Thank you for the insight, the perspective, the enthusiasm. You’ve got my wheels turning. I can’t wait to tell Lee that that we had this conversation on air. Man, you are doing really important work, meaningful work. And we we sure appreciate you.

Brian Shields: The pleasure’s been mine, stone. Keep up the good work. And I and I look forward to chatting again soon.

Stone Payton: Oh my pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Brian Shields with Handoff Partners and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Buy a Business Near Me.

Unlocking Local Success: Community-Centered Marketing and Growth with Globafly

August 22, 2024 by angishields

Women in Motion

Unlocking Local Success: Community-Centered Marketing and Growth with Globafly

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On today’s Women in Motion, Lee Kantor interviews Mariya Palanjian, CEO of Globafly, a marketing and advertising agency. Mariya shares her journey as a serial entrepreneur and discusses her innovative “city takeovers” strategy, which focuses on targeted, city-level marketing campaigns. She emphasizes the importance of understanding local markets and leveraging technology to make advertising accessible for businesses of all sizes. The conversation also covers the significance of government contracts, the impact of the pandemic on industries, and Mariya’s commitment to helping smaller businesses grow through training and education in marketing.

Mariya Palanjian is a serial entrepreneur with extensive expertise in city-takeover marketing and tech startups, bringing together a proprietary process that harnesses community-centered + 360° Tech marketing campaigns.

She owns two companies: Globafly, a city-takeover marketing agency that serves a diverse clientele including Fortune 500 companies such as The New York Times, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, and Next (recognized by Forbes as a Billion-dollar company), and works with tech startups like LegalZoom, ZipRecruiter, and Boll and Branch, as well as government entities and socially impactful programs including the National Job Corps Association and the Department of Labor.

Her second company, Romaleaf, is a health and wellness brand with a flagship store in Studio City, dedicated to adding relief to millions of people’s routines. Roma Leaf has been featured in national outlets including GQ, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Spectrum1, Good Day LA/Fox11, and others.

Mariya also hosts “Startup to Success,” a radio/podcast show based in Los Angeles, where she dives into her entrepreneurial journey and gathers insights from some of today’s most influential figures.

An MBA graduate from Woodbury University, Mariya is a fervent advocate for women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. She serves on the Board of Directors for The Origin Fund and Woodbury’s Alumni Advisory Council. Her dedication has been recognized with the Devoted Alumna Award from Woodbury and the Impact Award from the SBA. Mariya was also nominated for the LA Times Inspiration Women Award.

When she’s not taking over cities for her clients, you can find Mariya at the beach with her husband and three children, or inspiring women to become entrepreneurs.

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Mariya, with a Y, and she is the CEO of Globafly. Welcome.

Mariya Palanjian: Hello. Hello. Thank you so much for the warm welcome.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to get to know you and your business. Tell us a little bit about Globafly. How are you serving folks?

Mariya Palanjian: Oh, God. Well, I want to give you a little bit of a backstory on Globafly, because every time people ask me about how I got into advertising, it’s I love sharing the why behind things. And it kind of goes with Mariya with a Y, because everything I do has to have a why.

Mariya Palanjian: And so, I’ve been a serial entrepreneur for many years, since grad school actually. And when I started my startups, a lot of them were online back from 2002, I realized that I was really good at marketing and sales. And one of my companies, that was a shoe company, I ended up getting VCs invested in it. And the VCs pulled me aside and said, “How do you sell $3,000 shoes online?” And I basically, I gave them a few pointers, but then as a joke, I said, “You have to pay me to get the rest of the secrets.” And that’s how I got into advertising.

Mariya Palanjian: And so, to sum it up, what we do is we do city takeovers and we utilize multi-channel approach and community, very community-centered. But it’s a combination of traditional channels as well as emerging channels, like podcast, audio streaming, programmatic ads. And as an entrepreneur, as a serial entrepreneur, it’s very important for me to really help shine a light on some of these amazing brands that are out there providing great products and services.

Mariya Palanjian: So, in a sense, I feel like I’m continuing to be a serial entrepreneur through the journey of helping our clients grow continuously because they are all in different sectors. We’ve got the government sector, we’ve got smaller startups that are in the beauty industry and much, much more.

Lee Kantor: Now, you used the term city takeover, can you talk about what that means and what it’s like when you do a city takeover?

Mariya Palanjian: Yeah. And actually the idea came to me when I was working at New York Times, spearheading the Influencer Marketing Department. I was a director of an execution team. And a lot of the brands back then were coming in, and I’m talking about Louis Vuitton and Cartier and Royal Caribbean, huge brands that would just spend so much money on influencers. And a lot of the times, the complaints were we don’t know what’s happening with our ad dollars, you know, we’re spending all this money on influencers.

Mariya Palanjian: And so, the idea came to me because I was trying to solve that problem of trying to understand what is happening to our clients’ money. Are they seeing results? And I suggested to run the campaign at a city level rather than a national campaign. And what we did is we ran a campaign that was targeting four or five cities, approximately. And we ended up looking at the data analytics, trying to see how the campaign impacted sales.

Mariya Palanjian: And when you’re talking about a big brand like Cartier, it’s extremely hard to tell how the campaign impacted. But when you’re looking at the city level, you’re able to see it. And so, really, the concept came from working with larger brands and trying to help them understand what’s happening. And I sort of took that approach, and I fell in love with the idea of really understanding each city that we’re going in.

Mariya Palanjian: And it’s not just about, you know, understanding the data and looking at analytics and saying, “Oh. We tested in Los Angeles, did a campaign in LA, and now our sales grew 10 percent. That means our ads are working.” It’s not just that. It’s really connecting with the community, making sure that the ads are relevant to the people that we are talking to in that specific community.

Mariya Palanjian: And sometimes, like, for example, Los Angeles, where I’m from, LA has subcommunities. So, when a client comes and tells me, “Oh. I want to market to everyone in Los Angeles.” I’m like, “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. There are so many subcommunities in Los Angeles and you can’t take that same creative approach and try to go after all of them.” And so, that’s where we come in, where we’re very sensitive to different, diverse communities, and we make sure that the creative content resonates with the audience that we’re trying to reach.

Mariya Palanjian: And a good example of that would be, you know, if we’re trying to, let’s say, reach the Middle Eastern community in Los Angeles, well, we first partner with Middle Eastern influencers. And the influencers aren’t necessarily only influencers on social media. They could be radio hosts. They could be T.V. personalities. They could be moms and pops. It all depends on who we’re trying to reach. And then, we have these people act like the ambassadors of the brand. They create the content. And then, that’s where we come in, helping the brands connect with these influential people in these diverse communities.

Mariya Palanjian: And then, once the content is created by these individuals, then we amplify the content through traditional media, like billboards as well as digital billboards, and then streaming and audio, and so on. So, it’s a very community-centered but also 360 tech-driven approach.

Lee Kantor: And then, how long does the takeover last? Is it something that once you go to a market, then you’re there permanently? Or is it like a —

Mariya Palanjian: It all depends. It all depends on our clients’ budgets. We have clients that are doing it ongoing and they’re literally running national campaigns in different cities. We started with a few cities, tested the model, and then realized what works, which channels work for them, and then just duplicated that model across many different cities.

Mariya Palanjian: But, generally, when the client comes to us with, let’s say, $100,000, we won’t take that money and spread it all over the nation. You know, we’ll just focus on the top few cities that they are interested in growing and then come up with a strategy, partner them with the right influential people, and then start the campaign. And, again, it all depends on what the goal of the campaign is, and are we trying to get customers for them, or is it just brand awareness. And then, depending on that, the money can go as far as it can based on the goal, the KPI of the campaign.

Lee Kantor: And do you work primarily with B2C brands or B2B or government or non-profits? Is there a niche that you’re in?

Mariya Palanjian: Great question. So, I started in the tech space initially, LegalZoom ZipRecruiter, MeUndies, Blue Apron, Boll & Branch. Those were really the tech companies that we became really, really good at helping them scale and grow really rapidly using a lot of the traditional as well as emerging channels, like the podcast, and radio, and audio space. But then after that, we started – not after. While we were growing in the tech space, we started taking on more auto brands.

Mariya Palanjian: And then, when the pandemic happened, I decided to utilize our buying power and help some of the amazing government programs that are out there. And that’s when I became actually WBEC certified to be able to take on federal contracts and be able to assist government entities, like Department of Labor to promote their amazing programs that they have out there, whether it’s for youth or underserved communities, and so on.

Mariya Palanjian: So, I would say we have a really good diverse client base. It kind of goes across the tech space, all the way from tech to the government sector, corporations, as well as Fortune 500 and 100 hundred companies. But in terms of specific industries, we’re really good at pretty much anybody who’s trying to reach direct to consumer, is trying to promote a product or a service direct to consumer.

Mariya Palanjian: B2B, we’ve obviously helped B2B as well. I would say LegalZoom and ZipRecruiter are the best two examples that, you know, we’ve seen a lot of success. And it’s utilizing radio shows, for example, that we know small businesses are listening to and promoting business related products and services to them. So, I would say probably both leaning more towards B2C, but we are pretty good at helping B2B companies as well.

Lee Kantor: Now, a lot of the listeners of this show are business owners, and you are an expert in marketing and advertising, any advice for them when it comes to marketing and advertising in order to get the most bang for their buck? Like, what advice would you give an entrepreneur listening on how to leverage marketing and advertising in their business?

Mariya Palanjian: That’s a great question. So, recently I was part of a webinar where, actually, a woman-owned business owner asked if she could do a billboard advertising. And the host who was promoting or teaching them about marketing said, no, billboards are so expensive. And here I am listening to the webinar and I’m just like, no, they’re not. Please don’t give up on the idea.

Mariya Palanjian: And so, the reason why I’m bringing this example is I want the listeners to know that technology has given us the ability to be able to buy anything and everything that we want that 10, 20 years ago wasn’t possible for small businesses to touch. You know, like, for example, if you want to have T.V. ads, T.V. ads ten years ago were so expensive only the large corporations could do. But nowadays, a small brand that has $2,000 can have a T.V. ad because of the way things are available now, there’s programmatic buys, there’s programmatic audio buys, where, you know, if you want to partner with a radio station, there are ways to buy it inexpensively and test out that channel.

Mariya Palanjian: So, the advice I have is don’t just assume and say, “Oh. This channel could be too expensive for me to try” or “I’m not there yet. I can’t afford this.” Technology has changed so much to the point where you can be on a billboard for $500 a month. And, yes, I’m going to repeat that, you can be on a big digital billboard for $500 a month, and these are $18,000, $20,000 billboards, but you can get in for $500 a month. What you do is you buy a few hour time slots per day versus paying for 24 hours. So, that’s one example of how everything that is out there can be so possible and attainable for any business at any size.

Mariya Palanjian: So, I would encourage them to maybe just simply reach out to me and I can give them the advice and tell them where they could go to purchase some of these channels and be able to test, because there are a lot of technical technologies out there that are making it available for anybody to do it themselves too. You don’t need an ad agency necessarily to buy these media channels for them.

Lee Kantor: Now, who is your ideal client? Do you work with the cities to attract more brands to the city? Or do you get the brand first and say what city do you want to go to?

Mariya Palanjian: Another great question. So, ideally, it’s the brands that are trying to grow in a particular city will come to us and say here’s what we need. And a lot of times, you know, being a serial entrepreneur and having so many startups of my own, I’ll look at their budget. And a lot of times, I might say, “Listen, this is something you can do in-house. Let us train you and teach you how to do it in-house. This will be more cost effective.” A lot of times, you know, if they don’t have the bandwidth or they do want us to provide that service for them, we’ll go ahead and execute it for them.

Mariya Palanjian: But, generally, brands will come to us and say, “These are the top cities we want to be in. Help us get in and acquire new customers.” Like I said, you know, we provide two different services. It’s either training your in-house team on how to do this yourself, which can be very affordable, because there is no minimum budgets that you have to abide by. And you could just simply start and add campaigns as you go or you could just hire us to help you with strategy as well as the execution piece, the advertising campaign.

Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you to become part of the WBEC-West community? You mentioned you were kind of hoping, I would imagine, to leverage to get access to government contracts, but was that kind of the reason at first and maybe it’s expanded since then?

Mariya Palanjian: Yes. Yes. That has been the reason from the beginning, to be honest with you. I love helping the tech industry. I really do. But obviously the pandemic impacted a lot of industries, not just the tech, but the auto industry as well. And I just felt like I wanted to do something that was a little bit more impactful and really helping my community.

Mariya Palanjian: And when I started researching all these different government programs, I realized that they’re still so old fashioned in the way that they communicate to the public and share the programs that are out there, especially specifically the ones that are targeted towards youth. And I decided that I want to use my buying powers and help some of these programs. And as I was researching, I realized that, you know, I need certain certifications to qualify for the federal contracts.

Mariya Palanjian: And, honestly, I’m so thankful for WBEC-West specifically because, I want to say, two months after I got my certification, I ended up getting my first contract with the Department of Labor. And then, in the last three-and-a-half years from that one contract, I went on to 23 different contracts now. And so, I’m very thankful for the certification.

Mariya Palanjian: And now I’m going above and beyond where now I’m looking into more corporate accounts or clients that I can potentially go in and help the team get trained, if needed, or just sort of expand a little bit more. But mainly I would say, my WBEC certification was and has been helpful for the government sector for me specifically.

Lee Kantor: So, what do you need more of right now for Globafly and your growth kind of trajectory, and how can we help you?

Mariya Palanjian: Oh, thank you. No one ever asks me that question, I love it. I would love to be able to help and train a lot of the smaller businesses and show them the way that they can really grow their brands effectively and use a lot of these emerging channels that are out there.

Mariya Palanjian: I love teaching and training. I’m one of those people where instead of upselling, I tend to down sell. You know, if a client comes and they’re like I want to do this. I’m like, “Wait, wait, wait. Don’t waste all your money on this. Let’s do this first and make sure that it’s generating ROI before we jump onto the next one.” And I think it’s probably because I’ve had my own startups where I had to be bootstrapped and just my heart gets so soft towards women, especially women entrepreneurs.

Mariya Palanjian: And so, I would say, I just would love the opportunity to train and teach others on how to develop a really solid marketing team internally, because with AI and everything else that’s available to us, there’s no reason why every company should not have a really solid marketing team or department in-house. So, my hope is to do that, to teach and train for everybody out there to be able to have advanced marketing strategies and campaigns and grow, be able to promote and grow. Because without marketing you cannot grow. You have to create awareness about your product or service in order to grow. And sales is the key for any business to succeed.

Lee Kantor: So, if somebody wants to learn more about Globafly or connect with you, what is the website? What is the best way to connect with you?

Mariya Palanjian: Just reach out to me through Globafly, globafly.com or mariya@globafly.com, or they can just follow me on Instagram and connect me through Instagram, @mariya.with.a.y.

Lee Kantor: And the website is G-L-O-B-A-F-LY.com.

Mariya Palanjian: Correct.

Lee Kantor: Well, Mariya with a Y, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Mariya Palanjian: Thank you so much. I appreciate the work that you do, too, shining a light on all these amazing women out there. Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.

BRX Pro Tip: Take the High Road

August 22, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Take the High Road

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BRX Pro Tip: Take the High Road

Stone Payton : And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, at this point in my career I have quite a few, I’ll call them, operating disciplines, working disciplines, many of them born from your vision and strategic direction. But they’re important all the time. But they’re particularly important when things get a little sticky or hairy or tough. Speak to that a little bit.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I don’t remember who said it, but it happened on one of the shows that we were doing many years ago, and I don’t know if they invented it, but it always stuck with me. They said, “Take the high road; there’s less traffic.” And that really resonated with me.

Lee Kantor: And two reasons I think why it’s better to take the high road. Number one is this enhances your reputation. When you’re consistently taking the high road, you will positively impact how others perceive you. You’re demonstrating reliability, integrity, and professionalism. So that’s number one reason to take the high road.

Lee Kantor: Number two is it’s going to build positive relationships over time. When you respond to conflict and challenges with grace, you’re showing and demonstrating maturity and empathy, which is going to strengthen the relationships with the people who matter most to you.

Lee Kantor: So those are two examples of why I believe taking the high road is the only road to drive on.

Sal Rehmetullah with Worth AI

August 22, 2024 by angishields

High Velocity Radio

Sal Rehmetullah with Worth AI

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Sal Rehmetullah, Founder and CEO of Worth AI, is a highly accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, known for his innovative contributions to the payments technology industry.

As the co-founder and president of Stax Payments, Sal has led the company to over a 140+ Million in ARR and to becoming a leading provider of cloud-based payments technology solutions, serving clients across a wide range of industries.

Sal has been recognized for his leadership by Inc’s 40 Under 40 and EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

Connect with Sal on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Advice for new entrepreneurs with a big idea of vision
Mentors and the impact of mentorship
About Worth AI
How Worth empowers enterprises to make more informed/effective decisions and instill confidence in approving more customer
Finding product market fit (PMF)

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Worth AI, Mr. Sal Rehmetullah. How are you, man?

Sal Rehmetullah: Oh, I’m living the dream. So happy to be here.

Stone Payton: Well, we’re delighted to have you on the show. I got a ton of questions, Sal, I, I know we’re not going to get to them all, but this whole idea of AI and its application for a variety of businesses, and candidly, our business at the Business RadioX network just fascinates me. Uh, but I think a good place to start would be if you could share with me in our listeners mission. Purpose. What are you and your team over at worth? I really out there trying to do for folks, man.

Sal Rehmetullah: Yeah. I mean, at the end of it, um, you know, I’m sure we’ll get into my background here shortly, but, uh, we really want to just level the playing field for small and medium sized businesses to have access to capital, access to loans. Um, it’s easy for a lot of consumers out there to really think about their personal credit score and know how to leverage that when they need their own credit card or they’re buying a car. But when you think about that same concept, when it goes to growing your business, there’s nothing out there that exists. There’s no business credit score that exists. There’s no standard way to be able to underwrite loans or get business credit cards or get an SBA loan approved. And so our goal is to standardize that, create equality for all, and, um, you know, bring way more data into the ecosystem so people can get a loan or a credit card in their businesses and minutes. Not in months.

Stone Payton: Well, your instincts are right on track. I do want to know about your backstory. How in the world did you land here doing this for? For these kind of folks?

Sal Rehmetullah: No, it was, uh, it was a rainy day. September 2nd, 1989. No, I’m just kidding. Um, you know, I was I was born in the United States and, uh, a big background for us, obviously, just being immigrant children in the, in the US. And, you know, we were blessed to have, um, you know, a great education. I went to school, I went to I worked for Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, I did a variety of things, and I ended up starting a business with my sister. So I started a payments company called Stax Payments, where we integrated and provided think credit cards, ACH for small to medium sized businesses. And we grew that business from just the two of us to over 40 billion of payments, 100,000 small, medium sized businesses, and we were the first folks to sell that business for over $1 billion. Uh, we were the first unicorn founders out of Central Florida. First brother, sister team out of Florida. First Muslim Americans to do it. Uh, and so it was a crazy ride, but, uh, just been in the entrepreneurship journey and we, for some reason, were always around small and medium sized businesses.

Stone Payton: And you couldn’t just hang it up and sit on the beach and drink cocktails. Now you’re doing this. Tell us what compelled you to start this new venture.

Sal Rehmetullah: You know, that’s a great question. We get that. I always get two questions. They always ask me, like, why would you do this again? And then the second one’s usually followed up with, why would you do this again with your sister? Um, but I’ll answer them both for you. But, um, you know, we were absolutely blessed to have built an amazing business. We had great partners, and we really wanted to provide tool sets for small, medium sized businesses when it came to payments. You know, when you think about what’s really rapidly changed in the last ten years, all of us can buy everything off our phone. We tap, we jump in the cars. We, you know, have payments through Ubers or Lyfts and all sorts of things are sort of just dominated by payments. And we were sort of at the beginning of, of really making and enabling small and medium sized businesses to have access to that technology. And so it was something that we felt, you know, compelled to do and really excited to have delivered the results we did. And you’re right. We, uh, we went, you know, we saw a couple beaches. We worked on our golf game. Um, but I think that when you’re an entrepreneur, you you find yourself, um, always wanting to solve problems. And, and I will say when at least I’ll speak for myself. When I left Stax, there was this feeling of, um, almost like mourning. Like if you if you lose a loved one, you know, being and building that business for ten years, having, I don’t know, 500 or so employees here in the United States and a few international. It just became a part of my identity and not having that anymore, um, felt kind of like a loss.

Sal Rehmetullah: It was like, how do I contribute to society? How do I, you know, add value back into this world? And it’s a space that we really knew. And, um, to your point, we were really blessed to have had a great outcome. So personally, financially, everything was sort of checked off. But we really wanted to see how we can make a broader impact and leave a legacy behind. And, um, you know, we had this crazy idea that was like, well, why is there no business credit score? And why has nobody ever, you know, been able to solve this? And the more we unpacked it, um, it was just very complex. It was something that everyone struggled with and it was very hard to do. And that’s sort of where the magic happens for us. And so we all got into a room and kind of thought about it and said, well, let’s be the ones to go figure this out. And so we’re really excited to have the first, you know, business credit score called the word score. That brings in almost 100 data points for any SMB with frankly, just a few clicks and really excited to empower not just the enterprises to be able to use it for making decisions, but also for all the small businesses out there to be able to see your own credit score very similar, like how you would manage your own personal credit on a credit karma or or things along those lines, but giving you visibility in how to manage your business, which frankly, is seem to not have always had the best of resources. And so we felt compelled to do it, and crazy enough to get back on the saddle to go solve it.

Stone Payton: Well, I got to tell you, you have my attention. As you know, my business partner, his name is Lee Kantor. He and I own the Business RadioX network, and we’ve been fortunate. We’ve been blessed. We’ve made we’ve made a comfortable living. We feel like we’ve made a dent in the universe by helping people leverage this platform to share their story and promote their work. But also we now have, you know, studios around the country, not nearly as many as we want. And they’re able to do that. And if if Lee and I really felt like we just absolutely cracked the code on on scaling to the level we want to, and we wanted to go borrow money to get that going. Um, I mean, based on my body of knowledge around it, I think he and I are still putting our own personal, um, financial. You know, we have to put our, our house up or whatever. Our own personal scores, right? We we don’t know anything about this.

Sal Rehmetullah: No, you nailed it. And your story right there is a story for almost every American, let alone business, frankly, in the world. And it comes with a couple of reasons, right. So when you think about like how why can I go on, you know, and buy a car in 15 minutes and use my Fico credit score and my W-2 and get it. But if I try to go buy that exact same car using, let’s use your example, the radio station and the P and L, they require two years of tax returns, three months of bank statements. They want me and my partner to both sign personal guarantees. And the reason is, is they just don’t know how to underwrite and understand your business, your viability and the growth. And it’s as simple as that. It’s the fact that businesses are just so unique. You know, if you grab Sally’s Shoe Store versus Joe’s Pizza Shop down the road, both of them have wildly different profit and loss statements. You know, one of them might have $10,000 of inventory just like the other, but Sally’s shoe store might be rising if they’re, you know, collectible Louboutins versus $10,000 at the pizza store, you know, in dough may go bad if the electricity runs out.

Sal Rehmetullah: And so how do you manage all of that differences when it comes to businesses? And that was sort of the challenge. But we sort of landed in this perfect world. Nowadays where you have all of this area of concepts of AI, large language models that can digest all of this information. And we had this crazy phenomenon of Covid that happened, you know, in 2019, 2020 that actually pushed all the businesses to go digital. And so even if you think about your radio station, you probably adopted a lot of the tool sets, from online banking to ACH and payroll to paying all your bills through autopay. So you actually started to contribute a lot more information into the ecosystem on a digital world that now we’ve been able to harness, but nobody’s ever consolidated it together. And so what we did is we said, well, can we give you an entire viewpoint and a holistic view of your business and now allow the banks and, or, as you mentioned, opening new studios to be able to see that history rather than just having a personal guarantee of your personal credit score or your net worth attached to the all the work that you put into the business to leverage it for growth.

Stone Payton: Man, I love it. Okay, so let me get clear about who is the customer. Maybe the answer is both. Is it me and Li or is it the the people who should be willing to loan us some money or both.

Sal Rehmetullah: You know, you’re spot on. So where we started, like anything else, to make change at this level, you need the large enterprises to adopt the fundamentals, right? So the first place we started off is we went to the large banks. We went to the Department of Defense in the small business associations. We went to the large enterprises that provide, frankly, risk and underwriting, you know, within these organizations. And what you learn from them is like anything else, any all of us have probably purchased a home or gone through some sort of credit risk underwriting. They’re laborious, they’re paper driven. There’s so many documentations and it’s sort of a pain for both parties. And so the first thing we said to them was, well, what if we can help you bring all of this information together by just a few clicks? Right. And that is the first place we started with the large enterprises. And as we evolved and learned with them, we then started to show them our word score. We started to show them that they don’t need to grab all of these documents. What they really need is just to give authorization to a few of these accounts, and we can really predict out the future of these businesses for them. And that’s sort of where we landed first.

Sal Rehmetullah: And we’ve had amazing adoption in the large enterprises we’re in, you know, a variety of large banks that you would know names of, or in a lot of large credit card providers and loan originators. And after we did that, the first aha moment was, well, now we have all this information on the SMB. We understand why people are approving. We also understand why people are denying. And so why wouldn’t we give people like yourself that information to help you grow your business? And if you do want to open more studios, well, what does that actually have to look like for you? And we sort of followed the model. If you’re familiar with like Credit Karma or managing your own, you know, individual credit, they provide you a bunch of solution sets to say, hey, did you know your credit got hurt because you didn’t pay this bill. Did you know that because you have so much money on this credit card that’s costing you so much, you’re getting dinged? Well, if we have that same information on your business, let’s expose that to you. And so that’s our word score platform. Um, that works directly for you and your partner. And that comes out in early Q1 this year to really enable you to manage your own business credit.

Stone Payton: I’m excited. I, I tell you what, gang, if you want to meet some really smart people and get a leg up on whatever you’re trying to accomplish, get yourself a radio show. Man, this is this is fantastic. So now that you’ve, uh, been at this new venture for a little while, what are you. What are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it for you these days, man?

Sal Rehmetullah: You know, um, I think it’s it’s just rebuilding again. I think you get to see real impact. And and to your point is just hearing your story, right? Like the the reality is, it’s so true for so many Americans, so many folks out there in the world that are all coming across a variety of these challenges, and you sort of get everybody just nodding their head of like, yes, I’ve experienced that. And and being at that forefront of actually making a material impact in that world. And, you know, you and I could probably all know that the statistics of what loan approvals probably look like for, you know, specific folks of color or women, etc., and other, you know, youthful businesses, um, being able to make an impact at that level. And, and I truly I see the world with rose colored glasses, and I believe the banks and associations really want to do the same. But it’s not always easy because that data hasn’t existed and immaturity of their models are there. And so for us to be able to be at that forefront of really paving the way to think about the future in this style of business, I think is just something that’s, uh, just very fun to be in a space that’s sort of unchartered and having to sort of set the new guidelines and new areas. And I think that’s probably the most fun part about it.

Stone Payton: I know the answer to this has to be yes, but I’m going to ask anyway because I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy where you take it. But I am interested to know to what degree have you had the benefit of one or more mentors to help you navigate some of this crazy new terrain?

Sal Rehmetullah: You know, you nailed it. I think my dad, he passed away a few years back, and he used to always tell us, me and my sister, as I said, we work together. He always said it to us is if you’re the if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. And, uh, and, you know, providing that statement, Senator and I have been huge proponents of surrounding ourselves with really, really smart people. And so when you think about some of the words that I said, and I might have said them quickly, but being able to walk into the Department of Defense and the Pentagon to talk about the Small Business Association and how to change that to partnering with Equifax, which is the largest data holder across private citizens and business citizens. To have a strategic partnership with us with worth, um, doesn’t just happen because we walked in the door and, you know, had a really, really cool product, right? We want to believe that’s the case. But you have to have the right mentors and the right folks. And, um, we’ve been blessed with, obviously, our history to have met so many different pioneers along the way, um, that have sort of opened that door for us. And so, you know, we’ve worked with a lot of the old executives that we knew, um, we forged great partnerships with folks at Equifax, etc., that have all really opened the right doors for us to share in the mission and vision that we’re trying to accomplish. And so, um, it’s definitely, I think the old age saying is that if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. And so that’s that’s sort of the mission we’re on here.

Stone Payton: Yeah. So talk to me a little bit if you could, about getting the the product properly aligned with the market. And and this is very personal to us because we’re wanting to work through some larger systems like we’re of the opinion and it’s purely hypothesis. Here’s Stone getting some free consulting again. But it’s it’s our opinion that there are professional services businesses and groups of them, like even franchisors that have like a lot of, let’s say, coaches or business brokers, that might very well be served by having their own business, radio X studio, in their community to serve their community at large and to help them do all the things that our platform does. But you know this, Lee and I have not been either of those things like, like talk, talk about. I guess that’s the right term, right? Like product, market fit, alignment. Speak to that a little bit if you would.

Sal Rehmetullah: Yeah. Look you that’s probably one of the hardest things that as an entrepreneur, uh, you have to go through. Right. So all of us have high conviction. We’re slightly crazy. Uh, we’re willing to take on sort of the leaps of faith. But what you do learn is when you get out into market is that your thesis generally is correct, but there are a lot of things that you thought would be there that aren’t. And that that’s been true from, you know, the day of every single startup I’ve worked with to every single thing that we’ve done and to the large businesses that I mentioned, billion dollar businesses we have built, we have pivoted on a consistent basis. Right. And so if there was, you know, a screen saver I’d put on there, it’s that famous friends episode where I think Ross is, you know, yelling pivot, pivot, pivot. Um, that that’s sort of the way that you see every single day. And so even when we came up with the word score, um, our first intent was to be able to just have a business credit score. You know, we thought, oh, it makes so much sense. Well, when you got into those enterprises, Prizes. Well, they have 15 data scientists, and they’ve spent millions and millions of dollars on this. So the first question is like, well, why is your score better than mine? Or why? Why is it that I have all this information and you think you can do a better job? And so all of a sudden you have to start to be like, oh, well, I can’t just prove it to them by saying I’m better.

Sal Rehmetullah: I have to think about, well, what’s the way I’m going to describe it, what’s my explainability? And so you start to like break it down. And then the more you unpack you start to learn their biggest challenge. And for us, with worth, you know, as much as we wanted to start with the score, what we really realized is the reason people struggle with data scientists and scoring was capturing information from small to medium sized businesses like your business, the way that you use QuickBooks or ADP or whatever systems you use are wildly different than probably another radio station to let alone a different small to medium sized business. And so the first thing we had to think about with them was, well, can we help them on this onboarding journey of collecting information from folks like you and helping them onboard them quickly and easier, which would then lead to a score. And yes, the score is a great outcome and that’s where they want to be. But we had to sort of tweak the way we went to market. We had to meet them where the conversations are had. And the biggest other thing that we learned was when you’re an innovator and you try to drive this, people, um, you know, challenge status quo and challenge, um, why it’s important now.

Sal Rehmetullah: And so a lot of times you have to meet them with what they’re used to buying. And so for us, we were like, okay, yes we’re doing scoring. Yes, we’re doing this. But you also still have to do risk and compliance. You still have to bring all these things as part of a business. Let us sell to those departments that are already used to buying those solution sets. Let’s pivot to have conversations with them. And that’s what I would tell you in any other person is like product market fit is just an iterating approach where, um, you’re probably in the ballpark, but how do you get there? And so I think for you, you’re spot on. I would definitely think that it’s a great concept, but maybe you do it as an incubator. Maybe you do it inside of startup communities. Maybe you find that your niche is inside of weworks or industrious, where there’s a ton of traffic flow. And I’m not saying any one of those are right, but I think that that’s going to be your, your, your constant tweak is going to say, hey, how can we do this? Quickly pivot and learn. And I think that’s what really drives great entrepreneurs.

Stone Payton: So now given where you are in your timeline, what’s the how’s the whole sales and marketing thing? Is it is it just getting the word out about it, or do you have people that are out there selling to these two different constituencies? Yeah. What’s how are you going to sell it? Yeah.

Sal Rehmetullah: So we have a we have a team of over 50 people now. Oh, wow. Um, and we’re, we’re focused on, as I mentioned, the enterprise side primarily right now, um, our wort score. Com which you can join the waitlist to be able to get your own word score for your business goes live in February. Um of early next year. And that will be fully digital. Fully online. Um, you know and people can can go to the website and be able to attain that. And for us, that’s going to be done a lot of marketing, a lot of specific areas of being able to advertise, frankly, you know, your own business health. And we really believe in the mission of being able to see that. And we’re going to have very, very low cost barrier to entry, because we really believe that the power of the solution comes by providing that information to those SMBs. And so our goal right now is to, you know, work with the large enterprises that are looking to solve this problem. And, you know, we’re blocking and tackling every single day. And, um, you know, so if there are banks or, you know, credit card companies or people that are in fintech or payments that are out here listening, that are looking to improve their risk and underwriting, uh, give us a call. But that’s we’re tackling one at a time right now.

Stone Payton: Well, Sal, I’m excited for you. But quite candidly, I am excited for us. I mean, me and Lee and our Business RadioX team. This is fantastic. So, uh, before we wrap, I wonder if we could leave. Uh, leave our listeners with a pro tip or two, and I guess I’m really talking to those new entrepreneurs or those entrepreneurs that, you know, they’re not just opening another ice cream shop. They’ve got their, you know, they’ve got a big idea or vision. Maybe you can share some lessons learned or maybe a do or a don’t or something they should be reading or thinking about. Let’s just leave them a pro tip or two.

Sal Rehmetullah: Yeah. Look, I think, um, you know, you mentioned it whether you meant to or not. Over the course of the call, as you brought up your partner multiple times, uh, you automatically aligned with, you know, he’s dealt with some of the financials. You said, I think we signed our personal guarantee. And what I gather from all that is that you guys have roles and responsibilities and places where each of you contribute. And so as a entrepreneur, that’s building a new business, I think it’s important to understand where you’re good and understand where you could use help. And being able to find partners that can help bridge those gaps for you. Right. And so I do work with my sister every day. And Sierra is a marketing genius, great at being able to have creativity and product vision. I’m a sales and execution guy and our third partner knows how to build technology, and so can all three of us help each other? Can all three of us do parts of our job? Of course we can. But I think the biggest thing I’ve learned across this journey is knowing your strengths and building a really good team around you, and trusting them to do their parts of the job. I think you can do so much more. And so for any entrepreneur that’s out there, finding the right partners that you can trust and really, really build and share a similar vision, I think is something that’s very, very impactful for for you to make it.

Stone Payton: Yeah. So I’ve already written down here in my notes worth score. Com I am going to go go there for sure probably right after this conversation. But let’s leave our listeners with whatever coordinates are appropriate to continue to tap into your work. Follow what you’re doing, whether it’s a website, LinkedIn, whatever. But let’s make sure that we can follow what’s going on here.

Sal Rehmetullah: Yeah. No. So once again, Sal Rahmatullah, um, feel free to reach out to me always, always willing to help new entrepreneurs mentor, uh, in that space. And so you can feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or Instagram. My handle is just Sal Rahmatullah. Uh, and then I mentioned, uh, word score. Com sign up for the waitlist. If you’re a business owner. Um, you know, we’d love to have you in our early stages and provide you with solution sets and hopefully free solution sets to really help you grow your business and be really successful in your own journey.

Stone Payton: Sal, it has been an absolute delight having you on the show this afternoon. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm, and for what you’re creating here. Man, you I think I mentioned the phrase earlier, put a dent in the universe, man. If anybody’s doing that, you’re doing it. The work you’re doing is so important. And we we sure appreciate you, man.

Sal Rehmetullah: Well, I appreciate you guys. And I share the same sentiment. It’s great. Great to be able to tell a story. And, uh, a fan of the show and all the other, you know, entrepreneurs and folks that have been on prior.

Stone Payton: Well, it’s absolutely my pleasure. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Sal Rehmatullah with worth, I and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you in the fast lane.

Donny Bradley with Lola Beans

August 22, 2024 by angishields

Chattanooga Business Radio

Donny Bradley with Lola Beans

00:00 /

Donny Bradley, Founder, Lola Beans.

Our first thoughts of opening a drive-thru coffee shop came during our family’s time living in Alaska. Drive-thru coffee huts were on every street corner, in every city, accompanied by smiling sweet faces. This kind of friendly service with a hot cup of coffee in hand, was very appreciated on any day. In awe of their ease and quick service, my wife and I regularly mused about what a neat concept this was… thinking this may be a “one day in the future” kind of idea…

That was back in 2014 when I was traveling heavily between Alaska and Chattanooga for business. The time away was wearing on me and my family, so we made the bold, but awesome decision to move everyone up. My wife and our 3 children all accompanied me as we moved to Soldotna, Alaska for 5 months. This was an amazing, once in a lifetime kind of experience for me and my family to be in all the midst and beauty that Alaska has to offer.

Part of our daily routine started to include a quick run through these coffee shacks. We ended up becoming regulars and favorites among a few of the shacks that were closest to us. We were able to get to know everyone by name, making personal connections with our family and theirs. It got to the point that they knew exactly what we wanted to order as soon as we pulled up to their warm welcoming windows!

With this sort of concept in mind and genuine interactions we experienced, my wife and I went for it. After 25 years in medical device focused in spine and biologics, my career path has completely shifted to what is now Lola Beans. This dream of ours points back to a special time spent with family, experiencing change and fear but being welcomed with love and of course some coffee.

We believe we have expanded and hopefully perfected the concept of “drive-thru coffee”. Our desire is to create a positive, familiar, hometown feel while providing the highest quality available to our customers and friends.

Connect with Donny on LinkedIn and follow Lola Beans on Facebook and Instagram.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Donny’s upbringing and backstory leading up to Lola Beans
What makes Lola Beans different
Long term vision for the company

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It’s time for Chattanooga Business Radio. Now, here’s your Business RadioX hosts.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Chattanooga Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Lola Beans. Donny Bradley. How are you, man?

Donny Bradley: Stone, I’m great. Thank you for having me.

Stone Payton: Well, we’re delighted to have you on the show. I don’t think it’s any secret to our listeners, uh, here in the Atlanta area, certainly not to more and more friends in Chattanooga, we are, in pretty short order, going to have a physical studio there in the Chattanooga market. But I wasn’t going to wait on that, man. I wanted to get you on the air. I got a ton of questions. I know I’m not going to get to them all, but, uh yeah. Tell us a little bit about what compelled you to get into the into the coffee business? And, uh, and a little bit about the backstory, man. How did you land here?

Donny Bradley: Yeah. So, um, so I am a medical distributor, uh, by trade. And I had a surgeon that relocated to the the Kenai Peninsula, um, up there in Alaska, in Soldotna, Alaska, on the Kenai Peninsula. And so, um, I was in between reps. So we, uh, uh, picked the family up and we moved the wife and our three kids up to Soldotna for a little six month stretch. Um, and this was back in 2016. And so while we were up there, they had all of these little, like, drive thru coffee shacks, like, uh, almost like some, like a little shed that you would see out in front of Home Depot. And they would make them look all cute and kind of put different branding on them. And then they would sling coffee out of them. And I kind of really liked that concept. And we we ended up, um, really kind of blanking one up there in particular true Blue because of the owner, Jenna. And we would go through the line, she’d have the window open, there’d be music playing. She’d have 2 or 3 cars on each side, and she is just slinging espresso drinks. But while she’s doing that, she is talking to my wife about different shops in the, in Soldotna and, you know, giving my wife some information.

Donny Bradley: She’s asking my daughter about snowboarding and learning how to snowboard at Alyeska. And I’m like, oh my gosh, this is not just, you know, here’s the coffee. Give me the money a transaction. This is more about, you know, building a relationship. And I just love that. And so I had a little piece of property that I owned on East Brainerd Road. And I said, Missy, we got to do this. I want to do this. I want to open a little coffee shop. So I thought I was going to just buy a Home Depot shack, slap it on this piece of property, and start slinging coffee. And then I learned about, um, you know, city building codes and all the zoning and everything else that goes that goes on with that, you know, got a quick education. But then we we opened that first little store in September of 2020. Um, 280ft² and just got going. But, um, it was true blue coffee out of Soldotna, Alaska. That really gave me the inspiration and the fact that it was, you know, it was more of a connection and a relationship versus just transaction. And that’s what got me going.

Stone Payton: So here’s a shout out for Missy, because I’m trying to put myself as a as a fly on the wall. When you’re sharing this idea with Missy, I’ve had some friends and colleagues in the medical device world, and I know that can be a very lucrative career. And now, now here you are saying, you know what? We’re going to do the coffee thing. She must have been incredibly supportive at some point, if not right out of the box, huh?

Donny Bradley: Yes, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t be able to do this without without her. She was awesome. She was she was supportive in the fact, like, hey, Missy, we’re going to pull the kids out of school and we’re going to go to Alaska for, you know six months. And she said, okay, let’s do it. So yeah, she has been she’s just awesome. She’s been supportive. I couldn’t I couldn’t do the things I do in business without without her and the type of person she is. So it’s been she is she is great. Fantastic.

Stone Payton: Well you touched on it briefly talking about building codes and all that kind of stuff, but yeah, talk a little bit about the the learning curve and maybe some of what you’ve learned getting this thing off the ground.

Donny Bradley: Well, so I have been um, I have been extremely fortunate. I’ve had some, some really good business mentors, and I have gotten connected with, um, some great people that are in the restaurant industry. So I’ve, I’ve kind of seeked out a bunch of counsel and I’ve, I’ve had a chance to get connected with people that have a lot of experience, have done some national stuff. And so it’s um, it’s been I mean, it’s, it’s it’s fun and I love it, but it, it has been a, you know, a big learning curve and, and things that I need to be focusing on. And you know, what you look at, you know, day in the life of week in the life of month in the life of. So I’ve had some really, really good people that have have helped me with that. And then a, you know, another, another friend of mine had connected me with one of his really good friends that had started, um, ASP pools and had franchised that business. And I had gotten to know him over the years. And he has, um, he has been really instrumental in helping me look at this and, and, and start the franchising process and get it going and, and kind of give me ideas on how to improve the store economics and get things, you know, tightened up to be able to franchise. And then he also connected me with some amazing consultants that were like basically vetted out. He’s, you know, he’s, um, worked with them for a while. And so it’s kind of like he’s passed on some of his people versus me just kind of having to roll the dice and, you know, hope I find the right type of consultant. So, um, I’ve been fortunate in terms of having really good people to kind of, you know work with and pick their brain and just help me while I’m while I’m learning this new business.

Stone Payton: So now that you do have this thing going, you’re starting to get your sea legs, as it were. What’s the what’s the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it for you?

Donny Bradley: It’s the it’s the team. You know, it’s the it’s it’s our it’s the been team without without a doubt like 100%. When I was getting into this, I had people telling me, you’re going to be dealing with employees and it’s you’re not gonna be able to find anybody to work, and it’s going to be a pain in the butt. And, um, it has been the exact opposite. So we have, uh, um, you know, we’ve got a great team of like, it’s it’s young kids. It’s, you know, they’re primarily in college. We have a few seniors in high school, but they’re all, um, they’re all just great young adults that have, like, plans for their future and are studying stuff and are just, um, you know, we’re we’re performance based. We we we show right from the get go that we are a performance based drive through. I’m calling it Fun Beverage. And it’s not a slow downtown coffee shop. And they they work great together. They take pride in working together and clearing cars and having good shifts. And you know, the whole a players like to work with other A players. It’s um, that’s been by far the best part is getting to work with these, the team and watching how they, um, take care of our guests and, and help really help me grow this business.

Stone Payton: So it strikes me as a pretty competitive arena. How does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a business like this? And then, if you know, yet, maybe also speak a little bit to the sales and marketing of this franchising because it sounds like you’re on the path for that as well.

Donny Bradley: Yeah, yeah. So, so for, um, for our current stores, we, um, you know, we’re we’re heavy social media, so we’re social media, um, digital advertising and then community events as many community events and golf tournaments and things we can do. And then we also connect with, um, in Cleveland, we connect with Lee University as much as we can. We just we just did their welcome back to school, um, this past Friday, that event. So it is it’s just focused on that. And then it’s the and then it’s the culture of um, you know, drive the team making connections with our customers. We have regulars that come through. We’re we’re it looks like they’re coming through, you know, 14 to 19 times a month. We create buttons on the handheld. So we come out and and take orders right at the car with a with a handheld device. You don’t you don’t come through our line and order at a speed with a, you know, at a speaker box or a menu. So we get to know our regulars, um, you know, the regulars that have their, their drinks, we create their own buttons and we try to do things to, you know, to make them feel recognized and seen and connect. And so that’s basically our, you know, our marketing right now in a nutshell.

Donny Bradley: It’s, you know, just that social media, digital advertising and then community events, um, for the for the franchise development, we’re going to do a, um, we’re going to start with like a little crawl, walk, run, uh, plan that we’ve put together. And we’re trying to stay in like the Knoxville, Nashville, um, Huntsville, Birmingham, North Atlanta area initially. And we are going to try to find 1 to 3 franchisees the first year, uh, have them close where we can get to them, support them over, support them, try and get store economics going. Um, and then, you know, really, uh, you know, try to do another four or so the next year and get to that first ten where they’ve got great store economics, they’re supported, they’re wanting to open more and then they’re great validators for the brand. And so we’re going to um, we’re going to try and pick the right people. Um, you know, high culture, high character, people that can develop a team that will then, you know, take care of the of their their new customers. So that’s the and we’re doing most of that on LinkedIn right in the beginning. Um, the franchise development part and maybe a little direct, um, little digital advertising.

Stone Payton: I have to confess, going into this conversation, I guess I had your business very soundly planted in the middle of a, I guess, the best way, a transactional frame. Right? Like, this is a transactional business. But I in talking to you, I think maybe nothing could be further from the truth. This is strongly grounded in relationship, isn’t it?

Donny Bradley: Exactly. No, that is that is it 100? 100%. It is all based around, um, the culture that we’re trying to create and then the connection that we make with, with our customers that come through. I mean, we want this to be, you know, we’re so we’re, you know, we’re taking, you know, fun beverage, the espresso drinks, all the energy drinks infused lemonades, infused teas. We’re you know, we’re taking that product and we’re kind of moving it into a drive through model. If you’re the 14th car in line, we want you through in seven minutes or less, but we still want to be making those connections. And so that’s um, you know, that’s the goal. We’re not we’re not dealing with raw food. We’re not dropping, you know, we’re not dealing with fryers and grease and a big kitchen. We are taking drinks and it’s combinations of sauces and sirups. And so I really feel like, you know, like a teacher would be great at this. A, you know, football coach is former military, uh, youth pastors, people that can, uh, develop a team, have a heart for kids, um, and can create a culture and make connections within their community would do absolutely fantastic at this. You don’t have to be a hard core, you know, grizzled, veteran restaurant person to to do this.

Stone Payton: Well, no. Clearly the linchpin in your system. Certainly a linchpin. Maybe the linchpin is the the character and the quality of the people. And it sounds like you’re parallel to that, really going to great lengths to provide, you know, repeatable processes and transferable tools for all the key tasks that have to be executed. But again, it’s, uh, man, it’s the people. You just have to make a real effort. And it sounds like you’re doing it of bringing the right people on board, whether it’s employees or franchisees. Huh.

Donny Bradley: It’s done. That is it. That’s that’s what it’s going to boil down to, is if I can and I and you know what? I, you know, just just seeing some of my, my kids coaches and, and being around different people that have heart for kids. I mean, you know, I love this, but I know there’s people out there that are a lot better that could be a lot better at this than me and could be more organized and, you know, could take the start that we’ve got and all the all the systems and everything we put in place. And they could absolutely thrive with this. I mean, it’s you know, I know there’s people out there a lot better than me. Than than me at doing this. And I’ve seen it just from, you know, watching how coaches connect and, you know, certain people connect with, um, you know, with youth and build teams and, you know, have those natural leadership abilities.

Stone Payton: Man, nothing builds a business like just getting out there and doing good work and being coachable and open to other people, because we might not just because we got the thing off the ground doesn’t mean we have all the answers. Huh?

Donny Bradley: That is that is so true. That is it. That is it.

Stone Payton: I know we have quite a number of aspiring entrepreneurs or people who are very in the very early stages. Some of them may have designs on replicating, franchising, licensing, others just may want to scale their business to a certain point. But before we wrap up, I’d love to to leave our listeners with a couple of, uh, pro tips, you know, a couple of actionable items, some things maybe, and maybe some of this was, uh, you know, a little scar tissue that you picked up over the last couple of years. But, uh, I don’t know, something to be reading. Maybe a do or a don’t. But let’s leave them with a couple of things to be thinking about. Those who are kind of wanting to follow in a in a similar path and grow something.

Donny Bradley: Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, one of my, one of my favorite books is, um, The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham. And, um, he, he was a real estate guy CEO that got wiped out in the late 80s in the, in commercial real estate. And he just kind of he just wrote this book that, um, you know, it really just takes out the gray and makes it black and white and we kind of know what we should be doing in business and the standards we should be setting and, and how we should be doing things. And he, you know, he helps you avoid the what he calls avoid paying the dumb tax. And when you just read a book like that and get back to the fundamentals, it just gives you that solid foundation for for trying to grow a business. And, um, you know, they say the failures and, you know, like every failure in leadership is from, um, stems from the lack of, or not wanting to have the difficult conversations or being afraid to have those difficult conversations. And, um, you know, it’s just a, it’s just things like that that you can take from it and that.

Donny Bradley: And then there’s also an awesome book, um, by, um, Jocko willing. Um, oh, gosh, I’m drawing a I’m drawing a blank on it, but it’s, um, extreme ownership, I’m sorry, extreme ownership. And it’s just about, you know, you’re responsible. Um, and when you know you’re responsible for how the team reacts, you set the tone. And, you know, always, you know, look inward first, uh, before you start kind of blaming people and look at what your role was and take ownership of things. So those two books have made a huge difference. And then that along with, you know, you know, just seek counsel and talk to people that have done it before and can help you speed up your, um, you know, speed up your growth, but also help you avoid all those, um, those potholes that, you know, and the potholes are always there and they’re always the same type of potholes, you know? I mean, for for all the businesses. So if you can learn to avoid those and, and speed up your growth by, by, you know, getting that intellectual capital, um, you know, you’re going to be you’re going to be better off.

Stone Payton: Well, I am so glad that I asked because those are two titles I have not read. I have absolutely paid the dumb tax over the years. Yeah.

Donny Bradley: Yeah, we could have a whole nother 2 or 3 episodes on on me paying the dumb tax and learning over the years. But yeah, but.

Stone Payton: That’s two new titles that’ll make it to my nightstand. All right. What’s the best way for our listeners to connect with you? Certainly we want to know where your, uh, location is, but also, maybe if they want to have a conversation with you or someone on the bean team, I think you call them, uh, about maybe, you know, being a franchisee.

Donny Bradley: Yeah. So we have, um, there’s a link on our website. It’s, uh, you know, Lola beans coffee comm. And then we are also on Instagram, uh, at Lola Beans Coffee. And then I’m on LinkedIn, and, um, it’s just Donny Bradley. Um, Lola Beans coffee founder on LinkedIn.

Stone Payton: Well, Donny, congratulations on the momentum, man. It’s exciting work that you’re doing and the kind of work that you’re doing and the example that you’re setting for the community, but also just other aspiring entrepreneurs who genuinely want to serve. It’s, uh, man, it’s important work. And we sure appreciate you.

Donny Bradley: I appreciate you, I appreciate you having me on. This was fun, Stone. Thank you.

Stone Payton: Absolutely. My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Donny Bradley with Lola Beans and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Chattanooga Business Radio.

Vicki Reyzelman with Mave Sparks

August 22, 2024 by angishields

Cherokee Business Radio

Vicki Reyzelman with Mave Sparks

00:00 /

Brought to you by Diesel David and Main Street Warriors

Vicki Reyzelman, Founder of Mave Sparks, is passionate about transforming businesses through AI-driven solutions.

Mave Sparks was founded by a small team of experienced technologists and product strategists led by Vicki. Their partners have worked at companies like Salesforce, Akamai, and Deloitte.

With over 20 years in tech leadership, her expertise spans:

✓ Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
✓ Enterprise Architecture
✓ Cloud Computing
✓ Product Management
✓ Cybersecurity

Key Achievements:

Implemented AI Agent, reducing operational costs by $100,000
Scaled global account portfolios, driving 30% YoY growth at Akamai Technologies
Led cross-functional alignment, accelerating business growth by 25% at Salesforce

Vicki is also dedicated to sharing knowledge:

Published author in eWeek, O’Reilly Media, and BrightTALK
Host of “Chat About AI” videocast and monthly newsletter simplifying complex tech concepts

Her mission: Empower organizations to harness the full potential of AI and emerging technologies.

Connect with Vicki on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this morning, and today’s episode is brought to you in part by our Community Partner program, the Business RadioX Main Street Warriors Defending Capitalism, promoting small business, and supporting our local community. For more information, go to Mainstreet warriors.org and a special note of thanks to our title sponsor for the Cherokee chapter of Main Street Warriors Diesel David, Inc. please go check them out at diesel.david.com. You guys are in for a real treat this morning. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Mave Sparks. Vicki Reyzelman. How are you?

Vicki Reyzelman: I’m doing amazing. How are you today?

Stone Payton: I am doing well. I have so been looking forward to this conversation. You and I had an opportunity to to chat over a zoom call not too long ago and man, I got I got a ton of questions. Vicky, I know we’re not going to get to them all, but a great place to start, in my experience, is if you could paint a picture for me and our listeners. Mission. Purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Vicki Reyzelman: So at Maeve Sparks, our mission is to unite artificial intelligence and the human capabilities for a better future. And so as our artificial intelligence is really becoming a bigger and bigger part of our lives, we’re here to help businesses and generally people to utilize this incredible technology in making things easier for themselves and for their business.

Stone Payton: So I got to know, how does one find themselves in this line of work? What is the backstory? How did you get here?

Vicki Reyzelman: That’s a great question. Um, I’ve been in technology over 25 years. I started at a time when businesses were not even online. My consulting experience in 2000 was putting businesses like Bank of America online, helping them sell fire engines, and talking to Michigan Department of State. And then I went and I started doing Wi-Fi networks, and then I helped Yahoo create remote access to, uh, for U-verse users for their favorite shows. So I’ve always been around innovation and internet, and I see artificial intelligence is that next phase. And I wanted to be a part of it because I’ve never seen, in my experience, a technology innovation that democratizes access as much as artificial intelligence and specifically generative AI does for the community.

Stone Payton: So this may sound a little bit pedestrian, but it would be helpful to me and probably our listeners to have like an operational definition of like what is really artificial intelligence?

Vicki Reyzelman: Artificial intelligence is essentially a way for us not to use the human intelligence, but instead on relying on machines to do work for us.

Stone Payton: So how long have you been doing the AI stuff?

Vicki Reyzelman: Really, really been focusing on it for the past year, because it’s really with the advent of the generative AI and the Gemini. And you’ve probably heard about ChatGPT, that everything kind of exploded in this space. And I wanted to be a part of the learning and really helping others learn about this incredible technology.

Stone Payton: So now that you’ve been at it a while, what’s the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it? About it for you?

Vicki Reyzelman: Uh, for me, I, I joke, I wake up every morning and I talk to Claude. And Claude is actually an application that uses a large language model from anthropic. And it’s a great way to have a personal assistant that you can brainstorm ideas with, that you can go ahead and do research with. And you don’t have to think about all the information right away. It actually stores all the things you’ve been asking and say three weeks later, you have a great idea or you have more questions, you can go back to that. So it’s really about having that, you know, before we used to gather around the water cooler. Now it’s essentially a water cooler with AI.

Stone Payton: So that’s a term that I have run across recently because at our business, the Business RadioX network, not just this studio, we’re trying to explore, you know, should we be? And the answer is yes, we should be learning more about it. But where could we put some, uh, get some immediate benefit from putting this to work? Large language model. Say more about that.

Vicki Reyzelman: So it’s essentially think about it as a bunch of data on the internet that’s been scraped. So all the website, all the research papers out there, they’ve essentially been placed in one place. And then this model, essentially this artificial intelligence was trained on this data. And now it can answer a lot of lot of different questions. So now before we had Encyclopedia Britannica, if you remember a long time ago we had to look up information. Well just imagine that at scale.

Stone Payton: Now to me that’s fascinating. Do you think we will get to a point or maybe we’re already there. If you have a body of work, you know, many of us who tap into this, these kinds of conversations are in the professional services arena, and some of us have a body of work. Can you tell a law, a large language model thingy? Bopper? Hey, just really keep track of our stuff and so that people can access our stuff. Can you, can you wall it off like that?

Vicki Reyzelman: Yes, absolutely. And there’s for example, Microsoft does that where they promise not to train the model on your data. Anthropic cloud is also when you put in that information they promise not to train. Um Gemini is the Google model for example. And they have very long prompts. So what that means is you can put all your documents in there and then you can continue to ask questions. So in the past we had to go to developers and say, okay, I want this. Can you do some analysis for me. Can you get me some reports? And now you don’t have to do that. You can essentially put that using your English language skills into, um, a prompt. A prompt is essentially just a way of you writing a little document. And the model goes across the entire internet, pulls the information from you for you, and then you can modify that based on on that information that you receive, how, what you want to do with it.

Stone Payton: I love it. I mean, to me, my mind is just exploding with all kinds of. Like I said, I got a ton of questions and I’ll tell you what we might do if you’re up for it. And in a few moments, maybe because I my questions are around our work at the network, maybe we could have like a little bit of a conversation. Uh, guys, if you want to get like, free consulting, get yourself a radio show and just invite people to come and get smart people in here. Why not?

Vicki Reyzelman: Yeah, that’s why I do the show, chat about I. You know, it’s a great way to learn more people learn from people. So it’s.

Stone Payton: Amazing. That’s right. You have your own radio show and you interview. You talk about that a little bit.

Vicki Reyzelman: So yeah. And chat about I, we’ve been interviewing people for about a year, and we meet all kinds of experts in the artificial intelligence space and not limited to any industry, but what they allow us to do is to tap into those great minds. This is where humans need to speak with AI to really figure out how do we coexist together and are more powerful, not just as artificial intelligence and as humans, but how are we more powerful together? And that’s where I think a lot of future advancement will come from.

Stone Payton: Okay, so before we dive into this free consulting session that I just bullied you into for Business RadioX, let’s just talk more general, though, about the work, the engagement cycle. So, um, talk a little bit about how you might work with a client in any arena. I guess it does start out, though, with a conversation about what they’re trying to accomplish.

Vicki Reyzelman: It’s 100% about the conversation. And we’ve actually at Maeve Sparks, we have something. We develop a sparks method, which is a framework that you can look up on. Maeve Sparks comm. And essentially the first thing we do is we come to the business and we talk about what you do and how you do it, and what’s really important to your customers in order to continue to grow this business. Because one of the most interesting things about AI is you can it go into so many different directions? And the number one thing you have to determine is which one of these directions will be worth your time and your money. And that’s where we actually get to help you, is figure out, out of all these projects, you’re thinking about, where’s the capability of artificial intelligence and where is the most value for your business, and to marry those two to, to get you to where you need to be?

Stone Payton: I got to believe it’s certainly true in our arena and in a lot of our clients businesses, there are often some misconceptions, preconceived notions, outright myths that just everything from the work that we do, but all of our clients to whether like a guest who couldn’t make it today, had to reschedule is is with an elder care law firm. And there’s just a lot of misinformation in his arena. Uh, I got to believe that’s the case here, too, right? Just. Yes.

Vicki Reyzelman: There’s plenty of hallucinations. That’s that’s what we call it. Um, well, imagine you’re having a conversation with a friend at the water cooler. Does the friend always tell you the right information? Probably not. Right. It’s based on their experience. Sometimes they fib a little. That’s kind of the experience with Claude or any other model, is that you’re probably going to get some incorrect information. So please validate whatever information you get from I. It doesn’t know everything.

Stone Payton: And it knows that somebody said this about this and it goes and gets it real fast, a lot faster than I could go get it. Yeah. So so that’s one of the things you can’t just take everything in.

Vicki Reyzelman: Don’t take everything at face value. We have to question everything. And there are a lot more deep fakes and essentially incorrect information. So this is where the human capability for critical thinking becomes so important. Don’t believe everything you hear.

Stone Payton: That’s a that sounds like good counsel okay. Yeah. If you’re up for it. Yeah. Let’s let’s just let’s talk about applying AI in our world. Um, and so I don’t know if you want to ask me some questions about the business or.

Vicki Reyzelman: A little bit about the business, Where do you want to grow your business?

Stone Payton: A couple of different places. Okay, so we are a network, so we have studios around the country. We’re in 61 markets as of this conversation in some way. But in 19 of those we have physical studios like the one you’re you’re sitting in and the person running that studio is almost without exception. They have an existing. Maybe they have a consulting practice, maybe they’re a fractional CFO or a coach or a speaker, or an author or a business attorney. And so the value proposition for them, they can use this platform the exact same way that we use it with all of our clients, and the way that they will probably use it with their Business RadioX clients to grow their own business. One of the things that I’m sure you discovered, if you chose to apply an application for this platform in the professional services world, a lot of people, one of their biggest challenges is just having enough quality conversations with qualified prospective clients. Well, having your own show and certainly having your own studio. The prospecting problem is it’s just solved. I mean, you have a perpetual prospect pipeline of people who are excited about talking to you, and if you so desire, you can very much you can. You can cast a wide net and serve the whole community. And you’ve got the the time and space and it’s good mojo to do it anyway. But you can also be you can kind of cherry pick and say, you know, I would really like to get to know this person or build a relationship with with that person.

Stone Payton: So that I said, we have 19 of them. Well, in our mind, we ought to have a thousand of them. Uh, and when I say our my business partner Lee Kantor and I, we own the business radio X network. So one area we really want to grow and it’s the, it’s it’s where most of my energy is focused leads as well is finding, you know, a couple of people in every market around the country to have a conversation with. And but the end goal is we want it didn’t wouldn’t have to be a thousand, but a thousand would be great. But if we just had a hundred instead of 19, we’d really be making a dent in the universe and it would be very financially lucrative for us. So everything from kicking up that initial conversation to on onboarding those people so that we can ensure that they’re very successful. And the first thing we want them to be incredibly successful at is that initial brand promise of, here’s how you use this to grow your existing business, and then to whatever degree you wish to do so, we’ll show you how to help people and make money by being the local Business RadioX person. I love it. So that’s that’s the big one. That’s the the brass ring. And look, I li and I’ve made a comfortable living. It’s the work is fun. It’s right now just from an emotional standpoint, I just feel like there’s so much on the table that’s left undone, and I really want to crack the code on this.

Vicki Reyzelman: Oh it’s amazing. So you already have many studios, right? So AI is really about evaluating finding patterns in data. So what I would start with is taking a look at the ones you’ve already started and the customers and why they and really do some analysis using AI so you can download the spreadsheet or the honestly, you could just type up the 30 records and think about the sentiment, like what made those people apply, right? Why? What was the propensity? Where else can you get information? So starting to track information about when the person signs up. So what are what are their reasons? Where are they in their business cycle to want to have a business radio. So if you start tracking it usually you could track that in a CRM. So there’s Monday, Salesforce, HubSpot, a lot of tools out there, but really starting to understand your customer and why they come to do what they do. And then you can essentially upload that information into, say, cloud and you can start asking it questions. You can say, hey, based on these records, where which businesses should I start? Or which, you know, start targeting and it will start essentially create a profile for you of the type of customer that would enjoy having their business radio. And once they provide that, you can start interacting. I mean, you already know who that customer is. So when cloud gives you incorrect information, you have that conversation like, no, I don’t think so. I think this is completely wrong.

Vicki Reyzelman: I think you need to think about this because you know your business, and this is where that human touch comes in, is that we have to rely on our business expertise, our intuition about what has worked and why. So that’s a big component of it. But the other component is is propensity to buy. So even if a person wants to have a business radio X, they might not have the money right now to do it. So figuring out where are they in that buyer’s journey. And there’s a lot of other data sets like drift that can provide you like, are they searching for business radio? Are they trying to develop the brand of their business. And those indicators could help feed that information in. So when you reach out to them, you could say, hey, I seen you searching on Google for opportunities to really grow the brand of your business. What do you want to do with this? And I think that’s where we have to think about what are the other sources of data that could help us. And so once we identify that person, it’s all about scale. You really want to scale. So all those operational documents can be created with AI. So you already probably have a procedure for how to onboard someone to the business radio. So you would essentially say okay, here are the steps. Here are the ten steps. Create a ten page document that would take someone step by step to setting up and running their own business, radio X, and you will get a document and you can start editing it and you can put it into Canva.

Vicki Reyzelman: That will give it a really nice format and pictures. And then you have a document to give them, right. And so now they have a way to go about it. Um, but the most important thing is in the end they want to see if they can grow their business. So I think if you can show start tracking where they were with their business before they had their Business RadioX and where they end up after, you could actually start attracting a lot more people saying, okay, before I had this radio station, I was making X, but six months later I’m making two X because I’m talking to the right customers. I know how to target them and they get this visibility, um, across the internet, the way you get visibility across the internet is really to get again, AI to help you, um, write these blog posts or promotions using search engine optimization. So you can say, hey, write this promotion on LinkedIn for me, for this audience, using this language and using, you know, this snippet from the Business RadioX and it will create tags for you. It will create the right language for you so you can again attract a wider net and hopefully higher quality of people that want to be a part of the business radio network.

Stone Payton: Yeah. And you touched on my second one. Right. So we get we bring them on board, we want to onboard them. We need them to have some early wins, and we want them to get a very handsome return on their investment, partly because we’re just we’re good people. But also if they get that return on their investment, they’ll keep sending us the monthly check to be a licensed Business RadioX. So, you know, I mean, everybody wins. It’s not all just, you know, it’s enlightened self-interest. And so now going back to the nuts and bolts of running a studio, I’ve been doing this for 21 years now. I was six foot two and had black hair when I started Vicky. Uh. Uh, so a lot of it is second nature to me. And because we’ve been doing it that long, I’ve got people around me were over the years, I’ve done less and less of the nuts and bolts stuff. So, for example, just to give you some context today, um, we’ll, we’ll have this conversation, uh, we’re broadcasting live, but most of our content is consumed on demand. And so I will, uh, I will take that raw audio, we’ll call it, and then I will, uh, have someone go through it and, and, you know, clean up the sound levels or that kind of thing. I probably say something stupid in the course of 20 minutes, so we’ll we’ll cut that out and, uh, and then it will, uh, somebody on our team will go into the back end of our website and publish this episode. It’ll be a standalone episode. We’ll have, you know, a headshot of you that your logo, all that stuff. A bio, maybe even some show notes. You know, just a couple of bullets or something like that.

Stone Payton: And. And then we’re off and running. And then, as you know, from doing your show, not only is there value in sharing this episode with the people who are important to you, if we go back and look at the transcript and listen to the recording, there’s probably a half a dozen or more of these great little 30, 60, 92nd clips. Right? And then so we can if we want to, we can we can chop those up and give, give our guest, um, you know, a really a good experience, but also some marketing assets that and we don’t, we don’t ever charge guests to appear on. We got lots of ways for you to write us a check, Vicki, but you can’t write a check to be on the show. Uh, but, you know, they did invest the time to prepare. They and they came out to the studio and we feel like it’s a very fair energy exchange. So it’s like falling off a log for me. Uh, I’ve been doing it a long time, and I’ve got people. But, you know, Susie in Pittsburgh, if everything else lines up and she wants to do it, I, I, I’m beginning to be of the opinion that we could really live into one of my marketing phrases when I’m talking to a potential studio partner is, you know what? You just make friends and press record and we’ll handle all the heavy lifting for you. And and we’ve done that to some degree. Uh, but I’m thinking that we could probably get some economies of scale if we really did handle the the are the things I’m describing to you. There’s a there’s opportunity for AI and all that.

Vicki Reyzelman: There’s so much opportunity. And the tools are coming out every day. So I’ll tell you what I kind of do. I had my own podcast before. Now this is my second podcast. The most important thing about doing any kind of show is having a system. And like you mentioned, it’s all part of a system. It’s natural to you. You take these steps. So the first part of the system is to find the guests and to make the guests welcome. So all of that can be automated. You could start writing that email. That’s template. Hey Mary, we’d love to have you on the Business RadioX show. So that’s automated. Claude can do that for you. You have a template for that. You just regenerate it every time. That’s the first step. Then when they come to prepare for the recording, one of the things I used to like to do is talk about what questions the people would be comfortable in preparing for. So what I would do is I would look up their bio and I would essentially with Claude or any other system, I would say, okay, here’s the information about Mary. Mary is really interested in X, y, Z. Come up with five questions that Mary and I can discuss given her background. So those five questions are generated. Sometimes I get the answer and I’m like, I don’t like these questions. They’re horrible. And so I.

Stone Payton: Start going back to that human. You can’t just leave it all to Claude.

Vicki Reyzelman: Like give the default. You’re like, this is horrible. Like, think about these three things? You picked out the wrong things. And so I will tell you. Oh, I’m so sorry. Let me think about this again. And they’ll generate the next five questions. And then you’re like, okay, these sound better. So you send those five questions to Mary. Mary is like, how do these sounds to you? Do you want to talk about this? And Mary will say, well, I like really want to focus on questions three, four, five, but I don’t like one. Um, and two and you’re like, okay, what would you like to say? So you already have the framework for the show, and what happens next is Mary is comfortable, she comes to the show, you make her comfortable. I usually use, um, right now I’m using Riverside.fm as my tool. So it’s essentially a way to record your podcast. And the reason I use it is it kind of gives me everything in one. When I go and record the show. It’s an online link. Uh, Mary can log in from any browser. And when I’m speaking to Mary and I record the show, what happens is after the show, I can do all of that automated. So like, you’re talking about the sound, right? Right, right. So you just put a little toggle on, you say improve the sound of the audio and it magically does it. And then there’s a program like descript, for example, that you can use later where if people if you’re doing, you know, not audio but you’re doing video and people are looking all over the place and sometimes they’re looking down, they will actually help fix your eyes.

Vicki Reyzelman: So you all it looks like you’re looking at the camera all the time. I know it’s like crazy stuff. It will fix any of those long delays like, um, um, all the filler words. So everyone sounds super smart. Um, which is always a plus when you can make your guests sound so good. Um, and then what you and what it does with Riverside.fm. It auto generates those little clips that you were talking about. So it will go into that audio and it will generate 6 or 7 clips. And what I do is I go through those and I’m like, well, again, I don’t like all of them, but I’ll take one I like and then I’ll edit it some more. And the editing is so easy because before I would have to essentially edit the just find that little clip of audio and try to cut it out. Well, now you can actually edit using words. So you can you have a transcript and you edit that transcript using words, which is so easy to do. Um, and then once that’s done, I use that little video clip for LinkedIn promotion or anything else like that. I send the output of the, um, edited video to my customer and I say, Hey, Mary, it’s all set and it takes a day, right? That turnaround time is so fast and that’s important.

Stone Payton: Guests, really, they don’t want to wait three weeks.

Vicki Reyzelman: No, no. It takes a day. And you’re like, hey Mary, here it is. And she’s like, oh, this is great. Let me listen to it. Sometimes guests will edit for you. They’re like, I don’t like that snippet between the third minute and the 3.23. I’m like, okay, I’ll take care of it. So you go back and edit. Some guests are like, okay, it sounds so good. Um, and then you post. So the post is really important. This is where I comes in again, because now you have to really think about, well, what do I title this? What is the description? How do I make sure I use the right tag words to make sure that it gets SEO, you know, across different channels. And a lot of times you had to hire someone who had those skills. Well, now you just tell Claude, saying, hey, I did the show. Here’s the description. And sometimes actually with Riverside.fm Pro subscription, you get the actual transcript. You can upload the transcript and say, generate an SEO ready title description for YouTube. And in seconds you have something. It has the tags, it has the description, it has. You can do the same for LinkedIn. So you it helps you set up for social media. And you don’t have to really think about any of these things. And again the turnaround time is so much faster. The other thing is blog posts. I believe that blogs are really important. So you could use the transcript to create a new blog post and post that as well. So you have a backlink to your show to give it more visibility. Because backlinks are really important for Google Search Engine to find your information. So all of this is kind of built in. And again you’re doing the work. You’re thinking through it. It doesn’t mean you trust AI with everything because they’ll do crazy stuff. But you do it faster because now you have all these tools at your disposal.

Stone Payton: Am I right that early on you may have to do more human interaction, but then it kind of learns how you like to work and stuff. Is that true too?

Vicki Reyzelman: Absolutely. And you get new templates, new interaction. It learns from what you like. You can actually upload samples of your previous blog posts, so it will actually create new information in your tone. Because one of the things people are worried about is like AI is, you know, will take away my voice. It will take away how I like to communicate because it communicates differently. But what happens actually is it gives you an opportunity to actually explore your voice to to expand and spend time on in how you want to communicate something versus what you want to communicate.

Stone Payton: So I got to believe when you find yourself in a conversation like this, you must have like a 100% closing ratio of people that want to do business with you. But how does earlier on, how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for for your firm? How do you get the new business?

Vicki Reyzelman: Yeah, it’s a great question. I’m still figuring it out. I just got started, so I don’t have all the answers. But for me, um, what I’ve heard a lot is really, honestly, Facebook, um, advertising is where a lot of small businesses go. You actually get a better return for your money being on Facebook, for example, as a social media channel, you really have to go where your customers are. So honestly, I’m on LinkedIn a lot because my customer is a small business customer or a professional. Um, I actually post almost daily something or, or comment on somebody’s posts on LinkedIn to help build the visibility for my business. And I provide free resources where I share information about the latest AI developments, and that actually helps you bring people in. And something like Business RadioX having that information session, building that network, your network is your gold. I’ll be honest with you. And there’s no better way to build your network than a podcast or videocast your own business radio. Because I have never had a person when I reach out to them like, would you want to be on my show? Say no. But I can tell you many times where I’m like, can you have 15 minutes of time to tell? You know, so I can tell you about my business? They’ll probably say no, right? So this is a huge value add for them to essentially promote themselves, but it’s a huge value add for you because you get to know this individual and potentially make them your customer.

Stone Payton: And it’s fun.

Vicki Reyzelman: It’s so much fun.

Stone Payton: So I don’t know when you’d find the time. I know you’re a year in on this, and it sounds like you got as much work as you want. Probably. But passions, interests, hobbies, pursuits outside the scope of your I work. My listeners know that I like to hunt, fish and travel.

Vicki Reyzelman: Yeah, that sounds amazing.

Vicki Reyzelman: I like to hike. We have such amazing places to hike. Kennesaw Mountain right here. I actually brought my tennis shoes so I can go hiking after this. Um, I’m really excited, honestly, about travel. I love learning about new cultures and going around the world. But most importantly, I honestly love the human story and listening and talking to people. And that’s why I feel that having a podcast, having a business radio is such an important thing, because I’ve met such incredible people like you, Stone and, um, I’m I think it’s an amazing way not just to promote yourself, but help others promote themselves and their business. And I believe that when you help others, you help yourself.

Stone Payton: Amen.

Vicki Reyzelman: Yes.

Stone Payton: All right, before we wrap up, I’d love it if we could leave our listeners with a couple of actionable pro tips just to start learning more about AI. Maybe there’s something they should be reading. Maybe there’s, you know, a do and a don’t get cat kind of thing. Sure. But yeah, that would be that would be helpful. Yeah.

Vicki Reyzelman: So the number one tip is do not be afraid. I feel that people are so fearful of AI that when they hear AI, they think, oh my God, robots are coming to kill us. It’s this Terminator mentality. But really, do not be afraid. This is the first time in our history where you no longer depend on developers to do development for you. You have the full power to scale yourself as an individual, so try it out. Log in to ChatGPT. I personally download Cloud Cloud on my mobile phone. I have an app and I wake up and I’m like, Lord, what do you think about today? What are we doing? What are some ideas? So just start chatting. It does not have to be perfect. I know there’s a lot of people that teach prompt engineering, and they said you have to have things in certain format. But I really believe that if you think about the audience you’re trying to address. So think about who am I? Who am I now? So you can say, hi, I’m a Business RadioX host or you are a Business RadioX host. You give AI a personality. So now it’s not just Claude, now its Claude, the Business RadioX host. Right? So they start to think a little different. That’s number one. The second thing is you always want to say for readability and for readability is like a magic word and prompt engineering, because what it does is it really makes that writing for your audience and easy to explain it, that fifth grade level, you don’t want anything too complicated. And the third thing is give it as many examples as you can.

Vicki Reyzelman: This is where your expertise comes in. You can put in like. Here are the ten examples of things that have worked, and three examples of things that haven’t worked. Now, based on this information, tell me what I should do and it will give you a much better answer and much less likely to hallucinate or give you the wrong answer than if you just kind of ask a generic question so you can really play around with it. The second thing is learn. It keeps evolving. The tools are out there. Um, and most important for your business, think about how to use AI for that business sentiment. What can you gather about your customers, about people that are already your customers? What is unique about them? What is special? And I can go ahead and kind of scan some of that information, whether it’s in a word document or an Excel spreadsheet, and it can start looking for patterns. Ai is incredible at pattern recognition much faster than we are, so it can start giving you some snippets of information about where you should go. And the third probably thing a tip is just keep learning, because I can tell you, there’s so much that’s coming out every day that it just blows your mind. So I mean, I’d like to be selfish, advertise, chat about I videocast go on LinkedIn learning. Please connect with me on LinkedIn. I post a newsletter every month about AI and how it can help your business and some of the tools, and I’d love to just chat with you and see how I can help.

Stone Payton: Well, and that’s my number one pro tip is reach out, connect with Vicky, have a conversation with her or someone on her team. So what are the best coordinates to do that?

Vicki Reyzelman: Sure, the best way is probably LinkedIn. It’s my profile is LinkedIn.com slash Vicky Reyzelman my name Vicky r e y z e l m a n and I have my business website. It’s Maeve m a v e sparks. Css, and I already have a book on there that you can download to give you some tips about how to get started with AI, and I’m just happy to answer any questions if you want to reach out.

Stone Payton: Well, Vicki, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio this morning. Yeah, thank you for the insight, perspective, the energy and the enthusiasm. And you have been so generous with your with your counsel. You’re doing important work and we sure appreciate you. And you and I are going to talk more off air.

Vicki Reyzelman: Yes. Thank you so much, Stone. This was a blast.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Vicki Reyzelman with Maeve Sparks and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.

Turning Trash into Opportunity: Kim Wilson’s Entrepreneurial Adventure

August 21, 2024 by angishields

Women in Motion

Turning Trash into Opportunity: Kim Wilson's Entrepreneurial Adventure

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In this episode of Women in Motion, Lee Kantor is joined by Kim Wilson, owner of 40 West Xpress, a waste management and trash removal company. Kim shares her journey from starting a logistics company in December 2019 to pivoting to waste management due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She discusses her business operations, which include residential services, evictions, and commercial cleanups. Kim highlights the challenges and opportunities of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, the importance of business credit, and her future aspirations, including disaster management services.

In 2019, Kimberly Wilson, a licensed real estate agent in Las Vegas, saw firsthand the need for trash removal services for residential properties. She had several clients who inquired whether she knew of anyone who could remove trash from their properties left behind by tenants.

As the need continued, she decided to take on the job herself with an old pickup truck and landscape trailer and started contacting property management companies for potential business. Business took off and in 2020, she officially founded 40 West Xpress and set it up as a Nevada LLC. In 2021, a second larger truck and trailer was purchased.

Many of her customers told her they contacted her because she was a woman owned “junk removal” company. Her son heard this and said Kimberly could be the “Top Dog”, which led to the dba name of Top Dog Hauling.

In 2022, a relationship with a concrete contractor landed Kimberly her first commercial job, followed by several requests for hoarder cleanout services. Business connections continued to flourish and in 2023, 40 West Xpress, dba Top Dog Hauling, was approved to be a supplier for Super Bowl LVIII.

Today, there are conversations about Top Dog Hauling opening up a branch in San Antonio, Texas and offering container roll off services.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Kim Wilson: Great. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about 40 West Xpress. How are you serving folks?

Kim Wilson: Thank you. So, 40 West Xpress started initially as a logistics company, and so started out in December of 2019, wanting to create a logistics business and do hot shot trucking, transporting freight. Bought a dually, a flatbed, figured out how to self-certify my business as woman-owned. This thing called COVID came up, and then I got nervous, and so we pivoted to waste management. And so, that was what I started working as a DBA doing Top Dog Hauling. And, yeah, that’s what we do. We do waste management and trash removal, evictions and commercial cleanups.

Lee Kantor: So, is it primarily kind of business to business or do you have kind of residential consumers as clients as well?

Kim Wilson: Yeah. So, the bulk of it is residential, but we do have some commercial customers. And so, we have a concrete contractor that he’ll go on a job and then he’ll need us to come and haul away the concrete. We have a couple of commercial buildings. If they’re doing renovations or light demo work, then we’ll go and pick up the construction debris. And then, I also work with another general contractor on some of the sites that he’s at.

Lee Kantor: But primarily you’re going into like neighborhoods and being their person who takes their trash away?

Kim Wilson: That is correct. So, the bulk of our business, I would say right now would be evictions. So, if a tenant is getting evicted, we’ll go in after they’ve gotten out and the period has terminated for them to take their remainings out of the property, we’ll go and then trash out whatever is left behind.

Lee Kantor: So, you work, like, with multifamily units, things like that?

Kim Wilson: Some of them are apartments, some of them are homes, so single family homes. So, we have property managers that will give us a call and say, “Hey, we need a property clean out.” It could be a four bedroom home that a family was renting. And once they’ve moved out, oftentimes there’s always furniture left behind. And we’ve had a lot of furniture that we’ve been able to donate to other family members. We’ve donated to some nursing homes. And then, if it’s in decent condition, then we’ll go to Salvation Army and drop off some of the items as well.

Lee Kantor: So, now when you made the pivot, how did you choose this direction?

Kim Wilson: Yeah. So, COVID showed up and I’m like, “Okay. We need to put a pause on doing the out of state transportation.” I was just really nervous about it because we didn’t know what COVID was and how long it was going to be around. And then, I sell real estate part time, and so I was talking to a couple of friends and they were like, “Man, evictions are going to be crazy. People aren’t going to be able to pay their rent.” So, this is what they were predicting. And then, I started scratching my head and I’m like, “You know, maybe I can put this truck to work.” So, I had the truck and then I thought, “Okay. If I buy a trailer, I can get in business with servicing those needs.” And so, that’s how I pivoted to what I cloned the DBA as Top Dog Hauling.

Lee Kantor: And then, what was it like? You know, was this like a build it and they will come kind of situation? Or did you really have to lean on some of those relationships you had in the real estate business to even let them know that, “Hey, this is what we’re doing now”?

Kim Wilson: We were so busy during COVID. It was a good problem to have. So, I mentioned that I sell real estate part time, so I literally just started posting social media, you know, “Top Dog Hauling. Let us know how we can help you.” And because I do have a big network of realtor friends and property managers, it just took off like wildfire. Like, the phone just did not stop ringing.

Lee Kantor: So, now what was it like or what is it like being a woman in this kind of a male dominated industry?

Kim Wilson: It’s been a challenge. And so, I think it’s a good and a bad thing. So, I’ve had customers call and they’re like, “We saw your ad and we wanted to support a woman-owned business.” I’ve got many of those phone calls where they’re like, “Yay. Woman in this industry.”

Kim Wilson: But some of the challenges, to be honest, I think my journey has been maybe a little slower than a male because I’m a woman. And I had a guy make a note on one of my Facebook pages and he was like, “May I speak to the man in charge?” Now, I think he was joking, but he wasn’t the only one. You know, I’ve had a couple of people, I answer the phone and they’re like, “Can I speak to the owner?” “You’re talking to the owner.”

Kim Wilson: So, because it’s not very many of us women in the junk removal waste management industry, I feel like it’s just been I’ve been having to try to figure things out because I just don’t really have that many maybe even mentors or women that I can bounce things off.

Lee Kantor: So, the pandemic is over, is it still like are you going to get back into logistics or now you’re kind of putting all your chips on the table in this direction?

Kim Wilson: Yeah. This business has been flourishing. So, I started with one truck. I now have two trucks, two trailers. And I’m in the process of trying to seek financing to get some roll-off containers. So, I think we’re going to stay in this lane. It’s actually been doing really well.

Lee Kantor: Now, when it comes to scaling something like this, is there any advice you can give other people that are in a kind of fast growing marketplace? How did you go about, you know, doubling your capacity, at least, and more?

Kim Wilson: So, when I bought the dually and I bought the flatbed, I used my personal funds from my savings. And then, as the business needs, I was like I need to get another truck because I’ve only got the one truck, one trailer. And when that one got busy, then I have to turn jobs down. So, I was able to then start talking to people about business credit and I learned everything that I could about getting business credit. And I’m like, “Okay. Well, now that I got the business credit, let me see if I can get some financing.”

Kim Wilson: I applied for American Express card. And I have to tell you, I did a happy dance when I got approved for the business credit card. And so, from there, I’m utilizing the business credit. So, it was at least a year or two before I was able to really start thinking about business credit. But just kind of, again, a combination of my personal funds, and then, now, I’m to the point where I’ve got the business credit and able to now purchase stuff with that.

Lee Kantor: Can you explain to our listeners why it’s important and advantageous to get business credit?

Kim Wilson: Well, I mean, (A) it’s not against your own personal credit. And so, again, when I purchased the dually, that was on my credit. It was against my credit ratings. When you have the business credit, some companies will do a soft pull just to check your personal credit, but it doesn’t affect your personal credit. And so, it’s always a good idea just to try to take that route and get to where you’re utilizing the business credit.

Kim Wilson: I’ve been able to, I think, get loans under the business credit that I may not have been able to get under the personal credit. So, it was a really good decision for me to start really researching the business credit and start utilizing that.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. And sometimes you get better rates and sometimes it’s helping kind of the valuation of your company because now it has more credit. It could be worth more. It has more value.

Kim Wilson: Correct.

Lee Kantor: Now, the waste management industry, is that something you think that more women should take a look at? Maybe they’re self-selecting out before they even begin because they don’t even consider it. Like you said, you didn’t have any role models or mentors to help you. Is this something that you’d like to see more women get involved in waste management?

Kim Wilson: You know, I didn’t grow up saying I wanted to be a waste management business. But it’s just been such a good lane for me to be in. And I love when I run into other women that are in the industry. We absolutely need them. And there’s other things. It doesn’t have to necessarily be junk removal. It could be porta potties. It could be the roll-off containers. It could be environmental. Just maybe being a consultant for an environmental, doing safety. There’s so many different avenues. And I just think it’s, you know, typical that women just don’t look at blue collar jobs. But I get super excited when I see other women in the industry.

Lee Kantor: Are you still doing real estate stuff or are you kind of all in now on this adventure?

Kim Wilson: Real estate kind of I do it here and there. But I’ve really been focusing on trying to scale the business, and so this is my baby, and I’m super excited about what the future holds. I think I mentioned I’m in the process of getting financing for the roll-off containers. My end goal since I had the certification is to do disaster management services, maybe get with FEMA. And so, I know that’s where that certification will be useful to me. So, that’s kind of the end goal.

Lee Kantor: Now, you talked a little bit about why getting certified, but regarding WBEC-West and the WBEC-West community, how have you seen kind of value from being part of that community?

Kim Wilson: It was such a wonderful experience, and so I was following someone on Facebook and then I saw the representative from WBEC-West. I reached out to her. I’m kind of like Dora the Explorer, so when I see something, I just kind of like, “Well, what is this about?” And I kind of follow all the leads.

Kim Wilson: And so, she told me about the certification, what the process entailed. And then, I just got really intrigued. And they were so helpful answering every question. When I went through the application, if I didn’t know an answer, I just shot them an email and, boom, they were there to help me. So, to me, it was – I hate to say simple, but it wasn’t a complicated process and they were there every step of the way.

Lee Kantor: So, who is your ideal client right now?

Kim Wilson: So, I have a big Century 21 out here. It’s a big real estate broker. And the majority of my business, again doing the eviction cleanouts, the apartment turnovers. They have a bunch of property managers, and so that right now is my biggest customer.

Lee Kantor: And is that kind of the avatar for future customers? Is that who you’re looking to do business with?

Kim Wilson: Honestly, I want to get more into the commercial side, so that’s the reason for me purchasing these roll-off containers so that I can get more in construction side, maybe get with some general contractors. And, again, the end goal would be the disaster management services so that we could respond to if there’s a hurricane in Louisiana or wherever, that we could go and be a part of that mission.

Lee Kantor: So, is your work primarily in – are you in Nevada? Is that where you are?

Kim Wilson: Yeah, we’re in Nevada. And, actually, I just had a conversation with another lady, she does roll-off containers in Texas, and we’re looking to do a partnership in the San Antonio area, so super excited about that.

Lee Kantor: So, primarily you’re in Nevada, but once you get involved in this other aspect of the business, you could go anywhere?

Kim Wilson: Yeah. I mean, all I have to do is get a a dump trailer and a truck and then we’re in business. So, we’re looking at a couple of other states. I have family that’s in the Washington, D.C. area, and so looking at possibly adding to that location as well.

Lee Kantor: Well, congratulations on all the success. If somebody wants to have a more substantive conversation with you and learn more, is there a website? What’s the best way to learn more or connect with you?

Kim Wilson: So, the website is 40westxpress, and it’s 40-west-X-P-R-E-S-S-.com or that you shoot me an email at info@40, and that’s the number 40-west-xpress.com.

Lee Kantor: It’s four-zero-west-the letter X-P-R-E-S-S.com?

Kim Wilson: Correct.

Lee Kantor: Well, Kim, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Kim Wilson: Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity to get on here and I appreciate your time.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.

BRX Pro Tip: Two Reasons You Might Be Stuck

August 21, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Two Reasons You Might Be Stuck

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BRX Pro Tip: Two Reasons You Might Be Stuck

Stone Payton : Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, what insight, counsel do you have for someone, and it certainly happened to me more than once, who might just be feeling stuck?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, a lot of folks, you know, especially if you’ve been grinding for a long period of time, you feel like you’ve hit a plateau or you’re not getting, making the progress that you would like to be making. And so you’re stuck.

Lee Kantor: So, one of the things I would recommend if you’re in that kind of a place and you’re frustrated by it is that analyze the amount of things you’re doing, and you’ll probably realize that you’re doing too many things that aren’t really bringing you joy or leveraging your superpowers. You’re probably saying yes to too many things that aren’t really that important instead of just saying hell yes to a handful of truly meaningful things.

Lee Kantor: And number two, you might be buying kind of lottery tickets rather than investing in the grind to compound your results over time. You might be taking too many home run swings on kind of long shots and going all in on these long shots instead of kind of stacking up singles and doubles in order to methodically manufacture runs and leverage the power of compounding results and momentum.

Lee Kantor: So, try slowing down in order to go fast, and try focusing on the things that you control, that leverage your superpowers, and just start stacking up some small wins together so you can get to where you ultimately want to go.