angishields, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Invest in Your Child’s Future: Why the 529 Plan is a Game Changer for Education Savings

April 17, 2025 by angishields

Atlanta Business Radio

Invest in Your Child's Future: Why the 529 Plan is a Game Changer for Education Savings

00:00 /

In this episode of Atlanta Business Radio, Stone Payton talks with Bethany Whetzel from the Georgia Path2College 529 Plan. They discuss the benefits and features of the state-sponsored 529 college savings plan, which helps families save for future educational expenses with tax advantages and various investment options. Bethany explains qualified education expenses, the importance of early savings, and the ability to gift contributions. Stone shares his personal interest as an expectant grandfather, making the topic particularly relevant. The episode also highlights sweepstakes for newborns and children, encouraging early investment in education.

Bethany Whezel is the Treasury Program Director at Georgia’s Office of the State Treasurer.

She oversees Oversee the management, administration, and outreach for four core Treasury programs Path2College 529 Plan, Georgia STABLE Plan, Secured Deposit Program, and the Cash Management Improvement Act (CMIA).

She’s worked for a number of Georgia departments including the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, the Office of the Inspector General, the Georgia Department of Corrections, and the the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission.

Follow Georgia Path2College 529 Plan on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

About Georgia’s Path2College 529 Plan
How a 529 plan works
How the funds can be used for education
The advantages over other ways to save for college
What happens if you don’t use all the money
The Path from Pre-K to college sweepstakes

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Atlanta Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. This is going to be a good one. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Georgia Path2College 529 plan Bethany Whetzel. How are you?

Bethany Whetzel: I’m great. Stone, thank you so much for having me today. I’m glad to be here and to have an opportunity to talk a little bit about path to college.

Stone Payton: Well, it is an absolute pleasure to have you on the broadcast. There’s so much that I personally do not know about this program. I want to inform our listeners, I want to inform me, and I will just share with you from a personal standpoint, I am on Grandfather Watch. I should have a grandson within a week. And so topics like this are very much on my mind for sure.

Bethany Whetzel: This could actually couldn’t be any more timely for you. Um, because we have some exciting opportunities for newborns that are born in the state of Georgia that hopefully, um, can maybe help your grandchild.

Stone Payton: All right, so let’s start with a little bit of a primer. Maybe, uh, share with us what exactly is the Georgia Path to College 529 plan? And then we’ll just kind of talk it through.

Bethany Whetzel: Sure. So, um, path to college is path to college. Uh, 529 College savings plan is Georgia’s one and only state sponsored 529 college Savings plan. So if someone is not familiar with the college savings plan, it is a vehicle for someone to save money and invest money, uh, for an individual’s education, future educational needs. And it has some very specific benefits. Um, there’s some unique tax tax advantages. It’s flexible and there’s really great range of investment options. And, um, really proud to say that Georgia’s path to college plan is the lowest in the nation as far as fees.

Stone Payton: Wow. I got a ton of questions about the plan itself. But before we even go there, I got to know what’s the backstory? How did you find yourself in this line of work, Bethany?

Bethany Whetzel: Well, really, I mean, by luck, this has been a great fit for me. I have worked for the state of Georgia. So past to college is, um, obviously it is the state’s, uh, 529 college savings Plan, and it is administered by the office of the State Treasurer. We are overseen by the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan Board. The chair of that board is actually the governor of Georgia. Um, and so I work for the Georgia office of the State Treasurer. And previous, uh, previous to before I came to the office of the state Treasurer, I worked with numerous state agencies doing program administration and outreach, and, um, worked in a legal capacity. I have a tax background as well. And so this job in, um, overseeing the path to college, 529 college savings plan really kind of marries my, um, interest in taxes, compliance. But the wonderful and great part of outreach in helping, um, people, uh, reach their goals and make a difference in the lives of children and youth across Georgia who, um, who are planning for future educational opportunities.

Stone Payton: Well, I have to believe this must be incredibly rewarding work for you.

Bethany Whetzel: It really is. It’s been a great it’s it’s honestly been so great. And it’s been great, uh, seeing the children and, um, speaking really, even just to my peers or, uh, coworkers and other individuals when they say I had a path to college plan. And it helped me, uh, you know, go through college. I have, um, one friend that when we were discussing, um, my job, she said, you know what? I had a path to college plan, and I had a little bit of money left over. So when I had my first born, I deposited, I created an account for my first born daughter, and I deposited my leftover money. I transferred that over to her. So not only did it fund her education, but that little bit of leftover is going to go towards her daughter’s, um, future education expenses. So it just it really is great.

Stone Payton: Yeah. All right. So I’ve heard the term 529. That’s about where my knowledge begins and ends. End. So walk us through it a little, if you would.

Bethany Whetzel: Of course. So, um, it’s called a 529 plan because it’s authorized by section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. And that code section allows, um individuals, it allows for certain investment. Um, accounts for you to put after tax dollars, um, in what a lot of people are more familiar with sometimes are, um, our IRAs or um, so those retirement accounts, this, uh, investment account is specifically for college and, um, education savings. So it’s called a 529 college savings plan. And what it allows someone to do the Internal Revenue Code, it allows someone to put dollars into a 529, uh, investment plan. So for Georgia that hopefully your choice would be path to college, and it allows an individual to put that money in there to select an investment option. And, um, there’s. And then it allows for, uh, two different tax benefits. One, uh, earnings earned on, uh, the investments that you’ve made, that money is tax deferred. And then the second thing that is, um, that is similar across the board of all path to college, excuse me, of all 529 college savings plans, is that if you, uh, take the money, if you withdraw the money out for a qualified education expense, then that is a tax free money. So that investment income you earn, if you withdraw it for a qualified education expenses, you’re not going to have to pay federal income taxes. But what makes the path to college plan so special is that if you are a Georgia resident and you, um, take that money out, you’re also going to get a third benefit, which is that you’re going to get a state income tax deduction. And that tax deduction is pretty generous. It’s um, $4,000 $0 for a single filer per beneficiary, and then up to $8,000 for a joint filer per beneficiary. So if you have multiple children and you’re giving, you know, $16,000. 8000 to 1 and 8000 to another, and you’re filing jointly, you can get an income tax deduction up to $16,000.

Stone Payton: Wow. That is encouraging. And so these qualified. Um, what do you call it?

Bethany Whetzel: They’re called qualified education expenses. So that’s kind of a mouthful.

Stone Payton: So what are some things that would qualify and what are maybe some examples that that might not qualify.

Bethany Whetzel: So the big the big thing that comes into mind when you think of a qualified education expense. And I think a lot of people this is just where it ends, is tuition at any accredited private or public college or university, community college, technical college, graduate school or professional school across the US. And also, um, many universities that are abroad. So that’s typically what you think of when you think of, okay, this is how I’m going to spend the money. But you also, um, for post-secondary education, certain room and board related expenses qualify fees, books, supplies and other equipment needed for enrollment and attendance are qualified expenses. Computers, technology. Um, so those are all qualifying expenses for post-secondary. And but then there’s a couple of special things is that you can use, um, money up to $10,000 a year for K through 12 expenses for certain K through 12 expenses. Um, and that would be a qualified education withdrawal. And, um, another thing is that you could repay student loans up to $10,000 in the lifetime per beneficiary. Um, that would be a qualified education expenses, something that would not be a qualified education expenses, even though it is related to attending college would be, um, would be buying a car for your child. Um, that would not be a qualified education expense. And then if you were just to withdraw the money just so you would have cash, that’s going to be a taxable event and would not be a qualifying expense.

Stone Payton: Okay. So let’s say that I did grab a little bit out of there and maybe even with the best intentions. And then I turned around and bought a boat or car or whatever that does it. Does that sink the whole thing, or I just have to pay taxes on that piece of it.

Bethany Whetzel: You just have to pay taxes on the piece that you withdrew.

Stone Payton: Okay. And I want to clarify something because I may just be hearing what I want to hear here.

Bethany Whetzel: That that happens sometimes.

Stone Payton: Yeah, it happens to me a lot. So, um, do they do does the kid have to go to a state school or in the state of Georgia? What are the rules on that?

Bethany Whetzel: There are no rules. It’s, uh, any school, professional school across the United States. And then again, some that are abroad. So just because you’re investing in Georgia’s 529 college savings plan, it doesn’t mean that you are limited to spending that money on a Georgia University college technical college apprenticeship program. It could be anywhere across the country that qualifies.

Stone Payton: And is this something you can get going with? Like, you don’t have to have a great big pile of money to get this thing set up right. You can just start seeding it a little bit with relatively small amounts of money.

Bethany Whetzel: Exactly. You only need to open an account. You only need to to have a $25 contribution that’s as little as as you need. And what we’ve seen is that no matter the dollar amount that you’re putting in, just the act of putting money in and letting a youth or a loved one or a child know that you believe in them and that you’re putting you believe in them so much that you are putting money aside, um, in an account again, no matter how much it is. That said, that is a huge confidence booster for a child to know that someone believes in them that much. And then again, the earlier you start saving, the better, because the benefit of a 529 college savings plan is that you’re going to get that compounded interest. So you’re going to, you know, you’re going to get earnings and then you’re going to get earnings on top of those earnings. The longer that you keep it in there. So any amount of money is better than no money for sure.

Stone Payton: So I’ve just experienced in the space of about 5 or 6 minutes, learning a great deal about something I didn’t know the first thing about which, which makes me think that a big part of your responsibility of day in the life of Bethany and her team is getting getting the word out and educating people like me that really don’t understand or know about this. Is that accurate?

Bethany Whetzel: That is that is very accurate. And so our office and our program administrator, um, we are available at any point, you know, if you have a community organization or group that has a would love, you know, for us to come talk and and present this program or we, you know, set up at booths and hand out information. We’re always available to take take, um, part of those opportunities because the more people that we know, um, the more people that know about path to college, the more people that are going to participate in the you know, we’re always looking in the state of Georgia to invest in the education of our workforce. And so, you know, a lot of times, the education opportunities that we have, um, for our residents and they’re going to stay here. Um, it’s only going to, you know, better the entire state.

Stone Payton: Is there a direct path where I can do this on my own? And or can I call my money guy? Not that I have one. I’m just making. This is hypothetical. Can I call my money guy and say, okay, Rochester, I want to do one of these 529 things like, what’s the path? What’s the best way to just kind of get things going?

Bethany Whetzel: Right. So we have a website. It’s. The number two college c o l e g the numbers five two, nine. Com that’s our website. And you can go to our website and open account there by yourself. It’s um path to college is what we call a direct sold plan. So you don’t have to go through a financial advisor to open an account. But if you have a financial advisor, um, that’s great. And they can assist you in choosing the investment option that you may want or what strategy to use. But it you do, it’s you do not have to have, um, a financial person to open the account for you. You can just head to the website, open an account. Doesn’t take very long. Um, all of the transactions can occur online. And one thing that’s really great about our program that I want to make sure that I, that I mentioned is that we have a platform called You gift. And so let’s say Stone that you open an account, um, for your grandchild and let’s say your grandchild has other grandparents as well that want to contribute it to it. You can set up this gifting page and send the link to those grandparents. And they can contribute through that link to your grandchild. Um, by Path to College 529 College Savings plan so they can have one big plan together.

Stone Payton: Oh, I love that. I’m going to start my email list right now because, you know, I might not be rich, but Mom and Dad are.

Bethany Whetzel: There you go.

Stone Payton: My brother. So I’m just going to put together this whole. I got a whole marketing campaign spinning in my my head right now.

Bethany Whetzel: There you go. And a lot of times, you know, a parent may want to would prefer that you put money in an investment account. Then give them, you know, a plastic toy that they they’ll only be interested in the box, um, when they get it. So I think it’s a great way to, to give a gift and, um, a lasting gift that really will impact the future of the beneficiary.

Stone Payton: And I’m jesting a little bit. I mean, I do study and try to keep an eye on, you know, how to make money with money and of course, invest some. But, um, it’s not like I’m just buying this and putting it in a virtual drawer. I’ve got some choices of some things or some vehicles I can invest in along the way. Yes.

Bethany Whetzel: You’re exactly right. So there’s really two primary investment, um, kind of paths, if you will, for a path to college. You can choose static investment portfolio portfolios. And those are people who generally are like a little more investment savvy and want to have a heavier hand in managing and choosing the funds that they are investing in. And then we have something that is our most popular choice. We have these enrollment year investment portfolios where you select the year that the beneficiary, so the child would be enrolling or be needing to access those funds. And then basically, um, the plan does the investment for you, where as you get closer to that enrollment date, it starts investing in more conservative options, because that’s when you’re going to start needing to access those funds and protect those funds more. So it’s it’s called a glide path. And so there’s enrollment your investment portfolios static investment portfolios. And um, the static take into account whether what your risk tolerance is. And on our website, you can actually take a little quiz to determine what your risk tolerance is. And it’ll kind of recommend plans relating to that too.

Stone Payton: So I likely don’t have the IQ points to actually do the calculation, but it is my understanding and candidly, my experience that if you will do something like this, that money will grow if you’ll leave it alone. This, this, this compound interest thing is it really is the the eighth wonder of the world, isn’t it?

Bethany Whetzel: Right. It’s just hard sometimes to be patient and to wait for it. But you’re exactly right. Um, that’s, you know, really basically, to some degree, free money. Um, at the end of the day.

Stone Payton: Okay. I believe I read somewhere in my, uh, notes something about a sweepstakes.

Bethany Whetzel: Correct. So from time to time, the path to college 529 College savings plan runs a couple of sweepstakes. We just closed our sweepstakes for We Care, which is a partnership with the Department of Early Care and Learning, where we award um for scholarships to students at a licensed child care centers. Uh, we award contributions of $1,529 to a path to college account, and then we do a corresponding award to each child care facility. So they have some free money to, um, continue to invest in those children. Uh, we also have a path from pre-K to college sweepstakes, which is for um, pre kindergartners that are attending Georgia pre KS and again for winners, um, in different regions of the state. And we award $1,529 to each of those winners and a corresponding, um, 1520. If you see there’s a pattern here of 500, $529 to kind of go with the 529 plan, but the one that you are going to be the most interested in stone is that we have a newborn sweepstakes. And this year we have expanded it to make sure that, um, two babies are going to be awarded a sweepstakes prize, and that award is $5,529. And, um, so we’re awarding two babies born in the state of Georgia, um, that in a path to college account to get them started on their, uh, college savings journey.

Stone Payton: Oh, I think that is fantastic, because you’re right. That is the one that I’m interested in. All right, so how quickly can I. I need to wait for this baby to be born. Is that when I can pull the trigger, or is there like.

Bethany Whetzel: That’s when you pull the trigger is when the baby is born. So it may be today. It may be tomorrow, right?

Stone Payton: It’s. Well, this this baby has been scheduled like a conference call, so we’ll see. But, you know, I think they come when they. When they want to. Okay. So you can begin as early as they are actually here.

Bethany Whetzel: Correct.

Stone Payton: But this also strikes me as one of those things that’s it’s probably never really too late either. Right. Because didn’t you. Maybe it was before we came on air, but I feel like you touched on being able to use some of these funds. Even if, you know, grandbaby one doesn’t use it, we can let grandbaby two use it. Walk me back.

Bethany Whetzel: Exactly, exactly. You can move funds to different beneficiaries at different times. Um, another thing, you know, a lot of people are concerned about setting up a path to college or any not just a path to college account, but any college savings account, because they don’t they think, well, I don’t know what my child is going to do in the future. Is college in their future? And, um, a great thing that um, happened, um, starting in January. January 1st of 2024. Is that 529 college savings funds could be rolled over into a Roth IRA. So if your child doesn’t use all their funds or they don’t go to college, if the account has been around, um, for 15 years, you can roll that into a retirement account for them. So it’s not that all is lost or you’re going to, you know, have to take the money out and have to pay taxes on it. There are some options. If that money, um, you know, doesn’t get used or you can put it to a different beneficiary for sure. There’s obviously tax rules surrounding that, but that’s basically the gist of that.

Stone Payton: I love it, and it’s not my nature to try to poke holes in things, but I if if it were my job to do it, I don’t know where I’d poke this thing.

Bethany Whetzel: Well, I’m glad to hear that.

Stone Payton: Oh my God, you must feel so good about the work you’re doing and truly enjoy it.

Bethany Whetzel: I do. Well, you know, it doesn’t hurt when you are educating people or promoting a product that is something that you believe in and you truly believe is a great choice for Georgians. And knowing that we’re managing it in a way where we are stewarding the, um, the, the money of investors, um, in a responsible way, and then also having the lowest fees, um, across the country. So we’re really making sure that everyone is getting a good return on their investment, if you will. Um, a good bang for their buck. And, um, so, yeah. So I do feel great. Honestly, I feel great every day I get to come to work. Um, because Path to College, uh, is a great program.

Stone Payton: All right, before we wrap, I’m going to switch gears on you a little bit, if I if I might, I don’t know when or where or how you would find the time, because I get the idea that you’re pretty consumed with this work and you clearly enjoy it. But I am interested and often our listeners are as well. Hobbies, interests? Pursuits outside the scope of this work. When you’re not doing this, anything that you, uh, really enjoy or have a tendency to to, to nerd out about and step away and get recharged.

Bethany Whetzel: Well, I mean, I would say that my big thing is I’m an I am an, uh, Atlanta dweller. Uh, I live in the East Lake neighborhood, and I have a great community and a lot of neighbors. And so really, what I do after work every day is I take my two dogs for a walk. I have a poodle. Um, she’s ten years old, and then I have a, um, a doodle, and he’s four years old, and we walk around the neighborhood and visit with our neighbors and, um, you know, hang out with the kids and watch watch them play basketball and soccer. And so that really is where my heart is. And what I enjoy doing kind of outside of work is just interacting with still interacting with people and just, um, finding community where I can and hanging out with my dogs. So.

Stone Payton: Well, you are clearly the right person for the job. And, uh, just based on my brief interaction with you, I bet that you’re able to create the same level of enthusiasm and commitment and passion within your whole team. The work you’re doing is so important and obviously incredibly helpful for those of us that are just, you know, we’re out there trying grinding it out, and we want to provide for for a safe and secure future for, uh, for our loved ones. Uh, all right, let’s I want to make sure that our listeners, uh, know how to get in touch with you or someone on your team or be able to tap into your work. So let’s leave them with a website or something. So that’s easy for them to, to learn more and and get on this path.

Bethany Whetzel: Okay. Um, so the best place to get started is our website. And so that is um WW 252.com. So it’s. The number 2COLLE the numbers 529.com.

Stone Payton: Bethany, what a delight! It has been a real joy visiting with you. I have thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. I’ve learned a ton and I feel like our listeners have as well. Thank you for your insight and your perspective. This has been an incredible conversation. You’re you really are doing important work and we we sure appreciate you.

Bethany Whetzel: Well, thank you so much, Stone, and thank you for your time. And I appreciate the people who are listening. And if they have any questions, they can just reach out.

Stone Payton: Fantastic. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Bethany Whetzel with Georgia Path2College 529 plan. And everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Atlanta Business Radio.

Creating Exceptional Work Cultures: Insights on Leadership and Team Development

April 17, 2025 by angishields

High Velocity Radio

Creating Exceptional Work Cultures: Insights on Leadership and Team Development

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In this episode of High Velocity Radio, host Stone Payton is joined by Laura A. Davis, CEO and Founder of Laura A. Davis and Associates. Laura discusses her transition from a corporate career to coaching, focusing on leadership and team development. She emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence, trust, and psychological safety in creating empowering work cultures. Laura shares insights on using assessments like Everything DiSC to improve team dynamics and highlights the rewarding aspects of her work, including witnessing clients thrive. The episode underscores the significance of empathy, effective communication, and continuous learning in leadership.

Laura Davis is the CEO & Founder of Laura A. Davis & Associates, Inc., an Atlanta-based transformational leadership and team development training, executive coaching, and DiSC-based assessment firm founded in 1995. Laura and her associates assist individuals, teams, and organizations to navigate the new world of work by developing people to create healthier, engaged, agile cultures. Today more than ever, organizations need emotionally intelligent leaders, cohesive teams, and high-trust, high-performance cultures.

Laura and her associates help clients to create high-trust organizations resulting in an increase in employee engagement and passion, team productivity, and profitability. In addition to her experience with senior teams and leaders of best-in-class companies, she possesses a unique talent for seeing “the big picture” and for simplifying complex problems into their essential elements.

Laura has coached hundreds of senior and mid-level leaders from a wide variety of industries to “get out of their own way” and to become the effective leaders they were meant to be. She uses the original Wiley Everything DiSC to assist leaders in empowering themselves, their teams, and their direct reports to become self-directed and empowered in today’s turbulent environment.

She has also designed and delivered learning sessions focused on cultural change through the development of facilitative leadership and coaching skills for managers of numerous Fortune 500 companies, mid-sized companies, and non-profits. She has facilitated numerous transformational change initiatives both in-person and virtually.

Laura consistently delivers interactive, experiential training sessions in addition to coaching clients one on one and in group settings. Her training and consulting days are customized, relevant, and highly impactful and practical for everyday work. She consistently gets rave reviews regarding her expertise and the level of engagement she generates.

Laura is a Master Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation, the most rigorous certification body in the coaching industry today. Prior to becoming an ICF Master Certified Executive Leadership Coach and Master Facilitator, Laura held both line and staff marketing management positions at Exxon, Equifax, and United Parcel Service.

She has a BA degree in Sociology with Honors from the University of Delaware. She earned her Master of Business Administration from Emory University on a partial scholarship. She has also been an Adjunct Professor in the Business Studies Program at Mercer University.

She is a sought-after speaker at professional coaching conferences and professional associations throughout the U.S. She is a contributing author of “A Guide to Getting It: Self-Esteem” and has published numerous articles in industry and professional association publications such as ATD, ICF’s Coaching World, Choice magazine, and more. She has appeared on “Good Day Atlanta,” a morning television show as well as on national and internet radio and podcasts.

Laura does her best to practice her “principles for inspired success” which includes uplifting others while having fun!

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

What emotional intelligence is and how Laura helps leaders and teams develop it
The most important things for leaders to know and practice in today’s environment
How and why Laura uses the Everything DiSC assessment from Wiley, and how this is useful for leaders and teams
Why trust is so important in the workplace
Why teamwork is so important in today’s organizations

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. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Laura A. Davis and Associates. The lady herself, Laura Davis. How are you?

Laura A. Davis: I’m great. Stone. Great to hear from you. And thank you so much for this opportunity to chat with you today. It’s always fun to talk to you.

Stone Payton: What a delight to have you on the show. I think a good place to start. Tell us a little bit about mission. Purpose? What are you out there trying to do for folks Laura.

Laura A. Davis: Mhm. Yes. Well I had a corporate career myself, and was increasingly fascinated by why some leaders and some teams were great to work with and produced results, and others didn’t. And what I learned through extensive study in this journey I’ve been on for the past 30 plus years, is that organizations really need to create exceptional and empowering work cultures in order to be profitable and in order to attract and retain talent. And many people are great at their jobs. They get promoted because they’ve been good at what they do, but they have not had any exposure to leadership and team development training or emotional intelligence training. So they don’t really know how to lead people and to inspire people. And so that’s what we do to create healthier workplaces where people actually want to come to work and give their best.

Stone Payton: So what was that transition like so many years ago? Leaving the corporate arena, going out on your own, being a coach, running your own business? What was that like in the early years?

Laura A. Davis: Yes, it was challenging at first. I was very passionate about it, and I was fortunate. I had sort of unintentionally been planning it for a number of years. I had a wonderful boss at Equifax years ago. I was in my late 20s and he encouraged me to be an adjunct professor, which I did for a while, and I got the teaching training bug, if you will. But I knew I didn’t want to go back and be a professor, so I really networked and educated myself into this new career. Took the leap a number of years ago and really have been very fortunate. I had developed a lot of strong relationships, which is the key to being successful at any business, but particularly an expert based kind of boutique consulting firm. It helps to be able to connect with people and know what they need and really listen, so that you can offer the services that are going to help them get to where they want to go.

Stone Payton: So dive into the work a little bit and tell us more about the services, who you’re working with, what kind of activities you’re engaging in with groups or individuals. But kind of give us a little bit of a map of that.

Laura A. Davis: Okay, great. Yeah. Well, it depends on the company. How much, um. We do with them at any one time. And of course, you always want to meet people where they are. The ideal is to be coaching a senior leader and their team. And so we work one on one and as facilitators for group processes that are around building a cohesive, high performance team at the top, because that’s really where you want to start. And the key to that is trust and psychological safety. And so the next level down, if you will, is to really make sure that each of those individual leaders also understand themselves better. And that’s where the emotional intelligence comes in. Self-awareness. The most challenging part is even if you’re self-aware, it’s managing yourself. And we come from the philosophy that everyone has strengths. Everyone has inherent limitations. Or as we like to say, areas for growth and development. And we use the everything disc assessment, the original one from Wiley, to help people understand that it’s a scientifically validated and really reliable tool that you know, is constantly researched and updated and is now available on this really intuitive, beautiful platform, digital platform so that people can access it as part of their everyday work. But once people understand that another person is not behaving the way they’re behaving to make their lives miserable or difficult, but they’re actually coming from a completely different worldview. And you educate people about that. Then people can learn to adapt their behavior and have conversations about these differences in order to leverage them, because ideally, you want a diverse team so that that’s one major stepping stone. And then we also develop leadership and team development training around social and emotional skills, such as how to coach people, how to delegate to people, how to develop an emotionally intelligent team, and how to really inspire trust and teamwork. All of those sorts of they’re called soft skills, which I hate that term. I call them essential power skills because they’re so essential. But, um, you know, that’s really what we do. And it’s a lot of fun. It’s very diverse and very universal.

Stone Payton: So in terms of this risk assessment, I’ve done enough interviews with people in the professional services arena that I’ve come across that term. I’ve heard people talk about the assessment. Um, I didn’t realize there were different versions and like the original Wiley. So that’s interesting to to learn more about. But it strikes me that in the training coaching environment, having an assessment like that, which seems like it would be a great catalyst, if for nothing else, to just to create some, some meaningful dialog in a, in a training environment. Is that accurate?

Laura A. Davis: That’s very well said. Actually. It’s very validating because often people will have differences in the way they communicate or the way they approach problems. At the underlying heart of the disk model is your pace. Are you fast or slow or your level of skepticism. Are you more accepting or skeptical by nature? And then, you know, it gets more sophisticated from there. And the reason I do like the small IDE disk, you can always tell and you mentioned the term catalyst is they do have a platform called catalyst where you can look at yourself, you can look at colleagues, you can look at the team and a lot of depth. And the language is very non-judgmental. So what’s nice about a tool like this is it validates differences and and sort of explains why we might approach a problem differently. But more importantly, once you know that, what to do about it, to leverage the different strengths that you might have on a team or in an organization. And it’s really very powerful. It’s like, ah, I wish I had known this when I was a teenager because it’s really very, um, very useful in terms of collaborating and communicating and solving problems with people. And when things get tense, it’s very useful to because our tendency is to overuse our strengths in the wrong situation. When you know, ideally what you would do is have the self-awareness to say, okay, stop. I need to adapt my behavior to the needs of the other person and the needs of the situation. And it takes some practice. So that’s what we help train people on and coach people on to make that a part of their everyday awareness.

Stone Payton: Well, I would think that that could be an incredibly powerful tool as an individual who wants to get better at better at communicating or leading, trying to get results with and through the voluntary cooperation and effort of other people. And I’m also thinking, as a leader, man, I don’t want everybody communicating. Seeing the world the same way, I think was probably a we’re all probably richer for it if we do have people who are all over the map on this assessment. Yeah.

Laura A. Davis: Yes, that’s very true. And it’s interesting because without awareness, the tendency is to feel more comfortable and to like people who are like you. And so I have seen in large organizations, leaders sometimes hire people who are of the same style. And while that’s not good or bad, right or wrong, to your point, if you don’t have diversity of thought, you might have some blind spots. So if you’re aware of that and take steps to to fill that gap, great. But most of the time people aren’t without some education around it. So yeah, it’s a really useful tool as an individual leader to know how you’re impacting people around you and where you might need to. If you think of an old radio dial, turn the volume up and down, you know. And then you can adjust so that you’re meeting the other person where they are. And it doesn’t mean sometimes people will ask me, does that mean I have to not be who I am? And the answer to that is no. You just want to be the best you that you can be, and recognize that your natural way of doing things might not always be the best way to do it in any particular situation, or with a particular person. Sometimes it is great, but you’re wanting to be more agile, you know, be more adaptable and have that, um, that choice.

Stone Payton: I want to talk about this idea of emotional intelligence for a moment, if we might. It’s not the first time I’ve run across the term as we’ve been doing this coaching series, but has it been your experience that this is, um, you’re not just born with? Okay, here’s Stone, here’s your degree of emotional intelligence. Good luck out there. Is it, like, almost like a muscle. I mean, can you you can get better at it.

Laura A. Davis: Absolutely. You can get better at it. And and that’s a critical belief that the people that we work with, um, probably need to start with. But yes, you know, you have your IQ and you have EQ and just a little background context because I think it’s interesting. Daniel Goleman is the person who’s really attributed with making emotional intelligence popular. It had been around before then, obviously, but not not the term itself. But basically he’s done extensive research. And two things to your point. You can definitely grow your emotional intelligence, but it’s even more important than IQ. And I’m not saying IQ isn’t important. It’s helpful to be strategically smart and to have skills and be competent at whatever you’re doing. Obviously, at the same time, though, and particularly as you progress in an organization no matter what kind of organization it is. You have a greater sphere of influence, and you need to influence a lot of people that aren’t necessarily your direct reports or, you know, don’t necessarily have the same goals as you do. So to have those social and emotional skills that we call emotional intelligence is absolutely more important the more you progress. In fact, Goleman says it’s seven times more important in his research. Yeah, and what I love about Daniel Goleman is this man has so many IQ, traditional credentials, it’s not even funny, you know? So the fact that he recognizes that, I think lends more credence to the whole concept. But I see that in my work for sure. And you know that intuitively. You know, anytime you see a group of people, they can you can have stars, you can have the smartest, the best and the brightest, but they’re not always effective when they work together because they might lack this awareness and emotional intelligence.

Stone Payton: Well, you’ve clearly been at this a while, and I think maybe or at least in my case, it has changed, evolved. But I’ll ask you, at this point in your career, what, uh, what are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the the most fun about it these days for you?

Laura A. Davis: Oh, that’s a great question. I have a couple of clients. Well, I love all of my clients, but I have a couple of clients who have really embraced some of these principles and the principles really being, you know, creating this culture of trust and teamwork and psychological safety. And I worked with the CEO, and then I worked with the senior team. And then next level down were helping the leaders become more like coaches and facilitators themselves and teaching them some leadership skills. And then, you know, when you have that kind of alignment in a company. Things get done, you know? A company is much more profitable and profitable. This one particular organization I’m thinking of is actually a big nonprofit out west in the healthcare space. And as you know, we’ve undergone a lot of changes in every area of society, but particularly in that healthcare industry. And so they have just been able to do amazing things. So that’s fun for me to see their lives becoming easier and my clients having more fun accomplishing what they need to accomplish with, you know, out the other unproductive politics or the miscommunications or just the drains on your energy that can happen when you when you don’t have this kind of information and insight. Yeah, that’s fun for me.

Stone Payton: If you can get it. It sounds like fun.

Laura A. Davis: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve come a long way since my corporate days, and, um, I enjoyed my corporate career too. But this is very satisfying in that you get to work with a lot of different industries and learn a lot of different kinds of ways that people go to market or, you know, serve others. And, um, the principles are are similar across industries and so forth. So it makes it really, um, productive.

Stone Payton: I’d like to touch on the on the business side of running a coaching business for a moment if, if we might. And one of the first things you’ve made the decision somewhere along the line to get formally credentialed, invest the time and the energy. And I suspect some money to go through. What I understand is a pretty rigorous process. Can you speak to that and the advantages of doing that in your opinion?

Laura A. Davis: Absolutely. I am a big believer in education and credentialing. And I was fortunate I mentioned my my manager at Equifax all those years ago. He just noticed something in me. He was a coach, without knowing it, that I really loved to train people. I was always interested in human potential and psychology and spirituality and all those sorts of topics. And he said, well, why don’t you teach? And why don’t you learn more about this coaching thing, which was very new, really, as a profession in the 90s? I date myself Stone, but I was very fortunate in that I became through the ICF, which stands for the International Coaching Federation. You probably are aware of that by now. Um, a master certified coach in 1998 for the first time. And that means you go through a coaching school, an accredited school, and there are many now. There are only really two when I went through. But you learn things like how to have a dialog and how to how to listen and how to read people. And gosh, there were many, many aspects to it. Life coaching as well as business coaching as well as executive coaching. And I believe in a whole person approach. So I think that’s important and that’s what we bring to the table. So I did that and then I also was fortunate I was able to I networked my way around and I got connected with a company that has since been bought, but it was called the Forum Corporation out of Boston, and they were really a boutique consulting firm, probably 50 to 60 million in their heyday.

Laura A. Davis: But they did wonderful research. And and I met so many wonderful people that were the facilitators and instructional designers. So I really learned that trade as well, traveled all over the country and the world, actually to, um, work with clients. And then as my business grew, I did less and less of that. It’s a song by Korn Ferry now, but, um, I was exposed to a lot of good training, a lot of good coaching, a lot of good tools, and and that helped me a lot. But, you know, the other thing about coaching business is you have to think of yourself as a business owner. And I have spent money, as you said, hiring, uh, mentors and, you know, business coaches, uh, because it’s a very different thing to run a business, uh, than just to be a practitioner in your business. And I’m still learning. I’m still trying to figure that out. But for the most part, I’m still here, so something’s working.

Stone Payton: I’m sure the answer to this is yes, but I want to hear more, so I’ll just ask it. The whole sales and marketing thing does the strategy and the approach and all that change and evolve over a 20 plus year coaching career? Like, what’s the sales and marketing like getting the new business all the way through like that.

Laura A. Davis: Mhm. Yeah. I could answer that several ways. Well I think, you know, my mindset has shifted. I think of myself more as a business owner and what makes the most sense. I’m a little bit more discerning about the clients that I work with. Do they have a values match to me than I was perhaps in the beginning, but I do, you know, work at a at a higher level probably. And then I have associates that help me do some of the training and some of the coaching as needed. Um, in terms of just the evolution of companies, though, today I think people obviously we say this every year, the rate and you know, acceleration of of change continues to be just crazy. So we’re always trying to look at new ways of of connecting with people and and offering solutions that people can use just in time. We used to have the luxury of doing, you know, off sites for five days. I remember, and I’m lucky if I get two. Many times I might get a day or, you know, I’m supporting two companies that have large talent development departments, and they’re doing the bulk of the training. But I’m perhaps offering like advisory services and and everything. Risk assessment and all the tools that are part of that suite. And there are a lot of new ones that are constantly evolving. So hopefully that answers your question.

Stone Payton: Yeah. I mean, it has to change, I think. I knew early on, you know, some of the coaches I’ve talked to during this series, some of them are far earlier in their journey. And I think, you know, they struggle a little bit with just, you know, getting that, just getting the business, just kind of getting achieving some, uh, escape velocity. You know, where they can and they can focus on being.

Laura A. Davis: Traction or whatever. Yeah. Well, again, I was fortunate because I like to get out and talk to people. And I was in professional organizations, and I still think they’re important. I think it’s a little more challenging now because of, well, traffic and just people are used to remote and hybrid, uh, ways of communicating. So there might not be as much of that, but I think you just really need to let people know what you do and how you do it. And I always find there’s amazing synchronistic ways I get connected to companies. And, uh, you just have to have that mindset of, um, you know, let me try this. Let me try that. And if it doesn’t work, you adjust.

Stone Payton: So you’re a busy lady, though. You you are a speaker. You you’re a contributing author. Tell us. Tell us about this book that you helped put together.

Laura A. Davis: Oh, yes. Well, this was back in the early days, too. Uh, we wrote a book, a number of master certified coaches about self-esteem. It’s called A guide to Getting it. Self-esteem. And I was even on Good Day Atlanta, uh, which I was very nervous about. I remember back in the day, but I decided not to really focus on writing books, per se, but I’ve written a lot of articles and, uh, we of course do now social media and I do videos and that kind of thing. But I think one of the mistakes sometimes new coaches make, and I know I made it early on, is to develop a lot of content and to develop like maybe writing a book or a program and then, you know, you actually have to get out and talk to people and, you know, make sure somebody needs it, so you have to sell it. So it’s funny because I never thought of myself as a salesperson, but you’re really helping to meet people’s needs. And if you really listen to what people need and you have something to offer, I tend to start small, gain a client’s trust and at whatever level they’re ready to engage us. And then as we continue to offer great service. And what about this? And, you know, have you heard about this and just sort of meet them where they are and then suggest where they could go next? That takes on a life of its own. I think.

Stone Payton: You know, you have mentioned trust maybe as many as a half a dozen times during the course of this conversation. So, no, we have to talk about that, because the level of trust that you must have to endear and cultivate to, to do the best work you, you can do. Yeah. Talk about trust a little bit.

Laura A. Davis: Sure. Yes. And I actually work with some tools that help you measure trust. One is you may have read or heard of the Five Dysfunctions of a team. Wiley. Everything. This is. Pat worked together to develop a program called the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. So it’s the positive spin on it, and it actually measures the level of trust on a team. Pre and post some kind of training and coaching and so forth. But you asked me specifically about people trusting me. So I do my best. Don’t always succeed. But I do my best at practicing what I preach. Being able to read the other person like I’ll look at what is their likely disc style, and I’m usually, you know, 95% right. I’ll get in the main quadrant and then as I get to know them further, I’ll be able to assess that. And there’s nothing manipulative about that. It’s just I know how they like to receive information, how they like to operate, how they like to solve problems. So I do my best to adapt to that. And then when I see where they might be getting in their own way around that, then I help close that gap.

Laura A. Davis: So I’ll give you a concrete example. Like during the pandemic, it was a time when we needed to have a lot of empathy for people, right? People were confused. What do you know? You have your dog walking in front of the zoom screen or what have you. And, uh, a lot of leaders got that at the beginning, but they’re like, okay, let’s let’s move on, get over it. You know? Okay, we are at home for now. We just have to get our work done. Right. And while that’s true, you have to manage people’s emotions as well as what needs to get accomplished. And so I did a lot of coaching. On helping senior leaders be more empathetic in that kind of scenario. And when they see that working, then they’re encouraged to do more of that. So that that’s a concrete example. But I would read the needs of that. And then I have the tools to be able to give them, you know, behavioral steps and mindset steps around that too.

Stone Payton: So no, I think it’s a great example. And it’s a reminder to try to to craft things in such a way that people get some a little bit of an immediate win from the counsel we’re providing or the direction we’re providing, and then they are they trust you and open up a little bit more, I guess, huh?

Laura A. Davis: Yes. That’s that’s a good way to put it. Early wins and and usually it can just be a, a relatively minor Shift in someone’s behavior or their attitude that can make a big difference. That consistency is the thing. So sometimes it’s really important to repeat yourself. And I know for myself, I know I’ve said it, but I’ll try to say it, you know, eight different ways because you know how it is. You’ll read a book and you read it and you’re like, yeah, this is great. And then you read it a second and third time and you swear there were things in the book that you didn’t read the first time. So it’s like that you have to repeat the messages to people, and then once they really, um, sort of internalize some of this, then it can really be more natural.

Stone Payton: Well, you clearly enjoy practicing your craft if you have time. When you have time, what do you do for fun when you’re when you’re not coaching? Any hobbies? Other pursuits?

Laura A. Davis: Yes, I do. I love traveling and I’ve been home for two months, so I’m ready to go. I’m going to Colorado, and then I’m going to go hiking after working in Colorado in a month or so. So that’ll be fun. So I do like to hike and walk and my latest is Zumba. I’m not very good, but try it. Try to stay healthy. Exercise, hiking I used to do yoga. I don’t do that as much anymore. But um, and reading, taking classes. So yeah, I keep I have some fun too. I’m not all work.

Stone Payton: Well, what’s neat about you is I think you, uh, you enjoy all of it. You really are having fun at the work, and then you get to go do this other stuff.

Laura A. Davis: Yeah.

Stone Payton: Good for you.

Laura A. Davis: Yes. That’s been my philosophy, and it works for me. And I think it works for a lot of people when when they realize that’s possible.

Stone Payton: Hey, before we wrap, I’d like to leave listeners with a pro tip or two, a piece of advice, maybe, you know, related to this general idea of producing better results in less time, but maybe within the context of some of the, the, the topics and competencies that we’ve talked about, maybe something to read or do or not do, but let’s give them a little something to chew on. And look, guys, uh, my pro tip to you is, uh, reach out and have a conversation with Laura. If any of this is striking a chord with you, but let’s leave them with a little something to noodle on. Laura.

Laura A. Davis: Okay. Um, well, I think we we grossly underestimate the value of listening and confirming what we’ve heard. And it’s something I’m working on all, all the time. Because in the disk model, I’m a high I. Meaning I like to talk, I’m outgoing and enthusiastic. And so taking the time to listen is important. And there’s a great quote that I often will, uh, pull out of my pocket here. And so I’ll do it now. It’s by Peter Drucker, who was, you know, a management guru in the day. And his quote is the most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said. And I think that’s so true that we need to pay attention to all the nonverbal communication and the behaviors that people are displaying. Results don’t lie. And if I have said it, and I think the other person has heard it, but there hasn’t been a change, there’s some disconnect somewhere. And I think the second or the corollary to that is whomever is doing the communicating, usually like the leader in this, this situation, to take responsibility for getting that communication across, don’t immediately blame the other person, but recognize that maybe I could have said that paper better. Maybe I could have read the needs of this person and said it in a different way that would land for them. So I think that’s that’s the best I can do today as a pro tip.

Stone Payton: No, I think that’s tremendous counsel. So thank you for that. I’m so glad that I asked. All right. What’s the best way for our listeners to reach out, tap into your work, connect with you or somebody on on your team. Let’s give them some coordinates.

Laura A. Davis: Okay. Yeah. Great. So the website is WW Davis to A’s next to one another. Laura Davis was taken by a real estate agent in Texas like a month before I registered my domain name, but I know, so I have to say Laura a Davis all the time. Uh, we post on LinkedIn all the time and on other social media, um, probably LinkedIn and the website are the best places, but if anyone is interested in having a conversation with me, I’d love to have that, uh, talk with you. And my email is easy. It’s Laura at Laura Davis. Com and either I or my team will get back with you and set up a time for us to chat.

Stone Payton: What a delight, Laura. This has been an inspiring and invigorating conversation. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm, and for hanging out with us today. You’re you’re clearly doing good work and we sure appreciate you.

Laura A. Davis: Thank you so much, Stone. It was really a pleasure to talk with you.

Stone Payton: The pleasure is all mine. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Laura Davis, and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

BRX Pro Tip: Why Do We Believe People Who Are Certain?

April 17, 2025 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Why Do We Believe People Who Are Certain?

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BRX Pro Tip: Why Do We Believe People Who Are Certain?

Stone Payton: Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips, Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, I suppose a lot of people are like this, but I find myself often, particularly in business, in search of certainty. And I believe you’ve suggested that that may be a fool’s errand in a lot of cases.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I think the question is, why do we believe people who are certain, when deep down we know nothing is certain? You know, people just aren’t comfortable when it comes to uncertainty. That creates this psychological discomfort, and humans crave comfort. So, when somebody presents themselves with this absolute certainty, like I know this is going to happen, this is how it’s going to be, this is going to work, like somehow they know the future, it just feels like a lot of times we’re looking for this kind of relief that we want, “Oh, now I don’t have to think about that. Oh, that ambiguity makes me nervous, I don’t like it. It’s too chaotic, I don’t like it.”

Lee Kantor: If somebody comes forward and says something that, “Hey, I have the answer, just follow me. Just do these five steps, everything’s going to work out,” a lot of folks just think it’s easier to follow and believe someone who seems like they have it all figured out, even though we know deep down rationally that nothing is ever 100 percent certain. When a person comes forward that way, it just satisfies this desire for structure, predictability, clarity. So, a lot of times we just say, “All right. They seem to know what they’re doing, I’ll invest in that.”

Lee Kantor: Even though nothing is truly certain, it’s very difficult to resist that pull of certainty. So, next time, instead of automatically trusting someone who is speaking so confidently, just ask yourself, Why does this person sound so sure? What evidence is there that what they’re saying is true? What might be missing by accepting this certainty without question? Is there any room for uncertainty?

Lee Kantor: We’re wired to seek answers, even though those answers may not exist. But you have to be conscious of this tendency that humans like to make when it comes to empowering other people to make decisions for them. Just be aware there is nothing 100 percent certain. Nobody knows everything. Change is the only thing that we know is going to happen.

Lee Kantor: So, just kind of protect yourself. Whenever you see someone super certain, you just have to kind of question it. You cannot go along for the ride. There has to be other things that they’re missing. Even though they might be persuasive, it’s important to recognize that nothing is truly certain.

From CNA to CEO: The Bold Journey of a Home Health Entrepreneur

April 17, 2025 by angishields

Greater Perimeter Business Radio

From CNA to CEO: The Bold Journey of a Home Health Entrepreneur

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In this episode of Greater Perimeter Business Radio, host Ramzi Daklouche interviews Chartney Blair, founder of Blair Care Health. Chartney shares her journey from aspiring doctor to home health agency owner, highlighting the challenges in the industry, such as securing adequate care hours and low insurance reimbursements. She emphasizes the importance of personalized care, proper caregiver training, and matching caregivers to clients. The discussion also covers business strategies for small business owners, including networking and professional presentation.

Chartney Blair is a dedicated entrepreneur and healthcare advocate with a passion for providing high-quality, compassionate care to individuals in need.

As the owner of Blair Care she has built a reputable organization committed to enhancing the well-being and independence of clients in the comfort of their own homes.

With a background in nursing she combines clinical expertise with strong leadership to ensure that every client receives personalized, professional, and dignified care.

Chartney is passionate about improving healthcare accessibility and fostering a team of dedicated caregivers who share the mission of delivering excellence in home health services.

Follow Blair Care on Facebook, X and Instagram.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Greater Perimeter. It’s time for Greater Perimeter Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Ramzi Daklouche: Good afternoon. This is Greater Perimeter Business RadioX. This episode of Greater Perimeter Business RadioX is brought to you by V.R. Business Sales of Atlanta. Your trusted partner business transitions. Whether you are planning your exit, preparing for growth, or seeking the right buyer. V.R. provides expert guidance with transparency and strategy to help you close the right deal at the right time. Learn more at Vrbas World.com. I’m your host Ramzi Daklouche. Today, I’m honored to be joined by Chartney, founder and owner of Blair Care Health. Yes. Her last name actually is Blair. Blair Care is a home health agency that delivers high quality, compassionate care to individuals and the comfort of their homes. With a strong background in nursing and a passion for improving healthcare accessibility. Chartney has built an organization rooted in clinical excellence, patient dignity, and professional care. You can learn more about her work at www.blaircarehealth.com. How you doing tonight?

Chartney Blair: I’m good. How are you?

Ramzi Daklouche: Glad to have you. Thank you very much for for joining us today. So tell me, you know, uh, when young girls or young girls, young boys, young boys, they don’t get up and say, you know what? Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take care of the elderly when I’m when I get older. Right? Usually they want to be an actor or actress or something like that. So what, uh, how did you get to this position?

Chartney Blair: Um, so when I was younger, I thought I wanted to be a superstar. And then it went to a doctor, transitioned to college. I was working a lot of dead end jobs, and I went and got a certificate for certified nursing assistant, and I ended up loving that job, but there was no potential for growth. Um, I worked in a lot of nursing homes and hospitals, and I knew that I wanted to have my own business in healthcare, but I wanted to do it my way. So that was like the start of Blair care.

Ramzi Daklouche: Wow. That’s incredible. And how long have you been doing this?

Chartney Blair: Um, I’ve been within this business for over five years, but I’ve been in the health care field for almost over a decade.

Ramzi Daklouche: Oh, incredible. Fantastic. What is the biggest challenge facing the home health industry today?

Chartney Blair: I would say fighting for your clients to get the hours that they need. Um, a lot of times they might give your clients 4 to 6 hours when they really need to be 24 hour care. So just trying to get those hours through the insurance companies to to care for your clients.

Ramzi Daklouche: And it really does matter a lot what insurance they have, right? Yes it does. Not all insurance is made equal.

Chartney Blair: Absolutely, absolutely. Some of the reimbursement rates are really low with different insurance companies.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. And what does that mean? They don’t give me enough hours needed.

Chartney Blair: They don’t give them enough hours or they don’t pay the providers enough.

Ramzi Daklouche: Really?

Chartney Blair: Yes.

Ramzi Daklouche: So do you have a lot of private as well or mostly insurance?

Chartney Blair: It’s mixed. So it’s private. We just got certified last year through Medicaid. So we’ve been getting a lot of Medicaid clients. But it’s really mixed with our company.

Ramzi Daklouche: Does Medicaid pay the best? Typically.

Chartney Blair: No.

Ramzi Daklouche: It depends on what field. Other fields that pay well. Some fields don’t pay. How do you ensure your patients receive high quality personalized care? Because it’s very important. Right. Like if I’m going to trust you with my loved one, my mom, my dad, whatever. How do you make sure, like what separates you from the rest?

Chartney Blair: So we start with our employees. We make sure that they’re trained properly because that’s important. We make sure that that if they don’t have experience, they get on the field training before they even start. And then we once we send those out to the families, we make sure that the clients are happy with us. We check in periodically. We don’t just leave them, you know, to fight. So we make sure we’re checking in with the family members, the loved ones, and we make sure it’s a good fit for both of them.

Ramzi Daklouche: That’s actually a good, uh, segue. Good fit. Do you have, like, some caregivers that do better with, uh, you know, the sex of the person or the age or the need? How does it work?

Chartney Blair: Absolutely. So we have, um, a lot of older women. They don’t want men. Rightfully so. So a lot of times we match them with female caregivers. And we just had a caregiver the other day that, um, we just hired. She was Korean, so we’re going to match her with a Korean family. So we try to make sure we match as close to perfect, if not perfect.

Ramzi Daklouche: That’s awesome because especially in the Atlanta metro, where we are so diverse, having diversity on your team is very, very important. Good. Good point. Very good. So segue from here on repeat customer and on uh, on. You know what I’d love to do with every guest that I have is because we all are small business owners, right? Every now and then I talk to, you know, a huge entrepreneur that has, uh, you know, big company, large company. But mostly, you know, it’s a small business owners and we all are working towards the same thing, right? How do we not work? How do we get that next customer? Where do we find referrals? Who is our referral partners? Tell me, kind of like what you do because it’s very important to kind of, you know, you’ve been in it for now for a while. So other listeners may just starting the business saying, you know what, I’d like to start a business. I have no idea how to start this. I was working for corporate America for years. Right. And I they think that they have all the answers. But once you kind of put that jacket on, take that jacket off and put the jacket of entrepreneur, you know, it’s a completely different world. So what kind of advice do you have for new business owners?

Chartney Blair: First I would say try multiple things and see what works for me. We did lunch and learns those are really good. Um, and sometimes you have to do groundwork. You have to actually get out in the community, pass out fliers, go to health fairs, do health fairs. You have to. Home health is a, um, relationship based business.

Ramzi Daklouche: So how about for business in general? Anybody starting a new business? Yeah.

Chartney Blair: Boots on the ground, passing out fliers. Um, going in, having a script, not just going into offices and businesses, thinking that you’re going to sell them something. Actually going in and building those relationships with them. Um, networking, joining networking groups like BNI, like the Chamber of Commerce, those have been the biggest, biggest game changers for me.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. Because they’re not just referrals and this is not how it works. Really. I mean, they can help you grow. You meet a lot of great people that do different things, and they can help you grow in your business. So I agree with you. And, um, I love what you said about make sure you have a script. Don’t go expecting, oh, or I’m going to go make a sale. Yeah. Try to figure out a reason why you’re going to help that person first. Right.

Chartney Blair: And then it’s give and take too. You can’t expect someone to just help you out. How are you going to help them as well? So you don’t want to go into somewhere trying to sell something. Sell, you know, sounding like a telemarketer. So yeah, it’s important.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. And for anybody going from corporate to small business owner or, you know, entrepreneur, uh, check your ego because you may have had a big title chief or VP or whatever. Check that ego at the door. Because once you have your own, nobody cares.

Chartney Blair: Nobody cares.

Ramzi Daklouche: Nobody cares what you did before.

Chartney Blair: Nobody cares until you make it.

Ramzi Daklouche: That’s right. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I know guys that, you know, they say, oh, I used to be VP for whatever. And I had 100 people working for me and HR and all this stuff. And now they have, you know, junk removal and, uh, they really if you’re not humble, you never. There’s a lot of money in it. Yeah, but you got to be humble to do the work you need to do. Right. And you gotta understand one day you’re going to be board the board room, next day you’re going to be mopping the floor. So you got to be able to do it. All right.

Chartney Blair: It’s a very humbling.

Ramzi Daklouche: So how do you work. Very important. Right. Because we all go do networking events and you know, talk about a lot how important it is. And, you know, I preach about it because I really believe it’s very, very important. But how about referrals. How do you work on referrals. Like besides showing up at a BNI meeting or, you know, Chamber of Commerce women’s event or, you know, lunch and learn or dine and wine or whatever it is, all this stuff, you know, everything has a has something that rhymes in it, right? Um, how do you work on referrals?

Chartney Blair: So.

Ramzi Daklouche: Like, how do you target people that you think, you know what, I think I can help them or they can help me. How does it work?

Chartney Blair: I just talk. That was my biggest thing at first. I don’t know if I was scared to talk or I just wouldn’t talk a lot about my business. And one day, I was at a nail salon, and I talked to a veteran, and his daughter was sitting there, and we ended up gaining a client. I just talk about my, you know, you don’t want to come out talking about your business. You want to build up a rapport with them at first and then. Okay, by the way, I have a home health business. So yeah, you just friendly conversation. It gets you so far. Just talking about your business, building up that conversation.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. I interviewed a very dynamic guy two weeks ago here. And he is a partner in a big company, big company. And I said, so what do you do? He said, everywhere I go I wear a branded shirt.

Chartney Blair: Smart.

Ramzi Daklouche: Everywhere I go, I wear brand. I don’t leave the house without it.

Chartney Blair: You know what’s so funny about that? When I first started off in my business, I would go to my office and sweats, hoodies, and then I realized if somebody how how are they going to know about my business if I’m not wearing my shirt? So now I wear my shirt a lot too, and people would just stop you. I have my business on my car. What do you do? They curious to know what you do. And it opens up the conversation and starts the conversation.

Ramzi Daklouche: Exactly right. I think it’s very important. And, you know, it’s funny you said that I was listening to a podcast, somebody I follow who’s followed by millions of people. Right. And, uh, this came up, this whole thing about, you know, what? People start their business and they get comfortable. Oh, I’m going to take time off. I want to be in sweats. Exactly what he said. Right. And then the funny thing is that. But you were working for somebody who doesn’t care about you at all. And you, you were you showing up to work every day to an office. And now that you have your own business, you got to work your ass off. You shut up in sweats or staying at home saying, you know what? Today I’m tired. I don’t feel like going to the office. Gotta get disciplined. If you’re working that hard for somebody, you got to work much harder for yourself to get the things you need to do and never get too big to think I got enough or I’m too good for this. You just have to continue to do what you do.

Chartney Blair: Yes, you have to wake up every day like it’s the first day.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, especially in small business, because 1 or 2 sales, 1 or 2 clients can really mess up everything you have, right? Can mess up your balance sheet, can mess up your profit and loss statement and all that stuff. So. Very good. So what do you need? What do you want to leave the audience with? Like what? What is it that you want to tell them? How do they reach out to you. And I tell you from knowing you personally, I think the incredible person. First of all.

Chartney Blair: Thank you.

Ramzi Daklouche: So, uh, but if people want to reach, what’s the best way to reach you?

Chartney Blair: So you can reach us at our website, WW. Or you can give us a call at our office (770) 239-1770. And even if you’re not sure if you need, um, home health benefits, just still give us a call and reach out to us. We may be able to service you so. And you know, I just want to leave with home health can be an overwhelming thing. Um, because you have a loved one that’s healthy at first, and now they’re going to need a little extra care. We promise to make this process as easy as possible because we know you’re overwhelmed. So reach out to us anytime.

Ramzi Daklouche: And these. Let’s talk about. The elderly are so important. They’re a blessing to us. So please take care of them. Chani, thank you for joining us today and sharing your insights. For anyone listening who wants to learn more about the incredible work Blair Care Health is doing, or if you’re looking for compassionate and professional home health provider, visit health.com. And if you’re a business owner thinking about selling or simply curious about your options, I’d be happy to help. You can reach me at Ramzi Daklouche at Business Sales Atlanta, visit us at Vrbas Worldcom. Learn more about how we help small businesses transition successfully shortly. Again, thank you very much. I appreciate the time.

About Your Host

Ramzi Daklouche is Principal at VR Business Sales. His mission is to facilitate seamless transitions for business owners looking to sell or scale. The organization’s four-decade legacy in managing transactions, from modest enterprises to extensive mergers, resonates with his expertise in mergers and acquisitions. Our collaborative approach consistently unlocks the true value of businesses, ensuring sellers’ peace of mind throughout the process.

His journey began when he left corporate world to venture into the challenging realm of entrepreneurship. After running their own business for several years and earning accolades for their dedication to service and quality, he decided to establish VR Business Sales Mergers and Acquisitions Atlanta. Their mission is to provide unmatched value through transparency, security, diversity, service, and experience.

At VR Business Sales Mergers and Acquisitions Atlanta, they empower business owners and buyers with clear, honest guidance and exceptional service throughout every step of the transaction process. While their office is based in Atlanta, they offer their services nationally and globally, embracing diversity and engaging with a broad spectrum of communities and businesses.

With decades of industry expertise, they aim to build lasting relationships based on trust and excellence, enabling their clients to achieve their business goals with confidence and peace of mind. Whether they are transitioning from owning their business or moving toward ownership, they’re here to support every step of the way, navigating the vibrant landscape of Atlanta’s business community and National & Global markets for remarkable success.

Connect with Ramzi on LinkedIn.

Reclaiming Your Business Purpose: Strategies to Simplify and Thrive

April 17, 2025 by angishields

Greater Perimeter Business Radio

Reclaiming Your Business Purpose: Strategies to Simplify and Thrive

00:00 /

In this episode of Greater Perimeter Business Radio, Ramzi Daklouche engages with Rebecca Brizi, a business strategist and founder of RGB Consulting. Rebecca shares her journey from managing client relationships at a startup to consulting for small businesses. She emphasizes the importance of aligning mission and values with business operations to combat decision fatigue. Rebecca discusses her services, including team alignment workshops and operational strategy development. The conversation also covers the role of AI in business, effective networking, and the significance of referrals. Rebecca’s insights provide practical advice for entrepreneurs aiming to streamline their operations and stay true to their core purpose.

Ask 12 Italian grandmothers for their tomato sauce recipe, and you will get thirteen different answers. They will all use tomatoes, olive oil, basil… but the quantities will vary, as will the one special ingredient everyone has.

Every business has to have a loyal clients, dedicated employees, and business goals, but the specific recipe is unique to each entity.

Rebecca Brizi examines each business to discover what their special, unique recipe is, and build a plan for all those separate ingredients to function well together, so business owners can focus on what they do best: their craft.

Connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Greater Perimeter. It’s time for Greater Perimeter Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Ramzi Daklouche: This episode of Greater Perimeter Business RadioX is brought to you by V.R. Business Sales of Atlanta. Your trusted partner in business transactions. Whether you’re planning your exit, preparing for growth, or seeking the right buyer, we are providing expert guidance with transparency and strategy to help you close the right deal at the right time. Learn more at world.com. I’m your host, Ramzi Daklouche. And today I’m excited to welcome Rebecca Brizi, business strategist, speaker, and founder of RGB Strategy. Rebecca’s work focuses on simplifying the day to day reality of running a small business. Her unique approach aligns mission, values and process to build culture, empower employees, and bring the owners vision back to life. You can explore more about her methodology at www.rgbrizi.com. Let’s dive in. Rebecca, how are you today?

Rebecca Brizi: I am well, thank you for having me.

Ramzi Daklouche: So thank you for joining us. I really appreciate you and I’m looking forward to this episode.

Rebecca Brizi: Me too.

Ramzi Daklouche: So before we start, tell us a little bit about yourself. And, you know, how do you start with this? What’s your background like? Nobody kind of wakes up in the morning, say, I’m going to be coach. They had a background. So tell me a little bit about what you do.

Rebecca Brizi: That’s that’s very true. Nor did does anybody or most people, I presume, grow up thinking when I grow up, I’m going to be an operational strategist. So it does kind of happen to you? Yeah. My background, prior to starting my consultancy, I, uh, ran a software business, so I joined a what was at the time a startup. Um, a couple of years into that, I was brought in as a partner, and the first thing I did there, we were very much a startup, and there were three of us. And I was told, we’ve got about 50 clients. They’re large corporations and large law firms. We need to show them some care. But it’s just three of us. So call them up and make them happy. And that’s what I did. And I came from a completely different industry. So it was very much learning by doing. But I would hold up all these clients and essentially say, how is the product, how is the service? And occasionally they would start to say, well, there’s this or there’s that. And I would say, well, tell me more about that. And what I realized was that the other vendors they were working with were mainly large household name type technology vendors were nobody was asking them, tell me more about that.

Rebecca Brizi: And through this, I built very strong relationships with these customers and was able to give a lot of useful information internally as to how we could develop these relationships. Um, we built a strong, as I say, relationship, very high retention. But over the years, as the business was growing, and especially once I came on as a partner, what I realized was turning those skills inward. I was good with the customer relationships, not very strong necessarily in sales and marketing. That’s not where my strengths were. But using that same approach of listening, solving problems internally is really where I started to shine. So as we were hiring people, as we were growing, as we were entering new markets, developing our product, figuring out the strategy for continuous growth and continuous improvement. So that’s what I did with that business for many years. Eventually I moved to the. This was in the UK. I moved to the United States to open a US office for that business. Got to kind of do it all over again, setting up the US operations. Um, and eventually I took my show on the road and do it now as a consultant.

Ramzi Daklouche: That’s awesome. It’s interesting you say you’re not a sales person, because I’m sure you’re very good at it, because anybody that asks the question, tell me more about that are curious in nature, right? Sure. And people like to talk about tell me more about that. So if you ask me that, it’s great because I could tell you all I want about then I’ll buy anything from you because you allowed me to speak and or allowed me to be heard, which is very important. Any sales. Right.

Rebecca Brizi: So to say.

Ramzi Daklouche: Solving so solving problems for people is actually sales more than anything else. So instead of just, you know, uh, you know, introducing a product and just talking about the product and throwing up at people, I used to say, don’t throw up at people. Listen to them. Right. Rebecca, you say running a small business should be simple and fun. What’s getting in the way of most owners today?

Rebecca Brizi: You think that, um, there’s it’s there’s just so much to do. I mean, at the risk of seeming to oversimplify running a small business, there’s so much to do. I talk a lot about decision fatigue, for example. And it’s it’s, you know, managing clients and employees and internal operations and, you know, the craft of the business as well as the management of the business. Think of everything that a large business does. And now all of that has to happen with so many fewer resources. Nobody starts a business saying, well, I really hope that it’s overwhelming and complex, and I don’t sleep at night. And yet, for how many business owners does that become a reality at some point? Yeah. So I so so that’s what gets in the way of it. It’s it’s there are too many options. Sometimes there are too many directions I could go in. There are too many moving parts. There are too many variables. So simplifying that is about putting in place a structure that simplifies that decision making, set some standards, makes it easy for people to know what matters and frankly, what doesn’t. And so only focusing on the things that matter. And the fun part I let let us all have fun on the thing that we have to do with our lives every single day. And and that drives our business, which, um, you know, it’s what we spend majority of our waking hours doing.

Ramzi Daklouche: Exactly. Especially small business. Right? Yes. And I, uh, I see a lot of people from corporate come into small business and they forget that they have an army behind them that can help them with decision making. Yes. And it doesn’t matter if you are a big consultant in a, you know, top five firm, open a bakery. The work is completely different. You don’t have an army. It’s just you.

Rebecca Brizi: Exactly.

Ramzi Daklouche: You and you. Right? Yes, exactly. So. But I think people forget how hard it is to run a small business. Yeah.

Rebecca Brizi: Absolutely.

Ramzi Daklouche: Absolutely. Okay. You often work with clients to realign them with their mission. How do you reconnect someone with the why behind their business?

Rebecca Brizi: I ask them over and over, you know, it’s the five whys, essentially. But, um, what I also find is that often what we think our why is or the first answer to that question, is often aspirational and not always, uh, a reflection of the truth. And so by going through. Yes, but why that and why that. And then also it’s not enough to just figure out what drives us and what makes us happy and motivates us. But putting that in context because, okay, but now you also have to do a run a business and do a thing every single day. So how do we connect that to the service you’re providing and the reasoning behind it, and also make it very tangible? That’s another big thing I talk about a lot is this cannot just be a concept or an idea. This has to be recognizable so that anybody who hears you saying this is picturing the same thing that you’re picturing. Yeah. So don’t. So don’t just let it be words that sound good on paper or that maybe mean something to you alone. You need to also take it a step further and give it that full explanation.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, in small business, you know, the small business is defined differently, right? Some sometimes, you know, a sole entrepreneur is some small business. And sometimes they have ten, 15, 20, 50, 200 people. Still small business. So what’s this sweet point? Because if you’re talking to somebody who has only a few people, he is or she is a technician of their business, they really are not thinking about a mission or a vision. They have dreams maybe, or aspirations just to pay the bills sometimes, right? But how how does it, uh, how do you treat it differently from depending on the size of the business?

Rebecca Brizi: Not not very differently, to be honest. I mean, even with a one person business, I’m going to talk about mission and values with the one person business. I will still build an organizational chart because all of the things sort of to your point earlier that have to happen in a in a business of any size, there are certain things that always have to happen or always need to be accounted for. So those don’t change. The fact of needing these elements doesn’t change much based on the size of the business. What they are will may change, and how they’re rolled out can change. In a business of three people, we work on mission. Everybody’s in the room. We’re doing this together. In a business of 100 people. We can’t bring 100 people together to drive the mission. And yet you still want, you know, the the 95 people who are not in senior leadership to buy into that mission. So the way that that we can embed that in the business looks different. But the element of having a mission, of having values, of making all these things well defined, that doesn’t change.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. Do you find that in small business, specifically in small business, typically the mission reflects the dream of the owner.

Rebecca Brizi: Yes. And that is sometimes part of the problem. Sometimes that’s part of the block is that, uh, that’s when I say putting that into context. If it is a reflection of the dream of the owner, that is a starting point. But then sometimes we have to work beyond that and say, okay, now let’s we need a practicality to this as well. What is realistic? What are the available resources, the people who work for you and with you? What motivates them? Um, what’s going to get them on board with their dream? Is it a dream that you can share?

Ramzi Daklouche: Their dream may be completely different than yours. You have to find a common ground.

Rebecca Brizi: Absolutely. Yeah.

Ramzi Daklouche: Very good. Okay. How can a clear mission and value system impact how a team makes decisions and even reduce decision fatigue?

Rebecca Brizi: Uh, the mission and values of a business, and I when I write values, I use the term guiding principles simply because to me it’s more descriptive of what the value is. It is a, uh, a value, something that’s important to us, but it needs to reflect a behavior. And so that’s a guiding principle, what those two things do. Having those two elements in place, that is the framework for making decisions when the business needs to make a major decision, strategic or even operational. Going back to those and saying, if we make this change, if we do this thing, if we hire this person, make, you know, create this role, enter this new market, does that further our mission? Yes or no? Does that respect and uphold our values, our guiding principles? Yes or no? So that gives a framework to making decisions which simplifies the decision making. There are really two products, shall we say that I that I offer. One is the is team alignment workshops. Those are that’s when I go into a business. It happens in three steps. There’s a planning session with the owners to design the workshop. We then do a company wide or team wide workshop. The purpose there to do a lot of the things we’ve been talking about. And so there are different topics that we use depending on what they need. We pick the right one and do a team workshop altogether. And then there’s output. So I give homework and I review that. That’s stage three. So that’s one option. It’s $2,500. The other thing I do, um, if they want something more hands on, is to design that whole operational strategy. So writing out that mission vision, the org chart KPIs and then implementing that is a six month commitment. Um, we spend three months with the more intense planning and then three months to roll it out so that I’m there as they implement those changes as well and make sure that all happens smoothly.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. Do you work? I mean, most of your clients are at the beginning stage startup clients or are they different stages? And what percent do you think like because the second program you have is incredible for somebody starting company, right? Yes. To build the strategy and also to build the culture, what they expect of themselves, what they expect of employees.

Rebecca Brizi: Yeah. Um, most of my clients are actually not brand new businesses. Um, the some are and but if they are, they generally have, uh, have had a business before and they sort of know, um, some of the basics. What I will say is a brand new business. Um, can engage me. I’m happy to talk to them and see, but I, I if I think they they don’t need me. Um, you know, they might not if they can be scrappy at first, especially if it’s a brand new business. Um, somebody who’s new to doing it. It’s okay to try a lot of different things and figure out what works in those first couple of years. Um, use the resources you have available, even if they’re limited to try a lot. Don’t, don’t don’t get too much into long term commitments for your business. Um, try different clients. Try different way different business models, different pricing, different ways of acquiring clients and start to figure out both what works and what doesn’t, but also what you like and what you don’t. And then let’s talk again in 18 or 24 months, and we’ll start to put the standards in place that because to your point, you know, good values should stay the same for a very long time. Yeah they should so and so take a couple of years to figure out first what what they should be. It’s okay not to know on day one.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah that’s awesome. So some of the questions I’m going to ask you now are really just my curiosity. My personal curiosity. I is, you know, been used now in just about every business. How is it used in your business?

Rebecca Brizi: It’s it’s a great support tool. Um, it’s it’s a good starting point for brainstorming. For example, when I’m working with clients, if I want them to go away and do something before our next meeting, I’ll say, go into your I chat tool and ask the AI tool the question. They’ll spit out some statistics, some facts, some ideas. That’s your starting point. So you don’t start with a blank page. Um, so I think it’s a great brainstorming tool. It’s a wonderful research tool. You must check your sources so, you know, make sure you know, you know, your AI tool is either giving you the source or you can ask it for the source so you know exactly what information you’re dealing with. But it’s all there. And it it’s it’s Google but cutting down the time, um, you know, giving you a more.

Ramzi Daklouche: Direct.

Rebecca Brizi: Answer. So yeah, I mean absolutely use it use it to your advantage.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, I actually built the company. Mostly on AI tools and not ChatGPT. I mean, there’s so many of them, right? I mean, ChatGPT is the basic of it, and I appreciate it. Makes me faster, better and clearer.

Rebecca Brizi: And remember that you’re the one putting in the prompts, right? So. So don’t be afraid of AI thinking that it’s going to control you. You control it. To your point, there are all these AI tools out there, and you made them work for you because you knew how to prompt them to do the thing you needed, not the other way around.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, prompting that’s a coaching session should be given by somebody. How to prompt ChatGPT. I think it’s very important. Okay, so I know you do a lot of networking and we all are looking for the same thing that next customer that we can work with. So let’s talk about that a little bit. What advice do you have. You’ve been doing this for eight years now. So you know you have your own way of doing it. You have your own structure of doing it. Maybe you have your own days and times that you like to do networking. Other days you’re producing. So how does it look like for you? Because it’s very important for a business of any size. I think the number one struggle for Struggled for small, small businesses, right? 3 to 1015 people is where do I get my customer? Where’s that next customers coming from? Where do I find them? Right. Yeah. Besides referrals and good reputation that really you cannot beat that. That’s that’s easy one because if somebody refers me 100% now I’m going to get that business.

Rebecca Brizi: Yes.

Ramzi Daklouche: Because of trust between the, you know, the people that referred me. Yes. To the to the new person. But otherwise how do you do your networking.

Rebecca Brizi: It’s so you say retention or sorry referrals and reputation. And I completely agree. To me that’s the foundation. I will grow my business through a good reputation and through referrals. So what can I do that will constantly give me referrals and a good reputation? That’s really my starting point. And so then bringing that into networking, I do network quite a bit. I enjoy meeting new people. What I’ve found is, is um, a the fun factor is important if, if I’m not having this is true for all of us, if we’re not having fun doing the thing we do to market our businesses. We won’t be successful at it anyway. So it’s, you know, finding where I like to network, how I like to network, what kind of structure to your point. Time of day. I mean, that matters if you’re more of an evening person, go to the evening events. Don’t go to the morning event. It’s okay. Right? So be be true to yourself in what will work for you. Um, time management of course is important. So there’s that always prioritizing client time. But so plan ahead. You know I like to do a lot of one on ones with people. I’m not going to organize it for later this week. It’s probably going to be in two weeks. So that I know that the time that I have to assign to clients and other work is safe. Um, but, you know, connecting. If there were one thing specific to networking that I would say is important, it’s being consistent. So be yourself. Be, you know, be the natural person that you are so that you will always be consistent. And so you’re building that reputation that is solid, that doesn’t you know, people don’t have different views of you or see you as completely different person depending on context.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. It’s networking. I’m with you 100%. It’s an art. It’s not really like if you just go to these network events like in Hear chamber once a week, you really it’s like going to church but not praying. Any time after that, you’re just kind of, hey, you go, I’m here. You saw me. I’m done. Right? It is spending time with the one on one’s own stuff. Second thing I really love what you said is structuring your day right. I am not a night person. I’m an early morning person. Right? If I have a meeting after seven, I have to take a nap to make a 7:00 pm meeting because I wake up way too early in the day. So I know me and I’ll do all my networking literally early, early in the morning. And then I can start, you know, the other work. And I know that after 3 or 4:00 pm, I don’t want to talk to anybody. I’m just tired at that. I just wanted to so know yourself. I’m thinking networking. So don’t just accept any networking event or just show up for no purpose. Make sure you’re on purpose with the networking events, right? And how do you work with referrals? Like, you know, like how do people refer people to you? What does it look like? Do you meet a lot of people? Like for me, this is a referral vehicle. What does it look like to you?

Rebecca Brizi: One thing I do say is I appreciate that what I do is, um, can feel nebulous to some people if they’ve never had the experience, if they’ve never done it. Um, it’s it’s, you know, it’s hard to point to business operations and say, see, she she sells this thing. So, um, so one thing I, I’m happy to do, and because I like networking anyway, so it serves me well. I’m happy to be the first conversation with somebody. If you don’t know exactly what somebody needs, I will talk to them. And, um, and perhaps I have what they need, but if I don’t, I can then redirect them to another resource because I keep the CRM, this Rolodex of contacts, and I want to be able to refer to others as well. So that’s one thing I do. I don’t expect other people, those referral partners or sources to be able or to to have to explain what I do in detail or, you know, fully understand it. That’s that’s not their job. So, um, happy to be the first conversation. I’ll hop on a half hour call with anybody, um, and see exactly what they need and pass it on. And that, as I say, serves me well. It helps me serve my network as well.

Ramzi Daklouche: That’s exactly right. Perfect, perfect. Well, listen. Thank you very much. It’s been fun. Fantastic. And I love the clarity of how you coach and what you coach. I think it really comes through. Thank you very much. So, Rebecca, thank you for joining us today. For anyone listening, if you’re a business owner looking to realign your operations with your mission, or if you’re someone who regularly for small business for strategic support, Rebecca is a great resource. You can learn more and get in touch with Rebecca at. And if you are thinking about selling your business or just want to understand your options, feel free to reach out to me Ramzi Daklouche at Business Sales of Atlanta. You can find us at Vrbas World.com. We’re here to help you plan a successful transition with confidence. Again, Rebecca, thank you very, very much for today’s episode.

About Your Host

Connect with Ramzi on LinkedIn.

BRX Pro Tip: Tell People You Appreciate Them

April 16, 2025 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Tell People You Appreciate Them

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BRX Pro Tip: Tell People You Appreciate Them

Stone Payton: Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Lee, it’s such a simple thing, but I don’t know, for me anyway, sometimes I just – it’s not easy to remember or it’s not top of mind, but it is so powerful to tell people that you appreciate them.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. This is kind of a life hack I think that is really underestimated, especially in a digital world where we’re leaning on so many digital communications. But people at all levels of accomplishment like to feel appreciated. It’s just human nature.

Lee Kantor: And I think that when you do appreciate someone, they take it to heart and you separate yourself from everybody else. And especially if you can get in the habit of doing this and it’s sincere and you really are appreciating whatever happened, I think that you are going to be better served as a human and you are going to be able to build and accelerate better, deeper relationships with the people who matter most with you.

Lee Kantor: I know as part of my practice what I do at the end of each interview, I try to remember to say this and I say something along the lines of this, “Thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.” I try to end every interview with that, a sentence that’s like that or that. And this lets the guest know that they’ve been heard. They feel like they’ve been heard. And it deepens my relationship with them. And it also helps me fulfill my mission of helping tell the stories of business and the communities that I serve.

Lee Kantor: So, it’s a win-win for everybody. But by doing that and by really appreciating them coming on and telling their story and sharing their story with me and the listeners and letting them know thank you for doing that and it’s important what you’re doing and that we appreciate you is just a great human-to-human way of just letting people know that their work is important and that they’ve been heard and it’s been appreciated.

The Art of Customer Care: Why Empathy Matters in Business Success

April 16, 2025 by angishields

Cherokee Business Radio

The Art of Customer Care: Why Empathy Matters in Business Success

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Brought to you by Diesel David and Main Street Warriors

In this episode of Cherokee Business Radio, Joshua Kornitsky interviews John Daniels III, Craig Reidy and Charlie Darrien. John discusses the importance of educating clients about Medicare and life insurance, emphasizing empathy and community involvement. Craig shares the history and culture of his family-owned plumbing business, focusing on employee development and exceptional customer service. Charlie offers insights into her entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the challenges and rewards of starting a business in the community. All three guests share their commitment to their professions and communities, offering valuable insights into the significance of education, empathy, and personal relationships in building successful businesses.

John Daniels III is a life-long resident of the greater Atlanta area, raised by John Jr. and Vera Moton Daniels alongside two siblings.

A 1993 graduate of Alonzo A. Crim High School, John briefly attended Georgia Perimeter College before proudly serving in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and served as the driver for the Base Commander during his three-year enlistment. John’s professional path spans decades in customer service, sales, and marketing.

He began his career in the fashion and retail industry, working as a department manager and personal stylist with Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus. He later spent over a decade in automotive sales with Toyota Roswell and Jim Ellis Volkswagen before transitioning into the insurance industry.

Since 2017, he has served as a Senior Marketing Analyst for Medicare Life Insurance, bringing a people-first mindset to helping seniors and families navigate complex insurance decisions. While John entered the insurance world believing it was about selling a product, he quickly discovered that true impact comes from building relationships — particularly with seniors and their families.

That realization led him to deepen his investment in the Bartow County community, where he has become a passionate advocate and servant leader. John credits his transformation into a civic leader to the guidance and support of Dr. Lance Barry, Jennifer Williams of United Way of Bartow County, and his fellow Rotarians at the Rotary Club of Bartow County, who have all helped shape his vision of purpose-driven leadership.

John proudly serves in the following roles: Board Member, United Way of Bartow County Board Member, Salvation Army of Cartersville Weekly Mentor, at-need students at Allatoona Elementary Club Program Chair, Rotary Club of Bartow County Assistant Secretary, New Frontier of Bartow County — a Black male civic organization promoting civil rights in the region Member, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church Mason, Masonic Lodge #6 Committee Member, Cartersville-Bartow Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Bartow Program Graduate, Leadership Bartow Class of 2025

Whether he’s mentoring youth, organizing community programs, or advocating for underserved populations, John leads with integrity, compassion, and commitment. Known for his warm demeanor and deep sense of connection, he continues to build bridges between people, policy, and purpose — always with a smile.

Craig Reidy is one of the owners of Tom Kris and Sons Plumbing.

Craig is a master licensed plumber and has been on job sites since he was just six years old. He takes pride in excellent customer service, job quality and mentoring our team in to becoming contributing members of our community.

Craig is married to Maggie, and they have two daughters. In his off time, he enjoys rock crawling and spending quality time with his family.

Follow Tom Kris and Sons Plumbing on Facebook and Instagram.

Charlie Darrien is a devoted mother, esteemed entrepreneur, and owner of the multimillion-dollar business of her namesake “Charlie’s Angels Movers” which she built from the ground up.

Aside from her success in business for over 10 years, she is a pillar of the Acworth community and is well-known for her kind and charitable nature.

Her commitment to people and ability to create opportunities for those around her are just a few of the many admirable traits she possesses.

Follow Charlie’s Angels Movers on Facebook.

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.

Joshua Kornitsky: Welcome to another exciting episode of Cherokee Business Radio. I’m your host, professional EOS implementer Joshua Kornitsky, and I’m here today with my guests, John Daniels, a Medicare liaison and life insurance, uh, representative in Georgia. I’m here with Craig Reidy, owner of Tom, Kris and Sons Plumbing, and we’ll be joined by Charlie Darrien, CEO of Charlie’s Angels Movers. Thank you for being here. I think you’ll find an interesting and exciting show today. So let’s go right off the bat, John, I’m going to start with you. Again, this is John Daniels. John is a Georgia liaison for Medicare and life insurance. Tell me what you do to help people, John.

John Daniels: So what I do, I sit down with the individual, explain them about life insurance and Medicare. For example, some people I talk to, I’m talking to their children about the Medicare concerns, because a lot of times the seniors are protected by their kids. So most times I sit down with the kids and explain to them why I’m there. What’s my purpose and what we’re trying to get accomplished to protect their mom and father with their Medicare concerns.

Joshua Kornitsky: So Medicare and life insurance? Yes, sir. Okay. So I know when we were talking earlier, you had said to me that that when it comes to life insurance, a lot of people have questions around understanding. You know what I think life insurance is versus what you know, life insurance is. What’s the biggest question people ask you?

John Daniels: How much is going to cost? And how can I get a certain amount of coverage for a little of nothing?

Joshua Kornitsky: So what are you. Tell them.

John Daniels: I tell them that doesn’t exist because everything’s going to be based off your height, your weight, and basically your health. So being truthfully honest, low cost life insurance does not exist.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. What about from a coverage perspective? Are you able to help customize? Yes. Everything that they’re looking for.

John Daniels: Yes you can.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. Well, I know that you have been very active in Bartow County. John and I actually met John is a recent graduate of of the Leadership Bartow program in, in the Bartow Cartersville Chamber of Commerce. Um, what are some of the other things you do in in the ways that you connect with folks?

John Daniels: Well, um, being a graduate of leadership at Bartow has allowed me to network with you. Um, other people in the community and speak at different, um, engagements in Bartow for, um, senior facilities. Um, Cindy Williams has been a big inspiration for allowing me to be a part of the community by being at different functions, meeting a lot of different seniors. Um, being a part of rotary have a lot of great people that allow me to talk at different engagements as far as like, um, um, say, um, Georgia Highlands College, um, at certain churches and certain venues in the community. So that has been a big plus.

Joshua Kornitsky: So you really are pretty active in the community, because I know you said that you’re, uh, on the board of the Salvation Army and the United Way.

John Daniels: Yes, sir.

Joshua Kornitsky: Um, as well as a Rotarian, as you mentioned earlier, when you’re in and involved in those different events, are you a real aggressive salesperson or are you out there trying to say, hey, what are your needs? How do you how do you engage with folks?

John Daniels: Well, I can honestly tell you, I don’t believe in selling people. I believe in educating people because some people are already sold themselves on how you treat them. If you treat them nice, they’ll listen. If you treat them bad, they already turn their ears off to you.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, so it’s about building the relationship.

John Daniels: Yes it is.

Joshua Kornitsky: So that sounds like that’s something that you must have a lot of practice at over time.

John Daniels: Yes. My mom taught me that very well. You know, you always be polite, kind and interact and you know when to speak, when you ask a question and when you know to be quiet, when people tell you to stop talking.

Joshua Kornitsky: Fair enough. So it sounds like you must have had a pretty solid upbringing.

John Daniels: You did.

Joshua Kornitsky: You did tell us, where are you from originally?

John Daniels: Originally from Atlanta, southeast Atlanta. Um, attended Alonzo Crim High School and went to Georgia State for a while and then dropped out.

Joshua Kornitsky: So. Okay. Um, and the the time from when you were growing up exposed to, let’s say, a diverse community?

John Daniels: Yes, yes. Um, came, um, when I graduated high school, 93. The Olympics was coming. So you saw a lot of diversity coming in Atlanta. Then I went in the military and saw a lot of diversity. So being in sales was just normal because you had to interact with all types of people, but you had to be kind and patient because most people you interact with may have a question or two, and you had to be able to articulate what you’re trying to tell them about yourself.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, first, thank you for your service.

John Daniels: Hey.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you. Uh, we appreciate it very much. And and based on that piece of information, I presume that you’ve learned how to talk to just about everybody.

John Daniels: I guess so.

Joshua Kornitsky: So when you’re engaging with folks, has that training helped you?

John Daniels: Tremendously. Tremendously.

Joshua Kornitsky: In what ways?

John Daniels: Um, well, believe it or not, I can honestly tell you it has helped me listen more and talk less. Because most times when people talk to you, they want to tell you what they’re going through. And we are human. We have a lot of things going in our life repeatedly, but a lot of times people don’t want to listen because we just want to get it over with. But in my line of work, you got to be a listener instead of a talker.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, so on that very front, you going back to to how you spend most of your days when you’re not involved in the community. Uh, on the Medicare side of things, I imagine you had intimated that you speak a lot with the the children of seniors, but I’m sure you spend a fair amount of time talking with seniors, so you’ve got to be a pretty patient listener.

John Daniels: You do.

Joshua Kornitsky: Um, so let’s talk a little bit about Medicare because believe it or not, I don’t think everybody understands what it takes to qualify for Medicare and what that really means. Can you help us understand that a little?

John Daniels: Yes. Um, basically, a person looking at Medicare may have to be disabled. Would they have to get SSDI or they may be on dialysis?

Joshua Kornitsky: What is SSDI, SSDI?

John Daniels: Ssdi is Social Security supplemental income.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay.

John Daniels: Through disability, which you have to be qualified for 25 months through government that you are disabled or you may be on dialysis, which is a form of form of dealing with diabetes.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. But that’s something that they’ve got to accomplish before they come talk to you.

John Daniels: Yes, sir.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. And how do they go about doing that?

John Daniels: Basically go by, go see doctor, discuss their options. Or they may say, hey, I’m going through some complications with my diabetes, and the doctor may give him a prognosis or a diagnosis of you may be taking dialysis or they may have a bad injury that happened on a place of work or through time of life, and they may have to go before court to justify that they are disabled and they cannot work anymore.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, but just to clarify, that’s sort of guidance from from 1000ft up, because that’s not the the part of the universe that you’re able to help them in.

John Daniels: Exactly.

Joshua Kornitsky: Where you help them is, is in finding the coverage they need. So what types of options are out there? Sure.

John Daniels: You have. Um, well, you have a Medicare supplements, which.

Joshua Kornitsky: Are those.

John Daniels: Supplements are plans that you can purchase through a Medicare advocate or Medicare salesman, which is allow a person to get coverage for themselves with a low premium payment for that plan. But it covers certain parts of the policy, which is your doctor visits. Maybe you’re going to emergency, um, procedures, um, maybe getting some things done that you want to get covered without paying a substantial amount of monies out of your pocket. So that’s why a lot of people go to supplement. Where the Medicare Advantage allows you to have additional coverage before your dental, your vision and hearing. And probably a Medicare Part D included in that plan, which a person can get that coverage for, probably low cost out of pocket or maybe zero cost out of pocket.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, wonderful. So do you. Do you tell them which one to buy, or how do you arrive at a at the right conclusion for them?

John Daniels: Well, Josh well you can’t tell people what to buy. You got to you got to explain to them the difference and they have to decide, okay.

Joshua Kornitsky: So you just kind of shine a light onto the the different aspects of it to help them understand what it is. And then then they’re able to make an informed decision.

John Daniels: Yes, sir. Um, because typically people have different lifestyles and people have different choices in mind. So okay, you want to kind of give them that reassurance that their decision is the best decision for them.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. Well, and that brings me around to another question, because thinking about life insurance. Right, sir? I’m sure people are thrilled to discuss that.

John Daniels: Oh, yes, they’ll be flying off the hinges for that.

Joshua Kornitsky: So, you know, what is it about life insurance that nobody likes to talk about?

John Daniels: No one likes to talk about death.

Joshua Kornitsky: Wait. You have to die to collect.

John Daniels: Yes.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, so how do you handle that?

John Daniels: Um, typically, you just want to just sit there and listen to people because everybody has something that’s very close to their heart. And people want to talk about what’s important to their heart. And being an agent, you just really just try to talk to them and guide them through the process because, you know, one day you’re not going to be here and you want your family to be well taken care of, but you want someone you can trust to help your family through that process.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sounds like you lead with a lot of empathy.

John Daniels: That’s all you can do.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well that’s amazing. So when we talk about empathy, it makes me think about something else you discussed. And I want to ask you about from from what you shared with me, you spend a fair amount of time in, in mentoring programs. Yes, sir. Can you talk to us a little bit about what you do there?

John Daniels: Sure. Um, I deal with a lot of fifth graders at Altoona Elementary and at Altoona Elementary. It’s a community that has a big financial struggle. And a lot of the students there are very intelligent and very great kids, but they have a lot of anger. Okay. And I spend a lot of time with these young men and talk to them about confidence, um, how to be confident where they are and be passionate to share it with others because anger doesn’t allow you opportunity to destroy your opportunities. So I talked to a lot of men about anger and frustration because, you know, we have a lot of social media out here that promotes a lot of great things in kids, but a lot of kids get confused with short term goals and getting frustrated with long term goals. And I try to show them it’s more to life than trying to get things overnight.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. Well, that’s pretty incredible work. How did you get into that? That line of of I guess we mentoring, coaching, helping. How did you get there?

John Daniels: Well, young man named Joshua took me under his wings.

Joshua Kornitsky: Not not me. For clarity. For clarity.

John Daniels: Well, um, I got into it. Um, believe it or not, by just being a part of Bartow County community. Um, okay. Bartow is a very great community, and they see something in you, they’ll grab on to you and they will not let you go. So a lot of people talk to me highly and told me I should be getting involved in mentoring.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, I’m glad you have and you clearly are making a difference. And all of this is really a nice way of kind of building the use case to say that John really goes out of his way to engage at every end of the spectrum, and that’s really where the trust is built from. So I know that you’re involved with a great number of different, uh, community activities you had shared with me, I think. Is there a golf tournament coming up?

John Daniels: Yes. Um, on May the 5th, we’re going to have it at the, um, Country Club of Cartersville. We will have that for a United Way. And recognizing Rick Mason, he was a person, a part of the United Way.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay.

John Daniels: And he passed away some years ago. So they built this in the form of him. So we have that on the 5th of May.

Joshua Kornitsky: All right.

John Daniels: And we have a clay shooting.

Joshua Kornitsky: That was the next one I was going to ask you about.

John Daniels: Yeah. We have a clay shooting on May the 9th. And, uh, one of our good friends, um, Steven Powell, passed away in a plane crash last month, so we’re going to recognize him there.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, goodness. I’m sorry for that loss. Um. Well, great. So you’ve got a couple of different events coming up to honor some incredible folks. And let me ask you this, because I try to always come to a close with a question that makes people think a little bit. Um, you know, what’s one mistake you made that helped shape who you are that got you to got you to where you are today?

John Daniels: I would say being disobedient to my mom and father.

Joshua Kornitsky: That was the mistake you made?

John Daniels: Yes.

Joshua Kornitsky: And what did you learn?

John Daniels: I learned how to go back and apologize because they still around. Um, because I look at a lot of people, like, I deal with a lot of seniors. A lot of people don’t have their children, and a lot of kids, as I mentor, make a lot of mistakes, and then they regret them. They get older. So I’m glad I still have my mom. I’m glad I’m out here helping young men and young ladies to be better people in the community.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s incredible. John, thank you for sharing your story. Now, if somebody wants to get a hold of you, we’ll have all that information on our website. But what’s the best way to reach you?

John Daniels: You can reach me at my cell phone number, which is (470) 309-3106. Um, or you can reach me on my email address is Wesley Daniels 74 at gmail.com.

Joshua Kornitsky: Wonderful. Well, thank you again, John Daniels George. Liaison for Medicare and life insurance. We’ll have all John’s information posted. Uh, as soon as the podcast goes live, you’ll have it there to grab. Thank you again, John. And from there, let’s switch over to Craig Reidy. Craig, thank you for being here. Craig Reidy is the owner, along with his brother of Tom Kris and Sons Plumbing. Welcome. Good morning.

Craig Reidy : Good morning. Thank you for having me.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you for being here. So what can you tell us about Tom Kris and Sons Plumbing?

Craig Reidy : Uh, we are a family owned and operated plumbing company that operates out of Acworth, Georgia. We’ve been in business for 25 years now. We are residential service and remodel plumbing company, and we do a little bit of commercial service and remodel as well.

Joshua Kornitsky: So I have one burning question that I came here with today. All right. Who’s Tom cruise?

Craig Reidy : Uh, so yeah, it’s not one person. Uh, Tom is our father. Tom Reedy. Okay. And Chris is Christy. Christy Reedy, our mother. So, uh, it started out as TC plumbing. Uh, many years ago when my dad went to file for an LLC, there was already a TC plumbing in existence, and he came up with Tom. Chris thought it rolled off better than Tom Christie. Okay. And people have wondered who who that person is ever since.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s a wonderful story and and establishes you firmly as a family business. And I imagine it’s probably the question you get asked the most pretty often.

Craig Reidy : How. Yeah. How does a reedy come to own Tom Chris plumbing. So.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well just let them know. That’s a great story. It makes people feel real warm to know. Um, so when you and I had the opportunity to kind of talk ahead of time, we talked about something that sort of surprised me, right? Because you think of of a plumber and the plumbing industry is as the trades being a pretty hard working, pretty down in the dirt every day kind of job. And while that may be true, that’s not what really sets you guys apart. You said what sets you apart is your culture. So can you tell me a little bit about that? Because that’s really an incredible thing for a plumber to say.

Craig Reidy : Uh, yeah. Actually, uh, a lot of alignment with what John’s mentality is. Um, and it’s great to hear all the things you’re doing for the, you know, full spectrum of making folks better. Um, we’ve developed a passion for developing our guys into to being great men in the community. Um, and just have learned that if we want to impact the world in a positive way, then our plumbing company is the vehicle that we’re going to be able to do that. Um, and if we’re building and developing good men and women, then they’re going to provide great customer service. And the plumbing reputation and name is going to grow. Uh, so start with taking care of them and, and they’ll take care of our customers.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s a great outlook and a fantastic mindset. So you had said that it was your dad that that started the business. Your dad and mom started the business. Um, were you in it right from the start? When did. When did you become part of the equation?

Craig Reidy : Um, so you have to go back. The business started in 2000, but my dad’s plumbing career started in, uh, in the 80s. And, uh, once he turned out he was a union plumber for 18 years. Wow. Um, and through that time, he was developing a side business and kind of growing that and working extremely hard to better themselves and and move ahead in life. And, uh, if you wanted to spend time with dad. You went to work with them on the weekends. Uh, or in high school. We would work in the summertimes with them. And so I’ve been around it since I was a little kid. Um, I say, you know, started on jobs when I was six. Uh, I was a gofer and a parks runner and just, uh, trying to stay awake. Um, back in those days and officially joined the business as a, you know, contributing plumber in 2012. Uh, and got my journeyman license in 2013.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, wow. Okay. So you actually have been in it for quite a while now?

Craig Reidy : Uh.

Joshua Kornitsky: Yes, sir. And and the perspective that you bring to that is, is the, the outlook of experience. Does does does that factor in very much in in what your what the what the group is doing on a daily basis. How much how much of your plumbing skill comes in versus your leadership skills?

Craig Reidy : Um, I would say it’s, uh, we’ve moved to more leadership skills than anything. I still have to offer quite a bit of support for challenges on jobs. I do all the estimating. Um, not in the van quite as much as I used to be. And so yeah, it’s it’s leading the, the business and the strategic, uh, goals and things like that. Um, but the experience of being an employee working for my dad is what’s, uh, been so valuable to help create our company culture and, uh, kind of the employee experience that we’re offering to our guys now because I’ve been in their shoes.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. Yeah. You got to walk a mile in them before you can tell them where they should step and how they should step. So that’s a that’s a fantastic foundation. Now, going back to the business itself, you had said that that you do a fair amount of remodeling work as well.

Craig Reidy : Yes, sir. Um, so if you’ve got, uh, your master bathroom, you’re looking to move the fixtures around, do a simple, uh, reface, which we just do the plumbing component. Uh, we do work with homeowners? Primarily. The remodel stuff is with contractors. Okay. Um, and then kitchens will finish basement bathrooms and things of that nature. Um, but we also do, you know, full service. So anything from the curb to the faucet, we can service or replace or relocate whatever it is that you have in your imagination.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. And you help the customer sort of understand what they need versus, uh, it’s been said occasionally customers may have unrealistic expectations. And it’s not about expectations. It’s about the way they want something to be versus the way it technically can be. Do you help them bridge that gap?

Craig Reidy : We do. And, uh, we have as far as the remodeling goes, we’ve kind of set ourselves apart in saying that you can’t always or saying no is not really an option. Um, you know, you can you can find a solution. It’s just, uh, how much do you want to pay? Um, but as far as our service goes, we take the same approach as as John had mentioned earlier, and it’s just to educate the customer of what the situation is, what their options are to move forward, and letting them make a decision of what’s going to suit their financial needs and and what their capabilities are.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. So it’s really a holistic approach where you’re kind of trying to take in all the information before you make a recommendation, but helping them stay on track.

Craig Reidy : Yep.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, that’s pretty impressive. So where do most of your customers come from?

Craig Reidy : Um, it really tends to be word of mouth. And, uh, we get quite a bit of traction through Google. Um, it’s shifted in the last 5 or 6 years as we’ve made a push to, to grow our presence on Google, thankfully. Uh, we do good work. And, um, we’re sitting just over 755 star reviews. Wow. And so we see a lot of customers coming in that way, but it’s primarily word of mouth referrals. Um, we we do very, very little advertising or traditional advertising.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. Well, and obviously with 755 star reviews, you’re the words getting out there. So how big of an area does do you do you cover. Do you service with your with your technicians?

Craig Reidy : Yeah. So, uh, right now we’ve got a 20 mile service radius, and that’s a little unique in the plumbing industry. Uh, most of the time you go where the jobs are.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. So why only 20 miles?

Craig Reidy : Um, it just ends up, uh, leading to more efficient scheduling. Uh, it’s a better quality of life for our employees. Uh, if you’re not having to sit in an hour of traffic every morning and every afternoon, you’re going to be a happier person. Uh, and if there are issues that arise, they’re right down the road. We can go and get those things resolved quickly. Uh, but it’s the work is around us, and and so we’re trying to concentrate our efforts there, and, uh, it holds you accountable if, if you’re going to, you know, saturate an area, you’ve got to provide great service and you can’t afford to burn bridges, so.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, sure. And 20 miles is a relatively small footprint in in someplace the size of even metro Atlanta. So yeah, I imagine if you burn a bridge there, uh, it’ll haunt you. So I guess you must be delivering good service.

Craig Reidy : We’re doing our best, for sure.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s. Well. And the other piece of that deserves being called out. Not not, uh, unlike John, you’re kind of living your core values and and the fact that you’re devoted to the quality of life of your employees. Um, in, in an industry that’s built on providing service and still providing excellent service is really admirable, right? Because that’s something that that people can see firsthand that you’re living. You’re you’re putting your money where your mouth is.

Craig Reidy : Yes, sir. And it’s, uh, it’s starting to set us apart in the marketplace for our customers, but it’s also setting us apart for our opportunities of employment. Um, people realize that we, uh, we prioritize balance and our our life. Enjoyment. We. You spend more time working than you do anything else except for sleeping, maybe. And so that’s, uh, we really put that at the forefront is to enjoy where you work. And also, you know, you have to be good at what you do. But, um, we’ve got a really great group of guys that it’s fun to work.

Joshua Kornitsky: So that’s awesome. And, and had you shared with me. So where are you finding your new employees when you need them?

Craig Reidy : Uh, it has been, uh, I think God’s just dropping them in front of us right now. Um, it’s. Yeah, word of mouth, uh, same, same kind of scenario as our customers. It’s just people start to learn that we have this opportunity available. Um, in the last couple of years, we’ve made more of a push to have a structured apprenticeship program. Um, and actually just rolled that out the last couple of months and are still fine tuning it and trying to make it work. But we realized the hurdle for us to grow is going to be developing great plumbers. And so we’re putting an emphasis on starting from scratch, kind of like our dad did with us. That’s great. And, uh, yeah, having a good process to develop them and bring them along so that they can have a good, lasting career in plumbing.

Joshua Kornitsky: If you establish the benchmark, then they know what’s expected. So that that makes it much easier than trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. When when you created the the peg and the hole.

Craig Reidy : Yes, sir.

Joshua Kornitsky: So that’s fantastic. Well, that’s good to know. I’m happy to hear that. And it sounds like to me, an apprenticeship program is sort of the roots of where all the trades came from. So you’re kind of going back to basics.

Craig Reidy : Yes, sir. And, uh, and really making an effort to bring the next generation into the trades, uh, and there’s a lot of folks that are graduating high school and college. There’s nothing that appeals to them. Or they’ll they’ll go for a semester or two and just can’t find their footing and don’t know why they’re there. And so when you have a good, solid, uh, career path that’s lined up for you in the trades. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel and know where you’ll be in 5 to 10 years. And so that’s what we’re really focusing on developing.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s a fantastic outlook. Thank you for giving back to the community in that way. And on the subject of giving back to the community, tell me, what did you have going on with the city of Acworth?

Craig Reidy : Yeah. So, uh, my my brother and I have, over the last five years, have, uh, really found a passion for physical fitness and mental, uh, I guess mental health. And, um, we’ve through along that journey have wanted to find different ways to give back and and create more accessibility for fitness. And so we’ve partnered with the city of Acworth to put in a fitness pad at Logan Farm.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, wow.

Craig Reidy : And, uh, yeah. So anybody that’s there in the community can go and access that and, and get themselves into better shape. And, uh, while they’re out there enjoying our nice parks in the city of Acworth.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic. Thank you for giving back to the community. Well, like with John, I do want to ask sort of a closing question that gets you thinking a little bit. And and in your case, I think I’d, I’d ask, you know, what’s a great piece of advice that you’ve picked up along the way that that has helped change your perception in the way you both lead, but also live?

Craig Reidy : Um, yeah, it’s, uh, one of our core values and a a book that’s required reading for anybody that works in our company. It’s called Extreme Ownership. Uh, and it’s a mindset to have to own all of the things that you are or that you contribute to a situation. And if things go right, or if things go wrong, uh, knowing how you set that situation up. And as a business owner, if problems happen on my my guys day or the route, uh, looking at how did I contribute to set them up for success and did I actually set them up for success? Uh, sorry.

Joshua Kornitsky: No worries.

Craig Reidy : Did I actually set them up for success, or, uh, did I slack and and send them in blind? And so just, uh, having accountability and extreme ownership and all aspects of your life.

Joshua Kornitsky: Resonates very highly with me. So that’s fantastic information. Again, we’ll have all of the information to connect with Tom Christensen’s Plumbing on our website. But what’s the best way for folks to reach the company if they need help?

Craig Reidy : Uh, really just call the the phone number (770) 529-0799 and, uh, yeah, you’ll get a hold of Maggie, so.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. Well, thank you again. Craig Reidy, owner, along with his brother Tom Kris and Sons Plumbing. I appreciate you sharing your outlook and your perspective. And that brings us to our final guest of the day, Ms. Charlie Darrien, CEO of Charlie’s Angels Movers and Charlie’s Angels Movers charity truck. Charlie, welcome to Cherokee Business Radio.

Charlie Darrien: Thank you. Josh, thank you so much.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you for being here today. You are involved with a great many things. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Charlie Darrien: Where should I start? Yeah, I have a few things going on so.

Joshua Kornitsky: Give us the list.

Charlie Darrien: Okay. The list starting with the moving company. So a long, long time ago, back in 2013, I started a moving company. Um, the short of it is, I got passed up on a couple promotions in corporate America six months apart. That was kind of the kickoff to me going home and saying, hmm, I need something else. I need to figure something else out. This is obviously not going well, so God put it in my head. The idea was born. I started searching, moving companies, realized that they were it was a broken industry in a lot of ways, and I thought I could fix that and have impact there. Um, and so it was born.

Joshua Kornitsky: And that was 2013.

Charlie Darrien: 2013.

Joshua Kornitsky: 2013. Well, you certainly seem to have made an impact.

Charlie Darrien: I think that I, we pride ourselves on, um, changing the standard in the industry. So just leveling up the industry as a whole, at least in the community that we all work, play and live in, which is Ackworth.

Joshua Kornitsky: So what’s the the Charlie’s Angels uh, movers charity truck then?

Charlie Darrien: So that was, um, just started from a lot of clients. When they’re moving there, there’s at least a handful of things that they never want to take with them. Upright pianos is a good one.

Joshua Kornitsky: You must have a lot of those.

Charlie Darrien: A lot of a lot of gym equipment is another one that clients are, like.

Joshua Kornitsky: Perfect for hanging clothes on.

Charlie Darrien: Yeah. That part. Um, so they don’t want to take those things. But now word’s caught on, so they’ll donate anything that they just think is a usable piece of furniture. We’ll gladly take that. I sell it for a small profit on various, you know, platforms and sites, and then 100% of that profit goes to my charity. Charlie’s Angels Movers charity truck, which is just helping people in Ackworth in various capacities.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic. Wow. That’s also giving back to the community. We we lucked out today and have three incredible guests that are all giving back. Thank you, thank you. We appreciate it. So when you and I were talking, though, taking a little bit of a serious turn, you shared with me something that also recently made a really big impact on you, uh, with the Acworth Police Department. You attended an event.

Charlie Darrien: Yeah. So and I would say bigger impact. I have been supporting in some capacity sex trafficking, human trafficking for at least 12, 13 years as I go back in my memory. And but I attended a three day seminar that was taught by Dan Nash. It was actually out by Hartsfield Airport, and so it wasn’t Acworth Police Department, but I immediately came back, set up a meeting with the chief, which I think we talked about. We did and said like, what are we? How are we managing and handling all this? And just like, let me in a little bit. But through the seminar, that was a three day seminar, I just really learned a couple of things. So I thought I understood and I thought I knew how glaring and just how massive of an issue this was, and I just didn’t know. So even though I had been supporting it and been advocating for this cause for a long time. My eyes were just really opened very wide by learning through that seminar in a very random way that that one of the massage parlors that I’ve personally been dealing with for the last three years is in this human sex trafficking industry. And it’s not Atlanta that we’re pointing the finger at anymore. Right?

Joshua Kornitsky: Like closer to home.

Charlie Darrien: It’s in Kennesaw off of Barrett Parkway. So just I was so rattled by that and just so disturbed by that, that I felt like immediately just drawn to what am I doing about it? On, on the, on the whatever small platform that I have. Like where can I start? So I just kind of started and been talking with Acworth PD now, and Dan Nash, who was the presenter of the seminar, about just bringing a couple things together as far as educating people. I think that that’s the big piece that’s missing.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure don’t know. And please keep us tuned in because we definitely want to help fight against sex trafficking and human trafficking in any regard. Thank you. Happy to put a spotlight on that. I will, um, not not to go from the the darkness into the light, but just to keep the conversation moving along. You also shared with me that you are now in the car business as well. So how did this happen?

Charlie Darrien: I would hire employees, like 1 in 3 of my employees that I would hire wouldn’t have vehicles. So I thought, what? But don’t you have a family? You have kids. You have a wife. Like, how are you even navigating a I mean, how are you just making this work? And it seemed like just a struggle that could I, could I fix this? So I thought, how hard is it to just get my dealer license? And it turns out it was really hard. It was just like starting any other business. I don’t know what I was thinking that it was going to be like, oh, less or I don’t know what I had a thought about, but.

Joshua Kornitsky: But you got it done.

Charlie Darrien: But I got it done. And then I started selling cars to my employees. And then turned out a lot of people wanted to buy cars for me. So Charlie’s Angels Chariots was kind of something that I was working on as an additional stream of revenue.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic. And does it have a physical location or do they just reach out to you?

Charlie Darrien: So I have I have 26 office spaces actually in my office building that’s right across from Acworth PD in Acworth. So it has an official office space in my building.

Joshua Kornitsky: Fair enough. Yeah. So the easiest way to find out about that is just to reach out to you.

Charlie Darrien: Yeah. You could Charlie’s angels, chariots, used car sales or Charlie’s Angels movers. You could contact me a few different ways.

Joshua Kornitsky: All right. Um, so we’ll definitely revisit that before we say goodbye, but we have more questions to go. I understand that your family is in the music business.

Charlie Darrien: We are very musically inclined people. My son Dane. Um. That’s his. That’s his name. But that’s also the stage name that he’s choosing. So he’s been stepping in. We’ve been stepping in pretty big rooms since he was 14, actually. So American Idol when he was 14.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, wow.

Charlie Darrien: Flown us out. A Warner Records has flown us out to LA for a listening party. Last couple of weeks he’s been in the studio with Jermaine Dupri, which has been pretty exciting and pretty cool since I grew up listening.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s really cool.

Charlie Darrien: And loving Jermaine Dupri. So yeah, so we’re fingers crossed in thinking that he’s probably going to launch into the music industry in a pretty big way, and hopefully be one of the biggest stars to come out of Acworth, Georgia.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s a fantastic. We wish him nothing but success and luck there. Thank you. So turning back to Charlie’s Angels Movers where where it all began, right? What? As silly as it sounds, how does it work? How do you. How do people engage with you in order to understand what needs to happen? Because you said you wanted to kind of fix a broken industry. What are you doing to help?

Charlie Darrien: Yeah. So it starts at the intake or the phone call. Right. We’re very. We’re consultants. So we’re you’re moving guide were you’re moving consultant were your friend and your partner in this move. It’s a very people don’t always have an understanding that at the level of stress that moving is, it’s one of the top five stressful events in like people’s lives up there with divorce, um, death of a loved one. Like, people are literally categorizing, uh, planning a move with just high, high stress levels. So, so the idea is going back to our tagline. We’re here to make your move a heavenly experience, right? Like, we want to take all of that stress off of you, eliminate all of that stress. Talk you through everything, kid gloves. Hold your hand. Be everything that you need from a consultant every step of the way. Packing, loading, unloading, unpacking. Local, national. Take you anywhere you want to go. What I’ve been marketing a lot more towards is we’ll come and pick you up. If you’re if you live away from Georgia and move you here.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, wow.

Charlie Darrien: Because doesn’t it make a lot more sense that if there’s any issues that arise that you’re dealing with a company that’s now local to help you manage through anything that comes next?

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. And that’s above and beyond what anybody else is offering. I have to believe. And that really is changing the industry.

Charlie Darrien: And that’s picked up a lot, actually. We’re flying out to go grab and pick people up and move them back to Georgia alive.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s awesome. What’s the farthest you’ve done so far?

Charlie Darrien: California.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. So Jackson Hole about the extreme limit? Yeah, yeah. At least as far as the moving vans going to go to until we get to Charlie’s Angels Airlines. Um, so the other thing I remember you telling me about was, um, also giving back to Acworth, uh, a cultural arts venue.

Charlie Darrien: Yeah.

Joshua Kornitsky: Am I getting that right?

Charlie Darrien: Yeah. So, Acworth Cultural Arts, I jumped on the board. It was invited to a meeting, uh, the top of 2020 for Acworth Cultural Arts and jumped on the board a couple of months later because I understood the mission. And the plan was to bring the performing arts in a theater, essentially, to Acworth, which I love that mission. I’m a little bit jealous that Kennesaw has this great, big, fabulous amphitheater, right? Our beautiful sister city over there, and we don’t have one. So I thought, hmm, let me how can I get involved in this? Um, so just jumped on the board, started learning and educating myself, you know, just what the process is going to be. And then I became the 2025 chair, um, for Aquacultural Arts. You know.

Joshua Kornitsky: You don’t really go in halfway, do.

Charlie Darrien: You? I usually do things at 100. Yeah, yeah. Uh, and so it’s been really good just working with the city. We already have a small theater at the Roberts School, um, which was the first black school in Ackworth. So it’s a historic building. The city of Ackworth has partnered with us and said, hey, we’ll give you one room in that building. So we have our small little 75 seat theater that we’re really proud of. So now the objective is just to put on, you know, different arts. We have a improv comedy show coming up on April the 28th that’s actually going to be at Rico’s Mexican Restaurant, if you know that now.

Joshua Kornitsky: I love it.

Charlie Darrien: So, uh, they’re closed on Mondays, but SLA was good enough to open it up for me and say, hey, I love this idea. Like, let’s get it going.

Joshua Kornitsky: So it’s the only real mole in town.

Charlie Darrien: Yeah, yeah. That’s right. We we love her too. Um, but yeah. So we just want to bring, you know, back live, live theater and performing arts to, to the city.

Joshua Kornitsky: So is that in, well in motion? Is there more we can do to help?

Charlie Darrien: Oh well in motion. So this this city has really done a phenomenal job with, first of all, giving us the building. And they’re going to be responsible for a huge part of the things that have to happen from coding and sprinkler system and different things. So they’re really they just jumped right on. And and you know, we’re packaging it up. And as long as we execute at the level that we committed to, I think the city’s going to be really pleased. And we’re all working really hard.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic. And again, whatever we can do to help on that, we’d be thrilled to bring that to to Acworth. Uh, I lived in Acworth. I live in Kennesaw, so I get to bounce between both.

Charlie Darrien: Good.

Joshua Kornitsky: It’s fantastic.

Charlie Darrien: I’ll be taking you up on that.

Joshua Kornitsky: You got.

Charlie Darrien: It. Promo.

Joshua Kornitsky: There you go. For our theme. We’ll be happy to do it. Thank you. So the the the last thing that I do want to ask about because it’s kind of been our, our, our underlying subject of the day is, is to talk a little bit about culture and about people and your spread. I don’t want to say thinly, I’ll just say you’re spread across multiple domains. Yeah. And in doing so, that’s that’s got to really test your people skills. So and so when when you’re engaging with folks, whether it’s customers or you’re engaging with employees in, in one of the businesses, you know, how do you deal with how do you set the expectations, how do you help them be the best they can be?

Charlie Darrien: Um, so probably training has been the biggest, most impactful thing, I think that I stepped into an industry where there wasn’t just a whole lot of training overall, like owners in this industry. They don’t really train employees. They just say, get out there and go move sort of thing. So I’ve been really big on training since inception. Um, my team of 25 men will meet at least once a month in my office to just get on one accord or, you know, tell me why. What I’ve done to make you mad recently or whatever we want to talk about. Let’s just talk about it now and openly and candidly so we can move past it and get back to work sort of thing. But I think, you know, from a culture standpoint, um, the expectation is great and the level is high. And anyone that’s ever worked on my team understands that it’s not your average moving company in that capacity. The expectations and the responsibilities are all taken very seriously by everybody across the board. So there’s nothing less than that. Essentially.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic. And speaking of high expectations with regards to the moving company, you’ve actually done something pretty incredible. You were talking to me about the employees taking ownership.

Charlie Darrien: Yes. So in the interest of I do have a few other things going on now. Right? I’m going moving in a few different directions from a scaling and elevating standpoint. But heaven on Earth event venues is my next passion project that’s about to launch this summer. So just a venue and an event space for local people, but in in order to work on these other objectives, had to pull away from the moving company somewhat. So yes, I have a phenomenal team that’s doing the majority of running the day to day. But also, how can I give back to my field team, which are the actual movers that have been on my team for eight years? Seven years?

Joshua Kornitsky: Wow. That’s incredible tenure for for a role.

Charlie Darrien: It really is. It’s just not tenure that you see in this industry. So I’m I’m really proud of that. We’re all really proud of that. Um, you know, it was said here that it really is about making keeping your people happy. And when you do that, they tend to show up and want to work for you. But I’m giving them ownership. So I’ve decided it’s probably time for me to sell in some capacity so I can sell. I’ve had a couple buyers come along, um, and then decided it would if I can get my team trained and get them really in the mentality of being owners, I’m going to give them ownership. So partnering and selling to my team first is the objective. So we’re going to see how that all pans out at the end of 2025.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s pretty incredible and pretty rare. I deal with entrepreneurs every day and I just don’t come across that too terribly often. Yeah. So that’s really that’s really something. Thank you. So what are you working on? What’s coming up as far as events or projects you had mentioned? Um, smoke on the Lake.

Charlie Darrien: Yeah. So I’m a Rotary Club member. So, uh, philanthropic work and kind of giving back to my community is really where my heart’s at in all things. But I’m working on at the Ackworth Community Garden. If you don’t know that we have a garden, then come out and volunteer there. Um, rotary Smoke on the Lake is coming up May 8th, um, weekend. So come to Ackworth and taste all the best barbecue locally by everybody that’s making it there. So I’ll be, uh, hanging out and doing some volunteer positions there. Um, my venue, Heaven on Earth event venues, launches this June, so you’ll be probably seeing some bits of marketing around the local circuit with that.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s great. And what’s what’s the focus for Heaven on Earth venue?

Charlie Darrien: So photographers so so far we’ve done a soft launch. Photographers want to come and shoot there, but really just a full event space. So it could be a dance. A dance recital could happen out on the on the green, but just really, really anything small, small capacity weddings, different things.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. And we’ll obviously have that information on our website. But if people want to find out more, as we’re probably in the in the thick of the wedding planning season, where where would people find out about that?

Charlie Darrien: Heaven on Earth event venues.com.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s pretty direct. All right. So I always do like to close with something a little different. And you and I had talked about sort of, uh, mental spaces. Right. So what was a good piece of advice around mindset and mental spaces that you’ve received in your life?

Charlie Darrien: Um, so many some of my favorites. I used to have a little post-it hanging on my door and my, my, in my 20s and my early 20s, and I carried that same post-it into my 30s when I would move. Um, you become like the five people you hang around the most.

Joshua Kornitsky: I love that.

Charlie Darrien: That was important because I, I hung around a lot of people. I, I run the gamut with the company. I think that I would or the acquaintances that I would have. So I just had to remind myself sometimes that some people are arm’s length and you keep them over here. You love them the same, but you don’t. You’re not sharing your day to day with them, so you become like the five people you hang around the most.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic piece of guidance. I wrote it down myself and I’ll be sharing that with my daughters, so thank you, I appreciate it.

Charlie Darrien: You’re welcome.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, Charlie Darrien, CEO of Charlie’s Angels Movers, Charlie’s Angels mover charity trucks, excuse me, charity truck, Charlie’s angels, chariots, used car sales. And the heaven on earth. Heaven. I was looking for it on my notes to make sure I didn’t get it. Heaven on Earth events venue.

Charlie Darrien: That’s right.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you for being here with us today. We’ll have all of your contact information, but just on on our site. But just what’s the fastest, easiest way for people to get Ahold of you directly if they want to move.

Charlie Darrien: If they want to move. Charlie’s Angels movers or (678) 523-5353 is our primary number that you’ll see kind of everywhere.

Joshua Kornitsky: Fantastic. Well, thank you again for coming in, all of you. Uh, John Daniels, Georgia liaison for, uh, Medicare and life insurance. Craig Reidy, owner, along with his brother of Tom Kris and Sons Plumbing. And Charlie Darrien, CEO of the Charlie’s Angels Movers enterprise. Thank you. And, um, this has been Joshua Kornitsky. I’m a professional iOS implementer. I’m also the host of Cherokee Business Radio. I so appreciate everybody’s time. We look forward to seeing you all again as your projects continue. Thank you.

Charlie Darrien: Thanks, Josh.

John Daniels: Thank you.

Craig Reidy : Thank you.

Baking Up Business Success: How Personal Touches Can Elevate Your Brand

April 15, 2025 by angishields

Women in Motion

Baking Up Business Success: How Personal Touches Can Elevate Your Brand

00:00 /

In this episode of Women in Motion, Lee Kantor talks with Daphne Subar, the founder and CEO of Subarzsweets. Daphne shares her inspiring journey from a 26-year legal career to launching Subarzsweets, driven by her passion for baking. Initially a bakery, Subarzsweets evolved into a gift-giving business, emphasizing personalization through handwritten notes and beautiful packaging. Daphne discusses effective gifting strategies for small businesses and highlights the support she received from the WBEC-West community. Her story underscores the importance of meaningful connections and personalized gestures in today’s impersonal world.

Daphne Subar is the founder and CEO of Subarzsweets, LLC, a unique online bakery and gifting service.

In 2016, after 26 years of practicing law, Daphne decided to follow her passion for baking, launching a business that combines creativity, community, and entrepreneurship. Subarzsweets began with a single flavor and package size and has since grown to offer over 20 varieties in multiple sizes. The business now includes a popular membership program, allowing clients to enjoy regular deliveries.

Under Daphne’s leadership, Subarzsweets has become a favored choice for corporate and personal gifts, shipping nationwide to all 50 states. Subarzsweets makes gifting intentional and meaningful again and all gifts are accompanied by a handwritten note. Daphne is committed to giving back; she partners with various organizations throughout the year to donate a portion of sales to community causes.

During the pandemic, she quickly adapted her business to support local restaurant and salon workers by offering temporary employment for local deliveries. Daphne and her husband live in Studio City, California, where they raised their three daughters.

Outside of her business, she enjoys reading, exercising, traveling, and participating in three book clubs. Daphne is a lifelong learner and has shared her journey on numerous podcasts.

Connect with Daphne on LinkedIn and follow Subarzsweets on Facebook and Instagram.

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 Daphne Subar, and she is the founder and CEO with Subarzsweets. Welcome.

Daphne Subar: Thank you. I’m excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your company. How are you serving folks?

Daphne Subar: So, I launched Subarzsweets almost nine years ago, and it started as a bakery because I had a baked good that I had been baking for years. Prior to launching the company, I was actually an attorney practicing law for about 26 years. And during that time, I had my three daughters, and I was raising them, and I loved to bake different treats for them, and people had suggested that maybe I should start a bakery one day. And I always came up with excuses.

And then about nine years ago, one of my daughters said to me, “You keep coming up with these excuses, but you always tell us to follow your passion, and you love baking. Why aren’t you following your passion?” And that’s really kind of how Subarzsweets was launched. And as I said, it was originally a bakery because I had created a unique baked good to share with the world.

It was about a year or two after I was in business that I looked back and realized that Subarzsweets, most people were placing orders and sending our items as gifts. They’re beautifully packaged, they ship easily anywhere in the country, and they’re always accompanied by a handwritten note. And when I looked back at it, I realized it’s really much more than a bakery. It’s really become a gift-giving business and a gift-giving service. And that’s really kind of where it exploded and took off. And that’s really where our growth has been for the last several years.

Lee Kantor: So, what was this unique baked good you were selling at the start?

Daphne Subar: So, the baked good has stayed the same. So, it’s basically something we created. It’s a combination of a biscotti, a mandel bread and a cookie. It looks like a biscotti. It’s crunchy but not quite as hard as biscotti. And it’s a little bit sweeter. So, we started with one product. It was a traditional chocolate chip bars that was based on a chocolate chip mandel bread recipe that I had developed for years and changed other recipes that were out there to accommodate my children’s food allergies. Then, once we launched, we decided that product was so popular, we kept the same product, the same Subarz, but we just had a lot of fun with flavors. So, now, we have over 21 flavors. It ranges from the traditional chocolate chip, to a lavender, to a matcha to a chocolate peppermint. And then, we also have a gluten-free line that has about eight different products. But they’re all the same Subarz, just had a lot of fun with the flavors.

Lee Kantor: Is the shape the same?

Daphne Subar: Everything’s the same, which actually worked out well because once we created them, we came up with these beautiful pink branded boxes. So, we can basically use the same box and just substitute in the different flavors.

Lee Kantor: And then, when you decided to kind of lean into the gift giving, that doesn’t sound like that dramatic of a shift, because you were already, I guess, instinctively making it look beautiful. Like that was… so, it just kind of you just did more of that and just maybe started talking to different types of customers.

Daphne Subar: Exactly. It’s really more the latter. I didn’t change. What I did is I looked at who was buying my product and why. And when I realized it was mostly probably 95% were gifts, they shipped very easily nationwide, and they would require no refrigeration. So, I didn’t really change much on the backend. What I changed was who we marketed to and how we promoted our product and our service.

Lee Kantor: So, at the start, how did you kind of just decide to make it super nice? Like, that was just your brand? Like that was your instincts initially where, “Look, we’re going to do this, and we’re going to just kind of jazz hands this up, so everybody who gets, it’ll be super special”?

Daphne Subar: Basically, yeah. And honestly, a lot of it was luck. Like I found a box that fit the product I had created. The box happened to be beautiful. It happened to be pink, which is the color I wanted the brand, and that was the color of our logo. And it kind of took off from there. In the beginning, when we were very small, I would handwrite notes for people if they were sending a gift to give it a personal touch. I didn’t realize until later that was a big selling point for my business, and we’ve kept the handwritten notes even as we’ve expanded. So, we started small and simple, and didn’t realize that some of those very personal touches were really what was going to make us unique and make us stand out among our competitors.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you were getting larger and larger, were you tempted to maybe cut back on some of that personalization just because of the scale of doing it that many times and still being personal, or was this something you’re like, “No, this is part of our brand. Now we have to do this”?

Daphne Subar: Well, it’s funny because people have asked me so many times about why we still handwrite our notes versus buying one of those fancy programs that will look almost like it’s handwritten, unless you kind of know. And we have really stuck with that. We still have our products hand packed. Each one is individually placed within a doily, so, it has this very old-fashioned look. And we have kept the handwritten notes. We have not changed any of that. Although every couple of years, someone in like a business meeting or something with fellow business owners will suggest that we get rid of some of those personal touches, but I think it’s really what has made our brand unique. So, we’re not changing any of that.

Lee Kantor: No, I think that’s super important to have that kind of that true north, and this is our brand, this is how we do things, and we’re not going to kind of skimp here, even though maybe the accountant says, “You know how much money you could save by skimping here.” It just you you’re giving up too much of the personality and the why behind what you’re doing.

Daphne Subar: Exactly, exactly. And I have to say, especially post-pandemic, the world has become much more impersonal. So many things, even this recording. I mean, ten years ago, we probably would have met in person to record this, where, now, doing it over Zoom. Meetings are held over Zoom. So many things have moved in an impersonal direction. And sending our treats to someone with a handwritten note, beautifully packaged, tied up in a ribbon, delivered to their door, that’s a way to reconnect with people and kind of make that relationship a little bit more personal. So, it’s more important now than ever. So, yeah, we are definitely keeping that and not planning on changing any of that just because everyone needs this personal touch, and there’s not a lot of ways to send very personal and meaningful gifts anymore.

Lee Kantor: And is that kind of the conversations you’re having with the buyers of these gifts that that’s what they’re getting when they’re getting the Subarzsweets from you is they’re getting that level of personalization? And I would imagine clients are hungry for that as well, that they also want to be the ones that are giving personal attention to the people important to them.

Daphne Subar: Exactly, exactly. That comes up quite a bit in our discussions. And as I mentioned earlier, I was a lawyer for 26 years before launching Subarzsweets. As a lawyer, I got a fair share of gifts from clients and other attorneys, and they would always come, not always, most of the gifts would come between December 25th and December… I mean December 15th and December 25th. And many of those gifts, while they were well intentioned, were just not appreciated. It was the same foil-wrapped pairs or box of chocolate I would get from several people. You’d get so many gifts during that short period of time that even though people meant well, it just didn’t convey… that message, wasn’t really conveyed. And sadly, a lot of them were wasted.

And we really want to change that with our gifting. We work with our clients directly. We come up with a gifting plan. We’ve learned that, really, if you want your gift to stand out for the intention that you have behind it, have that appear to the recipient, you don’t necessarily need to gift on December 15th. Gift in the spring, gift for a birthday, gift for a closing of a contract or closing of a deal, there’s so many other ways to gift and show the recipient that, really, there’s meaning behind this gift. It’s not just an obligatory holiday gift. This is a gift that someone intentionally wanted to send to you for a personal reason.

So yes, we talk to our clients on that. We look at their businesses, we figure out what’s the best way for them to gift, and we basically come up with a gifting plan. And then, what we do is because everyone’s busy and people don’t have a gifting coordinator or a director of gifting, we’ll come up with a plan, let’s say, for the year where we will make sure that every week, whoever has birthdays that week in your company will get a gift with a personalized note that you send, you tell us what to do, or something like that. Or once a month, we’ll send to individuals who happen to be working on this project. We come up with a very personalized program, and that’s really been very successful.

Lee Kantor: Now, any tips for kind of maybe the smaller firms that can’t afford a gifting coordinator on their team, but like what-

Daphne Subar: Right.

Lee Kantor: What would be some of kind of the do’s and don’ts? If you had a small business, and you were just wanting to share appreciation with your team and your clients, what’s kind of a simple gifting strategy for folks?

Daphne Subar: I think a simple gifting strategy is actually to keep it simple, make it sincere, make it intentional, and make it personal. So, if you know that your clients love to celebrate certain things, either family occasions, certain holidays, any of that, try to do the gifting around that. If you know that your clients are gluten-free or have dietary restrictions, send them something that works for that. And if you know if your clients already have all the swag in the world that they really need – the mugs, the pens, that – don’t send them more of that. Send them something that they can really enjoy. And when they’re done with it, they’ll always have the note to remember you by. But I think the key is to know your clients and to keep it simple and meaningful.

Lee Kantor: And consistent.

Daphne Subar: Consistent. Consistent is key. You know, people want to be appreciated, especially in this impersonal world. Nothing is better than getting an unexpected gift and an unexpected handwritten note at your door once or twice during the year, or once or twice during a certain cycle. So, yeah, consistency and really just letting people know you appreciate them and that you’re grateful for what they’re doing.

Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you and your firm to become part of the WBEC West community? What did you hope to get out of it and what have you gotten out of it?

Daphne Subar: I was really excited to be part of the WBEC West community. I was actually encouraged by some other business owners to apply. I didn’t know a lot about it when I launched my business initially. Actually, I didn’t know a lot about running a business initially. I kind of learned a lot. So, once I learned about it, and I applied, and I became certified, it’s been an amazing community. The education they provide is outstanding, as well as meeting the other business owners and the ability to collaborate with them. I think that’s been great. Everyone I’ve met that’s part of the community is willing to help others to make suggestions. They’re just very, very supportive. So, it’s really been a lovely community, and I highly recommend it to anyone who qualifies.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a story you can share about maybe one of your clients that you were able to help with a gifting strategy, or a way that they leveraged your expertise and products to make a difference to their community? You don’t have to name the name of the company, but maybe just explain what their challenge was and how you helped them with it.

Daphne Subar: Right. And there’s been several. So, let me think. I think one would be with a real estate client. And for real estate clients, really, a lot of it is they want their prior clients to keep them top of mind. And I know that I get various magazines and things in the mail, a lot from real estate companies or individual realtors. And honestly, I kind of walk them to the recycling bin. So, one real estate company that we’ve worked with, we implemented a gifting plan where on the year anniversary of when they either purchased or sold a house, they send a handwritten note with a small box of Subarz to that individual just saying, “Happy House anniversary,” or “We really enjoyed working with you a year ago, two years ago, three years ago.” I mean, we do this year after year after year. And that’s really helped them reconnect with their clients and keep them top of mind much more than the glossy magazine that shows up. That probably costs more than a box of Subarzs, honestly. And the recipients have really, really enjoyed the handwritten note and hearing from someone that they had worked with in the past on a fairly large transaction.

Lee Kantor: Now, if somebody wants to learn more, get a hold of the product, or have a conversation with you or the team about a gifting strategy for their firm, what is the website? What is the best way to connect?

Daphne Subar: So, the website is Subarzsweets.com. All the information about our products is on there. You can order individual ones. There’s also a link to our corporate gifting section on there. Alternatively, anyone can email me directly at Daphne@Subarzsweets.com.

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

Daphne Subar: Thank you, Lee. It’s been a pleasure to be here and share my story. I really appreciate it.

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

BRX Pro Tip: 3 Reasons Guests Love to Appear on BRX Shows

April 15, 2025 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: 3 Reasons Guests Love to Appear on BRX Shows

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BRX Pro Tip: 3 Reasons Guests Love to Appear on BRX Shows

Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, I think you’ve kind of whittled it down to three major reasons that guests really do love appearing on Business RadioX shows.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. This is – obviously, I interview a lot of people and I talk to a lot of our guests and a lot of guests like to come back and so it gives me the opportunity to ask them, why do they like coming back on our show so often? And these are some of the answers that I get most often.

Lee Kantor: Number one reason that I hear from our guests is that they really get a great interview that produces top-quality SEO-rich content. The content that was created during one of our interviews is very robust and useful for the client. They’re able to really share a lot of good information. Our ability to help them articulate their message is very appreciative and they really like to have all of that content, you know, that they can use in other places.

Lee Kantor: The second real reason is that they like it and this is something that’s evident pretty quickly. When we interview somebody and somebody Googles the name of that individual, it shows up near the top of the search engine ranking when someone else is searching for them or their company. Because we have such – our website is so highly trafficked. We have such a good domain authority and we’ve been doing it for so long. When a person is interviewed on our platform, that search result is usually front page, you know, first page, sometimes top two or three. I mean, I’ve seen it first, I’ve seen it five, the fifth, but it’s always near the top of a search when someone’s searching for that individual. And those people, the guests notice that, you know. The guests appreciated because they were Googling themselves and they say, “Oh, wow, that showed up here.”

Lee Kantor: That’s going to be good because when a prospect is looking for them, that piece of content is going to be there. That’s going to be third-party credibility for them. And I can’t tell you how many people have said, you know, I’ve gotten sales from people listening to the interview and then contacting me and buying whatever it is that they sell, whether it’s consulting, whether it’s a service or whatever. So that is really important for our guests to show up high in their rankings to get this quality piece of content to show up so high.

Lee Kantor: And then, last thing is that quality piece of content, that quality piece of content. We give it to them in audio form. A lot of us, I know we do in our studio, give it to them transcribed so they have the digital text so they can repurpose that on lots of different places. They can take chunks of it. Put it on a blog. They could take a chunk of it. Build an article around it. They can put it in their newsletter, their website. They can share it on social media. They can use the audio as a soundtrack for video. The content is so reproducible. It’s just amazing. And then, with a little creativity, the marketing team of the guest can really take one piece of content and stretch that out to create, you know, five, 10, 20 pieces of other content that they could be sprinkling out there throughout the year.

Lee Kantor: So, those are the three big reasons why guests love coming on Business RadioX shows.