Business RadioX ®

Kristel Bauer With Live Greatly

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Kristel Bauer With Live Greatly
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Kristel Bauer is a corporate wellness expert and the host of the Top 1% self-improvement podcast Live Greatly. Her expertise stems from many years practicing clinically in healthcare as an Integrative Medicine Fellow & Physician Assistant with experience in Integrative Psychiatry and then transitioning to a successful entrepreneur.

As a keynote speaker and through her podcast, Kristel teaches strategies to support company profitability while promoting vibrant company cultures while also gaining insights from the top minds in wellness, mindset and overall success.

Connect with Kristel on LinkedIn and follow Live Greatly on Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Strategies to thrive as an individual; specifically, maintaining a healthy mind and body by prioritizing oneself
  • Key insights for managing remote and flexible teams so that they can create the conditions for success

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Crystal Bower and she is with Live Greatly. She is the author of a new book, Work Life Tango Finding Happiness, Harmony and Peak Performance wherever you Work. Welcome!

Kristel Bauer: Thank you so much for having me. Super excited to be here with you, Lee.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Live Greatly. How you serving folks?

Kristel Bauer: So live greatly is my mission, my purpose to try and help people wake up, get off autopilot, and start being intentional with how they’re living their lives. Really trying to help people live on purpose, live with intention, and really the goal of living greatly, right? So I used to be in health care, and I transitioned over to the speaking and media business back in 2020, and I absolutely love it. So definitely a huge part of my personal mission.

Lee Kantor: Well, tell us a little bit about your backstory, how you made the transition from working, I guess, for other people and now kind of building this media empire that you’ve started?

Kristel Bauer: Sure. So I was trained in healthcare, as I said, working as a physician assistant. So I got my master’s, worked in different areas of medicine. And the last position that that I had was actually in an integrative psychiatry practice. So I was working with individuals who were going through different mental health struggles, going through burnout, stress related conditions, and along the same time, I furthered my education. I became an integrative medicine fellow. So what that is, it’s a program a lot of physicians do to get certified in integrative medicine. And I did that because I really wanted to broaden my horizons about like, what does it really take for people to live happy, healthy, successful lives? And I wanted to look at that from all angles. So from my personal experiences, my training, the experiences I had working with these individuals, I wanted to take it to a wider scale. I wanted to start to share it with larger groups, and that’s really what got me inspired to start live greatly. And then now at this point, you know, writing my first book, Work-Life tango.

Lee Kantor: Now, what was the reason to get into the corporate wellness side of this, rather than just go to individuals individually?

Kristel Bauer: So individuals individually, that’s really what I had been doing right? In healthcare. I was working one on one with people in the office, and I wanted to be able to reach a wider audience. I really wanted to try and help people help themselves, right? Inspire people to make the positive changes that they needed in their lives. And I had seen a lot of things throughout practice, as far as, you know, what’s not working so well for a lot of people and what is working. So I really was excited and inspired to share that and to share it on this broader stage to reach more people.

Lee Kantor: But when you go into the world of corporate wellness, the business has maybe different outcomes they desire than maybe the individual has individually. How do you kind of marry that?

Kristel Bauer: You know, I am a firm believer that it all starts with you. So whatever it is you’re looking to achieve, if you have your goals for your career, your your professional goals, your personal goals, you know, whatever it is, if you’re looking to take your career to the next level, if you’re looking to improve your relationships in your personal life, whatever it may be, I think we all really need to take a close look in the mirror. A loving, compassionate look in the mirror. But we have to take the blinders off and we have to really put in the work with ourselves then to be able to show up how we want to show up in the world and how we want to show up at work, how we want to show up in our personal lives. So I think a big thing that I like to talk about is how we are showing up and our perspective around these things. I talk a lot about having a growth mindset. So I think when you work on yourself, then you’re able to show up at work and perform your best. Then you’re able to handle the ups and the downs and the in-betweens and be able to feel really good about your responses because you’re less reactive, you’re more intentional. So it really is all about this kind of, I guess, holistic approach to how you’re living your life.

Lee Kantor: And then when you’re talking to if you’re or do you go to corporations and say, hey, let me speak to your corporation or let me do some sort of workshops or plans to help you get the most out of your employees. Is that part of your portfolio or is it, uh, well, let’s start there.

Kristel Bauer: Yeah, I do a lot of speaking, so I’m hired. I’m represented by a handful of speaking bureaus, but I am a managed speaker with Executive Speakers Bureau, so I do a lot of keynote speaking. I’m brought into different organizations, companies. It could be, you know, it could be a nonprofit, it could be whatever it is, where they’re looking to feel inspired. Perhaps they’re looking to motivate their employees around a change, or they’re looking to boost happiness and morale in the office. So there’s a lot of different angles where I can come in, but typically I’ll do some sort of a keynote talk and that’s virtual or in person. And then, um, you know, at times there could be more involved with that. But it really is the organization wanting to educate and inspire their team to be able to show up how they really want to show up, to feel excited about what they’re doing. I have a keynote that I give quite often called Find Your Imperfect Happy. I love that phrase because, uh, you know, perfection is not a reality in our work and in our lives. There are ups and downs and stressors, and happiness doesn’t have to be perfect either. So I’m really passionate about that topic of leaning into optimism, finding your imperfect happy, and working towards really where you really aspire to be.

Lee Kantor: Now, what are the kind of some of the symptoms or the challenges these companies are having, where you are the right fit to help inspire their troops?

Kristel Bauer: So, I mean, this could come across in a lot of different angles. I’m thinking just recently I gave a keynote last week for an organization that was going to be undergoing change. So there was there’s that level of unknown, right. You’re not sure what’s necessarily going to happen. There’s a little bit of unease that people can be feeling when it comes to change. That’s just human nature. So I pull from my training, my experience to help People get a higher perspective around this and to learn how to build resilience, while at the same time be able to navigate some of those tough emotions. And, um, you know, there’s there’s a lot of things I go into here, but one thing I love to talk about is this growth mindset, where setbacks and challenges, they’re bound to happen. But the key thing is what are we going to do with them? Like, how can we focus on the solution instead of getting stuck in the problem? So that’s just one example. Then there’s, you know, other organizations where they’re having their, you know, their yearly meeting. They’re looking to feel inspired and excited about whatever it is they’re looking to achieve. They’re looking for a boost. Right. How can they approach work in a more upbeat, optimistic way? And that’s really where I like to come in and get people excited that, you know what, wherever you are, little small changes can lead to a big impact.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you help around, um, maybe the way the different generations approach work and their, um, kind of relationships with their job and career.

Kristel Bauer: So the, you know, the book work life tango, it’s getting out of this old model of work life balance that I think a lot of us still think of. But in reality, the old school 9 to 5 job, it’s a thing of the past. So we are accessible at all hours with technology. There’s hybrid work, there’s remote work. So we have to be. And I’m using this word again, really intentional with the usage of our time. And that’s something that um, there’s different viewpoints on that, you know, where you should spend your time and especially in the workplace. I am a big fan of a work life harmony approach, where it’s really about trying to tune in with yourself, build self-awareness, and then live your life in alignment with the things that are really important to you. And this is getting away again from that old model of work life balance, where work is from 9 to 5 and then all the other stuff is before and after that. We have to take a new approach to how we are doing work, how we’re showing up in our lives. Because again, like they’re all bleeding in together, there’s blurred boundaries. It’s not as just cut and dry as it used to be.

Lee Kantor: So, um, how do you help the individual kind of create that type of harmony? Because I would imagine and I think some of this is generational, is that younger people, you know, when I’m not there, I’m not there and I’m not thinking about it, I’m not going to answer the phone. I’m not going to, you know, I’m not going to play. This is my time. And then maybe previous generations were like, look, things have to get done. I’m gonna make it happen kind of person. So whatever it takes, it takes. Um, how do you help somebody kind of manage the expectations of this new kind of work environment that everybody is thrust into.

Kristel Bauer: Yeah, I think we need to focus a lot on the outcome. So as far as what is the end goal and then how people are going about getting that end goal done, as long as it’s high quality. There can there should be a little bit more flexibility in our current lifestyle to allow that. So what I mean by that is if it’s possible, you know, some people might want to do a huge chunk of work really early in the morning. That’s when they feel super productive. That’s when they can get a lot done. And then maybe they want to take a little time midday to take a little time for themselves to, you know, go work out or to grab lunch with a friend or whatever it is. And then they get another big chunk of work done in the afternoon where someone else might have a little bit of a different schedule for how they like to work. So this world of hybrid work, remote work, it allows people to have that flexibility and that autonomy is really important to people. But at the same time you have to get the end result. So you have to show up, you have to perform, you have to bring it. And if that’s not happening, then you know that autonomy and that flexibility and it might go away. So I think that’s a really important thing. You have to take ownership over that regardless of what your work situation is.

Lee Kantor: So are you, um, how do you feel about this coming generation? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? You’re neutral about how, um, kind of the younger folks are handling this type of transition.

Kristel Bauer: I am all about leaning into optimism. I think one thing I talk a lot about in the book, Work Life tango, is self-awareness, and that’s an area where we all can benefit from improving our self-awareness in a compassionate, courageous way. So the first chapter of the book is called When You Think You’re Doing the tango, but you’re really doing the chicken dance, and I’m sure we can relate to this in one way or another. I’m thinking, for example, like you’ve ever been dancing at a wedding and you might think, okay, I’ve got the moves down, you feel like I’m looking great. And then you’ve seen a video of yourself from the videographer and you’re like, oh my gosh, what I was envisioning in my mind, it doesn’t quite match up with what I’m seeing on the screen here. So we all have those blinders on in certain areas. So I think for every individual, it’s our responsibility to get to know ourselves, to have a sense of curiosity and to get feedback, you know, to talk to the people that we trust to be curious and open to feedback so we can grow and so that we can learn. And I think if people do that, you know, we’re going to be in a in a really good place to grow together.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you have any advice for leaders, um, when it comes to managing the new workforce that we’re in? This, like you mentioned earlier, there’s remote, there’s in the office, there’s hybrid, there. There’s all kinds of ways that people are coming and going. That weren’t the case, you know, a generation ago. Any advice for that leader in order to manage kind of this more chaotic time?

Kristel Bauer: Yes. I have a whole chapter in the book about this. You have to get to know your employees and you have to make an effort. It really does take effort and intention to build connection. So having conversations where you open the floor for discussion, what what are your employees value? What’s important to them? What are their pain points? How can you help? So going into these, I guess, informal conversations with that sense of curiosity, not having your mind made up before you even get into the meeting. And when you do that, you have a sense of authenticity and it’s it’s very noticeable. People can tell when you’re genuinely interested in them what’s important to them. You know, how do they do their best work? How can you help? So I think we have to, you know. Yes. You need to have formal meetings. We need to have check ins about all these work related things. Super important. But you also need to make an effort to just have a conversation to get to know your employees. Because when you do that, you’re building trust. You’re opening the doors for communication, you’re opening the doors for feedback. And that’s really at the core of success in the corporate world and in our personal life as well. You know, communication is so important.

Lee Kantor: And.

Lee Kantor: Building that sense of community.

Kristel Bauer: 100%.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a story you can share? Maybe, um, a company came to you for help and you were able to speak there. You were able to make an impact and how you were able to get them to a new level.

Kristel Bauer: So one thing that I’m that’s coming to mind is more of just opening these doors of communication, right? For people feel like you care, like it’s safe to talk about areas where where there’s room for improvement, or perhaps there needs to be support in different areas. So I’d given a keynote to an organization, and we typically do a Q&A at the end, which opens the floor for people to have discussions or ask questions about things. And an individual was asking for help for strategies to navigate their mornings, and they had a lot going on within their family life that they felt like they couldn’t get a handle on their day, because by the time they had to clock in for work, they were just finishing navigating all of the other family stuff, and they’d started their day feeling overwhelmed, like feeling frazzled. And so I gave some suggestions. But what was really cool is this person’s boss was there, and they said to this individual, I had no idea you were having these struggles. I had no idea that this was an issue for you. Thank you so much for sharing that. Let’s set up a meeting because I want to talk about some options for you. You know, we do have the flexibility where you could start at a later hour. You know, maybe we can adjust your hours a little bit. And that was really cool because again, if you are able to open the door of communication, solutions can arise. But if we don’t bring up these things, how in the world are they going to, you know, get connected? How are we going to move forward? So I think it’s having the courage and confidence to articulate what you need in a respectful way.

Lee Kantor: Now in your career, you’ve gone from working with individuals to now corporate work and now writing a book or any of those challenges or transitions more difficult than the other. Um, what was that like to to make those kind of, you know, each one of those transitions for a lot of people would have been life, their life’s work. And you’ve done multiple things throughout your career. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Kristel Bauer: Sure. So I throughout all of these different transitions, I’ve really learned that you need to be your own biggest advocate out there. You need to believe in yourself. So whatever it is you’re doing, whatever your goals are, they have to mean something to you. They have to be important to you. Because if you’re trying to go after a goal that just it’s not something that really resonates with you, that you don’t feel super passionate about. When those bumps in the road come up, which they will, you might not have that inner motivation to push through it, right? So for me, I really felt connected to what I was doing. So that gave me the confidence and the courage to keep going. And even when you know you hear a no, even when something doesn’t go the way that you want, what I was doing is then saying to myself, okay, how can I approach this in a new way? So it’s constantly like focusing on that growth mindset and not feeling stuck like, oh my gosh, that didn’t work. I’m going to give up. All right well that’s feedback now what. Now what do I want to do next. So it’s keeping things exciting. It’s encouraging yourself along the way. I talk a lot about our inner voice and our relationship with ourself. So how can you develop a relationship with yourself where you are your own biggest advocate? Because we really need to do that in life. We need to be our coach in life. And that’s what I share a lot of different things about how to do that in the book.

Lee Kantor: Did you have a coach in real life, or was this something that you just learned on your own, maybe through books or, you know, podcasts or videos, or did you have somebody that helped you kind of get these key foundational learnings that helped you get to new levels?

Kristel Bauer: I did a lot of personal development, professional development throughout my life. Right. And I have that official training in healthcare as a PA. And then I got my fellowship in integrative medicine, working in integrative psychiatry. So I’ve seen a lot, I’ve learned a lot, and I really wanted to try and see what are the key things for people to be happy and successful, right? So I’ve made this, uh, a key part of what I look into, what I’m interested in, the research that I do. So I don’t have a coach that’s helping me. I I’m my, I guess, my coach on this journey where. But I’m looking for resources and outlets all the time as far as looking to feel inspired by different things. I have a great network, community, family, friends that support me, um, wonderful people and colleagues that in the past who are supportive of my work. So I definitely have people in my life that have helped me along the way 100%. But I think, as I said in this, uh, dance of work and life, we really do need to be our own biggest advocates. And while getting support from others super important, we also need to make sure we’re showing up for ourselves.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more about your speaking, your book or your podcast or anything else you’re up to, is there a website? What’s the best way to connect?

Kristel Bauer: Yeah. So the book is available Barnes and Noble, Amazon, work life, tango, finding happiness. Harmony, peak performance wherever you work. My website is live greatly.co so people can check out some of my speaking clips. Learn about my keynote topics, connect with me there. I’m on LinkedIn and Instagram. I post there quite a bit and then my podcast is called Live Greatly so they can find me in all those places.

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

Kristel Bauer: Thank you so much, Leigh. I really appreciate.

Lee Kantor: It. All right.

Lee Kantor: This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Ramzi Daklouche With VR Business Sales Atlanta

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VR-Business-Sales-logo
Atlanta Business Radio
Ramzi Daklouche With VR Business Sales Atlanta
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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.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Business sales and why business owners are transitioning
  • Business valuations and using the right broker
  • Preparing your business for sale
  • What happens after you list
  • Marketing your business
  • Final stage “the turn over”

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Ramzi Daklouche with VR Business Sales Atlanta, welcome.

Ramzi Daklouche: Thank you very much, Lee. I appreciate the invite and I appreciate being on your show.

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

Ramzi Daklouche: Absolutely. Thank you. So we are you know, at our business Sales Atlanta. We’re brokerage firm dedicated to helping business owners and entrepreneurs achieve their goals, whether they’re looking to sell a business, explore new ventures, or get an expert valuation. We have over 20 years of hands on experience. Our team at Business Sales Atlanta provides full service support at every stage from valuation, strategic marketing, negotiating, negotiation and even closing. We are committed to transparency, which actually sets us apart. We offer clients a real time dashboard to track every step of the process. We work with a diverse client base, both locally and globally, delivering trusted, expert guidance with a personal touch to make every transaction smooth and secure.

Lee Kantor: So what percentage of your business is helping someone sell a business, and what percent is helping someone buy a business?

Ramzi Daklouche: Oh, I think on this. Well, every I think the question is how many times we help buyers versus sellers?

Lee Kantor: Well, just I’m just trying to get an idea of in your business on a daily or weekly basis, are you helping more people buy businesses or are you helping more people sell businesses?

Ramzi Daklouche: No, I’m helping more people sell businesses. I think it’s about 80, 20, 80% are selling businesses, 20% are looking to buy a business. You know, with an idea in mind of what they’re looking for.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody comes to you to sell their business, what does that conversation look like? I would imagine most entrepreneurs think their business is worth more than what it is in on the market.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, you’ll be right. I mean, it’s interesting because we get both the my favorite ones are where they really don’t know the value of their business and they think it’s a lot lower. And I’ve had that lately where they end up in a hug, actually, because they believe that their business is worth X amount, ends up being X plus amount and ends up selling. And I have very good examples of that. But yeah, a lot of businesses especially been around for a long time in the service industry. They tend to think their business is worth a lot more than it is right now. And this is where I really believe in valuations early on in the business, regardless if you’re ready to sell or not, is to get a valuation on your business and understand where your business sits right now. So then you can decide if you want to grow it or sell it.

Lee Kantor: So what are some of the components of a valuation? Is it just strictly how much money are you making or are there other factors.

Ramzi Daklouche: Oh no no there’s a lot more factors. And we take somebody who understands valuations to kind of do this business valuation. And we can also do certified valuation. But in a nutshell, we take uh, you know, what revenues they make, plus net profit and then add back anything that the that the owner uses. For example, if they have personal car, if they have depreciation, if they have interest amortization, all this gets add back some one time, uh, you know, uh purchases they made may be added back. Uh, you know, so cash flow uh, is what we, what we call or and we look at and then we and that’s the add back from everything. So net profit by itself is not really a good indicator of what the business value is. There’s a lot more to it than that.

Lee Kantor: Now how do you work with companies that may be most of their business is online. So they may not have real estate per se, or they may not have a lot of tangible assets, but they have maybe a website that’s been around for a while and has a high page authority, or it has a lot of traffic or it, you know, it has some online value. How do you how do you factor that valuation in when you’re calculating the business’s value.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah that’s a great question. So assets actually include not just tangible assets intangible assets. Right. So we look at stuff like, you know traffic flow. We look at how many customers they served. We look at their reputation online. So there’s a lot more than just uh, nowadays assets are not just brick and mortar. And what you have in the back of the warehouse, there’s a lot more than that. And and that also all of it gets calculated in our, in our valuation and also the business track. Right. If it’s tracking up, tracking down or, or stagnant we that also goes into the valuation process.

Lee Kantor: Now how do you um how early is too early to have a conversation with somebody? Because I would imagine every business that starts, it has to end at some point, whether it’s through a sale or it just closes. So I would imagine you want to have conversations with business owners all throughout their life cycle, because you never know when it’s time to sell.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. And if you allow me, I’ll give you a personal, uh, story about that. Lee. So my wife and I started a business during Covid about four years ago, and then, uh, you know, from from my background, um, and it was she was running it from my background. I always looked at exit strategy. Anytime a business, I start a business, I look for an exit strategy. So we had an exit strategy of five years. We said, okay, if we build the business today from 0 in 5 years, we’re going to be. And then every year we measure where we are. So for us, we were doing valuations on a regular basis, but we knew we want to exit in five years. And valuation happens every year. And we before we do our strategy for the next year, we knew what the valuation is. For example, let’s say our valuation was $200,000, right. But we’re not there yet for the year. So what do we do? What are we doing to, you know, to get there or if we’re ahead, okay. Are we ahead of our schedule and because of that we sold in four and a half years very successfully. Um, so to answer your question straight, uh, never too late to have somebody that knows about valuation helping you as you build your strategy on a regular basis to know what the company is worth today, and if you want to make it $1 million company or $2 million company. Uh, and what is it going to take to get there? And then, you know, you have to have the right people around you to do this. Um, so and we help people, we do valuations free. So any listener out there wants to do valuation, you can reach out to us. We don’t charge anything for valuation. The only time we charge if it’s a certified valuation.

Lee Kantor: So what’s the difference between uh valuation for free and a certified valuation.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. The the the process of certified evaluation typically is not very for very small businesses, for bigger businesses, you know, lower middle market to middle market. And uh, and this really is a valuation that is, uh, looks to every part of the business. And also we certified so you can take it to the bank or, you know, get a loan against it. Or sometimes for mergers you need certified valuations. So it goes more in detail about every part of the business.

Lee Kantor: So is this similar to what a person would do. Like they go on Zillow to get an idea of what their house is worth, but then they get, um, a professional kind of valuation before it’s time to get the loan.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. This is actually a very good analogy of it. So and I’ll ask a question, if you ask ten people, hey, do you know the value of your business, your house, you’re probably going to get ten yeses because they probably have been on Zillow or, you know, Zillow sends them. Hey, by the way, the value of your house today is this, um, in business is not the same. If you ask ten people, maybe one of them may have a slight idea where the business value is, even though it’s a second, maybe for some first or largest investment they have. So yeah, it is like that. So if you think of Zillow as your first step and that’s what your your point of view, that will be just a, you know, a broker opinion of values. Very simple way to look at it. If you get appraiser, a professional appraiser to appraise your house and the bank approves it, that will be more certified valuation.

Lee Kantor: Now let’s talk a little bit about the the people you helped. You said 20% of the people you help are someone buying a business. Um, why would someone buy somebody’s business as opposed to either starting their own business or maybe buying a franchise or something along the lines like that? Why would they buy an independent business?

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, very good question. Because each one of them has a customer. I spent a lot of, you know, my life in the franchise business as well. If each one of them has a question, I think the toughest one usually is starting my own business. Unless, uh, you know, I know exactly what I’m going to do. I have a market for that already. Starting a business take time to build up, so you may start a start a little bit lower, you know, money wise investment wise, but it’ll take time to kind of get to where you want to be. A lot of people buy businesses because they know that there’s already a base to that, and they buy to kind of say, hey, I can, um, I can develop a couple of things. I can change the marketing. I can add, uh, a couple of chairs here, whatever it is, to kind of continue to grow the business. So they buy at least some kind of cash flow in the business and in hopes and if they have strategy, they build it to more. So that’s really the difference between buying new and buying, uh, you know, somebody’s business, right? The third one, which is franchising, is so you can buy system. You’re not really, uh, having to build a system from zero. You already have, uh, you know, uh, operating procedures, you have training, you have all these systems in place, and hopefully the franchise has a reputation. So people come to you because you are a b, C franchise and not just, uh, you know, independent business.

Lee Kantor: Now, what is it like when somebody, if they’re not using a professional or an expert like yourself? Like how do how do they even exit their business? Like what is their what are they thinking? Like, I don’t understand. Like to me, what you said rang true. Like, as soon as I started a business I’m thinking about. I have to have a way out of this business. So what does a typical person who’s running kind of a, you know, a small brick and mortar or, you know, a barber shop or a hardware store or just some local business or even, you know, a small ad agency or law firm or dentist. How what are they thinking when it’s the end of the road? Like how how do they typically exit?

Ramzi Daklouche: Well, you know what I think, uh, it’s a very good question, Lee, and one that puzzles me. Since I’ve been in this business, why do people not really reach out to business brokers? One is knowledge. Um, you know, we’re not we’re not a market as well as real estate agents do. So there’s real estate agents everywhere. We’re not really that big of a community, even though there’s a lot of businesses in the US, right? So that’s one of them. So they don’t know about us. The second thing is they believe they know best, which is fine. If you know best, then you’re you know, you have finance background and you can figure out what the value of the business is and go through the process of selling it. But more and more people that I talk to don’t know. Right. And they’re leery about using somebody because of course we are professionals, so we get paid for our service. Of course. Um, and they don’t want to do this, but the more they engage us or engage, you know, a broker and we are intermediaries. So we really work for the seller and the buyer. Um, they find out that if we give them a valuation work on the valuation, they’ll end up better off, uh, selling or have a better chance of selling the business than without us at all. So going by themselves, unless you’re going to sell to your cousin or family member or somebody you know, or a competitor? You’re really better off always using professional. Even if you sell it to a competitor, you’re better off using professional even just for the valuation, because not every conversation I have ends up with somebody signing a selling agreement. Right? I’d be more than happy to help people just because I want to help people. And then if they want to sign up with me, great. But if they don’t, at least they know the value of their business.

Lee Kantor: Now when they work with you, is it like a residential real estate, uh, relationship where you’re the person just gets paid a percentage of whatever the selling price is or is it with you? You have to just pay a flat fee. Like, like how does the financial of this work.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, uh, it really is like real estate. We are, um, you know, we get success fee based on on making sure the business sells. Um, so exactly like real estate.

Lee Kantor: So it’s the same. So there’s really not a lot of risk when they’re working with you. There’s only really upside, you know, because theoretically you’re going to be selling it for higher than I would get myself.

Ramzi Daklouche: Well, yeah, you hope so, right? I mean, that’s the intent. I mean, you know, when you’re working with, uh, a group like ours, you’re always going to get the best advice. I don’t, you know, I don’t celebrate just having listings in the books. I celebrate making sure we have a listing that’s salable. Right? And that we actually work and do the marketing that we need to to make sure we sell the listing. So to answer your question, yes, you get better value from us. Plus we deal with it from A to Z, so you don’t have to deal with the buyer on regular basis. You don’t have to deal with the number of tire kickers. You don’t have to deal with answering all the questions, and you don’t have to deal with the paperwork, because once the listing is listed and then you have a buyer and then the work really starts, right? You know, to finalize the due diligence between the buyer and the seller to get it through to closing. That takes time and takes a lot of effort. And our team, that’s what they specialize in.

Lee Kantor: So now if I’m ready to sell my business, you mentioned the first thing I have to do is get a valuation. So I have some number that is kind of close to reality of what we’re going to put it out to the market with, but are there other steps involved? Because I would imagine if I have employees, it’s not something that I’m, you know, shouting from the rafters.

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. So everything we do is confidential, even we go to a business. If a business owner wants to meet with us, we meet outside or we meet after hours. So to keep it very confidential, because a lot of sensitive stuff, when you talk about, um, employees, first, you don’t want them to leave, start looking for another job because, uh, you know, um, the business is going to sell. Uh, and, you know, it’s interesting, uh, one of the first questions I have, how am I going to protect my team now. Oh, I can’t wait to get rid of him. How am I going to protect my team? Which is, um, very noble. Of business. Small business owners are very, very thoughtful of their team. So very noble of them to do that. So, yeah. So once, once, uh, you know, first of all, I don’t sign any agreements selling agreements unless I have valuation. So we don’t we just don’t do that. It’s easy sometimes to say, all right, we’ll sell it for you. Here you go. Sign here. Let’s do valuation. Let’s do this. No. If you and I don’t agree on the price, we’re not going to sign an agreement. You may have to find somebody else that would agree with you, because I’m going to give you the honest truth about what the business is worth. And and going through the, you know, the steps of making sure I know what the business is worth. So that’s really the first step. Once you sign the agreement, then the actual work starts for us with how to list it, how to market it. You know what size to go to. Do we need to put on a site, or is it one of these sales that we just have to call a bigger competitor to buy you out? There’s so many, tactics and ways to sell a business that, you know, our team kind of gets involved in to make sure we finalize the sale.

Lee Kantor: So you’re the one who’s making the call. You’re the one who’s negotiating.

Ramzi Daklouche: I yeah, we negotiate to a point. We do not we don’t negotiate, uh, because, you know, usually the seller has a right to refuse or accept an offer. Right. So but we do make sure we give the business, put it, highlight the business to the best of our ability and to the best of the business, right, to make sure that the business shows up properly. So you you mentioned a couple of times real estate’s just like real estate. If you want to sell a business, get the business ready to sell. Right. So in business you have a lot of stuff you got to get ready. One of them is your paperwork, your finances, your bills, you know, contracts you have with vendors. All that stuff must be ready to share with the buyer at some point, right? Especially after they finish. Uh, especially when they are doing their due diligence. That’s the number one thing. Second, if it’s a brick and mortar business or even a warehouse, get it cleaned up, get it ready, right? Because if so, is better, it sells better. So not not different than a house. Um, and then make sure you don’t have any outstanding, uh, bills or outstanding liens on your business that will kind of, uh, scare away a buyer or actually breaks the sale because you cannot really sell your business because you have liens on it. So just like a house, you got to make sure, uh, everything is aligned to sell the business, get your business ready.

Lee Kantor: But something that is different than a house is you can’t put a for sale sign up in front of it, and you can’t, um, kind of you’re not going to be in the selling your house. You’re not calling people up directly and saying, hey, you know, you live around here, you want to buy this house. Like you’re doing some proactive things to sell the house and not just passive things.

Ramzi Daklouche: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I’m completely unlike a you know, you’re not going to tell somebody to come. You can’t put a, you know, a. Yeah, we use we use a technology to make sure market the business. So if you talk about marketing the business, you know, there are well known sites where you can list business depending on what it is. And, you know, for online businesses, there are some sites for brick and mortar and service businesses and other sites as well. So you got to make sure you market it properly for them. But also if that’s the only thing that the broker depends on, you may have to wait a little bit before a sale. There are other ways you could do it. We you know, since I started the firm and especially in the past three years, um, we’ve been really engaged with AI and making sure that we use the latest AI tools from finding, uh, buyers to how we list as well. So that really helped our business a lot, but also helped the sellers, uh, you know, spotlight their business the best way possible.

Lee Kantor: So what happens, um, at the end when there’s agreement of the price, like, are you is it like a closing? Is it similar? You know, where you’re in a room with lawyers and you’re signing papers and writing checks?

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah. Depending on the size of the business. Uh, you know, typically, if the business is small, let’s say less than, you know, three, $4 million, they don’t engage, you know, lawyers directly because the process is, uh, you know, similar to closing on a house. So there’s one lawyer. The transactional lawyer does not represent either one of them. Uh, that’s very familiar with how to write an asset purchase agreement and then finish finalizing the closing. And if there’s a, you know, owners financing or SBA loan financing, they’re, um, you know, very well versed on how to deal with that. So one lawyer can suffice and do both. Sometimes it’ll be more complicated where the buyer has their own lawyer or seller has their own lawyer. And then you have a lawyer that does still transactions. So it just depends on the on the complexity of the of the of the purchase.

Lee Kantor: So do you have a success story you can share? Don’t name the name of the business, but maybe explain how they came to you with their business and how you were able to help them get a a successful sale.

Ramzi Daklouche: Oh, sure. Yeah, there’s a few. I’ll take one from one that really, for me, success is not by how fast. Sometimes we sell it, because that’s not really as important for me as it is for the seller. But this one in particular, a person that had a lot of the business they’re in, just had some personal issues. They could not deal with the managing the business anymore. They want to work in the business, but they don’t want to manage it anymore. Uh, you know, she found me and, uh, she gave me what she would like to get for the business. And, uh, through the value that literally happened, just, you know, four weeks ago, Lee, when I met her first. And through the valuation, it was actually about 75% more than she expected from the valuation. And when I said earlier today, earlier to you said, you know, sometimes you get a hug and these are the good days. And she really gave me a hug. And she was, you know, crying that we can’t sell it this way. And then, you know, once I gave she signed and then, you know, listing we listed this really fast.

Ramzi Daklouche: Within 48 hours it was listed and in on different websites and different places and got three offers. Actually the the offer that she signed on was done yesterday. She signed the offer yesterday and it’s already in the lawyer’s hand. And I’m going to meet with the buyer at 3:00 for some due diligence in the location. And hopefully we close within three weeks. So there will be for me, that’s pretty fast for any business. Pretty fast businesses don’t close the way homes do. Our selling cycle is a little bit, uh, longer because some due diligence if there’s an SBA loan takes time as well. With this one, the buyer became a cash buyer, which makes it easy. And now she’s going to be able to go with her mom outside the country, uh, in, in, in January, which she didn’t expect to go. So for me, these are the reasons we do this. It’s not the size of the ticket. Because if you do, right, uh, business will come to you. So I really believe in that. And these are the good days, Lee.

Lee Kantor: So do you have a niche that you serve, or do you work with all kinds of businesses, like are you good with medical or you’re good with professional services or manufacturing brick and mortar, like, do you have a specialty or any business is a good business for you?

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, all of it is good business for you. But I’m going to ask you in two ways. One of them, I had an opportunity to work abroad for five years as a head strategist for big group. Big conglomerate. We had seven sectors, 84 companies, and my job was strategy for them. Part of it is exit strategy, merger, acquisition work. So I literally worked in every sector very heavily for five years. So that kind of, uh, got me involved in things that just never even minerals and, uh, and mine, I mean, you know, mines and, uh, and oil. Um, so when I, when I started this, I was very well versed in most, uh, you know, most fields. So I’m pretty comfortable in all of them. So they ask the question differently. Every business has a profit and loss statement. Every business sells based on net net worth, not, you know, net profit minus all the add backs that they have. Uh, so the valuation for us may be a little bit different from one thing to another. Uh, but at the end of the day, if you do your homework, you can get to the bottom line of valuation. And if you have a good marketing team, you can market it to the right group.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team. Is there a website? Is there the best way to connect?

Ramzi Daklouche: Yeah, yeah, they can connect through our website. We’d love to, you know, have them out over at our office. Our offices are in Dunwoody Sandy Springs area. So beautiful offices. Or they can reach us at, you know, Vrbas, Worldcom. We have a contact me. Um, we’re no pressure firm. Um, again, like I said, you do. Well, you get your business, you get your, uh. What? What’s coming to you? So, um. Yeah. Vr Bizworld VR Bizworld is our website.

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

Ramzi Daklouche: Thank you. Lee. Appreciate you. You’re doing a great job, by the way.

Lee Kantor: Thank you. All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Todd Davis With FranklinCovey

by

Todd-Davis
High Velocity Radio
Todd Davis With FranklinCovey
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Todd Davis is a senior leadership consultant, 7 Habits content expert, and thought leader at FranklinCovey, with over 35 years of experience in human resources, talent development and executive recruiting.

As the former Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President, he was responsible for the global talent development in over 40 offices reaching 160 countries.

Additionally, he authored and co-authored Wall Street Journal best-selling books including Get Better: 15 Proven Practices to Build Effective Relationships at Work and Everyone Deserves A Great Manager.

Connect with Todd on LinkedIn and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Assume the responsibility and focus on the things that can be influenced rather than what can’t
  • Define clear measures for success and create a plan to achieve them – in the next few hours, over the next few months, or over a lifetime
  • Prioritize and spend time achieving the most important goals
  • Approach each situation looking for ways everyone can win
  • Listen, understand, and honor others’ perspectives and have the courage to express thoughts and feelings respectfully
  • Leverage diverse perspectives to solve problems, innovate, and achieve more than any one individual alone
  • Increase energy, motivation, and vitality by making time for renewal activities

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Todd Davis with Franklin Covey. Welcome, Todd.

Todd Davis: Hey, Lee. Thanks for the invitation.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. For the folks who aren’t familiar, can you share a little bit about Franklin Covey? How are you serving folks?

Todd Davis: Thanks, Lee. Yes, Franklin Covey, for those who may not be familiar with Franklin Covey. Franklin Covey is a global organization that helps organizations, uh, achieve results when the achieving of those results requires a change in human behavior. We do that through leadership, and we have been in the leadership space for nearly four decades, in fact. And I say this with humility, but many tout us as the as the most trusted leadership organization in the world we were founded. Many people might be familiar with the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, written by Doctor Stephen Covey, one of the best selling business books of all time. And and that was one of our founders and our founding pieces of content. And then also Hyrum Smith with Time Quest and the and the time management concepts and the Franklin Day Planner that many people may be familiar with or remember their parents or their grandparents having, but that those were our beginnings. And like I say, we now we do leadership development at all levels of leadership and organizations and have done that for 40 years now.

Lee Kantor: What’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Todd Davis: I’ve been with the organization for nearly 29 years. I’m in my 29th year now, and for 18 of those years, until about two years ago, a year and a half ago, I was Franklin Covey, chief people officer, overseeing their human resources and some other operations of that. I like I said, I came to them 29 years ago. I had read the seven Habits of Highly Effective People and thought, I wonder if there’s an organization behind this because it is powerful. And so I came to work for them at that time.

Lee Kantor: So what are some of the symptoms of organizations that aren’t working with Franklin Covey, but maybe should be? Are there some symptoms and things that are happening within the organizations that are kind of breadcrumbs that, hey, maybe we ought to make a change here and invest in leadership?

Todd Davis: Yeah, it’s a great question. Well, what we are finding even more so now in this age of technology and AI, where we’re artificial intelligence, is replacing more and more of our roles. Recent survey that was done with 290 different organizations that are heavy users of AI, their top management rated the number one skills that are needed. And among those top three were interpersonal or emotional intelligence skills. Something that I can’t do or doesn’t do. And so this is where, um, the seven habits we have just re reimagined the seven habits, which again has been around for 35 years. But because it’s based on principles of effectiveness, it’s as relevant today as it was when Stephen Covey first wrote about them. And so we are finding more and more that the relationships at work, not just a nice to have, but the way people work together, really has a significant impact on the bottom line of the organization, the growth of the organization and how well top performing organizations do. And so. So the seven habits is what what I’m out doing. In fact, I was just down in Atlanta yesterday. Just got home last night leading a two day, seven habits workshop. So, um, these interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence can never be understated as far as how important that is to help organizations and teams achieve the growth they’re trying to achieve.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do organizations, um, manage the communication skills needed when your workforce is not all in the same place physically and you’re seeing kind of face to face, and you’re kind of seeing body language and maybe some nonverbal cues when a lot of folks today, you know, their whole world is on their phone, and that’s how they’re interacting with their teammates and their clients and the, you know, just humanity in general.

Todd Davis: Such an important question always. But now more than ever before, because as you as you state, we are most organizations are more remote than ever before. And we, you know, before or as the pandemic hit and opened up this whole different geography, we are now recruiting and hiring people from not just, you know, within our own nations, but all over the world. And so, while it’s always been important to your point, communication and the way we understand one another is more important than ever and more challenging than before. For those who are not familiar with the seven Habits of Highly Effective People, habit five is seek first to understand, then to be understood. It’s based on the principle of respect and empathy. And so while that sounds theoretical to your question, having that mindset and that principle at the core really helps us to do a better job of of when we’re talking, like you and I are today, you know, just in an audio version or on a zoom call or whatever, taking the time, slowing down and asking more questions. You know, tell me how things are going and tell me what you mean by that, because a lot of things, like you said, we can’t see anymore. Some of the physical signals that we get. And so we just need to bring more discussion to it. And we need to have more frequent conversations and check in more with people. I think there are huge. Well, I know there are huge benefits to the flexibility that remote work offers us all. But there’s also this isolation and this, quite frankly, loneliness. And so great leaders are aware of that and they are checking in on their teams more. They are they are, um, coming up with reasons not just to have meetings for meetings sake, but more engagement, more interaction. Realizing that for people to stay engaged, they need to be interacting even more so now than they were before with their team members.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you help people? Um, I want to phrase this right. How do you help them give people the benefit of the doubt and give them grace? Those qualities seem to be lacking in kind of the increased polarization in the world today, where people have picked sides and have teams, and then on their team and their side, they get information. And that information is saying one thing. The other side is no longer just a the other side, but they are kind of deemed as evil. They’re not it’s not, you know, my opinion. Your opinion. It’s it’s right or wrong. It’s good and evil. So how do you kind of help open people up to that grace and the empathy that, um, that habit number five espouses.

Todd Davis: Well, thanks for teeing that up because, well, all of the habits in some way address what you’re talking about. But it is habit five, this habit of empathy that we have to make a choice. How about one is to be proactive. And so the reason that’s habit one is because we’ve got we’ve got to make a decision. Wait a minute. Do we even see a problem. And if so, are we willing to take a first step. And so so recognizing that it’s up to us. And in this time, especially here in the in the US where there is such discord and seeing things so polar opposite, we’ve got to decide if we’re fine with that status quo or if we want to work with in what we call our circle of influence, and to work within our circle of influence versus our circle of concern. We do have to take time to understand the other person. So something that I find very helpful and I and I facilitate and coach others is simply moving our mindset from I bet to I wonder. So simple and yet so difficult to do. I bet she’s acting this way because she believes that. Bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla. First verses I wonder why she sees it that way. I’m going to ask. And so instead of judging, instead of assuming, ask. And when you ask, don’t ask and then listen with the intent to reply. I mean, how many of us, how many of you are listening? If you’re honest with yourself, you you listen to someone and you nod and you’re looking at them and you’re not talking over them, but in your mind, you’re already formulating your response or your defense or your solution or what you’re going to come up with.

Todd Davis: We are all guilty of that. We all do that. And and I think a lot of it doesn’t come from a bad place. It’s because we’re fixers. We want to, you know, we hear just enough of a conversation to say, oh, I know how to fix that. Let me. As soon as they stop talking, I’m going to tell them. And the key to to really understanding and starting to heal from what you’re talking about, Lee, is listen with the intent to understand, suspend, not not agree or disagree, but suspend your feelings, your thoughts, your opinions long enough to truly hear the other person. I had this experience just the other day with someone who who had a very different opinion on something that has happened in our world than I did, and I as wrong as I thought this person was, I just said, hey, help me understand. I know you and I have said we see it differently, but I really want to understand why you why you think such and such and went into that and I and I forced myself to push my opinion aside. And while after listening to them I didn’t say, oh, I completely see it their way, I got a much better understanding of maybe considering a different way to look at things, and I could. I had more of an appreciation for why this person was was acting the way they were acting. So it’s it’s listening with the intent to understand, not just to reply.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re working with your clients, are your clients. They have to have a level of self-awareness to even consider working with you. Um, and the folks who might need you the most maybe lack that self-awareness. So, um, how do you help the people or do you not? And maybe that’s just a choice from, you know, kind of your worldview is saying, hey, we can only help the people who raise their hand and want to be helped, but is there anything for the folks who maybe aren’t ready to buy into what Franklin Covey is saying, but do need help? Like, is there some low hanging fruit for that crowd?

Todd Davis: Yeah, absolutely. But it does take a it does certainly take even an ounce of self-awareness. And so how we in, you know, a little bit hard to summarize this in such a short period of time. But but how we work with organizations and we just ask them front up, you know, are they exactly where they need to be. Are they exceeding all of their expectations? We have not met. I’ve not met an organization, including our own at Franklincovey who is there. And so if you’re not achieving all of your goals for the organization with excellence, help us understand where the pain points are, what’s getting in the way, and most organizations, most leaders can come up with, well, here’s a problem here, here’s a problem here. And are you is there any area of improvement or is there anything you think you could be doing differently? And again, with rare exception, most people are willing to say, no, I’m not perfect. I and so when we get to that point, they are willing to at least do an analysis and evaluation. So we have with all of our our work sessions and the and the content that we teach, we do an analysis for seven habits.

Todd Davis: There’s a profile a 360 profile. And you’ll see senior leaders, including CEOs. They’ll do this 360 profile where they’ll send out. It’s an anonymous survey to all of their team members, their executive team, people that report up to them and they’ll get feedback. And you’ll be hard to argue with feedback. You can say it’s not accurate. Well, it’s their opinion. And so when a leader as good as she or he is sees, gosh, this is what people think. I’m doing well. But this is where they think I’m, I’m I’m needing some help that that creates not in a bad way, but it creates some humility and some willingness to say, well, gosh, that’s not my intention. And and I may not agree with their feedback, but I’m doing something that’s causing them to think that. And that’s where we find people willing to say, would you be would you be open to let’s discuss a few things that we could do to improve the results we’re getting, including the results of how people feel about our leadership.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you help organizations that might have some maybe subconscious bias, because the people around them are all kind of look the same. They’re not kind of leaning into the diversity of this country, America, that has such a, um, diverse crowd that is part of the America team. You know, we have people from all cultures, from all countries, and that’s just part of the fabric of the country. But in a lot of organizations, all it takes is to look on their website of their, you know, their board of directors or their leadership, and you’ll see that they all look the same. So how do you kind of help them take that step to say, hey, you know what, maybe we should expand our universe of of talent and maybe expand our universe of leaders.

Todd Davis: Well, such such a great point you bring up. And we have we have a couple of we call them solutions. But our content things that that I facilitate and other consultants facilitate, we have one on inclusive leadership, we have another on unconscious bias. And they kind of go hand in hand. And so to your point, Lee, there are whether you choose to believe them or not. And that becomes more and more of an issue in our country here. But there are research data points that show diverse, inclusive cultures. And there are two different things. We can have a very diverse culture that at least looks diverse but not be inclusive. But a diverse, inclusive culture generates much more revenue or success or whatever. However you want to measure the growth and the success of your organization, then a non diverse and inclusive organization. So that’s the first thing, is that a senior leadership team, executive team has to recognize that if we don’t have people with from different walks of life, from different backgrounds and experience, we’re not going to be as successful as the other competitors in our space that do that. If they don’t acknowledge that, not much we can do about that. But if they acknowledge that, then we talk about the benefits of not just checking a box, in fact, not checking a box at all and saying, oh, we want to look diverse, diverse, but in really looking for what talent do we need and seeking out people with different opinions, you know, it’s easy.

Todd Davis: We all do it. We gravitate towards people who are like minded, who think like we do because it honestly makes the day go easier. We don’t have to, you know, defend ourselves or push up, but we also don’t grow and develop. And so great leaders and great, great individual contributors, they recognize that we want different opinions and different experience at the table to challenge us, not in an argumentative way, but to get us to think outside the box. And again, it all starts with habit one being proactive. I got to make the choice if I’m satisfied with my results. If I’m satisfied with where the company is, great. I’m not going to do anything but but I haven’t met anyone, leader or otherwise, who doesn’t say no. We could get better. And if they’re open to that, we can talk about ways where they can. I like your use of the word expand. It’s not okay. Let’s go seek out a bunch of diverse, ethnically, ethnically diverse people or gender, you know, different gender people. But it’s let’s let’s cast the net wider. Let’s expand the net so that we’re pulling from great talent all over the place. And not just this little defined subset that we’ve gotten comfortable with.

Lee Kantor: So what is a an engagement with Franklin Covey look like? What is kind of that first conversation you have or even the pre conversation. Maybe you give them some homework to do even before you begin an engagement, can you share a little bit about what it looks like to start working with you guys?

Todd Davis: Appreciate that. So so with this, a couple of different ways with this relaunch or rebranding or Reimaging reimagining the seven habits we do. This is what I’ve been out doing for the last four weeks now. It just barely launched. We do a lot of public, um, half day or two hour overviews of that. And so that’s one way where a, you know, prospective clients can come in and get invited. They can go to our website, franklincovey.com and find out where those are taking place. They’re all over the nation. And in fact, doing them in some of our other international direct offices. And then they can attend one of those. The other thing they can do is they can go to our website at franklincovey.com, and they can just book a time and we, we offer this complimentary to have a consultant like myself or a client partner, or both of us come in either virtually or depending on geographic to meet with them, live and just talk about their business, and spend even a half hour understanding where they believe their gaps are, what their challenges are, and then just giving them an outside view of, you know, here’s what we’ve seen in other clients in your area, or here’s what we have learned. We’ve been in this business for, like I said, for decades. So we’re not out there pounding our chest telling people how great we are. We’re just saying, like all of you who have been in a particular skill for a long time, you have so many reps. We have a lot of reps in the leadership business, in growing companies, and so we can share with you and and offer suggestions on what we would recommend as we put together an impact or a learning journey for you and your leadership team.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story you can share that illustrates what it’s like to work with Franklin Covey? You don’t name the name of the organization, but maybe share the problem they came to you with and how you were able to help them get to a new level.

Todd Davis: Uh, sure. And in fact, this one, I’ll be happy to share the name, because they’ve given us permission to share the name, and everybody knows them, or most people know them, at least here in the US. And that’s Panda Express. Like, I cannot pass up the walnut shrimp in the Panda Express fast food chain. And, uh, Panda Express has been a long term client. And when they joined us, you know, they had their very first, um, uh, restaurant down in, uh, I can’t remember what part of California, but anyway, they they were having huge turnover as as people in the fast food industry do have they have a huge turnover. And they were recognizing that culture, you know, while they were paying the appropriate amount of pay to keep people and had the right amount of benefits, they were still having turnover and they and they hit home that it wasn’t a very wasn’t a non-inclusive culture, but it wasn’t a culture that inspired people to want to be there. And so they, we, we connected with with them. And there’s long story about how we we first became in touch with them, but we connect with them and worked with their leadership team and their owners that started that. And and to this day, they have had phenomenal, measurable success, not just because of Franklin Covey, but they will tout that it was Franklin Covey that helped them bring their culture to a level where there are a lot of competitors for that talent in their in their industry, and they continue to attract top talent because of the culture they’ve been able to establish through their leaders at at Panda.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any advice you could give folks listening right now? When it comes to culture, there are some do’s and don’ts. Or is there some low hanging fruit that a leader could implement? Um, without Franklin Covey’s help that could improve their culture?

Todd Davis: You bet. Um, a phrase we use. And for anybody listening, of course we’d love to work with you. We’d love you to go to our website. But. But even if you don’t think about this, leaders, leaders who are listening, if your foundational goal as a leader were to have every member of your team saying the following statement with confidence and with certainty. I’m a valued member of a winning team doing meaningful work in an environment of trust. I’m going to repeat that again and think about what it would take to have those people reporting to you, or for whom you have stewardship. Able to say that with confidence. I’m a valued member of a winning team, doing meaningful work in an environment of trust. Are you a high trust leader? Do you inspire trust? Do you? Are you authentic? Do you show up as the same leader every day? Do you, um, are you willing to create a safe space for people to develop and grow and make mistakes and learn from those mistakes? Are you a high trust leader? Do you do they know they’re valued? Do you invest in them? Do you coach them? Do you let them know what they’re doing well and where they can improve? Not from a critical standpoint.

Todd Davis: Not to be critical of them, but to let them know you care about their progress. When we say winning team, are they able to measure the contribution they’re making and that your team is making so that they know they’re making a difference and that they’re winning this game? So I’m a valued member of a winning team doing meaningful work. Do they understand the mission of your organization and how what they do contributes to that mission? So so that is something that everybody that’s listening could take away today to enhance their leadership skills. I’m convinced of it because I’ve done it myself and I’ve seen it with the hundreds, if not thousands of leaders that I’ve coached over my three, nearly three decades with Franklin Covey. I’m a valued member of a winning team, doing meaningful work in an environment of trust. Let that be your focus on each of your team members that they can say that statement with confidence.

Lee Kantor: Now, as the work with Franklin Covey is your ideal client, are they in a certain industry or niche, or is this kind of industry agnostic that these are kind of just Foundational truths that can help any organization.

Todd Davis: Great. Great clarification. These are we are industry agnostic because these are principles that are as true today as they were hundreds of years ago. And as they will be thousands of years from now on, they apply to every person and they apply in not just our professional lives, but in our personal lives. Be be proactive. Begin with the end in mind. These are the habits. Be proactive. Begin with the end in mind. Put first things first. Learn how to prioritize. Think. Win. Win. It’s a mindset of abundance versus a scarcity mindset. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Like we’ve already talked about. Synergize. It’s a habit of creative collaboration. And then habit seven is to sharpen the saw. It’s the habit of renewal. Invest in yourselves not because you’re selfish, but because by doing so, investing in the body, the mind, the heart, and the spirit. It makes me that much more capable and equipped to do so much more for my organization, for my team, for my important relationships in my personal life.

Lee Kantor: Well, Todd, if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what is the website? What is the best way to connect?

Todd Davis: Thanks for asking, Lee. It’s just franklincovey. That’s c o v e y.com. They can also reach out to me directly. I’m on LinkedIn under Todd Davis. If you just put in Todd Davis Franklincovey on LinkedIn, you’ll be able to find me very quickly. And we would love to we would love to continue the conversation.

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

Todd Davis: Thank you. Lee.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Claudia Vazquez With Elevink

by

South Florida Business Radio
South Florida Business Radio
Claudia Vazquez With Elevink
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DTLLogo-Blue-Bannerv2Claudia Vazquez, Founder of Elevink.

Highly collaborative, results-driven, and team-oriented individual with over 20 years of experience in the insurance and benefits industry. A leader who specializes in building and transforming organizations. Skill sets and experiences include strategy and planning, management consulting, Six Sigma/LEAN, customer experience, compliance and leadership of multi-site operations and enabling systems.

Her strong leadership skills, disability claim management background, cultural diversity coupled with a six sigma black belt make her a versatile strategic leader. She is passionate about the role Hispanics play in the market place, and helped create a Hispanic initiative for Unum. She was part of the NHBA (National Hispanic Business Association) National Board member from 2008-2010, was recognized in Washington DC by HACR as a Fortune 500 Young Hispanic Corporate Achiever.

She led Prudential’s Hispanic Business Resource Group (approx. 1000 members) strategy team and is the founder of Elevink, an organization that has a mission to support underrepresented talent tap into their potential to reach their success in corporate America. First generation Latina, bilingual, bicultural.

Connect with Claudia on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • What inspired her to write “From Dreams to Destiny”
  • 8 Guided Principles
  • Her work with Hispanic Star to support the Hispanic community in her area

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in South Florida. It’s time for South Florida Business Radio.

Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of South Florida Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Claudia Vasquez and she is with Elevink. Welcome.

Claudia Vazquez: Thank you. How are you, Lee? Thank you so much for allowing me to be here with your audience.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Elevink. How are you serving folks?

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah. So L’avenc started during the pandemic as a way to service underrepresented talent. I have been in corporate America for over 25 years and realized that the people that were outreaching to me for support, for coaching, for professional development, you know, career aspirations, topics of discussion, most of them were first generation, didn’t have role models that they could follow or ask questions to. And that’s when I. You know, I had an idea and I had a dream and I went forward and created L’avenc. So. L’avenc what it does is it creates a platform that has different elements of workshops that helps those underrepresented individuals or first generation that are entering the corporate arena to be able to learn soft skills or skills that are not necessarily taught in school, or the non-written rules of what you need to be able to navigate a corporation, especially, you know, fortune 500 companies.

Lee Kantor: So what type of kind of career paths are these people on and what level are they starting out at when they start having conversations with you?

Claudia Vazquez: The majority of them are entry level, where they are still individual contributors, so they don’t have a team. They’re not managing or leading groups of people yet, Or they are so that their aspiration, that’s the next step that they’re looking forward to, to becoming. Or the other one is those individuals who have been on a manager role but are now looking to go up to a director level where they will have different managers reporting into them. So those are the two groups that I seem to get the most interest from. And then we also have some that are about to graduate, and they want to get ahead of the game and they want to start, you know, getting their hands around, you know, what will be required for them. So we also have a small percentage of those individuals.

Lee Kantor: So do you mind sharing some tips or advice for we’ll go after both of those groups. Let’s start with that person that’s looking for their first job. Any tips or advice you would recommend for somebody who is going after a job? Is it something that you target a company and just start trying to figure out a way in there? Or do you just say, I have these, you know, desires or skills, and I’ll just put my name in the hat whenever, you know, I’ll just apply online to all the things like what would be kind of some advice you would share for that person looking for their first opportunity.

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah. And that’s a great question. And that ties back into one of the concepts in the book that we will be speaking about later on. Right. So I’m very clear with this individuals to talk about their North Star. I want them to focus as much as possible into the 5 to 10 years down the road. And sometimes that’s difficult, but that may sometimes be the starting point where they could go into that career path that will allow them to achieve their ultimate dreams or one of their main goal aspirations. So, for example, I understand sometimes business is tough and they have to apply it. And now with algorithms that are the selective portion of your resume, you have to make sure that you understand and know what can you do to make sure that your resume is has the keywords and has the elements that will be selected for that interview opportunity? But, um, but I will always ask them to start somewhat aligned to what their aspirational goal is. And and we have a method at living that we, you know, we call the the you can say the leap forward or the leap backward either way. So I ask them to go into ten years down the road and see what is the job that they would like to have. And then I ask them to go into LinkedIn and look for that role and look at that individual that already has that title and look at their career path. What did they do? Did they move around from companies? Where did they started? Does that give them some hints in regards of how could they get themselves started? And I mean, that’s one of the different exercises that we utilize. But but it’s always good to look into the future and then decide where they want to start so that they can concentrate their efforts at a good point, at a good starting point.

Lee Kantor: So now let’s talk about that person who maybe is already working for a while. You know, they’re they’ve been progressing a little bit, but now they’re ready for that next step and maybe get to this new level, maybe a management level, maybe now a director level. They’re trying to take that next step in their career. Do you have any advice for that person or any tips that they should be doing? And is it okay for them to, you know, go? You know what, this company was great, but and it might be a good launching point and maybe I have to jump ship over and go somewhere else, and maybe then I can really accelerate my career.

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah, but both are great options, right? So, um, the first thing that I do with those individuals is I ask them to, uh, read and learn about the Pi model. Uh, the Pi model, it stands for performance, image and exposure. And one of the most difficult concepts to understand is that what got you to that point where you are is probably not going to get you to the next place where you want to be, and you have, and you can be a very hard working individual. You can be super intelligent and, you know, like you can have been tapped for projects. But now when you are looking to grow within the organization, you have to help yourself be seen differently, be seen as that next level role. And that’s why this model is such a, you know, quick way to learn, right? But performance at the end of the day, you have to perform well. You have to master your job, you have to do a good job. But that only takes about 10 to 15% of the overall picture. Then the image are you being are you seeing? Are you consider as a person who has solutions? Are you seen as an innovative person? Are you being looked at for as a strategic thinker? And, you know, like there are several skills that depending on your, you know, on the job field that you’re in that you may want to start to, um, demonstrate.

Claudia Vazquez: But then the exposure is, who knows of you. How many projects have you or initiatives or outside of your job day to day? Are you volunteering? Are you taking a board, a role in another organization where you can start to expand your network and you can start to be seen as someone who has grown outside of the role, right? So it’s extremely important that people understand that it is something networking, it’s part of it. Right, etc.. Uh, and then sometimes the realization of looking into your current organization and have you already hit that maximum role that you might be able to get, or have you been passed down now 3 or 4 times, uh, in that given that opportunity, those are always good times for you to consider. Is are you at the right company for the next level that you want to achieve.

Lee Kantor: Because sadly, sometimes if you’re doing a great job in a certain, uh, in an organization, they’re like, why would I want to get rid of this person and move them somewhere else? They’re they’re not going to need to fill this hole. And they’re like, I’d rather them just stay here. That’s better for me. And then that sometimes forces your hand. You have to leave if you want to accelerate your career.

Claudia Vazquez: Well, and one of the, um, concepts that I always bring, or the mottos is like, every one of us is the CEO of our career, right? So going to that point that you just expressed my my recommendation is always that people need to have transparent and honest conversation with their managers all the time, right? Not only checking in for feedback, how are they doing? What can they improve, but also sharing their aspirations and talking about their individual developmental plan? And what are the activities, courses, conferences, opportunities that they want to put themselves, and they should be talking about that next level openly with their managers. So together they can co-create that plan and they can be looking at the succession planning for my role, because if I’m that good, I know it’s going to be a struggle. But it’s also important for me to say, hey, this person has, you know, some of the skills and talents I could start training. I could start showing so that you always have an exit strategy and you don’t fall into that category. But I agree with you. Sometimes those individuals that are really strong are the hardest one to let go.

Lee Kantor: And then you made up a great point about being proactive. This is your career and ultimately you’re in control of it to the degree that you can leave. So I mean, you have to take personal accountability for that because this is your career 100%.

Claudia Vazquez: And that’s why networking, attending conferences, Joining professional associations within your industry. There are so many different ways where you can just start to get to be known, but also where you can learn, right? You can learn the newest trends, you can learn about the newest technology vendors, etc. but you start to create a networking and an ecosystem, and then you hear about roles that may be popping up even before they actually become public, right? So you may get some other opportunities ahead of time if you’re strategic about the type of growth and how fast, right at the end of the day, one of the stories that I always share is when I started in corporate America and I had, um, my career path outlined for myself, I was having conversations. I knew as soon as I got promoted to the next level, I knew exactly what I needed to do to get promoted to the next. So day one of my promotion, I started working towards the next role, and within seven years I started from the entry level position of paying disability claims at an organization to be in charge of the entire business unit of more than 60 people. So I was I am still the fastest track that has been identified in that environment, but I knew exactly what I wanted. I worked towards it, and I stretched myself to the max to be able to learn what I needed to learn to be a, you know, a successful candidate when the opportunity came.

Lee Kantor: Well, so far it’s been great advice. And I imagine in your book From Dreams to Destiny, that is chock full of great advice as well. Can you talk about that book and the process of writing it?

Claudia Vazquez: Yes. So for the past three years, um, I had been outreached by the publishing company in regards of like, oh, are you ready for your book? And I just didn’t think I have the material? Or that I had what it takes to write a book? But 30 years of experience in in corporate America and also personal experiences. I’m originally from Mexico, and when my husband and I came to the United States, we lived in a car garage for five years. Uh, it was a converted car garage. It was converted into like a mini studio. And, you know, it was tiny, but but it allowed us the opportunity, or at least me to, you know, finish a master’s degree to be able to finish my bachelor’s, my master’s, and then also be able to start to save some money. So this book, it’s it’s a compilation of stories for the past 30 years from a personal perspective, from risk that have been taken and what I wanted to do. I’m a very practical type of individual, and I love when I read books and all this great stories, but I want I always want to know the how, like if I wanted to follow this recipe, what do I need to do? What are the steps? Right? What’s the methodology behind it? So the way that I created my book and that made sense for me personally, was to create the, you know, put down the eight principles that I have practiced all along this 30 years to be able to accomplish what I have been able to accomplish, and break it down with personal stories that reflected that particular, um, principle.

Claudia Vazquez: And then in addition to that, three methodologies that anyone can use so that you can pick and choose what resonates with you, but they all get you to the same spot. So the first one is you have to dream. I had plenty of dreams, right? So you have to start with your vision, your North Star, whatever your dream is when you were a child, and then from there, you know the logistics of planning, sticking to the plan, but then being grateful along the way in the journey, through the challenges that you get, and also the great and wonderful things that are happening. Um, lifting others, mentoring, feeling good about yourself. And there I talk about five different dimensions from a health perspective, spiritual perspective, and then Finding Your Tribe, which talks about mentorship, sponsorship, and, you know, how do you find that support system and those alliances that are going to help you move forward and then finally letting go? There are some things, and I think it’s part of our initial conversation. Sometimes we just have to let go to be able to get ourselves free from whatever is detaining us, from moving forward in other directions. And there’s things that we cannot control. Um, and we just must be ready to, to let it go. And on that particular chapter, I talk about my, uh, journey with, uh, breast cancer and, you know, hearing about the diagnosis and just kind of letting go of, you know, the fear and etc.. So it’s it’s a mixture of life with practical applications. Um, and some even scientific, uh, statistics, uh, you know, share there.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, how would you recommend that people handle setbacks and those kind of big challenges that come in all of our ways. Everybody has setbacks or challenges throughout life. There’s no escape from that in any in any life. But how would you recommend somebody kind of handling some disappointment or a failure or some type of kind of a something negative that they anticipated, something positive or neutral, and it ended up being negative. What is there some steps that you would recommend to handle that type of, uh, incident?

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, definitely. Um, and I think that I briefly touch upon that in, in one of the areas in regards of how can we create, um, optimism? Or how can we practice optimism? How can we develop, um, determination? Right. But I think, uh, behind any disappointment or any failure or any setback, there’s something that we could all learn from, right? I mean, it’s painful to learn that way, but I have, you know, my personal belief is there’s a reason why you’re being put through that situation. And most of the time, if you don’t resist it, but instead you take a step back, you analyze the situation, you learn from it, and sometimes you may have to let yourself feel you know the victim. You may have to cry. You may have to go through a little bit of that period of poor me. But then on the other hand, it’s like, okay, what can I learn from this? And then what am I grateful sometimes, you know, again, one of the stories that I share there is that when my family and I moved from California to New Jersey, we had made an offer for a house. We sold our house in California, and we were traveling across the country. And while we were traveling, we learned that the house that we put the offer on, that, you know, we were looking forward to move in, was no longer hours due to some legalities of the, you know, the couple that was getting a divorce.

Claudia Vazquez: So all of a sudden, imagine we had uprooted our family. We were on the way from California to New Jersey with our three kids, our dog, ourselves. We no house in new Jersey, no house in California, and new job in new Jersey. We had no family, no friends, no one. And we arrived and we had to live in a hotel for like 2 or 2 and a half, almost three months, while we started the search again of the house. Right. So anyone could imagine getting to a new city, new school for the kids, new doctors, I mean everything and anyone could see. Like, wow, that is a huge setback. But what happened? We ended up buying, getting to know the city a little bit better. We ended up purchasing a much larger, newer house. We had a little bit more time for us because we didn’t have to clean. We don’t have to cook, we don’t have to write. So we kind of enjoy the whole fact that we were living in a hotel, and we used that time to spend weekends going to New York and, you know, visiting a few. So it’s it’s your attitude towards life and, and how do you want to perceive those setbacks and disappointments? But everybody has their method. But I’m the type that likes to look for what can I learn, what can I be grateful of this and why is this happening? Right?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I recently interviewed someone who used the word reframing like you have the the reality is the reality. But you can reframe the reality to something that’s more positive if you, you know, invest the time to do that. You don’t have to, um, take whatever happened as the worst thing in the world. You can see this. You know, we all can see the same thing and see it in a different way if we change our attitude.

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, exactly. So now we we think of that episode and I actually see it as a wonderful time.

Lee Kantor: Right. It’s an adventure.

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, exactly. Although having the dog in the same room with us, you know, for that period was a little bit, you know, and she was a big dog. But in any case, it all worked out really well.

Lee Kantor: Now, how important is it in your career now, especially as your career has progressed to invest back into your community and to really, um, help kind of the next group of people?

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, I have. Hot off the press news to share with you, uh, this past week. So so going back, I’m a full believer of giving back to the community. I have for the past 30 years, I have been giving back to the community, both in Mexico and the United States in many different ways volunteering for organizations, putting programs together, making um, tools accessible to those in need, um, you name it. I mean, countless of hours in different organizations. And because of of that commitment to the community and the consistent work for those 30 years, I have just received last week a honorary doctorate honoris causa by the World Leaders Organization. Uh, this is one of the highest awards that anyone in their lifetime can receive. And I’m very honored and humbled to have been one of those selected individuals. So, um, to answer your question, I think giving back and it’s one of the of the eight principles that I talk about in my good, it’s a must. We what type of legacy Do we want to live in our lives right? Yes, we should concentrate on ourselves and we should concentrate on our growth. And we should concentrate on, you know, us as the primary source. But then we have so much to offer, and we have talents, innate talents that have been given to us at birth that makes us different, that become our superpowers, and that we can share with others. So I have again made it one of the, um, chapters in the book. I have made it my commitment for life. And I just received this, um, amazing, you know, award that it’s, um. Yes, that has changed my life.

Lee Kantor: Well, congratulations on that. And, um, can you share with our listeners who is your ideal client? Who is your ideal candidate that you want to connect with?

Claudia Vazquez: My ideal candidate is anyone that is, you know, that has that voice in their mind that tells them, yes, you should go for it. And then on the other side they hear like, oh, you’re not enough, you’re not prepared enough, you don’t have enough experience. You should do, you know, like all those, you don’t have enough time, all those negativities. Those are my ideal candidates. I’d like to work with people who have the desire to let you know. Achieve something that they thought was impossible. Um, it doesn’t matter whether they’re starting on their career, whether they are progressing and now looking to change. I mean, I’m 54 years old and I just wrote a book. I just, you know, I started a company four years ago. I work full time. I’m a full time mom of three kids. And and when people say like, oh, I don’t have enough time, I’m like, I’m sure you can find some, right? So I love to work with people who are creative and who who can see the positive in life and who are ready to make a change for, for the good, for, for themselves and for the community.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to connect with you and learn more. Is there a website? Is there a way to get the book? Like where should they go?

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah. So from dreams to Destiny, what’s something that we didn’t talk about, but I should mention is From Dreams to Destiny. It’s not just a book. There’s also a companion diary. And the diary is a workbook that I put together to match the concepts of the book so that people can actually, if they wanted to do self-work, they could start working on it immediately. So that’s one thing. They’re both available in Amazon. Uh, you can get the, you know, uh, hardcover or the soft cover. Um, I will be having three workshops starting in January. So people that buy the book can come over and we can have an open discussion. I can go more into the details of the principles. I can share more examples. I can answer some of their questions. That is already available through Eventbrite. We do have the first one scheduled that will be January 9th. I want to make sure people have the tools and the resources to get, you know, to start their year strong. So I this is completely free of charge, complimentary for people that you know can purchase the book. And then for L’avenc, yes, we do have a website. I also have so it’s WW w you know living.com. And then we also have Instagram Facebook and people can contact us um, whatever their method of connection is best for them.

Lee Kantor: And that’s l e v I n k.com.

Claudia Vazquez: Yes. Correct.

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

Claudia Vazquez: Know, thank you for your time, I appreciate you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on South Florida Business Radio.

Thomas Carroll With Homrich Berg

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Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Thomas Carroll With Homrich Berg
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Thomas Carroll, CFP®, Principal, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Homrich Berg, has remained a consistent player throughout Homrich Berg’s growth and M&A in Atlanta.

His expertise in wealth management makes him an expert in fiduciary fee-only client service as part of Homrich Berg’s practice management strategy.

Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn and follow Homrich Berg on Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Executive management, leadership, and trends related to the wealth management industry
  • Homrich Berg’s fee-only fiduciary approach as a registered investment adviser (RIA), impact on their clientele, and their efforts in supporting the local community

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Thomas Carroll with HB Wealth Management. Welcome.

Thomas Carroll: Lee. Thanks for having me. Excited to be on Atlanta Business Radio with you today.

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

Thomas Carroll: Yeah, happy to do it. Hp Wealth Management, also known as Hamrick Berg. We’ve been in business for 35 years, celebrated our 35th anniversary in October. We had a great month of celebration. We are a fee only independent wealth management firm that was was founded by Andy Berg and David Hamrick 35 years ago. And, you know, we’re still serving clients in a comprehensive way. 35 years later, like we did when we started the firm. So we’re an $18.5 billion asset under management Ria, with around 4000 clients and families that we serve every day.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you educate the listener what it means to be fee only?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah. Happy to. There are different ways that investors can access, you know, wealth management services. And ours is if the only way, which means that the only fees that a client would pay. Our firm would be to provide them advice. Its advice fee. That advice comes in different forms. It can be investment advice. It can be planning advice, estate planning and insurance planning, just all sorts of comprehensive services. But we do not make any any commissions. There’s no, you know, trailer revenue. We’re not selling a product in any way, shape or form. We are simply just getting paid to provide good, sound advice to the clients that we serve.

Lee Kantor: Now, does that mean that the that I have to do the trade or I have to act on your recommendation, or is that something that you also handle?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah. Great question. Now we are a full service firm. So so so we are able to execute, you know, do the trading, you know, through the custodians that we work with and have discretion in ultimately executing on the advice that we ultimately recommend to our to our clients.

Lee Kantor: Now does that interaction? Does that mean I talk to you once a year and you kind of rebalance? Are you talking to me quarterly or can I call you whenever. You know, my, um, brother in law has a great idea, like, like how does that interaction and service work?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah, it’s all of the above. And it really just depends on the client preference. I mean, there are some clients that, you know, that call us when they get the investment idea at the country club and want us to want us to look at it. And we do that a lot. There’s some folks that are happy to meet once a year. There are some folks that we talk to probably once a month. Um, and so it’s just a client preference is ultimately what drives the cadence of the communication. And then our advisors ultimately will execute whatever makes the client comfortable. Um, so it’s really, really up to the client.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, what would be kind of your recommendation for somebody who maybe has worked at a corporate job and hasn’t had a formal relationship with a wealth advisor before, and they’ve just been, you know, dumping money into maybe a 401 K or something along those lines is kind of autopilot. And now they’re getting close to retirement, and then they got to, you know, make more, um, decisions because they’re about to go through a transition. Can you explain to our listener, like, what does that conversation look like when you’re talking to somebody who comes from that background?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah. Look, I think just generally the, you know, part of the question is, you know, should a person of that profile be seeking professional advice around their financial lives? And, and the answer to me is, is is absolutely yes. Um, you know, the financial world is very complicated. Uh, you know, investments, integrates with taxes, which integrates with, you know, how a person of that profile might, might set up their estate plan. And there are lots of different pieces. How the insurance piece works in a in a good plan. How do you how do you appropriately budget your cash flow? How do you prepare for, uh, children’s educational expenses? All of these are pieces to a large puzzle. Uh, and it’s more it’s challenging for someone who’s not focused on doing it every day to understand how all that intersects. And that’s where a financial advisor comes in, not just to advise on investment assets, but but also to integrate all those other things that I just mentioned into a comprehensive plan. Um, you know, for me, it’s I’ve heard the analogy used from time to time. It’s it’s like a it’s like a doctor, you know, we are a doctor for financial advice. You wouldn’t go, uh, you know, kind of try to diagnose your, your, your own health issues. You’re going to go to a medical professional who’s, who’s going to help you with with the medical issue. It’s the same thing in finance in the financial world. So I certainly encourage folks with that profile that you just mentioned to to to seek out a professional adviser to help them achieve their financial goals.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned kind of, uh, comparing it to a doctor, but in some cases I have a cardiologist, I have a, you know, a rheumatologist, a pulmonologist. And then I have kind of a general practice person. Are you kind of the quarterback? Are you? My general practice, or are you just kind of a specialist in one kind of leg of the stool?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah. So like, we are the general practitioner, uh, the lead advisor that serves our family serves as that general practitioner. But but we have subject matter experts on staff on our team who would who would focus on a, uh, you know, the specific discipline that’s needed. So if you needed a cardiologist in our, in our, in our nomenclature, if you needed someone to help you with an estate plan. We have an estate planning specialist on our team. Uh, who who would, you know, Go do the deep dive into estate planning. So we do have those subject matter experts in our firm that support the work that the lead advisor does as the general practitioner, so to speak.

Lee Kantor: Now, what about the CPA? Do you have a CPA on your team or do you partner with CPAs?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah, so we do. So interesting little history of our firm. We were started by two, uh, ex CPAs. So so the tax work, the tax planning is, is a foundational part of our business. Always has been and always will be. What we are not just to be clear, is we are not we are not a firm that files tax returns. So so we work very closely with, you know, CPAs on behalf of our clients to to have those CPAs ultimately do the tax filings that are required. But we take a pretty active role in in getting that CPA prepared to file that return. So so we do a good bit of tax planning. It’s a core part of our of our of our service offering.

Lee Kantor: So it doesn’t matter really the CPA you’re kind of CPA agnostic from that standpoint, but it’s important for the client to permission you to to talk to each other so you can get on the same page.

Thomas Carroll: Yeah, that’s a great way to describe it. In fact, we have a we have a tech platform that really enables the partnership with, with the CPA community, that allows us to kind of share information seamlessly through a tech tech experience. And so we are able to kind of provision rights for CPAs to go in and download data and, you know, things that they need to to effectively, you know, complete the tax returns.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you seeing any kind of trends in the wealth management industry regarding kind of this robo investing and the young people there are so many young people, it seems, that are really attracted to just kind of going online on their phone and then doing some type of investing. Um, and if if you see that trend, how does that impact the services you provide? Is that just something that young people you think will just outgrow and then move to more traditional relationship with wealth management? Or is this something to keep an eye on?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah, I think it’s something to keep an eye on. I do think that as as these younger investors that you’re describing, uh, go through life stages, accumulate more wealth, get married, start having kids. Uh, life gets more complicated. And and financial decisions, uh, have larger ramifications. Uh, and so, so I think that you will see, folks, um, you know, I think gravitate to more professional advice over time. However, one thing that I don’t think is going to change with, you know, kind of a trend to keep an eye on is the way that those clients want to consume their experience. Right? So so their parents may prefer to come into the office and, you know, put on the sports coat and, you know, come, come in and meet in person. Um, you know, the clients that you just described, you know, they’re going to want to interact digitally with their advisor and they may still want to come in and, and break bread and come into the office and do all that stuff. But but you, you know, advisors need to have a robust digital experience that allows for those clients to be able to see their data and see their portfolios at the tip of their fingers. And so so we certainly are working on that to make sure that as this next gen of, uh, you know, comes into more wealth, as there’s a tremendous amount of wealth that’s going to be transitioned, uh, to, to younger generations that, that we can meet them where they want to be met. And that’s through digital enablement.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you see any kind of unintended consequences to this new I don’t know, it’s it’s new to me, but it seems like everywhere I turn there’s ads for gambling, online gambling and sports betting and things like that. Does that is that something that is impacting the way people trade or see trading stocks or investing in the markets, or is there any kind of maybe false equivalence when it comes to people seeing themselves gambling and betting and, you know, investing in the in the markets?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah. Look, certainly there could be some unintended consequences there, you know, through the democratization of gambling and the availability of it. But, but and that could equate to maybe trying to market time and, you know, you know, buying and selling stocks and all that stuff that, that is not a long term, sustainable and successful strategy. You know, so so we, you know, preach very much to to our clients and prospective clients that the most important point that is to have a plan and to stick to it, uh, and, and we will we will rebalance as opportunities present themselves. But but we don’t, um, position ourselves as market timers and, um, you know, in fact, there’s a lot of research that shows that, you know, that’s very, very difficult to to be successful over time with the market timing strategy and in time, in time invested in the market is much more important than trying to time the market. Uh, and that’s a really key part of a relationship that we have with our clients.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you work with your clients when it comes to the Decumulation? You know, they spend decades and decades accumulating and being disciplined and, you know, and they learned about the importance of compounding and and all this stuff is happening and and now it’s time to start taking money out. And for some people that psychologically is very difficult. How do you help them with that?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah. Well we are we are an advisor for all stages of life. Um, you know, from, from the accumulation phase through the, through the accumulation phase or the spending phase. Uh, so, so so we play a very important role in advising clients, you know, how and when to start taking required minimum, required minimum distributions, you know, off of their IRAs or 401 K’s. Um, you know, we certainly help clients thinking about transitioning money to their children or their grandchildren. Um, you know, funding, you know, grandchildren’s education, whatever it may be, that that is certainly using the assets that they accumulated and those decisions, all of those decisions have important tax implications. So we’re very much advising, you know, clients through that process. But but making sure that we’re being mindful of the tax dollars that that are being spent through that process as well. But but very important part of the relationship that we play in, the families that we serve.

Lee Kantor: Are you seeing any trends when it comes to, um, maybe giving more money to their children and grandchildren sooner than maybe historically? Back in the day, they would wait till they passed and then their transfer would occur.

Thomas Carroll: Yes. That is definitely something we’re seeing more and more of. And what I like to the way I describe it is, is I think that, that the, the givers of the wealth. So the, the wealth creators generators want their heirs to be informed, uh, more so than maybe a generation ago. So, so we are spending, you know, more and more time, um, educating the next generation of wealth or the wealth inheritors about what it means to to come into that wealth, what it means to be a good steward of that wealth. What the family goals are in, in, in, in, in, in what they want to accomplish with that wealth. So, so more and more families of wealth are setting up, you know, charitable organizations or donor advised fund, and they’re getting their kids involved in that. So, so that they can, you know, you know, be more informed when ultimately that money, you know, comes to them down the line. So, so a lot more education that we’re doing and spending time with younger generations educating them about all things around money and wealth.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you have a feel for what’s causing this shift like for like a generation ago, it was just very normal to just when when I died. That’s when my kids get the money and we didn’t think twice about it. But now, like you were saying that it seems like some of the transfers are happening sooner, you know, so you can see the joy and you can see how they’re using the money rather than wait till after you’re gone. Is there something that happened that’s causing this, or is this just there’s so much wealth now out there that they can afford to do this? Um, yeah.

Thomas Carroll: Look, I think that there’s this phenomenon that, that that wealthy families are more aware of now than maybe in the past. And that’s this phenomenon called shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations, uh, which ultimately means that, you know, there’s a generation that creates the money, and then there’s a generation that basically spends the money, and then the and then the third generation is back to not having any money. And so I think that that that trend and knowledge of that is, is is a is an outcome largely of people just, um, being given money, being given money and not being prepared to know what to do with it. So, so more families and frankly, more advisors like our firm are taking a role in making sure that the shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations phenomenon doesn’t happen. And when you have informed heirs, uh, you know, they’re more likely to have a successful outcome in, in the wealth that is bestowed upon them. Also, just candidly, it creates opportunities for life experiences with family members, you know, you know, being able to share in a charitable, uh, you know, donation or, you know, go to a charity event as a family. Um, you know, it just it allows for a happiness factor to occur that you mentioned. And I think families are enjoying that opportunity, you know, now, now more so than ever.

Lee Kantor: Now.

Lee Kantor: If somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what is the best way to do that?

Thomas Carroll: Yeah. That’s great. Uh, happy to visit our website, ComicBook.com. Uh, there is, uh, all of our contact information is is on the website in the contact us, uh, section of the website. Our phone number is there. You can call and, uh, you know, get connected to an advisor on our team. Uh, or you can email us through through the website, ComicBook.com. And, uh, we’d be happy to, to talk to anybody out there, any of your listeners that are, that are thinking about seeking a financial advisor.

Lee Kantor: And that’s h o M richburg.com.

Thomas Carroll: That is correct.

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

Thomas Carroll: Thank you. Lee, I really appreciate you having me today. I’ve enjoyed the conversation.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Pete Joseph With Skutch Media

by

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Pete Joseph With Skutch Media
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Pete Joseph is an accomplished executive with a career spanning over two decades in the media and entertainment industry. Before starting Skutch Media, he held key roles at Live Nation, Atlanta Motor Speedway, The Madison Square Garden Company, GMR Marketing, Clear Channel and Cox Media, developing his expertise in business development, sales, marketing, and brand development.

A former musician, Pete considers himself a modern day renaissance man. And while he still enjoys music & working with musicians, he spends his free time these days cooking, watching Motortrend, and learning about city planning.

Connect with Pete on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Professional content creation and marketing for small to mid-size businesses
  • Why business owners should consider a video podcast/content engine
  • The big digital marketing myth
  • Website maintenance/SEO as digital “cleaning”

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Pete Joseph with Scutch Media. Welcome.

Pete Joseph: Hi, Lee. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your firm.

Pete Joseph: So scooch is a small boutique, full service media agency with a specialty in podcast creation and production.

Lee Kantor: What’s the backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?

Pete Joseph: It’s odd. So we come from. There’s two partners. It’s my wife and I. Both of us have over 50 years of marketing experience myself. I come from the land of kind of entertainment background, partnerships, sponsorships, artist relations, some activation agency in my background as well. My wife comes from kind of the exact opposite in the sense of a media background strategy. She’s worked for some, you know, of the, you know, the big holding companies out there, publicists. She was a publicist for many years. So we have a lot of media. And kind of that sponsorship background is where we started the company with. But the idea of where scooch kind of came from. We just didn’t want to be like any other agency, you know, just kind of have your media. We can place it for you. Nothing wrong with that. I just wanted to look at something a little different. So we came up with this idea of creating content engines is kind of what I like to call them. A lot of people might say podcasts or pod shows and different types of things because they don’t really know what to call things anymore, or they kind of labels things a podcast in a sense. But I think where scooch kind of took the change was we had this kind of personal love of doing kind of shows, kind of a podcast esque shows. So we decided to turn those kind of client facing to where we said, hey, what if we were able to give clients the ability to shoot their own podcasts, but then again, utilize those podcasts to cultivate them into now your short form content to feed your social content platforms. So that’s really where scooch kind of got its start. It was looking at it from not just being that agency that can take care of your media for you, but also being that agency that can create that media for you too. So it became a mom and pop one stop shop.

Lee Kantor: And then who? What’s the profile of an ideal client for you?

Pete Joseph: For us, it’s it’s honestly anything. We’re pretty open. We do very, very well in the medical field just because we’ve. It was kind of one of our first forays into what we do. But we’ve been doing a lot. We’ve seen a lot of we just kind of had our first work on some pre-production with a couple of professional athletes for some, um, some ideas that they’re working on. So we’re that’s a whole new foray into this, which I was very, very excited about. I didn’t really quite see that going. So we’re seeing everything from the business owner that’s coming in with, you know, so much as it kind of I have my business, whatever that business might be, I need to figure out a way to market it also from the creator as well, the independent creator that’s coming to us and saying, I have an idea. So our marketing or our client could be basically, if you have an idea or you have a market, a business, you need to market.

Lee Kantor: So if like, what’s an example of a medical professional is like somebody in plastic surgery or is it just a general practitioner doctor?

Pete Joseph: Funny you say that because plastic surgery would be perfect for what we do. But our one of our our first actually our foray into this was we did a thing with um, our first client is, is well, chiropractic and it’s a chain of chiropractic kind of in our area that was just looking for a way to spice up their content and their, their social, their social was getting kind of, you know, stuck in trends, stuck in some different stuff. And what we came up with was, let’s create a pod show for you video podcast that we can bring in specialists so we can become a medical, um, resource. And so what we did was we started that over a year ago. He’s been going strong with that. They just finished their first season. They’ve had on everything from hormone expert experts to other chiropractors to personal injury attorneys to physical therapists. So it’s become this awesome hub. What we’re seeing from his clients and all the people that come in that now follow him on his socials are wow, this is so different. I’ve never had somebody kind of offer this with their service as well.

Lee Kantor: Now I have a question about kind of the nuts and bolts of this. So this they’re a chiropractor. That’s their day job. They’re also now stars of a show. Yeah. That’s their side hustle I guess. Or is their or their investment in marketing? Yeah, yeah. How do you help them kind of take the content and then, um, leverage it so it helps them achieve the outcome they desire, which I would imagine it’s either there there’s a couple choices. They either want to be famous or they want more clients or both.

Pete Joseph: Well, it’s kind of comical. You say that because that’s what we had the biggest problem with in the beginning when I brought this, because when we first started working with iswell, um, doctor Mayor Kara, that is the, uh, the owner of iswell, I brought this idea to him and I said, hey, listen, mayor, like, I think this would work. He’s like, man, I am not. I’m not a movie star. I’ve never done it. I’ve never been on camera before. And I’m like, please trust me. Like, I think I can coach you through this and get you into it. Just if you believe in me and you believe in the process and believe in, you know, the power of some good editing and some great film work, we can make a really good series for you. And in the beginning it was a little harder. But we knew going into that it would be. So what we saw with him was he kind of came in. It was very at the beginning, a lot of question and answer type stuff, things that were easier for him before we just dropped him into, um, having to interview people. And what we noticed was by, you know, episode 3 or 4. He kind of just fell. He just like, hey, man, it’s just like having a conversation. You forget everything’s there. I’m like, exactly. There it is. And what has become with him was he’s noticed, man, that the client retention is wonderful because it gives them more something more than when they just leave my office. Like they got their adjustment. They, you know, they got their massage in. They they may be a little stem, uh, therapy and then they leave, but now it gives them a reason to kind of for us to touch them after they leave a little bit more therapy for them to think about it.

Pete Joseph: Yeah. It’s wonderful. So it was helping them to retain clients, but also what he’s starting to see now. It’s the calls coming in from people saying, hey, how do I potentially sponsor your podcast? Or how do I get involved in your podcast? And it’s like, now he’s coming to us with questions like, do you think we could do a line of things like, could we promote it through this? Like it’s really opened up him in the sense of, I think how he looks at what he can be like, I don’t think he ever saw himself in the way of like as being a, you know, in the sense promoting his own show and having his own show. And what makes this easy for you is that all you have to do is show up and film, show up and film and listen to us. If you have a marketing budget and it’s something that you can do, we can handle every bit of it for you. All you have to do, we can coach you through it, we can film it, we can edit it, we can batch it. We can put it to your social media. We can do the SEO for it. Everything that that needs to be done, that’s where it becomes side hustle is a little bit of an understatement, because you really just have to show up and put it all in our hands.

Lee Kantor: Now, being in the industry for as long as you have, are you seeing maybe a transition? There was a time where, um, you know, being a technology company was kind of an outlier. Only a few people were technology people, and now every business is a technology company and is leveraging technology. Do you think the same thing is happening with content that everybody now is a media company, whether they want to or not, because they have to put out content that’s authentic, that’s, you know, professional that is consistent. So in essence, you’re you’re having to also wear a hat of a, of a media company as well.

Pete Joseph: Absolutely, absolutely. Like, I mean, just off of social media’s alone, how do you not have to market in a sense? Right. That’s the overall arching term. Correct. Like, how do you not have to market if you own any type of business and use those platforms? So everybody has to and that’s kind of why we have we built such two in our initial thoughts was it’s kind of your marketing agency. Like you don’t have to carry a marketing staff. You don’t have to worry about, you know, how, man, I have to bring 3 or 4 people on and now do this and handle this stuff and blah, blah, blah, bla bla bla. If we open up tomorrow, who’s going to do our buying? Who’s going to do this? Scooch kind of at the beginning was a lot of that like, hey, we can just kind of come in, you can plug us in, which is what a lot of agencies are. And then that’s when we noticed they need content, too, like they can’t you what are you going to place? What are you going to do for them. Like you can’t just or it’s farming it out to six other places and that’s where yeah, we made it easy for them to say, you don’t have to worry about anything like you can capture it for you. We can create it for you, we can ideate it for you, and we’ll do all the other stuff that full service marketing agency do. So it yes to your question, yes. You have to wear many hats are my goal is to be the hat rack for one of those hats. So you could just kind of, you know, basically pay us to take that hat off your hands.

Lee Kantor: Now walk me through what an engagement looks like. Because like you said, these people aren’t professional media people. Typically, unless maybe you’re evolving into some of your clients being that and they just want to get better at it. But if you’re a lay person and you’re like, you know, like your friend, the chiropractor, you know, he’s a chiropractor, that’s what I do. And now you’re saying, okay, I’m part of my value that I’m going to provide is I’m going to upskill you into being a professional content creator and will ease you in over time. Um, so can you talk about what it looks like to onboard? Because I would imagine you’re answering a lot of questions and allaying a lot of fears in those first conversations.

Pete Joseph: Yeah, I’d say it’s it’s more it’s more fear and apprehensive and apprehensive. Yeah. Being apprehensive. Um. They come it’s really a trust thing. Usually that first what we like to do is the first episode we try to do with anybody. One there’s usually pre-production built into it, like, what’s your idea? What do you what do you want to do? How do you have a vision. So they know who we are before any of this happens. We’ve worked for a couple of weeks together on their their idea. Their concept. Uh, we also have to build their graphics and stuff for the show. So they’re they’re intimately known. So they’ve already got like they’re excited. Right. But it’s more always about what am I going to look like? How am I going to how do I sound? Big ones always sound. Everybody’s always worried about, oh, I don’t want to hear myself. The oddest thing. It’s so funny getting headphones on people is the most bizarre. Like they just. No, don’t need those. No. Well, it’s not for you. Trust me. And then the minute they put them on, they hear themselves. It’s the transformation is completely different. So I think it’s easing them in to just being in front of the lights, being in front of the cameras, letting them know that it’s okay to mess up.

Pete Joseph: Like you can mess up like we can edit this, like we can work with this. It’s a show, right? It’s okay. This isn’t live, you know? And it’s small. It’s very, very intimate. It’s myself, my wife. That the person, the guest. Um. It’s calming. It’s a very calm, relaxing environment. There’s nothing. Uh, like I said, there’s no time. We don’t put time constraints on stuff like. And a lot of it, they’re going into it. They know if we’re helping them do the show and we work through their questions with them early, and then it’s a lot of coaching. I was I was a child actor. I was a SAG actor when I was a kid, so I did a lot of acting myself. So it’s just like I said, it’s a lot of it’s getting them to, you know, get out of it’s an interview. Try to get out of them, the interview, like what they’re trying to get out of that person. You know, it’s don’t make it just about like their Wikipedia page. Try to make it go a little bit in depth. And it’s a lot of training. But number one, first and foremost, it’s just the way I think we’re able to make people feel super comfortable because they’re not walking into an intimidating situation.

Lee Kantor: So what is the pain that ideal client is having before they contact you? Are they frustrated with their social media or their marketing? Are they is their growth kind of stalled? Like, what is it they’re going through? Where Scotch is the is the answer to their prayers.

Pete Joseph: What we’re seeing is a lot of people coming, and they don’t. They’ve either. It’s two people. I’ve had this idea for a podcast and I don’t know where to start or some type of like content show, or I have one and I want to level up. Like I need multiple angle camera shots. I need better sound. My sound doesn’t sound right because I’m going through my computer sound over Riverside. Um, I it’s a business that they just kind of really want. Um, the, the social media. So that’s kind of what we’re that’s really the people that we’re seeing a lot of. Um, uh, but yeah, that’s kind of where that’s, that’s what we’re seeing kind of really kind of see, that’s the our ideal for that.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Pete Joseph: Uh, what do we need more of? Well, you know, it’s the it’s always more and more, more and more clients. You know, we can always do more. And I think it’s just it’s for us. We we like to be, um, small, to make sure we can put as much hands on that we can with our clients. You know, we don’t want to be overburdened to the sense where we lose that personal touch. We pride ourselves on incredible content. We always say that when we shoot, what we shoot is just the first part. The real magic is what we do with after your content is done is shot. So it’s our batching, it’s our social, it’s our SEO work. Um, it really is. That’s where we can make you shine. So for us, it’s, you know, hey, if you have a unique idea out there and you want, you have you just don’t know how to really take it to that next level. And you want to work with people that kind of understand and are understanding of how this works and that you are new to it, or you’re a business leader like, you know, let us know.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team. What’s the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Pete Joseph: You can just reach out to us at media.com. Just go in there, fill out the, um, kind of the, uh, there’s little question and answer form. Fill that out, go from there, and we’ll just get back to you and we’ll kind of come in, have a little kind of a quick meeting, kind of see what your thoughts are and, uh, put together something on paper for you. But it’s a real, real simple process. Um, we’re super open to talk to anybody.

Lee Kantor: And that’s SKU t c h m e d I a.com.

Pete Joseph: That’s it.

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

Pete Joseph: Thank you so much, Lee. Let us know every time you want us on.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Larry Williams and Kyle Tothill With Technology Association of GA

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Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Larry Williams and Kyle Tothill With Technology Association of GA
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Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) drives innovation among Georgia’s technology community, inspires tech leaders, and fosters inclusivity through four foundational pillars: connect, promote, influence and educate.

TAG serves more than 30,000 members statewide through regional chapters in Metro Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon/Middle Georgia, and Savannah. TAG hosts more than 150 events each year and serves as an umbrella organization for 18 professional societies. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed) is dedicated to developing Georgia’s workforce to meet the needs of our technology industry.

Larry K. Williams has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) for almost a decade.

He also leads the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed) benefiting workforce development across Georgia, and the National Technology Security Coalition (NTSC).

A lifelong leader in economic development, Mr. Williams has worked across the U.S. in policy, programming, finance, government affairs, and international relations.

Williams is a founding member of Fintech Atlanta, and Venture Atlanta, plus serves as a member and supporter of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Chamber, Atlanta CIOs Advisory Council, the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, and the Atlanta Rotary Club.

Connect with Larry on LinkedIn.

Kyle-TothillAlong with being TAG’s 2024 Board Chair, Kyle Tothill is the Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer of Collective Insights, is an accomplished entrepreneur and executive leader with a strong foundation in growth enablement. He is focused on driving organizational success and building high-performance teams.

Co-founding and partnering in three successful Atlanta-based business services firms, including eHire, LLC, Make & Build, and Collective Insights, Kyle’s career is marked by the successful launch of four professional services companies and a software firm.

His expertise spans across recruiting and talent acquisition, enterprise technology, and business transformation consulting services, underpinned by a strategic approach to overcoming obstacles and desire to achieve.

Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • TAG 25th Anniversary

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Larry Williams and Kyle Tothill. Larry is the President and CEO of Tag, and Kyle is the tag board chair. And we’re here to celebrate tag’s 25th Anniversary. Welcome, gentlemen.

Larry Williams: Delighted to be here. Happy to be.

Kyle Tothill: Here. We appreciate you.

Lee Kantor: Well, before we get too far into things, I’ll kick it off with Larry. Larry, how has tag’s role in supporting Georgia’s tech ecosystem evolved over the last 25 years?

Larry Williams: Lee, thanks for that. And, uh, delighted to be here and talking to you. You know, 25 years. I don’t think there’s a bigger testament to the evolution of Georgia’s technology community than if you just drive up and down I-85 and I-87 and 75. That connector, the way that our skyline has changed and Tag has been with our community every step of the way. If we think about all of the economic development that’s happened here over the last 25 years, and especially over the past couple of decades, all of that economic development has been driven by technology and innovation. So if we think about everything that’s going on, we’ve been with this community every step of the way and excited about what’s happening. So we used to have to really think about what we were telling the world about why Georgia is a top technology state. Now the world knows and the world has come to us. You know, when you see an NCR, Cisco, Microsoft, Google, etc. on our skyline, it has been absolutely transformational. So we’re excited to celebrate this 25 year journey that we’ve been on. This is an excellent year, but we’re also excited about what’s coming next and the next 25 years. And one thing that I can assure you is that tag will be with this community and this technology community every step of the way.

Lee Kantor: Now, before we look forward, let’s look back. Can you share some of the most significant achievements or milestones that have been accomplished?

Larry Williams: Lee, you got to go back. I mean, you know, you got to go back to the Hayes modem. You’ve got to go back to Scientific-atlanta. You know, when people when all this stuff was just really just starting. But I think, you know, the people who remember putting up the, you know, a phone handset on a little cradle and listening to it beeps and beeps and bursts to communicate just so that we could, you know, send a little basic message. But that was all transformational. If I think about the milestones of our cybersecurity community, you know, Georgia has been part of the evolution of information security now, what we call cyber security. Every step of the way back, you know, you might remember mainframes, you might remember network internet security. Well, before we called it cyber security, that all started right here on Georgia Tech’s campus with the Department of Defense. And that was that gave us the ability to create great companies like ES that later sold to IBM, Secureworks, that became part of Dell Secureworks, Airwatch, which was the first mobile cybersecurity application that Apple led onto its iPhone platform. It is the application that put the BlackBerry out of business. So this really just is testimony that in Georgia, we have been every we’ve been part of every evolution of these critical technologies. That’s right. You know, we didn’t just be you know, we didn’t just become part of the fintech community. We were processing checks and we figured out how to digitize that process. That’s why we have 70% of our debit credit reward card transactions processed right here in Atlanta and Georgia. Kyle, you’ve lived this. What do you think the next ones are?

Kyle Tothill: Well, the next ones, you know, the questions about the history and the milestones. You know, you talk about the internet revolution of the late 90s after the Olympics is really what what started to drive a lot of this technology innovation. And Atlanta was an enterprise hub. It was a place where technology came to be sold to to buyers. And over the last 25 years, we’ve really become innovators in that regard, as opposed to just buyers, just economic buyers of technology and users of technology and the and the the ecosystem has really developed from a very small micro regional technology hub into a global hub of innovation. You know, 25 years later and you can start off with the internet boom, you know, then the cloud boom, the mobile boom, the big data boom. And here we are now on the precipice of, you know, the AI boom. And then, of course, there’s stuff that’s coming. Yes. That question, Larry, when you start thinking about quantum, you know, quantum is the next, you know, the next big thing around the corner. So we have organizations here in Atlanta that are heavy and steeped in driving innovation. And each one of those areas, you know, and it’s been really, really exciting. The amount of growth that’s happened in the last 25 years in this community is remarkable. And it’s changed people’s lives, quite frankly, changed the trajectory, the trajectory of the state.

Larry Williams: Well, said. Kyle and Lee, I’ll just add one thing. You know, poisoning for the next 25 years is critically important. You know, Kyle said it. You know, we’ve worked so hard at being a top five technology state. Georgia is today a global hub of innovation, and we are driving innovation. We’re coming up with new products, next generation of ingenuity. And as we move to and through this world of AI and into the quantum verse, one stat is that Georgia Tech has more of its graduates working in artificial working in AI, working in artificial intelligence than any other major university in the United States. That’s ahead of Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, MIT. We’re at the top now.

Lee Kantor: Looking forward, how does Tag plan to continue to foster this innovation in growth mindset and give them the industry leaders, the tools and the resources to help them get to where they want to go?

Kyle Tothill: I’ll take this one, Larry. Sure.

Kyle Tothill: So.

Kyle Tothill: So what tag is going to do is what it historically has done, which is educate, bringing people together, making them aware of the use cases being the scaffolding, right, by bringing people together and connecting the community. And I think that’s what Tag has done historically extremely well. It has created a community. It is the infrastructure by which the technology community aggregates, connects, learns from each other. Right. We have a really strong platform to promote Georgia and to promote the technology innovation in Georgia. And ultimately, you know, Tag is going to continue to do that and including developing the workforce, bringing more people into the technology workplace and being more inclusive, we’ve got a huge initiative around workforce development that I’m sure Larry will talk about in just a minute, but we plan to be able to bring the resources together, connect the ecosystem, make sure that people are learning together, learning to use cases, learning new technologies, meeting each other. And we know that a connected ecosystem does way better. And we’ve got the proof point for that in the last 25 years. We’re going to take that to the next level as we go through the next 25.

Lee Kantor: So okay, let’s start talking about how does Tag work to address the challenges of the workforce development and talent retention? Because at one point, people were learning in Georgia and leaving Georgia. And now with the advent of so many businesses here, I would imagine we’re retaining a lot more of the talent. And especially after successful exits, a lot of the people are sticking around and want to help grow the community. Can you speak to that?

Larry Williams: There are so many more opportunities now for people to stay here, to build their careers, to raise their families and to reinvest in the community that that they benefit from. So the companies. So just in general, when we think about economic development and the great success that we’ve had in this state, you know, yesteryears people used to move to where the jobs are today in age. Companies are moving to where the talent is, and that’s why all those companies are coming here that we mentioned before. They’re coming in droves. They know the quality, the high quality talent that we have here. So today in age, workforce development is economic development. And so how are we going to stay at the forefront? Well, we’ve got to meet the demand for the jobs of the future. And so we’re looking at what is what is it going to be like for our workforce to work in an AI world? So not everybody’s going to be the creators of new, um, artificial intelligence applications. But there are so many people that are going to master the tools, and they’re the ones that are going to be the builders of new products, new innovations, uh, build new companies, help our existing companies stay at the forefront of innovation. And we’re going to make sure that people have those skills, and it’s going to be a combination.

Larry Williams: It’s going to be, you know, some traditional four year degrees or people that go, you know, for post-graduate work. But we’re also going to accelerate and make sure that we can upskill people through nontraditional means, through experiential methods that might not require four year degrees, that might be, you know, training certifications, um, two year programs. Lee, right now we have just launched, uh, technology apprenticeship program. We’re the only technology organization in the southeast that has a registered apprenticeship program that’s going to give our companies a competitive advantage, because it’s going to be it’s going to be an ability to bring in some really smart, talented people, give them on the job training and experience, and with the idea that they’re going to retain that talent to be a part of their workforce moving forward. So those are one ways. The other is making sure that we get everybody in the state connected to the great prosperity that technology and innovation is bringing to this state. There’s lots of people, um, if we think there are people that can be trained in an upskilled, we’re going to do that and give them the tools that they need to be a part of this great workforce.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you talk a little bit about, you know, they say a rising tide lifts all ships. And that being the case, the southeast has really kind of expanded into technology around Georgia. Like you have Tennessee, you have Huntsville, you have the Carolinas, obviously. How does that impact what’s happening in Georgia? Does that, um, attract more people, or are people spreading around and thinking of the southeast as the place to go? Not necessarily just Georgia?

Kyle Tothill: I think that Georgia really acts as the hub, and those are the spokes. I mean, if it seems obvious, if you just look at it on a map, but, you know, there’s a lot of innovation that’s starting to happen in those submarkets or those regional markets as a result of the success that we’ve had in Atlanta. So Atlanta is a key to the regional economic development. So when you put all those layers together, we are the key, right? And as we go, they go in a lot of ways. And I think that we share the prosperity. Atlanta or Georgia has an unbelievable port and logistics system, a fantastic aerospace, uh, you know, industry, unbelievable fintech, you know, telecommunications infrastructure, data center, uh, retail. We are very, very diverse. Um, and I think that allows the regional markets to take advantage of that. And frankly, having them grow helps our community grow. So it’s one big infrastructure, one big ecosystem. That’s how I look at it. Larry, do you have anything to add to that?

Larry Williams: 100%. Right. It does. I mean, we you know, if you look south of DC, you know, east of Dallas, there’s nothing like Atlanta. There’s there’s, you know, love these other markets. And I’m glad a lot of them are thriving and experienced success. But Atlanta really is where it is in the state of Georgia. And our regional economies as well. Um, people are recognizing the importance of the southeast and our technology and innovation economy. Um, I think there’s always been a lot of relevance. At least, you know, you know, for a long time. And, um, now people are really seeing it and, um, seeing that we are as competitive or more competitive than some of the traditional markets, especially those on the West Coast, because those companies are moving here.

Kyle Tothill: And I think the consistency of our activity is really cemented that. So tag’s been around for 25 years. Chamber’s one of the top chambers, right. This community has had success for a very, very long period of time, and we’ve had the infrastructure to be able to promote that success. So we’ve been telling the world, we’ve been inviting the world. We’re bringing the world to Atlanta through conferences and through through the Georgia Technology Summit and through some of our outreach, uh, you know, global outreach opportunities like Fintech South is a global event. So, you know, I think the big, you know, pole, right, is that we’ve actually been focused on extolling the virtues of this, and that’s why people are recognizing it.

Lee Kantor: Now, how does other how would you recommend other organizations, educational institutions, government agencies or other businesses collaborate with Tag? What’s the best way to connect with you in terms of, okay, let’s figure out a way to better serve the ecosystem. I know you’re the hub, but what how how can other organizations plug into you most effectively?

Larry Williams: You know, we have so many. We have so many options, Lee. And we have so many partnerships and so many great, um, collaborations as it is and certainly, you know, tag online. Org is a way to get us connected. You can reach out to me directly L yeah. L Williams at tag online.org. You can find us and we can get you connected. You know between our 18 societies that really focus in on so many different areas, whether it be fintech, cybersecurity, digital health, cloud, CRM, artificial intelligence, all of these topics are very important, and those are also ways to get more specifically involved in some areas of interest and help build those contacts. But government relations are extremely active both at the state and federal level. Um, you know, people were always looking at ways that we can collaborate. Yesterday, Kyle and I were meeting with the the national director of cybersecurity, which is part of the white House, looking at how do we make sure that we have resilient businesses that can help and collaborate with government to make sure that we’re protecting our cybersecurity, protecting our infrastructure, and make sure that we continue to have great commerce and that we’re, you know, we’re part of the solution in fighting the bad guys, because the bad guys are going to keep coming at us when it comes to cybersecurity threats. So we want to make sure the good guys keep winning. So those are just some examples of the collaborations and then plus our workforce, our universities, our technical college system of Georgia all are welcome.

Lee Kantor: So looking ahead, what are Tag’s primary goals and objectives for the next coming few years? Is there anything you’re looking ahead towards? You mentioned quantum. You mentioned AI. Is there any other trends or anything else you’re working on?

Larry Williams: Well, you know, just and we’ve been talking about these things. It’s it’s number one for the next 25 years. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen 25 years from now. But here’s what I do know. There’s some great key opportunities for us near-term. And I think that’s what you’re asking me here in the near future. So, yes, um, we have I think in Georgia, we have a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of artificial intelligence and the opportunities that it’s going to be that it’s going to bring, and that’s whether it’s creating new companies, uh, mastering the tools that are going to help propel and create innovations within our current companies, but also the thought leadership that we have for the policies that we need. Um, around AI, um, that can happen at the state legislature, um, as well as some of the thought around. You know, what are the the laws? What are the, um, um, policies that we need, the policies that we. Need to be in place. We’ve got Emory, we’ve got Georgia Tech, we’ve got other Georgia State. We’ve got people with great minds thinking through what these implications are. We can be. At the forefront of writing all of this and setting the standard not only for the country, but the world.

Kyle Tothill: Yeah. And I’d like to I’d really like to add that, you know, one of the big priorities for us is really to. Continue to bring people into the technology ecosystem that that aren’t necessarily there today. We. Have got to expand and open our aperture to make sure that the entire population of our great state or the region or people that want. To come here, have an open door to get engaged. Right. And that’s one of the things Larry. Mentioned earlier, which is we have over 200 events a year. We have 5 or 6 major events every single year. We have a lot of opportunities to invite people into the conversation, and I think that’s a huge, a huge priority as we move forward is we’ve got to have the people and we want people to know that they can get a career in technology. They can take advantage of that, you know, and they can easily plug in. We are very hospitable and wide open for that.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you allay some of the fears that people have when there is, um, conversations around AI and how disruptive it’s going to be, how it’s going to replace jobs and things like that? How do you kind of create that bridge to help people make that transition most effectively?

Kyle Tothill: I think that’s a very difficult challenge because it has its moments of fear with all of us, you know, and it happens often. But, you know, you have to take the assumption with folks that change is going to happen. Right? And it’s better to to understand that change is coming and that they’ve got to adapt and overcome, right and change. And they can use AI and, you know, humanity together is going to create a lot of opportunity and that their skills have to grow and they’re going to have to be pushed. And that’s just the way that it is. But assuaging fears is more about highlighting opportunities, right? When you have opportunity in front of you and you’re able to see a pathway to seize that, then the fear disappears. If we’re afraid, we won’t seize that or see that opportunity. And I think that’s what our job is to kind of extoll and show to the broader community through our society events, through our events, that there’s a lot of AI out there that’s going to help people really grow, that’s going to help businesses get faster, better, and it’s going to help those stakeholders, you know, accomplish their goals.

Larry Williams: Notably, AI has been around for a decade, and people have been utilizing it in certain ways, whether they know it or not. So now it’s, you know, emerge and now it’s, you know, at the kitchen table as part of the conversation. Um, so Kyle’s exactly right. So it is raising awareness about, you know, what the world is going to look like that. The other is actually giving people skills, making sure that they’re prepared. When I when I said, you know, we have the opportunity to have the most relevant workforce for the future right here in Georgia. We can drive this. People will want to copy what we’re doing because we will get it right. So when we talk about people knowing what they can do with AI and utilizing it as a tool, um, they’re going to be excited about the future. They’re going to be excited about what they can possibly do within, you know, their own scope of work as it is today, or how they can build new companies to address new, um, new products, new services and new innovations. So, yes, change is hard. We’re going to work through this change, and we’re going to make sure people get connected to it. And we’re at the forefront of the whole innovation economy.

Lee Kantor: Is the education. Um, you mentioned that Georgia Tech right now is at a at the forefront when it comes to AI, people learning about AI, is it trickling down into high schools, middle schools, elementary schools? Is there any type of initiatives that are just starting? These are digital natives, you know. Are we doing anything to help educate them and get them on these tracks earlier on?

Kyle Tothill: They’re the ones educating us. Just to be perfectly frank. Uh, talk to talk to an 18 to 22 year old and ask him how often they use generative AI, and they’ll tell you a lot. Um, but but ultimately, you’ve got to show those business use cases. You’ve got to get those folks connected to, you know, buyers and users of those AI, you know, initiatives. And, you know, Larry could talk a little bit about our Stem education policy and what we’re doing with tag ed to help get that deep down into, you know, some of our high potentials that are in high school and college.

Larry Williams: Yeah. So there’s lots of things that are happening at the industry level. You know, people are right now creating workgroups about how can I improve efficiencies within the workflows. Um, and they’re what they’re doing is really experimenting with the tools that are available, and that’s very important. You know, what can I do if I, um. Um, if I utilize this tool to help do an analysis of, of of a, of a spreadsheet, a very deep, broad spreadsheet, and things that were taking hours of a human’s time were able to do in seconds, quite frankly. And they can point out, you know, key elements or trends within large data sets. This is important. It’s, um, it’s it’s learning how to ask the questions correctly so that you can start to get the relevant information you want. As far as getting it down. Yes. Our educators are doing several things as well. Um, you know, um, at our schools and our Stem, they’re inviting people to start playing with these tools, see what we can do. And here’s what’s important. As people are playing, and especially our younger people are learning to play with these tools, learning how to utilize these tools, what our educators are really doing a good job of is saying, okay, that’s what you learned via just asking a question. Now, how do you put your own thought into it? How do you interpret that data? What experience do you have that can put some unique perspective or some unique context to it that makes what you do is important? Um, uh, as a human, as a lifetime learner, and not just look at something, ask a question and regurgitate, uh, the outcome. This is going to be extremely important about how we utilize these tools moving forward.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, connect with tag and learn about all of the great things that are happening in the tech ecosystem here in Georgia, what is the website? What is the best way to connect?

Kyle Tothill: It’s w w w tag online.org and there are a lot of events you can register for. Um, and we’re excited to have anybody and everybody that wants to learn find an opportunity to plug in.

Larry Williams: But most importantly, December 4th, we are having our silver Jubilee December 4th at the foundry. Uh, in the West Side. Super, super excited about this. This is our second annual gala. It is black tie. It is elegant. We are going to celebrate our second annual Lifetime Achievement Award winner. It was John Yates who many people in the technology industry know. We’re going to be announcing the next one. And so it’s something that if you’re in the technology community, you need to be at our Silver Jubilee on December 4th.

Lee Kantor: And they can learn more at Tag online. Org.

Larry Williams: That’s correct.

Lee Kantor: All right. Well Larry and Kyle, thank you so much for sharing your stories today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Kyle Tothill: Yeah. My pleasure.

Larry Williams: Lee, thanks for your friendship.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Jon Reid With Tier1 Management Consulting Group

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Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Jon Reid With Tier1 Management Consulting Group
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Jon Reid has over 25 years’ corporate business experience, including SOX IT, Project management, Real Estate, Sourcing, Internal audit, Training, and Accounting. He is proficient in project management, evaluating internal control systems, process mapping, budgeting and forecasting, international procurement, analyzing new business, and business plan development.

He also has experience in business operations, regulatory compliance, Diversity and Inclusion & Sarbanes-Oxley. Recent career highlights include the following:
 Sr, Project Manager — Engaged to ensure compliance and production of internal control reporting requirements for Public & Private Sector clients. Produced process maps for financial reporting functions and identified risk and control matrices to be tested for compliance. Responsible for process overview documents, key performance indicators, and development of compliance requirements by function, for both Finance and IT. Assignments with Mirant Corp, PTEK, Interland, MedAssets, Superior Essex, Scottish Re, GE, CCE.

As Executive Partner of Tier1 Management Consulting Group and owner of Allen Reid Enterprises LLC, Jon specializes in Corporate Leadership, Diversity Training, Skill and Team Building, Small Business Development and IT project Management. He is responsible for the daily operation of the business, which involves project management, interacting with the business community, policies and procedures, SOX, Corporate Compliance, coaching and speaking to Entrepreneurs and Real Estate Investors.

He does Business Training for corporate businesses, start-ups and existing mid-size business owners. In addition, Jon builds relationships with bankers, lawyers, public sector entities, marketing and social media professionals to develop additional resources for business owners. K.L. Scott & Associates provides innovative ideas and solutions to our clients.

Jon also runs the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion practice and has certification from Cornell University in Diversity & Inclusion. Co-host of The Citizens Experience Podcast.

Connect with Jon on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Real Estate development
  • Small business growth
  • Why small businesses need processes
  • Project Management
  • Investing in Real Estate

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the Land of Business radio, we have John Reid, who is the managing member with Tier1 Management Consulting Group. Welcome.

Jon Reid: Thank you. Thank you. I’m glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. For folks who aren’t aware of tier one, can you share a little bit about mission purpose? How you serving folks?

Jon Reid: Yeah, so I actually started tier one a while ago to do two things. So think of a silo and you have your small business that’s two silos, one producing one stream of income. The other silo producing another stream. So the first stream is project management business services, helping small businesses and midsize businesses with their processes. If they want to scale, to grow their processes, that they have to change. So one side of my business is mostly project management related state, local, federal government. The other side of the business is more real estate development, teaching people how to be real estate entrepreneurs, how to develop communities, how to build, how to fix and flip, how to, you know, enhance your communities that you live in by real estate investing. Invest. So I have two different silos within the same business model, if that makes sense.

Lee Kantor: Sure. And when you’re working with your clients, do you share with them this strategy? Because in some ways, a lot of businesses focus on one thing and try to be, you know, kind of lean on their superpower. But it sounds like you have two superpowers.

Jon Reid: And I actually keep them separately. So I call myself an alchemist. And, you know, some people say, well, what does the alchemist do? Right? But typically, an alchemist is someone who transforms things for the better. So when I’m talking to corporations or state and local federal governments, my focus is to transform their processes into something better. So I keep all that separate. If I’m doing real estate development, that’s to a different market, a different industry, a different group of ears and eyes. So I have, you know, how we always talk about having an entity, but then having a DBA. So I have two distinct models, but I keep them separate. But I have the knowledge, though, to manage the two because at the end of the day, it’s all about how do you manage projects, right? Be it corporations, federal, state and local government, or real estate development? That’s why that’s how I look at it.

Lee Kantor: All right. So if you want to start with the project management side, let’s talk a little bit about how you’re serving that the group of people interested in that. Who is the ideal client. You mentioned business owners but you also mentioned government. So do you help business owners work with the government or do you help the government with their projects or both?

Jon Reid: Um, it’s sort of both. So I’ll give you a perfect example. With state, local and federal governments, I come in and I help them develop their like a strategic plan. So say they want to do a strategic plan to improve a specific process, say accounts payable or accounts receivable or, you know, auditing. So we, my team and I, we come in, we assess where they’re at currently, and then we make suggestions as to how they can actually be more effective. And that could be using Lean Six Sigma processes or project management processes. But at the end of the day, it is for them to be better process oriented and more efficient. So I do that with state, local and federal government. For small businesses, it’s a little bit different because sometimes small businesses are looking to get government contracts or they’re looking to grow their small business. So we help them in terms of, hey, this is what your foundation should look like. This is the things that you need to do in terms of marketing, legal, accounting. So we help a lot of small businesses in that aspect of it. And then one industry I did not mention to you at the beginning was, um, universities and institutions of higher learning. We help a lot of institutions develop a one year or a five year strategic plan to either increase Retention increase. Recruitment. Increased. Graduation rates. Uh, you know, based on other successful universities. So in that, um, aspect in terms of I call that the private sector, which is, uh, you know, small businesses, companies, universities and institutions, and the public sector is, of course, state, federal and local government. Does that make.

Lee Kantor: Sense? Sure. Now let’s talk a little bit about small business. That’s what a lot of our listeners are, small business owners. Um, is there some advice you can share or some do’s and don’ts when it comes to helping a small business grow? Like what are I would imagine at the core, you’re a believer in process and systems and that that’s instrumental for success. And if you could share some advice or some tips when it comes to building out the right systems and processes to help a small business grow.

Jon Reid: Yeah. So so the number one thing is what access to capital, right. All small businesses have that, that that dynamic. Right? That’s the conundrum. How do we access capital if we’re a small and growing, if we’re a startup or we’re a mid-sized corporation and we need working capital? So number one is access to capital. So when I talk to small businesses, we try to set the foundation up first. Do you have a simple accounting program involved? Do you have, uh, legal, uh, people on your team? Do you have marketing and business development people that can help you out? So number one key is to make sure that the foundation is firm and set first. A lot of people go into trying to get access to capital to grow their business, but they haven’t set the foundation up. Accounting software systems, uh, marketing, business development. And then with the advent of social media, there’s a software that can point push blasts out for you. 3:00 in the morning are all your social media platforms, right? Which is really huge. Like, I’m more seasoned now, and I realize the importance of social media. So one of the advice that, uh, the advice that I typically give people is make sure the foundation is set up first. Your back office stuff before you then go get access to capital. And then if you get access to capital, make sure that your business plan is up to snuff. If your business plan is not up to snuff and you can tell how old I am, right? I’m saying up to snuff. But if your business plan is not, um, doesn’t make any sense. It’s going to be harder for you then to convince someone to loan you money. And so I try to teach individuals that small businesses to make sure that back office and foundations and processes are set up. Now when you go to get access to capital, you have it, but then you need to manage that access to capital appropriately so that now you can grow your business.

Lee Kantor: Now how do you help in the project management side of things like getting the right foundation? That’s important, but how to make sure that not only, uh, once you agree to whatever that process is, to make sure that it’s happening like it’s supposed to. And and there’s some accountability and there’s some compliance. How do you help in that regard?

Jon Reid: So one of the things I do as a PMP project management professional is now you’ve got access to capital and you’re in the day to day operations. Are your operations actually doing what they’re supposed to be doing, like are as you as the entrepreneur or the management team, are you spending more of your time in the weeds just trying to make it happen, or are you or do you have the processes set up so, you know, number one, is it. Let me put together just a quick project plan to the task. And who’s responsible. Here we are. We have this this money. We have a couple of clients. How do we manage that effectively. What tasks do we do individually? How do we ensure that we’re not spinning our wheels ineffectively to actually send the girl to business? Because we may be doing the steps that we need to do to maintain the business. Right. But you’re not actually growing and and the the exit plan for any business is to grow that business such that you could then sell it. Um, get rid of it and then move to another, um, idea that you may want to do, or another business that you may want to do. So we help in terms of setting up the project plan, identifying the task and the resources that you may need to grow, and then ensuring on a monthly, semiannually basis that, hey, let’s we address this and see if we’re hitting our mark and our KPIs, key performance indicators. If we’re meeting our key performance indicators after six months, okay, we’re doing things right. If not, then they may need to, you know, talk to a consultant, someone like me that can say like, listen, here’s your processes. This is what you said you were going to do. But your current your current state says you’re doing this now.

Lee Kantor: Is there a mistake you see over and over when you’re working with teams when it comes to this type of project management? Like, you know, we set a goal and we’re not hitting the goal Is the mistake usually something predictable or is it something? Every time it could be a different thing.

Jon Reid: It just depends. So, you know, you have to go in and do like a. They’re not forensic audits but like an audit. Like if the, if the manager owner managing member principle is doing a lot of the work itself, that means that he doesn’t have time to actually go out and then get more business. He doesn’t have time or she doesn’t have time to do business development. And you need business development to grow your business. So you have to evaluate, okay, well, who’s doing what, where and when. Right. So it’s almost like an audit. So if I find, for instance, say it’s me myself and I’m the it’s my small business or I’m the CEO of a midsize business, but I’m doing finance, marketing, legal, human resources and everything. I’m not actually growing my business because I need to go out and shake some hands and talk to some individuals and grow the business. That means that you need to depend on the individuals who are on your team, right to do the things that they’re supposed to do and tasks to do, right? So I always tell people, you have a you you have a square, you have a square of people in your in that you work with, but everybody’s not in your circle.

Jon Reid: So that means you have to be evaluate the people in your circle. Are we doing what we’re supposed to do to grow this business? And that’s across small businesses, medium sized businesses and even large corporations. I used to be the CFO at one of GE’s and GE, GE capital’s businesses years ago when I was younger, and what we always used to do was like, let’s set a project plan, let’s identify tasks, let’s see where we are, let’s evaluate how we can then grow and spin off and make our jobs a lot more easier. You’re familiar with Jack Welch, right? One of the greatest leaders of any of the corporations, uh, in the country, he used to always employ people he said was smarter than he was. And I thought that was that was that was huge. Just getting out of college. I’m listening to Jack Welch. I’m in GE’s financial management program, and he said that he’s not the smartest guy on the team, but he hired the right people that can help the business grow.

Lee Kantor: And that takes a level of confidence and humility to be able to pull that off.

Jon Reid: Correct. Exactly right. Now you have to depend on your team.

Lee Kantor: Now let’s talk a little bit about the real estate side of your business. Um, what are you working on now? Is there some development going on that you’re working on?

Jon Reid: Yeah. And I’ll give you a quick story on that one. So when I used to work for GE, like I said, GE capital, they moved me down to Alpharetta area to help run their data center, a big IT financial data center. Um, and I met a guy individual who was like, Jonathan, you need another source of income besides your corporate job. And I’m like, no, no, no, I’m good, I’m good. I’m I’m you know, me and my family are good. He’s like, listen, if you want to invest and then grow wealth for your family. Real estate is where you do it. So he you know, he showed me how to start investing in real estate. Fast forward, we started doing free seminars and teaching individuals. How do you invest in real estate effectively so you don’t lose your shirt? Because a lot of us investors at the time, we were doing real estate, but we were losing to at the same time. But it’s a learning experience. So we started teaching people how to do real estate effectively and we did it for free. We we taught this for free. So I started doing a lot of just fix and flips is what they call it, right? You go in, you help a community out by identifying eyesores, buying the eyesore, fixing the eyesore up and then providing an opportunity for a family to buy that, that, that particular house. So I started doing that on the, you know, on the side. And then I got to realize, wait, hold on. I’m teaching people how to do this. I’m doing this on the side.

Jon Reid: Why can’t we then expand this to more effectively create development opportunities in underdeveloped areas. So then I started doing new construction projects. And so now I’ve got a series of new construction projects I do, and also still some fix and flips. I call them where you just buy and renovate and sell. Um, so I’m actually then, uh, helping areas grow by developing them more effectively for the communities. So I have, uh, a couple of projects in Stone Mountain Brookhaven, um, a couple of new constructions that I’m about to do in the West End area of Atlanta, but all for the goal of creating value for the community. Right. And so and I still mentor individuals who still want to get involved and dip their toe into the real estate market, but they just don’t know how to do it. So I still mentor people in that aspect of it as well. And then on our larger end, there are individuals who want to do commercial development. There’s a group, for instance, uh, I’m talking to in North Carolina. They want to develop a 18 home community for, uh, underprivileged and underserved communities. They have eight acres of land to build on, but they need to do a feasibility study. So once again, I utilize my financial background with GE to create a feasibility study to see and determine whether they should embark on this process or not. So should you build 18 homes? Should you build nine homes? Should you build an apartment complex? So I helped the commercial side out in terms of doing feasibility studies, if you will.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you still bullish about the Atlanta or metro Atlanta real estate market, even with the high interest rates? Well, you.

Jon Reid: Know, oddly, the interest rates are actually coming down. Um, and that was a big bane of our existence over this last year, because when the interest rates go up, your pool of buyers go down. And just to be truthful and transparent, a lot of the homes that I had for sale, I hadn’t reduced the prices on them to now get to ensure that the people who are buying them can actually afford to buy them. So. But if you looked at recently, the fed has now cut the rates a little bit. So it’s more reasonable for buyers. So it’s still it’s not a seller’s market anymore. It’s a buyer’s market. So there is opportunity. But you have to concentrate on your location and the price point of what you’re entering into. So and then as you know, we’re coming into a new political environment in which is unsure right now. So right now there’s just some uncertainty over the next six months about what’s going to happen. In my opinion. The good thing is that the feds have reduced the rates. So for buyers, they’re still programs out there for down payment assistance, which is good, has to be in the right price point. So, um, it’s just like with anything if there’s always an opportunity, but you just have to educate yourself on what that opportunity is. It’s going to be in flux in the next six months. But I’m glad to see that the interest rates are going down for the buyers.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Jon Reid: Well, I think what I, what I do and what I’m not good at is more business development. Uh, I talk about helping people to get out of the weeds, but because I have these two silos, I’m more involved in it than than what I can, what I should be. But, you know, I have enough. I have some team members that have got me utilizing more technology, uh, project management technology, like Monday.com. Small business owners can look at that too, or slack for communicating with your team members instead of just traditional email. Um, and so, so utilizing technology and then getting our name out as to how we can help small businesses, medium sized businesses, large businesses grow, I think is the impetus for me like to put the the right foot in front of the left foot, if you will.

Lee Kantor: So what is the pain that this small, medium sized businesses are having now where tier one is the solution?

Jon Reid: So so like I said that I call myself the Alchemist. There’s a lot of people call me that because we actually transform things for the better. Um, we had a contract with the Library of Congress, and we introduced a new software program for them to stop doing things manually and, uh, and, uh, inundated and redundant processes. So a large government agency. Right. We actually help them by helping them transform by utilizing software effectively small businesses. We help them get access to capital. Medium sized businesses. We look at their processes and we say, listen, your goal is to grow. How do you scale effectively so that you can take on the growth? Right. So you may be doing things the same way you have done for the last two years. But now because you’re in a growth mode as a medium sized business, you want to make sure that your processes are in place, that you can now grow effectively without all the pain. So that’s how tier one actually helps companies in terms of all those different industries, um, better enhance themselves for, for the, for the better.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what’s the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Jon Reid: So my website is actually is www.tr t e r the number one mgmt dot net. My email is uh, I’ll say it and I’ll spell it. John at tier one management.com which is j o n at t I e r the number one mgmt dot net.

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

Jon Reid: I appreciate you too, for taking advantage of, you know, talking to small businesses and helping them grow.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Gene Kansas With Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate

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Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Gene Kansas With Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate
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Inspired by his vibrant New Orleans roots, Gene Kansas is an award-winning cultural developer, preservationist, and social entrepreneur, passionately advocating for history, culture, and community through conscientious and thoughtful development. HIs work is driven by a deep commitment to honoring the past while fostering meaningful modern-day connections between people and places that positively contribute to society.

His company, Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate, specializes in culturally conscious projects that elevate the unique character of buildings, neighborhoods, and their shared history. Notable achievements include the historic preservation of the Atlanta Daily World Building in Sweet Auburn, recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the #2 Win in the United States in 2015. This project stands as a testament to his dedication to supporting the legacies of historically significant sites and the importance of preservation.

His upcoming book, ‘Civil Sights’ (UGA Press, 2025), with Dr. Jacqueline Jones Royster as cultural editor and author of the afterword, and Gary M. Pomerantz authoring the foreword, further illustrates Gene’s interest in collaboration and commitment to positive social impact. Driven by the critical need for preservation in the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic District, he connects readers to the people and places of Sweet Auburn, sharing stories of those who fought for equality, hoping to preserve their legacy and ensure vital lessons are not forgotten.

As founder of Constellations, a civic and socially based shared workspace in Sweet Auburn, he created an award-winning cultural center where community engagement and empowerment thrive. He is also the creator and host of the award-winning Sidewalk Radio on AM 1690 “The Voice of the Arts”, a show that explored life in the modern city through the lens of history and the context of community, featuring more than 170 guests over its five-year run. Additionally, Gene and Dr. Royster co-created the radio show “Building Memories” – running for three seasons – in partnership with Georgia Tech which explored the historical consequence of space while focusing primarily on African American history and heritage.

Gene’s numerous accolades, including the Ivan Allen, Jr. Legacy Award and the Alonzo F. Herndon Business Award, highlight his contributions as a leader in the fields of preservation and development. As a sought-after speaker and published author, he generously shares his insights and expertise, inspiring others to engage in cultural projects for public good. With his unwavering passion and dedication to honoring history, and a mindset of paying it forward and giving back, he continues to shape the landscape of Atlanta and beyond, meaningfully impacting people’s lives now and in the future.

Connect with Gene on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • What is historic preservation
  • A case study on Sweet Auburn
  • The making of Gene’s new book ‘Civil Sights’
  • Adapting historical buildings for modern use
  • Inspiring future generations to preserve history

Transcript-iconThis 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.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Gene, Kansas, and he is the founder and CEO of Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate. Welcome.

Gene Kansas: Thank you Lee. It’s always good to be with you.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m so excited to chat with you to get caught up. You’re doing some really important work. But for folks who aren’t familiar, can you talk a little bit about your work?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. I’ve been in Atlanta 29 years. I’m from New Orleans. I believe who we are as kids is who we are as adults. I’ve always been a writer. I’ve always been an entrepreneur. Today, the primary medium for sharing stories and connecting is the built environment. So real estate and do that with a cultural focus. I also have a book coming out called Civil Site, which is about the people and places who came together to make history in Sweet Auburn, which is birthplace of the civil rights movement right here in Atlanta. Have a civic and socially based shared workspace in Sweet Auburn as well called constellations, and really focused on trying to make a positive difference in the world through people and places and programing.

Lee Kantor: Now, could you educate us a little bit for folks who aren’t familiar with the sweet Auburn area and why it’s so important for Atlanta and the region?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. Well, I mean, the historical consequence of sweet Auburn cannot be emphasized enough. This is, you know, literally the the birthplace of the civil rights movement. So if you think about the the rights that are promised by the Constitution that weren’t being, you know, fully delivered, then you think about millions of people around the world and leadership right here in downtown Atlanta, Martin Luther King, you know, John Wesley Dobbs preceding him, Ella Baker, Congressman John Lewis, Bayard Rustin, Septima Clark, Rosalind Pope, so many others that came together to make the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 possible. That happened here. And the thing that’s both fascinating and also tragic is that since 1976, when the Sweet Auburn Historic District was designated a historic landmark, since then, 47% of the buildings have been lost. Part of what we do with my company is historic preservation. So to understand that not only are we losing historical fabric, but we’re also losing the ability to have a conspicuous cue for a conversation about the importance of place. And in this place, we’re talking about the lessons that can be imparted from the civil rights movement.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, I’ve been able to travel to a variety of different cities around the country, and some cities do a good job of incorporating kind of historical buildings and landmarks within the fabric of their downtowns or in certain areas. Why do you think that some communities embrace this, while other communities just want to tear it down and, you know, put up parking lots and parking garages and brand new shiny buildings?

Gene Kansas: Well, it’s a great question. And and it’s also a complicated one to answer because there’s so many different factors out there in the world. I mean, as one example, you know, you could have a city interested in growth and that’s not necessarily bad. Um, Atlanta has been, you know, a city on the rise for a long, long time. It’s part of our DNA is progress, um, and moving forward. Um, but in some cases that can lead to consequences that aren’t. Necessarily beneficial. And it’s not just the preservation of buildings. It could be, you know, let’s say, um, green, green space, our tree canopy. But with downtown Atlanta and I think a lot of other cities around this country, you had, um, you know, let’s say a negative consequence of white flight. Um, this was especially in the segregated South. So, you know, you you have places that were thriving business centers like downtown Atlanta, um, thriving commercial and cultural centers as well. But when people move out and they’re no longer a population to go to the restaurant or support the hotel or occupy the office space, then you have an economic issue, and if something is not creating value, then it’s not really motivating for others. And when it comes to the case of cities and neighborhoods, that can lead toward, um, basically, you know, issues with value and, and people trying to figure out what can be possible. And sometimes that leads to demolition. Sometimes it leads to what’s called demolition via neglect. And that’s a big part of what’s happened in Sweet Auburn is by building sitting vacant, um, they end up crumbling. Um, so that is just one answer out of many.

Lee Kantor: Now, when there’s an a companies like yours that come in and see kind of the value that’s there and maybe isn’t obvious to other people, how do you go about preserving some of the history, but still make it viable for business to be done.

Gene Kansas: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, there have been a lot of other people, um, and companies that have been involved in this effort and locally, um, there are preservation organizations such as the Atlanta Preservation Center, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. There’s also the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, which is interested in historic preservation and acts as an oversight body through city government for this. Nationally, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, plus a lot of stakeholders in sweet Auburn from, you know, uh, the the churches here, um, from the King Center. Um, other historic places. Now, as someone who is an entrepreneur and a historic preservationist, who also is a writer. I’m very interested in the story, and the stories that come from Sweet Auburn are magnificent. They’re inspiring and and frankly, they’re incredible. And so if those can be shared and connect with people just like you do on your show, that that creates some form of value that’s motivating motivation that can result in action. And so the action might be for people to to come and use the space or rent space. Longer term constellations, which are mentioned earlier, is a great example of this.

Gene Kansas: This is a building at 135 Auburn Avenue. Um, it was built in 1910 as a book warehouse. It’s called, um, the Southern Book Building. And, um, this is a place that has a period of significance in the 1960s when in 1963, the the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, um, had their offices there. And to be able to to be a part of the history now through historic preservation and new contemporary programing at the Southern School book building. Um, we’ve got people who come in for, let’s say, a day. We’ve had over 80 weddings here. We have people who, um, rent space long term. One of the groups is called Music and common. Um, music and common does, um, racial reconciliation through songs. So they bring together communities and conflict. They write songs together, they perform songs together, they communicate. And there’s a healing there. The reason they’re here is because they have, you know, an interest in in a meaningful connection and presence to the sweet Auburn Historic District as a leader in civil and human rights. Um, but this is just one example.

Lee Kantor: Now, in your upcoming book, Civil Rights, um, you mentioned the importance of storytelling throughout this conversation, but is there a story within that book that you can share that kind of illustrates your interest in the area, and also maybe makes this come alive for the listener?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. So there’s a building called the Daily World Building, and this building is a historic site in journalism. Um, it it is also a place that has a, a rich history even before the modern day civil rights movement so built in 1912. In 1918 it was home to the Virgil Coffee Company. Starting in, I think, the the 20s and then into the 30s, um, it was sad. Sat on the dividing line of black and white Atlanta. There were apartments there. They were integrated apartments. Um, then the 1940s and specifically 1944, the Ponciana club opened. Now the Ponciana club was a jazz joint that featured folks that you, your listeners will know, such as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Little Richard. So there’s this jazz history. And then, um, there was a group in 1944 that moved in as well, called the district five Girl Scouts. This is Atlanta’s first black Girl Scout troop. These young Scouts who became women are an exceptional example of leadership. And one of those scouts is a woman or a young girl named Rosalind Pope. When she was a senior at Spelman, she became the principal author of An Appeal for Human Rights, which was a civil rights manifesto that was published in 1963 that sparked the Atlanta Student Movement, which helped spark the national movement, which really made success in the civil rights movement possible. No one knows who she is because, frankly, women have been excluded from history and especially, um, women of color. And so in I guess around this time last year, um, I got a call from the city of Atlanta Cultural Affairs saying that the Girl Scouts wanted to do a mural in downtown Atlanta to help celebrate the history of district five.

Gene Kansas: And did I know of any walls that could be used? Because I was in a fortunate position with our company to lead the historic preservation of the Daily World building, which had been hit by a tornado in 2008. Um, I bought the building with a partner of mine named Ben Dupuy, uh, led a preservation effort, and because of the historic preservation of the building itself, we had a wall. We were able to work with the Girl Scouts to have the mural honoring district five, featuring Rosalind Pope on the side of this building. And so we’re getting to talk more about a story now, but let’s just say that someone didn’t have the ability to to listen to this show or know much about the building if they see a 50 by 30 foot mural, public Art for Public good. And they’re interested in it today. You know, with mobile technology, they can quickly, you know, look up what is the story here? And when they do, they’re going to find something, um, of a caliber of inspiration that’s really hard to get in everyday life. So what might that mean for a Georgia State student? You know, walking by, there’s 37,000, uh, people at Georgia State University on the downtown campus. Um, what might that mean for a young scout of today who goes with their troop and sees what they think is just a work of art, but really an ideal and an example, a shining example of what’s possible. These are the types of things that are possible through historic preservation of the building. I would argue, though, maybe even more importantly, is a more ethereal or artistic preservation, in this case the preservation of women’s rights.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? And how can we help you?

Gene Kansas: Well, if anyone is interested in learning about the people and places that came together to make history and sweet Auburn through civil rights, please, you know, go online. Um, this is forthcoming from UGA press and co-published with Georgia Humanities, will be out in February of 2025. The website is civil sites, dot com and sites are spelled s I g h t s civil sites com. Um. Learn more. Preorder the book. Um come down to sweet Auburn. Um, you know, do some cultural tourism and um and just if so inspired share it with others.

Lee Kantor: And then can you share the kind of coordinates for constellations if they’re interested in your shared workspace?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. Thanks for asking. It’s constellations dot community. We have space for lease long term. We also host meetings and events. So think holiday party, think book club, milestone events, um, reunions, uh, any type of um meeting or event if you want to be in a place that’s beautiful and also has a rich history, um, please visit us.

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

Gene Kansas: Thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

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