John Ray Archives - Page 22 of 69

A Journey of Resilience and Leadership, with Maggie DeCan, Author of Humbled on Purpose

October 11, 2024 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

A Journey of Resilience and Leadership, with Maggie DeCan, Author of Humbled on Purpose

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A Journey of Resilience and Leadership, with Maggie DeCan, Author of Humbled on Purpose (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 810)

In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray interviews Maggie DeCan, author of Humbled on Purpose: Discovering Strength Through Vulnerability, Humor, and Grace. The episode examines Maggie’s personal journey from a traumatic childhood—one that included her mother’s death by suicide and the resulting family difficulties that trauma caused—to becoming a successful leader in the corporate and nonprofit sectors. Maggie shares how her past shaped her as a manager and motivated her to foster empathetic leadership. The conversation highlights her career transition to nonprofit work at the Children’s Development Academy and her journey to writing a book sharing leadership lessons and personal growth. Maggie discusses the importance of resilience and finding strength through vulnerability and faith. The episode emphasizes the book’s mission to inspire others to overcome victimhood and choose a path of resilience and purpose.

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced by the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Maggie DeCan

As of Saturday, 10/5/24, Maggie DeCan stepped aside as the CEO & Executive Director of the Children’s Development Academy (CDA) in Roswell, GA, where she served for nearly 8 years. The CDA provides high-quality early education to children from low-income households. She drove strategic priorities focused on increased enrollment, sustainable giving and quality outcomes.

Maggie is the author of the just published book from Ripples Media, Humbled on Purpose: Discovering Strength Through Vulnerability, Humor and Grace, about her life’s journey, including from the c-suite to running a small nonprofit. She is also an ICF-trained executive coach, mentoring and coaching other nonprofit leaders, and she also serves as a speaker and consultant.

Prior to taking the helm at the CDA, Maggie was with HoneyBaked Ham for 14 years and ran day-to-day operations for their national system as president and COO, leading a team responsible for $500MM annually of system sales in 500 corporate and franchise operating units as well as e-commerce. Before HoneyBaked, Maggie served in human resources and operations for well-known retailers Circuit City, Belk and Macy’s.

Maggie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications from current CFP national champions, the University of Michigan Wolverines. She is still actively involved as a national volunteer with her women’s fraternity, Chi Omega, where she serves on the Chi Omega Foundation steering committee and as an ambassador for and mentor in the Pearl Program connecting alumnae and college students. Maggie is also actively involved in her parish, St. David’s Episcopal Church of Roswell. She also serves as a volunteer ALTA Coordinator for the Sunday Business Women’s League and proudly serves as the president of the Atlanta chapter of the University of Michigan Alumni group.

Maggie’s leadership experience extends to the community, where she is a respected leader and educational advocate, receiving awards from the State of Georgia PTA for visionary leadership, the Turknett Leadership Character Award, the National Diversity Council as a “Most Powerful and Influential Woman” in Georgia and a Womentics P.O.W. winner. She is Chairman Emeritus of the Roswell North Elementary Education Foundation, a 501(c)3 that she helped found in 2009. She is also past president of the Woodstock Junior Service League.

Maggie has been married to her husband for 38 years, Bob, a retired high school economics teacher and tennis coach. Maggie and Bob have two boys, Riley, a UGA graduate who works for Truist and is about to marry his middle school sweetheart and fellow UGA grad Emily Amour, and Brady, studying marketing at GCSU. Maggie enjoys spending time with her family, friends and dogs, playing tennis and time in the northeast Georgia Mountains at their lake home in Blairsville.

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Topics Discussed in this Episode

00:00 Introduction and Welcome to North Fulton Business Radio
00:29 Meet Maggie DeCan: Author of Humbled on Purpose
02:05 Maggie’s Early Life and Childhood Trauma
03:33 Career Journey: From Corporate to Nonprofit
04:19 Impact of Childhood Trauma on Career
06:00 Finding Strength and Resilience
16:55 Transition to the Children’s Development Academy
20:52 Lessons Learned and Future Plans
25:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, with over $17 billion in assets and more than 180 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray

With over 800 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!

The show welcomes a wide variety of business, non-profit, and community leaders to get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. There’s no discrimination based on company size, and there’s never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates business by sharing positive business stories that traditional media ignore. Some media leans left. Some media leans right. We lean business.

John Ray, Business RadioX - North Fulton, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors — **John Ray, Business RadioX – North Fulton, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors**

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.

The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.

John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.

John is the national bestselling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.

Challenges Facing Older Self-Employed Service Professionals, with Dr. Larry Gard, Done with Work Retirement Coaching and Consulting

October 9, 2024 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Challenges Facing Older Self-Employed Service Professionals, with Dr. Larry Gard, Done with Work Retirement Coaching and Consulting

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Challenges Facing Older Self-Employed Service Professionals, with Dr. Larry Gard, Done with Work Retirement Coaching and Consulting (The Price and Value Journey, Episode 116)

One reason service professionals choose self-employment is for flexibility in their retirement, but they sometimes find that ageism has its own agenda. In this episode of The Price and Value Journey, host John Ray welcomes Dr. Larry Gard, a retirement coach and consultant, to discuss the challenges and nuances of working and retiring faced by older self-employed professionals. The conversation delves into the effects of ageism, the distinct retirement experiences of self-employed individuals, and strategies to prepare for a satisfying post-retirement chapter. Dr. Gard shares insights from his career as a psychologist and coach, emphasizing the emotional and strategic aspects of winding down a business. The episode also covers the importance of maintaining relevance and exploring new opportunities in retirement planning that go beyond financial considerations.

Dr. Gard’s blog post referenced in this episode, “Fade out? Bow out? Forced out? A Big Challenge Facing Older Self-Employed People,” can be found by following this link.

The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX®.

Dr. Larry Gard, Done with Work Retirement Coaching and Consulting

Dr. Larry Gard is a retired psychologist in Chicago and the founder of Done With Work Retirement Coaching and Consulting.

Though no longer a therapist, his long career in clinical psychology gives him the necessary perspective and experience to help professionals sort through the head and heart side of retirement and craft a satisfying next chapter.

Larry is also the author of Done with Work: A Dozen Perspectives on The Decision to Retire, which offers insights into making a meaningful retirement decision.

Website | LinkedIn

Topics Discussed in this Interview

00:00 Introduction to The Price and Value Journey
00:25 Challenges of Winding Down Professional Work
01:41 Introducing Dr. Larry Gard
02:54 Dr. Gard’s Journey and Insights
05:17 Understanding Self-Employment and Retirement
09:25 Ageism and Its Impact on Professionals
13:01 Strategies for Staying Relevant
19:17 Planning for Retirement
28:11 Dealing with Current Retirement Challenges
32:50 Supporting Others in Their Retirement Journey
35:19 Success Stories and Final Thoughts
38:48 Conclusion and Contact Information

About The Price and Value Journey

The title of this show describes the journey all professional service providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire, and trying to do all that at pricing that reflects the value we deliver.

If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line and the mindset you bring to your business.

The show is hosted and produced by John Ray and the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. The show can also be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.

John Ray, Host of The Price and Value Journey

John Ray, Author of The Generosity Mindset and Host of "The Price and Value Journey" — John Ray, Author of *The Generosity Mindset* and Host of *The Price and Value Journey*

John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.

John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include business coaching and advisory work, as well as advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, coaches, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.

In his other business, John is a Show Host and Producer and owns the North Fulton (Georgia) studio of Business RadioX®. John and his team work with B2B professionals to create and conduct their own podcast using The Generosity Mindset™ Method: building and deepening relationships in a non-salesy way that translates into revenue for their business.

John is also the host of North Fulton Business Radio. With over 780 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in its region like no one else.

John’s book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices

John is the #1 national best-selling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.

If you are a professional services provider, your goal is to do transformative work for clients you love working with and get paid commensurate with the value you deliver to those clients. While negative mindsets can inhibit your growth, adopting a different mindset, The Generosity Mindset™, can replace those self-limiting beliefs. The Generosity Mindset enables you to diagnose and communicate the value you deliver to clients and, in turn, more effectively price to receive a portion of that value.

Whether you’re a consultant, coach, marketing or branding professional, business advisor, attorney, CPA, or work in virtually any other professional services discipline, your content and technical expertise are not proprietary. What’s unique, though, is your experience and how you synthesize and deliver your knowledge. What’s special is your demeanor or the way you deal with your best-fit clients. What’s invaluable is how you deliver great value by guiding people through massive changes in their personal lives and in their businesses that bring them to a place they never thought possible.

The combination of all these elements is quite different for you compared to any other service provider in your industry. Therein lies your value, but it’s not the value you see. It’s the value your best-fit customers see in you.

If pricing your value feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar to you, this book will teach you why putting a price on the value your clients perceive and identify serves both them and you, and you’ll learn the factors involved in getting your price right.

The book is available at all major physical and online book retailers worldwide. Follow this link for further details.

Connect with John Ray:

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Business RadioX®: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Georgia’s Economic Outlook, with Dr. Jerry Parrish, Metro Atlanta Chamber

October 7, 2024 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Georgia's Economic Outlook, with Dr. Jerry Parrish, Metro Atlanta Chamber

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Georgia’s Economic Outlook, with Dr. Jerry Parrish, Metro Atlanta Chamber (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 809)

In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, John Ray hosts Dr. Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist at the Metro Atlanta Chamber, who discusses Georgia’s economic outlook. Dr. Parrish details recent trends, including Georgia’s impressive job growth post-COVID, innovations in tech, and significant projects reshaping the Metro Atlanta regions. Challenges he points to include the impact of Hurricane Helene, the Longshoremen’s strike affecting Georgia’s ports, and the lack of adequate workforce housing. Dr. Parrish explores the implications of political uncertainty on business investment as well as discussing the importance of fostering a positive business climate in Georgia.

Note: Subsequent to the recording of this episode, the longshoremen’s strike that began on October 3, 2024, was suspended and work resumed, following a tentative agreement reached between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced by the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Dr. Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist, Metro Atlanta Chamber

**Dr. Jerry Parrish, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce**

Jerry D. Parrish, Ph.D., is the Chief Economist at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Dr. Parrish was previously the Director of State and Local Policy Analysis at the Florida Institute of Government at Florida State University. Dr. Parrish was also on the faculty in the Masters of Applied Economics Program at Florida State University for twelve years.

Jerry was previously the Chief Economist and Director of Research for the Florida Chamber Foundation. Prior to that position, Dr. Parrish was the Chief Economist and Director of the Center for Competitive Florida at Florida TaxWatch. Prior to that position, he served as the Associate Director of the Center for Economic Forecasting & Analysis (CEFA) at Florida State University. He has many years of experience in the private sector in management roles at international manufacturing companies.

Jerry earned a B.S. in Agricultural Business and Economics from Auburn University, an M.B.A. from Bellarmine University, an M.S. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Auburn University.

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Metro Atlanta Chamber

The Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) is a privately funded 164-year-old organization representing businesses, colleges and universities, and nonprofits across the 29-county region that makes up the nation’s eighth-largest market.

MAC member companies represent 1+ million employees in the region. Our businesses invest in the work we do to attract and retain business, ensure a business-friendly climate through public policy and market the region as a place to live, work and play.

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