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George Sudarkoff with George Sudarkoff, LLC

March 20, 2024 by Jacob Lapera

Bay Area Business Radio

George Sudarkoff with George Sudarkoff, LLC

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George Sudarkoff, Executive Coach at George Sudarkoff, LLC.

He specializes in guiding gifted leaders with ADHD. With a background in Systems Engineering and Psychology, he leverages over three decades in engineering and entrepreneurship for his coaching, established in 2019. Diagnosed with ADHD later in life, George empathizes deeply with his clients’ challenges.

He resides in Campbell, California, with his wife, Adi, their two children, and their Labradoodle Rosie.

Connect with George on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Harnessing ADHD as an Entrepreneur

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:06] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in the Bay area, it’s time for Bay Area business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Bay Area Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have George Sudarkoff, who is an Executive Coach for Leaders with ADHD. Welcome, George.

George Sudarkoff: [00:00:32] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:33] Well, I’m so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your practice. How are you serving folks?

George Sudarkoff: [00:00:38] Well, as you said, I’m an executive coach and I spent a good 30 years in tech myself. I went from an individual contributor all the way to CTO of my own company, and that switch from individual contributor to a leader and executive was a pretty rocky one for me, and I. I struggled and, uh, when I left my W2 job in 2019 to start a company, I also discovered that I have ADHD myself and kind of losing that structure and support once again, I struggled again, and people have been telling me for literal decades that I should teach or coach. So I decided to try. And the rest is history. I work with founders and executives with ADHD and help them to transform their ADHD from a liability into an asset.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:32] So what are some maybe clues that you might be suffering with ADHD?

George Sudarkoff: [00:01:38] Well, the trifecta of symptoms is distractibility, impulsivity and hyperfocus. Obviously, if you want to get a officially diagnosed, there’s a DSM five manual. It’s a manual that psychologists psychiatrists use to diagnose. But this trifecta is is a pretty good clue that maybe you should look into it if you keep getting distracted, if you can’t focus on on a task, and at the same time you get hyper focused on something that maybe you shouldn’t be doing at that time. Those are pretty good clues.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:14] Now, how do you define either the focus part or the distracted part? Like is it something that happens once or like, are you distracted for hours at a time? Like how? Like there has to be kind of a spectrum to this, I would imagine.

George Sudarkoff: [00:02:30] Oh yeah. There’s a there’s a big spectrum. You know, there’s a classic story of you’re trying to focus on something and oh, squirrel! And you go in a completely separate direction. And you might have also heard some people like the way they tell stories. They jump from tangent to tangent to tangent. That is another way ADHD and Distractibility sometimes manifests. Doctor Hallowell, who’s a world authority on ADHD. He wrote the book ADHD 2.0, compares ADHD to a Ferrari with a bicycle brakes. So you have this powerful engine, you can go fast, but you constantly seem to lose control and drive off the road. So that’s that’s the experience.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:19] So how do you help your clients? Kind of like you said, uh, make this from a take it from a liability into a strength. How do you kind of, uh, harness this so that you can leverage it to your benefit?

George Sudarkoff: [00:03:33] Yeah, I love to look at it from the ability point of view. I really don’t like calling ADHD a disability, because if you go back to this metaphor of having a Ferrari with bicycle brakes, you already have the most powerful, the fastest one of the kind car. And maybe you’ve seen those videos. People getting in. Somebody else’s supercar and wrecking it within seconds. We don’t call it the car’s fault. We. Instead, we think maybe the person should have taken the car to the track and learned how to to control it. I see ADHD very much the same way. Adhd is a is a big bag of gifts. Uh, they’re, uh, difficult maybe to unpack sometimes. But if you look at this trifecta of symptoms that I mentioned earlier. Distractibility impulsivity. Hyperfocus. Every single one of them has a brighter side. Distractibility, for example, is a curiosity on the other end of the spectrum. Impulsivity is creativity. You can’t be creative on command. You can’t schedule a 12. I’m going to come up with a brilliant new idea. It just does not work that way. And hyperfocus on the on the positive end of the spectrum is just boundless energy. Being able to dedicate inhuman amounts of focus and dedication to to a particular topic.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:08] So now in your work are people, um, like, what’s kind of the impetus of of calling you like, there’s something happened that they’re like, look, I got to get a handle on this, or are they, uh, not happy? Like, what is kind of the the reason where they’re like, I need a coach to help me kind of navigate this.

George Sudarkoff: [00:05:31] Yeah, yeah. Well, often happens with ADHD folks when we grow up, we hear. And there’s a very common phrase that you have so much potential, but you’re wasting it. If only you could focus. If only you can apply yourself. I’m the guy to call when when you’re tired of being that fuckup who constantly seems to. And go through the all out, followed by burnout cycle.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:01] So the person that maybe isn’t living up to their potential, or they’re frustrated that maybe they’re at a plateau in their career or their life may be that the ADHD is kind of the culprit or is lingering around this, that you need a coach to kind of help you navigate this.

George Sudarkoff: [00:06:20] Yeah. And I work with founders and executives, and we address leadership issues as well. But, uh, a lot of the leadership issues when you have ADHD have a particular flavor. If a lot of my clients, um, profoundly gifted, so they, they can read a book, they can take a course and they can figure out how to address a problem. It’s not the lack of knowledge. It’s it’s this other thing that the executive function, being able to take that knowledge and turn it into something. Um, in the real world and do it consistently. And that’s just, uh, one month you’re you’re all out, and then you burned out for the next six months.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:07] So what does, um. What does it look like when someone begins an engagement with you? What are what is, uh, kind of. Can you walk me through what the beginning of a relationship looks like?

George Sudarkoff: [00:07:19] Yeah, yeah, we would spend the first few sessions just to get to know the the particulars of this person’s ADHD. The presentation, because there’s a as you mentioned at the beginning, there’s a big spectrum of how it, um, presents in life. So we will we will try to understand. Exactly the exact flavor that this person has and how it gets in the way, how it, um, prevents them from achieving their goals. And over time, I don’t like to follow a, you know, a specific program because, um, every person is unique, every person, every challenge that they have is, is unique and different. Um, so I like for the relationship for the coaching relationship. So. Um, to grow organically. And, uh, we will address the, the issues that they might face in that moment. Um, and the ADHD itself is going to be the, the bigger theme that we’re trying to tackle. And ultimately I, I want them to learn to manage the. This Ferrari, that they have learned to drive it completely on their own, so they don’t need me.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:44] Can you share a story? Maybe don’t name the name, obviously, but maybe the reason somebody came to you and then how you helped them get to a new level and maybe manage this so they can kind of control the Ferrari and get kind of the best outcome from having a Ferrari.

George Sudarkoff: [00:09:00] Yeah, yeah, a very typical scenario. And I have a particular person in mind who is still my client. Um, is they, uh, a profoundly gifted? They’re very gifted. They have lots of fantastic ideas. They start a company, um, with a co-founder, um, and they find themselves in a situation where, um, the way they. Operate. The way they approach work creates a lot of friction and a lot of, um. Conflict with the co-founder because they cannot be consistent. They cannot be relied on. Um, and so that becomes the, the first focus for our work. And we figure out exactly, um, where. There may be some additional support is needed. And at the same time, um. Maybe a re design re engineer and renegotiate the responsibilities that the two co-founders have in their company.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:13] So then you help them kind of, um, maybe re maybe just adjust the way that they each deal with themselves and maybe with the projects on hand and maybe align their skills and strengths accordingly. Yeah.

George Sudarkoff: [00:10:29] Yeah, we all have strengths. And if we approach work with strengths in mind, um, it’s a lot easier to be productive and happy at the same time, right? Because a lot of us with ADHD, we learn to use anxiety as our coping strategy. And even if you master. Using anxiety as your motivation. Um, in at the end of the day, it leads to burnout and you become unhappy with the work. And, um, it does not lead to a lasting, productive relationship.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:05] So is this something that, um, you’re cured of, or is this something you manage, or is there something that how does it work? Like what’s the long terme kind of, uh, prognosis when you are diagnosed with ADHD?

George Sudarkoff: [00:11:20] Well, ADHD. Um, it is called, um. Um, a disability by by the medical establishment. I don’t see it as a disability, but it is just, uh, my point of view. Um, there’s medication that you can take that, um, can help you using the same metaphor of Ferrari with bicycle brakes. Maybe can strengthen your brakes and medication. Um, could be a really important part of of the of this process. Um, but ultimately, it never goes away. It’s it’s genetic. Um, some even believe there’s a, um, evolutionary advantage. Um, as a matter of fact, if you have ADHD, you’re 32% more likely to become an entrepreneur and to start a company. At the same time, you’re 27% more likely to end up in jail. Um, so it does come. There’s benefits and, um, and they’re costs. So. I think ultimately it’s about learning to to manage what you have. But you are never cured now.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:33] Now, um, is there any advice you can give to somebody who’s listening that maybe is seeing themselves in this conversation? Is there some low hanging fruit that an individual, uh, can be doing, or some actions they can be taking today to, um, either assess or improve their situation?

George Sudarkoff: [00:12:54] Yeah. Yeah, it’s. Well, that’s such a good question. It’s hard to pick just one thing if I, if I wanted to, like, deliver just one idea to your listeners, it would be to. Really try and see the positives in ADHD symptoms and and be more gentle with yourself and um. Forgiving. Maybe there’s a balance we don’t want necessarily to let ourselves off the hook. We’re still responsible for the things that we’re responsible. But finding the way. Um, when we can use our strengths to, to to get to our goals. That’s that’s the ultimate.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:40] Well, if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what is the website? What is the best way to get Ahold of you?

George Sudarkoff: [00:13:50] Uh pseudo.com is my website. Uh, there’s a button to schedule a free consultation with me, and I would be happy to talk to everybody.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:00] And that’s s u d a r k Ofcom. George, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

George Sudarkoff: [00:14:10] Thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:11] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Bay Area Business Radio.

Phil Davis With FulPhillment® Solutions, LLC

September 20, 2023 by Jacob Lapera

Atlanta Business Radio

Phil Davis With FulPhillment® Solutions, LLC

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Phil Davis, Certified Professional of Human Resources® (PHR®), is inspiring and helping people find clarity and confidence in their careers, in business, and in life. For this reason, he founded FulPhillment® Solutions, LLC to build transformative relationships and connect invigorated job seekers and dynamic employers.

Directing passion for harmony into bringing people together and helping greatness grow, FulPhillment® utilizes a highly personalized and collaborative process to help individuals and employers reach ever-evolving goals.

Connect with Phil on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

What is FulPhillment
Why was FulPhillment created
Who do they serve and why
Any business developments coming up

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by on pay. Atlanta’s New standard in payroll. 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, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Phil Davis with FulPhilllment Solutions. Welcome, Phil.

PhilDavis: Hey, Lee, Thanks for having me today. Appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about fulfillment solutions, how you serving folks.

PhilDavis: Absolutely. So fulfillment and it’s spelled literally with p h i l l. So my name is actually trademarked within the fulfillment name. It is a unique career coaching and recruiting consultancy company. And so the bulk of what I love to do is I love to help Mid-senior level career professionals to find fulfillment in their career journey by helping them to tune into their value with confidence right? So as we all know, right, we all have unique value add in our careers and in our lives. And so one of the things that I absolutely love to do with my clients, my job seeker clients, is to not only help them really tune into their value, but to really show it out to companies, to whether it’s to their current employers or to a new employer, if they’re looking for a job in a way that’s compelling, but that they also feel good about. Right. And so I came up with fulfillment. The idea of of the fulfillment brand and business model, gosh, it’s been over about two years or so just during Covid and just absolutely love what I do. So that’s a little bit about that.

Lee Kantor: So what’s the backstory? How did you come to this point where you want to help people kind of get their dream jobs?

PhilDavis: Absolutely. Well, as you know, as Covid 19 hit, right. We saw a lot of a lot of career professionals get laid off. Right. Lose their positions very, very quickly just during the kind of the big season of the pandemic and being a being one of one of those affected by a layoff or really multiple layoffs. Myself, I’ve been through three consecutive layoffs in my recruiting career in corporate. I decided that I needed to just do something different with my life, right? And so for me, I saw kind of a solution, if you will, to go into the marketplace, to start my own journey, really with fulfillment. And in the beginning, rightly, like, like most entrepreneurs, I started just kind of doing pro bono work, right? Helping people with their resumes, doing a quick resume review here and there, checking out a LinkedIn profile, doing cover letters. And this was all just during Covid while I was first looking for a job myself. And I knew the job market for me was going to be a little challenging just based on my level of experience. And so just really, really being able to give and to serve back to my community here in Atlanta, I said, you know what? I’d really monetize something and really build a brand and a business just off of this fulfillment name because really the name fulfillment came to came to being through LinkedIn, right? And so when I started kind of getting on on LinkedIn, I had marketing coaches reach out and say, Hey, you need to have a unique hashtag on your LinkedIn page.

PhilDavis: And so I thought, Well, what am I here to do, right? Am I here to find a job or am I here for something kind of at a deeper level? Right? And and I knew that the frustration of Covid and job seekers being laid off then just I knew I was going to be there to help inspire and fulfill people. And so what really kind of started out as a unique, kind of quirky hashtag then became a built from scratch business model where I actually do help those job seekers and sometimes, you know, other businesses one on one with their brand and really to bring their brand out and to sing it out, if you will. I do have an opera singer voice, so I actually I went to school for opera in business. And so a lot of my framework is very musically inclined, if you will. So.

Lee Kantor: So it’s all coming together now. Coming together is your like, tell me about your ideal client. Is it somebody that is kind of in an enterprise role right now that wants to go to another enterprise role? Could they be in like you, you were a musician, Could they be in the creative arts? And you help them, you know, find a career in that path? Or do you have a sweet spot in terms of an ideal client fit?

PhilDavis: Yeah, great questions, Lee. So typically, I mean, I’ve since I’ve, I’ve been in all sorts of different industries myself. I mean, I primarily work with operations professionals. So usually folks who are in marketing or accounting finance or even HR, but a lot of, a lot of clients, a lot of folks that I love to serve are folks who want to pivot, you know, career, pivot, whether they want to change jobs, like if they’re in the education space. I’ll work with some clients in the education space that want to go into like a corporate opportunity or if they want to change industries, right? So like, let’s say I’ve got somebody that works in HR and they’re in the technology space, but they want to move into manufacturing, right? So I’d say the bulk of my work with those mid-senior level operating professionals are folks who want to make a complete career change either into a new kind of job in and of itself or into a new industry. But I work with all sorts of people. I don’t really niche down too much where I’m working like solely with like a technology client, if you will. It’s primarily those mid mid to senior level people that are currently in a career where maybe they’re not feeling that fulfillment and they want to find fulfillment in a new opportunity or a new company altogether, if you will.

Lee Kantor: So what’s the symptom? Say I’m working somewhere and you know, things are going on. And, you know, yesterday it was like today, which was like, you know, last week, how do I know? Maybe I would like a refresh or a, you know, a new career. How do I know if I’m in kind of a rut or I’ve plateaued?

PhilDavis: Yeah, it’s really, really good question. I mean, I think a lot of it and a lot of people who reach out to me primarily on LinkedIn, they’ll they’ll kind of say, hey, Phil, you know, I’m I feel like I’m ready for a new career opportunity. But, you know, I’m not sure where to begin or I don’t know if I’m fully ready to to leave my company. Right. And I think a lot of that and I tell these these folks a lot you know, a lot of it’s kind of inner reflection. Right. And so I think the most important thing when it comes to being ready to to make a move is really to like have the have the proper mindset and the realization that you are ready to make a change. Because, I mean, let’s let’s face it, right? Moving into a new career opportunity can be scary, right? Whether you’re getting into a new industry or whether you’re ready to make a move into a new job altogether, it can be very, very scary. And so I think a lot of it is is really reflecting on your career as a whole. And I tell folks to all the time, like, really give your time, Give yourself that time and that grace to reflect on where you’ve been in your career and also like write down or type out accomplishments throughout your career that you you felt really good about, right? So, for example, for me, kind of going at entrepreneurship, I knew as I was doing a season of being laid off kind of before Fulfillment was a business.

PhilDavis: I basically wrote down on paper, you know, I love to serve others, right? I love to serve other people. I love to see other people grow. And in corporate, I absolutely love recruiting, but I also loved developing talent as well, right? So helping them to build their careers, whether they want to be promoted or whether they want to move into a lateral position. Right. And so I’ve kind of thought about for me what was going to excite me most about my next steps. And I knew that I wanted to talent develop people, you know, so I wanted to get into a new career opportunity where I could truly help other people define their value and to feel good about all the achievements that they’ve done within their careers. And so I’d say, you know, writing things out on paper, really taking that time to reflect. And I call that, you know, some clarity coaching, right? So I do a little bit of that clarity coaching with folks who maybe want to uncover not only some of their value, but also really to dig into their career achievements and really helping them to define, you know, a role that might be be a good fit for them for their next story. So a lot of it is is internal reflection and getting yourself to that mindset of, you know, I am ready to make that change. And of course the time to do so, right? Because I think it takes it takes some time to to really reflect on our achievements and not really rushing the process either.

Lee Kantor: Now, what like, what’s the split of your work in terms of helping individuals as opposed to helping corporations? Like I was talking to a CEO today and he’s going from 30 people to 50 people in a year. I would imagine he’s going to need to bring on somebody if he doesn’t have it on the team, somebody like you that can help them make sure that they’re getting the right fit people in the organization to fill the right specific roles.

PhilDavis: Yeah, definitely. So I’d say for my business model right now, I’d say about a good 60 to 70% is, is on the coaching side and then the 30% is typically B2B work. And so in my business work, you know, I do offer full scale recruitment, right? So I do, I do a lot of recruiting for various industries, as I mentioned earlier. But then I also do one one thing that’s really fun that I love to do is kind of the talent attraction space and the employer branding space. So really helping typically smaller high growth organizations with their employment branding piece, right? How are they branding themselves organically or through social media, right. To really attract that top talent and the talent that they’re looking for to hire. And so I incorporate a lot of that branding into some of my recruiting strategy with those those clients, those business clients. But that is shifting, right? I think, you know, naturally, as we’re seeing the job market, as I like to say, it’s complex as we start to see companies looking to close out positions by the end of this year, they’re looking to finalize budgets and things like that and get ready for the 2024 year. Um, a lot of my my service offerings are starting to see more of an even split now. So I’d say, you know, 5050 is about what I’m doing right now. Half the work is with my job seeker clients and the other half of the work is going to be with businesses and companies who are maybe they’re looking to to hire, you know, a new recruitment department for their small startup company or they’re looking to get some consulting work out there because they have a big hiring surge that they’re going through. But it just all kind of depends.

Lee Kantor: Now, how about some advice for that job seeker? Is there anything they could be doing right now on LinkedIn specifically that can help them be found by people, you know, that are recruiters that are looking for folks? Like what are some of the the tips and tricks that a person could be using so they get, you know, pulled out? You know, they’re the needle pulled out of the haystack.

PhilDavis: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think the biggest the biggest tip of advice well, I’ve got kind of two things off the top of my head. I think the biggest thing and I did a post about it today on my LinkedIn page is just to start, you know, get out there. One of my good friends who’s a marketing consultant, she says, Put yourself out there. And it’s something that resonates with me to this day. Right? Because, I mean, I was in a in a same boat during Covid, right? I, I had used LinkedIn primarily as a corporate recruiter to to identify and source talent and then just send them messages on LinkedIn. But I never got to a point where I was creating content and just really putting myself out there. And so I think the biggest thing is just to start right and and really not to compare yourself to other folks out there who have maybe done content a little bit longer than you. Because I think, you know, comparison is the thief of joy, right? Like we all are on our own unique journey. And when it comes to LinkedIn and content creation, right, like really just getting started, right? Find find people that find people that create content out there that you resonate with and that you can start commenting on their posts. And you know, we don’t have to spend all day, every day on social media to get noticed, right? Even if you just take a few minutes a day and start commenting on people’s posts or also like company pages, if you’re interested in a company that you might want to work for, start start looking at those company pages and seeing what what’s out there that you can engage on that’s important.

PhilDavis: I also think, too, you know, sharing your story is critical, right? Like we say, LinkedIn is a professional platform, which it is, Right. And it was designed in the beginning, right to be a platform for job seekers and companies to identify opportunities and candidates. But it’s more than that, right? I mean, I think it’s it’s really becoming truly like a social media platform where folks are sharing their stories, their experiences and and being a little bit personable as well. So I like to say all the time, especially on LinkedIn, you know, be personable all in a professional way, but then also show your professionalism with a personable approach. So it’s a balance between the two. But I think, you know, the more that you do it and just to be your authentic self out there, you know, people will see that that you’re out there. And I think, too, you know, don’t focus on the metrics when starting out, focus on the impact that you’re going to be making. Employers love that. And believe it or not, you know, people are looking at you when you do engage and when you do comment and when you do post. So every interaction you have matters and people people are watching.

Lee Kantor: So how do you kind of get in front of people? Do you do webinars? Do you do events speaking like, can people hire you at their organization to do lunch and learns? Like how how do you kind of get the word out? And do you have any events coming up?

PhilDavis: Yeah, absolutely. So I was part of a LinkedIn local Atlanta event with my good friend Rachel Simon and Adam Marks, and we started doing kind of a local networking event through LinkedIn. You don’t necessarily have to have a LinkedIn account, but that’s something that the three of us decided we wanted to do. I’m linked in. Event events kind of informally. Once a quarter or so, I’ll do some of those volunteer work with them. But then as far as like speaking engagements, absolutely. I mean, I’m I’m more than happy to get into an organization if they’re looking for somebody to talk about maybe career development or job progression. Right. Or if there are some like colleges and universities out there who may want somebody to come in and do like a resume review day or like an interview, like a like a mock interview day or something like that. Because I know a lot of colleges and universities out there in the market, you know, looking for folks to to help them with their, you know, their students about to graduate from college and things like that. So, I mean, I do all sorts of stuff, but definitely, you know, community speaking, engagement around career career development and and even recruitment strategies and talent attraction. Those are areas that I love to talk about. So all sorts of different stuff.

Lee Kantor: And if people want to learn more, have more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what’s a website?

PhilDavis: Absolutely. So I’m a one man business. So they basically get all of me if they want to learn more. My website of course w WW dot fulfillment, which is l p h i l l mint.com. If you type fulfillment on Google, you’ll be able to find me. And then of course I’m on LinkedIn as well primarily. Um, so if you type fulfillment and you’ll be able to find me, find me all over.

Lee Kantor: Now on the website, there’s a lot of information for the job seeker, including career coaching course.

PhilDavis: Yeah I do have a free and it and it is it is a free introductory career coaching course. So I created this little 25 minute introductory course for the job seeker. Maybe if they haven’t job sought, you know, been a job seeker for a while or if they just need kind of a refresher to get them started, right? To get them motivated along their job search, the people can click on that. It’s on the top right of my page. So it’s free career coaching course. People can access that and it’s literally just a 25 minute video that job seekers can watch and they can kind of learn the ins and outs of, you know, why job seeking can be challenging and other things as well, right? To help them kind of find results along their job search. And then of course how to fine tune your path. Right So really focusing in on a couple strategies that, you know based on my experience, job seekers can kind of get a quick little snapshot on before they decide they want to, you know, work with me one on one.

Lee Kantor: Well, congratulations on all the success you’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

PhilDavis: Oh, I appreciate it. Lee It’s definitely been a fun and fulfilling experience for me as well. It’s definitely I love I love what I do and I definitely appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today, Phil.

PhilDavis: This for having me. Lee, I appreciate it.

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

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Using Business Process Improvement to Empower Employees, with Yuquan Holloway, Holloway Consulting Group, LLC

June 13, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Using Business Process Improvement to Empower Employees, with Yuquan Holloway, Holloway Consulting Group, LLC

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North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 672)

Yuquan Holloway, Founder and Principal Consultant at Holloway Consulting Group, was the guest on this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. She shared her career journey with host John Ray, along with the influence her corporate career has had on her consulting practice, demystifying project management, upskilling and empowering team members, quantifying results of business process improvement, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Holloway Consulting Group, LLC

At Holloway Consulting, they focus on helping corporate technology teams set goals, create plans, and solve complex problems.

With well over 20 years of experience leading projects and programs for Fortune 100 organizations, they are passionate about helping businesses achieve their strategic goals.

Their team of experts leverages proven methodologies like Lean Six Sigma and Business Process Re-engineering to assess challenges and provide sound solutions and improvements.

Website| LinkedIn | Facebook

Yuquan Holloway, Principal Consultant, Holloway Consulting Group, LLC

Yuquan Holloway is a leader in the fields of business and IT. She is the Principal Consultant of Holloway Consulting Group, a consulting practice that focuses on helping corporate teams deliver IT and transformation projects, resolve systemic process issues, and train and coach associates on project management and Lean Six Sigma principals.

She graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and holds an MBA from Georgia State University. With over 20 years of experience in leading large cross-functional initiatives, Yuquan has a track record of driving successful change.

Through her work, she strives to demystify project management, create a culture of standard work and repeatable processes, stabilize and simplify core applications, and reduce critical incidents.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

History in Corporate America
Opportunity to Leave
Mission – Demystify Project Management and Problem Solving
Upskill associates by teaching them how to problem-solve
Pair training with coaching for long-lasting impact
Her online course
What skills does it take to be a solid project manager

North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast 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, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

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 $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. 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.

Since 2000, Office Angels® has been restoring joy to the life of small business owners, enabling them to focus on what they do best. At the same time, we honor and support at-home experts who wish to continue working on an as-needed basis. Not a temp firm or a placement service, Office Angels matches a business owner’s support needs with Angels who have the talent and experience necessary to handle work that is essential to creating and maintaining a successful small business. Need help with administrative tasks, bookkeeping, marketing, presentations, workshops, speaking engagements, and more? Visit us at https://officeangels.us/.

Vivian Dempsey, Wilson Lewis, and Scott Williford, vLink Solutions

May 12, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Vivian Dempsey, Wilson Lewis, and Scott Williford, vLink Solutions

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Vivian Dempsey, Wilson Lewis, and Scott Williford, vLink Solutions (ProfitSense with Bill McDermott, Episode 45)

On this episode of ProfitSense, host Bill McDermott welcomed Vivian Dempsey, Partner at Wilson Lewis, and Scott Williford, CEO of vLink Solutions. Vivian talked about Georgia’s personal income tax rebate, the advantages and disadvantages of an S Corp, the IRS tax inflation adjustments for the tax year 2023, and much more. Scott discussed his experience in being an entrepreneur for over 30 years, lessons he has learned from past startups, marketing trends, and much more. Bill closed the show by talking about how to know if your business is scalable.

ProfitSense with Bill McDermott is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton Studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.

Wilson Lewis

Wilson Lewis, a Gwinnett-based Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm, provides a variety of tax, accounting, and consulting services to meet the changing needs of both individuals and businesses. There are services designed to help address “once in a lifetime” issues such as estate, succession, and retirement planning, fraud prevention and detection, and even strategic business planning. The combination of these provides the direction and confidence that many seek in their accounting relationships. While the main work is ensuring accurate and timely reports and tax filings, team members are proactive and often bring new ideas to the table when appropriate. Concurrently, there is also an emphasis on consistent communication throughout the year to ensure new opportunities are properly leveraged.

Wilson Lewis is a philanthropic star in Atlanta’s business community and proudly supports Rainbow Village, Arthritis Foundation, Ahimsa House, CHOA Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Happy Feat, and The NSORO Foundation to name just a few. The firm is also very involved with the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and has been named The Best of Gwinnett Accounting Firms 2016-2022.

If you are looking for a proactive CPA firm focused on client service and capable of growing with your needs, then Wilson Lewis is the firm to consider. With locations in Atlanta, Duluth, Sandy Springs, and availability online, Wilson Lewis is right around the corner. Additional information is available at wilsonlewis.com or by calling 770-476-1004.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Vivian Dempsey, Partner, Wilson Lewis

Vivian Dempsey specializes in federal and state compliance and tax consulting services. Her work spans the full spectrum, including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts and estates, not-for-profit, and individual planning and returns. Vivian is a graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.

She came to Wilson Lewis in 2014 from a firm in Atlanta and was named partner in 2017. Vivian’s professional memberships include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Public Accountants.

Vivian currently resides in Buford, Georgia with her husband, Robert, and their 5 children.

vLink Solutions

Engaging your audience whether they are prospects, employees, or event attendees is critical to reaching your goals. Video and live streaming are powerful communication tools but they can be complicated and expensive. vLink Solutions has mastered the art of creating effective video and live streams at a price point that’s affordable. Let us help you engage your audience.

vLink produced over 1500 videos and live-streamed over 4000 hours in 2022. They are the owners of vlink Events, a complete virtual events platform.

vLinks current and past clients include UPS, Google, Comcast, LeasePlan, Fleetcor, ParkMobile, and many many more. For more information about vLink please visit www.vlinksolutions.com.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Scott Williford, CEO, vLink Solutions

Scott is a serial entrepreneur, consultant, and family man. He has played a major role in several successful organizations and helped countless others as an investor, consultant, and executive. Scott has a passion to help businesses and professionals differentiate themselves in their marketplace. He is currently the CEO of vLink Solutions.

vLink is a video marketing agency that helps businesses create cost-effective, high-quality videos, virtual events, and live streams. As CEO and Founder of vLink Solutions, Scott is the visionary leader and spokesperson for the company.

Scott is also the managing partner in Iuvo, LLC, a boutique management consulting practice, specializing in all areas of technology, marketing, business planning, and more. Scott brings a wealth of knowledge from his CEO and COO background that provides clients access to a unique blend of technology, marketing, sales, and operational expertise.

About ProfitSense and Your Host, Bill McDermott

ProfitSense with Bill McDermott dives into the stories behind some of Atlanta’s successful businesses and business owners and the professionals that advise them. This show helps local business leaders get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. The show is presented by McDermott Financial Solutions. McDermott Financial helps business owners improve cash flow and profitability, find financing, break through barriers to expansion, and financially prepare to exit their business. The show archive can be found at profitsenseradio.com.

Bill McDermott is the Founder and CEO of McDermott Financial Solutions. When business owners want to increase their profitability, they don’t have the expertise to know where to start or what to do. Bill leverages his knowledge and relationships from 32 years as a banker to identify the hurdles getting in the way and create a plan to deliver profitability they never thought possible.

Bill currently serves as Treasurer for the Atlanta Executive Forum and has held previous positions as a board member for the Kennesaw State University Entrepreneurship Center and Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity and Treasurer for CEO NetWeavers. Bill is a graduate of Wake Forest University and he and his wife, Martha have called Atlanta home for over 40 years. Outside of work, Bill enjoys golf, traveling, and gardening.

Connect with Bill on LinkedIn and Twitter and follow McDermott Financial Solutions on LinkedIn.

What You Must Know When Forming an LLC, Partnership, or Corporation

March 24, 2023 by John Ray

Advisory Insights Podcast

What You Must Know When Forming an LLC, Partnership, or Corporation

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What You Must Know When Forming an LLC, Partnership, or Corporation (Advisory Insights Podcast, Episode 36)

On this episode of Advisory Insights, Stuart Oberman of Oberman Law Firm discussed some of the key considerations for businesses when forming an LLC, partnership, or corporation. He stressed the importance of having a well-designed agreement in place that covers key topics such as arbitration provisions, buy/sells, and valuation methods.

Advisory Insights is presented by Oberman Law Firm and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. The series can be found on all the major podcast apps. You can find the complete show archive here.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting from the Studios of Business RadioX, it’s time for Advisory Insights. Brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, serving clients nationwide with tailored service and exceptional results. Now, here’s your host.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:20] Hello, everyone. Stuart Oberman. Welcome, welcome to Advisory Insights. All right. We’re going to have some great stuff. As we start going quickly, quickly, quickly into 2023, I want to make sure that everyone is structurally prepared internally for their corporations, partnerships, LLCs.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:39] We do a substantial amount of entity formations, buy-ins, buyouts, partnerships, formations for global companies, local companies, regional companies. Last year, we did about 145 transitions, mergers, acquisitions, probably total about $450 million worth of revenue on those, total practice values, and everything, business values.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:05] So, I want to run quickly through some items that we noticed time and time and time again on some problems. So, first and foremost, whenever you’re forming a corporation, you got to look at a couple areas. So, you have to know, and your advisors have to know, your CPAs have to know, your attorneys have to know what are the best practices. Each state is completely different as to what the requirements are. You have to know what your documents are. You have to know what the record keeping is. You have to understand what your corporate responsibility is document-wise. You have to understand what the LLC documents are. You have to understand whether or not you have to have a publication involved.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:49] And, also, what are the valuations. When you form an entity, when you form a corporation, you form an LLC, what is what we call a capital contributions? What are you bringing to the table? Is it $1? Is it your services rendered? It has to be an accounting process for this because it has to go into the operating agreement. It has to go into the corporate documents. And I’m going to get into a list of corporate documents a little bit later in this particular podcast.

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:18] So, one area we have to look at is, of course, an entity selection. What is best for you? There are no right or wrong entities necessarily. It’s just what is your structure? So, of course, you’ve got your corporations, right? Now, people get confused. I want to be a Sub-S. I want to be a C-Corp. So, those are tax elections. They’re not “corporate structures.”

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:50] So, there’s only really one kind of corporation. Depending on your state, you could have a professional corporation, you can have a PLLC, professional liability corporation. So, you’ve got a lot of things but, basically, you’re looking at the corporation. Then, you have limited liability company. Again, depending on your state, you can have a PLLC, you can have variations of these.

Stuart Oberman: [00:03:16] So then, you look at what are your partnerships. That’s a whole different world. Partnerships. They’re like a marriage. They’re easy to get in. They are a disaster to get out. If you’re even contemplating a partnership, who’s going to own their respective shares? You got two owners, individually or is each owner going to have their own entity, LLC, if you will, and then you have a master – what we call – mothership LLC. Again, those are very, very specific things you’ve got to really take a look at.

Stuart Oberman: [00:03:53] Then, you’ve got joint ventures. So then, you’ve got partnerships on joint ventures. Then, you have joint ventures LLCs. You got operating agreements. You’ve got, again, buy-ins, buy outs. So, those are all extremely technical areas you really, really have to know.

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:12] So then, you’ve got to look at what entity is going to protect the owners or owner of the companies. What are the rights and obligations of the owners? Again, internal documents. Easy to get in, hard to get out. You’ve got to know how you go into a marriage and how you’re getting out, what are the breakups, what are the wind downs, how are you going to break up the the assets, if you will. So, again, determine the entity status.

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:39] So then, this is where your advisors come in. You’ve got to look at really the benefits and pitfalls of establishing each entity. You can’t just jump and say, I want to be this or I want to be that. You have to figure out the end game, taxes, liability, crossing jurisdictional matters. What may work in Texas is not going to work in Maine. What’s going to work in Maine is not going to work in Washington. So, again, look at those things.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:08] Tax issues. So, you’ve got a couple areas to look at. One is the S-Corp. That is best place for small businesses. Your CPA will be very familiar with that. There are certain time limits that that has to be election-wise with the IRS once you are set up. Your C-Corps, you’ve got to be really careful on that, because if you go to sell your business and you’re a C-Corp you have some problems with some tax, some goodwill matters.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:40] And the partnerships, is it going to be a mothership scenario where you’ve got owners filing their own LLCs? Is it going to be taxed, again as a partnership, how is each entity going to be taxed? Is this particular partner going to be a S-Corp? Again, very, very complex. So, you look at the formation. You look at your operation. And you look at the termination.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:06] Pitfalls. Who’s going to get the tax ID number, state and federal? So, when your federal, someone in the organization has to file for a tax ID number. Whose Social Security number is that going to be filed with? Because if it’s under your tax, if it’s under your Social Security number, you are essentially going to be responsible for a lot of tax matters. What’s the tax efficiency? What’s the best tax structure? Is it a tax exempt? Certain areas are tax exempt, state, federal.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:43] Again, you’ve got to look at your CPA for these things. You’ve got to look at your financial advisors. And they have to be familiar with business. Some CPAs are not familiar with business structures. It’s just the way it is. So, again, pick your advisors carefully.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:56] A couple of documents – as we’re sort of near closing – we should really take a look at. So, corporation’s bylaws, minutes, LLCs and corporations, consents LLC and corporations, operating agreement primarily generally in your LLC formations, that will get you started on everything from how you run the business, tax consequences, how you wind it down, what the partnerships distributions are. That is your structure.

Stuart Oberman: [00:07:32] With any joint venture, you have to have or should have a joint venture agreement. Any business that has more than one owner or partnership should have, in my recommendation, a very strong buy-in. Is it going to have arbitration provisions? Is it going to be a buy/sells? Are you going to have sort of a baseball arbitration where if one person can’t agree on the valuation, then the other person hires another appraiser, then all of a sudden you’ve got the two appraisers that are going in and equally dividing the difference between the two appraisals and come up with a number? Again, you can’t assume all this. This has to be the structure that you have to look at.

Stuart Oberman: [00:08:18] Well, folks, I know that’s a quick podcast today, but these are so many things that you just have to look at. I could literally probably talk on each topic for probably 30, 40 minutes. But this is an overall, really, really basic scenario generality that we run into. Again, it’s not the complex issues. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that get our practice owners, our business owners, our small business guys in trouble.

Stuart Oberman: [00:08:49] So, anyway, folks, thanks for joining us on the podcast today, Forming Corporations, Partnerships, LLCs, What you must know. If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call, 770-886-2400, Oberman Law firm. Or email me at stuart, S-T-U-A-R-T, @obermanlaw.com Thanks folks, and have a fantastic day.

Outro: [00:09:14] Thank you for joining us on Advisory Insights. This show is brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, a business-centric law firm representing local, regional, and national clients in a wide range of practice areas, including healthcare, mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, and regulatory compliance.

About Advisory Insights Podcast

Presented by Oberman Law Firm, Advisory Insights Podcast covers legal, business, HR, and other topics of vital concern to healthcare practices and other business owners. This show series can be found here as well as on all the major podcast apps.

Stuart Oberman, Oberman Law Firm

Stuart Oberman is the founder and President of Oberman Law Firm. Mr. Oberman graduated from Urbana University and received his law degree from John Marshall Law School. Mr. Oberman has been practicing law for over 25 years, and before going into private practice, Mr. Oberman was in-house counsel for a Fortune 500 Company. Mr. Oberman is widely regarded as the go-to attorney in the area of Dental Law, which includes DSO formation, corporate business structures, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance, advertising regulations, HIPAA, Compliance, and employment law regulations that affect dental practices.

In addition, Mr. Oberman’s expertise in the healthcare industry includes advising clients in the complex regulatory landscape as it relates to telehealth and telemedicine, including compliance with corporate structures, third-party reimbursement, contract negotiations, technology, healthcare fraud, and abuse law (Anti-Kickback Statute and the State Law), professional liability risk management, federal and state regulations.

As the long-term care industry evolves, Mr. Oberman has the knowledge and experience to guide clients in the long-term care sector with respect to corporate and regulatory matters, assisted living facilities, and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). In addition, Mr. Oberman’s practice also focuses on healthcare facility acquisitions and other changes of ownership, as well as related licensure and Medicare/Medicaid certification matters, CCRC registrations, long-term care/skilled nursing facility management, operating agreements, assisted living licensure matters, and health care joint ventures.

In addition to his expertise in the healthcare industry, Mr. Oberman has a nationwide practice that focuses on all facets of contractual disputes, including corporate governance, fiduciary duty, trade secrets, unfair competition, covenants not to compete, trademark and copyright infringement, fraud, and deceptive trade practices, and other business-related matters. Mr. Oberman also represents clients throughout the United States in a wide range of practice areas, including mergers & acquisitions, partnership agreements, commercial real estate, entity formation, employment law, commercial leasing, intellectual property, and HIPAA/OSHA compliance.

Mr. Oberman is a national lecturer and has published articles in the U.S. and Canada.

Oberman Law Firm

Oberman Law Firm has a long history of civic service, noted national, regional, and local clients, and stands among the Southeast’s eminent and fast-growing full-service law firms. Oberman Law Firm’s areas of practice include Business Planning, Commercial & Technology Transactions, Corporate, Employment & Labor, Estate Planning, Health Care, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Privacy & Data Security, and Real Estate.

By meeting their client’s goals and becoming a trusted partner and advocate for our clients, their attorneys are recognized as legal go-getters who provide value-added service. Their attorneys understand that in a rapidly changing legal market, clients have new expectations, constantly evolving choices, and operate in an environment of heightened reputational and commercial risk.

Oberman Law Firm’s strength is its ability to solve complex legal problems by collaborating across borders and practice areas.

Connect with Oberman Law Firm:

Company website | LinkedIn | Twitter

Leslie Ellis With Meaningful Change Consulting, LLC

December 8, 2022 by Jacob Lapera

GWBC Radio

Leslie Ellis With Meaningful Change Consulting, LLC

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Leslie Ellis, Certified Change Management Professional, Founder and CEO of Meaningful Change Consulting, helps visionary leaders navigate the complexities of transformational change using human-centered approaches to achieve sustainable results while minimizing the cost of unnecessary work.

For over 13 years, Leslie has led and managed change with various government agencies and Fortune 500 organizations worldwide, such as Bank of America, Ingersoll Rand, Rentokil, NESTE and the State of North Carolina. She now uses her expertise to equip leaders with the confidence and tools to solve complex transformation in their organizations and communities.

She is a frequent speaker on Change Leadership and how to minimize rework while in transformation.

Connect with Leslie on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn On This Episode

Why more than 60 % of business transformation doesn’t succeed
Common pains that happen when transformation isn’t set up for success
Cost of not setting up transformational changes for success
Ways businesses can avoid those costs and minimize unnecessary rework in large complex changes
The evolution of change management

Sylvia Montgomery With SiMMs Solutions for Business & Life, LLC

September 29, 2022 by Jacob Lapera

Richmond Business Radio

Sylvia Montgomery With SiMMs Solutions for Business & Life, LLC

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Sylvia Montgomery is the owner and founder of SiMMs Solutions for Business & Life, LLC. She has dedicated most of her career as a public servant where she spent 30 years at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. She retired in September 2019 and is now living in her purpose, helping businesses and individuals to live their best lives and be successful.

In this capacity, she’s provided various forms of content for many small businesses in multiple industries, writing blogs, product descriptions, web content, social media posts, service descriptions, landing pages, scripts, biographies, and news releases for nearly 150 clients.

She’s a book editor and has edited nearly 30 non-fiction books that provide knowledge to mainstream individuals to help them succeed in life. She’s a course creator having created, An Introvert’s Guide to Finding Purpose, which helps any individual to realize their purpose, and she’s a podcast host who talks to other entrepreneurs to encourage and inspire everyday individuals to live their purpose.

Connect with Sylvia on LinkedIn and follow her on Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

How I help people in business and life
The importance of purpose to your work
What your life looks like when it’s not purpose-driven
How we can discover our purpose
Ways to stay focused on your purpose

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:03] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Richmond, Virginia. It’s time for Richmond Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:16] Lee Kantor here another episode of Richmond Business Radio and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor works by consulting solutions, supporting women to lean into their purpose, craft their vision and crush their goals. Today on Richmond Business Radio, we have Sylvia Montgomery with SiMMs Solutions for Business and Life. Welcome, Sylvia.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:00:43] Hello, Lee. How are you today?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] I am doing well. I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about SiMMs. How are you serving folks?

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:00:52] So Sims Solutions is just that. It’s an opportunity to help provide solutions to individuals and businesses, particularly small businesses, because it’s life is hard enough, right? It’s not easy. And so when we have the opportunity to provide solutions or to help in any way, then I just find it an awesome thing to be able to do that. And the solutions I provide are around content creation and copy editing, and that’s particularly to businesses or entrepreneurs who for one reason or another, they may not have time to really take the time to create the copy that they need, the content that they need for their business. And anyone in business knows that content is extremely important in anything that you do. So what I do is I step in there and I help to create that content. And that content can be in just about any form. It can be blog post, social media, email campaigns, news releases, even websites. So anything that a business needs, oftentimes there just isn’t time. And especially with small businesses because we were 1001 hats, right? So just being able to provide that type of help and those types of solutions to businesses, you know, is extremely important. And I also work in the way of copyediting. So when you need someone to look over your work, when you need someone to look over your websites and things of that nature, I also edit books, manuscripts.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:02:40] So for individuals who are trying to create that next project, that next book project, I’m also available to that. And I’ve helped quite a few businesses over the past couple of years as well as have edited 28 book projects. So, you know, I find that very you know, I love writing and I love proofing. So that’s just something that I love to do. But I really like helping other people to live their best lives and reach their best selves as well. I also provide informational blogs that are very beneficial and useful to businesses, to entrepreneurs who are trying to find solutions to some of their challenges that they have around business. And I am a podcast host where I interview entrepreneurs so that they can help encourage and motivate other entrepreneurs or who are just trying to get started or just getting started. Oftentimes there are people who want to get started in business, but there are so many challenges they see before them and they’re not quite sure what to do, how to do things. And so my weekly podcast helps to inspire, motivate, encourage and provide solutions by even giving them people that they can sort of relate to, associate with and even go to if they need to.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:04:10] So to provide assistance in that way. And then the other thing I do really is because I’m so focused on purpose, I believe that. No one can really be truly happy or fulfilled in life if they are not living their purpose. And I don’t care what it is we’re doing in life. I work in the federal government for 30 years, and even in doing that, I was not fulfilling my purpose. It is not. It’s just been these past few years when I went on my entrepreneur journey that I am now evolving into the person that I was meant to be in fulfilling my purpose. And so I am on a mission to help others do that as well. So I’ve created a purpose course. I’m an Introverts guide to finding purpose to help introverts extroverts. It really doesn’t matter who you are. I just believe that you will not live your best life until you are fully living in your purpose. And so I provide that opportunity as well. So I’m just really excited right now about the opportunities to come to help other people, and I just want to do it as often as I can for whomever I can.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:26] So let’s dig in a little deeper when it comes to purpose. And I agree with you 100%. If you’re aligned with your purpose, then life is a lot easier and it’s a lot more fulfilling. Do you have any advice for the folks out there who might be struggling, who might be frustrated in the life they’re leading on how to kind of know when you’re on the right track and that you are kind of living a life of purpose or there are some things, are there some clues or some work they can do right now to help them kind of identify what their true north is or should be?

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:06:00] So it’s you know, it’s sort of a tricky question because a lot of times we can be doing things or we can be living a certain way and we find ourselves happy in doing that and we feel a little content and especially if, you know, if everything’s going well for us and if we’re busy, right? It just seems like we’re always having something to do. We’re always on the go. A lot of times that leaves us with not much time to really think about what we’re doing and how we’re living. And if we’re really, really fully happy with what we’re doing with our lives. So I’d say there are quite a few things that we really need to do within us to really a certain whether or not we’re on the path that we’re meant to be. And, you know, even with my course, I have people go back as far back as they can early in their childhood to just really think about what their dreams were when they were small. Because when we’re young, that’s when we’re our authentic selves, right? That’s when we are truly our best selves. We’re young and we’re thinking or thinking outside the box. It’s like no limits, right? And the sky’s the limit for us. But as we get older, we find that as we get older, we go through life.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:07:24] Life happens. Reality sets in. And all those dreams that we used to have, we no longer have them. We may still have them, but we don’t feel as compelled to move forward with trying to fulfill those dreams because life can hit us hard. And when it does, we tend to feel that that’s just not possible. So one of the things I tell people is go back to your young self, because if we go back there, that is where so many of our answers lie. We can do that. One of the things that I did, even though, like I said, I was in the federal government for 30 years, I always felt myself doing things on the side and I always had people coming to me asking me certain things, certain questions, as if they knew I could help them. I didn’t have solutions then, but it was always as if and even now, you know, people still come to me with certain things. And when that happens, if they come to me enough with those things, then I know that’s what I need to figure out how to do for that individual, or that’s what I need to figure out how to do for more people as part of my solutions package. But a lot of times the answers are right around us. The answers are there.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:08:45] We’re either not paying attention or we just don’t want to give into it. Because again, when we truly live our purpose, it’s hard. Purpose is not easy. It’s a challenge. And a lot of times we just want to avoid it because we feel that it is too challenging. And that’s why my podcast, I feel, is just so important because it helps people to understand the challenges are going to come in life regardless of what you do. Everyone has challenges, even those who have been successful in being able to live the life that they were meant to live have had challenges. But we talk about how we get over those challenges and we talk about how to get through those things. Even when you’re not living your purpose, you’re going to have challenges. You know something? One of my guests recently said is that choose your heart. Choose your heart because the challenges are going to come. It’s going to be hard either way. So do you want to try to challenge through what it is you are meant to do to get over it? Or do you want to have the challenges of something that’s not even fulfilling yet? So you’re going to have the challenges that are going to come, but let’s have the challenges around what we were meant to do so that we can help you to get over it, because help is out there.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:10:09] There are people who are there to support, and that’s one of the things that I do at some solutions. So those are two of the things I say. Go back to your childhood and I say, Just look around you. And when you really take time to take time to yourself, when we get away from our busyness and just really think about our lives, there are like a ton of questions that I put out there for people to just answer about themselves. One of the things I have them do is to define Who are you? Answer that question. A lot of us, if you ask who are you, they’re not able to really tell you who they are. So that I think there’s so many questions that that help us to answer that question about ourselves. So, you know, there are some exercises there, but really spending time with yourself because the. The answer lies within you. It’s there. And guess what? It’s been there all the time. So our purpose is for us. Our purpose is it’s what makes us truly happy. It’s what truly fulfills us. And if we’re not living it, we might be content for a little bit, but that’s always going to be something that’s missing.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:23] Now, how do you recommend folks who say, okay, I believe every word you’re saying, I am going to now live my life with purpose, on purpose, and I am. So that’s going to mean I’m changing a little bit. You know, like you said, you were working 30 years in the government and now you’re an entrepreneur and, you know, coming to a family or a group of friends who were part of that, they might, you know, with your best interests at heart, might not they might kind of I don’t want to say sabotage, but they might not be as enthusiastic about that drastic change as you were about making it, which the change is difficult by itself. So how do you kind of protect yourself and insulate yourself, inoculate yourself from some of the negativity that might come with a change of directions, especially if it is kind of drastic in terms of what you used to be and what you’d like to be?

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:12:20] Mm hmm. That’s a very good question. And again, as I said, you know, it’s challenging, it’s hard. And that’s even one of the challenges, just trying to stay focused. So, you know, once you have an idea, you’ve come to a certain of what your purpose is. And you you know, you said this is what I want to do and this is the course I want to take. Yeah, there are definitely going to be obstacles. You know, I’m not even going to I’m not even going to lie about that. There are going to be so many obstacles. There going to be so many distractions. There are going to be people around you who will not understand and who will be very feel very free to tell you, oh, just stay where you are or God, you should just do this. You know, they’re even going to put words in your mouth and tell you what you should be doing. But that is why that weekly podcast is so important, because we put that out there, the importance of understanding that those types of obstacles and those are just, you know, those aren’t even the real, real like work related obstacles. That’s just a mindset thing, you know, it’s important that mindset change doesn’t happen overnight. That’s a process. So you have to surround yourself around the right people. And if you’ve never been around the right people again, that’s not an overnight thing. You have to look for the right people. You’ve got to join groups, be a part of networks. There’s so much stuff happening online now. There are so many Facebook groups out there just for just about anything that you can think of.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:13:56] So if you just do some searching out there, you will find a Facebook group that can relate to what you’re going to or what it is you’re trying to do. Even maybe so, I would say connect with the people that you really need to help you to think a little bit better, be a little bit more positive about what it is you’re trying to do. Mindset is extremely important and actually that’s one of the places I start from with my course, because again, we’re talking about when you’re talking about mindset, you’re talking about changing your belief system and changing what you have probably thought or believed all of your life. And a lot of that belief system is stuff that we learned along the way as we grew up from our parents and then from generations and generations. You know, it could be a generational thing. You know, you don’t do this or you don’t do that or you shouldn’t do that. One of the misconceptions that are one of the beliefs that I had growing up with that, one of the things I used to hear a lot was money don’t grow on trees. And while that is true, that’s a very true statement. It does not grow on trees. But what that led me to believe is that money is very, very, very limited. You know, there’s not a lot out there. And I believe to this day, there is so much out there, we just need to know how to access it. So it’s about accessing the money where it is. Otherwise it can leave you in a state of feeling very limited and that you have very few options and that there’s no way to get to anything.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:15:30] But that’s a mindset thing and that’s just something that how it just triggers and it can change everything. Now, if I really believe that it’s there, I just need to figure out how to get to it, then that changes everything you see. So that just totally changed how I can now feel a little freer about how I move. Otherwise I feel that my future is hopeless and I’ll never be able to do the things that I want to do in life. So I think that. Dealing with, you know, mindset because that is what’s going to help us to be able to get through some of those challenges that you just named off. And another thing that I do is I provide six weeks of goal setting, well, six sessions of goal setting. And in that, what it is, is so once you’ve discovered or decided what it is you need to be doing, you may not have a clue how to even get started. And so the six sessions of goal setting just sort of helps to get you on the right course, even connect you with people that you need to connect to in that regard if that is the case. So there are definitely some things you can do, but you’re going to have to if you don’t have the right people around you. That’s the biggest challenge. Getting past that and understanding that you’re going to hear so many negative things before you even get started, really. And that can keep us from getting started. And that’s the one thing we don’t want.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:00] Now, is there an ideal client of yours? Do you have a niche that you’re you’re really kind of good at, or is this for pretty much anybody? Like, do you work primarily with solopreneur or with big corporate people? Do you work with executives? Is there a niche that that your solutions are best suited for?

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:17:23] So I work mostly with small businesses for the content creation. I understand that time, you know, you just don’t have the time to put in to, you know, that type of work because there’s research involved. And so I, you know, help them with that and get a lot of that done to actually get the blog posts and things of that nature. And I’ve worked with businesses in just about any industry. My favorite industry, though, is finance, and I love writing about entrepreneurship in itself. So but I’ve worked in many different industries as far as the purpose. I’m looking more toward individuals who just do not feel fulfilled in life. And my guess is the reason you don’t feel fulfilled is because you’re not doing what you are meant to be doing. We all have a purpose from the moment we were born, just as I said, from when we were our smallest selves, there is something we were meant to be doing and if we are not doing it, then we’re not completely fulfilled. And I just want to help people to live their best lives.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:30] So if somebody wants to learn more about your practice, maybe get on your calendar for a chat. Is there a website? What is the best way to get a hold of you or somebody on your team?

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:18:43] Yes. So they can go to my website, which is Sims Hyphen Solutions Bill.com and that Sims with two M’s hyphen solutions bill.com. I’m also on Instagram. Sims underscore solutions and they can find me there and they can email me at business at. Sam Solutions BLOCK.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:16] Well, congratulations on all the success and the momentum. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Sylvia Montgomery: [00:19:24] But thank you, Lee. I appreciate being on your show today. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:28] Well, thank you for sharing your story. All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Richmond Business Radio.

Al Hodge with Hodge Consulting Services, LLC

September 22, 2022 by angishields

BRX National

Al Hodge with Hodge Consulting Services, LLC

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Business RadioX® was live at the 2022 GEDA Annual Conference in Savannah, GA. The conference is designed to give you a glimpse of what is here now, what the future looks like and the tools to help you implement strategies and tactics now to pay off years down the road.

As founder of Hodge Consulting Services, LLC, Al Hodge brings more than 40 years of economic and community development experience to clients. Globally recognized for his achievements in the industry, Al’s vision, leadership, and deep knowledge of public policy have developed communities that thrive. His insights into business and the countless factors required for lasting success ensure that his clients are adapted for a global marketplace.

Al is chair of the Japan America Society of Georgia and serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the board of Georgia Northwestern Technical College. He is also an active member of the Society of International Business Fellows.

During his 41 years of Chamber work in Charleston, South Carolina, and in Rome and Augusta, Georgia, Al has served in local, state and national capacities. He was one of a group of 12 specialty external advisers to the U.S. Department of Energy and on the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Association Board. Al has also served as chair of both the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and the Georgia Economic Developers Association.

Al has taught economic development, leadership and democracy with the U.S. Army War College; with the University of Georgia Center for Democratic Governance in both Beijing and Xining, China; in San Francisco, California; with the Kettering Foundation of Dayton, Ohio, and in cities across the Southern United States. He has also spoken at economic development engagements in England and Germany.

Understanding that a strong community requires quality opportunities for education and a trained and developed workforce, Al has also lent his talents to this field. In addition to mentoring countless students and young professionals, Al was vice chair of the Georgia Board of Education where he served as a member for more than eight years. He was chair of the Liaison Committee for the Georgia Joint Education Boards consisting of the University System of Georgia, Technical College System of Georgia, Georgia Board of Education (K-12) and the four allied education agencies. He was also an officer and board member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators Foundation.

A graduate of the University of Georgia and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management, Al has also completed a other state, regional and national economic and leadership development programs, including Leadership Georgia. His accomplishments have earned him numerous professional awards and highlighted his business and public policy expertise.

Al lives in Rome, Georgia, and is married to artist and Hodge Consulting Services, LLC partner Cheryl Riner Hodge. They have one daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren.

Al’s ability to cultivate a driven team and build lasting communities has been proven time and again. The results Al delivers are indeed “Good stuff that!”

Debra Axness, Webs By Deb, LLC

February 1, 2022 by John Ray

Minneapolis St. Paul Business Radio

Debra Axness, Webs By Deb, LLC

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Debra Axness, Webs By Deb, LLC (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Episode 30)

Debra Axness, owner of Webs By Deb, shared her work in website design and social media marketing for small and micro-businesses. After a successful corporate career and time on a sailboat in the Caribbean, Deb chose to serve small businesses through building and consulting on their websites. She and host John Ray discussed her work and success stories, why website security is so vital, and much more. Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio is produced virtually by the Minneapolis St. Paul studio of Business RadioX®.

Webs By Deb, LLC

Webs by Deb offer the following services to businesses and organizations:

WordPress Web Design – need a perk-up for your website or a new site built just for you from scratch? They specialize in small businesses, especially the trades.
Search Engine Optimization – need a boost in your Google search ranking?
Consulting – need an expert eye and honest appraisal of your website?
Social Media Digital Marketing – need a business page for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Nextdoor, Yelp, Pinterest?

Company website | LinkedIn

Debra Axness, Owner, Webs by Deb, LLC

Debra Axness spent her career in technology, with 25 years of experience. Her experience includes years in the computer/software industry with companies such as Sperry Univac, Cray Research supercomputers, DeLuxe Corporation, and the Medical University of South Carolina (managing a brain imaging computer lab), working in programming, software architecture, and project management.
Debra is an active community member of Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota (recently featured in the Monthly Member Spotlight), Women Venture’s Peer Circle for graduates, Joule Microbusiness Alliance, and the Minneapolis/St. Paul WordPress User Group.

Questions and Topics Discussed in this Episode

How were you affected by the pandemic?
What services does Webs By Deb offer?
Adventure on a sailboat in the Caribbean
Importance of businesses and organizations to have a website for online impact
Importance of website security with a firewall

Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and produced virtually from the Minneapolis St. Paul studio of Business RadioX® . 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, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

George Sudarkoff with George Sudarkoff, LLC

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Using Business Process Improvement to Empower Employees, with Yuquan Holloway, Holloway Consulting Group, LLC

North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 672)

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Vivian Dempsey, Wilson Lewis, and Scott Williford, vLink Solutions

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About ProfitSense and Your Host, Bill McDermott

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About Advisory Insights Podcast

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Leslie Ellis With Meaningful Change Consulting, LLC

Sylvia Montgomery With SiMMs Solutions for Business & Life, LLC

Al Hodge with Hodge Consulting Services, LLC

Debra Axness, Webs By Deb, LLC

Debra Axness, Webs By Deb, LLC (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Episode 30)

Webs By Deb, LLC

Debra Axness, Owner, Webs by Deb, LLC

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Using Business Process Improvement to Empower Employees, with Yuquan Holloway, Holloway Consulting Group, LLC (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 672)

Holloway Consulting Group, LLC

Yuquan Holloway, Principal Consultant, Holloway Consulting Group, LLC

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

Vivian Dempsey, Wilson Lewis, and Scott Williford, vLink Solutions (ProfitSense with Bill McDermott, Episode 45)

Wilson Lewis

Vivian Dempsey, Partner, Wilson Lewis

vLink Solutions

Scott Williford, CEO, vLink Solutions

What You Must Know When Forming an LLC, Partnership, or Corporation (Advisory Insights Podcast, Episode 36)

About Advisory Insights Podcast

Stuart Oberman, Oberman Law Firm

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Debra Axness, Webs By Deb, LLC (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Episode 30)

Webs By Deb, LLC

Debra Axness, Owner, Webs by Deb, LLC

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North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 672)