15 Minutes Share Your Voice

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Ryan Surace, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Surace & Stanton, on how to know if you have the right accounting department.

With over 15 years of experience, Ryan is especially skilled in providing high quality accounting and taxation services across a range of industry sectors. His experience in the financial arena gives him particular strength in auditing and assurance, taxation, analytics, business planning and budgeting, SEC compliance and filing, succession planning, and internal accounting functions. His clients are small and mid-sized companies across a range of sectors including manufacturing, wholesalers, construction contractors, and real estate.

Ryan is passionate about developing successful strategies with closely held business owners and individuals who are looking for security in their financial future. He provides best in class advisory and strategic planning on all areas related to tax and financial concerns and consults on the full range of back office services. Ryan is skilled at helping ensure strategies are based on timely and reliable financial information, which in turn helps ensure success. In addition, he has particular interest and competence in advising entrepreneurs and start ups and serves on the Board of the Philadelphia Chapter of Entrepreneurs' Organization, a global thought leader on entrepreneurship. Whether you are acquiring an existing business or starting your own, Ryan provides trustworthy and sound financial, accounting, and tax advice that will position you for success.

Ryan received a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Scranton. He started his accounting career at EY (Ernst & Young) and prior to co-founding Surace & Stanton, Ryan was a partner at a prestigious regional accounting firm.

Ryan is excited to work with his wife! Ryan & Colleen live in Springfield, Pennsylvania with their three daughters. When out of the office, Ryan enjoys barbecuing, running, and tinkering with his fantasy football team.

Recorded 07/06/2022.

Adam Draper is the Chief Executive Officer at Gladiator Law Marketing, a marketing firm aimed at guiding law firms to achieve maximum potential. At Gladiator, Adam is heavily involved in sales, accounting, administrative duties, and cultivating engaging client relations. He served for seven years as a Navigator in the United States Air Force before he started Gladiator Law Marketing. He graduated from the University of Louisville with a master's of business administration.

What can you do to increase the trust between the customer and your business? Are you looking for expert tips to guide you through marketing your firm and engaging with your audience?

Building a business is no easy task. Thankfully, Adam Draper has crafted a transparent solution to guide law firms in their marketing journey: programming accessible and usable sites for your clients to navigate. He has experience carrying out tactical, custom-designed websites that showcases your practice — which can lead to higher visitor traffic and greater revenue.

In this episode of 15 Minutes: Share Your Voice, Chad Franzen of Rise25 sits down with Adam Draper, Chief Executive Officer at Gladiator Law Marketing, to discuss what it takes to create a foundation of transparency. Adam talks about his transition from the military to marketing, establishing trust with clients through education, and programming custom websites to help practices build ranking and revenue.

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Tamara Loehr, Co-Founder of Beusail Academy, a serial entrepreneur very much focused on impact - all about giving back and helping bridge the gap in female entrepreneurship.

Tamara is a globally recognized entrepreneur, mum of two young girls, wife and artist (former songwriter and forever painting).

Tamara started her first business at the age of 19 years old after graduating from university with a Bachelor of Visual Arts. This marketing agency is still in operation and services national and international clients, as well as the businesses she owns under her investment company.

Tamara and her agency specialized in online sales which lead her to become a sort after expert on the topic. Tamara travels internationally speaking on the topic of how to grow businesses online, as well as sharing her experience in growing wellness brands from under $1M to over $10M without capital.

Her 'sweat equity' model saw swift success, leading to her winning a range of global awards including a Gold Stevie® Awards for Women in Business for 'Fast Growing Company of the in 2016.

Tamara's focus is now on ethical brands in the Beauty and Wellness space. All her brands follow a strict mandate; Vegan, Cruelty-free, clean, female founded, sustainable and impactful. All products have giving embedded as a cost of goods, generating impacts to United Nations Sustainability Goals.

Tamara has since delved into the world of Community Channel Marketing (CCM) which aims to disrupt the Multi-level Marketing (MLM)/direct selling industry. Her online channel 'Beusail' is designed to promote ethical brands, whilst developing the next wave of female entrepreneurs.

Beusail is a new breed of online marketplace whereby anyone can 'co-sell' products with 2 clicks of a button and earn up to 30% commission on every sale. Consumers can leverage their power of influence on their social media channels to gain additional source of income.

Tamara's legacy is to contribute 10M Buy1Give1 impacts per annum. As a subscriber to the 'profit and purpose' philosophy, Tamara passionately believes business will change the world's problems, not government. She also acknowledges that this is no longer isolated to billionaire entrepreneurs but businesses of any size.

Originally a member of The Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), Tamara was the first president in Queensland to take the role in under three years as a member. With her business interests now being in America, along with her focus on impact, Tamara is a founding member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Impacts Chapter, as well as a YPO Hollywood chapter.

Balance is BS. How to have a Work. Life. Blend: Tamara Loehr's book is a focused on the 42% of women in America who are now the breadwinners and know balance doesn't work. Tamara has figured out a new solution after 20+ years as a global entrepreneur. How to ditch expectations, uphold your values and embrace a work-life blend.

Tamara's book calls bullshit on 'balance' and presents a better way: it gives women permission to blend their work and personal lives together without getting burnt out. Every chapter is supported by practical exercises readers can complete to identify their values, align their energies with what matters to them most, set expectations with key people in their lives and map out the life they actually want.

Recorded 04/04/2022.

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Wendy Pease, owner and president of Rapport International, to discuss why words matter.

Wendy Pease is the owner and president of Rapport International, a language services company that provides high-quality translation and interpretation services with a specialty in global marketing, legal, and medical services. Throughout her career, she has worked with hundreds of companies to help them communicate across more than 200 languages and cultures.

Wendy is a frequent speaker, writer, blogger, trainer, advisor, and master networker. She's the author of the book "The Language of Global Marketing", and the host of the Global Marketing Show podcast, which features experts on opportunities and challenges in increasing multilingual lead gen and revenue. She also leads a global speed networking group and moderates the Boston chapter of Soft Land Partners.

Wendy's passionate about connecting people across languages and cultures. She lived in Mexico, Taiwan, and the Philippines where she fell in love with differing cultures and came to understand that we are all human, no matter the language we speak.

Recorded 04/07/2022.

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Russell Hunter, owner and CEO of Colorado Mountain School, an entrepreneur who bought a business during the pandemic - we'll discover what he's learned and how it's going.

After graduating with an accounting degree, Russell spent a very short nine months working as a Public Accountant. He chose to step off the tracks and become an outdoor educator and mountain guide. After two decades of leading others in the mountains, Russell saw an opportunity to become an owner of a mountain guide service and an avalanche education school.

As an owner/CEO, Russell brings together all of his experiences as an accountant, leader, adventure seeker, and risk manager to lead his two companies. Russell strives to advance a growing industry into a more professional industry that provides opportunities for guides and instructors to make a real livelihood doing what they love to do, teaching others to play in the mountains, and igniting passionate living!

Recorded 06/03/2022.

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Jim Schleckser, CEO of Inc. CEO Project, to discuss the most important lessons learned by his clients during the pandemic.

Jim helps leaders grow their companies by helping them open their point of constraint, the kink in the hose through curated CEO Peer Groups. He has extensive leadership experience with organizations in both public and private environments and across multiple industries. Jim has built, acquired, and led several companies, including international businesses with multiple operating business units. Prior to founding the Inc. CEO Project, Jim was the president of Spirent Communications PLC, a global publicly traded telecommunications business valued at $1.6 Billion.

Jim is active with many non-profit organizations, including National Association of Corporate Directors, Boy Scouts of America and Youth With A Mission. He was previously Chair of Junior Achievement of the National Capital Area. He is currently on the boards of Defenders, Daniel Defense, and AltoVista.

Jim is an engineer, an avid soccer player, a Certified sommelier, and recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He has done business in 40 countries and is the author of two best-selling books "Great CEOs are Lazy" and "Professional Drinking".

Recorded 04/11/2022.

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Smriti Sinha, owner of Natural Healing House, on what it was like to buy a business during the pandemic and how it's going.

Smriti Sinha (Sims) is an entrepreneurial leader, who is passionate about building innovative products by marrying consumer-centered creativity with analytical business strategy.

Smriti recently transitioned from leading innovation and product development at Fortune 100 companies, to the exciting world of e-commerce.

She runs a small business in the health and wellness niche, called Natural Healing House. Natural Healing House offers physician grade vitamins and supplements as well as homeopathy products to customers in the US and Canada.

Natural Healing House is a mission driven business, committed to providing wellness products curated by experts, that offer customers the highest quality ingredients at affordable prices.

Prior to running this business, Sims was the Vice President of Digital Product & Strategy at Prudential Financial, where she launched a digital life insurance product targeted at new parents. This product makes life insurance accessible and affordable for customers at a time in their life when they need additional financial protection. Smriti's financial services experience also includes running the global pricing portfolio for Business Travel at American Express.

With a proven track record in launching digital products across financial services, life insurance, travel, and technology, Smriti has developed a unique perspective on innovating in highly regulated industries. She now brings her brand of fun and energy to the e-commerce space, with a focus on health and wellness.

A self-proclaimed foodie and travel enthusiast, Smriti has traveled extensively and lived and worked in Europe and Asia, before settling down in New Jersey. Smriti is a native of India, where she earned a B.A. degree in economics and an M.B.A. and lives in New Jersey with her husband and 8-year-old son.

Here is a special offer just for the AmiSights audience, 10% off Natural Healing House - use code: SPECIAL10. This can be applied at checkout and is valid on all products.

Recorded 06/02/2022.

On this interview, Ami Kassar interviews Justin Donald, Lifestyle Investor® and Entrepreneur, on what lifestyle investing mean and why is it important in an inflationary world.

Entrepreneur Magazine calls Justin Donald the "Warren Buffett of Lifestyle Investing." He's a master of low-risk cash flow investing, specializing in simplifying complex financial strategies, structuring deals, and disciplined investment systems that consistently produce profitable results. His ethos is to "create wealth without creating a job."

In the span of 21 months, and before his 37th birthday, Justin's investments drove enough passive income for both he and his wife Jennifer to leave their jobs. Following his simple investment system and 10 Commandments of Lifestyle Investing, Justin negotiated deals with over 100 companies, multiplied his net worth to over eight figures, and maintained a family-centric lifestyle in less than 2 years. Just 2 years later, he doubled his net worth again.

He now consults and advises entrepreneurs, executives, and successful media personalities on lifestyle investing. Justin has also appeared on nearly 100 podcasts, including Entrepreneurs on Fire, The Mike Dillard Show, Making Bank, Achieve Your Goals, Capability Amplifier, Tractionville, Inside Personal Growth, Conscious Millionaire, Franchise Secrets, the Accelerated Investor, and Unbecoming.

Justin distilled his lessons and proven investment system that reliably generates repeatable returns into The Lifestyle Investor podcast and the best-selling book The Lifestyle Investor: The 10 Commandments of Cash Flow Investing for Passive Income and Financial Freedom, released in January 2021. The Lifestyle Investor was an instant hit, making the USA Today best seller list, breaking #8 on all of Amazon.com, and #1 on the Wall Street Journal's best seller list. All proceeds from copies of The Lifestyle Investor go to Love Justice International, a nonprofit fighting human trafficking in 17 countries.

Justin is a lifelong leader and trainer with a track record of achievement. In his 20s, he worked with Cutco/Vector and quickly became one of the top managers in the company, and one of the youngest to achieve Hall of Fame status. His personal playbook of best practices was deployed nationwide as a training program to onboard sales representatives.

While in this role, Justin began investing heavily in real estate and owns several profitable real estate related businesses, a large portfolio of multifamily rentals, OrangeTheory Fitness franchises, and several other successful operating companies. His entrepreneurial ventures include IFM Restoration, a residential maintenance and rehab company founded in 2016. IFM recently funded its Series A with S3 Ventures, the largest venture capital firm in Texas, leading the round.

Justin is a member of Tiger 21 and a board member of Front Row Foundation International. He and Jennifer contribute to various causes privately and through their church, fighting cancer, building clean water wells in third-world countries and other humanitarian efforts. Additionally, they sponsor multiple children through Compassion International. The Donalds are based in Austin, Texas, and love adventure-based international travel with their beloved daughter.

Recorded 04/14/2022.

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Lisa Zarda, Executive Director of the U.S. Swim School Association, on the challenges swim schools faced during the pandemic and how her association helped them overcome them.

Lisa's career in association management spans over twenty years and includes receiving her certified association executive designation in 2010 as well as the Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP) designation in 2012. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, in Exercise & Sports Science with an emphasis in Recreation Management and a minor in Business Administration from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI.

Over the years she has held volunteer leadership positions with both the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the Arizona Society of Association Executives (AzSAE). She recently completed the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.

Her career has included association work with the Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee and the American Association of Cosmetology Schools which has allowed her to build upon the commonalities found even in unrelated industries.

Lisa has been married for over 16 years and has an eleven-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son that keep her on her toes. When there is some downtime, she enjoys watching football, traveling (especially to beaches), and spending time with her family in Cave Creek, Arizona.

Recorded 03/29/2022.

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Natasha Miller, Founder and CEO of Entire Productions, about her new book and her transformation during the pandemic.

Natasha Miller isn't your average CEO. She sits at the helm of Entire Productions, the go-to experience design, event and entertainment production company in San Francisco, and has been on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America for three years in a row. Natasha's passion and commitment to giving back drive her invariable contributions and participation with numerous charitable organizations. She is also performing as a jazz vocalist and a trained classical violinist.

Natasha is a proud graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and has studied entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School and MIT and is a member of The Recording Academy (Grammys), ASCAP, SF Travel, and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). She resides in San Francisco, CA where she is a member and on the board of EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization).

Recorded 03/28/2022.