805conversations

Marc Borowitz, the founder of the Rincon Beach Club and Rincon Events talked with Mark about their 30-year history of Mark eating Marc's food. Marc started Rincon 32 years ago and has grown his business into a regional powerhouse having fed thousands and attended to the weddings of hundreds of brides. It's a great conversation about how hospitality can be brought into any business.

"No is not a part of our vernacular"

Topics included;

-The Wedding business in Santa Barbara, as a destination for brides from around the world.

-Corporate catering and how local businesses take advantage of Marc's great service

-Three things that Marc would teach someone about Hospitality;

1. Desire. Have a desire to make people happy.

2. Practice. Get in the reps, rehearsals. Ask, "How could we make it better?"

3. Imagination. Think about pushing the envelope, turning client ideas into reality.

-His philosophy about employee education - hint: It never stops

-His favorite thing to cook himself and a fun thing he does with friends and family

-What Marc thinks about when you say Workforce Wellness.

Marc has been catering for projects with Mark since his early days at Wavefront, then onto introNetworks and is the caterer for TEDxSantaBarbara.

Gregg Hart, Santa Barbara City Councilmember has been involved in public service his entire career. His conversation about his life choice, with host Mark Sylvester, helped illuminate the positive aspects of public service and giving back to the community.

"How do you make better changes for the Community?"

Topics included;

-Climate change and his focus on working at the local level to make a difference

-BEACON - Beach Erosion working group

A bit of background on Earth Day and the birthplace of environmental activism

-His participation in Prop 15, the anti-nuke initiative at Diablo Canyon

-Discipline vs. Passion

-His top three lessons - Showup, Listen, Network

-Background on the ongoing debate in Santa Barbara between growth and no-growth advocates

-The Density (Downtown) discussion - insight

-A great story of how you work with community groups to solve a problem. The example is the work the City has done to create a bicycle corridor to connect the downtown area to the Westside. We learned how hard it was to build consensus.

This was a great conversation, and Patrick and Mark both thanked Gregg for his tireless efforts at representing all of our best interests.

Matt Turner and his brother Sat Kiret, founders of Santa Barbara's Hustler's for Humanity are doing something amazing and want to take their idea national. They sat with host Mark Sylvester for a wide-ranging conversation that went back to how they have become so motivated to serve and help the community. Their business is matching volunteers to opportunities to serve in the community. This can be assisting at events where the non-profit needs extra hands to unload chairs or provide assistance in parking at a fundraiser. They've done it all.

Our Mission: Impact the community. Teaming up to serve.

If you want to join the Hustlers and volunteer your time at a local event, you can signup here.

Topics included;

Learn how they focus on being dedicated to positivity

Building a team of superheroes

The backstory: their father built a non-profit for 1000's of kids in Boston - their hometown

What their first event was like - at Fork and Cork

Their progress so far - 75 events, 600 people, 250 regular volunteers and 40 non-profits served.

Their Dragon: resources and living in the car when they first moved here.

Their emphasis on trust is compelling

The value of sports and how it's impacted them

"Our sport is Community Service

Discussion of branding and the word Hustlers.

Their Community-Service model for Colleges and high school students

The future: monthly publications and technology to facilitate the matching of volunteers to opportunities to serve

Matt and Sat are on the Executive Team of TEDxSantaBarbara and are providing amazing ideas and collaborative input to the event.

David Hefferman, Marketing Specialist at KEYT 3 and FOX 11, sat with host Mark Sylvester to talk about how small businesses get the most out of local advertising. We've not addressed this topic in depth before. David takes us through the ins and outs of integrated marketing in an episode with a lot of valuable information. Over the years, he's learned that a lot of the time, small businesses don't understand how to craft a message with a purpose.

There's an on/off button. Use it."

Topics included;

-The Santa Barbara Kite Festival, which David's run for almost 20 years.

-His background in On Air Weather. Mark, David and Patrick talk a bit in the beginning about the weather.

-How David approaches his work by working closely with his clients to understand what they're trying to accomplish, then helping them reach those goals.

-Why people have such an aversion to sales. It's not a dirty word

-Why you should advertise more when you are busy

-Consistency wins.

-Listeners know that we love alliteration. Here's a good one from David: Kernels of Consistency

-How you should think about FREE MEDIA

-David has a great mini lesson in Programmatic Targeting

-Do you know what RECENCY is? Neither did Mark until David explained it

-What makes an ad compelling? Uniqueness and Sincerity and it has a Heart

-Did you know that our local TV station reaches 500,000 people?

-David explains how rates are computed, and ads placed - interesting if you're looking to maximise your ad spend

"Target. Price. Position. Product. The 4P's of Marketing"

Corey Reed, adaptive athlete, and the founder of Westlake Village-based Ride with Core had one of the most inspiring conversations with Mark. The last ten years of his life are punctuated by a tragic traffic accident where he lost his sight and his right leg, below the calf.

What you learn about how he spent those ten years will astound you. How he intends the next ten will give you great cause for hope.

"Being resilient is a choice. - Corey Reed"

I've had to learn how to make good decisions under pressure"

Topics included;

-What Ride with Core is all about - and how having an Entertainment company fits into his future

-Being a father, husband and mentor

-Going from a super athlete to an adaptive athlete

-What it means to be competitive

-Ever heard of Para-Snowboarding? Neither had we.

What are the traits that he wants others to cultivate: -Constantly bettering yourself. Be vulnerable - step outside your comfort zone and Trust.

-Going from para-snowboarding to Competitive CrossFit - and setting a world-record as the first adaptive athlete as a part of a foursome at the Kenny King Crossfit Competition

-Starting off with T-Ball as a kid

-Being sponsored by the largest prosthetics company and then competing in the world-renowned Navy Seal Hell Week Seal Fit program (yes, as a blind guy)

-The 3 Stages of Hypothermia

-Fight or Flight

-Going from being an AV guy who designed in-home solutions to a thought-leader, and what that feels like

-The Ride with Core film Resilience - see here

-What the next five years look like for Corey

"Every accomplishment I've made, I couldn't have done it without the support of a team - family friends and coaches."

Every so often you meet an amazing person that challenges everything you thought about barriers. Corey is one of those. Take a minute to visit his site and if you can attend a screening - make it a must.

We're hoping to get Corey back to hear some more stories about the kids he's helping along the way.

"Taking charge of what we want to do with our lives."

Julia and Gerbert are two of the leaders of the Dons Net Cafe, a business incubator embedded in Santa Barbara High School. They talked with Mark about the history of the program that is now over 20 years old. They are one of seven high schools in the nation that have a program where students can build and launch real businesses. There's a national program called the Virtual Enterprise Classroom which they also participate in. They have won numerous awards from this organization and are on their way there now to compete with one of the newest companies, Volt Gaming, a membership organization that provides Game Tournaments and lunchtime play using the Computers in the Cafe. Mark is a mentor for the leadership of this program.

Take a step into my future" - Gerbert

Topics included;

-Julia, the COO of the DNC expalins how the operation works

Finding Common Ground - one of the companies - full list here

-The VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program - and being recognized by the Director of the IRS in Washington - Noozhawk article here. It is funded by the United Way, to provide free tax returns to people that can't afford it. They have been awarded the #1 VITA site in the nation by the LA Times.

-14 Businesses that are currently operating out of the DNC

-How taking part in real businesses has created great experiences for them both

-How they have learned to provide general services, such as HR, IT, Accounting, Marketing to the various businesses in the DNC

-How these high-achieving students manage to balance their other school with the passion they have for business and social responsibility

-They participate in the New Venture Competiton at Santa Barbara City College with other local high school.

-What they'd tell other students about getting involved in such a program

Mark mentioned that these students are learning valuable lessons that they'll be able to use immediately as they decide what they want to do with their lives.

We'd encourage you to get involved with your local High School's Virtual Enterprise or Regional Occupational Program (ROP) and give back some of your time.

Meichelle Arntz is the founder of Recipes Organics Bakery and Angels Foster Care in Santa Barbara. She and Mark sat for a conversation to learn how she's integrated a small business with a big heart and become an owner who's giving back every day. She says that everybody can do something, so, do one thing to help. Today.

"Supporting non-profits is a part of running your business."

Topics included;

-Santa Barbara's only Australian Coffee House and Bakery

-How she learned to be a barista so she could make coffee correctly

-Her background as a nurse and how that influenced her work with Angels Foster Care

-What it's like being a small business owner and working 60-80 hours weeks

-How to remain calm during stressful situations, and how -trauma nursing prepared her for running a bakery and a non-profit

-One of her mottos: "Be happy with where you are right now"

-The Business Giving Roundtable and what she learned about how to structure a giving-back program that is integrated into her business

-Working with interns and having her employees step up to participate in the giving back aspect of the business

-Her Call To Action: Pick your passion - the area you want to focus on - then pick one non-profit recipient for your giving - and have it be aligned with your business's mission

Meichelle is an inspiration to other small-business owners who are looking for a lifestyle business - not wanting to create a chain of locations. Just focusing on working hard, giving back, being happy and working with lots of friends around her. The work she is doing with Angels Foster Care is truly amazing.

Garrett TeSlaa, Podcaster at the Squadroom and a Sergeant with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff, sat with host Mark to talk about his life in public service. Garrett is on a path of discovering health, wellness and personal development and is taking himself and his listeners on the journey with him.

"We did something good today.”

Topics included;

-The Squadroom Podcast - why, what, who

-What the effects of sleep deprivation, stress and lack of exercise have on the police force

-How to overcome them

-How his personal journey has put him in touch with amazing experts in his field

-Surprise: He wasn't always a cop - he started in the Music business

-His story about finding a passion for law enforcement

-"As a leader - looking for what violence you could stop.

-Loved this: Psychological Salary

-The definition of a Community Oriented Policing Policy - hint; there are 56 definitions

-How Neighborhood Watch programs are working - answer: pretty well

-Living in the moment - your first 15 seconds - nay, your first 3 seconds on the scene

-How you Create Time in a tense situation

-Biggest misconceptions of police officers and law enforcement:

- Vast majority of law enforcement are smart people, many with MBA's and Master degrees

- We don't like to be mean

- We care deeply for our fellow citizens

-Test for new hires and leaders - their enthusiasm for people

-His day is not about writing tickets

-When they are doing their job, you don't see them on TV that night

He quoted Clint Bruce's saying, which he used when we finished - "You were worth it." after being thanked for just doing his job.

Thanks, Garrett you gave us a new lens to look through the next time we get pulled over.

David Fortson, the co-founder and CEO of Santa Barbara based LoaTree, sat with Mark Sylvester to talk about his journey towards being a citizen activist and changemaker. He's a lot more than that of course, and his story gives us a great glimpse into this Santa Barbara social entrepreneur, marketer and Dad.

Citizen Activist. Changemaker. A Man for Others.

"To get told NO is a piece of data you should pay attention to.”

Topics included;

-Growing up in San Jose and finding the ideal school that ended up changing his life

-"The Theology of Nature"

-Knowing at age 17 that he wanted to be an Environmental Studies major

-Going from Activist to Organizer

-How you get attention for your ideas - learned at the young age of 19

-His intense experience at the WTO in Seattle - suffice it to say, he's not a fan of tear gas

-Making a better planet

-Earth Day activity in Santa Barbara

-How he ran a campaign for the Isla Vista Parks Board at 22 years old

-Advice for students who want to make a difference: Get out of class, Open up and pay attention to what's all around you and -Be Persistent

-What's LoaTree and LoaCom

-How talking to thousands of people helps fine tune your pitch skills

-Starting with a big smile

-His product startup story - Brush Buddy and being on QVC - what a rush

-The ego is a powerful, multi-edged sword

-"Do what you love."

-Are you working at your highest vibrational level?

You can learn more about the Community, Events and Passion Projects of LoaTree at http://loatree.com

Jason and Jodi Womack, the powerhouse couple behind The Womack Company, based in Ojai, sat for an energy-filled conversation about their new book, Get Momentum. Jason and Jodi are ideal foils for one another and Mark took lots of time discovering their secret to working and playing together.

"Jason wrote the book, and I deleted it. - Jodi”

Topics included;

-Meeting 23 years ago in History class

-What it means to be the kid who sits in the front of the class

-Talking about Couples in Business

-Jason's thoughts on Co... co-working, co-laborating and co-creating - very interesting distinctions

-How does a couple with each having a Masters in Psychology not end up analysing each other ad nauseum?

-Jason's 30/30 and 90/90 way of looking at your calendar and getting things done

-What does it mean when you have Decision Fatigue - yes, it's a thing, look it up

-What it was like writing their first book together - though this is their 4th book

-How Jason got started - by looking in the house at the top 100 brands he supported by his purchases and then how he met them and started working with them

-Here's the email he wrote: "Who I am, what I've done, What's your training and development need, What would you call the class and how much would you pay.

-"What they buy vs. what they experience"

-Another lovely law of three - Remember something you accomplished. Remember who helped you get it done. Be grateful

-Nice point of view about the intersection of Information and Intention

-"What do you want to be known for?"

Oh yes, Jason is a fellow podcaster and does a show, Your Best Just Got Better - find it here on iTunes - he did 200 shows in a row. Yep, that's Momentum!

Jason and Jodi travel quite a bit and when they do they will often hang out in a coffee shop and invite locals to come by and say hi and sit a while. You can find where they're going to be by hitting this Where's Womack site - clever idea Jason!