Adventures In Business

Why can you handle a setback one day, but the smallest thing pushes you over the edge the next?

Jenn Cassetta, keynote speaker, author and third-degree black belt, returns to Adventures in Business with Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano to explore what keeps us steady under pressure. Drawing from her upcoming book, The Secrets of the Sensei, Jenn introduces her resilience reservoir assessment, and the hosts put their own results on the table.

A chaotic morning for Mandi becomes a real example of how everyday habits can prepare us for the moments we cannot plan. Jenn's routines faced their own test when she returned to Los Angeles during the wildfires and struggled to feel safe, even at home. From that experience to the rejection and uncertainty of building a speaking career, the conversation connects resilience to morning routines, boundaries and having something to work toward. Martial arts provides the backdrop for learning to trust yourself, protect your energy and keep getting back up.

Episode Links

🔗 Check out Jenn Cassetta

🔗 Pre Order Her Book Now: Secrets Of The Sensei

🔗 Take The Resilience Reservoir Assessment

🔗 Follow Jenn on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn & YouTube

What's still on your list before the year ends, and do you have room for it? Mandi Graziano and Amani Roberts are in the final lap of the year, but Amani is still figuring out what he wants next after a summer of burnout. Mandi's approach comes down to capacity, consistency and care: look at what's filling your day, put your priorities on the calendar and give yourself credit when something goes right. Between grading papers, workouts and sponsor emails, there's plenty to get done. But taking care of yourself needs a spot on the list, too.

How do you lead a World Cup operation when there's no roadmap and your team is working for months away from home?

As Los Angeles host city director for FIFA World Cup 2026, Brandy Thigpen oversaw operations outside the stadium, from transportation and hotels to safety and security. Years of relationships in the city helped her take on the role, but the tournament tested her in ways she hadn't expected.

Brandy talks with Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano about supporting an exhausted team, working inside an emergency operations center and building trust before a crisis happens. She also shares why she returned to school as a working single mom, the uncertainty of finding her next role and why it took six weeks to feel like herself after the tournament ended.

🔗 Connect with Brandy Thigpen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandythigpen/

What if taking a goal off your list helps you focus on what matters most?

Mandi Graziano and Amani Roberts check in on their bingo cards as the year enters its final stretch. From Mandi's dinner with hospitality leaders to Amani's new class, they share what they've accomplished and what's still in progress. They also talk about the goals that now feel more stressful than useful, and give themselves permission to turn those squares into free spaces.

What happens when you build a business around friendship, connection and the choice to find joy?

Liz Lathan and Nicole Osibodu created Club Ichi to bring people in the events industry together without job titles or formal networking. Their approach has led to spontaneous think tanks, parties and a secret business trip where guests learned their destination only after arriving at the airport.

Liz and Nicole talk with Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano about how Club Ichi began, why they give people room to have real conversations and the friendship that helps them run the business. Liz shares why she believes "joy is a choice," while Nicole explains the rule they follow when one of them is having a hard day.

Episode Links

🔗 Checkout Club Ichi Online, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube

🔗 Sign up for Happy Camp

🔗 Find Nicole Osibodu & Liz Lathan on LinkedIn

What if your podcast could become more valuable than a traditional résumé?

Producer and podcast host Mike Bisceglia joins Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano to explain how podcasting can help people share their ideas, build meaningful relationships and create new business opportunities. Mike shares why consistency matters more than perfection, why video is essential for reaching an audience on YouTube and what most new podcasters underestimate about producing a show.

He also discusses the value of getting to the conversation faster, using analytics to improve and simply pressing record before worrying about titles, thumbnails or expensive equipment.

Episode Links

🔗 Check out Mike's podcasts Marriage Bites & Bad Weather Fans

🔗 Follow Mike on LinkedIn & Instagram

What does it take to turn one rental property into a growing Airbnb business?

A neighbor gave Tina T. the idea to try Airbnb, and a $5,000 purchase gave her nearly everything she needed to furnish her first property. When it stayed booked, she began converting more of her long-term rentals. But Airbnb is only one part of Tina's life. She created Camp Spinoff, a summer camp where teenagers learn to DJ and produce music, and trained her Belgian Malinois to detect bed bugs before starting a new career working with detection dogs.

Tina talks with Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano about recovering from a serious car accident, learning to delegate, setting boundaries, and making room for the many things she wants to build.

Episode Links

🔗 Email Tina T: [email protected]

🔗 Find Tina T. on LinkedIn & Instagram

🔗 Learn more about Camp Spinoff

🔗 Check out Camp Spinoff on Instagram

What if your next great business opportunity comes from an unexpected collaboration?

Mandi Graziano and Amani Roberts look at partnerships between brands, artists and audiences that may not seem like an obvious match. From e.l.f. Cosmetics and Liquid Death to Selena Gomez and Rema, they discuss how the right collaboration can introduce your business to new customers, expand your reach and offer something your audience didn't know it needed.

How do you market your business without losing your voice or spending all your time creating content?

Samantha Calderón, copywriter, marketing strategist, and founder of South Florida Copywriting, joins Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano to share how losing a client to AI pushed her to rethink her business and invest in herself.

Drawing on 15 years of writing experience, she explains why knowing your audience, embracing messy first drafts, and bringing your own ideas to the page still matter. Samantha offers simple ways to improve your website, simplify your emails, and plan content days that free you up to run your business. She reflects on finding clients through community, helping a first-time podcaster launch his passion project, and learning to stop comparing her progress to someone else's.

Episode Links

🔗 Check out Samantha Calderón Online

🔗 Follow Samantha on Instagram, LinkedIn and Substack

What can plant medicine reveal about who you are, how you lead, and the parts of yourself you may have stopped listening to?

Jessica Cline, Chief Marketing Officer and Partner at INLIBRIUM, joins Amani Roberts and Mandi Graziano to share how burnout, loss, love, and major career changes led her to a guided experience with psilocybin. She describes how it helped her confront a deep sense of loneliness, reconnect with herself, and reconsider what it means to live and lead in alignment. The experience is only the beginning.

Jessica talks about the work required to bring those insights into everyday life, along with the misconceptions surrounding psychedelics. Her story touches on starting a magazine during the pandemic, learning from competitors, marketing transformation, and finding meaning through curiosity and failure.

Episode Links

🔗 Find Jessica Cline on LinkedIn

🔗 Email Jessica Cline: [email protected]

🔗 Learn more about INLIBRIUM