AmiSights: Financing the Future For Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Jessica Fialkovich, President of Transworld Business Advisors - Rocky Mountain, on how to buy a business, how to sell a business and the status of the mergers and acquisitions market.

Jessica became a first-time entrepreneur at the age of 25 and since has been able to successfully establish, develop and sell multiple small businesses in a number of different industries.

In the last eight years as the President of Transworld Business Advisors - Rocky Mountain, Jessica has been able to build her business brokerage firm from a two-person team to one of the top firms in the country. Under her leadership, the office has been the number one franchise location in the world for the last five years, has made both the Inc 5000 and Denver Fastest Growing businesses for the last three, and been recognized by the Financial Times, Colorado Business Magazine and others. Jessica is also the Founder of Exit Factor, which teaches business owners how to buy and sell businesses for the most profit in the least amount of time.

As an entrepreneur, Jessica is passionate about small businesses driving our economy. Because of this, she has committed to educating and supporting entrepreneurs and the small business community. She is active in the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the current President of the Colorado chapter of Entrepreneur's Organization, and a supporter of Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute. Jessica is originally a Jersey Girl that now lives in Colorado with her husband and two dogs, Moose and Sailor. When she's not working you can find her either enjoying the outdoors or attending a Bruce Springsteen concert.

Recorded 01/20/21.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Carey Smith, Founding Contrarian of Unorthodox Ventures to discuss if Carey has been investing in businesses throughout the pandemic, and if so, how has his outlook changed.

A career entrepreneur, Carey Smith founded Big Ass Fans in 1999 and served as its CEO, or Chief Big Ass as he preferred, for 18 years. While other companies made and lost their fortunes, Carey's contrarian business practices and relentless pursuit of new markets and high-quality products led to sustained, rapid growth. By 2017, Carey had grown the fan and light manufacturer to nearly $300 million in annual revenue and more than a thousand employees. And he'd done it without any outside investors. Ready for a new challenge, he sold Big Ass Fans for $500 million. The company's stock appreciation rights program paid out $50 million to more than 100 loyal employees who shared Carey's work ethic with 15 becoming overnight millionaires.

Following the sale, Carey founded Unorthodox Ventures, his Austin-based twist on the business incubator that seeks to provide everything investment firms lacked when they approached him near daily at Big Ass Fans. Carey's team consists of experts who help founders become serial entrepreneurs by providing support for everything from engineering and marketing to customer service and logistics.

Recorded on 01/13/2021.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Jonathan Goldhill, Founder and President of The Goldhill Group about his new book, Disruptive Successor: a Guide for Driving Growth in your Family Business.

Jonathan Goldhill is an adviser, coach, consultant, trainer, facilitator, and business therapist with 30 years of experience in his craft. He has been guiding closely-held and family-owned businesses since 1987.

His passion for advising entrepreneurs and family businesses ignited a year earlier when his family's business, one of the largest manufacturers of men's clothing in the U.S. ceased operations and failed to survive into the fourth generation of family ownership.

Jonathan has owned/managed several businesses that that grown into multimillion-dollar companies, including VEDC in Los Angeles, which grew from a fledgling organization into the largest business and economic development firm in the region.

Some of his clients, including Anchor Loans, FPA Technology Services, Kings Hawaiian Bakery, K&D Landscaping, and Niner Bikes have achieved double-digit growth and were featured on lists of the fastest-growing companies and best places to work.

The Goldhill Group provides strategic thinking, execution planning, and accountability coaching to businesses. Based in the Los Angeles metro area, we serve closely-held and family business clients in the lower to middle market nationwide.

Raised outside New York City, Goldhill moved to California at age 20 to start his journey helping entrepreneurs find their freedom. At 30, he started advising, coaching and consulting with entrepreneurs and business owners.

He is a lifelong learner. He's read hundreds of business books, studied from personal development and business management experts combining insightful and practical expertise to his clients. Jonathan focuses on guiding Millennial and Gen Y leaders with humility to build great teams filled with humble, hungry, smart and talented people. And he likes advising aging boomers and Gen X business owners to find freedom through succession and successful exits.

Jonathan has an entrepreneur's spirit and desires to help entrepreneurs fulfill their desires of freedom of time, money, relationship and purpose.

Recorded 01/11/2021.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Scott Omelianuk, Editor in Chief of Inc. magazine and Inc.com, on his experience coming in as Editor in Chief just a few weeks before the pandemic hit.

Mr. Omelianuk recently joined Inc. as Editor in Chief, where he oversees the brand's recognition programs, events, and content, and is charged with creating new lines of business to support the entrepreneurial community. Though in the role for less than a year, he has already redesigned Inc.'s digital and print properties, launched a data product for firms looking to invest in small businesses, partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on a series of SMB town halls and created its breakout Best in Business franchise.

At the Stevens Institute of Technology—a U.S. News & World Report "Top 25 Innovation School"—he is a professor in the School of Business and Technology where he teaches marketing and entrepreneurship and serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University's Venture Center.

Prior to arriving at Inc., he advised start-ups and businesses in transition as a partner in HumanConsult.io, a consultancy at the intersection of content, commerce, and technology. There he employed the proprietary "Quid Si" methodology, a combination of rapid ideation, the lean canvas and transformation management to help businesses in transition develop strategic plans, sales and marketing strategies, investment theses and digital transitions. Additionally, he was co-founder of a wellness business for which he wrote the patent.

Mr. Omelianuk is widely known for his 12-year tenure at This Old House, where, before its successful sale to private equity, he built a reputation as a creative strategist who took a beloved brand, polished its image, and built around it a tapestry of related businesses, including digital offshoots, Spanish-language TV, lead generation, affiliate revenue, licensed products, and a mobile game strategy. He oversaw English- and Spanish-language television shows, several websites, social channels and a magazine. In an intrapreneurial role at its parent company, Time Inc., he was a C-suite advisor, sought out partnerships and acquisitions and pioneered user-generated content, social video, AR, a mobile gaming strategy, lead generation and other now common digital technologies.

Prior to This Old House Scott held senior positions in television, where he was variously an on-camera host and producer at Full Frontal Fashion and a partner at Kaufman Films, the creator of The Real Housewives franchise. Earlier in his career, Mr. Omelianuk was an architect of Esquire magazine's renaissance, increasing revenue 75 percent, overseeing brand licensing, and while there authored four books in the Things a Man Should Know franchise, which he created and then co-wrote with Chopped host Ted Allen. As a journalist, he has covered style internationally for GQ, been a columnist at Details and contributed to the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other publications.

Honored with Ad Age A-List and Media Vanguard awards, Scott is a sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship, marketing and branding, and often appears on television as a business, media and lifestyle expert. A graduate of Gettysburg College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, where he obtained an MS in Journalism, he sits on the board of the MIT Enterprise Forum or New York City.

Recorded 01/08/2021.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar sits down with Dave Nast, CEO of Nast Partners, to discuss how HR has changed during the pandemic, specifically how hiring has changed, and how to build teams virtually.

David Nast is the CEO and Managing Partner of Nast Partners- based in the Greater Philadelphia area. David uses artificial intelligence, workforce analytics, and science-backed data to help businesses stop guessing and erase bias in their talent and execution decisions.

Dave is a 3-time CEO, a Workplace Behavior Expert, and an Award-Winning Business Coach with over 30 years of experience in Human Capital Management, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Talent Optimization, Sales, Change Management, Talent Acquisition, Training, Talent Management, and Executive Search. David holds certifications as a Workplace Behavioral Analyst, Business Coach, Talent Optimization Consultant, Corporate Trainer, Leadership Architect, LOS-Organizational Health Expert, and Interview Architect. As a Recruiter, he placed over 500 CEOs in his career, and as a Coach he has worked with thousands of CEOs, Business Owners, and Executives.

Using proven analytics, systems and strategies, David partners with his clients and delivers his services based on their unique needs. He is passionate about inspiring others to get results. David is a Top-Ranked Influencer on LinkedIn with over 25,000 followers. He writes for Talent (TLNT.com), Raconteur, and the Business Section of The Huffington Post. David is also a collaborator on the #1 Best-Seller, "The New ROI (Return on Individuals)" and he has been featured in Money Magazine and Fortune Magazine.

Recorded on 01/06/2021.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Dr. Rebecca Heiss, author, founder and CEO of the 360-review mobile application, icueity, and professional speaker on her journey as a professional speaker and what happened in March 2020 and how she adapted.

Rebecca knows fear. As a biologist and stress expert, Dr. Rebecca Heiss is dedicated to helping us become self-aware and overcome our instinctual limitations – the ancient, often subconscious fears that hold us back from our optimal performance and our happiest lives. Her research has been designated "transformative" by the National Science Foundation and it is waking up audiences around the world.

As an author (Instinct, April 2021), founder and CEO of the 360-review mobile application, icueity, and highly sought-after professional speaker, Rebecca has found her calling in helping others recognize the power of biological applications in their lives. A former educator, Dr. Heiss spent much of her earlier career in the classroom at both the high school and college levels and was recruited to be a founding member of an innovative charter school with a focus on entrepreneurial thinking and impact-based learning.

Rebecca has been honored to speak internationally on her work, including multiple TEDx talks. Her "fear(less)" message inspires hope and actionable insights to train our brains to work for us, rather than against us in times of uncertainty. With surprising humor and palpable energy, no matter if Dr. Heiss is delivering virtually or on stage, she wins over audiences around the world with her interactive, inspiring and timely takeaways. She lives in South Carolina with her spoiled rotten dog named Guinness, and every day tries to live her life motto: "spread happy."

Recorded 12/28/2020.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Loren Feldman, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of 21 Hats on his journey from journalist to employee to entrepreneur, what he has learned, and how we can help.

Loren Feldman is the founder and editor-in-chief of 21 Hats, an online platform for business owners. He hosts the 21 Hats Podcast, which has been tracking the experiences of six business owners in weekly conversations throughout the pandemic crisis, and he edits the 21 Hats Morning Report, a daily email newsletter for entrepreneurs. Previously, he was a senior editor covering entrepreneurship at Inc, Forbes, and the New York Times and hosted a call-in show for business owners, Mind Your Business, on Sirius XM. And he has spoken and moderated discussions at numerous conferences and seminars on entrepreneurship.

Recorded 12/18/2020.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Matt Grammer, the Founder and CEO of Kentucky Counseling Center on his story, what changed when the pandemic hit and how he pivoted.

KCC was formed in 2014 with a $250 investment and ranked #92 on the Inc. 5000 list in 2019. "I started KCC because I was frustrated with my father's experience getting treatment for schizophrenia. When he finally found someone that could help, there was a 6 month waiting list and the doctor didn't accept his insurance. Mental health care should be easy to find and affordable to receive." - Matt Grammer

Recorded 12/16/2020.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Emily Morgan, the founder of Delegate Solutions, on how she gets entrepreneurs comfortable with delegation and how to make delegation effective.

Emily and her remote team help leaders and their teams to strategically clear their plates so they can focus on higher-impact activities! She is the founder of Delegate Solutions, a Strategic Support(TM) Firm and the designer of the "Delegate Method" which helps leaders identify areas of their work they can delegate or automate for maximum efficiency. She's helped hundreds of busy entrepreneurial leaders master delegation and design systems to support and grow their awesome businesses! This year alone, her team has cleared nearly 30,000 hours of tasks off the plates of overwhelmed business owners.

Emily speaks nationally on the topic of virtual business, delegation, remote workforces, and flexwork culture. She's been featured in Forbes, Inc., HuffPo, NY Times, NBC News, and Martha Stewart Radio. She is a Goldman Sachs 10kSB alum and is a graduate of UPenn. Delegate Solutions recently ranked among the top 100 fastest-growing companies in Philly.

Recorded 12/14/2020.

On today's episode, Ami Kassar interviews Lynn Ozer, the new President of MultiFunding on her transition from the corporate banking world to the more entrepreneurial MultiFunding.

Lynn Ozer is a strategic and highly accomplished financial executive with vast expertise in small business lending departments, training existing and aspiring lenders on SBA's loan origination policies and procedures, and advocating on local and national level for policies that prioritize small business. To this day, she serves on the Small Business Board of The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

As the first woman to chair the board of the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL), Lynn continues to instruct lenders for NAGGL and actively participates by serving on the government relations, technical issues and executive committees. In doing so, she has remained involved at a national level advocating for small businesses and monitoring the issues and trends in the industry.

She has established capabilities in sales, credit, portfolio management, liquidation, and operations. She leverages outstanding leadership and communication skills to present opportunities to executive teams and cultivates relationships with key business partners. Lynn is a driven and focused top-performer who drives the ownership of business results, capitalizes on lucrative new opportunities, and consistently exceeds goals.

Up until now, Lynn's career, which started with a 5 year stint at the SBA, consisted of managing all aspects of SBA lending departments in community and regional banks. Lynn managed the SBA Lending Departments at Fulton Bank, Bucks County Bank, CoreStates, Jefferson Bank, Hudson United Bank, Patriot Bank and Susquehanna Bank.

Her recent decision to join MultiFunding LLC emanated from a desire to become more personally involved with business owners. Now, she is able to help educate, structure and find creative financing solutions for business owners that extends beyond one banks credit box. Lynn now has the opportunity to help other lenders with loans they may be struggling to find a home for. If you are that lender, or an entrepreneur struggling with financing options, please contact MultiFunding as we would love to work with you.