Authentic Business Adventures Podcast

Beth Viney - Czar's Promise

On Getting Bad News About Your Beloved Pet: "Caring for Pets with Cancer: It's kinda like you get a glazed look over your face, your your throat sinks down into your stomach, and you have a thousand questions and not a lot of answers."

Pets hold a special place in our hearts.  They lift us up when we're down and lift us even higher when we're doing alright.  They show us what is really important: food, water, naps, a few snuggles and maybe scratching that one spot that makes your leg shake for joy.

But pets are living, breathing and loving creatures and living creatures can get sick, just like us.  This is especially challenging with a pet that doesn't have a great way of expressing all that they are feeling in regards to their health.

Beth Viney is the founder of Czar's Promise, a non-profit that helps pet owners navigate the options when they find out their pet has cancer.  This includes information and resources to help you as a pet owner.

Listen as Beth explains how you can help you pet, before they have cancer and just in case they are diagnosed with cancer.  She shares her wisdom, passion and drive and is doing all she can to make our incredible pets as happy, healthy and helpful as possible.

Enjoy!

Visit Beth at: https://www.czarspromise.com/

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Pet Cancer Support and Guidance

06:00 A Dog's Impact on Life

08:04 Commitment to Pet Cancer Aid

11:27 Pet Diagnosis: Factors and Options

14:43 Pet Cancer Diagnosis Steps

17:12 Navigating Pet Cancer Treatment Challenges

23:08 Hidden Illness in Pets

25:00 Pet Health: Vet Visits & Grooming

28:22 Journey Through Pet Cancer Struggles

32:17 Pet Insurance Gap and Czars Promise

35:23 Czars Promise: Young Nonprofit Grows

37:19 Supporting Madison's Veterinary Oncology Pets

41:08 Veterinary Cancer Support Network Formation

46:17 COVID Impact on Pet Cancer Treatment

47:42 Veterinary Costs Rise Post-COVID

52:15 "Future Goals for SARS Promise"

Podcast Transcription:

Beth Vinny [00:00:00]:

Dogs can be incredibly stoic. They can hide discomfort very well, through their nature. Some dogs more than others, as well as cats. And for the most part, cancer isn't diagnosed until, okay, all of a sudden it's there.

James Kademan [00:00:22]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggles, stories, and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Beth Viney of Czars Promise. So Beth, how is it going today?

Beth Vinny [00:00:46]:

Oh, it besides being a rainy day and muddy paw day, it's going great. Thank you. Day. It's muddy paw day.

James Kademan [00:00:52]:

I'm excited. Today, we're talking dogs. Right?

Beth Vinny [00:00:54]:

We're talking dogs and we're talking cancer On both dogs, cats, and people. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:00:58]:

Well, at least that's half good. Right?

Beth Vinny [00:01:00]:

Yep. That's right.

James Kademan [00:01:01]:

Tell me what is Czars response?

Beth Vinny [00:01:03]:

So if you have ever known anybody, human or a pet, that has been diagnosed with cancer, that's what we focus on. Alright. And really our we have two main areas of mission. And one that we do every single day is we work with families throughout Wisconsin and even some other states that come to Madison, Wisconsin for veterinary oncology Czars. Because their pet, their dog or cat has been diagnosed with cancer. And what we do is we help The navigate through that journey. Because when you first hear the words, your dog or your cat has cancer, it's kinda like you get a glazed look over your face, your your throat sinks down into your stomach, and you have a thousand questions and not a lot of answers. So we're here to help people go on the path and provide resources and advice and wisdom and guidance, but we're also here for financial support

James Kademan [00:02:06]:

Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:02:07]:

For, through to help them through chemotherapy and or radiation Czars, that type of thing. So that's something we do every single day. But the second part of our mission is finding a cure is really important. And over the years, what's been found is that because the physiological makeup of a pet equals that of a human, is that any research that can be done in either species On regards to oncology or cancer is going to benefit the other. So we partner with our special friends at American Family Children's Hospital and the UW Call of Veterinary Medicine to help support their oncology research, to help find new means of treatment or new means of diagnosis with ultimately the goal to find a cure.

James Kademan [00:03:00]:

Nice.

Beth Vinny [00:03:00]:

So that's what we also do. And that's something we've been doing since we started in 2018. And this year, we're really going to start talking about that partnership and that initiative a lot more.

James Kademan [00:03:13]:

The partnership between The UW Beth School and then American Family Children's Hospital?

Beth Vinny [00:03:17]:

Yeah. And what we, as Czars Promise, do in terms of looking at their areas of needs for oncology research and finding grant opportunities that we can provide financial support to that will help them advance their research project.

James Kademan [00:03:36]:

Nice.

Beth Vinny [00:03:37]:

Last summer we made a commitment to American Family Children's Hospital and the UW School of Vet Medicine on a joint project that they're working on together. And that's called comparative oncology. And between doctor Christian Cappettini at American Family Children's Hospital, who is now acting director of UW Carbone, and doctor David Vail of UW School of Vet Medicine, who is world renowned for his veterinary oncology research, They came together and they put together a research project that, will help ultimately children and dogs who have been diagnosed with bone cancer. And we made that commitment to fund that five year research project for them last July, and Czars Promise is supporting that initiative. Wow.

James Kademan [00:04:29]:

That's incredible.

Beth Vinny [00:04:30]:

It is. It's amazing.

James Kademan [00:04:32]:

So were these two I mean, these are two pretty big behemoths in their own verticals.

Beth Vinny [00:04:37]:

Yep. Exactly.

James Kademan [00:04:38]:

Did you or did Czars Promise connect them or were they connected on their own?

Beth Vinny [00:04:42]:

No. They have always engaged

James Kademan [00:04:44]:

Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:04:45]:

Together in research projects. Certainly stand alone research projects on their own. So up until last year, we would provide support for research at the UW Call of Veterinary Medicine. We've supported, research for histiocytic cancer. We have supported research for, one of the machines that they use in diagnosing cancer in a pet. We have supported, research study for feline lymphoma. So we've done those as stand alone with the UW Call of Vet Medicine. And then as stand alone for children's hospital.

Beth Vinny [00:05:25]:

We have supported two studies for neuroblastoma. We have supported a study on immunotherapy. And all the while behind the scenes, both of these entities have been working together. But this is a research project that both doctor Call and doctor Capettini designed and created together from the ground up. And they're collaborating on it. And because of SARS Promise and what we've done, they were able to launch it last year.

James Kademan [00:05:53]:

Oh, that's that's incredible. Yeah. That is really cool. Yep. How did you get involved with all this?

Beth Vinny [00:06:00]:

So as with, I would say, a lot of On organizations is they begin with an event that impacted someone's life. And I have always had a love of dogs. I have had a dog since the day I was born. And in 02/2001, this white Great Pyrenees little polar bear, when I first saw him at four weeks old, had this big smile on his face and jumped into my lap. And I would say the rest is history. And his name was Czars. So he was a Great Pyrenees. And during the course of his lifetime, I knew he had a very, very special gift in working with people and wanting to bring joy and smiles and a sense of calm and a sense of peace, you know, amongst everybody that he met.

Beth Vinny [00:06:52]:

And he became an animal assisted therapy dog with The Beth pals program at American family children's hospital. And we served there for five years until 2010 when he turned 10 years old and retired. And it was after that, actually less than a year later when he was diagnosed with bone cancer. This was the very first experience that I had had with a pet that had been diagnosed with bone cancer. And I did not know it on that day when I heard those words, you know, Czars has bone cancer, that it would catapult me into a different life. And he underwent a rear leg amputation very successfully at, at, at 11 years old. And after that he did a couple rounds of chemotherapy. And Czars went back to some private therapy work after that.

Beth Vinny [00:07:55]:

And he enjoyed life for another, I'll say record setting nineteen months post diagnosis.

James Kademan [00:08:03]:

Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:08:04]:

And I certainly ended up sitting in a classroom getting an education during those nineteen months that I didn't sign up for and Czars didn't sign up for or ask for. But on December twentieth of twenty thirteen, that was the day that czar, through many people understand the body language and the signals that our best friends will give us when they know it's time that they need to ask for help. And that day was his day. And on that day, we sat and talked all day and,...

Jeff Green - Provalytics

On the Understanding the Data in Analytics: "It would be like if you gave credit to the supermarket checkout person because they were the ones who scanned the candy bar, because they were the last one who touched it, because it was right there in the candy aisle and you grabbed it as you were in line."

In marketing, if it isn't measured, it'll be unlikely to be improved. But what do you measure in marketing and how do you measure your marketing to be able to tell if what you're paying for is actually a good investment?

Jeff Greenfield of Provalytics, is a trailblazer in marketing measurement. Jeff takes us on a journey to unravel the complexities of digital marketing, exploring the age-old challenge of determining which marketing efforts truly pay off. He explains how Provalytics uses advanced statistical models and AI to help advertisers identify what’s actually working in their campaigns. As we delve into the intriguing world of probabilistic modeling, Jeff offers insights into how businesses can shift their focus from clicks to impressions to better understand and optimize their marketing spend. So, whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting out, sit back and get ready to explore the innovative solutions that Provalytics brings to the table in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing.

Listen as Jeff explains the gritty details of what you should be paying attention to and the pitfalls to avoid to make sure your marketing spend is well placed.

Enjoy!

Visit Jeff at: https://provalytics.com/

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 "Misleading Digital Marketing Insights"

05:15 Branding vs. Search Advertising Debate

07:01 Limitations of TV Ad Metrics

12:53 Amazon Ads Affect Web Traffic

16:28 Pioneering User-Level Marketing Analytics

18:46 "Enhancing Click Data with AI"

23:40 Call Volume Prediction Origins

25:34 "Monty Hall Dilemma"

29:53 Facebook Ad Spending Insights

34:13 Real-Time Digital Ad Bidding

37:49 Personalized Ad Streaming Explained

41:30 Breaking Down Marketing Silos

43:12 Unified Marketing Integration Bridge

47:45 Top-Down Marketing Strategy Insights

49:40 Overspending Due to Google's Analytics

53:00 Marketing Spend Tracking Misconceptions

56:32 Clicks vs. Branding Priority

Podcast Transcription:

Jeff Greenfield [00:00:00]:

James, if I were to give you an ax and ask you to chop down a small tree and you'd never chop down a tree before, before you In, I would say, how long do you think this is gonna take? And let's say you'd never used an ax before. I and you'd say, I have no idea. And I'm like, you have to make a guess. So you would make a guess, and then you start chopping. And I would let you chop for a minute, and then I'd ask you to stop. And I'd say, okay. Revise your guess. And so you would revise it.

And if I did this, like, every minute and and then Adventures every five minutes and wrote down what your guesses were, we would find that at a certain point, your guesses would get closer and closer to what the actual number is.

James [00:00:39]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, calls on call extraordinary answering service, as well as the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Jeff Greenfield of Provalytics. How is it going today?

Jeff Greenfield [00:01:07]:

Oh, it's it's going great, James. It's, I'm excited to be here.

James [00:01:10]:

Yeah. Let's just start Call right off the bat. What is Provalytics?

Jeff Greenfield [00:01:14]:

Provalytics is a marketing measurement platform. And it it essentially, there's an old saying in marketing from a famous marketer from the Midwest by the name of John Wanamaker. And he's attributed to saying half the money I spend in advertising is wasted. The only problem is I don't know which half. And that has plagued marketers since the beginning of marketing. You know, if you do a bunch of things, it's tough to figure out, especially at the same time. It's tough to figure out what worked and what didn't work. And our software solves that for very large advertisers.

Jeff Greenfield [00:01:51]:

And, so, yeah, it's it's it's pretty cool. You know, it's it's numbers, it's statistics. In, you know, it doesn't sound sexy or exciting, but it really is because you get to be on the inside of what some of the largest advertisers in the world are doing. And so you you you get great insight as a marketer, which is really cool. Yeah. I like it.

James [00:02:12]:

I can tell you from a guy that spent what I consider to be at times too much on marketing On the digital side, I feel like we were either sold a lie or I believed something that didn't come true when just as an example, with Google Analytics or something like that, where, like, Google Ads should be able to tell you everything you need to know about where to spend and all that jazz. And I feel like they keep enough hidden where they just, like, just throw some money at that and see what happens. So I'm interested to hear about the software because that may be the magic bullet that

Jeff Greenfield [00:02:45]:

a lot of people spend money

James [00:02:46]:

On marketing have been looking for.

Jeff Greenfield [00:02:48]:

It's it's interesting that you bring up Google Analytics and Google because and and you're right. That you what you said is what most people believe. Google Analytics should be able to tell you the answer to things. But what people forget is that it's called Google Analytics. You know, it's now GA four, Google Analytics four. So it's we we should really call it Google's Analytics. It does a really good job of measuring how well Google's products are doing for you, but a lousy job at measuring how everyone else is doing. So let me let me give you an example.

Jeff Greenfield [00:03:29]:

You know, most, You know, most marketers today, if they're spending any bit of money, they typically start in like either Facebook or they start in Google. But let's let's say you're a marketer and you're In both places. Let's say you own a flower shop. Okay? And you've got you've got the the pay per click going In Google. So when someone types in your name or they type in flowers near me and your location, it shows up. So your ad shows up there. And then you're running a bunch of video ads and some really cool ads on Facebook. So here's a real life scenario.

Jeff Greenfield [00:04:03]:

Someone is scrolling through content on Facebook and they see your ad and they kinda scroll past it, but maybe it catches Authentic, but they don't do anything with it. And then, you know, the next Draw, they're on Instagram and they see a little bit more, and they're like, oh, that looks really good. And let's say, Valentine's Day is coming up. Oh, you know, I'm thinking maybe maybe I should do something with this. But then they get distracted just like everyone does. And then couple hours later, they're like, oh my god. I gotta get those flowers. And what do they do? They Google, and they see the ad, and they click on it.

Jeff Greenfield [00:04:33]:

So the consumer ends up buying stuff. And we would say, now that we know all those steps, that it's actually Facebook and Instagram that really got the customer. All Google did was just In be the last action. It was a navigation. And but and the flower shops Google Analytics, it gives a % of the credit for that sale to the Google pay per click. Doesn't give anything to Facebook or Instagram at all. And so what ends up happening is that, you know, it ends up telling people where they look at the end of the month and, like, my god. I spent so much money on Facebook and didn't really do anything.

Jeff Greenfield [00:05:15]:

Google's where I should put my money at. But the problem is is that those ads, those particular ads that we're talking about in Google, people are only searching for you once they already know who you are. And in this example, they didn't know who you were. And that's this is a small example of, like, a local flower shop. So now take that same problem and expand it across all of the very large advertisers and then pan the camera back like twenty years. And what we've seen happen in most marketing campaigns is twenty, twenty five years ago, most of marketing was what we would call branding. It was all about, I'm gonna put a message out there to everyone in my area or everyone in The US that's feel good, that maybe has some comedy with it. Maybe it's a little emotional to put a little hook in you so you'll think about my brand when you're ready to buy.

Jeff Greenfield [00:06:11]:

And what's happened over the last twenty years is that marketers have started to put more and more dollars on that on that kind of that last action to be right there. And they've moved dollars off of that branding. And as a result, advertising costs have gone up for these marketers. The ads don't work as well as they used to. And now they're in this hyper competitive situation. And part of that reason is because Google Analytics, which everyone uses, even the largest marketers use them, it only measures clicks. It doesn't measure the fact that someone saw an ad and then did an action later on. So another good example is one of the most popular things that people are doing is is connected television, CTV ads.

Jeff Greenfield [00:07:01]:

Now to the consumer, to us, we're watching a game and we see an ad for, like, a local place, and we're like, wow. That's that's an expensive ad. And it is, but the reality is there's probably a chance that that ad was only seen by me and, like, five or six other people. You know,...

Steve Miller - Be Uncopyable

On the Advantages of Marketing: "Better is always beatable."

Steve Miller is a marketing gunslinger.  As Kelly's dad, and previously as a martial artist, movie stuntman, son of one of the guy's that invented the 8-track cassette, and more entertaining history that helped mold him into an observant marketing guru, he is a man you need to listen to.

Every business that has an intention to grow needs to market.  But how do you stand out in all of the noise in the world we live in.  The secret is to differentiate yourself in a way that is memorable for your soon-to-be customers.

Listen as Steve illustrates a few ideas for how you can differentiate yourself and your business in a way that your competition just cannot copy.

Enjoy!

Visit Steve at: https://www.beuncopyable.com/

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Inside TED: A Creative Dinner Party

07:48 Stunt Career Beginnings

16:04 "Evolution of Trade Shows"

18:45 "Finding and Understanding Your Audience"

22:55 "Breaking into Sales through Connections"

30:48 Innovative Ball Control Concept

34:14 "Understanding Your Customer"

42:44 Demonstration Success Through Participation

44:13 "Strategy Inspired by Truckers"

51:04 "Mattress Mack's Generosity Post-Katrina"

55:14 Final Customer Question

01:01:28 Deming's Legacy: Quality & Benchmarking

01:07:48 Efficient Tablecloth Technique Observed

01:10:15 The Uncopyable Concept Insight

01:19:23 Golfer's New Career in San Diego

Podcast Transcription:

Steve Miller [00:00:00]:

And he sat there, and he was holding a an orange, like, towel cloth, something like that. And and he just kinda would hold it there for a second, and then he and then he would he would, be watching people who were walking Be, and then he would he would find and I found, like, later on, he would he would look for a couple.

James [00:00:28]:

Oh, interesting. Okay.

Steve Miller [00:00:30]:

And and as they were walking by, he would just throw it out on the floor. So this orange cloth falls out on the floor, and, of course, it got In, you know, gets their attention. They go, oh, yeah. You know? And he goes, oh, hey. Can you grab that for me? And I go, yeah. And and then then he said then he would say, can you do me a favor?

James [00:00:58]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally In by the Bank of Sun Prairie, calls on call extraordinary answering service, as well as the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Steve Miller, who is Kelly's dad as well as, and I love this, a marketing gunslinger. So today, we're talking marketing. Steve, how is it going today?

Steve Miller [00:01:32]:

James, thank you so much for inviting me to be here. I, I've been on a lot of podcasts over the years and, you know, having written a lot of books. Books. And and, I really enjoyed preparing for this because I was able to go back and look at and, you know, you just have this wide variety of people that you've talked to, and there's a very good reason why that's a good thing. And we can talk about that a little a little bit more. But, I mean, you know, when you're talking to I love it. Actors. You talk to actor, people who are act I used to I used to be a stuntman.

James [00:02:11]:

Did you really?

Steve Miller [00:02:12]:

Yeah. And

James [00:02:12]:

Call, this podcast just got cooler.

Steve Miller [00:02:15]:

Oh, well, it's just you know? No. And there's a lot of reasons why. A lot of reasons why. So, anyway, very excited to be here with you, James. Thank you so much for inviting me.

James [00:02:24]:

Yeah. So we have a lot of ground to cover because you've been doing this a long time. I wanna start with the big thing. You got the TED hat in the in the background there. So you gave a TED Call. Let's Here at TED talk. About that because I feel like we have to get that out of the way.

Steve Miller [00:02:38]:

Call, okay. Alright. TED is, for people you know, TED is a really it's like the world the world's coolest conference, you know, to go to. And you you, pretty much have to be invited to go. I had, heard about Ted for for many for many years, and did everything I could to talk to people and say, hey. If you ever have a chance to put my name in a conversation at Ted, let you know, please do that. Right? And I to this day, I still don't know how it happened, but all of a sudden, one day, I got the letter, and it, you know, it said, hey. Would you like to attend Ted? And, and at that time, that was back in the late, it was, like, 02/2005, something like that.

Steve Miller [00:03:26]:

Ted was a was a deep dark secret, and and it it is basically the the way to describe Ted is imagine that you had, a chance to have dinner with the coolest, smartest, wealthiest, sometimes strangest, and I would say most creative people on the planet. If you had a chance to go have dinner with them, who would you invite? And that's kinda how TED got actually got started was under that that premise. And, so, by the time I got there, it it now has capped at one it's a it's it's a conference of 1,000 people, and they are without question the coolest, smartest, wealthiest, most creative people on the planet. And somehow, I got In, And, and then back in 02/2006, I was invited, by the the new owner at the time, Chris Anderson. He he and I were talking at the On, and I just said I said, you know, you need to have me come and speak.

James [00:04:41]:

How straightforward. Right? What do I need?

Steve Miller [00:04:43]:

And what do you know? And and he's like he's like, well, why should I have you come In and speak? And I said, because number one, I'm a pretty good speaker. I said, and I've got stuff to say, stuff to share. At that time, I mean, I had grown up. I've already told you that I was a stuntman at one one point. Well, before I was a stuntman, I actually I actually, was, on the PGA golf tour.

James [00:05:07]:

Holy cow. We got a On man here.

Steve Miller [00:05:09]:

Well, that's yeah. That and that was what I wanted to do was go be a be a golfer. Right? And I went and I made it. I got out on the tour except I except and one thing happened that, I was unable to fix. You're actually supposed to make money to stay out there. And, and I made no money. So, or not enough. And and so after a couple of years, I realized, hey, I'm not I'm not getting anywhere.

Steve Miller [00:05:35]:

So I need I need to leave and go find something else. But I had no idea what I was gonna do. I went I went to Purdue University, played golf on the, you know, on the golf team and stuff like that, but I majored in electives in college. Okay? I didn't you know, I was not the best.

James [00:05:52]:

The first time I heard that, but I love it because I feel

Steve Miller [00:05:54]:

like I'm very student. Okay. Not the best student. And so when I left the tour, I really did not have any backup plan. Fortunately for me, I had I had a roommate, at at Purdue who came from an old Hollywood family. And, he had let and after he graduated, he had gone to Hollywood and he became a direct a director. And so when he when he heard that I wasn't doing anything, he said, hey. What you know, Call you what.

Steve Miller [00:06:26]:

Why don't you come and work with me? I'll give you a job, and then you can and you can make a little money and then we can you can figure something out. Right? Well, I you know, without getting into too many things, I mean, I'm kind of my friends In say I'm like a Forrest Gump type of guy, but, I had studied Chinese martial arts, growing up. And so when we got to when I got to Hollywood, and started working with him behind the camera, I was just a grunt. I was just, you know, doing stuff. He paid me pretty Call. But then they had and he was directing, a TV show that probably nobody remembers anymore. It's a show called Wonder Woman. I don't know if you, Wonder Woman.

Steve Miller [00:07:17]:

Ever heard that, ever heard of that. With Linda Carter? With Linda Call yeah. Nobody's ever heard of her ever since. You know? She's the nobody. And, yeah. So they were doing that, and they and they had a situation where they they, had a fight scene, they were gonna do, and and it was it was on location somewhere. And, and they were they really wanted to have one more stunt person, funk do do the fight scene. And my buddy said, hey.

Steve Miller [00:07:48]:

Let's, you know, Steve can do it rather than rather than, you know, wait all day and pay all these people to do nothing. He said he can he can do In, and it was a nonunion show. And so, so he stuck me In. And and next thing you know, for for a couple years, I I was out there, and he and his brother was directing. His dad was a big producer and stuff. And so they got me and they they kept me kinda busy for a couple of years. And, so, you know, like I say, I mean, going from a golfer to stunt work and stuff like that, it was, In was a lot of fun, but, Burt Reynolds was very famous for saying because he was an old stuntman. He was very famous for saying there are, old stuntmen, and there are bold stuntmen.

Steve Miller [00:08:43]:

But there are no old, bold stuntmen. So,

James [00:08:46]:

I love it.

Steve Miller [00:08:47]:

So Love it. So I I bailed out of that, and my friend and I got into sales. So, that's kinda hot. We're we're going from college and and and and stuff to, finally getting into business.

James [00:09:04]:

Right on. Tell me really quick about the PGA thing. You said you had to make money on there. Making money from sponsorships? Or

Steve Miller [00:09:12]:

No. On the tournament in the tournaments.

James [00:09:14]:

Oh,...

Alexander Harmsen - Portfolio Pilot

On Playing the Game: "How do we set a level playing field so that we negate the effects of all these high frequency traders?"

Investing strategies can be challenging.  Typically it is you either trying to beat or keep up with the market, or you paying someone that vaguely promises to beat or keep up with the market.  You almost need a computer to help you crunch all of the numbers.

Alexander Harmsen, cofounder of Portfolio Pilot, has had some successful exits and wanted to find places to invest.  But the market can be daunting, and all of the so-called pros didn't seem to be all that talented, at least as far as offering well calculated advice.  When you meet a financial planner that isn't dominating in the financial field, what are they actually offering you?

So Alex helped build Portfolio Pilot.

PortfolioPilot.com is a platform that uses AI to look at all of the numbers you have, what you want, where you're going and calculates, in the fancy way AI is known for, finally pumping out some investment action step suggestions for you.  Ultimately you decide, but it gives you well calculated advice.

If you've ever wondered if you should buy or sell a certain investment product, using AI to help figure out all, or most, of the variables can help you choose what to do and when.

Alexander shares insights on how PortfolioPilot empowers DIY investors by providing a comprehensive view of their financial landscape and offering personalized, automated advice without taking control. With over 30,000 users and $30 billion in assets on their platform, PortfolioPilot is changing the game by offering tailored financial recommendations based on a user’s age, net worth, and risk preference.

Listen as Alex illustrates the shortfalls of other options, and the cost of ignoring the opportunity to help get your money to work for you.

Enjoy!

Visit Alex at: PortfolioPilot.com

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Exploring Financial Ventures and Investments

04:12 PortfolioPilot: Custom Investment Platform

08:32 Monthly Tax-Loss Harvesting Tips

10:54 AI Evolution and Financial Modeling

15:36 AI Entrepreneurship: Navigating Practical Realities

18:11 Simulating with GPUs for FAA Approval

20:39 Compute Needs and Costs Rising

25:16 User Feedback Drives Product Success

28:41 "Obsessed with AB Testing"

31:54 Resisting Financial Advice on Tesla

34:10 Investment Diversification Dilemma

38:54 Macro-Driven Volatility Analysis

41:21 Market History and Transformations

44:12 High-Frequency Trading Equalization Strategies

48:56 Distrust in Financial Institutions

49:44 AI: Future of Personal Advice

Podcast Transcription:

Alexander Harmsen [00:00:00]:

And it goes through and it talks about, like, retirement readiness, and In scores your portfolio, and it, you know, calls out what's what's really good and, like, where are some opportunities for improvement. And, you know, importantly, it bends it benchmarks you. It compares you to other investors on your age, your net worth, your risk preference. The difference that we made, this absolutely massive change

James Kademan [00:00:24]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes of the podcast can be found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, calls on call extraordinary answering service, as well as the Bold Business Book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Alexander Harmsen, cofounder of portfoliopilot.com, and we're gonna learn about investing in AI. So, Alex, how are you doing today?

Alexander Harmsen [00:00:56]:

Doing really well. James, thanks for having me on the pod.

James Kademan [00:01:00]:

Thank you know, I'm excited because I like to think of myself as an investor. I'm not gonna say a smart or good investor, though up until maybe a month ago, I thought In was the best in the world. Right? And then Yeah. Then things changed. So let's just start with what is PortfolioPilot?

Alexander Harmsen [00:01:20]:

Yeah. It's, so much of it is about, our own psychology, right, of perceptions, and, you know, investing feels like it's a lot about, you know, controlling fear and probably controlling greed as Call, you know, depending on, whether things are green or red at any given moment. So, you know, we can get into this later, but I I sold my previous company, an AI startup that I ran, you know, for six and a half years. We sold In 2021. And then, you know, basically, we bought a house in the Bay Alex, started a family. We have two toddlers now. My wife runs a biotech startup as well, like, really cool post series a. They've raised a lot of money for that.

Alexander Harmsen [00:02:05]:

And, in 2021, I sort of found myself trying to figure out what's next and, you know, took out my coding gloves for the first time in a little while and, you know, built a bunch of companies on the back of a napkin and prototype things. And sort of at the same time, we started talking to financial Adventures and wealth managers, and I don't know. It sort of feels like I got put on some list at some point because I was building calls every other couple days. You know, I don't know. Felt like the thing to do. Right? First time in life, we had any sort of real liquidity, and, like, let's get a professional involved and, yeah, let's get an expert involved in managing our money and investing. And I did a little bit of crypto investing, and I had a Robinhood account and, you know, 401. And, you know, we were thinking about setting up a five two nine for the kids, and, you know, we took the house and all all these things, like, it felt like there must be things we can do to optimize this, improve In.

Alexander Harmsen [00:03:08]:

But it just felt like every single financial adviser I was talking to was more of a salesperson than they were, you know, an expert that was ready to just, you know, dig into my finances and investing and, like, put me on the right path. And I assumed at first I was just talking to the wrong people. And after talking about 20 to 30 of these wealth managers, financial advisors, I realized that this is the game. You know, they have some central funds, and they're mostly just salespeople trying to get you access to that fund, and they're charging 1%, sometimes 2% fees plus mutual fund fees and kinda feels like there's conflicts of interest and human bias. And crazy thing, it was it wasn't even tied to performance. It was just, you know, 1% every single year regardless of In happens. Yeah. And then they're sort of on to the next client to try to figure out, like, how do we pull in more assets under management? And, you know, what I wanted was a coach.

Alexander Harmsen [00:04:12]:

I wanted to be somewhat involved and make some of my own decisions, and robo advisors didn't really feel like a reasonable alternative. It was only a small part of my money, sort of lowest common denominator advice, you know, putting some money into to ETFs and, you know, equities and bonds. And then there's, you know, a thousand and one trading apps and Bloomberg terminal for retail investors and Wall Street Bets and Motley Fool and CNBC and, you know, all kinds of trackers and screeners and but I didn't wanna make this a hobby or a full time thing. I wasn't excited about day trading and technical analysis and, you know, looking at all the numbers. What I wanted was something between. And so, you know, basically, I built something for myself in a couple months. And over the last three and a half years, that's turned into PortfolioPilot, which now has, you know, over 30,000 users and $30,000,000,000 of assets on the platform. We're actually a registered investment adviser with the SEC, so we can give real fiduciary financial advice.

Alexander Harmsen [00:05:18]:

And the main idea is PortfolioPilot is a personal AI financial adviser that doesn't have control over your finances. You stay in control. You know, it's best for DIY investors, self directed investors. You plug in your net worth. You know, you answer a bunch of questions. You can connect accounts. You can take a screenshot of your account, whatever it is, retirement accounts, crypto, cash, credit cards, real estate. It all gets connected.

Alexander Harmsen [00:05:46]:

You can see it all in one place. It scores everything for you. It gives you a full assessment. And then we can actually give you personalized financial advice and say, you know, James, based on your goals, based on what's happening in markets, you should sell, you know, $4,000 of this stock you hold in your portfolio, or you should buy, you know, 8 and a half thousand dollars of this commodities ETF because, like, this is what it's gonna do for your portfolio. And here's how it's diversifying, and here's, you know, how it gonna, like, increase your downside protection and expect the returns. And there's forecasts and a view to the markets. And, you know, because it's completely automated advice, we can get very personal to you and your situation itself because we're registered investment adviser. There's, you know, an alignment there In interest, and there's a whole bunch of compliance stuff we need to do to make sure, you know, we're giving compliant advice.

Alexander Harmsen [00:06:49]:

And, you know, that seems to fill this, like, incredible niche of people that want to be somewhat involved, but, you know, like the idea that you could, Gavin, AI, you know, do 95% of the work for you and then sort of bring you a menu of different options that you can act on. And it's, you know, it's investment advice. It's tax optimization. It's thinking about cash management, long term, short term liquidity needs, estate man you know, estate planning....

Matt Theriault - Epic Real Estate Investing

On Financing Options: "When you get into the world of real estate investing, you start to see, wow, there's other ways to acquire property, and there's all these different types of property. It's not just saving up a down payment, going to a bank, jumping through all their hoops and going that route as most people use to buy their own primary residence."

Trading time for money is what many of us have been taught is the well-travelled road to wealth.  I'd argue it is the road to income, but not wealth.  True wealth is when you receive money in exchange for things that do not necessarily take your time.

Matt Theriault, the Epic Real Estate Investor, podcaster and real estate coach explains how he made the transition from the record industry and evolved his career into real estate.

Matt details the ups and downs of building his real estate empire and details some of the advantages of choosing real estate as a profitable investment.

Listen as Matt details some of the books that have inspired him, as well as a few things he has learned that helped him build wealth with real estate.

Enjoy!

Visit Matt at: https://epicrealestate.com/

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Single vs. Multi-Family Investment Pros/Cons

04:13 Multifamily vs. Single-Family Valuation

08:59 Falling for Music: DJ Journey

11:35 Hip Hop DJ Albums Success

16:02 Unpredictable Decline in Record Sales

17:25 "Transition and Change in Music"

20:51 Music Industry Layoffs Amid Digital Disruption

26:13 "Shifting from Agent to Investor"

28:06 Creative Real Estate Acquisition Strategies

33:09 Alternative Home Buying Solutions

33:53 Quick Cash Home Buying Offer

39:32 "Buying Into Elite Networks"

40:45 Real Estate Guidance and Services

45:30 Real Estate: Top Tax Benefits

47:06 Real Estate Tax Benefits

52:29 Seeking Reliable Tax Advisors

Podcast Transcription:

Matt Theriault [00:00:00]:

This new definition of wealth. So I had just come from the music business. I thought wealthy was you just meant you had a lot of money. And his definition was, no. You have enough money coming in each month to cover your bills, and that money that's coming in isn't necessarily tied directly to your efforts.

James Kademan [00:00:19]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, calls on call extraordinary answering service, as well as the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Matt Theriault, owner of Epic Real Estate. Matt, I apologize. He told me I was gonna mess that name up. I hope I didn't mess it up terribly.

Matt Theriault [00:00:50]:

No. You got pretty close. You got closer than Matt. But,

James Kademan [00:00:53]:

what happy to be, James. I appreciate that. So, Matt, today, we're talking real estate. So let's just start out with what is Epic Real Estate.

Matt Theriault [00:01:00]:

Well, Epic Real Estate is a a company Matt kind of a two headed company where we show people how to invest in real estate and those people that wanna be a little bit more hands on. And then we have another portion of it that my wife runs where she actually does the investing for them. So she does all the heavy lifting. So some people wanna be hands In. Some people wanna be hands Draw. But, pretty much our client wants real estate so they can retire early.

James Kademan [00:01:23]:

Nice. Yeah. And is this when you say two pronged, I guess, as far as that goes, how long have you been doing it?

Matt Theriault [00:01:30]:

Let's see. I've been investing myself almost twenty years now, nineteen years or so. Been teaching for about fifteen.

James Kademan [00:01:38]:

Okay. Mhmm. Somebody think twenty years. So you got in right before the market crash of right?

Matt Theriault [00:01:44]:

Correct. There's not too many of us that are still around.

James Kademan [00:01:47]:

Alright. So so great timing. Right?

Matt Theriault [00:01:50]:

Yeah. Well, in hindsight, I think it was, right,

James Kademan [00:01:54]:

when In was happening. So? Yeah. I mean from where you were leveraged, I guess, in o '8.

Matt Theriault [00:01:59]:

Yeah. I mean, it it also depended on your strategy. You know, if you were fit the people that got really hurt then were the people that were doing the fix and flips and had five, six, seven projects going on at once. And then they had bought all this money to do those projects. And when the market flipped, now they were stuck and they couldn't sell them. That was a lot of people, and that was most people that got hurt. And then, but that wasn't my strategy. I was a buy and hold type investor.

James Kademan [00:02:24]:

So Right. So tell me about that. Is it residential, commercial?

Matt Theriault [00:02:28]:

Yeah. Almost exclusively single families. I've dabbled it In, multifamily housing, but I just came back to single family because it's simple. It's easy.

James Kademan [00:02:38]:

Now I have heard as far as single family goes, I was listening to another podcast, not as good as this one, but another podcast.

Matt Theriault [00:02:44]:

Not even.

James Kademan [00:02:45]:

And essentially, there was a debate going between multifamily versus single family. And the single family guy had a very good argument, I thought. Mhmm. And he basically said you will always be able to sell a single family house. There will never be a time when there's not a family looking to live somewhere.

Matt Theriault [00:03:02]:

Yeah. I mean, there's pros and cons to both for sure, and I don't I don't, hold it against the multifamily people because I think they do have a good argument. It just depends on how involved you wanna be. And I think In what he said, like, there's always there's typically a pretty a much easier exit strategy available for the single family person. Most of the time, you don't get to benefit from market appreciation and upswings in multifamily as you do single family. But then on the other side within when it comes to operations, if you can really fine tune and dial in your operations on a multifamily, you can essentially force appreciation. So In there there's good to both. I don't think there's a perfect investment strategy or a perfect asset class out there.

Matt Theriault [00:03:53]:

Right? They all everything has kinda has its fleas, and everything has its, you know, its its good size too.

James Kademan [00:04:00]:

Sure. Let's talk about that forced appreciation because I think I understand, but just for myself as well as the Customers, is the idea that you buy a place, build it up so you can raise the rents, and Theriault, you can sell the property for more? Yeah.

Matt Theriault [00:04:13]:

I mean, essentially because, you know, it did it really has to go with how Matt homes are valued or how real estate is valued. So single family homes are pretty much valued based on what a similar house recently sold for. Right? So if this house sold for that, then my house is pretty close to theirs, then my house is probably worth something similar. When it comes to multifamily, it's not as easy to find comparables. Like, there's just not a bunch of 40 unit buildings all sitting on a row in the same city that you can compare them against. And, typically, those are purchased as investment, vehicles. So it's really the the performance of those properties have a greater impact on the value than it does, like, a single family house. So, yes, you can raise rents, but you can also reduce costs.

Matt Theriault [00:05:00]:

Right? I mean, you go through it and find different ways to streamline whether it's through energy or through its new service providers or, you know, there's all different ways to upgrades, updates, stuff like that.

James Kademan [00:05:13]:

Okay. So twenty odd years ago when you got started or let's go even further Authentic two, twenty three years. Mhmm. What was the trigger, the turning point for you to get into the real estate game?

Matt Theriault [00:05:25]:

Yeah. I was in the music business for fifteen, sixteen years.

James Kademan [00:05:28]:

Oh, were you really?

Matt Theriault [00:05:29]:

Yeah. And then Oh, that's awesome. Had a small little hip hop label with major label distribution and did really well until, you know, this thing called Napster came along and people stopped buying music. Right? And people just started downloading it for free. And so, you know, at the time that that was happening, I mean, no one could even couldn't even, even imagined it. Right? Right. Six months. I mean, six months of selling no compact discs, no CDs.

Matt Theriault [00:05:56]:

Matt that'll put you out of business really, really fast in Matt business. Alright. And a whirlwind. I mean, in six months, I was out of business and, you know, the wife didn't appreciate Matt. So she took off because she needed a guy with a job and income and then, filed bankruptcy. So it was it was a big giant whirlwind. And at that time, I was thinking I was 34 years old. And I thought I had life made, and I had no idea what happened.

Matt Theriault [00:06:21]:

Like, in six months, my life was just completely different, and I had no clue. In hindsight, it's crystal clear. But at the time, I didn't know, like, this digital download thing was such a big deal. Right. But it really was. I mean, iTunes wasn't even On wasn't even started

James Kademan [00:06:36]:

yet. No. No. I still remember Napster and, man, the other I don't remember the names of the other players. There's Napster went away. I feel like they'd one would go away, five would take their place. Yeah.

Matt Theriault [00:06:49]:

I think there's, like,...

Stephen Lange - Lange's Painting

On Working With a Business Partner: "Once we understood what our defined roles were, we were able to stay in our own lanes."

So you want to start a painting business.  But where do you start?  Just about anyone can grab a truck, a bucket, brush and ladder and call themselves a painter.  But what if you want to actually grow your painting business?

Stephen Lange, alongside his brother Bernie, embarked on a bold entrepreneurial journey by starting their painting business in the midst of a pandemic.  He unpacks his story of navigating the challenges of setting clear roles within a family-operated business, maintaining quality service with both residential and commercial clients, and fostering a culture of trust among employees.

One of the secrets to their success has been insightful business coaching.  Stephen details how their company has grown through strategic coaching and a commitment to high standards.

Listen as Stephen explains how he and his brother have built their painting empire and the things they have learned throughout the process.

Enjoy!

Visit Stephen at: https://www.langespainting.com/

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Starting Lange's Painting

04:10 "Belief in New Business Venture"

09:20 Assessing Candidates: Listen for Past Complaints

12:22 Direct Communication and Responsiveness Sought

13:00 "Professional Appearance Requirements"

17:32 "Community Growth and Support Evident"

20:54 Sherwin's Global Painting Expertise

23:41 Understanding Paint Quality Levels

25:59 Employee Training Video Assessment

29:01 Unified Excellence

32:31 Employee Engagement and Support Activities

36:21 "Exploring Trade Careers"

39:14 Miscommunication in Recruitment Spending

43:24 "Create a Default Calendar"

46:38 Prioritize High-Value Tasks

50:54 Networking vs. Backend Efficiency

55:55 Understanding Financial Statements Efficiently

Podcast Transcription:

Stephen Lange [00:00:00]:

I would say make sure that roles are defined Alright. And on paper for what people are responsible for and what their job roles entail. Standards of procedures as far as, hey. Like, if we're gonna go hire someone, I have a list of questions that I go by every single time. That way, when you wanna come by our company in a couple years because you see that we run on 14% efficiency, you know, you can make

Stephen Lang [00:00:28]:

some bank off of that. You have found Authentic business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We're locally underwritten by the Lange of Sun Prairie and today, we're welcoming slash your In to learn from Stephen Lang of Lang's painting. So Stephen, how is it going today?

James Kademan [00:00:51]:

Good. Thank you for having me on. Busy day so far. We we've started in, started in Stoughton and then made it to Verona for a chamber thing. And now I've been graced with your presence.

Stephen Lang [00:01:02]:

Nice. I think I've been graced with yours, man. So you've been hustling, working on the Business. Yeah. Or is it on the Business, not in the business? Yes.

James Kademan [00:01:11]:

Alright. That's the goal.

Stephen Lang [00:01:12]:

Kissing babies, shaking hands, all that jazz?

James Kademan [00:01:15]:

No babies.

Stephen Lang [00:01:15]:

No babies. I

James Kademan [00:01:16]:

have one, but no no babies today. No.

Stephen Lang [00:01:18]:

Right on. Yeah. Let's just start with from the bottom chronologically here. K. When did you decide to start Langes painting?

James Kademan [00:01:25]:

Really good. I yeah. Small history about us is we've always In been around it. My brother and I own it 5050.

Stephen Lang [00:01:31]:

Okay.

James Kademan [00:01:32]:

Born and raised in the Madison area. We have, you know, 11 w two employees that we love and care for every day. But, yeah, we started we've kinda always been around paint. It's a very interesting way. I before we started Langes Painting in 2020, you know, we started right during a, you know, a pandemic, which was Yeah.

Stephen Lang [00:01:50]:

Perfect time. Yeah. Great.

James Kademan [00:01:51]:

Let's go to your house,

Stephen Lang [00:01:52]:

you know. We're talking January 2020 or we're talking April 2020? October. October '20 '20.

James Kademan [00:01:58]:

So So

Stephen Lang [00:01:59]:

like the world is really ending. We should probably start a business.

James Kademan [00:02:02]:

Well, you know, you you had your meat and potatoes, you know. And so now we're just we are the ice cream at the end of the year. It's like, okay. Let's start this now.

Stephen Lang [00:02:08]:

And so Nice.

James Kademan [00:02:09]:

Bernie actually started in October, and then I left my role with Sherman Williams, as a sales representative for them, them, April of twenty one. So I guess I wasn't a part of the initial start. Yeah. But, you know, when he left the company he was working for, you know, he just said, hey. I'm I'm gonna start Langes Painting you're interested in. And so, you know, being that Sherwin treated me really well, I wanted to make sure I exited correctly with them. So

Stephen Lang [00:02:33]:

Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:02:34]:

Yeah. We've always been around painting. I worked for, noise painting, on the East Side Draw Highway 51 as a kid. In high school, Bernie painted for chameleon. I don't know if they're still around or not. But, yeah, he we've always been around it. So it's just kinda funny. My my father my stepfather, he owned a company in Milwaukee, and Bernie worked for him prior to starting Wang's.

James Kademan [00:02:55]:

And I was with Sherwin Williams for five years before leaving them to to start it here.

Stephen Lang [00:03:00]:

Nice. Yeah. So what made you and your brother decide In of just sticking around at your own gig or as an employee No. To go off on your own?

James Kademan [00:03:10]:

Well, great question.

Stephen Lang [00:03:13]:

It

James Kademan [00:03:13]:

was kind of the turning Painting. I was offered a role I wasn't happy about. He was offered a role that he wasn't quite ready to take on or or for his own reasons. I don't I'm not sure. But, you know, he we just kinda hit that fork at the right time. And so, we've always been, you know, very driven. We've had jobs since we were 13. We used to work at Camp Randall.

James Kademan [00:03:31]:

We used to work all the

Stephen Lang [00:03:32]:

Oh, nice.

James Kademan [00:03:33]:

All the home Badger games selling peanuts and stuff. So

Stephen Lang [00:03:35]:

Alright.

James Kademan [00:03:36]:

We've always been, you know, business driven. He went to school for it and so did I. And so, you know, Sherwin will always be there. There'll always be people hiring good people, so why not why not shoot our shot? And we're, you know, five years down the road. Well, we're starting our fifth year. Excuse me. But five years down the road, I couldn't be happier.

Stephen Lang [00:03:52]:

Nice. Very cool. So your brother comes to you and he's like, hey, man. Let's start a business. And you're like, totally sounds great. I'm gonna leave my gig gig at Sherwin. And you guys get together, family dynamic. Yeah.

Stephen Lang [00:04:06]:

It has to be good in order for you guys to go in business together.

James Kademan [00:04:08]:

He's a year and a

Stephen Lang [00:04:09]:

half older. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:04:10]:

So, I mean, he, you know, he I I believe in him a % In everything that he's done so far in his life. And so when he said he started a Business, and I just I didn't have any hesitation on it's not how successful we are going to be or or if we're gonna be successful, it's how successful. And so feeling that way right out of the gate really helped us, launch. But I mean, it was him and I when we started. Alright. No employees and, you know, not, no standards and procedures or workers comp or, you know, any insurances or anything and stuff like that we carry now. So it's, you know, our pre finishing shop. It's just all slowly came

Stephen Lang [00:04:49]:

about. You graduate as you grow, I guess.

James Kademan [00:04:51]:

Yeah. Yeah. Yep. We we did really well for a while and, you know, we In of hit a Lange. And in our fourth year, end of our third into our fourth, we're like, hey, like, why aren't we getting bigger? You know, we doubled in size, doubled in size, doubled in size, and kinda hit a ceiling. And so we pulled the books back out and kinda looked around a little bit. We hired a Business coach.

Stephen Lang [00:05:10]:

Nice. Yep. Alright. And that's been successful, I imagine?

James Kademan [00:05:14]:

Yeah. We grew oh, man. You know, I would say yeah. I mean, we're almost $400,000 in a year.

Stephen Lang [00:05:21]:

Okay. And is that attributable to Yes.

James Kademan [00:05:24]:

100,000.

Stephen Lang [00:05:24]:

The advice that you got

James Kademan [00:05:25]:

from that? Okay. We were we knew what was wrong, but we couldn't figure out how to fix it or how to grow it more.

Stephen Lang [00:05:32]:

Okay. You have an example?

James Kademan [00:05:34]:

Yeah. I mean, like you just said earlier, working on the business instead of, you know, working on In of in it. You know, we could never get out of the field. You know, I talked to a guy earlier today at the at the chamber thing, and he's like, man, I'm just I feel like, you know, a failure because I've just been in my business. And so she has helped us design, you know, I wear the HR hat. You know, Bernie wears a lot of the APAR hats. And so we've kind of figured out an org chart and slowly, you know, once we understood what our defined roles were, we were able to stay in our own lanes. Oh.

James Kademan [00:06:04]:

...

Action Jackson - Jackson's Yard Care

On the Importance of Taking a Step Back to Take Leaps Forward: "I had to take a break to find myself. Right? I had to do some soul digging and figure out what I'm on this earth to do."

In my experience, there are two honest ways almost guaranteeing you can practically print money: 1) Clean buildings, like houses, or 2) Take care of lawns.  Because dirt and grass don't care how they economy is going and people need help keeping things tidy and clipped.

Action Jackson started Jackson's Yard Care and took his business to another level.  He lays out how he got started, some of the challenges and, most importantly, having the right frame of mind to make miracles happen.

On top of building his yard care empire, Action took things a step, or leap, further by starting a training program for those that want to be in the yard care business.  He has systematized this training and in the very first year that he started this, he gave 19 people new employment and made three entrepreneurs.  The man is a business building machine that helps others grow as well.

Listen as Action Jackson explains how he started his yard care business, from the first employee, to the bigger and bigger warehouses and onward into training to help others.  This show will get you jazzed to get your business going.

Enjoy!

Visit Action Jackson at: https://www.jacksonsyardcare.com/

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Lawn Care Training Gaps

03:19 Landscaping Industry Empowerment Program

06:35 "Verifying Resumes: Trust but Verify"

11:05 Thriving Under Pressure

12:42 Logo Update Challenges and Costs

18:12 Journey of Self-Discovery and Purpose

21:18 From Lawn Care to Business Growth

24:39 Struggling to Find Employment

27:26 Everyday Spirituality Journey

29:40 Mindset Shift: Positivity and Action

34:22 Youth Program Success Story

35:25 Snow Removal Hiring Highlights

40:24 Intuition-Based Hiring Process

44:13 Divorce Attorney on Marriage

48:07 Purchasing Equipment with Cash

51:24 Searching for Ideal Space

53:45 Double Rent Dilemma

55:39 "House and Warehouse Same Day"

Podcast Transcription:

Action Jackson [00:00:00]:

Because you have an option to be around that person.  If you're negative, I don't want it to have nothing to do  with you, because remember I'm protecting my energy. And if I bring a negative energy around me, then I'm the problem.

James [00:00:18]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found On the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the The of Sun Prairie, and today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from entrepreneur extraordinaire, Action Jackson. So Action, how is it going today?

Action Jackson [00:00:42]:

It's wonderful, man. I can't complain. Everything's been busy and dramatic my way this week.

James [00:00:48]:

Dramatic Authentic in a good way?

Action Jackson [00:00:50]:

All the time. Always positive. I love it.

James [00:00:53]:

I love it. So I was thinking you're in the landscaping business Yeah. But we're just chatting off Care and you got stuff going on in all directions.

Action Jackson [00:01:00]:

So Yes, I do.

James [00:01:01]:

How about we start by just listing the businesses you got going On?

Action Jackson [00:01:05]:

My main business is The landscaping Business, lawn care service. And then my Call Business is is a training program, and that's a placement business. And then my other business is, print on demand and that's promotional products.

James [00:01:23]:

Alright. Mhmm. I'm gonna take those out of order a little bit. Yep. Let's start with the training program. Okay. Because I didn't know about that until, whatever, Friday. I don't know.

James [00:01:32]:

A few days ago. So tell me about the training program because I know that people in your industry, well, any industry really, are in desperate need of good employees, show up, do the job, trustworthy, all that jazz.

Action Jackson [00:01:46]:

That's absolutely right, man. So it's a good it's a good conversation to have, especially if if your audience is out there in the industry, field. So basically, I got to where I was at today and running the program is basically having that that that need of good employees and also skilled employees. Right? And and most importantly, employees that show up.

James [00:02:12]:

True story. True story. I always joke with my crew that good help is hard to find. Yeah. And I can find bad help. No problem.

Action Jackson [00:02:19]:

Care on, man. You Call pay a lot of money for bad help, can't you?

James [00:02:22]:

Yeah. Definitely. Yeah.

Action Jackson [00:02:26]:

So, but anyways, how the program came together, the year before last, I was, having a struggle with my employees in 02/2023. And I was off and on doing training programs for my staff members. And every time every year that I did a training program, I can see how successful I was. Alright. So then the last year I didn't do it. Right? And I see how bad it can actually be. So I was actually looking to see if I can get professional landscaping training help out there so I can be like, you know, just another thing off of my plate The I have to do. And when I looked there online, I realized that nobody did a hands on training for lawn care landscaping training.

Action Jackson [00:03:19]:

So I was like, man, this The this can actually be something very bigger than just my business. This is something I can do to help all landscaping and lawn care businesses in our Care, in The in our industry. So what I did was, man, I just went to the drawing table. I put together a program that actually helped that that The that knit in our industry. So now what I did was put together a program, a curriculum that showcases hands on and verbiage so they can go ahead and see both sides of what we deal with in our in our industry. And that turns out to be very helpful for our business and to other business in the very first year. In the very first year that we started this, we gave 19 people new employment and we made three entrepreneurs. Holy cow.

James [00:04:19]:

Those three entrepreneurs, The three people started landscaping Business. Yes, sir. Holy cow. Yep. How do I not know about this?

Action Jackson [00:04:26]:

Ma'am, it's just only it's only one year in the making. And our and our next class is that's the reason why we're doing the Super Bowl gala, this Sunday so we can bring in funds, so we can support the class for our second season in March.

James [00:04:45]:

So tell me a story here because you're talking landscaping training. So

Action Jackson [00:04:48]:

is this mowing? Mowing, hardscaping, the maintenance side of it. So it covers it's a four week course that covers everything that has to do pretty much with landscaping. So it gets somebody up to speed real quick. And the best thing about it is that it engages with the personnel that's trying to learn and give us an appropriate time to actually learn Care we're giving them back a %, of our time to show them professionals too. And I'm also getting other people out in the industry that's willing to come into the program and give their expertise as well. So there's other people in other companies that's coming in that's, helping us out with this as well.

James [00:05:40]:

Oh, they're landscaping companies.

Action Jackson [00:05:41]:

Oh, I see. Yep. So for instance, one of our main guys is Ross Crosby. He's from Above the Res Property Management. He does the hardscape portion. And then we have our guy Cedric Page. He does the he does the he he does the safety part about it. And then we have other people that has health health awareness as well that comes On, that does that does that type of portions Calls we we look at it as all in one package.

Action Jackson [00:06:15]:

Okay. So at the end of the day, when you come to this program, you are you are gonna be learning everything. Not everything, but a bundle of knowledge that's in this industry.

James [00:06:27]:

Alright.

Action Jackson [00:06:28]:

Mhmm.

James [00:06:29]:

So what is The or what was the standard before? Hire Jackson, say Hire person and

Action Jackson [00:06:35]:

put them On, you know, trust that their resume is good. Good luck. Right? Trusting that the resume is, factual and going by The word. But I'm telling you, man, there's a lot of actors out there. So that's what that was another portion of The reason why we decided to go the route we is. Now every employee that doesn't have four years, five years experience and we can go ahead and, if they have references The we actually say you got to go through the program because the year that we have with the people that went through the program is night and day.

James [00:07:14]:

Oh, wow.

Action Jackson [00:07:15]:

It's clear night and day.

James [00:07:17]:

Very cool. Yep. Alright. So when you say night and day, is this just confidence, skill set, when you're talking to them, they know the nomenclature of the industry?

Action Jackson [00:07:25]:

All of that, actually. I couldn't I couldn't even On and add to that, but it's exactly like that. And it's the confidence on our side to have for them to go out there and assassinate the job that we have for them.

James [00:07:41]:

Tell me a story about customer service. Mhmm. Is that part of the training as well?

Action Jackson [00:07:46]:

No. See The customer service is done on my, office side. Okay. And then we have our office staff that has those those weekly meetings, those end of the week meetings, and those prep meetings to get everybody On board on how to treat the customers. And then also I almost forgot On the Care, we also do talk about that customer service is a p

Sean Ginsburg - Ginsburg Realty

Simple and Effective Advice: "Sales is never personal. I'm really gonna help them come to the decision that something needs to change within them because I'm here to help them achieve their targets."

No one wants to be sold, but everyone loves to buy.  The world needs salespeople, and as a business owner, you need to sell.

But what is the best sales strategy?  How do you teach people that what you offer is what they need?

Sean Ginsburg is a real estate titan and sales trainer that has answers to those questions, and he shares them with us here.  He unravels the intricacies of what it takes to be successful in sales. We delve into his journey from selling real estate to becoming a top-tier sales trainer. Sean discusses how he adopted and mastered Grant Cardone's training programs and then redefined them to craft his own unique approach. He highlights the importance of discipline over mere motivation, the significance of matching personal goals with professional targets, and the critical differences between being a con man and a true sales professional.

Sean sheds light on the essential elements required for closing sales, especially in the B2B space, and reveals some of his bold strategies for calling out client objections. From managing sales teams to aligning company mission with individual motivations, this episode is packed with actionable advice for anyone looking to elevate their sales game.

Listen as Sean explains not only how to sell, but the philosophies of life that will help you reach the point of  enlightenment to move beyond the sales process and into a great conversation.

Enjoy!

Visit Sean at: link.me/sean.ginsburg

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 From Real Estate Sales to Teaching

09:37 Tony Robbins' Time Management Critique

13:29 Aligning Company Mission with Employee Goals

20:10 Addressing Employee Concerns Respectfully

22:54 Right People, Right Seats

29:49 Mindset Shift Over Endless Events

37:21 Self-Reflection for Life Decisions

40:12 Class Time: Unexpected Problem Solving

44:15 Mindful Moments and Random Thoughts

52:08 Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Inquiry

54:34 Addressing Arbitrary Delays Tactfully

01:04:16 Misaddressed Email: "James the Huckster"

01:06:17 Identifying Self-Sabotage Patterns

01:10:53 Podcast Availability & Encouragement

Podcast Transcription:

Sean Ginsburg [00:00:00]:

If you don't like something in your life, then fix it. You don't like your job, go out there and do something different. In order to get different results, you gotta try something different, meaning you gotta change.

James [00:00:11]:

You have found Authentic business adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls On call extraordinary answering service, as well as the BOLD business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Sean In of, SG Consulting. And I believe, Sean, we're chatting about real estate, which is always a good time.

Sean Ginsburg [00:00:41]:

Real estate's the best thing in the world, man.

James [00:00:43]:

How are you doing?

Sean Ginsburg [00:00:43]:

Thanks for having me on.

James [00:00:45]:

I love it. I love it. So let's just start lay a foundation here. What is SG Consulting?

Sean Ginsburg [00:00:52]:

SG Consulting is where you come to for your On stop sales, handling objections, lead generation, prospecting, learning what it takes to close Calls, anything that you can think about sales is what we do. So whether you're a brand new person that's looking to start a business, whether you are have already started, but you're looking to take your business to the next level, or you're an advanced On, you know, we have everything when it comes we're like a grocery store, but for salespeople.

James [00:01:24]:

Nice. Alright. So our Business is coming to you, or is this more an individual thing? Somebody's selling cars and you're like, I'm not selling any cars. I need help.

Sean Ginsburg [00:01:33]:

So we do individuals, but we also have, like, dynamic programs for bigger organizations so that we can come in and actually scale their sales teams.

James [00:01:43]:

Right on. And how did you get involved in essentially the sales training vertical?

Sean Ginsburg [00:01:49]:

Through real estate, actually. So

James [00:01:51]:

Alright.

Sean Ginsburg [00:01:52]:

I, I was, selling real estate as a real estate agent for a long time. For about 5 years, I was personally doing between 15 to 20,000,000 of personal production, and I got really bored doing it, to be honest. And, I found more, you know, fulfillment by teaching people how to go make 30, 40 grand per property. Right? So I I kept doing wholesale. I still do creative finance. I do all types of deals like that. I just don't do much of the retail side of things anymore. So I was running offices with 200 real estate agents, and, one of my mentors had a program and it was basically to license his content and use that content inside of my brokerages The I was, that I was training.

Sean Ginsburg [00:02:38]:

And, so I'm a certified elite business coach with grant Cardone. So I've used his program to kind of leverage my own offer because I don't have. You know, the giant training course while we're building On out right now, but we didn't have all of the sales process that we needed at the time. So I was using his content and then just training the agents based on that. And I'm like, wait a second. This is really working out. Why not just do this for all businesses? So we started doing home services because my dad's a master plumber. My brother's got a plumbing business as well.

Sean Ginsburg [00:03:09]:

We started doing, you know, HVAC, landscaping, electricians. I got 3 d printing companies. Just any business that really wanted to get to the next level, whether they had 4 salespeople or 400 salespeople. We were able to go in, you know, create a sales process that, you know, we can track, monitor, adjust, and align, you know, a step by step process for them to hit a specific target every single day, every single month, and every single year.

James [00:03:37]:

Alright. That is cool. So Grant Cardone, I've been a follower of his, not as religiously as I think a lot of people do. But I guess in the business world, there's everybody's got their gurus of choice. Sure. So how did you land on him versus I don't know. Any just insert sales trainer here.

Sean Ginsburg [00:03:55]:

Oh, man. So well, that takes me back to the time when I just first got into sales. So, I mean, I went through everything, Sean. Everything. Jim Rohn was one of my favorites, you know, Brian Tracy, the Buffini, you know, OG Mandino, like, all of the greats. You know? Earl Nightingale, Napoleon Hill, all these guys, and I'm like, wow. Like, who's the modern day version of these people?

James [00:04:23]:

Mhmm.

Sean Ginsburg [00:04:23]:

And grant's it, man. I mean, I don't I mean, there's a lot of people that hate The. There's a

James [00:04:30]:

lot of people that love

Sean Ginsburg [00:04:31]:

them, man. It's either you hate them or you love them. So he took all The content and he made it The the in the modern day world. So I found him and I'm just like, dude, I relate with the guy. I like the guy. He's doing a great job. Like, before I met him, I sound like him. So I was like, like, I just it was a perfect match.

Sean Ginsburg [00:04:51]:

So I started going to his events, just getting into his stuff. And, like, In was never this corporate, like like, handling objections and, like, no. It was always, like, me and my brother, like, calling my brother out on his BS. You know? Oh, nice. Always yeah. It was always me, like, talking to my sister, my mom, or or, like, my cousin. Like, come on, man. What are you talking about? Like, tell me the truth.

Sean Ginsburg [00:05:12]:

Come on, man. Like, real come on. What really happened? Right? Like, that type of style for me, that's where I thrive versus trying to, like, put this, like, you know, I guess you could just call it the corporate, like, trying to save face. Like, no. No. No. Like, I had more fun with that style, and I I I I I figured that somebody else did it so I could, like, oh, wow. It was okay for me to go out there and, like, be myself and sell versus, like, trying to act like this corporate, like, amazing like, nah.

Sean Ginsburg [00:05:40]:

Screw that. Like, be yourself and help somebody make a decision. So that's kinda how that's kind of the story along how I found Grant and, why I ended up going with him. But I have multiple mentors. I have one other mentor that actually says, you know, The mentor is like following a cult. You know? You gotta have multiple mentors because you have to have a cabinet of people that help you, a cabinet of Adventures like the president has. So I have multiple Adventures, if you will, that helped me on very specific things.

James [00:06:10]:

Nice. You know, it's interesting. I just read or I shouldn't say I just read. I'm in The process of reading 2 books. 1 is In by Ray Dalio, and the other In, something on culture of the business, but I can't think of it right now. But it's interesting Sean these 2 books. Say it again.

Sean Ginsburg [00:06:32]:

Traction?

James [00:06:34]:

No. But, ironically, that book was recommended to me earlier today, and it was one of those, like, you know, I've had On that on my list for a long time. I should probably see. Yeah. I should probably I have read a book called Traction, but probably not the one you're thinking of because the one that I read was not the one well, I thought I had the author here for Traction, but,...

Allen, Will and DJ - The Allen and DJ Show

Simple and Effective Advice: "Don't give up. Keep pushing."

We've seen the movies, the TV shows, the print ads and all of the images of people.  But who are these people, and how do you become someone that can make money as being an actor, or a model?

One of the rules is to get noticed and to have a following.  Allen, Will and DJ are working on doing just that.

Allen and DJ are co-hosts of their own show, which covers a broad spectrum of topics aimed at helping people become the best versions of themselves. From managing money and financial literacy to tackling mental health issues like ADHD, they leave no stone unturned. Will, the producer, adds his own touch, ensuring the operation runs smoothly behind the scenes.

We touch on their beginnings in the acting industry, the importance of headshots, and the rigorous process of securing an agent.  A big reminder is the power of persistence, and the somber reality of facing rejection.

Going deeper, we explore how social media has become a crucial tool in their marketing strategy, allowing them to build a fan base and reach wider audiences. They provide insights on the blend of personal and promotional content, the power of perseverance, and the importance of continuous improvement.

Listen as Allen, Will and DJ explain what has and has not worked for them as they have continued to grow their portfolio of acting and modeling gigs.

Enjoy!

Visit Allen, Will and DJ at: https://linktr.ee/will89000

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 DJ's Self-Improvement Show Idea

04:08 Talent Agencies and Individual Fit

07:08 National Granger Commercial Breakthrough

10:54 Comp Card vs. Headshot Explained

12:56 Talent Agencies in Chicago and Wisconsin

16:45 Streamlining Resume for Casting Director

20:05 Monologue Audition Tips

23:48 Acting Audition Expectations

28:44 Supporting Will: A Brief Encounter

29:11 Talent Agency Rejection Experience

35:08 Confidently Embrace the Role

36:35 Deer Story Becomes Show Highlight

39:50 Rise of Social Media Influence

Podcast Transcription:

Allen [00:00:00]:

You got your pictures done. You submitted it to the agent. The agent love it. They like your body of work and everything, so now they bring you in for what they call like a look see.

James Kademan [00:00:13]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at DrawInCustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls On Call Extraordinary Answering Service as well as The BOLD Business Book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Allen, Will, and DJ of the Allen and DJ Show. So welcome.

Allen [00:00:41]:

Hey, man. How's it going, James?

James Kademan [00:00:43]:

It is going well. I'm excited to have you guys because you have a show. I got a show. So here we are.

Allen [00:00:49]:

Hey, man. Let's do it.

James Kademan [00:00:50]:

Make magic happen here.

Allen [00:00:51]:

Exactly.

James Kademan [00:00:52]:

Let's just start out. What is the Allen and DJ Show?

Allen [00:00:55]:

So the Allen and DJ Show is a show that, we talk about to gear towards self improvement and lifestyle, helping people to become, the very best versions of themselves.

James Kademan [00:01:06]:

Alright. And how did you guys land in that realm?

Allen [00:01:10]:

Well, now we and in the realm by, be because, like, nowadays, we got a lot of shows where people talk about maybe, like, edit tutorials from, like, maybe doing hair or you got, like, a lot of dating coaches and stuff. And we talk about, like, okay, we love to self improve by maybe, like like, maybe by DJ, like, elevating in business every year or working out or, maybe having, like, a healthier lifestyle. So we say, hey. You know what? Let's talk about self improvement In lifestyle because when you talk about that, you could talk about anything and anything can fall upon the lifestyle. So we Call about whether ADHD, panic attacks, maybe managing money, financial literacy. Call about a little bit of everything.

James Kademan [00:01:52]:

Alright. That is a yeah. You're talking self help. That's a broad broad broad topic.

Allen [00:01:57]:

Exactly.

James Kademan [00:01:58]:

So the 2 of you are the the show host, I guess.

DJ [00:02:02]:

Yeah. I'm I'm his cohost. Host.

James Kademan [00:02:04]:

Okay. Like,

DJ [00:02:05]:

Will is the producer.

James Kademan [00:02:06]:

Alright. Will is producing, so Will gets to be behind the camera.

Allen [00:02:08]:

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

James Kademan [00:02:09]:

And then DJ, Allen, you guys who was the one that started saying, hey. We should start a show?

Allen [00:02:17]:

Well, actually, our DJ brought it up to me first because we want to do YouTube anyway, and, we want to figure out, like, okay. What can we do to help people out? And, he was like, let's let's start a show. Let's Call, about self improvement and lifestyle, but we need to go some well, we need to do this where this is gonna, like, really strike big and really help people, but how can we help the masses? And I said, I don't know, man. He said, let's look at the Sun Prairie Media Center. Let's, see if we can, you know, reach out and get a show and we could pay you know, like, I'll probably start, you know, moving in the right direction when it comes to that. And, the the like, the rest was history. It's all a DJ idea.

James Kademan [00:03:01]:

Alright.

DJ [00:03:02]:

Yeah. Because, like, basically, like, what what we was trying to do Will like like Al said, like, we was trying to, impact the community, and we're also trying to help people out. But we but we was here in and and, like was that, like, 17?

Allen [00:03:16]:

Yes. 17. Yeah.

DJ [00:03:17]:

But we was here in 2017, and we did a show called, Diving Deep. But, like, our top like, we talked about deep topics, but, like, they were all over the place. And then we went out and then that's when we got discovered, with our DJ, and we went off and did that for a few years. And now we came back because we wanted to, share some light on, like, how we grew up over the years.

James Kademan [00:03:40]:

Sure. So elaborate on that a little bit. You said your agent? Yeah. Alright. Agent for the show?

DJ [00:03:45]:

No. Agent for the, for for for our acting careers.

James Kademan [00:03:48]:

Got it. Got it. Got it. Okay. I was like, man, you guys are next level. It's all good. That's all we'll both get there. It's all good.

James Kademan [00:03:56]:

Yeah. So your agent so let me connect these dots for the people at home In may not know. You are all 3 of you actors?

DJ [00:04:04]:

Yep. Yes.

James Kademan [00:04:05]:

Alright. And do all 3 of you have the same agent?

Allen [00:04:08]:

Will, yeah. Well, we got the same agent and then some of us had different DJ. Because when you go In a talent agency, it depends On, like, well, what they're looking for. So let's say In me and you submit to a bigger talent DJ, like, let's say, Stewart Talent. Stewart Talent might like your look and they might say, hey, I got something for you that I can market you In, but Stewart Talent might not be a great fit for me. But maybe something like Shirley Hamilton or different other talent agencies might be like, hey, you know what? You're exactly what we're looking for. We need a commercial print model. Alright.

Allen [00:04:40]:

And commercial print model In for the people that, like, don't understand what that is. It's, like, more like, billboards, magazines, maybe if you're doing, like, a toothpaste commercial or, you advertising something.

James Kademan [00:04:52]:

So the pictures of the people that are all doing smiley faces or Oh, yeah. Maybe frowny James.

Allen [00:04:57]:

Right. Frowny face. Where would they need in the moment? Like, where you know, where they say, Call this football and look real tough. And then you might be doing something for, like, a big, advertising ad or something.

James Kademan [00:05:10]:

Alright.

Allen [00:05:11]:

And the rest is history, man. Is DJ just you know what they're looking for?

James Kademan [00:05:14]:

You know, it's so interesting because you go through and you look at either just stock photography or ads, commercials you see on TV and, well, even commercials on YouTube and all that jazz. And you see people on there, and they're just people, I suppose, until a few years from now Allen it's all AI or

Allen [00:05:31]:

whatever. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:05:33]:

But I'm like, that's some person that got paid to just hang out and whatever, hold the football or put their hand on their chin or

Allen [00:05:40]:

something like that. And now you might have to do a lot of takes to that. So they might it might be maybe 2 or 3 hour, DJ, when they have you do the same takes. Like Oh, yeah. Pose like this again. Okay. Now let me get it from this angle, but look a little bit more meaner and In on what what they're looking for. And and and by the time you're done, you might my face muscles are so sore.

Allen [00:06:00]:

I'm tired.

James Kademan [00:06:01]:

So that's that's Show ironic. Right? Because they're trying to get something DJ a natural pose Yes. That takes 3 hours to get.

Allen [00:06:08]:

That yeah. So 3 hours to get. Like, yeah, like, you might have the photography, like so so let's say, like, the guy who's filming the commercials, like, he might get way in between you, like, on the ground and catch you, like, with the camera going like, okay. Now do it like this and, let me get a bottom shot. So that way, like, when they get ready to edit well,...

Mike Kollath - Palladium Tax Advisory CPA

On the Help Entrepreneurs Need: "Quite frankly, compliance, while it's necessary, isn't where you actually can help someone."

You may not know Mike yet, but you need to.  Mike helps businesses with tax strategy and he illustrates his journey and a few tax tips in this interview.

Mike's stories, from his first venture into the online retail world with a used children's clothing store to the eventual establishment of a successful CPA firm with over 45 employees and $5 million in revenue take you through his education, saving you the time.  Through the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of tax planning, strategic growth, and adapting to market demands.

Mike discusses key takeaways from his business endeavors, his strategic approach to tax advisory services, and how he leverages his expertise to help clients save money and optimize their business operations.

Listen as Mike explains how to position yourself as a business owner, to make sure you keep as much of your money as is legal.

Enjoy!

Visit Mike at: https://www.palladiumcpa.com/

 

 

Podcast Overview:

04:59 Starting a Business Journey

08:19 Growing Pains in Small Teams

12:33 Partnership Growth and Process Implementation

14:45 Private Equity Inquiries Surge

16:30 Origin of Banana VoIP Venture

21:07 Genesis of Sustainable HR PEO

22:50 PEO & HR Tech Services

27:58 Growth Sparked by New Leadership

29:03 Private Equity Growth Factors

32:56 Pandemic Surge in Call Service Interest

37:39 "Excited for New Startup Phase"

Podcast Transcription:

Mike Kollath [00:00:00]:

I call them churn and burn chops, where they're just cranking out as many 10 forties and Yeah. On business returns as they can. But that's the problem. Right? If you have all these returns you gotta get done, you don't have time to do the other stuff that's actually valuable to the client. Right. Quite frankly, compliance, while it's necessary, isn't where you actually can help someone.

James [00:00:25]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggles, stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at DrawInCustomers.com. And today, we're welcoming, slash preparing to learn, from Mike Kollath, and I'd love to list all the companies you got going on, Mike, but I think it's better The you do. So first, we got the Palladium.

Mike Kollath [00:00:50]:

Yep. Palladium Tax Advisory. Alright. A new CPA firm that I started about 3 months ago.

James [00:00:57]:

Oh, nice.

Mike Kollath [00:00:58]:

The there's Sustainable HR PEO

James [00:01:00]:

Alright.

Mike Kollath [00:01:00]:

Which is a professional employer organization, which we can talk about later. Sustainable HR recruiting, which we just started to do, basically headhunting. And then we have BananaVoIP, which is a VoIP company.

James [00:01:13]:

Nice. Alright. So So perfect for

Mike Kollath [00:01:16]:

a for

James [00:01:17]:

a show about entrepreneurs and all that jazz.

Mike Kollath [00:01:19]:

Certainly.

James [00:01:20]:

So let's talk about let's just go Book. First time you started your business, which business was the first one?

Mike Kollath [00:01:25]:

Okay. So The first one was a small, used clothing children's store.

James [00:01:32]:

Used. On mine. Children's clothing.

Mike Kollath [00:01:34]:

Used children's clothing. Yes. Alright.

James [00:01:35]:

Tell me about that.

Mike Kollath [00:01:36]:

On mine. So we bought that company, my ex wife and I did. Okay. So we got lots of, children's clothes in the Kademan. And so we're just doing it online. And then eventually, I figured out it's really hard to make money selling children's clothes online. And it's a pain in the butt to ship and do all that fun stuff.

James [00:01:56]:

We're selling Ebay or what where was No. It was just online. Your platform was your online store?

Mike Kollath [00:02:01]:

Yep.

James [00:02:02]:

And this somebody else had it and you bought it? Yep. Tell Mike, what made you decide to get in that industry?

Mike Kollath [00:02:07]:

Well, I'd always wanted to be an On, and why that industry? It was there.

James [00:02:13]:

So is this someone you knew or anything like that?

Mike Kollath [00:02:15]:

Nope. Nope. We just found it. I can't remember exactly how we found it, but maybe it was a friend of a friend or something like that. Alright. And so, so, yeah, that, lasted maybe a year, and then we made a large donation of used children's clothing to Goodwill.

James [00:02:29]:

Just closed up. Just closed up. Out of there.

Mike Kollath [00:02:31]:

Too much work and, you know, the the cost benefit wasn't there as The as an account.

James [00:02:36]:

So when you bought it, how tough was it? Like, you paid something for it. So was it basically an asset purchase? Yeah. Or was there Correct.

Mike Kollath [00:02:45]:

No. It was just basically bought a bunch of clothing Okay. On the website. Alright.

James [00:02:49]:

On the website. And whose idea was it? Was it yours or your

Mike Kollath [00:02:52]:

ex wife or wife It was more mine. Okay. Yeah. And I had always been interested in entrepreneurship. We're also looking we're looking to buy a business. We almost bought a nursery that was out in Fitchburg.

James [00:03:04]:

You're talking tree nursery?

Mike Kollath [00:03:05]:

Yeah. Tree nursery. Wow. You know, basically flowers and trees

James [00:03:10]:

and Alright.

Mike Kollath [00:03:10]:

And The kind of stuff. So we almost bought a travel agency just before 911.

James [00:03:17]:

On, that's the boat there.

Mike Kollath [00:03:19]:

Yes. Yes. Yeah. So we we were looking for a long time. Alright. And so, unfortunately or fortunately, used children's clothing. I did learn a lot from the standpoint of I didn't On do that. And it is it's hard to do the marketing for that online.

James [00:03:37]:

I bet.

Mike Kollath [00:03:37]:

Especially back then. I mean, that was The what's that? Nineties or 2000? Early 2000s, I think.

James [00:03:43]:

Oh, so you're talking Internet was pretty infant.

Mike Kollath [00:03:46]:

Yeah. Pretty Yeah. Pretty infant. So it, so, yeah. Lessons learned.

James [00:03:51]:

Alright. And were you coding? Because the website No. The website was

Mike Kollath [00:03:55]:

our setup. We would upload pictures of the clothing

James [00:03:59]:

Okay.

Mike Kollath [00:03:59]:

To the website.

James [00:04:01]:

Because you're talking just for the kids at home that maybe don't understand what dial up is.

Mike Kollath [00:04:04]:

Oh, sure. Yes.

James [00:04:05]:

56 k modems.

Mike Kollath [00:04:07]:

I mean,

James [00:04:07]:

if somebody went to a web page and it had 500 pictures on there

Mike Kollath [00:04:10]:

Yeah.

James [00:04:10]:

You're gonna click and then go

Mike Kollath [00:04:12]:

I'm gonna wait for a while.

James [00:04:13]:

Make a sandwich and come back.

Mike Kollath [00:04:14]:

Yep. Yep. Exactly. But other than that, you know, the whole website was set up, so we didn't have to worry about that stuff.

James [00:04:21]:

Alright. But So is the domain still out there? Someone's got it?

Mike Kollath [00:04:24]:

I don't know. I haven't looked for

James [00:04:25]:

a while,

Mike Kollath [00:04:25]:

to be honest. It could be for

James [00:04:28]:

all I know. Funny.

Mike Kollath [00:04:29]:

But Alright.

James [00:04:30]:

So you shifted gears. You're like, alright. Donate some clothes. What's next step?

Mike Kollath [00:04:34]:

And I was fully employed at that time. I worked at a couple of CPA firms. Then I actually went to work for an insurance company, and my next foray into entrepreneurship was starting the CPA firm because I got fired.

James [00:04:47]:

Oh. You got fired from a CPA firm?

Mike Kollath [00:04:50]:

No. Laid off from the insurance company.

James [00:04:51]:

Oh. Oh.

Mike Kollath [00:04:52]:

They got bought out by another company in Birmingham, Alabama.

James [00:04:56]:

Alright.

Mike Kollath [00:04:56]:

And I wasn't moving to Birmingham, Alabama.

James [00:04:58]:

No. I don't blame you.

Mike Kollath [00:04:59]:

So ended up had to figure out what what I was gonna do with my life Alright. At that point. So I actually had a job lined up, ready to go, and then my ex wife at the time said, well, why don't you start a business? And I'm like, oh, I didn't know this was you know, I told you before my daughter was like a year and a half

James [00:05:18]:

Yeah.

Mike Kollath [00:05:19]:

When that happened and my ex wife wasn't working much at that point because home with the kid a lot. Yeah. So yeah, we ended up I ended up starting the CPA firm because I enjoyed working with clients and Mike doing tax accounting type Book. And so that was the start of Calls and Associates CPA.

James [00:05:39]:

Dang. So when you first started Colas, it was you or did you?

Mike Kollath [00:05:42]:

It was me, myself, and I. Alright. Working out of my house to start. No clients. Although luckily, my ex employer hired me on as a consultant. Oh. So The was a good start. And The, CUNA Mutual became a client shortly after that.

James [00:05:59]:

That helped launch, I imagine?

Mike Kollath [00:06:01]:

That helped launch, provided some cash flow. But I'll never forget my first day, of, you know, owning the firm and getting things going. I watched the Food Network the entire day.

James [00:06:15]:

Is that phone ringing yet? And I'm like, this is probably not a good way to start a business. No. Not for a long

Mike Kollath [00:06:20]:

term. Yeah. Pounding the phones and networking with people and

James [00:06:24]:

Alright.

...