Big Ideas Small Business

Episode 41: We welcome John Sage. You will learn from John’s experiences of building a work-from-home, multi-continent Business to Consumer #B2C company and then later adding a Business to Business #B2B model with major cruise lines.

John is an entrepreneur who is the Founder and President of Accessible Travel Solutions. He manages a team of remote trip planning team that provides award winning customer service.

Book Recommendations:  The Challenger Sale

App Recommendations: Google G Suite

Resource Recommendations: Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Service Corps Of Retired Executives – SCORE

Episode 040 – We welcome comedian Grady Pruitt who discusses how he tried standup to shock his system and overcome his issues with anxiety. Entrepreneurs and business owners can learn so much from standup comics and vice versa. It is a hustle and a grind and failures are a big part of the experience. Learn about Grady’s journey and relate to your own personal journey. Consider shocking your system with something bold to break a pattern of behavior.

Episode 039 – We welcome guest Randall Chesnutt. We’ll discuss how you can break through the noise with technology and digital marketing to reach your target clients with online content like videos and podcasts.

Randall’s experience includes: Marketing Strategist, President & Co-founder of Spoken About, Host of Think Like A Marketer Show, Founder All-In Academy, Certified Public Speaker.

Randall’s book recommendations:

Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable  by Tim Grover

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants  by Malcolm Gladwell

The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews

Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator by Ryan Holiday

Randall’s App Recommendations:

Audible

Other Apps discussed:

Anchor.fm

Microsoft Connect smart home

Manychat

Episode 38 – Keith Henry joins our podcast and we talk about the importance of establishing a strong brand identity and maintaining a positive brand image: Defining early on the vision, core values, and purpose of your company.

Keith is the Creative Director at Kickstreet, a creative agency and author of the book “How to Create a Great Business Name.”

Keith’s book recommendations:

“Sam Walton: Made in America” By John Huey

“Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness” by Jeffrey Gitomer

Keith’s App recommendation:

Asana Project Management Software

send an email to [email protected] to request a digital copy of his book “How to Create a Great Business Name”

Episode 37 – Brian and Laura welcome guest Freddy Goerges, Influencer Marketer, Public Speaker, and Leader. You will benefit by hearing how Freddy created and grew a city-wide networking group and is able to monetize this network. We will discuss his role as an influencer and some techniques and strategies around social media marketing to grow your brand.

Freddy’s Accomplishments:

Freddie started Houston Young Professionals + Houston Professionals (HYP) a 27k membership Networking group.

Launched #Facebook campaigns reaching 6,860,000 Houstonians in 100 days.

Hosted hundreds of monthly networking events since 2012.

Has organized & marketed events that brought in over 750,000 in attendance.

Freddy’s Book Recommendations

“The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream” by Paulo Coelho and Jeremy Irons

Freddy’s App Recommendations:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Calendly –  Appointment Scheduling

UberConference – Screen Share

Paypal.Me – Payment collections

Chrome Extension Store

 

Where to find Freddy!

www.Houstonyoungprofessionals.com

www.Linkedinhouston.com

www.Houstonbusinessowners.com

 

Episode 36 – Guest Peter Daly-Dickson, owner of Conquer The Chaos, is an architect and creator of effective, efficient, reliable, long term, nurturing and powerful follow-up systems in business that a) drive selling #behavior and b) increase #sales.

Peter is a UK-based #Infusionsoft Certified Partner, and developer of a software called #Macanta, to help simplify and streamline the Infusionsoft interface to make it a super effective tool for sales teams.

Macanta, Peter’s Linkedin

Peter’s Book Recommendations:

“The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry”

by John Warrillow

Peter’s app recommendation:

Rocket chat , Slack, Evernote Work chat

Episode 35 – Brian and Laura Interview Brittany Barreto co-founder and is CEO of Pheramor, a genetic-based dating app to help find true love using your #DNA.

We hope you are inspired to explore your app ideas after hearing the story of how Brittany has moved from scientist to entrepreneur as she continues to pursue her #BIGIDEA of changing how people find their matches.

Brittany’s Book Recommendations:

“Disrupt You!: Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation” by Jay Samit

“Power Up: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy” by Magdalena Yesil

Brittany’s app Recommendations:

Wag – Dog Walking Service

How to find Brittany and Pheramor:

www.pheramor.com, facebook, instagram, twitter, app download Apple | Google,

Brittany Barreto: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn

Episode 34 – Brian and Laura talk take a field trip to The Cannon Houston to meet with their Founder & CEO, Lawson Gow. You’ll be inspired to think bigger when you hear how he is turning his vision to life of a startup district in West Houston anchored by a 70,000 Square Foot Co-Working Warehouse that is expected to be completed by Q1 2019.

Lawson is driven by his love for his home city of Houston and recognizes Houston is far behind other American cities in resources for entrepreneurs and startups. So He took action on his BIG IDEA.

In the short ten months The Cannon has been operating, they have over ten staff members and roughly 75 members. They have seen some big successes already in that short time where companies in their space have gone on to find funding and “graduate” from the co-working space.

The road to his vision hasn’t always been easy, Lawson shares some challenges they have faced along the way and gives us the short and longterm direction of The Cannon.

Lawson’s book recommendations:

“10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story” by Dan Harris

“Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted” World by Cal Newport

Lawson’s tech recommendations: Counter-culture to Houston, Lawson doesn’t drive so he frequently takes ride share apps like Lyft and Uber. For fast and consolidated news, he uses a news aggregator called Feedly.

Where to find Lawson and The Cannon: www.thecannonhouston.com, @thecannonhtx , Facebook, Instagram, Lawson Gow Linkedin

Episode 33 – Brian and Laura talk with one of the best Executive Coaches out there, Eddie Turner, The Leadership Excelerator™. You will be able to draw inspiration and relate to Eddie’s stories and experiences on how he has helped organizations facilitate collaboration for change.

We discuss a BIG IDEA which for Eddie was an international video conference project from 2008 that was a game changer for a large company and Eddie’s career.

We learn about his journey from “IT Geek” to an Executive & Leadership Coach, Facilitator, Keynote Speaker, Author, National Media Commentator and President of the ATD Houston Chapter (That recently won chapter of Month under Eddie’s leadership) and discuss the contents of his new book “140 Simple Messages to Guide Emerging Leaders” set to come out in September. His next book is due out in March 2019 “Facilitated Collaboration: How to Lead and Influence Anything.”

Eddie’s book recommendations: “Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want — Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible” By Brian Tracy 

Eddies tech recommendations: Apple Pencil, Evernote, and Notability

Where to find Eddie: www.eddieturnerllc.com, @eddieturnerjr, Facebook, Instagram

A quote Eddie Shared on the show “Learn to bloom where you’ve been planted” – Dan Sydlik

 

Episode 032: Be inspired by the passion and energy that our podcast guest Jonathan Horton puts into everything.

We discuss how being a professional athlete is similar to being an entrepreneur. Jonathan had to reinvent himself once the sponsorships dried up after retirement from gymnastics in 2016. He has been executing on a strategy to create multiple income streams including a mobile Ninja Warrior course business, color commentating on TV, pubic appearances and speaking, a clothing appeal line, and authoring two books to name a few ventures he is involved in.

Jonathan’s impressive career includes: