Blue Shirt Leadership Podcast

Julie Negret-Anderson is the COO and founder of OnPay Solutions a system that frees your finance department from time-intensive manual processes by automating payments and invoices at no capital expense. 

In this episode, Julie shares what inspired her to start OnPay and the courage it took to take that leap. She shares three insightful tips that will help you develop yourself and your business. 

• It starts with belief in yourself and having the courage to take action. • Don't be afraid to hire people that are better, smarter, and more experienced than you. • Make sure your team knows that everyone can feel the impact of their work. The work they do matters. 

To connect with Julie, visit https://www.onpaysolutions.com/

Khephera “Kheph” Rakhu is the Chief Visionary Officer of Better Family Life Minnesota, Inc. He is passionate about the overall development of families and their communities through awareness, access, and acquiring wealth. His vision is to see a better life for all families. 

His main focuses are on catalyzing institutions, companies, and influencers to the commitment to BFL-MN’s mission in advancing the equity, education, and life experiences of Minnesota’s families at every stage of life. 

In this episode, Kheph shares the story of how he overcame challenging odds to find success in athletics, college, and professionally. His experience with two mentors in his life led him and his wife to a position in BFL-MN and they are continuing to impact the community in big ways through their hard work and community development. 

Kheph shares that if you want to get out of the "stuck" place you are in or a challenging situation, you need PIE. 

• Performance• Information •Exposure. 

He shares it starts with exposure. Being around people, opportunities, and knowledge will lead to the information and performance changes necessary to get you where you are supposed to go. 

Finally, when asked what the number one challenge for people engaging in this program is, Keph said it is belief. Belief in family, belief in community, and belief in a different future. 

To connect with Keph please visit https://www.bflmn.org/

Matthew is a Co-Founder and Principal Partner of Quayo Ecosense – a boutique consulting firm focused on bespoke solutions to organizations in the areas of Business Process Automation, Outsourced Internal Audit Services, Business Analytics & Risk Management.

In today's episode, Matthew shares with us some powerful insights on business automation and working smarter. 

His story starts in 2016 when he collapsed at his work in the oil fields. He knew something needed to change. This is when the idea for Quayo Ecosense come to him and he's been helping businesses be more successful using automation for several years now. 

Matthew shares three powerful insights on today's episode. • Get a mentor, coach, or accountability partner as soon as you can.• It's okay to fail but when you do, look to the lesson the failure taught you and learn from them.• Stay focused and keep focused until the cycle on that focus is complete. Then refocus elsewhere.

You can connect with Akano Adebayo Matthew on LinkedIn by visiting https://www.linkedin.com/in/akano-adebayo-matthew-25668b54/

Sales Expert, Ryann Dowdy, helps 7 and 8 figure CEOs generate daily sales on demand WITHOUT more of their time, by building + training high-performing sales teams.

Before starting her own business, Ryann spent 15 years in the corporate world building multi-million dollar sales organizations for start-ups in the digital marketing and advertising space. From sales rep to individual contributor to Director of Sales - Ryann has mentored, managed, and trained thousands of sales reps.

Ryann’s first crack at entrepreneurship was Uncensored Consulting, where she helped hundreds of women get their first clients, leave their day jobs, and take back control of their lives. By teaching tried and true sales strategies that aren't dependent on social media or trendy tactics, Ryann focuses on the art of building relationships and human-to-human connections.

Now, building her second business, she’s on a mission to change the lives of CEOs - by giving them back their time, financial peace, and the ability to multiply their revenue through a high-performing, empowered sales team.

In today's episode, Philip from C Suite IMPACT group shares his SAGE wisdom on how he has created a high-impact group of consulting companies. Through C Suite IMPACT, Phil and his team have done business in 30 states, helping clients with Growth, Performance, and Succession.

Phil shares the story of what broke his work-a-holism and opened the door to the massive impact he and his teams have been able to make. It started with his son's middle school graduation and ended with a whole new perspective on life and business. 

There were many lessons shared in this episode but three of them jump out to me:

Persist with your passion but slow down and enjoy what you have at the same time.

If something doesn't feel right, don't try and make it work. Listen to your intuition. 

Pay yourself first. Then be careful to not grow your expenses more than your income. 

For Philip, all of this points to the importance of balance. It's your own type of balance but balance nonetheless. 

To learn how Philip and his business partners serve their clients and can potentially support you, visit https://www.whitmanbiz.com/

Mark Stiles is a former professional basketball player turned CPA. His business has helped dozens of clients not only with their taxes but to truly understand what's going on with their business and build strategies to move their organization forward. 

Mark shares the key moment for him in his business of switching from being an employee within his own business to being an operator. He encourages all his clients to manager their time so they can create this freedom and paradigm too. 

Finally, Mark emphasizes the importance of running your business to build generational wealth. This includes building and measuring the procedures and processes needed to operate your business and making the shifts necessary for growth. 

You can connect with Mark by visiting https://www.markstilescpa.com/

Desmond Stanley is a professional accountant and a marketing and branding expert. His unique combination of creativity and organization has helped him and his business partner start The Incubator CLE. A place where young entrepreneurs get access to resources and mentoring to help their businesses start strong.

At 25, Desmond knows there is so much more he can contribute to the world of business and is excited about the opportunities. But he shares that we need to be grateful for what we have achieved and look forward to what is coming.

Desmond shares the importance of staying consistent with your goals and developing quality plans to achieve what you want. He also shares you need to have thick skin in business to be successful. Finally, a big secret to his success is the analytical side of his mind and his ability to get and stay organized.

In fact, people often seek him out to get help with staying organized themselves.

To connect with Desmond, visit https://www.instagram.com/ceo_dez/

Who are you attracting to your network? Who are you repelling? When you take control of your network and answer both of these questions, you are beginning to unlock The Connection Method®. 

In this episode, I interview Kelsey Kurtis, a branding educator, lifestyle branding photographer, author, energetic speaker, and unapologetic cheerleader for leaders in business. She is the author of The Connection Method® and creator of Connection-Based Branding. 

Kelsey is a genius at helping people define and refine who they are. She shares her own experiences learning this about herself and overcoming the imposter syndrome that came with it. 

You'll learn the importance of building your network through a simple process of defining who you want to attract and who you want to repel. Kelsey shares how we need to build an ideal community of people that energize us and remove those that deplete us. 

To learn more about The Connection Method® and to connect with Kelsey check out her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kelseymkurtis/

In this episode of the SAGE Mindset Podcast, I interview Martin Hansen. If you're a small business owner, you need to listen/watch this show. Martin shares some powerful insights on the process of buying or selling your business. He shares the 6-step process his software walks you through to successfully make a transaction.

Martin also dives in on what he's learned in 60+ years of life and the advice he gives is worth writing down. First, discretionary time is critical. Apply your discretionary time wisely. Second, be selective and build a great network of people around you. Finally, he shares to find your own life balance. Yours may be very different than those around you. But honor this balance and go all-in on each aspect.

So who is Martin Hansen?

Martin Hansen is Senior Partner of Aegis Acquisitions and Founder/CEO of Mavrek. Martin has over 25+ years of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experience, successfully closing over 600+ transactions in the lower middle market. Martin is the entrepreneur/visionary behind Mavrek.

Mavrek is an all-in-one financial technology software designed for small business owners and their trusted advisors (CPAs, business brokers, etc.) to streamline the process of buying or selling a small business. Mavrek replicates a proven process of selling businesses, and is fully-equipped with a linear six-step process, tools (e.g. valuation tool, marketplace, data room), templates, and more, to allow business owners and advisors to easily navigate the process of selling or buying a small business.

Think 'TurboTax' for selling a business.

To sign up for free and learn more visit app.mavrek.com/signup

As a travel agent, Michele Cook has booked 100s of trips for her customers but there is one thing she knows that makes all the difference. Having experts in her network that she can connect with to help her customers experience the best trip possible.

No business owner can truly be an expert for all their customers' needs. Because of this, Michele has developed a great network around her.

She encourages and challenges you to do the same in your business. When asked about the best advice she would give, Michele shares to believe in yourself more and leave the "safety net" you are holding on to. Don't be afraid to make adjustments as you leave that safety net. Finally, as an avid traveler, Michele encourages you to pursue and look for new adventures to experience in your life and travels.

To connect with Michele, visit www.astaratravel.com