Breaking Business Barriers

Top of Mind Networks, a leader in customer relationship management and market automation software for the mortgage lender and real estate industries was founded in 2003 by Mark Green.

“I started Top of Mind with a dream of creating something new, and we’ve accomplished that,” says Green. Like many business creations, Mark was solving a problem that he personally experienced in the residential lending and real estate space. In his interview, he explains what he saw and began to build an amazing team to help him deliver a world class product.

Green founded Top of Mind by leveraging his professional experiences in building and maintaining customer loyalty to create post-close communications programs for mortgage lenders. The flagship product, Surefire, is the industry’s leading online CRM platform. Top of Mind’s success attracted the investment of Primus Capital, a growth-oriented private equity firm, in April 2018.

Mark recently exited the company that he bootstrapped. In this episode of Breaking Business Barriers, Mark humbly shares his story and gives praises to his team members and the clients that believed in him.

Traci joins Host Brent Duhaime on this episode of Breaking Business Barriers.

She shares her story about being enlisted in the National Guard immediately following high school (her Dad is a Veteran), becoming a Nurse Practitioner along with being a business owner.

Throughout her career she's approached many forks in the road.

She credits her family for the support as well as the being raised in small town USA (Elk Point, SD) where working as a youngster wasn't an option.

Traci isn't just hard working and driven to be her best, she's kind, generous and inspiration to her children.

Enjoy getting to know Traci and her professional career path.

Mark Weisman, former power five division one athlete, joins Brent Duhaime and Jared Tye on this episode of Breaking Business Barriers.

Mark talks about a fork in the road decision that was very difficult for him as a teenager. He makes the decision to leave a military academy after his first year. Why you might ask? He'll explain his incredible focus to be at his best and that's what led him to making a change.

Mark's fork in the road choice led to betting on himself and those payoffs opened many doors.

He's detailed, hard-working, disciplined and a great student of some of the best mentors one could only wish for in life. Today, he's passing on those life lessons.

Mark's book recommendation - The Slight Edge written by Jeff Olson

Jason Shutt, co-owner of Hollywood Bus Tours, joins Brent Duhaime on this episode of Breaking Business Barriers. Jason has been on the show previously and shared his personal story of learning via the school of hard knocks - also known as the prison system.

Jason made a life changing decision in his mid-thirties and he's never been happier. He now is the co-founder of Hollywood Bus Tours. He talks about the challenge of opening a new business and how he found the pandemic to be an opportunity to make tactical improvements.

Jason exudes all the good that can happen with a personal commitment and the happiness of being a proud, American business owner.

Award winning entrepreneur, Rex Kurzius, joins Jared and Brent on the Breaking Business Barriers podcast.

Rex's entrepreneur journey started well before his teenage years. A traumatic life event occurred when Rex's father suddenly passed away leaving his family with no income. Facing the reality of being homeless, Rex's grandparents welcomed his family into their home.

Overcoming life's challenges fueled his entrepreneurial spirit. He could be a provider by relying on a tireless work ethic, creative instincts and the will to win in business.

Rex was kind enough to share his story of where he's been and where he's headed. He passes along some lessons that he's learned on his path as a serial entrepreneur.

Rebecca Valera joins Jared Tye and Brent Duhaime on this episode of Breaking Business Barriers.

Rebecca made a career change from being a school teacher to being a real estate professional. She greatly puts forth the efforts relying on her background as a teacher to being a homeownership educator. This passion has served her well as an agent.

Rebecca offers some tips to those who are either thinking about being in real estate or those that are relatively new to the profession. She definitely likes to openly share her experiences.

Jeff shares his journey from college to being President of his own company. Building his business from scratch to employing over 50 people was a journey that included business travel around the US and to different countries around the globe.

Jeff offered some very important advice when talking about his business fork in the road. That fork included selling his company and deciding to make a life change.

There are many lessons to be learned in the interview with Jeff. One of which includes a battle with a severe case of Covid. His hope is that his experience sheds light on this terrible disease and by doing so, save others from suffering.

Eric Hoffberg spent 16 years coaching hockey, college, then pro. Originally

from Rochester NY, Hoffberg was the head coach at RIT all through the 90’s.

In 2002 Eric made a shift in his work as a coach and brought his experience and passion to his role as a Corporate Coach for leaders and executives that are committed to building High Performance Team Cultures and as a Mental

Toughness Trainer for athletes that are committed to being the best version of themselves when it matters most, particularly when they feel under pressure.

Always happy, proud and grateful for the diversity of his clients, Eric has

worked as a 1-1 performance coach with athletes that have been Olympians,

with professionals at the highest levels, with National Champions, World

Champions and with many that deserve star recognition just for the way they

achieved their own personal dreams.

He has spent time in a Corporate Coaching role working on Leadership

Training, Culture Building and High-Quality Mind Management with leaders

and executives at Heartland Financial, Experian, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Unilever, Stryker, Paychex, Merck, Union Bank, Marriott Hotels, ADP, Salesforce, Bank of Hope, Guaranteed Rate, Loan Depot, TBP, Paylocity, The Kraft Heinze Company, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Canada Post, Microsoft, The Compass Group, the F.D.A., and with Special and Elite Forces in both the military and in law enforcement, just to name a few.

For many years now Eric has worked in the NHL (National Hockey League),

seen as a resource for culture building and mental toughness training. His clients have included the Nashville Predators, the Washington Capitals including the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship season, the Dallas Stars, the Arizona Coyotes and the NY Islanders. During this time, he also has worked with hockey teams in the AHL, ECHL, NAHL, USHL, WHL, OHL and in the top leagues in Switzerland and in Austria.

Eric is the author of two great books for training attitude and mindset, THINK

STRONG for Athletes and THINK STRONG Reminders.

Crystal has been in design and marketing for over 20 years. Her marketing career began with a passion for design and this led her to a graphic design degree first. She had the opportunity to start working in the field of graphic design; started in print and then into an advertising agency.

After being in that industry for a while, she decided to educate herself in the field of marketing and business by acquiring three additional college degrees. Knowing that the print industry was likely going to start losing market share, she she made the move into marketing and digital advertising. She had the opportunity to teach marketing/design at a local college for years and moved into the world of financial marketing. All of this experience allowed her to start building her media/design business which has led to the Digital Dot.

In addition to her marketing business, Crystal and her husband own rental properties in Florida. She's an entrepreneur at heart.

In her spare time, she enjoys boating, hockey and putting her toes in the sand on a warm beach. These are all very important to her family as well. Her family includes her husband, Joel, and two teenage sons. They enjoy boating on Lake Superior and the Gulf of Mexico, and watching her son play hockey.

VaFeltre Tours is a family-owned company based in both Northern Italy and Washington, DC. We are Professional Tour Guides, with years of experience working with a variety of ages and backgrounds. One of our main selling points is that we create itineraries based on what YOU want to see, instead of forcing you to follow a generic itinerary.

What really makes us special is that we come together as part of your tour package, giving you even more personalized attention. We can separate ourselves into groups, and have a pizza party with the kids, while the adults enjoy a romantic dinner in a restaurant.

Lorna Holland - Tour Director/Guide

With over 20 years experience in tourism in over 30 different countries, Lorna is the main tour guide of Vafeltre.com specializing in family based tours as well as large student groups.

​If you have any questions regarding any upcoming tours feel free to contact her directly at [email protected] or call her at 571-239-3889 - I am always available to talk!

Dante Zambrano Cassella - Tour Director/Guide

Dante is what you call a Global citizen, born in Venezuela from Italian parents, grew up in multiple countries, but makes Feltre his true home where he lived the most with his grandmother and his love for this region is what started his passion to promote this unique place. With years of experience in European & US Tours along with his wife Lorna they enjoy bringing people to discover the beauty of this city.