Business Growth Spotlight

Great Ideas Don't Fail. Teams Do. with Dr. Nikki Blacksmith of Symeta Behavior Science

What really determines whether a business succeeds? According to Dr. Nikki Blacksmith, it's rarely the idea. It's the people behind it.

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Dr. Nikki Blacksmith, a scientist practitioner of behavior science and founder of Symeta Behavior Science. Nikki's path runs from industrial organizational psychology to a postdoc at the Army Research Institute studying military decision making, to building hiring assessments at Gallup. When she discovered that 97 to 98 percent of venture capital goes to men, she stepped off the tenure track and founded Symeta to help investors evaluate teams on capability rather than connections.

Nikki shares why investors would rather back an A team with a B idea than a B team with an A idea, and breaks down the behaviors that separate teams who thrive through rapid growth from those who stall: the right mix of skills, decisive action over analysis paralysis, a deep understanding of the customer, and trust at every level. She walks through a real client story where two partners with opposite working styles unknowingly confused their entire team, and how building psychological safety turned them into a unit so cohesive their limited partners noticed. She even shares how she and her own cofounder resolved a persistent communication clash once they discovered one was an abstract thinker and the other a concrete one.

The conversation also explores leadership in the AI era, why expertise matters more than ever for spotting AI output that doesn't hold up, the three cognitive biases that quietly derail growth decisions, and the hard lesson Symeta learned about leading with expert jargon instead of the customer's language.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkiblacksmith/ 

Website:  https://www.symeta.science/ 

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website:  https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com  

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

Your business is working. The bills are paid, clients are coming in, and everything is fine. So why does it feel like you are running in place? In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Jim McLaughlin, partner at Effective Action Consulting, to talk about what it really takes to step off the treadmill and actually go somewhere with your business.

Jim is a former engineering geologist turned business consultant who has spent 17 years guiding business owners through the hidden structures that shape leadership, communication, and growth. Effective Action Consulting was founded in 1993, and Jim brings a rare blend of scientific curiosity and practical business insight to every client he works with.

Jim shares the signs that a founder or leadership team has hit a plateau, from the quiet feeling of dread to the frustration of a team that just doesn't seem to share the vision. He tells the story of a small business owner who finally declared "I can't go on like this anymore," stepped into public speaking and networking despite the fear, and went on to double their revenue. He explains why he sees every business as a network of conversations, and why his rule of thumb is that most businesses operate at around 40% efficiency, leaving enormous room for growth.

The conversation also turns to AI. Jim shares how a single prompt about chamber music hooked him on the possibilities, how he learned the hard way that outsourcing too much of his creativity stopped sounding like him, and how he now uses AI as a project manager to keep more than 20 projects moving. He reflects on why human adaptation has always outpaced new technology, from desktop publishing to today.

Finally, Jim opens up about building visibility beyond referrals, the mindset shift that made online marketing feel authentic instead of manipulative, how to stay true to who you are while using modern marketing tools, and the next mountain he is climbing with his upcoming online program, the Pathway to Extraordinary.

Bio:

Jim McLaughlin is a business consultant and former engineering geologist who helps business owners uncover the hidden structures that shape leadership, communication, and growth. Having practiced this work for more than 28 years—and professionally guided business owners for the past 17—Jim brings scientific curiosity together with practical business insight, helping leaders see familiar challenges through a new lens and take more effective action.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmclaughlin27/ 

IG:  @youarewhoyouchoosetobe (IG)  

Website:  www.effectiveactionconsulting.com 

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website:  https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com  

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

What if leaving corporate did not require leaping off a cliff? In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Kimberly Nicole Evans, founder of Seismic Transformations and founding partner of Renel Evans Limited and Beck Evans Limited, joining us from Hawaii with an ocean view you have to see on YouTube.

After years in banking and executive leadership, including one year with 52 round trips, Kimberly built three businesses that take less of her time than her corporate career ever did. She shares the Bridge 40 Method, her framework for professionals over 40 with real responsibilities who want to build something of their own without risking everything. Kimberly and Heidi talk about where our beliefs actually come from, why partnerships beat going it alone, how to build a business that runs without you so it becomes a sellable asset, and why hustle culture creates the very struggle it glorifies. She also shares how a client went from exhausted to thriving in 90 days, and why reputation and follow up outperformed her expensive PR spend.

Kimberly is gifting a free ebook of. Message her on LinkedIn (Kimberly Nicole Evans) and mention Heidi's show, or book a quick 15 minute call at seismictransformations.com. You can also download the ST360 app on iOS and Android for the companion course and custom GPT.

Bio:

Kimberly Nicole Evans

CEO & Founder, Seismic Transformations

Kimberly N. Evans is a visionary leader, strategist, and mentor dedicated to empowering professionals and business leaders to achieve transformative success. As the CEO and Founder of Seismic Transformations, she provides expert mentorship and strategic guidance, helping individuals and organizations unlock their full potential.

In addition to her leadership at Seismic Transformations, Kimberly is a founding partner of BeckEvans Limited Co. and Renel Evans Ltd. Co., global consulting firms that support emerging businesses with strategic growth initiatives. Her extensive background spans finance, banking, wealth management, and executive leadership, shaping her expertise in navigating complex business landscapes.

A former U.S. Army service member, Kimberly has held strategic roles across leading financial institutions and served as Chief Financial Officer for a high-growth middle-market company. Her dynamic career reflects a deep understanding of financial strategy, leadership development, and business transformation.

As a Certified Consultant with the Proctor Gallagher Institute—an institution rooted in the success principles of Andrew Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and Earl Nightingale—Kimberly is committed to developing visionary leaders and fostering lasting professional growth.

A proud graduate of Texas Southern University, Kimberly holds a Master’s in Business Administration. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, she continues to inspire and equip professionals and entrepreneurs with the tools to redefine success and build generational impact.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-nicole-evans 

Website:  renelevans.com

🎁 The first five listeners to reach out to Kimberly on LinkedIn will get a free audio copy of The Bridge 40 Method

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website:  https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com  

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

Dave Sanderson is best known as the last passenger off US Airways Flight 1549, the flight the world remembers as the Miracle on the Hudson. In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Dave to unpack what that day actually taught him about leadership, and how a former Oracle sales executive and Tony Robbins security director turned one of the most famous survival stories in aviation into a business case for making better decisions under pressure.

Dave walks through his ASSESS framework, the six step decision making process he reverse engineered from that day: acknowledge reality, scan for options, select the best next step, execute without hesitation, support others, and stay calm while moving fast. He and Heidi dig into why the strongest leaders share just two traits, resourcefulness and the willingness to actually decide, and why so many companies stall the moment their stated values get pushed aside under pressure.

The conversation gets practical about growth too. Dave shares the "who not how" philosophy that finally let him scale, the idea that proximity is power (a lesson borrowed from his years with Tony Robbins), and the COVID mask story that turned a single "how can I help" into a lesson about broken supply chains and bureaucracy. On visibility, he opens up about the LinkedIn strategy shift that doubled his following in three months, built on founder led storytelling rather than generic teaching.

Bio:

Dave Sanderson is an internationally recognized leadership speaker, bestselling author, and resilience expert best known as the last passenger out of US Airways Flight 1549, the Miracle on the Hudson. Drawing from that defining experience, his career as a top Oracle sales executive, and years as Tony Robbins' Security Director, Dave equips entrepreneurs and executive leaders to make better decisions under pressure, build resilient teams, and lead with confidence through change. He has spoken to more than 1,700 audiences worldwide, sharing practical strategies that help leaders and organizations turn their disruption into their competitive advantage in an increasingly complex business environment.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiredavesanderson

Website:  https://davesandersonspeaks.com/  

🎁Grab the free diagnostic: https://resiliencepartnersgroup.com/ 

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website:  https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com  

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Angus MacDonald, director and co-founder of A&S International, a British company that acts as a master distributor for niche maintenance and reliability solutions across heavy industry worldwide. Angus makes a refreshing case that innovation is not always about inventing something new. Often it is about helping companies pull more performance, more reliability, and more profit out of the critical assets they already run.

Angus explains why downtime is the most expensive thing that can happen to an offshore oil and gas platform or a 24/7 waste to energy plant, and how the right solution turns a maintenance headache into a genuine return on investment. He shares how sustainability has quietly shifted from a compliance checkbox into a core business strategy, and why net zero credentials now matter to the shareholders and buyers his clients are trying to win.

The stories carry real numbers. A British operator responsible for critical gas infrastructure used Fluitec's DECON, a group five base oil added at just five percent, to dissolve varnish contamination in its turbines and compressors without any downtime, and is now rolling it out to a third depot. A waste to energy client avoided replacing 8,000 liters of turbine oil entirely. An offshore platform in Aberdeen added two drums of DECON to a critical gas turbine and conservatively estimated $4 million in savings. As Angus puts it, at those figures it becomes a bit of a no brainer.

From there the conversation turns to leadership and growth. Angus argues that agility is the quality that matters most right now, and that human expertise will stay indispensable even as AI reshapes industrial operations. On the marketing side he is candid about what works and what does not. 

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/angus-macdonald-asinternational/

Website:  https://aands.international/

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Website:  https://hlhgrowthsolutions.com 

🎁Get your First Thought Advantage Score:  AI Visibility Index™ | Assessment 

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Tobias Young, an IFBB Pro, seven time fitness magazine cover model, and founder of TNT Fit Pro Coaching, to unpack how fitness professionals can turn expert coaching skills into a scalable six figure online business.

Tobias breaks down his nine step framework for building a profitable online fitness coaching business, built on three core pillars: marketing and lead generation, sales and conversion, and client delivery and retention. He explains why nailing your ideal client avatar, what he calls the Bullseye Avatar, is the non negotiable foundation everything else stands on, and why trying to target everyone actually repels the clients you want to attract.

The conversation digs into the biggest mindset shift trainers must make when they move from brick and mortar to online coaching: charging for the transformation, not the hour. Tobias shares the story of a client who hit 25K in his first month online by implementing fast and refusing to let perfectionism kill his momentum. He also gives practical guidance on choosing a CRM, building lead nurture systems, hiring a team, and using AI as a tool to enhance your voice rather than replace it.

They close with a candid look at what is actually working in Tobias's own business right now, including organic content across social platforms, appointment setters, and email outreach, plus a hard earned warning about why running paid ads before your offer is proven to convert will burn your budget fast.

BIO:

Tobias Young is an IFBB Pro, 7x fitness magazine cover model, author of *The Online Success Blueprint*, and the owner of TNT Fit Pro Coaching. With 27+ years in the fitness industry, 17+ years coaching online, and 7+ years helping fitness professionals grow their businesses, Tobias has helped online trainers and fitness coaches attract more clients, build stronger offers, and scale past inconsistent income.

Through his signature 9X Ascend Method, Tobias teaches coaches how to clarify their ideal client, create content that actually converts, build high-ticket coaching offers, and install the systems needed to grow a profitable online fitness business. He is also the host of *The Fit Biz Accelerator Podcast* and the creator of Fit Pro Solution and My Trainer Connect.

Tobias is passionate about helping great coaches stop being the “best kept secret” and start building businesses that give them more income, impact, and freedom. 

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobiasyoung/ 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tobiasyoungcoaching/ 

IG:  https://www.instagram.com/tobiasyoungcoaching/ 

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@tobiasyoungcoaching 

Websites:  tntfitprocoaching.com  

                  fitprosolution.com  

                 mytrainerconnect.com 

🎁The Online Trainer's Playbook: https://tntfitprocoaching.com/online-trainers-playbook 

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk talks with Rachel Minion, founder of Rockstarr & Moon, a marketing agency for small, founder-led businesses. Rachel is a bold, no-nonsense marketer and cancer warrior who cuts through the chaos to help overwhelmed business owners turn inefficiency into impact.

Rachel shares the story of the 21 days that rebuilt her agency. When her right-hand person gave notice, her husband challenged her to automate just 20% of the role using AI and automation. Instead, Rachel worked 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. for 21 straight days and ended up automating 90%, discovering she didn't need to hire at all. That build became Rockstarr AI, a "marketing team in a box" that runs the back end of her agency and now serves clients as an alternative to full service.

The conversation covers how to decide what to automate versus keep human (start with the admin work you hate), why analysis paralysis and the pursuit of perfection keep founders stuck, and the uncomfortable truth that an agency can never be more invested in your growth than you are. Rachel also breaks down what's actually working for visibility right now: human, memorable LinkedIn outreach that books eight to nine meetings a week, and LinkedIn newsletters that ride the platform's free notifications. She closes with her biggest failure that became a success: a barely-optimized nonprofit website that landed at the top of cancer care news and took her chemo care kit requests from 20 a month to 20 to 35 a day.

Bio:

Rachel Minion is a force to be reckoned with—a bold, unapologetic founder and cancer warrior who’s made a career out of cutting through the chaos. She speaks directly to overwhelmed small business owners, offering no-nonsense marketing strategies that turn inefficiency into impact. She's on a mission to help 100 businesses double in the next 5 years, all while empowering cancer warriors to reclaim their power.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rachelminion 

Instagram https://instagram.com/rachminion

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@rockstarrandmoon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therachelminion/ 

Website:  https://rockstarrandmoon.com/ 

                  https://rachelminion.com/ 

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Rodney Koop, founder of The New Flat Rate and author of Why Won't They Pay Me What I'm Worth? and Breaking Free Forever. A former electrician with 12 unrestricted contractor licenses and 20 years teaching the National Electrical Code, Rodney shares the counterintuitive pricing discovery that has generated over 2.5 billion dollars in new revenue for service businesses.

Rodney breaks down his menu pricing strategy, revealing why giving customers four to six options instead of a single price eliminates the three things that kill service sales: price objections, sales resistance, and buyer's remorse. Drawing on lessons from McDonald's, Lowe's, and how people actually make buying decisions in 15 second increments, he explains why "it's always about price until you make it about something else." The conversation also covers why great technicians often make poor businesspeople, how to think of yourself as a labor broker to diversify revenue, and where AI fits into the future of the service trades without replacing the human relationship.

A warm, practical conversation for any service business owner who has ever felt underpaid for exceptional work.

Both books are available on Amazon.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodney-koop-103419b/

Website:  https://thenewflatrate.com/

Grab Rodney's Books:

Why Won't They Pay Me What I'm Worth?  

Breaking Free Forever

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk talks with Dickson Wasake, managing partner at Jedidiah CPA and a 20 year CPA with both US and UK qualifications. Dickson brings deep international experience across US GAAP, IFRS, and UK GAAP, making him a strong partner for clients operating across borders.

Dickson shares why treating your CPA as a once a year tax resource is a costly mistake. A business is built in the trenches, day by day, and the smartest owners work with their CPA as a strategic partner all year long. Often serving as a fractional CFO, he helps clients uncover hidden costs and build budgets that save real money. One e-commerce client saved hundreds of thousands of dollars simply by gaining a clear view of their spending.

The conversation covers the biggest financial mistakes that slow growth, starting with a failure to watch cash flow. Dickson names budgeting as the single discipline that would transform any business, describing money as a great servant but a bad master. He also shares how he uses AI tools to triple his efficiency, and offers candid insight on why cold outreach has stopped working while genuine human relationships are once again driving real business.

Throughout, Dickson returns to his central theme. Character and integrity are everything in a long term business relationship. When you trust someone with the intimate details of your business, you want to know they will always do right by you.

Bio:

Dickson E Wasake, the Managing Partner at Jedidiah CPA is a 20-year CPA with both US and UK (FCCA) qualifications, and therefore understands various accounting standards including: US GAAP, IFRS, and UK GAAP. This is especially useful for clients who operate both in the US and internationally.

Before forming the firm, Dickson had experience from global accounting firms, including PwC (where he started), Baker Tilly CI (where he was a partner), and Deloitte (where he was a director in the national office). Dickson acts as a fractional CFO and advisor for clients in the Non-Profit, E-Commerce, Financial Services, Real Estate, and Technology spaces, among others. He is the author of 7+ books and has written 50+ thought leadership articles. 

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jedidiah-cpa-pllc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedidiahcpa/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@JedidiahCPA

IG:  https://www.instagram.com/jedidiahcpa1/ 

Website:  https://www.jedidiahcpa.com/ 

🎁Free Guide for NonProfit Leaders:    https://www.jedidiahcpa.com/nfpguide 

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Elise Marquis of Chameleon Collective, a non-traditional agency that delivers fractional growth leadership and recruiting services to direct-to-consumer brands in the beauty, apparel, and fragrance spaces. With nearly nine years at the collective and a career built on reading between the lines, Elise brings a rare dual perspective: she serves both the brands hiring top talent and the candidates seeking their next chapter.

Elise unpacks why customer experience now sits at the center of every growth decision, how the pandemic and AI accelerated the shift toward hyper-personalization, and why the pace of change in e-commerce keeps her fascinated after a decade in the field. She shares how Chameleon Collective helped a public apparel company navigate its full digital transformation and how a privately owned fragrance brand scaled from zero to one hundred ten million dollars over seven years.

The conversation moves into hiring, where Elise makes the case that a bad hire is a culture killer no algorithm can prevent. AI can save an e-commerce leader a full day each week on analytics, but it cannot read the cultural fit between a candidate and an organization. She explains why recruiters are between-the-lines readers, why candidates today want a family and a life rather than just a paycheck, and why leaders must hire for who a person can become over the next five years rather than the skills they hold today

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elise-de-st-didier-digital-recruiter/ 

Website:  Chameleon Collective: Transformation experts. Lead, deliver, recruit. 

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

🎁Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint 

🎁Join us for a free 60 Minute Webinar on Visibility and Getting Recommended by AI:  https://becomeairecommended.com/grow