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Dawn talks with Carolyn Haeler, CEO and founder of Mightylicious, a gluten-free cookie company, about using crowdfunding as a nontraditional way to finance growth in CPG. Carolyn shares how she bootstrapped early production, landed Whole Foods quickly, used personal credit lines to manage early cash flow, then secured TD Bank loans as purchase orders grew and co-manufacturing introduced net-30 payment gaps. She explains why growth in grocery often requires significant upfront capital for inventory, distributor requirements, and costly free-fill programs, creating a chicken-and-egg challenge with national distributors and anchor accounts. After unsuccessful angel outreach during COVID, she launched a regulated crowdfunding campaign, warning about unprofitable marketing agencies, built a base of 4,000 equity investors, and raised $5M, which helped her access major distributors, brokers, and broader retail expansion across 43 states.

Who is Carolyn Haeler and whom does she serve? (00:42)

Bootstrapping To Whole Foods (01:26)

Loans And Growth Ceiling (03:21)

CPG Cash Flow Reality (04:53)

Shelf Fees And Free Fill (06:14)

Choosing Crowdfunding (08:32)

Marketing Pitfalls (10:29)

Running A Reg CF Raise (11:4)

Equity And Investor Terms (15:00)

Raising Five Million (15:59)

Doors Open With Distributors (16:22)

Crowdfunding Legitimacy (19:31)

Where To Buy Cookies (20:42)

Carolyn Haeler’s Information:

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

Website: https://republic.com/mighty-monkey

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Dawn talks with strategic planning coach Marc L. Daniels about why annual planning no longer works for small and medium businesses in a fast-changing economy and technology landscape. Mark shares his background in building and selling businesses and argues that plans fail without disciplined execution. He contrasts spreadsheet forecasts and overly thick binders with a focused quarterly plan built around four elements: strengths, weaknesses, trends (instead of a long list of opportunities), and the biggest obstacle. He explains how trends—positive or negative—can be leveraged, citing examples from the 2008 financial crisis, tariffs affecting a pool company, and COVID. Mark recommends using AI tools to identify trends, reviewing customer and geographic data, assigning project leaders, setting weekly milestones, holding weekly leadership meetings, and tracking leading metrics to keep quarterly projects on track.

Who is Marc L. Daniels, and whom does he serve? (00:51)

Strategic Plan Basics (03:02)

Strengths And Weaknesses (04:56)

Trends And Obstacles (07:09)

Surfing Trends Quarterly (08:54)

Negative Trends Case Study (10:03)

Broader Economy Signals (12:35)

Coffee And Macro Trends (17:01)

Tariffs COVID And Discipline (21:27)

Finding Trends With AI (26:27)

Execution Weekly Cadence (32:57)

Where To Find Mark (39:57)

Marc L. Daniels's Information:

Website: https://marcldaniels.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-l-daniels-231456a3/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/people/Marc-L-Daniels/61566554887388/?_rdc=1&_rdr#

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcldaniels/

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

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Dawn talks with Ricky Ho, founder of San Francisco AI startup SourceReady, which helps retailers, brands, and importers automate product sourcing from idea to factory by identifying suppliers globally (including some in the US), calculating tariffs, and even negotiating with factories using AI trained on millions of factory records, supplier disclosures, shipment records, and customs data. Ricky explains that most small businesses misuse AI like Google search, while the real power is in reasoning and execution through persistent AI “agents” with memory that can work toward goals using tools. They discuss trust and verification, emphasizing AI shouldn’t make high-stakes decisions yet, but can do substantial work with human oversight like managing an employee. They also cover AI’s growing role in customer service, recruiting, accounting, legal, sales/marketing, and retail, and suggest staying current by asking AI for updates and sources.

Who is Ricky Ho, and whom does he serve? (00:52)

Sourcing Pain Points (01:44)

Domestic vs Overseas (02:26)

AI Not Google Search (02:57)

Chatbots vs Agents (04:59)

Trust and Oversight (07:53)

Managing AI Skills (11:14)

Customer Service AI (14:26)

AI Sourcing Workflow (20:48)

Industries Up Next (24:34)

Vibe Coding Boom (26:34)

Adoption Barriers (29:16)

Stay Updated Using AI (30:43)

Ricky Ho’s Information:

Website:https://www.sourceready.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-ho-a25a05104/

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Dawn Kennedy talks with Jenna Nelson, founder of HerAIgency, about adopting AI in business in a supportive, non-threatening way, especially for female founders and women-led companies. Jenna outlines practical AI use cases in marketing, operations, data analytics, and market research, emphasizing that results depend on the quality of inputs (“slop in, slop out”) and that AI must be trained with a robust brand knowledge base such as briefs, past content, and transcripts. She recommends choosing one platform to train deeply, using paid features like custom GPTs, and reinforcing learning by feeding edits back into the tool. They discuss privacy and trade-secret concerns, advising careful platform settings and guardrails, and stress a human-in-the-loop review process. The conversation also highlights AI for lead intake, pre-qualification, and faster response to improve conversion and client experience.

Who is Jenna Nelson, and whom does she serve? (01:06)

AI Use Cases Overview (01:36)

Brand Voice Concerns (03:23)

Align Before Automate (05:22)

How to Train AI (07:32)

Tools and Paid Plans (09:39)

Market Research Faster (12:25)

Privacy and Trade Secrets (16:14)

Human in the Loop (19:56)

Trust and Disclosure (23:23)

Content Volume Reality (27:04)

Lead Intake Automation (31:09)

Where to Find Jenna (37:35)

Henna Nelson’s Information:

Website: https://heraigency.com

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

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heraigency

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

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Dawn talks with Curt Moore, founder of Moat Title Security (headquartered in Oklahoma City and operating in nine states), about what businesses must consider when expanding into new states, especially in regulated industries like real estate and public document recording. Kurt explains the need to register as a foreign entity with each state’s Secretary of State (with varying fees and annual requirements), maintain proper insurance and risk-aligned terms of service, and understand county-by-county recording rules and acceptable document nomenclature. He emphasizes consistency in entity structure, getting legal advice, researching state statutes, and proactively calling state offices or county clerks for guidance. Curt describes how Moat modifies contract language in some states to coordinate with state fraud statutes, and how Moat prioritizes expansion states based on target demographics and regulatory complexity to avoid costly compliance surprises.

Who is Curt Moore and whom does he serve? (00:53)

Foreign Entity Registration (02:48)

Research County Recording (03:59)

Entity Structure Consistency (06:30)

Insurance And Risk (08:33)

State Specific Disclosures (11:06)

Contracts And Statutes (14:24)

Choosing Which States (22:09)

Fraud Concerns And Consumers (28:45)

Key Takeaways Recap (32:23)

Where To Find Curt (35:21)

Curt Moore’s Information:

Website: https://moattitlesecurity.com/moat-specialist/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moat-title-security/

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

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Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources 

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Dawn welcomes back Stacy Brown-Randall (previously featured in 2022 on “Generating Referrals Without Asking”) to discuss her updated work on referrals, including her second book, The Referable Client Experience. Stacy explains that referrals exist within a business “ecosystem” and outlines three foundational referral plans: generating more referrals from people who already refer you (covered in her first book), creating a referable client experience that bridges great work to referrals during the engagement (covered in her second book), and cultivating “potential referral sources” who have never referred you. She distinguishes referrals from word-of-mouth buzz, introductions, and warm leads, and argues referrals are a separate business-development leg from marketing and prospecting, driven by relationship-based trust, desire, and opportunity. She notes referrals can be built virtually and cites common stats such as ~70% close rates and 80%+ preference for recommendations in buying decisions.

Who is Stacey Brown Randall, and to whom does she serve? 00:43

Referral Ecosystem Overview (01:09)

Three Referral Plans (03:22)

What Counts as Referral (06:16)

Referrals vs Marketing (12:26)

Desire Opportunity Trust (16:43)

Virtual Referral Relationships (22:56)

Timeline ROI Expectations (25:39)

Referral Stats Close Rates (29:62)

Books Links Farewell (32:15)

Stacey Brown Randall’s Information:

Website: https://staceybrownrandall.com/articles/

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

Generating Business Referrals without Asking: https://generatingbusinessreferrals.com/

New Book: https://referableclientexperience.com/

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Dawn Kennedy talks with Holly Hoffman (“the sales tax lady”), founder of Sales Tax Advisory Network, who serves businesses of any size and industry with sales and use tax training and guidance. Hoffman explains the difference between sales tax (seller’s liability) and use tax (purchaser’s liability) and notes audits often focus more on untaxed or undocumented purchases than on sales. They discuss state-by-state complexity, resale certificates and seller’s permits, manufacturing exemptions that vary by state, and the difficulty of determining whether services are taxable. Hoffman warns against relying on Google, AI, or non-official sites for tax rates, advising use of official Department of Revenue/Treasury lookups. They cover the Wayfair decision’s impact on interstate sales, the continued importance of physical presence nexus, increased post-COVID multistate audits and data sharing, and growing state focus on taxing digital goods. Hoffman shares she only provides audit defense in Wisconsin and can be reached at salestaxlady.com.

Who is Holly Hoffman and whom does she serve? (00:52)

Fear and Safe Space (02:33)

Sales Tax vs Use Tax (04:49)

Resale and Permits (07:45)

Manufacturing Exemptions (09:24)

Service Business Taxability (11:07)

Retail Rates and Jurisdictions (14:38)

Wayfair and Nexus Basics (19:06)

Permits Across States (25:32)

Audits and Digital Goods (32:24)

How to Reach Holly (35:47)

Holly Hoffman’s Information:

Website: https://salestaxlady.com/

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/hrhoffman99/videos

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

X: https://x.com/salesincometax?s=09

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Dawn talks with financial architect Linda Hunt about “financial architecture” and why a P&L alone can hide what’s really happening in a growing business. Linda explains that many companies operate with disconnected financial pieces and misaligned workflows, causing inaccurate revenue, inventory, and cost of goods data—especially when industry-specific systems integrate poorly with accounting tools like QuickBooks. Using a multi-location medical spa example, she describes how standard costs, consistent delivery processes, and tighter financial operations reveal true profitability by offering or location and stabilize commissions. She distinguishes layers of a well-structured financial function—money operations, accounting/reporting, oversight, and strategy—and notes businesses often need fractional roles (controller/CFO/COO) plus internal ownership of key processes like invoicing. She advises owners to map delivery steps, identify financial impacts, and “nourish” operations instead of defaulting to cost-cutting, and shares how to contact her at SUMSolutions.com for a Financial Clarity Consult.

In this episode...

Who is Linda Hunt and whom does she served? (00:52)

Why P&L Can Mislead (01:29)

Profit by Offering or Location (02:20)

Financial Operations Explained (03:04)

Inventory and Data Lag Pitfalls (04:07)

Hidden Number Feeders (06:27)

Fleet Costs and Budget Assumptions (08:03)

Layers of the Finance Function  (11:29)

Industry Software and Workflow Fit (14:09)

Standardized Delivery and Pricing (16:51)

Med Spa Operational Money Touchpoints (17:55 )

Service Cost Breakdown (19:13)

Pricing Meets Marketing (20:39)

Map Steps to Costs (21:46)

Standard Costs Fix Leaks (24:04)

Why Teams Resist Standards (25:33)

Fractional Finance Roles (26:58)

 When to Upgrade Ops (31:22)

Nourish Not Cut Costs (33:04)

Where to Find Help (34:22)

Linda Hunt's  Information:

For a financial clarity consult:  https://www.sumsolutions.com/evaluations/

For my book:  The Money Conversation - https://www.sumsolutions.com/the-money-conversation/

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Dawn talks with Leisa Reid, founder of GetSpeakingGigsNow.com and the author of Get Speaking Gigs Now. Dawn and Leisa talk about how you can use speaking engagements to enhance the credibility of your business.  Lisa explains that “speaking” isn’t only keynotes; it can include facilitation, workshops, and even Facebook Lives, and she shares early steps for local businesses such as leveraging chambers of commerce and addressing common questions or myths in an industry. She outlines a simple process for creating a signature talk by starting with the desired audience action step, then building around three main points. They discuss monetizing speaking through paid engagements or “waive your fee” talks that generate clients, plus the personal fulfillment and content-repurposing benefits of speaking.

In this episode…

Who is Leisa and whom does she serve? (0:50).

 Speaking Styles Explained (01:48)  

Local Speaking Ideas (2:46).

Build Your Signature Talk (5:53). 

Monetize Your Message (8:23).  

Modern Speaking Myths(11:09). 

Personal Benefits of Speaking (12:08).  

Repurpose Your Content (15:26).  

Leisa’s Information. 

Website- https://getspeakinggigsnow.com/

Leisa’s Books-  https://getspeakinggigsnow.com/get-speaking-gigs-now-book

https://getspeakinggigsnow.com/manage-to-success-book

Speaker Readiness Assessment- https://getspeakinggigsnow.com/speaker-assessment

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/groups/getspeakinggigsnow

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Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources 

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Dawn talks with George Csahiouni. With over 23 years of experience in sales to the fintech industry,  with a specialized focus on payment processing, and as a sales expert and chief revenue lead, George has been instrumental in driving sales and revenue growth for ISOs and various businesses. Dawn and George talk about payment processing costs and small-business financing

In this episode…

Who is George and whom does he serve? (00:59).   

Processing Fees Explained  (1:19).

Surcharging vs Cash Discount (4:19)

Customer Pushback Factors  (6:19).

Getting Better Rates (10:09). 

Shopping Your Processor (15:31)

Financing Market Shift (16:34). 

Equipment Financing Basics (19:21)

Line of Credit Strategy(23:53)

Fast Cash Options (29:52)

George Csahiouni’s Information.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/george-c-43277758

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeCsahiouni/about

Website: https://swoopbusinesssolutions.com/

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

Landline: +1 877-707-9667

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Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources 

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