Casual Consulting with Brian Wilkerson

Alex is the man! Off the cuff, organic, great convo. Talking health, business, creating a product that the creator actually loves, and more. Thank you for you time Alex. 

Go buy Kono Nutrition! 

kononutrition.com

The boys sit down and talk about their inspirations in business, lessons they've learned, and where they see themselves going in business in the long run.

Kasey Allen - Co-Owner of The STIL, local Boise ice cream chain with 7+ locations.

Quinn Skillin - Brought Dee's Ice Cream Trolley to life, landmark ice cream shop in Boise's historic North End

Gibson Berryhill - Growing Berryhill Bacon, an e-commerce DTC product - perfectly cooked, ready to eat bacon

Brian Wilkerson - Owner of CrossFit Casual, Boise's local fitness hub for CrossFit, Hyrox, and fitness community.

On this episode, I sit down with Justin Hooker, owner of fostr., an all in one marketing agency, and co-owner of Cubed Ice, a reusable ice company. This guy is literally the ICE MAN right here. 

We talked marketing, sales funnels, e-commerce, and where Justin is headed with his businesses. Got pretty tactical. Made me think about how I can better run my business! 

Thanks for all the knowledge Justin. You're awesome. 

Happy Friday gang. 

Connect with Justin:

fostr.co

cubediceusa.com

Hey.

Here's my journey so far in entrepreneurship. 

Thanks for listening :)

Sat down with my guy Kasey Allen! Talked about, going all in on scaling a brick and mortar, the importance of customer service, and of course, ice cream 🍦

Kasey is the co-owner of The Stil, Boise's favorite local ice cream chain. With 7 locations and growing, Kasey has made a career outta sweet treats. What a guy. Thanks for sharing your stories and hopping on the podcast gangsta. xoxo

I sat down with Tyler Schuler, a mentor and business role model of mine. Tyler came from owning multiple Anytime Fitness Gyms, to now opening up his own healthy, fast food restaurant. 

Yes, healthy fast food. 

Thanks for the good chat and the business knowledge. Appreciate you dude. 

PS - We are back! Episodes every Casual Friday baby. 

So many great lessons have been learned, and here are the biggest ones. 6 episodes in, a million to go. Thanks for tuning in!

This week I sat down with a friend and role model of mine, Joani Baird. Owner of Ori Wines, mom, corporate baller, and the founder of Running for the High of It, a mental health focused run club here in Boise (the most awesome run club in the history of the universe btw).

We got to talk about the deeper meaning of Running for the High of It, mental health, the launch of her wine label Ori Wines (OUT NOW!), lessons Joani has learned in the corporate world, and so much more 🤘🏻

You rock Joani, thank you so much for your time :)

Connect with Joani:
 🏃 Running for the High of It — Thursdays, 6:30pm, Wild Child/Push & Pour/The Still
 🍷 Ori Wines — oriwines.com



00:00 – Intro & getting to know Joani
00:36 – The origin story of Running for the High of It
03:08 – Growth, proud moments, and impact of the run club
07:37 – Mental health stats and why rates are climbing
11:05 – Social media, comparison culture, and mental health
12:00 – Breaking down expert-backed self-care tips
16:17 – Parenting in the social media age & raising her daughter
20:05 – Joani's personal mental health routines & staying balanced with a packed schedule
23:27 – Her experience in therapy and finding the right fit
27:48 – Her corporate career path in food/CPG sales
38:58 – Ori Wines — the origin, her brother's story, and what's next
47:48 – Where to find Joani, Run Club, and Ori Wines

Stu Block is a CPA and environmental accountant who founded Sustas LLC, an ESG and sustainability consulting firm based in Boise, Idaho. He built the firm from scratch after leaving Ernst & Young, landed clients including Amazon, and grew and sold the company in just a few short years. He is currently the Energy and GHG Inventory Leader at GE Vernova, and is launching a new business on the side as well: Warm Springs Financial Group — with the tagline "Finally, a CPA who knows your name in July."

Stu, you're a gangster. Thanks for the great stories and advice. 

0:00 — Intro & Stu's background: CPA, environmental accounting, Ernst & Young
 10:00 — Building an independent consulting firm: "You are the product"
 23:00 — Origin story: solar panels on a frat house roof and how it led to entrepreneurship
 26:00 — Networking strategy, maintaining relationships, and why phone calls still win
 35:00 — Working inside big companies: small wins, communication styles, and ego at the door
 41:00 — Pricing yourself, rate negotiation, and scaling the solo practice
 46:00 — Sales mindset: confidence vs. desperation and why "sell" isn't a dirty word
 51:00 — Finding a co-founder, building the partnership, and what happened at the exit
 59:00 — What's next: Warm Springs Financial Group and "the CPA who knows your name in July"

Cooper Marsh is the Co-Owner of Lab MGMT — a boutique sports agency managing elite CrossFit athletes, flag football players, golfers, and more. Cooper got his start under mentor Jason St. Clair while teaching 8th grade math in Providence, Rhode Island, and has since built Lab MGMT into one of the most connected agencies in functional fitness. In this episode we get into how he and Daniel Robbins merged their rival agencies, what it's actually like to negotiate brand deals for athletes, why he thinks flag football is about to be the next big thing in sports, the FIFA World Cup, how he talked his way into Oxford University, and more.

Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro + What is Lab Management? 1:46 — How Cooper got into sports agency (Jason St. Clair, X Endurance, teaching) 4:06 — Merging with Daniel Robbins and moving to Boise 5:46 — How Cooper and Daniel split responsibilities 7:29 — Handling conflict as business partners 9:58 — Prioritization and the Uncalendar system 12:55 — Why they exited skateboarding + flag football's explosive growth 18:20 — Working in baseball: what brands actually want from athletes 23:11 — The art of negotiating brand deals 25:12 — Home run partnerships: Adidas, Tier, RAD, Gym Reapers 27:00 — World Cup flyover moment + why soccer is a religion 33:16 — The Oxford story: backdoor entry, lacrosse, and varsity ski trips 40:54 — What the Oxford tutorial system actually taught him 42:29 — Why competition is central to his identity 44:40 — 4th of July spike ball + competitive indoor soccer 46:44 — Cooper's training routine (hybrid CrossFit / bodybuilding / running) 51:14 — CrossFit's current state + Hyrox's rise 54:49 — ATHEX: the bridge between Hyrox and CrossFit 57:12 — Optimism for the future of fitness + what's next for Lab MGMT

Follow Cooper: Instagram: @coopermarsh / @labmgmt