Central Illinois Business Leaders Podcast

Focus on what you're good at and the success will come.  

The Founder and CEO of RoomReady, Aaron McArdle, joins the CIBL Podcast to talk about his entrepreneurial background and experience.  RoomReady is headquartered in Normal, IL.   

It's easy as an entrepreneur and business leader to get sidetracked and lose focus on what you're good at.  Aaron talks about how focusing on RoomReady's niche and building on their strengths has expanded their business.  He discusses how they've separated themselves in the meeting room space by developing 11 patents for their products and processes.  Aaron also explains how focusing on their niche has helped him build a remote staff across 17 states.  

If you want to learn how a Central IL business can expand through innovation, this is the episode for you!  Aaron has an awesome story and can provide a ton of value to other business leaders.

Tune in to catch the third and final BIZ TIPS session with Francie Hinrichsen!    

In part 3, Francie discusses the results she's seen after the release of her book.  She also talks about what it has done for her business.  Dream, Build, Grow: a Female's Step-by-Step Guide for How To Start A Business is now Francie's "business card" and is proof that she is a trusted advisor in her space.  

**Don't miss the special offer at the end of this episode**   

Now, go self-publish your book!!

Tune in as former NFL and Fighting Illini All-American Linebacker, J Leman, joins the CIBL Podcast.  J is a realtor, real estate investor, and expert analyst for the Big 10 Network.    

J starts the interview by explaining his entrepreneurial background as a kid mowing lawns.  He also shares that he was not a highly recruited football player but was able to get noticed at a high school football game played at Memorial Stadium where he recorded 29 tackles. J received an offer to play linebacker for the U of I two days after that game.  He goes on to talk about his NFL career and how he started in the real estate business.  

J initially entered the real estate business with his brothers at the request of his dad.  He later went out on his own and invested in several properties across Central IL.  He explains that he did everything wrong on his first attempt at a "flip", but that experience helped him learn and succeed with future opportunities.  From there, he began investing in bigger properties.  

We talk though J's experience with social media and video marketing.  He shares several tips that business owners can use to gain traction in their target market.  He has had good results from short-form videos, particularly on YouTube.  

J finishes off the podcast by giving us a crash course on the state of the market.  He talks about interest rates, property values, and the impact on real estate investors.  If you don't learn something from this episode, its your own fault!!  

One of our favorite quotes from this interview was, "Date the rate, marry the property."

Welcome back to our BIZ TIPS session with Francie Hinrichsen!  In part 2 of this session, Francie explains the options for self-publishing your book.  

Francie talks about the two options you have with self-publishing.  She talks about the "narrow" version where you utilize KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).  Francie also explains the "wide" version and why she elected to go this route and hire a third-party editor.    

You'll know all about the pros and cons of both self-publishing options by the end of this session.  After this BIZ TIPS episode you'll be well on your way to publishing your book!

Tune in as Kara Demirjian Huss joins the CIBL Podcast to share her awesome story!  Kara is the Founder and President of DCC Marketing, Vice President and Global Marketing Director at T/CCI Manufacturing, and President of Demirco Properties, all located in Decatur, IL.   

At the beginning of the interview, Kara explains how her personal journey changed from fashion design to marketing for the family business.  She also shares how her family helped to revitalize the downtown Decatur area.  

Kara also talks about the exciting news that T/CCI recently received.  T/CCI has received Illinois' first Reimagining Electric Vehicle Tax Incentive Package!  The state has granted $15.3 million to Richland Community College and $6 million to the City of Decatur in capital grants to create an EV Innovation Cluster at T/CCI's Decatur headquarters.    

Kara finishes up the podcast by explaining how DCC Marketing was created.  She also explains how the DCC team stays in front of all the technology and marketing changes that are occurring in today's fast-moving business world.    

Make sure you check out this incredible episode with one of Central Illinois' most inspirational entrepreneurs!

Francie Hinrichsen joins our BIZ TIPS session to explain how she self-published her book, Dream, Build, Grow: A Female's Step-by-Step Guide for How To Start A Business.  

In part 1, Francie discusses her purpose for the book and talks about how she got started.  She explains that writing a book is not a quick process and it may take some time to get going.    

If you've been considering writing a book but don't know where to start, this is the BIZ TIPS session for you!  Make sure you tune in for Part 2 where Francie discusses her self-publishing journey.

Tune in as Colt McLeod joins the CIBL Podcast to share his experience and background as the President of McLeod Express in Decatur, IL.    

Colt starts off the podcast by explaining how McLeod Express started.  His father initiated the business in 1986 as a "side gig" with a few idle farm trucks during slow months.  What started as a side hustle turned into a booming trucking operation that grew to around 200 trucks running from the McLeod family farmhouse.  Due to their incredible growth, McLeod Express moved from the Assumption family farm to their current location in Decatur in 2002.  

Colt shared that he started in the family business at the age of 13 by washing trucks.  After his college years and a few extra years in the St Louis area, Colt was drawn back to the Central IL family business and is now the President of the operation.  

At the end of the interview, Colt talks about how McLeod has adapted to all the technology advancements in the trucking industry.  He also explains his passion for introducing young people to the industry.    

This a super cool story about an awesome Central IL business leader.  Don't miss this one!

In the final CIBL BIZ TIPS session with John DeFreitas and Nick Gentile of Town & Country Bank, we discuss some of the goals and results of the podcast.  

Garrett & Derek talk about some of the reasons they started the podcast.  They also discuss some of the unexpected outcomes of the show.  This is a cool wrap-up session of the "How to start a podcast" series.    

Now, all you need to do is start recording your own podcast and watch the results roll in!

Tune in as McLain Schaefer joins the CIBL Podcast.  McLain is the Director of LIFT (Leaders Innovating For Tomorrow) in Mattoon, IL.  

Everyone's been wondering what is happening with the old Consolidated building in downtown Mattoon.  McLain answers that question for us in this episode.  He also explains all of the new LIFT programs that are offered to high school juniors and seniors in our region.  

The programs offered include childcare, communications, culinary arts, HVAC/green energy, information technology, leadership, and manufacturing/construction.  The programs are led by expert facilitators that will guide the students through the curriculum to help students get hands-on experience in their career of choice.     

Check out this interview to learn more about and awesome program that is leading the charge in Central Illinois.    

https://www.mattoon.k12.il.us/o/lift

Welcome back to part 3 of How To Start a Podcast with guests Nick Gentile and John DeFreitas with Town & Country Bank in Springfield, IL.  

In this BIZ TIPS episode, Garrett and Derek explain how to upload the recorded podcast to YouTube and Podcast Stations.  They utilize a program called anchor.fm to blast their recordings to most common podcast channels.    

This episode explains a big step in the podcast creation journey.  Don't miss it!