Coffee & Grit

Some people walk into a networking room looking for customers.

Steve Zyskowski looks at the room and sees relationships that might still matter years from now.

Steve, founder of Caerusnet and now four time Coffee & Grit guest, is back for a conversation that starts with networking but becomes something much bigger.

We talk about the relationships that have grown around us over the years and the crazy ways they continue to intersect. A golf outing turns into a friendship and eventually a client. Someone you recognize from social media becomes part of your circle. A person offers to invest in someone they barely know simply because they believe in them. And sometimes the opportunity you've been searching for is already sitting in the room.

The problem is we're often so focused on meeting the next person that we forget about all the people we've already met.

This conversation is about taking the transaction out of the interaction, investing in people without knowing what you're going to get back, and understanding that you have absolutely no idea which relationship may someday change your business, your community, or your life.

Maybe the best evidence of all of it is the relationship Steve and I have built ourselves. This one isn't really about networking. It's about people.

Real Stories. Real Data With Soul.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Quentin Howell was voted “Class Shy” his senior year of high school.Years later, the kid who was afraid to speak up would find himself knocking on strangers’ doors for a living and eventually becoming the top salesman.

But there is a hell of a lot of story between those two versions of Quentin.

In this episode of Coffee & Grit, Quentin opens up about growing up in an abusive home, struggling to believe he was loved, reaching a point as a teenager where he was ready to end his life, and the experience with God that changed the direction of everything.

But it didn't magically make life easy.Quentin still had to confront fear.

He still had to rebuild after losing nearly everything. He still had to learn how to stop seeing himself as a victim and start taking responsibility for the life he wanted to create.

That leads us into a raw conversation about faith, entrepreneurship, marriage, fear, courage, victim mentality and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

Because sometimes the thing you're asking God to remove is the exact thing you need to walk through to discover what you're capable of. As Quentin says during our conversation:

“Whatever story you tell yourself, you're going to live it out.”

This isn't a story about becoming fearless.It's about becoming the person willing to knock on the door anyway!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

At 26 years old, John Collins found himself working inside one of the biggest criminal investigations in the world.

The 1996 Atlanta Olympics had just been bombed. John was a young forensic scientist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation when evidence from Centennial Olympic Park began arriving at his lab. One envelope contained a nail removed from the body of Alice Hawthorne, the woman killed in the bombing.

Thirty years later, John still remembers the moment he opened it. But this episode isn't just about one of the most infamous investigations in American history.

John spent decades in forensic science, fired somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 guns as a firearms examiner, worked for the ATF, eventually led Michigan's entire forensic science system and had a front row seat to what happens when incredibly talented people are placed under extraordinary pressure.

He saw people rise to the moment. He also saw ego, hierarchy and turf wars get in the way of the mission, including during the investigation into the Olympic bombing. And that's where this conversation goes somewhere much bigger.

We talk about:
-Why authority doesn't make you superior
-Why you don't get to declare yourself a leader
-What happens when organizations start protecting their kingdoms
-Why trusting people can cause them to rise beyond
-What they thought they were capable of
-And why the biggest moments of our lives reveal what we've been preparing for all along.

John calls it the urgency reflex: that realization that this moment is bigger than me. Because when the stakes get high, the question isn't: How can this moment serve me? It's: What does this moment require from me?

This is one hell of a conversation.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Dean Ditto was last on Coffee & Grit way back on Episode 80, and a lot has happened since then. One thing that hasn't changed is Dean. He's still unapologetically himself, still willing to say exactly what he thinks, and still deeply invested in the kids and community around him.

Now, somewhat unexpectedly, that journey has led him to run for the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education. Coffee & Grit normally stays away from politics, but this conversation isn't about political teams or telling people what they're supposed to believe. I've known Dean for years, watched him coach kids including my own son, and seen firsthand how seriously he takes the responsibility adults have to help young people discover what they're capable of. That made his decision to step into this arena worth exploring.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Why Dean decided to run for school board
• What happens when politics gets in the way of serving people
• Accountability, leadership, and investing for the long term
• Preparing kids for AI and a rapidly changing world
• College, skilled trades, and creating different paths to success
• Staying authentic when stepping into public leadership

What I love about this conversation is that it goes well beyond a school board race. We get into what leadership actually looks like when people disagree, whether we are preparing kids for the world they're really going to inherit, and why caring about something sometimes means being willing to step into uncomfortable places instead of criticizing from the outside.

Near the end, Dean shares the meaning behind a tattoo he intentionally has facing toward himself. It's a reminder that despite our differences, we are all in this together. That idea captures this conversation better than any political label could. We don't have to agree on everything, but if we're serious about making a difference, eventually we have to care enough to listen, find common ground, and get to work.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

How many ideas never make it into the world because someone talks themselves out of starting?

In this episode of Coffee & Grit, I sit down with Perry Hamilton and Taurence Hill, co-founders of Euphoric Clothing, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, mental health, friendship, social media, rapid growth, and everything they have learned by continually stepping outside of their comfort zones.

Perry and Taurence have been friends since pre K, and the entrepreneurial bug showed up early. Years later, conversations about mental health and what they saw missing in their community became the foundation for Euphoric. They wanted to create clothing people their age would actually want to wear while carrying messages capable of starting conversations, including one simple but powerful question: Are You Really Happy?

But one of the most interesting parts of their story is how close some of it came to never happening. Taurence worried about putting himself on camera and what people would think. Eventually, they posted an imperfect video anyway. At first, it appeared to go nowhere. Then the notifications started coming, demand exploded, and a business they were still figuring out suddenly had an audience.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Turning mental health conversations into a brand with purpose
• Why inner doubt can kill an idea before failure ever gets the chance
• Starting before you feel ready and learning by doing
• Going viral and discovering that attention is only the beginning
• The expensive lessons that come with rapid business growth
• Building a company, community and friendship at the same time

This isn't just a story about building a clothing company. It's about what can exist on the other side of comfort when you're willing to move before you have all the answers, make mistakes, adapt, and keep going. Perry and Taurence are building something that gives people permission to talk about what they're really experiencing while learning in real time what it takes to turn an idea between two childhood friends into something much bigger.

Check out and follow Perry & Taurence through Euphoric online:
https://euphoric777.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@euphoric.777
https://www.instagram.com/euphoric.777/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088730508028#

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Some businesses are built around a product or service. Others are built around a belief about how people should be treated. In this episode of Coffee & Grit, I sit down with Matt Pastor, founder of Deeply Rooted Mechanical, for a conversation about faith, leadership, construction culture, fatherhood, adversity, and building a company on something deeper than revenue.

Matt grew up in the trades and saw both the pride that comes with working with your hands and the damage that can happen when toughness turns into cruelty, control, or indifference. His own life was shaped by losing his father to suicide at 12, the men who stepped in afterward, and the experiences that challenged and ultimately deepened his faith. Years later, those roots became part of the foundation for Deeply Rooted Mechanical.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Building the kind of workplace you wish more people had experienced
• Why core values have to apply to the owner too
• Servant leadership, accountability, and clarity
• Taking the next small step before you can see the entire path
• How adversity and mentorship shape the way we lead
• Building people while you build the business

One of the strongest ideas in this conversation is that leadership is not just about treating people well. Your people still need expectations, accountability, and a clear understanding of what winning looks like. Matt is learning that clarity is kindness, and that servant leadership does not mean avoiding hard conversations or lowering the standard.

Deeply Rooted installs commercial HVAC systems, but Matt understands that the work is bigger than the mechanical systems going into a building. It is about the people doing the work, the culture they experience, the leaders they become, and the version of themselves they take home to their families at the end of the day.

This episode is a reminder that the roots matter, because eventually whatever you build above the surface is going to depend on what you chose to build underneath it first.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Most of us have an idea of who we think we are and what we believe our life is supposed to look like. But what happens when life takes that person away?

In this episode of Coffee & Grit, I sit down with Adam Powell for an incredibly powerful conversation about being diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, losing the ability to walk, grieving the person he used to be, and ultimately making the decision to find out what was still possible.

Before MS, Adam was an athlete, a workaholic, and an on road supervisor for UPS. Within a relatively short period of time, he lost his career, his independence, his ability to drive, and eventually the use of his legs. During COVID, he found himself living almost entirely inside a bedroom at his parents’ house and confronting a question much bigger than whether he would ever walk again.

Who was he if he could no longer be the person he had always known? Adam had to grieve that person. He had to accept that his old life was gone without accepting that his life was over. And then he had to ask:

Now what?

Today, Adam walks. He drives. He works out. He rides a bike. He speaks publicly and shares his story with others.

Not because MS disappeared.

Not because positive thinking magically changed his circumstances. But because Adam decided to keep discovering what he could do instead of allowing a diagnosis to make that decision for him.

One of the most powerful moments in our conversation comes near the end when Adam talks about how easily his story could have gone in another direction. Instead, he says: “I made the choice to live.”

This episode is about MS, but it is also so much bigger than MS. Eventually, life gives all of us a moment when the person we were, the plan we had, or the future we expected is no longer available to us. We may not get to choose what happened.

But we still have to answer the question that comes next.

Now what?

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Purpose does not always begin with a perfectly defined plan. Sometimes it grows from simply following what matters to you and being willing to see where it leads.

In this episode of Coffee & Grit, I sit down with April Dertian, founder of the Dertian Ranch, for a conversation about purpose, entrepreneurship, community, and building something meaningful from the things you genuinely care about.

What started with April's love of gardening continued to evolve through education, volunteering, community involvement, fundraising, and eventually the creation of the Dertian Ranch. Along the way, she has learned that building something that makes a difference requires more than passion. It requires asking for help, finding the right people, treating what you are building like a real business, and becoming comfortable sharing the impact you are creating.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Turning passion into purpose
• Starting before you have everything figured out
• Learning through failure and unexpected challenges
• Finding the right people and partnerships
• Building a business around community and impact
• Why sharing your story is not bragging
• Treating your passion like a business
• Redefining what success looks like
• Using your experiences to serve others

One of the strongest themes throughout this conversation is that purpose often reveals itself through action. April did not begin with a master plan for what the Dertian Ranch would become. She kept following opportunities to teach, serve, grow, connect people, and make a difference.

This episode is a reminder that you do not always have to know exactly where something is going before you begin. Sometimes you start with what matters to you, keep taking the next step, and allow the purpose to reveal itself along the way.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Most business owners have a vision for where they want their company to go. The bigger question is whether their team can actually see it.

In this episode of Coffee & Grit, I sit down with returning guest Trisha Turner of Turner Design Group for a full-circle conversation about leadership, accountability, employee development, visibility, and what it really takes to turn a skilled service business into a company that can grow beyond the owner.

Since her last time on the show, Trisha has continued building Turner Design Group while also going through Difference Maker Bootcamp. One of the biggest shifts came when she finally completed and shared her Vivid Vision with the team.  After hearing where the company was going, one of her longtime employees simply asked, “So when are we going to start that?”

That moment says a lot. The vision was no longer just living in Trisha’s head. Her people could finally see where they were going and how they could help get there.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Creating a vision your team can actually see
• Why accountability reveals who wants to grow
• Helping employees understand the numbers and the why
• Developing people instead of simply managing them
• Learning the business skills your craft never taught you
• Why introverts still have to become visible
• Asking the winners and being willing to learn
• Building a company that eventually grows beyond the owner

One of the strongest lessons in this conversation is that accountability does not always create problems. Sometimes it exposes what was already there. As Turner Design added clearer expectations, reviews, goals, career paths, and accountability, some people chose to leave.
Instead of automatically assuming the system was wrong, Trisha began realizing that growth changes who fits inside the next version of the company.

This episode is a reminder that building a real company is about much more than getting more customers. It is about creating clarity around where you are going, giving people a reason to care, helping them grow along the way, and building something they can eventually take ownership in too. Because your people cannot help build a vision they cannot see.














Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Most people don't struggle because they say yes too often. They struggle because they're afraid to say no.

In this episode of Coffee & Grit, I sit down with returning guest Dr. Ronda Vaughn for an honest conversation about boundaries, growth, leadership, and what it really takes to build a life that reflects your values instead of everyone else's expectations.

Over the past two years, Ronda has expanded her business, grown her impact, embraced coaching, built a stronger team, and become even more intentional about the life she's creating. Along the way, she discovered one simple principle that has transformed the way she makes decisions: If it's not a yes, then it's a no. That mindset isn't about becoming selfish. It's about protecting your time, creating space for what matters most, and having the courage to make decisions that align with the future you're trying to build.

Throughout our conversation, we also dive into the uncomfortable moments that every entrepreneur eventually faces. Difficult conversations with employees. Letting go of clients who are no longer the right fit. Stepping outside your comfort zone. Creating content even when you're afraid of being judged. Taking action before you feel completely ready.

In this episode, we talk about:
• Why boundaries create freedom
• Having the conversations you've been avoiding
• Building confidence through action
• Growing your influence and community
• The value of coaching and accountability
• Becoming comfortable with uncomfortable growth

One of my favorite moments from this conversation is realizing that confidence rarely comes first. Confidence is usually the result of doing the thing you were afraid to do. The entrepreneurs, leaders, and Difference Makers we admire aren't fearless. They've simply learned that growth happens on the other side of uncomfortable conversations, difficult decisions, and consistent action.

If you've been carrying too much, saying yes to everyone, or waiting until you feel "ready," this conversation is the reminder you may need. Sometimes the most powerful word you can say isn't yes. It's no. And making room for the life you were actually meant to build.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.