ConversActions

Sara Antonson is co-owner of Riverbend Winery & Distillery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. She joins ConversActions to share how her family transformed Riverbend into a welcoming community hub after taking ownership in 2022, blending family values, hospitality, and innovation. From navigating supply chain hurdles to leveraging social media, she offers candid insights into the challenges and rewards of running a family-owned winery. You will also hear practical lessons on teamwork, customer experience, and staying true to your market.

In this episode, we explore: 

(02:01) The origin story of Riverbend Winery

(05:13) The family dynamics with two generations in the business

(06:28) Modern communication in winery operations

(09:18) Technology’s impact on winery operations

(12:52) Wisconsin-inspired wine label design

(15:41) Winery marketing strategy reimagined

(18:26) Customer care and knowledge

(22:24) Chippewa Valley grape-based winery

Links mentioned in this episode:

Riverbend Winery & Distillery

Connect with Sara Antonson on LinkedIn

The Experience Economy – Book

Team-Driven Veterinary Success

Listen in as Dr. Kara Nelsen, founder of Allied Emergency Veterinary Services shares her journey from emergency vet to building a five-location clinic network. Discover how her commitment to harmony and empowering her team fuels resilience in a competitive industry.

3 Key Takeaways

Team Focus Drives Quality Care

Through an ‘administration-light’ structure Kara makes sure the teams are directly involved in decision-making. Allied maintains a strong culture where teams feel heard and are invested in quality care.

Privately Owned

Kara experienced the limitations of corporate veterinary practices and applied those lessons to her privately-owned clinics which benefit from autonomy and team members with a true stake in their workplace.

Growth and Efficiency

Allied’s organic growth benefits from careful investments in technology, internal talent development and accuracy in patient services (for patients who cannot speak!).

Nurturing Dreams at Work: The Evolution of Coaching at

Miron Construction

In this episode, Eric Marcoe shares the story behind Miron Construction’s innovative Dream Project, how coaching has evolved within the company and lessons for fostering personal growth and safe conversations at work.

3 Key Takeaways:

Dream Project Origins

Inspired by the book The Dream Manager by Mathew Kelly, Miron Construction embraced the concept of supporting employees’ personal and professional growth. Over time, Eric’s role grew into “Dream Coach 2.0”, broader leadership and life coaching.

Safe Spaces Boost Engagement

Eric emphasizes the importance of creating safe, judgement-free environments for employees to open up about work or personal matters. Trust and confidentiality are the core of this work, and even resource-limited businesses can create these trusted spaces.

Coaching is Most Effective When Welcomed

Coaching only works when employees are ready and willing to engage. Tune in for practical advice for fostering growth, connections and well-being in any workspace!

The Dream Manager by Mathew Kelly. Beacon Publishing, 2007

LinkedIn Success with Wayne Breitbarth

In this episode, host Bill Mitchell welcomes Wayne Breitbarth, one of the nation’s top LinkedIn trainers, to talk about all things LinkedIn for business professionals and entrepreneurs.

Wayne shares his journey from office furniture salesman to LinkedIn authority, discusses how the platform evolved from a job search site to a broad business hub, and reveals practical strategies for leveraging LinkedIn for sales, networking, recruiting, and personal branding.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways

1. LinkedIn is a powerful business database, not Just a social media platform. Wayne’s “aha!” moment came when he realized LinkedIn allowed users to see not just who their friends are, but also who their friends know—a game-changer for expanding business networks and finding decision-makers.

2. Successful LinkedIn profiles start with authenticity: a compelling LinkedIn profile should genuinely represent you—avoid marketing jargon and instead write in the first person, using your own voice. When sending connection requests or messages, make them personal, specific, and reflective of your personality (within the 200-character limit). This builds trust and encourages meaningful engagement.

3. Engagement is about quality conversations, not just posting content. Don’t feel pressured to post constantly—engagement comes from starting conversations. Use   post ‘likes’, comments, and “who’s viewed your profile” to initiate relevant dialogues with your audience. Posting is only effective when it leads to real interaction; proactive outreach and follow-up are where business opportunities flourish.

Connect with Wayne Breitbarth

Book

Connect with Bill Mitchell

Betting the Farm: A 5th-Generation Dairy Farmer Tees Up Golf Success

Ever wondered what it takes to swap milking cows for managing fairways? In this episode, Jessica Blaska-Grady, the general manager at Kestrel Ridge and The Oaks golf courses shares the inspiring journey from her family’s dairy tradition to running two thriving Wisconsin golf courses.

Tune in as she uncovers the lessons in a Midwest work ethic, family business dynamics and succeeding in a local community.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways:

Farmer’s Grit Builds Business Resilience:  Jessica credits the 24/7 work ethic from her dairy farming roots as a key driver of success in golf course management. “You reap what you sow” pays off both in the fields and the fairways.

Community Connection is Essential: Honoring community commitments is non-negotiable for the family owners. Hosting local events, supporting clubs and offering a welcoming space for customers and visitors is an uncompromising standard.

Family Business: Jessica’s experience reveals the challenges and successes of a family business and how Thanksgiving dinner features both.

Listen in and learn how entrepreneurship runs its course in two very different industries.

Healing Inflammation with Chef Lauren Posa 

This week ConversActions welcomes Chef Lauren Posa, wellness advocate and energy force behind The Farmacy –A Restorative Eatery. We learn why so many common foods are making you sicker – often without you realizing it. In this episode Lauren explains how the right foods can fight inflammation and improve our overall wellbeing.

Chef Lauren reveals her journey through a devastating illness, the 

business mistakes she made and a few strategies to help us master healthy eating.

Here are 3 Key Takeaways: 

1.Food as Medicine: Chef Lauren revealed how conventional 

“comfort” foods can fuel inflammation and slow healing, while brain-friendly foods like avocados, turmeric and berries actively fight disease. 

2.Self-Development Fuels Success: Chef Lauren learned her

business would only grow as far as she did. By prioritizing personal 

growth, setting boundaries, and making downtime non-negotiable, her restaurant thrived – proving you can’t pour from

an empty cup. 

3.Educate to Elevate: The Farmacy isn’t just about serving meals,

it’s a vehicle to teach. Chef Lauren empowers customers and staff 

with nutrition education, hands-on classes, and a vision for online learning to spread knowledge far 

beyond her kitchen. Lauren shared her anti-inflammatory recipe for Avocado Mousse:

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

1/3 cup maple syrup

¼ cup cacao powder (not cocoa powder)

¼ cup coconut milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt (preferably Celtic Sea Salt)

Blend all ingredients until

smooth and creamy. Chill for 30+ minutes.

Octopi Brewing is another great example of our guest business leaders revealing success lessons, in this case the ability to weather mistakes along the way. This week, we chat with Isaac Showacki, the mastermind behind Octopi Brewing. He distills the basics of the craft beer scene and how he built Octopi into one of the Midwest’s biggest contract brewing companies.

Here’s what’s on tap in this episode:

The Magic of Contract Brewing: It’s more than brewing beer—it’s a smart, scalable business model that’s all about growth by catching the next product wave.

Rolling with the Punches: Growth isn’t without speedbumps. Isaac talks about preparing for things to go wrong and maintaining sufficient cash – the fuel of growth.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Blending a killer team culture (rooted in values like best-in-class quality) with curiosity. Then peppering suppliers for insights and trends makes for a winning formula.

If you’re not driving, grab a brew and tune in for some actionable tips and inspiration from Isaac's journey!

How does an electrical engineer create an innovative early childhood education model? Bob Davis, founder of Little Explorer and Inspire Early Childhood Learning Center, faced countless funding rejections before breaking through. In this episode, learn how Bob turned every setback into an opportunity, engineering a unique educational model that fosters creativity and future success.

Turning Passion into Impact – Bob’s journey proves that passion, paired with persistence, can lead to groundbreaking innovations in childhood education.

The Science Behind Early Learning – Discover the key personality traits that shape a child’s future success and how educators can nurture them from an early age – building a love for learning.

Scaling for a Better Future – Why collaboration among struggling childcare centers could be crucial for improving teacher pay, resources, and overall educational outcomes.

Tune in to see how innovation and determination can reshape entire industries.

Connect with our Sponsoring Partner’s Website HERE.

In today’s ConversActions podcast, we explore the twists and turns of authentic Bavarian soft pretzels with Matt Wessel, the co-owner and CEO of Milwaukee Pretzel. Matt’s origin story begins with unforgettable beer garden experiences in Munich with his wife and soon-to-be business partner Katie. Matt shares that journey of turning a love for German culture (and irresistible pretzels) into a business built on quality, customer service and inspired leadership.

Here’s what you’ll discover:

From Munich to Milwaukee: Matt and Katie experienced the flavor of genuine Bavarian pretzels during their year-long stay in Munich. This connection to German culture and the amazing quality of the pretzels sparked a dream. They brought that dream home to Milwaukee, founding their business in 2013 with serious commitment to authenticity.

Scaling with Purpose: For Matt and Katie, growth is all about focusing on what truly matters: quality, customer care, and most importantly, their people. They leverage their individual – and complementary - strengths for effectiveness as leaders.  

Innovation and Community Spirit: While honoring their core Bavarian pretzel product, they’re expanding into exciting new areas like craft mustard and gourmet cheese spreads. They’re also committed to making a difference, with a fundraising division that has already given back over $1 million to local organizations. It’s all part of their vision: The best pretzels come from Milwaukee!

Lettuce Learn: Where Food Intersects With Life

Explore the transformative power of localized food systems with groundbreaking Flex Farm technology. President Alex Tyink shares how Fork Farms is making fresh food accessible, revolutionizing indoor farming and fostering sustainable growth.

We Harvested 3 Takeaways:

Food Systems Innovation:

Learn how Alex took his passion for fresh food and turned it into a scalable technology that operates on 75% less energy. Fork Farms' innovative approach is revolutionizing how we think about eating local and sustainable produce.

Iterate with Intention: Alex shares how a relentless focus on the "why" of the company enabled him to ‘fail fast’ with over 30 prototypes on the way to a customer-centric product. Find out why agility, reactiveness and iteration are essential to long-term startup success.

Community Engagement: Fork Farms is more than food technology; it's about engaging communities and educating future generations on the importance of fresh food. Learn how Fork Farms is impacting local food systems and improving community health.