Driven By with Sam Coates

Hear my conversation with Elizabeth Rouse, the President and CEO of Arts Memphis, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the arts in Memphis, Tennessee. With over 60 years of impact, Arts Memphis has played a pivotal role in fostering creativity and connection in the Memphis, TN community.

Episode Highlights

• Historical Context: Learn how Arts Memphis evolved from the Memphis Arts Council to a cornerstone for the local arts community.
• Economic Impact: Discover how over $100 million in grants have fueled growth, created jobs, and boost the economy.
• Key Programs: Explore how unrestricted funding and pandemic emergency support have empowered arts organizations and artists.
• Challenges: Arts Memphis balances limited resources while expanding its community impact.
• Future Vision: Hear about plans to strengthen arts infrastructure, and collaborate with city initiatives to enhance development.

Hear my conversation with Randall Swaney, the entrepreneur behind Marshall Steakhouse, named the #1 Steakhouse in Mississippi by the Food Network. Located in rural Mississippi, Randall turned what was supposed to be a feed store into a bustling restaurant.

Episode Highlights

• From Feed Store to Steakhouse: How Randall’s idea turned into a steakhouse serving 4,000 people a week.
• Against All Odds: Why everyone told him he was crazy, and how Randall proved them wrong.
• The Power of Location: 50,000 cars pass daily, driving Marshall Steakhouse’s success.
• Expanding the Dream: Randall’s wish to open 10 new locations across the Southeast.

Enjoy my conversation with Nancy Knous, Executive Partner at Benchmark Wealth Management. Nancy built her firm from the ground up, tackling the unique challenges of being a woman in a predominantly male industry.

Episode Highlights

• Building from Scratch: How Nancy structured her business for growth and planning for the next generation.
• Lonely in the Industry: The unique struggles of being a woman in finance and how she navigated them.  
• Financial Independence: Why women are inheriting more wealth and how financial freedom is key.
• Persevering Through Challenges: From being broke to surviving the 2008 crisis, Nancy shares her journey every step of the way.

My guest today is David Wedaman.

David began his career as an accountant at Arthur Anderson. He then left to go into the transportation industry, and after his first stop, David was a co-founder in Mark VII, which he and his partners grew to $800 million in annual revenue. After this business was taken public and sold in the late 1990’s, David founded Retrans, which he and his team built into 32 branches across the United States with sales of more than $500 million a year and sold to global logistics company KUEHNE+NAGEL.

Thank you so much for listening. This is a great episode about entrepreneurship, fighting bureaucracy, how times are changing, how to scale, community involvement and how to make an impact in the communities you live in plus much more.

Please enjoy this week’s episode with entrepreneur David Wedaman.

Memphis, TN is where I call home. A city that has much momentum, but also a city that has significant challenges. This episode is outside my normal focus of business and entrepreneurship, but I wanted to sit down with Mayor Paul Young to discuss his journey and these things head on.

Discover his vision for transforming Memphis, a city rich in history and culture but also facing significant issues such as cutting high crime rates, economic issues, minimal population growth, and more.

With a city proper population of over 600,000 and a deep History of the blues, Elvis, and sadly Martin Luther King’ Jr.’s assassination in 1968, Memphis is known all over the world. This interview covers Mayor Young’s own journey, what drives him, his thoughts on these issues, plus his vision for the future plus much more.

Episode Highlights

• Underdog’s Journey: Finding his purpose as Mayor of Memphis, doing it his way.
• Hope: Tapping into people’s hope to face the tough challenges
• Continuous Growth: Incremental improvements by building on strengths.
• A New Legacy: Living his ancestors wildest dreams.
  Vision for the Future: Balancing a delicate relationship with the District Attorney’s office.

Hear my conversation with Rich Johnson and learn how he went from Air Force airman to CEO, building ViaQuest into a leading healthcare provider with 3,500 employees across Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. 

Episode Highlights

• Care Trends: Evolution of managing disabilities, mental health, and hospice.
• 2008 Banking Crisis: How Rich steered ViaQuest through financial turmoil.
• Veteran Pride: The impact of veteran leadership in business and as CEO.
• Healthcare Insights: Navigating staffing challenges, Medicaid, and Covid-19.
• Vocational Training: The importance of trade education and why college isn’t for everyone.

Our guests today are Hal and Julie Lansky.

Lansky Bros. opened as an army surplus and uniform store in 1946. It then pivoted when supplies ran out after WW2. Bernard Lanksy hit the jackpot when a young man with no money, Elvis Presley, walked into his store before the one and only Ed Sullivan show.

Today, 78 years later, Lansky Bros. is an international brand. Here, I sit down with second-generation Hal Lansky and third-generation Julie Lanksy at the world-famous Peabody Hotel.

Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy today's episode!

Link: their website- https://lanskybros.com

LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2012-nov-16-la-me-bernard-lansky-20121116-story.html

Here is my conversation is with Steve Laffey.

Steve is a politician and businessman who ran for Mayor of his hometown of Cranston, Rhode Island and won. Steve is a former executive at Morgan Keegan and Company, author, and filmmaker. After serving as Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Steve ran for the Republican primary for United States Senate and the Republican Primary for the House of Representatives where he was not successful.

In 2023, Steve announced he would run for the Republican nomination for the 2024 United States Presidential election and withdrew from the race in 2023.

Steve is the author of Primary Mistake Mistake: How the Washington Republican Establishment Lost Everything in 2006 (and Sabotaged My Senatorial Campaign).

In 2012, Steve released Fixing America, a documentary film.

Steve currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Please enjoy this conversation with Steve Laffey.

Links:
www.fixingamericamovie.com
https://www.amazon.com/Books-Steve-Laffey/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ASteve+Laffey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_James_Morgan_Keegan

Hey everybody, my guest this week is Chris Mercer. Forty-two years ago, Chris Mercer left investment Bank Morgan Keegan and launched Mercer Capital. Mercer Capital provides Business Valuation and Financial Advisory Services to clients worldwide. To date, Chris says they have served over 15,000 companies. Today, Mercer Capital has 57 associates and four offices across the United States.

With the documentaries and interviews, my team and I produce, I spend a lot of time with entrepreneurs and companies across the country. Businesses and entrepreneurs fascinate me—the risk, the hardship, the passion, the growth, perfecting one's craft, and so much more.

What better person to have a conversation with than someone who has examined the inner workings of thousands of companies over the last four decades? But someone who has done much more than just advising, someone who's an entrepreneur in their own right and founded something that will pass on to the next generation.

Please enjoy this episode with Chris Mercer!

Links:
https://mercercapital.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zchristophermercer/

This family doesn’t care about taking Private Equity money and selling. They are all in on their 75-year history and 3rd generation family business.

This family business started with Generation 1. Dr. Lloyd Reed founded this family business right after WW2. 75 Years later, Generation 3 is now running it with Generation 2, and they have no plans on slowing down.

Dr. Kevin Reed is 2nd generation of Reed Family Dentistry, which is located about 16 miles from Memphis, TN, with a population of 10,508 people. I used to think that a bigger city meant better care and technology. That’s not the case. What stood out to me here was the number of patients they serve annually, their principles on capital investment and technology, and their commitment to their field and what’s ahead.

Small Businesses are the backbone of America, and this is a great episode about building a multi-generational family business, finding yourself, maintaining a high standard of patient care, plus so much more.

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Dr. Kevin Reed!

Links:
https://www.mcguirewoods.com/client-resources/alerts/2023/5/consolidation-dsos-secondary-private-equity-sales/
https://reedfamilydentistry.com/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/03/25/how-small-businesses-drive-the-american-economy/?sh=6c90aad34169