Enterprise Podcast Network

Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, Co-Owners of Maximum Value Partners providing coaching and direction for the profitability and sustainability of small businesses joins Enterprise Radio to share keys to success for the small business owner.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guests Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter discuss the following:

* What is the biggest challenge small businesses face?

* How do you know which customers to fire?

* What’s the best way to find good people?

* What numbers should I pay attention to?

* What’s the one piece of advice you would give the majority of small business owners?

Since joining Maximum Value Partners (MVP) in 2003, Adam Sonnhalter has played an integral part in growing MVP with his business partner Jack Mencini.  Adam was well prepared to take on this role with his experience of growing up with a small family business and as an investment banker for eight years. He has the background of Wall Street and the laser focused aptitude to know what will work for the individual entrepreneur.

During his time on Wall Street, Adam was involved in numerous merger and acquisition transactions with values totaling in excess of $22 billion in a variety of industries. The last role for Adam was as vice president at BNY Capital Markets (a subsidiary of The Bank of New York), where he set up the company’s first satellite office while splitting his time each week between New York City and Cleveland.  Prior to BNY, he worked for Patricof & Co. (which was purchased by BNY in 1998) and Bear Stearns.

Adam moved back from New York City in 2003 and now lives in North Ridgeville, Ohio with his wife Shannon, and two children Jackson and Lexie. He graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan with a BBA Degree in Finance.  Philanthropically, Adam is involved with Rotary International, St. Peter School in North Ridgeville, Junior Achievement and Leadership Lorain County.

In his first career, Jack Mencini worked 17 years for several large publicly traded corporations, which exposed him to business throughout the world. He established the internal audit function for the Board of Directors at Ferro Corporation and also Brush Wellman Corporation (now Materion) reaching the level of vice president controller/administration of a large subsidiary before breaking away to the world of entrepreneurs.

Jack has personally owned and operated 16 companies, which included five troubled companies, which he bought, fixed up and subsequently sold. The other companies were started from scratch and included one that made the Weatherhead 100 list of fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio. Another is a public charity that teaches patients how to deal with their doctors. The public charity was turned over to the Mayo Clinic in 2013.

Jack also created Maximum Value Partners that he and his partner, Adam Sonnhalter have developed to focus on building success for small businesses and addressing the challenges, which are unique to them.

Jack’s educational background includes a BBA Degree in Accounting from Ohio University and an MBA Degree in Systems Management from Baldwin Wallace University.

Website: maximumvp.com

Social Media Links:

Facebook: facebook.com/maximumvp

Twitter: @maximumvp

Community Solutions Strategist and Professional Speaker Desley Cowley again joins Enterprise Radio. Her online business, Spruiker Hire, is an innovative and unique national talent directory designed specifically to help retailers and shopping centres find quality short term retail talent.

This episode of Enterprise Radio is in association with eAustralia, our Australian entrepreneurs & business owners.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Desley Cowley discuss the following:

* What is a brand or corporate ambassador?

* What are the character traits of a great brand ambassador?

* How much can you earn working in this industry?

* Where can those that are interested find work as a brand ambassador?

* What are the 3 big secrets great brand ambassadors know that keep their clients asking for them again and again?

Desley Cowley is a transformational whole of community solutions strategist, retail leasing and marketing advisor, speaker, trainer and facilitator who specialises in strengthening connections between retailers and their communities through development of strong strategic partnerships.

As founding business owner of Spruiker Hire, a national online retail training and talent directory, Desley Cowley has developed an innovative and unique online product that is designed to make it easier for the retail industry to source and train quality short term retail talent.

A property investor herself, she holds a current Queensland Real Estate Agents’ licence, has been managing shopping centres since 1988 and contributed to the success of more than 400 retailers in 3 states.

Desley provides innovative, whole of community focused, alternative solutions, help and advice on retail lease negotiation, retail marketing and business planning and starting an online business.

She is currently working with Rockhampton’s Dreamtime Cultural Centre on The Dreamtime 30 Year Anniversary Project that will establish a pathway for the centres next exciting 30 years.

She has previously worked with successful indigenous not for profit and for profit organisations in Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Alice Springs and is interested in partnership projects that provide meaningful indigenous outcomes to benefit all Australians through cultural engagement and awareness.

Website: www.spruikerhire.com

Social Media Links:

Facebook: facebook.com/SpruikerHire

Twitter: @SpruikerHire

People also listened to this: Why Spruiking is Back

Brandon Loures, the Founder of Brandlift Digital Marketing, a boutique digital marketing agency out of San Diego, California specializing in SEO and PPC management including all facets of digital marketing strategies joins Enterprise Radio. Brandon discusses SEO and digital advertising for small to medium size businesses.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Brandon Loures discuss the following:

* Is SEO still an effective way to market? Is it getting harder to influence Google’s algorithm?

* Is there anything business owners can do on their own to better their own Rankings in Google and other search engines?

* What should businesses look for when searching for an SEO consultant or company.

* What is happening in the world of Digital advertising and ppc?

* What is content marketing and how can business owners start doing it today?

Brandon Loures is the Founder of Brandlift Digital Marketing.  Brandlift is a boutique digital marketing agency out of San Diego. When he isn’t strategizing how to win the internet he enjoys surfing in the pacific ocean, playing golf, traveling and good mexican food.

Brandon and his team create and execute custom strategies for SEO, PPC Management, Social Media and Digital advertising for their clients and owned properties. Brandlift fills the gap for business owners and brand managers with a need for expert consultants in online brand management.

Many business owners and brand managers feel the need to work closely with consultants that help them directly meet their goals. Brandlift seeks to create business relationships as a preferred outsourced partner for all things digital marketing.

Website: brandliftdigital.com

Social Media Links:

Facebook: facebook.com/brandliftdigitalmarketing

Twitter: @EconsultantBL

Jim Martin, CPA, the Founder and Managing Partner of ACM Capital Partners joins Enterprise Radio. At ACM Capital Partners, Jim leads a highly experienced financial and operational advisory firm dedicated to leading middle market companies through periods of growth, transition or distress.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Jim Martin discuss the following:

* Tell me how and why you started ACM Capital Partners?

* We hear about consultants all the time, and they tend to get a bad rap – what makes you and your team different from consultants?

* Who are the companies you’re looking to serve and in what areas can you best serve them?

* We keep hearing about more and more companies being negatively impacted by the current state of the insurance industry – what recommendations do you have for these businesses?

* If you could pick one main challenge facing businesses today, what would it be and what advice would you give them?

With over 25 years experience reorganizing and restructuring financially-stressed companies, James (Jim) F. Martin founded ACM Capital Partners to bring middle market firms the necessary intellectual, human, and financial capital to ensure effective corporate strategies are executed and desired outcomes are achieve.

As an internationally recognized turnaround professional, Jim has created and restored more than $1 billion in value to private companies and has raised over $1 billion in capital. Additionally, he has handled the mergers and acquisitions of companies in excess of $250 million.

Jim earned his MBA from Emory University, Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Florida State University, and is a Certified Public Accountant. He currently resides in Miami, Florida with his wife and four children.

Areas of expertise:

* Strategic renewal

* Organizational reform

* Mergers and acquisitions

* Synergistic opportunities

* Raising capital

* Debt restructuring and forgiveness

Website: www.acmcapitalpartners.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/ACM-Capital-Partners

Contact: 305-960-8933

Serial entrepreneur Karan Chaudhry, the Co-founder, Chief Product Officer and Global Head for Comnplus (acquired by TVFPlay), where his team is building advanced machine learning based personalization and recommendation engine focused within the online digital content industry joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Karan Chaudhry discuss the following:

* You have sold two companies. What are the ingredients to build a successful startup?

* Tell us more from your perspective on team building.

* Tell us more about your latest venture ComnPlus and what was the inspiration or reason for starting this company?

* You might have guessed the follow-up question, how did you exit in 6 months?

* You are a Mentor at StartX incubator. What are some of the common pitfalls you see with early stage startups?

Karan Chaudhry is a serial entrepreneur based out of Palo Alto in silicon valley. He is currently the Cofounder, Chief Product Officer and Global Head for Comnplus (acquired by TVFPlay), where his team is building advanced machine learning based personalization and recommendation engine focused on the online digital content industry.

Karan is also an active Mentor/Advisor at StartX, a top incubator for Stanford university entrepreneurs, where he advises entrepreneurs on topics like fundraising, team building, data driven product management and product marketing, sales and business development etc.

Prior to that, he was the Cofounder and CEO of DropThought (acquired), a machine learning based instant feedback and text analytics platform for Voice of Customer/Voice of Employee applications.

Karan received his MBA and MS degrees from Stanford university. He has published articles on entrepreneurship and startups in top publications like Forbes, Inc., and Huffington Post.

Website: www.comnplus.com | www.tvfplay.com

Bret Ward, the creator of the Leisure Leash dog leash system, the only dog leash that is designed to be carried completely by your dog & manufactured in Temecula, California joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Bret Ward discuss the following:

* What should be one of the first things to ask yourself?

* What is the next most important question to ask yourself?

* What kind of outside professionals should I have in mind to help me complying with legal issues and branding of my product.

* What is something that is very important but you may not be thinking about.

* What is something that we typically don’t think about that may be called upon to support ongoing and unknown problems.

An avid runner for most of his life, Bret Ward’s morning routine consists of running at dawn with his four-legged best friends, two loyal and loving Labradors. Bret quickly realized that running two miles while holding a chain leash was inconveniently heavy and awkward. He tried switching to nylon leashes with no success. At that moment, he began a journey to find a better way of carrying a dog leash. This eventually led him to create his genius Leisure Leash.

Ward was determined to make a completely hands-free dog leash. He wanted to make sure it would not cause any extra weight or discomfort to any dogs. With that idea in mind, he created his first version of the Lesisure Leash using leashes he bought from the dollar store. He reconfigured the leashes so that the handle would fit over a dog’s head just as a slip collar does and has a local seamstress sew them the way he wanted.

Immediately, it caught the attention of many people. They curiously watched Ward slip the Leisure Leash over the dog’s head as he ran with them. A few observers loved the idea of a hands free dog leash. Other’s thought it was so great they told Ward to market the idea and sell them ASAP! Overall, the feedback was positive which led him to take the entrepreneurial leap and launch Leisure Leash. Since then, he has expanded his business tremendously and continues to help dog lovers everywhere!

Website: LeisureLeash.com

Suzi Alter, developer of BalaFive, the only weight management program that “changes the hungry brain” joins Entrepreneurial Fit Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Suzi Alter discuss the following:

* What is BalaFive?

* How does BalaFive work and what makes it different than other weight loss programs, especially knowing there are thousands of diet programs on the market?

* With BalaFive, do you really not need to diet or exercise or change your daily habits in order to lose weight?

* Do you have to use the entire program each month, or can you customize it for maintenance or the result that you want?

* What kind of results are your customers seeing who are on the program?

Suzi Alter brings to the millions of American who seek long-term weight loss the benefits of her education, experience and enthusiasm for medical science and medical foods.  Her network of physicians and scientists across science-based laboratories nationwide often refer to Suzi as a pioneer in the development of medical foods.

A business professional with a diverse skill set within various disciplines –  including surgical facility management, business development, financial analysis, managed care, reimbursement systems and public speaking – Suzi has built, owned and operated surgery centers ranging in specialty from orthopedic, gynecologic, pain management and ENT to cosmetics. From having worked in the healthcare industry throughout most of her career and with a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Miami, science and health have always been passion areas for Suzi. Her experience, combined with her big picture mentality, innovative spirit and flawless execution of the small details all has led her to create BalaFive™, the revolutionary weight loss and management brand that boasts more than 100 smart products.

What inspired Suzi over a decade ago to create BalaFive was her exposure to the science behind medical foods, and learning that medical foods are made up of GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) ingredients and specifically used for the dietary management of specific diseases. The line of medical foods that most intrigued her treat the underlying nutritional deficiencies of various diseases, such as sleep dysfunction, anxiety, pain and inflammation, cognitive dysfunction and others that are prevalent in the elderly patients.

When applying her scientific mind, she saw how these products could allow patients to reduce the dose of their pharmaceutical prescriptions or eliminate them altogether AND be able to address serious issues, such as cognitive health and obesity. She also learned that medical foods require a physician’s supervision component despite not being classified as drugs, which means they’re also registered with data banks for reimbursement  medical or pharmacy plans. Discovering all this piqued Suzi’s interest so much that she leveraged her relationships in the medical field to introduce medical foods to several large physician management groups and started building a substantial distribution network for these products.

By 2010, Suzi developed a medical food of her own for the dietary management of obesity, given the issues surrounding the increase in obesity statistics. She created a product that would target the reward systems of the brain, so the underlying causal factors for why people eat what they eat, and how much they eat and how their bodies metabolize what they eat, could be addressed. She knew through medical foods she could target multiple pathways and neurotransmitter deficiencies, and develop a comprehensive solution for changing the chemical messaging of the brain that drives p...

Jake Rozmaryn, CEO & Founder of Eco Branding, a boutique public relations and marketing agency that specializes in clean technology joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Jake Rozmaryn discuss the following:

* What is Eco Branding?

* How did you get into this and why are you focused on accelerating cleantech specifically?

* What can you tell us about Eco Branding’s clients, and how you work with them to grow their businesses?

* If I ran a cleantech start-up, why would I choose to work with Eco Branding vs. a large PR or marketing agency? What makes Eco Branding different?

* How does a company know if they are ready to work with a company like Eco Branding?

Jake Rozmaryn has dedicated his career to advancing cleantech industries through marketing innovation.

He is the CEO & Founder of Eco Branding, an integrated public relations and marketing agency, and Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Midwest Solar Expo, a leading regional solar business conference.

Jake serves on numerous Advisory Boards, Education Committees, and Mentor Committees for a variety of clean energy non-profits, associations, conferences and accelerator programs. He regularly contributes articles that are featured on TechCrunch, The Huffington Post, CleanTechnica, Renewable Energy World and The Energy Collective.

Jake studied Government and Politics with a focus in Environmental Policy at the University of Maryland and currently resides in New York City.

Website: www.ecobrandit.com

Social Media Links:

Facebook: facebook.com/ecobrandit

Twitter: @ecobrandit

Bill Aftoora, the Creator of Acid Zap and Founder of Guroux Brands joins Entrepreneurial Fit Radio. Bill is an inventor & developer of intellectual properties that include all natural food and wellness products.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Bill Aftoora discuss the following:

* Where did the inspiration come from to create a product that was a direct treatment for a common ailment?

* Once you saw the potential for a product like this, how did you create it to differentiate yourself from the saturated market of instant cures and remedies that are designed to treat similar ailments? What makes you stand out from the rest?

* When you realized that this product was an immediate hit, what steps did you take as a brand owner to make your vision a reality? Did you seek advice from professionals that were knowledgable in the medical field?

* Knowing this product has a specific use for the consumer can you expand on the many common ailments that it can potentially be used to remedy that the consumer may not immediatley equate it with?

* What is next for you and Acid Zap? Understanding your love of the culinary arts, are there new products that you have in mind that would be willing to talk about?

Bill Aftoora, a master of the culinary arts, realized his love of cooking at a very early age. Bill attributes his passion for foods, love of cooking and the importance of preparing wholesome family pleasing foods to his parents and his extended family of great cooks. Their family motto which states, “The family who eats together is a family who stays together” was more than a motto, but a way of life for the entire Aftoora family. It was Bill’s mother, Gertrude, who took the time and taught him the importance of consistent and properly prepared family style meals that always included her secret ingredient of “Love” in every dish. Bill’s father, Richard, also played an important role in teaching the value and quality of fresh meats and produce. He had a keen eye for grocery shopping and a knack for knowing when, where and how to purchase fresh wholesome food. It was the combination of his parent’s influence that continues to inspire Bill to continually develop ideas that simplify our lives. Because of this and influence, Bill was inspired to develop a simplified family cook book with delicious recipes in a revolutionary format that both novice and experienced cooks can prepare and enjoy. Each recipe features the two essential elements of “Love” and “Family Values” that are present in each and every recipe.

In addition to being an author, Bill is also a television personality and inventor/developer of intellectual properties that include all natural food and wellness products. He has numerous patents, trademarks and copyrights issued and pending in both the United States and Canada for products and businesses relating to the food and health industries.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bill resides in Northeast Ohio, often entertaining for family and friends. He continues to develop new recipes to add to his Cooking in the Comfort Zone cook book while compiling information for his next culinary adventure.

Website: www.acidzap.com

Jose Tremolis, President and Natalie Sigillito, Vice President of Tilted Globe Entertainment, an Internet Streaming Marketplace that provides producers of live entertainment joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guests Jose Tremolis & Natalie Sigillito discuss the following:

* Tell us about your motivation to develop the technology behind Tilted Globe?

* What do you see as the problem you are trying to solve for venues, producers and show promoters?

* There are several options to stream live events, what are the advantages of using the tilted globe platform?

* Who are the ideal customers and partners for tilted globe?

* Where do you see the most significant growth opportunities?

Joe Tremols, a producer and owner of a theater company along with partner Natalie Sigillito announced that they have launched Tilted Globe Entertainment – an Internet Streaming Marketplace that provides Producers of live entertainment with the opportunity to live stream productions online; the ability to sell individual tickets for live stream viewing and the ability to place post-production content in an on demand library for rental by viewers.

While augmenting Producer revenues, Tilted Globe provides secure data streams and management tools which enable producers to comply with royalty and equity contracts. Tilted Globe live streamed shows are secure and each viewer must purchase a cyber-ticket in order to view the live stream.

Joe Tremols, co-founder commented, “Tilted Globe was created in response to problems we personally experienced. I was a producer/owner of a theater company faced with the constraints of a small community of theater goers and the inability of out of town friends and family to view the performance. We discovered that we were unable to provide internet streaming due to the inadequate streaming services available and the inability to comply with royalty agreements. This led us to create the patent-pending technology used by Tilted Globe”.

Through Tilted Globe’s platform the producer is able to count, control and manage each online ticket sale, providing the ability to answer to royalty and equity contracts. The producer sets the exact number and price of seats/tickets offered online prior to sale to the viewing audience.

Tilted Globe requires all producers to provide documentation and evidence to verify their qualifications as a professional in the industry of live entertainment. Tilted Globe shall maintain the standard of quality performers and producers accessing the Tilted Globe Platform.

We recognized the need for, and the opportunities of, a platform for the profitable, and royalty compliant, streaming live theater and entertainment. We set about developing a platform which provides producers of live entertainment new revenue streams from previously unattainable audience sources. We look forward to sharing this groundbreaking technology with producers and live entertainment venues”, added co-founder Natalie Sigillito.

Website: www.tiltedglobe.com

Social Media Links:

Facebook: facebook.com/tilted.globe

Twitter: @TiltedGlobe