First To Arrive, Last to Leave

Get your seat belts ready as this is quite a ride.

On this episode, Courtney and Erin welcome Brent Reaves, co-owner of Smoke John's BBQ, a nationally recognized brand located in Dallas, TX.

Brent's talking about continuing to build his father's legacy through the restaurant that his parents started, and his driving factor to get through all that life has thrown at him. When he took over the restaurant over 10 years ago, he discovered they were losing over $8000 a month. Instead of closing up shop, he decided to go old school and walk flyers around the area which started to drive business.

He also talks about overcoming a fire that destroyed their building, and kept them down for 18 months. By using other kitchens, they managed to keep their catering business alive.

Seriously, one of the best episodes yet, and a must listen for any entrepreneur on overcoming obstacles.

To learn more about Brent, visit: https://www.smokeyjohns.com/

To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com

To learn more about Erin's company, visit: https://podgrowth.co

When knocking on the door for opportunity doesn't lead to an opening, you build your own door.

That's the story of Sammi Bivens, CEO of the Marketing Maven, who has consistently found a way to build her own doors for her passion of marketing. Sammi shares how she first landed in the entrepreneurial world through jewelry and how her sales skills led her to learn how to create and grow an online store.

She also talks about how her desire to learn marketing at a corporate level, made her find opportunities within the company she was working to move in new roles and grow her skills.

Sammi then moved to Texas and decided to launch her own brand and take a leap that ended up paying off for her. She discusses some of the highs and lows of growing her own business, and what the Goldman Sachs' 10K Program has helped her change her vision for her business.

To find out more, visit: https://digimarketingmaven.com/

Burning the candle at both ends. It's a term known all too well for entrepreneurs, and one that left our guest, Shelyna Tinglin, in the hospital.

Shelyna Tinglin is a dual career realtor and coach who once struggled with burnout. After experiencing stress that landed her in the hospital, she talks about having to make a tough decision: which career to prioritize.

Choosing real estate over teaching, she learned the importance of niching down and understanding her target audience's problems. By identifying the needs of small brokerages and other potential clients, she was able to build her brand and provide better solutions. Shelyna also shares tips for avoiding burnout, managing workload, and reinvesting in your business. Through coaching and teaching, she helps real estate agents and entrepreneurs identify their strengths, create systems, and achieve actionable goals.

For more information, you can find her at: https://coach.shelynatinglin.com/

How hard are you working building other people’s dreams?

It was a question Daris Frencha had to ask herself as she found herself loving sales and people, but her hard work was building a company that wasn’t hers. After she started working a side job with a company, selling legal benefits, she realized she was capable of starting something on her own.

Daris shares her story on this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to discuss her journey as an entrepreneur, and why she first hesitated leaving a very ‘good’ job and good situation to start her own thing. She also talks about what she’s done with organizations and associations to help grow her business through partnerships.

Daris also talks about the struggle of building her brand, and how she’s figured out how to scale. Plus we talk Goldman, and some of the lightbulbs Daris discovered while in the program.

To learn more about Daris and Benefits Boutique, visit: https://thebenefitboutique.com/

We're getting real and personal in this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave when the tables are turned to hear our co-host Erin Gregor's story. Erin shares how her journey of entrepreneurship has been one accidental venture after another.

She also shares how curiosity has been her driving factor for continuing to build and grow businesses, and why sometimes that can be a great thing and other times, a bad thing.

She also gets raw and real about a venture that, on the outside looked like it was a huge success, but in her eyes was a failure, and how it knocked the wind out of her for several years.

To learn more about Erin's Company, visit: podgrowth.co

To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: purveyorsoffragrance.com

After working for a company where she felt the staff wasn’t pulling their weight, Alane offered to help hire the right team and build the company to the potential she believed it had.

What ended up happening was beyond her wildest dream as she ended up becoming a co-owner, building another company, and exiting from both.

During her ‘retirement’, Alane started a passion project, wrote several books, and ended up helping other companies, which launched an entirely new company. Eventually, she and her husband were pulled back in the world of tech by building a software company called Arvo.

In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Alane shares her very honest stories about selling her companies and what she would do differently. Plus she discusses why working for the company she sold was one of the hardest things she has ever done.

She also talks about how her passion led her down a path that she discovered she didn’t want to continue on, and why that can be more valuable of a lesson than just discovering what you love.

She also talks about what’s next, and why retirement really didn’t end up being all that she thought it would be.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaneboyd/

To connect with Courtney, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com

Or with Erin, visit: https://podgrowth.co

If there's one thing you can see almost immediately after meeting Kelly Kunst, is her passion for helping entrepreneurs make smarter financial decisions and build wealth for not just their immediate family, but for generations.

In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Kelly joins Courtney and Erin to share her journey into entrepreneurship, and how her grandfather instilled the desire to not just create a business, but create something that had a huge impact on others.

Kelly shares her story of moving from medical sales to the field of wealth management, and why she is so passionate about helping others not just make money but keep that money. She discusses how Goldman Sach's 10K Program helped her to evaluate a business she was looking to purchase, and how it helped her change her trajectory in her own business.

She also talks about her organization, Your Executive Symphony (YES), which she founded and chairs. YES is an educational forum dedicated to the privately held business sector, and focuses on helping business owners through education and events.

To connect with and find out more about Kelly, you can visit her website: https://www.gswealthmgmt.com/team-member-01/kelly-kunst

What would it take for you to use your strengths and expertise to your own business? For Aliah Henry, there was a plan in place, and on the exact date, she set out, she finally branched out to her own company.

In this episode, Aliah joins us to talk about her journey from employee to employer, and the steps she took to ensure a successful career as a business owner. She shares some of the lessons she learned along the way, some of her biggest obstacles, and how has shifted her company out of only services.

To find out more about the Henry group, visit: https://www.thehenrygroupcon.com/

To connect with Courtney, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com

Or with Erin, visit: https://podgrowth.co

#businessgrowth #podcast

'You always at least take the call when someone wants to buy your business', it's the advice from Deb Purvin, former banker and business numbers extraordinaire, that rang in Ted's ear when he got an interesting call about his business.

In this podcast, Ted Hill, talks about building a business with his dad and the challenges that came with it, in addition to running the business on his own, and how Goldman Sach's 10K program changed everything for him.

He also talks about why he never dreamed he would sell Life Benefits, Inc, but that one phone call changed everything and what his life looks like now after the merger. Plus, he talks about his role now as Vice President & Head of Employee Benefits Brokerage at Players Health.

Enjoy this very open and honest conversation about family, hindsight, and taking advantage of the right moments.

To connect with Ted, you can find him on Linkedin at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedhilltx/

To connect with Courtney, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com

Or with Erin, visit: https://podgrowth.co

Although many parents try to encourage their kids to limit their time gaming, the right games can have an immense impact on growth and education. 7 Generation Games focuses on combining educational research, advanced game design, and innovative technology into video games that produce results.

Maria Burns Ortiz, CEO at 7 Generation Games, has been one of the driving forces behind this unique business, where game developers can share their passion for education and development.

Maria joins Courtney and Erin on this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about her journey of creating a tech company, embarking on a fundraising journey, and the obstacles she had to overcome in growing a large company.

She also talks about the future of 7 Generation Games, and why putting the development in the hands of others will be one of the drivers of their success.

To find more about 7 Generation Games, visit: https://www.7generationgames.com/