First To Arrive, Last to Leave

When you see something could be done better in an industry, do you have the courage to be the disrupter?

Katie McConnell saw an opportunity within the recruiting industry and decided to change her approach to a more collaborative one. Although it meant less money to her bottom line, the long-term trust and relationships she created with her clients ended up paying off in the long run.

Katie shares her story about deciding to do the model better and on her own, and how she took that leap of faith. She also discusses, some of the hardships she had to overcome including the pandemic. Plus she discusses how she's been able to build and maintain an incredible team during a time when finding the right talent has become harder than ever. 

To find out more about Katie and GrowthWise Search Partners, visit: https://growthwisesearch.com/.

Finding and building the right team is more important now than ever, and in a world where talent won't stick around in a job that doesn't match, how do you ensure you're finding the right fit?

Jolene Risch joins us to discuss her journey from stay-at-home mom to building Risch Results, a strategic search firm that aligns top-performing talent with a company's culture and values. She shares how her interest in people from an early age sparked her ability to match talent, not just from a skills perspective but from a cultural fit perspective, to the right companies.

She also shares why diversity is so important to her and how her company helps others open their eyes to biases and helps them expand their workforce.

Jolene also talks bout her business and the three main factors that have had a direct impact on her growth. She also discusses how the pandemic was a difficult time, but how reconnecting with her why made her fall in love with her company all over again and push through the hard times.

To find out more and connect with Jolene, visit: https://www.rischresults.com/

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

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

Every business owner has been there when they find themselves burned out and overwhelmed from wearing too many hats, wondering if they're cut out for this business ownership thing.

Enter Sasha Crabtrey, Founder of Remote COO, a company that helps businesses by managing their daily operations, giving owners the freedom to focus on their core competencies and growth.

Sasha shares her journey on this episode of First To Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about what it's been like running her own business for over 17 years. She also talks about going into the Goldman Sachs 10K program and how it helped her reevaluate how she set goals, plus she talks about how it helped her to change the way she hired.

She also shares some of the best advice she's ever been given and how she's been able to put the right team around her and live her dreams.

To learn more about Sasha, visit: https://remotecoo.com/

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

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

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, and after getting re-introduced to it a few years ago, Jill Christiansen decided to take her graphics design expertise and jump in.

Jill shares her journey moving from a thriving services-based company that was B2B to creating a product and moving into the B2C sector. She discusses where she began and how she was able to carve out her own niche in the market.

She also talks about the challenges of growing a business in an entirely new industry and some of her biggest lessons learned along the way, including how to more effectively collaborate with influencers, diving deep to connect with her ideal client, and how to stay true to her initial goal of being a brand for women.

To learn more about Jill and PepPickleball, visit: https://peppickleball.com/

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

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

Do you have what it takes to persevere no matter what comes your way?

It may seem easy to think yes. However, when several things don’t go your way, would you still keep going?

In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Albert Marquez, Founder and COO of 1 US Construction, visit Courtney and Erin to talk about his journey from a comfortable government job, to franchise owner and now the owner of his own construction company. He discusses how taking a huge leap when his job was going to make him travel led him to own his own franchise in an industry he had no experience in.

After finally getting close to a break-even point, he took the opportunity to sell and start something new. He talks about how it took him a long time to start learning how to win bids finally, but he never gave up on his mission to create a different life for his family. He was determined to pay back his borrowed savings to make this dream a reality. 

He also talked about the 10k SB Program and how it taught him to look at specific numbers, which made a tremendous impact on his business. 

To learn more about Albert, visit: https://1usconstruction.com/

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

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

Could your business use an influx of $100k in profit? It may seem too good to be true, but it's what Leslie Hassler of Your Biz Rules does on a frequent basis.

Leslie joins us on First to Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about some of the biggest mistakes business owners are making when it comes to running their businesses, and why she's able to find so many opportunities for missed profits.

She also talks about her journey as an entrepreneur, and what led her to help others find joy in their businesses. Plus she discusses why she's so passionate about helping women think bigger and find ways to let the business become a complete lifestyle changer.

To connect with Leslie, you can find out more at: https://www.yourbizrules.com/

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

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

In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by Christy Nelson, owner of MakIt TakIt, a crafting company in Lincoln, Nebraska. Christy shares her journey from a blogger to several years later, building her own crafting store by offering parties, classes, etc to local creatives.

She also shares how her love for creating and helping others led her to launch her own camp where people from all over can come and hang out, and learn from some of today's top experts in the crafting industry.

Christy shares her ups and downs, and how she had to overcome landlord issues and find new space at a challenging time. She also talks about hiring, and how she has created such a strong community and customer base. She also shares some of her key secrets to growth!

To learn more about Christy and MakIt TakIt, visit: https://makittakit.com/

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

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

What happens when you're not quite ready for retirement, but the options offered to you are becoming fewer and further in-between? Well, in the case of Michael Battaglia, you start your own business.

In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by InsureYouToo's Founder, Michael Battaglia. Michael shares his story of when it was becoming harder to find a job, he had to make a decision to either give up, or play the hand he was dealt by creating his own business.

He discusses what it has taken to grow his company, and how he has had to overcome obstacles through changes like Obama Care being an option for the self-employed, in addition to COVID potentially shutting down a handful of clients.

He also talks about how he has built his business from referrals, and what has happened when he's had to change his strategy based on clientele.

Want to connect with Michael and learn more, visit:

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

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

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

To learn more about Michael's Alumni group, visit: https://alumcorps.org/

When seeking a new business opportunity, Jim Steinmark went to a conference and found a group of people who seemed to be genuinely excited about running their companies. When he wanted to find out more, he discovered that they were all service-based industries in the home sector. They were people like window washers, painters, etc.

Jim was then introduced to new technology in the outdoor washing industry. We all know that we should keep the exteriors of our buildings and homes clean, but most of us think of power washing. Although power washing works when it comes to cleaning, it also removes parts of your outdoor exterior.

Jim decided to start his own company, utilizing existing technology, and Patriot Softwash was born.

Jim shares his journey from corporate to an entrepreneur, and why he wanted to find a new option for launching. He also shares what it was like launching his business in February 2020, and what he had to overcome in order to successfully build his business.

He also talks about moving into new technologies, like drones, and into new sectors, like commercial, and what it means for his business to make these pivots.

To learn more, visit: https://www.txpatriotsoftwash.com/

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

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

We often say we want to 10X a business, but could your business really handle 10x in sales? It’s common to want the numbers and growth that everyone tells you that you should want, but the truth is, you should really sit down and focus on what is best for you. The answer may surprise you. 

This is just one of the things we cover in today’s podcast with Christina Rossini of R Squared Electric. Christina joins us to talk about her journey of revitalizing an electrical company that had gone a bit stagnant to letting us in on how she analyzes opportunities and determined what to move forward with, and what divisions needed to shut down.

She also talks about how she runs a family business, and what’s next on the horizon for this growing company.

To learn more and connect with Christina, visit: https://www.rsquaredelectric.com/

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

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