"In 2017 I almost put myself out of business."

Michele Liddle started a business from scratch to fill a need in the community. 

And she has made plenty of mistakes along the way. 

It's the learning from those mistakes that have allowed her business, The Perfect Granola, to thrive.

In a society rampant with abundance, it is hard to imagine that there are a large number of people that live with food insecurity.

Michele started volunteering, then she started creating, and then she took things to a whole new level.

You can find her company, The Perfect Granola, positioned next to household brands we've all heard of, at stores everyone in America not only know by name, but shop at on a weekly basis.

Listen in to hear how she took a kitchen project and turned it into national brand.

You'll learn:

- The most important step to turning a "side hustle" into your main gig

-How being hugely successful at the wrong time can almost end your business

-Why you MUST get off of entrepreneur island and how to do it

-The one thing you need to be crystal clear on before you say "yes" or "no" to an opportunity

-How to fight back against imposter syndrome

-What to do to keep your family as your top priority

And soooo much more.

Did you love the episode? Leave a review and let Michele know!


Contact her at: https://theperfectgranola.com/pages/contact

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If you're used to relational selling, Joe Morone is about to blow your mind.

It's true that people tend to buy from people they like. 

But Joe shares an uglier truth: Before you can start selling on emotion and logic, you need to start by "poking" the fear center of the brain, the amygdala.

If you can speak to that persons immediate business survival needs, they have to listen, and you can build from there.

Joe is the author of The Smart Sales Method, and President of WORLDLEADERS. He specializes in selling sales training to tech firms.

By fusing all of his core passions together, spiritually, physically, and intellectually, Joe has created a life of passion that helps him thrive. 

Joe shares these gems and more in our discussion...

1. When you make the call to the CEO, don't try to be their friend. You need to speak their language and tell them how you will help with what's most important to him/her.

2. If you don't want to take the time and sacrifice to be a bodybuilder, there's always golf.

3. Follow your excitement, particularly in the realms of the spiritual, physical, and intellectual. These interests and passions will shape you and help you find your best way to live and contribute.


Link to his book: https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Sales-Method-2017-Improving/dp/0692820302 

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There are countless success stories of how remote work has changed lives for the better.

Casey Wood seized the opportunity of remote work during the pandemic and bought a 30 acre parcel of land overlooking Canandaigua Lake. 

While still working as a Senior National Account Manager for Under Armour, Casey has started growing crops and raising animals in the hopes of creating a business of his own.

Here are a few things you'll learn about in today's episode:

1. The strategic decisions that helped Under Armour go from garage business where every employee was a friend of the owner to contender with the likes of Nike in only 6 years, and how that all came crashing down (and how it's been built back up again)

2. What the perfect animal is for aerating your soil and creating sustainable farmland

3. Where book knowledge and hands on knowledge meet and how to continually innovate to see massive growth

4. What the future holds for the next generation staring down the barrel of Facebook Meta

5. A Will Smith quote that flies in the face of conventional wisdom

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Ben and I had a wide ranging interview going from collaboration, to delegation, and ultimately ended up talking about alcoholism and overcoming hardship. 

-Content creation doesn't have to be hard, according to Ben Albert. If done right, it can be a networking tool as well as an opportunity to help your customers and followers.

-There are some things in your business that you are best at. There are other things that you're not good at. And there are still other things that can be delegated or outsourced at low cost. Those non essentials that you can give away are going to be your key to success.

-Some of your greatest opportunities for growth as a person and as a business owner will not be the "rah rah" exciting moments in a conference center. They will be the dark terrible times that you never wished for. 

-Plus some of the real life hardships that Ben and I have each had to work on and work through in order to get to where we are today.

This one is jam packed with nuggets of wisdom and stories that will not only get you thinking deeper about business, but your own life as well.

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*Aspirational professions: 2001*
"I want to be a veterinarian!"
"I want to be an astronaut!"
"I want to be a fireman!"

*Aspirational professions: 2021*
"I want to be an INFLUENCER!"

Ben Albert, of Balbert Marketing, shares how you need to be building a personal brand - starting ten years ago. If you're behind, that's ok, today is the next best time to start. Being a person of influence means you can use your personal brand to further the things that are important to you.

That may mean your business, but it can also be charities, people, and other causes you care about.

Rich with marketing, business, and personal insight, Ben talks about building relationships from networking to a low key sales conversation, how he headed down a dark path at the start of lockdowns last year, and how he positions himself to attract his niche customers.

This interview went so fast that Ben and I promise to do another one in the weeks ahead! Stay tuned!

PS I was the second person to ever call Ben a genius, listen in to hear who the first one was!

Connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/balbertmarketing/

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Today I dive into a topic that I am very passionate about: personal and team productivity.

We live in a digital age and in many ways the work that we do has been leveraged and multiplied many times over by the technology that we use.

What I want to confront today are six myths that are likely holding you back from your best work.

Here are the Myths:

Myth #1: I'm a good multitasker
Myth #2: I don't need a schedule
Myth #3: An open office design will boost productivity/creativity
Myth #4: I need my notifications
Myth #5: An open door policy is the most important thing
Myth #6: I need more discipline

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With 30+ full time employees, Bristol Mountain needs to grow and shrink it's employee base by the hundreds every year. Steve Fuller, Vice President, shares how the business effectively brings in enough of the right people to serve it's customers.

Steve also dives into the strategic decisions that have turned the business from simply ski resort into a thriving outdoor service based business with four distinct units.

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I've spent much of my life selling and studying sales.  There are some things that I love about sales, and some things that I hate. 

It turns out the things I hate about sales - strongarm tactics, selling things people don't want, and using psychology to bully people - don't have to be there.

I gave this workshop to the Ibero Business Center located in Geneva, NY. The entrepreneurs in attendance were blown away and I knew I had to share this with you.

We talked about creating your MVP (minimum viable product), the best closing techniques, and how to position your offering to solve your customers needs.

This isn't an episode you'll want to miss!

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Strategic decisions and planning aren't just reserved for board rooms and company retreats. It is the lifeblood of successful entrepreneurs. 

Susie Atvell, owner of Kindred Fare in Geneva, NY, shares stories of how strategic planning has helped her create a business that allows her freedom to do the work she loves at a time and place she chooses.  

She also shares some times where making panicked decisions made her worse off than when she started.

Listen in to learn how to make strategic planning a regular part of your business.

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Kevyn Rustici shares with us how we can use data to transform Human Resources from a cost center to a profit center. We are entering into the war for talent. If you do not treat your people well, someone else will.

Which phrase resonates more with you:

My employees are lucky to work here.

OR

We are lucky to have these employees working here.

One of these mindsets will evolve your company to the next level, and the other has the potential to make you go extinct. 

Listen in to get Kevyn's insight on how to revolutionize your HR department.

Kevyn also cohosts two podcasts: Timeout with Leaders with Tyler White and The #HRevolution with Bobby Spaziani and Chris Darone.

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