While we were together in Orlando for Nationwide's PrimeTime show, we took the opportunity to chat with a local Member in the rent-to-own space, Buddy's Home Furnishings. Mitchell Lee, director of franchise development for Buddy's, spoke on the business, the team's growth strategy and more.

What does the new business development process look like for Nationwide Marketing Group? To find the answer we turn to Nationwide's Vice President of Business Development Derek Mattila — the guy behind countless new partnerships the group has formed over the past few years, and the launch of the home improvement category.

A brand that's still too young to get its driver's license, ZLINE Kitchen has been making major waves in the appliance industry of late. With a year of working with the Nationwide Marketing Group team under its belt, we sit down with ZLINE to talk shop. Mason Watkins, marketing director, and Derek Frye, director of sales, share a behind-the-scenes look at what differentiates ZLINE in the attainable luxury category.

How different, really, is the Rent-to-Own industry from traditional retail? To get at that answer, we turned to Nationwide Marketing Group's resident expert on the RTO industry, Keven Dalke. While there are certainly some very defined differences, retail and Rent-to-Own still have plenty in common.

The team at Silica For Your Home in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, hit a major one this year with their 100th anniversary. We took the opportunity to talk with third- and fourth-generation owners Tom and Josh Schneider and get their take on what Silica has gotten right over the last century.

Unlike their Big Box counterparts, Independent dealers in the consumer electronics industry — especially Members of Nationwide Marketing Group — are doing well. Are there challenges? Of course. But there's plenty to be excited about in the CE retail industry.

We love getting out and seeing our Members whenever we get the chance. Waiting six months in between PrimeTime shows just doesn't cut it anymore, which is why Nationwide recently held its second slate of Regional Member Meetings. This past June, we had stops in Minneapolis, Sacramento, Philadelphia and Indianapolis. Nationwide's Mike Whitaker jumps into the podcast to talk about all the great networking and education that took place.

Over the last few years, Kelly's Home Center has seen its retail footprint grow. We talk with second- and third-generation owners Jeff and Scott Kelly about the business, what's working, and what they've learned through their acquisitions.

Launched at KBIS 2022, Cooksy is an innovative gadget that's designed to be your digital sous chef. Andreas Hansen, part of the Cooksy team, shares what excites him about getting the product into the Independent retail channel.

The stars aligned perfectly for Enos Barger, managing partner at Castle Rental & Pawn, to sign an NIL deal with a local college athlete and recent transfer student. But theirs is a situation that other independent business owners can learn from and look to capitalize on in their own markets.