Innovations and Breakthroughs

Lesley Hensell is the Co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, an e-commerce and Amazon consulting agency. The company’s experts help sellers resolve account listing suspensions and other challenges. 

Lesley has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their Amazon accounts and ASINs back up and running for the past 10 years. She is the author of The Amazon Incubator: Grow Your Business or Hatch a New One, to be released in January 2024.

When Amazon sellers get their accounts suspended, it can damage their credibility among customers, lead to losses, and lower their seller ranking. So, what can trigger a suspension and how can you get your account reinstated?

To prevent suspension, familiarize yourself with the policies and know the most common culprits. You should also watch your Amazon account health scorecard or rating to ensure that you don't fall below the recommended threshold. When faced with a potential suspension, you need all the tips and lessons you can get.

In this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast, Rich Goldstein interviews Lesley Hensell, the Co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, about strategies for overcoming Amazon account suspensions. They also talk about Amazon brand registry enforcements, common IP complaints on Amazon, and how Lesley's kids work in the family business.

Lucas James is the Co-founder and CEO of Twiz, a digital marketing agency focused on driving leads for B2B service companies and online stores. Based in Los Angeles, Twiz was founded on the idea that traditional marketing companies were charging businesses too much without producing enough results. Lucas is also the Co-host of the podcast, How To Scale an Agency, and produces a variety of other content in the area of AI news and developing tech.

Entrepreneurship requires taking careful and strategic steps to bring your ideas to life. To increase your probability of success, you need to be innovative, creative, and open to learning new ways of doing business.

The most successful entrepreneurs understand their limitations and leverage their strengths to stand out in the industry. They develop creative strategies for solving complex problems, build sustainable lead-generation plans to attract high-value clients, and invest in the right technology. This is all conducive to increasing a company's value. 

In this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast, Rich Goldstein interviews Lucas James, the Co-founder and CEO and Twiz, about entrepreneurship and lead generation best practices. They also talk about the value of content, the steps to building a successful product, and Lucas' inspiration to build a software platform.

Jordan Ross is the Founder and CEO of 8 Figure Agency, a firm that helps businesses scale their annual revenue through better operational, fulfillment, and management processes. Since its inception, the agency has worked with over 700 agencies and helped add $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Before founding 8 Figure Agency, Jordan was an Operations Lead at Amazon where he ran a division with over 800 people.

What is the most essential part of scaling a business? Is there a single secret to building a sustainable company?

Every entrepreneur aims to create a thriving business with a high customer lifetime value. Meeting your cash flow needs is not enough to stay competitive. You must implement systems for a stronger company culture and hire top talent to deliver exceptional customer experience. This small shift in focus can lead to disproportionately great results.

Jordan Ross, the Founder and CEO of the 8 Figure Agency, joins Rich Goldstein in this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast to talk about strategies for building recurring revenue. They also discuss tips for maintaining quality services and Jordan's “one-thing” philosophy.

Christene Marie is the Founder and CEO of The Knowing Agency, a brand identity and integrated marketing agency. The company helps empathy-driven brands develop marketing strategies to create connections with their target audiences. 

Christene has worked with brands like Amazon, Toyota, NAACP, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. She is also an international speaker and has a new book coming out this spring.

How much do you know about the people in your business? What strategies can you use to empower them?

Developing interpersonal relationships with your team and customers is a great strategy for building an authentic business. To achieve this, you need to know and understand yourself, your needs, and your goals. You also have to build emotionally intelligent connections with your people, taking the time to understand who they are.

In this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast, Rich Goldstein interviews Christene Marie, the Founder and CEO of The Knowing Agency, about how to be a holistic entrepreneur. They also discuss business branding strategies, how to develop your listening skills, and how to incorporate emotional intelligence into marketing.

Laurie Barkman is an M&A advisor and the former CEO of a $100 million revenue company that was sold to a Fortune 50 business. She now guides business owners as an M&A intermediary, facilitating both sell-side and buy-side transactions.

Laurie is a dynamic speaker who has consulted, advised, and presented to hundreds of CEOs and business owners. She is the author of The Business Transition Handbook: How To Avoid Succession Pitfalls and Create Valuable Exit Options and is the host of the award-winning podcast, Succession Stories.

When planning to exit a business, the first step is to create clearly defined goals. You need to assess your current business environment and practices including your finances, record keeping, and your business' worth. 

Taking this into consideration, succession planning should start early to ensure a smooth transition out of a business. Working with experienced M&A experts and advisors can help you prepare for a successful exit. A strategic transition plan aligned with your goals will help you avoid the common succession pitfalls.

In this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast, Rich Goldstein is joined by Laurie Barkman, an M&A advisor, about succession planning best practices. They discuss Laurie's exit planning process, how to avoid regrets after selling a business, and how intellectual property promotes business transferability.

Greg Maddox is a Senior Business Advisor at Cultivate Advisors, a consulting firm that partners with small business owners to help them grow sustainably and rediscover the joy in entrepreneurship. With a background in the financial services industry, Greg works with business owners to plan and maximize their business exits. He is a serial entrepreneur and was also the Founder and CEO of the Maddox Group.

What does it take to successfully exit a business? How can you make informed decisions and gain the financial freedom you desire after selling?

According to Greg Maddox, a certified business exit advisor, there are nine key steps to prepare for a successful exit. You need to understand your current business valuation, develop systems and processes, and find the right experts. His advice is to start this process early and thoroughly plan through using the nine steps. 

In this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast, Rich Goldstein sits down with Greg Maddox, a Senior Business Advisor at Cultivate Advisors, to talk about how to prepare for a successful business exit. Greg shares tips for increasing your company's value, getting a higher multiple when exiting, and how to plan for life after selling your business.

Chris Heivly is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and the Managing Director at Build The Fort, an umbrella entity that serves entrepreneurs, and startup companies. He is one of the nation's leading experts on launching startups and has been dubbed The Startup Whisperer. 

Chris co-founded MapQuest, which was sold to AOL for $1.2 billion. He is also a public speaker and the author of Build The Fort: Why 5 Simple Lessons You Learned as a 10 year-old Can Set You Up for Startup Success as well as Build the Fort: The Startup Community Builder's Field Guide.

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, and without a supportive community, managing a business can be a burdensome challenge. To keep growing, it is important to seek help from other entrepreneurs who have faced similar struggles.

Your lack of expertise in a given area can hinder your business. Chris Heivly’s advice is to identify your strengths and weaknesses while leaning on your community for support. This includes your industry peers, employees, and business partners as an essential part of reaching the next level. 

Chris Heivly, the Managing Director at Build The Fort, joins Rich Goldstein in this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast to talk about the need for a supportive community for entrepreneurs. They also discuss the history of MapQuest, the value of giving back, and common mistakes people make when starting a business.

Yoni Kozminski is the Founding Partner of South Col, an accelerator fund that partners with e-commerce brands to provide capital, strategic advice, operational support, and exit strategy. He is also the Co-founder and CEO of MultiplyMii and Escala, where he helps e-commerce businesses to grow and scale. 

Yoni has more than 15 years of experience in digital marketing and creative advertising for top brands like Mercedes-Benz, Mastercard, Sony, and Medtronic. He is also the host of the Successful Scales Podcast.

Preparing a business to sell takes time. From streamlining your business operations to documenting systems to fixing your finances, the process can take months to complete.

To increase an e-commerce brand's valuation and make it more attractive to investors, it needs to stand out from other brands. Build a unique company by optimizing your marketing, branding, and general business operations. All of these adjustments and more can vastly improve your company’s valuation. 

In this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast, Rich Goldstein interviews Yoni Kozminski — the Founding Partner of MultiplyMii, Escala, and South Col — to discuss strategies for preparing an e-commerce brand for exit. Yoni breaks down tips for making a business more attractive to investors, the benefits of intellectual property protection, and why a good exit strategy helps build a solid business.

Jim Padilla is the Founder of Gain The Edge, a company that works with legacy-minded professionals and entrepreneurs to create scalable sales systems. He is known in the personal development and business coaching world as the go-to guy for all things sales. Jim is also a master collaborator whose purpose is to help entrepreneurs leverage the power of collaboration to scale their businesses.

In a highly competitive market, entrepreneurs need to focus on building sustainable businesses that can run without them. To achieve this, it is essential to create a well-documented system for running sales processes.

An effective sales process consists of many components including hiring the right team, identifying and attracting your ideal clients, and nurturing great relationships. Building effective systems around these components will increase company value in the long run and make it easier to sell and exit your business.

Jim Padilla, the Founder of Gain The Edge, joins Rich Goldstein in this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast to share his strategies for creating an effective sales process. They discuss how systems help build a sellable business, the challenge of teaching people how to sell, and share tips for driving sales.

Gracey Ryback is a content creator, Amazon Live creator, and influencer marketing consultant. She works with e-commerce and Amazon brands to help them leverage the power of influencer marketing. With a focus on TikTok and Amazon Live, Gracey has worked with clients across multiple industries both on and off Amazon. She has grown a community of over one million followers.

Building a top brand on Amazon has become more difficult and expensive over the last couple of years. This is attributed to increased competition and the high costs of ads. To stand out from other players, Amazon sellers have to leverage different marketing strategies, including influencer marketing. 

To create a high-converting influencer marketing strategy, brands have to find the right influencers and create customized product listings. Amazon sellers also need to work with a budget and ensure that their marketing campaigns align with their business goals.

In this episode of the Innovations and Breakthroughs Podcast, Rich Goldstein interviews Gracey Ryback, a content creator and influencer marketing consultant, about how to leverage influencer marketing on Amazon. Gracey explains what an A-list Amazon influencer means, shares tips for working with influencers, and discusses the benefits of attending networking events.