INspired INsider Podcast

Lawrence Chester has served as a CFO for 25 years for companies such as Colovos Company, Republic Windows and Doors, United Service Companies, and High Sierra Sport Company, helping them eliminate losses and improving financial operations and reporting. He is an intuitive businessman, able to grasp complex situations, driving to the heart of the matter while developing creative solutions to problems.

Realizing that he enjoyed the challenges of helping companies that were working their way through a crisis, Lawrence joined a bankruptcy trustee for several years, analyzing the financial condition of client companies and managing them through those difficult times. Soon after that, he struck out on his own, forming CFO Simplified's team of CFOs.

CFO Simplified helps their clients get clarity on their business' performance, and the core of CFO Simplified's focus is working with small to mid-sized businesses in cash flow improvement, strengthening internal controls, improving profitability, and clarifying financial reporting. Since starting CFO Simplified, Lawrence has been involved in Business Turnaround, and Mergers and Acquisitions, in addition to Financial and Operations Management for his clients.

When you look at your financial statements, do you see the information you need to help you make changes today that will affect your business profitability tomorrow? If your financial statement isn't telling you what's happening in your business, then there's a problem.

According to Lawrence Chester, the President of CFO Simplified, there are two basic ways of looking at your financials: one is on a cash basis, and the other is on an accrual basis. But what do these two options mean and which one should you use to pay for recurrent expenditure like taxes?

Learn more about smart financials for business growth on this episode of the Inspired Insider podcast. Tune in as Dr. Jeremy Weisz and his Rise25 co-founder, John Corcoran talk with Lawrence Chester, President of CFO Simplified, about the pain points businesses face with their financials, the common mistakes they make, and how to rejig your financials for business growth.

Kelly Perdew is a Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at Moonshots Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in extraordinary leadership. Kelly has served in every capacity: Founder, Board Member, CEO, COO, CFO, Business Development, and Sales. He has raised institutional financing, grown businesses, down-sized businesses, and sold businesses for 8-figure exits.

Kelly was the winner of the second season of The Apprentice.This granted him access to work with the Trump brand across its different businesses. He holds an MBA and JD from The School of Law UCLA and graduated from West Point.

Imagine yourself proving your entrepreneurial mettle, riding on fame, and going on to build and invest in exceptional brands—that would be like a snapshot of Kelly Perdew's story. When Kelly won the second season of Donald Trumps' The Apprentice, you'd think the journey would be a smooth sail from there. But in Kelly's case, it wasn't a straight line: there were a few twists, turns, and kicking yourself experiences before he was able to set down his roots and get to where he is today.

Learn more about the inspiring entrepreneurial story of Kelly Perdew, Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at Moonshots Capital, on this episode of Dr. Jeremy Weisz's Inspired Insider Podcast. Kelly recalls what it was like working with Donal Trump after winning The Apprentice, how he became an investor, his biggest investment miss, and how his company determines which early-stage companies they should invest in.

Jon Morris is the CEO of Ramsay Innovations LLC, where he helps business leaders grow their companies faster. They provide companies a framework that Jon has fine tuned over the years that is focused on data-driven leadership, high performing culture, focus and alignment, and growth infrastructure.

Before Ramsay Innovations, Jon founded and bootstrapped Rise Interactive, a full-service internet marketing agency, with $10,000 and grew it into one of the largest independent digital agencies. Rise Interactive helps clients get new customers at the lowest acquisition cost.

Three things can sink or help your business grow: organizational design, financial infrastructure, and sales and marketing infrastructure. Jon Morris explains that these three items, if done properly together, can propel your company forward. But when one of them goes missing, it can tip off the balance in your organization and challenge the momentum you've painstakingly built for your business.

Jon shares that as a company grows, the CEO's role changes with it. And the business needs a solid organizational design so that business owners can remove certain functions and pass them on to your team while at the same time empowering the employees to do their jobs efficiently. And as the business grows, the organization's core values must be the driving force behind the hiring, firing, and promotional decisions in order to retain a cohesive and top-performing workforce.

So where does the finance, sales, and marketing infrastructure of the business fit into the picture? Ramsay Innovations LLC CEO, breaks down these three things on this episode of Inspired Insider brought to you by Rise25.

Learn how Jon Morris, CEO of Ramsay Innovations LLC, grew Rise Interactive from 0 to 250+ employees with just an initial $10,000 in his pocket on this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast. Jon breaks down and shares the secret to capturing your business' organizational design, finance, and sales and marketing infrastructure. He also discusses how Ramsay Innovations help their clients through this process and how he zeroed in on his tried-and-true method for growing a business. Stay tuned.

Steve Fretzin is the President of Fretzin Inc., where he offers business development coaching and training, law practice advice, and interactive and impactful law firm retreats to his clients. Steve has been a business development coach with over 20 years of experience. He coaches and trains lawyers on the most modern-day business development skills, providing precise tips, fresh ideas, and actionable tasks that drive tangible results.

Steve is also a three-time author on legal business development and the host of BE THAT LAWYER podcast. He has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Crain's, and Entrepreneur.com and has appeared on NBC News and WGN Radio. He is a regular contributor to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and has published articles in Attorney at Law Magazine, the National Law Review, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois State Bar Association.

A lot of people struggle with sales because they don't know how to sell without feeling salesy. As a result, they have a hard time getting clients and growing their business. But premier business development coach, Steve Fretzin, says you can turn that around following his sales-free selling model.

Steve says that selling your services isn't more complicated than any other type of sales—but it is crucial that you have an impeccable game plan to not only attract potential clients but to also close the deal. He says that relationship building, setting an agenda, networking and giving with intention, working with a coach, and being fearless are the key ingredients to making a hard-to-resist offer—the question is, how can you put these things into practice?

On this episode of the INspired INsider Podcast, John Corcoran and Dr. Jeremy Weisz shares a LinkedIn live episode that they did with premier business development coach and "lawyer whisperer", Steve Fretzin of FRETZIN INC. They'll be sharing their conversation about how lawyers, coaches and other b2b service providers can sell without feeling salesy. They'll also discuss the common struggles of selling today, how professionals can take control of the selling process, and the bad sales habits and mistakes people often make. Stay tuned.

Ladi Goldwire is CEO and Owner of BrinMar Construction & Development Group Ltd, a design-build general contracting firm specializing in condo renovations and single-family residential home flips and rehabs. She is passionate about her business because it provides a means for women to be expressive and relevant in a space typically set aside for, and dominated by, men.

Ladi is also a big advocate for mental health and the hemp industry. She's a member of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Breaking into any industry is never easy—and this is particularly true if you're a female trying to dominate a male-dominated one like construction and development. It can be so intense and so challenging that it can push you to your breaking point. But with grit and determination, it's definitely possible to not just penetrate the industry but to make a mark in it as well. And this was the case for Ladi Goldwire.

Ladi took an early interest in construction because of her father. Her interest then morphed into a passion that later inspired the founding of her company, BrinMar Construction & Development Group Ltd. But early industry dominance saw Ladi as a target—she even landed in jail because of some trumped-up charges as she was doing her job as a Certified Building Official in Florida. The charges were eventually dropped and she became an even stronger force to be reckoned with in the industry.

On this Top Black Leaders Series episode of Inspired Insider, Dr. Jeremy Weisz talks with Ladi Goldwire, the CEO and Owner of BrinMar Construction & Development Group Ltd, about how she pursues them with passion in order to make a mark in whatever she undertakes. Tune in as she discusses why she's passionate about mental health, how she dominated a male-populated industry in Florida despite the challenges, and what she has been up to in the hemp and tea industry.

Christina Nicholson is the Founder of Media Maven and Podcast Clout. Media Maven is a full-service public relations agency that specializes in owned and earned media. At the same time, Podcast Clout is a service that makes it easy for you to find the right podcasts to be a guest and catapult your brand.

Christina is an award-winning journalist with more than a decade of experience anchoring, reporting, writing, blogging, video production, editing, and excelling in social media, photography, and live TV.

She's been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, the Huffington Post, Time, Yahoo!, PR Daily, All Business Experts, CNN, WTVJ in Miami, WPTV in West Palm Beach, News 12 in New York City, and many other media outlets. More importantly, she has gotten her clients on everywhere from Good Morning America and all over the media.

Hate fake news? According to Christina Nicholson, Founder of Media Maven and Podcast Clout, it's your fault that there's so much of it everywhere. She explains that how you consume and engage with content determines the types of content that media produces. And with social media depending on user-generated content, everyone is now deeply a part of what makes up the media and everyone is now media and equally responsible for fake news.

However, despite the proliferation of fake news, everyone—including businesses—can't do without the media. As a brand, you want to get your story in the right media channel to grow your business, but how do you cut through the noise to land publicity for your brand on a platform like Today Show? Who should you be pitching for promotion, and what's the DNA of a great pitch?

Tune in to this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast as Dr. Jeremy Weisz interviews Christina Nicholson, Founder of Media Maven and Podcast Clout, about fake news and how your brand can avoid being entangled with it. They'll be going deep into the pandemic of fake news as Christina explains why it's everyone's fault that it's everywhere, how to earn media and leverage the exposure to profit your brand, and she also shares how her companies help brands get the media attention that they need.

Kevin McArdle is the Founder and CEO of SureSwift Capital, a private equity firm that buys and builds SaaS companies. SureSwift gives dream exits to SaaS Founders and through their uniquely entrepreneurial approach, they have acquired–and grown–over 30 companies in five and a half years. A few of their companies include ChargeStripe, Mailparser, MySiteAuditor, and many more.

Before founding SureSwift, Kevin worked at Cerner Corporation, a global healthcare IT firm. In his 15 year tenure at Cerner, Kevin held positions in sales, sales leadership, operations, general management, and client management, eventually becoming one of the youngest Vice Presidents in the company's 35-year history.

Are you a bootstrapped SaaS founder working hard and looking forward to your dream exit? Kevin McArdle's SureSwift Capital is on the lookout for companies like yours—but there's a catch: your company needs to be a good fit for his company in order for him to help you get your dream exit.

But what are the requirements that you need to meet in order to qualify for SureSwift's dream exit? And what if, instead of selling your company, you want it to grow even more?

On this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast as Dr. Jeremy Weisz goes behind the scenes of private equity firm, SureSwift Capital, with its founder, Kevin McArdle. They talk about Kevin's foray into entrepreneurship and how he grew his company, the idea behind SureSwift Capital's interest in bootstrapped SaaS companies, the acquisition process that companies go through, and the requirements for them to help companies get the exit that they dream of. Stay tuned.

Andrew Youderian is the Founder of eCommerceFuel, an amazing community where eCommerce store owners can help each other grow their stores and build deeper relationships. After a few years in the investment banking world, Andrew decided he'd had enough and decided to quit and start his first eCommerce business.

He has sold numerous eCommerce stores over the years, which have collectively generated millions of dollars, and he has experience bootstrapping stores, seven-figure business exits, and SEO community building.

Imagine building the world's largest community of top business owners in your niche. Can you imagine how valuable and helpful that would be? This type of community gives members immediate access to actionable knowledge and helps them build trusting relationships. But there's only one problem: developing and running a community like this is almost unheard of, especially when you think about how to make it so effective and impactful to its members.

The good news is Andrew Youderian of eCommerceFuel was able to do just this. And an even better news is that he's more than excited to share how he built a community of ace eCommerce founders. He says that maintaining a substantial presence online, making connections, and networking will give you the boost you need to get you started. But as in all things, there are a lot more details that you need to be aware of if you want to create a community that will be worth everyone's while.

On this episode of Inspired Insider, Dr. Jeremy Weisz talks with eCommerceFuel Founder, Andrew Youderian, about what it takes to create a vibrant community for eComm business owners. Andrew also shares the story behind the founding of the eCommerceFuel community, the core values that drive it, and how the community has helped eCommerce brands.

John Corcoran is a recovering attorney, an author, and was a former White House writer and speechwriter to the Governor of California. Throughout his career, John has worked in Hollywood, the heart of Silicon Valley, and ran his own boutique law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area catering to small business owners and entrepreneurs.

John has been the host of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast since 2012 where he has interviewed hundreds of CEOs, founders, authors, and entrepreneurs, from Peter Diamandis and Adam Grant to Gary Vaynerchuk and Marie Forleo.

John is also the co-founder of Rise25 Media, a company that connects B2B businesses with their ideal clients, referral partners, and strategic partners. They help their client generate ROI through their done-for-you podcast service.

How important is your network to you? Most likely, you know just how valuable connections can be—particularly if you're doing business. But unfortunately not many people are able to capitalize on these connections alive because of one thing: they don't know how.

Your network thrives on a give-and-take environment and one of the best ways that you can do that is through a podcast. The question is, how can you utilize having a podcast to grow your network and more importantly, how do you create amazing content for your podcast?

Listen to this episode Inspired Insider Podcast as Dr. Jeremy Weisz chats with his Rise25 co-founder, John Corcoran, about how to create great content for a podcast. They discuss what makes a content unforgettable, the importance of doing research about your guests prior to your interview, and why stories are always an amazing source of content. Stay tuned.

Jimmy Zollo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Collaborata, a Chicago-based company serving the insights and marketing-research space. Collaborata helps companies find, shape, and buy expert-led multi-client research projects. It helps companies get expert market research that can help a company grow and innovate, and they connect research clients and suppliers to market research. They are the first-ever platform that allows brands to share research costs and insights, and they have been featured in Business Insider, BuiltInChicago, Greenbook, Market Research World.

Jimmy is also the Co-Founder of Joe & Bella, a service that provides older adults with the full array of products they need, and they offer their services for residents of care communities, their families, and caregivers.

Previously Jimmy helped drive the initial growth of Grubhub, one of Chicago's most successful tech startups ever. He helped develop Grubhub's industry-leading restaurant network, traveling across the country to launch new markets and grow existing ones.

Before Jimmy focused on tech, he worked in the sports industry, having worked for the Chicago Sky, then the Bulls, selling his favorite sport in his favorite city.

While sitting in a meeting where the new rules on how Grubhub would operate after completing a successful IPO, Jimmy Zollo knew it was time to move on to do something different. He had worked hard at helping Grubhub expand into new cities but Jimmy wanted to remain in the startup ecosystem and had always wanted to build something of his own. So he dived into the entrepreneurial deep blue sea and founded Collaborata.

Ten months down the line, no client, no paycheck, it looked like Jimmy's Collaborata was going to fail. But after multiple iterations, they struck gold and were able to bring on marquee clients such as the NBA, Reebok, and Ford to collaborate on a project and share data. That breakthrough became the start of many significant research collaborations enabled by Collaborata.

Join Dr. Jeremy Weisz and Jimmy Zollo, the Co-Founder and CEO of Collaborata, on this episode of Inspired Insider Podcast. They talk about Jimmy's entrepreneurial journey, why he started Collaborata, and how they enable big competitive corporations to collaborate in research projects and democratize data for growth and innovation. They also talk about Jimmy's other company, Joe and Bella, and how both of Jimmy's companies best serve their clients. Stay tuned.