It's Great Business

Welcome to the 2022 season of the It’s Great Business podcast!

Our first guest of the new year is sure to lift your spirits as she shares her story and performs for us. Ava Anderson is a talented young woman who shares her story of following her dream to become a musician and music producer. From Rock and Roll, Blues, Country, to Jazz and Pop, this graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music (the same college that John Mayer, Quincy Jones, Charlie Puth, Diana Krall, and Branford Marsalis attended), has already racked up well received performances at well-known venues including: the Bitter End, The Studio at Webster Hall, and the Bowery Electric in NYC. But that’s not all, following a dream of music production, Ava and her mother own Keeping Room Records, a remote production company with partner studios located on Long Island and Nashville. If you would like to connect with Ava, she can be reached at avaanderson.com and keepingroomrecords.com and be sure to subscribe to It’s Great Business, available on your favorite streaming platform. 

Take a listen to some of the best and brightest in business, academia and entertainment who have shared their career and life tips. We hope you enjoy and if you want to hear more from any of the guests we have featured, you can find the full discussion available on your favorite streaming platform.  

 Happy Holidays from the It’s Great Business team! We wish you all a wonderful and healthy new year with success - the way you define it!

Check out this week’s Question Corner episode of It’s Great Business with Ellen Dember. Ellen and Janice share their thoughts on professional success and great people.

 And don’t forget to subscribe to It’s Great Business on your favorite podcast app and like us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

My interview with Ellen Dember is the perfect holiday time discussion as it is sure to lift your spirits. As we think of what the past year has been and what next year will be, the brilliant and extremely articulate Cornell industrial and labor relations graduate shares how her career journey across six cities provided a backbone to operate in the less than diverse corporate board room. Ellen’s advice, from the inside out is sure to help guide you in your career journey and life. Do be sure to take notes because following her 6-C model of character, competence, collaboration compassion and communications will help you achieve your goals.

And don’t forget to subscribe to It’s Great Business, available on your favorite streaming platform. If you would like to connect with Ellen, she can be reached at LinkedIn or email her at [email protected].

Check out this week’s Question Corner episode of It’s Great Business with James Brown. He gives us some terrific career tips including the importance of having the right people surrounding you. I promise you will not be disappointed.

 And don’t forget to subscribe to It’s Great Business on your favorite podcast app and like us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

I just know that you will feel good after you listen to our It’s Great Business guest, James Brown Jr (JB), the founder and Chief Encouragement Officer of Encourage X, a digital platform which helps people stay positive and resilient. 

In our interview, you will hear how encouragement helped this humble beginning African American man, gain acceptance to Notre Dame and Kellogg School of Business. You will also be so inspired and motivated when you hear about his journey from highly successful corporate sales and marketing executive at Dow, GE, Kraft to the role of Chief Encouragement Officer of his company EncourageX. This is an episode that will make you smile and realize the power of positivity and certainly encouragement at every stage of life. 

And don’t forget to subscribe to It’s Great Business, available on your favorite streaming platform. If you would like to connect with JB, he can be reached at [email protected] You can also sign up for Encourage X through their website Encouragex.com

Our next guest on It’s Great Business is Sean Hand, corporate manager, author, and networking aficionado. Sean is a graduate of LaSalle College who early on learned the art of networking and penned his book, "That was Awkward: Seven Secrets of an Awkward Networker". One of Sean’s top networker suggestions is to always be sure you are paying attention to the guest of the most important person in the room. When you listen in, you will find out why. Sean also suggests that success comes when you show you are dedicated and can learn quickly. Be sure to join the thousands of other listeners who have subscribed to It’s Great Business, available on your favorite podcast app. If you would like to connect with Sean, he can be reached at his website awkwardnetworker.com or email him at [email protected]. Be sure to check out his book That Was Awkward: 7 Secrets of an Awkward Networker on Amazon.

In this week’s episode of It’s Great Business, you will hear from two leaders of the Atlantic City Boys and Girls Club (ACBGC) Stephanie Koch, CEO and Mia Williams, Director of STEAM. During our fun conversation, Stephanie and Mia will share the story of their respective career journeys which led them to the ACBGC. During our chat, you will hear how Stephanie’s social work and corporate nonprofit background in Philadelphia and Mia’s teaching, creative design background and technology skills have enabled them to create a unique, life-changing, STEAM program for the youth of Atlantic City. From risk taking to trust and a drive to give back, this dynamic duo has figured out how to achieve their career goals and give back to the city they love. Be sure to join the thousands of other listeners who have subscribed to It’s Great Business which can be found on your favorite podcast app. For every download of the episode, the Burg Levi Education Foundation will donate $5. If you would like to connect with Stephanie and Mia, they can be reached at www.acbgc.org or email them at [email protected].

Check out this week’s Question Corner episode of It’s Great Business with Jay Sullivan. He gives us some terrific career tips including a focus on others. I promise you will not be disappointed.

 And don’t forget to subscribe to It’s Great Business on your favorite podcast app and like us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

This week’s guest on It’s Great Business is Jay Sullivan, Exec-Comm’s Managing Director who is focused on helping business professionals communicate better. The Boston College, English graduate started out as a High School English teacher in Jamaica which led him to volunteering and living at an orphanage. He later returned to the states and became a public interest as well as corporate attorney.  Jay’s philosophy is that we can have several careers throughout our lives and he has certainly taken this to heart. In addition to his law career, Jay is now a columnist for Forbes.com, a Georgetown Law and Fordham University School of Law adjunct professor and author of two books:  Raising Gentle Men: Lives at the Orphanage Edge and Simply Said: Communicating Better at Work and Beyond.  I can’t wait for you to listen and learn - starting with a one of Jay’s tips that suggests that when you introduce yourself, use a phrase that goes beyond title and focuses on what you do e.g. “I help who, do what…?” If you would like to connect with Jay, he can be reached at [email protected].

And don’t forget to subscribe to It’s Great Business on your favorite podcast app and like us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.