On today’s show, we interview Ashland Stansbury, one of our successful alumni who was part of the Young Entrepreneurs Program back in 2015. She was a freshman at Babson College when she joined our program and she sold over $165,000 that summer, winning the Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Today, Ashland is the CEO of Because, a B2B software platform that she founded four years ago upon graduation.

In this episode, Ashland is going to talk about the important lessons she learned at YEAA and how this experience helped her in the business she runs today.

Ashland is also going to talk about the vision she has for her company and the goal of becoming a billion-dollar organization.

She'll discuss challenges she experiences not only during our program but ones that she's faced today as a CEO at Because.

She will also talk about how she got funds and fundraising to be able to have a business, will share a very inspirational and detailed story on how she started her business, the mistakes she made along the way and the lessons she took from them and so much more.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• A little bit about Ashland's story and how she got involved into our program.

• The difference between Student Painters and a regular internship. 

• The most important keys to success in Ashland’s preseason.

• The best mindset to have in order to achieve success in our program.

• About Ashland’s production schedule that we still use today.

• How NOT to manage your employees. 

• About Ashland’s business: how she started it, the challenges she had along the way and her goals for the future.

• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we interview Joe Tedesco, one of our successful alumni who joined our program back in 2016 and completed an $81,000 business with a profit of $15,000. 

What is unique about Joe’s story is that he was the very last intern hired that year (it was early to mid-April) and he had to figure out very quickly how to get started in this business. But he had a very strong mindset that helped him become one of our top managers that year.

For Joe, failure was not an option. He was driven and motivated, even though no one had ever done this before, starting late in mid to late April and running a successful business that was one of the tops in the country.

Today, Joe is a sales manager at Skyline Solar and he is also the owner of Tedesco Painting, an interior restoration company

In this episode, Joe is going to talk about this incredible journey and the lifelong impact this experience had on him.

He will also share how our internship motivated him to stay in college, will talk about how being an underdog was a very powerful motivational tool for him, will share some of the most important lessons he took away from YEAA, will reveal the key secret to becoming the best leader you can be, and so much more.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• Joe's experience as an underdog and how he overcame this intimidation.

• The importance of having a strong mindset in order to succeed. 

• Some of the most important lessons Joe took away from YEAA.

• The importance of finding the right mentors to help you on your journey to success.

• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we pivot a little bit from having alumni on the show to interviewing another successful entrepreneur that is out there.

Our guest today is Brent McPhail, the founder and owner of Brave Control Solutions in Windsor, a company developing automated solutions to solve the global housing crisis and global skilled trades shortage.

In this episode, Brent is going to talk about the challenges he's had in the manufacturing business and he will also share details about his company's journey from one million to ten million, then back to about seven million, and now it's approaching $200 million.

You will find out a little bit about Brent’s background story, how Brave Control was founded and what the company does.

Brent will talk about how he got into the construction automation market and will share what are some of his day-to-day tasks.

You will also discover what Brent had to change about himself to get to where he is today and why he thinks it is very important to have  a “never give up” attitude

Brent will talk about the importance of having a process in place in any type of business, will share how he views Student Painters and what we offer to students, will reveal his goals for Brave in the next 5 years and so much more.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• Using automation, computers and robotics to help manufacturers improve their processes.

• The importance of having a process in place in any type of business

• How Brent got into the construction automation market

• What Brent had to change about himself to get to where he si today

• The importance of having a “never give up” attitude

• How Brent views Student Painters and what we offer to students

• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we interview Ben Steenkamp from the University of Connecticut. He was one of our successful branch managers back in 2017 and 2018 running a $75,000 business and making about  $16,000 in his first year in our program and about $25,000 in his second year. Today, Ben works as an account executive at Oracle NetSuite.

In this episode, Ben is going to talk about the importance and the power of taking control of your own destiny and how being part of YEAA helped him get a full-time position at a successful company like Oracle.

You will find out a little bit about Ben’s background and origin story, how he heard about our program and what made him decide to join it.

Ben will talk about his results in the program and some of the most important key takeaways he got out of this experience.

He will share some of the challenges he had to overcome and how those helped him grow and he will also reveal the most important key to his success at Student Painters.

You will find out what the Oracle job interview process was like for Ben and how he related it back to Student Painters.

Ben will also talk about what he does at Oracle and how he applies some of the lessons he learned in our program. He will also share his plans for the future and so much more.

Listen now and enjoy another insightful conversation with one of our successful young leaders! 

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• How Ben heard about our program and what made him decide to join

• Some of the key takeaways that Ben got out of his experience in our program

• Some of the challenges Ben had to overcome and how those helped him grow

• The most important key to Ben’s success 

• How the Oracle job interview process was like for Ben and how he related it back to Student Painters? 

• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we interview Michael Acorn, one of our successful interns. Since joining our program in 2019, he sold over $1.8 million and earn personally over 160,000, he has recruited, coached, and mentored 18 college students who've earned an average of 22,000 hours a summer. He is also the number one branch manager of all time with single sales of $366,000 over three summers. 

In this episode, Michael is going to talk about his incredible story and share in great detail his coaching secrets on how to be a top performer at YEAA

You will learn a little bit about Michael’s background and the unique history he has with YEAA.

Michael will talk about the importance of having a goal-crushing attitude and the right mindset in order to succeed. 

He will share some micros on how he coached top performers in this program.

He will also talk about how to ensure a successful preseason and will share some of the most important lessons hel took from his experience with YEAA.

Michael will discuss the importance of dedication, perseverance and believing in your dream, he will talk about why surrounding yourself with top performers can help you succeed as an entrepreneur, will reveal how being organized can lower your stress levels and so much more.

Listen now and enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• The importance of having a goal-crushing attitude and the right mindset in order to succeed

•  The flip between employer and employee mindsets

• Some micros on how Michael coached top performers in this program

• How to ensure a successful preseason

• Some of the most important lessons Michael took from his experience with YEAA

• The importance of having a coach or a mentor

• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we interview AJ Rodriguez, another one of our successful alumni. He was an intern with us back in 2012 and did a $70,000 plus business.

After finishing school, AJ entered his family business. Today he owns 34 Sport Clips Haircuts locations, 1 Gigi's Cupcakes Bakery, Beyond Parallel Fitness 24/7 & CrossFit gym, and is a landlord/property manager for real estate investment properties. 

In this episode, AJ is going to get into some micros of how he got in the franchise business, how to go about buying a franchise if you're interested and how his experience with Student painters helped him become who he is today. 

You will learn more about who AJ Rodriguez is and a little bit about his background and origin story.

AJ will talk about how he heard about our program and what made him decide to join, will share more about this experience, his results in the program and some of the most important takeaways he got from it, important lessons he still uses today in his businesses.

You will find out more about how to start and what it takes to become a franchisee.

AJ will share more about how he got involved in real estate investing and how many rental properties he has today.

He will also reveal some key characteristics and habits a successful entrepreneur should have, will talk about why you should cut out the people that aren't positively attributing to your life, the value of the network and the connections you gain through the program, will share his plans for the future and so much more…

Listen now and enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• Who is AJ Rodriguez: a little bit about his background and origin story

• How AJ heard about our program and what made him decide to join

• Some of the most important takeaways AJ got from our program and still uses today in his businesses

• How do you start and what does it take to become a franchisee?

• AJ’s challenges during Covid and how he overcame them

• How AJ got involved in real estate investing and how many rental properties he has

• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

AJ’s LinkedIn

On today’s show, we interview another one of our amazing recent alumni. His name is Mike Morrill, he was an intern with us for three years, from 2019 to 2022 and sold over $1.5 million during this period.

Mike not only ran his own business successfully but also coached many interns and watched them grow with our program, both professionally and financially.

In this episode, Mike is going to talk about the impact that this program had on him, and how much he's grown and learned through the way program. 

You will discover how Mike found out about YEAA and what drew him into the program.

He will talk a little bit about the small business he had while in high school and why he always wanted to become an entrepreneur.

Mike will share what he did to maximize his three summers at YEAA and will talk about his experience coaching other managers.

You will learn more about the importance of having a good process in place and why dedication and perseverance are key to success in business.

Mile will talk about his challenge during Covid and how he managed to overcome them and he will also share some other trials and tribulations he had during the program and the lessons he took away from them.

He will also share a blueprint of what you need to do to ensure your success in this program, will talk about the most important takeaways he got from his experience at YEAA, will reveal some of his plans for the future and much more.

Listen now and enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

• What Mike did to maximize his three summers at YEAA
• About Mike’s experience coaching other managers
• A blueprint of what you need to do to ensure your success in this program
• The most important takeaways Mike got from our program
• Some of the trials and tribulations Mike had during the program and the lessons he took away from them
• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we interview Tyler Wagner, one of our alumni who was a branch manager down in Columbia, South Carolina back in 2012.

Today, Tyler lives in Miami and has started a few companies, one of the main ones being Authors Unite, a company that focuses on publishing books for people that currently has about $15 million a year in sales. 

In this episode, Tyler is going to talk about some of the biggest takeaways he took away from YEAA and how it almost gave him superpowers.

You will find out more about what Tyler does today both personally and professionally. Tyler  will talk about how he founded Authors Unite and what this company does

You will learn how Tyler heard about the YEAA program and what made him decide to join.

Tyler will share some of the biggest st lessons he learned from our program and how he is still applying them today in his businesses.

He will reveal the biggest superpower he got from our program and will talk about how Student Painters forced accountability upon him and helped shape who he is today.

You will find out how YEAA helped Tyler build his confidence, he will talk about the importance of having a good process in place for any type of business, will share some of the struggles he had early on as an entrepreneur and how he managed to overcome them and so much more.

Listen now and enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show 

• What Authors Unite does and how Tyler founded the company
• How Tyler heard about the YEAA program and what made him decide to join
• About Tyler’s first year in the program: results and takeaways
• Some of the biggest lessons Tyler learned from our program and how he is still applying them today in his business
• There's a lot of failure along the way to success
• The importance of having a good process in place for any type of business
• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

Tyler’s LinkedIn

Authorsunite.com 

The Tyler Wagner Show

It is the 100th episode of the Leaders Across America podcast and we wanted it to be something really unique and special.

So this time, Steve Acorn is going to turn the microphone around and will tell his own story and his experience with Young Entrepreneurs Across America.

Steve is going to be interviewed by Chris Thomson, the Head Coach of the Student Work Management Program, a similar organization from Canada and the host of the Leaders Of Tomorrow podcast.

You will find out how Steve heard about Student Painters and what made him decide to join the program in the first place.

You will also learn who Steve Acorn was before joining Student Painters and what was his parents’ opinion about him joining the program.

Steve will share some of his favourite memories about the program early on and will talk about how technology changed over time and how it helped Student Painters evolve.

You will also learn what was Student Painters’ culture when Steve joined the program and how it changed over time.

Steve will also talk about the structure of Student Painters and how it changed over the years, will share the most important lessons he took from his experience with Student Painters, will talk about some of the challenges he has to deal with now, will reveal some plans for the future and so much more.

Listen now and enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show 

• How Steve heard about Student Painters and what made him decide to join
• Some of Steve’s favorite memories about the program early on 
• What was Student Painters’ culture like back then and how did it change?
• A little bit about the structure of Student Painters and how it changed over the years
• The most important lessons Steve took from his experience with Student Painters
• What is coming in the future for Student Painters and Steve Acorn
• And so much more…

Resources:

YEAA Website

Leaders Across America

Student Works

In today’s show, Steve interviews Cate Latting, Executive Regional Manager at Young Entrepreneurs Across America.

This show starts with Cate sharing how she got involved with YEAA in the first place. Outgoing and athletic, Cate got a chance to co-op in her sophomore year. In this segment of the show, Cate talks a bit about the mental hurdles that she had to overcome when she first got involved in the painting business. Was it worth taking up all the challenges?

Next, Cate gives us some interesting insights into her summer stint where she ended up making an $18,000 profit from her painting job. Home-owners, Cate reveals, like to buy from young and excited students who are heavily invested in making a better future for themselves. Further, you will also learn how having an accountability partner inspired  Cate on to put in her best.

One theme that we discuss quite a bit is the importance of communication and follow-up. As is common with many folks who are managing their first business venture, Cate was afraid that incessant follow-up would kill her sale. She talks about her struggle with overcoming this mental hurdle.  

Cate also shares how, given the chance she will handle her employees differently. Having gone through 25 painters throughout summer made her realize that she needs to better incentivize her employees.

In her second year at YEAA, Cate is managing a team of 7 first-year interns. How does she plan on mentoring these interns to have a more successful second year?

We wrap with this show with Cate sharing some great advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Tune in for some excellent insights!

What You Will Learn in This Show:

• How to communicate with prospects and convince them to hire you
• How to deal with your employees and build a dream team for your business
• How an accountability partner can inspire you to put in your best
• And so much more...

Resources:

Young Entrepreneurs Across America