Leadership in Action

Sharing his journey on this week’s episode of Leadership In Action is a local entrepreneur who takes pride in a job well done. With a knack for entrepreneurship, he started his first landscaping company in his early teens. Welcome to the show, Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes, Greg Cuoco! Host Mark Stiles interviews Greg to learn about how he got started as an entrepreneur, the importance of transparency with employees, and what the future of the landscaping industry holds. 

Takeaways:

• For Greg, starting a business meant the freedom to control the direction and growth in a way that he wanted to. When Greg was looking to make a switch, his background in landscaping made owning a landscaping company a promising venture. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycuoco/ 

Quote of the Show

• “Ultimately what it comes down to is relationships.” - Greg Cuoco

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

Transcript:

Mark: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization local podcast. I am really excited today to talk about some forward thinking trades, especially the landscaping trade and where that is going in the future. Today's guest is a local entrepreneur. Who takes pride in a job well done.

He started his first landscaping company in his early teens. He's a leadership legend who knows how to motivate teams and drive effective results. He's the Chief Executive Officer at The Difference Landscapes. Please welcome Greg Cuoco. Welcome to the show. Greg.

Greg: Thank you. Appreciate the introduction.

Mark: Let's go right into it. Why did you start your business?

Greg: Yeah, so I've always had the, uh, entrepreneurial bl bug in me ever since I was a kid. Um, always looking for ways to, um, make money. Um, I started my first landscaping company just in my neighborhood. One of my, um, neighbors actually approached me. Uh, they needed some landscaping, uh, and some snow shoveling done.

So, uh, it just started from there. I did a great job. Word of mouth, got out, ended up doing my whole neighborhood. Uh, then I went to college and, you know, was on the track to go, you know, corporate. I was in corporate for a while, but, I was never a yes man. Um, I never kind of just went with the flow. I've, I've always wanted to have more.

Um, and I always was trying to, uh, strive for the best and make everything, um, The best it possibly could, and definitely ruffled some feathers with some of my input, uh, at some of those, uh, meetings that, that, that were done. And, you know, I just wasn't succeeding in the corporate life and I was, I was always kinda knocking my head against the wall of why it wasn't working out.

Um, and I actually got fired from every single job that I've had, uh, in corporate. And I kinda went back to the drawing board and figured out, you know, I don't think this is right for me. Um, and I didn't want to have, uh, something else in control of my destiny and my growth. And so I ended up looking for, um, a business to start and I said, Hey, you know what worked for the past of me?

And it was, it was landscaping. And so I was, you know, going around. I just, I would just talk to entrepreneurs and. Basically asked him what was the best way to go about this. And I ended up running into a family friend. He owns several bars in Boston. Um, and cuz that was another thing I wanted to do too, is potentially to open up a, a, a bar as well.

So like, talking to him and he was telling me, Hey, why, why would you wanna start something? Why don't you buy something? And a light bulb really went off in my head, you know, because the. Hardest thing is, is the time it takes to build something up. And a lot of people, they're, you know, a 10 night, a 10 year overnight success.

Uh, and, and it takes a lot of time to build that. And so that's the one thing, you know, we all have, is a limited amount of time. So I actually end up looking at buying a company. And so I just networked like crazy cuz a lot of these businesses aren't advertised for sale because they're scared they're gonna lose their customers, they're gonna lose their employees.

So it's all, you...

Today’s guest on Leadership In Action is an experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working in the luxury goods and jewelry industry. She’s been on Shark Tank, was recently recognized as a Entreprenista 100 award winner, and had her business listed on the INC 5000 list for 2022. Joining us today is CEO and Founder of Tiny Tags, Melissa Clayton! Host Mark Stiles sits down with Melissa to dive deep into the background of who she is, and what motivated her to start Tiny Tags. In this episode we’ll cover why you don’t need to work 100 hours a week, the importance of being vulnerable, and what it takes to get on Shark Tank.

Takeaways:

• To be an entrepreneur, you do not need to work 100 hours a week. While starting a business is hard work, it is important to make sure you are not overworking, and that you still have time for friends, family, and hobbies. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-clayton-817b568/ 

Quote of the Show

• “I'm not trying to be authentic. I'm just being me.” - Melissa 

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

Transcript:

She's included on a list of Inc. 5,000 fastest growing companies this year. That's nationwide folks. She was a semi-finalist in the ERs and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018. She is the founder of the, Matt has a patent and because of that was featured on NBC's Today Show and wait for it. Shark Tank in April of 2020.

She's the founder and c e o of Tiny Tags. You've probably heard of it. Meryl Streep wears it. Please welcome Melissa Clayton. Welcome to the show, Melissa. 

Melissa Clayton: Thanks for having me. Happy to be here. 

Mark Stiles: You ready to get right into it? Let's do it. All right. Like every episode, we start with the same question. What is a common misconception about leadership and or being an entrepreneur?

Melissa 

Melissa Clayton: for me, my experience is that the misconception is that you have to work a hundred hours a week being an entrepreneur. And I think for leadership that you can't be vulnerable. I think that has changed a lot. When I think of my days in corporate America, there was definitely like a wall between leadership, it felt, and the team, and I feel like that is no longer the case.

And that's definitely more my. 

style 

Mark Stiles: So on the Instagram where the in influencers are grind, grind, grind, you gotta work a hundred hours a week. You gotta go, go, go. That's not necessarily true all the time. 

Melissa Clayton: For me, and I think that speaks a lot to my value system. I think if you were to do a deep dive into my childhood and my father being an entrepreneur and working insane amount of hours, and I knew that was not the journey that I wanted.

So for me, and like everything, there's a give and take and there's a trade off. And for me that was, I wasn't gonna work a hundred hours of work, work a hundred hours a week because my value, I think, My time is more precious to me than anything else. 

Mark Stiles: I love that. I love that. Tell me, tell me more about vulnerability.

I'm very curious, your thoughts on vulnerability. 

Melissa Clayton: I think, you know, I've heard it's called the New Superpower. Umm a big fan of Brene Brown and. For me being vulnerable, you know, and it's also speaks to the business that I am in. Our whole entire business of Tiny Tags is centered around celebrating children.

Uh, every woman's unique journey of motherhood. And if you are not vulnerable there, you're just not gonna connect with your audience. And so much for tiny tags for me. And I think what has led to our. is my own personal journey. Very much what Tiny Tags is is a lot of my own personal story. And I think what me sharing that has allowed me to connect with our commu...

Today's guest on Leadership In Action is an entrepreneur, innovator, and leader in his industry who fights for the game makers of the world. As a game developer, he created one of the first commercial Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Joining the show today is an EO Boston member of 5 years, CEO of Beamable, Jon Radoff. Jon joins host Mark Stiles to talk about what it takes to get a business started, the value of customer feedback, and what visiting Everest base camp is like.

Takeaways:

• You don’t need to be special to be an entrepreneur. All you need is an idea and the drive to take it and run with it. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonradoff/  

Quote of the Show

• “We're all in the business of serving customers.” - Jon Radoff

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership and Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization podcast.

Today's guest. Is an entrepreneur or innovator and leader in his industry. He fights for the game makers of the world and is responsible for creating one of the first M O RPGs, massively multiplayer online role playing games is what that stands for. He's been an EO member for five years. He also publishes a blog called Building the Metaverse, c e O of Beam Able.

John Rador. 

Jon Radoff: Welcome to the show. Hey Mark. How are you? Thanks for having me doing 

Mark Stiles: well. Question number one, what is the common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur? 

Jon Radoff: Go. To me, it's the idea that you have to be some kind of special person to be an entrepreneur. Let me zoom back the camera lens though, my purpose in life as far as business is concerned is just multiplying creativity through the world.

That's what I've done through some of the game businesses I've made, through the technology company I have through the website creation tech company that I started years ago. Everything was about just allowing people to be more creative and just get online, make stuff, express themselves, because I think that's just.

such At the core of what it is to be human entrepreneurship is creativity. It's about how to come up with ideas and business models and marketing methods and channels and just put it, together, try things and, make something new, right? Like entrepreneurship is fundamentally to me about like making something new, harnessing business and organizations of people to do that.

So, you know, I was very lucky in. Respect as a kid that I would have all these crazy ideas when I was like a teenager and I'd tell my parents what I want to do. Both my parents always encouraged me. They never said, oh, you can't do that. Like, bad idea. Go, go focus on like your math problem so you can end up, uh, getting into a decent college.

I did get into a decent college, which I've then subsequently dropped out of. But um, they always encouraged me just to, to go run with my ideas. So if you didn't hear that in your life so far, I guess my message to you is, You know, run with the idea. You can do it. Like if you want to try making a business, it doesn't require anything special beyond the idea that you've identified a problem that has to be solved in the world.

And if you can go help people solve that problem. , apply your creativity to it. It, it's a, it's a great life. 

Mark Stiles: You know, so many thoughts are firing through my head right now with what you're saying there. Uh, with respect to, you know, who can be and who thinks they can be. But talking about your parents, I think is such a vital, vital component to it because how many people in that creative stage of their life get muzzled down and they say, no, no, no.

get into a good school, get a good job, get a pension, retire and die . 

Jon Radoff: Wow. This, this talk just took a, a damn path. But, um,

yeah, I, I think everybody needs, uh, set of cheerleaders in your life. Yeah. So for me growing up, it was my parents, um, . I...

On this episode of Leadership in Action, we are joined by a financial mastermind and member of almost 10 years. He has 25 years of experience as an investment fiduciary and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Bloomberg, and more. Starring on the show this week is Partner, Chief Investment Officer at Antaeus Wealth Advisors, LLC, Evan Welch. Mark and Evan take this opportunity to discuss what it means to be an effective leader, some of the challenges of being a wealth advisor, and how to get started coaching youth hockey. 

Takeaways:

• A common misconception about entrepreneurs is that they are selfish. A good leader puts their team and employees first. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanpwelch1/ 

Quote of the Show

• “An entrepreneur can not do a good job if they don't have a good team behind them because you can't build a business all by yourself.” - Evan Welch

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston chapter of EOS podcast. Today's guest, a financial mastermind. He has 25 years experience as an investment fiduciary. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal Investors Business Daily and Bloomberg, just to name a. Partner, chief Investment Officer at NTAs Wealth Advisors L L C.

Please meet Evan Welch. 

Evan Welch: Hi everybody. How you Ben? I'm great. I'm great. Well, I'm excited for 2023. 

Mark Stiles: Awesome. You ready for the question? I'm ready. What is a common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur? Go 

Evan Welch: so. I think a common misconception about leadership and business owners and entrepreneurs is that they are selfish.

Um, particularly among those who are not business owners or entrepreneurs. Um, I think that, you know, a good leader puts their team first, puts their employees first, and those are the firms that that really thrive because frankly, a good leader and a good business owner and an entrepreneur, Do a good job if they don't have a, a, a good team behind them because you can't build a business all by yourself.

It's pretty hard. And, you know, I think a good leader is curious and they help their employees understand the why behind the business. I know we've all heard about that with Apple and some other companies, not just, you know, here's what we do, but, you know, why do we do this? Like, what's the, what's the North Star?

Uh, and, and I think frankly, you know, the. The media is easy to beat up, but when you look at the larger companies out there, maybe you know, entrepreneur 2.0, you know, a lot of CEOs, right, are, are put in, are seen in the media as selfish, you know, stock options, their stock, their compensation as opposed to the company.

And you know, obviously a hundred thousand employee companies. A little bit different than most entrepreneurial businesses, but I think that that is a common misconception. Um, a lot of rank and file. Um, Feel or or believe, and I think it's, it's often incorrect. 

Mark Stiles: Often incorrect, but it is correct in a lot of situations still here in the 2023.

Evan Welch: Yes. I mean, but I think there are, I think there are selfish people of all jobs. Right? Right. And, and there are certainly, you know, most entrepreneurs. Pretty motivated people or else they wouldn't take the risk. Um, they're, you know, they're going to be pretty self-motivated typically, and, and maybe a little bit self-focused.

Um, but the entrepreneurs that I've met through many, many years who are successful, are in amazing people. And, and, you know, yes, they're leaders and go get it. And, you know, they, they're, they're self-starters, if you will, but they're not selfish. 

Mark Stiles: It, it's a really interesting conversation cuz it gets so deep.

Right? So, you know, we can go down the path of culture and the evolution of business and where people were in the 1980s and nineties. Where, where, what, what was the motivation? You know, what was the perception? What were you striving for as a business owner, right? Like there was a certain perception that you had to carry with.

the suit, the really expensive suit and shoes and expensive watch and you know, that perception was part of the job. It's, it's interesting when you see that gap kind of closing in a little bit too, right? Between ownership and contributors. Somebody on this podcast actually referred to as contributors and I was, I loved it.

You know, cuz I al I always hate that, you know, when someone's like, oh, he is my boss, or I work for, it's like, no, no, no. , we're in this together. You, we work with right. We work together for a...

On this episode of Leadership In Action, we are joined by a franchising force to be reckoned with. He’s a new EO member who leverages his  experience and knowledge of franchising, real estate, fitness, and business to create game changing businesses. Welcome to the show, CEO of The DRIPBaR Ben Crosbie. Host extraordinaire Mark Stiles sits down with Ben to learn about his experience as an entrepreneur, the future of franchising, and how Ben is taking The DRIPBaR to the next level. 

Takeaways:

• One of the biggest misconceptions about being an entrepreneur is that it is inherently easy, and that you can become an overnight success.

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-crosbie-85a59a7/ 

Quote of the Show

• “Replication is key” - Ben Crosbie

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: folks. Welcome back to another episode of Leadership in Action, your Boston Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization podcast. Today's guest is an entrepreneurial powerhouse, a franchise veteran, an entrepreneur who leverages his experience and knowledge of franchising real estate, fitness, and business to create game changing businesses.

He's a brand new member of EO Boston Chapter. And he is the c e o of Drip bar. Please meet Ben Crosby. Welcome to the show, Ben. 

Ben Crosbie: Perfect. Thank you very much. Mark, 

Mark Stiles: you ready to be here? Here comes question number one. All right. What is the common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur?

Go? 

Ben Crosbie: Sure. That's a great question. Um, really to me, the, biggest misconception is that, you're an overnight success in that. It's easy. very few people can, truly recognize, unless you're an entrepreneur and you've done it, how much time and energy it takes for you to, just make your first dollar and then continue to grow the business until it becomes, what everybody hopes that it becomes profitable and successful.

So the overnight success, the, long hours, the focus, the unrecognition Along the way, the path and the journey. A lot of times it's the best part of it, most stressful part of it, and least recognized I'd say. 

Mark Stiles: Rolling up your sleeves for 10 years and, uh, disappearing from the entire world and then showing up as a success.

That's not overnight. , 

Ben Crosbie: that was the some of the first advice that I got from my first C F O who said, you know, in five years from now, don't be upset. When somebody asks you how you became an overnight success, you'll become the most obnoxious question you'll ever be asked. And, uh, he was right. He was 100%.

Mark Stiles: Well, how do you fast track that success? So, I mean, it's obviously not gonna be overnight, but is there other ways of fast tracking it? 

Ben Crosbie: Uh, once you start getting experience or being part of a group and getting mentors to really, uh, get over the initial hurdles? Um, it's just dedication, really understanding your business, uh, if you're bootstrapping and doing it on your own.

I mean, it could take a little longer, but being able to, to have capital, hiring the right people, getting the staff in place. Um, but one thing that I've found is franchising is a great way to, uh, Increased speed and scale of a business, uh, a lot sooner than you normally would. Sometimes you could franchise businesses when there's just one location, short proof of concept.

It's really developing the, the, the business opportunity to be able to bring it to market. 

Mark Stiles: Well, let's dig into that a little bit, you know, cuz I was hoping that we would go there with this and I was kind of leading you that way with the fast track, right? But, . So one concept that works, why recreate the wheel?

Right? Why go back and try to figure out what that person did? Why not collaborate with that person? Right? Yeah, 

Ben Crosbie: absolutely. If, if the person, the operating partner, typically spent a lot of time in energy really developing the, the standards, uh, the operational manuals, the speed to market. The tech, the technique of franchising, it can bring in a whole level of experience, uh, and, and systems.

That c...

Welcome back to another episode of Leadership In Action! Joining the show this week is an IT visionary who started her journey into Information Technology over 20 years ago.

Providing both consulting and training, she has over 200 video based courses available for purchase worldwide. Please welcome to the show, Founder and CEO of Sandra Network, Sandra Batakis. Host Mark Stiles sits down with Sandra to learn about the importance of having an easily communicable name, using education and humor to handle conversations with clients, and Sandra’s gardening setup in Maine.

Takeaways:

• Many people are drawn to being an entrepreneur because you “get to make your own schedule”. You do get to make your own schedule, but that schedule revolves around running a business.

Links: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SandraNetwork 

Quote of the Show

• “Anyone who thinks they are permanently on top, is wrong.” - Sandra Batakis

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership in Action. This is your Boston chapter of EOS podcast. Today's. Is an IT visionary.

She started her journey into information technology over 28 years ago, providing both consulting and training. She has 200 video-based courses available for purchase worldwide. In 1999, she started her own company with the goal to combine great IT support with user functionality. She's been neo member for under one year. She's the founder and c e O of Sandra Network. Please meet Sandra Patak. Welcome to the show, Sandra.

Sandra Batakis: Thanks, mark. Glad to be here. 

Mark Stiles: Cool. You ready to get right into it? Sure. Let's go. What is a common misconception about leader? Running a business and or being an entrepreneur to you? 

Sandra Batakis: Ah, that's easy. Uh, that it is easy, actually. I guess that is a misconception, , um, that I get to make my own schedule and I seem to have endless vacation time , 

Mark Stiles: so it's easy at the top.

Look at me at the top, I'm at the top. I'm doing it all. 

Sandra Batakis: Absolutely. I stroll in and out what I want, you know, there's, there's no one above me to tell me what to. And, uh, I guess that's pretty wrong, right? Well, so 

Mark Stiles: tell me the reality of it. . 

Sandra Batakis: Well, you know, the reality is I might not make it in the office till, you know, 10, but I've been up since five hitting it, you know, and, and sometimes I'm hitting it cuz I'm on the treadmill trying to clear my head and sometimes I've cranking out emails at, you know, 5:15 AM and um, there's, there's a lot to it.

And you know, when you're an entrepreneur they think it's great cuz you don't have a boss. But, uh, I have more bosses than. Right. All my customers are bosses. I consider my employees bosses. You know, I have to account for them. I have to provide them a good working environment. You know, I can, I can fire them, but they can fire me by deciding to go somewhere else.

So I think the, the concept of I have no bosses the furthest from the reality, uh, in this world, that's 

Mark Stiles: a really interesting concept as having. , the employees. Your team members are your boss too. I, I like that. I like that a lot. So tell us about your company a little bit. The name of it is interesting.

Sandra Network. How did you come up with such a 

Sandra Batakis: creative name? Yeah. Well, you know, when I first started, I didn't really know what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I became s JB Enterprises. Yeah. Well, s JB Enterprises is nothing about what we do, and I spent my entire life going. S s as in Sam. B as in boy, J like S like no one could get the letters.

And ekkos at s jb was an impossibility. Um, so I decided to rename my company literally over my email address because it just wasn't flowing. It just didn't position us. Um, and after a lot of soul searching, one day I looked down and realized that we do security. and administration and networking and data and remote assistance.

And as an acronym, that's spelled Sandra. So Sandra is what we do. It happens to also be my name, but it's what we do. 

Mark Stiles: I love it. I love it. I love, love, love that. So tell us, and for 

Sandra Batakis: the record, my email address, [email protected]. I never have to spell it anymore. I don't have to sound out letters. People remember.

it worked , 

Mark Stiles: and there's real meaning behind it, which is really, really cool. Tel...

It’s no secret that there are many influencers who promote entrepreneurship on social media, but are they promoting an accurate picture? Today’s guest would disagree. He’s an entrepreneur with a strong technical background in web development who founded a brand to help make building a creative team easier. Welcome to the show CEO of Flocksy, Sam Ryan. In this episode, Sam clears up misconceptions about entrepreneurship, shares his background, and tells us where he likes to travel when he isn’t busy running a business.

Takeaways:

• Many people have the misconception that being an entrepreneur is inherently fun and glorious work that will have you driving ferraris and sitting on the beach. In reality, it takes time and effort, and is often slower paced than most expect.

Links: 

• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/actuallysamryan 

Quote of the Show

• “I want to create things that help other people.” - Sam Ryan

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Today's guest is a traveler. He's an investor, a developer, and a blockchain enthusiast. He's an entrepreneur with a strong technical background in web.

He founded a brand to help make building a creative team easier, He's the c e O at Foxy. Please welcome Sam Ryan. Sam, welcome to the show, 

Sam Ryan: man. Thank you, mark for having me. I am excited. 

Mark Stiles: Cool. Well, let's get right into it. What is a common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur?

That was a 

Sam Ryan: great question. So I would have to say, um, I think that a lot of people think that it's a really fun and glorious job. Something that you get a lot of attention. Um, they know it's hard work, but you see people driving around in Lamborghini, so Porsche and they have big houses. And especially with like the whole crypto, uh, faith that happened.

A lot of those people fell into the entrepreneur area. Um, you can think FTX stuff like that, just money going all over the place and people are like, oh, these people are sitting in The Bahamas making a lot of, uh, money doing nothing. Um, that does happen for a few people and I think they're the lucky people, especially when crypto is involved.

But for the majority of entre entrepreneurs and leaders, uh, leaders, , when you talk to them, they're probably not gonna explain exactly what's going on, but you are working on a lot. Um, so when I first started, uh, flui, um, yeah, I had a bunch of friends and they were all in the, they were professionals work nine to five.

Um, and I was the working my full-time job. And then I was also working at nights coding marketing, doing a whole bunch of different jobs and. , you have to learn stuff constantly and a lot of times if you're working a regular job, um, it's you. , do that again and again. And you slowly advance your career. You are changing every 20 minutes.

What? Like something you're learning something new. Um, so I think that's step one. And then step two is scaling up a company. It's way more difficult than most people, uh, can imagine. Like getting the company from zero to a million. It's really difficult. But actually scaling it up, getting a team in place, making it so you get to the next.

That is incredibly hard. Um, so that is where you learn a whole bunch of new things, especially leadership, I would think. I think the, uh, entrepreneur is the first step, um, where you are working by yourself with a small group of people. Then that switches over to where you are leading a whole company and people are looking up to you to make those decisions.

Um, you have to pick the right people to work directly with you. You have to make sure they're picking the right people. So again, you're learning everything over. So, uh, yeah, to sum it up, I think it's a lot more work and a lot more difficult than most people think. And you do have those pluses. You do sometimes make a lot of money.

You have your own schedule. But yeah, it's different than most people would think. 

Mark Stiles: So Instagram influencer, taking a picture with a Ferrari, you know, no one is, is in that uh, room with the paper stacked up coding, taking pictures. Look at me, I'm an 

Sam Ryan: entrepreneur. Yes, ex. Exactly. And especially when you're trying to grow a company that is scalable, it's really easy to start, I wouldn't say easy,...

Today’s guest is a local entrepreneur who comes from a financing and consulting background. He’s a landscaping legend, and the kind of leader that rolls up his sleeves and gets it done. James Evans is the CEO of Jim’s Landscaping, and Principal at Gladstone Capital LLC. Host extraordinaire Mark Stiles interviews James to learn more about his background, hear James’s tips for entrepreneurs, and explore the challenges of running a successful landscaping company. 

Takeaways:

• You don’t need to quit your day job to start a business. Having a steady source of income removes risk, and can make financing your business easier. 

Links: 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimslandscapingma/ 

Quote of the Show

• “What's dangerous is never taking a shot at something.” - James Evans

Book Recommendation:

• Jim Koch - Quench Your Own Thirst

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

He’s an entrepreneur and business owner who uses his experiences to drive solutions for his customers. His company was featured in Inc. Magazine’s Inc 5000 for 2020 and 2021, and was named a member of the MSP 501 in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Pedro Nuñez is President & CEO at IT Management Solutions, and this week’s guest. Join host Mark Stiles on this episode of Leadership In Action as he interviews Pedro to learn about his background, the IT landscape, and the importance of visualizing your goals. 

Takeaways:

• Anyone can be an entrepreneur, but not everyone can be a leader. Anyone can open a business, but it requires a specific set of skills to convince people to follow your directions.

Links: 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/itmsolutions 

Quote of the Show

• “You don’t need to be talented, you need to be consistent and disciplined.” - Pedro Nuñez

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233

He’s an entrepreneur and visionary who has been working in the landscape and snow and ice management field for over 20 years. He's a leader, a longtime member of EO Boston previously serving as president. Please welcome Founder and Chief Visionary of JC Grounds Management Jonathan Crandall to the show. Mark Stiles interviews Jonathan to learn more about the reality of entrepreneurship, the importance of hiring for core values, and how to hike all of NH’s 4000 footers. 

Takeaways: 

• People think that being an entrepreneur means you are your own boss. While you may not have a manager, you are still held accountable by your customers and your employees.

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-crandall/ 

Quote of the Show

• “I realized it wasn’t what I was doing here, it was the people I was with.” - Jonathan Crandall

Book Recommendation:

• The E-Myth Revisited - Michael Gerber

Ways to Tune In:

• Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-action/id1585042233