Milwaukee Uncut

How do you create content that inspires your audience to take action? 
Why does some content go viral and other content falls flat? 
A few weeks ago I got to speak at Pat Miller's Idea Collective Retreat down in Lake Geneva on my "Top 8 Content Engagement Triggers". I also throw in my top two "right now" marketing hacks. The speech got a good response so I decided to record it on the podcast. 

Former Packers Quarterback Craig Nall and Former Sun Bowl and Hoan Classic Champion  Sean Cullen of JP Cullen, join myself (Richie) as well as co-hosts Pat Lubar of Ixonia Bank and Joe Stanton of Three Leaf Development for this episode to discuss, as the title says, "Football, business, drinkin' and sippin." 

Today I'm joined by JoAnne Anton and DeVona Wright Cottrell. This episode was a previously recorded on the "Keeping It Local" Podcast powered by First Federal Bank.

Although women have made great strides in the workplace, they’re still often under-represented — especially women of color. Women only hold 20% of board seats, make up 8% of Fortune 500 CEOs, and receive 3% of all venture capital funding, all while being two times more at-risk when it comes to losing their jobs. 

Yes, those are staggering statistics — but things are trending up. There are now two times the amount of women entrepreneurs than there were in the 2000s, and there has been a 500% increase in the number of black women in business over the last two decades. And, although women only hold 20% of board seats in the US, that number is up 6% over the last few years.

Today, we’re joined by DeVona Wright Cottrell (Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel, GMR Marketing) and JoAnne Anton (Director of Giving, Herb Kohl Philanthropies), two brilliant female leaders in Wisconsin.

Women like today’s guests are a big part of the reason why things are changing for the better. Over the course of this episode, we’ll talk with these two leaders about why diversity is something so critical to the business world, and why it’s so key to have women in leadership positions everywhere. We’ll also discuss how they personally embrace the idea of being a servant leader in the Milwaukee community, and how that mindset has guided them to where they are today.

Pat Miller has been bringing small business owners clarity for years now. As an Idea Coach and founder of The Idea Collective, he’s helped over 100 small business owners and seen a little bit of everything along the way. 

In today’s episode, we tap into that wisdom to provide some key insights for our entrepreneurial-minded listeners. We’ll cover a lot of ground, like finding your market, how to set your pricing, and how to deal with burnout — especially if you’re a solopreneur. 

Learn more about the Idea Collective Retreat on November 5-7 at smallbizretreat.com 

Our friend Brian Andrew is something of a financial whiz. As the Chief Investment Officer and Executive VP of Wealth over at Johnson Financial Group, it’s quite literally his job to keep an eye on all the little ins and outs of the market and the economy as a whole.

On today’s episode of The GoGedders Podcast, host Richie Burke had the chance to pick his brains a bit about… well, everything. They’ll explore the economic effects of the pandemic, the labor shortage, skills gap, supply chain issues, surprisingly good market health, crypto, China, inflation, bonds, tax changes, and more.

Tune in to learn way more than you thought you could in a half hour!

When it comes time to open up a bank account, most of us have a pretty standard checklist: no fees, good insurance, decent interest rate, and so on. And once our account is up and running, we don’t really give it much thought — we set up direct deposit, hook it up to PayPal and Venmo, maybe a few autopays, and that’s about it.

But when you look at where your money is going, the stats couldn’t be more frightening. Of the $17 trillion we give to banks, 40% is invested in non-values-aligned assets. That means it’s going to companies that don’t support equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

Then there’s the issue of access —55 million Americans are either unbanked or underbanked, and in today’s world, that access is an inalienable human right, something that’s absolutely essential to breaking the cycle of poverty.

ESG Financial, a fintech company founded by absolute superwoman Geeta Sankappanavar, recently partnered with the Milwaukee Rotary Club to bring these life-changing services to the Milwaukee area. Tune in to this week’s episode to hear Geeta discuss ESG’s story, mission, and how your dollar can be put to work for the greater good.

Learning from your own mistakes is a tough but necessary part of personal growth. Whether it’s in business or your personal life, recognizing when you've made a mistake and course-correcting for next time a situation arises is a critical part of continuous improvement.

But how do we apply that principle broadly to learn as a community? How can we apply this at the leadership level to make sure the next generation doesn’t make the same mistakes as the previous one? Forward 48 is here to help us do just that.

On this episode, Richie sits down with Ian Abston, Thelma Sias, and Fiesha Lynn Bell to talk all things Forward 48.

​​In addition to telling the story of how Forward 48 came about, they’ll cover how Milwaukee can better retain top talent, develop its young leaders, and grow as a city from a social, cultural, and economic standpoint.

They also discuss the importance of inclusion when it comes to leadership, and how Forward 48 is cultivating the next generation of leaders from a variety of ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, and perspectives.

On this episode of The GoGedders, our host Richie was joined by Rich Ballenger (President) and Richaad Reed (National Account Manager) of Lucas Millhapt. 

When the George Floyd tragedy happened and BLM kicked into gear, businesses everywhere were quick to make posts to support the movement, condemn racial injustice, and inspire change. 

​​As the leader of the company, Rich wanted to do what was right, but wanted to do so in a way that was genuine. He didn’t just want to just put out a statement to go along with what everyone else was doing. 

So, he did something that’s arguably harder than going with the flow. He reached out to his employees during an all-employee communications meeting and said, “What should I do? What should we do? I’m all ears, and here to support however you need me to.”

Rishaad responded, and the result was an Employee Resource Group that sparked a paradigm shift in the company’s culture. Tune into this week’s episode to hear the story – we promise, no matter what industry you’re in or what role you play, there’s something you can take away from this one.

Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer, Chance the Rapper, Twenty One Pilots, Megan Thee Stallion, Dave Chappelle, Dave Matthews, Run the Jewels, Kesha, Ludacris, ZZ Top, Fitz and the Tantrums, Rise Against, DJ Diesel (Shaq) — AH! 

Despite all the weirdness this year (and last), Summerfest 2021 is set to be a BANGER. The World’s Largest Music Festival has been pulling big talent to our rad venue on the lake for quite some time now, but it hasn’t always been a cake walk, with the facilities being a limiting factor because of the festival’s growth and popularity.

On this episode of The GoGedders Podcast, host Richie Burke sits down with Summerfest royalty Bob Babisch (Entertainment Director) and Jason Stuewe (Vice President of Planning and Development) to talk all about the Big Gig’s latest passion project, The American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

The venue has a massive $51.3M in upgrades (what?!) that will improve just about every single part of the guest experience.

Richie and our guests will also cover what folks can expect from other upgrades around the venue, what planning during a pandemic was like for their team, Summerfest’s economic impact on Milwaukee, and much more.

If you’re a fan of Milwaukee food, you might’ve heard the name Adam Pawlak once or twice as of late, and not without good reason.

This Bay View-born bearded wonder has been all over the city after his first solo concept, Egg and Flour Pasta Bar, was a hit in North Avenue’s Crossroads Collective. 

Today, we’re joined by Adam Pawlak himself, Alex Anderson, and the legendary David Caruso to talk about Adam’s journey, and what it takes to succeed when setting out to chase your passion. We also talk about the Bucks, because like — how are we supposed to not talk about the Bucks?

Tune into this week’s episode, and you’ll also hear how much Adam, Alex, and David truly love our dear city of Milwaukee, and how much it means to them to be doing their thing and chasing their passion in the city they’ve always called home.