Onward Nation

Zachary Beach grew up in central Massachusetts but relocated to Newport, Rhode Island when he graduated from college. After graduating from college, he had no idea what he wanted to do; the only thing he knew was that he didn't want to be an employee. That word just makes Zach feel trapped. He decided to bartend and become a personal trainer for the time being while he decided what he wanted to do and soon realized that he was burning the candle at both ends, working late nights and early mornings, and he knew there was a better way.

At age 25 Zach decided to jump into the family real estate business. It was one of the first big risks he took in his life. The business at the time was small and nothing was guaranteed. Plus he knew absolutely nothing about real estate and was as green as green could be. Fast forward almost 3 years later and he is a partner and buys all the properties that come through their personal buying and selling entities. He went from bartender to million dollar business owner in just under 3 years.

After their family investment company grew their coaching company began growing as well. Zach now coaches associates and students around the country. Their mission is to empower individuals and families to create the life of their dreams and he believes they are doing just that. At this time they buy and sell roughly 10 plus properties a month around the country.

Biggest Business wins: Zach completed an owner financing deal on a property that is worth over a million dollars. He purchased it for $940,000 with principal only payments of 2500 per month. The house is worth over a million dollars and they have multiple exit strategies that will equal over $200,000 in profits.

Biggest Personal Win: Besides marrying the girl of his dreams and having his beautiful baby boy, Zach was able to buy an amazing home overlooking the water with beach rights on terms. He purchased it on a lease purchase with $5,000 down and is getting $1,000 off the principle every month. This significantly reduces the amount that he will need to bring to the table when he gets a traditional loan.

Biggest Challenge: From the age of 14-20 years old, Zach was either using or addicted to drugs. He lost a best friend, multiple other friends, and a father to drug abuse. He was able to climb out of that hole by feeding his mind and body with positive food. He became very interested in personal development and constantly works on himself. Zach is also a huge advocate for health and fitness and has to work out or be active 5-6 days a week and has built his morning routine around that.

• How Zachary got involved in real estate by approaching his father-in-law, real estate guru Chris Prefontaine, for advice
• Why Zachary had to work even harder because of his father-in-law watching over his shoulder
• How Zachary buys and sells properties on "terms", through owner financing, and "subject to" (and what all those things mean)
• How owner financing eliminates the need to go through banks and deal with banking regulations
• Example deals that Zachary has closed on, and what advantages for both buyer and seller are built into his methods
• Why the number of owner-financed real estate deals is rapidly growing and set to be up to 20% of the market in the near future
• Why Zachary's investment strategies work for many different types of properties and can be used to build a full portfolio
• What important skills Zachary suggests you develop to be able to fully implement his real estate strategies
• What wisdom Zachary learned from mentors throughout his career, and how it shaped his business management style
• Zachary's advice for business leaders looking to move into investing in the real estate market

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.smartrealestatecoach.com/webinar

Leif and Erin are the co-founders and CEOs of FREY, the modern lifestyle brand shaping the clothing care experience. They began FREY after they attended college and were introduced to the task of doing their laundry and quickly found themselves underwhelmed at the products available for consumers. After months of arduous research, they started a Kickstarter campaign and began filling orders from their basement. Since then FREY has evolved to become much more than detergent and is now a full clothing care line.

• Why Leif and his brother founded Frey due to being underwhelmed by the laundry products that were available
• Why Leif went to Kickstarter to fund his efforts and took an unusual path to growing his business
• How starting a business with minimal funding forces you to learn discipline and budget management
• How the motivation behind Frey was a mix of the small idea of helping Leif's friends and the big idea of disrupting the laundry detergent market
• How Frey's marketing is tailored to their target customers rather than trying to attract everyone
• Why Frey chose to go with a subscription-based model, and how it has helped grow their business
• What vital skills and daily actions Leif developed to keep his business from stagnating
• How critical guidance from mentors shaped Leif and his brother's business knowledge
• Why continually talking to customers and getting feedback has been critical to Frey's success
• What factors determine who comprise the most valuable customers, and how Frey tracks that information

• Website: www.livefrey.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leif-frey-76a3b63a

Michael Rosenblum is one of Chicago's most successful residential real estate brokers, having generated career sales of over $400 million. Nationally, he's been inducted into the Berkshire Hathaway Hall of Fame and is consistently ranked in the top half, of 1% of 46,000 real estate brokers in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network. In a career spanning three decades, Rosenblums collaborative style and integrity have also earned the abiding loyalty and admiration of his clients and colleagues within the industries of media and real estate. Born in Dallas, Texas and raised in the Washington D.C. area, Rosenblum studied business administration at the University of Missouri (Columbia). After graduation, he moved to Chicago to live Happily Ever Always which is the title of his first book.

• How Michael's career journey led him from journalism and media sales to the world of real estate
• Why Michael chose to name his book "Happily Ever Always" based on living an always-happy life
• Why Michael believes that happiness is an entitlement and that positive effects can come from negative experiences
• Why people are like mirrors, reflecting positivity and negativity at each other in every interaction
• Why Michael wrote "Happily Ever Always" with the intent of sharing his journey and prompting the readers to reflect on their own lives
• Why Michael will sometimes tell his clients not to buy a property, despite losing the commission on the sale
• How Michael defines "customer service", and how he works to go the extra mile for his clients
• Why "luck = preparation + opportunity", and why being extraordinary comes from pushing yourself
• How excellent customer service can be a competitive edge for your business that sets you apart from the competition
• Why it's important to correct your errors, right your wrongs, think outside the box, and find your gifts

• Website: www.happilyeveralways.com
• Book: http://a.co/d/gZw72xy

Maxwell Cohen is currently 27 years old. As founder and CEO of Peel Away Labs, Inc., Maxwell is part of a true entrepreneurial family. All of the Cohen children were expected to have started a business by the time they turned 26. Maxwell started his company while a student at the University of Arizona where in 2013 he earned a B.S. in Environmental and water Resource Economics.

Maxwell is the founder and CEO of Peel Away Labs, the innovative start-up company that developed Peelaways, the bedding industry's first multilayered, disposable, waterproof fitted sheet designed for the home, industrial and healthcare markets. While attending the University of Arizona, Cohen observed students were not changing their bed sheets because stripping the bed, doing the laundry and remaking the bed were such a hassle. He also noticed his grandparents were struggling to change their own fitted sheet. Realizing this was a challenge for multiple life stages including parents of toddlers, Cohen knew there had to be a better way. As a result, he created the patented solution, Peelaways, enabling consumers or health professionals to simply peel away the top layer to reveal a clean sheet below in seconds.

Today, Cohen has secured major retailers and distributors worldwide, including consumer retailers Walmart, Amazon, BedBathandBeyond.com, BuybuyBaby.com, and Zulily, and hospital distributors Cardinal Health and McKesson. Cohen has also appeared on ABC's Shark Tank in 2015. Peelaways are now being distributed internationally to address issues such as the water shortage in South Africa.

• How Maxwell's family of entrepreneurs encourages its members to start a business by age 27
• Why not landing a deal during his appearance on the TV show "Shark Tank" was the best thing that could have happened for Maxwell's business
• Why Maxwell and his team at Peel Away Labs are on their 32nd product iteration, and why they continue to improve their products
• Which daily habits Maxwell practices that have most contributed to his success and his business vision
• What skills Maxwell believes are critical for business owners and leaders to master, and what important lessons he learned from his mentors
• What systems Maxwell would have put in place earlier if he had it all to do over again
• Why the international healthcare markets have been an appealing entry point for Maxwell's business
• What advice and strategies Maxwell would recommend to entrepreneurs just starting out in their business
• Why you need to surround yourself with a team that shares in your vision for your business
• Why it's important to raise capital by finding the "right" investors within your community

• Website: www.peelaways.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/maxwell-cohen-10862836

Christine Comaford is sought after for providing proven strategies to shift executive behavior to create more positive outcomes, enroll and align teams in times of change, profoundly increase sales, product offerings, and company value. Her coaching, consulting and strategies have created hundreds of billions of dollars in new revenue and company value for her clients.

• What has been happening in Christine's business since her last appearance on Onward Nation in episode #579
• How to completely change your mindset from feeling overwhelmed to feeling empowered with Christine's maneuvers of consciousness, in just twelve minutes
• How Christine's mother was able to reframe her leukemia as something to be grateful for before she passed
• Important lessons from Christine's new book "Power Your Tribe: Create Resilient Teams in Turbulent Times"
• Why we all have the right to exist, to have needs, to take action, to have consequences for our actions, and to love and be loved
• Why Christine defines the word "success" as the choice to determine how she spends her time and energy
• Why the ability to decide whether or not to work with a client is important to Christine
• How Christine and her team have developed a "recipe" for book launches that works on a systemic level
• How the word "CURVE" holds the key to engaging people with your work and successfully promoting yourself
• How tying all of Christine's wisdom together can help you turn a group into a cohesive tribe

• Website: www.workwithsti.com
• Website: https://smarttribesinstitute.com/

• Emotion Wheel
• STI Quick Reference Guide
• STI Maneuvers of Consciousness
• STI Organismic Rights
• STI Reframing

Cheryl Bachelder is a passionate, purpose-led business leader — the former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Cheryl is known for her crisp strategic thinking, a franchisee-focused approach, and superior financial performance. Guided by the servant leadership thinking of Robert Greenleaf, she believes highly caring, collaborative leaders with big ambitions for the enterprise, not themselves, generate the conditions for people to perform their best work.

Cheryl served as CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company with over 2,600 restaurants in 26 countries, from 2007 to 2017. The story of Popeyes success is chronicled in her book, Dare to Serve: How to drive superior results by serving others. During her tenure, Popeyes stock price grew from $11 to $61, at which time the board sold the company to Restaurant Brands International Inc. for $1.8 billion dollars or $79 per share in March 2017.

Cheryls earlier career included brand leadership roles at Yum Brands, Dominos Pizza, RJR Nabisco, The Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble. Cheryl is a director and compensation committee chair at Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (PIR). She sits on the advisory board of Procter & Gamble's franchising venture, Tide Dry Cleaners. She is a member of C200, an organization that fosters, celebrates and advances women's leadership in business.

Cheryl holds a Bachelors and Masters of Business Administration degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She is married 36 years to Chris Bachelder and they have three grown daughters, two terrific sons-in-law, and three handsome grandsons. Cheryl and Chris reside in Atlanta, Georgia and attend Buckhead Church. They are avid learners, fans of the classical education movement, and can always be found reading a good book!

• How Cheryl's career path and personal life have bought her many fantastic leadership opportunities
• Why Cheryl wanted to demonstrate an example of clear, competitive marketplace performance during her time leading Popeyes
• Why Cheryl chose to title her book "Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others"
• Why tracking the P&L figures of Popeye's franchisees was a critical change Cheryl made that helped rebuild trust
• How the changes Cheryl spearheaded helped Popeyes restaurants increase their sales by an average of 45%
• What lessons from Cheryl's book "Dare to Serve" are the biggest takeaways that business owners can learn from
• Why it's important to ask yourself "why do I lead?" and to answer the question honestly
• Why the biggest legacy of Cheryl's time at Popeyes lies in the development of future leaders
• Why clear communication and talent management were major pillar of growth for the Popeyes organization during Cheryl's tenure as CEO
• Why human dignity is a deep belief Cheryl holds, and why she feels your deep beliefs should be reflected in your work

• Website: www.cherylbachelder.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cherylb
• Twitter: @CABachelder
• Dare to Serve by Cheryl Bachelder: http://a.co/d/7wzfB0Y
• Derailed by Tim Irwin: http://a.co/d/2jduELd

Sarah Noked is an MBA graduate, Certified Online Business Manager and Digital Marketing Strategist with more than 10 years business experience in the online world. With her stellar team of OBMs, they help their clients stay on track for growth and development. They do this by managing their projects, teams, operations, automation, and launches. In turn, their clients gain the much needed time to focus on their big picture, revenue-generating ideas. Everyone wins!

When she's not working in the agency and with 6 to 7 figure entrepreneurs scaling their businesses, she's helping other VAs and OBMs realize their worth and potential to scale and grow profitable teams and businesses. As a Certified OBM Trainer, Sarah trains and certifies fellow OBMs in the online business industry.

• How family and a desire for flexibility were the catalyst for Sarah's decision to leave her corporate job to become an online business manager
• How Sarah describes the role of an OBM and the value the position provides to entrepreneurs in streamlining and scaling their business
• What strategies and methods Sarah and her team use to help business owners scale their business… without scaling their work hours
• How Sarah's team manages product launches, handles SEO and advertising, and other tasks to minimize day-to-day operation headaches
• Why efficiency is one of the key aspects an OBM works on to improve the smooth operation of the business
• What daily habits have most benefited Sarah and contributed to her career success
• Why project management software can be a powerful efficiency and communication tool to coordinate your teams
• Why having a clear vision is the vitally important foundation an entrepreneur needs to create a successful organization
• What key lesson Sarah learned from a former client that reshaped her business philosophies
• What advice Sarah would offer to business owners looking to maximize efficiency and minimize day-to-day effort

• Free Resources from Predictive ROI: www.predictiveroi.com/resources/
• Website: www.sarahnoked.com/onward/

Kwame Christian, Esq., M.A. is a business lawyer and the Director of the American Negotiation Institute where he puts on workshops designed to make difficult conversations easier. As an attorney and mediator with a bachelor of arts in Psychology, a Master of Public Policy, and a law degree, Kwame brings a unique multidisciplinary approach to the topic of conflict management and negotiation.

His TEDx Talk, Finding Confidence in Conflict, was viewed over 24,000 times in 24 hours and was the most popular TED Talk on the topic of conflict of 2017. He also hosts the top negotiation podcast in the country, Negotiate Anything. The show has been downloaded over 350,000 times, has listeners in 181 different countries.

• How Kwame's passion lies in psychology, self-awareness and understanding others, and how that relates to the business world
• Why people are sometimes cognitively incapable of understanding your perspective, and how you can work around those barriers
• Why someone's professionalism often masks the fact that you're really negotiating with their "inner toddler"
• Why the three-part key to negotiating is to acknowledge emotions, show compassionate curiosity, and share in joint problem solving
• Examples of how to implement Kwame's three-part strategy to diffuse a difficult conversation
• How to get a free copy of Kwame's 18-page negotiation guide, covering topics like negotiation preparation, conflict negotiation and salary negotiation
• Kwame shares wisdom from his book "Nobody Will Play With Me: How To Use Compassionate Curiosity to Find Confidence in Conflict"
• What the most powerful business lesson Kwame learned was, and why he considers himself a "recovering people pleaser"
• Why an unhappy experience at six years old shaped Kwame's need for friendship and conflict avoidance when he was older
• What advice Kwame would share with others looking to improve their confidence and become better ant difficult conversations

• Free Resources from Predictive ROI: www.predictiveroi.com/resources/
• Nobody Will Play With Me by Kwame Christian: http://a.co/d/hqEIEcB
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kwamechristian
• Website: www.americannegotiationinstitute.com

Evan Hackel is the creator of the concept and the author of "Ingaging Leadership". He's a successful business owner who has started more than 10 companies and is recognized as a thought leader, speaker, and author on leadership. One of his signature achievements was turning around a bankrupt business in four years and more than doubling system-wide sales to exceed $2 billion. He is also Founder and Principal of Ingage Consulting, a consulting firm headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.

• Why Evan lives a "portfolio life", and how he strives to positively add to the businesses he works with
• What Evan has been working on since his last visit to the Onward Nation podcast in episode #585
• Why the theme of Evan's upcoming franchise executive conference is "Rethink Everything", and how that can apply to businesses of all types
• How technological advances will completely alter the world of business and the way customers interact with companies
• Why retailers must change their thinking to remain relevant in the age of in-home purchasing
• Why the divide between urban and rural lifestyles will only grow exponentially in the future
• How Evan defines success, and why economic bounty isn't necessarily the right measure to determine success
• Why fear is the most powerful motivator, and why complacency is the biggest risk businesses have to deal with
• Why today's barrier of entry for new businesses is lower than it has historically ever been before
• Why it's easy to miss what's right in front of you, and why it's critical to get an outside perspective

• Website: www.ingage.net
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/evanhackel
• Twitter: @ehackel

Bryan Miles is CEO & co-founder of BELAY. A leading US-based, virtual solutions company, BELAY has over six hundred team members all working from home, remotely. BELAY has graced the Inc. 5000 list three times and was awarded the number one spot in Entrepreneur Magazine's Best Company Culture. BELAY provides virtual assistants, bookkeeping, copywriting, and webmaster services to leaders and fast-paced organizations. BELAY's services equip leaders and organizations with the ability to climb higher when and where they need it most. BELAY's vision is to help clients achieve their vision.

• The book that helped Bryan begin his journey toward becoming an entrepreneur even after he initially thought his chance had passed him by.
• How a conversation with his wife about what he had in mind had her deciding to take the leap with him.
• Why Bryan believed the combination of her experience at executing plans with his vision would make them a powerful team.
• The importance of working to your strengths and how Bryan and his wife understand their strengths and divide their responsibilities accordingly.
• Why delegating the tasks you're not accomplished with can be the best possible solution for your business.
• Why Bryan believes it's important never to lose sight of people. They are the ones who build his business, who his business serves, and he feels it's his responsibility, perhaps even purpose, to care for those people.
• The role faith plays in the way Bryan runs Belay and why he feels it's so important to him to be led by his beliefs and his faith.
• Why the statement "You stand for something or you fall for everything," has special meaning to Bryan.
• What Bryan is doing that has helped Belay, a company that has only been in business for eight years, make the Inc. 5,000 list for four years in a row.
• The daily habits Bryan believes are essential for his success in life and in business.
• What Bryan believes is the greatest thing he and his wife (who is also his business partner) can give their children. This one might not be what you expect.

• Website: www.belaysolutions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryanmiles/