Rust Belt Startup

I’m super excited to share this conversation I had with Big Mike Morrill. Mike is obsessed with Kaizen, or the process of continuous improvement. We talk about his journey of applying this manufacturing process to his business (Total Solutions), and even his relationships. Learn how to eliminate struggle, 1 minute at a time.

Mike also has a great TEDx talk on this very topic.

I’m (finally) kicking off Season 2 of Rust Belt Startup with a shorty, or a toolbox episode. It’s a recap of my recent album launch, how to ‘show your work’ and some tips on how I reverse engineer projects.

Season 2 starts now and we’ve got great long-form interviews coming up. If you want to see the project referenced in this episode, visit PostcardsPoetryandProse.com

This is it! We’re sticking a fork in season 1 of Rust Belt Startup. Today is a bit of a throwback episode. It’s a conversation that I had in front of a live audience in Utica, NY with Hugette Montesinos.

Hugette is the founder of Disfunkshion Magazine – which is way more than a magazine at this point and has turn into a lifestyle brand, consultancy, digital services and more. She’s an Instagram guru and has grown her following organically to over a quarter-MILLION engaged followers.

In this conversation we talk about her journey as a solo-preneur through building her team and launching the first issue of a magazine. How did she get distribution? How did she get her first customers? How does the brand evolve?

Then we get tactical and spend a lot of time on how you can grow your Instagram the RIGHT way. We take questions from the audience and you’ll get real-world advice that you can apply to your social media profiles. 

You can learn more about Hugette at the Disfunkshion Magazine website or follow her on Instagram.

Thanks for sticking with me this season – I’ll be back after the new year with Season 2 of Rust Belt Startup.

This week I’m super excited to share a conversation with one of my favorite songwriters out there- Ryan Montbleau. He has built an audience and a career through a steady stream of thoughtful songs, working with amazing bands of musicians and almost non-stop touring all over the country for more than a decade.

He has a new album out called The Woodstock Sessions and you can learn much more about Ryan at RyanMontbleau.com.

In this conversation we go into the guts of what it takes to build an audience, life on the road, rest, and his approach to creativity and songwriting. I hope you dig it.

I think deep down in all of us, there’s been a period of time when we’ve wanted to sell our stuff, drop everything and go out and see the world. Today on the podcast I’m talking to Ryan & Brittany Parr who are about to embark on that very journey. They’ve sold the house, sold their stuff and have moved into a 5th wheel camper to travel for an indefinite period of time as they try to live the digital nomad life.

I sat down with them in their almost-finished new home – a 28 foot 5th wheel camper We talk about how they built their own personal brands and businesses using social media, how they plan to make money on the road, minimalism, raising their daughter and what they think they’ll find on their upcoming journey.

You can follow them online via Instagram at ParrForTheCourse if you want to follow their journey, or you can follow Ryan at BearBonesStrength/Instagram, and Brittany at ParrPhotoCo/Instagram.

We’re talking citizen journalism and the media landscape with Brett Orzechowski. He’s launching a new project called Stateline NY. It’s a media site with a collection of interesting and in-depth stories covering a host of issues that are relevant across upstate NY.

We talk about the role that long-form and mixed media journalism plays in today’s landscape, and some of the common issues facing upstate NY.

Each story is told in a different way: documentary, data visualization, audio, and mixed media. Stories are available for $2.99 each at StatelineNY.com

It’s just over a month until Election Day and the race to represent the 22nd District is in full force.

Anthony Brindisi is in the middle of that congressional campaign, running as the Democratic nominee and I recently got the opportunity to have this conversation with him.

I’ve always been curious about why someone decides to run for public office, as well as what the day-to-day experience is like. So that’s what this conversation focuses on. This is not a deep dive into policy. Instead, I wanted to talk about the congressional race, his background and some of the lessons he’s learned throughout his life as a member of the Utica School Board, State Assemblyman, and during this run for Congress.

We also talk about:

Learn more about Anthony and his campaign at www.brindisiforcongress.com – and don’t forget to VOTE on November 6th. Thanks again to Anthony for making time in his busy schedule for this conversation.

What makes a great city? That’s what we’re going to dive into with my guest Arian Horbovetz who is the author of The Urban Phoenix. It’s a blog that focuses on conversations surrounding our urban environments. So he’s the perfect person to talk about how small cities are reinventing themselves and creating dynamic urban environments.

Arian is also a person who has gone car-less… in Rochester NY. So he has a unique take on alternative and public transportation. He started his blog as a way to document his visits to cities and towns across NY State via train and foldable bike. The Urban Phoenix has evolved into deep dives into urban planning, placemaking and much much more.

So in our conversation we talk about Trains, Rust Belt Cities, and examples of what small cities are doing to make themselves unique destinations to live and work.

This was one of those conversations that didn’t even require any editing – it was just a damn good chat. Hope you enjoy it.

On this week’s episode, I’m having a chat with Dr. Heather Malyuk of Soundcheck Audiology.

She’s an audiologist that focuses on working with musicians and touring musicians from her home base in rural Ohio and has worked with the tour of Jay-Z & Beyonce, Death Cab for Cutie, Journey, Kanye West, and many many more.

In our conversation we talk about the science of music, what makes an artist, home schooling, and some pro tips on maintaining your hearing, especially in the age of earbuds and headphones.

You can find out more about Heather at soundcheckaudiology.com or on Instagram.

Chris Hartman is a farmer, academic and founder of Headwater Food Hub in Rochester NY. In our wide-ranging conversation we try to get to the root of what makes an effective food-system. But it’s not just about food… We talk about building a team of people that believe what you believe, starting movements, and doing work that matters.

Want to learn more about Chris, the Good Food Collective, and Headwater Food Hub? Check them out online at headwaterfoodhub.com or on the Instagram at @headwater_food_hub