Say Less Unscripted

Say Less Unscripted

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Say Less Unscripted episodes

  • What it Really Takes to Stay in Business with Margo Posey

    Not every opportunity is the right opportunity, especially when the way business gets done is changing.

    Margo Posey, President of the Dallas Fort Worth Business Council, formerly the DFW Minority Supplier Development Council, joins Milton Quinn and Jacquelyn Clayborn to talk about what today’s changing business landscape means for small and minority-owned businesses.

    They discuss how certification and supplier opportunities are evolving, why relationships matter before an opportunity ever becomes available, and how business owners can be more intentional about which opportunities they pursue.

    Margo also shares lessons from decades of working with entrepreneurs and business leaders, including knowing when to pivot, staying resilient through change, and recognizing when an opportunity may not be the right fit.

    In This Episode

    • How certification and supplier opportunities are changing

    • Why relationships matter before opportunities arise

    • How to decide which opportunities are worth pursuing

    • Why resilience and adaptability matter in business

    • What it takes to keep moving forward when the path changes

    About Margo Posey

    Margo Posey is President of the Dallas Fort Worth Business Council and a longtime advocate for minority-owned businesses. Throughout her career, she has helped entrepreneurs build relationships, access opportunities, and navigate the challenges of growing a business.

    Connect with Margo Posey

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margoposey

    Connect with Say Less Unscripted

    saylessunscripted.com

    Milton Quinn

    gq-legacy.com

    Jacquelyn Clayborn

    jacquelynclayborn.com

    Say Less Do More Foundation

    saylessdomorefoundation.org

    This episode closes out Season 2 of Say Less Unscripted.

    36 min
  • You Can't Grow a Business Alone with Josh Johnson

    EPISODE OVERVIEW

    Growing a business can feel lonely, but it was never meant to be done alone. Josh Johnson joins Milton Quinn and Jacquelyn Clayborn to talk about finding your tribe, building relationships that actually move your business forward, and why the right support system can be just as valuable as the strategies you learn. He also takes us inside the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program and shares what he has learned from helping entrepreneurs grow.

    IN THIS EPISODE

    • Why entrepreneurship can feel so isolating

    • How the right relationships can accelerate business growth

    • What entrepreneurs can expect from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

    • Why finding your tribe may be one of the most important moves you make as a business owner

    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Josh Johnson | Multi-entity Entrepreneur

    Josh Johnson brings more than 20 years of experience as a business owner and has spent years consulting and managing projects. In this conversation, he shares his perspective from working with entrepreneurs through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program and explains why education, community, resources, and relationships matter when building a sustainable business.

    CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

    Josh Johnson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-johnson-a20439194 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: 10ksbapply.com

    CONNECT WITH SAY LESS UNSCRIPTED

    Say Less Unscripted saylessunscripted.com

    Monthly Mastermind | Apply

    https://calendly.com/connect-saylessunscripted/monthly-masterminds

    Milton Quinn

    https://www.gq-legacy.com/

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milton-quinn/

    Jacquelyn Clayborn

    https://jacquelynclayborn.com/

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynclayborn/

    Say Less Do More Foundation

    https://www.saylessdomorefoundation.org/

    43 min
  • Wealth Making vs. Wealth Faking: Building Wealth That Lasts with Diarra Williams

    Making money is one thing. Building wealth that lasts is another.

    In this episode of Say Less Unscripted, Jacquelyn Clayborn and Milton Quinn sit down with Diarra Williams for a candid conversation about money, business ownership, and what it really takes to create generational wealth.

    Diarra introduces an important distinction: Are you wealth making or wealth faking?

    The conversation gets practical as they discuss why business owners need to understand their numbers, separate business and personal finances, pay themselves, maintain liquidity, and prepare for the unexpected. They also explore why earning more doesn't automatically mean keeping more and how debt, expenses, and weak financial infrastructure can affect even successful entrepreneurs.

    They also get into choosing the right wealth manager, knowing when you've outgrown your financial advisors, diversification, retirement planning, business succession, and thinking about what happens to the business you've spent years building.

    In this conversation:

    • Wealth making vs. wealth faking
    • Separating business and personal finances
    • Why business owners should pay themselves
    • Cash flow and emergency reserves
    • Knowing your numbers
    • Building wealth at different income levels
    • Choosing and evaluating a wealth manager
    • Diversifying beyond your business
    • Retirement and long-term financial planning
    • Business succession and creating a legacy

    Diarra leaves business owners with a simple reminder: continue building, know your numbers, pour into your business and pay yourself.

    Connect with Jacquelyn Clayborn:

    JacquelynClayborn.com

    Connect with Milton Quinn:

    MiltonQuinn.com

    Follow Say Less Unscripted for more real conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, and business owners about what it takes to build something that lasts.

    47 min
  • Money Mistakes Business Owners Learn Too Late

    You can be great at running your business and still be getting the money part wrong.

    In this episode of Say Less Unscripted, Milton Quinn and Jacquelyn Clayborn sit down with CPA Candice Tyson, President of Tyson Accounting PLLC, to talk about the financial side of business ownership that many entrepreneurs learn the hard way.

    They get into when it’s time to hire a CPA, tax planning vs. tax preparation, the numbers every business owner should be watching, cash flow, lines of credit, fractional CFOs, and even LLC vs. S Corp. Candice also shares some of the financial habits that can help business owners avoid costly mistakes as they grow.

    In this conversation:

    • When you should stop DIYing your finances
    • What a good CPA should actually help you with
    • KPIs and financial reports worth watching
    • Tax planning vs. tax preparation
    • Business loans vs. lines of credit
    • What to look for in a fractional CFO
    • LLC vs. S Corp and why timing matters
    • Why knowing your true costs matters as you grow

    If the financial side of your business is something you keep telling yourself you’ll figure out later, this episode is worth a listen.

    Connect with Candice Tyson

    Tyson Accounting

    Connect with the hosts

    Milton Quinn

    Jacquelyn Clayborn

    Watch Say Less Unscripted on YouTube

    Watch the full episode

    Candice specifically discusses the value of professional help, saying a CPA can help owners avoid costly mistakes and potentially save enough money to offset the cost of the service. She also gives practical advice later in the episode about reviewing the balance sheet, P&L, cash flow and gross profit margin regularly.

    49 min
  • The Legal Mistakes That Can Cost Business Owners with Adrian Bower

    Running a business comes with plenty of legal questions, and sometimes you don't know what you should have asked until there's already a problem.

    In this episode of Say Less Unscripted, Jacquelyn Clayborn and Milton Quinn sit down with attorney Adrian Bower of Bower PLLC to talk about the legal side of owning and growing a business.

    From contracts and indemnity clauses to NDAs, partnership agreements and non-competes, Adrian explains where business owners can unknowingly expose themselves to risk and what they should be thinking about before they sign.

    They also talk about choosing the right attorney, protecting personal assets, tariffs and business risk, and the legal documents entrepreneurs should consider putting in place as their businesses grow.

    Whether you're starting a business, already running one, or regularly signing contracts, this conversation may help you spot some of the things you didn't know you needed to ask.

    In this episode:

    00:00 – Meet Adrian Bower

    03:07 – Why Legal Counsel Matters Early

    04:18 – Choosing the Right Attorney

    07:01 – Contracts & Indemnity Clauses

    12:37 – Partnership Agreements & NDAs

    16:55 – Non-Competes & Protecting Trade Secrets

    18:18 – Tariffs & Business Risk

    20:05 – Protecting Personal Assets

    26:45 – Legal Documents Every New Business Should Consider

    29:18 – How to Connect with Adrian

    Connect with Adrian Bower:

    Bower PLLC

    Website: bowerpllc.com

    Phone: 214-799-2142

    Say Less Unscripted

    Real Conversations with Leaders.

    31 min
  • What No One Tells You About Selling Your Business

    Selling a business is about more than getting the right price.

    Carmen Autry joins Jacquelyn Clayborn and Milton Quinn to share what she learned from building, preparing and ultimately selling NTD Mechanical. She opens up about valuation, due diligence, choosing the right buyer, protecting the culture she built and navigating a sale process that didn't always go according to plan.

    But one of the biggest challenges came after the decision to sell: figuring out what she wanted her life to look like without the business at the center of it.

    If you own a business, plan to sell one someday or simply want to build a company that can succeed without depending entirely on you, this conversation is worth hearing.

    47 min
  • She Bought A Business in 2 Weeks. Then Reality Hit.

    After 13 years in corporate America, Indu Sanka took a leap most people would spend months preparing for. She bought a struggling business in just two weeks.

    What happened next tested everything she thought she knew about business, leadership and herself.

    In this episode of Say Less Unscripted, Indu sits down with Jacquelyn Clayborn and Milton Quinn to share what business ownership actually looked like once the deal was done. She talks candidly about surviving a difficult first 90 days, making tough financial decisions, learning how to build the right team and realizing that being the owner required her to lead differently.

    Today, that business is Red Elephant, a signage and branding company with more than 60 employees.

    The conversation goes beyond Indu's success story. She shares what she learned about putting the right people in the right seats, implementing EOS, building better systems, introducing a CRM, rebranding an established company and balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with raising a family.

    If you are thinking about buying a business, growing a company or figuring out how to become a better leader as your business grows, this conversation is worth your time.

    Subscribe and join Jacquelyn Clayborn and Milton Quinn for more conversations with the people who have lived it, built it and learned from it.

    Join the Say Less Dispatch: https://www.saylessunscripted.com/sub...

    57 min
  • 5 Signs Your Brand Is Heading for the Blockbuster Graveyard

    Many entrepreneurs struggle in today's noisy market. Simple visuals or inconsistent messages erode trust. For lasting success, an unforgettable brand needs clarity, consistency, integrity, and client-centric operations.

    Emphasizing that brand integrity and a unified culture are paramount, Glenn Bradley reveals how to build an unforgettable brand that consistently connects with audiences, delivers promises, and drives growth through smart marketing and relationships.

    💡 IMPLEMENTATION TIP [07:44]:

    "Google My Business is definitely a colossal piece. I would think about Google Alerts... it'll send you an alert whenever a term or phrase is mentioned."

    Get the exact tools that help small businesses monitor their online reputation and engage with their audience effectively.


    📉 LEGACY RISK [15:16]:

    "Sometimes at some point, some people think that they're so big that they just won't crumble."

    See why complacency, even for established businesses, can lead to irrelevance and failure.🚀


    ⚠️ WARNING SIGN [30:56]:

    "I think Facebook is doing it all wrong... customer service is horrible."

    This completely changes how we think about brand trust and the importance of customer service, even for large platforms.


    CHAPTERS:

    00:00 - What Makes a Strong Brand: Consistency, Clarity, and Integrity

    02:27 - How Entrepreneurs Break Growth Plateaus with Education and Structure

    04:44 - Turning a Good Brand into an Unforgettable Brand with Culture and Alignment

    06:58 - Free Branding and Reputation Tools Every Small Business Should Use

    09:10 - Why CRM Systems Are Essential for Managing Customer Relationships

    14:17 - Why Established Businesses Must Keep Investing in Branding

    17:02 - How Integrating CRM, Marketing, and Operations Improves Efficiency

    21:15 - Using AI in Marketing Without Losing Human Creativity and Experience

    24:32 - How Audience Targeting Turns Marketing Ideas into Great Ad Campaigns

    25:29 - Creating Buyer Personas to Improve Marketing Results

    27:04 - Brand Examples That Win Through Customer Experience

    30:38 - Branding Failures Caused by Poor Trust and Customer Service

    34:17 - Building a Business Legacy by Helping Clients Shine


    🔗 Connect with Our Hosts:

    Milton Quinn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milton-quinn-42b66654/

    Jacquelyn Clayborn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelyn-clayborn/

    #Branding #MarketingStrategy #Entrepreneurship

    38 min
  • How to Build a Brand That Actually Reaches Your Community

    What happens when the very word that defines your life's work becomes politically charged? For entrepreneurs and leaders in multicultural marketing, the shifting landscape around diversity and inclusion creates real business challenges. But the numbers don't lie — communities with growing purchasing power are still being overlooked, and the companies that adapt will win.

    Yareli Esteban, President and CEO of Strategar, shares how she built a marketing agency from the ground up after a personal tragedy reshaped her career path. From managing $100 million advertising accounts for GM and Bank of America to launching her own firm, she breaks down why inclusive marketing is simply smart business, how female entrepreneurs can break through the million-dollar revenue ceiling, and why your personal brand might be the most valuable asset you're not building.

    🛠️ YOUR PERSONAL BRAND BLUEPRINT [23:22]:

    "You got to answer the basic questions. What, Where, Why, How. When you start articulating those things, you're like, oh, this is what I'm about."

    Get Yareli's exact 3-step framework to build your personal brand from scratch:

    - Define your "What, Where, Why, How" — articulate what you stand for beyond your company

    - Align your visual identity with your personal values (logo, style guide, color palette)

    - Choose strategic affiliations — events, associations, and sponsorships that reflect your brand

    ⚠️ THE RISK AVERSION TRAP [12:03]:

    "There's an aversion to risk. Be careful with what you have, keep your money safe. It's kind of in a juxtaposition of starting a business where you're taking a huge risk on yourself and your vision."

    See why cultural conditioning is the invisible barrier keeping female entrepreneurs of color below the million-dollar mark.

    ✨ THE 75% RULE [25:59]:

    "I learned during the pandemic that 75% was good enough. That time it takes to go from 75 to 100, there's really no ROI."

    Here is the exact mindset shift that freed this CEO from the perfectionism trap and gave her time back.

    🎯 THE INCLUSION PARADOX [11:09]:

    "It means being in and it's of all of us. So how is all of us being in bad?"

    Learn why the word "inclusive" became politically charged and what smart marketers are doing instead.

    CHAPTERS:

    - 00:00 - Introduction

    - 00:26 - Meet Yareli Esteban, CEO of Strategar Marketing Agency

    - 01:00 - From Tech to Multicultural Marketing After a Life-Changing Tragedy

    - 02:57 - How the Hispanic Marketing Landscape Has Evolved Over 24 Years

    - 05:02 - Why Corporate America Still Overlooks Communities With Buying Power

    - 07:17 - Should Your Brand Create a Bilingual Marketing Strategy

    - 08:39 - Third-Generation Working Woman: Leadership Lessons From Family

    - 11:09 - Is Inclusive Really a Bad Word in Today's Political Climate

    - 11:46 - The Hidden Barriers Facing Female Entrepreneurs of Color

    - 13:47 - Essential Business Advice for Young Women Entrepreneurs

    - 15:04 - Mentoring the Next Generation: Teaching Entrepreneurship at Age 10

    - 16:23 - Building Legacy Through Mentorship and Community Visibility

    - 18:18 - The Marketing Move Every Entrepreneur Misses Daily

    - 20:21 - Personal Brand vs Business Brand: Why You Need Both

    - 23:12 - Three Steps to Build Your Personal Brand From Scratch

    - 25:59 - Time Management and Recovering From Perfectionism

    - 27:43 - Why Goldman Sachs and Stanford Programs Are Game Changers for CEOs

    - 30:25 - AI in Marketing: Human-Centered Strategy Meets Machine Speed

    - 32:14 - When to Hire a Marketing Agency: Signs You Have Outgrown DIY

    - 34:40 - The American Dream Is Still Alive: A Bold Three-Year Outlook

    - 35:50 - Believe in Yourself, Document Your Plan, and Don't Waste Time

    🔗 Connect with Our Hosts:

    - Milton Quinn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milton-quinn-42b66654/

    - Jacquelyn Clayborn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelyn-clayborn/

    #MulticulturalMarketing #FemaleEntrepreneurs #PersonalBranding

    38 min
  • Why Your Best Employee Might Be the One Who's Failing Right Now

    Business owners often chase instant profits and fast wealth, however this sudden rush breaks teams and creates fragile companies. You must master steady progress and mental toughness - the exact traits that build a lasting enterprise.

    Mike Rasmussen started selling cars at twenty-six years old, and climbed the ranks to General Manager through hard work alone. After surviving a terrible crash, he overcame severe brain injuries, and now trains top automotive sales forces, teaching managers how to beat internal battles and construct unstoppable teams.

    🎯 BIGGEST TAKEAWAY [04:05]:

    "A lot of times the battle isn't outside. We battle ourselves."

    Here is exactly how to help high performers beat their own mental blocks and win.

    🛠️ ACTIONABLE BLUEPRINT [20:34]:

    "Business is all about the quarters, a little incremental growth. And what you do is, you understand that little incremental growth someday will be huge."

    Get the exact framework to scale your company with small daily wins.

    ✨ TRUE INDEPENDENCE [27:19]:

    "Money only makes you more of what you are… Focus on financial independence. What that means is anytime I don't have to make a decision based on what's in the bank."

    See how top performers build wealth without obsessing over cash flow.

    ⚠️ FATAL MISTAKE [33:45]:

    "We get guilty of hanging out with people too long and just hoping to turn that duck into an eagle. A lot of times, understand it's a duck, buddy, it's not an eagle."

    Learn the exact reason bad hires destroy your team.

    CHAPTERS:

    00:00 - Build Self-Empowerment and a Winning Mindset

    01:07 - Create a No-Ceiling Career Through Work Ethic

    02:38 - Lead People Through Struggle and Unlock Performance

    06:42 - Trust the Process Without Needing Instant Results

    08:17 - Hire Driven People and Develop Them With the Right Tools

    09:49 - Use Grit and Discipline to Overcome Setbacks

    13:32 - Think Deeper to Make Better Leadership Decisions

    16:30 - Lead Different Personalities by Understanding What Drives Them

    19:49 - Win With Incremental Growth and Daily Execution

    21:42 - Use CRM and Process to Drive Sales and Accountability

    29:31 - Master Customer Experience to Build Long-Term Success

    39:18 - Lead With Character and Lead by Example

    41:50 - Measure Success by the People You Grow

    47:38 - Never Quit and Keep Pushing Through Hard Seasons


    🔗 Connect with Our Hosts:

    Milton Quinn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milton-quinn-42b66654/

    Jacquelyn Clayborn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelyn-clayborn/

    #Entrepreneurship #SalesTraining #LeadershipDevelopment

    52 min

About Say Less Unscripted

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Say Less’s vision is to assist entrepreneurs, executives, industry leaders and Owners to establish a balance and harmony between their mental, physical, financial, emotional and spiritual wellness.