Small Business Answer Man

Kevin Kamali and Ali Meshksar are two interior design entrepreneurs with 20+ years of industry experience in the home design renovation space. Kevin and Ali have learned what it takes to start, grow, and run a successful company while achieving client satisfaction in the process. They are happy to share their tips and advice to help other business owners do the same.

Introducing Ali Meshksar & Kevin Kamali

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Ali and Kevin help people remodel their homes. They redesign them and make their spaces more efficient.
2. What three problems do you solve?
   1. How did we grow our business quickly?
   2. How did we go from 0 to a multi-million dollar company in six years?
   3. How did we get five-star reviews?

Show Notes:

• Ali and Kevin started their business by seeing the problems of other companies and then attempting to solve them.
  • What are their problems with management? with helping customers?
• Be honest with the customer.
• Everything on the sales side of Ali and Kevin's business is automatic.
  • Systemize your processes. Don't waste time.
• If someone wants something, they call Ali and Kevin.
• Anybody can do it.
• Coordination is big.
  • You have to have those systems to make things run smoothly.
• Prepare your customers. Don't be afraid of their reactions.
  • Try to solve the problem. Don't run from it.
• You have to be honest with the customer from the beginning through the whole process.
  • Tell them what is possible and what is not, and they will be more understanding.
• The customer does understand. They are smart.
• Ali and Kevin try to have a presence on all social media so people can find them.

Ali Meshksar's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Ali wakes up early and always tries to learn. He also believes you have to take risks to do business.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? Ali says he wishes he had started on social media sooner. The best thing to happen to the business was to make digital content that gave customers knowledge.

Kevin Kamali's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Kevin says that he is a very detail-oriented person. If he sees something, he has to learn about it, and if Kevin doesn't know something, he doesn't mess with it.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? He would have started his own business much earlier in life, so he could have become his own boss.

Connect with Ali & Kevin:

Their website: eahomedesign.com

Facebook

Instagram

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Gary's 5 steps to Success in Hiring

Step 1: Recruiting

• Employers are having trouble finding quality, top-notch employees, and the labor market is going to stay tight.
• Gary noticed that his problem came when he started hiring people to fill a spot instead of filling a spot by hiring the right person.
• Employers should recruit online.
  • It is important to think like the talent you want to attract.
  • What are unique ways you can recruit new people?
• Share job postings on your personal pages, your business pages, and your employee's pages to reach more people.
• When recruiting, have your current employees do referrals.

Step 2: Interviewing

• Be a better interviewer when interviewing potential new hires.
• Ask about competencies and skills, not emotions.
  • Use behavior-based interview questions.
• Have an automated system in place that sends an email reply when someone applies to your job postings.
• In your applications and interviews, ask for three references to attest to your applicant's skills.
• Doing phone interviews and fewer interviews can help free up your time so that interviews do not take up so many resources.

Step 3: Hiring

• When we hire on skill over emotion, we get better results.
• Bad hires cost businesses time and money.
• Gary's Success in Hiring program can help develop your hiring filter in which an average is found between your ideal candidate and your worst candidate.

Step 4: Onboarding

• If you don't have a good onboarding process, your new hire will start looking for a new job.
• Create engagement and make sure your employees are present.
• Gary suggests 9 ways to successfully onboard:
  1. Have a positive and strong culture.
  2. Prepare co-workers for the new hire.
  3. Set new hires up for success.
  4. Have HR take the new hire around the office and introduce them to everyone.
  5. Take your new hire to lunch.
  6. Have an employee onboarding checklist.
  7. Assign your new hire a mentor.
  8. Follow up with your new hire and adjust frequently.
  9. Have your new hire give you feedback.

Step 5: Coaching

• Do your manager manage or do they lead?
• Leadership roles affect employees' engagement.
• You have to build trust but also create accountability.

Download the Success In Hiring Overview Document HERE

27 Best Free Job Postings at https://www.careercloud.com/news/best-free-job-posting-sites

Sign Up for the 5 Part Success In Hiring Video Series at http://SuccessInHiring.Biz

Shauna Shapiro is a professor, author, and internationally recognized expert in mindfulness and compassion. Dr. Shapiro is the author of Good Morning, I Love You. She has been an invited speaker for the King of Thailand, the Danish government, Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Summit, the Canadian government, and the World Council for Psychotherapy, as well as for Fortune 100 companies including Google, Cisco Systems, Proctor & Gamble, and Genentech. The New York Times, BBC, Mashable, the Huffington Post, Wired, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal have all featured her work, and nearly three million people have watched her TEDx talk "The Power of Mindfulness." Dr. Shapiro is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University and a fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, co-founded by the Dalai Lama.

Introducing Shauna Shapiro

1. What problem do you solve?
   • She's going to solve two problems for CHARGERS today.
     • Shauna will solve your wandering mind which is when your life is on autopilot and you can't focus or concentrate.
     • She will help you find more compassion for yourself and treat yourself with kindness.

Show Notes:

• When you make a mistake and shame yourself it shuts down the learning centers of your brain.
  • You get stuck in the habit patterns you're trying to change.
• Self-compassion releases dopamine which turns on the learning centers of the brain and activates motivation.
  • It gives you the strength and courage to move forward.
• A failed habit is just learning ways that don't work for you.
• Whatever you practice grows stronger.
• It is natural for your mind to wander.
• The key is discipline and compassion.
  • They go hand in hand together.
• Mindfulness is a way of being present and focusing moment by moment.
• Mediation is the exercise or practice you do to train your mindfulness.
• Mindfulness has a lot of great benefits like reducing stress, strengthening your immune system, and improving your sleep quality.
  • Mindfulness can decrease bias and increase decision-making and compassion.
• The first step to meditation practice is knowing your intention.
  • Why are you doing it? Why is it important?
• The second thing is knowing when you are going to do it.
  • She recommends doing it first thing in the morning or right before bed.
• The third thing is to set ridiculously unambitious goals.
  • Start small and meditate for a minute or five. Then work up to more.
• Finally, be kind to yourself.
• Recognize that you can begin again in any moment.
  • Adjust, pause, contact your body and mind, and begin again.
• Know that there is a science behind mindfulness.
  • It's never too late to change.
• Begin.
• Practice makes change.

Shauna Shapiro's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Shauna's biggest habit is the 'Good Morning, I Love You' practice. She wakes up, puts her hand on her heart, and treats herself with kindness.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? She would've stated how important it was to be on her own team and been a friend to herself sooner.

Connect with Shauna:

Shauna's website: drshaunashapiro.com

Instagram

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Johnny Eaker is the founder and chief strategist for Cosmic Sauce, a video marketing agency in Columbia, Missouri, where he helps clients craft video marketing campaigns that drive results. Prior to founding the agency, he was a video director for State Farm Insurance, a Fortune 50 brand with one of the largest in-house creative agencies in the nation, where he worked with high-profile partners like the NBA, helped lead national social media campaigns and helped grow the brand's social media presence to more than two million followers. Today, Johnny speaks to various organizations on the topics of video marketing and social media. His agency helps brands develop winning video marketing and social media strategies that generate measurable results.

Introducing Johnny Eaker

1. What problem do you solve?
   • He helps you understand how to use video to get measurable results for your business.
2. What three questions are you going to answer for us today?
   1. What are ways you can use video in your business or for your brand?
   2. How do you get started?
   3. How do you get results - especially on social media?

Show Notes:

• Every business has different video needs.
• Video does have a place somewhere in your organization.
• What does that first impression need to be when someone is getting to know your brand?
• Short videos may intrigue someone just enough to make that extra click.
• Your audience will dictate what kind of content you need to create.
• Testimonial videos are the lowest hanging fruit.
  • Get at that authenticity.
• Think about the sections of your website when thinking about what videos to create.
  • Who are we? Who's the customer?
• Have your videos front and center.
• A FAQ like video can help explain your business to customers.
• You've got to be willing to pay attention to your audience.
• Start with something of a plan.
• Look for opportunities.
  • You can turn one video into several months of content.
• Be able to measure what you're doing.

Johnny Eaker's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Johnny's biggest habit is creating a plan.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? He would've started what he's doing a lot sooner than he did. Just jump in.

Connect with Johnny:

Johnny's website: cosmicsauce.agency

Facebook

Instagram

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

For 20 years award-winning chiropractor Dr. Kelly Henry helped his patients live healthier lives.

With a constant focus on providing exceptional customer service, Dr. Henry grew his clinics into one of the top producing chiropractic offices in the nation with multiple locations and doctors.

Since 2018, Dr. Henry has used his system to coach business leaders on how to significantly and rapidly increase profits and growth in their companies.

He's also the author of "Define and Deliver Exceptional Customer Service". A success manual with proven strategies on how to maximize growth and profits

Do you have a call to action?

1. What three questions are you going to answer for us today?
   1. He will help us understand why customer service is so important now and in the future.
   2. What is a huge common misunderstanding that most businesses have regarding their customer service?
   3. What are some key actions a business owner can implement immediately that will have a tremendous impact on improving their customer service?

Show Notes:

• Businesses have to understand that customer service is either going to enhance or detract from everything they do in their business.
• A hole in customer service can really impact our business.
• The biggest piece of great customer service is examining how your employees are treated?
  • You can't treat your employees badly then expect them to treat customers with respect.
• A study found that 80% of businesses said they provide great customer service but customers said only 8% of the same businesses actually provide great customer service.
• It doesn't matter what you think. It's all about what your customers think.
• Most businesses recognize the pieces that they do well on, but then they don't see the holes in the other parts of their customer service.
• 3 simple actions to improving your customer service:
  1. Step up your friendliness.
     • Customer service starts, progresses, and ends with being friendly.
  2. Be fast.
     • You have to be convenient and speed things up for your client.
  3. Fix problems.
     • When you fix a problem to a customer's satisfaction, that customer will have a higher loyalty to your business.
• Go above and beyond. You have the flexibility.
• Do the simple things, consistently.

Dr. Kelly Henry's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Dr. Kelly Henry is an avid reader. Learners are earners
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? He would have gotten a mentor and hired someone who could help him change the tide sooner.

Connect with Dr. Kelly Henry:

Dr. Kelly Henry's website: drkelsbusinessacademy.com

Find Dr. Kelly Henry's book HERE

LinkedIn

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Charles Max Wood has been podcasting for more than 13 years and has produced more than 3500 podcasts across more than 20 shows.

Introducing Charles Wood

1. What problem do you solve?
   • He helps people clarify who their audience is and then puts out a podcast that helps them reach the people they know they want to reach.
2. What three questions are you going to answer for us today?
   1. He will talk about how to attract the ideal customer with a podcast.
   2. He will talk about why podcasting works over other mediums.
   3. He will tell you how to set up your podcast to convert the listeners into customers.

Show Notes:

• You need to know who will buy the product you're putting out there.
  • Who do I want to be in front of?
  • What can I put out there to attract them?
• People know, like, and trust you because they feel you are telling their story.
• People often consider reaching their audience through blogging, podcasting, and YouTube.
  • Blogging is highly competitive and hard to get found.
    • You won't connect with people the way you want to.
  • You can be effective on YouTube, but your audience has to sit at a device where they can watch a video.
  • Podcasting is inherently a storytelling medium.
• Tell a story to affect some kind of change.
• Get feedback from your listeners.
  • Who are you reaching, what do they need, and what can you put out there to make a difference?
• Mastermind groups are helpful because people give personal and business reinforcement.
  • Charles gets advice from peers and from people with different experiences.
• Charles enjoys his mastermind group because he gets fulfillment from contributing to other people.
• His group keeps him accountable to get things done.
• Charles offered to help CHARGE listeners set up their podcast.

Charles Wood's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? He has enabled other people to help him out and hires people that will support him. It is important to keep your team on the same page.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? He wishes that he would have had a private conversation about an important decision that affected someone close to him instead of taking his doubts public and inadvertently hurting that person.

Connect with Charles:

Charles' website: podcastplaybook.co

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Ralf Specht is the author of "Building Corporate Soul". He developed the Soul System™, a framework that powers culture and success for any business.

After two decades with McCann Erickson in various executive roles, he was a founding partner of Spark44, an innovative, industry-first joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover.

His driving vision is to make soulless companies a thing of the past.

Introducing Ralf Specht

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Ralf solves how to build corporate culture that drives success while also making the workplace something employees and managers can equally be proud of.
2. What three questions are you going to answer for us today?
   1. Why is Ralf's driving vision to make soulless companies a thing of the past?
   2. Why do leaders talk about culture but don't walk the talk?
   3. How do companies best retain key employees?

Show Notes:

• You have the ability to instill the spirit in the company.
  • What do you want it to be?
• Does corporate culture really drive success?
  • Yes.
• The top three reasons that employees are leaving are that they:
  • Don't feel valued by their organization.
  • Don't feel valued by their manager.
  • Don't feel a sense of belonging.
• Employers say that employees are leaving because:
  • They are looking for better jobs.
  • Inadequate compensation.
  • Health issues.
• People think that if they set their purpose then everything else will fall into place, and that's not the case.
• You have to start with purpose. Shared purpose is the first level.
• Shared understanding is the second level and includes the vision, mission, and spirit.
• Shared behaviors is the third level.
  • How are things done in this place?
  • How are they done consistently so new people understand how the place works?
• Take clues from how LinkedIn works:
  • Customer centricity
  • Relationships matter
  • Be open
  • Be honest and constructive
  • Demand excellence
  • Take intelligent risks
  • Act like an owner
• Align your team on what they're supposed to be doing.
• Find ways to include everyone in the company.

Ralf Specht's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Ralf's biggest habit is believing in people and giving them the opportunity to grow. It's an action that pays off big time for everyone.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? Ralf would have been more clear with leaders to share his thinking. Don't surround yourself with people who will only tell you yes. You want people who have no issue saying no.

Connect with Ralf:

Ralf's website: buildingcorporatesoul.com

Email us at [email protected] to get info about getting Ralf's book.

LinkedIn

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Brad launched Mindset Sports in June of 2021. He is a Mindset & Performance Teacher & Coach that works with athletes, coaches, parents, teams, referees & sports organizations. He is also working on building personal growth & development programs for high school students, teachers & administrators.

Introducing Brad Dempsey

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Brad is a foundation guy. He works with athletes in establishing a strong mindset so they can branch out and change the landscape of youth in high school sports. He wants to get back to the enjoyment of sports.
2. What three questions are you going to answer for us today?
   1. What do I do? What is the relationship between sports and life?
   2. What is the impact that sports make and the mindset that goes with it?
   3. How can we foster personal growth and development in high schools?

Show Notes:

• Brad always knew he wanted to do more.
• Slow and steady wins the race.
  • Brad works slowly and cautiously.
• Brad wants others to trust that he has their best interest at heart.
  • Brad's ultimate goal is to maximize the potential of every individual that crosses his organization.
• If you're driven by an emotion, it'll come out in the sport you play.
  • Play for enjoyment.
• It is important to be grounded and have self-awareness.
• We need to re-energize schools and teachers because they affect students.
• We can feel accomplished doing things that we don't like to do.
• People have to enjoy what they're doing or they'll find themselves going through the motions.
  • This may lead to burnout.
• How can you creatively find a way to enjoy what's going on?
• Balance is key.
• The habits you practice in your training setting are the habits that will come out during your competitions.

Brad Dempsey's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Brad's biggest habit is starting every day with God and with accomplishing something he doesn't like to do - usually laundry.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? His mom passed away when he was young, and he wishes he would have treated her differently. Tell the people important to you that you love them.

Connect with Brad:

Brad's website: mindsetsports.life

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Wealth Without Wall Street is an online community that seeks to re-educate business owners & families on how money truly works. Wall Street is not just a street in NY, NY that puts Americans' money at risk but it is also a commonly taught mindset.

The Wall Street mindset separates both families & business owners from their money while others get to use it for their advantage. Our goal is to teach these same people a better way to grow wealth that is without Wall Street & in their control. The secret to doing this is having your money work for you, not someone else. You can achieve this through passive income sources without Wall Street.

We educate American business owners & families how to achieve financial freedom through blogs, downloadable resources & our podcast, The Wealth Without Wall Street Podcast.

Joey Mure, Founder and Partner at Wealth Without Wall Street, brings impact, integrity, and generosity to the company every day. He hopes to be remembered as a lover of Jesus, devoted husband, and faithful father.

Introducing Joey Mure

1. What problem do you solve?
   • I help teach 3 simple steps to financial freedom through passive income.
2. What three questions are you going to answer for us today?
   1. What are those three steps?
   2. What is the infinite banking concept?
   3. How does all of this help you to stop trading time for money?

Show Notes:

• Financial freedom is a destination.
• These three steps are your GPS:
  • You have to have a goal.
  • You have to have a plan.
  • You have to have support.
• The investment doesn't matter till you know where you're headed.
  • I can help you pack if you tell me where you're headed.
• What does financial freedom look like to you?
• Corporate America has taught us that the only way is to buckle down and work for 40 years.
  • Why isn't financial freedom available to you today?
• You have to be clear on your goal.
• Check out the passport challenge on Joey's website.
  • You can get free access to the course.
• You need to know who you want to be.
• You need to know what you want to do and/or stop doing.
• You need to know what you will have when you get to financial freedom.
• Plan.
• When your passive income exceeds your monthly expenses, then you have the ability to tell your time what you will do with it.
• Align your assets and cash flows.
• Surround yourself with people who will support you and help you get where you need to be.
• Your money shouldn't be apart from you.
• You have to put money in a place that you can leverage and control today.

Joey Mure's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? He is grounded in his faith and spends time with God every day.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? Joey was so distant from his family when he was working at his mortgage job, and when he asked his wife if he could quit to do the work he does now, she said yes. Joey got to free up time and reconnect with his family.

Connect with Joey:

Joey's website: wealthwithoutwallstreet.com

Facebook

LinkedIn

Wealth without Wall Street LinkedIn

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/

Evan is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Recruiter.com, an on-demand recruiting platform that combines AI and video job-matching technology with the world's largest network of small and independent recruiters.

Introducing Evan Sohn

1. What problem do you solve?
   • Evan helps companies of all sizes deal with the supply chain of talent that's really affecting us post pandemic.
2. What three questions are you going to answer for us today?
   1. Why is this time different than all other times?
   2. What are episodic events? What is going to go away and what will continue?
   3. How do businesses need to adjust to this new time?

Show Notes:

• The U.S. has a big percentage of voluntary churn which is people who constantly changing their jobs.
• People's work-life balance shifted because of COVID.
• People are staying home more because of childcare too.
• A compilation of factors has caused a lot of resignations to come at the same time.
• The pandemic has allowed businesses to decide if they want to focus on remote work, in-person work, or a hybrid.
  • Each type attracts its own workers.
• The cost to hire one person is at least $5000.
• It's not easy to build culture.
  • How do you do it online?
• Alignment is really about not being able to shy away from core values.
• You get to decide what kind of company you want to have.
• Evan sees a shift in work from time-oriented to metric-oriented.
• Seeing people who have been at the same job for 10 years now is much different than how it seemed 10 years ago.
  • Evan says we have a "job hop economy."

Evan Sohn's Recharge Round

1. What habit do you think has led to success in your life? Evan's biggest habit is being assertive but open-minded. He is good at figuring out the next step.
2. If you had one do-over, what would it be? Surround yourself with fantastic people and a partner no matter what you do.

Connect with Evan:

Evan's website: recruiter.com

Learn more about Gary's Mastermind group at goascend.biz/mastermind/