Small Business, Big Growth

Jen Reiner is a business development strategist that has spent the last 20+ years in marketing, service design, and program management.  She currently owns her own business management consulting firm, Align, that enables organizations to adapt and grow by enhancing customer experiences, launching new services, creating strategic plans, and innovating business models. 

In this episode, Sam and Jen discuss what holds businesses back from innovation, the value of diversity of thought, and letting go of perfection and accepting ambiguity in your career and in life. Jen knows how to ask the right questions and provides valuable insight into how you can too.

Time Stamps

Intro [0:17-1:11]

Professional & entrepreneurial background [1:11-8:47]

Finding your niche [8:47-11:50]

Transitioning into starting your own business [11:50-15:12]

Letting go of perfection & accepting ambiguity [15:12-20:23]

The value of diversity of thought [20:23-23:52]

Advice to your younger self  [23:52-28:06]

Intentionally looking for feedback [28:06-30:21]

What holds businesses back from innovation [30:21-34:28]

Important questions to ask yourself [34:28-37:11]

Conclusion [37:11-37:48]

Links

www.alignltd.com

www.linkedin.com/in/jennreiner

www.boostpoint.com

In our first episode with two guests, Sam sits down with the founding partners of Infantree, Ryan Martin and Ryan Smoker.  The Infantree is a creative agency focused on the power of brand communication that has done impressive rebranding, marketing, and design work with many local businesses here in Lancaster, PA. Ryan & Ryan discuss their approach to brand building as well as their experiences starting their business and transitioning as it, and they, have grown in the last 11 years.

Time Stamps

Intro [0:17-0:52]

Entrepreneurial background [0:52-5:38]

Finding experiences before starting a business [5:38-10:42]

Infantree’s humble beginnings [10:42-13:22]

The dream behind Infantree [13:22-18:45]

Growing & business partners [18:45-23:58]

Branding is more than a logo [23:58-27:27]

From a partnership to a team [27:27-31:19]

Intentional company culture [31:19-38:56]

Keeping motivation to run your business [38:56-44:37]

What Infantree does for their clients [44:37-48:18]

“Brand” is a feeling [48:18-51:58]

Conclusion [51:58-52:53]

Links

www.Infantree.com

www.Boostpoint.com

In this episode, Ellen Weber provides insight into the mind of an angel investor. Ellen is the Executive Director of Robinhood Ventures, an angel investment group that has been investing in early-stage, high growth startups since 1999.  As a founding member of Robinhood Ventures, she has over twenty years of entrepreneurial experience from starting her own businesses to helping almost 90 companies get started themselves. Sam and Ellen’s conversation highlights how to stand out to angel investors, when to raise capital, and the successful traits and common mistakes of entrepreneurs.

Time Stamps:

Intro [0:17-1:50]

The motivation behind Robinhood Ventures [1:50-5:42]

Understanding how angel investors think [5:42-9:55]

How to stand out to investors [9:55-12:06]

Making monetary assumptions when starting a venture [12:06-17:08]

Finding balance between doing it yourself and getting support [17:08-18:59]

When to raise capital [18:59-21:36]

Mistakes entrepreneurs make [21:36-22:40]

Milestones to set when starting a venture [22:40-25:45]

Why hiring your first salesperson is difficult [25:45-27:01]

Final advice for entrepreneurs from an investor perspective [27:01-27:48]

Conclusions [27:48-28:32]

Links:

www.facebook.com/elleneweber

www.robinhoodventures.com

www.boostpoint.com

In this episode, Sam talks with Vinny Sakore about the value of being courageous as a leader and entrepreneur while laying out the questions you should ask yourself if you’re struggling to find your purpose. Vinny is a business owner with a range of experience as well as a professor at Messiah College. Throughout his career, he has learned the ins and outs of being a leader in business and in his own personal life as a parent, making sure to include his children in the entrepreneurial experience as much as he can.  

Time Stamps:

Intro [0:17-8:17]

Today's CEO is the modern day pastor [8:17-12:28]

Preparing to have courage [12:28-18:21]

Finding your purpose with your business [18:21-23:51]

Being a strong leader [23:51-28:28]

Advice for entrepreneur parents [28:28-33:45]

Outro [33:45-34:33]

Links:

www.linkedin.com/in/vinnysakore

www.boostpoint.com

Jon Mercer is the founder of Stacks Co, a member first, coworking community and Startup Bucks, an organization created by and for entrepreneurs to support new and existing startups in Bucks County Pennsylvania.  He had his start in the corporate world working in IT and digital marketing in Australia, but after dealing with his own mental health struggles, the lack of support in his corporate job made him change his entire career and life path.  In this episode, Jon and Sam discuss Jon’s various entrepreneurial projects and how crucial mental health support is to succeed as an entrepreneur.  Jon’s transparent insight into his own struggles is inspiring and optimistic.


Time Stamps: 

Intro [0:17-1:15]
Jon’s entrepreneurial story [1:15-15:11]
Leaving the corporate world [15:11-23:09]
Advice for feeling stuck in business and mental health struggles [23:09-30:55]
Dealing with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship [30:55-36:02]
Conclusion [36:02-37:03]

Links:

National Mental Health Hotline:
www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline

www.startupbucks.org
www.stacksco.work
www.boostpoint.com

In this episode, Sam sits down with Jason Hollinger, president & CEO of Four Seasons Produce, Inc. Four Seasons is a family-owned, full-service produce wholesale distributor with over 800 employees, founded by Jason’s father.  Jason and Sam speak on the dynamics of a family business and why personal development is the key to leadership success. Jason also provides insight into his own career path-- from working at Four Seasons part-time as a teenager to becoming the president and CEO of the company.

Time Stamps:

Intro & background [0:17-8:48]

Stepping outside of what you know [8:48-13:26]

Advice for taking over a family business [13:26-15:50]

Personal development strategies [15:50-22:05]

Transitioning into a new leadership role [22:05-24:37]

Maintaining & changing company culture as a new leader [24:37-26:36]

Learning from leaders but being yourself [26:36-29:30]

Promoting leadership within your business [29:30-32:30]

What being a CEO means to Jason Hollinger [32:30-34:50]

Outro [34:50-35:31]

Links:

www.fsproduce.com

www.boostpoint.com

Jeremy Hess is the founder and president of The Premise Studio- a studio in Lancaster, PA that focuses on helping you discover your why and using that why to bring clarity to your story through engaging still and motion imagery.  In this episode, Sam and Jeremy have a detailed discussion about the importance of details, solving conflict through your story, and the steps to creating an effective and valuable visual story.  Jeremy also provides insight about building his business out of necessity and the steps he’s taken to build his own story.

Time Stamps:

Intro & background [00:17-5:53]

Finding the need to be an entrepreneur [5:53-14:16]

Founding Premise Studios [14:16-19:49]

Working with visuals for your brand [19:49-37:53]

Where to start [37:53-42:36]

Conclusion [42:36-45:56]

 Links:

www.wakeenandcompany.com

www.thepremisestudio.com

www.boostpoint.com

Hiring top-performing talent is arguably the most important component to growing a healthy business. In this episode, Sam underlines why he believes that 80% of recruiting well at scale comes down to two strategies: how you source applicants and your hiring process. Sourcing employees is the problem most companies need to solve first, but once they get the applications they’re after, they often realize their hiring process is not efficient nor effective.  Sam provides solutions to both problems with strategic insights into social media advertising, instant text messaging and getting the best return on your investment.


Time Stamps: 

Introduction and barriers to growth [0:17-3:45]

Sourcing for applicants & limitations to online job boards [3:45-7:21]

Utilizing social media strategy for recruiting [7:21-15:17]

Improving your hiring process & advantage of text messaging [15:17-27:02]

Your hiring process compared to your customer acquisition cost [27:02-29:20]

Conclusion [29:20-29:43]

Links:

http://www.boostpoint.com

Larry Kreider is the founder and international director of DOVE International, a global family of churches and ministries on six continents.  Larry has an impressive amount of leadership and spiritual mentoring experience. He’s also an author and has written more than 40 books about ministry and leadership.  In this inspiring episode, Sam and Larry draw on points from Larry’s book, Passing the 21 Tests of Leadership, about what makes a great leader, dealing with criticism, and the importance of maintaining relationships as a leader.

Time Stamps:

Introduction [00:17-4:29]

Traits of Leaders [4:29-7:30]

Dealing with differences in leadership [7:30-9:41]

Successes & failures of leadership teams [9:41-11:49]

What makes a good leader & dealing with criticism [11:49-18:44]

Your career doesn’t define your worth [18:44-21:30]

How to help others with their leadership [21:30-24:37]

Maintaining relationships when things are hard [24:37-28:19]

Improving the type of leader you are [28:19-30:13]

Conclusion [30:13-31:27]

Links:

https://store.dcfi.org/product/passing-the-21-tests-of-leadership/

https://www.boostpoint.com/

In this episode, Sam sits down with his dad, Aaron Beiler of Equipter, to discuss his humble beginnings as a business-owner, his own entrepreneurial process, and the more recent exponential growth of his company.  Equipter is a manufacturing and distribution company that provides roofing companies and other contractors with the revolutionary time-saving equipment that they need to run more successful businesses.  Aaron also speaks on the importance of building a team and maintaining Equipter’s culture and values as his company grows.

Time Stamps:

Introduction [00:17-6:03]

Conceptualizing the Equipter [6:03-14:40]

Making the Equipter a reality [14:40-18:40]

Growing Equipter as a company- marketing [18:40-29:56]

First years as a new business owner and entrepreneur [29:56-38:00]

Exponential growth in 5 years [38:00-44:31]

Building a team at Equipter [44:31-49:27]

Advice for your vision [49:27-51:42]

Conclusion [51:42-52:14]

Links:
https://www.equipter.com/

https://www.boostpoint.com/