In this episode, branding expert Andy Suggs stops by to shed light on one of the small business owner’s most confusing areas of responsibility: marketing. Andy shares his expertise on defining and building your brand, understanding the 12 different brand archetypes, and common mistakes small businesses make. Tune in to learn how consumers digest information today, how Aaron Rents underwent a successful engagement that transformed their brand, and how a simple day of fishing turned into an epic tale.

Episode Highlights:

• What Matters to Small Business [0:1:58]

• How It Began [0:02:46]

• Defining Your Brand [0:04:19]

• Examples of Great Branding [0:07:24]

• What a Brand Engagement Looks Like [0:09:47]

• Branding Mistakes Small Businesses Make [0:15:58]

• About Reckon Branding [0:17:59]

• Leading Client Onboarding [0:19:28]

• What’s Different Today [0:20:34]

• Aaron Rents: Portrait of a Successful Brand Engagement [0:23:00]

• One Piece of Marketing Advice [0:27:44]

• Rapid Fire [0:30:13]

• Takeaways [0:35:00]

• Contact Information [0:35:55]

• SBM Announcements [0:37:33

For more than 30 years, Thomas J. Ashenden has dedicated his career to representing injured people who have been the victims of negligence. Founded 24 years ago, Ashenden & Associates handles catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases arising from negligence involving automobiles, premises liability, medical negligence, hotel and apartment security negligence, and Workers’ Compensation claims.

Mr. Ashenden was named to the Georgia Super Lawyers list for 10 consecutive years. He was also honored to become certified as a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum based in Santa Cruz, CA, in 2000. Other honors include:

• Named to Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in

America

• The Million Dollar Advocates Forum, certified member

• “Leading Plaintiff’s Lawyers in America, The Law Dragon 3000″,

Member Peoples Law School, Past Chairman

• AV Rating

• Named to Georgia Super Lawyers List, 2014 – 2023

Show Notes:

In this episode, Super Lawyer, Vistage member, and SBM coaching client Tom Ashenden shares the secret to success as a business owner and founding partner in a personal injury law firm. Tom credits his 23 years in business to humility and a commitment to ethics and treating people right. As a result, referrals continue to be his firm’s largest new client generator.

Episode Highlights:

• What Matters to Small Business [0:2:55]

• Entry into Personal Injury Law [0:04:05]

• A Typical Engagement [0:04:33]

• Secrets of Long Term Success [0:06:13]

• Role as Leader [0:07:19]

• Professional Training and Growth [0:10:17]

• Ethics as a Differentiator [0:12:10]

• Preparedness is Everything [0:13:23]

• Changes in the Past 30 Years [0:13:59]

• There are No Shortcuts [0:15:17]

• Advice for Young Attorneys [0:16:11]

• Working on Cases as the Owner [0:17:34]

• Standout Cases [0:18:28]

• Rapid Fire [0:22:51]

• Contact Information [0:24:18]

• Takeaways [0:24:58]

• SBM Announcements [0:26:07]

Dr. Bernie Mullin is a globally recognized management and marketing consultant and speaker, renowned for his unique approach to sports marketing. Co-author of the book “Sports Marketing,” Bernie's career spans over 30 years as a chief executive or senior director in prominent organizations in professional sports, collegiate athletics, and entertainment venue operations. His focus on start-ups and turn-around situations has led to the development of winning organizations on the field, court, and ice, and the creation of sustained peak-performing organizations on the business side, achieving unprecedented levels of success.

In his distinguished career, Bernie has received numerous additional honors and recognition including being dubbed “The Guru of Ticket Sales” by Sports Illustrated in 1993, “The Pirate of Profitability” in 1986 by the forerunner of the SportsBusiness Journal, and being named the Boy Scouts of America “Peach of an Athlete Award” recipient in 2008. Bernie is also the Founder and Chairman of The Aspire Group which works with its partners to maximize organizational effectiveness and grow revenues and attendance. Under Bernie’s guidance, the firm generates over $200 million annually in revenue and has served 200+ brands and properties across 11 countries and three continents in 17 different sports.

Show Notes:

In this episode, sports guru Bernie Mullin explains how to build a winning brand through effective database development and management. Bernie also shares insights into knowing and activating your customers, how to hire a team of superstars, and negotiating with Pope Francis.

Episode Highlights:

• What Matters to Small Business [0:01:24]

• Discovering a New Career [0:03:50]

• A Typical Engagement [0:04:33]

• Sports vs. Traditional Small Business [0:08:48]

• Segmenting Your Audience [0:14:48]

• WHOPPP Hiring Strategy: Hiring All As [0:15:48]

• Rapid Fire [0:24:35]

• Contact Information [0:27:32]

• Takeaways [0:27:53]

• SBM Announcements [0:30:44]

Pat Renn is a financial professional who has been cited in ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS for his work in wealth management. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with over 35 years of financial counseling experience, he is also the president and founder of The Renn Wealth Management Group. Pat once served as president of both the Georgia Society of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners and the Georgia chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning.

A published author as well, Pat has written two books, Finding Your Money’s Greater Purpose, and most recently, Your Financial Future and Legacy. He was born in Greece and moved with his family to the U.S. when he was 10 years old. Today Pat resides in metro Atlanta and is married with two sons. In his leisure time, he enjoys traveling, golfing, fly fishing, and wing shooting.

Show Notes:

In this episode, financial planner and successful small business owner Pat Renn joins our hosts for an informative discussion on succession planning. Pat shares insights on this important process and why many small business owners find it easier to get into business than it is to get out of it.

Pat talks about the need to begin planning for your exit sooner rather than later, why many small business owners are choosing to work longer, the role shared values play in his hiring process, and how leaders need to set the pace. Tune in to learn how to maximize the value of your business, how to begin the succession planning process, and a little bit about wing shooting.

Episode Highlights:

• What Matters to Small Business [0:03:40]

• Blind Spots [0:05:10]

• The Continuity Plan [0:06:17]

• Identifying Your Successor [0:07:39]

• The Planning Process [0:09:39]

• Current Trends [0:12:19]

• Success vs. Failure [0:13:54]

• A Collaborative Process [0:17:29]

• Role of a Leader [0:20:08]

• Rapid Fire [0:21:52]

• Contact Information [0:26:31]

• Takeaways [0:27:37]

• SBM Announcements [0:29:35]

Steve Reisig is one of the founding partners of SRSA Commercial Real Estate and specializes in the leasing and sale of office and industrial space. His impressive career includes over 33 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage, consulting, and asset management and his portfolio boasts over One Billion dollars in sales and leases.

Reisig along with his partner Barry Spizer, CCIM, received the F. Poche Waguespack Award for the highest volume of commercial real estate sales and leases in Louisiana. Reisig is a multi-million dollar producer and recognized by the Real Estate Board of New Orleans as a Life Member and Super Salesman for 27 consecutive years.

Show Notes:

In this episode, Tim and Taylor welcome one of Tim’s oldest friends to the show. A successful entrepreneur in commercial real estate, Steve Reisig shares insights into today’s market, how to maintain a strong business partnership for more than 40 years, the secret to working with your spouse, and what’s ahead for the changing business. Tune in to learn the importance of trust between business partners, how to sustain a business through the hard times, and recognizing when you need help.

Episode Highlights:

What Matters to Small Business [0:03:23]

The Journey to SRSA [0:04:33]

Sustaining Your Business through the Hard Times [0:08:03]

Maintaining a Strong Partnership [0:10:26]

Working with Your Spouse [0:12:45]

How Remote Work Effected Commercial Real Estate [14:18]

Changes in Roles [0:19:56]

Learning from Mistakes [0:24:01]

Rapid Fire [0:27:19]

Contact Information [0:30:00]

Takeaways [0:30:45]

SBM Announcements [0:30:42]

The voice of the Kansas City Royals, Joel Goldberg is also an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, keynote speaker, and published author. He began dreaming of a career as a sportscaster at a young age, always wanting to deliver news of the previous night’s game to his teachers. He’s spent more than a quarter century on television, relying on relationship-building to tell athletes' stories.

Joel’s unique access enables him to share lessons learned from the baseball field to the boardroom as a motivational speaker and to homes everywhere through his business podcast, “Rounding the Bases”. Joel helps clients build a stronger culture and speak about the little things that add up to the big home runs in business and life. He is the author of “Small Ball Big Results” and believes that finding passion and a reason for doing the little things can unlock big results.

Show Notes:

In this episode, Tim and Taylor enjoy talking about two of their favorite things—baseball and small business. They’re joined by Joel Goldberg, author, speaker, and the voice of the Kansas City Royals. Joel shares the similarities between small business and the business of baseball, the importance of managing failure well, why managers need to be adaptable, and the use of data in business and baseball.

Episode Highlights:

• The Business of Baseball [0:06:55]

• Characteristics of Great Players [0:11:10]

• What Makes a Manager Successful [0:14:11]

• Focusing on Culture [0:18:14]

• The Data Trend [0:22:22]

• “Small Ball Big Results” [26:05]

• Rapid Fire [0:28:28]

• Contact Information [0:34:53]

• SBM Announcements [0:36:23]

In 2021, Alina Lee founded Your Ad Attorney, LLC which serves as outside general counsel to companies in the marketing, tech, retail, utilities, and consulting spaces. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Alina was Senior Corporate Counsel for several corporations including Mailchimp and Southern Company Gas, worked as a corporate transactional attorney at Morris, Manning & Martin (MMM) in Atlanta, and practiced corporate transactional law for almost two years at Rogers & Hardin.

Alina graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she received Academic Excellence Awards in Comparative Law and Immigration Law and Policy. She attended the University of Georgia for her undergraduate degree in History while playing on UGA's varsity women's golf team, which was ranked top five in the nation. In her sophomore year, Alina became the youngest medalist of a NCAA Division I golf tournament when she tied for first place (no play-off) at the Ladies Puerto Rico Classic.

Show Notes:

In this episode, Tim and Taylor welcome Atlanta attorney turned entrepreneur, Alina Lee to the podcast. Alina discusses her journey from golf prodigy to attorney to business owner. Realizing unprecedented growth, Alina shares her surprise by the early success of her new law firm, the benefits of providing true work-life balance, and helping small businesses protect their intellectual property.

Episode Highlights:

• What Matters to Small Business [0:03:03]

• Getting Started [0:03:31]

• A Unique Market [0:05:00]

• Leading the Firm [0:07:32]

• Intellectual Property: Protecting Your Brand [0:08:27]

• Surprising Success [10:11]

• Learning on the Job [0:12:10]

• Leveraging Lessons Learned through Golf [0:13:24]

• Accountability in a Flexible Workplace [0:16:28]

• Ideal Employee Profile [0:18:56]

• Best and Worst Mistake [0:20:33]

• What’s Next? [0:23:03]

• Maintaining Your Mental Health [0:24:24]

• Rapid Fire [0:26:10]

• Contact Information [0:30:00]

• SBM Announcements [0:31:01]

Steve Reisig is one of the founding partners of SRSA Commercial Real Estate and specializes in the leasing and sale of office and industrial space. His impressive career includes over 33 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage, consulting and asset management and his portfolio boasts over One Billion dollars in sales and leases.

Reisig along with his partner Barry Spizer, CCIM, received the F. Poche Waguespack Award for the highest volume of commercial real estate sales and leases in Louisiana. Reisig is a multi-million dollar producer and recognized by the Real Estate Board of New Orleans as a Life Member and Super Salesman for 27 consecutive years.

Show Notes:

In this episode, Tim and Taylor welcome one of Tim’s oldest friends to the show. A successful entrepreneur in commercial real estate, Steve Reisig shares insights into today’s market, how to maintain a strong business partnership for more than 40 years, the secret to working with your spouse, and what’s ahead for the changing business. Tune in to learn the importance of trust between business partners, how to sustain a business through the hard times, and recognizing when you need help.

Episode Highlights:

• What Matters to Small Business [0:03:23]

• The Journey to SRSA [0:04:33]

• Sustaining Your Business through the Hard Times [0:08:03]

• Maintaining a Strong Partnership [0:10:26]

• Working with Your Spouse [0:12:45]

• How Remote Work Effected Commercial Real Estate [14:18]

• Changes in Roles [0:19:56]

• Learning from Mistakes [0:24:01]

• Rapid Fire [0:27:19]

• Contact Information [0:30:00]

• Takeaways [0:30:45]

• SBM Announcements [0:30:42]

Scott Wozniak, CEO of Swoz Consulting, has consulted with leaders on six continents, including Silicon Valley startups, family enterprises, and Fortune 500 companies. A member of Mensa, Scott reads over 200 books each year and has written three books, with a fourth coming at the end of 2023. He earned a master’s degree in business with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership. Scott has worked with some of the leading brands of our time including multiple Silicon Valley “unicorns” and Nucor Steel.

During an eight-year tenure with Chick-fil-A, Scott worked directly with the founding family and executive team to design leadership development programs, set strategy, and lead company-wide upgrades—and though he is not an employee there anymore, he regularly consults with their leaders. Scott enjoys working with leaders who have a passion for being great.

Show Notes:

In this episode, CEO of Swoz Consulting and 2021 SBM Conference speaker Scott Wozniak drops by to chat with Tim. Scott shared his thoughts on virtual vs. in-person work environments, the critical need for leaders to create clarity, and working with Chick-fil-A. Tune in to learn the importance of connection, community, and collaboration, how COVID accelerated change, and the role of today’s small business CEO.

Episode Highlights:

• What Matters to Small Business [0:02:28]

• Discovering a New Career [0:03:50]

• The Leadership Performance [0:08:44]

• Lessons Learned at Chick-fil-A [0:12:38]

• Creating Clarity [0:16:47]

• Post Covid Leadership [0:20:40]

• In-Person vs. Virtual Workplace [0:22:35]

• Swoz Consulting [0:26:08]

• Book Release: Make Your Brand Legendary [0:30:16]

• Rapid Fire [0:32:04]

• Takeaways [0:37:34]

• Contact Information [0:38:25]

• SBM Announcements [0:39:12]

As a Career Transition Coach and LinkedIn Strategist, Erin Andersen has extensive experience in writing resumes and cover letters, creating LinkedIn pages that stand out during your job search, and coaching on how to land your next job. Her areas of expertise are Transition, Toxic Work Culture Navigation, and LinkedIn.

Erin also provides LinkedIn marketing strategy and training for small to medium sized businesses in regard to profile optimization and content strategy. She holds a Master of Science in Management from Wake Forest University and earned a BA in English Language from Furman University.

Show Notes:

In this episode, LinkedIn strategist Erin Andersen sits down with Tim and Taylor to share best practices for creating a successful LinkedIn strategy. The informative discussion explores the evolution of LinkedIn from a site primarily used for recruiting, to the business and networking platform we know today.

Erin provides insights on all things LinkedIn, from creating individual and company pages and engaging versus posting to finding top talent on the platform. Tune in to learn what not to do on LinkedIn and how to leverage the tool to expand your brand and become known as a thought leader.

Episode Highlights:

• The Journey [0:02:53]

• Target Client Profile [0:05:50]

• What Not to Do [0:07:56]

• LinkedIn as a Social Platform [0:09:57]

• The Evolution of LinkedIn [0:12:11]

• Individual Vs. Company Pages [0:14:03]

• Favorite LinkedIn Tool [0:15:45]

• Following Vs. Connecting [0:16:57]

• Video Posts [0:18:17]

• Engagement Vs. Posting [0:19:10]

• Finding Talent on LinkedIn [0:22:26]

• Free Vs. Premium Versions [0:23:59]

• Rapid Fire [0:25:32]

• Takeaways [0:27:55]

• Contact Information [0:28:52]

• SBM Announcements [0:29:40]