Small Business War Stories

When Erik Axel Brunt began his apprenticeship at a tattoo shop, he thought he was only interested in doing body piercings.

However, once Erik began apprenticing on a weekly basis, he found himself interested in the tattoo art surrounding him. Being around the art and seeing tattoos done on a daily basis, Erik began envisioning the tattoos he would eventually create.

Now, Erik works out of Triple Crown Tattoo in Austin, Texas.

In the break room at his old job, Damien Reyes suddenly found himself in an early midlife crisis. Faced with the dilemma of the future spread out before him, Damien decided to make a change.

He began his journey at a somewhat unlikely place for a retired truck driver in his late twenties: beauty school. And a few years later, Short Hair Company was born.

Kristy Brandabur received her degree in Exercise Science Sports Medicine, taught health and physical education for 11 years, and worked in a variety of fitness and wellness-related fields.

At Metamorphosis Holistic Wellness Center, Kristi uses a blended technique of physical therapy, mental therapy and holistic approaches like massage and acupuncture.

This week Kristi brings us into her world.

Three reasons to tune in this week:

• Learn what the EFT or emotional freedom technique is and how Kristy administers it to her clients.
• Learn how Kristy balances medical recommendations with physical and mental training.
• Learn about the healing and transformative powers of essential oils.

Josh Harcus, chairman at Huify and bestselling author of A Closing Culture, joins us this week four our inaugural Flash Episode of Small Business War Stories.

This week, we discuss the art of business gifting, the best tactics and the perfect timing to gift your customers.

Josh Harcus instructs us on how to gift thoughtfully and authentically to grow your business relationships.

Three reasons to tune in this week:

• How to give gifts that are thoughtful, lasting, and that people might not typically buy for themselves.
• How to think of the long-term value of a customer gift.
• Enter our contest to win a $100 "gifting" gift certificate to the best gift submission idea.

Tommy Talley came home to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2011. After working for years in reality television in Los Angeles, Tommy launched and grew his production company, Tommy's TV, into a full production arsenal.

Tommy's TV produces and creates stunning personalized videos that deliver key messages through the art of storytelling.

This week Tommy talks about "Punk-ing" with Ashton Kutcher, the love of storytelling and about coming home to Louisiana.

Three reasons to tune in this week:

• Learn how to use the fundamentals of storytelling to tell a story in an interesting and communicative way.
• Learn about the best places to fit your video content and what, in today's standards, constitutes a "too long" video.
• Take a stroll down memory lane, as Tommy and Pablo discuss the finest of reality tv (ahem Jersey Shore) from the late aughts.

When Phil Angotti and his two guitar-loving coworkers left their jobs at a huge guitar store, they opened their own business in the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago.

Avenue N guitars was founded with an overflowing knowledge and passion for guitars, especially of the vintage variety.

This week on Small Business War Stories, Phil talks about music, Wicker Park and the fine workmanship of classic guitars.

The New Roxy in Clarksdale, Mississippi was built in the 1940's but sat vacant for 30 years until a merchant marine from Seattle named Robin Colonas purchased it in 2008.

Robin had been visiting Mississippi off and on for a while, and something about Clarksdale really grabbed a hold of her.

At the time, Robin had no plan for the building other than to try to protect it. It was just an expensive hobby.

However, today, the New Roxy is a successful art, music and theater venue.

This is Robin's incredible story about transforming the New Roxy into a new opportunity for the Clarksdale community.

When Jeff Pearson started his Play N Trade video game store in Lafayette, LA, Play N Trade was a successful franchise with 750 stores nationwide.

A few years later, after the original founder retired, the company went through three CEOs and essentially collapsed.

However, Jeff's store is still going. He even has plans to open a second one.

How did Jeff's version of Play N Trade survive? What makes him different?

This week we get the whole story from Jeff.

Letterpress printing dates back to the 1400s and was the primary method of print until the mid-20th century.

Offset printing took over and now digital printing dominates the print world. However, recently letterpress has had a revival as an artisan printing form.

In Louisville, Kentucky, Patrick Masterson is helping to keep this print form alive with his print shop. He believes that this is how typography is meant to be printed, it adds dimension and feels great in your hand.

We get into this and whole lot more on this week's episode of Small Business War Stories.

The American Dream is closely tied to entrepreneurship. The notion that someone, regardless of their background, can work hard, make a better product or invent something completely new, and become whatever they want, is fundamentally American.

Many businesses fail. But perhaps one of the most frustrating reasons for failure is dealing with excessive regulations.

This week on Small Business War Stories, we sit down with JoAnn Prosser to discuss her battle with regulations when opening a raw food cafe in Lexington, Kentucky.