We will talk about:

1) your role as President and CEO of the NBBCC,

2) the efforts of the Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow Foundation,

3) how and why you got started in the NBBCC,

4) competitive factors which have affected black entrepreneurship in Sonoma County,

5) the services and support offered by the NBBCC,

6) industries in which most black-owned businesses in Sonoma County compete,

7) how black entrepreneurship has changed/grown over the years,

8) the important contribution NBBCC has made to the community,

9) the role of local educational resources in supporting business development,

10) your experience as a business owner,

11) other topics

https://www.nbbcc.org/

Scot Hunter

415-990-9911

We will talk about:

How did you learn to restore furniture?

How has technology changed furniture restoration?

What is the difference between restoration and refinishing?

Does refinishing or repair harm my antique’s value?

How do you determine what to charge for furniture restoration: size of the piece, age/fragility of the piece, time required to restore?,

Did Antiques Roadshow, first on PBS in 1997 in an American version (BBC version debuted in February 1979) have any impact on your business?,

How aware are homeowners of the value of their household possessions?,

Ever surprised by a ‘furniture treasure’ which the owners aren’t aware of (for example: 2024 - Virginia woman who went viralafter cheap Goodwill vase bought for $3.99 sold for $100K,was made by Venetian architect Carlos Scarpa for his'Pennellate' collection),

Ever come across something that was collectible, passed on by heirs, which was rare and very valuable?,

How much do heirs care about their ancestors’ furniture?,

Do you see more mid-century modern pieces now?,

Young people don’t want ‘brown furniture’ (burl, dining room sets, bed frames) – is that true? Is that a trend?,

What style trends do you see in furniture collection or rejection?, What trends among age groups

Where in the world you have done business are antiques most appreciated?,

What was your project in Greece?,

Do you work on more than just pieces of furniture? What form(s) do your projects take?,

How do you increase awareness of your work?,

Any types of furniture you won’t restore?,

Any projects you refuse to repair – age, condition, damage?,

Biggest project you’ve ever had? Most complex project you’ve ever worked on?,

How old are the pieces you have worked on? The oldest?,

How well or poorly do people take care of their furniture?,

How much business comes from home sales?

Guest URL: http://www.pinocchiofurniture.com/

We will talk about:

What the advertising industry was like when you started?,

Why you started your own agencies,

What constitutes an effective ad?,

How advertising has changed over the years,

The mechanics of creating an advertisement for a client,

How much time it takes to create an advertisement, from commission to completion,

What is the ‘shelf life’ of an advertisement (how long will a client use it)?,

Your perspective on the use of ‘personalities’ in advertisements today (Allstate, Geico, Progressive),

How daunting is the challenge of creating a memorable advertisement for the Super Bowl?,

How much/little time do you usually have to prepare an ad for the Super Bowl,

How ‘competent’ are clients to judge the creative effort required to represent them?,

What do clients realistically expect from a multi-second ad before such a huge audience?,

Is Apple’s 1984 SB ad still the benchmark against which ada are judged?,

Who (what panel) judges SB ads (usually announced before the event)?,

How prejudicial is that pre-game assessment of most creative/effective ads?

Do advertised products usually experience a sales spike after SB exposure?,

Was it hard for you to leave such a competitive arena after 36 years?,

Are your current artistic efforts a reflection of your years in advertising,

What is it about tennis which inspires your creativity?,

Would you advise young art school graduates to enter the advertising industry?,

You lent your creative voice to others for 37 years, is your current work much more satisfying or just a different form of satisfaction?,

How appreciative of your creative efforts were ‘the others’ (clients)?,

What do you want viewers of your art to understand?,

Other issues which you might want to discuss

Guest URL: @STEVESTONESTUDIO

We will talk about:

Your 33 years at Sports illustrated (1984-2017, eventually senior writer covering NFL, college football and the Tour de France) - how did coverage of sports change over those years, how did access to athletes change, how did you change?,

How did your coverage of sports evolve - the ‘angle’, the depth/length of stories, the challenge vs. the outcome?,

What did you want your sports stories to tell readers?,

You had about 140 SI cover stories - how were those stories selected: prominence of the athlete, anticipated number of readers, ability to attract sponsors?,

Sports is now about money (NIL, huge pro contracts) - how big an issue was it in the 1980s and 1890s?, did athletes think in terms of ‘monetary payoff’ of their athletic ability?,

The effect of Time’s merger with Warner Communications in 1990 - on editorial independence and magazine content?

Effect on the masthead of Time Warner’s merger with AOL in 2001 - your distrust of ‘synergy’?,

You covered 10 Superbowls - were/are you surprised at how big an event it has become (200 million viewers on 2024)?

You covered a dozen NCAA football championships - how have they changed over the years?

You called athletes you covered at SI as ‘hitting the genetic jackpot’ - could you explain?

You had a preference for coverage of college football over the NFL - why?,

Could you tell whether a college athlete could/would make it professionally (thinking of those who didn’t: Matt Leinart - USC or Johnny Manziel - Texas A& M vs. Tom Brady - Michigan)?

You wrote 2 college football books (among others): 1) ‘The Sweet Season: A Sportswriter Rediscovers Football, Family, and a Bit of Faith at Minnesota's St. John's University’ (2001) and 2) ‘Saturday Rules: A Season with Trojans and Domers’ (2007) - what differences did you see in the ‘conduct of the game’ in Division III vs. Division I?,

Pre- NIL vs. NIL: effect off $ on college athletics and athletes? Is the day of the true amateur athlete dead?,

The transfer portal in college football - your opinion of it?

You covered football, cycling, Olympics, hockey and rodeo - which sport had the ‘best’ athletes?

Sports betting - good, bad or indifferent effect on sports?,

What would you advise young athletes about careers in sports?

The best books you’ve read on sports (perhaps football, in particular: Paper Lion, A Few Seconds of Panic, Friday Night Lights, etc.)?,

What is the ‘message’ of sports: a) winning is everything?, b) victory is in the effort - see Roger Federer’s Dartmouth College Commencement address - https://bit.ly/4jR1CK8, c) joy of competition?, d) the importance of testing one’s limits?,

Other issues you might want to discuss - like being a delivery truck driver for Amazon

simonandschuster.com/authors/Austin-Murphy/234832916

What we will talk about:

Jim, a computer expert, will bring us up to date on scams (Internet, AI, etc.) and ways to protect our identity, privacy and possessions online and offline.

Guest URL: http://cafemac.net/

Guest: Serafina Polandech, ED - Sebastopol Center for the Arts (Art Trails)

We will talk about:

How Art Trails got started,

What were its original objectives?,

How has it changed/grown over the years?,

Why you sold your interstate in Hip Chick Farms in 2018,

Why you switched from food to art,

How you found your way to the Sebastopol Center for the Arts?,

Why Sebastopol Center for the Arts took over Art Trails in 2014,

Condition of Art Trails when you arrived at SebARTS in 2023,

How Art Trails ‘selects’ artists to display their work,

How much Art Trails charges artists who are chosen,

How Art Trails selects venues for open studio displays,

Mix of Art which is desired,

What constitutes success for Art Trails,

How many art customers visited in 2025, how that compares to prior years,

Demographics of visitors to Art Trails,

Does SebARTS have a say in the pricing of artists’ works,

Volume & dollar value of art sold in 2025 - how it compares to prior years,

Does Art Trails get a percentage of each artist’s sales,

What you want/need from participating artists,

Artist success stories from Art Trails open studios,

How does Art Trails benefit SebARTS,

Similar ‘Art Trials locations’ SebARTS compares itself to,

What is follow-up with artists after conclusion of Art Trails,

Plans to grow Art Trails in the future,

Issues you might want to discuss

Guest URL: sonomacountyarttrails.org/

We will talk about:

Why you got interested in avocados as a topic to write about,

How far back does California’s involvement with avocados go?,

How big is U.S. avocado production vs. Mexico?

Why were Mexican avocados banned until 1997 (ending an 83-year-old import prohibition),

Why was there a major shift in consumer preference starting in the early 2000s?,

How many varieties of avocados, how do they differ,

How did the U. S. avocado industry surge past 3 billion pounds - more growers, more acreage per grower, more yield per acre,

Did the lifting of the ban on Mexican avocados change the business models of California growers?,

Is there a boom-and-bust cycle to the avocado businesses - should growers beware?,

Per capita consumption has more than quadrupled since the 1990s - why?,

How has the customer base for avocados changed over time?,

When did consumers (millennials) start paying attention to the health benefits of avocados?,

To what extent have marketing campaigns historically influenced consumer demand?,

How has avocado pricing changed over time?, is the surge in volume good for consumers but bad for growers?,

What business risks (trade disputes, pest quarantines, climate events) have historically disrupted the market — and which are most acute now with higher volumes?,

Has consolidation (packers, distributors, importers) affected the avocado history over time — does the current scale favor larger players or create niches for small brands?,

Is the availability of labor (seasonal harvesting, packing houses) a new threat to cost structures?,

The effect of tariffs on pricing and supply,

Since 90% of consumed avocados in the U.S. are imported, how do “California avocado” growers differentiate their products?,

Do growers contend with environmental criticism of sustainability and water use while striving increase volume and market share?,

Do California avocado growers have export opportunities or is all domestic production consumed domestically?,

Other issues which you might want to discuss

Guest URL: https://robcrisell.com/

We would ask you about:

Your 40 years in the book business: how it has changed, how you have changed?

Your 13 years at Copperfield’s - what has changed?,

How have readers’ tastes changed over that time?,

Do readers’ tastes vary with store location at Copperfields?

How do you work with publishers for display purposes in Bookstores?

How important is book display to book sales?,

How long do recent releases stay on display at Copperfields?,

How do you work with authors for book presentations?,

Is customer service the difference between buying from Copperfield’s or buying from Amazon?,

Do readers come in with a set idea of books they want to buy or do they want recommendations?,

What do you wish book buyers did differently?,

Do best sellers continue to sell best?,

Which sells better for adults: fiction or non-fiction?,

Which sells better: historical fiction or historical nonfiction?,

Which category of fiction sells best?,

Do books sales spike during the holiday season?,

Demographics of Copperfield‘s customers - do young adults buy books?,

The impact of social media and influencers on book sales?,

Hard copy versus downloads versus Audible, which format do customers prefer?,

How do you decide how many books to order when a book is newly released?,

Given all your years in the book business, can you predict a book’s success? Or a potential prize winner?

How often do you have a “bookstore discovery“ like Paul Harding’s book in 2000?,

Since you’re in competition with other bookstores, do you know what other bookstores are buying before you place an order?,

What matters most to customers when they buy a book: the quality of the story, quality of writing, the importance of what they learn, the credentials of the author?,

How do you use customer feedback in your book buying decisions?,

Other issues you might want to discuss

Guest URL: https://www.copperfieldsbooks.com/

Guest: Daniel Casabonne, Award Winning Wine Country Realtor

We will talk about:

Why you decided on a career in real estate,

How your ‘production’ evolved over the years as you rose to #11 of all Sotheby’s agents in the U.S.,

What the Sonoma real estate market was like when you began,

How has the market changed over the years,

Is the value of annual real estate sales in Sonoma County a reflection of more units sold or higher prices per sale,

Was 2025 a tough year for sellers (we saw notice of many price reductions),

Have purchase terms changed over the years ($ down, time In escrow, etc.),

Which sector of the real estate market performed best in 2025,

What you expect in 2026,

Your perspective on housing affordability in Sonoma County,

Your expectations for housing development in Sonoma County in 2026 and beyond,

Has a decline in wine consumption affected the attraction of home ownership in wine country,

Have desirability of locations in Sonoma County shifted,

Have demographics of prospective home owners changed,

Why some houses ‘just won’t sell,

What improvements you recommend that house sellers make,

What features sell a house - has that changed,

What sells a house: location or house features,

Has your approach to real estate changed over the years,

Would you recommend a career in real estate to young persons,

Other issue which you may want to discuss

Guest URL: https://danielcasabonne.com/

We will discuss:

Why you started Trellus almost 5 years ago, why so passionate about small businesses solutions?,

Why start Trellus in Marin & Sonoma counties (long way from NY) - demographics?,

Do you work with local Chambers of Commerce,

Merchant participation expectations?,

Main selling point for merchants - Logistics on demand?,

Foot traffic vs. phone traffic - destination vs. impulse buying?,

Locals can only buy from local merchants who post their website to Trellus platform?, what about those who don’t have a ‘detailed’ web presence and don’t post (Eeraldi’s, Bossa Nova, Loop)?,

Who pays the 10% commission per transaction?

What hesitation do some sellers have?,

How partner with local business cooperative ‘Go Local Sonoma?, work with same 400 participating members?,

The App - only 11 downloads on Apple - how grow its appeal?,

15 categories on the app = how many products (approximately)?,

Items on the app seem to be offered by product not store - why?, what about store brand loyalty?,

How has customer base grown over 4 years?,

What do customers order most?,

Average price per item sold for same day delivery,

Average order size,

Demographics of customers: age, affluence?,

Deliveries/day on average?,

Average length of time between order and delivery?,

Estimate of growth in local sales,

Competition with DoorDash?

What matters most to customers: cost or convenience?,

Has customer feedback changed Trellus operating practices at all,

What does a merchant display on a Trellus storefront?,

‘Businesses offering same-day delivery have higher conversion rates’ - conversion of what/whom?

Average customer retention rate - how many repeat customers/orders per month/year? (175,00 orders in 4 years = about 121 per day),

What sort of customer is ideal (frequency, price per order)?,

Is there a ‘target audience’ in Marin/Sonoma or are all residents the target?,

Do orders/deliveries spike during holidays?,

Guest URL: http://bytrellus.com/