Success Trails Podcast

Nicki Anderson has accumulated knowledge over the years with her different roles from business owner to running a local chamber of commerce. 

In this episode Nicki discusses:
>Being proactive versus being reactive
>Insights from working within the chamber of commerce 
>Focusing on where you are spending your time
>Not burning bridges

And much more!

Listen as owner of Red Hive Market Bridget Johnson discusses:

>Why customer relationships are the reason they are business and why they are able to expand

>Importance of getting to know your customers so you can understand what they want

>Running a business with a spouse and the challenges that can bring

And much more!

For more information about Red Hive Market check them out:
https://redhivemarket.com

In this episode I chat with Tony Russo who after over 17 years in the real estate business as a broker, Tony recognized a shift in the way people want to work as the concept of “office space” evolved. He saw a need for more coworking spaces and set out to provide this option to their very own community. Since opening TeamUp in April of 2019, he has enjoyed seeing the members network and help each other grow their businesses. 

This episode you will learn:

-The importance of building a community in any business
-Tips when it comes to real estate 
-Using your network to help your business early on
-Why you need to collect feedback to understand your customers needs

In this episode I chat with small business owner Juliana Cancelo who along with her mother owns Bocaditos Cafe. You will learn how she navigates a family business and keeps her personal and professional relationships strong. We also discuss how her experience in marketing has helped their business and what tips she would pass along to you! As a mother and wife Juliana has a journey in business ownership that many can relate to. 

Steve and Katie are a husband and wife duo who are the owners of Beyond Measure Training in the suburbs of Chicago. Steve took a leap of faith and opened his facility right out of college without any business knowledge. In this episode we dive into what his experience was in being such a young entrepreneur. We also talk about what its like to work with your spouse and how you can use masterminds to your benefit. 

Villa Park native and University of Illinois, Chicago graduate, Joe Fontana got his start as a valet working at over 140 restaurant and bar venues including some of Chicago’s staples such as The Redhead Piano Bar, Ranallis, Mothers, and the Italian Village. After finding a passion for the industry, Joe worked his way up from barback, to server, to bartender to manager at the late Doc Ryan’s in Elmhurst. 6 years of pursuing different marketing and sales jobs in the “real world,” Joe decided to return to hospitality with a small dream of opening a restaurant. So in 2015 Joe opened a pop-up Meatball stand in Oceanside, California. It wasn’t long before the meatball stand was selling out night after night and Meatball Republic was born. In 2016 Joe signed a lease for the Meatball Republic, but after a heartbreaking real estate deal gone wrong, Joe was forced to look at other locations. After a year of searching for the right spot, a golden gem made it self available, but this time it wasn’t for meatballs. In 2017, Joe opened Fry the Coop, a Nashville Fried Chicken joint focused on becoming the “In and Out” of Nashville Hot Chicken. Fry the Coop got off to a fast start serving 1000’s of guest per week in its first month and has big plans for the future.  

Marie Herman went from dabbling into a side hustle to turning it into a full time fix figure business.Marie Herman is now the owner of MRH Enterprises LLC, which provides speaking, writing, and training services, as well as corporate consulting to help office professionals advance their careers. In this episode Marie talks about how she has grown her business by strictly word of mouth and creating raving fans.  Marie always talks about providing more value in your offerings. 

Eric Schlickman never planned to get into the restaurant business. In fact, he started his career in the architecture field. It was during a car ride with his wife and a conversation centered around the fact that a local landmark deli was going to be closing that led him to the restaurant industry. In this episode Eric talks about running two businesses and how he uses his design and architecture background in building out his restaurants. 

Kevin Walker is an entrepreneur who owns multiple businesses and different concepts. Kevin owns 3 Mexican themed restaurants called El Famous Burrito and 1 juice and smoothie bar called Extract Juicery. In this episode Kevin shares his experience in running multiple successful businesses and how to make sure your employees are in the right seats within the business. 

Jan Barbeau started doing travel on the side as a fun extra gig. She then started doing events for her church and eventually turned it into a real business in Events By Jan. In this episode Jan shares about her challenges during Covid, the importance of listening to your customers and the power of a strong team.