This episode of Tales with Taylor holds a special place in host Taylor Wellman's heart — because without guest Shane Cook, there might not be a podcast at all. Shane is the Realtor who helped Taylor's company, Financial Potion, find the Mesa studio they call home today, the very space that has allowed them to produce quality video content and help countless business owners across the valley tell their stories.

Shane Cook is a full-time Realtor serving residential, commercial, and investment clients throughout the Southeast Valley of the Phoenix Metro area. With an impressive roster of designations including CCIM, CIPS, GRI, ABR, and more, Shane brings a depth of expertise that is rare in any industry. He is also an active investor and developer with a 195-unit apartment complex currently under development. In 2026, Shane serves as Arizona Realtors President Elect, Chair of the Leading Edge Advisory Board, and as an NAR Director — all while volunteering at the local association level and serving on his HOA board in Gilbert. When he is not shaping the future of real estate, you can find him off-roading in his Bronco, hiking, shooting, or adventuring outdoors with his wife, son, dog, and three cats.

In this conversation, Taylor and Shane get back to basics and get real about what it truly takes to build a lasting business and a meaningful career.

In this episode they cover:

Back to Basics— Why relationships are the foundation of everything in business— The role financial literacy plays in both personal and professional success— How to stop taking rejection personally and use it as fuel— Why flexibility is essential when markets shift and what worked before stops working— The importance of developing standout skills in your industry

Trust the Process— Why it is not uncommon for a business to take three to five years before turning a profit— How to use slower seasons to sharpen your systems so you are ready when business picks up

Don't Do It Alone— Why asking experts for help — in business and in life — is a sign of strength, not weakness— How specialists can open your eyes to options you never knew existed— Finding the tasks you can delegate so you can focus more time and energy on what truly matters.

Learn how to define your superpower and use it to grow your empire with Kenyatta Turner on Tales with Taylor Ep 64.

For all the show notes: https://taleswithtaylor.com/

Kenyatta Turner, MM, BSPC is a Behavioral Intelligence™ Architect, speaker, and founder of Freedom Empire Consulting. She helps leaders and organizations decode behavior under pressure to improve communication, decision-making, and team alignment.

With over 30 years of leadership experience, Kenyatta is the creator of the B.E.H.A.V.E.™ philosophy and the Behavioral SWOT (BSWOT®) framework, powerful tools that turn self-awareness into strategic advantage. Her work is rooted in validated behavioral data with 97.1% predictive accuracy, offering deeper and more sustainable insight than traditional personality assessments.

Known for her bold energy and practical clarity, Kenyatta works with executives, entrepreneurs, and high-performing teams to align behavior with results. As a lifelong musician, she integrates rhythm, sound, and creativity into her concept of Behavioral Harmony. Through her long-standing partnership with LegalShield, Kenyatta also ensures the leaders and entrepreneurs she serves have access to affordable legal protection as they build and grow.

Book your complimentary 30-min Behavioral SWOT (BSWOT) Discovery Session with Kenyatta! https://link.convertandflow.com/widget/bookings/bswot-discovery-individual-30

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• What Behavioral SuperPowers are and why they matter in leadership and relationships

• How emotional intelligence and behavior shape communication and trust

• Why self-awareness is foundational to personal growth and self-care• How behavioral insights improve workplace culture and team dynamics

• The role of creativity and music in healing and alignment

• How Kenyatta helps individuals and organizations unlock clarity and confidence

On Tales with Taylor episode 63 you'll get to meet Joy Johnson and learn how to have a perfect personal or business/corporate event.

In this episode of Tales with Taylor, host Taylor Wellman sits down with Joy Johnson, founder of a full-service event planning and management company that has brought nearly 300 memorable occasions to life since its launch in 2001. What began as an accidental calling — planning high-profile events for an NBA team and their wives shortly after Joy married young right out of college — quickly blossomed into a thriving career that has taken her across the country planning philanthropic galas and everything in between.

Joy opens up about how her psychology degree, though seemingly unrelated, became one of her greatest professional assets when it comes to understanding clients, managing expectations, and eliminating the stress that so often comes with planning life's biggest moments. Her company is built on a simple but powerful promise: to handle every detail from conception to completion — or simply step in on event day to manage what you've already put together.

Whether you're planning a wedding, a corporate affair, or a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, Joy's story is a masterclass in turning an unexpected opportunity into a purposeful career. Tune in to hear how one party changed everything.

See all the show notes: https://taleswithtaylor.com/

Feeling like everyone else got a handbook for adult life that you somehow missed? You're not alone—and this episode is here to help.

Taylor sits down with Lee Woodward, Fortune 100 executive turned Adulting Coach and founder of Simplify Adulting, a movement helping Gen Z go from adulting stress to adulting success.

After spending decades leading global teams and building learning and development systems for over 120,000 employees, Lee made a pivot that felt personal: helping twenty-somethings find their footing in a world that's overwhelming, fast-moving, and painfully expensive.

As a mom of two Gen Z co-founders, she's not just coaching from a distance—she has a front-row seat to the exact challenges you're navigating every day.

In this conversation, Lee and Taylor dig into the money traps modern life makes dangerously easy to fall into—think "buy now, pay later" apps like Klarna and Afterpay and the false sense of financial freedom they create.

They talk about why facing your finances head-on (yes, actually looking at the numbers) is less scary than avoiding them, and how breaking intimidating problems into small, manageable steps can completely change the way you move through life.

Lee also shares her big-picture framework for cutting through the noise: when there are a million things you could do, how do you find the three you actually need to do?

Plus, if you have kids or plan to someday, Lee offers a refreshingly practical take on raising financially literate children in a world where Roblox and in-app purchases are their first introduction to spending.

Whether you're trying to get your budget under control, build confidence in your career, or just feel less behind—this episode is your reminder that confidence isn't about perfection. It's about practice.

In This Episode:

• Why "buy now, pay later" apps are more dangerous than they seem
• How to stop avoiding scary financial realities and face your numbers with clarity
• The power of an accountability partner when building new habits
• Lee's strategy for focusing on what actually moves the needle
• Teaching kids about money early—and meeting them where they are

Learn more about Lee and get all the show notes: https://taleswithtaylor.com/

What separates a great plan from a great business? Execution — and that starts with how you lead, how you communicate, and who you choose to build with.

In this episode, Taylor Wellman sits down with John Kloain of The Gap View — a servant leader, strategic partner, and firm believer that givers get. John has built his career around a simple but powerful idea: when you focus on helping others find their best selves, the results take care of themselves.

John and Taylor unpack what it really means to lead a team toward a shared vision. You can have the most brilliant strategy in the room, but if your people don't understand the why behind it, it goes nowhere. Great leadership isn't about having all the answers — it's about bringing others along for the journey.

They also get into the mindset shift that changes everything: seeing business not as a series of transactions, but as an infinite journey built on genuine partnerships. That philosophy shapes how John helps organizations align their people, streamline their processes, and leverage technology to reduce chaos and maximize results.

And for anyone thinking about taking on a business partner — this one's for you. John shares what to really evaluate before going all in: aligned goals, a shared worldview, and a clear answer to the question, are we actually working toward the same thing?

Whether you're a founder scaling a team, a leader navigating complexity, or someone who just wants to build something that lasts — John's insights will challenge how you think about leadership, partnerships, and the long game.

Get all the show notes at: https://taleswithtaylor.com/

What does arranging flowers have to do with navigating the ever-evolving world of business technology? More than you might think! In this episode, host Taylor Wellman sits down with Karin Crawford — small business champion, tech solutions expert, and former florist — for a conversation that is equal parts inspiring and practical.Karin shares what it was really like running a floral business, the lessons it taught her about creativity, resilience, and serving others, and how those experiences laid the foundation for her next chapter. From the fragrant world of fresh blooms to the fast-moving landscape of software, cybersecurity, communications, and smart business systems, Karin's journey is proof that the skills you build in one business can absolutely fuel success in the next.With a background spanning both non-profit and small business, and a deep grounding in faith, nature, and collaboration, Karin has a rare gift for sitting alongside business owners right where they are — helping them cut through the overwhelm of technology and turn their biggest frustrations into their greatest opportunities for growth.Taylor and Karin dig into the tools and tech that small businesses actually need, how to vet the right solutions without wasting time or money, and what it truly takes to make a bold pivot from one business to another with clarity and confidence.Whether you're a small business owner feeling stuck, curious about better tech solutions, or standing at your own crossroads wondering what's next — this conversation was made for you.See all the show notes: https://taleswithtaylor.com/

If you ever want to get certifications or go for an RFP, you need to make sure you have your documentation in order. Learn how to set your business for success with the right documentation produced by Heather Parker at Parker Law.

Heather is an attorney of almost 25 years and has had her own firm for over 10 years where she has been helping families and business owners create plans to set the right people in positions to help when the time comes.

This became the focus of her practice when she experienced personally, in her own family, how failure to plan can result in disaster when a loved one passes away unexpectedly.

It was this process that inspired her to immerse herself in learning all she could about these practice areas and, along with her team, create educational tools to help clients learn, understand, and then make educated decisions about how to plan for their own families. See all the show notes: https://taleswithtaylor.com/

On Tales with Taylor Episode 58 it's all about how to simplify marketing for businesses with Meredith Dennis.

Meredith is a highly collaborative marketing and leadership professional with two decades of experience driving meaningful growth for organizations in regulated B2B industries.  

In addition to Marketing and Journalism degrees, she holds industry-leading ​certifications from the American Marketing Association, Digital Marketing Institute, ​Product Marketing Alliance, and Marketing AI Institute.

She always keeps people at the center of her work and leans into projects with ​voracious curiosity. Whether you offer a product or a service, run a small or ​medium size business, or are a solopreneur ready to fire up your own venture, she's ​got your back.

Meredith is the Founder & CEO of Compression Marketing and the President (as of July 2025) of the Phoenix American Marketing Association chapter. See all the show notes: https://taleswithtaylor.com/

Suzette Smith is the owner of Garden Goddess Ferments, where she transforms fresh, locally-sourced vegetables into artisanal fermented products.

With a passion for traditional food preservation methods and gut health, Suzette crafts small-batch krauts, kimchis, and pickles that bring flavor and wellness to her community. Her ferments are rich in probiotics—beneficial bacteria that support digestive health, boost immune function, and enhance nutrient absorption.

Research shows that incorporating probiotic-rich foods into your diet can improve gut microbiome diversity, reduce inflammation, and support mental health through the gut-brain connection. Suzette's commitment to using organic ingredients and time-honored fermentation techniques ensures every jar delivers maximum probiotic benefits alongside bold, complex flavors.

Her best seller is the Beet Kvass. Want to try before you buy? Just take care of the shipping and handling: https://gardengoddessferments.com/collections/beetjuice/products/try-before-you-buy-2-x-2oz-organic-raw-beet-juice-kvass

Get all the show notes at TalesWithTaylor.com

Malia Sperling is a trusted fiduciary, and founder of Desert Moon Financial & Insurance Solutions LLC. Specializing in financial planning, retirement, wealth management, tax diversification, and protection-based planning for families and business owners, Malia works in collaboration with clients to provide them with the individual attention they deserve to bring their financial goals into focus. If you're wondering how to be financially prepared for your future, hear why you may want to partner with a financial advisor like Malia Sperling of Desert Moon Financial. Get all the show notes: https://taleswithtaylor.com/