Talking Business Now

By Kelly Scanlon & C-Suite RadioBusiness Entrepreneurship

Talking Business Now episodes

October 26, 2018 Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988—30 Years Later, with Virginia Littlejohn
October 25 marks the 30th anniversary of monumental legislation. President Reagan signed HR5050, also known as the Women Business Ownership Act of 1988, into law on Oct. 25, 1988. The legislation is still considered the "Big Bang" of women’s business ownership. It removed the mandatory requirement in many states for a male to sign a woman's business loan, established the Women’s Business Centers, required the Census to count women-owned C corporations, and created the National Women’s Business Council, which reports to the president and Congress. In this episode of Talking Business Now, I talked with Virginia Littlejohn at the 21C Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, as she celebrated the 30th anniversary with the KC chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, which was instrumental in the legislation's passage. Virginia was a primary architect of the legislation. She joins us to give a behind-the-scenes look at the effort that resulted in this game-changing legislation, it’s impact on women’s entrepreneurship and the issues and opportunities for current women business owners. Virginia is the president and co-founder of Quantum Leaps, a non-profit global accelerator for women’s entrepreneurship. She’s served as an advisor to major international institutions for several decades, she created the Global Banking Alliance for Women and WEConnect International, which links WBOs to procurement opportunities in 25 countries. Currently, she is Global Strategist for the Women and Trade Program for the UN’s International Trade Center in Geneva, and she chairs the U.S. delegation for the Women’s 20 of the G20 countries. She’s also a U.S. delegate to the Business 20.

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33 min
October 26, 2018 HMS Hones Success With Surgical Precision
Some people know from a young age that they’re destined for entrepreneurship. Others follow a career path that steadfastly leads them there.
So it was with Jon and Teresa Andrade, the founders of Heartland Medical Solutions (HMS). The couple launched the Olathe, Kansas-based distributor of advanced imaging and surgical equipment in 2004, after Jon had worked in the industry for several years. The company now sells advanced imaging and surgical equipment to hospitals, surgery centers and doctors’ offices in eight states, including Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
Jon started his career in radiology as an X-ray tech in 1991. Through a mutual friend, he began his 11-year medical sales career at OEC Medical Systems. His wife Teresa’s journey was similar. Her degree in education has an emphasis in community health, and she’s followed opportunity throughout her career.
“I’ve always done something, working and making money, taking those roles on myself. And then when Teresa and I got together, as things in our world progressed … we decided the timing was right and with the connections I had made, we could move forward with our own opportunity,” Andrade said.
Now, nearly 15 years after embracing business ownership, the Andrades have guided HMS to success with a laser-like focus on sustainable, manageable growth.
Tune in to discover the strategies the Andrades have used to grow their:
1. Geographic territory
2. Product line
3. Employees

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13 min
October 05, 2018 Behind the Scenes with Season 3 of The Small Business Revolution – Main Street
Amanda Brinkman, who co-hosts The Small Business Revolution—Main Street with Ty Pennington, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to give viewers a heads up on what to expect as Season 3 of the series debuts.
Brinkman is the chief brand and communications officer of Deluxe Corp., and she has made it her mission to help small businesses succeed. She created, executive produces and stars in the series, which broadcasts on Hulu. In Season 3, the show chronicles a $500,000 makeover for Alton, Illinois, and its small businesses.
Tune in to find out:
How the show worked with Morrison's Irish Pub, which is owned by a female couple and their daughter, to get it on the path to growth.What kind of impact The Small Business Revolution—Main Street has had on towns that were featured on the previous two seasons.How you can nominate your favorite town for consideration for Season 4.How women are helping other women drive the small business boom.
You can follow Brinkman and her small business adventures through her social accounts:
Twitter
@amandakbrinkman@smbizrevolution
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/amandakbrinkman
Facebook
www.facebook.com/smallbizrev

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21 min
September 28, 2018 Going Places: How Bill George is Driving Change in Ground Transportation
Bill George, CEO of Kansas City Transporation Group, joins host Kelly Scanlon to discuss his entrepreneurial journey and introducing innovation in a fast-changing industry. George has carved out a lane in the on-demand transportation industry—and ridden it to success.
As the CEO of KCTG, George sets the strategic direction of the Midwest’s largest private passenger ground transportation company. KCTG has grown to include several well-known industry brands—SuperShuttle, Yellow Cab, 10-10 Taxi and Carey Black Car Service—and operates in 19 cities.
Tune in to hear George's entrepreneurial journey and how he's creating industry change:
How George honed his skills working with his father as a young boy—and how the father-son duo managed to maintain a strong relationship in spite of some "knock-down dragout fights."How George and his father ended up in the cab business after running a successful Chrysler dealership.What George learned about selling businesses after selling two himself—and buying one back.How acting on a simple observation changed the way George approached the cab business—and exploded company growth.How George capitalized on the disruption created by Uber and others in the on-demand transportation industry by introducing a Smartphone app called zTrip.George's practical advice on expanding market share, carving out a niche, working with family, and defining customers.

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18 min
September 21, 2018 How to Run Your Business Like Clockwork—Without You
Can your business operate without you? Would it survive if you weren't there every day, providing direction, answering questions and basically breathing life—your life—into it day in and day out?
If you answered no, then your business is probably consuming you. You're probably sacrificing relationships with friends and family, your health, hobbies and other things that make life worth living—all so your business can live.
In this episode of Talking Business Now, serial entrepreneur and best-selling book author Mike Michalowicz presents a formula from his latest book, Clockwork, that allows you to reclaim your life—while your business grows and turns a proft.
Discover the 7 steps for making your business run itself:
Why it's important to categorize your work using the 4D mix.How to determine the one function that is most critical to your business—the QBR.How to protect and serve the QBR.An efficient way to capture systems.What happens when you match traits to tasks, not people to titles.What it means to commit to a community.How to get to the point in your business that you can take a 4-week vacation.
Mike Michalowicz is a serial entrepreneur and the author of several books about growing profitable businesses: Profit First, Surge, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. By his 35th birthday, Mike had founded and sold two companies. He now runs a multimillion dollar business called Profit First Professionals. A former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and the former business makeover specialist on MSNBC, Mike has traveled the world speaking.

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29 min
September 14, 2018 Lessons in Leadership from the Colonel's Daughter, Lauren Schieffer
Successful organizations and leaders learn how to resolve conflict before it starts—and create a company culture that fosters understanding and expression. In this episode of Talking Business Now, Lauren Scheiffer, also known as "The Colonel's Daughter," joins host Kelly Scanlon to discuss ways to prevent, manage and reduce conflict and drama in the workplace.
Lauren has years of experience ranging from the trucking industry to global cosmetics to managing a non-profit foundation. She’s also a certified speaking professional who’s combined the leadership lessons she learned in corporate America—as well as the wisdom she gained from her father who was an Air Force colonel—into powerful speaking engagements with hundreds of organizations in seven countries. Her goal is to help businesses improve communication effectiveness and reduce conflict.
Here are some of the insights that Talking Business Now listeners will learn:
How to overcome adversity with humility and a sense of humorThe price of allowing workplace conflict to "run its course" uncheckedThe important difference between conflict and dramaThe first step anyone can take to reduce workplace dramaThe value of conflict prevention vs. conflict managementHow to function successfully in the midst of ongoing conflictHow to find the win-win-win from a well-managed conflict
Shieffer's book, "Colonels of Wisdom: A Daughter's Reflection on Leadership," is available on Amazon.com. It is Shieffer's first in a three-part book series in which she offers leadership tips based on the lessons her father taught her.

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27 min
September 07, 2018 Bullseye Marketing Tips for Growing Your Business Faster, with Louis Gudema
Marketing pro Louis Gudema joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to share dozens of best practices and actionable tips from his new book Bullseye Marketing: How to Grow Your Business Faster. He provides insights into how small and mid-sized companies like yours can ramp up growth with more targeted, cost-effective marketing.
Tune in to discover:
Why small and mid-size companies should be doing even more marketing.The Bullseye Approach to marketing.How companies with little marketing experience can overcome the biggest challenge of launching a successful marketing program.How to take advantage of the areas where the marketing bullseye actually overlap.How non-marketing executives, such as business owners, can overcome marketing challenges.What company leaders must track to know their marketing efforts are paying off.
Gudema helps companies from MIT startups to the Global 2000 increase their revenue by focusing on the fastest, least expensive and most cost-effective programs to get more leads and sales. He is the founder and president of a marketing consultancy called revenue & associates. Before that, Gudema founded a marketing agency that he grew into one of the top four in its national market before he successfully exited.
A frequent speaker on marketing and business at regional and national events, Guedema is also a prolific writer on the topic. He's been published in The Harvard Business Review, MarketingProfs, IDG Connect Marketer, Chiefmartec, TechTarget, VentureBeat, Content Marketing Institute and Econsultancy sites.

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27 min
August 31, 2018 Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life, with Joe Deitch
How often do you wish you knew the secret to living a successful and happy life? Not just a life that brings periods of joy, but a life that is joy-filled through both the ups and the downs we all inevitably encounter? Well, wait no longer. In this episode of Talking Business Now, host Kelly Scanlon talks business—and self-discovery—with Joe Deitch, the author of Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life. It's a book that's meant to be lived, not just read.
A financial industry pioneer who founded Commonwealth Financial Network—the largest privately owned independent investment broker/dealer in the U.S.—Deitch is also the chair of a golf resort and real estate company with properties in the U.S., the Bahamas and Scotland. Among his numerous awards, he counts a Tony Award as co-producer of The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. He also established the Deitch Leadership Institute at Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the U.S.
Here's what you'll take away from the episode:
An understanding of the interconnectedness of personal and interpersonal skills across life in general, business and your most important relationships.The difference between Awareness and Action, and how they work together.The 5 insights that are part of Awareness.The 10 skills that are crucial to Action.How to connect your internal and your external journeys.

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29 min
August 24, 2018 Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way! with Ron Karr
Sales and leadership expert Ron Karr is talking business now about how to use his proprietary Velocity Mindset process to increase your company's market share, sales and profits. He joins host Kelly Scanlon to share:
What today's prospects expect from a salesperson.Simple questions for qualifying a prospect.How to shorten the sales cycle.How to grow sales revenues without discounting.The secret to reducing the number of proposals you send out.Time management tips for salespeople.
Ron Karr has managed to generate three-quarters of a billion dollars in incremental revenues for his clients worldwide. Some of those clients include leaders from companies like YPO, Hertz, UPS, and Marriott Hotels. He is the author of four books, including the best-selling book “Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way.” Ron has been published in more than 250 national magazines, interviewed on hundreds of radio stations and appeared on Fox News, the CBS Morning Show, BBC, Bloomberg TV and C-Suite TV. An international keynote speaker and a former president of the National Speakers Association, Karr has spoken on six continents and in 20 countries.

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23 min
July 27, 2018 Vintage As a Venture, with Dale Scott of Vintage Home KC
Dale Scott, the founder and president of Vintage Home KC, has earned a reputation refurbishing Kansas City homes that were originally built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are mostly Craftsman-style homes that feature clean lines rather than ornate fl ourishes.
Scott joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss his leap from owning a chiropractic office into several real estate and general contracting opportunities.

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21 min

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Get the inside scoop on how America’s most successful entrepreneurs are transforming their industries. On each episode of Talking Business Now, you'll meet one of your fellow business owners, founders…