•  Since 9/11, four times as many in the military die by suicide than in combat

• “The more veterans I talk to these days are ashamed of their military service”

(Total Recorded Time is 29:22)

Active-duty military know they could be asked to put their lives on the line in times of armed conflict.

But to see a steady loss of life during peacetime because of suicide – that’s a problem a former Army officer says needs to be better addressed.

Tara Fields resigned her commission as a captain with the Kansas National Guard after her efforts failed to get top brass to deal with the steady loss of lives through suicide.

“I love the Army,” says Ms. Fields, author of the new book Tracer Patient.  “I would do it again but … the more veterans I talk to these days are ashamed of their military service. ”

She says while the large majority in the military do a good job, a minority, including many in positions of power over policies, are incompetent or worse. “We quietly retire them. We sweep them under the rug,” she says. 

Tara Fields talks about the suicide problem and what could be done to solve it in this edition of Bizgnus Interviews.

Please click here to watch the interview:

https://youtu.be/OwFO3S6U2zY

It’s not a small problem.  According to data reported in 2021 by Brown University's Cost of War Project, about 7,057 service members had been killed in various military operations since 9/11, while more than four times as many -- 30,177 – had taken their own lives.

Department of Defense data show that the National Guard has a higher overall suicide rate than other branches, including active-duty soldiers.

“This should not be happening in the world’s best miliary,” she says. “We can do better.”

Ms. Fields served 12 years in the military, eight of those on active duty. In the Kansas National Guard, she was a behavioral health officer.  She says she quit after her calls for changes were largely ignored by those up the military food chain.

She is the author of the new book, “Tracer Patient,” (Writers Republic LLC, March 2023).

For more information:  www.t4therapy.org

•  Dai Manuel sees AI as the future of coaching

•  “The world’s most robust health AI coach”

(Total Recorded Time is 19:43)

What do you do after you’ve run a successful major retailer?

How about being a life coach?

Dai Manuel, author of the book “Whole Life Fitness Manifesto,” (Life Tree, 2016), says he began his quest for physical and financial fitness as a teenager.

And now he’s making a new turn: helping pair artificial intelligence with lifestyle improvements.

Dai Manuel reveals his remarkable story in this edition of Bizgnus Interviews.

His business experience includes a nine-year stint as chief operating officer of and partner in Fitness Town Inc., a chair of fitness centers in British Columbia.  

He’s now working with a startup planning to develop an app that uses artificial intelligence. “What we’re trying to create is the world’s most robust health AI coach,” he says.  “Anybody anywhere as long as they’ve got the internet can have a health coach.”

For more information: https://www.daimanuel.com/

•  What has Nicky Billou learned?

•  “I’m in the people business”

(Total Recorded Time is 24:00)

Nicky Billou says he has interviewed more than 300 of the world's top thought leaders including Jack Canfield, John Maxwell, and Marie Forleo.

 So what does one learn about life, love and perhaps business after listening to so many experts?

 In this edition of Bizgnus Interviews, Mr. Billou tells us. It may surprise you. 

Mr. Billou, a serial entrepreneur, is president & CEO of Toronto-based eCircle Academy, which offers training for coaches and consultants to grow their businesses.

 “I’m in the people business,” he says. “It’s my entire mission to be of service to the entrepreneur.”

For more information:  https://www.ecircleacademy.com/

•  Cathy Nesbitt runs the quietest farm in North America

•  “I set about to do this without any business savvy”

(Total Recorded Time is 23:55) 

Farming is actually pretty noisy:  the bleating of sheep, mooing of cows, oinking of pigs and so on. Even an apple orchard can be loud what with birds singing in those trees.

 But Cathy Nesbitt is a quiet farmer, perhaps the quietest of all, despite having a thousand head of livestock at any given time.

 Ms. Nesbitt raises worms.  For fun – and profit, she says.

 In business for more than 20 years selling worms by the pound for indoor composting, Ms. Nesbitt says she stumbled into entrepreneurship.

 “I set about to do this without any business savvy,” she says. “Nobody in my family or my circle … was self-employed. I just saw a solution to a big problem.”

 The self-made worm advocate says that worms are going to play an ever- increasing role in waste management, soil production and therefore food security. 

 “Food waste is a simple way that we can mitigate climate change and create 'black gold' to grow more delicious, nutritious food,” Ms. Nesbitt says. 

 And, she says, “a worm composter offers a tremendous learning opportunity for all ages.”

She says she’s had her share of adversity in building her business.  “You can imagine that not everyone wants to have worms in the house,” she says. “Daily laughter is now a huge part of my health plan.”

 Ms. Nesbitt runs a free, weekly “laughter club” via Zoom.  Click here for more information: http://www.cathysclub.com/

For more worm info:  https://www.cathyscomposters.com/

•  “American Idol” finalist Christina Cewe is now writing children’s books

•  “I made a decision to follow my heart”

 (Total Recorded Time is 11:37)

Anyone who reaches the finals of the television program “American Idol” can atterst to the years of practice and disappointments that had to be overcome. Christina Cewe did it, becoming an American Idol Top Ten Finalist and a recording artist, traveling the world writing and recording music.

 And then, while at the top, she decided to go in a completely different direction.

 In this edition of Bizgnus Interviews, Christina Cewe talks about following a dream only to rethink her goals.

 Now she likes to be known as a mother of three and a children’s book author.  “I made a decision to follow my heart,” she says. 

 She is the author of the children's book, "I Believe in Me, Do You Believe in You?" (BookBaby (November 2022).

 The writing of the book is also close to her heart, having written it when her first son was just two years old. She says she hoped the book’s message would help guide him as he grew.  “I’ve always used the message with my children, teaching them you can do whatever you want in life, you just have to believe you can do it,” Ms. Cewe says. “ 

For more information:  https://www.ibelieveinmedoyou.com/

•  Remember SEO?  It never left and now may be more important than ever

•  “And they’re not looking for you”

(Total Recorded Time is 26:26)

Remember SEO?  The letters stand for search engine optimization.  And even in these days of the frothing over artificial intelligence, good, ol’ SEO – when done right – can boost a business like a rocket, says Lorraine Ball, an Indianapolis-based marketing strategist.

“When you build your website and you want people to find it, they’re going to go … to one of the search platforms,” says Ms. Ball.  “And they’re not looking for you.  They’re looking for a company that does what you do.”

She says that’s where a website maxing its SEO attributes will snag the search engines and be displayed to people looking for answers. 

In this edition of Bizgnus Interviews, Lorraine Ball offers ideas on what she calls “Common Sense SEO.”

 Ms. Ball is founder of the Indianapolis digital agency Roundpeg.

“Too often, business owners obsess about ranking for a specific key word, losing sight of the fact that it is people, not Google who actually buys from then,” Ms. Ball says.

She says there are simple, specific steps small business operators can take to improve their SEO and visitor satisfaction with their website. 

“As websites have become more and more complicated, there are a lot of rules,” she says. “And sometimes for small business owners, those rules are absolutely overwhelming. You hear all the buzz words and it’s enough to make your head spin.”

A professional speaker, business owner and former corporate executive, Ms. Ball is host of the podcast “More than a Few Words.” 

For more information:  https://morethanafewwords.com

•  Five branding tips for small businesses

•  “When you build a brand, think of building it one customer at a time”

 (Total Recorded Time is 19:38)

When you think of branding, what comes to mind?

 And what about your brand?  We are flooded with brands jamming every communications channel we use.

 And that makes connecting with customers frustrating at best.

 Branding guru Kim Rozdeba says branding is a process, not a goal. He’s developed what he calls the “five C's of branding” and he joins us in this edition of Bizgnus Interviews to explain.

 Please click here to watch the interview:

https://youtu.be/OO2RmpoK5cY

 “When you build a brand, think of building it one customer at a time,” he says. 

 Mr. Rozdeba has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and branding, working with major brands as well as running his own independent shop. 

 He is the author if the book, “Branding Queens: Discover branding secrets from twenty incredible women who built global brand dynasties,” (Rozdeba Brand & Co, April 2022). 

For more information:  www.rozdeba.com

•  Ken Paskins offers some solutions and something for free

•  “We have a special for your listeners in May”

 (Total Recorded Time is 21:43)

  (Just want to hear the offer? Fast-forward to about the 19-minute mark.)

Like most business leaders, it’s likely you have tried to find a better balance between your business and your life outside of the business – if any,

Ken Paskins says he has an answer.

He’s the founder of the Shift Spot, an online gathering spot for business leaders that he says offers ways to solve business problems, attend expert training events, to allow leaders to scale with ease, avoid burnout and achieve balance in their lives.

In this edition of Bizgnus Interviews, Ken Paskins explains more.

“Also as I mentioned we have a special for your listeners in May,” Mr. Paskins says. “We are going to open our doors to a sneak peak of what our members get inside our community. We are hosting a 5-part marketing intensive for business owners only. Heading up this event is a killer CMO, who has worked on the Opra Show.”

Mr. Paskins says this will be “100 percent free” to Bizgnus Intervies listeners.

He says those interested should email to [email protected] and say BIZGNUS PODCAST “and we will send them a free invite.”

•  Entrepreneur and author has a toolkit to fix that

•  “These skills are learnable”

(Total Recorded Time is 18:14)

 So you’ve spent four to six years in college getting your degree.  But while it may have opened a door or two to entry-level jobs, now you realize it is not the ticket to career success that you thought. 

Enter Mark Herschberg, an entrepreneur and author of the book, “The Career Toolkit,” (Cognosco Media LLC, January 2021).  It has the subtitle “Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You.”

 “These skills are learnable.  We don’t always think that way,” he says.  “You may not be a natural leader, a natural networker, but if you put in a little effort, you will get good at it.”

He’s the guest in this edition of Bizgnus Interviews.

 Mr. Herschberg is founder of Cognosco Media LLC, which has a new patent pending content distribution platform. It markets an app it calls the “Brain Bump” – not a bump from a whack on the head but as a way to remember content one has read, watched or listened to.

 With more than a dozen patents to his name, he has been teaching at MIT’s Career Success Accelerator for 20 years in addition to building multiple startup companies as a CTO.

 For more information: https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com

•  Instead of pushing for a sale, try this technique

•  “When I am ‘selling,’ I am really listening and putting myself in that person’s position”

(Total Recorded Time is 14:17)

 The answer to long-term sales success is not the “always be closing” system but rather finding the real needs of a customer and addressing those concerns, contends sales consultant Darleen Priday.

She teaches empathetic sales, a technique that can build relationships, attract the right clients and create a better customer experience. 

“I’ve talked to so many entrepreneurs and small business leaders that have an amazing offering, but hate sales,” Ms. Priday says. 

Empathetic selling and relationship building is the core of long-term sales success, she says.

“When I am ‘selling,’ I am really listening and putting myself in that person’s position to see what is best for them,” Ms. Priday says in explaining empathetic selling. “What is really going to help them and what is going to be meeting their needs versus just doing my sales pitch.”

In this edition of Bizgnus Interviews, Ms. Priday explains her approach to selling and offers tips on how to hire better sales people.