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What's the secret to taking five companies public and raising over $100 million? According to Jorge Olson, it all comes down to personal branding—a philosophy he's refined across decades as an executive marketer, brand expert, and serial entrepreneur.

From his earliest days studying influence as a 12-year-old to becoming a VP of Marketing by 27, Olson reveals the counter-intuitive strategies that have fueled his success across multiple industries. His journey began in software before a strategic pivot to beverages, where he recognized the power of selling products people buy daily. "When I did the math, I realized people go into a 7-Eleven and buy coffee, Monster, or Coca-Cola every day," Olson explains. This observation became the foundation for building his beverage empire.

At the heart of Olson's approach lies a radical philosophy about failure. "F is for fabulous, not for failure," he insists, challenging conventional wisdom about entrepreneurial setbacks. By openly sharing his mistakes—from growing up without running water to his early business struggles—Olson creates authentic connections that transform into business opportunities. This vulnerability, rather than projecting an image of flawless success, becomes the cornerstone of what he calls "Marketing Karma."

The results speak for themselves. Olson describes clients who approach him saying, "I already know who you are, I already know what you're about. I feel I know you, I know how much you charge. Here's my credit card." This frictionless selling process emerges not from aggressive tactics but from consistently providing value through authentic storytelling.

Whether you're running a family business considering an exit strategy or launching a new venture in today's digital landscape, Olson's journey offers a masterclass in building a personal brand t

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What if the secret to unlocking extraordinary business performance isn't found in complex strategies, but in your approach to leadership? That's the compelling premise James Robbins, mountain climber turned leadership expert, explores in this thought-provoking conversation.

Robbins takes us on a journey that begins in the Rocky Mountain foothills where he grew up and traces his unexpected path through ministry to business leadership consulting. Along the way, he reveals a fundamental truth many leaders miss: the skills that make someone excel as an individual contributor are rarely the same skills needed to lead others effectively.

"You can always hire a hand, but you can't hire a heart," Robbins explains, highlighting the critical distinction between compliance and commitment. True leadership happens when you trust people with meaningful work while providing both challenge and support. It's this delicate balance that creates cultures where people willingly contribute parts of themselves they've never given any previous employer.

The conversation tackles the leadership challenges facing today's multi-generational workforce, with Robbins offering a refreshing perspective on Gen Z workers. Rather than viewing them as difficult, he suggests their demand for authentic leadership actually raises standards for everyone. "The problem isn't with Gen Z, the problem is with leaders," he observes, suggesting that approaching younger generations as volunteers rather than subordinates can transform engagement.

Perhaps most powerfully, Robbins shares how small improvements in engagement across an organization create exponential results. When a mining company with 3,000 employees increases engagement by just 10%, it's equivalent to hiring 300 new pre-trained employees without spending a dollar on additional salaries. This mathematical reality makes leadership development not just a cultural nicety but a business imperative.

Whether

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What if your greatest business opportunity isn't something new, but something you already possess? In this eye-opening conversation with business growth expert Ann Carden, we explore how entrepreneurs can transform their expertise into thriving, profitable businesses.

Cardens journey from teaching neighborhood craft classes at age eight to building and selling five successful companies offers a masterclass in business evolution. Rather than chasing the next shiny opportunity, she reveals how staying three steps ahead of market trends allowed her to pivot seamlessly from a global doll business to health clubs to high-ticket coaching—all while maintaining profitability.

For creative professionals who struggle with the business side of their operations, Carden offers refreshingly practical advice. "The creative side is where you can really expand and grow the business," she explains, "but you have to treat it like a business. Otherwise, what you love is not going to be fun." Her approach balances creative fulfillment with sound business strategy, ensuring entrepreneurs don't burn out on their passions.

Perhaps most valuable is Carden's concept of "growing money trees"—developing multiple revenue streams rather than relying on a single business model. This orchard approach provides stability even during market disruptions, as evidenced by how she weathered changes in both the craft and fitness industries.

Carden's "Expert in You" methodology helps entrepreneurs package their brilliance for premium pricing, often uncovering blind spots where they can't recognize their most valuable skills. "What they're really incredible at doing, they don't even see it, because they're too good," she observes, explaining how she's helped consultants increase their client value from $1,500 to $50,000 through strategic repositioning.

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Are you exhausted trying to keep up with endless social media demands while running your business? What if you could achieve better results with just four strategic posts?

Katie Brinkley, founder of Next Step Social, author, and podcast host, reveals a game-changing approach to social media that's perfect for photo retailers, lab owners, and camera stores who need an effective digital presence without sacrificing their core operations. Having built her agency from a single client to a team of eleven, Brinkley understands the struggle to maintain authentic social connections while managing a growing business.

"The last thing we need is more content," Brinkley explains, noting that more than 75 million pieces of content hit Instagram daily. Her four-post strategy works with platform algorithms rather than against them, generating significantly higher engagement while requiring less time and effort. This methodical approach - awareness, elaboration, community, and action - creates a natural journey that builds trust before asking for anything from potential customers.

Perhaps most surprising is Brinkley's advice about where to post. She reveals why personal profiles dramatically outperform business pages for organic reach, and why company leaders should become the social face of their business despite potential discomfort. For photo industry professionals who've built YouTube channels as content libraries, Brinkley offers specific guidance on integrating video content with social platforms for maximum impact.

The best part? This strategy delivers measurable results quickly. Businesses implementing Brinkley's approach have seen engagement increase by 250% in just two weeks. Whether you're overwhelmed by social media demands or frustrated by poor returns on your current efforts, this episode provides a clear, practical framework to transform your digital presence without it becoming your full-time job.

If you love this podcast,

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What does true leadership look like in today's business landscape? Dr. Kevin Mays reveals it begins not with controlling others, but with mastering yourself. His journey from aerospace engineering student to leadership consultant offers profound insights on building organizations that thrive beyond their founders.

Dr. Mays challenges conventional wisdom about leadership, arguing that before you can effectively lead others, you must first understand your thought patterns and intentions. This self-awareness forms the foundation for creating environments where people feel empowered to bring their best selves to work.

Many business owners fall victim to "founder syndrome," where their tight grip on every aspect of operations prevents growth and stifles talented employees. As Dr. Mays explains, "Too many leaders focus on the next quarter at the expense of the human beings actually doing the work." The result? Disengagement, high turnover of top talent, and ultimately, a business that depends entirely on its owner.

For those looking toward retirement or succession planning, Dr. Mays offers practical advice: Document your processes, clarify roles and responsibilities, develop your team members, and most importantly - let go of control. "Your business should be working for you," he emphasizes, "not you working for your business."

The conversation explores how business owners can shift from being "in the weeds" to taking a strategic position at the "top of the mountain," guiding the organization's future direction while empowering others to handle day-to-day operations. This transition creates not just a more fulfilling leadership experience, but a more valuable, sellable business.

Whether you're struggling with micromanagement tendencies, planning your exit strategy, or simply wanting to create a more engaged workplace, Dr. Mays' insights offer a roadmap to building an organization that works even when you're not present. Visit MaysLeadership.com to connect with Dr. M

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Celi Arias knows what it means to struggle as a creative entrepreneur. From sleeping on an air mattress on her factory floor to building and selling multi-seven-figure businesses, her journey has been anything but linear. Now, as the founder of Grown Ass Business, she's on a mission to help other creative entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses without burning out.

The truth about turning passion into profit isn't what most business coaches want you to hear. As Arias reveals, passion alone is a "finicky lover" that can't sustain you through the challenges of entrepreneurship. What truly matters is recognizing that business itself is an art form with its own set of rules—rules you need to understand before you can successfully break them.

At the heart of entrepreneurial burnout lies a fundamental problem: working without clear direction. When you're "just working to work" without a defined end goal, exhaustion inevitably follows. Whether your vision involves a specific revenue target, lifestyle freedom, or building a legacy brand, knowing what you're working toward transforms how you approach each day's challenges.

The most successful creative entrepreneurs resist "shiny object syndrome" by building proper business systems. They think in terms of departments and metrics even when working solo. They understand that delegation isn't just about offloading tasks—it's about creating a business that can eventually run without them constantly "pulling all the levers."

For those moments when discipline falters, Arias offers a refreshing perspective on accountability. Even as a business coach who teaches these principles daily, she empowers her team to tell her "stop it" when she starts overextending herself. This external check creates the space needed to stay focused on what truly matters.

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Ever wondered if your "failing" memory cards might just need some TLC? Larry O'Connor, founder and CEO of OWC (Other World Computing), shatters common misconceptions about technology lifespan while revealing game-changing approaches to extending the life of your digital gear.

Since founding OWC in 1988, O'Connor has maintained a singular focus: "giving users more from the technology they have." What began as memory upgrades for Apple computers has evolved into comprehensive storage solutions, docks, and software tools designed to maximize performance and longevity. 

O'Connor reveals why so many photographers and videographers prematurely discard perfectly good memory cards. Most perceived "failures" simply result from dirty caches rather than actual hardware deterioration. OWC's Energize software can sanitize these cards and restore factory-original performance in seconds, potentially saving creative professionals substantial money while reducing electronic waste.

O'Connor also explains Thunderbolt technology, explaining why its universal compatibility, maximum performance, and ability to handle both power and data through a single cable make it indispensable for creators who need reliable equipment. "If you are a mission creator, you want to be in a situation where you don't have to think about what you're connecting," he notes.

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Ever found yourself frantically scrolling through thousands of photos trying to find that one perfect shot you know exists somewhere? This frustration sparked the creation of MediaViz AI when founder Troy DeBraal's business partner slammed his phone down in a restaurant after failing to locate a crucial photo of his son. "Why can't you build something that can keep track of all my good photos and get rid of all this junk?" he demanded – and a revolutionary AI photo curation platform was born.

DeBraal shares how his background in document management and digital strategy uniquely prepared him to tackle the universal problem of photo overload. After spending years observing how people interact with technology across various industries, he recognized that helping people organize and find meaning in their expanding photo collections represented both a massive challenge and opportunity. MediaViz evolved into a sophisticated B2B platform that empowers businesses with Google-like capabilities through a simple API integration.

The conversation explores how MediaViz's "agentic AI" approach differs from traditional systems by acting intelligently on users' behalf rather than merely responding to commands. DeBraal explains how their technology creates personalized AI models that learn individual preferences in composition, subject matter, and aesthetics to provide truly customized curation. This approach has profound implications for several industries, including photo printing, where cart abandonment plagues photobook creation because consumers simply can't find the right images.

Looking toward the future, DeBraal envisions AI living directly on capture devices, encouraging photographers to create freely while AI handles the overwhelming task of curation. "Let people create and let us curate" encapsulates their philosophy – a vision that promises to transform our relationship with photography and help us rediscover the meaning hidden in our ever-e

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One unexpected phone call changed Jerry Grossman's career path forever, moving him from advertising Charmin toilet paper to promoting Nikon cameras—a shift that would place him at ground zero of photography's most transformative era.

The International Photographic Council (IPC) will host its annual IPC Hall of Fame and Professional Photographer Achievement Awards Luncheon on May 14, 2025. The IPC Service Award honoree, Jerry Grossman is co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Digital Imaging Reporter. 

In this nostalgic yet insightful conversation,  Grossman takes us through his remarkable journey from Nikon's communications manager to co-founder of Digital Imaging Reporter, sharing firsthand experiences of seismic industry shifts. Remember when digital images were dismissed as inferior to film? Or when increasing from 2 to 3 megapixels was revolutionary? Grossman was there, watching skepticism transform into acceptance as technology rapidly evolved.

The digital revolution brought extraordinary challenges. Camera companies simultaneously sold film cameras while developing digital alternatives, all while the internet emerged as a mysterious new frontier. Grossman recalls being suddenly appointed "Vice President of Internet Development" with the mandate to create Nikon's first website, when most people couldn't even define what a website was.

Perhaps most fascinating is Grossman's perspective on today's photography landscape. After smartphones decimated the point-and-shoot market, he's witnessing Gen Z ironically returning to these cameras because "iPhone pictures are too perfect." This quest for authenticity also drives film's resurgence, highlighting how creativity remains the industry's beating heart despite technological disruption.

Beyond the technology, Grossman's stories reveal the deep personal connections formed across competing companies. Through industry asso

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International Photographic Council (IPC)
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After dedicating 30 years to school photography and rising to Head of Sales at the UK's largest school photography company, Ian Hatch found himself unexpectedly redundant at age 54. Rather than retiring or changing careers, he channeled what he candidly calls his "revenge" into something extraordinary – a thriving school photography business that's grown from a single school to 66 in just three years.

One of the secrets to Hatch's continued success lies in his innovative "Moving Memories" technology. By linking printed photographs to videos through augmented reality, he's solved a persistent industry problem: low conversion rates on group photos. When parents purchase a print, they receive a QR code that, when scanned and held over the image, brings their child to life in video form. The genius lies in the exclusivity – the video content is only accessible to those who own the physical print. This approach has transformed typical sales rates from 8-10 per class to nearly 100%, with some classes recording more sales than there are students due to split households wanting their copies.

Alongside his photography business, Hatch has built MOFOTO, a thriving online community that's grown from just two members to nearly 2,600 photographers worldwide. This Facebook group fills the void left by the decline of traditional industry associations, offering support, advice, and camaraderie to volume photographers at all levels. Hatch extends this community through workshops and roadshows across the U.K., sharing his expertise on starting and scaling a school photography business.

By focusing on his strengths and partnering with specialists for everything else, he's created a business model that prioritizes work-life balance alongside profitability. "I'm an outsourcer," he explains. "I don't like to do any work. I want to be

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Visual 1st is the premier global conference focused on the photo and video ecosystem.

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