"I hate huge. I don't like meetings. If I get sucked into a meeting, I always want to have a list of things that need to be addressed afterwards and a time frame from when you need to check in, to be able to get it done."

In this episode, Tim talks with Courtney Hammer (Office Manager, Sutter Home & Hearth) about her transition from practicing chiropractic medicine to running operations at her husband's hearth business. After injuries forced her out of patient care, she discovered that what started as a simple admin role became transforming an entire company's organizational backbone. In this episode, Tim and Courtney cover:

Don't miss Courtney's insights on why support staff are the "unsung heroes" who pay for themselves through efficiency gains and how stashing Girl Scout cookies can solve morale problems faster than any meeting.

Links from this episode:

WhyFire: https://whyfire.com

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Watch this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZMBk3BUdpkE

Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fire-time-podcast/id1433804268

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4vHdzg48bE5qFf0KjMeMej?si=7b6cae3923d348f2

Read The Fire Time Magazine: https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine

Subscribe to The Fire Time Magazine: https://itsfiretime.com/subscribe

Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: https://www.itsfiretime.com/join

"The purpose of your showroom is to sell the in-home visit."

In this episode, Tim sits down with Kenneth Walker (Owner, Firewalker Sales) at the HPV Expo in New Orleans to break down the five principles of a winning showroom. Kenneth's approach transforms showrooms from overwhelming product dumps into strategic sales tools that actually drive business to customers' homes.

In this episode, Tim and Kenneth cover:

Don't miss Kenneth's insight about the "coffee table battle"—that critical moment when customers compare options at home—and why having authentic stories about your products is what ultimately wins the sale.

Links from this episode:

WhyFire: ⁠https://whyfire.com⁠

Listen to the full Fire Time Podcast "Showroom" Series with Kenneth Walker: ⁠Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

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Watch this podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qHsKjayv91c
Listen on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fire-time-podcast/id1433804268⁠
Listen on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4vHdzg48bE5qFf0KjMeMej?si=7b6cae3923d348f2⁠
Read The Fire Time Magazine: ⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠
Subscribe to The Fire Time Magazine: ⁠https://itsfiretime.com/subscribe⁠
Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: ⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/join⁠

"Don't blame the other guy. Take responsibility for it. And I think there's so much that can be done."

Welcome to Season 16 of The Fire Time Podcast—and for the first time ever, we're on video. To kick things off, Tim steps in for Gideon Honeycutt at the 2026 HPBExpo to teach a session on breaking free from the quote trap—the costly cycle where salespeople fail to show customers why a product uniquely solves their problem and get reduced to handing out numbers. What follows is a masterclass in three deceptively simple steps that can fundamentally transform how your team sells.

In this episode, Tim covers:

Don't miss this no-nonsense kickoff to Season 16 that proves the basics aren't basic at all—because the companies that master these three steps don't just close more sales, they give their customers an experience worth coming back for.

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Watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-oBrCc-NWHaFtu_b51D-jpNXu8jJDX2v

To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠⁠⁠

Subscribe to The Fire Time Magazine: ⁠⁠⁠https://itsfiretime.com⁠⁠⁠/subscribe

Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/join

WhyFire Fireplace AI Visualizer: https://whyfire.com

On his the way to the 2026 HPBExpo in New Orleans, Tim takes a break from Rapid Reactions to share an audio article from the upcoming 2026 Fire Time Journal, the yearly printed playbook for running a hearth retail business, featuring the best of the industry.

Listen to Tim's article titled, "Don't Fall Asleep At the Wheel," hear his recap at the end, and pick up your free copy of 2026 The Fire Time Journal at the 2026 HPBExpo this week.

Don't miss the Fire Time After Hours Karaoke Party following the EPBExpo on Friday night. Sign up at: https://www.itsfiretime.com/afterparty

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To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/subscribe⁠⁠

Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/join⁠

While we prepare for Season 16 of the podcast, we're taking a break from our Fire Time Magazine Rapid Reaction series to reply a conversation that Tim had with Grant Falco about the first step to build a heartbeat report for your company—the weekly traffic count.

Here are the original show notes:

“I started looking at my company as a retirement plan.” Do you look at your company the same way? Chances are, you probably don’t. But building a business you can sell is all about keeping the end in mind and reverse engineering from there—and this conversation covers how to do that like an expert.

Today, Tim talks with Clay Dennis, a man who titles himself a believer, a coach, and a friend when called. Clay tells Tim about how his business almost literally killed him, how he built his business like a retirement plan, how he eventually sold his business, and how he segments his life into acts.

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

Stop operating your business day by day—focus on the end instead. Building a business that you can sell is essential to finishing life well. Listen today to learn how to craft a better future.

⁠Nearing Home by Billy Graham⁠

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Become a supporter of The Fire Time Network and get access to awesome rewards: ⁠⁠⁠https://itsfiretime.com/join⁠⁠⁠

To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠⁠⁠.

While we prepare for Season 16 of the podcast, we're taking a break from our Fire Time Magazine Rapid Reaction series to reply a conversation that Tim had with Grant Falco about the first step to build a heartbeat report for your company—the weekly traffic count.

Here are the original show notes:

Many leaders judge the well-being of their businesses purely based on feel. This works great until it doesn’t—and then you’re left scrambling to figure out where things went wrong. Imagine if, instead, you could have your finger on the pulse of your business so you could prevent problems before they happen.

In today’s episode, Tim and Grant discuss traffic count—the first of the four keystone metrics that make up the heartbeat report. Traffic count (door swings) is the metric that Tim credits for bringing him where he is today.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Stop judging the well-being of your business entirely on feel. Instead, build a heartbeat report that tracks key metrics and gives you the complete picture. Want to get started? Just press play.

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Become a supporter of The Fire Time Network and get access to awesome rewards: ⁠⁠https://itsfiretime.com/join⁠⁠

To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine Podcast: ⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠⁠.

While we prepare for Season 16 of the podcast, we're taking a break from our Fire Time Magazine Rapid Reaction series to reply a conversation that Tim had with Stan Campbell about the value of building your organization the right way.

Here are the original show notes:

If you walked up to your team and asked them to recite your mission statement, could they do it? If not, here’s the hard truth: Your mission statement stinks, and you need to improve it. If your team doesn’t know why your organization exists, where you’re going, and how they’re expected to behave, then you’re setting them up to fail.

In today’s episode, Tim sits down with his mentor, Stan Campbell, to define and discuss the essential elements of any healthy business: mission, vision, core values, goals, and objectives. During the conversation, Tim explains how Stan helped him and his team develop each of these elements so that they could always have clarity on what the company is and where it’s going.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The landscape is littered with organizations that never made it past their leaders' capacities. If you truly care about your business, you should be okay with leaving behind a legacy that doesn’t include you. Making things less about you as a leader and giving your team the authority to talk back will pay dividends. Listen today to get started.

Hiring Stan is the best money Tim has ever spent. Bring him in to critique your organization by emailing him here: ⁠[email protected]⁠.

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Become a supporter of The Fire Time Network and get access to awesome rewards: ⁠https://itsfiretime.com/join⁠

To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine Podcast: ⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠.

While we prepare Season 16 of the podcast, Tim will be giving weekly rapid reactions to audio articles from The Fire Time Magazine. In this week's episode, Tim reacts to an article he just wrote titled, "The Journey: Part 2" (released in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠February 2026 issue of The Fire Time Magazine⁠⁠).⁠⁠⁠

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To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/subscribe⁠

Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/join⁠

While we prepare Season 16 of the podcast, Tim will be giving weekly rapid reactions to audio articles from The Fire Time Magazine. In this week's episode, Tim reacts to an article by Ryan Przybylski titled, "5 Building Blocks of a Strong Company Culture" (released in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠February 2025 issue of The Fire Time Magazine⁠⁠).⁠⁠

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To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Read The Fire Time Magazine Reader Edition online: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://magazine.itsfiretime.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Download The Fire Time Magazine app to get full access to the magazine (for free): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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