🎙️ From Accidentally Shot to Faith-Based Accounting: Katie Cox's Journey Building Dublin's Most Compassionate Tax Firm

In this deeply inspiring episode, Katie Cox, owner and enrolled agent at Katie Cox & Company, shares her remarkable journey from childhood dreams of FBI special agent inspired by Miami Vice to leaving a 25-year partnership during COVID to build a faith-based boutique tax firm in Dublin, Ohio. Through candid stories about praying for clients when she started the firm with no customers, receiving 30 corporate clients within weeks through seemingly miraculous circumstances, getting accidentally shot by her father with a Glock 45 hollow point that shattered her tibia, battling spiritual warfare in the hospital while fighting to breathe, and using vision boards with prayers of gratitude before events happen, Katie reveals how her connection to God transformed her practice from transactional tax preparation into compassionate advisory services where she holds clients' hands through six-hour business planning sessions complete with bourbon and prayer.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Career inspiration from Miami Vice at age 11 sparked FBI dreams leading to accounting degree pathway

• Passed FBI entrance exam and prepared for Quantico but chose partnership offer over special agent career

• 25-year tenure at same firm learning what type of leader and environment to create before leaving

• Started firm during COVID in expensive Bridge Park location investing entire retirement savings without penalty

• Prayer breakthrough moment: asked God for help then met clients at Pince Mechanicals receiving 30 corporate accounts within weeks

• Six-hour business advisory sessions: educating owners on entities, deductions, financial statements, and customized tax strategies

• Income shifting strategy that most business owners implement incorrectly costing significant money annually

• Changed C Corp client's entity status saving $22,000 first year plus $18,000 through tax planning implementation

• Accidental shooting by father with hollow point bullet shattered tibia requiring rod and screws in leg

• Spiritual warfare in hospital: devil's voice saying "stop breathing" versus angel saying "take deep breath"

🌟 Katie's Key Mentors:

Husband During Recovery: Got in her face saying "you will not be defeated" when wheelchair-bound creating daily mantra 

Terry Saval-Foy (Author): Taught vision board principles and five successful morning habits rooted in scriptures 

FBI Civilian Academy Instructors: Provided weapons training, SWAT experience, and charity partnership opportunities connecting victims with resources 

Glenn Harper (Former Firm Owner): 25-year mentorship showing both what leadership to emulate and what environment to avoid 

God Through Prayer: Direct connection providing clients, healing, clarity, and direction for business decisions daily

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about surviving physical trauma through faith, building businesses on prayer rather than traditional marketing, and why compassionate accounting means holding hands and praying with crying clients.

🔗 Connect with Katie Cox:

Website: boutique-tax.com 

LinkedIn: Katie Cox 

Company: Katie Cox & Company 

📄 Transcript Available: The Tax Advisor Who Prays, Hunts, and Took a Bullet — Katie Cox’s Story

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Busing Tables at Cousin's Italian Restaurant to Leading Forbes Five-Star Coast: Scott Pinocci's Culinary Excellence Journey

Scott Pinocci, Director of Food & Beverage at Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, shares his journey from busing tables at his cousin's Northern Italian restaurant to leading one of only 14 Forbes Travel Guide triple five-star properties worldwide. Through stories about opening Cook & Brown Public House on a shoestring budget earning James Beard recognition, choreographing seamless bread service with single-cow butter, and asking "why not us?" while comparing to San Francisco and Paris rather than across town, Scott reveals how consistency differentiates good from great and luxury means having what you want when you want it without asking.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Cousin's Northern Italian BYOB restaurant sparked passion through executive chef's techniques and thought process behind each dish
• Johnson & Wales Providence: Monday-Thursday classes enabled Friday-Saturday-Sunday industry work matching hospitality sector needs
• Cook & Brown Public House 2010 shoestring budget philosophy: compare to world's best asking "why not us?" versus local competitors
• James Beard recognition: Esquire Magazine top new restaurants, semi-finalist best new restaurants, two consecutive years outstanding cocktail programs
• Consistency principle: little processes create seamless transitions differentiating one-star from two-star from three-star Michelin
• Networking through genuine human connections: breaking bread creates professional relationships based on personal foundation versus transactions
• Ocean House triple five-star achievement: one of 14 Forbes properties worldwide with hotel/spa/Coast restaurant all five-star
• Choreographed bread service ballet: homemade brioche with single-cow butter appears seamlessly between courses without menu listing
• Coast restaurant seasonal approach: local New England sourcing balanced with world's best Japanese Wagyu, Belgian caviar, Piedmont truffles
• Luxury service philosophy: having what you want when you want it without asking creates effortlessly wonderful experiences

🌟 Scott's Key Mentors & Influences:

Cousin and Executive Chef: Sparked early passion through Northern Italian cuisine techniques, gave first busing tables job, demonstrated thought process behind dishesJohnson & Wales Faculty: Reinforced working through positions, structured curriculum enabling weekend industry work during educationMatthew McCartney (Jamestown Fish Chef): Master of Wine candidate, Food and Wine Magazine top chef, provided 10-year mentorship with Italian-based foodCook & Brown Partners: Chef-owned shoestring budget taught "why not us?" approach comparing to San Francisco/NYC/Paris best-of-bestOcean House Wine Director: Networked at Jamestown Fish, offered opportunity when closure announced connecting Scott to Forbes triple five-star property

👉 Don't miss this conversation about comparing yourself to the world's best asking "why not us?", networking through genuine human connections, and choreographing seamless luxury experiences where guests reflect "that was wonderful" without knowing why.

🔗 Connect with Scott Pinocci:

LinkedIn: Scott PinocciCompany: Ocean House - Watch Hill, Rhode IslandWebsite: oceanhouseri.com

📄 Transcript Available: From Northern Italian Roots to Forbes Five-Star Excellence

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom lineWebsite: addbackbenefits.com

#LuxuryHospitality #ForbesFiveStar #JamesBeardRecognition #Finedining #HospitalityLeadership #RhodeIslandDining #CulinaryExcellence #NetworkingAuthentically #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From COVID Layoff to Leading 84-Year Hospice Legacy: Jeff Thorne's 30-Year Networking Journey

Jeff Thorne, President and CEO of Our Lady of Peace Hospice and Home Healthcare, shares his journey from discovering healthcare leadership through college career center informational interviews to COVID layoff recovery in three months, culminating in leading Minnesota's largest no-charge hospice residence—an 84-year mission founded by Dominican sisters where no patient receives a bill and every fundraising dollar stretches further than industry standard.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Veterinary medicine pivot to healthcare leadership discovered through college career center informational interviews with executives
• Nonprofit versus for-profit decision: chose strong mission and servant leadership over financial emphasis after intentional internships
• 30-year networking arc: lunch invitation at 23 led to CEO opportunity decades later through persistent relationship building
• 84-year Catholic mission founded 1941 serving everyone regardless of faith—less than half patients Catholic
• 21-bed no-charge model: largest in Minnesota with special legislation covering costs sisters never billed for
• Fundraising efficiency: 15-18 cents per dollar raised versus industry standard 24-25 cents through lean operations
• COVID layoff recovery in three months through wife's support and 30-year professional network checking in
• Hire for mission fit over technical skills—culture alignment first, teachable skills second
• Employee wellness priority: bereavement programs, EAP support, donor-funded break room remodel for caregiver sustainability
• Collaboration over expertise: surround yourself with people smarter than you, practice active listening

🌟 Jeff's Key Mentors:

Dad and Grandfather: Taught collaborative leadership, rolling up sleeves to help people, and including key stakeholders in decisions30-Year Lunch Contact: 23-year-old received phone call welcoming him to area—relationship took 30 years to fruition as CEO opportunityEarly Career Mentor: Advised during informational interview to surround yourself with really good people smarter than youWife and Kids: Provided assurance during COVID layoff while professional network reached out checking in

👉 Don't miss this conversation about how one lunch invitation at 23 became a 30-year relationship arc leading to CEO role at mission-driven hospice where sisters never charged patients and fundraising efficiency sets industry standard.

🔗 Connect with Jeff Thorne:

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Jeff Thorne

Company: Our Lady of Peace Hospice and Home Healthcare

Website: ourladyofpeacemn.org

📄 Transcript Available: From COVID Layoff to Leading 84-Year Hospice Legacy

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom lineWebsite: addbackbenefits.com

#HospiceLeadership #NonprofitHealthcare #MissionDrivenLeadership #HealthcareNetworking #ServantLeadership #EmployeeWellness #CatholicHealthcare #MinnesotaHospice #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From Sexual Assault Survivor to Real Estate VP: Anna Jane Stanley's Journey Building Community-Focused Development in Mississippi

In this deeply inspiring episode, Anna Jane Stanley, Vice President at Bellamare Development, shares her remarkable journey from planned law school path to events manager creating revenue streams from scratch at Mulberry Vicksburg, then general manager driving operations, and finally VP of Development managing 130 properties grossing $3 million while expanding into Kentucky. Through candid stories about being called "most likely to become someone's boss" at kindergarten graduation, creating Las Vegas-inspired pool parties with zero playbook for hospitality, CEO Sunny Sethi recognizing she needed therapy support after eight months of silence about sexual assault at Ole Miss, discovering EMDR therapy that allowed trauma processing through eye movement techniques, and realizing her superpower is discernment for reading rooms and people patterns, Anna Jane reveals how Bellamare's mission of transforming communities extends to revolutionary employee mental health support including free therapy sessions and building roles around people rather than forcing people into rigid job descriptions.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Career pivot from law school LSAT preparation to events manager role four days after Ole Miss Business School graduation

• Atmosphere modeling experience at Mulberry Vicksburg grand opening caught CEO attention through natural leadership demonstration

• Created entirely new revenue stream hosting pool parties, Italian wine dinners, murder mysteries without hospitality background

• Promoted to interim general manager after one month in development role by offering operational solutions

• Managing 130 properties at age 24 requiring speed over expertise responding to tenant maintenance within 24 hours

• Bellamare's vertically integrated model: development company, construction arm, management company, and eight owner-operated hotels

• Community feedback strategy using Facebook groups and social media comments for site selection and tenant placement

• CEO Sunny Sethi recognized mental health crisis offering free therapy becoming company-wide benefit for all employees

• EMDR therapy breakthrough: eye movement desensitization processing sexual assault trauma through finger-following question techniques

• Creative analyst hybrid role combining strategic vision, branding experience, and financial analytics for transformational projects

🌟 Anna Jane's Key Mentors:

Mother (Single Parent Through Master's School): Demonstrated strong independent woman model teaching self-reliance without depending on others 

Sunny Sethi (Bellamare CEO): Met her where she was during mental health crisis, implemented free therapy, built roles around strengths 

Fiancé (Met in Rome, Italy): Provided calming grounding presence reminding "bad day not bad life" through career challenges 

EMDR Therapist: Unlocked trauma processing through eye movement techniques allowing emotional unpacking with logical brain activation 

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about surviving sexual assault through therapy, building companies that follow employees rather than forcing location choices, and why meeting people where they are transforms communities more than chasing volume.

🔗 Connect with Anna Jane Stanley:

LinkedIn: Anna Jane Stanley 

Company: Bellamare Development 

📄 Transcript Available: Building A Company That Values Employees: How Bellamare Challenges the Status Quo of Corporate America with Anna Jane Stanley

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From Vegas Bartender to Philly Hospitality Director: Dana Canalichio's Journey Building 14 Bars and Restaurants Across Philadelphia

In this inspiring episode, Dana Canalichio, Director of Operations at FCM Hospitality, shares her remarkable journey from college bartending discovering it was her happy place to managing Ghost Bar at Palms Casino Las Vegas (hottest lounge in the world when Real World filmed there), watching bartenders count money while she struggled managing on minimal pay, returning to Philadelphia running Lincoln Financial Field bars for Eagles before 2009 recession layoffs, then joining FCM where she transformed Morgan's Pier into 500-seat seasonal waterfront destination open April through Halloween. Through candid stories about pandemic riots smashing Rosie's Taco Bar window creating accidental takeout business doubling revenue, coaching 600 employees through post-COVID behavior patterns where guests forgot how to socialize becoming narcissistic and mean, adapting to drinking trends shifting from craft beer to RTD cans and mocktails, and using ChatGPT to filter Philly f-bombs from one-star review responses into professional replies, Dana reveals how FCM's 14 Philadelphia concepts from nightclubs to Mexican restaurants to Parks on Tap pop-up beer gardens moving weekly through city neighborhoods create social spaces for community connection rather than volume game chasing profit.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Career started college catering and cafeteria work leading to bartending becoming "happy place" behind bar

• Vegas Palms Casino opportunity networking with Nine Steakhouse GM during visitor dinner turning into three-year stint

• Ghost Bar management position paying less than bartenders watching them count money leading back to bar

• East Coast versus West Coast culture clash: Vegas transient lifestyle lacked family history community connections Philadelphia offers

• Lincoln Financial Field dream job managing Eagles stadium bars until 2009 recession layoffs forcing career pivot

• Morgan's Pier seasonal 500-seat waterfront restaurant-by-day nightclub-by-night busiest Philadelphia summer spot locals don't flee shore

• Pandemic riot smashed Rosie's Taco Bar window converted to takeout generating 50% business spawning dedicated takeout location

• FCM portfolio strategy: 14 different concepts including three Mexican restaurants, two nightclubs, Craft Hall brewery with dog park playground

• Post-COVID guest behavior crisis: people forgot how to socialize becoming narcissistic mean refusing accountability expecting instant gratification

• Drinking pattern evolution: craft beer dwindling, RTD cans dominating, people starting earlier leaving by 1AM instead of closing bars 2AM

🌟 Dana's Key Mentors & Influences:

College Catering Experience: Launched hospitality career discovering social bartending environment combining people interaction with money making 

Palms Casino Leadership Team: Provided opportunity managing Ghost Bar despite minimal pay teaching bartending generates more income 

FCM Owner (Single Visionary): Finds spaces first then builds concepts around locations prioritizing employee welfare during pandemic 

400-600 Employee Team

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about choosing bartending income over management prestige, building 14 Philadelphia concepts focused on social spaces over volume, and coaching hospitality teams through post-pandemic guest behavior where common human decency disappeared.

🔗 Connect with Dana Canalichio:

Website: fcmhospitality.com

📄 Transcript Available: How Dana Canalichio Built FCM Hospitality Managing Morgan's Pier and Parks on Tap Beer Gardens

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast
📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

 🎙️ From Nearly Losing Life Savings to Building $4 Billion Venture Firm: Seth Levine's Journey Through Foundry and Redefining Capitalism

In this deeply inspiring episode, Seth Levine, partner at Foundry and co-author of Capital Evolution, shares his remarkable journey from investment banking through the internet bubble burst to co-founding a Boulder-based venture capital firm that almost didn't happen. Through candid stories about investing his entire life savings in Foundry only to face near-certain failure by May 2007, his wife's unwavering belief when he came home admitting defeat, the single LP who changed everything by saying yes to emerging managers, and learning Brad Feld's give-first philosophy that transformed his approach to business and life, Seth reveals how neoliberal capitalism has extracted too much from labor—and outlines his vision for dynamic capitalism that creates more capitalists rather than maintaining the division between capital and labor classes.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Career evolution from investment banker through data comms company to running $55 million P&L in twenties before joining SoftBank

• Meeting Brad Feld in 2001: four other partners wanted Seth hired despite Brad preferring different candidate

• September 11th timing: joined SoftBank September 7, 2001 just days before attacks and deeper venture downturn

• Founding Foundry in 2006: invested entire life savings only to face near-certain failure by May 2007

• Lindel Ekman breakthrough: University of Texas Investment Management executive who believed in emerging managers thesis

• Brad Feld's equal partnership structure: could have commanded half economics but insisted on equal four-way split

• Give-first philosophy impact: receiving without expecting one-to-one quid pro quo but trusting community reciprocity

• Neoliberal capitalism failure: Milton Friedman's shareholder-only focus extracted from labor while slowing economy and concentrating wealth

• Dynamic capitalism framework: long-term thinking, ownership economy empowerment, limited government role, and respect for rule of law

• Creating more capitalists: employee ownership programs exist in only couple dozen companies among 33 million US businesses

🌟 Seth's Key Mentors:

Brad Feld (Foundry Co-Founder): Modeled give-first philosophy and insisted on equal partnership structure that changed Seth's life trajectory 

Seth's Wife: Believed in Foundry when Seth came home admitting failure in May 2007 saying "give it more time" 

Lindel Ekman (University of Texas Investment Management): First major LP who said yes based on emerging managers thesis 

Seth's Grandfather: Incredibly entrepreneurial—one of 11 children who dropped out of middle school but created middle-class life 

Annie Duke (Thinking in Bets Author): Framework for judging decisions by information available at time rather than outcomes

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about perseverance through near-failure, evolving capitalism to work for everyone, and why creating more owners is the single biggest economic lever we can pull.

🔗 Connect with Seth Levine:

Email: Available at sethlevine.com and foundry.vc 

Website: thecapitalevolution.com 

Company: Foundry 

Blog: sethlevine.com

📄 Transcript Available: Is Capitalism Failing? With Seth Levine from Foundry Venture Capital

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

🎙️ From $2 Million Exit Mistake to Helping 100+ Businesses Scale Through Private Equity Strategies

In this inspiring episode, Joe Carter, Founder of Twin Flame Group, shares his journey from scaling his first business to 12 retail locations in three years but leaving $2 million on the table due to owner dependency gaps, buying mom-and-pop landscapers achieving private equity exit in 18 months versus planned five years, then working inside PE seeing 400 deals totaling $14 billion learning business valuation multiplier range (1.5X to 4.5X) matters more than revenue. Through stories about his son's suicide seven years ago channeling grief into Suicide Awareness Foundation, operating with ADHD requiring three simultaneous thoughts to maintain focus, and helping clients add millions through systemization, Joe reveals how owner independence and accrual accounting determine valuation position—because private equity overpays for one company having systems to copy-paste onto underpaid others.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• $2 million mistake: First business sold but owner dependency cost significant exit value—created webinar teaching others avoid same pitfall
• 18-month landscaping exit: Nine territories six states, estimating platforms landed commercial contracts, PE came knocking versus five-year plan
• Private equity insider view: Nine months post-acquisition seeing 400 deals $14B+ providing unique buyer-seller lens
• Son's suicide grief: Channeled into Suicide Awareness Foundation helping hundreds through third-party vantage conversations showing impact on family
• ADHD strategy: Three simultaneous thoughts maintain focus—Christmas decorations peripheral, client documents, podcast conversation
• Oil field $6M lift: Client doubled revenue from $7.5M in 100 days replacing handshakes with estimating platform
• Valuation multiplier critical: Owner independence, accrual accounting, geographical footprint determine where you fall in 1.5X-4.5X range
• PE acquisition strategy: Overpay one company having systems, copy-paste onto 7-10 underpaid businesses, bundle resell
• Twin Flame mission: Help 1,000+ clients minimum double EBITDA within six months by 2030

🌟 Joe's Key Mentors:

• Private Equity Leadership: Nine months due diligence seeing 400 deals $14B+ teaching buyer strategies
• Wife and Family: Supported through son's suicide, drove decision stopping travel for kids/grandkids events
• Faith Foundation: Nightly Bible reading (Jobs, Psalms) centers ADHD brain preparing next day
• Son (Deceased): Passing catalyzed suicide awareness advocacy, still connects through 1994 Corvette project

👉 Don't miss this conversation about leaving $2 million on table, channeling suicide grief into helping hundreds, and why valuation multiplier position matters more than revenue.

🔗 Connect with Joe Carter:

• Website: TwinFlameTX.com
• LinkedIn: Joseph Carter, Twin Flame Group
• Podcasts: "Franchise Bro Show" and "Lead, Manage, Thrive"

📄 Transcript Available: Joe Carter on Private Equity Readiness: Why Valuation Multiplier Range Position Beats Historical Revenue

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency:AddBack Benefits Agency - Employee benefits that improve well-being while optimizing your bottom lineWebsite: addbackbenefits.com

Keywords: Twin Flame Group, business exit strategy, franchise consulting, private equity, owner dependency, ADHD entrepreneur, suicide awareness, business valuation

Meta Description: Joe Carter shares leaving $2M on table, son's suicide channeling grief helping hundreds, 18-month exit versus five years, why valuation multiplier position matters more than revenue—PE overpays companies with systems.

#TwinFlameGroup #BusinessExit #FranchiseConsulting #PrivateEquity #SuicideAwareness #BusinessValuation #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From Sales at the Cavaliers to Sobriety and Success: Taylor Evans's Journey Building Rust Belt Recruiting

In this deeply inspiring episode, Taylor Evans, founder and president of Rust Belt Recruiting, shares his remarkable journey from sports industry sales with the Cleveland Cavaliers through personal crisis to building a thriving manufacturing recruiting firm. Through candid stories about quitting his job the day after learning his wife was pregnant, confronting his relationship with alcohol just three months into launching his business, spending his first sober weekend at a bachelor party during the Waste Management Open, and receiving a life-changing client call four days after his daughter's birth, Taylor reveals how sobriety became the foundation for both his business success and his ability to give back—from housing homeless families to leading Cleveland's small business community.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Sports management career evolution from Ohio University to Cleveland Cavaliers sales during post-LeBron era and NBA lockout

• Starting Rust Belt Recruiting in November 2017 without business plan—choosing between coffee shop or recruiting firm

• Stopping drinking in late January 2018 after three months of entrepreneurship while business and family life spiraled

• First sober weekend at Waste Management Open bachelor party using "five days to get to 10 or back to five" mantra

• Life-changing client call four days after daughter's birth: 86-person third shift hiring project opened business doors

• Specialization strategy: focusing exclusively on manufacturing roles rather than broad recruiting creates stronger client relationships

• Housing homeless family living in minivan between job placement and first paycheck as reinvestment of placement fee

• Professional "citizenship grade" philosophy: opportunities find you when you demonstrate integrity and work ethic consistently

• ADD/ADHD as superpower for connecting people and building community rather than viewing as disability

• Becoming COSI chair and National Small Business Association board member on eight-year sobriety anniversary

🌟 Taylor's Key Mentors:

Wife Jenna: Entrepreneurial family background enabled Taylor's leap into business ownership and supported year one financially Jason Geyer: Made introduction resulting in first client just before Thanksgiving 2017 launch Recovery Community Members: Provided life-saving support during first year of sobriety through meetings and accountability Counselor During Early Sobriety: Explained neural pathway redevelopment when senses became vibrant during recovery Ohio University Sports Administration Program: Founded sport management degree and created disproportionate alumni network in industry

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about how personal adversity became professional foundation and why giving back matters more than making money.

🔗 Connect with Taylor Evans:

Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: Taylor S. Evans Company: Rust Belt Recruiting Website: rustbeltrecruiting.com

📄 Transcript Available: Building Community Through Business: Taylor Evans's Path to COSI Leadership and National Advocacy

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

#ManufacturingRecruiting #SobrietyJourney #EntrepreneurshipStory #ClevelandBusiness #SmallBusinessAdvocacy #RecoverySuccess #IndustrialStaffing #PurposeDrivenBusiness #CommunityLeadership #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From Calgary Winters to Arizona Sunsets: Lloyd McBean's Journey Transforming Las Sendas Golf Club

In this inspiring episode, Lloyd McBean, Executive Director and Managing Partner at Las Sendas Golf Club, shares his remarkable journey from becoming the youngest head golf professional in Alberta at age 21 to transforming a near-bankruptcy Arizona golf course into a top 10 Phoenix destination. Through candid stories about mortgaging his home at 25 to buy Lakeside Golf Club with his NHL brother, raising $5 million from 50 Canadian members in just 19 days during the 2009 economic crisis, discovering that mountain-desert golf requires $150,000 in seed alone each year to regrow the entire course, and building restaurants generating equal revenue to golf operations (including the only golf course in America ranked top 100 for alfresco dining), Lloyd reveals how two Canadian brothers proved skeptics wrong—turning a community eyesore with porta-potties and broken promises into a transitional private club embodying family values, exceptional customer service, and proof that listening to your wife is humanity's greatest superpower.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Youngest head pro: hired at age 21 in Alberta, bought club at 25 by mortgaging home with brother's NHL retirement funds

• 19-day miracle: raised $5 million from 50 members ($100K each) during 2009 crisis when Canadian economy was strong

• Dual-grass challenge: $150,000 annually in seed alone regrowing entire course (fairways, greens, rough) fence-to-fence with ryegrass overseed

• Food & beverage parity: generates 50% of $8 million revenue, unprecedented for golf operations typically 80/20 weighted toward golf

• Top 100 alfresco: only golf course in America ranked OpenTable's top 100 outdoor dining experiences (3 years running)

• Transitional hybrid model: Monday revenue/maintenance days preserve public access while building private membership Tuesday-Sunday

• Community transformation: acquired course with 18 members, porta-potties, broken promises; now top 10 Phoenix golf destination

• Robert Trent Jones Jr. design: 900-foot elevation changes, mountain-desert layout, no parallel fairways, breathtaking Camelback views

🌟 Lloyd's Key Mentors & Influences:

• Wayne Bygraves (Cananascus Mentor): First mentor teaching resort operations, recommended Red Mountain Ranch membership, lifelong friend

• Lloyd's Brother (NHL Fourth Overall Pick): Partnership across 40 years, bought Lakeside together, Las Sendas vision, handles Calgary operations

• Las Sendas 50 Original Investors: Canadian members who trusted Lloyd/Wayne with $100K each in 19 days during economic crisis

• Lloyd's Wife: Strategic partner who risked mortgage at age 25, guides major decisions (Lloyd's admitted superpower)

• Alice Cooper: Weekly golf partner, close friend for 16 years hosting annual charity concert raising millions for Solid Rock Teen Center

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about customer service obsession spanning 40+ years, building sustainable golf operations through economic downturns, embracing community values discovered moving from Canada to Arizona, and why separating responsibilities with strong partners prevents fights you'll never win.

🔗 Connect with Lloyd McBean:

Website: lassendas.comPhone: 480-396-4000 (human answers!) 

📄 Transcript Available: Raising $5 Million in 19 Days: Lloyd McBean's Journey Acquiring Las Sendas Golf Club

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

#GolfClubManagement #ArizonaGolf #HospitalityLeadership #CustomerService #GolfOperations #PrivateClub #CommunityValues #GolfCourse #InspiredStoriesPodcast

🎙️ From Law School Food Network Therapy to Leading Hawaii's Farm-to-Table Restaurant Empire: Sara Connery's Journey

In this inspiring episode, Sara Connery, CEO of Handcrafted Restaurants, shares her remarkable journey from law school student who cooked to cope with stress while joking "restaurants have lawyers? That's what I want to do!" She earned her bar admission in Hawaii but never practiced law. Instead, she cold-called a restaurant owner after a mediocre Mexican restaurant experience in college helped her understand that chaos and wonderful heathens make up her favorite humans.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Decision framework: "Who do I want to be a year from now that I'm proud of?" became North Star during divorce at age 38
• Spiritual practices collected through 20s-30s prepared her for biggest emotional challenge and bring workplace empathy understanding grief's impact
• COVID shutdown March 2020 required closing all restaurants then reopening Thanksgiving 50% capacity mediating mask tensions protecting staff first
• Monkey pod tree metaphor: sustainable profitability means nitrogenating soil so ecosystem thrives together, not giving tree chopped to stump
• Values-based hiring focuses personality over skills: 40 managers stayed 10+ years starting as dishwashers, prep cooks, or bussers
• Peter Merriman pioneered Hawaii regional cuisine 1980s farm-to-table telling farmers "you grow it, I'll buy it"
• High volume tourist locations enable front-of-house great tips, back-of-house $18-20/hour Hawaii wages with profit sharing quarterly payouts
• Jim Collins hedgehog concept: passion plus best at plus economics drives employee retention strategy
• Walking together processing hard conversations somatically prevents emotions getting stuck in the body
• Live music 2-4 times daily, everything made from scratch, signature Mai Tais with honey lilikoi foam create memorable customer experience

🌟 Sara's Key Mentors:

• Food Network Chefs: Inspired cooking during law school, exposed her to diverse cuisines and ingredients, made law school survivable
• Peter Merriman (Co-Founder): Hawaii regional cuisine pioneer, created 1980s farm-to-table movement telling farmers "you grow it, I'll buy it," merged high quality with high volume
• Bill Terry (Co-Founder): Moved to Maui as infant with hippie parents in 1970s, brought high volume restaurant and business expertise

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about framing major decisions around who you'll be proud of a year from now, collecting spiritual practices that prepared her for divorce at age 38, and why the monkey pod tree metaphor means nitrogenating the soil so the ecosystem thrives—not being the giving tree chopped to a stump.

🔗 Connect with Sara Connery:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: handcraftedrestaurants.com
• Company: Handcrafted Restaurants (Hawaii-based restaurant group)
• Locations: Four Monkey Pod Kitchen locations plus Moku, Ulu, and Beach House

📄 Transcript Available: From Law School to Leading Hawaii's Restaurant Empire: Sara Connery's Journey

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency:AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom lineWebsite: addbackbenefits.com