The Savvy Entrepreneur

Jesse Byrd has already accomplished amazing things.  From a college basketball scholarship player, to authoring and publishing childrens' books, to starting his own publishing house, with stops in Dubai and Silicon Valley along the way, it's clear Jesse's mind is always working. 

He joins The Savvy Entrepreneur show to talk about his journey to create Jesse B. Creative, a publishing house featuring under-represented children's book authors and illustrators.  He shares a little bit about what it's like inside the children's book publishing world, as well as lots of tips for budding entrepreneurs and aspiring book authors.

Click on the arrow to take a listen!  Or if you prefer, you can read a transcript of the interview here!

It's clear that Elaine Frei, Founder & President of Luft Balloon, delights in the sheer joy of sharing colorful balloon bursts and balloon art.

She creates balloon art for her customers, but also loves giving back to her Chicago community.  The company frequently "balloon bombs" first responders, front-line workers, and small businesses that have gone above and beyond, just because they want to spread that joy.

Luft Balloon prides itself on the enormous range of colors of its balloons.  Elaine likens most balloon colors to the old, original Crayon box.  She "double stuffs" her balloons, and uses high-quality latex and messaging on the balloons.  She also adds her flair for color and design by creating jaw-dropping art with her balloons.

Here are just a few examples, but check out her website for a few of her amazing creations: 

Elaine shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur her interesting journey from landscape architect to CEO of a fast-growing startup focused on balloons.  And she candidly shares some of the challenges of growing so fast.

It's a delightful listen, and will leave you smiling and wanting to balloon bomb someone tomorrow!  Click on the arrow to listen, or go here to read a transcript of the interview.

Stacey Kohler, Founder & CEO of Kiddy Crawler, was a new grandmother.  And she was on a mission to find the Crawligator for her new granddaughter.  Stacey remembered the Crawligator from her childhood and how it helped kids develop mobility and core strength.

She found an old one on ebay, and bought it.  But that lead her to wonder what happened to this amazing toy.  It turns out, it ended up in the dust bin, sort of like the toys in the movie Toy Story.  Stacey revived the toy, found a way to manufacture it to today's standards, and is rapidly growing her company.

Her story is one of persistence, determination, taking one step at a time, and asking for and finding help in many places.  She shares her story on The Savvy Entrepreneur, and offers plenty of lessons learned for others starting out.

It's a wonderful story, with a completely relatable founder, and one helping kids' development.  Click on the arrow to listen, or go here for a transcript of the interview.

The Julie O'Brien Design Group has been a successful Indiana-based interior design company for residential and restaurants for many years.  So you know the owner and founder, Julie O'Brien, is doing a lot of things right.

She joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to talk about her journey:  how she got started, how she self-funded her business, and tips for other women entrepreneurs that she's learned along the way.  She also shares some of the challenges of the interior design business, and how it continues to change and challenge small business people in the business.

Julie is candid, and shares some of the joys and the speed bumps, while giving us a glimpse into the world of interior design.  Here are a few examples of the work done by the Julie O'Brien Design Group: 

Click on the arrow to the left to listen, or you can go here to read a transcript of our chat. It's a fun listen --  Enjoy!

When you ask business people what public relations is, some may think of press releases.  On the other end of the spectrum, many think public relations today is mostly about social media postings and engagement.  Or maybe they think of movie trailers and TV interviews for rock and movie stars.

Jennifer Fortney, President of Cascade Communications, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur Show to talk about what public relations (PR) is, and what it isn't.  And who should consider doing more PR, and when.

Jennifer has more than 20 years in the business, and is the author of “Pitched:  A Simple DIY Guide to Public Relations for Small Business," available on Amazon.com, or directly from Jennifer's site.

In her view, public relations is the image of your company, and what people think of you.  She's a big fan of refining your story, your why, and making sure this is absolutely consistent across various media that you use.  She's also adamant about making sure you know your audience, which will drive which media channels are most impactful for your business.

Click on the arrow to listen to some great, actionable advice about public relations, or go here to read a transcript of the interview.

And if you'd like to learn more, here are some helpful resources Jennifer has provided:

"Do These 6 Things to Improve Your Digital Marketing"

"Is Your Business Really Ready for PR? This Checklist Will Save You Time & Money"

Erika Lacroix has successfully built EZ Breathe Home Solutions, a construction-related business.  She is a kind of unicorn, thriving in what is still traditionally a man's world.

She says she was always more of a tomboy, which no doubt helped prepare her for her role with EZ Breathe.  And her down-to-earth, funny, no-nonsense approach probably did as well.

She shares the story of her journey with me on The Savvy Entrepreneur.  She also shares plenty of tips for other women entrepreneurs operating in this world.  She has navigated bumps along the way, but is fiercely dedicated to her customers, as you'll hear in my interview with her.

Click on the arrow to the left to listen, or click here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of the show.  It's well worth the listen!

Dr. Phillip Meade is passionate about business culture change and his company's Missing Links culture change model.  He joins The Savvy Entrepreneur Show to talk about how humans naturally resist change, but also how Gallaher Edge's Missing Links culture change model can help organizations create and follow an effective blueprint.

The Missing Links model has four strands:  Maturity, Diversity, Community, and Unity.  The Maturity piece is particularly interesting, as it deals with our many human defense mechanisms that resist change.  Phillip points out how an entrepreneur or owner's attachment to their business as "their baby" directly leads to challenges in scaling the organization.  It's a fascinating look inside the human psyche, and the things we often hide from ourselves!

Meade also talks about the upcoming book that he authored, entitled "The Missing Links:  Launching a High Performing Company Culture," available at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  The book, he says, is intended to both be an overview of business culture, as well as a resource for those who want to attempt culture change on their own.

Click on the arrow to the left to listen.  Or, go here to read a transcript of the show.

Lisa Brown, host of the popular live show Side Hustle Saturday, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur show to talk about growing her platform for black entrepreneurs, and some of the challenges of doing regular live shows.

Side Hustle Saturday is a live show that features black entrepreneurs.  Lisa started the show during COVID.  She says she knew many people were hurting, and many felt isolated.  She wanted to bring together black entrepreneurs into a community where they could share their stories with others.

Her show started on Facebook live, then migrated to Instagram live.  But her show is poised to make the next big jump as a television segment.  She's clearly tapped into something important.

Along with the telling of her journey, we compared notes about how to find great guests, build a community, and ways to monetize a live show or podcast.  We share a lot of laughs.  Even though our missions and platforms are slightly different, there are lots of tips here for anyone thinking about live blogging, podcasting, or doing a radio show.

It's a fun listen -- Lisa's warm, down-to-earth and engaging personality makes this a great listen!

Or, if you prefer, you can read a transcript of our chat here.

Dr. Sherry Benton, Founder of TAO Connect, joins The Savvy Entrepreneur to share how her platform provides alternative ways to support mental health and wellness.

TAO Connect was first created to help support college students who needed mental health support but struggled to get it.  Student need for support is significant, but is woefully underfunded and under-supported on campuses of all sizes.

TAO Connect is a robust digital platform, consisting of more than 175 modules addressing all aspects of mental health and wellness. It also includes various assessments and exercises.  The material can be combined in a variety of ways: to guide those seeking self-help, to aid therapists, or to create or enhance courses.

Mental health issues are chronically underaddressed in most Western countries, and TAO Connect is offering creative, cost-effective ways to meet those needs.

The company has grown rapidly, serving more than 200 colleges and universities.  It has now branched out to offer its non-traditional mental health and wellness support to supplement small companies with their employee benefits.  TAO Connect has also partnered with Canada as part of that country's mental health offerings.

Click on the arrow to take a listen -- the issues are important, and TAO Connect's offerings are a creative way to tackle them.  If you'd prefer, you can read a transcript of my chat with Dr. Benton here.

People appreciate art in its various forms, but they probably don't think about the business of art itself.  Constance Scopelitas, Founder & Owner of Constance Art, has been a successful artist for many years. She joins The Savvy Entrepreneur Show to talk about the business of art and her journey as a self-employed visual artist.

Everyone knows it's a difficult path to make a living as a musician or artist. But it bothers Constance -- a lot -- that art and music schools and universities continue to crank out graduates, yet never include in their curriculum how to actually start and grow a business around their art.

Constance shares the story of how she built Constance Art through luck, trial and error, persistence, and a lot of hard work. And she offers some valuable pieces of advice for others starting out -- things she wishes someone had told her.

Click on the arrow to the left to listen to hear more about the business of art! Or, go here if you'd prefer to read a transcript of our chat.

And take a look at a couple of Constance's works while you're here!  They're amazing!