By Steve Shriver
5
5050 ratings
The podcast currently has 34 episodes available.
We have a real special guest on the podcast this week with Dan Bensema of Luna Venture Partners (lunavp.com). Dan has spent his career in mergers and acquisitions, wealth management and business consulting for some of the largest companies in the world.
In 2021 Dan partnered with Rob Luna (RobLuna.com) to create a system that helps small to medium sized businesses maximize the success of the business. In many cases, Dan is helping his clients implement systems designed to achieve a business valuation of $100M or more.
While not every business will be poised for a $100M exit, the systems and processes discussed on this episode will help ANY business be better, more efficient and more valuable.
Listen to this episode to get a glimpse into the strategies you need to help your business grow.
If you're not familiar with the latest trends in marketing, this episode is for you! Podcast co-host Andy Sulhoff goes over some advice he has for business owners as it relates to marketing your business. Steve adds in some fun stories about how he has earned media attention through the years as well.
The conversation covers a lay of the land for marketing initiatives, starting with product. From there we discuss a few alternative ways to grow the reach of your business WITHOUT breaking the bank. Finally we discuss the top trends going on in the marketing world right now that you need to be considering.
Sales is the lifeblood of any new organization. You can overcome a lot of deficiencies if you're able to keep closing deals. For any organization, generating a large sale can mean significant growth and opportunity for long term success.
From smiling and dialing into individual retailers to working with sales brokers, Steve shares the story of how Eco Lips went from selling to individual retailers to selling into 12000+ retail locations across the country.
Hear the tips and tricks to closing deals with large retailers AND the untold origin story for one of Eco Lips' top selling products. We also cover some advice Steve has if you're not quite comfortable selling to make sure you're setting your business up for success.
As of this episode we're over 2 years removed from the first lockdowns in the US related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of the pandemic are still being felt and will likely continue for several more years. If you add into the global pandemic the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we're experiencing an economic environment that none of us have experienced in our lifetime.
In every obstacle there is an opportunity. In this episode we cover a few ways you can make sure your business comes out the other side of the current economic environment better than ever before. This practical advice to business owners and managers is based on Steve's experience across his businesses so there's something for everyone!
Do we have an episode in store for you! One does not typically associate Etch A Sketch and American Ninja Warrior with entrepreneurship, but that's EXACTLY what we're bringing to the podcast today.
Tim Gallenbeck is a resident of Cedar Rapids and has gained notoriety for his Etch A Sketch artwork and recently competed on American Ninja Warrior. We talk with Tim about his story and how he went from a skateboard dude to being featured in a New York Times Best Selling Book and competing with ninjas from across the country for the title of American Ninja Warrior Champion.
Listen in to hear Tim's outlook on taking on new hobbies, learning from mistakes and how you could turn your curiosity and passion into a business.
Telling the story of your business is possibly one of the most under utilized sales pitches made by small and medium sized businesses. Believe it or not, people care about who they're doing business with and actively use your business story to justify decisions to buy (or not buy) from your business.
Check out this episode to answer these highly impactful questions related to your brand story.
Contrary the popular portrayal of an entrepreneur, you don't have to START a business to become an entrepreneur. While starting your own business from scratch can seem like the safer way to go, it's a well established fact that startup businesses fail at an alarmingly high rate. The safe path to entrepreneurship is actually to purchase an existing business.
We've discussed business acquisition at a high level in the past (check out episode Ep 4 - Multi-Million Dollar Business Acquisitions). Today, we're going in depth on the financial evaluation of a small business acquisition using hypothetical cashflow statements.
We're excited to be down in the details today and encourage you to put these skills to practice NOW! Let us know what other questions arise as you explore the opportunities associated with acquiring a business.
In this episode we recap Steve's trip to South by Southwest with a special guest appearance from long time South by Southwest junkie, Joe Coffey. So much great content from some of the leading marketing and business minds in the country.
In this episode we discuss:
Sessions discussed on the podcast include:
As you look to start your entrepreneurial journey, you will have periods of highs and lows. Excitement you think will last forever and an almost crippling sense of stress and anxiety. To get through, you have to remain steadfast in your belief of a positive outcome in the face of adversity.
One of the best ways to overcome the stress and anxiety of starting and running your own business is to build up a network of resources that can help you with any aspect of your business BEFORE you need it.
It's these types of relationships and "entrepreneurial ecosystem" that David Tominsky has been cultivating in Eastern Iowa for nearly a decade. Today, David serves as the Chief Relationship Officer for The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative where he leads the NewBoCo Studios and NewBoCo Innovation Services teams. NewBoCo Studios is a full-service startup and venture studio that offers technical, creative, go-to-market, and digital marketing services. NewBoCo Innovation Services delivers an array of services designed to infuse the entrepreneurial mindset into existing organizations.
If you've ever thought about starting your own business, you've likely experienced self-doubt. Am I really ready to start my own business? Do I have what it takes to make it work? How do you know if you have the traits to be an effective entrepreneur?
Steve addresses his top 7 traits of an effective entrepreneur based on his experience and interactions with hundreds of entrepreneurs and business leaders in his career. Take a listen. Maybe you're ready to take the entrepreneurial leap!
The podcast currently has 34 episodes available.