Manny Fernandez spent his early years in Venezuela working at his parents’ restaurant, where he learned the value of hard work, delivering exceptional products, and saving money. During his high school years, he had saved enough to invest in a small business that unfortunately did not succeed. However, the lessons he learned were priceless.

Manny migrated to the United States and has owned an automotive shop in Deerfield Beach, Florida, for three decades. His shop specializes in rebuilding transmissions, and for all of those three decades, it has been their sole focus. Seven years ago, Manny expanded his entrepreneurial vision into Strategic Business Intermediaries, where he assists other entrepreneurs in acquiring and selling businesses.

Join us as we explore his entrepreneurial journey, which nearly came to an end when he was only 23 years old. While working for a company, owned by an individual currently on death row, and driving its van, Manny was shot at seven times. Four of the seven bullets struck him, but miraculously, he survived. God had plans for his life.

Sam Nimah spent much of his career working as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) within large corporations. After many years as a successful CPA, he started getting the itch to leave the corporate world and set out on his own. He eventually decided, after much research, that he wanted to buy into an existing business. Eventually, he came across TriVent Healthcare. He loved the business model, and the numbers made sense, so he bought it.

TriVent Healthcare does only one thing, and they are the best in the world at it … liberate patients from ventilators. Once on a ventilator, the muscles begin to atrophy, and each day spent on a ventilator significantly impedes the likelihood of recovery. Sam Nimah has a highly skilled team of healthcare professionals who successfully reduce the mortality rate of ventilator patients from an alarming 30% to 1%. As Sam states, the primary objective of hospitals is to help people survive, not to thrive. Patient rehabilitation is a specialized function where companies like TriVent Healthcare excel.

In this interview, we delve into the perspective of Michael Gabbett, a seasoned industry professional with 31 years of experience in the international shipping sector. Despite the industry’s inherent challenges and fluctuations, Gabbett finds the constant evolution of logistics to be an engaging and rewarding career path.

The maritime industry plays a pivotal role in global trade, accounting for approximately 90% of the world’s goods being transported by sea. The operation of merchant ships generates an estimated annual revenue exceeding half a trillion US dollars in freight rates. The global fleet comprises over 100,000 vessels, spanning diverse sectors such as container ships, bulk carriers, tankers, and specialized vessels.

From March 24th to April 8th, the logistics industry experienced a significant decline across various sectors, as This phenomenon, dubbed a “tariff shockwave,” resulted in substantial drops in global twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) bookings by 49%.

Furthermore, the overall U.S. imports experienced a 64% decline, while U.S. exports fell by 30%. Notably, U.S. imports from China dropped by 64%, while U.S. exports to China decreased by 36%.

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tariff-shockwave-leads-collapse-ocean-175828155.html

* A “twenty-foot equivalent unit” (TEU) is a standardized unit of measurement utilized to quantify the cargo capacity of ships. It corresponds to the dimensions of a standard 20-foot shipping container, measuring 20 feet in length, 8 feet in width, and 8.5 feet in height.

Kenny Ruiz started his life in Chicago before moving to South Florida in his adolescence. Kenny has done a lot of things in his life but his artistic expression has remained consistent through out. Kenny started MagChop in his 30's as a way to live out his dream of being a professional artist. Never afraid of being knocked down, his adventure traversing the world of art is an inspiration to anyone trying to make it on their own. His work includes selling art work originals, prints, coffee mugs, designing women’s bathing suits, and then eventually becoming an actor alongside his art pieces. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed speaking with him.

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We discuss with Stefan Petzold how he became an entrepreneur in Germany. Loft Tür builds high end metal frame/glass doors and enclosures. Stefan tells us about the joys of building a successful business and the many challenges he faced along the way.

We spoke with Jeff Smolansky about how he started Better Party Rentals. Jeff explains how he deals with stiff competition in busy South Florida and how he maintains customer relationships, finds new customers, manages his workforce, and operates on a day to day basis.

In this episode I discuss with my co-host, Tom King, how he started a hockey apparel company in South Florida and later merged with Weston Cotton to start Cotton King, Inc. in the early 2000s.

We discuss with Josh King how he became a firefighter/paramedic, his work life, and how he and his wife, Steph, balance family life with three young boys.

We haven't recorded in over 2 months (life got in the way). We needed to just catch up and discuss our plans for 2025.

Mikey Nucci, founder of Scale Advertising (scaleadvertising.com) and a longtime family friend of the Kings, joins us to discuss Google Ads (AdWords) and it’s impact on the small business community.