Talking Business Now

Do you ever wonder whether your brand’s message is breaking through the noise that inundates consumers every day? And, just as important, do they trust it once they finally hear it?

Ron Tite, the founder of content marketing agency Church+State, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to offer a simple philosophy for accomplishing just that.

Tune in to understand the basics of the gimmick-free and jargon-free approach Tite presents in his book “Think. Do. Say: How to Seize Attention and Build Trust in a Busy, Busy World.”:

• Why having access to so much information can be a bad thing
• Overcoming the tendency to bombard prospects and customers with “pitch slaps”
• What Think. Do. Say. is—and how to implement it
• Why the model focuses on everyone in the organization—not just management or the CEO
• How to avoid “integrity gaps”
• Why consumers should experience your values rather than just reading or hearing them

Tite is a former stand-up comedian who was trained at Second City. After working with such major brands as Microsoft, Kraft, intel, Hershey, Volvo and many others, he made the entrepreneurial leap and founded Church+State. He’s also a speaker on creativity, innovation, branding and corporate strategy who commands audiences around the globe.

An accomplished author, Tite has written a children’s book, a comedy book and a hit play. He was also the executive producer and host of the award-winning comedy show Monkey Toast.

CONNECT WITH RON TITE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rontite

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rontite

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rontite/

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In this humorous but candid interview, entrepreneur and author Lee Caraher talks about how she epically failed but ultimately succeeded with her 15-year-old PR and digital marketing firm Double Forte because she didn’t know how to work with millennials. She hired six, but lost them all within three months, which created a major disruption for her business.

Determined to buck the negative reporting about that age cohort, Caraher did her own research on multiple generations in the workplace, combined it with her own practical experience, and started creating a culture in which all age groups could thrive and learn from one another. The effort paid off, resulting in higher-than-average retention rates, personal satisfaction for employees and a more productive and profitable business. Currently, more than half her staff is under the age of 32.

Tune in to discover how Caraher became an expert on creating great multigenerational workplace teams, including:

• The steps she took to recover from the “body blow” she and her company endured hiring and then losing six millennials within three months.
• The four questions you must evaluate to ensure your employees are in a good workplace state of mind: Do I have a role that’s important in this company? Am I contributing:? Am I appreciated? Am I doing something good?
• How the expression of appreciation is perceived and accepted differently among various generations—and how to leverage those differences to create a harmonious workplace environment.
• Why specific communication is a must in any office.
• Why “command and control” leadership doesn’t work to get things done in most instances—and what approach to use instead.
• The new definition of employee loyalty that encourages long-term relationships—even after an employee has left your company.

MORE ABOUT LEE CARAHER

Lee Caraher is the CEO of Double Forte, a public relations and digital marketing firm she founded in 2002. She’s known for her practicality, her big laughs, being a straight talker and the ability to find practical solutions to big problems. She started Double Forte in 2002 as a new kind of communications firm designed to work with great people, doing good work for good companies that make a positive difference in the world.

Caraher’s first book Millennials & Management: The Essential Guide To Making It Work At Work is based on her own experience building a successful intergenerational workplace. It also contains insights from more than 100 managers, leaders and employees of all ages in different industries across the country. The book is a practical and entertaining guide to breaking down the misconceptions between Gen Y, GenX and the baby boomer generations and explains how to build a work environment that builds business, loyalty and strategic advantage. Her second book is The Boomerang Principle: Inspire Lifetime Loyalty from Your Employees.

CONNECT WITH LEE CARAHER

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeeCaraher

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecaraher/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeCaraher1/

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Mike Moyer, serial entrepreneur and author of Slicing Pie Handbook: Perfectly Fair Equity Splits for Bootstrapped Startups, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss fair equity models for startups and early-stage companies.

Tune in to find out:

• The basics of the Slicing Pie model.
• Whether the person who has the most risk in the startup always has the controlling interest.
• The pitfalls of equity being used as compensation.
• What pre-revenue equity allocation is.
• Why allocating equity must be based on a set of rules.
• Why allocating equity is a “rolling” endeavor, not a static one.

Moyer is a serial entrepreneur who has started several companies from scratch, including Cappex.com. He’s joined start-up companies, helped others start companies, raised millions of dollars of start-up capital and helped sell start-up companies.

Mike shares his entrepreneurial experience by teaching Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

CONNECT WITH MIKE MOYER

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/SlicingPie

Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/GruntFunds

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/slicingpie

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During this holiday season, I hope you enjoy a replay of my popular Elf on the Shelf episode. I recorded this several years ago on the Smart Companies Thinking Bigger Network.

Elf on the Shelf co-founder Chanda Bell gives us the behind-the-scenes story on how she, along with her twin sister Christa Pitts and her mother Carol Aebersold, transformed a cherished family tradition into a best-selling and enduring holiday brand. Listen in as Bell shares:

• The inspiration behind the story—and how they built it into an enduring brand.
• What they had to do to finally get the idea to market.
• The touching stories they hear from their customers.
• Words of encouragement for entrepreneurs.

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This episode of Talking Business Now welcomes back Frank Fiume. He is the founder of i9 Sports, the nation’s leading franchise of youth leagues and camps. He’s also the author of a recently released, best-selling book called Running With My Head Down: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose.

This is the third in a series of episodes we’ve done with Fiume, who grew i9 Sports to more than $300 million in sales, with 2 million participants in 900 communities in 30 states. In the first episode, we talked with him about his entrepreneurial journey, his lessons learned and the mindset that’s necessary for becoming a successful entrepreneur.

In the second episode, we discussed how he used the franchising model to attain such phenomenal growth, and he shares tips and insights for those of you who may be considering franchising as a growth model.

And what does an entrepreneur do to complete the cycle? Exit the business successfully! In this episode of Talking Business Now, Frank shares with us his exit strategy, what he wished he would have known as he prepared to sell, and what every entrepreneur must do to successfully transition to life beyond the business they founded.

i9 Sports is the country’s leading franchise of youth leagues and camps. The business earned Fiume national recognition. Entrepreneur magazine ranked the company as the #1 children’s fitness franchise. Fiume has been featured on Fox Business News, HBO Real Sports, and in numerous publications and national news media, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal.

Fiume sold i9 Sports in 2017 to a private equity firm, but remains a minority shareholder and member of the board of directors.

CONNECT WITH FRANK FIUME

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankfiume/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/frankfiume
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankfiumeii/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankfiumeii

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In this second of a three-part series, serial entrepreneur Frank Fiume, a pioneer in the youth sports industry and the founder of i9 Sports, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to share tips and insights into using franchising as a way to grow your business—including the lessons he learned from his mistakes. (Listen to the first episode on the entrepreneurial mindset needed to run a successful business and remain a healthy person.)

i9 Sports is the country’s leading franchise of youth leagues and camps. It has generated more than $300 million in sales, with 2 million participants in 900 communities across 30 states nationwide. The business catapulted Fiume to national recognition, and Entrepreneur magazine ranked i9 Sports as the #1 children’s fitness franchise. Fiume has been featured on Fox Business News, HBO Real Sports, and in dozens of publications and national news media outlets, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal.

Fiume sold i9 Sports in 2017 to a private equity firm, but remains a minority shareholder and member of the board of directors.

Fiume recently released his first book, “Running With My Head Down: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose.”

In this episode, we talk with Fiume about using franchising as a strategy for growing a business. Among the insights he shares:

• The most important criteria necessary for determining if your business is a candidate for franchising.
• The importance of infrastructure.
• How the founder’s role changes.
• How to find great franchisees.
• Who you need on your team to guide you through the process.
• The role of marketing.

CONNECT WITH FRANK FIUME

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankfiume/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/frankfiume
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankfiumeii/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankfiumeii

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My guest on this episode of Talking Business Now is serial entrepreneur Frank Fiume, a pioneer in the youth sports industry and the founder of i9 Sports—the country’s leading franchise of youth leagues and camps.

The company has generated more than $300 million in sales, with 2 million participants in 900 communities across 30 states nationwide. The business catapulted Fiume to national recognition, and Entrepreneur magazine ranked i9 Sports as the #1 children’s fitness franchise. Fiume has been featured on Fox Business News, HBO Real Sports, and in dozens of publications and national news media outlets, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and The Wall Street Journal.

Fiume sold i9 Sports in 2017 to a private equity firm, but remains a minority shareholder and member of the board of directors.

Fiume recently released his first book, “Running With My Head Down: An Entrepreneur’s Story of Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose.”

In this episode, we talk with Frank about how his boyhood fascination with baseball while living in a tenement apartment in Queens led him to create an adult softball league on Long Island that eventually led him to found i9 Sports.

Tune in as Fiume shares many of the lessons he learned about himself and business throughout the years, including:

• The Entrepreneur Identity Crisis
• The Lonely at the Top Syndrome
• The Executive Burnout Phase
• The Affluenza Affair
• Handling Critics and Crisis
• The Influence of Family and Friends
• Achieving Spiritual Awakening

CONNECT WITH FRANK FIUME

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankfiume/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/frankfiume
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankfiumeii/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankfiumeii

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In this episode of Talking Business Now, Oscar Trimboli, a former marketing director at Microsoft, joins host Kelly Scanlon to talk with us about what deep listening is, how to master it and how to use it to increase productivity, improve processes and grow your business.

Trimboli says that despite spending 55% of our time listening, only 2% of people really grasp the skill. But the stakes for not listening are high, ranging from miscommunication to job turnover to lost sales.

At Microsoft, Tribmoli and his teams were renowned for their ability to deep listen to customers in the call center as well as their market research summaries. Trimboli brought his passion for Deep Listening to next-generation leaders at Microsoft by rebuilding the company’s graduate leadership program, which was eventually implemented in 26 countries.

As a deep listening expert, Trimboli is on a quest to create 100 million Deep Listeners in the world. In this episode, discover:

1. What Deep Listening is, including how it differs from active listening
2. Why Deep Listening matters in leadership more than ever
3. The difference between a good listener and a great listener
4. The four villains of listening
5. The 125-400 rule—and why mastering it is the key to unlocking Deep Listening
6. How to listen to what’s unsaid
7. Relational versus contextual listening
8. The true costs of not listening

CONNECT WITH OSCAR TRIMBOLI

Take the Deep Listening Survey: www.ListeningQuiz.com

LinkedIn: Oscar Trimboli

Twitter: @OscarTrimboli

Facebook: Oscar Trimboli

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How do we deal with uncertainty? My guest on this episode of Talking Business Now—Julie Benezet—has some ideas on how to handle it. And she has the experience to back it up.

In 1999, Benezet was the new director for a fledgling dot com called Amazon. Her challenge was to figure out how to lease just the right real estate and buildings in just the right places, to help the company survive and thrive. And as they say, the rest is history.

As the first global real estate sales executive for Amazon, she helped manage the company’s growth and rapid expansion during the uncertainties of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Benezet is the author of the award-winning book The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None, and she has just released a companion workbook titled, The Journal of Not Knowing.

Julie speaks, coaches and writes on galvanizing change in the 21st century and decoding human behavior in the face of uncertainty.

 In this episode of Talking Business Now, Julie talks with us about her book and leadership lessons from her many years as an executive, lawyer and entrepreneur. Tune in to discover:

• What drives her to build businesses for heself and for others.
• The lessons she learned as part of the leadership team at Amazon.com.
• Why change is a challenge and why so many people fight it.
• The most important role of a leader—and why that role hasn’t changed.
• The Core Four—the principles that act as “navigation lights” for traversing the discomfort that comes with pursuing something new.
• The most important advice for people who want to start or grow a business

MORE ABOUT JULIE BENEZET

Benezet continues to “explore the new,” build businesses and help others do the same. She is currently an executive coach, teacher and owner of The Journey of Not Knowing®, a leadership program she founded. The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None, received a 2017 Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal and the 2016 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Silver Medal for Business & Economics.

Before joining Amazon.com, Julie built businesses and raised capital for a broad range of industries from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups. She practiced law in New York and Seattle.

She led the “Challenges of Leadership” program for executives at the Harvard Graduate School of Design for 10 years. She has appeared in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Tech Republic.com, Training Industry and The Zweig Letter.

CONNECT WITH JULIE BENEZET

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thejourneyofnotknowing
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/journeyofnk
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-benezet-a4515/
• Blog: “The View from the Treehouse” at https://www.juliebenezet.com/blog

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AI expert and author Pamela McCorduck joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to offer insights on the evolution of AI and where the technology is headed.

McCorduck has been working in the field of artificial intelligence since 1960—and she knows the founding fathers personally. She’s made a name for herself as an astute and authoritative observer of AI’s evolution and growth since its earliest days.

Her first book, “Machines Who Think,” was the first modern history of artificial intelligence. It contains interviews with the early, pioneering scientists. Though the science around AI has evolved, the interviews are fresh and revealing and continue to stand the test of time.

McCorduck’s most recent book is “This Could Be Important: My Life and Times with the Artificial Intelligentsia.” It is a memoir of her first encounters with the pioneers in the field, and her subsequent efforts to convince leading public intellectuals that AI could be important. 

Tune in to learn about:

• Examples of the way businesses are already using AI in ways we might not realize.
• How AI is revolutionizing even the smallest businesses.
• Future applications of AI that business owners should have on their radar.
• The societal and ethical implications of AI.
• Some behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the “early” days of AI.

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