The Authority Company

It’s a dream for many entrepreneurs to start a business with friends and family and then watch the money pour in. Unfortunately, more times than not, those business ventures end up with estranged family members and friends who become mortal enemies. But on today’s podcast, Joe is joined by Dave Dickert the co-founder of Branded Bills. Dave started a custom headwear business with three of his friends and went on to build a successful direct-to-consumer business with over $50 million dollars in sales in a little over 5 years.

Since 2020, the housing market has been more volatile than a Michael Bay movie. During much of the pandemic's housing boom, historically low mortgages shielded homebuyers as folks migrated out of states like California and New York to places like Texas and Florida. But now, national mortgage rates have surpassed 5% and have eliminated some buyers from the market. So why is this happening? On the podcast this week, Joe speaks with Chris Heller. Chris received his real estate license when he was just 20 years old and went to become the CEO of real estate powerhouse Keller Williams Realty. He’s currently the Chief Real Estate Officer at OJO Labs, an Austin-based real estate tech company, and he’s also the author of the new book, Dominant Thoughts.

What’s the secret sauce to becoming a self-made success story? How do you reach high levels of wealth without the help of a large inheritance or trust fund? This week's guest has lived this story. His name is Ahmad Alyasin, and he’s the Chairman & CEO of Optima Global Financial. Ahmad's company provides complex corporate advice that assists clients with recapitalization, large-scale buy-outs, reverse mergers and acquisitions, private equity funding, and more.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time for us to educate people and ourselves about the importance of mental health and the resources available. And this week Joe welcomes Alison Seponara to the podcast. Alison is a licensed psychotherapist and is known as @TheAnxietyHealer on Instagram.  She is also the author of the new book, The Anxiety Healer's Guide: Coping Strategies and Mindfulness Techniques to Calm the Mind and Body. Alison shares her mental health journey and how she built a global support community of over half a million people.

Entrepreneurs post regularly on LinkedIn and write blogs for the specific purpose of elevating their brand and their authority. But what about regular people who turn a blog into a business? This week, Joe talks to Christian Senger, the founder of Holy City Sinner. Christian shares how he built a blog and accompanying social media handles that became must-follows for everything there is to know about what’s going on in Charleston, South Carolina.

What does it take to become fearless in business? An even bigger question, what does it take to become a fearless leader? This week, Joe welcomes Brendan Keegan, the Founder of bFearless & CEO of Merchants Fleet. Brendan is a 6-time award-winning CEO, who has built a system to overpower his own fear, uncertainty, and doubt and achieved astronomical success across multiple industries.

COVID-19 gave small businesses the chance to reevaluate their challenges and reimagine their business. And now over 70% of small business owners believe their business is better off now than it was one year ago. So how did small and medium-sized businesses not only survive but thrive? Joining Joe this week is Wendy Taccetta, Verizon Business’ senior vice president for nationwide small business and channel chief. Wendy talks about Verizon's recent Small Business Recovery Survey and the effect of Verizon’s products and services on small businesses.

Much has been written about supply chain issues and the lack of toilet paper, but there’s something else that’s been in short supply recently, and that is kindness. Joe's guest this week is Andra Liemandt and she is the founder of Austin-based The Kindness Campaign (TKC), a national nonprofit devoted to research-based emotional intelligence and anti-bullying. Andra shares the inspiration for The Kindness Campaign and how her team is creating and providing accessible emotional health curriculum and programs to both children and adults in homes and classrooms.

For years, the world of business has been described as cut-throat, dog-eat-dog, and ruthless. But now more and more businesses are centered around building a kinder, more sustainable world. On the latest episode of the podcast, Joe is joined by Giovanna Mingarelli, who sits at the forefront of this kindness revolution. Giovanna is a Canadian entrepreneur, public speaker, writer, and founder of several companies, including M&C Consulting, a digital communications and crowdsourcing company and MC3, a Seattle-based tech startup offering AI-powered bots to power the ESG workplace revolution.

For seven seasons, Kerry Washington starred as Olivia Pope on the hit TV series Scandal, but what’s it like to handle crisis management for real? In 2022. This week, Joe welcomes Stephanie Craig, one of the country’s top crisis and reputation strategists. She's currently the Vice President of Consulting at Kith, where she helps clients expertly prepare for crises, mitigate risk and rebuild reputations.