Grow A Small Business Podcast

In this episode, I interview David Feldman the Founder, and CEO of 3 Owl based in Atlanta, United States. David has set up his own business to provide in-house services to help clients benefit as far as hands-off. With over 5 years of experience in building websites, designing logos, and copywriting, David has decided to leave his former jobs to create his technology-first-creative agency in order to scale and open windows for improvements. 3 Owl was established in 2012 and has been running for over 10 years. Hit 7-figure business and experienced 35% compounded annual growth for 6 years with over 20 FTEs. David has said that growing a small business requires developing your own systems and consistency in order to become efficient. So he says, "I think everyone is different but I think just developing good habits is so easy to just get to go off the rails and not be efficient." This Cast Covers: Running the intersection of design strategy and technology. Expert at building systems in business. Doing everything from designing the visual identity of a brand while in-house. Learning the benefits of doing business in-house. Connecting design and technology and measuring results. Made a seven-figure profit in 2019 and is currently growing at a 50% annual rate. Wrote a book during the pandemic called Small By Design. Relating the benefits of hiring experienced employees in your business. Helping entrepreneurs to dream, come up with ideas, and get them executed Sharing his small but gold achievements including the story of his people. Links: David's Linkedin Additional Resources: 3 Owl Traction by Gino Wickman The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger Quotes: "Success means being able to do things that make you happy in a balanced way." —David Feldman "If you can't find replicable systems, you're not going to grow." —David Feldman "When you're small, you have to get the work done." —David Feldman "Building boundary between your job and personal life improves your efficiency." —David Feldman "Be real like be as transparent as you can be with your company." —David Feldman

For this week's QFF podcast episode, Rob interviews Darryl Stickel, Ph.D., who's based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Darryl's an esteemed academic, he earned his Ph.D. at Duke university where he did his thesis on "building trust in hostile environments.", he's also a researcher and consultant, and Darryl is the founder of Trust Unlimited. Trust, is an essential component in any relationship, whether it be between friends, or family members, especially in business. Trust really can make the difference between a high-performing business and a low-performing business. Darryl Stickel, Ph.D., founder of Trust Unlimited, helps small-medium business owners, by providing insights and strategies to help build and maintain trust in a business. According to Darryl, to achieve trust even in times when you made mistakes, you must have benevolence; have others' best interests at heart, have integrity; commit hard to your promises, and ability; being able to follow up on your promises. This Cast Covers: Trust is an important aspect of a business. Darryl Stickel's, Ph.D., perspective of trust. The element of uncertainty and vulnerability when trusting someone. Asking ourselves the two fundamental questions when we trust someone. Managing risks by lowering uncertainty and avoiding vulnerability. Rebuilding trust after the event of a mistake. The 10 Levers you can pull to build trust. Giving an honest and transparent apology. Understanding the best interests of the client. Focusing on the things you have control of, rather than making rash promises. Links: Darryl's Linkedin Darryl's Company Website Darryl's Facebook Additional Resources: Building Trust: Exceptional Leadership in an Uncertain World by Darryl Stickel Quotes: "Trust is, … it's one of the primary drivers of successful organizations." — Darryl Stickel. "Certainty and vulnerability are the two primary factors that drive the trust decision." — Darryl Stickel. "Have somebody's best interests at heart." — Darryl Stickel. "Apology combined with an acknowledgment of the harm that was caused to the other party." — Darryl Stickel. "We don't make promises that it'll never happen again." — Darryl Stickel.

In this episode, I interview Chris Lalomia, the Founder, and CEO of The Trusted Toolbox based in Atlanta, United States of America. Chris has set up his own business to provide quality-focused handyman services that surpass expectations. Chris has over 14 years of corporate experience and has opted to establish a home repair and handyman business in order to pursue greater opportunities. The Trusted Toolbox was established in 2008 and has been running for over 14 years. Growing with over $128,000 in the first year revenue has been running with over 40 FTEs. According to Chris, growing a small business necessitates becoming more thoughtful and predictive of what you're asking for. So he says, "In the beginning, it's all about sales. Now, my mindset shift has been about being more thoughtful and more predictive of what I'm asking for, and keep saying that over and over and over." This Cast Covers: Expert handyman services that are quality-focused and surpass expectations. Left the corporate world and started a home repair and handyman business. Got a master's and bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Went to work in manufacturing. Started business with zero knowledge. Creating a team that solves problems without being involved. Did $128,000 in total revenue in the first year of business. Started a business at the age of 38. Got 40% of business coming from customers. Been 4.6 rating on Google, and got over 600 reviews. Links: Chris' Linkedin Chris' Facebook Additional Resources: The Trusted Toolbox The Habits by Stephen Covey The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber Quotes: "Success is freely doing the things that make you happy." —Chris Lalomia "If you want to grow, you have to keep your customer base. —Chris Lalomia "You need to make sure you're getting better. —Chris Lalomia "Be more thoughtful and more predictive of what you're asking for." —Chris Lalomia "Know that you're time is your own." —Chris Lalomia

In this episode, Troy interviews Lindsay McMahon from All Ears English. She's based in Denver, Colorado in the United States. All Ears English is a platform for global professionals who need English for their careers. Lindsay started out traveling the world and teaching English as a second language. Living in Japan and traveling through South America, she saw first hand the market and the need for people to learn English in their daily lives or their work. In 2013, launched a podcasts that now has around 10 million downloads in total. 3 years after, launched an online course. Lindsay said one of their biggest mistakes was that she and her co-founders never talked about what would happen if one person would eventually want to leave the business. To Lindsay, success means her team is happy. She loves the fact that they can get up and they can say, I get to do this every day. This Cast Covers: Strategic Coach group and how they help entrepreneurs Trademarking the phrase "our value is a connection, not perfection" Launching an online course that is generating revenue and adding value to the business Success is when they receive an email from a listener who's been impacted by an episode Investing $100,000 for an iOS and Android app Using 15Five as a tool to check on his remote team The huge responsibility of seeing results from our courses especially for the IELTS course Effects of the pandemic on their business Links: All Ears English IELTS Energy Podcast Business English Podcast 15five.com Strategic Coach Guideline Additional Resources: Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? By Seth Godin Who Not How by Dan Sullivan Quotes: "Balance, it helps that the people in my life pull me away from my computer. So my partner kind of gets me to take those vacations, book those trips, take those days off." — Lindsay McMahon "It's a rookie mistake to spend all your time going to the sessions sitting there taking notes, which is something that is easy to do, rather than going out, meeting people and talking to people." — Lindsay McMahon "Anyone who can speak English as their first language, or even as their second language can become an online English teacher or English influencer but it's a lot harder to set up an actual business, that's a different thing." — Lindsay McMahon "If you think about the number of people that need English in their daily lives or their work. It's absolutely humongous." — Lindsay McMahon "The biggest mistake was we never talked about what would happen if one person would eventually want to leave the business." — Lindsay McMahon

In this episode, Michael interviews Aaron Schultz, founder of Outback Mind, based in Queensland, Australia. He is a strong advocate for a preventative approach to men's health. Having overcome his own period of huge self-doubt, crippling anxiety and poor lifestyle behaviours caused by overwork and burnout, Aaron managed to turn his weakness into his strength, becoming a teacher of meditation, yoga and anxiety management education. Aaron now has over 7,000 practical teaching hours, and Outback Mind is now expanding throughout regional Australia. Aaron says you've got to make health and well-being the foundation of your life. If you can do that well and do it continuously, then everything else benefits, not only in terms of business but also family and other people around you. This Cast Covers: The benefits of his daily training to his life Waking up at 4am so no one could see him train to avoid supposed profiling, all that type of stuff. Why getting your rhythm early in the morning is important How kids habits have changed from our time to kids now spending more time in front of a screen How lights can affect the way you sleep Links: Outback Mind Additional Resources: A Wink from A Guru by Aaron Schultz Quotes: "Back then University wasn't an option coming from a small country town, it was sort of either you go to work, or you become an academic, and I wasn't probably one of them." — Aaron Schultz "Look after yourself, if you can do that well and do it continuously, then everything else benefits." — Aaron Schultz "A lot of people start the day with a stimulant like coffee or something. And that sort of gets the nervous system escalated. But there's always a downside to that. But if we can just get into this rhythm early, I think that sets us up for a good day." — Aaron Schultz "One thing that helped me was paying attention to my diet, and my nutrition, to make sure that I was able to do what I needed to do throughout the day successfully and not sort of hit peaks and troughs with my energy." — Aaron Schultz "Putting even just 1% or 24 minutes a day, to be able to commit that to your well-being the physical body responds to that, your emotional health gets better." — Aaron Schultz

In this episode, Troy interviews Michael Chastaine, from Chastaine Law. He's based in New Mexico, United States of America. Michael is a criminal defense lawyer for 37 years. and for 17 years of a public defender before deciding to open his own firm in 2007. After a lot of success over the years he decided to open Chastaine Law. After soon realizing it didn't go as planned and being broke he seeked out help from his mentors and did some reading and research and slowly grew to an eight-person firm with more than seven figures a year routinely before selling out. Michael believes to never trust the data of marketing companies. The one habit, probably the single most overlooked, secret weapon to peak performance is sleep. You got to get enough sleep. If you're not getting enough sleep, your performance is going to suffer. This Cast Covers: Having $100,000 rainy day fund when COVID hit and taking advantage of the down time to grow the firm How technology has changed the industry now from the time he got out of law school in 1985 Success is enjoying in his 10 acre Adobe Hacienda in New Mexico Biggest mindset shift was after selling out, separating himself out of Chastaine Law and treating it as it's own entity Links: Chastaine Law Website Linkedin Additional Resources: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman Quotes: "You can't grow what you don't measure" — Michael Chastaine "I think the mistake a lot of people make is they put all their money in one account." — Michael Chastaine "The challenge with marketing is that everybody will promise you the world." — Michael Chastaine "It's always good to start with you as the owner." — Michael Chastaine "Don't be a slave to everybody who's got your email address, your phone number, your Facebook page, or your WhatsApp, control your own time." — Michael Chastaine "Don't be afraid to invest, you got to be willing to spend money." — Michael Chastaine

In this episode, Troy interviews Stephen Sokoler, Founder and CEO of Journey based in New York, USA. Stephen spent years in the business sector, founding and running companies, which helped organizations celebrate and inspire their employees. He first found meditation through Buddhism and after years of personal practice, Stephen recognized that wellbeing needed to be shared with the world in a more approachable, accessible way. In 2015, he founded Journey. They support a wide range of profit and non-profit organizations ranging from Walgreens and their 250,000 employees to Blackstone to the Harlem Children's Zone, which is a charter school in Harlem. And everything they do is around proactive mental health. Making sure employers keep their employees mentally, and emotionally well. Stephen thinks the best tool to grow a small business is a community of other people who are doing the same thing. Not necessarily with the same field but people who can give you advice, who can be there to listen, who can relate emotionally to what you're going through. This Cast Covers: How having a really authentic story and going out and telling it in whatever way you know helps your marketing His passion about mental health How he first found meditation How Journey is helping employers keep their employees mentally, and emotionally well The Loveland Foundation which is a non-profit organization that provides therapy for black women and girls Why fundraising is the most stressful point of the business journey The challenges of a start-up The idea of work-life, integration, or work-life harmony, as opposed to work-life balance Links: Stephen's LinkedIn Stephen's Twitter Additional Resources: Good To Great by Jim Collins Built To Last by Jim Collins How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer The Journal by WSJ Podcast The Daily by New York Times Podcast Today, Explained Podcast Morning Brew Daily Newsletter Quotes: "Getting a good night's sleep, to me, is foundational." — Stephen Sokoler "I think the best advice I ever got, or the thing that I keep in mind is to know yourself." — Stephen Sokoler "Best work gets done when it's quiet, when I can think, when there are no emails coming in." — Stephen Sokoler "We believe that having a healthy family, having a healthy environment leads to healthy employees." — Stephen Sokoler "The best marketing tool is having a really authentic story and going out and telling it in whatever way you know, podcast, some writing or even TikTok." — Stephen Sokoler

In this episode, Rob interviews Steve Kidd, an entrepreneur, a business coach, an author, and a radio host. His specialty is helping people write books, and in particular, best-selling books that can open doors, create opportunities, and ultimately, through those things will help people build their wealth. Steve is a third-generation minister, and an international best-selling author of 20 books including "Best Seller is Only the Beginning" and counting. He started the company in 1988 and has worked with literally 1000s of people to help them all the way through the process from writing, to publishing, to marketing their books, to best sellers, and beyond. Steve says the number one credential you can have as validation is to not just be the person who wrote the book. But also, more importantly, to be a best seller. This Cast Covers: Process on how they help a client with their book Strongly recommend going directly through Amazon because that's where 90 plus percent of all books are sold these days. Multiple different ways that you can make money when selling books His latest book, which is called "Best Seller is Only The Beginning" Links: Website Linkedin Additional Resources: Best Seller is Only the Beginning: The Secret to Unlocking True Ongoing Wealth by Steve Kidd Quotes: "You're never going to maximize your marketing until you are the expert at what you do." — Steve Kidd "Everybody needs to be an author." — Steve Kidd

In this episode, Troy interviews Steve Rozenberg, who is a jack of all trades; he's an international airline pilot, author, educator, speaker, real estate, and business coach. He's based in Houston, Texas, USA. Realizing he didn't like the thought of not being the one in control of his future after the tragic events of 9/11, he shifted from being an international airline pilot to growing independent businesses. He started a real estate property management company, which became the fastest-growing property management company in Texas and now has 10,000 properties. Now he is helping small-medium business owners through his website, Steve Rozenberg, with everything from properties, investments, and business to sales and closing, marketing, scaling, and so much more. Steve advises entrepreneurs that in order to successfully market a rapidly expanding company, they need to zero in on a narrow subset of potential customers. Spotting the person, their age, gender, especially the problems that they have that they'll be providing the best solution to. This Cast Covers: Steve shifted to real-estate management from being an international airline pilot. Becoming the fastest-growing property management company in Texas, in seven years. Helping small-medium business owners build their businesses that can run independently. Leveraging offshore resources. Adding and removing staff based on the plan. Intensely focused on the current goal. Religiously documenting the numbers of your business. Showing deep affection to your staff, making them feel involved. Surrounding oneself with the right kind of people. Striving for the life that you want. Links: Steve's Linkedin Steve's Business Website Steve's Instagram Additional Resources: Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It Quotes: "You never should build a business where you are the focal point around the business." — Steve Rozenberg. "Don't be afraid to start and end a chapter, don't wait for it to be going down in flames." — Steve Rozenberg. "You come up with 10 ideas every day nine of them suck. But one of them's the moneymaker. Focus on the one." — Steve Rozenberg. "Saying no has made me a lot of money." — Steve Rozenberg. "What gets measured gets improved." — Steve Rozenberg.

In this GASB Podcast episode, Troy interviews Daniel Levan-Harris, founder of Mango Logistics Group and co-founder of Edible. He grew up in Tel Aviv, racing high-performance sailboats, but he now lives in London, where he started his entrepreneurial career. Shortly after moving, he worked as a sales and marketing manager for his uncle, gathering skills and knowledge that paved the way for him today. Despite its organic roots, Mango Logistics earned $300,000 in its first year and doubled in the second year, growing about 20% year after year with a total of 60–65 FTEs. Daniel Levan-Harris says that as small and medium-sized businesses grow, their owners should pay attention to their networks. As you can build meaningful relationships around it, it can help you improve professionally, and help your business in terms of marketing. He said, "Having a great network is a must that I've set, and I've built my business, my contacts, everything, on all the networking I've done over the years, and I'll never stop." This Cast Covers: How Troy and Daniel knew each other way back in the 2000s. Mango Logistics Group, a courier company. Daniel's life journey before his entrepreneurial success. The importance of building relationships within a company. Growing a company organically. Degree of difficulty bringing in desirable employees. Adaptability to various situations and different relationships. Staying true to your core values. Quickly getting rid of people who induce toxicity. Links: Daniel's Linkedin Daniel's Company Website Additional Resources: The Chimp Paradox: The Mind Management Program to Help You Achieve Success, Confidence, and Happiness by Dr. Steve Peters Quotes: "Keep on moving the goalposts to what you consider an achievement." — Daniel Levan-Harris. "You need a good brand to market it and you need a good marketer to market the brand." — Daniel Levan-Harris. "Bringing in good people, that's hard work and it's very hard to work it out." — Daniel Levan-Harris. "Having a network is probably the most important thing, especially if you're a sole owner." — Daniel Levan-Harris. "Stay strong on your core values." — Daniel Levan-Harris.