Grow A Small Business Podcast

In this episode, I interview Jay Albany, Chief Executive Officer of Dirty Clean Food, a subsidiary of an ASX-listed company based in Southeast of Perth in Australia. Jay set up his business to help farmers grow their business and provide healthy and nature-friendly foods delivered in famous restaurants and grocery stores. From a leading member of a one-hour grocery delivery company, Jay decided to pursue new opportunities by growing a farm-based business. Dirty Clean Foods was established in 2015 and has been running for over 7 years. Became an ASX-listed company with $10 million annual run rate and 40 FTEs. Jay has said that growing a small business requires creating and maintaining good team members and high-quality products. So he says, "Success can be measured through a good response from your business partners and customers." This Cast Covers: Expert in advancing regenerative farming. Creating a channel for consumers to access produce with regenerative farming techniques. Transformation of acreage from Industrial farming to regenerative farming. Making money through online marketing delivery. Providing products to some independent groceries and top restaurants in town. A subsidiary of an ASX-listed company called Wide Open Agriculture. Learning how to combine high-quality produce and taste with instant gratification. Learning how to grow a food business by working with a varied network of small family farms. Helping farmers and entrepreneurs grow their small businesses by proper financing and regular data checking. Sharing ideas on how to stand out a business despite the huge competence. Additional Resources: Dirty Clean Food The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy Loonshots by Safi Bahcall ___________________ Quotes:"Building density is always a key for a distribution business." —Jay Albany"Having a stronger financial background will help you achieve your dream as an entrepreneur." —Jay Albany "Success can be measured through a good response from your business partners and customers." —Jay Albany "Do a lot of development work to overcome the difficulties in your business." —Jay Albany "Control yourself from interfering and start trusting people who have the best chance of building a good team." —Jay Albany___________________Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Monique Allen, Business Coach & Founder of The Garden Continuum Inc. based in Medfield, Massachusetts, United States of America. Monique has set up her own life-scaping company to help entrepreneurs, people in private, commercial, and government to ensure the longevity, vitality, and beauty of their home, business, and protected project areas.From blogging a business back in the 90s, Monique decided to start her own business with a teachable mindset and self-awareness. Garden Continuum Inc was established in 1991 and has been running for over 32 years.Monique said that to grow a business, you have to develop self-awareness and open your perspective to different realities. So she says, "the capacity of your business can only stretch to the capacity of you. And if you decide that you are not going to grow your own mental capacity, your own emotional capacity, or intellectual capacity, then the business gets stuck. So the best possible thing you can do is invest in your own self-awareness in your own growth."This Cast Covers: Understand how the best landscape practices meet up with the needs of the environment. Represents well over 100 years of experience and commitment to the Green Industry. Developing Landscapes Ensuring the longevity, vitality, and beauty of your home or business. Works with private, commercial, and government clients on sensitive and protected project areas. Ensuring the best environmental outcome and performance. Provides professional services in consultation, design, installation, and fine gardening. Provides business coaching and speaking. Life-Scapes for all Seasons Lifestyle coaching to grow business with passion and success. Additional Resources: The Garden Continuum inc Let Go to Grow By Doug and Polly White The E-Myth by Michael Gerber ___________________ Quotes: "Being able to feel incredibly impassioned about your craft is so different than believing you should be paid." –Monique Allen "Help owners to look at the honorable value of what they're offering, and realize that they're not actually selling anyone. They're providing a solution. They're providing a pathway to better living, why would you withhold that?" –Monique Allen "For me, success really has been able to have both of those worlds to love my work and love my family and not have to compromise with either one of them." –Monique Allen "The best possible thing you can do is invest in your own self-awareness in your own growth." –Monique Allen "Remember that if you want to be a leader, part of your job is to get comfortable with discomfort." –Monique Allen___________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io. "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Jaimie Abbott, the CEO, PR, and Communication Specialist at Jaimie Abbott Communications based in Newcastle, Australia. Jaimie has set up her own presentation skills training company to help entrepreneurs and small business owners become more profitable through Public Relations, Media, and Public Speaking training. With over 20 years of experience in media as a journalist and PR officer, Jaimie decided to leave journalism to pursue new opportunities. Jaimie Abbott Communications was established in 2013 and has been running for over 8 years. Became a six-figure business in 2019, quadrupled income from mid-2021 to now, and from 1 to 14 FTEs. Jaimie has said that growing a small business requires consistency and she thinks that it's the hardest thing in growing a small business. However, she also said that being consistent in everything you do would impact the future of the business. So she says, "Being consistent with marketing is important because that's how you would engage people in your business." This Cast Covers: Offering a broad range of services designed to boost one's confidence in front of any audience. Teaching people how to be better at public speaking, and how to do their PR through online courses. Running one-on-one sessions and group workshops to assist public speaking engagements. Helping entrepreneurs and small business owners become more profitable through Public Relations, Media, and Public Speaking training. An award-winning media and public relations professional with over 20 years in the industry. Expert in managing and developing high-level communications and engagement strategies. Became a six-figure business in 2019, quadrupled income from mid-2021 to now. Learning about how consistency would impact the growth of the business along the way. Learning how to be a great speaker to effectively tell a business story. Additional Resources: Jaimie Abbott Communications Rich Dad Poor Dad By Robert T. Kiyosaki Retire Young Retire Rich By Robert T. Kiyosaki __________________________ Quotes: "Being consistent with marketing is important because that's how you would engage people in your business." —Jaimie Abbott "The most successful people are those who are passionate about what they're doing." —Jaimie Abbott "Getting media coverage is an opportunity for small business owners to scale business." —Jaimie Abbott "Regular team meetings especially in this virtual world environment is important to have visibility on what each other is working on." —Jaimie Abbott "Don't let your ego get in the way of your business." —Jaimie Abbott __________________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Sarah Gibson, the Co-founder and Co-director of DesignByThem, a design house based in Canberra, Australia. DesignByThem is run by designers who are dedicated to creating and producing unique products for design professionals and enthusiasts alike. Products can be seen in any establishment worldwide. Established in 2007, DesignByThem was founded by industrial designers Sarah Gibson and Nicholas Karlovasitis. Sarah has designed a range of furniture, lighting, and accessories as well as curated and developed the work of other fellow Australian designers. The company has been available for over 15 years, obtained 100% growth last year with around 14 FTEs. In business, trust is hard to give. However, Sarah has their way to build trust in the company. She says, "Having a good conversation channel has been really beneficial for our team, it's bringing everyone into the decision-making process and that's been the most genuine way to build trust in our company." This Cast Covers: A design house that brings together and represents the best in Australian design. Representing the talent of Australian designers in a playful collection of fun and functional furniture and homewares. Creating an independent Australian design brand and platform for local designers to showcase their work. An industrial designer with a passion for business and Australian design. Has designed a range of furniture, lighting, and accessories as well as curated and developed the work of other fellow designers. Making incredible designs of furniture which are good in offices, firms, and businesses. The importance of hiring individuals with a better attitude than skilled ones. Making sure of providing the best quality design and products to their customers. The company is not about designs but also committed to reducing the impact of products on the environment and society. Aiming to do the work in meaningful ways through comprehensive product life cycle thinking. Additional Resources: DesignByThem Making Ideas Happen By Scott Belsky The E-Myth By Michael E. Gerber __________________________ Quotes: "Give yourself credit, you have to take note of those little successions along the way." —Sarah Gibson "Success is really enjoying what you do, but also making enough money to enjoy your personal life." —Sarah Gibson "With consistency, you will create a really loyal base of customers." —Sarah Gibson "How important it is to have people with a greater attitude than those with skills but by no means have respect." —Sarah Gibson "Having a good conversation channel has been really beneficial for our team, it's bringing everyone into the decision-making process and that's been the most genuine way to build trust in our company." —Sarah Gibson __________________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Chris Gwinn, the Founder and CEO of Great Lakes Advisory, a consulting company based in Chicago, USA, helping small to medium businesses with systems, processes, and training. The company's mission is to improve overall efficiency to lower operational costs, improve competitive advantage, and increase profitability. Great Lakes Advisory was founded in 2017 by Chris Gwinn after realizing the incredible impact that a solution like systems and processes and documented procedures could have on a business. He started by himself to now around 8 FTEs, growing revenue from $50,000 in the first year to last year's $400,000. The consulting has been available for over four years now. Chris says that the hardest thing in growing a small business is overcoming obscurity. However, if you surround yourself with the right people, have the right strategy in place, and have a team that shares the same vision, you can certainly overcome any circumstances. This Cast Covers: Building systems, processes, and training for small to medium businesses. Making businesses easier to manage by documenting their processes & building world-class training experiences. Helping business owners train new hires faster, serve more customers, and scale business. Improving overall efficiency to lower operational costs, improve competitive advantage, and increase profitability. Talking about the benefits of implementing process improvement. Optimizing business processes through training solutions. Sharing a passion for operations, processes, finance, investments, and working with people. Realizing the incredible impact that a solution like systems and processes and documented procedures could have on a business. Learning of true success of what business services can do to their clients. Additional Resources: Great Lakes Advisory The E-Myth By Michael E. Gerber Good To Great By Jim Collins The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People By Stephen R. Covey _________________________ Quotes: "If you own a business, you need to have that business running on systems and processes and repeatable operations so that you can really scale through." —Chris Gwinn "Success to me is that I have the ability to control my own destiny and my true success in this business is what our solution can do for our clients." —Chris Gwinn "Understand your target audience, collect as much data as possible so you can kind of understand your client's behavioral characteristics to effectively introduce your product or service." —Chris Gwinn "Figure out what you do best and what your customers value the most, be an expert of something so you'll become a dominant market player within your industry." —Chris Gwinn "Make sure that everyone else around you is serving customers the way that you want them to be served." —Chris Gwinn _________________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Bobby Jone, the Owner and Co-founder of Yellow Hammer Properties, a real estate company based in Birmingham, USA. Yellow Hammer Properties specializes in renovations, flipping, and investing in high-end single-family properties. Bobby is committed to providing excellent customer service by ensuring that all of the properties are in the highest quality condition that will make everyone feel at home. With over 20 years of experience in real estate, Bobby has scaled several businesses and established himself as an authority in the real estate industry. He Co-founded Yellow Hammer Properties in 2013 together with his business partner Mark Wilson. He has grown the company through making property investments and flipping business and now with 50 FTEs. Bobby defines success as using one's purpose, calling, and gifts to help others. He says, "I really feel like my purpose and calling is to lead others to financial freedom using Biblical principles." So, Jones utilizes his excellent leadership skills by guiding his agents to achieve targets. This Cast Covers: A real estate company, specializing in renovations, flipping, and investing in high-end single-family properties. Affiliated with the world-renowned eXP Realty Brokerage which has been instrumental in the growth of the company. Providing excellent customer service by ensuring that all of the properties are in the highest quality condition that will make everyone feel at home. A real estate investor who's not only looking for a transactional income but also passive and leveraged incomes. An impressive entrepreneur and a seasoned real estate investor who is highly enthusiastic and motivated to succeed. The importance of communication in building relationships and relationships in building a business. Learning to give back to others, using one's purpose, calling, and gifts to help others. Passionate about leading others to financial freedom using Biblical principles. The importance of learning how money works and how to manage them and where to use them, so it won't cause problems later on but keep leveraging. Additional Resources: Yellow Hammer Properties How to Win Friends & Influence People By Dale Carnegie Trump Never Give Up By Donald Trump John C. Maxwell ________________________ Quotes: "The only way to true wealth is to have passive income to the point that you have financial freedom, and the only way to financial freedom is when your passive income exceeds your expenses." —Bobby Jones "Success is using your purpose and calling and gifts to help others." —Bobby Jones "People can't follow you if they don't know you, which means you can't live in obscurity, you have to be omnipresent and you have to tell everybody that you know what you do." —Bobby Jones "If you can't communicate with people, then you can't build relationships, and relationships are the key to building any business." —Bobby Jones "If you don't believe it, nobody else is going to believe." —Bobby Jones _____________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Ugis Balmaks, the Founder of Recruiter Mill based in Budapest, Hungary, a recruitment firm specializing in helping online businesses hire the best talent to grow and scale their companies. Through the recruitment process, Ugi helps 7 and 8-figure businesses hire A-players in 6 weeks or less. After running and selling a 7-figure iPhone photography business, he discovered and learned the challenges of hiring people. He then launched a recruitment firm in 2020, has developed the skill to find the best candidate, and learned what distinguishes an A-player. He's now working to make this business a mid-six-figure and he's looking forward to adding more people to his side. Ugis has been helping so many companies in finding talented individuals to grow and scale. He also makes them understand the importance of looking for people who are the best in the role. For he says, "Always prioritize getting the best possible talent and person for the role." This Cast Covers: A recruitment firm specialized in helping online businesses hire the best talent to grow and scale their companies. Saving the time, effort, and frustration of having to manage the hiring process while running the business at the same time. The objective is to help small businesses find A-players for their team. Breaking down the fundamentals on what to look for in a candidate, how to research them, ways to drive applications, and details on the filtering process. An experienced and creative recruiter in the online marketing space. Managed to scale the previous business to high 7-figures in revenue and now working to make the current business to a mid-six-figure business. Introducing the recruitment company's proven 7-step recruitment process. How online businesses can build a team of A-players by applying the method or formula of the recruitment process. Not having the same standards as other recruitment agencies yet manifesting way more advanced standards and a well-formulated process. Additional Resources: Recruiter Mill Who By Geoff Smart Alex Hormozi __________________________ Quotes: "Make sure you can deliver a good product or system and every single step in that process needs to be streamlined." —Ugis Balmaks "If you don't find good people, you're just going to create more problems." —Ugis Balmaks "If you don't have reliable sales, then you should probably think about that." —Ugis Balmaks "Always prioritize getting the best possible talent and person for the role." —Ugis Balmaks "At the end of the day, you have your own responsibility, nothing happens if you don't do anything." —Ugis Balmaks __________________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Ben Bressington, the CEO of Behavior Sales, a Behavioral Intelligence company based in Florida, USA. Behavior Sales helps salespersons how they can connect with people faster and effectively close sales better through personality intelligence. The company has a product that identifies people's personalities based on the words they use. In 2021, Behavior Sales was launched by Ben Bressington, aged 38. He applied his Criminology, Law & Gamification training to hacking human communication to improve sales. This is a unique approach to improve sales and marketing and with that, Ben found growth in just a year, now making more than 100,000 conversations a day and from 1.5 to 7 FTEs. Ben says that what he loves the most in growing a small business is the challenge it brings, making each day different. He's loving more the routine of getting the work done and that working with them makes him realize that they are growing now and then. This Cast Covers: Helping people predict personality and use personality intelligence to improve sales conversion. Focusing on helping salespeople to improve their sales conversions and shorten their sales cycle. Offering a product that effectively converts an email address into a personality type. The product identifies somebody's personality and closes them based on the process and the model they are offering. Offering sales insights through live calls, transcriptions, and providing real-time feedback of what's going on in that sales conversation. Discovering how a person can connect with people faster and effectively close sales better. How to persuade prospects and stimulate their unconscious mind. Applying what he learned from doing criminology human profiling into sales and marketing. Additional Resources: Behavior Sales People Ignorant By Benjamin Bressington $100M Offers By Alex Hormozi __________________________ Quotes: "To understand your communication style, try putting yourself in the prospects and change some minor things in the way that you communicate." —Ben Bressington "Show interest in people's needs so you have influence over them and if you don't have influence, it's nearly impossible to make sales." —Ben Bressington "Take time to exercise physically because how you treat yourself physically will determine how you get through the day." —Ben Bressington "Find out what rewards your people, you'll be amazed how small tokens lift one's spirits." —Ben Bressington "Learning the success of others can be fascinating but learning the mistakes, failures, and lessons of others could be something more valuable." —Ben Bressington __________________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Alan Lazaros, the CEO and Founder of Next Level University, a self-improvement podcast based in Worcester, USA. Next Level University is an incredible platform that helps a variety of people get to the next level of life, love, health, and wealth through coaching, tips, strategies, and lessons learned along the way. They have featured many of the world's top entrepreneurs and thought leaders to bring wisdom to those who listen. Alan Lazaros is the co-host of Next Level University with more than 850 episodes reaching over half a million people in more than 120 countries. It started with 2 FTEs to around 8 FTEs. Alan decided to take control of his thoughts and his life after a fatal car accident he was involved in. Before Next Level University, he had a podcast called Conversations Change Lives where he met his co-host of the current podcast. Alan says that in order to grow and have a bright future, we have to put our own personal development first. "We believe that who someone aspires to matters more than who they used to be or who they are now, we believe the future is bright, based on the integrity of the individual and taking responsibility," he added. This Cast Covers: Helping people get to the next level of their life, love, health, and wealth. Believe that with the right knowledge, mentors, community & habits, people really can achieve both success & fulfillment. A Global Top 100 Self-Improvement podcast with more than 850 episodes reaching over half a million people in more than 120 countries. An incredible example of a role model to all heart-driven and growth-minded people around the world. Talking about the importance of personal development to be at their best so everything follows. How applying the principle of the law of attraction helps anyone who resonates reach what they believe they would become. The importance of health and fitness that must be cultivated by all business leaders in order to produce a healthy and long-term business. Enhancing skills and habits to not be perfect but to see progress in their works. Helping people get to the next level through coaching, tips, strategies, and lessons they've learned along the way. Believing that people with the right tools and the right education can be truly extraordinary. Additional Resources: Next Level University Tony Robbins The Art of Impossible By Steven Kotler The Compound Effect By Darren Hardy ________________________ Quotes: "We believe that human beings with the right tools and the right education can be truly extraordinary." —Alan Lazaros "The law of attraction works a lot better, the core values, aspirations, and beliefs of the business creates a culture that is just so magnetic to anyone who really resonates and repels people who aren't." —Alan Lazaros "Health and fitness are just so important and if the leader is not taking care of themselves, then the business will erode." —Alan Lazaros "Put your own personal development first because what is best for you is what's best for your business." —Alan Lazaros "You never actually get to perfect, just reflect on what you did well and poorly and then make it a little bit better and you will see progress." —Alan Lazaros ________________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In this episode, I interview Marilene Quintana, the Co-founder of e-Visa Immigration, an immigration consulting firm based in Vancouver, Canada. The firm provides visa and immigration consulting services for people around the world who dream of a better life in Canada. Assists clients from document preparation until throughout the process. Marilene is the co-founder and Senior Canadian Immigration Consultant at e-Visa Immigration. Before working with Immigration, she was a Certified PMP – Project Management Professional and obtained an undergraduate degree in Computer Science. With her experience in IT and project management, able to grow the firm from 1 to 4 offices with 57 FTEs, client satisfaction of 98%, and 20% growth per year. Marilene is organized and passionate about providing high-quality service yet understanding her clients' situations. She says, "You have to remember that you have to respect the feelings of every client, everybody has difficult moments." This Cast Covers: An Immigration Consulting firm that provides visa and immigration consulting services for people around the world who dream of a better life in Canada. A career consulting that helps people to understand how the Canadian labor market works and how to position themselves to find a good job in Canada. Consistently provide the highest quality services in immigration consulting. Advising customers regarding the most suitable program for themselves and family. Assisting customers with preparing the documentation and providing outcomes, keeping track of application's deadlines and applicable payments. Acting on one's behalf to the government authorities as well as responding to any question that they may have throughout the process. The importance of communication in serving clients and managing expectations. Standing out through standards of communication and commitment to negotiate. Providing comfort for clients through respecting their feelings and worries throughout the process of immigration. The importance of hiring professionals to assure clients to do their job correctly and that everything is going to go well. Additional Resources: e-Visa Immigration The 4-Hour Workweek By Timothy Ferriss TED Talks __________________________ Quotes: "You can be a very good professional in what you do but at the end of the day, you have to know how to serve your client well and manage their expectations." —Marilene Quintana "You have to remember that you have to respect the feelings of every client, everybody has difficult moments." —Marilene Quintana "Hiring a professional is always better, to give clients the assurance that they will do their job correctly and that everything is going to go well." —Marilene Quintana "There's always change and uncertainties but we have to learn how to deal with those and do what is right." —Marilene Quintana "You cannot make everybody happy so focus on the positive, focus on the people who are happier for you and appreciate you." —Marilene Quintana __________________________ Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0