Monday Morning Radio

This week's guest, Michael Craig, is the owner of Creature Coffee, which he launched just over two years ago with a budget of $1,000 – all that he could scrape together at the time. Creature Coffee probably isn’t the most successful coffee startup in the nation. But Craig and Creature Coffee are the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit – courageous, determined, and – perhaps – a bit wide eyed.

Water is big business, with more people in the U.S. drinking bottled water than soft drinks, and new packaged-water entrants continuing to flood the market. Duane Stanford, executive editor of Beverage Digest, was one of the judges for this year’s water competition, and he joins host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart to talk about the innovators and entrepreneurs who are making a big splash in the water industry, and the rip currents they face.

On a special edition of Monday Morning Radio, Alan Murray, president and CEO of FORTUNE magazine, shares the business and journalism insights that he’s gleaned during the course of his 40-plus year career. In particular, Alan talks about how FORTUNE, under his leadership and new ownership, is positioning itself to be the preeminent global business media brand.

In this one-minute preview of next week's podcast, featuring Fortune Magazine CEO Alan Murray, he explains how Fortune selects it covers and who get to grace them. Alan is interviewed by host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart.

In this one-minute preview of next week's podcast, featuring Fortune Magazine CEO Alan Murray, he describes the ingredients of building a preeminent brand. Alan is interviewed by host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart.

In "The Bezos Letters" author Steve Anderson dissects the 21 annual letters that the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has written to shareholders to glean the essence of his business philosophy. Most amazingly, Anderson tells host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart, Bezos is relying on those same 14 principles not only to continue to grow Amazon at a rapid clip, but also, soon, through his privately-owned Blue Origin aerospace company, to revolutionize space travel and manufacturing.

Exposure in Inc. magazine or its annual Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing companies assuredly will bolster the reputations and prospects of any small business. But what kind of stories are the journalists at Inc. interested in – and is there a backdoor shortcut to landing on the Inc. 5000? Inc. Magazine's Editor-in-Chief James Ledbetter provides an up-close look at how Inc. operates, and what type of stories appeal most to editors and readers alike.

From Colchester, England, Gina Gardiner shares with host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart her five secret pathways to “thriving, not simply surviving.” Gina’s mission now, she says, is to help one million people discover their “Genuine Selves” within the next five years.

Whether you’re a treasure-hunting hobbyist or simply looking to offload some business, household, or collectible items you no longer want, Aaron LaPedis can guide you how to buy and sell most profitably.

Michael Goldsby and Rob Mathews, two professors of entrepreneurship at Ball Street University, have encapsulated Walt Disney’s magic rules of success into a must-read book, Entrepreneurship the Disney Way. As Goldsby tells host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart, two traits that Disney embodied that to this day are hard-wired into The Walt Disney Company are an obsessive commitment to product quality and a refusal to stop innovating and creating.

Genecia specializes in teaching woman the secrets of successful online marketing and digital branding. This week, she connects by phone from the Republic of Singapore with host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart, and explains why her step-by-step system of success speaks a universal language. Oh yes, men, too, stand to learn a lot from Genecia’s playbook.

Owning a business while raising a family is challenging enough. Mix in caring for one or both aging parents, and the complexities of life expand exponentially. Liz O’Donnell, who enjoyed a fast-paced career in marketing, can speak from experience. She was already juggling her job and two children when both her parents were diagnosed with terminal illnesses on the same day.

There are strategies of when, how, and why to use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, and Andrea Stenberg is an expert at helping small business owners and entrepreneurs harness them. Good content – including the use of self-produced videos – Andrea explains to host Dean Rotbart, is only part of the equation. More importantly, knowing exactly how to target prospective customers and clients, and how to buy paid messaging, will determine whether even the best content ever gets noticed.

Rudy Schmid is a veteran accountant and first-time author who’s written a book – America’s Guide to Starting Your Own Company – that’s helping large numbers of young adults launch their own side hustles free of the flaws that too often hobble new businesses. The concise book is also helpful for established businesses, especially when it comes to hiring and managing people, and sizing up banking relationships.

Jordan Goodman is one of the country’s best-known personal finance journalists and authors, appearing frequently on national radio and television call-in shows to answer consumer questions on how to save and invest wisely. With 13 books under his belt, including the encyclopedic 992-page Everyone’s Money Book, he joins host Dean Rotbart this week to dispense insightful personal finance recommendations with a special emphasis on the finances of small business owners and entrepreneurs.