Relationships Rule

Elaine Tan Comeau knows the ups and downs of being a mom entrepreneur.  She went from being a school teacher to accidentally inventing a children’s product (launched off her kitchen table, right after her third baby was born), to CEO & Founder of one of Dragon’s Den favourite pitches, Easy Daysies, which incited a bidding war among all five Dragons. Elaine has won numerous awards and accolades along the way and is now a highly sought-after keynote speaker, author, and CEO of Easy Daysies.

If you agree that referrals come from relationships and are the least utilized yet best tactic in a business owner’s tool box – then you will love this episode! Stacey Brown Randall is the multiple award-winning author of Generating Business Referrals Without Asking, host of the Roadmap to Grow your Business podcast, and a national speaker. She has had the privilege of helping well-known corporations and franchises, but her focus is on small business owners and solopreneurs. 

Laurel Rutledge’s tagline speaks to her brilliance:  She seeks to get you out of your rut or talk you back off that ledge.  She left a 30-year career in corporate America to focus on serving bigger and broader.  Her passion is teaching the art of “leading with your heart but acting with your head” to build the business or career that you desire.  

The first thing Mike Manning and I bonded on is that he puts family first – a man after my own heart.  He is a proud husband, father, and grandfather.  He is also a business coach, podcaster and business owner.  Mike is passionate about helping small business owners either start their business, or grow their business to the level they want it to be.  He loves hearing people’s stories and tells a good one himself. 

Karen Joseph is a transplanted New Yorker who started her networking business in her new home of Arizona, over 12 years ago, to help her husband’s business.  She is a natural networker and entrepreneur and quickly grew her own organization from one chapter in the southeast part of Arizona to many chapters throughout the U.S.  Karen, as a former teacher, really focuses on teaching her network members and has an educational segment in all her meetings. 

James Muir is the founder and CEO of Best Practice International and the bestselling author of the #1 book on closing sales - The Perfect Close.  James is a 30-year veteran of sales having served in every role from individual contributor to Executive VP.  His mission - to make the complex simple.  James has extensive background in healthcare where he has sold-to and spoken for the largest names in technology and healthcare including HCA, Tenet, Catholic Healthcare, Banner, Dell, IBM and others.

Janice Scholl has made an entire career out of talking about money and business.  She left a successful 10-year banking career as she knew there was something else out there for her. She began mentoring female entrepreneurs in 2012, and now uses her knowledge and experience to support mothers in the areas of money, career and business. 

Mary Charleson, is a sought-after marketing speaker, educator and strategist.  She inspires business leaders to understand trends and generate new ideas to make marketing more effective.  She is the author of two books, Word of Mouth Mouse & Mobile and Five-Minute Marketing, each featuring tips for the time-starved business leader.  Mary’s career spans over 20 years in media, advertising and education. 

Andrew Deutsch is a multilingual global strategic marketing and sales consultant whose has successfully driven business growth in more than 100 countries.  His extensive global travel experience creatively melding practical strategic business concepts with solid psychological theory are behind his bold and innovative methods.

Bruce Marshall is the #Rookie Sales Pro – a businessman who has found his niche in the sales training world by using music to teach the challenging redundancy that can plague the life of sales people.  He makes sales training, motivating sales people, and retention of best practices fun, hip and current.  Bruce has a great story to tell – and he even gives us a sample of his musical talents on this podcast. 

You can feel the energy of my guest, Alon Zaibert, on this podcast.  He has earned the reputation of being a highly impactful motivational leader and is a great interview.  Alon’s passions for inspiring people, establishing processes, and building authentic business relationships are truly unique.  Tapping into his infectious energy and positive attitude, Alon teaches his clients to find their own power.

At an early age, Judy Carter discovered that the messes in her life were great comedy material and could be used to inspire others.  As an author, Judy doesn’t like to brag, but she did write the Bible.  No joke, she’s the author of The New Comedy Bible which rose to #1 book on comedy on Amazon and is the go-to book for anyone launching a career in comedy. Connect with Judy: www.judycarter.com – stress is a Laughing Matter https://themessageofyou.com – training speakers to become her competi

The power of building relationships for business is never as important as it is in the real estate industry – and no one does it better than my guest, Patte Gilbert.  She has built her reputation as a top agent in the Calabasas & Hidden Hills areas of Southern California by caring about her clients. 

Tracy Repchuk is the CEO of InnerSurf International through which she leads and empowers people to develop a freedom-based business by systemizing, streamlining and scaling to success, all while working from home.

My guest this week, Lorraine Ball, has a wonderful sense of humor.  Ringleader, head honcho, top cat – take your pick.  After spending too many years in the corporate world, Lorraine was tired of the bureaucracy, the sameness, the bad coffee.  She was tired of forcing herself to fit inside a square hole and founded Roundpeg 18 years ago, a digital marketing company – which she has grown into a successful, vibrant agency, in Carmel Indiana.