The Catholic CEO Podcast
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How to build a profitable business, build wealth, create great products and service, and act according to Catholic principles, featuring a 52-week case study.
Available episodes
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Apr 24, 2023
Catholic Money with Andrew Flattery
Andrew Flattery speaks about simple ways that Catholics can invest and remain faithful. The topics range from real estate investing to purchasing individual stocks to bitcoin to gold to savings as alternatives to standard retirement investing.
Find Andrew on his podcast The Reformed Financial Advisor and on his website:
https://simplewealthkc.com/
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Apr 20, 2023
Investing as a Catholic with Rick Dennis
Rick Dennis, owner of Conservative Retirement Solutions, LLC and Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO, talk about the faith and retirement investing. Rick specializes in annuities, which provide fully guaranteed income in retirement versus the stock market, where you could lose all your savings.
Rick also shares his conversion story from the Church of Christ to Catholicism.
Learn more about Rick Dennis and his business here:
https://www.safemoneyhouston.com/
https://safemoneyrick.com/
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Apr 12, 2023
The Truth of the Catholic Faith with Bryan Mercier
Henry interviews Bryan Mercier, a courageous disciple of Christ and his Church. As a college student, Christ transformed Bryan from angry, hateful, and depressed, to overflowing with love, joy, peace, and new life. His radical conversion revealed his life’s purpose — to ignite God’s love, light, and fire in people’s lives, and in the Church at large.
Find Catholic Truth here:
https://catholictruth.org/
https://www.instagram.com/catholictruthofficial/
https://www.facebook.com/CatholicTruth.org
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Apr 4, 2023
Catholic Economy: Practical Steps with Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson joins Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO, to talk about practical steps you can take to start your own business. Mark has studied the history of Catholic businesses from the middle ages on. He has solid insights into how Catholics can do this today with peace.
Read more on Mark's website: https://ecclesiasticalventures.com/
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Mar 24, 2023
Catholicism & Law with Jason Poblete
A faithful Catholic, Jason Poblete is a partner in the law firm Poblete Tamargo, LLP in Alexandria, VA. He formerly worked in government and uses that experience in his practice.
Jason has also started the Global Liberty Alliance (GLA), which empowers victims and supports local communities to confront systemic oppression and foster an international awareness of fundamental freedoms and equality before the law.
See Mr. Poblete's work here:
Global Liberty Alliance
Poblete Tamargo, LLP
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Mar 17, 2023
Sacred Music with Alexis Kutarna
Henry has a surprise interview- his daughter, Alexis Kutarna. She is a leader in the sacred music world and is a PhD. candidate. Her dissertation is on Pope Benedict XVI's thought on sacred music.
Alexis' website: chantschool.org
Buy the book co-authored by Alexis from Ascension Press, Solemnities: Celebrating a Tapestry of Divine Beauty
https://ascensionpress.com/products/solemnities-celebrating-a-tapestry-of-divine-beauty
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Mar 9, 2023
Debt and Catholicism with Tom Zordani
Tom Zordani is an expert on the biblical meaning of debt. His amazing story includes getting out of $125,000+ personal debt to now being debt free.
Tom is an author and speaker on debt in the Catholic community. Find
Tom's work here.
Contact Tom: tomzordani@faithfinances.org
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Jan 19, 2023
The Catholic Economy is Possible with Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson delves into the history of the creation of Catholic economies. He also shares a few models of how to do this now. The models are Ecclesiastical Ventures and Nicodemus Ventures.
Learn more: https://ecclesiasticalventures.com
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Dec 19, 2022
Time to wake up, Catholics!
Things are not quite right.
With things back to "normal," Catholics have relaxed.
We can't do that! Wake up!
Join our Catholic community in The Catholic Economy Project: https://www.thecatholiceconomy.com/
Get Henry's free business strategies emails for Catholics: https://www.thecatholicceo.com/
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Dec 12, 2022
Year End Tune Up
Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO, gives 5 quick points of interest for your business at the year end. With a recession looming, your business must be sharp and on point.
Get free business strategies from The Catholic CEO: https://www.thecatholicceo.com/
Create a Catholic Economy- buy from Catholic businesses. Join The Catholic Economy Project:
https://www.thecatholiceconomy.com/
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Dec 6, 2022
Supporting Catholic Authors with Kate Frantz
Kate Frantz is the founder of Thy Olive Tree, and the author of My Catholic Keepsake.
Learn more about her faith journey, and her conversion to Catholicism. Learn how she became an expert at self publishing. Kate is now helping other Catholics self publish at the Fiat Self Publishing Academy.
Find Kate here:
https://www.thyolivetree.com
Fiat Self Publishing Academy:
https://www.thyolivetree.com/pages/fiat-self-publishing-academy
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Nov 14, 2022
Thomistic Philosophy with Dr. Brian Carl
Brian Carl is the Director of the Center for Thomistic Studies and an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX.
Visit the Center for Thomistic Studies: https://www.stthom.edu/Academics/Centers_of_Excellence/Center_for_Thomistic_Studies/
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Nov 3, 2022
Catholic Life and Entrepreneurship with Jorge Argenti
Jorge Argenti is an entrepreneur and an engineer based in Florida. Learn more about his faith journey, and his years of being a Catholic.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Sep 20, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Episode 10: Lonely at the Top
Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO talks about the loneliness of being a CEO or business owner.
It's difficult to find someone to confide in regarding your business troubles. What do you do about it?
-It's often not possible to go to your spouse or other family members.
-It's important to find a mentor, if possible.
Ideas to help those who are lonely at the top:
1. Set up a PAB (Personal Advisory Board)
2. Join a peer group
3. Don't overburden your family with business problems
4. Start a business leaders group in your parish
5. Book a social visit with your business friends
6. Go to adoration
7. Pray to your patron saint(s) and your guardian angel
8. Read the lives of the saints and fathers of the Church
9. Pray for solutions
https://www.thecatholiceconomy.com/
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Sep 16, 2022
How to Support the Catholic Economy
Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO gives concrete ways to support The Catholic Economy in the following categories:
1. Prayer
2. Fasting
3. Almsgiving
4. Buying
5. Selling
6. Advising
7. Funding
8. Hiring
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Aug 18, 2022
How Catholics ruined the Catholic economy of the past
Catholics are complicit in the current culture because we have been silent. We have let the evils of today slowly creep into popular culture. Now is the time to stand up.
We need to create a Catholic culture and economy. Join us in this endeavor.
The Catholic Economy Project website: https://www.thecatholiceconomy.com/
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Aug 15, 2022
Liturgical Music with Adam Bartlett
Adam Bartlett is the CEO and Founder of Source & Summit.
In this episode, he shares how traditional music has affected his Catholic faith journey all throughout the years.
Find Adam Bartlett here: https://www.sourceandsummit.com/
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Aug 4, 2022
John Cannon: Founder of Sent Ventures
John Cannon is the founder of SENT Ventures, a non-profit social venture that fuels Catholic entrepreneurs to meet their business, personal and spiritual goals with the support and accountability of a community.
Find John Cannon here:
https://sentventures.com/
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Jul 29, 2022
Catholic Entrepreneurship with Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson is the founder of the Ecclesiastical Ventures program for homeschooled students and their families. He also founded Curvware, an innovation in cutlery.
In this episode, Mark talks about his faith journey and how God has helped him in his business.
Find Mark Wilson here:
https://ecclesiasticalventures.com/
https://www.curvware.com/
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Jul 21, 2022
Contemplative Life with Sister Claire, prioress of Queen of Peace Monastery
Sister Claire is prioress of the Queen of Peace Monastery in British Columbia, Canada. They have 6 women who are aspiring to become contemplative nuns at this time.
Henry and Sr. Claire talk about her vocation, the work the sisters do and the business side of running a large property and organization.
You can find Queen of Peace Monastery here.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Jul 13, 2022
Marriage and Family with Patricia Sison
Patricia Sison is the Founder of the organization “Centre for Marriage and Family” based in New Zealand.
The organization aims to strengthen marriage and provide support for families to become communities of life and love.
Patricia and Henry discussed:
-Patricia’s Catholic journey
-Moving to NZ and how the organization started
-Spearheading a prayer vigil in NZ due to a new law that was about to be passed that time (2013)
-What the Centre for Marriage and Family does
-The state of families today
-Patricia’s plans for the organization in the future
Find Patricia Sison here:
https://www.marriageandfamily.org.nz/
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Jul 6, 2022
Accelerating Catholic Businesses with Joseph Valentic
Joseph Valentic is the President of The Growth Advocate, a company that is passionate about helping people and their businesses grow up to its full potential.
In this episode, Joseph talks about his Catholic journey and how he started his own business in a Catholic way.
Some topics Joseph and Henry discuss:
* How Joseph started his Catholic Journey
* Joseph talks about his conversion and what was it like
* Process of starting and running his own business
* Where does Catholicism come in place to Joseph’s business
* The Catholic culture with Joseph’s clients
* After all these experiences, what advice would you give to a young startup company/ biz
* Young people coming from a culture of having business in their family
* “What are your clients asking you in terms of economic prospects?”
Find Joseph Valentic here: https://www.thegrowthadvocate.com/
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Jul 1, 2022
Brian Holdsworth: Communicating Catholicism Through Digital Media
Brian Holdsworth is a Catholic speaker and writer trying to serve the mission of the Church through Digital Media.
He produces his own content that varies from Catholicism to current events, liturgy, art, tradition, and so much more.
Find Brian Holdsworth here:
https://www.brianholdsworth.ca/ https://www.youtube.com/c/BrianHoldsworth/featured
Some topics Brian and Henry discuss are:
1. Brian's conversion and story
2. Brian's process of becoming a public figure.
3. How to attract youth to the Church through the truth and beauty of the liturgy.
4. The economy in the near future.
5. The Church in the near future.
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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Jun 18, 2022
The Domestic Church with Deacon Darrell Wentworth
Deacon Darrell Wentworth is a general contractor and Catholic Deacon who is passionate about building Christian neighborhoods.
He builds physical structures as his job and builds the domestic Church within neighborhoods as his life work.
Find Deacon Darrell here:
www.ADC.cmax.tv
www.AwakeningTheDomesticChurch.com
St. Joseph, pray for us!
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May 27, 2022
Sacred Music with Mark Donnelly
Mark Donnelly and Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO, speak of the faith, music, and business from a Catholic perspective.
Up until 2020, Mark was most recognized for his immensely popular appearances singing the national anthem at NHL games, and was commonly referred to as “Mr. O Canada”. As the Signature Performer of the Vancouver Canucks, Mark had won the hearts of hockey fans and all Canadians from coast to coast by holding the microphone to the crowd and encouraging them to sing along to his solid and unabashedly patriotic version of the Canadian national anthem.
While continuing to sing as a soloist, over the past two years, Mark has made composing and Gregorian Chant instruction the greater part of his musical activity. In 2021, he, his wife, Catherine, and the younger four of their nine children relocated to the United States to facilitate the promotion and work-shopping of his music. Two of his composition were recently recorded by the Benedictine Nuns in Gower, Missouri, o…
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May 18, 2022
Catholicism and Faith with Steve Hemler
Catholic Apologetics Institute of North America (CAINA): https://cainaweb.org/
CMAX.TV videos of several of CAINA's apologetics presentations: https://cmax.tv/partner/caina
Registration for May 23 Zoom presentation on The Science and Significance of Eucharistic Miracles: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMld-itrDopHNXAYH6l8kqswWxocCZi-JFz
Catholic Distance University's Online Apologetics Seminars: https://cdu.edu/online-seminars/
Steve Hemler's Trilogy of Apologetics Books: https://www.amazon.com/Reality-God-
Laymans-Scientific-Evidence/dp/1618907131/ https://www.amazon.com/Search-No-More-Truth-
Happiness/dp/1505112745/ https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Stories-Faith-Hope-Suffering/dp/1505118549/
For the past 10+ years, Steve Hemler has been president of CAINA (Catholic Apologetics Institute of North America) The have powerpoint and video based apologetics topics, such as, how do you know God exists, how do you know Jesus is the Son of God, etc. Young people especially ne…
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Apr 29, 2022
Lisa Canning: Catholic Mindset Coach and Businesswoman
Get your free ticket to the Possibility Mom Business Summit April 29-May 1, 2022
Get your ticket to The Catholic Economy Project work session, Building the Catholic Economy: Session One on May 3, 2022.
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Apr 23, 2022
Catholic Wall Street Lawyer Mario Kranjac
Henry interviews Mario Kranjac, Wall Street lawyer, mayor, and venture capitalist about the faith, law, government, politics, education, and more.
0:34 Mario is an attorney- transactional business law; general partner in venture capital fund in the life sciences; mayor of Englewood Cliffs, NJ
3:24 What it’s like to be a Catholic lawyer in NYC
-people know he is Catholic and he knows people of other faiths and they get along and honor/respect each other’s faith
-there are Catholic lawyer groups in New York
-works with people with values, no matter their religion- will turn people down if they are not the right fit
7:25- Venture capital in life sciences
-technologies that enable better outcomes in patient care and therapy
11:20 Political world
-what caused him to run for mayor- it was a dare
-his family came from what is now Croatia, but was Yugoslavia then
-he complained that there was a father-son mayors for 42 years in the town where they generated lots of wealth…
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Apr 7, 2022
Protecting Your Family Online with Jeff Jimenez
Contact Jeff about the free security audit: jeff@halocybersecurity.com
-this is available for families and small businesses
-it is available until April 17, 2022
-Just mention that you saw Jeff on The Catholic CEO podcast
1:30 Jeff speaks about his faith journey
2:46 The difference between Catholic and public school- Jeff grew up in both
10:20 Jeff speaks of the community of Catholics and of filipinos
15:00 Everyone was "family" in the filipino community
16:15 Jeff is homeschooling his kids and relies on families with kids slightly older than his kids for advice and has adapted throughout the years
23:52 Cathedral High School in Houston is a new high school with a classical curriculum- it will help build a more Catholic culture
26:00 Jeff speaks about his work in cybersecurity- how he got into it and how it helps him live his vocation
33:20 There are large corporations that are pushing agendas that have a time box of 2030
-Jeff feels like he can't live out his faith at wor…
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Apr 5, 2022
Family Business Case Study #52: Conclusions
Conclusion of the case study. The business has approximately doubled in size in the last year, in-house manufacturing will soon be the majority of the business, and the successors are preparing to take over.
Read the blog post.
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Apr 1, 2022
Investing and the Catholic Economy: Episode 8 of The Catholic Economy
How investment will work in the Catholic economy:
The reason to invest in Catholic businesses is, simply, to build more Catholic businesses. The end result is to support the Catholic family and allow us to engage the culture more on our terms. This can reduce the pressure on those employed in the corporate sector.
There are 3 types of support: grants, loans, and equity
1. Grants. Grants should be available to worthy Catholic start-ups and other businesses. People at the parish level, or wider, can contribute to a pool of funds that would be distributed to worthy businesses who had advisors.
Money could be granted with certain parameters and due diligence. Even if it’s a fairly small amount, like $10,000, it would help Catholic businesses survive and thrive. The good ideas would get funded while the poor ideas or the ideas that need more thought, would not.
2. Loans. We could have a pool of funds for loans at the local (parish) level or larger (diocesan/city) level available. An…
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Mar 29, 2022
Family Business Case Study #51: Story of a Business
The penultimate week in the case study where the client gives some thoughts on mentoring, growth, and the future of the business. The Catholic CEO: small business mentor.
Read the blog post.
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Mar 23, 2022
Grant Crowell on Running a Catholic Business
Henry interviews Grant Crowell, owner of The Urban Foresters in Houston, TX. Grant's company is a tree service that is quite labor intensive. It's not an easy business to run because of the number of people needed, but Grant sees it as a way to help more people strive for virtue while working hard.
Grant speaks of his faith journey from being a cradle Catholic to a crisis of faith in college to St. Josemaria Escriva’s “The Way” leading him to start his business.
Grant has a degree in forestry. Foresters manage forests in rural areas. They manage trees to be harvested mainly for the paper industry. It’s like long-term farming.
He began tree trimming with a company when he was not sure what to do, and because he had a forestry degree. He worked there for 5 years, then the company sold out to a private equity firm. He didn’t like the new company and the buy-out of the company. So he started soul-searching when this happened because the new company wanted him to sign a non-com…
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Mar 22, 2022
Family Business Case Study #50: Valuation of a Business
Today the client and I discussed a singular moment that only happens about once a year – that special moment of high frustration where you just want to pack it all in and sell the whole thing to someone “this afternoon”!
I discuss with my client the 4 methods of valuation of a business. It is good to know the value of your business when it's time to sell.
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Mar 18, 2022
Investing as a Catholic with Paul Mladjenovic
Henry interviews Paul Mladjenovic, who was born in communist Yugoslavia, in what is now Croatia. His experiences as a very young boy in a communist country formed him into the pro-capitalist he is today.
Paul is also a devout Catholic, so he incorporates his faith into his work life. He wrote "Stock Investing for Dummies," and several other titles dealing with investing for the Dummies series. He was a certified financial planner for 30 years. He has given over 2500 seminars throughout the years, but he does them mostly online now.
Near the end of the interview, Henry asked Paul what the average Catholic (or anyone) should do with their money in the next 5 years. Paul had three points:
1. Assess your current situation and convert items you have that you don't use into cash. In other words, declutter your home. Then invest that money. Sell things that are depreciating in value and invest them into things that are appreciating in value.
2. Assess the things that you love to do and ar…
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Mar 15, 2022
Family Business Case Study #49: Moving Jigsaw Puzzle
A business is like a jigsaw puzzle where the pieces change shape and color and where the table on which the puzzle sits rotates around the room.
Read the blog post.
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Mar 12, 2022
Exemplary Catholic Leaders: Tony Warren on Critical Thinking, Philosophy, etc.
Tony Warren is a true Catholic intellectual. He is an inventor and businessman who survived a plane crash that began his journey back to the faith.
His background as a ski racer brought him to the Latin Mass. After practicing the Catholic faith for a time, he met the priest in a ski shop on Christmas Eve. This priest, Fr. Sumich, is a great skier and was the pastor of the FSSP parish in Calgary, Alberta, where Tony lived at the time. Love for skiing and faith brought Tony deeper into Catholicism. He was able to ask Fr. Sumich about Catholic things on the chair lift and answered them beautifully, which brought him to a greater faith.
Henry and Tony also speak about logic, German philosophers, French post-modernism, and how the people educated in these schools run many institutions now. Tony believes that truth will eventually win over these falsehoods, but there is much work to do and faithful Catholics must band together to fight these false ideologies.
Tony speaks about homeschooli…
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Mar 10, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Part 7: Responding to Criticisms of The Catholic Economy
We’ve had positive feedback from people on the idea of a Catholic economy. Most of this has come from Henry’s podcast appearances on The Catholic Gentleman, The Catholic Canuck, and LifeSite New TV, and a LifeSite News article.
One objection I have heard is, why would we want to start a Catholic economy when we should be trying to change the economy, not start a parallel economy?
We believe that we should be pushing for development of a Catholic economy, not to create a parallel economy, but to influence the culture and to make positive change.
The Catholic economy can be accomplished in the family, in the parish, and in the wider community.
Arguments for creating a Catholic economy:
Even if one argues that there's a parallel economy that we're trying to create, what's wrong with that?
Let's take a look at some examples:
* The Catholic church. As, you know, invented the university system. The university education system is an actual invention of the Catholic church.
*…
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Mar 7, 2022
Exemplary Catholic Leaders: The Catholic Woodworker, Jonathan Conrad
Henry interviews Jonathan Conrad, founder of The Catholic Woodworker. They speak on many topics, including struggles in the faith, spiritual warfare, building and running a Catholic business, and much more.
See the ministry and products at The Catholic Woodworker website
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Mar 2, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Episode 6: Transitioning Your Family to the Catholic Economy
4 ways to transition your family to a Catholic economy
The point of these four ideas is to create a Catholic economy where Catholic families can operate as independently as possible from the culture.
In a Catholic economy, Catholics would operate as an economic block and cause some change in the culture. These four ideas for actually sequential steps that you could take inside of your family to transition from the old economy, which is kind of a wage economy where one of the parents or both of the parents are out working in corporate culture. They would then move to a traditional Catholic family model that is more poised for the way the world is increasingly looking.
If you're working in the corporate world, you understand that the culture is gradually pressing in and it's causing inconvenience and concern for Catholics. At some point, we're going to see that it will become impossible to remain Catholic and stay in your job. You're going to have to choose.
Step 1: create an entre…
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Feb 28, 2022
Family Business Case Study #48: Handling Economic Uncertainty
Topic covered in this mentoring session:
* Packaging issue
* Route driver situation is getting settled
* How my client is handling the current economic situation.
Read the blog post.
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Feb 23, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Episode 5: Action Steps Toward a Catholic Economy
What do we do at the parish and community level to build a Catholic economy?
I speak about 5 different areas to accomplish this:
* How we should buy from Catholics and Catholic-owned businesses
* How we should sell to Catholics and Catholic-owned businesses.
* How we should employ Catholics- as employees, contractors, and suppliers
* How we should invest in Catholic businesses
* Providing business advice so more people can build businesses
1. Buy from Catholics
-We can create Catholic networks.
-Create buying groups, such as painting, landscaping, HVAC, etc. among parishioners.
-Set up specific industry groups within the parish or wider Catholic community.
-ex: all the Catholic plumbers in an area would need to buy all their supplies.
-they would work together to get a better deal on supplies
-Buying from Catholics doesn’t require extra money because these are products or services you would use anyway.
-It would be a resource for parishioners to buy from other…
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Feb 21, 2022
Family Business Case Study #47: Business Model Put Into Practice
In today’s work session I saw that the client has used his road trips (due to the resignation of a route driver and the corresponding challenge in finding new employees in a timely fashion) to think back about his dual strategy of investing in “in-house manufacturing” vs. investing in “service expansion through a second location”. He is putting his business model into practice.
Read the blog post.
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Feb 18, 2022
Exemplary Catholic Leaders #2: Michelle Dunne
Michelle Dunne is a Catholic Strengths Coach. She helps people know themselves- the way God created them- and how to best live your vocation through knowing how God created you. She can help you discover what you ought to do with your strengths.
Contact Michelle:
Book and appointment with Michelle
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Feb 16, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Episode 4: What is a Catholic Economy?
Principles of a Catholic Economy:
* Catholics can freely evangelize the world without repercussions from woke culture in an ideal state of affairs of a Catholic Economy. The ability to freely evangelize would be a hallmark of a Catholic economy.
* The Catholic economy is where the family is supported. This means that the father and mother can fulfill their roles in the procreative and unitive aspects of their marriage, and educate their children, to get everyone to heaven. The Catholic economy would especially help those families that are not intact because they will need more help from the outside.
* Jobs and training are available to fellow Catholics. If you want to work for an overtly Catholic-run business, you could find such a company and they would exist. There would be a job board for such businesses. You can find fulfilling work in a business run in a Catholic manner.
* Business start-up advice and mentoring would be available. There would be a network of advisors. The…
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Feb 14, 2022
Family Business Case Study #46: Firefighting
The client loses a salesman/delivery driver. As is normal with the small business owner, the boss is the next man up.
Instead of complaining about someone quitting without notice, the client uses this time to connect with customers on the route and uses the windshield time to think about the business on several levels.
Read the blog post.
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Feb 11, 2022
Catholic Business Leaders #1: The Liturgy Guys Host, Jesse Weiler
Jesse Weiler is the host of The Liturgy Guys podcast and director of The Liturgical Institute. In this interview, Henry and Jesse discuss a variety of business issues that Jesse has encountered in his work life, including working within the structures of the Catholic Church.
Jesse specializes in communications and marketing. His projects include creating the online courses for The Liturgical Institute and starting The Liturgy Guys podcast.
Learn more about The Liturgical Institute.
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Feb 9, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Episode 3: How to Handle Losing Your Job For Conscience Reasons
The Catholic CEO recently held a workshop for people who have lost their jobs, or may soon lose their jobs, for conscience reasons.
The workshop had 3 tracks.
1. Stay and Fight -The speaker was John Carpay, president and founder of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
* John gave practical steps people can take to fight for your conscience rights in the workplace.
* He also gave some hope to the participants through his wisdom and experience in these matters.
* Visit the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms website.
2. Find a New Job
* Speakers were Donna Crombie, coach, mentor, and career counsellor; and Michelle Dunne, Catholic strengths coach.
* Donna gave insight into how to tap into the hidden job market, where most of the jobs are available. She also gave tips on interviewing and resume building. -
* Get help from Donna:
* Michelle helped people to transition into a new job by offering a way to help people know their…
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Feb 7, 2022
Family Business Case Study #45: Year End Review & Goals
At this meeting, which took place just before Christmas I asked the client two questions:
* What were the main 2021 highlights in your business?
* What will be your main goals and priorities in 2022?
Read the blog post.
Who is Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO?
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Feb 3, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Episode 2: Pro Tips For a Catholic Business
In this podcast:
A few principles to inform your business decisions and some typical tests that businesses use, with a Catholic focus.
Catholic Business Principle 1: Truth vs. Profit
Catholic business owners need to think about the truth of every word and action of the business. This is not relativism, or "my truth," but it is THE truth. Your words and actions in business must be true. A Catholic business owner, or employee, can not sacrifice truth for profit. By profit, we mean wealth, competitive advantage, pricing, profit, etc.
Catholic Business Principle 2: Integrity vs. Profit Integrity is related to truth, but slightly different. It is that every word and action of the business are consistent with each other. How you make, design, market, guarantee your product or service must be reliable, honest, and stable. People, customers, and employees alike, must be able to count on you doing what you say you will do. It is Christlike- to be the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow- in…
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Jan 31, 2022
Family Business Case Study #44: Real Estate
This week the client has developed the real estate bug!
Is this good?
Normally I’d say not because it introduces a new specialty knowledge requirement and can take an entrepreneur off focus. But in this case it’s good.
Read the blog post.
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Jan 26, 2022
The Catholic Economy, Episode 1: How the Catholic Business Treats People
How to price your products as a Catholic business:
* There has been some predatory pricing recently with inflation and hoarding of certain products. Predatory pricing is setting prices so low that you drive your competition out of business. Do I price my products or services to attract customers and improve my business by offering a better value, or am I trying to drive my competitors out of business? We must avoid practices designed to eliminate our competitors- it’s aggressive and unjust.
* There are many just strategies that we can adopt to improve our business while avoiding predatory pricing. The Catholic business owner needs to properly price his products in a way that is fair and demonstrates, to his advantage, the goodness of his products or services, but avoiding the predatory pricing that is designed to drive your competitors out of business.
How to treat our employees as Catholic business owners:
* Many companies offer flexible start and finish times with core hou…
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Jan 24, 2022
Family Business Case Study #43: Goldmine!
We hit a goldmine! I heard some classic observations “from the heart” from my client – after years of struggle and toil. It was amazing!
Read the blog post.
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Jan 4, 2022
Family Business Case Study #42: Inflation
The main topic this week is inflation. What to do about it?
A big debate going on now is whether the current inflationary pattern is caused by monetary policy OR by money flooding into the market over two years of a pandemic.
Don’t be fooled by that dilemma. It’s a trap. The problem this is creating for a business is the same in either case – shrinking margins.
Read the blog post.
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Dec 27, 2021
Family Business Case Study #41: Navigating Growth
When you do several acquisitions the fun part usually is the deal making, the prospect of the future revenue stream, and the excitement of doing something new and bold.
The not so fun part – but equally necessary and probably even more important than the fun part—is the tedious fine-tuning, the equipment refurbishment and set-up, the juggling act of moving equipment from location to location, and all the small stuff like wiring, storage, production line efficiency, supervision of remote locations, etc.
This is the unseen, unglamorous part of doing these deals. But it’s the most satisfying because you are seeing it through to the end. You are doing the other thing entrepreneurs do besides think big and bold. You are doing the fine detail stuff that makes the difference between success and failure.
And, best of all, you are putting your stamp on the whole thing.
THAT is what makes business so much fun!
Read the blog post.
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Dec 22, 2021
Navigating Woke Culture as a Catholic Business
What do we do, as Catholics, when the state or culture tries to force us to promote things not in accord with Church teaching? It may cause us pain. We may be fined, charged, canceled, attacked publicly, if we overtly display or live our faith.
Some issues we need to be strong on because they are non-negotiable.
* End of life issues- Euthanasia is the killing of a person before their natural end. Catholic business owners must oppose it. We may be asked to support it by join buying groups that require your support. It is essential to properly vet all organizations you work with. We must support life until its natural end. What happens if you not only resist, but promote Catholic culture? it’s difficult, but the Catholic business owner must do this.
* Beginning of life issues, including abortion, contraception, and illicit procreative technology. Regarding a business, we can’t have insurance for employees with abortion care and certain fertility procedures that are inimical to…
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Dec 20, 2021
Family Business Case Study #40: More Locations, Better Market Response
This “empire”, this group of shops, is now complex and interwoven! Because of this we will begin to see great efficiencies and internal advantages for shifting equipment, people, and, of course, capital between and among locations.
The LESSON today: More locations = higher market response + efficiency + strength.
Read the blog post.
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Dec 17, 2021
How to be a Catholic Running a Catholic Business
How to visibly demonstrate, by your actions and decisions, that you are a Catholic running a Catholic business:
* During the workday- have some quiet time available- if everyone is Catholic at your business, have prayer time at the beginning of the day.
* If there are people of other faiths, have a quiet time, prayer, reflection time, etc.
* It is better and takes more courage to actually say that we start our workday with prayer.
* Bible study- during a break or lunchtime, have a bible study
* Challenge for Catholics is that we use authority to interpret the bible
* We need to know what we’re talking about or invite someone who knows what they’re talking about, like your parish priest
* Display of religious art
* People are sensitive to this, so many business owners hide their faith
* It would be powerful if someone walked into your place of business and saw an icon or a crucifix or some other Catholic art
* Put a Catholic symbol on your packaging or produc…
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Dec 13, 2021
Family Business Case Study #39: The Word is Getting Out!
In today's podcast:
While continuing along with the acquisition of that new shop located just outside a major metropolitan area – the one where the current owner was in the process of buying it from the previous owner and where the current owner has some IRS tax trouble, and has actually stopped making payments – another deal fell into the lap of my client. I’m not kidding.
Read the blog post.
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Dec 10, 2021
Family Business Case Study #38: Intuition vs. Analysis
One of the biggest challenges in business is the analysis you need to do for an acquisition.
I’m speaking of financial simulations, margin calculations, pricing policy, inventory and cash flow, invoicing and collections policy, and so on.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not at all criticizing the use of analysis and good spreadsheet simulations.
These are very valuable and you can’t really do good business without them.
But the lesson that came zinging back to me today was the old one about using your gut feel and your rules of thumb that you have honed and perfected over the years.
Read the blog post.
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Dec 8, 2021
Facing Ethical Dilemmas in Business as a Catholic
An ethical dilemma is a temptation to deviate from charity, truth, justice. It’s an apparent choice from an action that is true, just, or charitable versus one that is opposed to truth, justice, or charity.
If we make the wrong choice, we sin, either venially or mortally.
Therefore, if we are Catholics who want to get to heaven, we must do the right thing.
Every action we take in business must be measured and clarified against a simple question: does this help me to get to heaven or not? If it does, proceed. If it does not, why are we doing it? Life is complex and the enemy is always at work, so we need to pray and think about our business decisions.
In this podcast, I will talk about 3 things
1. The customer
a. Don’t short your customer. It can be a gain in inventory while you have charged the customer for it, but a Catholic business will be fastidious against this.
b. Do we have a service based on time? It’s easy to pad the timesheet. It’s a form of shorting the cust…
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Dec 6, 2021
Family Business Case Study #37: Manufacturing Focus Ahead
More about the various acquisitions that have taken place and that are currently in the planning phase.
Set up and planning is going on now for in-house manufacturing. Interesting thing: This is about a $2.0 million investment and will take about a year to accomplish! The machine set-up, acquisition, linking, and a whole host of other steps are now clearly in mind.
Read the blog post.
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Dec 3, 2021
Family Business Case Study #36: Steady Growth
This week we discussed:
* Some continued acquisition possibilities, including machinery and entire shops.
* Now that the last acquisition is in the books, my client has turned his attention back to the possibility of a new building for the original plant.
* Continued work on the succession plan by helping the successors to learn the difference between working the hours vs working until the job is done.
* The fantastic German engineering of one particular machine that has had extensive use.
Read the blog post.
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Dec 1, 2021
Creating a Parish Economy
Have you lost your job due to conscience reasons or do you think you will soon?
If you want to start your own business, here are some options we have to help:
In this video:
Parishes often have large budgets and thus economic power. If the parishioners would start businesses around the needs of the parish, this could trigger a parish economy.
Some ideas to start are to supply the parish with some of its needs from its parishioners, rather than outside vendors. Some of these products and services are candles, vestment and vestment repair, wine, altar breads, charcoal and incense, painting, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, drywall and structural materials, roofing, design and engineering, alarm systems, security monitoring, food service, catering, event planning, babysitting, childcare, teaching and tutoring services, transportation services, etc.
It is critical to remember that there are many volunteer services happening at parishes also, so we do not want to create businesse…
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Nov 29, 2021
Family Business Case Study #35: Financial Analysis of an Acquisition
Cash Flow From the Recent Acquisition:
At this point in the case study, six weeks after the date of acquisition, we see that cash flow from the acquisition is starting to appear on the books – mainly because the deal allowed receivables to remain with the vendor. Early Stages of Running the Acquisition
There is another interesting action item that my client has learned over the years. “Keep the old brand in place until six months or a year later.” Other Acquisition Possibilities
NOW, my client can look to another acquisition potential – a shop south of a major metropolitan area that is suffering from some complicated challenges – but which could be picked up in a straightforward deal.
My client has a rule of thumb that he calls the “$100,000 revenue per employee or don’t do the deal” rule! The point is that you should have your own rule of thumb as both a test for your own business strategy and as a check on the more sophisticated analytical tests you may run on you…
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Nov 26, 2021
Family Business Case Study #34: Multiplying Acquisitions
Our focus today was an update on various acquisitions and acquisition plans – it’s a vast chessboard of options and scenarios.
This is exactly what makes the art of business so exciting and – honestly – so complex! Key Lessons Learned in this Session:
The financing options are all multiples of revenue compared to the cost. These are all small shops with a variety of good and “less good” operating patterns and histories – but they are all actually good acquisition options.
This high earnings multiple thing is a rare factor. But it needs to be acted upon immediately because the historical circumstances that brought them about may not come back for a generation – or even EVER!
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Nov 22, 2021
Family Business Case Study #33: Business Purchase Surprises
Visit our website.
This week the client and I discussed the kinds of surprises you might find when you first take over a business you’ve purchased.
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Nov 15, 2021
Family Business Case Study #32: Steel Shortage
The top of mind issue today was the shortage of steel and thus the delays (and costs) of obtaining “blanks” for in-house blades.
Read more about Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO
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Nov 13, 2021
Family Business Case Study #31: Patience is a Virtue
This is the situation today. We took a two-week break because of family visits to the home of my client – family that included “the marketing brother” and his family. This meant that a lot of good behind the scenes business discussions were going on. So the break from this case study was fine.
If I were to specify a theme for today’s update, there would be three points (see below) that I would summarize as:
“Be patient; Be conservative financially; Delegate more.”
Or, to give a bit more detail:
*THINGS ARE ON TRACK BUT MOVING SLOWLY. PATIENCE IS STILL A VIRTUE, PARTICULARLY IN BUSINESS!
*BANK IS SUPPORTING THIS ENTERPRISE. WHY? LOTS OF REASONS BUT ONE IS A LONG HISTORY OF PRUDENT OPERATIONS!
*THE OWNER STILL DOES THINGS THAT NO ONE ELSE KNOWS HOW TO DO. LET US HOPE THAT NO ONE GETS HIT BY A BUS UNTIL THIS IS SOLVED!
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Nov 9, 2021
Can Catholics Be Successful in Business, Part III: Catholic Business Metrics
Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO, delves into what it takes for a Catholic to be successful in business. First, he lists the standard business metrics that make a business successful. Then Henry walks you through the specifically Catholic aspects of business that makes one a successful Catholic business owner.
Standard Metrics for Running a Business:
1. Cash flow analysis
2. Forecasting
3. Debt and line of credit analysis -the difference between these and equity capital investment
4. Social media and SEO knowledge and expertise
5. Margin analysis- two key features -knowing your margin -protecting your margin
6. Profit analysis
7. Market share
8. Sales growth
9. Customer satisfaction
10. Accounting ratios
Catholic Business Index: how Catholic is your business? -What do we do that is different from conventional businesses?
1. Prayerful approach to business.
2. Catholic version of the "Plus-Delta:" an analysis tool for what to keep (Plus) and what to change (Delta).
3. Respe…
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Nov 8, 2021
Family Business Case Study #30: Weekly Business Metrics Dashboard
Here is a summary of our talk on how to create weekly metrics on business performance in a “dashboard” style report.
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Nov 5, 2021
Family Business Case Study #29: Small Business Reality
Today’s topic is the “fireside chat” every founder should have with successors.
It happened when I asked a few questions about how the client really felt about the readiness of his successors to take over the business – even with an orderly, well-planned transition.
What came out was not only interesting but also foundational for a succession plan win.
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Nov 2, 2021
Family Business Case Study #28: Pleasant Surprises
Features today – a lot of “pleasant-ness”:
* Pleasant surprise: A competitor goes out of business and asks my client to buy the equipment and the customer list.
* Pleasant news: The bank agrees to everything.
* Pleasant news: The acquisition deal can finally close.
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Oct 27, 2021
Family Business Case Study #27: Growth by Leaps
Read more about The Catholic CEO, Henry Kutarna.
In today’s work session we spoke of two exciting trends in this family business:
* Growth
* Objective Performance Measures
Why do I call it exciting?
It’s because what’s happening is something we often see in a business that is based on a good solid foundation. This business is not built on sand. It’s really built on a solid rock foundation!
Solid foundation businesses grow in step-wise fashion. They rarely grow on a steady percentage increase in sales every year. If that were the case for most businesses we would see ordinary organic growth resulting from ordinary, steady activities such as sales, product improvements, or gains in efficiency.
Rarely have I seen what I am about to tell you today.
Hang on to your hat! This is a very rare combination of factors. For these factors to come together at a single point in time is not only exciting, but also sure to create a very attractive business.
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Oct 26, 2021
Family Business Case Study #26: Lessons Learned
Halfway through the case study, The Catholic CEO reviews the lessons learned so far. Catholic business mentoring program. Catholic business coach.
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Oct 22, 2021
Can CatholicsBe Successful in Business? Part II
+Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO, gives a layman's 9 point checklist for being more fully Catholic, in business and life in general. If you are a serious Catholic business owner, you will want to live your faith to its fullest.
+The 9 point checklist for living more fully Catholic:
1. Read sacred scripture.
2. Read magisterial documents.
3. Read encyclicals.
4. Listening to good sermons/homilies.
5. Read good books.
6. Study different Catholic topics/subjects.
7. Pray- Daily & Sunday Mass, Rosary, etc.
8. Learning the important issues of the day, especially the issues that are inimical to the Catholic faith.
9. Get advice from external advisors- confessor, mentor, etc.
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Oct 21, 2021
Family Business Case Study #25: Taxation & Inflation Concerns
As the economic picture improves the news is full of commentary about hyperinflation, supply chain troubles, government money printing, and people saving their own money at a high rate because of all the free government money, etc.
For the small business owner the fear of inflation and tax increases in this kind of scenario is a big deal.
In the end, the cost of money (i.e. interest rate) is so low that investment decisions likely will not be strongly affected. Some acceleration of capital spending will occur.
And there will be a boost in consumer spending as the pent up demand for certain products and commodities picks up.
So, not surprising – either on the concern or on the reaction to the concern.
It’s the typical small business thing – we worry about inflation and taxes and government policy. But then we thread the needle and navigate our way through the concern and keep on building our businesses! It’s not fatalistic to say – what can we do? Let’s just keep moving…
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Oct 20, 2021
Family Business Case Study #24: Estate Planning
Estate Planning was the key topic today – the kind of topic that eventually comes up in a family business. Some topics discussed regarding estate planning:
* models for tax efficiency
* family trust model
* estate freeze
* corporate structure model
* kinds of shares
* various kinds of insurance policies
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Oct 18, 2021
Can Catholics Be Successful in Business? Part I
This podcast will give you the basics of the approach of The Catholic CEO. How can you, as a Catholic, escape the pressure of the woke culture? Start a business of your own- that's the answer given by long-time investor, business owner, business mentor, and traditional Catholic , Henry Kutarna, The Catholic CEO. And The Catholic CEO is here to help you start your own business.
Become independent of cancel culture today. Start your own business, rooted in Catholic principles, such as subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is the principle where decisions are made at the most local level possible. Your family and work decisions should be made within the family, the fundamental cell of society. It will help you be a better Catholic, and help your family fight the lies of our woke culture. You can be Catholic and successful in business. Believe it!
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Oct 14, 2021
Family Business Case Study #23: Building Sales Capacity
Today the main topic of this work session is about building sales capacity:
* Route building software
* Market research to support sales people
* Finding great sales people
* Anticipating how to find great sales people who can sell to the next generation of customers
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Oct 13, 2021
Family Business Case Study #22: Acquisition Integration
Today the main topics of the working session included:
* How to integrate the newly acquired business into company operations.
* How to position the deal as a merger to inspire and satisfy customers.
* How to brand/rebrand the acquisition and accelerate revenue growth as it transitions to the main business.
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Oct 7, 2021
Family Business Case Study #21: Taking Matters into Your Own Hands
With the distribution deal off the table, my client decided to take matters into his own hands and manufacture the product himself. A real entrepreneur.
Read the blog post.
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Oct 5, 2021
Family Business Case Study #20: New Manufacturing Line
Rather than continue pursuing the seemingly dead distribution deal, the client will start his own line of blades with a test run on equipment he already owns. Read the blog post.
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Sep 30, 2021
Family Business Case Study #19: Emotions in a Family Business
The Catholic CEO has mentored many family businesses and runs a family business. Through these years of experience, he knows the pitfalls and has specific strategies to help negate the negative effects of them.
This session also has a segment on an offer to purchase mistake to avoid.
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Sep 27, 2021
Family Business Case Study #18
This week we discuss strategy for social media and dealing with competitors. There are also some serious concerns about the European product distribution deal. Read the blog post.
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Jun 29, 2021
Family Business Case Study #17: Handling Adversity
In this case study, The Catholic CEO looks into handling the frustrating issue of the distribution business owner who wants to sell because he is too busy with his other business, but is also too busy to respond to inquiries. Read the blog.
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Jun 19, 2021
Family Business Case Study #16: Lessons Learned
Some topics covered and lessons learned:
* The problem of low interest rates.
* How to actually write a blog post.
* The current business climate.
Read the blog post.
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Jun 15, 2021
Family Business Case Study #15: Distribution, Election Concerns, & More
This week: in depth discussion about the European distribution deal, marketing, and succession plan. Read the blog post.
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Jun 4, 2021
Family Business Case Study #14: Business Ideas & More
Today was a wrap up meeting that coincided with the end of the year 2020 and the Christmas Season. Since this series is coming to you on a delayed basis, some months after the fact, you’ll understand why the meeting was a year-end wrap up and a final, take-stock discussion.
Read the blog post.
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May 12, 2021
Family Business Case Study #13: Customer Expansion, Labor Struggles
The biggest issue that came up in today’s mentoring session has to do with the labour shortage – the challenge of finding people willing to work in this environment with a shop full of machinery and the noise and dust/dirt/grime of a manufacturing facility.
In another development, a long time customer just announced it is moving from 1 shift a day, five days a week to 3 shifts a day, seven days a week.
Read the blog post.
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Apr 29, 2021
What your cap table says about your business.
The cap table (capitalization table) reveals a great many things to savvy investors. This week I studied three different cap tables to discern situations and discover facts. This led me to muse about past cap table lessons.
The discerning investor can tell the following trends and signals about your business by studying your cap table. Even in the absence of a financial statement, minute book or business plan, the cap table speaks clearly.
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Apr 27, 2021
You Can Be Catholic and Successful in Business: An Interview with Tony Warren
Tony Warren is a practicing Catholic. He has a breadth and depth of knowledge in business, philosophy, psychology, and theology. His business endeavors include industrial sales/marketing, manufacturing, software design, mergers/acquisitions, and many more.
Tony uses critical thinking using logic and understanding of how humans think to arrive at epistolic knowledge; defined as justifiable true belief. He believes that an understanding of a secondary human need, that of belief in things that are beyond knowledge but within truth, is essential for human existence. These things create morals and ethics and help to provide for justice.
He is a truly remarkable man. Listen to find out how he believes that you can be Catholic and successful in business!
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Apr 26, 2021
Family Business Case Study #12: Marketing, Sales, and More
A wide variety of business topics were covered in this week's family business case study, including marketing and sales:
* Packaging can be used as marketing, more than just your logo on the box
* Website is a marketing and sales tool
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Apr 19, 2021
Family Business Case Study #11
Family Business Growth Strategy: Acquisition Frustrations and Positive Developments
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Apr 5, 2021
Family Business Case Study #10
In todays family business mentoring session we spent valuable time on three topics – the acquisition, the distribution deal with the European manufacturer, and the new distribution center.
The QUESTIONS this week are:
* Should he go ahead with the acquisition deal?
* Should he push for that distribution deal?
* Where should he locate the first distribution center?
* Is a social media strategy that important?
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Mar 29, 2021
Family Business Case Study #9
In this week’s working session we mainly covered social media issues.
The social media strategy is focused on driving traffic to the website – where the catalog and product listings are ready for immediate sale and shipping.
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Mar 24, 2021
25 Point Business Diagnostic
Developed by The Catholic CEO, this 25 point diagnostic will help you evaluate every aspect of your business.
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Mar 18, 2021
Family Business Case Study #8
This week’s work session covered serious talk about:
* The importation of the European product
* The staff development program.
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Mar 17, 2021
Business Review- Late/Post Pandemic
A nutshell guide into the various steps to take to review your business, taking into account the unique situation of the previous year. Including business plan review, 12-month average trailing analysis, etc.
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Mar 15, 2021
Family Business Case Study #7
This week’s work session covered a lot of general territory – staff development, progress on the acquisitions, tradeshows, discussions about representing a manufacturer in the US market, where to locate a distribution center, how to finance inventory, and social media.
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