First To Arrive, Last to Leave
Erin Gregor & Courtney Radloff
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Hear the stories of the business owners in the trenches, and how they built their businesses. All guests are graduates of the Goldman Sach's 10K Small Business Program (or teachers from the program), and share how they built a business large enough to qualify for the program and lessons learned along the way.
Available episodes
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Oldest first
Sep 21, 2023
Empowering Women in Business: Kate Isler's Journey of Entrepreneurial Success and Support
Learning to raise your hand can change the trajectory of your life.
In today's episode, we are joined by the incredible Kate Isler, an entrepreneur and advocate for women in business. Kate shares her journey of trial and error, acknowledging both her successes and failures in various aspects of life, including relationships, parenting, and career choices.
Kate discusses the importance of recognizing that nobody has a perfect life or career, but rather it is about learning from experiences and taking action. Inspired by her travels to different parts of the world, and to finally have the courage to step out and start her own business.
Kate shares her insights on the importance of choosing the right partners and mechanisms for growth, as well as navigating the world of investors. We also delve into Kate's unexpected career as an author and the lessons she has learned through her personal and professional experiences. Join us as Kate takes us on her remarkable journey, sharing valuable insights and inspiring us to take risks, embrace our potential, and celebrate the power of women in business.
To find out more about WMarketplace, visit: https://wmarketplace.com/
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Sep 7, 2023
Growing a Marketing Company Through the Pandemic and Beyond
After getting laid off, Terri Hoffman found herself interviewing for her next role. However, it wasn't until her recruiter told her she thought she should consider entrepreneurship that Terri really started to consider the idea.
It ended up that entrepreneurship was the right path for her, and after talking to a few mentors, Terri decided to try it. Marketing Refresh was born and she hasn't looked back.
Terri shares the ups and downs of running her business and why she decided to move her company from Houston to a virtual setting. She also talks about the growing pains of a company, and why it's been so important for her to build the right team and embrace staying in her own lane.
To find out more and connect with Terri, visit: https://MarketingRefresh.com
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Aug 31, 2023
Building a Family Business One Event at a Time
After getting laid off during maternity leave, Kate Winsor decided enough was enough. At this time, her brother also had his own business but was struggling in the day-to-day operations.
At that moment, she decided to help him with Cadence Studios, and this family business grew.
Kate joins Courtney and Erin on this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to discuss her journey from employee to entrepreneur and how she has had to learn to embrace the unknown.
She also talks about the uniqueness of her business and why being a women-led business in this industry has its advantages. She also discusses the obstacles she's had to overcome and how the Goldman Sachs' 10K SB program helped her to approach new deals and opportunities differently.
If you'd like to learn more and connect with Kate, visit: https://www.cadencestudiostx.com/
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Aug 24, 2023
Growing an Empire From Her Own Struggles
Middle school girls can be cruel, and that was what ultimately led Kelly Foreman to find a better way to style her curly hair.
In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Kelly, CEO and Founder of MopTop joins Courtney and Erin to discuss her journey from frustration over the products that were out there to finally creating her own.
She talks about the ups and downs of bringing your own product to market, and why being in all retails stores sometimes isn't such a good thing. She discusses the obstacles had to overcome, including throwing away thousands of product, and why her forever mission will be to help girls and women everywhere fall in love with their hair.
To find out more about MopTop, visit: https://moptophair.com/
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Aug 17, 2023
What's Holding You Back From Taking Control of Your Dreams With Brittany Traylor
What's holding you back from taking control of your dreams? If you have any excuse at all this is the episode to listen to as we sit down with Brittany Traylor or Traylor Transpo.
In this episode, we'll be diving deep into the journey of our guest, Brittany, as she breaks through barriers, overcomes challenges, and defies stereotypes to achieve greatness. From growing up in the foster care system in Germany, to moving back to the states to reconnect with her family, not knowing English, Brittany ended up working in trucking industry and then starting her own company.
Throughout our conversation, Brittany opens up about her transformative experience of starting her own business after seeing an opportunity to treat truckers better, the importance of embracing individuality, and the need for empowering education that fosters greatness. She also shares how her passion for trucking led her down a path to create opportunities and break social barriers, all while discovering her own potential.
To learn more and connect with Brittany, visit: https://traylortranspo.com/
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Aug 10, 2023
Pivoting to Prosperity: How a Specialized Architecture Firm Found Their Niche
How long would you fight for the success of your company? In reality, many business owners give up too soon, and it's the exact reason why Josh Kunkel is thriving with his company.
Josh is the Founder + Managing Principal at Method Group, and joins Courtney and Erin on this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about his journey from suddenly becoming an entrepreneur, not being able to win any contracts to finally getting the break he needed on a multi-million dollar deal.
They discuss the ups and downs of success, and how he's grown himself as a leader, which has then helped to grow his business. From historic preservation to housing projects, we discuss the niche specialization that sets Josh's firm apart.
For more information on Josh's company, visit: Method.Group
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Aug 3, 2023
Taking a Leap Into a New Industry as a First-Time Entrepreneur
It all started with an idea and a dream she expressed to her daughters, and then her daughters wouldn't let her walk away from it.
After falling in love with baking and always volunteering to make the baked goods for the kids' events, Daphne left a successful career in law to pursue her dream of owning her own bakery. This also came after a nudge from her daughter reminding her that she had encouraged them to live their dreams, but she was still sleeping on hers.
Daphne launched Subarz and found herself submersed in an Entrepreneur 101 class, but she's been loving every minute of it. She talks about what it took to grow her business, and how Goldman Sachs' 10K Program helped her to work on the business versus in.
She also talks about some of the growing pains along the way, and why she doesn't have a single regret about finally following her own dreams.
To find out and more and connect with Daphne, or order your own treats, visit: https://www.subarzsweets.com/
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Jul 27, 2023
Scaling a Business with Digital Marketing: Strategies, Technology, and Team Collaboration
Growing a company is no easy feat, especially when you're growing exponentially in a short amount of time.
On this episode of Frist to Arrive, Last to Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by Cheryl O'Hern of Spin Markket + Digital. Cheryl talks about leaving a Fortune 500 company in 2012 and going out to start her own company. She then grew her company from just a few employees to over 37, all during the pandemic, by convincing businesses that digital marketing was no longer just a nice to have, but a must.
She also talks about building a successful team, and what she has implemented to utilize the extensive knowledge of her employees in addition to the secrets of encouraging collaboration and creativity.
To find out more about Cheryl, visit: https://www.spinmarkket.com/
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Jul 20, 2023
The Dynamic Duo: Embracing Different Perspectives for Client Excellence
A 2-year partnership is hard to come by in the world of entrepreneurship, let alone a 12-year one. It’s the story of Hazel Geary and Rachel McFadden, co-founders of Drio.
Hazel and Rachel join us for this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to discuss their journey as business owners and friends and what building a successful company has been like. They also talk about the ability to hone in on their strengths.
They discuss their growth as a company and how it all began when Rachel took her engineering background and taught herself how to build and successfully grow a blog. She connected with Hazel, who had the sales experience to work on creating websites and marketing strategies for other companies.
They talk about how the Goldman Sachs program helped them look at their financials from a planning perspective and the impact it has had on their business. They also talk about the Four-Week Website, a program that helps clients learn how to reflect their brand values in a website and how to launch in just four weeks.
To learn more, visit: https://drioduo.com/
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Jul 13, 2023
Leading with a Servant's Heart: Supporting Team Members in their Personal Endeavors
On this episode of First To Arrive Last To Leave, we dive into the fascinating journey of our guest, Jackie Clayborn, CEO of ONC National. Jackie talks about how her entrepreneurial bug came while watching her parents both build their own companies.
She also discusses the importance of aligning goals within a team and shares valuable insights on leadership and mentorship. Drawing from their own experience in the automotive business, Jackie discusses the transformative power of effective leadership and credits their former boss for her personal growth.
Jackie also talks about why she decided to do the Goldman Sach's 10K program, and how it helped her to transform her company. She also talks about the challenges she faced when starting her own IT company, but how perseverance, self-belief, and figuring out everything along the way, all paid off. when starting their own IT company and how their perseverance and belief have paid off. She also shares how she has focused on creating a strong team who aligns with the company's culture and core values.
To learn more about Jackie and her company ONC National, visit: www.oncnational.com
or call 469.254.4542.
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Jul 6, 2023
Overcoming Delegation Challenges and Scaling Goals with Cheyenne Smith
Being the first in an industry can be a blessing and a curse, and Cheyenne Smith, Founder of Blk Hive Media and Dakota Ridge has found herself mostly loving the challenge.
On this episode of First To Arrive Last To Leave, we dive into the world of entrepreneurship and the challenges of navigating finances, funding, and scaling a business. Cheyenne opens up about her personal journey of starting a business and the financial struggles they faced along the way.
We also discuss the importance of being financially aware, calculating true gross margins, and finding opportunities for more non-traditional financial support. Cheyenne talks about how she found a niche in paid advertising and was able to leverage her knowledge to create her own boots for kids at Dakota Ridge.
We also talk about her journey with the Goldman Sach's 10K program and how she went in with one business, but came out working on another business, and how it changed her thought process around funding.
Cheyenne also tal…
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Jun 30, 2023
Exploring the Intersection of Sports and Business With Jarvis Hill
Can you apply what you learned while playing sports to business?
Actually, the intersections are endless, and Jarvis Hill wrote a book helping kids to understand that everything they learn from playing sports can be applied to the business world once they graduate.
Jarvis joins Courtney and Erin on this episode of First To Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about his book, 'Sports Biz: There's More To Sports Than You Think,' and why he's so passionate about helping kids learn that focusing on becoming great at a sport can set them up for a lifetime of discipline and success.
To grab your copy of Jarvis' book, visit: https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Biz-Theres-More-Think/dp/B0C1J1H38Q
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Jun 22, 2023
The Power of Analytics: Achieving Business Success Through Numbers
Before everyone was talking about data analytics, Robin Sturgis was already in the thick of it, helping venture capital firms make smart decisions through data.
When Robin was doing some data freelance work while also raising three teenage daughters, she found the opportunity for more and decided to hire and form her own company.
Since then infoFluency has grown, and Robin has used her own experience with numbers and trends to make the changes within her own business to scale and grow. She has since moved on to creating dashboards and helping specific industries understand the 360 view of their company through numbers and analytics.
Robin also shares how the Goldman Sachs 10K program helped her to see herself as a leader, and not just an entrepreneur, and how it helped her scale to that next level.
To learn more about Robin, visit: https://www.infofluency.net/
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Jun 15, 2023
Growing a Thriving Business While Working a Corporate Job With Nickquolette Barrett
Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?
Or in Nickquolette Barrett case, you can have your corporate job, a pension just around the corner, and a thriving business. Or as Nickquolette likes to call it, her Angel Investor.
Nickquolette Barrett is the Get Hired Strategiest, who first started helping people with their resumes so they could quickly climb the corporate ladder. As her clients continued to see more and more success, Nickquolette found herself in a bind where she had to figure out if she should leave her corporate job for her thriving business, or find a way to do both.
She learned how to leverage VA's to help her grow her business, and soon she found another business opportunity, and a way to continue to not lose her pension.
Nickquolette shares her amazing story with us today and offers some great advice on how you can grow your empire without burning out.
To learn more and connect with Nickquolette, visit: https://irockresumes.com
or follow her on LinkedIn:…
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Jun 9, 2023
From Negative Revenue to 7-Figures In Just a Few Years With Jennifer Scott
How many times would you get knocked down before walking away from your company?
For many it's one to a few, but there aren't many people who will still be standing after several. However, that's the story of Jennifer Scott, who had just set out to say that quitting wasn't going to be an option.
Jennifer's story is incredible from finding out one of her business partners was arrested for embezzlement, to having several of her key employees leave to start their own company, to getting sued after she tried to take over a sinking company, plus so much more. Jennifer, with her husband, refused to give up and never wanted to let down those people who stayed with them and believed in them.
She is now a success story, employing 22 people, and hitting over 7 figures, and she also thanks the 10K SB Program for her success.
I love these stories of success when you know there are a few amount of people who could have endured this yet still continue to pursue their dream to get to the other si…
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Jun 2, 2023
Bouncing Back After Disaster Struck With Josh Johnson
No one will ever claim owning a business is easy, but when you also have mother nature against you, building through a disaster can be extremely difficult.
The great Josh Johnson joins us on this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to discuss his journey into entrepreneurship, and how a combination of growing too fast along with Hurricane Katrina created an almost impossible situation to overcome.
Josh talks about what it was like second-guessing himself and feeling like he was about to lose everything, and what he did to come back even stronger.
He also discusses why he loves helping entrepreneurs see the forest through what can feel like an endless amount of trees, and what's next on the horizon for him.
We were truly honored to have him join us for this episode!
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May 26, 2023
Prioritizing Business Development: Building Connections Beyond Design With Ari Krzyzek
On this episode of First To Arrive Last To Leave, Courtney and Erin talk with Ari Krzyzek, CEO of Chykalophia, a creative and web agency. Ari shares her journey of building her company with her husband and how they continued to scale their business through various challenges.
She also shares how she had difficulty building a team and relinquishing control when hiring designers and the value of mentorship in navigating business basics and boundaries. Additionally, they discuss expanding networks and the importance of evaluating whether investing time into up-leveling your network is worth it.
We also discuss Ari's journey of doubling revenue and pivoting during the pandemic, along with what the Goldman Sach's 10K program did to help her grow her business.
To learn more about or connect with Ari, visit:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/arichykalophia/
Or visit her company at: https://chykalophia.com/
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May 19, 2023
How to Rebuild After Niching Down Your Services With Chris Botvidson
Just because you can do it, doesn't it mean you should do it.
That's often a hard lesson to learn for entrepreneurs, and many times as you're growing your business, you find yourself doing all of things. However, you then get a point where you've spread yourself so thin, that gaining momentum can be extremely difficult.
It's the story of Chris Botvidson, who built a marketing company and found him and his staff doing all of things, but found it was too much. It was then that he decided to just focus on video and content, and his business thrived.
Chris talks about making that hard decision and how he has focused on growing his business. He also discusses what happened when he had to split ways with a partnership. Plus, he talks about what the 10K program did for him.
If you'd like to learn more about Chris, you can visit his company at: https://www.fuelandspark.com/
To learn more about our hosts, visit:
Courtney at PurveyorsofFragrance.com
and Erin at PodGrowth.com
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May 12, 2023
Following a Knowing To Create a Life of Her Dreams With Cheryl Polote Williamson
We can often feel that we're stuck in a career path, or in a business, but what would be like if you listened to that internal voice, higher voice, (whatever you want to label it), and went with what we were feeling called to do?
It may sound crazy, but it's the choice that Cheryl Polote Williamson has made time and time again and that has led her to a pretty incredible life. Cheryl's not just an entrepreneur, but a best-selling author (15x), a producer, playwright, magazine owner, speaker, and so much more.
She joins Courtney and Erin on this episode of First To Arrive, Last to Leave, to talk about her journey, why helping women is so important to her, and what's next on the horizon of her amazing career.
To find out more and connect with Cheryl, visit: https://cherylpwilliamson.com/
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May 5, 2023
Finding Connection and Peace Through the Wilderness with Tami Gilmore
Many of us know we're supposed to be out in nature more, but many of us don't take the time to make this a reality. It's a mission for Tami Gilmore, founder of Wilderness Therapy Retreats, to help people reconnect with nature, and themselves to find more peace in their lives.
Whether it's a burned out mom, or a busy executive, our lives have lost enjoyment and connection because we're just trying to get through the days.
On this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Tami shares her journey from a therapist to launching her retreats because she saw so many great results from getting her clients out in nature.
She also talks about how just simply making changes and an effort for us to get out in nature, can have a huge impact to our daily lives.
For more information, visit: https://wilderness-retreats.com/.
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Apr 28, 2023
Overcoming Fires and Debt To Build a National Brand With Brent Reaves
Get your seat belts ready as this is quite a ride.
On this episode, Courtney and Erin welcome Brent Reaves, co-owner of Smoke John's BBQ, a nationally recognized brand located in Dallas, TX.
Brent's talking about continuing to build his father's legacy through the restaurant that his parents started, and his driving factor to get through all that life has thrown at him. When he took over the restaurant over 10 years ago, he discovered they were losing over $8000 a month. Instead of closing up shop, he decided to go old school and walk flyers around the area which started to drive business.
He also talks about overcoming a fire that destroyed their building, and kept them down for 18 months. By using other kitchens, they managed to keep their catering business alive.
Seriously, one of the best episodes yet, and a must listen for any entrepreneur on overcoming obstacles.
To learn more about Brent, visit: https://www.smokeyjohns.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: ht…
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Apr 21, 2023
How Following a Passion Led to Multiple Businesses With Sammi Bivens
When knocking on the door for opportunity doesn't lead to an opening, you build your own door.
That's the story of Sammi Bivens, CEO of the Marketing Maven, who has consistently found a way to build her own doors for her passion of marketing. Sammi shares how she first landed in the entrepreneurial world through jewelry and how her sales skills led her to learn how to create and grow an online store.
She also talks about how her desire to learn marketing at a corporate level, made her find opportunities within the company she was working to move in new roles and grow her skills.
Sammi then moved to Texas and decided to launch her own brand and take a leap that ended up paying off for her. She discusses some of the highs and lows of growing her own business, and what the Goldman Sachs' 10K Program has helped her change her vision for her business.
To find out more, visit: https://digimarketingmaven.com/
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Apr 13, 2023
Avoiding Burnout and Learning to Narrow Your Focus with Shelyna Tinglin
Burning the candle at both ends. It's a term known all too well for entrepreneurs, and one that left our guest, Shelyna Tinglin, in the hospital.
Shelyna Tinglin is a dual career realtor and coach who once struggled with burnout. After experiencing stress that landed her in the hospital, she talks about having to make a tough decision: which career to prioritize.
Choosing real estate over teaching, she learned the importance of niching down and understanding her target audience's problems. By identifying the needs of small brokerages and other potential clients, she was able to build her brand and provide better solutions. Shelyna also shares tips for avoiding burnout, managing workload, and reinvesting in your business. Through coaching and teaching, she helps real estate agents and entrepreneurs identify their strengths, create systems, and achieve actionable goals.
For more information, you can find her at: https://coach.shelynatinglin.com/
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Apr 7, 2023
Leaving the 'Good' and 'Safe' Job to Build Her Own Empire With Daris Frencha
How hard are you working building other people’s dreams?
It was a question Daris Frencha had to ask herself as she found herself loving sales and people, but her hard work was building a company that wasn’t hers. After she started working a side job with a company, selling legal benefits, she realized she was capable of starting something on her own.
Daris shares her story on this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to discuss her journey as an entrepreneur, and why she first hesitated leaving a very ‘good’ job and good situation to start her own thing. She also talks about what she’s done with organizations and associations to help grow her business through partnerships.
Daris also talks about the struggle of building her brand, and how she’s figured out how to scale. Plus we talk Goldman, and some of the lightbulbs Daris discovered while in the program.
To learn more about Daris and Benefits Boutique, visit: https://thebenefitboutique.com/
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Mar 30, 2023
How To Come Back After a Business 'Failure' With Erin Gregor
We're getting real and personal in this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave when the tables are turned to hear our co-host Erin Gregor's story. Erin shares how her journey of entrepreneurship has been one accidental venture after another.
She also shares how curiosity has been her driving factor for continuing to build and grow businesses, and why sometimes that can be a great thing and other times, a bad thing.
She also gets raw and real about a venture that, on the outside looked like it was a huge success, but in her eyes was a failure, and how it knocked the wind out of her for several years.
To learn more about Erin's Company, visit: podgrowth.co
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: purveyorsoffragrance.com
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Mar 23, 2023
Lessons Learned After Two Exits With Alane Boyd
After working for a company where she felt the staff wasn’t pulling their weight, Alane offered to help hire the right team and build the company to the potential she believed it had.
What ended up happening was beyond her wildest dream as she ended up becoming a co-owner, building another company, and exiting from both.
During her ‘retirement’, Alane started a passion project, wrote several books, and ended up helping other companies, which launched an entirely new company. Eventually, she and her husband were pulled back in the world of tech by building a software company called Arvo.
In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Alane shares her very honest stories about selling her companies and what she would do differently. Plus she discusses why working for the company she sold was one of the hardest things she has ever done.
She also talks about how her passion led her down a path that she discovered she didn’t want to continue on, and why that can be more valu…
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Mar 15, 2023
Helping Entrepreneurs Build Long-Term Wealth With Kelly Kunst
If there's one thing you can see almost immediately after meeting Kelly Kunst, is her passion for helping entrepreneurs make smarter financial decisions and build wealth for not just their immediate family, but for generations.
In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Kelly joins Courtney and Erin to share her journey into entrepreneurship, and how her grandfather instilled the desire to not just create a business, but create something that had a huge impact on others.
Kelly shares her story of moving from medical sales to the field of wealth management, and why she is so passionate about helping others not just make money but keep that money. She discusses how Goldman Sach's 10K Program helped her to evaluate a business she was looking to purchase, and how it helped her change her trajectory in her own business.
She also talks about her organization, Your Executive Symphony (YES), which she founded and chairs. YES is an educational forum dedicated to the privately held bu…
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Mar 8, 2023
Setting the Path To Break Out of Corporate America
What would it take for you to use your strengths and expertise to your own business? For Aliah Henry, there was a plan in place, and on the exact date, she set out, she finally branched out to her own company.
In this episode, Aliah joins us to talk about her journey from employee to employer, and the steps she took to ensure a successful career as a business owner. She shares some of the lessons she learned along the way, some of her biggest obstacles, and how has shifted her company out of only services.
To find out more about the Henry group, visit: https://www.thehenrygroupcon.com/
To connect with Courtney, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com
Or with Erin, visit: https://podgrowth.co
#businessgrowth #podcast
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Mar 1, 2023
When You Get THE Offer For Your Business With Ted Hill
'You always at least take the call when someone wants to buy your business', it's the advice from Deb Purvin, former banker and business numbers extraordinaire, that rang in Ted's ear when he got an interesting call about his business.
In this podcast, Ted Hill, talks about building a business with his dad and the challenges that came with it, in addition to running the business on his own, and how Goldman Sach's 10K program changed everything for him.
He also talks about why he never dreamed he would sell Life Benefits, Inc, but that one phone call changed everything and what his life looks like now after the merger. Plus, he talks about his role now as Vice President & Head of Employee Benefits Brokerage at Players Health.
Enjoy this very open and honest conversation about family, hindsight, and taking advantage of the right moments.
To connect with Ted, you can find him on Linkedin at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedhilltx/
To connect with Courtney, visit: https://purveyorsoffr…
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Feb 22, 2023
Educating the Next Generation Through Gaming With Maria Burns Ortiz
Although many parents try to encourage their kids to limit their time gaming, the right games can have an immense impact on growth and education. 7 Generation Games focuses on combining educational research, advanced game design, and innovative technology into video games that produce results.
Maria Burns Ortiz, CEO at 7 Generation Games, has been one of the driving forces behind this unique business, where game developers can share their passion for education and development.
Maria joins Courtney and Erin on this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about her journey of creating a tech company, embarking on a fundraising journey, and the obstacles she had to overcome in growing a large company.
She also talks about the future of 7 Generation Games, and why putting the development in the hands of others will be one of the drivers of their success.
To find more about 7 Generation Games, visit: https://www.7generationgames.com/
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Feb 14, 2023
Changing the Recruiting Model With Katie McConnell Olson
When you see something could be done better in an industry, do you have the courage to be the disrupter?
Katie McConnell saw an opportunity within the recruiting industry and decided to change her approach to a more collaborative one. Although it meant less money to her bottom line, the long-term trust and relationships she created with her clients ended up paying off in the long run.
Katie shares her story about deciding to do the model better and on her own, and how she took that leap of faith. She also discusses, some of the hardships she had to overcome including the pandemic. Plus she discusses how she's been able to build and maintain an incredible team during a time when finding the right talent has become harder than ever.
To find out more about Katie and GrowthWise Search Partners, visit: https://growthwisesearch.com/.
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Feb 8, 2023
The Secret to Hiring the Right Team with Jolene Risch
Finding and building the right team is more important now than ever, and in a world where talent won't stick around in a job that doesn't match, how do you ensure you're finding the right fit?
Jolene Risch joins us to discuss her journey from stay-at-home mom to building Risch Results, a strategic search firm that aligns top-performing talent with a company's culture and values. She shares how her interest in people from an early age sparked her ability to match talent, not just from a skills perspective but from a cultural fit perspective, to the right companies.
She also shares why diversity is so important to her and how her company helps others open their eyes to biases and helps them expand their workforce.
Jolene also talks bout her business and the three main factors that have had a direct impact on her growth. She also discusses how the pandemic was a difficult time, but how reconnecting with her why made her fall in love with her company all over again and push through the…
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Jan 31, 2023
When Your Business Becomes Overwhelming With Sasha Crabtrey
Every business owner has been there when they find themselves burned out and overwhelmed from wearing too many hats, wondering if they're cut out for this business ownership thing.
Enter Sasha Crabtrey, Founder of Remote COO, a company that helps businesses by managing their daily operations, giving owners the freedom to focus on their core competencies and growth.
Sasha shares her journey on this episode of First To Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about what it's been like running her own business for over 17 years. She also talks about going into the Goldman Sachs 10K program and how it helped her reevaluate how she set goals, plus she talks about how it helped her to change the way she hired.
She also shares some of the best advice she's ever been given and how she's been able to put the right team around her and live her dreams.
To learn more about Sasha, visit: https://remotecoo.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more…
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Jan 24, 2023
Tackling a Whole New Industry and the Fastest Growing Sport in America With Jill Christiansen
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, and after getting re-introduced to it a few years ago, Jill Christiansen decided to take her graphics design expertise and jump in.
Jill shares her journey moving from a thriving services-based company that was B2B to creating a product and moving into the B2C sector. She discusses where she began and how she was able to carve out her own niche in the market.
She also talks about the challenges of growing a business in an entirely new industry and some of her biggest lessons learned along the way, including how to more effectively collaborate with influencers, diving deep to connect with her ideal client, and how to stay true to her initial goal of being a brand for women.
To learn more about Jill and PepPickleball, visit: https://peppickleball.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more about Erin's company, PodGrowth, visit: https://PodGrowth.co
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Jan 17, 2023
The True Meaning of Perseverance and Believing in Yourself With Albert Marquez
Do you have what it takes to persevere no matter what comes your way?
It may seem easy to think yes. However, when several things don’t go your way, would you still keep going?
In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Albert Marquez, Founder and COO of 1 US Construction, visit Courtney and Erin to talk about his journey from a comfortable government job, to franchise owner and now the owner of his own construction company. He discusses how taking a huge leap when his job was going to make him travel led him to own his own franchise in an industry he had no experience in.
After finally getting close to a break-even point, he took the opportunity to sell and start something new. He talks about how it took him a long time to start learning how to win bids finally, but he never gave up on his mission to create a different life for his family. He was determined to pay back his borrowed savings to make this dream a reality.
He also talked about the 10k SB Program and how it…
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Jan 10, 2023
Helping Businesses Find an Extra $100K of Profit With Leslie Hassler
Could your business use an influx of $100k in profit? It may seem too good to be true, but it's what Leslie Hassler of Your Biz Rules does on a frequent basis.
Leslie joins us on First to Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about some of the biggest mistakes business owners are making when it comes to running their businesses, and why she's able to find so many opportunities for missed profits.
She also talks about her journey as an entrepreneur, and what led her to help others find joy in their businesses. Plus she discusses why she's so passionate about helping women think bigger and find ways to let the business become a complete lifestyle changer.
To connect with Leslie, you can find out more at: https://www.yourbizrules.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more about Erin's company, PodGrowth, visit: https://PodGrowth.co
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Jan 3, 2023
Utilizing the Power of Community to Grow a Business With Christy Nelson
In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by Christy Nelson, owner of MakIt TakIt, a crafting company in Lincoln, Nebraska. Christy shares her journey from a blogger to several years later, building her own crafting store by offering parties, classes, etc to local creatives.
She also shares how her love for creating and helping others led her to launch her own camp where people from all over can come and hang out, and learn from some of today's top experts in the crafting industry.
Christy shares her ups and downs, and how she had to overcome landlord issues and find new space at a challenging time. She also talks about hiring, and how she has created such a strong community and customer base. She also shares some of her key secrets to growth!
To learn more about Christy and MakIt TakIt, visit: https://makittakit.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more about Erin's company, PodGrowth,…
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Dec 27, 2022
When You Have No Choice But To Create Your Own Opportunities With Michael Battaglia
What happens when you're not quite ready for retirement, but the options offered to you are becoming fewer and further in-between? Well, in the case of Michael Battaglia, you start your own business.
In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by InsureYouToo's Founder, Michael Battaglia. Michael shares his story of when it was becoming harder to find a job, he had to make a decision to either give up, or play the hand he was dealt by creating his own business.
He discusses what it has taken to grow his company, and how he has had to overcome obstacles through changes like Obama Care being an option for the self-employed, in addition to COVID potentially shutting down a handful of clients.
He also talks about how he has built his business from referrals, and what has happened when he's had to change his strategy based on clientele.
Want to connect with Michael and learn more, visit:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebattaglia/
To learn more about…
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Dec 20, 2022
Educating Clients About a Problem They Don't Know They Have With Jim Steinmark
When seeking a new business opportunity, Jim Steinmark went to a conference and found a group of people who seemed to be genuinely excited about running their companies. When he wanted to find out more, he discovered that they were all service-based industries in the home sector. They were people like window washers, painters, etc.
Jim was then introduced to new technology in the outdoor washing industry. We all know that we should keep the exteriors of our buildings and homes clean, but most of us think of power washing. Although power washing works when it comes to cleaning, it also removes parts of your outdoor exterior.
Jim decided to start his own company, utilizing existing technology, and Patriot Softwash was born.
Jim shares his journey from corporate to an entrepreneur, and why he wanted to find a new option for launching. He also shares what it was like launching his business in February 2020, and what he had to overcome in order to successfully build his business.
He als…
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Dec 13, 2022
The Key to Analyzing Growth Opportunities
We often say we want to 10X a business, but could your business really handle 10x in sales? It’s common to want the numbers and growth that everyone tells you that you should want, but the truth is, you should really sit down and focus on what is best for you. The answer may surprise you.
This is just one of the things we cover in today’s podcast with Christina Rossini of R Squared Electric. Christina joins us to talk about her journey of revitalizing an electrical company that had gone a bit stagnant to letting us in on how she analyzes opportunities and determined what to move forward with, and what divisions needed to shut down.
She also talks about how she runs a family business, and what’s next on the horizon for this growing company.
To learn more and connect with Christina, visit: https://www.rsquaredelectric.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more about Erin's company, PodGrowth, visit: https://PodGrowth.c…
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Dec 6, 2022
Learning How Values Can Transform a Company Ashley Waychoff
Some people ramp up for a long time getting ready to say goodbye to their corporate job. Others decide it's time to make the leap while eating lunch in their car. Ashley's story is one of a random moment where she decided enough was enough, and it was time to take control of her future and schedule.
Ashley shares her story of growing to multiple employees, and how her hiring tactics have changed from employee #1 to employee #5. She also discusses what she implemented in her business to make sure she was attracting the right team.
She also talks about how her mindset has changed while growing her business, and the most important lesson she learned about embracing her uniqueness.
To learn more and connect with Ashley, visit: https://www.heyprettypenny.com/?r_done=1
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more about Erin's company, PodGrowth, visit: https://PodGrowth.co
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Nov 29, 2022
Becoming a Technology Company (When You Don't Have a Technology Background) With Morgan Katz
When Morgan was working her corporate job, she repeatedly saw a need for large event companies to be able to track how their season tickets were being utilized.
Finally, she decided to take on the task herself and launched her first company. She quickly realized, though, that the solution wasn't just about helping companies sell their tickets, but helping them track their usage of them. Not coming from a technology background, Morgan had to quickly become a technology company.
Two Saas solutions later, Morgan continues to grow her company, Event Finders, and she joins us on this podcast to talk about her journey from employee to launching an event company shortly before 2020.
We discuss how she made the transition to a technology company, the obstacles she had to overcome when events went away for almost a year, and how she's developed new products from her customer's needs.
If you'd like to learn more about Morgan, visit: EventfindersUSA.com
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Nov 22, 2022
Lessons From a Female in a Male Dominated Industry With Ieshea Hollins
Starting and building a business is hard enough, but as a woman, sometimes it can feel like the odds are stacked against you.
In this episode of First To Arrive, Last To Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by Ieshea Hollins, of Direnzic. Ieshea is a Cybersecurity expert and started her company as a way to help people who may have the odds stacked against them because of cyber issues. Her main mission is to educate the world from large corporations to parents about the dangers of a forever-evolving industry.
Ieshea shares her journey of being a female in a male-driven industry in addition to some of the advice she was given about hiring males to act as the leader of her company in addition to never telling anyone she was the CEO.
She also talks about how she had to overcome contractor issues, how she had to do a complete revamp of her business to go back to the heart of her company, and the reason why she started it in the first place.
To learn more about Ieshea or to connect with h…
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Nov 15, 2022
The Crooked Path of Entrepreneurship With Super Dave Quinn
After a change in leadership inspired Dave to finally go out on his own, the path to entrepreneurship wasn't exactly a straight path. Dave shares his story of starting a company that may not have worked out, but lead him to his current companies, D1 Experts and Texas Economic Development Connection.
Dave shares how he found his opportunity to help attract new companies to the great state of Texas, and how his company thrived during the pandemic. He also shares how once he tasted entrepreneurship, even though it was harder than he ever dreamed, there was no going back.
Dave also talks about how the Goldman Sachs 10,000 business changed his business forever.
If you're interested in learning more about Dave's company, visit:
https://d1experts.com/
If you would like to attend's Dave upcoming event, visit:
https://weinspiretx.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more about Erin's company, PodGrowth, visit: https://PodGr…
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Nov 15, 2022
Do You Know the Most Important Numbers in Your Business?
Deb Purvin never let being a woman hold her back from any of her ventures. After graduating from Harvard, and working in banking, she found herself in real estate. After building up her own portfolio properties in several states, she sold off everything to spend more time with her family while sailing around the world.
Eventually, her entrepreneurial spirit got the best of her, and she found herself buying an entire ski resort in the Northeast. After turning the business around by creating a co-op with other businesses within the town, Deb sold her company again.
She now focuses on helping other business owners understand their financials and grow their businesses by running her program, Business Owners MBA.
She also shares her hilarious stories of being a working mother in a world that wasn't quite ready for the concept.
To learn more about Deb, visit: https://businessownersmba.com/
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn mor…
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Nov 11, 2022
Growing From a Hobby to Contracts With Some of Today's Biggest Retailers
Welcome to First To Arrive, Last To Leave, the podcast where we talk to Goldman Sach's 10,000 Business Grads to learn more about what it takes to build businesses that become the heart of their community.
In this episode, we meet hosts Erin Gregor and Courtney Radloff and learn more about Courtney's business, Purveyors of Fragrance. Courtney talks about her journey from a Skin Therapist to making candles in her kitchen for fun, to closing huge contracts!
She also discusses how some words of encouragement and a huge order came from a thank you note.
We hope you'll join us for more episodes as we talk to more graduates and learn how they grew and scaled their businesses.
To learn more about Courtney's company, visit: https://purveyorsoffragrance.com/
To learn more about Erin's company, PodGrowth, visit: https://PodGrowth.co
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