Welcome to a very merry episode of How I Built My Small Business ! I’m Anne McGinty, your host, and I know I said no new episodes, but this is a surprise Christmas special. Today, we’re diving into the magical world of Santa’s little helpers with Chanda Bell , co-founder and co-CEO of The Lumistella Company, home of The Elf on the Shelf . Whether you’re a seasoned elf owner or someone who’s just wondering why these mischievous little elves keep popping up, this episode has a sprinkle of somethin...
Dec 17, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Welcome to How I Built My Small Business: Bite-Sized ! I’m Anne McGinty, host of the show. While full-length guest episodes are on hold for the holidays, I’ve prepared a collection of short, impactful episodes to keep you inspired until Season 2. Subscribe on Apple Podcast , Spotify or YouTube . Let’s connect! Subscribe to my newsletter: Time To Live: Thriving in Business and Beyond Website: https://www.annemcginty.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemcginty Instagram: https://www.ins...
Dec 13, 2024•5 min
Welcome to How I Built My Small Business: Bite-Sized ! I’m Anne McGinty, your host. While we take a break from full-length guest episodes for the holidays, I’ve curated a series of short, impactful episodes to keep you inspired. Each bite-sized episode features a collection of powerful snippets from interviews, organized by topic for easy listening. Stay tuned for quick insights to fuel your business and personal growth! Season 2 drops the week of January 25, 2025. Subscribe on Apple Podcast , S...
Dec 10, 2024•5 min
Welcome to How I Built My Small Business: Bite-Sized ! I’m Anne McGinty, your host. While we take a break from full-length guest episodes for the holidays, I’ve curated a series of short, impactful episodes to keep you inspired. Each bite-sized episode features a collection of powerful snippets from interviews, organized by topic for easy listening. Stay tuned for quick insights to fuel your business and personal growth! Season 2 drops the week of January 25, 2025. Subscribe on Apple Podcast , S...
Dec 03, 2024•5 min
Welcome to How I Built My Small Business: Bite-Sized ! I’m Anne McGinty, your host. While we take a break from full-length guest episodes for the holidays, I’ve curated a series of short, impactful episodes to keep you inspired. Each bite-sized episode features a collection of powerful snippets from interviews, organized by topic for easy listening. Stay tuned for quick insights to fuel your business and personal growth! Season 2 drops the week of January 25, 2025. Subscribe on Apple Podcast , S...
Nov 26, 2024•5 min
As we draw season one to a close, I’m thrilled to share some of the heartwarming stories and pivotal lessons that we've heard on this journey. From grappling with technical hiccups like latency delays during my chat with Max Skinner of Two Rock Amplifiers to drawing inspiration from Jason Feifer's spontaneous interviewing style, this season has been an exhilarating learning curve. Your support has been the driving force behind this podcast’s success. From educators who use these episodes as teac...
Nov 19, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 51
John Kilcullen, the creator of the For Dummies brand and former chairman and CEO of IDG Books, shares his journey in building one of the world’s most iconic publishing series. In this episode, John delves into the rise of For Dummies , his experience leading other renowned brands like Frommer's Travel and Cliff’s Notes , and his time as president and publisher of Billboard Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter . A sought-after lecturer on entrepreneurship and innovation at institutions like Stanfo...
Nov 12, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 50
Today we’re joined by Farnoosh Torabi , America’s leading personal finance expert who is dedicated to helping others become unapologetically rich. Farnoosh is an award-winning financial correspondent, television personality, and best-selling author of You’re So Money, A Healthy State of Panic, Psych Yourself Rich, and When She Makes More . Her Podcast So Money was ranked a Top Female-Hosted Podcast by Entrepreneur Magazine , described as "a Podcast Your Wallet Will Love" by The New York Times , ...
Nov 07, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Let's dive into a topic that affects all of us - how cellphones, social media, and AI are fundamentally reshaping the way we consume news and engage in politics. Jack Brewster is the Founder and CEO of Newsreel , an app designed to make news more accessible for young people and those that are digitally exhausted. As a Fullbright scholar in Germany, he researched how young people consume news and how journalism can adapt to these changing behaviors. He is also the Enterprise Editor at NewsGuard ,...
Oct 29, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 48
Jason is the Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine and is widely recognized as an authority on business and adapting to change. He's the author of the bestselling book Build for Tomorrow , host of the Help Wanted and Problem Solvers podcast and has been named a "Top Voice in Entrepreneurship" on LinkedIn. With decades of experience in national media, Jason has held editor roles at Men's Health , Fast Company , Maxim and Boston Magazine and has written about business and technology for the Was...
Oct 22, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Ana Homayoun shares insights gained from over two decades of working with young people. Ana is the founder of Silicon Valley-based Green Ivy Educational Consulting and the executive director of Luminaria Learning Solutions , a non-profit focused on developing executive functioning skills in classrooms. She’s the author of four books, including her latest, Erasing the Finish Line: The New Blueprint for Success Beyond Grades and College Admissions , which highlights the essential skills students a...
Oct 15, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Today, we're joined by Duran Morley, an action sports enthusiast who has built a thriving business centered around adventure living. Duran is the founder and CEO of VanSpeed , a company that converts sprinter vans into recreational vehicles for adventure-seeking customers. College wasn't the right path for Duran, and he found that he learned best by doing. At just 17 years old, he opened the Van Mart , an e-commerce store selling van accessories. That venture has since snowballed into a full-sca...
Oct 08, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Sophie Milliken is a remarkable entrepreneur and leader with contributions that extend far beyond business. She co-founded City Ladies Networking , chairs the UK Charity Smart Works Newcastle , and serves as a Founding Ambassador for Every Child Needs a Mentor . Her dedication was recognized in 2023 when she was awarded an MBE by the Order of the British Empire for her services to Business and Education. Sophie founded SRS Recruitment and Employability in 2013, successfully scaling it before sel...
Oct 01, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Today we have Dr. Harshal Chokhawala chatting with us about starting a biotech company. Harshal is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zymochem , which he founded in 2015 and recently celebrated a major milestone by closing a Series A funding round in January this year. As a speaker at the SynBioBeta conference in San Francisco and the Rethinking Materials conference in London, he is passionate about about bringing sustainability to everyday materials and reducing humanity's dependency on plastic. After h...
Sep 24, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Kimi Chadwick chats with us about running a pumpkin patch without any farming experience! Kimi is the co-owner of Craven Farm , winners of the Best of Snohomish County two years in a row. She and her husband are incredibly savvy business owners who are utilizing vertical integration in nearly all aspects of their business, including a fleet of in-house concessions and floral design. It's no surprise that on the day of our interview, they closed on the purchase of Whitewall Brewing Company , a lo...
Sep 17, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Collin Hathaway shares strategies for scaling small businesses to mid-sized enterprises. Collin is the founder of Skylight Capital , a micro-private equity investor that acquires companies in the U.S. with $500,000 to $4m EBITDA. As part of his journey, he founded Flint Group , a collection of seven small residential home service businesses in HVAC and plumbing across five states, more than doubling revenue in four years. In 2017, he bought into ownership of Guardian Roofing in Western Washingto...
Sep 10, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Sandi Carter calls in from New Zealand to share her story starting a skin clinic. Sandi is the founder CEO of Blush Skin Clinic , which she started in 2017 at the age of 22. Just three years later, she won a prestigious national award " New Zealand's Beauty Salon of the Year ," which also landed her a feature in the national newspaper, the New Zealand Herald. At just 29 years old, she now has two locations one on the North Island, in Whangarei, and one on the South Island in Christchurch. Her wo...
Sep 03, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Today we have Jak Wonderly in the studio chatting with us about his journey to becoming a National Geographic photographer. Jak is an award-winning commercial and editorial photographer based in Northern California. His remarkable work has been featured in esteemed publications such as Smithsonian Life and the New York Times , with over a thousand images in the National Geographic Image Collection and contributions to more than 25 National Geographic books. Wonderly's photography captures the be...
Aug 27, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Naomi Crawford is the visionary founder and CEO of Lunchette . Naomi has been at the forefront of the sustainable business movement, transforming Lunchette into a model for eco-friendly and socially responsible practices. Lunchette has become Petaluma, California's go-to lunch spot and is renowned for its engagement in community building, zero-waste policies, commitment to paying living wages and partnership with small local farmers. Naomi's innovative approach not only champions sustainability,...
Aug 20, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Today we have a special guest, Karan Singh, chatting with us about his journey in starting and growing a business in the mental health space. Karan is the co-founder and former chief operating officer of Ginger , a leading mental health and coaching platform that merged with Headspace in 2021 to form Headspace Health in a multi-billion dollar transaction. Although Headspace Health is far from a "small" business, Karan's journey started small, and the lessons, wisdom, and insights he shares are v...
Aug 13, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Rachel Platten chats about the business of being a singer-songwriter. Rachel is the Emmy Award-winning, multi-platinum singer-songwriter of the global sensation Fight Song , which has been streamed over a billion times worldwide. Stand By You was certified platinum in the United States, and Better Place has been a ballad at countless weddings. Her songs have literally been anthems for millions. Rachel, modeled for Aries advertising campaign, has performed with Candlelight Concerts, New Year's Ro...
Aug 06, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Today we have Jeremy LaDuke with us on the show. This interview is, in part, about Jeremy's journey starting a boutique marketing firm, but it's also an opportunity for him to share advice that could help anyone improve their do-it-yourself marketing. Jeremy is the founder CEO of Epic Nine Marketing Outfitters , a 15-person boutique marketing firm with two goals in mind to help great local businesses thrive and to create a wonderful workplace for creative people. Jeremy is also the author of Cli...
Jul 30, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Jenny Sauer-Klein's journey as a serial entrepreneur has seen her start four influential ventures, including AcroYoga , Scaling Intimacy School of Experience Design , Play on Purpose and The Culture Conference . Jenny co-founded AcroYoga, a global phenomenon blending acrobatics and yoga, which has captivated millions worldwide, including Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes and Silicon Valley innovators. Professional athletes and Silicon Valley innovators. Her other ventures focus on cre...
Jul 25, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Will Stultz chats with us about the ups and downs of starting an e-commerce business. Will is the co-founder of Dumb Wireless , an e-commerce site that consolidates all of the world's best non-smartphones and accessories and sells about $100,000 worth of dumb phones and accessories per month. They also offer their own SIM cards, their own MVNO network and have collaborated with the Unplugged tag to offer solutions that can help people break free from their technology dependency. Dumb Wireless ha...
Jul 23, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Amy Wilkinson talks with us about the skills needed for the future and gives a glimpse into what is being taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Amy is the founder and CEO of Ingenuity , a lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and the author of the international bestseller The Creator's Code . She has written articles for Forbes , the Wall Street Journal , the Economist, Inc. Magazine and dozens more. Amy has been featured on NPR, is a top-ranked keynote speaker, and he...
Jul 16, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Eric Henry is the owner of TS Designs (a 12-employee business) and Solid State Clothing and a trailblazer in environmentally friendly supply chain practices WhereYourClothing.com . His commitment to sustainability has extended to a TEDx talk he gave at Elon University, where he educated the crowd about the state of the apparel industry. He was awarded the 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year by his local chamber, is the president of the North Carolina Business Council and has sat on the board of over 1...
Jul 09, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Danielle Connor shares her story and what she has learned going from employed barista to starting her own cafe and coffee roasting brand. Danielle is the co-founder of Retrograde , a popular local cafe Sebastopol, California and with a separate roasting facility in Petaluma. Retrograde was the first Certified Green coffee roaster and cafe in Sonoma County. Danielle takes a value-based approach in everything she does as a business owner, placing a focus on the people she works with and the qualit...
Jul 02, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Jacques Spitzer shares the secrets of how to create high performance marketing content that people actually enjoy watching. Jacques is the founder-CEO of Raindrop , an eight-figure, four-times Emmy Award-winning and two-times Super Bowl ad-producing creative agency that is also behind the top-performing ad in YouTube history. Their ads combine the best of entertainment and advertisement and have generated over a billion dollars in sales for clients, and he shares the formula in this episode. The...
Jun 25, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Amanda is the CEO, founder and lead designer of Untamed Petals , a bridal jewelry and dresses brand that started as an Etsy shop and is now tipping 8-figures a year with a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, over 250 wholesale accounts nationwide, and an emerging presence internationally. Her business has collaborated with Nordstroms, Anthropologie, and the costume designer for the CW drama Reign . Her creations have been photographed being worn on the red carpet by several celebrities, includin...
Jun 20, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Joe Allen is the owner of Jumpin' Jacks , a family owned and operated event rentals company that offers bounce houses, inflatables, and other event entertainment in Sonoma County. Majority of rentals take place within a 6 month window from the end of April until the end of October, providing for a great lifestyle and very comfortable, livable income for Joe and his family. Listen in as he shares his story - jumping (no pun intended) from cellular retail sales to buying (what was at the time) a v...
Jun 18, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 27
