Nell Hill's founder Mary Caroly Garrity joins Smart Companies Radio host Kelly Scanlon to discuss her entrepreneurial journey and the changing face of retail in an Internet-driven world. Garrity started her home furnishings store, Nell Hill’s, in 1981 in an old bank building in Atchison, Kansas, where she grew up. It started as a gourmet food shop, but has since become one of the most popular home interior stores in the Midwest. Garrity and Nell Hill's have captured the attention of national med...
Oct 27, 2017•26 min
Best-selling author and speaker David McNally, the CEO of Transform Corporation, joins Smart Companies Radio host Kelly Scanlon to share the inspiration for his recent book "Mark of an Eagle: How Your Life Changes the World." Every human being makes an impact, McNally says, even those whose impact is not highly visible. Especially in corporations, individuals can make an impact and leave a legacy that is carried on by others. What we do every day, how we show up and how we live is something we n...
Oct 27, 2017•27 min
Terri Jordan, the founder of WizeWebz, joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to discuss common the common problems business owners have with their web sites and tips for making websites work harder for the business. WizeWebz is a full-service digital agency. It offers brand strategy, creative development, marketing, website design an development, and social media services. Terri brings 20 years of experience to WizeWebz, including launching and growing multiple businesses. A s...
Oct 20, 2017•22 min
Franck Cushner joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to discuss some of the options available to business owners who want to offer an employee retirement plan: Cushner studied Financial Planning at NYU and received his CFP from the CFP Board of Standards. He's spent more than 20 years working on Wall Street with high net worth clients, including Fortune 500 CEOs, physicians, attorneys, business professionals and small business owners. Cushner also co-hosts a nationally syndica...
Oct 20, 2017•20 min
David Patrick joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to discuss high performance marketing for business owners. In today's episode, Dave will discuss common marketing problems and improving marketing strategies, including: The common marketing problems he's found working with CEOsThe common marketing problems he's found with start-upsThe key things he's ve learned about marketing during his long careerWhat non-marketing senior executives need to understand about marketingWhethe...
Oct 13, 2017•21 min
Gary Sirak, president of Sirak Financial Services, joins Smart Companies host Kelly Scanlon on this episode of Smart Companies Thinking Bigger. Gary is the author of "If Your Money Talked . . . What Secrets Would It Tell?" and "The American Dream Revisited: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Results." Sirak has been helping people achieve their American Dream for the past 35 years. A conversation he overheard at a coffee shop inspired him to write his "American Dream" book. In today's episode, Sirak...
Oct 13, 2017•22 min
Jeff Goodwin, owner of Complete Home Concepts, a one-stop shop for home construction and remodeling services, shares how he and his family have built the business through acquisitions. When Jeff's dad, Jim, bought a stone manufacturing company in 1976, he had no idea that three generations of his family would eventually be involved. At the time, he also didn't know that the company would expand many times over through acquisition. It's a plan that Jeff and his sister continue to follow. It's pre...
Oct 06, 2017•23 min
Best-selling author, tax and forensic accountant, and business consultant Bernadette Harris joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to explain how to build your business like a B.O.S.S. by following these four principles: Be ConsistentOffer SolutionsServe OthersSeek Assistance Tune in to find out how she has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs to harness these principles and grow their companies. For a free chapter of Bernadette's latest book, visit www.TrustBernadette.com/blueprin...
Oct 06, 2017•22 min
From the day Jeff Morgan started Morgan Miller Plumbing, he also started thinking about his exit. He was determined to build something that would outlast him—that would give someone else an opportunity. Morgan Miller Plumbing is the story of the "son of a son of a plumber" and his part-time bookkeeper who he entrusted to help him turn the company around. Today Stella Crewse is co-owner and CEO. Learn how the two worked together to build the company and ensure a successful ownership transition, i...
Sep 29, 2017•25 min
Bob Lancer, dubbed the "Company Culture Alchemy Expert," joins Smart Companies host Kelly Scanlon to discuss his book Lighten Up: How to Harness Happiness To Create The Life You Want. Bob is also an educator and coach who works with business teams, salesforces and individuals struggling with attitude and motivation issues in the workplace, helping them to take total responsibility for their internal states and reactions for a more positive, cohesive and high performing workplace culture. For 15 ...
Sep 29, 2017•24 min
Erica Brune, owner and president of Lever1, joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to explain how small businesses can benefit from partnering with a PEO, or professional employer organization. Tune in to learn: What a PEO isHow to strategically partner with a PEO to take care of your company's human resource needsTips for dealing with uncertainty surrounding the ever-changing ACA regulationsAnd insights on other HR challenges that business owners deal with on a regular basis I...
Sep 22, 2017•18 min
Ryan O'Donnell, the co-founder and CEO of SellHack and Replyify, joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to explain how to save time and sell more using an automated process for your company's outbound email. O'Donnell is a growth marketer who works with sales professionals and business owners to help them "sell like a robot while still sounding like a human." After a brief stint as a Wall Street broker, where he strived to make 500 calls a day, O'Donnell saw the potential to us...
Sep 22, 2017•40 min
Brandy McCombs, owner of International Builders and Consultants (IBC), joins host Kelly Scanlon to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, how she's grown the company, and her latest expansion. Brandy had entrepreneurial aspirations from a young age. Growing up in a small town in southeast Ohio, she watched her father and grandfather run their companies. After working in restaurant management, she decided to move to Florida in search of additional opportunities. She became the restaurant manager of...
Sep 15, 2017•23 min
Do you want to become a better leader? If so, Sebastien Richard thinks you can take your cue from popular superheroes. Richard joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to discuss his latest book "Lead Like a Superhero: What Pop Culture Icons Can Teach Us About Impactful Leadership," which offers a unique perspective on leadership. It takes a look at today's most popular superheroes, from Batman to Wonder Woman to Captain Aemerica, and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses as le...
Sep 15, 2017•25 min
What's the right way to measure the impact of your social media? ThinkViral founder Anne Cull joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to discuss ROR—return on relationships. According to Cull, social media is about people. In this episode she lays out a system for connecting and engaging with the real people who do business with your company so they can get to know, like and trust you. Listen to the full lineup of Smart Companies Thinking Bigger episodes in the archives. Learn m...
Sep 08, 2017•17 min
Clive Hook is a training consultant, busines speaker and the author of "Six Questions for Leading Achievers." joins Smart Companies Thinking Bigger host Kelly Scanlon to discuss his inspiration of the book, what a "leading achiever" is, the difference between leadership and management, and why he asks six questions instead of providing six answers. After training and consulting in more than 32 countries, Hook is convinced that leadership requires constant learning. In his book and on today's epi...
Sep 08, 2017•26 min
Maria Meyers, the executive director of UMKC's Innovation Center, and Kate Hodel, project director at KC SourceLink, discuss the findings of their latest report, "We Create Jobs." The report reveals the impact of "first-time employers" on Kansas City's job growth. What are the trends? Where are the new jobs coming from? What industries are creating those jobs? How does the pay of first-time employers compare to the compensation of more established companies? Learn the answers to these questions ...
Sep 01, 2017•20 min
When Marisa Wiruhayam, the owner of Tasty Thai and Big Bowl Pho, left Thailand for the U.S. several years ago, she was looking forward to a fresh start. She settled into her new home to raise her family and begin learning about her new home. But then tragedy struck. Her husband died unexpectedly, leaving her to raise two small children, with a limited grasp of English and no real job skills. Marisa's story is one of perseverance and dedication. Today, she owns several Thai restaurants in Kansas ...
Aug 25, 2017•26 min
Adam Arredondo, executive director of the Kansas City Startup Foundation, joins Smart Companies host Kelly Scanlon to discuss big changes in the Kansas City startup community, including the merger of the Center of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development (CEED) with the foundation and a $1 million pledge from one of Kansas City's serial entrepreneurs--Mike Wrenn, CEO of Affinity Worldwide. Adam has been immersed in the Kansas City startup community since 2011. As the executive director of the Kansa...
Aug 18, 2017•24 min
Chris Goodwin, owner of Insurance Pros, joins host Kelly Scanlon to address changes in the health insurance market that can impact Kansas City small businesses. He addresses these key points in the interview: Which carriers are entering, staying and leaving Kansas City's individual health care marketTrends in health insurance and employee benefits as a whole as a result of the legislative environment in WashingtonWhat small employers who don't have health insurance can do to ensure they are not ...
Aug 11, 2017•26 min
Mary Lou Jacoby, founder of Warehouse1, joins host Kelly Scanlon on this episode to talk about her entrepreneurial journey. Warehouse 1 got its start when Jacoby saw opportunity where others saw trash. When Jacoby approached the owner of an auction company who had a building full of old, used equipment in Kansas City, Jacoby offered to buy the building if the owner would allow Jacoby to finance it by selling the contents of the building. Jacoby thought the retail shelving, storage cabinets, conv...
Aug 04, 2017•31 min
Our guest today is Paul Francis. When Francis read about NASA's problem with astronauts exercising in space, he contacted the agency about a technology he had developed using resistance instead of weights. He later licensed that SpiraFlex technology to Nautilus, and they used it to develop the Bowflex Revolution home gym. Francis came up with a way to miniaturize the components and launch OYO Fitness, which offers the DoubleFlex Portable Gym and a follow-up product called DoubleFlex Black. Liste...
May 05, 2017•23 min
Our guest today is Zack Miller—an entrepreneur, author, internet personality and mayor of “Hustle City.” Zack launched Hatch in Norfolk, Virginia, to provide a platform that helps the owners of both startup and established companies solve their problems. Through Hatch, Zack has also launched an online resource company called 1000 Four. Zack brings to his efforts at Hatch more than two decades of business experience in starting, investing, advising, mentoring and growing thousands of companies or...
May 05, 2017•24 min
April Kramer, co-founder of Apple Pie Painting, joins host Kelly Scanlon to talk about how she and her husband Joey identified an opportunity to launch a mobile painting party concept, how as newlyweds and business partners they've managed to set boundaries for the good of their relationship and the business, how they expanded the business online through paint kits, and their goals for franchising the business. To listen to all the shows in the Smart Companies Thinking Bigger lineup, visit the a...
Apr 28, 2017•27 min
Globally acclaimed executive leadership coach Lolly Daskal joins host Kelly Scanlon to help us identify what gets in the way of our greatness. She'll share a system—based on seven archetypes—that she details in her upcoming book, "The Leadership Gap." The system helps executives leverage the key virtues of their leadership style and become better leaders. Lolly Daskal is the founder and CEO of Lead From Within, which offers Daskal's proprietary leadership program to executives who want to enhanc...
Apr 28, 2017•21 min
Marvin Carolina, Jr., joins host Kelly Scanlon to talk business tactics. Carolina is the founder and CEO of Team Carolina Consulting and the former vice president of diversity and inclusion for JE Dunn. Tune in to hear his thoughts on why diversity in the broadest sense is a great business strategy, on competition, and on skill and talent. He workshops and keynotes center on the theme: “Built to Compete . . . and WIN!” A former Division I football player, Carolina borrows from the lessons he lea...
Apr 21, 2017•30 min
Randal Pinkett, the season 4 winner of The Apprentice, joins host Kelly Scanlon to discuss his latest book Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness. He also shares his views on leadership, entrepreneurship, public service and what he learned working inside the Trump organization. Pinkett is the founder, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, a multi-million dollar consulting, research, technology and analytics firm in New Jersey. BCT Partners is P...
Apr 21, 2017•22 min
Brandi Beach joins host Kelly Scanlon to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, tips for business success and how her company Damascus Edge helps businesses test their ideas and competitiveness in the market. Damascus Edge assists businesses with strategy and innovation by focusing on technology as a service, innovation, and research and development. Brandi has more than 15 years in IT consulting and digital marketing, in a range of areas from commercial real estate and telecommunications to finan...
Apr 14, 2017•22 min
Many businesses are surprised to find out that in spite of a great logo, messaging and other items associated with "brand," they leave themselves vulnerable in an area critical to their brand: protecting their intellectual property. Intellectual property attorney Bobby Klinck joins host Kelly Scanlon to discuss why businesses need a strategy for their intellectual property and how to avoid some of the most common mistakes for protecting their businesses. Bobby Klinck is a best-selling author and...
Apr 14, 2017•27 min
Tasty Thai and Big Bowl Pho owner Marisa Wiruhayarn left Thailand full of excitement for a fresh start in the U.S. She spoke no English but was eager to settle in her new home and learn. Then her husband died unexpectedly, leaving her to raise two small children, with a limited grasp of English and no real job skills. Marisa's story is one of perseverance and dedication. Today, she owns three successful Thai restaurants in Kansas City. Recently, she began bottling the sauces based on old family ...
Apr 07, 2017•26 min
