Every business needs a story. Not just a product. Not just a service. It’s the story you tell that can ultimately differentiate you from your competitors and connect with your customers. And who better than to teach us how than THE corporate storyteller himself, Steve Multer. Steve is a veteran corporate spokesman and trainer for over 100 global brands, including Cisco, Splunk, Panasonic, Fujifilm, HP, and Bayer. His strategic brand consulting company helps execs, leaders, and sales teams use th...
Mar 27, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 98
Dealing with technology and IT issues is far too often a thorn in the side of small business owners who - quite frankly - have enough on their plate already without worrying about security updates and malware issues. Enter today’s guest: Orrin Klopper is on a mission to enable and empower entrepreneurs and small biz owners with honest, predictable tech and IT support. He’s the CEO of Netsurit, an IT, Cloud, and Security service provider (MSP) that helps organizations innovate and embrace digital...
Mar 20, 2023•29 min•Season 2Ep. 97
How does someone go from a school dropout on probation with a felony charge to an Amazon #1 best seller, speaker, and real estate trainer who has transacted over $59 million in real estate across seven states? It all started with a book. And a lot of work. Our guest today is Victor Bell, CEO of Bell Capital. His San Diego-based company acquires and manages real estate properties, focusing on both near-term income generation and long-term value creation. He aims to provide everyday investors acce...
Mar 13, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 96
Do you know your IQ level? How about your emotional IQ level? How would you rank your empathy and assertiveness? And would you be surprised to learn that finding the magic balance between the two can do wonders for your business? If you don't think emotional intelligence plays a significant role in your operations, stop what you're doing for the next 30 minutes and listen in; today's guest might change your mind. Meet Merit Kahn, CEO of SELLect Sales Development. For over 20 years, she has worke...
Mar 06, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 95
The only thing The Liquid Lunch Project likes more than an actual "liquid lunch" is an industry disrupter in the small business space. And not only is today's guest doing just that, he's disrupting the dinosaur of industries: Real Estate. Mike Kaeding is the CEO of Norhart, a $200 million apartment developer building high-quality housing. He believes real estate housing and development can be a smoother, more efficient, and streamlined process that can reduce costs to benefit both the builder an...
Feb 27, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 94
How do you stay top of mind with your clients? It’s an age-old question and one that every business owner struggles with within a competitive market. If everybody is doing a different version of the same thing, how do you stand out? Today’s guest is here to solve that problem. Steve Buzogany, Founder and CEO of The Appreciation Advocate, is helping small business owners increase their income through the practice of gift-giving and appreciation to generate referrals. In this episode, he explains ...
Feb 20, 2023•31 min•Season 2Ep. 93
Passive income. Generational wealth. Increased cash flow. Accelerated retirement. Sounds pretty good, right? We all want to achieve each of those things, but for the majority of individuals and small business owners, our assets are tied up in more “traditional” or qualified plans, like a 401k or IRA. Not only are we facing the stock market’s volatility, but we are also placing our trust in financial planners who only benefit if we continue to keep our money under their control. There is a better...
Feb 13, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 92
What does it take to succeed in business? Why am I not further along in my career as I want to be? Entrepreneurship is too difficult, I’m ready to throw in the towel. If any of these questions or thoughts have crossed your mind, today’s episode will be especially helpful. Matt’s flying solo, and he’s sitting down with friend and fellow Apex member Jacob Stahler. From starting and dropping out of college 3x, Jacob is a prime example of what can be achieved through hard work, tenacity, determinati...
Feb 06, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 91
Small business owners are faced with a myriad of decisions every day - and one of the most challenging decisions is how to price products and services. Is this price too low? Is this price too high? How do we know we’re getting what we’re worth? Today’s guest is going to pull back the curtain on the mystery that is price-setting. Per Sjofors, aka The Price Whisperer, spent years running companies and doing experiments on pricing. Some were successful. Some were complete duds. And everything he r...
Jan 30, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 90
Do you have an idea for a book that’s just itching to get put onto paper, but the whole process has you feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start? Then this is the podcast episode you’ve been waiting for. Our guest today is two-time author, business strategist, and public speaker Malene Bendsten, aka “The Book Coach.” She’s giving us a peek behind the proverbial publishing curtain and how self-publishing capabilities create space for otherwise overlooked niches and authors. With the top f...
Jan 23, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 89
To say that Amazon has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success would be the understatement of the century. But it was no happy accident or cosmic fluke that took Jeff Bezos from boxing books in his garage to running a billion-dollar operation. It was hard work, a lot of failures, and a very specific set of principles. And today’s guest is giving us a look at what those principles are. Meet John Rossman; keynote speaker, small business advisor, and former Amazon executive who played a key role in ...
Jan 16, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 88
A good entrepreneur is like a serial murderer; they just can’t stop. And our guest today is proving that point. Meet Jonathan Zacks, Founder of Make It All Work and Co-Founder of GoReminders. He’s on the show to discuss how his two startups are helping small business owners find solutions to two very common problems: Tech Support and No Call-No Shows. For tech support, Make It All Work is a remote service that connects self-proclaimed “non-techy” people with the right technology solutions that a...
Jan 09, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 87
Are some people born naturally creative, while the rest of us are just SOL? Today’s podcast guest would argue that’s not entirely true. Meet Robin Landa, a Distinguished Professor at Kean University, named one of the “great Teachers of our Time” by The Carnegie Foundation, and author of 25 books, including her latest work, “The New Art of Ideas: Unlock Your Creative Potential.” In this episode, Matt and Luigi sit down with Robin to talk about all things advertising. The industry has evolved quit...
Jan 02, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 86
Remember during the pandemic when we started running out of toilet paper? Rolls were flying off the shelves, and stores placed limits on the amount you could buy per family. It was pandemonium, and Americans quickly became acutely aware of supply chain issues (not to mention the importance of this very precious resource). Our guest on today's show is here to talk about another type of very precious resource: Titanium. And just like the TP debacle of 2020, titanium has experienced its own set of ...
Dec 26, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Branding is hard work. And it’s more than just creating a shiny new logo or building a new website and expecting immediate results. It’s about narrative and storytelling and, above all else, staying curious. On the podcast today is Max Gerson, creator of Brand Wolfe and branding guru. He’s taking us on a deep dive into what branding - effective branding - actually is and how his company is helping small and medium-sized businesses gain clarity and focus. For Max, it’s all about staying curious, ...
Dec 19, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 31
“The capital market system is a perfect system…it’s very difficult to disrupt it because it’s on a tightrope of mathematical balance. Every once in a while, someone comes along with a jockstrap the size of a barrel that says, maybe we can make the system more perfect .’” - Luigi That someone is our guest on today’s episode. Noah Healy is a mathematician, literal genius , and Founder of Coordisc, a technology product that has the potential to reorder the global financial system altogether. He rec...
Dec 12, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Our past will shape us - but it doesn’t need to define us. That’s the message today’s guest is bringing to the episode. Meet USMC Veteran Alundas Havens: CEO and Founder of Alpha Influence Media and host of the Winner’s Paradigm podcast. The California native shares how his difficult upbringing shaped the person he is today – and how he’s using his podcast to help others unpack the tools needed to recalibrate their mindset to become better versions of themselves for their families, businesses, a...
Dec 05, 2022•23 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Have you thought about starting your own podcast but need help figuring out where to begin? Today’s guest is Jason Cercone, founder of Absolute Evolution Branding, and he’s spilling all his best advice for aspiring podcasters in this episode. Podcasting has evolved tremendously over the last several years. According to DemandSage.com, by the end of 2022, there will be around 424 million podcast listeners worldwide, with 100 million of them living in the United States. That’s a lot of ears. There...
Nov 28, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Do you have a killer business idea and have considered approaching an angel investor for financing? Are you interested in becoming an angel investor yourself? No matter which side of the table you’re sitting at, today’s guest is here to give us an inside look at the process's inner workings. Jonathan Hung is a successful VC Partner, Entrepreneur, and prolific angel investor with over 90 pre-SEED and pre-IPO investments under his belt. He’s also a leader in the FoodTech industry and runs Grudge V...
Nov 21, 2022•41 min•Season 2Ep. 80
Professional development opportunities: It doesn’t matter if you’re running a three-person operation or have hundreds of people on the payroll - this is something every business and corporation should offer to their employees. Don’t believe us? In the last year, the number one reason people left their company to pursue another job was a lack of career development. And on the Top 500 Best Places to Work list, 72% of employers who made the cut offered learning stipends. Educational resources have ...
Nov 14, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 79
Those bitten by the entrepreneurial spirit love dreaming big. Brainstorming, strategizing, and setting ambitious goals - it’s what gets them up in the morning. The trouble so many run into, however, is implementing the systems needed for long-term scalability and success. And one of those systems that fall by the wayside is sales. Jim Padilla, Owner and Founder of Gain the Edge, is on the show today to talk about how he helps business owners rapidly grow their sales without you having to make a ...
Nov 07, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 78
“There’s nothing more challenging or rewarding than a successful pivot.” - Luigi Today’s podcast guest is no stranger to the concept of pivoting. Dr. Angela Mulrooney, aka The Arsonist, went from a successful dentist with a thriving practice in Canada to a personal brand expert living in Nicaragua. It wasn’t an easy journey -- or a journey by choice, for that matter. Life was good. But after sustaining an injury that left her unable to practice, life went up in smoke, and everything she had buil...
Oct 31, 2022•29 min•Season 2Ep. 77
Digital marketing. Affiliate programs. Optimization. Lead generation. We’re talking about all these topics and more in this 30-minute episode, so we suggest following Luigi’s lead and bringing a pen a paper because you’re going to want to take notes. Meet Jon Weberg, a two-time self-published author, speaker, and top 1% business and marketing consultant. With over 11 years of experience helping 2,000+ entrepreneurs, companies, and businesses scale their operations, he knows a thing or two about ...
Oct 24, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 76
What’s the simplest yet most complex problem that small businesses face on a daily basis? One word: Marketing. You know you need to do it, but where do you start? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with information overload, and how do you know which strategy is the best strategy for your business? If this is something you’re facing, well, you’re in luck because today’s guest is bringing all the answers to our burning questions…and some freebies! Tim Fitzpatrick is the Founder and President of Rialto...
Oct 17, 2022•27 min•Season 2Ep. 75
Inflation is hitting the American consumer on all fronts. It’s frustrating to walk into a store or pull up the pump, and the same product now costs 25% more. But if what we told you there was a silver lining and you could actually use inflation to your advantage? Meet Bronson Hill, Founder and President of Bronson Equity; he’s on the podcast today to talk about the power of income-producing assets, specifically real estate. Born out of a desire to make his money work harder for him and achieve t...
Oct 10, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 74
In this episode of The Liquid Lunch Project, Matt and Luigi sit down with Brenden from MasterTalk. If you’re not already familiar with who he is, we can promise you’ll want to know more after these 30 minutes. Brenden runs a wildly successful YouTube Channel (MasterTalk) and is in the top 1% of communicators in the industry. He teaches tech execs and small business owners how to get ahead through the art of communication, and he’s giving our listeners a TON of fantastic takeaways, absolutely fre...
Oct 03, 2022•30 min•Season 2Ep. 73
There’s not much that can’t be automated these days. But in our quest for efficiency and cost-saving solutions, we’ve forgotten a very crucial aspect of business relationships: Human connection. The days of the liquid lunch are long gone; deals are made through online exchanges -- not over a drink and some conversation downtown. In this episode of The Liquid Lunch Project, Matt and Luigi sit down with Bryan Kramer, business coach, speaker, author, and CEO of PureMatter. To Bryan, “being human” i...
Sep 26, 2022•35 min•Season 2Ep. 72
As a teenager, Darren Paltrowitz started writing for music publications in exchange for free albums and concert tickets. Having been at it for over 20 years, Darren has seen the music industry go through a lot of changes. One of the biggest changes has been how artists get paid. They used to tour in order to promote their album, which was their biggest moneymaker. Now, an album is usually just an excuse to tour, where they make money off of tickets and merchandise, all while growing their influe...
Sep 19, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 71
There’s no doubt about it, Airbnb’s have disrupted the real estate market. John Bianchi of Point Analytics says this new industry has made homes into a different asset class. John first got into the industry when he rented out an extra room in his house as a short term rental. When he found that he could cover his entire rent and then some, it was obvious to him that there was something to this. As he looked into the viability of Airbnb’s as a business, John started managing other people’s Airbn...
Sep 12, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 70
Struggling to read in the 5th grade, ST Rappaport went to tutor after tutor but still remained stuck. As a last resort, a cognitive function specialist was brought in. Not only did ST’s reading improve, so did her confidence, her productivity, and so much more. She was blown away by the success of rewiring her brain and knew it was something she had to be involved in. At the age of 17 she started training in cognitive function. Now, at the age of 23, she’s a successful productivity coach helping...
Sep 05, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 69
