Send us Fan Mail When you think of growth barriers, you might not think of corporate bullying and executive toxicity. Sure, every company has its share of issues. But how bad can toxicity and bullying get? Can it be catastrophic for companies? Can it cause fatalities? Can it invite lawsuits? If yes, they are significant financial and legal risks that have a massive impact on the bottom line and growth. In today's episode, we have our guest Carol Marzouk from Leadership' N' Soul, who discusses ho...
Jan 20, 2021•39 min•Ep. 26
Send us Fan Mail Growth could be challenging with product quality and process waste issues. You could also see inflated costs and reduced profit margins if you don't track scrap and waste appropriately. The problem could even be more significant if your measuring equipment are not appropriately calibrated or provide the necessary precision needed by your processes. In today's episode, we have our guest Max Krug, who discusses what actions businesses need to take if they encounter product quality...
Jan 19, 2021•38 min•Ep. 25
Send us Fan Mail If you are looking for an ERP in 2021, you might not even think of any other options than a cloud ERP. But is cloud ERP for everyone? Does cloud ERP provide a competitive advantage? How do you ensure business transformation with a cloud ERP? These are the questions you will have if you are at a stage where you can't grow unless you implement a newer ERP system. In today's episode, we have our guest Brett Beaubouef who provides insight into whether moving to the cloud guarantees ...
Jan 18, 2021•42 min•Ep. 24
Send us Fan Mail Growing a company today is no longer the same as it used to be five years back. Today your customers expect you to be thought leaders in your industries. While we have been using social media to enhance our personal and company brands for quite some time, the game has entirely changed in the last three years. The companies that are actively promoting their brand and encouraging their employees to elevate personal brands will have a substantial edge compared to the rest. In today...
Jan 13, 2021•36 min•Ep. 23
Send us Fan Mail If you are a CEO of an SMB company, you might think that getting to $25M in revenue is the hardest. However, if you ask anyone who has experience with an IPO or with a public company’s reporting, the game completely changes when you go public. As a public company, you will have increased reporting needs and additional stakeholders such as the board and shareholders. If this is your first time leading a public company, you will need to game up your leadership and persuasion skill...
Jan 12, 2021•35 min•Ep. 22
Send us Fan Mail The industry4.0 initiatives offer significant opportunities and require executing large transformation projects with success. If not planned well, the changes could cause substantial disruption and become a bottleneck to your growth. Such projects require careful planning and a phased approach to ensure these projects’ success and meet your growth objectives. In today's episode, we have our guest Dave Griffith who discusses why manufacturers must look for low-hanging fruits when...
Jan 11, 2021•35 min•Ep. 21
Send us Fan Mail Growing a consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand is uniquely challenging. Not only will you need a product that consumers are willing to pay for, but you will also be required to win over your distributors and partners. Even if you succeed in developing your customer channels, you might still fail if you can't figure out how to manage your supply chain and cash flow. In today's episode, we have our guest Aman Ailani from SAH.OL Cold Brew who discusses the unique challenges and impo...
Jan 06, 2021•33 min•Ep. 20
Send us Fan Mail Internal communication influences the culture of an organization, and culture typically is the biggest driver of growth? But what exactly is the culture? Is it about hiring employees from diverse backgrounds? Is it about creating the culture-buzz that most startups create? While every company might claim that they have the best culture, the culture that differentiates a fastest-growing company from the rest is hard to build. In today's episode, we have our guest Ben Baker who st...
Jan 05, 2021•37 min•Ep. 19
Send us Fan Mail Inventory management and warehouse processes are the backbones of your operational effectiveness. Defining standards for your key inventory processes from the get-go can help with scaling without going through operational chaos. Non-standard processes cause bottlenecks to other areas of the organization and could become an impediment to your growth. In today's episode, we have our guest Kevin Lawton from the New Warehouse Podcast, who discusses why standardization plays a key ro...
Jan 04, 2021•34 min•Ep. 18
Send us Fan Mail While a retail business might seem straightforward, it has its nuances, which is probably why it's often referred to as a labor of love. Either you love it or hate it. With COVID and changing consumer behavior, the lines keep blurring in the traditional retail supply chain with the ever-increasing complexity of business processes and evolving need for better digital systems to provide the customer experience needed for the modern and ever-changing retail industry. In today's epi...
Dec 30, 2020•31 min•Ep. 17
Send us Fan Mail Without adequate planning, growth could fire back with chaos and confusion. As you navigate each stage of growth or inflection points, you will have an enhanced need to document your processes to discover bottlenecks and find areas for improvement. The accounting processes may also differ among manufacturing organizations and across geographies. Understanding these nuances and the need for process documentation will help manage your growth. In today’s episode, we have our guest ...
Dec 29, 2020•39 min•Ep. 16
Send us Fan Mail Traditionally, B2B businesses have been relationship-based. However, in the modern, digitally-centered buying process, 70% of buyers are now fully defining their needs on their own before engaging with a sales representative. B2B businesses need to critically review their go-to-market strategy before it's too late. COVID has further fueled the rise of e-commerce. Also, with Facebook buying Kustomer, we are going to see a convergence of B2B and B2C. And marketplaces such as Amaz...
Dec 28, 2020•40 min•Ep. 15
Send us Fan Mail Growing companies are obsessively efficient with their smart business processes. When it comes to making a manufacturing plant smart, there are limitless options available whether you talk about making your existing machines smart, or replacing your old machines. The smarter your plant is, the more efficient are likely to be your manufacturing processes, and the more cost-effective will be your operations. In today’s episode, we have our guest Chris Luecke from Manufacturing Hap...
Dec 23, 2020•38 min•Ep. 14
Send us Fan Mail Traditional manufacturing organizations are typically sales-focused. Even with complex products and longer sales cycles where research-based content would be crucial, manufacturing organizations rely on relation-based sales. With 70% of buyers fully defining their needs on their own before engaging with a sales representative, manufacturing finance executives and owners need to understand the value of content marketing. In today’s episode, we have our guest Greg from Winbond, wh...
Dec 22, 2020•35 min•Ep. 13
Send us Fan Mail When it comes to growth, personal branding and social media play a huge role. While most companies might be present on social media, only a few understand their algorithms' nuances and have mastery in creating viral posts. Among other social media platforms, LinkedIn is the most powerful when it comes to marketing for B2B brands targeting executives. LinkedIn is also equally powerful for personal branding and positioning yourself as an expert in a given field. In today's episode...
Dec 14, 2020•30 min•Ep. 12
Send us Fan Mail If you ask anyone how to grow a business, their opinions will vary on what differentiates a fastest growing company from the rest. Some would argue that the strategies vary at each phase of growth. Others would say that the need for people, processes, and technologies changes as you grow. While you will get tons of advice, there is no clear consensus on the formula for success. There is no better way of learning from growth than digging into the growth of a company that has been...
Dec 14, 2020•36 min•Ep. 11
Send us Fan Mail If you don’t have experience growing a company, you may make rookie mistakes for which there is already plenty of advice available from senior executives who have been there multiple times and done that. Your growth strategy requires alignment with people, processes, and technology. Having technology experience on your advisory board can set you on a growth trajectory from the get-go. In today’s episode, we have our guest Wayne Sadin, who shares his thoughts on forming an adviso...
Dec 14, 2020•40 min•Ep. 10
Send us Fan Mail You may have heard several growth strategies. But growing a business is not as simple as applying a sales formula or launching an innovative product. The approach for growth changes as you evolve in your journey. Each time you double in size. You hit an inflection point. And the need for people, processes, and technology changes accordingly. In today’s episode, we have our guest Jim Gitney from Group50, who shares his thoughts on each inflection point for companies and what they...
Dec 14, 2020•36 min•Ep. 9
Send us Fan Mail When it comes to growth, the growth could fire back if you don’t have sufficient margins to sustain a business. If you have a busy shop floor with several variables that go into making your products, tracking your product costs could be critical. There are several methods of costing, which could vary across industries. Choosing an appropriate costing method could be a drain on your profitability and could mislead you into making incorrect business decisions, which could jeopardi...
Dec 14, 2020•34 min•Ep. 8
Send us Fan Mail The manufacturing community is genuinely gifted, and one of the best-kept secrets that the world of “Google” needs to know. Manufacturing conversations are typically limited to the four walls of trade shows and have a limited presence on newer marketing channels. The digital world isn’t any different from the physical. There is only so much “Digital” land you can own before it becomes too expensive and competitive. First movers will have an advantage while the laggards will stru...
Dec 14, 2020•36 min•Ep. 7
Send us Fan Mail Traditionally, the industrial sector’s growth has been primarily sales-driven, and marketing takes the back seat. With the changing business conditions of COVID, the industrial sector has been caught off-guard without the traditional revenue channels of in-person interactions at trade shows and industry events. The new normal requires industrial companies to rethink their marketing strategies and consider marketing a key enabler of business development. In today’s episode, we ha...
Dec 14, 2020•38 min•Ep. 6
Send us Fan Mail International trading is entirely different from domestic. Growing internationally requires you to understand various stakeholders and the process involved. The new collaborators could be importers, exporters, custom brokerage shops, freight providers, and regulatory agencies. The process is extremely complex and involved. This process also exposes you to new risks unfamiliar to you. The lack of understanding of the process and risks could be a hit on your growth ambitions. In t...
Dec 14, 2020•32 min•Ep. 5
Send us Fan Mail When I was putting together a list of growth topics for this month that could be valuable to our audience, especially with the changing business environment due to COVID, Direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies were on the top of our list. In today’s episode, we have our guest, Chase Clymer, who brings a unique perspective for manufacturers and e-commerce merchants from his experience of helping customers getting their e-commerce businesses to grow from the ground up. He also shares...
Dec 14, 2020•30 min•Ep. 4
Send us Fan Mail When it comes to managing growth through inflection points, ERP implementations are pivotal. Despite the premise of superior ERP systems helping with our growth, going through the purchase and implementation process isn’t fun. With the added challenges of COVID-19 and remote collaboration, we face an added risk of going over budget and, as a result, taking a hit on our growth ambitions. In today’s episode, we have our guest Erin Koss, CPA from Syte Consulting Group who brings a ...
Dec 14, 2020•37 min•Ep. 3
Send us Fan Mail When we think of growth, we often don’t consider Quality as a cornerstone for enabling it, especially in the SMB space. Perceived quality of your products can lead to poor customer experience, disengaged consumers, and financial implications. All of these factors will have an impact on P&L and slow your growth down. Quality control is of paramount importance for growth for brands seeking the path of D2C. In today’s episode, we have our guest, Jason Chester who shares his tho...
Dec 14, 2020•36 min•Ep. 2
Send us Fan Mail When I was putting together a list of growth topics for this month that could be valuable to our audience, especially with the changing business environment due to COVID, Direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies were on the top of our list. In today’s episode, we have our guest Michael Begg from AMZ Advisers who brings a unique perspective for manufacturers and e-commerce merchants from his experience of helping customers getting started on Amazon as a revenue channel and grow their ...
Dec 14, 2020•31 min•Ep. 1
Send us Fan Mail Public speaking is a frightening experience for most people. Launching a podcast is equally hard. In this icebreaker episode Sam Gupta, the host of the WBS podcast shares his personal story and the focus for this podcast. He also provides details about the recommended episodes and what operations and finance leaders can expect with this podcast. Each episode will feature your peer or competitors who have grown their businesses or in the process of scaling using business systems....
Dec 13, 2020•13 min0
