Building Better Businesses

Latest Episodes:

S1 Episode 057: When To Hire A Fractional Executive Who Has Been There, Done That. Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

Henning Schwinum is cofounder and managing partner of Vendux, an interim and fractional sales leadership company. He is an energetic global business leader with a wealth of diverse experiences in Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and General Management, in both a corporate and entrepreneurial setting. He is an expert in building and maintaining relationships with national and international partners. Previously, he led Sales teams at Bayer, Innovadex, and UL.

In this episode, we discuss:

Tenacity and staying committed to a goal as keys to success

Finding a sales leader who can shape the sales process and write the playbook

Creating sustained growth to reach peaks, not plateaus

How fractional executives can help a business in need

How a post-covid world makes a fractional solution more acceptable

Partnering with others in subject matter expertise that compliment what you do

Listening to the needs of a client so you can best learn how to help them

Finding the person who has been there and done that before

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Henning was so generous to share his better business practices regarding fractional executives and how they can help companies achieve success.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Henning Schwinum:

Website:

https://www.vendux.org

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/henning-schwinum/

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 056: Fostering Greatness In Leadership Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

Tevis Trower is a Leadership Futurist and innovator in optimizing corporations through fostering greatness in leaders. Heralded in bestselling Megatrends 2010 as “corporate mindfulness guru for the new millennium”, Tevis has assisted powerful organizations ranging from Disney to Morgan Stanley in optimizing their most precious assets: human beings. She has created and facilitated global executive immersions for prestigious organizations including Harvard Business Review Events, Young Presidents Organization, PWC, Bloomberg LP, Viacom, Google and The Economist on issues including executive alignment, legacy and impact, conscious leadership, imposter syndrome, innovation, and the role of corporate culture in fostering radical success and ubiquitous engagement.

You can find profiles and expert advice from Tevis featured in respected media outlets including Forbes, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Glamour, YogaJournal, CIO, Pink, RealSimple, Crain’s, New York Post, Financial Times, WWD, New York Observer, MSNBC, FoxBusiness, NY1 and Martha Stewart. As NYU Faculty teaching Business Creativity & Personal Mastery, Tevis has also served as worklife expert to WebMD and Huffington Post.

Tevis lives what she teaches spending time in NYC, Montauk and Woodstock, enjoying surfing, snowboarding and entertaining friends at home with her dachshund, Ruby.

In this episode, we discuss:

CEO as the chief cultural officer and what that means

If you’re not stubbing your toe, you’re not taking a misstep, and playing it too safe

Identifying your values as a company and examining whether those values are being expressed or not

Going slow so you can move fast when defining a corporate culture

Connecting culture to KPI’s to have measurable actions

Forgetting employee engagement and focusing on executive alignment

Making your employees feel seen and heard as the most effective way to engage them

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Tevis was so generous to share her better business practices regarding fostering greatness in leadership.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Tevis Trower:

Website:

https://www.balanceintegration.com

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tevistrower/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/BalanceIntegration

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 055: Disciplined Digital Marketing and Analytics Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

JP Clement is the CEO of boomtime. He has over 30 years of experience in marketing, digital strategy and product management for companies ranging from startups to global brands such as Madison Square Garden, General Mills, DFS Group Ltd., Johnson & Johnson and National Geographic. JP has worked for or helped companies in both the B2C and the B2B sectors and founded three digital strategy and marketing agencies after working for many years on the corporate side of marketing. JP’s passions are analytics, digital products and creating the right strategy at the right time for the right audience.

In this episode, we discuss:

Digital marketing as being critical to getting your word out

Marketing as the perfect marriage of creative and analytical sensibilities

Doing your marketing based on facts

The need for consistency and discipline in your marketing strategy to produce results

The importance of a strong culture of clear core values and a clear vision

A prospect’s cultural fit as sometimes being more important than their resume

Educating your clients on every step of the process to make happy clients

How B2B marketing is very different than B2B selling

The necessity of a well-thought out strategy in marketing

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. JP was so generous to share his better business practices regarding digital marketing.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with JP Clement:

Website:

www.boomtime.com

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/jpclement

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 054: Direct Mail And Digital Marketing For Business Success Dec 28, 2021

Show notes

Ryan Cote is the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a third-generation, family-owned direct mail and digital marketing company based out of Fairfield, NJ. Ballantine has been serving small-business clients since 1966, when it was founded by Ryan’s great-uncle. Ryan has been with his family’s agency since 2003, and today he manages the growing digital marketing division.

From lead generation to marketing strategy for small businesses, Ryan and his company rise above the get-featured-quick schemes so often attributed to digital marketing. He loves to geek out on technical marketing talk as well as work with real-world business owners about growing their book of business in today’s online world.

In this episode, we discuss:

How to integrate print and digital marketing for any sized business

The multi-faceted, consistent approach you need in marketing to reach a potential lead

How timing is everything in sales

The five ways to drove leads with digital marketing

The difference between social media platforms in regard to marketing

The value of providing useful content when digital marketing

How to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing

Effective paid online advertising strategies

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Ryan was so generous to share his better business practices regarding digital and direct-mail marketing.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Ryan Cote:

Website:

www.ballantine.com

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-cote-ballantine/

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 053: Disrupting Your Business To Create Positive Change Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

Cara Macklin is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, Creative Disruption Strategist & Scaling Navigator from Northern Ireland, elevating ambitious entrepreneurs to create meaningful change. She grew up in her family business and opened her first business at 15. She spent 15 years as Director of a multi-award-winning healthcare & hospitality group, growing from 3 businesses with 200 employees to 7 businesses with over 600 during this time. She gained in-depth experience of the highs and lows, the growing pains and the successes that come with scaling a business in a tough industry. Cara's passion is constantly growing businesses through a creative culture and methodology to develop the best people who are inspired to deliver growth.

In today’s world of uncertainty, speed of change, complexities and volatility, Cara believes the ability to think creatively, adapt quickly and be flexible are crucial. As a professional coach and business mentor she runs her company, Caram, where she combines her entrepreneurial experience with coaching. She developed her unique creative methodology, helping leaders and businesses strengthen their creative ability, think differently and achieve powerful change. Cara has been recognized for her work, being named an IOD finalist for Director of Innovation, NI Top 40 under 40, Women in Business Young Businesswoman of the Year and Women in Business Outstanding Innovation.

She has previously been featured on dozens of podcasts and media including, the BBC, UTV, Qradio, IIBN podcast, TEDx circle, and Fox TV.

In this episode, we discuss:

How culture, community, and values are just as important factors in your business as financial numbers

Learning that the leader of a business leads and their team follows to find success

The importance of a proper strategy and plan to grow your business

Innovation as the ability to adapt quickly and how it is critical to your business

Disrupting your business to teach the tools necessary to navigate change

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Cara was so generous to share her better business practices regarding disrupting your business.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Cara Macklin:

Website:

caram.org.uk

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/caramacklin/

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/caramacklincoach

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 52: Finding, Retaining, and Motivating Top Talent Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

Dan Hoffend is a 35-year business and marketing veteran who led Hoffend Xposition, a family business from 0 to $50 million and then developed a $500 million strategy and experiential marketing agency, Freeman XP. Dan is a culture builder and motivational speaker at corporate events. An avid cyclist, runner, cross trainer, and adventurer, Dan and Eric Hoffend are co- authors of Who Gets It?! an international best-seller in two business categories in three countries. Dan with his wife and three children split their time between New York and Dallas.

Eric Hoffend has spent 25 years as a sales executive and business development leader at Hoffend Xposition and Freeman. He has built and managed sales teams with revenues upwards of $400 million. A passionate teacher, mentor and speaker, he challenges himself to be dynamic, continually learning, growing and adapting. Eric lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How people make the big difference when looking at buying a franchise

• How business success starts with leadership and trickles down to all other areas of the company

• Seeing failures as a step forward through learning as opposed to a step backwards

• The importance of taking constructive criticism to lartn and move forward in business

• The deal as the easy part of an acquisition and motivating the team afterwards as the important and hard part

• How to keep the top talent in an acquired company

• Integrity as the most important core value of a business

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Dan and Eric were so generous to share their better business practices regarding what it takes to find success when acquiring a business.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Dan and Eric Hoffend:

Website:

getsitguys.com

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/company/gets-it-guys/

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 051: The Power Of Social Capital and Networking Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization. Founded in 1985 the organization now has over 10,100 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Last year alone, BNI generated 11.5 million referrals resulting in more than $16.2 billion dollars’ worth of business for its members.

Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 26 books including one of his latest books – Who’s in Your Room? He is also a columnist for Entrepreneur.com and has been a university professor as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne.

Called the “Father of Modern Networking” by both Forbes and CNN, Dr. Misner is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, the BBC, and The Today Show on NBC.

In this episode, we discuss:

· What social capital and networking can do for your business

· The benefits of a system and a process to keep you focused and successful

· Creating consistency by doing 6 things 1,000 times, not 1,000 things six times

· Culture as the secret sauce of a successful organization

· How visibility, credibility, and profitability go hand in hand for a successful business

· How a great networker is like a great interviewer

· The evolution of networking today as a result of new global realities

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Dr. Ivan was so generous to share his better business practices regarding the power of networking.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Dr. Ivan Misner:

Websites:

www.bni.com

www.ivanmisner.com

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanmisner/

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 050: The Value of Businesses and Deals Found On Man Street Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

Michael Shea represents the Central Florida Transworld office. In business since 2005, he has built a solid reputation as Central Florida’s most successful business broker. Over the past two decades, Michael and his team have closed over $70 million in sold business volume and presided over more than 325 transactions.

In this episode, we discuss:

Identifying needs to find your place in the market
How every client deserves the same level of service regardless of the size of their business
Looking at long term data as opposed to the day to day data to find a business’s worth
Success for small businesses as being based on an owner’s ability to operate
Injecting a corporate world mentality to main street businesses
The importance of being able to adapt to scale a business

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Michael was so generous to share his better business practices regarding the needs of small Main Street businesses.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Mike:

Websites:

yourfloridabusinessbroker.com

mikesheasells.com

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 049: The Power of People, Passions, and Relationships in M&A Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

During his 30+ year career, Mr. Berry, a broad-based mergers and acquisition executive, has held a number of financial and operational leadership roles. These positions include Corporate Development Officer, CFO, Treasurer, and Portfolio Manager for both private and publicly held companies on international and domestic platforms. Ranging from large, well established organizations, to start ups or turnarounds, Mr. Berry has led or managed more than a dozen acquisitions and divestitures totaling hundreds of millions in capital. Each activity focused on assessing existing operations, identifying value-added practices, and integrating structures that optimize operating efficiency. His expertise is a rich blend of experience in insurance, pharmaceuticals, real estate, trusts, and others. Mr. Berry earned his BS in Accounting with a minor in Computer Science at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. As a CPA and Investment Advisor, he has held numerous security licenses in his career. Mr. Berry enjoys running, water skiing, boating, snow skiing, basketball and golf. He has been happily married for 27 years with children ages 19 and 17.

In this episode, we discuss:

How you know when to exit a business
When to start planning your exit strategy when looking to sell a business
The passion for a business that is needed to make it succeed
The importance of not putting yourself in a highly leveraged position

Finding a business that combines your passion and is still financially driven

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Rick was so generous to share his better business practices regarding people, passions and relationships in M&A.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Mike:

Websites:

tworld.com\indiana

Email:

mike.berry@tworld.com

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sparks-55611a37/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1 Episode 048: Facing Change In the Workplace Without the Migraine Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

Rick Maurer provides leaders who want to lead change the expertise to help them identify even deeply hidden resistance and turn that opposition into support. Rick’s approach to leading change is unique. He focuses on two fundamental questions: Why do people support us? Why do people resist us or our ideas? Understanding how to break through resistance is key to turning skepticism and opposition into support for new initiatives. If leaders understand resistance, they can often avoid it before it occurs – or get things back on track when a change is about to derail.

Rick works closely with clients to develop change strategies that will work in their unique organizations. Some of the organizations he has worked with include Lockheed Martin, Deloitte, National GeoSpatial Intelligence Agency, Verizon, Charles Schwab, The Washington Post, NASA, Tulane University Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, and many government agencies in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, and Russia. With an approach that is practical as well as easy-to-lean and apply, Rick can help business leaders around the world build strong support, energy, and forward momentum for their ideas and plans. His latest book, Seizing Moments of Possibility: Ways to Trigger Energy and Forward Momentum on Your Ideas and Plans, will be available for free on his website in May 2021.

In this episode, we discuss:

How to build and sustain support and forward momentum for your company

The three types of resistance that people must overcome in business

Tackling lack of energy with a workforce to overcome the obstacles it presents

How to create positive change in your professional life

The importance of a willingness to be influenced to find success

I hope you will find this episode as exciting and informative as I have. Rick was so generous to share his better business practices regarding facing change in your business.

Please let me know your thoughts!

Connect with Rick:

Websites:

rickmaurer.com

Email:

rick@rickmaurer.com

Connect with Steve Eschbach

Website: https://www.tworld.com/locations/naperville/ or https://eschbachassoc.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWqgICqaSI8xE2GRYY1HWJA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/speschbach/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveeschbach/

Twitter: @ SteveEschbach