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The Power of Connection: ACG Atlanta’s Impact on Middle Market Success

September 12, 2024 by angishields

Sandy Springs Business Radio

The Power of Connection: ACG Atlanta's Impact on Middle Market Success

00:00 /

On today’s Sandy Springs Business Radio, Rachel Simon and Lee Kantor welcome Meg Williams, Executive Director of ACG Atlanta. The discussion highlights ACG Atlanta’s role in supporting middle-market professionals, including investment banks, private equity groups, and M&A advisors.

Meg explains the organization’s focus on fostering growth through networking, education, and advocacy. Key events like the M&A South Conference and the Georgia Fast 40 Awards are discussed, emphasizing their importance for business connections and deal-making. Meg also offers tips for maximizing networking opportunities and underscores the benefits of ACG membership and sponsorships.

Meg Williams is the Executive Director for ACG Atlanta. She joined the organization in January 2023. She has had a diverse career including Marketing, Sales, Hospitality, HR, Management, and Event Planning.

She comes to us after 9 years at Peachtree Church, one of the largest Presbyterian churches in the world, with over 7000 members.

Meg attended Georgia Tech, where she majored in Business and minored in Marketing as well as Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

She is married to Matt and has two daughters: Shug (16) and Sybil (14). They live in the Sandy Springs area.

Connect with Meg on LinkedIn and Facebook.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Sandy Springs, Georgia. It’s time for Sandy Springs Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here with Rachel Simon, another episode of Sandy Springs Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. This episode is brought to you by Connect the Dots Digital. When you’re ready to leverage LinkedIn to meet your business goals, go to Connect the Dots dot digital. Rachel, this is going to be a great show. You got a great guest today.

Rachel Simon: Yes, I’m very excited for our guest today. We had her colleague Gloria Kantor on the show back in the Spring and had such an amazing conversation. And so today I’m really, really pleased to welcome Meg Williams who’s the Executive Director for ACG Atlanta, which is just such a super cool organization if our audience isn’t familiar. Acg stands for Association for Corporate Growth, and I’m going to let Meg tell us all about what ACG is does for the business community.

Meg Williams: Great. Thanks for having me this morning, Rachel and Lee. I’m happy to be with y’all. Uh, and to tell you more about ACG and what we’ve got going on and what’s coming up. As Rachel said, ACG stands for Association for Corporate Growth. We are a networking organization for middle market professionals. So investment banks and mezzanine lenders and private equity groups all come together along with our M&A advisors, essentially to fill their pipeline, to do deals and to make connections. So we are a global organization with 15,000 members. I am the executive director of the Atlanta chapter here. There are 61 chapters worldwide, primarily in the US and Canada, and all operate the same way with the same mission statement, which is driving middle market growth. So we play in that sort of 10 million to $1 billion range versus sort of a venture company. So once they get a little bit bigger after that venture start, they’ll they’ll kind of move into that middle market area, which is where we focus primarily.

Rachel Simon: So I’m curious because I, you know, as you said, it’s a global organization with lots of chapters all over the country. What makes Atlanta and I know you’re also been kind of doing broader events in the southeast, like such a kind of dynamic area as far as what you’re working on.

Meg Williams: That’s funny because this this topic came up at a lunch we had the other the other day. Just what a melting pot Atlanta is. And we are so lucky to have such a diverse environment here. I think, you know, ACG Wisconsin might be a little different makeup, right, than than ACG Atlanta where a large city where a large hub, busiest airport. So we get a lot of people that both travel through, but also a lot of people choose to make Atlanta home because they can so easily travel from here. So I think it’s it’s really the diversity that Atlanta has grown to, to have didn’t always have. But I think it’s it’s truly a melting pot city which is is very beneficial for us.

Rachel Simon: Yeah, Atlanta, I always love it when we see, you know, I see things that come up about how Atlanta is named as one of the best cities to live in, as one of the most educated cities. I think that came up recently. Um, you know, I think that we, uh, those people who don’t know what it’s like to live in Atlanta or don’t realize what a what a special city we have here. You know, it’s. Yeah, we’re not Chicago. We’re we may not be coming here for vacation, but there’s so much opportunity, um, to kind of build a really amazing and dynamic career and just to, like, raise a, you know, live nicely in a good with good weather most of the time, good.

Meg Williams: Weather and wonderful suburbs like Sandy Springs.

Rachel Simon: Yeah.

Meg Williams: Which which I can I can honestly say I sit here at home in my Sandy Springs home right now. So, um, near.

Rachel Simon: Me.

Meg Williams: Near and dear to my heart. Uh, but there are wonderful little pockets, like Sandy Springs all over, um, the Atlanta area. And it is a great it’s a great place to live.

Rachel Simon: Yeah. So, uh, what are some of the trends you’re seeing as far as the, you know, organizations that you’re working with?

Meg Williams: So, you know, obviously, uh, inflation is a big topic right now. So mostly what we do is we, we throw events, um, and networking opportunities for these companies to come together, right? So, um, when people ask me what I do and I say I’m the executive director of ACG Atlanta, that that doesn’t really explain. They’re like, well, tell me, what does that mean? The two things I say is I’m a I’m a matchmaker and I’m an event planner. Um, so these events that we have are are dual purpose. They’re for networking, but they’re also for people to kind of feed their pipeline, like I said. So, um, the, the trends that we’re seeing, we did a little over 30 events last year just here at the Atlanta chapter. Um, we’re seeing attendance rise at those events. People are eager. I think that’s still a little Covid hangover. People want to be with other people. So less and less virtual events and more and more in person events. We’re seeing, um, so we’re seeing increase in in attendance. We are seeing increase in costs. Um, so costs of of having the events and that sort of thing Uh, the other the other thing some of the other chapters are seeing, we here in Atlanta have not seen as much. Not everybody knock on some wood. But, um, most of our events are sponsored. And so we’re always looking for sponsorships, and, um, those have not dried up for us here in Atlanta. Uh, I think in some other areas, some companies are kind of pulling back the purse strings a little bit. Um, particularly some of the banks and that sort of thing. So, um, I think you’re seeing that in some other areas. But, uh, as far as Atlanta goes, we’re kind of just moving steadily along.

Rachel Simon: Um, Lee, any, you know, hop in here?

Lee Kantor: Sure.

Rachel Simon: Um, the question for.

Lee Kantor: People who aren’t for people who aren’t familiar with ACG and one of your venture mentioned 30 events, kind of. Can you give us a rundown of what happens at an event? Is it education? Is there a speaker? Is it networking people? Um, you know, are just meeting each other like what’s the, you know, kind of a 360 view of what happens at one of your ACG events.

Meg Williams: That’s a great question. Um, and probably something I should address more often because people may not may not know that. Um, so we do a mix. We have a variety of events here we are size wise, Atlanta is probably number 5 or 6 out of the 61 chapters. So we have about 550 members here. Obviously, not all of those members come to every event. Um, you can kind of pick and choose what is what is your cup of tea? So we have everything from our M&A South Conference, which I think we’ll talk about later, which is our largest event with 1250 people. Um, and is is both networking, um, deal making. So one on one meetings all day long. Um, it’s a three day event. So that one is, is very busy and and buzzy and, and so that one is, is not for the faint of heart, I would say. Um, and then we do smaller events. You know, we we love the sporting events. So we run out below the chop and we’ll, we’ll have that for a Braves game. And we might have 60 to 75 people. And that’s purely networking, no programing. On the other other hand, we might have a lunch and learn at the Buckhead Club and have a panel of speakers from businesses all over that are giving us an update on the M&A market. Um, so we do have some content events that are educational, and then we have some that are purely networking. We have some that are large, like M&A South 1250. And then we have, um, you know, events that are pop up happy hour. It might be 50 folks. So if you want something more intimate and that’s more your style is kind of one on one talking. Uh, those those will be what you would choose if you want to get the most bang for your buck and meet as many people as you can and pass out a million business cards, then you’re going to want to pick one of our larger signature events.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you go.

Rachel Simon: Oh go ahead Lee.

Lee Kantor: Well, I just want to be clear. Like, if I’m like, say I’m an aspiring middle market company CEO, do I attend this event to kind of get the lay of the land and meet some people that I might need later? Or if, um, or if I’m a banker, am I going because I have to know the, you know, the leadership of all these up and coming businesses that I might want to get involved with. Like, I’m just trying to understand. Yes. Uh, kind of the dynamic of what’s going on between the people. I would imagine there’s a lot of financial people who want to give their ear to the ground to know what’s happening in the business community here, and they’re going to be there. But am I going to be there as an entrepreneurial CEO or an executive to meet these financial folks?

Meg Williams: Absolutely. So our general makeup, uh, our private equity mezzanine capital lenders, investment bankers, and then what we call M&A advisors. Um, so that’s anything from accountants, um, corporate development lawyers. Anybody who touches an M&A deal is is invited to our events. So if you have any part of that deal, whether you are buying a company or selling a company or acquiring a company, uh, all of those advisors and sort of what used to be called third party advisors are all going to be in the room as well, because you can’t do the deal without them. Um, you have to have those accountants and attorneys and valuation folks. We also do have the corporate CEOs and CFOs that come because, let’s face it, eventually they may be in a position to sell or want to acquire another company. So they want to network with these folks and and be involved. And we have programing just for those CEOs and CFOs of these, these growing companies. We have a whole event around that called the Georgia Fast 40 the awards, where we honor the 40 fastest growing companies in the state of Georgia. Um, that happens in June every year. So those folks stay part of the ACG ecosystem and do attend our events. Most events are going to have the third party, uh, M&A advisors and investment banks and private equity groups that those are typically kind of the three large pockets of our attendees.

Lee Kantor: And then do you do it by niche, like I was just we were able to broadcast from Fintech South. So obviously Fintech South is a big global event. It was at the Woodruff Arts Center this year, and it was just filled with a bunch of entrepreneurs and people investing in entrepreneurs. Um, but that was primarily focused on fintech. Do you are your events kind of niched like that, or are they kind of, uh, you know, more freewheeling than it could be industry agnostic. So, you know, there could be a tech startup, but there could also be a manufacturer.

Meg Williams: Absolutely. So I would definitely say we’re industry agnostic. We’ve got a little bit of everything. So you’ll see healthcare, you’ll see fintech, etc.. So you we we really we do not discriminate. Um, we, we love all the verticals. So again anybody involved in any M&A deal is, is who, who our market is.

Lee Kantor: And that’s what’s great about Georgia right. Like our economy is so diverse. There can be a lot of verticals where like you mentioned some other cities and states, they are not as, uh, you know, not as many industries are there.

Meg Williams: Right. And there’s, you know, we’re hearing a lot about ag tech lately. Um, so a lot of healthcare is is big right now. So the the makeup is kind of constantly changing as well, which is why I prefer not not to put limits and boundaries on that. Right. So next year it could it could totally change. The ecosystem could change. And the atmosphere in the market could change. So, um, we want to be inclusive of of of anyone in the market.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. And I think….

Rachel Simon: Interesting.

Lee Kantor: Go ahead. Sorry. No, you go ahead.

Rachel Simon: The problem of recording on zoom. Um, it’s interesting to look at the list of the past 40. And just to see to your point, companies, everything from, you know, SAS health care technology to agriculture focused businesses because of, you know, again, to Lee’s point, just the variety of industry in the state of Georgia. And it’s a fun list I had looked at like the last couple of years of companies on there, and to sort of see companies moving all around. And, um, it’s, you know, I would encourage people to go to your website, ACG atlanta.org. Right. And um, and take a peek at it, take a peek at the list of fast forwarding companies. Yeah.

Meg Williams: The companies. That’s such a fun event for us. That’s, um, sort of our, I would say our second largest event. Uh, we had about 350 people this year. It’s an event where you get to be in the room with 40 CEOs and C and 40 CFOs of the fastest growing companies in Georgia, so it’s a hot ticket. Um, that event, but it’s it’s a really celebratory event. And, and so cool just to see what we we they’re like our babies, right? We keep up with them. We want to know what’s going, you know, as they continue to grow and succeed. And we love it when they’re an alumni honoree, when they’ve won before and they can get up and accept their award. And we can say this is their third year winning. Um, we love that. So we love hearing their, their names in the, in the news, um, you know, flock safety. And we just heard about right after the, the really, really unfortunate, um, event that happened at Apalachee High School. Um, they really credited that company as, as how they were able to get that fast response. Um, the teachers there were using that, that company’s Technology, so I hate to hear it in association with that, but I am thrilled that that kind of a product is out there and that a company like Syntex is, is making that technology. So.

Rachel Simon: I know you just had a new event in last couple of weeks. Uh, so why don’t you tell us a little bit about that. And then I definitely want to save some time to talk about M&A stealth.

Meg Williams: Yeah, yeah. So, um, we we had our usual events this year, which, you know, our signature events, our M&A South, the Georgia Fast 40 Awards, which I just talked about uh, and then we also do taste of ACG Atlanta, um, which is again a great fun night. Uh, where we, we have it used to be a wine tasting. Now it’s, it’s all sorts of tasting, uh, of all different things. We have the Bourbon Whisperer come and do a bourbon tasting, and, um, companies are able to, like, have an exhibit table and just be able to talk with you as they’re as they’re pouring wine. And it’s it’s a fun networking event. Uh, this year we also added an event called the Spring Summit, and it was what I like to call a hype event for the fast 40 Awards. Um, we announced the winners, but not their ranking. So it sort of created a little buzz, um, prior to the event, so that people got excited and, and made sure they wanted to, to to be at the fast 40 Awards. Um, we did that at the Atlanta History Center. We had Governor Kemp come and he congratulated all of the companies, um, for for the business, the over $2 billion that they’ve brought to the state of Georgia. Um, so that was a really cool event. And then we had, um, two representatives from the the Federal Reserve kind of give us an update and again, congratulate these companies. So that was a great event. And it is I, I’m happy to say it is here to stay. So that will become an annual event. Um, we I think everyone really liked hearing the update on the market. Hearing an update on the state of Georgia from Governor Kemp, and also being able to congratulate those companies.

Rachel Simon: And I think, uh, I want to reiterate what you said, that these companies have contributed $2 billion to the state economy. That is that’s incredible. I mean, that is absolutely incredible to see. And I’m sure, uh, you know, we all reap the benefit of that.

Meg Williams: Yeah, it’s it really and the number of jobs as well. So it’s just incredible what they, um, what what they do and what they’re, what they contribute to the economy of Georgia.

Rachel Simon: Absolutely. Um, so let’s let’s talk a little bit about M&A South, which is in February every year. Um, and I do have a little funny story to share about that. But you tell us about the event and um.

Meg Williams: Oh, good, I can’t wait. I love a funny story. We are.

Meg Williams: So excited to have Maddie South back at Avalon again this year. We have a great partnership with them. Um, if you’ve not been out there, I highly, highly recommend. Um, they have a great conference center which we use. We sort of take over the whole the whole place. So the conference center, the hotel and all of the wonderful mini restaurants. So, um, it’s a it’s a little bit outside of the city, but once you get out there, you don’t have to drive or, um, you can walk everywhere. So it’s it’s going to be February 3rd through fifth this year, which is almost always that first week in February. Um, back at Avalon last year, we had over 1200 attendees. Um, over 50% of those were from outside of the state of Georgia. So it’s really a unique conference. It’s the it’s the premier deal making conference in the South. And part of the reason for that is that it’s the first out of the gate for the calendar year So, you know, you’ve got the holidays and January is a little bit sleepy. And then people are kind of like, oh, I need to, I need to fill my pipeline. I need to start networking and getting some deals in my pipeline. Um, and this is kind of the first opportunity of the year for them to do that. So we have a lot of people come from New York and Boston and Dallas and LA and, um, coming to to make those deals and, and network.

Meg Williams: Um, we have corporate development officers, accountants, lawyers. Um, our exhibitors are made up of over 200 private equity groups, investment banks and mezzanine capital funds. Um, so you will see them on, on the, the showroom floor, sort of doing their deals. They have 20 minute meetings. Some of them will do it all day for two days, which just exhausts me even thinking about it. Um, and then you’ll have some of our sponsors around the room as well that are that make up those M&A advisors that are there to, to sort of market to these groups because again, the deal cannot be cannot be done without them. So, um, you know, this is this represents this conference represents about 6300 deals and over $702 billion invested. So it’s it’s a huge conference. It’s a wonderful like I said, there’s a buzz in the room. People are excited to start their year off. Um, and it’s it’s just become our our most signature event. And and word has luckily again everyone knock on wood word has spread and the exhibitor tables sell out. The hotel sells out. So registration is open now. So if you go to ACG. Org slash Atlanta you can you can sign up for that. And I highly advise to do that quickly.

Rachel Simon: That’s amazing. Um, so my funny story is I have a client who attended last year for the first time. And, you know, he was like, I’m going to take full advantage of M&A South. It’s like two days of great opportunity. And he booked himself with like a full calendar of 20 minute meetings and was like about to pass out from exhaustion by the end of that. And he’s like, I will never do that again. Not that. Not that many meetings like go! It was incredible, but pared down the meetings with some breaks because he gave himself no breaks.

Meg Williams: Build yourself in some breaks. It is um. It is not a sprint. It is a marathon. That event. Um, I usually I essentially move out there for the week, but it kicks off on Monday afternoon. Um, the exhibitors are starting to set up their tables. And then both, both Monday night and Tuesday night are cocktail receptions, which is a fun networking event. The meetings are all day. We also have content, so we’ll have breakout sessions, um, that you can choose to go to if you want to hear about a particular topic or there’s a speaker that you want to hear. Um, so those are going on throughout the day too, that are optional. Some folks will will use those as their break so that they’re not talking for that, that 20 minutes or 30 minutes. Um, and they just they just want to go sit in a room and listen to someone. Um, so that’s available. We always have a great keynote session. Um, the past two years, it’s sort of, uh, revolved around sports. Last year we had Dale Murphy and, um, some other great folks from the Atlanta area come and kind of talk about the business of sports.

Meg Williams: So we we have not announced our keynote yet this year, but I know it will be exciting. So there’s those opportunities as well. And then my sort of funny funny thing about M&A South, I always tell people, even if you’re local, try to get a hotel room out there one of the nights because after after all the ACG sanctioned events of the day after that cocktail party ends at 630, what happens is these companies, um, have dinners and parties at all of the restaurants out there. So there’s so much more networking to do. And I always say the bar at the hotel at Avalon at 9:00 at night is the place to be if you want to get a deal done. Uh, if you come back from dinner, you can look over there at that bar and it’s three deep all the way around. And I think so much gets done around that bar. So, uh, if you are going to come pace yourself, get get your Red bull ready, get some tennis shoes on. Be ready to go from seven in the morning till till midnight. Maybe so, but it will be worth it. It will be worth it.

Lee Kantor: Now can you.

Rachel Simon: Your throat lozenges? Yes.

Lee Kantor: Um, Meg, can you share some advice for folks who are going, maybe for the first time or to maximize their time in those 20 minute sessions? What are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to having those, you know, when you’re kind of banging out a bunch of those conversations like, what are some of the the information you should have at the ready in order to kind of make the most of your time with these people.

Meg Williams: Absolutely. So a lot of these folks are this is this is wrote to them. They they’re used to this, but there are those who are coming in for the first time. Right. And so, um, biggest piece of advice would be to do your research ahead of time. So we have a great software that we use to schedule the meetings. So you know who you’re meeting with. You can request meetings. You can accept them. You can frankly, you could deny them, I guess, if you wanted to. I don’t think that happens very often. Um, but you you schedule those meetings so you know who you’re meeting with, and, and you can get information on that person from that software. Um, my biggest recommendation would be to do a little bit deeper of a dive on that person, either via LinkedIn or the firm website or whatever, and be prepared because you do only have that 20 minutes. I will tell you, these these folks that are having these meetings, they are there to do business So the fun and the networking and all of that happens later. But during the day in those meetings, they are serious business and they they want to get down to brass tacks. So I would say have your one sheet ready, have have your, you know, all of your stats in your head memorized, ready to go multiples, EBITDA, all of those things. Um, just be ready for that and, and be prepared, but also do a little research on who it is that you’re going to be meeting with and their firm so that you’re ready ahead of time.

Lee Kantor: Rachel, do you have any, um, you want to piggyback on that?

Rachel Simon: Yeah. So, uh, you know, you your words are music to my ears when you say do your research, because the best place to go and do that research is to start with someone’s LinkedIn profile. Um, and so a tip to everyone listening is that if your profile is outdated and incomplete, it makes it so much more difficult for somebody to understand what you’re all about. Why? Why they should take that meeting with you. Right. Your profile could be the difference between why someone accepts or maybe says, I’m going to take another meeting. Um, so making sure that that, you know, you’ve got branding in for your organization, it’s crystal clear what you do, who you do it for, the problems that you solve. And hey, if you need y’all need help with that, you can come and ask me. I’ll give you some tips, but I think that’s amazing advice. Um, and truly, LinkedIn is really the generally the number one place people are going to go to do that research.

Meg Williams: It is LinkedIn is such a valuable resource. One other really valuable resource for our members. Um, this is this is what I always say is the big the the the two big things about being a member versus a non member with ACG. Um, you don’t have to be a member to come to our events. Your registration cost is going to be much higher if you’re not. Um, so if you’re going to go to 2 or 3 events in a year, you’re really better off to go ahead and and get a membership. Uh, the membership, the two biggest things that come with that. Number one is the reciprocity of our chapters. So you can attend an event at member pricing at any of the 61 chapters all over the world. Mhm. Um, so if you’re, if you travel to Boston or if you travel to London or if you travel to LA, you know, you can always look up what that chapter is doing that week and hit up one of their events so that that’s one of our, our biggest perks of membership. Um, the other one is that you get access to our database of over 15,000 global members. So if you are a member attending M&A South or another conference or anything like that, um, I highly encourage you to look in the database as well. Use that database to see and you can filter by different firms and, and see who you want to meet with and use that database to get a little more information on on the folks that are maybe requesting a meeting from you. Um, so use that in in conjunction with LinkedIn, I think would be the true gold star there to get all the information you would need.

Lee Kantor: So is there.

Rachel Simon: That’s amazing.

Lee Kantor: Is there still an opportunity, like for sponsorship or tickets for the M&A South? Like what?

Meg Williams: Absolutely.

Meg Williams: We are not sold out. Um, sponsorships are available. They are going very quickly. This is a real opportunity for firms to get their name in front of a large amount of people, um, and be able to have time to network and chat with them. So there are some conferences where the sponsors are, are like in another room or outside in the hall and, and not really in the main showroom floor. That’s not the case at M&A South where everybody’s in the room together. Because again, we agree you can’t do the deals without these M&A advisors. So they need to be in the room. Uh, so it’s a great opportunity. We have several that are left. If you are interested again you can go to ACG. Org slash Atlanta. Click on events. You will find everything you need to know about M&A South and and our other events as well. If you’re interested in sponsoring something smaller or something later in the year, we’ve got opportunities for for all of those.

Lee Kantor: Well, Meg, thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Rachel Simon: Absolutely, absolutely.

Meg Williams: Thanks for having me. Really appreciate it.

Rachel Simon: Thank you. Meg, um, this was a great. ACG, I’d highly encourage people to come check out events. There’s so many different kinds of events to, um, to attend and just get a sense of what you all are all about.

Meg Williams: Thanks again guys.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor for Rachel Simon. We’ll see you all next time on Sandy Springs Business Radio.

About Your Host

Rachel Simon is the CEO & Founder of Connect the Dots Digital. She helps B2B companies close more business by leveraging the power of LinkedIn.

Rachel works with professionals, both individuals and teams, to position their authentic brand on LinkedIn so they can connect organically with ideal clients, attract the best talent, and stand out as a leader in their industry.

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn.

Elizabeth Miller with Happy Healthy Caregiver

September 12, 2024 by angishields

Cherokee Business Radio

Elizabeth Miller with Happy Healthy Caregiver

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Brought to you by Diesel David and Main Street Warriors

Elizabeth Miller founded Happy Healthy Caregiver, a top 10 caregiving blog and podcast. She became a full-time entrepreneur in the spring of 2021 to focus on her passion – helping family caregivers infuse self-care and caregiving into their lives. She believes you can be a fantastic family caregiver AND have a happy and healthy life.

Elizabeth is a Certified Caregiving Consultant and Certified Senior Advisor who helps family caregivers through her speaking, consulting, writing, and online community. She has presented at 2016 -2019 National Caregiving Conferences. Her story has also been featured in Woman’s Day and the Marietta Daily Journal. She hosts the Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast on the Whole Care Network author of Just for You: a Daily Self-Care Journal. She facilitates a monthly support group for family caregivers and organizes educational programs for a NW Atlanta area monthly meetup.

For years, Elizabeth juggled her corporate career while raising two active children and caring for family members with chronic and terminal illnesses. She also has an adult brother with a developmental disability. She searched for a community of people who could provide resources and support. When she didn’t find one, she created one. Happy Healthy Caregiver was founded in 2015.

Elizabeth obtained a B.A. in Journalism from Penn State University.

Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn and follow Happy Healthy Caregiver on Facebook.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this morning, and today’s episode is brought to you in part by our Community Partner program, the Business RadioX Main Street Warriors Defending Capitalism, promoting small business, and supporting our local community. For more information, go to Mainstreet warriors.org and a special note of thanks to our title sponsor for the Cherokee chapter of Main Street Warriors Diesel David, Inc. please go check them out at diesel. David. Dot com you guys are in for a real treat this morning. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Happy Healthy Caregiver, Elizabeth Miller. How are you?

Elizabeth Miller: I’m doing well. Thanks for having me, Stone.

Stone Payton: Oh, what a delight to have you in studio. I got a ton of questions, Elizabeth. I’m almost certain we won’t get to them all, but I think a great place to start is if you could share with me and our listeners mission. Purpose? What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Elizabeth Miller: Okay, to laugh a little bit about the team because it’s I’m a solo Preneur Stone. I do have a couple consultants that help me with stuff, but for the most part it’s been me since 2015. I started Happy Healthy Caregiver because I wanted to provide some education, support and resources for family caregivers so people who are caring for their loved ones, maybe at home, maybe in a nearby senior living community and so forth. And I stumbled on this profession, because I just really felt like my husband and I were squeezed in the sandwich generation. So caring for older adults while raising our kids, working full time in the peak of our careers, and drowning, drowning and overwhelm and feeling like, you know, why is this so hard? Why is this so hard to care for people that we love? So I started blogging and layering on things over the years and where I’ve landed now, you know, nine years later is I provide education through speaking to companies, in particular employers who are trying to help their working family caregivers make caregiving more sustainable could be organizations. And I’ve also kind of found myself as an accidental influencer, where I’m helping other companies who are trying to put their products and services in front of family caregivers and amplifying them through my podcasts, my newsletter, and resources like that. But what I’m all about essentially is supporting family caregivers, helping them to make their caregiving journey sustainable so they can mitigate burnout.

Stone Payton: So nine years in, what are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about the work for you?

Elizabeth Miller: I love the speaking. So funny little story about me is I studied broadcast journalism at Penn State University, never really used it, spent my professional career in IT and corporate strategy, and now I get to kind of take that back and and really highlight what caregivers, what’s working for them through the podcast. So speaking through the podcast and then speaking to groups of people, because I’m finding that, you know, I wasn’t alone in feeling the way that I have felt. And, um, this is a way for me to scale the message and fast track people to the resources that can help them so that they’re not, you know, wandering in the dark like I felt like I was doing.

Stone Payton: So what was it like when you first started speaking to groups? Was it nerve wracking or did you take to it really easy or.

Elizabeth Miller: Well, it was nerve wracking. And I think, you know, part of that is keeps you honest. Like, you want to do a good job so you get that butterflies. But really what changed for me is, you know, rather than all the focus kind of coming to me and feeling like I’m in the spotlight, I really felt like what I want to do instead was almost like a lighthouse and project out. That wasn’t necessarily about me, but it was about them getting the support and resources so that, you know, their evening, their tomorrow could be a little different than it was today.

Stone Payton: And this podcast, you’re a veteran podcaster. It’s not like you, you got this idea or your nephew has a podcast and you thought you’d take a swing at it. You’ve been doing this for a while.

Elizabeth Miller: Yeah, I’ve been doing this for nine years. Wow. Yeah, I guess eight years for the podcast. So what makes Happy Healthy Caregiver Podcast different than other podcasts in this care space is that I honestly feel like the real experts in family caregiving are the family caregivers. So I only you have to have either been or currently are a family caregiver to be considered as a guest on the show. And then I want to, you know, figure out what has helped you in your caregiving journey and how you have been able to infuse self-care in little, small ways, either to recover from burnout or to mitigate burnout.

Stone Payton: And the name of the podcast is Happy Healthy Caregivers So Easy Enough to Find, is probably on the podcast platform.

Elizabeth Miller: It’s out there. It’s everywhere. It’s on YouTube as well, so if people want to watch it, they can watch it and then show notes page too, because I know caregivers are doing a lot and they’re probably listening while they’re on the go. And so then we’re going to keep all the resources and things that we talk about on the website.

Stone Payton: So I want to I guess I would characterize my situation as pre caregiver. Okay.

Elizabeth Miller: So expectant I call that yeah.

Stone Payton: This conversation is very timely for me. My, my I grew up in Pensacola, Florida. My folks have moved up here. There are now two minutes away Okay. Uh, they’re 82 and 84. Um, but I gotta believe at some point I’m going to at least I’m going to need to to learn about how to access the right resources. And I’m going to need to learn some things. And so this is a very timely conversation for me. So, uh, I’d love to let’s dive into the work a little bit. Okay. And the, the work that you’re doing for the organizations. But maybe any insights on, you know, what what is happening and needs to be happening in the home?

Elizabeth Miller: Well, I’m glad that we met, first of all, because you’re not going to be like, flailing your arms in the deep end of the ocean. And I think for some people, caregiving happens overnight, you know, with a fall or a crisis situation and then some people, which is definitely was my situation. You can kind of see it coming. And, and mine was a little bit of a mudslide situation with my folks and my in-law. But, you know, where I really have focused on what I provide is, you know, a lot of people were telling me I should take care of myself, and they were shooting on me. I call it. Um.

Stone Payton: And I’m going to steal that.

Elizabeth Miller: Yeah. Shooting all over me and and listen, I’m going in. I’m taking the notes with my mom, in particular to doctor’s appointments. I’m. I’ve got a walker, sometimes a wheelchair and a walker and asking all the questions. And there were constantly, you should be doing this for your person. You should be doing that. And I thought, I am losing it. Like I feel like I should be doing enough by now. Uh, and so that was a really tough situation is just to feel like there’s so many people needing you. And I call that like feeding a nest of hungry birds where, you know, the birds are never satiated. They’re just constantly needing, like, work, your pets, your care recipients, your relationships, your all of that. My kids. And so I just felt like this should not be this hard. Uh, but I also at that same time, it came really clear to me that my health was changing and that my health and happiness was suffering and that I needed to infuse more self-care into my day. And, you know, we should take care of ourselves. But what does that really look like? Like when you’re buried, you know, in in helping someone with medications and appointments and, you know, trying to coordinate their care and all of that, like, you have already got a full time job, Stone. And so you’ve got a full plate and then this caregiving stuff starts happening and you’ve got to learn a whole new terminology. And who are you going to go to? You know, everybody kind of is specialized in their own area and it’s very fragmented.

Elizabeth Miller: Our health care system. So, you know, I’m not saying I have all the answers. I’m certainly still a work in progress. I’m still a caregiver who cares now for a support caregiver for my brother who was born with an intellectual and developmental disability. So my parents are deceased and, you know, care is is something then that my siblings and I have to kind of figure out how to share. And it’s a completely different path than than one caring for an older adult. Um, but what I had to also come to terms with is that self-care is not just physical self-care like we think about, you know, going exercising and eating, right, and maybe we even think about the quality of our sleep. But for caregivers, you know, the nights out on the town and the massages are just not a thing that you can really put into your day. So figuring out those little micro acts that you can do in your day that you can infuse, and also thinking about it beyond physical. So social self-care, professional, spiritual, financial. Um, I recognize eight different categories of self-care. And I really encourage caregivers to try on different strategies. Just like you try on clothes, see what maybe works for you, and keep those in your closet, in your toolbox and ditch what doesn’t because you know what works for you. Stone is going to be different than what works for me.

Stone Payton: I’m sure that’s true. Are there also, however, some common myths or mistakes? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Speak to that a little bit. Yeah.

Elizabeth Miller: I mean, I think, you know, for one, people think they’re not a caregiver If the person doesn’t live with them, you know, but you you know, you’re probably likely still making phone calls, taking them appointments, you know, long distance. Caregiving is a much more common thing these days than it used to be, with the way that our society is so spread out. Um, you know, there’s I learned a lot about senior living and assisted living and kind of what I thought was a good fit and what really was a good fit was different. Um, you know, the first place we picked for my mom, based upon the amenities and the look and feel and hoping that was going to ease her transition and what we really needed was a higher level of care. And so learning how to kind of ask those questions, creating a care team, you know, um, a lot of us think that we can do caregiving by ourselves. And I’ve never seen that work. You know, in the time a solo caregiver is, you know, think about these communities. They have so many different people that do different roles, and we need that. And we don’t have the expertise in all of the different areas, and some of us are better nurturers than others. So we have to kind of build out our team for our our loved ones and for ourselves. So we have that support too.

Stone Payton: So have you had the benefit of one or more mentors as you kind of found yourself in this space, or is it all individual? Hard earned scar tissue, or do you get a little bit of help? No.

Elizabeth Miller: Listen, I mean, everything is like I’ve gotten so much from different, different people in my life and a lot from our community, frankly. Like, you know, I’m very plugged in to the the senior living and the older adult groups. I got my certification as a certified senior advisor and a certified caregiving consultant, so that I could learn more about these spaces and have kept those certifications going. And so I have I don’t have all the answers, but I hopefully can help people direct to get there a little quicker. Um, you know, I’ve learned so much about hospice and palliative care. Like, there’s there’s a lot of myths in that space in general that people think you have to wait until the very end in order to utilize those services. I’ve seen the blank stare on people’s faces when they realize that Medicare doesn’t pay for long term care, and what that’s going to mean to their, their finances. Um, so there’s like, yeah, we need I need a team. I need a team of people to.

Stone Payton: Now you are on the leadership team. Speaking of teams at this organization called Acap. Talk a little bit about mission and purpose of Acap and and tell us what you guys are up to.

Elizabeth Miller: It’s a great group. First of all, part of the leadership team. It stands for Adult children of Aging Parents. It was created by Francis Hall at a North Carolina. It’s a nonprofit group, and we have one here in Cobb and Cherokee. And the whole premise of it is to offer programs to adult children of aging parents in a very no sales, no pressure environment. So, like, I don’t go and promote myself as happy, healthy caregiver there. I, you know, I don’t wear my name tags or anything. We have spots for sponsors that pay to do that. They have tables set up. So certainly you can be a sponsor for an A cap program. But we meet the third Thursday of every month we’re meeting. September 19th is our next one. We’ve been having our groups since February of this year, and all of the people on the leadership team have different roles in our in the senior community. Um, my role for the leadership team is, is selecting the programs and finding the good speakers for our programs. And I hope that my experience as a family caregiver can kind of help guide what I feel like might be valuable to put into that space.

Elizabeth Miller: So I this topic this month, September 19th, is shielding loved ones from scams and fraud. It’s a sick, sick world out there that people are like preying on people like my brother who, you know, through Facebook, you know, beautiful women asking him for gift cards happens on the regular, but there’s also Medicare fraud and other things that happen. So we’ve got a Jeff Donnelly from the deputy department in Cherokee is going to come speak. And then Jose Pinto talking about the Medicare fraud issues. So we try to pull in the people who have the expertise, but we’ve got other great topics this year. October is importance of being socially engaged and active. November residential options when a when your loved one can no longer live at home and that no longer meets their needs. And then in December, funding sources as loved ones need more care. So all things that people need, um, and it’s a very rich program environment that we follow a curriculum.

Stone Payton: And where do you get together?

Elizabeth Miller: We meet at the Covenant Presbyterian Church off Canton Road. So we try to find a good location for, uh, for Cherokee and Cobb. It’s, you know, it’s a big area.

Stone Payton: Sure, but this is the kind of, uh, of meeting that that someone like I should go to this thing, right?

Elizabeth Miller: Yeah, I think so, Stone.

Stone Payton: Because it would really help me get prepared to to help Mom and dad and help me educate my brother who’s down in Tallahassee. Yeah, but I you mentioned long distance. It doesn’t have to be just me because I’m the one up here. I can get my brother rusty. I can get Russ on the team too, right? I got a lot.

Elizabeth Miller: Of tips for your brother that he can do to support you and your parents from a distance. Yes. Like, there’s a lot they could pay the bills. He can do research. He can plan, you know, outings and events. He can find different programs for, you know, so a lot of things can happen online. He can certainly send a DoorDash gift card, um, different things, things like that. But I like to say whether you’re using a cap or, you know, other coaching services, I do some coaching, but I don’t do a lot of it. It’s just not scalable for me. But I certainly am willing to kind of get someone on the right track with a with a complimentary session. But the best way to find support is on your best day, because that’s the problem with a lot of us, is as we wait for a crisis to happen before we’re like, oh my gosh, the sky is falling. There’s all these different issues. What if what if you got in front of it and you went to programs like this and went to communities where you can learn from other people so that you have the tools and resources kind of building up, and then you know how to put them into practice. No, I love that.

Stone Payton: And I think that’s true in a lot of arenas. Getting in front of it early is so much better than late. Yes.

Elizabeth Miller: It’s so hard though. We’re just we’re not a culture that talks about these things like we just we’re we’re not good at it. But you could use this program, you know, like you could you could use the Scams and Fraud program to open the dialog and have the conversation and just say, I just heard this horror story. I’ve learned about this. I mean, people who I have known personally who are geniuses, like on, on paper, have fallen for scams that have cost them thousands and thousands of dollars.

Stone Payton: Oh, man. All right. So going forward, what is next for you? Are you going to try to continue to scale? And you know we joked about team, but might there be like the Miller certified caregiver team out there at some point? Or what are your long term plans for for the business? Yeah.

Elizabeth Miller: You know, it’s funny. Like, I have always kind of been a person who doesn’t want to manage a big team. I’ve, you know, even in my professional career, I was a leader without being a manager. I kind of liked that same kind of process for what this looks like. I really have been leaning into the corporate world because they need employers, the good employees, to stay working, and it’s costly for them to replace really good people. And we as family caregivers need the income now. And we need our future, our benefits now, and we need our future income, you know, through what we’re saving through 401. S and stuff. So I’ve been partnering with, with um companies instead of doing like a one off webinar really to be a strategic partner with them and offer monthly caregiver support sessions for their employees and the educational seminars and workshops, and really helping them build out their employee resource groups, their ERGs, as kind of a, you know, more and more companies have different ergs for different different groups. And so a good niche for me is a is a parent and caregiver type of or disability ERG or veteran ERG women’s and so forth. But helping them because these people are running their ergs on top of their day job, right? So what can I do to help them with that? And I used to lead a women’s erg where I worked before. So I have that understanding of what that what that could look like. Um, yeah. So I feel like that’s, that’s where, you know, doing more consulting and more integration with companies is really appealing to me right now.

Stone Payton: So how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a practice like yours? How do you get the new business or the conversation about maybe working? Oh, yeah. How does that work? You know, it’s funny.

Elizabeth Miller: That’s like with all of us as entrepreneurs, stone like, I feel like we’ve got this iceberg and there’s the part that people see, and then there’s the rest of the stuff. Right, right. Yeah. For me, what that looks like is I use LinkedIn. I know that a lot of people that hire me are usually in the diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, belonging group or employee culture, or they’re a co-lead for their employee resource group related to caregiving. So I search for those folks I have like a CRM and a process to to reach out to them. And then hopefully my search engine optimization is working with my, you know, low budget that I’ve been able to put toward that. And people are finding me as well. So they’re they’re looking for those resources.

Stone Payton: So when you’re not doing this work and I don’t know when or where you’d find the time, but hobbies, interests, passions outside the scope of this work. My my listeners know that I like to hunt, fish and travel. Anything you nerd out about, I loved.

Elizabeth Miller: I loved to try new things. I mean, that can be new restaurants. I love to travel. I think it heightens all the experiences. We’re going to Traverse City for a wine, a wine vacation within my family. I love that my kids are over 21. We can do that. I’m playing pickleball. Um, yeah. I’m, um, you know, I do a lot of walking. I’ve got my dogs that that need to get out. I love to hike and try new trails. Um, and my husband is an entrepreneur as well, so he has his own beverage company, really, that he co-founded here in Georgia called Good Days, drink Good Days. Com and so, you know, we do a lot of tastings and festivals so that people can can try it. He’s a newly a sponsor for Kennesaw State University, which is exciting. Oh, wow. Yeah. So it’s a canned cocktail cocktail in a can. So he’s been in the beverage business his whole life, and now he’s out on his own. Um, with a with a co-founder that lives in Athens. Yeah. So. But really focused on Georgia right now. So it’s exciting to get. And so I’m you know helping him behind the scenes for that.

Stone Payton: And it must be really good for the both of you that the other person understands what an entrepreneur goes. Yeah. Goes through. And you really can be very supportive of each other. And now I can send him an invoice because now he got. He’s.

Elizabeth Miller: Oh, there. You got free advertising. Yeah. He’d be actually be great to have on.

Stone Payton: Well, we’ll get him on sometime. Yeah. Absolutely.

Elizabeth Miller: He’s a fun, fun guy to talk to. What’s his name? Jason. But we play pickleball together. We we really? Um. Yeah. I feel like we try to have a good balance. You know, he cared for his mom, too, so he certainly understands, you know, the caregiving world of it. And, um, you know, lots of tearful conversations when I was trying to quit my job and say, look, I think I can do this full time. Like, that takes a huge leap of faith. Um, yeah. So, yeah, we’ve been. He’s my prom date. I married my prom date, so we’re stuck together.

Stone Payton: All right. Shout out for Jason. We will. We’ll get him in the studio. I’d love to hear all about that company. How he built it up. What he’s doing? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’d be fun. So, uh, in a little bit before we wrap, I’m going to ask. Ask for you for a couple of actionable pro tips for those of us that are just beginning to for this, this to even be on our on our radar. But before we go there, uh, as if you haven’t done enough already to try to serve people like me and the folks you’re describing, you’re also an author. Yeah. Just tell us about the book.

Elizabeth Miller: Okay, so, um, I wrote a journal. It’s called the just for you daily self-care journal. It’s a prompted journal. So every on the top of every page is a question. And the goal of that was, you know, I found journaling and writing to be very therapeutic for me. When I was deep in this caregiving world, I had no business starting a business. Right. I had lots of things going on. Um, but I made time, you know, two, two times a week and went to a Starbucks on a Wednesday and Friday morning. And I just started writing, and sometimes the tears were, you know, coming out while we’re writing. But, you know, to talk about journaling with people is very intimidating. And not everybody is a writer. So I wanted them to have a low entry way to try it on. And by asking the questions. And the other thing that it does, I think, is that caregivers are really bad at putting focus back on themselves. So putting some of that back on them. And like, what did bring you joy when you were ten years old? You know, what does a perfect day look like for you? You know, what would you do if the internet was broken for three days? And so talking about these things so that they can write it out, um, and just try it on and kind of put those words on paper could be a good step. And what I love, the unexpected benefit of it is it really almost leaves a legacy behind if you, if you continue to do it. And I know some people have added to it every year, um, because it’s, you know, there’s a general date at the top and so you can add to it every year. But it would tell a lot about you. I think if it were a little artifact that somebody discovered later on.

Stone Payton: I’d never even crossed my mind. But my grandmother, who has passed. Boy, had she filled this thing out. Yeah. God, wouldn’t you love to have that?

Elizabeth Miller: Wouldn’t you love to have that? Yeah. And, you know, sometimes with older adults, too, I know people have used it for starting conversations. Like, I know my mom was bedridden the last two years of her life, so her world was very small. And so you had to get creative about the things that you would talk about and bring up. And this could be a conversation starter for somebody like in that situation where you could talk to them. I think even for a professional caregiver that’s working with older adults could benefit from it. Um, yeah. So it’s it’s the goal is to just, you know, prioritize self-care a little bit.

Stone Payton: Well, you’ve already shared so much, so many great ideas and you’ve got my, you know, got my wheels clicking. But let’s do leave our listeners with a couple of, I call them pro tips, a couple of actionable items and look, gang. The number one pro tip is reach out and connect with Elizabeth. That’s your number one pro tip, but let’s leave them with a couple things.

Elizabeth Miller: Yeah, I mean, there’s nothing to lose. You get a complimentary session. Okay. So do that for sure. Yeah. Um, but I do think finding your community is important. Starting the conversations early with your older adults and your care recipients about what they want to be true. I think sometimes we have our own expectations about what that looks like, and maybe use this conversation as a way to start that conversation and just say, I listened to this today. I’ve never really we’ve never really had a chat about, you know, what you’d want to be true or what does aging well look like for you? Um, and I think you can learn a lot. And listen, I would recommend listening more, um, and then schedule your self-care. Like, we think that, um, you’re not going to find the time. You’re going to have to create the time. So whatever that looks like, start small, five minute, 15 minutes. Maybe it’s a stretch break in the middle of your day. Maybe it’s something, a ritual that you do in the morning. I mean, it could even be just, you know, sitting with the journal and a cup of coffee or, um, you know, I think for me, it’s getting outside is really critical to me every day. It’s, um, I put things through a filter that, if it’s peace of mind or energizes you or is just pure joy, then that that’s self-care. So sometimes self-care is cleaning off your desk. Um, but I think trying on different things and encourage you to kind of maybe pat yourself on the back for what you’re already doing, that you didn’t call it self-care. Um, and then trying on some some new things and schedule that time for yourself.

Stone Payton: All right. We got a ton of coordinates that we need to leave for our listeners, because I want to make sure that they can tap into the the A cap. I want them to be able to find your book. I want them to listen to your podcast. I want to know how to connect with you. Okay. Let’s, uh, let’s leave them with some coordinates for all of that.

Elizabeth Miller: So a cap is a cap community org. And head over to the chapter for Cobb and Cherokee. And you can register for the programs and get the address there. Happy healthy caregiver. Anything that you want to know about that you can go to happy Healthy caregiver.com. You’ll link to the social media, the book, the podcast, the coaching appointment, the speaking, whatever you want. It’s there.

Stone Payton: Well, Elizabeth, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio this morning. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm. You’re a breath of fresh air. You are doing such important work. And we we sure appreciate you.

Elizabeth Miller: Thank you. Stone, thanks for filling my bucket today.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Elizabeth Miller with happy, healthy caregiver and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.

From Hemp to Health: The Bold New Era of Period Care

September 12, 2024 by angishields

Women in Motion

From Hemp to Health: The Bold New Era of Period Care

00:00 /

On today’s Women in Motion, Valerie Emanuel shares her inspiring entrepreneurial journey driven by her passion for environmentalism and women’s health. Valerie is CEO and Co-Founder of Rif Care, a company producing biodegradable period products from hemp fiber. She highlights the challenges of product development, securing funding through a Kickstarter campaign, and the importance of community support. Valerie also emphasizes the impact of being a women-owned business and the role of social media in building a brand and fostering customer engagement.

California native Val Emanuel is a mother, model, entrepreneur, and founder of Rif Care, a newly launched first of its kind period care brand made with hemp fiber.

The fully biodegradable pads are the first of their kind in the U.S. market and are providing a safe alternative to personal care.

Growing up, Emanuel was very conscious about waste due to being raised in a low-income household with a lack of resources. Rif Care was an opportunity for her to make a necessary product regenerative, not just sustainable with affordable price points.

Using regenerative agriculture, Rif Care’s menstrual care and wellness products contain only plant-based ingredients, offering women the much-desired choice of safety and sustainability.

Connect with Val on LinkedIn.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Valerie Emanuel with Rif Care. Welcome.

Valerie Emanuel: Thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Rif Care.

Valerie Emanuel: So, I’m one of the co-founders of Rif Care, and we are a period care company that launched two years ago. We make biodegradable period products, and we were the first company to launch that makes period products out of hemp fiber, so it’s a material innovation company and it’s also a women’s health company.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s your backstory? Were you always kind of inventing products?

Valerie Emanuel: No. I mean, I’ve definitely always been entrepreneurial since I was a kid. I was selling, you know, chips and candy out of my locker since I can remember. But I just really cared about the environment, and so I always grew up as an environmentalist doing beach cleanups and volunteering at parks, and just doing all these different things with my mom. And I kind of just took that into adulthood, and when I started to focus on my own health, I realized, wow, there’s so much with environmentalism and women’s health and just such an intersection there. And then, started to change all of my personal care products and just realized there was a gap in the market for materials innovation.

Valerie Emanuel: And, also, just, you know, if you haven’t seen the news last week, they found out that tampons had all these heavy metals. There was just, every week, a new story about how women’s health products were not the best and not that healthy. And so, I was like, I think this is why I’m making Rif Care.

Lee Kantor: And so, did you come up with the idea first or what was kind of the genesis of “Okay. I’m going to actually create a product here that’s going to, you know, solve the problem that I see.”

Valerie Emanuel: Yeah. So, I’m just a lover of hemp in general. And I had this idea, I went to a bunch of factories and I was like, “Why don’t we put hemp in period care? Like, we’re putting hemp in clothing and denim and t-shirts and bras.” And they’re like, “Oh. We can’t do that because it’s a non-woven material.” And I was like, “Well, I don’t understand why you can’t do it.” So, I just kind of dropped the idea for two years. I was in Portugal at the time and I thought if I’m here with all the manufacturing, I can figure it out.

Valerie Emanuel: But two years later, I ended up emailing someone in China who had a connection in Turkey, and they were actually making a tissue paper type of material with him. And so, they were able to use that same manufacturing to create the non-woven that makes our hemp top sheets. So, there were people working on it before, but we were the first people to be able to actually get it commercial into market.

Lee Kantor: And so, you have the idea, you find the right resource to help you kind of make it, then how many iterations did it take for you to get a product that you were happy with?

Valerie Emanuel: I mean, two iterations, honestly. It’s like from the time that I found the factory, it was actually when I launched my Kickstarter. I was talking to someone and he was an investor, and I was like, “I have this idea. I can’t let it go and I think it’s time for me to start it. I see there’s other companies trying to do it. They’ve been working on it for years.” And then, he was like, “That’s really interesting. I want to invest in you.” And I was like, “What?” So, I got the investment check. I started working on branding and everything else, and then I launched the Kickstarter.

Valerie Emanuel: And 60 days after launching the Kickstarter is when we had our first prototype. And they sent us two different types of prototypes with just different weights of material, and I ended up liking the second weight. And so, I sent it to all my friends, they all tried it, we all fell in love with it. And so, two months to prototype and then eight months later we launched, so really ten months since the inception of the brand and kind of telling people I was going to do it to actually launching. So, it was pretty quick.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, that’s blazing fast. I mean, that’s really unusually quick. Congratulations on having the ability to pull that off. That’s a great story just by itself. How did you kind of do the Kickstarter? Because I know a lot of folks out there listening maybe have participated in Kickstarter, but maybe haven’t done it. Is there any lessons learned from kind of doing a successful Kickstarter?

Valerie Emanuel: I don’t know if I would ever do crowdfunding ever again, just because the internet landscape has changed so much in the last few years. I honestly wouldn’t discourage anyone from doing it. I think there’s two things. Number one is set up your email list very soon. I mean, if you’ve been doing this in any business, but making sure that you actually have people who are going to come to your page on the first day, pledge on the first day is really important.

Valerie Emanuel: Number two, we set a really, really high number of $50,000. And so, in order to reach that number, because we didn’t have a big email list, I don’t even think I was taking any emails. I was just posting on social media and hoping people saw us. We had to really get some friends who were going to invest as angel investors to like bigger Kickstarter donations. My mom did a bigger Kickstarter donation. And then, we had lots of pledges that came in that were pretty big, but just making sure you have people and then setting a low amount.

Valerie Emanuel: So, don’t be like, “Oh. We want to raise $50,000.” Maybe you want to raise $5,000, because if you reach $5,000 in two days, it’s going to look great to the algorithm versus it taking 50 days to reach $50,000, if that makes sense. I didn’t know that’s how it worked either. And there’s also companies that can help you run ads and do all this stuff for Kickstarter. I didn’t know that. I wish I would have hired one of them before we started.

Lee Kantor: So, it’s one of those things where you kind of have to have a bunch of people in a list or a database of some kind that care about what you’re doing to begin with. It’s not a build it and they will come kind of thing where you just put out a great idea and then all of a sudden the masses are going to find you somehow.

Valerie Emanuel: Yeah, I wish it was like that. And I was hoping that we’d be picked up on one of these newsletters, these Kickstarter newsletters, or that they feature us as a company, but you just can’t rely on that at all. And in order to do that, we would have had to reach our goal, like within the first 48 hours, which we didn’t. In the first 48 hours, I think we got, like, $3,000, which was just what? Less than 10 percent of our goal, less than 5 percent.

Valerie Emanuel: So, yeah, but you should already be building these email lists anyway if you’re starting your company. If your company is going to launch in six months, launch the website today and start collecting emails today, it is the most important thing you’ll do.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I tell that to people all the time that that’s kind of the foundational work you have to do before you even begin beginning. Because if you don’t have a bunch of people that care about you, it’s going to be hard to get that escape velocity.

Valerie Emanuel: Yeah. Social media, I mean, the ROI, you know, it’s okay for us. It’s like 2X. But our ROI on our newsletters, which are the emails that we’ve been collecting, is 20 to 40X just depending on the content.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. And you control it. You can put it out and everybody will see it as opposed to, you know, social media where you’re part of the algorithm and maybe a few percent are going to see any given post.

Valerie Emanuel: Totally.

Lee Kantor: So, now you have your product, you launch your product, you start getting momentum, how did you kind of level up and get to the point where you are today?

Valerie Emanuel: Oh. I mean, there was so much. I think we’re really strategic about our launch, but also just didn’t know a lot. And so, sales in the first few months were like, there was tons of days where we just didn’t have a single sale. But when we first launched, we launched into a grocery store that’s called Erewhon, the very popular grocery store. And we knew that if we could get in there and solidify ourselves as a brand that’s selling really well, this would convince people that we had a great product because it’s hard to succeed on a shelf like that. And then, we also launched into Amazon. So, those were two things we did in the first 60 days.

Valerie Emanuel: But we didn’t have a big marketing budget and tons of marketing spend, so in terms of acquiring new customers, that was kind of difficult because it was all through social media. I still didn’t have my email capture really set up that well. And I think another thing that we did was we launched into a bunch of small grocery stores, so that kind of kept money coming in. But still, like in the first few months, we’re talking, you know, $3,000 a month, then $5,000, then $8,000, then $8,000 again for the next four months, and then $15,000 a month, finally. You know what I mean?

Valerie Emanuel: So, it’s been a slow build, but now we’re kind of getting into those retail stores. And in the next six months where it’s like this store has got 50 locations, this store’s got 200 locations, and so that kind of takes the business you’re doing and just 5X’s it. And so, it’s definitely slow, though. Like in the beginning, you will have those days where you don’t have a single order and that’s really depressing, or some months where a grocery store just doesn’t reorder. But then, you start to know, like, this is what I need to do with marketing to turn that, this is what I need to do with social media to get that number higher.

Valerie Emanuel: And really figuring it out in A/B testing what your audience is actually reacting to, what makes your audience go into stores, and also what keeps the retailers coming back. Is that sampling the employees or sampling the customers? Is that making sure that everyone has a discount code so they can all try your product? It’s small things like that, but it’s very hands-on growth in the beginning.

Lee Kantor: Now, did you or your co-founder have a background in kind of working with grocery stores and those kind of retail establishments or was this something you were having to learn as you went?

Valerie Emanuel: Me and my co-founder had no experience in CPG at all. So, our experience has been luckily not putting out tons of money and making really expensive mistakes. But you do make some semi-expensive mistakes. We’ve only raised like $200,000 for the company. So, you know, there’s just been times where we had to really rely on other founders to give us information about how we should function with distribution, and should we be distributing ourselves and shipping ourselves, or leaving it to a 3PL.

Valerie Emanuel: Her background is in molecular biology, she used to work in a lab. And then, my background is in influencer marketing. And even with marketing, digital marketing versus influencer marketing, completely different subject. Like we were on Squarespace, I think, for the first eight months, and we had $20,000 in abandoned cards. And then, we switched to Shopify and completely changed that. I would not have known that we should have been on Shopify if I didn’t talk to a bunch of other founders. So, things like that, that’s why I think it’s important to be in community for whatever type of company you’re building.

Lee Kantor: And speaking of community, why was it important for you to join the WBEC-West community?

Valerie Emanuel: Oh. I mean, every week I’m getting emails about different phone calls we can have about finances or trademarks or IP. There’s just so many resources. I also think getting the women-owned certification has been so important for us, because as a small brand, there’s just so many pluses to having the women-owned certification. It’s like waived slotting fees and also being able to be women-certified on Amazon. And, honestly, it’s been such a positive thing for our business to do, especially as we’re this small and still 100 percent women-owned.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a story around the name Rif?

Valerie Emanuel: Yeah. So, funny story is I lost a trademark battle when we first started. The name was going to be Reef, and I thought our entire brand would be around ocean plastic and I was like, “Oh, maybe we’ll make, like, tampon applicators out of ocean bound plastic.” And like, “I don’t think consumers really like that.” And there’s also a brand called Reef that makes surf gear, so they were like, no.

Valerie Emanuel: But I also liked that R stood for regenerative, so Regenerative International Female. I don’t remember if me or my ex came up with it or we came up with it together. But after talking to him one day, after being super sad about losing that trademark battle, that’s how it came about. And then, I actually was still pronouncing Rif, reef. And then, I was like, no, it was too close to the other thing. Let’s just make it Rif, so it’s like maybe German sounding or some like Bavarian language just to make it kind of hard Rif. And then, we added Care because my co-founder was like names that have C sound in them consumers remember, so added Rif Care.

Lee Kantor: And then, has the brand kind of expanded beyond the initial products that you started with?

Valerie Emanuel: Yeah. I mean, we’re not making tons of products, but we do have, let’s see, one, two, three, four, five, six SKUs at the moment. And so, we have our pads regular, super, and overnight, which are made with hemp, first on the market, really proud of those. And then, next, we launched period underwear. Those were actually made with hemp eucalyptus fiber and organic cotton. They’re BFA-free and they’re just reusable underwear that you bleed into, you wash and repeat. And then, we also have tampons. But we’re super proud of everything we’ve done so far and the way we’ve been able to to innovate in products. So, yeah, we’ll continue building eventually. Just nothing new maybe for the next 12 months.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you building a community with the people who are buying the products?

Valerie Emanuel: Yeah. I mean, we’ve had such amazing feedback on social media lately. Earlier this year, we did a reality show called Side Hustlers that we gained a few hundred followers from that. And we also found that from that, we were getting so much more engagement. Because I think with social media before, it felt like we were just posting things and they were going nowhere. Of course, there were videos that went viral and there were videos that people responded to and sent us DMs about.

Valerie Emanuel: But I think people getting to see me and my co-founder on TV and getting to know our personalities a little bit better, and then just putting ourselves out there a little bit more has changed things. There was an article that was picked up at The Daily Mail on this video we did that went viral about childbirth. And just things like that have kind of inspired people to come and talk to us about their periods and their health and their body. So, it’s all been pretty positive just putting ourselves out there.

Lee Kantor: And then, with your background as an influencer, is that a lesson that other entrepreneurs can learn from? That be vulnerable, put yourself out there, and if you are part of the brand kind of lean into that?

Valerie Emanuel: Yeah. I mean, I think I put myself out there more than many other period care founders. There’s me and one other, and we’re changing our pads and talking about tampons and talking about our bodies in a way that is shame-free. I mean, my platform is really about health, beauty and women’s health in general.

Valerie Emanuel: But I always tell other founders like, “Look. You don’t need to be the face of your brand. But if you don’t have tons of money, you’re going to have to do it for a little bit.” And, also, you want to be able to set the tone of your brand and the company culture so that when you bring someone in eventually, there’s already kind of a blueprint for how you want the look and feel to be of your company.

Lee Kantor: Right. I mean, you’re the culture. I mean, you’re kind of the voice, face at the beginning, but at some point it grows beyond you.

Valerie Emanuel: Totally.

Lee Kantor: So, what do you need more of? How can we help you? You mentioned more stores to put your product in. Do you need more funding? What do you need and how can we help?

Valerie Emanuel: I mean, right now we’re actually raising a bridge round through angel investors. So, we raised $100,000 from that TV show I told you about via Ashley Graham, who’s a supermodel and just author, all around amazing woman entrepreneur. So, we’re raising $400,000 more. So, currently talking to angel investors and just anyone who’s interested in Rif, because there are opportunities for some of the biggest stores in the United States and also global opportunities that we want to do. But, you know, we’re growing small and we’re growing smart, so we have to think about how we can actually fund those opportunities.

Valerie Emanuel: Another thing is just check us out, give us a follow at Rif Care online. Interact with us. We have so many [inaudible] that we always put in our stories and on our posts, which is even interacting or sharing with a friend is always so helpful.

Lee Kantor: And that’s R-I-F-C-A-R-E.com?

Valerie Emanuel: R-I-F-C-A-R-E — sorry. R-I-F-C-A-R-E.com or R-I-F-C-A-R-E on Instagram and TikTok.

Lee Kantor: Well, Valerie, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Valerie Emanuel: Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.

Balancing Business and Education: Alex Timothee’s Journey Through the KSU Executive MBA

September 12, 2024 by angishields

High Velocity Careers

Balancing Business and Education: Alex Timothee's Journey Through the KSU Executive MBA

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In this episode of High Velocity Careers, Stone Payton talks with Alex Timothee from Gold Standard Preservation. Alex discusses his crucial role in organ preservation and transplantation, emphasizing the importance of safe and effective organ recovery. He shares his journey into the field, the challenges and rewards of his work, and the significance of collaboration and trust. The conversation also highlights advancements in technology, such as machine perfusion, and Alex’s enriching experience in the Kennesaw State University Executive MBA program. The episode offers valuable insights into the organ transplantation industry and the impact of continuous learning and dedication.

Alex Timothee is an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader with a diverse background in organ preservation and emerging technology solutions.

With a focus on creating innovative, scalable services, Alex has built and managed Gold Standard Preservation (GSP), a service-based company specializing in organ preservation.

GSP is renowned for its commitment to advancing clinical practices and providing cutting-edge solutions to transplant centers.

Alex has pursued extensive education in business, technology, and leadership. He is currently an EMBA student at Kennesaw State University. Alex’s education has equipped him with the skills and knowledge to lead in complex, multidisciplinary environments where he consistently drives innovation and operational excellence.

Throughout his career, Alex has been a pioneer in the medical services industry, particularly in organ preservation. His expertise spans various roles, from lab management to overseeing clinical operations and ensuring compliance with industry standards. Under his leadership, GSP has become a trusted partner for transplant centers, offering services that are not only innovative but also deeply rooted in best practices and ethical standards.

Alex’s exceptional leadership and commitment to team development are well-known. He has received positive feedback from his teams and has been recognized as an outstanding team lead. His dedication to fostering a collaborative and supportive work environment is evident in his creation of a Social & Team Building Committee within GSP, which focuses on enhancing team cohesion through various social and professional events.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Alex is a dedicated husband and father of five daughters and three granddaughters. He balances his demanding career with his responsibilities as a parent. His leadership extends into his personal life, where he takes pride in being a role model for his family.

Connect with Alex on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High velocity Careers. Brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. For more information, go to kennesaw.edu/mba. Now here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of High Velocity Careers. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. This is going to be a good one. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with gold standard preservation. Mr. Alex Timothee. How are you, man?

Alex Timothee: I’m doing good, stone. Thanks for having me. That’s some good intro music, by the way.

Stone Payton: I like it too, and it is a delight to have you in studio. I’ve really been looking forward to this conversation. Alex, I got a ton of questions. I know we’re not going to get to them all, okay, but I think a great place to start would be if you could share with me and our listeners mission. Purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks, man.

Alex Timothee: What my team does and what our mission is really just to help organizations such as transplant centers or hospitals or even oppose organ procurement organizations, just make sure that those organs get recovered safely properly and that they get transplanted into the right patient.

Stone Payton: Well, this is a very fascinating topic for me, and it has a personal connection for me. I didn’t share this with you before we went on air, and I just dawned on me, My wife, right at a year ago, donated a kidney. Oh, wow. To her best friend growing up. Now, it didn’t go directly. No, no. You know, but it all worked out where she donated somebody else. And then Mary finally got one. And so we’ve we’ve been on the edges of this arena, so I. Yeah, I’m fascinated to learn more. What is the backstory? How in the world did you find yourself in this line of work, man?

Alex Timothee: No, no. Um, first of all, congrats to your wife, to being part of a period exchange program that is such a complex world and just trying to get the right organ from one person to the next. And then you got to go through, like, several different patients and centers and just to make it happen, it’s incredible. So congrats to her for being part of that. Um, and how we end up getting started was there was a need. Um, there was a need for a go between between the hospitals and the Oppose to make sure that those hospitals have someone who’s knowledgeable, who’s skilled enough to assist the surgeons in getting those organs so they. When I was approached to start this business, I was a little reluctant, but I said that, um, you know what? I think they come to me for a reason because there’s trust in me. So I decided, let’s let’s go for it. And so far, so good. We’ve been doing great and I’ve been learning a lot. And, um. I’m blessed.

Stone Payton: Well, it certainly sounds like you enjoy the work. I see it in your eyes. We can hear it in your in your voice. And you’ve been at it a while now. Yes.

Alex Timothee: Yeah, I’ve been with gold standard preservation. We’ve been operating for about two years now, but I’ve been in transplant for about, gosh, 16 years. Oh my. Just about. Yeah, in different areas. Um, I started out mainly doing organ transplants on the recipient side, helping on the sideline, helping surgeons put the livers in. And I’m learning a lot through that. And then eventually I’m like, oh, let me learn about kidneys. Then I learned about kidneys and perfusing those. And then from there it was like, hey, what’s this donor life looking like? Then I got into donors and the next thing you know, boom, here I am. I’m like, wow, is this just it was really just a roller coaster.

Stone Payton: So at this point in your career, what are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it for you at this point?

Alex Timothee: Ah, that’s a really good one. I like the collaboration. I like helping and being useful, and to me, that’s what brings me the most joy and finding innovative ways to accomplish the goal. And and just being able to have that freedom to. I could just toss ideas back and forth with my hospital leaders and, you know, and they give him good feedback and we’re just working together and making something happen. They’ll say, hey, we have this problem. We want to get this outcome. Okay, what can we do in the middle? And just that thought process has been really rewarding for me.

Stone Payton: So my experience is, you know, just a little more than a year old and kind of restricted. But I have to believe that there have been a great many changes in this arena and probably some, some new technologies that have come down. What kind of changes have you, have you seen over the years?

Alex Timothee: Yeah, actually, you know, in the last 5 to 10 years, one of the biggest changes that’s come around is machine perfusion, where we are using these pumps basically to keep these organs preserved properly outside the body longer because, um, I remember when your wife went through the program, um, for the paid exchange, she probably does a very finite time. They were very coordinated. They got to be here at this time. You got to take it out at this time. And all these things happened. But there are things that happen where the patient can’t get to the hospital in time, or there’s some minor complication, and that organ is on a very tight time limit. So with these machines, now that we start pumping the preservation fluid or even blood through these organs, it helps keep it alive, in essence, a lot longer to give the patient more time to get to the hospital or to mitigate any sort of complication that would arise that would be time sensitive.

Stone Payton: So you and or some people on your team must be incredibly gifted, educated about just managing logistics. You must be.

Alex Timothee: Yeah. Um, logistics is tough because a lot of times when we get called out, we have to fly out to a different state to get the organ. Um, so we are available 24 over seven, um, anytime, day or night. They call us up, they say, hey, we need some help. And we’re like, okay, we’re there. We meet them at a designated location, we hop on a plane, we get there, and then we turn right back around. So, I mean, you’re talking about all of this within 6 to 10 hours, depending on how far we got to go.

Stone Payton: Wow, that is a short window. And you got to keep everything in intact.

Alex Timothee: Everything? Yep.

Stone Payton: So is there a sales and marketing aspect to your business, or is it a different kind of inner wired community?

Alex Timothee: So it’s not so much sales and marketing. There is some marketing involved just to kind of get your name out there, because this role that we’re in is constantly evolving. Before it was, there was never any outside entity other than hospital or the oppo who did this sort of work. So now that we’re here, we’re that we’re in that space in between both centers. So a lot of our work and business comes from word of mouth and being trusted in the industry. So yeah, we could put marketing ads out there. We can do sales calls, but those don’t return much because if because you’re dealing with a patient’s life. So I can reach out to 20 different hospitals, but they say, if I don’t know you, if I don’t trust you, we’re not going to take a chance for our patients So you have to basically be well known to in order to generate any ridiculousness.

Stone Payton: So I am fond of telling people in my arena, you know, good training, consulting media that that it’s all about relationship and we have to build that trust. But that’s got to be like magnified a hundred fold in your it’s all about relationship and trust.

Alex Timothee: Relationship and trust all of it. And that’s what really I’ve been getting a lot out of the KSU Emba program from that is learning how to build those relationships and how to learn to build trust within the industry and with business leaders. So it’s been very profound, the learning experience I’ve been getting in that arena.

Stone Payton: So tell us about that experience. You know, they underwrite this program okay. So we’ll give them we’ll give them a little shout out. But yeah and we’ve had some faculty members. We had some deans in here the other day in the studio. Uh, but let’s hear it from the student perspective. You speak to that experience if you would.

Alex Timothee: Yeah. When I signed up for this program, it was mostly for I want to learn business acumen. Right? I want to learn how to run a business effectively and make sure that business is successful long term. What I did not expect to get out of it mostly is leadership skills, how to manage a team effectively, and the faculty such as Thomas Devaney and James Davis and Professor Jacek. Those guys have really pushed on us critical thinking when it comes to leadership and management. And as a student going in, I tell my wife several times that, man, I gotta, I gotta do all this. And this is, this is crazy. I’m like, how am I going to get this done? And I got to work with these people and my team is at school is actually a really great group of people. Um, but the experience itself is learning How to communicate properly with was day one, right? They’re like, okay, we’re going to be working with teams. You guys got to know how to talk to each other and our team. We made a joke where we said, hey, we’re all adults. We’re all here to complete this program and get, you know, get the grade. But that’s it’s not that simple. It’s really not that simple. You have to learn a lot of different personalities. Um, we took assessments on personality, learning styles, leadership styles, communication styles, um, conflict resolution. And we actually learn about each other on a qualitative version, qualitative measure to see where we are. Um, and then kind of just kind of find where we land with each other and, and get those projects done. Um, and that’s a huge kudos to the team for how they, for the school, for how they build, um, that program. It’s really good.

Stone Payton: So the curriculum, as I understand it, I guess the best word for it. And maybe you know, a different word. It’s integrated, right? Like you don’t study a subject and then study a different subject. You apply all of these domains to like real world scenarios. Yes. Yeah.

Alex Timothee: Yeah. Most definitely. Um, so for example, like I said, the first semester we talked about communication, leadership styles, um, personalities. And at the same time learning about accounting, learning about marketing and, um, you know, and, and we and then we build upon each lesson. And the cool thing is what? It’s one week in a month, we attend courses, right? So it’s a very intense Saturday and Sunday, eight hours. They feed us great food, by the way. Um, man, it’s great food. Uh, so they feed us and while we’re, they’re going through the whole day, what we learned on that Saturday and Sunday, we apply it the very next week I go to work Monday back.

Stone Payton: At Gold Standard. You’re applying what you learned.

Alex Timothee: I am applying it actually. On the way home from school, I call up my director, Selma. She’s fabulous, by the way. She, um. Without her, we would not be where we are. Shout out to you, Selma. Um, I call her on the way home from school, and I’m, like, for the hour long commute. I’m like, Selma, this is what we learned. This is what we’re going to try to implement within our program ourselves. And it has been working out in phenomenally.

Stone Payton: So working with teams is real life. So I love that that’s part of the part of the curriculum. And then so when you’re working in in teams like this, how do you organize the team. Do you find out what people want to do, what they can do? Like what where the rubber hits the road. How do you get a team going both in school and over at Gold Standard?

Alex Timothee: Um, well, I approach it in two different, two different ways. Uh, with school, um I really rely on the team for on our communication because we’re all, like, equal in a sense, right? There’s not a group thing where, hey, I’m here and I’m telling you guys what to do, right? It’s all like, nope. Everybody got their input and and we all work together on the business side of it. It’s a little different since I am the CEO. Um, I have to rely on delegation. So in order to build this team, what I’ve learned is I have to leverage my resources. And part of that is working with a consulting group. Um, whilst consulting. And they handle a lot of the team exercises and the coaching for them. So they because they can approach my, my staff in a way that I can’t because I’ve tried it, I’ve went to them openly and I was like, hey guys, we’re going to evaluations and so forth And because of my role, it doesn’t get received the same way as it would if it was a third party who’s unbiased on both sides. So I’ve learned to leverage that. Um, and that firm, um, consulting has been doing really good work, uh, making the team more cohesive because they can trust what they learn from her. And then they come with me, and then they learn how to speak with me without fear. And now we’re building that trust within ourselves.

Stone Payton: What’s the name of the consulting firm?

Alex Timothee: YLC Consulting.

Stone Payton: YLC Consulting. Thank you for that. I’m going to send them an invoice because I think we gave them a great plug.

Alex Timothee: Yeah. Please do. Maybe they might cut my fee down.

Stone Payton: There you go. We’ll try to get you a little break.

Stone Payton: On the price. So I don’t know when or how you’d find the time. You you have gold standard. You’re you’re pursuing this executive MBA but interests, hobbies, passions pursuits outside the scope of the work right now. Or is it just had to take a back burner?

Alex Timothee: Hobbyist has taken a back burner.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Alex Timothee: Yeah, it really has. Um, one things that when I interviewed for the program they told us was they’re like, hey, uh, they were kind of concerned about me at first. They were like, you seem like you got a lot going on. Yeah.

Stone Payton: Do you have irons in the fire?

Alex Timothee: Yeah. Can you really? And I was like, no, I’m not. I can manage my schedule. I’m the boss. I can do this. I can no I can’t no, no, I really can’t. No. Um, what I’ve learned is you really have to make a schedule like, you know, even today, I know I was talking. You asked me. Hey, how do you, uh, you know, we do. The weekend. I had to consult my calendar because, um, part of this program is you have to make your the week ending class. That’s a rock. Everything else around your life revolves around that. And then you have meetings that you have with your team either weekly or twice a week or whatever, and then you make that a rock also. So you kind of so you so your life revolves around school itself. And, and then when it comes to work, what I’ve done is and I just started doing this recently because my lovely wife told me that, you know, she don’t see me enough. So what? So what I started doing is I started to set my week up in a way where I can arrange all my meetings on certain days of the week, and then I will have my class stuff on certain days of the week, and then I’ll have my family time on certain days of the week and certain hours. Um, and so far that’s been working great. Um, I haven’t had no complaints. Everyone seems satisfied. Um, and my hobbies, I just squeeze it in whenever I can in between there. Um, which is not a big deal, because a lot of times when I am getting overwhelmed with concepts and ideas or coursework. Then I just take a break, do my little hobby, and then it helps, refreshes me, gives me re-energized, and it also gives me some ideas to where I could go back into it with a fresh set of lens.

Stone Payton: So I remember a conversation in the last couple of weeks we were talking about, or I kind of prompted the idea of talking about work life balance. Yeah. And that person, she made a point of her. The frame for her was work life integration, as it was a better mental model for her. And I think maybe I’m kind of adopting that. It’s, you know, because I run my own, you know, studio. I’m part of the, the team that owns the network. It never really is totally set aside, but it’s integrated. Now, I do find that I need a little bit of that. I call it white space and that if I do kind of back off just a little bit and it allows me to recharge and I genuinely feel like I am when I get back, I’m I’m equipped to serve even that much better after I’ve had that. But I can’t imagine doing what I’m doing now and pursuing an executive MBA. So kudos to you. But I think that’s a good strong tactic or tip is to is to lock that calendar and create blocks of time to do whatever it is you need to do and figure out what your hub is. And right now, the hub, the rock, I think you said, is you’re working around the executive MBA thing and then you’re plugging the other stuff.

Alex Timothee: Yeah.

Alex Timothee: And the time passes quickly. I mean, when I first started this, I was like, oh my gosh, I got how many more months left to go. I’m like, I can’t make it through. And now we’re a year in and I’m like, wait, I just got two semesters left. Oh, wow. You know, I mean, the time just flies. And the things I’ve learned through that whole, that whole process is like, you know, I’m gonna tell you a little side story here about school. Um, early on in my medical career, when I was, like, serving as, like, a as a medical assistant for an outpatient clinic I remember when the patient comes in, we kind of get the blood pressure, kind of just get them relaxed before they go in for the procedure. And I met a guy, he was actually a director here at KSU, and he told me about the MBA program, and he said he’s like, one of the coolest things we do is we have an international program where our students go overseas and they learn business. And I was like, wow, that’s pretty cool. Okay, now go to sleep. Um, you know, so fast forward. Then I started going to school, taking classes here and there. This was like, man, years ago, right? Um, taking classes. And once I went to KSU for my undergrad for leadership and management, um, and I told my fiance at the time, I was like, hey, I’m done with school. I’m not. I’m not doing this no more. This this is this is ridiculous. Uh, and no less than 30 days later, I’m applying for the MBA program, and and then I sat back. I’m like, wait a minute, this is the same program that this gentleman was telling me about over a decade ago, and here I am joining this exact same program. So when it comes to being the rock, part of it is, hey, you got to set aside two weeks in the summer. In the spring because you got to go to international residency.

Stone Payton: Okay, so this component is still part of the process. So you’re going to get to do the international.

Alex Timothee: Yeah.

Alex Timothee: We’re going to a country and um, in South America, and we’re going to spend almost two weeks there working with a real world business and consulting them on how they can improve whatever they need to improve on. Um, we, I think our next semester we will start in January. So for from January, February, March, April, we’ll be doing, um, virtual meetings. And then in May when we get there, we actually go into, I think April or May. Then we actually got to go there and we actually say, okay, this what we’ve been working on, you guys won’t have this problem to solve. Here’s the problem. And here’s our here’s our results and here’s our recommendations. And take it from there.

Stone Payton: Sounds like a marvelous opportunity for remote broadcast of this show to me.

Alex Timothee: I think so. You know, I think we could talk to the faculty about getting you guys out there for.

Stone Payton: I love it.

Alex Timothee: For at least a couple of days just to, you know, interview these guys. I think it’d be great.

Stone Payton: Absolutely.

Alex Timothee: It’d be great. But, yeah, that that and I also have to set aside. So my work now is I am blocking out almost three weeks in one month where I cannot do no work because I have to do the school thing. Mhm. You know, and I told my wife and a lot of us, we actually bring our spouses with us and we have the flexibility to bring them out there with us in that time. So yeah. Yeah. It’s really it’s a really great program. I can’t talk about it enough.

Stone Payton: All right. Before we wrap, let’s let’s leave our listeners with a couple of actionable tips, some do’s and don’ts, maybe something they could be reading around any of these topics pursuing a high velocity career, uh, cultivating and nurturing a team, but let’s leave them in with with a little bit of something. They can just go and try to be thinking about or apply immediately after hearing this conversation.

Alex Timothee: Okay. Um, if you’re thinking about going into business or thinking about how to grow your business, the one thing you really have to put in mind is don’t think about profits. Think about who you’re serving. Um, or in our case, we are serving patients. And one of the things that my, one of our missions is we tell ourselves is that we are here for the donor families because we are they are being approached at one of the darkest times in their life to donate your loved ones organs for a stranger. And and when and I mean, that’s just difficult alone. So we all want to be remembered and we all want our story to continue on once we’re like our lives had meaning. So our role is we’re just making sure that that organ gets a home and that makes sure that that donor and that donor family knows that their loved one’s story still goes on. So if you put who you’re serving on the forefront and be as useful as possible to those people or to those stakeholders, the profits will come and your business will succeed you just be transparent, run with integrity and and you’ll reach for the stars.

Stone Payton: What a marvelous piece of counsel. I’m so glad that I asked. All right, so if any of our listeners would like to learn more about the executive MBA program, if they’d like to learn more about Gold Standard, or if they would just like to connect with you, is are you open to having them kind of connect with you in some, some way, or learn more about the company.

Alex Timothee: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m very chatty sometimes. Um, so.

Stone Payton: Yeah, I noticed that Alex.

Alex Timothee: Um. But I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Stone. I’m sorry. Um, no. They can reach out to me on LinkedIn. Um, I think my link would be available on the website.

Stone Payton: We’ll make sure that we have it published.

Alex Timothee: Okay. Yeah. Or they can reach out through our website. Gold standard preservation org. There’s a contact us section to the bottom there. They can reach out to us if they have any questions about what we do, how we do it, or if they like to partner with us in any kind of way. I’m huge on collaboration and um, yeah, for the KSU Emba program, I think it’s ksu.edu/emba, I believe.

Stone Payton: Wow, that’s pretty cool.

Stone Payton: You know what? I’m the producer of the show and I didn’t even remember all that.

Alex Timothee: Uh, yeah. And you can reach out on me on LinkedIn at Alex, Timothy, Timothy. And I’m feel free to DM me and I’ll message. I’ll reply back pretty quickly and and we’ll have a chat.

Stone Payton: And if you’re on campus some weekends, you might run into him.

Alex Timothee: Yes, yes. If anyone’s thinking about going into the program, definitely find me. Um, I’ll give you all the deets and all the how to prep yourselves.

Stone Payton: Fantastic. Alex, what a delight! I have really enjoyed the conversation. I am so glad we got to do it here in studio. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm man. It’s been an invigorating, inspiring conversation. The work that you guys are doing at Gold Standard is so, so important. And we we sure appreciate you, man.

Alex Timothee: Thanks a lot, Stone. Thanks for having me here. This was great.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Alex. Timothy with gold standard Preservation and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you again on high velocity careers.

BRX Stories – Does Anyone Listen?

September 12, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Stories - Does Anyone Listen?

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BRX Stories – Does Anyone Listen?

Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, do you ever get the question from clients, guests, just people…. does anyone listen?

Lee Kantor: Yeah. It’s one of those things, when you’re in a studio and it’s so intimate and everybody’s got headphones on, the listener, you kind of forget about that because the moment is so personal when you’re doing this in a studio with other people. But people do ask, do people listen? And it’s one of those things where you’d be surprised how many people listen, and the people that are listening are very intentional about listening. This isn’t something that they’re just kind of casually consuming. This is information.

Lee Kantor: When somebody listens to one of our shows, it’s because they really want that kind of information. And a great illustration of that is the story that we have from one of our studio operators in Gwinnett. He had a listener, it started out as an anonymous listener. He was a banker from Colombia, and it’s Colombia, South America, not Columbia, South Carolina. And he was listening to Gwinnett Business Radio Show on his way to work every day, and he would listen to the podcast religiously. He was contemplating. He was in the flavoring business and he had a side hustle, that he’s like, you know, one day I’d like to go to America and really see if I can kind of grow this business.

Lee Kantor: So, he Googled fastest growing places in America. And at the time, Gwinnett County was one of the fastest growing counties, so he dug in there. And, of course, the Gwinnett Business Radio show popped up as one of the kind of media outlets there. And so, he started listening to the shows, and he was listening day after day. And he got to the point where one of the guests said that they help companies do international business plans. So, he contacted that person and he did hire them to create an international business plan. And so, you know, weeks, months are going by, ultimately, he moves with his wife to Gwinnett County.

Lee Kantor: And tell everybody, Stone, how we know about this story. How did it come to our attention?

Stone Payton: So, our studio partner in Gwinnett, he does such a great job cultivating relationships in that community. He is the social mayor of Gwinnett County. And there was some sort of event where he brought a bunch of people in, guests, clients, you know, just everybody in his neck of the woods in that Business RadioX ecosystem, and there were Chamber people there.

Stone Payton: And this guy that you’re talking about from South America, he got up and spoke, and here’s what sticks with me. You brought Abby. I brought my wife, Holly. And Holly got to hear this guy talk about the impact that Business RadioX had on his business and his life. And, man, my chest swole up like a grizzly bear that evening. It was one of the most heartwarming greatest experiences I’ve ever had.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. And to have him stand up and share the story in front of so many people, I think it was held at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. I think the event was a Gwinnett Chamber event. And he stood up and shared everything he knew about America was Gwinnett County. Like his whole world in America was what he learned from the content that was coming out of Gwinnett Business Radio, and hearing the stories of the entrepreneurs. That really spoke to him and made him feel confident that, yes, I can do this, and, yes, this community would be able to embrace me and help me get my business to a new level.

Lee Kantor: And so, yeah, that story, I think, really encapsulates who listens, more people than you can think about. And they’re listening with intentionality, these are people who are listening to make buying decisions. These are people listening because they are hungry for this kind of information. So, yeah, that story is a great illustration of people listen to this stuff.

BRX Pro Tip: Write More Sales Enablement Copy

September 11, 2024 by angishields

Ramping up to attend the WBEC-West 21st Annual Procurement and Awards Conference with Missy Kelly

September 10, 2024 by angishields

Women in Motion

Ramping up to attend the WBEC-West 21st Annual Procurement and Awards Conference with Missy Kelly

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In this episode of Women in Motion, Lee Kantor interviews Missy Kelly, co-founder and CEO of CatTongue Grips. Missy shares her entrepreneurial journey, detailing the creation of her non-abrasive, non-slip products designed to prevent items from slipping. She discusses the challenges of product development, the importance of networking within the women-owned business community, and the value of the WBEC-West certification. Missy also highlights the benefits of attending conferences for networking and growth opportunities, offering tips for success and emphasizing the significance of building long-term relationships in business.

Missy Kelly is an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, and community advocate. She is widely recognized as the co-founder and CEO of CatTongue Grips, a global leader in providing non-abrasive, non-slip products that prevent items, people, animals and cargo from slipping, sliding, spilling or dropping. Under her leadership, CatTongue Grips has become the go-to brand for high-performance non-slip products, serving customers across a diverse range of industries.

In addition to her work at CatTongue Grips, Missy is also a Visionary for Pinnacle Global Network, where she leads quarterly mastermind sessions to help business owners scale their companies. Her passion for helping other entrepreneurs succeed is also evident in her roles as the 2023 Chair of the Utah Forum for WBEC-West, 2023 WBENC National Forum member and serving as a mentor for the 2023 WBENC College Accelerator program.

Missy’s commitment to her community extends beyond her professional work. She serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, as well as the Board of Trustees at the Winter Sports School of Park City. She is also newly serving on the Board of Directors for the MECA Project, a non-profit organization that addresses mental health in teens.

Despite her busy schedule, Missy finds inspiration in the people she helps and the incredible entrepreneurs she encounters. She lives in Park City, Utah, with her husband, Matt, and their two teenagers and two dogs. In her spare time, Missy enjoys practicing yoga and exploring the outdoors through hiking and skiing. Her motto, “live life, love hard, and do epic sh*t,” is a testament to her unyielding spirit and dedication to making a positive impact on the world around her.

Connect with Missy on LinkedIn.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Missy Kelly: Thank you. I’m so happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m so excited to learn about CatTongue Grips. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?

Missy Kelly: Yes. So, CatTongue Grips is the world’s leader in providing non-abrasive, non-slip products that prevent items, people, animals, cargo from slipping, sliding, spilling, or dropping. So, we like to say we maximize safety for people and facilities and improve day-to-day living.

Lee Kantor: So, there has to be a story. Can you tell us about the genesis of this idea? How did this come about?

Missy Kelly: Of course, yes. So, it happened in 2015 when my husband walked into a Verizon store to upgrade his phone, and he just noticed how slippery the back of the phone was. And he made a comment to the salesperson, she tried to sell him insurance. And not wanting another bill, the light bulb went off and he went to a nearby skateboard store, literally cut out skateboard grip tape, and slapped it on the back of his phone.

Missy Kelly: And later on I said to him, “What do you have going on here? This feels like a cat tongue and it’s going to scratch every surface of the house. You can’t have it.” And so, he challenged me to find something like it. We couldn’t. So, we decided to make it, and sourced a manufacturer, went through about 18 months and ten prototypes before we launched our first product, which was the phone grip.

Missy Kelly: But then, customers saying, “Hey, can I use this under furniture? Can I cut it and use it on slippery tools?” We ended up putting our material, which we saw that was the true value, on a roll so that the customer can do anything that they desire with it to help them prevent items from slipping and sliding, for themselves in bathtubs, showers. And now we have companies using the product in their warehouses or manufacturing facilities for safety. And we’re even now selling into the U.S. Navy.

Lee Kantor: So, had you ever developed a product like this before? Because that seems like it has its own learning curve just doing that.

Missy Kelly: Yeah. Exactly. You know, I like to say we are building the plane as we fly it. No, we’ve never developed a product. It’s definitely been a topsy-turvy entrepreneurial road. However, all the different doors that have opened opportunities, it’s stepping through and walking into it, and just being open to what’s on the other side.

Lee Kantor: So, any advice for other people who have maybe an idea for a product like this? I mean, obviously not like this, but just a product in general. What is kind of some of the basic things you do to just get started to see if you can even make it come to life as a prototype?

Missy Kelly: Right. Well, first of all, it’s finding a manufacturer. So, for us, it was finding a manufacturer that could produce material for us. And that in itself took time, energy, research. And I believe for us, it’s always been that belief in there is a need that if my husband has this issue, other people do too. And then, just being open. Because, you know, we started as a phone grip, and now our products have been to space. So, it’s being open to what the market is calling for. And we say we’re a customer-driven company, and that certainly has been true of designing and developing products that the customer desires.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re at kind of the beginning stages and it’s an idea and I’d like this thing to do with this thing, how do you know who are the good guys, and who you can trust, and who that you might be opening up a can of worms by revealing this? Was that any of an issue for you?

Missy Kelly: You know, I feel that it could have been if we really let the mindset go that way. It kind of sounds a little Huey Dewey in that sense. But, I mean, our manufacturer we trusted from the get go. There’s a great synergy. And is it possible that it could have gone the other way? One hundred percent. But I’m very thankful that we’ve built relationships over the last – gosh – now seven years, and fortunately, it’s worked out for us.

Lee Kantor: Now, when it came to finding that trustworthy manufacturer, was that just using your network and networking, or did you just go Google manufacturers?

Missy Kelly: Hello Google. Yeah, really finding who was in the space for non-slip products, and going through, and finding, and chatting, and researching, and then having a meeting. And that meeting went really well and they had never seen anything like it and hadn’t been asked to make something like it, so it ended up being that, you know, they they got their scientists on it to make us a product. And here we are.

Lee Kantor: It’s an amazing story.

Missy Kelly: Thank you. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you share a little bit about why it was important for you to become part of the WBEC-West community?

Missy Kelly: Well, I knew from the beginning that being a woman-owned business would be important for us. And in the sense of that also is my husband and I started the company, however he was still working his other job too. So, for me, I knew I would be running it. And I actually had a good friend who was part of WBENC who told us that you should really look into being a woman-owned company. And I’m so glad I followed her advice, because truly having that WBENC certification has just been instrumental to the growth of our business.

Lee Kantor: In what way?

Missy Kelly: Just having, for one, the opportunity to connect with supplier diversity professionals that are your advocate behind the scenes with the larger corporations. It’s how we were able to get into Walmart, to get into Lowe’s, QVC. Companies are looking for diverse-owned businesses. It’s part of many of their mandates. I mean, it doesn’t get you in the door, but it gets you a seat at the table to be considered, and you and the product or the service has to stand on their own two feet and deliver.

Lee Kantor: Now, one of the benefits of being part of the community is taking advantage of events like the WBEC-West 21st Annual Procurement Conference coming up in Nevada in September 17th through 19th. Have you been to any of these conferences before?

Missy Kelly: I sure have. I haven’t missed one of them since we started our company, except for COVID when there wasn’t one at least in person. So, I love them. I think they’re a great opportunity to network, to meet with supplier diversity professionals, and to really get insight into the world of supplier diversity, but also how it can help your business.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there anything you’ve learned over the years, like compared to the first time you attended one of these, which I’m sure was kind of overwhelming the very first time, but now you’re a veteran, is there some do’s and don’ts when it comes to getting the most out of these conferences?

Missy Kelly: Well, I think with anything, it’s what you put in, you’re going to get out. And, you know, is it putting yourself out there to walk up to a group of women you’ve never met before and introduce yourself? One hundred percent. But that’s something you have to do at conferences and you never know the relationships that can come out of them. Some of my dear friends in business have come from WBENC conferences and even the relationships I’ve built with the supplier diversity professionals. I always like to say that the WBENC certification is not a guarantee. It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint. It’s a relationship business. So, attending the conferences and being there so they can put a name with the face is integral to your success using your WBENC certification.

Lee Kantor: Now, are there any things that are happening at the conference that are must do’s for you?

Missy Kelly: Gosh. I love it all. I mean, last year I remember, there was a guacamole making and tequila tasting, which was super fun, or learning how to make the perfect margarita, maybe that was it with the guacamole. That’s really fun. Dr. Pamela and Jaymee Lomax do such a great job, and the whole WBEC-West team, of creating really innovative, fun experiences for the WBEs to interact with the supplier diversity professionals have fun and start to build those relationships.

Lee Kantor: Now, what about some advice when it comes to those more formal, like, matchmaker, roundtable, those kind of things, where you’re in front of the people that can make a difference in your business? Is there some tips in that area?

Missy Kelly: There’s definitely an etiquette to that, especially when it’s not just a one-on-one where there’s more than one of you at the table. And I feel that being a good listener, having someone be the timekeeper so that everyone gets that fair few minutes that they can with the corporate is important.

Missy Kelly: But, also, as I mentioned, being that listener, you never know, yes, you may be trying to get that relationship started with the corporate to do business, but there may be a WBE at that table that you could potentially be doing business with as well. So, just being open to all of the different opportunities that present themselves at the conference.

Lee Kantor: Do you find that a mistake some people make, maybe the new people, are that they kind of are too hungry for the sale instead, like you said, for the long run in building the relationship where the sale will come down the road, maybe not this minute?

Missy Kelly: Exactly, 100 percent. You never know. But I do feel that way, if you can go into the conference with a go giver attitude of not really what’s in it for me, but how I can support others, then I find that it’s just going to come back to you a hundred fold.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned some of the relationships you’ve made over the years, is there any memorable moments for you in previous conferences?

Missy Kelly: For me, I was asked to serve on a panel that was a manufacturing panel. Gosh, that may have been my first one. And it’s a big honor for me and, you know, stepping out of my comfort zone and saying yes, and just having an incredible rapport with both the moderator – whom I still know. He’s a supplier diversity professional – as well as the other WBEs. And the more you’re seen and the more you engage, the more that the supplier diversity professionals will recognize you and remember you. So, for me, I think 2019 was my first conference, it’s been super gratifying to now be able to go into the room or sit at a table, not only know other WBEs, but actually have relationships and friendships with the supplier diversity professionals.

Missy Kelly: So, when I think back to my first conference, I went into it with just not having any expectations, but having fun and, of course, getting my name and the product out there, and I succeeded with that. And they also do opportunities to be able to pitch, and I believe they’re doing that this year. But, you know, just saying yes to all of the opportunities, knowing that everyone is in your same boat and having fun, making the relationships, and knowing that these relationships, even if business doesn’t come out of a specific relationship at that moment, hope that eventually it will in time.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. Having that kind of longer term view of all this, I think, is very healthy and helpful and helps manage the expectations that you’re not there to make a sale today, but build a relationship today that could lead to a sale tomorrow.

Missy Kelly: Right. And going in and doing your homework, I think, is really important too. You can go on to the WBEC-West site and look at all of the corporations that are WBEC-West corporate sponsors, and then knowing that supplier diversity professionals are going to be there. And even going so far as finding out who those people are, and maybe the ones that could synergy with your own company or could use your service. So, being prepared, and that especially goes for any matchmaker as well, is, sitting at the table knowing that you have something to offer rather than sitting at the table and figuring out, “Oh. Maybe this corporate isn’t one that is a good fit.” So, being prepared, I think, is really key.

Lee Kantor: Absolutely. And doing your homework, like you’re saying, and invest the time in other things, not just kind of those business-y things, but like you said, the guacamole making and the fun stuff is where you’re building relationships with other folks that might turn into partners down the road.

Missy Kelly: One hundred percent. And if that is one thing, as I mentioned, it’s fun. There’s a lot of fun, innovative, really just cool ways to connect to the other WBEs as well as to the corporations.

Lee Kantor: Well, Missy, if somebody wants to learn more about Cat Tongue Grips, where should they go?

Missy Kelly: At cattonguegrips.com. You can also reach out to me on LinkedIn, Missy Kelly. I’m on LinkedIn as well. And just wishing you all luck and remembering it’s that marathon and not the sprint, and hope to see you there.

Lee Kantor: And see you at the conference, which will be at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Henderson, Nevada, September 17th through 19th. It’s going to be a great event. It’s going to be where everybody can amplify your success and, hopefully, we’ll see you all there. Thank you again, Missy, for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Missy Kelly: Thank you. I appreciate you having me on.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.

Nancy Mills with Lowenberg Consulting LLC

September 10, 2024 by angishields

Houston Business Radio

Nancy Mills with Lowenberg Consulting LLC

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Based in the Houston, Texas metro area, Nancy Mills specializes in transition planning, exit strategies, and succession planning for business owners. She uses a proven process to ensure clients maximize the value of their businesses, whether they are planning an internal or external sale, or are undecided.

Key components of her exit strategies include goal definition, market value assessment, business value enhancement, contingency and succession planning, and legacy planning. Nancy prioritizes personal values in her approach to prevent post-exit regrets, understanding that the most common regrets are not monetary.

A native Texan, Nancy brings over 20 years of global business experience, with expertise in international marketing, sales, strategic innovation, and mergers and acquisitions. She excels in managing human capital and facilitating the smooth integration of merged companies.

Nancy holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BA in Mass Communication, summa cum laude. Outside of work, she enjoys theater, swimming, boating, walking her dog, gardening, and birding.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. It is my pleasure to have such an amazing guest on with me today. Ms. Nancy Mills with Lowenberg Consulting. She’s based here in Houston, Texas, in the metro area. She helps business owners through transition planning, exit strategies, and succession planning. She uses a proven process to make sure you get the most out of your business, whether you want to do an internal or external external sale, or you just don’t know yet. Nancy’s going to guide you to a successful business transition. Nancy, I’m so excited to have you on the show. Welcome.

Nancy Mills : Thank you. Trisha. I’m so excited to be here.

Trisha Stetzel: And I think, if I’m not mistaken, it was Thomas Gilman that may have introduced us in the first place. And we we both know Thomas through a lot of networking. And I think that getting to know people and building relationships is not only important when it comes to networking, but also building businesses. And I’m so glad that we were introduced to each other. Me too.

Nancy Mills : It’s true. It was Thomas.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, good. Well, I’m glad that I was right about that. I meant to ask you before we get started today. Um, so, Nancy, I really want to dive into, you know, business transition planning, why it’s important, why we should be doing it. But, um, before the show, I was telling you, I talked to a lot of people who don’t know exactly what m and A means. You hear it a lot. It’s thrown around a lot. And I’d love for you to kind of give us a definition around what M&A means and how that plays into this transition planning that you do.

Nancy Mills : Great foundational way to start the conversation, Trisha. M&a stands for Mergers and acquisitions. It’s definitely a buzzword these days because of so many business owners, because of the aging population, because so many businesses, um, are businesses are owned by baby boomers who are looking to one day retire and don’t know how they will do it. And so everybody seems to be interested in the topic, but they might not know what it means or what it entails. And I would just like to clarify that we don’t officially sell businesses, so we might be in that space, but we don’t sell businesses. So an investment bank does. So they could be officially an M&A business because they help a company to acquire or sell. But that’s not what we actually do.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. So then let’s talk about transition planning, because I do think that that is the primary space that you’re playing in with these businesses. So let’s talk about what business transition planning actually is.

Nancy Mills : Yes. Thank you for that question. And so at a sale is a transaction and everybody knows what that is. It’s a transaction. But the process that a business owner will go through is a transition. And a lot of it is is emotional. And it can it can be a very emotional experience for a business owner. And I would like everyone to understand that. And it’s normal and natural to have a lot of mixed feelings about something that you have created and nurtured, um, over time and spent the majority of your adult waking hours building up typically. And then a business owner has created a family in their employees. And that’s what I love about working with small and midsize businesses. And we call it midsize. Up to even 100 million in sales is because they have created something in their community that they’re proud of, and that a lot of people are happy to come to work for. And I love to see the impact that these small and mid-sized business owners have in their community. And so we prepare them to eventually step aside, either handing over the reins to the next generation or to somebody they don’t even know who they are yet. And we help them in many aspects.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. And so let’s I’ve got two questions coming from what you just talked about there. And you know, one is about that, the care and the nurturing of the emotional process of Transition versus transaction. Thank you for clarifying that I love that. And then, you know, the the other piece of it is when should I start thinking about putting a plan together. So let’s start with the first question, which is more around that emotional, nurturing piece of these business owners who have put blood, sweat and tears into their business. They have spent their entire lives nurturing this baby that they now have to part ways with. So what is how does your, um, program help them get through that transition?

Nancy Mills : So many, so many good things that could be said in response to that excellent question. The time to start thinking about it really is even when you start your business, people don’t realize that, that even if they have a startup, a startup is more valuable with a written exit plan. Investors want to invest in companies that have a written transition plan and succession plan in place because, as you know, we never know what may happen at any minute. And so if an owner becomes unable to fulfill their job and to lead their company, what will happen? Who can make decisions? Who should do what? So we need everything documented. We need everything spelled out to be ready for this, this eventuality, and especially a business owner that’s been doing this a while. If they’re in their 50s, minimum, they need to start thinking about it. The best time to get an exit strategy in place is when they’re clear headed. They have no crisis because once a crisis hits, it’s too late really. And then we look at fire sales and a discount or even shutting down the company. And that just breaks my heart to see companies shut down because the owner wasn’t prepared and didn’t think ahead.

Trisha Stetzel: Begin with the end in mind. We talked a little bit about that before we started recording today. And I think that’s so important. And you know some people say well I’m I there is no end for me and I’m going to have this business forever. And I don’t think any of us get into business thinking that we’re just going to walk away from it in the end. Right. Right. We we all pour the blood, sweat and tears into our business so that it will leave a legacy either for a new person who may come in and purchase it, or a family member who may take it over. Uh, and I think that’s so important. So tell me the difference, then, Nancy, between, uh, me going to someone who’s just going to do the transaction, I’m going to go to the bank and I’m going to sell my business to somebody, and they’re going to buy it versus having an advisor like you on their team to get them through the process.

Nancy Mills : Let’s think about why they would need to do that. Because we it’s so normal for someone to think about. I’m starting my business. I’ll work until the end, which is great. I love it that people don’t want to retire. They people tend to think about retirement equaling death with people in great in, you know, having a great physical condition, great mental condition. They find their vitality through their work and through their interactions with their employees. That’s a wonderful thing. That’s a beautiful thing. We never encourage someone to walk away from that, but they want everything to be in place for that inevitable something that will happen to them. Because we all exit our businesses one day, in some form or another, we will exit our businesses as we will exit this earth. So do you want it to go the way you plan it, or the way the probate court is going to decide for you? We want you to be prepared. And so the other part of your question on that was please remind me.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. No that’s okay. Having an advisor versus not having somebody on your team.

Nancy Mills : Yes. So people think will work will work will work. One day we will market the company and then we’ll get this big chunk of cash and we’ll do our next thing, whatever that next thing is what we know. If this is true year over year, the statistics don’t change. A maximum of 30% of companies marketed for sale actually sell. Trisha. Wow. This is an eye opening statistic. Usually the numbers are as low as 20%. I mean, I’m talking about for decades this has held true. And the smaller the business, the harder it is to sell because it’s so reliant on the owner. And so if they can start to work at least three years in advance to plan for this transition, even if they want to stay for the rest of their days, that’s great. But if they have a timeline, that timeline should start three years in advance. And then we know that we can reach their goals, their financial goals, their timing goals, and their values based goals, which is will my people be taken care of? Will my family be taken care of? Will my legacy be secured? And that is what they need to be doing, is it? We recommend at least three years in advance, and there’s very specific reasons for that.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. And 30% only sell that. That is just mind blowing to me that you know we’ve got if we have 100 businesses for sale out there, only 30% of them are going to transact and the rest of them may close, I’m assuming, or okay, right.

Nancy Mills : Or close and, you know, be just, um, you know, anything that can happen that’s not what the owner would want. And then the other important statistic to keep in mind, Trisha, is that 75% of business owners have regret after they sell, and that regret is usually not about the money. It’s usually about something in their values that involves people that they care about. And so we work to avoid regret and to maximize their odds, and to maximize the value of their company before it sells. So if they just wait until they’re tired or burnt out or have some kind of crisis, then they go and talk to a banker and say, I want to sell. They’re not ready. They’re usually not ready. There’s 21 areas of their business that need to be looked at to see if they’re actually sellable, and if they’re not sellable, what can they do? There’s always things that can be done to make it sellable and to make it attractive. And you don’t want just one buyer. You want a number of buyers to be interested. You want the maximum value you want. You want the ideal buyer. You want to say, this is the person I want to take over. Not like, please take my company. Please please take my company. You don’t want that situation. You want to be in control and have power and have something that multiple buyers want. That is what we work towards.

Trisha Stetzel: Absolutely. I’ve heard you talk about values based many times, and I think that’s why you and I connect so well, because there’s something about the culture of a business that is so important, and that’s the people. And being able to take care of those people as you move on or move forward or go into a transition like this. Um, I’d like to talk then a little bit about people who are listening right now, maybe, maybe thinking, oh my gosh, I didn’t think about beginning with the end in mind. Where should I start? I think I might want to sell my business in five years or even in ten years. Nancy, what advice would you give to those people on getting started with the planning now?

Nancy Mills : Yeah. Great question. Get started. Perhaps with a valuation, a third party valuation. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. It can be just it won’t cost a lot of money. But then compare that valuation. Get advice as to what you would reasonably net after taxes, because remember, what you might sell it for is not the same as the amount of money you’re going to get. That’s the that’s a really good first step.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. So after the valuation. So I need to go and hire somebody to do that for me. So I could use a resource like you, Nancy, who could point me in the right direction if I’m not, if I don’t feel like I’m in a position to go out and get the valuation right now, what are some of the housekeeping items that I might do inside of my business in preparation for that?

Nancy Mills : Given that every business is unique, it’s really hard to answer that question. But for example, be thinking about the key players in your company, who they are, and who would be their successor. If they’re anywhere Are near retirement age, or you think there’s any danger that they might leave? And then especially who is your successor or ideal replacement so that if you even if and start taking longer and longer vacations. So the longer you can take a vacation, the better off your company is, because there’s transferable value already. If it can operate without you, the owner.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, I love that. I love to tell people to go on vacation, take some time off and the more you can do, less dependent, your business is on you. I love that, yes, and when.

Nancy Mills : You take that vacation, don’t be answering phone calls all day.

Trisha Stetzel: Because the business is still dependent on you. So stop it.

Nancy Mills : That’s right, stop it. Nobody wants a company that relies on just one person, especially the departing owner.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Um, what what piece of advice would you give to any business owner who or let’s say, who wants to be a business owner. And we already talked about begin with the end in mind. What does that look like? So I want to start a business. What should I be thinking about right now as I go into this new place where I’m buying a business? When it comes to thinking or preparing for the end?

Nancy Mills : Yes. Again, I would say don’t let it rely just on you. Who is the team? What does the team look like? What are the processes and systems that are either in place or that you can put in place to make it something that is transferable? They need to be documented. They need to be the who, what, when, where, why and how. Type documentation ideally online. So don’t even think about buying a business that’s buying a job.

Speaker4: Because.

Nancy Mills : It’s not attractive to anybody else. Yeah. And then think of scale versus growth. Scale is something that can be done without a lot of extra investment That doesn’t need a bigger infrastructure to support it. So scale is can I replicate what I’m already doing in other in other geographic areas and other markets to other types of customer segments?

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. This information has been so valuable. So you just have one more two part question. One, is there a specific industry or area that you prefer to work in in your business? Like where where would you find those clients and how do you market your business?

Nancy Mills : Yes, we can work. I can work with any type of business that is, um, that has more than, um, one employee. Ideally at least 25. So if it’s a sole proprietorship, I can guide them for free and give them free advice. But I can’t do a lot because there’s not a team to support them for the reasons we were talking about. And then ideally in the United States. But since I’m in Houston, I like to work with my clients at least partially in person. So it’s great if they’re in the Houston metro area, but it’s not a requirement. And then what was the other question, Trisha.

Trisha Stetzel: Marketing. How do you market your business?

Nancy Mills : Oh, I do a lot of education through, um, presentations and networking to educate business owners, to know that there’s so much they can do starting today to make their company more sellable. And I love to educate business owners on that so that they’re not caught off guard one day thinking they’re ready to go and they’re not, and they have a rude awakening, and then it’s almost too late. They go through due diligence process and they’re woefully unprepared. And then they lose a year in a sale process where it all falls through. I want them to avoid that at all cost to work with somebody like me. It doesn’t have to be me to start to think about this well in advance. And it doesn’t need to take a lot of time. It just needs to take a little bit of time. And just as they think about it before it’s too late.

Trisha Stetzel: This has been so valuable, and I know that you provide a lot of value on your LinkedIn page and a lot of information that people can absorb there. So if anyone’s listening and wants to connect with Nancy on LinkedIn, it’s Nancy Mills is how you’re going to find her. Nancy Mills on LinkedIn. Nancy, are there other ways that people can engage with you?

Nancy Mills : Yeah. Lowenberg consulting is spelled l o w e n b e r g. It’s all e’s. There’s no u, and I think that’s a good place to go as well, because there are a lot of Nancy Mills. They might find me better through my company name, and I’m happy to answer any questions that anybody has at any time. I give plenty of free advice, and I just love to help people to achieve their their dreams and their goals and to leave a legacy in their communities because we depend on the business owners to make a difference in the communities. And that’s what I love about what I do.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Nancy, thank you so much for being on with me today. I know that everyone who’s listening today, or even the recording back, will absolutely find value in this. We have a lot of business owners out there listening. Any last thing that you’d like to say or give back to the audience listening today?

Nancy Mills : Just thank you for having the courage to be a business owner. Thank you for being a leader. And I support you and I salute you.

Trisha Stetzel: Wonderful, Nancy, thank you again for being here. And that’s all the time we have for today’s show. Join us next time for another exciting episode of Houston Business Radio. Until then, stay tuned, stay inspired, and keep thriving in the Houston business community.

Empowering Future Leaders: The Role of Faculty in Student Achievement

September 10, 2024 by angishields

High Velocity Careers

Empowering Future Leaders: The Role of Faculty in Student Achievement

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In this episode of High Velocity Careers, Stone Payton talks with Dr. Robin Cheramie, Dean of Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business, and Dr. Alison Keefe, Associate Dean of Graduate Programs. The discussion centers on their career paths, the growth of KSU’s business programs, and the pivotal role of faculty in student success. Dr. Cheramie and Dr. Keefe share personal stories of students overcoming challenges and highlight innovative programs, such as the fintech master’s degree. They emphasize the importance of lifelong learning, community engagement, and mentorship in fostering a supportive and dynamic educational environment.

Dr. Robin Cheramie is the dean for the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. She is the Tony and Jack Dinos Eminent Scholar Chair of Entrepreneurial management and Professor of Management. During her 18-year tenure at Kennesaw State University, she provided leadership within the university and her profession as an administrator and faculty member.

She holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in the area of organizational behavior and human resource management. Prior to her current position, she served as the Director/department chair for the Michael A. Leven School of Management, Entrepreneurship and Hospitality at the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University where she led the development of the first BBA in Entrepreneurship in the University System of Georgia.

As a faculty member, Dr. Cheramie has taught numerous management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Louisiana State University, Loyola University in New Orleans, Winthrop University and Kennesaw State University.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from Southeastern Louisiana University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of New Orleans. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Cheramie worked in New Orleans and Dallas in commercial real estate and human resources.

Dr. Cheramie has presented her research at national and international conferences on topics such as feedback seeking, career success and training/development research. She has authored/co-authored numerous papers in many top journals within her field of management.

During her tenure as Dean of the Coles College of Business, she has successfully steered the college through accreditation with AACSB, created new academic programs in Hospitality Management, Cybersecurity and FinTech, and raised over $15 million in the last three years. Recently, she completed the USG Executive Leadership Institute and is a graduate of the Leadership Cobb program.

Dr. Alison Keefe is the the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in the Coles College of Business Executive MBA program at Kennesaw State University. She holds a Ph.D. in applied economics from Auburn University (War Eagle!) with specializations in international and resource economics.

Alison holds the distinction of being a Coles College of Business Distinguished Scholarship Award recipient with research specialties in the fields of include international economics and commodities trade as well as economic development, and resource economics.

She has over 15 years of academic work experience and over 11 years of international commodities trade consulting experience.

Connect with Alison on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for High Velocity Careers. Brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA Program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. For more information, go to kennesaw.edu/emba. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of High Velocity Careers. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast Dean with Coles College of Business and Professor of Management at Kennesaw State University, Dr. Robin Cheramie. How are you?

Dr. Robin Cheramie: I’m doing great. Thank you so much for having me here today.

Stone Payton: Well, it is a delight to have you on the broadcast, and a special treat to have you here in studio. Robin, I got a ton of questions, I know we’re not going to get to them all. But I think a great place to start is, if you could paint a picture for me and our listeners of your career path, your role, and mission and purpose of this work here in our community.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Absolutely. I’d love to. I don’t know if I had a traditional path or not, but as most academics, you start loving school. So, I started loving school a long time ago. I’m originally from South Louisiana, and I went to my undergraduate program in Louisiana, Southeastern Louisiana. I went straight to University of New Orleans for an MBA. I tell this to Tom Devaney, our director of the EMBA program, I did actually start in accounting and realized quickly I did not like that, and I switched to management fairly quickly, not really knowing what to do in that area, but went straight to earn my MBA at the University of New Orleans.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: In the meantime, I had worked in commercial real estate in the New Orleans area and was doing market research. I loved interacting with different people, loved the idea of kind of managing groups. It was a lot of fun. But when I finished my MBA, I wanted to kind of move. So, I picked up, moved to Dallas, Texas and worked in commercial real estate at that same time. I also discovered something that I liked and didn’t like. So, it was a ton of cold calling that I had to do in sales. Hated cold calling with a passion, but thank God I did that because I can see how much I’ve used it in my career since then. But really loved the relationships and working with people. It did not work out too well with that organization. I will tell you and you’ll learn, I learned from a lot of unethical bosses or bosses I did not like to work with where I ultimately ended up.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Then, I became a corporate recruiter for a financial services company. Again, really loved that, didn’t necessarily like who I was working for. And I’d had a series of these events where I was working with all these bad bosses, is what I would say, and I had to figure out there’s got to be a way to do this differently.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: And the class I love the most in school was organizational behavior and human resources. So, I had talked with friends and decided to go back and pursue my PhD. So, I moved back to Louisiana, went to LSU, earned my PhD in organizational behavior and human resources. And in a kind of indirect sort of way, I went to Winthrop University for one year as a tenure track faculty member.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: And then, ended up in Atlanta at Kennesaw State University for very personal reasons. Then boyfriend, now husband of 20 years is what got me here. And I wish I could say I had a better reason for coming to KSU, but that’s how I got here. But I will tell you one thing, that’s been 20 years and I’ve loved it ever since. And so, I had a traditional professor route until I became an administrator in 2014 as a department chair. And then, I was tapped on the shoulder to be the interim dean of the college in 2019, and became the permanent dean in February of 2020, six weeks before the pandemic, and have had quite a ride since then, and trying to deal with higher education in a pandemic and all the other challenges that we have.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: But I will say this, I grew up at KSU in the Coles College. It’s been a fantastic place. And having the background of organizational behavior and human resources, this has been the most fun and the most challenging role of having to practice what you preach, and really try to bring together the understanding of how much people are important to the culture and the outcomes of any organization, especially in higher ed. So, it’s been quite a ride and a lot of fun.

Stone Payton: It sure sounds like it. It sounds like great work if you can get it. So, now that you have been at it a while clearly, what are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it these days for you?

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Always, always the most rewarding is seeing students succeed and knowing that a big portion of our student population, especially at the undergraduate level, are first generation college students. I, personally, am a first generation college student, and I can see the transformational impact of having an undergraduate degree and a graduate degrees as well. So, seeing students get excited about ideas, seeing them try new internships, seeing – I used to call it – the light bulb moments – when you’re a teacher, you could actually see in their face when they got a concept and it made sense to them, and it’s that immediate kind of positive reinforcement and satisfaction. So, clearly, to me, the success of our students has been the most fun, and I think it’s what keeps us all going.

Stone Payton: Well, I’m going to come back to you in just a moment, because I’d love to hear one or two, you know, kind of brief versions. You don’t have to use names of maybe some of those students, the stories that stand out for you, because I think we’d all be interested in that. But before we do that, tell everybody who you brought with you.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: So, I brought along my partner in crime, my Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, Dr. Allison Keefe, who has been at KSU longer than I have, 21 years. So, she’s been there slightly longer than I have. And I’ll let her talk a little bit about herself. But she really is helping us with our strategic priority of growing relevant and timely and innovative graduate programs, and I’m glad to have her on our team.

Stone Payton: So, Allison, we got to know the back story. How did you get here?

Dr. Allison Keefe: Mine is somewhat similar to Dean Cheramie’s in that I didn’t plan on this. I had no aspirations of actually being a professor. I was headed out to the world of bioeconomic modeling.

Stone Payton: Oh, my.

Dr. Allison Keefe: Yes. And I was going to work with the National Marine Fisheries Service in different capacities in terms of being able to look at demand for different seafood products throughout the world. That didn’t work out, and I happened to get a call from Kennesaw to say we’d love to have you come in and interview for this position, and I said no. But I had some very convincing people that I had worked with in my PhD program. And not only that, I had some very convincing people at Kennesaw and said please just come in and just see what we’ve got to offer. And I said, all right, I’ll try this thing out, and did that. And they called and said we would love to offer you the position. And at the time, I said, all right, I think I’ll take you up on that.

Dr. Allison Keefe: And it was the best decision, I think, I’ve ever made in my entire life. It was one that, initially, I wasn’t going to do at all. But in being able to work with the people I have over the past 21 years, to have a culture that rarely to me exists in the real world – I know that there are companies out there that really try to get a collaborative and innovative culture going – and what Dean Cheramie has done and inherited and progressively gets better at throughout the years is the fact that we have a group that we work with very, very well, and that are excited about teaching students, and excited about coming up with unique and different ideas. And so, that’s what gets me excited every day, is to be able to take their ideas, take my own ideas, morph them together and just see where we can go with them.

Stone Payton: I got to say, what you’re describing both me, personally, but also our listeners now, we know what you’re saying to be true. We’ve had some faculty members in here, in studio over the last couple of episodes, and you can see it in their eyes, you can hear it in their voice, everything you’re describing, that really is the way it is in Kennesaw State, isn’t it?

Dr. Allison Keefe: Well, we’re given the freedom to do that. No one is telling us no. You know, across the board we may get a few no’s, but nobody’s telling us we can’t do that. They’re saying, well, these are the obstacles that you may face when you’re trying to start up a new program or create this environment for the students. But if you want to do it, go for it, and you can figure out how to do that. And so, it is, it’s empowering to be able to not know. There’s no nos. And so, I’ve kind of inherited that, in that anybody who comes to me with an idea, especially one that I really believe in, it’s an automatic yes. Now, I don’t know how to get it done right away, but it’ll be a yes.

Stone Payton: This reminds me of my business partner’s penchant – and I think it came from the improv world – yes, and. It’s some version of yes.

Dr. Allison Keefe: That’s the thing, yeah.

Stone Payton: So, any of these student stories come to mind? You don’t have to mention names if you don’t want to.

Dr. Allison Keefe: Well, I’ve actually got quite a few of them, but it more so deals with when I was the executive director of the MBA program before Tom Devaney. And so, mine had to deal with women. I dealt a lot with the imposter syndrome, where about the first semester I had at least one or two students who were women come to me and said I can’t do this. I’ve got children that miss me at home. I’ve got a husband who may not be supportive. I don’t think I’ve got the intellectual capability to do this. I’ve heard a number of different stories.

Dr. Allison Keefe: And so, they had the foresight to come and ask for help, even though they actually didn’t ask for help. They were asking to possibly leave the program. And so, I brought them into the office, we’d sit down, we’d talk about things. I’d give them some advice. Mine was, Christmas is almost coming up. Put the books down. Schedule time with your family. Schedule time just to relax. Come back the new year, talk to me again and see if you’ve got a different attitude. And then, we’ll also talk about scheduling time for studying, scheduling time for family, doing things a little bit differently than you have been doing.

Dr. Allison Keefe: And every single one of those women came to me at the end, when they graduated and were successful, and said I wanted to jump off the cliff, figuratively. Figuratively, but you stopped me. And that is where I get my joy and those are my success stories.

Dr. Allison Keefe: So, for all those women, hopefully, you’re listening, that came to me at that time, I’m proud of you. I am so happy that you did this program and look at where you are now.

Stone Payton: So, I am on record more than a couple of times just sharing flat out, I actually prefer to work with women. I find them more comfortable in their own skin. I find them more collaborative. I find them more coachable. I find them better with money. And I don’t know, you have to tell me, Robin, I don’t want to cross any legal lines, but given a choice, I would rather work with a female any day. A student’s story or two that stands out for you, Robin.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Sure. There’s a recent one that comes to mind, it’s an undergraduate student. And I’m not just picking, I’ll give a male story as well. But she was a great example of a first generation student who had some tough times at home. A parent had died early, and she was finishing high school early and had started on one undergraduate path, ended up in accounting, and just caught people’s attention. And so, could have gone to any school in the state, because I believe she was valedictorian of her high school, and stumbled upon KSU and got so much attention from many different faculty because they recognized her talent.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: She was part of our undergraduate. We have a Leadership Scholars program, which is kind of our honors program for business students, became a part of that. Was just phenomenal. In her spare time of studying, she was doing all these volunteer work, went straight into a masters of accounting program. She won many of our outstanding student awards and is now gainfully employed and doing really well in the profession and has truly transformed her life.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: And so, again, going back to the stories that are so meaningful, she just needed that little extra attention. And even though we are a very large institution – I can give you numbers in a minute – I think one thing that we’re quite proud of is that our faculty really do care about our students and they want to see them succeed. So, that’s some of our undergraduate stories, but also turned into a master’s of accounting student story as well.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: But we see it with our graduate students. A lot of our graduate programs are career changers. What you may not know is we have the first master’s degree in fintech in the State of Georgia, and we believe the first one to focus on digital payments exclusively in the United States. And in that program, which launched two-and-a-half years ago or two years ago – excuse me – we have about 100 students in the program right now, a significant number of them are career changers and are seeing fintech and this idea of digital payments.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Another fun fact you may not know is Atlanta is called Transaction Alley, where over 75, 80 percent of all financial transactions go through the City of Atlanta. So, we have a ton of fintech companies here, and so we’re quite proud of the fact that we developed a very innovative program. But what I’m proud of, too, is we’ve got all these adult learners who are coming back and making transitions and changing their careers, and they’re doing it through education. And so, I’m quite proud of those type of stories, too.

Stone Payton: Well, no, I did not realize that you had that concentrated and focused effort in the fintech arena. We were just broadcasting live at Fintech South 2024 last week.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: And we were a sponsor.

Stone Payton: It was a marvelous experience. We had 20 scheduled interviews. One guy couldn’t make it, so we conducted 19 interviews. I think they started publishing today. But one of the reasons that I knew I was going to mention it today, I’ll bet you there were a-half-a-dozen or more people connected to Kennesaw State University in one way or another that came through where we were broadcasting.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Yeah. Very excited about that initiative and the work of our faculty. But I think that’s a testament to the culture that Allison was talking about earlier of innovation and kind of entrepreneurial type of mindset that we’ve always had in our college. I was dean, I think, a couple of years and had some faculty, we are affiliated with what’s called the Georgia Fintech Academy, and that’s from the University System of Georgia, so we created our own courses at the undergraduate level. And then, the faculty came to me and said, what about a master’s degree? I’m like, okay, let’s do it. And so, we did. And we actually got it in and approved in our system in a year, which is very hard to do.

Stone Payton: Man, that sounds fast for the academic environment.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: It was really fast, really fast. So, we launched two years ago, and again, it’s an online program. You can do it in a year if you really want to. It’s 30 credit hours. And I’m really quite proud of the relationships that we’re forming with the community, because that’s the other part, too, right? We’re so lucky to be where we are geographically in the City of Atlanta, and to be able to work with these types of companies hands on. So, we’ve created for the past two years what’s called the Fintech Summit on campus. And we’ve brought in industry leaders, and we’re trying to get our undergraduate and our graduate students to interact with them and have panel discussions. But more importantly, I want my faculty to interact with these business leaders to make sure that we are talking and we’re teaching the most current curriculum related to digital payments.

Stone Payton: Well, let’s talk about curriculum a little bit. The program or programs – and I’m getting the distinct sense that you probably have some numbers to share along with them. You seem to be on top of your game there – many of us that don’t know these particulars. Kennesaw State University has a marvelous reputation in this community, that, I know. But, yeah, speak to, and I guess maybe also, what you feel like are some key distinctions between this and maybe other programs that are probably perfectly fine, but that in your mind, make them maybe a better choice for a lot of folks.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: So, first of all, numbers. Unofficially, we are over 47,000 students this semester. And when I started 20 years ago, we were roughly about 17,000 students. So, just think about the magnitude of our growth. We’re one of the top 50 large institutions in the country. In the Business School, we hit for the first time over 10,000 students, and so that puts us in a pretty elite group of maybe about 20 or 30 business schools across the country that fit that number. And so, again, I’m proud to be large, but I also want to be the best, and I think we are in many, many ways in terms of our entrepreneurial attitude and our innovation that we have.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: What makes us a little bit more distinct is our undergraduate proportion versus graduate students. We’re about 10 percent of that total population is the total number of graduate students or graduate programs that we may have across campus. It’s similar in the College of Business, but I’d love to see that grow, and I think that’s an opportunity for us moving forward in the future. And Allison knows this, she’s got a charge to grow our graduate programs and to make sure that we continue. But I think the future of higher education is that idea of lifelong learning and continuing to update your skills. And we want to be that trusted partner in the community where people know when they come back and they pursue a graduate degree, that they’re really learning what’s needed to help them be successful, and to gain promotions, gain career success, whatever they’re looking for in their life.

Stone Payton: Allison, I feel like she’s answered that question before.

Dr. Allison Keefe: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Stone Payton: That was incredibly eloquent, articulate, equally concise, and informative. That was marvelous. So, tell us, what is a day in the life of Allison like? Because you certainly have an important charge.

Dr. Allison Keefe: It’s never the same. So, I don’t know what I wake up to when I get my emails in the morning. But a typical day is walking through my building, because I’m in a separate building than the rest of the Business School, but we have our own graduate suite area in our building. And so, just walking through, saying hello, seeing if anybody needs anything. I usually get stopped by the first door in five, ten minutes. You know, this is what I need, this is what I’m thinking. I have those many conversations every day just to make sure that everything’s going smoothly. And nine times out of ten, it’s just a pleasant conversation, and then it may be something, I need you to do this. And so, I may make it back to my office about 45 minutes after I go through the building.

Dr. Allison Keefe: But then, I’m able to sit down and say, okay, now here’s my list of things that I need to get accomplished after I’ve walked through that building, and get those done, and then start on my real projects. So, as an example, looking at new programs and what does that entail. Working with all of our directors of our graduate programs so that they have their finger on the pulse of what companies need. That’s my most important job, is to make sure that the curriculum that’s being taught in all of our graduate programs is exactly what is going to make our students workforce ready or be able to stand out in the workplace.

Dr. Allison Keefe: And what does that mean? What do companies need? A lot of that is the leadership skills, the communication, the conflict management, those types of skills. And that’s one of the things in the Executive MBA that we stress, it’s about 25 percent of the curriculum in terms of I like to look at that curriculum as being a holistic curriculum, and it touches all of the leadership skills and business acumen skills that our students need. But it’s always focused in on the leadership skills and what’s going to propel our students to that next level.

Stone Payton: So, that word, holistic, I’ve seen it in the promotional copy. I have seen members of your faculty chest out, just proud and beaming that that is a major intent. But it’s also the methodology, the way that things are taught. It’s very integrated. Is that the right word? You don’t go to this class and then, okay, put those books in the locker. Speak to that song.

Dr. Allison Keefe: So, that’s for the Executive MBA program. Now, not all of our programs run that way. We do have certain classes that are the siloed approach. But for the EMBA, because we are taking that integrated approach to our curriculum, it can’t be siloed. It has to be either team taught across a management professor and a marketing professor, or an accounting professor in finance to see how they all work, because you’ve got vertical integration in your companies that you can aspire to. We want horizontal integration as well. So, when you become a leader of a certain functional area or in your company itself, we want you to be able to understand all functional areas. So, that’s where the integrated curriculum comes in and is extremely important.

Stone Payton: I got to believe to pull that off, you have to have the right talent in place teaching these classes. And at least one thing they’d have to be is collaborative, but there’s probably a lot of other markers and characteristics that you’re looking for. Your selection process, what is that like? It must be unique.

Dr. Allison Keefe: They go through the rigor.

Stone Payton: I thought she was going to say hell.

Dr. Allison Keefe: I almost did. I changed my mind right before I said it. No, I’m just kidding. No. We are looking for that almost needle in a haystack. And that comes from Dean Jeremy’s direction, is, I want to look at that utility player. I want to look at that individual who has that corporate background, who has been in several roles throughout his or her tenure in their career, and then decided that wasn’t enough for them. I want to go back for my PhD or a DBA, and I want to be able to to teach because that’s what I’d like to do for my second career. Or on a side note, I’d like to be able to teach while continuing to work in corporate.

Dr. Allison Keefe: So, those are who we like to hire in for our EMBA. Although, I would love to be able to hire more of those individuals that can be a utility player for many of our programs, because I think they bring that applicability and that relevancy into the programs.

Stone Payton: So, Dr. Robin, I was stalking you earlier today on the internet because I knew I was going to get a chance to visit with you in studio, and I saw a lot of neat stuff. I saw you post or repost some information around 40 Owls Under 40, and another thing about collaborating with MUST Ministries on ACE. Can you speak to those?

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Absolutely, I’d love to. So, KSU, for the first time in their alumni association is going to have 40 Owls Under 40. So, we’re trying to promote our alumni community, which is over 120,000 plus over the past 60 years. I mean, that’s one thing to remember about Kennesaw State University, we’re still a relatively young institution when you think of other established institutions in the area, 61 years, I think, is what we are officially. So, we’re really excited at KSU to promote that.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: In the Coles College of Business, we also try to highlight some of our successful alumni, and we’ve created our own, what we call Five in Flight Alumni Award, where we recognize different alumni at the undergraduate or if they were graduate students for their kind of entrepreneurial as well as their societal impact and their success in life. So, that’s that part of it.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: But something that’s relatively new to us, you know, I emphasized entrepreneurship, being entrepreneurial not only on what we do, but we have a very successful entrepreneurship program. We have the Doug and Robin Shore Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, which helps our students who develop new innovation and ventures as students.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: But the one that’s recent that you’re referring to is called the ACE Program, it’s Aspiring Community Entrepreneurs. And we partnered with MUST Ministries, and we took the lead from Notre Dame. Notre Dame has this institute called The Urban Poverty Business Initiative, and they’ve created partnerships with different universities around the country to help teach entrepreneurship to those that are disadvantaged in the community. So, non-KSU students, these are people outside in the community, and we are partnering with MUST Ministries because of the fantastic work they do, not only with homelessness and providing food, halls, but they also have a strong workforce development opportunity.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: So, the ACE Program is a three-phase program for disadvantaged individuals. And the first six weeks is a boot camp taught by my faculty. And they teach them the basics of what it is to run their own business or to start an idea and what do you do. Then, the second phase is they work with mentors in the community, and we partner with MUST Ministries to find successful entrepreneurs. And then, the third phase is the people who get to that stage, the ACE entrepreneurs work with our students at KSU in kind of finalizing their business plan, and then there’s a graduation at the end of it.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: So, give you an idea of the success, the first cohort started a year ago. We had almost almost 200 people apply in the community for 40 slots. By the time they graduated, there’s a natural attrition that occurs, about 50 percent of them actually completed and have gone on to receive a little bit of seed money. But this is truly transformational and it speaks to me at the college level. I think it emphasizes our values of collaboration and wanting to work in the business community, but I’m so proud of this program.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: So, we just launched the second cohort in the beginning of August. And this year, we have over 50 people that start. But we had roughly about 150 people apply again. And we love working with MUST Ministries and are really excited to see where this goes. So, this is a big priority for me and the college to make sure that we are partnering with people in the community, and we’re trying to use the expertise that we have internally at Coles and kind of share it with the society at large if we can.

Stone Payton: Wow. Congratulations on the momentum. I find that inspiring and exciting as an entrepreneur. I have an observation, or maybe more accurately, an assertion that even if a person does not end up founding a company and building something, to develop those entrepreneurial skills, to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, even if they go to work for IBM, that is an incredible asset in that employee that has that level of personal accountability and all the other characteristics that I often associate with the entrepreneur.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: And I’ll tell you my model for that, my inspiration for that is my wife, Holly. She had a very distinguished career – she’s hung up her cleats, so we’re poor again – at IBM and she rose through the ranks. And, yes, she was part of that big system, but she ran her day-to-day work like she was CEO of Holly Incorporated and she had this client, IBM. Do you agree with that kind of characteristic?

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Totally. So, we have our undergraduate degree and it focuses on entrepreneurship. And we don’t believe that all of our students are going to go and start a company. In fact, we not necessarily would encourage it right after college. But we give them the skills, so we focus on that idea of corporate entrepreneurship and in teaching that same type of mindset. And what we’re hearing from business leaders is that is the skills that they’re seeking in the future workforce is those that can be critical thinkers, be inquisitive, be innovative, and just kind of think differently. And I think that’s kind of that entrepreneurial mindset that you’re talking about.

Stone Payton: Yeah. So, you mentioned mentors, have you had the benefit of one or more mentors along the way on your career path?

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Absolutely. It’s always fun to sit back and reflect on who are those people that had that impact on you. Not that you want all these details, but I can actually vividly remember a high school teacher that nudged me and said you should be taking this class. And it starts with that idea of belief and someone else recognizing something that maybe you don’t recognize that I think is so important. And I’ve taken that to this day, like I’ve nudged faculty members and say, “Hey, have you ever thought about this?” And just to get them thinking differently.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: But I have a current mentor right now. He used to be on my board. I’ll keep him nameless. But a very successful former executive and he’s retired and we have lunches quarterly. And I figured out early on, he was taking notes on me and kind of quizzing me. He was kind of an informal coach, but I can go to him for anything and really talk to him and say I’m struggling with how do I approach this, what advice would you give me. And it’s really healthy for me to have someone that’s outside of KSU, I think as well, but he’s been a great person for me just to bounce ideas off of.

Stone Payton: Allison, you were nodding your head as well. So, you’ve had some positive experiences with mentors over the years, yeah?

Dr. Allison Keefe: Well, I think if you look at it from the perspective of we didn’t get to where we are by ourselves, it’s almost a necessity in life to have those people that you can bounce ideas off of, that you can ask for advice. And so, that started very early on in my career. What I’ve noticed is that I was able to take that idea of having that mentor apply it to the Executive MBA program, apply it to others in the office, encouraging them to have mentors and, again, outside of the organization because, to me, that gets you the best unbiased results, but also to have that mentor in the organization as well just to be able to talk to.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: So, I’m involved in many, many different mentoring organizations, not only in the Executive MBA. We’ve got an Associate Dean and Assistant Dean Mentoring Group at KSU that I’m a part of, and I get mentored as well as to be able to mentor to others. We’ve also got a Women’s Mentoring Group that we run through the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and that Kennesaw Coles sponsors as well. So, I’m a firm believer of it and it’s just something that I advocate for as many people as I can talk to.

Stone Payton: I’m so glad I asked. All right. Before we wrap, I would love to leave our listeners with, if we could, some lessons learned, or a couple – I call them – pro tips on pursuing a high velocity career. And I’m going to ask you both, but I’d love to start with you, Allison, if you’ve got a couple of ideas or just some things to keep in mind, a pro tip.

Dr. Allison Keefe: Just say yes. So, my favorite saying, and in all seriousness, is, when a door opens, walk through it. So, you know, a lot of people will come to me and talk about different careers and they’re not sure, and, yes, you talk about the pros and the cons, but I’m also if a door opens, walk through it.

Stone Payton: Fantastic. Robin?

Dr. Robin Cheramie: That’s a great one. I really love the idea of lifelong learning, and I’m not just saying that as an academic, but I’ll use AI as an example. I’ve got lots of education to my credentials to get me to this point, but no one prepared me for the idea of AI, and what does that look like, and how do we need to learn and constantly adapt. So, I think that’s an excellent example for all of us to think about, that you never should stop learning. And that doesn’t mean necessarily go back for a degree, although I would be a big advocate of that, but read books, read current literature, keep up with current trends, go to conferences, professional conferences and learn from that. Be affiliated with networking groups or associations where you can kind of talk to each other and learn from each other.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Those that sit still are going to be passed up, and you see that in every industry and every organization. And if you’re not paying attention to AI, I would tell you that’s another one where if you sit still, you’re going to be passed up. So, lifelong learning is something that I firmly believe in, and I think it’s advice that everyone could take and run with to be successful.

Stone Payton: Okay. Where can our listeners tap in, learn more about these programs, get some ideas, and some insight, and some input on pursuing continuing to advance their career? Whatever coordinates you think are appropriate and the best way for them to tap in.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: So, I would say go to the Coles College of Business website at Kennesaw State University. And we’ve got undergraduate programs and we have graduate programs that we could tap into. And there’s a ton of information there. That’s where you’d get started.

Stone Payton: Well, it has been an absolute delight having you two on the program. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm, and your commitment to the work. This has been a marvelous way to invest a Thursday afternoon. You guys, you’re doing such important work and we sure appreciate you.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: Oh, thank you.

Dr. Allison Keefe: Thank you. Thank you.

Dr. Robin Cheramie: It’s been my pleasure.

Stone Payton: Mine, too. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton, for our guests today and everyone here at the Business RadioX family, saying we’ll see you again on High Velocity Careers.