John Ray, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Lamar Tyler, Tyler New Media

April 26, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Lamar Tyler, Tyler New Media

00:00 /

Lamar Tyler, (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 451)

Lamar Tyler, CEO of Tyler New Media, joined the show to share the work he and his wife Ronnie do at Tyler New Media. Lamar talked about how they got started through the Black and Married with Children blog (BMWK), how Traffic Sales and Profit (TSP) grew out of it, how to leverage digital marketing and social media, TSP as a mechanism to create more successful entrepreneurs, the upcoming TSP LIVE event at The Hotel at Avalon in Alpharetta, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Tyler New Media

Tyler New Media is the home of TSP (Traffic Sales and Profit), and BMWK (Black and Married with Children).

The founders Lamar and Ronnie Tyler have been named one of Ebony Magazine’s Power 100, a list of the top 100 movers and shakers in the black community, finalists for Black Enterprise’s Family Business of the Year, finalists for Infusionsoft’s Small Business ICON award and winners of the ClickFunnels Two Comma Award. They’ve been featured in Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Jet Magazine, Parenting Magazine, CNN, HLN, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and many other press outlets.

BlackandMarriedWithKids.com is the largest independent African American marriage and parenting site on the web.

TSP Is The Premier Community for Purpose-Driven African American Entrepreneurs. Through their events, courses, & TSP Mastermind, they share the best strategies to help you exponentially grow your business.

They teach entrepreneurs across various niches and markets how to generate profit with ease in the shortest amount of time – regardless of email list size or budget.

TSP LIVE 2022 is coming up June 23rd- 25th at the Avalon Hotel in Alpharetta. More about TSP LIVE here.

Company Website | LinkedIn | Facebook

Lamar Tyler, CEO,

Lamar Tyler is CEO of Tyler New Media and heads a digital marketing education and consulting brand Traffic Sales & Profit. He performs public speaking at events and conferences across the country, conducts workshops and seminars, and hosts discussions on topics such as entrepreneurship and digital marketing.

Using his motto “The Gatekeepers Are Gone,” Lamar has leveraged digital marketing to move his online brands from small personal blogs to an international brand with over 700,000 social media fans and 60 thousand plus customers in all 50 states and 43 countries around the world.

Among the recognition received for his work, Lamar, along with his wife Ronnie was named one of Ebony Magazine’s Power 100, a list of the top 100 movers and shakers in the black community, finalists for Black Enterprise’s Family Business of the Year, finalists for Infusionsoft’s Small Business ICON award and winners of the ClickFunnels Two Comma Award. Additionally, in 2021 Lamar’s company Tyler New Media was ranked #2040 on the Inc. 5000 list of the country’s fastest-growing private companies and won the ClickFunnels Two Comma X Award for doing over 10 Million in sales using the ClickFunnels software platform.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

What is Tyler New Media
Tell me about how you formed both of these businesses?
Why did you start your BMWK blog as a business?
Who do you work with at TSP?
What are the biggest mistakes businesses make online in digital marketing?
Tell us about the impact of TSP
Tell us about making the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies List
How to start a business effectively
TSP LIVE at the Avalon Hotel

North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked from scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.

Kim Eickhoff, Kim Eickhoff Coaching

April 26, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Kim Eickhoff, Kim Eickhoff Coaching

00:00 /

Kim Eickhoff, Kim Eickhoff Coaching (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 450)

Kim Eickhoff joined North Fulton Business Radio host John Ray to discuss her coaching work with small and medium sized businesses. Kim shared her focus on company culture, the need to set the values and direction upfront, how the strongest personalities will determine it if you don’t, the need for clarity from leadership about the mission and path forward to employees and potential employees, the need for leaders to focus on these strategies, what’s at stake, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Kim Eickhoff, Growth Strategist, Kim Eickhoff Coaching

Kim Eickhoff is a growth strategist and motivational speaker. She specializes in working with business leaders who have a deep desire to change the way they run their organizations. She has 20 years of experience in providing guidance and coaching support.

Navigating business challenges is never easy. She coaches leaders and their teams to enhance their self-awareness to improve organizational discipline and create lasting, transformative change.

As a motivational speaker, Kim provides a variety of presentations that guide leaders and their teams to become self-aware and identify their true value, improving interpersonal relationships within an organization.

In addition to coaching, she facilitates workshops and training sessions to support business owners and their leadership teams. Together, they identify gaps in their organization’s alignment, define clear goals and implement effective action plans.

When clients work with Kim, they transform into inspired businesses that have the capability to:

-Define a clear organizational vision -Establish and implement strategies that lead to productivity -Happier, healthier supportive work cultures -Increase sales goals and expand profits.

She believes that none of these goals can become a reality without understanding the essential role that every team member possesses.

In all of her programs, Kim is committed to team members understanding themselves and developing a mindset to support the challenges present in all businesses. When you choose to work with Kim Eickhoff Coaching, your leadership team will be in a state of constant discovery. You will identify your challenges, fears, and anxieties to develop mindset practices supporting a sustainable business. This work is not easy, but it is necessary for your business to have long-term success.

As a lifelong learner, Kim is committed to assisting organizational leaders and team members to get down and dirty and unpack their “stuff”.

In addition to an Executive MBA from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University, Kim has certifications in:

-Adding Zeros Certification, Team Coaching Certification, IMPACT Management Systems Training, High-Performance Leadership Program and Certified Soma Yoga Teacher.

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

What creates a toxic culture in an organization?
What are the components of a toxic culture?
How does a toxic culture affect the workplace?
Who’s responsibility is it to ensure there isn’t a toxic culture?
What steps can an organization take so that they create a healthy culture?
How does a healthy culture function in comparison to a toxic culture? Why is this important?

LIVE from WORKBENCHcon 2022: Craig, The Barefoot Forge

April 26, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

LIVE from WORKBENCHcon 2022: Craig, The Barefoot Forge

00:00 /

LIVE from WORKBENCHcon 2022: Craig, The Barefoot Forge (Organization Conversation, Episode 15)

Craig Cowan, owner of The Barefoot Forge, was at his third WORKBENCHcon when he sat down with Richard Grove to talk about not only what he enjoys about it, but what he’s learned over the years. He shared how he got into blacksmithing, how the business is growing, how he now has gotten into woodworking, his take on failure, and much more.

Organization Conversation is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Craig Cowan, Owner, The Barefoot Forge

Located in the North Hills of Pittsburgh PA, “The Barefoot Forge” is a collective blacksmithing group owned and headed by Craig Cowan, a young self-taught blacksmith native to Pittsburgh.

Craig started blacksmithing as a hobby over 10 years ago, inspired by boredom and completely self-taught, has grown his experience and passion into a unique skill set that allows for incredible, custom, heirloom pieces made traditionally. With a bit of luck and lots of experimentation, the methods used to hot forge beautiful Damascus rings were developed and now The Barefoot Forge is thrilled to make awesome rings for awesome people!

To them, your ring truly is special. The very idea of creating a lasting, custom piece that’s unique and somewhat random inspires them to do the very best work we’re capable of. Your wedding ring is something you’ve spent plenty of time considering, and it’s something that represents your relationship, shouldn’t it be something indestructible and unique?

Connect with Craig at The Barefoot Forge: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

About Organization Conversation

Organization Conversation features interviews with movers and shakers in storage and organization, from professional organizers to the creative and talented Brand Ambassadors who use Wall Control products every day. You’ll hear tips, tricks, and how-tos for storage and organization, as well as receive first access to Wall Control promotions. We talk with our suppliers and partners to give you a look behind the scenes at how we operate, what makes our family-owned and operated brand tick, and some of the fun and interesting insights that go into making our business run. We love our guests, as they are engaging and entertaining with interesting experiences to share. By focusing on those guests and the amazing stories they tell, we hope you will be enriched and find your time listening to the Organization Conversation podcast as time well spent.

Organization Conversation is hosted by Richard Grove, and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and others.

About Richard Grove

Richard Grove, Host, *Organization Conversation*

Richard Grove‘s background is in engineering but what he enjoys most is brand building through relationships and creative marketing. Richard began his career with the Department of Defense as an engineer on the C-5 Galaxy Engineering Team based out of Warner Robins. While Richard found this experience both rewarding and fulfilling, he always knew deep down that he wanted to return to the small family business that originally triggered his interest in engineering.

Richard came to work for the family business, Dekalb Tool & Die, in 2008 as a Mechanical Engineer. At the time Wall Control was little more than a small ‘side hustle’ for Dekalb Tool & Die to try to produce some incremental income. There were no “Wall Control” employees, just a small warehouse with a single tool and die maker that would double as an “order fulfillment associate” on the occasion that the original WallControl.com website, which Richard’s grandmother built, pulled in an order.

In 2008, it became apparent that for the family business to survive they were going to have to produce their own branded product at scale to ensure jobs remained in-house and for the business to continue to move forward. Richard then turned his attention from tool and die to Wall Control to attempt this necessary pivot and his story with Wall Control began. Since that time, Richard has led Wall Control to significant growth while navigating two recessions.

Connect with Richard:

Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn

About Wall Control

The Wall Control story began in 1968 in a small tool & die shop just outside Atlanta, Georgia. The first of three generations began their work in building a family-based US manufacturer with little more than hard work and the American Dream.

Over the past 50+ years, this family business has continued to grow and expand from what was once a small tool & die shop into an award-winning US manufacturer of products ranging from automobile components to satellite panels and now, the best wall-mounted tool storage system available today, Wall Control.

The Wall Control brand launched in 2003 and is a family-owned and operated business that not only produces a high-quality American Made product but sees the entire design, production, and distribution process happen under their own roof in Tucker, Georgia. Under that same roof, three generations of American Manufacturing are still hard at work creating the best tool storage products available today.

Connect with Wall Control:

Company website | Facebook | Instagram

Anna Klimmek, Happy Food MN

April 26, 2022 by John Ray

Minneapolis St. Paul Business Radio

Anna Klimmek, Happy Food MN

00:00 /

Anna Klimmek, Happy Food MN (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Episode 38)

Happy Food MN provides corporate wellness events and healthy cooking demonstrations, as well as offering an online school of fun and informative classes. Founder and chef Anna Klimmek was on the show to talk about her fun approach to empowering people to live their best life. She talked with host John Ray about why she calls her company Happy Food, her tips to make it easier for people to cook with whole foods, her workshops, why she doesn’t ever talk about weight, how her business mirrors the way she cooks, her successes, and much more.

Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio is produced virtually by the Minneapolis St. Paul studio of Business RadioX®.

Happy Food MN

Happy Food MN was founded by Anna Klimmek, who received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Le Cordon Bleu Training.

Combining more than one hundred dietary theories and a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods, she crafts personalized workshops to help your employees achieve their health goals.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook

Anna Klimmek, Founder/Chef/Health Coach, Happy Food MN

Anna is a health coach and personal chef who teaches people to eat for their body in a way that works for their life. As a Le Cordon Blue grad, she has nearly 20 years of culinary experience. Her education as a Health Coach with advanced study in Hormonal and Gut Health from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition guide how she cooks and approaches food and gives her a unique perspective on the relationship between cooking, food, health, and life.

Anna’s mission is to empower people to live their best lives in the body that they are in. Happy Food MN offers programs that create self-empowerment, not only with food but with life choices. She is a personal chef and cooks for people with autoimmune disorders and food sensitivities. She does one-on-one health coaching, cooking classes and Healthy Living and Eating Workshops that teach you, “it doesn’t have to be hard to live healthy.” My superpower is that I make healthy living, tasty fun, and easy!

Questions and Topics Discussed in this Episode

What do you do?
How did you start?
Who do you serve?
What is your true mission?
You are in the process of rebranding “Healthy Cooking” to “Happy Cooking” – Why?
What do you want everyone to know about living a happy life?
How has your life changed since starting your own business?
What’s next?
Any advice for budding Entrepreneurs?

Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and produced virtually from the Minneapolis St. Paul studio of Business RadioX®. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

Why Clients Value Us: A Live Example

April 25, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Why Clients Value Us: A Live Example

00:00 /

Why Clients Value Us: A Live Example

An answer to a question I asked a podcast guest is an example of why clients value us as professional services providers. The answers they give to that question might surprise us. (The complete podcast episode from which the audio clip we used is taken can be found here.)

The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.

TRANSCRIPT

John Ray: [00:00:00] Hello again. I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey.

John Ray: [00:00:05] One of the podcasts that I produce is Business Beat. It’s sponsored by top 50 CPA firm, Frazier & Deeter. Roger Lusby, who’s the partner in charge of the Alpharetta office of Frazier & Deeter hosts the show and I sit alongside him. Now, a few years ago, we had a show in which Roger invited a long-term client of the firm, Chuck Walker, to talk about the growth and success of his company, Chemlink Laboratories. Near the end of the interview, I asked Chuck about his relationship with Frazier & Deeter and how that relationship had contributed to his firm’s success. Listen in.

John Ray: [00:00:47] During this time, you’ve had this long-term relationship with Roger and Matt, other folks at Frazier and Deeter, so you talked about the value of having great outside counselors and advisors like Frazier & Deeter, talk a little more specifically about how they’ve been helpful to you.

Chuck Walker: [00:01:06] Well, I’ve been with Roger since well before 1984.

Roger Lusby: [00:01:12] A long time.

Chuck Walker: [00:01:12] Long time before that, ’81, ’82. And what I found in dealing with Roger, we’re both like younger then, number 1, but we had a lot of things in common. We both love baseball. We both like to talk sports. But then, as you could tell by hearing Roger on the phone, very calming effect. So, you would call Roger, “My gosh, we’re here”. “Okay, Chuck. Okay, Chuck, let’s walk through this step by step, by step.” And of course, he knew a lot more than I did about what the problems would be and how we would handle them, and that’s how it grew over the years. And then, in fact, Roger took me to the sixth game of the 1995 World Series, and we sat there, we had dinner, we watched the Braves win, they were only-

Roger Lusby: [00:01:59] Tom Glavine, one hitter.

Chuck Walker: [00:01:59] Tom Glavine and just as he hit the homerun. But sometimes, you talk to Roger, if you don’t even come away with anything, when you get off the phone, you’ve calmed down, but in most instances, you come away with things, you come away with solutions, or “Here’s what I suggest”, and that’s been a huge, huge help asset.

Roger Lusby: [00:02:19] Well, thank you, Chuck.

John Ray: [00:02:22] Okay. So, what were the first couple of things that came to mind for Chuck as he thought about his relationship with Roger and Frazier & Deeter? What were the first couple of things that came up in the heat of the moment? Well, Chuck could have mentioned Roger’s degrees or his many years of experience. He could have mentioned the firm’s many areas of expertise which he can draw on. He could have mentioned the fact that Frazier & Deeter is a Top 50 accounting firm. But none of those attributes got mentioned. He did get around to mentioning the solutions and the outcomes that Roger and his firm helped deliver for him, but that’s not how he led off the answer to my question. What was the first answer? It was baseball.

John Ray: [00:03:12] Well, with that answer, I think what Chuck was addressing was the relationship he enjoyed with Roger. Now, I suspect that for Chuck, the mutual love of baseball that he referenced was a symbol of a personal bond, which the two of them had developed. It was more than just going to the World Series together. It was that their conversations and times that they had shared at baseball games, and maybe on the phone talking about baseball, and how the Braves were doing, they were just a reminder for Chuck of the human traits that Roger has, which appealed to Chuck and attracted Chuck to Roger in the first place.

John Ray: [00:03:56] The second thing that Chuck mentioned was Roger’s calming effect, as he called it, when Chuck would call Roger about a business problem. As Chuck clearly indicated, sure, he valued Roger’s advice and counsel over the years, but there was something more. He started by talking about how Roger delivered that advice, and how that delivery, the calming effect of it, was important to him.

John Ray: [00:04:27] This conversation is an illustration of how our clients and prospects have intangible reasons for selecting us initially and for continuing to do business with us. Those intangibles have nothing to do with our degree, certifications, experience, all the things we might default to when we think about why our clients not only buy from us, but continue to do so over the years.

John Ray: [00:04:53] Here’s another thing to remember. Just as every client is unique, client intangibles are unique. To use this example, the intangibles which Chuck mentions for working with Roger, baseball or calming effect, might be totally different than what other clients of Roger’s might mention. So, understanding why a particular client might be interested in doing business with us, might hire us, or might continue the professional relationship, and in turn, justifies the price that they’re willing to pay for our services, all of that requires more than just judging their demographic, or psychographic, or what avatar they are, or some other commoditizing feature that marketers come up with.

John Ray: [00:05:43] That’s where the value conversation comes in, digging into in the initial buying conversation, and then over the years, as the relationship grows and develops, why our clients not only start doing business with us, pay the price they pay, but continue to do so. Digging into those hopes, fears, dreams, those intangibles that drive why the relationship begins and why it continues.

John Ray: [00:06:15] I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey. Past episodes of this series can be found on your favorite podcast app or at pricevaluejourney.com. If you’d like to connect with me directly, you can send me a note, john@johnray.co. Thank you for joining me.

About The Price and Value Journey

The title of this show describes the journey all professional services providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire and trying to do all that at pricing which reflects the value we deliver.

If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line as well as the mindset you bring to your business.

The show is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® and can be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.

John Ray, Host of The Price and Value Journey

John Ray The Price and Value Journey — **John Ray, Host of “The Price and Value Journey”**

John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.

John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneur and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their “grey matter,” such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.

In his other business, John is a Studio Owner, Producer, and Show Host with Business RadioX®, and works with business owners who want to do their own podcast. As a veteran B2B services provider, John’s special sauce is coaching B2B professionals to use a podcast to build relationships in a non-salesy way which translate into revenue.

John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Nashville Business Radio, Alpharetta Tech Talk, and Business Leaders Radio. house shows which feature a wide range of business leaders and companies. John has hosted and/or produced over 1,300 podcast episodes.

Connect with John Ray:

Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

Business RadioX®: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Cary Matthews, Opal Partners Group

April 25, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Cary Matthews, Opal Partners Group

00:00 /

Cary Matthews, Opal Partners Group (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 449)

Cary Matthews, Managing Partner of Opal Partners Group, joined host John Ray to discuss his work as a fractional Chief Operating Officer. Cary shared details on the role of a fractional COO, how he amplifies and improves the operations of his clients, leadership in navigating change, exit planning, success stories, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Opal Partners Group

Opal Partners Group, LLC (OPG) is a Fractional COO and operations consulting firm.

It was founded by Cary Matthews built on his experience leading all aspects of operations in small businesses for more than twenty years.

Our services are structured based on your unique needs. We help most clients using Advisory Services, Projects, and Interim Leadership.

The goal of your operations should be to extract value from every resource you invest in the organization. Our operations assessment helps you determine where you can make improvements.

Our assessment is completed with the leadership team and OPG. During the assessment, we will apply the Operations Hierarchy to all seven essential functions common to every business:

Leadership
Revenue generation
Production
Information Technology
Finance
Human Resource
Business Preparedness

Website | LinkedIn

Cary Matthews, Managing Partner, Opal Partners Group

Prior to starting OPG, Cary was COO and EVP of Operations for several small businesses in the greater Atlanta area.

In those roles, he led the project management, support services, accounting, human resources, engineering, and logistics departments.

Some of the improvements he achieved include reducing time to invoice customers by 80%, improving cash flow, increasing gross profit by 10% while absorbing a 30% increase in sales, shortening training curriculum development time, and reducing training delivery costs by 30%.

Cary earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration, both from Auburn University.

Activities include serving as a member of the MBA Advisory Board for Anderson University, board member and treasurer for Vision USA, and a member of Vistage International.

He has taken professional development classes at MIT and Georgia Tech.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

For those who aren’t familiar with fractional executives, give us an overview of what you do.
What does a typical client engagement look like?
What is one of the most significant or common issues your clients are dealing with now?
What’s been your experience in dealing with implementing changes in small businesses?
What else are you seeing businesses struggle with or issues they must face in the future?
How do managers and business owners move to results-based management?
How do these things affect the average employee of a small business from their perspective?

Ehab Jaleel, Amana Academy Charter Schools

April 25, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Ehab Jaleel, Amana Academy Charter Schools

00:00 /

Ehab Jaleel, Amana Academy Charter Schools (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 448)

With a diverse population of over eight hundred students, Amana Academy Charter School is a unique K-8 school using the Expeditionary Learning (EL) model for its curriculum. Ehab Jaleel, Executive Director, and host John Ray talked about the EL learning model, what the children learn and experience, the partnership with the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta which has resulted in their new West Atlanta Campus, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Amana Academy Charter Schools

Amana Academy is a K-8 tuition-free public charter school open to all students who are eligible to attend Fulton County Schools.

Considered among the most well-regarded charter schools in the state of Georgia, Amana Academy’s Alpharetta campus was established in 2005 and authorized by the Georgia Department of Education and the Fulton County Schools system.

Amana chose the Harvard-based EL Education (Expeditionary Learning) model* because of its equal emphasis on academic achievement and character education. With high standardized test scores, an integrated STEM curriculum, a focus on stewardship and ethical character, and Arabic world-language instruction across all grade levels, Amana is a success story in the world of whole-child education.

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Ehab Jaleel, Executive Director, Amana Academy Charter Schools

Ehab Jaleel has a zeal for pursuing innovation and mobilizing new ventures with an eye toward making a difference in his community and the world. He aspires to be a “weaver”—building community connections and weaving a rich social fabric.

A graduate of the Leadership Atlanta class of 2016, Ehab is a corporate professional turned nonprofit leader/educator. He is Executive Director of Amana Academy Charter Schools, an emerging network of metro-Atlanta public schools. He co-founded Amana’s flagship school in 2005 in Alpharetta, GA, a STEM-themed EL Education credentialed Title-1 school that is among the highest performing schools in Georgia. Amana’s first replica school is in partnership with Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta at their Camp Timber Ridge.

Ehab’s education and community focus extends to a number of organizations including the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce’s Tech400 Committee, the Advisory Council for North Fulton Community Charities, as a board member of the Atlanta International Night Market, and as a Regional Director for the Georgia Tech President Scholars Selection Committee. He led the governance committee on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Charter Schools Association, and he served as a board member at U-Beyond, a youth mentorship & professional development organization.

In 2014 Ehab was included in the list of Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Muslims; and in 2015, The Alif Institute recognized him with the Arab American High Achiever award.

Born in Jordan, Ehab immigrated to the United States at the age of six and resided in Albany, NY until his family moved to Florida’s Tampa Bay area. He has also lived in Louisville, KY while working for General Electric, but most of his adult life has been in metro-Atlanta where he earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and where he worked at The Coca-Cola Company’s headquarters in operational marketing and innovation roles for fifteen years.

Ehab resides in Milton, Georgia with his wife Lara ‘Lemiya’ Alexander. They have three adult daughters, the eldest an equestrian, the second a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and the youngest attending his alma mater studying Environmental Public Policy and minoring in Japanese. He is a foodie who enjoys global travel, fitness, outdoor adventure, and following Formula 1 racing.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

What are charter schools? How did Amana get started?
Why did you make the switch from the corporate world to running a school?
How do you see yourself fitting into the North Fulton landscape?
What is the student experience at Amana? How does it benefit them? Where do your students come from?
How do families find you?
Where do they go after 8th grade?
Education was in the news quite a bit during the pandemic. How did your school navigate it; and how will emerging trends affect your organization and the education sector in general? Are there lessons for leaders?
We hear you are expanding with a very innovative partnership with Girl Scouts. Tell us more about that.
What local partnerships do you have going?
How can the community get involved and help with your mission?

Dr. Zach Powell, Georgia Dental Association and Powell Dentistry Group

April 22, 2022 by John Ray

Dental Business Radio

Dr. Zach Powell, Georgia Dental Association and Powell Dentistry Group

00:00 /

Dr. Zach Powell, Georgia Dental Association and Powell Dentistry Group (Dental Business Radio, Episode 29)

Dr. Zach Powell, this year’s President of the Georgia Dental Association, joined host Patrick O’Rourke to talk about the GDA. Dr. Powell laid out the mission and initiatives of the GDA, discussed his recent travels all over the state to meet with members, and his commitment to dentistry as a profession. He and Patrick also talked about the upcoming summer meeting of the GDA, the impact GDA was able to have during COVID to get dentists back to work to serve patients, the GDA Foundation, and much more.

Dental Business Radio is underwritten and presented by Practice Quotient: PPO Negotiations & Analysis and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.

Powell Dentistry Group

Powell Dentistry Group specializes in practice management, consultation, transitions, and acquisitions. Dr. Powell serves as the company’s CEO. PFD has owned and managed twelve dental offices in 20 years.

Currently, it encompasses four practices throughout southeastern Georgia: Dentistry in Redfern, serving Saint Simons Island and Sea Island; Brunswick Smiles, serving Glynn and MacIntosh Counties including Brunswick and the Golden Isles; Blackshear Family Dentistry, serving Pierce, Wayne, and Ware Counties; and Alma Family Dentistry, serving Bacon and Douglas Counties.

Dr. Powell himself practices on Saint Simons Island in Redfern Village where his business offices are also headquartered. The Powell Dentistry Group employs 35 team members, including a CFO, COO, and five dentist associates.

Zachary Powell, DMD, Owner, Powell Dentistry Group and President, Georgia Dental Association

**Dr. Zach Powell, President, Georgia Dental Association**

Dr. Zachary Powell is a general dentist specializing in comprehensive, implant, and family dentistry. He is a Georgia native and graduated from both the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta University). He has been in private practice for 23 years and owned multiple offices.

Dr. Powell is deeply dedicated to his profession and enjoys treating patients of all ages, from all walks of life, all over the great state of Georgia. Additionally, he works as a dental and business consultant throughout the state and has extensive experience in medical/dental office and real estate development. He possesses 25 years of leadership experience in both a professional and civic capacity.

His professional service experience includes positions held at local, state, and national levels and he currently serves as the President of the Georgia Dental Association. Dr. Powell is an honorary fellow with both the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the GDA and has been named to the University of Georgia’s Bulldog 100 twice. Dr. Powell serves on several boards including the Affinity Bank Dental Advisory Board. His commitment to ethics, patient advocacy, and grassroots organized dentistry are the hallmarks of his career.

Connect with Dr. Powell on LinkedIn and follow Powell Dentistry Group on Facebook.

Dental Business Radio covers the business side of dentistry. Host Patrick O’Rourke and his guests cover industry trends, insights, success stories, and more in this wide-ranging show. The show’s guests include successful doctors across the spectrum of dental practice providers, as well as trusted advisors and noted industry participants. Dental Business Radio is underwritten and presented by Practice Quotient and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. The show can be found on all the major podcast apps and a complete show archive is here.

Practice Quotient

Dental Business Radio is sponsored by Practice Quotient. Practice Quotient, Inc. serves as a bridge between the payor and provider communities. Their clients include general dentist and dental specialty practices across the nation of all sizes, from completely fee-for-service-only to active network participation with every dental plan possible. They work with independent practices, emerging multi-practice entities, and various large ownership entities in the dental space. Their PPO negotiations and analysis projects evaluate the merits of the various in-network participation contract options specific to your Practice’s patient acquisition strategy. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Connect with Practice Quotient

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

John Ray, Business RadioX® and Ray Business Advisors

April 22, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

John Ray, Business RadioX® and Ray Business Advisors

00:00 /

John Ray, Business RadioX® and Ray Business Advisors (The Exit Exchange, Episode 13)

The tables were turned on this edition of The Exit Exchange, as regular co-host John Ray was also the guest, interviewed by co-hosts David Shavzin and Mike Rosenthal. John is the owner of the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®, which produces The Exit Exchange, as well as the owner of Ray Business Advisors. John explained why professional services providers and other business owners should have a podcast, the way a podcast can be positioned to create definable ROI, and success stories. He also discussed his pricing consulting work, why pricing is a particular problem for professional services providers, and his podcast, The Price and Value Journey. John also shared why he and his firm is a Platinum Sponsor of XPX Atlanta and the success factors of the organization which make his membership and sponsorship so valuable.

This episode of The Exit Exchange was co-hosted by David Shavzin and Mike Rosenthal and is produced virtually from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.

John Ray, Owner, Business RadioX – North Fulton, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors

**John Ray, Owner, North Fulton – Business RadioX, and Owner, Ray Business Advisors**

John Ray helps B2B professionals who need help building relationships which translate into revenue. Yes, John and his team plan, produce, and promote shows for their clients, but clients receive more than just that. The value they receive is the ability to open the door to hard-to-reach prospects, nurture existing relationships with clients, and to reactivate past prospects or clients in an elegant, non-salesy way.

Business RadioX – North Fulton operates as a member of the Business RadioX® national network of studio partners who serve as the “Voice of Business” in their local markets, helping local business leaders get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession.

John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Alpharetta Tech Talk, and Business Leaders Radio. house shows which feature a wide range of business leaders and companies. John has hosted and/or produced over 1,300 podcast episodes.

John also owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneur and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their “grey matter,” such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.

His podcast, The Price and Value Journey, addresses the pricing problems solo and small firm professional services providers face, as well as other challenges they confront in running their practice.

Connect with John:

Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

Business RadioX®: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

The Exit Planning Exchange Atlanta

The Exit Planning Exchange Atlanta (XPX) is a diverse group of professionals with a common goal: working collaboratively to assist business owners with a sale or business transition. XPX Atlanta is an association of advisors who provide professionalism, principles, and education to the heart of the middle market. Our members work with business owners through all stages of the private company life cycle: business value growth, business value transfer, and owner life and legacy. Our Vision: To fundamentally changing the trajectory of exit planning services in the Southeast United States. XPX Atlanta delivers a collaborative-based networking exchange with broad representation of exit planning competencies. Learn more about XPX Atlanta and why you should consider joining our community: https://exitplanningexchange.com/atlanta.

The Exit Exchange is produced by John Ray in the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta. The show archive can be found at xpxatlantaradio.com.

John Ray and Business RadioX are Platinum Sponsors of XPX Atlanta.