John Ray, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Jason Etheridge, Logic Speak

January 23, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Jason Etheridge, Logic Speak

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Jason Etheridge, Logic Speak (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 602)

Jason Etheridge, Founder and President of Logic Speak, joined host John Ray on this episode of North Fulton Business Radio. He discussed how small businesses typically approach IT strategy and planning, how Logic Speak creates a comprehensive IT strategic plan for clients, how small businesses can stay up to date with the latest technologies and trends, and much more.

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

Logic Speak

For more than 15 years, Logic Speak’s promise to business professionals like you has been to take the stress out of your technology.

Companies of all sizes have IT issues. Whether you need an overall IT plan, better technical support or maybe just updated hardware/software, we are here to help you navigate the complexities of IT. It’s always been their goal to serve as your guide in making sense of all the options to establish the best work environment for your business. They specialize in translating technology into business sense. From the board room to the server room, Logic Speak offers you peace of mind so that you can focus on what you do best.

The key to accomplishing your mission is staying focused on what you do best and delegating the rest. When compared with internal resources, leveraging a managed services provider offers profound cost savings. They get that you want the technology to just work at a reasonable price. Once Logic Speak is engaged, they have the ability to streamline and enhance your company’s technological capabilities while simultaneously cutting costs and reducing the amount of time, stress, and headache you spend in maintaining your company’s networking and telecommunications requirements.

Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

Jason Etheridge, Founder and President, Logic Speak

Jason Etheridge is the Founder and President of Logic Speak, a managed service provider that offers IT support, security, and infrastructure maintenance to clients in the metro-Atlanta area.

He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and has over 20 years of experience in the field. Prior to founding Logic Speak, Jason worked as a Technology Consultant for Hewlett-Packard and served as the Director of Information Technology at Extreme Logic, where he received the Extreme Logic Excellence through Results award for his work with Ernst Young.

He has also consulted for small businesses in the Atlanta area and has implemented systems to streamline corporate processes and reduce overall IT costs. Jason serves on the advisory board of Datto and IT Glue. He is also a member of an MSP-Ignite peer group and facilitates another peer group for smaller MSPs.

Jason lives in Johns Creek, GA with his wife Jennifer, two boys Jameson and Jackson, and Harbins, their labradoodle. He is a conflicted 7 – 2 on the Enneagram, was recently voted life of the party by his co-workers, and loves riding his Harley when he is not changing diapers, coaching baseball, or thinking about technology.

Questions and Topics in this Interview

How do small businesses typically approach IT strategy and planning?
Can you walk us through creating a comprehensive IT strategy for a small business?
How can small businesses stay up to date with the latest technologies and trends in the IT industry?
How can small businesses prepare for unexpected IT issues like data breaches or natural disasters?
What two or three things can you suggest that business owners should consider if they aren’t already?

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.

Since 2000, Office Angels® has been restoring joy to the life of small business owners, enabling them to focus on what they do best. At the same time, we honor and support at-home experts who wish to continue working on an as-needed basis. Not a temp firm or a placement service, Office Angels matches a business owner’s support needs with Angels who have the talent and experience necessary to handle work that is essential to creating and maintaining a successful small business. Need help with administrative tasks, bookkeeping, marketing, presentations, workshops, speaking engagements, and more? Visit us at https://officeangels.us/.

Setting a Vision for 2023, with Bill McDermott, Host of ProfitSense

January 23, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Setting a Vision for 2023, with Bill McDermott, Host of ProfitSense

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Setting a Vision for 2023, with Bill McDermott, Host of ProfitSense

In this commentary from a recent episode of ProfitSense, Bill talks about setting a vision for 2023. He suggests to start dreaming, visualize your company’s success in your mind, convert your dreams into goals, and those goals into plans. Dream courageously! Fortune favors the brave.

ProfitSense with Bill McDermott is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton Studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.

Bill’s commentary was taken from this episode of ProfitSense.

About ProfitSense and Your Host, Bill McDermott

ProfitSense with Bill McDermott dives into the stories behind some of Atlanta’s successful businesses and owners and the professionals that advise them. This show helps local business leaders get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. The show is presented by McDermott Financial Solutions. McDermott Financial helps business owners improve cash flow and profitability, find financing, break through barriers to expansion and financially prepare to exit their business. The show archive can be found at profitsenseradio.com.

Bill McDermott is the Founder and CEO of McDermott Financial Solutions. When business owners want to increase their profitability, they don’t have the expertise to know where to start or what to do. Bill leverages his knowledge and relationships from 32 years as a banker to identify the hurdles getting in the way and create a plan to deliver profitability they never thought possible.

Bill currently serves as Treasurer for the Atlanta Executive Forum and has held previous positions as a board member for the Kennesaw State University Entrepreneurship Center and Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity and Treasurer for CEO NetWeavers. Bill is a graduate of Wake Forest University and he and his wife, Martha have called Atlanta home for over 40 years. Outside of work, Bill enjoys golf, traveling, and gardening.

Connect with Bill on LinkedIn and Twitter and follow McDermott Financial Solutions on LinkedIn.

Start Simple, with Anthony Chen, Host of Family Business Radio

January 23, 2023 by John Ray

Family Business Radio

Start Simple, with Anthony Chen, Host of Family Business Radio

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Start Simple, with Anthony Chen, Host of Family Business Radio

In a commentary from a recent Family Business Radio episode, host Anthony Chen recommended that you start simple when it comes to financial planning.

Anthony’s commentary was taken from this episode of Family Business Radio. Family Business Radio is underwritten by Anthony Chen with Lighthouse Financial Network.

Anthony Chen, Host of Family Business Radio

This show is sponsored and brought to you by Anthony Chen with Lighthouse Financial Network. Securities and advisory services offered through Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. (RAA), member FINRA/SIPC. RAA is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of RAA. The main office address is 575 Broadhollow Rd. Melville, NY 11747. You can reach Anthony at 631-465-9090 ext. 5075 or by email at anthonychen@lfnllc.com.

Anthony Chen started his career in financial services with MetLife in Buffalo, NY in 2008. Born and raised in Elmhurst, Queens, he considers himself a full-blooded New Yorker while now enjoying his Atlanta, GA home. Specializing in family businesses and their owners, Anthony works to protect what is most important to them. From preserving to creating wealth, Anthony partners with CPAs and attorneys to help address all of the concerns and help clients achieve their goals. By using a combination of financial products ranging from life, disability, and long-term care insurance to many investment options through Royal Alliance. Anthony looks to be the eyes and ears for his client’s financial foundation. In his spare time, Anthony is an avid long-distance runner.

The complete show archive of Family Business Radio can be found at familybusinessradioshow.com.

Darlene Drew, Leadership Conditioning, Personal & Professional Development, LLC

January 23, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Darlene Drew, Leadership Conditioning, Personal & Professional Development, LLC

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Darlene Drew, Leadership Conditioning, Personal & Professional Development, LLC (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 601)

Darlene Drew, CEO of Leadership Conditioning, Personal & Professional Development, joined host John Ray on this episode of North Fulton Business Radio. Darlene discussed her career as a warden in Federal Bureau of Prisons, leadership lessons from that career, women in leadership, the boss versus leader mentality, preparing emerging leaders, and much more.

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

Darlene Drew, CEO, Leadership Conditioning, Personal & Professional Development

Darlene Drew is the CEO/Owner of Leadership Conditioning, Personal & Professional Development, LLC. She is also a Certified & Independent Leadership Trainer, Professional Speaker and Executive Coach with the Maxwell Leadership Team.

Darlene serves businesses, companies and organizations by helping leaders develop leaders. Through her training sessions, she equips, engages and energizes participants with leadership and professional development training by providing them with tools that can immediately be applied in their personal and professional lives.

As an authority in leadership, building relationships and communications, she helps organizations develop their staff in a manner that improves their bottom line of first valuing people which improves the operation of their business and the performance and production of their staff.

She has been recognized in the Maxwell Leadership Team in the Top 20 Nominees for the Maxwell Leadership Team Culture Award. She’s a 2019 Stage Time Winner. Darlene has been featured in the Peachtree City Magazine on two occasions.

Her prior career began in the Federal government at the entry level as a Correctional Officer promoted up to a Senior Executive Service Appointment into the position of Warden. One of her most groundbreaking accomplishments was becoming the first and only female to serve as Warden at the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, GA. She served as Warden of three Federal prisons after being told early on in her career that she would never make it!

These dynamics brought leadership expertise that has positioned her to help those she partners with in their growth.

Website | Facebook | Darlene’s LinkedIn

Questions and Topics in this Interview

Women in leadership
Boss vs. Leader
Preparing emerging leaders
Being a leader other will follow
The essentials of leadership

Altruism and Business Ownership

January 23, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Altruism and Business Ownership

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Altruism and Business Ownership

Entrepreneurs today want a purpose in their business which goes beyond just making money. Reminding clients of that purpose is a vital way we are often called, as advisors, to deliver value to them.

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. I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey. I recently ran across a quote from the Dalai Lama who said, “Idealistic as it may sound, altruism should be the driving force in business, not just competition and a desire for wealth”. Well, the Dalai Lama was in many ways kind and maybe even cute to some people. But what does he know about business? Quite a lot. I think if this quote attributed to him is accurate.

Let’s think about what altruism means. One definition I found calls altruistic behavior, a desire to benefit someone other than oneself for that person’s sake. Some will read that definition and claim that fulfilling such a desire is impossible in business. Those people would be flat out wrong. They’ve either never run a small business, not spent much time around business owners, or their experience in business is scarred by knowing the worst possible examples of business owners. In the latter case, the ones who are almost sociopathic in their disregard for others.

I work with and regularly talk with a wide variety of small and medium sized business owners. I have that privilege because of the pricing and other business advisory work that I do. And I also regularly interview a wide variety of guests as part of my work in the North Fulton Studio of Business RadioX. Between the guests I’ve interviewed myself and the guests of the shows we produce, we’ve had over 2000 business owners and leaders over the past almost seven years and counting.

So, my sample size is quite large, you might say. And I’m no wide eyed, idealistic novice either. These business owners span a wide variety of demographic categories. Some have always lived a life of entrepreneurship, and others started their businesses later in life after a career in corporate. One thing I have found over the years is that the overwhelming preponderance of business owners I’ve encountered have a purpose for their business, which goes well beyond the profit and loss statement.

There’s a bigger idea in mind. Maybe they’ve got a cause that’s important to them they want to contribute to. They’ve got some difference they want to make in their community. It could be rooted in their faith. Sometimes they want to establish a charitable legacy which lives on after they’re gone. For some, they’re simply motivated to be of service to everyone they meet, and that service just happens to be found in their business. They see themselves as servants to their employees, clients, vendors, and their community.

I was with a client recently and we were heads down together on several pressing issues. At one point, the conversation shifted toward purpose in his business. He restated that purpose. One I’d heard many times before and one that’s larger than himself. And he observed that if that purpose wasn’t the objective, then dealing with the problems we were talking about just wasn’t worth it. In a recent interview that I did with a personal injury attorney, he talked about the practice of law and his fundamental desire to help people. If it’s all about money, he said, you’ll never be satisfied with your business.

I see and hear altruism in small and medium sized business owners all the time. This theme is just part of the world that we live in today. People want purpose in their business or they don’t want to be in that enterprise. Here’s the thing, though. A business doesn’t have to get exceptionally large to start having a complex set of issues. If you’re a solo or small firm professional services provider, you work with a variety of small and medium sized business owners who are dragged down by the day-to-day problems and just the plain old crap that’s involved in running a business. All those issues can obscure the larger goals or make them seem far away.

Sometimes your job is simply to help your clients raise their vision, to remind them of why they’re dealing with all the junk they have on their plate. You don’t necessarily have to deliver brilliant insights or solve all their problems. You just need to bring back that vision of service they had when they got into business. When you reinvigorate their spirit by reminding them of what’s behind today’s clouds in their business, you are offering tremendous value. And that’s an honorable calling that you have as a professional services provider.

I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey. If you’d like to know about this series and some of the work that I do, you can go to pricevaluejourney.com. You’ll find there a link back to the show archive of this series. And if you’re not already subscriber on your favorite podcast app, I’d be honored if you would do that. You can find the series on all the major podcast apps. When you go to pricevaluejourney.com, you can find a link where you can sign up to receive more information on my upcoming book, which is called The Price and Value Journey, Raise Your Confidence, Your Value and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using the Generosity Mindset. If you’d like to email me directly, you can do so at 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, 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 1,700 podcast episodes.

Coming in 2023: A New Book!

John’s working on a book that will be released in 2023: The Price and Value Journey: Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using The Generosity Mindset. The book covers topics like value and adopting a mindset of value, pricing your services more effectively, proposals, and essential elements of growing your business. For more information, contact John below.

Connect with John Ray:

Website | LinkedIn | Twitter

Business RadioX®: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Plumber Pricing

January 20, 2023 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Plumber Pricing

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Plumber Pricing

Professional services providers, the speed with which you execute an engagement is a feature and should be priced as one. A recent experience I had with a plumber illustrates the point.

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. I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey. In my last episode of this series, I talked about my recent superb experience with the plumber, using that story to make the point that how we show up is an intangible value to our clients. This plumber came to our house on a Friday night a few hours after I called him to diagnose the problem. After doing that, he said he could be back the next morning on a Saturday to perform the necessary repairs. Unfortunately for him, though, my experience with this plumber was further elevated by his pricing. What do I mean by that? Well, even though he delivered his service so quickly and efficiently, his price was well below the estimate I received from another plumber who I could never get to show up.

Even with offering the intangibles of both reliability and speed of service, this five-star plumber didn’t price his service to reflect the client perceived value of those intangibles. Professional services providers, the speed with which you execute an engagement is a feature and should be priced as one. Bookkeepers for example, when you’re producing financials by the 15th of every month, that should be priced at a premium relative to engagements which call for the end of the month. Yet so many bookkeepers I’ve run into price all their clients at their same hourly rate, which highlights just one of the many problems with hourly pricing but that’s another subject.

Here’s another example. At year end, some professionals like attorneys or business valuation experts will have clients who, with little or no warning, come walking in with a project which needs to be completed by December 31st. Price the needed velocity. When confronted with a premium price, such clients will make their own determination as to how important that year in closing is and therefore how much they value your project and the outcome you deliver. Speed is value, price it.

I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey. Go to pricevaluejourney.com to learn more about my work, including a link to the show archive of this series, which you can also subscribe to on your favorite podcast app. And I’d be honored if you would do that, if you’re not already a subscriber. When you go to pricevaluejourney.com, you can also sign up to receive updates on my new book coming out in 2023. The title of the book is The Price and Value Journey, Raise Your Confidence, Your Value and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using the Generosity Mindset. If you’d like to email me directly, feel free, John@JohnRay.co. Thank you for joining me.