Business Growth On Purpose

OWNER INTERVIEW: Keys to Connecting with New People with Richard Blank || Ep 349

Most business owners will tell you that who you know is just as important as what you know when it comes to growing your business.
You may be among the brightest in your field, but if you don't know how to meet new people (and the right people), your business will struggle.
Today's guest is Richard Blank of Costa Rica's Call Center. Richard is an entrepreneur who has built a full-blown business south of the border interacting with American companies with a bilingual call center. In this episode, he will share some insights into his journey, and what he sees happening in the business world, and as a special treat, we are going to get some "secret sauce" on making effective B2B calls. 
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking styles backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10,000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank has been the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
After listening to today's episode, connect with Richard on his LinkedIn profile!
 

How to Engage Your Talent to Keep It with Lisa Ryan || Ep 348

The current labor market has been turned upside down by inflation, interest rates, and every other squeeze possible. To be successful, owners need to know how to attract and keep the talent they need to succeed.
Our guest today is Lisa Ryan of LisaRyanSpeaks. Lisa is a specialist in recruiting engaging talent, especially in manufacturing.
We will discuss if the current environment is the new normal, or if we will snap back to what it was pre-pandemic. We will also discuss what you can implement to make your company more attractive for the future of your company as well as the people you already have! 
Lisa Ryan, MBA, CSP, is a Certified Speaking Professional who helps organizations develop employee engagement strategies that keep their top talent from becoming someone else’s.
Lisa is a best-selling author of eleven books and a proud Cleveland native. She spent thirteen years in industrial sales including seven years in the welding industry – and yes, she does weld.
After listening to today's episode, check out Lisa's ebook, "To Have and To Hold: 101 Smart Strategies to Engage Employees". 
 

Overcoming Supply Chain Challenges with Hugo Fuentes || Ep 347

For the businesses that survived the worst of this year's supply chain crisis, we're at a critical moment. In our recovery, do we go back to business as normal? Or do we learn?
We are excited to be joined by our guest today, Hugo Fuentes of The Owl Solutions. Hugo is an expert in supply chains.  In this episode, we will discuss what is still happening, potential outcomes, and what you can do to improve your supply chain to foster growth. 
Hugo is a passionate supply chain management expert, with more than twenty years of leadership experience managing various aspects of the supply chain, including sales forecasting, inventory management, direct procurement, and logistics. 
He has worked for large midsize and large enterprises, in multiple geographies and industries, such as Consumer Packaged Goods, Natural Health Products, Aftermarket, and Industrial, in both manufacturing and distribution business models.
After listening to today's episode, check out Hugo's podcast, The Owl's Nest Podcast, a great listen for supply chain professionals put on by supply chain professionals. 

Succeeding Through Culture Shifts with Jim Rich || Ep 346

"Culture" is a difficult word for many leaders. It's either the fuel that's driving your growth or it's the weight that's holding you back. How do you wrangle this wild card to work for you, not against you?
Today, we talk with Jim Rich, Chief Revenue Officer for Vbrick Systems. In this episode, we will talk about several topics, including changes in the sales environment, culture shifts in organizations, and a unique technology that streamlines communication between senior leadership and their troops. 
Jim Rich has over 25 years of sales leadership experience in the software industry, with expertise in digital transformation and business intelligence. He has served in key sales and revenue marketing positions at Sisense, Anaplan, and Salesforce where he was the first commercial sales leader in the New York office, growing that team exponentially over seven years. 
After listening to today's episode, check out the list of services offered by Vbrick to see how they can help you integrate video into your daily operations. 

Mindset for Scaling with Lauren Goldstein || Ep 345

Today's episode features an exciting guest: Lauren Goldstein, The Biz Doctor. In today's episode, we are going to talk about how to change your mindset to scale your business successfully. 
Lauren Goldstein is the founder and CEO of Golden Key Partnership, a top business consulting firm that specializes in helping service-based entrepreneurs overcome obstacles in their business. She's known as "The Biz Doctor" and has over 12 years of experience advising Fortune 500 companies. Lauren's expertise lies in identifying the root cause of team and operational challenges so that businesses can scale sustainably and profitably. Her greatest strength is helping business owners become effective CEOs and leaders.
After listening to today's episode, check out Lauren's podcast, The Biz Doctor!
 

Connecting with Your Target Customer with Jose Palomino || Ep 344

In our B2B strategy series, we've talked about identifying and finding your ideal customer so far. Today, we tackle the next critical step: connecting with your ideal customer.
We get into key questions like:
Topics and questions your ideal customer cares about
How to use digital strategies to scale your footprint
Actionable steps to deepen connections and convert business
The key is no silver bullet – it's an articulate, intentional strategy. You can test theories and fine-tune your approach over time. Being "on purpose" is the best way to move forward.
 

How Brand Influencers Really Work with Dr. James Richardson || Ep 343

What do you get when you mix a business anthropologist with international-scale influencers? You get a perspective you're not likely to find on your normal podcast!
Today's guest is cultural anthropologist turned business strategist Dr. James Richardson of Premium Growth Solutions. James is an expert in consumer packaged goods. This topic is a little off the beaten path of what we typically do here, but the lessons apply to marketing and strategy if you're in B2B.
He has helped nearly 100 CPG brands with their strategic planning, including brands owned by Coca-Cola Venturing and Emerging Brands, The Hershey Company, General Mills, and Frito-Lay, as well as other emerging brands such as Once Upon a Farm, Dr. Squatch Soap, Proven skincare, Rebel creamery, and June Shine kombucha. 
James is the author of Ramping Your Brand: How to Ride the Killer CPG Growth Curve, an award-winning, best-selling business book on Amazon. He also hosts his podcast—Startup Confidential.
After listening to today's episode, visit James' website to check out his book, Ramping Your Brand: How to Ride the Killer CPG Growth Curve. 
 

DIY SEO with Jeremy Poland || Ep 342

SEO is a topic that many owners think they need, but they don't understand it and got burned by expensive agencies in the past. Today's guest helps us to demystify the topic so you can either manage within your team or better understand the vendors you're considering.
Our guest today is Jeremy Poland of CEO and founder of DIY SEO. And yes, in this episode, we are going to talk a lot about SEO and how it's not necessarily a dark, deep mystical art but something that can be learned and understood.  
Jeremy Poland is a seasoned marketer, with a backstory in church leadership & publishing. Struggling to support a growing family on one non-profit salary, he erected a digital agency from side hustle to family sustainer. With a specialization in SEO for Small Businesses, the proprietary “playbook” and data he developed led to the formation of DIY SEO!
Jeremy and his wife created DIY SEO to empower small businesses and marketing agencies to fulfill their SEO & backlink building with high-powered link intelligence and expert support. 
After listening to today's episode, visit Jeremy's website to check out his top 20 backlinks.
 

Selling Through Tough Times with Paul Reilly ||Ep 341

What would you give for your sales reps to be able to sell during crunch time? When things get tough? If that's you, we have someone you need to hear!
We'd like to introduce you to our guest today Paul Reilly. One of the reasons we wanted him on the show is because he recently wrote a book titled, Selling Through Tough Times. He has insights on how to think about the adjustments and approaches you need to sell during tough times. We are always going to go through tough times but there's a way to be successful no matter what.  
A professional speaker and sales trainer, Paul is the author of Selling Through Tough Times (McGraw-Hill 2021) and the co-author of Value-Added Selling, fourth edition (McGraw-Hill, 2018). He hosts The Q and A Sales Podcast, where he answers the most pressing questions facing today’s sales professionals. Reilly is a long-time faculty member at the University of Innovative Distribution (UID) and holds the CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation.
After listening to today's episode, visit Paul's website and check out his book where you'll learn the right mental framework and the skills to thrive through the tough times.
 

Building the Future while Protecting the Present with Justin Coutu || Ep 340

Owners face a common challenge - chasing growth without losing what you've built so far. Today, we talk to a master manufacturer who is leading the charge into innovation while reinforcing their progress so far.
Our guest today is Justin Coutu, President of R&D Technologies. Justin has been our guest before, but we wanted to talk to him again because things are changing! His business has taken remarkable strides forward even since the last time we talked.
As President of R&D Technologies, Justin oversees all facets of management, including personnel and policy matters, internship programs, and being actively involved in all sales efforts. R&D serves the needs of the manufacturing, consumer product, medical device, education, defense, and industrial markets, and is a reseller of the Stratasys line of 3D printing and rapid prototyping systems throughout New England. 
After listening to today’s episode, visit R&D Technologies’ website for more information about Justin!