Patrick Werrlein said his company could not have won this award six years ago. The company culture needed a big overhaul. He’s president and owner of a Swagelok sales and service center in Birmingham, Alabama. Once he got the right team together and became clear about “who we are and what we do,” he went to work on the culture. The strategy? Simple, says Patrick – empathy, care, concern, spontaneity and some fun. Patrick offers a list of tactics that any business leader can apply. Sponsors: E3 Termite & Pest Control Allison Horner – State Farm Agent Trey Langus –… Read More
Categories: LibsynWhile the COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult hurdle for many small businesses to clear, that apparently has not kept fledgling entrepreneurs from wanting to jump in feet first and give business ownership a shot. “In the past three years, we’ve been inundated with people coming in, looking for help to start a business,” said Mel Washington, Regional Director of the Small Business Development Center for southwest Alabama. Washington, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” says many of those new would-be entrepreneurs are Baby Boomers, looking for something new to throw their efforts into,… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, What's Working with Cam MarstonThre are three types of people, he said, and my mind has been racing ever since. ——- In a Zoom call this week I chatted with another speaker for an upcoming conference. He and I want our messages complement each other and he offered some of his presentation highlights and one thing he said has rattled around in my head since our call. He said there are three types of people – and when he said this he was quoting someone else but I don’t remember who – he said there are fragile people who when pushed or dropped or… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2Mel Washington is Regional Director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of South Alabama. He coaches and consults and guides small businesses as they work to become stable, viable businesses. He and I discuss what it takes to get started and where many errors are made by small business owners. If you’re thinking of becoming and entrepreneur, this episode offers simple recipees that will mitigate your failure risk. If you’re trying to grow to the next level, this episode offers thoughts for how to target the next level and how to pursue it. Show Sponsors: Persons Services… Read More
Categories: LibsynThere’s a tale radio people tell about why they got into radio. Does it apply to me? Well… ——– A story I’ve heard about people in radio is that many of them share a similar childhood experience: They tried to get their parent’s attention but their parents shushed them – told them to be quiet – they’re trying to listen to the man on the radio. The children begin to think that whatever is coming through the radio speaker is more important than what they want to say and later, those children begin a career in radio to get their… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2How does a small plumbing company become a massive construction and disaster recovery business with about 200 employees, offices in five states and work lined up throughout the Western Hemisphere? In the case of Persons Services Corp., it happened through a succession that was fueled by the new generation adding new expertise to chase new opportunities. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” Buddy Persons, is President and CEO of Mobile-based Persons Services Corp., and Managing Director of Persons Development Company. The company was founded in 1978 by Persons’ father, Paul E. Persons, Sr., as… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston, WorkBuddy Persons has never seen as much property damage from a hurricane than what he saw in south Florida after Hurrican Ian. He was there representing the disaster recovery division of Persons Services Corp, of the several divisions of his company. Buddy’s background includes such work in Haiti, Albania and Hondurus to name but a few. The company began years ago with his father’s plumbing business and Buddy has grown it tremendously. Hear his remarkable story and meet this humble entrepreneur. Show Sponsors: Allison Horner – State Farm Agent E3 Termite & Pest Control Trey Langus – Transworld Business Advisors… Read More
Categories: LibsynIt’s a fun experience being on the other side of the mic early Saturday morning for Tony Truitt’s News Radio show out of Birmingham. It was a quick chat in which he asked me to tell a bit of the story of my show. Check out this episode!
Categories: LibsynA friend’s fortunes have turned… —– I met with a friend yesterday. I haven’t seen or spoken to him much for the past six months. His business has exploded over the past three or four years. He’s a good guy, an honest guy. He’s created a niche product, the market found him and he’s grown it masterfully. Until he and his business partner got sideways with each other, and the last six months have been tough. Accusations. Finger pointing. He finally told his partner, “We have to split up or it may get violent.” They both lawyered up, money changed… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2Does the economy have you worried? Scared of a recession and what it’d mean for your business? Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” tells us why we shouldn’t be so anxious – and why a down economy is the perfect time to get aggressive anyway. Peter Ricchiuti, an economist and professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, says the Federal Reserve is actually doing a pretty good job of walking the tightrope between lowering inflation and avoiding recession. “There’s a lot of fear out there,” he said, “but you look at the job… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, Recession Economy, What's Working with Cam Marston