Are zoos a good thing? Some people would tell you they aren’t, that they’re enclosing animals meant to live in the wild and putting them on display for our own entertainment. Joel Sartore would ask that you consider another angle. “The animals get abundant attention and care and they thrive and they breed,” said Sartore, a world-renowned wildlife photographer. “This is hugely important, because a lot of the species that we photograph don’t exist in the wild anymore. Zoos are the real arks. They contain these animals and they’re holding them and keeping them going until a time when we… Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam MarstonWant to feed millennials? Here’s what you need to know. Forbes recently published a list of food-related trends for millennials, and if you’re a restauranteur or grocer who wants to stay in business, it’s probably advice worth heeding. Millennials not only represent the largest sector of the workforce now, they represent the largest sector of adults. These are your customers. You’d better know what they want. So what do they want? For starters, less sugar. Many of us, actually – not just millennials — are looking for any and all ways to cut it out of our diets for reasons… Read More
Categories: Advertising, Generation Y / MillennialsHow does an English major become a successful farmer? And how does a man who just wanted to see if he and his wife could subsist while farming his family’s land become an internationally renowned authority on regenerative, environmentally-friendly farming and ranching methods? Joel Salatin, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” says it all happened like most great success stories – largely by accident. With his family, Salatin co-owns Polyface Farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and refers to himself as a “Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer.” What he and his family have done… Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam MarstonWe’ve all heard the saying: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” But is it true? And, more specifically, is it true about those who teach how to do sales? There is a healthy amount of skepticism about the effectiveness of sales coaches, but in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” we talked with one with a track record of success that shows teachers know their stuff. Jeff Brinson, a professional sales coach with Southwestern Consulting, says anyone can do sales – and, in reality, we all already do. “Everybody in the world is a salesperson,”… Read More
Categories: UncategorizedWhat does it take to manage a place that people love so much, they come back year after year? Scott Tripoli can tell you. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” Tripoli is the general manager of the Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa in Point Clear, an institution on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay that draws a loyal following of repeat customers. “I’ve met people who say: ‘This is my 72nd straight year at the Grand Hotel,’” Tripoli says. That’s a different sort of customer than most of those Tripoli dealt with in… Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam MarstonBack in April, we met Marquis Forge, who left the automotive industry to answer a call from on high – a call to enter an industry he knew little about. Forge founded Eleven86 Water in Autaugaville, Alabama with a mission to help revitalize the town in which it’s produced. “This is a homegrown, bottled-at-the-source, state of Alabama product,” Forge notes. Recently, I caught back up with Forge in a live edition of “What’s Working With Cam Marston,” and got an update on how the business has grown in the seven months since we last spoke. That growth has been steady…. Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam MarstonIf you are of a certain age and like to share your opinions on open social media platforms like Twitter, you may have come across a cryptic response: “OK, Boomer.” It should not be mistaken as acquiescence. You have just been given a two-word slap-down by the younger generation, a phrase that has taken on a life of its own. As noted in a recent New York Times article, what started as a cynical reaction to the same old, tired generalizations about millennials and iGen has become a rallying cry of sorts, complete with memes, merchandising opportunities and the inevitable… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials, Generations, iGenSay a company wants to buy some marble from Italy for its new headquarters, or needs to get a new piece of equipment shipped from Germany. But it’s not in the import business and isn’t sure of the best, most efficient way to get its purchases shipped across the pond. That’s where a company like Page & Jones comes in, a third-party logistics provider that specializes in international shipping. In a recent episode of “What’s Working With Cam Marston,” we talked with Page & Jones Chief Operating Officer Bill Kraus, who described what the company does as “like a travel… Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam MarstonWith the advent of online travel tools that allow you to book a flight, rent a car, schedule a tour and find a hotel or AirBNB, it would seem that travel agents would follow milkmen and full service gas station attendance into obsolescence. And yet, travel agents have survived. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working With Cam Marston” tells us how. Bowden Sarrett, a vice president and travel advisory at Brownell Travel, says the key for her firm is creating personalized experiences. “These days travel is so easy with a cellphone. You can go out on your… Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam MarstonDr. Jan Roberts’ interest in cannabis began when she got shingles. The medication she’d been prescribed by her doctor wasn’t having the desired effects, and a friend suggested she try cannabis. “It was an ‘a-ha’ moment for me,” she says. “Oh my god, there’s something therapeutic here.” Roberts, a licensed clinical social worker who teaches at the NYU Silver School of Social Work, has turned into a crusader of sorts for education about the therapeutic effects of cannabis. She and Joe Brown, owner of Your CBD Store of West Mobile, joined in a recent episode of “What’s Working With Cam… Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam Marston