A circuitous route delivered Hastings Read from England to Mobile, Alabama where he learned custom woodworking after a successful career in management consulting. Today he leads the team at Oakleigh Custom Woodworks as they build beautiful doors, windows, and shutters, employing a team a craftsmen who take great pride in their work. Deadlines matter but the work of a craftsman should not be rushed. Hastings details his story, how he’s applying his lessons as a consultant to his own small business, and how he leads a small team that builds exquisite products. Show Sponsors: Roy Lewis Construction E3 Termite &… Read More
Categories: LibsynIf you buy commercial insurance you’ve certainly noticed the rate increases. Brian Tanner is Managing Principal at EPIC Insurance’s Birmingham, Alabama office and is our monthly Business Alabama magazine deep dive interview. He explains why rates are up, how AI is making creative crooks more clever, and why the art of cold calling is not dead. Brian is high energy and this interview is a thrill. Enjoy. Show Sponsors: E3 Termite & Pest Control Allison Horner – State Farm Agent Trey Langus – Transworld Business Advisors Angelo DePaola – The Coastal Connection Realty Roy Lewis Construction Persons Services Corp First… Read More
Categories: LibsynWarriors need to be praised. —– Young men have always been warriors. They’d go fight the battles while the elders sat around the campfire. The elders decided if fighting was the right thing and when and how to do it. The warriors executed the plan. When they returned, they were glorified for their success, or they were coddled in their loss. Either way, they were praised for their efforts. Most old men don’t seek glory like young men do. Something happens after about forty years old, where glory no longer drives behavior. Old men prefer instruction and guidance. Not glory…. Read More
Categories: Libsyn2Foodservice is typically full of high turnover. Unless you work for PP Hospitality Group. Panini Pete and his sister, Cheryl Blohme, have created a rapidly growing organizaiton due, in part, by their ability to find and keep good people in jobs typified by high turnover. Pete and Cheryl and their leadership team have figured something out. It begins with Pete, Cheryl, and the leadership team living and breathing and acting out the culture they preach. No one can deny they don’t mean it or that their culture is just words on paper. It’s evident to the customers and, most importantly,… Read More
Categories: LibsynIt’s been a tough few weeks. This commentary offers no specifics, but I’ve learned some things. —– Many years ago, my neighbor in Charlotte, North Carolina knocked on my door one weekday afternoon. His wife had just told him she’s leaving. She climbed her car and drove away. He was dumbstruck and he needed to talk. My wife and I had just moved in. I hardly knew him. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. I froze. To my everlasting shame, I rushed our conversation so he’d stop making ME feel uncomfortable. I realized years later he… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2There is a big difference between a skills shortage and a labor shortage. Employers used to worry about lack of applicable skills. Today employers just need people with some of the skills demanded. Elizabeth Crofoot is an economist with Lightcast. Based in DC, Elizabeth knows how to mine the data our Federal Government provides and “read the tea leaves.” She and I talk about the tops skills employers are searching for today, how these skills are becoming “disruptive skills” and how workplace leadership is needing to change to accomodate these new skill demands. Show Sponsors E3 Termite & Pest Control… Read More
Categories: LibsynMy wife and I were headed to a cocktail reception where we knew no one. “This is an opportunity,” I said. —– My wife and I were driving to a short cocktail reception full of people we’d never met. Most of them knew one another. Us? Not a soul. This is an opportunity, I said. Let’s run with it. I proposed that she and I create a story for ourselves. Pick a personality and a background and a job. We’ll create something bordering on sensational and come up with a few very specific details that will make whomever we talk… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2There are basics to marketing your business. Before business owners get into the weeds of fancy marketing tactics, they need to make sure the basics are covered. Gayle Rogers of The Atomic Agency works with owners of new businesses as well as business veterans to make sure the fundamentals are well taken care of before anything sophiticated can begin. Hear Gayle’s advice for what bases you need to make sure are covered. Click here to get the Checklist Gayle offers listeners. Show Sponsors: First Horizon Bank’s “Bucket Listening” Podcast Seth Cherniak & Jeffrey Matthews Financial E3 Termite and Pest Control… Read More
Categories: LibsynThe heat’s cooked our brains. —— The heat’s taken its toll. It’s been unrelenting. Brutal. The greenery looks weary. The grass dries and turns brown within hours of any moisture. My car thermometer regularly reads around 110 and I saw online that it feels much hotter. We need a break. We need relief. My dog looks at me and says “No way I’m walking on that street. That street will burn my feet right off” and she’s right. It’s affecting us mentally. We’re budding on crazy. It’s cooked our brains. Recent headlines are all you need to see. A lady… Read More
Categories: Libsyn2Sports Tourism draws athletes and their families from hundreds of miles to destinations where they can compete. Joel Lamp is the Sports Manager for the Huntsville Convention and Visitors Bureau and is responsible for filling the statiums, stands, fields, rinks, pools, and courts around Huntsville with these athelets. The opportunities continue to grow. Turf a field (artificial turf) and it’s a football, soccer, and lacrosse field ready for competition year round. What the locals and community isn’t using during the week, Joel recruits people to travel and play. Joel’s podcast is The Business of Sports Tourism Podcast that you can… Read More
Categories: Libsyn