Is virtual banking the wave of the future?
Posted On February 24, 2023
What is a virtual bank? And when might one be right for you? The short answer, Megan Owens says, is that it’s a bank that doesn’t have brick-and-mortar branches. And if you’re a small business owner looking for a loan, Owens has just the bank for you. “The way of branch banking is going by the wayside,” said Owens, who works in Mergers & Acquisitions for Live Oak Bank, a completely virtual bank that specializes in Small Business Administration loans. “We see internet banking, virtual banking, coming to our customers’ offices, as the wave of the future.” Owens, our guest… Read More
Categories: Blog, Financial Services, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
Revolutionizing the home renovation industry may be AnotherStory
Posted On February 15, 2023
“Build a better mouse trap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” It’s a phrase commonly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson and, while his exact words were a little different, the point holds: Everybody’s looking for the next big thing – if it works. The world may be soon beating a path to Ben Strout’s door in Birmingham. Strout, an architect and contractor, doesn’t build mouse traps. He and his company, AnotherStory, renovate houses, and they’ve found a better way to do it. “AnotherStory is really an answer to an age-old question that people didn’t even know… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, Real Estate, What's Working with Cam Marston
When optimization becomes the enemy of strategic planning and vision
Posted On February 12, 2023
We’ve all heard the phrase “not being able to see the forest for the trees.” Many of us don’t realize how we’re actually guilty of it, however, particularly in business. The focus on short-term success, optimizing our processes and production, can ultimately hinder the longer view, our planning for a better, perhaps transformative, future. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” has written a book about just that – and the steps to avoiding it. Marty Strong is a former Navy SEAL who has become a sought-after consultant, speaker and author, as well as the… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work
How to create an award-winning workplace culture
Posted On February 2, 2023
Building a strong workplace culture within your business has always been an important element of success. It may even be more important now, in a competitive job market where potential employees have the luxury of finding a workplace that best suits them. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” has shown a proven talent in building a strong workplace culture. Patrick Werrlein is the president and owner of Swagelok’s sales and service center in Birmingham, and his company was recently named one of Business Alabama’s Best Companies to Work For in Alabama. Swagelok specializes in… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Avoiding the pitfalls of entrepreneurship
Posted On January 29, 2023
While 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 Marston
How a plumbing business became a multi-faceted construction and disaster recovery company
Posted On January 19, 2023
How 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, Work
Why a down economy is the time to get aggressive with your business
Posted On January 12, 2023
Does 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
Lauren Weber wants to share the love of Fairhope in a new TV series
Posted On January 10, 2023
Lauren Weber believes the world needs more feel-good stories, more stories about love. And she believes the perfect place for them is Fairhope. Weber, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is an Emmy-nominated TV producer with two decades of experience who specializes in real-life romantic comedy. She was looking for an idyllic small town for her next project and, when she found what she was looking for in Fairhope, she loved it so much that she relocated her production company, Tremont Road, to the Eastern Shore. That project, “Love in Fairhope,” tracks the romantic… Read More
Categories: Blog, Generations, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Women
The Modern House: Answering the call to help the homeless through coffee
Posted On January 2, 2023
Why would someone open a coffee shop when they don’t even drink coffee? For Troy Whetstone, it’s a means to an end – and what he was called to do. Whetstone, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is CEO of The Modern House Coffee Shop in Birmingham. With the help of a pastor and other members of his community, Whetstone opened the shop in 2016 as a way to help the homeless. An exercise in social entrepreneurship, The Modern House Coffee Shop hires homeless people and trains them with the job skills and social… Read More
Categories: Blog, Charity, church, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work
Exploring trends in wine with Jim Cox of Southern Napa
Posted On December 17, 2022
Christmas is a nice time to enjoy a glass of wine by the fire, and when the weather turns colder that wine is more likely to be red. Jim Cox of Southern Napa Fine Wine House, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” says the demand for red wines rises when the temperature drops. “As soon as you get a hint of cool weather, people just switch from drinking white wine, drinking rosè, drinking sauvignon blanc, and they come in and they want reds,” Cox said. “They want that change-of-season feeling.” Cox, who co-owns… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston