Riding wave of prosperity, Poarch Band of Creek Indians CEO believes in giving back
Posted On August 9, 2023
Stephanie Bryan grew up in poverty as a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians community, before it obtained federal recognition in 1984. Today, as its first female chairperson and CEO, she is leading it to unprecedented prosperity. Bryan, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” now oversees a business portfolio that includes 42 separate businesses, ranging from government contractors to software companies to Wind Creek Resorts and the popular OWA amusement park and waterpark. A community that once received 100 percent of its funding through grant money is now 90 percent funded through… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, Women
Recruiting and retention in today’s market means abandoning old ways of thinking
Posted On July 28, 2023
Businesses in pretty much every industry are having difficulty finding enough employees these days. It’s not uncommon for an employer to need to fill dozens of positions quickly – sometimes even more. Dr. Josh Duplantis’ job is to help fill those vacancies. Duplantis, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is the Dean of Workforce Development at Coastal Alabama Community College, and he says filling your workforce needs these days means abandoning old ways of thinking. First of all, the days of just advertising a job and sifting through resumes is over. “You’ve got to… Read More
Categories: Blog, Recruiting, What's Working with Cam Marston
Ready to expand into new markets? Know who your customers are
Posted On July 21, 2023
Is your business ready to expand into new markets? How do you decide which ones? The key is understanding who your customers are and where they live and play. So says Casey Biehl, chief operating officer at Fat Boy’s Pizza, a pizzeria based in Metairie, Louisiana, with nine locations in three states that’s looking to expand even further into Alabama and throughout the Southeast. Biehl, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is in a business where the vast majority of Americans consume the product – 93 percent of Americans have eaten pizza within the… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Meeting a need for the growing logistics industry in Mobile
Posted On July 12, 2023
With a busy port, plentiful transportation routes and a positive business climate, logistics is a growing sector in Mobile. Philip Burton has a solution to meet its needs. Burton, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is a commercial developer who saw the vast potential for growth in logistics in the area and started the South Alabama Logistics Park. It’s a place where shipments that come into the busy Port of Mobile can be unpacked from their containers and stored before moving on to their ultimate destinations by truck, rail or air. “We saw an… Read More
Categories: Blog, Real Estate, What's Working with Cam Marston
The art of survival through multiple changes in ownership
Posted On June 30, 2023
If you work in the corporate world, the potential for a transfer in ownership of your company is a fact of life. Surviving a change in ownership is not a given. Surviving several changes of ownership? That may be considered a talent. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” has done just that. Matt Peat is Vice President of Sales for Transhield, which makes custom wraps for boats, military vehicles and industrial equipment. Its products can be made to order for clients like boat manufacturers or the military, and they’re also available in universal sizes… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace
Paul Lewis is making the most of his second chance in construction
Posted On June 27, 2023
Few of us are fortunate enough to get second chances, whether it be in life or in business. Paul Lewis did, however, and he’s making the most of it. Lewis, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is president of Roy Lewis Construction, a company his father started in Mobile in 1984. The company had built a name for itself in the Mobile area and was riding high on negotiated projects built on word of mouth and positive recommendations. They didn’t do much marketing, because they didn’t have to. But when the recession of 2008… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Recession Economy, What's Working with Cam Marston
How a broker can help you buy or sell a business
Posted On June 19, 2023
Looking to buy or sell a business? A broker can help. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” was Trey Langus, a business advisor and broker with Transworld Business Advisors. He connects owners who are looking to sell their businesses with potential buyers. There are a lot of potential buyers looking for businesses, Langus says, and many of them are coming from out of state and across the country, attracted by the favorable business climate in the Southeast. What they’re looking for, typically, is a business with clear financials, upside and, ideally, scalability. But Langus… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
Want to get fit and be more productive? Start with stress management
Posted On June 8, 2023
Did you know that many of the primary keys to fitness for professional athletes are the same for business leaders? No, not three-cone drills and increasing your max on the squat rack. Sleep. Hydration. And perhaps most importantly, managing stress effectively. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” was Brad Davidson, a California-based fitness athletic performance trainer who works with NFL and other professional athletes as well as people from all walks of life, including CEOs. Davidson says increasing your resilience to stress is one of the most important things you can do to improve… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
Want to know how iGen sees the future? Ask iGen
Posted On June 5, 2023
My guest on the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” needs no introduction – not to me, anyway. He’s my son, Spencer Marston, and I invited him on the show to share his perspective on his generation’s views on work and leadership. It has been a tradition of mine to interview my children after they graduate from high school and prepare to head off to college. While this is great fun for me, it’s also an opportunity to find out what iGen thinks about current trends and their feelings toward the future. As Spencer heads off to the… Read More
Categories: Blog, iGen, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
When a fundraiser becomes a calling, and a calling becomes a business
Posted On May 28, 2023
April McClung was just looking for a way to raise enough money for her kids to travel overseas. What she ended up with was a business. McClung, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” was perfectly content working in the corporate world, and expected to retire in that same role. But like several other reluctant entrepreneurs I’ve met, she felt a calling. And that’s how Emily’s Heirloom Pound Cakes was born. It started as an answer to a prayer about how to afford to give their sons the experience of school trips abroad. McClung and… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston