Creating significance: How to sell young people on hard work
Posted On March 8, 2019
Have you ever heard that kids these days don’t really want to work? Do you often feel that way yourself? Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” would disagree. Sid Sexton, founder and president of Daphne, Alabama-based Sexton Lawn & Landscape, has made a living – and a thriving business – off selling young people on the benefits of hard work, and watching them succeed at it. Lazy millennials? “That has not been my experience,” Sexton says. Sexton, a former college soccer player and U.S. Coast Guard veteran, started his landscape business 15 years ago… Read More
Categories: Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace
Creating connections: The key to a happy workplace
Posted On March 1, 2019
Is it the job of an employer, or a workplace, to ensure that its employees are happy? Many Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers would argue that most employees should be happy just to have a job. Many millennials, however, will tell you that workplace environment is an extremely important factor to them in deciding where to work. Which of them are right? I asked my guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” — Dr. Elise Labbé-Coldsmith, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of South Alabama. And the answer I got was: Probably both. Research shows people… Read More
Categories: What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace
One way to survive lean times: Keeping your operation lean
Posted On February 26, 2019
When the housing market crashed in 2008, Mobile builder Rogers & Willard found themselves in the same situation as pretty much every other construction company in America. After the crash, the company limped through 2009 on only a third of the revenue it had enjoyed in 2008. Times were lean. But fortunately for Rogers & Willard, “lean” is something with which it was already familiar. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” Rogers & Willard president Mike Rogers says the company survived those tough years by keeping its operation lean as a matter of principle,… Read More
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Real Estate, Recession Economy, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work
‘A passion project:’ Varsity Brands not only sells sports gear, but works to create school spirit
Posted On February 19, 2019
With iGen following in the digital footsteps of the millennial generation, having grown up with technology at their fingertips as a primary source of communication, many of us Generation X parents find ourselves desperately seeking outlets that will force them into face-to-face social interaction. And many of us are turning to team sports. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” is working to fuel – and equip – this phenomenon. Adam Blumenfeld is CEO of Dallas-based Varsity Brands, a major youth sports equipment distributor that does much more than sell bats and gloves. Varsity Brands… Read More
Categories: Entrepreneurship, iGen, Podcast, Product Design, What's Working with Cam Marston
Barley, yeast, water and hops: Starting a brewery from scratch in south Alabama
Posted On February 19, 2019
If we could pick any type of business to own, many of us might choose one that allows us to drink beer all day. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” did just that. Brian Kane acted on a love for craft beer to open Fairhope Brewery with a partner six years ago. Kane’s dirty little secret, however, is that he’s only ever brewed about four batches of beer himself. “My side is much more on the beer tasting side, if you will,” he says – along with the business and marketing end. So how… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston
Why you don’t have to be a car guy to sell cars
Posted On February 8, 2019
Can you run a successful car dealership if you’re not a car guy? If you answered no, you might want to listen to Ty Bullard. Bullard, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” runs Joe Bullard Automotive Group, a successful dealership of Acura, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Cadillac and Ford in Mobile. He is third-generation in the business, and he will be the first to tell you: He’s not a car guy. “I can’t drive a stick-shift,” Bullard says. “We’re not car people. We’re people people. As soon as you can realize this business has… Read More
Categories: Automotive, Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Advertising in the social media age: Why it’s still worth it to lean on the professionals
Posted On January 31, 2019
What makes good advertising? And in an age of social media, easily available metrics and intricate video editing tools, why can’t we just do it ourselves? Our guests in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” Jennifer Dira and RT Herwig of the Mobile-based advertising firm Lewis Communications tell us that while technology may make the idea of DIY advertising tempting, that old business adage still applies – you get what you pay for. “Everybody thinks they can do everything now,” Herwig says. “It really comes down to being able to craft stories.” Because stories are still what… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam MarstonA Passion for People and Service, Cars are Just the Product
Posted On January 21, 2019
Third generation president of the Joe Bullard Automotive Group, Ty Bullard frankly tells us that he’s not a car guy. Torque ratios? No clue. Horsepower? Unknown. But he knows service, knows how to deliver it, and knows how to lead his team in delivering it. His customers come back because Ty and his team solve their problems, not just sell cars. And his passion for aggressively pushing his company forward is evident in the words he chooses and the energy behind those words. Take a ride with us as we meet Ty and learn what motivates him and what his… Read More
Categories: Automotive, Libsyn, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
Process is as important to building boats as winning football championships
Posted On January 15, 2019
To excel in the world of college football, Alabama coach Nick Saban is famous for focusing on what he calls “the process.” He doesn’t worry over the end result as much as he does about completing the steps he knows it will take for his team to get there. That emphasis on process is also important in the manufacturing world. Our guests in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” Joan and Owen Maxwell of Regulator Marine, tell us that what’s good for winning national championships is also good for building quality boats. “Everything we do is a… Read More
Categories: Product Design, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Don’t know where you want to be in five years? If you’re a job-seeker, find an answer
Posted On January 9, 2019
The modern workforce is changing. It only makes sense that modern interviewing methods should change too. Common queries about educational background and job skills are being replaced or augmented with behavioral questions designed to determine whether an applicant is a good fit for the company: Can you tell me about a time you had a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it? If you had 1,000 emails in your inbox but you could only answer 300, how would you choose which to answer? And a seemingly simple one that today’s generation of college graduates is having an increasingly… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace