Inspired Insider With Dr. Jeremy Weisz | Ecommerce Interviews | Entrepreneurship | Inspirational Stories | Business Lessons

Nicole Martin is the Founder of HR Boost, LLC., a shared services consulting firm based in Chicago's north suburbs. She is a best-selling author who’s been featured in Forbes and Fast Company magazine. She's become the 'go-to' source for companies looking for a full turnkey HR department at a fraction of the cost it would take them to do it on their own. Nicole's redefined what 'outsourced HR' means.  In recognition of her professional excellence and community involvement, Nicole has been honored by multiple organizations. She was named a “2016 Enterprising Women of the Year Champion” by Enterprising Women Magazine and was afforded the “Influential Women in Business Award 2014” by The Daily Herald Business Ledger. In this episode… We’re in the midst of a talent emergency, and if you aren’t aware of the problem, you’re already behind the curve. Outsourcing your HR might sound scary, but it can bring your business up to speed, help energize your workplace culture, and solve real problems for your company now an

Dave Will is CEO and Co-founder of PropFuel, a software platform that helps associations with valuable content, products, and services to offer but are struggling to connect the solutions with the right individuals at scale. They make it easy for associations to capture, analyze, and take action on member feedback to drive revenue and deeper member engagement. Dave is also the host of the EO 360° Podcast, a podcast by the Entrepreneurs’ Organization that explores entrepreneurship. Dave started, scaled, and sold Peach New Media, a learning platform software company. Peach New Media was launched in 2001 and sold in 2015. The company at the time was at 40 employees when he received an offer from a private equity group. In this episode… Have you ever wondered what the end of your entrepreneurial journey will look like? Do you imagine it’d be a massive amount of money in the bank, a beach house, and with virtually nothing left to worry about? As an entrepreneur, it’s already a given that you will have an end game.

Dr. Jeremy Weisz is the Co-founder of Rise25 Media, a company that helps B2B business owners connect with their ideal prospects, referral partners, and strategic partners through a done-for-you podcast service. Dr. Weisz has been involved in podcasting for 11 years and was a senior producer for early business podcasts. He helped put all of their systems in place and helped them add volume, feature, and edify various business leaders. Dr. Weisz has also been running his podcast, Inspired Insider, since 2011. He has featured top entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs of companies such as P90X, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, the Orlando Magic, and many more through video interviews on Inspired Insider. He also continues to run his chiropractic and massage facility in downtown Chicago and is the founder of a nutritional supplement business. In this episode… Despite all the challenges, 2020 was an insightful year. Dr. Jeremy Weisz was able to have incredible conversations with amazing guests during the past year where

Holly Lyman is the Founder of Wild Tonic, a brand of Good Omen Bottling. She is an encaustic artist from Alaska who has mastered the ancient art of Jun kombucha, among other ferments, and grows many of the ingredients on her ranch in Sedona, Arizona.  Wild Tonic is available in a variety of flavors which include Blueberry Basil, Mango Ginger, Blackberry Mint, and many more. Their products are available all over the country in Whole Foods, Wegmans, and many more retail locations. In this episode… When encaustic painter, Holly Lyman, discovered Sandor Katz’s book, The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World, the entrepreneur in her knew she was on to something amazing. She took an interest in fermentation, allowed the 'mad scientist' in her to come alive, and she embarked on the journey of creating a genuinely delicious Jun kombucha through her brand, Wild Tonic. And since its founding in 2015, Wild Tonic has taken the kombucha market by storm, beco

Matt Bressler is a Principal at TDF Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Washington DC and Silicon Valley. They focus on startups that serve enterprise markets within infrastructure, software, and services. They invest from a $150M permanent pool of capital which gives them a long-term horizon to work with startups with big ideas. They also believe in technology's power to improve lives and support development initiatives through the TDF Foundation which operates in parallel to their venture activity. Before TDF Ventures, Matt worked with GE Ventures supporting investments and strategy in intelligent environments. He also served as the Director of Investments for the Wharton Social Venture Fund and as an Associate for FOUNDER.org. Matt graduated with a BA in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University and he later earned his MBA with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In this episode… Early-stage investing is a high-risk, high-reward venture. And early-s

John Corcoran is a recovering attorney, an author, and was a former White House writer and speechwriter to the Governor of California. Throughout his career, John has worked in Hollywood, the heart of Silicon Valley, and ran his own boutique law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area catering to small business owners and entrepreneurs. John is the host of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast since 2012 where he has interviewed hundreds of CEOs, founders, authors, and entrepreneurs, from Peter Diamandis and Adam Grant to Gary Vaynerchuk and Marie Forleo. John is also the co-founder of Rise25 Media, a company that connects B2B businesses with their ideal clients, referral partners, and strategic partners, and generate ROI through their done-for-you podcast service.  In this episode… When you think about thought leadership, what comes to mind? Do you picture yourself going on a retreat to your cabin to write tons of articles or a book, and then return to publish and promote it? Well, that could be true if you work

Peter Shallard is the Founder and CEO of Commit Action, a company that uses real science to help business owners achieve their goals faster, easier, and more often. He spent the last decade doing one-to-one therapy and consulting with some of the world's highest achievers in his other business where he is better known as "The Shrink for Entrepreneurs."  For years, he was dissatisfied with pseudoscience and the lies in the entrepreneur's growth world. From pseudoscientific life coaching, hype-driven "secrets" based info-marketing, to false/artificial epiphany and snake-oil personal development, Peter saw how the personal development movement was failing business owners. This led to the founding of Commit Action as a way to help business owners predictably bridge the gap between personal development and business growth through evidence-based methodology. In this episode… It’s not uncommon for business owners and entrepreneurs to feel dissatisfied with their performance. Oftentimes, they feel that they fall shor

Steve Sarowitz is the Founder and Chairman of Paylocity, a company that he started with just three people in a 600 square feet office which has since grown into a billion-dollar company and a leading US provider of payroll and HR solutions.  Steve also serves as CEO of Blue Marble Payroll, an international payroll provider, and the Director of Payescape, a UK payroll provider. He is also an international philanthropist who plans to give away over £1billion to charitable causes during his lifetime. Steve and his wife have a family foundation that supports over 50 worthy causes worldwide, including programs helping orphans, foster children, refugees, and many other people in need. He has also helped produce several movies including The Gate, a ground-breaking film documentary about the Baháʼí faith which was named as the Best Religious Documentary of 2018. In this episode… Steve Sarowitz is passionate about the things he is involved in and he was able to utilize this passion to bring his faith, business, and ph

Lawrence Chester has served as a CFO for 25 years for companies such as Colovos Company, Republic Windows and Doors, United Service Companies, and High Sierra Sport Company, helping them eliminate losses and improving financial operations and reporting. He is an intuitive businessman, able to grasp complex situations, driving to the heart of the matter while developing creative solutions to problems.  Realizing that he enjoyed the challenges of helping companies that were working their way through a crisis, Lawrence joined a bankruptcy trustee for several years, analyzing the financial condition of client companies and managing them through those difficult times. Soon after that, he struck out on his own, forming CFO Simplified’s team of CFOs. CFO Simplified helps their clients get clarity on their business’ performance, and the core of CFO Simplified’s focus is working with small to mid-sized businesses in cash flow improvement, strengthening internal controls, improving profitability, and clarifying financi

Kelly Perdew is a Co-Founder and Managing General Partner at Moonshots Capital, a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in extraordinary leadership. Kelly has served in every capacity: Founder, Board Member, CEO, COO, CFO, Business Development, and Sales. He has raised institutional financing, grown businesses, down-sized businesses, and sold businesses for 8-figure exits. Kelly was the winner of the second season of The Apprentice.This granted him access to work with the Trump brand across its different businesses. He holds an MBA and JD from The School of Law UCLA and graduated from West Point. In this episode… Imagine yourself proving your entrepreneurial mettle, riding on fame, and going on to build and invest in exceptional brands—that would be like a snapshot of Kelly Perdew’s story. When Kelly won the second season of Donald Trumps’ The Apprentice, you’d think the journey would be a smooth sail from there. But in Kelly’s case, it wasn’t a straight line: there were a few twists, turns, and kickin

Jon Morris is the CEO of Ramsay Innovations LLC, where he helps business leaders grow their companies faster. They provide companies a framework that Jon has fine tuned over the years that is focused on data-driven leadership, high performing culture, focus and alignment, and growth infrastructure. Before Ramsay Innovations, Jon founded and bootstrapped Rise Interactive, a full-service internet marketing agency, with $10,000 and grew it into one of the largest independent digital agencies. Rise Interactive helps clients get new customers at the lowest acquisition cost. In this episode… Three things can sink or help your business grow: organizational design, financial infrastructure, and sales and marketing infrastructure. Jon Morris explains that these three items, if done properly together, can propel your company forward. But when one of them goes missing, it can tip off the balance in your organization and challenge the momentum you’ve painstakingly built for your business. Jon shares that as a company gro

Steve Fretzin is the President of Fretzin Inc., where he offers business development coaching and training, law practice advice, and interactive and impactful law firm retreats to his clients. Steve has been a business development coach with over 20 years of experience. He coaches and trains lawyers on the most modern-day business development skills, providing precise tips, fresh ideas, and actionable tasks that drive tangible results. Steve is also a three-time author on legal business development and the host of BE THAT LAWYER podcast. He has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, and Entrepreneur.com and has appeared on NBC News and WGN Radio. He is a regular contributor to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and has published articles in Attorney at Law Magazine, the National Law Review, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois State Bar Association. In this episode… A lot of people struggle with sales because they don’t know how to sell without feeling salesy. As a result, they have a hard time

Ladi Goldwire is CEO and Owner of BrinMar Construction & Development Group Ltd, a design-build general contracting firm specializing in condo renovations and single-family residential home flips and rehabs. She is passionate about her business because it provides a means for women to be expressive and relevant in a space typically set aside for, and dominated by, men.  Ladi is also a big advocate for mental health and the hemp industry. She’s a member of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). In this episode… Breaking into any industry is never easy—and this is particularly true if you’re a female trying to dominate a male-dominated one like construction and development. It can be so intense and so challenging that it can push you to your breaking point. But with grit and determination, it’s definitely possible to not just penetrate the industry but to make a mark in it as well. And this was the case for Ladi Goldwire. Ladi took an early interest in construction because

Christina Nicholson is the Founder of Media Maven and Podcast Clout. Media Maven is a full-service public relations agency that specializes in owned and earned media. At the same time, Podcast Clout is a service that makes it easy for you to find the right podcasts to be a guest and catapult your brand. Christina is an award-winning journalist with more than a decade of experience anchoring, reporting, writing, blogging, video production, editing, and excelling in social media, photography, and live TV. She’s been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, the Huffington Post, Time, Yahoo!, PR Daily, All Business Experts, CNN, WTVJ in Miami, WPTV in West Palm Beach, News 12 in New York City, and many other media outlets. More importantly, she has gotten her clients on everywhere from Good Morning America and all over the media. In this episode… Hate fake news? According to Christina Nicholson, Founder of Media Maven and Podcast Clout, it’s your fault that there’s so much of it everywhere. She explains that how you con

Kevin McArdle is the Founder and CEO of SureSwift Capital, a private equity firm that buys and builds SaaS companies. SureSwift gives dream exits to SaaS Founders and through their uniquely entrepreneurial approach, they have acquired–and grown–over 30 companies in five and a half years. A few of their companies include ChargeStripe, Mailparser, MySiteAuditor, and many more. Before founding SureSwift, Kevin worked at Cerner Corporation, a global healthcare IT firm. In his 15 year tenure at Cerner, Kevin held positions in sales, sales leadership, operations, general management, and client management, eventually becoming one of the youngest Vice Presidents in the company’s 35-year history. In this episode… Are you a bootstrapped SaaS founder working hard and looking forward to your dream exit? Kevin McArdle's SureSwift Capital is on the lookout for companies like yours—but there's a catch: your company needs to be a good fit for his company in order for him to help you get your dream exit. But what are the requ

Andrew Youderian is the Founder of eCommerceFuel, an amazing community where eCommerce store owners can help each other grow their stores and build deeper relationships. After a few years in the investment banking world, Andrew decided he'd had enough and decided to quit and start his first eCommerce business. He has sold numerous eCommerce stores over the years, which have collectively generated millions of dollars, and he has experience bootstrapping stores, seven-figure business exits, and SEO community building. In this episode… Imagine building the world's largest community of top business owners in your niche. Can you imagine how valuable and helpful that would be? This type of community gives members immediate access to actionable knowledge and helps them build trusting relationships. But there's only one problem: developing and running a community like this is almost unheard of, especially when you think about how to make it so effective and impactful to its members. The good news is Andrew Youderian

John Corcoran is a recovering attorney, an author, and was a former White House writer and speechwriter to the Governor of California. Throughout his career, John has worked in Hollywood, the heart of Silicon Valley, and ran his own boutique law firm in the San Francisco Bay Area catering to small business owners and entrepreneurs. John has been the host of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast since 2012 where he has interviewed hundreds of CEOs, founders, authors, and entrepreneurs, from Peter Diamandis and Adam Grant to Gary Vaynerchuk and Marie Forleo. John is also the co-founder of Rise25 Media, a company that connects B2B businesses with their ideal clients, referral partners, and strategic partners. They help their client generate ROI through their done-for-you podcast service. In this episode… How important is your network to you? Most likely, you know just how valuable connections can be—particularly if you’re doing business. But unfortunately not many people are able to capitalize on these connectio

Jimmy Zollo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Collaborata, a Chicago-based company serving the insights and marketing-research space. Collaborata helps companies find, shape, and buy expert-led multi-client research projects. It helps companies get expert market research that can help a company grow and innovate, and they connect research clients and suppliers to market research. They are the first-ever platform that allows brands to share research costs and insights, and they have been featured in Business Insider, BuiltInChicago, Greenbook, Market Research World. Jimmy is also the Co-Founder of Joe & Bella, a service that provides older adults with the full array of products they need, and they offer their services for residents of care communities, their families, and caregivers.  Previously Jimmy helped drive the initial growth of Grubhub, one of Chicago's most successful tech startups ever. He helped develop Grubhub's industry-leading restaurant network, traveling across the country to launch new markets

Lance Graulich is the Founder and CEO of ION Franchising, an industry-leading franchise, consulting, and development group. They represent over 650 franchise brands and business opportunities within 90 different categories.  Lance helps prospective entrepreneurs find their perfect franchise free of charge and he also helps independent business owners create a franchise system. He started in a family business on Wall Street after receiving his economics degree. He joined TGI Friday's franchise in Arizona as a key executive and was vital in the rapid growth of the over $225 million organization.  Lance was a multi-unit, multi-state franchisee of Wingstop and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. He has created countless startup brands and is one of the industry-leading donut experts. He is the Founder of the doughnut chain Pinkbox Doughnut in Las Vegas. As a business start-up expert with more than 25 years of experience, Lance has served as President of various franchise advisory councils and boards advising emerging franchi

Robert Wallace is a speaker, author, and a consultant with over 40 years of business experience spanning engineering, energy, and IT. He has a true rags-to-riches story that began in the Baltimore Projects amidst poverty and racial segregation before overcoming obstacles to establish three companies: BITHGROUP Technologies, Bithenergy, and EntreTeach.  Robert shares his innovative strategies for success in his books and workshops, which includes one of his books, Black Wealth: Your Road to Small Business Success. He partners with many different types of clients across a range of industries and some of his clients include Bank of America, Dartmouth College, IBM, Salvation Army, NIH, Toyota, Verizon, University of Pennsylvania, and many more. In this episode… "Why does America hate us so much?" That was the depressing question young Robert Wallace asked his father when he watched the news about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. As an adult and as a parent today, how do you answer that question? Rober