Small Business War Stories

Robin Moore and Cebastien Rose, self-proclaimed "plant nerds" are seasoned foragers and farmers. When they decided to leave their jobs and start their own business, they made a list of things they lived to do.  When their list included being outdoors, being in the wild, spending time with their dogs, foraging, and being in nature- the direction of their business, Dryland Wilds, became second nature.  Join us this week as we discuss distillation, enfleurage, maceration, essential oils, tinctures, concretes and absolutes and much, much more.

Steve Jones founded Teton Gravity Research with his passion for action sports and technology. 

This week, I had the pleasure of talking to John Lee Dumas. John is the founder and host of Entrepreneur on FIRE, an award winning podcast where he interviews entrepreneurs seven days a week.  For this week's special FLASH episode, we were able to talk to John. Join us as he shares some of his best pieces of advice and wisdom from his experiences. 

Tom and Carrie Dragt have been collectors of vintage pieces since they were kids. Opportunity struck when an old clothing store went out of business and Tom and Carrie bought some of their old inventory. This led them to focus on vintage clothing. They began selling out of their house and doing online sales, then moved to a store three years ago. They find pieces through traveling and utilize Instagram to show off their recent finds. Tom and Carrie started Old Colorado Vintage, a store that brings together vintage clothing and articles. This week on Small Business War Stories, Tom and Carrie join us from Durango, Colorado.

At this year's Inbound conference in Boston, MA, we had the pleasure of meeting Strother Gaines.  Strother Gaines is an entrepreneurial coach, a theater owner and a Unicorn, dammit! Strother, fresh off his breakout session, How To Network Without Being An @sshole", gives us pointers on how to network comfortably, while remaining true to yourself. 

Carla Nowicki's background as a young athlete alerted her to a problem facing many young athletes.  Instead of encouraging athletes to be stronger or healthier, there was a constant emphasis on being smaller. The message was that being smaller was the key to being faster and "better" for these young athletes.  Carla started Pursuit Nutrition, a performance solution for individuals looking to pursue their best selves. 

Paulo Coelho Brandão comes from a city in Brazil called Manaus. Manaus is located in the middle of the Amazon jungle, accessible not by automobile, but only by airplane or boat.  Known by many as ‘Coelho’, Paulo is a Black Belt World Champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Killy Scheer always had a love for interior design. As a young child, she constantly found herself rearranging her bedroom.  After working for a few design firms, both big and small, Killy decided she wanted to go out on her own.  On this week's episode of Small Business war Stories, we join Killy to talk about her Austin-based boutique interior design firm, Scheer & Co. 

Faced with a new year, you are probably reading about diet cleanses and all sorts of 30 day challenges to transform your body- and quick! Tod Moore of Atomic Athlete started his "Fitness with a Purpose" approach with some rusty barbells out of the back of a truck in Austin, Texas.  Rather than piggybacking on fad workouts, Tod Moore was more interested in identifying individual strengths and weaknesses, honing in on them and building out a sustainable physical fitness system.

The Hotel Kitsmiller Main is a family-owned retro motor court built in the 1940s in the town of Fredericksburg, Texas. Matt and Taylor Gutierrez met in Austin while they were both working in the corporate hotel world. Little did they know, they would be afforded the opportunity to run Taylor's family's longstanding business. 

When Erik Axel Brunt began his apprenticeship at a tattoo shop, he thought he was only interested in doing body piercings.  However, once Erik began apprenticing on a weekly basis, he found himself interested in the tattoo art surrounding him. Being around the art and seeing tattoos done on a daily basis, Erik began envisioning the tattoos he would eventually create. Now, Erik works out of Triple Crown Tattoo in Austin, Texas.

In the break room at his old job, Damien Reyes suddenly found himself in an early midlife crisis. Faced with the dilemma of the future spread out before him, Damien decided to make a change.  He began his journey at a somewhat unlikely place for a retired truck driver in his late twenties: beauty school. And a few years later, Short Hair Company was born. 

Kristy Brandabur received her degree in Exercise Science Sports Medicine, taught health and physical education for 11 years, and worked in a variety of fitness and wellness-related fields.  At Metamorphosis Holistic Wellness Center, Kristi uses a blended technique of physical therapy, mental therapy and holistic approaches like massage and acupuncture.  This week Kristi brings us into her world. Three reasons to tune in this week: Learn what the EFT or emotional freedom technique is and how Kristy administers it to her clients.  Learn how Kristy balances medical recommendations with physical and mental training.  Learn about the healing and transformative powers of essential oils. 

Josh Harcus, chairman at Huify and bestselling author of A Closing Culture, joins us this week four our inaugural Flash Episode of Small Business War Stories.  This week, we discuss the art of business gifting, the best tactics and the perfect timing to gift your customers.  Josh Harcus instructs us on how to gift thoughtfully and authentically to grow your business relationships.  Three reasons to tune in this week: How to give gifts that are thoughtful, lasting, and that people might not typically buy for themselves.  How to think of the long-term value of a customer gift.  Enter our contest to win a $100 "gifting" gift certificate to the best gift submission idea. 

Tommy Talley came home to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2011. After working for years in reality television in Los Angeles, Tommy launched and grew his production company, Tommy's TV, into a full production arsenal.  Tommy's TV produces and creates stunning personalized videos that deliver key messages through the art of storytelling.  This week Tommy talks about "Punk-ing" with Ashton Kutcher, the love of storytelling and about coming home to Louisiana.  Three reasons to tune in this week: Learn how to use the fundamentals of storytelling to tell a story in an interesting and communicative way. Learn about the best places to fit your video content and what, in today's standards, constitutes a "too long" video.  Take a stroll down memory lane, as Tommy and Pablo discuss the finest of reality tv (ahem Jersey Shore) from the late aughts. 

When Phil Angotti and his two guitar-loving coworkers left their jobs at a huge guitar store, they opened their own business in the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago.  Avenue N guitars was founded with an overflowing knowledge and passion for guitars, especially of the vintage variety.  This week on Small Business War Stories, Phil talks about music, Wicker Park and the fine workmanship of classic guitars. 

The New Roxy in Clarksdale, Mississippi was built in the 1940's but sat vacant for 30 years until a merchant marine from Seattle named Robin Colonas purchased it in 2008. Robin had been visiting Mississippi off and on for a while, and something about Clarksdale really grabbed a hold of her.  At the time, Robin had no plan for the building other than to try to protect it. It was just an expensive hobby. However, today, the New Roxy is a successful art, music and theater venue.  This is Robin's incredible story about transforming the New Roxy into a new opportunity for the Clarksdale community.

When Jeff Pearson started his Play N Trade video game store in Lafayette, LA, Play N Trade was a successful franchise with 750 stores nationwide. A few years later, after the original founder retired, the company went through three CEOs and essentially collapsed. However, Jeff's store is still going. He even has plans to open a second one. How did Jeff's version of Play N Trade survive? What makes him different? This week we get the whole story from Jeff. 

Letterpress printing dates back to the 1400s and was the primary method of print until the mid-20th century. Offset printing took over and now digital printing dominates the print world. However, recently letterpress has had a revival as an artisan printing form. In Louisville, Kentucky, Patrick Masterson is helping to keep this print form alive with his print shop. He believes that this is how typography is meant to be printed, it adds dimension and feels great in your hand. We get into this and whole lot more on this week's episode of Small Business War Stories.

The American Dream is closely tied to entrepreneurship. The notion that someone, regardless of their background, can work hard, make a better product or invent something completely new, and become whatever they want, is fundamentally American. Many businesses fail. But perhaps one of the most frustrating reasons for failure is dealing with excessive regulations. This week on Small Business War Stories, we sit down with JoAnn Prosser to discuss her battle with regulations when opening a raw food cafe in Lexington, Kentucky.