Abundant Culture Podcast

This week's guest is on of our good friends who also helped us with our FIRST real estate deal, John Casmon! John Casmon is a real estate entrepreneur, who controls a portfolio of over 700 units as a general partner. He started by house- hacking a duplex and now partners with investors to purchase apartment buildings through his firm, Casmon Capital Group. He is the co-creator of the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a no pitch event to connect like-minded investors. John also hosts the weekly real estate podcast, Target Market Insights, where he speaks with specialists across the country to uncover the best emerging markets, marketing tips and investing insights. With a background in marketing, he has overseen campaigns for General Motors, Nike and Coors Light amongst others. John was even recognized by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the “Top Executives in Advertising and Marketing”. In this episode John covered SO much, including why multifamily may be better than single family investment prope

This week's guest is so great that he agreed to do a PART TWO, about his real estate career, Nathan Tabor!⠀ Nathan Tabor is the founder of Handling Life. Handling Life is a ministry focused on helping others “handle life” by turning back to God. All Handling Life materials are from a Bible-Based, Christ-Centered perspective. Handling Life reaches tens of thousands of people through social media, videos, podcasts, blogs, websites, and emails to reach people on a daily basis. He is also an entrepreneur, author, business consultant, executive coach, trainer, speaker, and adjunct professor at Liberty University. Since 1999, he has founded and operated more than two dozen businesses, grossing over $150 million in sales. Along the way, he has had some amazing successes and epic failures in the areas of commercial real estate, automobile financing, direct product sales, web-based marketing, strategic partnership facilitation and online educational courses. For this episode we talked about his career in comm

This week's guest has the experience of doing over $15Million in sales AND helping others get to where he's been, Dan Zawacki! Dan started a company called Lobster Gram in 1987 that delivered live lobsters and seafood around the country as gifts, being the first in the world to do this, and ran it for 30 years. During his time there he got pretty good at PR and marketing and was featured in Forbes, Fortune, Oprah, WSJ, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Rachael Ray, Time and 500 other media outlets. His sales went from ZERO to over $15 MILLION! After 3 decades of running Lobster Gram, he sold his business so he could focus on his SECOND passion, EOS. Now, Dan teaches, coaches and shares his 30 years of experience of running a business so other business owners can make even more than he has. Dan has also had the pleasure of public speaking throuhgout his career; he's been on QVC live over 550 times, been the keynote speaker for the master’s program at Northwestern University’s College of Entrepreneurship, the key

This week's guest is a man with a passion for purpose who has given us a new insight into what it actually is, Rotimi Kehinde! Rotimi is the founder and president of GodKulture, a network of creative leaders passionately using their gifts to influence the world for good. Rotimi provides creative consulting and digital strategy to clients in diverse industries through his agency, Kingdom Branding, based in Ravenswood, Chicago. He has over 15 years of experience working as a Creative Director & Brand Strategist and continues to work with many notable brands and personalities. An author, songwriter and speaker, Rotimi hosts conferences, workshops and speaks at events. He loves to teach about purpose and leadership. He is also a certified John Maxwell speaker and coach. In this episode we cover: -What purpose is -What purpose isn't -How to find your purpose -How to start a business from your purpose And more... Make sure to get your tickets for Purpose Fest for July 27, 2019! Get tickets at the followi

This week's guest is the biggest wholesaler in the NWI region, Justin Smits! Justin has two major companies, Region Home Buyers and Invest NWI. Within these companies him and his partner have wholesaled, flipped, rented and loaned money on over 300 houses. He also hosts a local meetup group in Northwest Indiana that usually has 100+ attendees per month. So, how did he get here? Justin has been an investor since the end of 2011. He began with his former business partner as a tax lien investor and was only looking to invest as a retirement plan outside of his 9-5 job as a mechanic. Over time they began rehabbing, owner financing and renting houses. Due to an injury in 2015, he decided he had no choice but to take a chance at going full time into real estate (since he wasn't able to do physical labor for 9 months). Looking more into real estate he discovered wholesaling and Sean Terry's videos on Youtube, spending endless nights watching these videos. Since he was already investing, it wasn't too hard of

This week's guest is a man of God that is VERY successful, Nathan Tabor!⠀ Nathan Tabor is the founder of Handling Life. Handling Life is a ministry focused on helping others “handle life” by turning back to God. All Handling Life materials are from a Bible-Based, Christ-Centered perspective. Handling Life reaches tens of thousands of people through social media, videos, podcasts, blogs, websites, and emails to reach people on a daily basis. He is also an entrepreneur, author, business consultant, executive coach, trainer, speaker, and adjunct professor at Liberty University. Since 1999, he has founded and operated more than two dozen businesses, grossing over $150 million in sales. Along the way, he has had some amazing successes and epic failures in the areas of commercial real estate, automobile financing, direct product sales, web-based marketing, strategic partnership facilitation and online educational courses. This was a special episode, part one of a series! We took a small step back on this

This week's guest is a power woman in marketing AND sales, Marie Hale! Marie has forged a reputation in the very noisy sales and marketing industry as a visionary, a rainmaker, and most importantly, a hell of a lot of fun. As the CEO and Co-Founder of @revenue, one of only 5 organizations in the country that offers sales training and marketing strategy and implementation under one roof as a hand in glove experience, she and her team of experts have facilitated epic growth for their clients, seeing results anywhere from 67% year over year to more than 10x growth in under 8 months. Her works spans a multitude of service providers including health and wellness, manufacturing, professional services, and education. She is also the proud recipient of the 2017 Women Tech Founders Leadership Award in Marketing, Media and Sales. During this episode we uncovered: -How she got into this business -How she combines sales and marketing into one company, and WHY -Her ideal client -How she overcame challenges in her curr

This week's guest is Joe Martin. He is a CRO EXPERT! Joe Martin has worked in the creative industry for 18 years gaining experience in design, marketing, and leadership. As a seasoned entrepreneur, he is passionate about building real-world communities and improving corporate culture. In addition to Martin Creative, he is an active voice in Chicago. He has served as a judge & mentor for Google Startup Weekend events, while also overseeing students through DePaul University's entrepreneurship program. He has worked on projects for McDonald’s, Microsoft, Cars.com, and Anheuser-Busch among other corporations and small businesses. His ideas on experience design have been featured in the Observer, Website Magazine, and paved the way for speaking opportunities locally and internationally. Outside of the office Joseph enjoys playing hockey, performing music, and traveling to work with food tours around the world. In this episode we got to talk about: -Joe's journey into entrepreneurship, and how he got into h

For today's episode we got Carl Lee on to do a PT.2 and continue the conversation we had from EP:9 Lead By Example. If you didn't get a chance to listen to that episode yet, Carl Lee’s 15+ years of work spans from some of his own micro-businesses to working in the largest corporations, from not-for-profits to the largest sales per square foot retailer. Along with those experiences, he’s been able to observe and implement some of his own ideas when it comes to leading a team, running a business and managing entrepreneurship. Even while working on his own projects, he takes time out to encourage and empower individuals to find their passion and understand their value. In this episode we had a conversation about business differentiation: -Why it's important -Big name brand that do it well -How he differentiates his restaurant and brokerage -And how small mom/pop businesses can differentiate themselves from the big brands All while focusing on the core message from this episode, YOUR DISADVANTAGES CAN BECOME

This week's guest is our friend and business broker, Jonathan Pace. Jonathan is the President of On Pace Franchise & Business Advisors. Jonathan's firm takes a consultative approach to matching those looking for franchise or business ownership opportunities, helping to match them to what will work for the lifestyle they want. Jonathan has built a portfolio of businesses for every walk of life and price point. He is your go-to for those looking for opportunities or looking for the right buyer. In this episode we cover: -What a business broker is -How to become a business broker -Qualities that every good business broker has -Common misconceptions about the business brokerage world -and so much more! Reach out to him for franchise consulting, if you want to buy/sell a business, or even just want to get clarification on some of the things he talked about here on the podcast. Jonathan can be reached at LinkedIn - Jonathan Pace Social media - @jonnyonpace He can be found at the following links: www.o

This week's guest is our brilliant accountant, Jeff Badu! Jeff Badu is a serial entrepreneur and a wealth multiplier. He’s a Licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the founder of Badu Enterprises, LLC, which is a multinational conglomerate that owns several key companies. His marquee company is Badu Tax Services, LLC, which is a CPA firm that specializes in tax preparation, tax planning, and tax representation for individuals and businesses. Another key company is Badu Investments, LLC which is primarily a real estate investment company that acquires residential and commercial real estate properties in areas such as the South Side of Chicago in efforts to restore traditionally underserved areas. What sparked his interest in launching these companies is his passion for helping people minimize their tax liability and ultimately multiplying their money by investing it and building multi-generational wealth. He’s extremely passionate about financial literacy and currently hosts various financial literac

This week's guest is Brie Schmidt, who is a real estate investing QUEEN! Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she become a full time real estate investor. She is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie teaches you how to analyze potential properties, how to calculate your ROI, best practices when marketing and leasing your rental property and how to be a landlord and build a portfolio. Brie’s job does not end when you close on a property; she is always available to help you throughout the process and scale your business. Brie is a Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors. This three day

Today's guest is Carl Lee, who is a a fantastic businessman (especially in leadership)! Carl Lee’s 15+ years of work spans from some of his own micro-businesses to working in the largest corporations, from not-for-profits to the largest sales per square foot retailer. Along with those experiences, he’s been able to observe and implement some of his own ideas when it comes to leading a team, running a business and managing entrepreneurship. Even while working on his own projects, he takes time out to encourage and empower individuals to find their passion and understand their value. Throughout the podcast we got the chance to talk about: -his leadership/management style -common misconceptions people have about management -what his ideal employee looks like, and why -his most embarrassing moment -how he spreads abundance He can be found at the following link: Carllee.nxtrealty.com Follow and Connect with Carl: Twitter: @Mr_Carl_Lee Instagram: mr_carl_lee Let us know how you like it. Rate us. Leave a comm

Today's guest is Benjamin Warsinske. He is a branding EXPERT! Benjamin's international design background has led to projects around the world on a variety of strategic planning and brand development related projects - from conceptualizing resort residential communities to strategic studies for the United States Air Force Headquarters. He is the founder of BrandedWorld, a strategic communications agency. The firm's mission is to help clients become unshakable - that is, to find clarity and confidence in their brand and who they best serve, then developing a memorable customer experience that attracts and draws customers in. He is the author of GroundWork: The Foundation for an Unshakable Brand, available on Amazon. Go check that out ASAP! Throughout this podcast we dive into the importance of branding, what it means to build an unshakable brand, the importance of reviews, going deep into a single platform rather than using all platforms, and so much more. He can be found at the following links: www.bra

Today's guest has been mastering his craft since he was 7 years old, and turned it into a multimillion dollar business. He is Patrick Trivedi, the hotel owner. Today we take a deep dive into his background story and what got him started at such a young age. Along the way he'll share with us what it takes to succeed in the hotel industry and some key principles that any business can use to DOMINATE in their arena. Enjoy, because we definitely did! Contact Patrick here: http://trivedihospitality.com/contact.html Let us know how you like it. Rate us. Leave a comment. Email us at info@abundantculture.co. Do something!

Sorry we missed you guys last week, but this week we have an amazing podcast for you! We got the chance to interview Elissa Williams (on her birthday btw). Elissa is the Queen of heart-centered personal styling. She is a style alchemist--mixing fashion, self-expression and a radical call to be your most evolved self to create a magical wardrobe that FEELS good. Through her coaching and trainings her clients experience freedom of self-expression, radical abundance and a FEELING like no other. They are home in their skin and empowered to FULLY embody their highest self. Abundance follows Elissa wherever she goes, and she exists to elevate the consciousness of the planet through fun, flow and authenticity. So in this episode we're covering what it means to create the next level version of yourselves, and how to be an awesome business owner! She even provided some great resources below: Freebie Download- https://styledbye.com/identify-your-personal-style/ Rent the runway Update Link - https://rtr.app.l

Leadership is the foundational pillar of any society and organization. Everything else springs from it. But just like anything else leadership is a skill! We believe anyone has the ability to cultivate it in themselves and their team but not everyone has a Blueprint to go off of to do so. So we just wanted to share some of the character traits that we found made great leaders so captivating and effective. We wanted it to be simple and easy to remember so here are the 3 C's of leadership (conviction, courage, confidence) and we know it's going to sound almost too simple but the best things in life usually are but just like with everything else, practice makes perfect. Enjoy! REFLECTIVE QUESTION: How do you want the world to remember you? Let us know how you like it. Rate us. Leave a comment. Email us at info@abundantculture.co. Do something!

Have you ever heard someone say "Dude! She's freaking rich" or "He's super wealthy"? A lot of people I know use these terms interchangeably. I know I definitely used to but after studying finance and business more closely I started to realize there is a distinct difference between most football players who are rich and the guy that owns that car wash down the street who's probably wealthy. In today's episode, we discuss that fine line between riches and wealth because we feel so many people get it confused. Both are definitely better than being poor, however, there is one that is definitely superior to the other. Enjoy!  REFLECTIVE QUESTION: What would you do if you inherited a million $$?  Let us know how you like it. Rate us. Leave a comment. Email us at info@abundantculture.co. Do something!

Here we discuss ALL things mentorship like: What's a mentor? Why is a mentor needed? Where and how can you find a mentor? What makes a great mentor?  Let us know how you like it. Rate us. Leave a comment. Email us at info@abundantculture.co. Do something!

What's an empire without a Queen and what's a Queen without her King?!  We understand that there are a lot of solo-preneurs out there, but there's also couples. Business adds a whole other dynamic to a relationship and this dynamic can cause mass confusion in both the romantic relationship and the business relationship if roles aren't outlined to a T.  Today we'll be covering the pros and cons of being in business with your mate; and even though there are a lot of hurdles to overcome the benefits of having your #booONboard can absolutely 10x your business! You'll see a strong example of that towards the end.  *AGAIN* Please excuse a little background noise. We aren't using "we don't have the right equipment" or "we don't have anywhere to record" as an excuse anymore. We're just getting out our message by any means. We promise we'll get better with time.  Let us know how you like it. Rate us. Leave a comment. Email us at info@abundantculture.co. Do something!