Business from Scratch

When Nigel Wilson bought The Ibis from Matt and me, he got more than just a coffee shop and bar. He took on a business with an established identity, a team, and a community of people who already loved it. So as the new owner coming in he had to decide what to keep, and what needed to change. In this episode, I sit down with Nigel and Michael Ussery of Brand Engine to talk about The Ibis’s first ye...

Business partnerships can be incredibly valuable, but they’re also more complicated than splitting the work and sharing the profits. In this episode, I’m breaking down what it actually takes to build a partnership that works, both legally and personally. We’ll talk about the different business structures, what belongs in a strong operating agreement, and why a casual handshake can leave both partn...

In this episode, I’m joined by Angela Conicelli, life and leadership coach and founder of Work of Life. Angela works with leaders, overthinkers, and ambitious humans who feel stuck, are navigating a pivotal moment, or simply need help figuring out what comes next. We talk about why coaching isn’t about someone handing you the answers. It’s about asking the right questions until you uncover the ans...

Everyone  wants to scale, but wanting to grow and being ready to scale are two very different things. In this episode, I’m breaking down what scaling actually requires and the four signals that can help you determine whether your business is ready: consistent demand, operational independence, healthy numbers, and repeatable processes. I also talk about the mindset shift that happens when you move...

Running a business can be incredibly lonely. Even when you have a team, a supportive family, and people who believe in you, there is a particular weight that comes with sitting in the founder’s seat. In this solo episode, I’m stepping away from pricing strategies, cash flow, and business frameworks to talk about the person behind the business. I’m sharing an honest reminder about the mental toll o...

Every business owner eventually hits a financial crossroads—that moment when you look at the P&L, the cash flow, and the bank account and realize the path you’re on isn’t sustainable. In this solo episode, I’m talking about what to do when you get there. Financial pressure doesn’t automatically mean your business is failing, but avoiding the numbers can turn a problem you can navigate into a f...

Jenna McKnight opened Aqua Fedora in downtown Wilmington in 2009, right after a recession, without a business degree, a perfect plan, or really any idea what the next 17 years were going to look like. She just knew she wanted to build something of her own, and she was willing to figure out the rest as she went. In this episode, Jenna and I talk about what it actually takes to keep a brick-and-mort...

There is no shortage of information out there about how to run a business. But sometimes what we actually need isn’t another Google search, podcast, or ChatGPT answer. We need to get in a room with other people who are building things too. In this episode, I’m sitting down with Matthew Coleman, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Wilmington Media and Marketing, to talk about the power of con...

Personal styling is one of those services people often dismiss as a luxury, or assume you cannot build a legitimate business around. Kelly Hillegass has spent the last 16 years proving otherwise. Kelly is a personal and commercial stylist based in Wilmington. Her career has taken her from fashion PR in New York to merchandising, e-commerce shoots, product development, commercial styling, closet ed...

Some careers follow a straight line. Parker Wilson’s career has moved through entrepreneurship, corporate leadership, sales, growth strategy, business ownership, and acquisition. In this episode, Parker and I talk about what happens when you stop forcing every chapter of your career to fit into one perfect plan. Sometimes an opportunity is right for a season. Sometimes the business you love needs...

Your brand voice is more than your logo, colors, or tagline. It is the personality behind every word your business puts into the world. I’m sharing how we developed the voice behind Salt + Charm, why it helped the business build recognition so quickly, and how we make sure everything we create still sounds like us. From the beginning, I never wanted Salt + Charm to sound like a traditional caterin...

At some point in your business journey, usually when you start making real money, someone is going to tell you that you should consider becoming an S-Corp. But what does that actually mean? And when does making the switch make financial sense? In this episode, I’m breaking down the difference between an LLC and an S-Corp in plain language. An S-corp is not a completely different type of business b...

In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Sara Lloyd, founder and CEO of Upper Health, and we are talking about what it looks like to build a business inside one of the most complicated industries there is: healthcare. Sara started her career as a personal trainer, but pretty quickly realized that a lot of people were not coming to fitness just for weight loss or strength training. They were comin...

Today we are talking about something I have personal experience with and personal regret about: payment processor loans. Square loans, PayPal Working Capital, Shopify Capital, Stripe Capital, whatever version your payment processor offers, these products have become incredibly common for small business owners. I understand why because I’ve used them for my business.  I want to be upfront: this is...

In this episode of Business From Scratch, I’m joined by Beth Faulkner, co-owner and founder of End of Days Distillery here in Wilmington’s Cargo District. Beth and her husband, Shane, opened their distillery in February of 2020, had six wild weeks of normal business, and then had to figure out how to survive a pandemic as a brand-new company. Beth shares what it was like to pivot almost overnight...

This week on Business From Scratch, I’m joined by one of my favorite people: Tori Gatanis from Brave Creative. You may not know her name yet, but if you’ve followed the social media for this podcast, Salt + Charm, The Starling, or plenty of Wilmington brands, you’ve absolutely felt her work. In this episode, we talk about what it really looks like to bring in a social media manager, and why good s...

In this episode of Business From Scratch , we’re talking about something that doesn’t show up on your P&L, can’t be tracked in a spreadsheet, and takes years to build, but when you need it, nothing else comes close: your reputation. Here’s the truth: most business owners don’t think about their reputation until something goes wrong. A bad review comes in, a client has a poor experience, a part...

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my business partner and longtime friend, Matt Ray. Matt is the co-owner of The Starling, was my co-founder at The Ibis, and has also been one of the creative people behind so much of the visual identity of Salt + Charm over the years. We have known each other since we were kids, so this conversation gets personal in the best way. We talk about what it’s reall...

Pricing is one of those things that almost every business owner wrestles with at some point. In this episode, I’m walking through how to actually decide what to charge instead of guessing, copying a competitor, or picking a number that just “feels right.” I’ve done that before, and spoiler alert: it is not a strategy. I’m breaking down the three main pricing approaches: cost-plus pricing, value-ba...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Business From Scratch Podcast!  Today we’re talking about something a lot of business owners either avoid completely or pretend they understand more than they actually do: your P&L and your balance sheet. And listen, I am not claiming to be an accounting expert. My CPA would absolutely laugh at that. But I do know this: if you can’t read your financial statements, yo...

In this episode, I'm going solo again to talk about some uncomfortable things. We just hit 26 episodes and over 25,000 downloads, and I'm not glossing over that. But I am pulling back the curtain on what's actually been happening behind the scenes, because the polished version of this story isn't the one worth telling. The idea that has anchored this show from day one hasn't changed: you don't nee...

In this episode, I sit down with Drewe Smith and Kate Supa to dig into what it really means to build a brand with intention from the very beginning. We explore why a brand is so much more than just a logo; it’s about your messaging, your client experience, and how you truly connect with your audience. Plus, Drewe and Kate share how they are moving away from traditional social media to find more me...

In this episode, I sit down with Kevin Connor, the founder of Wilmington Bread, to talk about his unexpected journey from being a CPA to running a successful wholesale bakery. Kevin shares the exact math he used to transition from his corporate job and how he built a sustainable business that actually fits his life as a dad. We dig into the "hidden work" of logistics and why clear communication is...

In this episode, I sit down with Brittanie Pate to talk about how she built her event planning and venue businesses through genuine relationships rather than traditional marketing. We dive into her journey from planning ten weddings a year to over one hundred, exploring how shifting your mindset from competition to connection can turn industry peers into your biggest referral sources. If you are r...

If you’ve ever thought that hiring someone would magically calm your business down, this episode is a must-listen because hiring doesn't fix chaos—it exposes it. I’m walking you through how to evaluate your business to know exactly when to hire production help, when you’re actually ready for management, and when it’s time for high-level executive support. You’ll learn why documenting your proc...