The Network Build Grow Podcast: Relationships that Scale

What if the reason people aren’t choosing you has nothing to do with your service and everything to do with the story you’re not telling? And what if the best networkers in the room are the ones doing the least talking? In this warm, story-driven episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Taurin Hurley , photographer, filmmaker, and co-founder of Recalibrate Med...

What if the best thing you can bring to a networking event isn't a product or a pitch, but a cause people want to be part of? And what if the connections that grow your mission come from simply showing up and having real conversations, not from prospecting? In this heartfelt episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Ashley Nydish of Bags of Hope . This Mec...

What if the person you're pitching at a networking event isn't a prospect at all, at least not yet? And what if your best networking move has nothing to do with your own business? In this warm and practical episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Lisa Gifford , a non-legal estate planning educator and the founder of Signature Line Legacy Partners. L...

In this candid episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Leann Coleman-Waters , founder of LCW Advisory Group and a fractional Chief of Staff who spent two decades leading marketing and communications teams in corporate before going out on her own this year. Leann calls her work "calming the chaos" — and she's been living her own version of it. S...

In this funny, refreshingly honest episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Brian Lafontaine — screen actor, voiceover artist, improviser, MC, public speaking coach, and creator of Speak Easy in Charlotte. After three decades of auditions, sets, and the question every actor lives with ("is today the last time my phone rings?"), Brian rebuilt his busi...

In this episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Emily Furfaro, founder of Dark Sky Creative Agency. After ten years at NASA, where she watched brilliant scientists struggle to communicate world-changing work, Emily left in 2025 to help business owners find their core message. One year in, she shares how she built her client base entirely on word of mouth, how...

In this raw, deeply human episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Domenica Robbins, founder of Legacy Paws Rescue. After a car accident and brain injury ended her nursing career, Domenica bought five acres and started rescuing the dogs nobody else would take. A year and a half and seventeen dogs later, she realized passion alone wasn't going to make it ou...

What if the reason you come home from vacation exhausted is that you never actually saw anything? And what if the same rushing that ruins a trip is exactly what's ruining your networking? In this warm, wandering episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Jo Wise-Ames , speaker, storyteller, and founder of Wild and Free Journeys. After traveling slowly throu...

In this practical, myth-busting episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Deb Hanson of Zen Advisors, who helps small business owners, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits adopt AI without the jargon, the overwhelm, or the fear. Deb shares the exact system she uses to turn a stack of cards into a working CRM and why none of it replaces the human part of the relationshi...

What if the reason your networking feels flat is that you're running a script nobody asked for? And what if the skill that fixes it isn't a better elevator pitch  It's learning to listen like an improviser? In this energizing episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Dayna Gowen , founder of Improvly Speaking, recovering nervous speaker, and self-...

In this candid, energizing episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Lu Tandazo , founder of Dream Into Success, speaker, and coach who helps business owners navigate imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and people-pleasing through life and business transitions. A self-described introvert who once had to be paid to attend a networking event, Lu shares the identity wo...

What if the biggest networking mistake isn't talking too much, but talking too little? And what if the connection you've been chasing for two years is just one ten-minute conversation away? In this episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Ragi Riad , CPA and founder of Riad CPA PC. Ragi moved from Egypt to the States alone at nineteen and rebuilt his...

What if the best business manager you could hire isn't a person at all and costs about as much as a streaming subscription? And what if you could build a six-figure business with zero traditional marketing, from an RV, while raising five kids? In this high-energy episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Alison Simmons , founder of Lead Smarter Co. A former...

What if AI isn't a shortcut, but a system and the businesses actually winning with it are the ones willing to trust the process? And what if adding AI to your business doesn't make you less human, but frees you up to be more human than ever? In this systems-minded episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Steven Edwards , an AI-Powered Business Optimiz...

What if you could launch a business in the middle of a pandemic, no events, no handshakes, no clients and grow it into year six on nothing more than three genuine conversations a week? And what if the nervous-looking person in the back of the room is actually the best networker there? In this warm, down-to-earth episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Bonnie...

What if the loudest person in the room is doing networking completely wrong and the quiet one smiling in the corner is the one building a real business? And what if "working the room" is exactly the habit that's leaving you drained and empty-handed? In this grounded, refreshing episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Tami Robinson, certified yog...

Ever come home from a networking event having met thirty people and wondered if a single one of them will ever matter? What if the secret isn't working the whole room, but having two or three real conversations and letting trust do the rest? In this heartfelt episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Fernanda Brasileiro — a 20-year supply chain leadership v...

What do you do when you've spent years working remotely and suddenly realize you have no professional network and your new business depends on building one fast? And how do you turn a hallway conversation into a client without ever sounding salesy? In this practical episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits down with Courtney Lucas, founder of Steel Talent Solutions,...

What if your next big client isn't waiting at a networking event, but on the other end of a relationship you've quietly tended for years? And what if the most disruptive question you can ask in a crowded room isn't "What do you do?"  but "What do you do for fun?" In this warm and wide-ranging episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, host Melissa Taylor sits dow...

What if the thing holding back your financial future isn't how much you earn or what you invest in — but the fact that no one ever taught you the why behind your money? And what if the same goes for your business — the secret to growth isn't working a room harder, but building genuine relationships on your own terms? In this warm and practical episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast, h...

What if the biggest thing standing between you and your next level of success isn't your strategy, your budget, or your connections — but the way you think? In this energizing episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Anthony DeNino , founder of CORe, mental performance consultant, and keynote speaker, for a conversation that bridges two powerful worlds: t...

What if the clutter in your home and the noise in your life are the very things standing between you and your next level? In this powerhouse episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Lianne Hofer — TEDx speaker, two-time international best-selling author, and one of the most sought-after declutter experts for high-achieving women — for a conversation that is eq...

What separates professionals who consistently win business from those who don't? According to Dana Klein, it rarely comes down to the product — it comes down to the relationship. In this episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Dana Klein, founder of Klein Strategies and a 35-year veteran of financial services, to unpack the science and psychology behind...

What if networking wasn't something you do, but something you are ? In this episode of the Network Build Grow Podcast , host Melissa Taylor sits down with Josh Simpson, a business development advisor at HETO and two-term mayor of Rietville, South Carolina. Josh brings a uniquely layered perspective on networking, community service, and business growth — and shares the frameworks that have fue...

Jess Moore didn't walk into her first networking event with a polished pitch and a stack of business cards. She walked in with a brand new wardrobe she'd just bought because she hadn't been in the business world long enough to know what people even wore. That moment of showing up scared anyway? That's the whole episode. In this conversation, host Melissa Taylor sits down with J...