Hustle or Bust; Powered by Paverart

The teenage workforce participation rate has been on a multi-decade decline, hurdling towards 25%.  That has massive implications for future generations to develop the needed work ethic required to compete.  But we focus on the flip side:  What are the OPPORTUNITIES for 4, summers a teenager will have in high school by spending time in the workforce?  What will their life look...

Episode 26 we deal with the strategic decisions and challenges owners confront:  Invest for growth or hold things tight to the vest.  As we head into tough economic conditions most will look for areas to cut back in their business, build cash and reduce expenses.  Let’s call that “conventional wisdom.”  The other approach is contrarian:  Investing heavily to gain market sh...

There's a critical trait in leadership that is too often overlooked:  HUMILITY.  Being coachable.  Listening.  We often idolize our national political and business leaders when they meet our worldview.  But at the same time we totally overlook their faults and "train wreck" moments.  So the question for the small business owner?  If we can't see the faults in the...

Episode 24 of the Hustle or Bust Podcast was a blast!  We introduce you to Mike Marino: Actor and Comedian, affectionately known as the Bad Boy of NJ comedy by his millions of fans worldwide.  We cover the struggles of starting out, the rough business known as show business, and forming great partnerships.  And of course, plenty of laughs.

Small businesses face an age-old dilemma:  How to compete with bigger, more well-capitalized brands.   One tried and true strategy? *  Provide outstanding, personalized customer service.   Another? Over-deliver against your customer's expectations, creating an emotional connection with your clients.    In this episode, we discuss a number of brands, 8 i...

Moving From Product Function To Lifestyle Brand  When businesses start, the owners are generally consumed with product functionality and find that elusive product-market fit.  Successful businesses get through this stage quickly.    Businesses that become SHARE leaders move beyond this.  They think bigger.  They tap into broader industry trends and have their bra...

In this episode of the Hustle or Bust podcast, powered by Paverart, we interview Dean Dzurilla. He is a 3x founder and a sales expert.

A friend of ours has a fantastic saying:  If you want to learn how the lion lives, you go to the jungle, NOT the zoo!  The same is true in business.  Seeing customers, suppliers, and team members in THEIR environment is needed to understand what challenges they experience, which yields opportunity for all.  That's the value of a field trip, getting out of YOUR environment and i...

Episode #19 of the Hustle or Bust Podcast introduces you to an unbelievably inspiring couple:  Jeff & Alice Fisher.   In 2011 Jeff was undergoing a medical procedure, and during that procedure suffered a severe stroke that left him paralyzed and completely unable to speak.  Searching for answers, medical pros, and anything that could provide a glimmer of optimism, in the next de...

There are coaches or consultants that come into businesses to provide an outside perspective.  Often times these are lengthy, expensive engagements with no real "skin in the game" for the consultant.   In this episode of the Hustle or Bust Podcast we present an alternative method, aimed at getting to 80% of the value with 20% of the time.  A hyper focused view of the business w...

Welcome to episode 17 of the Hustle or bust podcast, the Economic Storm: What'dya Gonna Do 'Bout it? Were gonna dive into 3 areas critical to these challenging economic times. Your digital footprint, your reputation, and taking a solid risk assessment of all areas of your business.

Growth is about disrupting the status quo.  It's about defining your baseline and then up-ending your normal routine and behaviors to create new activity that drive growth.  This episode of the Hustle or Bust Podcast we talk about getting out of your comfort zone as you build your growth plan.

Episode #15 we introduce you to Marklyn T. Johnson:  Comic, Host,, Motivational Speaker and 2 Time Author.  Marklyn takes us through his journey from corporate to solo entrepreneur, the struggles, challenges and crafting his own definition of success that leaves him at peace and fully energized.

One of the most controversial topics, with judgement, excessive opinions?  WORK LIFE BALANCE.  How to gain it?  How to manage towards it?  At what stage of your career does it matter?  We dive deep into this topic in the context of small business management, careers, and various family stages.  There are no easy answers for this topic, but this much we DO know:  ...

It's important to take a VERY hard look at yourself and your business from time to time.  On this episode we do that and critically evaluate the PAVERART summer, our failures and wins.  We talk about a new phenomena we dubbed:  The Man Child, and talked about a great young man who at the age of 16 has already compiled 2 years under his belt, and what that could mean for his future.

On the heels of the President's Executive order granting $10,000-$20,000 of debt relief and another payment delay, we talk through something the government FAILS to do:  Propose real solutions that get to the root cause of the problem in front of us.  The executive order does NOTHING to fix the system that has caused the cost of higher education to escalate well north of inflation for th...

Episode 11 is special.  We start by diving deep into a post that went viral on LinkedIn:  The post now known as "The Crying CEO" went viral, garnering 15mm+ impressions as of this podcast.  Of course, there was a massive mix of positive and negative reactions that resulted that reveal a ton about the state of our public discourse that plays out on social media.     Th...

https://www.hustleorbust.com/  On our 10th episode, we couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce our first guest.  Angelo Viscoso personifies the term entrepreneur.   At the ripe old age of 25 Angelo decided to leave a great position in corporate America to pursue one of the most challenging ventures in America:  The Restaurant Business, in the NY Metro Market.   Not only has...

On this episode we confront a topic we are all familiar with, customer service. More specifically, a couple of illumining experiences that made us think about building and destroying lifetime value. Too many businesses fall into the later camp, we will give you a hint, Nice guys finish first. Make sure to give feedback and subscribe to see future episodes.

Hustle or bust Podcast #8 In this episode we talk about the grit and grind, building resilience in the midst of the journey. From finding joy from the daily struggles, practicing gratitude, getting your first big win, and the sobering responsibilities that come with business ownership.

This is the Hustle or Bust podcast; Powered by PAVERART In this episode we cover the critical role of your spouse in the startup of your business, and their importance to you in and out of the business.  https://www.hustleorbust.com/podcast

In this episode we dive deep into the world of MENTORSHIP, developing young talent beyond simple on the job training, and in the context of GROWTH. We also cover candor in the workplace, the adult conversations that confront the brutal realities all businesses must address to get to a new level of performance.

Time is the ultimate equalizer......we all have only 24 hours in a day.  It's how we CHOOSE to utilize this asset that makes all the difference in the world.  Too many business owners are consumed with working IN their business vs ON their business, and in this episode we talk about specific ways to deal with the common everyday whirlwinds to help improve in the area of time management &...

What does it take to develop true subject matter expertise?   In this episode of the Hustle or Bust Podcast we dive into Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule, as he discussed in Outliers.  We talk through, with a fair amount of "banter" how you can develop it and how hard work and accumulating the hours is NOT enough.   2 side topics:  1)  A trip on the NJ Turnpike revealed...

This episode builds on episode 3 where we talk about OFFENSE, preparing for challenging economic times.  EXCEPT, we talk about DEFENSIVE measures any business can take to prepare for stormy waters.  From analyzing the operation's throughput, solidifying inventory positions, capital management and supply chain relationships, we dive into different angles of looking at this challenging top...