American Audacity

Linda Goolsbee - Democrat Candidate for Texas State Representative District 71 Linda Goolsbee discusses the hot topics of immigration and Texas border security, school vouchers, and expanding healthcare in the form of Medicaid in Texas. If you're a Republican this is a great episode to listen to so that you understand the arguments of the other side. If you're a Democrat, this is a great...

Scott Kirk - President & Founder of Abilene Flying Bison Baseball Scott Kirk was a co-founder of the Abilene Flying Bison minor league baseball team in Abilene and helped found the Mid America League. They had their first season this past summer and are heading into their second season this coming May. He talks about what it takes to start a brand new baseball team from scratch AND a new leagu...

Dillon Clark - Owner of Clark Nissan Dealership Dillon moved to Abilene a few years ago and at the age of 29 owns the Clark Nissan Dealership on I-20. He has held every position in the car dealership world, from sales, to carwashing and tires, to General Manager. He talks about the system needed to run a large business like a dealership; How he turned around a failing dealership in Manhattan, Kans...

Lindsay Flores just opened Matera Bar & Grill in South of Downtown Abilene District and she's a great speaker on the show; she's full of passion and insight and honest answers. She knows every level of the restaurant world... She has a background as a waiter, manager, and general manager of a very successful restaurant and now as a fresh restaurant owner so her insight into the inner...

Alejandro Elias and his wife are both chiropractors that founded and run Victory Spinal Care in Abilene. They moved to Texas right after school, fell in love with Abilene because it reminded them of the move Cars, and the people here were so welcoming.  Alejandro talks about taking advantage of the 7 month delay in their build out by knocking on doors to let people know they were opening instead o...

 Carl Price opened Primal Brewery in Baird in 2019. He then moved to Brownwood, and now just recently moved back to Abilene, where he had the grand opening of Primal Brewery at north 8th and Hickory two weeks ago. His most popular beer is his pickle beer, and has a beer that tastes like Skittles, Almond Joy, and Reeses and so he has a Candy Beer flight where you can taste them all. We discuss the...

Karson is one of the most interesting guests we had on the first season of the show so we wanted to catch up with her again in season, and this was just as good!  We talk about the disaster when Shopify, without warning, shut down her business account for 7 days, which was all her inventory, her point of sale system, website, everything; The pep talk that got her from crying in her shop to working...

Mark Perkins  Owner of Perkins Insurance Agency Mark owns Perkins Insurance Agency with locations in Abilene, Eastland, and in Franklin, Tennessee. We talk about running a business that doesn't sell something sexy (aka insurance); How you bring enthusiasm to your business team; How you identify what you as a leader are weak at and how you fill the gap; Two things a professor taught him that s...

Josh has an immediate hook in the first two minutes of our podcast that will keep you hooked! It caught me off guard and those who love truecrime podcasts, you'll love this episode.  Josh Rader is the owner of Firehouse Fitness, The Dive Spot (for swim lesson and SCUBA diving  lessons), the new Bodega in downtown Abilene that will sell necessaries like milk, eggs, gum, toilet paper, etc, and...

This is a rare double double treat! Nikki Hill and Brittney Martinez are the owners of When Pigs Fly, a wine bar in Tuscola, Texas, and they're also Abilene Police Officers (Technically, Nikki is a Patrol Sergeant and Brittney is the instructor at the Police Academy now). So not only do you get to hear from two owners on the same episode, you get to hear how two police officers manage their w...

Carlie Cooper is the owner of Espressoak, a mobile coffee truck/trailer.  She's in her early twenties and bought Espressoak ten months ago so her insights are fresh and insightful and full of passion of someone going through the throes of running a business early in its stages. We talk about how she pitched her parents the idea of buying the business, how that didn't go well but that it...

Jessica Quintanilla Jackson - Owner of Betty & June in Abilene and Corpus Christi. Jessica was the perfect guest on the show, very funny and relaxed, while answering honestly and with actionable nitty gritty answers. Her insights into running not just a business in Abilene but a second store in Corpus Christi, six hours away, highlights her drive and ability to manage from a distance. She spea...

Season 2, Episode 10: GRAY BRIDWELL - Head of Military Affairs Committee, Farmer and Rancher, Pilot. This episode is EXACTLY why I started this show! Gray Bridwell discusses in practical nitty gritty terms: Farming and Ranching in West Texas, commercial farming versus family farming, Foreign countries/companies buying up farmland, how a farmer/rancher retires, the cost of becoming a farmer over $1...

Season 2, Episode 9: RICHARD SIBERRY - Owner of Black Donkey Brewery in Ireland This interview takes place at Black Donkey Brewery in Ireland with Richard Siberry. We talk How to make international sales operating out of a tiny town in the countryside (a few hundred people); The Differences of running a business in Ireland versus the US; Real Estate in Ireland; How to get a license to run a pub/ta...

Season 2, Episode 8: CHUCK ROACH - Juggler, Artist, Chess Player, and Recently Back From Ukraine. Chuck is a fascinating man and our conversation does not disappoint. We talk how the Soviet Union attempted to have a Chess Master at every one of their schools; How juggling helps mental acuity and hand to eye coordination; How he developed his signature look with his art and how he prices his pieces...

Season 2, Episode 7: George Levesque - Executive Director of the Paramount Theatre, Former News Director and News Anchor, Former Radio Talk Show Host. We discussed all the ways you can advertise and finding your ideal customer on each one, The hardest part about being an Executive Director, The direction of downtown Abilene, How the Process of getting a wine and beer license was as the first nonpr...

Season 2, Episode 6: HALEY JO OATES - Owner of Haley Jo Auto, Haley Jo On The Go, and The Dam Store.  This is a far-ranging  conversation on running businesses in different industries, “as a woman” running a business and receiving unsolicited sexual pictures from contractors, managing friends and family as employees, inside the car dealerships during the wild highs and lows of the pandemic, how to...

Season 2, Episode 5: STACIE & BYRON STEPHENSON - Owners of the Shed Market BBQ in Abilene, Texas. Stacie and Byron have experienced every side of running a business and restaurant. We discuss how they started as a family business under his parents in in Wingate, Texas, How they focused on catering part time while working 9-5 jobs, The conversation they had to jump 100% into the BBQ business an...

Season 2, Ep. 4 - Elise Grazzine - Renowned Craft Brew Bar "Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa" in Rome, Italy that puts on Eurhop Roma Beer Festival and Franken Bier Fest - We Discuss Bringing Passion to Your Brewery or Bar; The Touristification of Rome; Differences Between Opening a Business in Italy versus America; What Italians Do Right; What Americans Could Learn from the Italian Way of Life;...

Season 2, Episode 3: KIRK HOUSE - Country Music Star/Country Soul - Break-out Country Musician on How He Broke Into the Next Level; Practical Tips on How to go from Free Gigs to Paid Full Time Musician; How Playing Every Day Oversaturates the Market; Stories of Jameson Whiskey, No Shyness in his Posts, and LA gigs; Using Google Insights and Hashtags to Market Your Brand; How a Musician/Artist shou...

S2-E2: Jay Patterson and Cory Enderson - Co-owners of the Leaf on How to Manage a Business with a Business Partner, How to Take Over an Existing Business and Not Run Off Customers, Lessons Learned from Doing a Build-Out, How to Advertise in a Restricted Field, How to Drink Barley Wine, Favorite Cigars for $10. Jay Patterson and Cory Enderson bought the Leaf, a Premier Cigar, Pipe and Tobacco shop...

Season 2, Episode 1: Calina Mishay - Self Made International Mural Artist on How to Actually Make Great Money as an Artist, Quitting Her High Paying Job to Pursue Murals, Using Martial Arts to Establish a Baseline in Your Life, and What's Wrong with the Art World Today. And Wine. Calina Mishay has painted murals all over Texas, from the Gulf Coast to the Panhandle, and now Canada and Mexico....

#26: Chris Carnohan - Chair of the Taylor County Republican Party debates with Blaise  Forgiving Student Debt, Vaccinations, Men Competing in Women Sports, a New Tax on the Ultra Rich, on a Republican led Investigation into January 6th, and much more. Chris Carnohan is the Chair of the Taylor County Republican Party and is an attorney focused on civil litigation in Abilene and the surrounding area...

#25: Elizabeth Smyser - Chair of the Taylor County Democratic Party; On  the Democratic Party's Stance Against Requiring a Photo ID/ Voter ID Laws; on Why the Democrats are Opposed to Building the Wall; On Democrats Wanting to Tax the Ultra Rich; On if another Stimulus Check Should be Sent out; On The Democrats Push to Defund the Police; On Forgiving Student Debt

#24: Blaise Regan - No Such Thing As Work Life Balance; NDAs and People Stealing Your Great Idea; Taking a Set Salary as the Owner; Check Your Non Competes Before Quitting; Using Social Media to Learn and Grow Your Business, Not Waste Time; Plea for Reasonableness and Seeing Both Sides of Issue or Problem. Blaise Regan is an attorney that focuses on Business Law and Estate Law, he handles startups...