Evan Makovsky's Business Podcast

After years in the corporate world, Chris Hobbick noticed a gap: small businesses with fewer than 15 employees often needed IT support but couldn’t justify a full-time hire. Seizing the opportunity, he launched First Rate Tech Corp (www.firstratetechcorp.com), a thriving business that’s now a go-to resource for small enterprises. In this episode, discover how Chris transformed challenges into triu...

️Exciting news! In my latest podcast episode, I chat with Benjy Dobrin, the Founder/Owner/Instructor of Benjy Dobrin Studios. We talk about how the pandemic transformed his business moving to Zoom teaching acting and providing corporate training. Benjy shares his experience of now having an international business instead of a Denver-based one. He also discusses the nuances and conveniences of lear...

If you're unemployed and have a job interview Brothers Cleaners will clean your clothes for free. Powerful stuff!! The sign in the window caught me walking by. Generous, kind, and sharp marketing! Brothers Cleaners Owner & CEO Ben Hikler joins my podcast for C-Suite Executives. Brothers is a family owned and operated dry cleaners since 1916. Putting free cleaning for job interviewee's is motio...

Matt Guidice, Co-Founder of Matt's Flights, joins to discuss how he flat out saves travelers $ and his business is a real life "travel hack". He calls his Matt's Flights a "new age airfare concierge". His email newsletter service is both free with a premium option which personalizes the businesses relationship to the subscriber's travel needs. Listen to the ins and outs of how he conducts his magi...

Rob joins my business podcast to discuss Sustainability as well as Corporate Reputation. Rob defines what sustainability is. He shares examples how corporate reputation is tied to sustainability and what companies have sustainability embedded in their DNA. Rob discusses which companies are some of the most forward thinking and acting when it comes to sustainability with their initiatives. He names...

Star Realtor Asa Fleming joins my business vodcast to discuss the current climate in real estate, how he and his team have been affected, some of the fallout from the pandemic, the particulars of the housing shortage in 2022, and why he loves Real Estate. Asa also shares his background as he was born in New Haven, CT, but was raised in New York City.  He found his way to Raleigh first for undergra...

Ancora L&G Chairman and CEO Josh Parker joins the podcast to discuss him partnering his Durham based real estate firm Ancora with a British financial services provider Legal & General Group to invest in life sciences development in emerging markets throughout the U.S. Josh Parker will oversee the operation.  This is L&G's first time breaking into the U.S. market. Josh explains why the...

A great listen for anyone who wants to learn a thing or two about Business Networking. Joe gives live (and virtual) speeches, has written three books about business, and coaches many clients. After almost thirty years in the printing business, and a successful stint in the 90's and 00's selling real estate in New York, Joe was ready for the change to this unique career. Joe discusses how this next...

In this episode Anger Management Coach Libby Dickerson joins.  Libby reveals how her personal journey struggling with anger led her into this vocation. Libby discusses perspective shifts around framing anger in our mind.  Libby has had court ordered Domestic Violence offenders she's worked with and opens about that. She also reveals what the ratio of men to women is that she works with and helps e...

In the lastest episode, Burt's Bees Vice-President and General Manager Mariah Eckhardt discusses how passionate she is about the brand she's been employed by for 16 years.  When you listen you may not be able to differentiate her enthusiasm as an employee of the company from being a dedicated customer.  She samples and loves the products, and in the interview tells us her favorite product.  Additi...

Thrifty Traveler aims to make travel more affordable for the general public. Nick discusses how he and Co-Fouder Jared Kamrowski saw inefficiencies in the commercial aviation marketplace along with great fare deals through their own travel experiences through credit card points and miles and got to know the landscape well. The site started to help people understand points and miles. They saw fare...

Josh Sklut tells Evan on his business podcast how he and his team at MyStandard created a service that turns the job market into a two-sided marketplace by allowing users to profit directly from sharing their data with organizations looking for new talent. As he puts it, MyStandard if giving power back to the people.  The app, which is scheduled to be released in May, will allow organizations to p...

As Founder and CEO of the national test prep and admissions consulting firm, The Playbook, Jared Friedland helps over 20,000 students optimize their chances of admission to highly selective colleges and graduate schools.  The Playbook provides live-online prep courses for the SAT, ACT, and a host of other exams and provides guidance on all aspects of college admissions, from helping students disco...

Kevin Mardesich joins to discuss the scripts he develops for the likes of Oscar Winner Oliver Stone, to writing interactive movies for MTV, to speech and press release writing for National Geographic, and much more. Truly much more. Kevin's written not just for Oscar winners, but Emmy winners as well.  He also serves the PR, Advertising, and Marketing Industries at Mardesich Communications with st...

Ricky Sitomer, who formerly owned a stock brokerage firm in the 90’s and used to helicopter to the Hampton's for the weekend. Ricky started looking into private jets for the top guys in the firm and discovered inefficiencies in the private jet market. He was struggling finding jets to reserve so he figured there was shortage not just for himself, but others. Listen to how he in 2001 Ricky sold his...

John Margaritis joins the officially named "Evan Makovsky's Business Podcast" to discuss his 2022 services running John P. Margaritis & Associates. John discusses his 40 years of success across the public relations, utilities, consumer and luxury products, retail, energy, and pharma industries. He has provided consulting services to clients in nearly every business sector.  In today's constant...

Jon Cook, among other attributes, humbly lists being a “good listener” as one of the traits that has put him & keeps him in his current position overseeing 13,000 employees in 44 different countries as Global CEO of VMLY&R. VMLY&R creates “connected brands”. Jon joins the podcast and first describes the incredible growth he was part of the merging of VML & Y&R (Young & Rubi...

At Walk West Mike Manganillo is known as "The Simplifier", and this applies to his job too. He's more of a COO/"Mr. Hands Across Multiple Agency Functions" in a VP of Marketing's clothing. Thus, he wears the title of VP of Marketing. But to hear Mike explain Walk West's accomplishments at a leading Branding Agency his cross-agency contributions are apparent. From client campaigns, agency awards, e...

Happy Thanksgiving! This is a throwback for a separate podcast I'm working on and in development with a partner, THIS IS ONLY THE INTERVIEW PART OF THE PODCAST WITH BOB COSTAS, not the entire podcast. This was the pilot from January '21. On this pilot I am joined by my old NBC Sports former boss and colleague Jeff Sleed as a Co-Host. In this pilot we are deep diving the issues surrounding the worl...

As Hirsch Leatherwood, a "Strategic Communications" firm, approaches it's first anniversary, Steven Hirsch gives an engaging confident podcast interview.  Steven also happens to be MY former intern from 2010-12 when I hosted my sports radio show, "The E-Mak Show" in St. Louis. Steven helped produce, do research, book guests, and sales/business development while obtaining his undergraduate degree a...

After an impressive 16+ year run as Chief Marketing Officer of The Recording Academy running the GRAMMYs, Evan Greene is now Chief Business Officer overseeing strategy for next-level technology company Aria. Evan discusses the diverse verticals and relationships he is developing across industries, leveraging Aria's proprietary AR engine and revolutionary NFT exchange as Aria seeks to disrupt the a...

Rick French, who is as much an entrepreneur as the word entrepreneur affords, joins my podcast to share his journey founding PR/Advertising/Digital firm French West Vaughan in 1997. FWV had its best year in 2020 during the pandemic and '21 is significantly outpacing '20. Rick shares the reasons why from circumstances, to active decisions in strategy, FWV thrived during the pandemic. Upon starting...

Understood Executive Director of Communications Joanna Roses discusses her important role at Understood. Understood is a social impact, non-profit organization dedicated to helping those who learn and think differently thrive.  Joanna discusses how Understood acts as resource for children and students who learn and think differently. From names like Dyslexia to ADHD, Joanna articulates a few examp...

Benefitting his clients around terms like "growth" and "revenue" and driving those ends interest Matt Chollet more than phrases like "new business". Matt is about to celebrate his five year anniversary at Catapult, where he's been serving as President since December of '19. In our podcast discussion, Matt recalls how the world changed shortly after he took on the President role. He shares Catapult...

A pleasure and honor to have the GRAMMY Museum Chief Program Officer Rita George as a guest. Rita recently moved into the CPO position after years as Chief Operating Officer. Rita joined the GRAMMY Museum in 2008 when it opened.  She has overseen everything under the sun from curating the museum, to curating 100+ travelling exhibitions, to managing staff, to DE&I initiatives, and MUCH more! As...