The TomCast

In this timely episode of the Shred Coach podcast, I sit down with Fletcher Wimbush, an expert in talent acquisition and frontline hiring. Dive into the mind of a man who, from a young age, has dedicated his life to understanding and perfecting the art of bringing the right people together to form an unstoppable team. From being the captain of his football team at 16 to leading major organizations...

On this episode of The Shred Coach podcast, we get to know Gina Lentine, who serves as the Director of Marketing and Events at Legal Shred and MedXwaste franchise, Gina's career is a tapestry of diverse experiences and challenges. We review Gina's early days in the hospitality sector, working with LXR Luxury Resorts in the Florida Keys. Gina recounts her time with a company offering concierge serv...

Ever wondered how security intersects with every facet of modern transportation? I'm excited to introduce you to the mastermind steering the ship at Babaco Alarm Systems, Greg Haber. Babaco is an innovator in the realm of transportation security. Greg delves into the challenges faced across multiple industries, emphasizing the importance of driver-focused solutions and security trends. With Babaco...

Ever wondered what it takes to rise from a front desk role to becoming the VP of an industry-leading organization? Get ready to be inspired by the remarkable journey of Jennie Gift, the newly hired VP of Member Services at i-SIGMA. Jennie's story is a testament to the power of perseverance and the magic that happens when you seize every opportunity that comes your way. Jennie shares her experience...

The world of recruiting and hiring entry level labor staff in today's market is extraordinarily challenging for shredding and destruction operators. Tony Ommani, the recruiting manager for a large consortium of companies that hires a lot of entry level labor employees for the consortium companies joins us to share his perspectives and experience. Listen as Tony shares his wealth of knowledge on th...

Get ready to explore the fascinating journey of Kristjan Backman, a recycling entrepreneur who started with a bicycle rickshaw business at 17 years old and went on to build Phoenix Recycling in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In our conversation, we uncover the stages Kristjan took to create a incredibly successful, full-service recycling, shredding and records storage business. We'll discover how Christian d...

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Reesy Neff, CEO and Founder of Omega ECycles, as she shares her journey from a career in banking to running a successful e-cycling business. Listen in as she gives us an inside look into her startup story for end-of-life IT assets and how her small but mighty team is making an impact in the York, PA area. Reesy discusses the challenges she's faced in tran...

Discover the secrets of successful web marketing in your shredding business with Janelle Gilbert of WebVitality and Daryl Woytowicz of NetGain. Learn why shred-focused digital marketing is crucial for generating leads and growing your business. We cover everything from understanding the buyer's journey to creating a holistic digital marketing strategy, so don't miss out on this enlightening conver...

Discover how UltraShred Technologies began as a brainchild of Margaret Meier's husband, Walt, and grew into a successful mobile on-site shredding business. Margaret shares their journey of starting back in 2000 with just a truck, a call center, and an outside salesperson knocking on doors, and how they've adapted and evolved along with the growing industry. Creating a thriving business environment...

In this episode, I have the pleasure of discussing mergers and acquisitions in the shredding and information destruction industry with Vlad Vasak, a partner at K-2 Partners. We explore his journey in the industry, starting with his early days at Brambles in Australia and his move to the US to join Iron Mountain. With his extensive background in the industry, Vlad shares how his unique expertise in...

In this episode, we delve into the complex world of employee law in shredding companies with attorney James Reid, who shares his expertise on navigating unconscious bias, employee relations, and legal pitfalls he's observed in small businesses. We discuss the importance of understanding protected classes, documenting performance issues, and having clear and transparent policies in place to minimiz...

In this episode, I interview Bob Johnson, the former CEO of NAID and i-SIGMA about his journey in the information destruction industry. As a pioneer in the field and founder of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), Bob shares his story which began with his grandfather's insulation business, to working as a security guard and then the founding of Certified Document Destructio...

In this episode I'm joined by Patrick DeVries, Owner & Founder of DeVries, Inc based in Spokane, Washington. He describes how he started with a records storage service and then grew steadily with the addition of courier and delivery services, then shredding services, and then the warehouse services have grown his business over the years. Our conversation focuses on the lessons Patrick learned...

On this episode Tom chats with Brinn Johnston, the Manager of Client Success and Fulfillment with All Points Shredding & Medical Waste, based in Stuart FL. In this episode, Brinn talks about inside sales for shredding, the different sales tactics for winning more deals, and specific ways she's found to improve the process. We spend some time discussing how sales and operations work together in...

In this episode of the Shred Coach podcast, veteran shred truck drivers Jesus Rivera of UltraShred Technologies in Jacksonville FL and Pat Lashley of Crown Shredding of Orlando, FL share the secrets to their success. They discuss the challenges of driving shredding trucks, such as navigating tight spaces and dealing with customer requests, as well lessons learned, such as listening to customers, t...

Join us as we sit down with Johnie Williams, a seasoned shred truck driver with 17 years of experience at Time Shred in New York City. Johnie's journey began in 2006 when he was asked to drive Time Moving's first shred truck, a challenge as the truck was much larger than the straight trucks he was used to. In this episode, we delve into the critical aspects of Johnie's job, such as punctuality, de...

On this episode Tom chats with Angie Singer Keating, CEO and co-founder of Reclamere, a cyber security and data destruction company. Angie outlines the distinctions and alignment between the various data security service offerings they provide as well as how those services evolved. She shares how she thinks about marketing and the role of being a subject matter expert. She also discusses how vendo...

On this initial episode of 2023, Tom chats with Nate Campbell, i-SIGMA's CEO about current happenings and directions in the association. Nate became CEO of the association in August of 2022. He shares the story of his early start in the information management industry, and the road from then till present. In the conversation, Nate tells about his entry into the role of CEO and then explores some o...

On this episode Tom chats with Jeff Beaudoin, Operations Manager at Ameri-Shred, Corp. Jeff is an Engineer by training, but has been involved in manufacturing, sales, design and layout of shredding plants for shred operators for many years. Jeff provides valuable insight about the thinking and planning required for a new, plant-based operation. He also weighs in on how existing operators should th...

Guy Wakutz, President of Alpine Shredders, a shed truck manufacturer based in Kitchener, Ontario joins Tom on this episode. Guy shares the current state of the shred truck industry as it relates to supply chain issues, costs and implications. He also recommends how business owners need to think about acquiring a new truck in the current market. He discloses an interesting statistic about how many...

David Moses , founder of XpresspaX, Inc and Express Business Forms & Systems joins Tom on this episode. David shares his story of helping Iron Mountain with their first mass produced and printed barcodes for their emerging records storage business. He then shares how a conversation with a VP led to massive innovation for the Iron Mountain media vault business that dramatically changed the game...

On this episode Tom chats with Cory Layes of Bins4Shredding based in Barrie, Ontario. As a long-time vendor in the industry, Cory removes his sales hat and shares his deep knowledge about all things collection containers. Cory discusses the mistakes he sees a lot of shredding companies make with buying bins not using Just-in-Time programs, bin selection and client container placement programs. He...

The Entrepreneurial Operating System - or EOS for short - is the hottest business operating system in the world today, especially for service companies. Developed by Gino Wickman and fully outlined in his book, Traction: Get A Grip on Your Business , EOS is a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs around the world get what they want from thei...

Renee Keener, the Founder and CEO of American Document Securities - the company she sold at the end of 2021 - based in Carrolton, Georgia shares her incredible story of starting the business, growing the business and eventually exiting the business. She describes the critical changes she needed to make upon the win of a huge State contract, as well as the lessons gained through the massive growth...

On this episode Tom chats with Stacey Lombardo of Infoshred based in East Windsor, Connecticut. Stacey shares her entrepreneurial story of buying the shredding business 25 years ago and her amazing journey till now. Stacey was one of the earliest NAID members when it was first established. She shares her philosophy of “rising the tide” in the company and how that influences their perpetual focus o...