Business is War Podcast

This isn’t just a restaurant story… this is WAR. Before the awards, before the fame, before being named America’s Best Fried Chicken … she was grinding—working as a beautician, taxi driver, and cleaner just to survive. What started as a small bar in New Orleans turned into one of the most iconic food brands in the country— Willie Mae’s Scotch House . In this episode, we break down: The REAL story...

What happens when the dream you chased your whole life changes in an instant? In this episode of Business Is WAR, Elliott Forman sits down with Malachi Dupre — former #1 high school football player in America at his position, LSU standout, NFL draft pick, and now a New Orleans entrepreneur building businesses on his own terms. Malachi’s story is bigger than football. He talks about:growing up in a...

What happens when you leave corporate America to build something completely your own… and the world shuts down? In this episode of the Business Is WAR Podcast, Elliott Forman sits down with Johnny Liss, founder of JamNOLA, the immersive art experience celebrating the culture, music, and creativity of New Orleans. What started as an idea inspired by immersive museums quickly turned into a massive e...

Cancer isn’t always a diagnosis… sometimes it’s people . But for Tancharelle (Sherrill) Washington , cancer attacked her body — and forced a complete reset on life, purpose, and relationships. In this episode of Business Is WAR , we talk about the real side of breast cancer that too many people ignore: Black women face a different reality — and are dying at a 41% higher rate Diagnoses are happenin...

He applied to 34 news stations . Got rejected. Told he “wasn’t cut out” for news. Took a $25,000 job in a small Alabama town anyway. Three weeks later? He’s interviewing Oprah. Years later? Covering Kobe Bryant’s death. Reporting during the George Floyd protests. Standing at the White House. Correspondent for CNN. This is the story of Darryl Forges — Emmy Award-winning journalist, Louisiana native...

Ameer Baraka’s life changed the moment he realized something powerful: 👉 No one was coming to save him. Growing up unable to read, pushed toward the streets, and later facing years in prison, Ameer hit a turning point. What followed was a transformation through discipline, faith, education, and radical personal responsibility. Today he’s an actor, author, and advocate fighting the literacy crisis...

In this episode of Business Is War, we sit down with Grammy Award–winning musician and cultural leader Irvin Mayfield for a deep, honest conversation about discipline, mastery, and the realities of evolution—in music, business, and life. Irvin breaks down why most people quit before they ever reach excellence, why motivation fades but discipline must remain, and how obsession with the craft is wha...

After 21 years of incarceration, Fox and Rob sit down with Business is WAR for one of the most powerful conversations we’ve ever recorded. This isn’t just a love story — it’s a story of redemption, resilience, and rebuilding life from the ground up. We talk about what it really takes to come home, stay solid, and build a future when the past tried to break you. In this episode, we cover: Life befo...

Welcome back to Business is War . Elliot Foreman sits down with financial professional Wil Ballard for a real conversation about financial intelligence—earning, protecting what you make, and building a future with discipline. They unpack why many families distrust financial institutions, the history behind that distrust (including Freedman’s Bank), and how life insurance, investing, wills, and tru...

Every executive understands this truth: success is never a straight line—it’s a contested battlefield. Our guest today operates with that reality as standard operating procedure. Calvin Mills Jr. has spent more than two decades navigating complex environments.

In this episode of Business is War , Elliott Forman sits down with Christopher Prasad , widely known as the “Hospitality King of New Orleans.” Christopher breaks down the trade secrets behind building a hospitality empire in less than a decade—how he identified winning concepts, secured premium locations, and scaled operations in the most competitive real estate corridors across the New Orleans me...

Mental health has been treated like a taboo topic for decades. We whisper about it, hide it, downplay it, and hope nobody notices when we’re carrying more than we can hold. But the world has changed. Life has accelerated, business has intensified, and the weight on every one of us has grown heavier. The problem? Our internal bandwidth hasn’t evolved at the same pace. We’re operating at a crisis le...

In this episode of  Business is WAR , former New Orleans City Councilmember  Cyndi Nguyen  sits down with Elliott Forman to talk about the realities of public service — from  budget deficits  and  community rebuilding  to the lessons learned from her first term and what she plans to do differently if elected again. A focused, no-nonsense conversation about  leadership, accountability, and the figh...

**Triumph isn’t luck—it’s discipline.** In this episode, **Stricen Carter (@sweetthangsnola)** shows how a young hustler turned an ice chest, a sidewalk, and a city’s heat into a real business. **Secondlines. Sold-out coolers. Designer Snoballs.** From pop-up to profit, she built systems, not excuses.**What you’ll learn*** How to **pivot** when plans change—and how to own the new path* Turning **s...

Chief Murphy J. Paul, Jr. (Ret.) visits the Business is WAR Podcast – War Room to break down what authentic leadership looks like when the stakes are public safety, trust, and results. A former Deputy Superintendent of the Louisiana State Police and Chief of Police in Baton Rouge, Paul led reform during a hard season—expanding transparency, modernizing tech (including a Real-Time Crime Center), an...

Politics meets private practice and entrepreneurship. In this Business is WAR episode, Elliott Forman enters the ring with Oliver M. Thomas—New Orleans City Councilmember (District E) and mayoral candidate—to talk candidly about finances, mechanics (systems & infrastructure), and the spirit of a city built to fight and win. We discuss:Finances: Attracting investment, growing small & minori...

Civil engineering isn’t just concrete and contracts—it’s a battlefield. In this episode of Business is WAR, Elliott Forman sits down with Iam C. Tucker, President & CEO of ILSI Engineering and the SBA’s 2024 National Small Business Person of the Year. We dive into:⚔️ How government delays choke development across the U.S.⚔️ The political and economic battles behind infrastructure.⚔️ What it ta...

Recorded live at (Bonita HQ, New Orleans), Elliott Forman sits down with Edwin M. Shorty to talk straight about public safety, jail operations, staffing, technology, and rebuilding community trust. No fluff—what’s broken, what it takes to fix it, and how leadership shows up when it counts. In this episode:Why he’s running and what “accountability” really meansStaffing, training, and standards insi...

Patrice Farooq didn’t just bring the cupcakes — she brought a movement. As the powerhouse behind Cupcake Kitchen Houston, she built a brand known as much for flavor as it is for faith, culture, and community. Now, she’s shaking up New Orleans with that same unapologetic energy. 

John Eason – Sidewalk Side Spirits | Turning Culture into Liquor and Legacy In this episode of Business is WAR , Elliott Forman sits down with John Eason , founder of Sidewalk Side Spirits and the man behind the viral hit King Cake Rum Cream . From the streets of New Orleans to shelves across the South, John shares how he built a liquor brand rooted in culture, flavor, and hustle. We talk about: T...

Welcome to the Business Is War Podcast, Hosted by Elliot Forman. Learn the ins and outs of starting, maintaining, and growing your business in 2025.