East Trade Winds

GROWTH PILLAR: Leadership & Ops WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Actionable insights, hard-won lessons, real growth strategies   Most business owners can't see cash flow trouble until it's already a crisis. Diesha Cooper is the founder of Execuly , a fractional CFO/COO practice built around one job: walking into businesse...

GROWTH PILLAR: AI & Automation WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A practical look at one tool that handles lead drip campaigns, social posts across six platforms, and a unified inbox — with a human still in the loop.   Most business owners don't have a lead problem. They have a follow-up problem. In this East Trade Winds s...

GROWTH PILLAR: AI & Automation WHO THIS IS FOR: Solopreneurs / Fractional executives / SMB owners / Corporate escapees building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A real working model of AI as a teammate, not a chat tool — daily planning, a second brain, multi-agent intelligence, and the shift from prompt engineering to context engineering.   Most people feel behind on AI. Erica Layer felt the same way th...

GROWTH PILLAR: Leadership & Ops WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Actionable insights on preparing for negotiations, reading body language, managing emotions at the table, and using elicitation to gather information without interrogating.   Most small business owners lose deals before they ever talk price. Joseph McGuire h...

GROWTH PILLAR: Sales & Revenue WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Grassroots organizations / Early-stage founders looking for alternative funding WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A practical framework for grant readiness — clear messaging, smart grant selection, and a proactive funding calendar that puts you ahead of deadlines.   Most small business owners don't get rejected from grants because their...

GROWTH PILLAR: Leadership & Ops WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A neuroscience-based framework for understanding burnout, a six-element recovery system, and practical steps to protect mental performance before the crash happens.   Burnout isn't a mindset problem. It's a brain problem. Blaz Marolt has burned out three tim...

GROWTH PILLAR: Leadership & Ops WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Coaches / Service-based entrepreneurs managing seasonal revenue WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Practical strategies for summer cash flow, forward-planning frameworks, pipeline mindset shifts, and seasonal business ops that actually hold up.   Most entrepreneurs don't lose the fall — they lose it in June. That's the real message from...

GROWTH PILLAR: Marketing & Branding WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A clear, repeatable framework for showing up to any podcast as the guest worth remembering — one that builds relationships, referrals, and real visibility. Most people treat podcast guesting like a one-time appearance. Carl Richards treats it like a stra...

GROWTH PILLAR: Leadership & Ops WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Team leaders / Anyone who manages people or serves customers WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A practical conflict framework, free downloadable toolkits, and the neuroscience behind why we react the way we do — and how to stop.   Mitchell Weisburgh solves one specific problem: people don't know what to do when a conversation turns host...

GROWTH PILLAR: Leadership & Ops WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders who've outgrown their original business identity WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A clear diagnostic framework for identifying what's actually blocking growth — identity, strategy, or infrastructure — plus a free tool to find out where you stand right now.   Most business owners who feel stuck aren't failin...

GROWTH PILLAR: Sales & Revenue WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Coaches and consultants / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Six lead generation methods that actually work, a 10% annual growth framework, and a referral strategy that compounds revenue without adding chaos.   Most coaches and consultants think they're in the service business. Doug Brown says that's the problem....

GROWTH PILLAR: Cybersecurity & IT WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A clear picture of the IT threats that quietly take businesses down — and the practical steps to protect against them before something goes wrong.   Most small businesses don't have an IT disaster plan. They have good intentions and a Friday reminder nobod...

GROWTH PILLAR: Sales & Revenue WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A clear picture of what a fractional CRO actually does, how to build a repeatable sales process, and why your ideal customer profile matters more than your product.   Most small businesses don't have a sales problem. They have a system problem. Robin Ayoub, f...

GROWTH PILLAR: AI & Automation WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A clear look at how custom AI tools work in real businesses — plus a practical framework for auditing your tech stack and cutting what you don't need.   Most businesses are paying for tools they don't fully use. Marcus Gaughan built platforms to fix that. Mar...

GROWTH PILLAR: Marketing & Branding WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Actionable PR strategies, a low-cost tactic to boost AI search citations, and a clear framework for getting earned media coverage that builds real credibility.   Most small businesses never get media coverage. Not because they aren't interesting. Because...

GROWTH PILLAR: Marketing & Branding WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: A clear framework for connecting brand, digital tools, and business outcomes — plus three practical leverage points to create real momentum this week. Most digital marketing plans fail before they launch. Not because the tools are wrong. Because the thin...

GROWTH PILLAR: Marketing & Branding WHO THIS IS FOR: SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Corporate escapees / Leaders building systems WHAT THEY'LL GAIN: Actionable publishing steps, hard-won lessons from a 6-year book coaching career, and real strategies to attract clients before your book is even done. Most people don't know they're about to make a very expensive mistake with their book. Ben Gioia is th...

BUSINESS GROWTH PILLAR: AI & Automation WHO THIS PODCAST IS FOR Startup founders, solopreneurs, small business owners, coaches, consultants, and scaling SMB leaders. WHAT THEY’LL GAIN Actionable AI automation strategies, smarter research workflows, productivity shortcuts, and real-world business growth systems. The Problem Percy Solves:   Percy Barr helps small business owners stop wasting time on...

Have you ever gone on a road trip without checking the map? In this episode of the East Trade Winds Podcast (S3 E023) , host Bernie Franzgrote sits down with Walid Doumyati of Your Precision Growth Partners to explain why many businesses try to grow without a financial roadmap. Walid shares a simple story. Imagine you are driving from Washington, D.C. to Miami. Your goal is to reach $50 million in...

Most businesses think helping the planet costs money, and Shel shows how ethical marketing can grow profit while doing real good. Shel Horowitz talks about a bold idea: treat the Earth like your best client. He says businesses do better when they care about people and the planet. In this episode, Shel shares stories that prove green choices are not a burden—they are business fuel. He explains how...

Picture this: you're running a business, and suddenly, payments slow down, costs go up, and suppliers stop picking up the phone. What do you do next? That’s the exact question financial expert Eric Sonego from CAPROS helps answer in this episode. Host Bernie Franzgrote of Knack 4 Business sits down with Eric to talk through the most pressing challenge today’s entrepreneurs face: uncertainty . Usin...

What happens when you get laid off with no backup plan—just a wild idea and a pun? For Colin McIntosh, it meant building Sheets & Giggles , a sustainable bedding company with humor and heart. Three weeks after losing his job, Colin founded a company that would disrupt a stagnant, plastic-filled industry—and eventually land him on Good Morning America . In this episode, Colin takes us behind the sc...

Most salespeople pitch too hard or drop prices. This episode teaches how to sell confidently—by assuming the sale and asking the right questions.   What if your next big sale didn't come from pitching harder… but from showing up like a hero ? In this episode of East Trade Winds, we sit down with Paul Kirch , founder of Sellience and BOSS Academy , to explore "assumptive selling" —a mindset shift t...

Many businesses earn strong revenue but unknowingly leave profit trapped inside their operations. Where is your profit hiding? Most business owners push hard to grow revenue—but many still feel stuck in a cash crunch. In this eye-opening episode, Karena Bell , founder of ProfitLinz , shares a powerful message: profit isn’t missing—it’s just hidden. Drawing from her experience as a forensic profit...

Traditional podcasts are time-consuming and slow to show results. Megan Dougherty shares how micro-pods flip that script by offering a faster, smarter path to podcast success.   In this value-packed episode of East Trade Winds Tuesday , we welcomed the ever-insightful Megan Dougherty , co-founder of One Stone Creative and author of Podcasting for Business . Megan introduces a compelling new approa...