Kanawha Valley Hustlers

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I sit down with Colton Jones to talk about what a financial advisor really does and how he helps people make better decisions with their money. He explains that real planning starts with looking at what you earn, spend, and save today, then working backward from the future you want. We talk about inflation, tax issues, and why different incom...

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I talk with Mike Means of UKV HVAC about how he got into the business, what his company does, and what he has learned along the way. Mike tells me he did not start out planning on HVAC, but after life took a few turns and he teamed up with the right partner, he found work he believes in. He explains that UKV HVAC solves comfort problems for h...

I break down the difference between advertising and marketing and explain why so many business owners confuse the two. I argue that advertising has one job: getting attention. If people see it, react to it, and talk about it, the ad does its job. I use the Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney campaign as an example because it got massive attention, which makes it successful as advertising. But I also expl...

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I sit down with Tara Martinez to talk about workforce development, nonprofit work, and the real barriers people face in West Virginia. She works to help people move from dependence to self-sufficiency by connecting them with work that gives them a path forward. We talk about how childcare and transportation still hold a lot of people back, es...

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I talk with Robert Huffman, one of the owners of UKV HVAC, about how he turns a skill he found in high school into a business that serves homeowners across the Upper Kanawha Valley. He got into the trade through Carver, worked his way up, and started his own company because he wants control of his time and wants to be present for his family....

I talk with Tony Paranzino of Tony the Tailor about what it takes to stay in business for more than 50 years. He walks me through how he grew up in the trade, starting in his dad’s shop as a kid, learning the work piece by piece until he took over the family business and made it his own. We also get into mistakes, and Tony shares a story about making a pair of pants six inches too short. His lesso...

I break down why influencer marketing is not some celebrity fad that passed, but a shift every Appalachian business owner needs to understand. I walk through how we moved from movie stars and reality TV names like the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, and Jessica Simpson into digital creators like Logan Paul and Mr. Beast, and how that world changed once creators stopped renting out their audiences and s...

Austin Long on Building a Property Management Business

I talk with Mark Wray about Travelese, a platform built to match travelers and businesses with more precision. He lays out the problem with spray-and-pray marketing and explains how his team uses hundreds of data points to connect the right customer with the right destination or business. We get into the trust problems in travel, from fake reviews to bad recommendations and even listings for place...

I talk with Shea Paul to talk about her role in Dancing with the Stars for United Way of Central West Virginia. She shares that she has wanted to do this for a long time because she cares about the cause and the work United Way does in the community. We talk about the mix of fun, fundraising, and pressure that comes with being part of team five in season five. Shea opens up about how easy it is fo...

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I talk with Bob Bliss about how strong communication still gives people an edge. Bob walks me through his habit of responding to emails within 24 hours and explains that he stays on top of communication by setting aside time each day and planning his week in advance. We talk about calendars, routines, and the need to stay flexible when calls,...

I’m at Charleston’s local Dancing with the Stars event with C. Anthony Parker, and the place is packed with a Studio 54 disco theme. He’s in costume with platform shoes and explains this is a hometown fundraiser that supports United Way, not the national TV show. He shares why he signed up: it gives him a clear way to give back, learn something new, and have fun while serving the community. He tal...

I talk with Cozmic Wonderlan, a sponsored aerialist and fire performer. Cozmic explains that aerial work is spinning and dancing in the air, and that they started as a behind-the-curtain supporter for friends in LGBTQ and burlesque spaces before stepping into performing. We clear up the fire misconception: she doesn’t do fire breathing, she does fire eating and transfers with skin-to-skin tricks....

I talk with Dave Bragg, owner of Wandering Wind Meadery, Charleston’s first and only meadery. I ask what mead is, and he explains it as honey wine with traditions across many cultures, not just Viking pop culture. I dig into how he starts the business, and he traces it back to a life in performance and medieval re-enactment, where mead is common. He opened on a small budget with no big investors,...

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast I talk with Bob Bliss to talk about crisis management and how it applies to any business, from a cyber security breach to a recall to a key client getting ready to walk. Bob frames a crisis as something that builds over time, with signs that people notice but fail to surface, so strong internal communication matters and employees need to speak...

I talk with Jeremy Myers from Charleston Pressure Washing Services. He runs a roof-first cleaning service that also covers gutters, soffits, fascia, siding, and flat work like entryways. He gets into this business after seeing how many homes in our area have buildup that owners need help handling. He’s in his second year and shares a key lesson from early on: he tries to do too many things at once...

I’m at Charleston Nano Brewery with Kenny and Jennifer Graley, and I ask them how their hustle started and what keeps it going. They explain that it begins as home brewing in their kitchen, moves to the garage, and grows into a full business once they commit to a building and start seeing people return after the first anniversary. They tell me their goal is a welcoming, family friendly place, and...

I explain what I mean when I say “Mad Men is over.” People think I am talking about the TV show, but I am talking about the old model of advertising that came out of Madison Avenue: big top down pitches, huge budgets, and campaigns pushed through broadcast, radio, print, and billboards. I argue that model is dead, and I point to the Super Bowl in 2026 as proof. Early numbers show a drop in viewers...

I talk with Bob Bliss about how first impressions hide most of who a person is. He explains his iceberg inversion idea: when you meet someone, you only see about 25%, and the other 75% sits below the surface. He shares how a friend calls him “lucky,” but that view ignores the setbacks he has pushed through, from being told he would never achieve certain roles to surviving major hardships. He also...

I’m at the grand opening of Goodwill’s new outlet bin store in Charleston with Jamon Schmidt. He runs marketing and communications for Goodwill and explains why they shifted this location from a traditional store to a bin store, a concept that hasn’t been common in West Virginia. Instead of racks with price tags, the floor is lined with bins, and staff rotates rows about every 15 minutes, so the s...

I’m at the 2600 meetup at KDE Technology in downtown Charleston. Tony Brown explains it’s a cybersecurity and tech community meet that happens the first Friday of every month from 5 to 7 or 8, and it connects to an international 2600 network that started in 1984, with meetups happening around the world the same night. Lee Ayers frames it as a place to bring the community together, including people...

I chat with Ursulette Huntley Ward, executive director of Unlimited Future in Huntington, a business incubator and economic development center based in the Fairfield community. She explains how they help people in transition, including those coming out of incarceration, aging out of foster care, graduating without a plan, or dealing with major life changes. We talk about a mistake from her own jou...

I talk with Bob Bliss about delegation and why leaders stay stuck doing everything themselves. He points to fear and control as the root problem, and he makes the case that a CEO has to delegate or the business stalls and turnover goes up. He shares a practical method: give someone real authority while you step away, do not let them call you unless it’s an emergency, then review what happened when...

I talk with Sonia Gonzales about her product AlxRX, a dual-chamber drink pouch built for pre-workout on the go. The pouch keeps powder and water separate with a vegetable seal, then you press it to mix and drink through a one-way valve that helps prevent spills. She explains how a pivot into the fitness version around September or October makes the launch feel close, with production expected in th...

Today I push one question for every business problem: “How was this my fault?” I take a stoic approach. I cannot control other people or outside events, but I can control my response and what I do next. I use rain as an example. Yelling at the sky does nothing, but planning for rain and adjusting does. I apply the same thinking when a client calls angry because an employee made a mistake. If I yel...