Midway Business Podcast

This episode of the Midway Business Podcast takes leaders on a fast moving tour through creativity, innovation, and the surprising ways progress actually happens. From military history to real life business moments, Butch reminds us that playing it safe rarely wins the day. His message encourages you to question the routines you defend, the habits you never challenge, and the decisions that feel c...

In business, mistakes are not the enemy. Failing to learn from them is. The best companies treat every setback like data, not drama. Winning organizations review their missteps, refine their process, and keep moving forward while everyone else is still arguing about what went wrong. It is less about perfection and more about persistence. Success comes from repeating what works, improving what does...

The episode is a tour through panic, plateaus, and progress, told with scuba tanks, Top Gun flybys, and a pile of Q4 paperwork. Butch shows how leaders get into trouble when they rely on youth, luck, or last minute heroics instead of systems. The lesson lands fast. change is not a motivational poster, it is the operating model. Companies that refuse to adapt end up waiting at the train station wit...

This episode of the Midway Business Podcast explores how pressure, input, and output affect everything in business, from sales and cash flow to leadership and decision making. Butch Zemar breaks down how small adjustments in what you put in can drastically change what comes out. Think of it as a friendly reminder that what you feed your business matters—garbage in, garbage out, and sometimes the g...

This episode takes a hilarious look at the strange things we tolerate — from stale popcorn at the hockey rink to outdated business habits that drain profits. Butch uses stories from parenting, the Navy, and the workplace to expose how easily we fall into “that’s just how it’s always been” thinking. Whether it’s a broken system, a sluggish renewal process, or a comfortable excuse, repeating the sam...

SMBs don’t start companies to moonlight as HR, payroll, and compliance departments — but growth loves to hand you that extra hat. In this Midway Business Podcast, Butch sits down with Dave Wills (BBSI) to unpack how modern Professional Employer Organizations help businesses scale without losing their sanity. Think “Costco of payroll” meets back-office SWAT team — handling taxes, benefits, and comp...

Sales slowdowns, shrinking margins, and that “what’s actually happening with our pipeline?” feeling — if that sounds familiar, this Midway Business Podcast episode’s for you. Butch sits down with Howard Fisher, a fractional sales leader and recovering attorney, to unpack why so many founder-led and family-run businesses hit the brakes on growth. From outdated sales processes to teams selling from...

Feeling like your marketing plan is stuck in 2015? In this Midway Business Podcast episode, Jordan Green, founder of Momentum AI, joins to talk about how small and midsize businesses can stop losing leads, start automating smarter, and actually keep up with today’s lightning-fast buyers. From AI-powered voice agents that respond in seconds to automated CRMs that update themselves (because, let’s f...

Brand chaos got you feeling like you’re herding cats? In this Midway Business Podcast episode, branding expert Brooke Foley, CEO of Jayne Agency, shares how most companies chase logos, SEO, and quick-fix marketing before realizing they skipped the real foundation — brand clarity. She breaks down how her 10 Brand Assets Methodology helps businesses align their message, culture, and cash flow so mar...

Running a small business is a lot like running a chiropractic practice — a few twists, plenty of adjustments, and the occasional pain in the neck (sometimes literal, sometimes payroll). In this episode, Dr. Tim Gilbert shares how he built Full Strength Spine & Health on grit, empathy, and doing right by people. He reminds SMB owners that real growth comes from showing up, listening, and being...

Small and mid-sized business owners — grab your coffee (or something stronger) because this one hits close to home. Host Butch Zemar sits down with marketing pro Samuel Thimothy to talk about why your sales pipeline feels more like a mystery novel than a growth strategy. They dive into how too many SMBs spend all their time putting out fires instead of building systems that attract clients on auto...

Starting a business usually begins with passion… but eventually, reality sends you an invoice labeled Revenue or Bust. Too many SMBs stall because they treat revenue like a broken water pump—prime, sputter, repeat—without realizing growth requires new strategies, not just more elbow grease. Expenses creep, “business gods” test your patience, and suddenly your P&L looks more like a rollercoaste...

Too many leaders treat business like parenting gone wrong—ignoring problems, making excuses, and hoping things magically work out. The truth? Your company is a mirror. If you’re constantly firefighting, chasing the wrong prospects, or blaming vendors, the reflection is staring back at you. In this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar calls out the blame game, explains why ignoring r...

Most companies don’t collapse from competitors—they implode from the inside. Leadership either raises the bar or clings to mediocrity like it’s a security blanket. In this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar dives into why too many executives celebrate shaving 4% off renewals (while torching $400K in waste), and why “normal” has quietly become code for “we’re bleeding cash.” From S...

In this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar sits down with Alan Stern to talk about how SMBs can stop marketing like it’s 1999 and start using AI and personal branding to actually stand out. AI isn’t here to steal your job—it’s here to be the best employee you’ll never have to put on payroll. Alan also shares his HEAT Method—Humor, Education, Adding Value, and Trust—a playbook for...

Sales isn’t about doing more of the same and hoping it magically works. Yet too many SMBs let their sales teams fall into old habits—busy with emails, paperwork, and “pipeline reviews” that never move revenue. In this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar shares simple but powerful tips SMBs can use: structure your week, focus on revenue-generating activities, and stop letting medioc...

Business evolves when we act on new information—but too often, leaders cling to outdated systems like they’re diving with hand pumps instead of modern scuba gear. In this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar shares why businesses still treat benefits like it’s 1987—overpaying while their broker brags about saving “4%” (right before heading to the golf course.) The truth? Renewal par...

Most businesses get stuck in two traps: Parkinson’s Law (work magically takes as long as the calendar allows) and Stockholm Syndrome (loyalty to broken systems and brokers). Together, they hijack your benefits program and quietly torch your budget. On this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar breaks down how hockey kids, CFOs, and even HR teams all fall into the same time-wasting ha...

Running a business is hard enough—you don’t need your videos looking like they were shot on a flip phone. On this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar sits down with videographer and drone pilot Dancello Bennett to unpack how SMBs can use video to tell stories that connect (instead of putting audiences to sleep). From construction sites to weddings, Dancello shares practical lessons...

On this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar sits down with Kate McCauley from Wounded Warrior Family Support to explore how one small nonprofit is filling critical gaps for America’s veterans and their families. Kate shares powerful stories from her 18 years with the organization—how a “mom-and-pop” idea grew into nationwide programs providing mobility vehicles, respite care for ca...

On this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar sits down with Chicago business consultant James DiMambro to unpack the “Rule of Threes”—why boiling things down to three clear benefits, values, or differentiators can set small and midsize businesses apart. (Because let’s be honest—if your pitch deck needs 47 slides to explain your value, you’ve already lost the room.) With nearly two d...

Running a business without a process is like steering a ship with no rudder—you’re just hoping the waves take you somewhere good. In this Midway Business Podcast episode, Butch Zemar dives into why so many owners get paralyzed by bad habits, overthinking, or flat-out fear of change. From companies passing on nearly a million in savings, to leaders drowning in “analysis paralysis,” the stories high...

Who knew pizza could teach you something about running a business? In this episode of the Midway Business Podcast, Butch Zemar sits down with Alex Yount of Chicago Pizza Guys—a passion project that started with three friends swapping favorite pizza spots and grew into a community followed by thousands of fellow pizza lovers. Alex takes us inside their journey from casual conversations to creating...

In this episode, Dr. Tom Germino of Germino Dental shares 40+ years of business lessons—growing from a one-chair startup (with his wife running the front desk) into a multigenerational family practice serving patients across three generations. Business Tips: Customer loyalty is everything. Patients still stick with him after 40+ years—because trust outlasts flashy marketing. Invest in tech (and pe...

In this episode, Butch Zemar sits down with lifetime entrepreneur MZ, who built a 40-year event production company (think Bulls championship parades and Fortune 500 events—not your average company picnic) before shifting his focus to helping business owners gain control of theirs through EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). MZ shares what decades in the trenches taught him—like how solving the...