Monday Morning Radio

A Christmas Day Miracle , by Dean and Talya Rotbart, is adapted from their 2020 biography of Margaret and Riyaz Adat, titled  Improbable Lives: A Scot, A Tanzanian, and Their Canadian Love Story.  A true-life, inspirational adult yuletide tale, A Christmas Day Miracle offers a universal message — regardless of readers' religious beliefs — about the wonder and power of life's unexpected blessings....

Chris McShanag has enjoyed a long and productive career in the healthcare field, working alongside two physician entrepreneurs to build a thriving business providing off-site virtual assistants to doctors, dentists, and even veterinarians. Their company, MedVA , founded in 2020, provides medical and dental virtual assistants and has done an admirable job of helping their clients improve quality of...

Many innovative business concepts fall through because the cost and logistics of pulling them off just wouldn't work. Uzair Ahmed , a Canadian chemical engineer, recognized all the missed opportunities and figured he could design technology and automation to make unworkable business models workable. Uzair, founder of Cottonwood Automation , tested his high-tech, low-overhead system by launching a...

If you truly could experience your website or bricks-and-mortar store through the eyes of your customers and prospects, you could do a great deal to increase sales and customer satisfaction. Satyam Kantamneni is the founder of UXReactor , a company whose entire focus is on user experience, referred to as UX. His mission: to design or transform businesses to prioritize — above all other considerati...

Every day, 3,000 eager entrepreneurs jump into the online sales arena. Ninety percent of them will never make a single sale. Matthew Stafford , co-founder and CEO of Build•Grow•Scale , knows what goes wrong and how to fix it. He and his team use sophisticated analytics to help business owners and entrepreneurs achieve online sales success.  Matthew's passion lies in empowering others to achieve th...

Bronson Hill took it to heart when Warren Buffet warned investors that they will work the rest of their lives if they don't find a way to make money while they sleep. Bronson became a zealous student of passive investing and, in 2018, with zero prior experience, raised a comparatively tiny $200,000 to form his first real estate syndicate. Today, Bronson, founder and CEO of Bronson Equity , is a ge...

Jeff Kikel helps business owners and entrepreneurs attain what he dubs their "Freedom Day," that juncture in their lives when work becomes optional, not a financial necessity. Jeff has helped many people who believed they'd have to work until retirement, and perhaps beyond, get their finances and investments under control, freeing them from financial worries. His formula for reaching "Freedom Day"...

Three years ago, Nick Barrett had an idea — and little else. He envisioned a new, weighted, portable gadget that could keep cords and wires from getting entangled. Nick's CordBrick is only a tad longer than a large paperclip and about as thick as a quarter. At this year's  National Retail Federation trade show in New York, one of the largest consumer products showcases in the nation, CordBrick was...

Zeynep Ekemen has ridden the rollercoaster of COVID-19 and its impact on small businesses. She is the founder of Silver Defender , a company that sells antimicrobial-protected film for high-touch areas — such as door bars and handles, elevator buttons, and guide rails. She launched her business in 2018. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit less than two years later, her sales took off like a rocket, str...

In 1855, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his journal: "If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles, or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad, hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods." In time, his words were somehow conflated as the oft-cited quote: "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a...

On October 16, 1923 — precisely 100 years ago today — Walt Disney and his older brother Roy launched Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio . In time, their business would morph into one of the world's best-known and most beloved companies. To mark this milestone anniversary, co-hosts Dean and Maxwell Rotbart review the history of The Walt Disney Company and Disneyland, paying special attention to the man...

Curt Tueffert describes himself as "America's Master Sales Motivator." That he is. But as he demonstrates in this week's episode, Curt is also gifted with NI — Natural Intelligence. He has spot-on answers to some of the most vexing questions confronting business owners and sales professionals. How can I best qualify customer prospects? What can I do about a prospect who says, "let me think about i...

When Vicky Brown launched her HR consultancy — Idomeneo Enterprises —  in 2001, she knew she was wading into shark-infested waters dominated by giants, including Accenture, ADP, Deloitte, and KPMG. By focusing on emerging and mid-size companies and providing concierge services to her clients, Vicky's West Hollywood firm has won an impressive roster of clients from coast to coast. Trying to cope wi...

The universities Gregory Shepard sought to attend wouldn't admit him. When he volunteered for the U.S. Navy, the recruiters said, "no thanks." Admittedly, Greg is not your textbook job candidate: He is autistic, dyslexic, and has a sensory condition known as synesthesia, which is commonly described as having the brain's wires crossed. Greg could have allowed his neurodivergent struggles — and ther...

To obtain power and influence, you don't need wealth or privilege. Better yet, anyone can become widely known and respected if they can generate a compelling idea and communicate it effectively. That is the conclusion of Robert L. "Bob" Dilenschneider , an author, historian, and legendary strategic communication advisor who has been studying and dissecting the elements of power and influence for m...

Forty years ago, when Lori Poland was only three years old, she was kidnapped from her front yard, molested, and left for dead at the bottom of a remote mountain outhouse. By chance, after three days, a bird watcher answering the call of nature heard the little girl whimpering 12 feet below. "What are you doing there?" he called down. "I live here," the confused child answered. Today, married with...

This week's edition of Monday Morning Radio tells the remarkable story of Genesee Fire Rescue (GFR), a little volunteer engine company that could, and has, for five decades. Located in the majestic foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 20 miles west of downtown Denver, the unincorporated community of Genesee is home to approximately 4,000 residents and 1,500 homes.  Monday Morning Radio host Dean Rotb...

Ken Paskins , a third-generation entrepreneur, witnessed his father and grandfather struggle to run a successful business. He was determined to find a better way. So Ken went to work for giant companies, including Oracle and BEA Systems , until he could deconstruct the leadership, HR, sales, and finance formulas for success. Today, Ken is the co-founder of The Shift Spot , a CEO coaching and peer...

If you want your talent and brilliance to be recognized, SPEAK UP! Take it from Bret Ridgway , author of The Spotlight on Speaking Newsletter . Bret is an evangelist for the many benefits that accrue to owners and entrepreneurs who take to the podium. Among the clients he has worked with are Ryan Deiss , Alex Mandossian , Joe Polish , and Wendy Lipton-Dibner . During his 25-plus-year career, Bret...

Back by popular demand, Dr. Noah St. John returns to Monday Morning Radio for the third time to share insights from his new book, The 7-Figure Life: How to Leverage the 4 FOCUS FACTORS for Wealth and Happiness . Success has been kind to Dr. St. John, the self-described "nerdiest nerd." When he started out 25-plus years ago, he was living in a 300-square-foot apartment with no money, no girlfriend,...

Ricky Howard has awarded or managed more than $1 BILLION in purchase contracts, many with small businesses. In good economies or bad, his client is a reliable buyer, and once your company is selected as a vendor, it's likely to be a vendor for years, if not decades, to come. Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Richard C. "Ricky" Howard, founder of DoD Contract Academy , is an expert on how to win lucrative g...

In 1998, Mickie Kennedy started eReleases as a discount press wire service, providing the same media reach as the industry heavies at a fraction of the cost. Twenty-five years later, Mickie's company is still going strong and saving companies tens of millions of dollars, having helped hundreds of thousands of small businesses reach journalists, investors, trade associations, and customers. Moreove...

For many small business owners, finding a buyer for their company is an elusive goal. Mac Lackey has done it six times.  His latest venture, ExitDNA , guides entrepreneurs on how to best position their companies to be acquired, should they ever wish to sell. Monday Morning Radio host Maxwell Rotbart engaged Mac in a wide-ranging discussion about what entrepreneurs need to know at each stage of the...

Dr. Michael Lenox , a consultant, author, and business professor at the University of Virginia , is an expert on artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and other agents of digital transformation. He knows both the challenges and opportunities posed by today's rapidly advancing digital technologies. In his new book, Strategy in the Digital Age: Mastering Digital Transformation —  out...

[This edition of Monday Morning Radio begins our 12th year of podcasting in conjunction with the non-profit Wizard Academy and its co-founder, Roy H. Williams. This is our 550th episode.] When it comes to career moves, bestselling author Joanne Lipman has been very successful and resilient.  She was the first woman to become a deputy managing editor at The Wall Street Journal . She was the foundin...