Small Business, Big Engine

In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , Grant sits down with Flora Voelcker , founder of Voelcker Design , a creative studio helping entrepreneurs and small businesses build premium, trust-driven brands that command higher prices. Flora’s philosophy is simple but powerful: people buy from brands they trust, and trust starts with how you present yourself online. Yet too many small businesse...

B2B buyers live on LinkedIn. SteadyRev founder Austin Futers shows how to capture a true founder voice, choose the right post mix, repair low reach, and connect comments to real sales outcomes. We cover network hygiene, when to use video vs text, authentic relationship building, and whether Sales Navigator is worth it. What we talked about: How to build a founder-led LinkedIn content system from o...

If your direct-to-consumer (DTC) playbook is starting to stall, this episode is your wake-up call. Chuck Heckman, co-founder of OneBillion Agency , joins Grant Fisher to unpack what it really takes for DTC brands to scale into retail, and how to win once you get there. With decades of experience leading global campaigns for brands like Verizon, P&G, Heineken, and Clorox , Chuck brings a deep u...

Running ads feels risky for many small businesses—but it doesn’t have to. In today’s episode of Small Business, Big Engine , I sit down with Paul Parnell , founder of Level Up Roofer Marketing (and Heat Vision Media ). Paul helps roofing and home service businesses move beyond wasted ad spend by focusing on smart funnels, real lead qualification, and operational scaling. He also talks about how he...

Why do so many small business owners drown in documents, spreadsheets, and endless emails? According to Therman Trotman, also known as Mr. SharePoint , it is not a technology problem. It is a leadership problem. In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , host Grant Fisher sits down with Therman, founder of SharePoint Help Desk, to unpack how small businesses can stop running on chaos and star...

Welcome back to Small Business, Big Engine. In this episode, I’m joined by Randy Lyman — a physicist, exited founder, and the author of The Third Element. Randy has built multiple eight figure businesses in highly technical fields, but what he discovered along the way is surprising. The real driver behind his success was not just strategy, systems, or hard work. It was emotional intelligence. Rand...

One of the hardest lessons for small business owners to learn is that not every client is the right client. Saying yes to the wrong people can drain your time, hurt your team, and even push away the people you most want to serve. In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , Grant Fisher sits down with RJon Robins, Co-Founder and President of How to Manage a Small Law Firm , to talk about what i...

If you run a creative studio and feel like you're doing everything right, making great work, keeping clients happy, grinding every day, but growth still feels out of reach… You're not alone. In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , I sit down with Joel Pilger, a creative entrepreneur and advisor who’s helped hundreds of studios around the world reposition and grow. Joel spent 20 yea...

Is it possible to build a thriving video production company without owning a single piece of equipment? Jerry Koedding says yes, and he's been doing it for over a decade. In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , I sit down with Jerry Koedding, founder and Head of Production at Wave Films , a lean, Singapore-based production company that has built an entire business around talent, relati...

What would you do if your family suddenly lost your main revenue stream? That’s the question Amy Chinian faced during the 2008 recession. With five kids under the age of eight, zero income, and over a million dollars in debt, Amy had to figure out a way to survive. Her solution? Head lice. In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , Amy shares how she turned a red picnic basket full of lice tr...

What does it take to turn a side hustle into a thriving national brand? In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , host Grant Fisher sits down with Lindsay Burgess, better known as the Moss Boss , to talk about how she built Green Wallscapes, one of the largest preserved moss wall companies in the United States. Lindsay’s journey didn’t start with a five-year business plan or a big round of f...

If you're a small business owner putting thousands of dollars on a credit card each month, this episode might save you tens of thousands in free travel... and completely change how you think about business spending. Today I’m joined by Ross Alcorn , founder of Itinerary Boss and host of the World Travel Made Easy podcast. Ross helps entrepreneurs turn everyday expenses into first-class travel...

What if hiring faster isn't the answer? And slowing down is the smartest move you can make? In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , Grant sits down with Travis Hann , co-founder of Pender & Howe , a modern executive search firm built for scale, transparency, and high performance. Travis shares the story behind starting the firm inside a legacy recruitment company, how they separate...

In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , I sit down with Lauren Cockerell, founder and president of Kwedar & Co. , a boutique public relations and communications firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. Lauren’s journey from solo consultant to leading a team of eight offers a, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to scale a high-touch service business. We talk about what Lauren calls...

What if the reason your business isn’t growing… is you ? In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , host Grant Fisher sits down with Jordan Eaton , the founder of Boss Assistants , to talk about one of the most common reasons small business owners stay stuck: trying to do it all. Jordan built Boss Assistants after seeing too many entrepreneurs crumble under the weight of admin, client work, a...

What if the secret to small business growth isn’t grinding harder, but building smarter? Small Business, Big Engine is the show where real small business owners share how they’ve built momentum. Hosted by Grant Fisher, a longtime product designer and founder of SingleStack, the podcast takes you behind the scenes of companies across industries, from solo service providers and franchisees to brick-...

In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , host Grant Fisher sits down with Jeff Shiffman and Kate Finan, the co-founders of Boom Box Post, a boutique audio post-production studio based in Burbank, California. Known for their award-winning sound design work on projects for Netflix, Nickelodeon, Disney, Amazon, and more, Jeff and Kate are reshaping what it means to run a creative studio that’s...

What if your next five clients were already in your database, you just needed a smarter system to catch them before they slipped through the cracks? In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , I’m joined by Reed Hansen , Chief Growth Officer at MarketSurge.io , who specializes in helping small and local businesses turn lost leads into booked appointments, without adding more hours to the day....

What does it take to go from $5 gigs on Fiverr to running a digital PR and SEO agency that consistently earns media coverage in outlets like GoDaddy, HubSpot, Entrepreneur, and Forbes? In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , host Grant Fisher sits down with Darcy Cudmore , founder of RepuLinks , to share how he scaled from solo freelancer to business owner with a growing remote team and a...

How Brady Built a $2M+ Agency With No Full-Time Staff Brady shares the evolution of Taste Network , which started in 2002 with wine and cheese pairings and scaled into a multi-city culinary festival that brought together chefs, farmers, winemakers, and food lovers in an entirely new way. You will learn how he: Turned relationship equity into his main growth strategy Built community through story-d...

In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine, we explore how to use storytelling and communication to grow your business, even if you don't see yourself as a speaker. Grant sits down with Robert Kennedy III , a professional speaker, storytelling strategist, and founder of Kennetik Kommunications. They talk about how small business owners can craft messages that connect, convert, and build las...

AI is everywhere... But how do you actually use it in a way that supports your business instead of distracting from it? In this episode, I’m talking with Erin Stewart, founder of Scenic West Consulting, about how small teams and product-focused businesses can build AI strategies that are both practical and powerful. We get into the real talk around AI implementation, including: What most teams get...

In this episode, Grant talks with Elyse Peterson , founder of Tealet , a global tea marketplace that connects independent farmers directly to buyers. Elyse shares how she went from working in the food industry to joining the Peace Corps, then unexpectedly launching a startup that took her to 500 Startups in Silicon Valley . She did it all without a pitch deck or formal business plan. We talk about...

What does it really take to build a product-based business from scratch—and grow it profitably without outside investors? In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine , host Grant Fisher sits down with Jonathan Fisher , founder and CEO of Bevanda , a growing product brand best known for its insulated lunchboxes and stainless steel beverage dispensers designed for the trades. Jonathan shares how h...

What does it take to keep a creative agency relevant for over 30 years - especially in a world where consumer behavior shifts overnight? In this episode, Grant sits down with Sam Sohaili , Partner at DMA United , a New York-based agency known for shaping global brands at the intersection of fashion, sports, and culture. From early collaborations with Mercedes-Benz at Fashion Week to navigating tod...