The Bizgnus Podcast

Johns Island, S.C.  -- Steve Selengut carries some secrets that he’s eager to share.  Mr. Selengut manages investment portfolios and has written a book to help investors in their efforts for a financially firm retirement.  He says he’s developed a methodology for producing spendable income far in excess of the 4 percent generally needed by retirees.  Steve Selengut is our guest in this episode of...

•  The greatest astronomer you’ve probably never heard of •  “Milton was a very humble guy”   (Total Recorded Time is 18:49)     You’d be stretching the definition when you called him a high school dropout. That’s because Milton Humason quit high school after just two days.  This teenage mule skinner guided mules up steep, rocky trails to the summit of Mount  Wilson, east of Los Angeles, where wha...

  •  Bakersfield teacher taps 10 of the greatest for their wisdom •  “I think we kind of fetishize to this ethic of victimhood”  (Total Recorded Time is 15:00)    As the nation grapples with what some say is the most divisive politics since the Civil War, a civics teacher in Bakersfield may have an answer.  Jeremy Adams has tapped the wisdom of ten of the nation’s past leaders to offer ideas on ho...

•  Why you need to vet people and information before you act •  Surrounded by armies of crooks, here'what can the average person do   (Total Recorded Time is 18:12)    Welcome to 2024 and the seemingly everywhere fake-it-till-you-make-it founders, win-at-all-cost politicians, and plain old-fashioned hucksters.   Surrounded by armies of crooks, what can the average person do?   Cynthia Hetherin...

•  Adam Wallace says customers seek value, not just low prices •  Pricing strategies that will boost the bottom line   (Total Recorded Time is 18 minutes)    Your customers are value-hunters, not just bargain-hunters. Many will pay a premium for your products or services if… if they save time, solve problems, make them feel good, and more. The key is finding the value that makes your offering irre...

•  Learning to match your behavior to your beliefs •  Plus an explanation of what’s not quite right with bacon ice creram    Douglas Squirrel has been coding for forty years and knows more than something about artificial intelligence and business.  A  lot  more.  But he is also concerned with something far more basic than fiddling with ChatGPT and its rivals.  Mr. Squirrel says a successful digita...

•  Mental strength is the attribute that most directly correlates with exceptional achievement •  Today’s leaders, whether in business or elsewhere, need classic mental toughness    SAN DIEGO -- Fortitude.  Confidence.  Boldness.  Decision-making.  Sounds like a situation-wanted ad from Braveheart.  But no, this is not that of a Scottish rebel of 700 years ago.  It is part of the mix that  Scott M...

•  Jeff Sigel calls for better work environments and more fulfilling careers for middle managers •  Take 20 minutes for ideas on bolstering your middle managers    Middle managers have it tough.  They are caught between, well, just about everything.  Middle managers are directing work and they are performing work—and the dual nature of these roles can be challenging.  Jeff Sigel says he has answer...

•  Gene Jones has 1,500 thoughts in his recipe book •  The game show host and fire-eater seeks the wisdom of the ages   Gene Jones is a collector of sorts.  Not of balls of string.  Nor coins or stamps.  Mr. Jones collects wisdom.   His latest endeavor is a new book, “Consolidated Wisdom: The Ultimate Book of Quotations For Success, Happiness, and Health,” (Dreamquest Publishing, May 2024). He joi...

• In 10 minutes, Tom Griffiths offers a lifetime of advice • “I help small business owners have a growing and more profitable business” Where did all the money go? Any business owner wondering that might also wonder if they had ever made any money. Business management consultant Tom Griffiths says he’s heard those questions too many times, often from business owners totally emeshed int the weeds o...

As you assemble your team, your money and your resolve to start a new business, keep in mind the need to give back.  Our guest in this episode of Bizgnus Interviews, Jeff Maine founder of Bluffton,  South Carolina-based Pay Proudly, says he had a twofold mission: to provide business owners with payment clarity and to support communities through charity.  How’s that working out?  Let’s find out.  M...

•  Matthew Fornaro offers advice to those striking ot on their own   Thinking of starting your own small business?  Better get out the legal maps, that is, the legal advice you’ll need to avoid problems down the road.  Matthew Fornaro is a business attorney whose Florida practice is aimed at helping smaller businesses.  In this episode of Bizgnus Interviews, Mr. Fornaro offers advice from his more...

•  Julia Carlson says to grow real wealth, you have to transform your relationship with money •  True financial success goes beyond numbers     The cat is doubtful, but your dog probably loves you.  Another thing that loves you is money.  So says financial advisor and author Julia M. Carlson, who has just published "Money Loves You," (Joan of Arc Publishing, March 2024).  Ms. Carlson is...

•  Winning tennis coach offers tips to ramp up your leadership •  “So going from great to superior is that little extra”    “Hit down on the ball!” Countless tennis coaches have made that entreaty to students in countless tennis lessons.  Coaches know it takes more than properly whacking a ball to win a match.  And Rusty Komori knows that and a lot more, proven by his boys’ varsity teams winning a...

•  Cyber security expert offers ideas for businesses •  “Understand that the risk is out there”   TRT is 16:00)    Terrence Ziemniak calls himself a fractional executive, helping a number of small and larger businesses to fend off cyber criminals and the troubles they bring.  His background includes stints leading teams of all sizes involved with information security.  He says that no matter the s...

•  Expert takes readers from nightmare to sweet dreams •  Why you read between the lines   (TRT:  19:12)  What can we learn about insurance from Goldilocks, Rapunzel, Humpty Dumpty, Old Mother Hubbard, and others? Chantal Roberts knows.   Ms. Roberts, who calls herself an insurance nerd, has written a book putting lessons about insurance into major rewrites of traditional fairy tales.   She says t...

•  Then comes the hard part •  “If you publish the book yourself, you do the marketing”     Put words onto a computer’s screen, enough to make a paragraph, then a chapter and perhaps, eventually a book.  Then what?  Michael Bergen of Montreal has done that four times, creating a series of historical novels called “The Rutherford Chronicles.”  In this episode of Bizgnus Interviews, Mr. Bergen talks...

•  Management of capital means more than money •  “Human capital should be a primary…focus for startups” (Total Recorded Time is 20:38) Many new businesses -- even those with mountains of money from venture capitalists or angel investors – fail and fail quickly.  While there’s a long list of typical reasons for failure, Nikki Blacksmith says there’s an often under-appreciated reason: mismanagement...

•  How much of a disconnect is there between business and ethics? •  “Ethical leadership matters!”   If you were to ask 11 people if they thought they were ethical in their business, 12 of them would say “yes.”  But we see on the news every day that’s not true.    Where’s the disconnect and, if there’s a general answer, why?  Richard Swegan may have an answer.  Mr. Swegan is the co-author of the n...

•  Geonomics entrepreneur outlines the opportunities •  What you can learn from a mongoose  (TRT is 21:10)   If you could just find the key to your Wayback machine, would you zip into the past to be at the start of the microchip industry?  Or at Steve Job’s side as he crafted the first Mac?  Or something else?  No need to wish to return to yesteryear for a ground floor opportunity, says biotech ex...

•  Why some industries seem asleep at the switch •  Using AI to stop problems from developing   (Total Recorded Time is 22:00)  The AI doctor is in.  We don’t mean a robot but management consultant Tommy Ogden who has some advice about using artificial intelligence in business.  Mr. Ogden is co-founder of the Houston-based boutique IT advisory firm Activera Consulting where he leads their project...

•  A leadership strategy that centers around interoception •  “Emotions feel hard for so many”   (Total Recorded Time is 16:17)    Who might make a better leader – one who is emotional or one who suppresses emotions?  It’s likely that Kim Korte, a Napa, California-based consultant and author, would say the former.   She has developed a leadership strategy that centers around “interoception,” the b...

•  Jeremy Shapiro says peers can offer the right mix of advice •  Making the transition from “solopreneur” to “business owner”    SAN JOSE, California -- Jeremy Shapiro says he has spent more than a quarter of a century helping small business owners make the transition from “solopreneur” to “business owner.”  It’s the common problem of working “in” their business instead of “on” their business.  M...

•  He says mediocre marketing contributes to the high failure rate of startups •  “They fall into the trap of this sea of sameness”  (Total Recorded Time is 22:48)    SANFORD, Florida -- Daniel Den is an entrepreneur who says he has taught successful marketing to thousands of small business owners over the past two decades.  “What we've found is there is a lot of people when it comes to market...

•  What happened when Liam Naden went to work on his brain •  “I was forced to try a different approach”   (Total Recorded Time is 22:24)    AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Liam Naden was a wild success.  And then he wasn’t.  He says he went from being a millionaire by his mid-40s to losing everything and becoming homeless.  That’s when he decided to slice his brain into four parts.  Not literal brain su...