The Business, Cars & Cigars Podcast

Bryan Bercik knows a thing or two about trial and error, and learning as you go. Not knowing the first thing about real estate, Bryan got into the industry in 2012 as a house flipper. When he bought his first investment, he realized he was in way over his head. He ended up way over budget, missed his timeline by a mile, and made no money. He felt like he had learned a lot though and dove into his...

There’s an entitlement issue in the car audio industry. A lot of guys want instant gratification of perfecting something without putting in the effort to acquire the skill set. It’s truly an industry that requires initiative. Chris Ott wasn’t paid for every hour he put into learning a skill. He learned things on his own so that he could speed up the process or build value in the product, so he cou...

Starting out as a 12v salesperson at Best Buy, Chris Ott spent his entire time with the company trying to get back into the tech/installer bay. After a year of excuses, Chris followed a friend to work at Circuit City where he could pursue his true passion. As a big box store there were a lot of rules and structure, which Chris really appreciated. Over the course of 13 years he worked up the ranks...

Childhood trauma is something we all have to some degree, and it just might be what’s keeping you stuck in business. Mindset and organic marketing consultant, Jamie Hyde, says childhood trauma often results in people pleasing. Wanting everyone to like you can interfere with everything from being able to make a sale to not being able to fire someone. Jamie has overcome his own trauma through therap...

Titan Motoring was awarded Mobile Electronics Industry Retailer of the Year for 2022. Owner, Philip Lindsley says he was humbled by the recognition as there is lots of great talent in the industry. He worked hard to get his business to where it is today. With a checkered past that included struggles with drugs as a teen and becoming a felon at the age of 18, Philip credits his passion for car audi...

Adam Smith doesn’t believe in failure. Words have power, and labeling yourself a failure just gives you an excuse to quit. As long as you’re learning from your mistakes and continuing to try, there is no failure. It’s because of this mindset that Adam has been so successful. He’s the CEO of Savage Freedoms Defense, host of Go To War podcast, and a keynote speaker all over the country. In addition...

Founder and CEO of TideLand Financial, Keith Gause, has an array of experience that he brings to the table. Starting out in Special Operations in the Air Force, Keith served for 6 years before he transitioned into local law enforcement. During his 6 years there, Keith got married and started a family. Realizing his income wasn’t enough to create the life he wanted, he took the leap into entreprene...

Jennifer Carrasco learned a lot of things the hard way, which has given her a passion for helping others to not make the same mistakes. At just 24 years old, Jennifer bought the company she was working for. She ran it for a few years before the market crashed and filed for bankruptcy. She built the company back up before she went through a nasty divorce and had to file for bankruptcy again. Refusi...

Dan Mudd is back for part 2, and he’s talking about 3 of his favorite things: business, cars, and cigars. Dan has an appreciation for cars, trucks, and motorcycles. He’s owned a bit of everything, but says the car he purchases almost every year is a GMC Yukon Denali. Surprisingly, the car he’s had the strongest dislike for is the Maserati. He admits they’re cool looking on the outside, but finds t...

To protect and serve is something Dan Mudd takes seriously. Beyond his role as a police officer, Dan helps keep recovering addicts off the streets through his real estate company. It all started 8 years ago when one of Dan’s friends asked him what he wanted to do with his life. Dan had to give it some real thought before he decided on real estate investing. Dan’s friend decided to invest in him an...

Corey Berrier was never the cool kid growing up, and in an attempt to fit in, he started drinking at 14. By the age of 18, Corey was drinking pretty heavily, and once he turned 21, he got two DUIs within 30 days. In 2003, Corey got his third DUI, and in 2005 he got caught with 4ozs of cocaine. It wasn’t until 2009 that Corey would finally straighten up and quit drinking. Focusing on his health and...

Twenty-five years ago, there weren’t podcasts or mentorship programs for entrepreneurs. Now, these resources are almost limitless, and if you’re not taking advantage of them you’re selling yourself short. Today’s guest, Kris Whitehead, is a best-selling author, a business owner, and a coach. He wasn’t always in a position to help others, however. It took him many years before he realized all the p...

Success is a perspective. What’s considered successful for one person may not be the definition of success for another.  It’s important to determine what success will look like for you, and then find people that embody that to emulate.  Vice President of Break Free Academy, Drewbie Wilson, is in the studio today to talk about how to build your best life. As the author of Crushing The Day...

Jason Ewing is back for part two and has plenty of stories left to share.  He starts with a boat build he did at an LA convention that landed him his first gig on a show.  With mics hidden in the boat, a production team found Jason and his partner to be hilarious.  They asked them to come out for 6 months to work on this show, and Jason agreed.  They ended up doing 4 episodes a...

Car audio has changed so much since the 90s.  Jason Ewing got in on the ground floor, doing car audio, security systems, and remote start since 1990.  Working in a small shop while he was still in high school, Jason didn’t get paid, instead he worked for product.  Sweeping floors and putting tools away, Jason earned his first audio system piece by piece, and fell in love with the cr...

Today we’re talking business with Philip Sessions, author of Mindset Over Motivation.  As a public speaking coach, Philip is gearing up to host some events that will teach business owners how to get better equipped to scale their business through communication.  He hosts a podcast called Speaking Sessions, as well as a Facebook group called Speaking With Confidence. In addition to that,...

Joe Duever of Final Images is in the studio today to share his story. It all started in 2001 when Joe’s brother and sister were working at a sign printing company that was going under.  The owner jokingly said they should buy him out.  Joe and his siblings walked through, taking everything they could use, and then struck a deal. Starting in a 1200 sq ft facility, the team hit the ground...

Brandon recently attended the first annual Master Tech Expo.  It was put on by Mobile Solutions’ Bryan Schmitt.  Today, Bryan is in the studio to share behind the scenes. His event consisted of classes, build offs, and even music.  He says next year will be even bigger and better.  Not only will they rent out an entire amphitheater for opening night, they’ll be all-inclusive fo...

Joe Duever of Vinyl Images is in the studio today to share his story. It all started in 2001 when Joe’s brother and sister were working at a sign printing company that was going under.  The owner jokingly said they should buy him out.  Joe and his siblings walked through, taking everything they could use, and then struck a deal. Starting in a 1200 sq ft facility, the team hit the ground...

Luke Fidler from Audio Expert Auto Marine is back to continue his story from the last episode.  He shares how he creates a culture of success in his shop.  He knows it’s important to listen to your employees and take into account what is important to them.  He treats both his employees and clients like friends and family.  It’s not uncommon to run into his clients each weekend...

Luke Fidler is the owner of Audio Expert Auto Marine in Clearwater, FL. He started working on car audio 22 years ago, just transitioning into marine 5-6 years ago.  As he’s worked to transition from car to marine audio, Luke has experienced some ups and downs.  It’s been easy to build up the marine side of things, and harder to quit the customer base they’d built up on the auto side. &nb...

Brandon has his long time friend, Derek, in the studio to talk about his history in the car audio industry.  Growing up with a car-loving father that was a senior engineer at IBM, Derek was destined for great things.  One of the first electronics projects Derek built was a radio jammer.  While he was learning, Derek admits to making a lot of mistakes, and even starting a couple fire...

Robert Kowatch grew up admiring the audio system in his brothers Jeep Wrangler.  When he graduated high school in 97, Robert put $10k into his first cars audio.  Having spent so much time and money at the shop, the manager offered Robert a job.  With zero sales experience, Robert got by on his love of car audio. After 10 years of learning at that job, Robert decided it was time to b...

Brandon has his first female guest, Sonja Ray, in the studio to discuss business and cigars.  Having met at a cigar bar, Brandon can attest that Sonja knows her cigars.  She also knows business as she runs her sales coaching company.  She started her own business after her mentor told her to start saying yes to opportunities.  She specializes in one-on-one coaching and does qui...

Jason LiCavoli and Jim Smoot are back for part two and we’re talking more about the Cruisin’ Lindberg event.  Get all the details, including how to enter to win a car audio system.  While they could talk about cars and car events all day, they dive deep into business in this episode as well. Jim believes that most people shouldn’t become business owners, and he shares why.  If you a...