The Idea Climbing® Podcast

Episode 64! The big idea in this episode is the power of gratitude. That’s what I discuss with my guest, David George Brooke. David AKA That Gratitude Guy, has been a speaker, coach, and best-selling author for over 25 years.  He is a former Nordstrom store manager and has managed in the corporate world for over 30 years. After going through losses of loved ones and chasing the dream of becoming a...

Episode 63! Finding or starting your own professional group of advisors can be a daunting task, but a great investment of your time if you know how to go about it. That’s what I discuss with Electra Govoni in this episode. Electra is a business coach who helps owners of small and medium sized companies go from barely surviving to thriving in their businesses.   In addition, she facilitates bringin...

Episode 62! When it comes to building relationships in the business world there is a relational model and a transactional model, I discuss which one is better with my guest Jonathan Rosen. Jonathan founded Collaberex 6 years ago with the sole mission of helping executives, small business owners and professional service providers build meaningful, impactful, purposeful, relationships with others wh...

Episode 61! More referrals are the holy grail for entrepreneurs and sales professionals. But how do you get more? That’s what I discuss with Matt Ward in this episode. Matt is an author, speaker and referral coach that teaches service-based small business owners by showing them how easy getting more word-of-mouth referrals can be if you just have the right mindset. The first thing Matt shared is t...

This episode’s big idea is business planning for a recession: Four critical steps for CEOs. My guest, Glenn Gow believes that any company can find a pathway to success regardless of what’s happening in their economic environment. Glenn was a CEO for 25 years. Now, he’s a CEO Coach. He’s going to make you more successful. But it’s not only about being successful, it’s about...

Today’s big idea is the subject of beating yourself up and how to stop it. That’s what I discuss with Brian Reinbold, who is The Voice of BraveHearts Radio and The Host of BraveHearts Adventures. Brian is a Master Storyteller and loves to do Voice Work and EmCee Events. Many people do this about the things that they set out to do but didn’t accomplish on time. Brian found himself in a bad place th...

If you want to bring a big idea to life in the entrepreneurship world there are two things that you need to focus on and take action on: The concept of service vs pleasing and then creating value. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Business Development Coach Steve Lover. Let’s start with service vs. pleasing and why it’s so important. When we’re younger we’re taught to please everyone. As...

Episode 57! Many entrepreneurs feel alone in their endeavors. It helps to create a support system. That’s what I discuss with Marcy Fortnow, founder of Engaging Play and Diana Patel, an executive coach.  We started the discussion by examining stump speeches and sprout speeches. Stump speech is where you establish yourself as an expert while giving a sprout speech means you’re willing to grow with...

Episode 56! The topic of “manifesting success” came up recently during a conversation with Colin Sprake. Since 2004, Colin has helped hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and their families make lasting changes in their personal and professional lives. Colin believes that we are manifesting all the time. Sometimes we’re manifesting what we do want sometimes we’re manifesting we don’t want. This...

Episode 55! Today the subject of “Flow” is the focus of our conversation. My guest is Chris M. King, executive performance coach, author, speaker, and founder of Status Flow. What is flow? Athletes refer to it as being in the zone, its runner’s high, basketball players call it going unconscious and other people have other names. Flow is the optimal state of consciousness where you feel your best,...

Episode 54! In this episode my guest, Robbie Samuels, and I discuss big idea of bringing a new service offering to life while marketing it. Robbie is an author, speaker, and business growth strategy coach recognized as a networking expert by Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Lifehacker, and Inc. When it comes to creating service offerings don’t just assume that you know what your audience wants. Ma...

Episode 53! In this episode my guest, Jonathan Sparks, and I discuss how mentors can help get you unstuck. Jonathan the Founder of Sparks Law that handles business and transactional matters for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Additionally, Jonathan has a weekly podcast and as a musician has released a new single monthly in 2022. Jonathan believes that all entrepreneurs need mentors. In order t...

Episode 52! The foundation of great mentoring experiences is knowing how to ask great questions. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Kevin Bruner, a Fractional VP of Sales and the President of Mash Bill Consulting. Mentoring is about giving you, the mentee, the empowerment to make good decisions based on your experience and knowledge. Mentors help you get out of your own head and out of you...

Relationship marketing is often overlooked. When it’s embraced it can change the trajectory of your business if you know how to harness the power of it. That’s what I discuss with Jason Abrahams, a fractional CMO, growth strategist, and founder of Next Play Marketing. Is it business development or is it relationship marketing? Jason believes they’re one in the same. It’s all part of one growth str...

Episode 50! Mentoring doesn’t have to be a formal program or system; it can be natural and organic. This doesn’t mean that you sit back and wait for it to happen, there are things you can do to create successful mentoring experiences. That’s what I discuss in this episode with Shelby Scarbrough, a serial entrepreneur, author, and mentor. Sometimes mentoring happens accidentally. How do you know wh...

Episode 49! It’s rare that a single person can bring a big idea to life by themselves. You’ll need a team and how to build that team is what I discussed with Bill Haase, entrepreneur, and financial advisor. How to many big ideas come to life? It happens when you take one small idea and ask yourself “How big can this go, where’s the market?” Here’s a great example: Bill was a mentor in a local high...

“You’re not selling a service; you’re selling an experience.” That’s what I discussed with Andrew Hays, an entrepreneur and attorney. What sticks with people is the experience that they have with you. All of your clients should have a similar experience, from beginning to end, which means you’re engaging them with a similar process. A process is a list of things that have to happen in a certain or...

Dave Young and I discussed the visionary’s curse, especially with entrepreneurs. Dave is the co-host of the Builder Nuggets podcast, a business coach and entrepreneur. He realized that he was experiencing the curse when he was developing an imposter syndrome. Dave was really good at developing ideas and coming up with strategies, but really struggled when it came to taking action and following thr...

Idea Climbing ® Podcast Episode 46 Many companies don’t have a sales plan or a strategy to accelerate business growth according to my guest Scott Rosenzweig. Scott is a Sales & Marketing Accelerator dedicated to the growth of small & midsized (SMB) businesses. Unfortunately, lack of performance from a business is usually related to the fact that they don’t have a plan. The sales playbook i...

Idea Climbing ® Podcast Episode 45 If you’re an entrepreneur you’re constantly presenting to people. But are you doing it effectively? I recently discussed a component of successful presentations with Joel Weldon, a Hall of Fame professional speaker with over 3,000 paid talks and who has personally coached over 10,000 speakers. Yes, he knows a thing or two about presentations. A presentation is an...

Idea Climbing ® Podcast Episode 44 While many people and publications will tell you mentoring is important, not many clearly define it or tell you how to get started. That’s what I discuss with my guest, Steve Ferman. When I mentioned mentoring the first thing Steve brought up is that, as a mentee, you need to be prepared for brutally honest and transparent conversations with mentors. Sugar coatin...

Idea Climbing ® Podcast Episode 43 If you’re not careful negative people can rain on your parade and hold you back. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid those things. That’s what I discuss during this episode with my guest, Brittany Anderson. Brittany’s current big idea is the creation of the “Dream Architect Movement”. Her primary role is helping people manage their money. She is driven to do more...

Idea Climbing ® Podcast Episode 42 If you want to bring a big idea to life a support system will take you there faster than you could alone. That’s what Steve Hunt and I recently discussed. After twenty years as a corporate executive turned entrepreneur, Steve has learned the keys to selling big ideas. One way to create that is through a process called enrollment . What is enrollment? It’s getting...

Idea Climbing ® Podcast Episode 41 In this episode Megan Robinson and I discuss the skills needed to bring your big idea to life. Megan is the principal at E Leader Experience and works with individuals and teams to develop self-leadership skills that grow companies. When it comes to creating an action plan there’s the tactical side of the equation and the strategic side of the equation. It’s one...

Idea Climbing ® Podcast Episode 40 Storytelling is a popular subject.  While many people will tell you how important it is, few will tell you HOW to craft compelling stories. Recently I spoke with Michael Davis, a speech and storytelling coach, about how to create compelling stories even if you’re a novice at doing so. Back in 2002 Michael met Darin, the World Champion of Public Speaking at...