Business Confidential Now With Hanna Hasl-kelchner

The silo effect or silo mentality in organizations, when one group’s specialization walls then off from everyone else is often viewed as a consequence of growth.But todays guest, Sarah Siwak Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Airhouse, says that the silo effect shuts out more than it shuts in and hurts the bottom line.And in this insightful interview she share more about what those costs actually are.What You’ll Discover About the Silo Effect:* How the silo effect reduces productivity* Why the silo effect slows the scaling of your business* How cross-functional teams combat the silo effect* How to incentivize better communication to limit the silo effect* And MUCH more.Guest: Sarah SiwakSarah Siwak is proof that staying in one lane is rarely the best option.After obtaining her B.A. in Russian, she stepped into a marketing and web production role at an early-stage tech startup in Tokyo. Armed with a new-found love for both marketing and tech, Sarah went on to lead marketing initiatives for several la

Business bottlenecks are like flat tires. They slow you down and happen at the worst times. Nobody likes them.What are the most common business bottlenecks and what can you do to avoid them? Entrepreneur coach, Laurent Notin explains. What You’ll Discover About Business Bottlenecks:* The 3 most common business bottlenecks* How to know when you have a business bottleneck* The first thing you need to do to get unstuck* How to hire the right team to solve and anticipate business bottlenecks* And MUCH more.Guest: Laurent NotinLaurent Notin is an Entrepreneur Coach, Start-up Mentor and Host of Inter:views Cracking The Entrepreneurship Code.He is a French national who left France at 23, spent 20 years in South-East Asia, before relocating to Finland in the summer of 2019.His professional background is in market research and advertising, where he ran 7-figure businesses across 3 countries.Throughout the years, he’s developed a passion for coaching, mentoring, advising and training people. Combined with his

Workplace Violence PreventionNobody expects workplace violence to happen where they work. But when the extraordinary happens to ordinary people like you and me it rattles your sense of safety.As a responsible business leader and manager, it makes you wonder what if anything you could have done to prevent the unthinkable from happening where you work.That’s why I’m excited to welcome Felix Nater, a workplace violence prevention expert, who says most businesses are thinking about this explosive problem all wrong.What You’ll Discover About Workplace Violence Prevention* What size a business needs to be before considering workplace violence prevention planning. * The “red flags” managers should keep on their radar screen to anticipate and mitigate workplace violence. * Why the term workplace violence includes much more than going “postal.” * How employees’ home life spills into work life and impacts workplace violence. * Steps small businesses can take to promote a culture of safety and workplace violen

Skeptical buyers are everywhere these days. With a mountain of information coming at us from all directions, it’s really no surprise.But what if you’re trying to sell to skeptical buyers? Jeremy Miner, today’s guest, shares what do you absolutely need to know to be successful.What You’ll Discover About Skeptical Buyers:* Why all of us are skeptical buyers* Brain triggers that happen in the first 7 – 12 seconds of any sales interaction  * How to disarm the biases of skeptical buyers* How to use Neuro Emotional Persuasion Questioning (NEPQ) when speaking with skeptical buyers* And MUCH more.Guest: Jeremy Miner Jeremy Miner is the Chairman of 7th Level, a global sales training company, an organization that was ranked #1 by INC magazine in 2020 and 2021 as among the fastest growing companies in the USA.He has been featured in Forbes, USA Today, Entrepreneur magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and a host of other publications on the topic of sales, persuasion, and the role of psychology and huma

Cultural agility is a leadership skill many executives, managers and entrepreneurs don’t typically think about.But the ability to work effectively with people from different cultures is increasingly important as domestic workplaces become more diversified and as more businesses expand their markets overseas.It can be challenging, but Prof. Paula Caligiuri, a Distinguished Professor of International Business at Northeastern University offers guidance for more success.What You’ll Discover About Cultural Agility:Why cultural agility mattersHow cultural agility is a combination of nature and nurtureThe self-assessment tool to help you identify your own stereotypes that limit your cultural agilityThe three categories of competencies that can improve your cultural agilityPLUS so much more!Guest: Prof. Paula CaligiuriPaula Caligiuri is a Distinguished Professor of International Business at Northeastern University. She researches and consults in the areas of expatriate management, global leadership development,

Transitioning from corporate to entrepreneur sounds like a dream come true for many. But what’s the best way to do it? What do you need to look out for?Doc Wright, founder of The Wright Edge shares the lessons learned from his successful journey. What You’ll Discover About Transitioning from Corporate to Entrepreneur:How a side hustle assisted Doc in transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurThe network connection that put The Wright Edge on the path to profitabilityThe business mentoring needed to fill the gaps when transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurThe benefits of financial bootstrappingWhy identifying your market niche is essential when transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurPLUS so much more!Guest: Doc WrightDoc is the Founder and Master Craftsman at The Wright Edge, a custom furniture maker that creates massive, 100% handmade live edge tables and artwork for hotels, businesses, and anyone looking for a distinctive statement piece for their home.Their creative work has recently

Business planning can feel like an intimidating process. If the very thought of writing one makes your eyes glaze over, fasten your seat belt as certified SCORE mentor Carl Baumann explains why crafting a business plan is a dynamic roadmap to more business success.  What You’ll Discover About Business Planning:How business planning leads to more achievement and success The essential elements of a solid business planWhere entrepreneurs often get stuck in business planning process and how to get unstuckThe amount of detail your need for business planningThe biggest mistake entrepreneurs make in business planningPLUS much more to increase your business planning successGuest: Carl BaumannCarl Baumann is a certified business mentor with SCORE specializing in counseling in business planning, strategic planning, general management and management finance & accounting. Carl has an impressive track record in helping clients successfully launch their businesses and create hundreds of ne

Badass leadership may sound dangerous, but today’s guest, David Wood author of Mouse in the Room: Because the Elephant isn’t Alone, says playing it safe is actually MORE dangerous. OMG!What You’ll Discover About Badass Leadership:How to be the badass leader people want to work withHow badass leadership empower other by being appropriately vulnerableWhy badass leadership requires self-awarenessHow badass leadership names the elephant in the roomPLUS so much more!Guest: David WoodAfter life as a consulting actuary to Fortune 100 Companies, David built the world’s largest coaching business, becoming #1 on Google for “life coaching”.He believes the tough conversations we avoid are our doorways to confidence, success and even love – in both work and life. David coaches high-performing entrepreneurs, executives and teams – and even prison inmates – to amazing results AND connection. One conversation at a time.Ferreting out those important conversations is the topic of his latest book, Mouse in the Room: Becaus

Initial public offerings (IPOs) tapping capital markets on Wall Street sounds glamorous and are a terrific way to fuel business expansion plans. But too many small and mid-cap companies find themselves at a serious disadvantage after they’ve gone public.Adam J. Epstein believes many of those IPOs facing challenges are rooted in some very common pre-IPO mistakes.Discover what they are and how to be better prepared for them.What You’ll Discover About IPOs :How pre-IPO mistakes plague IPOs and their financing optionsWhy historic deal data matters to IPOsThe most common mistake companies make when picking an investment banker and how it affects IPOsHow mutual funds run circles around small and mid-cap companies and what you can do about itPLUS so much moreGuest: Adam J. Epstein Adam J. Epstein is a nationally recognized small-cap expert and advisor to the boards of pre-IPO and small-cap companies through his firm, Third Creek Advisors, LLC (TCA).Prior to TCA, Adam was a long-tenured institutional i

Conquering the fear of conflict at work is one way smart leaders and good bosses set themselves apart from the rest. But how do you do that?Few people enjoy conflict. Most avoid it and get defensive. And those who do like conflict are often thought of as bullies.Dr. Debra Dupree shares how to handle difficult conversations at work with grace.What You’ll Discover About the Fear of Conflict at Work:* Why so many leaders fear conflict at work and avoid it,* How to get past the “fight or flight” triggers when managing conflict at work,* The two-part communication strategy that can defuse conflict at work,* How mindset shifts help develop the courage to overcome the fear of conflict at work, and* Much more.Guest: Dr. Debra DupreeDr. Debra Dupree, the MINDSET Doc, has long been inspired to help others grow out of their FEAR of CONFLICT. She saw her own family-owned business embroiled in differences and disagreements, leading to dashed dreams, damaged relationships, and broken hearts.  She turned thes

Sales quotas can often feel like the brass ring that’s just out of reach. But they don’t have to be. Today’s guest, Steve Weinberg, has tips for not only MEETING sales quotas, but also on how to EXCEED them.Who wouldn’t want to be a sales star?What You’ll Discover About Sales Quotas:* The biggest problem with sales quotas,* How poor hiring, poor leadership, and poor onboarding contributes to missed sales quotas,* The critical importance of proper customer prospecting,* How to get past gatekeepers, and* Much more.Guest: Steve Weinberg Steve Weinberg has spent his life selling and helping others sell better, more, and faster. He is an expert at building, guiding, and sustaining high caliber sales teams, and creating exemplary standards in account management. He has authored Above Quota Performance to transfer his knowledge to others that want to improve their sales results.Steve has closed over $500 million in new business. His sales have included many leading global corporations,

Customer frustration is something we’ve all experienced and can relate to. When it happens to us we’re more likely to tell our family and friends about it than complain to the people who can really fix the problem.That’s exactly why when a customer, client, guest, or patient complains about something it’s a terrific opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade and Janelle Barlow tells us how. What You’ll Discover About Customer Frustration:* Most common ways businesses mishandle complaints and increase customer frustration,* Why the pressure of reducing customer complaints creates vanity metrics* The mindset service reps need to truly reduce customer frustration,* Why businesses fail to see customer complaints as opportunities,* How to avoid the compassion fatigue that results from dealing with customer frustration, and* MUCH more.Guest: Janelle Barlow, PhDJanelle is an award-winning speaker, trainer, consultant and author who translates research into practical tools to improve customer service and complaint

Having an underdog brand can sound like a tough position in a dog-eat-dog world.But Mike Sullivan says that if you know what you’re doing, being an underdog brand has some unique advantages that let you fly under the radar and then crack open the markets the big dogs play in. What You’ll Discover About an Underdog Brand:* How an underdog brand uniquely positions itself to challenge market leaders,* The 3 factors that successfully fuel an underdog brand* Why focus is an underdog brand friend* The underdog challenge for leadership in protecting a nimble business culture* AND much more.Guest: Mike SullivanMike is President and CEO of LOOMIS, the country’s leading challenger brand advertising agency. For more than 30 years, he’s helped some of the country’s most successful companies build their brands and together with Michael Tuggle, an award-winning creative director and writer with more than 25 years in the ad world building brands and growing companies, he co-authored The Voice of the

Conflict management skills are one of those talents some people are better at than others but being able to turn down the heat in a conversation and find a solution is a powerful leadership competency that can be used where we work, where we play, and even at home in our personal lives.And who better to talk about this delicate subject than the founder of a call sales center, a business whose daily bread a butter deals with the conflict surrounding unwanted solicitations and complaints!What You’ll Discover About Conflict Management Skills:* The conflict management skills most people are missing* The factors contributing to the lack of conflict management skills development* The role of control in conflict management * The importance of self-awareness in conflict management* And MUCH more.Guest: Richard Blank Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns.When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train over 5000 employees for one of the larger call centers in

Do you or someone fall into the A-player trap? And no, I don’t mean getting stuck in Minecraft or some other video game.I’m talking about the A student who becomes the A-player at work, and then suddenly finds their old ways and decision making approaches don’t work as well as they used to.Yeah, that A-player trap. The one that causes smart people to make bad decisions. And let’s face it, we all know some people who do that.So if you can relate, you’re going to love today’s guest, Rusty Gaillard, who has some great tips and strategies for how to get out of that bind.What You’ll Discover About the A-Player Trap:* How to know whether you’re stuck in the A-player trap * Why defining what success means to you is the key to escaping the A-player trap* How maintaining the status quo can serve as an A-player trap* The importance of continuous learning * And MUCH MOREGuest: Rusty Gaillard As a transformational coach and motivational speaker, Rusty Gaillard of Silicon Valley Dre

Tips for buying or selling a business are good to know, regardless of which side of the desk you’re sitting on.Because unless you’re a business broker, someone who does these types of deals every day, chances are that buying or selling a business is one of the biggest transactions of your life.So can you really afford to make a mistake? What You’ll Discover About Tips for Buying or Selling a Business:* The top 3 mistakes people make when buying a business* How to find advisors with the right expertise to assist you in buying or selling a business* Key things to look for when buying a franchise* Why 80% of businesses put up for sale don’t sell* How sellers can address the biggest fear buyers have* And MUCH MORE.Guest: David BarnettBarnett loves to say that it took him 10 years to un-learn what he was taught in business school. University had trained him to be a middle-manager in big enterprises, he was totally unprepared for the realities of small business.After a career in advertising sales, Barnett

Winning at any cost is a wink and a nod to doing whatever it takes to get the job done. It speaks to a work ethic that encourages persistence and creativity.But as Alec Burlakoff experienced firsthand, it can also cause people to lose sight of right and wrong. His is the case of a sales super star who ended up pleading guilty to a criminal conspiracy charges, landing a 26 month jail sentence along with an order of restitution.His is a cautionary tale of how winning at any cost can lead good people to do bad things.What You’ll Discover About Winning at Any Cost:* How messages received while growing up create a winning at any cost mindset * How incentive structures promote winning at any cost* Why poor corporate governance and regulatory compliance practices are complicit in bending the rules* Why winning at any cost is more expensive than most realize* And much more.Guest: Alec BurlakoffAlec Burlakoff in his own words:WHO AM I: I bring value to any sales organization. Why? Because I’ve spearhead

Improving communications between coworkers can sound like an impossible task.After all you’ve got all these competing personalities and dynamics.How do you corral all that energy and get people rowing in the same direction? Thankfully, today’s guest, Jerome Myers has some solutions.What You’ll Discover About Improving Communications between Coworkers:* How to spot communication problems among coworkers* The most common communication hiccups among coworkers* How the elephant in the room * Simple ways to address the issues needed for improving communications between coworkers* How to overcome the fear of having challenging conversations* And MUCH MORE.Guest: Jerome MyersJerome Myers (a/k/a “J”) is a developer of people and places. He is the founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of two ventures. DreamCatchers is a boutique coaching firm that supports first and second generation wealth creators to self actualize and attain transcendence, and The Myers Development Group, where we help ordinary peopl

Start-up success is every entrepreneur’s dream. But how do you make it happen?Is there a secret ingredient, some magic formula?Today’s guest, Jan Cavelle took her start-up to over $10 million in sales and in today’s episode she’ll break down her process into bite sized pieces we can all digest. What You’ll Discover About Start-up Success:* How financially bootstrapping your business can contribute to start-up success* Why investors are not fairy godmothers* The role of the customer persona in start-up success* Why purpose matters to start-up success* The basic building blocks of start-up success and SO MUCH MORE.Guest: Jan CavelleJan is an entrepreneur from the UK who has a few decades of running entrepreneurial businesses behind her. One she started from the kitchen table when her children were small and she was a single mother, to go on to build that into a multi-million turnover business.She also promotes entrepreneurship through campaigns various and her books Jan has put her entrepreneurial exp

Improving the customer experience can sometime feel like an exercise in futility because it always feels like no matter what you do there’s always one person who is never satisfied.What You’ll Discover About Improving the Customer Experience:How to improve the customer experience with less effort.The questions you need to ask yourself before you can start improving the customer experience.What being a frictionless organization really means for improving the customer experience.How to make automation work for you instead of against you when improving the customer experience.2 ways even small businesses can make their business frictionless.And much MORE.Guest: Bill PriceBill Price was Amazon’s first global vice president of customer service and is the founder and president of Driva Solutions, a consultancy dedicated to creating highly effective customer contact strategies and operations.He has more than 35 years’ experience advising and directing major operations in more than 160 leading companies.He’