Paul came to America from England 20 years ago working in an industry completely unrelated to sports. Now, after a successful career, he is combining his business acumen and skills of team leading with his love of boxing to bring back Detroits iconic Kronk brand and gym. Hear how Paul developed over the years and how when people and passion for growth are aligned then success happens, regardless of the product and service. Taking that formula and combining it with his passion of boxing ...

Hear how Jo, Kyle and Humna came together from different experiences in Detroits food scene to open a highly successful bakery in Oak Park. Forest bakery is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 -2 but those limited hours require a full week of prep and dedication to produce the high quality products they have become known for. Hear how they were very intentional with their business plan so that they would have a work life balance that works for them. This includes not wanting to hire employe...

It can be said running a business is like running a marathon however running a business or a marathon does not have to be grueling slog like that phrase infers. Here we talk to Justin about his love of running itself as well as starting up a business in downtown Detroit before downtown started to regenerate. Hear Justin talk honestly about business challenges and how his store has evolved from a fight to survive, to innovative sales and marketing techniques with Garmin watches 10 years ...

Awenate speaks about what made him leave a great role at the Whitehouse to come to Detroit with the Pistons initially before taking a role with the Bedrock Manufacturing group where he became CEO and is heading up the Shinola brand.His journey is one of always demanding more from himself and never accepting staying 'comfortable' whether that was in his role at the NFL, The Whitehouse or The Pistons.Take a listen to this episode with Awenate and you will understand why he is a respected leader...

Cam shares his candid insights from leaving college early to help run his familys Tim Hortons franchises.While there he found more efficient ways to serve customers in the drive through and he also started considering other food related technologies that could increase efficiency.During COVID the decision was made to sell the franchises and Cam went full time into investing in start ups in the food industry, which was something he had been learning about the past few years.With the right rese...

Hear Connie not only talk about her career but about what it was like growing up in foster care. At 10 years old she had to make a mature decision about her living arrangements and ever since Connie has been decisive in her choices and with her strong work ethic and drive she progressed in the news and TV industry.During COVID, she was home with her 6 kids and realized she didn't want to go back full time to the role she had built for herself in TV. She wanted more flexibility and that led he...

Hear Terry talk about how he and his wife Theresa decided to work together but in separate roles. Theresa is a vet and Terry runs the business side and that formula has seen them grow successfully over the past 30 plus years to where they now run;Dandy Acres in South LyonEasthaven in Ann ArborShelter Bay in NoviIf you want to run your own business in the medical space or are thinking about working with your significant, other then you need to listen to this episodeWe aim for you to enjoy each...

Hear Colleen talk about the decision by her and her husband for her to leave the corporate world of being an engineer and decide to invest in a franchise. Hear how they chose and researched the franchise and came to the decision to go for it even though they had busy lives with a young daughter at home.Not only that but COVID hit shortly after they opened and provided more challenges.In this episode Colleen reflects on her successes and challenges since then and life lessons learned.We ...

Dr. Capone is an internationally recognized clinician, surgeon and educator. He has authored or co-authored over 200 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, book chapters, and publications from clinical trials. He is currently a Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Oakland University, and Professor at the European School for Advanced Studies in Ophthalmology, Lugano, Switzerland.He is also Chief clinical Officer for EyeCare Partners. EyeCare Partners is the nation’s leading provider of...

Listen to this fascinating and uplifting conversation with Sheriff Swanson where we talk about his personal story but also about the challenges facing police officers today and how he and his department are facing them.We also discuss issues affecting the community such as drugs, mental health, guns and jails. It is in the jails that Chris is championing the I.G.N.I.T.E. program to help give inmates skills and qualifications.Being a sheriff is more than enough for many but Chris also runs Swa...

Kathy and her mother Irene opened this nationally acclaimed massage school in 1987 after so many people were requesting for Irene to teach them her specialized methods.Hear how Kathy and Irene had very defined roles and worked together as a great team to develop and hold extremely high standards. Standards that mean some spas will only hire massage therapists who have been trained at Irene's.Since Irene passed at age 90 in 2010 hear how Kathy has continued and built upon Irene's legacy. Kathy...

Imagine being 18 years old with children aged 18 and six months old and hearing the sentence of life without parole, or death while incarcerated as Darryl calls it, being announced by the judge for a crime you didn't commit.If that did not test Darryl's self belief sufficiently, 7 years in to his sentence the original judge said his conviction should not stand however the Michigan Supreme court would not give him a retrial. After exhausting all efforts down that route Darryl ended up staying ...

Dr. Sarah Kirsch's journey is an inspiring testament to resilience and determination in the face of adversity. Despite experiencing a sudden health challenge, she didn't let it derail her passion for helping others through her chiropractic and functional medicine practice. Instead, she used her own experience as a patient to enhance her understanding and empathy towards her clients.Her holistic approach to healthcare, influenced by her own positive experience with a chiropractor who looked at...

Education has always been forefront in many people's lives from their decision of which school district to live in to their decision of whether to educate their child via private, public or home school.Hear about Toms journey where he details working in a number of prestigious schools in different states in roles such as head of admission, to his last couple of roles as head of school. Education and managing a school community is more than just teaching, its handling a diverse campus of ...

What does it take to be an Olympian? You may not think that the answer is to take 2 years away from the sport between 18 and 20 years old but this is a part of Jason's story.Jason shares his story about being adopted when he was a few days old and how he went from ice hockey to figure skating, then almost walking away from the sport when he went to college.When he decided to return to it, things were just falling short and he had a gut check moment where he asked himself what were the extra 2...

As we wrap up season 2 we go back through some of our guests this season and take lessons from the thoughts they have shared in the last 20 minutes of each of their episodes.We have found that the first part of the interview sets the stage for their story and that in the last 20 minutes people are fully emersed and comfortable. This can be where raw truths and heartfelt reflections take place.While we haven't had time in this wrap up to play exerts from all our interviews, they all had clip w...

Hear how Lee, who is originally from England, completed an economics degree and then followed opportunities that took him to America and then eventually into banking.This discussion talks about his leadership style and how he bases a lot of it on principles talked about in Jim Collins book, "From Good to Great."Before the interview I had asked Lee, "What is a stereotype about your industry that you disagree with?" He replied, "I don't agree with the stereotype that banking is boring. There ar...

When is the perfect time to start your own business? I think the general answer I can deduce from many of our guests is, "When it feels right and you can no longer resist the urge to".That moment came for Victoria just after she was married and they were living with her parents for a year while their house was being remodeled. Victoria decided to leave her corporate job she had worked her way up in to start her dog training company.In less than a year Victoria has grown tremendously and ...

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run - yours is the earth and everything that's in it" - Rudyard KiplingDoing the interviews with our guests on the podcast inspires me as I hear how they overcame challenges and moments of self doubt. A main theme between them all is that they took action. They filled the unforgiving minute with their version of 60 seconds worth of distance runNow for our 25th episode overall, I am on the other side of the microphone. T...

Transitioning from the alcoholic beverage world to the Non-Alcoholic business world.Mark is best known for his role with Atwater Brewery, the company he first invested in and later purchased in its entirety. During his two decades at the helm, Mark leveraged his automotive background to help Atwater grow into the fourth largest (of more than 350) craft breweries in Michigan, producing and distributing dozens of beers, plus award-winning hard seltzers, spirits and four unique taphouse destinat...