Imagine the first 15 seconds of any conversation in sales or marketing. Picture the homepage of a website, the initial beats of an advertisement, the opening lines of an email, or the introduction in a virtual Zoom room. These crucial moments are not just opportunities. They are the battlegrounds where a business either captivates or loses its audience. 

In this edition of the Knucklehead podcast, Stephen is joined by Kate DiLeo. Successful in building a winning brand pitch for outbound sales, Kate talks about how she transitioned from academia to sales and eventually became a bestselling author and founder of a brand strategy firm. She also explores the importance of building a strong brand strategy and how it can help businesses grow. 

Kate DiLeo is the Founder of The Brand Trifecta, an interactive brand-building program that has empowered thousands of organizations to build brands. An "accidental brand strategist" who originally intended to pursue a PhD in Anthropology, Kate discovered the power of branding during her first sales job. In the pursuit of making quota, Kate realized she needed to cut through the noise with a message that would compel prospects to want to have a conversation. It was that, or she was out of a job. The Brand Trifecta is rooted in her firm belief that brand is the path of least resistance to revenue. Kate is also a #1 International bestselling author who teaches at some of the world's premier marketing conferences and directly mentors startups through more than a dozen global accelerator programs.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

02:10 - Kate's story of how she accidentally became a brand strategist.

07:28 - The true meaning of a brand.

09:50 - What Kate learned in the early years of her career.

14:23 - The most common mistakes businesses make.

17:37 - How Kate thrived as a branding strategist.

19:01 - Kate's consulting, book, and tech product offerings.

Favorite Quotes

02:19 - "I don't think a lot of us, as entrepreneurs and leaders, have this perfectly straight line in our careers. We've had a lot of circumstantial, really interesting opportunities that lead us to where we are." - Kate DiLeo

05:51 - "Brand is the promise of who we say we are and the value we deliver. It's a language, and it's the power of language that ultimately leads to the path of least resistance to revenue."- Kate DiLeo

07:38 - "A brand is the first 15 seconds of any conversation, sales or marketing conversation. It's the homepage of your website, the first five seconds of an ad, the lead-in for your email, or what you say in the Zoom room. It's the first few things that somebody wants to know." - Kate DiLeo

10:26 - "The biggest downfall I used to make early on was that I would go write brand with marketing and marketing only. That is the dumbest thing ever because a brand is held by not only marketing but also the C-suite team or the founder and sales." - Kate DiLeo

11:01 - "A brand is the glue that holds sections of the organization together. It's the singular message that everybody is speaking in the organization — what we do, how we solve our customer's problems, and how we're different." - Kate DiLeo

Connect with Kate DiLeo:

LinkedIn

The Brand Trifecta

Website

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

• Knucklehead Media Group is your "push button" for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

The Knucklehead Podcast and MEDEVAC Podcast join forces in this episode to discuss the value of networks and communities. Our hosts, Stephen Colon, Christian Meyers, and David Reid, share their personal experiences in the military and the importance of valuing one's own story of struggle and recovery. They emphasize the power of resilience and the need to take risks and challenge oneself to grow and succeed. 

With a mission to share stories of service, injury, recovery, resiliency, failure, and success, David and Christian touch on the connection between health struggles and the military and how war impacts medical advancements. In the final segment, they speak about the Texas Valor Project and how they fight traumatic brain injuries.

David served in the US Army, while Christian served in the Air Force. They both have firsthand experience with combat and the challenges that come with it. Through their podcast, they aim to share stories of resilience and recovery, focusing on the experiences of injured veterans and the medical personnel who rescue and care for them.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

03:18 - The value of networking and connecting with others.

05:58 - How podcasts relate to the Oregon Trail story.

07:51 - The unique aspects of the military.

08:59 - How Knucklehead Podcast was born.

15:19 - The connection between the military and medical fields.

17:12 - A commonality between military and civilian adversity.

19:31 - How David and Christian value one's own story.

24:38 - What the Texas Valor Project (TVP) is about.

27:38 - How the transcranial magnetic stimulation helps with major brain functions.

33:39 - How nonprofit organizations bridge the gap in healthcare.

36:32 - The importance of vetting business partners and being true to oneself.

40:52 - How Stephen's screw-ups and mistakes led to his present success.

42:49 - David's advice to people who have been injured.

Favorite Quotes

08:04 - "Being in the military exposes you to a multitude of different worlds. And it unplugs you from the system you're in. It helps cultivate this environment of thinking outside the box." - David Reid

14:10 - "The problem that a lot of people face is that they're just in this community of being and feeling safe, so they never push themselves or challenge themselves. And that's what the military drives to. The military instills that resilience in you and that ability to push forward." - David Reid

15:30 - "Every major medical advancement of the last hundred years has been explicitly due to war. So every medical advancement, with plastic surgery, traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, and everything starting from World War I until the present day, was directly because of conflict." - Christian Meyers

16:27 - "Conflict creates the opportunity for breakthroughs." - Stephen Colon

17:40 - "Everybody faces their own battles. It doesn't matter if you're hit in war or you're crossing a street, and you see your best friend get hit. Post-traumatic stress is the same response physiologically across the board." - David Reid

43:27 - "If you're not getting failure, then you're not challenging yourself hard enough. You're not pushing yourself hard enough." - David Reid

43:35 - "Even the adversity that you're facing in this current moment is going to bring out the best version in yourself if you make the right choices along the way." - David Reid

How To Get Involved:

Texas Valor Project

Texas Gun Club

MEDEVAC Podcast

Knucklehead Media Group

How To Get Connected:

Christian Meyers

David Reid

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

• Knucklehead Media Group is your "push button" for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

For some lucky souls, the universe lays out a space for them, a place where they can fit into society. There are, however, others who do not conform to the traditional spaces and roles. They are square pegs in a round hole world. How can these individuals defy the conventional narrative and resist the constraints of societal norms? 

In this episode of the Knucklehead podcast, Stephen talks with Christopher Lochhead. A dyslexic paperboy from Montreal who got thrown out of school at 18, Christopher talks about how he created his own place in this world. With few other options, he became an entrepreneur, then three-time Silicon Valley public company CMO (Mercury Interactive, Scient, Vantive), and an investor/advisor to over 50 venture-backed startups.

Also best known as a "godfather" of Category Design, Christopher shares how he developed his content distribution strategy, why today is the greatest time in the history of human beings to be a creator and an entrepreneur, and how success is about failing in the right direction.

Christopher is a 14-time #1 bestselling Amazon author, #1 charting Apple business podcaster, top 5 business newsletter creator, and former 3X public tech company CMO. He co-authored the first two books on the management discipline Category Design, Play Bigger, and Niche Down. He also co-creates mini-books on Category Design, Category Pirates, and the Category Pirates Series of Amazon books. Recently, he co-authored #1 bestsellers "The 22 Laws of Category Design" and "Snow Leopard: How Legendary Writers Create A Category Of One". 

Enjoy!

In This Episode

01:30 - Christopher's strategy for delivering content.

05:10 - How Christopher developed his content distribution strategy.

11:17 - Knowledge workers versus creator capitalists.

15:22 - Christopher's newest category.

20:02 - One of the biggest fallacies in marketing.

22:14 - How Christopher's screw-ups led him to where he is today.

28:55 - What The 22 Laws of Category Design is all about.

33:22 - Christopher's final piece of advice. 

Favorite Quotes

00:00 - "I'm in giant intergalactic failure in every dimension. I don't even have a GED. I got thrown out of school at 18. I found out at 21 that I have five different learning differences — dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and a couple of others. And so at 18 years old, with very few choices because nobody would hire me to do anything, I started a company." - Christopher Lochhead

06:07 - "We're living in a new native digital world. Nobody really knows how to pioneer this world. And so we think that what's there to do is to go and play." - Christopher Lochhead

12:23 - "As the availability of all of humanity's knowledge becomes accessible and closer and closer to free over time, people who get paid to apply existing knowledge are gonna become less and less." - Christopher Lochhead

23:06 - "There are people for whom there is a place in this world. And there are some of us for whom there is no place, and we do not fit. And so rather than find a place, I have to make my place." - Christopher Lochhead

24:07 - "For me, entrepreneurship was not a way up in the world as much as it was a way out of a life of struggle and poverty." - Christopher Lochhead

26:09 - "If you experiment and create and push and pull and fail, lose a ton of money and get laughed at and be incredibly shamed and embarrassed by things and et cetera, that's innovation. Success is about failing in the right direction." - Christopher Lochhead

31:38 - "If you view yourself as a person/company that is trying to catalyze a movement and bring people together and drive a conversation, magic happens." - Christopher Lochhead

33:25 - "This is the greatest time of technological innovation in the history of human beings. And it is the greatest time in the history of human beings to be a creator and an entrepreneur." - Christopher Lochhead

33:53 - "The future needs the entrepreneurs, the creators, the innovators, the pirates, and dreamers to do exponential things to create different futures. And there's never been a greater time to create different futures and category design your own new markets than right now." - Christopher Lochhead

Connect with Christopher Lochhead

• Website

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

Knucklehead Media Group is your "push button" for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

Selling is essential for all business owners and salespeople, but knowing how to do it effectively can be challenging. Despite having a great product or service, sellers may need help to close deals and generate revenue. While each business is unique, and each salesperson has their own strengths and weaknesses, how can business owners and sellers sell more effectively and achieve greater success in their business?

In this edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, Stephen talks with Adam Boyd, Principal at The Northwood Group. A former high school English teacher and football coach, Adam talks about the parallels between football and real-world business, the screw-ups he made in his sales career, and how he now helps owners and sellers expand their businesses.

Adam Boyd is the Principal at The Northwood Group, a consulting firm that delivers best practices for sales teams and professional services firms to win more business. Adam has over 15 years of working with small to mid-sized businesses on sales growth. His expertise is deep in direct selling, sales management, and lead generation. Adam has consulted in over 20 industries, had an exit, worked in turnarounds, started a business from the ground floor, and had his share of failures. He's cold-called, sold to CEOs, built and managed campaigns, and led teams to set records. Adam began his career as a high school English teacher and football coach.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

03:25 - Backstory of Adam Boyd

06:46 - The most common mistake people make when it comes to learning

08:49 - The parallels between football and real-world business

14:51 - Some of the screw-ups Adam made in his sales career

21:20 - Adam's approach to working with business organizations

25:01 - How Adam can help business owners and sellers expand their businesses

Favorite Quotes

03:46 - "People from a coaching standpoint needed repetition and a lot of feedback to see what they were doing." - Adam Boyd

15:25 - "For anybody who has to sell and work on the phone, they've got the risk of rejection. There has to be a deep desire to get where they're trying to go, or else it's just hell." - Adam Boyd

19:48 - "One of the things that I've done poorly in my life is not making sure people are committed to doing what it takes to get where they want to go." - Adam Boyd

22:16 - "Anything in our life that's done well takes a little bit of time." - Adam Boyd

27:11 - "We all talk about how failure's a great teacher, but it's painful when you're going through it." - Adam Boyd

Connect with Adam Boyd

• LinkedIn
• The North Wood Group
• Grab your COVID-19 survivor T-shirt HERE

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

• Knucklehead Media Group is your "push button" for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

When it comes to family businesses, there are a lot of different dynamics at play. And when things go wrong, it can be tough to cope with the fallout. Bankruptcy can be a very difficult and stressful time for everyone involved. The impact on mental health is often devastating and can feel like a personal failure. 

In today's edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, our guest, Billy Self, talks about the trauma his parents went through when their family business went bankrupt. He also shares the story of his journey to taking over the family business, how he became a serial entrepreneur, and what the most significant turning point in his life and business was. Despite the many failures in his business, Billy realized how faith can make a huge difference in someone else's life and why mentorship is so valuable.

Billy Self is the President of Warehouse-Pro, a project and contractual provider of warehousing, distribution, merchandising, freight management, and specialized logistics services for retail, technology, and various other industry verticals. Its mission is more than shipping and warehousing – it's about giving your business the space it needs to grow and expand into new markets. 

Enjoy!

In This Episode

03:22 - Backstory of Billy Self

05:39 - How Billy's family business recovered from bankruptcy

09:12 - The trauma Billy's parents experienced when their family business failed

10:33 - How Billy's father got involved in politics

13:42 - Billy's journey to taking over his family's business

19:05 - What motivated Billy to run the family business despite many challenges

25:42 - How Billy discovered that he's more of a salesman than an operator

28:34 - How Billy became a serial entrepreneur

35:48 - How Billy overcame his self-doubt

45:10 - One of Billy's most significant turning points in life and business

57:23 - Billy's thoughts on how things turned out during his most challenging times

1:04:23 - Billy's advice to his younger self

Favorite Quotes

19:05 - "I didn't have any other options at that time. But once I got into it and my frustration was at its highest, I didn't know what to do. I was crying many times about how to make payroll. My grandfather pulled me aside and said, 'you don't know what it's like to run a small business until you're crying on a Thursday night because you don't know how you make payroll the next day. And I experienced that quite a few times." - Billy Self

31:38 - "The trauma of bankruptcy for my dad in the early eighties always stuck with him. He never tells me what to do. He would go, "son, my experience is this debt is scary. Keep yourself out of court and keep yourself out of dangerous debt." - Billy Self

53:50 - "I was a functioning alcoholic. And so all the stressors, all the self-doubt of my whole adult career and the company was a lot of drinking - drinking at the office, drinking after the office, drinking at home, drinking again after that. It was bad. And it had gotten to where I couldn't remember the last time I didn't have a drink on a day." - Billy Self

54:43 - "I stopped drinking on September 10th, 2018. That was my last drink. It was a big deal for me, and that's when my faith leapfrogged. I got closer to God because there was a big piece of my life that I was giving too much to alcohol, self-doubt going, and self-medicating." - Billy Self

55:19 - "It was a year after stopping drinking that the warehouse opportunity to go across the street to the bigger place came with a handshake deal. I have never met anybody who could lease a warehouse space on a handshake." - Billy Self

59:40 - "I want my girls to know that it's okay to fail, and it's cool to fail greatly as long as you feel what God was putting on your heart to try." - Billy Self

1:04:53 - "Don't stop searching for the best mentor to help you walk through your career and your life." - Billy Self

Connect with Billy Self
LinkedIn
Warehouse-Pro

Grab your COVID 19 survivor T-shirt HERE

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group

Website
Facebook
Twitter

• Knucklehead Media Group is your "push button" for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

As technology continues to evolve, new platforms for marketing emerge. While some marketing strategies become outdated, others become more relevant than ever. One such strategy is video marketing. When done correctly, video marketing can help businesses to reach a wider audience, build brand awareness, and generate leads and sales.

In today's edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, our guest, Evan Renfroe, talks about how he got into the video and media industry, his biggest failure in his fitness business, and how video marketing can help local businesses gain a competitive edge.

Evan Renfroe is a Storyteller and Videographer at Maximized Media Productions. He helps small businesses grow by utilizing effective media and marketing strategies. Evan believes that marketing is the story we tell to invite others into the experience, and video marketing is the vehicle through which that story is shared. In his view, video marketing has two aspects, one dealing with the business side or strategy and the other with the content side or creative.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

00:55 - How Evan got into the video and media industry

02:52 - What was it about videos that caught Evan's attention

06:01 - The biggest failure Evan had in his fitness business

13:45 - What prompted Evan to enter the marketing industry

19:07 - How video marketing can help local businesses gain a competitive edge

27:59 - The challenges digital media companies face

33:06 - What inspired Evan to establish a media production company

Favorite Quotes

03:10 - "Above all, video is that tool that I believe can transfer the highest level of emotion and passion. And if done well, it can elicit a cascade of emotions. If you're selling fitness, you have to effectively encourage someone enough or interrupt their current habits and patterns enough for them to recognize they need to make a change. In a video, you can translate passion and excitement well. And that conviction is transferred over." - Evan Renfroe

21:20 - "If you are an expert in your space, what are frequently asked questions, and make a video series about that. It doesn't have to be super high production. It can just be a true concern about the person watching. That would be the best starting point for most service-based businesses." - Evan Renfroe

34:38 - "I like to take both worlds and bring them together. I unapologetically want us to create a massively successful marketing and media agency, and I want to make an obscene amount of money so that I can make an impact for the kingdom." - Evan Renfroe

Connect with Evan Renfroe

LinkedIn

Facebook

YouTube

Maximized Media Productions Website

Maximized Media Productions on Facebook

Maximized Media Productions YouTube

Grab your COVID 19 survivor T-shirt HERE

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group
Website
Facebook
Twitter

• Knucklehead Media Group is your “push button” for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

For many people, owning their own business is an appealing proposition. However, the realities of starting and running a successful business can be daunting. But for those with an entrepreneurial spirit, franchising is a much better option. Franchising offers would-be business owners the opportunity to get started with a proven business model and to benefit from the support of a successful franchisor and a larger organization.

In today's edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, our guest, Jon Ostenson, talks about what inspired him to transition from the corporate to the business world, what led him to scale down his business, and how he guides people through the franchise process.

Jon Ostenson is the Founder and CEO of Franbridge Consulting, a premier source of non-food franchise opportunities for entrepreneurs and executives. Jon is a top 1% Franchise Consultant in the US and a frequent contributor to franchising across various outlets and publications. He is a multi-brand franchisee and has great operators leading these ventures along with his business partners. As a result, Jon can commit over 90% of his time to help others achieve their dreams of freedom and wealth generation through business ownership.

Enjoy!
 

In This Episode

02:32 - Backstory of Jon Ostenson

04:20 - What inspired Jon to become an entrepreneur

06:52 - What led Jon to scale down his business

12:59 - The difference between start-ups and franchises

18:17 - How seasoned entrepreneurs are entering the franchise business

20:58 - How Jon guides people through the franchise process

26:13 - What was life like after Jon scaled down his business

Favorite Quotes

05:50 - "It's a ton of responsibility when you're bringing team members on, and you are the one that makes the decisions." - Jon Ostenson

11:20 - "Looking back, I made a lot of mistakes in how I handled personnel at a difficult time. I think at times I'm very task-oriented, or it's more cogs in the wheel, how it's very on paper. But then you hear the personal stories on the back end, the worries and concerns that are keeping people up at night. I think I probably could have had a little more empathy early on. I tried to towards the end. Still proud of how we handled it, but there were different bumps along the way." - Jon Ostenson

13:43 - "The most attractive things about franchising are that you've got a proven business model and have the franchisor on the sideline like a coach. The better you do, the better they do. So you're in business for yourself and not by yourself." - Jon Ostenson

26:36 - "I love what I do because I see the fruits of my labor, helping others, and helping my clients get into business ownership. It's one of the most rewarding types of jobs I can imagine. We're creating jobs, and we're creating business owners." - Jon Ostenson

Connect with Jon Ostenson
LinkedIn
FranBridge Consulting

Grab your COVID 19 survivor T-shirt HERE

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group
Website
Facebook
Twitter

• Knucklehead Media Group is your “push button” for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

Small businesses often face challenges in building a positive reputation and generating media coverage. That's because they don't have the same resources as larger businesses. They may not have a dedicated marketing or public relations team or have the budget to pay for advertising. How can small companies step up their public relations game to attract customers and generate revenue from dream clients?

In today's edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, Mickie Kennedy talks about Public Relations (PR). He will share how PR is a great business strategy, his business model, and how technology has changed how PR works.

Mickie Kennedy is the Founder and President of eReleases, a leader in affordable press release writing and distribution services. He developed eReleases in 1998, believing that publicity is not only for the big guys and to give small businesses access to the media and national newswire. eReleases delivers personal service and exceptional value to every customer, with every press release at every price point.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

02:39 - Mickie's struggles during the first 14 years of his business

05:29 - What motivated Mickie to join mastermind groups

08:00 - Mickie's business model

11:15 - How Mickie overcame business challenges

15:53 - How anyone can develop a PR strategy

20:00 - An example of PR going in a different direction

22:52 - How technology has changed PR

24:55 - A list of companies that excel at PR

27:06 - Why people with different political viewpoints are so deeply divided

Favorite Quotes

03:19 - "I was a micromanager, and my exacting expectation of perfection cost my employees their sanity." - Mickie Kennedy

04:10 - "This HR professional did me a favor by identifying that I was the weak link. I was the reason that people did not like being there." - Mickie Kennedy

17:17 - "When everybody in your industry is talking about one hot button issue, it's so easy to just join the conversation with another 'me too, and here's my opinion on it.' You're not going to stand out in a crowded marketplace where you're just agreeing with everybody. But if you're willing to have a rational contrarian viewpoint on a trending topic, you're going to appear in a lot more articles than just agreeing with it and going along with it." - Mickie Kenny

30:30 - "Being human and having conversations is productive because you can get and build a relationship with someone. And I think that relationship is how we will have a successful business." - Mickie Kennedy

Connect with Mickie Kennedy
LinkedIn
eReleases

Free Master Class: How to Build a PR Campaign Designed to Get Massive Media Coverage

Grab your COVID 19 survivor T-shirt HERE

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group
Website
Facebook

• Knucklehead Media Group is your “push button” for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

Working in the film industry can be a very rewarding experience. You get to be a part of the creative process, collaborate with other talented individuals, and see your work come to life on the big screen. However, it's important to keep in mind that the film industry is also a business. There are many moving parts, and things can change very quickly. That is what our guest, Tim Tortora, shares today.

In today's edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, Tim Tortora talks about what attracted him to the entertainment industry, his secret to a successful career, and his fair share of screw-ups.

Tim Tortora is a Hollywood CFO and Movie Producer with 30+ years of experience in finance and physical logistics of filmmaking. His executive experience and drive for innovation motivated him and his team to launch the F3 System™ in Fall 2017. Tim now oversees day-to-day management of the Outsourced CFO service, Full Force Financial, where he and his firm deliver a done-for-you suite of back-end financial processing and forecasting for content creators.

Enjoy! 

In This Episode

04:55 - How diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry have evolved over time

07:54 - How the movie industry measures the quality of its content

10:43 - What attracted Tim to the entertainment industry

13:31 - What prevents Tim from using drugs and alcohol

15:38 - The common traits of successful business people

17:56 - Tim's secret to a successful career 

24:40 - Tim's fair share of screw-ups

29:21 - What Tim has to say about making mistakes

Favorite Quotes

05:43 - "Diversity is not a new concept, and it's been happening. It's been going on for a while. What you see on the front end is a dramatic change. You're seeing a lot more faces of diversity on the screen where you didn't get five years ago." - Tim Tortora

10:19 - "I like to liken this business to throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks. We make a lot of stuff, many different kinds of things. And when it works, it's cookie cutter. It's replicate, rinse, repeat, and do it again. Same story, different actors, slightly different twist, but it's kind of the same thing. Cookie-cutter over and over, and once in a while, you get an anomaly." - Tim Tortora

18:45 - "You have to let creatives spin out into the universe and reel them back in. They're going to give you a hundred ideas. Ninety-five of them are going to be terrible ideas. And you have to figure out which ones are the five." - Tim Tortora

19:44 - "The best movies I've worked on were the hardest, the most contentious, with the greatest amount of fight and confrontation I've ever worked on in my entire career." - Tim Tortora

22:16 - "I have worked around creatives and supported creatives my entire career in a way where I can be a part of the creation of music, movies, and television. And that, to me, has been as rewarding and fulfilling as making the content or making whatever it is we're working on." - Tim Tortora

Engage with Tim Tortora
LinkedIn
Website

Grab your COVID 19 survivor T-shirt HERE

Connect with Knucklehead Media Group
Website
Facebook

• Knucklehead Media Group is your “push button” for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast

The business world is ever-changing and evolving. What once worked ten or twenty years ago may no longer work today. As society evolves, so must the business world. With technology-driven businesses and social media marketing on the rise, it can be tricky to navigate the waters of social media while remaining true to your brand. How can entrepreneurs build a business that can stand the test of time?

In today’s edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, our guest, B. Jeffrey Madoff, talks about the biggest changes in business today, his principles for establishing a successful company, and how he reacts to mistakes in the industry.

B. Jeffrey Madoff is the founder of Madoff Productions, based in New York City. His company collaborates with ad agencies, public relations firms and directly with clients to produce commercials, corporate branding films, live streaming events, and branded content.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

01:21- The biggest changes in business today

04:37 - Jeffrey's definition of success

06:35 - How social media is being used to show the fake success of businesses

08:14 - Jeffrey's principles for establishing a successful business

10:59 - A real-life example of how trust is essential to a business

17:25 - Why truth can sometimes feel frightening and daunting

18:59 - How Jeffrey deals with mistakes in the industry

25:00 - Jeffrey's last words of advice

Favorite Quotes

01:57 - "Social media has amplified and given the opportunity to amplify the voice from the other side of the transaction so to speak. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's very toxic and destructive. Because it's relatively new, we're still learning how to navigate that and do it in a healthy way." - B. Jeffrey Madoff

02:21 - "The whole social dynamic brought about changes that have affected business. Take, for instance, the transition from brick and mortar to online businesses." - B. Jeffrey Madoff

03:13 - "The path along the way to business has become on one hand more democratized because there's not the barrier to entry in the same way they were. But there's also so many more people clamoring after the success that it's become a very crowded playing field and how do you make yourself distinctive and create a brand that will resonate with a wide consumer public out there." - B. Jeffrey Madoff

05:00 - "In business, successful to me is being able to say no without catastrophic business consequences and it doesn't hurt me financially, that I am well enough protected that I can say no." - B. Jeffrey Madoff

05:19 -"On a personal level, success to me is the integrity and maintenance of deep, long-term relationships with my family and closest friends. I believe the true currency in life is the integrity and longevity of the relationships that you have and maintain." - B. Jeffrey Madoff

09:21 - "And you know what means something is what you actually do, not what you say you're going to do, what you actually deliver, not what you say you're going to deliver. And that seemed to me to be just how you do business. It doesn't make any difference how big you get. What makes a difference is that you can always follow through on the trust you've established and deliver what you say you're going to deliver." - B. Jeffrey Madoff

25:08 - "Stay curious and keep educating yourself because that's the best way to not only be fulfilled but to stay ahead of the curve and be equal to the challenges you have to face. There's a lot of knowledge out there that you can share in, but only if you're curious and only if you're willing to admit what you don't know." - B. Jeffrey Madoff

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Cryptocurrency represents a new form of digital asset that sits outside the traditional financial system. It is an asset class that is uncorrelated to the stock market providing investors with a greater opportunity for portfolio diversification. With crypto becoming a more and more popular investment, what makes it so appealing at a time when stock markets are volatile?

In today’s edition of the Knucklehead Podcast, our guest, Jeff Sekinger talks about what attracted him to cryptocurrency investing, why crypto is an important component of a portfolio, as well as the darkest point in his life that led him to where he is today.

Jeff Sekinger is the Chief Investment Officer at Boron Capital, an alternative wealth management firm that specializes in moving people from the volatility of the public markets into private investment fund options focused in real estate and cryptocurrency.

Jeff Sekinger is also the Founder of 0 Percent, a financial consulting firm that empowers people to accelerate their path to financial freedom through financial education and consulting services and Orca Capital, a cryptocurrency hedge fund that manages multiple 8 figures of assets for 60+ limited partners around the globe.

Enjoy!

In This Episode

02:15 - What drew Jeff to a career in investment management

06:31 - What attracted Jeff to crypto investing

07:41 - Why Jeff lost interest in the traditional wealth management job

10:31 - Why crypto is an important component of a portfolio

14:20 - What sets Jeff apart from other crypto investors

16:48 - Darkest point in his life that led him to where he is today

19:55 - How to learn more about cryptocurrency investing

Favorite Quotes

05:49 - "I'm all about personal development. I took a lot of different courses, read books, and I figured out what my highest values were. My highest values were to have freedom, options, and choices to do what I want with my time, energy, and resources. I want to see impact on people. I want an untapped earning potential." - Jeff Sekinger

06:31 - "So, cryptocurrency was the underdog. It was unconventional, it was an alternative asset, and I was just naturally gravitating towards it. And I'm like, why not just shift into something that actually is aligned with my values, and then I'm naturally gravitating towards and doing that in my free time and being even more happy and inspired with what I'm doing." - Jeff Sekinger

10:55 - "There's no denying that crypto is incredibly important to have in your portfolio. The reason is that primarily it has been uncorrelated to other assets. So when you're designing a portfolio, you want to have proper portfolio allocation and well-diversified assets." - Jeff Sekinger

16:05 - "A lot of the coins don't actually have utility. And that's why we like to invest in the coins that are tied to the native blockchain so that we can look at the valuation based on the network effect of all of the data on that blockchain evolving and growing. " - Jeff Sekinger

18:52 - "I really do believe that your problems can become your purpose if you allow them to. And sometimes it takes time for those things to play out. And when they do, everything clicks and you realize those things were meant to be because I have what I have now." - Jeff Sekinger

Engage with Jeff Sekinger

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Connect with Knucklehead Media Group

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Knucklehead Media Group is your “push button” for podcasts. We help companies and organizations tell their story using podcasts and best practices for content distribution. Home to some of the top podcasts across multiple categories, captivating coursework on gaining traction with your show, and consulting to those companies BOLD enough to get some wins. We believe your mistakes set the foundation for your success, those stories help customers beat a pathway to your doorstep, and the myths from bringing business online shouldn't hold you back from getting yours. 

Click here for more episodes of the Knucklehead Podcast