Grace talks with floral business expert Kimberlee Grob about the intricate balance of creativity and commerce in the world of flowers. Kimberlee shares her journey in the floral industry, emphasizing the unique art of crafting customized floral arrangements that speak to individual emotions and celebrations.

From navigating the pandemic’s challenges to insights on understanding customer needs beyond price, Kimberlee’s experiences are a blooming inspiration for small business owners.

Kimberlee brings her wealth of experience and heartfelt stories from her journey as a florist, showcasing her dedication to making every arrangement a meaningful gift. Tune in to learn how Locker’s Florist built a loyal customer base through trust, creativity, and top-notch service.

Episode Highlights:

03:08 - I often say that being a florist is very much like being a hairdresser or bartender. We are there at the very best and worst times, and we hear everything. You're getting married. You had a fight with your wife. It's your big anniversary. You had a new baby. I mean, all those highs and lows.

04:57 - It's a psychology thing. You have to train yourself to be open to what the customer needs and what's going to have the best effect for that, because that's what keeps them coming back. If it costs a little bit more than what they expected, but they get a bigger reaction to it, that's a win, and they're still going to call you again.

07:15 - As business owners, you have to be like a hummingbird and be willing to backtrack and rethink something, and approach it from a new direction. I hate to use the word pivot, but being able to hover and maybe back up and reassess is a great skill to have.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Kimberlee Grob

LinkedIn

Grace chats with trauma coaching expert Christine Welch, exploring the core of overcoming life's unseen obstacles. Christine unpacks the psychological blocks that hold us back and shares transformative strategies from her three-year journey as the founder of Clarity Collab.

They discuss the profound impact of personal and professional trauma and the steps necessary for overcoming them, along with Christine's newly launched IGNITE-Women of Integrity initiative. Christine shares her rich background in emergency services and how it has shaped her approach to trauma coaching and life coaching.

Their engaging conversation is peppered with insights into the struggles of business ownership and practical advice for delegating and focusing on one's strengths.

Episode Highlights:

02:51 - What I have discovered is that very often there's some underlying components to what's keeping you stuck, and usually that's some type of icky safety trauma something.

03:40 - Sometimes we carry around trauma in a backpack forever. Like this thing happened to me or around me, and there's some belief that I have to carry this around forever. It keeps me safe.

04:32 - The key to trauma is that it doesn't always have to be a great big thing. Sometimes it's little tiny events that occur over and over and over again. Sometimes it is that one big event, but trauma can look different, feel different, and sound different to everyone. But we all experience it at some point in our lives.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Christine Welch

LinkedIn

Join host Grace Bruins as she explores the power of AI for business with Nikki Lee from Genhead. In this episode, Nikki shares her journey from film to tech and highlights the transformative potential of AI in the business world.

We get to hear how Genhead’s innovative AI solutions can help small businesses thrive and maintain a personal touch in an increasingly digital world. Nikki also offers inspiring advice for business owners on the importance of moving forward and embracing new technologies without fear.

Nikki brings her unique perspective and practical strategies aimed at helping small businesses compete and succeed in a competitive market.

Episode Highlights:

01:25 - AI lead generation, that's finding leads, bringing them into our CRM that we refer to as Gensuite, and then dripping them into highly personalized AI messaging so we can give that personal touch to that prospect at a capacity and rate that just---let's be real---no normal person can do. That is such an essential part to growing a business, especially in a world where paid media is just becoming increasingly more expensive and harder for smaller businesses to sort of get that skin in the game.

03:17 - By learning that myself, I saw all of the possibilities that AI could help and benefit my life, and I'm just so inspired to help bring that to business owners and also customers.

07:51 - AI can be a really great way to help you get to that place where you can hire a proper executive assistant that can then use those processes that we're helping put in place to make even their job better.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Nikki Lee

LinkedIn

Grace Bruins connects with award-winning event emcee, Sara Deacon, from 360° Emcee. Sara shares her journey from coaching to finding her true passion as an event facilitator and emcee, offering invaluable insights for business owners looking to host impactful events.

In this episode, Sara is a beacon of wisdom, revealing the significance of trusting your instincts and the value of authentic engagement. Hear about her remarkable experiences, including sharing a stage with celebrity surfer Bethany Hamilton and her unique approach to event facilitation that ensures attendees feel seen, heard, and engaged long after the event is over.

Episode Highlights:

01:45 - I realized that was really where my passion was, being on stage and then event facilitation. Event emcee-ing was something that that came into my world, and I could be happy doing nothing else but this.

05:48 - The magic happens when I can have a little bit more of a back and forth and conversation around what's the vision of the event and what are we trying to accomplish, and offer input and suggestions in a way that still leaves the person in-charge in charge.

07:22 - Businesses like yours that as you're starting and growing, you know what you're doing. As far as your craft, you understand your business, but do you understand the money side of it? And that's hopefully where you can find a good partner or a mentor to help you along the way.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Sara Deacon

LinkedIn

Grace Bruins sits down with hiring expert Talmar Anderson to unpack the unique challenges faced by small business owners in building effective and loyal teams. Tamara brings her seasoned insights on hiring and managing staff, drawn from her experience at Boss HQ.

Together, they discuss practical strategies for overcoming the common pitfalls in recruitment and leadership, emphasizing the importance of defining success in roles and understanding the true cost of hiring for potential rather than capability.

Talmar shares her patented "bossification" process, designed to streamline hiring and foster a stronger leadership culture within small businesses.

Episode Highlights

01:26 - We are serving clients with our first in-person event in Savannah, Georgia in January. We're teaching business owners how to really step into that CEO and how to hire a trusted second-in-command, how to really build that leadership team that they can count on so they can step out.

02:51 - The key is we have to take the time to sit down and decide and define what success is in this role before we start to write employment ads and job descriptions and interview people because we can't build positions around personalities.

06:43 - We're spending too much time fixing people's mistakes. We're spending too much time trying to get them to truly understand what they need to do or worse, trying to get them to care about moving up when they're like, "I kind of like just being this person."

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Talmar Anderson

LinkedIn

Grace Bruins sits down with Pat Miller, founder of the Small Business Owners Community, to discuss the exciting and ever-evolving role of AI in today’s business world.

Pat shares his journey from a two-decade career in broadcasting to becoming a leading advocate for AI integration in small businesses. Pat unveils practical strategies for leveraging AI to boost productivity, create stellar content, and maintain a competitive edge.

Listeners can expect a relaxed, yet insightful discussion as Grace and Pat unpack the practical side of AI, with plenty of actionable takeaways. Tune in to hear Grace and Pat talk through real-world strategies and how AI is shaping the future of small business growth. This is one conversation you won't want to miss!

Episode Highlights

13:20 - You can hold a meeting with someone and then run that transcript through ChatGPT or whatever your AI tool might be and ask it to interpret what it heard or what it read in the transcript from the person you were working with.

15:30 - The thing that you should be scared about is if you're trying to ignore it or wish that it's not part of your reality. If that's you, you should be scared.

23:54 - When you start with a pen and a paper and you start writing down repetitive tasks, tasks that take way too long, and tasks that you hate, because we all have tasks that we don't like to do. You'll end up with a list of stuff that's repetitive, time-consuming, not fun, not fulfilling.

39:09 - That's why you need others around you that will challenge you, will support you, and will honor you and most of all, will understand.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Pat Miller

Website

LinkedIn

Grace unveils the secrets of brand storytelling magic with co-founders Dave & Michael Neelsen of StoryFirst Media. Learn how storytelling goes beyond marketing to become the core of a successful business strategy.

Dave and Michael share insights from their unique father-son collaboration and reveal how they transitioned from production to powerful storytelling consultation. Grace dissects the art of turning animal facts into inspirational advice, proving that even armadillos have their wisdom!

Episode Highlights:

07:25 - The biggest power is when you can show it through your actions. So that's what we do every day in a business. But when you're talking about a marketing perspective, bringing it to life. One of the greatest things about video is because it can tell a story in a way that other mediums can't because you have the power of the visual to actually be able to bring it to life.

25:27 - We are trying to deliver that storytelling clarity, that action-based story guide that comes in a similar kind of packet, but it's not about graphics. It's not about brand colors. It's not about all that stuff. It is about how does this brand behave in the pursuit of success for the customer.

32:28 - Understand that the story you're telling is not yours. It's your customer story. And that what that really means is everything that you're doing is in some way playing a scene or a role in the customer's narrative.

Contact

Connect with Grace Bruins

LinkedIn

Connect with Dave and Michael Neelsen

Website

Join host Grace Bruins as she chats with Dr. Stacia Thompson, President and CEO of Sherman Phoenix, about the power of community and collaboration in supporting Milwaukee's entrepreneurs.

Dr. Stacia Thompson, a recognized figure for her leadership and innovation, shares about the transformative role of Sherman Phoenix as a non-traditional incubator and entrepreneurial hub. Discover compelling stories of success, resilience, and the importance of community support in fostering business growth.

Episode Highlights

05:18 - We're a marketplace, but we really are an entrepreneurial hub. So we are a non-traditional incubator. In addition to that, we also have event space that we use for ourselves. Some of our business owners in-house use it, but then others come and rent it out.

08:41 - The beauty of us being the foundation is everything doesn't have to happen in the building. We've got some amazing partnerships around the city and around the state in which we can go there, they can come here to do this programming, and to work together and to partner and collaborate.

34:08 - Don't be afraid to ask or seek out resources because there are so many resources or spaces that can help when you feel like you're struggling. No matter if it's financial, physical, mental. If you're entrepreneur starting your business, there are so many resources out there right now if you just look for them or go talk to the right people to tell you who has them.

Connect with Grace

LinkedIn

Connect with Dr. Stacia

LinkedIn