Anything But Typical

006: Creating A Vision- Clean Juice Founder & CEO Landon Eckles

When Clean Juice was still only an idea, Kat & Landon Eckles had an audacious goal of opening 10 stores. Today, with over 90 locations and over 50 more in development, the vision for the company has evolved.

In this episode, Landon shares the journey of starting the business, what things are like running a company with a spouse, how to create and adjust a vision for a business, and much more. Landon discusses how profit is not the goal, but it is the outcome. That is due to creating an experience that focuses on the guest instead of the profit margins. 

Even as Clean Juice continues to grow, they have never strayed from aligning themselves with the right franchise owners who fit what the brand represents. That is probably why the company has hundreds of thousands of followers and fans.

Enjoy the wide ranging conversation that goes well beyond business, and be sure to check out Clean Juice on Instagram @cleanjuice . The best place to find Landon is on his LinkedIn. 

005: Doing Business The Yellow Tux Way- Jesse Cole, Owner of Savannah Bananas

If you're in an airport and you see a yellow blur run past you, that's just Jesse Cole on his way to his next speech. This episode will open your eyes to how you can set yourself apart from your competition and industry. Jesse's stories, lessons, and experiences all empower you to stand out by being different and focusing on your fans and clients.

Fresh out of college, Jesse took over a college wooden bat league baseball team that had no money in the bank account and made it one of the most successful and profitable baseball teams in the country. He did that by realizing that he wasn't in the baseball business, he was in the business of creating memories and experiences. 

Jesse now owns the Savannah Bananas baseball team. After going in to a stadium that has hosted professional teams that have failed for almost 100 years, the Bananas sell out every single game and have achieved recognition on the national level with ESPN, CNN, and MSNBC featuring their story. 

The experience their fans receive interacting with the Bananas brand is all the marketing the company needs. If you're ready to find a better way to give your clients the experience they deserve and eliminate your marketing budget, this is the episode for you!

Check out Jesse's book, Find Your Yellow Tux. You can hear him on his podcast, Business Done Differently. Be sure to reach out and ask questions after this episode on his LinkedIn. If you want to transform your business, you can book Jesse for speaking engagements and more at findyouryellowtux.com/.

 

 

004: Bottom Up Leadership and Business Planning- CEO David Privitera

A young David Privitera happened in to the construction industry. Having a tangible result from projects caught his interest and kept the pursuit for more opportunities alive. So when David was moved from Western New York to Charlotte, NC for a potentially great opportunity, he was ready for the challenge.

Today, David is the President and CEO of Concorde Construction Company. This episode takes us through David's journey, the hurdles he's faced, and lessons he's learned along the way. He shares why Concorde's 3 Words are Execution, Communication, and People. David goes in depth on flipping the pyramind structure you see in most businesses and having "bottom up leadership". His examples as a leader show how David is truly there to serve those in the company and those working with Concorde Construction.

Find David and reach out to him on LinkedIn. Check out Concorde Construction, and be sure to look in to and support The ROC Charlotte Nonprofit, of which David is a board member.

Please subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Feel free to reach out to Ben@SkywardVenture.com with any questions or comments.

003: What's Your Competitive Advantage- Tana Greene, CEO, Founder, Author, Speaker

The journey of Tana Greene, from her beginnings to owning and running a 5 Time Top Fastest Growing National Company by Inc Magazine, is nothing short of awe inspiring. Tana is the Co-Founder and CEO of MyWorkChoice, a company that builds localized communities of highly productive, engaged, W-2 employees, transforming the way companies meet their contingent workforce needs through an easy to use mobile app.

She is also the author of Creating A World of Difference, in which Tana shares her philosophy and approach to business, creating a culture of engagement that results in high performance. On top of running an unbelievably successful business and being a published author, Tana finds the time to share her story and lessons through speaking engagements.

In this episode, we dive in to finding your competitive advantage, understanding and utilizing your strengths, and how people and culture breed competitive advantage. Tana expands on how core values act as a north star. She hits on the mentality of choosing to be a victim or a survivor. This is a must listen as Tana not only is an incredible example, but you will finish the episode motivated and energized!

Check out My Work Choice and Tana on LinkedIn. 

Subscribe and leave a review. If you have additional comments, feel free to email Ben@SkywardVenture.com. Check out other episodes on your favorite podcast platform or here.

002: Growing With Purpose- CEO Charlie Malouf

Today's episode is all about Growing With Purpose. We couldn't have asked for a better guest than Charlie Malouf, CEO of Broad River Retail, DBA Ashley HomeStore.

Charlie takes us through his journey and gets authentic about the difficult decisions that come with running a business with a purpose. He shared how the culture of Broad River has led to a purpose focused business; not a company growing just for the sake of growth. 

A theme throughout the episode is taking responsibility as a leader of an organization. Charlie stressed the need of having a pulse on what's going on inside the business with employees as well as the customer experience.

Be sure to reach out to Charlie on LinkedIn. Also see how Broad River Retail is living their purpose.

Connect with Gary Frey and Ben McDonald

001: Anything But Typical Intro

In our first episode, Ben and Gary have a conversation about the Anything But Typical podcast. Anything But Typical is designed to highlight different paths, decision making, and leadership to share how you can go against the norm and be successful. In this episode you will hear about Ben and Gary's background story, how we connected, and more. Enjoy the first episode and subscribe to the show to be notified about the release our full episodes with guests starting mid January.