Guest Expert Chris Budihas joined the show just days into retirement from 36 years of military service as a former Marine and Army Colonel. We explored parallels between military and business strategy and emphasized the importance of understanding problems, setting long-term visions, and incorporating feedback loops.

Chris’s transition from military to business includes founding two businesses, hosting multiple TV shows and active community advocate and volunteer work..

He founded AdvantEdge Strategy & Solutions LLC, focused on consulting, leader and business development, and strategic planning, development & implementation, as well as Guardians Fortress, inspired in response to school shootings, a streamlined digital security inspection solution tailored for critical locations and vulnerable populations nationwide.

💡 Key takeaways: 💡

🔹 Veterans’ experiences and characteristics crucial for business success: passion, dedication, risk-taking, curious, nimble

🔹 Diverse knowledge and quick-thinking ability translates well to business and play critical role in business strategy development

🔹 Veteran transition planning: personal reflection, career path, resource utilization, community resources and programs

🎙️Resources Shared in this Episode🎙️

🔹 Book recommendations: “The Cloud Revolution” by Mark Mills and “Chip War” by Chris Miller

🔹 Client Focused Media shows hosted by Chris Budihas: “Buzz on Veterans,” “5-Minute Salute,” “Jacksonville Buzz,” “Tech Champions,” “Building Buzz” https://ch media.com

🔹 Jacksonville Military Affairs and Veterans Department https://www.jacksonville.gov/departments/military-affairs-and-veterans-department

🔹 2024 Jacksonville Vetrepreneur Summit Dec 6, 2024 https://www.jacksonville.gov/departments/military-affairs-and-veterans-department/events/celebration-of-valor/2024-vetrepreneur-save-the-date

Connect with Michelle Page! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast https://www.revenuechasers.com

Connect with Chris Budihas! clbudihas@gmail.com 913-680-5025 linkedin.com/in/chris-budihas-6007569

Richard Veltre joins this episode as the Guest Expert to discuss the critical balance between Operations and Finance in growing companies and share insights on navigating complexities to ensure efficiency and integrity remain intact through the growth process.

Richard is Founder of The Veltre Group, a CPA and Fractional CFO as well as Co-Host of Books & The Biz Podcast. He offers a “no strings attached” 30-minute consultation to chat about your organizational questions and challenges.

Whether you are setting up your organizational legal structure, pivoting your financial goals and timing, hiring or expanding your accounting and finance team or trying to identify and remove barriers to growth, you will find great value in this episode.

*** This episode is for informational purposes only and should be construed as legal advice – always consult with a qualified professional regarding your specific circumstances.

💡 Key concepts 💡

🔹 Key differences in business legal structure

🔹 Breaking down various financial roles & responsibilities

🔹 Strategic financial management opportunities and implications

💻 📚 🎙️Resources Shared 🎙️📚 💻

🔹 Books in the Biz podcast https://www.linkedin.com/company/books-the-biz-podcast/ www.veltregroup.com

🔹 QB or Owner’s Box? Build Business Wealth” with Steve Strum GGG S2 E13 https://youtu.be/Tpo2P4u1M8A

🔹 30 minute “no strings attached” conversation with Richard. Email rveltre@veltregroup.com to schedule.

Connect with Michelle Page! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.revenuechasers.com https://www.youtube.com/@RevenueChasers https://www.gogogrowshow.com https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast

Connect with Richard Veltre!

rveltre@veltregroup.com 973-570-6461 linkedin.com/in/richard-veltre-091a019

www.veltregroup.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-veltre-group/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/books-the-biz-podcast/

Welcome to another resource rich episode of Go Go Grow Business Growth Podcast!

Host Michelle Page flies solo this episode to share coaching gold on the essentials of scaling sales operations for your business. If you are navigating the uncertain waters of transitioning from founder-led sales to a more robust sales organization and sales strategy, grab your favorite note taking device and let’s get started!

“You need to think about what medium you're going to use and how to coordinate all the different mediums to have the same message to the same markets. Three “M”s, one three legged stool.” ~ Michelle Page

“The whole reason to get to these KPIs and to identify the right KPIs to track is so that you know how to coach your sales team, how to adjust your strategy, and how to fine tune where you're putting your attention.” ~ Michelle Page

💡 Key concepts discussed: 💡 🔹 The Founder’s Dilemma: transitioning from founder-led sales

🔹 The 3 M three legged stool: Market, Message, Medium

🔹 The Sales Hierarchy of Success: lay the right foundation and build

🔹 Who do you hire? specialized sales roles

🔹 Breaking down KPIs: what data gets you closer to our goals?

🔹 Be urgently methodical (I made that up!): get started and keep moving forward

💻 📚 🎙️Resources Shared in this Episode🎙️📚 💻

🔹 “What gets measured gets managed.” ~ Peter Drucker

🔹 “Top 10 Peter Drucker Quotes for Business Leaders” https://cioviews.com/top-10-peter-drucker-quotes-for-business-leaders/

🔹 Building an Effective Sales Machine - The Faces of Business Podcast hosted by Damon Pistulka, guest Michelle Page https://youtu.be/nEfs4rXxu9Y

🔹 Making Revenue Out of Chaos - Secrets of the High Demand Coach Podcast hosted by Scott Ritzheimer, guest Michelle Page https://youtu.be/U59KMBCXHyM

🔹The Founder's Dilemma: You've Built a Great Product, How Do You Sell It? - Sales Management Podcast hosted by Cory Bray, guest Michelle Page https://youtu.be/dTj4WGWso6c

🔹 Back to Fundamentals: It's All About the Customer, But Who Are They – GGG S1 E4 https://youtu.be/KqAp6LfJO3s

Connect with Michelle Page! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.revenuechasers.com https://www.youtube.com/@RevenueChasers https://www.gogogrowshow.com https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast

Carol Fraser is the Creator of Dancing Leaders as well as CEO of C4 Talent and Creator of Dancing Leaders, joins the show to discuss swing dancing, leadership development and emotional intelligence.

We explore emotional intelligence – self-awareness and understanding of the impact of your emotions on others – and how to develop this critical skill for fostering effective leadership and enhancing teamwork, all through swing dancing!

💡 Key concepts and takeaways: 💡

🔹 Experiential learning (doing & muscle memory) retention > auditory and visual learning

🔹 Emotional intelligence linked to better communication, quick thinking, quicker recovery, innovation and curiosity

🔹 Perfect for: rapidly growth in team members, leadership transitions, M&A, periods of pivots or to fostering innovation and a growth mindset, navigating return to office mandates

💻 📚 🎙️Resources Shared in this Episode🎙️📚 💻

🔹 Dancing Leaders www.dancingleaders.com

🔹 Scale Up with Michelle Office Hours with Carol Fraser 08-14-24: Is My Business Too Small to Worry About HR? https://youtu.be/-1bJdYlLasI

🔹 Scale Up with Michelle Office Hours with Carol Fraser 08-21-24: Culture & Emotional Intelligence https://youtu.be/EqXYetPWZM0

🔹 The Fractional Edge Podcast hosted by Carol Fraser https://thefractionaledge.com/

Connect with Michelle Page! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.revenuechasers.com https://www.youtube.com/@RevenueChasers https://www.gogogrowshow.com https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast

Connect with Carol Fraser! C4 Talent & Dancing Leaders carol@c4talent.com 516-532-4875

www.c4talent.com www.dancingleaders.com https://thefractionaledge.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/awesomehrexec/

Expert Guest Steve Strum joins Host Michelle Page on Go Go GROW to ask and answer the question – “If you are making money just to pour it back into your business and reinvest, reinvest, reinvest, reinvest, are you making money?”

As a Wealth Management Advisor, Steve shares critical concepts around generating wealth, not just revenue, by getting take to ensure your business not only generates income, but generates wealth by getting out of the QB position, engaging expert coaches and advisors to manage the “on field” activity, and strategically sitting in the owner’s box.

Key concepts and takeaways:

🔑 Business Financial Readiness: prepare for unexpected risks AND opportunities

💼 The 60/20/20 Financial Concept: effectively manage your revenue and financial planning

📉 The Ultimate Business Team Strategy: what three key experts do you NEED on your team?

💵 The QBI tax deduction 199A expires next year – what tax moves can you make?

“It is so critically important because, especially for the smaller organizations, or if you have a lot of employees that rely on you, or if you're the only breadwinner for your family, if something happens to you that's going to seriously impact the finances of your business, you've got to protect that.” ~ Steve Strum

"Your personal finances are completely intertwined with your business finances. Completely. What you need to do is think about the concept of profit management." ~ Michelle Page

Resources Shared in this Episode

⭐ QBI 199A Tax Deduction: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/qualified-business-income-deduction

⭐ The E Myth Revisited – book by Michael E. Gerber – “work ON your business not IN your business”

⭐ Scale Faster with Top to Bottom, Side to Side Organization Wide Strategy https://youtu.be/nGXJeaj6bQM

⭐ Upcoming GGG episode with CPA Richard Veltre, The Veltre Group

Connect with Michelle! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.revenuechasers.com https://www.youtube.com/@RevenueChasers https://www.gogogrowshow.com https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast

Connect with Steve ! stephen.strum@nm.com 904-505-8852

https://www.northwesternmutual.com/financial/advisor/stephen-strum https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephencstrum-financialadvisor

Expert Guest Melissa Zehner joins Host Michelle Page on Go Go GROW to share her fresh perspectives on personal branding and the importance of authenticity when creating organic discoverable content for brand awareness and lead generation. As founder of Scroll Stopping Content, she has generated more than $300M for B2B brands and has an impressive 96% client return rate.

Key concepts and takeaways:

🔑 Differentiation is key - Be bold, be unique, be memorable.

🔑 Personal Branding is Powerful –YOU are your brand.

🔑 Organic Marketing = EVERGREEN – long-term asset – investment is time

🔑 Paid Marketing = CAMPAIGN –only works while it’s “on” – investment is financial

🔑 Neither Organic nor Paid is “Better”

“You know, people are online and they're just doom scrolling. And your first job in organic social media is to be interesting enough to get somebody to just pause and check you out.” ~ Melissa Zehner

“If you're doing organic, you are creating evergreen content. It's out there, it can be searchable. It leads to your SEO, which increases over time. It increases your brand value, your brand recognition, your digital presence, and it's an evergreen content. It's always gonna be there for you. And when somebody comes to you through organic marketing, organic growth, you own that client.” ~Michelle Page

Resources Shared in this Episode

🔑 YOU are Your Brand – Go Go GROW Your Brand with Thought Leadership https://youtu.be/iZG_kceqz34

🔑 Scroll Stopping Content LinkedInbound https://scrollstoppingcontent.com/linkedinbound/ New subscription program to help solopreneurs and consultants build their brand on LinkedIn.

The podcast audience can use the code GOGOGROW for 15% off a quarterly subscription.

Connect with Michelle Page! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.revenuechasers.com https://www.youtube.com/@RevenueChasers https://www.gogogrowshow.com https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast

Connect with Melissa Zehner! Scroll-Stopping Content lis@scrollstoppingcontent.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissazehner https://scrollstoppingcontent.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/scrollstoppingcontent

As Founder of 3Sparrows Executive Services, Ryan brings his holistic insight into the human components of operations, leadership and change management born from his combined 23 years playing baseball at all levels, including the pros, a career in higher education administration, recruiting and coaching baseball, success in corporate executive roles, and now as an entrepreneur and trusted small business advisor.

Our conversation addresses organizational operations, people operations, change management and how Operational Leadership emphasizing Communication, Collaboration, Cooperation and Culture play critical roles in scaling your business through change.

💡 Key concepts and takeaways: 💡

🔑 Communication: Leaders must prepare their teams by sharing the vision and expected positive outcomes, creating a "win-win" scenario.

🔑 Collaboration: Empowering employees to take ownership of their roles, and including them in decision-making processes to foster a unified and motivated team.

🔑 Cooperation: Get businesses, teams and leaders “unstuck” and get in the same boat, rowing the same way, in the same direction.

🔑 Culture: Ahhhh…. the beginning of it all! Actionable strategies for happy teams = happy customers!

💻 📚 🎙️📓 Resources Shared in this Episode 📓🎙️📚 💻

🔹Lessons Learned – Scaling Team and Talent with Charles McCarrick (culture and change management) https://youtu.be/2M6OHrKxJ-8

🔹Scale Faster with Top to Bottom, Side to Side Organizational Strategy https://youtu.be/nGXJeaj6bQM

🔹3Sparrows www.3sparrowes.com Ryan offers valuable FREE (!!!) resources on his website, no email sign up required. Some of my favorites:

✔️No-Sales-Pitch Business Consultation Opportunity with Ryan: If he can’t help you, he will connect you with someone who can!

Connect with Michelle Page! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.revenuechasers.com https://www.youtube.com/@RevenueChasers https://www.gogogrowshow.com https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast

Connect with Ryan Johnson! Founder & Fractional Executive 3Sparrows Executive Services https://3sparrowses.com

ryan@3sparrowES.com 501-908-5078 (o) https://3sparrowses.com/podcasts

Welcome to another transformative episode of Go Go Grow Business Growth Podcast hosted by Michelle Page, your go-to podcast for valuable insights and practical advice on business growth and scalability.Speaking of transformative, Founder and CEO of Accel IQ Digital Ariana Smetana joins Go Go GROW as a Guest Expert to demystify the question on many business owners’ minds: “What is digital transformation?”Ariana breaks down the details of what it is and its impact on your organization’s ability to make data-driven decisions, remain competitive and better serve your customers. She reveals the alpha pilot stage of Excelinsight, an AI tool which helps firms spend more time focusing on generating revenue activities such as creative strategy, lead nurturing and innovation rather than being bogged down by manual data tasks. Stay tuned to the end of the episode for a special offer from Ariana to participate as an alpha pilot organization. 36:40 mark

💡 Key concepts: 💡

🔹 Data exists in multiple formats in every nook and cranny of your business – make data accessible

🔹 Data Management: aggregates, cleans and harmonizes data across business

🔹 Empower better data-driven decision m

🔹 Risk of not implementing digital transformation

💻 📚 🎙️Resources Shared in this Episode 🎙️📚 💻

🔹Excelinsight by Accel IQ Digital https://acceliqdigital.com/services/excelinsight/

🔹Adrenaline Technologies Knowledge Platform: norm, an AI-powered Knowledge BOT which provides a faster, more convenient and lower cost way for you to provide customers access to your entire Knowledge Base

normhttps://adrentech.com/norm/index.html

🔹Scale: Faster, Decrease Risk with Proactive Information Governance with Lica Patterson GGG episodehttps://youtu.be/wzajsp5dsjk

🔹Cybersecurity: Protect your Data = Protect your SMB with Michael Hasse GGG episode https://youtu.be/BMWzsBawpI4

Connect with Michelle Page! RevenueChasers LLC michelle@revenuechasers.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleconklepage

https://www.revenuechasers.com https://www.youtube.com/@RevenueChasers https://www.gogogrowshow.com https://www.youtube.com/@GoGoGROWPodcast

Connect with Ariana Smetana! CEO & Founder Accel IQ Digital www.acceliq.digital

ariana@acceliq.digital 832-900-3351 (o) https://www.linkedin.com/in/arianasmetana/