21st Century Entrepreneurship

Ben Risser is the visionary behind Provident Financial Services, a firm dedicated to empowering small businesses, faith-based nonprofits, and private equity firms through expert financial guidance. In our comprehensive discussion, Ben shares his passionate belief in the transformative power of small businesses and nonprofits in enhancing community and national well-being. He articulates, "I believe when small businesses thrive, it lifts up a community economically...and I believe that makes for a stronger nation." His approach to financial services is not just about numbers; it's about fostering a healthier society.

Risser's journey from aspiring pilot to financial guru is both unique and inspiring. Facing the challenges of retinitis pigmentosa, he shifted his aspirations from aerospace to finance, carrying with him a profound sense of purpose. "It forces you to sweep a lot of distractions off the table and say, what do I want to accomplish in my life?" His story is a testament to resilience and finding one's calling amidst adversity.

Provident Financial Services, under Risser's guidance, specializes in part-time Chief Financial Officer (CFO) services or what's known as fractional CFO support. This innovative approach provides businesses with crucial financial insights and strategies for growth without the full-time overhead. Ben emphasizes the importance of financial literacy and situational awareness for business owners, stating, "Owners need to understand...where's cash leaking out of the boat and where are they really earning value with the customer?"

A key aspect of Risser's philosophy is the empowerment of businesses to not only understand their financials but to use this understanding to make independent, strategic decisions. "We want to get more strategic, and we want our customers to get more and more independent in making financial decisions," Risser notes, highlighting the goal of moving from tactical support to strategic growth.

Ben's engineering background infuses his financial expertise with a unique analytical rigor, allowing him to dissect and solve complex financial challenges with precision. This skillset is particularly beneficial for small businesses and startups, which, according to Risser, "desperately need a fractional CFO" to navigate the treacherous waters of financial management and growth.

Risser also touches upon the critical role of credible financial reporting and planning for entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital. He illustrates this with the story of an entrepreneur client, underscoring the necessity of meticulous financial preparation. "You can't really build a financial proforma unless you have historical actuals to reference," he advises, highlighting the importance of accuracy from the outset.

The conversation with Ben Risser is a deep dive into the vital role of finance in building stronger communities and businesses. His insights offer valuable lessons on resilience, strategic financial planning, and the transformative impact of conscientious financial management. As we explore Risser's approach to finance, it becomes clear that behind every successful business is a profound understanding of its financial heartbeat.

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Karl Hughes is an entrepreneur who understands the importance of taking risks. In this interview, he discusses what it means to grow up and how entrepreneurship can be a selfish act. He also shares his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs who are thinking about making the switch from a traditional job to starting their own business. Karl started his technical content marketing firm organically after companies began reaching out to him to write blog posts for compensation. He realized there was a large demand for this type of content, and the company took off quickly from there. Starting a company is a big challenge and requires a lot of faith. The window of opportunity for a new startup in the tech industry is relatively small. If you wait too long to get started, you may miss your chance. However, there are still opportunities available for those with the right mix of experience. Hughes explains that managing people and emotions can be extremely difficult and that it took him a while to find coping mechanisms that worked for him. He recommends finding peer groups and mentors, as well as trying to keep up with your physical health. Karl Hughes talks about his business and explains that their writers are all hands-on software engineers who have done this in the real world, and they're not just copywriters who google searched the first few items on that term and then dropped it in there. The goal is to build really good educational content so that even if the reader doesn't buy the product, they're still getting something out of it. Karl loves the impact side of content marketing, and he wants his clients to be successful.

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Phyllis Quinlan is a seasoned professional coach who brings her extensive experience in healthcare to the fore in addressing some of the most pressing challenges faced by caregivers today. Our conversation dives into the intricate dynamics of caregiver burnout, the conflation of healthcare's business aspects with caregiving, and the crucial role of emotional intelligence in maintaining a healthy workplace.

Phyllis's journey started when a nurse reached out to her, suffering from what Phyllis later recognized as "empathy fatigue, caregiver fatigue, or what we now label as burnout." This encounter marked a turning point, pushing her to specialize in helping caregivers overcome burnout. Phyllis explains, "I really started to throw myself fully into learning as much about burnout, about caregiver fatigue, empathy fatigue, as much as I possibly could."

The conversation explores how the pressures of aligning the day-to-day business operations of healthcare with the inherently altruistic mission of caregiving create a ripe environment for professional burnout. Phyllis notes, "Professional caregivers, again, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, start to confuse the business of healthcare with the practice of their profession. And they will not align."

A significant part of our discussion revolves around addressing disruptive workplace behaviors, such as bullying and chronic incivility, which can exacerbate the loss of mission in caregiving professionals. Phyllis stresses the importance of a concerted effort to tackle such issues, warning, "You never tackle someone who's dealing in or behaving in chronically uncivil manners, or are actually engaging in bullying, alone."

Moreover, we explore the solutions Phyllis advocates for overcoming these challenges. She highlights the necessity of self-care and emotional resilience for caregivers, asserting, "The fact that they have chosen with bravery to live their life heart open allows them to feel all the good and all the not so good, but in that, they have to have self-compassion for themselves."

Key takeaways from this episode include the understanding that professional caregiving is not just a job but a calling, the critical role of emotional intelligence and resilience in combating burnout, and the urgent need for healthcare leaders to foster a supportive and healthy work environment. Phyllis eloquently concludes that the goal is "to help [caregivers] regain a perspective where there are, where they are reconnecting with mission and purpose and not getting all lost in the weeds of the business of healthcare."

This conversation offers invaluable insights into the complexities of caregiving, the pitfalls of healthcare administration, and the pathways to maintaining compassion amidst professional challenges.

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In this engaging podcast episode, we explore the world of email marketing with Josh Kropkof, CEO and Co-founder of The Email Agency. Josh shares his wealth of knowledge and experience in email marketing, highlighting key strategies and tactics that consistently lead to higher conversions for their clients. He emphasizes the importance of treating your email list as a community, not just a marketing channel, and how building relationships with your subscribers can have a profound impact on your business.

Email marketing remains a highly effective channel for driving sales, with an average ROI of 40x or more. Josh explains the power of direct response email marketing and how it differs from traditional email campaigns. He discusses the shift from viewing email as a marketing channel to seeing it as a relationship-building channel, stressing the value of long-term customer loyalty over short-term gains.

Josh also shares strategies for turning traffic you control and traffic you don't control into traffic you own through email marketing. He describes the role of data and analytics in modern email marketing, acknowledging the challenges of tracking open rates in today's complex environment. Despite these challenges, email continues to be a highly conversion-driven channel.

Furthermore, Josh explores how email can be the centerpiece of your marketing strategy, driving messaging and customer feedback. He highlights the importance of learning from the people on your email list and using their feedback to shape your marketing strategy, emphasizing that this can be more valuable than any research.

In conclusion, Josh underscores the importance of investing in expertise in email marketing, whether by hiring experts or learning from them, as it can provide an exceptional return on investment. He invites listeners to explore his Email Revolution Newsletter and download the free Email Profits Cheat Sheet for a deeper dive into direct response email marketing. To explore The Email Agency's services or request a free email account audit, he directs interested individuals to visit their website.

Don't miss out on the email marketing revolution – tune in to this episode and start optimizing your email campaigns for success!

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My name is Marc Guberti. I am an 18-year-old entrepreneur and social media expert with over 285,000 Twitter followers and over 250,000 annual blog visitors, I have created a strong presence for myself on the web. I am very happy for my own success, but I want other teens to become successful just like me.

I put as much time as possible into growing my business. This isn’t just about being successful and having financial flexibility. This is about creating a movement. I want to prove to other teens that it is possible to become successful at a young age. In a world where teens are increasingly going to drugs and drinking as a way to make themselves feel good and student debt keeps on rising, there are resources available that can allow any person of any age to become a leader and create a tribe of people that matter.

Getting to where I am now was not an easy journey. I am one of the lucky people who has extraordinary parents. My mom helped me get through a life-threatening sickness and my dad cheers me on at all of my track meets. I came a long way through my personal life before I was able to start my journey. Then came the journey of trying to build an audience of people who would listen and be doing great things for that audience.

The entire process of building a powerful authority on the web had its own set of obstacles. Before I grew my audience into what it is now, I was criticized for being too young and not knowing enough about my niche. Just like anyone, I have received my fair share of critics. While I listened to some of them, I ignored most of them simply because they did not know my master plan (and listening to every single critic would have brought me down). Not only was I able to rise above the criticism, but I was also able to thrive. I have self-published several books and have no plans on stopping anytime soon (or ever).

My journey has been a remarkable one. I have been able to touch the lives of many people at a young age. It is amazing what our technology has given anyone the ability to do. It used to be impossible to build your own audience, but now everyone has leverage and the ability to become the next sensation in their niche–even a teenager. My mission is to boost my legacy to provide a further testament to teenagers all over the world that they can be successful at a young age. Our technology has torn the age limit away. There’s no longer a reason to wait when anyone, including a teenager, can create their own thriving business.

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