Funktastic Chats
Mike Zabrin
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Top 10 Funktastic Chats Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Funktastic Chats episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Funktastic Chats for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Funktastic Chats episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
03/09/21 • 40 min
Alan Berg is the leading international expert on the business of weddings and events. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or brand new to the industry, you're going to learn actionable content that you as a wedding pro need to utilize NOW!
- The dichotomy of feeding your ego vs being the most profitable
- How to give a range of pricing that creates framing
- How Alan's love for music, speaking, writing, and consulting made him the leading international expert.
Alan is fluent in the language of business. He's been in marketing sales and sales management for over 20 years, working with businesses like yours and like mine within the wedding and events industry. Before striking out on a zone as the business consultant, author, and professional speaker, he served as the Vice President of Sales and The Knot Market Intelligence, at The Knot worldwide.
And addition to his speaking and consulting services, he serves as an educator for WeddingWire , which is the leading wedding technology company, doing webinars, live presentations, and writing articles. Alan is the wedding at events industries only certified speaking professional, the highest earned designation for a professional member of the national speakers association.
One of only 36 global speaking fellows in the world, he's able to help new businesses and solopreneurs, as well as the established players and corporations, understand and achieve their goals. Alan understands business as he's own several of his own, including publishing to wedding magazines. He's spoken and consulted domestically and internationally in 14 countries, and 5 continents and counting.
We're chatting about his latest book, Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings: A Compendium of Ideas, Insight and Inspiration from an Industry Leader. Part "How-to-do" and part "How-to-think", Wit, Wisdom and the Business of Weddings is your companion on a journey to a more successful wedding business.
Listen to Part 2
Alan Berg's Website
Wit, Wisdom, and The Business of Weddings
More of Alan's Books
Funktastic Chats website
Should You Offer A Photo Booth Add-On?
Funktastic Chats
02/24/23 • 39 min
Hey, event pros! We're talking about the next generation of Open-Air Photobooths by a company called Photobooth Supply Company, otherwise known as PBSC.
- Should you buy a photobooth to offer as an add-on?
- How does this photobooth company give owners and entry to the photobooth business that they may not have gotten otherwise?
- How much should you invest?
If you own a Salsa Booth, you most likely know my guest today, Simeon Weinraub, co-owner of Jovial events and rentals, and The Pasadena Photo Booth Company. An event company located in Pasadena California, serving the greater Los Angeles area with party decor, balloons, photo booth services, and other party rentals.
Before working in events, Simeon spent nearly three decades working in film and television production. And then spent some time teaching video, photography, and audio production.
He sees the Photo Booth business and its challenges as an opportunity to share his technical knowledge and apply it to help his clients and other operators in the industry to create memorable experiences.
Mentions:
Photo Booth Supply Company
Jovial Events (website)
Jovial Events IG
11/16/21 • 45 min
HOW TO SET YOUR MUSICIANS ON AUTO-BOOK! Tired of the back and forth trying to confirm all your musicians for gigs? This is the musician and crew scheduling system that manages itself.
HOW TO AUTOPAY YOUR MUSICIANS! Do you really want to be wasting your time chasing your team for their gig invoices and burning cash on costly payroll or money transfer services? We hope not! Let's put it all on AUTO-PILOT.
These are just two of the MANY features we'll be chatting about with Back On Stage founder, Reuben Avery, and Marketing Director, Eric Tsang
Back On Stage is a highly innovative, web-based productivity app that allows bandleaders and event pros to book gigs in minutes instead of hours. The software automates your gig-booking workflow with client relationship management (CRM), scheduling, communication, and repertoire management tools. It saves us up to 80% of our administrative time and helps eliminate those late-night phone calls and oh-so-familiar feelings of "did I remember to book a drummer for gig X" and "Am I forgetting something?"
Back On Stage is an application that keeps bandleaders and event pros everywhere from losing any more hair! The goal of Back On Stage is to help musicians and event pros optimize their capacity, generate more revenue, and improve professionalism, using a single organizational application. It will provide equal opportunities for all by leveling the band management playing field.
You can sign up for a free trial today at backonstageapp.com
You can organize your band and your gigs! Use the key 612211210 to get a $15 amazon gift card!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
07/13/21 • 49 min
Ambila Nath is a Spiritual lifestyle coach, serial entrepreneur, tarot reader, energy healer, paid international speaker. She went from a 6 figure corporate job to having a spiritual lifestyle business. She knows that the greatest journey you can take is the one to build a relationship with yourself.
In today's episode, we cover:
- A holistic approach to coaching through energy healing and tarot reading
- How tarot readings can allow us to detach our emotions to see new perspectives
- "Too much to handle" vs. "everyday stress"
- How a Vision Board can help you let go of limiting beliefs
Ambila Nath's Website
Ambila Nath's Instagram
Schedule a Consultation with Ambila Nath
Mentions:
Darren Jay & The Delta Souls (Sponsor)
The Female CEO
Create Evolve Overcome Magazine
Funktastic Chats Website
How This Picture Book Inspires Deeper Multicultural Learning
Funktastic Chats
06/01/21 • 31 min
Today, we're taking on the challenge to take multicultural education to the forefront and encourage kids of all cultures to learn about Zimbabwe and Africa. Yeve C. Sibanda lived in Zimbabwe up until the time she was 16 years old. Eventually moving to the states to become a lawyer, a mother, and the cultural curator and ambassador for Zimbabwe and Africa through her company, Philisa Creatives. She's the author of the picture book, My First Book Of Shona and Ndebele Words.
ABOUT THE BOOK
My First Book of Shona and Ndebele Words is an accessible, engaging and easy-to-follow picture book. It is a multicultural picture book staged in Zimbabwe and designed to make learning Shona and Ndebele, the native languages of Zimbabwe, fun. The main character, Rufaro, takes the reader through her daily activities and helps the reader learn basic words for greetings, transportation, family members and many more. Picture books promote language development by allowing the reader to simultaneously see and name various objects.
Yeve says that there's a lot of positive things coming out of Zimbabwe and that you should have a piece of that in your home.
Mentions:
Philisa Creatives Website
Yeve's Instagram
Buy My First Book Of Shona and Ndebele Words
05/25/21 • 36 min
Colin Peterik is the son of Jim Peterik, who founded Survivor and The Ides Of March. Colin is stepping into the spotlight with his debut album, Everything and Nothing, which releases August 30th, 2021. Imagine if Steely Dan, Genesis, and Todd Rundgren had a baby...Colin Peterik’s debut album is filled with endless grooves masterful arrangements and is a song cycle of pocket symphonies and suites that span genres including psychedelic and progressive rock, pop, soul, and everything in between. It's mixed by Grammy award-winning engineer, Craig Bauer! Colin is the owner of The Jam Lab in Brookfield IL and we’re going to chat about how Colin helps the Chicago music community scale their music globally through live streaming and recording in order to help musicians turn their craft into a solid product to put out there into the world.
- Colin's musical relationship with his dad, Jim Peterik, and what it's like to grow up with a dad who wrote hits like "Eye of The Tiger" and "Vehicle"
- What is The Jam Lab? (Brookfield, IL)
- How Colin uses The Jam Lab to help musicians scale their music to a global audience
- How Colin transformed 10 years of written music into a debut album
- Colin talks about influences like Emmett Rhodes, Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren
- Why "Everything and Nothing" needs to be on YOUR play list!
You can stream "Everything and Nothing" ahead of its release by visiting: www.colinpeterik.com
Colin's Facebook Page
The Jam Lab: Music Production Studio, Rehearsal Facility, Venue
Mentions:
Jim Peterik
The Ides of March
Craig Bauer
The North 41
Khari Parker
Joseph Wooten Part 2: Music, Culture, Rhythm, and Respect
Funktastic Chats
05/18/21 • 43 min
- How funk became the celebratory music and why it's known as the "free man's music"
- How harmony tells us how to feel and how rhythm gives the music a path forward
- Musical Concepts
- Joseph's relationship with Steve Miller, Victor Wooten and the rest of his brothers
Joseph Wooten is a three-time Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter, keyboardist, and vocalist. Since 1993, Joseph has been an integral member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, The Steve Miller Band. He is a producer, speaker, and fronts his own band, Joseph Wooten and The Hands of Soul. Joseph also serves as the keyboard is to his brother, Victor Wooten. On top of all of that, he's an author of It All Matters from which there's a Ted Talk delivered in Memphis, Tennessee called Why It All Matters.
Joseph says the most important thing you can learn from music is that in music, rhythm creates a relationship with things that are normally not compatible. Rhythm gives two different ideas a path forward because rhythm makes them respect each other's space. Joseph says that if you replace rhythm with respect off the stage, it will do the same thing. Growing up, Joseph's mom told him and his brothers, "What does the world need with just another good musician? What we need are more good people." Their mom knew the music business would be tough and may or may not work out, but knew that they would survive it based on the quality of character that she raised Joseph, Victor, Reggie, Roy, Rudy, and Elijah to be. Sit back, relax, and enjoy as we dive into Music, Culture, Rhythm, and Respect.
Listen to Part 1
Joseph Wooten's website
Funktastic Chats website
World Renowned Jazz Funk Musician, Michael Ray, Reflects on Decades with Sun Ra and Kool & The Gang
Funktastic Chats
05/04/21 • 45 min
A renowned international trumpeter Michael Ray is a seasoned jazz-funk musician who has had stellar runs with Patti LaBelle, The Delfonics, The Stylistics, Kool and the Gang, Sun Ra Arkestra, and many other legendary bands.
- How Michael Ray's Discography grew to 90+ album credits with Barenaked Ladies, Stanton Moore, Charles Neville, Kool & The Gang, Sun Ra, Jimmy Cliff, and more.
- How Sun Ra led Michael to Kool & The Gang
- Listen to Michael reflect on recording award-winning songs.
- Learn about Michael's band, Cosmic Krewe!
A professional musician for more than forty years, this Trenton, New Jersey native has simultaneously mined every side of the international music scene since the late 1970s playing his supersonic jazz/funk/future trumpet as the Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist with Sun Ra & His Arkestra, prancing around to the funky sounds of tho platinum-selling, stadium-filling, hella killer horn-driven Grammy Award-winning R&B/Funk best-sellers, Kool & the Gang and many other worldwide phenomenons.
Cosmic Krewe
Funktastic Chats Website
Mentions:
Kool & The Gang
Sun Ra
The Big Ol' Nasty Getdown
Funktastic (The Other Side)
How Donnie Boivin Became One of the World's Top Podcasters
Funktastic Chats
04/13/21 • 52 min
Donnie Boivin is changing the game of business development. At the age of 22 right out of the Marine Corps, he struggled with what to do next. He landed his first straight commission sales job and has spent over 2 decades learning what it takes to be successful in sales, business & life. At the age of 40, he discovered he’d been living other people’s dreams and not chasing his own.
- Learn why YOU should start a podcast and how to become be the audio magazine of your industry!
- Are you building a great job for yourself or are you building a company?
- How to grow your podcast with NO paid advertising
Launching his own business, he found himself and grew an international business Success Champions. He is the Founder and CEO of the Success Champions family of companies. Success Champions Podcast, Success Champion Magazine, Success Champion Consulting, the Badass Business Summit, and Success Champion Networking.
His story about becoming a Success Champion in his own life has inspired thousands to get out of their own way and go for it. Get ready to have your fire lit and start chasing your own dreams.
The Growth Mode Podcast
Success Champions Podcast
DOWNLOAD MY NEW FREE GUIDE: 5 Steps to Monetize Your Passion
I always say I went to the "School of Alan Berg"....
Funktastic Chats
06/13/24 • 49 min
Today's guest is none other than Alan Berg! He’s the author of seven books, and in our last episode in 2021, we talked extensively about his wisdom in the business of weddings. Some of his popular books include "Shut Up and Sell More Weddings and Events," "Why Are They Ghosting Me?" and his latest, "Stop Selling and Help Them Buy Weddings and Events."
Alan speaks to thousands of entrepreneurs like myself and business professionals every year through webinars, live presentations, and onsite sales training. We're going to dive deep into actionable steps from his books and podcasts that have resonated with many of us in the wedding industry. Alan is all about small, incremental steps that lead to big results.
Now, what’s one thing that every wedding professional needs after a long, successful weekend of weddings? A glass of bourbon, of course! If you’re a bourbon aficionado, you’re going to love this episode too. Alan has a detailed process of experimenting with different types of woods and aging his bourbons, creating various blends that are just so cool. It's something Alan and I share a passion for, so you’ll enjoy the bonus dialogue at the beginning of the episode.
With more than 25 years in sales, marketing, and sales management, Alan Berg is uniquely qualified to help wedding and event businesses succeed. He was included in the "Top 100 Speakers to Watch in 2024" by Motivator Music on LinkedIn, alongside Tony Robbins, Gary Vee, and Dave Ramsey. He’s the wedding and event industry’s first Certified Speaking Professional and one of only 40 Global Speaking Fellows worldwide.
Since we first chatted with Alan on our podcast in 2021, he has started his own podcast, "The Wedding Business Solutions Podcast," which has over 200,000 downloads. Alan has extensive experience in sales, sales management, and marketing, ranging from publishing wedding magazines to serving as Vice President of Sales at The Knot. He’s an education expert for WeddingPro and consults for major industry websites in Ireland, Dubai, India, Australia, and the UK, as well as countless venues, hotels, bridal shops, planners, entertainers, and more. Alan has presented in over 14 countries, five of them in Spanish and recently in French, both of which he taught himself.
Tune in and get ready for an episode filled with actionable insights and a touch of bourbon magic!
Alan Berg's Website
www.alanberg.com
Wedding Business Solutions Podcast
https://podcast.alanberg.com
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FAQ
How many episodes does Funktastic Chats have?
Funktastic Chats currently has 44 episodes available.
What topics does Funktastic Chats cover?
The podcast is about Entrepreneurship, Music, Podcasts, Business and Music Interviews.
What is the most popular episode on Funktastic Chats?
The episode title 'Releventful in 6 minutes...3 months later' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Funktastic Chats?
The average episode length on Funktastic Chats is 41 minutes.
How often are episodes of Funktastic Chats released?
Episodes of Funktastic Chats are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Funktastic Chats?
The first episode of Funktastic Chats was released on Dec 10, 2020.
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