FOX 8 Sales Director Andy Delaporte Talks Media, Hockey & Wine

03/20/25 • 39 min

Today we’re welcoming on a close friend of ours and someone we’ve grown to know well thanks to our shared love of wine. Join us as we sit down with Andy Delaporte, the Director of Sales for Fox 8 WVUE, to discuss a smattering of topics over a wonderful glass of Italian wine.

We’ll get into his unexpected path into media and learn more about what makes a great salesperson, how to manage and motivate a team, and the power of relationships in business. But Andy’s story goes well beyond his successful sales career, so we talk wine, converting hockey fans, and the importance of building a strong personal network.

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

📺Andy’s Unexpected Journey into Media

💼 Sales Tips & What Makes a Great Salesperson

🏒🎸 New York Islanders & The Grateful Dead

🍕🍤 The Great Restaurant Debate: New York vs. New Orleans

0:00 – Intro

1:26 – Andy’s First Media Job

8:32 – Tips on Managing a Sales Team

10:01 – Qualities of Great Salesperson

15:02 – The Grateful Dead

18:18 – For the Love of Hockey

22:10 – Overruled!

26:02 – Andy’s Vast Wine Collection

34:46 – Favorite book

36:02 – Andy’s superpower

Visit us online: https://www.scottvicknair.com/

Watch the Podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3TgD9jP

Send us a text

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

📺Andy’s Unexpected Journey into Media

💼 Sales Tips & What Makes a Great Salesperson

🏒🎸 New York Islanders & The Grateful Dead

🍕🍤 The Great Restaurant Debate: New York vs. New Orleans

0:00 – Intro

1:26 – Andy’s First Media Job

8:32 – Tips on Managing a Sales Team

10:01 – Qualities of Great Salesperson

15:02 – The Grateful Dead

18:18 – For the Love of Hockey

22:10 – Overruled!

26:02 – Andy’s Vast Wine Collection

34:46 – Favorite book

36:02 – Andy’s superpower

Visit us online: https://www.scottvicknair.com/

Watch the Podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3TgD9jP

Previous Episode

The Louisiana Family Behind Two National Brands with Paul Ballard

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Some of the great restaurant and food brands in our country have roots here in Louisiana and today’s guest is hoping to continue adding to that legacy. Paul Ballard is the co-owner and co-founder of Ballard Brands, which includes PJ’s Coffee and WOW American Eats. Both brands have experienced monster growth across the country, and we wanted to sit down with Paul to hear his story and learn more about what makes a business so successful.

The story begins at Tulane University, where Paul met his wife, Torry. Their shared love for coffee blossomed into a passion that would eventually lead them to acquire PJ's Coffee, a brand founded by Phyllis Jordan, a pioneer in specialty coffee. They opened location number eight at the time, and the business has grown to more than 180 locations nationally and abroad.

Paul shares insights into the origins of PJ's, the importance of quality control, and the brand's impressive growth. Plus, we discuss the challenges of maintaining product consistency across franchises, the value of optimism in business, and the exciting future plans for PJ's and WOW American Eats.

Here’s some of the key topics we discuss:

☕ PJ’s Coffee Growth Story: From 8 locations to 182+

🏆 Lessons from Scaling a Franchise: Keeping quality high while growing fast

🚀 Entrepreneurial Mindset: The power of optimism & thinking big

🔥 WOW American Eats: How a midnight wing idea turned into a nationwide brand

0:00 - Intro

0:55 – The beginning

5:42 – Explosive growth

9:05 – Maintaining Quality

13:10 – Future plans

17:45 – Core values

22:23 – WOW American Eats

28:42 – Balancing time and energy for all the brands

34:38 – Overruled or Sustained rapid fire

36:15 – Lessons learned

41:29 – Paul’s superpower

43:10 – Favorite books

Visit us online: https://www.scottvicknair.com/

Watch the Podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3TgD9jP

Next Episode

From Haircuts to Donuts: The Journey of a Serial Entrepreneur feat. Thomas Matthews

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What does it really take to grow a successful business from the ground up?

Today we sit down with entrepreneur Thomas Matthews for a candid conversation about the challenges, pivots, and lessons that have shaped his journey. Growing up in a large family of eight, he learned early on the value of hard work and determination. His entrepreneurial spirit ignited when his uncle gave him a chance to cut hair, leading to a thriving clientele built on exceptional customer service and word-of-mouth referrals.

From launching his first venture to scaling into new opportunities, Thomas shares real-world wisdom on mindset, mistakes, and staying hungry. As someone who has found success customer service, real estate, and the restaurant world, he has some great stories to share and will motivate you to take a chance by chasing your dreams.

Get ready for stories, strategies, and a few hard truths about what it really means to build your own path in business.

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

🚀 How Thomas launched and grew his business

💡 Lessons learned from early failures and pivots

🔁 The importance of adapting and staying hungry

💬 Real talk on leadership, risk, and mindset

👥 Why your circle matters more than you think

0:00 – Thomas’ background

5:01 – Consistency with clients

9:09 – Hair studio

12:28 – Property company

22:58 – Managing risk