The Best of LKN

Hosted by Epic Journey Media

Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Society CultureInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

417

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Welcome to The Best of LKN podcast! Here you’ll find a collection of interviews with the owners of Lake Norman’s favorite businesses. Small business is the heart and soul of a community, and The Best of LKN is here to shine a spotlight on the small businesses that are making the biggest impact here in the Lake Norman region of North Carolina.In addition to featuring exceptional small business owners, we’ll also be interviewing the most influential professionals that serve the LKN community. From bankers and realtors, to teachers and coaches, we look forward to introducing you to the best Lake Norman has to offer!We hope you enjoy these episodes. Thank you for following The Best of LKN!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 3, 202623 min

421: Dr. Ryan Whalen - Whalen Dentistry in Cornelius

Dr. Ryan Whalen came to Lake Norman in 2007 planning to chase a career as a professional golfer, with dentistry as the side gig. The golf plan didn't last, but the practice he opened on Catawba Avenue in Cornelius — from scratch, at the bottom of the 2008 recession — is still going strong nearly two decades later. Ryan talks with Jeff about why starting a business at zero during a downturn was less terrifying than it sounds, how Whalen Dentistry is built around eliminating stress points for anxious patients, the cosmetic work he's most proud of, and why he has no interest in growing into a high-volume "dental mill." Plus: the tight-knit team he credits for most of it. Whalen Dentistry The Best of LKN Hosted by: Jeff Hamm LKNreal.com Support the show

September 2, 202615 min

420: Megan Miller - Next Chapter Station Golf Classic

When Megan's son Luke was diagnosed with cancer at three years old, she couldn't find a single book written for a kid that young — so after he rang the bell in 2024, she wrote one. Luke and the Lost Bell has since put more than 500 free copies into the hands of hospitals, clinics, and families across the country and into Canada, with Spanish, Philippine, and French editions in the works. Megan joins Jeff to talk about building Next Chapter Station into a 501(c)(3), the "Road to the Rails" section she wrote for the parents and teachers in a sick kid's corner, and the second annual Next Chapter Station Golf Classic coming to NorthStone Country Club on Monday, September 28 — where the goal is to double last year's number and get 1,000 books out the door. She also gets into her day job as a Lake Norman marketing consultant and why AI search has become the thing local businesses ask her about most. https://lukeandthelostbell.com/golf-classic Learn more about Megan: https://thebestoflkn.com/160-experiential-marketing-with-megan-miller/ LKN Business Network: https://thebestoflkn.com/lake-norman-business-network/ The Best of LKN Podcast https://thebestoflkn.com/ Hosted by: Jeff Hamm Expert Real Estate Broker https://lknreal.com/ https://bannerelkliving.com/ Support the show

August 22, 202617 min

419: Mike Feehley - Lake Norman Real Estate Market Report (Q2 2026)

Mike Feehley of Ivester Jackson Christie's International Real Estate is back to break down what's actually happening on the west side of Lake Norman. His read on Q2: this isn't a crash or a stall, it's a return to normal — roughly three to three and a half months of inventory, buyers taking their time, and sellers still chasing 2022 prices finding out the hard way that the market moved on. Mike walks through his three Ps for selling in this market (preparation, price, patience), makes the case that your agent should be spending their own money to get your home ready, and then gets into The Cape — a 27-unit luxury townhome community on the water in Denver with rooftop pools, outdoor kitchens, elevators in every unit, and 15 dock slips. Reservations just opened, with the first building targeted for delivery by the end of November. https://mikefeehley.com/ https://capelakenorman.com/ Hosted by: Jeff Hamm Lake Norman Real Estate Broker https://lknreal.com/ Support the show

August 21, 202625 min

418: Paul Chickene - Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists

There are 96 islands on Lake Norman, and Paul Chickene will be the first to tell you that number is shrinking. Paul is VP of Communications and Volunteer Engagement for the Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists, a volunteer nonprofit working to protect, conserve, and restore wildlife habitat in and around the lake – and he found his way into it the same way a lot of people do: he tagged along on a cleanup, got a ride on a sheriff's boat, and never left. Paul walks Jeff through the Adopt an Island program (all you really need is a kayak, a bag, and some gloves), the 80-plus osprey nesting platforms the group has installed around the lake, and how the trash volunteers log on the website loops back into funding for trees and native plantings that fight shoreline erosion. He also shares a weekend rescue story involving an osprey tangled in fishing line and the Carolina Raptor Center – and makes a straightforward ask for the thing the organization needs most: people. https://lnwc.org/ Carolina Raptor Center: https://carolinaraptorcenter.org/ The Best of LKN Podcast https://thebestoflkn.com/ Hosted by: Jeff Hamm Lake Norman Real Estate Broker https://lknreal.com/ Support the show

August 17, 202631 min

417: Paras Gore - Atelier Doux Bakery

Paras Gore's three nephews used to sit through family birthdays and holidays with two or three Oreos each – the only thing on the table that wouldn't send them to the emergency room. So she put her organic chemistry background to work and started rebuilding dessert from the ground up. Today, Atelier Doux is an allergy-friendly bakery serving the Lake Norman and Charlotte area, and those brownies have a cult following. Paras joins Jeff to talk about what it takes to run a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, why cross-contamination is a genuine emergency-room risk and not a food fad, how she went from taking extras to the office to hiring her first employee in under six months, and where you can find her – from Kunu Coffee and the Davidson Farmers Market to the fall lineup dropping August 25. https://www.atelierdoux.com/ Get the Lake Norman Visitors Guide ! Hosted by: Jeff Hamm www.lknreal.com Support the show

August 10, 202637 min

416: Dustin Johnson - Club Pups Lake Norman

Dustin Johnson walked away from a career at Hendrick Automotive Group, bought a piece of land in Mooresville, permitted it himself, and spent 22 months building a dog boarding and daycare. Eight years later, Club Pups Lake Norman is a multi-time Normies winner - and Dustin is opening three more locations and franchising the whole thing. Dustin walks Jeff through what makes the Club Pups model different (every dog gets its own suite, temperament evaluations for every new client, ten dogs max per staff member, play-rest-play), the new locations coming to North Mooresville, Huntersville, and South End, and the first franchise opening near Hilton Head this fall. He also gets candid about the years it took to figure the business out, why commercial real estate humbled him, and a shout-out to the Town of Mooresville you don't hear often enough. https://clubpups.com/ Subscribe to Lake Norman's Best Email Newsletter: https://thebestoflkn.com/ Hosted by: Jeff Hamm Top Lake Norman Real Estate Broker https://lknreal.com/ Support the show

August 5, 202641 min

415: How AI Search Is Changing Local Business, with TJ Todd

For twenty-five years, getting found online meant chasing blue links on Google. That era is ending fast - and TJ Todd of Studio 490 is back on the show to explain what's replacing it. Jeff opens with a telling stat from his own experience: at a broker luncheon, five or six hands went up when he asked who'd gotten a lead from AI search in 2025. Zero went up for 2024. TJ breaks down what actually earns you a citation in an AI answer, from answer engine optimization and directory consistency to why Reddit threads and Google reviews now carry real weight. He also makes the case for where to start if you're behind - your own website first, then local SEO and social - and offers a line worth sitting with: hesitation is costing you more than you think. Studio490 Support the show

July 27, 202634 min

414: Elevate Strategy and Consulting - Lynn Bowser & Drew Webster

Most small business owners don't realize they've built a job instead of a business – and they find out the hard way when it's time to sell. Lynn Bowser and Drew Webster of Elevate Strategy and Consulting join Jeff to explain why a company doing $10 million in revenue can be worth $1.5 million, while a $1.5 million company can be worth far more. Lynn and Drew get into what they call the "accidental CEO" problem – the attorney, dentist, or med spa owner who suddenly has 20 employees and never went to business school – plus where profit quietly bleeds out, why handing the business to your kid or your employees is riskier than it sounds, and Drew's rule for the whole thing: build a business you could sell tomorrow, but don't want to. Learn more: https://www.elevatescgroup.com/ Hosted by: Jeff Hamm Best Lake Norman NC Realtor https://lknreal.com/ Support the show

July 23, 202640 min

413: Drew Chalfant - Hiking Adventures With Kids (Lake Norman)

Drew Chalfant and his wife brought HAWKs – Hiking Adventures With Kids – to Lake Norman, planting the national brand's first East Coast flag right here in our backyard. A recovering franchise attorney (and former emo-band touring musician) turned hands-on owner-operator, Drew makes a compelling case that the "kick out the front door, come home when the streetlights come on" childhood isn't gone for good – it just needs a van, a trail, and a few naturalist educators to bring it back. Jeff and Drew get into why "60 minutes a day" outside is the bare-minimum floor, not the goal; how HAWKs uses after-school programs, summer day camps, and school-closure coverage as a genuine childcare resource for working parents across Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville; and the surprising magic of letting kids get bored on the trail – like the day a group spontaneously invented their own little society and begged to come back to finish the story. It's a warm, funny conversation about screens, stewardship, and why our kids come alive outdoors. Hawks Kids Lake Norman Support the show

July 21, 202631 min

412: Brian Park - Park Place Entertainment

For twenty-plus years, Brian Park worked title abstracting in law firms – tattoos, white glasses, and all – while a lifelong love of music sat on the back burner. He started DJing on the side in 2016, booked his first wedding in November 2019 (yes, right before COVID), and finally walked away from the corporate world this past February to run Park Place Entertainment full time. Brian and Jeff get into the long game of building a business on nights and weekends, why he reinvested every dollar he earned instead of going into debt, and how an all-white, furniture-style DJ booth gets venues asking for his card before he plays a single note. He also shares how a bride in Virginia found him through an AI search that called him "a hidden gem," why he's one of the DJs who will actually MC your wedding, and the one reception involving a groomsman, acid, and a very long night for every vendor in the building. Park Place Entertainment The Best of LKN https://thebestoflkn.com/ Hosted by: Jeff Hamm https://lknreal.com/ Support the show