The Bizgnus Podcast

Hosted by Douglas Caldwell

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Episodes

302

Latest episode

Mar 2025

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About the show

One-on-one interviews with experts in business and personal success.

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60 recent

March 12, 202516 min

Sometimes opportunity doesn’t knock, it flushes

•. David Sauers’ ah-ha moment was in a portable toilet•. “My story touches on … the lessons learned from creating a niche brand”It’s every parent’s worry: At a festival with your very young children when one of them announces they need the bathroom. Yet the only toilets to be seen are those smelly, wobbly, fiberglass, one-person-if-you’r-skinny portable outhouses. David Sauers had that moment more than 20 years ago and out of it came a career change from local banking executive to entrepreneur marketing a better outdoor toilet experience.David Sauers, co-founder of Royal Restrooms LLC, offers his story in this episode of Bizgnus Interviews.Mr. Sauers created a franchise-based company that rents roomy portable toilets with running water to wash up, air conditioning and even breath mints.Over the 20 years he’s been in business, Mr. Sauers has expanded — by franchising — to 50 offices across the country. “My story touches on entrepreneurship, the power of building partnerships, and the lessons learned from creating a niche brand that continues to thrive,” he says.For more information please click here.

March 4, 202511 min

He’s the guide for the digital marketing jungle

•. John Chan helps avoid digital campaign pitfalls •. “Fundamentally, marketing is sales at scale”(Total Recorded Time is 11:18)Owners and operators of small businesses who are thinking of digital ad campaigns, ought to check first with experts.That’s what John Chan does — helping businesses market via platforms like YouTu8be and Meta.Mr. Chan joins us for this Bizgnus Interview to explain how to avoid pitfalls in digital campaigns.“Fundamentally, marketing is sales at scale,” Mr. Chan says. John Chan is an entrepreneur, known for his expertise in web/UX design and digital marketing. He dropped out of university when he was 19 to start his own web design consultancy. Since then, he has co-founded 2x Growth Agency, which specializes in helping e-commerce and direct to consumer brands grow and scale with paid ads and ad creative development.For more information: www.2x.agency

March 1, 202523 min

He’s got the pool guy’s back

•. Serial entrepreneur Peter Wasmer shoulders the hassle•. “A revolutionary business process automation platform”(Total Recorded Time is 23:13)Scheduling, dispatch, invoicing, payments, and just plain old customer communication — it can almost drown the pool guy — unless.That’s where Peter Wasmer, a serial entrepreneur, spotted a unique niche — automating so much of the non-pool stuff.Peter Wasmer joins us for this Bizgnus Interview. Calling himself a “passionate innovator,” Mr. Wasmer says his cutting-edge solution is already that empowering from California to Florida, pretty much across what might be termed America’s “pool country.”“I’ve developed and scaled SaaS (software as a service) platforms that simplify complex processes, save time, and drive profitability for my clients,” says Mr. Wasmer.He says his newest company, ProValet, is “a revolutionary business process automation platform designed to transform the pool service industry.”For more information please CLICK HERE.

February 23, 202521 min

It’s time for the solopreneur to come in from the cold

•. Sue Pats says going it alone has many rewards•. “I am passionate about sharing knowledge”(Total Recorded Time is 21:00)Woody Allen could have been speaking for many solopreneurs when he said, “Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon.”Freelancers, contractors, consultants, temps — all one-man-bands of one type or another — add up. In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 41 million of them.Sue Pats, herself a solopreneir, says it doesn’t have to be a lonely, bare-bones life.She’s selling support and education for solopreneurs and joins us for this episode of Bizgnus Interviews.“I specialize in unique marketing approaches, including the use of AI tools and done-for-you services,” she says. “I am passionate about sharing knowledge in an engaging and entertaining way.”For more information: www.nubeginning.com

February 11, 202510 min

He replaced a drive for wealth with something more valuable

• The drawer of Rolexes no longer cut it• “This feeling of being alive transforms you”(TRT is 10:32)When a drawer of Rolex watches doesn’t make you feel whole, something ought to be done.And Mo Issa says he did it by making small changes to rediscover himself, embrace simplicity, and focus on a sense of deep fulfillment.What were those steps and why does he think they can help others?Mo Issa joins us for this episode of Bizgnus Interviews to explain.“While I haven’t found all the answers, I do feel alive again,” he says. Mr. Issa adds that, in his opinion, “this feeling of being alive transforms you, and whether you know it or not, you have started transforming the world.”He has written three books, the latest entitled “The Midlife Shift: How I Left the Rat Race and Found Myself,” (Kimo Pub Press, November 2024).“My story is more than just about personal growth—it’s about showing others that it’s possible to dedicate oneself to self-awareness, tackle societal expectations and the pressures that come with them, and create a life of purpose.”For more information: www.mo-issa.com

February 3, 202516 min

Are you overlooking a multi-Trillion dollar market?

* Angela Fowler helps businesses tap that market Plus tips for grilling tri-tip (Total Recorded Time is 16:49_ Like thousands upon thousands of Californians, Angela Fowler loves to cook the beef known as tri-tip on her backyard barbecue. “I love getting out there and barbequing,” she says. “People don’t realize that a blind person can do that.” Ms. Fowler is a blind accessibility consultant who says that “an accessible business is a prosperous business.” Her Yuba City-based company, Real Life Access, uses that as its motto. Angela Fowler is our guest on this episode of Bizgnus Interviews. She says her company offers training and in-depth coaching along with practical steps organizations can take to make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities “and user-friendly for everyone.” For more information: www.reallifeaccess.com

January 29, 202519 min

The optometrist who sees the solution that others don’t

•. Fixing the entry-level jobs turnover problem •. “The results have been amazing” (Total recorded time is 19:48) HONESDALE, Pa. — When Michael Neal set up his optometry practice in rural Pennsylvania, he was focused on his patients even as a problem was growing out of sight. The problem is one that many small businesses of all types face: employee turnover, especially in entry-level jobs. Finally, something had to be done. “I have changed the way I hire for my practice and the results have been amazing,” he says. Today, while still seeing patients, the doctor is busy running a new business that he says helps small businesses with staffing through the use of psychometrics. Michael Neal talks about his solution in this episode of Bizgnus Interviews. His new company is called Build My Team. He says it models how companies like Disney and the Four Seasons hire. As it moves beyond the health care industry, his company has clients in more than 40 states and Canada. Mr. Neal says he identified the performance factors that predicted long-term employee success including speed of learning and the applicant’s mindset. In changing how he hired, he says the practice began to retain employees for longer stretches and there was more energy in the practice. For more information please click here.

January 24, 202512 min

The science behind bravery

•. It’s not only battlefield bravery •. “Embrace discomfort and try to be brave” (Total Recorded Time is 12:34) Jill Schulman - a former Marine Corps officer and expert in positive psychology — says there’s a science to bravery. And it’s not just bravery on a remote battlefield but can be the bravery to leave a safe and comfortable job for the toil and uncertainty of striking out on your own in business. “Embrace discomfort and try to be brave,” she says. “I know it is scary but anything great in life is on the other side of something really challenging.” Jill Schulman joins us for this episode of Bizgnus Interviews. Ms. Schulman is founder and principal of Breakthrough Leadership Group. She is also the author of the forthcoming book, “The Science of Bravery,” due out in mid-2025. For more information, please click here .

January 11, 202519 min

Something not quite right? Check your culture says expert

•. Many leaders overlook a basic part of the foundation (Total Recorded Time is 19:11) For some leaders, arriving at work leaves them feeling that something’s a bit off. Could it be the culture? And not something that’s been growing for months in the break room’s fridge. But more like the essence of the organization. According to our guest, many leaders just don’t know if their organization’s culture is helping or hindering achievement of goals. Laura Hamill, a leadership consultant based near Seattle, has seen it time after time: a mismatch between what leadership thinks should be happening and the rest of the world. As an organizational psychologist, ex-Microsoft director, and Limeade cofounder, through her firm Paris Phoenix Group, she advises companies on how to transform their cultures. What are the steps that need to be taken? Laura Hamill is our guest on this episode of Bizgnus Interviews. Ms. Hamill is also host at the Happy at Work podcast and has written a new book about fixing company cultures, “The Power of Culture: An Economist Edge Book,” (The Economist Books, November 2024). For more information: parisphoenixgroup.com

January 3, 202516 min

Winning the inner grapple

•How to break the blockages to success •Eight stories to ponder (Total Recorded Time is 16:16) NEW YORK CITY -- It’s called “faction” and entrepreneur and author Bob Kaplan uses the writing style that combines fiction with facts for a new approach to leading and evolving. Change is hard, Mr. Kaplan notes. The challenge is to get whatever is blocking change out of the way, first by identifying the inside-your-head blockages. To raise their game, leaders cannot just work on form or technique, he says. Typically, they also need to raise their mental game, adjust it in some way. Mr. Kaplan’s new book uses eight short fictionalized real-life cases that bring that struggle for self-improvement to life. His new book is “GRAPPLING: Leaders Striving To Improve,” (River Grove Books, August 2024). Mr. Kaplan earned his doctorate in organizational behavior from Yale and lives in New York City with his wife, Becky. His previous book is “Fear Your Strengths—What You’re Best At Is Probably Your Biggest Problem.” For more information: www.kaplandevries.com