The Entrepreneur Next Door 🏡

Hosted by Zev Asch

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Latest episode

Oct 2026

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EN-US

About the show

My name is Zev Asch; welcome to The Entrepreneur Next Door Podcast. I've spent my entire career in what I call "the trenches of small business and entrepreneurship." I spent three decades as a successful corporate marketing executive in small and family-owned businesses, an academic career as a Graduate Marketing Professor and director of Entrepreneurship and leadership at Touro University Graduate School of Business, and over a decade as a business transformation coach. As an avid podcast listener, I've always craved one that features unknown, grounded non-celebrities and entrepreneurs who can be my next-door neighbors. Join me for intimate, unfiltered conversations with everyday people who took a leap into entrepreneurship and openly share their journey from failure to success. I spend hours preparing for each interview and asking intimate and challenging questions; one insight can make a profound difference in your business or life. Finally, I promise that my podcast will never be used as a platform for me or my guests to self-promote. I strictly prohibit it and ensure each guest understands before being featured on my show. My goal is to ensure that every episode delivers at least one insight that can help you improve your business or one aspect of your personal life. Listen, subscribe, and share this channel with my thanks. Music courtesy of ZakharValaha at Pixabay.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 7, 202640 min

The Umbrella Principle: Leading Teams Under Pressure

Nassim Ebrahimi, performance coach and former C-suite executive, reveals why the best business leaders think like athletic coaches—collaboration, not command. In this conversation, we break down the direct parallels between athletic coaching and business leadership. Nassim shares: 👉🏿 Why "people work FOR you" is a fundamental mistake 👉🏿 The umbrella leader framework: protecting your team through pressure 👉🏿 How collaboration actually looks when things get hard 👉🏿 The nature vs. nurture question in developing talent 👉🏿 Why approval addiction sabotages business owners 👉🏿 What Fortune 500 executives and Olympic athletes have in common Key insight: "People that work FOR you are likely to leave. People that work WITH you are likely to grow with your business." The game's never over until the very end—and great leaders stay in it with their team, not above it. CONNECT WITH NASSIM: Web: www.becomingmystrongerme.com Instagram: @strongerme LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nassime/ Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.

September 25, 202625 min

Entrepreneurship Can't Be Taught?

Can entrepreneurship be taught? Serial entrepreneur Katie Stearns says no, and explains why grit beats a great idea every time. Katie started playing "bike shop" while the other girls played house. Since then she has run Minnesota's first real estate staging company while raising three sons, sold karaoke to Minnesota bars on straight commission right out of college, and built You Betcha Box, a gift box company featuring more than 100 Minnesota food makers, which she sold three and a half years ago. Now her kids are grown and she's going after something much bigger: earrings that work as earbuds, built for women who want to hear their AI, their calls and the world around them all at the same time. We get into the part of entrepreneurship nobody teaches, which is sales. Why a pitch to investors is a sales call. Why you should fall in love with your customer, not your product. And why her billboard in Times Square would say four words: Women are not a niche. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Meet Katie Stearns, serial entrepreneur 01:00 Building businesses around three sons 01:40 Born an entrepreneur: the kid who played bike shop 03:00 Can entrepreneurship be taught? Her controversial answer 05:00 Build a deep bench so one vendor can't sink you 06:00 You Betcha Box and 100+ Minnesota makers 08:00 Sales: the skill schools don't teach 09:30 Selling karaoke on straight commission 11:30 Get in front of your customers 12:30 AI and the next generation of founders 13:30 San Francisco: why events are the new marketing 15:00 Radical empathy: love the customer, not the product 16:30 Perfectionism, bias and pitching as a woman founder 18:00 Blings: earrings that double as earbuds 20:30 Why earbuds fail women 22:00 A Qualcomm NDA and her first patent 22:45 Times Square billboard: Women are not a niche 24:00 Where to find Katie Connect with Katie Stearns on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiesterns/ The Entrepreneur Next Door is a business podcast for entrepreneurs, small business owners and growth leaders. Real people, real businesses, no hype. Subscribe for new episodes and turn on notifications so you don't miss one. Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.

September 16, 202655 min

Tony Robbins' Tax Partner: Culture Not Tax Breaks Drives Growth

Great CPAs guide you on how to minimize your tax liability but it is up to you as the owner and CEO of your business to create a culture that drives consistent growth. Tyler McBroom spent three years chasing a partnership with Tony Robbins' Global Accounting Advisors. In this conversation we get into what separates a CPA who's actually working for you from one who's just filing paperwork, why "revenue" and "profit" are two different conversations most business owners never have, and the real math behind a tax write off (it's not what you think). Then we flip into leadership. Tyler's built two firms, one to $5M and another from scratch, and he's got a blunt take on why culture, not hustle, is the only thing that scales. We also get into the $100,000 mistake that hit during a hurricane, the client he fired that turned out to be under FBI investigation five years later, and his automate, delegate, eliminate framework for running a business without burning out. Timestamps: 0:00 The one clue your CPA isn't earning their fee 1:03 Tyler's introduction and the Tony Robbins partnership 1:36 Wanting to be a novelist, not an accountant 6:40 The cold email and the meeting he asked to reschedule 9:00 Three years of following up, and why it worked in his favor 16:30 How to tell if your CPA is actually working for you 21:00 The plane analogy: why one tax meeting a year isn't enough 22:30 Don't spend $100 to save $25: the real math on write offs 25:50 The $100,000 mistake: a live event, a hurricane, two canceled speakers 31:00 The number one mistake entrepreneurs make with money 36:00 Culture as the only competitive advantage that can't be copied 44:00 Automate, delegate, eliminate: Tyler's framework for running a business 52:00 Rapid fire: the one person who shaped his career Connect With Tyler: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tylermcbroom/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylermcbroom/ Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.

September 3, 202649 min

Why "Come On, You Can Do It" Is the Wrong Advice.

"Come on, you can do it." Adam Roach says that's the wrong thing to tell someone who's stuck, and he explains exactly why in this episode: it's hero language, not guide language, and the difference determines whether someone actually climbs out of a hard spot or stays stuck in it. Adam breaks down a framework he uses with the people he coaches: four roles everyone cycles through when things get hard. The victim, who isn't ready to change. The villain, who keeps others stuck. The hero, cheering from the sidelines with encouragement that doesn't actually help. And the guide, the only one who gets someone out, because a guide gives specific steps instead of just belief. He walks through it with a simple story: someone stuck in a hole, and what the person at the top says (or doesn't say) that actually gets them out. If you're a business owner in a rough patch right now, or trying to help someone on your team who is, this framework will change how you show up for them, and for yourself. What you'll learn: Why "you've got this" is often the wrong thing to say to someone stuck The four roles: victim, villain, hero, guide, and how to spot which one you're playing What separates a guide from a cheerleader, and why it matters more than good intentions A simple way to know if you're actually helping someone or just making yourself feel better Connect with Adam: LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamrroach/ Web: ilovecoachingco.com Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.

August 21, 202643 min

The #1 Reasons Businesses Fail!

What is the #1 reason that causes businesses to fail? Entrepreneurs, founders and small business owners take notice! Rami Cassis reveals what he's learned firsthand, after many years buying and fixing and growing distressed companies. In this conversation we get into : What actually happens when Rami walks into a company that's losing money with no clear future. Why cutting costs is the easy part and building the next three years is the hard part. Why business owners sign off on growth numbers they know are fantasy, and what that does to a team. Why self-awareness matters more than any strategy document. We talk about AI, and whether it's about to expose every business that never had a real plan. Connect with Rami: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rami-cassis/ Web: parabelluminvestments.com Subscribe to The Entrepreneur Next Door for real conversations with people who've actually built and fixed businesses, no fluff, no theory. #Entrepreneurship #BusinessTurnaround #SmallBusiness

July 23, 202654 min

Intuition as Business Brand Foundation

Trust Your Gut in Business: Sunil Godse on Intuition, Branding, and Better Decisions Entrepreneur and brand strategist Sunil Godse joins The Entrepreneur Next Door to explain intuition as a biological, measurable pattern-recognition system that helps entrepreneurs make better decisions. He shares how he left civil engineering against his family’s wishes, invested his savings into a Señor Frog’s restaurant, and learned branding through mentor Sig Goutier, later scaling a healthcare company from $1.5M to $20M in revenue. Sunil breaks down four types of intuition—creative, experiential, relational, and situational—describing how signals can be positive, negative, or “maybe,” and why overanalysis, emotional overrides, and the wrong advisors lead to costly mistakes, including examples of a $10,000 loss and a CEO losing $2M. He contrasts intuition with AI, emphasizes protecting yourself in service contracts, and stresses that strong brands start with employees as the frontline of customer trust. 00:00 Intuition as Business Brand Foundation 02:41 The Mexican Restaurant Story 07:09 What Is Intuition? 26:30 The Four Types of Intuition 34:50 AI vs. Intuition 50:17 Intuition in Branding & Hiring 54:25 Outro & How to Find Sunil Connect with Sunil: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilgodse/ Web: intuitivebranding.com Email: sunil@sunilgodse.com

June 17, 202629 min

[90] A Father’s One Wish

What is GNAI1 syndrome? In this special episode, I sit down with my good friend Chris B. to discuss his 11-year-old son Brayden’s diagnosis with GNAI1 syndrome, an extremely rare genetic disorder with only around 25 known cases in the United States. If this powerful story of tenacity, grit, and special needs parenting moves you, please consider supporting Chris and Melanie directly to help offset mounting medical and equipment expenses. Every dollar goes directly to Brayden's care. 🔗 Support Brayden’s Care (Venmo): @ChrisBVolleyball 👉 Last 4 digits of cell phone for verification: 5884 Behind Chris’s positive demeanor on the #pickleball #pickleballpodcast courts is a profoundly inspiring look into a family's daily journey navigating a rare neurodevelopmental condition. From identifying early warning signs like infantile spasms and tracking issues at 4 months old, to receiving a definitive genetic mutation diagnosis at age 8, Chris shares the raw reality of high-cost specialized equipment, dealing with insurance roadblocks, and coping with medical emergencies like pediatric ICU stays. This isn't just a story about a rare disease disability. It's a masterclass in maintaining a positive outlook when life deals you an incredibly tough hand, and what love actually looks like when it asks everything of you. If this episode moves you, please consider supporting Chris and Melanie directly; your generosity will help offset ongoing and mounting expenses needed to care for Bray Bray. The link to donate is below. Every dollar goes toward Brayden's care. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 01:58 Brayden's Birth 03:10 Early Warning Signs 06:43 The GNAI1 Diagnosis 09:18 A Day in the Life 16:35 The Fight for Coverage 23:11 The Fundraiser & Final Thoughts 24:59 Shave (Poem) & Closing 26:51 Donating.

May 21, 202637 min

[89] How to Build a Thriving Pickleball Club in a Crowded Market

Michael Glover went from Lehman Brothers to an #entrepreneur of one of Long Island's new showcase #pickleball clubs. He'd be the first to tell you he had no idea what he was doing when he started. In this episode, we talk about how Michael stumbled into pickleball, why he jumped into a second, bigger facility even as competition was exploding, and what actually keeps people coming back to his club even with a flood of new facilities on Long Island. We also get into why this game caught fire the way it did, what the banger vs. dinker debate says about where pickleball is heading, and why the rating system drives people crazy. Michael has great insights and advice on how to keep Pickleball sane and fun. For existing and would-be entrepreneurs, the best part of this conversation is what Michael says is the only way you keep customers coming back. Spoiler-alert, it has nothing to do with marketing, sponsors or big events. Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.

January 15, 2026Episode 8848 min

[88] Why Employees Won’t Step Up Until the Owner Changes This!

If you are a small business owner, a founder, or an entrepreneur, this episode offers insights from clinical psychologist Dr. Manuel Blasini-Mendez, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in Performance Psychology and Eco-Leadership Coaching, who has helped executives and teams navigate burnout, leadership transitions, and culture transformations with clarity and purpose. Discover how Dr. Manuel Blasini uses his clinical psychology background to help entrepreneurs and small business owners rethink growth and align their business strategies with personal values and purpose. This episode covers why understanding people is vital to business success, the role of listening and empathy in leadership, and how hidden workplace dynamics affect productivity. Gain practical advice on resolving conflicts, building trust, and harnessing emotions as strengths. Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.

November 4, 202536 min

[87] Stop Selling. 97% of Your Audience Isn't Ready!

Are your paid ads failing? Are you worried AI is making your marketing obsolete? You're not alone. Marketing expert Noa Eshed reveals why 97% of your audience isn't ready to buy and how the shift from "search engines" to "answer engines" changes everything. In this episode of Entrepreneur Next Door, Zev Asch sits down with Noa Eshed , owner of the Bold Digital Marketing Agency , Amazon #1 bestselling author , and host of the top 10% ranked podcast, " Real Life Superpowers ." They discuss the single biggest mistake founders make, why "trust" is your most important metric, and how to adapt your marketing for a world run by AI. #B2BMarketing #StartupMarketing #DigitalMarketing #AIMarketing #SEO2025 #StartupAdvice Newly created intro gingle to get you in the mood about my intimate yet exciting conversation with my guest.

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