Midway Business Podcast

Hosted by Midway Business Podcast

Business Health Fitness

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Episodes

264

Latest episode

Sep 2026

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About the show

Inspired by the turning point of the Battle of Midway in World War II, this podcast is on a mission to help small and midsize businesses win their own battles—against a shifting marketplace, an uncertain world, and the everyday hurdles of running and growing a business. Hosted by Butch Zemar, CEO of Elite Benefits of America, who dives into candid conversations with real business leaders about what truly drives success. Each Midway Business Podcast episode delivers tactical insights, practical strategies, and fresh perspectives to help you adapt, manage changes, and keep your business moving forward. . . stronger and smarter.

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60 recent

October 1, 202641 min

Better Questions. Better Leadership. Better Decisions.

Business leaders are dealing with plenty of change right now, from AI and technology to rising costs and the constant pressure to make better decisions with limited time. In this episode, co host Jimmy DiMambro turns the microphone around on Butch Zemar, Founder and CEO of Elite Benefits of America and host of the Midway Business Podcast, for a conversation about how leaders can approach change, ask better questions, and avoid simply accepting “that’s just how it is” as an answer. The conversation also gets into one of the BIGGEST expenses employers continue to face: Employee Benefits. With healthcare costs continuing to climb and increases projected to approach 15% in 2027 and beyond, Butch discusses WHY it’s so important to understand what is actually happening inside your benefits program. For business leaders, this episode may have you looking differently at how much time, information, and strategy goes into the decisions your company makes each year. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at EliteBenefits.net or schedule an Executive Strategy Review to see where you stand.

September 24, 202647 min

Leadership Should Not Mean Doing Everything Yourself

As a company grows, it’s easy for the leader to become the person everyone depends on. In this episode, guest Eric Dingler, Team Leadership Coach and author of "Hire to Grow: Make Your Next Hire Pay for Themself in 30 Days," talks about how owners can build a team that thinks for itself, makes decisions, and keeps things moving without everything landing back on the leader’s desk. For leaders, this conversation gets into trust, hiring, culture, and one big question: How much does your company still depend on you? If growth keeps adding more to your plate instead of giving you more freedom, this episode may get you thinking differently about how you lead and build your team. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net. To learn more about Eric Dingler, visit him on LinkedIn .

September 16, 202628 min

What Leadership Needs to Know About Employee Benefits Renewals

Healthcare may be one of a company’s largest expenses, but Robert Slayton, healthcare strategist, bestselling author, and Vice President of Elite Benefits of America, believes leaders should view it as more than another annual bill. The conversation looks at how better visibility into costs, performance, and employee needs can support smarter business decisions. The bigger question is how much uncertainty are you willing to accept around a major expense? Robert shares a different perspective on healthcare strategy, AI, acquisitions, and why simply surviving another renewal may be setting the bar too low. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net or schedule an Executive Strategy Review to see where you stand.

September 15, 202632 min

Leadership Decisions That Shape Business Performance

Growing a business has a way of exposing the systems, leadership decisions, and people problems that were easy to ignore when the company was smaller. Deanne Palin, Founder and CEO of OnPoint Business Solutions, is an expert in helping companies grow and transform by improving leadership, HR, and operational systems that impact performance and profitability. The conversation challenges leaders to look at HR, employee benefits, leadership, hiring, and AI as connected parts of the business instead of separate departments and expenses. If your company is growing, changing, or trying to get more productivity from the resources already in place, this discussion may change where you start looking. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net. To learn more about DeeAnn Palin, visit https://onptbiz.com/ or connect with her on LinkedIn.

September 8, 202629 min

The Leadership Problem Behind Rising Benefits Costs

This episode challenges C-Suite leaders to consider whether one of the company’s largest expenses, employee benefits, is actually being managed. Healthcare often receives far less financial oversight, accountability, and strategic attention than payroll and taxes. The conversation looks at what is changing as employers begin questioning traditional insurance relationships, claims costs, pharmacy spending, and the annual renewal cycle itself. For leaders watching healthcare consume a larger share of the budget each year, it raises an important business QUESTION: “Are you just going to pay the increase. . . or actually manage the expense?” Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net.

September 1, 202644 min

The 1% Decision That Can Change Profitability

Per Sjofors, bestselling author of “The Price Whisperer: A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power” and founder of Sjofors & Partners, challenges leaders to reconsider one of the most powerful numbers on the financial statement: PRICE. While executives routinely scrutinize costs and sales volume, pricing can receive surprisingly little strategic attention, even though a small change can produce a much larger impact on profitability. The conversation explores how pricing, perceived value, and customer behavior shape what buyers are willing to pay. For business leaders, it raises a bigger question about whether pricing is being intentionally managed or inherited from old formulas, competitors, and assumptions nobody has challenged since the last strategy meeting. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net. By sure to grab Per Sjofors book “The Price Whisperer: A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power," or connect with him on LinkedIn by searching “The Price Whisperer.”

August 25, 202622 min

The Power of Letting Go

Leadership is not always about taking MORE control. Sometimes the harder move is giving some of it away. This episode explores ownership, accountability, trust, and what can happen when leaders give people the authority to think, act, and contribute instead of waiting for instructions. . . because AUTONOMY can be powerful. For C-Suite leaders, the bigger question may be whether the company has outgrown some of the habits, responsibilities, and processes that helped build it in the first place. From revenue generation and delegation to productivity and customer expectations, the conversation challenges leaders to look at where they are moving the business forward. . . and where they may unknowingly be standing in its way. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net.

August 20, 202629 min

When Leadership and Culture Fall Out of Sync

Dr. Lola Adeyemo, Founder and CEO of EQI Mindset, explores why leadership, culture, and employee engagement are more connected to business performance than many executives realize. Culture does not become strategy simply because it made the leadership PPT slide deck. What employees actually experience every day can influence trust, innovation, retention, and ultimately how effectively the organization performs. The conversation challenges C Suite leaders to examine the distance between leadership decisions and the people experiencing them on the front lines. From workplace trust and accountability to employee resource groups and a changing workforce, Dr. Adeyemo offers a perspective that may have executives looking differently at how their people, systems, and business goals work together to build a stronger, more sustainable culture. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net. To learn more about Dr. Lola Adeyemo, reach out by email lola@eqimindset.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.

August 18, 202623 min

When Leadership Feels Like Too Much

Every leader eventually reaches a day when quitting sounds less like failure and more like a very reasonable agenda item. In this episode, Butch Zemar shares lessons from more than 20 years in business, major industry disruption, acquisitions, and the difficult seasons that test whether a leader will keep moving or call it quits. The discussion examines what happens when pressure, uncertainty, and employee benefits challenges push leadership teams toward resignation. C Suite leaders will gain a practical perspective on perseverance, responsibility, and why the decisions made during the hardest moments often shape the company long after the meeting ends. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net.

August 11, 202624 min

The Cost of Staying Comfortable

Businesses rarely stop growing because opportunity disappears. More often, leaders reach the edge of what feels comfortable and discover that the square peg simply will not fit into the round hole. In this episode, Butch Zemar examines how leaders respond when old methods, rising costs, and changing markets collide. From business growth to employee benefits, the discussion challenges executives to consider whether their organization is EVOLVING with purpose or simply becoming very efficient at staying exactly where it is. Midway Business Podcast is powered by Elite Benefits of America, helping employers protect resources, empower people, and drive results through smarter employee benefits strategies. Learn more at elitebenefits.net.