Filed under: Combs & Company, Did You Know That?, Sean ORourke | Tags: Combs & Company, Did You Know That?, Ramon Ray, Sean O'Rourke, Smart Hustle
Host: Sean C O’Rourke
Guest: Ramon Ray
“When things do not go your way, remember that every challenge — every adversity — contains within it the seeds of opportunity and growth.” Roy T. Bennett
If you like understatement, then saying 2020 has been (or was, depending on when you’re reading this) a challenging year should make the top of your list. But among all that has gone wrong, that’s disrupted the norm, or been thrown into the unknown lies opportunity to come out the other end better, stronger, faster. (Yes, that’s a callout to one of my all-time favorite shows.)
In the latest edition of Did You Know That?, the engaging Ramon Ray talks about how businesses – of all sizes – can identify and take advantage of even the slimmest of opportunity. There are risks; it’s not for the faint of heart; but there are rewards to be had by you, your employees, and your customers/clients if you take a calculated leap. This is not about running after anything that catches your eye; this about smartly identifying where your business can fill a new need and moving with purpose in that direction.
If this is your first experience listening to Ramon, then get your pen and paper or keyboard ready, because he’s going to throw a lot of information out there and you’ll want to digest it afterward (or give this multiple watches; your choice).
You can also check out Ramon’s various works using the links or handles below:
Instagram: @ramonraysmarthustle
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramonraysmallbiz/
Check out Ramon’s website Smart Hustle or his speaking website HERE!
Music: “J.D. Scavenger” by Randy Sharp via Artlist
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Combs & Company, Cory Allison, Did You Know That?, Feature Friday, KelCor, Sean O'Rourke, The JumpFund
Host: Sean C O’Rourke
Guest: Cory Allison
“Money, it’s a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash” Pink Floyd
You have a killer idea. It appeals to a broad market. And your strategy to bring it to life is rock solid. All you need is a few more dollars than you have now to make it a reality. What path should you choose? Bootstrap? Friends and family? Angel? Venture capital? Family office? Maybe even private equity?
How you fund a business may be just as important as what you’re selling. Going it alone leaves all the decisions in your hands, but you’re gambling all your resources. Taking money from others limits your own exposure, but now you have potential “partners” who may weigh in on crucial decisions or not agree with the ones you make.
Cory Allison is an experienced entrepreneur, especially in the startup world. She’s also a partner in a fund that focuses on female-led businesses. So she knows the funding game from both sides of the table. Her insights on the topic may help guide you on your quest to launch the next unicorn.
You can discover much more about Cory at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-allison-30a73025/
KelCor: https://www.kelcortape.com/
The JumpFund: https://www.thejumpfund.com/about
Music: “Having a Good Day – Instrumental” by Benj Heard via Artlist
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Andy Neary, Bullpen Sessions, Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Major League Mindset, Tenacious Tuesday, Try and Stop Me Podcast
Host: Colleen Blum
Guest: Andy Neary
Mindset Lessons Learned On The Mound
Today, I am super pumped to bring you a fun, energetic, kickass business role model & overall JUST a good human Andy Neary.
Andy’s a former Professional Baseball Player. He’s now a Business Coach, Keynote Speaker & Founder of “the Complete Game”, coaching program.
Andy’s mission is to help business professionals build the mindset, habits, and rituals as he says “off the field” that lead to all-star performance on it. I’m obsessed with what he has going on today because it fits right into something I think we have all dealt with in our life at some point – a defeating mindset. Listen along as he teaches us how to flip the script into developing what he now calls #majorleaguemindset.
Watch a preview of the episode here!
Check out the full episode below!
Check him out at www.andyneary.com
Check out his podcast Bullpen Sessions
Follow us at @tryandstopmepodcast
Filed under: Branding You, Combs & Company, Insurance Women, Mizzou, Purple Foxes, Roger E Combs, Susan L Combs | Tags: Combs & Company, Eric Silverman, Mizzou Law, Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic, Rockstars Rocking, Rockstars Rocking Podcast, Roger E Combs, Susan L Combs
Absolutely thrilled to be featured this week on Eric Silverman‘s Rockstars Rocking podcast!
Thank you so much Eric, for giving me a platform to share about my journey and my passion for the Mizzou Law Veterans Clinic at the University of Missouri!
Click below to watch the episode!
Want to see more episodes, make sure you CLICK HERE to subscribe!
Filed under: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Insurance Women, Marketing Yourself, Mental Health, Motivational, Tenacious Tuesday, Try and Stop Me Podcast | Tags: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Mental Health, Mental Wellness, Mike Veny, Self Employed Momentum, Tenacious Tuesday, Transforming Stigma, Try and Stop Me Podcast
Episode 6 Mental Health Is An Asset, So Let’s Talk About It
Host: Colleen Blum
Guest: Mike Veny
Mental Health is something society still struggles to talk about or address, the one good thing about COVID is that problem seems to be slowly changing.
Mike Veny is one of the Top Mental Health Speakers in the US talking about just that. Listen as he shares his story through his mental own health journey, how is mother helped him find an outlet and how he is using his mental health as an asset to help change lives all across the country.
Curious for a preview of the episode? Take a listen below!
To be able to listen or download the full episode, click below!
Guest Contact Information:
Mike Veny: LinkedIn
Website: https://www.mikeveny.com/
Author of: Transforming Stigma: How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero
Podcast: MXV Self Employed Momentum
Follow us on the @tryandstopmepodcast Instagram page
Filed under: Combs & Company, Did You Know That?, Sean ORourke | Tags: Combs & Company, Did You Know That?, Election Law, Rachel Harding, Sean O'Rourke
Host: Sean C O’Rourke
“Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business.” Winston Churchill
Politics. Politician. Want to cause a visceral reaction? Just drop these words into any conversation and watch the fireworks blaze. It begs the question – why would anyone want to get into this business?
Well, for those who do, there’s a gauntlet you have to run just to get in front of your welcoming electorate. The cynic looks at these hurdles as a way for incumbents to stay in power; the optimist looks at the process as a way of pre-validating a candidate. Either way, it’s no simple matter to find your way onto a ballot and then finance a campaign.
My next guest on Did You Know That? is Rachel Harding, an election/campaign finance law attorney who specializes in New York state. Rachel knows the ins and outs, tricks and tricksters, and the obstacles a potential candidate must navigate to get on and remain on a New York ballot. She also knows how much money a candidate can accept and from whom and how often. Essentially, if you want to run for office in New York, call Rachel first.
In an election year unlike any in recent history, who better than Rachel to discuss how ballots are “made” in New York?
To learn more about Rachel, check out her LinkedIn profile HERE
Be sure to do your civic duty and vote, even if it’s for none of the above.
Music: Big City Lights by Ikoliks via Artlist
Filed under: Branding You, Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Exciting News, Insurance Women, Marketing, Marketing Yourself, Motivational, Try and Stop Me Podcast | Tags: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Sebastian Rusk, Try and Stop Me Podcast, Want to Start a Podcast?
Host: Colleen M Blum
Guest: Sebastian Rusk
Have You Ever Wanted To Start A Podcast?! All Of The Who/What/Why I Wish I Knew Before Starting A Podcast! check out what the Expert himself, Sebastian Rusk has to say about it!
Have you ever dreamed about starting YOUR OWN podcast but you have used ANY & EVERY excuse under the sun to just push it to the “one day” plan?? Well then THIS EPISODE is all for YOU!!
Sebastian Rusk is the go to man for all of the how to when creating a podcast from idea to inception. Sebastian is the Founder of the Podcast Launch Lab, he is also a kick ass Social Media Speaker, Author and Digital Story Teller. – guys if I knew Sebastian before I started this all I could have saved a good 3 weeks of my life from the countless YouTube clips I watched. Listen along to today conversation about all the questions I had when debating whether to start this show or not.
BTW: Secret for you! For 2 years I pushed down this idea of actually getting my show started because I just didn’t even know where to start. It’s time to put your fears aside & just make the jump! You can do this, I believe in YOU!
Guest Instagram: @podcastlaunchguy
Host: @tryandstopmepodcast
Filed under: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company Blog, Exciting News, Marketing, Motivational, Try and Stop Me Podcast | Tags: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Jessica Mazzucco, Motivation Monday, The Glute Recruit, Try and Stop Me Podcast
By Colleen Blum
Standing OUT Against the Instabody “Perfect” World – What IS That?! With Jess Mazzucco CEO of The Glute Recruit
What are we teaching our girls they need to be through social media? Do I need to take butt selfies to grow my fitness business? CEO of The Glute Recruit – Voted Best Personal Trainer in Westchester answers all. Jess tells her story about her journey through the corporate fitness world which lead her to create her own company. Jess touches on the unrealistic expectations that social media has and how she is trying to be the change in her industry by getting away from those never changing butt selfies and teaching our little ones to be strong & not focus on skinny.
Guest: @thegluterecuit
Host: @tryandstopme_podcast
Use Code: COLLEEN20 for 20% off your GluteRecruit resistance band!
https://www.thegluterecruit.com/shop
To listen to the full podcast, CLICK HERE
#MotivationMonday
Filed under: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Motivational, Try and Stop Me Podcast | Tags: Colleen Blum, Combs & Company, Stephanie Virchaux, Try and Stop Me Podcast
Podcast: Try and Stop Me
Host: Colleen Blum
Guest: Stephanie Virchaux, of SV Empowerment
On Episode 2, we sit down with my dear friend Stephanie Virchaux.
Stephanie is the Founder of SV Empowerment, she is a Motivational Speaker and an Energy Healer.
Stephanie had over a decade in the corporate world marketing for some of the top beauty brands in the industry. She was making well over 6 figures in the “opportunity of lifetime” position. Despite all of the perks, at the end of the day, it just wasn’t what her gut was telling her to do. Listen along as she shares her journey which lead her to her coaching business where she was able to use her own tools to help her through some extremely difficult times of her own.
Instagram: @tryandstopme_podcast
Guest Instagram: @stephanievirchaux
To listen to the full podcast, CLICK HERE or check it out on Spotify!
Filed under: BenefitsPro, Combs & Company, Feature Friday, Innovation Broker Lab, Insurance Women, Motivational, Successful Women, What's the Good News, Ladies?, Women in Insurance | Tags: Benekiva, Bobbie Shrivastav, Broker Innovation Lab, Combs & Company, Deidre Wright, Feature Friday, Strategic Stories, What's the Good News, Ladies?
Original Post: BenefitsPro Broker Innovation Lab
By Susan L Combs | August 14, 2020 at 06:58 AM
Guess what’s next week?! It’s BenefitsPRO Broker Expo time! This is one of my favorite conferences every year and this year we are doing the Fast & Furious Session from the main stage! So if you haven’t already registered, make sure you handle that ASAP! Since it is virtual this year, if you are a broker or agent, you can get in on the fun for no charge and learn what the rest of us already know about this great show!
In July, we kicked off our Wonder Woman Mastermind group, which was the brainchild of this series. We had a wonderful first meeting, where we shared some excellent marketing ideas with each other. If you are looking to be inspired by more women in our industry, please meet Bobbie and Deidre. Both women are breaking down barriers for women in our industry with personal impact and mentorship.
“The past 12 months have been focused on growth, speaking and mentoring! Due to all of our recent exposure and hard work, Benekiva was invited to participate in Mass Challenge FinTech Accelerator. We were selected out of over 300 applications globally and are proud of this recognition! Our impact in the industry has also increased as we’ve grown the number of carriers we work with from three to nine over the past 12 months. Personally, I was invited to speak at over 25 events in the last year, on topics such as InsurTech, innovation, customer experience, digital transformation, Blockchain, startups, women in tech, and diversity and inclusion. I’ve meet so many dynamic people along the way. Lastly, we have been able to mentor many startups and logged over 250 hours to help the startup community nationally.”
Deidre Wright, Strategic Stories
“I constantly think about the legacy I want to leave. My goal is to diversify the C-Suite and change the image of what a leader “looks like.” While companies promote diversity and inclusion, data shows the existence of pay disparities and glass ceilings amongst employees. Last December, I took the leap to become a full-time entrepreneur, providing personal brand coaching to ambitious but undervalued diverse talent. Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. The biggest surprise has been, that in the midst of a global pandemic, unstable economy, and racial unrest, my clients are winning. For example, Uche, a first-generation African American woman, just landed a new job making 20% more pay and with the dream title we planned together. Why am I celebrating this as a personal win? It debunks the myth that top-notch diverse talent doesn’t exist. So. I encourage us all to mentor, hire and promote diverse talent.”
Know a great rockstar woman in our industry who’s doing amazing things? If so, I’d love to connect! You can just shoot me over an email with their information or feel free to make a virtual introduction to me at scombs@combsandco.com. Stay safe and mask up my friends. Hope to see you August 18th-20th at the BenefitsPRO BrokerExpo!
