

Smart Business Revolution | Turn Relationships into Revenues | Networking | More Clients | Relationship Advice
John Corcoran
"Top 100 Small Business Podcasts 2014" -- Small Biz Trends. Former Clinton White House Writer John Corcoran shows you how to build relationships intelligently to get more clients, grow your income and advance your career. Discover how you can use win-win networking and intentional relationship-building with Influencers and VIPs, even if you "hate networking" or feel like you have "nothing to offer" people who are successful. Interviews with today's top entrepreneurs and authors such as Dan Pink, Michael Port, Gary Vaynerchuk, Marie Forleo and Guy Kawasaki, who reveal how they use relationships to grow their businesses and their incomes. Find out more at SmartBusinessRevolution.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 18, 2020 • 30min
Andrea Heuston | [Pivot Series] Surviving, Thriving and Pivoting Businesses After 5+ Near Death Experiences
Andrea Heuston is the CEO and Creative Principal of Artitudes Design, an award-winning creative agency. She has over 20 years experience in the design industry and has won several awards including Puget Sound Business Journal's 40 Under 40, the annual Enterprising Women of the Year Awards for Enterprising Women Magazine, Cambridge Who's Who for Women Achieve Award and many more. Andrea has a degree in Communications and Design from the University of Washington. In addition to being an entrepreneur, she's also a speaker, author and a volunteer with a number of local community nonprofits. She's also the host of the Lead Like a Woman Show, where she features top women leaders who share their inspirational stories on life and leadership. John Corcoran, host of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, is joined by Andrea Heuston, CEO and Creative Principal of Artitudes Design, on this episode to talk about surviving, thriving, and pivoting your business during difficult times. They also discuss how the current health pandemic has impacted women in leadership and entrepreneurship, and Andrea also shares her best practices for virtual events.

Sep 11, 2020 • 36min
Mark P. Fisher | [Pivot Series] What You Can Learn About Pivoting & Scrappiness from Camps and Retreat Centers' Pivots During the Pandemic
Mark P. Fisher is the Chief Encourager of Inspiring Growth, a company that helps businesses with everything from sales and marketing to fundraising with a specialization in hospitality businesses. He also has many years of experience working with camps, retreats, and conference leaders, and recently provided a webinar to help the industry which has had to pivot and find ways to survive because of the coronavirus pandemic. Mark has consulted with 146 different for profit and nonprofit organizations with outstanding customer satisfaction. He has also worked with AT&T, Nissan, Red Lobster, and many more. John Corcoran, host of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, is joined by Mark P. Fisher, the Chief Encourager at Inspiring Growth, to talk about pivoting and helping camps innovate during these trying times. Mark also shares how a health issue and undergoing surgery changed the course of his life, what drew him into the hospitality industry, and what his organizational growth strategies are.

Sep 9, 2020 • 58min
Vadim Polikov | From Immigrant to Founding and Exiting Multiple Businesses
Vadim Polikov is a serial entrepreneur with several companies that he has founded, grown, and sold. His first company was American Journal Experts. They edit research papers and international research so they can publish them in top tier academic journals. The company still exists today but Vadim has exited the company in 2008.He also started a venture-backed company in the residential solar installer space called Astrum Solar and sold it for 54 million to Direct Energy. Vadim’s current business is Legends of Learning, which believes that by working with our human nature to learn through experience and play, we can accelerate the pace of learning for humanity. It has over a million monthly active users. Vadim Polikov, the CEO of Legends of Learning, joins John Corcoran in this episode of Smart Business Revolution to talk about his entrepreneurial journey of founding and exiting successful businesses. Vadim shares how he started from founding his first company that does academic research and review, to creating and selling his first foray into solar installation, and how he built his current academic learning company.

Sep 4, 2020 • 41min
Justin Breen | Building Connections and Networks to Fuel a Business and Land Media Coverage
Justin Breen is the CEO of the public relations firm, BrEpic Communications. He is also the author of the best selling book Epic Business: 30 Secrets to Build Your Business Exponentially and Give You the Freedom to Live the Life You Want. Justin is hardwired to seek out and create viral thought-provoking stories that the media craves. He is an amazing consummate networker who believes in the power of introductions. He has a degree in News - Editorial Journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran talks with Justin Breen, CEO of BrEpic Communications, about the value of building business connections and networks. They discuss Justin's background in journalism, his reason for writing his best selling book, and why it’s beneficial for entrepreneurs to be a part of business networking groups.

Aug 31, 2020 • 25min
Bob Loback | Working for George Lucas and Buying a $5 Million Business in a New Industry as a First-Time Entrepreneur
Bob Loback is the President and CEO of two companies: Darcoid and Crest Technology, also known as CrestTec. He is an expert in supply chain management and value-added distribution services, and he has acquired four different companies and merged them to create one larger company in the critical seal business. He has also acquired the operating assets of a semiconductor, fab sourcing, and distribution company. Prior to going into entrepreneurship, Bob worked for DHL for 14 years in various divisions. He holds a business degree from the California State University. John Corcoran, host of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, is joined by Bob Loback, President and CEO of Darcoid and CrestTec, to talk about what it takes and what it’s like to invest in a $5 million business. Bob also shares his experience working for George Lucas at Lucasfilm Ltd, how he merged four companies into one, and how working for DHL prepared him for entrepreneurship.

Aug 28, 2020 • 33min
Uri Adoni | How to Launch an Unstoppable Startup in the Post-COVID Era: Tips from a Top VC in Israel
Uri Adoni is the author of the book, The Unstoppable Startup: Mastering Israel's Secret Rules of Chutzpah. He has over 20 years of experience in high-tech and over 12 years of being a partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) Media Labs, one of Israel's leading venture capital firms with an impressive track record of IPOs on the NASDAQ and M&As to large leading multinational firms. Prior to joining JVP, Uri was the CEO of MSN Israel (Microsoft Networks) and was one of Israel's new media pioneers. In his military service at the IDF (regular and reserve), he was an officer (major) and served as commander of a combat unit. He has also served on the board of several high-tech companies and in early and late stage companies. In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, John Corcoran is joined by Uri Adoni, an author and venture capitalist, to talk about how businesses could start and grow in a post-crisis era. Uri also talks about the reason why he decided to write his book, Israel’s unique history and why it has an amazing start-up culture, and he also gives his top advice to companies on how to build unstoppable teams.

Aug 24, 2020 • 25min
John Lie-Nielsen | Jumping into Business in the Midst of Chaos
John Lie-Nielsen is the Founder and CEO of One Park Financial. The company's mission is to help small to mid-sized businesses get access to working capital, both quickly and efficiently. They help customers for the long haul, growing business with customer-centric services to make it all happen. It is a business dedicated to helping other businesses gain access to working capital just like the big guys. They help get time, credit and paperwork all on your side. John is an entrepreneur specializing in launching and developing financial service firms. In 1999, he founded ACA financial LLC and in 2010, he founded his current company, One Park Financial. His business has since been named as one of the best entrepreneurial companies in America and have been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine's Entrepreneur 360 list more than once. In this episode of Smart Business Revolution, Julie Musgrave interviews John Lie-Nielsen, Founder and CEO of One Park Financial, about providing financing and support to small businesses during and after a crisis. John also talks about why he founded his company, the government's relief programs for businesses, and his advice to fellow business owners on starting and growing a business and how they can best manage their employees.

Aug 21, 2020 • 41min
Ed Robinson | How to Thrive as a CEO During Chaotic Times
Ed Robinson is the Founder and President of Capacity Building Solutions Inc., a consulting firm he started in June 2002 which focuses on business management and organizational development for small and medium sized businesses and community-based nonprofits. He is also a Master Chair, which means he is one of the top performing Chairs in the Vistage International Organization, an invitation-only CEO/business owner peer leadership development organization. Ed is also an executive coach, management consultant, speaker, trainer, and author who strives to change the world for the better - one leader at a time. He holds an MBA from Penn State University and BA in Politics from The Catholic University of America. In this week’s episode of Smart Business Revolution, John Corcoran interviews Ed Robinson, Founder and President of Capacity Building Solutions, about thriving as a CEO during tough economic times. Ed talks about his own experience of starting and building a business during an economic downturn, the benefits of peer to peer CEO groups, and how he has been helping fellow CEOs deal with the current health crisis affecting their businesses.

Aug 17, 2020 • 32min
Kellianne Fedio | From Recovering Lawyer to Exiting an Ecommerce Business for 7 Figures
Kellianne Fedio is a Founder, Chief Amazon Strategist, and Exit Planning Advisor. She is a recovering attorney who went from practicing law to founding and scaling up her own multi-million dollar e-commerce brand. She then had a successful 7-figure exit from the business and now helps other brands to identify and maximize profit opportunities using Amazon businesses. Kellianne is also the co-host of the Amazing Exits Podcast where she and her business partner, Paul Miller, share insights and feature top experts and brands to talk about their journeys in e-commerce. Kellianne Fedio, Founder, Chief Amazon Strategist, and Exit Planning Advisor, joins John Corcoran in this week’s episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast. She talks to John about her transition from practicing law to becoming an e-commerce and Amazon expert, and how she moved from there to coaching and consultancy.

Aug 14, 2020 • 36min
Andrea Herrera | [Pivot Series] 95% Revenue Decline Due to COVID-19 and Pivoting to a New Business in 30 Days
Andrea Herrera is the Founder and President of Amazing Edibles Catering, an award winning catering company in the Chicago area. She has built an amazing team and her personal mission is to foster connection to create community. Through her company, Andrea has served over a million meals in Chicago over the past 25 years. Andrea recently formed a new business called Boxperience which solves the challenges of connecting top clients in a world where lunches and dinners are no longer an option. She is also very involved in Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), a global organization of 15,000 members by serving on the Global Leadership Committee. She has served as the President of the Chicago chapter of EO, Chair of the Accelerator Program to mentor emerging entrepreneurs, and Chair of a global conference on entrepreneurial leadership in 2016. In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution podcast, Andrea Herrera, Founder and President of Amazing Edibles Catering and Boxperience, joins podcast host John Corcoran to talk about how she pivoted her catering business during a time of crisis. Andrea also shares her experience being a member and leader in Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), starting a personalized gift business, and the lead generation techniques she uses to grow her new business.