The Elite Entrepreneurs Podcast

Brett Gilliland is Founder and CEO of Elite Entrepreneurs, a company that specializes in giving $1M+ business owners the knowledge, processes, and tools to grow to $10M and beyond. Brett is an expert in organization development, leadership, and strategy and spent 10 years helping Infusionsoft grow from $7M in revenue to over $100M. Brett was involved in the foundational work of Purpose, Values, and Mission at Infusionsoft and facilitated the strategic planning process for many years. One of Brett’s favorite professional accomplishments is co-creating Infusionsoft’s Elite Forum along with Clate Mask and building the Elite business inside of Infusionsoft. As the leader of the Elite business, Brett has helped hundreds of struggling seven-figure business owners overcome their biggest challenges and achieve new levels of success. He also played a central role in the development of Infusionsoft’s Leadership Model and was serving as the VP of Leadership Development when the decision was made to spin the Elite business out of Infusionsoft. As the new owner of Elite Entrepreneurs, Brett can’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing professionally. When Brett isn’t busy helping $1M+ businesses succeed, he is a family man who enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife, Sharon, and their 8 children. What the podcast will teach you: Resources:

In 2008, Marci Hernandez’s husband, Carlos, was working as an insurance agent primarily for construction companies. Due to the recession, most of his clients were going out of business, which meant there was no income for their young family. Carlos had lots of ideas, but he finally convinced Marci they could start a cleaning business. This was mostly due to the low entry cost: a mop and a vacuum. Carlos would go out and knock on doors to obtain new clients during the day, and then go at night and clean the handful of customers they had by himself. In the meantime, Marci handled the admin work with the proposals, marketing, and bookkeeping while still working part time for another company and caring for their three kids at the same time. Little by little, Marci and Carlos worked to figure out better systems and processes. Year after year, they added more and more customers and team members. Today, they service hundreds of business all over Arizona and in 2019 were listed at #17 by the Phoenix Business Journal’s Top Janitorial Firms. What the podcast will teach you: Resources: Additional resources:

Founded in 2014 by psychologists and prior college counselors Dr. Keith Higginbotham and Dr. Brett Donnelly, Acacia Counseling and Wellness began in response to a great need for long-term outpatient mental health services in university communities. Brett and Keith saw firsthand that the student demand for mental health services was increasing rapidly and how difficult it was to find long-term treatment options accessible, affordable, and specialized to students. Acacia was formed to tear down these barriers and advocate for students searching for better outpatient mental health care. Today, Acacia is the leading outpatient provider, college student mental health in both California and Minnesota. They serve thousands of students each week and continue to grow to support the demand. Their mission never waivers, continually searching for better ways to help students and dedicating their life’s work supporting students in need! What the podcast will teach you: Resources: Additional resources:

Ramon Ray is not a Law Enforcement Officer – but did graduate from the FBI Citizens Academy. Ramon was never on Sesame Street – but has done puppet shows in developing countries. Ramon is not a preacher – but is a small business evangelist. Ramon is a four-time entrepreneur, author, and speaker who loves burnt pancakes, bacon, and eggs. He’s the founder and producer of Smart Hustle Media, and he’s started four companies and sold two. Ramon has authored four books, and his latest book is Celebrity CEO – How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive By Building a Strong Personal Brand. Ramon has been invited as an expert witness to the United States Congress, invited by the Office of the President of the United States to speak at the White House on personal branding. He’s produced many events, including the “Smart Hustle Small Business Conference,” “Small Business Summit,” “Small Business Technology Tour,” “Small Biz Big Things,” and more. Ramon has shared the stage with Seth Godin, Daymond John, Guy Kawasaki, Simon Sinek, and Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s interviewed many of the sharks and contestants on Shark Tank, and other celebrity entrepreneurs. Ramon has also interviewed President Obama in the President’s first live Google Hangout, and was part of the US Delegation to India, led by Ivanka Trump for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Although Ramon has interviewed and shared the stage with many celebrity entrepreneurs, his passion and biggest professional accomplishment is interviewing “main street” small business owners and entrepreneurs and sharing their stories. Ramon is not just an ivory tower geek or a former technology consultant; he has hands-on experience in various technologies, including social media, mobile computing, computer networks, online software, and more. Ramon’s expertise ranges from technology, marketing, sales, business startup, and growth, and his favorite is personal branding. Over his extensive career, Ramon has written thousands of articles, spoken to thousands of business owners and impacted hundreds of thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs to help their businesses thrive. What the podcast will teach you: Resources: Additional resources:

Brett Gilliland is the founder and CEO of Elite Entrepreneurs, a company that specializes in giving $1M+ business owners the knowledge, processes, and tools to grow to $10M and beyond. Brett is an expert in organization development, leadership, and strategy and spent 10 years helping Infusionsoft grow from $7M in revenue to over $100M. Brett was involved in the foundational work of purpose, values, and mission at Infusionsoft and facilitated the strategic planning process for many years.One of Brett’s favorite professional accomplishments is co-creating Infusionsoft’s Elite Forum with Clate Mask and building the Elite business inside of Infusionsoft. As the leader of the Elite business, Brett has helped hundreds of struggling seven-figure business owners overcome their biggest challenges and achieve new levels of success. He also played a central role in the development of Infusionsoft’s leadership model and was serving as the VP of Leadership Development when the decision was made to spin the Elite business out of Infusionsoft. As the new owner of Elite Entrepreneurs, Brett can’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing professionally. When Brett isn’t busy helping $1M+ businesses succeed, he is a family man who enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife, Sharon, and their eight children.In this finale of a four-part special series, Brett discusses the importance of establishing a clear, defined, and purpose-driven meeting cadence to help balance your efforts between meeting your short-term operational excellence needs while still making progress toward your long-term strategy goals. What the podcast will teach you:How the quote by organizational expert Arthur W. Jones, “All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they get,” applies to pain in your businessWhy you must change your business systems to get different results, and why assessing the health of your business is the key to identifying problems and opportunitiesHow the nine questions in the “Elite Business Health Assessment” can give you clarity on the health of your businessWhy we often take actions that we believe will help our business that ultimately end up creating problems insteadBrett shares the nine key questions in the Elite Business Health Assessment and explains why they matterWhy having clarity and building the right team are two vitally important steps you can take to strengthen your businessWhy sticking to a set meeting rhythm can help you both in the short term and long term, and why a strong and healthy culture matters for productivityWhy growth is dependent upon the amount of capital you have access to, and why growing the right leadership team can keep you from becoming your own bottleneckWhy it is important to develop future leaders for your organization, and why weekly one-on-one check-ins with your team can build connections, improve performance, and help you make progress toward your goalsWhy setting the team’s Big 3 can help inform their choices and help them focus their efforts on actions that will move the needle for your business Resources:Elite Business Assessment: https://growwithelite.com/healthEmail: info@GrowWithElite.comWebsite: https://growwithelite.com/

In the last 26 years, Ed Molitor has developed his leadership skills in both athletics and business. From working as an NCAA basketball coach at Texas A&M to becoming the vice president of a national recruiting firm, Ed has taught countless athletes, coaches, and business leaders how to THINK, ACT, and EXECUTE at an elite level. Ed has a unique set of skills to deliver leaders across the country a purposeful, positive, energetic, and refreshing experience to unlock their true potential. In 2016, Ed launched his company, The Molitor Group, in order to reach and add value to a larger sphere of ambitious individuals and help them achieve their goals every day. Through The Molitor Group, Ed has guided all types of leaders to achieve success. From entrepreneurs and executives to teams and companies, The Molitor Group specializes in empowering individuals and groups to achieve at the next level. Through leadership performance training, coaching, and speaking, Ed’s goal is to supply people and organizations with the necessary tools to move forward from where they are now to where they want to be. What the podcast will teach you:·        How Ed transitioned his career from basketball coaching to business, and how he identified the parallels between high-performing athletes and business leaders·        How Ed has helped business leaders through the challenges brought about by the global pandemic, and what patterns he has identified in the mindset of leaders who are winning·        How high-performing leaders are developing a sense of community through this crisis, sharing information and best practices with others even within their same industry·        How honesty, integrity, and vulnerability are key traits that can help leaders navigate crisis effectively·        Why Ed asks all of his clients the same powerful question: “Am I doing the best I can with what I have to become the best we’re capable of becoming?”·        Why making a true emotional connection through vulnerability is instrumental in getting employees’ emotional buy-in to your business and its vision·        How to effectively adapt your business to the current realities by being a leader, not a follower·        Why developing strong relationships built on trust is critical for strengthening your team and preparing them for adversity·        Why a key skill for a great coach or leader is the ability to identify skills and abilities in people that they may not even see themselves·        Why celebrating wins and having team huddles can help your team develop a sense of positivity, and what other positive habits Ed recommends for teams to follow Resources:Website: www.themolitorgroup.comThe Athletics of Business podcast: https://theathleticsofbusiness.com/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ed-molitor-578a7734/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-molitor-group/Facebook: www.facebook.com/themolitorgroup/Twitter: @TheMolitorGroup SEO Meta Desc: Ed Molitor, the CEO of the Molitor Group, stresses the importance of honesty, integrity, and vulnerability in helping leaders navigate crises effectively.

JD Graffam founded Simple Focus, a user experience digital agency based in Memphis, Tenn., in 2009. A few years into business, like many fast-growing company owners, he experienced an acute need to forecast cash flow. Graffam discovered Pulse Cash Flow Software in 2012 and found it so helpful that he decided to reinvest Simple Focus profits into buying the SaaS tool.The Simple Focus Software portfolio was born. He continues to operate both Simple Focus and Simple Focus Software (now seven B2B SaaS companies), providing business owners with a variety of growth-centric solutions. What the podcast will teach you:How JD initially got started in the agency world and technology in college, and how he always had entrepreneurial goals even as a childWhy working in the agency world taught JD how to manage many, many different things at once, and how that has served him as an entrepreneur and business leaderWhy building the right team and then learning the important skill of delegation was a critical transition that frees JD’s time and helps him multiply his effortsHow JD and his team have developed an important office-wide shorthand that helps them during the hiring processHow cash flow management challenges led JD to discover a cash flow app called Pulse, and why he chose to buy the rights to the appWhy JD believes that tracking his cash flow has been one of the cornerstones of his success in businessHow using the Pulse application has helped JD’s business become more nimble, and how the app helped keep the business alive during the toughest timesWhy being able to move fast and make key decisions about your cash flow is the secret to saving money on costly mistakesWhy it’s important to get into good habits before something challenging happens that puts you in crisis modeWhy understanding your numbers and your cash flow can also be beneficial when opportunities present themselves Resources:Website: https://pulseapp.com/elitepodcastWebsite: https://simplefocus.com/Text JD Graffam: (901) 605-9192Twitter: www.twitter.com/jdgraffamLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jdgraffam/

Heather Branscombe is a physical therapist with over 20 years’ experience in both the public and private sectors. Heather’s professional passion continues to be the integration of rehabilitation technology into practice. She has consulted as a clinical specialist to a rehabilitation technology company and has taught therapists, orthotists, and physicians across Canada. Not afraid to be an innovator and pioneer, she has brought many emerging technologies and therapy practices to Canada through Abilities.Heather and Abilities are now seen within the industry as a community partner in emerging therapies. Often asked to collaborate on research initiatives, she has been involved in university research projects and has been asked to be the provider of many emerging therapy practices. Professionally, Heather volunteers her time on the Professional Advisory Committee of the Stroke Recovery Association of B.C., The Abbotsford Special Needs Advisory Committee, and is a past-chair of the Neurosciences Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. She’s the author of Stroke of Hope. Heather enjoys spending time with her husband and three children in the beautiful outdoors. What the podcast will teach you:Heather discusses her company, Abilities Neurological Rehabilitation, and explains how Abilities was built to work with an underserved community and fill a needHow Abilities grew over the course of the thirteen years of its existence, expanding to five locationsHow Heather and the team have worked to better align with their values and mission, and how being out of alignment with values caused them to struggle for a timeHow the team at Abilities worked to cut out chaos and achieve alignment, and why Heather considers the work to have been hard but also fulfillingHow Abilities has identified key pivots and changes that have helped them navigate the challenges brought about by the pandemicHow Abilities is opening a fifth “virtual location” to prepare for potential shutdowns due to the pandemic and to maintain a high level of care for their patientsHow Heather learned the importance of being a good coach for her team, turning individual stats into a more granular level of storytelling as a teamWhy Heather believes that one of the critical factors in the growth of her organization is her own personal growth and development Resources:Website: www.abilitiesrehabilitation.comInstagram: @abilitiesrehabLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/heather-branscombe-04ab863/

Jeff Koser has over 30 years of sales leadership and is a demonstrated thought leader in the space. Jeff is the author of the award-winning book, Selling to Zebras: How to Close 90% of the Business You Pursue Faster, More Easily, and More Profitably.  What the podcast will teach you:·        How Jeff and his team took a company initially starting out in the US with no sales and “minus two customers” and built it up to an “overnight success” after 20 years·        How Zebrafi came about and how the company targets customers between $5-20 million who want to improve their sales·        How Jeff and the team at Zebrafi navigated some of their challenges while scaling, including bringing in new team members during the period of growth·        Why one of the key skills Jeff had to learn to develop as a leader was his patience, and how his company’s culture was a critical ingredient in this effort·        Why it was important for Zebrafi to find talented employees who could both function in the company at the stage it was in and was prepared for its eventual growth·        How not all employees can or are willing to grow into a new stage with your business, and how to retain those people in new roles they’re still suited for·        How Jeff made the transition from running his company to bringing in the right expertise and leading his team instead·        How Zebrafi came to the idea of offering their Zebra Salesbot offering for free, allowing users to find five similar companies to their ideal customer through Salesforce·        How a quarterly letter informing stakeholders of goals, successes, failures and strategy changes has helped Zebrafi maintain focus and accountability Special Promotion from Jeff Koser:Sign up for our free beta program for Zebra™ Salesbot for Salesforce: https://zebrafi.com/salesbot/ The Zebra Salesbot gives you a button in Salesforce to identify 5 similar companies. The Salesbot uses AI to create a similarity score between your selected opportunity and thousands of potential prospects. The only requirement for your free 6-month Zebra Salesbot for Salesforce to continue is weekly feedback by responding to this Survey Monkey Survey; Zebrafi Salesbot Feedback. Now more than ever, only compelling solutions are going to be purchased. Which of your existing customers view your solution as compelling? Choose that customer, click on a button we put inside Salesforce, and our Zebra Salesbot will deliver up to 5 companies that look just like that customer. This saves hours of time and provides better results because the companies will match your best customers. Resources:Selling to Zebras by Jeff Koser and Chad Koser: https://amzn.to/2B4OPmcWebsite: https://zebrafi.com/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-koser-4a3911a0/

Rajeev Gupta is the Founder and CTO of Avankia LLC, which he led to rank among the “Inc. 500” Fastest-Growing Private Companies in 2008. As CEO of DBSync, Rajeev has led the strategic emphasis on the integration space, while also ensuring alignment between customer needs and product development. He has extensive experience with application architecture and on-demand computing. He earned his MBA from Owen School of Management, Vanderbilt University.What the podcast will teach you:How working at and growing a startup business taught Rajeev more than obtaining his MBA degreeHow Rajeev’s company DBSync started as a successful product before spinning out of Salesforce into its own thriving organizationWhat important lessons Rajeev learned about growing a business, and what key challenges he faced on the wayWhy, at the seven-figure mark, problems were popping up faster than Rajeev and his team could knock them back downWhy Rajeev and his team decided to “go deep and win” with their strategy rather than targeting everyone and “go broad”How the DBSync team isolated three top Key Performance Indicators and then divided everything down into those metricsWhy your team must always be evolving, learning and growing to keep pace with the growth of the company as a wholeHow establishing and living by a Values system became a cornerstone of DBSync’s success, and what their Values are and why they chose themWhat advice Rajeev would offer to business owners struggling to navigate the crisis of the global pandemicResources:Website: www.mydbsync.comEmail: rajeev.gupta@mydbsync.comLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rajeevgupta2