

Beyond Fulfillment Podcast
Dave Gulas
The Beyond Fulfillment Podcast, with Dave Gulas of EZDC 3PL, is your weekly dose of real talk with the people actually building successful businesses. We bring you unfiltered conversations with the founders, the dreamers, and the doers who are truly making things happen. We're cutting through the noise to show you what it really takes for business growth.. Think of it as a backstage pass to the entrepreneurial journey —from overcoming tough challenges to celebrating big victories, and every important lesson along the way. Why listen? Because we're exploring various industries, pulling back the curtain on how entrepreneurs like David Meltzer, Brian Esposito, Susan Sly, Darren Jacklin, and Susan Bratton have powered through obstacles, grabbed opportunities, and truly scaled their visions. You'll hear authentic stories that resonate, gain practical advice you can put into action today, and find the motivation to fuel your own growth.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 13, 2024 • 35min
Finding Balance: Cory Carlson's Journey from Corporate Success to Executive Coaching
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with Cory Carlson: 1. The Importance of Work-Life Balance: Cory Carlson delves into his realization of the necessity for work-life balance after experiencing significant personal and professional losses. He explains how the constant work pressure led him to neglect his personal life, ultimately prompting him to hire an executive coach. This decision became a pivotal turning point in his life, highlighting the common struggle for high performers to maintain balance.2. Personal KPIs and Vision Statement: Cory introduces the concept of personal key performance indicators (KPIs) to track success in his personal life, similar to how one would track business metrics. Additionally, a dinner with a private equity group led to introspection about his life's purpose. His coach advised creating a personal vision statement, which ultimately focused his goals on connecting people to greater performance and purpose.3. Transitioning to Coaching and Entrepreneurial Hustle: Cory shares his challenging and gradual transition from a stable corporate title to starting his coaching business after being fired. He was initially hesitant due to financial concerns and identity crises but embraced the change with a four-month severance package. Cory recounts the hustle involved in setting up meetings, dealing with rejections, and the slow initial growth, emphasizing the importance of stair-stepping into new endeavors with proper planning.4. Launching Platforms and Impact of Podcasting: Cory discusses launching his website, coriamcarlson.com, in 2019, followed by his podcast in April 2020. Despite initial struggles, including a six-week break to reassess his motivations, his podcast has contributed significantly to his coaching business by providing valuable insights and enhancing his personal brand. Cory’s story underscores the power of platforms like podcasts and LinkedIn for networking and business growth.5. Balancing Personal and Professional Life for Working Parents: Cory addresses the often overlooked aspect of balancing personal life with professional responsibilities, particularly for working parents. He emphasizes the importance of nurturing spousal relationships through "logistics dates" for weekly planning and "love dates" for meaningful connection. Cory’s approach offers practical strategies for maintaining harmony between work and home life, revealing the depth of his coaching philosophy.Connect with Cory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlsoncory/#coaching #businesscoach #executivecoaching #entrepreneurship #corporatecoach #podcast

Aug 8, 2024 • 36min
Breaking Silos in Logistics: The Benefits of Being Curious & Continuous Learning W/ Blythe Brumleve
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with Blythe Brumleve1. Personal branding in logistics: Building a strong personal brand by sharing expertise on social media is crucial for logistics professionals, as it helps attract potential clients and generates warm leads over time.2. From local radio to logistics podcasting: Blythe's journey in media began with local radio and evolved into creating various logistics-focused podcasts, including Digital Dispatch, Cyberly, and Everything is Logistics.3. Mentorship and following instincts: Blythe's former boss played a significant role in inspiring her career path, and she emphasizes the importance of following one's instincts and experimenting when finding the right career path.4. Authenticity in media and personal branding: Blythe's success in media stems from her commitment to learning, improving her craft, and embracing authenticity over traditional broadcasting and journalism education.5. Breaking down silos in logistics: Blythe stresses the importance of breaking down silos in the logistics industry, fostering connections, and adopting a curiosity mindset to learn from industry experts and gain valuable insights.Connect with Blythe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blythebrum/#logistics #logisticsindustry #podcast #personalbranding #mentorship #media #ecommerce

Aug 6, 2024 • 27min
Streamlining Business Processes and Boosting Efficiency with Ryan Weiss
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with Ryan Weiss:1. Pivoting Business Model Due to COVID-19 - Ryan Weiss initially started EPS as a consulting company, but the impact of COVID-19 forced him to pivot his business model. He transformed EPS into a company that offers a software platform and outsourcing team to help clients streamline their processes, document them, and outsource where necessary to improve efficiency and effectiveness.2. The Pitfall of Siloed Process Documentation- According to Ryan, the biggest problem he observes in companies is that processes are often documented within departments rather than across departments. This leads to inefficiencies, lack of streamlining, and poor handoffs between departments. Ryan emphasizes the importance of breaking down these silos and creating processes that work effectively across the entire organization.3. The Impact of Streamlined Processes on Employee Well-being and Company Growth - Implementing streamlined processes can have a profound impact on both employee well-being and company growth. Ryan shares a case study where a client doubled their revenue and throughput after streamlining their processes. Additionally, employees experienced significant improvements in stress levels, clarity of roles, and work-life balance. This highlights the importance of having clear lines of accountability, responsibility, and understanding of expectations between departments.4. "Optics" Book: A Guide to Process Improvement - Ryan's upcoming book, "Optics," serves as a guide for companies to understand their processes, identify pain points, and implement the EPS system. The book provides a step-by-step process that enables companies to self-implement the system, making it accessible to a wider range of businesses. The EPS software platform will also soon be available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, allowing companies to utilize the system independently.5. Lessons Learned: Consistency, Quality, and Continuous Improvement - Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Ryan has learned the importance of consistency, quality, and continuous improvement. These lessons have been evident in his experiences, such as starting a podcast and being recognized as one of USA Today's top ten emerging entrepreneurs. Ryan emphasizes that consistently working on improving oneself and one's business, like going to the gym, leads to better results over time.Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancweiss/#businessowner #entrepreneurship #podcast #podcastguest #streamlining #processimprovement #corporatecoach #efficiency

Aug 1, 2024 • 32min
From Overwhelm to Simplicity: Chris Burns’ Marketing Makeover
Here are my episode highlights from my conversation with Chris Burns: 1. The True Meaning of Hustle: Quality Over Quantity - Chris discusses redefining hustle not as excessive working hours but as quality effort and passion in what you do. He also offers insights into how personal well-being should not be compromised for the sake of work.2. Simplifying Marketing Strategies- Chris elaborates on how he simplified marketing strategies to make them more accessible and effective for clients. He emphasizes the importance of making marketing simple and ensuring that clients can actually utilize the strategies provided.3. Powerful and Concise Messaging- Chris talks about the importance of concise and powerful messaging in marketing. He stresses that quality content that evokes emotions is more effective than posting copious amounts of filler material.4. Building Relationships on Social Media- Chris advocates for using social media to build relationships and foster community engagement rather than directly selling products. He suggests creating educational, empowering, and inspiring content to cultivate a loyal audience.5.The Impact of Podcasting on Business Growth - Chris shares how starting a podcast initially had minimal impact but eventually led to increased downloads, feedback, and enhanced business credibility after the 50th episode. He underscores the significant role podcasting has played in attracting more interest to his business and products.#marketing #onlinemarketing #businessowner #businessgrowth #marketingtips #marketingstrategy

Jul 30, 2024 • 26min
Navigating Entrepreneurship and Commercial Real Estate with ElevateX Sales Founder Bryan Hayes
Here are the episode Highlights from my conversation with Bryan Hayes1. Innovation in Commercial Real Estate Marketing: [00:00:31] - [00:02:56] - Bryan Hayes discusses the founding of Elevate X Sales and how the company aims to revolutionize commercial real estate marketing by leveraging social media to attract high-quality leads for property owners.2. The Importance of Pivoting: [00:03:13] - [00:04:29] - Bryan emphasizes the necessity of pivoting in business, sharing his experience of changing the direction of his company multiple times based on data, feedback from customers, and market needs.3. Challenges in Urban Commercial Real Estate: [00:05:13] - [00:07:56] - Bryan discusses the difficulties he faced in the urban commercial real estate sector, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic and social challenges. He mentions how these challenges shaped his career and business decisions.4. Embracing Mixed-Use Developments: [00:16:35] - [00:18:09] - Bryan highlights the growing importance of mixed-use developments in urban environments, suggesting that future commercial real estate projects will need to incorporate residential, hotel, office, and retail components to mitigate risks and attract tenants.5. Focusing on Tenant Needs: [00:21:59] - [00:23:30] - Bryan stresses the significance of understanding and catering to tenant needs. He mentions how providing appealing amenities and a conducive environment is crucial for attracting and retaining tenants, particularly in the industrial sector.Connect with Bryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-hayes1/#commercialrealestate #cre #realestate #realestateinvesting #realestatetips #entrepreneurship #founder

Jul 25, 2024 • 41min
The Future of Airport Services: Jure Bratkic Talks Skip Q
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with Jure Bratkic: 1. The Importance of Business Etiquette and Cultural Differences - Jure Bratkic emphasizes the critical role of recognizing and respecting cultural differences in business, stressing that understanding each other's struggles and values is essential for effective collaboration.2. Future Plans for Skip Q - Jure outlines the immediate, midterm, and long-term goals for Skip Q. They include enhancing the range of services offered and increasing brand recognition on a global scale, driving the platform towards becoming an indispensable tool for travelers.3. Implementation of Skip Q in US Airports - Jure acknowledges that while there has been significant progress in getting Skip Q into US airports, there remain numerous opportunities for further expansion. Collaboration with major airports like London Heathrow has been crucial.4. Impact of Upbringing on Business Approach - Jure shares his background growing up in Slovenia under a restrictive communist regime, which made him appreciate the availability of goods and services in the US. This experience instilled a sense of humbleness and gratitude in him, shaping his approach to business and entrepreneurship.5. Significance of Cultural Nuances in Business Interactions- Jure discusses his recent trip to Dubai and highlights the importance of understanding cultural nuances in business interactions. He uses the example of the proper exchange of business cards as a critical component of fostering successful international business relationships.#airport #founder #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #businessgrowth #businessetiquette

Jul 23, 2024 • 40min
Navigating International Trade with Insights from Kimberly Kirkendall
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with Kimberly Kirkendall: 1. The Balance of Visionary and Analytical People in Successful Companies Timestamp: [06:10] - Kimberly Kirkendall emphasizes the importance of having a balanced team with both visionary and analytical individuals. This balance is crucial for driving innovation while also managing day-to-day operations effectively.2. Launch of the "International Trade Resources" PodcastnTimestamp: [11:25] - Kimberly discusses her opportunistic decision to start the "International Trade Resources" podcast, driven by her passion for teaching and sharing knowledge on international business challenges. The podcast covers a range of topics like export compliance, freight bills, and distributor agreements.3. Overcoming Early Challenges in Consulting Timestamp: [21:50] - Kimberly shares the struggles she faced when starting her consulting business, including securing paying clients and managing deal flow. She emphasizes the importance of having a three to five year runway and the necessity of balancing projects.4. Value of Corporate Experience in Consulting Timestamp: [26:30] - Her extensive corporate experience endowed her with the knowledge, expertise, and credibility needed to succeed in her consulting career. She highlights that years spent in the corporate world provide consultants with essential skills and insights needed to provide real value to clients.5. Technical Proficiency and Resourcefulness Timestamp: [31:15] - Kimberly highlights the importance of being technically proficient and continuously improving one's skill set. Her story illustrates that a lack of resources can drive resourcefulness and ingenuity, key components in overcoming challenges and achieving success in any career. #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship #internationaltrade #trading #trader #businessgrowth #businessdevelopment

Jul 18, 2024 • 26min
Unlocking Digital Marketing Secrets with Neal Schaffer
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with Neal Schaffer:1. The Importance of Strategic Decisions in Business (00:04:07) - Neal emphasizes the significance of making strategic decisions and recognizing opportunities in business. He discusses the pivotal moment when he had to choose between continuing in the corporate world or venturing into social media marketing. This decision shaped his entrepreneurial journey and underscores the need for business owners to constantly evaluate whether to continue existing practices or explore new opportunities.2. Holistic Digital Marketing for Small Businesses (00:09:17) - Neal outlines the three crucial digital marketing channels: search, email, and social media. He emphasizes the importance of building a content library for search engines, creating email lists and using lead magnets, and leveraging user-generated content for social media. He advocates for a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that balances organic growth with the potential use of paid advertising, but only once a strong organic foundation is established.3. User-Generated Content Strategy (00:12:43) - Neal introduces the concept of user-generated content (UGC) as a powerful marketing strategy. He argues that instead of relying solely on creating content, businesses should encourage customers and followers to generate content about their brand. This not only creates authentic engagement but also helps businesses step off the "content hamster wheel" and focus on more impactful marketing activities.4. Continuous Improvement and Data-Driven Marketing (00:21:19) - Neal shares his philosophy of Kaizen and PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act), emphasizing continuous improvement and data-driven marketing. He talks about regularly evaluating marketing efforts based on data to make iterative improvements. This approach ensures that marketing strategies are always aligned with the latest performance metrics and optimized for better results.5. Leveraging Specific Digital Channels and AI (00:10:32) - Neal discusses the importance of leveraging different digital channels like SEO, link building, email marketing, and marketing automation. He mentions the use of AI to streamline content creation while maintaining the authentic voice of the business. Neal also highlights the changing dynamics of social media and the significance of adapting strategies to include emerging platforms and content types, such as short-form videos.Connect with Neal on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealschaffer/#digitalcontent #digitalmarketing #onlinemarketing #socialmediamarketing #marketingstrategy #marketing #podcast

Jul 16, 2024 • 21min
The Power of Consistency: Lessons from David Meltzer
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with David Meltzer: 1. Journey from Scarcity to Abundance (00:00:54 – 00:04:07) David Meltzer shares his transition from a life of scarcity, where he focused on money as the missing element, to a life of abundance. He explains how his early struggles and subsequent success led him to understand that fulfillment comes not just from financial gain but from a deeper sense of purpose and giving back.2. Core Values and Daily Practices for Transformation (00:04:55 – 00:06:24) - David outlines the four core values—gratitude, forgiveness, accountability, effective communication—that helped him rebuild his life. He emphasizes the importance of these values alongside daily practices that help maintain a positive and abundant mindset.3. Empowering 1 Billion People (00:07:13 – 00:08:12) - David discusses his mission to empower a billion people to be happy. He explains the concept of empowering a network where each person he empowers further empowers others in a cascading effect, illustrating the exponential growth needed to reach such a vast number. 4. The Importance of Humility (00:09:42 – 00:12:57) - David shares his favorite quote, "You are either humble or you're about to be," and explains how humility is crucial for sustained success, especially when dealing with significant financial gains and fame. He recounts personal stories to highlight the dangers of arrogance and the importance of staying grounded. 5. Power of Consistency (00:13:16 – 00:15:10) - David emphasizes the impact of doing something every day and how consistency can lead to exponential outcomes. He warns against skipping days, as it resets progress and underscores the need for daily commitment to achieve significant success.Connect with David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeltzer2#author #entrepreneur #speaker #mission #consistency #businessgrowth

Jul 11, 2024 • 28min
Maximizing Digital Marketing and Paid Ads with Benjamin Kepner
Here are the episode highlights from my conversation with Benjamin Kepner: 1. Transition from Freelance to Agency [00:08:57] :Benjamin shared his transition from being a freelancer to running a full-fledged agency. Initially working solo, he hired his first team member in the second year and utilized university internship programs for cost-effective labor. Over time, he balanced full-time employees and independent contractors to meet the varying needs of clients.2. Shift from Organic to Paid Advertising [00:09:57]:Benjamin observed a significant industry shift from organic social media marketing to paid advertising. He emphasized that while organic content creation is time-consuming with limited impact, paid advertising offers greater results. Today, most of Global Social Media Marketing's efforts are focused on paid advertisements, particularly Google Ads.3. Unique Selling Propositions (USP) of the Agency [00:12:01] :The agency stands out by focusing on more than just lead generation; they also handle lead nurturing and conversion tracking. They emphasize first-party data collection and offer full-service marketing solutions including creative, advertising, and consulting on an hourly basis, which is atypical for marketing agencies.4. Emergence of AI and Focus on Data Analytics [00:20:31]:Benjamin highlighted the rising importance of AI and data analytics in marketing. He mentioned how his agency uses AI tools like HeyGen for video creation and plans to integrate AI into all aspects of marketing services. Additionally, the company is heavily focused on data strategy, including first-party data collection and predictive analytics to navigate changing data privacy laws and improve marketing effectiveness.#onlinemarketing #paidsearch #marketing #paidmarketing #ecommerce #ai #aitech #freelance