Entrepreneur Island

Merger/Acquisition and valuation specialist, Alan Pawlowski, partner at Nextpoint LLC discusses current market conditions, the increase in distressed businesses, how to determine if your business is in a death spiral or positioned for a turn around, the importance of accurate timely accounting, how to value your business and much more. Also, we are looking for a volunteer to be in a future episode where we value your business live. 

There are 400,000,000 guns in circulation in the USA and only 330,000,000 people in America. During 2020, gun sales are on a record pace with over 19 million sold in the first six months of the year. Many people who have never considered having a gun in the past are now asking "should I buy a gun?" Jeff Benty, owner of Just Holster It, answers that question and also talks to us about the changing demographic in customer base, how the CEL CORE program helped him increase sales $350,000 and how his hobby became a full time business.

Brian Grunert, Grammy winner, six time nominee and owner of White Bicycle shares with us why branding and marketing during the post covid recession is more important than ever, how to get brand recognition and "cut through all the noise", how he uses his Grammy winning design skills to improve his clients branding, he shares his new album cover design which features Jimmy Sweeney, who was an early influence on Elvis Presley (sounds just like him). Brian also discusses his idea for a Gen X haircut truck and promises to share the hilarious (and somewhat embarrassing) story about his encounters with Weird Al Yankovic only if you ask him.

Fireside Chat: In this episode, Tony talks about the divisiveness culture we live in and what you can do to avoid it. He also shares the latest on the economy and what his clients are experiencing post quarantine as well as what they are seeing (or not seeing) in 2021.

With 50% capacity restrictions and fall coming, the restaurant model is broken. Nick Pitillo, owner of Osteria 166, Villaggio, Stock the Freezer and the new venture Chalet Valet will explain how he continues to innovate as he "kicks the can" in order to avoid becoming part of the wake of upcoming restaurant failures. In this very entertaining episode, we discuss how all restaurant business models need to change, the struggles in the town of Ellicottville, predictions on state restrictions for restaurants, and how Nick upset his mom so much she refused to make him sauce for 2 years. Also, Nick gives a shout out to the CEL, Erin McGee and the Ravioli Ride with Danielle Nyhart at Danifit. Enjoy!!  

In this fireside chat, Tony discusses the logic behind using a neti pot daily to defend against Covid, his daily covid fighting health regiment, the death of malls, struggling Starbucks, increasing sales with your current customer base, the struggle to find new clients and how to outlast your competitors!

Sleep specialist, Soda Kuczkowski, owner of Start with Sleep will convince you that getting the proper amount of deep sleep can improve your health, stress levels, weight, mood and your business. In this episode, we discuss a shortcut to better sleep, define sleep success, share the ideal daily routine to maximize sleep, statistics on why sleep matters and much more.

Erin McGee, Managing Director of the University at Buffalo Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) shares the secret to why the program has been successful for over 30 years, filling the big shoes of her predecessor, Tom Ulbrich, changes needed to keep the programs going during the quarantine, the power of the CEL community, recruiting for class this fall and working from home. If you are interested in signing up for the CEL's CORE program discussed in this episode, click here!  There are limited seats available!  

StaffBuffalo partner, Lauren Lewis discusses why women have been hit the hardest by job losses during the pandemic, unemployment at the macro and regional level, how to handle the $600 unemployment supplement, how much easier it will get to find great candidates with higher unemployment, working remote and much more.

Return guest, Lori Miller from Developing Professionals simplifies all of the new Covid-19 rules and regulations needed by business owners to safely bring employees back to work while avoiding as much risk as possible. In this episode, we cover working from home, crisis management planning, what companies are not focusing on as they react to all the Covid rules, hiring HR help and all of the templates you need. She was kind enough to share all of the return to work policies and templates needed to make it easier for you to have everything you need! They include: Employee Health Screening form template, Sample memo to go to employees about screening procedures, Return to Work PPT deck guide that can be customized based on individual business’ plan, NYS Business Reopening template that every organization needs to have posted on-site and the Safe Work Playbook – for those that want to do a deep dive and ensure all parts of the business is covered. 

PPP specialist, Steve Turner CPA, Principal from The Bonadio Group breaks down all of the PPP updates that became law as part of the PPP Flexibility Act. In this episode we discuss, FTE's, filling out the application for forgiveness, the deferment of the social security component of employer payroll taxes and much more.

With less inventory in the housing market during the quarantine, there was an increase in demand and prices. James Wangelin, the manager at Towne Housing Real Estate and the owner of Cellino Wangelin Construction, explains how he took advantage of that, the new way to sell houses post quarantine, how to think like an entrepreneur, building a construction company out of need and the BRRR strategy to buying houses.

Tony records a fireside chat. He discusses how social distancing will quickly turn into "so-so" distancing as quarantine ends and how to best protect your business from being one of the many that will fail during the current recession.

If you show up to the Transit Drive-in too early for your movie this summer, you may find yourself a participant in one of over 40 graduations, a wedding, a church service or even a concert. Owner, Rick Cohen discusses how the Covid-19 crisis has made the Transit Drive-in more than just a place for movies, he also discusses why he still needed to cut operations by 50% and the importance of providing a community service by opening the drive-in during the pandemic.

Face it, face masks are here to stay. Wes Froebel, owner of Minuteman Press is making them fun and functional. Learn about how this pivot helped save the business during the quarantine. Tony thanks Audrey Hall one more time in the intro for the previous interview that received the most email/text responses!

Bed bugs are "hitchhikers" and considering no one is travelling, there are no hitchhiking critters to worry about during the Covid-19 quarantine, rats and mice, well, that's a different story. Buffalo Business First 30 under 30 winner, Audrey Hall, President of Ecoserve Pest Control talks about pest control during Covid-19, keeping the customers and employees safe, and the 30 under 30. This interview completely "falls off the rails" once Tony opens a gift Audrey sent prior to the interview with the request to not open until the interview (you'll probably want to watch this one). If that isn't enough, please wait until the end for cameo appearance of Audrey's beautiful daughter, Dakota playing her role as CTO (Chief Toddler Officer).

On April 27th, John Tyson of Tyson foods said the supply chain was breaking, three weeks later, prices for beef, chicken and eggs are rising at record pace. John Hogg, owner of Straight Forward Consulting and supply chain specialist shares his opinion on the supply chain, food shortages and prices. He also discusses the opportunities created by the Covid-19 situation and shares a supply chain strategy and metrics report.

Covid-19 has changed the rules for everyone. The individuals who understand and act upon it the quickest will be the ones who survive and thrive during the recession which Tony explains has already started.  During this episode, Tony uses the cheese metaphor from the book Who moved my Cheese written by Dr. Spencer Johnson  to explain that our cheese has moved, we need to find new cheese and how to do it. 

While many businesses in the health and fitness industry like Golds Gym are filing for bankruptcy, Master Chong's World Class Tae Kwon Do made the pivot to virtual classes for their students and in the process lost very few. Michael Mertens, the Executive Director will share how they made very quick, proactive adjustments to the business model to ensure they will not only survive the Covid-19 quarantine, but will come out stronger once the quarantine is over. Tony also thanks Lori Miller of Developing Professionals one more time.

As unemployed workers receive an extra $600 from the U.S Government, many are deciding to stay home because they are making more or about as much as they would if they were back to work. Many employers are struggling to get enough employees back now that they have received their PPP funding. Lori Miller, owner of developing professionals will tell us how business owners should handle this situation. She will also share some of the latest changes including an infectious disease control template you will need as an adder to your employee manual and the latest Covid-19 changes to FMLA for NYS that affect businesses with as few as one employee. Tony also thanks Dave Merrell of North Forest Office Space for being a part of the previous interview.