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Selling insurance can be a tough gig. There is a ton of competition and it takes a lot of time to build up your base. But if you have the initial tenacity and understand that the long game is key, you can have a pretty sweet recurring income over time.

Kevin Michelson and Joe Easley have been in the insurance game for almost 20 years collectively. Their success has ultimately come down to one factor, tremendous relationship building skill.   

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What is Kevin and Joe’s problem?

There is only so much a human being can do in any solo-preneur role, so they must learn to scale. In this industry, recruiting and onboarding new people is a big challenge. Especially when they need to understand the same long game outlook that Kevin and Joe have embraced. 

 

Follow Kevin:

www.trustkevin.com

@615insurance

@gooseheadinsuranceKevinMichelson

 

Follow Joe:

www.countryfinancial.com/joe.easley

 

 

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

 

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

www.bigdotelectrical.com

 

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

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Lawn mowing, bacon and Advocare. What do they have in common?

Corey Smith. Also known as The Yard Boy.

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Corey is quite a prolific entrepreneur, marketer, opiner and all around good guy. On the surface it would seem that yard care, bacon and Advocare are about as different as a peanut butter and pickle sandwich, Corey makes them work seamlessly together and is an expert in all 3 areas.

What’s Nelly’s problem?

Corey has a problem that many other entrepreneurs have when they love what they do…. how to balance work and family.

A few things that came up:

*How the name Yard Boy came about

*Lonesome Dove

*Messing with the Fayetteville local Government

Follow Corey:

www.theyardboy.net

Text ‘YARDBOY’ to 90210

@the_yardboy

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

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We wanted to write a cheesy line for this episode, but one *cannoli* dream.

You might think that the Middle Tennessee area would be the last place you’d find authentic New York Style Pizza. As it turns out, the gravy runs red and deep in the Buckle of the Bible Belt.

Of course, Jim’s a fan.

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Nelly’s was started by Husband and Wife duo Ryan and Danielle Hall. They come from a long line of “award winning” pizzerias. Danielle grew up in her parent’s pizzeria, cooking from a young age. Also learning what it takes to have your own restaurant. Ryan and Danielle actually meet working together at the pizzeria. After owning and operating a branch of their family’s restaurant for nearly five years, they have been inspired to open their own Pizzeria.

What’s Nelly’s problem?

They *really* need more space. Everything else is pretty much dandy. For real.

A few things that came up:

*Brooklyn roots

*Joey’s House of Pizza and the family experience

*How Ryan and Danielle dated and married

*Joey loved Ryan when he wasn’t dating Danielle, then he wanted to kill him

*Opening in Spring Hill the first time

*The Waffle Boss

*Opening Nelly’s as their own brand

Follow Nelly’s:

@nellysitaliancafe

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

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In any business, maintaining the right mindset can be all the difference between prospering and closing your doors. In the car business it can be an hourly struggle!

Xavier Darden is THE Luxury Auto Coach at Mercedes-Benz of Music City. He has been with the Mercedes brand for almost a decade and in the car business since he graduated college. 

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Xavier and Jim met at a local Mercedes-Benz dealership and became quick friends. Jim got out of the business in 2015 while Xavier pushed on. It takes about 5 years to build a consistent client base in the car business and that comes with a LOT of hustle. In 2017, after 5 years of building his book at that particular dealership, Xavier pondered a move that would potentially require him to start over again.

 

He did it anyway….and it paid off. 

 

What’s Xavier’s problem?

 

Like anyone who commits to a life in the car business, you have to weigh the word “commit” carefully. It can overtake your life. Xavier has a beautiful family and his challenge has been finding that elusive work/life balance while not only building his client base which includes some of Nashville’s notable celebrities and athletes. 

 

A few things that came up:

 

*your reputation is everything

*the world is smaller than you think. You have to nurture the culture and take care of your people

*19:45, fastest car transaction, 

*Realized  that he could build a business and branded himself as the luxury automotive coach

*Biggest problem is keeping focus on what really matters. Family is what matters and you have to make time to spend time with them and make them happy

*26:00, you have to stay positive and keep your attitude in the right spot to make sure that you always take care of your customers

*”It’s always something”, It’s not that bad because someone else always has it worse

*Hardest decision was made at the 5 year mark, business is booming but, he left and changed dealerships

*The environment is which you work in and the people you work for can decide your personality and your attitude while at the job. You represent who you work for.

 

 

Follow Xavier:

www.kristendarden.com

@xavier_darden1911

 

 

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

 

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

 

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

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Kristin Benton is one of those entrepreneurs who is plagued with ideas. Like most of us, it’s a chore picking one (or two) and running with them.

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Kristin hails from Nolensville and is currently building Adventure Alchemy and She Shoots Training. Prior to that, she’s been a hula-hoop fitness instructor, business/life coach and has been in a multitude of corporate work throughout her professional life.

Quoted from her website, KristinBenton.com:

 

“I’m a deeply imperfect Christ follower, a wife, mom, multi-preneur, abuse survivor, adventurer, collector of hobbies, and more! Every project I’ve taken on was born of curiosity, enthusiasm and so much hard work. I use this space to share my current and past work, to detail upcoming plans and to hopefully further my impact on the world. I’m constantly changing and evolving, so what you see here today might not be here tomorrow! The constants? God has given me gifts and passion and I do my best (imperfectly) to hear His plans for my life and go when He says ‘go.’” 

 

What’s Kristin’s problem?

 

Kristin had a rocket ship ride when she executed on the idea for Adventure Alchemy. Unfortunately, COVID was thrust into all of our lives and travel essentially came to a halt. 

 

The good news is that she also found a calling in training and empowering women with firearms. Thus SheShootsTraining.com was born!

 

Kristin’s problem is figuring out how to pivot for Alchemy to pick back up, but it may just be a case of waiting until the COVID fever has worn off. She’s also working through the challenges of so many ideas, so little time!

 

A few things that came up:

 

-How a trip to Tombstone birthed the idea for Adventure Alchemy

-People like being surprised as to where they’re going on vacation

-COVID stopped all travel

-Tapping into a lifetime of firearms practice while counseling women

-Being political on social media

 

 

Follow Angela:

www.kristinbenton.com

www.sheshootstraing.com

www.adventurealchemylab.com

 

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

 

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

 

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

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From Real Estate and owning an Insurance Agency to building Spring Hill’s newest event space, Angela Privett is the consummate multi-preneur.

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Angela has had tremendous success in Florida while selling real estate in The Villages. Fueling a desire to be ideally placed between her children living in different states, she moved to Spring Hill and hasn’t looked back! She bought the property at Mile Johnson Parkway and Route 31 and reinvented the space as The Landing at Spring Hill, a multi-purpose indoor and outdoor event venue available for rent.

What’s Angela’s problem?

Angela launched The Landing at Spring Hill in late 2019, just in time for COVID to complicate things in the most critical part of a business’ life. She has been pivoting ever since to keep the business afloat and thriving.

A few things that came up:

-Line ‘em up and sign ‘em up

-The Landing came about as an office space with the opportunity for a family friendly event space and gathering space. Wanted to have multiple tenants to foot the bill and have multiple income streams

-Nothing ever turns out the way you want it to be. The first ideas and visions may not be the path that we always take

-Opened in december 2019, covid hits and then you pivot. You don’t go find the problem you go find the solution

-Multiple challenges: everyday renovations, zoning and commissions, bringing new concepts to the board and receiving permits for expansion

-More challenging for the small business owner than the large chains

-Moving forward we can help you with: holiday parties, business meetings, free space for non profits for gatherings,pictures with santa, drive through light show

-Ideas for the city: create more regular events that are geared for families where the city doesn’t object or try to shut down

Follow Angela:

www.angelaprivett.com

www.thelandingatspringhill.com

The Landing at Spring Hill

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

WYP Intro VO: John David Wells

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Amy Rothenberger is the “Enchantress of Optimism” and Director of eCommerce and Marketing with the Dream Motor Group. DMG owns Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti Automotive Dealerships in Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama.

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Amy has spent a majority of her professional life in the car business. She’s seen all the ups and downs the industry can throw at someone working on a commission income as well as in most other departments in a dealership. She primarily works out of the Mercedes-Benz of Music City location just outside of Nashville, literally a stone’s throw from Runway 13 at the Nashville International Airport.

Amy is constantly inspired with her career at Dream, and for good reason. While most businesses talk a good game about creating positive culture within their walls, the Dream Motor Group makes it a daily and almost hourly practice. They have been on a rapid upward trajectory by keeping their culture development focus very, very sharp.

What’s Amy’s problem?

Much of Amy’s dealerships thrive off of relationships and the advertising that goes along with it. It’s rare that they dip their toes into transactional messaging. They saw the COVID-19 Pandemic coming a few months out and pivoted early. Thanks to their early adjustments, they have thrived over the last 8 months but now are faced with a diminished manufacturer’s inventory that rocked their brands. The answer lies within the relationships they’ve developed over the years.

A few things that came up:

-Working in the car business as a single mom with 3 kids

-Experiencing bad cultures in the car business

-Changing the public’s perception about car dealerships

-DMG CEO Joe Agresti’s vision and sacrifices made to ensure his teams not only remained employed, but paid at the same or better levels

-The DREAM contest

-”Your Mercedes-Benz Your Way” development

Follow Amy:

@mercedesamy

www.mbofmc.com

www.mbotw.com

www.mbobr.com

www.mbbhm.com

www.infinitibhm.com

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

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Less than a decade living and working around Spring Hill, Chicago native Bill Yuss (aka The Pro Door Doctor) has built a tremendous garage door business around Spring Hill, Columbia and beyond based on a simple approach. Just loving his customers.  

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Bill’s Tennessee endeavors are the second time he’s built a business. Starting at 15 years old, he was thrust into the garage door world working at a gas station. 50 years later, his garage door knowledge is almost supernatural!  

What’s Bill’s problem?

 

Bill struggles with how to scale up his business as demand grows while still keeping his cherished loving approach towards his customers and staff. His current pain is to find his next HQ which will likely be somewhere in Maury county. 

 

A few things that came up:

 

*4-5 months from the ah ha moment, he started his business at 15 years old, had a fleet of 30 trucks by the time he was in his early 20’s

*Developing a ferocious Facebook following

*Early into the new business in TN, a customer complained about price and went to Facebook to complain, which the community stepped up to support and protect him

*In Chicago, 4-5 months of the year he was working for the government paying taxes

*benefit of being in TN is that he gets to keep more money which led to a goal of giving more money to employees

*Finding good employees is like finding 1 in every 5 guys.  Employees are like family and are treated like family

*Challenge, how to make everyone happy inside and outside of the company as they grow the business

*How to relay the message to people about how important to keep the safety of their garage door (could crush kids, animals, cars, etc.)

 

Follow Bill:

https://www.facebook.com/overheadgaragedoorsystems

www.prodoordoctor.com

615.326.4443

 

 

 

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

 

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

www.bigdotelectrical.com

 

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

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Having spent nearly two decades in law enforcement, Brink Fidler respectably served with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as well as the 20th Judicial District Drug Task Force in Nashville. 

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In addition to his regular law enforcement duties, he also served as an adjunct firearms and tactics instructor. He has planned and conducted hundreds of high risk, tactical, and covert operations. He has served as an officer, narcotics investigator, patrol sergeant, narcotics sergeant, and retired as the Director of the Drug Task Force in Nashville. During his extensive career, Fidler directed and supervised the most complex investigations. These multifaceted investigations involved hundreds of court-ordered wiretaps, thousands of hours of physical and electronic surveillance, and hundreds of search warrants throughout the United States.

Brink is the Founder and President of Defend Systems, a life safety and security consulting firm based in middle Tennessee. Brink also spearheads  GodFearingGunOwners.com

What’s Brink’s problem?

 

Brink believes in the fact that we have the FREEDOM to practice our FAITH because of FIREARMS which led him to create the God Fearing Gun Owners brand. He is trying to find a way to tap into the passion of those who believe the same way and start a movement within the brand.   

 

 

Follow Brink:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100016079612513

www.DefendSystems.com

www.GodFearingGunOwners.com

www.tipstacticstools.com

 

 

 

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

 

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com

 

WYP Intro VO: @johndavidwells

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Regie Hamm is a multi award-winning songwriter and artist with over 20 #1 hits under his belt. He even penned the 2008 American Idol/David Cook smash hit “Time Of My Life”.

While he still writes and performs, he’s since become a prolific blogger with over 10,000 page views per month. Among Regie’s many incredible life stories, one stands out and will give you chills. In 2008, WYP Podcast Host Jim was producing authentic, unscripted videos which is how Jim and Regie became friends back in 2008. Jim heard Regie’s story and instantly knew he wanted it to be on video:

What’s Regie’s problem?

With everything Regie has going for him and his family, monetization of his talents in the digital age has been a challenge.

Follow Regie:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/628750874444689

Twitter: @regiehamm

*****SUBSCRIBE/RATE/FOLLOW What’s Your Problem? PODCAST:

www.whatsyourproblempodcast.com

Talking about the real problems (and possible solutions) of everyday business owners and professionals in and around Middle Tennessee and beyond…this is the What’s Your Problem Podcast!

WYP is recorded and shot in the Big Dot Lighting HQ in Spring Hill, TN.

www.bigdotlighting.com