Behind the Business - A Butler County Business Matters Podcast
By Butler County Business Matters
This is a Butler County Business Matters Podcast that focuses on businesses and the people behind them in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
Behind the Business - A Butler County Business Matters PodcastAug 13, 2020
Building a Staffing Company From Scratch - Lisa Guard - Specialized Staffing and Industry Recruiters - Episode 7
Today, I'm talking with Lisa Guard, the founder and owner of Specialized Staffing and Industry Recruiters which is located on Main Street in the city of Butler.
Lisa went off on her own in 1996 to start her own staffing company in Butler after working her way up through the staffing industry. She started all on her own with a computer and a fax machine that was gifted to her by her mother in a small office in the basement of an office building. Now she owns her own building and has a staff of 5 talented recruiters helping place people with local small companies.
In this episode, we discuss why she got into staffing and her company grew and the importance of a support system when taking the leap to being your own boss.
PROTECT YOUR TIME AND PEOPLE WILL VALUE IT MORE - Julie Hooks - Butler Health & Fitness - Episode 6
THE IMPORTANCE OF NETWORKING - Audrianna Bly - Episode 5
This podcast's guest is Audrianna Bly, a Slippery Rock native, a manager at the Springhill Suites in Butler and she’s probably one of most well-connected people in the county. She has little free time because she is a part of so many county organizations including the Chamber of Commerce and the Butler County Young Professionals.
In this episode, Audrianna and I talk about networking, a skill that she has mastered, and why she finds it so important.
Audrianna's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audriannably/
Springhill Suites: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pitut-springhill-suites-pittsburgh-butler-centre-city
Chamber of Commerce: https://butlercountychamber.com/
Butler County Young Professionals: https://www.facebook.com/ButlerCountyYP/
BREWING SUSTAINABILITY FROM THE START - Bob McCafferty - North Country Brewing - Episode 4
In this episode, I'm talking with Bob McCafferty of North Country Brewing about how sustainability fits into his business.
A former farmer with a degree of environment geoscience from Slippery Rock University, Bob now owns North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock and Harmony Inn in Harmony.
He also partners with SRU to run a program called Grow Together Aquaponics at the North Country Brewing Company cannery.
The program provides job training to individuals with disabilities with the goal that they can then enter the job market and be integrated into a workplace. The program also provides McCafferty’s the restaurant with microgreens.
In this episode, Bob and I discuss his back story and what sustainability practices he has implemented within his businesses.
Being a bit of a nerd about sustainability myself I was really excited for this interview and I hope you find our discussion helpful.
Without further ado, let's get into the episode.
North Country Brewing Company: https://northcountrybrewing.com/
Grow Together Aquaponics: https://northcountrybrewing.com/growing-together-aquaponics/
Sustainability programs at Slippery Rock University https://www.sru.edu/about/sustainability/programs-organizations-and-resources
Music: Sincerely by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5033-sincerely License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
From One to Over a Dozen CBD Stores in A Year - Shaun Painter - Your CBD
This episode's guest is Shaun Painter. Shaun is co-owner of quite a few YourCBD stores in Butler County and the Greater Pittsburgh Area.
In order to join YourCBD he sold off all of his cannabis stocks and he, along with his partners, now controls the Western Pennsylvania franchising rights for the company, which has locations across the globe.
In this episode, Shaun talked about why he got into the cannabis industry, the benefits of CBD, how in the span of a year he went from having one store in the region to over a dozen ( even during a pandemic), and how COVID has affected the business.
YourCBD website: https://cbdrx4u.com/find-us/pennsylvania
Making Money with Homegrown and Handmade Goods - Meghan Pohl - BATCH
In this episode of Behind the Business, I chat with Meghan Pohl who is the co-owner of Batch along with her business partner Jess.
Right now Batch is a lovely little shop located on Main Street in Saxonburg. Meghan and Jess started out at farmer’s markets making homemade jams before they pretty swiftly to their own storefront. Now along with their jams they sell bread, baked goods, sauces and hot food. They also sell artwork from area artisans.
In this episode, Meghan and I discuss the financials surround Batch given their focus on making delicious food in small batches, how the company grew from making jams in a church kitchen to having a storefront and 4 part-time employees, as well as how the company adjusted to stay afloat during the pandemic.
And before we get into the episode, please forgive any audio glitches during the interview, Meghan did the interview from the store so some of that sound made it into the mic.
BATCH Social Media
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BatchLLC/
Website: https://batch-homegrown-handmade.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/batchllc/
I BOUGHT A COWORK AND THEN COVID HIT - GAEL GILLILAND
On this episode I interview my good friend Gael Gilliland.
Gael and her family moved back to her husband’s hometown in Butler County 8 years ago. Since then she has started Legacy Recorder which teaches people how to create storytelling moments in their work and everyday life, became an award winning author, and purchased a cowork.
Gael bought the coworking space about 3 months before COVID shut down everything. In this episode, we talked about how that is working out for her (spoiler: it’s not awesome), and what it takes to keep everything going while raising 3 kids when she isn’t at the cowork.
Show Notes: Cowork - ConnectworkOnMain.com
Gael's Website: Gaelix.com
Mystique Moon - https://www.facebook.com/barnartisansantiques
Music:
Sincerely by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5033-sincerely
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Episode 0: What is Behind the Business?
Ever wonder who is the face and brains behind the small-town businesses that make up your community? Join me on Behind the Business , where I sit down and talk to the Butler County entrepreneurs who are behind the products, services and logos that keep your community humming.