Connect Raleigh

Today on the Connect Raleigh podcast we get to be Connect Durham...sort of. Our guest Michelle Johnson is with us today to talk about all that is going on around Durham including her brand spanking new DIY studio called Nailed It.

I'll also talk a teeny tiny bit about what in the world is happening in the real estate market because it seems to be a little all over the place.

If you're looking for more things to do in The Triangle or for more reasons to move here, dig into this podcast.

Nailed It’s 32nd location in Durham, NC, is owned and operated by Michelle Johnson, a West Virginia native of Filipino descent. Motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic she, with the help of her husband Russell, fulfilled a life-long dream of owning her own businesses in the spring of 2022. Having lived in Durham for more than twenty years, she was ready to be a more intregal part of the community and provide a fun, inclusive experience in south Durham. In the retail section of the store you will find other small businesses selling their handmade goods in addition to the gifts and signs made in-house. In Michelle’s spare time you will find her planning a special event or family get-away.

After you give it a listen, please connect with Michelle at:

To start with, Michael or Mike as I'm allowed to call him, is a good friend of mine and the kind of guy that you just enjoy being around. He's smart, he's kind, he's funny, a great dad and husband and a HUGE music geek which is kind of cool. He's a partner with NC Planning where he serves as an attorney and business advisor with over twenty (20) years of experience focusing his practice on the representation of individual and business clients and lending institutions in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, business planning, commercial lending and contracts. I am licensed to practice in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

He's regularly represents business clients ​in a variety of matters including corporate and other entity formation, company start-ups, mergers, business acquisitions and sales, joint ventures, employee incentive/deferred compensation planning, commercial lending and loan closings, resolution of shareholder disputes and corporate restructuring. In the M&A space, Michael has successfully served as counsel to clients in a variety of industries including, without limitation, professional practice owners (dentists, doctors, lawyers, etc.), construction, industrial/manufacturing, franchises and medical equipment, effectively and efficiently closing deals ranging in size from $50K-$10MM+ 

As a natural extension of his business transactional work, he also effectively serves as outside general counsel to corporate clients and professional practices, assisting in a breadth of matters ranging from contract review, revision and negotiation to complex corporate planning and dispute resolution.

After you listen in on this one, give Mike a connect at:

Cheyenne is a local mom, entrepreneur, and content creator. She runs Triangle Families Explore, a media resource connecting families to high quality experiences in the triangle. Cheyenne is currently in the process of opening her first brick and mortar business, Little Oak Collective, a children's consignment store and community space. She's passionate about connecting community and creating intentional spaces for families. 

Her perfect Raleigh day would be brunch at Jubala, mountain biking one the trails near Falls Lake, and drinks at East Bower Cider Co. When she chose to move to Raleigh a huge driving factor of her decision was the desire to be a part of the growth and culture of the city. She felt like Raleigh was approachable enough to go after their dreams and they were right! 

Check her out online at:

Brandon Baker is the President/CEO of First Tee of the Triangle and has served in the role since 2013. Prior to moving to the Triangle to join First Tee in 2010, he held a variety of roles in the youth development space spanning from programming to marketing and communications in the youth development space. He holds a M.S. in Recreation, Parks, and Sports Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and despite being born in Maryland and spending years in Virginia, considers the Triangle home! 

Brandon is a certified Master Executive through First Tee, a member of the Triangle Business Journal's 40 Under 40 Class of 2016, and the publication also recognized him as a CEO of the Year recipient in 2021. 

In his spare time, Brandon enjoys playing golf, good breweries, and spending time his significant other and their two furry family members. Make sure you connect with Brandon at the following:

Danny Rosin is the president of Brand Fuel a brand merchandising agency that delivers brand experiences, ecommerce, inspiration and results while having fun along the way. And that right there seems to be the key to everything important in Danny's life...doing big things while having a blast doing it. I think that is the big take away here. At least it was for me. The conversation with him really helped me look at everything important in my life through another lease and I hope it will for you too.

He serves on the board of A Place at The Table, Raleigh’s only “pay what you can” café which is one of the most talked about businesses on this Podcast in Raleigh. I must be surrounded by some really awesome people with many of them sharing a common love of this place so if you've not been there...get there asap. He is on the executive team for The Harvard 100. He is the active co-founder of Band Together, a nonprofit that has donated $12 million to 108 local nonprofits through live concert experiences. Like the title says, he's a Big Time Do Gooder and having a fun time doing it all.

Rosin is a tireless community builder who likes starting organizations doing things that matter which is another reason why I connect to him. He is a pathological optimist, hopelessly falling in love with most everyone he meets. His core competencies are in philanthropy, music, sales and marketing and “familying.”  He is married with two daughters who are 14 and 17 and has come to grips with the idea that well-behaved women rarely make history. Truth right there. And today on the Pod we get to talk about all of this and more. You don't want to miss this one.

Welcome back to kick off Season 3 of the Podcast. We've been busy over the last few weeks and months lining up some great new guests to introduce you to around our city and can't wait for you to listen in. For our first episode back in a while we bring you a great conversation with local brand strategist Angelique Bolding. Angelique and I had a great chat centering around bringing the human element to the forefront of brand and business and more importantly, going deeper with relationships and why that matters. This is the real stuff that matters most to me.

Hannah's story has a lot of twists and turns, but I get the impression she wouldn’t have it any other way. She says "there have been more jobs and moves than I care to admit, ranging from account management fresh out of college in NYC, to getting engaged and moving to Boston, losing my dream job in Miami, to landing back in my hometown of Raleigh with a husband and a baby on the way."

After a very short move to NYC she decided it was time to officially make Raleigh their home and take the leap and open her own business, Dove & Olive Mercantile. It was in the process of pivoting this business during COVID where she found her motivation, purpose, and ultimately, The Women’s Social Club. I love this story for a number of reasons but maybe most of all because it's so familiar. We have had very similar journey's staring our respective networking and social groups. I created the Raleigh Young Professionals almost 15 years ago and we have so many parallels. It's a bit creepy.

You can connect with her here:

Nathaniel is what some call a deep well to drink from. His ability to extract principles and concepts from a vast array of cultures and texts, gives him the perspective, ability and the tools to engage others on many levels which always makes him a great conversationalist. Nathaniel battled with PTSD, night terrors, mis-identity, inferiority, anger, isolation and the overall feeling of not being enough. However, after doing the deep inner work and shifting his mindset along with his perspective, he has made it his mission to help others, reconnect to who they truly are. He believes that when we take time to re-see our traumatic/life experiences with a new perspective, we engage with life differently. We become better Fathers, Mothers, Husbands, Wives, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders. He believes all of us can truly Be, Do and Have what-ever we desire.

After listening to our chat, check him out online at:

Susie is an experienced and effective consultant, trainer, LGBTQ+ subject matter expert, and content creator who artfully mixes her professional experiences with down-to-earth humor and personal coming out story to bridge the knowledge deficit and help others on their DEI journeys. Her unique perspective and future-ready business strategies are amplified as a TDM Senior Consultant where she drives awareness and shared accountability across all diversity traits including gender identity, race, ethnicity, age, and mental and physical abilities. Susie’s expertise has deepened recruitment pools, increased employee productivity, and boosted companies’ bottom lines. Susie’s career includes 18 years in public education and in 2015, she founded With Pride Consulting to create actionable change for the LGBTQ+ population in schools and the workplace. 

Susie is also an accomplished artist whose work has been featured in numerous venues throughout North Carolina and on HGTV’s Love It Or List It. Susie lives in Cary, North Carolina, with her wife, two children, and a dog named Clark Griswold. When she is not consulting or speaking, Susie enjoys spending time outdoors with her family, painting and baking delicious treats! 

You can connect with her at:

www.thediversitymovement.com 

www.susiesilverart.com 

And on Instagram: @thediversitymovement @susiesilverart 

And after you connect with her online, go check out some of her favorite places around town:

Jerry McCormick is the Chief Safety Officer for Personal Safety at Work, where he utilizes his 30 years of experience as a police officer, plus 8 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and as a personal safety expert that researched more than 300 incidents of Active Shooter cases and then developed training for thousands of public safety professionals on how to respond to active shooter incidents. In addition, he has transitioned into a role of providing employee personal safety training after interviewing 9,800 police officers in the US, Europe & China on why police officers are rarely victims of Person-on-Person Crimes to help employees learn how to deal with a myriad of workplace and public threats that extend beyond active shooter situations. Personal Safety at Work has expanded their online offerings to include Distracted Driver Training and Turnkey Fleet Safety Management Program. This course is designed to increase safety, reduce injuries, reduce damages to property and vehicles, reduce lost time at work from accidents and improve confidence when operating a motor vehicle.

In this chat Jerry and I talk about his life's work of creating safe environments for others and how that has contributed to making our area one of the safest places to call home. 

Terrance Ruth is a proud Raleigh Citizen. A husband. A dad. He is a teacher at NC State, a former public school principal, and a community organizer. He led a foundation that works for social and economic justice. Terrance is a former National VP of Repairers of the Breach. And he is running to be Raleigh's next mayor. Thanks to our wives we've been able to connect and today he came by the studio for a chat.

You can learn more about him on TruthforRaleigh.com and connect with him here:

Brook's story is a familiar one. Raised to go to school, get good grades, find a good job, work hard and get all the things. But something along the way changed. She knew there was something deeper worth seeking in this human experience, which led through some self-discovery about the food we eat and the way we move our body. While super common now, that was super woo back then. From there, she started a health coaching business and hustled her way to a pretty successful spot. She did all the things the experts say to do but something felt off. And then she crumbled and stripped it all away to find her true alignment by studying Human Design and now her goal is to help others find their true alignment and flow. You can connect with her at www.BrookBelden.com or on IG @BrookBelden.

She's lived in Raleigh for 20+ years so be sure to check out some of her favorite spots around Raleigh for a true local's perspective:

Chris Gorges is the founder & CEO of Thompson & Prince, a brand strategy and design firm focused on early-stage ventures and small businesses. He leads a wide range of creative projects related to foundational branding, including naming, logo design, visual identity, messaging, positioning, marketing collateral, pitch decks, and website design & development. Chris is also a bootstrapping tech entrepreneur, building Everharbor, a community for creative agencies and talent. He moved to Raleigh in March 2020 from New York City when COVID began and has a unique perspective on what moving here and living here is like. Give it a listen and connect with Chris below.

Christopher Terrell Moore, known as Artist Christopher Terrell, and known to me as Chris is a local Raleigh artist. We met a decade ago when I was walking through the Crabtree Mall with my real estate nametag on upside down. He caught it, called me over and I corrected my blunder. From there we connected on social media, he joined my Connect Raleigh networking group and soon I had the opportunity to help him purchase his first home. Here's a secret I don't think I've told many people and didn't tell Chris during our chat but I should have...I wore that nametag upside down on purpose. I was a new real estate agent trying to meet people so I came up with the idea that I would put it on upside down and walk the mall until somebody noticed it and started a conversation with me. And here we are 14 years later....crazy. 

Over the last twenty years, he has produced over a thousand pieces, showcased his paintings and other art forms at more than 100 shows, and has been written about extensively. His art career began in middle school – drawing cartoon characters from his favorite comic books and selling them to his friends for lunch money. And it's evolved greatly from there.

Through this work, Terrell taps into our internally shared experiences in life, both struggles and triumphs, with the goal of focusing on the more fundamental things that connect us over the more superficial externally experienced things that divide us. In 2009 he put together a year-long exhibit entitled “Art gallery: Home of the Obama Art Museum.” It showcased hundreds of creations by artists worldwide depicting President Obama – some in very creative forms, such as works made out of shoes or coins.  From 2009 to 2012 he created and operated “Hustle & Flow Community School of Hip-hop, R&B, and Art.” It was an organization that promoted school programs such as track-out, in-school programs, and special events. Its mission was to provide young people a place to learn and grow their creativity. In 2012, he created the Raleigh Film & Art Festival which is an annual event that showcases the most talented film directing and art work of young people from North Carolina and beyond. The festival draws many hundred submissions each year.

You can connect with him here:

This conversation got me really fired up and I think that after you give it a listen the same will happen for you unless of course you are a terrible person. And if you're a terrible person you're probably not listening to this podcast or following me on social media because you'd be too busy doing terrible things. So, since you're an awesome person, and you're doing awesome things like listening to this podcast of course, you're definitely going to love this chat with Lindsay Wrege the co-founder and CEO of 321 Coffee, a coffee shop truly based on diversity and inclusion. She started this company in her college dorm room as a freshman folks. I know what I was doing as a freshman and it wasn't starting community impacting companies. She now employs over twenty individuals with disabilities and believes in the power of using business for social impact. She's already partnered with big Raleigh companies like Pendo, Cisco and is looking for the right connection at Apple for their new Raleigh campus so if you know somebody...do your thing and make a connection for Lindsay.

You can connect with Lindsey here:

Welcome friends. It's time to connect with Mr. John Kornegay. John is a photographer living in Raleigh, North Carolina. When he's not working he enjoys spending time with his lovely wife and son, functional exercising, and transcendental meditation in his spare time.

JK as the local's know him, is a guy you need to connect with right now so go do it. Start with a follow on Instagram and then get to know this man in person as soon as you can. This is another one of the relationships that I talk a lot about that came out of the birthday round table my boy Kristian put together and I'm grateful and lucky to know him. He's got great insights on what to do, where to go and how to live life and he shares much of it here in our chat. 

Connect with JK at:

Get ready for today's conversation. If you're not sitting down, you may want to. And it's likely you're not going to be able to stay in your seat for very long because it's about to get hype up in here today. So sit, stand, go for a run, listen to this one on a long drive...do whatever you gotta do.

Larry Long Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Larry Long Jr LLC, which focuses on sales motivation, inspiration, training & coaching, and he's the host of the ‘Midweek Midday Motivational Minute’ on Linked IN. Larry is an experienced sales leader with a demonstrated history of success in SaaS sales. He is extremely passionate about coaching as you'll be able to tell from our conversation, and he gets fired up by helping professionals take their game to the 'next level'. From years of playing athletics, primarily baseball, Larry brings a unique perspective to the table and understands many of the challenges faced by sales professionals. His areas of experience include Sales Training, Team Development, Leadership, & Motivation within organizations of all stages (start-up to publicly traded). Practicing what he preaches, Larry continuously seeks opportunities to learn & grow. Basically he is a speaker, trainer and thought leader helping people from all different backgrounds and industries just be better. He's a husband, a dad, a friend, and he cares deeply about people I feel better after every time I talk with him and he ups the energy everywhere he goes. And couldn't we all use a little more of that. This episode has so many important nuggets of wisdom in it that you're just going to have to listen to the whole thing. And after you do, connect with Larry and tell him how this conversation impacted you. You can do that at any of the links in the show notes.

Let's connect with Jeff! Jeff Murison is the President of Live it Up Hillsborough Street, an organization dedicated to creating a thriving corridor bringing NC State and local residents together in one awesome community. 

We talk about what it's like to go back to face to face connections in the post Zoom/Covid world, how the pandemic has affected local businesses and the University and the silver lining in all of it. Because if you look...there's always a silver lining.

You can find him online at:

Liz McLean is a lifelong Raleigh resident and has vowed to NEVER LEAVE. She's a graduate of Meredith College with a passion for her community and the people of North Carolina.  She has over thirteen years of professional experience in public relations, brand awareness and client engagement and has worked with a variety of clients including political candidates, Fortune 500 companies and local non-profits. Her 3 favorite things are Raleigh, Live Music and Giving Back and she's happiest when all 3 collide into a beautiful mix.

She recently joined the team at Holt Brothers Incorporated as Executive Director of the Holt Brother Foundation, an organization led by former NFL greats and brothers Terrence and Torry Holt to help kids that have a parent or guardian with cancer.

Liz enjoys helping others understand how to apply their talents, grow their personal and professional networks in the city she loves and call home, and is constantly looking for ways to grow and improve her own understanding of her gifts...gifts that include high level peripheral vision and knowing when stragers are pregnant, among other very serious gifts.  She’s recently taken up Fly Fishing and can often be found at Dix Park or out and about in downtown Raleigh.

Connect with Liz here:

In an arena football game right before the NFL camp was slated to start and potentially all of his childhood dreams about to come true, he broke up a pass play, tripped over a receiver and slammed into a wall. The impact broke Jojo's neck and left him paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors told him he'd never walk again. In that moment he thought: “My life is over. I’ll never play again. I’ll never be a husband or a father.” But then, like an answer to those dark thoughts, he remembered something a past coach used to shout at him during practice: “Dig!”

That word motivated him. So he made it his own and turned it a slogan: “D.I.G.: Determination. Intensity. Guts.”

Those words got him through that dark time in his life. There were days he wanted to quit the rehab work because it was just too hard. D.I.G. kept him going, all the way to a full recovery. Nearly 20 years later, he still carries that message to every person who walks in the door at CORE, his downtown Raleigh fitness studio. Every day he calls on his experiences to say: “No matter your goal, you have to have the Determination to start. You need the Intensity to hustle hard. But the key is Guts. You’ve got to have the guts to push through the hardest times." It’s become the CORE value at CORE and he continues to inspire every person he comes in contact with.

You can connect with Jojo here:

If you're thinking of calling Raleigh home, today's guest is somebody you should connect with for sure. Doug Stewart is the Author of 5 1/2 MENTORS, he is a TEDx speaker, certified Dale Carnegie Instructor, performance coach, and mentorship thought leader. He is best known for utilizing original and adaptive methods to help people pursue a life of purpose through enthusiastic discovery. Most importantly, Doug is a devoted husband to his best friend, Merideth, and proud father to Kendall and Kendrick. And he knows a thing or two about building community which is why he is on today's episode.

In this chat Doug and I sit down for the second time to talk about all things Raleigh. And if there is somebody that LOVES this area...it's this guy. So much so that he's got our area code (919) in everything he does. I feel like this might be one of the best conversations for somebody to listen to that is moving to a new area without much of a support system and without knowing many people. If I were moving someplace new, this would be the first place I would start to get confidence and a plan on how to connect with strangers in a strange place. 

After you listen to the episode please connect with Doug here:

Did you know that there was a desert in Washington state? Me either. But today's guest did.

Dr. Holly Sullenger is somebody you need to connect with. She is one of the nicest, coolest, smartest, most well connected people in Raleigh and she loves to help others. She's a corporate speaker, trainer and consultant that helps others stay relevant in their field by giving the participants new tools and insights. And if there was ever a time to stay relevant...it's now. She loves helping clients work smarter rather than harder and seeing people have "Lightbulb" and "A-ha!" moments are her true passion.

In our conversation we talk about the adventures of parenting, leadership development, moving to a new area and not knowing anybody, why she felt Raleigh was the #1 place in the world to move to and so much more.

Here's where you can Connect to her: