The Associates

In this week’s episode, I had the great fortune of sitting down with Terry Orendi, founder and President of Bountiful Blessings a non-profit based in Mechanicsburg PA serving people across 20 locations spanning a 3 state area with plans to continue expanding this year. Listen in as Terry shares her story of faith getting this amazing organization started. You’ll appreciate her boldness in taking HUGE leaps of faith and not allowing what other people think to deter her from her vision. I know you’ll be as intrigued by this story as I am.

Welcome back to The Associates podcast. I suppose I might consider this season two, though I didn’t really plan it out that way. Life just sort of took it that way, but I’m happy to be having these conversations again with people in the business community. In this episode, I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Kristi Hoffman, who runs a concierge services company called TasKristi, helps run the Central PA Supports Small Business Facebook page and organizes the networking events that are part of that group, AND is co-owner of Keys 2 Close - a real estate transaction coordination company. One of the most striking things about Kristi is that despite all of these obligations and responsibilities, she never comes across like she’s too busy for you. She’s always very present in the moment and it’s a skill that I think a lot of people would benefit from. Kristi shares a number of valuable nuggets regarding the importance of building relationships, organization, creating mind space, and more! This was a fun conversation for me and I know you will learn a thing or two from hearing her insight. Enjoy!

This episode should have launched a week or 2 ago, so my apologies to Rebecca. But I’m excited to share the conversation I had with Rebecca Foote, owner and VP of mortgage lending at Foote Capital with everyone. As you’ll hear, Rebecca really understand her business. She’s extremely intelligent and well-spoken and knows the latest of what’s happening even with all the changes we’ve seen with COVID. One of the unique things about Foote Capital is that they are an independent mortgage banker operating here in Centra PA. There’s a lot of benefits for her clients as result. Rebecca also shares her thought on the current real estate market, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance. It was a fun conversation for me to have and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Welcome back to another episode, another conversation here at the associates podcast. It’s good to be back having these chats. It’s been an interesting few weeks in Central PA as most of our counties have gotten back into business in some shape or form. Many businesses have had to really re-think their strategies and systems going forward. A big part of that is marketing, and in this episode I had the privilege to speak with Tammy Vasbinder who owns Vast Strategies, a collaborative organization that believes that every business should be able to obtain beautiful design and a strategic marketing plan. You will hear Tammy’s insights on what makes up a strong marketing plan and what most businesses are getting wrong with marketing. She also shares some simple, timeless, and extremely relevant business principles. Check it out!

Welcome back to another episode of the Associates podcast! Glad to have you listening in again. In today’s episode you will hear a story of overcoming a lot of personal adversity to achieve dreams. Maureen Williams, owner of Monarch Media Solutions shares her story from becoming an “accidental” entrepreneur to facing and overcoming challenges to having to at one point, just do enough to put one foot in front of the other and just keep moving forward despite her world crashing around her. Her story is one of fighting off drunk monkeys and having enough belief in herself so that she could accomplish what she has. Listen in!

Welcome back everybody to the Associates podcast. I hope everyone is doing great. I can tell you that I’m doing great after having a very engaging and honest conversation with Dave Hooke, owner of the Keller Williams Central PA real estate brokerage. Dave is one of the most authentic people I have met, and in this episode he shares his story from start up to struggling with being a workaholic and addiction to achievement to almost leaving the business altogether before finding a purpose. One of the big takeaways from his story is that, while many people believe that being vulnerable is weak, Dave has actually found greater success in business and in life by allowing himself to be vulnerable with the people he loves and cares about. Check it out!

In this episode I share what's been on my mind over the last 2 months as we've all navigated through uncertain times. For me, there are 3 things that carry particular weight as I look forward into the future: (1) Restructuring Priorities based on how I spend my time, long-term over short-term thinking, and managing money; (2) Diversifying Income by investing in assets and starting a side gig or 2; and finally (3) Clarifying Your Personal MVV (mission, vision, and values) to aid in making decisions. I hope you can relate to some of what I've shared and can use one of the ideas presented here. Note: I am not a certified financial planner or advisor, nor do I claim to be. Any ideas presented in this episode are ideas only. It is up to you to research the ideas presented and decide if they make sense for you. 

Today, I had a conversation with Mark and Karen Ackley, owners of Next Door Photos Susquehanna Valley. I know that you’ll find a lot of good insight from hearing their story. One of the things that they’re great at is balancing family life and business. As entrepreneurs, we can work odd hours at times and often at the expense of family time. Additionally, you will hear about their BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goals), and also about the mission behind their company and why mission is so important in founding a company.