After almost 30 years in business, Roland “Buddy” and Dixie Huthmaker, owners of Huthmaker Violins – one of the finest violin and string instrument stores in the country – faced a choice that many owners do after pouring their hearts and souls into a business: sell it, close it, or pass it on to a willing heir.

Fortunately for the Huthmakers, their daughter Anna (photo), a gifted musician and entrepreneur, stepped up, and in January 2019 will officially become the new owner of their beloved shop.

All three Huthmakers attribute some of their success to the classes they’ve taken at Wizard Academy, including host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart’s “Buzz Snatching” course on reputation building.

This week on Monday Morning Radio, Anna shares the planning that went into the ownership transition and what she plans to do differently now that her parents report to her.

[You may also wish to here our interview from September 2014 with Buddy, Dixie, and Anna. Click here.]

Photo: Anna Huthmaker, Huthmaker Violins
Posted: December 17, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 30:23

If Jeremy Dale hadn’t spent the last eight years as a vice president of Microsoft Corp., people might dismiss his new book, The Punk Rock of Business: Applying a Punk Rock Attitude in the Modern Business Era, as a flight of fancy. 

But Punk Rock and successful businesses have much more in common than you might imagine, starting with authenticity and a refusal to conform.

Coincidentally, Jeremy’s interview from London with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart comes on the very day that Jeremy is officially launching his latest venture – Otro, a global digital club for soccer fans that is designed from the ground up to be a Punk Rock business.

Do you have what it takes be a fast-paced, hard-edged business punk rocker?  Find out this weeks, only Monday Morning Radio. 

Photo: Jeremy Dale, Punk Rock of Business
Posted: December 3, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:26

Imagine if 95 percent of your marketing messages were opened, and not merely opened, but read within three minutes of you hitting the ‘send’ button.

What would you call that kind of turbocharged email? 

Jim Koch calls it text message marketing – and he built a budding global empire on the fact that while email and social network marketing are now saturated and largely ignored – few people ever ignore their text messages.

Jim launched Mobit, his text-marketing platform almost five years ago, and having recently sold it, continues to head its North American and UK operations.

 This week he shares with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, poolside in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona, the rules of successful text message marketing – as well as its limitations.

[Monday Morning Radio listeners who wish to learn more, without obligation, can text the word “Mobile” to 72000. They will then get access to a 30-minute strategic presentation on how mobile marketing for businesses works. In addition, they will have an opportunity to book a 30-minute free one-on-one consultation with a Mobit marketing specialist.]

Photo: Jim Koch, Mobit
Posted: November 26, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 45:28

Can two entrepreneurs with limited previous online retail experience take a meaningful chunk of business away from Amazon?

The concept of XYZBuys is a good one: to serve as an “online mall” with Amazon, Best Buy, and dozens of other leading retailers as so-called tenants. While consumers may be drawn to the mall by one anchor store, in theory they’ll buy from other retailers – big and small, while they are already there.

Will it work? 

The odds are against it. But after interviewing Dan Thomas, VP Marketing, host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart says that XYZBuys’ audacious business model does offer innovative ideas that any online retailer or service provider may want to adopt for themselves.

Photo: Dan Thomas, XZYBuys
Posted: November 19, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:24

Shay Myers is general manager of his third-generation, family-owned business – Froerer Farms – winning national acclaim for the innovation he’s brought to his company. 

Just about any entrepreneur can profit from hearing Shay’s story of breathing fresh life into a long-established business.

In Shay’s case, the business is produce - onions, asparagus, sweet potatoes and yams.

Do you think you could find a way to make onions sexy – more than a simple commodity?

Shay did.

Hear how this week on Monday Morning Radio as Wizard Academy alumnus Lem Lewis stands in for host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart down on the farm.

To learn more about Lem Lewis, be sure to visit his website TheRanchBroker.com or hear all of his RANCHAST episodes at www.Ranchcast.com.

Photo: Shay Myers, Owyhee Produce
Posted: October 8, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 40:43

In a very, very crowded market for pizza restaurants, Drew French discovered the recipe to stand out from the crowd – offering made-to-order pies, baked in brick ovens, using a wide variety of fresh ingredients, hand-tossed doughs, and served in just four minutes.

Drew’s Athens, GA-based Your Pie, launched a decade ago, now has 58 locations in 19 states, with nearly 60 additional locations in development.

Drew is widely credited with pioneering the now-popular and highly competitive “fast casual” pizza concept. The distinction is all the more impressive, says host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, given that Drew only recently turned 35 years old.

“A well-known adage says, if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it,” Dean observes. “Perhaps, in a similar vein, Drew French and Your Pie embody the entrepreneurial concept: If you want to succeed, look to innovate in a market that is already crowded. At least, when you launch, you’ll know there are plenty of ready prospects to win over.”

Photo: Drew French, Your Pie
Posted: September 10, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 36:11

It’s not been easy, but Azi Hendi and her husband, Dr. Ali Hendi – a lawyer and a cancer surgeon – have combined their talents to launch 15-month-old Luminora, a stylish clothing line designed to protect women from the sun’s harmful rays.

The Hendi’s know that three million Americans are diagnosed annually with a form of skin cancer, and most fashionable clothes do little, if anything, to protect wearers from the sun. 

In a frank conversation with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, this week the Hendi’s share both their accomplishments and their frustrations as first-time entrepreneurs, and Dean offers them some actionable advice on positioning themselves for greater success.

If you own a small business and would like to be a guest on Monday Morning Radio – and get some free reputation advice from Dean – we invite you to contact him at dean.rotbart@gmail.com. You can also phone him at 303-296-1200.

Photo: Dr. Ali Hendi and Azi Hendi, Luminora
Posted: August 13, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 42:30

When Ross Kimbarovsky started his company, crowdspring.com, a decade ago, he had a vision for a new kind of logo creation service – one in which logo buyers would be offered a wide range of original, creative, logo concepts at a readily affordable price.

Today, more than 200,000 designers from nearly 200 countries compete to design the winning logos for crowdspring’s 50,000-plus clients. 

Ross knows all the do’s and don’ts of choosing an effective logo for your business or product, and this week he shares his best insights with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart.

Photo: Ross Kimbarovsky, crowdspring.com
Posted: August 6, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:01

What would you guess is the percentage of small business owners who hope that one day their children will follow in their footsteps?

For all the headaches that ownership brings, a surprising 84% of the more than 1,000 small business owners who responded to a recent survey said they’d wish the blessings and the curses of entrepreneurship upon their kids.

Kathryn Petralia, president of Atlanta-based Kabbage – the global financial services and technology company that conducted the survey, tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart that in the eyes of survey respondents, nothing defines the American Dream better than being your own boss and owning your own business. 

Hear all the fascinating results from the Kabbage small business survey this week on Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: Kathryn Petralia, Kabbage
Posted: July 30, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 17:43

Business conferences are big business.

The World Economic Forum in Davos, the Milken Institute Global Conference, and the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference are among the largest and best-known of the lot.

By comparison, the annual Fireside Conference – held at a remote retreat a 3 ½ hour drive from Toronto –  is a puppy; but a best-in-show gathering at that, attracting a small group of top innovators, thought leaders, and investors in the entrepreneurial universe.

Fireside’s co-founder, Daniel Levine, tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart just why every year Fireside gets more than ten times the number of applicants than it accepts – and the secret to having what it takes to land a coveted invite to the off-the-grid, off-the-record meeting of some of the brightest minds in business.

Photo: Daniel Levine, Fireside Conference
Posted: July 9, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 42:30