Dave Combs is a disarmingly charming southerner, a former telecommunications executive, and a man of faith. He’s also a hardcore entrepreneur and one of the most successful musicians and music distributors you’ve probably never heard of.

Since Dave and his friend, studio pianist Gary Prim, recorded their first instrumental tune  in 1986 — Rachel’s Song — the duo has produced 15 successful instrumental albums which have attracted millions of worldwide fans. Dave displays more than 50,000 fan letters at his home in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

The story behind Dave’s serendipitous success is fairytale-esq. 

Not a single mainstream music publisher or distributor would touch Rachel’s Song. So Dave turned to a non-conventional route, selling his CDs through gift shops - eventually building a network of more than 1,000 stores.

The song proved to be magnetic. Shoppers would hear it playing overhead in a store and just need to buy it. One local shop alone sold thousands of Dave Combs albums.

Host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart points out that fueling Dave’s serendipity were some savvy business insights — the kind that can help make anyone’s bottom line sing.

Download and savor your own copy of Rachel’s Song for free from CombsMusic.com.

PIck up a copy of Dave Combs’ inspirational autobiography: Touched by the Music: How the Story and Music of “Rachel’s Song” Can Change Your Life.

The producer for this week’s episode is Blane Nicholas, who has worked the audio mastery behind the scenes for Monday Morning Radio for more than a decade.

Blane is no stranger to working with dynamic music artists. A veteran of iHeartMedia and Apple Music, Blane has produced programs featuring Bruce Springsteen, Alanis Morissette, Kanye West, Jon Bon Jovi, Keith Richards, Sean Lennon, Metallica, Joan Jett, LL Cool J, and dozens of other music icons.

Photo: Dave Combs, Combs Music
Posted: May 1, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: One Hour and Eleven Minutes
Episode: 11.37

Since 2006, serial entrepreneur Clay Stafford has produced an ever-more-popular Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference that brings together authors, agents, exhibitors, and fans of crime and thriller literature.

Pulling off a large meeting, workshop, or other live event entails countless steps. In Clay’s instance, planning for the next gathering begins a year in advance.

This week, Clay pays a return visit to Monday Morning Radio to share his post-COVID-19 event blueprints with host and award-winning author Dean Rotbart, covering everything from the selection of a venue and keynote speakers to his formula for ensuring that attendees leave feeling that their time and money were well invested.

“Given his many talents and occupations, any conversation with Clay would not be complete if we didn’t stray from the central topic,” Dean says. “So this week, he and I will also discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on authors and publishers; the state of the publishing market; the 12 habits of successful writers; and the one subject Nobel laureate William Faulkner — author of “The Sound and the Fury” — didn’t want to talk about.

The 18th Annual Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference will be held August 17-20, 2023. For registration information, click here.

Photo: Clay Stafford, Killer Nashville
Posted: April 24, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 46:38
Episode: 11.36

[Listen again to Clay Stafford’s first Monday Morning Radio interview here.]

The days of the imperial CEO are bygone. Today’s business and organization leaders empower everyone, regardless of rank, to be heard and contribute to success. 

That’s the premise of David C. Tate, a licensed clinical psychologist and lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. David is the co-author of Conscious Accountability: Deepen Connections, Elevate Results.

Financial performance still matters. But David teaches that in the modern workplace, the means to success often matter as much as the ends.

David and his co-authors, Marianne S. Pantalon and Daryn H. David, embrace a leadership approach they dub “conscious accountability,” and offer a seven-step process — CONNECT — centered on the benefits of social awareness, values, and relationships.

C — Creating Clarity

O — Opening Up Engagement

N — Nailing It

N — Noticing

E — Exchanging Feedback

C — Claiming It

T — Trying Again

Listen and profit now as David explains to host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart how following the CONNECT roadmap leads to greater job satisfaction, elevated relationships, and better business outcomes. 

Photo: David C. Tate, Conscious Accountality
Posted: April 17, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 48:18
Episode: 11.35

For the head of a successful business coaching firm, Toronto-based Launch and Scale, Khierstyn Ross, founder and CEO, has an odd goal.

“We actually want our clients to fire us,” the e-commerce strategist tells host and award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart.

Khierstyn is crazy — crazy like a fox. Her firm’s mission is to help launch and scale online brands until they achieve $3 million in annual sales. She’s done that successfully for dozens of brands.

However, by the time her clients’ sales grow to $10 million in yearly revenues, Khierstyn says her nestlings need to move on. That is, fire her before she fires them.

Whether you’re a startup or long-established, Khierstyn’s growth methodology and operational discipline are sure to impress you.

Photo: Khierstyn Ross, Launch and Scale
Posted: April 10, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:12
Episode: 11.34

Dux te ipsum duc is Latin for “Leader, Lead Thyself.”

The concept is at the heart of business growth coach Bradley Hamner’s formula for transforming owners and executives from “slaves” to their companies into masterful architects of growth and success.

Bradley is the founder of Business Growth Curator, a consultancy that coaches owners and executives on how to grow their confidence and leadership, develop an effective team, scale their companies, and make a difference.

Since launching his first business in 2009, with no customers, no leads, and very little cash, Bradley has established or built seven companies, with an eighth on the launchpad.

The secret to inspiring employees to improve their performance and satisfaction, Bradley tells host Dean Rotbart, is to address your own shortcomings first. He did just that and has been generating exceptional value for himself and his clients ever since.

[Note: You can listen to Bradley’s podcast, The Club Capital Leadership Podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and here.]

Photo: Bradley Hamner, Business Growth Curator
Posted: April 3, 2023
Monday Morning Run Time: 49:45
Episode: 11.33