The Monday Morning Radio Minute Featuring: Dean Rotbart, host, and Lindsay Pedersen, author of ‘Forging an Ironclad Brand.’

“When people buy Clorox, they’re not buying bleach at all.”

What are they buying? Listen and Learn in less than 60 seconds.

An excerpt from the April 22, 2019 edition of Monday Morning Radio.

Question: You didn't go to business school and yet you launched a successful business right out of college. How?

An excerpt from Monday Morning Radio with Host Dean Rotbart.

Entrepreneurial magic often results when education meets opportunity.

In the case of Maxwell Cohen, the education was in environmental and water resource economics, and the opportunity was to save millions of gallons of water annually by finding a way for hospitals, nursing homes, and even parents of newborns to avoid having to wash so many bed sheets.

His company, Peel Away Labs, developed the first multilayered, disposable, waterproof, fitted sheet designed for the home, industrial, and healthcare markets. Basically, when a bed sheet is soiled, users simply peel off the top layer — like an onion — and expose a fresh sheet.

Maxwell’s Peel Aways are a big success, selling at Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, and other popular retailers.

This week, Maxwell shares his journey - including a total misfire on Shark Tank in 2015 - from drawing board to final product with host and prize-winning journalist Dean Rotbart. Now an unabashed success, Maxwell recently celebrated his 28th birthday.

Photo: Maxwell Cohen, Peel Away Labs
Posted: April 15, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 43:37

Question: What does it take to be a successful one-person business?

An excerpt from Monday Morning Radio with Host Dean Rotbart.

Christina DeBusk spent 15 years working in law enforcement before, in 2012, she caught the writing bug. Without formal journalism training, she took anything and everything that she could get, grinding out content 16 hours a day.

Well, it paid off. Today Christina is an Olympic-caliber writer, having completed six books – including How to Earn a Comfortable Living as a Freelance Writer

and I’ve Always Wanted to Write a Book! – 10 Easy-to-Follow Steps to Becoming a First Time Author; ghost-written a handful of others; and generated a whopping 5,000-plus paid content projects.

She both teaches and personifies the notion that anyone can be a successful writer. This week, Christina shares the secret of her phenomenal output with host Dean Rotbart, who readily confesses his envy of her productivity.

Photo: Christina DeBusk, Freelance Olympiad 
Posted: April 8, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:27

Question: Why is it so hard to recognize our purpose in life?

An excerpt from Monday Morning Radio with Host Dean Rotbart

If you want to learn how to do it right, a great place tobegin is by studying what not to do.

Skip Prichard, a successful CEO and former head of publishing giant, Ingram Content Group, is a leading scholar of missteps and miscalculations.

For his Wall Street Journal bestseller – The Book of Mistakes – he’s condensed the hard-earned lessons he gleaned from interviewing more than 1,000 successful people – from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice – down to nine common errors.

Avoid these nine missteps, Skip tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, and you will achieve greater success than you ever imagined possible.

Photo: Skip Prichard, Book of Mistakes
Posted: April 1, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 33:47

Are your customer service representatives ducks or eagles? 

An excerpt from Monday Morning Radio with Host Dean Rotbart

@Nordstrom @Disney @SouthwestAir

You might say (or even sing) that Beth Kendall and her husband Bill are as lucky as lucky can be.

The couple, after all, have co-owned All Out Chimney Sweep in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past 35-plus years.

With all due respect to Mary Poppins and her friend Bert, successfully running and maintaining a 21st Century chimney sweep business in the face of advancing technologies and changing consumer tastes is no song and dance.

This week Beth, who earlier this year was elected as the first female president of the North Carolina Chimney Sweep Association, takes host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart up where the smoke is all billered and curled, and shares some smokin’ lessons that any business owner can readily profit from.

Photo: Beth Kendall, All Out Chimney Sweep
Posted: March 25, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 33:05

Since he co-wrote The One Minute Manager in 1982, Ken Blanchard has rarely been off the bestsellers list, having authored or co-authored 60 books and landed a spot in Amazon.com’s  Hall of Fame, as one of the 25 top revenue generators of all time.

One of Dr. Blanchard’s favorite topics over the years has been customer service and how businesses can excel at it. He recently reissued his 2005 book, The Simple Truths of Service, which has sold more than 5 million copies. This week he joins host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart to share some of the common-sense wisdom that the book imparts.

By the way, Dean, who teaches the Reputation Tool Chest workshop at Wizard Academy, took the opportunity with Dr. Blanchard to make a couple of his own reputation recommendations to the legendary author. No one ever said that Dean, a former investigative reporter, isn’t dogged.

Photo: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Author
Posted: March 18, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 28:44

This week’s special guest, Matt Mason, was recently appointed by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts to be the state’s official poet.

It’s a position whose roots date back to 1921 and highlights the fact that the Cornhusker state is quite fertile ground for literary creativity.

For almost ten years, Matt has served as executive director of the Nebraska Writers Collective, a nonprofit group that promotes poets in the schools and organizes quality poetry programs for adults.

As the Nebraska State Poet, Matt plans to travel the state – from schools to prisons – sharing his love of poetry, supporting the state’s writers, and inspiring Nebraskans from all walks of life to express themselves creatively.

As Monday Morning Radio host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart – himself a Pulitzer Prize nominee when he wrote for The Wall Street Journal – points out, Matt joins a lengthy honor roll of Wizard Academy graduates who have been recognized globally for their creativity and professional excellence.

Rotbart explores the role of creativity in society with Matt and asks him to explain why the arts matter.  You’ll want to hear his answer.

And, you’ll also want to hear his exclusive reading of a chapter from his latest book, The Baby That Are Cincinnati. So be sure to listen – or if time is short, skip – to the end of this week’s episode.

Photo: Matt Mason, Nebraska State Poet
Posted: March 12, 201
Monday Morning Run Time: 38:22

For a business to be truly successful, it requires executives who excel at managing their employees and, according to Andy Singer, employees who excel at managing their executives.

Andy is the founder and CEO of Singer Executive Development, a Florida consultancy that trains both executives and employees on ways to maximize their performance, including managing each other well.

As Andy tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, employees who “manage up” are not suck ups – they’re savvy career strategists who understand that when their bosses look good, their career prospects look even better.

Photo: Andy Singer, Singer Executive Development
Posted: March 4, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 36:11

With roughly 90 million dogs in America and tens of millions of dog-lovers, it probably was inevitable that Happy Tails Canine Adventure Tours would emerge – offering eco-tours designed especially for dog lovers and their companions.

David Blank, who along with his wife Claudia co-founded the company in 2018, is a veteran of the travel tour industry as well as a professional dog trainer. He’s decoded the labyrinth of logistics necessary to safely and happily take a couple dozen dogs and their humans on travel adventures – including bus transportation, motels, restaurants, and even medical care.

You may not be a pet lover, but you’ll feel like a lucky dog after listening to David’s interview with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart and discovering David’s formula for tapping into the robust pet market.

Photo: David Blank, Happy Tails Canine Adventure Tours
Posted: February 25, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 40:46

Despite all of the television viewing options open to today’s consumers – broadcast, cable, satellite, and streaming – surprising little of the available programming is local, much less hyperlocal, in nature.

Simon Bray, a veteran Fort Wayne entrepreneur, is on a mission to change that. Simon is the founder and CEO of Streaming Television, which is rolling out laser-focused local programming channels in more than 190 markets nationally. STV programs are available on major streaming platforms – including Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV, as well as directly from dedicated websites. 

Whether you’re a dry cleaner, plumber, accountant, dentist, or pizza shop owner, Simon tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart that STV aims to provide you the opportunity to reach your customers where more than 150 million Americans watch their other streaming programs and movies.

Photo: Simon Bray, Streaming Television, Inc.
Posted: February 18, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:40

The days when men shaved with safety razors – where the user inserts a single double-edge blade into a shaving implement – are long gone, made obsolete by cartridge blades and electronic razors.

Or are they?

Since 2012, Douglas Smythe, founder of Phoenix Shaving, has seen demand for his safety razors, blades, and other related grooming products for men boom. Douglas attributes the success of his business to three main factors: 1.) safety razors provide a more comfortable shave, despite all the hype around 3-blade and 5-blade cartridges.  2.) The replaceable blades cost only a fraction of cartridges.  3.) Men fondly remember their fathers or grandfather’s using a safety razor.

As Douglas tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, he is using 21st Century marketing – including a YouTube breakfast-hour show called I’d Lather Be Shaving – and an annual confab of hobbyists and other shaving enthusiasts, to drive sales and an expanding line of related products.

Believe it or Not: Rotbart brand razors, blades, and accessories were the best-selling shaving products in Germany in the early part of the 20th Century. In fact, in about 1927, Gillette bought out Rotbart and for many years thereafter used Rotbart’s designs and patents.

Photo: Douglas Smythe, Phoenix Shaving
Posted: January 28, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 41:53

Not for the first time, or even the second, or the tenth: Dean Rotbart’s scheduled guest on this week’s edition of Monday Morning Radio was a no-show.

You absentee guests know exactly who you are.  Shame on you!

The good news is that without a guest, Dean is able to reach into his Reputation Tool Chest and share three self-marketing gems for companies and individuals who seek the attention of journalists and other influencers. 

Dean has taught at The Wizard Academy since the early 2000s, first sharing his Newsroom Confidential insights, then Buzz Snatching, and most recently Reputation Tool Chest.  All three workshops have this in common: they defy the conventional wisdom of how influence is created, relying instead on deconstructing real-world success stories.

When they show up, Dean always enjoys interviewing business owners and experts, because he can not only share their wisdom with listeners, he can learn from his guests himself. This week, alas, he can only pass on what he already knows.

Photo: Dean Rotbart, Host, Monday Morning Radio
Posted: January 14, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 10:00

If the most popular episodes of Monday Morning Radio in 2018 are an accurate barometer, then last year was one filled with both hopes and anxieties for America’s entrepreneurs.

Listeners by the thousands tuned to the weekly podcast, hosted by Wizard Academy alumnus and faculty member, Dean Rotbart, to learn how fellow entrepreneurs were succeeding, overcoming their mistakes, and discovering means to avoid making those errors in the first place.

Join guest host Maxwell Rotbart as he counts down the Top 10 Monday Morning Radio episodes of 2018. Maxwell is the 26-year-old son of host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, and himself an entrepreneur and radio veteran.

Photo: Maxwell Rotbart

If you missed any of these ten amazing episodes, now is the perfect time to catch up. 

10. Your Company May Very Well Face Opioid-Related Liabilities, Even If You Don’t Sell or Distribute the Painkillers

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Opioid_Crisis.mp3

9. The New Tax Code Will Save Most Listeners to This Podcast Thousands of Dollars
   http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Tax_Savings.mp3

8. Forget About Email and Social Networking Marketing: Text Messaging Is Where It’s At

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Mobit.mp3

7. You Can Eradicate Sexual Harassment in Your Organization

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Sexual_Harassment.mp3

6. How Influence and Thought Leadership Are Manufactured in the Competitive Marketplace

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Adam_Witty.mp3

5. If This Company’s Stock Was Publicly Traded – It’s Not – Would You Invest in It?
   http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Luminora.mp3

4. Sears Once Resembled the Amazon Juggernaut – What Happened?

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Sears_Bankruptcy.mp3

3. The Time to Call in the ‘Swat Team’ is Before You Ever Need Them

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Armoured_One.mp3

2. CEOs, Celebrities, and Politicians Turn to One Man When Their Reputations Are on the Line

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/The_Fixer.mp3

1. Carl Schramm, “The Evangelist of Entrepreneurship,” on the Proven Formula for Success

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mondaymorningradio/Carl_Schramm.mp3

Photo: Maxwell Rotbart, Guest Host
Posted: January 7, 2019
Monday Morning Run Time: 14:35

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

In her 1957 classic, Atlas Shrugged, author Ayn Rand argued that the business of business is to make money – nothing more.

In her new book, The Conscious Professional: Transform Your Life at Work, due out next month, Jennifer Hartung pointedly disagrees.

There is much more to business than pursuing profits and earning a paycheck, Jessica argues. Founder and CEO of Integrated Work, a Boulder, Colorado-based consulting firm, Jessica is an evangelist for purpose-driven workplaces, where owners and employees alike strive to integrate their personal values into their workday.

In fact, Jessica believes that professionals who embrace a mission that goes beyond making money are more influential, effective, and fulfilled on the job.

As Jessica tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart on this week’s edition of Monday Morning Radio, even those with the most mundane jobs can find meaning in their everyday tasks.

Photo: Jessica Hartung, Integrated Work
Posted: December 10, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 41:43

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

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart is talking trash this week, but even those with delicate ears will want to listen in.

His guest is Patty Penke, the CEO of an Omaha estate sales company who has been selling collectibles and antiques for more than 20 years. Patty is the author of “Stop Throwing Cash in the Trash,” a book that shines a spot light on the hidden treasures that so many people, literally, dump in the trash – especially when disposing of the estate assets of a loved one who has recently died.

Beyond recognizing your family’s own undiscovered heirlooms, Patty and Rotbart talk about the abundant money-making opportunities that arise by discovering hidden treasures at garage sales, flea markets, neighborhood auctions, and in your own attic. 

Photo: Patty Penke, Stop Throwing Cash in the Trash
Posted: November 12, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 38:47

Most people hope the day will never come when the SWAT team arrives at the door of their business, school, or house of worship.

But calling in the Calvary – before they are actually needed – could very well prevent, or at the very least mitigate, the kind of massacre of innocent lives that occurred on October 27th at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, and just last Friday at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida.

Tom Czyz is a SWAT team operator and former homicide detective who launched his company, Armoured One, in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack in 2012. Joining him in advising business and community leaders on security measures are homeland security active shooter experts, a former Navy Seal Master Chief, a Delta Force team leader, and former FBI and CIA agents.

Tom has personally has investigated what happened at more than 50 gun attacks – including the October 1, 2017, Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 58 people and injured more than 850 others. His goal: how to protect more people in the future.

As Tom tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, there are steps everyone can take to prepare for the unlikely event of a live shooter at your facility, as well as life-saving instructions to follow if an attack is actually in progress.

You won’t want to miss this week’s episode of Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: Tom Czyz, Armoured One
Posted: November 5, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 31:41

There are plenty of lessons to be gleaned from the bankruptcy filing of Sears last week, and Steven D. Goldstein is just the expert to articulate them.

Steve, a one-time chairman of Sears Financial and member of the company’s executive committee, is an expert on management disengagement and the problems that ensue. He is currently president of Engaged Leadership Advisors, advising corporate leaders on ways to drive change, accelerate innovation, and assemble highly effective teams.

You may recall that in 2016, Steve was featured on Monday Morning Radio after he wrote the book, Why Are There Snowblowers in Miami?, which detailed how Sears continued to stock snowblowers in its Florida garden centers even though it hasn’t snowed in Miami since 1977.

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart caught up with Steve to get his advice for other retailers and businesses that seek practical recommendations on how they can avoid Sears’ missteps. 

Photo: Steven D. Goldstein, Engaged Leadership Advisors
Posted: October 22, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 24:01

Elliott Neff, a United States Chess Federation National Master, is passionate about helping others – especially young people – discover valuable life lessons through the game of chess.

Elliott is the author of the just-released novel, A Pawn’s Journey, a motivational speaker, and the founder and CEO of Chess4Life, which teaches sportsmanship, good decision-making, patience, planning, and how to learn from mistakes.

Would you like to gain greater insight into your colleagues or rivals? Why not challenge them to a friendly chess match?

 Indeed, you’re quite likely to gain fresh insights into your own strengths and weaknesses if you regularly mind your knights and bishops.

Pairing Elliott’s insights about life and business, against the inquisitive skills of host and veteran reporter Dean Rotbart, is a match you don’t want to miss. 

Photo: Elliott Neff, Chess4Life
Posted: October 15, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 48:30

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

Readers of Roy H. Williams’ Monday Morning Memo are well-acquainted with Indiana Beagle, the legendary curator and editor-in-chief of the Rabbit Hole.  

Although “Indy” is a metaphorical, metaphysical canine – the twin brother of Intuition, a leading character in the Destinae trilogy – he embodies spontaneous, impulsive, reckless curiosity.

Which is exactly why Monday Morning Radio host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart asked Indy to serve as the guest host of this week’s episode. 

Don’t be fooled, however. Indy’s interview with Dean is not only entertaining, it’s also actionable, as Dean shares a behind-the-scenes look at how Monday Morning Radio is produced and the lessons that Dean has gleaned in the course of hosting and producing more than 300 episodes.

Do his guests all share common traits?  Yes. And no.

Are they all business successes?  More yes, than no.

Might you be a suitable guest for Monday Morning Radio?

Tune in and discover for yourself, not only what it takes to land a slot on Dean’s very popular podcast, but also how you can ace any broadcast or print interview that comes your way.

Arooo! Aroo-Aroooooo!

Photo: Indy Beagle, Guest Host, and Dean Rotbart, Guest Guest
Posted: October 1, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 43:03

Michael Diamond is an expert when it comes to building, motivating, and growing business teams.

He honed his skills in war zones – first fighting Iraq in Operation Desert Storm – and more recently, battling the fierce competition in the highly competitive mobile products marketplace.

Michael is currently general manager of payments for Mitek Systems. If you’ve ever deposited a check by taking a picture of it with your mobile phone, then you’ve probably used the technology that Michael and his team oversee.

Michael is passionate about leadership, and innovation, and this week he reveals to host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart the most valuable – and actionable – lessons he’s learned along his life’s journey.

Photo: Michael Diamond, Mitek Systems
Posted: September 24, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:45

What was once science fiction, is rapidly becoming reality – especially when it comes to the prospects of small businesses operating in space, or at the very least, feeding commercial space operations.

Earlier this month, a group of scientists, entrepreneurs, and space futurists gathered in St. Louis for Gateway to Space 2018: Destination Moon – a one-day conference about working and living on the moon. 

Christine Nobbe, an educator and president of St. Louis Space Frontier, was the opening speaker. She is host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart’s guest this week, as the two explore out-of-this-world business concepts and realities. 

Photo: Christine Nobbe, St. Louis Space Frontier
Posted: September 17, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 33:35

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

Millions of small business owners stand to realize big savings on their 2018 taxes, thanks to revisions of the federal tax code that were signed into law in late 2017.

Only in the past few weeks, however, has the IRS fully explained who stands to profit from the so-called Section 199A deduction for qualified business income – and who will be left out.

Rachel Sawyer, a partner in Denver-based TaxOps, a respected business tax specialty and advisory firm, joins host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart this week to delve into the nuances of the new tax code and what entrepreneurs can do to take maximum advantage of the savings it offers. If you qualify, Section 199A could mean tens of thousands of dollars of extra cash in your pocket come next year.

Photo: Rachel Sawyer, TaxOps
Posted: September 3, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 26:41

[Note: Our guest on last week’s podcast, was Dr. Nate Regier, who discussed harvesting conflicts in your life, rather than fearing them. However, due to a mix up, some listeners instead were treated to an advance airing of this week’s podcast, featuring Alex Vorobieff.]

If you already heard what Alex had to say last week, we encourage you this week to go back and hear our conversation with Dr. Regier. In both instances, you’ll profit from priceless business insights.]

When the wheels on a car are out of alignment, it impacts the car’s steering and suspension, not to mention the durability of the tires and all the parts that control them.

When a business is out of alignment, its path also faces uneven friction and greater resistance. Eventually, it drives off the road altogether.

Alex Vorobieff, founder and CEO of The Vorobieff Company, is a business alignment expert. Sometimes hired as a stand-in CEO or CFO, Alex uses a suite of alignment tools to get a poorly operating business back on track.

The secret to fixing most ailing businesses, Alex tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, rests with remediating its core, NOT focusing on the surface where the issues are most visible. 

BRING YOUR BUSINESS INTO FOCUS: Pick up a copy of Alex’s well-reviewed book: Transform Your Company: Escape Frustration, Align Your Business, and Get Your Life Back.

If you own a small business and would like to be a guest on this podcast – and get some free reputation advice from me – I invite you to contact me at dean.rotbart@gmail.com. You can also phone me at 303-800-6081.

Photo: Alex Vorobieff, The Vorobieff Company
Posted: August 27, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:36

It sounds like an oxymoron: Positive Conflict

But Dr. Nate Regier, a former practicing psychologist, has built a successful second career as an author, business coach, and popular keynote speaker teaching business people how to fight productively – both on the job and at home.

With endorsements from management gurus including Dan Pink, Ken Blanchard, and Marshall Goldsmith, Nate’s book, Conflict without Casualties, has become must-reading in boardrooms and business schools across the country.

Rather than fear conflict, Nate tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, the smart thing for businesses and organizations to do is channel it.

[Follow Dean’s newest entrepreneurial venture, SpacEnterprise, as he explores out-of-this-world business concepts and realities.]

Photo: Dr. Nate Regier, Next Element
Posted: August 20, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:13

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

Ten years from now, 20 years, even 50 years, will anyone remember you or your company?

In a short-term world, too few business leaders contemplate their long-term brand.

Mark Miller and Lucas Conley, authors of the new McGraw-Hill business book, Legacy in the Making, are out to change that. Miller and Conley argue that leaders with long-term ambitions are the best equipped to stand out, get ahead, and make their mark.

Even if your company is just out of the starting gate, as Miller and Conley tell host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, the surest way to be around for decades to come is to start building your legacy right now.

Photo: Mark Miller and Lucas Conley, The Legacy Lab
Posted: July 23, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 38:44

40 million Americans, or roughly one-third of the workforce, have at least two jobs – their fulltime position and what many Millennials have come to call the “side hustle.”

There are advantages for both the primary employer and the secondary employer to bringing aboard side hustlers, but there are also a host of legal landmines that could prove a costly nightmare to employers who are caught unawares.

Mark F. Kluger, founding partner at the New Jersey employment law firm Kluger Healy, is an expert at clearing all types of workplace landmines, and this week Mark walks host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart step-by-step past the explosive, often-hidden, issue of side hustlers.

Photo: Mark F. Kluger, Kluger Healy
Posted: July 16, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 36:25

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

For just shy of four decades, Mark H. Fowler has helped reengineer companies that are underperforming or outright failing. His Santa Monica consulting firm, Stowe Management Corporation, relies heavily on building enhanced communication between corporate management, employees, and customers to achieve amazing operational turnarounds.

Mark has created a proprietary set of tools to foster what he terms “Revolutionary Conversations.” Hear Mark’s revolutionary interview with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart on this week’s episode of Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: Mark H. Fowler, Stowe Management Corporation
Posted: July 2, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:16

The Economist magazine once described Carl J. Schramm as “The Evangelist of Entrepreneurship.” Professor Schramm earned the moniker during the decade he was the president of the $2 billion Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which is among the largest private foundations in America, working to help entrepreneurs succeed.

These days Professor Schramm writes about entrepreneurship and teaches at Syracuse University, one of only 16 members of the faculty since 1870 to be given the prestigious, at-large title of University Professor.

This week Professor Schramm conducts a Master’s Class in entrepreneurship exclusively for host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, using the professor’s new book – Burn the Business Plan: What Great Entrepreneurs Really Do – as assigned reading.

Think you need an MBA to be a business success? Think again. Professor Schramm says that the proven path to business success is one of passion, determination, and a willingness to experiment and innovate. Class is starting right now.

Photo: Carl J. Schramm, Burn the Business Plan
Posted: June 18, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:07

To kick of his 7th year of hosting Monday Morning Radio, award-winning journalist Dean Rotbart invited back one of his most popular all-time guests, Davia Temin, founder & CEO of crisis management firm Temin and Company, to talk about a very hot button issue in America at the moment: sexual harassment.

Davia serves as an advisor to senior executives and boards at the highest levels of American business, and she has emerged as the go-to consultant on what companies and other organizations must do to eradicate sexual harassment in their organizations. 

Featured often for her expertise in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Forbes, Institutional Investor and other respected news outlets, Davia shares with listeners her 15-point plan for business owners, boards, and CEOs to not just respond to the wave of sexual harassment complaints, but to actually get ahead of the issue.

Photo: Davia Temin, Temin and Company
Posted: June 11, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 46:01

Getting a popular entertainer, athlete, author, blogger, or YouTuber to say nice things about your business or products is a powerful way to generate sales.

Greg Jameson, author of The Influencer Effect, specializes in helping companies identify the influential men and women who can provide them the greatest endorsement leverage, and then negotiating terms with those influencers.

As Greg explains to host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, an effective influencer needn’t have a household name. Anyone with a loyal following, no matter how small, can often produce over-sized results for the companies and products that they endorse.

Photo: Greg Jameson, The Influencer Effect
Posted: June 4, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:41

Ty Crandall is CEO of Credit Suite, the largest business credit coaching operation in the United States. He and his colleagues know the ins and outs of finding the funds to fuel your business and its growth, without having to provide lenders a personal credit check or personal guarantee.

Ty tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart that he is shocked by how little most business owners know about business credit and how best to obtain it. Even simple strategies, such as selecting the right name and email address for your business, can often make the difference between being approved and being denied credit.

If you need business credit, or need more business credit, you won’t want to miss what Ty has to say.

Photo: Ty Crandall, Credit Suite
Posted: May 28, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:53

Some people look to Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban for investment wisdom. Timolin Langin looked to Big Mama and Biggie – her grandmother and great-grandmother –  for her financial sensibilities.

Timolin was born and raised in Mississippi to sharecroppers and cooks – none of whom graduated high school. Yet leveraging the wisdom imparted to her by Big Mama and Biggie, she became a school teacher, and then a real estate investor, author, world traveler, and ultimately a millionaire.

In her book, Mind Over Money, Timolin says anyone, on any budget, can live like a millionaire when they dedicate themselves to her wise saving and spending strategies. This week she shares her five-step program for achieving greater financial well-being with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, who may not in fact be a multi-millionaire, but after talking to Timolin already thinks like one.

Photo: Timolin Langin, Mind Over Money
Posted: May 21, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 41:18

June 12th has been set as the date when President Donald Trump will meet in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

With so much at stake, President Trump and his entourage most certainly will get lots of advice from the State Department and CIA concerning what cultural landmines to avoid. 

For companies and organizations that engage in important cross-cultural interactions, Dean Foster serves as a one-man State Department/CIA. Foster – who is the founder of DFA Intercultural Global Solutions, hosts a series on the subject for CNN, and has written the “Culture Wise” column for National Geographic – is an expert on training Americans on the intricate nuances in cross-cultural communications, foreign negotiation best practices, and global etiquette.

Foster will share his own advice with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart regarding the President’s upcoming trip, as well as what every American who does international business – even in nearby Canada – must do so as not to sabotage relationships before they’re even formed.

Photo: Dean Foster, DeanFosterGlobal.com
Posted: May 14, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 45:55

Chris Ronzio knows the anatomy of a successful small business better than most owners and CEOs.  Chris recently launched a new software venture – a tool called Trainual – that dissects every small business and professional office, breaking them into core components: every process, every job responsibility, every policy, every document – all in one place.

Trainual is a digital company handbook on steroids.

As Chris explains to Monday Morning Radio host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, Trainual takes the painful process of onboarding and training employees that has been in use for decades and gives it a thorough 21st Century makeover.

Photo: Chris Ronzio, Trainual
Posted: May 7, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:27

Negotiation expert Elizabeth Suárez says that the secret to being a master negotiator is not outsmarting the other guy or gal, it’s being confident about who you are and what are your goals.

Once you know your own priorities and what you bring to any negotiation, Elizabeth says that reaching agreement is much easier; whether you’re negotiating a corporate acquisition, a pay raise, or the hour of your teenager’s curfew. 

Elizabeth, educated at The Wharton School of Business and the Harvard University Executive Management Program, is the author of “The Art of Getting Everything: How to Negotiate for What You Want and More.”  This week, she shares some of her best negotiating strategies with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart. 

[For more on Elizabeth, visit her website at http://www.negotiationunleashed.com/.]

Photo: Elizabeth Suárez, Negotiation Unleashed
Posted: April 30, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 37:37

Back in 1995, when the internet was still only a toddler, Jeff Hall started a search engine optimization company from his bedroom in Ontario, Canada. In time, Jeff developed programs and systems to help his clients show up high in the organic results of Google and other search engines.

Today, Jeff 's Overflow Cafe boasts more than 45,000 small business and professional clients in 170 countries, most of whom pay no more than $29 a month to draw relevant traffic to their websites, and sell lots more products and services.

You could do what Jeff and his team do on your own, although as Jeff tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, it would take most owners 100-plus hours monthly. In less than one hour on this week’s episode, Jeff breaks down effective SEO strategy in terms that anyone can comprehend.

Photo: Jeff Hall, Overflow Cafe
Posted: April 23, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 46:26

May McCarthy can explain her success at co-founding and growing seven successful companies in a single word: Gratitude.

In fact, May believes that gratitude is the missing ingredient responsible for the large number of struggling owners and entrepreneurs who have yet to achieve their business goals.

In her new book, The Gratitude Formula, May spells out a 7-Step system that she pioneered – all grounded in gratitude – which she promises will help everyone who follows her system earn more and enjoy it more. Roving reporter Rotbart has the scoop.

Photo: May McCarthy, The Gratitude Formula
Posted: April 16, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:42

Brian Harman works in supply chain management for a large multi-national pharmaceutical company. He relies on storytelling, humor, and a splash of vulgarity to instruct lousy business leaders in the art of leadership excellence.

Stepping aside from his day-to-day responsibilities, Brian recruited family and friends to help him write, publish, and promote a book he hopes will inspire a new generation of leaders who aren’t burdened with the bad habits of existing owners and bosses.

Brian’s book, How to Avoid a Leadersh*t, co-written with his cousin, Stephanie M. Taglianetti, uses an expletive in its title, just like the enormously popular bestseller, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*uck.

If foul language – or innovative thinking – offends you, host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart suggests you skip this week’s episode. 

Photo: Brian M. Harman, Author
Posted: April 9, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:01

Steve Clayton was a 7^th grade teacher with a love for DJing; a vocation he used to earn some extra cash. 

Self-taught, and relying primarily on grit and determination, Steve took his tiny DJing side business, Soundskilz, and built it into an industry-leading major event production and talent booking company, landing festival headliners including Wu Tang Clan and Ice Cube.

One event alone, the annual Chalice Festival held outside of Los Angles, Steve grew from 8,000 attendees to almost 40,000 in just four years.

No long spinning records, Steve, a self-made man, is now teaching and coaching other would-be entrepreneurs of all types how to develop their own entrepreneurial hits, and this week, he shares some of his favorite business tunes with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart.

Photo: Steve Clayton, Soundskilz
Posted: April 2, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 35:25

When a big time CEO, celebrity, or politician is thrust into an unwanted and unfavorable media spotlight, more than anyone else their first call goes to “The Fixer,” public relations guru Michael Sitrick, founder of Sitrick And Company.

Michael Vick called, as did Roy Disney, Rush Limbaugh, the Church of Scientology, and the Estate of Michael Jackson, among more than 1,000 other high-profile individuals and organizations.

Sitrick earned the nickname “The Fixer,” because like the fictional fixer in the movie Pulp Fiction, his reputation clients look to him to wash away the splatter and gore of their media messes. 

This week on Monday Morning Radio, Sitrick shares some of his most interesting cases with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, who as an award-winning former investigative reporter undoubtedly drove a fair share of business to Sitrick And Company or similar PR firms.

[To purchase up a copy of Michael’s Sitrick’s new book, The Fixer: Secrets for Saving Your Reputation in the Age of Viral Media, click here.]

Photo: Michael Sitrick, Sitrick And Company
Posted: March 26, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 43:50 

Colleen DeBaise, the former small business editor of The Wall Street Journal, says there are seven crucial stages in the life of a startup.  In her new book, Start a Successful Business, Colleen, herself an entrepreneur and podcaster, draws lessons from companies including Warby Parker, Slack, and Lego to help would-be business owners learn how it’s done.

But what about existing small businesses, asks host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart? Not to worry. Colleen notes that what works for startups also offers ways for established businesses to freshen their own success strategies.

Photo: Colleen DeBaise, Start a Successful Business
Posted: March 19, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 42:39 

Andrea Hence Evans is one of the most-respected patent, trademark, and copyright lawyers in the country, specializing in helping small business owners grapple with the mountains of red tape that must be surmounted in order to create and protect all manner of intellectual property rights.

Andrea has been selected by PBS to serve as the on-air legal expert for Season Two of its popular program, Make48, in which teams have 48 hours to plan, prototype, and pitch an idea for an invention.

Want to know if your idea is patentable or if your existing IP rights can withstand a challenge? Andrea shares the answers with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart on this week’s edition of Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: Andrea Hence Evans
Posted: March 12, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 39:20 

Jean Ginzburg is an expert when it comes to attracting, connecting with, and converting prospects into satisfied customers. She’s been doing it for more than a decade and has refined her approach by testing it on more than 2,000 of her own clients – ranging from Fortune 500 companies to one-person consultancies. 

Jean, herself a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Ginball Digital Marketing, is a huge believer in the ability of quality content to help businesses attract new customers. She is also an evangelist for using digital marketing – first and foremost – to secure those new paying contacts.

In her Amazon bestselling book, WIN New Customers!, Jean promises those who apply her formula that they will see it pay big dividends in only 60 days. But no need to wait even two months, when you can jumpstart your new customer-acquisition program in just 35 minutes by joining Jean and host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart on this week’s edition of Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: Jean Ginzburg, WIN New Customers
Posted: March 4, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 32:07 

This week’s guest on Monday Morning Radio is Adam Witty, CEO of Advantage Media and ForbesBooks.

Adam is “The Authority” on authority marketing, having helped more than 1,300 now-published authors conceive, write, publish, and market their books. In 2016, he joined with Forbes, the influential financial news media company, to launch its own business book imprint.

Advantage Media is a vanity press, but not your run-of-the-mill self-publishing concern. Adam and his team think, act, and get results that are more akin to Simon & Schuster and Random House than conventional vanity publishers. 

If you’ve ever thought of writing a book to serve as a calling card for you professionally, Adam is just the man you want to hear from. But even if you know there is no authorship in your future – and some people shouldn’t write books for reasons you’ll hear, you’ll learn a lot from Adam about how influence and authority are “manufactured” in the competitive marketplace in which we all operate.

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, who interviews Adam, says, “You may think that Adam Witty is in the publishing business. But he’s not. His unassailable core product is not ink on paper, or even digital ink, but raw, impactful influence.”

Photo: Adam Witty, Advantage Media
Posted: February 19, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 49 minutes 38 seconds

Did you read that CVS is buying Aetna and Japan’s Fujifilm is buying Xerox? JAB Holding Co, which already owns Krispy Kreme, Panera, and Keurig, is now snapping up Dr. Pepper Snapple?  And Arbys recently swallowed Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants.

What’s happening here?

Allen Adamson knows: Aetna, Xerox, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Buffalo Wild Wings, and dozens upon dozens of other brand-name companies are failing to stay relevant in our fast-changing world, and are ceasing to survive as independent companies, or worse, like Toys R Us, closing up shop altogether.

Allen, a noted industry expert in all disciplines of branding is a counselor to some of the country’s most successful companies. He is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Metaforce.

Along with Joel Steckel, a vice dean at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Allen has written a compelling new book: Shift Ahead: How the Best Companies Stay Relevant in a Fast-Changing World.

Shift Ahead spells out the warning signs that it’s time for reinvention, and exactly what separates the survivors – and those companies that thrive – from the businesses destined for the corporate graveyard. 

That’s true of Blockbuster and Kodak and Toys R Us, Allen tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, and that’s also true of small businesses and professional practices. To learn just how you can stay ahead, hear what Allen has to say on this week’s Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: Allen Adamson, Metaforce
Posted: February 12, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 39 minutes 38 seconds

For most businesses, routine meetings are mind-numbing experiences that are a black hole of time, energy, and motivation.

Dick and Emily Axelrod, co-founders of The Axelrod Group and authors of Let’s Stop Meeting Like This, advise companies such as Coca Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Boeing, and General Electric, how to transform business meetings into enjoyable, productive, collaborative experiences where meaningful work gets done, better decisions are made, and managers and employees together bring about organizational change.

Hear what Dick and Emily have to tell reputation coach and host Dean Rotbart this week – including their recommendation that attendance at all business meetings be strictly voluntary – then schedule your own staff meeting to share your newfound wisdom.

Photo: Emily and Dick Axelrod, The Axelrod Group
Posted: February 5, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 41 minutes 31 seconds

In the business world, there is leadership, and then there is high-stakes leadership. The skills required to be a good leader day-to-day do not always stand up in a crisis, where an extra dose of courage, judgment, and fortitude is required.

Constance Dierickx, founder of CD Consulting Group, is a crisis leadership consultant; coaching executives at companies including AT&T, IBM, and AAA on the mindset and actions that the best leaders take to guide their companies through the most turbulent of times.

Constance, aka “The Decision Doctor,” has crammed a lifetime of experience and coaching into her new book, High-Stakes Leadership, and on this week’s episode of Monday Morning Radio she shares with us her formula for helping business owners make tough decisions, take decisive stands, and kick aside convention in a crisis.

When the going gets tough, Constance teaches the best CEOs and owners how to get going.

Join host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart as he and Constance explore what it takes to be a High-Stakes Leader.

Photo: Constance Dierickx, CD Consulting Group
Posted: January 29, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 39 minutes 24 seconds

Not since John Chapman introduced apple trees to large swaths of the U.S. and Canada – earning the nickname Johnny Appleseed –  has one man on his own done so much to introduce a thriving agriculture industry to North America.

Indeed, Jim Henry may well go down in history as Jim Oliveseed, because he single-handedly can claim credit for seeding the commercial olive industry in the United States – and Texas, in particular.

Jim is the owner and founder of Texas Olive Ranch, which was the first U.S. commercial producer of high quality olive oils and today struggles to keep up with demand for its growing line of products.

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart shares the unique tale of the Texas Olive Ranch with all due credit to Wizard Academy graduate, Lem Lewis, aka The Ranch Broker, who conducted the interview.

This is an abridged version of Lem’s interview with Jim Henry. To hear the full interview, visit http://www.ranchcast.com/.

Photo: Jim Henry, Texas Olive Ranch
Posted: January 22, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 29 minutes 02 seconds

When Dennis Kneale publishes a scoop, smart business people sit up and pay attention.

Dennis’s blue-chip media credentials include influential positions at Fox Business, CNBC, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal.

Writing earlier this month for the prestigious Op-Ed page of The Wall Street Journal, Dennis issued a warning that when it comes to product liability, the nationwide Opioid Crisis could very well dwarf the sum total of all cancer claims against Big Tobacco .

And it’s not just the giant Fortune 500 companies whose behinds are on the line. Even small businesses that simply provide health insurance might be libel if their employees get addicted to Opioids – or worse, overdose on them.

Dennis Kneale joins host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart with a clear message for listeners: If you’re in business and you’re not already closely monitoring the Opioid crisis, you need to be.

Photo: Dennis Kneale, Dennis Kneale Media
Posted: January 15, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 23 minutes 23 seconds

This week’s guest, Rick Snyder, was living and working successfully in Oregon as a coach to international businesses, when just shy of three years ago a persistent, deep, voice inside told him he really ought to get out of the American bubble and move to the South of France. So that’s exactly what he did.

That wasn’t odd for Rick, who teaches global business owners and entrepreneurs to listen closely to the instinctive voice we all have inside of us, and act more frequently on our sixth, intuitive sense.

Rick is the lead coach and founder of the business consulting firm Three Hats, and he’s in the process of writing a book – The Invisible Edge: Six Steps for Harnessing Your Intuition – all about using intuition as a business North Star.

Honing and trusting your intuition is not the stuff they teach in Business School, but as Rick is quick to point out, increasingly some of the most-successful and respected companies in America – including Zappos, Apple, and Google – are tapping into mindfulness, intuition, and similar alternative approaches for strategizing and planning.

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart says that his instinct tells him that some listeners will dismiss Rick and his reliance on instinct as nonsense. But Dean notes that Rick’s perspective is fresh and it is compelling.  Moreover, it’s worked well for him and many of his clients. 

So listen to this edition of Monday Morning Radio, and trust your own good sense to decide whether or not following Rick’s advice is right for you.

Photo: Rick Snyder, Three Hats
Posted: January 8, 2018
Monday Morning Run Time: 43 minutes 13 seconds

Journey with us as we revisit the 10 most popular podcasts of the year – with stops including the North Carolina truffle miner; the entrepreneurial coach…to 5-year-olds; the business lessons of the Chicago Cubs’ World Series victory; the quote book that will inspire and energize you; and the little free wedding chapel that could.

Which was your favorite episode?

Guest Host: Maxwell Rotbart

The 2017 countdown is hosted by entrepreneur and radio veteran Maxwell Rotbart, who for three years hosted a weekly half-hour public affairs program on 990 KRKS AM Radio in Denver. Maxwell, 25-years-old, is the son of Monday Morning Radio founder and executive producer, Dean Rotbart.

Launched in June 2012, Monday Morning Radio was downloaded more than 350,000 times in 2017.  Hear highlights from the Top 10 episodes of year, or click on the links below and re-listen to the entire episode. 

Photo: Maxwell Rotbart, Guest Host
Posted: January 1, 2018

“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare wrote. But what happens when you find yourself on the “stage” – whether it’s a business meeting, a news conference, an elevator full of colleagues, or even a platform such as Twitter – and no one has handed you a script?

In her new book, Impromptu: Leading in the Moment, Judith Humphrey teaches business leaders, owners, and entrepreneurs how to prepare to speak spontaneously and win over their audiences. But can she talk the talk? 

Host and Reputation Coach Dean Rotbart, a one-time Colorado state high school extemporaneous speakers champ, puts Judith to the test this week, as he probes her ability to ad-lib answers to some of his toughest questions.

Photo: Judith Humphrey, Impromptu
Posted: December 25, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 33 minutes 18 seconds 

In his new book, When to Jump, Mike Lewis profiles 44* men and women who enjoyed successful careers in one field, and then made the leap to something entirely different. 

There is the journalist who enlisted in the marines; the public relations executive who became a Bishop in the Episcopal Church; the commercial banker who became a brewery owner – and Mike Lewis, himself, a rising star at Bain Capital, who at age 24 walked away to pursue his dream of being a professional squash player.

Mike says that jumping is more about the pursuit of your life’s dream career, than necessarily achieving it. As he confesses to host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, his squash dreams didn’t pan out as he’d hoped, but they did lead him to a new career as founder and CEO of When to Jump, a global community of like-minded individuals who share their stories, attend events, take courses, and pursue a variety of other learning opportunities.

On this week’s Monday Morning Radio, Mike details how and when to “Jump.” 

*The 45th Jumper who appears in Mike’s book is Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who jumped from government to Google, before landing happily at a startup run by then 23-year-old Mark Zuckerberg. Sheryl, who writes the book’s preface and has been the keynote at Mike’s When to Jump conferences, is Mike’s second cousin.

Photo: Mike Lewis, When to Jump
Posted: December 18, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 42 minutes 28 seconds 

Although blockchain is hard for many people to understand, there is zero doubt that blockchain is poised to revolutionize global commerce and digital privacy on an order of magnitude comparable to the transformation brought about by the introduction and growth of the Internet itself.

Hundreds of billions of dollars will be made by the fortunate few who can unlock blockchain’s complexities and act accordingly.

This week on Monday Morning Radio, Chris Boscolo, founder of lifeID provides a Master Class on the blockchain juggernaut.  Moreover, Chris spells out how lifeID plans to replace all of our passwords, paper IDs, and even physical keys with its new blockchain-enabled smartphone application. 

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, who admits to being a blockchain neophyte, has got the scoop.

Photo: Chris Boscolo, lifeID
Posted: December 11, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 58 minutes 57 seconds 

The final days of 2017 are ticking down and smart business owners and professionals are once angling for any legal strategy they can uncover to cut their tax bill before the ball again drops in Times Square on New Year’s eve.

Rob Eagleston, who along with his brother John, runs Eagleston Financial Group in Mesa, AZ, is both hunting for great ideas to use for their own successful financial planning agency, and dispensing some of the best ideas that Rob has accumulated during his 18-plus-year career serving entrepreneurial clients.

Rob shares his common-sense approach to year-end business tax strategy with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, a fellow entrepreneur, beginning with the first thing every business owner and professional absolutely must do, if they haven’t already. Rob’s advice isn’t flashy or revolutionary. It is, however, bankable.

Photo: Rob Eagleston, Eagleston Financial Group
Posted: December 4, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 19 minutes 34 seconds 

This week’s special guest – award-winning journalist Elisabeth Leamy, may know more than anyone else in America about helping people and organizations locate and capture unclaimed money – funds due them from a variety of governmental, banking, insurance, and other organizations. Even refunds for unclaimed gift certificates and gift cards may be there – just waiting for you to ask for your money back.

Many listeners will know Elisabeth from her on-air work for the Dr. Oz Show and Good Morning America. She also writes regular columns in The Washington Post and is the author of two engaging books – The Savvy Consumer and Save Big.

This past June, Elisabeth joined the podcasting universe, launching her own weekly program – Easy Money with Elisabeth Leamy. Her podcast teaches listeners not only how to find unclaimed money – but also how to earn more money and how to save money. You can find Easy Money at EasyMoneyShow.com or subscribe to it for free from the iTunes store.

Before Monday Morning Radio host Dean Rotbart even spoke to Elisabeth, she found seven different accounts, including ones at Sprint, Charles Schwab, and Citibank, that have money on hold for Dean. Granted, he won’t be able to retire on those recoupable funds. But he should be able to purchase some extra special holiday gifts for his family and friends this year.

Elisabeth estimates it will take Monday Morning Radio listeners less than five minutes to discover what is – or is not – owed to them. Discover all the details on this week’s episode.

Photo: Elisabeth Leamy, Easy Money with Elisabeth Leamy
Posted: November 27, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 35 minutes 07 seconds 

Scott Mautz learned how to motivate employees and managers at Procter & Gamble, where he ran several of the giant’s largest multi-billion dollar businesses. Now, as CEO of his own company, Profound Performance, he helps owners and leaders transform their organizational culture.

In his new book, Find the Fire: Ignite Your Inspiration and Make Work Exciting Again, Scott pinpoints nine forces that block business and personal success.

This week, Scott reveals to host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart exactly how to disintegrate the most common obstacles that stand between us and living and working an inspired life. 

Photo: Scott Mautz, Profound Performance
Posted: November 20, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 42 minutes 21 seconds 

If you could cross the late, great, sales coach Zig Ziglar – a master of face-to-face relationship selling and networking – with Gary Vaynerchuk, the digital marketing and social-media pioneer – what you’d get would think and act an awful lot like David J.P. Fisher. 

David, who everyone calls “D. Fish,” is an expert on the convergence of old-school sales skills and 21st Century e-commerce. His “hyper-connected” approach to sales allows businesses and entrepreneurs to succeed by building and leveraging their networks and personal influence.

Fish combines nuanced strategy and real-world tactics to guide individuals and organizations as they navigate and leverage the evolving landscape of sales.

As he tells Monday Morning Radio host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, D. Fish’s home office overlooks a vast cemetery in Evanston, IL. His view serves as a potent daily reminder of what happens to companies that fail to keep up with the times.

MONDAY MORNING RADIO BONUS: To download a free copy of D Fish’s 19 Ways to Immediately Skyrocket Your Sales Network, visit www.DavidJPFisher.com/mondaymorning. 

Photo: David 'D. Fish' Fisher, Hyper-Connected Selling
Posted: November 6, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 40 minutes 27 seconds 

Filmmaker Graham Meriwether is hoping his newest documentary, Farmers for America, four years in the making, will help inspire a new, younger, generation of farmers to replace the rapidly aging population of growers. The film, narrated by TV star Mike Rowe, had its national premier last week.

Rather than distribute Farmers for America the conventional way, Graham is partnering 50-50 with entrepreneurs and others who host local screenings of the film and split ticket sales with him. Already, more than 600 people have signed up be partners.

This week, Graham shares his vision and unique financing strategy with Wizard Academy alumnus Lem Lewis, who along with Monday Morning Radio host Dean Rotbart produce the popular rural business podcast, RANCHCAST with Lem Lewis. Rotbart says he may be a hayseed when it comes to farming, but even a yokel can see that farmers and city dwellers alike can harvest some organic business insights from Graham Meriwether.

Photo: Graham Meriwether, Farmers for America
Posted: October 30, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 35 minutes 43 seconds 

Will Wise isn’t a journalist, although host and veteran editor Dean Rotbart swears he’d make one fine correspondent. That’s because Wise has mastered the art of asking insightful questions – those designed to reveal truths that often go unspoken.

Wise uses his ample probative skills to help companies - including GE, JetBlue, and Mead – transform their workplaces, by creating authentic connections and building trust with employees through well-thought dialogue.

Ten years in the making, Wise just published his first book, Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations that Matter, which not only covers how to ask the right questions, but how to listen to the answers, and what to do with them. 

He and Rotbart cross-examine one another in a battle of the inquisitors on this week’s Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: Will Wise, Ask Powerful Questions
Posted: October 23, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 43 minutes 30 seconds 

This week’s guest, Daniel Burrus is a time-traveler of sorts. He regularly journeys to our collective future and returns with recommendations for companies large and small on how to prepare for what’s to come. 

Having previously written six New York Times bestsellers, including Flash Foresight, Daniel has just published The Anticipatory Organization, a book that teaches we business owners and entrepreneurs how to accurately forecast and shape our  future.

So strap in, as Daniel brings host Dean Rotbart and listeners along for a trip in his time machine, and provides all of us with strategies we can put to work in our businesses today to ensure success tomorrow.

Photo: Daniel Burrus, The Anticipatory Organization
Posted: October 16, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 31 minutes 43 seconds 

Fear and perfectionism – not laziness – are two of the leading causes of procrastination. Overcome those two obstacles, and you’ll be amazed at how all of those projects, decisions, and chores you’ve been putting off will quickly get checked off your to-do list.

Eric M. Twiggs is the Anti-Procrastinator.

Author of “The Discipline of Now: 12 Practical Principles to Overcome Procrastination,” Eric has coached more than 28,000 clients on methods to overcome their procrastination habits and unleash their full potential.

This week host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart put the challenge to Eric to share with listeners some specific steps they can take - right now, to stop procrastinating, and Eric did just that. You’ll find his valuable advice when you click on this week’s edition of Monday Morning Radio. What are you waiting for?

Photo: Eric M. Twiggs, The Discipline of Now
Posted: October 9, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 38 minutes 27 seconds 

This is Dean Rotbart, host of Monday Morning Radio and a proud supporter of Chapel Dulcinea at Wizard Academy.

On a recent podcast, we explored the tale of Chapel Dulcinea, the world’s first and most popular free wedding chapel. Launched in 2005 by Wizard Academy co-founders Pennie and Roy H. Williams, the magical venue now plays hosts to more than 1,000 new unions each and every year.  That’s 1,000 couples, many of them with not a dime to their name, who can secure a gorgeous wedding chapel for not a penny.

My wife Talya and I, who were married in 1984 in the chambers of a criminal court judge in Dallas, have pledged our support to keep Chapel Dulcinea solvent for years to come.  You can become a Dulcinea Darling for as little as $5 a month – a bargain price to be part of a newlywed couple’s lives forever.

To join Talya and me as Dulcinea Darlings – and to learn more about the wonder and magic of a dream wedding chapel -- visit FreeWeddingChapel.org, and scroll down the page until you see the icon for Dulcinea Darlings. That’s FreeWeddingChapel.org – and Dulcinea Darlings.

Sometimes the best business stories are UnBusiness stories.

The tale of Chapel Dulcinea is one of those, the world’s first and most popular free wedding chapel – launched in 2005 by Wizard Academy co-founders Pennie and Roy H. William – and playing host to more than 1,000 new unions each and every year.

Pennie and Roy, who were married with hardly a dime to their name in 1976, envisioned Chapel Dulcinea as a sanctuary to help cash-strapped couples take their vows and first steps forward as a married couple.

This week, host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart joins Pennie and Roy on a special edition of Monday Morning Radio, to share the wonder and magic of a dream wedding chapel come true. What’s your UnBusiness dream?

[To contribute as little as $5 a month to help defray the cost of keeping Chapel Dulcinea free, click here.]

Photo: Pennie and Roy H. Williams - 1976
Posted: October 2, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 36 minutes 43 seconds 

Since its humble beginnings in 1981 as a small storefront in Astoria, Queens, New Yorker Bagels has grown into the universe’s largest baker of fresh, crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside Sesame, Poppy, Cinnamon Raisin, and Pumpernickel bagels, among other popular varieties.

Stephanos Evangelinos, president and COO, and his crew already produce one out of every two bagels consumed daily in the greater New York area. Now, as Stephanos and his masterful digital strategist Rob Kenney tell our bagel-loving host Dean Rotbart, New Yorker Bagels is expanding its distribution nationwide, offering fresh next-day delivery direct to consumers everywhere.

The story of how New Yorker Bagels overcame the incredible odds and obstacles, and how it now plans to spread its bagels nationwide, is one worth chewing on, right now, along with your favorite hot morning beverage and, of course, a healthy schmear of cream cheese.

Posted: September 25, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 32 minutes 46 seconds 

Mark Nation has developed and managed businesses in five diverse industries for companies including SAP, Oracle, and UNUM. Doing so, led him to conclude that the vast majority of people have the innate talent to live amazing personal and professional lives, but don’t know how to identify and release their unique abilities.

Mark, a former Ironman triathlete and founder of Nation Leadership, has made it his mission as an executive coach, speaker, and author to help people transform their lives from ordinary to superlative.

On this episode featuring host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, Mark will be previewing some of the best insights gleaned from his forthcoming book, Made for Amazing – due out in late October. The book is an inspiring self-help parable designed to motivate each of us to see our own, deeper meaning in life, and reach our fullest potential.

Mark believes each of us has a voice – an internal song – that we need to nurture and share with the world.

This week … a podcast version of Name That Tune – Your Personal Song, featuring Mark Nation and Made for Amazing.

Photo: Mark Nation, Made for Amazing
Posted: September 18, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 36 minutes 32 seconds 

From his home in Houston, Wizard of Ads Gulf Coast partner, Charlie Moger, witnessed some of the worst – and best – of Hurricane Harvey.

As the rising waters came within two inches of his home, Charlie took to Facebook and Facebook Live to keep friends, family, neighbors, and complete strangers current on the unfolding story.

Charlie’s on-the-scene reports were informative and magnetic, as he spoke from the heart in ways that made Hurricane Harvey more relatable. 

Last week, still unable to drive off his property, Charlie took time out to share his personal story with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, and to talk about how businesses – big and small – stepped up AND failed to step up when they were needed most.

Photo: Charlie Moger, MogerMedia.com
Posted: September 11, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 49 minutes 45 seconds 

An English aristocrat, a French nobleman, and a future President of the United States were all players during one of the greatest boom-and-bust periods in American history.

Long before Silicon Valley, rollercoaster real estate speculation, and even the American industrial revolution, the cattle barons and cowboys of Wyoming and the Old West, including Teddy Roosevelt, were engaged in an investment mania that rivals any the world has witnessed before or since.

This week on Monday Morning Radio, host Dean Rotbart and Wizard Academy alumnus Lem Lewis, aka The Ranch Broker, jointly interview Christopher Knowlton, a former Fortune magazine staff writer and London bureau chief, about his new book, Cattle Kingdom, detailing the hidden history of the cowboy west.

Saddle up for some eye-opening, mind-boggling insights as to how today’s entrepreneurial stage was set way back in the 1870s.  

Photo: Christopher Knowlton, Cattle Kingdom
Posted: September 4, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 37 minutes 06 seconds 

You can pick up your copy of Christopher Knowlton’s captivating book, Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West, from our exclusive Monday Morning Radio book club.

Travel back in time to an era when Cattle Barons and Cowboys ruled the open range and Cheyenne, Wyoming played host to some of the world’s richest speculators. 

Discover why Cowboys, in their own right, were the forefathers of the American entrepreneur and the pursuit of individual freedom and economic opportunity.

Visit http://amzn.to/2vz5dUV.  

When you purchase your book using this URL, you help sustain Monday Morning Radio as a free podcast. 

This week’s episode is dedicated to Max Rotbart, of blessed memory, founder of Max’s Mobile Market: May 3, 1924 – September 4, 1982.

Last week, in a publicity stunt ripped from the pages of host Dean Rotbart’s Wizard Academy Buzz Snatching course, KIND Healthy Snacks dumped 45,485 pounds of sugar right in the heart of New York’s Times Square.

The audacious move won instant global recognition for the company’s new line of no-added-sugar fruit snacks by highlighting the mountain of sugar (20-feet tall and 30-feet wide) that America’s kids consume every five minutes.

This week on Monday Morning Radio, KIND’s Drew Nannis, vice president of integrated communication, shares the details of his company’s elaborate planning, as well as his #1 recommendation for other companies – big or small – considering similar buzz snatching events.

Photo: Drew Nannis, KIND Healthy Snacks
Posted: August 28, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 31 minutes 15 seconds 

82-year-old Kendrick Mercer is a 21st century philosopher who, in the spirit of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, has spent his life in the pursuit of truth. 

Kendrick lives, works, and writes from his home on Wahsumka Island on Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho. Despite the fact that the island has no roads or motor vehicles and is only accessible by boat, corporate CEOS, business owners, politicians and professionals of all variety regularly make the pilgrimage to Kendrick’s scenic home, Stonehaven Cottage, to seek his wise counsel.

Kendrick’s core philosophy centers on what he describes as Whole Self, an instinctive human talent that evolution has chiseled over billions of years into our DNA; but one that most people have lost touch with.

This week, host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart treks to Stonehaven Cottage to talk with Kendrick about his life, human history, his new book titled Whole Self, and what the world might look like if only more people would join Kendrick in his search for truth. You can begin your own pursuit of truth right now at MondayMorningRadio.com.

Over the past three decades Al Zdenek, CEO of Traust Sollus Wealth Management in Manhattan, has honed an approach to managing money that helps those business owners on the brink of financial collapse bounce back – and those with lots of money already in the bank grow it richly.

Apropos a financial wizard, Al is the creator of “The Wealth Building Formula,” an approach to successful money management that he spells out in his Amazon bestselling book, Master Your Cash Flow.

This week, Al brings Monday Morning Radio listeners into his inner sanctum to reveal the magic-like steps that every business owner can take to grow and retain their wealth. Best of all, it’s free.

Photo: Albert J. Zdenek, Jr., Traust Sollus Wealth Management
Posted: August 14, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 34 minutes 47 seconds 

You can pick up your copy of Al Zenek’s Amazon bestseller, Master Your Cash Flow, from our exclusive Monday Morning Radio Book Club:

You’ll discover the key to grow and retain your wealth in this sophisticated, yet easy-to-read and understand volume.

Visit tinyurl.com/BestBizBooks060 or see the link on our MondayMorningRadio.com site.  When you purchase your book using this URL, you help sustain Monday Morning Radio as a free podcast.

One of Ray Bard’s favorite quotes in Fired Up! Selling, his compilation of great quotes out today (Monday, August 7th), comes from comedian Steve Martin: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

Which, says host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, is an apt description of every book that Ray and his Bard Press publishing house produce, including bestsellers The ONE Thing; The Little Book of Selling; and, of course, The Wizard of Ads Trilogy, by Roy H. Williams.

In asking more than 1,200 quotes judges to help him select the 324 quotes used in Fired Up! Selling, Ray’s intention was to inspire, energize, and help salespeople succeed. But as Rotbart and Ray demonstrate on this week’s special edition of Monday Morning Radio, Fired Up! Selling is overflowing with wise words to motivate us all.

To order your copy of Fired Up! Selling right now, visit www.TinyUrl.com/RayBard.

Photo: Ray Bard, Fired Up! Selling 
Posted: August 7, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 42 minutes 42 seconds 

Corey Poirier is a big talker.

In fact, by his reckoning, he has given more than 2,000 speeches before a total of more than 200,000 attendees during his career as an award-winning keynote speaker, author, radio host, and speech coach.

Corey specializes in helping business owners and entrepreneurs leverage speeches to grow their companies, brands, and income.   

 This week Corey takes Monday Morning Radio listeners behind the podium to reveal his tricks of the trade.

Corey and host Dean Rotbart will cover Corey’s formula for securing and delivering a world-class TEDx talk; Corey’s storytelling strategy designed specifically for entrepreneurs and business owners; and how even those leaders who aren’t natural-born speakers can learn to hone the craft and wow their audiences.

Corey tells Dean that one of the secrets of being a great speaker is to be a great listener. Well, this week’s podcast is your opportunity to begin testing out your listening skills.

Photo: Corey Poirier 
Posted: July 31, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 39 minutes 36 seconds 

Forty-five years ago, comedian George Carlin immortalized seven words too profane for the broadcast airways. When you heard them, you knew exactly why the government banned them.

By contrast, the eleven words that are the focus of The Woman’s Book of Dirty Words, by businesswoman Mary Fran Bontempo, seem perfectly innocuous on the surface, including: vacation, dinner, holidays, adventure, and change.

Yet Mary Fran’s premise is that some everyday words, such as these, carry a powerful emotional load – especially for middle-age women like her – that marketers, journalists, and middle-age women themselves seldom recognize as being explosive – but most definitely are.

Host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart says not everyone will agree with Mary Fran’s list of dirty words – but her book is an important reminder of the care that all wordsmiths must take in realizing that what they write and speak may be skewed by the prisms of age, gender, race, nationality, and life experience.

Photo: Mary Fran Bontempo, The Woman's Book of Dirty Words 
Posted: July 24, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 40 minutes 46 seconds 

Last night – Sunday, July 16th – was the Season 7 premiere of HBO’s smash hit, Game of Thrones, which consistently averages more than 23 million viewers per episode.

One byproduct of the show’s huge popularity is that it has ignited global demand for genuine Viking and medieval collectibles.

This week, on a special double-header edition, host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart showcases two businesses that have ridden the Game of Thrones coattails to phenomenal success.

First, Dean interviews Bob Dodge, co-founder of Artemis Gallery, a leading U.S. auction house selling Viking artifacts and jewelry; and then Dean sets sail on an entrepreneurial voyage of discovery with http://www.artemisgallery.com/, a senior executive with LiveAuctioneers.com, which runs live auctions in 47 countries worldwide and has hard data on just how “hot” the Viking collectibles market is right now.

This week, on a special holiday-weekend edition of Monday Morning Radio, host Dean Rotbart interviews Richard G. “Rick” Ross, founder and owner of GALERIE Candy & Gifts. GALERIE is known the world over for creating highly original, trendy novelties and gifts around candies, including collector’s items, interactive toys, plush characters, and the like.

Rick’s company also produces and distributes branded treats for Hershey, Disney, Warner Brothers, Marvel – and tons of popular movies, including Star Wars, Despicable Me, Minions, and Trolls.

The interview is a reunion of sorts for Dean and Rick, who first met back in 1981 – when Rick was a 19-year-old jelly bean entrepreneur and Dean, then 24, was a cub reporter working for The Wall Street Journal in its Cleveland bureau. 

That year, Dean actually profiled Rick on the front page of the Journal, a distinction that few small business owners will ever be lucky or successful enough to merit.

Rick, now 56, is in the Candy Hall of Fame. 

This week, Rick not only catches up with Dean, he shares his storybook journey from teen tycoon to candy industry senior statesman, and talks about the pluses and minuses of achieving success and recognition at such an early age.

Fittingly, Rick’s mother, Helen, makes a cameo on the podcast, as it was Rick’s mother who really launched him on his path to success.

Photo: Richard G. "Rick" Ross, GALERIE 
Posted: July 3, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 38 minutes 40 seconds 

Renee Lopez spent 14 years coaching college soccer, turning around losing teams, recruiting all-conference talent, and being named by her peers in the NCAA, Coach of the Year. 

These days, Renee is coaching teams of business owners, entrepreneurs, and their employees on the art of winning, leadership development, and recruiting all-American workplace talent.

Renee, head of Renee Lopez Coaching, says that the competitive fields of college athletics and Corporate America have more in common than most people realize. 

This week on Monday Morning Radio, Renee shares her insights with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart on ways to properly set business goals and score them.

[One difference between soccer and business that Dean is quick to point out – and Renee readily concedes, is that in business you don’t get to kick your rivals in the shins, as satisfying as that can be.]

Photo: Renee Lopez, RL Academy 
Posted: June 26, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 36 minutes 17 seconds 

This week’s guest, Dr. Cristal Glangchai, is a successful entrepreneur and educator, who runs the Austin-based nonprofit, VentureLab. Beginning at the tender age of five, VentureLab teaches students to think like entrepreneurs – by anticipating needs, innovating, creating, and taking calculated risks.

VentureLab, which Dr. Glangchai founded and heads, enjoys a nationwide reputation, in particular, for helping students – especially girls – fuel their passion for STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

By putting VentureLab’s courses online for free, Dr. Glangchai is on track to have three out of every four high school students in America complete at least one of her classes before they graduate.

Dr. Glangchai tells host Dean Rotbart, her “graduates” will be well positioned to be the innovators and builders of our future.

Photo: Dr. Cristal Glangchai, VentureLab 
Posted: June 19, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 38 minutes 53 seconds 

Daniel DiPiazza is a successful, 29-year-old entrepreneur, who has built a massive, cult-like social networking following by advising other 20 and 30-somethings how to escape average jobs and become self-directed entrepreneurs.

Daniel’s website and freshly minted book are titled Rich20Something.

But this week, in a surprising interview with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, Daniel reveals that his advice actually is not aimed exclusively at those born after 1977.

Instead, Daniel sees all of us who own or operate businesses in 2017 as being part of the millennial generation – because, he contends, it is the tools, ideas, and philosophies of the millennial generation that are currently disrupting the business world.

[Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) is 33; Evan Spiegel (Snap) is 27; Kevin Systrom (Instagram) is 33; and Brian Chesky (Airbnb) is 35.]

“Millennial,” Daniel says, is a frame of mind, not a birthdate. How old is your thinking?

Photo: Daniel DiPiazza, Rich20Something.com 
Posted: June 12, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 34 minutes 54 seconds 

Do you own a business or a job? Perhaps, all you really own is an expensive hobby.

David C. Barnett, an expert on business valuations and how to buy or sell small businesses, meets with many small business owners who are disappointed to learn that their companies have zero market value without them.

To own a genuine business, David tells host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart, you must have systems, procedures, and processes in place that aren’t reliant on any single individual. 

[Visit David's website at www.HowToSellMyOwnBusiness.com]

If one day you plan to sell your business, or you would like to transform your business from one wholly reliant on you to one that will attract serious buyers, you’ll want to hear what David has to say on this week’s Monday Morning Radio.

Photo: David C. Barnett, www.HowToSellMyOwnBusiness.com
Posted: June 5, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 41 minutes 52 seconds 

One of the best untold stories in Silicon Valley has been how Mark Zuckerberg and his talented team of associates, built Facebook from the successful started up depicted in the book – Accidental Billionaire – and its movie version – The Social Network, into the globally dominant corporation that Facebook is today, with more than 2 billion users.

That coming of age story, following Facebook from its IPO to becoming a $300 billion-plus powerhouse, is chronicled in Becoming Facebook, a riveting new book by this week’s guest, Mike Hoefflinger.

From 2008 to 2015, Mike worked in the upper-most echelons of Facebook, not only with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, but with other legendary Facebook visionaries including: Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer, and People Vice President Lori Goler.

Becoming Facebook, Mike’s first book, does much more than give readers a seat at the table inside of Facebook.

Subtitled, The 10 Challenges That Defined the Company That’s Disrupting the World, the book takes a big step back to ask – and answer – the question: What it is that has made Facebook such a huge success – and what lessons can everyone in business draw from the Facebook formula.

Mike Hoefflinger now services as entrepreneur-in-residence at XSeed Capital, a Silicon Valley seed stage venture capital fund. His job now, in part, is to try and spot the next Facebook, and the ones after that.

Beyond sharing with host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart his Facebook experience, Mike reveals where he’s looking for the next big breakout company and technology. 

Photo: Mike Hoefflinger, Becoming Facebook
Posted: May 29, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 37 minutes 32 seconds 

This week's episode of Monday Morning Radio is ripped from this month's business headlines. It will be of special interest to listeners who own or operate online businesses.

Our guest is Tom Kemp, CEO and co-founder of Centrify, one of the fastest growing security vendors in the industry, serving more than 5,000 customers, including a majority of the Fortune 50.

Initially, our plan was to speak Tom about data breaches - such as those that hit Yahoo and Target. These much-publicized cyber attacks are becoming more frequent, more costly, and more widespread among all online businesses - big and small.

Then the WannaCry ransomware attack hit, impacting hundreds of thousands of the world’s computers in more than 150 countries. The malware forced some businesses to close while their IT people scrambled to find solutions.

So we expanded the scope of our interview with Tom Kemp to include data breaches and ransomware. - They are, after all, cyber attack first cousins.

Centrify recently commissioned an independent study, conducted by the Ponemon Institute, to gauge the impact of data breaches on companies and their customers. The study is unique in that it incorporates the view of three diverse groups: IT experts; senior level marketing and corporate communication professionals; and consumers.

What Centrify discovered are insights that every CEO and business owner should be aware of: Cyber attacks are never confined to your IT staff. They impact every aspect of your company, including sales, marketing, finances - and for publicly held companies - shareholder value.

Whether you work at  an Inc. 5000 company, a Fortune 50 company, or simply a business that does business with these companies, you need to know how to protect yourself from data breaches and other cyber attacks sure to make you - and your customers - wanna cry.

Lem Lewis, aka The Ranch Broker, steps to the mellifluous Monday Morning Radio microphone this week as guest host.

Lem, who in addition to his duties as a trusted advisor to ranch buyers and sellers, is a certified whiskey sommelier, having earned his credentials from The Whisk(e)y Marketing School – part of Wizard Academy.

For Lem's popular podcast, RANCHCAST with LEM LEWIS, he recently interviewed Dan Garrison proprietor of the award-winning Garrison Brothers Distillery. When Monday Morning Radio host Dean Rotbart heard Lem’s RANCHCAST interview with Dan, Dean told Lem, “I have to share Dan’s story with my Monday Morning Radio listeners.” Lem graciously consented.

Dan’s is a great business and whiskey story.

Headquartered on a ranch in tiny Hye, Texas, Garrison Brothers defied all the naysayers who warned Dan and his loyal crew that quality bourbon was strictly the province of distillers in Kentucky and Tennessee.

First distributed in 2011, Garrison Brothers bourbons have become so popular that like the best Texas barbecue, they regularly are sold out.

In fact, Dan’s bourbons have such a cult-like fan base that his wait list for volunteers to help him inspect, seal and box his spirits has grown to 9,000 names and counting. Dan’s secret: those volunteers who agree to spend two days helping out are rewarded with a shot of “courage” every half hour during the workday.

As you’ll hear, Dan Garrison is overflowing with big-as-Texas swagger and valuable entrepreneurial insights that you’ll want to drink in slowly.

But be forewarned: Dan’s language, like his prize-winning unfiltered and uncut Cowboy Bourbon, is occasionally 137 proof. If four-letter words offend you, you may wish to skip this week’s episode.

Photo: Dan Garrison, Garrison Brothers Distillery
Posted: May 15, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 33 minutes 39 seconds 

This week is exactly ten years since Mark Moore, a 46-year-old multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur, had back-to-back strokes that nearly killed him.

His recovery was arduous and life-changing. When he could walk again, Mark walked away from the business world and now dedicates all his talents and energies to helping other people rebound from some of life’s most debilitating challenges.

Mark is the author of a just-off-the-presses book titled, A Stroke of Faith: A Stroke Survivor’s Story of a Second Chance at Living a Life of Significance.

The book retells the uplifting story of Mark’s recovery and rebirth, and is an inspiration for anyone – not just stroke survivors – who are faced with what may seem like insurmountable obstacles.

Mark is interviewed on this week's program by host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart.

Photo: Mark Moore, A Stroke of Faith
Posted: May 8, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 33 minutes 55 seconds 

How do you take your coffee: cream, sugar, politics?

Like so many other retailers today, the coffee industry - led by giant Starbucks - has made buying a cup of java not just about taste, but also about where you stand on the hot-button issues of our day.

In late 2014, Evan Hafer, a former Green Beret who did tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, saw an opportunity to appeal to fellow military veterans and 2nd Amendment advocates by launching a coffee brand aimed at them: Black Rifle Coffee Company. 

Sure enough, the firearms specialist hit a bullseye. Salt Lake City-based Black Rifle Coffee has seen explosive sales growth and he has pledged to hire 10,000 veterans over the next six years to staff his rapidly expanding mail-order and franchise business. 

This week pistol-toting Hafer joins host and reputation coach Dean Rotbart to talk about coffee beans, veterans, guns, and earning profits in an increasingly politicized marketplace.

Photo: Evan Hafer, Black Rifle Coffee Company
Posted: May 1, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 38 minutes 50 seconds 

Our guest this week, Steven Buchwald, founding partner of Manhattan-based Buchwald & Associates, specializes in helping business startups – and those companies seeking capital infusions – to navigate the legal, regulatory, and operational mine fields that await.

Steven is especially experienced in providing valuable legal counsel to tech startups, advising them on the most appropriate legal structure for their companies; non-disclosure agreements and other tools to protect their intellectual property; employee retention and employee equity agreements; and the best ways to prepare for outside investors – be they venture capitalists, crowdfunders, or your retired Uncle Phil. 

Steven defines a startup – his specialty – more broadly than most people.  Whether you’re just now putting together a business plan or whether you’ve been in business for a decade, if you’re moving in a fresh direction – especially one that entails third-party investors – in Steven’s eyes you’re a startup.

On this week’s episode, Steven and host Dean Rotbart will discuss a range of legal issues that face business startups and he’ll cast a spotlight on common mistakes you’ll want to avoid.

Photo: Steven Buchwald, Buchwald & Associates
Posted: April 24, 2017
Monday Morning Run Time: 35 minutes 51 seconds