『Business Owners Tell All』のカバーアート

Business Owners Tell All

Business Owners Tell All

著者： Jamie Seeker
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On The Seeker Solution Podcast, your host, Jamie Seeker encourages business owners to tell all! They'll share not only their expertise, but their stories and their purpose and what it takes to run a successful business. We cover a wide range of topics – the good and exciting, the challenges and sometimes the ugly. Experiences and lessons learned that our guests have faced along the way. We believe that every person has a unique message which can make a positive impact . We let our guests share on the subjects they’re well-known for. No matter the topic, you’ll be hearing real stories from real people. *This podcast is not affiliated with any other show of the same or similar name. Business Owners Tell All: What It Takes is a project of Seeker Solution, featuring conversations with real business owners.Copyright 2026 Jamie Seeker マネジメント マネジメント・リーダーシップ リーダーシップ 経済学
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  • Reverse the Process: Turning an Industry Problem Into a Business

    Reverse the Process: Turning an Industry Problem Into a Business
    2026/09/03
    In this episode of Business Owners Tell All: What It Takes, Boris Zhukov, Co-Founder and CEO of LetYouKnow®, shares how his background in economics, statistics, and mathematics helped him build a marketplace designed to reverse the traditional buying process.Boris explains that his vision goes beyond simply making car buying more convenient. His goal is to shift transactional power toward consumers, allowing them to research the market, determine what they are willing to pay, and instantly discover whether a seller will accept their offer. Convenience and eliminating negotiation are benefits, but Boris repeatedly emphasizes that they are byproducts of the larger objective: empowering consumers to take control of transactions and save money.The conversation also explores the strategic challenge of getting dealerships to participate in a model that initially appears to compete with their existing sales. Boris explains that LetYouKnow was intentionally structured to provide incremental business rather than replace a dealer's normal sales channels. Dealers establish hidden pricing thresholds that operate automatically, allowing transactions to occur without manually reviewing individual bids. The platform also generates demand data from unsuccessful bids, which businesses can use to evaluate pricing and potential demand.One of the larger strategic themes of the episode is building for expansion from the beginning. Boris says LetYouKnow intentionally started with automotive because of its complexity. By solving for a difficult industry first, the company could create infrastructure capable of expanding into restaurants, hotels, storage, services, and potentially virtually any other industry without continually rebuilding the underlying system.Boris also discusses how the company's strategy has evolved since 2019. One significant lesson came from initially expecting dealerships to actively manage their pricing within the system. He eventually concluded that this was neither feasible nor desirable. Feedback from dealership owners, including some who became shareholders, pushed the company toward creating a hands-free, automated system instead.That feedback also revealed an opportunity Boris had not originally anticipated: the value of unsuccessful bids as demand data. Rather than seeing only completed transactions, businesses could potentially understand transactions they could have had at different price points and use that information to improve pricing decisions.The discussion ultimately moves from process management into leadership. Boris says one of the skills he had to develop was recognizing individual team members' strengths and weaknesses and positioning people accordingly. He credits much of LetYouKnow's evolution to surrounding himself with experienced business owners, shareholders, and advisors who could challenge assumptions and contribute practical expertise.When asked what it really takes to be a business owner, Boris identifies optimism, perseverance, hard work, honest evaluation of progress, and the willingness to keep solving difficult problems. Rather than viewing obstacles as evidence that something is going wrong, he argues that genuinely difficult problems can be evidence that a company has reached the frontier where meaningful innovation happens.Key Episode NotesCore theme: Process Management / StrategyMajor discussion points:Boris's economics, mathematics, and statistics background became foundational to building LetYouKnow's marketplace and matching methodology.His motivation is not simply eliminating an unpleasant dealership experience. He wants consumers to control transactions and get better deals instantly.LetYouKnow's model is designed so businesses establish hidden thresholds rather than manually accepting or rejecting individual bids.Boris views the platform as a source of incremental business, rather than a replacement for a company's existing sales process.Missed bids create valuable demand data by showing businesses transactions that potentially could have occurred at other prices.The long-term vision extends beyond automotive into restaurants, services, hospitality, storage, nonprofits, and other industries.Boris uses opportunity cost as a framework for strategic decision-making and expansion.Starting with automotive was intentional because solving for a complicated industry created infrastructure that could later support simpler industries.A major operational pivot was moving away from expecting dealerships to continually manage their own pricing toward creating a largely hands-free system.Dealer and shareholder feedback became an important source of product and process innovation.Boris learned that leadership requires understanding people's individual strengths and putting them in positions where those strengths can produce the best results.He believes meaningful progress should be measured over longer intervals rather than expecting visible results every day.Difficult ...
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    39 分
  • More Than a Great Pitch: Building a Business That Lasts

    More Than a Great Pitch: Building a Business That Lasts
    2026/08/27
    Matt Kovacs, President of Blaze PR, joins Business Owners Tell All: What It Takes to discuss what happens behind the scenes of building and managing a successful PR agency. Drawing on more than two decades in public relations, Matt explains how Blaze has built processes that provide structure while allowing the team to remain nimble in an industry where the media landscape, technology, and client needs are constantly changing.Matt’s approach to process management starts with communication rather than rigid systems. Blaze uses regular Monday and Thursday team touchpoints, client meetings, timelines, and software to keep campaigns moving, but Matt emphasizes that effective processes also require understanding what team members and clients are experiencing. The agency views itself as a partner and counselor to its clients rather than simply an order taker.One of the central themes of the conversation is the balance between repeatability and adaptability. There are proven PR fundamentals, such as press releases, press kits, and media training, but Matt says those fundamentals must continually evolve. He points to AI as an example: rather than eliminating the need for PR, changes in AI and large language models are creating new considerations around how information is structured, distributed, and discovered. His team therefore has to continually learn while proactively creating new opportunities for clients.Strategy at Blaze begins by understanding the client's actual business objective. Matt's team asks whether the client is seeking investment, preparing for an eventual sale, building its brand, increasing sales, or pursuing another goal. From there, they map PR activity around launches, trade shows, seasonal opportunities, retail initiatives, and other important business moments. The objective is to ensure they aren't simply "doing PR for PR's sake," but connecting PR activity to meaningful business outcomes.Matt also discusses the importance of giving employees genuine ownership. Rather than requiring every idea or process improvement to originate with leadership, Blaze incorporates the experiences and perspectives of its team. Matt describes the company as "all our worlds," rather than his alone, and believes people should feel that their decisions matter.That philosophy has also allowed Matt to move away from being the decision maker for everything. After working together for years, his core team has developed the judgment and confidence to make decisions independently. Instead of focusing only on completing PR tasks or securing individual pieces of coverage, Matt teaches employees to think about each client's business as though it were their own and ask how their work can contribute to the client's larger objectives.The conversation closes with Matt's broader perspective on business ownership. For him, success isn't primarily about finding shortcuts or pursuing growth at all costs. It's built through "all the little things": remembering people's names, treating people well, being direct, doing the work, and investing in relationships. Those lessons trace back in part to his father, a third-grade teacher who emphasized the Golden Rule.Episode Notes & Key TakeawaysBuild structure without eliminating flexibility. Processes should create consistency while leaving room for teams to react to changing circumstances.Communication is part of the process. Blaze uses short, consistent team touchpoints to reset priorities and keep everyone connected.Start strategy with the business objective. Before deciding what tactics to use, understand what the client is actually trying to accomplish.Don't create processes simply because you can. Systems should support the strategy and ultimately affect the business.Create the newness. In a rapidly changing industry, waiting for the next opportunity isn't enough. Matt believes agencies have to continually generate fresh ideas.Give employees decision-making confidence. Matt doesn't believe everything should require his approval. Trust develops when people understand the business, clients, and reasoning behind decisions.Teach people the "why," not simply the task. Blaze encourages team members to understand why their work matters rather than simply completing a checklist.Think beyond transactions. A single PR placement may be useful, but Matt's focus is on long-term brand building, validation, and business impact.Relationships remain foundational. Even as technology changes PR, Matt believes knowing people, remembering details, and treating them well still creates lasting value.There are no sustainable shortcuts. Business ownership requires consistent work and attention to details that can easily be overlooked.Memorable Quotes"The kiss of death of any agency is, 'Well, you didn't do anything new.'"— Matt Kovacs"It's not my world, it's all our worlds."— Matt Kovacs"We want participants, not hostages."— Matt Kovacs, referencing Mike Tomlin"I don't need to sign off on ...
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    20 分
  • The Anti Agency Blueprint for Business Growth

    The Anti Agency Blueprint for Business Growth
    2026/08/20
    Jason Yormark shares how more than 30 years in marketing, including work with major organizations such as Microsoft, ultimately led him to entrepreneurship and the creation of Socialistics. For years, Jason felt like a “square peg in a round hole” professionally and wanted to build something of his own, but the perceived security of a traditional paycheck kept him from making the leap.Rather than abruptly leaving his career, Jason intentionally built a runway. He developed momentum while still employed so that entrepreneurship would be a calculated transition rather than a blind leap. When his final traditional job ended, he committed fully to Socialistics. He credits overcoming fear and committing wholeheartedly as important pieces of eventually building a seven figure business and creating greater freedom in his life.Key Takeaways and Discussion NotesBuild a runway before taking the leap.Jason's approach to entrepreneurship centered on mitigating risk. He didn't believe starting a business had to mean immediately abandoning financial security. He built momentum first, creating a stronger foundation before committing full time.Know what kind of business you actually want to build.From the beginning, Jason wasn't interested in simply maximizing revenue. He wanted a business built around relationships, freedom, culture, and meaningful work. That meant accepting that Socialistics might grow more slowly or remain smaller than an agency focused purely on maximizing revenue.Learn to say no.One of Jason's biggest lessons as a business owner has been learning not to accept every opportunity simply because it generates revenue. Early businesses sometimes have to take work they might later decline, but the goal should be reaching a position where the company can deliberately choose the right clients and relationships.Client retention can matter more than client acquisition.Jason deliberately prioritizes long term client relationships instead of operating a “churn and burn” agency model. His philosophy is that choosing the right work and creating mutually beneficial relationships produces deeper partnerships, stronger culture, and a more fulfilling business.Freedom is a business objective, not just a personal benefit.Freedom is Socialistics' number one core value and central to Jason's definition of success. His team is evaluated on the quality of their work and their commitments rather than where, when, or exactly how long they work. Socialistics doesn't even use traditional time tracking, despite the additional challenges that creates when measuring profitability.Build a company that doesn't depend entirely on the owner.Jason was advised early that if he ever wanted the option of selling his company, the business couldn't depend on him. Finding Joanna, his Director of Operations, allowed him to intentionally remove himself from much of Socialistics' day to day operation.Hire for what can't easily be taught.Rather than concentrating primarily on technical skills, Jason looks for what he calls “untrainable traits,” including communication, emotional intelligence, authenticity, and genuine care for other people. Tools and technology can be taught. Those foundational characteristics are much harder to manufacture.Make employees feel like they're building the company with you.Jason wants team members to feel ownership in the business rather than simply seeing themselves as employees. Profit sharing, compensation, autonomy, and culture all support that philosophy.Eliminate friction wherever possible.Jason describes one of his core business philosophies as eliminating the things that interfere with winning and retaining great customers and great employees. That can mean reconsidering long term contracts, workload expectations, traditional agency practices, and anything else that makes it unnecessarily difficult for people to say yes or remain committed.Don't optimize revenue at the expense of the business you wanted to create.Jason acknowledges that Socialistics could potentially make more money with a higher volume, higher churn model. Instead, he deliberately protects capacity so his team has room to think creatively about existing clients. He's comfortable with a potential $3 million to $5 million ceiling if that allows him and his team to maintain the lives and culture they want.Niche down, and sometimes sub niche even further.Jason sees trying to be everything to everybody as one of today's biggest entrepreneurial mistakes. Socialistics eventually focused specifically on nonprofits, and he argues that newer service businesses may benefit from narrowing even further. Becoming highly specialized helps a company cut through competitive noise and establish itself as an authority.Business planning requires commitment after the decision is made.Choosing a niche or strategic direction isn't enough. Jason stresses that business owners need to stay the course rather than continually abandoning their strategy ...
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    21 分
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