Season 2 | Life on Brand

Episode 19: It Takes a Village to Raise a Successful Business from a Side Hustle with Rachel Martindale from Milk and Honey

by lifeonbrand | Sep 21, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

Can you imagine being bred to be an engineer, but decide to be an entrepreneur by opening a pop-up shop because baking cakes brings you joy?

Today’s guest is Rachel Martindale, founder of Milk and Honey. It’s a custom bakery based out of Ann Arbor. Besides making delicious treats and cakes, a portion of profits are donated to the Ozone House, which supports homeless youth in the community.

Episode Highlights:

2:05 Education and Employment: Bred to be an engineer, but decided to open a bakery.
4:04 Joy of Baking: Do what you love, and quit your day job.
4:40 Word of Mouth: Milk and Honey started and spread by baking creative cakes.
6:14 Food Science: Make savory foods and understand the science behind recipes.
8:16 Story Behind Name: Milk and Honey evokes comfort, joy, and celebration.
12:05 Purpose-driven Pop-Ups: Why, how, and which local nonprofits to support?
15:59 Networking Tips: Reach out, connect with, and ask other businesses to partner up.
20:22 Side Hustle: What you do in the evenings after getting home from your day job.
21:52 Full-time Switch: Can’t sustain always working without enough sleep or time off.
23:09 Life/Work Balance: Make time to spend together, but stay busy.
29:55 Pop-up vs. Storefront: Why choose one over the other? Space and money.
34:00 Pop-up Pro Tips: Food entrepreneurs, it’s a great low-risk opportunity to do.
35:29 Company Culture: Seek supportive boss for flexible schedule and freedom.
39:58 Milk and Honey: Metrics/milestones focused on breaking even, don’t lose money.
43:16 Definition of Success: Do what you love and do it well.
44:45 Perfectionist Tendencies: Be proud of yourself and accept positive feedback.
46:53 Moments of Doubt: Nothing to fall back on financially by switching to full-time.
49:22 Failures: Learn how to interact with people/customers and communicate clearly.
53:05 Easy and Hard Parts: Marketing is easier than expected, but the administrative backend of running a business is tougher.

Links and Resources:

Milk and Honey

Milk and Honey Blog

Milk and Honey on Facebook

Milk and Honey on Instagram

Rachel Martindale’s Email

Rachel Martindale on LinkedIn

Life On Brand Webpage

Call us! 734.219.3827

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Episode 18: Small Giants: Prioritize People and Purpose Over Profit with Hamsa Daher

by lifeonbrand | Sep 14, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

Believe it or not, it is possible to practice being purposeful by prioritizing people over profit. It just takes a community of positive people and business leaders to impact the bottom line.

Today’s guest is Hamsa Daher, Executive Director of Small Giants. The community of businesses that believes doing good is good for business.

Episode Highlights:

2:21 Overview: Small Giants started with a book based on great, not big businesses.
3:47 Ways to identify truly purposeful leaders that connect with Small Giants philosophy.
5:00 Hamsa’s Many Hats: Small but mighty team divides and conquers everything.
7:00 Learning Languages: Left Mango’s practical conversations to expand capabilities.
8:54 Passion for People: Company culture must have clear vision, purpose, and values.
11:30 Baghdad to United States: Inspirational and varying background and upbringing.
14:34 Small Giants Community Summit: Importance of being purposeful.
17:25 Work/Life Balance: Finding right purpose generates positive energy to never stop.
22:33 Change is Good: Reflect by journaling and other ways to live a purposeful career.
27:07 Purposeful Hiring: Companies articulate screening right people to be successful.
29:33 Bottom Line: How can higher purpose potentially be a measurable metric?
31:55 Purpose for People: Purpose-driven business may not resonate with everyone.
37:03 Definition of Success: Good energy, good people, and making an impact.
37:16 Moments of Doubt: Public speaking and speaking about herself.
37:51 Failures: Take time to hire right team members to cultivate culture, align values.
40:06 Easy and Hard Parts: Connecting with and identifying leaders as Small Giants.

Links and Resources:

Small Giants Community

Small Giants Community Summit

Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big (Book by Bo Burlingham)

Small Giants Community Leadership Academy

Mango Languages

Zingerman’s Deli

Huck Finch

Life On Brand Webpage

Call us! 734.219.3827

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Episode 17: Do Good Work through Simultaneous Understanding with Lisa Sauve of Synecdoche Design Studio

by lifeonbrand | Sep 7, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

Every business should follow the mantra: Do Good Work, and people will notice. How? By supporting community projects and partnerships through simultaneous understanding.

Today’s guest is Lisa Sauve, principal at Synecdoche Design Studio in Ann Arbor. Synecdoche is an award winning design-making architecture practice with more than 100 projects that merge the built environment with craft and fabrication. Lisa talks about how the studio applies its vision, mission, and mantra to select projects.

Episode Highlights:

2:15 Story Behind Name: Synecdoche means simultaneous understanding.
4:52 Real World Recession: Best reason to start a business.
8:00 Entrepreneurial Spirit: Soldering circuit boards for software engineer father.
10:11 Back-up Plans? Go back to school, teach what you know, and design lunchroom.
11:07 Side Revenue Success: False starts for six years and signing lease for space.
13:00 Mantra: Do Good Work by supporting community projects and partnerships.
16:25 Vision Statement: Elevate mindset of Great Lakes region as design hub.
16:48 Seed Money: Support community and university grants to start a project.
18:05 Ann Arbor: Great place to start a business, design, and create something new.
20:10 Projects: Say ‘no’ to stick to niche and create badass spaces that work.
20:50 Bottom Line: Ask a lot of business questions to design space and solve problems.
24:34 Perks and Performance Metrics: Design is value, not cost, to survive budget.
27:45 Client Feedback: Authentic brand experience over aesthetics.
29:10 Storytelling and Scenarios: Connect through open and unthreatening spaces.
31:00 Passion for Bathrooms: Red Herring for design shortcuts?
33:02 Inspiration: Materials stand in for scope, scalability, sliding scale/equity structure.
38:35 Synecdoche: Yes, we care. So, you’ll know when you see it.
39:30 Definition of Success: Being able to make an impact.
40:24 Moments of Doubt: What’s my role? Am I working in or on the business?
41:16 Failures/False Starts: Take risks and have no fear when there’s nothing to lose.
43:07 Easy and Hard Parts: Function as alternative practice before license to start.

Links and Resources:

Lisa Suave on LinkedIn

Synecdoche Design Studio
Huck Finch

Life On Brand Webpage

Call us! 734.219.3827

DM on Instagram

Episode 16: Overwhelmed and Saddled with Student Loan Debt with Joseph Gracia from Nickels

by lifeonbrand | Aug 31, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

What may cause the next financial crisis? Student debt. Most of us have some and get stuck paying it off for a long, long time.

Today’s guest is Joseph Gracia, CEO of Nickels, an Ann Arbor-based business focused on reducing borrowers’ student loan default rates. By being a trusted financial guide, Nickels helps them enter the working world and build up their credit profiles, rather than undermine their financial futures.

Episode Highlights:

2:26 Power of Behavioral Science: How energy consumption reports led to Nickels.
5:38 For-Profit Business: 4 steps to successful Software as a Service (SaaS) scalability.
8:56 Student Debt Data: 45 million owe and in default of loans crushes credit score.
10:35 Correlation/Causation: Less you owe, more likely you’ll default on your debt.
11:45 Pitfalls: Nickels is an automated, digital tool that addresses borrowers’ behavior.
13:13 Default Options: Different countries offer different opt-in and opt-out programs.
16:39 Choice Overload: Suspicious activity of who and why do you owe money?
17:22 Identify or Ignore? Six-month grace period, fresh start dates, and student loans.
19:30 Parents Play Role: Whether they initiate student debt or not, who pays the price?
23:00 More Debt, No Problem: Decisions that lead to bigger problems, lack of support.
25:33 Why change name from Principal Interest to Nickels? Trademark protection.
28:15 Educational Ideas and Opportunities: What do you want to do next?
30:43 Guidelines/Guardrails: Checklist for vetting behavioral passion to build business.
33:10 Move to Michigan: Entrepreneur-in-residence experience and midwest kindness.
36:36 Raising Money: Don’t start too early, but validate and do more to gain traction.
38:15 Value of Education: Habits for dealing with purchase and ROI of student debt.
41:57 Debt Hacks: As soon as first loan is dispersed, build relationship with servicer.
46:39 Financial Literacy: Offer specific, timely, personalized recommended actions.
47:48 Success: Changed from higher titles/salaries to expand growth and development.
49:45 Doubt: Unable to convince super smart, successful person what will work in future.
53:12 Lasting Lesson from Failure: Right or wrong, survive rejection of being told ‘no.’
55:00 Easiest/Hardest Parts: Fundraising was fun, but naming business was frustrating.

Links and Resources:

Influence and Other Books by Dr. Robert Cialdini

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Nudge Unit (Behavioral Insights Team)

Against the Rules Podcast with Michael Lewis

100 Days of Rejection Therapy

Failure Games from Noah Kagan

LOB Episode 15: Let’s Make Sauerkraut with Social Capital featuring David Klingenberger of The Brinery

Huck Finch

Life On Brand Webpage

Call us! 734.219.3827

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Episode 15: Let’s Make Sauerkraut with Social Capital featuring David Klingenberger of The Brinery

by lifeonbrand | Aug 24, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

Hungry? Thirsty? As an Ann Arbor business owner, why not provide nourishment for the community with traditionally fermented foods?

Today’s guest is David Klingenberger, founder and chief fermentation officer (CFO) of The Brinery—which processes more than 200,000 pounds of local family farm vegetables yearly to make sauerkraut, hot sauce, tempeh, and kimchi.

Episode Highlights:

3:03 Turn of the Century: Let the farming and fermentation begin!
5:00 Why start The Brinery? Adventurous spirit mixed with agriculture to feed people.
6:05 Social Capital: With less than $1,000 to invest, use power of connections.
11:35 Fermentation: Ancient form of food preservation and evolution of civilization.
13:30 The Brinery’s Tagline: Stimulating your inner economy—what it represents.
17:20 Playing Business: Story behind The Brinery’s catchy jingle that fits brand perfectly.
18:21 Food Entrepreneurship: Fermentation takes time and adds layer of complexity.
19:49 Capital Intensive: 40 barrels in 40 nights and funding from family and friends.
21:10 Go to Market: Hit the ground running to get products ready for larger markets.
26:57 Generalist vs. Specialist: Don’t do too many things at the same time to scale up.
29:35 Lessons Learned: Believe in products and be a proud food artisan to make sales.
35:15 Buyers/Customers: Find fit by managing connections on relationship channels.
37:23 Sideline Businesses: Achieve success with core products and grow vertically.
39:35 Definition of Success: Being happy and healthy in mind, body, and spirit.
42:03 Sense of Humility: Strength of being self-aware and knowing what you don’t know.
44:10 Moments of Self-Doubt: Hold yourself accountable to levels of emotional maturity.
45:55 Lasting Lessons from Failures: Adapt to control products, processes, production.

Links and Resources:

The Brinery

Zingerman’s Deli

Why and How Visioning Works by Ari Weinzweig

Ann Arbor Farmers Market

Chris McCandless (Into the Wild)

Jiro Dreams of Sushi Documentary

Jason Fried of Basecamp

Huck Finch

Life On Brand Webpage

Call us! 734.219.3827

DM on Instagram

Episode 14: Stop Waiting for Someone Else to Change the World with Jeff Sorensen and Jeff Pituch

by lifeonbrand | Aug 17, 2020 | Podcast Episodes, Season 2

When you were in college, what did you spend most of your time doing? Socializing? Stop waiting for someone else to change the world.

Today’s guests are Jeff Sorensen and Jeff Pituch from optiMize, a student-led organization at the University of Michigan. The program supports and funds self-directed student projects that make a positive social impact. Go blue!

Episode Highlights:

2:34 What is optiMize, and why is it unique? Makes the world more just and sustainable.
5:45 Busy Work: Stop waiting for someone else to change the world.
7:15 Risks and Responsibilities: Try early on while you have time, not past your prime.
10:25 Let students define what success looks like, not what society says it should be.
11:03 Basic Education: Learning well-established information is important.
12:35 optiMize Taglines: Why not me? Call to action for inclusivity and social innovation.
17:00 Easy Sell: Students want more out of their education than what they’re getting.
24:48 Entrepreneurial Energy: Dedication and pure luck to work together, not in silos.
31:00 Programmatic Design Perspective: Students understand what students need.
32:31 What entrepreneurial skills lead to success? Persistence and perseverance.
36:05 Self-Awareness Skills: Passion for solving problems from personal experience.
40:25 Tangible Skills: Shameless outreach and communication to talk about ideas.
45:48 Human vs. Artificial Intelligence: Science will solve everything; it knows a lot.
49:21 What role will education play in the future? No grades; co-curricular experience.
57:27 Learn to Adapt: Save yourself or serve others by saving the world?
1:02:00 Success Defined:
- Self-satisfaction and peace of mind knowing that you did your best.
- Reflect on values by focusing on relationships, respect, and responsibility.
1:03:36 Self-Doubt: Able to help without all the answers and still make an impact?
1:06:45 Lasting Lessons from Failures: Don’t panic, and practice what you preach.
1:09:14 Easiest and Hardest Startup Parts:
- Hard to take care of yourself and get money from the university for the students.
- Easy to do purpose-driven work and let others make their own decisions.