John Louizes talks about how to scale your business on this episode of the Learning from Smart People Podcast with Rob Oliver. John is the owner and proprietor of Zeno’s taffy and ice cream shop. It is the world’s most famous taffy. He has expanded from a single store with 3 employees to 9 stores with over 50 employees. A super interesting guy, you will enjoy this interview and learn from it.

Here are some of the main points as John Louizes and Rob Oliver talk about how to scale your business:

· Zeno’s is a family operated business that started in Daytona Beach in 1948
· Having a family run business creates interesting management power dynamics
· Fear is a powerful motivator
· Growth can be a powerful and enjoyable experience
· Lower profit margins from multiple locations can be more profitable than higher profit margins from a single location
· Different generations have different skill sets and visions
· Reactive decisions are generally not good for business
· Identify your constituency and serve them
· Put your website on everything!
· There is no saltwater in saltwater taffy
· Be as creative as possible within your marketplace

You can connect with John Louizes and Zeno’s Taffy through the links below. When you order from the website, be sure to use the code “smart20” to receive your 20% discount.

Website: https://worldsmostfamoustaffy.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FamousTaffy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/famoustaffy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zenoscandy/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlouizes/

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Rob Kessler talks about how to find your niche in business on this episode of the Learning from Smart People Podcast with Rob Oliver. Kessler is the inventor of the Million Dollar Collar. In this episode, he talks about why he invented the collar and shares his entrepreneurial journey. As an entrepreneur, you will relate to some of his experiences and learn from others.

Here are some of the topics covered as Rob Oliver and Rob Kessler talk about how to find your niche in business:

· Necessity is the mother of invention. Kessler loves to wear a dress shirt but not a tie, how can you keep your shirt from crumbling if you don’t wear a tie?
· You can only go so far googling stuff, sometimes you need to consult a professional.
· Even though his Kickstarter did not get funded, he learned from the feedback
· Consumers will tell you what they want to buy, you just need to listen
· There’s a difference between feedback and criticism
· Don’t focus on problems, focus on solutions!
· Do tons of research on your concept
· Your patent can be a source of revenue
· Your passion is what will carry you through
· A great support network is invaluable
· You might need to take a partner whose strengths match your weaknesses
· The innovator and the implementer
· Never underestimate the power of good customer service
· Customer first, team second, company third
· Integrity is a huge part of life
· Part of integrity is putting out a super quality product
· You can harness the power of influencers
· Kessler thinks that NDAs can be fairly useless
· It’s hard to get investors when you just have a concept

You can learn more about Rob Kessler and Million Dollar Collar through the links below:

Website: http://MillionDollarCollar.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/milliondollarcollar
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/milliondollarcollar
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robkessleriii

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You will learn how to become more strategic in your marketing from Drew Donaldson during this episode of the Learning from Smart People Podcast with Rob Oliver. Drew is a strategist, coach and consultant. His company, GroHaus, helps businesses become competent, strategic, and efficient in their marketing. He is also part of an organization that protects children from online threats. If you are looking for insights into how to improve your marketing, this is the episode for you.

Here are some of the topics covered as Rob Oliver interviews Drew Donaldson about how to become more strategic in your marketing:

· Rob gets some high praise about the name of the podcast
· Watching his parents who were small business owners, he saw the struggles of growing your business
· Being a problem fixer involves showing people what they are doing wrong (in a nice and kind way!)
· Being in a greenhouse doesn’t guarantee growth, there are many other variables to consider
· Nurturing a business in the same way you nurture a plant promotes growth
· It’s important to be prepared for the difficulties you know are coming
· The first step to success is “idea validation”
· Avoid some common mistakes when validating ideas
· The biggest influence in Drew’s business life was his mentor
· There are good “mind games” to play that will give you clarity
· There is a fine line between a dream crusher and a realist
· Lacking an open-minded attitude is one key to failure
· It pays to play the “What About…” Game
· Your ability to take criticism is directly related to your success
· All criticism is not equal!

You can learn more about Drew Donaldson and GroHaus through the links below:

Website: http://grohaus.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GroHausPA/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gro.haus/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewrdonaldson

Thanks for listening to the Learning from Smart People Podcast!

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You can also use the "Contact" page on the "Learning from Smart People" website:

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