Saunders & Cash

Earlier this year, we caught up with the very busy, Regina Miller, known with affection by her clients as the Mother Goose of Consulting. Regina has a history of helping others start a business, often over the phone as her dinner got cold. She is now the owner of RMiller Consulting, and as she says in our interview, "you have to take my advice if you want to work with me because I want you to succeed". Regina’s background includes over 40 years of early childcare education starting out providing childcare and then moving up to the director of the LaPetite Academy before starting the Princeton Children’s Center in 2009.  As she says in the interview "I always knew I wanted to be in business, and was fortunate to find partners to help with the funding." Regina tells the story of how she started RMiller Consulting on a dare from her husband because she was spending so much time giving free advise to others wanting to start a business.     Over the past few years, Regina has collected numerous awards including on

Eddie Sandoval started Pinole Blue as a senior in college just three years ago, once he reached the point where he know he needed to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He remembers as a child making family trips back to Chihuahua, Mexico and visiting family in the mountains where the Tarahumaras live. He decided he needed a way to give back to this community that is the basis of his heritage. On these trips, his family would always bring the Pinole, a ground blue corm made into a refreshing and filling drink. He family had consumed Pinole for generations, and further research into the properties of the drink used by the natives of Chihuahua found there were many renowned runners who drank Pinole before they started long-distance runs of 50 to 100 miles. In our interview with Eddie, we learned more about his passion to develop a business that has very quickly grown into products being distributed to 18 states and now available on amazon.  You will love listening to the passion this young man has for hi

For this podcast we recorded the FlagshipKansas.Tech Scaling Up Tech event, held on October 23, 2019, in Manhattan, Kansas. As the official podcast partner of FlagshipKansas, the technology council for the state of Kansas we were able to capture most of the chats and discussion between the founders of three local technology companies. These chats are real, first-hand, authentic accounts of what happened to a business on their way to rapid growth, what happened when another business is acquired by an industry leader, and what is happening as an entrepreneur is currently scaling with successful funding. The chats were hosted by Lisa Roberts, the Executive Director for FlagshipKansas and the speakers included TJ Frevert, a company with headquarters in Wichita, focused on innovative technologies supporting call monitoring and analytics to insure clients are getting the highest level of customer service. Also on the panel was Matt Moody, the founder of Bellwethr, a startup focused on machine learning and artificia

For this podcast we recorded the second part of the FlagshipKansas.Tech Scaling Up Tech event, held on October 16, 2019, in Wichita, Kansas. As the official podcast partner of FlagshipKansas, the technology council for the state of Kansas we were able to capture most of the chats and discussion between the founders of three local technology companies. These chats are real, first-hand, authentic accounts of what happened to a business on their way to rapid growth, what happened when another business is acquired by an industry leader, and what is happening as an entrepreneur is currently scaling with successful funding. The chats were hosted by Lisa Roberts, the Executive Director for FlagshipKansas and the speakers included Dana Wright, a managing director at MATH Venture Partners. Dana is a leading voice on fundraising strategy, leadership during extreme growth, managing board dynamics, and optimizing for an exit. Also on the panel was Molly Breitenbach, a Senior Manager with BKD, a regional CPA firm. Molly i

For this podcast we recorded the FlagshipKansas.Tech Scaling Up Tech event, held on October 16, 2019, in Wichita, Kansas. As the official podcast partner of FlagshipKansas, the technology council for the state of Kansas we were able to capture most of the chats and discussion between the founders of three local technology companies. These chats are real, first-hand, authentic accounts of what happened to a business on their way to rapid growth, what happened when another business is acquired by an industry leader, and what is happening as an entrepreneur is currently scaling with successful funding. The chats were hosted by Lisa Roberts, the Executive Director for FlagshipKansas and the speakers included Miguel Johns, CEO and founder of KingFit, a local startup technology company featuring educational videos for various major health issues with a focus on diabetes education and the winner of the 2019 Visionary Award for best tech startup, Also on the panel were Joy Eakins, CEO and founder of Cornerstone Data,

Danielle Kunkle Roberts is a Medicare Supplement Accredited Advisor, National Social Security Certificate Holder and founding partner at Boomer Benefits, a national agency specializing in Medicare-related insurance. We caught up with Danielle to learn her story of entrepreneurial success and how she has grown into a $15 million dollar business.  Danielle Roberts was a journalist student at Texas Christian University before she spend 10 years working in human resources and then realized she really wanted to start a business that would make an impact on people's lives. She started selling insurance over the kitchen table like everyone else in the business and it took some time before she realized setting appointments every night just didn't scale. Plus she would leave appointments and have several voices mails she would have to return from clients with questions about their policies or questions about how to get their parents signed up for the proper insurance with medicare coverage.  This is when the light wen

Groover Labs is a concept that takes elements from tech centers like Boston and Silcon Valley and brings that start-up vibe to Wichita, Ks with a space that includes activities for business start-ups, the arts, technology, co-working space, hot seats, classrooms and events.  We talked with the founders of the labs, Curt Gridley and Tracy Hoover in the podcast.  Curt Gridley, a native of Kansas and his wife, software engineer Tracy Hoover says that when they lived in the Boston area, they were immersed in emerging technologies and start-ups. “You would go to the grocery store and be surrounded by people talking about their latest tech start-up, it was pretty cool.” In the podcast, Curt tells the story of, while working in Boston realizing a simple messaging switch that was the size of a refrigerator could be reduced in size and cost, leading to the establishment of Amber Wave Systems, a venture-backed Boston startup that he sold to US Robotics for $50 million. They now hope to foster that kind of atmosphere in

Brandy Willett Brandy Willett, an “entrepreneur enabler” is closely engaged in a broad number of entrepreneur programs in Wichita including the E2E incubator, Start Up Grind, One Million Cups and Women Entrepreneurs of Kansas. In the interview she talks about the advantage of working with entrepreneurial start-ups because of the flexible of starting with a dream and a vision of what you want to do, but also have the ability to pivot if the market demands its. Her best advice to a startup entrepreneur is to start with yourself to make sure you are authentic. And then look at what your customers want and then, third is what are you doing for your employees with your company brand.  The entrepreneur starts the dream and then as part of branding be able to tell a clear message about what your company does or what products you are providing. Entrepreneurs need to keep the big picture in mind, and not the small details about the right font for marketing materials. The number one thing you need to do to get your mes

  We caught up with a very busy young entrepreneur,Jessica Thomas Tang who found her inspiration as to start a business as she was planning her own wedding, focused on helping brides on a budget.  Jessica is a new bride; an MBA student; works at the Hive; a local company designed to help women with co-working space and support to start businesses and a new entrepreneur. Wichita Coordination is designed to help brides on a budget have the wedding of their dreams, without breaking the bank. We also talked about why Dad’s might want to use a business like Wichita Coordination, to help stay on a budget. Part of what Jessica does is to help empower brides to work with family expectations and her own dreams to get a wedding that works for everyone. We also highlight the relationship Jessica has with Andrea, her boss at the Hive. Jessica really used that inspiring network to get a real business start-up. Jessica started her business two weeks before her own wedding. It wasn’t a business honeymoon, she actually came

Media producer, podcast expert and the host of The Salty Dog Podcast, Jason Angel Villanueva joins us to talk about his move from Houston, TX to Wichita, KS, getting married and starting podcasting with The Salty Dog Podcast, as a series of conversions between himself and a buddy, mostly about Christian topics. Jason discovered podcasting in 2013 as he was recording short teachings on a free Word Press blog. He started his graphic design background working for a professional hockey team. Over the years he moved from blogging, to video to podcasting and in 2019 started a short course to teach how to start podcasting as the Podcast Camp. His course is a practical approach to getting a podcast started. Jason believes that if you are entrepreneur you have to get your story out there, via a blog, video, you tube and/or podcasting. The Podcast Camp starts with the basics of what you need you record a show, edit you files and publish.   This program is really a practical how to workshop. the course is offered right

Join us as we interview Gary Oborny the Chairman and CEO of Occidental Management. We have a wide ranging interview, starting with Gary's early years growing up in Kansas, the son of two entrepreneurs. Gary Oborny got his start in entrepreneurship at 19 as a freshmen at Wichita State University. In his freshman year, he started a landscape company and later transitioned to the oil and gas industry. Gary, established Occidental Management in 1997. Occidental evolved into a development company with the construction of the Bristol Square property in 2000. Today Occidental is a multi-faceted company specializing in acquisitions and development as well as sales, leasing and property management. Occidental Management operates in a variety of real estate segments including retail, office and industrial development. The company is a vertically integrated with services in development, construction, sales and leasing brokerage and property management.  Gary Oborny and Occidental Management is known for innovative and d

This is part two of our interview with Kenneth Friedel as we learn more about the model for mastering entrepreneurial resiliency. Our podcast is based on our radio show which airs every Sat. @ 2 Pm Central time on KSUN 95.9. You can also listen to the live stream via the TuneIn app.  Just want to say thanks to our sponsors: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,  FlagshipKansas.tech, SCKEDD, Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University, Shaken not Stirred Bartending Ken is a consultant, master facilitator and trainer. As a certified trainer and facilitator, Ken works with leaders and staff to realize their best-self and enable cultures to thrive during change, conflict, and strategy implementation. What is entrepreneurial resiliency? Why is important to an entrepreneur? And How to do develop it in yourself as an entrepreneur and in your business team? That’s just a few of things we learn in the this podcast and the next one, as we have a lot of material to cover, so we did two podcasts on this topic. In this interview we

Join us as we kick off the second season of our Saunders and Cash podcast. Our podcast is based on our radio show which airs every Sat. @ 2 Pm Central time on KSUN 95.9. You can also listen to the live stream via the TuneIn app. And of course we want to thank our sponsors: Foreman Law, Retreat To Joy,FlagshipKansas.tech  South Central Kansas Economic Development District (SCKEDD),  Lee Gray Action Coach, Friends University and Shaken not Stirred Bartending We are following up with Kenneth Friedel, the founder of Purple Crayon Enterprises as continue to explore entrepreneurial resiliency. Ken is a consultant, master facilitator and trainer. As a certified trainer and facilitator, Ken works with leaders and staff to realize their best-self and enable cultures to thrive during change, conflict, and strategy implementation. What is entrepreneurial resiliency? Why is important to an entrepreneur? And How to do develop it in yourself as an entrepreneur and in your business team? That’s just a few of things we learn

If you want to hear an inspiring story of a hard luck guy growing up with limited resources, marrying young, putting family first and then when the time is right taking the leap into being an entrepreneur by becoming the local publisher of Medical Professionals, then tune in to hear this interview of Miguel Olave.  Miguel attended high school in Derby, Kansas and would have dropped out, except for a special teacher that took him under her wing and mentored him to complete high school and start to make a career for himself.  Miguel loves sales and people which helped make him successful in wireless and a solutions consultant for local wireless providers.  But Miguel realized he wanted more for his future and more for his family, so when the time was right, he become the local publisher for Medical Professionals, a unique lifestyle publication for local doctors and health care administrators. Miguel realized that medical professionals more than anyone, need to connect with each other, learn about other doctors

In this episode, we are joined by leadership expert and host of the A Dose of Leadership podcast, Richard Rierson. Richard started out as a US Marine Corps pilot where he got his first exposure to the principles of leadership he teaches others today as a leadership coach and business consultant. Richard is a student of leadership as well as a practitioner.  Richard’s continual quest to influence the lives of others has led him into what he is doing now, teaching leadership and sharing the experiences of other leaders via his podcast. Richard started the Dose of Leadership podcast six years and has interviewed more than 300 CEOs, thought leaders and others about their leadership style. What You Will Learn Leadership has nothing to do with position or title How to lead from a place of clarity in times of uncertainty Keys to take your leadership to the next level How to overcome the beliefs that are limiting your leadership You can lead from the front, middle, or bottom of an organization Resources The Dose Of L

We caught up with Wichita-based entrepreneur and business coach, Ivy LaClair to learn more about her pivot to being a life coach for entrepreneurs with a focus on motivating others to be more confident in their sales strategies.  Ivy grew up in Wichita and moved to Berkeley, CA building a multiple 6-figure motivational speaking and coaching business, before returning home recently.  To accomplish her business objectives she created Shine On, Wichita! to provide events, group programs, and one-on-one coaching services supporting heart-centered entrepreneurs in Wichita to make more money and grow their businesses in an authentic way that doesn’t feel “salesy.”   One thing that Ivy has learned about working with what she calls "Heart-Centered" entrepreneurs is that many times they go into business with a desire to give back and help, and feel that commitment isn't about making as much money as possible, while providing the services they feel are important to make their communities better.  Ivy LaClair is committ

When it comes to creating a business succession plan, there are several important question you want to answer as to start the planning process and we asked Daniel White and Bryan Hanning of AGH Advisors to join us in the podcast to discuss these questions to give entrepreneurs a starting point as they begin to plan for a business succession.  Here are just a few of the questions we covered: Are you ready financially, mentally and emotionally to step away from your business? Is your business ready to transition? It could take several years to get a plan in place an prepare a successor to a business founder. Are you following best practices? How much is your business worth? Are you maximizing value?As a family business, are you addressing the unique family dynamics as you transition? Daniel White and Bryan Hanning are two of the leading experts in this field. Daniel White is a Consultant in the Organizational Development & Family Business Services division at AGH, and Bryan Hanning Vice President Insight We

Every entrepreneur at some point in their business career realizes, it’s time to hang it up, and pass the business on to others. Business succession planning is a series of logistical and financial decisions about who will take over your business upon retirement, death or disability. We asked two experts from AGH, Todd Richardson, the VP of Corporate Finance and Eric Thummel, VP of Tax Services to help identify the key areas of concern for entrepreneurs when considering succession planning.  Join us in the podcast for this engaging discussion about succession planning, tax concerns and how to get your business ready for a transition that maximizes returns and business value, while managing the tax implications so you don't overpay your obligations to Uncle Sam.  To write a succession plan, the first step is to identify the ideal successor to take over the business, then determine the best selling arrangement. Key questions you have to address and we discuss in this podcast are: Are you ready financially, ment

We recently caught up with the very busy Liz Farha of Midwest Billboards as our guest on Saunders and Cash and it turned out to be an exciting enterview.  Twelve years after getting a start in the billboard business, Elizabeth Farha is now the Chief Executive Officer of Midwest Billboards  and has finally achieved "what I was always moving towards."  She now has 15 billboards in the Wichita area and a total of 55 digital billboards across Kansas and Oklahoma. For marketing of a business, digital billboards have changed into management company, to get a marketing message to potential clients with ads that can change based on things like the weather, time of day or specifics of a marketing message.  She says she's able to have an immediate response to customers and to market conditions her billboards feature new ads every day, including multiple new ones from the same clients.  Learn more about this female leader and entrepreneur in our interview and learn more here.  

When Kenneth Friedel started out he didn't really plan on becoming a certified master facilitator, one of only 35 in the world. His work has really been in strategic planning, succession planning, mergers, acquisitions and process improvement.   The concept for Purple Crayon Solutions comes from the beloved child's book by Crockett Johnson. In the story a boy creates his own path using his trusty purple crayon to draw exactly what he needs for his ideas and dreams to come true.  In our podcast with Kenneth we cover the basics of a concept of entrepreneurial resiliency.  This is simply put the idea that an entrepreneur has to have the skills to take care of him or herself, because often times there isn't someone standing in the wings ready to be part of a support system.  Listen and learn more about entrepreneurial resiliency.