This episode was recorded live from The Ripple Space in Downtown Vancouver, WA at the Passages to Success Fall Conference. Our guest is Chris Hays, President and COO of ZoomInfo.

It's not often that you get to talk to an executive leader of this caliber. Chris shared his experience in growing ZoomInfo into a multibillion dollar public company and provide very relatable ideas for small business owners around sales, growth, scaling, failure, exit strategy, and ways to weather an economic downturn.

Prost!

Episode Highlights:

0:37 Introductions

2:45 ZoomInfo's commitment to Vancouver, WA

5:30 The Beer portion of the program

7:57 How to manage growth & executing on opportunities

10:56 Learning from failure

14:20 Best ways to focus on your Total Addressable Market (TAM) - fit and intent

17:33 How company size impacts your ability to pivot

19:56 Ripcord moments

21:21 Cofounding a small business

26:32 Always have a contract

28:11 Tips for scaling your business

32:15 The natural tension between Sales and Operations

34:57 The hardest thing Chris had to sell

35:50 Keys to weathering an economic downturn

39:30 Ways to look bigger as a small business

42:15 The Final Action

43:45 Wrap up

Guest Beer:

Victor 23 Craft Brewery - Vancouver, WA

Briefcase Full of Hops, Fresh Hop Hazy IPA, 7% ABV

Thanks to all our Sponsors of the Passages to Success Fall Conference:

Comcast Business

The Port of Vancouver

Gravitate

Greenhaven Landscapes

Rational Unicorn

In Light Hyperbarics

Twin Star Credit Union

Chase

Victor 23 Craft Brewery

Valo Cellars

Heathen Brewing

K Water Store

The Barbers

This episode was recorded live from our Passages to Success monthly member event at IV Tea Company in downtown Vancouver, WA. Our guest is Natalie Fairchild, Founder and Chief Inspirational Office with Pacific Perks, a mobile cafe that creates personalized experiences for families and organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Small Business Owners are experiencing a wide variety of hiring challenges in today's market. In this episode, we do a deep dive into some of those challenges. We discuss the notion of The Great Resignation, and Natalie shares with us some creative solutions for a more effective hiring process. In addition, Natalie shares with us her 5 Rules for Business Basics and shares some big news about the future of her company.

Prost!

Episode Highlights:

0:08 Intro

1:11 Thanks to our Sponsors

3:35 Top Hiring Challenges

5:00 Welcome Natalie Fairchild Founder of Pacific Perks

6:36 The Great Resignation

9:44 Creative Problem Solving in the hiring process

12:52 How many spaces after a period?

16:35 Changing the old school mentality

17:58 The role of storytelling in the hiring process

20:47 Constantly recruiting for great candidates

23:54 The beer portion of the program

26:45 How pivoting can help you make the best of a bad situation

32:30 5 Rules for Business Basics

37:48 Franchising at Pacific Perks

43:05 Balance your work and maintain your flexibility

47:47 The Final Action

50:15 Contact Natalie

50:42 Wrap Up

51:20 Meet Jason Huggins with our Sponsor Twin Star Credit Union

Guest Beer:

Blue Moon Brewing Company - Denver, CO

Blue Moon Belgian Style Wheat Ale, 5.4% ABV, 9 IBU

Episode Links:

Passages to Success

Natalie Fairchild

Pacific Perks

Top Hiring Challenges from BMA Group

Thanks to our Sponsors!

Twin Star Credit Union

Chucks Produce

IV Tea

Loowit Brewing

Coming to you live from The Clark County Historical Museum in Vancouver Washington, this was recorded at our April 2022 Passages to Success member Event.

We are excited to have Owners Jon Dyer and Kara Bowman of CheckRight NW, a Bookkeeping and Payroll company based in Vancouver, WA.

Her journey from 10 hours a week to 10 hours a day

Jon started offering bookkeeping services while getting his accounting degree and by the time he graduated, he had an established business. The question was whether or not to change to a CPA business or stay the course.

He stayed the course, growing from just bookkeeping, in an office barely big enough for two people, to multiple offices all over Portland, OR Metro and expanding in to Payroll Services as well.

Kara started as a part time employee in 2012 as Jon's first hire, and has now become a Partner in the business.

Episode Highlights:

00:42 Introductions

3:53 High level overview of CheckRight NW

5:10 The beer portion of the program

6:30 Our first ever live TikTok

11:25 How John and Kara came together

17:55 Should have quit my jobs sooner ("18:50 I wish I would've just let go of some of things that were holding me back")

19:40 Work life balance

24:40 Building their company culture

30:05 How Kara went from employee to partner

36:25 Curiosity as a cornerstone of growth

41:03 Don't bake for clients

45:11 How their Customer Service culture will drive future growth decisions

49:15 Advice for small business owners about growth

53:30 The Final Question

55:55 Contact information

57:20 Wrap up

Episode Links:

Passages to Success

CheckRight NW

Kara Bowman

John Dyer

Jon's Mom's Google Review

Von Ebert Brewing

Sector 7 Hazy IPA

Business Over Beer episode 110 with Gus Farah | Executive VP of Operations for the Ridgefield Raptors

"Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack"... because we're going out to the ball park with Gus Farah, Executive VP of Operations for the Ridgefield Raptors baseball team. 

In this episode, Gus shares with us that he was born in Cuba and his family relocated to Portland, OR when he was a young child. Professionally, he spent 17 years running the revenue generation side for five CBS Radio Stations in Portland. Also, he ran sponsorship sales for the Portland Trail Blazers before joining the ownership group of the Raptors. 

The West Coast League that the Raptors play in, along with the the Cowlitz Bears that Gus and his partners also own, has expanded by five teams for the 2022 season including several teams in Canada, showing that this is a great way to build community around baseball and to give a professional level development for college players. 

The Raptors are committed to affordable family friendly entertainment for all of Southwest Washington and bringing the joy of baseball to new generations of players and fans.  

Prost!

Episode Highlights:

0:48 Introductions

3:57 50,000 foot view of the Ridgefield Raptors

6:28 The beer portion of the program

8:26 What makes baseball a great sport

10:25 Why players come to the West Coast League

14:15 Gus' Background

17:30 The business side of things

20:53 Appealing to the younger generation 

24:50 Angie's Mystery Beer

30:00 Baseball in the Pacific Northwest

34:33 Commitment to the game of baseball

39:40 Advice for other small business owners

44:27 The Final Question

46:08 Contact Info

47:27 Wrap Up

Guest Beer:

Belching Beaver Brewery - Oceanside, CA

Peanut Butter Milk Stout, 5.3% ABV, 30 IBU

"Don’t let the dark color fool you, this beer is delightfully easy to drink with cascading aromas of roasted peanuts, dark chocolate and coffee. Good times to you my friend, and welcome to the beaver family!"

Angie's Mystery Beer:

Wild Ride Brewing - Redmond, OR

Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter, 6% ABV, 18 IBU

"We love beer. And we love peanut butter. And Nut Crusher Peanut Butter Porter is here to bring the best of these two worlds together! With notes of chocolate and caramel, this porter is complemented by the addition of creamy peanut butter flavor. It's a true liquid peanut butter cup, and it's here for you to enjoy."

Episode Links:

Ridgefield Raptors

Gun Farah

Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex

West Coast League

On this episode of Business Over Beer, we have Passages To Success member and owner of Escape Zone 360, Ben Bevard.  

Ben originally had the idea for his escape room while taking a marketing class in college, and when the pandemic hit, he found himself in a position to start his own business. Not only was he able to get it up and running, he has expanded, adding a second escape room in 2021. 

Escape Zone 360 provides immersive - device free - entertainment, that is family friendly, perfect for birthdays, youth groups, and celebrations of all kinds. In addition, Escape Zone 360 is great for businesses for a fun day out of the office, or through team building with a professional business coach. 

Starting and growing your own business is never easy, but as Ben has shown, if you have the courage to take some risks, it can pay off by turning your dream into reality. 

Prost!

0:43 Introductions

1:15 50,000 foot view of Escape Zone 360

2:00 Inspired by the love of travel

3:21 Types of escape rooms?

7:21 The consumer that never leaves

9:00 The escape room community - co-petitors not competitors

11:00 Good for your mental health

12:52: Team building

17:07 Why an escape room

18:54 Business growth lessons

20:39 Ideal clients of Escape Zone 360

23:02 The Final Question

24:55 Wrap Up

Escape Zone 360

Ben Bevard

Escape Room movie

Audrey Clark Co.

Business Over Beer

On this episode of Business Over Beer, we have Passages To Success member and local realty expert, Diana Rutherford.  

A former Collegiate Athlete, Diana's experience playing softball has helped her develop more of a teammate approach to her real estate business as a way to best serve her clients. She first got into Real Estate though her dad's business, and is now taking a fresh approach to the real estate industry centered around service. Diana believes that we are all better together and through more human connection we can build a better community.   

Prost!

0:43 Intros

1:17 50k foot view

2:15 What's with the softball uniform

3:24 Iowa State

4:10 Service is number 1

6:35 How got Diana into real estate

10:40 Importance of adjustment

12:43 Navigating areas she's not good at

15:50 Rewriting the realty playbook

20:36 Push Back to the new playbook

23:45 The Final Question

27:42 Wrap Up

At Home With Diana

Realty By Rutherford

PNW Real Estate

Realty One Group Cascadia

Iowa State Cyclones

Business Over Beer

On this episode of Business Over Beer, we recorded live from Victor 23 Brewing with Head Brewer, Todd Britt. Victor 23 is a great local brewpub, complete with all the regulars saddled up at the bar, there to support the brewery.

In this episode, we learn about  where the name "Victor 23" originated from. Also, Todd talks about his journey from the Midwest to The Pacific Northwest, brewing for institutions like Goose Island and Rock Bottom, before landing the head brewer job for Victor 23.  Todd talks about the art of brewing and his passion for barrel aged beer, but understanding that this is a business, and he needs to brew beer that his customers want.

"Somebody's gotta buy it," Todd told us. "It Doesn't matter if its the best beer in the world, if I can't get you guys to drink it, it doesn't matter what I think of the beer"

Prost!

0:48 Intros

4:05 50k foot view of Victor 23 Brewing

5:00 The beer portion of the program

7:35 What's new with the beer industry

9:21 Todd's passion for barrel aging beer

15:50 Changes to hop technology

19:55 Todd's brewing background

22:22 Goose Island

24:10 Rock Bottom

25:45 Adjusting to the PNW beer culture

27:51 Does the PNW love for hops hinder our beer culture

33:47 Angie's Mystery Beer

39:35 Where the name Victor 23 comes from 

41:37 Getting the Victor 23 brewer job

43:54 Let demand lead supply

49:37 The Final Question

52:40 Wrap up

Victor 23 Brewing - Vancouver, WA

Business Class, Hazy Pale Ale, 5% ABV, 10 IBU

"Upgrade your ticket and experience the comfort beyond the curtain. Brewed with the guys of Biz Over Beer, this Hazy Pale Ale features layers of hop character, including citrus, papaya, mango, blueberry, and orange blossom."

Business Over Beer

Victor 23 Brewing

Todd Britt

Rose City Distilling

Goose Island Brewing

Rock Bottom

What's our vector Victor?

DB Cooper

5440 Brewing

Welcome to the first episode in our Passages To Success series, recorded live at our recent Sales and Marketing Seminar in January 2022, featuring Charles Swatzell, Formos CEO and Dave Barcos, Formos Director of Business Development.   Formos, the self proclaimed "Best Kept Secret in Vancouver", is an enterprise software development company headquartered in Vancouver, WA with global offices in Vietnam and Ecuador, and a newly opened a new US office in Nashville, TN.   In this episode, Charles shares with us lessons he learned from his acting days and how doing a character study on those you want to do business with will help you understand their motivation and help you earn the right to sell to them. People buy things for their reasons, not yours.  You will also get a real explanation of what Business Development is versus Sales along with some tangible takeaways on hustle, tenacity and telling your story, which will help you be a better business owner.   In the end, running a successful business means showing up day after day, putting in the work and practicing with intention to get better at the different aspects of your business.  

Prost!

0:43 Intro

4:00 50K foot view of Formos

6:33 The beer portion of the program

11:15 Signs you've made it

14:31 The difference between Start Up and Starting Up

16:00 The Hustle

20:10 How being an actor helped in business

27:58 Business Development Defined

32:02 Start Up Development Phases

35:54 Walking a lonely path and self motivation

42:23 Tenacity

44:30 Navigating sales as an introvert

47:19 Telling your story

53:59 Projects they're proud of

1:03:46 The Final Question

1:06:34 Wrap Up

Victor 23 Brewing - Vancouver, WA

Business Class, Hazy Pale Ale, 5% ABV, 10 IBU

"Upgrade your ticket and experience the comfort beyond the curtain. Brewed with the guys of Biz Over Beer, this Hazy Pale Ale features layers of hop character, including citrus, papaya, mango, blueberry, and orange blossom."

Formos

North Bank Innovations

Charles Swatzell

Dave Barcos

Aria Gin

The Swatzells Perform One More Day Parody

Sidekick

Pan's Mushroom Jerky

Mushroom Jerky Beer Pairings

VanTechy