You’ve probably heard me refer to my producer, Richard, on the show. Richard is an AMAZING producer, and he’s also the owner and founder of Blacken Studios.

What does Blacken Studios do exactly? As described on the website, “Blacken Studios specializes in forming an idea, defining your passion and transforming it into a work of art we like to call a podcast.” I couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Richard has an incredible story! He’s a father, an entrepreneur, and a cancer survivor. If you like to be inspired, this story will definitely do it! And if you’re considering starting a podcast, this is a great introduction to someone who can help you knock it out of the park.

• How did Richard become a podcast producer and then owner of his own studio?
• Why does he do podcasts rather than producing music?
• How did COVID affect the studio?
• Learn how and why this show got started.
• What drives Richard to do this whole podcast studio thing?
• The importance of embracing change
• Richard’s cancer survival story

The Elijah Bailey Show - Best friends, fellow blerds, gamers, streamers and all around good guys Elijah (5000) Bailey and Richard (The Buckity) Taplin sit down each week to discuss what’s happening in the gamimg, comics, anime, film & much more. One Mic One Voice - A Show created to give space where your voice, ideas, and informed opinions can be heard, appreciated, and debated.  Roxey by Design - A show to show us how to allow God to re-design us in his image. The Go Ask Yo Daddy Show - Challenges - Games - Talent Shows and More COME CHILL WITH US every Tuesday Night 7pm CST & 8pm on *Mac or Die - YouTube ...

Stick Talk - Ever wonder what guys talk about in their group messages? Stick Talk is just that! 3 average guys give their opinions on everything from music and sports, to entertainment, gaming, and anime. Nothing is off limits and no one is safe!

Facebook:  @Blackenstudios Twitter:  @BlackenStudios Instagram:  blackenstudios Email:  podcasts@blackenstudios.com Website: www.blackenstudios.com 

Stephanie Laswell, the owner of Stephanie Marie Living, is a realtor. Nothing unusual there. But what does set her apart is that she specializes in divorcing families. 

Divorce is an awful experience no matter what, and it’s made all the harder if you’re having to sell your home and/or buy a new one. There are lots of issues that have to be taken into consideration when it comes to selling a home during a divorce, and Stephanie can walk you through the entire process. With years of experience helping primarily women going through a divorce, she knows what to look out for and how to abide by court orders, and just all the things that go with selling a house in this difficult situation. 

If you’ve ever gone through it, you understand how helpful having a realtor who specializes in working with divorcing families can be. So listen in and see what drove Stephanie to this niche in this field and hear the tips and advice she has for anyone going through a difficult time like this. 

• Why did she choose to specialize in divorcing families?
• How is buying/selling a home different for divorcing families?
• What is the biggest surprise for people in selling a home for divorcing families?
• The training she’s taken in order to specialize in this niche
• Being a realtor for divorcing families is a part realtor and part counselor
• How do you handle friends who are going through a divorce?
• How should we, as a society, help people who are going through a divorce?
• What is the first thing someone should do when they decide to get a divorce?
• What’s her favorite part of working in this niche?
• What’s the hardest part?
• Why did she become a realtor?
• What’s causing the current seller’s market?
• What do you need to do to get ready to buy or sell a house?

REAL Single Moms Palomar Five Rings Financial DO40

Contact Info FB:  Stephanie Marie Living IG:  Stephanie Marie Living

What the heck is Magnus Omnicorps? It turns out it’s the old English name for McGuiness, as in Mark McGuiness. You don’t know who Mark is? Well, now is your chance to meet him!

Mark McGuiness is the owner of Magnus Omnicorps, which provides a variety of professional services to people who need things done, but the one we’re mostly going to touch on today is geriatric case management. At some point, almost all of us will have to deal with elderly parents, which is even more difficult if they leave in a different state. Mark is a fantastic resource for such a situation. He has spent years helping families make sure their loved one’s needs are met. He’s not a home health nurse, but he’ll help you make sure the home health service you’re using is a good one.

He does so much more that it’s almost impossible to explain it properly in an introduction. So let’s listen in so he can speak for himself. You’re gonna love him!

• Some of the services he provides for busy people
• How did he get into this weird, niche business?
• What does the future hold for Mark?
• Which service does he enjoy providing the most?
• Top tips on what to look out for if you have to put your parents into assisted living
• Your mom has fallen and broken her hip. She’s had surgery and the hospital is ready to discharge her. What do you do?
• How do you find out if an assisted center is any good?
• What keeps him motivated to keep going?
• Has he ever tried to train a successor?

Baptist Village

St. Elijah Annual Food Festival

Greek Fest OKC

Nunu’s Mediterranean Cafe

Oklahoma Senior Journal

Areawide Aging Agency

Website: http://www.magnusomnicorps.com/

One of the things I’ve heard more than once in doing these interviews is that the biggest surprises most people receive when they start a business is the importance of the numbers, the money. People want to make money doing something they enjoy, but most people don’t have any idea about taxes, tracking inventory, keeping a ledger, etc. And let’s be honest, most business owners don’t want to deal with the technicalities. They want to do what they enjoy and let the numbers take care of themselves.

Unfortunately, the numbers won’t take care of themselves, and that’s why we have people like the wonderful Stephanie Smith, owner of Zen Bookkeeping! She loves helping small businesses learn take care of their numbers. That’s why I thought she would be a great guest this week. She has tips, advice, and things to be careful of. If you’re a small business owner who struggles to take care of their books, give a listen and learn some helpful tools and tactics to make your life easier!

Podcast Episode Summary

• What’s the biggest mistake most small business owners make?
• How can we avoid this mistake?
• Where did the name Zen Bookkeeping come from?
• What’s the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
• What made Stephanie decide to become a bookkeeper?
• Why does Stephanie want to help small business owners specifically?
• The best and worst parts of being a bookkeeper
• Future plans for Zen Bookkeeping
• What can you do to make your bookkeeper’s job easier?
• Here’s a good reason for keeping your business and personal bank accounts separate
• Can she help you handle the IRS?
• What does working with a bookkeeper look like?
• Some of the services she offers
• She’s passed the love of numbers down to her son!
• Learn some surprising facts about Stephanie that are completely not bookkeeper related
• Deductions, baby!
• The easiest way to track your mileage

Recommended Resources Quickbooks - Most common bookkeeping software in the US MileIQ - an app to make tracking your mileage easy Siren Media - a digital marketing agency specializing in helping small businesses

Contact Info Website:  Zen Bookkeeping Facebook:  Zen Bookkeeping

Let’s talk health insurance. Wait…don’t go! 

Seriously, this is an episode you need to listen to. There are alternatives to the major insurance companies out there, but you’ll only hear about it here! Just FYI, I use this alternative health insurance, and I GOT A CHECK BACK FROM THE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY! What?!?! That’s right. 

Kathy is a super sweet, super fun lady that has made it her life’s mission to help people navigate the crazy world of health insurance. If you’re going through a medical event, the last thing you want to do is deal with the insurance company. One of the perks of being Kathy’s client is she’ll navigate that mess for you.

Listen in and take a peek into the dark world of health insurance and the fantabulous alternatives you can participate in. I promise it’s a lot more interesting than you think!

• What’s so different about the insurance companies Kathy represents?
• Shop around for any and all medical services, people!!! Get a written order instead of an electronic order.
• Kathy loves to help her clients shop around for the best providers and navigate the insurance maze on your behalf. It’s white-glove concierge service for each and every client!
• Upfront pricing for medical services is a gamechanger in the medical industry.
• My personal experience with Philadelphia American (hint: it’s a good one)
• How indemnity insurance actually works. This is actually really interesting! Just follow closely.
• Here’s how you can find out whether an insurance company is reputable.
• Do we really need health insurance?
• Direct Primary Care – How does this work with health insurance?
• How did she even get into health insurance?
• How the pandemic affected her business.

Indemnity health insurance - An article that explains it in more detail

Philadelphia American Life Insurance Company - website

Surgery Center of Oklahoma - a surgery center that puts all their pricing on their website

Oklahoma ER & Hospital - a hospital that Kathy recommends for transparent pricing

Health Savings Accounts - more in-depth information on HSAs

Facebook:  Kathy Robinson Insurance 

Phone:  (405) 590-9543

Cancer is a tragic reality for almost all of us. Either we have experienced it ourselves, or we’ve had a loved one go through it. For many of us, we’ve lost a loved one to that battle. Jenny Banner is no different. After losing her mother to lung cancer, she decided to do something to make the battle a little easier for those going through it. Thus was born the Oklahoma Lung Cancer Initiative.

When we think of cancer, we think of chemo and radiation and endless trips to the hospital. What we don’t think of is being unable to cook meals, do laundry, go to the grocery store. But being unable to accomplish these tasks is as much a reality for cancer patients as the treatment. Oklahoma Lung Cancer Initiative was created to fill that gap for patients who can’t do it for themselves while undergoing treatment. 

But there is so much more to this organization. Listen in and hear Jenny’s story and learn more about this amazing organization and what they do and what their future plans are. This is a story of a few people who each experienced a traumatic loss, and by banding together, they are determined to make a difference in this world for others going through a similar trial.

•  What does the Oklahoma Lung Cancer Initiative do?
• What is her why for starting this nonprofit? It’s very personal.
• Why doesn’t lung cancer get the concern and research money that breast cancer gets?
• What are the goals of OLCI over the next five years?
• Current guidelines for lung cancer screening
• Her mom’s lung cancer story
• BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE! If something is wrong and not getting better, don’t let medical professionals blow you off!
• Did you know Oklahoma City has a cancer treatment center?!?! I didn’t know either.
• But then she also has her own business -- For Purpose Events. What is it and what’s her why?
• The pandemic almost killed her brand-new business, but she managed to pull through!
• Virtual events vs. In-person events
• The pandemic affected nonprofits too.
• For Purpose Events is creating a philanthropic arm of their business for startup nonprofits.
• She’s also partnering with Bricktown water taxis for special events.

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation website

Stephenson Cancer Center

CoWorking at Our Place

Website:  OklahomaLungCancer.org 

Facebook:  @oklahomalungcancerinitiative

Website:  ForPurposeEvents.org

Facebook:  @forpurposeevents 

For my coffee lovers out there, this is for you. Joshua Bugg runs a micro-roasting coffee company out of Crescent, OK. If you’re used to drinking one of the brands you get from the grocery store, you should really have a listen. Learn about the process of brewing that coffee and what a difference freshness makes in the flavor!

If you’re not a coffee drinker, there’s good stuff in here for you too! Joshua is literally following his passion. He loves roasting coffee, and he’s slowly building his business. If you have a dream, something you love to do, Joshua’s story will really resonate with you, and he lays out the steps he took exactly to grow his business. 

Podcast Episode Summary

• Joshua’s journey from not even drinking coffee to starting his own micro-roasting coffee company
• His theory on what makes his coffee so much better than what you buy at the grocery store
• Where he gets his coffee beans
• Just FYI, he doesn’t roast coffee until the orders come in…FRESH FRESH FRESH! Joshua’s plans for the future of Rural Route Coffee Roasters
• Why he loves the coffee roasting process so much
• Marketing...the bane of every small business owner!
• The real secret – What is the difference between light, medium, and dark roast?
• What the heck are origin flavors?
• Another option for your coffee – STEAK RUB!

Recommended Resources

Perfect Daily Grind – Everything You Need for a Home Roaster Starter Kit Fluid airbed coffee roaster - What it is and what it does

Contact Info

Website:  RuralRouteCoffee.com Facebook:  Rural Route Coffee Retail Supplier: Paper Pages Bookstore  

Sometimes it takes a huge event for us to make life changes. That was certainly the case for Julie Mott. After surviving stage IV colorectal cancer, Julie knew she wanted to do something good with her experience. After undergoing extensive training, Julie became a nationally board-certified health coach. Now she gets to spend her days helping other people improve their health, and she couldn't be happier!

If you want to hear her story and get some tips on how to handle healthy living in this crazy world of ours, you definitely need to listen to this episode! Julie is kind and funny and will get you excited about getting a jump start on living a healthy life!

• What does a health coach actually do?
• Little changes really can make a big difference in your health
• Julie’s favorite thing about being a health coach
• The importance of knowing your why. Simon Sinek nailed it!
• Her biggest success story so far
• What becoming a nationally board-certified health and wellness coach involves
• Julie’s battle with colorectal cancer and how it led her to become a health coach
• Tips for creating a healthy food plan
• IMPOSTOR SYNDROME is real!
• Building a business is HARD!
• Recommendations for self-care for both men and women
• She’s looking for new clients, people!

• Andrew Weil Institute for Integrative Nutrition at University of Arizona - This is where Julie got her health coach training
• Coworking at Our Place - The coworking office where Julie meets with clients
• Acupuncture Healing Corner - Definitely a self-care method Julie recommends
• Dr. Mark Hyman - The Doctor's Farmacy Podcast - Dr. Hyman always has some great information
• National Institute of Health - The primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research

Contact Info

Email:  hello@modernwellnesslife.com

Website:  ModernWellnessLife.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ModernWellnessLife/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/modernwellnesslife/