Growing with Purpose Paul Spiegelman

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman speaks with Chelle Neff, CEO and founder of Urban Betty, an award-winning salon and spa with three locations in the Austin, TX area.
 
Chelle grew up without a lot of opportunity; her parents had her when they were very young, and didn’t have a lot to support her financially. But one opportunity Chelle did have, and took on wholeheartedly, was a cosmetology program offered through her high school. Seeing as this program was a fraction of the price of a standard cosmetology school, Chelle saw this as her chance at a path forward. Straight out of high school, Chelle began working at a Supercuts, and then moved up to higher end salons.
 
But during her time working for other salons, Chelle noticed a business pattern that she didn’t like. In most salons, stylists rent a chair with which to receive clients, but that rental comes with unexplained service fees. Not to mention an overall lack of transparency and connection with the owner of any given salon, and Chelle knew that the typical salon culture (or lack thereof) was something she wanted to change. 
 
Tune into this episode to hear Paul and Chelle discuss Chelle’s rocky road to a successful business model, her passion for elevating the industry to be seen as a respectable career, and how she hopes to improve as a leader. 
 
Show Notes:
4:53 - Being the change in the industry
10:51 - Building a sense of community
18:00 - “I want to elevate our industry”
22:45 - Growing pains
33:16 - “Please ask for help”

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman speaks with Britt Wiedemann, president and owner of IWI Ventures, a company that runs various organizations in the hospitality industry. Britt is also a mentor in the Small Giants Sounding Board program. 
 
Britt grew up in an entrepreneurial family and was raised on a horse and tobacco farm. Early on, he began adding more and more tools to his toolbox by way of new experiences. From working on his family’s farm, to being an English teacher in Korea, to being a mountain guide for Outward Bound, Britt never shied away from the opportunities that were presented to him. And along the way, he kept an open mind, remained humble, and sought out like-hearted people. With a mix of hard work, curiosity, and luck, Britt’s winding path led him into the hospitality industry. Today, he remains appreciative of all the varied experiences that have led him to where he is today, and continually strives to be the best leader he can be.
 
Tune into this episode to hear Paul and Britt talk about how Britt came to discover the importance of good culture, what growing up on a farm taught him about entrepreneurship, and why he considers himself the luckiest guy on the planet. 
 
Show Notes:
3:23 - Getting in on the ground floor of fast casual
10:35 - “It turns out, good people won’t serve garbage”
17:45 - Growing up with entrepreneurial DNA
28:00 - How the pandemic changed the hospitality industry
36:35 - “Put tools in your toolbox”

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman speaks with our very first father-son duo. Tony Maione Sr. (henceforth called Senior) is Co-founder and Executive Senior Consultant of Core America, a janitorial and environmental services consulting and software company. Tony Maione, his son, is currently President of Core America, as well as an alum of the Small Giants Leadership Academy. 
 
While studying at Cornell University, Senior paid his way through school by cleaning buildings at night. By the time he graduated, he and his brother had a fully functioning business. They kept it going, using their parents’ basement as the office, and maintained both a positive business model and working environment. After over a decade of cleaning, Senior noticed there was a disconnect between the people who needed the cleaning services and the people providing the services. And so, he took a chance on trying his hand as a consultant, and helped clients find the best companies for their needs. By 1995, Core America completed the transition from cleaning provider to consulting service. More recently, they began offering their own software to aid clients even further. 
 
Although the younger Tony always wanted to build his own career identity, his path often overlapped with his father’s and uncle’s: first, attending Cornell, and eventually moving back to his hometown and joining the family business. As he’s risen through the ranks within Core America, Tony has managed to both honor the legacy that the previous generation established, while also moving the company forward with his own unique leadership style and goals. 
 
And yes, even after all of these years, the father and son duo still enjoy working together every day.
 
Tune into this episode to hear Paul and the two Tonys discuss their family business dynamic, how they carefully transitioned the leadership from one generation to the next, and how they went about rediscovering Core America’s culture.
 
Show Notes:
5:10 - The beginnings of Core America
15:25 - Brought up in a family business
23:55 - Tactful transitions 
28:15 - Rediscovering the culture
32:44 - Looking ahead

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman speaks with Jean Pitzo, CEO of Ace Metal Crafts, a stainless steel fabrication company. Jean is also a mentor in the Small Giants Sounding Board program.
 
In the 1980s, Jean’s entrepreneurial father bought a metal fabricating business. And even though her brothers had no interest in joining the family business, Jean leapt at the opportunity to work with her father. Six years later, Jean and her sister, Mary, bought the company. It continues to have that family business spirit, as Jean’s daughter, Angela, now holds a leadership role. And while Jean has helped the company to grow financially, her real mission has been to create a psychologically healthy workplace. She does so through company-wide emotional intelligence classes; conscious intelligence classes for leadership; building a transparent, trusting culture; and more.
 
Tune in to this episode to hear Jean and Paul talk about running a psychologically safe manufacturing company, Jean’s willingness to rely on her employees, and the delicate act of transitioning leadership to a new generation.
 
Show Notes:
3:55 - A father-daughter business
7:50 - Culture is the shining star
15:10 - Transitioning leadership
29:15 - Ace’s biggest challenges
34:00 - Advice for upcoming leaders

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman speaks with Heidi Baumgart, COO of Skidmore Studio, a 65-year-old branding firm. 
 
As an only child growing up in rural Ohio, Heidi observed generations of her family work hard to build their businesses, be it a dairy farm or a home renovation business. She took these values with her through her academic career, and into her first job after college at an advertising agency. Soon enough, though, when Heidi and her now-husband were planning their wedding, she pivoted her career to run her own events planning business for five years, which she claims has heavily informed every role she’s had since. Heidi’s pivoted her career since then, first into marketing leadership, and most recently into people management, which is allowing her to live her purpose of helping humans flourish. 
 
Tune in to this episode to hear Heidi and Paul discuss Skidmore’s strong remote work culture, the influence of the Small Giants Community Summit on Heidi’s career journey, and their shared optimism about young people entering the workforce. 
 
Show Notes:
5:05 - Building a better culture through remote work
12:30 - Growing up with elbow grease
15:40 - Transferring skills into entrepreneurship 
17:05 - The Small Giants Community influence 
23:40 - Skidmore’s devotion to values
32:23 - Heidi’s advice for young people

On this episode of the Growing with Purpose podcast, host Paul Spiegelman speaks with Eric Jones, co-owner of Adamantine Spine Moving, a local and long-distance moving company based in Iowa. 
 
Eric didn’t always dream of owning his own moving business. In fact, for a long time he didn’t know where he wanted his career to take him. His prior path stretched from coast to coast of the US, and involved time as a teacher and soccer coach at a boarding school, completing an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa, and working in the burn unit of a hospital. Eventually, Eric picked up a defunct moving business from a friend, and built it up over time. It wasn’t until 2020, when co-owners Cliff and Emily Wallace opened a new branch in Des Moines, and the pandemic saw a boom to the moving industry, that Adamantine grew at an exponential rate. But with growth comes challenges, and Eric and his team had to evaluate how they’d scale while still maintaining their culture and values. 
 
Tune in to this episode to hear Eric and Paul discuss Adamantine’s efforts to be an ecologically-conscious business, takeaways from participating in the Small Giants Community’s Leadership Academy, and the challenges Eric faces as the leader of a growing company. 
 
Show Notes:
3:30 - From boarding school teacher to burn unit tech
12:30 - Adamantine builds its backbone
16:15 - Eco-friendly efforts
22:08 - Eric’s Leadership Academy experience
25:30 - Lessons learned from moral dilemmas 
32:00 - Adamantine’s biggest current challenges
36:40 - “Become someone - become yourself.”