Business Digest Radio

Chief Marketing Officer, Dawn Dawson - Mortgage Solutions Financial

We're on a bit of a marketing kick lately on Business Digest Weekly. It can be one of the most elusive topics for small business owners who struggle to find a balance between marketing and running the business. Then, what is good marketing? Targeting the right audiences? Using media? How much should I budget? And the list goes on. 
Dawn Dawson, local marketing executive and Chief Marketing Officer for Mortgage Solutions Financial, (founded by Roy Clennan), talks about several key ares of marketing that small business owners and operators will want to better understand. In this interview, Dawn discusses the "dos and don'ts" of brand changes, how to vet, screen and hire a marketing team (internal or out-sourced), what your marketing spend should look like per $1M in revenues, and how to buy media and learn from local media reps how to optimize performance when media is purchased. Enjoy this content-rich discussion that can help your business forward regardless of budget with insights from this highly experienced CMO!See Mortgage Solutions Financial here! Listen to this podcast on Spotify: Business Digest Radio, iHeart: Business Digest Radio

James Anderson - Small Business Partner at Dad's Donuts

What do you call a 109-layer pastry?  A delicious treat from Dad's Donuts!
From Woodland Park to Hollywood, and back to COS, entrepreneur and partner at Colorado Springs' newest delectable retail spot, Dad's Donuts, James Anderson unpacks how this newest take on the all-American treat has been elevated to a near art form. 
The Springs' downtown food options scene has been growing steadily for nearly seven years. Joining restauranteur, Mitch Yellen, James talks about the evolution and mission of this concept store located at 29 E Moreno in downtown Colorado Springs. 
Taking the retail food service employment model into a mission to create great customer experiences at every opportunity, learn how this dynamic and visionary team has launched a local sensation.
Website: https://dadsdonuts.com/ 
 

U.S. Small Business Adminitration Region VIII Administrator Aikta Marcoulier

Small Business support has never been more accessible than in today's world.
Most small business owners are excellent at their specific niche or skill. But where does one go when help is needed for required business tasks with which a business owner is not well informed? Financials - Permitting - Real Estate - Marketing - Media - Legal issues, and the list goes on...
Today's U.S. Small Business Administration is powerfully equipped to assist small businesses throughout southern Colorado no matter what phase your business is in: early stage, mature, succession planning and no matter what industry. 
The best news is, these expert support resources are available to business owners and operators are at no charge to the business. Through each community's Small Business Development Center (the SBA's local outreach and support organizations), business owners can meet with industry experts who can coach leaders on topics they are not familiar with to advance their business. 
Listen in as Region VIII Administrator Aikta Marcoulier unpacks the countless ways the SBA is here to help Colorado small businesses. 
Website: https://sba.gov 

Lyle Small, Founder & CEO - Lahjavida Cancer Research

Chromatic Technologies, Inc., or CTI, was founded by Cornell University chemistry student Lyle Small in his dorm in 1993. After a long-shot pitch in 2002 and five long years of R&D later in 2007, Coors' brewery would adopt Small's thermo-chromic technology (temperature sensitive dye), moving the brand to become the second best selling domestic beer in the U.S.   
Fast forward to an interaction Small had with a colleague who was demonstrating the dye's propensity to bond to nano particles of gold. While interesting, Small didn't give it much thought until he was happened to catch a 60 Minutes episode on cancer research just a few weeks later. This interaction in the lab, and the news report Small happened to catch on television proved to be a series of unusual, but fateful events. 
Small's new cancer research company, Lahjavida (pronounced: la-yah-vē-da) meaning, Gift of Life (combination of Finnish & Portuguese) has developed proprietary technology that combines the dye and gold particles together using a specific chemical linkage that preserves the selective binding characteristics of the dye to cancer cells, providing a delivery system for the gold particles to kill tumor cells. 
Listen in and learn more about this exciting new frontier in the fight against cancer. Visit https://www.lahjavida.com/home 

Disrupting & Innovating the Education System is Happening in Colorado Springs!

Pioneering K-12 Education Leaders in Colorado Springs Prepare to Launch Innovation Tech School - The Colorado Springs School of Technology. 
Michael Gaal, Superintendent of Colorado Springs School District 11, Vance Brown, software executive/entrepreneur and co-founder of Exponential Impact, and experienced school principal Nathan Gorsch showcase how a vision for a fresh, new learning track for STEM-oriented students, has become a reality. 
This unique learning environment places students in front of top educators who are intimately familiar with the region's tech ecosystem job requirements of a number of high-tech, cyber, and aerospace employers.
Listen in as these dynamic leaders  unpack how they have partnered with area influencers like The U.S. Air Force Academy, Space ISAC, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Exponential Impact, and others have constructed the school into an active academic setting for kids who are interested and excited about the high tech jobs of tomorrow. 
Learn more here and register for Fall 2024 semester. https://www.csrockets.org/
At COS School of Technology, OUR MISSION is to create an innovative learning environment where students excel in Space, Cybersecurity, Entrepreneurship, and Ethics, all while embracing character-based education. Our core values, emphasizing ethical leadership and social responsibility, are at the heart of our approach. Recognizing the vital role of humanities in our STEM curriculum, we integrate subjects like history, literature, philosophy, and the arts. This enriches students' understanding of human experiences, ethical dilemmas, and societal contexts. OUR VISION is to cultivate students who merge technical proficiency with ethical values, encouraging them to become pioneers in critical fields. CSST upholds our core principles in a holistic educational approach to unite forward-thinkers prepared to shape the future.
 

Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade - May 2024 Update

The 42nd Mayor of the City of Colorado Springs Hon. Yemi Mobolade discusses important topics facing his the community and his Administration as of May 2024. Items include: EMS (emergency medical service) - Mayor Mobolade cites unacceptable response times (too high) and the rising costs, then unpacks what the City plans to do about it to ensure national standards for response.
The Mayor also discusses child care shortage and how this dynamic impacts service member families, as well as civilian workforce and employers. Mobolade also share the progress on the 1,000 Neighborhood Gatherings project that got underway this month.
Also: November ballot item #2C(road work), #housing (availability and affordability), #infrastructure, #economicdevelopment, #publicsafety, and more.
To learn more about the Administration's work, utilities, and other matters the City of Colorado Springs it attending to, visit website: https://coloradosprings.gov 

SherryLynn Boyles, President & CEO - Joint Initiatives

President & CEO of Joint Initiatives, SherryLynn Boyles joins Business Digest Weekly to talk about the region's childcare coverage gap for children 5 years of age and younger, and what Pikes Peak Region leaders are doing together to address the problem. 
There are nearly 45,000 children five years and younger in El Paso and Teller Counties. Only 16,000 spots exist for quality, certified child care. Of the 29,000 remaining, it is estimated 17,000 spots are need for working families. 
The challenge impacts everyone involved: working parents, the children and employers. 
Listen in as SherryLynn unpacks how we as a community can meet this economic and early childhood development requirement.
Learn more: https://jointinitiatives.org 

Author, Speaker, Brand Consultant, Suzanne Tulien

Marketing vs. Branding
Ten's of millions of dollars are spent annually on premature marketing endeavors on the part of small to mid-size businesses that feel the sense of urgency to get to market quickly and start to gain traction with prospective customers. 
Speak, author and brand consultant Suzanne Tulien encourages business owners to examine their brand more closely - inside and out - before embarking on expensive marketing campaigns that may miss the mark. Not because the creative wasn't good or that particular medium doesn't work. Although that too may be a factor due to a lack of insight or awareness about how your brand is being experienced or perceived by audiences. 
Great branding takes in to account a great many things including customer experience, internal culture, training of employees on your brand's unique position, messaging and experience, and so much more. Listen in to gain a few pearls of wisdom from this talented business coach on how to ready your business for marketing success by first examining your brand from head to toe - inside and out. 
For more information or to pick up one of Suzanne's books, go to: https://brandascension.com/ 

Jeff Crank (R), Candidate for Colorado's 5th Congressional District

Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn will not be seeking re-election in November to a seat he's held since winning his first bid in 2006 (January 3, 2007) - Colorado's 5th Congressional District. The seat represents the Colorado Springs area. 
The announcement of Lamborn's departure from Washington, D.C. gave inspiration to Republican candidate, Jeff Crank who ran against Lamborn in 2006 primary race. Crank now has Lamborn's formal endorsement for the seat. 
Jeff discusses his desire and strategy to take on several key points impacting southern Coloradans, including the porous southern border, the U.S. Department of Education, and his support for the economic drivers that have made Colorado Springs the headquarters for Space Comm, Space Force and a number of strong-sectors such as cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and aerospace and defense.  
To learn more about Jeff's campaign, and how you can get involved, go to: https://jeffcrankforcongress.com/ 

Nathaniel Shull - City of Fountain Economic Development Commission

City of Fountain Economic Development Commission specialist, Nathaniel (Nate) Schull joins EDC Board chair, Dan Osinski on this week's Business Digest Weekly to explain how the City of Fountain is in the early stages of a renaissance and a great location for manufacturing, distribution and cyber. 
Learn about the City's Wayfinding sign plan, and other offerings by the EDC.  
The City of Fountain serves as the Commercial Spine as a source of goods and lifestyle services to the greater Fountain Valley market.  Serving a broader population (109,639 pop.) than just the city limits and the ability to offer a bountiful array of sites for market-based business placement potential within the city and greater Valley community.