Why do they always play Meatloaf at weddings?

Learn the answer to this question and many more when you tune in to this episode with Jim Gepperth, owner of My Life DJ Services of North Olmsted. Jim has been a DJ for over 35 years, also the Academic Dean of Lakewood University for the past 12 years and spent another 8 years as the Program Director for Catholic Charities Services. It’s no surprise that Jim’s personal mission statement includes celebration, education and philanthropy.

Learn from Jim’s early mistakes running a DJ business including giving away the goods before getting the contract, not setting up a fee structure to ensure you get paid before the event, and his biggest regret - not building a team in order to scale his business and be able to hand it off to someone.

We have a lot of fun in this episode as both Jim and Kirk share something they’ve never told anyone. From book recommendations to philosophies on capitalism, prayer and marriage, you do not want to miss this episode!

Gigantic thanks goes out to Jim Gepperth for showing up to the podcast without knowing a thing about it and then nailing the assignment once we told him. To learn more about Jim’s business visit his website at https://www.mylifedj.com/.

To learn more about Lakewood University, a non-profit educational institution dedicated to improving the quality of students lives by providing excellent, affordable, in demand programs using various distance learning methods, visit their website at https://lakewood.edu/

Follow Jim’s socials at:

• FB: https://www.facebook.com/mylifemediadjs/
• Insta: https://www.instagram.com/mylifedjservice/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-gepperth-19b78115

Also thanks to our hosts: Kirk Teets of ⁠⁠⁠⁠Cleveland Custom Coatings⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Kim Kitchen of ⁠⁠⁠⁠Burning River Marketing⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was Produced by ⁠⁠⁠Cleveland Podcast Production⁠⁠⁠ in Westlake, Ohio with the help of our engineer, Sean Henzey of Studio Minds.

- ⁠https://clevelandpodcastproduction.com/

Sean Henzey, owner of Studio Mind in Olmsted Township, JOINS The Cleveland Burning Podcast in more ways than one. This is our first episode with our new layout, using our new podcast engineer as a guinea pig. Tune in as we make Sean get in front of the camera to share his business mistakes and we learn how to navigate our new layout and get comfortable in the space.

Sean is the first guest on the couch and reflects on the mistake of not opening his business sooner. Many production artists, like Sean, start out dabbling in sound and video production little-by-little, on the side, and delay making it their full-time business. Once Sean took the leap, the added pressure forced him to make it work. Sean’s biggest regret is not taking the leap sooner.

Sean also reflects on the benefits of continuously expanding your comfort zone to grow as a person and to grow your business. Whether it’s going to a BNI meeting or another networking group, we talk about the quality of referrals and other intangible benefits a business network brings to a new business owner.

A huge thank you goes out to Sean Henzey for being our new podcast engineer and getting uncomfortable being on the other end of the camera! To learn more about Sean’s business visit his website at https://studio-mind.com/ and follow his socials:

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studi0mind/On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studi0mind On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_2E6Sp870PQsvQepFp5CLQ

Also thanks to our hosts: Kirk Teets of ⁠⁠⁠⁠Cleveland Custom Coatings⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Kim Kitchen of ⁠⁠⁠⁠Burning River Marketing⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Produced by ⁠⁠⁠Cleveland Podcast Production⁠⁠⁠ in Westlake, Ohio.

- ⁠https://clevelandpodcastproduction.com/

In honor of the Cleveland Burning Podcast theme - focusing on setbacks, failures and adversity that pave the way to success, this episode is all about the first lessons learned by rookies doing a podcast.

Kirk, owner of Cleveland Custom Coatings, and Kim, owner of Burning River Marketing reflect on mistakes from set-up and equipment to overestimating the skills and desire of our initial podcast engineer.

By Cleveland Podcast Production
In this engaging and informative series, we unravel the hidden gems of Cleveland area entrepreneurship, and business professionals, focusing on the setbacks, accidents, and unexpected turns that paved the way for their success.

Hosted by Kim Kitchen, owner of Burning River Marketing, a local SEO and digital marketing firm and Kirk Teets, owner of Cleveland Custom Coatings, a local commercial and residential painting company.