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.

Lamar Chase, owner of Chase Electric, joins us in this podcast to reflect on lessons learned from missteps made as a licensed electrician turned business owner. As a young teen, thirteen years old, Lamar did electrical work with his uncle and it has been a trade he literally grew-up mastering. Lamar has been a licensed electrician for over 21 years and working for himself for the past six.

Lamar reflects on three basic truths he has learned as a business owner;

• “not all money is good money,”

• “not all people are good people,” and

• “not everybody is your friend.”

Lamar learns about working with big-money builders (he names names) and house flippers that want to maximize profits by spending the LEAST amount of money while compromising safety and convenience. Lamar learned the hard way how to turn down a lot of money and not working with the wrong partners. He learned his worth and how to be affirmative.

His advice:

• Know your worth and

• Set expectations by boxing it out

Tune in to learn more about electrical codes, what politics can factor into the codes continuously changing and what Lamar thinks about electrical code in general.

To talk to Lamar Chase about an electrical project call him at 440-429-3133 and tell him you heard him on the Cleveland Burning Podcast.

A huge thank you goes out to Lamar Chase for being on the podcast. Lamar doesn’t have links to websites and an internet presence as he has built his business entirely from personal referrals, but if you would like to learn more about his BNI Chapter in Berea, Tag Team, reach out and visit their network.

https://bnineo.com/oh-northeast-tag-team/en-US/index

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/

Jacob Davidson, attorney at Davidson Law LLC, joins us in this episode to talk about his law practice and mistakes he made before settling into his successful estate planning and elder law practice in Olmsted Falls.

First learn what an estate planning attorney does and if you see an estate attorney, like Jacob Davidson, while you're alive, you spend less money dealing with attorneys and probate court after death.

Zach Christensen, owner of Vroom Groom Mobile Detailing, reviews his fantastic growth with a business he just started here in Ohio a few years ago.

Tune in to learn how, if Zach could do it all over again, he would have skipped his business school, saved $12K and got into business sooner.

As a fairly young man and new business owner Zach is driven, organized and doing a phenomenal job building a clientele of customers with all types of vehicles. From cars and trucks to planes and boats, Zach's business "brings the detailing to your doorstep."

You'll also hear how Zach comes up with his pricing structure and when he decides not to take on a client. When it comes to auto detailing there is a wide spectrum of quality and you get what you pay for.

Huge thanks to Zach Christensen for sharing about his journey in the detailing industry. Help support Zach's business by following him on several social media channels:

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-christensen-70020490

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

And visit his website: https://vgmdetailing.com/

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/

Bill Glick, owner of Bill Glick Painting, reviews his ups and downs throughout his journey from starting a small painting company to building up a fast-growing $2M business.

Tune in to learn how Bill found it's all about the team. He went from wanting to quit almost everyday for 3 years to building a successful business that almost runs itself. With a fantastic office manager and a self-policing crew, Bill focuses his time now on marketing, giving back to the community and working on the business instead of in the business.

Bill keeps his crews motivated with little incentives to finish the job how they projected - giving them the opportunity to get efficient with projections and stay on task.

You'll also hear how chaotic a new construction site can be. The spectrum of the painting industry ranges from a relaxing residential job with a great vibe to intense chaos on a new build with hundreds of people in construction trades on site.

Reach out to Bill Glick Painting for residential, commercial, industrial and BARN painting. That's right - if you have a barn that needs painted, Bill Glick Painting is passionate about restoring and revitalizing the look of your old barn!

Huge thanks to Bill Glick for sharing about his journey in the painting industry and his continued success at Bill Glick Painting. Listen for his commercials on 107.3 and find Bill Glick Painting on several social media channels:

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bill-glick-painting/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHDwtU-M2k5YaRu5HQJ2txQ

And visit his website: https://www.billglick.us/

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/

Matt Panigutti, Division Director at American Pacific Mortgage in Berea reflects about the massive amounts of challenges he has endured in the mortgage industry since getting his start at The Mortgage Zone in 2002. With 22 years in an industry that has seen the biggest ups and downs than probably any other industry in the past 22 years.

Matt reflects on the landscape in the early 2000s with the boom in the market and easy access to credit from the growth of subprime mortgages. Then the surge in home prices and refinancing which culminated in the housing crash of 2008, triggering the global financial crisis. During which time Matt closed up a previously successful mortgage company causing over 80 people to loose their jobs.

The aftermath of this crisis saw increased scrutiny and regulatory reforms to bring stability back to the housing market but meant navigating through changing rules and mortgage solutions for Matt's business.

Tune in to learn how Matt has been knocked down (repeatedly) and each time learns something that changes his approach and ultimately contributes to his success.

Learn more about Matt's business, working for him and/or getting a mortgage through him by reaching out directly 216-366-8202.

Huge thanks to Matt for sharing about his journey in the mortgage industry and his continued success at American Pacific Mortgage

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/