“The thing that most excites my soul is creating, establishing, developing, & then making sure it doesn’t die.” – Titus Bartolotta Locals in the Lake Norman area of Charlotte, NC know the name Bartolotta. That’s because Titus & his wife, Christina Bartolotta (also a podcast guest!), do more than run businesses there. They’re community builders, investing in projects that richly improve lives. That alone would make for a good interview. But what makes Titus’ journey exceptional is how difficult & diverse it was. Raised in poverty & trained in an unlikely mix of culinary arts, seminary, & big screen TV sales, he eventually became a business owner & mentor when the call to create & sustain something purposeful became too great to ignore. From consulting to authoring a book to running two restaurants, Titus blends business acumen with deep personal conviction, humor, humility, & passion as he lifts others up & leads authentically. To learn more, find him at RiseCafe.com & CollaborativeSolutionsGroup.com. John C. Maxwell said, "Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another."

"You have to make decisions to really do the hard things… that's what leadership is." – Will Jones When Will was chosen to lead a well-known Charlotte, NC, philanthropy, he was thrilled. Service to others is woven into the fabric of his life. But he inherited a problem that too often plagues nonprofits: an unwavering passion for service hamstrung by little to no business acumen. Big dreams, not enough money. In his first year as leader, Will faced a $5 MILLION deficit. The solution? Seek more donations & drastically cut costs? Not a chance. Using the perspective he'd gained in the private sector, Will opted to embed a familiar yet powerful business strategy into the organization – laser-focused priorities, leadership training, culture building, & a proper growth strategy. The result? 20% year-over-year growth in the 12 years he's been in charge – results ANY organization would be proud to claim. To learn more about Will's epic perspective, find him on LinkedIn and ThompsonCFF.com Management consultant & author Peter Drucker said, "The best nonprofits are run more like businesses than most businesses are." We have an example here.

“It’s all about the opportunity to inspire people.” – Johan Koornhof On the surface, Johan has much in common with the executives, business owners, and leaders he serves. He’s smart, successful, & entirely self-made. He owns his own company and serves as an ambassador to several organizations. But what sets him apart is that none of those things capture the most interesting parts of his journey, one that started in South Africa, spread to Scotland and the United States, and nearly ended tragically twice, once on the side of a mountain and later in an ICU battling COVID-19. He is no stranger to the lows of life, yet in them, he gained life-giving perspectives on purpose, intentional leadership, and personal character that have transformed his own life and the lives of countless others he chooses to serve selflessly. Much to our benefit, he shares them openly in all he does, including this podcast. What a gift. To learn more: Check out Be Real and connect with Johan on LinkedIn. C.S. Lewis said, “Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for extraordinary destiny.” He was right. Johan is living proof.

“People don’t think big enough.” – Tamara Bunte Growing up in the Midwest, Tamara assumed she’d follow the same path as everyone else: go to college, get a job, and work until retirement. She was smart, safe, and secure, the very values her community shared. But those values weren’t hers. Even as a young child, she was curious. Why are some people happier and more successful than others? What makes the difference? So nagging were those questions that, at 12 years old, she asked for the tapes of famed motivational speaker Tony Robbins and set goals to work for Dale Carnegie & Robbins himself. And that’s exactly what she did. Today, Tamara runs her own company, teaching unique sales strategies to companies of all types (and gives some great tips in this podcast!). She also leads a thriving non-profit and a faith-fueled Etsy shop. Her passion and purpose in life underscore them all and fuel her (self-made) success. To learn more, find her at TamaraBunte.com & on LinkedIn. Hard work matters, but start with a plan and make it a big one. That’s Tamara’s story. It’s like Emeril Lagasse said, “If you think big, it’s going to be big.”

“Creative nerdery is my personal brand.” – Mike Montague Imagine for a moment you’re an HR rep reviewing resumes. Along comes a successful web designer turned DJ who later became an acclaimed sales expert, podcast host, and author, who later became an improv comedian—all while being a smash at each thing. Where would you put this person in your organization? If you’re completely stumped, join the club. No one has ever known exactly where to put Mike. That never stopped him. Like many entrepreneurs, Mike’s resume is long and varied. But what makes him unique is that, whether inside a massive organization like Sandler or within his own company, his “creative nerdery”—best defined as playful intelligence—shines through. Every job becomes uniquely his own, whether it was asked for or not. And that’s made all the difference. If stories of challenging the status quo & imparting your personal brand on your work make you happy, this is the episode for you.

Famed author Dodinsky said, “Be there for others, but never leave yourself behind.” It sums Mike up perfectly. It’s also great advice for each of us.

Find him on LinkedIn or at PlayfulHumans .

“I’m just generally curious about a lot of things.” – Hollis Carter Entrepreneurs, inquisitive & risk-tolerant by nature, tend to have diverse backgrounds. Hollis’ is almost dizzying. This master of the side hustle has started more companies than you can count, beginning in early childhood. But it’s the SAAS company he built into a 7-figure virtual business in less than a year & becoming a (very young) founding investor in one of the nation’s most unique ski resorts that grabs your attention. Then, of course, there’s his membership-based community for entrepreneurs (with arguably the funniest name you’ve ever heard) that makes you wonder. Is he just skipping randomly from one thing to the next? Hardly. Coursing through the heart of every one of Hollis’ companies is community, & his knack for building it in the most natural & mutually beneficial ways will leave you wondering why it’s ever been tried any other way. To learn more: Find him at BabyBathwater.com or @HollisC on Instagram. Hollis’ endeavors are proof of Akio Morita’s assertion: “Curiosity is the key to creativity.”

“I’m a relationship person at my core.” – Todd Hirschfeld Growing up, Todd had a seat at some impressive dinner tables, a perk of being the son of a celebrity attorney. Athletes, movie stars, and even the legendary Muhammad Ali graced his family’s dinner table on many occasions. For most people, kids especially, that kind of limelight would be blinding. For Todd, it illuminated a vital lesson: Connections and genuine personal relationships, over everything else, open doors & bring life to new opportunities. It’s a lesson he’s carried with him ever since. Whether trying to break into NASCAR as a driver, becoming a team liaison, or now marketing and directing over-the-top experiences for sporting and special event guests, Todd has prioritized people and relationships to conceptualize new businesses and overdeliver on expectations. The result? He’s created one of the most unique, successful, and diversified companies his customers adore, and he’s not done yet. To learn more, find him at HMSworldwide.com or LinkedIn. Looking at Todd, it’s easy to see that Alan Cohen was right. “Success in business depends more on relationships than spreadsheets.”

"Business… that's just a vehicle to make community impact." -Chris Moxley Those of us lucky enough to call Charlotte, NC, home often joke about how rare it is to meet a native Charlottean (so many of us moved here for new opportunities). But Chris is one of those unicorns, born and raised in Charlotte, and his love for his city and its people has inspired one of its most unique brands. Chris and his former UNC roommates co-founded a lifestyle brand that merges hometown pride and premium apparel. But it's what 704 Shop does outside its South End storefront that makes it so unique: radical community building that promotes upward mobility and connecting community members who love the city as much as they do. Chris' entrepreneurial journey is rooted in a pay-it-forward philosophy, a lesson he imbibed while growing up in some of Charlotte's most challenging neighborhoods. His belief is simple yet powerful: Every hurdle can be surmounted when good-hearted individuals invest in one another. To learn more: Find him at 704shop.com & connect on LinkedIn. When President John F. Kennedy said, "One person can make a difference, & everyone should try," Chris must have been listening.