The PR Mistake That Keeps Small Businesses Invisible with Mickie Kennedy

The Mindset That Took Jim Effner From Caddying to Seven Figures

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Jim Effner to talk about ambition, leadership, adversity, and what it takes to build a successful life and business. Jim shares how growing up as the youngest of five in a middle-class family shaped his work ethic. At just 12 years old, he began working as a caddy at an exclusive private club, where he was exposed to successful people, affluent lifestyles, and possibilities he had never seen before.   That early experience gave Jim a strong desire to create a bigger life for himself. After earning a degree in corporate finance, he began looking for a career where the size of his paycheck would be in his own control. A practice interview led him into the insurance industry, where he joined Northwestern Mutual and quickly found success. Jim became rookie of the year, reached Million Dollar Round Table consistently, made Top of the Table in his late 20s, and was earning seven figures by his early 30s.   Jim explains that his career was never mapped out from the beginning. He first believed he would remain an individual representative for the rest of his life. As he gained experience, his interests shifted toward leadership. He eventually became a managing partner at 33 years old and led a firm with 150 agents and advisors. After more than 14 years in that role, he sold the firm and started his current company.   Ty and Jim also discuss the greatest challenge Jim faced during his career. At 33, Jim was bitten by a mosquito carrying West Nile virus. It developed into viral meningitis and caused him to completely lose his hearing. He remained deaf for six months while waiting to see whether treatment would restore it. When his hearing did not return, he received a cochlear implant.   Jim describes the implant as a gift from God. His hearing is not the same as it was before, but it has allowed him to continue living, working, and leading. He explains that the experience changed his perspective and made him a better husband, father, and businessman. Rather than allowing the loss to define him, he decided to use it as fuel.   The conversation moves into leadership and what effective leaders look like today. Jim says there is no single personality type that makes someone a great leader. Leaders can come from different backgrounds and have very different personalities. What they often share is a commitment to helping others succeed. Jim believes that when leaders help the people around them get what they want, they are more likely to achieve their own goals as well.   Jim describes leadership as a responsibility, not a position of authority. Strong leaders create environments where people can grow, perform, and win together. They do not lead through entitlement or dictatorship. They serve, set the example, and make decisions based on values, even when those decisions may not benefit them financially in the short term.   Jim also shares two pieces of advice that shaped his career. The first was to never follow his pocketbook. His mentor told him to follow his passion and trust that the money would follow. That advice helped Jim make difficult career decisions, including walking away from a successful sales career to pursue leadership.   The second lesson focused on building trust with clients. Jim was taught that every first meeting should leave the client believing three things: that you understand them, that you genuinely care about them, and that you are knowledgeable in your craft. When people feel understood, cared for, and confident in your ability, the rest of the relationship becomes much easier.   You’ll also hear Jim explain how trust grows through curiosity, listening, presence, and consistency. Leaders must model the behaviors they expect from others, especially during difficult situations. People are always watching how a leader responds under pressure.   Jim closes with a reminder that life is short and everyone only gets one chance to live it. He encourages listeners to stop focusing on the reasons they cannot pursue their dreams and start focusing on why those dreams matter. His message is to think bigger, stay disciplined, let go of negative influences, and refuse to make failure the final outcome.   If you want to learn how to turn adversity into fuel, lead with purpose, and build a life that reflects your biggest goals, this episode is for you.   As always, we would like to hear from you! 🔗 jimeffner.com and LinkedIn: in/jimeffner 🎙️ @thetybradyway   Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com   Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

Why High Performers Know What to Do but Still Stay Stuck with Paul Salter

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Paul Salter to talk about performance psychology, hypnotherapy, limiting beliefs, and what keeps high performers stuck even when they know exactly what to do.   Paul shares how his interest in performance began as a small high school athlete looking for every possible advantage. He became fascinated by elite competitors like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer. They trained hard like everyone else, but their mindset helped separate them from the competition.   That curiosity led Paul into competitive bodybuilding and a career as a sports dietitian. He worked with collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletes before helping men and women who repeatedly lost and regained the same weight. Over time, he noticed a common pattern. Most people already knew what to eat, how to train, or what action to take. The real problem was that something kept stopping them from following through.   Paul eventually discovered hypnotherapy while pursuing professional poker. Even though he was studying and working harder than many of his competitors, he continued struggling. After hiring a mindset coach and hypnotherapist, his confidence, decision-making, and results changed dramatically. That experience led him to leave poker, become a certified hypnotherapist, and focus fully on mindset and performance coaching.   Ty and Paul discuss what hypnosis actually is and what it is not. Paul explains that it is not mind control, brainwashing, or making people do embarrassing things. It is a natural state of focused awareness, similar to becoming absorbed in a book, television show, work project, or athletic performance.   Hypnosis allows Paul to quiet the harsh inner critic and work with the subconscious mind, where habits, beliefs, memories, and emotions are stored. He says challenges such as perfectionism, procrastination, imposter syndrome, fear of failure, and performance anxiety are learned patterns. Because they were learned, they can also be unlearned.   Paul shares the story of a nonprofit founder who struggled to speak confidently around wealthy and powerful men. As a child in foster care, she had learned that staying quiet and unseen helped keep her safe from abusive male figures. Even though her adult circumstances were different, the old belief continued showing up in business meetings. By addressing the original pattern, she gained the confidence to communicate clearly and secure millions of dollars in funding.   The conversation also explores why changing your life can sometimes create tension with the people closest to you. Paul explains that humans are biologically wired to belong. When someone begins exercising, eating differently, building a business, or changing old habits, friends and family may respond with jealousy, criticism, or resistance. The fear of losing those relationships can quietly pull a person back toward old behaviors.   Paul also shares two difficult seasons from his own entrepreneurial journey. At one point, more than 90 percent of his income came from one coaching company. He realized he was trapped trading time for money, so he walked away, invested heavily in coaching, raised his prices, and rebuilt the business around the work he truly wanted to do.   Later, becoming a father challenged his identity and priorities. Paul had always treated his business as his first love, but caring for his son forced him to rethink his schedule, values, and definition of success. Today, he works fewer hours and spends more time with his son, even though the path there looked very different from what he expected.   You’ll also hear Paul explain why authenticity matters more in a world filled with AI content. Early in his podcasting career, listeners told him his information was valuable but he sounded like a robot. That feedback taught him that people connect with honesty, imperfection, and personality more than a flawless script.   Paul closes by sharing two ways to move forward when you feel stuck. First, create a daily practice of silence, stillness, and solitude. Even five minutes without a phone or distraction can help you reconnect with your intuition and priorities. Second, ask for help. A coach, mentor, or therapist can help you identify blind spots and reach your goals faster.   If you want to break limiting beliefs, improve your performance, and stop letting old patterns control your future, this episode is for you.   As always, we would like to hear from you!   🔗https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-unstuck-high-performer-podcast-hypnotherapy/id1742610817 🎙️ @thetybradyway with @thepaulsalter   Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com   Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

Your Business Is Not a Machine, and Treating It Like One Is Costing You with Norman Wolfe

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Norman Wolfe to talk about why so many businesses lose their purpose as they grow and what leaders can do to build organizations that are more human, adaptable, and sustainable. Norman introduces the idea of The Living Organization, a different way of viewing a company, not as a machine made up of individual parts, but as a collective person with its own mindset, behaviors, relationships, and purpose.   Norman explains that the traditional business model is built around efficiency. A company takes inputs, produces outputs, and relies on leaders to make sure the process runs as smoothly as possible. In that model, employees are treated like parts of the machine. Norman says that approach may have worked when business was more predictable, but it struggles in a world shaped by constant change, uncertainty, and complexity. His belief is that organizations work better when leaders focus less on controlling people and more on helping them think, contribute, and grow.   Ty and Norman discuss why companies often begin with a strong mission but slowly lose it as they scale. A founder may start with a clear vision and a group of people who believe in what they are building. But as the company grows, more structure is added. Departments are created, systems are put in place, and efficiency becomes the main focus. Over time, people can begin to feel more like employees completing tasks than individuals contributing to a shared purpose. Norman explains that machines do not care about relationships, meaning, or customer experience. People do, and leaders cannot afford to forget that.   Norman also shares a different way to think about departments. Instead of seeing sales, operations, or marketing as groups managed by individual leaders, he encourages business owners to view each department as a collective person. Each group has a purpose, a way of behaving, and a responsibility to contribute to the success of the whole organization. This helps leaders look beyond individual performance and pay closer attention to how departments communicate, cooperate, and solve problems together.   The conversation also turns to profit and purpose. Norman explains that a company exists to create value for the customer. Revenue is the value the customer gives back in exchange for what the business provides. Expenses are the resources used to create that value. Profit is what remains when the company creates more value than it consumes. From that perspective, profit and purpose do not have to compete. Purpose gives people a reason to care, and that energy helps the organization create better value. Problems begin when leaders focus only on cutting costs, improving systems, and increasing efficiency while losing sight of the customer and the mission.   You’ll also hear Norman explain the warning signs of an unhealthy organization. Projects begin to stall, departments operate in silos, and leaders are constantly pulled back into daily decisions. Employees may have the skill and authority to act, but they still wait for approval. Norman says this often happens because people have been trained to comply instead of commit. They follow instructions, but they do not feel responsible for the outcome.   This becomes a major barrier to growth. Many leaders believe they need more people, more money, or better systems to scale. Norman says the deeper issue is ownership. A business cannot grow if every important decision still depends on the owner. Systems should support people, not control them. When employees are told exactly how to behave, they often become cautious, dependent, and afraid to make mistakes.   Norman explains how contribution agreements can help change that. Instead of handing people a list of goals, leaders explain where the company is going and ask each department how it will contribute. Employees are encouraged to think like CEOs of their own area of the business. The leader’s role is not to jump in with answers every time someone struggles. It is to coach people through the process so they become more capable and confident over time.   Ty and Norman also discuss artificial intelligence and the growing importance of human connection. Norman believes AI should be used to remove repetitive work so people can spend more time building relationships, solving problems, and creating value. Technology should improve the human experience, not simply replace people.   Norman closes by sharing that his first performance review as a manager was unacceptable in every category. That failure forced him to examine how he was leading and what he needed to change. Years later, he was leading a successful organizational turnaround. His message is that struggle often teaches us more than success ever could.   If you want to build a business where people take ownership, leaders are not trapped in every decision, and purpose remains just as important as profit, this episode is for you.   As always, we would like to hear from you!   🔗www.linkedin.com/in/wolfe 🎙️ @thetybradyway   Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com   Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

The Branding Mistake Most CEOs Never See Coming with Gal Borenstein

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Gal Borenstein, founder of the Borenstein Group, to talk about branding, trust, entrepreneurship, and the risks of using AI without a clear strategy.   Gal shares how he originally planned to become a journalist before a communications textbook changed the direction of his career. One sentence stood out to him: the purpose of communication is to make money. That idea led him to explore advertising, where he could help shape the message instead of only reporting on it.   After graduate school, Gal took a marketing assistant position earning $28,000 a year. He and his wife were living in a small studio apartment while she completed a PhD program, and money was extremely tight. After a year, Gal decided to start his own advertising, public relations, and marketing agency.   He launched the business with $600, a high-interest credit card loan, a professional brochure, and a leased black Mercedes. Gal explains that the car was not about showing off. It was part of creating trust and looking established when meeting business owners. He called the company the Borenstein Group, even though he was initially the only employee, because he wanted the brand to feel larger than one person.   The strategy worked. The company earned $150,000 in its first year, doubled the next year, and eventually grew into one of the top B2B agencies in the country.   Ty and Gal discuss the difference between pretending to be successful and building a professional image backed by real skill. Gal had not worked at an advertising agency before starting his own, but he believed in his ability to solve problems, learn quickly, and help clients grow.   Gal also shares the three principles behind his company. Treat small businesses with the same respect as large companies. Make sure the CEO is involved in important conversations. And turn creativity into a repeatable process that produces measurable results.   The conversation then moves to how marketing has changed. Gal explains that advertising, public relations, branding, social media, and content are no longer separate areas. One strong idea can now become a video, article, case study, social post, email campaign, or sales tool.   That ability to create more content has also introduced new risks. Gal wrote his book, Don’t Believe the Hype, after seeing companies adopt AI without understanding what they wanted it to accomplish. Some businesses use AI because they are afraid of falling behind. Others automate weak messages and spread the same mistake at a much larger scale.   Gal says AI can make communication faster, but faster does not mean better. A company still needs to understand its purpose, customers, culture, and message before automating anything.   One of Gal’s biggest concerns is that many business owners never speak directly with their customers. Instead, they send automated surveys and rely on data without having real conversations. He believes CEOs need to hear what customers, employees, and suppliers are saying in order to understand what is working and what needs to change.   Gal shares how his agency worked with a technology company created through several mergers. The organization had 33,000 employees, but its leaders were not speaking the same language or communicating one clear message. His team interviewed people throughout the company, identified the gaps, and helped create a shared set of values and points of differentiation.   The goal was not simply to design a new logo or slogan. It was to align the people inside the business so they could deliver the same message to the market.   Gal also explains why interviewing employees and customers is non-negotiable in his process. When a company refuses to allow outside feedback, it often means the leadership is hiding from a problem or already knows the answers may be uncomfortable.   Ty and Gal agree that negative feedback can be valuable. A business cannot fix what it refuses to see. Strong leaders are willing to listen, question their assumptions, and learn what they do not know.   The episode closes with Gal’s reminder that a brand is not what a company says about itself. It is what people say when the company is not in the room. Building a trusted brand requires alignment between the message, the customer experience, and the culture inside the organization.   If you want to use AI wisely, strengthen your company’s reputation, and build a brand people actually trust, this episode is for you.   As always, we would like to hear from you!   🔗www.BorensteinGroup.com 🎙️ @thetybradyway   Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com   Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

The PR Mistake That Keeps Small Businesses Invisible with Mickie Kennedy

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, to talk about public relations, storytelling, and how small businesses can earn real media coverage.   Mickie shares how he discovered the power of PR while working at a telecom research startup in Washington, D.C. After spending more than a day faxing a press release that produced no response, he realized the problem was not the data. It was the lack of a story.   For the next release, Mickie focused on an unusual spike in Caribbean telephone traffic tied to 1-900 numbers. That story earned coverage in The Economist, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and several trade publications.   The lesson was simple. Journalists do not want a list of features. They want a story their audience will care about.   Ty and Mickie discuss how businesses can make their news more compelling by sharing a founder story, a customer success story, original data, or a clear reason why the announcement matters. The goal is not to promote the company directly. It is to give the journalist a useful story.   Mickie also explains the difference between earned media and low-cost press release syndication. Some services place releases on websites, but that does not mean journalists or potential customers will see them. The real value comes when a journalist writes an original article about the business.   He shares the story of a company that builds waste and recycling facilities. One trade article led to conversations with cities in Australia and eventually helped generate projects worth tens of millions of dollars. He also describes a flooring company that used media coverage during sales appointments and increased its conversion rate by about 17 percent.   Mickie says media coverage can do more than bring in leads. It can build trust, improve sales, reduce customer churn, and give a business credibility that advertising cannot.   You’ll also hear why many entrepreneurs assume PR is too expensive or only for large companies. Mickie says small businesses do not need to hire a costly firm to get results. They need a strong angle, a newsworthy idea, and a willingness to test different stories.   One strategy he recommends is conducting an industry survey. Businesses can partner with a smaller trade association, ask timely questions, and turn the results into original news. Journalists are often interested because the survey gives them fresh data and a reason to cover the company.   The conversation also turns to artificial intelligence. Mickie warns that AI can write a polished press release, but it cannot replace the strategy behind it. He recommends using AI to improve headlines, opening paragraphs, and quotes rather than asking it to create the entire release without direction.   Mickie says about 97 percent of press releases fail to earn media coverage. The releases that succeed usually offer something different. They include original research, a strong story, a useful opinion, or a clear reason for the audience to care.   He also encourages businesses to treat PR as an ongoing campaign instead of judging it by one release. Some ideas will fail. Others may create results far beyond what the company expected.   The episode closes with Mickie reminding small business owners that being small can be an advantage. Journalists often receive more attention for discovering an unknown company doing something new than for covering another announcement from a major brand.   If you want to build credibility, earn media attention, and create stories journalists actually want to share, this episode is for you.   🔗 eReleases.com and Linkedin: in/publicity 🎙️ @thetybradyway   As always, we would like to hear from you!   Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com   Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway