Capital Region Business Podcast

038 - Michael Scaringe on Growing Skyview Landscapes

Michael Scaringe [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-scaringe-996447a/], owner of Skyview Landscapes Inc [http://www.skyviewlandscape.com/], joins the podcast to discuss growing his business in the Capital Region and what we can all learn from his experience. Don't miss this episode... Episode Highlights: * Mike shares his background. (2:30) * Mike mentions what Skyview Landscapes [http://www.skyviewlandscape.com/] can offer to their customers. (4:02) * Mike explains what RPI has taught him. (7:45) * Mike shares how the business has changed in the last 10 years. (9:07) * Mike mentions why a conference is a good indication of what they do. (10:18) * What's something that Mike’s seeing out there that could be the next big thing for the future? (17:06) * Mike shares how many employees they have and what the other employees are working on. (20:43) * Mike explains what field managers do at Skyview Landscapes. (22:51) Key Quotes: * “Me, as the contractor, I know where everything's gonna go.I feel very comfortable knowing that at the end, once we put the first shovel in the ground, where the end is going to go because of design.” - Michael Scaringe * “If you're going to invest the money, invest in some sort of designer or architect. Because they know the trends, they know what works best, and how it will fit perfectly for your backyard.” - Michael Scaringe * “I wanted to be a business owner, I'm not the best guy to maybe go work in a financial firm or county firm and do that sort of thing. So, I always knew that I wanted to be a business owner, but, it just has to be landscape because I kind of had a passion for contracts.” - Michael Scaringe Resources Mentioned: * Michael Scaringe LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-scaringe-996447a/] * Skyview Landscapes [http://www.skyviewlandscape.com/] * Reach out to Ryan Hanley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanhanley/] * Reach out to Michael Field [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljfieldrealtor/]

037 - What’s Next for Benita Zahn? – Part Two

Episode Highlights: * How did Benita transition into the health and wellness industry? (6:00) * Benita shares how to have an organized mind. (10:33) * Benita shares the importance of being kind and mindful to yourself. (13:09) * Benita shares her thoughts on happiness and acceptance.(20:43) * Benita explains her health and wellness project. (24:10) * Benita shares why she’s very passionate about arts and theater. (25:34) Key Quotes: * “You've always got to be reinventing yourself. I mean, otherwise, you get stale, you get left behind. I feel like I have always reinvented myself here at the station. And it was just time for another reinvention. And, I really fell in love with doing this.” - Benita Zahn * “Let's change the paradigm, and stop telling people what they have to do. And, stop pointing fingers when they don't do what we think they should do. What I'm working with people is to figure out what you want to do, what you need to do, why you need to do it, and how you can best achieve that for you.” - Benita Zahn * “I think the first thing we have to do is start looking at ourselves and not looking at how we think somebody should be perceiving us.” - Benita Zahn Resources Mentioned: * Benita Zahn LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benita-zahn-39b42b3/] * WNYT [https://wnyt.com/] * Reach out to Ryan Hanley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanhanley/] * Reach out to Michael Field [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljfieldrealtor/]

036 - Benita Zahn on 40 Years of Influencing the Capital Region - Part One

Benita Zahn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benita-zahn-39b42b3/] has been a news anchor and health and wellness reporter for WNYT [https://wnyt.com/] News Channel 13 (and so much more). In part one of this conversation, we dive into the last 40 years of her career and what it's meant to the Capital Region. Don't miss this episode... Episode Highlights: * Benita shares the growth of their community. (11:36) * Benita explains how technology spread has contributed to the growth of their community. (14:54) * Benita shares why their hometown pride still exists. (16:40) * Benita shares some unforgettable stories that she reported on over the course of her career. (19:48) * Benita mentions how she made an impact in the community. (22:52) * Benita gives us the next phase of her career. (24:31) * Benita shares how they set up an appointment. (29:11) Key Quotes: * “We are finally shaking loose the bounds, the chains, really, of the fiefdoms of community...to get them to see that if we worked as a community, how much more powerful we would be, how much more engaging we could be to other businesses.” - Benita Zahn * “I think there are still lots of pockets of this is my turf and I'm not in yours. But there’s also an understanding of how much more powerful we are working shoulder to shoulder rather than apart from each other.” - Benita Zahn * “I don't think hometown pride is gone at all. I think on a greater scale for bigger projects, whether it be a big infrastructure project, we are now more willing to, and more ready to embrace working together than we had in the past.” - Benita Zahn Resources Mentioned: * Benita Zahn LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/benita-zahn-39b42b3/] * WNYT [https://wnyt.com/] * Reach out to Ryan Hanley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanhanley/] * Reach out to Michael Field [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljfieldrealtor/] *

035 - Heidi Knoblauch Explains the Capital Region Finance Ecosystem

Heidi Knoblauch [https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-knoblauch/], Venture and Growth Relationship Manager at Pioneer [https://www.pioneerny.com/] and Owner of Plumb Oyster Bar [https://www.plumb.bar/] in Troy, joins the show to explain the finance ecosystem in the Capital Region. This is an episode you don't want to miss... Episode Highlights: * Heidi shares her background. (3:14) * Heidi shares how she got a Ph.D. and small business financing. (6:51) * Heidi explains what happened to the seed fund. (9:37) * Heidi shares why people should take advantage of working capital programs. (11:53) * Heidi explains why that connection between investors and entrepreneurs is significant. (17:06) * Where does Heidi find investors? (19:27) * Heidi mentions one of the exciting things about the gaming accelerators. (23:45) * What does Heidi think of established people versus new people starting businesses? (32:41) * Heidi mentions one of the good things that RPI does. (37:28) Key Quotes: * “People say…’How do you do a bunch of stuff? How do you get it all done? What are you doing?’ And to be honest, it’s around one single thing, which is promoting the region through small business development.” - Heidi Knoblauch * “If I didn't have the ability to make that change during the pandemic, I think I would have felt really hopeless, if that makes sense. But, I got to connect with a ton of small businesses across the capital region and hear about what was going on in their lives... and, kind of scramble to get this government money.” - Heidi Knoblauch * “We are in a place where all the pieces are there. It's just about putting them together. And it's about finding the right people who can do that right now. I think if you look across the Capital Region, there are a lot of smart people who are like...Okay, how do we make this happen?” - Heidi Knoblauch Resources Mentioned: * Heidi Knoblauch LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-knoblauch/] * Pioneer [https://www.pioneerny.com/] * Plumb Oyster Bar [https://www.plumb.bar/] * Reach out to Ryan Hanley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanhanley/] * Reach out to Michael Field [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljfieldrealtor/]

034 - Katie Newcombe Explains How We Grow CAPNY

Katie Newcombe [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-newcombe-2b449b10/], Chief Economic Development Officer at the Center for Economic Growth [https://www.ceg.org/] stops by the show to break down the new regional branding project, CapNY [https://capny.us/], and the potential impact of the growth of our small business community. You don't want to miss this episode... Episode Highlights: * Katie shares her background. (2:44) * Katie explains what the Center for Economic Growth [https://www.ceg.org/] is all about. (7:20) * Katie mentions the goal of their company. (8:06) * Katie shares how the CEG was formed. (16:15) * Katie mentions how CapNY [https://capny.us/] started. (20:47) * Katie discusses the website, Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy [https://www.upstatecreative.org/]. (29:06) * Katie shares why each city has its own four P's. (37:56) * Katie discusses the developers they have in different cities. (45:20) Key Quotes: * “We try to really focus on those areas where we, as a region, can have a competitive advantage. Andm then we go out and try to sell those capabilities, and tell our story on a broader level.” - Katie Newcombe * “Launching this regional brand; ambitious for many reasons, geographically, and because everybody has opinions. But, it's critical. We have to talk about who we are to each other. And, we’ve got to show who we are outside of our eight counties.” - Katie Newcombe * “There's a lot that makes this area incredibly attractive. But, we continue to fight structural issues, including taxes and regulation. And so, it's even more imperative to try to set our region and what we're doing here apart.” - Katie Newcombe Resources Mentioned: * Katie Newcombe LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-newcombe-2b449b10/] * Center for Economic Growth [https://www.ceg.org/] * CapNY [https://capny.us/] * Reach out to Ryan Hanley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanhanley/] * Reach out to Michael Field [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljfieldrealtor/]