The Business Power Hour with Deb Krier

Michelle Glogovac is THE Podcast Matchmaker®, a podcast publicist, and host of Webby-nominated Read The Damn Book, Kitchen Briefs, Beyond The Campaign and BURNT podcasts. She works with entrepreneurs, authors, and experts hone their storytelling abilities, grow their businesses, and elevate themselves as thought leaders. Her first book, How To Get On Podcasts, debuted in January 2024. Michelle is a wife, mom of two, stepmom of two, and a fur mom. She has her B.A. and M.S. in Law and is the Founder and CEO of The MLG Collective®.

Dr. Tasha Golden is a singer/songwriter turned behavioral scientist and a leading expert in creativity, leadership, and change. She has spoken and consulted for Google, the Mayo Clinic, the US Conference of Mayors, SXSW, and POLITICO, among many others—helping leaders and organizations link science and creative practice to drive innovation and growth. Dr. Golden was the first Director of Research for the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is adjunct faculty in the University of Florida's Center for Arts in Medicine, and lead author of Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities. Named one of Fierce Pharma's "Fierce 50" for innovative work integrating arts and health, she publishes regularly in Psychology Today and her research has been featured in The Guardian, NPQ, and the CBC.

Dr. Tina Neel is a nationally-recognized veterinarian, entrepreneur, and mentor with over four decades of experience in clinical practice and veterinary business leadership. She has founded, owned, and sold 11 successful veterinary hospitals and currently coaches business owners on how to build profitable, sustainable companies without burning out. Dr. Neel is also the co-founder and CEO of Angimal, Inc., a biotech startup advancing new cancer therapeutics for animals, and she serves on the board of Angiex, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing targeted therapies for human cancer. Dr. Neel also has a blog on Substack regarding Surviving Cancer, to share what she has learned to make someone’s journey a bit easier.

Elizabeth Gaines is Director of Education at Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® (FDN), where she leads curriculum design, live training, and mentor development for one of the world’s most respected functional health certification programs. For more than a decade, Elizabeth worked in nonprofit trauma recovery, supporting victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. The relentless pace and emotional toll led to burnout and chronic illness. When conventional medicine dismissed her symptoms, she turned to FDN, where she discovered how to uncover hidden healing opportunities through functional lab testing and personalized protocols. The approach helped her reclaim her energy, clarity, and sense of purpose. As a special benefit to our audience, FDN is offering free exclusive access to their “FDN Methodology in Action” case study. Click here!

Todd Bertsch is a keynote speaker and mental fitness coach who helps mission-driven organizations reignite their spark by transforming stress and burnout into sustainable growth. With more than 17 years as a CEO and experience on serving on nonprofit executive boards, Todd brings real-world leadership insight to his SPARK Framework. Blending neuroscience, behavioral psychology, and practical tools, he equips nonprofit leaders to build cultures rooted in clarity, capacity, and lasting impact. Todd is also the author of the upcoming book, Ignite Your Spark.

Carl Walsh is a speaker, consultant, and business coach who blends theatrical expertise with corporate leadership. With 20 years as an award-winning actor and director, 25 years in corporate management—including as an IT Director—and 15 years as a professional speaker, he brings dynamic storytelling and strategic insight to business growth. As the co-host of The Oval Table podcast and co-founder of Alpha Dogs Small Business Coaching, Carl helps small businesses foster creativity, improve communication, and apply lessons from the theater to leadership and innovation. A certified Red Team Thinking coach, he challenges teams to think critically and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

Rob te Braake is the founder of Insight Matters, a fractional CFO and accounting firm that helps 7- and 8-figure online businesses transform their numbers into strategic growth engines. Rob’s career began in corporate banking at ING, a path that took him from the Netherlands to China, where he spent seven years co-founding and building multiple green-tech ventures—an experience he describes as a masterclass in pragmatic problem-solving. Today, his global team of more than 20 professionals serves as the financial backbone for e-commerce brands, digital agencies, and SaaS companies, helping founders move from "gut feeling" to data-led decisions that optimize profitability, cash flow, and company value.

Coach Tony Le is a former UC Berkeley admissions reader and the founder of egelloC (that’s "college" backwards). After evaluating thousands of applications for the world’s #1 public university, he transitioned from an institutional insider to a mission-driven entrepreneur who has disrupted the educational consulting industry. Tony successfully scaled a traditionally small-scale "cottage industry" business from 12 families to over 800 active students annually, reaching monthly revenue milestones of $500k. He is TikTok’s first College Admissions Educational Partner and leads the largest online Facebook community for families navigating the UC system. A 5th-degree black belt, Tony leverages the principles of discipline and strategy to help families "engineer a yes" and democratize elite admissions knowledge for all.

With over $150M in products and services sold, Katie Nelson is a serial entrepreneur and sales strategist. She is the Founder of Sales UpRising which specializes in helping business owners simplify sales and grow revenue with confidence. Drawing on her experience building businesses and leading thousands of sales conversations, she helps entrepreneurs develop authentic sales systems that create predictable revenue and stronger client relationships. She is the author of the soon-to-be-released book, Speak Your Way to Sales.

Molly Ruland, CEO & Founder of Heartcast Media, leverages over 20 years of multimedia industry expertise to trailblaze in podcast production. Based in DC but managing her global operations from Costa Rica, Molly's team has produced over 1,000 podcast episodes, including 7 top 10% global podcasts, across various genres and industries. Her impressive client roster spans prestigious organizations like the Department of Health, DC Government, and NATO, to dynamic entrepreneurs such as dating coaches and former NBA players. Heartcast Media consistently delivers high-quality content that drives measurable business results for each project.

Coach Jim Johnson is an award-winning basketball coach with an outstanding 428–221 career record, 11 divisional titles, and multiple Coach of the Year honors, including Monroe County and Class A Section V Coach of the Year. Over more than two decades at Greece Athena High School, he built one of New York State’s most consistent and successful programs, leading his teams to numerous sectional championships, a No. 1 state ranking in 2016, and a 66–5 record over one three-year stretch that included a Class A State Championship Game appearance. He also received a National Sportsmanship Award and gained national recognition through the inspirational Jason McElwain – better known as J-Mac - story, later featured on CBS Sports during the Final Four. Click here to watch J-Mac – and Coach Jim’s – inspirational story. He also wrote an inspirational book on the story, A Coach and a Miracle: Life Lessons from a Man Who Believed in an Autistic Boy and he received an ESPY award for Best Sports Moment. After retiring from teaching physical education following 33 years and completing his 20th and final season as head coach, Coach Johnson transitioned into full-time speaking, delivering powerful presentations on leadership, teamwork, perseverance, and the belief that dreams really do come true.

Scott Stirrett is a social entrepreneur, author, and advisor focused on how people and communities grow and thrive in a volatile world. He founded Venture for Canada in 2013 and spent more than a decade building it into a national platform that helps early career professionals develop the skills, networks, and judgment to move forward in messy, fast changing conditions. Venture for Canada has supported more than 10,000 young people and raised over $80 million, working with partners including Employment and Social Development Canada, RBC Foundation, TD Bank, and Mastercard. Stirrett is the author of The Uncertainty Advantage, published by Dundurn Press, which offers research-backed strategies to make better decisions, bounce back from setbacks, and build career skills that AI cannot replace. The book has been endorsed by Eric Ries, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, Amanda Lang, and Michele Romanow. Click here to take Scott’s quiz to Discover Your Uncertainty Advantage. Click here to connect with Scott on LinkedIn.

Bryan Clayton started mowing lawns as a teenager with a push mower. Twenty years later, he’s the CEO of GreenPal — the app Entrepreneur Magazine calls “the Uber for lawn care.” Before GreenPal, Bryan built one of Tennessee’s largest landscaping companies, growing it to over $10 million a year before selling it. Now he’s doing it again — this time with technology. GreenPal connects 300,000 homeowners with reliable lawn pros, handling thousands of jobs every day all over the US. Bryan is on a mission to bring AI into one of the oldest industries out there — helping small lawn care businesses use data and automation to compete like big companies. From pushing a mower to building a $30 million tech platform, Bryan’s story is all about grit, adaptation, and how old-school hard work can thrive in a high-tech world.

Elizabeth Cottrell’s career path has been anything but straight. With a graduate degree in human anatomy, she has been a leprosy researcher, published scientist, wife, mother, grandmother, community leader, freelance writer, desktop publisher, musician, and amateur radio operator. Since 2016, she has also served as the first woman to chair the board of First National Corporation and First Bank in its 118-year history. She is the author of HEARTSPOKEN: How to Write Notes that Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire and speaks and writes widely about the lost art of personal notes. Through her Heartspoken Movement, she encourages people to use note writing as a powerful way to strengthen their most meaningful personal and professional relationships—with family, friends, clients, employees, and donors.

Pranav Dalal is the founder and CEO of Office Beacon. Pranav's entrepreneurial journey began in mid-2001 when he traveled from Los Angeles to India, rented an office, hired five employees, and started Office Beacon—all within one week. In 2012, Pranav expanded Office Beacon's global footprint by taking over service facilities and employees from a subsidiary of VistaPrint in the Philippines. Now, with over 5,500 full-time employees globally, Office Beacon operates in India, the Philippines, South Africa, and Mexico. Pranav is particularly proud of growing the organization without partners, venture capital, or private equity, while remaining the sole owner of the company.

Ariana Pareja is an entrepreneur, investor, and exited tech founder known for building and scaling companies across tech and consumer brands. She co-founded Mighty Minis, a zero-sugar kids wellness brand born on Season 1 of Billion Dollar Showdown, where she won. Ariana has raised tens of millions in capital and is known for strategic pivots that align growth with real life. Click here to connect with Ariana on LinkedIn.

John Ray helps professionals who sell their expertise to price it for the value they truly deliver and win business without feeling salesy. He advises consultants, attorneys, coaches, fractional executives, and other solo or small-firm leaders on pricing strategy, value-based proposals, and business development that earns trust. Grounded in a decade advising expert practitioners and earlier roles in finance and M&A at firms such as J.P. Morgan, John works with a practical, value-centered lens. Clients finish with pricing they stand behind, proposals that win, a trust-driven business rooted in generosity, and a way to scale by serving fewer, right-fit clients. John is the author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices, which holds a 5.0-star average across 80+ reviews on Amazon. John also hosts “The Price and Value Journey”, a podcast focused on the unique issues solo and small-firm service providers face. Deb was honored to be a guest. You can listen to that program here. To connect with John on LinkedIn, click here.

Nathan Cook is an award-winning certified coach, transformational speaker, and mentor. Most simply, he helps people become More Than Before. He is the host of the More Than Before podcast, but most importantly...he is my friend. I was honored to be interviewed on his podcast. Click here to listen!

Lane Kawaoka owns 10,000+ rental units and leads the “Hui Deal Pipeline Club” which has acquired over $2.1B+ of real estate, by syndicating $200 million+ of private equity since 2016. He has returned over $45 million to his investors in distributions. He’s the founder of The Wealth Elevator. Lane uses his Engineering degree to reverse-engineer wealth-building strategies the rich use in the Top-50 Investing Podcast, The Wealth Elevator. He’s also the author of The Wealth Elevator: Real Estate Syndications, Accredited Investor Banking, and Tax Strategies for First-Gen Millioinaires.

Bill Lampton, Ph.D., joins us from Gainesville, Georgia. Known as the "Biz Communication Guy," he earned his Ph. D. in Speech Communication from Ohio University, then taught at the University of Georgia before serving as a higher education vice president--where he applied his extensive communication theory daily. He then became a professional speaker, speech coach and communication consultant. His top-tier client list includes the Missouri Bar, Oceania Cruises, University of Georgia Athletic Association, Ritz-Carlton Cancun, PGA and Gillette. His most requested motivational speech: "Always Push the UP Button." He hosts a weekly podcast, the "Biz Communication Show," and he welcomed Deb Krier as a recent highly resourceful guest. Click here for that program!