Terrapin Small Biz Connection

It's all about hunting and fall this week as we hang with Chris Smith, local freelance author, illustrator, and waterfowl hunter. We talk dogs in hunting - including e-collars, a passion of Tim's- hunting with kids, Chris' experience illustrating the 2020 duck stamp, and more. 

We're hanging out this week with two of the founders of Thermavance, climate-controlled technology that revolutionizes heated and cooling wearables and fabrics. You'll have to listen to the episode to hear how this innovative product heats and cools according to YOUR temperature -for maximum comfort at all times, no matter your location or activity- but we also dig into the startup culture in Traverse City, including the incubators, angels, and investors that make it possible and growth-oriented. 

Small business owners: you're gonna need to bookmark this one! We're talking all things work at home, including how to migrate to a hybrid office (where half works at home and half comes in, then switch), as well as the setups you NEED in your home office to keep things running safely, smoothly, and consistently. It's not as simple as buying a consumer-facing backup system, and Tim explains why. This is an old-school style episode, with just Ruthy and Tim talking about a topic, no guests! 

This week we caught up with Sean Skarshaug of Traverse Repro and Copy Central in Traverse City. We had a fun convo all about how his company has morphed from doing strictly blueprints in the area to providing printing services of all kinds. Plus, how Sean and his wife Blythe have built a company culture that keeps his staff strong and loyal, as well as how they pivoted during the pandemic- and the messaging they've honed that gotten them through it.

*Please enjoy this encore presentation of one of our favorite past episodes. We'll be back with a brand new episode next week!* We sat down with Marsha Minervini this week, who is an absolute joy. If you weren't passionate about up north real estate before you listened to this episode, Marsha may just change your mind! We discussed not just what she loves (and finds difficult about) running her real estate and development business here in northern Michigan, but also how she's set up systems and processes with her technology to make her business run smoother and, ultimately, help her gain more profits. 

This week, Tim and I caught up with Nathan Griswold, of Inhabitect in Traverse City. Inhabitect designs and builds green roofs, which assist with stormwater drainage and cooling, along with providing the spaces for building inhabitants to use and enjoy. We chat with Nate today about what it’s like to run his green company in an area still embracing some forms of green infrastructure, the technology challenges he faces with his office in Leelanau County, managing staff, and more.

We're hanging out this week with a dear friend, Skip Brown of Freedom Builders of America. As you’ll hear in our episode, Freedom Builders helps people on a deeper level than just home repairs, bringing the ministry of God’s love and grace to everyone involved. Skip says he wants the people his foundation touches to know that they matter. He shares with us today what lead him to start Freedom Builders, the technology they use to connect volunteers together while on jobs and back in the office, and more.

We're hanging this week with Mike Carey of Atlas Space Operations. Atlas provides the software and ground control communication services needed by spacecraft companies to run their equipment. Mike chats with us today about the software his company wrote that powers satellites all over the world, the reasons why his company is headquartered in northern Michigan, what he finds people still misunderstand about the space industry, and more.

This week we're chatting with Baris Atmaca from Socks Kick, located in East Jordan. Baris has such a cool story, as he is originally from Turkey, and came to East Jordan as a Rotary exchange student in the early 2000s. He fell in love with the area and came back years later to run his socks manufacturing company in northern Michigan. We chat today about why he chose to run a business in northern Michigan when he could have gone to any big city, the local difference in terms of community support, and what makes his socks better. 

We're hanging out this week with Rex Rudolph of Padgett Business Services in Traverse City. Rex's company is a franchise operation that does accounting and tax services for small businesses, and he's had a crazy year so far with switching to full remote during the coronavirus lockdowns in the middle of tax season. He talks about that switch, the advantages he finds in running a franchise, how using outside experts like Terapin Networks has helped his business, and more. 

We had so much packed into our chat with Chris Fredrickson of TC Whiskey Co. in Traverse City that we had to make a bonus episode! Listen in as Chris describes a little more about what it really means to be a “craft” whiskey company in today’s spirits marketplace. Chris also shares a little more details about their new production and tasting room facility, located out in Leelanau County. 

This week, we're hanging out for a bit with Chris Fredrickson, one of the owners of the award-winning, hugely popular Traverse City Whiskey Company. Chris spoke about how he and his team come together collaboratively to solve problems that pop up, how they lean on their community for ideas and support, what it was like in the early days of the pandemic when TC Whiskey switched from making spirits to providing hand sanitizer, and how technology helped them supply the massive response they had from that. 

This week, we're hanging out with Debbie Craig of Craig Wealth Advisors. She’s a passionate advocate for her customers when it comes to managing their money, and she also understands how technology helps make that all happen. She shares why she thinks the financial field is so male-dominated, and how to bring more women and minorities into the fold. She talks about her struggles as a working mother, and dealing with different rules and regulations set forth by the state and federal government, and more.

This week's we're chatting with Al and Gary from Great Lakes Trim, a tier 1 supplier for the Big 3 auto manufacturers in Detroit as well as other manufacturers like John Deere. Al and Gary talk about staffing issues, traffic affecting their supply chains and trucking routes, innovative changes coming in the auto industry, and more. 

We enjoyed our conversation with Kim White so much that we couldn't fit it all into the half-hour show! In this bonus episode we chat more in-depth about the consistency of expertise and collaboration she follows with her clients, the safety measures she takes both for her own business as well as what she does for her customers, how she connects to people, and more. 

Tim and Ruthy sit down with Kim White of Cherryland Accounting, in Traverse City, to talk about how safe online practices are important not just in your personal life but as a professional as well (including VPNs on vacation- stay off the hotel wifi, guys!) as well as how Kim connects to her customers on a personal level to be a better accountant. 

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We sat down with Marsha Minervini this week, who is an absolute joy. If you weren't passionate about up north real estate before you listened to this episode, Marsha may just change your mind! We discussed not just what she loves (and finds difficult about) running her real estate and development business here in northern Michigan, but also how she's set up systems and processes with her technology to make her business run smoother and, ultimately, help her gain more profits. 

This week Ruthy and Tim hang out with Shawn Zipser of Zeez Management in Traverse City. Zeez has multiple businesses under its umbrella: Arby's franchises, Harley Davidson stores, tax and attorney services. We chat with Shawn about dealing with different municipalities, how it's like working in a family business (something we know a little about ourselves!), and then Tim and Ruthy, later on, discuss how small companies can work with limited connectivity as well as the importance of cyber insurance. 

Our guest this week is John Zimmerman of Brightstar Care, who has run his in-home healthcare and medical staffing franchise since the mid-2000s. Today he joins us to talk about things like staffing issues, policy changes in the medical field, the things he loves about up north living, how his company’s technology set-up has propelled his business forward, and more. After, Ruthy & Tim chat about SIP and VOIP phones that help businesses like John's expand in today's economy.