CEO Podcasts: CEO Chat Podcast + I AM CEO Podcast Powered by Blue16 Media & CBNation.co

This throwback “I Am CEO” podcast, hosted by Gresham Harkless, welcomes Stephanie Powers—three‑time CEO, photographer, holistic health coach, and founder of Lightworkers Lounge. Gresham sets the stage by highlighting Stephanie’s eclectic background: from her early photography work featured on the Weather Channel and Airbnb to her personal battle with an autoimmune disease, which sparked a shift toward holistic health and spiritual ...

In this special episode, Gresham opens by discussing the need for a comprehensive "reboot" due to feeling overwhelmed by "so many things happening" and "spinning plates."

He shares the critical importance of paying attention to one's mental state. Being honest about where things are at mentally is crucial to avoid constantly feeling like things are going wrong.

Gresh notes that his wife calls him a "fixer of things," which, while p...

In this special episode, Gresham provides an update on a significant shift in his business focus.

He acknowledged making a sizable investment and trying hard, but the lack of movement and leads has brought him to a crossroads. The speaker is now contemplating whether to switch gears entirely or continue on a reduced basis, realizing he must prioritize other areas of his business that are showing more activity.

Despite the shift, he...

In this special episode, Gresham emphasizes the need for self-reflection to understand how he reached his current point, noting that getting "off path" is usually a gradual process, not a single decision.

He had to make necessary, albeit unpleasant, decisions for the health of his business, which involved drilling down into the numbers for each micro-business or "pod" and resetting expectations.

The core issue was realizing that he...

In this special episode, Gresh begins with a thought experiment: if he were starting his business journey today, knowing what he knows now, how would he approach it, specifically focusing on lead generation.

He recalls the constant desire during his own path to be ahead of where he started. He notes that the perennial challenge in this type of business remains how to effectively generate leads, acknowledging that there is no single...

In this episode, we have Marcus Ogden—a former NFL offensive lineman, bestselling author, keynote speaker, business coach, and host of the “Get Authentic with Marcus Ogden” podcast.

Marcus then outlines his recent speaking engagement for Fayetteville State University’s fintech conference, titled “From Setbacks to Startups: How Resilient Leaders Thrive in a Tech‑Driven World.” He stresses that setbacks are primed for comebacks and i...

In this throwback episode, we have Sara Schulting‑Kranz, the founder of Live Boldly Coaching. Certified in relational and betrayal trauma work and experienced as a partner of an addict, she now serves individuals and groups through one‑on‑one coaching, long‑term programs, and immersive retreats in the Grand Canyon and Southern California’s mountains.

Her retreats blend hiking, adventure, breathwork, meditation, and coaching, creat...

In this throwback episode, we have Katherine Liola, founder and CEO of Concentric Private Wealth, where they differentiate from traditional firms by centering every client interaction around the question “why?” and aligning financial strategy with each person’s intrinsic drivers—core values, unique abilities, and passions that define who they truly are.

Rather than merely managing assets, Catherine’s team helps clients pause, refle...

In this episode, Gresham candidly shares the hurdles he’s faced in his first year: no closed deals yet, restructuring his marketing company, personal setbacks and juggling family responsibilities.

Despite generating a sizable pool of leads, his outreach—via Google Ads, LinkedIn DMs, Facebook groups, and newsletters—has produced little traction.

He notes that franchise sales cycles can stretch up to a year, and he’s still searching ...

In this episode, Gresh discusses the importance of execution over merely having a playbook, noting that while the franchising model supplies a detailed roadmap, success hinges on the founder’s ability to actually implement it.

He also mentions challenges such as client layoffs, under‑delivering strategy sessions, and weighing the ROI of a mentorship program he feels isn’t paying off.

Despite the hurdles, Gresh emphasizes the power ...

In this special episode, Gresh reflects on recent setbacks that have forced him to “reboot” his business. He admits that operational weaknesses, inconsistent momentum, and a lack of traction from a recent program have contributed to the slowdown.

Recognizing that the responsibility for fixing these issues lies entirely with him, he outlines a plan to tighten operations, improve digital‑marketing efforts, and rebuild the culture he ...

In this special episode, Gresh details the personal and professional hurdles he’s confronting: a newborn son disrupting sleep, a demanding late‑night schedule, and a digital‑marketing strategy that fell short of expectations.

Faced with the need to rebuild his marketing funnel while simultaneously overhauling the brokerage operation, he acknowledges feeling overwhelmed but sees the situation as an opportunity to refocus.

He’s scali...

Yoni Tserruya, co‑founder and CEO of Lusha, positions itself as a sales‑intelligence platform that uses AI to eliminate the administrative burden on sellers, delivering real‑time, signal‑based lead recommendations much like a personalized music playlist.

The platform continuously learns both user and customer behavior, generating accurate, on‑demand prospect suggestions so salespeople can focus solely on human interaction and trust...

In this throwback episode, we have Anne and Mark Lackey. Entrepreneurs that has a series of ventures that each emerged from a real‑world problem they faced themselves.

When a valued employee abruptly quit, they recognized the hidden cost of staff churn and the difficulty of finding reliable “drudgery” workers—people willing to handle repetitive, phone‑based tasks. Their answer was to create HireSmart Virtual Assistants.

HireSmart’s...

In this throwback episode, we have Monique “Moni” Jefferson, an active‑duty Air Force spouse and serial entrepreneur, founded Dog Tags & Heels, a virtual PR and social‑media agency that works with national and celebrity clients to build brand evangelism and social impact.

Her agency focuses on deep, high‑impact connections rather than paid ad space, turning satisfied customers into brand advocates.

The platform offers peer‑to‑...

In this special episode, Gresham discusses how change is inherently messy: altering one part of a business triggers a domino effect that ripples throughout the whole operation.

As his original marketing company, Blue 16 Media, morphed into an umbrella brand with multiple niche services, he recognized gaps and inefficiencies that needed new solutions.

Scaling back in one area led to staff turnover, prompting him to emphasize account...

In this special episode, Gresham outlines several parallel initiatives he’s pursuing: launching a sub‑site called “Franchise CEO” within the CB Nation community, publishing video snippets on YouTube, and re‑joining a flexible BNI networking chapter that allows up to 12 missed meetings per quarter.

He’s also rebooting his digital‑marketing arm, experimenting with affiliate programs, high‑ticket sales, and the “CEO Hacks” series to ...

In this special episode, Gresham shares that he’s already 290 days into his franchise‑broker venture, highlighting the everyday challenges of entrepreneurship—early mornings, fatigue, and the need for continual self‑rebooting.

He describes an experiment with ChatGPT to identify ways to overhaul his business processes, acknowledging that minor tweaks aren’t enough when foundational issues exist. He likens the situation to trying to ...

In this special episode, Gresham shares what he’s been doing to generate leads: cold direct messages on LinkedIn using Sales Navigator, a few automation tools (Closely), and follow‑up emails to keep contacts warm.

While he’s begun to see “nibbles” — small bits of traction — he admits to frustration over the limited results. Through reflection he realizes he may have been targeting the wrong audience (B2B instead of the more recepti...