Shows
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldRachel Karpf - How She Started a Doll House Miniature Subscription Box BusinessRachel Karpf used to love doing graphic design. The limitations and requirements that her job puts on her and the threat to have to go back to work in the office were enough to make her think. How can I quit my job? Karpf shares her story of how an idea to start her own graphic design business turned into a dollhouse miniature subscription box business that is far exceeding what she anticipated. A coaching exercise to look back at her 7-year-old self and what she enjoys changed the trajectory of her plan to start a graphic desig...
2021-12-1654 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldJill Blashack Strahan - Founder of Tastefully Simple shares personal loss, great success, almost closing the doors back to success.Jill Blashack Strahan used to put together gift baskets and sell them in her Minnesota town as an active rural entrepreneur. She started small and it got bigger and bigger, but it wasn't working as she'd hoped and she decided to close the business. She was asked if she would still like to host a booth at a local event selling individually some of the spices, mixes, and sauces she had put in her baskets. The event was a roaring success.Strahan was a busy mom who didn't love to cook and liked anything that would make it...
2021-11-0857 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldJordan Phillips Young entrepreneur who's family cancer story inspired Cozys for a Cure & a deal with WalmartJordan Phillips is more than a cross-country runner. She's also more than a sister, daughter of a cancer survivor and high school senior. And she's more than a heck of an eloquent speaker. Jordan is an entrepreneur who at 12 years old had a product she created selling in over 2000 Walmart Stores across the country. In today’s episode of The Rural Entrepreneur’s Gold, you’re going to meet an incredibly inspiring, impressive, and articulate young lady. Phillips shares with us the story of her journey through her mom’s cancer, how it impacted her family, and how it led...
2021-10-2844 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldCheesecake Ninja - Why Greg Franklin getting fired is the best thing to happenIn today's episode of the rural entrepreneurs, gold, you're going to meet Greg Franklin, also known by some as the cheesecake ninja in his rural town of Perryville, Missouri, a town of about 8500. Greg is going to share how this guy, who didn't really bake took an odd interest in cheesecake from a mere Facebook post.After trying many different recipes, multiple online sales, and many direct sale door knocks and failing miserably multiple times, he kept at it. He would try various recipes and techniques and persistently tried selling online and to other businesses. Slowly but su...
2021-10-2137 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldMitch Reed - Cardboard Confessional from HS class project to bookMeet Mitch Reed. He's a high school superintendent that saw a cool public project in Brookings, South Dakota. It was an interactive art display on Main Street where people walking by could read a deep thought-provoking question, "What's one thing you want to do before you die". People were encouraged to write their answers on a big chalkboard for all the world to see. He couldn't stop thinking about it and thought this would be a good sociology class project. It became so much more than anyone could have imagined. It was inspiring, thought-provoking, and life-changing. The project, which had k...
2021-10-1552 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldDot's Pretzels - An accidental entrepreneur with Dot & Randy HenkeIn today's episode of the rural entrepreneurs, gold, we're going to hear a story of how some businesses aren't planned. This is a journey of an accidental entrepreneur. Sometimes ideas just happen when you least expect them, at any age, and at any time in your life. Dorothy Henke shares the journey of Dot's Pretzels and its surprise arrival and the growth to success over the last 10 years. Her husband Randy also chimed in bringing his fun side-bar comments and his perspective on this unexpected ride they've been on. It's a pretty impressive success story from small-town Ameri...
2021-10-0757 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldHolly Hoffman - Life After CBS SurvivorHolly Hoffman was a cast member on CBS Survivor 21 in Nicaragua. She was the last one standing in her tribe and the last woman standing. While she didn't win the million dollars, she certainly won a Million dollars worth of intangible gifts, gestures, lessons, insights, and more. In this episode of The Rural Entrepreneur's Gold, Hoffman shares the entrepreneurial life she created in rural South Dakota as a direct springboard from her time on Survivor and how she's making a difference.As a farm wife, swim coach, and stay-at-home mom to 3 very active and involved children, Hoffman's lif...
2021-09-301h 16
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldCarly Pochop - Award winning Rural Entrepreneur & Artist helps with griefIn this episode of the Rural Entrepreneur's Gold, you'll hear from Carly Pochop who seems to be a serial entrepreneur who started multiple businesses over the last five years in Aberdeen, SD a town in SD that has a population a little over 28,000. Her first business wasn't created out of a great desire to start her business, but more about getting out of the current job she had. She'll inspire you with her tenacity and gumption.The biggest inspiration for Carly's entrepreneurial journey was time. She wanted to be able to control the time she was allowed to...
2021-09-2348 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldBlain Mikkonen - Architect grad, farmer, or furniture builder: Building business to successBlain Mikkonen really liked design work, but he didn't want a desk job at an architecture firm. He loved to farm at his family's organic farm in South Dakota, but allergies made it frustrating. Unsure what to do after getting his Master's Degree in Architecture this lost college graduate decided to start a business. After he and his college roommates and fellow architecture classmates built some furniture for their apartment in college, Mikkonen decided to take a risk by staying away from getting a safe, traditional desk job, and build some furniture and see how it sells. He was qu...
2021-09-1656 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldMaria Bosak - Chip & Joanna Gaines Risk Taker & a Foster Mom’s JourneyBoth of the stories Maria Bosak shares with us here are inspiring and motivational. She shares the great gift of being foster parents and the difficult journey that road took for them as she and her husband Tate worked through adoption. It's sad and beautiful at the same time. The foster journey she and her husband Tate took is sandwiched in with her rollercoaster life as an entrepreneur running her Eco Chic store. She's overcome near bankruptcy and went on to see amazing success with adventures and ideas that were new and innovative. Her story of tenacity and...
2021-09-0941 min
The Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldDuchessa Gelato - A Young Rural Entrepreneur's Journey to Forbes 30 Under 30In this episode, I'm really excited to introduce to you Wilhelmina van Bedaf, also known as Maartje Murphy or Duchessa Gelato. She started a business making gelato in 2018 using milk from her family's dairy farm in Carrington, North Dakota, a small town of just over 2100. Her business has done so well. And it's so impressive that in late 2020, just a little more than two years after starting her business, she was named to Forbes Magazine's 30 under 30 list. Yup. That's right. She's under 30 years old and one of 30 people to be highlighted for doing amazing things in the foo...
2021-07-2942 minThe Rural Entrepreneur’s GoldTrailer: What is The Rural Entrepreneur's GoldIn this short introduction or trailer if you will, you'll learn what The Rural Entrepreneur's Gold is about, what to look for in future episodes and why you should listen. You'll hear that if you live in or have a love for rural or you know small town, or maybe you’re a sucker for a great entrepreneurial success story, than this podcast is something you're really going to enjoy. I’ve learned over the years you don’t have to move to a big city to find success. You can have that success anywhere as an ent...
2021-06-2505 min