Rnr: Real And Raw With Franklin Rivera

Nowadays, we need great leadership more than ever before. Hear from accomplished author, speaker, professor and West Point graduate Rick Lochner as we discuss what effective leadership really should look like.  Rick is the Founder and President of RPC Leadership Associates, a coaching firm focusing on helping Business Owners, Corporate and Non-Profit Leadership Teams and Individual Professionals make Leadership a Way of Life.  His website may be found by clicking here .   Many thanks to our sponsor, Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea, Central Park Place in Naperville IL.  They are offering specials to those who listen to this podcast.  Simply download the app on the App Store or Google Play and follow them to qualify.  

Are you a business that is trying to figure out how to come out ahead of this pandemic? Do you need actionable insight? Come and watch as Franklin Rivera, MBA (CEO, V2M2 Group, Inc.) and Kevin Harris, MBA (Bedrock Assets) discuss how your business can position itself for growth through a combination of having a combination of defensive and offensive strategies in your approach. Franklin Rivera is a West Point graduate, veteran and CEO of the V2M2 Group, a digital business solutions agency that focuses on revenue generating digital marketing strategies. Kevin Harris is a Kellogg graduate with a Green Belt in Lean Six SIgma and is the Founder and President of Bedrock Assets, a company focused on Organizational Development and Change Management.

I had no idea what to expect when interviewing Don.  I have known him for years.  I have seen him in a movie and knew that he also built websites. But I truly had no idea what to expect when interviewing him.  Wow!  Did I ever learn a lot!  Take a listen and enjoy Here is your link for Vyte.  Check it out.  https://www.vyte.in/pricing?coupon=FRANKLINRIVERA

In todays episode, I had the amazing opportunity to interview the amazing Quentin Allums, the 24-year-old founder of Mad Genie with over 1million video views on LinkedIn in a matter of months.  Listen and be inspired by this amazing trailblazer that I happened to meet on Instagram almost a year ago. I apologize for the poor audio, but we had to record this via cell-phone since we both are mad on the move.  

Ghost Browser is THE productivity browser for tech pros.  Hands down, this is the best browser that I have EVER used!  EVER!  I just had to have the creators of Ghost Browser on the show to talk about the browser and their journey.  Listen in as Larry and Cat share their experiences and what makes Ghost Browser such a big breakthrough on the internet! See Ghost Browser here. Visit V2M2 Group digital marketing to get a solution to your digital marketing needs. Schedule a time to chat with Frank or get on the show

On April 9th,  history was made in the city of Aurora Illinois.  Richard C. Irvin was sworn in as the 57th Mayor of Aurora and the first African American to hold that city's position. Growing up in low-income housing in the city, Irvin beat the odds and rose up to become Mayor of the city in which he grew up.  This is a great story of inspiration, dedication and the qualities that it takes to be a great leader.  

This is my take on marketing your business.  There is a lot of noise out there and a lot of opinions.  Here are some of my take-aways from having countless successes with businesses in the digital marketing space.  Be sure to follow me on Twitter @franklindrivera and on Instagram @thenextfdr.   Here is the link to get your Vyte Pro discount for a year! https://www.vyte.in/pricing?coupon=FRANKLINRIVERA

This is one episode that I feel strongly about because I have seen so many people miss out on opportunities for a lack of vision.  A lack of vision can manifest itself in several ways, and I cover three of the manifestations that I see the most.   Excited to launch the Real and Raw Business Group for those interested in collaboration and just becoming better at business and better at themselves.  Here is the link to request to join.  Look forward to seeing everyone there!   Real and Raw Business Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/RealNRaw/ Frank's Blog:  http://www.franklindrivera.com  

Our special guest, Enginpreneur Michele Heyward of Heyward Business Consulting joins us to share her insight on how professionals in STEM professions can break away from the corporate culture and establish their own successful businesses.  Online, Michele has gained over 1 million likes on her streaming Periscope show!  Michele Heyward is also an accomplished engineer, and one of the few female African American engineers on site in  a male dominated industry.  She shares how to gain valuable knowledge in order to establish yourself as an indispensable asset. Michele may be reached via any of her social media accounts by simply searching for her uniquely spelled name.  

Word of mouth of marketing delivers the highest ROI of any marketing channel out there.  The way to increase your share of word of mouth is through networking...the right way.  I built my business from networking but during that time, I have also witnessed a lot of bad entworkers.  This podcast will help you learn how to get the most out of networking and fill your appointment schedule to the hilt every week!     This espisode is sponsored by Vyte, the fastest way to schedule meetings.  Get your Vyte upgrade discount by clicking here. If you like our intro music, podcast listeners can Joni Brovo's entire EP, The Soft Life Vol 1 for only a penny at http://bit.ly/2gCP4ZZ.  Help to support this up and coming artist.  

Lewis Johnson is the owner of LDC Cleaning and a person that I have known for years.  A man of high integrity who chose to start a business in an area that he was totally unfamiliar with after being downsized from Corporate America.  Lewis shares his perspectives of starting a business that is much different than the usual stories we hear out there in the marketplace.  Running a professional cleaning company has its own challenges and Lewis' perspective is a breath of fresh air Lewis may be contacted at http://wwwldjcleaning.com or by calling 630-405-6682 You may learn more about our sponsor, Vyte at http://bit.ly/2eGmS7A If you like our intro and outro music, you may listen and buy Joni Brovo's EP at http://bit.ly/2gCP4ZZ Franklin Rivera is available for seminars, public speaking and one on one digital marketing training.  Schedule a time to talk by visiting http://bit.ly/2h6Gd2k

This has been one of my favorite episodes to date. I get the chance to have a real honest discussion with someone who has been my advisor in more ways than one.  I call him the Undercover Advisor, and it is his real honest "outside looking in" advice that has helped me keep my head above water as a business owner.  Listen in and enjoy our discussion as the Undercover Advisor shares some great insights into leadership, motivation, ethical choices and more.   This espisode is sponsored by Vyte, the fastest way to schedule meetings.  Get your Vyte upgrade discount by clicking here. If you like our intro music, podcast listeners can Joni Brovo's entire EP, The Soft Life Vol 1 for only a penny at http://bit.ly/2gCP4ZZ.  Help to support this up and coming artist.  

Too many times businesses look at marketing as a last ditch effort to increase sales.  More often than not, businesses expect inbound traffic to websites to translate into sales and are often disappointed.  The digital marketing industry has made a lot of empty promises and business owners are hard pressed to understant digital marketing and how it can actually lead to revenue generation. Franklin explains how a digital marketing strategy should be formulated, from a business owners point of view, not a marketing point of view.  Listen and learn and be an educated business owner.   Franklin is the Founder and CEO of the V2M2 Group, Inc. a social media and advocacy marketing agency that services clients nationwide.  Franklin has over 22 years of experience with such brands as Novartis, GlaxoSmithkline and Johnson and Johnson.  His holistic approach to digital marketing and revenue generation is what has enabled him and his company to be engaged with some of the biggest brands in the world.   He may be reached

This week I had the pleasure of having a chat with a remarkable person, Nicki Anderson who started out as an entrepreneur and ended up as CEO of a top ranked Chamber of Commerce in the United States.  Naperville is constantly being ranked as one of the best places to live in the United States.  Their strong business community is where Nicki got her start as an entrepreneur and business owner.  She later sold her business but retirement could not keep a hold of her, and pretty soon, she was asked to head up one of the few 5 Star Chambers in the United States.  Listen to her inspiring story about entrepreneurship and the challenges she was able to overcome.   You can read about the Naperville Chamber of Commerce at http://www.naperville.net. The intro and outro music is from Joni Brovo and his new EP, Soft Life Vol. 1 which may be found here.

Rick Lochner, founder and CEO of RPC Leadership Associates knows a thing or two about developing the leader in all of us.  A West Point Graduate, military officer, successful C-Suite Executive and now business owner, Rick Lochner is on a mission to help companies and individuals maximize their businesses and their lives through his proprietary system. Rick gives us real insight into what we can do to help ourselves and our businesses be the best that they can be.  

Gained a lot of knowledge with Thomas Herman of the CRO Roundtable in this session. Thomas was very real and frank about some of the challenges that he sees when working with companies that are desiring growth.    CRO RoundTable was created as a forum for sales leaders (CROs CEOs, VP Sales, etc.) to meet for the purpose of creating actionable processes that result in top line revenue growth.  Starting with a company’s Culture, Strategy and Execution related to revenue, they identify gaps that are hindering growth and determine the actionable processes that close the gaps and improve results. Here is how you can get in touch with the CRO Roundtable.  http://croroundtable.com/

Be truly inspired and ready to go when you hear the amazing CEO of Tribe talk about his growth to become CEO of a truly innovative online collaboration tool called Tribe.  Hear how his outlook on life and his passion for making a difference became the driving force behind growing his idea into a truly different tool that everyone can use, from the technologically challenged to the truly savvy tech heads out there.  His new iteration, Tribe Coach is poised to change the world of business coaches of all kinds, as it offers an easy way for all parties involved to remain accountable without the requirement of software downloads and a zero-learning curve.  I have used a lot of PM and collaboration tools out there.  Once I tried Tribe, I never looked back.  See Tribe here.  See Tribe Coach here!

Ryan Siebert is the managing partner of SG Homebuilders.  SG Homebuilders which Ryan helped to form, builds custom luxury homes in the Chicago area.  At a young age, Ryan has amassed a wealth of knowledge that is both impressive and inspirational.  Listen closely as Ryan puts all of those Millennial myths to rest.  You can read about Ryan's company at http://www.sghomebuilders.com.

In this episode I interview my own wife, Liset Rivera, who is an entrepreneur in her own right.  We look at the struggles from the view of spouse, as she had to make difficult decisions for the family as I started running my own business.  

This short podcast explains the reason why I changed the name to the RNR Show with Franklin Rivera.  Hopefully we do what we do so that we can make a positive difference in the lives of others.  Most of the time, this requires looking at the bigger picture.