Featured Guest Series Episodes
Welcome to the Guest Series on The Bliss Business Podcast! In this series, we spotlight exceptional leaders of companies that embody the core values of Belonging, Love, Inspiration, Service, and Sustainability. These organizations set the standard for empathy and people-centric business practices, creating positive and inclusive work environments.
Join us as we explore the stories and strategies of these remarkable companies, and gain valuable insights on integrating BLISS principles into your own business practices. Subscribe and follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes and be inspired by leaders who are making a difference.
Join us as we explore the stories and strategies of these remarkable companies, and gain valuable insights on integrating BLISS principles into your own business practices. Subscribe and follow us to stay updated on the latest episodes and be inspired by leaders who are making a difference.
Aug. 4, 2026
Rent-to-Own with a Purpose with Charles Smitherman
Charles Smitherman, CEO of the Association of Professional Rental Organizations, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to make the case for consumer access and dignity as the point of the rent-to-own model, and to explain why an industry built on access has to be built on standards too.
Guest: Charles Smitherman
July 30, 2026
Empathy at Neighborly Scale with Mike Davis
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Mike Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Neighborly, explains how empathy in franchise leadership scales trust across 5,500 franchise locations through shared values, accountability, and what he calls "shared insomnia" for franchise owners' success.
Guest: Mike Davis
July 28, 2026
The Craft of Conscious Growth with Tim Elinski
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Tim Elinski, Founder of Pin Drop Travel Trailers, explains how sustainable business practices guide handcrafted, solar-powered trailer manufacturing in rural Arizona, proving that durable products, local jobs, and historic preservation can grow together.
Guest: Tim Elinski
July 23, 2026
Storytelling That Builds Connection with Ben Green
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Ben Green, Lead Consultant at The Storytellers (part of Accenture), shares how storytelling that builds connection helps leaders lead with empathy, activate strategy, and turn change into shared ownership.
Guest: Ben Green
July 21, 2026
The EQ Behind Clear Marketing with Josh Porter
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Josh Porter, Founder of Thunderwolf Consulting and former Google Cloud marketing leader, shares the emotional intelligence in marketing that turns complex, technical products into stories customers actually understand.
Guest: Josh Porter
July 16, 2026
Emotional Intelligence for Durable Growth with Brad Poulos
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Brad Poulos, small business professor and author of Most Problems Solve Themselves, unpacks emotional intelligence in business: how founders make hard calls with clarity, build durable systems, and grow companies that don't consume them.
Guest: Brad Poulos
July 14, 2026
Paws, Trust, and Franchise Growth with Nicole Peel
Nicole Peel, founder of Pawsitively Spoiled, explains how a college side hustle became a national pet sitting franchise built entirely on trust.
Guest: Nicole Peel
July 9, 2026
Greener Lawns, Stronger Businesses with Kelly Giard
Kelly Giard, founder of Clean Air Lawn Care, explains how solar power, organic treatments, and local ownership built a sustainable lawn care franchise that competes on price.
Guest: Kelly Giard
July 7, 2026
Stewarding Homes, Trust, and Legacy in Hospitality with Tom Goodwin
Tom Goodwin, second-generation Steward and CEO of Mountain Laurel Chalets, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explain hospitality stewardship: why his family-owned vacation rental company treats homes and guests as relationships, not inventory, and how that mindset built a 59 percent repeat booking rate.
Guest: Tom Goodwin
July 2, 2026
Market Engineering: Building Markets That Win with Bruce Cleveland
Bruce Cleveland, Founder and CEO of Traction Gap Partners, returns to The Bliss Business Podcast to unpack market engineering: the five-tenet framework, category design, positioning, messaging, storytelling, and thought leadership, that helps companies build the market their product deserves, not just the product itself.
Guest: Bruce Cleveland
June 30, 2026
Building Community, Trust, and Impact Through Conscious Leadership with Kim Bode
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Kim Bode, CEO and Founder of 8THIRTYFOUR, explains why conscious capitalism leadership starts with putting the whole before the self, and why she believes real trust with employees and clients begins with self-love before it can extend to anyone else.
Guest: Kim Bode
June 25, 2026
Beauty in Scale: Empowering Franchise Leaders with Meg Roberts
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Meg Roberts, CEO of Head to Toe Brands, explains how empowering franchise leaders means protecting the franchisee relationship first, treating franchise fees as a starting point rather than a business model, and never stopping when it comes to mentorship.
Guest: Meg Roberts
June 23, 2026
Scaling Wellness Through Purpose and Community with Jolita Brilliant
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Jolita Brilliant, founder of Brilliant Massage & Skin and author of From Solo Therapist to Spa Empire, shares how wellness through purpose and community helped her grow one treatment room into a multi-location, franchised spa brand without losing its personal touch.
Guest: Jolita Brilliant
June 18, 2026
Paws & Purpose: Building Community in Pet Franchising with Michelle Sandonato
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Michelle Sandonato, co-founder and president of Bowie Barker Bath + Groomerie, shares how building community in pet franchising helps dog grooming feel less transactional and more like trusted, joyful neighborhood care as the brand expands nationwide.
Guest: Michelle Sandonato
June 16, 2026
Inside Move America Initiative: Culture in Action with Alicia Hart and Jeanine Charlton
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we continue our conversation with Merchants Fleet, joined by Alicia Hart, Chief People Officer, and Jeanine Charlton, Chief Technology Officer, who show how culture in action turns Move America from strategy into daily leadership behavior.
Guests: Alicia Hart , Jeanine Charlton
June 11, 2026
Profit and Social Responsibility in Mission-Driven Startups with Mike Ma
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Mike Ma, Managing Partner and Head Coach at Sidecut Ventures, explores profit and social responsibility in mission-driven startups: why coachable founders, not fast capital, build companies that scale responsibly and create lasting impact.
June 9, 2026
Empathy, Community, and Connection in Franchise Leadership with Larisa Walega
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Larisa Walega, Chief Growth Officer of Ziebart International Corporation, explains how empathy in franchise leadership starts with listening to franchise owners, treating customer experience as emotional, and building systems that protect trust instead of replacing it.
Guest: Larisa Walega
June 4, 2026
Civilization Advances When Compassion Becomes Infrastructure
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa argue that civilization advances when compassion becomes infrastructure, not when individual leaders occasionally act with care, and explain why AI will only amplify whatever culture a company already has.
Guests: Stephen Sakach , Tullio Siragusa
June 2, 2026
Building Community Through Empathy in Pet Care Franchising with Shaina Denny
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Shaina Denny, Founder and CEO of Dogdrop, explains how empathy in pet care franchising starts with training the care team first, and how a membership model and small-footprint locations keep personalized care realistic at scale.
Guest: Shaina Denny
May 28, 2026
Value DRiVEN: Scaling Brands Through Connection with Adam Sutton
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Adam Sutton, CEO of DX3 Brands and RNR Tire Express, shares how scaling brands through connection turns transactional service into real relationships, and why culture, customers, and community are the three C's driving sustainable franchise growth.
Guest: Adam Sutton
May 26, 2026
EQ and Empathy: The New Standard for Franchise Success with Roxanne Conrad
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Roxanne Conrad, Chief Operating Officer of Premium Service Brands, explains why emotional intelligence at scale means matching people to the roles where they succeed naturally, and why clarity, not sentiment, is what makes systems feel supportive instead of rigid.
Guest: Roxanne Conrad
May 21, 2026
Ethical Community Growth: The Future of Innovative Franchise Models with Nick Ridgway
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Nick Ridgway, Vice President of Franchise Development for Service Experts, explains why ethical community growth means selecting franchise owners who want to belong to a community, not simply extract from it, and why trust has to be built the same way in every phase of ownership.
Guest: Nick Ridgway
May 19, 2026
Building Purpose-Led Marketing Systems with Gareth Bain
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Gareth Bain, fractional CMO and founder of Got Legs Digital, explains why reactive marketing systems break down as businesses scale, and how founders can replace chaos with clarity.
Guest: Gareth Bain
May 14, 2026
Sustainable Business Practices and Ethics with Sam Berman
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Sam Berman, Founder and CEO of LARC, explains how sustainable business practices replaced one-time wood shipping crates with a reusable system, and why the company funds the fight against human trafficking.
Guest: Sam Berman