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.
May 12, 2026
Why Franchising Breaks Founders and How to Fix It with John Francis
In this milestone 200th guest episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, John Francis, known as "Johnny Franchise" and founder of Fathers Eve, breaks down the franchise leadership bottleneck: why founders unintentionally become the ceiling on their own growth, and how structural accountability and clarity fix it.
Guest: John Francis
May 7, 2026
The Role of Empathy in Leadership with Sarah Feely
Sarah Feely, Chief Learning Officer of Compassionate Leaders Circle, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to unpack empathy in leadership: why self-fulfilling prophecies shape culture, why authenticity starts with self-awareness, and why compassionate systems, not just compassionate people, are what make leadership impact last.
Guest: Sarah Feely
May 5, 2026
Empathy, Emotional Intelligence and Connection in Business with Mike Weinberger
Mike Weinberger, co-founder of Replay Sports Cards, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to unpack emotional intelligence at work: why the product is the experience, why community curation beats pure profit motive, and why the highest-leverage leadership habit is simply to listen.
Guest: Mike Weinberger
April 30, 2026
The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Business with Angela Coté
Angela Coté, Founder and CEO of AC Inc., joins The Bliss Business Podcast to unpack emotional intelligence in franchising: why field coaching beats compliance, how top performers stop blaming the system, and the one question that turns dependent franchisees into confident owners.
Guest: Angela Coté
April 28, 2026
Building Community and Connection in Business with Ruth Ellen Elinski
Ruth Ellen Elinski, Associate State Director of the Arizona SBDC Network and co-founder of PinDrop Travel Trailers, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explore community and connection in business, showing how local networks, free advising, and simple visibility turn isolated founders into resilient, growth-ready businesses.
Guest: Ruth Ellen Elinski
April 23, 2026
Building Community and Connection in Business with Matt Dyer
Matt Dyer, CEO and President of Merchants Fleet, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explore community and connection in business, showing how trust, clear KPIs, and horizontal teamwork turn 165,000 vehicles and one client promise into 99 percent retention.
Guest: Matt Dyer
April 21, 2026
The Role of Empathy in Leadership with Greg Essenmacher
Greg Essenmacher, CEO of GnA Consult, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explore empathy and case acceptance in fixed full arch dentistry, showing how a trademarked call framework and measurable empathy scorecards turn shame-based hesitation into trust.
Guest: Greg Essenmacher
April 16, 2026
The Role of Empathy in Leadership with Alberto J. Ortiz
Alberto Ortiz, CEO and President of ATAX, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to show how leading with empathy at scale, through availability, get-to-know-you sheets, and a willingness to say yes, built a 2,700-office franchise culture.
Guest: Alberto J. Ortiz
April 14, 2026
Building Community and Connection in Business with Leslie Youngblood
Leslie Youngblood, Founder and CEO of Youngblood MMC, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explore community and connection in business, showing why a thousand real fans beat a million passive followers.
Guest: Leslie Youngblood
April 9, 2026
Service as Infrastructure: The Heart of a Blissful Business with Julie Budkowski & Brian Baird
Julie Budkowski, Managing Director, and Brian Baird, Founder and Executive Director of the National Museum and Center for Service, join The Bliss Business Podcast to make the case that service as infrastructure, not charity, is what holds teams, culture, and democratic society together.
Guests: Brian Baird , Julie Budkowski
April 7, 2026
Building Community and Connection in Business with Vince Quinn
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Vince Quinn, Founder of SBX Productions and a former national radio host, shares how building community and connection turns podcast listeners into real relationships, not just an audience, through intention, systems, and authentic conversation.
Guest: Vince Quinn
April 2, 2026
The Role of Empathy in Leadership with Steph Porter
Steph Porter, Founder of Ink and Iron PR, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to describe people first crisis response from the inside: the day a shooting killed an employee and a customer, why the executives went to the site, and what empathy costs when the clock is running.
Guest: Steph Porter
March 31, 2026
Building Community and Connection in Business with Noah Smock
Noah Smock, Director of Resource Development at ToolBank USA, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explain radical sharing: a lending model that takes equipment costs off nonprofit budgets and, more importantly, changes what those organizations think they can take on.
Guest: Noah Smock
March 26, 2026
Special Edition Monologue: The Business Case for Grace with Tullio Siragusa
In this special edition BLISS Monologue, Tullio Siragusa makes the business case for grace, the argument that flexing a system around a person in crisis protects the truth signal, the decision quality, and the retention a company depends on.
Guest: Tullio Siragusa
March 24, 2026
Innovative Work Models for the Future with Megan Braverman
Megan Braverman, Owner and Principal of Berbay Marketing & PR, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explain how virtual firm culture gets designed rather than inherited, and why professional service firms that run on individuals instead of systems break at exactly the wrong moment.
Guest: Megan Braverman
March 19, 2026
Fostering a Culture of Inclusivity with Paul Damico
Paul Damico, President and CEO of Ascent Hospitality Management, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explain how a culture of inclusivity gets built in a 500-restaurant franchise system, one granular conversation at a time.
Guest: Paul Damico
March 17, 2026
The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Business with Zechariah Thomas
Zechariah Thomas, Founder and CEO of Swift Hockey and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree at 23, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to describe emotional intelligence for founders as a recovery speed: how quickly you return to level after the day tries to knock you off it.
Guest: Zechariah Thomas
March 12, 2026
Building Community and Connection in Business with Charles Furlough
Charles Furlough, President and CEO of Pillar To Post Home Inspectors, joins The Bliss Business Podcast with a working definition of a brand as promises made and measured, and a franchise system built to keep them across 47 states and eight provinces.
Guest: Charles Furlough
March 10, 2026
The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Business with Chelsea Espinoza
Chelsea Espinoza, founder and CEO of Road to Jubilee and a quality of life coach, joins the show to make the case for emotional intelligence in business. She explains why systems built for profit quietly tax the people inside them, and what leaders can measure instead.
Guest: Chelsea Espinoza
March 5, 2026
Sustainable Business Practices and Ethics with Amanda Fornal
Amanda Fornal, founder of Orange SFM and creator of the Investing in Kindness initiative, joins the show to argue that kindness is a performance multiplier rather than a soft value. She connects psychological safety, loyalty, and long-term sustainability.
Guest: Amanda Fornal
Feb. 26, 2026
The Role of Empathy in Leadership with Sherrill Kaplan
Sherrill Kaplan, Chief Revenue Officer at Hand and Stone, joins Tullio Siragusa to talk about leadership feedback loops. After 20 years across Dunkin, Planet Fitness, Zipcar, American Express, and Citigroup, she argues empathy only becomes real when a system asks people how their leader is actually landing.
Guest: Sherrill Kaplan
Feb. 24, 2026
The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Business with Quinn Harwood
Quinn Harwood, professional certified coach and author of Growth Time, joins Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa with a daily self awareness practice he calls the Midnight Mirror, plus the three levels of listening that decide whether a leader is building empathy or just performing it.
Guest: QUINN HARWOOD
Feb. 19, 2026
Building Community and Connection in Business with Steve Ramona
Steve Ramona, super connector and host of Doing Business with a Servant’s Heart, joins Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa to break down intentional introductions: the opening question, the four step listening loop, and why he made 1,800 referrals last year without tracking what came back.
Guest: Steve Ramona
Feb. 17, 2026
The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Business with Josh Fitzgerald
Josh Fitzgerald went from Zoomin Groomin franchisee in 2023 to CEO in 2025. He joins Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa on responding versus reacting, why he journals to find his own blind spots, and the four customer metrics that expose a trust problem.
Guest: Josh Fitzgerald