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ep 31 Mastering Marketing - With Matt Tompkins

CEO Bros - After Hours

Release Date: 09/12/2025

Entrepreneur's Journey - Rory Rubin, CEO of S.I. Container Builds show art Entrepreneur's Journey - Rory Rubin, CEO of S.I. Container Builds

CEO Bros - After Hours

Social worker turns 26 million stranded shipping containers into housing. Rory's husband offered a solution to her midlife crisis: "Just buy a sports car." She started a manufacturing company instead. Seven years later, she's built a two-story structure on Lake Michigan. This is episode 41. When the easier path isn't the right one. *YOU'LL DISCOVER* • Why 26 million shipping containers sit in US graveyards • How a clinical social worker became a manufacturing CEO • The Navy Pier project that made Chicago history • Why containers weren't legal for housing until 2018 *WHAT ACTUALLY...

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Productive Friction show art Productive Friction

CEO Bros - After Hours

Sales vs. Legal. Operations vs. Compliance. You vs. your Co-founder at 2am. Brad encourages friction. Brian lets it run longer than most CEOs. They both know something most entrepreneurs miss: the uncomfortable tension between departments isn't killing your business. Avoiding it is. Sales wants to close the deal. Legal wants to protect the company. Operations needs flexibility. Compliance needs rules. Most CEOs try to eliminate the friction. Brad and Brian? They promote it. This is episode 40: Let’s Get Ready To Rumbbbbbbbble! *YOU'LL DISCOVER* • Why "copacetic" environments produce lazy...

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Pros and Cons of Remote Work ep 39 show art Pros and Cons of Remote Work ep 39

CEO Bros - After Hours

Remote work introduced problems offices never had. Dogs barking. Contractors arriving. Kids at the door. Cameras off or multitasking? Working in PJs or logging extra hours? Brad thinks remote work kills his 550-employee culture. Brian cleaned out VHT's fridge in March 2020 and never came back for two years. COVID forced the experiment. Some companies stayed remote. Others are dragging people back. AT&T doesn't have enough parking spaces. Microsoft's thriving. Brad can't imagine meetings with cameras off. This is episode 39. Remote versus in-office, and why nobody's figured it out. You'll...

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Intuitive vs Analytic decision making ep 38 show art Intuitive vs Analytic decision making ep 38

CEO Bros - After Hours

Making decisions fast? Making them careful? Or just frozen between the two? Brian spent three months analyzing a new product line nobody in the industry had ever done. Endless scenarios that led nowhere. He finally said screw it and pulled the trigger anyway. Now people ask him how he decided to do something nobody else can replicate. Brad runs the opposite problem. His team moves so fast they don't think through consequences. This is episode 38. How to know when to trust your gut and when to slow down. In this conversation, you'll discover: • The two questions that determine instinct versus...

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ep 37 Budgeting - It's a show art ep 37 Budgeting - It's a

CEO Bros - After Hours

Budget Battle Royale: The Smackdown Between Growth vs. Profit (+ The $250K Contest Catastrophe)* Two CEOs reveal the brutal truth about budgeting, why "set it and forget it" destroys businesses, and how to turn budget fights into innovation. Think you know how to budget? Think again. In this raw, unfiltered conversation, Brian and Brad (two CEOs who've built, scaled, and sold companies) destroy the myths around business budgeting and reveal why most entrepreneurs are doing it completely wrong. You'll discover: • Why the "baseline vs. zero-up" debate could make or break your company • The...

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ep36  What got us here Wont get us where we need to go next show art ep36 What got us here Wont get us where we need to go next

CEO Bros - After Hours

What got us here, won’t get us where we are going next.   The guys discuss the business philosophy that "What got us here won't necessarily get us there." The conversation focuses on the evolution of a growing business, emphasizing the need for change in leadership, systems, processes, and people to reach the next level of success. Both CEOs share personal examples. Ultimately, they conclude that bold, sometimes unpopular decisions are necessary for a company to scale effectively. This discussion centers on a fundamental challenge faced by every growing business: the skills,...

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ep 35 Do the Little Things Really Make or Break a Business? show art ep 35 Do the Little Things Really Make or Break a Business?

CEO Bros - After Hours

A spirited discussion about the critical importance of attention to detail in business. The guys share anecdotes, including a story about an easily forgotten rental car in Las Vegas and an example of poorly implemented office doors, to illustrate the consequences of overlooking small details. A central theme is the contrasting perspectives on leadership, with Brad emphasizing the need to "inspect what you expect" and Brian trusting employees to handle details, and they explore how details significantly influence the customer experience and overall business success, citing examples like the...

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ep 34 He said what?  The essentials of business presentations show art ep 34 He said what? The essentials of business presentations

CEO Bros - After Hours

Public Speaking for Business Leadership   This episode of ‘CEO Bros - after hours’ synthesizes key insights on public speaking as an essential leadership skill, derived from a discussion among business leaders and a communications expert. The central argument is that while public speaking is a common and significant fear, it is a non-negotiable and masterable competency for anyone in a leadership role. Effective speaking hinges on three pillars: meticulous preparation, controlled delivery, and a relentless focus on a clear, memorable message. Key strategies include knowing the...

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Did minimum wage policies kill entry level jobs? show art Did minimum wage policies kill entry level jobs?

CEO Bros - After Hours

5 Surprising Ways Raising the Minimum Wage Can Backfire, According to Two CEOs The Well-Intentioned Policy with Hidden Costs Raising the minimum wage is often seen as a direct and compassionate solution to help low-income workers. The logic seems simple: pay people more, and their quality of life will improve. However, for business leaders on the front lines of managing payrolls and profit margins, the reality is far more complex. They argue that this well-intentioned policy is fraught with hidden costs and unintended consequences. One CEO bluntly describes the policy as a "big heart, small...

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New Client Experience - Make or Break show art New Client Experience - Make or Break

CEO Bros - After Hours

Many businesses focus on a single question: How do we get new clients? However, a more critical question is how you keep them once you have them. This episode opens with a comical but eye-opening story about a truly terrible first-time experience at a dentist’s office. Despite spending a lot on advertising to attract new patients, this practice had a disorganized, impersonal process that left the patient confused, disrespected, and unsure about what procedures were even being performed. This is a powerful lesson for any business: a first impression, especially for a new client, is not just a...

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Marketing Simplified: Strategies for Business Growth

In this Episode, they guys and guest Matt Tompkins, CEO of Two Brothers Creative, discuss effective marketing strategies for businesses. The conversation starts with the common pitfalls of expensive, complex marketing automation platforms that businesses often fail to utilize properly due to a lack of understanding or setup. A central theme is the importance of understanding return on investment (ROI) for marketing efforts, moving beyond superficial metrics like "impressions" to focus on conversions and paying customers. Tompkins emphasizes the need to simplify marketing by first defining a target customer persona, understanding their needs, and then strategically selecting one or two key platforms—like YouTube or Google Business Profile for local businesses—for concentrated effort, rather than spreading resources thinly across many. The discussion concludes by stressing that successful marketing is more of a science based on data and audience understanding than a pure art, advocating for a focused, relationship-driven approach to connect with ideal customers.



"Marketing for Startups and Established Businesses"

 

I. The Disconnect Between Marketing Investment and ROI

A recurring theme is the common struggle businesses face in accurately measuring the return on investment (ROI) for their marketing efforts.

  • Expensive Tools, Unused Potential: 

  • Focus on Vanity Metrics: 

  • The "Science, Not Art" of Marketing: 

 

II. Simplifying Marketing: The Core Principles

Matt Tompkins advocates for simplifying marketing down to its core components, making it less overwhelming and more effective.

  • Marketing at its Core: "Marketing in its… at its core is really simple.

  • The "Why" Behind Marketing: 

  • Three Key Focus Areas (for Solopreneurs): 

  • One Thing at a Time: 

 

III. The Foundation of Effective Marketing: Knowing Your Customer

The most critical and often overlooked step in marketing is a deep understanding of the target customer.

  • The Relationship Analogy: 

  • Defining the Buyer Persona: 

  • "Our Product is for Everybody" is a Lie: 

  • Solving a Problem for a Specific Person: 

  • Persona for B2B: 

 

IV. Strategic Platform Selection and Utilization

Once the customer persona is established, the next step is to strategically choose and leverage marketing platforms.

  • Focus on One Platform First: 

  • Platform Purpose Matters:

  • YouTube: 

  • Pinterest: 

  • Prioritizing for Local Businesses: 

  • Google Business Profile: 

  • YouTube: 

  • AI Search (ChatGPT, etc.): 

  • Put Yourself in the Customer's Mind: 

 

V. The Value of Expert Guidance and Continuous Learning

The conversation also highlights the importance of seeking knowledge and guidance in the complex marketing landscape.

  • Learning from Experience: 

  • Building Trust Through Honesty: 

  • Accessibility of Knowledge: 

In conclusion, this episode emphasizes that effective marketing, particularly in today's evolving digital landscape, requires a thoughtful, data-driven approach that prioritizes understanding the customer, strategically selecting platforms, and measuring tangible ROI, rather than blindly investing in complex tools or chasing vanity metrics.