Humble Influence, Followership, and the Culture Behind Leadership with Jim Matuga
Release Date: 03/18/2026
How to Get Podcast Leads Without Paid Ads With Tom Schwab of Interview Valet
Small Business Stories
S6:E42 The market is louder than ever, yet trust feels like a rare commodity. Many founders are visible but not chosen. They generate impressions, traffic, and activity, yet still lack meaningful conversations with ideal buyers. If people don’t trust you, they won’t engage. If they don’t remember you, they won’t refer you. If your growth depends only on ads, it remains fragile. Tom Schwab joins Dr. LL to discuss how podcast guesting can create a more durable path to authority, relationships, and revenue. 👤 Guest Tom Schwab, Interview Valet Leader in podcast interview marketing and...
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Small Business Growth Without Guardrails: Hiring, Risk & Profitability with Michelle Griffin
Small Business Stories
S6:E41 Growth exposes what founders postpone (isn't that the truth?!). Many businesses believe HR is just paperwork. In reality, HR often determines whether growth compounds, or fractures. If people don’t trust your standards, culture weakens. If systems don’t support growth, margins erode. If leadership delays hard decisions, costs multiply quietly. In this episode, Michelle Griffin joins Dr. LL to discuss what really happens when small businesses grow faster than their people infrastructure. 👤 Guest Michelle Griffin, Griffin Resources Specialist in HR systems, hiring compliance,...
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How to Run a Small Business Better With Less Chaos Featuring Dan Norcross
Small Business Stories
S6:E40 Most businesses either have a revenue problem or an operating problem. In this episode, Dr. LL explores why capable founders often stay trapped inside businesses they built: overloaded, reactive, and too central to everything. "Founder fatigue" is real, folks. If people can’t move without you, the company is constrained. If every issue escalates to the founder, scale is fragile. If systems are weak, growth becomes expensive. Dan Norcross shares a grounded perspective on building businesses that function with more discipline and less drama. Guest Dan Norcross Entrepreneur / Operator...
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How to Build Trust as an Entrepreneur When No One Knows You With Kira Shishkin
Small Business Stories
S6:E39 Trust isn’t built by showing up more. It’s built by being understood. In this episode, Dr. LL explores a recurring challenge facing entrepreneurs: why visibility alone isn’t translating into credibility or growth. If people don’t trust you, they don’t buy. If they don’t understand you, they can’t trust you. And if your signal is inconsistent, you remain invisible, no matter how often you show up. Kira Shishkin brings perspective on what it actually takes to build trust in modern business environments, where attention is fragmented and skepticism is high. Guest Kira...
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How to Get a Business Loan (When Banks Say No) with Kumal Bhasin
Small Business Stories
S6:E38 Access to capital isn’t just a financial decision. It’s a strategic one - albeit increasingly confusing. In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with Kunal Bhasin to explore how the lending landscape has evolved—and why many small business owners struggle to navigate it effectively. If people don’t trust the process, they hesitate. If they don’t understand their options, they default to urgency. If decisions are made under pressure, long-term stability suffers. Kunal brings a grounded perspective on how marketplaces create optionality, how lenders actually evaluate risk, and why...
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Ownership, Fit & The Discipline of Franchising with Giuseppe Grammatico
Small Business Stories
S6:E37 Franchising is often misunderstood. Many assume it’s "passive income" that prints cash in the backyard. NOTHING is really passive! Especially not at first. Others think franchising is low-risk, or limited to fast food. In reality, it requires discipline, self-awareness, and the ability to follow systems. This is something many entrepreneurs resist. Giuseppe Grammatico breaks down what actually determines success, and why most people are evaluating the wrong things from the start. In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with Giuseppe Grammatico to unpack what franchising actually...
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How to Grow Your Small Business Without Burning Out: The Cost of Overextending Yourself with Jessica Volker
Small Business Stories
S6:E36 Many founders don't talk about this - but we do. Burnout doesn’t happen all at once. It builds through small, misaligned decisions over time. In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with Jessica Volker to explore what sustainable growth actually requires and why so many entrepreneurs unintentionally build businesses that drain them. If people don’t trust your consistency, they hesitate. If your priorities aren’t clear, your execution suffers. If you’re doing everything, nothing compounds because you and your signal are spread too thin. Jessica brings a grounded perspective on...
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Building a Business Without a Blueprint: Niche Entrepreneurship and Resilience with Nicholas Breedlove
Small Business Stories
S6:E35 Some of the strongest businesses are built without a clear path. In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with Nicholas Breedlove, CEO of NVB Playgrounds, to explore what it really takes to build and scale a business in a niche industry without prior experience, without a playbook, and without external validation. If people don’t trust your capability, they hesitate. If your positioning isn’t clear, they overlook you. If you wait for credentials, you delay momentum. Nicholas shares his journey into the playground industry and how he built a widly successful company focused on safe,...
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Visibility, Authenticity & The Reality of Building a Brand Through Photography with Olga Mischenko
Small Business Stories
S6:E34 If people don’t trust what they see, they won’t engage with what you say. And for many small business owners, that breakdown starts with their image. In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with photographer Olga Mischenko to explore the intersection of visual identity, authenticity, and the real demands of entrepreneurship. This conversation moves beyond photography to surface a deeper issue: the gap between how entrepreneurs present themselves and who they actually are. 👤 Guest Olga Mischenko Founder, Photography by Olga Mischenko ⚠️ Core Problems Misaligned...
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Meaning, Leadership & The Cost of Silence with Renowned Executive Coach Ash Seddeek
Small Business Stories
S6:E33 If people don’t hear from you, they don’t wait. They interpret. And most of the time, they get it wrong. In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with renowned executive coach, Ash Seddeek, to explore what leadership communication actually requires in today’s environment where visibility is constant, trust is fragile, and silence carries weight. This is a conversation about responsibility, meaning, and the unseen consequences of how leaders show up - or don’t. 👤 Guest Ash Seddeek Founder, Executive Greatness Institute 📖 Books Ash has written several books on leadership....
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What happens when leadership is treated like status instead of stewardship?
In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with Jim Matuga, founder of Interaction Media, longtime entrepreneur, podcast host, spirit "ambassador" for West Virginia, and author of Humble Influence. We had a grounded conversation about culture, followership, faith, community, and what it really takes to lead people well in a turbulent era.
If people don’t trust you, they won’t follow you.
If they don’t feel seen, they won’t stay.
If leadership is performative instead of relational, culture eventually breaks under pressure.
Jim brings a perspective shaped by entrepreneurship in West Virginia, decades in media and marketing, and the lessons behind his book Humble Influence. The book is especially compelling because it pushes against a familiar leadership distortion: the idea that everyone must be the leader, or that followership is somehow lesser. Instead, Jim makes a thoughtful case that healthy followership is a choice, humility is strength, and better leadership often begins with understanding how to support, empower, and elevate others. Faith is part of that foundation too, not in a heavy-handed way, but as a steady moral center around service, love, and responsibility. I thoroughly enjoyed his book and read it cover to cover.
Guest
Jim Matuga
Founder, Interaction Media
Host, Positively West Virginia
Author, Humble Influence
BUY HIS BOOK HERE 👇
https://www.amazon.com/Humble-Influence-Strength-True-Followership/dp/B0F9WJFTSJ
Core Problems
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Founders assuming titles create followership
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Culture being treated as branding instead of operating discipline
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Teams underperforming when leadership becomes too centralized
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Small businesses trying to navigate AI disruption without losing their humanity
Practical Takeaways
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Culture pays dividends when it is practiced daily, not admired conceptually
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Strong businesses are built with people, not around one personality
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Followership is not weakness; it is a conscious form of contribution
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AI may disrupt execution, but trust, judgment, and human alignment still matter
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Community can become a strategic asset when people genuinely want each other to win
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to Small Business Stories
01:29 What keeps Jim going after 500 episodes
05:35 What West Virginia teaches about business and belonging
11:15 Winning with people and building around excellence
15:16 Why culture became a turning point
17:14 The story behind Humble Influence
21:09 Leadership as a choice, not a title
24:24 AI, StoryMaker, and agency disruption
34:30 Faith, love, and the deeper why behind business
Who This Episode Is For
Entrepreneurs, founders, managers, and leadership-minded professionals trying to build trust, strengthen culture, and lead with more humility and clarity.
Invisible brands don’t make money, and neither do businesses whose leadership signal is distorted from the inside out.
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