What Are You Good At: : The Playbook for Smart Scaling with Alisa & Jeff
Coffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Release Date: 08/13/2026
Coffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
If you’re looking to Franchise your business, or thinking about it, CEO Alisa Sparks with Linden Creek will guide you how to do it! 3 highlights from our conversation: 1. Turn what works into a system Don’t just grow… replicate -When your process is clear and teachable, others can run it—and you can scale it. 2. Test before you expand Don’t assume demand. Prove it - Start small, validate the market, then go all in with confidence. 3. Build the playbook Success isn’t only talent—it’s systems - Document what works so it can be repeated without you. --- Alisa Sparks is the...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Most people think franchising is the easy path to business ownership. It's not. But it might be a smart path. I sat down with John Ostenson — top 1% franchise broker and CEO of FranBridge Consulting — and here's what stood out: 3 Takeaways: 1. AI-proof your investment. The smart money is flowing into trades and home services — businesses AI can use but never replace. 2. Activity breeds activity. Stop waiting for the perfect time. It doesn't exist. Start moving toward option A or B — option C shows up when you're in motion. 3. Your first hire in that key seat can make or...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Playing the Long Game: Lessons from a HUD Specialist and a Soft Serve Stand I sat down with Gemma Geldmacher, Managing Director of Mortgage Banking at Berkadia, to talk about her successful career and her blog — Playing the Long Game: Hard Lessons Through Soft Serve. It's the story of watching her parents immigrate from Australia in 1984 with three kids, buy a local community ice cream shop, and the lessons that came with it. The business lessons inside that shop can help all of us in business and life. Here are a handful of the lessons Gemma and I talked about: * Efficiency is an act of...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Adam Wolfe tragically lost his son eight years ago. Adam channeled his pain it into building something that could prevent the same thing from happening to others. Co-Founder of Chroneme — The first clinical AI built to show its work. Chroneme reads how your health changes over time. Every signal, from every provider, across years. And when something is developing, it knows. Before the doctor. Before the diagnosis. Before the emergency. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: Website: LinkedIn: Email: Get Jon's Book: Connect...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
I sat down with Eric Jorgensen, CEO of Scribe Media and author of The Book of Elon. Here are 3 things that stuck with me: What you think is your best is a fraction of what you're capable of. Elon isn't just working harder, he's cut through the noise to focus on what matters. First principles thinking breaks you free from conventional limits. Stop reasoning by analogy, asking what everyone else does. Start asking what's actually possible. The gap between those two questions is where innovation lives. Your uniqueness is your advantage. The world rewards people who are singular, -- Eric...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Most business owners run their company like a business — and their household like an afterthought. I sat down with Eric Miller, co-founder of Econologics Financial Advisors. Here are 3 things that stuck with me: 1. Your household is the parent company. Everything else is a subsidiary. 2. You're probably operating on the wrong number. 3. Do it now. Planning doesn't have to be a big event. -- Eric Miller is a seasoned financial planning professional with over 20 years of experience dedicated to empowering private practice owners and associates. As Co-Owner and Chief Financial Advisor of...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Most business owners run their company like a business — and their household like an afterthought. I sat down with Eric Miller, co-founder of Econologics Financial Advisors. Here are 3 things that stuck with me: 1. Your household is the parent company. Everything else is a subsidiary. 2. You're probably operating on the wrong number. 3. Do it now. Planning doesn't have to be a big event. -- Eric Miller is a seasoned financial planning professional with over 20 years of experience dedicated to empowering private practice owners and associates. As Co-Owner and Chief Financial Advisor of...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
I sat down with Ben Feys and Kevin Niehoff, co-founders of Pretty Boy — a men's skincare brand built from scratch. Here are 3 things that stuck with me: 1. Master one channel before you touch anything else. 2. Call your customers. 3. Stability beats the dopamine hit of a big spike. The fundamentals haven't changed. Knowing your customer, delivering the right message, and staying close to the business — that's the playbook. --- PrettyBoy started because we were sick of guessing - years of acne, eczema, prescriptions, and overpriced nonsense taught us the skincare industry wasn’t...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Great conversation with Jason Hamama of Encore Development 3 Takeaways • Follow your obsession. Curiosity often reveals what you’re great at. • Use AI to move faster. It’s the tool that will accelerate great operators. • Hard work still wins. Technology changes. Effort never goes out of style. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: Website: LinkedIn: Email: Get Jon's Book: Connect with Jeff Gunsberg: Website: Connect with Jason Hamama:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-hamama-92767172...
info_outlineCoffee with Jon - Think Big. Get Unstuck. Grow Your Business
Katie Fortunato, President of Jobstream: Co-founder of a new ai-native technology disrupting the affiliate marketing industry with a new category of monetizable content. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: Website: LinkedIn: Email: Get Jon's Book: Connect with Katie Fortunato: Website: Instagram: @jobstream_ LinkedIn: *E - explicit language may be used in this podcast.
info_outlineIf you’re looking to Franchise your business, or thinking about it, CEO Alisa Sparks with Linden Creek will guide you how to do it!
3 highlights from our conversation:
1. Turn what works into a system
Don’t just grow… replicate -When your process is clear and teachable, others can run it—and you can scale it.
2. Test before you expand
Don’t assume demand. Prove it - Start small, validate the market, then go all in with confidence.
3. Build the playbook
Success isn’t only talent—it’s systems - Document what works so it can be repeated without you.
---
Alisa Sparks is the Founder and CEO of Linden Creek, a luxury interior design and home staging franchise built around elevated living and meaningful design. She also leads the Linden Creek Shoppe, an online destination for curated décor and furnishings, along with Archd, an inventory management and CRM platform created to support the home staging and interior design community. With a background shaped by entrepreneurship, family life, and a love of travel and thoughtful interiors, Alisa brings a warm, creative perspective to both her work and the communities she serves.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-hamama-92767172
Connect with Jon Dwoskin:
Twitter: @jdwoskin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience
Website: https://jondwoskin.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin
Email: jon@jondwoskin.com
Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big!
Connect with Jeff Gunsberg:
Website: https://title-connect.com
Connect with Alisa Sparks:
Website: www.linden-creek.com
LinkedIn (Alisa Sparks): www.linkedin.com/in/alisasparkslc
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LindenCreek
LinkedIn (Company): www.linkedin.com/company/linden-creek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindencreekhomestaging/about
*E - explicit language may be used in this podcast.