Episodes

  • Upstate NY MWBE Conference 2026 Preview with Tymothi Howard

    Upstate NY MWBE Conference 2026 Preview with Tymothi Howard
    Mar 22 2026
    Ep. 15 Learn how to get MWBE certified in New York State, connect with prime contractors actually awarding work and understand how to start doing business with the City of Rochester… all in one room! In this episode of Elevating Enterprise, we sit down with Tymothi Howard—the person responsible for overseeing contracts, purchasing, and MWBE participation for the City. He’s not just explaining the system. He’s showing you where the opportunities are—and how to position your business to access them. Upstate NY MWBE Conference 2026 Details 📍 Location: Rochester Riverside Convention Center📅 Dates: March 30 – April 1 🎟️ Ticket Options: • 3-Day Pass: $190 • 2-Day Pass: $150 • 1-Day Pass / Business Expo Table: $90 This isn’t just another networking event. This is where you go to: ✔️ Learn the State MWBE certification process ✔️ Meet prime contractors looking for subcontractors ✔️ Understand how to find and respond to real City opportunities ✔️ Get clarity on capability statements, bonding, and requirements ✔️ Build relationships that can lead to paid contracts—not just contacts If you’re serious about doing business with the City… you need to be in this room. Register Now: 👉 https://www.cityofrochester.gov/departments/finance-department/upstate-ny-mwbe-conference 📞 Prefer to register in person? Call 585-428-7041 to arrange ticket pickup at City Hall Key Takeaways: • MWBE certification is just one piece—relationships and readiness matter • The fastest way to grow is by getting in rooms where decisions are being made Tap in now—and make your next move before March 30. Follow Elevating Enterprise for Part 2, where we break down how to actually win contracts with the City of Rochester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    14 mins
  • Clarity Is Profitable | Mental Fitness for Leaders with Jill Peterson

    Clarity Is Profitable | Mental Fitness for Leaders with Jill Peterson
    Mar 13 2026
    Ep. 14 Ever delayed firing someone you knew wasn’t the right fit, or second-guessed a big business decision for weeks? Growth strategist Jill Peterson explains how strengthening your mental fitness can help you make clearer, more profitable decisions. On this episode of Elevating Enterprise with Jazzy T + RJ Williams you’ll learn how to regulate emotional decision-making, document scalable systems, and use data—not fear—to guide your next business move. About Our Guest: Jill Peterson is the Founder and Chief Growth Strategist of Clover Insights, where she helps corporate executives and growth-stage founders remove the hidden leadership and structural barriers limiting their next stage of growth. Through her proprietary 4P Pathway — People, Process, Profits, and Purpose — Jill integrates mental fitness with operational strategy so organizations can scale without sacrificing culture or clarity. A Positive Intelligence® Coach and TriMetrix practitioner, she equips leaders with the mindset and systems needed for sustainable expansion. Her clients have achieved up to 300% growth, stronger engagement, reduced turnover, and tighter team alignment. 📧 Connect with Jill Peterson Email: Info@FindYourClover.com Phone: 585-705-8977 🔗 Resources & Links Download Jill's free Decision Making Tool 📬 Join the I Heard It on a Podcast Newsletter on LinkedIn Get the FREE Procurement Ready Checklist👉https://www.jazzcastpros.com/enterprise Discover more show on your personal and professional development journey Podcasts | JazzCast Pros ⏱ Chapters 00:00 – Why your nervous system belongs in your profit margin02:05 – What mental fitness really means for business leaders04:56 – The hidden financial cost of emotional decisions07:20 – Using data instead of fear to guide business choices11:06 – Why clarity and dashboards make leadership easier12:18 – Understanding the “Judge” mindset and leadership saboteurs17:14 – The importance of documenting SOPs for scaling22:07 – 8 Peanut butter & Jelly SOPs25:59 – Simple nervous-system regulation tactics 30:08 – The 9 leadership saboteurs that influence decision-making33:59 – Turning challenges into opportunities for growth36:23 – Why aligning People, Process, Profits & Purpose drives sustainable growth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • Where's the Money? How to Get SBA Funding for Your Business

    Where's the Money? How to Get SBA Funding for Your Business
    Mar 5 2026
    Ep. 13 If you’ve ever hit a wall trying to access capital, this episode of Elevating Enterprise breaks down how SBA loans can help you start, stabilize, or scale your business. Mary Stone, Senior Vice President and SBA Manager at M&T Bank is here to break down what SBA loans really are, why they exist, and how programs like the SBA 7(a) loan help entrepreneurs secure funding when traditional lending may feel out of reach. This conversation gives you the inside track on how to approach lenders, prepare your application, and leverage the resources available to small business owners. Because sometimes the difference between stuck and scaling is simply knowing which financial doors to knock on. 🔑 In This Episode • What the SBA 7(a) loan program is and who it’s designed for • How SBA loans help businesses that may not qualify for traditional lending • What lenders actually look for when reviewing your application • How long approvals can take—and what impacts the timeline 🔗 Resources Mentioned • SBA Loan Programs: https://www.sba.gov • Small Business Development Centers: https://americassbdc.org • SCORE Mentorship: https://www.score.org • M&T Bank: https://www.mtb.com 🎧 Listen now and learn how to turn access to capital into a tool for real business growth. About the Guest: Mary Stone is the Senior Vice President and SBA Manager at M&T Bank. Responsible for more than $700 million in SBA lending, she leads a team dedicated to providing small businesses with access to necessary capital. Her career is marked by deep-rooted passion for empowering "Main Street America," particularly in her hometown of Rochester, New York. Under her leadership, M&T Bank remains a top ten SBA lender nationwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    29 mins
  • Stop Chasing RFPs, Start Building Relationships | Nick Lopez, CEO of Prosal

    Stop Chasing RFPs, Start Building Relationships | Nick Lopez, CEO of Prosal
    Feb 1 2026
    Ep. 12 In government contracting, the biggest deals aren’t won by who submits the longest proposal—they’re won by who built the right relationships long before the RFP ever dropped. In this episode of Elevating Enterprise, Jazzy T and RJ Williams sit down with Nick Lopez, CEO of Prosal, to unpack how AI is changing the game for small and mid-sized enterprises, not by replacing human connection, but by strengthening it. This conversation explores how intelligent research, market mapping, and relationship-driven strategy help SMEs stop chasing opportunities they were never positioned to win, and start showing up early, informed, and credible with the people who matter. Key Takeaways: Why relationships win contracts—not last-minute proposals How AI helps SMEs identify who to talk to and when How most RFPs are written for someone long before they’re released TTC (Time Talking to Customer) as a business development metric How to shift from vendor to trusted partner before competition even begins Because success isn’t overnight. It’s strategic. About the Guest: Nick Lopez is the Co-Founder & CEO of Prosal, an AI-powered capture intelligence platform helping government contractors identify, shape, and win opportunities earlier in the procurement process. A former Lockheed Martin engineer, Nick brings firsthand experience in defense contracting and is focused on modernizing business development by prioritizing relationships, strategy, and actionable intelligence over reactive RFP chasing. 🔗 Connect with Nick Website: https://prosal.com LinkedIn: Nicholas Lopez Email: nick@prosal.com Chapters: 00:00 – The Old Way Is Broken 01:22 – Meet Prosal: “ChatGPT, but Trained for Government Contracting” 03:27 – The Truth About RFPs Written for Someone Else 05:08 – RFIs, Market Research & How Relationships Shape Outcomes 06:23 – Why Relationships Win Contracts 09:03 – People Buy From People: Mapping the Human Side of Procurement 11:17 – How Prosal Guides You Instead of Making You Guess 13:13 – FAR Changes, Faster Timelines & New Federal Opportunities 15:07 – CSOs, BAAs & Breaking Into Federal Work 21:01 – Teaming Partners, Implied Incumbents & Competitive Intelligence 25:29 – From Weeks to Hours: Compressing Decision-Making Timelines 26:02 – TTC Explained: The Only Metric That Actually Matters 30:31 – What a 33% Win Rate Really Means 37:26 – Final Word: Stop Selling. Be Curious. Be Genuine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • Systems + Social Proof = Scalability | Tip Top K9 CEO Ryan Wimpsey

    Systems + Social Proof = Scalability | Tip Top K9 CEO Ryan Wimpsey
    Jan 1 2026
    Ep. 11 Your small business can’t grow into an enterprise if you're personally involved in every decision, every sale, and every delivery. Our expert guest Ryan Wimpey demonstrates why documented SOPs and training systems for people — not just services — are the foundation of sustainable growth. Real scale requires teaching others to deliver value consistently. Ryan is the founder of Tip Top K-9, built a national franchise by obsessing over systems, documentation, and training. Despite running a national franchise with 25 locations and proven revenue, Ryan lost a prospective franchisee to a competitor with fewer systems and a popular YouTube channel. Ryan breaks down how that realization pushed him to invest heavily in YouTube — growing from 5,000 to over 600,000 subscribers in under a year — while continuing to strengthen the backend systems that allow his business to expand from Omaha to Michigan. This episode is a powerful reminder that real growth in 2026 requires both visibility and infrastructure. You need SOPs that train people and a content strategy that builds trust with potential clients. Connect with Ryan: @tiptopk9 • Instagram Tip Top K9 | Facebook Tip Top K9 on TikTok Tip Top K9 on YouTube Ryan Wimpey | LinkedIn Chapters: 00:00 – Topic Teaser 01:29 – Tip Top K9 Training Dogs and People 03:51 – Early Hiring Decisions That Limit Scale 04:30 – Solving Real Problems With Operational Systems 06:27 – The Core Functions of Any Scalable Business 07:18 – Bootstrapping Growth Without Investors 08:05 – Training for Consistency Across Multiple Locations 09:09 – Turning Experience Into Documented SOPs 11:13 – Knowing When a Business Is Ready to Expand 12:05 – Technology, AI, and Changing Search Behavior 14:31 – Losing a Client to a Bigger YouTube Presence 16:09 – Why Visibility Builds Trust Faster Than Credentials 18:48 – Building a YouTube Strategy That Supports Scale 19:22 – Coaching, Conferences, and Ongoing Training 22:35 – Preventing Burnout Through Better Systems 30:10 – Revenue First, Refinement Second 33:11 – Iteration Beats Perfection 34:20 – What Sustainable Growth Looks Like Next Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • From Certified to Contracted | Supplier Diversity Manager Matthew Burrell

    From Certified to Contracted | Supplier Diversity Manager Matthew Burrell
    Nov 9 2025
    Ep. 10 Learn how to do business with Monroe County as a M/WBE or Veteran-owned business from Supplier Diversity Manager Matthew Burrell, Supplier Diversity Manager. Under his leadership, the county has certified 855 MWBE firms and set a concrete goal to award 21% of contract dollars to minority, women, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. You’ll learn: ✅ Why relationship-building matters just as much as paperwork ✅ Why you should focus on what you do best ✅ How Apex Accelerator helps match your business with RFP's ✅ Government contracts are more than just construction. Mental health providers, cleaning companies, consultants, tech, logistics, event services — the county needs you too. If you’re an MWBE ready to go from “certified” to “contracted,” this episode gives you the blueprint. 📌 Resources mentioned: Search “Monroe County MWBE” to apply or check status Apex Accelerator for bid match + proposal support Small Business Development Centers for startup help Ep. 9 Bank on It: How M&T Bank Fuels Business Growth Ep. 8 Business Operations with Albert Rivera, Paychex Chapters: 0:00 What are Supplier Diversity Programs 6:15 Effective Strategies for Winning Government Contracts 8:14 Streamlining MWBE Certification and Ensuring Diversity goals 13:13 Building Government Contracting Relationships 21:19 Crafting Winning Proposals and Avoiding Common Mistakes 26:06 Strategic Insights for Business Growth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 mins
  • Bank on It: How M&T Bank Fuels Business Growth + Protects Your Cash Flow

    Bank on It: How M&T Bank Fuels Business Growth + Protects Your Cash Flow
    Aug 14 2025
    Ep. 9 If your bank only knows you as an account number, you’re running your business with one hand tied behind your back. Your banker should be doing more than holding your money — they should be helping you lower fees, protect your cash flow, and connect you to resources that move your business forward. In this episode of Elevating Enterprise, Jazzy T + RJ sit down with Melissa Jordan, Senior Business Banking Relationship Manager at M&T Bank, to reveal why small business owners need more than just a place to deposit checks. From building your “B.A.I.L.” team to automating payments and planning for growth, Melissa shares insider strategies to help you stop leaving money on the table and start scaling smarter. Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners 1️⃣ Your banker should be a partner — a single point of contact who understands your business, connects you to specialists, and streamlines your financial systems.2️⃣ Ditch unnecessary fees — banks can offer merchant services that rival or replace QuickBooks, saving you money and time.3️⃣ Automate your cash flow — use banking tools for payments, receivables, and vendor management to create efficiency and improve client experience.4️⃣ Build your B.A.I.L. team — banker, accountant, insurance rep, and lawyer working together to guide your growth.5️⃣ Stay fraud-ready — with the right relationship, your banker will proactively educate and protect you against evolving threats. Resources: Melissa Jordan Vice President | M&T Bank Rochester, NY Business Banking | Senior Relationship Manager (Cell) 585-734-7026 Schedule an appointment majordan@mtb.com | www.mtb.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    34 mins
  • Don’t Just Get Certified—Get Paid | Doing Business with the Government

    Don’t Just Get Certified—Get Paid | Doing Business with the Government
    Jul 24 2025
    Ep. 8 You’ve got the MWBE or DBE. Now what? This week on Elevating Enterprise, we’re cutting through the confusion. Join me, Jazzy T, as I sit down with someone I trust both in business and in life — my husband and co-host, RJ Williams, a seasoned expert in government contracting and procurement. While I bring the solopreneur POV, RJ breaks down what it really takes to scale into enterprise-level opportunities. 💡 Whether you're trying to land your first government contract or tired of bidding and losing, this episode is your playbook. We cover: ✔️ The difference between being certified and being prepared ✔️ Why most small businesses never graduate past “freelancer” mode ✔️ The power of reverse engineering your growth strategy ✔️ What it means to “look the part” when approaching decision-makers ✔️ Why we give you a 100,000-foot view — not just 30,000 — so you can see the whole picture, not just the next step 🎯 From Rochester Housing Authority to federal projects in California, RJ’s experience can help you navigate procurement and position your business to win. This is the why behind Elevating Enterprise — real conversations, real strategy, and a roadmap from solopreneur to CEO. ⏱️ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Why We Started: Helping Small Businesses Think Bigger05:11 – RJ’s Origin Story: From Telecom to Enterprise-Level Strategy08:42 – Game-Changing Business Lessons from the Inside10:58 – Government Contracting 101: What No One Tells You19:43 – Reverse Engineer Your Way to Better Project Management21:09 – Show Up Like a CEO: First Impressions & Leadership27:42 – Mentors Matter: How Leadership is Passed Down30:34 – Why We Give You a 100,000-Foot View — Not Just 30,000 #GovernmentContracts #SmallBusinessGrowth #MWBE #ElevatingEnterprise #RJWilliams #JazzyT #ProcurementStrategy #Entrepreneurship #BusinessPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    36 mins