Kids today are surrounded by digital noise, but what they crave most is a place to belong.

A longitudinal study found that when young people move from no extracurriculars into regular activities, their mental health improves largely because their sense of peer belonging increases.

In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with Michael Browning Jr., CEO and Founder of Unleashed Brands, to explore how to build real community and connection across youth enrichment franchises that help kids learn, play, and grow.

Michael shares powerful insights on:

• How to design experiences families trust for their kids’ growth, not just entertainment

• The systems that keep safety, joy, and connection strong across multiple brands and locations

• Whether empathy and purpose can truly scale, and the real challenges of doing it well

• Why long-term legacy with families matters more than short-term transactions

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

The future of youth brands will belong to leaders who create places where kids do more than show up. They belong, grow, and come back with their friends.

Emotional intelligence is not a “nice to have” for leaders anymore.

A study of more than 300 organizations found that leaders with higher emotional intelligence were associated with significantly higher employee engagement, productivity, and profitability, making EQ one of the strongest predictors of leadership effectiveness.

In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with Kelly Roddy, CEO of WOWorks, to explore how emotional intelligence becomes a real business advantage inside a multi brand restaurant platform.

Kelly shares powerful insights on:

• How emotional intelligence shapes tough decisions that impact teams and franchisees

• The systems WOWorks uses to embed people centric leadership across multiple brands

• Balancing operational discipline with empathy, clarity, and care

• Why love and purpose still matter in a performance driven restaurant environment

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

The future of leadership belongs to those who can pair sharp strategy with genuine emotional intelligence.

When marketing is rooted in insight, execution, and accountability, it becomes one of the most powerful drivers of business growth. Yet many organizations still struggle to connect strategy, analytics, and creative execution into a true revenue engine.

In this week’s Marketing With Purpose Kit from The Bliss Business Podcast, we’re joined by Laura Baker, Chief Marketing Officer at Weed Man. A results-oriented marketing leader, Laura has a proven track record of understanding customer needs, simplifying complex challenges, and motivating cross-functional teams to drive sustainable revenue growth across dealer-owned, franchised, corporate-owned, and independent business models.

As CMO of North America’s fastest-growing franchised lawn care company, Laura oversees marketing for more than 775,000 loyal customers across 1,000 territories, leveraging performance-based marketing analytics and compelling creative to optimize media spend and build customers for life.

🎙️ Hosted by Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Martha Huerta

🧭 In this episode, we cover:

• What it takes to turn marketing into a sustainable revenue engine

• How performance-based analytics guide smarter media and growth decisions

• Leading marketing across complex franchise and dealer networks

• Building strategies that drive both customer loyalty and long-term growth

🎧 Whether you’re leading a marketing team, scaling a franchise system, or aligning strategy with execution, this conversation offers practical insight into how marketing drives real business impact.

Youth sports are not just about skills and scores. They are one of the most powerful engines of belonging.

A 2020 meta-analysis of 50 studies found that youth sport participation is consistently linked to a stronger sense of belonging and more prosocial behavior, especially when environments are inclusive and supportive.

In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with Craig Moody, Founder and President of Shoot 360, to explore how to build real community and connection in a high-tech basketball training and franchise environment.

Craig shares powerful insights on:

• How to turn a training facility into a true community hub for athletes and families

• The systems that keep culture and connection strong as locations scale

• Using technology to deepen relationships instead of replacing coaches and mentors

• Why purpose and love belong at the center of competitive sports businesses

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

The future of sports and business will belong to leaders who design places where people do not just perform, they belong.

Community is often talked about as a brand value, but for many businesses it becomes an afterthought once growth accelerates.At the same time, customers, employees, and franchise partners are craving real connection more than ever, places where they feel seen, welcomed, and part of something bigger than a transaction.

In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with Carl Comeaux, CEO of Crust Pizza Co., to explore how building community and connection can become a powerful business advantage, not just a feel-good idea.

Carl shares practical insights on:

• How intentional community building fuels sustainable franchise growth

• Creating spaces where customers and teams genuinely belong

• Leading franchise partners through connection, trust, and shared values

• Why culture, care, and consistency matter just as much as unit economics

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

Community is not something you market after the fact. It is something you build into how you lead, how you serve, and how you grow.

In a world full of noise, the brands that stand out are the ones that speak to the heart.

This week’s Marketing With Purpose Kit from The Bliss Business Podcast features one of the most influential storytellers in franchising: Martha O’Gorman, Chief Marketing Officer at Loyalty Brands.

With more than three decades shaping national brands and guiding entrepreneurs, Martha has built a career on marketing that is both strategic and deeply human.

As a Certified Franchise Executive and active member of the International Franchise Association’s Marketing and Innovation Committee, Martha helps shape the future of storytelling across the entire franchise sector.

From tax prep and mobile pet grooming to roofing, accounting, and home services, she turns complex ideas into emotional, compelling narratives that elevate brands and empower business owners.

🎙️ Hosted by Michele Brasfield

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

💡 In this episode, we explore:

• Why empathy and purpose belong at the center of every marketing strategy

• How storytelling can transform both emerging brands and established franchises

• What 30+ years of brand building taught Martha about clarity, connection, and trust

• The surprising leadership wisdom we learn from animals and how Martha’s dog Penny inspires her daily

🎧 Join us for a warm, insightful conversation on building businesses that matter and stories that stay with people long after the moment has passed.

Emotional intelligence is often called a “soft skill,” yet research shows it can account for more than half of job performance in many roles and is one of the strongest predictors of effective leadership.

At the same time, many employees still experience leaders who are distant, reactive, or purely numbers driven. The gap between what people need and how leaders show up has never been more visible.

In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with franchise leader Jania Bailey of FranNet to explore how emotional intelligence becomes a real business advantage in franchising and beyond.

Jania shares powerful insights on:

• How emotional intelligence changes the way leaders make decisions under pressure

• Balancing hard business realities with empathy for franchisees and aspiring owners

• Systems and practices that embed EQ into daily conversations and tough calls

• Why love, care, and respect are non negotiable when people are making life changing business decisions

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

Emotional intelligence is not about being soft. It is about leading with enough self awareness, empathy, and courage to get to the truth and still keep people whole.

Only 19% of executives believe they have the right culture in place, even though 94% agree it’s critical to business success (Deloitte, 2024).

Culture isn’t built through policy. It’s built through people, through shared purpose, trust, and community.

In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with Paul Flick, Founder and CEO of Premium Service Brands, to explore what it really takes to build connection and belonging across a growing franchise network.

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

🧭 In this episode, we explore:

• How systems and culture drive belonging across multi-location brands

• The role of emotional intelligence in sustainable leadership

• Why purpose is the foundation of connection

• How trust and love translate into measurable business performance

🎧 Tune in to discover how connection can be your company’s greatest competitive advantage.