MikedUp Pod

Katushka Del Pozo is a culinary school-trained chef who currently sells delicious international cuisine out of her home kitchen in Columbus, Ohio. She shares how her upbringing in both Miami and Puerto Rico helped infuse food into the core of her family's Latin-American culture. 

We talk about her time in culinary school and how starting her own food blog (Foodie.Vibes) has both helped sharpen her skills as well as get her (delicious) food in front of more customers! Katushka also talks about cuisine selection, recipe creation, and how she sells 500 "World Famous" empanadas out of her house (per day) on a semi-regular basis. 

When it comes to the current stage in her business’ lifestyle, we’re dropping into her story very near the beginning, which I absolutely love! We’re talk about where she’s at as a business, her ideas for the future, as well as how she plans to move forward.

Finally, we run through a list of questions designed to help you get your novice cooking skills off the ground - from recipe do's and dont's, to what would be in her 'cooking starter kit', as well as the most important thing when it comes to making great food!

Oh - and we have a great time spending this hour together! This episode is not to be missed!

(P.S. - we hired Katushka to cater a lunch for us at MFD and I'll just say that our Team cannot wait for her to come back and do it again!)

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

Dionte’ Johnson is a 10-year (and counting) entrepreneur and the owner of Sole Classics (one of the nation's premier sneaker, apparel, and lifestyle boutiques). During the first half of our interview, we discuss many of the experiences in his life that have given him the opportunity to grow his business by 1,000% in 10 years. He took the store from 1 employee and 1 location to a staff of 13 and 2 locations in that time. Dionte’ also touches on learning discipline as a former captain of The OSU Buckeye football team and discusses how his role a husband, father of 4 and, as a football coach for a local inner-city high school has allowed him to have an impact on so many people in our community. 

Another reason I asked Dionte’ to be on the pod was in response to what happened to his store on May 29 and the public response he issued afterward. Dionte’ talks about preparing his store for the protests that would come to Columbus following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but ultimately receiving a call from his alarm company notifying him that his store was being broken into and looted. We ran through the emotions he felt that ultimately led him to spraypaint the following on his store’s boarded up windows:

“This is on us! For generations, we have called the youth stupid, stripped funding from their programs, kicked them out of places, and ignored them. What would you expect? Don’t lock your doors tighter. Open your hearts wider. Spread Love.”

Dionte’ and I talk for the 2nd half of the interview about racism in our country, how it is impacting our businesses and lives, and most importantly, how people from different backgrounds and races can come together to affect positive change in our community - and in our world. 

We are very proud of this conversation and we hope that it can help shed some light on what’s happening in our world, why it’s happening, and how we can move forward - together. 

Here is Sole Classics on Instagram, on Twitter, and on Facebook. 

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

Loren Spends his days at PrimePay 'relieving headaches' for his clients around the Columbus area. We talk the ins and outs of payroll - what to do and the practices to avoid to make sure your team stays paid and stays happy. 

Loren also has his finger on the pulse of the Columbus entrepreneurship scene, so we talk about successful business, great trends that he sees in companies that are successfully navigating Coronavirus, how to successfully network with entrepreneurs, and so much more! 

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

Today we have the pleasure of talking with a man of many talents and just as many convictions. Nate and I shared a similar path, as the concepts for both of our businesses were born around the same time - and it’s been simply awesome just watching Nate and his team do their thing. He is the Co-Founder, Owner/Operator of Coffee Connections located in central Ohio, a company that started as a catering company with a mobile coffee cart in 2014 and as we recorded recently (March 28, 2020) they have 3 brick and mortar locations and have built such a strong group of loyal customers. Coffee Connections is a pillar in our community and in today's episode we talk about how they do coffee (of course) but more importantly how Nate and his team work to give back in our community - as well as many other communities around the world!

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

Seitan’s Realm is a plant-based food truck serving the greater Columbus area. Their goal is to offer quality plant-based food for the masses and their co-founder, Kevin Ridenbaugh says, "Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore Seitan’s Realm has something you’re going to love!"

Today we talk all about how he's built up a loyal following of thousands of customers and fans, how he manages his team, how he makes his food look and taste (dare I say... better) than the real deal, and so much more!

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

Carlie worked for a marketing agency, successfully managing clients and creating quality content, but just recently decided to take the leap and start her own freelance writing business (Carlie Write Now - [email protected])! We talk all about her thought process leading up to quitting, how she left, what she did to line up clients beforehand, and how she's planning to sustain and grow moving forward. All business owners go through the early days at some point, we're just lucky to dive inside Carlie's head while she's starting hers!

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

After working for a few years in the banking industry, Steve co-founded his first business - Seated (The company and app that lets you dine out and earn rewards, which we dive into today on the show). Then, after launching and building Seated as their COO, Steve decided to take his shot as CEO of a new startup - Findigs (The easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent).

Steve shares with us his back story as well as the main lessons he's learned in founding successful companies!

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

Sean White is the CEO of Whiteboard Marketing and today on the pod he shares his backstory getting started in marketing, growing his company to a 25-employee business that's an industry leader in our region, and building a business that people actually want to work for. We talk about current marketing strategies, including SEO, social media, direct mail, and he shares his expertise in marketing your business through a crisis. 

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!

Monica Monfredi is a general dentist who owns her own 9-employee practice (Monfredi Family Dental) that's grown 18.5% and 28% in the first 2 years. We discuss her journey from a day where oral surgeons reshaped her young life with a grueling procedure, to her choosing dentistry as a career, running her own practice now, and everything in between! Dr. Monica is also our host's (Mike's) wife so we get great background about their business and lives to set up our future interviews with other entrepreneurs!

Here is the article we reference in the show that details Monica's full surgery and recovery, as well as all the dental work she's had done to her own mouth. 

This episode is sponsored by Findigs - the easiest, most rewarding way to pay rent. Whether you're looking to earn Starbucks gift cards (or more) or if you're simply looking for a safe and reliable way to make the monthly rent payment, Findigs has you covered!