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Value Proposition Episodes

The Skilled Trades Crisis No One Is Talking About with Manja Horner
340
May 9, 2026

The Skilled Trades Crisis No One Is Talking About with Manja Horner

Episode 340 of The Business Development Podcast features a powerful conversation with Manja Horner, founder of Boost LD, on the hidden skilled trades crisis happening across North America. As experienced tradespeople retire, companies are losing decades of knowledge, systems, instincts, and expertise that were never properly documented or passed down. Kelly and Manja dive deep into workforce development, retention, onboarding, leadership, and why the future of the trades depends on capturing and...
Guest: Manja Horner
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From Tragedy to The Inspired Leader with Ally Stone
334
April 18, 2026

From Tragedy to The Inspired Leader with Ally Stone

Episode 334 with Ally Stone is a powerful journey through leadership, resilience, and what it truly means to put people first when everything is on the line. From building and scaling a multi-million-dollar restaurant group to leading through one of the most emotionally intense moments in business during COVID, Ally shares how real leadership shows up in action, not words. Her decision to feed hundreds of employees when the business shut down, instead of protecting margins, is a defining moment ...
Guest: Ally Stone
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We Knew Before It Happened with Mike Schoenberger
333
April 14, 2026

We Knew Before It Happened with Mike Schoenberger

Some moments in life don’t make sense… but they stay with you forever. In Episode 333 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Mike Schoenberger, CEO of Sunco Communications, for a conversation that goes far beyond business strategy. Together, they explore two deeply personal experiences they’ve never fully been able to explain, moments where they both knew something had happened before they were ever told. What unfolds is a powerful discussion on human connection, intui...
Guest: Mike Schoenberger
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Why Most People Quit Before It Finally Clicks with Jordan Labelle
330
April 4, 2026

Why Most People Quit Before It Finally Clicks with Jordan Labelle

In Episode 330 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Jordan Labelle, entrepreneur, strategist, and founder of Evergreen Growth Collective, to break down what actually drives long-term success in business. Jordan shares his journey through corporate, startup, and solopreneur life, revealing how each step wasn’t failure, but refinement. Together, they challenge the traditional “hustle harder” mindset and unpack why most founders burn out trying to do everything instead ...
Guest: Jordan Labelle
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Why You Freeze Under Pressure and How to Take Control with Nausheen I. Chen
329
March 31, 2026

Why You Freeze Under Pressure and How to Take Control with Nausheen I. Chen

In Episode 329 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Nausheen I. Chen, 3x TEDx speaker and Fortune 500 communication coach, to unpack why so many capable leaders struggle when it’s time to speak. From the fight, flight, or freeze response to the pressure of being seen and judged, Nausheen explains what’s really happening in your brain when you feel nervous, lose your words, or freeze under pressure. This episode breaks down the psychology behind communication and why ...
Guest: Nausheen I Chen
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Make Fun Your Competitive Advantage with Joel Zeff
327
March 24, 2026

Make Fun Your Competitive Advantage with Joel Zeff

Episode 327 of The Business Development Podcast features Joel Zeff, a nationally recognized speaker, humorist, and work culture expert who has spent more than 25 years helping organizations build stronger teams and better leaders. In this conversation, Joel shares how losing his job became one of the most defining moments of his life when he walked out with a harmonica he did not even know how to play and used that moment to choose energy, humor, and resilience over defeat. That story becomes th...
Guest: Joel Zeff
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Why Hiring Employees Might Be the Worst Way to Scale with Pia Silva
323
March 10, 2026

Why Hiring Employees Might Be the Worst Way to Scale with Pia Silva

In Episode 323 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy welcomes back entrepreneur, brand strategist, and bestselling author Pia Silva to dive into the philosophy behind her newest book, Scale Solo. Pia shares the story of how building a traditional agency with employees nearly pushed her business into debt and forced her to rethink everything about growth. Instead of chasing the conventional path of hiring more people and increasing overhead, Pia developed a radically different model ...
Guest: Pia Silva
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Build a Badass Brand That Commands Premium Prices with Pia Silva
322
March 7, 2026

Build a Badass Brand That Commands Premium Prices with Pia Silva

In Episode 322 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with entrepreneur, brand strategist, and bestselling author Pia Silva to explore what it really takes to build a brand that stands out and commands premium pricing. Pia shares her journey from hustling hourly design work with her husband to building a powerful branding business after facing a moment of crisis when their agency found itself $40,000 in debt with no cash left. That turning point forced them to rethink every...
Guest: Pia Silva
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Buy a Company and Build an Empire with Jamie Crozier
319
Feb. 24, 2026

Buy a Company and Build an Empire with Jamie Crozier

In Episode 319 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Jamie Crozier, an entrepreneur who did something most people only dream about. He bought the company he once worked for. Jamie shares his journey from stocking shelves at a dollar store to building his career in industrial sales, eventually acquiring Thunder Bay Hydraulics and expanding through the acquisition of Custom Hydraulics and the founding of Atlas Elite Lifts. His story is a powerful reminder that ownership...
Guest: Jamie Crozier
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Success Lives in the Moment Before You Go Over the Edge with Jemia & Tim Zagiel
318
Feb. 21, 2026

Success Lives in the Moment Before You Go Over the Edge with Jemia & Tim Zagiel

In Episode 318 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Jemia and Tim Zagiel, Co-Founders of Pacific Ropes, to explore what it truly means to build a business in an environment where courage is not optional. What began as a small operation run from their living room grew into an industry-leading rope access company that helped modernize safety and training standards across Western Canada. Tim shares how his early experiences working on ropes without proper systems sparke...
Guests: Jemia Zagiel , Tim Zagiel
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Reinventing Mining Through Electric Rail with Aaron Lambert
316
Feb. 14, 2026

Reinventing Mining Through Electric Rail with Aaron Lambert

Episode 316 of The Business Development Podcast features Aaron Lambert, mining technology innovator and founder of RIINO, a company developing a modular electric rail haulage system designed to transform how mines move rock, equipment, and eventually people. Aaron takes us deep into modern mining, explaining how underground operations have evolved, why development has become slower and more expensive over time, and how safety, logistics, and economics are constantly in tension. We then explor...
Guest: Aaron Lambert
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Canada’s Live Music Boom Is Ready to Explode With Erin Benjamin
315
Feb. 10, 2026

Canada’s Live Music Boom Is Ready to Explode With Erin Benjamin

Episode 315 dives into a conversation Canada needs to be having right now. Erin Benjamin, President and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association, breaks down why live music is one of the most powerful and misunderstood economic engines in the country. This episode goes far beyond concerts and culture, unpacking how live music fuels jobs, tourism, talent attraction, and city growth, while contributing billions to Canada’s GDP. Despite its impact, the industry remains largely undervalued and und...
Guest: Erin Benjamin
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Is Status Quo an Option with Gordon Sheppard
312
Jan. 31, 2026

Is Status Quo an Option with Gordon Sheppard

Episode 312 of The Business Development Podcast features a practical and candid conversation with Gordon Sheppard, CEO of Executive Wins, about what really holds teams and organizations back from growth. Drawing on more than 25 years of executive coaching experience, Gordon shares what happens behind the scenes when businesses stall, leaders feel overwhelmed, and execution breaks down. Instead of chasing strategy or quick fixes, he explains why structure, accountability, and difficult conversati...
Guest: Gordon Sheppard
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Empathy Is Deeper Than We Can Imagine
307
Jan. 13, 2026

Empathy Is Deeper Than We Can Imagine

Episode 307 is a deeply personal reflection on empathy, responsibility, and how life fundamentally changes the way we experience the world. Kelly Kennedy explores how becoming a father rewired his nervous system and unlocked a depth of empathy he didn’t previously have access to, triggered by moments from The Wild Robot and One Life. This episode challenges the idea that empathy is simply a skill or mindset, revealing instead that some layers of empathy only emerge when attachment, responsibilit...
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Take Inspired Action
305
Jan. 6, 2026

Take Inspired Action

In Episode 305 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy breaks down why most ideas never make it into the world — not because they are bad, but because people wait too long to act. Drawing from his own experience launching businesses, programs, communities, and podcasts in under three months, Kelly explains the concept of inspired action: acting while clarity, energy, and excitement are present instead of waiting for confidence, certainty, or fear to disappear. He challenges the belief...
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The Journey to 300
300
Dec. 20, 2025

The Journey to 300

Milestone Episode 300 is a behind the scenes centennial conversation with Shelby Hobbs, recorded right in the messy middle of real life. Kelly and Shelby hit record in the narrow window before the kids get home, with a baby sleeping nearby, a toddler napping upstairs, and the daily marathon happening in real time, because that’s genuinely how the show and the household get built. From there, the episode becomes a reflection on what 300 episodes actually means: the gratitude, the growth, and t...
Guest: Shelby Hobbs
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The Legendary Manager Behind The Tragically Hip with Jake Gold
299
Dec. 16, 2025

The Legendary Manager Behind The Tragically Hip with Jake Gold

In this very special episode of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Jake Gold, one of the most influential architects of Canadian music and the longtime manager behind The Tragically Hip. Jake takes listeners behind the curtain on what a music manager actually does, not as a hype man, but as the CEO of a complex business where touring, deals, team decisions, merchandising, data, and long term career strategy all run through one leader. He shares the moment he first saw...
Guest: Jake Gold
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Turn Your Story Into a Brand People Trust with Jake Karls
298
Dec. 13, 2025

Turn Your Story Into a Brand People Trust with Jake Karls

Episode 298 features Jake Karls, co founder and chief rainmaker of Mid Day Squares, breaking down how a kitchen table idea turned into a multimillion dollar brand by winning attention the hard way, through relentless storytelling and real human connection. He explains why attention is one of the most valuable assets in business, why you cannot buy trust with generic marketing, and why your story is the one advantage competitors cannot copy, if you are willing to share the good and the ugly. T...
Guest: Jake Karls
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10 Rules to Make 2026 the Year Your Community Changes Everything
297
Dec. 9, 2025

10 Rules to Make 2026 the Year Your Community Changes Everything

In this solo episode, Kelly looks back at how business has shifted from the AI explosion of 2023, to the rise of personal branding in 2024, to the wave of raw, human authenticity in 2025, and makes a bold prediction for what comes next. 2026, he argues, will be the year of community, where leaders are no longer satisfied with surface level connections and instead seek real belonging in rooms where they can be honest, supported, and challenged. Drawing on his experience building The Catalyst Club...
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Unlocking Canada’s Francophone Goldmine with Colin Fagnan
296
Dec. 6, 2025

Unlocking Canada’s Francophone Goldmine with Colin Fagnan

Episode 296 is a first for The Business Development Podcast – we finally dive deep into Canada’s French-speaking community and what most business leaders are missing. Kelly sits down with bilingual consultant Colin Fagnan, founder of Nyloc Consulting (and now Executive Director of the Fort Saskatchewan & Lamont County Regional Chamber of Commerce), to unpack how growing up Francophone in Alberta shaped his worldview, why French is actually on the rise in Western Canada, and how bilingualism boos...
Guest: Colin Fagnan
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6 Biggest Lessons From My First 5 Years of Entrepreneurship
295
Dec. 2, 2025

6 Biggest Lessons From My First 5 Years of Entrepreneurship

Episode 295 is a raw and honest reflection on what five years of entrepreneurship have really looked like behind the scenes. Kelly marks the anniversary of Capital Business Development, his own birthday, and his son’s birthday by pulling back the curtain on the fear, uncertainty, and constant change that come with building something from nothing. Instead of a highlight reel, he walks you through the real story of learning to bet on yourself, letting go of rigid long term plans, and accepting tha...
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You Are Going to Be OK and 10 Tips Will Help You Keep the Faith
291
Nov. 18, 2025

You Are Going to Be OK and 10 Tips Will Help You Keep the Faith

Episode 291 is a raw, honest, and deeply human exploration of what it means to trust the journey when life throws you curveballs. Kelly opens up about one of the wildest days of his entrepreneurial year — a morning that began with a gut-punch message from a major client and immediately shifted into two of the biggest interviews of 2025 with Jake Gold and Douglas Conant. Instead of spiraling, he leaned into faith, asked for guidance, and watched the entire day unfold in ways that reminded him tha...
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Move The Needle
287
Nov. 4, 2025

Move The Needle

This episode of The Business Development Podcast dives deep into the power of focus and intentional action through Kelly Kennedy’s proven weekly framework, Move the Needle. Kelly reveals how most people spend their weeks reacting to chaos instead of directing their energy toward what truly matters. Drawing from the Pareto Principle and Dr. Gail Matthews’ goal-setting research, he shows how writing down just five to ten high-impact priorities each Monday can double your effectiveness and eliminat...
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How Campfire Stories Sparked a 20-Year Podcast Empire with Jim Harold
285
Oct. 28, 2025

How Campfire Stories Sparked a 20-Year Podcast Empire with Jim Harold

In this Halloween Special of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with the legendary Jim Harold — the original paranormal podcaster and host of Jim Harold’s Campfire. With over 20 years in the business and millions of listeners worldwide, Jim shares how a lifelong fascination with the unexplained became one of the most successful independent podcasting careers in history. Together, they explore what it means to believe, the power of storytelling, and why people from every co...
Guest: Jim Harold
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