The Business Development Podcast

In Episode 347 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Paul Riismandel, President of Signal Hill Insights and one of the leading voices in podcast audience research, to explore the future of podcasting, media, and audience attention. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in digital audio, podcasting, advertising, and audience measurement, Paul shares what creators, entrepreneurs, marketers, and business leaders need to understand about where the industry is headed and how audiences are consuming content in 2026 and beyond.
From the myth that everyone skips podcast ads to the reality of audience growth, community building, content discovery, and the evolving relationship between audio and video, this conversation is packed with practical insights and thought-provoking perspectives. Paul challenges conventional wisdom around virality, explains why community matters more than most creators realize, and reveals what successful podcasters are doing differently to build loyal audiences in an increasingly competitive media landscape. Whether you're a podcaster, content creator, thought leader, marketer, or business owner, this episode offers a valuable look at the forces shaping the future of attention and influence.

Key Takeaways:
Audience quality matters more than audience quantity.
One podcast listener is not the same as one passive TV or radio listener.
A hundred downloads can represent a room full of people who chose to hear from you.
Podcasting is a long game, not a viral lottery.
You need to know who your audience is and why they should listen.
Discovery starts by finding the audience, not just finding podcast listeners.
Audio is not dead, but creators need to remind people how and when to listen.
Short form content may be losing some of its hold as people want their attention back.
Community is one of the strongest drivers of podcast growth and loyalty.
Podcast ads work better than many people think because listeners do not skip them as much as they say they do.

Want to learn more from Paul?
Check out Signal Hill Insights and subscribe to Paul's newsletter. If you care about podcasting, media, audience growth, advertising, and the future of audio, it's one of the best sources of industry insights available.
Signal Hill Insights Newsletter

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶
The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies & Hyperfab, 🎸⭐
🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com
🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca

Join The Catalyst Club Community
If you are serious about growth, community, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high-level, human-centric thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub
Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

In Episode 346 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with Rudy A. Zacharias and Terry Elkins of About That... to explore one of the most misunderstood topics in business: branding. Drawing on decades of experience helping organizations navigate growth and transformation, Rudy and Terry explain why a brand is far more than a logo. It is the sum total of what people think, feel, and experience when they interact with your company. Together, they unpack the warning signs that your business may have outgrown its brand, the importance of aligning perception with reality, and why successful companies often reach a point where evolution becomes necessary.
The conversation also provides a behind-the-scenes look at About That...'s own transformation from G Squared to its new identity. Rudy and Terry share the intentional process behind the rebrand, the challenges of balancing existing brand equity with future growth, and the critical role of employee buy-in, change management, and communication throughout the journey. Whether you're considering a full rebrand, a brand refresh, or simply want to better understand how your organization is perceived, this episode offers practical insights into building a brand that reflects who you are today and where you want to go tomorrow.

Key Takeaways:
A brand is not your logo. Your brand is the sum total of what people think, feel, and experience when they interact with your company.
The biggest reason companies rebrand is misalignment. When who you are as a business no longer matches how you are perceived in the market, a rebrand may be necessary.
Growth often creates branding challenges. As companies evolve, expand into new markets, add services, or change leadership, their original brand may no longer accurately represent them.
Living things grow and living things evolve. Businesses that remain exactly the same year after year risk becoming stagnant and losing relevance.
Rebranding should never start with design. Before changing logos, websites, or visual identity, organizations must first understand their values, purpose, positioning, and stakeholder perceptions.
Internal alignment comes before external messaging. Employees must understand and believe in the brand before the marketplace ever sees it. Your team becomes your most important group of brand ambassadors.
The truth about your brand is often found through listening. Leadership's perception of the company can be very different from what employees, customers, vendors, and partners actually experience.
A rebrand is not always the answer. Sometimes a refresh, updated messaging, service clarification, culture improvements, or operational changes can solve the real issue without a complete overhaul.
Successful rebrands require change management and communication. If stakeholders do not understand why a change is happening, they will create their own narratives and assumptions.
Values must be lived, not displayed. Trust is built when customers and employees can clearly see an organization's values reflected in its actions, decisions, and relationships every day.

Connect with Rudy A. Zacharias & Terry Elkins
🌐 About That...
Website: www.weareaboutthat.com
📧 Email
[email protected]
📞 Phone
780-465-0682
💼 Rudy A. Zacharias
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rudyazacharias/
🎨 Terry Elkins
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/terry-elkins-23234315/
About That... is an Edmonton-based branding, communications, and marketing agency helping organizations align their brand, strategy, and story to drive meaningful growth.
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🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶
The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐
🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com
🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca
🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com
🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com

Join The Catalyst Club Community
If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub
Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

Episode 345 of The Business Development Podcast dives into a conversation that almost never gets talked about in entrepreneurship: what happens at the end. Kelly Kennedy sits down with Robert Welke, business growth strategist, Certified Exit Planning Advisor, entrepreneur, and Co-Founder of MExit Inc., to explore why so many business owners spend decades building companies only to discover they have nothing they can actually sell. Together, they unpack Canada’s growing entrepreneurial challenges, the reality that more businesses are closing than opening, and why owner dependency may quietly be destroying business value long before owners ever think about exiting.
Drawing from more than 35 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience, Robert shares a practical framework for building businesses that are scalable, transferable, and capable of surviving beyond the founder. The conversation explores what makes a company truly sellable, why systems and leadership matter more than most owners realize, alternative exit strategies including employee ownership, and why building with the end in mind may be one of the most overlooked business disciplines today. Whether you plan to exit in three years, twenty years, or never at all, this episode will challenge the way you think about growth, legacy, and the future of entrepreneurship.

Key Takeaways:
If you want to sell your business, you have to build it to be sellable from the beginning.
Owner dependency is one of the biggest threats to business value and transferability.
Exit planning is not an event. It is a process that usually takes three to five years.
A business that cannot run without the founder is much harder to sell successfully.
Most business owners are experts at their craft, but not always experts at the business of business.
Systems, processes, people, and leadership structure are what make a company scalable and transferable.
Your employees may be a viable exit path, especially through employee ownership structures.
Revenue alone does not determine business value. Readiness, attractiveness, profitability, and risk matter deeply.
The future of Canadian entrepreneurship depends on helping more owners transition businesses instead of simply closing them.
A great business should survive beyond the founder and continue creating value for employees, customers, and communities.

Connect with Robert:
Robert Welke on LinkedIn
MExit Inc.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶
The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐
🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com
🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca
🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com
🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com
Join The Catalyst Club Community
If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

After launching CTK at just 24 years old in the middle of a global pandemic, Chris Vasiliou didn’t wait for perfect timing, certainty, or permission. In this episode, Chris shares the realities of scaling a construction company in one of Canada’s toughest industries, the lessons learned from growing from a handful of people to a national operation, and why entrepreneurship can’t truly be taught, it has to be lived. From earning trust as a young founder to building credibility through responsiveness, authenticity, and consistency, this conversation is packed with practical insight for anyone trying to grow something meaningful.
But this episode goes deeper than business growth. Kelly and Chris unpack the hidden side of entrepreneurship, including risk, cash flow pressure, sleepless nights, non payment challenges, and the responsibility that comes with leading people. They also tackle the future of construction in Canada, why contractors should be treated as partners instead of commodities, and how trust, transparency, and long term thinking can create stronger businesses and stronger communities. Whether you’re building a company, leading a team, or standing on the edge of taking your first leap, this episode is a reminder that success rarely comes quickly, but it is built one decision at a time.

Follow Chris:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-vasiliou-a05752262/
CTK Website: https://ctksys.com/

Key Takeaways:
Entrepreneurship cannot really be taught, it has to be experienced.
There is no perfect time to start, sometimes you have to put both feet into the fire.
Starting young is an advantage because time, risk, and learning can compound.
Credibility is built through consistency, responsiveness, and doing what you say you will do.
Soft skills can become a major competitive advantage in established industries.
Growth starts with small wins, strong relationships, and proving yourself over time.
Authenticity and transparency are not just values, they are business development tools.
Construction is brutally hard, and the hidden challenges are often cash flow, non payment, risk, and tight margins.
The best contractors act like partners, not vendors chasing the lowest bid.
Canada’s next major opportunity will require builders, tradespeople, and contractors who are willing to step up and do good work.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶
The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐
🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com
🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca
🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com
🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com
Join The Catalyst Club Community
If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub
Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

In episode 343 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy breaks down the 10 must-have tools every business development professional should be using in 2026 and beyond. From timeless essentials like the phone, email, LinkedIn, notepads, Excel, and CRM systems to modern tools like ChatGPT, Apollo.io, Surfe, AI note takers, and Canva, this episode provides a practical look at the tools that can improve efficiency, consistency, prospecting, follow-up, meeting preparation, and overall BD performance.
More importantly, Episode 343 reinforces that no tool can replace authentic human connection. Kelly explains why structure, consistency, personalization, and relationship-building remain the foundation of great business development, even as AI and automation continue to advance. The right tools can make you faster and more effective, but your humanity, voice, judgment, and ability to build trust are still your greatest competitive advantages.

Key Takeaways:
Your humanity is still your greatest business development advantage, even in the age of AI.
The phone remains the most powerful business development tool for building rapport and booking meetings.
Personalized emails consistently outperform automated AI outreach when it comes to real connection and trust.
Consistency matters more than intensity in business development. Small actions repeated weekly create momentum.
A CRM is only valuable if it is used consistently and structured in a simple, actionable way.
Writing goals and tracking metrics physically improves accountability and increases the likelihood of success.
LinkedIn is no longer optional for business developers. It is one of the most powerful prospecting tools ever created.
AI should be used to refine and enhance your work, not replace your voice, ideas, or authenticity.
Tracking your numbers weekly helps you understand your pipeline, improve performance, and stay accountable.
The best business developers combine modern technology with authentic human relationship-building instead of relying entirely on automation.

🎸 Sponsor Shoutouts: Thank You Colin Harms & Jamie Crozier for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast! 🫶
The Business Development Podcast is proudly supported by Hypervac Technologies, Hyperfab, Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc, and Atlas Elite Lifts. 🎸⭐
🔹 Hypervac Technologies: North America’s leader in vacuum truck manufacturing, building high performance hydrovac and industrial vacuum trucks designed for the toughest field conditions. www.hypervac.com
🔹 Hyperfab: The custom fabrication division of Hypervac, delivering engineered solutions and specialized builds tailored to demanding industrial applications. www.hyperfab.ca
🔹 Thunder Bay Hydraulics Inc: A trusted provider of hydraulic cylinder repair and manufacturing, supporting industries like mining, forestry, and construction with reliable, high quality service. www.thunderbayhydraulics.com
🔹 Atlas Elite Lifts: A premium supplier of automotive lift systems, focused on performance, safety, and long term reliability for shops and garages. www.atlaselitelifts.com
Join The Catalyst Club Community
If you are serious about growth, leadership, and surrounding yourself with high level thinkers, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Join us here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub
Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums