The Business Development Podcast

In this deeply personal update, Kelly Kennedy speaks from the pediatric oncology ward at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.
Kelly and Shelby’s one-year-old son, Foxx, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. As their family begins navigating treatment and an entirely new reality, Kelly is placing The Business Development Podcast on hold so he can focus fully on Foxx, Shelby, and their other boys.
This is not goodbye. The podcast will return as soon as Kelly and his family are able.
Guests who have already recorded conversations can be assured that their episodes will still be released as Kelly begins to understand what this new family schedule will look like. For the next few weeks, however, everything remains uncertain, and his family must come first.
For updates about Foxx, Shelby will be sharing through her Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/shelbeenatural⁠
A GoFundMe has also been created to support the family throughout Foxx’s treatment. Donations are deeply appreciated, but sharing the fundraiser can also make an enormous difference.
💙 Support or share Foxx’s fight:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shelby-kelly-during-foxxs-fight-against-cancer⁠
Kelly and his family are incredibly grateful for your patience, support, and prayers as they walk through this together.

In Episode 360 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with communication expert, leadership coach, and bestselling author Salvatore Manzi to explore why the clearest voice in the room often becomes the most influential. After losing his voice during an early speaking experience, Salvatore dedicated more than two decades to understanding the neuroscience, psychology, and storytelling principles behind powerful communication. Today, he helps executives, entrepreneurs, TEDx speakers, and global organizations transform complex ideas into clear and compelling messages that move people to action.
Kelly and Salvatore discuss how introverted leaders can command attention without pretending to be extroverts, why people do not care who you are until they understand how much you care, and how storytelling makes ideas memorable. They also unpack the biggest shift Salvatore made in his career: stopping the effort to sell and beginning to genuinely connect. From speaking with confidence and communicating bold ideas to developing memorable talking points and leading with authenticity, this episode offers practical strategies for anyone who wants to become a stronger communicator and a more influential leader.

Key Takeaways:
Clear communication is a skill that can be learned, practised, and continuously improved.
The clearest voice often carries more influence than the loudest voice.
Start with your audience’s needs before introducing yourself, your ideas, or your agenda.
Stop trying to sell and focus on building genuine human connection.
Bold ideas become persuasive when people understand why they matter to them.
Stories make information easier to understand, remember, and act upon.
Strong business stories move through three stages: pain, process, and measurable outcome.
Metaphors and analogies turn complex information into ideas people can immediately understand.
Prepare concise answers to the questions you receive most often so you can speak confidently under pressure.
Great speakers strengthen their skills by experimenting with new delivery techniques outside their comfort zones.

Get in Touch with Salvatore
Learn more about Salvatore Manzi’s leadership communication coaching, speaking, workshops, and free resources:
Website: https://www.salvatoremanzi.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatorejmanzi
Buy Clear and Compelling
Discover Salvatore’s practical frameworks for turning complex ideas into clear, memorable, and influential communication.
Book information: https://www.salvatoremanzi.com/book
Amazon: Buy Clear and Compelling

🎸 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
The Catalyst Club is so much more than a community. It is a growth platform for business development leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, and high-level professionals who want to sharpen their mindset, expand their leadership, and learn directly from people who have been there.
Members get immediate access to over 40+ recorded Catalyst Sessions from incredible experts like Nausheen Chen, Carmen Leibel, Pia Silva, Joel Zeff, Wayne Lee, and many more, along with weekly live sessions, growth conversations, and practical business development support from Kelly Kennedy and other leaders.
If you are serious about growth, leadership, business development, and surrounding yourself with people who are committed to becoming better, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Learn more here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Need Business Development Advisory? www.kellykennedyofficial.com
www.capitalbd.ca
Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

What if the biggest thing influencing your pricing, growth, and business decisions has nothing to do with strategy? In Episode 359 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy sits down with growth strategist, certified business coach, Trauma of Money Certified Practitioner, and Imposter Syndrome Coach Practitioner Brittney Ashley to explore the hidden ways money trauma, scarcity, self-worth, and imposter syndrome can quietly shape the way entrepreneurs lead and grow. From sitting on proposals out of fear of charging too much to the invisible financial beliefs we inherit from childhood, Brittney reveals why some of our most important business decisions may be driven by stories we do not even realize we are carrying.
Brittney also shares her journey from toxic workplaces and personal loss to building Creative Dynamics Virtual Services, a business designed around the belief that work should support your life, not consume it. Together, Kelly and Brittney explore the psychology behind undercharging, the anxiety entrepreneurs can feel around money, the shift from selling hours to delivering outcomes, and why understanding your own money story may be one of the most important steps you can take as a business owner. This is an honest and deeply relatable conversation about the emotional side of entrepreneurship and the question every business owner should be asking: Is money trauma making your business decisions?

Key Takeaways:
Money trauma can quietly influence pricing, spending, saving, and major business decisions without you realizing it.
The money stories you inherit from childhood and family can continue shaping your behaviour as an entrepreneur.
Imposter syndrome often shows up as hesitation, undercharging, overthinking, and questioning whether you are truly worth your price.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is create enough space to reflect instead of constantly reacting.
Undercharging is not always a pricing problem; it can be connected to people pleasing, self-worth, and fear of rejection.
You do not have to make massive changes overnight; small, consistent increases in confidence and pricing can compound over time.
Entrepreneurs need to shift their mindset from selling hours to delivering valuable outcomes and transformations.
Building a successful business requires working on yourself as much as working on your strategy, systems, and operations.
A business should be designed to support your life, not consume it or require you to be involved in every decision.
Growth begins when you become curious about your own patterns and ask what is really driving the decisions behind your business.

Get in Touch with Brittney Ashley
Connect with Brittney on LinkedIn
Listen to Breaking Norms, Building Dreams on SoundCloud
Visit Creative Dynamics Virtual Services

🎸 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
The Catalyst Club is so much more than a community. It is a growth platform for business development leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, and high-level professionals who want to sharpen their mindset, expand their leadership, and learn directly from people who have been there.
Members get immediate access to over 40+ recorded Catalyst Sessions from incredible experts like Nausheen Chen, Carmen Leibel, Pia Silva, Joel Zeff, Wayne Lee, and many more, along with weekly live sessions, growth conversations, and practical business development support from Kelly Kennedy and other leaders.
If you are serious about growth, leadership, business development, and surrounding yourself with people who are committed to becoming better, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Learn more here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Need Business Development Coaching or Support? www.kellykennedyofficial.com
www.capitalbd.ca

In Episode 358 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy welcomes Mitch Jacobsen, Founder and CEO of Rviita Inc., back to the show for a powerful conversation about entrepreneurship, faith, and the resilience required to build something from nothing. Mitch shares his journey from petroleum engineer to beverage entrepreneur, risking his student line of credit, spending two years developing a product that initially finished dead last in a blind taste test, and ultimately growing Rviita Energy Tea into a nationally recognized Canadian brand.
Kelly and Mitch explore the realities behind the entrepreneurial highlight reel, the rollercoaster of building a company, and why perseverance may be more important than intelligence. From burnout and failure to scaling with strong core values and refusing to quit when the path forward feels impossible, this episode is an honest conversation about the years of work behind meaningful success and the faith required to begin before you know exactly how the story will end.

Key Takeaways:
Perseverance may be the most important skill an entrepreneur can develop.
You do not need to know every step before you start, you just need to take the first one.
Small actions repeated consistently can compound into extraordinary progress.
Failure only becomes final when you decide to quit.
Entrepreneurship is a long game, not a shortcut to overnight success.
The greatest reward of building a business is often the impact you have on others.
Constant one, two, and three percent improvements can completely transform a product over time.
Core values become increasingly important as a company grows and scales.
You will likely overestimate what you can accomplish in a year and underestimate what you can accomplish in a decade.
Faith may give you the courage to begin, but resilience is what keeps you moving when the journey gets hard.

Get in Touch with Mitch Jacobsen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-jacobsen-p-eng-89277649/
Rviita Contact: https://rviitalize.com/pages/contact-us

🎸 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
The Catalyst Club is so much more than a community. It is a growth platform for business development leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, and high-level professionals who want to sharpen their mindset, expand their leadership, and learn directly from people who have been there.
Members get immediate access to over 40+ recorded Catalyst Sessions from incredible experts like Nausheen Chen, Carmen Leibel, Pia Silva, Joel Zeff, Wayne Lee, and many more, along with weekly live sessions, growth conversations, and practical business development support from Kelly Kennedy and other leaders.
If you are serious about growth, leadership, business development, and surrounding yourself with people who are committed to becoming better, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Learn more here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Need Business Development Coaching or Support? www.kellykennedyofficial.com
www.capitalbd.ca
Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

Episode 357 of The Business Development Podcast features entrepreneur, executive advisor, international keynote speaker, and bestselling author Michèle Hecken. After building and successfully exiting a global company that eventually ran with only a handful of hours of her time each week, Michèle shares the mindset shifts that allowed her to stop being the center of her business. Together, Kelly and Michèle explore why so many founders unintentionally become the biggest bottleneck in their own organizations, how to redefine your role as your company grows, and why true leadership begins when you empower others to succeed without you.
The conversation also dives into entrepreneurship, work-life integration, AI, business development, marketing, and the growing importance of authentic human connection in an increasingly automated world. From the emotional story that changed the course of her life to practical strategies for solopreneurs and growing businesses, Michèle delivers actionable insights on creating systems, focusing on your highest-value work, and building a business that creates freedom instead of dependence. If you're an entrepreneur, executive, or business leader looking to scale your company without sacrificing your life, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Key Takeaways:
Your business should serve your life, not the other way around.
As your company grows, your role as a founder must evolve with it.
The biggest bottleneck in your business is often the founder.
Every new service offering should strengthen your business, not dilute it.
Delegate the work others can do so you can focus on the work only you can do.
Great leaders intentionally make themselves less essential over time.
Don't chase every trend; adopt new tools only when they create real value.
Strong businesses are built on trust, relationships, and authentic human connection.
Clarity around your highest-value work is the foundation of sustainable growth.
Freedom isn't the reward for building a business; it should be part of the design from the beginning.

Connect with Michèle Hecken
🌐 Website: https://michelehecken.com
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelehecken/
📘 Latest Book: The Art of Offboarding: How to Transform Your Business to Run Without You
🎁 Exclusive Offer for Business Development Podcast Listeners:
https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/exclusive/podcast/special/offer

🎸 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
The Catalyst Club is so much more than a community. It is a growth platform for business development leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, and high-level professionals who want to sharpen their mindset, expand their leadership, and learn directly from people who have been there.
Members get immediate access to over 40+ recorded Catalyst Sessions from incredible experts like Nausheen Chen, Carmen Leibel, Pia Silva, Joel Zeff, Wayne Lee, and many more, along with weekly live sessions, growth conversations, and practical business development support from Kelly Kennedy and other leaders.
If you are serious about growth, leadership, business development, and surrounding yourself with people who are committed to becoming better, The Catalyst Club is where you need to be.
Learn more here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclub

Need Business Development Support? Book a Business Development Breakthrough Audit Here: www.kellykennedyofficial.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums