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Episode 14

 
Published on:

24th Jul, 2020

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About the Podcast

BIG Truths of Small Business
A deep philosophical dive into small business and the people that run them.
Having recognized over decades that small business works differently than big business, serial entrepreneurs , Joe Watkins and Travis Cassell, take us on a journey to quantify, qualify, and strip back the curtains of small business successes and failures, and to uncover the real stories behind their leaders, owners, and founders.

They will talk philosophy, politics, culture, music, and good old fashion small business fundamentals as they interview small business owners all over the southeast of America to discover the golden nuggets, hidden gems, fast tricks, and trade secrets as to what makes a great small business tick.

Furthermore, they will unravel the TRUTHS of what's REALLY important as they analyze how to maintain balance in your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social lives.

About your hosts

Joe Watkins

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Joe is a serial entrepreneur fascinated by how business works, how to make it better, how to use accounting and finance to make sound decisions, and diving deep into attracting, retaining, and leading great people in his organizations. The real estate space has been a great success on many fronts for Joe having flipped over 450 homes, renovated over 1000 properties, built over 200 new construction houses, and managed over 1600 single family rental properties in his various companies since 2006.

Before he became a real estate tycoon, Joe was in the restaurant business for over a decade having owned a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Along with business acumen, Joe is competitive in golf, writes and sings songs, enjoys long motorcycle trips, and loves loves loves his family - wife and 2 grown kids!

Travis Cassell

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Growing up in a family business, Travis had an up-close look at what "being the boss" was like. It often requires longer hours and an immense amount of sacrifice but is fueled by the success of clients and employees. Helping people grow and win is what it is all about. In his experience with both Fortune 500 companies and small family businesses, the biggest lesson he has learned is that “there are no shortcuts.”

Travis has worked in the real estate business in some capacity since 1994, first as a realtor, then as a top producing mortgage loan officer. In 2002, he began purchasing rental homes of his own and discovered there was a real need for a professional property management service. And thus, Travis co-founded Cutting Edge Property Management in 2004. He sold this business in 2007 and became founder and CEO of Lighthouse Property Management in Atlanta, GA.

Under Travis’s leadership, Lighthouse grew to more than $25,000,000 in managed assets. In 2019, he successfully merged Lighthouse with Bravo Group Real Estate and was rebranded as Yesirent Property Management. Yesirent currently manages assets in excess of $100,000,000 in the metro Atlanta market. Travis remains with the firm as Associate Broker and President of Sales and Business Development.