Listen on Sundays at 11 a.m. on 95.5 WSB and wsbradio.com
Each week, host Jon Waterhouse speaks with Atlanta’s business leaders to explore their inspiring stories, lessons learned, and tips for growth and success. From big business execs to indie entrepreneurs, these guests not only share their practical secrets, but also unveil the personalities behind the careers.
“Business touches all our lives and deserves to be explored,” says show founder, Richard J. Lenz. “Lenz on Business taps into the excitement and dynamics of business; the colorful characters who drive these companies, their entrepreneurial adventures, and the innovative ways they thrive and survive in today’s world.”
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Nick Johnson, founder and head coach, CrossFit Liminal
This week on the program we’ll be taking a look at a unique fitness business with an inspiring nonprofit model. Nick Johnson is founder and head coach of CrossFit Liminal, a nonprofit gym in Clarkston, Georgia. Clarkston is known for its refugee population, and CrossFit Liminal is designed to provide services for that community. In addition to regular gym memberships, CrossFit Liminal raises funds to make its services accessible, primarily to Clarkston-area refugees. Additionally, it’s free for youth. In addition to CrossFit Classes, Nutrition Coaching and Education, Personal Training, Yoga and more, CrossFit Liminal offers refugee specific programs. You can learn more at CrossFitLiminal.com.
Ben Armstrong, co-founder, Netherworld
It’s mid September, but for those in the Halloween business, things are ramping up big time as we head toward October. And this week’s guest is an entrepreneur who operates one of Atlanta’s most successful Halloween-related businesses. Netherworld is one of the most highly acclaimed haunted houses in the world, and it’s currently celebrating its 27th anniversary. Since relocating to Stone Mountain in 2017, Netherworld has expanded its offerings to include year-round escape games, and they just added their fifth game, which has a sci-fi premise. Its seasonal haunted attraction opens September 22 and runs on select dates through November 11. Armstrong talks about the company’s history, how they were able to sustain as a seasonal business, how they transitioned to a new location with year-round offerings, and much more.
Stephen Reardon, owner and CEO, and Barry Petrea, clinical director, IR Medical Centers
“Lenz On Business” features quite a few healthcare-related businesses on the show, which gives us the opportunity to explore a variety of topics. We always enjoy taking a look at healthcare businesses that offer different perspectives and treatments, and this week’s guests are no exception. The Atlanta-based IR Medical Centers specializes in regenerative medicine, medical weight loss, erectile dysfunction, and male testerone. However, they say they offer a different approach than many of their contemporaries. They discuss that topic, the buzz surrounding regenerative medicine, the need they fill as a medical practice, their ED treatment solution, and much more.
Andy Hingley, co-owner of Eddie’s Attic and talent booker at Live Nation
Business careers often take unorthodox turns, and this week’s guest went from playing soccer in sports arenas to booking concerts in them. After a professional soccer career in the U.K., Andy found his way to Atlanta where eventually began working for legendary concert promoter, Alex Cooley. Cooley took Andy under his wing, and later on Andy became talent booker at the iconic Decatur venue Eddie’s Attic, which Cooley co-owned at the time. After Cooley’s passing in 2015, Hingley became co-owner of Eddie’s Attic. Today, Andy not only runs Eddie’s Attic, but he also books talent for Live Nation, a multinational entertainment company. He books shows of all sizes in Atlanta and Southeast. From Luke Combs to Lizzo to Ween to Sturgill Simpson. Andy returns to the program to talk about the challenges of operating a club like Eddie’s Attic, how the pandemic has changed the live music business, his foray into artist management, and much more.
Alex Urban, Executive Director, PGA TOUR and the TOUR Championship Dr. Hal Scherz, Managing Partner, Georgia Urology
The TOUR Championship, one of professional golf’s most high profile events, is the grand finale of the FedExCup Playoffs and PGA TOUR season, featuring the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings. They’ll be battling it out August 23-27 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the PGA TOUR’s Ultimate Prize – the FedExCup. Urban talks to us about the event’s charitable side, and how it continues to benefit the surrounding community and metro Atlanta at large. Since first being played at East Lake in 1998, the TOUR Championship has given back more than $48 million to charity – including a record $5.5 million from the 2022 event. Event volunteers help enable the TOUR Championship to make these contributions, and one of the sponsors supporting the TOUR Championship’s volunteers is Georgia Urology, the largest urology practice in Georgia. Dr. Hal Scherz of Georgia Urology discusses the importance of community engagement, giving back, healthcare marketing, and much more.
Dr. Michelle Wan, Chief Medical Officer, and Natalie Schmitz, Vice President of Strategy and Implementation, DriveThru Urgent Care
Dan Carroll, Director of Media Engagement, Dragon Con
Jon Wollenzien, CEO of YourTown Health
National Health Center Week is taking place August 6-12, and this week’s guest will be telling us all about the relevance of community health centers in our country. Wollenzien is CEO of YourTown Health. YourTown Health’s network of seven community health centers serve the communities of Meriwether, Pike, Lamar, Carroll, Coweta, and South Fulton counties. The centers are strategically located in areas facing limited access to affordable, quality healthcare.
YourTown Health offers comprehensive preventative, curative, and life-enhancing services. Everything from primary care to chronic disease management, and much more.
Alan Paul, author of “Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Album That Defined the ’70s.”
This week’s guest specializes in the written word, and we’re thrilled to have him on the program. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, and his latest book is “Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Album That Defined the ’70s.” He talks about balancing his career as an author and a journalist, researching for the book, and some of the biggest challenges he’s faced along the way. Alan also discusses a book release event taking place July 28 at City Winery in Atlanta. Brothers & Sisters: A Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band will feature a Q&A, book signing, live music, and more. Tickets can be found here.
Dr. Donovan Christie, founder, Anwan Regenerative Center
After years in the healthcare field, this week’s guest became an entrepreneur and opened his own concierge practice specializing in lifestyle medicine. Dr. Christie’s business, Anwan Regenerative Center, practices anti-aging functional medicine and focuses on utilizing the triad of good nutrition, exercise, and stress management. Dr. Christie talks with Jon Waterhouse about what led him to open his own practice, his current perspective on healthcare, the definition of lifestyle and regenerative medicine, business lessons he’s learned along the way, and more.
Isabel Soles, Clinical Director, and Dr. Avi Varma, Director of HIV Services, YourTown Health
AIDS and HIV awareness is as important as ever. According to HIV.gov, approximately 1.2 million people in the United States have HIV and around 13% are unaware of their HIV-positive status. In fact, Georgia has some of the highest HIV rates in the country. And YourTown Health is doing something about it with its HIV Prevention and Treatment Program. The program offers HIV services to patients at reduced costs using the Sliding Fee Scale. Services include HIV testing, free at-home tests, preventative and post-exposure medications, and more. Isabel Soles and Dr. Varma talk about the program, address HIV misconceptions, and more.
Erin Bradley Dangar, actress, owner and creative director, Dangar Design LLC
Countless Atlantans have and continue to find work in Georgia’s film and television industry, and this week’s special guest, an entrepreneur herself, has a unique and inspiring story about how she broke into the business and landed on one of the most popular TV series in recent memory. Erin Bradley Dangar is owner and creative director of Dangar Design LLC. This company specializes in comprehensive creative communications for its clients. Simultaneously, Erin has found success as an actress in Georgia-based film and TV productions, most notably with her recurring role on the hit Netflix series “Cobra Kai,” part of the “Karate Kid” franchise. So how does Erin own and operate a business, while managing an acting career? She talks about that and a whole lot more on this week’s “Lenz On Business.”
Dr. Ben Lefkove, CEO, and Ron Sanders, president, DriveThru Urgent Care
Beginning in August, the Atlanta-based DriveThru Urgent Care plans on transforming the urgent care experience by treating patients with time-sensitive medical needs in the comfort of their own cars. DriveThru Urgent Care will treat all non-life-threatening conditions patients usually seek at urgent care locations, from abdominal pain and eye infections to sprains and minor cuts and lacerations. But they’re retooling the entire process from start to finish, and promise to deliver urgent care convenience and efficiency like never before. Lefkove and Sanders discuss how the concept sprung from their original endeavor, Viral Solutions, and much more.
Loretta Goodson, CEO of University Cancer and Blood Center
Loretta Goodson returns to the program to talk about the service and business aspects behind University Cancer and Blood Center (UCBC), which has been serving the oncology and hematology needs of patients in Athens, Northeast Georgia, and beyond for more than 40 years. A major topic of discussion is the practice’s upcoming Comprehensive Cancer Center, a more than 120,000-square-foot campus, offering the full spectrum of cancer care in one place. When it opens in August 2023, UCBC’s Comprehensive Cancer Center will be the first community cancer center of its kind in the region.
Mike Killeen, president and CEO, Lenz, Inc.
The show is sponsored by Lenz, Inc., and we have the captain of that ship with us this week. Mike Killeen has been with Lenz, a full-service marketing agency specializing in healthcare marketing, since 2002. He entered his current role earlier in 2023. Additionally, Mike teaches healthcare marketing to graduate students at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, and he’s been doing so since 2016. Mike is also founder of Amplify My Community, a non-profit organization that hosts fundraising concerts to benefit organizations working to alleviate poverty and homelessness. Mike and Jon talk about Lenz’s history, the company’s future, Mike’s thoughts on marketing, and much more.
Jerome Sabol, owner and president, Plumb Works
We love hearing our guests’ business stories, tips, and more. As an added bonus, many of our guests are able to give us professional advice related to their respective fields. Jerome Sabol falls into that category. He’s the award-winning owner and president of Atlanta-based plumbing service, PlumbWorks. He’s also a master plumber himself. One of the city’s leading plumbing companies, PlumbWorks has been in business since 1989. The company proudly bears an A-plus rating from the Better Business Bureau. This week Sabol returns to the show to talk about how the company is facing current challenges, summer-related customer needs, how his business is tackling the staffing shortage, and more.
Christian Fletcher, CEO of LifeBrite
Lenz On Business often explores the business of healthcare and its many forms. This week’s guest knows that business extremely well, including the mechanics of leading a company that successfully helps others and how to persevere in the face of adversity. The Atlanta-based LifeBrite operates LifeBrite Laboratories, which provides clinical testing services to healthcare organizations, physician practices, pain management clinics, addiction clinics, and employers nationwide. Another division of the company, LifeBrite Hospital Group, owns and operates a rural hospital in Danbury, NC, bringing much needed care to a community in need. Fletcher talks about these and other aspects of his business, including the challenges of overcoming a business-related lawsuit and how he emerged victorious on the other side.
Brock Nix, founder of Common Roots Farmers Market
This week we’re delving back into indie start-up territory with Brock Nix, founder of Common Roots Farmers Market, which recently opened in Avondale Estates. Brock combined his family history of farming and produce with his business knowledge when he launched Common Roots Farmers Market. It’s a 12,000 square-foot market, specializing in exceptional quality, low-priced produce, grab-n-go meals, premium meats, seasonal outdoor selections and more. Brock talks about the inspiration behind opening his own farmers market, facing supply chain challenges, how to differentiate a business from the competition, and much more.
A tribute to Mike Reeves, Atlanta restaurant and live music entrepreneur
Atlanta lost a true legend recently: Mike Reeves, an entrepreneur who made an everlasting impact on the local restaurant and live music scene. He not only co-founded Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurants and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, but he was co-founder of some of Atlanta’s most iconic live music clubs: Cotton Club, the Point, and Smith’s Olde Bar. Tributes from co-workers, musicians, patrons, friends, and many others have been pouring in. Mike not only was a successful businessman, but more importantly, he was a champion of others, often sharing his expertise, and he was a generous philanthropist, always there to help those in need. We had the pleasure of having Mike on the show several years ago. And as a tribute to Mike Reeves, we’ll be playing excerpts of that conversation. Reeves shared restaurant start-up secrets and behind-the-scenes rock ‘n’ roll stories, including hanging with David Bowie and other legends.
Loretta Goodson, CEO of University Cancer and Blood Center
Loretta Goodson returns to the program to talk about the service and business aspects behind University Cancer and Blood Center (UCBC), which has been serving the oncology and hematology needs of patients in Athens, Northeast Georgia, and beyond for more than 40 years. A major topic of discussion is the practice’s upcoming Comprehensive Cancer Center, a more than 120,000-square-foot campus, offering the full spectrum of cancer care in one place. When it opens in August 2023, UCBC’s Comprehensive Cancer Center will be the first community cancer center of its kind in the region.
Will Bostelman, president and CEO, The SwingSet Co.
We love business stories with colorful backgrounds filled with unconventional pathways and fascinating lessons, and this week’s guest has plenty of that. Based in Atlanta, The Swingset Co.’s mission is to create safe and long-lasting play sets for kids.They manufacture all the parts customers need in their state-of-the-art facility. They also pre-assemble all the complicated parts so all customers have to do is screw them together. They then ship their swing sets all across the country. Will discusses his unusual pathway to purchasing the business, navigating the process of being a first-time business owner, the challenges of packing and shipping large retail items, the importance of clear customer communications, and more.