Love podcasts? So do we. Here are a few of our favorites from Southwestern’s award-winning The Action Catalyst podcast.
Each episode of The Action Catalyst will help you overcome setbacks, defeat mediocrity, and focus on achieving your goals in life.
Hattingh Basson and Werner Barnard explain the unique career history that spawned the Southwestern Talent, the professional services gap that they are filling and why it exists, why offshoring isn’t really offshoring anymore, how the South African people create a world-class talent pool, overcoming start-up pain points, and why sometimes the low-tech solution is the winning one.
Dawn Fotopulos, Founder of Hidden Profit Academy, and Associate Professor of Business at The King’s College, lays out the 3 financial questions to ask when running ANY business, what bankruptcy IS and ISN’T, the 3 main parts of a balance sheet, recognizing accounting yellow flags, and the importance of adopting a new mindset around managing your money.
Guest host Stephanie Maas has felt like a bad sister lately, so she places a call via The Action Catalyst to her brother, Tommy Doerfler, CPA, CFP®, CEPA®, who reminisces about going from a college dropout, to a drummer touring the country in a van, to geeking out over numbers, breaking his body in endurance challenges, living up to your own belief system, the merits of conversation vs communication, and never losing your childhood curiosity.
John Hewitt, founder of both Jackson Hewitt as well as Liberty Tax Services, talks about being a world traveler without ever leaving the USA, fighting with his father while also making business history, the secret sauce of franchising, the biggest lesson from almost facing bankruptcy, competing against his own software and systems (and winning), why he might be the one person on Earth who thinks Berkshire Hathaway is doing something wrong, the pain of change, and practicing extreme brevity. And listen to the end to find out how Action Catalyst fans can get his book for free!
Advocate and author Matthew Lesko, known to many as the “Question Mark Guy”, has spent over four decades uncovering ways for people to access billions in government grants and funds they never knew were available. Lesko covers the difference between the capitalist and community societies within the US, being a sought-after late-night “backup guy”, finding government grants and assistance for business owners, entrepreneurs and freelancers, meeting, quite possibly, the nation’s foremost expert on pasta, and most importantly, listening to your heart.
Josh Fox, Founder/CEO of Bottom Line Concepts, talks about going back in time to find hidden money for businesses, digging into the data over the cost of pencils, the shocking error rate of most business invoices, which companies have the greatest opportunities for savings, the treasure trove of unclaimed property, being elected president…just not of the USA, and his mantra of “Thank God It’s Monday”.
Tax strategist Carlotta Thompson explores her unique early start in tax law, her years as an IRS enrolled agent, and what it taught her about helping business owners legally reduce their tax burden through smarter planning and compliance. Thompson explains how the IRS TRULY operates, and highlights the most common audit triggers, and how tools like cost segregation, opportunity zones, family‑office‑style investing, business acquisitions, and real estate tax strategies can significantly reduce tax liability when implemented correctly, and discusses the limits of AI in accounting, as well as key red flags to watch for when hiring accountants.
