This week on The Small Business Radio Show…

We talk to employee number one at Cards Against Humanity. Very few games have been as successful as this one. If you never have played this game or heard of it, it’s kind of like the game “Apples to Apples” after you have had a few cocktails. Jenn Bane gives us unique insight into how the game was born, what it was like in its early days, and how it has evolved. She also shares why the company has never shied away from controversy, and tells us about some of the political stunts they pulled during the 2016 election. We also learn about how they operate as a small business, which entails not having a CEO.

Then, we talk with a successful business owner about how he has dealt with addiction in his life. We discuss how to take ownership of addictions – alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, working too many hours, just to name a few – and move on, while managing addiction triggers.

Finally, we talk with Rudy Ruettiger, whose name you might recognize from the movie Rudy about a small kid from Joliet Illinois who was determined to play football for Notre Dame despite having neither a strong academic nor star athletic background. We talk to Rudy about why he never let people tell him no, even after being rejected more than 50 times from Notre Dame, and why he persisted with others just quit.

Listen to The Small Business Radio Show

Segment 1: Jenn Bane is the Community Director of Cards Against Humanity and was employee #1 at the company.

1:15 – How was Cards Against Humanity born? What was the game’s original name? Was the branding always the same?

4:30 – How to play Cards Against Humanity. Plus, some of Barry’s favorite examples.

6:00 – How do the cards for the game Cards Against Humanity get developed?

8:45 – Cards Against Humanity has never shied away from controversy. Why is that?

10:30 – The political stunts pulled by Cards Against Humanity during the 2016 election.

12:45 – Why have such controversial cards in the game?

15:00 – What’s the thought behind giving the game away for free on your website?

17:30 – How has Cards Against Humanity changed since 2010? How does the company operate without a CEO?

23:00 – What’s in store for Cards Against Humanity in the future?

Segment 2: John Collopy, author of the book The Reward of Knowing, is the owner and broker of RE/MAX Results and its 38 offices across Minnesota and Wisconsin.  With annual sales of more than $5.3 billion, RE/MAX Results is now one of the largest RE/MAX franchises in the world.

20:30 – Why do people struggle with addictions? What purpose do they serve in our lives?

22:00 – What was your “moment of truth” where you decided you needed help?

23:30 – How did you build up your successful RE/MAX business after your sobriety?

25:00 – What was the biggest encouragement for you in your recovery?

28:00 – Advice for small business owners who are going through a hard time and leaning on addictions to get them through.

33:30 – What do you do when you find yourself sliding back into an addiction?

Segment 3: Rudy Ruettiger played college football at the University of Notre Dame. Against all odds, as a walk on and part of the practice squad, Rudy got in a game at the University of Notre Dame. As fans repeated that famous chant “RU-DY, RU-DY,” he sacked the quarterback in the last 27 seconds of the only play in the only game of his college football career. He started life as the son of an oil refinery worker and the third of 14 children. Today, he is one of the most popular motivational speakers in the United States… Now, there is a new documentary on Amazon Prime called “Rudy Ruettiger – The Walk on”.

47:00 – You say you graduated the bottom 3 on your class but when you went to the Navy, it got your confidence back. How?

48:00 – You were rejected more than 50 times from Notre Dame-  You never let people tell you no- where did you learn that? Why do you persist, when others just quit?

49:30 – You build relationships to get into ND and to get the Movie “Rudy” made- this is so important in small business- what is the key to this?

50:30 – What were the most encouraging words you’d tell yourself when you had not just one setback but a series of setbacks? What should we tell ourselves?

51:00 – What do you think of how college sports has changed over the years? What lessons are missing for today’s college athletes?

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