Jamaul Ford with Scott "Shalom" Klein on Get Down To Business

It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog.

Are you ready to get down to business? Join seasoned entrepreneur, community leader, and Army veteran Scott Shalom Klein, who will take you behind the scenes with those who work in America's small business scene and speak with leaders making an impact, creating jobs, and telling their story in entrepreneurship. So let's get down to business on AM560 The Answer. Here's your host, Shalom Klein.

Klein. And indeed, we are all about small business, jobs, and entrepreneurship and business. We talk a lot about business here. You're on with Get Down to Business, and I'm your host, Shalom Klein. Remember, you can always download podcasts on my website at syklein.com. And while you're there, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @ShalomKlein. It's going to be jam-packed with content and information you'll not want to miss. So let's jump right in. You know, each and every week I have the opportunity to learn from just amazing people doing amazing things. And you know, no better way to kick off the program than Today's conversation with the one, the only, that's right, it is Jamaul Ford. And he is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of Drums Earwear and the director of community outreach at High Level Speech and Hearing Center. Jamaul is truly just a force in strategic planning, innovative marketing. He's got a lot of experience, which we're going to talk about over the next few minutes. And through innovation and strategic planning, High Level Hearing was awarded one of the fastest growing companies. And he has a program Wealth List, which we are going to talk all about. Very, very relevant information in this new year. Jamaul Ford, welcome to the program.

Thanks for having me. I'm super glad to be here.

Absolutely. So, uh, yeah, super happy to have you. So let's start in the very beginning. I've got a lot of advice to ask you about, which I know is relevant to our listeners, but I'd love to get to know the person beyond the microphone in 30 seconds or less. Jamaul, what do you want our listeners to know about you?

So I'm a second-generation entrepreneur. I kind of grew up in entrepreneurship, so Like they say, my parents' floor— but my parents' ceiling was my floor. So it was great for me to learn from them. And I have a master's in kinesiology, human performance. I transitioned over to corporate wellness, and from corporate wellness, I was able to learn how to do contracts and strategic planning. And from there, opened up a clinic, now transitioning to Wealth Bliss to help other companies be able to grow and scale. So That's a little bit about me.

Oh yeah, absolutely. And again, there's a lot of relevance in, uh, in all of those areas that you've been involved in that's truly relevant to entrepreneurs of all different backgrounds. But your personal diverse— and yes, your background, Jamaul, is very, very diverse professional background. How has it shaped your perspective on healthcare and business as a whole?

I definitely think that it's super important, especially in the field of, uh, just entrepreneurship, to always remember Health, wealth, and relationships is always important and relevant in all things. So many times when you have a business, if you can, uh, kind of target health, wealth, and relationships, you'll always have a customer base. So that's how my experience has kind of, um, guided me towards doing the things that I've done in entrepreneurship.

And Jamaul, I've listened to a couple of your previous interviews and some of the things that you've written in the past, and you talk a lot about the, the D word— that's data. I— so you collect a lot of data to make this sort of realization, the problem with no-shows is more emotional than logistics. And obviously, again, as we said in your backgrounds, you've been running again clinics and so on. So this is something that, you know, it's the bread and butter of what you do. So where did that, where did that sort of data lead you to that realization?

Well, I think that data is super important because many times you can find trends and patterns in how people move and what people decide to do. Many things, many times people think these things are spontaneous and sporadic, but they're actually being pretty consistent. Um, people are habitual, so once you understand people's habits, they actually can convert into data, and that data can be used to actually scale your business. So that's why I believe that data-driven analysis and data-driven, um, decisions are super important in any business.

Okay, so, so I want to get really into the nuts and bolts because this program is about, you know, getting down to business over here. So what are the bits of data that you found is that you saw that about 60% of individuals tend to remain within 10 miles of their origin. So what's the strategy over here, Jamaul Ford? How did you come across this insight and how do you think businesses can harness local community bonds more effectively?

So in my research, especially, um, running and operating clinics, really trying to figure out who are my, uh, target audience and what's going on, I came across data understanding, um, the travel patterns and the living patterns of most people. And the data suggests that 60% of people live within, within 10 miles of where they grew up, and about another 80% live within 100 miles of where they actually grew up. So this is very important. So when you are, for instance, Googling restaurants near me, um, it's really the restaurants within 3.5 miles of your area. So if you understand that, you understand that people actually are looking, um, within 3.5 miles around, or they're getting information about 3.5 miles from where their business is. If you understand that, then you need to make sure that you have word of mouth within the 3.5 miles around your business, so that way when people are referring people, they're going to refer people to your business no matter what it is, whether it's a restaurant, whether it's a hospital whether it's a clinic, that's super important.

Absolutely. Absolutely. So again, I'm chatting with Jamaul Ford, like I said, the co-founder, chief strategy officer of Drums Earwear, director of community outreach at High Level Speech and Hearing Center. And as you were just saying, the founder of this new concept of Wealth List. So Jamaul, let's get into how you spend your days, and I'd be willing to bet probably some of your nights. Can you share a little bit more about how your concept of your waiting list Is Your Wealthless. How did that evolve, and can you provide some concrete steps for healthcare professionals to tap into this underutilized resource?

Yeah, so one of the biggest things I found was that many people, whether it's in the health industry or any industry, they typically find themselves always trying to find new clients, new patients, new people to sell services to. And it's very hard to build trust, um, with a potential client or potential patient from that particular standpoint. Many times it takes 7 hours of interaction or communication about your business, about 11 interactions in 4 different locations, for those people to say, oh wow, well, I'm going to decide to work with this particular person. So in clinic standpoint, many times you wind up having people come to your clinic one time a year and they leave, and they find out, oh, I have high blood pressure, oh, I have um, you know, uh, diabetes. And so you give them a prescription, they'll leave, they'll go get that medication, and that pharmacy is going to make a monthly income on that particular, uh, patient or client or whatever, whereas you only got to see that patient one time a year. Um, the one thing about that particular thing is that the people need more than just medication. They also need additional services, understanding how to deal with those things. That's where WealthList comes in. WealthList comes in to say, okay, I understand you're dealing with high blood pressure, these are the things that you can do, and here is a, um, a SaaS or a software that can help you maintain your blood pressure, give you all the exercises, all the nutritional guidance, and you may charge $20 to $30 a month for that particular program. And so, um, an example is, let's say, another example is, say, a dentist has someone comes in and they have cavities, they may feel the cavity, but the perp— the person's dental care was the reason they got the cavity in the first place. So why isn't that dentist offering, uh, a subscription for toothpaste, toothbrush, or the right stuff to help them maintain their dental health? So WealthList kind of comes and creates a bespoke program for different clinics, different, um, in different, um, industries, and help them, um create residual income on a month-to-month basis.

That's powerful. That's powerful. And there's a lot of lessons there, like, like I've been saying, that's relevant. Obviously, we just gave some examples in the healthcare space, which Jamaul, I know, you know, a lot of your bread and butter. But ultimately, along the way, you've learned lessons, true, true, you know, nuggets in entrepreneurship. So I'd love to pick your brain on that. Jamaul Ford, what's the one bit of advice you give somebody that's tuning into this program? Beginning of 2024, they're getting started in the healthcare industry, or maybe just entrepreneurship in general, what, what homework assignments would you, uh, tell them to look into?

I would definitely say the most important thing is, um, there's a lot of change that's going on, especially at this particular time, just across the United States or even across the world. And it can sometimes feel difficult to, um, come into entrepreneurship and to gain some level of traction Consistency is key, and I think that being able to not just set a large goal but also having those small goals, those day-to-day goals, are the things that will help you get from point A to point Z. You got to also celebrate those small wins. That'll help you propel yourself to the end of the road. So I would say really the best advice I can give you is just be consistent, um, stay consistent, make sure that you're, um checking the boxes every day, and hopefully at the end of the road, you'll see yourself hitting those goals.

Yeah, because there's going to be those roadblocks, there's going to be those hurdles, but ultimately staying focused on that, on that prize at the end of the line. You've done that, Jamaul, and you certainly have a lot to show for it, and we appreciate you sharing it with all of our listeners. Jamaul, one of the most important homework assignments that I could give our listeners is get in touch with you. Um, you've got a lot of knowledge and information to share, Wealthlust and so much more. Jamaul, how can we get in touch?

So you can go to www.brandmaven.io to get information about, uh, Wealth List and about other services that we offer. We offer business strategy, um, brand audits. We offer, um, SEO assistance to help you dominate the 3.5 miles around your area. Um, and you can also contact us anytime at, um, 985 3-1-2-7-7-9-7, and we'll be more than happy to help you with whatever your goals are in business.

Powerful stuff, Jamaul Ford. Really great conversation, really great to chat with you. Definitely will link in our show notes as well. Be sure to check out our sponsors, Tom Rabali from healthplanschicago.com, healthplanschicago.com for all of your health insurance and affordable care needs. But don't touch that dial, we'll be right back and get down to business.