In this concise 7‑minute interview, Professor Pete Alexander hosts Chris Chapman, an executive director at Capital Analytics, founder of the Next Level Minds podcast, and co‑founder of a Charleston‑based startup. Chapman explains his three‑fold professional focus—producing annual economic reports for major metros, creating a podcast aimed at inspiring a million listeners, and building a startup from the ground up. He highlights the rewarding aspects of each role, emphasizing the impact of economic reports on business investment, the podcast’s ability to change lives, and the excitement of turning vision into reality. When asked which business chapter is most essential, Chapman stresses company culture, noting that employee perception, loyalty, and turnover costs hinge on a strong, values‑driven environment. He advises leaders to prioritize rapid adaptation to fast‑moving technology, and to ensure clear, top‑down communication that reinforces culture. Chapman recommends three fellow leaders—Austin Maxwell, Austin Belsick, and Parker LeClair—for future podcast appearances. He recounts his first job as a teenage cashier at Harris Teeter, where he learned customer communication and a solid work ethic. The episode concludes with Chapman’s contact points: LinkedIn (Chris Chapman), Instagram (Chris Chap Chap), and his Next Level Minds podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Chapters
This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1, in a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Yeah, Pete, I really appreciate you having me on your podcast today. Excited to share some value to your listeners. My name is Chris Chapman. I'm an executive director at Capital Analytics, where I create annual economic reports for major metro cities. Additionally, I'm also the founder and podcast host of Next Level Minds, where my vision is to inspire over 1 million people, helping them reach the next level. And I'm also the co-founder of a startup company that's based in Charleston, South Carolina.
Chris, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
Well, as you probably just heard, I work in 3 separate industries, so multiple different things there. I'd say for the annual economic reports, Really the best thing there is just being able to increase business investment in the cities that I work in. It's really rewarding at the end of the day. I'd say for the podcast, the, the biggest thing there is impacting lives with all of my episodes. Again, that's my main vision with the podcast. And with the startup, I just love building something from scratch. I always have been that way. So I really just love turning my vision into a reality and executing on that with my fellow co-founders out there.
Oh, I love it. I could hear that energy in your voice as you were talking about that. It's great. Question number 3: I have a book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Company culture, by far. I'm sure you can attest to this as well, but there's Glassdoor out there, there's social media, and I think at the end of the day, your employees are the ones making the things happen for your company. So I think it's very important to instill that strong workplace culture so everyone feels valued at the end of the day and everyone continues to put in that strong work ethic, making the company go around.
That's very insightful. Thank you. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for the customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Yeah, definitely. So the ability to adapt quickly. Technology is moving extremely quickly. Competitors are moving even faster sometimes. So the ability to adapt, pivot, and shift, you know, build, measure, learn feedback, and go extremely quickly on that adaptation because blink your eyes, something's changed. So as a company, being able to pivot quickly is extremely important. And again, going back to the company culture mixed in there, I would say communication, especially effective communication from top-down leadership, is extremely important. Again, so everyone can feel valued at the end of the day, continue to work hard, because the more you feel valued, the harder you will work. It's just how life works. And then again, I just want to harp on how important it is to instill that strong company culture at the end of the day.
I couldn't agree with you more. And especially that strong communication as a part of the culture of the company, I imagine that can just really instill a loyalty as well for employees.
Yeah, definitely. And loyalty at the end of the day, I think, can be undervalued, but I think it should be overvalued because employee turnover, unfortunately, is such a high expense. And I think that can easily be decreased if you're able to instill a property culture, a proper company culture within your values and mission statements.
Very, very, very, very interesting that you can tie both in together. I love that. Thank you. Question number 5, what other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Yeah, definitely. So, I have 3 recommendations there. One, a friend of mine that was also on my podcast, Austin Maxwell. He's the co-founder of a company that was on Shark Tank. Additionally, Austin Belsick, also on my podcast, but he's the founder of Cultivated Culture, really cool career coaching platform, has changed the lives of thousands of people. And Parker LeClair, he's a real estate investor and entrepreneur out of Charleston. I've learned an exponential amount of information from him on the real estate industry.
So, oh, perfect. Thank you for those 3 referrals. I'll reach out to them. And finally, question number 6: Please tell me about your first job.
Uh, my first job makes me laugh a little bit just because I was kind of young and naive at the time, but, uh, 16 years old and my first job was a cashier at Harris Teeter, which was a local grocery store. During that time, I learned a significant amount of information about effective communication with customers. I went through about 200 transactions a day dealing with customers who were sad, mad, angry, happy, all different types of walks of life all in one shift. So I was able to learn how to effectively communicate with people and really show them that they're valued as the customer. Additionally, I was able to instill a very strong work ethic at a young age where it was, hey, I want to go buy something, I need to go work, clock in on my shift, collect money, and end up paying for it. So very, very thankful that I was able to get that work ethic at an early age with this company.
That's a great story. I always love to hear when the first job actually has some learnings that you carry through even to today. And it sure Sounds like it with you too.
Yeah, definitely.
Oh, so Chris, thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
Oh yeah, thanks again for having me, Pete. It was very exciting to be here. I've been looking forward to it ever since we got it scheduled. Um, so the best place to connect with me, uh, there's two platforms there. I'd say LinkedIn, um, it's just Chris Chapman. And then my Instagram, which is Chris Chap Chap. You can see some updates there as well. Um, and then my podcast, Next Level Minds, on Apple and Spotify.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
