Wilmington’s business expo has been rebuilt around something more valuable than vendor booths: practical ideas, better conversations, and real business growth.

Matthew Coleman explains why the WilmingtonBiz Expo became Spark ILM—and what Wilmington’s business leaders can expect on October 1.

Matthew is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Wilmington Media + Marketing, home of the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. He joins Tyler Yaw and Chris Kellum to discuss his path from radio advertising to marketing leadership, the principles that guide his decisions, and the role local media can play in strengthening an entire community.

We break down Spark ILM’s new content-first format, including its economic outlook keynote lunch, 18 workshops across six learning paths, and the Best Places to Work celebration. Matthew also shares how Wilmington businesses are adopting AI, what makes community events successful, and which regional stories deserve our attention.

SPARK ILM 2026

October 1 | 11:30 a.m.–8:00 p.m.

Wilmington Convention Center

Tickets and details: https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/eventDetails?eventID=245

Explore the Greater Wilmington Business Journal:

https://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/

If you care about Wilmington’s growth, local leadership, and the people building the Cape Fear region, subscribe to Whiskey & Wisdom and share this episode with someone invested in our community.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Matthew Coleman

01:23 Why We Changed the Intro

02:13 The Candy Break

03:29 Matthew’s Marketing Career

07:43 Goals, Flexibility & Principles

11:16 What Is Spark ILM?

13:28 Event Format & Learning Paths

14:01 Best Places to Work

19:25 Tickets & Event Planning

20:45 AI Workshops & Practical Tools

23:26 Wilmington Leaders Panel

24:31 Humanizing Local Politics

25:48 Defining a Successful Event

28:31 Build Your Own Learning Path

29:47 The Power Breakfast Series

34:44 How to Get Involved With WilmingtonBiz

39:10 Wilmington Business Stories to Watch

41:36 Success, Principles & Leadership

42:49 Advice to His Younger Self

45:09 Where to Follow Matthew

Welcome back to the Whiskey and Muslim podcast, everyone.

2

This is your co-host, Tyler

Yaw, and today I'm with my

3

constant co-host, Chris Kellum.

4

Hi.

5

And today on the Whiskey and Muslim

podcast, we're joined by Matthew

6

Coleman, the vice president of sales

and marketing for Wilmington Media

7

and Marketing, the publisher of the

Greater Wilmington Business Journal.

8

Matthew leads the company's sales and

marketing strategy across publications,

9

digital platforms, sponsorships,

and live events, helping connect

10

local businesses, leaders, and idea

throughout the Wilmington region.

11

He's also helping lead the development of

Spark ILM, Wilmington's annual business

12

growth forum, designed to bring the local

business community together for practical

13

education, meaningful conversations,

and valuable new connections.

14

Today, we're talking about Wilmington's

business landscape, the importance

15

of community-driven media, what makes

local events successful, and where

16

he sees the region heading next.

17

Matthew, welcome to the podcast.

18

Thank

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Matt: you guys very much for having me.

20

Now that I hear that read back, it sounds

like a marketing person wrote that.

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Host: Right.

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Well, I keep laughing 'cause Tyler

started this, like trying this new

23

thing, and I'm like, "Tyler, I feel like

we should just have it on the screen

24

so you're like looking at the TV."

25

Oh, yeah.

26

Just read it off of that.

27

But I'm like, "Yeah, no, it

definitely sounds market-y."

28

But not in a bad way.

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Like, we know.

30

That's right.

31

But it also helps me, 'cause he

was saying stuff and I'm like,

32

"I had no idea what that was."

33

And I would've never thought to

bring it up either if you hadn't

34

like mentioned it on the front end.

35

The reason why I started

doing it is kind of threefold.

36

One, to keep us on track of what we're

talking about, so just to say it out loud.

37

Number two, for the people listening,

'cause what would happen previously

38

is we would intro into the podcast,

start talking about whiskey, and

39

we wouldn't talk about the person-

40

and what they were doing like

five or six minutes into it.

41

Right.

42

So, we had retention like that

would just sink off at two minutes.

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Matt: Right.

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Host: So like, okay, what

are we talking about today?

45

And yes, we will talk about whiskey

at some point during the podcast.

46

But what's the h- what's the

gist of the thing coming up?

47

So, that's why we did it.

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I think you kind of do

exactly that for your day job.

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That's it.

50

Pretty much, right?

51

Matt: That's our big task is

helping people put those kinds of

52

things together for themselves.

53

Right.

54

A lot of times business owners, that's

the one thing they struggle with is

55

they know what they do, they do it

really well, but trying to communicate

56

that is the biggest challenge for them.

57

Host: Right.

58

Mm.

59

Matt: Makes sense.

60

Host: So, we're not really drinking this

episode, which is why I'm eating candy.

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If anyone knows these little caramel

squares, I would love you if you could

62

just make these magically appear.

63

But also, I hate the plastic

that they're wrapped in the best.

64

Yeah.

65

It just takes like five

minutes to get into it.

66

Matt: Mm-hmm.

67

Caramel's my weakness, too.

68

That the-

69

Host: You want one?

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Matt: Oh, I'll take one.

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Host: Yeah.

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Matt: But there's a an ice cream, I

think it's called Tor rentis, Torlentis?

73

That's like- Oh.

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Oh, yeah.

75

That's right.

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Oh my gosh.

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And there's like chunks and

hunks of caramel down in it.

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Yeah, that one's good.

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Yeah, that's a, that's dangerous,

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Host: so.

81

It's so bad.

82

I go to Boombalatties-

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Matt: Mm

84

… Host: like twice, eh, every other week.

85

And every once in a while I'm like, "Mm."

86

They'll have the Heath bar ice cream.

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You can put caramel in it.

88

Mm.

89

And if you, like, you put the

scoops just right, you can get

90

the caramel, like, drizzled.

91

You can get the caramel and

the Heath, and I'm like, "Ah."

92

It's, it's just me.

93

I just love it.

94

Ice cream in wisdom today.

95

Mm-hmm.

96

There you go.

97

A little candy, I guess.

98

Sugar.

99

Candy and conversations.

100

So We had like your broad spectrum view

of now that you're back with the business.

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I, I'm curious to anybody who

ends up in like marketing and

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everything, how'd you get started?

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Like-

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Matt: Oh, like all the way back?

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Host: Sure.

106

Matt: This is one of those things, you

know how sometimes kids wanna grow up

107

and be like firefighters or policemen

or astronauts or something like that?

108

So I was in like marketing

school or marketing classes in

109

high school all the way back.

110

Mm-hmm.

111

I was in DECA and did the-

Oh … competitions and all those

112

things, and went to school for

went to school for marketing.

113

And back then I was, This was

online school, like before online

114

school, so University of Phoenix.

115

Oh, yeah.

116

If you remember that.

117

Yeah, yeah.

118

And I was working construction

at Wrightsville Beach during the

119

day, then coming home at night

and doing some online classes.

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And then my wife heard a, like a

open house ad for the local radio

121

stations, the local Cumulus Group.

122

Mm-hmm.

123

Yeah.

124

So it was WQ and G90.3.

125

Yeah.

126

And she says, "Hey, isn't this

what you're going to school for?

127

You should go and check that out," 'cause

they were hiring for radio ad salespeople.

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Host: Oh, okay.

129

Matt: And I was like, "Eh, I'll go and

you know, I'll, I'll think about it."

130

And she said, "Well, let me rephrase that.

131

Why don't you go check out this thing?"

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And I did.

133

I went, and it was a great experience.

134

They hired me there.

135

I got into radio ad sales,

which is where I learned not

136

just marketing, but also sales.

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Host: Yeah.

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Matt: And I was there for eight years,

which is- Oh, wow … I don't know if you

139

know anything about radio ad sales, but

that makes you a dinosaur- Long time, yeah

140

in that business.

141

I think the average

lifespan's like six months.

142

Wow.

143

And you know, I started out as

a, like a street-level account

144

executive, worked my way up through

management, key account management.

145

I was doing political advertising

there for a little while.

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Host: Oh, wow.

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Matt: That was back in the Obama campaign.

148

Mm-hmm.

149

So that was a lot of fun.

150

But left that job in 2013, got signed

on at a company called My Employees,

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which is over in Castle Hayne-

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Host: Yep.

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Yeah

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… Matt: as the marketing director.

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So got out of sales and into full-

Sean's over there … marketing.

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And wound up doing that for the

next six years, and that's where

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I met Adam Tartt- That's right

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who you guys had on before.

159

Host: Yes.

160

Yeah.

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Matt: And between the time that Adam

and I got reconnected, I went and was

162

the sales and marketing director for

Atlantic Computer Services, so still-

163

Oh, wow … in the same kind of vibe.

164

But one of the cool things about that

was when I was at My Employees, it's a

165

national brand, so all over the country.

166

I missed the local aspect that the

radio advertising sales had given me,

167

and then Atlantic Computer Services

put me back in touch with that.

168

Left there and had a short stint at

the Business Journal the first time

169

around- Mm … for about nine months.

170

That's where I met Rob Kiser

and- Okay … the other folks

171

at the at the Business Journal.

172

But in the time that I was there,

Adam and I got reconnected, and he

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his company Cap3 was doing well in

the finance and fractional space.

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And he told me, "Hey, man, my

my finance clients have just as

175

many questions about marketing.

176

Why don't you come help me build

this other column of the business?"

177

Went over to Cap3, was there

for three years as a fractional

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CMO, which was great, awesome.

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Host: This seems cool.

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Yeah.

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Matt: Yeah.

182

It was a lot of fun because back in, back

in full-blown marketing and being able

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to think, like, high-level strategy for

people- Right … really exciting stuff,

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and again, a company that had broad reach.

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And really happy with where I was, was

doing great work, loved the company.

186

We had grown to, to…

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We'd grown the marketing department

from one person to 15 people.

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Host: Oh, wow.

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Matt: Wow.

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And but at the, at the time, or about

that time Craig Snow from the Business

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Journal, he and I stayed, stayed in touch.

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We were, we were having lunch one day,

and the person who was in this role

193

at the Business Journal then had left.

194

Mm.

195

And you know, he said "Would you be

interested in, in, in checking that out?"

196

And met with Rob talked about

things, compared visions, and we

197

were really aligned in what we

thought thought this thing could be.

198

And yeah, made me a great offer,

and it's been all roses ever since.

199

That's awesome.

200

Yeah.

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Host: Very cool.

202

I like t- I always like to ask that

question because, one, people, there's

203

never one way to get to some place.

204

Yeah.

205

And, like, those younger people who

listen to the podcast don't feel like,

206

"Okay, you know, well, I'm here now.

207

I'll never get to this spot."

208

You can see, like, you can take

many paths to get to there.

209

Matt: Yeah.

210

Yeah.

211

I I was a big fan of Stephen Covey.

212

Mm-hmm.

213

Oh, yeah.

214

"Seven Habits," and he said something

in his book that I think really stuck

215

with me, 'cause everybody wants to

know, "What's your five-year plan?

216

What's your three-year plan?"

217

And I can tell you right now that five

years ago, I would, I would not be

218

where I am today if you'd asked me then.

219

But he said that rather than having,

like, hard and fast goals, you live

220

a principled life, and by doing that

and living principled and kind of

221

staying focused, you will be afforded

opportunities, and it'll give you a

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chance to take advantage of those.

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And to your point, I think that

that's, that would be the advice I

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would give somebody, is just think

about a direction that you want to

225

go, keep your antenna up, and the

opportunities are gonna come to you.

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Host: We were doing an exercise.

227

We brought in a business coach for

where we're at here, and they asked

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us what, like, a five-year thing was.

229

Mm-hmm.

230

And I was like, "I don't do that anymore."

231

Try telling a business

coach that doesn't go well.

232

And she was like- That's from 1994.

233

Yeah.

234

But there's a reason- She was

like, "What are you talking about?"

235

And I like…

236

And I do the same thing, 'cause I've had

other performance coaches, very similar.

237

They're taking things from

Stephen Covey and whatnot too.

238

Mm-hmm.

239

And I'm like, "These are the,

basically the rules of my life that

240

have, that I believe and that I think

is gonna get me where I wanna go."

241

Mm-hmm.

242

So I don't know what's

gonna happen in five years.

243

I didn't expect to be sitting

where I am right now in five years.

244

Exactly.

245

I didn't expect to be in this industry 10

years ago, and I didn't expect to be where

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I was 15 years ago, where I was then.

247

I was like, "I've stopped doing that."

248

And the times that I have had really

strict goals, believe me, I've become

249

more driven and solid in my faith,

because God has come down and crushed

250

those goals every single time-

251

and led me into a different direction

anyway, that put me in a better spot than

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I would've been if I chose my own way.

253

Absolutely.

254

I was like, "So this is

why I don't do it anymore."

255

And she was like, "Okay, Tyler

doesn't have to do that then."

256

You're excused.

257

Yeah.

258

Some people just…

259

Some people need that, like,

what is gonna be your goal?

260

Yeah.

261

And I do ask, like, our young

employees, like, "Do you have a goal?"

262

And I'm like, "I don't need one for,

you know, five, 10 years down the road.

263

I just wanna know, what's your

goal before the end of the year?

264

What's your goal look like

for this time next year?

265

And if I know that, then I can

help you reach those goals,

266

because you're so young."

267

Like, very few people are like,

"Well, I can live my principles, and

268

I know I'll get to the next point."

269

I'm like, "You could," but Tyler spent

years learning who he was, and he wasn't,

270

you know, 23- Mm-hmm … coming up

with this, like, "I don't have goals."

271

If I was living by my principles when

I was 19, I'd be in a really bad spot.

272

So I'm like, so I'm like, I like that

idea, is like, you know, you got to n-

273

know yourself and kind of grow into that.

274

'Cause I'm sure you would…

275

Your goal was not to be where you are now.

276

Yeah.

277

'Cause it's not an idea that everyone has.

278

Matt: That's right.

279

You know?

280

And, you know, I think

having goals is important.

281

That's right.

282

I'm in sales, and you know,

we, we live and die by goals.

283

Exactly.

284

Yeah.

285

But I think there's a, a certain amount

of flexibility that comes along with

286

that, and being able to adapt to things.

287

Mm-hmm.

288

I think we all…

289

I, you know, it's the, like, the

most cliche thing ever to say in

290

business now, but coming out of the

pandemic, everybody realized that

291

you've got to stay flexible, 'cause

everything could change- Oh, it's crazy

292

In a moment.

293

Right.

294

Yeah, so, I think that

that's, that just makes for…

295

It, it, like I said before, it opens

you up to more opportunities if you

296

are aware and you're just kind of

operating and always moving forward

297

in a, in a certain direction, and

making sure that what you're doing

298

is, is aligning with who you are and,

and being able to drive you that way.

299

Host: So talking about kind

of where you're at now.

300

Mm-hmm.

301

Something you said you wanted to talk

about, and I'm glad you mentioned

302

it because I have no clue what

it is, but I see it everywhere.

303

What in the heck is Spark ILM?

304

All right.

305

And I, 'cause I know it's coming up soon.

306

Matt: Well, Tyler, thank you for asking.

307

But so Spark ILM is our

annual business conference.

308

Host: Okay.

309

Matt: So Spark ILM got its start

as the Wilmington Business Expo.

310

So for several years- Oh.

311

Yeah.

312

Okay.

313

Last year, the Wilmington Biz Expo

rebranded as Spark ILM, and the reason

314

for that is, you know, when I was with

the Business Journal the first time

315

around, worked the expo then, and I'd

always been a, an attendee, and that

316

was one of the things that made, you

know, coming here a really natural fit

317

for me 'cause I'd, I'm super engaged

with all of the events and all of the

318

material and content and everything.

319

But the Biz Expo was really great,

and that old format was the keynote

320

lunch, where we had the economic

outlook, so Mohsin Latif from UNCW

321

comes in and delivers the region.

322

The president from Bank of America

will come down from Charlotte and

323

deliver kind of like a national

and more re- a broader scope.

324

Host: Uh-huh.

325

Matt: And then after lunch

broke for the expo hall.

326

Mm-hmm.

327

And so vendor booths, usually anywhere

between 80 and 100 different businesses

328

would be over there, and that was great

experience for a long time So when we

329

changed from the Wilmington Biz Expo

to Spark Island last year, one of the

330

changes was we got more into the content.

331

So we delivered more workshops and also

had some more activations and looking for

332

things to increase engagement in the expo

hall besides just the vendor experience-

333

Yeah … which, which has its place, and

especially in a, a networking environment.

334

Yeah.

335

But at the same time, what you're looking

for in events like that is sticking

336

and staying power, so people can come

and have something to do, so they're

337

hanging out, and it's not just a spin

through the booths and then- Right

338

"Thanks for, thanks for the afternoon."

339

Host: Yeah.

340

Matt: Well, after we did that

last year, we got such a great

341

response from the workshop content

that we said, "You know, this year

342

we're gonna double down on that."

343

So there actually won't

be an expo this year.

344

Oh, wow.

345

We won't have the expo hall.

346

So the event will start out

with the keynote lunch, so

347

we're bringing that back again.

348

So Mohsin will be there.

349

We'll have the president from Bank

of America will be back again.

350

We'll, we'll start off with the lunch.

351

Then from 2:00 to 5:00, we're gonna

have what we call learning paths.

352

So there'll be six different tracks

of different content throughout the

353

day with three workshops per track.

354

So we're gonna have 18 workshops

going on- Wow … all afternoon.

355

So a- after the lunch, you'll

pick, you know, the three and

356

go through an hour at a time.

357

Mm-hmm.

358

And and I'll tell you a little

bit about what some of those

359

learning paths are in a minute.

360

And then after the workshop

time, we're gonna go to the

361

Best Places to Work celebration.

362

So this year we launched Wilmington's

Best Places to Work survey, and, and we

363

worked with an outside research group who

helped some businesses apply for that.

364

They would run surveys through

their companies, and based on the

365

score, we wound up with 25 of the

best places to work in Wilmington.

366

And you can find that list on

the the Business Journal website.

367

So what we're gonna do is celebrate

those businesses at the end of the event.

368

There'll be food.

369

There'll be drinks.

370

We'll be back in the expo hall

for that, and we'll be counting

371

down from 25 to the number one

best place to work in Wilmington.

372

Oh, wow.

373

So that's the whole day in, in the,

374

Host: That's really cool.

375

Matt: Yeah.

376

Like

377

Host: a full celebration of the area.

378

Matt: That's right.

379

And one of the things I think

that is, is cool about…

380

You know, somebody asked, "Why

would you put all of those

381

things together like that?"

382

And I think that that really goes

to the business environment in this

383

area, is there are so many cool…

384

I mean, you guys probably see

it more than anybody with the-

385

Mm-hmm … way that you do the show.

386

There are so many cool things

happening here, so many diverse

387

businesses, so many opportunities.

388

And what we're looking for is a

way to connect all of those things,

389

bring people together in an afternoon

where you've got, you know, you'll

390

have finance and, and bankers who

are big into the economic outlook.

391

You know, real estate will

be all in, all into that.

392

And then you get into some of the small

businesses that are there for the content

393

and the, the professional development that

comes with the workshops, and then you've

394

got major employers who are gonna be there

for the Best Places to Work celebration.

395

Bringing all of those people

together to- Sure … gain different

396

perspectives and learn from each

other, I think is incredibly valuable.

397

Host: That's neat.

398

What what made them wanna kind of move

away from the expo and then to the

399

Best Places to Work in Wilmington?

400

'Cause it seems like the, the expo part

would be more like a, not necessarily s-

401

that's not necessarily like traditional

networking, but more like a mingling type

402

of thing, and then that being more of,

like, job seekers, I guess you could say.

403

Is that kind of what the positioning

was, is, like, "Hey, we also wanna

404

bring employees into the mix, not

just, like, the business owners"?

405

Or, like, what was the idea behind that?

406

Matt: I think that it, it

really had to do with…

407

So the, the business, the expo part

was very focused on small business, so

408

a lot of entrepreneurs, solopreneurs,

smaller businesses, and then a couple

409

of larger businesses, especially- Sure

410

like some of our major sponsors.

411

But what you get with the Best

Places to Work, so you have to

412

have a minimum of 15 employees just

to even qualify for that survey.

413

Ah,

414

Host: okay.

415

Matt: So what we, what we were able to

do is by adding in that element, bring

416

larger groups and bigger businesses-

Hmm … together so that, again, you've

417

got a lot of those people who are

vendors or want to be vendors- Ah, right

418

of those larger companies getting the

chance to mingle with some of their

419

CEOs, some of their C-suite, some of

their leadership teams- Yeah … in

420

a very relaxed setting where you just

don't get that kind of opportunity.

421

Yeah.

422

Because those people, quite

honestly, don't come to a, an

423

expo and walk around the- Right

424

Walk around the expo hall.

425

Host: Right.

426

So.

427

That makes sense.

428

Okay.

429

Matt: That's why I say, again, I think

one of the cool things about a day

430

like this or an event like this is

being able to bring all of that stuff

431

together in a way that you just, you

just can't under most circumstances.

432

Right.

433

That's neat.

434

Host: Sorry, I just hit a Heath bar.

435

Shh.

436

Don't tell my wife.

437

I think it's cr- interesting that

you're, like, you chose, like, you

438

have to have at least 15 people.

439

Was there, like, a reason

why you picked that number?

440

Matt: Yeah.

441

So a funny thing happens when you

do employee surveys is if you don't

442

have a certain number of people, it's

kind of easy to tell who said what-

443

on your survey.

444

So, you know, and plus, you know,

from a sampling size, you want

445

more, more people in the, in the

sample to get better results on

446

the- Okay … actual survey itself.

447

Yeah.

448

But there's a, you know, a couple things

that go into play with, with the, And

449

we actually have one of our sessions,

the, the people who put the the survey

450

together are going to do kind of an

explanation of their methodology.

451

Hmm.

452

Mm-hmm.

453

So we have one of the tracks is

building culture for your, for your

454

company, and they'll be kind of

talking through, you know, featuring

455

some of the best places to work and

also how they come about doing that.

456

And do you guys know Andy

Almenter with Le- Leith HR?

457

Host: Oh, yeah.

458

Matt: So they're one of our Best Places to

Work sponsors and when we were originally

459

talking to him about partnering with

us on this, he wanted to talk to that

460

group first and make sure that what

he was getting behind was, was legit.

461

Host: Right.

462

Matt: and he was very impressed,

and he said, "You know, companies

463

will pay thousands of dollars to get

the information that you guys are

464

gonna give them out of this survey."

465

So that's when we knew that we

had something really cool and

466

that it was legit and- Yeah.

467

Nice … you know, the people who

have were recognized have been very

468

excited about being recognized.

469

So I think a chance to bring them

together and celebrate is, is gonna

470

be a, it's gonna be a good time.

471

Yeah.

472

Host: We couldn't have

had our practice in there.

473

There's six of us, and three

of us are partners, so.

474

Yeah.

475

A plus.

476

Well, like, when you said that,

I'm like, that makes sense.

477

Like, if you have a company, there's

only 10 employees and you have the owner

478

and his wife and two kids, you're like,

"Well, there's only six people here.

479

I can make a guess based off- Right

… how you typed this up who's who."

480

Matt: That's right.

481

Host: No, but that's actually really cool.

482

I think just celebrating

more people in the area.

483

When is the event though?

484

Matt: October 1st.

485

Host: Very nice.

486

Can people still sign up to go to it?

487

Matt: Yeah, absolutely.

488

So we've got tickets on sale.

489

The tickets are $125.

490

Host: Okay.

491

But

492

Matt: we have our early bird

special right now, so, before August

493

31st- Okay … tickets are $99.

494

That's not that bad.

495

So sign up early save $25.

496

And then what we'll do is once we've

got, we get closer to the event, we'll

497

be sending out kind of like plan your

day type of survey and, and email so, we

498

can find out who's coming to the lunch,

you know, help people pick which tracks

499

that they want to go to from a content

perspective, which workshops they want

500

to attend, and then also, you know,

who'll be at the celebration at the end.

501

Planning purposes, but also

to give people a chance to see

502

everything, like, all in one place.

503

Because it is a lot, you know, by design.

504

Host: Yeah.

505

Matt: but also just so that

people can, you know, make sure

506

that they, they get in there.

507

It's not overwhelming the

day of, so it'll be good.

508

But yeah tickets are for sale.

509

Anybody's welcome to come.

510

It's one of these things that I

think, you know, if we do this right,

511

that it again makes for, you know,

a person who just wants to develop

512

their own career- Mm-hmm … can come.

513

A small business owner can come.

514

People who are in larger businesses

can come, can bring their team.

515

There'll be something there for everybody.

516

Host: what worksh- Sorry.

517

What workshop tracks are gonna

be available for everyone?

518

Matt: So we'll have six altogether, and

there'll be a workshop on marketing.

519

There'll be a workshop

on culture, of course.

520

Mm-hmm.

521

One on leadership one on AI, one on what

we're calling the Wilmington conversation,

522

and then one on scaling businesses.

523

Host: Okay.

524

Matt: So those are the, the

different types of things there.

525

Excuse me.

526

And you know, we've got some

great speakers that are coming in.

527

We've got you know, Ben Curran's gonna

be on one of the panels from Vanica.

528

Okay.

529

Lisa Leith from Vanica will be on one.

530

We'll have if you guys know

Morris from Predicate AI- Oh

531

one of the CEA winners.

532

Yeah.

533

He'll be leading one of the AI panels.

534

Wow.

535

The AI one is…

536

Actually, I'll be speaking

in one of those panels.

537

Okay.

538

It's cool.

539

We've got a, a company that sponsored that

Contexture, a guy named Travis Sherbon.

540

And he'll be leading a kind of

like what, what AI is as far…

541

'Cause this is one of those things

that everybody thinks that they need.

542

Well, everybody knows that they need

it, and nobody knows what it is.

543

Host: Right.

544

Yep.

545

Matt: So he'll be doing kind of

a base level thing, and then I'll

546

be in there doing a a session with

Alec Lambeam from Ernie IT- Mm-hmm.

547

Host: Mm-hmm

548

… Matt: with some real examples

of how businesses are

549

actually using it right now.

550

So they'll be featuring some of their

clients who are Wilmington businesses

551

and what they've actually done with it.

552

Oh.

553

I'll be showing how I use it as a

sales manager- Oh … for my team as

554

a sales and marketing manager, so that

people can see that you don't have to,

555

you know, taking some of the mystery

out of what it can actually do for

556

you, and also thinking much smaller.

557

Right.

558

Like, people think this thing has

to be massive, and they've got

559

to write code and all this stuff.

560

I use it for data analytics

more than anything else and

561

building out presentations.

562

Mm-hmm.

563

'Cause it does the kind of stuff

that you would have a normal,

564

like a sales assistant do for you.

565

Host: Right.

566

Oh.

567

Matt: But then we've got some folks

who are gonna be leading the marketing

568

workshops who are you know, talking about

not how to run a social media campaign,

569

but this is what we did for our business.

570

Host: Mm-hmm.

571

Matt: And sharing some real experiences.

572

That's one of the things that we

found, especially last year, worked

573

really well, was when we could

translate this down out of the…

574

There's some, some value in tactical

conversations, but what people really

575

wanna see is, like, how this has

actually played out for somebody- Right

576

how it really works.

577

Host: Yeah.

578

Well- 'Cause I've noticed that too

with a lot of workshops that I've

579

gone to, where it's either extremely

tactical or it's very- theoretical-

580

Right … I guess you could say.

581

And it's like, "Okay, I see what

you're saying there, but I don't know

582

how that's actually going to make an

impact into what I'm doing day to day."

583

So it is interesting to hear like, "Okay,

this is what I did, and this is how,

584

like, the outcomes that came out from it."

585

Matt: Yeah.

586

Host: So I think that's a,

there's a lot of value there.

587

Matt: Yeah.

588

There's another, another learning

path that's gonna be on there we're

589

calling Wilmington Conversations.

590

Host: Mm-hmm.

591

Matt: Which I think is pretty

cool because that will be…

592

It, it wouldn't be so much a workshop,

like a learning workshop as, as it is

593

about what's going on in Wilmington.

594

So we've got the CEO of the

endowment is gonna be speaking there.

595

Oh, wow.

596

That's, you know, everybody wants to

know what's going on with the endowment.

597

Yeah.

598

Yeah.

599

We'll have Becky Hawk and Chris Kudray

so we'll have the city planner and the

600

county planner or city manager and,

and county manager in there talking

601

about, you know, what the direction of

the city is there in the, in the area.

602

That to me is one of those ones that

I think is information that everybody

603

wants and needs, and this is a

chance to get right down in the room.

604

And, you know, when you talk about

being in the room with people, this is

605

a chance to have the chan- you know,

have the opportunity to shake hands,

606

get eye to eye with some of these people

that you only read about in the news.

607

Right.

608

So that, that to me is the true value of

events like this, is bringing all of those

609

people together for those kinds of like,

I wouldn't call them chance encounters,

610

but you know, the potential to, to meet

some folks that you just don't run into.

611

Host: Right.

612

I think that's, that's a great way

'cause there's, even me, like, I see,

613

like, bio photos and I'm like, "Okay,

that's what that person looks like."

614

But I've seen photos of people and I

meet them in person, I'm like, "First

615

off, that photo's 25 years old."

616

Secondly, it is great to

actually know what you look like.

617

Like, not 'cause I'm gonna stalk you,

but, like, I can put a face with a name.

618

Matt: Yeah.

619

Host: and it kinda humanizes,

like, what's going on.

620

'Cause I know a lot of the time,

especially, like, the, the city manager

621

and the county manager, like, people

are always mad about this, that or the

622

third, and, like, they're a real person.

623

Like- That's right … if you can

humanize it and you can be like, "Okay,

624

like, they're just making choices

to try and make everything better."

625

Matt: Yeah.

626

Host: I think that's a-

627

Matt: Well, plus too, you know, I

think that that's a great example

628

because most of our exposure to those

people is some social media post where

629

somebody's ranting about something

that has either gone wrong or-

630

you know, they just don't agree with.

631

Host: Yeah.

632

Matt: And so they can kinda

skew your view of, you know,

633

policy and, and local politics.

634

To get the chance to actually spend an

hour with them, hearing them explain

635

how they got to what they were, or

how they got to that decision- Right.

636

Mm-hmm … really adds

a, a lot of perspective.

637

Host: Yeah.

638

That's great.

639

When Spark Island finishes on that, I

guess on October 2nd morning when you

640

wake up, what are the n- like either

metrics, whether that's like physical

641

metrics of how many people showed

up or how it felt or whatever, what

642

would you say was a success about it?

643

Matt: For us or for an attendee?

644

Host: Let's do both.

645

Matt: Okay.

646

For us will be a well-attended event

where we can bring people together.

647

I think one of the things that is pretty

cool about what the Business Journal does

648

as a whole with our different events, and

some other organizations in town too, is

649

we're kind of at this, this stage right

now where I think people are a little

650

worn out on the digital experience.

651

Mm-hmm.

652

And I said this the the other day to

somebody, and I think I'm gonna make

653

some T-shirts and some hats, but we're

trying to bring back the handshake.

654

Host: Oh, yeah.

655

Matt: And getting people in the

room where they can have real

656

conversations, meet face to face.

657

I talk to so many business owners

that'll, that'll go to one of our

658

evening networking events, and then

I'll see them at a power breakfast later

659

and they're like, "Oh, I met, I ran

into such and such, and now we're, you

660

know, we're, we're partnered up on this

deal," or, you know, "I ran into this

661

person and made this great connection.

662

They were able to introduce

me to this person."

663

And networking has really built my career.

664

Yeah … all that stuff that I described

before has really come because I

665

knew somebody who introduced me to

somebody else all along the way.

666

And I think that making those

kind of connections is super

667

valuable, so a well-attended event.

668

And it would be nice that you know, people

enjoyed the content that we were able to

669

bring them and found a lot of value in it,

because again, that's what we really were

670

trying to hammer home on this iteration

of Spark Island, is that bringing, you

671

know, these great opportunities, these

learning opportunities, professional

672

development opportunities to the community

and knowing that that was well received.

673

Mm-hmm.

674

So that would be, that

would be success for me.

675

Host: Yes.

676

Matt: I think for an attendee

would be the other side of that.

677

Having met somebody that, you know,

put you in touch with a new opportunity

678

or put you in touch with another

person or maybe another perspective

679

that you know, ultimately leads

to a positive business outcome.

680

Host: Mm-hmm.

681

Matt: One of the things I think is a

lot of fun about our job is- You know,

682

the thing that really gets me excited

about what I do is being a part of

683

the business community and being able

to have a positive effect on that,

684

whether it's reporting on news that's

happening or bringing people together.

685

Host: Right.

686

Matt: So if, you know, I run into

somebody else after the event and they're

687

like, "Oh man, I had the best time at

Spark, and I met this person," and,

688

you know, now we're, we're catching

coffee you know, next week and, and,

689

and following up after that, that's the

thing that, that really gets me going.

690

And being able to walk away from

that event with a couple of practical

691

items that you can implement

really quickly in your business

692

to make some kind of positive

impact, I think is another big win.

693

Host: Thanks.

694

That's awesome.

695

Going back to the tracks for a quick

second just 'cause I'm curious, is…

696

Do you have to stick with the track

or can you kind of like mix and match?

697

Like could I choose like, "I wanna go to

this AI one, this Wilmington Conversations

698

one, and this like leadership one"?

699

Matt: That's a great question,

and the answer is no.

700

Okay.

701

So you can, you can bounce

around through them.

702

Now, we will…

703

All six, we'll have six

rooms going at one time.

704

So each one of the tracks will have

a class going, so you'll have to pick

705

the 2:00, the 3:00, and the 4:00.

706

Host: Right.

707

Matt: But you can go, you could say, "I'm,

you know, I'm all in on the marketing,

708

so leave me in Engaging Audiences.

709

I wanna see all three-"

okay "… of those speakers," 'cause

710

they'll be different each time.

711

Host: Yeah.

712

Matt: or you can say, you know, "I really

wanna see you know, I really wanna hear

713

from the endowment, but I also wanna

hear from the people who did the surveys,

714

and I also wanna hear, you know, the AI

guy," or, "I also wanna hear from," you

715

know, "one of these scaling," you know,

"one of these people who took their

716

business and, and scaled it and sold it."

717

So yeah, you've, you've got

the opportunity to kind of,

718

was it choose your own story?

719

Right, yeah.

720

Choose your own adventure?

721

As long as, you know, you pick,

Time works … according to

722

Host: the time.

723

Okay, cool.

724

I was curious about that too.

725

I was like, "Is it all the same?

726

You, you stick with one or

you get to pick a bunch?"

727

I like that you can kind of pick- Mix

and match … as long as the time works.

728

Matt: Yeah.

729

Host: Mm-hmm.

730

I'm gonna ask a really stupid

non-business owner question.

731

The Power Breakfast you mentioned.

732

Matt: Mm-hmm.

733

Host: What is that?

734

Matt: So the Power Breakfast is

Wilmington's premier breakfast

735

networking opportunity.

736

Once we do them four times

a year, so once per quarter.

737

Mm-hmm.

738

And what it is, is we

have a panel discussion.

739

It's at the Wilmington Convention Center.

740

We do it in the banquet hall there.

741

And the one we just did recently

was the the hospitals, the

742

hospital beds, the the CON.

743

Host: Mm-hmm.

744

Matt: So we had the we had

Ernie Bovio was back with UNC.

745

We had the CEO for the local atrium.

746

We had Lori Whalen in there from Novant,

and then we had the chancellor from

747

UNCW talking about the new medical

school coming, and then we had Natalie

748

English from the chamber talking about

the, the medical p- talent pipeline.

749

So that one was absolutely huge.

750

There was, like, over 600

people in there, which is, like,

751

wall to wall in that place.

752

Yeah.

753

Host: Yeah.

754

Matt: It averages about 500 people,

and we'll bring, you know, like I

755

said, a variety of different topics.

756

The next one that's coming up in

September will be the local elections.

757

Mm-hmm.

758

So we'll have we've got all the city

council folks right now, people who

759

are running for city council, and we'll

have kind of a town hall style event.

760

Also looking to bring some of

the North Carolina state races.

761

Oh, yeah.

762

A couple of those candidates in as well.

763

And then at the end of the year, we do

a most kinda like a most interesting

764

people of Wilmington in December.

765

We'll do kind of the end of the year most

intriguing people is what we call it.

766

Host: Ah, okay.

767

Matt: And then ear- earlier in the year,

we had Holly Sullivan from Amazon was on

768

a panel with Frontier Ti- Scientific and

also Fed Up Foods talking about, you know,

769

companies who are coming, why did they

choose this area, those kinds of things.

770

So the kinds of topics that people

want to hear about, you know, how

771

business is getting done in Wilmington

some of the bigger things that are

772

happening in Wilmington and in the area.

773

And it's also just, again, it

is a huge networking event.

774

So that's 500, 500-plus

business professionals.

775

Again, everything from, you've got the

people from UNCW, you've got the, the

776

heads of Truist and Bank of America

in there, you've got the heads of

777

the airport in there, and all the way

down to the solopreneur who's there to

778

make as many connections as they can.

779

So it's a great experience.

780

I've been going to the Power

Breakfast long before I was ever a-

781

Host: I've, I've always been

curious 'cause we have a few…

782

Not a few, we have a lot of

people who've been on the podcast.

783

Mm-hmm.

784

And, and, like, people I

follow that will always go.

785

Mm-hmm.

786

And I'm like, "What is this?"

787

And having you on who could

explain it for, like, the stupid

788

people like me it's very helpful.

789

Matt: Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna make

sure that you guys get to the next one.

790

Host: Yeah.

791

I appreciate it.

792

I'm sure.

793

I will.

794

I, I love the break- the Power Breakfast,

so I try to go as much as I can,

795

especially for the local elections one.

796

That's my favorite one to go

to, so anytime that's coming up,

797

I always go to that for sure.

798

But yeah, I always have

a great time with those.

799

A lot of really good information

every single time that I've gone.

800

Yeah, it's a great time.

801

You can really, you can really learn

what's happening in the area from those.

802

Mm-hmm.

803

From the people that make the decisions.

804

Not just on Facebook.

805

It's funny 'cause, like, the podcast

is, like, Tyler is, like, part owner

806

of a company and is growing and

doing stuff, and then, like, I'm

807

an employee in a larger company.

808

So, like, we both have

different viewpoints of things.

809

Mm-hmm.

810

And not in a bad way.

811

I'm just like, he goes to

events that I'm like, "I never

812

would've thought of going to."

813

So…

814

Matt: I think it balances.

815

Host: Yeah.

816

Matt: Yeah.

817

I mean, it adds a lot of perspective.

818

Host: There's a lot of things that bring

both of us together in different ways.

819

So, so when I was thinking about

starting a podcast, I'm like,

820

"Who should I do this with?"

821

'Cause I knew I couldn't do it by myself,

and I was like, Chris would be the

822

perfect way to balance myself out here.

823

Chairs balance us out, too.

824

Yeah, that's also true.

825

I've caught myself kind of slouching

this time, and you decided to

826

sit up for once, and I was like,

"Ah, dang it, I can't do that."

827

Well, no, I was like, these--

Every chair is so different.

828

Like, when we were in phase three- Oh,

yeah … we had two different chairs,

829

and they were rather old, but they

had two different heights as well.

830

Oh.

831

So, like, I would sit in one and I'm

like, "This is fine for me," and we

832

swapped for one episode, and like Tyler

was sitting there with his feet dangling.

833

Your knees are up to your chin.

834

And I'm like, "Oh, we, we're

the same height for once."

835

I did feel kind of bad, but…

836

Yeah, it was one of two things:

either my feet were dangling and we

837

were the same height or- Yeah … my

feet touched the ground and he was

838

like six feet taller than me, so.

839

But this one is, like, I just have

always slouched, you know, it's 'cause

840

I'm like, "I wanna be on closer to eye

level," especially when I'm sitting.

841

And then people are like, "You

should sit up straight," and I'm

842

like, "Then I have to sit like

this, and I don't wanna be this."

843

I'm like, "Ugh."

844

Matt: These are nice, but they're deep.

845

I

846

Host: know, yeah.

847

Yes, they are very deep.

848

And then, like, they do lean back.

849

Yeah.

850

So then my-- Then I start- Easy to fall

asleep … to like do the full slouch.

851

And I'm just kind of

trying to be better today.

852

This is podcast ergonomics.

853

Exactly, yeah.

854

So back, back to, the journal.

855

For people that want to be

involved, what are some of the

856

best ways they can get involved?

857

Matt: first and foremost,

of course attending.

858

Yeah.

859

So sparkilm.com

860

is the website that has all the

information, have a full list of

861

speakers, where you can buy tickets,

how you can plan your day, bios of

862

everybody, what the topics are gonna be.

863

So coming, you can either buy a ticket

as a personal you know, an individual,

864

or you can buy tables at some of the

events to bring like the whole team.

865

We also have sponsorship opportunities,

so there's a couple ways, you know,

866

you can sponsor a table at the

lunch and have you know, get your

867

business recognized, and again,

ticket packages come along with that.

868

We have sponsors, a couple sponsorships

at, at, at this time, we have a couple

869

sponsorships left for some of our

workshops And then yeah, so looking at,

870

at either coming as an attendee or working

with us as a, as a partner and sponsor.

871

Nice.

872

Host: Nice.

873

And how about for the journal

broader than just Spark ILM?

874

Is there other ways that people can

be involved or kind of get to know

875

what's going on around the area?

876

Matt: Yeah.

877

So we do a daily newsletter.

878

Okay.

879

So Monday through Friday and a Saturday

morning recap of the news of the week.

880

Every morning the, And signing

up for the newsletter is free.

881

Every morning there is a a

different update that goes out.

882

So Monday's like the things that are

happening that week, and then there's

883

a tech issue, and then there's a real

estate issue, and then, so the, the

884

mornings- Mm-hmm … have a theme to them.

885

And then every day at Friday is,

like, the hot news for the day.

886

So whatever happened, it's,

like, straight up news report.

887

And we'll do our own stories.

888

We might feature something

out of the Triangle.

889

We might pull something- Yeah … from

some of the other local media partners.

890

So getting in with the signing

up for the newsletter, and you

891

can do that at wilmingtonbiz.com,

892

is probably the way to get

all the information and stay

893

in touch with everything.

894

I'd say pick up a copy of the journal.

895

Mm-hmm.

896

Pick up a copy of the Biz Mag

that comes out once a quarter.

897

You could also, you

know, subscribe to that.

898

It's only, right now it's only $9.99

899

a month.

900

Mm-hmm.

901

And you'll get an issue of

that mailed to you each month.

902

And then the magazine

comes out each quarter.

903

And it also gives you unlimited access to

everything that's on the on the website.

904

Host: Our firm subscribes.

905

That makes sense.

906

Matt: But aside from that, you know, we

have quarterly after hours, Wilmington

907

Biz After Hours is a quarterly event.

908

The last one we had was at Tempo downtown.

909

That's

910

Host: right, yeah.

911

Matt: Mm-hmm.

912

We have another one coming up.

913

Oof

914

The events team is gonna kill me.

915

But we have another one coming up soon.

916

If you were signed up for the

newsletter, you'd know all about it.

917

Yep.

918

But so we do those quarterly.

919

The Power Breakfast is quarterly.

920

Spark ILM happens once a year.

921

We have our Biz 100 celebration that

we do at the end of the year with,

922

like, the, you know, top 100 movers and

shakers in town, that kind of thing.

923

And then you know, getting involved

as a, a marketing and advertiser.

924

You know, we've a

variety of opportunities.

925

You know, advertising

traditionally with, like, ads in

926

the newspaper or on the website.

927

We've got our insights column,

which is, like, sponsored content.

928

Oh, yeah.

929

So writing an article and, and

the Business Journal being a

930

distributor for your content.

931

People really enjoy that one.

932

And then, you know, sponsoring different

events and, and getting in touch with

933

people 'cause our, our big thing is

we're working hard to bring the business

934

community together, and one of the reasons

we do that is because it is good for the

935

business community, but it also offers

an opportunity for those businesses

936

to get in touch with those people.

937

Host: Right.

938

Matt: And that's what we're trying

to do is make the connection

939

between the audience and the

the advertiser, and ultimately

940

creating community is our mission.

941

Host: You kind of touched on it

there, but what is one of the largest

942

things that the Greater Wilmington

Business Journal can do to help

943

support the businesses around here?

944

Matt: Is I think, again, it comes back

to creating community and bringing a

945

place where people can share ideas, make

connections, and, you know, everybody…

946

I'm, I'm a rising tide

lifts all boats kind of guy.

947

Mm-hmm.

948

So one of the cool things that I hear

about people who move here is that

949

they're always surprised at how friendly

the business community is here in

950

Wilmington, and I think anything that

we can do to foster that is, is good.

951

So that gives us more news to

report on- Mm-hmm … and keeping

952

the area updated, informed.

953

More news to report on gives us

more people to engage with and

954

increases our audience, which gives

our advertisers a better opportunity

955

to reach out to those people.

956

So all of this stuff works together

in a, you know, it's really like a, a,

957

a, an audien- or a community flywheel.

958

Host: Yeah.

959

So there's a lot going on in

the Wilmington area right now.

960

Oh,

961

Matt: yeah.

962

Host: what's one of the things, out of

all the things that are going on, what's

963

one or two things that the Journal's

really focusing on right now, or

964

something that they're at least keeping

their eye on that they're interested in?

965

Matt: Probably the number one thing

right now is the, the hospital situation.

966

Host: Yeah.

967

Matt: So with with UNC Health and now

Atrium- Mm-hmm … coming into the

968

area with an opportunity to, to provide

more healthcare options for people.

969

That has been probably

the number one issue.

970

Host: Yeah.

971

Matt: after that it will

always be real estate.

972

Mm-hmm.

973

Makes sense, yeah.

974

Both residential and commercial

real estate are probably

975

our, our next big ones.

976

There is quite a bit of

interest in the finance sector.

977

Host: Mm-hmm.

978

Matt: So, we're seeing a lot more seeing

a lot more financial institutions, banking

979

institutions- Right … coming into the

area and, and setting up shops here.

980

So Charlotte has…

981

Wilmington is on Charlotte's radar.

982

Yeah.

983

So all of those firms that have had

headquarters up there for forever are now

984

starting to put shops up in Wilmington.

985

So those are probably some of the

heaviest hitters, and then tech

986

is really starting to bubble up.

987

Yeah.

988

Yeah.

989

So Wilmington's becoming one of

those places where, you know,

990

we don't quite have like a, like

a research triangle hub- Mm-hmm

991

yet, but it won't be long, and

people are really excited about that.

992

We do the Coastal Entrepreneur

Awards- Oh, that's right.

993

Yeah … once a year, and those

types of businesses are, are always

994

featured really high up in that.

995

They're, they're really prominent

in that, and I think that tech

996

is another one of those things

that's, that's coming in a big way.

997

Host: There's a few different

organizations now trying to build that

998

tech atmosphere around here and getting

people connected and getting the funding

999

in, which I think would help a lot

if Charlotte starts sending some more

00:40:45,695 --> 00:40:48,985

financial institutions- Yeah … this

way for some more startup capital.

00:40:49,085 --> 00:40:52,255

Matt: There's been a couple of pretty

significant acquisitions out of

00:40:52,255 --> 00:40:54,195

Wilmington-based companies here recently.

00:40:54,205 --> 00:40:54,225

Yeah.

00:40:54,225 --> 00:40:56,005

And that's really how

you start to get notices.

00:40:56,005 --> 00:40:59,595

Once the VCs and everybody sees

that, you know, there are some

00:40:59,605 --> 00:41:03,085

serious businesses- Right … being

started down here, and kind of the…

00:41:03,955 --> 00:41:05,365

Somebody's gotta build an incubator.

00:41:05,495 --> 00:41:06,205

You know what I mean?

00:41:06,215 --> 00:41:06,235

Yeah.

00:41:06,235 --> 00:41:06,275

Mm-hmm.

00:41:06,275 --> 00:41:09,525

And once that starts to happen and

you start seeing those things pop off

00:41:09,525 --> 00:41:12,725

a little bit more, then it just, you

know, more attention will get paid

00:41:12,725 --> 00:41:13,855

and more money will start coming in.

00:41:13,865 --> 00:41:14,245

Host: Right.

00:41:14,285 --> 00:41:14,305

Yeah.

00:41:15,045 --> 00:41:16,775

So is that, is that what

the Journal's gonna do next?

00:41:16,875 --> 00:41:17,605

Create that incubator?

00:41:17,705 --> 00:41:17,985

Matt: Oh.

00:41:18,755 --> 00:41:18,815

Host: I don't know.

00:41:20,095 --> 00:41:20,715

Matt: I don't know.

00:41:21,505 --> 00:41:24,595

Ro- You know, to his credit, Rob Keyser,

our publisher, has always got his eye.

00:41:24,615 --> 00:41:26,595

We talked about Feast-

Yeah … you know, a little bit.

00:41:26,915 --> 00:41:29,715

He's always got his eye on what

that next thing is gonna be.

00:41:29,925 --> 00:41:30,335

Mm-hmm.

00:41:30,635 --> 00:41:31,845

And ah, who knows?

00:41:31,935 --> 00:41:32,275

Host: Right.

00:41:32,905 --> 00:41:33,455

I like that.

00:41:33,935 --> 00:41:36,315

Which kinda leads into my question.

00:41:36,835 --> 00:41:38,945

What does success look like?

00:41:40,561 --> 00:41:40,931

For you

00:41:41,261 --> 00:41:41,941

Matt: For me personally?

00:41:41,941 --> 00:41:42,171

Yeah.

00:41:43,701 --> 00:41:48,601

Going back to the, you know, where we

talked about things before, I, I am a,

00:41:49,151 --> 00:41:50,841

So I live in Boiling Spring Lakes, right?

00:41:50,841 --> 00:41:50,911

Mm-hmm.

00:41:50,911 --> 00:41:51,461

Mm-hmm.

00:41:51,461 --> 00:41:54,341

And I drive into town every day,

30 minutes in, 30 minutes back.

00:41:54,341 --> 00:41:56,741

So I'm a pod- podcast and Audible guy.

00:41:56,751 --> 00:41:56,811

Okay.

00:41:56,941 --> 00:42:02,211

I listen to Dale Carnegie, Stephen Covey

tons of, you know, different podcasts

00:42:02,211 --> 00:42:05,641

on a variety of different topics,

and one of them is always leadership.

00:42:05,641 --> 00:42:11,961

And for me, success is taking my team, I

get to lead what I think is the greatest

00:42:11,961 --> 00:42:16,541

sales team in Wilmington and helping

them achieve our goal together, but

00:42:16,541 --> 00:42:18,161

also achieve their goals individually.

00:42:18,381 --> 00:42:23,201

'Cause if I can motivate them to, you

know, be the best that they can be,

00:42:23,201 --> 00:42:26,391

get the best performance out of them,

then we're gonna win as a team, and

00:42:26,391 --> 00:42:27,701

they're gonna win as professionals.

00:42:27,761 --> 00:42:28,921

They're gonna like their jobs.

00:42:28,921 --> 00:42:31,941

They're gonna wanna you know,

stay together, work together.

00:42:32,341 --> 00:42:36,021

We have a phenomenal culture

at the Journal, and that's

00:42:36,021 --> 00:42:37,271

something that I'm very proud of.

00:42:37,881 --> 00:42:42,871

And yeah, so success for me is a team

that is really harmonious and, and jiving

00:42:42,871 --> 00:42:47,311

together, working hard together playing

together, and, and succeeding together.

00:42:47,811 --> 00:42:48,221

Host: Nice.

00:42:48,651 --> 00:42:49,081

That's awesome.

00:42:49,091 --> 00:42:51,711

So one of my final questions is,

if you could tell your younger

00:42:51,711 --> 00:42:52,991

self one thing, what would it be?

00:42:53,941 --> 00:42:56,351

Matt: If I could tell my younger

self one thing, what would it be?

00:42:56,441 --> 00:42:56,601

Mm.

00:42:57,091 --> 00:43:03,481

I think that the thing that I would tell

my younger self is that conflict is okay.

00:43:03,961 --> 00:43:04,041

Oh.

00:43:04,121 --> 00:43:09,151

So early on in my management career,

I found out that I was really

00:43:09,151 --> 00:43:11,021

more of a coach than a leader.

00:43:11,151 --> 00:43:11,421

Mm.

00:43:11,471 --> 00:43:13,361

So I was great at motivating

people, and I was great at…

00:43:13,761 --> 00:43:16,911

But when it came time to bring the

hammer down, that just was not who I was.

00:43:16,941 --> 00:43:20,221

'Cause I had, one of the things

that made me great as a salesperson

00:43:20,221 --> 00:43:23,391

but made me weak as a leader was

this desire for people to like me.

00:43:23,571 --> 00:43:23,901

Host: Mm.

00:43:23,961 --> 00:43:24,211

Matt: Right?

00:43:24,211 --> 00:43:26,321

And you can't, you know, people aren't

gonna like you if you have to tell

00:43:26,321 --> 00:43:27,441

them that they're not doing well.

00:43:27,481 --> 00:43:27,511

Host: Right.

00:43:27,521 --> 00:43:27,811

Yeah.

00:43:28,521 --> 00:43:32,491

Matt: And I got some training, this is

actually while I was at Cap3, I got some

00:43:32,491 --> 00:43:38,201

leadership training that talked about,

you know, you come up on these situations

00:43:38,241 --> 00:43:42,691

where you're faced with something,

some kind of conflict, and you have

00:43:42,891 --> 00:43:44,281

two different ways to deal with that.

00:43:44,281 --> 00:43:48,791

You can either push through it, or you

can bump up against it and retreat.

00:43:49,381 --> 00:43:49,631

Host: Mm.

00:43:49,961 --> 00:43:54,001

Matt: And what the guy said was,

"Either way, the meeting it is

00:43:54,001 --> 00:43:55,871

going to be a difficult situation.

00:43:56,841 --> 00:44:00,511

You can either face that difficult

situation and get to the other side

00:44:00,511 --> 00:44:05,753

of it-" Or you can meet that difficult

situation, retreat from it, and then meet

00:44:05,753 --> 00:44:07,093

that difficult situation again- Mm-hmm

00:44:07,093 --> 00:44:09,733

retreat from it, meet that difficult

situation again, and retreat from it.

00:44:10,553 --> 00:44:14,263

And what they were talking about

in that, that session was that

00:44:14,263 --> 00:44:15,593

conflict is actually a good thing.

00:44:15,603 --> 00:44:17,003

It's not something to shy away from.

00:44:17,003 --> 00:44:17,063

Mm-hmm.

00:44:17,063 --> 00:44:22,313

And if you can treat conflict as

healthy and keep it constructive and

00:44:22,313 --> 00:44:25,513

productive, then it's actually the

way that teams grow, it's actually

00:44:25,513 --> 00:44:30,143

the way that people grow, and hiding

from it is not helping solve anything.

00:44:30,383 --> 00:44:30,893

Host: Mm-hmm.

00:44:30,893 --> 00:44:30,953

Yeah.

00:44:30,953 --> 00:44:34,573

Matt: And that was something that, you

know, for the longest time, I just, I

00:44:34,753 --> 00:44:39,323

could not deal with, and I would have

loved to, I would have loved to cross

00:44:39,323 --> 00:44:40,773

that bridge a little earlier in my career.

00:44:40,783 --> 00:44:41,113

Host: Yeah.

00:44:41,693 --> 00:44:42,453

That's fantastic.

00:44:43,083 --> 00:44:44,133

I never even thought of it that way.

00:44:44,593 --> 00:44:44,653

Yeah.

00:44:44,753 --> 00:44:45,613

Makes a lot of sense, though.

00:44:45,773 --> 00:44:46,103

Matt: Yeah.

00:44:46,883 --> 00:44:47,323

Host: That's really good.

00:44:47,333 --> 00:44:47,963

Haven't heard that one.

00:44:47,963 --> 00:44:49,403

Matt: It was, it was pretty

transformative for me.

00:44:49,463 --> 00:44:49,973

Host: Yeah.

00:44:50,413 --> 00:44:54,713

It, it's, it's always fun when we

get these answers to these, some

00:44:54,713 --> 00:44:57,893

of these questions and we're like,

"Never heard that one before."

00:44:58,593 --> 00:44:59,353

Mm-hmm.

00:44:59,353 --> 00:45:00,113

Let me write that down.

00:45:00,113 --> 00:45:00,513

Right, yeah.

00:45:01,433 --> 00:45:02,303

Keep that in the bank.

00:45:02,343 --> 00:45:02,633

Yeah.

00:45:03,213 --> 00:45:04,137

I know you've…

00:45:04,137 --> 00:45:04,753

Go ahead.

00:45:04,753 --> 00:45:06,193

Matt: I was gonna say, luckily

this is being recorded, so.

00:45:06,263 --> 00:45:06,473

Host: Yeah.

00:45:06,493 --> 00:45:07,033

Right, exactly.

00:45:07,913 --> 00:45:08,923

That's the benefit to it.

00:45:08,923 --> 00:45:09,413

I can go back anytime.

00:45:09,463 --> 00:45:14,753

You have mentioned it a few times, but

where can people, you know, keep up with

00:45:14,753 --> 00:45:19,403

what's going on with you and kind of

the whole Business Journal and whatnot?

00:45:20,063 --> 00:45:22,133

Matt: Well, for the Business

Journal, you know, probably

00:45:22,133 --> 00:45:23,433

our most active is Facebook.

00:45:23,833 --> 00:45:24,023

Mm-hmm.

00:45:24,023 --> 00:45:24,053

Okay.

00:45:24,053 --> 00:45:26,373

And then LinkedIn, and we

have Instagram as well.

00:45:27,393 --> 00:45:29,503

So following us on the socials.

00:45:29,963 --> 00:45:33,513

For me, I'm a big LinkedIn guy,

so check me out on LinkedIn.

00:45:33,523 --> 00:45:36,483

I'm, I'm constantly updating

stuff about the about the Journal.

00:45:36,873 --> 00:45:37,943

Always talking about events.

00:45:37,943 --> 00:45:42,113

I'll be talking about Spark ILM pretty

exclusively for for quite a while.

00:45:42,203 --> 00:45:44,223

But yeah, that would be

the the easiest way there.

00:45:44,223 --> 00:45:46,883

And then like I said, if

you visit wilmingtonbiz.com,

00:45:46,883 --> 00:45:49,933

that's the Journal's website, and

sign up for the newsletter there.

00:45:49,933 --> 00:45:51,063

Again, it's free to sign up.

00:45:51,283 --> 00:45:54,513

If you wanna subscribe and start getting

the Journal delivered to you and have

00:45:54,513 --> 00:45:57,143

unlimited access to it, that's only 9.99

00:45:57,143 --> 00:45:57,913

a month right now.

00:45:58,743 --> 00:46:03,393

And then yeah, for the

event itself, sparkilm.com

00:46:03,443 --> 00:46:05,823

is the website where you can

find out more information.

00:46:06,793 --> 00:46:10,083

We only touched on just a couple-

Yeah … of the learning paths that

00:46:10,083 --> 00:46:12,543

are gonna be there, and a couple of

things with the launch, and a couple

00:46:12,543 --> 00:46:16,123

of things with the Best Places to Work,

but all the details will be there where

00:46:16,123 --> 00:46:17,753

you can check out all the information.

00:46:18,403 --> 00:46:18,723

Awesome.

00:46:18,973 --> 00:46:19,443

Host: Thank you.

00:46:20,043 --> 00:46:20,563

Matt: Appreciate it.

00:46:20,828 --> 00:46:22,428

Host: I just wanna

thank you for coming on.

00:46:22,508 --> 00:46:22,858

Matt: Oh, man.

00:46:22,858 --> 00:46:22,908

Thank you guys so much.

00:46:22,908 --> 00:46:23,028

I know

00:46:23,028 --> 00:46:24,048

Host: you're a busy man.

00:46:24,278 --> 00:46:25,418

Matt: I really appreciate

you having me on.

00:46:25,418 --> 00:46:29,438

And like I said, I've been listening for,

for years and always enjoyed the show,

00:46:29,438 --> 00:46:30,678

so this was kind of an honor for me.

00:46:30,678 --> 00:46:30,818

Thank you.

00:46:30,818 --> 00:46:31,408

Oh, awesome.

00:46:31,548 --> 00:46:31,848

Host: Love it.

00:46:31,958 --> 00:46:32,358

Thank you.

00:46:32,858 --> 00:46:35,238

Thank you guys for listening

to the episode today.

00:46:35,468 --> 00:46:38,888

Hopefully you got a few

things, if not more, out of it.

00:46:39,248 --> 00:46:40,798

And we just wanna say thanks.

00:46:41,178 --> 00:46:45,608

Please do like, comment, share, subscribe,

and we'll catch you in the next one.

00:46:45,918 --> 00:46:46,318

Cheers.

00:46:46,318 --> 00:46:46,758

Cheers.

00:46:48,058 --> 00:46:48,818

Matt: Thanks so much, guys.

00:46:48,818 --> 00:46:49,208

Awesome.

00:46:49,208 --> 00:46:49,228

riverside_whiskey_& wisdom_raw-video-cfr_whiskey_& wisdom st_0377:

Thank you