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Anthony Spark of Spark a Change Coaching, Long Island, NY, talks about business growth through mentorship and leadership development. Spark describes an entrepreneurial childhood in a dysfunctional family, working full-time at 15, and choosing direct sales at 18 after meeting successful mentors, which helped him develop skills in finance, relationships, communication, sales, organization, and time management, and leave a full-time job at 25. He emphasizes that success came more from coaching, personal development, and low-risk entry than from products, and warns about the time and opportunity cost of equipping people and treating mentors transactionally. They discuss matching roles to personalities, managing outputs over preferences, paying for A players versus training younger staff, and building culture.

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Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau
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AI is moving fast, but the real advantage isn’t sounding smart, it’s getting work done faster without breaking your team. Gary Pageau of The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Elias Jo, CEO of Entourage Yearbooks, to talk about what’s actually changing inside the yearbook and volume photography workflow and what studios of every size can do right now to keep up.

Joe digs into how Entourage built a technology layer around yearbook production, from a Canva-like yearbook builder to online sales and a redundant print network designed for today’s supply chain reality. Then he discusses practical uses for artificial intelligence in business: Why “AI as search” is a dead end, where the 20% to 30% efficiency gains are coming from, and how mid-size photography companies can push their SaaS tools, CRM systems, and automation platforms to work together instead of creating more spreadsheet pain.

One of the most actionable moments is Jo’s simple model for “AI talking to AI” using ChatGPT plus app builders like Lovable to prototype a tool that cleans messy school data and turns it into a repeatable process. We also talk about AI for content creation and podcast production, why human review still matters, and what an AI-first world could look like when prompts start replacing traditional applications.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp.

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Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau
Announcer: Erin Manning

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Parents can erase a watermark for five bucks, AI keeps getting better, and “just screenshot it” has become a reflex. So what do you do if you make your living in volume sports photography? Gary Pageau of The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Bob Kenward of Fluvanna Photography and Sheryl Bashore of Sheryl Z Photography, two of the most respected voices in youth sports and cheer, dance, and gymnastics photography, to get honest about what’s happening right now and what actually moves the needle.

Kenward shares what he learned after turning on SnapShield style screenshot deterrence and activity tracking inside his GotPhoto workflow, including the surprising volume of mobile screenshot attempts and why friction can push some families to finally place an order. Kenward brings the counterpoint from the premium side of the market: when the imagery is truly stunning and the commitment level is high, the buy rate and average order value can stay strong without obsessing over every stolen proof. Together we unpack the real issue behind the copyright anxiety: customer psychology, perceived value, and how much parents have already invested in the sport.

We also get practical on pricing strategy, prepay versus post-proofing, handling sibling gallery requests without blowing up your margins, and why volume is “systems first” work. If you’re trying to scale with better workflow, faster turnaround, and smarter account selection using revenue per athlete, this conversation is p

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp.

Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com

Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network, and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society.

Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser.

Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details.

Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau
Announcer: Erin Manning