In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Brandie Henry. A communication coach, consultant, educator and community advocate whose work bridges personal development, professional leadership, youth services and creative expression. Brandie runs S4S Management, where she coaches leaders on communication, clarity and emotional intelligence, while also serving the community through her work with Southwest Youth and Family Services (SWYFS).

Brandie shares how her early foundation in dance shaped her understanding of expression, confidence and presence long before she ever studied communication formally. She talks about the connection between rhythm, movement and emotional awareness, and how hip hop's influence helped her develop a grounded and authentic communication style.

Jason and Brandie dig into communication patterns, nervous system regulation, leadership, community programs, family support, and how growing up around hip hop culture gives people an intuitive understanding of timing, energy and storytelling. They even get into her Top 5 rappers list and why those artists shaped her perspective.

This is a memorable, wide-ranging conversation that blends leadership, creativity, culture and community impact.

• How dance shaped Brandie's early communication skills
• The influence of hip hop on expression, confidence and storytelling
• Brandie's Top 5 rappers list and why each one matters
• How she helps leaders communicate with clarity and emotional awareness
• The mission of S4S Management and the people she serves
• Trauma-informed communication and why presence matters
• Brandie's work supporting families at Southwest Youth & Family Services
• What youth and parents need most from community programs
• How nervous system regulation affects communication
• Why people fall into autopilot when speaking or listening
• Creating safe spaces for difficult conversations
• Leadership, awareness, identity and authenticity
• Brandie's advice for anyone who wants to communicate with more intention

Invest on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr
Download 7 free eBooks: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks
Join the Builders Club: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandie-henry1111/
Her Company – S4S Management: https://s4smanagement.com/
Southwest Youth & Family Services: https://www.swyfs.org/

In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Liz Galloway a global brand strategist, PR pro, experiential marketer, storyteller, TEDx curator, wellness advocate, and adventure-driven entrepreneur.

Liz's work spans luxury hospitality, wellness retreats, publishing, consulting, media production and high-impact brand development across Central America, Europe and the U.S. Liz shares how she built a life and career around curiosity, creativity and courage blending strategy with soul to help brands cut through noise and connect with people on a deeper level.

She and Jason explore the power of storytelling, experiential branding, adventure as a lifestyle, and why reinvention is essential for personal and professional growth. A vibrant, wide-ranging conversation full of insights for creatives, founders, marketers and anyone designing a meaningful life or meaningful work.

Topics Discussed

• Liz's background in branding, PR and experiential marketing

• What makes a story compelling in today's world

• Why strong brands need emotional resonance, not just visuals

• Adventures that shaped her perspective and leadership style

• The rise of experiential marketing and immersive experiences

• How she coaches TEDx speakers and curates powerful talks

• Building wellness, travel and transformational retreats

• Authentic storytelling in the age of social media

• Balancing creativity with business execution

• How to build a brand people genuinely care about

• Liz's advice for founders reinventing themselves

Support CavnessHR CavnessHR is building an AI-native HR system for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees automation plus a dedicated HR Business Partner.

Invest on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr

Download 7 free eBooks: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks

Join the Builders Club: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

Connect with Liz Galloway

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizgalloway/

Website: https://brandsanitymedia.co/liz-galloway

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travel.to.wellness

In this solo livestream episode, Jason Cavness walks small business owners through the HR laws you must follow when you have 49 or fewer employees. Jason draws from more than 30 years of HR experience, 25 years as a retired U.S. Army officer, and over a decade working with startups to explain complicated HR rules in a simple, practical way.

Jason covers what federal government actually requires, why most HR mistakes come from confusion rather than bad intent, and how ignoring even one rule can lead to fines, audits, lawsuits, and massive headaches for small business owners.

Using real examples, stories from his career, and questions from livestream viewers, Jason breaks down what every employer needs to know: overtime rules, payroll tax obligations, discrimination laws, onboarding requirements, union rules, ADA accommodations, pregnancy protections, military employment rights, OSHA issues, misclassification risks, and more.

If you're a founder, small business owner, or early-stage startup leader, this episode gives you a straightforward roadmap for staying compliant and protecting your business before something goes wrong.

Topics Discussed

• Why HR feels complicated and why it really isn't

• The real reason most small businesses get fined

• Drug-Free Workplace Act and who it does and does not apply to

• Audio monitoring vs video monitoring rules

• Polygraph testing and the extremely rare cases where it's allowed

• Military employment rights and what employers must provide

• Workplace safety, chemical safety sheets, and OSHA basics

• Employee rights to discuss wages, schedules, and working conditions

• Equal Pay Act misunderstandings and why negotiation habits matter

• Minimum wage, overtime, exempt vs non-exempt rules • Why you must pay overtime even when you tell someone not to work it

• I-9 verification, E-Verify, and immigration compliance

• Payroll tax responsibilities • ADA and reasonable accommodation requirements

• Pregnancy discrimination and common employer mistakes • Genetic information discrimination and health insurance issues

• Title VII Civil Rights Act protections

• LGBTQ workplace protections

• Age discrimination rules and why age 40 is the legal threshold

• COBRA continuation for companies offering health benefits

• Worker misclassification and how calling someone a contractor doesn't make them one

• Why unions form and how employers accidentally trigger unionization

• What CavnessHR is building to automate HR and prevent these problems Support CavnessHR CavnessHR is building an AI-native HR system for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees automated compliance plus access to a dedicated HR Business Partner.

Invest on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr

Download 7 free eBooks based on The Jason Cavness Experience: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks

Join the Builders Club: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

Connect with Jason Cavness LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncavness/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncavness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasoncavness

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jasoncavness Podcast: https://www.thejasoncavnesssexperience.com

In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Nicholas White. A Seattle-based marketing strategist, startup advisor, entrepreneur, and operator with experience at Amazon, Microsoft, and multiple early-stage ventures.

Nick has led digital marketing programs for major B2B/B2C brands, driven pipeline expansion, advised early-stage founders, and built systems that blend creativity, data, and practical execution. His approach to modern marketing is shaped by curiosity, experimentation, and a deep understanding of customer psychology.

Jason and Nick dive into how marketing is evolving, what founders consistently get wrong, where AI fits into the modern toolkit, and how to align product, sales, and marketing around real customer needs. A sharp, value-packed episode for founders, marketers, and builders.

Topics Discussed:

• From Amazon/Microsoft to advising startups

• What separates good marketing from great marketing

• Curiosity as the foundation of strong strategy

• Brand vs. demand why founders confuse the two

• Building early-stage marketing teams

• Using AI for content, research, and GTM

• How to connect marketing execution to revenue

• Creative psychology and differentiation

• Leadership lessons across corporate + startup worlds

• Budgeting, channels, and prioritization

• Common hiring mistakes founders make

• Nick's advice for marketing leaders and founders

Support CavnessHR Help Build the Future of HR CavnessHR is creating an AI-native HR system for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees automation plus a dedicated HR Business Partner.

Invest on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr

Download 7 free eBooks: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks

Join the Builders Club: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

Connect with Nicholas White: Website: https://nicholasgwhite.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholaswhite/

Connect with Jason Cavness:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncavness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasoncavness

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jasoncavness Podcast: https://www.thejasoncavnessexperience.com

In this solo episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason goes live to break down everything he's building across CavnessHR, the Wefunder campaign, HR law education, livestreaming strategy, and the behind-the-scenes founder grind people rarely talk about.

Jason talks through his work on the HR Laws Livestream Deck, what small businesses keep getting wrong about HR compliance and why he's pushing hard to create accessible education for founders who can't afford expensive consultants.

He also gives an update on the CavnessHR Wefunder campaign, the ebooks rollout, the Builders Club, and how he's approaching daily content, livestreaming, and building in public to grow the platform.

This livestream dives into HR automation, startup strategy, social media execution, bourbon rotation, livestream tech setups, Opus Pro clips, and the reality of pushing toward a world-class HR product for small businesses. If you want a real, unfiltered look at the life of a founder building multiple things at once this is it.

Topics Discussed

• The HR Laws livestream deck and why HR compliance needs to be simplified

• How CavnessHR is rebuilding HR for small businesses

• The Wefunder campaign update and what investors should know

• The 7-ebook strategy and how it supports the Wefunder raise

• The CavnessHR Builders Club and early supporter benefits

• Daily livestreaming routines and camera setup improvements

• Why creators should rotate bourbons on livestreams

• How Jason uses Opus Pro for mass short-form video creation

• Platform posting strategy: LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Instagram, YouTube

• When to upload livestreams as podcast episodes

• Why short (<30s) clips currently outperform 60–90s content

• Responding to comment engagement and audience growth

• How to run your own solo livestreams more effectively

• The mindset required to build in public while fundraising Support CavnessHR

Be Part of the Future of HR CavnessHR is creating an AI-native HR system for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees automation plus a dedicated HR Business Partner.

💸 Invest in CavnessHR on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr

📚 Download 7 free eBooks based on The Jason Cavness Experience: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks

🤝 Join the CavnessHR Builders Club: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Kate Edwards. An award-winning 30+ year leader in the global game industry, culturalization pioneer, former Executive Director of the IGDA, former head of the Global Game Jam, CEO of Geogrify, and CXO/Co-Founder of SetJetters.

Kate has worked on more than 306 games across genres including RTS, FPS, racing, horror, and AAA franchises like Age of Empires, Battlefield, Mad Max, Jade Empire, and Indiana Jones. She is widely known for establishing the discipline of game culturalization, helping studios navigate geography, culture, geopolitics, and global markets.

Jason and Kate dive deep into her journey from Microsoft geographer to global industry leader, her work on major titles, running IGDA during Gamergate, giving historic talks at the Royal Geographical Society, and consulting for studios around the world.

Kate also opens up about battling imposter syndrome, embracing introversion as a superpower, protecting creative teams, and why the future of games depends on cultural awareness and authentic storytelling. A powerhouse episode for anyone in gaming, tech, leadership, or creative industries.

Topics Discussed:

• How Kate pioneered the field of game culturalization

• Working on 300+ games across global studios

• Her path from Microsoft to founding Geogrify

• Cultural risks, geopolitical challenges, and narrative world-building

• Behind the scenes of Age of Empires, Jade Empire, Battlefield, Indiana Jones, and more

• The evolution of gaming from Pong to massive AAA franchises

• Indie studios shaking up the industry

• Speaking worldwide and navigating stage nerves

• Gamergate, harassment, and standing up for underrepresented creators

• Diversity, representation, and global game development

• Her dream studios and game franchises

• Why introversion can be a creative advantage

• Imposter syndrome, leadership, and creative courage

Connect with Kate Edwards:

🌐 Website: https://setjetters.com/

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geogrify/

🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/geogrify

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geogrify

Support CavnessHR Help Build the Future of Small Business HR CavnessHR is building an AI-native HR system for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees automation + a dedicated HR Business Partner

💸 Invest in CavnessHR on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr

📚 Download 7 Free eBooks from The Jason Cavness Experience: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks

🤝 Join the CavnessHR Builders Club: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Curt Maier. A U.S. Military Veteran, nuclear submarine reactor operator, engineer, and now M&A focused business leader who buys, builds, and transforms companies using a systems-driven mindset forged under extreme pressure.

Curt shares what it was really like working on nuclear submarine reactors, how the Navy shaped his discipline and problem-solving, and why the engineering habits he learned underwater still guide every business decision he makes today.

Jason and Curt dive into the lessons from nuclear operations that apply directly to leadership, M&A strategy, business turnarounds, systems thinking, and running companies in the real world.

Curt explains how he evaluates businesses, what founders usually get wrong, and why Veterans often make exceptional operators and acquirers. This episode blends military intensity, engineering precision, and entrepreneurial execution a rare combination and an incredibly valuable one.

Topics Discussed:

• What it's actually like to serve aboard nuclear submarines

• The mindset required to operate and maintain nuclear reactors

• How nuclear engineering habits translate directly into business leadership

• The transition from military engineering to entrepreneurship • How Curt evaluates companies for acquisition

• What most business buyers overlook during due diligence

• Systems thinking: the common link between reactors and businesses • Why Veterans excel at M&A, operations, and turnarounds

• Curt's career path from submariner → engineer → founder → acquirer

• The realities of buying and fixing businesses

• Lessons from high-stakes decision-making

• The future of engineering, leadership, and Veteran entrepreneurship

• Curtis' advice for Veterans considering acquisition entrepreneurship

Support CavnessHR Help Build the Future of Small Business HR CavnessHR is creating an AI-native HR system built specifically for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees combining automation with a dedicated HR Business Partner.

Here's how you can support the mission:

💸 Invest in CavnessHR on Wefunder https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr

📚 Download 7 Free eBooks based on The Jason Cavness Experience https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks

🤝 Join the CavnessHR Builders Club https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

Connect with Curt Maier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtmmaier/

In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Tierrá Bonds, Founder & CEO of Take Charge Credit Consulting. To dig into the financial realities so many people quietly struggle with credit, debt, generational trauma, and why the racial wealth gap continues to grow in the U.S.

Tierrá breaks down her journey from her early struggles with credit to becoming one of the leading trauma-informed financial coaches working with individuals, nonprofits, and government agencies across Washington State.

She shares how childhood experiences shape our relationship with money, why credit systems are designed the way they are, and the truth behind predatory lending, payday loans, rent reporting, and how the system keeps people stuck.

The conversation dives deep into motherhood, entrepreneurship, financial trauma, the psychology of money, the realities of poverty vs. "American poverty," building wealth later in life, and how Tierrá helps people repair credit, rebuild confidence, and create generational change. If you've ever dealt with financial stress, avoided looking at your credit report, or felt like you were "behind," this episode will hit home.

Topics Discussed:

• Motherhood, entrepreneurship, and finding life balance

• Travel stories, cultural experiences, and exploring the world

• Trauma-informed financial coaching and why money triggers people

• Generational wealth gaps and the racial credit gap

• Credit myths, credit utilization, and how the system really works

• Payday loans and predatory financial structures

• Rent vs. homeownership and the importance of education

• Why many families avoid talking about money

• Business credit vs personal credit and TikTok myths

• Working with nonprofits, cities, and the Department of Commerce

• Why many entrepreneurs aren't ready to be business owners

• Funding disparities for Black women founders

• Mental health, financial shame, and asking for help

• Tierrá's long-term vision: entrepreneurship, investment, and social impact

• Advice for anyone trying to finally get their financial life in order Support CavnessHR

Help Fix HR for Small Businesses CavnessHR is building an AI-native HR system for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees. Automation + a dedicated HR Business Partner built to save small businesses time, money, and stress.

Here's how you can support the mission:

💸 Invest in CavnessHR on Wefunder Be early. Own equity. Help us rebuild the future of small business HR. https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr

📚 Download 7 Free eBooks based on The Jason Cavness Experience Leadership, startups, AI, growth, and more. https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks

🤝 Join the CavnessHR Builders Club Exclusive updates, early access, community, and product influence. https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/

Connect with Tierrá Bonds & Take Charge Text for a free credit game plan: 206-971-1269 (text "Jason")

Email: tierrabonds@takechargecc.com

Website: https://www.takechargecc.com South Seattle Emerald Article: https://www.southseattleemerald.com (search her name)

B.O.B.E Symposium info: https://bobewa.org