PODCAST

Kanawha Valley Hustlers

Joe Justice

Exploring the Stories and Strategies of Creatives and Hustlers in the Kanawha Valley

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

00:00:00

Tara Martinez on Serving Communities Through...

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/04/02

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I sit down with Tara Martinez to talk about workforce development, nonprofit work, and the real barriers people face in West Virginia. She works to help people move from dependence to self-sufficiency by connecting them with work that gives them a path forward. We talk about how childcare and transportation still hold a lot of people back, especially in rural parts of the state. Tara also clears up a big misconception about nonprofits. They

00:05:29

Robert Huffman on What It Takes to Run an HVAC Business

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/31

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I talk with Robert Huffman, one of the owners of UKV HVAC, about how he turns a skill he found in high school into a business that serves homeowners across the Upper Kanawha Valley. He got into the trade through Carver, worked his way up, and started his own company because he wants control of his time and wants to be present for his family. We talk about the early struggle of simply paying the bills, how the business grows by fixing air

00:00:00

Tony Paranzino on Tony the Tailor and 50 Years of Work

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/26

I talk with Tony Paranzino of Tony the Tailor about what it takes to stay in business for more than 50 years. He walks me through how he grew up in the trade, starting in his dad’s shop as a kid, learning the work piece by piece until he took over the family business and made it his own. We also get into mistakes, and Tony shares a story about making a pair of pants six inches too short. His lesson is simple: mistakes happen, you fix them, and you keep moving. He pushes back on the idea that nobody

00:13:16

The Real Shift Behind Influencer Marketing

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/24

I break down why influencer marketing is not some celebrity fad that passed, but a shift every Appalachian business owner needs to understand. I walk through how we moved from movie stars and reality TV names like the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, and Jessica Simpson into digital creators like Logan Paul and Mr. Beast, and how that world changed once creators stopped renting out their audiences and started building products they own. That pushed big brands toward micro influencers with smaller, tighter

00:00:00

Austin Long on Building a Property Management Business

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/19

Austin Long on Building a Property Management Business

00:00:00

Mark Wray on Matching Travelers and Businesses

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/17

I talk with Mark Wray about Travelese, a platform built to match travelers and businesses with more precision. He lays out the problem with spray-and-pray marketing and explains how his team uses hundreds of data points to connect the right customer with the right destination or business. We get into the trust problems in travel, from fake reviews to bad recommendations and even listings for places that do not exist. Mark also shares a mistake from late in development, when they realized they had

00:00:00

Shea Paul Talks Dancing Fundraising and Community

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/13

I talk with Shea Paul to talk about her role in Dancing with the Stars for United Way of Central West Virginia. She shares that she has wanted to do this for a long time because she cares about the cause and the work United Way does in the community. We talk about the mix of fun, fundraising, and pressure that comes with being part of team five in season five. Shea opens up about how easy it is for her to overthink the details, from the theme to the song choices, and how she is learning to trust the

00:00:00

Bob Bliss on Time Management and Communication

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/10

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I talk with Bob Bliss about how strong communication still gives people an edge. Bob walks me through his habit of responding to emails within 24 hours and explains that he stays on top of communication by setting aside time each day and planning his week in advance. We talk about calendars, routines, and the need to stay flexible when calls, meetings, and client needs shift the day around. I also share one of my own scheduling tricks for

00:08:29

C Anthony Parker on Giving Back in Charleston

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/06

I’m at Charleston’s local Dancing with the Stars event with C. Anthony Parker, and the place is packed with a Studio 54 disco theme. He’s in costume with platform shoes and explains this is a hometown fundraiser that supports United Way, not the national TV show. He shares why he signed up: it gives him a clear way to give back, learn something new, and have fun while serving the community. He talks through what it takes behind the scenes, from training with choreographer Jamie Walker to getting in

00:00:00

Cozmic Wonderlan Spins Fire and Builds a Hustle

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/03/03

I talk with Cozmic Wonderlan, a sponsored aerialist and fire performer. Cozmic explains that aerial work is spinning and dancing in the air, and that they started as a behind-the-curtain supporter for friends in LGBTQ and burlesque spaces before stepping into performing. We clear up the fire misconception: she doesn’t do fire breathing, she does fire eating and transfers with skin-to-skin tricks. She talks about building the hustle through gigs and partnerships, with Wandering Wind Meadery as a main

00:04:40

Dave Bragg on Turning Honey into a Business

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/26

I talk with Dave Bragg, owner of Wandering Wind Meadery, Charleston’s first and only meadery. I ask what mead is, and he explains it as honey wine with traditions across many cultures, not just Viking pop culture. I dig into how he starts the business, and he traces it back to a life in performance and medieval re-enactment, where mead is common. He opened on a small budget with no big investors, and he admits his biggest mistake is starting too small, which slows growth until he upgraded equipment

00:00:00

Crisis Management for Businesses

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/24

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast I talk with Bob Bliss to talk about crisis management and how it applies to any business, from a cyber security breach to a recall to a key client getting ready to walk. Bob frames a crisis as something that builds over time, with signs that people notice but fail to surface, so strong internal communication matters and employees need to speak up when they see flaws in a procedure. He ties it to flying and crash investigations, where the cause

00:00:00

What Jeremy Learned From Scaling Too Fast

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/19

I talk with Jeremy Myers from Charleston Pressure Washing Services. He runs a roof-first cleaning service that also covers gutters, soffits, fascia, siding, and flat work like entryways. He gets into this business after seeing how many homes in our area have buildup that owners need help handling. He’s in his second year and shares a key lesson from early on: he tries to do too many things at once, moving from mobile detailing into window cleaning, pressure washing, and even thinking about lawn

00:00:00

Charleston Nano Brewery From Kitchen Brew to Business

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/17

I’m at Charleston Nano Brewery with Kenny and Jennifer Graley, and I ask them how their hustle started and what keeps it going. They explain that it begins as home brewing in their kitchen, moves to the garage, and grows into a full business once they commit to a building and start seeing people return after the first anniversary. They tell me their goal is a welcoming, family friendly place, and they notice travelers often seek out breweries while passing through. Kenny points to an early mistake:

00:00:00

Stop Waiting for One Perfect Ad and Start Building a...

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/12

I explain what I mean when I say “Mad Men is over.” People think I am talking about the TV show, but I am talking about the old model of advertising that came out of Madison Avenue: big top down pitches, huge budgets, and campaigns pushed through broadcast, radio, print, and billboards. I argue that model is dead, and I point to the Super Bowl in 2026 as proof. Early numbers show a drop in viewership, and a sizable group watches an alternative halftime show instead of the main one, which signals

00:00:00

The 25% You See and the 75% You Do Not with Bob Bliss

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/10

I talk with Bob Bliss about how first impressions hide most of who a person is. He explains his iceberg inversion idea: when you meet someone, you only see about 25%, and the other 75% sits below the surface. He shares how a friend calls him “lucky,” but that view ignores the setbacks he has pushed through, from being told he would never achieve certain roles to surviving major hardships. He also shows how perception shifts fast, like when people judge a limp handshake until they learn there is a

00:05:52

Jamon Schmidt Explains the Bin Store Outlet Experience

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/05

I’m at the grand opening of Goodwill’s new outlet bin store in Charleston with Jamon Schmidt. He runs marketing and communications for Goodwill and explains why they shifted this location from a traditional store to a bin store, a concept that hasn’t been common in West Virginia. Instead of racks with price tags, the floor is lined with bins, and staff rotates rows about every 15 minutes, so the shopping moves fast and feels like a hunt. You pay by the pound, not by the tag, and he tells people to

00:04:43

Tony Brown and Lee Ayers on the 2600 Cybersecurity...

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/02/03

I’m at the 2600 meetup at KDE Technology in downtown Charleston. Tony Brown explains it’s a cybersecurity and tech community meet that happens the first Friday of every month from 5 to 7 or 8, and it connects to an international 2600 network that started in 1984, with meetups happening around the world the same night. Lee Ayers frames it as a place to bring the community together, including people who are not in cybersecurity but want to learn. The room covers everything from lock picking to Active

00:00:00

Ursulette Huntley Ward Building Entrepreneurs in...

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/01/30

I chat with Ursulette Huntley Ward, executive director of Unlimited Future in Huntington, a business incubator and economic development center based in the Fairfield community. She explains how they help people in transition, including those coming out of incarceration, aging out of foster care, graduating without a plan, or dealing with major life changes. We talk about a mistake from her own journey when she lost a training program on a thumb drive, and how it pushed her to stay organized, keep

00:00:00

Accountability and Delegation with Bob Bliss

Kanawha Valley Hustlers ·

2026/01/27

I talk with Bob Bliss about delegation and why leaders stay stuck doing everything themselves. He points to fear and control as the root problem, and he makes the case that a CEO has to delegate or the business stalls and turnover goes up. He shares a practical method: give someone real authority while you step away, do not let them call you unless it’s an emergency, then review what happened when you return. Mistakes are part of the process, so feedback matters. He avoids yelling, recognizes what

290 results

Kanawha Valley Hustlers

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

TaxTalent.com The Golden Rule Podcast

Adam Golden

TaxTalent.com Podcast

Tony Santiago

Handelsblatt Crime - spannende Streitfälle der deutschen Wirtschaft

Ina Karabasz, Solveig Gode, Sönke Iwersen

Deffner und Zschäpitz – Der Wirtschafts-Talk von WELT

WELT

Black Box - La scatola nera della finanza

Guido Brera e Gian Luca Comandini -...