When a side gig becomes the main gig
Posted On December 14, 2023
Sometimes a side gig can become your true calling. So it was for our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” After Danny Lipford started a remodeling business in Mobile in 1978, he was looking for a way to set himself apart from competitors. He made himself accessible to local media, did local speaking engagements, and 10 years later, he got the opportunity to do a home improvement TV show on a local station. Thirty-five years after those beginnings, the “Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford” television show, which Lipford hosts along with his daughter Chelsea, is… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston
What’s in an accent? And can it be changed?
Posted On December 5, 2023
What does an accent mean? How do we get them? And can we change them? Accents and dialects are the specialty of University of Alabama Assistant Professor Paul E. Reed, Ph.D., our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” He says that our accents are developed at an early age, but can change over time. “You tend to sound like the people who raised you,” he said. “As you grow and become more independent, there are certain things that because of the input you receive, they fade away.” And yes, we can choose to change certain… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston
Plastic surgery isn’t just for the vain
Posted On November 29, 2023
Plastic surgery is just what vain, old people use to try to look young. Right? Wrong, according to a recent guest on “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” or at least that’s only a small part of it. Mobile-based plastic surgeon Dr. Chris Park says that while there are certainly many patients looking cosmetic plastic surgery, he also performs many reconstructive procedures, including removing skin cancer, repairing facial injuries and reconstructing skin damaged by dog bites or other injuries. “What I love about plastic surgery is it’s really a specialty of learning anatomy and physiology, but then principles,” he said. “My… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston
Turning a problem into a business (and transforming wealth transfer in the process)
Posted On November 21, 2023
Sometimes the problems life presents to us lead us to create new solutions. So it was with Martha Underwood, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” Underwood had a family emergency in 2017, when her father fell from a roof while helping a neighbor clear debris after a hurricane and fell unconscious. Living in Birmingham, hundreds of miles away from her parents’ home in Miami, she found that finding and accessing his medical and financial information to make decisions on his behalf was problematic. “With my background, I said there has to be a better… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Wealth, What's Working with Cam Marston, Women
How AI can transform the healthcare industry
Posted On November 14, 2023
How will artificial intelligence affect the healthcare industry? By creating and empowering informed patients. So says Dr. Robert Pearl, the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group and our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” Dr. Pearl, who also teaches at Stanford’s medical school and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, envisions a near-future where patients will have the tools to self-diagnose their ailments. While this might initially be alarming to physicians, Dr. Pearl argues that it can actually help them do their jobs better and create better patient outcomes. “It’s not going to replace… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston
So you want to make it in the music business?
Posted On November 7, 2023
Think you can make it in the music industry? Be forewarned: There are more people than ever making music, and it’s tougher than ever to make a living at it. But that hasn’t stopped Kate Teague from making music. Teague, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is a singer-songwriter who lives and works in Nashville. But she doesn’t just sing and write songs. She also works as the associate director of development at Nashville Public Radio. “It’s incredibly hard to make a living solely as an artist,” she said. “I’ve come to terms with… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston
Brent Barkin shares the art of thoughtfully switching careers
Posted On October 31, 2023
Ever thought about changing careers? Most of us don’t have the luxury of taking the time to explore what we’d really like to do, and what we’d be good at doing. But what if you did? Brent Barkin found himself in just such a situation. Barkin had been a guest on “What’s Working with Cam Marston” when he was running his family business, Shoe Station. Now that his family has sold that business, and he’s completed a stint working for the company that took it over, he stopped back in to share with us what he’s doing now – and… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work
A new mantra for today’s business world: If it ain’t broke, break it and make it better
Posted On October 23, 2023
Some of the best advice you can give or take in business is simply to begin. Joe Calloway, a Nashville-based business consultant and author, had the word printed on a coffee mug to remind himself of it every day. “I’ve tried a lot of things, but I’m also really good at overthinking,” he said. “But I’m very aware of that and so I work really hard at beginning and moving on with things.” Calloway, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” acknowledges that beginning is often easier said than done. Fear often gets in the… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston
AI: The next step in the evolution of logistics & supply chain management
Posted On October 17, 2023
Some would say the invention that’s had the greatest impact on logistics and supply chain management is the shipping container. Others might point to UPC bar codes. The advent and ultimate applications of artificial intelligence may add a new contender for the title. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” was Shashank Rao, the Jim W. Thompson Professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management at Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business. He says AI presents the next step in streamlining the supply chain. Artificial intelligence is that next iteration that is looking to make… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work
Growing better grass to raise better beef
Posted On October 10, 2023
Joey Mason made his living in erosion control, growing special grasses that naturally protect the soil in which they’re rooted. Growing grass is also an important facet of another industry, however – the beef industry – and Mason has found a way to use his expertise to enter and learn a new business. Mason, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” owns and operates Mason Hills Farm, a cattle ranch in Grand Bay, Alabama, that produces high-end, premium beef. He says he had no idea what he was doing when he bought the 200-acre farm,… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston