What is WBSRocks and where to find Information about it?

In this WBSRocks introduction episode Sam Gupta, the host of the WBS podcast shares his personal story and the focus for this podcast. He also provides details about the recommended episodes and what operations and finance leaders can expect with this podcast.

Chapter Markers

[00:00] Intro
[00:53] Sam’s Personal Journey
[4:00] Why he started this podcast
[4:43] The focus for this podcast
[5:06] Podcast Schedule
[5:19] Where you can listen to the podcast
[5:27] Recommended Episodes
[9:03] Acknowledgments
[10:56] Closing Remarks
[11:55] Outro

Key Takeaways

Each episode will feature your peer or competitors who have grown their businesses or in the process of scaling using business systems.
Irrespective of how confident a person sounds, we all have our insecurities and fears. People worry about their height, looks, age, race, social perception, ethnicity, or accent.
In this podcast, we’ll be covering several topics that touch ERP and digital transformation. The topics could range from ERP implementation, eCommerce, the evolution of people processes, technology with growth, continuous improvement, lean, quality management, and professional development for finance and operations professionals.
We are launching 10 to 15 episodes, and we’ll be releasing one to three each week with two episodes being the most common. We will be leaving on Monday and Wednesday, but Tuesday is the backup day for the bonus episode.
You can tune in to any of your favorite podcasting platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, Google, or Stitcher.
Whether you are launching a podcast or a business, don’t overthink before you start. There might be many people who might criticize, but there are also going to be millions who will appreciate who you are. So just be yourself and start right now.

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About Sam

Sam Gupta is an ERP thought leader in the digital transformation space for nearly two decades, with the primary focus on financial systems and ERP. He has been part of large transformation initiatives for fortune-500 corporations but now spends his time consulting with SMEs as a Principal Consultant/CEO at ElevatIQ.

Sam’s deep expertise in the manufacturing value chain combined with cross-industry expertise enables him to have a higher success rate with digital transformation initiatives in the manufacturing, distribution, and retail industries. Sam has engaged with the startup ecosystem in the last 10 years and has experience in building and growing businesses from scratch.

Sam regularly speaks at industry conferences and contributes his experiences through many popular blogs and publications. He also hosts a podcast called WBSRocks focused on business growth through digital transformation and ERP where he interviews top influencers and executives from ERP, Supply Chain, Digital Transformation, Supply Chain, and Accounting.

Resources

Connect with Sam
- LinkedIn | Twitter | Clubhouse: @samgupta
To check Curt Anderson’s book, click on Stop Being the Best Kept Secret
To check Brian Beck’s book, click on Billion Dollar B2B E-commerce

Full Transcript

Sam Gupta 0:00

I became a laughingstock as I came across as a robot who could not express any feelings that shattered my confidence. That nervousness lived with me. I never felt calm while speaking.

Intro 0:15

Growing a business requires a holistic approach that extends beyond sales and marketing. This approach needs alignment among people, processes, and technologies. So if you’re a business owner, operations, or finance leader, looking to learn growth strategies from your peers and competitors, you’re tuning into the right podcast. Welcome to the WBS podcast where scalable growth using business systems is our number one priority. Now, here is your host, Sam Gupta.

Sam Gupta 0:53

Hey, everyone, welcome to episode zero of the WBS podcast. I’m Sam Gupta, your host, and principal consultant at the digital transformation consulting firm, ElevatIQ. Today, I’m super excited to announce the launch of the WBS podcast.

But before I do that, I wanted to share a little bit about me and my background about why we started this podcast. The people who know me might think that, oh yeah, everything is easy for Sam. It’s very hard not to notice Sam.

You know what, let me give you a little background about myself. I was never comfortable with public speaking or doing anything in public. For that matter. I grew up as a super shy kid. In fact, I froze on the stage while doing a drama as a child. And I decided that anything public-facing wasn’t for me. I was always a target for bullies all through my school, as they felt that I didn’t know what I was talking about.

To overcome my insecurities. I decided to challenge it again, as a teenager to perform a skit at my university. And I became a laughingstock as I came across as a robot who could not express any feelings. That shattered my confidence.

That nervousness lived with me, all through my life. I never felt calm while speaking.

I went to Toastmasters but never won a single award for my speeches. While I wasn’t the most extroverted child, I was a fighter, no one could beat me on the hard work I could put in. I’m good at analyzing the hell out of a problem until I get to the bottom of it. I would analyze everyone better than me, and try to understand what they were doing differently from me.

Sam Gupta 0:53, continued…

Through my analysis, I recognized that irrespective of how confident a person sounds, we all have our insecurities and fears. People are worried about their height, looks, age, race, social perception, ethnicity, or accent.

The list is never-ending.

It’s up to us whether we want to get caught up in the dark world of insecurities, or rock with our strength and authenticity.

While a ton of people love my voice, I personally never liked it. I was never articulate and could not connect with folks who could not handle fast speech.

So I wanted to start my own podcast, but I wasn’t sure if anyone would listen to it. And I was worried about what if no one understood what I wanted to say. I had no idea how to recruit guests, or edit the software. I had done our blog and YouTube channel and received decent traction.

So that gave me confidence that at least people are willing to hear what I have to say. I wanted to postpone the plan until I hired someone who would be best positioned as the podcast host and perhaps try as a conversation rather than a monologue.

But then I don’t like to be left behind.

So I thought I’ll give it a shot.

Sam Gupta 4:00

When we were thinking of putting together this podcast, we wanted to do a show focused on growth through business systems targeted at operations and finance leaders.

While there were many podcasts in this category, there wasn’t one that was truly aligned with operations and finance leaders’ interests. There were several podcasts in the ERP category, but they were focused on a specific product or an OEM.

There were also several growth podcasts, but they addressed growth from the perspective of sales and marketing.

Finally, there were accounting, finance, and manufacturing-focused podcasts. But they each went extremely deep in these areas, but not diverse enough to meet the needs of operations and finance leaders.

Sam Gupta 4:43

In this podcast, we’ll be covering several topics that touch ERP and digital transformation.

The topics could range from ERP implementation, eCommerce, the evolution of people processes, technology with growth, continuous improvement, lean, quality management, and professional development for finance and operations professionals.

Sam Gupta 5:06

We are launching 10 to 15 episodes, and we’ll be releasing one to three each week with two episodes being the most common.

We will be leaving on Monday and Wednesday, but Tuesday is the backup day for the bonus episode

Sam Gupta 5:19

You can tune in to any of your favorite podcasting platforms such as iTunes, Spotify, Google, or Stitcher.

Sam Gupta 5:27

We have been fortunate to get the attention of some highly influential guests who agreed to share their expertise and perspective with us.

I would like to bring to your attention a couple of episodes that I highly recommend, depending upon your focus, and preferences.

If you’re looking to understand the growth journey of companies through inflection points, from the lifestyle business of one to $10 million to find a million dollars in revenue, I would highly recommend listening to Randy Johnston, who’s highly influential in the accounting technology community and rated as one of the nine technology Stars by Accounting Technology magazine.

I would also recommend listening to Wayne Sadin, the #2 CIO on IT Leader Power 100. Additionally, I would recommend listening to Brian Burke from SellYourMac.com where we have dug through the history of how they became the fastest-growing company on the INC 5000 list three times last.

And my personal favorite with Jim Gitney, who takes us through the journey of companies as they move through different inflection points, and how the need for people process and technology changes.

If you’re looking to grow your business using social media, and how operations and finance leaders can take advantage of social media for their personal growth. I would recommend listening to the LinkedIn influencer, Corey Warfield from CoryConnects with nearly 250K followers, who break down the LinkedIn algorithm secrets and how to win on LinkedIn.

I would also recommend the episode with Sarah Barnes-Humphrey from Shipz where we discussed how she became the top 100 most influential women leaders in the supply chain globally.

Sam Gupta 5:27, continued…

If you are interested in learning about e-commerce and DTC, I would highly recommend listening to Curt Anderson from B2BTail, the author of “Stop Being the Best Kept Secret.“

I would also recommend listening to Brian Beck from Encieba, the author of the first comprehensive book on b2b e-commerce entitled “Billion Dollar B2B E-commerce.”

Additionally, I would recommend the episode with Chase Clymer from Electric Eye, the host of the podcast entitled Honest Ecommerce. Finally the episode with Michael Begg, where we discuss the growth strategies through the Amazon Marketplace.

If you are interested in listening to manufacturing-focused episodes, I would recommend listening to Jason Chester from InfinityQS where we discuss the challenges today’s manufacturers face with changing consumer behavior.

You should also listen to the episode with Chris Luecke, who’s the host of the Manufacturing Happy Hour podcast where we discussed industry 4.0 trends and how manufacturers can take advantage of them.

Additionally, you may want to listen to the episode with Joe Sullivan from Gorilla 76, who’s also the host of the Manufacturing Executive Podcast, where we discuss why manufacturers need to rethink their marketing with COVID-19.

Finally, the fun episode with Greg Mischio from Winbound, where we discussed what CFOs need to know about the value of content marketing, and why it matters for manufacturers with complex products and long sales cycles.

If you’re interested in ERP-related topics, I would highly recommend an episode with Erin Koss, CPA who shares a story of an ERP project that was a massive success, despite disruptions from COVID-19.

Also in the episode with Ram Krishnamurthy, where he discusses why costing strategies matter for an ERP implementation and how to make an ERP project successful.

Sam Gupta 9:03

While I’m privileged and honored to host WBSRocks, it would not be possible without our team members and mentors’ efforts, who have always been there for us and supported us through our journey.

First, I would like to thank my family and friends for their confidence in me for letting me explore these opportunities, and for supporting me with their support.

The whole LinkedIn family provided massive support for my journey. I would like to especially thank my friend Sarah Barnes-Humphrey who has always supported me with questions and advice.

Cory Warfield, no wonder the whole world trust and respects you, this wouldn’t have been possible without your support. Brian Burke, you have always tried to help me despite my resistance to coaching. Thanks for being there and helping me.

Joe Sullivan, from the Manufacturing Executive Podcast. I know you’re super busy, but there are very few people who came out of their way to advise on how To be successful with a podcast.

Kevin Lawton from the New Warehouse Podcast, you have been super friendly with your interactions and always helped. Chase Clymer from the Honest Ecommerce podcast. Thanks for being there, my friend, your advice helped a ton.

Eric Musick from the Subscription Box Show. It’s been a huge support with your guidance. Jim Gitney from Group 50. Thanks for all the intros. They have helped in finding guests for the shows and how to build relationships with guests.

Sam Gupta 9:03, continued…

Finally, Jason Chester and the entire InfinityQS team for their support with the press release and backing us up throughout the journey.

I’m sure I’ve missed a ton of other folks who have supported us. While I’m running out of space and time on the show, and that’s the reason, unfortunately, I can’t name everyone.

But I want you to know that you all are equally important to me, and I appreciate your support and friendship a lot.

Sam Gupta 10:56

In closing, this has been a thrill leading up to the launch. And it’s going to be even more exciting in the future with the amount of traction and love we had received even when we weren’t born.

While we could mention only 10 to 20 speakers, there are at least 100 other excellent speakers who are lined up to speak and I couldn’t be more excited to interview them and share their journey with you. This is a huge milestone for me, personally and professionally.

But I want anyone who’s out there who has been self-doubting themselves in starting anything. Whether you are launching a podcast or a business, don’t overthink before you start. There might be many people who might criticize, but there are also going to be millions who will appreciate who you are.

So just be yourself and start right now.

Thanks for listening in and sharing this podcast with your friends. I look forward to having you on our show and learning a little bit about you. With that, for the love of growth and digital transformation, let’s WBSRocks.

Sam Gupta 11:55

Thank you for listening to another episode of the WBS podcast. Be sure to subscribe to your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode. For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, check out our community at wbs.rocks. We’ll see you next time.