Bourbon with a Banker
Bourbon with a Banker is a conversation series where business, leadership, and wealth strategy meet a relaxed,
real-world setting. It’s a space for honest dialogue with entrepreneurs, executives, and community leaders—over a thoughtful pour.
The show isn’t about selling products or pitching services. It’s about learning from real stories: decisions that worked,
mistakes that didn’t, and the values that shape how leaders build businesses and lives that matter.
Conversations at the Pace of a Good Pour
In a world that moves fast, Bourbon with a Banker is designed to slow things down. Each episode features a candid conversation with a guest who has built something meaningful—companies, teams, careers, and community impact.
We talk about pivotal moments, hard decisions, near-misses, and the mindset required to keep moving forward.
The bourbon is a backdrop—a shared ritual that helps people lower their guard and talk like they would across a
table, not across a podium.
The goal is simple: offer listeners practical insight and honest perspective on:
- Building and leading resilient businesses
- Developing as a leader at every stage of a career
- Thinking about money, risk, and opportunity with intention
- Balancing ambition with family, health, and community
What We Talk About
Business & Growth
The real story behind scaling a company, managing cash flow, hiring, firing, and navigating changing markets.
- Starting and growing a business
- Surviving downturns and setbacks
- Strategic decisions that shaped the journey
Leadership & People
How leaders earn trust, build culture, and create environments where people do their best work.
- Lessons learned the hard way
- Mentors, mistakes, and pivotal conversations
- Balancing results with relationships
Wealth, Values & Legacy
Money is a tool, not the point. We explore how guests think about wealth—personally and professionally.
- Defining “enough” and “success”
- Investing in people, opportunities, and community
- What they want to leave behind
The Format
Each episode runs approximately 45–60 minutes and follows a simple arc:
- Origin: Who the guest is and how they got here.
- Turning Points: Key decisions, failures, and breakthrough moments.
- The Work: How they lead today—people, strategy, and culture.
- The Pour Back: Practical takeaways listeners can apply in their own lives and leadership.
The conversations are unscripted but intentional. The goal isn’t to be polished—it’s to be real, useful, and human.
Why Bourbon?
Bourbon is part of the show because it represents pause, presence, and appreciation. It’s less about the drink itself, and more about the environment it creates—a slower pace, deeper questions, and a sense that we’re here to have a real conversation, not a rehearsed interview.
Not every guest drinks, and that’s fully respected. Water, coffee, tea, or a favorite alternative are always welcome. The heart of the show is the dialogue, not the beverage.
We encourage all listeners and guests to enjoy responsibly. Leadership includes how we model balance, judgment, and respect—for ourselves and others.
Featured Episodes
Here are a few representative conversations. As the show grows, this section will highlight episodes that capture the spirit of Bourbon with a Banker.
A candid conversation about building value in your business with Travis Smith and Heather Bargender of Sky Heating, A/C, Plumbing & Electrical.
We talk about the importance of having a credible team when investing.
A conversation about defining success, making money decisions with socially conscious intentions, and keeping family and values at the center.
Thinking About Being a Guest?
The best conversations come from people who are willing to share openly—what worked, what didn’t, and what they’ve learned along the way. If you’re a business owner, executive, community leader, or someone with a story that can serve others, you may be a great fit for the show.
Ideal guests are:
- Willing to talk honestly about both wins and failures
- Comfortable discussing leadership, money, and impact with nuance
- Committed to adding value for listeners—not just promoting themselves
If you’re interested in exploring the possibility of being a guest, you can reach out with a short note about who you are, what you do, and the story or perspective you’d like to share.
This podcast is a personal project and an extension of my leadership journey—not a platform for financial advice or institutional promotion. The goal is to learn together.
Pull Up a Chair
Whether you’re a founder, leader, or someone who simply enjoys real conversations about business, life, and money,
Bourbon with a Banker is an invitation to listen in, reflect, and take something useful back to your own journey.