I am sure you have the expression: 'He had it all'....

Well, Dan Dowdy did have it all:

A successful family plumbing business, a dream home, and a comfortable life...

Then, he sold it all, moved his wife and four kids into a camper, and launched a coaching business for tradesmen in January 2020....yup, then the world shut down.

In this episode of Reanimated Stories, I chat with Dan to talk about why he built Built for the Trades.

We talk about why the blue-collar world desperately needs leadership coaching that focuses on more than just profit.

As well as discuss the trap of sacrificing your faith, family, and health to scale a business, and how to build a company that can actually run without you.

Dan also shares his personal testimony, explaining how a series of tragic losses led him to a radical faith in God, and how a John Maxwell audiobook on a morning run changed the entire trajectory of his career.

If you are a plumber, roofer, electrician, or any other small business owner who feels like you have hit a wall, this episode will show you how to beat the bottleneck and reclaim your time!

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Connect with Dan

Website: https://builtforthetrades.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuiltForTheTrades/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/builtforthetrades/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@builtforthetrades

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dan-dowdy-989b8111a

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@built4trades

X: https://x.com/Built4theTrades

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About Reanimated Stories: Hosted by Roger Jorns, I talk with awesome business leaders about their story and we explore how to reimagine work, life, and design.

Connect with Roger:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roger-jorns

Website: reanimationdesign.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reanimationdesign

Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/reanimated-stories/

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00:00 Intro

00:34 Meet Dan Dowdy

01:17 Built For The Trades Origin

02:58 Launching During Covid

05:15 Why Trades Need Coaching

07:04 Leadership Lessons Learned

10:27 Faith Driven Mission

15:38 Programs And Community

19:53 Systems For Self Operating

23:42 Is Coaching Right Now

26:07 Who Fits The Trades

28:15 Where To Find Dan

29:11 Outro

When people hear "accessibility," they think disability ramps and screen readers.

Rebecca Prejean thinks bigger than that.

Roger and Rebecca sit down to talk about why most corporate training fails.

Rebecca had no lens for accessibility until her son was diagnosed with autism. Now, she runs EB Graphics and Consulting, helping companies fix their broken training, onboarding, and internal communication.

But the goal is always the same: make sure people can get the information, understand it, and act on it.

That's just good business.

Accessibility is not about shaming business owners or jumping into "cancel culture." It is about making sure your customers and employees can actually digest your information.

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Connect with Rebecca

Website: https://www.ebgc.net

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

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About Reanimated Stories: Hosted by Roger Jorns, I talk with awesome business leaders about their story and we explore how to reimagine work, life, and design.

Connect with Roger:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roger-jorns

Website: reanimationdesign.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reanimationdesign

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00:00 Intro

00:40 Meet Rebecca In Austin

01:38 What She Does

02:29 Why Accessibility Matters

03:26 Inside Corporate Fixes

05:24 Beyond Disabilities

06:40 Overlays And Quick Fixes

08:31 Diagnosing The Real Problem

10:06 Building Empathy And Awareness

13:42 Personality Tests Limits

16:36 Humans Have Layers

17:41 Work Personas and Change

18:43 Employer Support and Boundaries

20:05 Accessibility Beyond Websites

21:15 Audit the Journey

23:30 Intentional Processes Not Tribal Knowledge

25:41 Accessibility as Smart Business

29:05 Fear of Getting It Wrong

29:53 How to Connect with Rebecca

31:17 Outro

"What AI has done is brought a salesman into the room."

People aren't Googling things the same way anymore.

They're asking AI. And if you're not showing up there, someone else is — even if they're less qualified than you.

Kevin Vaughan is an AI visibility specialist and the founder of KTV Digital. He helps small and medium-sized businesses get found in AI search and turn those educated, ready-to-buy visitors into actual customers.

In this episode of Reanimated Stories, I sit down with Kevin Vaughan from KTV Digital to break down the differences between SEO, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

We talk about how if you want your business to show up in those summarized answers, you have to stop writing for keywords and start writing to train the AI.

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Connect with Kevin

Website:

Website:https://ktvdigital.com/

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

Free SearchScore: https://searchscore.ktvdigital.com/

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About Reanimated Stories: Hosted by Roger Jorns, I talk with awesome business leaders about their story and we explore how to reimagine work, life, and design.

Connect with Roger:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/roger-jorns

Website: reanimationdesign.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reanimationdesign

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00:00 Intro

00:47 Meet The Hosts

00:53 How Roger Met Kevin

02:37 Kevin And KTV Digital

04:20 AEO Vs GEO Explained

06:33 AI Search Shoe Store

08:37 Visibility And Touchpoints

11:49 How AI Visibility Works

17:19 Common Mistakes And FOMO

22:14 Free AI Search Score Tool

23:52 Big Tools Vs Consultants

27:39 Where To Find Kevin

29:36 Outro