Strictly Business on KSVY

About Strictly Business on KSVY

Strictly Business engages the people and issues of business and management history, corporate growth and profitability, entrepreneurial breakthroughs, operating successes and failures. Covering all factors contributing to Sonoma County’s economic growth and development. Kip Altman: Raised in Boston, graduated from Georgetown and the Un-O-Chicago Graduate School of Business. Worked on Wall Street and lived in New York City for many years, moved to S.F. in 2003, Glen Ellen in 2013. An active trader of stocks, author, and creator of the largest existing business history site businesshistory.com.

Publisher

KSVY Radio

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 May 2024

Latest episode

3 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

136 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Nov 2026

   Strictly Business KSVY - Author of The Glory of Giving Everything: The Taylor Swift Business Model - Crystal Haryanto

   We will talk about: 1. This is essentially the 20th anniversary of the emergence of Taylor Swift into the music world (with the 2006 release of her first album called Taylor Swift). Is this why you undertook the book?, 2. In this book, you say that you've translated the specifics of Taylor's career into generalized patterns of thinking, strategy, and impact. How did you do that - what were you looking at or for?, 3. Market adaptability and personal branding - staying relevant through economic and cultural shifts – how translate that to music: lyrics, sound, targeted marketing?, 4. Treats her massive customer/fan base as engaged stakeholder model in her overall business ecosystem – how does that look, act?...they are customers of her creative products?, 5. Swift’s "woman of the people" persona – how different from Rihanna, Madonna, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Dolly Parton?, 6. Study of craft, talent, skill, and sharp business instincts – learned how, from whom?, Any business advisors/marketing advisors for her?, 7. Intense work ethic behind Swift's empire - shows how "giving everything" to her community generates immense corporate and personal value – can you define ‘giving everything’, 8. Modern personal branding, viral merchandising, and community-driven business scaling – how many products carry her brand name?, Any products that did not work?, Can you define ‘community’ in community-driven?, 9. Book explores how to adapt personal branding to different markets without losing your core identity. How would you define her "core identity"?, 10. Reclaiming/owning the Supply Chain, Creative Control of her reputation narrative, strategic networking, mitigating the risk of relying on legacy middle-men… Would you consider her to be a vertically integrated conglomerate?, 11. Viral marketing and merchandising - behavioral economics: keeping Output Cycle Perfection & Viral Scarcity. What is her output cycle, and how does she combine that with an attempt at scarcity to drive up the value of her products?, 12. Keeps engagement constantly high, creates natural scarcity and viral word-of-mouth momentum without relying on heavy traditional advertising. What is the definition of ‘natural scarcity’, and whose word of mouth creates momentum for consumer demand of her songs?, 13. You said that with this book, you enjoyed unearthing more facets of yourself and your writing style. What did you learn about yourself? 14. Regarding "Multiplier effect" of Taylor Swift's 'lucrative impact on local markets and global economies' (P. 108-109), is she alone in this category, or are there other performers who have achieved similar results (as mentioned above)?, 15. For those who disparage Taylor Swift - is it primarily because of her music (playing the victim, only writes about ex-boyfriends), her politics, her wealth, her business decisions - that she's a greedy businesswoman, an exploitative capitalist or all she cares about is marketing? 16. For Taylor Swift, are philanthropy and advocacy the same? 17. On September 29, Spencer Kornhaber wrote in an Atlantic article titled "Taylor Swift’s Audience Is Growing Up. Her Music Is Devolving" – ‘The singer’s music once put a clever twist on ideas about aging and adulthood. Now she just seems to be going backwards/. How do you feel about this contention? 18. In your breakdown of Taylor Swift's wealth (p. 96) - the first billionaire to make her fortune primarily from songwriting and performing - almost 80% of her net earnings come from her music catalog, concert tickets, and merchandise sales. Only 8% from record sales. Were you surprised by those numbers?, Have those numbers for her changed over the past 20 years? Guest URL: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/shop/general-introductory-business-management/the-glory-of-giving-everything-the-taylor-swift-business-model-p-9781394331451

2. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Strictly Business KSVY - Owner, King's Nursery - Fred King

   We will talk about: 1. On this radio program, we love business history. King's Nursery is a 130-year-old, fourth-generation, family-owned retail plant business, the oldest continuing operating nursery in Sonoma County. You've worked there for 75 years, you've managed it for 55 years - Always a labor of love? 2. Once - more than 150 nurseries in the North Bay, especially after the war? Now there are about 15 in Sonoma County, only two in Santa Rosa? What happened? Why such a huge decrease? 3. Did you do things differently from your father after you took over management, especially as the competitive landscape in the nursery business has changed over the decades? How have your management methods changed over the years? 4. As your competition has lessened, have you expanded your inventory? Has your customer base diversified? 5. Tell us about your time hosting "Garden Talk" on various radio stations in the San Francisco area? What did listeners most want to know about? 6. Have consumer tastes for plants changed over the years? 7. Are consumers plant-knowledgeable when they come to shop? 8. Are your customers interested in California native plants? Are they interested in drought-tolerant plants? 9. How have the wildfires that have affected our region since 2017 had an impact on your business? 10. Has homeowners' insurance requirements for defensible space affected the plant choices they make or the volume they buy? 11. Has the downturn in the wine industry and the removal of so many acres of vines in the region had an impact on choices consumers make? 12. Are your customers primarily homeowners as opposed to farmers, professional landscapers or shopkeepers? Which plants sell best? 13. Has the mix of plants you carry changed over the years? If so, why? 14. Is there a seasonality to the nursery business? 15. Do customers show price sensitivity, especially during an inflationary period as we're experiencing now? If so, are they sensitive to the size of the plants or the volume of plants purchase? 16. What has been the impact of water conservation on plant selection and plant purchase frequency in recent years? 17. Has climate change affected the composition of plant sales over the years 18. What do you wish consumers understood better about plant health and plant longevity? 19. Is it painful to see homeowners replace lawns and/or plants with stones or artificial turf? Do you consider those moves to be unnecessary? 20. What would you advise a prospective new homeowner before she or he buys a new house regarding plants to purchase for landscaping purposes? 21. Do you find customers want plants for aesthetic purposes or for property value purposes? Or both? 22. What would you say is the most important ingredient in King's Nursery longevity? 23. King's Nursery is consistently rated the best in Sonoma County over the last 15 years - why? 24. Is there a fifth generation in the planning for succession? 25. Other issues you might want to discuss Guest URL: https://kingsflowernursery.com

3. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Strictly Business KSVY - Author: The Rush: California Gold: The Civil War and the Making of the Modern World

   Guest: Nathaniel Philbrick, Author: The Rush: California Gold: The Civil War and the Making of the Modern World 1. What attracted you to the topic - (over the course of nine months in 1849, Nantucket, once the whaling capital of the world, lost a quarter of its voting population to the gold fields, 600 Islanders sailed to California)?, 2. Given the title of your book, can you summarize the causation or connection between California Gold and the Civil War?, 3. Ultimately, is the book about the quest to control of economic resources of California, or is it about human prejudice and bigotry?, or both?, 4. What did the South want with California - what did the South want to do with California if it became a slave state?, 5. Slavery = low cost production for the South - ‘Cotton is King’ ... motivation for California interest?, 6. Your book spans a period of roughly 21 years: 1848 to 1869. It describes the scramble for wealth reshaped ideas of freedom, labor, and belonging. What had those ideas been? How did they change?, 7. Any pre-conceived notions about the place of the Gold Rush in history?, 8. Was what happened to Nantucket emblematic of other towns, cities and regions in the U.S.?, 9. The title - double meaning? 5 rushes: - 1) Gold Rush, 2) rush for profit, 3) the rush to get California to be a free state versus a slave state, 4) The rush for federal subsidies to build the Central Pacific Railroad, 5) The rush to hire Chinese laborers to build the Central Pacific Railroad, 10. How fast did gold move from a Sierra Nevada riverbed into an actual banking and credit system?, 11. Before CA - Historically, Congress tried to admit states in pairs (one free, one slave) to maintain a strict balance of power in the U.S. Senate; how/why CA was different?, 12. Origin of the Chivalry party, especially the name? 13. Villains - William Gwin, David Terry, Thomas Jefferson Green; heroes - David Broderick, JohnFremont, Elisha Crosby, Charles Duane, Mary Ellen Pleasant?, 14. Calhoun was right - why is he the only Southern politician mentioned?, 15. Comprise of 1850 - did CA have any other choice?, 16. CA border desire by Gwin - could it have worked?, 17. Act for the Government and Protection of Indians (1850) and The California Fugitive Slave Act of 1852 - what do they reveal about the boundaries of freedom in a "free" state? 18. What was the mechanism by which gold — as opposed to speeches or elections — tipped the balance of power in Washington?, 19. What does the Gold Rush teach us about how a resource boom reshapes a region's politics, not just its economy?, 20. In the election of 1860, the topic that concerned most Californians was the transcontinental railroad, not slavery in the Western territories. Is that right? 21. Attempted coup of 1861 - Do we owe the nation's salvation to Albert Sidney Johnston, who refused to surrender the forts under his control to the Chivalry And then led Confederate forces against William Tecumseh Sherman in the Battle of Shiloh? 22. Your writing strategy - personalize each chapter/situation?, draws readers in?, makes situations more understandable? - How do you choose the handful of individual characters who carry a sprawling historical narrative like this one? (the Rosales brothers, William "Billy Joe" Joseph, Samuel Brennan, Edwin Sherman, James Williams, John Rollin Ridge, William Tecumsah Sherman, Thomas Starr King and the Big Four)?, 23. 1858 - MN (Minnesota’s statehood bill was originally paired with Kansas); 1859 - OR (only state in U.S. history admitted with a constitution that explicitly banned Black people - amended in 1926); Kansas admitted into statehood in January 1861 as the 34th free state: wasn’t balance of free/slave states lost before the Civil War began (April 1861-April 1865)?, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602065/the-rush-by-nathaniel-philbrick/

Who has been a guest on Strictly Business on KSVY

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Jacob Yarrow
• Keven Brown
• Martha Olney
• Lillian Meyers
• Rich Moran

Podcast Authority Score: 43 / 100

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