
Idea to Action
A CO.STARTERS Podcast
Starting a business is hard, but it shouldn’t be complicated. Idea to Action is the podcast for anyone thinking about entrepreneurship—whether it’s your dream for the future or your reality right now. In each episode, CO.STARTERS CEO Jose Alfaro and guests will dive into various hurdles and questions that new entrepreneurs face, enabling you to tackle them with clarity as they arise for your own business.
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Our Latest Episodes

Episode 6 | Motivation alone can't grow your business. Here's what will.
Entrepreneurship can be a difficult road—what keeps you going when the path gets rocky? In this episode of Idea to Action, we talked to Michael Woodham, a serial entrepreneur in Columbus, Georgia. Before his turn to entrepreneurship, Michael worked a hectic service industry job that made spending quality time with his daughter feel impossible. With the help of Ben MacMinn, StartUP Columbus, and the local community, Michael found a fulfilling path in entrepreneurship—and found his internal drive in the people who matter most.
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Episode 5 | Sometimes to win, you have to admit you’ve lost.
What should you do when things start to look bleak? When Michael and Cherita Rice started Mad Priest Coffee Roasters in 2015, they didn’t anticipate facing so many bumps in the road. In this episode, we talked to Michael and Cherita about how a surprising messaging strategy saved the business when it looked like the end, and how even failure isn’t always the end of the journey.
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Episode 4 | The biggest marketing mistake small businesses make
In this episode of Idea to Action we talk to Kirby Caroll, an innovative brand strategist who’s worked for companies ranging from small businesses to multi-billion dollar companies. We talked to Kirby about the power of branding—and how your small business can use the power of brand to win over your customer’s heart. If cracking the marketing mystery is a challenge for you, we promise you’ll find insight and inspiration in this conversation.
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Episode 3 | To go far in business, dream big—but start small.
Upon starting her dream business—an authentic Indian restaurant—Sujata Singh made a major impact in Chattanoooga’s food industry. On this episode of Idea to Action, Rebekah talks with Sujata about starting small with an Indian food pop up—and how that led to her own storefront. They discuss the challenges of bringing ethnic food to a southeastern city with only a tiny Asian population, as well as how customer feedback enabled Sujata to quickly pivot and adapt to a challenging market. Join us on this episode with another exciting journey of taking this idea to action.
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Episode 2 | From passion to patent: The power of community in an entrepreneur’s success
Welcome back to the Idea to Action podcast! After her son almost choked to death, Felicia Jackson became driven to help parents around the world avoid the unthinkable. In this episode, Jose talks with Felicia about how she was able to turn her idea, a CPR assistance product, into reality with very little money. And it all has to do with the supportive business community around her. If all you have is an idea and plenty of passion behind it, this story is for you!
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Episode 1 | The secret to growing your business isn’t what you think.
Welcome to the first official episode of the Idea to Action podcast! On today's show, our host Jose Alfaro talks with Brienne Maner, President at Startup Sioux Falls, and Rhiannon Israel, Owner of The Relocation Companion. We will explore how Rhiannon grew her own business from a local business to a national relocation agency, the struggles she faced, and how a powerful ally in the business community helped turn her dream into reality. Join us as we journey through this business owner’s process of moving from idea to action!
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Interested in starting your own business? Then this is the podcast for you!
Welcome to the Idea to Action podcast! In this introductory episode, CO.STARTERS CEO Jose Alfaro speaks with Rebekah Marr and Enoch Elwell, the company’s co-founders. They discuss why they started CO.STARTERS, the purpose of this podcast, and what they’ve learned over a decade of helping people transform their lives through entrepreneurship.
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