The Black Sheep Network

They gave you the roadmap to success. You followed it. It worked. And something still felt off. You are not broken . You are a Black Sheep . The Black Sheep Network is for people who never fully fit inside the approved version of success. The ones told to tone it down, follow the script, stay in their lane. Hosted by Aleasha Bahr, creator of Black Sheep Sales, this podcast features real conversations with disruptors who stopped performing and started building on their own terms. They did not pivot. They chose themselves. This is where mindset shifts, boundaries, and unconventional strategies lead to real results without self-abandonment. 🎙️ The Black Sheep Network Where genius thrives because we stopped following the crowd.

The Black Sheep Network is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 21 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts The Black Sheep Network, a business show with 21 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #21

  Building a Law Firm From Zero Clients: On Relationships, Risk, and Reinvention with Paloma Goggins

  Sep 24, 202631 min

  A lot of traditional law firms say they value fresh thinking. They just seem far less interested once the fresh thinking comes from the youngest person in the room. In this episode of The Black Sheep Network, I sit down with Paloma Goggins, founder of Nocturnal Legal, a boutique M&A firm helping business owners navigate exits, acquisitions, and generational transitions. Early in her legal career, Paloma began questioning systems that everyone else appeared willing to accept. Her suggestions made sense. The resistance she encountered had very little to do with whether those suggestions would work. So what happens when you can clearly see a better way, but the people with authority refuse to look? In this episode, we talk about the hidden cost of hierarchy, the career advice Paloma chose not to follow, and the reality of building a firm before you have the network people assume you need. We also explore a question that rarely receives enough attention in mergers and acquisitions: what are you actually inheriting when you buy a business? The contracts may tell you what you own but that is a very small part of a successful merger. Paloma sheds light on the rest. KEY POINTS WE COVER: How Paloma found her way from psychology into law What happens when seniority carries more weight than new ideas The fear-based advice that could have changed the course of her career Building a relationship-driven firm without a ready-made network The decisions that can complicate an acquisition after the contracts are signed How long should you keep adapting to a system before you admit the system has no intention of adapting with you? Press play to hear what Paloma did when accepting the established way stopped making sense. ABOUT THE GUEST Paloma Goggins is a transition consultant and founder of Nocturnal Legal, a boutique law firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions. She helps business owners navigate exiting their business, or transitioning ownership to the next generation or a key employee, with a focus on what happens well after the deal closes, not just the valuation. If you're thinking about buying or selling a business, Paloma offers a free call to talk through where you are in the process. Learn more or schedule time at nocturnallegal.com If this conversation made you think differently about sales, leadership, or the way people are wired to connect, take Aleasha Bahr's Sales Personality Assessment to discover your natural sales style and how to use it to your advantage: https://assessment.aleashabahr.com/salespersonality Leading a sales team? Sometimes the biggest obstacle isn't your process. It's having the right people in the wrong roles. Book a complimentary Sales Team Audit with Aleasha to uncover the gaps that may be costing you opportunities: https://calendly.com/aleasha/salesteam-levelup [00:04:00] The trade-off between entrepreneurial unpredictability and freedom [00:04:30] How a psychology lab pushed Paloma toward law school instead [00:07:00] Why law firms are so slow to change, and what finally drove her to start her own practice [00:08:00] Hierarchy, ego, and why a young associate's good idea gets dismissed [00:10:00] Pitching a project visibility system and getting looked at "like I had three heads" [00:11:30] "I had to do it, so you have to too" — the generational trauma of law firm culture [00:12:00] Moving in-house and the scare tactics about never being able to go back [00:15:00] "There's always a better way" — why the people discouraging you are often talking about themselves [00:16:00] Celebrating three years in business and the fear that almost delayed it [00:17:00] Starting a firm with zero client Rolodex [00:18:00] Why law school never teaches you sales, but every lawyer's income depends on it [00:19:00] Building a business as a woman in a new market, and why not every city is equal [00:20:00] Relationship-based business: giving first vs. asking "what's in it for me" [00:21:00] The fun and the friction of finally implementing the systems she always wanted [00:23:00] Why fresh perspective (and being new) is an asset, not a liability [00:24:00] How Paloma approaches M&A differently, and why the deal is just the starting point #BlackSheepNetwork #MergersAndAcquisitions #BusinessExitPlanning #WomenInLaw #WomenBusinessOwners #SmallBusinessTransition #EntrepreneurLife #BuildingABusiness #LegalIndustry #BusinessSuccession #SellingYourBusiness #FounderStory #BlackSheepPodcast #RelationshipBasedBusiness #DealClosing #M&AStrategy

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  Episode #20

  Gen Z, AI, and the Future of Workplace Skills with Laura Massetti

  Sep 10, 202631 min

  Gen Z has entered the workforce and with 4 different generations now in one office - it’s presenting a problem. Especially because there’s so many unspoken rules we take for granted. Like when to speak in a meeting. What “professional” actually means. How much of yourself you’re allowed to bring to work. When leaving at 5:00 suddenly becomes a question of commitment. Most of us learned by getting something wrong and having someone tell us before we made the same mistake twice. In this episode of The Black Sheep Network, I sit down with Laura Massetti, founder of Real Work Ready™ and creator of the Workplace Performance Model™, to talk about what happens when a new generation stops accepting that arrangement. After two C-level roles and years of leading and evaluating teams, Laura has seen just how much career success depends on skills that rarely make it into a job description, onboarding or training. And with AI changing how early-career employees learn on the job, those missing lessons are causing a much bigger impact on companies than ever anticipated. Gen Z is providing a unique opportunity to understand if the traditional unspoken rules are even a standard we should accept and for companies to succeed they have to adjust. Listen to this episode to discover: Why Gen Z doesn’t understand the office etiquette we all accepted Examples of constructive conversations that make all the difference in performance What companies removed from early career development without realizing what would be lost - and how to add it back in for successful employees If you’re finding yourself challenged with how to engage and retain the newest members of our work force, you’re not alone, and this episode is for you. Are your early-career employees ready for the realities of work? Connect with Laura Massetti to close the gap between potential and performance: Laura is the founder of Real Work Ready™, a company helping early-career professionals navigate a workplace where the traditional entry-level learning experience has increasingly been automated away. The hands-on tasks and opportunities to learn alongside senior colleagues that once helped young professionals understand how the workplace operates are disappearing, but the expectations placed on them remain the same. As a two-time C-level executive who has written performance reviews and evaluated employees firsthand, Laura developed The Workplace Performance Model™ based on what she observed behind the scenes. Originally from New York, she now runs her company from Italy. Website: realworkready.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauramassetti/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Realworkreadyhq Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realworkreadyhq/ Key Timestamps [00:01:00] Intro to Laura Massetti, founder of Real Work Ready [00:02:00] Four generations, one office, and why "managers just need to adjust" misses the real problem [00:04:00] What growing up fully digital actually cost Gen Z [00:06:00] The 6 percent stat that reframes what Gen Z wants from a career entirely [00:07:00] The Dutch office story that says everything about American work culture [00:10:00] Laura's first internship and the meeting where she learned to stay quiet [00:13:00] The thirteen-month exit and what it's actually costing companies [00:15:00] The mentoring mistake Laura made trying to give back what she'd been given [00:19:00] Why doing a good job was never actually the whole job [00:20:00] AI as the great equalizer, and what that means for what gets you promoted now [00:21:00] The illegal thing that got Laura fired, and nobody called it what it was [00:22:00] The nail polish story, and the real problem hiding underneath it [00:25:00] Why real-time feedback matters more to this generation than any annual review ever did #GenZAtWork #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #BlackSheepNetwork #CareerGrowth #AIandCareers #SoftSkillsMatter #WorkplacePerformance #GenerationalGap #UnwrittenRules #RealWorkReady

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  Episode #19

  The Truth Behind Burn Out for High Achievers with Hannah Abad

  Aug 27, 202630 min

  She hit a deep burnout while loving everything she was doing. Nothing about it felt wrong and that is exactly what made it so dangerous. It’s the specific trap Hannah Abad has spent fifteen years pulling high achievers out of. In this episode of The Black Sheep Network, I sat down with Hannah Abad, founder of Hannah Abad Coaching and a fifteen year certified coach for high achieving, excellence driven leaders. Hannah built her career doing everything right. She signed on with a coaching agency, gave it her all, and was carrying forty to sixty clients at once within a few years. She called that a win at the time, and in some ways it was. It also nearly wrecked her. She left that agency, built her own practice determined to do it differently, and hit burnout again within two years. That second collapse is what led her to the discovery that changed everything: the connection between our nervous system and the way we work, lead, and live. Listen in to discover why: Stress is simply the socially acceptable word for fear, and most high achievers are running their entire business on it The exhaustion, autoimmune flare ups, and hormone crashes she sees in ninety percent of her clients are not random. How to access your zone of genius through rest instead of hypervigilance She is a shining example of what it looks like to build success that doesn’t cost you your health. The solution is not to want less. Ambition is never the problem - it’s the fear driving it underneath it. If you have ever felt like your only way to succeed is pushing, scrapping and fighting your way through it, this episode is for you. Connect with Hannah Abad: Website: hannahabadcoaching.com Instagram: @hannahabadcoaching Key Timestamps [00:01:00] Intro to Hannah Abad, founder of Hannah Abad Coaching [00:02:00] Why this conversation matters even if you are not a 'leader' [00:03:00] Her non-traditional path out of photojournalism and into coaching [00:04:00] Carrying forty to sixty clients at once and calling it a win [00:05:00] Hitting deep burnout four years in and wanting to burn it all down [00:06:00] The real warning sign of burnout: not caring about what you built [00:07:00] Choosing to find a radically different way instead of quitting [00:09:00] Building her own practice and hitting burnout again within two years [00:10:00] A high risk deployment, a 'miracle' pregnancy, and launching a company at the same time [00:11:00] Why stress is just the socially acceptable word for fear [00:13:00] The mental load women carry and why we override our own needs [00:16:00] Autoimmune conditions, hormone crashes, and the body's last resort [00:17:00] The fear based sales training story and what adrenaline actually costs [00:18:00] Redefining what healthy performance actually looks like [00:20:00] Why eight hours of sleep somehow became 'high maintenance' [00:22:00] Swimming upstream against the norms you built for yourself [00:23:00] Why hypervigilance feels safer than peace [00:25:00] What happens in your brain in a true safety state [00:27:00] Rest and play as fuel for your creative genius [00:29:00] Where to find and connect with Hannah #BlackSheepNetwork #BurnoutRecovery #NervousSystemRegulation #HighAchievers #PeakPerformance #TraumaInformedCoaching #WomenInBusiness #EntrepreneurMindset #RestIsProductive #LeadershipDevelopment #NervousSystemHealing #BlackSheepSales

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  Episode #18

  Money Is a Frequency: How Staying Aligned Built a $100 Million Music Catalog Business with Kendall Newsome

  Aug 13, 202627 min

  There is a version of success that almost every industry rewards. Look the part. Protect your own interests. Follow the playbook. Do business the way it's always been done. Then there are the people who decide that if the rules are built on gatekeeping, they aren't worth following in the first place. In this episode of The Black Sheep Network, I sat down with Kendall Newsome, founder and CEO of NSU Global, the world's largest music catalog brokerage. He has structured and executed more than $100 million in transactions across a network of 165+ institutional buyers, representing artists, producers, and rights holders at the highest level. But Kendall didn't build his reputation by becoming another broker in a tailored suit. He built it by staying an artist - something he was successful at when he was only 12 years old. So, when a childhood friend suggested he start selling music catalogs, Kendall had no idea what that even meant. He was handed almost no roadmap and told to figure it out. Instead of trying to blend into an industry dominated by finance professionals, he leaned into the perspective no one else could offer: he knew exactly what it felt like to create the work people were buying. Listen in to discover why: He refused to trade authenticity for credibility, even when people told him his branding was "too much" for the industry. He intentionally charges a fraction of what many brokers charge because trust compounds faster than greed ever will. Doing the right thing meant making the uncomfortable phone call, telling an artist that the people meant to protect them might actually be standing in their way - is part of what has made him so wildly successful. He is a shining example of why Black Sheep are so successful. They don’t break the rules for attention - they break them because they no longer serve the people they're supposed to protect. Kendall proves that you don't build an extraordinary reputation by looking like everyone else in the room. You build it by standing firmly in your values long after everyone else has learned to compromise theirs. If you've ever felt pressure to become someone else in order to be taken seriously, this conversation is proof that the qualities people tell you to tone down may be the very reason you succeed. Connect with Kendall Newsome: Website: nsu.global Instagram: @bigkeezy Twitter/X: @iamdakidk YouTube: youtube.com/dakidk Key Timestamps [00:01:00] Intro to Kendall Newsome, founder and CEO of NSU Global [00:02:00] Starting his music journey at 12 years old [00:04:00] His mom padding out the basement shoe closet for his first studio [00:06:00] Dealing with doubt in a suburb with no breakthrough artists before him [00:07:00] Moving to Florida at 19, a torn ACL, and a new baby [00:08:00] The childhood friend who told him to start selling music catalogs [00:09:00] Getting thrown in with no direction and figuring it out himself [00:11:00] Refusing to trade his artist identity for a suit [00:12:00] The yacht and champagne video his mentor tried to talk him out of [00:14:00] Why some brokers take advantage of artists in bad financial spots [00:16:00] Why he charges a fraction of what other brokers charge, and why it works [00:17:00] 146 clients, 5 percent, and why fairness outperforms greed [00:19:00] The third customer: buyers, artists, and the managers in between [00:21:00] Calling an artist directly when a manager was blocking a deal [00:22:00] Staying rooted in his principles after 20 years in the business [00:23:00] Why some people lose themselves the moment they get power [00:25:00] "Money is a frequency": staying aligned instead of chasing

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  Episode #17

  Zero-to-$1M in a Year (With No Ads): Build a Black Sheep Business with Mark Stern

  Jul 30, 202628 min

  There is a version of success that looks flawless on paper: a Duke MBA, a career at Deloitte, and a résumé filled with leadership positions. Then there is the version no one sees: waking up at 3 a.m. convinced the life you've worked so hard to build is no longer the one you want. In this episode of The Black Sheep Network, I sit down with Mark Stern, founder and CEO of Custom Box Agency and host of Dash Talks Live, to talk about intuition, identity, and the courage to walk away from a path that looks perfect from the outside. Mark shares the story behind leaving corporate consulting with no backup plan, how an unexpected customer behavior completely reshaped his business, and why ignoring expert advice became one of the best decisions he ever made. We also dive into what he learned from the world of guru marketing, the difference between building a business that attracts attention versus one that earns trust, and why the best opportunities often appear where no one else is looking. If you've ever questioned whether you're on the right path, or wondered if your instincts are trying to tell you something your résumé never could, this conversation is for you. The Black Sheep Moments The childhood side hustle that hinted at Mark's entrepreneurial mindset. The 3 a.m. realization that changed the course of his career. Why he walked away from corporate consulting without a safety net. The unexpected discovery that led to an entirely different business. Choosing instinct over expert advice. Growing a seven-figure company through relationships instead of paid ads. Why retention will always outperform hype. Promotional products need to be so much more than swag to be effective Some of the best business decisions don't make sense until you stop trying to fit someone else's definition of success. Connect with Mark Stern: Custom Box Agency: customboxagency.com Find him on LinkedIn: Mark R. Stern (look for the guy who "looks like Ned Flanders" — glasses and a mustache) If this conversation made you think differently about sales, leadership, or the way people are wired to connect, take Aleasha Bahr's Sales Personality Assessment to discover your natural sales style and how to use it to your advantage: https://assessment.aleashabahr.com/salespersonality Leading a sales team? Sometimes the biggest obstacle isn't your process. It's having the right people in the wrong roles. Book a complimentary Sales Team Audit with Aleasha to uncover the gaps that may be costing you opportunities: https://calendly.com/aleasha/salesteam-levelup [00:03:00] The Furby arbitrage story: entrepreneurial instincts as a kid [00:04:00] The "natural progression" script Mark followed to the letter [00:05:00] 2012: $165K in debt, locked into a two-year contract, working 24/7 [00:07:00] The 3am wake-up: sweating, crying, and a premonition this job would kill him [00:09:00] Starting a virtual events business and hating the model he built [00:10:00] The mailed booklet that accidentally revealed the future of the business [00:15:00] Pain and shame selling vs. building real evangelists through retention [00:17:00] Two businesses, one identity crisis: "Are you the box guy or the virtual event guy?" [00:19:00] The pivot: going all-in on Custom Box Agency during COVID's "bloody red" market [00:21:00] Trusting his gut after a lifetime of "what does the data say?" [00:25:00] Standing out by doing the thing everyone tells you not to do [00:27:00] Where to find Mark and work with Custom Box Agency #BlackSheepNetwork #Entrepreneurship #TrustYourGut #CorporateToEntrepreneur #CustomBoxAgency #BusinessPivot #FounderStory #DeloitteAlum #StudentLoanDebt #WordOfMouthMarketing #CustomerExperience #BusinessGrowth #ScaleWithoutAds #RetentionOverAcquisition #BlackSheepPodcast #EntrepreneurMindset #GutInstinct #StartupJourney

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