The Authority X-Factor Podcast

Finding the Soul of a Brand: How Stephen Pruitt Brings Human Connection to the World's Biggest Companies

In this episode of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, host Kelly Schuknecht sits down with Stephen Pruitt, Principal at Mountain View Group, whose career took him from sweeping studio floors and doing construction work to pay rent, to co-owning a creative consultancy that has led brand communication strategy for Coca-Cola, GE Healthcare, and UPS over the past 18 years. Stephen's story is one of curiosity, reinvention, and learning to bring genuine human connection into spaces that too often default to corporate speak.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Stephen's Authority X-Factor: translating corporate strategy into communication that real people can actually feel
His take on AI and where it falls dangerously short in brand and communications work
The documentary filmmaking background that shaped how he listens, interviews, and tells stories
How he went from freelance producer to co-owner of Mountain View Group and what that transition really felt like
A behind-the-scenes look at a major client engagement and the impact it had on employee culture
His formula for winning enterprise clients — and why it has almost nothing to do with pitching
The one piece of advice he'd give his day-one self
Resources:
Mountain View Group Website: https://mountainviewgroup.com
Connect with Stephen Pruitt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenapruitt/
Connect with Kelly Schuknecht:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht
Buy Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0el8IVIm
Website: https://twomilehighmarketing.com | https://kellyschuknecht.com
Subscribe to The Authority X-Factor Podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review if this episode added value to you!

The Expertise Flywheel: How Ben Cash Turned a Trombone Degree into a Mission-Driven Digital Agency

In this episode of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, host Kelly Schuknecht sits down with Ben Cash, co-founder and CEO of Reason One, a certified B Corp digital agency to explore how a classically trained musician with half a doctorate in trombone ended up leading one of the most specialized and mission-driven agencies in the healthcare and nonprofit digital space. Ben's story is one of deliberate reinvention, the courage to niche down, and what happens when purpose, passion, and expertise finally align around the same north star.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Ben's Authority X-Factor and how he built an "expertise flywheel" inside Reason One. 
Why going from "purpose-adjacent" to truly specialized required Ben to lead by example first.
The personal experience that lit a fire under Ben's healthcare focus.
How Reason One's B Corp certification became more than a feel-good framework, and how it directly informs their mission to increase equity and access to care through digital experiences
The T-shaped agency model Ben swears by
What changed when Ben stopped running projects and started running the business, and how a 2016 Bureau of Digital event was the wake-up call that made him finally grow up as a CEO
The one thing Ben would tell his day-one self
How the parallel between music and digital work shaped Ben's entire approach to craft, collaboration, and communication, and why he got into building websites the same way he got into playing trombone
Resources:
Reason One Website: https://reason1inc.com
For the Better Podcast: https://forthebetter.com
Connect with Ben Cash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencash
B Corp Movement: https://www.bcorporation.net
Bureau of Digital: https://thebureau.community
EOS Operating System: https://www.eosworldwide.com
Connect with Kelly Schuknecht:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht
Buy Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0el8IVIm
Website: https://twomilehighmarketing.com | https://kellyschuknecht.com
Subscribe to The Authority X-Factor Podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review if this episode added value to you!

How Lance Robbins Turned a Portfolio Career into a Fractional HR Empire

In this episode of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, host Kelly Schuknecht reconnects with Lance Robbins, Partner to Executive leadership, Co-founder of KeelHR, and host of the Fractional podcast, to unpack how a self-described "expert generalist" built a portfolio career spanning reforestation, web development agencies, and biotech HR across six countries before launching two businesses of his own. Lance's story is one of deliberate reinvention and range over specialization, and in this candid conversation he shares why never feeling like a specialist turned out to be his greatest professional asset, and Kelly's too, as Lance was the very first coach she turned to when she launched her own business. In this episode, you'll discover: • Lance's Authority X-Factor • The career arc that took Lance from managing 300-person reforestation crews across the American Southeast to recruiting 100+ senior WordPress engineers to leading HR strategy across a six-country biotech startup • Why fractional HR leaders keep getting handed payroll and I-9s when their real value is strategy and how that gap became the founding insight behind KeelHR • How KeelHR works, who it's built for (10–100 employees), which industries are the best fit, and how it functions as a complement to and not a replacement for a PEO • The origin story of the Fractional podcast • Why Lance's personal brand grew organically rather than strategically, and what that teaches us about authentic authority building • Lance's advice to his day-one self • Kelly shares how Lance's coaching shaped her first year in business and why having someone just a few steps ahead of you on the path is one of the most underrated investments a new entrepreneur can makeResources: • KeelHR Website: https://keelhr.com • Fractional Podcast: https://fractional.fm • Connect with Lance Robbins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lancerobbins • Book mentioned — Range by David Epstein: https://davidepstein.com/the-range Connect with Kelly Schuknecht: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht • Buy Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0el8IVIm • Website: https://twomilehighmarketing.com | https://kellyschuknecht.com Subscribe to The Authority X-Factor Podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review if this episode added value to you!

How Beth Trejo Built a Nationally Recognized Social Media Agency on Relationships

In this episode of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, host Kelly Schuknecht sits down with Beth Trejo, CEO of Chatterkick, keynote speaker, podcaster, and multi-year honoree on the Top 50 CEOs for Women list to explore how she built a nationally recognized, fully remote social media agency by staying relentlessly human in an increasingly digital world. Beth's story is one of accidental entrepreneurship, courageous hiring, and building a company culture that was designed from day one to eliminate the barriers she herself faced, including launching a business while pregnant with a complicated pregnancy and navigating a male-dominated agency space where she was often the only woman in the room. In this episode, you'll discover: • Beth's Authority X-Factor• How three years at a Chamber of Commerce became the unexpected foundation for Chatterkick, and why asking "how can I help?" is the most powerful business development tool available • The truth about hiring your first employee• Why Beth intentionally capped her team at around 20 people and built a fully remote culture that spans the country and beyond • The "go three times deeper" content strategy Beth teaches for building genuine thought leadership on social media • Her philosophy on speaking: "You're either free or extremely expensive", and what that really means for building authority • What Beth would tell her day-one self: slow down, look around, and enjoy the ride Resources: • Chatterkick Website: https://chatterkick.com • Chatterkick Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chatterkick • Chatterkick Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatterkick/ • Chatterkick TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chatterkick • Chatterkick YouTube:  @chatterkick8780  • Chatterkick X: https://x.com/Chatterkick • Get the Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor Book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0briTsEq • Connect with Beth Trejo on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/bethtrejo • Email Beth: beth@chatterkick.com Connect with Kelly Schuknecht: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht • Buy the Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0el8IVIm • Website: https://twomilehighmarketing.com | https://kellyschuknecht.com Subscribe to The Authority X-Factor Podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review if this episode added value to you!

From Graphic Designer to Home Service Specialist: Ben Kalkman’s Multi-Million Dollar Agency Blueprint

In this debut episode of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, host Kelly Schuknecht sits down with Ben Kalkman, founder and CEO of Rocket Media, to pull back the curtain on a 20-year journey from bootstrapped graphic designer to one of the most recognized names in home services marketing.
Ben shares the serendipitous, sometimes accidental decisions that shaped his career: the missed architecture lab class that introduced him to graphic design, the handyman work he did in the mornings while building Rocket Media at night, and the ego battle he fought before fully embracing a niche that he once thought was "too unglamorous." Today, Rocket Media serves clients in five core home service trades such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, and security with an average client retention of 10–12 years.
In this episode, you'll discover:• What Ben considers his Authority X-Factor• Why Ben intentionally capped his agency at 50 employees and why that decision is the real secret behind his retention numbers• How serving recession-resilient, essential-service businesses kept Rocket Media insulated during economic downturns and COVID• The "energetic educator" personal brand Ben has built by giving away knowledge freely rather than hoarding a "secret sauce"• Ben's four-wall personal purpose framework• The emerging venture where Ben is channeling his obsession with AI into a new business helping others apply the technology• The one thing 2026 Ben would tell 2002 Ben
Ben also shares his personal website BensAIBrain.com, where he documents AI experiments across his business and family life including using AI to help design and build a treehouse with his nine children over spring break.
Resources:• Rocket Media Website: rocketmedia.com• Rocket Media LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/rocket-media• Rocket Media Facebook: facebook.com/RocketMedia• Ben's AI Brain: bensaibrain.com• Bureau of Digital: https://thebureau.community/• DISC Profile assessment framework: https://www.everythingdisc.com/• Connect with Ben Kalkman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalkman• Book a call: https://timewithben.com
Connect with Kelly Schuknecht:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht• Buy the Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor on Amazon: • Website: twomilehighmarketing.com | kellyschuknecht.com
Subscribe to The Authority X-Factor Podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review if this episode added value to you!

Welcome to The Authority X-Factor Podcast with Kelly Schuknecht

In this debut episode of The Authority X-Factor Podcast, host Kelly Schuknecht introduces herself, the show, and the idea at the heart of everything, your authority x-factor.
Kelly spent years as what she calls "the person behind the person," working in the shadows to build other people's empires, sharpen their messages, and help them become the go-to experts in their fields. It wasn't until she realized that invisibility is a role you can outgrow that everything changed for her career, her business, and now this podcast.
 
This episode is an invitation. If you're a CEO, consultant, or expert who knows you have deep value to offer and you're ready to be the go-to name in your industry, Kelly lays out exactly what this show is, who it's for, and what you can expect every week. 
 
In this episode, you'll discover:
How Kelly defines the Authority X-Factor
Why being a "replaceable service provider" is not a permanent identity 
Who this podcast is built for
What to expect each week
Why human connection is your greatest competitive advantage in a noisy world
Kelly also shares the recent release of her book, Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor, and what it meant to finally hold it in her hands after years of living and learning the concepts inside it
Resources:
Buy Unlocking Your Authority X-Factor on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0el8IVIm
Connect with Kelly Schuknecht:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyschuknecht
Website: https://twomilehighmarketing.com | https://kellyschuknecht.com
Subscribe to The Authority X-Factor Podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review if this episode added value to you!