Midway Business Podcast
Inspired by the turning point of the Battle of Midway in World War II, this podcast is on a mission to help small and midsize businesses win their own battles—against a shifting marketplace, an uncertain world, and the everyday hurdles of running and growing a business.
Hosted by Butch Zemar, CEO of Elite Benefits of America, each episode features candid conversations, tactical insights, and practical strategies from real business leaders. From adapting to change to tackling rising costs (including the ever-confusing world of health insurance), this podcast equips you to stay competitive, thrive, and maybe even enjoy the journey.
Inspired by the turning point of the Battle of Midway in World War II, this podcast is on a mission to help small and midsize businesses win their own battles—against a shifting marketplace, an uncertain world, and the everyday hurdles of running and growing a business.
Hosted by Butch Zemar, CEO of Elite Benefits of America, each episode features candid conversations, tactical insights, and practical strategies from real business leaders. From adapting to change to tackling rising costs (including the ever-confusing world of health insurance), this podcast equips you to stay competitive, thrive, and maybe even enjoy the journey.
Episodes
Friday Feb 20, 2026
Built to Run Without You or Not Built at All
Friday Feb 20, 2026
Friday Feb 20, 2026
Most companies say they want growth. What they often build is day-to-day exhaustion. This Midway Business Podcast explores why discipline beats heroics and why busting your hump without structure eventually hits a wall. High performance environments in your personal life or at work rely on repeatable systems to function efficiently, not personality driven effort. The lesson for leaders is clear: you cannot outwork a broken process, and you cannot scale intuition.
For leaders running fast but feeling stuck in the mud, this episode challenges a hard truth. If every approval, exception, and decision routes back to you, you are not leading, you are managing a bottleneck. Organizations that sustain growth build clear checkpoints, defined ownership, and timelines that prevent chaos from pretending to be productivity. The real question is not how hard your team is working. . . It is whether your business can function efficiently if you were to go on vacation.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Friday Feb 13, 2026
From Calendar Chaos to Predictable Results
Friday Feb 13, 2026
Friday Feb 13, 2026
Building a company that truly scales requires more than long hours and a packed calendar. Many founders stay stuck in the center of every decision, mistake activity for progress, and without realizing it, create bottlenecks that slow the very growth they are chasing. If your company feels busy all the time and stressed, this conversation will feel familiar.
It surfaces the patterns that quietly stall momentum, from delayed hiring and unclear accountability to poor processes, weak systems, and culture that drifts over time. It challenges the habit of saying “YES” to everything, avoiding hard conversations, and hoping growth alone will solve structural gaps. If you want a clearer view of what separates scalable companies from jumbled ones, this podcast offers perspective worth applying.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Friday Feb 13, 2026
Built to Scale or Built to Survive?
Friday Feb 13, 2026
Friday Feb 13, 2026
This episode opens with a blunt question most executive teams avoid: Are you actually busting your hump, or just operating at a level that feels intense but only produces average results? It challenges the illusion that being busy equals progress and explores why effort without real purpose and urgency quietly stalls growth. If your company believes showing up for the day is the same as advancing, this conversation will test that assumption.
For C-Suite leaders navigating growth, renewals, culture, and execution fatigue, this episode exposes the patterns that keep companies stuck in cycles of reaction and stalled growth. It talks through the doubts leaders quietly carry, the habit of sticking with what feels familiar, the tendency to relax after a good stretch instead of building on it, and the discipline it takes to consistently outperform competitors all year long. It will make you question whether your strategy is truly intentional or simply surviving quarter to quarter.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Saturday Feb 07, 2026
Why Some Teams Move Smoothly While Others Sprint
Saturday Feb 07, 2026
Saturday Feb 07, 2026
This episode pulls leaders out of the weeds and into the bigger picture about how real organizations actually function when pressure hits. High stakes environments that quietly expose why most businesses struggle not because people are incapable, but because roles get blurred, systems lag or don’t work, and everyone ends up doing different jobs they were never meant to do. The humor lands where it hurts a little, especially for executives who know their calendar is full yet still feel like they are reacting instead of leading.
For C-Suite leaders, this is not a how to guide or a checklist giveaway. It is a paradigm shift on why the chaos feels normal in many companies and why it doesn’t have to be. The narrative challenges the assumptions about people’s experience, loyalty, and work ethic, while showing how important it is to stay calm during the chaos. Repetition separates from the competition and allows them to scale because the work runs the same way every time, even when pressure shows up. If you have ever wondered why some teams run smoothly while others are always sprinting, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar in the best way.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Friday Jan 30, 2026
Why Adaptation Drives Momentum
Friday Jan 30, 2026
Friday Jan 30, 2026
Most executives know change is constant, yet many businesses still operate in the rear view mirror, avoiding the inevitable. This episode explores how organizations quietly fall behind by clinging to familiar tools and processes out of habit long after the marketplace has moved on. It shows how businesses evolve while leaders stay comfortable and confuse staying busy with real momentum.
This commentary challenges how leaders think about growth, sales, operations, and employee benefits without offering a checklist or a silver bullet fix. If you have ever felt friction in your business but could not pinpoint why results feel harder to achieve, this episode will hit the spot. If it feels like the right time to test your leadership assumptions in the face of change, tune in.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Friday Jan 23, 2026
Leading Without Surprises
Friday Jan 23, 2026
Friday Jan 23, 2026
Most leaders would never send their team into a high risk situation without training and a plan yet that is exactly how many businesses operate day-to-day. This episode helps leaders step out of autopilot and make deliberate decisions instead of rolling the dice. When things become uncomfortable or unclear, most organizations realize too late that silence and assumptions turn into expensive habits over time.
This podcast is not a checklist or a magic pill. It is for C-Suite leaders who know their business deserves stronger systems, more deliberate conversations, and fewer surprises. If you have ever wondered why smart teams still end up frustrated, exhausted, or reacting instead of advancing, this episode connects the dots and challenges where your leadership attention is truly being spent.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Thursday Jan 22, 2026
Why Broadcasting Matters More Than Ever
Thursday Jan 22, 2026
Thursday Jan 22, 2026
This episode pulls the iron curtain back on how modern broadcasting quietly became one of the most misunderstood tools in an executive toolbox. What once felt like it was run by the Wizard of Oz and massive budgets is now sitting right in front of you, yet many leaders are still thinking about it like it is 2005. The conversation explores how credibility, reputation, and visibility are really being created today, while attention spans shrink, patience disappears, and nobody sticks around just because you want them to.
For C-Suite leaders, this is not about becoming a media personality or chasing popularity metrics. It is about understanding how influence actually works in today’s marketplace and why controlling your message matters now more than just reach. Smart leaders are using content to build TRUST long before a salesperson ever picks up the phone or knocks on a door. If shouting from the rooftops is not getting anyone to listen, this perspective might be worth tuning into.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
The Leadership Bottleneck No One Sees
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
Most leaders say their biggest issue is their people. Hiring issues. Engagement issues. Execution issues. The funny thing is the longer you talk about it, the more that answer starts to fall apart. Growth stalls. Meetings multiply like rabbits. Decisions slow down. And somehow the same problems keep showing up in new disguises. Eventually the excuses get uncomfortable and that is usually where leadership either levels up or stays stuck.
This episode pulls back the iron curtain on why so many companies quietly stall and why working harder eventually stops producing better outcomes. It explores how success can set new bars and why experience can either speed things up or trap leaders into familiar patterns that only feel productive. If you run a company and want clear perspective without the noise, this will change how you see what is really slowing things down.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Friday Dec 12, 2025
Break the Routine Before It Breaks You
Friday Dec 12, 2025
Friday Dec 12, 2025
This episode of the Midway Business Podcast takes leaders on a fast moving tour through creativity, innovation, and the surprising ways progress actually happens. From military history to real life business moments, Butch reminds us that playing it safe rarely wins the day. His message encourages you to question the routines you defend, the habits you never challenge, and the decisions that feel comfortable simply because they are familiar.
This is a subtle but powerful invitation to sharpen your thinking before the next big meeting lands on your desk. The episode delivers insight with a relatable style that keeps you engaged without giving away the playbook. If you want to lead with more clarity, avoid expensive blind spots, and stay a few steps ahead of the competition, this episode is worth your time.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.
Friday Nov 21, 2025
Mistakes Happen, Excuses Shouldn’t
Friday Nov 21, 2025
Friday Nov 21, 2025
In business, mistakes are not the enemy. Failing to learn from them is. The best companies treat every setback like data, not drama. Winning organizations review their missteps, refine their process, and keep moving forward while everyone else is still arguing about what went wrong. It is less about perfection and more about persistence. Success comes from repeating what works, improving what does not, and sticking to the plan even when it feels easy.
Growth and scale come from systems, not streaks. The marketplace rewards structure, adaptability, and discipline, not wishful thinking or luck. Leaders who evaluate, adjust, and execute consistently are the ones who build lasting momentum. Their strategy earns results and often sets the tone for an entire culture.
For more information, please contact us at EliteBenefits.net or call 708-535-3006.

About the Host: Butch Zemar
Butch Zemar is the go-to expert for helping small and midsize businesses make sense of health insurance—and save money doing it. With over 15 years of experience, he’s known for being strategic, innovative, and genuinely committed to helping businesses get the best bang for their benefits buck.
Butch wears many hats: podcast host who’s passionate about paying it forward to business owners, industry expert, writer, and speaker who keeps things real and practical. He’s earned awards and recognition but prefers to let his work speak for itself.
For more information, please visit elitebenefits.net or call: 888-535-3006.









