Podcasts about Bottleneck

We sit down with Mark, a digital sculptor who stumbled into the craft during the pandemic and turned late-night experiments of “Dreams” into a thriving career. What started as tinkering with clay shifted into the world of digital sculpting, where Mark now balances family life, a full-time job as a news director, and collaborations with major companies like Bottleneck and Mondo.We get to see the art and hustle behind toy design, from navigating licensing loopholes and copyright quirks to chasing down big ideas before someone else does. Get ready for an inside look at how creativity, collaboration, and community shape the toy scene, including highlights from their own team-up on the Casey Jones/Star Wars mashup that went viral.Whether you're curious about sculpting, fascinated by the toy world, or just love hearing about people carving out their passions, this episode delivers laughs, insights, and plenty of behind-the-scenes secrets.On Instagram: @morehorrificThis Episode is Sponsored by: Empire Blisters – Your go-to source for blister packaging! With 19+ styles and bundle deals, they've got everything you need to make your toys shine. Use code TOYSONTAP10 at checkout for 10% off. Patreon members get 20% off another reason to join!Want to become a sponsor? Email: toysontappodcast@gmail.comSupport the Show on Patreon Unlock exclusive episodes, early access, and behind-the-scenes content: patreon.com/toysontapThanks to Our Supporters: @dketoys | @massiveminihorse | @dimensionxtoys @bootlegtoyco | @pocket_salsa | @dirtyyetti @dan_overdorff_art | @zimotco | @barbarian_rage @mannycartoonstudios | @pickmansvinyls Shaun C. Downey | @richiemanic | @recollectiontoys @rubbercitytoys | @acid9toys | @teneki_toys @angryhedgehogRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!

Is your QA team really slowing down delivery, or are they just revealing the cracks in your development process? In this episode of Arguing Agile, we're talking about one of the most persistent myths in software development and reveal why QA teams are often unfairly blamed for systemic issues.We explore:The shift-left movement and why QA belongs in customer conversationsHow collaboration breakdowns create false bottlenecks Why treating QA as a cost center backfiresReal strategies for breaking the cycle of blameThe hidden value QA brings to lean startup principlesFrom waterfall thinking to modern agile practices, we break down why QA teams are actually your best allies in creating customer value - if you let them.#QualityAssurance #AgileCoaching #ProductManagementREFERENCESArguing Agile 211 - Communication is Product's Only Job)Arguing Agile 201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication and ManagementArguing Agile 199 - W. Edwards Deming's Profound Knowledge for Transforming OrganizationsLINKSYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagileSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Website: http://arguingagile.comINTRO MUSICToronto Is My BeatBy Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Send Jackie A Message!You can't scale your studio if every decision requires your sign-off. In this episode Jackie explains the simple, powerful habit she calls The Leadership Pause:  a Micro-Habit that changes how your team shows up, makes decisions, and owns results. If you're tired of being the default problem-solver, this episode gives three practical shifts (ask first, replace approval with ownership, default to execute) and real scripts you can use the moment a teacher, VA, or manager asks for direction.What you'll hear:Why leaders accidentally become bottlenecks (and how that slows growth)The three micro-strategies that create ownership and speed on your teamReal examples from Colleague, Clients, and Jackie's own team Exact scripts you can use with your team todayA safe, step-by-step way to build a more independent team without making anyone feel abandonedWant to practice this live? Join Jackie's free Three Marketing Mistakes workshop on August 14 — link in the show notes.Work with Jackie Murphy Say Hi on Instagram @studioceoofficial Learn about The Studio CEO Program Click here to learn more about our Free Marketing Webinar

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Are you a CEO still caught in the weeds of day-to-day operations? If so, you're not building a truly scalable business. Today's episode is here to help you shift that mindset. Our featured guest is a CEO who has grown his agency by focusing on smart leadership—prioritizing culture, developing strong management structures, and intentionally making himself less essential to every meeting. Like many agency owners, he once believed he had to outwork everyone to prove his worth. But over time, he discovered that the agency performs better when he leads with vision instead of constant presence and that CEOs don't need to be grinding to be effective. In this conversation, he shares how he came to that realization, what it's meant for his agency's growth and client success, how he built a trusted A-team, and more. Kevin Miller is the co-founder and CEO of Gr0, a performance marketing agency that's exploded from startup to 200+ clients and over 80 full-time staff in just five years. Before launching GR0 in 2020, Kevin cut his teeth at Google, served as Director of Growth at OpenDoor, and was inspired to jump into the agency world by a friend who built and sold one of the first Facebook-focused DTC agencies. His background in SEO and paid media, combined with experience at both bootstrapped and venture-backed companies, gives him a rare, well-rounded perspective. Today his mission is clear: build a high-performance team that wins together. In this episode, we'll discuss: Two levers to driving growth. Why CEOs are more effective when they're not grinding. Understanding that delegation is not optional. Client acquisition that doesn't feel like sales. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources This episode is brought to you by Wix Studio: If you're leveling up your team and your client experience, your site builder should keep up too. That's why successful agencies use Wix Studio — built to adapt the way your agency does: AI-powered site mapping, responsive design, flexible workflows, and scalable CMS tools so you spend less on plugins and more on growth. Ready to design faster and smarter? Go to wix.com/studio to get started. Getting to See the Possibilities of the Agency Space Watching a friend grow and sell a Facebook-focused DTC agency helped Kevin clearly see the differences between growing a bootstrap business versus a venture-capital backed business. His friend ended up selling the business for over $100 million, which Kevin hadn't think it was possible to do in the agency space. It was an inspiring moment that led to the realization that he too could build and scale his own business, which he chose to do in the SEO niche. From Zero to 200 Clients: The Growth Playbook With just half a decade in the agency business, Kevin can see most people just can't handle it. “Every day is a different game of guacamole with all sorts of people problems.” After all, in this business our product so the best way to guarantee you're creating a safe environment where people want to stay is to over index on culture. This is how a young agency can go from scrappy startup to 8-figure beast in half a decade. It's all about building a culture that attracts and retains A-players. If your account manager leaves, that client feels like they have to start over. It can be the worst experience for a client and the best way to avoid is to create an environment where everyone feels like part of a team. Kevin runs GR0 like an NBA franchise where everyone's expected to perform at a high level, without being a burnout factory. He's also very strict about behavior. No matter how talented you are, you can never be rude to a client or other employees. It's a team-first culture with high accountability and even higher standards that has grown fast by keeping people, delivering great work, and staying crazy responsive. Two big levers driving their growth: Kevin attributes his agency's success with client to two main elements: Rapid response times: Emails, texts, Slack messages… they don't sit idle. Obsession with client results: Deliver, retain, and let referrals do the work. Additionally, he knows it's not all about attracting new business. Churn is a killer. Retention isn't sexy, but it's the secret to compounding revenue. Inside the Org Chart: A 5-Level Machine In terms of the deals the agency is closing with clients, Kevin is a big believer that there's little room to do great work on a monthly basis, which is why he prefers offering six-month contracts that will later get renewed for another six months. He's also put a lot of thought into the agency's organizational structure, which he breaks down into five levels: Executive Team VPs Associate VPs / Directors (each running a service line) Campaign Managers Contractors & Specialists As to him, his role as CEO is divided into three categories: Coach – Recruiting and leveling up 10x talent across the top team. Closer – Still active in sales, he sets expectations and closes high-value clients. Visionary – Driving innovation like launching new services (radio is next!) and adopting tools like ChatGPT for smarter, faster workflows. You'll Be Needed Less & Less as a CEO – and That's Okay Being a CEO won't necessarily come naturally to everyone, which is why Kevin has a coach that has taught him how to conduct himself and cast the vision for the agency. He's also embraced the fact that putting together a capable team will mean getting told they don't need you to pitch in on every meeting. “If someone doesn't need me in a meeting, I'm relieved. It means we've built something scalable.” A true leader should be helpful and keep the company moving forward, which is why Kevin sees his role more as someone who works for everyone at the company, as opposed to the old model where bosses were tyrants that barked orders all day. It's not easy to lead 200+ employees, and leaders nowadays recognize that the way to do so is not just having a very strong team but also being able to keep them by building a great culture. From Hustle Mentality to Smart Leadership Kevin and Jason both admit they had to unlearn the “first one in, last one out” badge of honor. Many leaders tend to think they have to outwork everyone. Kevin admits he still wrestles with showing up early to prove value—even though the company runs better when he focuses on vision, not presence. The truth is agency CEOs don't need to be grinding to be effective. They need to be accessible, and they need to build teams that run without them. “If I'm on a mountain or a golf course, and I get a call, I'll answer. But if the team doesn't need me? Even better,” Jason shares. This shift, from being the engine to being the guide rail, is one most agency owners struggle with. But letting go (and training others to step up) is the only way you get out of the weeds. Delegation Isn't Optional—It's Leadership 101 Early on, Kevin believed only he could do the work “right.” But that mindset capped his growth—and created unnecessary pressure. Effective delegation and believing in your team is what makes a great CEO. As he says now, “you have to pass the ball and trust they'll show up.” If you're asking, “How should we do this?” you're already in the weeds. The better question is, “Who on my team should own this?” If you need ideas, start with Jason's 1 3 1 method to train team decision-making is a killer takeaway: 1: What's the problem? 3: What are three ways to solve it? 1: What do you recommend? It's a simple leadership tool that trains independence—so you're not the bottleneck every time something needs approval. You Can't Build Big if You Can't Let Go If you want to make sure you have people on your team who'll step up after applying the 1 3 1 method, hire people who can manage themselves. Kevin and Jason both agree they're not built to manage micro-tasks—or people who need micromanaging. “If I'm going to manage someone, I'll expect them to do it like me, at my pace, with my level of commitment. And that's not fair,” Kevin admits. As owners, your growth is capped by how much you think you have to do. Build a team of leaders—not followers. Give direction, not checklists. And accept that mistakes are part of the process. In the mastermind, Jason and the members celebrate even the failures—because sharing missteps keeps others from repeating them. That's how real learning happens. Client Acquisition That Doesn't Feel Like Sales Now let's talk lead gen. How did Kevin's agency bring in over 200 clients? It wasn't ads. It wasn't cold emails. It was strategic referrals—and they engineered that pipeline from the ground up. In Kevin's view, cold acquisition just doesn't work well with the amount of competition in his space. Instead, he built a network of warm referrals of ~25 trusted partners. Each partner gets 10% of the monthly revenue from any referred client. But more importantly, they only recruit partners who already know Kevin and trust his team to deliver. “I'm not reaching out cold saying ‘hey, I'll pay you 10%.' I'm building real relationships with people who already trust me.” This warm referral engine is the opposite of passive referrals. It's intentional, proactive, and mutually beneficial. It scales because Kevin didn't wait—he built the network years before launching GR0. Most of the time referrals aren't scalable. However, when you do it this way—proactively recruiting the right partners—it becomes a one-to-many strategy. This is a model more agency owners should be thinking about. It's lower friction, higher trust, and most importantly: it cuts through the noise in a saturated market. Pricing, Positioning, and Playing the Long Game One thing Kevin admits he should be raising prices more often. GR0 started with $3,000/month clients and now charges $8K–$10K for the same package. But that evolution took five years. Still, their market positioning is clear: “We're expensive but fair. Not overpriced, not low-budget. Right in the sweet spot.” This ties back to the trust built with clients and referral partners alike. If the value is real and the results are consistent, the relationships last. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Are you the bottleneck in your own business or life?In this episode of Unblocked, I sit down with Joe Patneaude, creator of the STAR Scalability Method, to unpack why so many high-performers unknowingly build businesses that drain them instead of freeing them. For 15 years, Joe has been coaching leaders in financial services to scale smarter, delegate with clarity, and build teams that align with their values, not just their bottom line.If you've ever felt like you're carrying your entire business on your back, or you're stuck in “do more, be more” mode, this conversation is your wake-up call. Joe shares how the STAR Method helps business owners shift from solo-grinding to strategic scaling, without losing control of what matters most. Joe drops powerful insights on leadership, scalability, and unlearning outdated success strategies that are keeping you stuck.If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear this. Links and Resources:If you love what you're hearing on the podcast, you've gotta check out my private coaching offers. Click HERE to learn more about one-on-one coaching with me!Get your complimentary copy of The Unblocked Journal to help bring awareness to perfectionist thinking and what it's creating in your life.Join My Do The Thing Community  Let's Connect:Follow me on Facebook & Instagram: @JessicaSmarroShare your thoughts and experiences with the hashtag #UnblockedPodcast and tag @jessicasmarro!Connect with Joe Patneaude:Website: jpcoachingnow.com Book: Follow the STAR (Available now) LinkedIn: Joe PatneaudeLet's Get Unblocked! 

Tired of being the most overworked employee in your own business? You're not alone. Join Mike Allton on AI for Solopreneurs: The AI Hat Podcast, where we cut through the AI hype to show you exactly how to reclaim 15+ hours per week and scale without hiring staff. This isn't about robots or complex theory—it's about practical AI systems that handle the grunt work so you can focus on growth. Every episode features real implementation stories, expert insights, and step-by-step workflows you can use immediately. Ready to stop being the bottleneck in your own success? New episodes drop every Tuesday Follow Mike Allton on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike.allton/ Past episodes of AI for Solopreneurs: The AI Hat Podcast: https://theaihat.com/podcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Lyft bets on robotaxis. And battery startup Lyten buys bankrupt Northvolt's remaining European assets. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textIf you're scaling fast but still stuck in every decision, system, and Slack thread, this episode is for you.I sat down with Flynn Zaiger, CEO of Online Optimism, a 13-year digital creative agency recently named one of Inc.'s Best Places to Work. Flynn started his agency six months out of college with no outside funding — and now leads a nationally distributed team that runs with clarity, ownership, and initiative.We talk about the systems and culture shifts that made that possible — including how Flynn built layers of leadership, used internal AI tools without losing humanity, and developed onboarding systems that reduce churn and increase trust. This is a real-world, founder-level conversation about scaling agency leadership without becoming the bottleneck, losing your people, or burning out.Whether you're wrestling with client handoffs, team autonomy, or sustainable agency growth, Flynn's insights will help you move from controlling everything to empowering excellence.

Reach Out Via Text!In this value-packed solo episode, Jeremiah Jennings gives an honest, behind the scenes look at how Growing Green Landscapes evolved from chaotic guessing to confident scaling with the help of LMN. He shares why implementing systems like estimating, job costing, and time tracking has completely transformed his landscaping business, and how putting SOPs and tech in place gave his team clarity and accountability. This isn't just a pitch, it's a roadmap. If you're still running everything out of your head, Jeremiah lays out how tools like LMN can become your operational backbone and free you up to actually lead.Support the show 10% off LMN Software- https://lmncompany.partnerlinks.io/growinggreenpodcast Signup for our Newsletter- https://mailchi.mp/942ae158aff5/newsletter-signup Book A Consult Call-https://stan.store/GrowingGreenPodcast Lawntrepreneur Academy-https://www.lawntrepreneuracademy.com/ The Landscaping Bookkeeper-https://thelandscapingbookkeeper.com/ Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/growinggreenlandscapes/ Email-ggreenlandscapes@gmail.com Growing Green Website- https://www.growinggreenlandscapes.com/

You might be the biggest bottleneck in your own agency — and not even realize it. In this episode, we unpack the hidden ways insurance agency owners accidentally slow down growth, quoting, onboarding, and more. If you feel like everything runs through you, this episode is your wake-up call — and your roadmap out.  Sponsored by: https://theinsurancedream.com/digital-marketing 

Recorded live at the Ascend Conference in Salt Lake City, this episode of ShiftShapers features John Troutman, Vice President of Business Development at Mind Club America. Host David A. Saltzman and John discuss the “mutual mystification” surrounding mental health solutions—and how employers and advisors can start cutting through the noise with real access, real engagement, and real outcomes.From personal burnout to a professional mission, John shares how his experience as a former pastor helped shape his drive to help a million people get the mental health support they need. The conversation unpacks access issues, poor utilization reporting, stigma, and the vital importance of employer-led engagement.

For anyone building a career in energy—whether you're a graduate, a mid-career engineer, or a senior executive—the rapid evolution of our sector brings both opportunity and complexity. This week, I sat down with Delfina Govia, a Chief Sustainability Officer with over 46 years in the oil and gas industry, to unpack what's changing, what's not, and what that means for the future of work in energy.We talk frankly about everything from her disguised entry into offshore life in the 1970s, to why the energy transition isn't about eliminating fossil fuels—but balancing competing priorities like affordability, infrastructure, and global access. Delfina also reflects on what younger generations need to know as they step into a sector under scrutiny, ripe with innovation, and still shaped by geopolitics and economic realities.

What if the biggest challenge in AI isn't how fast chips can compute, but how quickly data can move? In this episode of Eye on AI, Nandan Nayampally, Chief Commercial Officer at Baya Systems, shares how the next era of computing is being shaped by smarter architecture, not just raw processing power. With experience leading teams at ARM, Amazon Alexa, and BrainChip, Nandan brings a rare perspective on how modern chip design is evolving. We dive into the world of chiplets, network-on-chip (NoC) technology, silicon photonics, and neuromorphic computing. Nandan explains why the traditional path of scaling transistors is no longer enough, and how Baya Systems is solving the real bottlenecks in AI hardware through efficient data movement and modular design. From punch cards to AGI, this conversation maps the full arc of computing innovation. If you want to understand how to build hardware for the future of AI, this episode is a must-listen. Subscribe to Eye on AI for more conversations on the future of artificial intelligence and system design. Stay Updated: Craig Smith on X:https://x.com/craigss Eye on A.I. on X: https://x.com/EyeOn_AI (00:00) Why AI's Bottleneck Is Data Movement (01:26) Nandan's Background and Semiconductor Career (03:06) What Baya Systems Does: Network-on-Chip + Software (08:40) A Brief History of Computing: From Punch Cards to AGI (11:47) Silicon Photonics and the Evolution of Data Transfer (20:04) How Baya Is Solving Real AI Hardware Challenges (22:13) Understanding CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs in AI Workloads (24:09) Building Efficient Chips: Cost, Speed, and Customization (27:17) Performance, Power, and Area (PPA) in Chip Design (30:55) Partnering to Build Next-Gen Photonic and Copper Systems (32:29) Why Moore's Law Has Slowed and What Comes Next (34:49) Wafer-Scale vs Traditional Die: Where Baya Fits In (36:10) Chiplet Stacking and Composability Explained (39:44) The Future of On-Chip Networking (41:10) Neuromorphic Computing: Energy-Efficient AI (43:02) Edge AI, Small Models, and Structured State Spaces

In this episode, we dive into fixing warehouse chaos for e-commerce success. Thomas Kircheis, CEO of PULPO WMS, shares how poor warehouse management hurts profits and customers. Learn why 50% of warehouses still use pen and paper, how a WMS cuts costs and boosts efficiency, and why accurate stock is key for scaling. From optimizing routes to reducing staff, discover practical tips to streamline your warehouse and keep customers happy. Topics discussed in this episode:  Why 50% of warehouses still use pen and paper — and how it hurts your business. How warehouse chaos leads to lost sales and unhappy customers. Why stock accuracy is key to scaling your Shopify store. What makes picking the most expensive part of your warehouse. Why warehouse staff walk 10 miles a day — and how to fix it. How one company cut their warehouse team from 50 to 20. What slows down your fulfillment — and kills your profit. Why better warehouse routes beat hiring more people. What most brands get wrong about warehouse growth. Why setting up a WMS only takes 1–2 weeks, not months. Links & Resources Website: https://www.pulpowms.com/Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/pulpo-wmsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaskircheis/Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes athttps://tinyurl.com/3u542jpuMORE RESOURCES Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/ Free Store Optimization Beginners Guide: Instant PDF Download!

Join us in Oregon for our Bloom Together Business Soiree on September 4th! Get your ticket while you can at ⁠⁠https://www.cubicletoceo.co/bloomtogether⁠⁠ In just one year, Emma Tessler restructured her agency to increase revenue by 45% with a single strategic hire. The founder of Ninety Five Media, Emma hit a ceiling with her fast-growing social media agency. Client work was thriving, but her personal involvement in every project bottlenecked growth and drained capacity. The solution? Hiring a Creative Project Manager to be a buffer between her, the Account Managers, and their clients — owning execution, managing the creative team, and elevating systems and deliverables across the board. The results speak for themselves: average client retainers jumped from $3K to an average of $4K–$7K/month, labor costs dropped by 20% with improved efficiency, and Emma finally stepped out of the weeds, regaining time to focus on strategy, visibility, and even take a two-week unplugged vacation for the first time in years. This case study is proof that scaling doesn't always require building a massive team — it requires making the right hire. Connect with Emma: https://ninetyfivemedia.co The Stop Scrolling, Start Scaling Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stop-scrolling-start-scaling-podcast/id1635151196 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmatessler/ IG: @ninety.five.media Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://cubicletoceo.co/quiz⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Post a screenshot & key takeaway on your IG story and tag me ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@missellenyin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@cubicletoce⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠o so we can repost you. Leave a positive review or rating at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ratethispodcast.com/cubicletoceo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe for new episodes every Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do people say one thing and do another? Why do some ads flop while others go viral? In this episode, Dr. Lauryn sits down with behavioral marketing expert Nancy Harhut to explore the science behind how people actually make decisions—and how marketers can ethically influence those instincts to boost attention, engagement, and conversions.Nancy shares decades of experience blending behavioral science with marketing strategy, revealing practical tools that business owners and service providers can use right now. You'll learn about eye magnet words that increase clicks, why the word “free” still works wonders, how to use social proof and authority to build trust, and why loss aversion might be your best sales tool. Whether you're a clinic owner, entrepreneur, or content creator, this conversation is packed with actionable insights to improve your messaging and get better results.Key Takeaways:Behavioral marketing leverages subconscious decision-making. Up to 95% of decisions are made in the subconscious mind—using behavioral prompts can dramatically improve ad performance and message retention.Certain words have proven psychological impact. Words like “you,” “free,” “new,” and “alert” are eye magnets that instinctively capture attention and drive engagement across email, print, and social media.Use social proof and authority to build trust. Testimonials, certifications, and credibility signals reduce uncertainty and help potential clients feel confident choosing your service or product.Loss aversion is more powerful than gain. Framing your offer in terms of what someone could lose (vs. what they'll gain) can double response rates and increase urgency in decision-making.About the Guest:Nancy Harhut is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of HBT Marketing, where she helps brands apply behavioral science to increase marketing performance. With a background as a top-ranked creative director, Nancy has led successful campaigns for major global clients and was named a Top 10 Digital Marketer by the Online Marketing Institute. She's spoken at hundreds of industry conferences worldwide and is the author of Using Behavioral Science in Marketing: Drive Customer Action and Loyalty by Prompting Instinctive Responses. Nancy's work focuses on making marketing smarter by understanding how people really think and act.Buy Nancy's Book: Using Behavioral Science in MarketingFollow Nancy: LinkedIn | Instagram Resources:Join The Uncharted CEO: An 8-week immersive experience for clinic owners designed to increase revenue, maximize profits, and build cash flow systems that create freedom NOW, not at 65. Not sure if The Uncharted CEO is right for you? Take the quiz and find out!Don't miss the upcoming Cash Cow Webinar: A Free Masterclass on How to Systemize, Profit, and Lead Without Being the Bottleneck. Happening twice, on July 29th and 30th, register for FREE today!Join The Uncharted Collective: A Membership for Healthcare Professionals to...

Are you the bottleneck in your business without even realizing it? Not because of a lack of trust or effort, but simply because you've been involved in everything for too long, and now every decision flows through you. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I discuss the critical hats every agency owner wears—the technician, the manager, and the CEO—and when each hat should be worn or retired. I also explain why delegation is about moving from control to leadership and not just about removing yourself from the grind. Don't miss this episode to learn more about the 1-3-1 decision-making framework, which empowers teams to think strategically instead of defaulting to you for every decision. Key Questions: [01:08] Are you still the only one thinking ahead in your business, and what needs to shift to change that? [04:39] Which hat are you wearing right now: technician, manager, or CEO? Is that the right one? [07:44] Are you delegating tasks or are you truly transferring decision-making and ownership? [09:02] Have you trained your team to assess risk the way you do as a founder? [13:11] Do you unconsciously enjoy being needed so much that it stops others from growing? [16:51] Are you the bottleneck in your agency without realizing it? What You'll Discover: [01:31] The three hats every agency owner wears—technician, manager, CEO—and how wearing the wrong one at the wrong time keeps you stuck. [03:38] How defaulting to the technician role in times of stress is natural, but damaging to your long-term goals. [04:39] How to track the time you spend in each role and learn when it's time to retire the technician hat completely. [05:53] The five levels of delegation—from step-by-step instructions to total decision-making autonomy. [07:44] How to transfer decision-making power, not just task ownership, in a way that protects your business and develops your team. [09:02] The importance of teaching your team how to think about risk because their risk tolerance won't naturally align with yours. [13:59] The power of uncovering hidden problems and why 99% of the solution lies in proper problem identification. [15:48] How implementing the 1-3-1 framework will give your team the autonomy to act strategically. [16:51] Why you're the bottleneck and how to shift from being a dependency to creating frameworks.

Most SaaS founders track too many metrics and still have no clue where their biggest growth bottleneck actually is. They're drowning in data but starving for insights. In this episode, Wes reveals the concept of building a "reverse funnel" - a simple framework that not only identifies exactly where users are dropping off, but shows you precisely which lever to pull to hit your revenue goals. Key Highlights: 01:39: How to structure your revenue goals (MRR, ARPU, units sold)02:40: The problem with tracking too many metrics without context03:43: How to identify bottlenecks in your quarterly planning04:26: The power of increasing ARPU vs. acquiring more customers06:30: Why founders consistently miss their revenue goals Resources: 

Is AI starting to feel like one more overwhelming thing on your already packed to-do list? You're not alone—and you're not behind. In this empowering episode, Dr. Lauryn sits down with AI strategist Marnie Wills to cut through the noise and help you understand exactly how AI can support your business without stealing your soul (or sanity). Whether you're curious, skeptical, or somewhere in between, this conversation is for you.Marnie shares her journey from PE teacher to multi-business founder to AI trainer, and how adopting an “AI-first mindset” transformed her work, her time, and her impact. They dive into practical use cases for healthcare providers, how to overcome the initial mental block with AI tools, and why adding your personal expertise to AI is the secret weapon most people miss. This episode is a masterclass in starting small, staying human, and scaling smart.Key Takeaways:AI is your second brain—not your replacement. Marnie explains how to collaborate with AI to enhance decision-making, automate repetitive tasks, and amplify your expertise, not erase it.Strategy beats tech skills every time. You don't need to be “techie” to use AI effectively—you need intention, clarity, and the right mindset. Learn how to shift from overwhelm to opportunity.Customization is the key to authenticity. Plug-and-play prompts won't cut it anymore. Marnie shows why creating tailored AI assistants can elevate your content, marketing, and operations.The future belongs to leaders who adapt. From courses to client communications, Marnie reveals how industries are changing—and how healthcare providers can evolve without losing their humanity.About the Guest:Marnie Wills is an AI trainer, speaker, and strategy consultant helping business owners adopt an “AI-first” mindset to scale sustainably. After two decades as a teacher and entrepreneur, she transitioned into tech by combining her passion for systems, automation, and impact. Marnie now leads workshops and trainings around the world, empowering people to customize AI tools for their unique businesses—without needing a tech background.Find all of Marnie's resources and ways to work with her here.Follow Marnie: LinkedIn | Instagram Resources:Join The Uncharted CEO: An 8-week immersive experience for clinic owners designed to increase revenue, maximize profits, and build cash flow systems that create freedom NOW, not at 65. Not sure if The Uncharted CEO is right for you? Take the quiz and find out!Don't miss the upcoming Cash Cow Webinar: A Free Masterclass on How to Systemize, Profit, and Lead Without Being the Bottleneck. Happening twice, on July 29th and 30th, register for FREE today!Join The Uncharted Collective: A Membership for Healthcare Professionals to Build a Profitable Personal Brand in Just 2 Hours a WeekFollow

Dive into the powerful "Flows and Functions" method—a practical, proven framework that breaks down your business into five key areas: lead generation, lead nurture, conversion, delivery, and retention. Learn how to pinpoint your biggest bottleneck and fix it strategically so you can scale sustainably and stop spinning your wheels. Packed with real-world insights and actionable tips, this episode will help you regain clarity, increase revenue, and build a business that flows.   “So when you use intuition on where should I be focused, do it alongside looking at the truth, looking at what's actually broken.”   Key points to focus on: Success Can Still Feel Chaotic Even during high-revenue months (like hitting $100K+), a business can feel overwhelming and unstable without systems and focus in place. The "Flows and Bottlenecks" Method is Essential Businesses have five core functions—lead generation, lead nurture, conversion, delivery, and retention—and identifying the weakest link (bottleneck) is key to sustainable growth. Diagnose Before You Act Most entrepreneurs fix what's easiest or most urgent, rather than what's actually broken. Using data and honest self-assessment is crucial to determining the real problem. Lead Nurture is Often Overlooked Many coaches think they need more leads, but often the issue lies in nurturing and converting existing leads more effectively—like optimizing email or content strategy. Let Data Guide, Not Emotions Don't let fear or ego dictate business priorities. Use intuition, but validate it with measurable insights to make smart, grounded decisions. Use the Project-Process-Person Framework Once the bottleneck is identified, tackle it using this trio: define a project, create a process around it, and assign the right person (including yourself) to execute or support it.     Connect with Jason Meland: Email: jason@goliveonlinemastermind.com Website: https://www.growmyvisibility.com/ Instagram: @coachjasonmeland Facebook: Jason Meland - In Demand Coach LinkedIn: Jason Meland

"Stop putting band-aids on bullet wounds - your clinic has one constraint holding everything back."Most clinic owners jump between marketing tactics, hiring decisions, and operational fixes without ever identifying the real problem. The truth? Your practice is like a chain, and it's only as strong as its weakest link.We reveal how fixing one bottleneck delivers exponentially higher returns than improving ten things at once. Learn the exact process to identify your constraint and the weekly meeting that keeps successful clinics laser-focused on what actually moves the needle.Welcome to the Clinic Growth Secrets Podcast where we give an insider's look into what the top 1% of clinic owners are doing differently to get more patients, make more profit per patient, and keep them longer. Inside, you'll find actionable tips, tricks, and strategies that you can implement into your personal clinic to create massive growth that allows you to help as many people as possible.

Kiera gives advice to those practices stuck in the $0 to $2 million range (because the same problems tend to apply). These hurdles can often be addressed in the leadership, systems, and mindset arenas, and Kiera spells out specific steps your practice can implement today to burst through the barriers. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01) Hello, Dental A team listeners. This is Kiera and I am so happy to be podcasting with you today. I hope that you are just loving your life. I hope you remember that we are so blessed and so lucky to be able to do dentistry. I mean, talk about it. So many people dream of this world. So many people want this world and yet you get to live the dream. You get to live the freaking dream. This is your life. And so today I thought it would just be fun to tackle into this of, you know what? Why are you still stuck at 1 million?   and how to break through, or maybe while you're still stuck at 2 million and how to break through. I feel like there's very similar problems from zero to 2 million. So I thought, hey, let's talk about it. Yes, it might seem like, okay, no, they're not quite the same. Actually, they're pretty darn the same. And I thought, hey, why not tell you why you're still stuck here and how to break through that ceiling? I remember once I was told about like the wifi symbol, and I feel like every one of those layers is just your next layer. And it's like, how can I burst through that next layer and actually make my life easier?   I remember I also had a friend and I was working towards my first million. I remember when I hit our first million in the company and my friend texted me and he said, Kara, now that you've hit your first million, the rest are easy from here. And I will say getting to that first million mark is tricky, but then getting beyond it. So from really, it's like zero to 2 million. Honestly, a lot of these things are going to apply. So you're still stuck at 1 million. Let's break through that plateau. You guys, this is the Dental A Team and we freaking love helping practices break through limiting beliefs.   Create the impossible into the possible. Make your life easy. Make your practice experience amazing and truly give you the life and practice that you deserve. I'm obsessed with having your life and business on purpose. Truly, why not? Like why? Why be a business owner? Why do all these hard things if we don't get to do the life that we wanted to have all the things that we wished for and to give our teams the same type of life and experience as well? So the reality is when we look at this, it's not clinical skills typically. Sometimes it is.   Sometimes you do need to take some courses. If it's clinical and you're struggling clinically, think Coice and Spear and a lot of those will be really great for you clinically. So typically though, it's not clinical. It's systems, leadership and mindset. Like literally that's what it is. It's the systems, it's the leadership, it's the mindset. Systems do tie into our numbers and knowing that. And so I just want to break through like these three little hidden barriers that oftentimes keep practices stuck and some ways to get around that. So you can plateau through that one million, that two million mark.   and really be on your way to great success, but doing it not harder. How about that? Like, I don't want to work harder here. I don't want to have to do more. Don't worry. When you actually put these things into place, you get more time back. You get more happiness back. It's not like, let's do this and have less happiness, less time, but you can if you do it your hard way. But we're going to teach you, today I want to teach you how to do this easy. Are you on board for that?   If so, welcome. I'm super happy. I'm Kiera. This is the Dental A Team. We created it to help hundreds and thousands of offices scale beyond that 1 million mark to get to the 2 million, the 3 million, the 5 million. We have offices doing 500,000. We have offices doing 1.5. We have offices doing 3 million, 5 million, 10 million, 20 million. The reality is these things apply across the board. There's different layers and different ways to fine tune and refine based on the size of practice you are. But at the end of the day, these are really easy areas to help you see where your gap is and to break through.   This truly is an episode that's for practice owners who know that they're capable of more, but honestly don't know where to go. I hear all the time when people talk to us about joining dental hygiene, they're like, Kiera, I don't know what I don't know. I'm like, you're right. So let's help you. Let's like peel off the mask, give you the resources and make it to where life is so much easier for you. So number one, the first block that I want to break down for you is you are wearing too many hats.   This happens all the time. It's called the bottleneck. Like think about it. We're like squeezing it because we're wearing too many hats as business owners. And oftentimes what happens is as the founder, you are so used to coming in, being the person who does all the pieces because that's what you had to do when you started it. But that's also a falsehood. And also what it does is it creates chokeholds because what we're doing is we're micromanaging lack of delegation, lack of trust. This is where it gets like really stuck. And the offices were able to break through and evolve.   put systems into place, they realize that they need to have a delegation ladder at our summit, if you were able to attend, awesome. If you weren't, you missed out on our amazing delegation ladder where we literally show you how to go in order of the tasks to be delegating and in what order based on the size and the growth of your practice. So when we get overwhelmed owner or stagnant teams or reactive decision-making, what we need to do is we need to build a leadership depth. So we're training our office manager, we're empowering our leads and we're letting go of low ROI tasks.   Like literally Dan Martell has a book called Buy Back Your Time and it was shocking to look at that. And that's where we came up with our delegation ladder of, wow, like if we could honestly help you all see that we could shift it and these are the tasks to go in order of, and we're delegating out. If you're producing 200, 300, 400, $500 an hour, get rid of those low tasks that truly are not serving you. So on our delegation ladder, the way we started it is we have at the bottom layer, your number one thing to delegate out first is going to be administrative tasks.   After that, it's going to be patient experience and case acceptance. After that, it's treatment coordinator. And that's going to be our case acceptance heavily. So we've got patient experience, making sure you're not the star of the show. Then we move into treatment coordinating and case acceptance. Then we move into marketing and branding. And then we move into leadership. And then beyond that, we move into overseeing. So if you're stuck in the administrative tasks, well, awesome. Let's wait till we need to delegate that and empower that out. If you're stuck in being the patient experience,   The practice runs because Dr. Smith is in the practice and everybody loves Dr. Smith and Dr. Smith, if they're not there, no one wants to come. No, it should be the whole team experience. This isn't Kiera Dent. This isn't the Kiera Dent show. This is the Dental A Team show. There are so many great consultants. They're such a great team experience, but I don't run it. Yes, I have an influence and I started at the beginning and the core values as to why I started the company, that exists as our culture, but I'm not the one responsible for our client experience. Literally, I am here to podcast.   I'm here to do our doctor think tank and I'm here to go speak at events. That's literally what I do now. And I get to see all of you, but I get to influence and train our consultants. I get to help and train in different areas. I get to influence the company because I'm clear at the top in the leadership spot because we have great consultants that take care of our client experience. You should have great team members that take care of your patient experience. Then you need treatment coordinators. You should not be the one doing all the cases and closing all the cases. And if you're not there, we can't close. It should be that your team can close cases without you.   Then we move into marketing and branding and then it's into leadership. So when you're looking at this, what hats are you wearing and how can you shift this and which level of the tier are you on to be able to buy back your time to make it to where you're super focused on those own that you're really great at in your zone of genius. Now I still enjoy some administrative tasks. There's still some things that I'm like, gosh, I really enjoy this. I feel really good checking off a checklist. When you move from administrative into leadership, it's actually awesome and un-awesome.   because you feel like, well, gosh, like I'm just doing all these things, but there's no progress. Like leadership tasks take way longer. There's not as fast of progress, unlike administrative tasks have to do. This is where you grow and you expand. So when a practice, like we have a doctor and they let go of the administrative tasks, so you hired out a virtual assistant or their office manager or team members. And I will say,   Office managers should not be personal assistants. So let's make sure like office managers, you should also be going through this delegation to your levels. Like look at yourself too. So you're able to scale leads in practices need to look at this as well. What are we doing in these tasks? And could we delegate to our other incredible team members and empower them to be great? answer is yes. So when doctors let go of this, usually like when I've seen offices empower their team, stop doing it all. They grow by 10, 20, 30%, a hundred grand, 400 grand, 500 grand.   to their practice because the breadth and depth of their expansion, now they're able to focus on high level dentistry. If you're not sitting there busying your time with answering emails and signing off on payroll and all these other things, you then have time to focus in on your dentistry to give better treatment plans, to give better case acceptance, to refine that skill set for yourself to where you're pushing that out there and that's what you're focused on. You're taking CE on that. Think of the ROI of that time spent.   versus sending emails out that really are not moving the needle forward. So I want you to look at everything on your plate today and I want you to see what things are in administrative, what things are in patient experience, what things are in treatment plans and case acceptance, what things are in marketing and what things are in leadership. And of that, figure out who could I delegate to? How could I get less hats? Who do I maybe need to hire? It's who, not how? There's a book about this, it's really great. And I want you to see, because when you are, everyone's working at the top of their,   a license, that's how I like to put it. So doctors, would mean you're only doing dentistry stuff and CEO stuff. That's it. Everything else is delegated out. You will be amazed at the growth that it adds. So that's number one. Are you wearing too many hats and where can you delegate? Number two, your systems don't scale. So a $1 million systems break down at higher value. Like they truly do. So it's like scheduling strategy and poor case presentation and inconsistent team accountability and not tracking our numbers, not having a great   treatment plan ⁓ presentation, not having great hygiene processes in place, these little things break down and it's like, gosh, like we don't know how to handle this. We don't know how to schedule. don't know how to take these phone calls. So on this, we want to implement scalable systems. like block scheduling. So it's not just dependent upon who's up there scheduling. We know if it's Kiera, if it's Tiffany, if it's Brittany, our schedule will be consistent every single time. That's a true system. I get the exact same result no matter who's sitting in that chair. Our treatment, like,   ⁓ Case acceptance using the NDTR handoff. That's literally a system that allows your case acceptance to scale We have a billing protocol where we literally like pull it all down We have a system of how we follow up with all of our claims We have a system of when we look at our money instead of like, shoot. We don't have money. Let's go look at AR We have a set system of we send claims out on these days. We send out our insurance We follow up on insurance. We follow up on patient balances on set cadences and dates doctors You have a set system of when you look at your bank account when you reconcile your   pieces with your office manager. This is where it is our AR follow-up. Like all of those are scalable systems rather than reactive systems. And the $1 million practices are often like playing whack-a-mole. It's like, here's a hot fire here, fix that. here's a hot fire here, let's fix that. Rather than like, okay, what needs to happen so we can consistently get the results. I'm obsessed with Disney. I love their model. I think they're an incredible company. And I love something that they said is that we're able to create predictable magic with the systems behind the scenes.   So for you, we're able to create predictable million dollars with the systems behind the scenes. Also, sometimes when you're in startup mode, you actually have this identity, which is going to move into our next block. You have an identity of I'm a startup practice. So you actually act as a startup practice rather than thinking like, what does a $5 million practice do? Well, you better believe they're not like just willy-nillying their schedule. They're not willy-nillying their case acceptance. They're not willy-nillying their billing. They don't willy-nilly that stuff. And it's not that they have more time than you.   It's just that they have more scalable systems and they actually have systems in place that work. So when we've implemented block scheduling, you've heard me say it so many times, literally in small practices, we've been able to add 500,000, 1 million. Like it is not something that's hard. These are not fluffy numbers. They're not like, my gosh, I'm exaggerating. They're literally like, I can show you what they were producing, what the block schedule created and how they're able to have consistent days like that. When we implement treatment trackers, we're able to boost case acceptance exponentially because we're tracking and we're looking at patterns.   When we're able to fix AR, we're able to reduce your billing and we're able to increase your collections, reducing your overhead. When we teach you how to look at your numbers, we're able to decrease your overhead, increase your profit, and you're able to like literally sleep at night because you're not stressed out about it. These are the simple scalable systems that we put into place for these million, $2 million practices. It's wild. You can have like some skyrocket success, but if you don't have these systems for sustainability, you'll never be able to break through. This is where you start to plateau. So.   Pick a system. don't care what it is, but commit that you're going to make it scalable and upgrade it this month. All right. Block number three. This is the third one that I see a lot of times of why practices are plateauing and it's because they don't have a vision of where they're going. So like I said, it's that identity. It's like, what is the $2 million vision? What is the $3 million vision? And when mindset is in the right place, clarity can drive these results. So again, thinking I'm not a startup practice, I'm a $5 million practice. What would I do today? What would that CEO be doing? What would that dentist be doing?   They're not much different than you are today, but they are doing things differently. They budget their time differently. They're working out in the mornings. They have an AR system, these things. So what it is is like million dollar and $2 million practices are oftentimes in survival mode. it's like, like I said, whack a mole versus strategic planning. You have leadership teams in place. And when I first started, I was not at a million. was like, all right, if the $5 million practices are doing this and they have leadership team meetings, Kaylee, she was my personal assistant at the time. was just me and her. was like,   We're having this meeting and I don't even know what this meeting is supposed to be, but we're having it. We were broke, we had no money, so we went to her apartment clubhouse. That's where we had it. We had all these papers. I knew nothing of what I was doing, but I started acting in the habits of what these people did. What's crazy is when you start to act like these higher level practices do, you start to become and evolve. So this is where it's going to be. We want a clear 12 month plan of what would the KPIs be tracking? What are the team members?   What are the pieces I need to do to have a $2 million practice or a $3 million practice compared to where I am today? Let's break it down. What does that look like monthly? What's that block schedule look like? What's the type of dentistry I need to do? Do I need to add another provider? But we're making sure overheads in a line with the growth as well. So when I have teams do this and we literally like, build a one, three, 10 year vision for practices, the doctors often come in a lot more.   I would say conservative and their teams grow. But when we get the alignment of the doctor and the team together, it is crazy. The growth we have, I have a practice. he texted me, he said, here, I know when you came in and you set this audacious goal with me and my team, I thought there's absolutely no way that we'll be able to hit that. Like no way that's out of the, out of the control. ⁓ and so they were originally producing about 200,000 months. So they're about a $2.4 million practice. And we set this goal to get them to 3 million. So we said, what, what did a $3 million practice look like?   What do we need to do? And the software was like, are you kidding me? Like we're maxed out, we're tapped out. So many people think this and it's like, that's where we take the impossible and make it possible. We find the solution, we find the ways and we get the whole team aligned. So the whole team's rowing together. So we broke it down. What does that extra 600,000 look like? What does that break down monthly? What does that break down daily? They then hit. So they were at 200, next month 220, next month 250, next month 275. They just broke 300. That's even higher. 300 is 3.6 and remember they were just going for three.   This is how they grow. This is how they get their whole team aligned. This is how we start to look at what systems do we need to put in place? What training do we need to put in place? What team members do we need on the bus? What right people, right seat do we need to have? And it's wild because when the whole team aligns, everybody's there. And sometimes you need an outside perspective to coach you. Sometimes doctors, you don't know how to build that vision. You've never done it, right? It's like, hey, you're telling me to like draw you a map to the moon and I've never been to the moon. So how am even supposed to envision this? That's oftentimes where a coach.   or a consultant like ourselves can paint the roadmap for you. We've been there, we've done that, we've done it many times successfully. We have practices that are 10 million. I have offices, I've got five practices. We add one to two million to their offices every single year, every year consistently. And people are like, how do you do that? I'm like, well, hey, we got the foundations in place. They have scalable systems. We've got leadership teams in the right place. And then we're looking for the refinement pieces that we can do. We focus on case exceptions consistently.   But if I only focus on that with the $1 million practices, well, great, we're getting great cases, but guess what? It's all gonna fall apart because we don't have the systems to create the predictable magic and patient experience to continually retain and keep these patients. So this is where it is. No matter where you are, even if you're not at the 2 million and you're at the 5 million, this still works because guess what? The 5 million CEOs, you are stuck in what you've been doing and you need to expand into the higher level. You're still stuck at not having scalable systems and you need to scale those as well.   You don't have the vision for what does a 7 million or the $10 million of practice have. You are still sitting in your 5 million. So all of these actually, like I just said, 1 million and $2 million practices, this is actually for the higher level ones too. It's the exact same thing. It's just different cards, but the same game that we're playing. And it doesn't mean that you have to grow to this level. It doesn't mean that we're here to push you. It's here to say, this is what's possible if you want it. But the ultimate goal is that your life aligns with the practice that you're doing. That's our goal.   and to make sure that you're insanely profitable and insanely happy. Because I don't want you working harder. The blocks that we have lead to overworked owners, broken systems, and unclear vision, which causes chaos, confusion, stress, all the pieces. So right now, to break through your barriers, it's not about grinding harder, it's not about doing this harder, it's about leading better and building smarter. There's two ways to go about it. We can like slap it all together and help and pray our house of cards doesn't fall down, or we can build foundations, we can build vision, we can build clarity.   We can build focus and we can get traction. Move your practices exponentially. So move forward. Don't do this the hard way. Do it the easy way. And this is something where like we help this all day long. This is what fires me up. If you can't tell from today's podcast, I get lit up over this type of stuff because I love helping offices. See the vision, see the potential, figure out where we need to go. And it actually becomes so much easier when we have a roadmap. We create a map of clarity. So let's do that with you and your practice. Reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com   DM us growth or visit our website. This is where we literally do a complimentary practice assessment and it is crazy. Even just that practice assessment when you come on a call with us will give you so much clarity whether you work with us or don't work with us to see, my gosh, here are my gaps of what's holding me back from moving forward. We created it recently and I'm obsessing over it because offices who come through are like, wow, this call was so valuable because I see where my gaps are. I see where I need to go and hey,   Great, if you're a good fit for us and we're a good fit for you, awesome, let's work together. We fly to your practice, we work virtually with your team, we have in-person masterminds where doctors and leadership teams get together. We truly have built this to be something where you no longer have to question if success is real for you. It's a way for you to have proven, sustainable, successful success indefinitely. So reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.  

Every successful agency owner faces the same maddening paradox: you built a business to create freedom, but now you're more trapped than ever. You can't take a real vacation because everything runs through you. Every proposal needs your touch, every creative decision requires your approval, and every client crisis demands your personal attention. You've become the bottleneck in your own operation, and traditional solutions like hiring more people or creating better processes only add complexity without solving the core problem. Mike Allton understands this trap because he's lived it and helped dozens of agency owners escape it. As the founder of The AI Hat and Chief Storyteller at Agorapulse, Mike has developed a proven framework for breaking free from the operational quicksand that keeps agency owners stuck. His approach isn't about replacing human judgment with technology—it's about creating an AI Second Brain that handles the cognitive heavy lifting so you can focus on what only you can do: build relationships, innovate, and lead. Through his H.U.M.A.N. Framework, Mike shows agency owners how to delegate high-level thinking tasks without sacrificing quality or control. What You'll Discover: ✨ How the three bottlenecks are costing you a fortune: Learn why the Sales Bottleneck, Creative Bottleneck, and Client Management Bottleneck are mathematically limiting your growth and stealing your freedom. Mike reveals the hidden opportunity costs that could be costing successful agencies over a million dollars annually in lost potential. ✨ Why traditional solutions backfire: Understand why hiring more people and creating more processes often makes the bottleneck worse instead of better. Discover why static documentation becomes "digital shelfware" and how management layers can actually increase your workload rather than reduce it. ✨ The AI Second Brain system that actually works: Get the exact framework for building an intelligent system that learns your voice, applies your methodologies, and handles complex tasks like proposal writing, creative strategy, and client crisis management. See real examples of how this approach has helped agency owners reclaim 20+ hours per week and finally take those long-overdue vacations. Learn more about Mike Allton Connect with Mike Allton on LinkedIn Resources & Brands mentioned in this episode AI Work Buddy Explore past episodes of the The AI Hat Podcast podcast CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction: The Cost of Not Taking a Vacation 00:33 The Real Business Cost of Burnout 00:47 Meet David: A Case Study in Operational Bottlenecks 02:42 Welcome to the AI Hat Podcast 03:16 Why You Can't Take a Vacation 03:53 Identifying the Bottlenecks 07:41 Traditional Solutions That Don't Work 10:16 Introducing the AI Work Buddy Mini Course 10:53 The AI Second Brain: A New Approach 17:20 Real-World Impact: Case Studies 18:37 The Cost of Staying the Same 19:20 Conclusion: Embrace the Future with AI SHOW TRANSCRIPT & NOTES: https://theaihat.com/stop-being-the-bottleneck-how-to-build-an-ai-second-brain-for-your-agency/ Brought to you by The AI Hat - Get Your AI On. Interesting in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Produced and Hosted by Mike Allton, AI Consultant & Trainer at The AI Hat, where he's tirelessly helping businesses and marketers get ahead of the AI Revolution and apply advanced technologies to their roles. He's spent over a decade in digital marketing, bringing an unparalleled level of experience and excitement to the fore, whether he's delivering a presentation or leading a workshop. If you're interested in helping business owners with AI in an upcoming episode, reach out to Mike. Powered by the Marketing Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More rain pummels the waterlogged Hill Country, putting a pause on search efforts and bringing a new wave of weather warnings to the region. We’ll talk with James Hartley of KERA, who’s been in Kerrville this weekend.Stuffed animals are strewn across flood-ravaged Texas. People are trying to get them to their owners.The Trump administration is […] The post Trucking industry faces new border bottleneck appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

On this episode of SPOT Radio, Charlie Webb, CPPL, speaks with Karen Goelst. Karen and Charlie dive into strategies for building consensus across departments. By presenting a multi-benefit sales proposition—one that speaks to the priorities of clinical teams, procurement officers, and risk managers alike—they explore how layering value can break through resistance and foster collaborative buy-in.About Karen Goelst: As CEO of KleenEdge, a company specializing in privacy curtain compliance software and patented “no-ladder” exchange solutions, our focus is on empowering hospitals with cost-saving, innovations that get patient curtains exchanged on time.With over 14 years in architectural specialties we leverage lean, safe workflows along with technology to mitigate healthcare-acquired infections ensuring patient and staff safety.KleenEdge has pioneered software that empowers on-time curtain exchanges while providing actionable data. Our mission centers on delivering safety-driven, cost-saving, tools that address compliance and infection control challenges while supporting hospitals in optimizing their resources effectively.Karen Goelst Email: kgoelst@KleenEdge.com Roadtrip webpage: www.kleenedge.comLinkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kleenedge/ 

Breaking Through Requirements Hell: How AI is Revolutionizing Software Development

Chris Watson, Vice President of Premise Data, joins Mike Shanley to discuss how AI innovation and federal procurement intersect, and what changes could facilitate greater innovation. RESOURCES: GovDiscovery AI Federal Capture Support: https://www.govdiscoveryai.com/ Premise Data: https://premise.com/ Connect with Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwilliamwatson/ BIOGRAPHY: Chris Watson is an evangelist for digital transformation, data-driven decision-making, and increased use of commercial products in the global development industry. He currently leads Premise Data's international development division, with a focus on scaling the use of Premise by country governments, development donors, and their implementing partners. Growing up in West Virginia, Chris became interested in issues of poverty, grassroots development, and the world outside his hometown. He began his international development career in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where he distributed $38 million in emergency seed and fertilizer to farmers returning to areas recently liberated from Taliban control. Not knowing whether this work had a real impact ignited his obsession with using real-time data collection and analytics to improve the efficacy of development programming. Over the last eight years, Chris has helped define and grow the use of Premise by stakeholders in global health, humanitarian assistance, and democracy and governance. He led go-to-market for the international development portfolio, securing support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to prove the value of Premise's technology and subsequently scaling its use to 70+ development donors, implementing partners and governments. Chris and Premise deeply believe that local citizens should have an increased say in defining the challenges and improving development in their local communities. Shifting the task of collecting data and monitoring service delivery to thousands of local residents as gig work democratizes involvement in such issues while providing a supplementary source of income. LEARN MORE: Thank you for tuning into this episode of the GovDiscovery AI Podcast with Mike Shanley. You can learn more about working with the U.S. Government by visiting our homepage: Konektid International and GovDiscovery AI. To connect with our team directly, message the host Mike Shanley on LinkedIn. https://www.govdiscoveryai.com/ https://www.konektid.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gov-market-growth/ 

Fall family photography season is almost here, and if you're already bracing for the wave of inquiries, back-to-back sessions, and late-night editing marathons — this episode is your survival guide. I'm walking you through the three biggest bottlenecks that leave photographers overwhelmed every single fall… and exactly how to fix them before you hit burnout.This one's short and actionable, and yes — I'm absolutely inviting you to stop being the bottleneck in your own business.Find it quickly:00:00 — Why this episode is your fall prep wake-up call01:18 — Bottleneck #1: Editing will eat you alive (human vs. AI)05:22 — Bottleneck #2: You still don't have a 5-minute booking process08:21 — Bottleneck #3: You're still sending every client email yourself10:24 — Why automation still needs personality11:14 — What the Workflow Fast Pass is (and why I built it)13:54 — Let this fall season feel different

This episode explores how leaders unknowingly become the bottleneck that slows down progress—and offers four practical strategies to get out of the team's way. Learn how to shift from control to trust and let your team flow.Host: Paul FalavolitoConnect with me on your favorite platform: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Substack, BlueSky, Threads, DiscordFree Leadership Resources: www.paulfalavolito.comBooks by Paul FalavolitoThe 7 Minute Leadership Handbook: bit.ly/48J8zFGThe Leadership Academy: https://bit.ly/4lnT1PfThe 7 Minute Leadership Survival Guide: https://bit.ly/4ij0g8yOfficial 7 Minute Leadership MerchGrab exclusive gear and more: linktr.ee/paulfalavolitoPartners & DiscountsFlying Eyes Optics – Best aviator sunglasses on the marketGet 10% off with code: PFAVShop now: flyingeyesoptics.comGatsby Shoes – Dress sneakers built for leaders on the moveUse my affiliate link for 10% off: Gatsby ShoesSubscribe & Listen to My Podcasts:The 7 Minute Leadership Podcast1 PAPA FOXTROT – General Aviation PodcastThe DailyPfav

The 7 Profitable Parts of a Business with James Brown   If you think scaling a business means sacrificing your life, family, and freedom—this episode will shatter that belief. In this week's episode of The Profit Answer Man, we talk to James Brown, the founder of Perseverance Squared and the Business Accelerator Institute, who shares how he built an $8M law firm across four cities—without grinding 80-hour weeks. Instead, he built a business that bought back his time, gave him freedom, and funded his life purpose. Whether you're a solo operator, multi-location service provider, or scaling a firm—this episode gives you the roadmap to do it profitably and sustainably, all while putting Profit First.   In This Episode, You Will Learn: How James went from GM assembly lines to law school to running an $8M firm. The myth of the hustle and why "buying back your time" must be part of your strategy. The game-changing moment Profit First reshaped how he viewed business finance. How he systematized his firm so well, he could travel for weeks—and revenue didn't drop. The difference between a business owner and an operator (and how to become the former). What you can implement today to take your hands off the wheel without crashing your business.   Key Takeaways: Build to Exit Before You Need To. James sold his law firm at 49—not because he had to, but because he planned for it. “I never wanted to be 60 and still reviewing client files,” he said. Profit is a Habit, Not an Event. Switching to Profit First forced him to be intentional. He stopped hoping for leftovers and started allocating profit first—literally. If You're the Bottleneck, You're the Problem. The business didn't need him. That was the goal. "I designed my firm so I could leave at a moment's notice," James shared. The systems ran the business. Business Should Fund Your Life—Not Consume It. When his son got a last-minute hockey invite in Europe, he packed up and went for three weeks. No stress. That's the power of designing the right systems from day one. Coaching Is a Force Multiplier. James has now helped over 450 business owners scale smarter—not harder—through his coaching and accelerator programs.   Guest Bio: James Brown is the CEO and Founder of Business Accelerator Institute and Perseverance Squared. He launched his first business in 1994 and scaled it to $8M in revenue, eventually selling it to pursue his passion for coaching entrepreneurs. As a former fractional CEO and SLFU Program Manager, he launched Small Law Firm University and developed a marketing program generating $2M annually. James is the co-author of the best-selling book Shift Happens and holds a JD from St. Louis University and a business degree from Lindenwood University.   Conclusion: Are You Running a Business or Just Working a Job? James' story proves what we teach: a business should be built to give you time, money, and freedom—not steal them from you. If you're stuck in the weeds, constantly solving problems, and unsure where your profit is going—it's time for a change. You don't have to build alone. We're here to help you implement Profit First, take control of your cash flow, and scale strategically.   Links: Website: BusinessAccelerator.Institute  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/businessacceleratorinstitute  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/business.accelerator.institute/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/businessacceleratorinstitute Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@business.accelera YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@Business.Accelerator.Institute  Podcast episode landing page: BusinessAccelerator.Institute/profitanswerman Course: https://courses.businessaccelerator.institute/?am_id=ProfitAnswerMan    Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman Sign up to be notified when the next cohort of the Profit First Experience Course is available! Profit First Toolkit: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/landing-page-page  Relay Bank (affiliate link): https://relayfi.com/?referralcode=profitcomesfirst Profit Answer Man Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/profitanswerman/ My podcast about living a richer more meaningful life: http://richersoul.com/ Music provided by Junan from Junan Podcast Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs. #profitfirst

If you're sitting at $50K–$70K/month in revenue and feel like you're stuck on the hamster wheel, this episode is your wake-up call.  Most healthcare practice owners try to grow by adding more services, more marketing, more people but that's not the answer. In this episode, Tristan reveals the real reason you're not scaling past $1M… and it's not your marketing. What You'll Learn: Why marketing won't fix your revenue ceiling The critical number you must know before scaling How to systemize treatment recommendations across your team What your team needs to master to get consistent patient “yeses” The 3-part framework to increase revenue by 43% in under 90 days You'll discover the single biggest bottleneck that's silently killing your profits—and how to fix it fast using 3 simple systems you can install in your practice this month. P.S. If you want to learn more on how to scale your healthcare practice, chat with one of our expert coaches at https://practiceacceleration.com/application and see how we can help you!  Thanks so much for joining us this week. We hope you love it! Have some feedback you'd like to share? Leave us a review on iTunes! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave an honest review for The Practice Acceleration Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are super helpful and greatly appreciated as it helps us expose this show to a wider audience- plus, we read each one of them! If you're looking for ways to grow your healthcare practice even faster, join our free Facebook group Scale Your Practice.

Bradley defines the key terms "Rainmaker" and "Architect" after realizing he'd been using this language without clearly explaining what these roles mean. This solo episode wraps up his longest podcast series on the Rainmaker to Architect journey.THE RAINMAKER:Everything runs through you - you're the bottleneck.Usually the top performer but also the biggest limitation.All decisions need your approval.Constantly firefighting (but you're better at starting fires than putting them out).Essential to daily operations - business fails without you.Involved in every aspect: sales, operations, customer service, marketing.Can hit $500K-$750K, maybe $1M, then you hit a wall.The Octopus Analogy (from Marquez Brownlee):"I was like a genius octopus with a thousand hands" - you need to systematically cut off arms one at a time:Customer serviceFulfillmentLead handlingMarketing functionsAdministrative tasksPayrollTHE ARCHITECT:Uses blueprints and systematic design thinkingAsks "How can I be effective?" not "How can I do more?"Works above the business, not in daily operationsProactive rather than reactiveDesigns systems then designs themselves out of themFreedom and flexibility focusedHas operating systems and blueprints in placeKEY COMPARISONS:Rainmaker = Reactive, Essential, Bottleneck, Wings everything.Architect = Proactive, System designer, Blueprint creator, Freedom-focused.ACTION STEPS:Acknowledge if you're the bottleneck.Start systematically removing yourself from operations.Document systems even when it feels like you should be doing other things.Shift from "How can I do more?" to "How can I design this?"Build blueprints, not just hustle harder.RESOURCES:blueprintos.com/blueprint - Free tools and program infoThis concludes Bradley's longest podcast series. Next episodes return to solo format before launching new series content.

You didn't build a business just to stay stuck in it — so why are you still the one holding it back? In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill challenge the belief that being essential to your business is a badge of honor. Instead, they reveal why the most effective law firm leaders are the ones who build systems, empower teams, and make themselves operationally unnecessary. From learning how to keep a pulse without micromanaging to redefining your role as CEO, this episode is a tactical playbook for law firm owners who want to scale without staying stuck in the center of everything. Here's what you'll learn: Why stepping back from daily operations doesn't mean losing control — and how to keep a real-time pulse without micromanaging. How boredom can signal it's time to raise your standards, redefine your role, or set a bigger vision for your firm. What it takes to balance your core business with outside interests, without letting performance slip. If you want your firm to grow beyond you, you've got to be willing to let go. ---- Show Notes: 00:00 – Introduction 02:37 – The Robot Dog Experiment: A Lesson in Responsibility 07:02 – Are AI Relationships Really That Far Off? 08:42 – How Involved Should a Law Firm Owner Be? 11:49 – What to Do When You've Lost Passion for the Business You Built 17:21 – The Real Cost of Split Focus and Chasing Too Many Interests 21:53 – Final Thoughts: You Can Have It All, But Not All at Once ---- Links & Resources: AIbo robot dog by Sony Gary Vaynerchuk Tim Cook ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O'Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 373. AMMA — Your Firm's Biggest Threat: Too Many Good Ideas 341. The Real Reason Your Firm Isn't Scaling — And It's Not What You Think 189. AMMA — How to Preserve Your Culture While Scaling Your Business

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training How does a print designer become the founder of a thriving strategic web agency? Spoiler: It wasn't all smooth sailing. But this agency founder figured out how to stop being the bottleneck, leverage systems and AI, and make his agency way more profitable along the way. It all began by creating a digital brain for his agency. In this episode, Shawn Johnston, owner of Forge and Smith, a Vancouver-based agency shares how he's been building bespoke WordPress sites for 13+ years. He'll share his story—and some seriously smart tips for agency owners looking to scale and create more freedom in their agency. In this episode, you'll learn: Why documenting your processes is key to scaling How to use AI to build a “digital brain” for your agency How to step out of day-to-day work and empower your team Tips for focusing your team on high-value, strategic work Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service. From Print Design to Web Agency Owner Like a lot of us, Shawn didn't set out to build an agency. He started as a print designer back in 1996, cranking out newspaper ads when CSS came on the scene, sparking heated debate at the office over whether it would change the internet or not. Shawn got curious, taught himself to code, and started building sites on the side. What started as a hobby turned into freelancing… and when the 2008 housing collapse hit, he went all in. He hustled hard on Craigslist, building $1,500 WordPress sites and quickly realizing he was making more than his day job. This gave way to his first lesson in business: Hustle works early on, but you can't scale without systems. When He Knew It Was a “Real” Agency Starting out, Shawn was able to handle all the WordPress development, design, and strategy by himself. By setting up some repeatable pieces, he was able to grow his client list, with some of them coming back for site support. As projects stacked up, however, he hit a wall: He couldn't sell, deliver, and support all at once. He decided his first hire would handle client support, so he could free up time for higher-value work. From there, he slowly backed himself out of development… then strategy… then design - replacing himself piece by piece. Of course, this didn't automatically erase all the agency's problems. Initially, it only created a new set challenges. Adding new pieces to the team made their lack of documented processes very clear. For a while, the handoff confusion created meant everything continued to run through Shawn... The real issue was that there was too much knowledge trapped in his head. Why Documented Processes Are the Key to Scaling The obvious solution was to start documenting everything from UX components to strategy guides to build quality standards. From that point on, everyone knew who was responsible for what and at what point. The goal wasn't to limit creativity but to empower the team to make smart decisions without running to Shawn for answers. For Shawn, a focal point of this shift had to be underlying the agency's why. Everyone on the team had to be very clear on: Why do we work with clients the way we do? Why are we doing things this way and not that way? Making sure everyone understood the overall goals would inform the decision-making, cultural aspects, and would help the team work cohesively. Documented systems = freedom for you and clarity for your team. Win-win. The Next Step: Creating a ‘Digital Brain' for Your Team Fast forward to today, and Shawn is using AI to level up even more. He records and transcribes sales calls, discovery calls, and proposal work—then synthesizes it into a knowledge base his team can actually use. No more “Shawn said this one thing on a call” confusion mid-project. The team can look back at the records and apply direction to move forward without him. We've talked about the next step with AI for agency owners: train an AI assistant on your agency's entire knowledge base. That means training it with everything you have in your knowledge bank, including: Past client insights Brand guidelines Design patterns Sales conversations Internal processes Apply these practices ASAP so that your team can tap that knowledge instantly — without pinging you for answers. Think of it as your agency's “digital brain” and the key to your freedom. Why Low-Code + Prebuilt Systems Are Boosting Profits One of Shawn's smartest moves has been leaning hard into reusable systems and low-code tools. He's baked strategy into UX components, aligned dev processes with design frameworks, and streamlined builds so 80% of each site is repeatable. That frees the team to focus on the 20% that really matters—the strategic stuff that drives results (and justifies premium pricing). More profit, faster delivery, better outcomes. Everybody wins. Ready to Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Agency? If you're tired of everything running through you and want your team making smart decisions without constant handholding. Then it's time to plug into a community of agency owners who've figured this stuff out. Inside the Agency Mastery Mastermind, you'll learn exactly how to: -Document and systematize your agency's IP -Leverage AI to scale your team's capabilities -Increase profit margins with smarter processes -Step fully into the owner seat—so you can lead, not grind You don't have to figure this out alone. Come hang out with the smartest agency owners scaling today.

Many seasoned entrepreneurs unknowingly create systems, habits, and pricing structures that keep them stuck. This episode calls that out—with love—and offers practical ways to unjam their growth. Key Takeaways: How your time, mindset, and systems might be capping your income. Quick audit: Where are you over-functioning and under-earning? Simple shifts to get out of your own way (that don't require hiring a team of 10).   Save your spot today: Money Mastery Group Coaching Program Join my FREE Revenue Reset Masterclass July 15 1pm MDT 

In this episode of Reimagining the Contact Center, Marc Bernstein sits down with Lily Clifford, Founder and CEO of Rime, to unpack the emotional mechanics of spoken language, the cultural expectations we attach to voice technology, and why some AI voices make us uneasy while others feel oddly familiar.Marc and Lily explore how human communication isn't just about words—it's about cadence, intention, and identity. They discuss the risks of blurring the line between synthetic and human, how different generations are reshaping voice tech expectations, and why making a voice “believable” is more about respect than realism.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:08 Mechanics of the Human Voice04:33 Foundations of Human Conversations09:52 Where is the Bottleneck?14:40 Social Standards or AI Voice18:45 Human Likeness of AI Voice21:27 Ecosystem of Voices27:48 Indistinguishable from Human Voice33:45 What is Next for Rime?40:00 AI in 3 Years

Welcome to the final instalment of my Rebrand to Rise series, created for business owners who know their current branding no longer fits the incredible business they've built.If you've been thinking, “YES, I need a rebrand,” but also, “I don't even have time to eat lunch, let alone overhaul my brand,” this one's for you. Because rebranding can be strategic, streamlined, and supportive, without draining your energy.In this episode, I share:Why most rebrands stall (spoiler: it's not Canva's fault)The real reason your VA or designer struggles to nail your brand visionHow to turn your ideas into a system your team can run withWhat CEO-led branding actually looks like inside The Co+Creation Design ClubJoin the Club while it's on sale: https://whitedeer.com.au/clubsaleIntro 0:00Why most rebrands stall 2:28You can't outsource YOU 4:00Pick good imagery 6:20Get a system that works for your team 7:17How I can help you 10:50You don't have to DIY every graphic... but you do need to lead the vision.Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n00TLpjg3GYRead on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep219/WORK WITH JACQUI:// DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb// The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub// Design Studio: If you're after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

His transition from staff nurse to contractor to employer How one conversation in a hospital skybridge launched a business Creating an agency by accident and growing to 600 employees The systems that scaled without needing a business degree The moment he realized he was the problem, not the engine A brutal but freeing insight: the founder or CEO is often the biggest bottleneck What no one tells you about the emotional cost of success The first signs that the real journey was just beginning Rick hears what he'd been ignoring and gets baptized Writing, service, and rediscovering what truly matters How Rick found meaning in ghostwriting and mentoring His ultimate advice for those chasing more than money Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin Stahla, Co-owner of Stahla Services, a nationwide provider of restroom, shower, and ADA trailer rentals again joins Enterprise Radio. Erin will discuss why … Read more The post Why Your Business Can't Outgrow You: Don’t be the Bottleneck appeared first on Top Entrepreneurs Podcast | Enterprise Podcast Network.

What if you could break through business growth plateaus while preparing for a successful exit? In this episode of Small Business Black Holes, host Alan Pentz talks with Patrick Metzger from Growing For Success about navigating common growth challenges, implementing EOS frameworks, and leveraging AI to transform business operations. Whether you're struggling with founder bottlenecks, seeking to build transferable value, or wondering how to adapt to emerging AI technologies, this conversation delivers practical strategies for scaling your business intentionally. Tune in to discover why waiting too long to plan your exit could be your biggest mistake, and how to build a business that's both sustainable and sellable.

Does your business feel like it's growing faster than you can control? Are you constantly putting out fires, frustrated that your team isn't on the same page, and feeling like the vision in your head is getting lost in translation? If you're running a business that's grown fast but now feels messy and chaotic, this episode is your intervention. Meet Tzvi Schwartz. He knows this struggle intimately. He started as an electrician and built his own contracting company with over 100 employees, experiencing all the chaos that comes with rapid growth. After selling his company, he discovered the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) and became so adept at it that he helped the company he joined scale by an incredible 400%. In this masterclass on operational excellence, Meny Hoffman sits down with Tzvi to break down the systems and mindset shifts that transform business chaos into clarity, accountability, and scalable success. You'll discover:

If you find yourself constantly pulled into the weeds of your own design business—reviewing invoices, managing installs, fixing mistakes, and replying to every text and call—this episode is for you. Melissa dives deep into why so many interior designers unknowingly become the bottleneck in their own firm and how you can flip the script to reclaim your role as the strategic visionary and principal creative. It's not just about doing less, it's about doing what only you can do—and empowering others to do the rest. You'll learn how to identify your true zone of genius, the one that fuels your creativity and drives your business forward. Melissa shares actionable steps to delegate with purpose, create effective systems, and carve out dedicated CEO time to dream and strategize. If you're tired of hustle and grind and ready to lead with clarity, confidence, and creativity, this episode is your blueprint. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL HEAR: (02:48) Why staying in the weeds is sabotaging your growth—and how to break free. (08:15) The 3-part criteria to define your true zone of genius. (13:54) How to build a detailed delegation list that leads to effective job descriptions. (18:19) Why and how to create SOPs—even if you've been “winging it” until now. (24:03) The power of quarterly retreats and why finding a vista can supercharge your vision. (28:41) How being a “control enthusiast” is holding you back—and how to let go. SUPPORTING RESOURCES: Idiogram: https://idiogram.ai MidJourney: https://www.midjourney.com Sora by OpenAI: https://openai.com/sora When you're ready to step into a bigger vision in your design business and create exceptional results and celebrations, book-a-call to explore how coaching can take you there faster, with a solid plan, proven process, and smart strategies.

Welcome to the Celestial Insights Podcast, the show that brings the stars down to Earth! Each week, astrologer, coach, and intuitive Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste will be your guide. Her website is astrologybyceleste.com.  

Today I'm joined by Graham Anderson, CCO & Co-Founder of KENECT. We get into how dealers are solving the #1 bottleneck in fixed ops, the best times to text customers, how Gen Z is flipping the script on dealer communications, and more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Qmerit - Selling EVs can have a lot of friction points. But home charging installation shouldn't be one of them. That's why dealers and automakers trust Qmerit—the go-to expert for home charging installations. Join Qmerit's dealership partner program and start earning referral incentives on every installation. Visit @ http://www.qmerit.com/carguy to learn more. 2. Cox Automotive - Dealers keep hearing that improving customer experience is the best way to boost profits—but what do consumers actually want? Retail360—Cox Automotive's comprehensive suite of solutions — powers on true omnichannel experiences for consumers and dealers. With Retail360, powerful consumer insights enable predictive artificial intelligence and automation, all tailored for your dealership by industry-veteran performance managers. To learn how consumers prefer to shop, buy and own vehicles, visit @ https://cox.auto/uh9Uy and download “The Evolving Consumer and How to Meet Their Needs,” the new Ebook from Cox Automotive. Need help finding top automotive talent? Get started here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in advertising with Car Dealership Guy? Drop us a line here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://cdgpartner.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3Suismu⁠⁠ Topics: 01:29 How is AI transforming dealerships? 04:24 What shaped your company's journey? 06:52 Why reputation management matters? 10:44 Benefits of automated scheduling 18:42 Biggest tech integration challenges? 21:58 The future AI applications in auto 23:30 Text vs voice for customers 26:27 How to optimize service departments? 32:28 Industry outlook for next year? Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG News ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://news.dealershipguy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CDG Jobs ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CDG Recruiting ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ My Socials: X ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠x.com/GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/cardealershipguy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@guydealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠threads.net/@cardealershipguy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Everything else ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

In this episode I discuss a common hurdle many business owners face: the $5 million bottleneck. Drawing from my experience as a CFO, I outline how business growth often stalls around this revenue point due to the founder's over-involvement in day-to-day operations. I highlight the importance of developing systems, delegating responsibilities, and creating clear organizational structures to overcome this challenge. Join me as I share actionable strategies to help you scale your business, empower your leadership team, and transition from a reactive to a proactive management style.   What You'll hear in this episode: [00:50] Symptoms of the Bottleneck [03:10] The Importance of Systems and Processes [04:05] Risks of Inconsistent Decision Making [05:05] Breaking Free from the Bottleneck [08:12] Creating Functional Accountability [10:00] Empowering Your Team [12:35] Mindset Shifts for Effective Delegation [14:50] Taking Ownership as a Leader   If you like this episode, check out: Harness the Benefits of an Accountable Plan in Your Business Use This Hack to Hire Financial Experts in Your Business How to Scale Without Losing Margin   Want to learn more so you can earn more?  Visit keepwhatyouearn.com to dive deeper on our episodes  Visit keepwhatyouearncfo.com to work with Shannon and her team  Watch this episode and more here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMlIuZsrllp1Uc_MlhriLvQ  Connect with Shannon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/shannonkweinstein/   The information contained in this podcast is intended for educational purposes only and is not individual tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before implementing anything you learn.

Karl Bryan welcomes AI strategist Caroline Hinton for a deep dive into the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence in the world of business coaching. Together, they break down how coaches are leveraging AI for efficiency, measurable ROI, client relationships, and industry relevance—while also addressing key ethical safeguards and practical tips for new coaches. Key Topics & Takeaways: 1. AI's Impact in Coaching AI is already being used (sometimes secretly) by executives and their teams, regardless of top-down adoption. It acts as an indispensable tool, not a threat—think of it as a “brilliant but blunt analyst” that's now part of every leadership circle. Three big shifts: stealth adoption, compressed decision cycles, and democratized simulation with AI tools. 2. How Coaches Are Using AI Massive time savings: AI can organize, summarize, and document calls and workshops in minutes instead of hours. Enhanced client relationships: With routine admin handled by AI, coaches focus on deeper human connections and tailored follow-ups. Powerful diagnostics: Tools like Profit Acceleration Software (PAS) quickly generate profit opportunity roadmaps with minimal data entry, saving time and impressing clients. 3. Demonstrating Value & ROI AI bridges the industry's “credibility gap” by providing both qualitative and quantitative proof of progress. Tools can analyze and track changes in mindset or business performance, helping coaches and clients see tangible results and ROI, updating results in real time. 4. Ethical Considerations Caroline's “Three Cs” of AI ethics: Consent (transparent use and permission), Containment (clear data boundaries and privacy), and Clarity (explainable, source-based results). Coaches should update contracts, anonymize sensitive information, and consider keeping an audit trail of AI interactions to build trust. 5. Advice for New Coaches Treat AI fluency like learning a new sport: start with prompt crafting and develop a regular practice routine. Focus on a “pilot loop”: select a single workflow to automate, measure improvement, and iterate. Harness free online training (from ChatGPT Academy, Google, YouTube) to build AI skills quickly and effectively. 6. Avoiding Overwhelm Filter decisions through: Bottleneck (where do you lose most time?), Anchor (pick one main tool), and Layer (slowly add new tools). Start small, evaluate results, and scale up as you go. 7. Staying Relevant in an AI World Differentiation comes from combining AI-driven insight, compelling storytelling, and an irreplaceable human touch. AI streamlines precision and analysis; coaches add value through empathy, leadership, and psychological depth. Embrace AI as your “superpower,” not a replacement for your unique human perspective. Notable Quotes: “AI is already in the room. It's a tool, not a threat.” “The best opportunity for coaches now is to help clients make sense of AI—decode, challenge, and humanize it.” “At the end of the day... that ability to connect at a human level, to make a difference, to be heard, to influence—are absolutely critical. AI just multiplies your impact.” Resource Links: Profit Acceleration Software by Focused.com ChatGPT Academy For more strategies on elevating your business coaching practice and leveraging cutting-edge AI, check out previous episodes or visit Focused.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, share with a fellow coach, and leave a review. See you next week on Business Coaching Secrets! Ready to elevate your coaching business? Don't wait! Listen to this episode now and make strides towards your goals. Visit Focused.com for more information on our Profit Acceleration Software™ and join our community of thriving coaches. Get a demo at https://go.focused.com/profit-acceleration

Hey hey, Product Bosses! Today I'm coaching Jen, the incredible founder of Corkscrew Imports, a Canadian-based business that connects wine lovers and restaurants to underrepresented, small-batch wineries from around the world. Jen is a solo entrepreneur with a deep passion for wine and global culture—but like many of you, she's finding herself overwhelmed, under-supported, and struggling to scale.In this coaching session, we dig into one of the biggest roadblocks facing so many product-based business owners: becoming the bottleneck in your own success. Jen is juggling everything—sales, operations, fulfillment, and supplier relationships—and it's slowing her down. We explore how to build a plan around her highest-value customers, implement simple systems, and eventually get her out of the day-to-day weeds so she can stay front-facing and focused on growth.If you've ever thought, “I'm the problem,” you're not alone. But here's the truth: you're also the solution. This episode will help you shift from scattered to strategic, so you can start selling smarter, not harder.Resources:Check out Jen's wine collections and learn more about her story here.Follow Corkscrew Imports on Instagram by clicking here.Want to stand out from the competition? Join my FREE masterclass and learn my Stand Out Method that will help make your products irresistible!Join our mailing list for access to additional training and support to turn your business into the best it can be.Consistent content is key to getting more people to see and buy your products. If you want to create great content but you don't know what to say, or you feel too busy, or you just don't want to be the face of your brand, no worries – because we've got you covered with a year's worth of consistent content that's sure to resonate with your audience! If you want to see how easy this can be, click here.Connect:Website: theproductboss.comInstagram: @theproductbossMentioned in this Episode:InstacartDiscover more about how Instacart can work for you!Click here to learn moreGlociUse Code JACQUELINESNYDER to get 15% OFF your order! Click here to shop now!

What if the biggest thing holding your business back is... YOU? In this episode, Lori and I talk about how to recognize when you're the problem and how to become the solution. We break down questions you need to ask yourself that will help you shift from stuck to scaling fast. We also dive into how your energy sets the tone for your entire team, why staying stuck in “pretty good” guarantees you'll get left behind, and why proximity, mentorship, and massive action are your shortcuts to success.   HIGHLIGHTS How trying to "save money" cost us millions. Why “doing it yourself” is keeping you broke and stuck. Why hiring the right team members accelerates your growth. How avoiding uncomfortable decisions drains your business. How your energy and habits directly influence your team's performance. How to know if your team is mirroring your energy (for BETTER or WORSE). How to align your calendar with your actual goals. The hidden cost of tolerating mediocrity in your business. Why proximity and mentorship fast-tracks success.   RESOURCES Looking for mentorship? Join the waitlist for our NEW Mentor Collective mastermind. Make More Sales in the next 90 days - GET THE BLUEPRINT HERE! Check out upcoming events + Masterminds: chrisharder.me Text DAILY to 310-421-0416 to get daily Money Mantras to boost your day.   FOLLOW Chris: @chriswharder Lori: @loriharder Frello: @frello_app

Are YOU the bottleneck in your business? In this episode, Chris and I dive into how to recognize when you're the bottleneck and how to start moving forward again. We break down key questions you can ask yourself to spot the signs of micromanaging, avoiding decisions, or blaming external factors that might be holding your business back. We also share some of our biggest bottleneck moments, the lessons we learned, and the shifts that helped us scale faster. Get ready to stop playing the victim and start moving faster by getting out of YOUR own way. Check out our Sponsors: Brevo - Meet the all-in-one marketing and CRM platform for your business. Get started free or save 50% for 3 months with code HAPPY at brevo.com/happy Airbnb - Start making money by listing your home on Airbnb with an experienced Co-host, find a co-host at airbnb.com/host Shopify - Try the ecommerce platform I trust for Glōci, Sign up for your $1/month trial period at shopify.com/happy The RealReal - Buy and sell luxury clothing, bags, and more on The RealReal. Get $25 off your first purchase when you go to therealreal.com/happy HIGHLIGHTS How trying to "save money" cost us millions. Why “doing it yourself” is keeping you broke and stuck. Why hiring the right team members accelerates your growth. How avoiding uncomfortable decisions drains your business. How your energy and habits directly influence your team's performance. How to know if your team is mirroring your energy (for BETTER or WORSE). How to align your calendar with your actual goals. The hidden cost of tolerating mediocrity in your business. Why proximity and mentorship fast-tracks success. RESOURCES Get on the waitlist for our new mastermind HERE! Check out our FREE 90-Day Business Blueprint HERE! Listen to my free SECRET PODCASTS SERIES - Operation: Rekindle This B*tch Get glōci HERE Use code: HAPPY at checkout for 25% off! FOLLOW Follow me: @loriharder Follow glōci: @getgloci