Podcasts about build systems

https://youtu.be/B9j1nlRifHM Alex Fernandez, CEO of Synergy Orthopedic Specialists, is driven by a mission to help physicians Build a Multi-Site Medical Practice that creates wealth, equity, and independence beyond their personal labor. By bringing independent physicians together, building scalable organizations, and expanding access to integrated services, Alex helps doctors operate as entrepreneurs while delivering a more convenient and cost-effective patient experience. In this conversation, Alex introduces The Multi-Site Scaling Framework—Visualize Your Target EBITDA, Align With Your Partners, Remove Yourself From the Center, Build Systems, and Build Margin Around Your Core Business. He explains why starting with the desired enterprise value creates a clearer path for growth, why alignment must be a gate for every partnership or acquisition, and how strong systems allow a business to operate without depending on its founder. Alex also shares how vertical integration, company culture, geographic expansion, and AI-assisted processes can improve profitability while preserving independent medical care. — Build a Multi-Site Medical Practice with Alex Fernandez  Good day, dear listeners. Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast, and welcome Alejandro “Alex” Fernandez, the CEO of Synergy Orthopedic Specialists, a team of surgeons and specialists that believes in providing patients with an integrated approach to musculoskeletal—I’m glad I could pronounce this—medical care through 15 locations throughout San Diego. Alex, welcome to the show.  Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that. I’ve enjoyed your show, and I’m happy to be here.  Well, I’m always interested when I meet with medical provider companies or CEOs who have been doctors, because I grew up in a family of two doctors, and so I was exposed to some of the challenges of being a doctor and running a hospital. So that’s going to be interesting. So my favorite question that I ask recently to all our founders is, what is your personal why, and how are you manifesting it in your practice and in your business?  Yeah, for sure. And so my why, as you put it, comes from where I started. I actually don’t come from a family of physicians. I started not where I ended up. I’m a son of Cuban immigrants. My parents fled Castro in the ’60s, and I was born in Puerto Rico. Later on, my family took a lot of our family in the Mariel boatlift in 1981 and took hundreds of people out of Cuba. But in reality, the concept or the reality is that my parents didn’t have a lot of money. They had some connections, but they believed that I should have a college education.  But I had to work my way through eight years of college to get my bachelor’s. So I landed in healthcare as an accident. It was a small medical practice. I was basically doing front desk and medical records, and then later on learned how to do the billing, all by hand at that time. There were no electronic medical records. And I started basically at the front desk, and I watched something that I never really forgot, which is, you have these brilliant physicians, people that can diagnose patients and help them and cure them, but when it came to business, they were never taught anything about business.  So this is where I believe I have generated value over the years: basically, built companies that actually create wealth, and the wealth for the physicians in particular.Share on X I think physicians are very entrepreneurial. At least that’s the idea to begin with, is, “I’m going to go into the practice of medicine and have my own business.” But somewhere along the line, the business becomes almost like an ATM machine. It’s no different than any other entrepreneur that starts a business. They are the business. Without them, if they go away for a couple of days, the business doesn’t make any money, and they don’t really know how to do that. So what I’ve done over the years is I have gotten smaller groups of physicians to come together, form larger organizations, larger groups, and eventually built larger private businesses that can have EBITDA, equity earnings that can basically provide some additional wealth.  Particularly, I try to help them think of themselves as capitalists, not as day laborers. Because in reality, in most businesses, and particularly physicians, they’re cranking the wheel, and the more they produce, the more they work, the more they earn. But in some cases, they don’t understand how to get away from that. How to earn from all the other things that they control. Because physicians do control 80% of the spend in healthcare but earn probably no more than 5% of it.  Wow. That is shocking. So they’re not using the leverage properly, probably.  Yeah. Sometimes they know it’s there, but physicians in general are risk-averse. Just starting their own business is hard enough. Then having to figure out how to capitalize from all the levers that they have, that’s completely different. And they’re no different than, I would say, lawyers or accountants that start a small business. At some point in time, you have to figure out, how do you make the business big enough that it operates and works without you?  Yeah, I love that. I love that. And what makes you feel strongly for physicians?  Well, particularly independent physicians, I think it’s a dying breed. Years ago, I would hear the stories of my parents where they’d say, “Hey, we took you to the pediatrician,” and my dad would be friends with the OB-GYN that took care of my mom and the pediatrician. And I remember them naming them by first name or even meeting them at the social club. But nowadays, it’s very transactional. It’s very fast. There’s no connection.  So I think that’s why there’s been this whole surgence of concierge physicians where you pay extra. Because in truth, in order to make a living, the business of healthcare is compressed by downward pressures from the government and from other institutions that say, “We’re going to pay you less, but you have to have a significant amount of compliance, and you have to spend more money on this, and you have to do that.” And then at the same time, the cost of living goes up.  The employees need to make more money. Your rent goes up. The supplies continue to increase. So you have the static or lower reimbursement from the different payers, whether it’s Medicare, the government, or private institutions, and then an increase of expenses happening. That’s very strange to any business. In any other business, you say, “Well, if my costs go up, I increase my prices, and then maybe my margins are a little bit less, but I still have a significant margin.” In healthcare, you almost have to just work more in order to generate more revenue, and the expenses hopefully will increment a little bit more, but your earnings will be the same or less. So it’s a very tough situation for an independent physician.  That’s why more and more, especially physicians coming out of training, look for jobs with health systems, with the Kaisers of the world or the different large institutions in the United States, so that way they can go ahead and just go to work and take care of patients and not worry about the business of healthcare.  Yeah. But then these big hospitals turn into bureaucracies, and then they still have to worry about that in a different way.  And that’s personally the second part to that question you asked me. That’s why I like working with physicians and not necessarily with health systems. I’ve never held a job with a hospital. Not that I haven’t wanted to. It’s just, I think the nature of the bureaucracy of a health system creates some things that I’m not personally interested in.  Yeah. Well, I can see that. So Alex, this is a podcast of frameworks, as you know. So what’s a framework that has helped you build your business, maybe generate an insight, understand situations, maybe influence these physicians to come together in your roll-ups? Whatever framework you developed, could you share something with our listeners?  Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Most owners in a business—and I’ll talk in generic terms. I’ll try to make sure I don’t use any slang for healthcare—but most businesses build their business for income. They want to make income for their families, for themselves. They want to be able to take care of the people that they’re with. But they don’t really think about it from a perspective of, “Let me build a business that can multiply.” Maybe they want to, but in a lot of areas, it’s just hard for them.  I actually grew up in the bridal business. My parents had bridal stores. They basically did wedding packages, and that’s the business that I grew up in. Every summer, I would go and do the cash register or help rent tuxedos and things like that, or do filing and bookkeeping. So that’s where my entrepreneurial spirit comes from. It’s my parents. But I always saw them where maybe they built one or a couple stores, two, three stores, and they would kind of stop there. But I think I learned a lot from my dad in particular around multi-site operations in a retail industry, and I took that back into the healthcare business.  So one of the first things I think that a business owner has to do is they have to underwrite their own exit first.Share on X They have to think of growth and particularly of the value of the business if they were ever going to sell it. Figure out what your EBITDA or enterprise value is going to be, and then go from there. Then make the alignments first, but don’t make it the goal. Most people chase the volume, the customers, more locations, more deals, spend years fixing what they bolted on in order to flip it, but they don’t really take the time to align it. So I think the client, the partnership, the acquisition—you have to figure all that out at the beginning and then fix it later.  If I run into an acquisition that we’re looking at, and I don’t see the alignment from whoever I’m going to partner up with, I know it’s going to be a deal that’s going to go bad eventually. We all have to be thinking the same way. Then the other thing, like I already mentioned this a couple of times, but you have to take yourself out of the center. If you’re the CEO, you’re the business owner, and the business depends on you—you can’t go on your two- or three-week vacation to Europe or wherever you want to go, and when you come back, the business is in disarray or didn’t survive—you don’t really have a business.  You just have a job that costs you a lot of money to maintain. I think that’s where operating systems earn their keep. I haven’t really run the EOS program, but I’ve read the book, and I really like the idea of the scorecards, and I used it particularly when I came to this opportunity in San Diego. Getting everybody to row in the same direction. A business that runs with a founder and a single thing, it’s one that won’t get very far.  But on the other hand, if the founder figures out a way to build systems around them and bring in the right people, that’s going to make the business way more successful. And the last one I would say is own the margin around your core. Don’t just sell the core service. Figure out what else you have. And I think in healthcare in particular, I was mentioning this: doctors control a significant amount of what happens to a patient, but they don’t figure out ways to vertically integrate the business to have access or have the opportunity to earn some revenue and some earnings from the actual business they refer to.  So what I’ve done over the years, particularly in gastroenterology, I grew a medical practice of gastroenterologists. A couple of them came together, and it was around 50 million in revenue when I came in. And one of the first things I started doing was figuring out, how do we add, let’s say, imaging services? So we added CT. How do we add infusion services? Because back then, there were some significant drugs that were coming into market around infusion. But later on, we said, “Hey, we have an investment in an ASC, but why don’t we do the investment so the investment’s part of the group? So all the doctors can benefit from that.  And when we actually equitize the business in the future, that could be part of our exit if there’s equity there.” And then the next question was, “Well, why don’t we sell the prep that we give people before they get the colonoscopy?” So we got licensing around pharmacy, and then we said, “Well, what about anesthesia? What about pathology?” And so on and so on. So when I went to New York City and I ran a dermatology group, we built a path lab for the derms. When I came here to the orthopedic group, we had PT locations, expanded to multiple PT locations, improved the contracts around durable medical equipment, the bracing, even added anesthesia and started our own ambulatory surgical center.  So always trying to figure out, how can you vertically integrate the business to try to capture as much as you can from the client that’s in front of you? Not only just from a money perspective, but also from an experience perspective, being able to provide it all under one roof and being able to give the patient, the customer, a great experience. You want to provide outstanding medical care. Quality medical care is kind of like a base. If you go to a doctor, you expect to get better. But what we see in healthcare a lot is that people don’t think about it.  Like, in our offices, we say, “Thank you for choosing Synergy Orthopedics.” We know patients have a choice, so we have to develop a model that allows the patient to say, “Hey, I want to go here because these guys have it all under one roof.” But more importantly, that’s typically what the hospitals have. But hospitals charge for the same thing I provide two and three times more because they have a different type of leverage with the contracts. So I always say, “Why did the duck cross the road? Oh, because they went from the hospital to the ambulatory surgical center to get a colonoscopy to save 700 bucks.” I mean, it’s literally that simple.  And I don’t think patients in general know that, but I think the doctors have a great opportunity to control the delivery system, provide a great experience for the patients, and at the same time, make some money from things that they don’t physically have to do. They can hire the physical therapist, et cetera.  Yeah. Okay, so that’s great. So what I’m hearing, the framework is: think of growth first—what’s the EBITDA you want? Then create alignment, take yourself out of the center, build systems, and build margin around your core business. So that’s wonderful. Now, step two, I’m not 100% clear on. So you said make alignment with partners, but don’t make it the goal. What do you mean by that?  Well, because particularly I’ve been involved in private equity medical groups. So with private equity, you have cash, you have leverage, so you can go and buy, buy, buy, buy. In private equity, to a degree, they want growth. But I’ve been in deals where the thesis was, for example, we’re all going to be rowing in the same direction with the same flag, same brand, and we’re going to transfer from having—there were four medical groups, so four different, distinct medical groups—and we’re putting them together under what’s called a management services organization, a management company, and basically form one larger group.  But that was never aligned because the doctors, in their head, said, “You’re acquiring me, so you’re buying this magnificent, outstanding business. Now why do you want to change my electronic medical records? Why do you want to change the way we do our, let’s say, revenue cycle management or billing? Why do you want to change our brand? Our brand’s fantastic.” Even though they were all called Dermatology blah, blah, blah, something and something. So you have to make sure that the people that you’re going to bring on board, whether it’s through acquisition, merger, or just employment, that they really believe in your story, that they believe in the core vision of the business.  Not just try to put people in there and make more deals, get more locations, spend more years, and then you put all these things together and you bolt them up, but you spend more time trying to fix it. In my Gastro Health and in the ortho business, we always started with, “Let’s make sure we have our house in order before we go out and start growing the organization and adding more to what we have.” The last thing you want to do is add more and then find out that you have to spend more time fixing it.  No, that makes sense. But then you qualified it. You said, “Don’t make it the goal. Don’t make alignment the goal.” So how does it become the goal? What’s the risk there?  So no, make it the gate, not the goal. Meaning, alignment is extremely important, but you want the alignment to be the one thing that puts you together. But at the end, everybody has to be buying into the idea. It’s not the only goal. Their goal is also money. The goal is growth. But it has to be one of the key things. In healthcare, I tend to think, and particularly with private equity, that’s not perceived. It’s more about getting deals done.  Yeah. They don’t care about the mission. They don’t care about the vision, the alignment.  I think they do. In their thesis, they do, and they want it. But it’s kind of like, at the end, you’re looking at this business. They want to sell, you want to buy, you have money, they want money, and sometimes it’s just easier to say, “Well, we can grow from $30 million to $60 million, from $10 million of EBITDA to $20 million of EBITDA. We’re going to get, instead of a 10 multiple, we’re going to get a 15 multiple.”  So sometimes that gets in the way. And I would say, by the way, I worked with great and fantastic private equity firms, so I’m not saying they all think that way. But for sure, the perception is that they’re going to go in and try to make deals happen because they do have an end goal. Their end goal is to their investors that gave them funds, that they told them they were going to get them a four-, five-, seven-times multiple on their investment.  So in your own business, Synergy Orthopedic Specialists, is this a private equity-funded business or is it bootstrapped?  No. No, it’s bootstrapped. The physicians, when I came on board—at that time, I started with them six years ago in 2020, and the market was really hot still, ’21, ’22, ’23, and then the interest rates went up, and then things have softened. I think also they got softened for what we’ve been discussing earlier. There’s been a lot of deals that have been done where acquisitions were done in multiple states. There’s not a lot of synergy or a lot of things that were worked out to try to make sure that the organization was working together, the multiple organizations that were acquired.  And the idea was, if we buy four million-dollar businesses, they will be, instead of an eight-times multiple, they’ll be a 10- or 12-times multiple. So I think there’s a lot of deals that are stuck in the marketplace right now, and the groups are trying to figure out how to evolve the organization after five, six, seven years from, “Hey, we let you alone. We let you be. But now we need to start integrating. Now we have to start building an enterprise. Now we have to start building a real platform.” And I think that the organizations that did that earlier have been able to exit and done a much better multiple and growth.  And also the key is, in these transactions where people get together, a lot of times it’s all about the fun. “Hey, we go out to dinner, and everybody’s well, and everybody’s happy, and how much money we’re going to make,” and blah, blah. But nobody really asks the tough questions, or some people do because they actually don’t want the deals to get done. But I think it comes from the buyer. The buyer needs to be very upfront with what they want to accomplish with a transaction, whether, again, a merger or an acquisition.  You want to make sure that you’re extremely transparent about what the end goal is going to be. And if the end goal is like, “Hey, I’m going to leave you alone for a year, but in a year and one day, your name’s going to change, your software’s going to change, your HR is going to change. And by that time, we’ll figure out about your staff, and we might probably cut 25% of your staff because you’re bloated, and we actually have to make you a little bit more fit and trim so you can actually be able to grow and provide better care to your patients.”  So what I’m seeing is, it’s quite impressive. You have 15 locations, you have a huge service mix. You have, compared to the number of locations and service mix, a limited number of people. So how do you maintain the Synergy standard? And how do you manage this complexity with such low—low per— It took— How many people?  Yeah, it’s—right. Yeah, I agree. It’s taken some time. Again, I wouldn’t say that it’s perfect. We’re always evolving, changing. I mean, I always say the only constant thing in healthcare is change. But it started with the company culture. When I first got here, there were four or five organizations that came together, and they were still using their old names. Synergy Orthopedics was like this little kind of byline under their business cards. It wasn’t really the brand.  And then over time, we got people in the organization rowing in the same direction, using the same flag, and over time we started to dominate the market. We started to be perceived, and we are today, the largest independent medical orthopedic group in San Diego. So when people think of MSK, we take care of the hockey team, we take care of the soccer team, we take care of professional players. The larger organizations reach out to us about developing contracts, direct contracts to provide services to them.  So that took a long time, but it started with building that company culture. And along the way, some people left. Some people just didn’t fit what we were trying to build. And it wasn’t just me. I didn’t do this by myself, of course. The reality was we built a team around what we were trying to create. Physicians, in this case, are the leaders. Physician leadership was there, and this is what they wanted as well. So I think, yes, when we’re now in other counties we’re in Riverside County, so we’re north of San Diego. We’re all the way to Palm Desert and looking to grow into Orange County and L.A. County eventually.  So the goal is also in growth, and size allows leverage and negotiation power with the different payers. And that’s very different than in other industries where you have a payer, let’s say Blue Shield or Anthem or United, that kind of controls how you’re going to provide service, how much they’re going to pay you, et cetera, et cetera. So the only way to really have any type of seat at the table is that your organization has to be large enough and a market leader and basically be something, or an organization, that they can’t say no to, that they want to have in their network. So that’s how we’ve been able to do this over the last five, six years now.  So what drives the growth? Is it the acquisitions? Is it geographic expansion? Is it payers refer business? What’s the driver?  All of it. You have to do everything. It’s like that movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s like you have to do everything. We started by first creating the brand and the company culture, expanding that brand and company culture by figuring out who having the right seats on the bus, making sure the right people that wanted to be with us were there. And then we said, “Okay, we don’t have a spine program. Let’s figure out how we recruit a spine doctor. Let’s figure out how we recruit a pain doctor.  Let’s get a foot and ankle specialist because we don’t have one. Let’s expand our sports medicine program.” So we took over a fellowship training program in San Diego that was probably going to expire, and then we took it over and continued the legacy of the physician that started it from the beginning. We’ve done some mergers. We’ve done some acquisitions. We’ve done some new locations. We’ve expanded our physical therapy footprint. We built out an ambulatory surgical center. That was a big endeavor. These things cost millions and millions of dollars. Just in construction alone, it was like $600… I think our overall investment’s somewhere around $12, $15 million, so highly leveraged. We brought in a partner, a national partner, to help us run and fund the enterprise.  We started an anesthesia division. So I would say you have to do everything, and all of it together, as time goes by, creates that vision. As long as you have the vision, like I said, the beginning thing is you have to start with the end goal. And the end goal is we want to build a business that’s independent. That’s our goal. We don’t want to be sold or be part of the hospital system. So you have to build the end goal, work through the process, grow it, and do all the things at the same time, which is extremely hard, I would say.  Yeah. This is fascinating. So you have a lot of complexity. You have a lot of locations, a lot of services, 50 providers. I mean, sometimes doctors can be cats, hard to manage them. Eagles, eagles. I always say, try to get eagles to fly in a straight line. Impossible. Yeah.  But if you had a magic wand and you could fix one thing in your business in the next 12 months, what would it be?  I will be honest, it’s expenses. Expenses can and I’ve talked about this before the pressures in the healthcare industry really are driven around expenses. We just got an increase in minimum wage in healthcare, specifically in California, where a physician practice now has to pay $23 an hour for a minimum-wage job, where minimum wage is almost half of that if you’re in any other industry. So I think everybody should make more than $23, particularly in San Diego. It’s a very expensive place to live.  But I think it’s more around the pressures that are put on the industry, but the levers are not there to increase revenue to be able to support or subsidize those expenses. So, for all intents and purposes, we’re looking at how we increase revenue by keeping expenses the same, or fixed, or a little bit higher than what they are, by augmenting with AI, like every other industry is doing. Figuring out whether it’s using AI in your MRI to be able to process the imaging faster, clearer, better, and be able to add three or four more patients a day. That profit goes straight to the bottom line.  It might be before we had people that are scribes that basically did the documentation of the history, the notes, and the medical records. Now doctors are using—well, they’ve been using voice recognition for a while—but now you’re doing ambient AI, where basically it’s listening to the conversation with the patient, of course with the patient’s approval, and being able to document all that information into the record much faster, quicker, better, and more precise. And so on. Answering the phones, being able to—when the patient gets statements, we typically send out statements every two weeks.  But when we send them, we send thousands of statements, so we get thousands of phone calls. You can’t get all those phone calls when somebody says, “I owe $50, and I don’t know why,” and being able to have an AI that tells you, “The $50 is because you had a copayment or you had a deductible, and it’s due to your insurance program with whatever the insurance is.” And they’re like, “Oh, okay.” “You want to pay that right now?” “Yes.” It sends you a text to your phone, qualifies who you are, you click on it, you put your payment information. The information goes in, the payment gets posted. Nobody got involved. AI took care of the whole process. So we’re trying to figure out how to assist the staff without having to let go. At least my intent is not to let go of people.  My intent is to try to make sure that we do the best job possible and use AI to augment the process, not to replace the staff. I get very worried, in general, about what’s going on with AI as an industry, where people are saying, “Well, I use it as my assistant. I use it as this.” Well, I started at the front desk. If there are no front desk jobs, how could I have been CEO of this multimillion-dollar organization if I didn’t get a foot in the door to begin with? So I feel very worried for my kids that are growing up. One’s studying to be a psychologist, the other one’s in marketing. How are they going to learn and grow in an industry or a business if they can’t get their foot in the door?  Yeah. That is a concern. I don’t know if we can fix it, but I’m worried about it too. So Alex, who would you like to listen to this podcast and to take action? And what kind of action should they take?  Well, I think it’s generic. I always say, I have an MBA in healthcare administration, but I could have gone and done any type of business. Like I said to you, I grew up in the retail industry. So I think it’s more around, if you’re an entrepreneur and you have talent and you’ve worked really hard at doing something, you have to figure out how to hire the right people so that they can do a job that maybe you don’t know how to do, how to scale up a business by investing in it, making sure you don’t look at your business as an ATM machine or a salary that pays you every week or every period of time, but look at it as you’re an entrepreneur, a capitalist.  You’re building an organization. You’re providing jobs for people. But at the end, the business has to give you more than your salary. There has to be equity in the enterprise, and that’s the money you’ll be able to use to maybe have leverage or to use in order to add that next location or look at what’s the next opportunity, whether you’re, again, a doctor or you’re running a retail organization that wants to have multiple locations. The key is, think of the end goal. And the end goal, not necessarily that you’re going to sell, but what is it going to be? What is the business that you want to have valued at, and how have they grown?  Look and listen to other people like yourself, Steve, and all the different things that you do in regard to building that journey of the business, and figure out how to take the next step and the next step and the next step. It doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t get from a $50 million company to a $150 million company. It took me seven years to get there. But it’s done by augmenting and adding features and adding services, but doing it very intelligently, thinking it through, not just adding it for the sake of adding it, then, like I said before, having to bolt it on and try to fix more of the problems, creating more problems.  No. Fix your house, figure out where you’re at, make sure it’s earning equity. Maybe you have to reprice. Maybe you have to figure out how the business needs to run a little bit nimbler. Maybe you have to use technology, whether it’s AI answering the phone because you’re the guy that—you have a pizza shop. Why do you have to have people answering? Have the AI take the order, have the AI tell people to go to the website, and so on, so you can have pizzas going out of your store every five minutes. So for sure, there are great opportunities. And if you’re a business owner, I want you to think that you can. It’s not impossible. It can be done. You don’t need an MBA. You just need to work hard and think it through and come up with a business plan and an idea on how you want to get there.  Yeah. Well, this is very inspiring. So if you are a founder, you’re running a business, or you’re about to start a business, look at what Alex has done. He was a son of Cuban immigrants, came to this country, built from nothing a 15-location, 50-provider medical group, and works with private equity, advises companies as well. Follow his example.  So Alex Fernandez, thank you for sharing your wisdom on the show. And if you’re listening and you enjoyed this conversation, stay tuned because I have a couple of exciting entrepreneurs every week who come on the show and share their secrets and frameworks with you. So thanks for coming, Alex, and thank you for listening. Important Links: Alex's LinkedIn Alex's website

Have you been chasing bigger goals while completely ignoring the standards that actually determine your success? In this episode, I'm going to show you why your life isn't built on your biggest ambitions but on the non-negotiable standards you refuse to fall below. I'll teach you how to create personal minimums for your health, relationships, business, and daily habits so you can stop relying on motivation and start making success easier. Join my free live High Performance Workshop on Aug 27th and learn the system top performers use to operate at full capacity without burning out.    Save your spot: https://robdial.short.gy/hpwp   The Mindset Mentor™ podcast is designed for anyone desiring motivation, direction, and focus in life.     Past guests of The Mindset Mentor include Tony Robbins, Matthew McConaughey, Jay Shetty, Andrew Huberman, Lewis Howes, Gregg Braden, Rich Roll, and Dr. Steven Gundry.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, Chef Mikey Russo of Chef's Harvest discusses how he frees up time in his day to build systems to build a solid and booming business.   Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights!   Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower:  Instagram  Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:  Carrot Cashflow  Farm Small Farm Smart  Farm Small Farm Smart Daily  The Growing Microgreens Podcast  The Urban Farmer Podcast  The Rookie Farmer Podcast  In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books:  Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon   Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

What happens when an organization depends on one person to make every important decision?In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explores why being indispensable may sound like a compliment, but often reveals a deeper leadership challenge. As organizations grow, success depends less on heroic individuals and more on building systems that create clarity, consistency, and confidence across the entire team.Drawing from the principles of S.M.A.R.T. Management, Brian explains why sustainable leadership is about developing people, creating shared understanding, and building organizations that continue to thrive—even when the leader isn't in the room.In this episode:Why being indispensable can become an organizational weaknessHow systems create confidence instead of bureaucracyWhy great leaders develop other leaders instead of creating dependencyHow lasting influence is measured by what continues after you're goneLeadership isn't about becoming the hero.It's about building people, systems, and organizations that can succeed together.

See what the team at The Successful Bookkeeper has on right now → Amanda McKinney is back, and this conversation picks up right where the field is most uncomfortable: the place where your own capability quietly becomes the ceiling on your growth. If you've ever thought "it's faster if I just do it myself," this episode was made for you. Amanda brings her accountability coaching lens to the real-world pressures bookkeepers face — the revolving door of client work, the resistance to delegation, and the habits that quietly drain capacity before burnout ever arrives. Chapters [00:00] The 3-Times System Rule [01:18] Welcome and Guest Introduction [03:30] Amanda's Journey Since 2023 [08:30] Working With Teams Long-Term [13:00] When Capability Becomes an Obstacle [17:00] Warning Signs of Unsustainable Pace [21:00] The Case for Hobbies [25:00] Building Systems to Delegate [29:00] SOPs in Practice: Quarterly Taxes [32:30] Amanda's Podcast Pause The Highly Capable Trap Being good at your work is a genuine asset — right up until it isn't. Amanda explains that capability creates capacity, and capacity gets filled. "The problem with being capable is that it opens up more capacity. And when you have more capacity, you get more work. Either it's given to you or you give it to yourself." For bookkeepers, where the work never truly stops, this cycle can accelerate fast. Recognizing the pattern is the first step out of it. Warning Signs Worth Watching Amanda walks through the early signals that something needs to change — before burnout forces the issue. Physical heaviness when someone asks how you're doing, or the moment you realize your only answer to "what do you do for fun?" is your work. She shared that in 2024, that was her own reality. "I realized, oh my gosh, I have no hobbies. I don't have anything that I do just for fun." Intentionally adding even 15 minutes of something non-work-related a week can start shifting that. The 3-Times Rule for Systems This is the practical core of the episode. Amanda's rule of thumb: if you do something more than 3 times, it needs a system. She uses invoicing as a quick gut-check — if you can't describe your process fast, you're spending unnecessary brainpower every single time. The fix is straightforward: the next time you do that task, record yourself walking through it using a screen recorder like Loom or Neato (free). That recording becomes your SOP, and that SOP becomes your delegation tool. She applied this to her own quarterly tax payments: "I did it in like 15 minutes. Whereas that would have taken me an hour or two if I didn't have those steps written out." Delegation Without the Dread Most bookkeepers resist handing work off because training someone else feels slower than doing it themselves. Amanda reframes this: a documented system removes most of that training burden. The SOP does the heavy lifting, and the person you're delegating to — whether human or software — gets a clear path to follow your standards. As Michael put it during the conversation, "SOPs are the pathway to profitability." Sustainable Growth Requires a Pause Amanda recently did something that surprised her own audience: she intentionally paused her podcast after eight straight years of weekly content. The flood of concerned emails she received made her realize how rarely people pause before something forces them to. The message for bookkeepers is the same — growth that lasts has to be built on something sustainable. Waiting for a crisis to rest isn't a strategy. "You don't have to be burnt out before you make a decision to change something." Links Mentioned Loom — screen and voice recording tool for creating SOPs Neeto — free alternative screen recording tool (used by The Successful Bookkeeper team) purebookkeeping.com — episode sponsor; system to grow your bookkeeping business thesuccessfulbookkeeper.com — show resources and guest info Accountable podcast by Amanda McKinney (300+ episodes available; currently on intentional pause) About the Guest Amanda McKinney is an accountability coach, speaker, and the host of the Accountable podcast (formerly The Unapologetic Entrepreneur). She works primarily with driven entrepreneurs and leadership teams to help them follow through on goals that keep getting pushed to the back burner — without burning out in the process. She has been coaching since 2017 and now leads engagements ranging from 90-day individual programs to 9–12 month team partnerships. You can find her through her podcast archive of 300+ episodes or by reaching out directly through her website. About the hostMichael PalmerMichael Palmer is the host of The Successful Bookkeeper podcast and co-founder of Pure Bookkeeping and The Successful Bookkeeper. He started this work because of his father — a brilliant electrical contractor who worked twice as hard as he should have had to, because nobody on the financial side was in his corner. That gap is what The Successful Bookkeeper exists to close. His view: bookkeepers are the most undervalued force in small business — and every bookkeeper who builds a real business changes two families: theirs, and their clients'.

Eric Braker of Twin Pine Creative is about a year and a half into building his creative agency with his brother—and like a lot of us, he's stuck doing every single job at once. In this coaching-style conversation, I help him get clear on his bigger vision and walk through practical systems for taming post-production chaos, using AI to beat blank-page syndrome, and bringing on contractors without losing his style. We also get into why I'm intentionally getting my own business "skinny" this year, and why that might be one of the smartest moves you can make too. Key Takeaways You don't escape "freelancer with a logo" mode by working harder—you escape it by getting clear on your vision and the one or two things only you should be doing. A simple post-shoot voice memo, paired with transcripts dropped into Claude, can wipe out blank-page syndrome and get your editor inside your head. Loom videos beat text feedback every time—your editor needs to hear your passion (and your frustration), not just read notes. Getting "skinny" and nimble frees you up to pivot, protect your profit, and only hire when you truly need to. About Eric Braker Eric Braker is the founder of Twin Pine Creative, an outdoor content agency fueled by his award-winning production company, Braker Bros Productions. Based in Fort Collins, CO, Eric helps mission-driven brands and environmental organizations tell stories that connect people to nature — with work that has screened in over 800 theaters worldwide and reached an audience of more than 55,000. His latest film, Chasing Lions, follows wildlife trackers in the American Southwest working to protect mountain lions in their natural habitat. In This Episode [00:00] Welcome to the show! [03:00] Meet Eric Braker [07:04] Twin Pine Creative [09:43] 3 Year Goal [21:01] Having Systems In Place [23:19] Making Voice Memos [26:37] Using AI To Refine Notes [28:45] Editing Framework [44:21] Connect with Eric [47:42] Outro Quotes "I feel like I was just a freelancer with a logo year one." — Eric Braker "I was working so hard so that I wouldn't have to work so hard." — Ryan Koral "I own a business, but really the business owned me." — Ryan Koral "I want to go until it's like we must make this hire, versus it'd be pretty cool to make this hire." — Ryan Koral "There's probably a lot of 17, 18 year old kids out there quietly listening who are learning how to chase and build their dream life because of it." — Eric Braker Guest Links Follow Eric's agency - Twin Pine Creative Follow Braker Bros on Instagram | Facebook Links Find out more about the Studio Sherpas Mastermind Join the Grow Your Video Business Facebook Group  Follow Ryan Koral on Instagram Follow Grow Your Video Business on Instagram Get your Early Bird tickets for the Onward Summit Join the Studio Sherpas newsletter

Joining us in this episode of Living Off Rentals is a real estate broker and short-term rental investor who has built a 16-unit Airbnb portfolio across multiple states while keeping family and lifestyle a top priority. In her second appearance on the show, Michelle Norman shares how she and her husband went from purchasing their very first Airbnb five years ago, to a thriving multi-state portfolio without physically ever going to their properties. She opens up about the early mistakes, the growing pains, and the systems she put in place to finally make it feel manageable. She also gets into the numbers — how she chooses her markets, what she looks for in a deal, and how she finances properties using DSCR loans and private lenders. She also talks about her 18-year-old son buying his very first Airbnb — a full-circle moment for a family that has built a lifestyle by design from short-term rentals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to scale without sacrificing the things that matter most, Michelle's story is one you'll want to hear. Enjoy the show! Key Takeaways: [00:00] Michelle Norman and her background [03:25] Getting into real estate investing [04:07] Growing from 0 to 16 Airbnb units [07:27] Passive income became the goal [10:44] Lessons learned while scaling the business [13:28] Hiring a virtual assistant to run operations [15:57] Mistakes and growing pains in the early years [17:12] Using Turno to manage cleaners and maintenance [20:00] Choosing investment markets [22:40] Michelle's 18-year-old son buys his first Airbnb [29:14] Building confidence to invest remotely [32:45] What they look for in Airbnb deals [34:34] Financing properties with DSCR loans and private lenders [36:39] Michelle's advice for first-time investors [39:36] How she structures her work-life balance [45:03] Setting boundaries in running multiple businesses [45:52] Connect with Michelle Norman [47:30] Outro Guest Links: Website: https://www.itsmichellenorman.com/    M&J Getaways: mandjgetaways.com Instagram: @mandjgetaways Show Links: Want to start investing in short-term rentals? Book a call to see if my STR Blueprint program is a good fit for you: livingoffrentals.com/call Living Off Rentals YouTube Channel – youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentals  Living Off Rentals YouTube Podcast Channel - youtube.com/c/LivingOffRentalsPodcast  Living Off Rentals Facebook Group – facebook.com/groups/livingoffrentals  Living Off Rentals Website – https://www.livingoffrentals.com/  Living Off Rentals Instagram – instagram.com/livingoffrentals  Living Off Rentals TikTok – tiktok.com/@livingoffrentals 

Send us Fan MailIn this first episode of the Principal in Action series, Dr. Mel Vandevort explores why effective leadership isn't about working harder, staying later, or carrying more responsibility. It's about building systems that make success repeatable.You'll learn how systems help school leaders:✅ Reduce decision fatigue✅ Create consistency and trust✅ Protect leadership priorities✅ Build capacity within teams✅ Prevent burnout and increase sustainabilityIf you've ever ended the day wondering where your time went, this episode will help you identify why reactive leadership happens and how simple systems can help you lead with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose.Reflection QuestionsWhat decisions am I making repeatedly that could be systematized?Where am I relying on memory instead of a process?What leadership priority deserves a system?What in my school depends too heavily on me?"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." — 1 Corinthians 14:33Strong leadership systems create order, clarity, and consistency so leaders can focus on serving people and advancing their mission.Power SurgeI don't have to do everything to lead effectively. I choose to build systems that create consistency, protect my priorities, and strengthen my impact. Today, I will lead with intention, not reaction.Support the showDownload Upside and use my code MELINDA35278 to get 15¢ per gallon extra cash back on your first gas fill-up and 10% extra cash on your first food purchase!Download Fetch app using this link, submit a receipt and we'll both score bonus points.Calling All Educators! I started a community with resources, courses, articles, networking, and more.I am looking for members to help me build it with the most valuable resources.I would really appreciate your input as a teacher, leader, administrator, or consultant.Join here: Empowered Educator CommunityBook: Educator to Entrepreneur: IGNITE Your Path to Freelance SuccessGrab a complimentary Power Surgeemail: melinda@empowereducator.com

Welcome to episode 333 of Grow Your Law Firm, hosted by Ken Hardison. In this episode, Ken sits down with Aziz Aghayev, founder of Flowlyst, a company focused on automation and AI training. Aziz works with organizations to help leaders and staff use AI tools to streamline processes, reduce manual work, and improve operational efficiency. The conversation focuses on how law firms can use AI to automate internal processes, from creating procedure manuals to handling repetitive administrative tasks. Aziz explains how tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can be used more effectively with structured prompting and how agents can be built to handle specific roles such as HR or workflow management. He also shares examples of how AI can reduce the time spent on tasks by as much as half while improving consistency. What you'll learn in this episode: How AI Improves Efficiency - How AI tools can reduce time spent on repetitive tasks - Why structured prompting leads to better results Using AI to Build Systems and Processes - How to create procedure manuals and workflows with AI - Why iterative editing improves accuracy and usability What AI Agents Can Do - How agents can be built to handle specific roles like HR or intake - Why agents help keep AI focused on defined tasks Automating Law Firm Operations - How AI can assist with follow-up, communication, and documentation - Where automation can reduce administrative workload Adoption and Implementation Challenges - Why staff resistance is a common barrier to AI adoption - How training and daily use improve effectiveness over time Resources:  Website: flowlyst.io LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/azizaghayev Facebook: facebook.com/flowlyst Instagram: instagram.com/flowlyst.io Additional Resources:    https://www.pilmma.org/the-mastermind-effect https://www.pilmma.org/resources https://www.pilmma.org/mastermind

Learn more and apply for the November 2026 cohort of my Japan Leadership Experience: https://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/Lean has always been about people. We just kept reaching for the tools, without understanding the human purpose behind them.In part two of my three-part conversation with John Shook, we go behind the scenes of Toyota's culture and leadership — sharing stories of the system-building leaders who actually made it what it is, and exploring what it really means to lead people-centered change.John shares behind-the-scenes reflections from his time inside Toyota that you might not have heard before. Drawing on his direct experience in the company and our shared experiences living and working in Japan and globally, we explore a critical feature that is often missed: lean has always been a socio-technical system. The tools only work when we understand the deeper human purpose behind them.In this episode, we talk about the people who actually built Toyota's culture, what John learned from his two very different bosses — including Isao Yoshino, the subject of my book “Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn” — and what happens when we lose sight of the human purpose inside the tools we practice every day.In the previous episode, John offered a powerful reframe on lean's impact — and what question we should really be asking as change leaders. If you haven't listened to episode 74 yet, hit pause and start there first — then come back to this one to pick up where we left off.You'll Learn:Inside stories of how Toyota's culture was built and the system builders behind itWhat John learned from his very different bosses inside Toyota and how their styles shaped his own leadershipWhether you are a lean “mechanic” or “social worker” and what your answer reveals about your leadershipWhy every lean tool is already socio-technical — kanban, standardized work, A3, andon — and what we lost when we introduced them as primarily technicalThe concept of motainai — waste as a moral failure, not just a technical one — and why this matters for how you leadABOUT MY GUEST:John Shook spent eleven years with Toyota in Japan and the U.S., where he helped transfer the Toyota Production System globally. He later served as President of the Lean Enterprise Institute and Chairman of the Lean Global Network.John is the co-author of the award-winning books Learning to See and Managing to Learn, and wrote the foreword to my book Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. As an industrial anthropologist, he brings a perspective that connects culture, systems, and practice to bridge deep thinking with real-world application.IMPORTANT LINKS:Full episode show notes: ChainOfLearning.com/75Connect with John Shook: lean.org/about-lei/senior-advisors-staff/john-shook/ Follow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjanderson Subscribe to my newsletter: kbjanderson.com/newsletterCheck out my website for resources and working together: KBJAnderson.comJoin us on the Japan Leadership Experience: KBJAnderson.com/japantrip Purchase a copy of, “Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn,”: kbjanderson.com/learning-to-lead TIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:03:04 Why changing culture is harder than copying systems04:05 John's question that still drives him: Why Toyota?05:10 How John found his way into Toyota and NUMMI06:15 Why Toyota endured while other Japanese companies faded07:10 Short-term leaders vs. long-term system builders08:15 The crisis that shaped Toyota's future direction10:05 John's experience learning from very different Toyota leaders11:15 Why conflicting feedback accelerated John's learning12:10 Bringing your own thinking into the A3 process13:15 Different cultures inside Toyota and how they shaped leadership14:10 Mr. Cho's powerful way of teaching through stories16:10 Katie's lion story and breaking the telling habit17:15 Adapting your leadership approach to the situation19:15 Reading both the technical and social sides of change20:20 TPS as a way to expose weaknesses and accelerate growth21:45 Are you a lean mechanic or a lean social worker?22:50 Identifying your leadership bias and growth edge24:05 Why process improvement and OD teams should work together27:10 Scientific thinking, humanism, and ethics in Toyota leadership28:55 Eliminating waste as more than a technical exercise30:05 Mottainai and the deeper meaning of waste32:25 Why lean tools were always socio-technical33:40 Kanban, standardized work, and the human side of lean35:10 The A3 as more than a problem-solving tool37:35 The most common failure mode in lean transformations38:30 When lean becomes the goal instead of the means39:30 Why lean isn't just for executives40:35 Improving work at every level of the organization41:40 Why empowerment without support falls apart42:20 The Andon system as a model for real support43:45 Where do you need to grow: technical or human? Learn more and apply for the November 2026 cohort of my Japan Leadership Experience: https://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/

If you've ever felt like you're doing a lot… but still feel behind, this episode is going to feel very familiar. Many working women are productive. They set goals. They work hard. They manage a lot. And yet, it can feel like there are a hundred tabs open at once. There's always something to catch up on, organize, or improve. No matter how much gets done, it rarely feels like enough. That's not a productivity problem…it's a systems problem. Today, I'm joined by time management and productivity expert Megan Sumrell, founder of The Pink Bee. She specializes in helping women build practical, repeatable systems that remove decision fatigue and create consistency…without relying on motivation or willpower. This conversation is about simplifying your life in a way that actually supports your goals. Because thriving isn't about doing more…it's about building smarter. In this episode, we discuss: Why "managing your time better" isn't the real solution The difference between being busy and being systemized What a system actually is and how to make it feel simple The foundational systems every woman needs before adding more goals How systems create more energy, not just efficiency How to prevent burnout while still pursuing big goals The connection between time management, income, and wealth building The biggest mistake women make when setting goals How to build systems that support your goals long-term This episode is especially helpful if you: Feel productive but still behind Struggle with consistency across your life and finances Feel overwhelmed managing everything on your plate Want more structure without feeling restricted Why this matters: You don't need more discipline…you need better systems. When everything relies on memory, motivation, or willpower, life starts to feel heavier than it needs to be. Systems remove that pressure. They create clarity, consistency, and space. And when your time is managed with intention, it directly impacts how you show up in your finances, your work, and your life. That's where real progress starts to feel sustainable. Timestamps: [04:45] When Megan started making time for herself, people started recognizing. [12:05] Spend time prior to week starts mapping out the week, including planning for uncertainty. [32:45] Women take on failing to plan as a personal fault, but they were never taught. [42:15] When you have the mental bandwidth of no longer being consumed by your to-do list, that mental energy shifts over to other things. Resources Mentioned: The Pink Bee Follow Megan on Instagram City Girl Savings Personal Finance Portfolio Financial Focus Coaching Program   If you've been trying to stay consistent by relying on motivation, this episode is your reminder that you don't need more discipline…you need better systems. If you're ready to bring more structure and clarity into your finances, you can book a free clarity call at citygirlsavings.com to explore working together. You are capable of building a life that feels organized, aligned, and supportive of the life you want to live. Strong systems create lasting results. Keep building with intention.

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems - James Clearhttps://bit.ly/StudyMotivation_Podcast

If you've ever told yourself you'll “build systems when things slow down,” this episode of “The Restaurant Prosperity Formula” podcast challenges that belief head-on. I break down why that mindset quietly keeps restaurant owners trapped in chaos and why the lack of systems is the very reason things never actually slow down. In this episode, listeners will learn why waiting costs more than they realize, how broken or “accidental” systems are already running their business, and where to begin without overwhelm. I also walk through simple starting points that help shift a restaurant from reactive survival mode to proactive leadership, all without requiring perfection or massive time investments.

FREE Self-Scaling Business Workshop: https://getepicsuccess.com/registration-yt WORK With Me: https://getepicsuccess.com/ceo-org   Your business works. Revenue is coming in. Your team is getting things done. So why does it still not feel like your dream business? If someone opened your calendar right now… Would they see the life and role you say you want? Or just a slightly more profitable version of the same job you were trying to escape? In this episode of the Epic Success Podcast / Scaled CEO Show, I'm walking you through how to redesign one repeatable week — so that when you live it for 67–90 days, your current business starts transforming into the one you actually planned. Because your dream business doesn't live in your vision board. It lives in the week you're willing to repeat.   Inside This Episode: ● Why your dream business hasn't shown up yet — even though you're successful How your weekly operating system is quietly keeping you stuck in the operator role ● The neuroscience behind the 67-day pattern Why your brain automates what you repeat — and how most business owners are wired against the CEO identity they want ● How to define your dream business in weekly terms The 3 questions that turn your vision into a real, calendar-based plan ● The Perfect Week Formula How to structure your week with CEO deep work, revenue blocks, leadership rhythm, and protected time ● The 67-Day Dream Week Sprint How to lock in your new week, avoid self-sabotage, and create real change in your business and life   If You're a Business Owner Who: ● Has a successful business on paper, but your week still feels reactive ● Knows what your dream business looks like — but can't find it on your calendar ● Keeps pushing through quarters without a repeatable system that actually scales This episode will give you the blueprint to fix it.   The Real Shift: You don't have a dream business problem. You have a weekly operating system problem. Change the week. Repeat it for 67 days. And the business has to start changing with it.   Ready to Design Your Perfect Week? Join me live for the Self-Scaling Business Diagnostic, where we: ● Score your CEO, Team, and Profit systems ● Identify the constraint keeping you stuck ● Map your 67-day sprint to reclaim time and scale

In this episode, Carl speaks with Will Spengler about what it takes to build success that lasts. They discuss the role of discipline, clarity, and execution in business and leadership. Many people focus on ideas, but this conversation highlights the importance of systems and consistent action. Key takeaways include: • Why clarity drives better decisions • The role of discipline in long-term success • How systems improve performance • What separates high performers from others This episode offers a practical look at how to think, act, and lead with purpose. Listen now and apply these ideas to your own work. Connect with Will:  LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-spengler-2193433a/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FrederickFoxGroup/  Website https://frederickfox.com/  

What if the best business advice you ever got came from a book about ancient philosophy?I've been on a bit of a reading bender this year — physical books, old ideas, things written long before the age of notifications and hustle culture. And when I picked up Ryan Holiday's Discipline Is Destiny, I wasn't expecting it to hit so close to home as a solopreneur.But it did.Here are 3 lessons I took away from the book — specifically things solopreneurs need to hear.If you're not sure what you actually do each day — and most of us aren't — start there. Head to streamlined.fm/app to grab my free task journaling system. It's the first step to building the kind of order that actually frees you.Show NotesDiscipline Is Destiny by Ryan HolidayStreamlined Solopreneur Task Journal App (00:00) - 00:00 – *Intro* (00:00) - 02:07 – Lesson 1: Build Systems (00:00) - 06:35 – Lesson 2: Protect Your Time (00:00) - 11:47 – Lesson 3: Delegate (00:00) - 14:31 – Recap and closing ————Streamlined Solopreneur is the podcast for solopreneurs who want to automate their business and take time off worry-free. Each week, Joe Casabona shares practical systems, tools, and strategies to help you reclaim your time and run your business without sacrificing your the rest of your life, or your health. Start with the free Solopreneur Sweep — a step-by-step method for finding where your business is losing time: https://streamlined.fm/sweepIf this episode helped you, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts helps other solopreneurs find the show — it only takes a minute and means a lot.Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

FREE Self-Scaling Business Workshop: https://getepicsuccess.com/registration-yt WORK With Me: https://getepicsuccess.com/ceo-org  Your business works. Revenue comes in. Your team gets things done. So why doesn't it feel like your dream business yet? If someone opened your calendar right now, would they see the role and life you say you want - or a slightly more profitable version of the same job you were trying to escape? In this episode of the Epic Success Podcast / Scaled CEO Show, I'm walking you through the exact formula I use with Scaled CEO clients to redesign one repeatable week — so that when you live it for 67–90 days, your existing business starts transforming into the one you actually planned. Because your dream business doesn't live in your 3-year vision. It lives in the week you're willing to repeat. Inside This Episode: ● Why your dream business hasn't shown up yet — even though you're smart and successful How your current weekly operating system is quietly blocking the business you planned (and why it has nothing to do with effort) ● The neuroscience behind the 67-day pattern Why your brain automates what you repeat — and how most owners' weeks are wired against the CEO identity they're trying to build ● How to define your dream business in weekly terms Three questions that translate your vision from a someday idea into a concrete, calendar-ready design ● The Perfect Week Formula for established business owners The exact block structure I use with Scaled CEOs: deep work, revenue engine time, leadership rhythm, health blocks, and availability by design — all in one repeatable week ● The 67-Day Dream Week Sprint How to lock in your Perfect Week, protect it from self-sabotage, and run it long enough that your brain and team have no choice but to adjust If you're a business owner who: ● Has a successful business on paper, but a week that still doesn't feel like freedom ● Knows what your dream business looks like in your head — but can't find it on your calendar ● Keeps pushing through quarters without a repeatable operating rhythm that actually builds toward what you want This episode will give you the blueprint to close that gap. The Real Shift: You don't have a dream business problem. You have a weekly operating system problem. Change the week. Repeat it for 67 days. And the business has to start changing with it. Ready to Design Your Perfect Week? Join me live for the Self-Scaling Business Diagnostic, where we: ● Score your CEO, Team, and Profit systems ● Identify the one constraint your Perfect Week needs to address first ● Map out a 67-day sprint to start building the business you actually planned

Agata Krawiec‑Rokita, co-founder and CEO of sun.store, scaled from a €12M GMV forecast to €100M in just 12 months.Now she's facing the next challenge: shifting from doing everything herself to building systems that scale.In this episode, James Johnson and Agata chat about how she decides when to stay hands-on, when to step back, and why scaling is often harder than starting.We cover: • The framework she uses to choose where to stay involved • Why startup planning breaks down during rapid growth • The mindset shift from year one to scale-up • The line between being hands-on and micromanaging • The one question she asks before major initiativesThe hardest part of scaling isn't hiring great people. It's letting go while the stakes keep rising.Listen now to hear how she's navigating the transition.More from James:Connect with James on LinkedIn or at peer-effect.com 

Send us Fan MailAYOOOOO welcome back to Luck Management and boy oh boy you need to believe in the work and systems you are enacting in your life are taking you where you want to be. You gotta believe you are working towards that common goal and systems help you get there. I talk about the ups of feeling like myself in Sales and how it translates to work for anyone and everyone. Loved just rifting for the Luckies on this oneCheck it out and keep living the luck management lifestyle!Support the showInstagram: @luck_managementApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1637190216Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4JsxM55BY6tRlGzJCiUnvzBrought to you by CharmND. Check us out on Instagram @charm_ND & @CharmNDShop on EtsyKeep living The Luck Management Lifestyle! 

Today our guests are Rebekah de Peo-Christner, Assistant Director of Counseling, and Amy Lawrence, Director of Counseling and Social Work, both at Denton ISD in Texas. We discuss how their district created WRAP — the Wilson Restorative Action Plan — a family-centered alternative to exclusionary discipline that wraps support around students and families rather than cycling them through punitive consequences. Rebecca and Amy share how WRAP helps schools address the underlying reasons behind student behavior by building communication, conflict resolution skills, and real partnership with families. They also explain how their district's SHIFT program helped administrators change the way they see and respond to student behavior, and why building systems around this work is what allows it to actually take hold across a district. In this conversation, Rebecca and Amy offer important reminders for educators and leaders working to reduce exclusionary discipline and strengthen family partnerships: Behavior is a form of communication, getting curious about the reason behind it leads to better outcomes than responding with punishment alone. Families come in feeling defensive, and leading with vulnerability and empathy is what breaks down those walls and builds real partnership. Exclusionary discipline without skill-building just cycles students back to the same place, schools need systems that address root causes, not just remove students. You are only as strong as your community, lasting change happens when families, schools, and community partners are all working together. Learn More About CharacterStrong:  Access FREE MTSS Curriculum Samples Request a Quote Today! Learn more about CharacterStrong Implementation Support Visit the CharacterStrong Website   About Rebekah de Peo-Christner & Amy Lawrence: Amy Lawrence is a passionate advocate for student and family well-being with 35 years in education, including 13 as Director of Counseling and Social Work in Denton ISD. She leads a robust team of counselors and social workers and was instrumental in launching two Family Centers that provide free counseling services. A graduate of Texas State University and the University of North Texas, Amy actively serves on the Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team. Her heart for service and commitment to trauma-informed care continue to shape safe, supportive systems across one of Texas's fastest-growing school districts. Rebekah de Peo-Christner brings over 27 years of experience in education and counseling, with a focus on student mental health and trauma-informed care. She currently serves as Assistant Director of Counseling for Denton ISD and helped establish the district's Family Center, offering free counseling to students, families, and staff. Rebekah holds degrees in psychology and marriage and family therapy, is a TBRI® Practitioner, LPC Supervisor, and adjunct faculty at Texas Woman's University. She also maintains a private practice and previously served as a Mobile Assessor for psychiatric crisis response.

John Francis, "Johnny Franchise", has seen franchising from every angle: franchisee, franchisor, multi-unit owner, and now strategic advisor to over 50 brands. In this conversation with Brendon Dennewill, John cuts through the AI excitement with two questions every franchisor board should be asking, and most aren't. What you'll hear isn't just about technology. It's about what actually drives performance at scale: clear leadership, franchisee trust, and the discipline to focus on what really matters. If you're building a franchise system, or helping one grow, this one's worth your time.What You'll LearnThe two AI questions every board should be asking, and why most leadership teams can't answer them yetWhy growing and scaling aren't the same thing, and what breaks when you confuse the twoHow franchisee due diligence failures keep showing up as the root cause of underperformance across entire systemsWhy structured communication, not good intentions, is what keeps franchisors and franchisees aligned during rapid growthHow accountability, not strategy, is the real differentiator between high-performing and stagnant franchise organizationsWhy the best AI opportunity in franchising right now is repackaging what's already working, not building something newResources MentionedIFA (International Franchise Association)Multi-Unit Franchising Conference Franchise Advisory CouncilsFranchise Mastermind Advisory Board ConsultingIs your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

Why do you feel motivated at the beginning of the week, but struggle to stay consistent by the end of it?In this episode of the Slay Podcast, Olympian and Slay founder Louise Hazel explains why motivation is unreliable — and why strong women don't rely on motivation to stay consistent. They build systems.You'll learn why your week often starts with clarity and intention, but slowly unravels as stress, fatigue, and decision-making accumulate. Louise breaks down the real reason consistency feels difficult, and why it has nothing to do with discipline or willpower — and everything to do with structure.This episode introduces the Strong Woman Systems Audit™, a practical framework to help you identify where your routine breaks down, eliminate daily negotiation, and install simple systems that support your workouts, nutrition, recovery, and energy.If you've ever felt inconsistent, unmotivated, or frustrated with starting over, this episode will help you understand how to create lasting consistency by designing a life that supports your goals.You'll learn:• Why motivation fades — and why that's normal• How systems reduce decision fatigue and increase follow-through• How to identify your personal “collapse point”• How to build simple, repeatable habits that don't rely on emotion• Why consistency is created through structure, not intensityThis episode marks the beginning of the Slay Systems Arc — where you'll learn how to build routines, protect your energy, and create sustainable strength.Listen now to learn how to stop chasing motivation — and start building systems.

Are you struggling to balance creativity and structure in your agency? Could your agency achieve both creative excellence and operational clarity without sacrificing either? In this episode of The Agency Blueprint podcast, I'm joined by Melissa Morris to discuss how agency owners can implement systems and processes without stifling creativity. Melissa is the founder of Agency Authority and the creator of the TOPPP Framework. With over a decade of agency experience, she helps owners streamline operations, boost capacity, and grow sustainably without burning out their teams or crushing creativity. Through her consulting and content, Melissa is on a mission to fix the long hours and low profits. Listen in to learn how setting guardrails for client work, agencies can prevent chaos, ensure accountability, and elevate the overall quality of their creative output. You will also learn about strategies for managing diverse personalities within teams, from highly creative members to structured, linear thinkers. Key Questions: [01:31] Why do agency owners often resist implementing systems and processes, and how can this resistance be overcome? [09:12] What does the “aha” moment look like when agency owners realize their current processes are unsustainable? [24:22] How clear are your offers and communication boundaries, and how could improving them reduce last-minute emergencies? [30:30] When should you consider hiring external support, a partner, or a consultant to fill skill gaps in your agency? What You'll Discover: [01:27] Why agency owners often resist systems because they believe standards and templates compromise quality and creativity. [03:20] The idea of best practices as ‘creative containers,' which gives teams flexibility while still protecting deadlines and profit. [05:50] How to diagnose whether resistance to constraints signals a deeper misalignment in audience, pricing, or communication. [07:27] Melissa's TOPPP Framework – why clarity in team, offers, and pipeline must come before building processes or SOPs. [09:44] The ‘aha' moment when owners finally see how their own flexibility and over-accommodation fuel internal chaos. [12:07] How creative and operational minds differ and how collaboration becomes healthier when both perspectives are respected. [15:44] Modular workflows that allow creatives to choose their own path within structured checkpoints, preventing overwhelm. [19:26] How modular project chunks help teams avoid going too far in the wrong direction, saving time and improving quality. [22:36] The importance of buffer time, allowing teams to handle client fires and maintain high-quality output without overworking. [25:02] How unclear expectations between clients and internal teams create unnecessary emergencies. [28:12] How gradually improving processes create a compounding effect that makes other operations easier and more efficient. [30:55] The red flags that indicate when an agency needs external support, whether a consultant, a partner, or a new hire. [34:50] How people can honor their personality type while still building systems that allow them to function effectively in the agency environment. Connect with Melissa: WebsiteLinkedInQuiz

In this episode of the New Churches podcast, host Noah Oldham is joined by Adam Muhtaseb and Matt Smethurst to tackle a crucial but often overlooked aspect of church planting: How do I build systems? The post How Do I Build Systems? appeared first on New Churches.

What if building a business that supports your life actually isn't about hustle…but about resilience, systems, and intention?In this episode of The Aspiring Solopreneur, Carly and Joe sit down with Mike Lynch, creator, RV-lifer, automation strategist, and founder of Flywheel Factory, for a refreshingly honest conversation about what solopreneurship really looks like behind the scenes.Mike shares the truth most people won't say out loud: it's harder than you think, it takes longer than you expect, and the path rarely looks the way you planned. But it's also where creativity, freedom, and momentum can finally meet.You'll hear how Mike and his family design RV travel around work (not the other way around), how he uses AI and automation to protect his creative energy instead of replacing it, and why building a “flywheel mindset” matters more than just staying busy.This is a grounded, practical, and motivating episode for solopreneurs who want to build smarter systems, reclaim their time, and design a business that truly supports their life.Episode FAQsHow can solopreneurs use AI and automation without losing their personal voice?Solopreneurs can use tools like Custom GPTs, content workflows, and automation platforms (like Make or Zapier) to streamline their work while still sounding like themselves. The key is starting with your own ideas and experiences first, then using AI to refine, organize, and scale your content, not replace your thinking. What's the best way for overwhelmed solopreneurs to get started with automation?The best place to start is identifying one repetitive, frustrating task in your business and breaking it into smaller steps. From there, tools like Custom GPTs or simple automations can help eliminate bottlenecks. How can solopreneurs design a business that supports their lifestyle instead of causing burnout?It starts with defining non-negotiables (family time, flexibility, travel, health) and then building systems around those priorities. 

Send a textOn the Tiny Marketing Podcast, host Sarah Noel Block interviews Sara Nay, CEO of Duct Tape Marketing, about making the first few hires as a solo consultant. Nay explains that effective hiring starts before the job post by clarifying mission, vision, and values, then running a culture/fit interview before assessing skills. She recommends choosing a first hire by doing a one-week time audit to identify repetitive, draining tasks to delegate—often starting with an executive assistant or account manager to keep the consultant in a strategic role. Nay advocates hiring earlier than feels comfortable by starting part-time (around 10 hours/week) and scaling up. For onboarding, she emphasizes slow ramp-up, training and shadowing on one client at a time, daily check-ins with small task lists, using Loom videos plus checklists, time tracking from day one (e.g., Harvest), and documenting only critical recurring processes by mapping end-to-end client “flows.”00:00 Welcome to Tiny Marketing00:49 Meet Sarah Nay02:11 Hiring That Actually Works02:59 Values First Job Posts05:24 Choosing Your First Hire07:43 Start Part Time and Scale11:37 Onboarding Without Overwhelm15:09 Looms Checklists and Docs17:33 Time Tracking and Profitability22:19 Pricing and Raising Rates25:15 Documenting Core Processes28:13 Where to Find Sarah28:36 Booked Out Blueprint OutroMy Booked Out Blueprint starts with a private 45-minute interview where I learn your business, your goals, and what's actually holding you back. From that, I create a custom roadmap showing your best route to booked out—no fluff, just clarity. It's $397, and if you move forward into Booked Out in Six, that $397 is fully credited. Book Yours Here. Are you tired of prospects ghosting you? With a Gateway Offer, that won't happen.Over the next Ten Days, we will launch and sell our Gateway Offers with the goal of reaching booked-out status!Join the challenge here. Join my events community for FREE monthly events.I offer free events each month to help you master your business's growth through marketing, sales, systems, and offer strategy. Join the community here!Support the showSchedule a Booked-out Blueprint >>> Schedule.Come tour my digital home :) >>>WebsiteWanna be friends? >>> LinkedInLet's chat every Tuesday! >>> NewsletterCatch the video podcast on YouTube >>>YouTubeJoin my event group for live events >>>Meetup

GRAB the Business System Scorecard: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J_uByJkkmaJFMkqxU0wEP5g2lgYVdRwc/view?usp=sharing In this video, I'm breaking down why 7-figure business owners build systems that don't actually work and what you need to do differently to build systems that run without you. I work with business owners every week who have documented everything, built SOPs, set up automation, and they're still working 60, 80, even 100 hours a week. Still the bottleneck in every decision. Still can't take a vacation without their phone blowing up. They built systems that need to be followed instead of systems that actually run.  I'm showing you the three questions to ask yourself to figure out if you have a system that runs or just documentation that requires you, and what this design flaw is actually costing you when your systems are fragile instead of self-sustaining. Connect with me: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacytuschl/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacytuschl/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacytuschl/ Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7396626889408274432/ 00:00 - Intro 00:39 - Your Team Isn't The Problem 03:03 - How To Know If Your Systems Work 05:41 - What Not Having Systems Is Costing You  07:25 - The Difference Between Good And Bad Systems 13:27 - The Shift You Need #businesssystems #businessoperations #scalingsystems #systemsthinking  Disclaimer: The strategies and frameworks I share are based on my 15+ years of building and scaling businesses, not overnight success. What I teach works, but your results depend entirely on your execution, your market, and your commitment to building systems consistently. This is educational content, not a guarantee. Business growth requires real work, strategic decisions, and the discipline to stick with what actually moves the needle. Evaluate your own circumstances, assess your risks, and take full ownership of your outcomes. That's what well-oiled business owners do.

Have you ever noticed that the only time your house gets truly clean is right before company arrives? You're not alone. But that frantic, shame-fueled cleaning comes at a cost—and it's not sustainable. In this episode, Kathi Lipp and Tenneil Register dive deep into the difference between cleaning from shame and cleaning from a place of grace. They explore why those "shame spirals" actually make clutter worse over time and how to interrupt the cycle with practical, doable systems. What Listeners Will Discover How to recognize when you're in a shame spiral versus simply operating at low capacity The concept of a "minimal viable house"—what systems to maintain even on your worst days Three common shame scripts cluttery people tell themselves (and why they're wrong) Practical daily anchors for laundry, dishes, and surface resets How to build grace into your systems so missing a day doesn't derail everything Why kindness to yourself actually builds capacity over time The Minimal Viable House Instead of striving for a picture-perfect home, Kathi introduces the concept of the "minimal viable house"—the basic systems that keep life functional even when energy is low. For Kathi, these include: Laundry: A simple schedule (Sunday and Wednesday) with decluttered drawers so clothes have a place to go Surface resets: Clearing at least one key surface daily (even half the kitchen table counts!) Dishes: Getting dishes handled in whatever way matches your capacity that day Key Takeaways The episode challenges listeners to move beyond all-or-nothing thinking. When you're operating at a "four out of ten," the goal isn't perfection—it's sustainability. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than fast food. Half the kitchen table cleared is better than none. One day behind is manageable; two months behind feels hopeless. As Tenneil beautifully puts it: when you give yourself permission to do less, you develop "room for grace, which means you get to skip a day" without the whole system falling apart.

Have you ever noticed that the only time your house gets truly clean is right before company arrives? You're not alone. But that frantic, shame-fueled cleaning comes at a cost—and it's not sustainable. In this episode, Kathi Lipp and Tenneil Register dive deep into the difference between cleaning from shame and cleaning from a place of grace. They explore why those "shame spirals" actually make clutter worse over time and how to interrupt the cycle with practical, doable systems. What Listeners Will Discover How to recognize when you're in a shame spiral versus simply operating at low capacity The concept of a "minimal viable house"—what systems to maintain even on your worst days Three common shame scripts cluttery people tell themselves (and why they're wrong) Practical daily anchors for laundry, dishes, and surface resets How to build grace into your systems so missing a day doesn't derail everything Why kindness to yourself actually builds capacity over time The Minimal Viable House Instead of striving for a picture-perfect home, Kathi introduces the concept of the "minimal viable house"—the basic systems that keep life functional even when energy is low. For Kathi, these include: Laundry: A simple schedule (Sunday and Wednesday) with decluttered drawers so clothes have a place to go Surface resets: Clearing at least one key surface daily (even half the kitchen table counts!) Dishes: Getting dishes handled in whatever way matches your capacity that day Key Takeaways The episode challenges listeners to move beyond all-or-nothing thinking. When you're operating at a "four out of ten," the goal isn't perfection—it's sustainability. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than fast food. Half the kitchen table cleared is better than none. One day behind is manageable; two months behind feels hopeless. As Tenneil beautifully puts it: when you give yourself permission to do less, you develop "room for grace, which means you get to skip a day" without the whole system falling apart.

You've set the goal. You've felt the motivation. And somewhere between the excitement of starting and the reality of a busy Thursday, the whole thing quietly fell apart. Sound familiar?In this episode, we kick off March's theme : Protect the Work, by tackling the real reason our best intentions don't stick: we build them on motivation instead of systems. Motivation is fleeting. A well-designed system works even when you're exhausted, overwhelmed, and the last thing you feel like doing is the thing that matters most.We are about to break down the three levers that make any personal system actually hold: your inputs, your environment, and the feedback loop problem that makes most people quit right before the breakthrough. You'll walk away with a framework you can apply immediately and one small system to build this week.This episode is part of a five-week series on systems and boundaries. If you've been with us since January , this is where the real work begins. If you're new here, welcome. Start here.https://leadingyourself.myflodesk.com/mondaybrewhttps://forms.gle/qjavss68CozQUVDy7

A well-built service business creates momentum instead of pressure. With the right systems in place, you allow growth to happen without burning out.In this episode, Steven Ness, founder of Lighting the Way Leadership, explains how business owners can stop carrying the weight alone by building leadership systems, operational structure, and clear processes. The focus stays on delegation, accountability, financial clarity, team alignment, and systems that save time, energy, and money while supporting sustainable growth.Key takeaways:Systems create freedom. Documented processes and repeatable systems give you back control of your time.Leadership starts with you. You learn why personal accountability at the top sets the tone for results across the entire business.Right people in the right seats. Seat ownership helps teams perform better without constant oversight.Delegation without abdication. Clear expectations allow you to step back without losing quality or momentum.Build a business that works without you. Systems reduce owner dependency so the company can grow.Find more podcast episodes on our website: anderscpa.com/learn/podcasts/  Episode resources:●       Anders Virtual CFO by Anders website: anderscpa.com  ●       Love our content? Sign up for our newsletter:  https://anderscpa.com/learn/    ●       Check out the Virtual CFO Playbook Course:  https://anderscpa.com/virtual-cfo-services/vcfo-playbook/     Quotes-Steven Ness: "Systems save sanity, time, energy, and money. When you use them well, you stop making desperate decisions."-Jody Grunden: "Most leaders brush it off until they're asked to look at the impact they're carrying home."Steven Ness is the founder of Lighting the Way Leadership, where he helps leaders cut through business chaos with faith, structure, and a dose of tough love. With deep expertise in operations, training, B2B, retail, and sales, Steven equips teams to lead with clarity and purpose. His approach blends practical systems with people-first values reimagining business as People to People, not Business to Business. As a seasoned consultant, Steven is known for empowering leaders to grow personally and professionally. He's on a mission to help organizations thrive through authentic leadership and strategic alignment.Website: https://lightingthewayleadership.com/Email: Steven@lightingthewayleadership.com LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenness/IG: https://www.instagram.com/steven_ness_leadership/X: https://x.com/StevenNessCoach  FB: https://www.facebook.com/people/Lighting-the-Way-Leadership/61568990434856/The Creative Agency Success Show helps service-based business owners master the financial side of growth. Hosted by Jamie Nau, Director of Virtual CFO Services/ Virtual CFO, and Jody Grunden, Partner and Virtual CFO Practice Leader at Anders CPAs + Advisors, the podcast div

What if the reason you keep falling off track has nothing to do with motivation—and everything to do with your systems? In this episode, I break down why relying on willpower, discipline, or motivation will eventually fail—and what actually works instead. Feeling stuck? It's time to take back control. If you're ready to master your mind and create real, lasting change, click the link below and start transforming your life today.

This episode features Michael, author of "Time Bandit," who shares his profound insights on time management, habit formation, and living a more intentional life. Drawing from his diverse background as a farm boy, a 30-year veteran of the high-tech industry, and a cancer survivor, Michael offers practical strategies to navigate the demands of modern life and cultivate greater well-being.

Success feels hard when everything feels overwhelming, but it doesn't have to. In this episode, I break down why focusing too far ahead can actually keep you stuck, unmotivated, and mentally exhausted. Feeling stuck? It's time to take back control. If you're ready to master your mind and create real, lasting change, click the link below and start transforming your life today.

Consistency is Key.   Most people spend weeks overthinking their first LinkedIn post, waiting for the perfect idea or brand. Jessie Van Bruegel believes that the approach is backwards. As a content strategist and creator who's posted daily on LinkedIn for nearly four years, he's built a business helping experts productize their knowledge into scalable info offerings, backed by purple-branded visuals that are hard to miss. In this episode of Rising Tide Startups, host Kevin Prewett talks with Jessie about quitting a tech unicorn job in Amsterdam during the pandemic and becoming one of LinkedIn's most recognizable voices. After struggling to monetize on Twitter despite building 10,000 followers, Jessie committed to a 30-day LinkedIn streak in April 2022. He's still going, and that consistency has helped drive millions in revenue for his clients. Jessie breaks down why the hook matters most, how he separates ideation from creation to keep content sustainable, and why “the things only you can say” will be the differentiator in 2026. He also shares his Monday scheduling routine, his authority-content formula, and what's behind his lead magnet posts, including how 40% now hit 1,000+ comments. Plus, why he calls himself the “ultimate guinea pig,” testing AI workflows and YouTube growth before teaching what works. Key Takeaways: Say the Things Only You Can Say. Generic content is a commodity. Specificity, personal experience, and a unique perspective create markets where you have no competition. Focus on Inputs, Not Outputs. You can't control views, likes, or shares. You can control how often you post, how deeply you research, and how consistently you show up. Separate Ideation From Creation. Use different parts of your brain for different tasks. Collect ideas continuously, then schedule dedicated time to write and produce. The Hook Is Everything. If the first two lines don't create a curiosity gap, nobody reads the rest. Spend 80% of your effort on the hook and visual. Build Systems, Not Habits. Entrepreneurs aren't content creators—they're business owners. Marketing should be a scheduled task, not an all-day activity. Volume Negates Luck. Compress six months of work into three weeks. Post more, learn faster, and identify what works through rapid iteration. Listen to the full conversation here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@risingtidestartups Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rising-tide-startups/id1330525474 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2eq7unl70TRPsBhjLEsNZR   Connect with Jessie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessievanbreugel/  Authority Figures: https://authority-figures.com/    Closing thought: "In 2026, if there's one content lesson I want to give everyone: say the things only you can say. If you remove your name and profile picture from a post and someone else can copy it word-for-word, it's not specific enough." Please leave us an honest rating on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts. Shoutout to our Great Sponsors: Naviqus Virtual Services - Hassle-free administrative support services that are efficient, affordable, and tailored to your needs. Check out https://naviqus.com now to jumpstart your business for 2026! Podbrand Media - Have you ever considered starting your own podcast for your company or brand? Podbrandmedia.com can help. Affordable and effective content creation and lead generation!  

Consistency is Key.   Most people spend weeks overthinking their first LinkedIn post, waiting for the perfect idea or brand. Jessie Van Bruegel believes that the approach is backwards. As a content strategist and creator who's posted daily on LinkedIn for nearly four years, he's built a business helping experts productize their knowledge into scalable info offerings, backed by purple-branded visuals that are hard to miss. In this episode of Rising Tide Startups, host Kevin Prewett talks with Jessie about quitting a tech unicorn job in Amsterdam during the pandemic and becoming one of LinkedIn's most recognizable voices. After struggling to monetize on Twitter despite building 10,000 followers, Jessie committed to a 30-day LinkedIn streak in April 2022. He's still going, and that consistency has helped drive millions in revenue for his clients. Jessie breaks down why the hook matters most, how he separates ideation from creation to keep content sustainable, and why “the things only you can say” will be the differentiator in 2026. He also shares his Monday scheduling routine, his authority-content formula, and what's behind his lead magnet posts, including how 40% now hit 1,000+ comments. Plus, why he calls himself the “ultimate guinea pig,” testing AI workflows and YouTube growth before teaching what works. Key Takeaways: Say the Things Only You Can Say. Generic content is a commodity. Specificity, personal experience, and a unique perspective create markets where you have no competition. Focus on Inputs, Not Outputs. You can't control views, likes, or shares. You can control how often you post, how deeply you research, and how consistently you show up. Separate Ideation From Creation. Use different parts of your brain for different tasks. Collect ideas continuously, then schedule dedicated time to write and produce. The Hook Is Everything. If the first two lines don't create a curiosity gap, nobody reads the rest. Spend 80% of your effort on the hook and visual. Build Systems, Not Habits. Entrepreneurs aren't content creators—they're business owners. Marketing should be a scheduled task, not an all-day activity. Volume Negates Luck. Compress six months of work into three weeks. Post more, learn faster, and identify what works through rapid iteration. Listen to the full conversation here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@risingtidestartups Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rising-tide-startups/id1330525474 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2eq7unl70TRPsBhjLEsNZR   Connect with Jessie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessievanbreugel/  Authority Figures: https://authority-figures.com/    Closing thought: "In 2026, if there's one content lesson I want to give everyone: say the things only you can say. If you remove your name and profile picture from a post and someone else can copy it word-for-word, it's not specific enough." Please leave us an honest rating on Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Podcasts. Shoutout to our Great Sponsors: Naviqus Virtual Services - Hassle-free administrative support services that are efficient, affordable, and tailored to your needs. Check out https://naviqus.com now to jumpstart your business for 2026! Podbrand Media - Have you ever considered starting your own podcast for your company or brand? Podbrandmedia.com can help. Affordable and effective content creation and lead generation!  

What if building a business that supports your life actually isn't about hustle…but about resilience, systems, and intention?In this episode of The Aspiring Solopreneur, Carly and Joe sit down with Mike Lynch, creator, RV-lifer, automation strategist, and founder of Flywheel Factory, for a refreshingly honest conversation about what solopreneurship really looks like behind the scenes.Mike shares the truth most people won't say out loud: it's harder than you think, it takes longer than you expect, and the path rarely looks the way you planned. But it's also where creativity, freedom, and momentum can finally meet.You'll hear how Mike and his family design RV travel around work (not the other way around), how he uses AI and automation to protect his creative energy instead of replacing it, and why building a “flywheel mindset” matters more than just staying busy.This is a grounded, practical, and motivating episode for solopreneurs who want to build smarter systems, reclaim their time, and design a business that truly supports their life.Episode FAQsHow can solopreneurs use AI and automation without losing their personal voice?Solopreneurs can use tools like Custom GPTs, content workflows, and automation platforms (like Make or Zapier) to streamline their work while still sounding like themselves. The key is starting with your own ideas and experiences first, then using AI to refine, organize, and scale your content, not replace your thinking. What's the best way for overwhelmed solopreneurs to get started with automation?The best place to start is identifying one repetitive, frustrating task in your business and breaking it into smaller steps. From there, tools like Custom GPTs or simple automations can help eliminate bottlenecks. How can solopreneurs design a business that supports their lifestyle instead of causing burnout?It starts with defining non-negotiables (family time, flexibility, travel, health) and then building systems around those priorities. 

What if your systems feel broken because you're running big-company playbooks in a small, bootstrapped business? Layla Pomper, founder of ProcessDriven, joins us to share how small teams actually build systems that work. We cover what to prioritize before even thinking about SOPs, how to systemize without hiring an integrator, plus the AI & automation tools her audience is quietly using to move faster. LINKS Dive into more of Layla's systems content (https://www.youtube.com/@LaylaPomper) EOS Business System (https://www.eosworldwide.com/) Meet other location-independent founders like Layla inside Dynamite Circle (https://dynamitecircle.com/) Hang out exclusively with 7+ figure founders in DC BLACK (https://dynamitecircle.com/dc-black) CHAPTERS (00:01:44) Today's Guest: Layla Pomper (00:06:18) Manage Your Mistakes (00:13:47) Radical Simplicity in Your Systems (00:17:53) People vs Roles (00:22:26) Defaulting to Delegation (00:26:59) Asking For Help & Meeting Cadences (00:31:40) Why EOS Breaks Down For Small Teams (00:39:31) Stop “Hiring” Software, Build the System First (00:42:58) New Tools Worth Paying Attention To (00:47:24) To YouTube, Or Not to YouTube? CONNECT: Dan@tropicalmba.com Ian@tropicalmba.com Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Lucy Bella. PLAYLIST: [link to Doomsday Business Ideas episode] Numbers Gone Wild: The Hidden Cost of Being Data-Driven (https://tropicalmba.com/episodes/numbers-gone-wild-hidden-cost) Financial Traps, Profit Truths, and What's Next at TMBA (https://tropicalmba.com/episodes/financial-traps-profit-truths)

While regret anchors you to past failures, reflection acts as a catalyst for future sales growth. This article and Sales Gravy Money Monday Podcast episode explores how to break the "if-only" loop and provides a step-by-step year-end debrief to help you extract lessons from your wins and losses, ensuring you start the new year with clarity and a proven system for success. Explore: How to get out of your regret loop The power of reflection How reflection creates awareness A system for achieving your sales goals 7 Steps to year-end sales reflection Ways to Look Back at Your Sales Year For me, the last two weeks of the year have always been the chance to pause, take a break from the grind of selling, and really think about what happened over the past year—the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you are anything like me and do the same, there are two ways to look back on your last twelve months. You can do so with regret or reflection. These two opposing lenses are vastly different in the way they affect your view of where you've been and where you are going. The Trouble With Regret Let's start by unpacking regret. Some of you are already feeling regret about goals you missed, deals you lost, opportunities that slipped through your fingers, or the people in your life you may have let down. Regret is that feeling you get when you look back on something you did (or didn't do) and wish you could change it. In many ways, regret is similar to worry, except it's focused on the past instead of the future. Worry is about what might happen; regret is about what already happened. That's a big distinction. Although you can turn worry into action and change the future, you cannot rewrite the past. No amount of regret changes history. All it does is create a feedback loop in your mind where you keep reliving your mistakes, misses, and failures over and over again. Why Sales Professionals Get Stuck in a Regret Loop I've observed so many people get stuck in this endless loop of regret. They keep lamenting, "If only I had . . ." "made that call.” “handled that prospect differently.” “taken that chance.” “been there or done that.” Those “if onlys” can paralyze you. They sap your energy, crush your confidence, and keep you from moving forward. On one hand, regret can push you to change—you don't want to feel that kind of pain again, so you work hard to avoid repeating the same mistakes. On the other hand, regret can become a debilitating emotion that drags you into an exhausting and useless mental loop of “would've, could've, should've.” But no matter how many times you complete that loop, it doesn't change the outcome. It becomes an emotional anchor that weighs you down as you start the new year. The Power of Reflection Reflection, on the other hand, is entirely different—and far more productive. When you reflect, you detach from your emotions with objectivity to look at your entire body of work from the past year. You're asking the questions, “What went well? What didn't go so well? What did I learn?” You consider the wins that made you proud and the moments you'd rather forget. You figure out why you won so you can repeat those winning behaviors. You extract value from the lessons of failure. Reflection isn't about punishing yourself for what went wrong. It's about gaining clarity on why it went wrong—and what you can do about it next time. How Reflection Creates Awareness Reflection also helps you find gratitude in unexpected places. Maybe there's a hidden lesson in overcoming an obstacle, or perhaps you gained a new perspective because a challenging person came into your life. It's important to realize that each decision you made over the past year shaped your present circumstances. But you are not defined by these circumstances, only by how you respond to them. Reflection creates awareness. Where there is awareness, there is the potential for change. Awareness is like the sun; anything it touches has a tendency to transform. The bottom line is that reflection is about learning, growing, and transforming. Regret is stagnation. Why Reflection Matters at Year-End The reason I'm talking about the impact of reflection as we close out this year is because, for most of us, the slate really does feel clean come January 1st. In the sales world, we get a brand-new quota and brand-new targets. There's an air of possibility as we think: “This year is going to be different. “This year, I'm going to crush my numbers.” “Hit my income targets.” “Make it to President's club.” “Get a promotion.” “Finally, close that dream account I've been chasing.” But if you don't take a moment to reflect on what worked and what didn't, you're likely to find yourself repeating the same missteps. Reflection is like an internal debrief—a chance to say, “Here's what happened, here's why, and here's how I'm going to fix it.” Why Clarity Arises From Reflection Let me give you a personal example. A the beginning of last year, I set a goal for my sales training company, Sales Gravy. This was a big, bold, visionary goal that would transform our organization and ultimately double our sales. I proudly and confidently told my team that it was going to happen. And then, in an embarrassing crash and burn, I failed miserably. Certainly, I could have stewed in regret, beating myself up and allowing my self-talk to run wild about how I fell short. But that would have been a waste of time and energy. Instead, I chose reflection. I asked myself, “What happened and why didn't I achieve this goal?” As I mulled over those questions, the answers came more clearly than I expected. One of the biggest insights I gained was that I'd set this big goal, but didn't establish a system or plan to make it happen. You see, a goal without a system is basically just a wish—as they say, “hope is not a strategy.” Build a System that Supports Your Goals If, for example, you set a goal to prospect a hundred potential customers per week, but you haven't built a disciplined daily routine, built targeted lists, set aside specific times for calls, and created accountability checkpoints, it's not going to stick. Life will get in the way. Sooner or later, your big, bold goal gets overshadowed by a million other tasks. Without a system for achieving the goal, you quickly succumb to discipline fatigue. This is exactly why reflection can be your best friend at year's end. It allows you to own your failures without letting them define you, and it helps you leverage your successes by pinpointing what you did right. Regret says: “You messed up. You'll never fix this. It's too late.” Reflection says: “You messed up. Now let's find out why, learn from it, and do better next time.” How to Conduct a Year-End Sales Reflection To turn past performance into future growth, follow this 7-step systematic reflection process: Seek Silence: Carve out 30 minutes in a quiet environment without digital distractions to ensure deep focus. Audit the Timeline: Mentally journey through the year, month-by-month, starting from January, to recall specific goals and market conditions. Celebrate Wins: Identify specific deals and relationships that succeeded. Recognize the personal milestones that boosted your confidence. Isolate Winning Behaviors: Determine the exact habits and mindsets that led to your successes so you can turn them into repeatable systems. Analyze Failures Objectively: Pinpoint the goals that stayed out of reach. Ask "Why?" to uncover the root cause of the miss without self-judgment. Build Systems, Not Just Goals: Replace "hope-based" strategies with disciplined routines, targeted lists, and accountability checkpoints. Practice Gratitude: Identify the "silver linings" and lessons learned from challenges to maintain an optimistic outlook for the new sales season. Here's the big takeaway: Regret is the enemy of progress; Reflection is the catalyst for growth. Get your New Year off to a winning start with Jeb Blount's popular on-demand course: The Essentials of Setting Winning Goals

While regret anchors you to past failures, reflection acts as a catalyst for future sales growth. This article and Sales Gravy Money Monday Podcast episode explores how to break the "if-only" loop and provides a step-by-step year-end debrief to help you extract lessons from your wins and losses, ensuring you start the new year with clarity and a proven system for success.   Explore: How to get out of your regret loop The power of reflection How reflection creates awareness A system for achieving your sales goals 7 Steps to year-end sales reflection Ways to Look Back at Your Sales Year For me, the last two weeks of the year have always been the chance to pause, take a break from the grind of selling, and really think about what happened over the past year—the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you are anything like me and do the same, there are two ways to look back on your last twelve months. You can do so with regret or reflection. These two opposing lenses are vastly different in the way they affect your view of where you've been and where you are going. The Trouble With Regret Let's start by unpacking regret. Some of you are already feeling regret about goals you missed, deals you lost, opportunities that slipped through your fingers, or the people in your life you may have let down. Regret is that feeling you get when you look back on something you did (or didn't do) and wish you could change it. In many ways, regret is similar to worry, except it's focused on the past instead of the future. Worry is about what might happen; regret is about what already happened. That's a big distinction. Although you can turn worry into action and change the future, you cannot rewrite the past. No amount of regret changes history. All it does is create a feedback loop in your mind where you keep reliving your mistakes, misses, and failures over and over again. Why Sales Professionals Get Stuck in a Regret Loop I've observed so many people get stuck in this endless loop of regret. They keep lamenting, "If only I had . . ." "made that call.” “handled that prospect differently.” “taken that chance.” “been there or done that.” Those “if onlys” can paralyze you. They sap your energy, crush your confidence, and keep you from moving forward. On one hand, regret can push you to change—you don't want to feel that kind of pain again, so you work hard to avoid repeating the same mistakes. On the other hand, regret can become a debilitating emotion that drags you into an exhausting and useless mental loop of “would've, could've, should've.” But no matter how many times you complete that loop, it doesn't change the outcome. It becomes an emotional anchor that weighs you down as you start the new year. The Power of Reflection Reflection, on the other hand, is entirely different—and far more productive. When you reflect, you detach from your emotions with objectivity to look at your entire body of work from the past year. You're asking the questions, “What went well? What didn't go so well? What did I learn?” You consider the wins that made you proud and the moments you'd rather forget. You figure out why you won so you can repeat those winning behaviors. You extract value from the lessons of failure. Reflection isn't about punishing yourself for what went wrong. It's about gaining clarity on why it went wrong—and what you can do about it next time. How Reflection Creates Awareness Reflection also helps you find gratitude in unexpected places. Maybe there's a hidden lesson in overcoming an obstacle, or perhaps you gained a new perspective because a challenging person came into your life. It's important to realize that each decision you made over the past year shaped your present circumstances. But you are not defined by these circumstances, only by how you respond to them. Reflection creates awareness. Where there is awareness, there is the potential for change. Awareness is like the sun; anything it touches has a tendency to transform. The bottom line is that reflection is about learning, growing, and transforming. Regret is stagnation. Why Reflection Matters at Year-End The reason I'm talking about the impact of reflection as we close out this year is because, for most of us, the slate really does feel clean come January 1st. In the sales world, we get a brand-new quota and brand-new targets. There's an air of possibility as we think: “This year is going to be different. “This year, I'm going to crush my numbers.” “Hit my income targets.” “Make it to President's club.” “Get a promotion.” “Finally, close that dream account I've been chasing.” But if you don't take a moment to reflect on what worked and what didn't, you're likely to find yourself repeating the same missteps. Reflection is like an internal debrief—a chance to say, “Here's what happened, here's why, and here's how I'm going to fix it.” Why Clarity Arises From Reflection Let me give you a personal example. A the beginning of last year, I set a goal for my sales training company, Sales Gravy. This was a big, bold, visionary goal that would transform our organization and ultimately double our sales. I proudly and confidently told my team that it was going to happen. And then, in an embarrassing crash and burn, I failed miserably. Certainly, I could have stewed in regret, beating myself up and allowing my self-talk to run wild about how I fell short. But that would have been a waste of time and energy. Instead, I chose reflection. I asked myself, “What happened and why didn't I achieve this goal?” As I mulled over those questions, the answers came more clearly than I expected. One of the biggest insights I gained was that I'd set this big goal, but didn't establish a system or plan to make it happen. You see, a goal without a system is basically just a wish—as they say, “hope is not a strategy.” Build a System that Supports Your Goals If, for example, you set a goal to prospect a hundred potential customers per week, but you haven't built a disciplined daily routine, built targeted lists, set aside specific times for calls, and created accountability checkpoints, it's not going to stick. Life will get in the way. Sooner or later, your big, bold goal gets overshadowed by a million other tasks. Without a system for achieving the goal, you quickly succumb to discipline fatigue. This is exactly why reflection can be your best friend at year's end. It allows you to own your failures without letting them define you, and it helps you leverage your successes by pinpointing what you did right. Regret says: “You messed up. You'll never fix this. It's too late.” Reflection says: “You messed up. Now let's find out why, learn from it, and do better next time.” How to Conduct a Year-End Sales Reflection To turn past performance into future growth, follow this 7-step systematic reflection process: Seek Silence: Carve out 30 minutes in a quiet environment without digital distractions to ensure deep focus. Audit the Timeline: Mentally journey through the year, month-by-month, starting from January, to recall specific goals and market conditions. Celebrate Wins: Identify specific deals and relationships that succeeded. Recognize the personal milestones that boosted your confidence. Isolate Winning Behaviors: Determine the exact habits and mindsets that led to your successes so you can turn them into repeatable systems. Analyze Failures Objectively: Pinpoint the goals that stayed out of reach. Ask "Why?" to uncover the root cause of the miss without self-judgment. Build Systems, Not Just Goals: Replace "hope-based" strategies with disciplined routines, targeted lists, and accountability checkpoints. Practice Gratitude: Identify the "silver linings" and lessons learned from challenges to maintain an optimistic outlook for the new sales season. Here's the big takeaway: Regret is the enemy of progress; Reflection is the catalyst for growth. Get your New Year off to a winning start with Jeb Blount's popular on-demand course: The Essentials of Setting Winning Goals  

Charles Gaudet is the Founder and CEO of Predictable Profits and creator of the Predictable Profits Operating System™, a proven framework helping 7- and 8-figure businesses achieve consistent, predictable growth. He is the author of The Predictable Profits Playbook (voted #1 Sales & Marketing Book by Indie Excellence) and host of The Beyond 7-Figures Podcast. Yahoo Finance calls him "The CEO Whisperer," and the International Business Times names him "The Go-To Business Coach for 7- and 8-Figure Businesses." An entrepreneur since age four, Gaudet built his first multi-million-dollar company at 24 and has helped countless CEOs generate millions more through his expertise in revenue architecture, growth systems, and sales process engineering. His work has been featured in Inc., Forbes, Salesforce, Success, and Fox Business, and he has been recognized as one of American Geniuses' Top 50 Industry Influencers and one of CEO Weekly's "Top 10 Innovative CEOs to Follow." Gaudet is also a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gold medalist and three-time wrestling state champion.He lives in Florida with his wife, their three "kid-preneurs," and their loyal dog, balancing entrepreneurship with family and personal growth. During the show we discuss: Signs your agency has outgrown hustle and referrals and needs a growth system What marketing really is and how to use it for consistent growth How to create, capture, and nurture demand The OSI Method and how it accelerates growth How to turn random wins into predictable, month-over-month profits The three growth phases—Setup, Sales, and Scale—and why they matter How to generate consistent, qualified leads without founder dependency The mistakes keeping CEOs stuck in daily operations instead of scaling Why tactics fail without a complete operating system The frameworks that remove the CEO from day-to-day firefighting How agencies build resilience and scale past revenue plateaus The mindset shift required to scale from 7 to 8 figures How the system adapts for companies under $1M to $10M+ Proven results, including 90-day record-breaking revenue stories Resources: https://www.PredictableProfits.com

Welcome to another episode of the Building Your Money Machine Show, and today, I'm tackling something a lot of us feel on the wealth-building journey: it sucks at first, but it's the secret to skyrocketing your net worth. If you're saving and investing and it still seems like your numbers aren't moving, you're not failing—you're experiencing what I call the “wealth flatline.” That frustration has tripped up thousands, but if you stick it out, compounding will flip the switch and your money will start working harder for you than you ever worked for it.In this episode, I pull back the curtain on why building wealth feels painfully slow in the beginning, especially when you see friends celebrating big purchases and living it up while you're keeping it simple and disciplined. We dig into delayed gratification, the real-life grind of managing money, sticking to boring (but proven!) investing strategies, avoiding destructive debt, and fighting the urge for instant gratification.I even cover the phases you'll experience, from the grind, to acceleration, to the explosion zone where your portfolio returns outpace your contributions and you reach true financial freedom.IN TODAY'S EPISODE, I DISCUSS:Why the wealth-building journey feels frustrating at firstHow compounding works in practiceThe phases of wealth buildingReal-life examples showing what happens if you quit early versus stick with itPractical steps to get through the suckWhen your money hustles harder than you do and you live life by choiceRECOMMENDED EPISODES FOR YOUIf you liked this episode, click here to enjoy these and more:https://melabraham.com/show/It's Happening Again and What EVERYONE is MissingAccountant Explains: How to Invest Your First $10,000The 3 Net Worth Milestones That Change EverythingIf You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get RichHow to Build Systems to Actually Achieve Your Financial GoalsRECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU If you liked this video, you'll love these ones:It's Happening Again and What EVERYONE is Missing: https://youtu.be/sGaGRH396msAccountant Explains: How to Invest Your First $10,000: https://youtu.be/8spO7HPBvDQThe 3 Net Worth Milestones That Change Everything: https://youtu.be/M4PRKP092UkIf You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get Rich: https://youtu.be/HoEktNaPq5EORDER MY NEW USA TODAY BESTSELLING BOOK:Building Your Money Machine: How to Get Your Money to Work Harder For You Than You Did For It!The key to building the life you desire and deserve is to build your Money Machine—a powerful system designed to generate income that's no longer tied to your work or efforts. This step-by-step guide goes beyond the general idea of personal finance and wealth creation and reveals the holistic approach to transforming your relationship with money to allow you to enjoy financial freedom and peace of mind.Part money philosophy, part money mindset, part strategy, and part tactical action, these powerful frameworks will show you how to build your money machine.When you do you'll also get over $1100 in wealth resources & bonuses for FREE! TAKE THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM QUIZ:Take this free quiz to see where you are on the path to financial freedom and what your next steps are to move you to a new financial destiny at http://www.YourFinancialFreedomQuiz.com

Welcome to a crucial episode of the Building Your Money Machine Show. Today, I'm pulling back the curtain on what's really happening in our economy, and more importantly, the hidden financial risks that almost everyone is missing. While the headlines scream about AI and the stock market's record highs, there's a dangerous gap between perception and reality.As someone who's analyzed these cycles for over 30 years as a CPA, advisor, and investor, I'm here to help you see through the noise. In this episode, I decode the “debt spiral,” uncover consumer stress no one's talking about, expose the concentration risk lurking in your index funds, and dive into why today's signals eerily echo the moments before past market breakdowns.This isn't fear-mongering — it's about preparation, discipline, and clarity when everyone else is distracted by hype. I'll walk you through the five “hidden forces” shaping the next decade: the growing debt crisis, the productivity mirage of AI, the fragile state of consumer finances, and the shrinking lifespan of today's corporate giants.IN TODAY'S EPISODE, I DISCUSS:Why the U.S. government will soon spend more on interest than on national defenseHow AI is powerful but dangerously overhypedThe risks of extreme market concentration in just a handful of companiesThe myth of a “strong consumer” and the real data behind record debtHow corporate earnings are often an Instagram filter for underlying weaknessThe shrinking corporate lifespan and why betting on today's winners can be riskyRECOMMENDED EPISODES FOR YOUIf you liked this episode, click here to enjoy these and more:https://melabraham.com/show/Accountant Explains: How to Invest Your First $10,000The 3 Net Worth Milestones That Change EverythingIf You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get RichHow to Build Systems to Actually Achieve Your Financial GoalsThe ONLY Money Rule ALL Rich People UseRECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU If you liked this video, you'll love these ones:Accountant Explains: How to Invest Your First $10,000: https://youtu.be/8spO7HPBvDQThe 3 Net Worth Milestones That Change Everything: https://youtu.be/M4PRKP092UkIf You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get Rich: https://youtu.be/HoEktNaPq5EHow to Build Systems to Actually Achieve Your Financial Goals: https://youtu.be/PmCa9qORQygORDER MY NEW USA TODAY BESTSELLING BOOK:Building Your Money Machine: How to Get Your Money to Work Harder For You Than You Did For It!The key to building the life you desire and deserve is to build your Money Machine—a powerful system designed to generate income that's no longer tied to your work or efforts. This step-by-step guide goes beyond the general idea of personal finance and wealth creation and reveals the holistic approach to transforming your relationship with money to allow you to enjoy financial freedom and peace of mind.Part money philosophy, part money mindset, part strategy, and part tactical action, these powerful frameworks will show you how to build your money machine.When you do you'll also get over $1100 in wealth resources & bonuses for FREE! TAKE THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM QUIZ:Take this free quiz to see where you are on the path to financial freedom and what your next steps are to move you to a new financial destiny at http://www.YourFinancialFreedomQuiz.com

Welcome to another transformative episode of the Building Your Money Machine Show! Today, I'm breaking down exactly what you need to do if $10,000 suddenly shows up in your bank account—and how that first five-digit sum can be the key to unlocking your financial freedom.Here's the truth: most people freeze, flex, or fumble when they get their hands on their first real chunk of cash. But as I explain in this episode, investing your first $10,000 isn't just about picking the hottest stock or crypto your cousin can't stop talking about. It's about building a rock-solid financial foundation and developing the habits and systems that allow your money to work harder for you than you ever worked for it.I dive deep into my Wealth Priority Ladder—a proven, step-by-step approach to eliminating destructive debt, building your liquidity base, and earning the right to invest with confidence. I'll walk you through the right order of operations so you can avoid expensive mistakes, reduce financial stress, and actually build lasting wealth.IN TODAY'S EPISODE, I COVER:Why your first $10,000 is about building confidenceThe Wealth Priority LadderWhy you should tackle debt payoff and wealth creation togetherActionable strategies for getting rid of high-interest “destructive debt” using debt avalanche or snowball methodsThe exact hierarchy of accounts to invest inSimple, low-cost two-, three-, and four-fund portfolios that make wealth building automaticHow to avoid the top five mistakes that derail most new investorsRECOMMENDED EPISODES FOR YOUIf you liked this episode, click here to enjoy these and more:https://melabraham.com/show/The 3 Net Worth Milestones That Change EverythingIf You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get RichHow to Build Systems to Actually Achieve Your Financial GoalsThe ONLY Money Rule ALL Rich People UseIf You Don't Understand Fiat Currency, You Don't Understand MoneyRECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU If you liked this video, you'll love these ones:The 3 Net Worth Milestones That Change Everything: https://youtu.be/M4PRKP092UkIf You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get Rich: https://youtu.be/HoEktNaPq5EHow to Build Systems to Actually Achieve Your Financial Goals: https://youtu.be/PmCa9qORQygThe ONLY Money Rule ALL Rich People Use: https://youtu.be/njBdSToP6OYORDER MY NEW USA TODAY BESTSELLING BOOK:Building Your Money Machine: How to Get Your Money to Work Harder For You Than You Did For It!The key to building the life you desire and deserve is to build your Money Machine—a powerful system designed to generate income that's no longer tied to your work or efforts. This step-by-step guide goes beyond the general idea of personal finance and wealth creation and reveals the holistic approach to transforming your relationship with money to allow you to enjoy financial freedom and peace of mind.Part money philosophy, part money mindset, part strategy, and part tactical action, these powerful frameworks will show you how to build your money machine.When you do you'll also get over $1100 in wealth resources & bonuses for FREE! TAKE THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM QUIZ:Take this free quiz to see where you are on the path to financial freedom and what your next steps are to move you to a new financial destiny at http://www.YourFinancialFreedomQuiz.com

Welcome to another episode of the Building Your Money Machine Show! Today, I'm sharing a game-changing roadmap that truly transformed my own financial journey — the 3 Net Worth Milestones that can change everything for you, especially when life throws unexpected curveballs.We dive into the three essential net worth milestones—$100K, $500K, and $1M—that mark your progress from discipline, to momentum, to true financial freedom. I break down what each milestone means, why it matters so much, what to expect along the way, and, crucially, what steps to take whether you're just beginning or already making traction.I share my own experiences: the golden-hamster-wheel days when I believed more income was the answer, the reality check that upended that belief, and the behavioral shifts that really move the needle. We debunk the income trap, talk about the exponential power of compounding and time, and reveal why so many quit right before compounding really kicks in.IN TODAY'S EPISODE, I COVER:Why true financial freedom is about what happens when you can't earn, not just how much you makeThe “Income Trap” and why earning more alone doesn't set you freeThe 3 Net Worth MilestonesWhy your first $100K is the hardest, but builds belief and essential habits for lifeThe exponential magic of compoundingSmart strategies for optimizing your investmentsAvoiding lifestyle creep and risky bets when growth acceleratesWhy you shouldn't wait for a crisis to startRECOMMENDED EPISODES FOR YOUIf you liked this episode, click here to enjoy these and more:https://melabraham.com/show/If You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get RichHow to Build Systems to Actually Achieve Your Financial GoalsThe ONLY Money Rule ALL Rich People UseIf You Don't Understand Fiat Currency, You Don't Understand Money7 Popular Finance Tips That Are Quietly Keeping You BrokeRECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU If you liked this video, you'll love these ones:If You Don't Understand The K-Shaped Economy, You'll Never Get Rich: https://youtu.be/HoEktNaPq5EHow to Build Systems to Actually Achieve Your Financial Goals: https://youtu.be/PmCa9qORQygThe ONLY Money Rule ALL Rich People Use: https://youtu.be/njBdSToP6OYIf You Don't Understand Fiat Currency, You Don't Understand Money: https://youtu.be/d55yWZI6sbQORDER MY NEW USA TODAY BESTSELLING BOOK:Building Your Money Machine: How to Get Your Money to Work Harder For You Than You Did For It!The key to building the life you desire and deserve is to build your Money Machine—a powerful system designed to generate income that's no longer tied to your work or efforts. This step-by-step guide goes beyond the general idea of personal finance and wealth creation and reveals the holistic approach to transforming your relationship with money to allow you to enjoy financial freedom and peace of mind.Part money philosophy, part money mindset, part strategy, and part tactical action, these powerful frameworks will show you how to build your money machine.When you do you'll also get over $1100 in wealth resources & bonuses for FREE! TAKE THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM QUIZ:Take this free quiz to see where you are on the path to financial freedom and what your next steps are to move you to a new financial destiny at http://www.YourFinancialFreedomQuiz.com

Are you making success harder than it needs to be? In this episode, I break down the systems that make discipline automatic—so you no longer rely on memory, motivation, or mood. You'll learn how automation, environment design, habit stacking, friction, default decisions, and accountability can make the right choices effortless and success easier. Feeling stuck? It's time to take back control. If you're ready to master your mind and create real, lasting change, click the link below and start transforming your life today.

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Are your goals holding you back? In this episode, I'll show you why focusing on big, long-term results can actually demotivate you—and how shifting to daily, action-based goals can change everything. The Mindset Mentor™ podcast is designed for anyone desiring motivation, direction, and focus in life.     Past guests of The Mindset Mentor include Tony Robbins, Matthew McConaughey, Jay Shetty, Andrew Huberman, Lewis Howes, Gregg Braden, Rich Roll, and Dr. Steven Gundry   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.