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#706 In part two of our masterclass with Dave Menz, the Laundromat Millionaire, we shift from customer experience to the operational engine that drives a truly scalable business. Dave reveals how documented systems, strong SOPs, and empowered employees are the foundation of long-term success — not just in laundromats, but in any service-based business. From unclogging drains before they flood your store to building a business that thrives while you're on vacation, this episode is packed with tactical wisdom and real-world examples. We also explore innovative revenue streams, the truth about passive income, and how digital marketing is reshaping this traditionally overlooked industry. If you're serious about building a business that runs without you, class is in session again with Dave Menz! (Original Air Date - 4/29/25) What we discuss with Dave: + Systems create true scalability + SOPs prevent costly emergencies + Maintenance must be proactive + Full-service laundromats win loyalty + Attended stores attract premium clients + Marketing works if product stands out + Revenue varies by market density + Partnerships can boost utilization + Always improve processes and systems + Humility and curiosity drive growth Thank you, Dave! Check out Laundromat Millionaire at LaundromatMillionaire.com. Check out Queen City Laundry at QueenCityLaundry.com. Follow Dave on Facebook and LinkedIn. Watch the video podcast of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to MillionaireUniversity.com/training. And follow us on: Instagram Facebook Tik Tok Youtube Twitter To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When Beav Brodie was handed his wife's purple diaper bag to carry around town, he knew something had to change. As a tattooed, custom car-building dad, that bag just didn't fit. So he did what any problem-solver would do—he grabbed his sewing machine and made his own. That side project turned into Tactical Baby Gear, a thriving eCommerce brand that's become the go-to for dads who want gear that's as functional as it is badass. In this episode, Beav shares his journey from knowing absolutely nothing about eCommerce (including what a UPC code was) to building a product line that customers trust and keep coming back for. He also pulls back the curtain on navigating the chaos of 2025—from Meta auction issues to tariff headwinds—and why he's betting big on Amazon and YouTube as his growth channels for the year ahead.—Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!—Chapters: (00:00) Opening & Introducing Beav Brodie(04:45) 2025 Headwinds, Tariffs & Personal Life Challenges(08:45) Becoming a Real Operator: Systems, SOPs & Founder Mindset Shifts(12:00) Origin Story: From Custom Cars to Tactical Baby Gear(17:00) Manufacturing Realities: COVID, Price Creep & Moving Abroad(24:38) Recover hidden Amazon revenue with Threecolts(25:33) Meta Constraints & The Founder Bottleneck in Content(29:30) UGC, Influencers & Why Authenticity Beats “Pretty” Content(36:25) Offers, Acquisition & The Realities of Low-Repeat Categories(42:10) Brand vs Discounts: Community, Trust & True LTV(47:00) Channel Expansion & Product Philosophy(50:19) PostPilot: Direct mail that prints money.—Connect With Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/ Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact Relevant Links:Tactical Baby Gear: https://tacticalbabygear.comSponsor Offer | Threecolts: http://threecolts.comSponsor Offer | PostPilot: http://postpilot.com/Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D'Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more
Send us a textFrom lasers to leadership, this IT Nation Connect 2025 conversation with Lawrence Cruciana, founder of Corporate Information Technologies, reveals how discipline, curiosity, and science fuel cybersecurity innovation.A former Disney audio engineer and laser physicist, Lawrence shares how attention to detail and standardization shaped his approach to business, how a case of industrial espionage inspired his cybersecurity mission, and why CMMC and frameworks like the CIS Controls are essential to protecting American ingenuity.You'll hear lessons from his time presenting at NASA, insights into the evolution of AI-fueled cyber threats, and how MSPs can raise the bar for security maturity while staying human in a world of automation.This episode blends STEM roots, cybersecurity expertise, and personal discipline into one inspiring conversation about what it means to build, protect, and lead with purpose.
In this episode of She Means Business, Carrie sits down with long-time friend and AI strategist Rick Mulready to talk about what it really looks like to build an AI-first business in 2025 and beyond. If you've been dabbling with ChatGPT, still doing everything manually, or feeling slightly terrified you're "already behind" with AI… this conversation will feel like a deep exhale and a wake-up call all at once. Rick shares how burnout and one simple experiment with ChatGPT led him to completely reinvent his business around AI – and why he believes the biggest shift for online entrepreneurs now is moving from people manager to AI manager. Together, we explore practical, non-techy ways you can start using AI today to save hours every week, make smarter decisions, and free yourself up to do the work (and live the life) you actually want. In this episode, we talk about: How burnout and ChatGPT pushed Rick to pause his "successful" business and pivot fully into the AI space Why traditional "record once, sell forever" courses are getting outdated fast – and why Rick chose a membership model in the age of AI What it means to build an AI-first business instead of trying to bolt AI onto an old way of working The dreaded time audit and how AI can help you see where your time is really going (without a huge spreadsheet) Simple ways to use ChatGPT beyond content: time analysis, decision support, planning trips, troubleshooting real-life problems (like a broken motorhome!) How to use AI to: Draft newsletters and weekly emails in a fraction of the time Turn your FAQ doc into a "world-class" customer support assistant Analyse your P&L, ad stats, or sales pages and get clear, actionable recommendations The difference between "using ChatGPT for a task" and building AI agents that can research, ideate, draft and send things for you What it practically looks like to go from solo operator to having an AI "org chart" across marketing, operations and delivery Why aggregating your business knowledge (courses, FAQs, SOPs, offers, etc.) in one place now will make your future AI setups 10x more powerful How AI is opening up wild creative possibilities – from building apps without being a coder to helping Carrie's 6-year-old turn his stories into books and 3D characters The mindset shift we all need: choosing curiosity over fear, and committing to 20 minutes a day of "AI practice" so we don't get left behind Resources & tools mentioned Connect with Rick Mulready Website & newsletter: rickmulready.com rickmulready.com The AI Playbook® community: The AI Playbook on Skool Skool AI & automation tools we mention ChatGPT – Carrie's go-to for time analysis, meal planning, content, motorhome troubleshooting and more Claude – Rick's favourite for long-form copy like email sequences and sales pages Relay.app – no-code AI workflow + automation tool for building simple agents and workflows Relay Gamma – AI tool for creating slide decks and presentations quickly Gamma Dia – an AI-powered browser from The Browser Company that lets you "chat with your tabs" and analyse what's on your screen in real time Dia Browser (Always check current pricing and plans for these tools, as they change often.) Loved this episode? Tag me on Instagram and tell me your biggest takeaway or how you're using AI in your business – I love hearing your stories.
Kiera goes into the key pieces for a worry-free practice, including systematizing your stress points, providing boundaries around time and energy, and leading proactively. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope you're having an amazing day. I hope that you are excited for today's podcast. I am, because like, why don't we create a stress-free practice? That sounds like, sign me up. Yes, please. Thank you. Happy to take you guys through that and how to create a stress-free practice, at least at a base level, at least certain tactical tips that you can put into place today to start exploring that, experiencing that. And honestly, I just love, I love the game of business. I love the art of business. I love. ⁓ I love the impact and the change we're able to make. And I truly just love human beings. I love helping people just experience their best life, whether it's my sister or my friend or my neighbor or our community or our podcast family, whomever you are, wherever you are, I'm just so grateful and honored that you're here with us today. So if you love our podcast, if it's changed your way in any way, shape or form, do me a favor today and just share it with somebody that you think this could make their day better. Whether it's today's podcast or another podcast. Go to our website, TheDentalATeam.com, click on our podcast tab, search any topic that you ever could want, make sure that you're able to access all the free resources that are available to you. And if I can help you personally or professionally in any way, you guys, truly like, I built this company to be a friend in the industry, to be somebody who has vetted all the different people out there to help you out. And it's so fun because I used to work at Midwestern University's dental college before I started consulting. And it was so fun. The other day I was on a call. and my phone, like I was on a video call and my phone lit up and I looked at it and it was literally a dental student. we're talking throwback to the past, shout out to my Midwestern family. And I was like, oh my gosh, I've not seen that name on my phone and we're talking eight plus years. And so as soon as they finished the call, I called them back and I was like, dude, it's been so long, how are you? And it just like, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much right now. It made me so happy to be able to have been in the industry long enough to have worked with so many different clients and have so many different resources that no matter what has been thrown my way with different clients, this student that I haven't talked to in eight years who's at a pretty awesome crossroad of their practice and their life and what they're doing, to be able to truly give them ⁓ advice, to give them resources, to help them out. And I realized once again, that that is why this company exists. It is to truly be that friend in the industry. And he's like, Kiera, like, your time is valuable. And I was like, are you kidding? Like, this is what my time has meant for my time is meant to help and to serve and to be that resource and advocate. Whether you work with us as an active client or whether you're an massive advocate of the podcast, ⁓ or if we're just someone who have we met in passing, just know that you have somebody out there who is truly committed to making you the most successful, the happiest. all the best resources I can possibly bring to you. That's what this podcast is about. So share this with somebody who needs this. Make sure that you get this into the hands of all these dentists that need the help, that need the resources, because this is a free resource. There's no strings attached other than just asking you to truly give back to those around you, in your community, in your study clubs. Make sure everybody is a raving fan listening to the podcast, because my job is to help you become the best that you can possibly be. So with that today, like I said, I teased it out a little bit. We're gonna help you figure out how to create this, you know, stress-free practice. And it's honestly going to be through nothing sexy, nothing hard. I hate hard things. I like it to be easy. One of our core values is ease. So everything I bring to the podcast, everything we do in consulting should make your life easier and not harder. like honestly, stress-free practices come from systems and leadership. That's the bottom line. It's systems and leadership all day long. And it's the discipline to follow through on both of those. That's what it is. So this is something where it's like, we're going to reduce the chaos. We're going to protect your energy and help you truly feel so much better in the practice because this is what we're about. Like this is how we're able to get you guys there. And so the systems and the leadership done with consistency will help you have stress-free practices. Now, a lot of times it's, know what you should do, but you don't do it or you don't consistently do it. It's like parents, it's like, I know I shouldn't give my kid candy, but I do it because they're screaming and I just want the screaming to stop. Well, is that a temporary fix or is it a long-term solution? And so for this, making sure that we're systematizing. Now systems for point number one are going to be exhaustive. You will never be fully systematized. You will never be fully done and perfect in all the pieces. There will always be an evolution. And I just want to like get rid of the hope and the wish that, my gosh, like maybe I could do this or maybe it would change or I will one day reach this mountain. You won't. So when I work with offices, like how do you get them systematized? How do you do it? What's your magic diet pill? And I'm like, Well, I systematize the stress points. I systematize what's causing the most pain that's going to give me the most gain. And I do that immediately because then the screaming stops, but it stops forever. Did you hear the difference? The screaming stops, but it stops forever rather than just feeding my baby candy. So they stop screaming temporarily. Well, then they're going to start screaming because they get a tummy ache and then they're going to throw up on me. And then that's a whole nonsense rather than just giving them the food that they actually need and want and doing that consistently to help my baby out. So for your practices, we're gonna systematize those stress points. So what happens from this is, I usually when I go into a practice or our consultants go into your office or we're working with you virtually, we're going to look for the top three pain points that you tell us are the pain points. Then we're gonna use the data to actually tell us additional pain points. And then we're gonna look at those two things combined and we're gonna pick out the top three things that are going to move the practice forward. Like literally this is what we do. So sometimes it's a scheduling and efficiency. It's a communication like that happens all the time. It's a billing, it's a profitability, it's a lack of production. It's a, don't know what my next step is. It's whatever your pain point is, like, my gosh, like I was talking to an office the other day and like, I'm so sick of the like time off requests and people calling out sick coming to me as a doctor. And I said, that's funny. Who's your office manager? Like what's your office manager doing? Because that should never be coming to the doctor. Should definitely be going to the office manager. That right there. is a simple, easy fix. We put up a system, we put up a process, we just tell the team, here's the new organization chart, here's who goes to who, boom, pain point gone and resolved as long as you stick with it. So what we wanna do is we wanna look at what our top three recurring pain points are. Again, we talk to the team and then we look at your data. What do your numbers tell us are truly the issues that you're having? And then what we do is we create systems, SOPs or protocols, and then we have accountability with it. So like when I go into a team and, there's an issue of our scheduling. Well, great, let's put a scheduling template in. Let's roll it out to the entire team. Let's let everybody know what the rules of the game are. That way everybody can play the game. And then we put it into place for six weeks and we reassess and we refine and we change it up as need be. And when you start to do this and you start to systematize, and for me, I don't like systems that you have to remember. I like systems to just be in place. So a scheduling template just goes in place and everybody can follow it. We tell them the rules of the game, but it's very easy. Like don't make it where it's like, This green block is for just treatment, big treatment. Well, what the heck is big treatment? Let's do this green block is for a $2,000 and you can have X, Y, or Z that can go in there. Fantastic. Well, now I know when I'm looking for green blocks, any person who's a crown or quads of fills or endo or implant, like anything 2000 or above can go here and I can stick it in. Now, now that's easy. I know it's $2,000 instead of big production. That's so much easier. Then what happens if I can't fill that? Well, great, 24 or 48 hours, whatever we decide as a team that feels good to us, we hold that block for that long and then we can go and change it. Now what happens is somebody is like, but Mrs. Jones just wanted to go in that spot. I know I'm not supposed to. What happens then? Well, great, the person who's scheduled gets to call Mrs. Jones and move her. We don't play the game. We don't get to do this. Like unless it's 24 or 48 hours, that block is held for that exact procedure. And I checked to see whose name did it and they get to call that patient with me. awkwardly sitting there with them, supporting them, so we don't do this again. I want to make it so uncomfortable that you would rather follow the blocks rather than have to deal with the consequence. But it's fine, you know the rules of the game before we start the game. So that way no frustration occurs because expectations have been laid out. Fantastic, we follow the blocks. People are like, Kiera, we're hitting higher production. We're getting out on time. We're getting our lunches. Patients are happier. Isn't that funny? That was something that was such a big pain point for you. And with simple little steps that we put into place that all of us like agreed to follow, the whole team's on board, we all know that. We instantly fix the problem. This is what I'm talking about, systematizing your stress points and making it to where everybody can follow it. We hold it accountable. But like once you put it in there, now there's really not a lot of like remembering what we have to do, because it's all in there spelled out. Like NDT or handoffs, if you're struggling to get your case acceptance up, put that in place. phenomenal, it's on every single route slip, it's in every single note template, then all you really have to remember is to fill in the boxes. And we have a tee up to where the team members prompt the doctor if the doctor forgot to say it. That's great. And now you're like, Kiera, you just added $25,000 to my practice. You're welcome because you did the work. You followed the system. You systematized the pain point and we looked at the numbers to tell us based on what you're telling us, based on what the numbers are telling us, let's put this into play. So if we can solve three of those issues for you, That would be amazing. So looking at your practice, look to see what those pain points are and commit to systematizing those, those hot points, those stress points that are going to move the needle forward the quickest for you. Then the next piece to make the stress fee is you've got to make sure that there are boundaries around time and energy. So with offices, a lot of times like burnout doesn't come from working. Burnout comes from having poor boundaries and overworking and committing to everything to where you feel like you can never catch up. So what this is is like, I love to build with doctors your ideal week. And we're going to, guys have heard me talk about this constantly. I cluster likes with likes. So we have our admin time. We have our doctor time. We have like when I'm building out a block schedule, we have it to where you want your crowns and we have what you have at the end of the day and right before lunch. So that way we can actually batch all of this along. You can get a lot more done when it's batched and it's clustered and it's connected. And then we protect that. Like doctors, I tell them, like, here, I can never get out of here on time. And I'm like, great. So here's the deal. You get out by like, what's reasonable. Let's say you end patients at five, you're out the door by 530. For every day you're not out at 530, I'm gonna let you out of a four day work week, if you have three days, you gotta get out one day, that way you don't have to be perfect. Three days you gotta be out by 530, and if you're not out by 530, you owe me a thousand bucks at the end of that week. my goodness, guess what? They instantly get out at 530, how? Because we made it a priority, we had a strong boundary on it, and we said this is what we're doing, and there was something on the other side of it. Or it can be like, okay, you follow this for the next two weeks and you get to have a pedicure or a massage or whatever you want to do. We attach something fun to it. But what's wild is just changing how we're working. It's changing how we're setting this up, but we're making it a, like it's a, it's a no go zone. We don't go past this and we say no to what doesn't align in those blocks. So for me, I know I've got podcasting days. Tiffanie was like, Kiera, can you wait? And I said, no, Tiff, I've got podcasting. Like I gotta get there. And she's like, that's okay. I can take care of it in another time. Or I could have been like, absolutely, Tiff, no worry. Like I'll push the podcast. Like not a big deal. Well, when I do that, yeah, then I'm to be working on podcasts later. Everything goes down. Nothing works well because I didn't set boundaries around my time. And I didn't make a commitment that I was worth it because saying yes to something is saying no to something else. And I say yes to Kiera because I know at the end of the day, my greatest asset in life is my body. It's my time. Like that's my greatest assets. And so I've got to be so, so, so strict on it. Everybody will try to take it. It's my responsibility to be consistent with that. So we protect that. We say no. And what's wild is when doctors will do this and they set up their ideal weeks, when they set up their admin time or their CEO time, their deep work time, and they actually commit to it and they stick with it, they literally start to grow the practice exponentially. They start to feel so much happier. They start to get out on time. They start to have more time with their families. I had one doctor and she was just burnt to a crisp. Hated her life. I will tell you this woman now is since working with us has added over $450,000 to her practice She's got a 24 to 1 ROI of her consulting to her amount that she's paid in consulting to what we've brought to her practice Pretty good ROI that's better than the stock market if you ask me so a great great odds to bet on if you're looking for something And I remember she was just burnt out and she's like here. I have to like keep working every single night I'm exhausted and I said great. Here's your Here's your task, every night I want you out the door by let's commit to a time, 5.30. And I said, and you're gonna go home and you're gonna give yourself and your family a gift and there's no work, it doesn't come with you. It doesn't like, you don't get to take home that backpack. Like I think schools have mistaught us that we go to work all day long, AKA school, and then we come home and we work all night long. And I'm so anti this model. Like, whoo, get me on a soap box. because then we do that at work and we're working 40 hours and then we're taking it home and then we're not showing up for our families and we're not showing up for ourselves and then we wonder why we're chronically tired and we're not working out and on and on and on on and And I'm just so sick of it that I'm like, awesome to this doctor. said, great. So tonight's a gift. I want you to leave everything at work. It's gonna be here for you tomorrow. Like you go home and work on it for two more hours. Are we really gonna move the needle? And she's like, no, probably not. I was like, I want you to go home tonight and I want you to go have fun with your kids. I want you to go be with your husband and I want you to like, let me know how you feel tomorrow. And I got a text and she's like, Kiera, like I played a game with my kids and it felt so good to be a mom and to show up. And we consistently started giving her her life back. And we started to have helping her see like at five 30, you're out the door. We don't take anything home with it because when we have those parameters and those boundaries, what happens is you naturally find ways to actually accomplish the work because you know, it's a hard no. And I used to take work with me all the time and it used to be this And then I was like, absolutely not. So for me, my boundaries are, I do not work at all, like ever, non-negotiable on Sundays, period, nothing. And I don't work on Saturdays. Like there might be an emergency here or there, which that's fine. And it is a true absolute emergency. Like we're talking, someone's quitting and we've got to figure out what we're gonna do. Like Sarah is something that we, there was no planning for it. Like those types of things, absolutely. But 99.9 % of things do not need to be resolved on a Saturday. clients text me on a Saturday and I love them and hey, I'm here for it. I'm not here for it on Saturdays. So great. And I tell clients text me all the time. And if I'm busy with family or I'm not available, I will not respond to you, but you get it out of your head. You get it over to me. I will take care of it when I'm back in the office. So fine. I don't care if clients text me on Saturday. That's fine. It does not bother me. It does not disrupt me because I know that Saturdays I don't work. That's my free day. I also have a CEO day that literally I block. And I know because if I have white, white noise time, deep work time, So much more happens in the business. I also have workout time for myself. I work out three to four times a week. That's a non-negotiable. I have my morning routine every single morning, non-negotiables for me. That did not start as a day one. It became a process. But I started realizing if I don't take care of me and I don't have this future vision of 90 year old Kiera who's still super, super, super sharp. She's got time. She has energy. Her body's strong. She took care of herself. If I don't prioritize that version of me. Today, she's not gonna be here at 90. So this is for you to predict your boundaries, to set it out. And I promise you, I promise you, the stress in your practice will actually decrease because you will be better balanced, you will be better focused, you will be better, like just cognitively, you will feel like you're not exhausted all the time and you can make better decisions. So your leadership will actually rise if you start to set those boundaries around your time and energy. And then number three is leading proactively and not reactively. So for that, like once again, this comes to you as a calm leader and you taking care of you. So it's tying to the top of yes, we've got these boundaries, we know where we're going to be, but also at the same time, like you have these pieces where we actually have structure in there. So like we use morning huddles and we have one-on-ones. So we prevent problems from stemming in the future. ⁓ We have set meetings where we make decisions instead of it being on the fly decisions. We have set time that we get all those ortho checks back to our team. We have set times that we actually review pieces in the company. ⁓ We have debriefs. We have a same page meeting with our office manager. ⁓ We have set date nights with our spouse. We have set workout times with ourselves. But all these little set points, they feel like, as I say it, I'm like, gosh, that might feel like a lot. It's like, hey, block your whole life. So you've got all these color blocks. But the reality is when you've got this structure, you're very proactive, not reactive, and you actually have a lot more time in your world. People are like, Kiera, how do you get so much done? How do you podcast three times a week, guys? You're welcome. And it's been going on for almost six years, thousands of episodes. People are like, how do you do it? And how do you have clients? And how are you a CEO? And how do you have time for your husband? How do you work out? And I'm like, honestly, it's because you're very proactive and not reactive. I used to be very, very reactive when I first started the company. And then we moved it into a space where it was a phenomenal. we can take care of this. We don't have to have answers right away. I grew up as a CEO. I grew up as a leader, but it was leading proactively and not reactively. So looking to see where are quick areas that you might be a little reactive and how could you be a bit more proactive on that? ⁓ Like I said, what things can we put into place beforehand to make sure they're not there? So when we look at this, this is how you're able to build a stress-free practice of you systematize the top priorities, like we systematize those stress points and we get those dialed in. Then we protect our time. have boundaries around it. And then we lead proactively and we put things into place. So that way in our team, bubbles and issues are arising constantly. We teach our team how to have effective meetings, how to have issues lists, how to solve things like, Oh, I have a team like on this leading proactively. They have so many issues all the time. I'm like, I have never in my almost decade of coaching how to practice have this many fires all the time. And I'm like, all right, you guys are like a spinning top. So you need to build an issue. Listen, we need to stop having like, stop answering and solving problems every single day, all day long. Cause what you're teaching your team is they can just like vomit on you and you're going to like fix it constantly. Like it's like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Like, let's like, no, sometimes timeouts are necessary. Sometimes a calm and a shutdown time is good. ⁓ I've read a lot of books and they're like, people will say, Hey, when can I get that decision? Like, At nine o'clock on Friday is when my thinking time is and I'll have a decision made by then. Like how incredible and people are okay with that. So it's this proactive rather than reactive. And we've got this team to where they now have their issues board. They only make decisions on their leadership days. They're not having to go through the fly constantly. They have set times. I had to do that too. And this is how I know that if you do this, this is how you can create stress-free practices because it's not perfect, but it is prepared. has a lot of pieces in there I will tell you that's how you're able to literally like shut the phone off at night, able to disconnect, able to know that everything's being taken care of. I still feel like there is always this like hum of nervousness, ⁓ but it does, the noise of that nervousness goes down to where you're able to not feel like it's constantly there. So if this is something that you feel like you're constantly putting out fires, this is literally what we do all the time. ⁓ And so this is where I'd love for you guys just to subscribe, ⁓ to share, to like, to follow along, to help you guys and to share this with somebody who deserves more peace of mind. And that might be you. And if that's the case, then like, let's help you build your practice this way. Let's help train your team this way. Let's help train you as a leader because leaders aren't made, they're created. And I feel like so many of us just think that we're born out of the womb, a great leader. And it's like, no, a great leader is created. It's formed, it's evolved. And so for you to realize like that is part of it, this is where it's going to be for you. So take the challenge, let's help you get that stress free practice. does like go for this systematize, set boundaries around your time and lead proactively and reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com at all, if we can help you in any way, or form, because I want you to be living your best life. I want you to not be stressed. I want you to know that success doesn't have to be a hope and a wish, but it can be predictable for you. And this is how I love to help practices. This is what our consultants are obsessed about. They're brilliant women ⁓ who just know how to lead teams that have done this successfully many times over. So reach out, do yourself the favor and commit to like, I'm not gonna be stressed anymore. And there's a better way to do it. And I'm going to commit to doing that and reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.
Send us a textReady to stop grinding and start scaling? We dive into a clear, no-fluff blueprint for using agentic AI to grow sales, improve margins, and reclaim your time. Instead of one-off prompts, you'll learn how autonomous agents perceive context, plan multi-step workflows, make decisions, and execute tasks across your stack—then learn from outcomes to get better week after week.We walk through the five domains where agents deliver immediate wins: customer support that resolves faster and cuts cost per ticket; lead generation that researches prospects and tailors outreach to lower CAC; marketing engines that ideate, create, test, and iterate across channels; back-office automation that reconciles books, tracks invoices, and manages inventory; and forecasting that sharpens demand, revenue, and cash flow accuracy. Along the way, we plug real numbers into the conversation—10x service cost reductions, 40–60% time-to-output cuts, and double-digit revenue lift—so you can benchmark your own progress with confidence.Measurement is the unlock. You'll get a compact KPI framework tied to the P&L: revenue growth rate, ROI per initiative, gross margin improvement, operating cash flow accuracy, CAC and lifetime value, time-to-output, error rates, cost per transaction, CSAT, and NPS. We also share practical guardrails to deploy safely: approvals, escalation paths, SOPs, and team training that make adoption stick. The human edge—strategy, empathy, and brand—stays at the center while agents handle the repetitive execution. If you've wondered how to leverage AI without losing what makes your business special, this is your roadmap.Subscribe for more playbooks, share this with a founder who needs it, and leave a review to tell us which KPI you'll track first.Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates, visit 5starbdm.com. And don't miss Grant McGaugh's new book, First Light — a powerful guide to igniting your purpose and building a BRAVE brand that stands out in a changing world. - https://5starbdm.com/brave-masterclass/ See you next time on Follow The Brand!
Winter is here — and for many painting contractors, this season brings the familiar question: “How do I make the most of my time?” In this episode of the Elite Business Advice Podcast, host Chris Moore shares a practical framework to help you use the slower months to strengthen your business, sharpen your systems, and set yourself up for a successful 2026.You'll learn:
In this episode of She Means Business, Carrie sits down with long-time friend and AI strategist Rick Mulready to talk about what it really looks like to build an AI-first business in 2025 and beyond. If you've been dabbling with ChatGPT, still doing everything manually, or feeling slightly terrified you're "already behind" with AI… this conversation will feel like a deep exhale and a wake-up call all at once. Rick shares how burnout and one simple experiment with ChatGPT led him to completely reinvent his business around AI – and why he believes the biggest shift for online entrepreneurs now is moving from people manager to AI manager. Together, we explore practical, non-techy ways you can start using AI today to save hours every week, make smarter decisions, and free yourself up to do the work (and live the life) you actually want. In this episode, we talk about: How burnout and ChatGPT pushed Rick to pause his "successful" business and pivot fully into the AI space Why traditional "record once, sell forever" courses are getting outdated fast – and why Rick chose a membership model in the age of AI What it means to build an AI-first business instead of trying to bolt AI onto an old way of working The dreaded time audit and how AI can help you see where your time is really going (without a huge spreadsheet) Simple ways to use ChatGPT beyond content: time analysis, decision support, planning trips, troubleshooting real-life problems (like a broken motorhome!) How to use AI to: Draft newsletters and weekly emails in a fraction of the time Turn your FAQ doc into a "world-class" customer support assistant Analyse your P&L, ad stats, or sales pages and get clear, actionable recommendations The difference between "using ChatGPT for a task" and building AI agents that can research, ideate, draft and send things for you What it practically looks like to go from solo operator to having an AI "org chart" across marketing, operations and delivery Why aggregating your business knowledge (courses, FAQs, SOPs, offers, etc.) in one place now will make your future AI setups 10x more powerful How AI is opening up wild creative possibilities – from building apps without being a coder to helping Carrie's 6-year-old turn his stories into books and 3D characters The mindset shift we all need: choosing curiosity over fear, and committing to 20 minutes a day of "AI practice" so we don't get left behind Resources & tools mentioned Connect with Rick Mulready Website & newsletter: rickmulready.com rickmulready.com The AI Playbook® community: The AI Playbook on Skool Skool AI & automation tools we mention ChatGPT – Carrie's go-to for time analysis, meal planning, content, motorhome troubleshooting and more Claude – Rick's favourite for long-form copy like email sequences and sales pages Relay.app – no-code AI workflow + automation tool for building simple agents and workflows Relay Gamma – AI tool for creating slide decks and presentations quickly Gamma Dia – an AI-powered browser from The Browser Company that lets you "chat with your tabs" and analyse what's on your screen in real time Dia Browser (Always check current pricing and plans for these tools, as they change often.) Loved this episode? Tag me on Instagram and tell me your biggest takeaway or how you're using AI in your business – I love hearing your stories.
Neil Twa reveals how he builds 7–8 figure “virtual real estate” brands using AI, data, SOPs, and operator development—plus his path from IBM to e-commerce.In this episode of RealDealChat, Jack Hoss sits down with Neil Twa, co-founder of Voltage DM, who breaks down how he uses AI, massive data sets, and a refined operator training system to build, scale, and exit profitable “virtual real estate” brands.Neil shares his journey from IBM's early machine-learning projects to building Amazon brands doing $5M/month and helping entrepreneurs create e-commerce assets similar to multifamily portfolios. He explains how he selects products using 12 years of data, why operator mindset determines whether a business grows or stalls, and how he builds brands designed to be acquired within 3–5 years.If you're interested in business scaling, e-commerce, AI, or building assets that run without you—this episode is packed with insights.What You'll LearnHow Neil went from IBM to building brands doing $60M+/yearWhy he treats e-commerce like “virtual real estate”How he uses 12 years of Amazon data to green-light productsThe danger of operator limitations between $1M–$10MHow to scale brands with SOPs, AI, and trained operatorsWhat the 2020 supply-chain shock taught his companiesWhy some students succeed and others failHow he partners with vetted operators to build & buy companiesHow Patriot Growth Capital helps fund veteran-led e-com exits
Is your warehouse SOP doing what you need it to? Kevin chats with Tim Regnier, CEO and Founder of Smart Access, about how warehouses can revive their SOPs. Oftentimes, standard operating procedures get written, approved, stored, and then forgotten or remain misunderstood. In this episode, Tim explains how Smart Access turns warehouse SOP into a living system. The platform guides training, boosts accuracy, and improves productivity. It uses AI-driven observations, automated skill-building, and the new Ops Navigator intelligence layer. The conversation shows how operations can finally align leadership expectations with real work on the floor.Learn more about Brecham Group here. Learn more about Endpoint and give Gary a break here. Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube.Support the show
Profit Cleaners: Grow Your Cleaning Company and Redefine Profit
In this episode of The Profit Cleaners Podcast, the Brandons break down how AI is transforming the cleaning industry — from pricing and routing to marketing and KPI tracking. They introduce the Clea Stack AI suite, explain how tools like BunnyBid, ShineProof, and the upcoming KPI Dashboard streamline operations, and reveal why the industry is entering a “second Internet moment.”They also announce that the flagship Profit Cleaners Masterclass is being retired, making the Last Class Bundle the final opportunity to secure lifetime access to the course, coaching, templates, and 12 months of CleanStack AI.
In this episode of the Second in Command Podcast, guest host Sivana Brewer sits down with Aldo Siciliano, COO and President of Watters International Realty, a fast-scaling residential brokerage serving multiple Texas markets.Aldo shares how Watters uses EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) to create alignment, simplify decision-making, and support a fast-moving, marketing-driven business. He breaks down the real work of being an integrator, why adaptability matters more than expertise, and how to keep a visionary's ideas grounded in reality without killing momentum.They dig into hiring proven talent vs. emerging talent, managing burnout and stress in relationship-heavy industries, and knowing when a new tool is genuinely helpful versus just shiny. Aldo also talks about maintaining simplicity at scale, building systems that teams will actually use, and why emotional management is one of the hardest parts of leading in real estate.This is a practical, honest, detail-rich episode for any COO navigating growth, complexity, and a CEO with a strong visionary engine.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] – What EOS really is and why it works for small to mid-size companies[01:08] – Introducing Aldo: data-driven operator, people-first leader[02:51] – Watters International Realty: multi-market residential brokerage across Texas[03:52] – Aldo's journey from VP of Marketing to COO & President[05:17] – Why being a generalist (not a specialist) made him a stronger COO[07:16] – What made Aldo want to work with CEO Chris, a “zero-to-one” visionary[08:54] – How the CEO–COO decision-making dynamic works in real life[10:08] – Why Aldo was chosen for the COO role: integration mindset + complement to the visionary[10:33] – Why Watters implemented EOS and how it fit their bandwidth[11:54] – The core pieces of EOS that actually move the needle[13:36] – Small changes vs. big changes and why incremental improvements matter[16:48] – SOPs, knowledge bases, and keeping documentation simple[18:24] – Why Aldo uses Motion instead of Asana/ClickUp[20:58] – The hidden cost of complex tools and the myth of “software will fix everything”[22:56] – Lessons from failed system implementations and the danger of poor adoption[24:29] – “Teach people how to think, not what to do” and how Aldo applies this[28:09] – Coaching teams through burnout, stress, and emotional fatigue[29:42] – The emotional load on sales leaders: “You're in the attitude management business”[31:25] – Why burnout often comes from the wrong people in the wrong seats[33:01] – The importance of hiring experienced talent during scaling[38:40] – Proven talent vs. emerging talent in fast-growth companies[40:17] – The risk of a wrong sales leader: attrition, client loss, culture loss[41:47] – Why individual impact shrinks as companies scale[42:56] – Aldo's next big initiative: new expansion strategy[43:40] – Where to find Aldo onlineResources & Mentions• EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System• Motion (project + time management)• monday.com• Salesforce• Asana• ClickUpAbout the GuestAldo Siciliano is the COO and President of Watters International Realty, a multi-market Texas-based residential brokerage. Known for his blend of analytical thinking and empathetic...
In this episode, Justin reconnects with Alex, a registered nurse who's taking the leap into entrepreneurship before she even finishes NP school. Alex is launching her hormone and weight loss wellness clinic while working full-time, managing school, and preparing to graduate in 2026. Justin walks her through the essential startup steps, creating SOPs as she builds, structuring provider contracts, choosing the right revenue streams, avoiding common time sinks, and navigating safe prescribing and compounding options. They also cover smart marketing for new clinics, how to pace growth during slow seasons, and the mindset shifts needed to stay focused, sane, and profitable. If you're an RN or NP student looking to open your practice early, this episode offers a clear blueprint for doing it right.
In episode 590 of Lawyerist Podcast, learn how practical, everyday AI can help lawyers work smarter—not harder. Zack Glaser sits down with Graydon Trusler, a practical AI specialist and longtime law-firm operations pro, to explore how attorneys can use “productive laziness” to eliminate repetitive tasks, streamline case management, and reclaim valuable time. Graydon shares real examples from his family law firm, including how custom AI assistants help review discovery, prep hearings, analyze documents, and even support lawyers in the courtroom. Together, they break down privacy concerns, adoption hurdles, and simple ways to start using AI without getting overwhelmed. Discover why AI isn't a distant future—it's a powerful tool lawyers can start using today to improve workflows, reduce stress, and deliver better results for clients. Links from the episode: LexpertAI Listen to our previous episodes about Practical AI & Law Firm Efficiency: Episode #562: Beyond ChatGPT: The AI Revolution Happening Inside Your Firm, with Charreau Bell — Apple | Spotify | LTN Episode #565: Becoming the AI-Driven Leader, with Geoff Woods — Apple | Spotify | LTN Episode #577: Rethinking Law Firm Growth in the Age of AI, with Sam Harden — Apple | Spotify | LTN Episode #584: How to Stay Human in the Age of AI-Driven Law Firm Marketing, with Karin Conroy — Apple | Spotify | LTN Have thoughts about today's episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X! If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you. Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com. Chapters / Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction 08:45 – Meet Graydon 11:10 – Practical AI in Law Firms 16:40 – Myths, Fears & Privacy 19:00 – Real AI Workflows 23:00 – Productive Laziness 31:00 – AI in the Courtroom 34:45 – Faster Discovery & SOPs 38:50 – Flat Fees & the Future 45:13 – Closing Thoughts
Struggling to visualize how your business actually functions? In this practical follow-up episode, Martin and Khalil demonstrate how to create comprehensive business function charts using AI tools like Claude. Learn how to map out your entire sales process, identify sub-functions, define core activities, and transform chaotic operations into clear, manageable systems for your contracting business.What You'll LearnHow to create visual function charts that clarify business operationsThe difference between functions, sub-functions, and core activitiesTechniques for using AI to map and organize your business processesHow to identify ownership of critical business activitiesPractical steps to transform abstract workflows into actionable systemsTime Stamps00:39 - Episode Intro01:27 - Visualizing the Workflow02:56 - Detailed Workflow Breakdown06:21 - Defining Business Functions18:56 - Understanding Core Activities and Checklists21:16 - Creating a Function Chart23:42 - Exploring Wispr Flow29:02 - Mapping Roles and FunctionsSnippets from the Episode"When you think about SOPs and checklists, you really want to start with checklists at the core activity level. That basic level is where you create your checklists for the things you need to do."- Khalil Benalioulhaj"By having this function chart together, you can really start to map your business. You can map roles, identify who owns each activity, and figure out capacity issues across your team."- Khalil Benalioulhaj"How cool would it be for your business if you were thinking, 'Hey, I'm trying to work on my business. Where do we have the most problems? Which sub-function is causing us the most issues right now?'" - Khalil Benalioulhaj"Unlike an org chart, in a function chart one person can own multiple sub-functions. You're not saying this is your role, you're telling people these are the things you need to do."- Khalil BenalioulhajKey TakeawaysFunction Hierarchy MattersStart With Visual MappingCore Activities Need ChecklistsAI Can Build Your FrameworkAssign Ownership to FunctionsFocus on Problem Sub-FunctionsMap Your Tech Stack to FunctionsResourcesCFC 280 - Mapping Your Workflows with AI: A Guide to Business Function Charts Part 1WisprFlow Referral LinkClaude Artifact - Sales WorkflowClaude Artifact - Sales Function ChartClaude AI PowerPoint/Google Slides HTML Flowchart GeneratorsKanban board systems24 Things Construction Business Owners Need to Successfully Hire & Train an Executive AssistantSchedule a 15-Minute Roadblock CallCheck out OpenPhoneBuild a Business that Runs without you. Explore our GrowthKits Need Marketing Help? We Recommend BenaliNeed Help with podcast production? We recommend DemandcastMore from Martin Hollandtheprofitproblem.comannealbc.com Email MartinMeet With MartinLinkedInFacebookInstagramMore from Khalilbenali.com Email KhalilMeet With KhalilLinkedInFacebookInstagramMore from The Cash Flow ContractorSubscribe to our YouTube channelSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow On Social: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X(formerly Twitter)Visit our websiteEmail The Cashflow Contractor
In episode 590 of Lawyerist Podcast, learn how practical, everyday AI can help lawyers work smarter—not harder. Zack Glaser sits down with Graydon Trusler, a practical AI specialist and longtime law-firm operations pro, to explore how attorneys can use “productive laziness” to eliminate repetitive tasks, streamline case management, and reclaim valuable time. Graydon shares real examples from his family law firm, including how custom AI assistants help review discovery, prep hearings, analyze documents, and even support lawyers in the courtroom. Together, they break down privacy concerns, adoption hurdles, and simple ways to start using AI without getting overwhelmed. Discover why AI isn't a distant future—it's a powerful tool lawyers can start using today to improve workflows, reduce stress, and deliver better results for clients. Links from the episode: LexpertAI Listen to our previous episodes about Practical AI & Law Firm Efficiency: Episode #562: Beyond ChatGPT: The AI Revolution Happening Inside Your Firm, with Charreau Bell — Apple | Spotify | LTN Episode #565: Becoming the AI-Driven Leader, with Geoff Woods — Apple | Spotify | LTN Episode #577: Rethinking Law Firm Growth in the Age of AI, with Sam Harden — Apple | Spotify | LTN Episode #584: How to Stay Human in the Age of AI-Driven Law Firm Marketing, with Karin Conroy — Apple | Spotify | LTN Have thoughts about today's episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X! If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you. Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com. Chapters / Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction 08:45 – Meet Graydon 11:10 – Practical AI in Law Firms 16:40 – Myths, Fears & Privacy 19:00 – Real AI Workflows 23:00 – Productive Laziness 31:00 – AI in the Courtroom 34:45 – Faster Discovery & SOPs 38:50 – Flat Fees & the Future 45:13 – Closing Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The History I started my shopify store around the 10th December 2023 after a viral video on TikTok on December 8th. So I integrated with Bookvault and stayed with POD shipping until February 2025. Since February 2025, I've been distributing and fulfilling all orders from my website in my own warehouse. These are the lessons I've learned from the last ten months of running my own website sales and distribution. And yes, I will talk numbers, but I'm making you wait till the end! Please note, I will talk about finances, systems and the occasional legal thing. Absolutely nothing I say is financial, legal or tax advice. You must seek advice from professionals in your own countries and tax territories. I recognise that this model is not for 99% of authors. It's a LOT of work. It's a lot of logistics, a lot of peopling, team building, paperwork and problem solving. This is as far removed from sitting behind a desk and writing 24/7 as you can get. Do not listen to this with an open heart. Be skeptical, that will keep you on the right track for creating a business you love. But know that I do love this and I am framing these lessons learned from that perspective. Why Direct? I'd always had a transactional website for Sacha Black work but it barely did £20 a month. So I knew the work I was about to scramble to do for Ruby may be for nothing. But I didn't want to be beholden to TikTok the way I'd been beholdened to other sources of income and I knew if I'd gone viral once, I could do it again and that would lead to relying on TikTok. What do I mean why? Two reasons: why should you as an author have a direct store but also why should readers come to you? For you, you can earn more per sale. POD companies integrating with shopify automatically give you more as there are no hidden fees. But when you shift to print runs you more than half the cost of printing each book. Of course you also give yourself a host of other problems like fulfillment and overheads, but you gain a lot more product flexibility and potential meaning you have the opportunity to make bigger profit. BUT and this is a big but, you have to work out what you want your business to look like. That said, there are consequences. I usually write and publish 3 books a year and this year I've dropped to 2 published. Though I will have written a 3rd and a short story by the end of the year. But I wasn't able to get that third one published. Despite that, this is going to be my biggest year ever for income. It already beat last year in 7 months. Which goes to show that you don't have to be rapid releasing anymore to make good money. The fact I've not published three, is a direct consequence of the warehouse and also the increasing team size and the need to train staff. Thankfully due to the Kickstarter, some rights deals an big increase in direct sales of products and merch, I haven't seen a dip in income. Which goes to show that you don't have to be rapid releasing anymore to make good money. There are other benefits like reader loyalty because you're treating them better, you are able to provide higher quality books and with extra goodies and sign all the books for example. And that's really the heart of the mindset shift you need to have and how you should frame thinking about a direct store. Why should a reader bother coming to you when they can get next day shipping for free on Amazon? Can you answer that before you set up your store? For me this looks like three promises: Every book that leaves the warehouse is handsigned by me (I do this in batches and sign for 4-5 hours and get several thousand books signed in one go so it doesn't disturb writing time.) They get extra bonuses for ordering directly like stickers, bookmarks and character art. Last, if they preorder a book in any format I have for sale on the website, it will get shipped BEFORE the public release date. We aim for delivery a couple of weeks prior but it depends on print runs and me hitting deadlines. Things to consider before leaving POD direct and moving to self fulfillment: Where are you going to stock your books? Do you have local warehousing facilities or somewhere you own you can use? Stock requires more space than you think. Because it's not just books you need space for, it's packaging, and space for parcels before collection and space for a computer and printer etc. What is your cash flow like? Do you have the capital that you can risk losing to spend on investing in this? Thanks to great advice from one of my closest author pals, I didn't buy shipping containers for conversion to put on family land which was a circa 40k investment. Instead I rented a warehouse so that I was only risking the cost of one year's rent circa 9k and I'd also be able to up and leave and close everything down if it went wrong. What's your problem solving resiliency like? Solving problems, if it's not your bag, is relentlessly exhausting. Problems arise in all areas of this business, from shipping to label printing to packaging to import and export paperwork, to sourcing products, VAT, pricing, website, delivery issues. Etc. The list is long. Honestly? There's rarely a day without some kind of issue that needs resolving. How does that make you feel? Excited or horrified? Pay attention to those emotions. The only business you should be building is one that brings you joy. Last, is the reality that if you want to fulfill direct yourself you *will* need staff—if you want to continue to write that is. If you think about it, POD direct staff your website for you. They have teams packing the boxes, printing labels and shipping everything for you. So no matter which way you cut it, whether it's you organising staff or your printers, someone has to do the leg work. Mindset shifts eCommerce Yes I'm an author, but running your own fulfillment from website sales means you also run an eCommerce business. And over and above that, I now run a physical product business because we have merchandise. Those combined make for a very, very different business structure and set of problems compared to the old school models of being an indie author. Traffic Direction First of all and most basic of all. I direct all traffic to my website without exception. My primary links on social media are my website. If people ask where they can buy my books, it's my website. If they say they can't then I'll direct them online to a more well known store. Schedules are a bitch. When you're writing in a solo business and uploading your books online, your schedule is essentially your own. When you then bring on a team, they are reliant on you delivering on time to make sure they can do their job. How does that make you feel? Knowing you *have* to deliver for someone else? For a long time I really hated being beholden to deadlines—probably a corporate spill over. But being responsible for a team and needing to deliver for them is very different. I adore my team, I love them and care about them and I *want* to deliver on time for them. This is a total re-framing for me. It's the right kind of pressure and responsibility attached to a deadline. Does that mean my creativity needs to show up on time? Sure, but I find this motivating because it's the right people around me. However, the first book post warehouse opening, we were all still learning and mistakes were made. I delivered one book late. That pushed everything and made a lot of the timelines difficult including getting the printed books delivered on time. For Architecti there were two main problems: a solid 20% of the order arrived damaged by rain. But we'd already sold almost all the initial print run so we couldn't spare 20% and thus didn't have enough stock to cover our preorders. So this caused a lot of anxiety. Under ordering stock is a terrifying prospect. As is over ordering because do you have enough space for it and what if you then don't sell it? The second mistake was releasing a book without checking the diaries of the warehouse team who happened to be on holiday during the fulfillment process. Which in a bout of shit timing, my mum then got sick in the crucial week. Meaning I had to stop writing and fulfill 1000 preorders single handedly. It was grueling physically, mentally and emotionally doing it on my own. We're never having that cluster fuck again. So we've produced a heat map style document with everyone's leave, delivery dates, deadlines for me, product ordering dates, prepping dates and fulfillment periods etc. This was an enormous lesson in logistics of both a warehouse and people. Exclusivity Kindle Unlimited works for a reason. It has books exclusive to Amazon, you literally cannot get them anywhere else. Meaning you're forced to get them there. If that worked for Amazon, you can bet you're arse it works for others. So I stole the idea. I have four novellas /short stories that I publish exclusively on my website. Does that mean a huge risk for loss of visibility and potential sales? Absolutely. No rank, no visibility in the biggest algorithm machine in the world. But it is also one of the key sales tactics I've used to get readers over to me. And boy has it worked. I make sure it's content I know they'll want, I flash the extra books on my reels and videos and then the questions flood in — how do I get those books… Well I'll tell you…! Preorders Preorders are both a gift and a logistical nightmare. How to get them? We ran an enormous campaign for Architecti. Ending up with 1027 paperbacks, 323 hardbacks and 193 ebooks. For a total 1543 preorders on my website. Plus over 1000 ebooks on Amazon. So the total preorders were in excess of 2500 preorders. Firstly you have to ask why should readers preorder direct to you? As mentioned earlier we make three promises: Everything is signed They get extras and goodies including a Roe-Mantics popsocket, series sticker and bookmark and an art print. As well as a Ruby Roe reading tracking and reading order and some stickers. They get the books delivered early (ebook and physical) We promoted the shit out of these three facts and I do believe this is the reason we did so well. That, plus almost two years of pushing direct sales and building reader trust. I won't go into all the marketing we did as this is a podcast about the warehouse. But we pushed HARD. We made a couple of mistakes: We didn't order enough books. We ordered 1000 paperbacks and ended up having to do a second print run because we sold over 1000 and obviously knew we needed stock on hand for general sales — a good problem to have obviously. But if we had ordered a higher quantity from the start we would have had a better price per book and saved ourselves some money and increased profit. That's a tough lesson to learn as we're always having to balance cashflow. The second mistake was packaging. We pride ourselves on making sure the books arrive in pristine condition. The consequence of that is how long it takes to package. The primary damage a book can fall prey to is the rain, or being dropped. We were individually wrapping each book in foam or bubble wrap before putting them inside bookwraps with the goodies to ship. This took me almost two weeks to do for circa a thousand parcels. I spoke to my warehouse neighbour who is a book box subscription company and discovered that they ship 1000 parcels in a couple of days because they uses origami boxes with packing peanuts and a plastic exterior envelope bag for water protection. This results in them working at a significantly faster rate than us. And has led us to get boxes designed and we're in the process of ordering 10k boxes. Customer Communication Customer communication has been an absolute maelstrom. The more products we create, the more complex everything gets. Becca used to be primarily a scheduler for me. Now, she's moved to be a customer services manager. Major issues include: when they preorder a book and put a published book into the same order. This is a means we have to email them to let them know they have two options: either we refund and they order separately or they wait for both their books. This is a huge problem as there are a number of preorders live at any one time and thus a ton of customer communication needed. It has gotten better as we have educated our repeat customers, put messages and labels on the site. But it is an ever present problem. We have decided to commission a coder to write some code for shopify so that we can charge two lots of shipping and split ship. We've also had so many communications about the tariffs. This has been so difficult because we are not the ones charging but we are the first point of call. It is in large part due to the team being incredible that we got through this. Last, I still receive an email for every single order. So I do one additional thing. I make a point to keep an eye on when someone has ordered multiple times in short succession and then send them to the team to refund duplicate postage. Protecting Writing Time This is so vital. And has been the hardest part of having a warehouse. I definitely feel like I lost 6 months of writing time. It's the reason I barely managed to get Architecti done, and the reason I didn't meet my primary goal of getting ahead of production this year. Staffing means interruptions. But more than that, having the discipline to put my phone on do not disturb or muting team chats while I write. Now that we're up to speed, refining processes and we have SOPs in place, I am finding it easier and easier to not go to the warehouse. We also stopped having the smaller deliveries sent to my house and instead they're going to my team's houses or direct to the warehouse. Regulations and Tariffs With a physical product business there are so many more regulations and acronyms and pieces of law that you have to deal with. The level of bureaucracy is quite astonishing and has caused a number of headaches. These headaches are not the type of headaches that most authors would want to deal with. You have to choose the poison you want to drink and I genuinely recognise that 99% of authors would not want this headache. The other matter here is that the regulations have required a colossal amount of time spent on them. More time than we anticipated. Something new is always being thrown at us and usually things that we do not have knowledge on. So we're constantly in a state of adapting and learning. This is both wonderful and also a little gruelling. As there's not many people doing this we don't have many options for checking we're on the right path, so having to trust ourselves that we've done the best we can with the knowledge we have. And also recognise that it's okay to not know everything. Logistics There's been a lot of logistic lessons learned too. Firstly, that shipping providers are a nightmare. They're massive organisations and that means corporate bureaucracy. Lots of being passed between departments and having to wait for responses. You're probably going to need additional app integrations some of which will cost. Just pay for the apps because it will make your life simpler. We have a DPD integration app that makes handling and managing preorders and labels considerably easier. Batch as much as you can: like signing books, preparing freebie packets, cutting foam and pre-building boxes. Batch packaging, in particular for preorders. For example, all the UK paperbacks then all the UK hardbacks etc. It's easier to do the same thing over and over and then task switch than it is to do it higgledy piggledy. Timelines Understanding the timelines for launches has been quite the challenge. When you're a solo indie you are in charge of your own time. When you have a team, and other people do parts of the publishing process, you're no longer working on your own schedule. Combined with the fact that a huge percentage of my turnover comes from physical book sales. This means we have to do print runs. Instead of loading up to KDP or the POD services and knowing it will be live the next day or a few days later after a proof copy. Print runs take a couple of days to finalise the files (up to several months for international printers) and then 2-3 weeks to print and deliver to the warehouse for UK printers, and several weeks to months for international. We then have to unpack them and check the quality and then I have to sign them. I am pretty fast at signing now and choose to sign in long batches 4-5 hours at a time and usually manage 1-2000 books in that time. The other timelines that need to be considered are how long things take to pack. But I've already talked about that. But it is something that needs to be considered when planning preorder fulfillment. The more preorders we get, the more significant the time it takes, that or we need more people to help pack. The Money This is the bit everyone is interested. All costs are in GBP. Set up costs for the warehouse were approximately £4-5000. This included the deposit, racking, furniture etc. In total, I've spent 100k on printing this year. However a significant portion of that was on the Kickstarter. So I don't count that in the costs for the warehouse. Those sit at £61,171. We are still holding a huge amount of stock in the warehouse so this spend should start to even out. In December 2023 I started the shop around 10th December, I made just shy of £1700 which I think was mostly due to the viral TikToks. In the month of May 2024 I broke £5000. November 2024 I broke 10k for the first time and in December 2024 I broke 15k. That was the month I knew I needed to take advantage of what I was building. I knew I wanted to do more for readers who were clearly willing to buy direct. In 2024, the website turned over £73.5k. I collected keys for the warehouse of January 31st. It took a couple of weeks to set the warehouse up and then we had print runs delivered around the 17th and started shipping on Feb 20th 2025. That was a £16k month, and the first time my Shopify sales beat my Amazon, only by a couple hundred pounds, but it still beat it. It wasn't lost on me that it was the first month I had taken control of distribution. April eclipsed Amazon at 29k and I've stayed between 15 and 29k a month since — Finally in November 2025, I surpassed 30k. As of 21st November we're standing at 222k for the year. I suspect we will end up with turnover somewhere between 230 and 250k for 2025. Creating definitive turnover and net profit calculations are difficult. What I can tell you is that between the warehouse, staff for the warehouse, utilities and insurances I spend approximately 18-1900 a month (21-23k per year). Shipping varies between 500 and 1500 a week on average but on preorder weeks it can spike to 8k. The highest month for shipping was 11k. I suspect for the year it will be roughly 45-55k. So for print costs, staffing, rent and shipping the total is approximately £133,971. I estimate 4-7k on other costs like packaging and freebies. So let's estimate £140k spend for £222k turnover. So I estimate approximately £82,000 in profit - to which I'll then have to pay tax. That's a 36% profit. Not as high as I'd like, but also it's year one and spend is always higher in year one because of set up. I expect that as we move into year two that will grow and my aim is to reach 45% but the ultimate goal will be 50% I'm not sure if this is possible but we will try. We have a lot of stock that we can sell without having to spend out anymore. In terms of granular costs to give you an idea of profit on the detail level: The cost of each book is loosely £2.20 per paperback for which we charge £10.99 on average. We allow for £1 of that to cover packaging and freebies. Meaning £3.20 of costs. Though this doesn't include a % for warehouse overheads. I don't have any advertising costs. I have bought all customers in from my mailing list, TikTok and Instagram. On average my returning customer rate is 35%. However, in months where I set up a new product preorder, that rate shoots up. For November 2025 it's 56%. Similarly, my average conversion rate is 5.83% conversion rate. What's interesting is that in those early months my conversion rate was 3.18%. This month it's 8.53%. I think this increase is twofold. First, I have a high returning customer rate, this automatically increases the conversion rate as your customers want what you're providing. Second, I think my marketing has gotten better and better. We're providing more books, stories and products that my audience wants and we're also getting better at marketing to market. Cash Flow One of the best things I did was create multiple pots and accounts. For a long time I'd lived under the assumption you could only have one business bank account. That was bad advice from an accountant. I have since left them and now have an excellent accountant. I've also had lots of advice from a dear friend who knows far more about money and systems than me. Cash flow can either sky rocket or cripple a business. And when you run a physical business the numbers you run with are so much higher that you can easily crush your company. One of my favourite tactics is to create mini pots and split money up. For every preorder we run I create a pot in my bank, like a mini bank and every week I put the amount earned for that preorder product into the pot. If the product requires a print run, I pay for it out of that pot. If we have to buy wholesale merch, I take it from that pot etc. I also set aside money for tax each month. I move both personal tax money and corporation tax money and set it aside in a high interest savings account. The biggest outflows for running a distribution warehouse are staffing, warehouse rent, shipping and print runs. For Architecti specifically, we had to do two print runs because we under ordered books. Meaning I had to outflow huge amounts of money twice. The print runs totalled £11,630. Plus 11,000 in shipping fees for that month. If I didn't have the money set aside for this, it could easily have pushed me into debt. One of the main things I did to help prevent cashflow issues, is have dozens of pots inside my bank accounts. Every week the team calculates the income for orders and shipping for each product we have on preorder (there are always usually 2 to 3) and then I transfer that money to individual pots. Meaning I save all the money from preorders right up until launch. I then take the money for the print runs from this pot and for the shipping. What's left is the profit which is taxable so I move the tax money into my tax pot and then keep the rest. This is the safest way I've found for managing cashflow and ensuring I don't spend money that needs to be saved for specific things. I also have an entirely separate account for my shopify. So all print runs are paid for out of the shopify account. All shipping payments go out of that account. All printing for freebies etc comes from that account. It becomes totally self managing and over time it increases. Then if I want to take out chunks of profit, I do and keep the account at 20k. This is the equivalent of the average monthly turnover for the shopify. So should cover all bills or worst case scenarios. I also have a tax pot where I move money each month. My accountants have a report that generates each month and estimates my tax. I then place my tax in a high interest account and leave it to earn some money before I have to pay it. Next Steps Business infrastructure. I recently visited Author Nation – the Las Vegas conference that was once 20books. There are so many areas for growth and improvement and I realised that I have essentially brut forced my way to the position I'm in. Upsell app Integration with better email upsell marketing system Possibly advertising Branded packaging
As the youngest founder in her Rice MBA cohort, Allison Knight '10 knows a thing or two about blazing a trail. At just 24 years old, she co-founded Rebellion Photonics, which used cutting-edge technology to identify and quantify gas leaks on oil rigs, preventing catastrophic explosions. Knight went on to sell Rebellion Photonics to Honeywell in 2019, and is now codifying blue collar genius through Alaris AI. In this episode, Knight joins host Brian Jackson '21 to discuss how Rebellion Photonics used early AI technology to improve hyperspectral imaging and revolutionize gas leak detection. She also opens up about her experience as a young woman founder in a predominantly male industry, her role as an adjunct professor at Rice Business and why she believes blue collar work is the next frontier for AI exploration. Episode Guide:00:00 Introduction to Allison Knight01:09 Founding Rebellion Photonics02:25 Challenges and Innovations in Gas Leak Detection03:48 The Role of AI in Rebellion Photonics04:26 Reflections on Being a Young Founder12:44 Lessons From Startup Life16:25 Introducing Alaris AI: AI for Blue Collar Workers23:35 Teaching AI at Rice Business27:52 The Future of AI in the Workforce32:44 Final Thoughts and ReflectionsThe Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.Episode Quotes:On being a young entrepreneur12:17: I was 24. I was the youngest student in the Rice MBA program, and I had gotten a prestigious, semi-prestigious investment banking job that I had accepted. And then I did the thing you're not supposed to do under any circumstances, which is renege on a job. They do not like that. But I am a physicist more than I am an MBA. Science and tech still make me the happiest. So, I ended up, even at Rice, just hanging out with Rice techies, like other applied physicists. Yeah. And it was just too tempting. I knew I should do the investment banking job, but I just could not do it. I had to go for this crazy methane emissions monitoring company. And I loved it.Allison's first AI moment08:31: I think everyone will experience this, and I just happen to experience this 15, 16 years ago. It is your, like, AI moment—that first time where you run some code with AI. We had been trying to do real-time video detecting and imaging gas leaks in real time and kind of making do with it, and they were ugly. But then we brought in AI and started doing very, very, very, very basic machine learning, and it was just like magic, Brian. It was magic.On AI's next frontier17:20: Pretty much across the board, AI really sucks for blue-collar work. With white-collar work, we can just boop, boop, boop—take the generic ChatGPT, and it works beautifully. And that's because we, white-collar workers, have been typing for a long time. We've got all their documents in different folders, new ones, and so it's all been trained on that for the most part. So it's really trained on white-collar documentation and meant for it. Blue-collar documentation—basically, manuals and SOPs—has inherently always been stinky. But more importantly, none of the documentation has been done on what's in their head, what's in the foreman's head, the supervisor's head, or the individual's head. And so, when you don't have that data documented, structured, codified, the AI will be useless.Show Links: Alaris AITranscriptGuest Profile:Allison Knight | Rice BusinessLinkedIn Profile
Rewatching Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1, Episode 7 — “The Andorian Incident.” Directed by Roxann Dawson, this tense bottle episode introduces Shran (the great Jeffrey Combs) and repositions the Andorians as more than blue-skinned bruisers. We dig into the Vulcan monastery of P'Jem, the hidden sensor array twist, T'Pol's loyalty test, Archer getting absolutely walloped, and why this hour is often cited as the moment Enterprise “found its voice.”We also riff on transporter anxiety, Andorian antennae, “pink-skins,” and how this early Human-Vulcan-Andorian friction foreshadows the United Federation of Planets.
In This Deep Dive Episode:We're tackling the hardest and most expensive problem in chiropractic growth: getting from “great idea” to “real implementation.”Drawing from a powerful masterclass by Dr. Noel Lloyd and insights from clinics just like yours, we cover:
Today we are talking about something that every virtual assistant needs… but very few actually take the time to build properly. Standard Operating Procedures - better known as SOPs. Okay so maybe it's not entirely true about very few building them properly. But there are a LOT of VAs that I have talked to that do not have anything documented. If that's you, then I'm glad you're here listening in today. How detailed does an SOP need to be when it's for something you specialize in? This question comes up all the time in my coaching calls, in my mastermind group, and in conversations with newer VAs who feel pressure to write SOPs that are either way too complicated or not detailed enough. So today I'm going to walk you through what your SOPs should include, how to know the right level of detail, and how your SOPs actually make you more confident and more valuable to your clients. SOPs don't just help you deliver great work. They help you feel more confident about the work you're doing, and they help clients feel more confident in hiring you. If you want to get some help creating SOPs for your VA business, or you want templates you can start with right away, reach out to me anytime. You can get in touch with me at YourVAMentor.com/links I'd love to help you get some standards into your VA business so you can work more efficiently, get more done, and love your VA business again. That's all I've got for you this week - thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Ridiculously Good VA Show. I'll see you next time!
Little Rooms: Why Scrappy Starts Create Standout Cash PT Clinics In this episode, Doc Danny Matta unpacks a simple but powerful idea inspired by Andre 3000's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame speech: "Little rooms. Great things start. Little rooms." He connects Outkast's legendary basement studio—The Dungeon—to the tiny subleased spaces where most cash PT clinics begin, and shows why those gritty starts are not a disadvantage, but an asset that sharpens your skills, your story, and your impact. Quick Ask If this episode encourages you to see your "little room" differently, share it with another clinician who's thinking about starting or growing a practice—and tag @dannymattaPT so he can reshare it. Episode Summary AI scribe advantage: Clair saves staff clinicians ~6 hours per week, freeing up time for patient visits and revenue growth. Math of time: Even 3 extra visits per week at $200/visit adds roughly $30,000/year in revenue per clinician. Little rooms concept: Inspired by Andre 3000's "little rooms" quote and Outkast's early days recording in The Dungeon. Outkast's origin: Teenagers making music in a carpet-lined basement in a rough Atlanta neighborhood, with no funding and no guarantees. Clinic parallels: Most cash PT clinics start in tiny, imperfect subleased spaces with limited resources. Danny's first space: A sketchy CrossFit sublease with break-ins, rats, building shutdowns, and bad client experience—but strong outcomes. Skill as your differentiator: In a little room, you can't hide behind fancy equipment or build-outs—your outcomes are the product. Art, not just career: Obsessing over outcomes, studying cases, seeking mentorship, and treating PT like your craft is what gets you out of the small room. Word-of-mouth "virality": When your results are unique, people can't help but talk about you—just like people shared Outkast's early music. Growth phases: Start gritty & clinical, then evolve into a real business owner—leader, hirer, systems builder, and operator at scale. Lessons & Takeaways Everyone starts small: Basements, garages, subleases, apartment gyms—"little rooms" are the norm, not the exception. Your environment doesn't define you: A rough space does not limit your upside if your outcomes are excellent. Constraints create creativity: Limited resources force you to get scrappy, sharpen your craft, and focus on what really matters. Obsess over outcomes: Losing sleep over stalled cases, studying, and improving is part of turning PT into your art. Your story is an asset: The weird, stressful, funny early days become the part of your story people remember and root for. New phase, new skills: Once you're busy, the game shifts from being a great clinician to becoming a strong owner and leader. Mindset & Motivation Don't be ashamed of your "shitty little room": No windows, rats, sketchy parking lots—it's all part of your origin story. Treat PT like art: Outcomes and the way you care for people should matter to you at a deeper level than "just a job." You can't hold talent down: Great outcomes and care are like a beach ball underwater—eventually they pop to the surface. Respect the grind: The start is hard and scary—but also fun, intense, and memorable. Remember where you came from: If you're in a bigger clinic now, don't forget to tell the story of your little room—it makes you relatable. Pro Tips for Clinic Owners Leverage an AI scribe: Use tools like Clair to pull 5–6 hours/week off your clinicians' plates and reinvest that time into patients or higher-level work. Focus on outcomes first: Before worrying about decor and equipment, make sure your results are undeniably better than the clinic down the street. Document your story: Take photos, jot notes, and remember the early days—you'll use this later in marketing, branding, and leadership. Invest in yourself: Study, read, get mentorship, and ask for help on tough cases—your skill set is your first real "marketing budget." Level up as you grow: Once your schedule is full, actively learn hiring, leadership, finance, systems, and SOPs. Notable Quotes "Little rooms. Great things start. Little rooms." – Andre 3000 "If you're in a little room, you can't hide your skill set. You have to be really good at what you do." "Your product is you. You need to obsess over it. It's got to be your art, not just your career." "You can't hold talent down. It's like trying to push a beach ball underwater—it's going to pop up eventually." "Don't be ashamed of your shitty little room with no windows and a rat above your head. Everybody's got to start somewhere." Action Items Run the math on your time: how many extra visits could you add with an AI scribe like Clair? Audit your outcomes: are your results meaningfully better than your local competition? Write down your "little room" story: where did you start, and what did you have to overcome? Commit to one learning action this week: a course, article deep dive, or mentor conversation about a tough case. If you're on the fence about starting, accept that your first space will be small—and start planning anyway. Programs Mentioned PT Biz Part-Time to Full-Time 5-Day Challenge (Free): Get crystal clear on how much money you need to replace, how many people you need to see, and the strategies to go from side hustle to full-time. Join here. Resources & Links PT Biz Website Free 5-Day PT Biz Challenge MeetClair AI — Free 7-day trial for PTs About the Host: Doc Danny Matta — physical therapist, entrepreneur, and founder of PT Biz and Athlete's Potential. He has helped over 1,000 clinicians start, grow, scale, and sometimes sell their cash practices, and is passionate about helping PTs turn their craft into true time and financial freedom.
This week's episode of Win The Hour, Win The Day Podcast interviews, Shiela Mae Onlos. Ever wonder what makes a virtual assistant truly shine?Join Kris Ward and Shiela Mae Onlos as they talk about what it's really like inside the Win The Hour Win The Day Leadership Program—and how it helps virtual assistants grow into confident leaders. In this inspiring talk, you'll learn:-How short daily scrums make work clear and easy.-Why Super Toolkits save hours and stop confusion.-How Shiela stayed calm and led the work even when her leader was away.-The secret to feeling confident and supported every single day.-Why real teamwork means leading together, not working alone. Get ready to see how strong systems and support can turn any VA into a leader.Don't miss this behind-the-scenes look at how confidence, clarity, and calm get real results! Win The Hour, Win The Day! www.winthehourwintheday.com Podcast: Win The Hour, Win The Day Podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winthehourwintheday/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/win-the-hour-win-the-day-podcast
Robots are becoming more and more mainstream in manufacturing, but most organizations still think of them with sci-fi imagery rather than everyday tools. The gap isn't in the technology, it's in how we prepare people to work alongside it.Jason Gryszkowiec from St. Onge Company and Ben Perlson from ABB Robotics join us to discuss why successful automation deployments focus on making robotics more digestible for everyday workers.Jason emphasizes that the biggest challenge isn't the technology, it's ensuring supervisors understand both the capabilities and limitations of the systems they're managing, while Ben explores how future developments like AI and voice control could bridge the gap from fixed path programming to more dynamic, adaptive systems.The conversation covers why skipping change management creates bigger problems than the technology solves. Both Jason and Ben share practical approaches to starting with automation, from modular pilots that validate technology and training needs, to understanding how enterprise operations differ from Mom-and-Pop shops who need more hands-on partner support along their automation journey.In this episode, find out:Why shortcuts during implementation create bigger issues for end usersHow operators and supervisors are being upskilled and reskilled to manage new types of automationThe importance of getting high-potential employees involved early as super usersWhy you need a champion at the site who enables automation projects to succeedHow modular implementations helps validate technology and training needs before roll-outThe risk management approach to introducing automation without killing operations with downtimeHow ABB Robotics' four-level project segmentation helps meet customers where they areEnjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It's feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!Tweetable Quotes:“The biggest hiccup or problem we typically see is a lack of successful change management. What very frequently happens is that shortcuts are taken during the implementation process which makes it less digestible for the people that end up using the system day in day out.” - Jason Gryszkowiec“When we talk about upskilling and reskilling, it's about making people more comfortable to work alongside automation and to handle basic troubleshooting and fault correction. There's still going to be different roles for different skillsets, but it's about bringing people along the automation journey, rather than throwing them in the deep end.” - Ben Perlson“With experimental or new technology, do a pilot. Go out, confirm the concept, bring it in, test it out, and confirm it. This not only gives you a chance to confirm the economic feasibility and validate the technology, but as an organization, you can understand what training and SOPs need to look like before roll-out.” - Jason GryszkowiecLinks & mentions: The Robotics Group (TRG) are leading manufacturers, integrators, consultants, and component suppliers of robotic solutions designed specifically for warehousing and distribution applications. ABB Robotics, one of the world's leading robotics suppliers offering industrial and collaborative robots, autonomous mobile robots, and intelligent software solutions for industries including automotive, electronics, and logistics.
In this episode, John Wilson and Brandon Niro are joined by Zac Dearing from Mantel for a fast-paced, trivia-style breakdown of what homeowners actually want when buying HVAC and home services in 2025. Mantel just surveyed 500+ homeowners nationwide, and instead of guessing in the dark like most of the industry, we put real customer data on the board. John and Brandon compete to predict homeowner behavior — how many contractors people call, where they find you, what earns trust, how pricing impacts decisions, and what parts of the sales process truly move the needle.The results are a gut-check for any contractor, operator, or sales leader. Homeowners are still overwhelmingly finding contractors through Google and repeat relationships, AI search is basically nonexistent (despite all the noise), and reviews dominate how people assess quality. Even more interesting: millennials and baby boomers shop very differently, and the “price objection” narrative isn't as universal as we treat it in training. If you're trying to improve close rate, tighten your sales process, build real trust in the home, or decide how transparent to be with pricing and warranties, this episode is stacked with insights you can act on immediately.What You'll LearnHow many contractors homeowners contact before choosing oneThe real top channels homeowners use to find contractors in 2025Why AI search (ChatGPT/Perplexity/Claude) isn't driving discovery yet
Operators with 30 years of pattern recognition leave for competitors. Engineers carrying legacy system intelligence depart. Everyone understands the risk. Few solve the execution: Systematically extracting tacit intelligence that experts can't articulate because it operates below the conscious threshold.Dr. Refiloe Mabaso and Wisdom Ndashe architected what many struggle to build - knowledge-capture systems that function independently of voluntary participation. At ATNS, harvesting is mandated by policy and embedded in workflows. Their "Legends and Beneficiaries" program identifies critical expertise five years before departure, mapping tacit intelligence to next-generation operators through structured protocols. The execution breakthrough: embedding capture into SOPs makes retention automatic. Travel with Purpose demonstrates strategic reach - converting unaccounted expenditures into documented intelligence acquisition with measurable ROI. Cost centers become intelligence operations.Paradigm Shifts:
Imagine taking a full week off… and your business runs BETTER without you there. That's the power of a true self-managing team—a team with systems, accountability, and autonomy so strong that you are no longer the bottleneck. In today's SoTellUs Time episode, Trevor Howard breaks down the blueprint for creating a business that grows without constant supervision, endless questions, or micromanagement. Whether you're a small business owner, service provider, salon owner, childcare director, or leading a growing team, this episode gives you the exact systems and leadership framework to get your team operating at a high level—without YOU being involved in every tiny decision. ⭐ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE 1. The Real Reason You're the Bottleneck (and How to Fix It) Most business owners end up doing too much because everything flows through them. You'll discover how to shift from Doer → Manager → Leader, so your business becomes scalable, profitable, and drama-free. 2. Step #1: Build Systems That Remove Guesswork We break down the 3 foundational systems every self-managing team needs: SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures): Clear, step-by-step instructions that eliminate confusion. Decision-Making Guidelines: "If this happens… do this" frameworks that help your team solve problems without you. Defined Roles: Crystal-clear expectations so every team member knows exactly what they own. You'll hear real examples from service businesses, childcare centers, and teams who transformed overnight by implementing simple, documented systems. 3. Step #2: Create a Culture of Accountability Autonomy only works when accountability is built in. Learn the system that turns average employees into high performers: Scorecards & KPIs for each role Weekly check-ins that take less than 20 minutes The "Come With Solutions" Rule that eliminates constant back-and-forth Plus, a story of a business owner who stopped micromanaging and saw productivity skyrocket. 4. Step #3: Empower Real Autonomy People work better when they feel trusted. Learn how to: Give team members authority that matches their responsibility Use the 70% Rule to delegate effectively Create a "safe to fail" culture Open feedback loops that spark innovation You'll hear how one manager reduced chaos by letting team leads schedule independently—using a system—and watch stress disappear. 5. Implementation Roadmap: How to Transition Without Chaos You'll get a clear plan for introducing autonomy gradually and safely: Start with one role or department Build systems BEFORE delegating Train, don't dump Expand autonomy step-by-step Celebrate every win to reinforce the culture Get ready for a team that's confident, proactive, and self-sufficient.
In this episode, we provide a detailed guide on improving landing page SEO to drive more traffic, leads, and conversions. Learn how to enhance your page's structure, intent, and schema markup to make it more understandable for search engines and AI systems. Key topics include the importance of clean URLs, internal linking, canonical tags, and maintaining semantic coverage. We also cover traditional SEO elements like title tags and meta descriptions, and how to align your page content to match search intent. Follow our steps to see faster indexing, better ranking, and increased visibility.00:00 Introduction: Overcoming Landing Page Challenges01:16 Understanding Search Intent02:54 Structuring Your Page for Machines06:01 The Importance of Schema Markup07:23 SEO Basics and AI Evolution09:00 Advanced SEO Practices10:09 Conclusion and Next Steps
#688 What happens when a retired professional athlete dives headfirst into an industry he knows nothing about? In this episode hosted by Brien Gearin, Lee Stuart shares how he went from professional motocross rider to the founder of Rogue Lab, one of the top screen printing and branding shops in Canada. With zero experience, Lee took his last $300 to start a clothing brand, and after facing repeated setbacks with outside vendors, he built a full commercial print shop in his basement — investing $50K into equipment he'd never used. He talks about going viral on YouTube by documenting his journey, how he scaled from solo printer to a growing team, and why lean systems, relentless self-education, and value-based pricing helped him build a premium business. Lee also reveals how he expanded into fulfillment, brand design, and custom transfers, creating new income streams and positioning Rogue Lab as a creative powerhouse! (Original Air Date - 4/20/25) What we discuss with Lee: + From pro rider to entrepreneur + Started with $300 and a vision + Built a $50K home print shop + Pivoted YouTube channel for growth + Faced backlash, then went viral + Scaled team with SOPs and systems + Introduced fulfillment for big brands + Embraced lean manufacturing + Uses value-based pricing + Turned Rogue Lab into a lifestyle brand Thank you, Lee! Check out Lee Stuart at LeeStuart38.com. Check out Rogue Lab at RogueLabMFG.com. Follow Lee @leestuart38 on all social platforms. Watch the video podcast of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to MillionaireUniversity.com/training. And follow us on: Instagram Facebook Tik Tok Youtube Twitter To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors. Want to hear from more incredible entrepreneurs? Check out all of our interviews here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Unlock the secrets to Decagon AI's $1.5 billion valuation and AI-powered customer support.Ashwin Sreenivas is the co-founder of Decagon AI, a company revolutionizing enterprise customer support with AI agents. Founded in 2023, Decagon has rapidly grown to a $1.5 billion valuation, automating support workflows for brands like Duolingo and Notion. Ashwin, previously co-founder of Helio (acquired by Scale AI), shares insights into Decagon's product-market fit, secret sauce, and tangible business impact, revealing how AI is transforming customer interaction. If you're curious about the future of AI in enterprise solutions, this episode is a must-listen.Listen now YouTube | Apple | SpotifyQuotes from the episodeTraditional chatbots relied on rigid decision trees, leading to frustrating customer experiences, but Decagon's AI agents are trained like humans, enabling fluid, natural conversations.Decagon's AI agents follow Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs), which are similar to human SOPs, and this allows them to handle customer interactions across chat, phone, SMS, and email.The key is to focus on building AI agents that can follow instructions effectively, allowing businesses to offer personalized customer concierge services and seamless user experiences.Instead of predicting what customers want, AI should learn customer preferences and remember them, making interactions more seamless and efficient, enhancing overall satisfaction.What you'll learnUnderstand how Decagon AI is transforming customer support by using AI agents that can handle conversations across various channels.Learn about Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs) and how they enable AI agents to follow instructions and interact with customers like humans.Discover how Decagon AI helps businesses expand their support offerings, leading to higher retention and happier customers through increased support access.Explore the importance of solving customer problems quickly and seamlessly, regardless of whether the interaction is with a human or an AI agent.See how Decagon AI is expanding beyond customer support to offer customer concierge services, enabling personalized and friction-free interactions.Learn how focusing on customer needs and building something people will pay for can simplify early-stage company challenges.TakeawaysDecagon AI's agents use Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs) to mimic human-like interactions, which contrasts with older chatbot tech that relied on rigid decision trees.Unlike traditional approaches, Decagon AI focuses on creating a single agent adept at following instructions, improving onboarding and iteration for customers.Training smaller, fine-tuned models can outperform larger models on specific tasks, providing better performance and lower latency for customer interactions.Customer support is evolving into a brand differentiator, with companies like Amazon and American Express setting the standard for excellent service and customer trust.By making support more affordable, businesses can reinvest savings into providing more extensive support, leading to higher customer retention and satisfaction.Early customer acquisition requires manual effort, including networking, cold emailing, and LinkedIn messaging, with a focus on charging for the software from day one.Concentrating on building solutions that customers are willing to pay for within a short timeframe helps to validate business models and weed out unpromising ideas.Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify.It helps us reach more listeners and bring on more interesting guests.Stay Curious, Nataraj
UNLOCK THE 13 SYSTEMS EVERY AGENCY OWNER NEEDS TO REACH 8 FIGURES:https://bit.ly/41Sm05NIn this episode, Jordan Ross, founder of 8-Figure Agency Growth Consultancy, breaks down the Wedge Process — a practical six-step framework that helps agency owners and founders reclaim 10+ hours of their week.If your business falls apart when you step away, this episode is your blueprint to building systems, delegating effectively, and automating what keeps you stuck in the weeds. Sean shares the exact tools, frameworks, and AI workflows he's used to help hundreds of entrepreneurs transition from operator to true CEO.You'll learn how to track your time, identify what to stop, automate, or delegate, and create SOPs using ChatGPT — so your business can finally work without you.⏱️ Chapters– If your business breaks without you, it's a liability – Introduction to the Wedge Process – Step 1: Track your time using Toggl – Step 2: Apply the S.A.D. Framework (Stop, Automate, Delegate)– Step 3: Aggregate your training using Loom & Fireflies – Step 4: Use GPT to build SOPs & job descriptions – Step 5: Hire with role clarity – Step 6: Delegate & create visibility with checklists – Reinvest your reclaimed time to scale – Outro: Build a business that works without youTo learn more go to 8figureagency.co
When it comes to scaling smarter, not scattered, there are three mistakes owners make that hurt efficiency, profitability, and leadership. Kiera talks about how Dental A-Team helps practices simplify methods so that success is humming across all locations. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope you are having such an amazing day. Today is podcasting day and I actually did a little reel for you guys to come and enjoy getting ready for me on podcasting day. My husband and I, we did this funny thing when I got like amped myself up and we're like, I love my life. I love my job. I love podcasting. And I don't know if you guys have seen that little girl. who does that where she gets so excited about life and it's like, I love my bed, I love my hot tub, I love my view. And truly I love all of you. And I'm just super excited to be here with you podcasting, to be talking about great things in dentistry. And today I think that this one's going out to our multi-practice owners. And these are three costly gaps that I've noticed within multi-practice ownership that really try to highlight some of the gaps because at the end of the day, the podcast was created to help all dentists elevate, to help all of us rise, to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. And that's what we're about. That's what our mission is. That's what I'm about. And so today going out to those multi-practice owners, or for those of you thinking about multi-practice ownership and do you want to do this? do you want to like, what are some of these gaps that maybe could also impact solo practice owners? So at Dental A Team, do work with solo practice owners, multi-practice owners. We work with... like from basically one million, you know, you're maybe at that 650, one million range, all the way up to that 10, 15, $20 million range as well for practices. And there is a no one size fits all in Dental A Team I'm very, very, very, very big on who we hire and who the people are within our company. And with our clients that this is your life. This is your dream. There is no ultimate destination that we're trying to get all of our practices to. There is no final You've got to hit this in order to be excellent within Dental A Team. is what is your life? We have some owners that are working at two or three days a week. We have some owners that are working six days a week. We have some that want multi-practice ownership. have others that want solo practice ownership. We have some that are solo practitioners doing 4 million in one location of about six to seven operatories. We have others that are in multi-locations doing 2 million. So really there is a no one size fits all. It's more what do you want to be? And we call this the yes model. So where do you personally and professionally want to be. stands for earnings to make sure you're profitable and S stands for systems and teams to support that. So really making sure that way you can say yes to your life, yes to the things you want in life. That's what we're about. So with that, like when you look at multi-practice ownership, it does not necessarily mean adding more profit. I've talked to several multi-practice owners that are actually making less money in multi-practice ownership than they are. prior to expanding to multi locations. Think about it. You've got one location that's doing really well, the other one's not doing so well, well, your good one has to then support your not so cash flowing one. So sometimes it actually can be a lot more costly for you. And so for you to just realize that some of the ways that we can do this will actually impact solo practitioners. ⁓ And so the three things that we're gonna work on today are like, things that hurt efficiency, they hurt profitability and they hurt leadership. So when we look at this, doing a deep dive on that, that's really what I want you to look at of like how you can scale smarter and not scattered because really with multi-practice ownership, I remember the day we opened our second location. Our first practice was doing, it was 500,000 to 2.4 million in nine months. And then we opened our second location and you better believe that it was like just adding more fuel to this already burning chaos fire. I think that's really, really clear. And I hope you heard that it was adding more fuel. to the chaos fire, not to the profitable fire, but to the chaos fire. ⁓ And that was really, really, really struggling. ⁓ It was hard on me. It was hard on our practice. It was hard on the team. I was not showing up as a great manager. I was not showing up as a great ⁓ leader. I was not showing up as a great partner. ⁓ I was not showing up great in my marriage. It was like literally just trying to swim through and feel like I was trying to survive rather than doing it smart. And so that's something really big that we've been wanting to do for all of you is to give you this smarter way. Dental A Team was really here for you. It was built by people who are just like you, who have been in your shoes, they don't just understand you, but have actually been in your shoes, who's walked the walk, talked the talk, and we've done it very successfully. So I love to help offices. Hopefully we're helping you. ⁓ And if you love this podcast, please be sure to like it, start, share it, because that's how we're able to help and influence more people. number one, the biggest number one miss is no centralized operations. So that means ⁓ we don't... we don't have a central plan and instead our practices are individual islands. This was very much my practices. We had our one and it was doing certain things and we had our second one and it was not doing certain things. And so going from each practice felt like I was going to multiple different locations, multi different pieces and that really gets hard. And so we have inconsistent systems which means we have unpredictable outcomes. And then on that, like we did not have a set way that we'd schedule. So we'd schedule one way at our first location another way at our second location. Our billing was not the same. The way we were insurance verifying, our fee schedules weren't even the same because we were in two different cities. And so we had different fee schedules. ⁓ Reporting was not the same. We did not have leaders in both practices. We did not have SOPs that could scale. Like truly our operations manual was not done and we just thought buy another practice and let's go through this. Rather than having a set standard, and this is something I'm really big on when people want to go to multi-practice ownership or they're already in multi-practice ownership. This is really where we start. There's a practice that we're working with and I think about them, were, the solo doctor was running around to every single location, trying to out-produce the problems instead of fixing the problems at the base level. And that's going to be through this of like centralized systems and getting systems in place and like having our scheduling and our billing and our cashflow consistent and looking at each of the individual practices ⁓ to make sure that they are centralized. And so when we work with multi-locations, What we do is we actually simplify it down. So you don't necessarily have to have centralized billing or scheduling like right away. Once you get to that four or five, usually it's very recommended to have centralized billing or I've got some practices that are multi like it's one location, but they have about 15 to 17 operatories. Well, that does count in my opinion as multi ops, multi practices, cause a lot of times multi practices are like five ops or more. So you think about a 15 op practice that's like three practices, but just under one roof. So even in this larger practice, I often recommend we start to centralizing. So we have a set standard of how we're doing billing. We have different reporting metrics. You've got to have the KPIs. We've got to have the set system. So what we started to do is we standardized the operatories. So all ops are the same. We standardized how we're scheduling. We're all in the same softwares. We have an SOP. So we've got our front office, our back office teams, and we do the exact same way. So how we're doing it. We had both practices auditing each other so that we standards were not getting missed and it wasn't. Well, this practice does it this way and this one does it this way. No, we're trying to make these standardized. that way, again, it's not so that way we can't have our own flare and variety at the different locations, but it's so that way when practices show up and doctors show up, we're actually able to be efficient and effective because we're able to have it be the same. It's like, could you imagine ⁓ if your practices were like everybody's varying different houses? So the way I put my silverware in my house might be very different than where you put your silverware in your house. So just imagine we've got five different houses, how much easier it would be if we all walk in and we all agree that silverware goes to the right of the dishwasher. Well, now, no matter where the dishwasher is placed in a house, we know silverware will always be to the right of the dishwasher. Just like when we walk into an operatory, we always know that the ⁓ disposable, so our gauze, our cotton, is always to the right of X. It all practices. So as much as we can get them similar, so that way it's just more efficient, it's more streamlined, everything is working together rather than against each other. but truly getting centralized operations in multi-operatories or multi-locations is going to be one of the biggest ways to cut costs, to save time, and to make it more efficient for a better patient care all the way around the board. So really look at your practice and see, do we have inconsistent systems? Are we doing things differently? Do we have different flares and flavors? Do we have like five different houses within our multi-practice ownership? And what could we do to unify it across all of the practices this quarter? And usually when I'm starting with an office, I'm going to look for the scheduling because that's usually the fastest. Then the operatories will be my next piece that I'm going to go for. And then after that, we're going to go into our billing tactics and making sure that goes into it, which leads me right into point number two. And this is gap number two and it's profit per location is not being tracked. A lot of times when people get multipractices, what they do is they just keep it all under one tax ID number. I understand your reasoning. I did that when I started my multiple businesses. It actually gets really hairy scary. And so ⁓ Yes, like let's untangle this. I'm not a CPA. My job is not to be giving you financial advice. My job is just to help you as a consultant. We pair really well with CPAs. And so miss number two is when we don't have profit being tracked per location, but overall as total revenue, but not knowing which practice is profitable and which practice is struggling. That's a really, really, really big miss as a practice. So helping you just understand that you've got to a hundred percent. make sure we're looking at the profitability and breaking it apart. So each practice has its own tax ID number. Yes, this is annoying. Yes, you have to fix the billing pieces for it, but each practice needs to be treated like its own individual business unit. within the bigger whole. So it's like we have the same standards, we have the same operatory setup, we have the same softwares, we have the same billing tactics, but what we have is we make sure each practice is profitable. So we know how much are we paying for all the fixed versus variable costs and we're tracking those within each location. When team members travel between each location, they're actually paid out of two separate entities. So they could be technically putting in more than 40 hours, but if they're only putting 20 hours here and 30 hours here, technically that's not over time. It's like working two different jobs. Now you have to be careful with that to make sure that those employees are not overworked. But making sure that like when I've got team members going to multi locations, I am tracking it per location. I am tracking it per practice. When I've got regional managers separating out that regional manager salary amongst all the locations to make sure is this practical profitable? And if not, what are the underperformers? What are the root causes? How can I get this profitable? Can we do block scheduling in there? Can I work on my costs? I've got two practices right now and their rent is much higher in one location. Well, if I've got higher rent over there and higher costs, I have to produce more in that practice than I do. So I can't have the exact same block scheduling in both locations. I can still block schedule similarly, but I have to make sure that I'm hitting my correct overhead percentages and that each practice is profitable. We have separate credit cards for each location. So we're ordering on those separate credit cards. So it is per location. We have different bank accounts for each location. So the money's coming in so we can see what it is. And what's crazy is when offices actually do this, what they find is they're actually able to quickly identify what the root causes of that practice. They're able to bring it up to par. like one practice, they're losing money due to not having hygiene reappointments in there. So like the hygiene team is not as profitable as they should be. So we laser focus in on that. We fix the systems across the board, but we laser focus on the practice that's struggling. And we're actually able to boost them by 400,000 per year just by fixing that one small problem, because we're not looking at the organization as a whole. Yes, you do need to look at the organization as a whole. but you do need to like scope it down to how each practice is performing. And this should be weekly, monthly, quarterly to then assess how we're doing. ⁓ When people get into multi level DSOs, you better believe they're looking at their top performers and their lower performance. And a lot of times they cut those lower performing offices out because that's hurting their overall profitability of the business. So many offices have really high producing practices and they're dumping it to go save the other ones. Just like thinking about a real estate portfolio. they're looking and rebalancing those portfolios, but for you to rebalance it is to make sure you're tracking the profit per location and we're fixing the issues at the base root problem. ⁓ And so really what it should be is you should A, make sure you're running them individually, B, do a P &L by location and let's figure out where our gaps are within the finances to see how can I make each location profitable and set that as the target as the goal for your regional, for your office managers. This is the goal per location. I work with an office and we have six locations that we go to quarterly. And we are looking at their scorecards every single week, every single practice. And then we look collectively at the whole to make sure organization as a whole is profitable. Yes, when we started new and of course we're going to be dumping money into it. But the goal is for that new practice to be profitable. Six months to one year max is when they need to start breaking profit. And so when teams know this, when office managers know this, what happens is the whole portfolio actually does better and the businesses are running much more effectively, efficiently with better patient care, better team awareness all around. So that's miss number two, ⁓ gap number two. Miss number three is not having consistent accountability. So when you have it, oftentimes it's just this chaos. Like I said, like we're adding more fuel to a chaos burning fire. And so ⁓ when we have that there's no roles, there's no structured check-ins, there's... It just feels like hope and pray. And then we're trying to like get the profitability margins. We're trying to do all those pieces. So we've got to have cadences in there of weekly calls, having weekly scorecards and quarterly reviews. ⁓ And so when you have leaders at each location, what they do is they, get all office managers together on a weekly call. They look at the scorecards for their practices. They look cross company so they can look at all the other offices. So if I'm struggling with a profitability, but this office over here is doing really well. office managers sync up, let's have you two work together, let's have you see what you're doing differently. That way everybody's able to be profitable. So that really helps. And then you empower all the leaders to own their KPIs and report back. So they're owning their teams, they're owning their departments, they're owning the profitability of their practice. And then this way we're able to have metrics that are the same across all locations. So having a set scorecard that's used, when we do it within our company, we have practice A, practice B, practice C. Right now I've got an office I'm thinking of and practice A is super profitable and practice B is not. And they're just looking at it collectively as a whole versus saying, my gosh, we've got to get like practice B profitable. Practice B is not producing and it's not collecting what it should be. A lot of times also that profitability margin is hurting because we're not collecting. And so one practice is very much collecting, paying for the other practice, but it's just due to broken systems and not having that O-M responsible. And it's because we're spread across trying to be ⁓ efficient, which is true, but we have to have individualized centralized accountability frameworks in each location. So it reports up. People know who's ultimately responsible for that practice for the different pieces, rather than it being we're all responsible for everything. That means nothing is actually truly being tracked. So ⁓ when we've implemented these scorecards across practices, usually what you start to see is you see an increase in profitability, an increase in collections, an increase in case acceptance, because everybody's looking Like we're looking side to side, it's like Sudoku. I'm looking to see how am I comparing with my other practices and how can I get the support where I'm struggling? And then you also start to create cohesiveness as a unity. You start to create cross collaboration. And this is a huge, huge, huge mess in multi-practice ownership and even in bigger practices. So when you look at this and you have that weekly reporting rhythm, you have this weekly accountability, and then you start to empower your leaders to meet with their team members once a month. and then have quarterly cadences where we're looking to see how we're doing, you start to see teams rise up. Because now it's like, great, we know what the scoreboard is. We know what we're aiming for. know everybody knows what they're accountable for. There's no more of this confusion of what should we be doing or should my practice do this, but your practice doesn't. You try to get them as standardized as possible. And what I will tell you is working with multiple multi-practice owners, this is not a dream. This is a reality that you should be striving for and that you can do. I love to work with Mac. multi-practice owners because I love to take the chaos and turn it into simplicity. I love to help you see which like it's like a ball of yarn and you're like, my gosh, like pull this string or pull this string or pull that string. And like, we don't know how to untangle what we've created. And so doing these three misses of not having centralized operations. So making sure we're centralized across the board, making sure each practice is profitable and then having accountability across the board. When you streamline those across all your locations, instantly things get better. Scaling is not great when it's chaos. Scaling is great when it's tightened, when it's predictable, and when it's consistent. That's when it becomes fun. That's when it becomes fun to be multi-practice honored, but it is not fun when it is the chaos. And so when we do this, this is something that I'm obsessed with. This is something I love to help offices. This is where I love to help regional managers figure out how to do this because a lot of times they don't even know. They've never done it before. They've just been a great office manager and doing one baby versus five babies. We all know as parents and siblings and aunts and uncles, we know that one baby is a lot easier than five babies. However, five babies can actually be easier on certain levels when we have set standards and we have set processes and we have set things in place and we've got rhythms and we've got routines that actually sometimes can be easier than just one because it forces you to actually rise up. It forces you to be better than what you've been. And so with this, just know these are some of the three big gaps that we see in multi-practice ownership or large practice ownership. These are some of the areas that we really expert help. And hopefully for you to just have a quick like checklist of like, where am I doing on my standardized ops? How am I doing on profitability of each location? And how am I doing on accountability, KPI tracking, scorecard accountability, weekly check-ins, implementing just a few of these things will radically help you. But sometimes it's so hard to lift your head up out of the bubble when you're living in the bubble. And so if you're struggling with that, reach out. Like let's just have a conversation. Let's see if we're a right fit. If nothing else, we'll give you a lot of gaps, a lot of tools, a lot of tips and help you out. reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. Go to our website, TheDentalATeam.com and click on the book of call. This is what we do. We create structure for scale, clarity for leaders and profit for every location. Like that is what our obsession is. And so I'd love to help you out. As always, just know dentistry is the greatest place we could ever possibly be in. We are so blessed to be a part of dentistry. And I just want you to remember like if multi-practice ownership or larger practice ownerships on the horizon, these are things to do. If you're already in the weeds of it, you know, it's a lot harder to actually do than you thought it was. And so reach out. There's no reason to do this alone. The industry is hard as it is. So there's no reason to do this alone. Reach out. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Richard Dunbar of FieldPulse to dig into one of the most important — and often overlooked — levers for scaling a home service company: modernizing your operational platform. Whether you're running HVAC, plumbing, electrical, restoration, or any specialty trade, the shift from legacy tools to a true field service management system (FSM) is one of the highest-ROI moves you can make. Richard and John break down how contractors are ditching whiteboards, Excel boards, paper invoices, and manual dispatching in favor of flat-rate pricing systems, centralized pricebooks, technician-friendly workflows, real-time visibility, and true operational clarity.What You'll LearnWhy legacy systems cap your growthHow flat-rate pricing really worksWhere the real ROI of FSM software comes fromHow to remove friction from the entire customer journey The #1 mistake contractors make when trying to scale revenue
This year at Brian's Lawn Maintenance, we took a step forward by investing in real training and implementing real systems. Utilizing the Greenius platform and establishing robust SOPs has eliminated guesswork, ensured consistency across crews, and enhanced the quality of our work. Everyone now follows the same standards, processes, and expectations. When you invest in training, you're not just upgrading your team — you're building a business that's scalable, profitable, and runs smoother than ever.
Reach Out Via Text!In this Wednesday episode Jeremiah Jennings gives a clear and practical look at how artificial intelligence is about to transform the way service companies operate. He explains why AI tools are not here to replace people but to remove repetitive low value work so owners and leaders can focus on tasks that truly move the business forward. Jeremiah walks through a real example of how an AI agent answers calls schedules estimates logs customer information and sends follow ups with accuracy and consistency. He also shares how internal agents can help employees find SOPs track jobs and stay organized through simple conversational commands. This episode encourages listeners to begin learning and experimenting with AI tools now rather than waiting until the industry leaves them behind. With winter approaching Jeremiah challenges owners to spend a few hours each week learning how AI can free up time reduce stress and create more sustainable growth inside their companies.Support the show 10% off LMN Software- https://lmncompany.partnerlinks.io/growinggreenpodcast Signup for our Newsletter- https://mailchi.mp/942ae158aff5/newsletter-signup Book A Consult Call-https://stan.store/GrowingGreenPodcast Lawntrepreneur Academy-https://www.lawntrepreneuracademy.com/ The Landscaping Bookkeeper-https://thelandscapingbookkeeper.com/ Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/growinggreenlandscapes/ Email-ggreenlandscapes@gmail.com Growing Green Website- https://www.growinggreenlandscapes.com/
Welcome to another insightful episode of "It's the Bottom Line that Matters"! In this episode, our dynamic hosting team—Jennifer Glass, Patricia Reszetylo, and Daniel McCraine—tackle the all-too-familiar challenge of evaluating and choosing new technology tools for small businesses. From exploring new customer relationship management systems and accounting software to debating the merits of various productivity platforms, the discussion delves into practical ways business owners can cut through the clutter and make confident choices.The hosts share their personal methods, including using resources like ChatGPT to ask the right questions and software review platforms such as Capterra and G2 to get honest user feedback. They highlight the importance of carefully listing your needs, running trials and demos, and even learning when the latest tech might not be the right fit for your team. Plus, you'll hear candid stories about shiny marketing tactics, return policies, and adjusting your standard operating procedures to integrate new tools.If you've ever found yourself drowning in tech options or regretting a purchase, this episode is for you. Get ready for actionable advice, relatable anecdotes, and a few laughs as our hosts guide you through the process of evaluating tech—helping ensure that whatever tools you choose, it's the bottom line that truly matters.Keywords: small business tech tools, evaluating software, CRM systems, email platforms, accounting systems, software trials, ChatGPT, AI tool recommendations, business software needs, tech tool evaluation, software review sites, Google search for software, Capterra, G2, software user reviews, feature comparison, use case scenarios, software testing, software integration, standard operating procedures (SOPs), automation in business, training team on software, software onboarding, AppSumo, software return policies, money-back guarantees, software budgeting, software deal breakers, time-saving tech, user adoption challengesWe mentioned #AppSumo in this episode - check out their Black Friday deals
What would actually happen to your pet sitting or dog walking business if you couldn't show up tomorrow? In this episode, we share how a scary experience during COVID forced us to confront just how much our business depended on us personally. We walk through the first four ways to build a more resilient business: having a backup as a solo sitter, creating a team-based system with employee backups, handing off admin tasks, and getting your "in-your-head" knowledge documented. We talk about the mental load of being the only one who knows how to run payroll, schedule, and respond to emergencies—and what it looks like to slowly share that responsibility. We want you to start building a business that can keep caring for clients and supporting your family, even when life forces you to step back. Main topics: Facing "What If I Can't?" Solo Sitters and True Backups Team-Based, Cross-Trained Staff Handing Off Admin Tasks Systematizing In-Your-Head Knowledge Main takeaway: "Being without a backup is just one emergency away from losing everything and having a real catastrophe on their hands" It sounds dramatic, but it's the reality so many pet sitters and dog walkers quietly live with. One illness, one family emergency, or one injury could leave clients stranded and your business hanging by a thread. In this episode, we talk about how to build real backups, not just in theory, but in practical, everyday ways—from connecting with another sitter to cross-training a team to documenting what only lives in your head. You don't have to build a massive company, but you do deserve a business that won't collapse the second you need to step away. Links: Loom (Suggested for Screen-Recording SOPs): https://www.loom.com/ ChatGPT / AI Tools (Implied for Turning Transcripts into SOPs): https://www.openai.com/chatgpt/ Check out our Starter Packs See all of our discounts! Check out ProTrainings Code: CPR-petsitterconfessional for 10% off
Hiring is the single biggest decision that either scales your STR business or silently destroys it. Most hosts wait too long, hire too cheap, or onboard the wrong way. In today's episode I sit down with Matt Metros of CS Outsource, who works with more than 500 property management companies worldwide, to break down exactly how to hire properly, avoid the common traps, and build a team that actually frees you up.You'll learn:• When to hire your first assistant• Why cheap VAs cost you more• The real onboarding process hosts never do• The traits of great operators• How to stop micromanaging and actually lead• Why your SOPs are simpler than you think• What agencies like CS Outsource really offer behind the scenesIf you're managing 5 to 10 properties and feeling stretched, this video is the one that will save you months of headaches.Work with the team I trust for all my hiring:https://boostly.co.uk/hiring
Send us a textA green shirt in the lobby can mean more than a friendly hello—it might be the quiet promise that you can worship in peace. We sit down with Gus and Gary, longtime law enforcement pros turned church servants, to explore how God redeems our work and how practical vigilance can coexist with deep, joyful faith.Gus traces his journey from a mixed religious upbringing to a Bible-centered church that shifted him from checking boxes to building a living relationship with Christ. Gary's doorway was unexpected: Friday jiu-jitsu classes with a pastor who rolls on the mat and opens Scripture on Sunday. Together they explain how a safety ministry grew from instinct to intentionality—SOPs, training, and a calm presence—so families can focus on the Word while a thoughtful team watches the room.The stories go deeper than procedures. Gus recalls a chase and a sudden, unexplainable stop at the woods—later learning the suspect waited with a gun. That pause, he says, was God's protection. Both men share regrets about missed moments to point people to Jesus and how Scripture, mentors, and community have made them bolder and kinder. We talk about serving without fear, letting God lead our careers, and seeing setbacks as protection or redirection. We also widen the lens beyond Sunday: coaching Special Olympics, volunteering in the city, and living so visibly that people ask, Why are you different?If you've ever wondered how your weekday skills could matter in a church, or how to balance vigilance with worship, this conversation offers hope, clarity, and next steps. Join us to learn how availability becomes ministry, why community shapes courage, and how God uses ordinary work to guard, guide, and grow His people. Enjoyed this conversation? Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help others find it.New episodes every Mondaywww.lifehousemot.cominfo@lifehousede.com Join us Sundays at 9 & 11 AM Intro music by Joey Blair
Grab a copy of our BOOK here: http://winningtheweek.com/ Join Lifehack Tribe: https://members.lifehackmethod.com/join-lifehack-tribeSUBSCRIBE to our podcast on the platform of your choice! Spotify: http://spoti.fi/3pNtPVe Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3tiIpWW Or subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LifehackBootcamp Time stamps:03:27 – Designing Your Business to Run Without You12:10 – Map Your Role and Find Leverage15:00 - The 1% Better Principle.18:15 – Building a Master Map of Systems20:25 – Screencasting to Create Systems Effortlessly21:55 – Screencasts as a Major Hack for Clarity and Systems Creation25:15 – Creating Video SOPs for Delegation and Future Reference27:10 – Linking Recurring Tasks to SOPs for Seamless Execution and Delegation29:20 – Systemizing Every Role to Build a Sellable, Scalable Business30:36 – Planting Seeds of Systems for Future Leverage32:30 – Becoming a Systems Thinker33:39 – Using the Annoyance Method to Solve Root Problems36:51 – Small Wins Could Be Big Wins MasqueradingCheck out our FREE masterclass all about How To Plan The Perfect Week In 30 Minutes Flat: https://bit.ly/3eEZ9AQ Check out our website: https://lifehackmethod.com/
In this episode, Cathy Sykora delves into how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way wellness and health coaches run their businesses, create programs, and engage clients. She shares her personal experiences—both what's worked and what needs caution—and outlines actionable strategies to leverage AI for operations, content creation, marketing, and coaching workflows. Cathy emphasizes that while AI can dramatically accelerate productivity, it still requires human oversight to maintain integrity, authenticity, and scope of practice. She also explains how to build your own branded "voice" in AI tools and avoid common pitfalls, like over‑reliance or blind trust in generated content. If you're a coach ready to up‑level your business efficiency and client impact, this episode gives you a roadmap to make AI a practical asset. In this episode, you'll discover: How to use AI for business operations: contracts, SOPs, onboarding forms, project management and meeting recaps. Ways to build coaching programs and client content in days instead of years using AI‑powered templates, guided meditations, quizzes and tracking systems. Effective marketing and visibility uses: sales sequences, email marketing, lead magnets, website copy, SEO keywords — and how Cathy uses a custom GPT with her voice. Client experience and engagement innovations: supervision models, progress‑tracking systems, reflection questions, resource lists and automation. Coaching growth and education: how AI supports lesson summaries, case studies, practice coaching sessions, client avatars, pricing calculators, workflow outlines and staying on top of wellness research. Key caution points: verifying accuracy, staying within scope, reviewing output, using multiple AI sources, and not treating AI as a "person". Memorable Quotes: "There are times when I ask the GPT: 'Are you sure?' and it'll say, 'You have a good point…' because it finds the flaw when you challenge it." "I can create an entire sales sequence in three minutes where it used to take me three days." "AI doesn't replace experts. It amplifies them. The leaders who win the next decade will be those who combine human insight with machine precision." Bio: Cathy Sykora is the founder of the Health Coach Group and has over 40 years of business experience, including extensive work in public health, education, and communication. Her mission is to empower health coaches and practitioners to create thriving practices that transform lives. Through ready‑to‑brand programs, websites, and business tools, Cathy has supported thousands of coaches in building successful businesses. Links to Resources: Health Coach Group Website: thehealthcoachgroup.com (https://www.thehealthcoachgroup.com) Special Offer: Use code HCC50 to save $50 on the Health Coach Group website Leave a Review: If you enjoyed the podcast, please consider leaving a five-star rating or review on Apple Podcasts.
Episode Summary In this strategic and energizing episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana and Sandy unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of practice stability and growth, your annual planning session. Together, they walk through the questions, metrics, team conversations, and leadership decisions that set the tone for a productive, organized, and profitable new year. Sandy shares her trusted framework for evaluating practice performance, identifying bottlenecks, and turning missed opportunities into measurable goals. Dana breaks down how to communicate the importance of an annual planning meeting to your team—even if you haven't done one in a few years. From KPI awareness and production forecasting to team agreements, CE planning, and SOP check-ins, this episode gives practices everything they need to create a clear, motivating roadmap for 2026. If you want to stop drifting into the new year and instead design it—this episode is your guide. Show Notes In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why most practices drift into the new year unprepared—and how to fix it The must-track KPIs for evaluating your year-end performance How to hold a productive annual planning meeting (without turning it into a gripe session) What your team really needs to contribute meaningful input How agreements, policies, and SOPs eliminate frustration and set expectations How to turn dropped statistics into 2026 wins Why tracking new patient sources matters more than ever How to anticipate "slow" months and outflow your way into a full schedule CE planning and skill inventories for every position The importance of setting daily and hourly production goals Updates your website and systems may be overdue for The role of communication in shaping team culture and patient experience Episode Sponsors Identity Dental Marketing Looking to stand out in a crowded market? Identity Dental Marketing builds brands that convert.
In this episode, Wade sits down with James Hatfield, Chief Revenue Officer at LiveSwitch, to talk about how video and AI are transforming sales for moving and home service businesses. They dig into why the old way of doing in-person estimates is slowing companies down, and how virtual video surveys can help you win the "race to the face," respond faster, and close more of the right jobs without sending a truck to every lead. The conversation covers practical use cases for live video and AI: building accurate inventories and cube sheets from a simple walkthrough, documenting pre-existing damage to protect your crews, turning recordings into training and SOPs, and creating a long-term "data moat" that makes your business harder to compete with. They also look ahead at what's coming next—AI agents that can watch surveys, build reports, and help move you toward almost touchless online booking. Connect with James Hatfield: Chief Revenue Officer of LiveSwitch https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-hatfield/ Know more about LiveSwitch: https://www.liveswitch.com/ Shop Wade's book - Hometown Titan: Build A Local Business That Dominates Your Market: https://a.co/d/8zLXZMC Become a MOVING TITAN at the next Moving Titan Retreat https://www.movingtitanretreats.com/ Tighten up your moving company operations with TITAN UP TRAINING https://www.titanuptraining.com/ This episode is powered by Hyre (formerly Hey Lieu) Virtual Assistants: https://www.hyreup.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/hyre https://www.instagram.com/hyre.up https://www.facebook.com/hyre.up This episode is sponsored by: Moversville - an online marketing company and resource for movers, consumers, and those involved in the moving process. https://www.moversville.com/wade USA Home Listings – a marketing and lead resource for moving companies. https://www.usahomelistings.com/ About the Show Wade Swikle is the CEO of 2 College Brothers Moving, Storage and Franchising, currently with locations in Tampa, Gainesville, and Orlando, Florida. https://2collegebrothers.com/ Learn more and connect with Wade Swikle: Wade's website: https://2collegebrothers.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadeswikle/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@2CollegeBrothersMovingStorage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadeswikle/
Send us a textOne of the top reasons businesses fail? Growing too fast without the right infrastructure.In this final episode of our three-part scaling series, I'm breaking down Pillar 3: Systems & Scale Infrastructure—the operational systems, financial clarity, time management strategies, and team building approach you need to scale sustainably.You'll learn about:Building operational systems that deliver consistent qualityUnderstanding your financesDesign your CEO schedule and know when to hireCreate a high-performing team cultureBuild a business that runs without youI also share my personal burnout story and the "Swiss clock team" I built that operated seamlessly—giving me the freedom to leave corporate and go full-time in my business eventually.The result? A sellable business that scales without burning you out.Book a complimentary consultation at stairwaytoleadership.comKey TakeawaysSustainable growth beats fast growth - Scaling too quickly without infrastructure can destroy your businessThree components of scale infrastructure - Operations, financials, and team/time managementRevenue ≠ Profit - Track your profit margins, cash flow, and break-even pointDocument everything - SOPs, client journey maps, and continuous improvement processesHire strategically - Know when you're too busy, optimize first, then hireBuild team culture - Mission, values, and vision should be felt daily, not just writtenDesign your CEO time - Reduce client-facing hours, focus on high-impact activitiesThe compound effect - Small, strategic weekly steps create massive transformationBusiness that runs without you - The ultimate goal for freedom and sellabilityPeace of mind matters - Financial clarity + capable team = less stress and anxietyTimestamps (Optional - Add if Desired)00:00 - Introduction & Series Recap01:00 - Why Fast Growth Can Kill Your Business03:00 - Pillar 3: Systems & Scale Infrastructure Overview06:00 - My Personal Burnout Story07:00 - Operational Systems: Client Journey & SOPs10:00 - KPIs That Matter12:00 - Financial Systems: Beyond Revenue to Profit16:00 - Time Management & When to Hire20:00 - Team Building, Delegation & Leadership24:00 - Energy Management & Work-Life Boundaries28:00 - The Swiss Clock Team Story31:00 - What High Performance Looks Like34:00 - Final Thoughts & Next Week's PreviewResources MentionedEpisode 225: The Three Pillars Every Service Business Needs to Scale to Six Figures and BeyondEpisode 226: From Feast or Famine to Predictable Revenue: The Client Acquisition EngineBook a Complimentary Consultation: htts://stairwaytoleadership.comConnect with MaggieWebsite: https://stairwaytoleadership.com
You thought $11 got you just a 3-day workshop? Think again. I just dropped two bonus trainings that should be locked behind a $5K paywall—and they're included (for now) inside the Sanctified Sales Implementation Intensive. Here's what you're getting:
Send us a textWhat if you stopped selling features and started winning on outcomes? We sit down with founder Jason Bryll to unpack the plays that turned a one-person consultancy into a high-performance services engine built on trust, speed, and rock-solid systems. From healthcare data trenches to global team leadership, Jason shares the unvarnished moves that drive compounding growth without the chaos.We start with the founder shift: hire earlier than feels comfortable, build around ownership, and accept the short-term income flatline to unlock long-term scale. Jason explains how tight salary bands, margin-aware pricing, and disciplined ops saved his company from cash whiplash. Then comes the big pivot—ditching heavy implementation fees for a lower entry point and a higher, predictable monthly retainer. That single change reduced friction, boosted forecasting, and delivered what clients actually want: rapid iteration without the upsell dance.The heart of the playbook is focus and quality. Jason narrowed services to data warehousing, BI reporting, and analytics, then codified delivery with SOPs, Asana-driven workflows, and video training. This made speed a true differentiator—faster time to value with consistent standards. Layer in a US–India model with monthly culture touchpoints and you get three wins at once: 24-hour progress, approachable pricing, and meaningful wages for a growing global team. The kicker? Zero churn among clients on the recurring model, thanks to steady partnership and fewer barriers to making progress.If you're building a services firm—or stuck chasing product market fit with no payoff—this conversation is a blueprint. You'll hear how to hire for trust over resumes, define the customer outcome that matters most, and transform expertise into repeatable assets that scale. Subscribe for more bold, unfiltered strategies, share this with a founder who needs it, and drop your biggest bottleneck—we'll tackle it in a future show.Support the show
Schedule a Meeting with Joshua TODAY!Do you treat winter like downtime — or as the secret weapon that could set up your most profitable year ever?While most contractors kick back after the season ends, Joshua Gillow challenges you to do the opposite. In this episode, he reveals why the off-season is the perfect time to overhaul your systems, sharpen your team, and fix the inefficiencies that drain profits all summer long.You will:Learn how to transform winter from a “dead season” into your business's most productive growth window.Discover simple systems and SOPs that save time, reduce chaos, and empower your crew.Find out how to use education, leadership development, and communication to strengthen your entire company before spring.Tune in now to discover how to use your off-season to grow your people, your systems, and your profits — so next year isn't just a repeat, it's your biggest leap forward.Connect with Joshua at:The WebsiteThe Facebook GroupSales Master ClassesHow to work with Joshua - https://yes.express/apply/Tune into this podcast where a seasoned craftsman shares expert communication skills, strategies for overcoming stress and overwhelm, and insights on building a profitable business in landscaping and hardscaping, with tips on how to sell, close more deals, and achieve financial freedom to retire early as a successful business owner in the design/build and outdoor living industry.
If you're searching for the inspiration to keep going when life feels loud and uncertain, this conversation is your reset. Sandy Moll went from a young marriage and single motherhood to a blended family and seven businesses—built on faith, forgiveness, gratitude, and the courage to listen to God in the quiet.In this episode, you'll hear how Sandy:Navigated divorce, blended two families with love, and released the guilt through self-forgivenessLost W-2 jobs during the 2007–08 crisis—then followed God's nudge to launch new companiesUses silence (no phone notifications!) to hear God's direction and choose the right next stepKeeps work sustainable with systems, SOPs, and ruthless prioritization (not hustle theater)Starts each day with gratitude so fear and comparison don't run the showDiscerns real God-given dreams from noisy, external expectationsWhy This MattersIf you've been praying, pushing, and still wondering “Am I chasing the wrong dream?”—Sandy's story shows how quiet, humble moments can spark the biggest transformations. It's practical, inspirational, and faith-forward without being preachy.HighlightsThe early “searching” years: belonging, church as a safe place, and chosen familyFrom first marriage to single mom to a blended family that actually workedThe 2008 Financial Crisis: job loss → entrepreneurship (and why panic kills options)Silence over hustle: how to hear God, set priorities, and build without burning outForgiving yourself so you can finally move forwardStructuring life for peace: no Monday/Friday meetings, focused Tue–Thu work blocks, systems that runDon't miss thisStay 'til the end for a special surprise: an original song inspired by today's story...“Jesus, Carry Me" - Created by K-Lowe Music (Your Custom Music Destination)Connect with Sandy MollLinkedIn: @SandyMollFacebook: @SandyJMollInstagram: @Sandy_J_MollEmail: s.moll@abs-core.comText/Call: 913-731-6007 (text preferred; she replies)Book Kevin for Your EventI'm Kevin Lowe—speaker, host, and a guy who's had to learn how to see in the dark and still choose the light. If you want a keynote that leaves people stronger than it found them, visit KevinSpeaks.org.Hey, it's Kevin!I hope you enjoyed today's episode! If there is ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to reach out. Below, you will find ALL the places and ALL the ways to connect!I would LOVE to hear from you! Send me a Voice MessageWant to be a guest on GRIT, GRACE, & INSPIRATION? Send Kevin Lowe a message on PodMatch!Book Kevin to Speak at Your Next Event: CLICK to Learn More