Why Do so Many Small Businesses Fail?
Somewhere between 60-90% of new businesses fail to survive. Just about everyone agrees, starting a new business has a low success rate. The real question is not how many fail, but WHY so many fail.
Why You Can’t “Just Figure it Out” Anymore (And What to Do Instead) with Michael Swenson – Ep. 359
In this essential episode, Michael Swenson, Founder of CrisisTrak, shares how to build crisis plans that safeguard your enterprise from disasters. If you struggle with blind spots that could erase years of value, you won't want to miss it.
You will discover:
- How to form a crisis team for rapid, organized response
- Why early planning protects customers, employees, and investors
- What Crisis Track automates to streamline your recovery
Why Organizations Become Less Profitable As They Grow with Nick Avaria – Ep. 399
In this eye-opening episode, Nick Avaria, Founder of Agency Acquisitions, shares why many stage 4 founders get trapped in the missing middle. If you're growing revenue but profits are shrinking, complexity is overwhelming you, and your team feels misaligned, you won't want to miss it.
You will discover:
- Why growth rewards you with more problems and a dangerous chasm called the missing middle
- How to stop promoting individual contributors and build real middle management systems
- What it takes to transition from founder to CEO so you stop being the speed limit
You Don’t Have a Business You Have a Job with Jesse Gilmore – Ep. 394
In this strategic episode, Jesse Gilmore, Founder of Niche in Control, shares how to escape the founder-as-bottleneck trap by shifting your identity from doer to leader and building real systems so you stop owning a job and start owning a business. If you’re still the single point of failure and every client or fire runs through you, you won’t want to miss it.
You will discover:
- Why succeeding as the best doer in stage two can make you the bottleneck that prevents scaling into higher stages
- What signs reveal you've built yourself a job instead of a business, such as inability to take a week off without everything stalling
- How to complete a 7-day time log to identify tasks for eliminate, automate, delegate, and time-block so you can shift from doer to trainer to manager to visionary
Why Your Team Isn’t Enough with David Miller – Ep. 389
In this transformational episode, David Miller, Founder and CEO of Alchemy of Scale, shares how to move from overwhelmed founder to effective leader in stage 4. If you have managers but still feel like everything runs through you, you're frustrated with constant questions, and the team isn't owning results, you won't want to miss it.
You will discover:
- Why having managers doesn't mean you have real leadership
- How to shift from managing people to building systems that create accountability
- What it takes to develop leaders who think and act like owners
5 Tips for Creating a Career Path Program That Pays for Itself, and Then Some
Contrary to popular belief, the workforce is no less career-focused today than they were 30 years ago. But if employees want lasting careers, why are they switching companies at a faster rate than ever? The problem is with the organization, not the individual. In this article, you'll learn 5 tips for creating a career path program that will keep your top performers at the top of their game for the long haul!
The Hidden Solution to Your Employee Retention Dilemma
Training takes time. Promotion-level openings don't become available simply because someone is ready. Change is uncomfortable. These realities make it hard to move employees within your company, which forces them to start looking for work outside of your company. But what if you could substantially extend the shelf-life of your average employee even if you can't give them a promotion?
You Don’t Have to Know How to Code to Start a Tech Company with Sophia Matveeva – Ep. 384
In this verified episode, Sophia Matveeva, Founder and CEO of Tech for Non-Techies, shares how to turn your idea into a validated product without coding in stage 1. If you struggle with shiny ideas that never launch or fear wasting time and money on unproven concepts, you won't want to miss it.
You will discover:
- Why validating demand matters far more than learning to code or building the perfect product
- How to quickly test your idea with a simple AI mockup and real target users
- What to do when feedback shows your idea won’t work so you can move on fast
Why You Don’t Need More Employees to Do What They’re Told
Internal policies, no matter how well-intentioned, can become crushing, especially for your top performers. Employees are less willing to put up with it than ever before, and as a result, are leaving their organizations in greater numbers than ever before.
The Burnout You’re Not Seeing Is Destroying Your Executive Team with Weronika Sobolak – Ep. 379
In this Encouraging episode, Weronika Sobolak, Owner of Weronika Sobolak Consulting, shares how to evolve from overwhelmed operator to strategic CEO in stage 5. If you struggle with constant firefighting, team dependency on you, and stalled personal freedom, you won't want to miss it
You will discover:
- Why over-involvement in operations kills strategic thinking and growth.
- How to systematically hand off day-to-day decisions to trusted leaders
- What mindset and structure shifts create true CEO-level leverage
5 Ways to Move Employees Within Your Company, so They Don’t Move On
We spend a lot of time talking about hiring right now, but the truth of the matter is that we are missing the point. While hiring is undoubtedly a challenge, it is predominantly a symptom of a much bigger problem that haunts large and small organizations alike - employee retention.
Why Managers Bring You Everything (And How to Stop It) with Daria Rudnik – Ep. 377
In this empowering episode, Daria Rudnik, Team Architect and Owner of Daria Rudnik Coaching & Consulting, shares how to shift from founder-led decisions to empowered team ownership in stage 4. If you struggle with being the bottleneck in leadership meetings and slow decisions, you won't want to miss it.
You will discover:
- Why constant founder input kills team confidence and slows scaling.
- How to create psychological safety so your team speaks up first
- What structured questions train leaders to own outcomes independently