The industrial-age workplace is breaking down and that’s good news.

In this episode, Chuck Blakeman introduces the concept of the Participation Age, a new way of working that replaces top-down control with trust, ownership, and shared responsibility. It’s about rehumanizing the workplace by giving everybody their brain back.

This episode kicks off a series exploring what it really takes to build a business where people fully participate, decisions are made where the work happens, and leaders stop managing people and start leading adults.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

If you’re tired of running your business or your career inside a system that treats people like replaceable parts, this episode will challenge everything you’ve been taught about work.

🎧 Listen now and discover how participation-age thinking helps you get off the treadmill and build work that actually works for humans.

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Most business owners avoid hiring for one simple reason: They don’t want to manage people.

In this episode, Chuck sits down with Brandon Rains to challenge that assumption and show why the right hiring process eliminates the need for management altogether.

Brandon shares how he built a thriving estate planning firm with a high-performing team by hiring for culture, beliefs, and talent before skills and experience. Drawing from his years inside the 3to5 Club and real-world hiring success, this conversation reframes hiring as a long-term investment instead of a risky gamble.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

If you’re tired of micromanaging, constantly fixing mistakes, or feeling trapped by your team, this episode will help you rethink hiring from the ground up and build a business that runs on ownership instead of oversight.

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👤 About Brandon Rains

Brandon Rains is an estate planning attorney who founded his firm in 2016 and has grown it to serve hundreds of clients with a team of attorneys and staff. A longtime member of the 3to5 Club, Brandon focuses on helping families pass on not just financial wealth, but also their stories and values, so inheritances become true blessings for future generations.

📧 Email: [email protected]

What if the fastest way to improve productivity, profit, and retention wasn’t tighter control—but giving people their time back?

In this solo episode, Chuck Blakeman challenges the outdated belief that managing time equals managing performance. Drawing from real-world business examples and decades of leadership experience, Chuck explains why autonomy, trust, and outcome-based leadership consistently outperform micromanagement and rigid schedules.

This episode reframes time as one of the most powerful (and misunderstood) leadership tools—and shows how freeing people from unnecessary control unlocks better results for everyone.

In this episode, Chuck explores:

If you want people who act like owners instead of employees and a business that grows without burning everyone out this episode will challenge how you think about time, leadership, and results.

🎧 Listen now and discover why giving people their time back may be the smartest business decision you make.

What does it really take to start and grow a business when you don’t have all the answers?

In this energizing conversation, Chuck sits down with Jessica Agopian, founder of 33 Services & Consulting and multi-center Sylvan Learning franchise owner, along with 3to5 Club facilitator Mark Bellestri, to unpack what it means to lead with action instead of anxiety.

Jessica shares how she went from employee to owner, opened her first Sylvan center, expanded to a second location, and continues to scale, all without waiting for perfect conditions. The discussion dives into why momentum matters more than mastery, how systems beat hustle, and why most of business success has far less to do with industry expertise than people think.

Together, Chuck, Jessica, and Mark explore the mindset shift that separates stalled business owners from builders who keep moving forward, especially when things feel uncertain, messy, or unfinished.

If you’ve ever felt stuck waiting to be “ready,” this episode will challenge that thinking and remind you why movement creates clarity, confidence, and growth.

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Jessica Agopian is the founder of 33 Services & Consulting and a multi-center Sylvan Learning franchise owner. Known for culture-driven growth, community engagement, and connection-based sales, she helps teams thrive while building businesses that scale through systems, not hustle. Jessica is passionate about intentional leadership, strong processes, and creating organizations that change lives.

Connect with Jessica: [email protected]

Gratitude may not sound like a business strategy, but science says otherwise.

In this thought-provoking solo episode, Chuck Blakeman takes a purposeful left turn to explore how gratitude directly impacts business performance, leadership effectiveness, and long-term success. Backed by neuroscience and real-world data, Chuck breaks down why emotional intelligence (EQ), not IQ or technical skill, is the true predictor of business success, and how gratitude is one of the fastest ways to grow it.

You’ll learn why:

But here’s the twist:

Chuck explains why traditional gratitude lists don’t actually make us more grateful—and what does work instead.

This episode introduces a powerful, neuroscience-backed gratitude practice focused on receiving gratitude, not just expressing it. Chuck walks you through a simple, repeatable method that can be done in just a few minutes a week and can literally reduce stress, inflammation, threat detection, and burnout while increasing clarity, meaning, and joy.

🎧 Tune in and discover why gratitude isn’t “soft” it’s a serious competitive advantage.

Most business owners don’t lose sales because of pricing, competition, or skill, they lose them because they don’t follow up.

In this powerful and energizing episode, Chuck reconnects with Lynn Whitbeck, CEO of Petite2Queen, host of Claim Your Career Crown, and widely known as the Queen of Joyful Sales, to unpack the real reason follow-up fails and how you can fix it starting today.

Lynn shares the staggering truth:

80% of all sales are made by the 20% of people who follow up.

Together, Chuck and Lynn dive into:

Chuck and Lynn also share real-life stories of long-term follow-up that turned into major opportunities, reminding us why consistency, recency, and frequency win in sales every time.

If you’ve ever felt awkward, inconsistent, or unsure about following up, this episode gives you a practical, joyful roadmap to do it well and close more clients by genuinely serving them.

Listen now and become part of the 20% who actually win the business.

Get Lynn’s Free Resource: Download her Get More Clients Checklist at petite2queen.com/checklist 

New here? Catch Lynn’s first appearance on the podcast: Making Sales Joyful — scroll back and listen!

Why do so many business owners work harder and harder… yet never seem to get ahead?

In this solo episode, Chuck breaks down one of the most powerful mindset shifts in entrepreneurship: intending to make more money in less time.

Drawing from decades of experience building 13 businesses on four continents, Chuck explains why most owners stay trapped on the treadmill and how a single shift in intention can change everything. This is not theory. It’s a simple, actionable framework you can apply today.

Inside this episode, you’ll discover:

✅ Why you get what you intend—not what you hope for

Chuck also shares the key question every entrepreneur must ask:

“What do I actually want from my business?”

And he walks you step by step through defining your ideal lifestyle, reversing it into a practical plan, and taking the next one simple action to get there.

If you're tired of running faster just to stay in place, this episode will give you the clarity and the permission you need to build a business that works for you, not the other way around.

Why does business development feel so exhausting for so many business owners? Because most of us were taught to do it the wrong way.

In this episode, Chuck Blakeman sits down with Andrew Rowland to unpack what real business development actually looks like and why it has nothing to do with chasing strangers, pitching at networking events, or collecting business cards you’ll never use.

Andrew shares his journey from hustling alone (and burning out) to building a business that grows through relationships, community, and intentional connections. He explains how just a handful of the right people, your “multipliers”, can create more business growth than years of traditional sales tactics.

Together, Chuck and Andrew dive into:

If you're tired of random hope marketing and want a business development system based on trust, generosity, and consistency, this episode will show you what’s possible.

💡 Get ready to rethink how you grow your business—one real relationship at a time.

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About Andrew Rowland

Andrew Rowland is a Minnesota-based entrepreneur and founder in the home care industry. After building a strong career in operations management, he launched his own company in 2018 to make a meaningful impact in his community. Through strategic partnerships and a successful merger, he’s grown his business by focusing on relationships over transactions.

A husband, father of four, and community-minded leader, Andrew is passionate about creating growth—for his business, his clients, and the people around him.

Contact Andrew:

What if you could stop chasing clients and start attracting them instead?

In this solo episode, Chuck Blakeman breaks down The Lumberjack Buying System, a proven four-stage process that replaces traditional selling with relationship building. Used by thousands of business owners worldwide, this system helps you leave behind cold calls, endless networking, and transactional sales for something far more effective: relational business development that actually works.

Chuck explains why the old “sales treadmill” keeps most small business owners stuck and how to build a Steady Stream of Potential Clients by shifting from hunting strangers to collaborating with trusted connections — your “Lumberjacks.”

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by traditional sales tactics, this episode will show you a better way — one built on relationships, generosity, and long-term success.

And if you haven’t yet, go back and listen to Episode 27 – Stop Networking and Start Building a Network Instead! Listen here.

What really drives you to get out of bed every morning and how does that shape the way you do business?

In this inspiring conversation, Chuck Blakeman sits down with entrepreneur Cassie Morris to explore the concept of the Big Why, the lifetime goal you can never check off, but that gives meaning to everything you do.

Cassie shares her journey from a career in sales to launching two businesses, Clover Communications and Strategy and Dilly Dally Donut Bar and how discovering her Big Why transformed not just her work, but her life. Together, she and Chuck unpack what it means to live authentically, how clarity creates power, and why knowing your “why” is more important than any business plan.

You’ll discover:

If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing the next goal or wondering what your business is really for—this episode will help you find your deeper motivation and build a business that serves your life, not the other way around.

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About Cassie Morris:

Connect with Cassie: