Longfire

In this episode, I sit down with Scott Trench, former CEO of BiggerPockets and host of the BiggerPockets Money podcast, to talk about financial independence, career leverage, house hacking, and the path that took him from early employee to leading one of the biggest real estate education platforms.

We get into why financial runway creates better career options, how Scott made himself valuable early at BiggerPockets, what it looked like when the company sold, how he thinks about personal brand and AI, and why financial freedom is about more than just real estate. We also talk about family, kids, wealth, strategy, and the advice he hopes listeners remember.

Subscribe for more conversations like this on Pieces of Impact.

Watch on YouTube: Longfire on YouTube
Listen on Apple Podcasts: Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify: Spotify
Longfire website: longfire.co

Guest Links:

Scott's LinkedIn: Scott Trench on LinkedIn

BP Money Podcast: BiggerPockets Money

Chapter markers

00:00 Introduction to Scott’s Work
03:33 Scott joins the show
04:00 Life after stepping down as CEO
05:28 Balance, obsession, and CEO stress
07:14 Finding BiggerPockets through financial independence
07:46 Mr. Money Mustache, house hacking, and early FI thinking
10:16 Building financial runway after college
11:39 Making yourself valuable as an early employee
14:10 Choosing equity and upside
16:34 What a company sale looks like from the inside
19:31 Learning from Josh Dorkin and a professional CEO
20:50 Set for Life and what still applies today
22:16 BiggerPockets Money and the next FI problems
25:45 Personal brand as a long-term asset
27:38 AI, original thought, and better financial planning
32:27 Why AI rewards people who understand the full problem
35:02 Wealth, kids, and not imposing your system
38:50 The financial independence car pick
39:05 Common early-career money mistake
39:21 Underrated career skills
39:37 Content formats he is bullish on
40:19 Book recommendations
40:59 House hack, index funds, or business equity
41:17 AI use cases he is excited about
42:08 A day with no responsibilities
42:33 Current workout split
42:56 Final wisdom: what strategy really means
44:02 Where to find Scott

Joe Simonds is an author and co-founder of Salt Strong, a fishing education, content, membership, tackle, and community business he started with his brother Luke after leaving financial services. In this episode, we talk about walking away from a successful but unfulfilling career, building Salt Strong from scratch, working with family, growing through content and community, and what changed after the company’s recent sale.

We also get into AI, why “riches are made in niches,” protecting community standards, the fishing theme park idea, and why writing down your mission, vision, and core beliefs can change how you build.

Subscribe for more conversations like this on Pieces of Impact.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@longfireco
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pieces-of-impact/id1851467002
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IGYfTSYNvsD96UjUqqCJt?si=fa8d2e2a653f491b
Longfire website: https://longfire.co/

Guest links:

Website: SaltStrong.com,

Joe’s book link: https://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Happiness-Ultimate-Achieving-Fulfillment/dp/0692733051

Salt Strong YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Saltstrong

Salt Strong Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesaltstrong/

00:00 Why I Wanted to Have Joe On
02:19 Leaving Financial Services for Something More Fulfilling
09:06 The First Sale That Made Salt Strong Possible
10:25 Seven Months Before Taking a Day Off
11:36 What Works and Doesn’t When Building With Family
14:45 Free Content, Memberships, and the First Signs of Momentum
18:31 Community First, App Second
24:10 Core Beliefs, No Cursing, and Protecting the Culture
25:54 Riches Are Made in Niches, Even in the AI Age
31:06 Selling Salt Strong Without Losing the Mission
37:59 The Funniest Part of Selling the Company
41:27 The Fishing Theme Park Vision
51:00 The Grandfather Story and Creating Memories That Matter
55:58 Final Wisdom: Write Down the Mission

In this episode, I sit down with Carter Dorsch, Co-Owner at 98 Real Estate Group, to talk about real estate on Florida’s Forgotten Coast. We get into Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, Cape San Blas, Hurricane Michael, what makes the area so unique, and how Carter went from sitting in empty open houses with a chair and flyers to helping build one of the top real estate brands in the market.

We also talk about branding, newsletters, handwritten letters, AI listing descriptions that sound like a robot had too much coffee, Ed Ball, the St. Joe Company, college football, local food spots, and why “don’t half-ass it” is solid life advice. Carter is sharp, honest, and easy to talk to, and this was a really fun one for anyone interested in real estate, marketing, or coastal towns.

Subscribe for more conversations like this on Pieces of Impact.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
02:24 Carter Dorsch Joins the Show
02:54 Running 98 Real Estate Group
03:43 Florida’s Forgotten Coast
04:45 COVID and Coastal Demand
06:09 Hurricane Michael and Mexico Beach
08:30 Building Codes and Stronger Homes
12:15 Rebuilding After the Storm
14:36 Getting Started at 98
17:31 Early Pressure and Eating What You Kill
21:43 Buying Into the Business
23:34 Lessons From Ownership
25:03 Branding and Visibility
26:52 Newsletters and Referrals
28:40 AI in Real Estate
31:34 Smarter Direct Mail
34:51 Fastest-Growing Coastal Markets
37:27 Recruiting Agents and Protecting the Brand
40:59 Ed Ball, DuPont, and George Washington
43:25 The St. Joe Company
53:17 The Future of the Forgotten Coast
59:45 Carter’s Long-Term Vision
1:02:34 College Football
1:05:52 Rapid Fire
1:10:29 Handwritten Letters Still Work
1:14:08 Famous Clients
1:15:32 Don’t Half-Ass It
1:17:35 The Myrtle Beach Closing Story
1:19:53 Where to Find Carter

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Cermele to talk about his career in fishing media, from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life to MeatEater and now building Cut & Retie as an independent show. We get into writing, storytelling, creative freedom, audience trust, sponsors, and what it actually looks like to build a media business around your own voice.

Joe shares what he learned from nearly 20 years inside outdoor media, why personality-driven content has changed the industry, how hard it is to start from zero today, and why being independent gives you freedom but rarely gives you safety. We also get into AI, old fishing stories, why he hates dolphins, and why looking for Bigfoot is a respectable career path.

Check us out on Podmonitor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G1q77ZGcc4iwO87rj0tC88WJQh7YaiMB/view?usp=sharing

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 00:01 Intro and why Joe appreciated a conversation outside the fishing world
00:55 Joe’s current life as an independent media creator
02:16 Creative work vs. building a business
04:36 How 20 years in media shaped his current path
07:40 Creating your own luck in outdoor media
11:51 Early adoption, blogs, video, and Hook Shots
17:34 Field & Stream archives and what old fishing media can teach us
19:07 Amazon trip, media trips, and international fishing logistics
22:36 Moving to MeatEater and learning the business side of media
25:42 Joining MeatEater right before COVID
27:39 Why hunting content can be more lucrative than fishing content
29:52 Why he started Cut & Retie
34:21 Building community and the platform he wishes he owned
38:14 Family, privacy, and being personal without filming everything
41:33 What Joe’s community actually looks like
44:38 Authenticity, over-sharing, and not forcing a persona
47:32 Why starting from zero today would be so difficult
49:59 Independent podcast economics and sponsor volatility
52:43 Protecting audience trust with brand partnerships
54:55 Where fishing media is heading
58:10 AI, search, and the future of outdoor writing
01:03:15 The ghost striper story
01:07:56 Finding Bigfoot, River Monsters, and burnout in dream jobs
01:09:51 Rapid fire round
01:10:25 Writer recommendation: Riverhorse Nakadate
01:11:46 Best place Joe has ever fished
01:12:42 How playing in bands helped his media career
01:14:47 Why Joe hates dolphins
01:16:39 Final wisdom: originality over competition
01:17:57 Where to find Joe and Cut & Retie

In this episode, I sit down with Zak Herbstreit, former Ohio State player and now host of Off Script at On3, to talk about his transition from football into sports media, why On3 felt like the right fit, and what he is learning as he builds his voice in the college football world.

We get into how he approaches content, what it is like being behind the scenes at major games, why staying unbiased matters in this job, and his honest take on NIL, the transfer portal, and whether the sport can keep what makes it special.

Subscribe for more conversations like this on Pieces of Impact.

00:02 Intro and Zak’s background
01:32 Why On3 felt like the right fit
02:26 Why he moved away from coaching
12:44 Relationships and access in sports media
13:51 Getting reps and growing the platform
18:15 How he plans and films game-day content
21:15 Ohio State-Michigan tunnel story
22:43 Staying unbiased in media
27:52 NIL, transfer portal, and commitment
49:30 Five-year vision
50:47 Rapid fire round
57:15 Final wisdom and where to find Zak

In this solo episode, I walk through four rabbit holes I went down this week: the Mitch Rompola world-record buck controversy, the behind-the-scenes world of the Masters from my own time there, the St. Joe Company and the Northwest Florida land empire built by a descendant of George Washington, and the theory that the Great Pyramid may have been built from the inside out.

None of these really connect, and that is kind of the point. They are just four rabbit holes I spent entirely too much time watching YouTube videos on this week. If you like episodes that mix sports, business history, the outdoors, and old-world theories, this one should be a fun listen.

00:00 Intro and the four topics
01:19 Mitch Rompola buck controversy
05:11 The Masters and Augusta’s behind-the-scenes rules
11:01 The St. Joe Company and the Green Empire
15:21 The Great Pyramid inside-out theory
19:21 Recap and outro

In this solo episode, I walk through four topics I’ve been thinking about lately: AI-generated Star Wars videos on YouTube, the Blue Zones documentary on longevity, a farm and community business model that really caught my attention, and an old parable about aging parents.

I get into where AI fan content might be heading, what the Blue Zones get right about health, why Sweet Honey Farm feels like such a smart product, and the reminder to stay humble and grateful for the people who dropped branches on the trail before us.

00:00 Intro and the four topics
01:56 AI Star Wars on YouTube and how fast it’s improving
06:12 Blue Zones and why environment matters more than biohacks
09:19 Sweet Honey Farm and the business of selling an environment
11:16 Why people would actually pay for a place like this
14:02 The aged mother parable
16:02 The branches someone else dropped before you
17:12 Recap and closing takeaways

Subscribe if you enjoy solo episodes like this alongside the longer conversations on Pieces of Impact. Visit Longfire: https://longfire.co/

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Truitt to talk about his path from inside sales to business ownership, what it looked like to buy Disney McLane with his business partner, Craig, in 2007, and how they grew and eventually sold the company.

We also get into what the business actually does, how they expanded across multiple states, and what it means to lead a company through a recession.

Mike shares lessons on choosing the right business partner, retaining employees, reinvesting in people, and planning an exit years before you take it. We also talk about the discipline he took from his military family, what real pressure looks like, and the advice from his dad that still guides him today: sharpen your pencil.

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00:01 Intro and why Mike’s story matters
01:42 Early jobs and how he got into Disney McLane
03:41 Buying the business in 2007 and selling in 2020
04:34 What Disney McLane actually does
08:12 Taking over right before the 2008 recession
10:55 Growing territory, lines, and offices
13:47 Choosing the right business partner
17:09 Retention, rewards, and taking care of employees
23:06 What he would and wouldn’t do differently
24:35 Exit strategy and grooming the next owners
29:22 Reinvesting in the business and standing out
33:00 Investing, side ventures, and the gas station
37:23 Military background and lessons on discipline
40:47 What real pressure looks like
44:45 Family history and tracing the Truitt tree
51:12 Rapid fire round
56:05 Final wisdom

In this episode, I sit down with Justin Inacio, a Team Canada silver medalist, 3x All American at Ohio State, and current professional lacrosse player, to talk about the growth of lacrosse, what life actually looks like in the pro game, and the path that took him from Canada to Columbus.

Justin opens up about nearly quitting on a full ride, turning down the med school path to bet on lacrosse, building camps and training businesses around the sport, and the lesson he keeps giving young athletes: everyone practices, but the extra work after practice is what separates people.

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00:01 Intro and why this conversation matters
01:13 The state of lacrosse, the pro leagues, and the 2028 Olympics
06:30 Growing up in Canada and playing multiple sports
08:19 The recruiting process, Harvard, and choosing Ohio State
14:15 Freshman struggles and nearly quitting on a full ride
20:18 Draft process, med school, and deciding to go pro
25:49 How pro lacrosse actually works, travel, jobs, and league economics
31:22 Building a life around lacrosse through camps, coaching, and training
49:07 Westside Barbell and how he trains
55:46 Five to ten year vision and the dream of pro teams in Columbus
58:47 Coaching kids and realizing words can change lives
01:01:25 Wrap up round
01:07:14 Final wisdom and closing thoughts

Follow Justin on Social:

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@justininacio30?si=eJO-n0jIRybnDHlv

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justininacio/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@justininacio30

Check out his business here:

https://ovrpwrsports.com/

This is a solo episode where I walk through four topics I’ve been digging into lately: Parkinson’s Law, why sinks are placed outside bathrooms, a black belt coaching Ohio State’s defensive line, and whether an R-rated Darth Vader movie could actually work.

No big theme here. Just four ideas I found interesting, useful, or fun to discuss. If you like picking up a few different insights in one sitting, this one’s for you.

Chapters

00:00 Intro to Four Topics (Click this to Decide if this is worth your time)

01:20 Understanding Parkinson's Law

06:39 The Psychology of Public Sinks

09:20 Innovative Coaching: Joe Kim's Journey

12:12 The Dark Side of Darth Vader