When Scott Empringham lost his marriage, his clients, and his company all in the same week, he found himself drowning in debt with no clear way forward. But instead of giving up, Scott chose to get up—one tiny step at a time. In this raw and revealing conversation, Scott shares how he rebuilt from the ground up by focusing first on himself, then on serving a highly specific niche. Along the way, he leveraged AI to reinvent how digital marketing gets done—and now teaches thousands to do the same. From humility to hustle to high-tech scaling, this episode is an unforgettable roadmap for navigating entrepreneurial collapse and comeback.

Show Notes

• • [00:00] Losing it all: divorce, debt, and the collapse of a $10M agency
  • [02:09] Meet Scott Empringham
  • [03:07] Big news: launching an AI-powered 2-day Asia tour
  • [05:06] From billion-dollar man to broke—how it all unraveled
  • [07:02] The underrated superpower: humility
  • [08:29] Starting from zero with the tiniest goals imaginable
  • [11:07] The 90-day $500K challenge: how urgency forced laser focus
  • [12:19] Niching down and building back with “The Elite Marketing Method”
  • [14:52] The courage to say no—and go all in on one niche
  • [16:22] How AI supercharged his comeback strategy
  • [21:03] Using GPTs to create clarity and accountability in business
  • [23:41] AI as coach: using ChatGPT to spot blind spots and reschedule life
  • [25:06] A-Players + AI: the new equation for business success
  • [27:10] Coaching the ‘stressor’—a powerful story of accountability
  • [28:46] Quickfire Round:
  • [28:52] Book: The One Thing by Gary Keller – Amazon
  • [29:38] Daily habit: Open the Bible before opening email
  • [31:47] Favorite tool: X100 app (built by his 15-year-old daughter using Lovable.dev)
  • [33:38] What keeps him grounded: Daily workouts, even with his 12-year-old son
  • [35:03] Best advice: “The riches are in the niches.”
  • [36:22] Show Outro

Mentioned Reads

• • The One Thing by Gary Keller – Amazon
  • Scaling Up by Verne Harnish – Amazon
  • Your Oxygen Mask First by Kevin Lawrence – Amazon