Save to Zero

Episode 38: Restaurant Sites and Scalable Concepts with Will Knox

Why do some restaurant ideas grow while others struggle despite good food, strong financing, or a recognizable name? Will Knox, known as The Restaurant Guy, explains how location, concept, execution, infrastructure, and hospitality work together to create a restaurant business that can last and scale.

Mike and Zach talk with Will about his unconventional path from acting and residential real estate into restaurant development. Finding the first Spago location for Wolfgang Puck led to early Hard Rock Cafe expansion work and a career helping operators select sites, negotiate deals, shape concepts, and build brands.

Will explains why a promising building is not automatically the right site. Operators must evaluate demographics, traffic patterns, parking, visibility, customer behavior, competition, and whether the concept is convenient or compelling enough to become a destination.

The conversation also explores what makes a concept scalable. Will recommends proving the model locally, opening additional locations within a manageable radius, developing leaders and systems, and building infrastructure before pursuing distant markets or rapid expansion.

Will also shares lessons from building his own multi-unit brand, World Links. His experience shows why passion and money are not enough without disciplined execution, experienced partners, profitable units, clear operations, and a concept that consistently delivers for customers.

• How Will Knox entered restaurant real estate and concept development
• Why the right building can still be the wrong restaurant site
• How demographics, traffic, parking, and customer behavior affect a location
• Why restaurant success depends on execution and passion
• How operating experience changes real estate decisions
• Why a second and third unit help prove a scalable concept
• How regional growth can reduce operational risk
• Why infrastructure and experienced people must precede expansion
• How strategic partners and outside capital can support growth
• What makes a restaurant business more attractive to buyers

“Let’s look at it from the moon and let’s look at it like it’s Google Earth.”

“At the end of the day, we’re all just customers.”

“The execution coupled with the passion to execute—I think those are the two elements that really make a difference.”

“You need to play tennis with people that are better than you are.”

Will Knox is a restaurant real estate and concept development consultant based in Ojai, California. Known as The Restaurant Guy, he advises forward-thinking operators on concept development, site selection, contract negotiation, strategic planning, branding, sales, and leasing.

Will entered the restaurant industry after locating and negotiating the first Spago restaurant for Wolfgang Puck. He later supported early Hard Rock Cafe development west of the Mississippi and worked with operators including Nancy Silverton, Suzanne Goin, Caroline Styne, Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken, and Peter Morton.

Will also developed World Links, a gourmet hot dog and sausage concept that grew to 11 units through airports, franchising, special events, and strategic operating partnerships. That experience gives him an operator’s perspective on the financial, staffing, systems, and execution challenges behind expansion.

Through The Knox Company, Will combines commercial real estate services with concept consulting and a network of architects, branding professionals, marketers, and chefs. He also hosts the Mr. Restaurant podcast and continues helping restaurant owners refine concepts, choose sites, and build scalable businesses.

Learn more at TheKnoxCompany.com or email [email protected].

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Episode 37: Building Blue Collar Wealth with Chris Garrison

What does it take to turn a hands-on service business into an asset that creates opportunity beyond the owner’s daily labor? Chris Garrison, serial entrepreneur, real estate investor, and co-founder of Blue Collar Millionaire, shares lessons from building businesses, investing, and developing leaders.

Mike and Zach talk with Chris about growing Absolute Cleaning and Restoration, acquiring companies, investing in real estate, and building an online community with more than 350,000 members. He explains why technical skill alone rarely produces growth without strong marketing and sales.

Chris presents financial literacy as a series of deposits: knowledge, relationships, visibility, productive debt, and responsible execution. He explains why investing in yourself comes first and how a proven operator can move from trading time for money to owning assets.

The conversation also explores how owners can step back by recruiting capable people, developing leaders, and building predictable systems. Clear communication, realistic expectations, and extreme ownership help protect the two bosses of every business: employees and customers.

Chris closes with a long-term view: stay close to what you know, diversify through trusted operators, track the activities behind your results, shape an environment that supports better habits, and enjoy the journey while building something that can operate without you.

• Why technical excellence alone does not guarantee business growth
• How marketing, sales, and personal visibility create opportunity
• Why knowledge, relationships, and people are valuable assets
• How productive debt can help build equity and cash flow
• Why investing in yourself should come before other investments
• How to move from trading time for money to owning assets
• What owners must do to work on the business instead of in it
• How communication and expectations protect employees and customers
• Why proven operators matter when diversifying investments
• How environment, activity tracking, and patience shape long-term results

“You are your biggest asset.”

“I don’t think there’s a shortage in capital. I think there’s a shortage in talent.”

“You’re living in the results from yesterday’s decisions.”

“It’s not the goal and the destination, because that constantly moves. It’s the journey.”

Chris Garrison is a serial entrepreneur, real estate investor, business coach, and mentor. He owns multiple service-based businesses and a mix of residential and commercial real estate, and he co-founded Blue Collar Millionaire, an online community with more than 350,000 members.

After a series of difficult business and personal experiences in his twenties, Chris committed to self-development and rebuilt his career around the skills he had developed in car sales, maintenance management, and cleaning. He grew Absolute Cleaning and Restoration into a brand centered on quality and integrity before expanding into restoration and roofing.

Chris later invested in rental properties, acquired additional service businesses, and helped grow a national windshield company and a manufacturing coating business. Across these ventures, he focuses on assembling strong teams, creating predictable systems, and developing companies that can operate without depending entirely on their owner.

Through Blue Collar Millionaire, Chris shares practical frameworks, community, events, and coaching for ambitious service-business owners. His mission is to help create as many blue-collar millionaires as possible by teaching repeatable systems for leadership, investing, business growth, and long-term wealth creation.

Connect with Chris Garrison on Facebook, join the Blue Collar Millionaire Facebook group, or email [email protected].

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Episode 36: Accelerating Depreciation and Building Wealth with Jeff Hiatt

What if a real estate deduction could help you build wealth today instead of arriving decades from now? Jeff Hiatt, known as the Depreciation Doctor, explains how cost segregation can accelerate allowable depreciation, reduce current taxable income, and free capital for an investor’s next opportunity.

In this episode, Mike and Zach talk with Jeff about the strategy he has worked with since 1999. He explains why many eligible property owners never use cost segregation, how a study separates structural components from shorter-life assets, and why deductions may still be available even when a building has been owned for years.

Jeff walks through the details investors need to understand, including residential versus commercial depreciation periods, recapture, 1031 exchanges, step-up in basis, and the circumstances that can make a study worthwhile. For his firm, properties above roughly $300,000 often begin producing a compelling benefit-to-cost ratio.

The conversation also covers why specialized knowledge and a qualified physical site visit matter. Parking lots, drainage, landscaping, specialty wiring, HVAC, and other improvements contain layers of value that can be missed by a quick estimate, while unsupported virtual approaches may create serious audit risk.

Jeff also shares his work with Swim With A Mission, a New Hampshire nonprofit that raises money for veterans and their families. Through events involving Navy SEALs, team building, and mental toughness, participants gain perspective on adversity while supporting those who served.

• Why many eligible property owners never use cost segregation
• How cost segregation accelerates deductions without changing total depreciation
• Which building components may qualify for shorter recovery periods
• How prior-year deductions may be captured without amending returns
• What happens to accelerated depreciation when a property is sold
• How 1031 exchanges can defer gain and depreciation recapture
• Why a property value near $300,000 can be a practical starting point
• When cost segregation may not make sense for an investor
• Why qualified professionals and physical site visits matter
• How Swim With A Mission supports veterans and their families

“Would you rather have a deduction today, or would you rather wait 39 years to take that deduction?”

“Seventy percent of the people that could use cost seg don’t.”

“That’s like an interest-free loan for X number of years.”

“If we lose a contract or lose a client, it’s not a great day—but we didn’t lose a leg.”

Jeff Hiatt is known as the Depreciation Doctor and has worked with cost segregation since 1999. His firm helps real estate owners identify faster depreciation opportunities that may reduce current taxable income and improve the capital available for future investments.

Jeff entered the field after working with national franchise groups and learning how cost segregation could benefit clients who owned real estate. An early seminar for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs helped expand the practice from a handful of annual projects to hundreds.

Today, Jeff’s team completes approximately 1,500 to 1,600 studies per year and has worked on nearly 28,000 properties. The firm conducts physical site visits, prepares fixed-fee studies, and helps clients and their CPAs understand how to implement the results in their tax software.

Jeff also serves on the board of Swim With A Mission, which raises money for veterans and their families. Since its founding in 2017, the organization has raised approximately $18 million through events designed to build connection, perspective, teamwork, and resilience.

Learn more at DepreciationDoctor.com, email [email protected], or support veterans through Swim With A Mission.

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Episode 35: Sales Psychology and Intentional Networking with Kiva Geiger

What separates a helpful sales conversation from a pushy pitch? For Kiva Geiger, it begins with removing ego, releasing attachment to the outcome, and asking questions that help the buyer reach the right conclusion for themselves.

In this episode, Mike and Zach sit down with Kiva, a sales coach, consultant, speaker, and former professional soccer player. He shares how discipline took him from a late start in soccer to playing in Kenya—and how that competitive foundation carried into an unlikely first sales role, corporate leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Kiva explains how he accelerated his career at Verizon by pursuing training, building relationships with senior leaders, and repeatedly returning to the fundamentals. After learning that personal sales success does not automatically translate into leading a team, he developed the coaching and accountability skills that helped him move into larger leadership roles.

The conversation explores the psychology behind effective selling: knowing the product, identifying pain or aspiration, listening for buying signals, and understanding the beliefs that can make a salesperson uncomfortable with price, rejection, or asking for the business. Kiva also shares the mindset practices he uses to quiet self-doubt and show up fully.

You’ll also hear a practical approach to networking with intention. Instead of collecting the most business cards or chasing the biggest name in the room, Kiva recommends being genuinely curious, staying present with the person in front of you, building relationship capital, and knowing how to close a conversation graciously.

• How professional soccer taught Kiva discipline, resilience, and daily improvement
• Why corporate training rooms became a powerful networking advantage
• How top individual performance differs from successfully leading a sales team
• Why effective sales conversations begin with the right questions
• How selling from ego or attachment creates resistance
• Why pain and aspiration are the two core drivers behind buying decisions
• How personal beliefs about money can interfere with high-ticket sales
• Why reviewing recorded calls reveals missed buying signals
• How to make networking relational instead of transactional
• When and how to exit a conversation without damaging the relationship

“Your attachment to the sale—your attachment to wanting something—can be felt or seen on the other side.”

“There’s no failure. There’s no success. There’s only showing up.”

“It’s always about the people that are in front of you that you need to pay attention to.”

“Not everybody’s gonna like you, and if you’re too busy chasing being liked, then you’re in the wrong room.”

Kiva Geiger is a sales coach, consultant, and speaker who helps entrepreneurs and business owners sell more effectively, lead with confidence, and grow from the inside out.

Before building his sales career, Kiva played professional soccer in Kenya. He later spent nearly seven years at Verizon, where he became a top-performing sales professional and advanced into leadership, and also gained experience at Amazon.

Since leaving corporate America to pursue entrepreneurship, Kiva has coached and trained hundreds of sales professionals and business owners. His experience includes helping sales representatives on Alex Hormozi’s teams become more effective at selling high-end offers.

Kiva’s work combines sales psychology, mindset, networking, and practical communication. At its heart is a commitment to helping people break through what is holding them back, become exceptional at what they do, and build businesses and lives they are proud of.

Follow Kiva Geiger on Instagram, X, or Facebook; connect on LinkedIn; or email [email protected]

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Episode 34: Building the People Systems That Scale with Scott Hanis

Why do promising businesses struggle to scale even when the market opportunity is there? For Scott Hanis, the answer often has less to do with strategy than with the people systems underneath it: clear roles, capable leaders, disciplined hiring, frequent communication, and accountability that grows with the company.

In this episode, Mike and Zach sit down with Scott, co-founder of Fortitude HR Solutions and a human resources leader with more than 20 years of experience. Scott traces his path from corporate HR and international operations to private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and eventually entrepreneurship.

Scott explains how HR has evolved from an administrative function into a strategic business partner. For small and midsize companies, that means connecting talent decisions to business goals, building the right organizational structure, and knowing when outsourced expertise can provide support without the cost of a full internal department.

We dig into performance management, hiring, and the difficult conversations leaders delay. Scott shares why employees need clear goals and regular one-on-one meetings, how poor performers can damage morale when leaders avoid accountability, and why a vacant or badly filled role creates costs far beyond payroll.

You’ll also hear how founders can step out of every major function, prepare high-potential employees for leadership, integrate remote and international teams, and create a culture where communication, positive recognition, training, and defined career paths help good people stay and grow.

• How Scott moved from corporate HR and private equity into entrepreneurship
• Why HR should operate as a strategic business partner
• When a growing company should consider outsourced HR support
• How frequent one-on-one meetings eliminate performance surprises
• Why delayed accountability damages morale, culture, and retention
• How to hire with due diligence without creating an endless process
• Why founders should delegate according to the value of their time
• How clear expectations help remote and international teams succeed
• Why strong individual contributors need preparation before promotion
• How communication and people systems determine whether growth can scale

“People either live up or they live down to expectations.”

“Do your due diligence, and don’t continue to delay it.”

“In order to develop and grow people, you’ve got to invest in people.”

“The owners, the founders, they’re in their own way. They won’t let go of control.”

Scott Hanis is a seasoned HR executive and business leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations align their people strategies with business goals and sustainable growth.

Before founding Fortitude HR Solutions, Scott held HR leadership roles with family-owned, international, and private-equity-backed companies. His experience includes recruiting, employee relations, performance management, succession planning, organizational change, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, and post-acquisition integration.

As co-founder of Fortitude HR Solutions, Scott partners with business owners and executive leaders across the United States to design HR structures, recruit talent, strengthen accountability, develop leaders, and implement systems that support measurable results. He has also led HR initiatives for global organizations with more than 1,200 employees.

Scott mentors entrepreneurs and executives through the Legacy Family Mastermind and frequently speaks on leadership, organizational structure, high-performing teams, and the people systems businesses need to scale successfully.

Connect with Scott Hanis through Fortitude HR Solutions, find him on LinkedIn, or email [email protected]

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Episode 33: The Art of the International Deal with Theresa Mueller

How do you evaluate a commercial real estate opportunity when the property, financing, legal system, and local market may all be in another country? For Theresa Mueller, CCIM, the answer starts with relationships, trusted partners, careful listening, and the flexibility to structure a deal in more than one way.

In this episode, Mike and Zach sit down with Theresa, founder, CEO, and designated managing broker of Trelleum Real Estate. She shares how an engineering background, early real estate investments, and client questions about return on investment led her from consulting into commercial brokerage and eventually into international dealmaking.

Theresa explains how the Certified International Property Specialist designation and conferences such as Expo Real and MIPIM helped her build a global network. With more than 65,000 contacts in her database, she acts as a real estate matchmaker, connecting buyers, sellers, brokers, lenders, and local experts across the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond.

We also explore the creative side of capital: seller financing, joint ventures, domestic collateral for overseas purchases, and local or cross-border lenders. Theresa emphasizes that she does not need to know every law in every country herself; she needs reliable boots on the ground and strategic partners who can move each transaction forward.

You’ll hear why the spreadsheet never tells the whole story, how due diligence exposes hidden assumptions, where AI can help without replacing human judgment, and why disciplined investors often begin by mastering one asset class before expanding into new markets or geographies.

• How Theresa moved from engineering and consulting into commercial real estate
• Why the CIPS designation opened the door to international opportunities
• How in-person events build the trust required for global transactions
• Why a strong network matters more than knowing every market personally
• How seller financing, joint ventures, and collateral can unlock a deal
• Why investors must question numbers that look too good to be true
• What AI can automate—and where human judgment still matters
• Why listening to buyer and seller objectives goes beyond cap rates
• How international investing can offer diversification and opportunity
• Why new investors often benefit from mastering one asset class first

“There’s not just one option. There’s many variables.”

“You really need to hear what buyers and sellers want, which sometimes the math doesn’t capture.”

“Time kills deals.”

“I like to think that there’s always opportunity. In a buyer’s market or seller’s market, there’s always some kind of opportunity.”

Theresa Mueller, CCIM, is the founder, CEO, and designated managing broker of Trelleum Real Estate. She brings three decades of experience to commercial property transactions in local and global markets.

Her engineering degree from the University of Illinois and early experience with Anderson Consulting, now Accenture, shaped her analytical approach. She began as an investor, moved from residential into commercial brokerage, and expanded across asset classes as clients brought her increasingly complex opportunities.

Theresa founded Trelleum Real Estate in 2004. She and her team connect local and international clients with the buyers, sellers, lenders, brokers, and specialists needed to move complex transactions forward. She also teaches commercial real estate to residential agents exploring the field.

A skilled negotiator and networker, Theresa is active in real estate organizations worldwide. She also volunteers, chairs commercial committees, enjoys book clubs and podcasts, travels, and balances her love of food with exercise.

Connect with Theresa Mueller through Trelleum Real Estate, follow the company on LinkedIn, or email [email protected]

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Episode 32: What Comes After the Exit? Building Again with Travis Hevelone

What happens after you build the company, sell it, and discover the next chapter is not waiting neatly on the other side? For Travis Hevelone, the answer involved an unexpected layoff, time to decompress, a failed business experiment, and a return to the work he does best: solving operational problems.

In this episode, Mike and Zach sit down with engineer and entrepreneur Travis Hevelone to explore the full journey from startup founder to acquired CEO and back to business owner. Travis shares how he co-founded jobZology in 2012 and built PathwayU, a science-based career-guidance platform that reached more than one million users across over 200 institutions.

We dig into the long search for a buyer, the moment private equity reached out, and the six months of due diligence that followed. Travis explains why inbound interest felt fundamentally different from chasing prospective acquirers, how he handled the process while still running the company, and what it was like to become an employee after the sale.

One of our biggest takeaways is that an exit does not automatically answer what comes next. After being laid off 10 months into the transition, Travis took time off before experimenting with a print-on-demand T-shirt business. The model generated sales but remained unprofitable and left too much control in the hands of a changing advertising algorithm.

You’ll also hear how that experience led to SingletrackOps, where Travis combines 25 years of operations experience with AI to automate repetitive work for trades and home-service businesses—helping owners replace disconnected apps and manual processes with lightweight tools that give their teams hours back every week.

• Why Travis chose entrepreneurship at age 39
• How jobZology grew into a national career-guidance platform
• Why inbound acquisition interest changed the conversation
• What six months of private-equity due diligence required
• Why founders need a plan for life after the sale
• What an unexpected layoff taught Travis about loyalty
• Why his print-on-demand business could not become profitable
• How platform risk can take control away from an owner
• How AI can turn conversations into working software
• Why automating repetitive work gives trades businesses time back

“I’m a startup guy. I like to know everybody.”

“Sometimes you’re loyal to a fault.”

“All play is not good for me. My engineering brain needs to solve problems.”

“You can actually build real software that solves real problems just by talking.”

Travis Hevelone is an engineer and operations leader who loves solving problems. He has spent approximately 25 years in operations, running IT consultancies and a network operations center before becoming a technology founder.

In 2012, Travis co-founded jobZology and built PathwayU, a science-based career-guidance platform that grew to more than one million users across over 200 institutions. The platform also earned national recognition and an invitation for Travis and his team to brief officials at the White House.

Travis sold the company to PeopleGrove in 2023 and remained through a 10-month transition before being laid off. After taking time to reassess what came next and experimenting with a print-on-demand business, he recognized that his strongest advantage remained in engineering, operations, and practical problem-solving.

Today, Travis runs SingletrackOps, which combines his operations experience with AI to help trades and home-service companies eliminate repetitive work, connect fragmented processes, and give owners more time to focus on customers, sales, and the work they enjoy.

Find Travis Hevelone on LinkedIn, visit SingletrackOps, or email [email protected]

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Episode 31: Why More Deals Won’t Fix Your Money with David Richter

What if doing more deals is making your financial problems worse? Revenue, door count, and deal volume may look impressive, but none of them matter if the business owner is not keeping money, building reserves, or paying themselves consistently.

In this episode, Mike and Zach sit down with David Richter, founder and CEO of Simple CFO and author of Profit First for Real Estate Investing. David shares how working inside a company that grew from five to more than 25 deals per month exposed a painful truth: the business was spending 26 deals’ worth of money for every 25 it closed.

We dig into how that experience, along with similar conversations with investors at every level, led David to build Simple CFO. After seeing how basic financial clarity transformed one investor’s business, he adopted the Profit First framework and began helping real estate operators understand their numbers, protect cash, and stop living from deal to deal.

One of our biggest takeaways is that real estate investors are not merely playing the game of real estate—they are playing the game of money. Profit First makes that game visible by assigning every dollar a purpose through dedicated accounts for income, owner compensation, profit, taxes, operating expenses, and other people’s money.

You’ll also hear how Simple CFO evaluates a client’s current and target allocations, why reserves need their own protection, how owners can use AI and assistants to reclaim time, and why the simplest place to begin is one new owner-compensation account funded with just one percent of every sale.

• Why more deals do not guarantee more profit
• How David discovered the need for Simple CFO
• Why real estate investors are playing the game of money
• How dedicated bank accounts create financial control
• Why other people’s money needs its own account
• How Profit First protects owner pay and taxes
• The difference between current and target allocations
• How to prepare for unpredictable real estate expenses
• Why good money habits can extend into personal finances
• How to start with one account and one percent

“It doesn’t matter if you’re doing lots of deals if you’re not keeping any of it on the back end.”

“We’re playing the wrong game in our mind.”

“The nice thing about real estate—and the predictable thing—is that it’s unpredictable.”

“The only way you can fail this system is you don’t implement it.”

David Richter is the founder and CEO of Simple CFO and the author of Profit First for Real Estate Investing, a version of Mike Michalowicz’s Profit First system designed specifically for real estate investors.

Across 10 years in real estate, David played a key role in closing more than 850 deals spanning wholesale, fix and flip, BRRRR, rentals, lease options, owner finance, turnkey properties, and other exit strategies. That operating experience allows him to translate financial concepts into language real estate investors can use.

While helping grow one operation from five to more than 25 deals a month, David watched large sums of money come in and go right back out. After serving in roles across sales, marketing, operations, property management, project management, and finance, he found his calling in helping investors understand where their money actually goes.

Through Simple CFO, David and his team provide bookkeeping, Profit First implementation, tax support, and fractional CFO guidance. His mission is to help real estate investors gain financial clarity, build cash reserves, pay themselves consistently, and stop making money while feeling broke.

Learn more about David Richter at Simple CFO, get his free book and resources at simplecfo.com/gift, or email [email protected]

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Episode 30: Building a Bankable, Sellable Business with Matthew Meehan

What makes a business fundable today and transferable tomorrow? For Matthew Meehan, the answer starts with clean financials, disciplined cash management, the right capital structure, and a company that can create value without depending entirely on its owner.

In this episode, Mike and Zach sit down with Wall Street veteran and business advisor Matthew Meehan to explore how small and midsize companies can access capital, scale responsibly, and prepare for an eventual exit. Matthew shares his unconventional path from barely graduating high school to spending nearly two decades on Wall Street and helping build a full-service investment bank.

We dig into his decision to leave the firm, move to Florida, and enter cash-flow-based small-business financing. When COVID threatened the businesses he had funded, Matthew began helping owners navigate PPP, EIDL, and ERC programs—an experience that evolved into a broader mission to help companies improve their books, become bankable, and build lasting enterprise value.

One of our biggest takeaways is that the right financing depends on the borrower, the purpose, and the lender’s appetite. Matthew explains the differences between traditional bank lending, SBA financing, alternative funding, private placements, and SPVs, along with the financial records and credit profile owners need before approaching capital providers.

You’ll also hear why a good exit strategy is simply good business strategy, what makes a company transferable, why preparation should begin 12 to 24 months before a sale, and how owners can design a life and business they will not need to escape from.

• How Matthew went from stockbroker trainee to investment-bank owner
• Why partnership agreements must be put in writing
• How COVID reshaped his small-business lending model
• What makes a company bankable
• How alternative cash-flow financing works
• Why SBA standards vary from bank to bank
• How lender appetite affects approvals
• The difference between SPVs and private placements
• Why business exits require 12 to 24 months of preparation
• How to build a transferable business instead of buying a job

“Make sure you have everything on paper.”

“Treat everybody the same way, because you don’t know where somebody is gonna be.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think. Trade what you see, and pivot along the way.”

“A good exit strategy is just good business strategy.”

Matthew Meehan is the CEO of Shield Advisory Group, a full-service consulting firm that helps small and midsize businesses obtain access to credit and capital. Through a big-picture assessment, he helps clients understand financing options, market dynamics, and the steps required to support revenue growth and increased market share.

Before founding Shield Advisory Group, Matthew spent nearly two decades on Wall Street and held Series 7, 63, 24, and 99 registrations. He directed the East Coast expansion of multiple boutique investment-banking firms and later became an owner of a full-service investment bank.

Leveraging his network, outside-the-box thinking, and knowledge of traditional and alternative finance, Matthew has raised capital and contributed to the growth of private and publicly traded companies across numerous industries. His experience spans commercial and equipment financing, asset-based and SBA financing, credit lines, private placements, bridge and acquisition financing, SPVs, reverse mergers, PIPEs, and cash-flow financing.

Matthew is also a certified exit planner who helps owners improve operations, clarify their financial position, unlock transferable value, and prepare their companies for a future sale. He co-hosts The Liquid Lunch Project, a podcast focused on practical business growth, funding, and strategy.

Find Matthew Meehan on Instagram, listen to The Liquid Lunch Project, or email [email protected]

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Episode 29: From Massive Scale to Smarter Growth with Sam Primm

What happens when rapid growth stops being the goal and recurring profit becomes the priority? After building multiple real estate companies, scaling to dozens of employees, and owning a portfolio valued as high as $50 million, Sam Primm learned that more is not always better.

In this episode, Mike and Zach sit down with real estate investor and educator Sam Primm to unpack how a normal guy from Missouri built a large operation without inherited money or an entrepreneurial family. Sam shares how Rich Dad Poor Dad changed his view of money and how experienced partners shortened the learning curve.

We dig into the mistakes that came with scaling quickly, including an over-improved hotel that continues to lose money and a cost structure that grew faster than the business could sustain. Those lessons pushed Sam and his team toward stabilization, tighter financial reporting, fewer distractions, and business models with steadier recurring revenue.

One of our biggest takeaways is that delegation still requires structure. Each company has an operating leader, profit-based incentives, financial oversight, and regular meetings to review metrics and solve problems. Sam also explains how careful tenant screening and in-house maintenance helped make property management a lower-risk business.

You’ll also hear how Sam grew an audience of roughly 3.5 million followers by publishing every day for six years, why quantity must come before quality, how authenticity outperforms overproduction, and why consistent action matters more than trying to predict which post will succeed.

“Growth doesn’t always mean more companies, more people. It can mean more recurring revenue. It can just mean more profit.”

“You need quantity, then you need quality.”

“You just gotta be willing to fail for a while or not be seen.”

“The lesson learned is just post.”

Sam Primm is a real estate investor turned educator who remains actively involved in real estate through a group of operating companies spanning acquisitions, flipping, wholesaling, property management, education, and lending connections.

Sam’s flipping company buys and sells more than 250 houses a year. He has built a real estate portfolio valued as high as $50 million and currently owns approximately $40 million in real estate after strategically selling selected assets.

His businesses include Faster House, Midwest Property Group, and Faster Freedom. Together, they combine active real estate operations, management of hundreds of rental units, educational programs, and connections between borrowers and lending partners.

Sam has also built an audience of approximately 3.5 million followers across social media, where he shares practical lessons about real estate, debt, leverage, entrepreneurship, and business growth. His direct, consistent approach helps everyday people understand how to begin investing in real estate.

Find Sam Primm on Instagram, visit Faster Freedom, or email [email protected]

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