Scaling Up, Not Giving Up

Description:
In this episode of Scaling Up, Not Giving Up, I sit down with Roger Martin — serial entrepreneur, franchise founder, and CEO of RockBox Fitness and beem® Light Sauna. Roger has led teams of over 500, built national brands, and trained thousands in sales, leadership, and communication.

But this conversation isn’t about hype — it’s about reality.

We talk about the difference between responsibility and accountability, the gauntlet of growth every founder must pass through, and why leaders end up with exactly the teams they deserve. Roger also shares sharp, unfiltered advice for anyone thinking about making the leap from employee to entrepreneur — and why some people absolutely shouldn’t.

🔍 What we cover in this episode:

• Why you promote what you tolerate in your team
• The difference between being responsible and being accountable
• Why scaling requires unreasonable effort
• What founders need to accept before they ever get momentum
• Hiring for subtraction, not just selection
• The mindset shift every entrepreneur has to make to scale

📚 More from Roger:

• An Insider’s Guide to Business: Secrets from an Entrepreneur’s Playbook
• ThriveMore with Roger Martin
• Roger’s Linktree (podcast, socials, and more)

🎧 Listen & Follow the Podcast:

https://pod.link/1804985577

📬 For More Insights:

https://richard-lee.co.uk

Eric Malka took a $12,000 investment and turned it into a global brand. Then came the financial crisis, burnout, and one of the biggest lessons of his life.

In this episode, I sit down with Eric Malka – serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of The Art of Shaving – to unpack the unfiltered reality of building a premium brand, scaling with purpose, and navigating chaos when things don't go to plan.

We talk through:

• 🧳 His early start as a broke 17-year-old immigrant in New York

• 🩳 Selling board shorts in Puerto Rico – and learning the hard way

• 🚀 How he bootstrapped The Art of Shaving from a single store to $10M turnover

• 💥 What went wrong during the Procter & Gamble acquisition and 2008 crash

• 🧠 His “crawl-walk-run-fly” framework for sustainable growth

• 🛠️ Crisis management, founder stress, and how to actually avoid burnout

• 💡 Why coaches aren’t just for failing businesses – and what makes a great one

Whether you're just getting started or preparing for scale, Eric’s honest reflections on risk, resilience, and reinvention will resonate.

Feedback Loops, Burnout, and the Five Things Every Business Needs to Scale

What do all successful businesses get right when they scale?
According to leadership performance coach Aaron Trahan, there are five essentials — and missing just one can throw everything off.

In this episode of Scaling Up, Not Giving Up, Aaron shares the exact framework he uses with founders and leadership teams to scale sustainably — without chaos, burnout, or blind spots.

💬 “If you don’t have the right systems, today’s growth becomes tomorrow’s failure.”

Whether you're scaling your first company or managing through a phase of fast growth, this one’s full of actionable insight.

🎧 Listen now: https://pod.link/1804985577
📍 More episodes and resources: richard-lee.co.uk

📘 Guest:

Jeremy B. Shapiro — Serial Entrepreneur, Mastermind Facilitator, and Author of Your Business Growth Playbook

🧠 Episode Summary:

What happens when the business you built starts to feel like a trap?

This week, I’m joined by Jeremy B. Shapiro — a seasoned serial entrepreneur who’s spent over two decades helping business owners escape burnout, scale sustainably, and finally step out of the day-to-day.

We explore the critical transition from solopreneur to true business owner, why many founders unknowingly build themselves into a corner, and how to design systems that give you real freedom — not just more responsibility.

Whether you’re deep in the weeds or starting to pull back from the grind, this episode is your practical guide to building a business that works… even when you don’t.

🧩 In This Episode, We Cover:

• The difference between building a business vs. building yourself a job
• The early warning signs of founder burnout
• Why scaling too fast without systems can sabotage success
• Time-boxing and org chart hacks that actually work
• How to start replacing yourself (without guilt)
• Jeremy’s approach to business sabbaticals — and why he took one
• The mindset shift that changes everything about how you scale

🎧 Links & Resources:

• 💡 Get a free sample of Your Business Growth Playbook, an audio overview, and a growth checklist at YourBusinessGrowthPlaybook.com
• 📚 Grab the full book on Amazon or wherever you get your books
• 🔗 Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn

🗣️ Connect with Me:

• 🌐 richard-lee.co.uk
• 🎙️ Listen to more episodes

In this episode of Scaling Up, Not Giving Up, I’m joined by Adam Torres — co-founder of Mission Matters and host of over 6,000 podcast interviews.

Adam shares how he went from reluctant first-time podcaster to building a global media business that now produces more than 2,000 interviews a year — all without external investment.

• Why Adam recorded his first 1,500 episodes off-camera under a pseudonym
• How imposter syndrome shaped his early creative journey
• The systems he’s built to avoid burnout while scaling
• How to monetise expertise without selling out your focus
• His philosophy on growing slowly, staying profitable, and saying no to the funding hype

This episode is a must-listen if you’re thinking about scaling something on your own terms — and wondering whether obsession can ever be sustainable.

• Follow on Instagram: @AskAdamTorres
• Explore Mission Matters: missionmatters.com

• Follow Scaling Up, Not Giving Up wherever you get your podcasts
• For more episodes and founder resources, visit richard-lee.co.uk

🎧 Scaling Smart: How to Grow Without Going Broke with Cash Flow Mike

Episode Summary

What if your business is growing... but your bank balance is shrinking?

In this episode of Scaling Up, Not Giving Up, Richard sits down with Mike Milan — aka Cash Flow Mike — to unpack one of the most misunderstood aspects of scaling: cash flow.

Mike has built 14 companies, taught over 25,000 business owners, and helped uncover more than $150 million in hidden cash. From his early days running a hotel staffing company to building bar-restaurants and eventually scaling fintech software, Mike shares the gritty truth about growing broke — and how to avoid it.

If you’ve ever thought profit was enough… or found yourself staring at your accounts wondering where the money’s gone, this one’s for you.

What We Cover in This Episode

• Mike’s leap from State Trooper to 14-time founder
• The hotel staffing boom — and how it nearly bankrupted him
• Why profitable businesses go bust
• How to understand your financial gap
• Why invoice factoring is like crack
• What founders get wrong about cash forecasting
• The power of the 7-Minute Conversation
• Building scalable systems across staffing, hospitality, and tech
• Why advisors need to stop lecturing and start listening
• Mike’s formula for bouncing back from burnout

Resources & Mentions

• 💻 Mike’s free course: https://cashflowmike.com
• 📚 Mike’s books:
  • Don’t Be a DUMB Business Owner
  • The 7 Minute Conversation
  • Don’t T.E.L.L. Me What To Do!

Connect with Mike Milan

• Website: https://cashflowmike.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cashflowmike

Connect with Richard Lee

• 🌐 Website: https://richard-lee.co.uk

• 🎙️ More episodes: https://pod.link/1804985577

💬 Like this episode?

Please subscribe, leave a rating & review, and share it with a founder who’s scaling — or struggling.

Eric Malka took a $12,000 investment and turned it into a global brand. Then came the financial crisis, burnout, and one of the biggest lessons of his life.

In this episode, I sit down with Eric Malka – serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of The Art of Shaving – to unpack the unfiltered reality of building a premium brand, scaling with purpose, and navigating chaos when things don't go to plan.

We talk through:

• 🧳 His early start as a broke 17-year-old immigrant in New York

• 🩳 Selling board shorts in Puerto Rico – and learning the hard way

• 🚀 How he bootstrapped The Art of Shaving from a single store to $10M turnover

• 💥 What went wrong during the Procter & Gamble acquisition and 2008 crash

• 🧠 His “crawl-walk-run-fly” framework for sustainable growth

• 🛠️ Crisis management, founder stress, and how to actually avoid burnout

• 💡 Why coaches aren’t just for failing businesses – and what makes a great one

Whether you're just getting started or preparing for scale, Eric’s honest reflections on risk, resilience, and reinvention will resonate.

What if your business didn’t need to get bigger to be better? What if scaling didn’t mean selling out — or burning out?

In this episode, I’m joined by Stephanie Hayes, a business architect and exit strategist who helps small and mid-sized business owners design growth around who they are — not just what the market says they should be.

We dig into the unexpected side of exit planning, including:

• Why exit strategies aren’t just for big companies

• The 3 types of founders who think they want to sell (but maybe don’t)

• What operational exits look like — and why they’re so freeing

• 9 types of assets you might already have in your business

• The real reason most founders feel “done” — and how to reconnect with purpose

• Why aligning your business to your values changes everything

Stephanie also breaks down the different kinds of exits — from clean sales to employee buyouts — and how to work out which one actually fits your future.

If you're feeling stuck, misaligned, or unsure of what scaling should look like, this episode will give you clarity, options, and a fresh way to value what you've already built.

🔗 Resources & Mentions:

🎧 Listen now on your favourite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1804985577

• Stephanie’s website: https://stephaniehayes.biz

• Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn: Stephanie Hayes

• Richard’s website: https://richard-lee.co.uk

What if your business didn’t need to get bigger to be better? What if scaling didn’t mean selling out — or burning out?

In this episode, I’m joined by Stephanie Hayes, a business architect and exit strategist who helps small and mid-sized business owners design growth around who they are — not just what the market says they should be.

We dig into the unexpected side of exit planning, including:

• Why exit strategies aren’t just for big companies

• The 3 types of founders who think they want to sell (but maybe don’t)

• What operational exits look like — and why they’re so freeing

• 9 types of assets you might already have in your business

• The real reason most founders feel “done” — and how to reconnect with purpose

• Why aligning your business to your values changes everything

Stephanie also breaks down the different kinds of exits — from clean sales to employee buyouts — and how to work out which one actually fits your future.

If you're feeling stuck, misaligned, or unsure of what scaling should look like, this episode will give you clarity, options, and a fresh way to value what you've already built.

🔗 Resources & Mentions:

🎧 Listen now on your favourite podcast platform: ⁠https://pod.link/1804985577⁠

• Stephanie’s website: ⁠https://stephaniehayes.biz⁠

• Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn: ⁠Stephanie Hayes⁠

• Richard’s website: ⁠https://richard-lee.co.uk⁠

What if scaling success didn’t mean scaling stress?

In this episode of Scaling Up, Not Giving Up, I’m joined by Rachael Edmondson-Clarke – executive coach, leadership psychologist, and former corporate leader who learned the cost of overperformance the hard way.

Rachael shares the moment her body said “no more” – collapsing before a board meeting – and how it became the wake-up call that transformed her leadership, mindset, and career.

We explore the hidden traps of high-performance culture, including:

🔥 Why energy – not mindset – is the foundation of leadership
🧠 How to lead with emotional capacity, not just capability
💬 Why great leaders ask better questions (and what to do with the “stinky fish” in the room)
💡 The three-month values check-in that can prevent burnout before it begins
🤝 How to create cultures that feel psychologically safe, engaged, and human

This one is practical, reflective, and deeply relevant for anyone trying to build something meaningful – without burning out in the process.