What does it really look like to start and grow a business when you’re still in your early 20s?

On this episode of the Stay Broke Podcast, Randy sits down with Duane Ford III, founder of LineGuard Fence Company, to talk about building a service business from the ground up.

Duane shares how he got started, why he chose the fencing industry, the lessons and mistakes that come with being a young business owner, and what he’s learning as he builds crews, systems, relationships, and a company designed to grow.

We also talk about the difference between creating a job for yourself and actually building a business, reinvesting money into growth, earning credibility as a young entrepreneur, and Duane’s long-term vision for LineGuard Fence Company.

If you’ve ever thought about starting your own business—or you’re currently in the early stages of building one—this episode gives you a look at entrepreneurship while the story is still being written.

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#StayBrokePodcast #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusiness #YoungEntrepreneur #BusinessGrowth #LineGuardFence #FenceCompany

John Boone built his landscaping company into a seven-figure business before eventually selling it and starting his next venture, BOSS — Boone One Stop Supply.

John joins the Stay Broke Podcast to talk about what it really took to scale his landscaping company, including one of the biggest lessons entrepreneurs often overlook: systems, policies, and procedures.

We discuss how putting structure into a growing company helped John move beyond simply owning a job and begin building a business that could operate and grow without everything running through him.

John also shares the story behind Boone One Stop Supply, what problems he wanted BOSS to solve for landscapers and contractors, what makes the business different, and his vision for its future.

After building and selling one successful company, John has also discovered another side of entrepreneurship: the fulfillment that comes from teaching other business owners how to avoid the mistakes you've already made and helping them build something better.

This episode is about more than landscaping. It's about building systems, creating value, learning to let go, starting over, and turning experience into an opportunity to help the next entrepreneur succeed.

Professional magician Neal Chamberlain joins the Stay Broke Podcast to talk about discovering magic, overcoming challenges, building Rockstar Magic, making a living as an entertainer, pricing and booking shows, faith, entrepreneurship, and turning an unusual talent into a real business.

Josh Ridinger was the very first guest on the Stay Broke Podcast, so there was no better person to bring back for Episode 52 and close out our first full year.

A lot has changed since that first conversation.

Josh takes us deeper into how he got into the laundry business, the business model behind Wash World Laundry, and the good—and bad—decisions he’s made along the way. We revisit the growth goals he shared during Episode 1 and talk about how Wash World has already added multiple locations ahead of the schedule he originally envisioned.

But building businesses is only part of the story. We also discuss balancing a full-time career, entrepreneurship, family, multiple business ventures, and finding time to actually enjoy the rewards of all that work.

It’s a full-circle conversation about growth, mistakes, priorities, money, family, and what Josh has learned over the same year that the Stay Broke Podcast grew from Episode 1 to Episode 52.

Emily Albers spent more than 20 years working inside healthcare before her experiences as both a healthcare professional and a patient began changing the way she viewed the system.

In this episode of the Stay Broke Podcast, Emily joins Randy to talk about her journey through nursing and healthcare leadership, the frustrations that led her to start asking harder questions about traditional healthcare, and why she eventually began exploring holistic and alternative approaches to wellness.

Emily shares the story behind her What the Healthcare podcast and what she has learned from interviewing patients and healthcare professionals about chronic illness, patient advocacy, informed consent, and the gaps people experience within the traditional healthcare system.

We also dive into entrepreneurship and the creation of Health House with Lori Webb, including the vision behind the business, the challenges of building in the rapidly growing wellness industry, and Emily’s thoughts on where healthcare needs to go next.

It’s a conversation about healthcare from someone who has experienced it from multiple sides: provider, administrator, patient, entrepreneur, and podcast host.

Serge Falcoz-Vigne has spent decades in the restaurant industry, from the kitchens and restaurants of France to becoming the owner of Bodega Tapas, Wine & Rum in downtown Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Serge sits down with Randy Kerr to share his journey from learning the culinary trade in France to operating restaurants, moving to the United States, and building his place in the North Carolina food scene.

They discuss the difference between being a great chef and being a successful restaurant owner, the challenges of staffing and controlling costs, creating an experience customers want to return to, and what decades in the hospitality industry have taught Serge about business and life.

It’s a conversation about food, entrepreneurship, perseverance, and what really goes into keeping a restaurant successful.

Big Nick Calo went from experimenting with moonshine recipes to winning Discovery Channel’s Moonshiners: Master Distiller with a peanut butter banana moonshine created during a $30 challenge.

In this episode, Big Nick shares the story behind his winning recipe, his experience competing on television, and how the product eventually became an officially licensed Elvis Presley moonshine produced in partnership with South Mountain Distilling Company.

We discuss what it takes to turn a successful recipe into a commercially produced product, including scaling production, developing packaging, navigating licensing requirements, building partnerships, and earning recognition through industry competitions.

Big Nick also opens up about one of the most difficult parts of growing an alcohol brand: distribution. We talk about the challenges of getting a product into stores, expanding into new markets, creating demand, working with distributors, and making sure a growing brand does not get overlooked after the initial excitement wears off.

This is a conversation about creativity, television exposure, entrepreneurship, licensing, brand development, and the difficult work required to turn a winning product into a sustainable business.

Kristy Knichel is the president, CEO and majority owner of Knichel Logistics, a family-founded transportation and logistics company.

In this episode, Kristy shares how she developed her leadership skills at a young age, entered the logistics industry and helped grow the company alongside her father and siblings. She discusses the opportunities and difficulties that come with working in a family business, taking over leadership from a parent and earning respect in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Kristy also opens up about scaling the company, building systems, developing leaders and learning from expensive hiring and management decisions. We explore the importance of company culture, financial discipline, employee accountability and creating a business that does not depend entirely on its owner.

The conversation also covers changes within freight and transportation, the future of intermodal shipping, artificial intelligence in logistics and the responsibility Kristy feels to continue her father’s legacy.

This episode offers an honest look at the sacrifices, setbacks and difficult decisions behind building a successful company that is designed to last.

Laney Leigh works at Lizard Lick Towing and Recovery while pursuing her goal of building Rust N Lens Photography.

In this episode, Laney shares how she became interested in photography and began photographing families, graduations, birthdays, special events, and rodeos. She also discusses the challenges of gaining exposure, establishing prices, building confidence, and turning a creative passion into a sustainable business.

This conversation is different from a typical Stay Broke Podcast interview. Randy and Laney work through practical strategies she can begin implementing immediately, including joining local photography groups, finding a mentor, assisting experienced photographers, strengthening her portfolio, creating consistent social media content, and developing relationships with rodeo organizers, horse farms, riding instructors, venues, and western businesses.

They also discuss the possibility of making rodeo photography the specialty that helps Rust N Lens Photography stand out in a crowded industry.

This episode offers an honest look at the early stages of entrepreneurship and what it takes to move from having talent to building a real business.

On this episode of the Stay Broke Podcast, Randy sits down with Ryan Furman, CPA and founder of Furman CPA, PLLC.

Ryan recently left the firm where he was a partner to launch his own CPA firm, and he also serves as the CPA for all of Randy’s businesses. The conversation covers tax planning, cash flow, bookkeeping, business structure, financial clarity, and what small business owners often misunderstand about working with a CPA.

Ryan also shares what it was like to step away from a partnership, start his own firm, and build a business around relationships, trust, and helping entrepreneurs make better decisions with their numbers.