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"Don't worry about it. It's all gonna work out. Everything is figure-outable." —Lisa Cruz
Most people don't need more money to invest in their business; they need to stop seeing that investment as a cost. That mindset shift is what former ER nurse turned auto shop co-owner Lisa Cruz brings to this episode of the Daniel Gomez Inspires Show.
Lisa spent 25 years as a registered nurse before walking away to help run her husband Ricky's auto repair business, which, at the time, was operating out of shoeboxes with no bookkeeping, no filed taxes, and no system. She explains exactly how she brought structure to that chaos, why a $400 Chamber of Commerce membership terrified Ricky but changed their business, and how a $1,000 marketing spend turned into a $5,000 job. Along the way, she opens up about forgiving her son's father, letting go of resentment toward her own parents, and the surprising story of how their shop grew from a single cow-pasture location to a second site that sees 30,000 cars drive by every day.
This episode is for any entrepreneur who feels stuck between wanting to grow and being afraid to spend, and for anyone still carrying resentment that's quietly holding their life or business back.
Key takeaways:
Ricky refused to buy clipboards for tracking repair orders, so Lisa bought them herself with her own money, a small decision that became the foundation of their record-keeping system.
A $400 investment in a Chamber of Commerce membership generated years of revenue that far outweighed the initial fear of spending it.
A $1,000 marketing investment returned a $5,000 job, proving that treating spending as an investment, not a cost, changes what a business can become.
Lisa's father used to tell her she had a way of stepping into trouble and coming out "smelling like roses", a mindset she now credits for staying calm through business setbacks.
Forgiving her son's absent father and letting go of childhood resentment toward her parents freed up energy she had been spending on bitterness instead of growth.
A change in Texas inspection law cut a nearby shop's revenue in half overnight; Lisa and Ricky bought that "dying" business anyway and turned it into a second location on a road with 30,000 daily cars.
Listen to the full conversation for the story behind Lisa's book, Keeping Up with the Cruzes, and how she turned a decade of unfiled taxes into a thriving two-location business.
Be Inspired! with Daniel: Website (Makings of a Millionaire Mindset) Website (Daniel Gomez Global) Facebook Facebook Group X Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest YouTube Podcast Episode Highlights: 01:27 Meet Lisa Cruz: From Registered Nurse to Shop Owner 02:26 Bringing Structure to a Chaotic Auto Repair Business 06:59 Why Business Owners Fear Investing in Growth 09:17 Overcoming the Fear of Spending On Your Business 13:21 What to Tell Yourself Before Paying a Big Invoice 17:40 The "Everything Is Figure-outable" Mindset 21:02 A $10,000 Answered Prayer During a Medical Crisis 22:01 Letting Go of Resentment to Overcome the BS 28:54 From Cows to 30,000 Cars: Spotting a Hidden Opportunity 34:42 Key Takeaways and Where to Find Lisa's Book
"The very thing that you're most embarrassed to talk about at times, that may be the very story that you need to talk about." —Daniel Gomez
Everyone has a million-dollar story hiding behind the parts of life they'd rather not mention, and this episode is about why those exact moments are the ones worth telling.
Daniel Gomez opens up about the season his wife's breast cancer diagnosis cracked his life open, and how that crisis became the unlikely start of his speaking career. He walks through the specific turning points that built his business: writing his first book, "You Were Born to Fly," which has generated over a quarter-million dollars in revenue; launching Sticker Shock Speaking Academy after pivoting hard during COVID; and writing "The Makings of a Millionaire Mind" to challenge the poverty mindset so many people are raised with. Then Daniel gets personal in a way most speakers won't, sharing the story of a suicide attempt at 18 and the scar he carried with shame for years, until he reframed it as a mark of grace instead of failure.
The throughline is simple and repeated on purpose: the story you're most embarrassed to tell is often the one that heals you and the one your audience needs most. This episode is a working framework for turning your hardest chapter into impact, income, and a message worth sharing.
Press play, take notes, and start writing down your own million-dollar story.
Be Inspired! with Daniel:
Website (Makings of a Millionaire Mindset)
Website (Daniel Gomez Global)
Facebook Group
X
YouTube
Podcast
Episode Highlights:
01:24 What Is Your Million-Dollar Story?
09:07 From Book Royalties to Sticker Shock Speaking Academy
11:45 Rewriting Money Beliefs in The Makings of a Millionaire Mind
13:51 Measuring the Real Impact of Your Message
16:20 The Story Behind the Scar: Surviving a Suicide Attempt
18:36 Turning Shame Into Grace Through Forgiveness
23:35 Growing a Bilingual Audience and Staying Humble
25:40 Why Your Voice Matters
27:51 Turn the Page
"Culture is what people do when no one is around… when people don't feel safe to speak up, give feedback, they don't really believe in each other, then you can have a really toxic culture, which impacts everything. If you don't have culture in place, you have no ROI." —Kerri Burchill, PhD
Leaders everywhere are stretched, anxious, and stuck in scarcity, while cultures quietly turn toxic. We talk about the shift from control and "I" language to trust, active listening, and modern leadership that actually unlocks team capacity and profit.
Leadership Consultant, Kerri Burchill, PHD, shares a journey from fast-tracked leadership in education to rebuilding culture in the Caribbean and then launching a consulting practice that helps organizations slow down to go fast.
Hit play for a grounded conversation on modern leadership and culture today, including:
How leadership language shapes trust, safety, and performance
The "I" problem and what it reveals about control
Humble inquiry and the real skill of active listening
Moving from helicopter leadership to true empowerment
Scarcity mindset, anxiety, and leadership burnout
Why slowing down decision-making can speed up results
Practical ways to give teams power without losing standards
Be Inspired! with Daniel:
Website (Makings of a Millionaire Mindset)
Website (Daniel Gomez Global)
Facebook Group
X
YouTube
Episode Highlights:
01:35 Meet Dr. Kerri: From Education to Leadership Consulting
02:24 How Structures Shape Behavior and Culture
07:21 The "I" Problem and Entitled Leadership
11:32 Holding Space and Creating Psychological Safety
16:11 Bottlenecks, Trust, and Profitability in Business
19:53 Leaving Comfort and Redefining Leadership Identity
23:54 Slow Down to Go Fast: New Leadership Mantra
26:09 Managing Scarcity and Mindset as an Entrepreneur
28:51 Transferable Leadership Wins
31:21 Practical Listening Shifts for Sales and Leadership
"You're always going to have blinders on you. You have to be open to sometimes things that go against what you originally believe, but yet are going to best support your business." —Chris Salem
Sales stalls fast when teams talk in features and scripts while buyers think in challenges, results, and personality-driven needs. Many of us pour money into ads and lead gen, then wonder why conversations drag, trust stays low, and deals take too many touchpoints. This episode gets honest about the real gap: misaligned sales communication and mixed signals within the business.
Chris Salem, an expert in business communication, shares how years of work in emotional intelligence, business communication, and revenue growth led to a simple, practical way to align messaging with buyer personalities and company culture. His work with small firms and 600-person construction teams shows how inside-out communication shifts can move KPIs, retention, and profit.
Hit play to learn, reflect, and upgrade how our businesses talk, decide, and sell, including:
The real reason lead gen and SEO underperform
How buyer personalities shape decisions and timelines
Using simple "what, how, who, why" messaging in sales
Turning internal communication into better KPIs and profit
Moving from control and reactivity to systems and delegation
Why coachability, humility, and vision repetition change results
Be Inspired! with Daniel:
Website (Makings of a Millionaire Mindset)
Website (Daniel Gomez Global)
Facebook Group
X
YouTube
Episode Highlights:
02:44 Why Your Marketing Fails: The Real Reason Lead Gen and SEO Don't Convert
05:03 The 4 Buying Personalities Explained
09:35 What, How, Who, Why: Aligning Your Sales Message to Personality Types
13:08 Selling Is Serving: Trust, Rapport, and the Inside-Out Growth Formula
18:37 Grow the People, Grow the Business
21:02 Top 3 Small Business Problems: Messaging, Roles, and Delegation
24:02 Letting Go of "This Is How We've Always Done It" in Leadership
29:41 Boundaries, Generosity, and the Law of Prosperity in Business
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