In this special episode of The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast, Roger Pierce talks with friend Evan Carmichael — author, speaker, and one of the top business content creators on YouTube with 4.5 million subscribers. Evan has built a global following by sharing entrepreneurship insights and lessons from top performers, all while championing one core idea: #Believe in yourself.

They dig into a gap that’s tough to ignore: schools aren't teaching enough about entrepreneurship. Two thirds of students say they want to become entrepreneurs, yet over 80% feel they learn nothing about it in school. Evan explains how his own path changed after discovering Junior Achievement, where he got his first real exposure to building a business.

The conversation then shifts to how people learn about small business ownership. Instead of waiting on schools, both young people and midlife entrepreneurs are turning to content such as YouTube videos, social platforms, and online learning. As Evan says, “Whatever you don’t know how to do, go to YouTube… somebody awesome is sharing how they won.”

The episode closes with clear advice for anyone considering entrepreneurship — whether you're 18 or 42. Start small. Act. “The fastest way… is to take the smallest first step and do it.” 

Resources for aspiring entrepreneurs:

Watch Evan's YouTube video THE SECRET Schools Won't Teach: Entrepreneurship in 34 Minutes
Read Evan's books
Visit EvanCarmichael.com
Subscribe to Evan's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@EvanCarmichael
See the video of this episode

Discover realities many new entrepreneurs overlook.

One of the most respected small business experts in the U.S., Barbara Weltman is an attorney, founder of Big Ideas for Small Business, and bestselling author of J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2026, 500+ Big Ideas for Your Small Business, and the Home-Based Business Start-Up Guide. Called the “guru of small business taxes” by The Wall Street Journal, Barbara has spent decades advising entrepreneurs and has been featured across major outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNBC, and Fox News. 

The discussion cuts straight to the fundamentals that determine whether a new business survives. “When people start their businesses, they’re very enthusiastic,” she says. “But what I help small business owners focus on are the unfun things… tax, financial and legal matters that if you don’t do it, your business is not going to survive.” 

You’ll hear hear advice on the mistakes that show up early — poor recordkeeping, mixing personal and business finances, and misunderstanding cash flow. Barbara also reinforces a point many entrepreneurs learn too late: “Taxes are the difference between what you earn and what you keep.”

For aspiring entrepreneurs, this episode offers a clear message: much of business success depends on discipline, awareness, and getting the fundamentals right from day one. 

Big Ideas for Small Business

https://bigideasforsmallbusiness.com

Barbara Weltman on LinkedIn

Barbara Weltman’s Books

Listen to this episode to learn about the kind of leadership that builds trust, strong teams, and lasting businesses — and discover a great new book about exactly that.

Bruce Mayhew has spent more than 20 years helping executives, managers, and entrepreneurs improve communication skills, boost leadership development, and increase organizational performance. He's just released an exciting new book called The Path of an Inspired Leader, a book that focuses on empathy, self-awareness, and human connection as the foundation of effective leadership.

During the conversation, Bruce challenges the traditional idea that leaders must have all the answers. Instead, he argues that authenticity and trust matter more than authority. “Authenticity doesn’t mean that I have to be perfect,” he explains. “It actually sometimes means I’m vulnerable. It means being able to say I don’t know.” 

According to Bruce, many business owners spend too much time proving their credentials instead of showing clients how they care about their needs. The discussion also explores how “human skills” — empathy, curiosity, communication, and emotional intelligence — give entrepreneurs a competitive advantage. Listen in for ways to build trust, improve emotional intelligence, and lead teams with confidence.

BruceMayhewConsulting.com
Find Bruce on LinkedIn
Get his new book: The Path of an Inspired Leader

Your pitch deck may be solid — but people often decide whether they trust you before you even finish the first slide.

Host Roger Pierce interviews Mark Bowden, ranked the World’s #1 Communication Keynote Speaker (Global Gurus 2026) and voted three-times as the #1 Body Language Professional in the world. Mark is the founder of Truthplane.com, a bestselling author, and co-host of The Behavior Panel — one of YouTube's most popular shows on body language and human behavior with more than 1.1 million subscribers.

Recognized globally for his work on nonverbal communication, Mark's clients include Zoom, Shopify, Toyota, KPMG, American Express, the U.S. Army, and NATO.

In this conversation, Mark and Roger explore a critical truth for entrepreneurs: your business is judged through you before it is judged on your product. As Mark puts it, “The way your product and your service is initially going to get judged and continue to be judged is on your performance in front of people.”

You’ll learn why first impressions are difficult to undo, the body language mistakes many founders make under pressure, and how entrepreneurs can project calm authority when the stakes are high.  Mark and Roger also talk about making videos, books, credibility, and why communication may be the most powerful competitive advantage an entrepreneur can develop.

Resources:
Truthplane.com
The Behavior Panel on YouTube
Mark Bowden on LinkedIn

Emile Maamary is co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Steadiwear, a Canadian health tech company developing non-invasive solutions for people living with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. Inspired by their own grandmothers’ struggles, Emile and his co-founder Mark Elias set out to close the gap between medication and surgery.

Their flagship product, the Steadi-3, is a wearable glove that reduces tremors for over 75% of users and has helped more than 5,000 people regain independence. Getting there wasn't easy — it took five years and multiple iterations to reach market. "Whatever you think it's going to take to build, multiply that number by three,” emphasizes Emile.

Listen to this podcast if you want to learn how to raise money for your business: Steadiwear has secured over $5 million in funding from angel investors, government incentives, and grants  — including winning the $10,000 Zensurance Small Business Grant in 2025.

Emile shares lessons about manufacturing, regulation, reimbursement hurdles, and raising capital. His core advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is direct: “Who's going to pay for this?”

Resources:
Zensurance Small Business Grant (*Apply by March 3, 2026 for the $10,000 grant*)
Steadiwear.com
Emile Maamary on LinkedIn
New book! The Unsure Entrepreneur

Jamie Irvine returns to The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on sales, focus, and the hidden systems that quietly kill growth. With more than 25 years in the heavy-duty parts and trucking industry, and operating several business of his own, Jamie brings a unique view on how businesses actually win and lose revenue.

On his popular podcast The Heavy Duty Parts Report, Jamie and his guests discuss tips, tools, and technology that help heavy-duty parts manufacturers and distributors. In our conversation, Jamie explains why trucking is the backbone of the economy, noting that most grocery stores hold only three days of inventory and that if trucks stopped rolling, “within a few days people start dying.” That reality makes the industry an early warning system for broader economic trouble. He also shares why layoffs among drivers and mechanics signal deeper issues in Canada’s economy.

The discussion then turns to what Jamie calls the “sales prevention department” — the internal friction that makes it harder for customers to buy. He argues every company has one, and the goal is to shrink it. From delayed follow-ups to confused roles, small breakdowns cost real money.

Jamie offers clear advice on separating business development from account management, focusing on strengths, and designing sales teams that actually work. He also shares a practical closing technique that replaces pressure with silence and insight. As Jamie puts it, “The best pressure you can put on a buyer is silence.” The episode is packed with usable lessons for entrepreneurs at any stage.

Resources:
Check out Jamie's podcast The Heavy Duty Parts Report
Visit Jamie on LinkedIn
Visit Heavy Duty Parts Consulting Corporation

Entrepreneurial ambition in Canada has reached an eight-year high. In this episode of The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast, Roger Pierce speaks with Karen Svendsen, Senior Director of Small Business and Partnerships at Royal Bank of Canada, about what is driving that surge and what holds people back from getting started.

She helps lead RBC’s national small business strategy and played a central role in the 2025 RBC Small Business Poll. The results are very exciting — with 59% of Canadians saying they want to start a business, and a whopping 81% believing business ownership is a viable way to earn a living. Ontario leads the country, with 68% showing entrepreneurial ambition, followed by Atlantic Canada and the Prairies.

In the pod Karen talks about why independence, flexibility, and purpose now matter more than traditional career paths. "People want more control over their time and their long term prospects, and they want the ability to shape that future for themselves and for their family," says Karen.

She also speaks candidly about blockers such as uncertainty, access to funding, lack of confidence, and not knowing where to begin. RBC wants to make it easier to get going. ”We think that a big part of our role is making the early stages feel less overwhelming. So we help people understand the practical steps to take, from registering their business to working through their business plan to securing or identifying sources of financing."

Resources mentioned:
RBC tools, resources, learning, & partnerships to start or grow a business
RBC 2025 Small Business Poll results

Rieva Lesonsky joins the podcast to talk about small business trends, fears, and the changing face of entrepreneurship.

A trailblazer in the world of entrepreneurship advocacy, Rieva worked for 25 years as Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. She’s a best-selling author of several books, including Start Your Own Business and Small Business Hacks: 100 Shortcuts to Success. She’s written about small business issues for The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and AllBusiness.com. She now runs her own site SmallBusinessCurrents.com, where she publishes data-driven insights about consumer behaviour, industry trends, business opportunities, and, of course, advice for entrepreneurs. Unsurprisingly, Rieva's impact has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration and she's been inducted into the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.

In our interview, Rieva explains why fear plays a useful role when you start a business. As she puts it, “Fear tells you what to look at… Fear is not there to stop you.” She discusses the rise of mid-career entrepreneurs, noting that “the typical age of startup is mid-40s to mid-50s.” She also identifies fast-growing opportunities in home improvement, beauty, ageing-in-place, niche consumer products, and male grooming — and shares fascinating stories of entrepreneurs who made it big.

Amazing insights await! Enjoy this conversation with one of my professional heroes.

Resources:
SmallBusinessCurrents.com
Rieva Lesonsky on LinkedIn

The conversation explores speak-up culture — what it is, why it matters, and how it drives retention and innovation. Stephen Shedletzky is the author of Speak-Up Culture, a leadership coach, and former member of Simon Sinek’s founding team. Stephen helps leaders create psychologically safe environments where people feel confident using their voices.

Why is this important for entrepreneurs? Employees in speak-up cultures are 92% more likely to stay and perform at their best. Through his company, Shed Inspires, he teaches that “we can’t ask people to perform at their best if we haven’t created an environment in which they feel it’s psychologically safe to do so.”

From psychological safety to feedback and self-awareness, Stephen’s message is clear: leadership starts the day you hire your first team member. And his definition of leadership is simple but powerful. “Leadership is the attempt to leave the people and world around you better than when you found them.”

Visit his website ShedInspires.com
Buy his book Speak-Up Culture on Amazon

Most accountants and bookkeepers are drowning in long hours and underpriced work. Ryan Lazanis says it doesn’t have to be that way.

On this special Accountex 2025 episode of The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast, Roger Pierce talks with Ryan Lazanis, CPA, Founder of Future Firm. Ryan built and sold Zen Accounting, one of Canada’s first 100% cloud-based firms, and now helps thousands of accounting professionals create modern practices that deliver profit and lifestyle.

“It’s hard to scale advice,” Ryan says. “But if you standardize your offer and productize your services, you remove variables and free yourself from being the bottleneck.” On the subject of fees, a sensitive area for most accounting professionals, he shares why three-tier pricing works: “With one option, you’re nervous to raise prices. With three options, you can be aggressive—and most clients pick the middle.”

Ryan also opens up about how AI is reshaping the profession, including his own experiment with cloning his voice and avatar to deliver a recent online presentation. While excited about AI’s potential, he’s cautious: “I think it’s actually going to make our lives more difficult, not easier, because expectations are so much higher now.”

> Catch Ryan’s Accountex 2025 Keynote in Toronto on Nov 5, where he’ll reveal insights from the Top 50 Modern Accounting Firm Survey.
> Attend Roger's session on How to Close More Sales for Your Accounting Practice also on Nov 5.

Important links:
FutureFirm.co
Accountex Canada 2025 on Nov 4 & 5